PERSONAL LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENTS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENTS - Assignment Example Coaching leadership has helped me recognize that the essence of leadership is having a conscience that drives you to want to make a difference and inspire progress by building personal strengths among the team members. As a team leader, coaching leadership to me is characterized as one which helps in connecting individual goals to that of a larger group where I ensure that I delegate work, realize strengths and weaknesses of team members and urge them to work hard to achieve the set ends. I consider myself a mentor to the team members and help in improving their talents, strengths and providing guidance for maximum productivity is both my duty and responsibility. As a team leader, one of my greatest strengths is leadership communication. Communication comes naturally to me; over the years, I have perfected my ability to command an audience especially while interacting and while on the job with team members. This is something I learnt from Terry Pierce’s Leading Out Loud: Inspi ring Change through Authentic Communication. Pierce believes that proper leadership communication builds resonance (Pierce, 2003). The lesson here is that leadership communication revolves around growth and change, which is to say that communication creates a story line, that is, a past, a present, and a future. The rationale of leadership, therefore, revolves around inspiring true commitment through communication and guidance; a leader ought to be able to reach out to people by speaking genuinely from the heart (Pierce, 2003). As Scouller (2011) notes, even the best leaders are likely to miss something seeing as nobody is perfect. As for me, there are certain behaviors that I am likely to neglect. To begin with, it is important to note that some leaders may fall short of having the ability to command authority. Despite the fact that leadership may entail some form of empathy, it is very important for any kind of leader to command authority over the subjects (Parsons & Cohen, 2008). This is very essential in instilling structure and discipline and as such, the failure to do so may be a major setback to effective leadership. Gaining control over the team is the second thing that I am most likely to neglect given my choice of leadership philosophy. Gaining relative control over the team is quintessential to leadership since it allows a leader to manage the team effectively (Scouller, 2011). The absence of effective control leads to indiscipline and lawlessness, which is a major setback to leadership. Command is the third leadership trait that I am likely to neglect. Leadership may at times entail making commands so that subordinates are dedicated to accomplishing their tasks as opposed to being emphatic with team members, which may make team members slack behind. Many would agree to be successful some form of command would bring more results as opposed to empathy (Parsons & Cohen, 2008). The fourth behavior is unruliness on the part of the team members. Having e mpathy is likely to blindside me subsequently compromising my ability to create a compliant team.

Female Offenders: Harsher Sentences In Courts

Female Offenders: Harsher Sentences In Courts Most research implies that there is a significant difference in the way women and men ware treated by the criminal system and that these differences are mainly due to the operation of gender stereotypes. Research studies have hypothesised that gender does affect sentence in a number of ways. The effect is not necessarily explicit and it may or may not to the woman offenders apparent advantage. This implies that it may be harsher or more lenient as compared to that of the male offenders. It has also been suggested that the fact that men and women enter the criminal justice system in ways that are different and the fact that they also have different characteristics might have an effect on the way they are treated by the system. Based on this, this paper seeks to discuss whether female offenders receive harsher sentences in courts than do their male counterparts based on their gender status. In discussing whether female offenders are treated differently from their male counterparts by t he criminal justice system, this paper will also review the various theoretical frameworks from early feminists and classical theorists. It will also include explanations on the historical background of the issue and on some features of the maleness of law. Pollak (1961) argues males in the criminal justice system are captivated by women offenders causing them to treat them leniently. This thesis is however criticised by Heidensohn (1985), one of the known feminists who argues that Pollaks theory is based on female biology making it unsociological, ahistiorical and ideological. He goes on to suggests that apart from the committing the crime, female offenders are also tried for their femininity hence face double jeopardy. As such, they receive harsher sentence and crime as compared to the male offenders. Female offenders are also usually punished for their sexual misbehaviour, in the event it exists, which is not the case with the male counterparts. Based on this argument, the courts apply a double standard for female offenders. This paper will therefore look at cases in which women offenders buy into the gender contract and other cases in which women receive harsh treatment as well as sentences by the criminal justice system. The paper will discuss at how the law views females and how this is connected to the way in which women offenders are treated differently (either harshly or more lenient) from men. The question of whether female offenders are treated less harshly by the criminal justice system is also inherently related to the debate of why there has been an increase in female offenders. Simon (1975) and Adler (1975) argue that due to the womens liberation movement, a theory referred to as the liberation thesis, women have over the years become more men-like. Simon Landis (1991), explain that feminist calls for equality has caused a decline in chivalry within courts in the way they treat female offenders. Based on these arguments and theories, this paper will discuss how the courts, one of the agencies of the criminal justice networks treats women offenders during passing of sentences. In discussing this question, it is worth to note that historically and even presently, women commit less crime than males. According to the British criminal statistics, there are various differences between male and female offenders. According to the Home Office (2003), women constituted only 19 percent of the known offenders. The statistics also show that women commit also commit crimes that are violent such as theft, fraud and robbery. 75 percent of crime committed by women is theft and handling according to these statistics. It is however worth to note that women commit less violent crimes as compared to their male counterparts (Lise, 2009). They however participate in all types of criminal activities (Lise, 2009). Statistics also imply that female offenders are more likely to be cautioned for crimes and offenses that are indictable than men. Figures show that the cautioning rate for women was 44 pe5cent as compared to 27 percent for men. Research also showed that women were less likely to be charged after being arrested for offenses than men. 52 percent of women arrested were charged as compared to 60 percent of men arrested (Lise, 2009). According to Lambrose Ferrero (1995), there are less criminals among females than there are among males and that female criminals have more anomalies than the normal women. According to these theorists, female offenders do not act in accordance with the standards pre-defined and are regarded to be pathological hence require to be removed from the society or undergo treatment to make them normal. Courts therefore tend to punish female offenders for their offenses and for not complying with the pre-defined standards. This is implies that they receive double punishment which is not so with the male counterparts. As such, female offenders receive harsher sentences than males by courts. Market Demographics | Marketing Essay Market Demographics | Marketing Essay Executive summary: When you ask for Kleenex, everyone knows you are asking for a tissue. Although the number of rivals has been increased especially during the last decades, today, Kleenex with its worldwide popularity and its strong brand that built within its eighty years old understands needs of its different customers. Obviously, one of the major group of the customers, are men. Although the mens beauty care market lags the womens by some time, a new report pointed that the male grooming market has been increasing at double digit growth rates over the last decade in the US that in turns widespread in the other parts of the world. The economic downturn has tempered optimism but the mens beauty market remains one of the best performing segments in the personal care sector, according to a new report by Diagonal Reports. Men are now catching up with women with demand for mens hair coloring and fair skins having now taken off, decades after the womens coloring boom. A fundamental change in male behavior towards their appearance is responsible for this growth. Very large numbers of men are much more interested in their appearance than previously and interested in a different way than was the case. As one male grooming expert pointed out, Many men have a new attitude to appearance, it is no longer just functional, and they want their appearance to be in fashion. Hence, we have just concerned about men as women, children and others that in turns directed us to think about providing a new product for them. For this reason, we thought about producing new tissues that have some unique aspects especially for men and could help to protect and improve their skin and their appearance. Even though, the traditional categories like ultra- soft tissue and Kleenex lotion continue to be the most purchased products, a growing number of men are beginning to experiment with other, less traditional cosmetics and toiletries products, such as facial cleansers tissue, as well as face and body tissue with rejuvenate property by adding vitamins like vitamin E, sun block, green tea extract and exfoliation substances in the middle layer of the tissue. These core materials are the most sought after by dandy man who want to keep skin full of life in tissues daily use. 2.0 Situation Analysis Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Kimberly-Clark) is one of the leading consumer product companies in the world. It holds the first or the second position globally in terms of market share in more than 80 countries. It has operations in 36 countries and sells its products in more than 150 countries. The companys well-known family care and personal care brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Andrex, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex, Poise and Depend are top ranking brands in terms of market share in more than 80 countries. High consumer loyalty and strong brand recognition help the company garner a substantial market share. However, economic slowdown in the US and Eurozone could adversely affect demand for Kimberly-Clark products. 2.1 Market Summary 2.1.1 Market Demographics The profile of the interior views customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavior factors: Geographics We have set first geographic target area, which is Malaysia. After successful hit the Malay market, we will expand our new product in Asia area then spread across the world. According to Malaysia demographics profile 2009, male population between 15-64 years is now 8,210,373(31.9% of total population of 25,715,819) we assume the population between 18 to 45 years old to be 20%. Demographics Male Have attended college Able and young, affluent customers A combined high annual income The age range from 18 to 45,more than 60% clustering around 18-25 years old Social class cover from the working class to middle class, upper uppers Psychographics All men who take care of themselves, concerned with their appearance Protect and improve their skin is important for them He perceives himself as tasteful and able, and they insist on Many men have a new attitude to appearance, it is no longer just functional, and they want their appearance to be in fashion. Behavior Factors The behavior of target customer is what accepted as masculine has shifted considerably throughout the times, so the modern concept of how a man should be differs from the ideal man of previous eras. Some styles and behaviours that are today considered feminine, in the past were, part of the mans domain (e.g., makeup, jewellery). He take pride in having an active role in using man care products Once they try, it is hardly to convertible They often show up at following places: Man SPA centers Mens salons and barbershops Golf club 2.1.2 Market Needs Kimberly-Clark Corporation is providing the men who are living in urban districts with facial tissues; The Company seeks to fulfill the following benefits that are important to its target consumers: High Quality: Based on our target market, the costumers are pursuing a higher quality of life. Attitudes and habits are changing among male consumers regarding their hygiene, grooming and physical appearance, as well as the purchasing habits among men. Rejuvenate property: Add vitamins like vitamin E, sun block, and green tea extract and exfoliation substances in the middle layer of the tissue. These core materials are the most sought after by dandy man who want to keep skin full of life in tissues daily use. Customer service: Exemplary service is required to build a sustainable business that has a loyal customer base. 2.1.3 Market Trends With men becoming more involved with their grooming habits and the explosive growth in the mens segment we saw a huge opportunity to introduce the male consumer tissue to a new proposition in skincare. Younger men are clearly more interested in taking care of themselves than their fathers or even their older brothers. But is it because metro sexuality has become more widely accepted by the masses or simply because of their generations habits? Its a generational thing. The guys in these generations get their bodies waxed, work out, style their hair, go to tanning salons, etc., more than their predecessors. they were raised on MTV, the Internet and reality shows, every minute of their lives is a photo-opportunity, they always want to look like theyre ready for their 15 minutes of fame, and dont think theres anything feminine about that. Using metro sun block among groups of friends going to beach or swimming pools which is really relevant in Malaysia because of its climatic situation is a notable trend. Another trend is using metro aroma in groups of boys parties and special ceremonies and weddings with wide range of aromas which can satisfy different tastes in wide range of groups. The other trend is using of Kleenex  ®metro with vitamin E for nourishing and rejuvenating the skin especially among men between 30 to 45 years old who strongly have desire to be always in centre of attention still keeping their skin nourished and shiny to make them more attractive. 2.1.4 Market Growth With changing men habits of fashion life and tending to show more and more attention to be sensitive about their appearance, the market for men care products is growing. As men using these kinds of products, a lot of companies are trying to establish new product line in their portfolio specially designed for men. By increase in number of producers and variety of men products, the companies should try to set the prices still competitive to remain in this market and grow in the same time to satisfy rate of growing people in this market segment. 2.2 SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weakness within the company and describes the opportunities and threats facing Kleenex. Strengths Weaknesses Strong market position and brands Diversified business portfolio Strong growth in revenues and profits Lack of scale Business concentration Opportunities Threats Growth in Asian markets Acquisition and alliances Increasing preference for natural personal care products Intense competition Increasing oil prices 2.2.1 Strengths Strong market position and brands Kimberly-Clark has a strong market position. It has operations in 36 countries and sells its products in more than 150 countries. The company is well-known for its family care and personal care brands. It holds the first or the second position globally in terms of market share in more than 80 countries. Focus on building brands has helped Kimberly-Clark capture a strong market position. The companys brand portfolio includes some of the most popular brands of the world such as GoodNites, Cottonelle, Kleenex, Scott, Andrex, Hakle, Huggies,etc. The companys brand recognition has helped it to achieve consumer loyalty overtime ensuring a high market share. Diversified business portfolio Kimberly-Clark has a diversified business structure. The companys operations are carried out through personal care, consumer tissue, Kimberly-Clark professional and others, and health care segments. The companys personal care segment contributed 41.4% of the total revenues in 2007; consumer tissue derived 35.4%, Kimberly-Clark professional other 16.6%, health care 6.6%.The companys revenues grew by 9.1% in 2007, because of higher sales volumes, favorable currency effects, increased net selling prices and an improved product mix. The company is not over dependent upon on any one business. A diversified business portfolio helps the company cope with fluctuations in any one of its businesses and has led to a stable revenue growth. Strong growth in revenues and profits Kimberly-Clark has recorded a strong growth in revenues and profits in the last few years. Its revenues have increased at a compounded annual growth rate, CAGR (2005-2007) of 7% from $15,902 million in 2006 to $18,266 million in 2008. The companys profitability has also increased in recent years. Its operating profit increased at a CAGR (2005-2007) of 6% from $2,311 million in 2005 to $2,616 million in 2008. Similarly, the companys net profit also increased during (2005-2007) from $1,568 million in 2005 to $1,823 million in 2007. Robust financial performance strengthens the financial position of the company and provides a platform for future growth. 2.2.2 Weaknesses Lack of scale The company lacks the scale to compete with large players in the industry. Many of the companys competitors are much larger in size in terms of revenue generated and number of employees. Kimberly-Clark generated $18,266 million and employed 53,000 people in 2007, while one of its key competitors, Johnson Johnson (JJ) generated revenues of about $61,095 million in 2008 and employed about 119,200 people worldwide. Another competitor, The Procter Gamble Company (PG) generated revenues of about $76,476 million and employed 138,000 people in 2007. Owing to its relatively small scale of operations, the company could find it difficult to face competition. Business concentration Kimberly-Clark has concentrated operations both in terms of geography and customers. In the fiscal year 2007, the company derived approximately $10,192.1 million (53.9%) of its revenues from North American region; out of which $9,875.6 million (52.2%) came from the US alone. In terms of customer concentration, Wal-Mart, the companys largest customer, contributed approximately 13% to its revenues since 2005. High dependence upon a single large customer like Wal-Mart could reduce the bargaining power of the company. Any decrease in revenue from this customer could have an adverse effect on the companys revenues and profits. Moreover, the company is exposed to risks associated with the single economy, while its competitors such as The Procter and Gamble Company with significant operations in other countries are guarded against such a risk. 2.2.3 Opportunities Growth in Asian markets The consumer products and personal care products businesses are driven significantly by three basic demographic factors: population growth, household formation and household income growth. These factors are now driving strong growth in many of the companys developing markets including Asia, especially India and China. The companys sales increased in developing markets by 12% in 2008. In addition, in the categories in which Kimberly-Clark competes, developing countries currently represent a $4.5 billion market that is predicted to reach $5.2 billion by 2010. Moreover, the company has its operations in 36 countries. This provides Kimberly-Clark with the opportunity to enhance its market share as well as expand its presence in other categories. Acquisition and alliances Kimberly-Clark has been expanding its portfolio of services by entering into strategic agreements, and acquiring organizations to strengthen its position in the industry. For example In January 2007, ICG Commerce a leading procurement services provider signed a five-year contract to provide certain sourcing and supply management activities for Kimberly-Clark Corporation. This move will allow Kimberly-Clark to direct its resources on innovation, brand-building and other capabilities that will drive long-term sustainable growth. Further, In March 2008, Kimberly-Clark reached an agreement to purchase the remaining stake in its South African subsidiary, Kimberly-Clark of South Africa (K-CSA) from The Lion Match Company wholly-owned subsidiary of FASIC Investment Corporation Limited. K-CSA is a leading manufacturer and marketer of tissue, personal care and business-to-business products and also markets Kimberly-Clarks line of health care products. Kimberly-Clarks increased ownership in K-CSA will enhance its growth potential in African region. The companys alliances in these areas would allow it to further strengthen its existing business or gain a strong foothold in new sectors and markets. Increasing preference for natural personal care products Some consumers are realizing the power of treating their skin with vitamins, botanicals and avoiding such ingredients as parabens and sulfates. Consequently, natural and organic products are being seen and appreciated as being safe, efficacious, earth-friendly beauty solutions that are better for ones well-being. Another reason why natural ingredient based skincare and personal hygiene products are perceived as healthier and better is that natural as a standalone word/concept strongly implies a healthy balance. In that way, it can elicit an emotional response from consumers and therefore has strong relevance to emotional wellness. Kimberly-Clark can capitalize on this growing trend by launching more natural personal care products. 2.2.4 Threats Intense competition The personal care businesses are characterized by intense competition throughout the world. The company competes in selected product categories against a number of multinational manufacturers. In addition to products sold in the mass-market and demonstrator-assisted channels, the companys products also compete with similar products sold in prestige department store channels, through door-to-door or mail-order marketing or through telemarketing by representatives of direct sales companies. Brand recognition, quality, performance and price influence the consumers choice among competing products and brands. Advertising, promotion, merchandising, the pace and timing of new product introductions, line extensions and the quality of in-store sales staff also have a significant impact on consumers buying decisions. Kimberly-Clarks major competitors include Georgia-Pacific Group, Johnson Johnson, Playtex Products and Procter Gamble Company. Increasing oil prices Fuel costs for the company represent a significant portion of its distribution cost, thereby, affecting its operating margin. A number of the companys products, such as diapers, training and youth pants, incontinence care products, disposable wipes and various health care products contain certain materials which are principally derived from petroleum. These materials are subject to price fluctuations based on changes in petroleum prices, availability and other factors. The company purchases these materials from a number of suppliers. The crude oil prices have been increasing in recent years. The crude oil prices rose from $60 per barrel in October 2006 to $126 per barrel in May 2008. The price of natural gas has also increased. The short-term outlook indicated further increase in oil and natural gas prices. The surprise fall in US energy stocks and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)s decision to stick to its current output levels are expected to keep oil prices above the key $100 mark. Higher fuel prices are likely to have a direct impact on the companys distribution cost and may directly affect its margins. 2.3 Competition Kimberly-Clark Corporation is forming its own market for male tissue products. Although there are companies that do make tissues and toiletries, So far the Kleenex is the only brand thoroughly designed for men, especially metro-sexual. 2.4 Product offering We decide to offer three products for the first run, all of them have been designed to attract the target market of metrosexual men, although have potential attractiveness among other groups. These products are designed to be easily hold and used by target market and have a clear advantage because of their special life style: Tissues with Vitamin E: Nourishing and rejuvenate the skin Tissues with Sun block creams: protect skin from UV damage Tissues with Aroma: perfume attracting, relaxing and anti stress effect They also have been designed in three packs for ease of use and different rate of use: 50 tissue pack 25tissue pack 10 tissue pack 2.5 Marketings key success factors The key to success is designing and providing something special for a relatively high portion in market that matches their needs and have potential to go further of their expectation because of its high quality material and special features which have been introduces new to market and has the support of one of the best brand tissue companies (Kleenex), so it already has a good name because of the brand and by combining it with high quality and special features according to customer needs and demand can achieve a reasonable success in the market. 2.6 Critical issues Using the Kleenex brand reputation this product should be always monitored in order to keep the quality high and constant. Pursue and control the growth rate to ensure that this product line revenue always exceeds the expenses to ensure the profitability of this product line. Customer satisfaction should be carefully monitored to prevent the thread of new similar products. In other word it should always exceed the customer expectation. 3.0 Marketing strategy The marketing strategy for introducing and maintaining this product is focus on male care and increase in attractiveness of this issue among the group which covers a high portion of Malaysia population (20%) that prepares the grounds for achieving reasonable and successful growth in this market. Special differentiation of this product is its nourishing and rejuvenating feature. (3) 3.1 Corporate mission Kleenex ®metro strive to provide the finest special application tissues in combination with best quality resources. We recognize that only companies that build sustainability into the way they do business will have enduring success. Our business relies on natural resources such as wood fiber, energy and water. It is clearly in our best interest to design products and manufacturing processes that conserve these resources and secure their availability for the future. Measurable and attainable objectives: short term / long term goals 3.2 Marketing objectives of the plan Maintain positive growth by diversifying products for different purpose of usages, for example developing new products using during body building or other physical exercises, (Product development strategy.) Trying to steadily increase demand by penetrating among other male and/ or female groups (using in beauty salons, sport teamsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) 3.3 Financial objectives Increase sales by 2% in the year 2011. (1) According to Malaysian demographic profile (2009), population growth rate is 1.7%, we use this figure in financial growth rate and assume that financial growth rate is 2% accordingly. Allocate 10-15% of sales revenue to RD projects each year Allocate 5% of sales revenue to corporate social responsibility each year Achieve 30% sales growth rate till 2013. (10% growth each year) (2) We have used NIVEA for men annual report, using its sales growth forecast here. 3.4 Target markets profiles Now the number of men who are changing their purchasing habits towards personal hygiene, grooming and physical appearances products is increasing. So, all men who take care of themselves and concerned with their appearance are our target market. We call them Metrosexual Men. The age interval of this segment is between 18 to 45 years old, with 60% concentration on men around 18-25 years old, men who really care into rejuvenating and protecting skin during their daily life. The income of dandy man is the secret of attractiveness of this segment which is relatively high. In addition the growth rate of this phenomenon is tremendous over the past several years. (3) According to Malaysia demographics profile 2009, male population between 15-64 years is now 8,210,373(31.9% of total population of 25,715,819) we assume the population between 18 to 45 years old to be 20%. More than 27% of men are using these products nowadays. However, another 35% of men today say that they are interested in trying them, but have not yet made the leap. (4) These figures are based on the results of our questionnaire survey. 3.5 Positioning Kleenex ® Metro, using Kleenex brand tissues trademark and industrial experience in the market since 1924, wants to position itself as the premier company in producing and offering high quality nourishing, rejuvenating and anti- UV tissues especially designed for dandy men. 3.6 Strategies Using Kleenex as a well-known brand among the society the marketing strategy tries to attract customers among groups in several ways. First one is redesigning the Kleenex website, allocating a dominant position to Kleenex  ®metro. Second and major one is promoting by viral marketing as our target segment have rigorous relation and connection to internet, specially websites, blogs and emails. The third strategy is using famous brand ambassadors for promoting the product on boards in cinemas, fashion magazines and related literatures. Using brand ambassador is relatively high cost advertising but has a great effect on this target market. After customer awareness we focus on other comparatively low cost options especially viral marketing and websites. 3.7 Marketing Mix Product positioning product description, value added features Value Proposition Statement (VPS): The extra ordinary new feeling of new Kleenex Metro-softness with fabulous odor, more lively rejuvenated skin for those who indulge in metro-sexuality. Point of Parity (POP): Softness and fabulous odor are the two major similarities of this product and others. Point of Difference (POD): Nourishing and rejuvenating the skin could be considered as the two main differentiations of the product. Price- Pricing strategy, incentives (sales, discounts): The pricing objective is a combination of four subjects; first and for most, affordable luxuries is the most considerable objective for this product, since it characterized by high levels of perceived quality and status among the consumers. Secondly, as the company has been produced tissues for many years it plagued more with intense competition and changing consumers wants. Hence, survival could be mentioned as another objective in this situation. Thirdly, it is better to set the price that provide maximum marginal profit that in turns lead to maximum current profit, cash flow or rate of return on investment. Therefore, maximum current profit is the other objective for the company. Last but not the least, as producing the new product requires a relatively new technology, it is better at first to set higher price compare with normal product and slowly lowered over time. Then, market- skimming pricing is the other objective. Price setting method: We select a method of combination of the value perceived by the consumers and their assessments and the competitors price and the price of substitutes. In fact, there is a mutual relationship between consumers and product; on the one hand the product should deliver the value promised by its value proposition and on the other hand the customers must have perceived this value, so the premium pricing could be charged in this situation. Although, our product has some unique aspects, we considered the some products that maybe seem to look like our product in some other criteria too. Therefore, we have mentioned the price of those products based on the survey that we have done through some supermarkets, super stores and pharmacies (Carrefour, Cold Storage, Watson and Vita care). Elasticity of demand: Since the luxuries aspect of the product is more dominant, its demand relatively hardly changes with a small change in price, hence, we can consider that it is inelastic. Price: With consideration of especially these two previous items (the method and inelasticity of demand) and some other criteria like tendency of customers to process the prices in left-to-right manner we set the price for our product as below: Incentives for increasing sales volume: Discount and Allowances are two major categories that we could mention in this situation, especially for early payment (below than 15 days) and more volume purchases by the customers. Furthermore, we can consider some functional discount or trade discount for some channel members if they will perform certain functions that specified by the company; for instance if they could keep the records, the company can allocate extraordinary discount to them. C- Place-sales area, distribution At the beginning we have just considered Malaysia as our distribution area. Channel of distribution: Selective distribution: All the retailers and intermediaries willing to carry the products. Marketing channels: retail stores, wholesalers/distributors and sales force. Retailers: Department store; Parkson, Metrojaya, Isetan and Jusco Supermarket; Cold Storage Superstore; Carrefour, Tesco and Giant Specialty stores; Guardian, Apex, Prima Health and Watson SPA centers; that regularly visited by our target customers Mens salons and barbershops Wholesaler: All merchant wholesalers (full-and-limited service jobbers and distributors) Competing brand: No relevant competitor most likely have a lower price range D Promotion advertising methods, public relations We want to use two major marketing communication mixes: Personal influence channels: 1-Distribution of free 10-15 tissue sample packs at strategic business locations during the rush hours (especially at weekends nights). 2-Appointment with spokesperson, celebrities and brand ambassador Non personal communication channels: Sales Promotion: we intend to draw stronger and quicker response from buyers, moreover, we want to highlight our product offer, hence we can mention about consignment booths, product samples and prominent shelf displayers in the outlets. Place Advertising; we want to increase the number of spontaneous buying decisions, so we can apply for using ads on shopping trolleys, shelves, floor space, in-store demonstration. Publicity and PR; we intend to attract attention to the product launch and instill credibility, therefore we had better to consider about special events, sponsoring celebrations the national and conventional events, press releases in this situation. Advertising; as we want to increase the number of consumers who utilize the product and recognize it as a value product, we must apply for advertising on Newspapers, Magazines; especially for Male, Outdoor, highway billboards and Internet) We will also focus on Kleenex website and use of viral marketing in our strategy for advertising and promoting the product. Finally, as we have specified our audiences; all men especially Juvenile and young men (18-45 years old), we can follow the communications process model effectively in most of the relationships and communications with our customers. 3.8 Marketing Research As Kleenex is a very well-known brand and has a strong experience in launching and establishing many kinds of tissues, it has a good opportunity in testing its new products using its facilities, laboratories, scientists and experts. It has also a good position in tissue market to convince the customers in free toll zones for example for tourists and people who go holidays in special zones, such as Penang or Lankawi in Malaysia to achieve a strong feedback from its customers and improve the product. 4.0 Financials: This section will offer the financial overview of Kleenex Metro, from the sales forecasting perspective. We do believe that we should take into consideration the conservative sales forecasting in order to have a more realistic estimation. For making related the financial overview to marketing activities and marketing expenses, we can expect to cover the marketing expenses from the sales of the second year. The expenses forecast will be used as a tool to keep the department on target and provide indicators when corrections or modifications are needed for the proper implementation of the marketing plan. The purpose of the financial part of Kleenex Metro marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization. The revenue, expenses, customer satisfaction, and etc will be monitored to gauge performance. Key planning assumptions (sources of information) (1) According to Malaysian demographic profile (2009), population growth rate is 1.7%, we use this figure in financial growth rate and assume that financial growth rate is 2% accordingly. (2) We have used NIVEA for men annual report, using its sales growth forecast here. (3) According to Malaysia demographics profile 2009, male population between 15-64 years is now 8,210,373(

The Epic Poem, Beowulf - An Analysis of Structure :: Epic Beowulf essays

Beowulf – its Structure      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a considerable diversity of opinion regarding the structure of the poem Beowulf. This essay hopes to enlighten the reader on some of the opinions expressed by literary scholars on this issue.    The Cambridge History of English and American Literature states:    It is generally thought that several originally separate lays have been combined in the poem, and, though no proof is obtainable, the theory in itself is not unlikely. These lays are usually supposed to have been four in number and to have dealt with the following subjects: (1) Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, (2) the fight with Grendel’s mother, (3) Beowulf’s return, (4) the fight with the dragon (v1,ch3,s3,n16).    Alvin A. Lee in his essay, â€Å"Symbolic Metaphor and the Design of Beowulf,† basically agrees that there are four divisions in the poem’s structure:    Moving a little closer to the text but still thinking of it in terms of its overall design, one can recognize four [my italics] major myths or symbolic episodes, each of which is concentrated at appropriate points in the narrative but also extends its effect, with varying emphases, throughout the whole poem (148).    But Lee’s four divisions are not the same as the first-mentioned. Lee’s first part is climaxed with the construction of Heorot; the second part, as Grendel lays waste to Heorot; the third, Beowulf’s advent and victories over Grendel and mother; and fourth, the hero’s death and the return to chaos (148).    The three-part, or tripartite division, of Beowulf is more popular than the four-part division. F.P. Magoun, Jr. divided the poem into three separate stories designated as A, A-prime, and B. Magoun’s A corresponds to the events up to Beowulf’s return to the Geats; B, the dragon fight and ending. But A prime includes a variant or alternative version of the Grendel story that an Anglo-Saxon editor of the poem wished to preserve and fitted into his anthology of Beowulf poems(Clark 22). So Magoun would have three divisions to the structure of the poem rather than four. Agreeing with him are Brian Wilkie and James Hurt, editors of Literature of the Western World, state:    It is clear that the sequence of monster-fights provides the structure of the poem. . . .In this poem of a little over 3000 lines, roughly a thousand lines are devoted to each of the three monsters, and it has been suggested that Beowulf ws intended to be performed over three evenings, each devoted to a new monster (1273).

Modernism vs. Victorianism

According to the Witcombe, in his website regarding modernism, anything is modern at the time it was created. Strictly speaking, modern refers to the a certain period in history, more or less around the 1860s, where pieces of art depict ideologies and philosophies. Art works of this period include Manet, Belvedere, Louis David, de Goya, and Courbet, to name a few. These pieces portray ideas that seemed taboo, or too different from the what society believes in. Because prior to the turn of the Modern Age, ideas for art were too â€Å"old fashioned† as many has deemed.They seemed rigid, or stifled. These art works are categorized under Victorianism. Victorianism refers to a period where Queen Victoria reigned. During this period, many aspects of society, from science, politics and religion, were a stark contrast to the modern age. As written in the website The Victorian Web, this period is a high for inventions, where man is able to to create means for the improvement on how man lives. On this aspect of society, Victorianism is at an advantage. However, in regards to their religion, the people underwent â€Å"a great age of doubt†.Their literature was an attempt to combine Romantic and Neoclassical eras, focusing on emotions and the role of art and the artists to the public. This period also gave emphasis on movements such as democracy, feminism, socialism and Marxism. There were many established names such as Darwin, Marx, and Freud, that gave way to the Modern Era. In the same website, they said that Victorianism is a parent to Modernism, and as such, there was a strong reaction to the parent. Modernism gives light to the need to find what was holding society back to the â€Å"Old Fashioned†.By having more emphasis on the progress of society, Modernism strongly opposes the ideals of Victorianism. This is evident with the projects and creations of this period, the focal points were very different. Witcombe quoted Salvador Dali, modernism is â€Å"a revolution in consciousness. † One can assume that since Victorianism is related to a very strict parents, Modernism as a child will strongly repel these ideals and create his own. Modernism focuses on freedom. By comparing the many art works from paintings to literature, to science and technology, one cannot be mistaken of the differences between these two periods.Another metaphor can be a sealed bottle. Victorianism refers to that sealed bottle, and that would be art in itself. However, people would have noticed that a sealed bottle would have served no purpose to society. There were instances where a sealed bottle could have done something more progressive for society, and not just for aesthetic values. But it is not enough for others. These people would be the forefathers of modernism. They didn't want a sealed bottle. They want an open bottle, with all its contents pouring out.That would be art, the dynamic factors of modernist approach calls for greater improvem ent. It inevitably foresees progress. As a natural reaction, anything that is repressed tends to fight back, to go to the extreme opposite. This is evident in many cases, as it is here between Modernism and Victorianism. The people back then, in the regime of Queen Victoria, were gullible, always easy to follow and be affected by what authority and society dictates. The modernist people thought that there must be a time when they can think for themselves, and be liberated by the chains of society.There were so many things that could more than tickle a man's imagination during the former period, and according to ChangingMinds. org, the thoughts and information that cannot be fully handled by the mind, is taken aside and processed in a different manner. Effects reflect in a different manner. This is called Repression. In the case between these two periods, the people had been repressed in such a way that the matters where their eyes should be open, their eyes have been closed either b y society, or by those in authority, using threats or unwanted consequences as an exchange for disobedience.In conclusion, Modernism is the reaction to Victorianism because of the repression on the ideals and practices of the people. Modernism is the point where the consciousness of the people have been opened to even greater ideas, philosophies, and possibilities. The people were liberated to reality with the use of the many aspects of society, pushing it forward. Remaining at a state where one is not challenged, stagnant at a point where life is dull, is never a good thing. Man would not be where he is to this day without this turning point.However, human beings will inevitably have such a turning point, for the complex mind of man can be more cunning than we perceive. He will never be content, and will always aspire for changes. Works Cited Landow, George. â€Å"The Reality of Victorianism. † The Victorian Web. 15 December 2007 http://www. victorianweb. org/vn/victor4. htm l â€Å"Repression. † Changing Minds. 15 December 2007 http://changingminds. org/explanations/behaviors/coping/repression. htm Witcombe, Christopher. â€Å"Root of Modernism. † Modernism. 15 December 2007 http://witcombe. sbc. edu/modernism/roots. html.

A Right to Bear Arms: Living the Second Amendment

Linda Hasselstrom vehemently defends her choice of means to protect herself in her essay, â€Å"A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun†.The topic of gun control provides for a heated debate between those that believe guns are dangerous and unnecessary and those who rely both on the protection of the gun and the right to its possession.Rather than waxing philosophic on her rights under the Second Amendment, she describes years of feeling powerless and finding that the conventional and more passive methods of self-defense are simply ineffective. Hasselstrom makes a convincing case for her choice to carry a gun.The most persuasive aspect of the essay is the way that Hasselstrom leads the reader to the obvious conclusion that gun possession was her only option. She describes, on page 371, the advice given to women to avoid certain situations.While she complies, she is irritated at the idea that the precautions only apply to females, and that females must fear men. Next, s he describes incidents in which she felt helpless because more physically powerful men were immune to polite requests and common decency. Instead of going directly to the gun, she spent time learning martial arts and self-defense, only to realize that the sheer size difference was too great a disadvantage.Her most convincing argument is the story of the woman who called for help for a flat tire only to be raped and beaten. Hasselstrom’s implication is that if the woman had a gun in her possession, it never would have happened.In conclusion, Hasselstrom does not suggest that every woman carry a gun, nor does she recommend using that gun to threaten anyone unnecessarily. Rather, she keeps the gun for protection and only reveals it in order to protect herself.Not only is â€Å"A Peaceful Woman†¦Ã¢â‚¬  a convincing argument for gun possession, but it is also a tribute to the lasting nature of the Second Amendment.

Free Essays on Harry Potter

Harry Potter And Sorcerer Stone By Rowling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling is a children's novel about a young boy, Harry Potter, and his adventures at Hogwarts, a school for wizards and witches. The novel is filled with humorous tales of exciting escapades in and around the school. There are many characters in the novel, and they do not always get along well. They make fun of each other and judge each other by a certain set of standards. Some of these standards include wealth, intelligence, family and athletic ability. These are all superficial ways of judging people. Being a children's author, Rowling shows her readers other, more important ways of categorizing others through less apparent methods. These true values that she emphasizes are judging others by their character and heart. The false values by which children judge each other are more blatant in the novel because they are illustrated through conversation instead of actions. The main ways that they judge each other are: financi al status, family background (Muggle or wizard), house affiliation, intelligence and athletic ability. Almost every character has some good values and some bad values in the novel. By illustrating the characters with faults, Rowling makes them more realistic and believable. The first skin deep value used to measure the status of a character is money. Just as in the real world, some people have more money than others. One character that seems to be very well off in the wizard world is Draco Malfoy. He has all of the newest and nicest books and school supplies on the first day. His owl is of the nicest breed. When the students receive mail at meals, Malfoy frequently receives packages of goodies from his family and he is not humble about it. He is quite a contrast to Ron Weasley and his family. Ron comes from a poor family. Everything he brings to school with him seems to be a hand-me-down. Ron says, "you never ge... Free Essays on Harry Potter Free Essays on Harry Potter Harry Potter And the Chamber of Secrets By Matt Carlson Harry returns from Hagwarts back to the Dursley’s home for another terrible summer. He returns home on his birthday and nobody even remembers. Harry has to stay upstairs all night because Uncle Vernon is having business guests over for a dinner party. Then, out of the blue, an house elf named Dobby sneaks into Harry’s bedroom and is becoming out of control because he’s so excited to meet Harry. He tells Harry that he must not go back to Hogwarts because something bad is going to happen there. Harry gets upset for one thing because he is too loud, and for another because he has been stopping Harry’s mail. Dobby tells Harry he can have them if he promises not to go to Hogwarts. Harry just becomes madder and so Dobby takes off downstairs right in the middle of the dinner party. Dobby escapes and Uncle Vernon becomes so angry with Harry that he locks him up in his room. That night Ron, and his two brothers, came to Harry’s rescue in a flying car that th eir dad built. They returned home to an angry mother who didn’t know they took the car. The Weasley boys get yelled at while Harry is treated with the up most respect. The next day Harry and the Weasleys all went shopping for the new coming year at Hogwarts. While shopping, Harry bumps into Gilderoy Lockhart, a kind of wizard celebrity. Lockhart instantly recognizes Harry and they have pictures taken together. A couple days later they were getting ready to go back Hogwarts on the train through the train station. Harry and Ron were the last ones to go through and then all of a sudden, crash! They didn’t make it through. It was solid. So Ron and Harry decide to take the flying car to Hogwarts. They make it there and crash into a tree called a Whomping Willow. This kind of tree can move and cause damage which was exactly what happened. They car escaped barely before it was completely crushed. Harry and Ron barely made it out... Free Essays on Harry Potter 1) My first book I read over the summer was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which was written by J.K. Rowling. The Copyright date of the book is 1998 and the book contains 309 pages. 2) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is about a boy named Harry Potter who found out he was a wizard who as a baby drained the powers of the most dangerous wizard Voldemort. Potter was sent to a wizardry school named Hogwarts, where he studied magic. There strange things happened to him and he realized that someone wanted to expose of him. At the end of the story he finds out that one of his professors Mr. Quirrel was actually sharing his body with the evil wizard Voldemort in which no one has heard from since Harry was a baby. Harry found out that Voldemort was looking for the Sorcerer’s Stone, which is a stone that allows wizards to have infinite powers. Harry ends up restraining his professor in a dungeon room, which contains the stone until the school’s master Dumbledore stops Quirrel. Voldemort ends up escaping but once again Harry defeated him. 3) The significance of the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is that the book is about Harry Potter and Harry learns about a stone which makes Wizards more powerful than you can imagine. Harry ends up stopping the evil wizard Voldemort in taking the stone. 4) My first impression of Harry Potter was that he was a young boy who never got anything in his life but in some way he was different. He never got anything because he lived with his aunt and uncle who knew that he was a wizard and they disowned him. They never through birthday parties for him or even gave him a bedroom, he just slept in a little cupboard. 5) Harry changed in many ways during the course of the story. First of all in the beginning of the story Harry didn’t know that he was a wizard and that he had special powers. He grew up lot during the story and became more brave and mature. 6) I cite from... Free Essays on Harry Potter Harry Potter And Sorcerer Stone By Rowling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling is a children's novel about a young boy, Harry Potter, and his adventures at Hogwarts, a school for wizards and witches. The novel is filled with humorous tales of exciting escapades in and around the school. There are many characters in the novel, and they do not always get along well. They make fun of each other and judge each other by a certain set of standards. Some of these standards include wealth, intelligence, family and athletic ability. These are all superficial ways of judging people. Being a children's author, Rowling shows her readers other, more important ways of categorizing others through less apparent methods. These true values that she emphasizes are judging others by their character and heart. The false values by which children judge each other are more blatant in the novel because they are illustrated through conversation instead of actions. The main ways that they judge each other are: financi al status, family background (Muggle or wizard), house affiliation, intelligence and athletic ability. Almost every character has some good values and some bad values in the novel. By illustrating the characters with faults, Rowling makes them more realistic and believable. The first skin deep value used to measure the status of a character is money. Just as in the real world, some people have more money than others. One character that seems to be very well off in the wizard world is Draco Malfoy. He has all of the newest and nicest books and school supplies on the first day. His owl is of the nicest breed. When the students receive mail at meals, Malfoy frequently receives packages of goodies from his family and he is not humble about it. He is quite a contrast to Ron Weasley and his family. Ron comes from a poor family. Everything he brings to school with him seems to be a hand-me-down. Ron says, "you never ge... Free Essays on Harry Potter Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, written by J. K. Rowling, is a modern fantasy whose title alone brings the anticipation of magic. The cover illustration and the chapter headings, as well as the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, will make the reader anticipate excitement and intrigue. The size of the print and the length of the book seem to deem the age range for this book is mid grade school to junior high, yet people of all ages enjoy it. The opening page ends with one sentence that will leave the reader waiting for more and anticipating an extraordinary story. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone tells a great story that children especially will enjoy because there is so much action and the plot is original and different. This story is not realistic yet it is believable and credible. The plot in this story goes in logical order and leaves no room for guessing because the author gives more than enough preparation for the events to come. The story as a whole has cause and effect and this makes the story easier to understand. There is an identifiable climax in this story and it occurs when Harry finds out about the Sorcerer’s Stone and the events that lead up to the climax make it extremely exciting. Over all the plot in this story is incredibly well constructed. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone takes place outside of London in modern times. The time is indicated by the use of modern inventions (such as cars, toasters, and televisions) yet time seems to be distorted to add elements to the story that make it more interesting (for example, old fashioned uniforms are worn to boarding schools). The setting makes the story more interesting to the reader and it also affects the characters by placing them into a whole different world than that we are used to. This story has universal implications and could take place just about any time and any place. The theme of Harry Potter and the Sorcere... Free Essays on Harry Potter Website Review: â€Å"The Great Harry Potter Debate† I reviewed a website entitled, â€Å"The Great Harry Potter Debate.† (elycia-webdesign.com/harrypotter/debate/) The website discussed the censorship of children’s literature. It focused on the Harry Potter series. The series tells the story of a young boy, Harry Potter, whose parents are killed by the evil sorcerer Voldemort. He narrowly escapes Voldemort's attempt to kill him also, and carries a lightning shaped scar on his forehead from the battle. In the series of books, Harry goes to a magical land and learns how to become a wizard. He attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the books, he encounters many adventures. (Arendt) As I said before, the website discussed the censorship of the Harry Potter series. I chose to focus on the Anti-Harry Potter portion of the site because it dealt with this touchy subject of censorship. According to the website, some conservative Christian parents have openly called for the banning of the Harry Potter books in schools. Many parents who object to the Harry Potter books base their objections on the teaching of the Christian church. â€Å"The fears and misconceptions about anything having to do with ‘magic’ or ‘wizards’ being directly linked to Satan has helped cause this parental panic (Arendt).† There have been formal attempts to ban the books made in New York, Michigan and Minnesota. Censorship is a serious subject. People have always tried to censor books in schools. They have done this due to religious or political reasons. They also want what is best for their children. The website told me that many communities have taken action against books that they feel will have negative effects on their children's development. I have a hard time understanding why they believe the Harry Potter series will have negative effects on their children’s development. I have since found that there is... Free Essays on Harry Potter Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was a film based on J.K. Rowling’s top selling novel. The novel and the film are very similar in content. The film however takes away from the reader’s own imagination of the way they want to portray each character and the events throughout the story. Even though the novel and film are very similar, there are a few differences; some are more minor than others though. The way the novel was writing it shows each event in very strong detail and characteristic. It seems like it would be a children’s book, but I believe that the story can be seen from all different views and age groups, and also that the movie was good as well. To story of Harry Potter is Harry’s parents have died in a car crash when he was still a baby, and he is being brought up by his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. For some reason unknown to the oblivious ten-year-old, his aunt and uncle let him live in the small chamber under the stairs, and treat him more like a nobody than like a family member. His fat cousin Dudley, his aunt and uncle’s real son, keeps bothering Harry all the time. On his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter finally receives a mysterious letter from a certain Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, telling him that he is chosen as one of the future students of that supposedly renowned school. Hagrid, who is half giant, who brought the letter, finally introduces Harry into the real circumstances of his life: His parents were a wizard and a witch; they were killed by the evil wizard Voldemort while protecting Harry from being killed. Harry still has a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead from that ev ent. Since he survived the attack as a baby, and also somehow deprived Voldemort from his powers, he has been famous in the wizard world ever since. Harry’s aunt and uncle are very strong disbelievers in that magical crap, never told Harry anything about his true self. So, Harry is very surprise... Free Essays on Harry Potter At some point in everyone’s life they have felt lost and helpless without anyone to turn to. We have all been picked on and wished that things could get better. Harry Potter always wished that things were better and one day they were. Harry Potter is a small and skinny eleven year-old boy that lives with his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. His parents were killed when he was only one year old. I can not imagine what it would be like for my parents to be dead so I bet that it was hard for Harry to deal with. Harry’s Aunt and Uncle really do not care much about him. They are completely in love with their son Dudley. They shower Dudley with presents and give him what ever he wants whenever he wants. Harry does not even get his own clothes. He has to wear what ever Dudley does not want any more. Harry has to live in the cupboard under the stairs, while Dudley has two bedrooms. Dudley is allowed to sit around, play games and be lazy. Harry has to cook, clean and get the mail. When their birthday’s come around Harry is lucky to get a pair of socks. Dudley throws a fit if he only gets thirty-seven presents. Dudley is basically your typical spoiled little brat and Harry is a shy person that is bullied around. Dudley and his friends are terribly mean to Harry. They have nothing better to do than to pick on him. His glasses are broke from all of the times that Dudley hit him in the nose. They play games like Harry Hunting. Sometimes Harry gets so upset that he runs away and hides. Harry tries to just keep to himself so he does not get hurt by the other children. Harry is continuously abused by his Aunt and Uncle. They make him live in the cupboard and do not let him get out very often. They send him to bed and do not let him eat. He has to wait until they are asleep and sneak into the kitchen to get food. There are pictures of Dudley all over the house, but not a single one of Harry. Harry had no role model t...

The Flesh and the Spirit †Analysis

The Flesh and the Spirit – Analysis Free Online Research Papers The poem, â€Å"The Flesh and the Spirit,† is rich in its metaphors and figurative language, through which its author, Anne Bradstreet, seeks to compare spiritualism and materialism conveyed through the voices of different personas. The flesh is this tangible entity, which symbolizes all tangible earthly items – such as â€Å"diamonds, pearls, and gold† (line 84). All of these are of price value, as opposed to the spirit – an intangible, insoluble, and perhaps obscure entity – which symbolizes â€Å"the hidden manna† (line 68) that is priceless. Not many people can see the spirit or have it in their presence. That is not true for the flesh; most people can obtain these worldly treasures, which leads to self-fulfilled indulgences. There is no longer that fulfillment which Puritans were supposed to receive from God. Furthermore, the word â€Å"hidden† shows that the religion is very esoteric, and that only a select few people know of the â€Å"hidden manna† (â€Å"manna†, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the â€Å"food sent to the Israelites† or a â€Å"blessing† as sent from God). Hence, the idea of Puritanism, a religion in which only a select few are chosen to be redeemed and to live with God again some day, can be very exclusive, which is evident through this poem written by the Puritan Bradstreet in her use of metaphorical and symbolic descriptions. This sort of imagery allows us to clearly see the complex but intricate beliefs held by the Puritan, which is that people begin to divert their faith in God when they start to indulge in worldly pleasures (in the form of temptations, used by the devil to lead Puritans astray). Initially, this poem is a little confusing, because it does not take the form of stanzas; but rather, the entire poem is one long stanza – just like one long rant! Although the poem was not hard to follow, the reader must pay close attention to note the change in personas. The initial persona is a narrator, most likely a passerby who witnessed the conversation between the two sisters. This constitutes the first portion of the poem (lines 2-9), which is in the point of view of the narrator. Then, the next section (lines 10-37) takes the persona of the sister called Flesh, followed by the next chunk (lines 38-109) which has the persona of the sister called Spirit. Bradstreet does not categorize these speakers into stanzas. The change in personas between Flesh and Spirit is marked by a caesura â€Å"Spir.† (line 38), also known as a pause, to let us know that the conversation slightly halts for a while, as the speaker changes. I believe that Bradstreet uses slant (or close) rhymes for the end rhymes in the first fifteen lines as a means to show that, although these twin â€Å"sisters† are similar in birth and origin, at the end (rhyme), their ideas and values about life and its importance are slanted or deviated from each other’s. The iambic tetrameter is used throughout the poem, which can symbolize the angles of a square, thus representing balance and order. Maybe we can delve further and say that the meter, which is four pairs of iambs in each line, represents a box – a square of enclosure of this esoteric tradition of the Puritans. Biblical myths tell us that God sent the devil, once an angel of heaven who fell into the abyss, to rule the world, while God Himself rules the heavens. Ironically, the devil, along with God, keeps the world in perfect balance. This balance, in reference to the square-meter, between good and evil is constantly restored so that humans can get both views and redefine their faith in the Almighty Being. After all, for if people cannot perceive evil, then they would not be able to differentiate between what is moral and just versus what is wrong. At polar extremes, we can view this poem as a contrast between good and evil, because the Spirit says to her sister, â€Å"No candle there, nor yet torchlight / For there shall be no darksome night† (lines 101-102), meaning that where the Spirit dwells, God’s light is already shining. If Flesh is evil, then Spirit must be pure. These ideas contribute the worldly order of the balance between good and evil, the coexistence of these units, and their dependence upon each other (that neither can exist without the other). In a sense, this balance is like a seesaw in motion, because any tap on one side causes their to be effect on the other side. Hence, even though Spirit is supposed to be pure, she has such a condescending tone that makes her haughty and too proud to be completely pure. Even though Flesh is supposed to be the impure figure, her existence is relevant to that of Flesh’s. Historically, this poem follows the Puritan belief of the paradox and how humans are not supposed to attach themselves to worldly things but rather suffer to get to heaven and to transcend to a better world. The Spirit is portrayed as the pure figure here. Thus, I think it is ironic that the author denotes the Flesh as having â€Å"her eye on worldly wealth and vanity† (lines 6-7), when the Spirit has an equal, if not more condescending, tone when praising her values of faith and religious contemplation and status. â€Å"This city pure is not for thee / For things unclean there shall not be† (lines 106-107) is aimed at Flesh for her attachment to all the filth in the world. By saying this, Spirit deprecates Flesh and praises herself in a holier-than-thou kind of tone, for she believes that she is pure and clean and worthy to be selected by God to live with Him eternally. â€Å"And trophies to thy name erect† (line 28) suggests the worshipping of idols, because Flesh is telling her sister Spirit that if she had â€Å"immortal fame† (line 27), then people would erect trophies to her name and worship her in a sense. This idea strongly goes against the Christian faith of idol-worshipping. All of these ideas are in fact contradicting, as they suggest the immense pride that the Puritan Spirit has, which is shunned by their modest tradition of religiosity. I think that humans should find a balance between materialism and spiritualism because you should not have just one or the other – it would be an incomplete view of the world. Without worldly temptations, a person would not be able to learn the higher essence of the divine or learn how to abstain from those temptations. Research Papers on "The Flesh and the Spirit" - AnalysisMind TravelAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XHip-Hop is ArtThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito

Job Seekers... Have You Heard About LinkedIns Job Seeker Premium

Job Seekers... Have You Heard About LinkedIns Job Seeker Premium Note:   Im not endorsing this service since I do not know the results people have gotten from it, but its important to know it exists and is an option for enhancing your online job search. My sense is that the service is most useful for someone contacting recruiters and hiring managers in a particular field.   I encourage you to research the service to determine whether it is right for you. If you are a LinkedIn member and you are looking for a job, you might do well to subscribe to LinkedIns Job Seeker Premium Account service. For just $29.99/month, you get organizational tools and direct access to recruiters that you do not get with a regular LinkedIn account. You will also be featured as a job seeker to help you get noticed in the big LinkedIn pool. There are more expensive versions of this service as well. If it works, I hope you wont have to subscribe for more than 2 or 3 months. Ideally, you’ll get your value back a hundred fold and think that the LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium account was worth it. For more information see LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium on the LinkedIn site. Of course, it wont help to get the attention of recruiters and hiring managers if your LinkedIn profile is not up to par.   The Essay Experts LinkedIn Profile Services will help you ensure that your LinkedIn image makes the right impression.   I recommend working on your profile first, and then signing up for the premium service if youre interested. If anyone has used this service and has results to report, please share them in the comments.   Id love to know whether you have found value from upgrading.

Financial crises between 2007 2010 (about Dubai) Essay

Financial crises between 2007 2010 (about Dubai) - Essay Example Buildings like the Burj Khalifa remained largely unoccupied. In 2009, Dubai suggested that it may not be able to pay the impending six month interest payments on its loans. Abu Dhabi then came to its rescue with a $ 10 billion bailout. In the year 2009, Dubai stumbled into a debt crisis. During the years of economic boom before 2008, the investment arm of Dubai, Dubai World had borrowed heavily. It had racked up more than $ 59 billion in debt. Dubai World had borrowed hugely to invest in lavish projects in Dubai. These included Las Vegas casino style glittering properties and a giant island that was shaped like a palm tree; besides the tallest building in the world: the Burj Khalifa. Nakheel is the real estate developer owned by Dubai World, the investment arm of the state of Dubai. Prominent among the constructions of Nakheel are palm-shaped islands and the Atlantis Hotel. $ 3.52 billion of the Islamic bonds of Nakheel also became due and Nakheel had no liquidity to pay them off. It was part of one of the largest tranches of Islamic bonds that Nakheel had sold to Western investors (Landon Thomas Junior, 2009). The investors had no idea that Dubai was facing a risk of default. A week before Dubai announced its possible incapacity to pay the interests on bonds, the bonds were trading at a 10% premium on their face value. After the announcement they were trading at a discount of 50% on their face value. The total debt of Dubai is distributed among a number of different state owned companies. Majority of these companies are owned by the three main investment arms of the state of Dubai. These three investment arms are: When the global financial crisis started and the property market in United States and around the world crashed, Dubai found itself left with an abundance of costly real estate that no one wanted to buy or rent. Dubai had to request that the impending six

How I would change the U.S. Healthcare system for the better Essay

How I would change the U.S. Healthcare system for the better - Essay Example To start with, the dysfunctional public policies have been the root cause for the failure of the set up to provide state of the art and up to the mark healthcare facilities to all and sundry. Moreover there is a general need to understand how we are faced with a need to ration the responsibility within ourselves. It is all about understanding each other and in the end, comprehending that the health of one human being in the society or for that matter in the country would encourage another person to remain healthy as well. In fact, this would force the latter to make sure he receives the best possible healthcare amenities at the hand of the state. After all, it is the state’s responsibility to provide up to the mark healthcare facilities. Policy changes thus become the first and foremost directive in this regard that can be taken. These policy changes entail a complete disassociation between the consumption of healthcare services as well as paying for the same services on the other hand. Secondly, the need of the hour in this healthcare agenda is to see for ourselves that we acknowledge the issue of healthcare as being some what not aligned with the society’s needs and it is an independent entity all the same. Thus it needs to be treated as such. This means that if the state understands that healthcare is something that is kept separate from the rest of the facilities that it usually provides and the same is made available to each and every person within the country, irrespective of his or her standing, caste, color or creed then only one can assume that some thing better is happening in the healthcare circles of US. Next in rank is emotional health which is very closely related to spiritual health in that people’s emotions draw heavily from those around them. This makes it especially important that whatever type of group one seeks out for spiritual guidance is

Crucifixion in the Roman Empire Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crucifixion in the Roman Empire - Research Paper Example Thereafter, the cross, along with the convict, was erected vertically on the ground and it remained in that position until after the criminal was confirmed dead. However, it is believed that some of the crosses were fixed permanently on the ground to serve as a constant reminder to the passersby and local inhabitants that death by crucifixion was the ultimate destiny for criminals (Hewitt, 1932). Death through crucifixion is a slow process and as such, it took a long time, depending on the health of the victim, for it to be achieved. It is claimed that some of the persons remained alive for more than 2 days while others succumbed to death in a matter of hours. However, it is notable that some of the guards assigned with the task of crucifying and guarding the convict utilized several tactics to hasten the death and to reduce the chances of the convict surviving the ordeal (Hengel, 1989). For example, before crucifixion, these guards ensured that the convict was weakened through harsh beatings concentrated on weak points such as the chest, the head, and limb joints among others, which subjected the criminal to low chances of survival even if the process was abandoned half way. In addition, the guards facilitated a quick and painful death by ensuring that while nailing the victim, the nails went through major bones on the legs, tibia and fibula, to break them thereby weakening the functioning of the body. Some of the texts also suggest that, due to the weakness of the palm flesh to sustain the weight of the body, there is a logical reason to believe that the nails on the hands were driven through the radius and the ulna, which are the two major bones that connect the palms to the elbow joints. Otherwise, the only other possibility was to increase support by tying the nailed hands to the cross (Tzaferis, 1985). It is also evident that Roman executioners hastened the death of the victim by spearing him in the chest. One of the major historical and biblical figures to die in the hands of Roman executioners through crucifixion was Jesus, who was crucified for treason. Jesus was perceived as a threat to the leadership of the roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar, by claiming that he was the king of the Jews and that there was another greater kingdom than the Roman empire, which belonged to his father. He was also accused of blasphemy due to his claims that he was the son of God yet he was a man with flesh and blood and therefore no different from other humans (Hengel, 1989). According to Jewish beliefs, crucified persons were not supposed to remain on the cross on the Sabbath day, which is equivalent to Saturday on the Gregorian calendar, and therefore it had been ordered that all the people crucified together with Jesus had to have their legs broken so as to ensure that they died on that very day. It is important to note that while hanging on the cross, the crucified persons had a chance of prolonging their death by supporting themselves with the legs thus reducing muscle tension created by the force of gravity. However, when it was the turn for Jesus to have his legs broken, the guard realized that he was already dead but to be sure, he pierced him on the chest with a spear (Hewitt, 1932). The crucifixion of Jesus also makes it clear that the Romans crucified their victims without their clothes on. To

Recent Political Changes in the Middle East Coursework

Recent Political Changes in the Middle East - Coursework Example Arab Spring when translated means Arab Revolution is a wave of revolution in the Arab World, the aim of this Arab Spring is to protest against the regime which is being followed in several Arab countries. People have also effectively used social networking websites to take their protest to another level; websites like Facebook and Twitter have been used to raise awareness and to bring down the regime which is being followed in several of these Arab countries. 18 December 2010 was the exact date when the Arab awakening picked up the pace, it was in Tunisia that the people first started protesting against the ill-treatment and the corrupt policemen. This wave of unrest picked a pace and spread to other Arab countries triggering war-like circumstances in several Arab countries.The general elections in Lebanon which took place in 2009 hogged the limelight, the minimum age to vote was 21 that time, the age was to be changed from 21 to 18 but this required a constitutional bill to be passe d which did not happen and things remained as they were, completely unchanged. After much ado, the government was formed in Lebanon in the year 2009 but the government could not survive for too long, the same government fell in the year 2011 when 11 ministers who formed an integral part of the government withdrew their support. A lot of other significant developments also took place during 2009 and 2011. In February 2009Â   Lebanon fired two rockets which were aimed towards northern Israel, the two countries have not had the best of relationships in the past and this development made their relationship even worse, they were at loggerheads once again. This event was not the first of its kind, the two countries have been exchanging rocket strikes for quite some time now, this was the third of its kind during 2009. Hezbollah group has been actively involved in such strikes but on that occasion, they clearly came forward and denied any such wrongdoing, Palestinian militant groups are a lso very active in Lebanon and it was believed that they were behind this rocket strike which deteriorated the relationship of Lebanon and Israel even further. This was just the tip of the iceberg, the country faced several other major issues in the year 2009, and its relationship with other Arab countries remained the highlight throughout the year.

Leadership Theories and Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Theories and Practice - Essay Example There could however be a general idea in the minds of every other person who tries to define leadership. At least every one may be thinking of the practice of heading a group of people. With this basic knowledge, McCrimmon (2010) defines a leader as â€Å"a larger-than-life individual in charge of some group - team, company or country.† Quite related to what McCrimmon (2010) states, the Team Technology (2011) posit that â€Å"leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, that is: a leader is the spearhead for that new direction.† One factor that continues to make the acquisition of a single definition to leadership and who a leader is impossible is the fact that different leaders lead their people and run leadership with different styles and theories. This is to say that there seem not to be a single way in which all leaders go about leadership. Leading on, this unevenness and differences in leadership styles and theories bring out a real ization that it is extremely difficult to point out to who a good leader is. This paper therefore attempts to show: by the use of examples of past and present leaders that the most effective leaders are those who are able to apply the most appropriate leadership styles and theories at the right time to get a leadership decision successfully implemented. This stand is taken against the position that effective and good leaders must be judged or identified by virtue of the possession of certain qualities and technical skills. In a book by Daniel Goleman (1995), it was put forth that the traditional qualities associated with leadership- such as intelligence, toughness and possessing certain skills – are required for success, but are insufficient in accurately conveying the abilities of a true leader. There are complex components that have been found to be more crucially associated with effective leadership that go beyond intellectual abilities and technical skills and these compo nents are exactly what this paper seeks to reveal. Different Theories, Different Leaders Theories of leadership have evolved over the years to describe the different ways in which different leaders have ruled and led their people. The diversities associated with these theories point to one fact and that is, there are different leaders. Two of these leadership theories are discussed in this section to proof that effective leadership cannot be generalized but must be based on the kind of leadership theory at use. Trait Theory Debate in literature on whether or not leaders are born continues unabated. In trait theory, Cherry (2011) points out that the trait theory functions on the assumption â€Å"that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership.† For this reason, trait theory sees leadership and for that matter effective leadership from a viewpoint, where leaders are supposed to possess certain behavioral and personality characteristic s in order to be judged as effective or good. Trait theorists would there look for people with certain skills and attributes to take up leadership positions rather than training ordinary persons to take up leadership positions. Some of the traits attributed to great leaders with reference to the trait theory are dominant (desire to influence others), energetic (high activity level), persistent, self-confident, tolerant of stress, adaptable to situations, alert to social environment, ambitious,

The Spirit catches you and you fall down by Anne Fadiman Assignment

The Spirit catches you and you fall down by Anne Fadiman - Assignment Example That is, the existence of soul has not been proved. In addition, life entails myriad crucial facets for example; life entails the aspect of being healthy physically, emotionally and psychologically. In this regard, life facilitates the proper human body functioning. The pertinence of soul has not been proved in any case; it importance is based on the theoretical view it is a form of life that exists in after life or eternal life. The argument with regard to the importance of life relies heavily on one’s belief for example; a person who believes in biological explanation of life may tend to argue that life is more important owing to the fact that it has been confirmed by scientific research. On the other hand, people with more belief on religious and philosophical beliefs may tend to argue that life and soul may have similar values. Taking these factors into consideration, it is evident that the perception of the importance of life and soul varies from one person to another. However, from my personal analysis and understating, life is more important than the

Leadership Theories and Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Theories and Practice - Essay Example There could however be a general idea in the minds of every other person who tries to define leadership. At least every one may be thinking of the practice of heading a group of people. With this basic knowledge, McCrimmon (2010) defines a leader as â€Å"a larger-than-life individual in charge of some group - team, company or country.† Quite related to what McCrimmon (2010) states, the Team Technology (2011) posit that â€Å"leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, that is: a leader is the spearhead for that new direction.† One factor that continues to make the acquisition of a single definition to leadership and who a leader is impossible is the fact that different leaders lead their people and run leadership with different styles and theories. This is to say that there seem not to be a single way in which all leaders go about leadership. Leading on, this unevenness and differences in leadership styles and theories bring out a real ization that it is extremely difficult to point out to who a good leader is. This paper therefore attempts to show: by the use of examples of past and present leaders that the most effective leaders are those who are able to apply the most appropriate leadership styles and theories at the right time to get a leadership decision successfully implemented. This stand is taken against the position that effective and good leaders must be judged or identified by virtue of the possession of certain qualities and technical skills. In a book by Daniel Goleman (1995), it was put forth that the traditional qualities associated with leadership- such as intelligence, toughness and possessing certain skills – are required for success, but are insufficient in accurately conveying the abilities of a true leader. There are complex components that have been found to be more crucially associated with effective leadership that go beyond intellectual abilities and technical skills and these compo nents are exactly what this paper seeks to reveal. Different Theories, Different Leaders Theories of leadership have evolved over the years to describe the different ways in which different leaders have ruled and led their people. The diversities associated with these theories point to one fact and that is, there are different leaders. Two of these leadership theories are discussed in this section to proof that effective leadership cannot be generalized but must be based on the kind of leadership theory at use. Trait Theory Debate in literature on whether or not leaders are born continues unabated. In trait theory, Cherry (2011) points out that the trait theory functions on the assumption â€Å"that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership.† For this reason, trait theory sees leadership and for that matter effective leadership from a viewpoint, where leaders are supposed to possess certain behavioral and personality characteristic s in order to be judged as effective or good. Trait theorists would there look for people with certain skills and attributes to take up leadership positions rather than training ordinary persons to take up leadership positions. Some of the traits attributed to great leaders with reference to the trait theory are dominant (desire to influence others), energetic (high activity level), persistent, self-confident, tolerant of stress, adaptable to situations, alert to social environment, ambitious,

Multiple paragraphs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Multiple paragraphs - Essay Example I expect my art to inspire my audience to be able to make change just as I did, and to fulfill their dream of what they are passionate about. Again, there is neither right nor wrong in making a hobby into a job, nor making a passion into reality and so they need to be their own judge, and take charge for their own life. Bill does not think his art is great, but he likes how he actually uses bold colors, flashy accessories and trends in the making of his art. Although he sees some technical issues, his art always puts people in light because he seeks the beauty that people wear on the street and finds it. His art changed him, for example, he started to find beauty in his own interactions with people, better than before and will tend to look in his eyes like a genuine human being. He became engaged in life that is because his natural enthusiasm and joy that he cannot help to uplift everyone. Cunningham’s art would influence other people’s lives, because he tends to know much about people without judging them in his art and tends to bring the beauty in them. His art has an underlying message which is â€Å"no matter how you do or look like you will find the beauty within you and you will have a light that will shine on you, so don’t let people judge you, judge yourself

Phonics in Early Years Teaching

Phonics in Early Years Teaching Reading is important and motivates students to communicate and think critically and empowers them to learn a variety of lessons. Students in primary schools are still weak and not interested in reading either English or Malay books. They fall short in exams as they have not mastered reading skills and if this weakness is not rectified early, it will be disastrous for a student at secondary level. Reading is a complicated process more accurately described as a number of cognitive processes happening at the same time Hjh. Hasnah Kula , the Senior District Education Officer ( Brunei III ) emphasized how important reading ability in Brunei is and this ability needs to be cultivated from the early years (Primary school) . Reading is about understanding written texts. It is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers to the process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to ones spoken language. Comprehension is the process of making sense of words, sentences and connected text. Readers typically make use of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, experience with text and other strategies to help them understand written text. Teaching struggling readers to read takes time and patience. Many teachers are concerned about the numbers of elementary children who struggle with reading. Such concerns are warranted. Studies indicate that when students get off to a poor start in reading, they rarely catch up. Struggling readers encounter negative consequences such as an assignment to special education classrooms or participation in long-term remedial services. Further, as they progress through the grade levels, the academic distance from those who read well grows more pronounced (The Learning First Alliance, 1998; Rashotte, Toregesen, Wagner, 1997; National Reading Panel, 1999; Torgesen, 1998). Why do some students struggle with reading and what can be done to increase their success? These questions plague teachers and parents and are ones that compelled them to search for answers. 1.1 Background of the study Decoding is the ability to apply the knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they have not seen before. Although children may sometimes figure out some of these relationships on their own, most children benefit from explicit instruction in this area. Phonics is one approach to reading instruction that teaches students the principles of letter-sound relationships, how to sound out words, and exceptions to the principles. Therefore, appropriate early direct instruction seems to be the best medicine for reading problems. Reading is not developmental or natural, but is learned. Reading disabilities reflect a persistent deficit, rather than a developmental lag in linguistic (phonological) skills and basic reading skills. Children who fall behind at an early age (K and grade 1) fall further and further behind over time. Longitudinal studies show that of the children who are diagnosed as reading disabled in third grade, 74% remain disabled in ninth grade (Fletcher, et al., 1994; Shaywitz, Escobar, Shaywitz, Fletcher, Makuch, 1992; Stanovich, 1986; Stanovich Siegel, 1994). Lack of phonemic awareness seems to be a major obstacle to learning to read (Vellutino Scanlon, 1987a; Wagner Torgeson, 1987). However,in Brunei , it was only in Year 2009 that the phonics approach for teaching reading was introduced . It is one of the approaches that is included in the new educational system,known as the SPN21, where the phonics approach needs to be implemented in teaching reading and writing to Preschool and Year 1 students . The action was also taken in response to a national report which indicates that about 76 percent of students in Year four and 44 percent of students in Year six had not learnt the basic literacy skills in Brunei ( National Study of Student Competencies in Mathematics and English , 2008). In an effort to introduce teachers to the phonics approach, the Ministry of Education had conducted workshops especially for the English language teachers which aims to provide them with the phonics approach knowledge and how it is taught . 1.2 Statement of the Problem Having an effective teaching instruction such as the phonics approach to teach reading in a classroom would be a relief for any teachers who face problems with students who are unable to read . However, not all students could achieve the same level of reading in a classroom even though the same approach was used and was found to be effective with others. While most students are ready to read on a higher level, effective classroom teachers might recognize that some students are lagging in reading skills. Those students who are not strong readers often are not as successful as they could be in a given content area. Their progress is slow without the help of an observant and effective teacher. This is where a remedial reading program is needed to help these struggling readers to read . In most schools in Brunei, children who have problems in reading are placed in a remedial program through a pull-out system (students are taken to a special room during a particular lesson for a remedial session ) which is run by a special education teacher . However, the remedial lessons were usually implemented for teaching reading in Bahasa Melayu and as a result the reading problem in the English language remains . As for the school in this study,the remedial reading session was run on the initiative of the English language teacher during the English lesson itself. This was seen to be ineffective because this respective teacher found it difficult to provide extra time during the lessons to help these difficult readers because the teacher would also need to deal with some other average students who might need help during the lesson . Therefore,the remedial reading sessions were not consistently done with these difficult readers. A successful remediation requires direct, intensive intervention with an effective program. Effective remediation is not teaching down to a lower level, helping the students learn ways to manage his reading difficulties, or continuing practice of impaired reading. Effective remediation directly builds necessary skills so the students acquire the necessary skills and can advance. To read proficiently the student needs to convert print to sound and develop phonologic processing pathways. ÂÂ  After fundamental phonemic processing is established the student needs to build advanced skills. Effective reading remediation programs directly develop all skills necessary for proficient reading. Phonics could be useful to teach reading to difficult readers in the Primary school, especially in terms of getting them familiar with the sounds of each letter. Moreover, they need a program which can help them to read in a short period of time so that they might not fall back too far from other students of their levels. Ignoring them and hoping that somehow they would catch up and be able to read like their fellow classmates is likely to create problems in the future. 1.3 Purpose of the study This study aims at achieving the following objectives : To explore the implementation of the remedial reading program using the phonics approach for difficult readers in a Year 4 class. To measure the reading achievement of these difficult readers within 3 weeks of daily remedial sessions (30 minutes per day). To promote a suitable time (outside the classroom lesson) for the teacher to run a remedial session with the difficult reading students. 1.4 Research Questions How is the remedial reading session in the school being conducted? How much is the phonics knowledge being included in the program? What is the impact of a constant reading remedial session with difficult readers on their reading performance using a Synthetic phonics approach? To what extent would a morning session hours (before the classroom lesson) and recess hours could be spent for remedial reading session . How much could the students improve from these sessions? 1.5 Significance of the study One of the major struggles of the primary school teachers is how to identify the most effective ways to teach their students how to read, especially with all the different learning styles among children. Children come to school with varied reading abilities and literacy experiences. All children have the ability to learn to read but at different rates and in different ways (International Reading Association, 2000; Moore Whitfield, 2009). It is essential for a teacher to have a comprehensive knowledge of the reading process, the ability to observe and assess a students strengths and weaknesses, and the ability to adapt ones teaching in response to the learning needs of the students (International Reading Association, 2000). It is the responsibility of the teachers to provide reading instruction that meets the needs of these diverse students. Teaching students to read is one of the most challenging things in teaching because teachers would need to be alert with their teaching approaches or instructions so that they meet each and every children needs in learning to read .And while many children follow a typical pattern while learning to read that allows their individual differences to be met with one program, those who do not follow that pattern often fall behind. Many remedial programs are simply a slower version of reading programs used for typical students, but these dont necessarily work for atypical learners. Thats why it might be more effective to develop remedial programs for specific students. Therefore, throughout this study, it was hoped that the result of the research can be beneficial for English teacher in structuring a remedial program for their difficult readers and to get them to reflect on their efforts in helping the these students to learn reading . It was also hoped that the results would be able to make the teachers, school administrator and the curriculum developers of the school under study to realize how important a synthetic phonic approach is to be included in the remedial program . 1.6 Limitations of the Study This study however has its limitations . These include the length of research time , small samples used and also the different reading difficulties of the participants . The sessions were conducted over a three-week period only where the participants were taught five times in a week ( 2.5 hours in total) . The study only involved two students from a Year 4 class in a selected school in Brunei Muara District (small sample size) . The reading difficulties of the participants might be different from others because difficult readers might have so much difficulty in applying the phonics skills and therefore this might vary the instructional approach used in this study with other settings. Thus , the findings of the study should be interpreted with these limitations in mind . 1.6 Definition of Terms The terms below were used in this study: Letter- sound relationship : Skills associated with sound-letter knowledge: the awareness of how spoken sound and written letters relate to each other in the English language the names of letters and the sounds associated with them the ability to recognize words previously seen the ability to apply knowledge of how sounds and letters are related to each other to figure out the pronunciation of words not seen before, which is known as decoding (Shedd, 2008) Phonemic Awareness This skill involves the ability to manipulate and understand sounds, and the relationship between sounds and words. For example, children learn to recognize that two words sound alike (or rhyme), and can identify the first or last sound in a word. They are able to manipulate sounds in words to make up new words (eg might without the /t/ sound is my), and recognize that sentences are made up of separate words. (http://elr.com.au/phonological/design.htm#a03) Difficult Readers Students with the following reading problems : difficulty in matching sounds and letters has trouble in reading and spelling phonetically decode in a very laboured manner Remedial Lessons Lessons conducted especially to help low achieving students which is designed to help these students to improve and simplify their learning difficulties and to catch up with other fellows of the same levels. Phonics Teaching reading by training the students to associate letters with their sound values.