Merger and Acquisition Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Merger and Acquisition - Research Proposal Example This proposal considers the factors that drive firms to buy or merge with others, or to split-off or sell parts of their own businesses and the resulting tax consequences for firms and for investors. The main motive behind buying a firm is to create shareholder value above and over that of the sum of the two companies. The main assumption behind merging two companies is that two companies together are more productive than two separate companies. This underlying principle is particularly attractive to firms when the going is tough as has been the case for some of the companies in the prevailing economic crisis. Strong firms will opt buy other firms to create a more competitive, cost-efficient firm. The firms will merge with the intention of gaining a greater market share or to achieve greater efficiency. Due to these potential advantages, target firms will most of the time agree to be purchased when they are aware that they cannot survive alone. In fact merging or being acquired may b e the only way for some smaller and less established firms to survive this prevailing economic crisis. A merger occurs when two companies, most of the time roughly the same size, agree to proceed as a single new firm rather than be separately owned and operated. This sort of procedure is more accurately referred to as a "merger of equals". The stocks of both the firms are surrendered and novel company stock is issued in its place (Tibergien, 2006). For example, both Daimler-Benz and Chrysler ceased to exist when the two companies merged, and a new firm, DaimlerChrysler, was born. Although most of the time they are used in the same context and used as though they were synonymous, there is a slight difference in meaning the terms merger and acquisition. When a firm purchases and clearly establishes itself as the new owner, the taking over is called an acquisition. From a legal perspective, the target company ceases to exist, the buyer company takes over the business and the buyer's stock continues to be traded. In real world however, actual mergers of equals don't happen that regularly. Usually, one firm will buy another and, as part of the deal's terms, simply allow the acquired firm to declare that the action is a merger of equals, even though technically it's an acquisition (Donald, 2008). Being bought out most of the time has its negative implications, as a result, by defining the deal as a merger, deal makers and the top management attempt to make the acquisition more pleasant. A purchase deal will also be called a merger if both CEOs agree that joining together is in the best interest of both of their companies. But when the target company does not want to be purchased-that is when the deal is unfriendly - it is all the time considered as an acquisition. Whether a purchase is regarded a merger or an acquisition actually depends on whether the purchase is friendly or hostile and how it is announced. That is the actual difference is in how the purchase is communicated to and received by the target company's top management, other workers and shareholders. The economic crisis and anticipated slowdown in spending has made a number of firms that have great technology but weak balance sheets seek the shelter of a merger or an

LCA REPORT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

LCA REPORT - Essay Example (UNEP 2001-2003). Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle. The assessment provides an adequate instrument for environmental decision support. In this paper we will use the life cycle of a kettle as our reference. The study of a kettle has used a flexible life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost model. The model has been used to assess and compare the environmental impacts and associated economic costs. Based on the standards made by the International Standards Organization, the LCA consists of four phases: The goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. The phases of LCA is an interactive process, in which subsequent interactions can achieve increasing levels of detail or lead to changes in the first phase prompted by the results of the last phase. The life cycle assessment has proven to be a valuable tool to document and analyze environmental considerations of product and service systems that need to be part of decision making toward sustainability. Goal and Scope definition: the product or services to be assessed are defined a functional basis for comparison is chosen and the required level of detail is defined. The steps in identifying the goal and scope includes the defining of the purpose of the LCA study, ending with the definition of the functional unit, which is the quantitative reference for the study. Defining the scope of the study includes the drawing up of a flowchart of the unit processes that constitute the product system under study, taking into account a first estimation of their inputs from and outputs to the environment ( the elementary flows or burdens to the environment). Defining the data required, which includes a specification of the data required both for the inventory analysis and for the subsequent impact assessment phase. The Inventory analysis - the energy carriers and raw materials used, the emissions to atmosphere, water and soil, and different types of land use are quantified for each process, then combined in the process flow chart and related to the functional basis. In this phase the following steps must be taken: Data collection which includes the specification of all input and output flows of the processes of the product system, both product flows (i.e flows to other unit processes) and elementary flows (from and to the environment). Normalization to the functional unit, which means that all data collected are quantitatively related to one quantitative output of the product system under study, most typically 1 kg of the material is chosen, but often other units like car or 1 km of mobility are preferred. Allocation which means the distribution of the emissions and resource extractions of a given process over the different functions such a process. Data evaluation, which involves a quality assessment of the data by performing sensitivity analyses. The result of the Inventory Analysis, consisting of the elementary flows related to the functional unit, is called the Life Cycle Inventory Table. Impact assessment, in this phase the effects of the resource use and emissions generated are group and quantified into a limited number of impact categories which there maybe weighted for importance. This aim to make

The Hunger Games (2012) Essay Example for Free

The Hunger Games (2012) Essay The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The tributes are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is a 16 year-old girl from District 12, a coal-mining region and the poorest of the districts. This year is the 74th Hunger Games and during the Reaping, Katniss younger sister, Primrose, is chosen as a tribute. Refusing to let her sister be taken, Katniss volunteers herself instead, becoming District 12s female tribute. The male tribute chosen is a bakers son named Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) who is later seen giving bread to Katniss to prevent her family from starving. Despite the threat of the games, Katniss dreams of making a new life for herself and her family outside the fence with her friend, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). She tells him that she never wants children. Before she leaves, Katniss comforts her mother (Paula Malcomson) and tells her to stay strong for Primrose. Katniss and Peeta are taken from their district by the gaudily dressed Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and travel to the Capitol. En route, they are fed rich food and treats but are disgusted by the amount of luxuries given to them and the occupants of the train while their families starve at home. They are introduced to their mentor and a former winner of the Hunger Games, Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) who appears to be a pessimistic alcoholic. Haymitch grabs a drink and food before leaving their train car. Katniss and Peeta later reunite with Haymitch in another car and he tells them that the key to survival is ensuring they are well liked by the public so that they may get sponsored. By having sponsors they will have more access to survival tools such as matches, knives, or even water. When they arrive in the gleaming city of the Capitol, the train is greeted by a cheering crowd. Peeta waves to the residents but Katniss refuses to show herself. Haymitch warns her that she better hold on to her knife and that Peeta actually knows what he is doing by feeding the crowd. Katniss meets her stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), who tells her that, as tributes, they need to make an impression on the audience so theyre remembered, especially by the sponsors. Cinna proclaims that someone as brave as Katniss should have a great costume for the Gala Entry Parade in which each pair of tributes wears an outfit reflecting their districts trade. Katniss and Peeta wear black costumes with actual fire to symbolize the coal-mining district they reside from. As Cinna hoped, they make a great impression on the audience. Peeta takes Katniss hand and raises it into the air during the parade for more effect. After the parade the pair go to their penthouse. The tributes under-go basic weaponry and combat training including the use of knives, swords, and bows. In spite of this training their trainer stresses that survival skills should not be underestimated as exposure and infection can kill just as effectively as any sword. One tribute named Cato (Alexander Ludwig) is hot-headed and imposing, proving to be possibly serious threat. Later, over a meal, Haymitch tells Peeta and Katniss about the Careers district from which Cato comes from. All of the possible tributes train until theyre 18 before openly volunteering to participate in the Hunger Games. Haymitch warns them that they win almost every year due to that fact before asking about Katniss bow and arrow skills. Katniss refocuses on Peeta, describing his impressive strength, but he rebuffs her compliments and confesses that his own mother (Raiko Bowman) thought Katniss to be the superior tribute. When Peeta is bullied by the other tributes during training, Katniss suggests he show off his strength by throwing a large weight across the room. Peeta manages to perform the feat successfully and gains a small amount of respect from the tributes. Later, in succession, each tribute is instructed to show off to the game makers, including Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley). When its Katniss turn, she decides to show off her archery skills. However, she misses her first shot badly and loses what little attention she had from the game makers. Despite her perfect second shot, she doesnt regain their respect. Angered and disgusted by the game makers attitude towards her, Katniss fires an arrow straight through an apple in a roasted pigs mouth, just inside the makers room. Katniss sarcastically thanks them for their consideration and leaves. The game makers display their scores of the tributes on a television screen, ranking from 0 to 12. Many tributes achieve high scores of 9 to 10, including the Careers Cato and his partner Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman). Peeta receives an 8 while Katniss scores an 11, the highest of all the tributes. The President of the Capitol, Snow (Donald Sutherland) addresses Seneca and tells him that the Hunger Games is about giving the districts hope, but that too much hope can actually be dangerous. During another meal, Haymitch tells Katniss about Peetas decision to go without his help because of the fact that there can only be one winner. On the extravagant Hunger Games TV chat show, each tribute is introduced individually and interviewed by the flamboyant host, Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). Katniss elicits laughs from the audience during the interview and impresses them by showing off her dress which displays real fire. Ceasar gives her the nickname girl on fire. During his interview, Peeta eats the audience up, garnering some laughs himself. It is then that he announces his crush on Katniss, something which angers her intensely. Backstage Katniss pins Peeta to the wall, demanding answers for his behavior. Haymitch separates the two and explains that he could sell the pair as star-crossed lovers which might gain them sponsorship support during the games. Just before the games, Haymitch warns Katniss to avoid the bloodbath at the beginning by heading to the high ground in search of water despite having to leave her bow and arrow behind. Katniss says goodbye to Cinna who tells her if he was allowed to bet, he would bet on her winning. The tributes are all injected with a tracking device in their arms as they travel via helicopter to the outdoor arena. The tributes are deposited into a meadow containing a cornucopia of weapons and backpacks. As the horn sounds, the tributes rush for the weapons, brutally attacking and killing each other. Katniss manages to grab a pack and barely escapes Clove, who embeds a knife in her backpack. Once at a safe distance, Katniss finds a rope, an empty canteen, and a coat inside the backpack. She takes Haymitchs advice and locates water in a nearby stream before she ties herself high up in a tree for the night and attempts to get some sleep. Loud bangs from a cannon indicate the deaths of tributes and we learn that thirteen were killed within the first 8 hours. Caesar announces that an alliance has been formed during the games and Katniss sees that Peeta has formed this alliance with the Careers during the night. He appears to be trying to lead them to Katniss location. While exploring the next day, Katniss gets too close to the outer regions of the arena. The game controllers decide to start a forest fire to lure her further in to the center. She barely manages to escape but does receive a nasty burn on her thigh, causing her to limp. She is then spotted by Cato and 4 other tributes, including Clove and Glimmer (Leven Rambin) who have banded together. We learn that, apparently, the Careers come, collectively, from Districts 1, 2, and 4 who are trained illegally before volunteering to fight; this group of 4 from two districts chases Katniss who eventually escapes by climbing a tree. Cato attempts to follow her up but is unsuccessful. Peeta suggests that the group wait for Katniss to eventually come down for food and water. The group settles for the night beneath the tree and Katniss ties herself to the tree to sleep. She is woken later that night by a parachute containing much needed medicine for her leg wound, sent by Haymitch. She applies the medicine to her burns and they disappear as if nothing happened. Her attention is then caught by a young 12 year old girl named Rue (Amandla Stenberg) from District 11. Rue, however, is friendly to Katniss and points out a large trackerjacker nest just above Katniss and dangling over the Career group below. We learn that trackerjackers are genetically engineering wasps whose stings are highly venomous and can cause powerful hallucinations. With enough stings, they can even kill. Katniss climbs up the tree towards the nest and begins sawing at the branch holding it up. The trackerjackers become irritated and start stinging her but, eventually, the branch snaps and the nest falls to the ground, exploding in a wave of wasps. The Careers group flees but Glimmer is s tung too many times and succumbs to the venom. Katniss manages to climb down the tree and, despite beginning to hallucinate, grabs a bow and escapes with Peetas help. After a night of hallucinations and nightmares, some involving her father (Phillip Troy Linger), Katniss awakens beneath a tree trunk covered in stings. Unclear as to who exactly helped her, Katniss stumbles around, thinking it must have been Peeta. Rue appears and tells her that she was out cold for 2 days and that shes been the one taking care of her. The two girls decide to team up and go on the offensive. They form a plan to destroy a mountain of food and supplies located in the starting meadow that the Career group is guarding; Rue is to start off small fires to distract the remaining Careers while Katniss detonates the booby-trapped mines around the mound. They agree to use the sounds of mockingjays to signal to each other. The plan works. The Careers become distracted by the smoke of the fires while one tribute, a boy from District 3 (Ian Nelson), remains at the cornucopia, standing guard. Katniss then notices a female tribute unseen by the others. Foxface (Jacqueline Emerson) from District 5 sprints towards the pyramid of food and supplies, unnoticed by the guard, picking her way through the unexploded mines and steals a backpack before making it to the forest, showcasing her cunning. Katniss then shoots at a bag of apples on top of the pile which causes them to cascade down and detonate the mines. The pyramid explodes, sending food and supplies everywhere. Katniss watches, triumphant, as the Career group rushes back to the clearing. Infuriated, Cato demands to know how such a thing could have happened if the guard was doing his job. The tribute from District 3 is equally confused but Catos anger makes him murderous and he snaps the boys neck. Katniss leaves, disturbed by Catos ease to kill. Katniss uses the bird call system to find Rue but receives no response until she hears a scared voice calling to her. Katniss finds Rue trapped under a net and releases her just before theyre attacked by Marvel (Jack Quaid), a tribute from District 1. Marvel throws a spear but Katniss dodges the attack and shoots an arrow into his chest, killing him. However, when she turns to Rue, she sees that Marvels spear has gone through her chest. Distraught, Katniss tries to calm Rue and sings to her peacefully as Rue dies. Katniss then gathers flowers from the forest and spreads them over Rue before her body taken back to her district via hovercraft. Meanwhile, Rues father is horrified and angered by his daughters death and starts a riot against the Hunger Games. His district follows his rebellious example and they destroy the stage showing the games. As Katniss makes a peace gesture to the camera, the Peace Keepers of District 11 arrive and shoot Rues father dead. President snow is enraged by the rebellion in District 11 and wants to change the games rules and circumstances to ensure that Katniss is killed. Haymitch pleads with Seneca to keep Katniss alive, issuing a ploy of teen romance as a main reason. Seneca then announces that the rules of the game have been changed; two winners instead of just one will be allotted so long as they belong to the same district. With this knowledge, and having just overheard the remaining Careers mention leaving Peeta for dead by the river, Katniss sets out in search of him. She finds a trail of blood near the river and follows it to where Peeta has camouflaged himself in the rocks. Katniss helps move him to a nearby cave where they are well hidden. Katniss attempts to heal Peetas sword wound but realizes he has blood poisoning, something that can only be cured with a special medicine. Katniss despairs as there could be no way Haymitch could send some since it would be too expensive at this point. However, as if by magic, an announcement rings out that there will be a feast at the cornucopia for all the tributes but, instead of food, there will be something each tribute desperately needs. Peeta begs Katniss not to leave him and risk her life trying to save him. He asks her to stay and Katniss reluctantly agrees, though she knows there may very well be medicine at the cornucopia that could save his life. The two share a brief kiss, partly as a way to gain more sponsors. However, this hits a nerve with Gale watching back home who is clearly smitten with Katniss. Katniss waits until Peeta has fallen asleep before leaving for the cornucopia. When she arrives, she sees Foxface sprinting towards the supplies, surprising the other tributes with her speed and escaping without much incident. Katniss decides to mimic Foxfaces moves and sprints out to grab the medicine but is thrown off guard when she is hit with a knife launched by Clove. The two wrestle and fight before Clove manages to get the upper hand and presses a knife to Katniss throat. She teases her with bloodlust and mocks her for teaming up with the little monster from District 11; Rue. Before Clove can slit Katniss throat, she is lifted by Thresh (Dayo Okeniyi), the male tribute from District 11, and thrown against the cornucopia wall. Thresh tells Katniss that she gets this one chance since she helped Rue but, after this, everything is fair game. He proceeds to smash Clove to death against the wall as Katniss escapes. She returns to the cave with the medicine and administers it to Peeta and herself, healing their wounds. In a more genuine romantic moment, the two fall asleep in each others arms. The next day, they split up to find food. During her hunt, Katniss hears a cannon signaling another tribute death. Panicked, she runs back to where she last saw Peeta. She finds him near a berry bush, standing bewildered with a handful of berries near the corpse of Foxface, also with berries in her hand. In a mix of anger and relief, Katniss slaps Peeta, telling him that the berries are Nightlock and extremely poisonous. The pair wonder if Cato would ever fall for the same trap that Foxface did before they notice that the sun is going down at mid-day. Unsure of whats to happen, they freeze and ready themselves for an impending attack. In the distance, they hear Thresh cry out followed by the sound of the cannon, signaling his death. They pause for a moment before a giant mutated dog leaps out at them, vicious and the size of a polar bear but with much more speed and agility. Katniss and Peeta sprint through the forest as two more of the dogs begin to pursue them. They are chased to the cornucopia where Peeta helps Katniss climb on top of it, barely making it up himself. They sit back in relief thinking the dogs will kill the last survivor, Cato, and they will be crowned the victors. Cato, however, is also on top of the cornucopia and attacks Katniss, attempting to throw her to the dogs. The three fight each other and Cato grabs Katniss by the throat, holding her near the edge of the structure before Peeta manages to fight him off her. Cato gets the upper hand and gets Peeta in a choke hold to either break his neck, as seen before, or throw him to the mutant dogs. Katniss unsheathes an arrow and points it at him, uncertain whether to shoot or not. Cato, dripping blood, laughs sadistically telling her that he knows what the games are about now. The tributes arent just entertainment, theyre all weapons designed to make the spectacle of death as painful and unnecessary as possible. Peeta, who is still being choked, appears to try and tell Katniss something while Cato talks. Cato asks if she shoots him, then her lover boy goes down with him. Katniss shoots his hand, forcing him to let go of Peeta. Peeta then pushes Cato off the edge to be mauled by the dogs. Katniss and Peeta watch a moment as Cato is savagely attacked before Katniss shoots an arrow into him, ending his misery. The last cannon goes off and Katniss and Peeta realize theyve won the Hunger Games. They embrace and wait for a helicopter to come take them home. No helicopter comes. An announcement then states that the rules which allow two winners has been revoked, meaning only one shall remain. Katniss contemplates shooting Peeta, but decides against it. Peeta, however, begs her to kill him so that she may win, but she takes out her hand and holds out some Nightlock berries. She takes some for herself and gives the rest to Peeta, hinting that shed rather the Capitol have no winners instead of one. Before they can commit suicide, a speaker pleads them to stop and announces that they are both winners. They are brought back to the Capitol where Haymitch tells them how foolish they are to have defied the Capitol like that and instructs them to play up the star-crossed couple routine at their final interview. They oblige but Haymitch relents that it will never be enough for the Capitol. We see Seneca Crane being led into a finely polished room. The door is locked behind him while a goblet is set on a pedestal in front of him, containing Nightlock. Although we do not see it, we are led to believe that he sacrifices himself. Peeta and Katniss travel back to District 12 by train. Although they are met with a heros welcome, Haymitch warns Katniss that she is now a political enemy after such a public defiance against the societys leaders. They are greeted by a crowd of cheering residents including Primrose, Katniss mother and Gale. Peeta realizes that Katniss may have been playing up the star-crossed lovers theme just for the audience. He takes her hand and holds it up in the air. President Snow watches the District 12 welcome from the Capitol. Walking away, he wonders what to do about the two victors and the feelings of rebellion they may have created in the Districts. Bottom of Form In the future, the world is split into districts. Each district is responsible for something: District 12, for example, handles coal and mining. All these districts are controlled by the Capitol, where lives the president who is always very, very cruel. The Capitol, to show the Districts how weak they are and how little control they have, hosts the Hunger Games. Two tributes are selected from each district to participate in a game. An arena is set up that looks like a natural surrounding {a jungle, rain forest, desert, etc..) Here, the tributes have to try to survive and kill each other off. The one who is the last standing wins and earns food and gifts for their District, and also can never be selected for the Games. Once chosen, you cant get out of it unless someone else offers to go for you, which no one is entirely willing to do. To get chosen, your name is written on a piece of paper and put into a small bowl, and is chosen at random. Only children are put once {I believe youre safe at the age of 18}, but poorer families are forced to add their childrens name multiple times because the more you put your name in, the more grain you get for your family. Of course, this means youre even more prone to be selected. Hunger Games is about Katniss Everdeen, a young girl who lives in District 12. Her father died at a young age, and from then on she had to take care of her younger sister Prim and her shocked mother. She snuck out under the electric fence that borders the District, and hunted for food using her bow and arrow. At the Reaping, which is the time of day where they select the tributes, Katnisss sister is chosen to be in the Games. Knowing that Prim knows nothing of survival, and Katniss is more skilled in hunting, Katniss offers to take her place. The rest of the book is about Katniss preparing for the Hunger Games and the Hunger Games itself.

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotskys Theories on Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotskys Theories on Cognitive Development According to Meece (2002), Piaget and Vygotsky were two prominent scholars of cognitive development theories. Piaget was a biology, psychology and philosophy scholar while Vygotsky first received a degree in law, then a degree in psychology. Even with two very different backgrounds, both scholars took a constructivist approach to their research in cognitive development as they believed, children must construct their own understandings of the world in which they live (p. 121). This idea has been debated and discussed for years. Piaget and Vygotsky were two prominent scholars within the realm of cognitive development. Their theories of cognitive development have been influential in the development of theories of education. In Jean Piagets research, his main goal was to answer the question, How does knowledge grow? (Silverthorn, 1999). He did this through genetic epistemology which is the study of cognitive development in children. According to Meece (2002), there are four major cognitive stages in a childs cognitive development: sensorimotor, preoperations, concrete operations and formal operations. A childs thought process is different from other developmental stages and each of the stages has its own importance. Piaget believed that a child could not skip a stage because each one is necessary in the process of cognitive development. In accordance with Meece (2002) and funderstanding.com (2006) the four stages are described as such: Sensorimotor stage (birth 2 years old)The child, through physical interaction with his or her environment, builds a set of concepts about reality and how it works. This is the stage where a child does not know that physical objects remain in existence even when out of sight (object permanence). Preoperational stage (ages 2-7)The child is not yet able to conceptualize abstractly and needs concrete physical situations. Concrete operations (ages 7-11)As physical experience accumulates, the child starts to conceptualize, creating logical structures that explain his or her physical experiences. Abstract problem solving is also possible at this stage. For example, arithmetic equations can be solved with numbers, not just with objects. Formal operations (beginning at ages 11-15)By this point, the childs cognitive structures are like those of an adult and include conceptual reasoning. (p. 1) In Piagets research, these four stages are rather concrete. But, many current researchers do not completely agree with the exactitude and universality of these stages. Piaget also refers to three different types of knowledge. Physical knowledge is knowing the attributes of objects such as their number, color, size and shape (Meece, 2002, p. 122). Logio-mathematical knowledge involves the mental construction of relationships (p. 122). Social knowledge is derived in part through interactions with others (p. 123). Piaget focused on classification and relations, spatial relationships, time, movement, chance, number, conservation and measurement in concrete stages (Genetic Epistemology, 2006). Lev Vygotsky was more concerned with how a child interacts with his culture and society (Meece, 2002). Piaget viewed knowledge as individually constructed while Vygotsky viewed cognitive development as socially co-constructed between people as they interact (p. 155). Vygotsky believed that children are born with elementary mental abilities such as perception, attention and memory (Meece, p. 156). As children develop and interact socially with their culture and society, these innate characteristics are further developed. According to Vygotsky, one of the most important parts of cognitive development is language. Within this theory, language occurs in three stages: social speech, egocentric speech and inner speech. Social speech is just that: speech for the purposes of communicating. Egocentric speech is more intellectual and children use this by speaking out loud to themselves. Inner speech is used by children to think in their heads about the problem or task at hand, instead of verbalizing their thoughts in order to decide what to do next. According to the website funderstanding.com, the zone of proximal development explains that, a difference exists between what [a] child can do on [his or] her own and what the child can do with help [from knowledgeable peers or adults] (p. 1). For example, a young child may not be able to put together a complex puzzle by himself, but with the help of an older child or another adult, the young child could put together the puzzle correctly. Both Piagets and Vygotskys theories of cognitive development provide foundations for constructivist approaches to teaching and learning (Meece, 2002). Each of their theories concern qualitative changes within a childs cognitive process. They also have the same goal within the classroom, creating for students a community of learning. Even though both theories have a common goal, each of them has a different approach when dealing with children and education. For instance, Piagets theory can help educators understand how children react and learn according to their age while Vygotskys theory can help understand the role of society in childrens education. Piaget was a scholar of natural science who happened to discover a way to explain how children acquire knowledge as they develop in age. Piagets theory can be directly related to his traditional background as he tries to explain the major transformations that children go through while acquiring knowledge. Piaget strongly believed that each age group varied significantly not only in the individual and group aspect, but also in the cultural aspect as well. The stages that he created are the following: Sensorimotor, Preoperations, Concrete Operations, and Formal Operations. All of these stages are met when children manipulate objects. This manipulation allows the creation of mental representation of the world and it allows two-way interaction with the environment. Essentially, the goal is to allow a child the ability to create and understand his world in a logical way. All of these stages result from the childrens manipulation of objects that lets them create a mental representation of the world and act on and influence the environment they live in (and vice versa), so that learners gradually forego illogical ways of thinking. Piagets theory is about including spontaneous experimentation in a single and group basis, so that students can build their own understanding based on the experiences that they have. By setting up this system, the children are not only limited to the classroom setting, but they are more alert of their surroundings. This method leads them to learn about self-correction, self-instruction, and self-motivation because of its hand on experience approach. According to Piaget, the growth of knowledge is a progressive construction. Childrens logic and modes of thinking are initially entirely different from those of adults (Jean Piaget Society, 2006), believing that the acquisition of knowledge is a process of continuous self-construction (Silverthorn, 1999). In order to adopt the cognitive development following Piagets theory, the educator should organize the class time with spontaneous mental activities to let learners develop their own ideas and to construct a healthy learning environment. To achieve this, Piaget encourages teachers to provide a role for social interaction and communication by presenting appropriate materials, drills, so that children can actively learn how to confront their physical and social world by living their own experiences. According to Marcy Driscoll (1994), there are three basic instructional principles on which Piagetian theorists generally agree: Principle 1: The learning environment should support the activity of the child (i.e., an active, discovery-oriented environment) Principle 2: Childrens interactions with their peers are an important source of cognitive development (i.e., peer teaching and social negotiation) (Driscoll, 1994). Principle 3: Adopt instructional strategies that make children aware of conflicts and inconsistencies in their thinking (i.e., conflict teaching and Socratic dialog) All of these principles are meant to be used in such a way that children can relate and continue to build upon previously acquired knowledge. It is important and necessary that teachers play the role of facilitators and encourage dialog among students about things that they have discovered themselves, so that learning become an automatic and enjoyable process. Piaget has inspired major curriculum reforms, some of his major contributions to education are (Meece, 2002): Knowledge must be actively constructed by the child. Educators should help children learn how to learn. Learning activities should be matched to the childs level of conceptual development. Peer interactions play an important role in the childs cognitive development (p. 169). Although this method seems beneficial, the financial cost and time-consumption that is involved during the set-up cause this method to be less influential. When compared with Piagets theory, Vygotskys theory places a stronger emphasis on social interactions. According to Vygotsky, knowledge is not individually constructed, but co -constructed between people. For Vygotsky, language and communication play the most important role of cognitive development his primary concern dealing with nature, evaluation and the transmission of human culture. Vygotsky identified three stages in childrens use of language: Language is primarily used for communication (social speech). Children begin to use egocentric or private speech to regulate their own thinking. Children use inner speech or verbal thoughts to guide their thinking and actions. For Piagets theory, language did not play such an important role in childrens development; however for Vygotskys theory speech is an extremely important developmental phenomenon as he believed that children learn through conversations with adults as the need to communicate with them presses the child to seek for the adult meanings of things that are said (Mason Timothy, 2006). So learning becomes a result of mature thinking and behavior due to socio-cultural experiences. For instance, Vygotsky encourages collaborative process of learning between teachers and students in the going of social events in the classroom. Vygotskys term Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was used to refer the difference between what children can do on their own, and what they could do with the assistance of others (Meece, 2002). The ZPD indicates what a childs level of mental development is at a particular time (Galant, 2006). Vygotsky assumed that interactions with adults and peers in the zone of proximal development help children move to higher levels of mental functioning (Meece, 2002). Vygotsky believed that interactions with adults and peers in this zone helped children move to higher levels of mental functioning within the classroom. Vygotskys approach challenges traditional teaching methods, as he emphasizes the significance of cooperative thinking that take place in the decision making process. This involves having students paired together or in small groups in which the teachers task is to focus on maintaining students motivation in order to pursue the instructional goal. Vygotskys theory is about guided discovery by having the teacher offer, intriguing questions to students and having them discover the answers through testing hypotheses. The students are engaged in the discovery process; however, they are still receiving assistance from a more knowledgeable source (Sample, 2006). According to Meece (2002), some of the major Educational Contributions of Vygotskys theories are: Role of private speech in cognitive development. The importance of guided participation and scaffolding. The role of peer interactions in cognitive development (p. 159-161). This method is helpful because it encourages constant peer review. However, if not handled properly, it can bring up a common problem that students and teachers frequently face. This disadvantage would be when groups rely on one member to do all the work. Meece (2002) explains that Piagets cognitive development theory is based on a childs innate ability to productively think on their own. This cognitive ability allows them to move to the next cognitive stage as they mature biologically and adapt to their environment. Children assimilate and accommodate their current schema, or mental constructs, to fit the new information presented in the classroom. Cognitive development and social interaction feeds intellectual activity and learning. The classroom methods of instruction should match the level of cognitive development, facilitating the advancement to the next stage of cognitive development. The level of cognitive development for early childhood learners (2-7 years) is described by Piaget as the preoperational stage (Meece, 2002). At this stage intuition and language develop. Examples of instructional tools Piaget would recommend to describe objects they are experiencing include: concrete props, symbols, and visual aids such as drawings, usage of models or examples, lessons about the childrens world and their experiences, less paper-and-pencil tasks and more hands on learning, back-and-forth conversations with peers to develop skills for the next stage, and field trips. According to Piaget, logical and mental operations are part of the cognitive development of children in the elementary school years (7-11 years). A childs thinking becomes less rigid and more dynamic during this stage. Piaget called this stage the concrete operations stage (Meece, 2002). Huitt (1997) mentions these instructional tools that follow this theory: concrete props such as three dimensional science models, lab work with minimal steps, brief and well organized lectures, relate existing instruction into previously learned material, word problems in math, and problems which require logic and analysis to solve. The Math Forum at Drexel University (2006) explained math education using a Piagetian theory: Students need to construct their own understanding of each mathematical concept, so that the primary role of teaching is not to lecture, explain, or otherwise attempt to transfer mathematical knowledge, but to create situations for students that will foster their making the necessary mental constructions. A critical aspect of the approach is a decomposition of each mathematical concept into developmental steps following a Piagetian theory of knowledge based on observation of, and interviews with, students as they attempt to learn a concept (para.1). Piagets final stage in his theory of cognitive development covers the 12 year old and up group. This stage is called the formal operations stage. Huitt Hummel (2003) describe this stage as characterized by a shift in thinking from the real to the involvement of abstractions and reflections. In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there is a return to egocentric thought. Only 35% of high school graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal operations; many people do not think formally during adulthood (page 1). Huitt (1997) suggests classroom practices such as these to best use Piagets theory: concrete operations stage type graphs on a more complicated scale, ask students to explore hypotheticals as they explore other worlds or complicated issues, encourage students to describe opposing viewpoints, have students describe how the solved the problem, teach broad but curriculum related concept s, and use materials and ideas relevant to the students to broaden their perspectives. Meece (2002) explains that Vygotsky did not believe an individuals thinking structure as innate, but cultural and social in origin and influence. Social and cultural interactions with knowledgeable peers and adults fuel cognitive development while improving the elementary thinking skills of the child (perception, attention, memory) to a higher level. Vygotsky might suggest Reciprocal Teaching in the classroom. This involves guided participation by a knowledgeable adult; with the students eventually taking over the learning activity. Egocentric speech was favored by Vygotsky. This is the thinking aloud speech children sometimes use to work through a problem. Vygotsky would not only encourage students to use this speech, but would demonstrate its use in practical settings. Collaborative learning activities would also be emphasized in the Vygotsky classroom. Learning is facilitated with meaningful discussions among students in a collaborative learning setting. Especially valuable are discussions with knowledgeable peers. Knowledgeable peers and teachers elevate a student beyond the students current capabilities, a place the student would not have achieved otherwise. It is absolutely possible to incorporate parts of both Piaget and Vygotskys theories in the classroom. Both theorists take a constructivist point of view and also believe that students are not passive in their knowledge (Meece, 2002). It is important for the teacher to be important organizers, stimulators, guides, and supporters of learning (p. 168). Piagets theory suggests that students need a curriculum that supports their cognitive development by learning concepts and logical steps. He also suggests that children are only capable of learning specific material in specific stages of cognitive development. Vygotsky would suggest more peer and cultural interactions in the classroom (funderstanding.com, 2006). He also believes that knowledgeable adults can help children learn even if they are not at the specific stage as Piaget suggests (Meece 2002). It is possible that while children are learning about concepts and logic, they can also interact with their peers and other adults by wor king on projects that relate the two together. It seems as though children may show some signs of specific development at specific times, but with help they can also excel at tasks they may not be able to do without help of others. Piaget and Vygotsky have differing views on cognitive development, but it is possible to incorporate parts of both theories when thinking about teaching strategies. Teachers must take into consideration the social and cultural background of the student before preparing the lesson plan. Using Piagets theory, the student must be at the correct stage of development in order use and understand the knowledge at hand. But, Vygotsky says that even if the child is not at the correct stage of development then a knowledgeable adult or teacher could influence the child and help him get to a level beyond what his level would otherwise indicate.

japanese religion :: essays research papers

Japan Religious and Philosophical Traditions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The values described in the preceding section are derived from a number of religious and philosophical traditions, both indigenous and foreign. Taken together, these traditions may be considered the Japanese worldview, although the personal beliefs of an individual Japanese may incorporate some aspects and disregard others. The Japanese worldview is eclectic, contrasting with a Western view in which religion is exclusive and defines one's identity. Contemporary Japanese society is highly secular. Cause and effect relations are frequently based in scientific models, and illness and death are explained by modern medical theories. Yet the scientific view is but one of the options from which an individual may draw in interpreting life's experiences. The Japanese worldview is characterized also by a pragmatic approach to problem solving, in which the technique may be less important than the results. Thus a Japanese who is ill may simultaneously or sequentially seek the assistance of a medical doctor, obtain medication from a person trained in the Chinese herbal tradition, and visit a local shrine. Each of these actions is based on a different belief in causation of the illness: the physician may say that the illness is caused by a bacterial infection; the herbalist regards the body as being out of balance; and the basis of the shrine visit is the belief that the mind must be cleansed to heal the body. In the West, these explanations might be viewed as mutually exclusive, but the Japanese patient may hold all of these views simultaneously without a sense of discord. Similarly, a student studying for university entrance examinations knows that without extraordinary hard work, admission is impossible. Yet the student will probably a lso visit a special shrine to ask for the help of the spiritual world in ensuring success. The roots of the Japanese worldview can be traced to several traditions. Shinto, the only indigenous religion of Japan, provided the base.

Review of Monsters Are Due On Maple Street :: essays research papers

?The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street? is a story about the paranoia of regular people. When the power and phone lines stop working on Maple Street, the residents become hostile. One boy puts an idea into their heads: that aliens impersonating humans have done it. This single thought catalysts and soon all of the neighbors are ready to hurt each other for answers. ?The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street? is a good play to see for all ages. The play is so relatable to viewers because the characters are the kind of people everyone knows. Steve Brand is the sensible character. He, alone, is the person who keeps level-headed throughout the entire ordeal. He addresses each development rationally and tries to keep everyone together. Charlie starts out as a friendly neighbor, but soon turns into the leader of the witch hunt. He even kills someone in his pursuit to find a scapegoat. He and the rest of the people on Maple Street become dangerously defensive once they?re willing to hurt another human being. The play teaches are very important lesson on being too cautious. When faced with a small problem like a power outage, the residents of a small town turn on each other. It shows how vulnerable and paranoid humans can be. At the end of the play, the narrator says that this is something that could happen among humans anywhere, it is not just confined to the ?Twilight Zone?. This is a departure from most other episodes, which end, ?only in the Twilight Zone?. This show, which broadcasted during the Cold War, is meant to demonstrate horrible things that could come from people being too paranoid and distrustful. This is a lesson which is still relevant today. Though the acting and dialogue seem to appeal to an older audience, young viewers can still enjoy and learn from this play. Prejudices, suspicion, and thoughtlessness are as prevalent as ever. For any problem, humans will look for a scapegoat. The War on Terror seems to bring similar feelings as those around during the Cold War. The lesson of trusting other people is as relevant now as it was in 1960, when the show originally aired.

Bhagavatism

Related to this name is an early religion, sometimes called Bhagavatism[1] that was largely formed by the 4th century BC where Vasudeva was worshiped as the supreme Deity in a strongly monotheistic format, where the Supreme Being was perfect, eternal and full of grace.[1] The name forms part of a famous mantra also known as a â€Å"twelve syllable mantra†, which believed to be the earliest mantra from pre-reformation times, pre-dating sectarian divisions in Vaishnavism- (IAST oá ¹  namo bhagavate vÄ sudevÄ ya), it is translated as â€Å"Om, reverence to the Lord Vasudeva†.[1] Vasudeva married Devaki, the sister of Kansa, and he was also the father of Krishnas sister Subhadra. He also took a second wife, Rohini, who bore his eldest son, Balarama. According to some accounts he also had several other children by other wives. Vasudeva and Devaki spent most of their early adult life behind bars in the deepest pits of darkness as ordered by Kamsa. Vasudeva was known for his consistent approach to life and his virtue of being a truthful person, never uttering a lie during his lifetime. After Kamsa was killed by Krishna, Vasudeva was installed as the Crown-Prince of Mathura under the reign of Devaki's uncle, King Ugrasena.