How Does Learning Occur Rewards, Incidental Learning, Meaningful Term Paper

How Does Learning Occur Rewards, Incidental Learning, Meaningful Learning, and the Role of Emotions - Term Paper Example The conclusion from this review states that students and scholars in the field of education have numerous questions concerning the essence of learning, its process, effects and implications for children and adult learners. Much has been written and said about the ways in which learning occurs; yet, learning still lacks a single, uniform definition and conceptualization in science. Consequentially, the multitude of instructional and learning strategies continuously increases. On the one hand, â€Å"learning is a conceptual and linguistic construction that is widely used in many societies and cultures, but with very different meanings, which are fiercely contested and partly contradictory†. On the other hand, learning encompasses a multitude of concepts, contexts, aspects, factors, and events that are heavily influenced by learners’ personality, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and require that education professionals adjust their strategies to meet the unique needs of inf ant and adult learners. More often than not, future educators ask questions concerning the process of learning, the role and place of rewards, the nature and criteria of meaningful learning, as well as the role of emotions in successful learning. All these questions are answered in this paper. One of the foundational questions of learning is how to reward students and whether at all it is worth praising and rewarding students for their achievements. Another question is how learning occurs and how rewards relate to the process of learning. Here, the words of Paul Chance, a famous writer and professional psychologist, reflect the true essence of rewards in the context of learning: according to Chance (1992), teaching without extrinsic rewards is the same as asking students to write having their eyes closed. Extrinsic rewards can be extremely motivating, although their use in education is not without controversy. It would be fair to say that rewards should be balanced against the goal of learning and expected outcomes. In other words, rewards benefit learning only when they are used reasonably and economically. Hundreds of studies have demonstrated that the use of rewards has the potential to enhance the quality of all learning processes in the classroom (Chance, 1992). This is particularly the case of extrinsic rewards that come from an external source, for example, grades assigned by the teacher (Chance, 1992). In this sense, learning is a simple sequence of reinforcement and action: the teacher reinforces and redirects learning by telling the student whether or not he (she) has been correct, good, excellent or right (Chance, 1992). At times, even a smile is enough to show that the student is moving in the desired direction and has all chances to meet the predetermined learning outcomes. Yet, the debate over the usefulness and validity of extrinsic rewards continues to persist. Alfred Kohn is, probably, the most famous promoter of no-rewards education among chi ldren and adults. Kohn (1992) relies on the premise that rewards cannot reinforce lasting changes in human behaviors and cannot

Study Skills and Infomation Literacy for Students Essay Example for Free

Study Skills and Infomation Literacy for Students Essay Excellent study skills and information literacy are essential for the successful path of education in every student’s life. Nowadays, students face more challenges in their daily tasks and duty due to the accelerating progress of information, communication and technology. They have step their feet into the zone of competition among others to obtain outstanding achievements in each thing they perform. So, how are they going to ensure if they could acquire these meets and criteria to express themselves as great achievers? Therefore, it is crucial for them to adapt and practice these study skills and information literacy in their life. Study skills are the abilities and approaches applied to learning. They are generally critical to success in school, are considered essential for acquiring good grades, and are useful for learning throughout ones life. Besides, they are very basic techniques for learning relatively unsophisticated materials. Study skills can be developed to improve a learner’s capacity to learn. If we learn how to study effectively, how to find information that we need, how to read and understand what we read, how to memorize things, and how to plan ahead for tests, then we will not only make better grades, but will also learn more easily. Good study skills can help us learn good discipline skills which will help us in our life after school as well. Without good study skills, a student cannot succeed. To succeed, students must be able to appropriately assimilate course content, digest it, reflect on it, and be able to articulate that information is in written or in oral form. Many people feel the hours of study are the most important. However, students can study for hours and in the end retain very little. Besides, study skills are significant to promote a passion for what students wish to do. Passion is critical and leads to an intense interest, dedication, and commitment to achieve career, goals and objectives. They also feel comfortable and easy going when their time is managed properly. Essentially having well developed study skills will help them become more confident, effective, productive and intelligent in both of their personal and professional lives. These skills are the sole foundation of a good education. Good study skills will save their time and by that token they tend to have more time to spend with friends or doing other activities such as sports or service projects. Moreover, these will result in less stress because given any topic they will know how to approach learning the material. Likewise, information literacy too plays an important role in student’s success in learning. Information literacy is the ability to evaluate the credibility of information and to use information properly. We identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge that commonly used in research techniques. Why information literacy is crucial? Information literacy is critically important because we are surrounded by a growing ocean of information in all formats. Not all information is created equal; some is authoritative, current, reliable, but some is biased, out of date, misleading and false. The amount of information available is going to keep increasing. The types of technology used to access, manipulate, and create information will consequently expand. ‘People are information literate who know when they need information, and are then able to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively use the information to address and resolve personal, job-related or broad social issues and problems’, (adopted by the 2003 UNESCO meeting in Prague). Information literacy provides an opportunity for people to acquire knowledge and provides motivation to them to pursue learning throughout their lives. Therefore, it is a mean of personal empowerment. In addition, in order to perform their roles and responsibilities, individuals need various types of information inputs. â€Å"Information is, in fact, our most precious resource. In such a world, education should empower everyone, not the few. But for information to become knowledge, and ultimately, one hopes, wisdom, it must be organized. In this new climate, the public interest challenge, beyond access and equity is sorting and selection† (Boyer, 1997, p. 140). We are outfitting our schools, libraries, and homes with electronic technologies. But are we reparing students for the onslaught of information that is provided by these technologies. What happens when students get more information from the internet and than previously conveyed by their teachers or textbooks? What should a student do when faced with so many informational possibilities? This is where information literacy establishes it’s important thus, they need to understand and differentiate between types of information. They must define the need of the information and relating it to knowledge. These are all the implementation of information literacy which benefits students during their study time. Furthermore, they will not be panic once get an abundant supply of information, because they are already exposed to the method on how to manage such information. Hence, they will solve the specific problem regarding that matter with a suitable solution without any distractions and pressure. To articulate more on our study skills’ topic, one of the most important skill is the time management. Time should be well managed, before, during and also after completing a task. Usually, before starting my task, I will divide it into several parts. This is to ensure that I do not feel bored or stressed. For example, recently my English language teacher asked me to come up with a simple newsletter and the duration given to complete and submit this task is one week. So first, I selected the title. Then, I divided the newsletter into cover page, content, acknowledgement, introduction, essays, articles, ending, reflection and reference. I set my time to finish these things, such on the first day; I completed the cover page, acknowledgement and introduction. Next day, I took my initiative to find materials hence, finished the essays and the articles and so on for coming two days. After that, I did the last parts of the newsletter. By taking these steps to complete it, I did benefit a lot because when I set a specific time to do it, that means I will put my full effort to find the materials, do the draft and type it by the day itself. These ensure that, the duty set to be finished does not get postponed. Besides, I would not undergo stress and face difficulties during doing it, because I have already divided the tasks so, each has it’s own time set to be done. Therefore, after finish one, the next day I do proceed to another, means the work pressure and burden are not felt that much, because it is not an overnight’s work. Each second is precious, so we should not waste any of it, as the proverb says, ‘time is golden’. Time is the most valuable one because once it has passed then, we cannot bring it back, gone is gone that is it! Thence, each second and minute we should spend for good deeds as it could bring us splendid input! Other than managing my time for my studies, I too need to deal well with my time to be with my family, to socialize and to just be alone sometimes. In some case where I had a lot of stuffs to be done, and at the same time I we would plan for a family gathering party. So, this is the point where I need to list my priority; of which comes first and must be settled. Family is also important, but compare to my study stuffs, I have to give them first priority, because almost all the time I can spend time with my family, but my assignments; there is time restriction for it. Therefore I need to adhere to the deadline given. Foremost, I have to handle time wisely, where before I turn on the television or go for a play, I will finish my homework first. I have developed a schedule for my daily routines to make sure I have time for everything I want do get done. In fact, I choose specific time slots in a week to study the subjects, to validate that I do not blow them off. I would also fix some goals when managing my time. Instead, of ‘I will read this whole chapter this night’ I will set ‘I am going to read five at daytime and the rest five before bedtime’. This method will be a fine one and give my mind a break before I proceed to the next chapter. I always try to keep my schedule flexible. When unexpected events occur, I will adjust it according to the urge and revise it again. Then, I also add up and circle the total number of study hours I realistically plan to set aside daily. Sometimes, I do reward myself for using study time effectively. This way will ensure that, I really occupy the time for studying, because I know once I am done with that, I will sure get my reward! This is also proven by researches, where people work better if they get an immediate gift for their effort. So in my schedule permits, I do set up a reward system. For example, I will allow myself to telephone my friend, watch my favorite movie or munch on little snacks. To guarantee that this system functions well, I do strictly follow my schedule honestly without cheating. In addition, concentration in class is really very important to achieve well grades. Since, sometimes after I reach home I feel so tired and lazy to revise the book, so meanwhile the teacher is teaching, I always sit in front, seldom chit chat with my buddies, focus and pay attention to her. I do that because; I would remember the verbal and non verbal communication between us, the action and the questions that she asked me. Then I try to have a small flashback on what I learned on that day. I also be alert in the class, because anytime questions might arise and possibilities for myself to answer it may be high too. All these scenes will be fresh in my mind even till the last hours when I am going to sit for my exams. Is it weird? Of course not, because when I am answering my exam questions I will come to an end where I am out of idea and do not know what else to answer to solve the question. So the alternate way is reflecting back to my times in the classroom, the conversation between me and my sir, the question did rose, my answers, the diagrams on the whiteboard and also the solving method; I am very sure these matters did helped me to answer because, somehow when reflecting all those things, I will come to an idea or solution for the questions. That is why concentration in class is very much significant. From my experience, one of the major elements of study skills which contributed to my study’s success is the mind map. What is a mind map actually? It is the ‘whole- brain alternative to linear thinking and reaches out in all directions and catches thoughts from any angle’ by ( Michael Michalko, cracking creativity). Mind map is the ultimate organizational study tool. It is very effective for me, because by doing mind map, it is easy for me to put information into my brain which maps out my thoughts. It is very simple too. Mind map gives an overview of a huge subject to me, besides enable me to gather together large amounts of data in one place. Moreover, it boosts problem solving by allowing me to see new creative pathways. Fore most, it is enjoyable to be seen, read, muse over and remember. Mind map had helped me a lot in my studies to learn faster and more efficiently, see the whole picture of the problem and also to remember better. These are because, mind maps use colours, curved lines, symbol, words and images according to a set of simple, basic , natural and brain- friendly rules. Colour is the leading feature in a mind map. I would start it by putting in my favorite colours and make it to appear more interesting; as it also triggers my creative thinking processes. To add more, mind map includes each aspect of the left and right brains and is therefore a superb whole- brained thinking tool. This is because when I do mind maps, I do use words, logics, numbers, lists, images, dimensions, and colours too; mean it has occupied fully my brain and assists to come up with new ideas and problem solving methods. If we do look deeply, everything is someway connects to everything else. This is very true because when I am given a complication to be solved in studies, first I would take a minute to think about the main topic I need to investigate and that will be the center part of my mind map. For example, it allows me to focus on the topic that will be titled â€Å"daily living†. Next I start to add sub- branches and they will be connected to the title as leisure, diet, work, study, exercise and ideal hours. From each of the sub- branch, it will form new sub- branches. For instance, under diet, I would come up with ideas connected to it such as, vitamins, balanced meals and water; for the sub- branch of study there will form new branches namely, subjects, ways to study and needs to study. Beneath needs for study, I could write again well balanced meals and also vitamins. So these both diet and study branches; come to a point of sharing the same sub- branches. At here it is clearly shown that mind map helped me to demonstrate the connection between isolated pieces of information while letting me to group and regroup concepts and encouraging comparison between them. Therefore I am trying to prove that, mind maps really worked for me and made me easy to remember facts which were useful for me when I answered questions that needed my biological knowledge. From the interconnected facts, I could concentrate more on the topic that serves to get information about it and transferred from short- term memory to a long term memory.

Determining Magnitudes of Calibration Stars

Determining Magnitudes of Calibration Stars SN 2014J in M82: Follow-Up Photometry Aims and Objectives This laboratory involved using photometry of the images of M28 which were obtained in R and I filters from ULO’s robotic telescope, hence determined the magnitudes of calibration stars and the new discovered supernova. In addition, compare the experimental results to the published AAVSO data by investigating the time series of data within the night of 23rd and 24th of January. Introduction Supernova are basically the explosion of massive supergiant star when they are reaching the end of their evolution. In general, supernovae can be classified as type I and type II supernova, each of them has its own specific features and dynamics. Type Ia supernova are generally thought to a white dwarf explosion and type II supernova are triggered by a core collapse of massive supergiant stars. Astronomers use type Ia supernova as a â€Å"standard candle† to measure the cosmic distances because they are very bright which can be seen at great distances and they all are observed to have similar brightness at their peaks. Light curve is one of the methods that astronomers use to identify different types of supernova. It is constructed by plotting the magnitude of the supernova as a function of time after the event of explosion. Type I supernova have very distinctive light curve compare to type II supernova. The figure bellow shows that type I supernova light curves exhibit a sharp increase to a maxima and then decrease steeply, eventually die away smoothly and gradually whereas type II supernova have less sharp peaks at their maxima and they have another peak later on after the first peak. (From hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu) Supernova SN2014J was discovered in the galaxy M82 on 21st January 2014 at ULO. Early studies of SN2014J light curve and spectrum indicate it is a type Ia supernova meaning that its light curve would have a peak absolute magnitude around the same value and it follows the general shape of type Ia light curve. In the laboratory, we can determine the magnitude of the supernova and plot the result to AAVSO database to see if it fits the published data and follow the trend of typical type Ia supernova light curves, whence to predict the peak brightness and its magnitude. Procedures I first downloaded and printed out the list of standard stars’ magnitudes from the AAVSO website which was used for reference throughout the laboratory. I also obtained the subset of the images of M82 from ULO’s robotic system by selecting only Rc and Ic filter’s image as well as the time range from 21:29 to 21:35 on the date of 23rd of January 2014. These images were opened and analysed with GAIA’s aperture photometry tool. I analysed the Ic images first in GAIA. Before making any magnitude measurements of stars, the brightest stars were checked to make sure they were not saturated and all the given star in AAVSO list don’t have peak count over 40000 counts. These must be done to get reliable results. In order to measure the magnitude, a suitable aperture needed to be drawn on the image and it should be in the size about two to three times the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of a star image. By using the slice tool, a graph of the selected star was opened in a new window where the FWHM could be measured. Determined FWHM of several listed stars and calculated the mean value, hence the aperture was set to three times the size of FWHM. When the aperture was set to a suitable size, I clicked the â€Å"define object aperture† button and placed the aperture to stars in the same order as they appeared in the AAVSO reference data. At last, dropped the aperture in supernova as well. After all, I collected my results by clicking on â€Å"Calculate results† button. These results were then save in a excel file for further analysis. Repeat the same procedures for Rc images and also save all the results in the same excel file. Measurements and results Calculated FWHM for making the judgement of the size of aperture: FWHM of star 112 = 178-174=4 FWHM of star 120 = 548-544=4 mean of FWHM = 4 size of aperture = 3 x 4 =12 Thus, I set the aperture as size 12 and placed it to each star to make a measurement. On my downloaded images for both Ic and Rc filter, star 155 and star 159 did not appear on them which lead to no measurements were taken from them. Results of Ic image and Rc image were tabulated in table 1 and table 2. Table 1. Results of Ic image Table 2. Results of Rc image Both of the tables have their first column listing all the known standard star from the reference data and supernova is also included. The column with heading of Sky is the values of sky annulus which are used to measure local background sky values for each star. And the last column is the signal from a star which is used to calculate magnitude and constant k of the star as well as the supernova. To estimate the magnitude of supernova, several calculations were carried out by using the equation: m = -2.5log N +k (1) The constant k was first calculated from known reference stars on the list and hence the mean value of constant k for both Ic and Rc imgaes. Then both Ic and Rc apparent magnitude of supernova were determined. All these values were tabulated in table 3 and associated uncertainties showed in table 4. Uncertainties on k and apparent magnitude were obtained by using the following equation: Ntot = N x n x 2.53 (2) Where N is the signal obtained from an average of n images, and 2.53 is called the ‘gain’ of the CCD. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  m2 ≈ 1.1/√Ntot (3) Where à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  m2 is the error in magnitudes in measurement of the star signal And finally, the combined uncertainty becomes: (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  mSN)2 = (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  k)2 + (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  m2)2 (4) Table 3. Results of calculated magnitude and constant k for both Ic and Rc imgaes Table 4. Uncertainties 4.3 Q5. Compare table 3 and the reference list, we can see that there is no obvious trend for constant k (both Ic and Rc) varies for standard star colours as well as standard-star magnitude. In the reference list, standard star colours such as B, V and B-V increase in their values following the order of the stars from 106 to 156, however, values of constant k fluctuates with different values of star colours but not follow any increasing or decreasing trend. Discussions and Conclusions This laboratory is to analyse and make magnitude measurements of the known stars from images of M28 which were obtained in R and I filters from ULO’s robotic telescope by using the aperture photometry tool, hence determined the magnitudes of the new discovered supernova. At the end of the laboratory, experimental results were plot in the light curves from AAVSO data so we can investigate the time series of data within the night of 23rd and 24th of January and more importantly, to predict the time that the supernova reach peak brightness and magnitude when Rc and Ic images were taken. Table 6. Results of magnitude both Rc and Ic by different students. 4.4 Q1. Table 6 shows all the laboratory results obtained by different groups of students. My calculated results for the Ic and Rc magnitude of supernova in the time range 21:29—21:35 are 10.04 +/- 0.02 and 10.54 +/- 0.03 respectively. Compare my results with those obtained by other students, I cannot conclude that out results are not consistence because the uncertainty for my Ic and Rc magnitude are +/-0.02 and +/- 0.03, but the difference in magnitude between students is about +/-0.1 which is not within my uncertainty range, thus the results did not maintain the consistency. 4.4 Q2. Because the great consistency of the results obtained from different groups of students, we can say the magnitude of the supernova is around the similar value at the time the images were taken. There is no obvious trend observed for the magnitude to change with time during that night, also, the condition of the sky was thought to be not vey ideal, thus the we cannot conclude that there is a change in brightness at the night of 23rd January to 24th January 2014. However, from the general shape of light curves of supernova, there should be obvious brightness change before and after peak. So, more reliable results should be obtained for plenty of nights to detect the change in brightness. 4.3.1 Q4. Table 4 listed majority of the uncertainties that can possibly be calculated from my results. They are relatively small compare to the large values of my results. However, there were also systematic uncertainties arising from the measurement of the background galaxy light. This is related to the size of annulus when I did the aperture measurements. The annulus is used to measure the background of the sky by drawing a larger circle and a smaller circle around the centre of the star. The background is therefore the region between these two apertures or the annulus. If the aperture is oversized, extra light from neighbour stars will be included which can cause unreliable results of the measurement as it introduces noise from the sky background, thus the signal strength from the star fluctuates as well. To check this uncertainty, I adjust the inner scale and the outer scale of the annulus to make some measurements of a star. The results were tabulated in table 5. Table 5. Results of aperture measurement with different size of annulus By trying different set of inner and outer annulus scales, the signals were very different to the one I obtained in the first stage. To mitigate them, multiple aperture with different size within the range about 2 to 3 times the FWHM can be used to make more measurement. This would give a more reliable signal strength of the star. Figure 1. Light curve of SN2014J from AAVSO with own data plotted Figure 1 is the light curve that I downloaded from AAVSO for SN 2014J with my results plotted on. My results for Ic and Rc magnitude were plotted in blue and yellow respectively. My data actually fits the AAVSO data, both of the magnitude are on the light curves at the same time on the night. We can spot that there is a trend from the AAVSO data from the same night at ULO. Both of I and R light curves show an increase in magnitude with change in time meaning that the supernova was brightening during the night at 23rd of January 2014. As mentioned previously in introduction, the shape of typical supernova Ia light curves exhibit a sharp increase to a maxima and then decrease steeply, eventually die away smoothly and gradually. Combine this information to the plot from AAVSO, there is a sharp increase from 17th to 23rd of January, and the magnitude gradually increase until reach its peak at around the date of 29th to 30th of January, and even the data is up to 4th February, we still can observe that there is a slight decrease in magnitude after 31th of January. We can say the magnitude at peak is about 9.5 for Ic and 10 for Rc. Throughout the whole observation, colour dependent extinction were not allowed by the Earth’s atmosphere. Basically, the extinction effect varies from night to night and the coefficient of extinction depends on wavelength and on different altitude. As the data was obtained from just one night, the extinction should not vary too much and for the wavelength dependent, different filter needed to be used to maintain a good accuracy of photometry, in this case, red and invisible filter were used. And the extinction is corrected by calculating the magnitudes outside the atmosphere. This can be the reason to cause the fluctuation of our measured magnitudes. In conclusion, I got the magnitude of SN2014J in Ic and Rc filter are 10.04 +/- 0.02 and 10.54 +/- 0.03 respectively within the time range 21:29—21:35 on the night of 23rd of January 2014. These data exactly follow the trend of the light curves of SN2014J obtained by AAVSO website at the same night. However, results gathered from other student in the same group didn’t show an obvious change in brightness of the supernova whereas the light curve did show that there is an increase in magnitude on the same date. References: American Association of Variable Star Observers AAVSO (2014) [Online] Available from http://www.aavso.org/ [Accessed: 11th February 2014] Aperturephotometry (2004) [Online] Available from http://mth.uct.ac.za/~lab/chap6/chap6/node3.html [Accessed: 11th February 2014] R Nave, HyperPhysics 2001 [Online] Available from: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/astro/snovcn.html [Accessed: 19th February 2014] Megan Gannon, How Students Discovered New Supernova in Nearby Galaxy (2014) [Online] lightAvailable from http://www.space.com/24413-supernova-star-explosion-student-discovery.html [Accessed: 19th February 2014] American Association of Variable Star Observers AAVSO (2014) [Online] Available from http://www.aavso.org/ [Accessed: 11th February 2014] Steve Fossey, PHAS1130 Practical Skill 1A SN 2014J in M82: Follow-up Photometry Manuals Shaoshan Zeng

Televisions Effects on the Natural Environment Essay -- Environmental

Television's Effects on the Natural Environment You may be thinking, â€Å"How on earth could the TV have an affect on our natural environment?† and you have every right to. At first glance, it may seem impossible that the TV can have an effect on our natural surroundings; but, nevertheless, it does. One of the ways that the TV can have an effect on our surroundings is by the amount of power that is needed to run all of the TV’s in the world. I realize, that compared to other appliances, a television does not use a huge amount of energy. But think about this: almost every family in America has at least one TV if not more (some people that I know have upwards of 6 and 7). Can you imagine the power it must take to run all of these televisions? And this is only in our country! Just think, if our society would stop watching television, we could save huge amounts of energy (fossil fuels) each year. This extra energy (fuel) could be used or saved in more efficient ways. The TV not only has an effect on our natural resources, but it affects our living organisms as well; in both bad and good ways. Lets discuss the bad first. Going back to what I discussed earlier, when we mine for fuels to produce the energy to power our TV’s, we are harming the habitat that our precious animals live on. Bet you never thought that a TV would indirectly be destroying an animal’s habitat? Television programming can also have an affect on our animals and their habitat. When programs and channels film documentaries and movies in the wilderness, they definitely have an effect on the environment. During the filming of a documentary or, especially, a movie the filmmakers need to transport their crew and equipment into very delicate ... ... viewing quality becomes and the more channels we can get, the more people are likely to stay inside. Don’t get me wrong, I love TV, and I feel that it is one of the most important inventions that this world has been blessed with; but I feel that it is taking away from some of the â€Å"realness† of our lives. People are becoming less healthy, they are developing eye and other health problems, and they don’t know what is real and what is not any more. I hope that in the future television designers and makers can develop so new technologies that would improve and not worsen our environment. The television is a very helpful and important tool that has had a great impact on our society, but we need to be aware of how this tool has also affected out environment as well, so next time you watch you television, think about what impact you might be having on our environment!

Culinarian Cookware: Pondering Price Promotion Essay

As a market leading brand primarily focusing in designing, manufacturing, distributing and marketing premium cookware, Culinarian Cookware takes pride in its outstanding product quality, advanced performance technology and the strong dealership with retail stores established throughout the years, which Donald Janus, the VP of Marketing believes makes Culinarian stands strong in its competitive industry. In regardless of Culinarian’s usual practice of avoiding price discounting, an official price promotion program was launched in 2004, which was later concluded by a consultant firm that these promotions had a negative impact on profits. There are different views toward the price promotion strategies and the corresponding report in the senior management: Janus felt price promotions were unnecessary, potentially damaging to the brand image, and possibly encouraged retailer hoarding; Brown believed the promotions strengthened trade support, improved brand awareness, and stimulated sales from both new and existing customers. While Janus trusted the report results, Brown believed the study assumptions were flawed and required further analysis, suspected the promotions had actually produced positive results. In November of 2006, debates among the senior management team had been going on regarding the pros and cons of price promotions for the company’s premium cookware products. A decision is needed to be made in terms of how price promotion can be utilized in Culinarian’s marketing strategy. Key Issue The urgent and key question is whether to run a price promotion in 2007 and, if so, to determine what merchandise to promote and on what terms. The broader issue is what strategy Culinarian should pursue to achieve its sales growth objective, and what role, if any, price promotion should play. Clearly there are attractive advantages and draw-backs with significant consequences for a price promotion program. The final recommendation will need to be in line with the four strategic objectives of the company: (1) Widen its distribution network; (2) Increase its market share of the premium cookware segment; (3) Preserve its prestigious image; (4) Capture its  revenue growth of at least 15% while maintaining pre-tax earnings margins of 12%. Possible Alternatives (1) No Price Promotion This alternative would means there will be no official price promotion, only occasional free gifts would be given out with purchase of items at regular price. There are least risks associated with this option but the company will need to seek other ways to maintain their competitiveness. (2) Discount on Slow Growing Items The second option would be to apply a 30% discounted price to the slow growing items like what the company did in 2006. (3) Price Promotion Campaign (Discount on selected premium items) To invest in a comprehensive price promotion campaign. Discount price will be applied not only to the cheapest and slow growing items but to selected items from all lines. The campaign will be assist with edgy advertising methods to create a â€Å"hype† to the price cutting. The Recommendation Alternative 3: Price Promotion Campaign The recommendation to pursue the third alternative was made based on a decision matrix with the following set of criteria: risk; ability to widen distribution network; positive impact on brand image; ease of implementation and financial return. The Rationale Price promotion is superior to a gift incentive in the following ways. As Culinarian is heavily relied on retailers for distribution, their opinions carry a certain weight of important. Many of the retailers expressed that a free gift approach often confuse them as to how many gifts to order. These 0 value-carrying gifts also occupy valuable inventory spaces and thus are generally not welcomed by these distribution channels. When looking at the company strategies, one should realize that the current very low brand awareness among the target groups (HHI $75,000+) is a big issue (Exhibit 4). Discounting merchandize can effectively attract attention and raise awareness, broaden its customer base and stimulate excitement for the brand among the customers. When looking at the analysis of Culinarian’s target group – the households with income over $75,000, 30% cited price as the most important criterion in selecting cookware; 30% of these consumers would be motivated to buy new cookware because of a price discount versus 20% being motivated by a free gift; 20% would intentionally wait for a sale and â€Å"Price† is ranked top 3 in the criteria of choosing a cookware. These study result show that the customers value a price promotion and even actively seek these promotion out. Clearly a cut in price will generate increased sale volume. Indeed it is true that there are uncertainties in whether the price promotion in 2004 was profitable or not. A report by a consultant firm concluded that the promotion program was not profitable. However, one group in the management team including Brown believes there are significant flaws exist in the analysis due to the following errors: the normal sales figures being too high; variable costs including overhead cost incorrectly; the cannibalization costs and inventory savings which, instead of being left out of calculations, were included and estimated inaccurately. Another argument being that when you look at the figures provided in the case exhibit, one could see that sales volume drop right after the price promotion in both 2004 and 2005, thus easily hurry to conclude that a price promotion does not benefit the company. However it is possible that the failure of these programs is due to other factors affecting the profitability including the level of discount rate, the ordering size allowances etc. execution considerations. Thus, these calculations cannot serve as a proof against a price promotion. Because of the above rationale, a price promotion would be appropriate to be run in 2007. Janus’s worries of the disadvantage of a price promotion could  be counteracted by the recommendation of the second alternative, which were recommended with two major objectives in mind: raise brand awareness (while maintaining a leading prestige image) and widen distribution network (which potentially serve as a gateway to increase market share and profit). The major concern of Janus was the potential negative impact to the brand’s premium image especially when the two direct competing premium cookware brands do not use price promotion. However this generally happen only when discounted items was focused on the cheapest line or the slow growing ones (which exactly was what happened in 2004 and 2005). In the new price promotion campaign, a limited number of premium items will needed to be selected for a discount to maintain the prestige and premium image of the brand while specific communication campaign will be employed to increase customer satisfaction on buying the premium product with a discount price. Expanding the discount to more expensive line could also The next question would be how the promotion will be executed. The Implementation Again a limited number of premium items (eg. PROX1) combine with cheaper lines (eg. CX1) will be selected for a discount. In fact, the selection will cover specific items of all 4 lines. A communication campaign will be employed to call out the message to the public: â€Å"Here is the premium brand, and we are selling it for a lower price so that YOU can also try out these high-quality cookware† (â€Å"Quality† remains the top motivator for choosing cookware). The discount period will still be around April and May to avoid direct competition with the other big cookware brands. In terms of the problem of retailers placing over-size trade orders and eating up the difference, Culinarian can counteract this by pre-print or attaching a discount notification on the product packaging and limiting each order size during the pre-discount period. In conclusion, Culinarian should implement a price promotion campaign in reaction to the demand of customers. Discount price will be applied to items based on the direction of boosting relationship between the company and retailers, and raise consumer awareness to the prestige brand name. With the appropriate calculation of discount rate and promotion tactics, market share is likely to increase and the profit margins will be brought to the new height.

Analysis of Frederick Douglass essay

Analysis of Frederick Douglass essay Analysis of Frederick Douglass essay Analysis of Frederick Douglass essayFrederick Douglass is one of the prominent figures in the US history, whose contribution into the abolition of slavery and the change of the attitude of white Americans to African Americans. However, the author reveals the full extent to which the US society was unjust in relation to African Americans, who were absolutely deprived of their rights and liberties because they were slaves, who were treated as mere commodities. At the same time, the book is not the mere depiction of the life story of the slave, who has gained freedom, but it is the book that helps to understand the evolution of a person, who transforms from the mere slave into the free person, who is free not only physically but also spiritually and his evolution helps to understand how freed slaves felt after their liberation, what problems they confronted and how difficult it was to them to adapt to the new life, the life of free people.Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is the life story of Frederick Douglass, where the author attempts to convey his story of the evolution from a slave into a free person. At the same time, the author reveals the full extent to which the US society was hypocritical in relation of African Americans: â€Å"The slave auctioneer’s bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals in the slave-trade go hand in hand together† (Douglass, 87). The symbolic and ironic comparison of slavery and Christianity which was very influential in the US in the time of slavery reveals how different key ideas of Christianity and traditional Christian values were from practices implemented by slave traders and owners. More important, the author shows that the US society took slavery for granted and preserve their religious beliefs which paradoxically combined with slav e holding practices. No wonder, F. Douglass devaluates the Christian church comparing it to the slave prison: â€Å"the slave prison and the church stand near each other. The clanking of fetters and the rattling of chains in the prison, and the pious psalm and solemn prayer in the church, may be heard at the same time† (Douglass, 87).The narrative reveals the hypocrisy of slave traders and American culture which was based on Christianity and violated basic Christian norms systematically turning slaves into mere commodities: The dealers in the bodies of men erect their stand in the presence of the pulpit, and they mutually help each other. The dealer gives his blood-stained gold to support the pulpit, and the pulpit, in return, covers his infernal business with the garb of Christianity. Here we have religion and robbery the allies of each other- devils dressed in angels’ robes, and hell presenting the semblance of paradise (Douglass, 87). Americans ignored basic needs o f slaves and viewed them as mere brutes and commodities. This is probably why they preserved their sincere faith and devotion to Christian norms and beliefs which apparently contradicted to slavery practices. Nevertheless, being Christians did not prevented many white Americans from owning and trading slaves and treating them as mere commodities. On the contrary, they believed their attitude to slaves was absolutely natural and even good probably because they could never view their behavior and attitude to slaves from the slave’s standpoint. In this regard, the book written by F. Douglass helps the audience to view interracial and social relations in the US from the African American perspective, from the perspective of the salve, who has won his freedom costly and appreciates his freedom more than any other person, who has been free from the birth.At the same time, the author uncovers unexpected aspects of his liberation and gaining freedom. The more freedom F. Douglass had t he more dissatisfied he became because he grew aware of the persisting social injustice that affected life of many freedmen and slaves nationwide: I have observed this in my experience of slavery, that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me to thinking of plans to gain my freedom (Douglass, 118). In such a way, freedom was not just the great achievement for F. Douglass but also it was a great challenge for him. Becoming a freedman started for Douglass from his education, when he learned that he also could be free and he grew convinced that people should be equal and free.The author concludes that the liberation of a slave needs the total change of the consciousness of the freedmen: â€Å"to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to dete ct no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceased to be a man.† (Douglass, 123). He had gone a long way until he became totally free and his consciousness had changed under the impact of his personal development and evolution which contributed to his transformation from a slave into a free man.In this regard, education has played an important part in the formation of views and beliefs of F. Douglass: â€Å"The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery.†(Douglass, 157). As a result, his education contributed to t he rise of his consciousness as an individual, as a person, who is equal among others with the only difference that he was enslaved by the repressive regime that mainta ined slavery in the US.In addition, F. Douglass gives insight into the culture of slaves: â€Å"Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears.† (Douglass, 172). In such a way, Douglass shows that, in spite of slavery, African Americans had preserved their own culture and attempted to realize their creativity through their songs. However, their owners neglected their culture and, more important, they often opposed to the education of slaves and the development of their culture, which they viewed as a threat to their control over slaves. Slave holders believed that education and culture would undermine their power and make slaves rebel against them to set themselves free.At the same time, the narrator notices: â€Å"I have sometimes thought that the mere hearing of those songs would do more to impress some minds with the horrible character of s lavery, than the reading of whole volumes of philosophy on the subject could do.† (Douglass, 192). Therefore, the cultural life of African Americans became the ultimate manifestation of their protest against slavery. As they had no other means to resist to slavery, they developed their original culture, which mirrored their hardships, their oppressed position and inhuman conditions of living. The author insists that freedom raises the social consciousness of people, who used to be slaves and slaves, once feeling being free will never agree to be slaves again: â€Å"The silver trump of freedom roused in my soul eternal wakefulness.†Ã‚  (Douglass 194).Thus, F. Douglass had managed to evolve from a slave into a free person and, more important, he had managed to communicate his hardships and his evolution to the public through his book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. The publication of the book written by F. Douglass became an important socia l event because it uncovered the real life of African Americans in the US ruining the romanticized view on the liberation of slaves and depicting the real life of African Americans.