Main functions of GO4IT Sports Essay Example for Free

Main functions of GO4IT Sports Essay * The company has a warehouse which supplies goods to shops as well as to sports teams by mail order * The company sells a wide range of sports goods in it shops this includes clothing, footwear and equipment for sports. * The shops also sell exercise equipment; however these large items are not kept in stock but are ordered from the supplier as required. * The company supplies match strips, to order, in team colours for different sports * The company supplies other team merchandise with team logo; these are supplied through a mail order service. * Sell sports trophies which can be engraved if required. * The company also supplies sports clothing in bulk to schools Different types of customers for GO4IT Sports The companys customers include: * Schools * Sports teams for all sports such as football, rugby, tennis, athletics and golf * General customers * The shops which are supplied by the companys warehouse Describe the functions of each section within the shops and Head Office, paying particular attention to Administration in shops and Human Resources in Head Office Functions of each section within the shops Administration * Each shop has a Branch Manager who has overall responsibility for the running of the shop. * The assistant manager and head of administration section report directly the branch manager. * The staff keeps account of the money taken through the EPOS terminals by comparing money received with EPOS records. * The administration staff produce and send correspondence from the shop as well as receiving correspondence. * Organise for a trophy to be engraved by contacting the local engraver. * Emailing weekly orders for goods to the warehouse * Producing confirmation purchase orders for goods and services * Checking invoices against goods received and work done and passing these to Head Office for payment Clothing sales * The clothing sales section has a clothing sales manager who the clothing sales staff and footwear sales staff report to. * Clothing Sales staff assist customers in choosing appropriate clothing and provide advice for those who wish to purchase clothing * The footwear sales staffs assist customers and provide advice for those who wish to purchase footwear. Equipment sales * The Equipment sales section has an Equipment sales manager. The general sales staff and specialist sales staff report to the Equipment sales manager. * The General sales staff operate the EPOS terminals, they scan the barcodes of every items during purchase and handing of receipts. * The Specialist sales staffs provide assistance and specialist advice and information for customers purchasing more advanced equipment. Functions within the Head Office * The Managing Director of GO4IT sports is responsible for all aspects of the day to day running of the business. The two directors which are: sales marketing director and the finance and administration director report to the managing director Sales and Marketing * The sales and marketing director is responsible for the mail order operation as well as advertising and promoting the business * A buying manager is responsible for locating the goods to be sold and negotiating contracts for their supply. * The buying manager ensures the right volume and type of goods are supplied at the right time to maximise profit. Finance and Administration * The Finance and Administration director is responsible for all other functions within the Head Office. This includes administration, Human Resources(HR) and finance * The Administration assistant, HR executive, chief accountant and ICT support executive report to the Finance and Administration director Finance * Keep records of all financial transactions on the head office server, including the income from sales for each shop and mail order, payments for goods purchased, payments for engraving contractors and staff wages. * Records are used to produce monthly and annual accounts for shareholders and Inland Revenue. * Generate VAT (value added tax) returns once a quarter for customs and excise. * Arrange for the amount due to be paid. Human Resource (HR) The functions of the HR Department are; * Staff recruitment and training * Place advertisements for staff * Send out and receive application forms * Organise interviews and provide contracts for successful applicants * Keeping standard personnel records on a database along with records of training courses attended by members of staff and any qualifications they obtain. * Determine what further training each staff member requires and how best to provide it * Book the member of staff on an external training course/ if many members require training organise for a trainer to deliver the course in house. Task1 Identify different types of supplier to the shops and warehouse and describe relationships between these suppliers and the departments/individuals within the company Warehouse Supplier What is supplied Who orders it How and when it is ordered Wholesaler Clothing and footwear Warehouse manager Order is made by fax once a month but can place special order by telephone if stocks of a particular item falls faster then expected Specialist manufacturers Sports equipment Buying Manager The buying manager negotiates contracts at the beginning of each season either by telephone or visit, for the supply of a certain quantity. Shops Supplier What is supplied Who orders it How and when it is ordered Local Engraver (external Contractor) Engraved Trophy Administration Assistant Administration Assistant telephones local engraver. The engraver collects the trophy from the shop with a confirmation purchase order detailing work the required. Warehouse Clothing and footwear Administration staff Branch manager hands an annotated stock list to Administration staff who e-mails warehouse Task 2 An analysis of the processes for recording sales in a shop and for mail order sales in Head Office. Shop Information Required * Product bar code or numerical code if bar code unreadable * Quantity bought * If sale is to be paid by credit card * If paying by cash the Amount to be tendered From where this is obtained and how it is captured * product code by barcode scanner * numerical code keyed in using a keypad * quantity keyed in by till operator * credit card yes/no keyed in The processing and calculations required * look up item in computer * display item name and price on screen * multiply price by quantity * if on sale, reduce total price by 50% * display total on screen * if credit card = yes, generate credit card receipt for signature The form and content of any output * on-screen / display message * paper till receipt * paper credit card receipt * Contains prices. items, sales items highlighted with words ON SALE, store address, time of sale, till operator name Mail Order in Head Office Information Required * Team details e.g. team name, name and address of contact person, the sport, the colour(s) and design of shirt/vest, position of logo e.g. VTL(vest top left), picture of team logo and team number * Product colour * Product quantity required * Product code * Colour code/ X is entered If a non standard colour * Size and number of colours in logo * Amount of deposit paid From where this is obtained and how it is captured * Team details from completed order form from a mail order brochure entered onto data screen on computer using input devices such as keyboard and mouse * Product colour from completed order form from a mail order brochure entered onto data screen on computer using input devices such as keyboard and mouse * Product quantity required from completed order form from a mail order brochure entered onto data screen on computer using input devices such as keyboard and mouse * Product code from completed order form from a mail order brochure entered onto data screen on computer using input devices such as keyboard and mouse * Colour code/ X is entered If a non standard colour from completed order form from a mail order brochure entered onto data screen on computer using input devices such as keyboard and mouse * Size and number of colours in logo from completed order form from a mail order brochure entered onto data screen on computer using input devices such as keyboard and mouse * Amount of deposit paid from completed order form from a mail order brochure entered onto data screen on computer using input devices such as keyboard and mouse * Team logo captured using a scanner and stand alone computer The processing and calculations required * look up item in computer * display item name and price on screen * Calculate price of embroidery by multiplying number of logos by price * multiply price by quantity * Calculate sub total if less than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 is added for postage and packaging * Calculate and add VAT to give total price The form and content of any output * on-screen / display message * Invoice * Contains prices. items, store address, store phone and fax number, date of sale, invoice number, team contact person details, sub total, VAT, total, Less deposit, total due. Task 3 Outlining the current ICT systems used by GO4IT Sports, in particular, Finance within Head Office and Administration within a Shop Administration within a shop * Each shop has a number of Electronic Point of Sales (EPOS) terminals with barcode readers and card readers. * Telephone connection to banking system * Small Local Area Network (LAN) of three computers * Laser Printer * Branch managers computer acts as a server * Dial up modem Software used includes * Word processing * Spreadsheet applications Finance within Head Office * Number of workstations * Local are network (LAN) * Single Server * Fast laser printer * Slower laser printer * Bar code reader * ISND line Software used includes * Word processing * Spreadsheet applications * Database management software * Stock control software Task 3 Analysing the purpose and operation of the main ICT systems used for sales in each shop and the ICT systems using within the warehouse Shops * Each shop has an EPOS terminal with barcode readers and card readers. Stock data is held on dedicated server connected to the EPOS terminals. * There is also a telephone connection to the banking system for authorisation of the card payments. * The barcode reader is used to scan the barcode of each item and the product code it contains is used to look the product description and price from stock database * When items are scanned total price is calculated. This includes the VAT, the system calculates the net value of the items, and all of this is printed on the receipt. * If customer pays by cash, member of staff enters the amount tendered; the EPOS terminal calculates the change due. This is printed on receipt and given to customer * If customer wishes to pay by credit or debit card the member of staff swipes the card through the card reader. The card details are checked by the banking system and if the transaction is approved an authorisation code is transmitted to the EPOS terminal. * The authorisation Code and card details and amount debited are printed on receipt which is handed to customer to sign with card and items purchased. Warehouse * Stand alone computer * Scanner * Computer controlled embroidery machine * Workstation * Laser printer * Stock control software has separate screens for incoming and outgoing goods. * All goods have a product code which is contained in a barcode. When goods arrive in the warehouse the barcode of each product is read and the quantity entered via the keyboard. * This data is used to update stock database. * For every order picked up the staff use the barcode reader to input the product code and the keyboard to enter the quantity removed from stock. These items are deducted from stock database. Task 3 Recommending and explaining improvements/ extensions to shop systems Methods for improving stock control and the re-ordering of stock, as well as integration of systems within GO4IT sports. * A dedicated server could be used instead of the branch managers computer acting as a server, if the branch managers computer crashes then that would leave the other computers stranded without a printer and no access to the internet. * ISDN connection would improve communication giving workers a faster connection to send e-mails internally. Dial up connections are not as reliable and are slower so information being sent will be limited due to connection speed of dial up. * There should be a centralised database put into place. This is where all the companys data is held in one place and the computers in the company are networked. This central database can be used by anyone within the company provided they have been given access through a password. This will be a very resourceful way of storing company data, as it will prevent the problem of data duplication. * Sales based ordering where automatic re-ordering takes place of goods from the warehouse using the sales information from the checkouts. * To increase the efficiency of communication between the supplier and GO4IT sports I would recommend the introduction of EDI (electronic data interchange); the system is similar to email and allows users to exchange invoices, delivery notes, orders and receipts over the telephone network. Security * Log in pages requiring a specific unique user name requiring a private password to track who logs on and off to restrict users Possible problems for suggested improvements * One of the problems that may arise is the finance to cover the costs for the installation of the systems in place. * Also addition of new feature will mean that staff are not familiar with it and training for staff will be required. Benefits of using new technology EDI Advantages * It is much faster, as work does not have to be printed, it is on the screen * The EDI system is easy to use and work can be sent off very easily * Information can be sent to other companies, in less then a few minutes instead of days. * The company can be linked up with their bank, suppliers and customers. * Will minimize the amount of paperwork and business can be transacted much faster and more efficiently then is possible through the normal post. Disadvantages * For EDI, computers are relied on, therefore if the systems go down; it will have a huge of affect on the company. * It is very costly for the installation of EDI * The organization has to research into which system would be best for the company Ecommerce Advantages * Majority of the work of GO4IT sports can be done just through the internet, making it much easier. * This would means a lot less people will have to be employed this will result in huge savings for the company as most transaction will be electronic. * Currently GO4IT sports uses a lot of time to get into contact with suppliers by using the telephone, which can be tedious due to the telephone being engaged; by using e-commerce orders could be automatically electronically sent straight to the suppliers. * Team contacts currently have to post the payment to the company, which is very time consuming and not very secure and with using ecommerce an electronic funds transfer could be made. * Promotion of the company can be improved as it is all online presentation of online advertising can be enhanced. * This will also enable the company to advertise their products online and also allow customers to purchase the products directly from the site using their debit/credit card. They can place the desired items in the virtual shopping trolley. The company can be fully based on the internet, making it easier for the company and also for customers. Disadvantages * A close relationship between the retailer and supplier is required in order for the system to work * Returning products online will prove to be difficult. The customer may be put off when these areas are taken into account. As the customer will question how to send the goods back to their source? Who pays for the return postage? Will the refund be paid? Will I be left with nothing? How long will it take? Compared to offline experience of returning goods to a shop and it is frustrating for the customer. * Privacy, security, payment, identity, contract. Many issues arise privacy of information, security of that information and payment details, whether or not payment details (eg credit card details) will be misused, identity theft, contract, and, whether we have one or not, what laws and legal jurisdiction apply. MIS(management information systems) For the Buying Manager I would recommend the following improvements: * MIS could produce an analysis of patterns of sales in the company * MIS would be able to identify peak production needs * What if type questions could be applied to different patterns of sales The features of the MIS system that could be used by the branch manager are: * Production costs can be based on raw material costs * MIS could be used to carry out analysis automatically * Results could be displayed in graphs which are easy to understand * Monthly graphs could be produced of price comparison with competitors goods or services resulting from regular market research. * Planning, directing, controlling and forecasting decisions. Both managers would benefit from the following points of the MIS system: * Warnings could be set if production costs exceed budget. * Warnings could be set if stocks fall below fixed level.

Theories and Types of Depression

Theories and Types of Depression FV17-002 Depression: Seeing the Different Shades of the Blues Between Men and Women Depression comes in many shades of blue. Children and teens act out. Women feel miserable. Men may get angry and reckless. The elderly often feel hopeless. And a lot of people regardless of gender may feel in-between, or all of the above. Erica Westly of Scientific American writes, To Emily Dickinson, it was fixed melancholy. To essayist George Santayana, it was rage spread thin.' The phrases are describing the same emotion: depression. As these famous writers illustrate, depression and its manifestations vary from individual to individual. The symptoms can be generalized, but the variations make it difficult to discern for anyone with an untrained eye. Figuring Depression There are over 150 million people around the world who are saddled with depression, says the World Health Organization, representing about four percent of the adult population. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, the prevalence of adult depression (aged 40 to 59) in the United States is roughly 10 percent.ÂÂ   Whether the higher figure is due to higher prevalence or because more Americans are aware of it and seeking treatment, one thing is obvious-the alarming statistics deserve attention. There are many other interesting figures about depression. According to Healthline, the incidence and prevalence rates vary by gender, age, and ethnicity. In particular, it says, Women are twice as likely to have depression, and symptoms of depression, as men of the same age. This is confirmed by other sources, including the CDC. These figures prove that indeed, depression has different shades or hues. Depressive Differences between Men and Women Aside from the fact that women are more susceptible to depression, there is growing evidence that they may also experience its symptoms differently from men. Recognizing these differences in the depressive symptoms between men and women is important for their successful diagnosis and treatment. According to the Scientific American article, For women, the primary emotion of depression is usually sadness. For men, it is more typically anger or irritability, often coupled with recklessness. Consequently, the chance of men ignoring the symptoms and going untreated is higher. What could be causing these differences? According to Mental Health America, the contributing influences to the vulnerability of women to depression include biological and social or cultural factors. The biological factors include developmental, reproductive, hormonal, genetic and other biological differences (e.g. premenstrual syndrome, childbirth, infertility and menopause).ÂÂ   PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) arent really unusual among women. About 20 to 40 percent experience PMS, and 3 to 5 percent are estimated to experience PMDD. The symptoms include depressive symptoms the week before their monthly period. The social factors, on the other hand, include stress from work, family responsibilities, the roles and expectations of women and increased rates of sexual abuse and poverty. Cultural vs. Biological: The Science behind the Differences Could it be biological that depressed women are more vulnerable and sad and that men have the tendency to be angry and rash? Or is it cultural? Some experts believe that there should be no significant differences in symptoms between the genders, because the brain chemistry of depression is basically the same for both. They believe that social norms and expectations influence how the symptoms are expressed. This could be why depressed men are likely to be frustrated about not getting their work done or be angry and vent it on another person. Conversely, women are more likely to feel sad, so they avoid people and experience problems with eating and sleeping. These cultural believers, however, may be becoming a minority. More experts today support the idea that biology plays an important role in depression. There is growing evidence that the different sex hormones influence both vulnerability to depression and its symptoms. This isnt surprising, considering that these are the chemicals that define the basic sexual differences. The evidence that sex hormones affect brain chemistry is undeniable, from the womb and throughout life. Though the brain chemistry is basically the same for the two genders, the interactions of the male and female sex hormones (and their varying levels) with the neurotransmitters could be different, explaining the vulnerability and symptom differences. Seeking Help from Someone Who Understands the Different Hues of Depression When men manifest recklessness and irritability for no apparent reason, it could be a sign of depression, even when they arent sad. When overwhelmed by responsibilities, women may feel sad, and it could be a depressive symptom.ÂÂ   An independent therapist contracted with Carolina Counseling Services in Fuquay-Varina, NC, can help you make the distinction and help you sort out what your specific symptoms mean. Whether the varying shades of depression between genders are related to biology or culture is immaterial. Everyone needs help when depressive symptoms grip them. Seeking help from an expert is a good first step: look for a therapist who understands depression and its varying hues.

Concepts in Disaster Management

Concepts in Disaster Management CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Broader Views on Disaster Management 2.1.1 Definition of Disaster Disaster has been defined in some different ways. Indeed, there is no precise definition for a disaster (Eshghi Larson, 2008). In complete form, Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) defines disasters as â€Å"A situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to the national or international level for external assistance, or is recognized as such by a multilateral agency or by at least two sources, such as national, regional or international assistance groups and the media† (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 2004). Below et al. (2007) propose â€Å"an accumulation of widespread losses over multiple economic sectors, associated with a natural hazard event, that overwhelms the ability of the affected population to cope† as a definition of a disaster. International Federation on Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) defines a disaster as â€Å"a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the communitys or societys ability to c ope using its own resources†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (IFRC, 2008). van Wassenhove (2006) proposes â€Å"a disruption that physically affects a system as a whole and threatens its priorities and goals† as a definition of disaster, while Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC, 2008) defines disaster as â€Å"a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope using only its own resources†, which is similar with Reliefwebs (2008) definition. Emergency Management Australia (EMA, 2008) defines disaster as â€Å"a serious disruption to community life which threatens or causes death or injury in that community and/or damage to property which is beyond the day-today capacity of the prescribed statutory authorities and which requires special mobilization and organization of resources other than those normally available to those authorities†, while emergency is defined as à ¢â‚¬ËœAn event, actual or imminent, which endangers or threatens to endanger life, property or the environment, and which requires a significant and coordinated response. (EMA, 2008). 2.1.2 Disaster Types With a wide variability of disaster definition, it is understandable to have different initial classifications for disasters (Eshghi Larson, 2008; Shaluf 2007a, b). Canadian Disaster Database (2008) categorises disasters into five different types as summarized in Table 1. Table 1. Disaster types (Source: Canadian Disaster Database, 2008) Disaster types Encompasses Biological Epidemic, infestation Geological Earthquake, landslide, tsunami Meteorological and hydrological Cold wave, drought, flood, hail/ thunderstorm, heat wave, hurricane/ typhoon, snow avalanche, storm surges, storm-freezing rain, storm-unspecified/ other, storm-winter, tornado, wildfire Conflict Terrorism, civil unrest Technological Accident-industrial, accident-other, accident-transport, fire, hazardous chemicals van Wassenhove (2006) proposes a metrics (see Table 2) to understand disasters. Table 2. Categorization of disasters based on van Wassenhove (2006) Natural Man-made Sudden-onset Earthquake, hurricane, tornado Terrorist attack, coup detat, chemical leak Slow-onset Famine, drought, poverty Political crisis, refugee crisis In general, Shaluf (2007a, b) categorises disasters into three types: Natural disasters, which are catastrophic events resulting from natural causes such as volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. Man made disasters, which are those catastrophic events that result from human decisions. Hybrid disasters are those disasters that result from both human error and natural forces. In further detail, Shaluf (2007b) breaks down each type of disasters and gives examples and characteristics, as can be seen in Table 3. Table 3. Disaster types, taken from Shaluf (2007b) Disaster type Characteristics Sub-disaster Name of disasters Natural A natural disaster is a natural phenomenon; A natural disaster is an unplanned and socially disruptive event with a sudden and severe disruptive effect; A natural disaster is single event over which no human has control; The impact of natural disaster is localized to a geographical region and specific time period; The consequences of a natural disaster are felt at the place and time of its occurrence; The disaster can be a high-impact disaster (e.g. a flood) that has a greater direct effect on the community over a longer period; Rapid onset disasters include earthquakes, flash floods, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis, slow onset disasters, droughts, floods, and epidemics Natural phenomena beneath the earths surface Earthquakes Tsunamis Volcanic eruptions Topographical phenomena Landslides Avalanches Meteorological/ hydrological phenomena Windstorms (Cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes) Tornadoes Hailstorms and snowstorms Sea surges Floods Droughts Heat waves/ could waves Biological phenomena Infestations (locust swarms, mealy bug) Epidemics (cholera, dengue, ebola, malaria, measles, meningitis, yellow fever, HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis) Man-made Characteristics of socio-technical disasters: A socio-technical disaster is a man-made event; A socio-technical disaster occurs in an organisation due to the interaction between internal factors and external factors; It arises suddenly: when the disaster occurs it does so as a shock; A socio-technical disaster is a complex system of interdependence; The impact of a socio-technical disaster sometimes transcends geographical boundaries and can even have trans-generational effects (e.g. Three Mile Island, Bhopal, Chernobyl); Socio-technical disasters do not always have their worst consequences at the point of occurrence; the worst effects can occur long after the event; Socio-technical disasters are characterized by a low probability/ high consequences event; Sudden-impact disasters (e.g. air/road/rail accident) are usually of short duration and have a limited direct effect on the local community; Socio-technical disasters arise not because of a single factor but of accumulated unnoticed events; Disaster involves management procedures which must be maintained, and management problems must be coped with under the conditions of a major technical emergency involving threats of injury and loss of life; Rapid onset disasters include fires, technological disasters, industrial accidents, and transportation accidents; An inquiry report is required Socio-technical Technological disasters Fire Explotions (munitions explosions, chemical explosions, nuclear explosions, mine explosions) Leakage Toxic release Pollutions (pollution, acid rain, chemical pollution, atmospheric pollution) Structural collapse of physical assets Transportation disasters Air disasters Land disasters Sea disasters Stadia or other public places failures Fire Structural collapse Crowd stampede Production failure Computer system breakdown Distribution of defective products Warfare National Civil war between armed groups in the same country Civil strikes Civil disorder Bomb threats/ terrorist attack Inter-national Conventional war War between two armies from different countries Sieges Blockades Non-conventional war Nuclear Chemical Biological Hybrid The characteristics of a hybrid disaster can be the characteristics of both man-made and natural disasters Natural and man-made events Floods ravage community built on known floodplain Location of residential premises, factories, etc., at the foot of an active volcano, or in an avalanche area Landslides Slightly different from those, EM-DAT (2008a) classifies disasters into three groups: Natural disasters Technological disasters Complex emergencies Regarding its scope in terms of sufferer number and/ or geographic areas affected, Gad-el-Hak (2008) distinguishes disasters into five categories as can be seen in Table 4. Table 4. Disaster scope in terms of number of victims and/ or geographic area affected (Source: Gad-el-Hak, 2008) Scope Category No. of sufferers Geographic areas affected Scope I Small disaster Or Scope II Medium disaster 10-100 persons or 1-10 km2 Scope III Large disaster 100-1,000 persons Or 10-100 km2 Scope IV Enormous disaster 1,000-104 persons Or 100-1,000 km2 Scope V Gargantuan disaster > 104 persons Or > 1,000 km2 While the definition of natural disasters and technological disasters are principally the same as those proposed by Shaluf (2007a, b), complex emergencies need a further exploration. Alballa-Bertrand (see Alballa-Bertrand, 2000) proposes the following definition for a complex humanitarian emergency or, in short, complex emergency: ‘A purposeful and unlikely neutral response, intended mostly to counteract the worse effects of the massive human destitution that derive from an overt political phenomenon, which takes the form of a violent, entrenched and long-lasting factionalist conflict or imposition with ultimate institutional aims. On the other hand, ReliefWeb (2008) defines a complex emergency as â€Å"A multifaceted humanitarian crisis in a country, region or society where there is a total or considerable breakdown of authority resulting from internal or external conflict and which requires a multi-sectoral, international response that goes beyond the mandate or capacity of any single agency and/or the ongoing UN country program. Such emergencies have, in particular, a devastating effect on children and women, and call for a complex range of responses.† While Complex Emergency Database (CE-DAT) (2008) defines complex emergency as all crises characterized by extreme vulnerability that display the following features: There exist the unwillingness or incapability of the government to give effective response, leading call for external assistance; Political oppression or armed conflict; Displacement; Increased mortality. 2.1.3 The Increasing Trend of Disaster Occurrences Lichterman (1999) predicts that the frequency of disasters and their effects seem to be increasing. By reviewing various related published sources from 1900-2005, Eshghi and Larson (2008) confirm Lichtermans prediction. A disaster leads to a severe trouble of society, including extensive human misery and physical loss or damage (Davis Lambert, 2002). Both natural and man-made disasters are likely to raise another five-fold over the next fifty years (from the year 2005) due to environmental degradation, rapid urbanization and the spread of HIV/AIDS in less developed world (Thomas Kopczak, 2005). More than 250 million people in the world are affected by disasters every year (IFRC, 2008). In the sense of natural disasters which are then divided into biological, geophysical, climatological, hydrological, and meteorological disasters -, CRED (see Scheuren et al., 2008) reports that there were 414 natural disaster occurrences (excluding biological disasters) in year 2007 which killed 16 847 persons, affected more than 211 million others and caused over 74.9 US$ billion in economic damages. Until year 2004, over 90 percent of natural disasters occurred in developing countries (United Nations ISDR, 2004). By including biological disasters and regrouping natural disasters into three different categories, as follows: Hydro-meteorological disasters: comprising floods and wave surges, storms, droughts and related disasters (extreme temperatures and forest/scrub fires), and landslides avalanches; Geophysical disasters: earthquakes tsunamis and volcanic eruptions fall into this category; Biological disasters: consisting of epidemics and insect infestations; International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) (2008) provides data which shows that there is an increasing trend on the occurrences of natural disasters from 1900 to 2005, as can be seen in Table 5. Table 5. Distribution of natural disasters: by origin (1900-2005, by decades*) *) 2000-2005, six year period The increasing trends of the occurrences of natural disasters between 1900-June 2008 is also documented in EM-DAT (2008b). Regarding the victims, there were 3,470,162,961 people affected by natural disasters for the period of 1991-2005 with a total of 960,502 deaths. Most of the victims (98.1% of people affected and 92.1% of people killed) were located in developing countries and least-developed countries (IFRC, 2008). 2.1.4 Disaster Management Disaster management also known as emergency management (Reliefweb, 2008) is defined as comprehensive approach and activities to reduce the adverse impacts of disasters (Reliefweb, 2008), while disaster operations could be considered as the set of activities that are performed before, during, and after a disaster which are aimed at preventing loss of human life, reducing its impact on the economy, and returning to a normal situation (Altay Green III, 2006). Using the terminology of disaster relief operations (DRO) as substitute to disaster operations, Pujawan et al. (2009) state that DRO consists of a variety of activities such as assessing demands, acquiring commodities, finding out priorities as well as receiving, classifying, storing, tracing and tracking deliveries. Regarding its phases, disaster management could be divided into four phases (Altay Green III, 2006): disaster mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster recovery. 2.1.5 The Importance of Logistics in Disaster Management Logistics could be defined as follows (see Sheu, 2007a: 655): â€Å"Logistics is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customers[] requirements at the lowest total cost.† Its system operation consists of network design, information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging (see Wu Huang, 2007: 429). There are several Operational Research (OR) techniques utilised in logistics context, including the use of transportation model to determine the location of warehouses and the use of assignment/ allocation model to locate production facilities (Slats et al., 1995: 12), to name a few. In particular, humanitarian logistics could be defined as â€Å"the process of planning, implementing and control ­ling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of goods and materials, as well as related information, from point of origin to point of consump ­tion for the purpose of meeting the end beneficiarys requirements† (Thomas Mizushima, January 2005). Similarly, Thomas and Kopczak (2005) define it as â€Å"the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of goods and materials, as well as related information, from the point of origin to the point of consumption for the purpose of alleviating the suffering of vulnerable people†. Whereas Sheu (2007a) proposes ‘‘a process of planning, managing and controlling the efficient flows of relief, information, and services from the points of origin to the points of destination to meet the urgent needs of the affected people under emergency conditions as a definition of emergency logistics. Moreover, disaster relief is usually put aside for sudden upheavals such as natural disasters (earthquakes, avalanches, hurricanes, floods, fires, volcano eruptions, etc.) and very few man-made disasters such as terrorist acts or nuclear disasters (Kovà ¡cs Spens, 2007). Relief itself could be understood as â€Å"assistance and/or intervention during or after disaster to meet the life preservation and basic subsistence needs. It can be of emergency or protracted duration† (Reliefweb, 2008). It has been already generally well-known that logistics play a vital role in emergency management. Sheu (2007a) declares that, due to the possibility of disasters occurrences anytime around the world with huge effects, emergency logistics management had appeared as a worldwide-noticeable subject matter. People which are affected by disasters and are uprooted from their rights for food, housing, livelihood and other means of supporting themselves need the delivery of food, medicine, tents, sanitation equipment, tools and other necessities (Whybark, 2007). The science of logistics and supply chain management is becoming more vital for humanitarians (van Wassenhove, 2006), and â€Å"the subject of disaster management is an absolutely fascinating one that is growing in importance† (van Wassenhove, 2003: 19). Oloruntoba (2005) states that, regarding the Indian Ocean tsunami context, the scale of damage and subsequent response lead to problems of coordination, transportation and dis tribution among responding groups. In other affected areas of the Indian Ocean tsunami, Thomas (summer/fall 2006) reports that, at the 60-day point, regardless of the enormous relief efforts, only 60% of the families reported receiving well-timed and sufficient aid. It is therefore acceptable to conclude that good logistics planning plays an important role to the success of an emergency program (Davis Lambert, 2002: 109). Humanitarian logistics is essential to disaster relief for some reasons (Thomas Kopczak, 2005): It is crucial to the effectiveness and speed of response for main humanitarian programs, such as health, food, shelter, water, and sanitation; It can be one of the most expensive elements of a relief effort as it includes procurement and transportation; Since the logistics department handles tracking of commodities through the supply chain, it is often the repository of data that can be analyzed to offer post-event knowledge. In his paper, McEntire (1999) states that the disaster studies must discover ways to improve the provision of relief after certain catastrophe hits. This statement is in line with Perrys (2007) finding which accentuates the availability of logistician cadres as a key element of disaster response, as part of needs assessment and for procuring, transporting, and distributing the relief provisions. Regarding the relief of the Indian Ocean tsunami, the humanitarian organizations providing those relieves acknowledged that relief can and needs to be faster and more efficient (Thomas, 2005). Together with hurricane â€Å"Katrina† disaster, the Indian Ocean tsunami lead to the gap of â€Å"the inability to connect the aid provided with the aid received† (Thomas, 2005) in spite of the unprecedented giving during those two misfortunes. It is also pointed out by Tolentino Jr. (2007) that the Indian Ocean tsunami has provided the will to radically improve disaster management and pl anning, an issue Trims (2004: 224) research agrees with, in a broader disaster relief context. Furthermore, the development of new technology for track/trace and disaster relief supply chains is proposed as one of ways to improve the delivery of humanitarian relief (Baluch, 2007). In the context of the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in worldwide emergencies (e.g. volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, war), Beamon and Kotleba (2006) point out that the capability of an NGOs supply chain and logistics operations directly influences the success of a relief effort. Whereas Pujawan et al. (2009) propose information visibility, coordination, accountability, and professionalism as successful requirements of logistics for DRO. 2.2 Some Previous Works in Logistics Management The following paragraphs will give a short overview on several aspects in logistics management, especially those which are perceived as having relevance with the current research. They include distribution network design problem, location-allocation problem (LAP), vehicle routing problem (VRP), and location-routing problem (LRP), respectively. 2.2.1 Distribution Network Design Problem Citing Chopra (2003), distribution can be seen as â€Å"the steps taken to move and store a product from the supplier stage to a customer stage in the supply chain†. While distribution networks can be defined as â€Å"networks that carry the flow of some commodity or entity, using a routing rule that is intended to be effective and even optimal† (Whittle, 2007), and distribution network itself could be viewed as similar with the terminology producer network (Ambrosino Scutellà  , 2005: 611). Distribution network design problem tackles the issues of optimizing the flows of commodities through an existing distribution network as well as improving the performance of the existing network by selecting the most appropriate setting of the facilities in the network aimed at satisfying the companys goal at one hand and minimising the overall costs at the other hand (Ambrosino Scutellà  , 2005: 611). It involves facility location, transportation and inventory decisions (Ambrosino Scutellà  , 2005: 611). In other words, the aim of distribution network design problem is on deciding the best way of moving goods or products from resource/ supply points to destination/ demand points which is performed by determining the structure of the network, in a such a way that the customer demands are satisfied and the total distribution costs are minimized (Ambrosino et al., 2009: 442). In Amiris (2006: 567-568) paper, distribution network design is stated as involving the simultaneous decis ions on the best settings of both plants and warehouses and on the best strategy in the sense of product distribution from the plants to the warehouses and from the warehouses to the customers, respectively. Meanwhile, the term â€Å"distribution system design† refers to â€Å"the strategic design of the logistics infrastructure and logistics strategy to deliver products from one or more sources to the customers† (Goetschalckx, 2008: 13-1) and similar to Ambrosino et al.s (2009) statement on distribution network design problem focuses on five phases of interconnected decisions, as follows (Goetschalckx, 2008: 13-2): Establishing the appropriate quantity of distribution centers (DCs); Setting up the location of each DC; Allocating customers to each DC; Allocating appropriate commodities to each DC; and Determining the throughput and storage capacity of each DC. Various models and approaches that have been built for designing distribution system or distribution network, to name a few, are (Goetschalckx, 2008: 13-8-13-15; Lapierre et al., 2004): K-median model, location-allocation model, warehouse location model, Geoffrion and Graves distribution system design model, models that focus on mathematical description of cost functions on each route in order to incorporate returns to scale, models of which concentration are in shipments on hub-to-hub routes regarding discounts, and models that aim at solving the freight transportation problem precisely. 2.2.2 Location-Allocation Problem (LAP) As previously stated in Goetschalckx (2008), LAP could be seen as part of distribution network design problems. Given the place of a set of customers with different demands, LAP is concerned with the selection of supply centres positions dedicated for serving the customers as well as the decision of the allocation of the customers to supply centres, with both of them are aimed at optimizing a given criterion (Hsieh Tien, 2004: 1017). It is also assumed that there is no interaction among supply centres. The criterion could be single such as transportation costs (see, for example, Goetschalckx, 2008; Zhou Liu, 2003; Manzini Gebennini, 2008) or it may comprises several aspects (see, for example, Mitropoulos et al., 2006). The following paragraphs provide some previous researches on LAP. The un-capacitated-type LAP with rectilinear distances could be found in Hsieh and Tien (2004). In this paper, the authors propose a heuristic method which is based on Kohonen self-organising feature maps (SOFMs). Sometimes distribution networks are built in hierarchies, where high-level distribution channels are constructed in straight lines from which low-level channels stem. Furthermore, destinations are allocated to branching facilities in high-level channels through low-level channels. Due to cost considerations, the number and locations of branching facilities as well as the allocation of the destinations to the aforementioned branching facilities need to be determined correctly. Eben-Chaime et al.s (2002) paper addresses this type of problem by formulating appropriate mathematical optimisation models and subsequently proposing heuristic solution methods. Capacitated LAP with stochastic demands is addressed by Zhou and Liu (2003). More specifically, they propose three types of stochastic programming models: (1) expected value model (EVM), (2) chance-constrained programming (CCP), and (3) dependent-chance programming (DCP). To solve these models efficiently, the authors develop a hybrid intelligent algorithm within which three type stochastic simulations are used. The proposed algorithm integrates the network simplex algorithm, stochastic simulation and genetic algorithm. In more recent paper, Zhou and Liu (2007) address the LAP with fuzzy demands by developing three types of fuzzy programming models fuzzy expected cost minimisation model, fuzzy -cost minimisation model, and credibility maximisation model with respect to different decision criterion. To solve these models, the authors apply a hybrid intelligent algorithm developed previously (see Zhou and Liu, 2003). Nonetheless, instead of using stochastic simulations, they are developing and employing fuzzy simulations. Similar with the abovementioned paper, Wen and Imamura (2008) also address LAP with fuzzy demands. For this type of problem, they build a fuzzy -cost model under the Hurwicz criterion. The problem is subsequently solved using the same algorithm as in Zhou and Liu (2007). The establishment of mixed integer programming optimisation models for multi-period, multi-stage LAPs could be found in Manzini and Gebennini (2008). In their paper, the authors develop optimisation models each for the following classes of multi-period, multi-stage LAPs: (1) single-commodity, multi-period, two-stage LAPs, (2) multi-commodity, multi-period, two-stage LAPs, (3) single-commodity, multi-period, two-stage open/ closed LAPs, and single-commodity, multi-period, three-stage LAPs. The application of various search methods to a generalised class of LAPs known as multi-facility location problem with generalised objects (MFLPO) is presented by Bischoff and Dà ¤chert (2009). The end of the paper gives comparison of the involved search methods for various sizes of test problem. Research on LAP in health service context could be found in Harper et al. (2005) and Mitropoulos et al. (2006). The former addresses the need to plan health services which takes geographical aspects into consideration. The problem is formulated as a stochastic LAP. The latter paper, on the other hand, develops a bi-objective model to solve the LAP arise in determining the location of hospitals and health centres and the allocation of the patients to those facilities. 2.2.3 Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) In its most basic form (e.g. Bulbul et al., 2008; Laporte, 2007), VRP is concerned with the optimal delivery or collection routes for a limited number of identical vehicles with limited capacities from a central depot/ warehouse to a set of geographically scattered customers. It assumes that the vehicles are at the central depot/ warehouse initially. It also requires the existence of the routes that connect the central depot/ warehouse to customers and customers to customers as well. In this type of VRP, a route must start and finish at the depot and a customer is visited by exactly one vehicle. The total demand of customers served by one vehicle could not exceed the vehicles capacity, and the ultimate goal is to minimise the total routing costs. Since its introduction by Dantzig and Ramser in 1959 (Bulbul et al., 2008), it has given rise to a rich body of works (Laporte, 2007). In 2008, searching the words vehicle routing problem by using Google scholar search results more than 21,700 entries (Golden et al. (eds), 2008). Laportes (1992) paper provides various exact methods and heuristics developed to solve the VRP. Several meta-heuristics intended to solve the classical VRP could be traced from his more recent paper (2007), while Toth and Vigos (2002) paper presents various existing exact algorithms for the solution of classical VRP. The comparison of descent heuristics, simulated annealing, and tabu search in solving VRP is addressed by Van Breedam (2001). Jozefowiez et al. (2008), on the other hand, give a survey on works that have been carried out on multi-objective VRP. A range of VRP variants can be seen in Crainic and Laporte (eds., 1998), Bulbul et al. (2008), and Golden et al. (eds., 2008). Other variants also exist: VRP with stochastic demands and VRP with backhaul. Different classification of VRP could be found in Pisinger and Ropkes (2007) paper. The following sub-sections mention examples of works on some of them, while new directions in modelling and algorithms for various types of LRP could be found in Part II of Golden et al.s (eds., 2008) edited book. 2.2.3.1 VRP with Time Windows In this type of VRP, customer i may only be visited within a time window [ai, bi] (see, e.g., Kontoravdis Bard, 1995; Badeau et al., 1997; Bouthillier Crainic, 2005; Fà ¼genschuh, 2006; Hsu et al., 2007; Kim, et al., 2006; Dondo Cerdà ¡, 2007; Kallehauge et al., 2007). 2.2.3.2 VRP with Pickup and Delivery When the vehicles need to deliver commodities to customers and collect items for example, defective products from them as well, then this is called a VRP with pickup and deliveries. Research papers by Nagy Salhi (2005), Wassan et al. (2008), Wassan et al. (2008), Gribkovskaia et al. (2008), Hoff et al. (2009), and Ai Kachitvichyanukul (2009) are several examples on it. 2.2.3.3 VRP with Backhaul In this type of VRP, the customers are separated into two mutually exclusive subsets so that the first subset of customers receives commodities whereas the second one sends back the products. Additionally, the second subset of customers are only served after the first one. The first subset is called line-haul customers and the second one is named backhaul customers. The f

Genesis and Paradise Lost Essay -- Religion, God, Satan, Milton

The words God speaks at the Creation are the ultimate and original speech act; as narrated in Genesis and Paradise Lost, God only has to speak and the words come into effect: And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light... (Genesis, 1:3) Let there be light, said God, and forthwith light Ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure Sprung from the deep... (VII.243) Milton inverts the arrangement of the identification of the voice and the spoken words themselves, thus absorbing God's voice entirely into the poetic lines.s Satan is an inveterate liar who abuses language for his own evil purposes. Satan's language is 'Ambiguous and with double sense deluding' (Paradise Regained, I.435), whereas the Son's language (and by extension God's) enforces a kind of linguistic harmony where 'Thy actions to thy words accord' (Paradise Regained, III.9). In Paradise Lost, Satan's 'ambiguous words' (V.703, VI.568) act as 'persuasive' traps, 'replete with guile' (IX.737, 733). He utters 'high words, that bore | Semblance of worth not substance' (I.528), and it is worth bearing this in mind should you be tempted to succumb to his enticing rhetoric, as Eve or, more recently the poets Shelley and Blake have been known to do! God's words are necessarily congruent with their meaning (God is unable to lie). But while Satan lacks the power of speech acts, he has the sophistical ability to dissemble. In the beginning of Book I of Paradise Lost, true to epic convention, John Milton invokes the muse, but his muse is no less than the Holy Spirit: And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer†¨Before all Temples th’ upright heart and pure,†¨Instruct me, for Thou know’st; Thou from the first†¨Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread†¨Dove-l... ...a child whose only reply from parental authority was an unsatisfying â€Å"Because I said so!† But then such children grow up and search for their own answers. Blake’s point begins to make sense if Paradise Lost is evaluated on its poetic success and its theological failure. Milton â€Å"was a true Poet, and of the Devil’s party without knowing it† in that his poetry unwittingly brought Satan to life while trying to destroy him. Satan, warts and all, is probably the most memorable presence in the poem and likely all readers retain of it. Similarly Milton’s theology is so weak and flawed that it opens the door to a devastating philosophical counterattack. In trying to justify God, Milton actually accomplishes the opposite as demonstrated by the failure of Book III. For Blake, Milton the Epic Poet ultimately trumps Milton the Christian Apologist who surely desired otherwise.

Comparison of the Use of Nature by Shelley and Wordsworth Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both Shelley, in "Ode to the West Wind," and Wordsworth, in "Intimations of Immortality," are very similar in their use of nature to describe the life and death of the human spirit. As they both describe nature these two poets use the comparison of how the Earth and all its life is the same as our own human life. I feel that Shelley uses the seasons as a way of portraying the human life during reincarnation. Wordsworth seems to concentrate more on the stages that a person goes through during life. Shelley compares himself to such things as clouds, leaves, and waves. He is writing the poem as if he were an object of the earth, and what it is like to once live and then die only to be reborn. On the other hand, Wordsworth takes images like meadows, fields, and birds and uses them to show what gives him life. Life being what ever a person needs to move on, and with out those objects can't have life. Wordsworth does not compare himself to these things like Shelley, bu t instead uses them as an example of how he feels about the stages of living. Starting from an infant to a young boy into a man, a man who knows death is coming and can do nothing about it because it's part of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a man becomes old and has nothing to look forward to he will always look back, back to what are called the good old days. These days were full of young innocence, and no worries. Wordsworth describes these childhood days by saying that "A single Field which I have looked upon, / Both of them speak of something that is gone: The Pansy at my feet Doth the same tale repeat: Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"(190) Another example of how Wordsworth uses nature as a way of dwelling on his past childhood experiences is when he writes "O joy! That in our embers / Is something that doth live, / That nature yet remembers / What was so fugitive!" (192) Here an ember represents our fading years through life and nature is remembering the childhood that has escaped over the years. As far as Wordsworth and his moods go I think he is very touched by nature. I can picture him seeing life and feeling it in every flower, ant, and pie ce of grass that crosses his path. The emotion he feels is strongly suggested in this line "To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." (193) Not only is this showi... ...d of this poem Shelley asks, "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" (678) Now I wonder if this is just another line emphasizing rebirth and the similarities between the seasons. Or is Shelley saying this because he is getting the sense that the closer he gets to death the more he questions whether rebirth is real.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So after close examination of both these pieces of literature I feel that the differences between these two poets is that Wordsworth looks back on how life was and Shelley wonders what's after death. I would have to say that they're very similar in the way that they use nature as a way of portraying human life. The use of how nature affects them and their love for nature brings me to that conclusion. So what makes these pieces so powerful? Really it's not the reasoning between life and death; it's the comparison of how other living things on Earth that we take for granted are similar to us as a human race. When these two poets look at a flower or a sunset they see more than just a pretty flower or a beautiful sunset they see what life is made up of, which is wonderful at times and ugly at other times. Like the saying goes you can't have good without evil. Comparison of the Use of Nature by Shelley and Wordsworth Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both Shelley, in "Ode to the West Wind," and Wordsworth, in "Intimations of Immortality," are very similar in their use of nature to describe the life and death of the human spirit. As they both describe nature these two poets use the comparison of how the Earth and all its life is the same as our own human life. I feel that Shelley uses the seasons as a way of portraying the human life during reincarnation. Wordsworth seems to concentrate more on the stages that a person goes through during life. Shelley compares himself to such things as clouds, leaves, and waves. He is writing the poem as if he were an object of the earth, and what it is like to once live and then die only to be reborn. On the other hand, Wordsworth takes images like meadows, fields, and birds and uses them to show what gives him life. Life being what ever a person needs to move on, and with out those objects can't have life. Wordsworth does not compare himself to these things like Shelley, bu t instead uses them as an example of how he feels about the stages of living. Starting from an infant to a young boy into a man, a man who knows death is coming and can do nothing about it because it's part of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a man becomes old and has nothing to look forward to he will always look back, back to what are called the good old days. These days were full of young innocence, and no worries. Wordsworth describes these childhood days by saying that "A single Field which I have looked upon, / Both of them speak of something that is gone: The Pansy at my feet Doth the same tale repeat: Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"(190) Another example of how Wordsworth uses nature as a way of dwelling on his past childhood experiences is when he writes "O joy! That in our embers / Is something that doth live, / That nature yet remembers / What was so fugitive!" (192) Here an ember represents our fading years through life and nature is remembering the childhood that has escaped over the years. As far as Wordsworth and his moods go I think he is very touched by nature. I can picture him seeing life and feeling it in every flower, ant, and pie ce of grass that crosses his path. The emotion he feels is strongly suggested in this line "To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." (193) Not only is this showi... ...d of this poem Shelley asks, "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" (678) Now I wonder if this is just another line emphasizing rebirth and the similarities between the seasons. Or is Shelley saying this because he is getting the sense that the closer he gets to death the more he questions whether rebirth is real.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So after close examination of both these pieces of literature I feel that the differences between these two poets is that Wordsworth looks back on how life was and Shelley wonders what's after death. I would have to say that they're very similar in the way that they use nature as a way of portraying human life. The use of how nature affects them and their love for nature brings me to that conclusion. So what makes these pieces so powerful? Really it's not the reasoning between life and death; it's the comparison of how other living things on Earth that we take for granted are similar to us as a human race. When these two poets look at a flower or a sunset they see more than just a pretty flower or a beautiful sunset they see what life is made up of, which is wonderful at times and ugly at other times. Like the saying goes you can't have good without evil.

All Children Can Learn and Most at High Levels

One of the founding principles of the Kentucky Education Reform Act is the statement that â€Å"All children can learn and most at high levels. † With many states having a significant achievement gap between diverse students, it is becoming more important to hold high expectations for all students. I believe that all children can learn and most at high levels. But my point is that not all the children can learn at high levels in the same field. As we know the student is the subject of education. Education aims to develope students' learning potential. But children from different environments have differences in their physiology, intelligence, ability, aptitude, interest, personality traits and emotional development. Therefore some children may gain a great success in music while some others may in math. If we can educate them according to their personalities and individual needs, most children can learn at high levels. American educator John Dewey (John Dewey ,1859-1952) has pointed out that there are plasticity and dependency in the process of one’s growth. This means that the development of a child has unlimited possibilities. The ancient Chinese educator, the Confucius put forward the idea that â€Å"No Child Left Behind† and † Teach students in accordance with their aptitude. † This can be regarded as the practice of the concept that â€Å"every child can learn and most at high levels†. Therefore, whether ancient or modern, Western or Eastern, educators all hold the same concept. We want children to be able to learn and success, the key is the teacher. A professional, high-quality and enthusiastic teacher will be a good fortune to the children. This is why personal development is a necessity to teachers. During these years of teaching I met a lot of challenges to confirm the special needs of children and develope their learning confidence. I always try my best to help each child and encourage them. To teach a student well needs the effort of all parties including parents, teachers and communities. As a home class teacher, I combine all the parties well to improve students' learning capacities and help them to form clear awareness of themselves. If the children in my class can tap all of their potentials, that will be a great success to me as a teacher. Nowadays, the competition is very fierce. Teachers have the obligation to educate their students to be more competitive in certain area in the society. We don’t have the right to give up any of the children. Today, we have to give up the child. Tomorrow, the child may give up the society. Society will pay a higher price.

Cheaper by the Dozen Play Review Essay

I read the play, Cheaper by the Dozen, written by Christopher Sergel. I chose to read this play because when I was younger I liked the movie cheaper by the dozen, so I figured this would be a good play to read. The basic theme of this play is family, family comes first and you have to do everything you can to keep your family together, no matter how chaotic it may be. This play is about the Mr. and Mrs. Gilberth, and their 12 children. The main conflict in the story was maintaining order with all 12 children. Mr. Gilberth was very efficient with his parenting though, and always had a solution. The story was easy to understand and follow, it was clear and wasn’t confusing. For the most part the play was entertaining, mainly all of the family drama, and how they lived. Mr. Gilberth was one of the main characters in the play; he was the one who kept the family in order. He was a famous efficiency expert, and ran his family that way. Often times Mr. Gilberth would call the kids down to family meetings by blowing his whistle, all of the children had to stop what they were doing, and immediately report downstairs. I really liked Mrs. Gilberth, she tried to keep her husband, Mr. Gilberth in check, and is more reasonable when it comes to the children, she was very kind and gentle with the kids. I think the most important character relationships would be between Mr. Gilberth and his children, because he was the one who made the rules in the house, and disciplined the children. If I were to act in this play, I would want to be Lillian, she would be fun to play because she has a very childish personality, and is obsessed with boys. In the beginning of the script, I found it really boring, and didn’t want to finish reading it, but once I got farther into the script, the relationships between the family were shown, and it became more interesting. Overall I liked the script, it wasn’t my favorite thing I’ve read, but it was still entertaining. I would rather see this play than act in it, because I would want to see the story come to life, along with all of the characters. I think it could be a very funny play to see, and the story will seem more interesting.