Compare and contrast the marketing strategies used by Waitrose and Essay

Compare and contrast the marketing strategies used by Waitrose and ASDA in UK . How do they identify the needs of their customer - Essay Example The product should as well better the lives on the customers, who should always desire to come back for more; this keeps a business at a competitive advantage since it is capable of sustaining its customers. A marketing strategy should also be consistent such that, the marketing message remains the same. In this case, consumers will be certain of the product being sold. Hence, one should choose a certain appropriate market for his business and the marketing channels. In addition, a market for a business should be targeted such that, it is directed to the right customers. Normally, proper communication using right words attracts customers more; hence, an effective marketing strategy must be communicative (Hoos, 2010). Marketing strategies are inclusive of three forces, namely, competition, customer, and corporation. According to Jain, â€Å"a good marketing strategy should include a clear market definition, a good match between corporate strengths and the needs of the market and a su perior performance, relative to the competition in the key success factors of the business† (Jain n.d, pp 23). A good matching of the customer and corporation’s needs and objectives is important since it leads to a long relationship; however, competition must have an objective, for instance, the level of competition, which entails whether competition involves an entire market or a in a certain segment. Secondly, how to compete entails the means by which competition will take place, for instance, a product may be introduced to serve a specific customer’s need. Thirdly, when to compete involves a waiting for a certain time to penetrate into the market (Jain, n.d, pp 24). Therefore, according to Analoui (2003, pp 241), an effective marketing strategy should prioritize demands and wants of customers, identify a market for the business, select a marketing mix and drive the firm in to a competitive advantage. Marketing strategies used by Waitrose and ASDA in United Kin gdom and how they identify their customers Waitrose was founded by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose, and David Taylor, when the self-service for product was introduced in 1951. However, it operates as a grocery retailer in the United Kingdom, and it is aimed at providing the convenience as supermarkets do, in terms of services and products that are of quality, value, and fresh and in variety. Waitrose mainly deals with food and drinks and targets the upper market, providing variety of their fresh and quality products. However, Waitrose faces competition from related firms like the Tesco; this is due to Waitrose’s high prices, while consumer are capable of buying groceries in any place as long as the prices are friendly and the groceries are fresh. However, one of the strategy Waitrose has adapted in order to attract and sustain customers is product differentiation and delivering product of high quality (Addidas 2003, pp 5). According to Chadwick et al, (2007 pp 14), Waitrose acquir ed 40% in LMS e-commerce grocery business to expand its online service. Due to technology, the online service was effective and able to serve customers anywhere in terms of home delivery of groceries

HPV critical Analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HPV critical Analysis - Article Example to establish and collect not only this data, but also to provide a baseline estimate to measure the wide-scale impact of the current HPV vaccine on reducing infection, as well as providing models with a baseline on cost-effectiveness of distributing said vaccine. Were these seven colleagues qualified to do so? Indeed they were, by virtue of profession and training. As listed in the article, six out of the seven that conducted the study not only held the title of Ph.D. or M.D., but also were employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which not only supported their work but also conducted the larger survey of which the study was a part of, the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NAHANES). All seven worked together to gather, collate, and sort the data, with Dr. Eileen F. Dunne taking the lead role, as well as responsibility for the data that supported their conclusions. Dr. Dunne and her colleagues made no claims about the HPV virus, though they did claim that baseline data would be effective in measuring the prevalence of the disease. Their main concern was that such data did not exist, and therefore in the future there would be nothing to measure the actual reduction of the HPV virus in women against, had they been given the vaccine. To conduct the study, Dr. Dunne and her colleagues used a â€Å"representative sample† of women aged 14-59 that were taking part in the NHANES survey. The women self-reported their race and ethnicity via questionnaires as well as providing a cervical swab. Out of 2482 females that took part in the study, 2387 were examined in a mobile examination center and asked to self-collect a sample via swab, which was then submitted for analysis. HPV detection, as well as typing, was then performed, and the results analyzed. Out of the 2387 females, 466 were considered â€Å"nonresponders†, due to the fact that they either submitted â€Å"an inadequate swab specimen†, or did not submit a specimen at all. The various types

Research on Science Essay Example for Free

Research on Science Essay ABSTRACT The study explores ways in which students who have participated in a curriculum innovation, Science ALIVE! acquire Science process skills and perceive the relevance of Science in everyday life. It investigates whether students have, after the programme, perceived an improvement in applying Science process skills. Four classes of Secondary 2 Express students attended one of four modules in the Science ALIVE! programme and responded to a pre- and post-course survey to measure their perceived skill competency for each process skill. They also responded to questions on whether the programme enhanced their awareness of the relevance of Science in everyday life. Five students from each module were selected to provide written feedback at mid-course and write a journal after the course. The content of their feedback and journals were analysed to provide deeper insight of the results of the perception surveys. The data was triangulated with teachers’ feedback, which was used to provide insight of the factors that affect the acquisition of the process skills. The findings show significant increase in students’ perception of skill competency while a high percentage of students indicated that the programme has made them more aware of the relevance of Science in their lives. INTRODUCTION Traditional learning approaches in which students are passive recipients of knowledge are inconsistent with the call for Singapore schools to Teach Less, Learn More (TLLM). There is a need to allow learning to occur in settings that are relevant to students’ experiences and real world problems. In Clementi Town Secondary School (CTSS), Project Work was used as a platform for students to transfer their learning and apply in authentic applications. However, teachers who had conducted Project Work for Science at Secondary 2 observed that students’ projects lacked depth in the specific content area, and the skills needed for scientific investigations. This spurred the need to cover content knowledge relevant to the projects assigned. It also raised the concern that Science process skills, as stipulated in the MOE Lower Secondary Science (LSS) Syllabus, were not sufficiently emphasised compared to acquiring scientific knowledge. Teachers also indicated that students were una ble to appreciate the relevance of Science in solving problems in their lives after past Project Work tasks. Science Process Skills â€Å"Science process skills† is commonly used to describe a set of broadly transferable abilities that are reflective of what scientists do. These skills are grouped into two types – basic and integrated. Basic process skills provide a foundation for learning the integrated skills, which are more complex skills for solving problems or doing Science experiments. In this study, reflecting is listed as a process skill to be investigated, though it is usually considered part of thinking skills which is a broader category that subsumes process skills. Some Science educators have argued that â€Å"teaching students Science facts is not as important as developing their Science process skills so that they can learn this knowledge on their own† (Young, 1995). Studies in the United States have shown that elementary school students who are taught process skills, not only learn to use those processes, but also retain them for future use. In Singapore, the MOE Primary Science syllabus also emphasises the teaching of basic process skills and some integrated skills, while the LSS syllabus emphasises the use of process skills for planning investigations and creative problem solving, and other thinking skills. Curriculum design plays an important role in the acquisition of Science process skills. The MOE Assessment Guidelines for LSS recommends an explicit teaching of the process skills, followed by the integration of these skills by students in experimenting or carrying out investigative projects. Padilla (1990) pointed out that â€Å"when Science process skills are a specific planned outcome of a Science programme, those skills can be learned by students Teachers need to select curricula which emphasise Science process skills.† These basic skills are learnt more effectively if they are considered an important object of instruction and if proven teaching methods are used. There must be a deliberate effort to focus on teaching process skills through a modified LSS curriculum. Young (1995) recommended that if teachers have the freedom to select their own topics, they should choose topics of direct interest to themselves and which would excite students. Science knowledge serves as background for lessons but should not take up the whole lesson. Instead, more time should be spent on activities that enhance the understanding of Science concepts and improve Science skills. Some studies have shown that instead of using the didactic approach, teaching Science through the use of activity-based approaches significantly improved students’ achievement in Science process skills (Beaumont-Walters, 2001). Berry et al (1999) suggested a few crucial factors that influence the acquisition of process skills used in laboratory work. Firstly, students need the relevant content knowledge that is assumed by the task to be mentally engaged. For example, a more knowledgeable student would be able to explain an observation, which in turn â€Å"validates† his knowledge and gives him a certain amount of intellectual satisfaction. The ‘doing’ of Science has to be coupled with ‘learning about’ Science, if students are to appreciate the value of scientific inquiry (Haigh et al, 2005). A second factor suggested by Berry et al (1999) is students’ ownership of laboratory tasks. Ownership would be more apparent in open laboratory tasks, where the student has to design his own experiment than in closed laboratory tasks, where the â€Å"correct† experimental procedure is written out in a â€Å"cookbook† style and the student is likely to carry out the tasks unthinkingly. Another effective strategy to enhance students’ process skills would be to let students keep a â€Å"scientific journal† (Tomkins Tunnicliffe, 2001). It was observed that diary writers tend to build more confidence in their own interpretations, engage in intellectual debates with themselves over the plausibility of their explanations and ask questions that are more quantifiable. Relevance of Science in everyday life Research studies conducted in recent decades on students’ perception of school Science have consistently shown that they perceive Science as not relevant (Bennett, 2001). Similar findings have raised a serious concern in several countries. For instance, a report by the Dutch Ministry of Education in 2002 observed that secondary school students did not see a connection between what they learnt in Chemistry lessons and the chemistry happening around them (Van Aalsvoort, 2004a). A subsequent report recommended teaching Science in context. However, a study carried out on a contextualised Science curriculum introduced to Swaziland students highlighted some shortcomings (Campbell et al, 2000). The findings showed that less than half of the sample students could draw on Science concepts to explain everyday experiences or solve everyday problems. It was suggested that contextualised learning could be made more effective through student-initiated project work on everyday problems. Van Aalsvoort (2004b) suggested using activity theory to address the issue of the relevance of Chemistry in chemical education, where reflection plays a key role in evaluating and developing an activity. Reflection could be carried out through writing reflection journals, which also helped enhance the acquisition of process skills, as mentioned earlier (Tomkins Tunnicliffe, 2001). According to Van Aalsvoort (2004a), relevance can be defined in four aspects: (i) personal relevance – Science education makes connections to students’ lives; (ii) professional relevance – Science education offers students a picture of possible professions; (iii) social relevance – Science education clarifies the purpose of Science in human and social issues; and (iv) personal/social relevance – Science education helps students develop into responsible citizens. This study considers relevance in three aspects – personal, professional and social. INTERVENTION Project Work aims for students to transfer the learning of concepts into applications in authentic settings. To address the areas of concern raised by teachers teaching Project Work, the Science ALIVE! programme was conceived to integrate Project Work and the LSS syllabus. This 13-week programme was conducted during Semester 2 of the Secondary 2 Express Science curriculum and used alternative assessment to replace the traditional end-ofyear examination. In this programme, a team of teachers crafted four modules which covered a variety of topics from Biology, Chemistry and Physics. As a motivating factor, students could choose from one of the four modules offered: Aroma Chemistry, Biodiversity, Life Science and Water Rockets. In each Science ALIVE! module, specific content knowledge was taught using hands-on strategies such as laboratory work, field trips, journal writing and group discussions. These strategies were intended to promote student engagement. Most importantly, the programme addressed the three key issues of concern in the following ways: 1. Content knowledge covered was specific to each module and relevant to the projects that students were assigned. This enabled students to better transfer the concepts to the projects. 2. Science process skills could be applied by students through journal writing, laboratory work and investigative project work. Science process skills were used as criteria for assessment to emphasise their importance and focus. 3. To enhance the relevance of Science, students were given a choice of the elective module to study, and to decide on the problem to work on for their projects. Contextualised learning, which draws on scientific understanding to explain everyday situations, was consciously infused into the curriculum design for each module. Reflection journals were written after selected activities, which according to activity theory helped students evaluate their learning (Van Aalsvoort, 2004b). RESEARCH QUESTIONS The two research questions are: (1) How does the Science ALIVE! programme help students to apply their Science process skills? And (2) How can the Science ALIVE! programme enhance the relevance of Science in students’ lives? METHODOLOGY Participants 147 students from all four Secondary 2 Express classes attended the Science ALIVE! programme and participated in the study. Pre- and post-course perception surveys were conducted for all students to measure their perception of their skill competency and their awareness of the relevance of Science in their lives through the programme. In addition, five students were selected from each module to give written feedback in week 8 (mid-course) and write a journal in week 13 (at the end of the course). To provide maximum variation, the five students from each module were selected based on their Science grade in Semester 1 and their reasons for selecting the module which reflected their motivational level. Instruments In the pre- and post-course surveys, students were asked to rate their perception of their Science process skills using a four-point Likert scale. The post-course survey included an item to measure students’ perception of increased awareness of the relevance of Science in their lives. Data Analysis For survey items on Science process skills, the mean value of each skill was calculated for the individual module (Table 2) as well as across all modules (Table 1). Skills with ratings of less than 3 (out of 4) were identified and analysed. The differences in mean values for pre- and post-course surveys were compared. The differences were considered significant if there was an increase or decrease of at least 0.3 in value (or 10% of the range of scale used). Journals and mid-course written feedback of the 20 selected students were used to surface possible reasons for these perceptions. The data was triangulated with teachers’ feedback, which was used to provide insight of the factors that affect the acquisition of the process skills. For the survey item on the relevance of Science, the total percentage of students who indicated an â€Å"Agree† or â€Å"Strongly Agree† was computed for each module. Content analysis of the journals and written feedback from the selected students were carried out. Frequency counts of the responses were based on three categories: personal, professional and social relevance. Teachers’ feedback was used to provide depth to the findings. RESULTS Acquisition of Science process skills The perception of all students on the level of their skill competency before and after the Science ALIVE! programme was measured through surveys. The survey results were compared using the mean values for each process skill, as shown in Table 1. Table 1: Comparison of students’ perception of skills before and after Science ALIVE! Mean value (scale 1 – 4) Pre-Course Post-Course 3.1 3.2 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.1 2.8 2.6 3.0 3.0 2.7 3.1 3.2 Process Skill (a) Elaborating (Research) (b) Conducting scientific investigations (Planning investigations) (c) Conducting scientific investigations (Using scientific apparatus) (d) Conducting scientific investigations (Analysing data) (e) Communicating (Writing scientific reports) (f) Reflecting (g) Questioning (Learning by asking questions) In the pre-course survey, the items which scored less than 3 are the skills of ‘planning investigations’, ‘using scientific apparatus’, ‘analysing data’, ‘writing scientific reports’ and ‘learning by asking questions’. Students’ perception rating increased in the following skills ‘using scientific apparatus’, ‘analysing data’ and ‘learning by asking questions’ suggesting that the Science ALIVE! programme had benefited them in these areas, with the exception of ‘planning investigations’ and ‘writing scientific reports’ where there was marginal increase or no change between the pre- and post-course rating. This revealed that in general, students still did not have much confidence in these skills and suggests that more could be done in the next cycle to guide students in these aspects. The changes in the rating for items (b), (c) and (d) in the pre- and post-course surveys suggest that students’ perceptions that their skills in handling apparatus and equipment have improved. This could be attributed to the fact that students were introduced to various new apparatus or equipment during project experiments in all modules. For example, the Biodiversity module used dataloggers which was equipment new to students. Skills in items (b), (c) and (d) are all part of the process of conducting scientific investigations. However, there was only a marginal increase in the rating for (b) ‘planning investigations’ after the programme. This could be because planning investigations is a higher order process skill which encompasses making hypothesis, identifying variables and writing the experimental procedures. Analysis of Science process skills by skill category The results were further categorised to compare and study the changes in students’ perception of skill competency for the individual modules, as shown in Table 2. Table 2: Comparison of perception of skill competency by module Mean value (Scale 1 – 4) BioLife diversity Science Pre Post Pre Post 2.9 3.2 3.0 3.3 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.9 3.3 2.9 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.4 3.3 3.3 2.4 2.9 2.7 2.5 3.1 2.9 2.8 3.0 3.1 2.9 3.2 3.0 Module Process Skill (a) Elaborating (Research) (b) Conducting investigations (Planning investigations) (c) Conducting investigations (Using scientific apparatus) (d) Conducting investigations (Analysing data) (e) Communicating (Writing scientific report) (f) Reflecting (g) Questioning (Learning by asking questions) Elaborating Aroma Chemistry Pre Post 3.3 3.2 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.7 3.1 3.0 2.7 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.8 3.2 Water Rockets Pre Post 3.1 3.1 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.9 2.6 2.5 3.0 2.9 2.7 3.0 3.2 The results of item (a) in the pre- and post-surveys showed an increase in rating for this skill for the Biodiversity and Life Science modules. This could be because these modules are more content-based topics, which require greater use of such skills. It should, however, be noted that for Aroma Chemistry module, the pre-course survey score was already high and it might be difficult to make further significant improvement. From the written feedback of selected students in the 8th week of the programme, half indicated that they had learnt to research to look for more information. All five students from the Biodiversity module wrote that they had learnt to assess â€Å"how reliable the sources are†. For example, one student from the module wrote in her journal that â€Å"before creating our ecosystem, we need to do research on the organisms that we choose, on what they feed on and their suitable habitat† (Student S8). Teachers conducting the programme felt that most students were still at the developmental stage of doing research, as they could not extract relevant information from sources. They also observed that some students lacked the initiative and discipline to do research work, though teachers had provided a list of resources. This could be seen in project reports, where the evidence of research is lacking. A likely explanation for this observation is the past practice of didactic teaching, resulting in students â€Å"so used to being given all materials and information by teachers that they do not know how to get started† (Teacher T3). Teacher T1 recommended the need to balance between providing students with information and allowing them to be independent in their learning. Conducting Scientific Investigations For item (b) on ‘planning investigations’, the Life Science module had the largest increase in perception rating (more than 10%). Here the Life Science teacher explained that students were taught how to design experiments step-by-step with given examples. The importance of planning in investigations is stated by one of the students in the module: When we need to choose something, we need to think about all its aspects. After everything is ok, we can start work (Student S14). However, Teacher T2 commented that students still needed a lot of hand-holding and practice to be competent. A student from another module echoed this: â€Å"I am not sure how to design an experiment on my own†. Item (c) on the practical skill of ‘using scientific apparatus’ or equipment had the largest increase for all modules, except Life Science where the initial pre-course rating was already high (mean 2.9). All modules were designed to include more hands-on activities, which required the use of apparatus and equipment. One student wrote about the importance of using the right procedures as he â€Å"learnt how to use steam distillation by setting up the apparatus correctly and doing the extraction properly† (Student S2), while another student shared her new skill of using â€Å"dataloggers to measure the different abiotic factors from the †¦forests† (Student S7). Teachers observed that the students were excited and enjoyed themselves when using new apparatus. On their part, teachers also sought to infuse rigour by ensuring that students perform the experimental procedures accurately. The enjoyment of Science through hands-on activities, particularly laboratory work, was a motivating factor in learning Science. The rating for the skill of analysing or inferring from experimental data in item (d) increased more for three modules than for the Biodiversity module. This could be the result of students being given more opportunities to handle experimental data in their projects and make conclusions for the Aroma Chemistry, Life Science and Water Rockets modules. On the other hand, the investigative project for Biodiversity was of a smaller scale, and students’ main form of project assessment was a conservation proposal. One factor which attributed to the increase in perception rating was group collaboration. As students did their projects in groups, they could discuss how to analyse the data obtained from the investigations. Students analysed their data in various ways depending on the type of data collected in each module. For example, Student S11 commented: â€Å"I got a chance to compare and compile the results of surveys, test the reliability of our product, put into tables and identify the similarities and differences present. Others learnt to analyse the cause of problems in their projects, as noted by Student S16: â€Å"†¦ our rocket failed in launching and we realise that the problem is due to the leaking of our rocket†. Teachers however concurred in their observations that though students could comment on their data, their analysis lacked depth. Besides these investigative skills, many students also reflected in their journals that they had developed observation skills during practical work and investigations. One student wrote: â€Å"In the past, I would have just used my eyes. Now I have learnt to use all of my five senses to know more about the subject I am observing† (Student S10). Communicating In item (e), ‘writing scientific reports’ was the focus in the skill of communicating. Though there was no change in overall student perception (see Table 1), Table 2 showed a significant drop in the rating for Biodiversity module compared to an increase in Life Science module. The Biodiversity teacher attributed the drop in rating to students’ â€Å"realisation and shock† in receiving feedback on their first report draft, as they â€Å"did not anticipate scientific reports to be of slightly different nature and demands though they were briefed†. But she noted that the provision of formative feedback and the re-drafting of reports helped students in this skill. The Life Science teacher linked the increased rating to having provided illustrative examples and templates for students, but she felt that they were still lacking in the skill and could be given more practice. Students’ journals hardly mentioned this skill, except Student S10 who wrote that he â€Å"learnt to sieve through the report for important points to put in the abstract†. Reflecting Generally, students felt that they were able to reflect on their lessons. Item (f) in Table 2 showed an initial high rating which was unchanged after the programme. Students saw their journals as an â€Å"opportunity to clarify and reflect upon their learning† (Student S3). At the end of the programme, a few students said that the reflections helped to monitor their understanding of lessons, and one student mentioned that she would research on the internet to address questions she had (Student S1). Teachers believed that â€Å"journal writing and providing consistent formative feedback help(ed) the students develop reflection skills† (Teacher T1). However, specific journal prompts are necessary to guide students so that they do not simply give a detailed account of the activities and concepts covered without reflecting on the learning points (Teacher T2). Questioning The survey results of item (g) showed more significant increase in the Biodiversity and Water Rockets modules. For each module, students acquired this skill through reflecting on their lessons in their journals and then asking relevant questions to find out more. One student reflected that she dared to ask more questions in class after learning to ask questions through journals (Student S6). Students had opportunities to generate questions when they were verifying the reliability of information. They also formulated questions prior to industrial visits and field trips, and posed them to the experts. At the mid-course feedback, a few students mentioned that they learnt to â€Å"raise questions in class† through ways such as â€Å"being a questioner in group discussions† (Student S13). The Biodiversity teacher attributed this improvement to conducive â€Å"lesson environment and delivery (that) promotes questioning†. Such lesson delivery may include guiding questions in class activities and journal prompts that encouraged further questioning, and peer evaluation where students critiqued the projects of other groups. The Water Rockets teacher reflected that in comparison to traditional Science lessons, â€Å"there was more chance for students to ask questions as things are now less predictable† as in most real world situations. The post-course survey included an item which required students to state whether â€Å"Science ALIVE! lessons have made them more aware of the relevance of Science in their lives†. Table 3 shows the percentage of students who â€Å"agreed† or â€Å"strongly agreed† with the statement. Table 3: Percentage of students who indicated that the programme had made them more aware of the relevance of Science in their lives Module Aroma Chemistry Biodiversity Life Science Water Rockets % Agree 73.5 47.2 64.1 73.0 % Strongly Agree 17.7 50.0 23.1 10.8 % (Agree + Strongly Agree) 91.2 97.2 87.2 83.8 The results in Table 3 show a very high concurrence with the statement for all modules. This is consistent with the programme objective of enhancing the relevance of Science in students’ lives. Students’ journals were analysed for indications of the relevance of Science in three areas: personal, professional and social. A frequency count of the responses showed 82% for personal relevance, 24% for professional relevance and 65% for social relevance. This revealed that students perceived the relevance of Science as mostly related to their personal lives. Only a handful of students could relate the relevance to their future career prospects. Further probing into students’ definition of personal relevance showed an extensive range of interpretation depending on the modules taken. Enhancing one’s quality of life is frequently mentioned in terms of personal relaxation and cure for illnesses. Students from the Aroma Chemistry module stated that they â€Å"could use essential oils to calm a person if he feels nervous† (Student S2). Life Science students surfaced the use of medicines when they fall sick and the growing of genetically modified food (GMF) for convenience (Student S15). Students also stated the importance of process skills in their lives, such as questioning the reliability of information sources. The majority of students could not appreciate Science as having professional relevance. Those who were able to see career possibilities were students who had gone for field trips, where they were introduced to experts in the related field. They saw the knowledge and skills gained through the programme as relevant to their â€Å"future education and working career† (Student S11). Others used the knowledge gained to better understand the requirements of various jobs. A student stated that she â€Å"could understand how people designing furniture, buildings and other things require this knowledge (of centre of gravity)† (Student S16). Three out of five students could relate Science to social relevance, which included how Science affected interaction between people and the environment. One Biodiversity student wrote: â€Å"This also taught me that in school or at work, we have to depend on one another for a living† (Student S10), while another could â€Å"understand nature better† and learnt not to pollute the environment (Student S7). Life Science students pointed out various applications in social and ethical issues, such as the use of forensic Science by police to solve crime (Student S11), knowledge of DNA in cloning (Student S15), and even checking via blood tests whether a child is biologically conceived or adopted (Student S12). Teachers’ feedback indicated that students were generally able to â€Å"connect Science to reality and †¦ in explaining happenings in their lives† (Teacher T2). These observations were made through students’ group discussions and written journals. Examples quoted by the teachers were mostly related to personal and social relevance. It showed that students had an increased awareness of scientific discovery (e.g. antibiotics, genetics) and technology (e.g. making of soap and sweets) that were directly related to their lives and the lives of those around them. The main catalyst that enhanced their awareness was personal experiences through engaging them in experiments that relate to real life and exposing them to more field trips (e.g. Yakult factory, flavour and fragrance industry, nature reserve). DISCUSSION Key features in Science ALIVE! that have helped students acquire Science process skills include scaffolding, group collaboration and journal writing. Scaffolding guides students in learning new or complex skills. Nelson (2004) pointed out that more scaffolding is required for students to be able to do research independently. To illustrate this, the increase in rating for skills on ‘planning investigations’ and ‘writing of scientific report’ in the Life Science module was attributed to â€Å"a lot of hand-holding† and exemplars provided by the teacher. Scaffolding in the form of specific journal prompts can also be adopted to ensure greater depth in student reflection. Teachers, however, will need to balance between providing students support and allowing them to be independent learners. Group collaboration is deployed extensively in the programme, where students worked in groups of three on projects, laboratory work and group assignments. This concurs with findings of a study conducted by Hofstein et al (2004), where cooperative learning in laboratory work helped students construct knowledge. Hofstein et al argued for more time to be spent on laboratory tasks, so that students could reflect on findings and also discuss with their peers. This would be one way to further improve students’ analytical skills, which they are still lacking. Journal writing in Science ALIVE! proves to be very useful in informing teachers of students’ conceptual understanding, acquisition of skills such as reflecting and questioning, and how students relate Science to their everyday life. It allows teachers to give regular feedback as part of assessment for learning. It is also of considerable value to students as it promotes greater ownership to their learning (Tomkins and Tunnicliffe, 2001). This leads to independent learning and moves students to a higher level of thinking, according to the principle on ‘Experience of learning’ in the Principles of Engaged Learning (MOE, 2005). Science ALIVE! lessons are different from the didactic traditional Science lessons, as they focus largely on the application of Science process skills. Hence there is a need to prepare students for the change, for example, from structured experiments to partially open investigations (Haigh et al, 2005). The need for such preparation was evident in the Biodiversity module as students were surprised to learn that scientific reports were different from other project reports, but they managed to overcome it after a few rounds of re-drafting. After the pilot run of Science ALIVE! programme, the teachers recommended that process skills be explicitly taught first followed by opportunities â€Å"created on purpose† for students to practise the skills. This is consistent with Padilla (1990) who suggested the need to provide students with â€Å"multiple opportunities to work with these skills in different content areas and contexts†. To enhance students’ investigative skills, Haigh et al (2005) proposed that teachers provide ‘refresher’ courses to cue students in the planning and conducting of their investigations .On completion of the investigation, students should be given the opportunity to evaluate their work so as to make it more meaningful. In Aroma Chemistry, students were asked to compare the quality of two batches of soap that they had made from different laboratory sessions and analyse the possible causes for the difference, while Biodiversity students had to reflect on the additiona l learning gained after a second trip to the nature reserve. Besides using appropriate strategies to help students adapt to the shift, it is also crucial to rectify students’ mindset on the importance and relevance of acquiring Science process skills. This is because students will be more motivated if they consider process skills an important object of instruction (Padilla, 1990). Thus teachers need to make explicit the â€Å"why† of teaching process skills (Haigh et al, 2005). The deliberate infusion of relevant Science applications in the curriculum of each module has succeeded in enhancing students’ awareness of the usefulness of Science in everyday life. Personal and social relevance dominated students’ ideas of the relevance of Science, though exposure to related industries and appropriate working environments could further promote an awareness of professional relevance. CONCLUSION Going forward, the Science ALIVE! programme would be refined in the next cycle to enhance students’ acquisition of Science process skills. Successful strategies such as the use of reflection journals, activity-based learning, group collaboration and contextualised learning will continue to be used. There would be more emphasis on the explicit teaching of process skills. In addition, more opportunities would be provided for the application of process skills in the core curriculum. RECOMMENDATION Further research on the Science ALIVE! programme could focus on the process skills which students found more difficult to master. With explicit teaching of these skills in the core curriculum prior to Science ALIVE!, the impact could be investigated. The usefulness of Science process skills acquired through the programme could be studied in terms of its impact on Upper Secondary Science, for example, the sustainability of student motivation in Upper Secondary Science. The findings in these research areas will help to inform the effectiveness of future Science ALIVE! programmes. REFERENCES Beaumont-Walters, Y. (2001). An analysis of high school students’ performance on five integrated Science process skills. Research in Science Technological Education, 19(2), 133-145. Bennett, J. (2001). Science with attitude: the perennial issue of pupils’ responses to Science. School Science Review, 82(300), 59-67. Berry, A., Mulhall, P., Gunstone, R., Loughran, J. (1999). Helping students learn from laboratory work. Australian Science Teachers’ Journal, 45(1), 27-31. Campbell, B., Lubben, F., Dlamini, Z. (2000). Learning Science through contexts: helping pupils make sense of everyday situations. International Journal of Science Education, 22(3), 239-252. Haigh, M., France, B., Forret, M. (2005). Is ‘doing Science’ in New Zealand classrooms an expression of scientific inquiry? International Journal of Science Education, 27(2), 215-226. Hofstein, A., Shore, R., Kipnis, M. (2004). Providing high school chemistry students with opportunities to deve lop learning skills in an inquiry-type laboratory: a Case Study. International Journal of Science Education, 26(1), 47-62. Ministry of Education (2005). A toolkit for engaged teaching and learning. Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore. Nelson, T.H. (2004). Helping students make connections. The Science Teacher, 71(3), 32-35. Padilla, M.J. (1990). The Science process skills. Research Matters – to the Science Teacher, No. 9004. Retrieved December 1, 2006 from http://www.narst.org/publications/ research/skill.htm Tomkins, S.P., Tunnicliffe, S.D. (2001). Looking for ideas: observation, interpretation and hypothesis making by 12-year-old pupils undertaking Science investigations. International Journal of Science Education, 23(8), 791-813. Van Aalsvoort, J. (2004a). Logical positivism as a tool to analyse the problem of Chemistry’s lack of relevance in secondary school chemical education. International Journal of Science Education, 26(9), 1151-1168. Van Aalsvoort, J. (2004b). Activity theory as a tool to address the problem of Chemistry’s lack of relevance in secondary school chemical education. International Journal of Science Education, 26(13), 1635-1651. Young, R. M. (1995). Hands-on Science. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials, Inc.

Chapter Two: Design

Chapter Two: Design 2.1 Chapter Overview This chapter presents a summary of the the review of literature regarding the subject of design and captures various aspects and thoughts on this. Various thoughts, process and research particularly related to the design process are explored. This chapter encompasses the definitions, characteristics, discussions and applications of design. It is intended that this chapter should give some clear background on the understanding of the design process and its development in todays world of design research. While the literature review provides a useful background of current research in the material, process and RM systems, the literature available on the design aspect for RM products is severely limited. First a review of the literature for definition of the term design is presented. A discussion of the act of designing then follows. Next, the type of knowledge associated with design has been discussed. Finally, various thoughts of process of design have been reviewed. This introduction should provide the reader with a context for interpreting the remaining chapters of this report. The full version of this chapter can be referred to Appendix 3. 2.2 Chapter Summary Design is a complex activity, involving artefacts, people, tools, process, organisations and the environment in which this takes place. This chapter has explored and discussed the subject of design and captures various aspects and thoughts on this. Various thoughts, process and research particularly related to the design are explored. However, the assumption that there exists a set of universally accepted design process is an area that can be further explored. Conclusively, design is seen as a possible but subjective process. This leads to different sets of interpretation being used by different researchers. Whilst there may be some dispute about the precise definition of the term design, it is recognized as a purposeful and creative activity. In summary, design seeks to create things with the purpose of satisfying certain requirements in new ways that improves the quality of lives. In product design, a variety of requirements must be considered ranging from functionality and usability to pleasure. However, design is more than just translating a set of requirements into a product. Also, and more importantly, it involves finding new requirements. Thus, design involves finding problems and solutions simultaneously, and this is where creativity is important. Designing a product involves a constant decision making process that includes problem solving in a sequential fashion and analysis of constraints at each step. Product designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible through products in a more systematic approach. The role of a product designer encompasses many characteristics of the marketing manager, product manager, industrial designer and design engineer. The role of the product designer combines art, science and technology to create tangible three-dimensional goods. This evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools that allow designers to communicate, visualize and analyze ideas in a way that would have taken greater manpower in the past. (This appears in identical form in Wikipedia!) A number of formal structures and frameworks to better understand the design process have been suggested from many different disciplines by many researchers. Most of them have converged upon the general form proposed by Pahl and Beitzs. Pahl and Beitz (1996) outline a model of the design process for mechanical design that considers not only the sequence of stages, but also what the output of each stage. They divided the design process into four phases that includes planning and clarification of the task, conceptual design, embodiment design and detail design. However, this research is concern with the understanding of the design process for Rapid Manufactured products. One of the objectives is to understand how the design process works and how it is learned and performed by professional and expert designers. The aim of the research is to support the design process with the aid of computers. Finally, this chapter has given some background on the understanding of the design process and its development in todays world of design research. Chapter Three: Computer Support Tools for Design 3.1 Chapter Overview This chapter presents an overview of various tools to generate CAD models for RM processes and the decision support systems, tools and techniques used to support the design process. The full document of this chapter can be referred to Appendix 4. 3.2 Chapter Summary Computational tools play an essential role in providing support for the designer, because of their speed and capability for handling huge amounts of information at fairly low costs. There are various methods to aid designer to generate CAD models such as CAD softwares, reverse engineering and haptic devices. CAD traditionally refers to computer tool to visualize, describe, edit and test manufactured artefacts, which are now an essential part of all manufacturing and production processes. CAD systems often involves more than just shapes. CAD has evolved to incorporate several other applications of computer integration with engineering, manufacturing and simulation. CAD now offers the capability of freeform surface modelling and solid modelling operations that allows user to create almost any complex geometry and photo realistic rendered images. Reverse engineering is an important tool to generate CAD models. To reverse engineer a part, the part is measured by a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) or a 3D laser scanner. The use of reverse engineering technology not only increases the overall accuracy, but also improved the productivity of manufacturing process. There are various areas of applications of haptics devices. In manufacturing, haptics can assist design for assembly and for rapid design and prototyping. In computer-aided design, designers can experience real time details with their hands, such as wanted or unwanted artefacts of a design which are difficult to display visually. It is also possible to assess human maintainability of complex systems before they are built . The increasing power of computer has lead to the development of software, tools and techniques to support the design activity particularly to make design decisions. Most of the decision support tools are related to the knowledge base systems or often called as expert system. Expert systems are computer programs that are derived from a branch of computer science research called Artificial Intelligence (AI). AIs scientific goal is to understand intelligence by building computer programs that exhibit intelligent behaviour (Boyle 1989). It is concerned with the concepts and methods of symbolic inference, or reasoning, by a computer, and how the knowledge used to make those inferences will be represented inside the machine. The main characteristics of the Expert Systems can be briefly described as: reduced decision making time, enhancement of problem solving capabilities, a capture of limited expertise and its diffusion, an increased output, productivity and quality; accessibility to know ledge, ability to work with incomplete information and provision of training(Ziemian, Crawn 2001). There are several methods used to support the decision making process such as Case-Based Reasoning (CBR), fuzzy logic, Artificial Neural Network, Rule Base System and Ontology. CBR is a problem solving technique based on the adaptation of previous examples that are similar to the current problem(Maher, Balachandran Zhang 1995). An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is an information processing paradigm that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, process information (Moridis, Economides, 2009). Fuzzy are developed using the method of fuzzy logic, which deals with uncertainty. This technique, which uses the mathematical theory of fuzzy sets, simulates the process of normal human reasoning by allowing the computer to behave less precisely and logically than conventional computers (Shu-Hsien Liao 2005). Rules are probably the most common form of knowledge representation and they are present in most Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications such as Expert Systems and Decision Support Systems (Obot, Uzoka 2009). Rule base system uses rules as the knowledge representation for knowledge coded into the system i.e. knowledge is stored as rules. Rules typically take the form of if then statement. Ontology in both computer science and information science is a formal representation of a set of concepts within a domain and the relationships between those concepts (Shu-Hsien Liao 2005). Ontology is a system of vocabulary, which is used as a fundamental concept for describing the task/domain knowledge o be identified. This vocabulary is used as a communication basis between domain experts and knowledge engineers. On the other hand, there are a number of selection tool for RP system has been developed since 1993 (Masood, Soo 2002). The selection of the most suitable RM process is dependent on factors such as build envelope, accuracy, material, build speed and other machine related parameters. This chapter has explored and discussed the general overview of the various tools to generate CAD models for RM processes and the decision support systems, tools and techniques to support the design process. Various CAD data development systems and tool have been explored. Furthermore, various expert systems technologies that support the decision making process have also been explored. Conclusively, CAD and reverse engineering technology are the most well known CAD data development systems. In addition, expert systems are the most well known decision support tool that have been used for various applications. Having become widely used for a broad range of applications, some elements of an expert system could be considered to have the capability to be a design aid tool that could realise the DfRM tool. In the context of design support systems for RM technologies, due to the direct manufacturing of products from CAD data, the cost and time are low mainly because complex objects can be generated without the use of conventional machines. So far within the RM field little attention has been given to the product design phase, emphasis is normally on the development of the technology itself (processes, materials, building strategies, system selection, manufacturing parameter optimisation etc). On the other hand the operation and choices which take place during the design phase are crucial for the quality of the product produce.

Analysis of the Mexican Economy :: Mexico Economics Culture Governmental Essays

Analysis of the Mexican Economy I. Historical, Population, Culture, Political, and Economic Information History Mexico was the site of some of the earliest and most advanced civilizations in the western hemisphere. The Mayan culture, according to archaeological research, attained its greatest development about the 6th century AD. Another group, the Toltec, established an empire in the Valley of Mexico and developed a great civilization still evidenced by the ruins of magnificent buildings and monuments. The leading tribe, the Aztec, built great cities and developed an intricate social, political, and religious organization. Their civilization was highly developed, both intellectually and artistically. The first European explorer to visit Mexican territory was Francisco Fernà ¡ndez de Cà ³rdoba, who in 1517 discovered traces of the Maya in Yucatà ¡n. In 1535, some years after the fall of the Aztec capital, the basic form of colonial government in Mexico was instituted with the appointment of the first Spanish viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza. A distinguishing characteristic of colonial Mexico was the exploitation of the Native Americans. Although thousands of them were killed during the Spanish conquest, they continued to be the great majority of inhabitants of what was referred to as New Spain, speaking their own languages and retaining much of their native culture. Inevitably they became the laboring class. Their plight was the result of the 'encomienda' system, by which Spanish nobles, priests, and soldiers were granted not only large tracts of land but also jurisdiction over all Native American residents. A second characteristic of colonial Mexico was the position and power of the Roman Catholic church. Franciscan, Augustinian, Dominican, and Jesuit missionaries entered the country with the conquistadores. The Mexican church became enormously wealthy through gifts and bequests that could be held in perpetuity. Before 1859, when church holdings were nationalized, the church owned one-third of all property and land. A third characteristic was the existence of rigid social classes: the Native Americans, the mestizos, mixed Spanish and Native American (an increasingly large group during the colonial era), black slaves which were brought from Africa and the Caribbean, freed blacks and white Mexicans. The white Mexicans were themselves divided. Highest of all classes was that of the peninsulares, those born in Spain, as opposed to the criollos, or Creoles—people of pure European descent who had been born and raised in New Spain. The peninsulares were sent from Spain to hold the highest colonial offices in both the civil and church administrations.

spider :: essays research papers

First discovered in 1900, little was known about the happy-face spider until 1972. The obviously named happy-face spider is a small spider found in the native rainforests of the islands Maui, The Big Island of Hawaii, Oahu and Molokai at elevations of 1000 to 6000 feet. Typically around a quarter of an inch long, its diet consists of small insects that it hunts mainly during the night for small insects. They spin their webs on the undersides of leaves of specific plants and usually avoid contact with humans or other potentially danger animals, although only birds present a natural threat. Humans present a possible danger due to loss of habitat to agriculture, but the population is apparently healthy. The happy-face spider’s most admired feature is its bright yellow coloring and a strange pattern of red and black spots on the abdomen. These spots vary widely from spider to spider, making them of interest to scientists who have hypothesized that the different spots provide camouflage against birds and other predators. Strangely enough, the red and black spots, combined with the yellow body, tend to make the spider's abdomen look like the widely known yellow smiley face. The expressions on the abdomen of the spider can range from sad, happy, and excited, to bored or angry. Though individuals differ extremely in their color patterns, these differences are evenly distributed, with the same ratio of Yellow forms to Red front forms in every population, regardless of its separation from the others. Mating experiments reveal that the genetic mechanism for achieving these similar color morphs is different on each island. Results for the Maui spiders reveal a more simple system of genetic control where the individual, regardless of sex, will be colored according to a single gene. On Hawaii, however, it is apparent that two genes determine the color morph, with pairs of color forms restricted to one sex or the other.

Drug test Essay

Case Study Analysis Paper COMM/215 Oct 20, 2014 Winifred Donnelly ? Case Study Analysis Paper In the case study, Carl is a new recruiter for ABC Inc. Upon being assigned to his position, he beat expectations by successfully hiring several new people despite his lack of time on the job. Because of this, he probably feels a lot of pressure to succeed and continue to perform better than his previous efforts at all times. He has made a number of mistakes in the case study and is at a loss as to what he should do next. Specifically, well look at the mistakes Carl made, what he should. have done in the first place, and the options he has available to him now to correct the mistakes hes made. First of all, Carl started off wrong by assuring Monica that everything would be taken care of in time and leaving it at that. There is quite a bit involved with making sure each hire has their applications and resumes filled out and submitted correctly. Additionally, drug screening is something that has to be done at an approved facility for your company or corporation since there are potential legal issues if the urinalysis tests are done at your place of business. Even hospitals  send their employees urinalysis bottles to other medical facilities to have them checked rather than doing the drug screening at their own facility though there are companies that are offering on-site drug testing (OHS Health and Safety Services, Inc. , 2014). Physicals are also a potential headache to schedule for even one person, let alone a group of people. Rarely does it ever seem that a doctor isnt busy doing something. People are constantly getting sick, injured or dying and its the doctors duty to help them even if that means making their death less painful for them. Trying to get a doctor  to conduct a physical isnt necessarily difficult, one just needs to schedule the appointment a month or two in advance which Carl did not do. As for the booklets, pamphlets, and manuals, Carl should have looked into getting those right away instead of blowing it off. This particular problem isnt quite as dire as the drug screening or the physical, but it will take anywhere from a few days to a week or more to get all the literature he is going to need for the new hires. Finally, he should have de- conflicted the training classroom schedule with the other departments in the company. In any  organization, there is a need for some kind of classroom environment that is conducive to learning but it doesnt do you any good if someone else is using the classroom when you need it. With this in mind, there was a schedule on the wall that Carl checked when he went to the classroom that projected out for at least a month or two. Carl waited too long to get his reservation placed in the calendar because Joe has the room for the rest of the month or more. Carl was off to a good start despite all the issues found with how he has handled the situation so far. Carl established himself as a quick learner and hard worker by making successful hires so quickly into his job time as a recruiter. Some people would say that the job is mostly natural skill because it only involves talking to people, but there is much more to it than that. Obviously, otherwise Carl would not have found himself in the mess he is in now. On top of talking with potential hires about the company, what they are all about, what they are looking for, and how the potential hire could fit into the job, they have to seal the deal by ensuring the hire meets all the companys qualifications too. If the potential hire isnt capable of meeting the basic company standards of education, behavior, attitude, ethics, etc. then they likely will not be a productive member of the workforce and its the recruiters job to find those things out on his/her own or go about making sure the potential hire gets to the right organization that can find that out. Upon receiving the phone call from Monica, Carl should have pulled out a pad of paper, his scheduling calendar, and a writing utensil and made notes during his conversation with Monica. He should have found out exactly what she wanted to happen and give her immediate feedback with his own ideas and timelines related to how long it would take to accomplish a certain task or the timeframe he would need to get an individual hire ready to start working. Once they had both come to an agreement on the plan they would use to get the hires ready to become employees, they could have both hung up the phone with a positive feeling of accomplishment and understanding. Carl should have started going about accomplishing said plan as soon as he hung up with Monica. The first things to be scheduled should be the things that are the most difficult to schedule the physical and drug screening. With those two things out of the way and taken care of, Carl should make sure he brings in and talks to face to face at least three hires a day to go over 1 / 2 their applications and resumes to make sure they are complete and filled out correctly. As an added bonus, if Monica had a particular format she desires on a resume, when Carl brings in the hires he can help them re-write their resumes so they meet Monicas desired format. Once the appointments have been scheduled and before individual meetings with the hires take place, classroom space should be reserved for the orientation. If the situation still plays out the way it is currently then Carl will have to find someplace else to conduct the orientation unless he can work out a deal with Joe. Depending on how long Carl will need the classroom, perhaps he can slip in, conduct orientation, and slip right back out while Joes class is on lunch or out at another site doing on-the-job-training (OJT). Finally, the literature should be compiled between meeting each hire and helping them with their paperwork. If need be, Carl can request more literature from whichever department of the company issues those documents, he can order them himself from their distributer, or have an assistant take them down to a place like Kinkos and get copies made. With the situation being what it is for Carl now, he still has several options open to him if he could get himself in a state of mind to recognize them. The drug screening and the physicals are going to give him the hardest time so he  should try to get them taken care of first. If hes able to schedule his hires before the orientation date then he is good, but if not he should go ahead and schedule them when he can and adjust based on that. The problems hes facing with the paperwork can be handled fairly easily by getting one good copy of each pamphlet, manual, etc. and get copies made or requisition more from the department in charge of stocking those supplies. They may not be happy being asked to cough up a whole mess of literature on short notice, but that is part of their job and he should do something to make it  up to them in the future. It is important to be on good terms with the folks who are in charge of supplies, especially from a military standpoint. As far as finding classroom space, Carl should approach Joe with his problem and see if he can fit his class in before or after one of Joes classes. If not, Carl should look into booking a conference room similar to the ones most hotels have for rent or like some restaurants have where the room is closed off from the rest of the dining floor. Either way, Carl has options in that regard as well. Additionally, and here is the hard part, Carl is most likely going to have to let Monica know that her new hires might not be ready in the timeframe they previously agreed upon. Due to his inexperience and lack of time on the job, this should not be a career-ender for Carl but it isnt going to make Monica happy with him. If Carl is able to still get everything in order in time to conduct the orientation on the date he agreed to with Monica, then everything is good. Carl is in a tough position, but hes not out of the fight yet. Carl made some  mistakes, mostly due to inexperience or perhaps he became cocky after doing so well on his previous recruiting scenario. In order to get back on his feet and save face, Carl has several different routes he can take to get his mission accomplished. Ultimately, Carl should do his best to right his wrong, get his mission accomplished, learn from his mistakes and press on. References University of Phoenix. (2014) Week Two supplement, Case Study for Student Analysis. Electronically retrieved October 19, 2014 from University of Phoenix, Week Two, Resource. COMM215 Essential of College Writing OHS Health and Safety Services, Inc.. (2014). On-site drug testing services versus clinic services. Retrieved from http//www. ohsinc. com/on_site_drug_testing_onsite_drug_test_specimen_collection_CH ART. htm PAGE 6 PAGE MERGEFORMAT 1 Y, dXiJ(x(? I_TS? 1EZBmU/xYy5g/GMGeD3Vqq8K)fw9 xrxwrTZaGy8IjbRcXI u3KGnD1NIBs RuKV. ELM2fi? V? vlu8zH (W uV4(Tn 7_m-UBww_8(/0hFL)7iAs),Qg20ppf DU4p MDBJlC5 2FhsFYn3E6945Z5k8Fmw-dznZ? xJZp/P,)KQk5qpN8KGbe Sd17? paSR 6Q POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).