Essay on Community Teaching Plan Teaching Experience

Community Teaching Plan: Teaching Experience Summary of Teaching Plan The idea of teaching a community about possible attacks on our country was one thought, but actually giving them the knowledge of what the various ways to, ultimately, defend themselves was a much greater cause. The possibilities that we may face a biological terrorist attack is quite real. We have seen the horrors of 9-11, we are aware of the wars and hatred; which gives us as human beings all the more reason to learn about these tactics. This presentation was probably the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do. Public speaking isn’t my strongest trait; however, I believed this was my nursing duties to give complete strangers the knowledge that might save their lives one†¦show more content†¦Most of the areas of study are manmade and much easier to learn about, but also to control. The other factor is the natural diseases that man haven’t found to cure but dangerously control. The benefits to controlling a harmful virus are astonishing. Being able to take o ut entire civilizations at a will have great effects. This isn’t just a thought, this epidemic and possibility are a certain. Not only did the September attacks took place, but just a month later the outbreak of anthrax also happened. And the threats of smallpox, and many other diseases (Markowitz Rosner, 2004). It is imperative that, if possible, the human race to gain this knowledge. The last question is how, how do we teach this? How is it possible to even fathom the outcome? The answer is to try. Becoming a nurse is not only my occupation, it has become my life. Teaching this group of individuals this important matter was as rewarding as being on the job and saving the life of an ill patient. Evaluation of Teaching Experience Overall, this was a positive and rewarding experience. Never have I felt this compassionate about teaching before, and the knowledge I gain from the experience will be with me for my lifetime. The subject was a difficult challenge; not only to teach but also grasping the information was very tough. It was hard to think that this isn’t fiction, this event has and can take place once again. In my opinion, just the thought of the hatred and greed thatShow MoreRelatedMeasures to Overcome Problems Facing New Teachers1762 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Problems Facing New Teachers: Teaching is an increasingly contextualized social practice that requires specific skills since it takes time, learning, dedication, and hard work for new teachers to have the ability to reflect on individual experiences. In their attempts and pursuit to become experienced teachers, new teachers undergo various stages of transformational teaching experience. This process involves experiencing significant questioning of beliefs and assumption as the person evaluatesRead MoreOutline Of Teaching Plan Presentation With Powerpoint Essay1114 Words   |  5 PagesSummary of teaching plan Church of Temper city was selected to perform the teaching plan presentation with PowerPoint. It was focused on Primary Prevention/Health Promotion. After performing the Functional Health Patterns (FHP) assessment in this community(church), the main finding over half of members are obvious overweight or obesity via sense of sight. Every week church is holed a potluck, most of the food are pizzas, fried meats, high starch, such as rice, yam and potatoes as well as lack vegetablesRead MoreType 2 Diabetes Teaching Plan1467 Words   |  6 PagesType 2 Diabetes Teaching Plan In order to create change healthcare providers must work together to educate their communities. 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A Message to Garcia BOOK REPORT Essay example - 659 Words

BOOK REPORT 1. â€Å"A message to Garcia† 2. LCPL Garcia 3. Elbert Hubbard 4. Published in 1977 5. Publisher: Peter pauper press , Inc 6. 32 Pages 7. Price of the book: $7.99 8. (Last page) 9. Initiative, Courage and Commitment. 10. I believe that every marine should definitely read this book. This book tells about true commitment and courage is about there is a lot to learn from this book. I agree with all the points that the author gave in his writing and think that this book should remain in the commandant’s reading list. 11. INTRODUCTION: I will be writing my book report on the short story A Message to Garcia. Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised†¦show more content†¦He then returned to the US and was given command of a force of Immunes, African-American troops assumed to be immune to tropical diseases found in Cuba. For all his effort, great dedication and initiative, Captain Rowan received the Distinguish ed Service Cross. This is a great example of initiative, honor, courage, and commitment to the mission. This is a perfect example on how we must be on a day to day basis. Always putting the mission before self-comfort, to never question or object with whatever order or command you are given. Especially with us being in The United Stated Marine Corps, we should abide by these examples, and help others understand the importance of it as well. Everything that Captain Rowan did reflect our duty, our expectations, and our standards. Our duty as Marines to complete whatever mission is given to us, regardless of the objectives we may encounter throughout the way. To exceed the expectations they have for us, and to prove that no mission is impossible. One very important standard is to never strive for the bare minimum, but to always do everything to the best of our ability. We should always adapt and overcome in any given situation, and take initiative with good judgments. We should always work with what we g ot and do it with no hesitation, but most importantly, to go above and beyond the call of duty. Staying motivated and dedicated and applying Honor, Courage, and Commitment will takeShow MoreRelatedAccounting: Fraud and Problem-based Learning Case18144 Words   |  73 Pagesthe books of the Tallahassee BeanCounters (TBC), a minor league baseball team in Tallahassee, Florida. During your audit the teamà ­s owner, Franklin Kennedy, approaches you and offers an additional fee if you will quietly investigate the possibility of fraud within the firm. Mr. Kennedy reports that he received an anonymous tip and, based on that information, believes that someone within the firm could be perpetrating fraud. Your task is to use the information given here (the financial books and back-upRead MoreStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 PagesStrategic Marketing Management Dedication This book is dedicated to the authors’ wives – Gillian and Rosie – and to Ben Gilligan for their support while it was being written. Acknowledgements Our thanks go to Janice Nunn for all the effort that she put in to the preparation of the manuscript. Strategic Marketing Management Planning, implementation and control Third edition Richard M.S. Wilson Emeritus Professor of Business Administration The Business School Loughborough University

Chinese Culture free essay sample

Culture and management is an interesting but difficult filed for study. It is more interesting and difficult to study Chinese culture and management. This is because both subjects are complex and multidimensional and little is known about the relationship between these two subjects. The fundamental problem in this area is the lack of any agreement on what Chinese culture is and the difficulty in operationalising the cultural variables in the study. In order to carry out cultural study, it is important to have a framework from which to work. This paper presents a classification of Chinese culture, in which 71 core cultural values that are generally accepted by the Chinese people are identified and grouped into eight categories. The paper begins by a brief review of the culture concept. After introduction of the Confucianism, it focuses on the core Chinese values and their classification. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of the classification and directions for future research. Culture is complex and multidimensional. It is in fact too complex to define in simple terms. Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952) identified over 160 different definitions of culture. One of the earliest widely cited definitions by Tylor (1887) defines culture as â€Å"that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. In this century, culture has been defined by different authors as follows: †¢ all the historically created designs for living, explicit and implicit, rational, irrational, and nonrational, which exist at any given time as potential guides for the behaviour of men (Kluckhohn and Kelly, 1945); †¢ the man made part of the environment (Herskovits, 1955); †¢ the integrated sum total of learned behavioural traits that are shared by members of a society (Hoebel, 1960); †¢ a mental map which guides us in our relations to our surroundings and to other people (Downs, 1971). More recently, Hofstede (1980) defines culture as â€Å"†¦ the interactive aggregate of common characteristics that influence a group’s response to its environment†. He (1984) redefines culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguish one group of people from another. The world culture apparently originates with the Latin cultura, which is related to cultus, which can be translated as â€Å"cult† or â€Å"worship†. This meaning is helpful in understanding the use of the term. Members of a cult believe in specific ways of doing things, and thus develop a culture that enshrines those beliefs. A definition by Terpstra and David (1985) serves to delineate what is meant by culture in this context: Culture is learned, shared, compelling, interrelated set of symbols whose meaning provides a set of orientations for members of a society. These orientations, taken together, provide solutions to problems that all societies must solve if they are to remain viable. 3 To sum up the above definitions, culture can be described as the collection of values, beliefs, behaviours, customs, and attitudes that distinguish a society. A society’s culture provides its members with solutions to problems of external adaptation and internal integration. Culture can be studied at different levels: †¢ International (e. g. East v West) †¢ National culture (e. g. Chinese culture) †¢ Regional culture, subculture †¢ Business culture (industry or professional culture) †¢ Organisational (corporate) culture A national culture is best embodied in the values its people hold. Cultural values shape people’s beliefs and attitudes and guide their behaviour. Values have been described as enduring beliefs that specific modes of conduct or states of existence are socially preferable to their opposites (Rokeach,1973) A value system is seen as a relatively permanent perceptual framework that influences an individual’s behaviour (England, 1978). Cultural values establish the norms or standards by which everything in a society is judged. Not all members of a cultural group will hold exactly the same values (Hofstede, 1984). A value system represents what is expected or hoped in a society, not necessarily what actually occurs. In the past 20 years, researchers have attempted to develop a composite picture of culture by studying the differences among cultural values. This has been done in two ways. Some studies have looked at the cultural dimensions that reflect similarities and differences among cultures (for example, Hofstede, 1980). Others have used these findings to group countries into 4 clusters of nations with similar cultures (Ronen and Shenkar, 1985). The purpose of this paper is not to review these studies, but to look at an alternative way to classify cultural values. CHINESE CULTURE While there exist great differences in terms of political, social and economic dimensions between the mainland China and other places where Chinese culture dominates, it is still possible to identify certain core cultural values that are held in common by the Chinese people, no matter where they live: mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or by the overseas Chinese. Chinese culture gives the Chinese people their basic identity. These core values are unique and consistent, shaped by a tradition of four thousand years of history and maintained by the same language. There is only one set of core values in the Chinese national culture, despite all the differences among these people and their societies. This cultural value system is uniquely Chinese that distinguish itself not only from Western cultures, but also from other Eastern cultures (for example, Japanese culture). Chinese culture is seen in this paper as a set of core values that underlies social interaction among the ordinary Chinese people and remains relatively stable over a long period of time. The focus in this paper is on national culture, in particular, those elements that can be seen both in the PRC and among Chinese elsewhere. The contemporary Chinese culture in the PRC consists of three major elements: traditional culture, communist ideology and, more recently, western values. The traditional Chinese culture encompasses diverse and sometimes competing schools of thought, including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, etc. , and a host of regional cultures. 5 Nevertheless, Confucianism is undisputedly the most influential thought, which forms the foundation of the Chinese cultural tradition and still provides the basis for the norms of Chinese interpersonal behaviour (Pye,1972). Confucianism is basically the behavioural or moral doctrine that are based on the teaching of Confucius regarding human relationships, social structures, virtuous behaviour and work ethics. In Confucianism, rules are spelled out for the social behaviour of every individual, governing the entire range of human interactions in society. The basic teaching of Confucius is distilled in the Five Constant Virtues: humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness (Chen, 1986). Confucius further defined five basic human relations and principles for each relation, called Wu Lun: Basic Human Relations Sovereign and subject (or master and follower) Father and son Husband and wife Elder and younger brothers Friend and friend Principles Loyalty and duty Love and obedience Obligation and submission Seniority and modelling subject Trust Thus, relationships are structured to deliver optimum benefits for both parties. For each relation, certain behaviour principles must be followed to ensure a harmonious society. Among these five basic human relations, a) three are family relations. which clearly show the importance of family in Chinese society and account for its paternalism; b) the first two relations, filial piety and loyalty, are generally deemed the most important; c) when they are applied to management, the first and last relations stand out, leading to the birth of a paternalistic management style in both China and Japan (Hsiao, et al, 1990); d) Confucius always used only the male versions of language to define family relations. This paternal character is clearly expressed in the Chinese system of property inheritance. 6 A CLASSIFICATION OF CHINESE CULTURE Because there are hundreds of definitions of culture, it is important to use an appropriate definition of the concept and to develop a framework from which to work. A variety of proposed models are helpful in analysing cultural values. They examine dimensions of cultural values and compare various national cultures on the dimensions. These models are not mutually exclusive nor are they all-in-compassing, rather they provide a variety of ways of examining cultural similarities and differences. Two most widely used models are Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s (1961) five dimensions and Hofstede’s (1984) Value Survey Model (VSM). However, the problem with these models is that the scope is too narrow or simplistic with only four or five variables. Both models could not be used as a true representation of the complexity of a national culture, particularly in the case of Hofstede’s VSM that is mainly concerned with business culture rather than national culture. An alternative method is the one used in an earlier study by the Chinese Culture Collection (1987). After consulting a number of Chinese social scientists, the survey developed a list of 40 key values. For the purpose of this paper, these 40 cultural values have been re-examined and fully amended o produce a new list of Chinese Culture Values (CCVs) shown in Table 1a (in English) and 1b (in Chinese).

The Cuban Missle Crisis Essays - Soviet UnionUnited States Relations

The Cuban Missle Crisis The world will never be the same since October of 1962. It is now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The U.S. learned that the Soviets were building nuclear missile bases on Cuba because the Soviets wanted to close the missile gap. Even though the Soviet Union promised they would not attempt to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, they put them there anyway in hopes that the U.S. would not find out until it was too late to do anything about it. The ploy almost worked. The nuclear bases were very near completion when a U.S. U-2 spy plane discovered the bases. The world held its breath as these events unfolded before their eyes; If any decision had have been different, it might have led to WW III. That is not a very comforting thought, knowing that we were so close to a nuclear holocaust. Many believe Kennedy made the right decision, I ! stand with that group; Others believe we should have conducted surgical strikes against the bases to show we would not tolerate a threat that close to our own shores. Kennedy was probably cautious about strikes because of the Bay of Pigs invasion which had failed so miserably just a year before. The Bay of Pigs invasion was an attempt by the U.S. to remove Castro from office. We armed and trained about 2000 Cuban exiles for this job. The hope was that a general uprising would begin, and Castro would be removed from office by his own people and not by any United States personnel. What cost the success of the mission was that the U.S. neglected to provide air cover for the troops. Of the 2000 troops, 300 were killed and the rest were taken prisoner. Evidently, Kennedy did not want another Bay of Pigs, so he elected to try a naval! blockade. He must have made the right choice, because we are still here today. An advantage that the U.S.S.R. had if we had not found the missile bases in time, would have been the first strike capability. This does not necessarily mean the ability to strike first, needless to say, any country can do that; It means the ability to strike first and disarm the opponent at the same time. If the U.S.S.R. had active nuclear missile bases in Cuba, many Americans feared that the Soviets could make an attempt take out our air bases without our even realizing it until it was too late. In being so close to the U.S. coast, they could conduct strikes against our B-52 bases virtually undetected by our radar. This would eliminate our ability to strike back at them. Even when we realized they were attacking it would be to late to do anything. With our ability to counter attack gone, the Soviets could dictate whatever policy it wanted to the U.S., and we would have no choice but to accept their terms. If we did not, we would suffer the consequences (Smoke 36). Those consequences could be very harsh and detrimental to our society. A country that has first strike capability knows that it can start a war any time it chooses. On the other hand, a country that knows that they are not capable of first strike, will not be as willing to start a war. This was the problem we had encountered in Cuba. We believed that the placing of Soviet missiles inside of Cuba's borders would give them this first strike ability. In our eyes, that seriously endangered our national security. So we decided that we must either eliminate the threat, or have them withdraw all nuclear materials from their bases in Cuba (36-37). Richard Smoke, the author of Nuclear Arms Control: Understanding the Arms Race, sees the Soviets as a people who tried every option possible to get every advantage that they could. Khrushchev believed that putting nuclear missiles in Cuba was the most expedient way to close the missile gap with the United States. In Smoke's opinion, they were willing to risk WW III in order to obtain first strike capability. As he says, the plan almost worked, but a U.S. U2 spy plane discovered the secret bases

Conjugate Trouver (to Find) in French

Conjugate Trouver (to Find) in French In French, the verb  trouver  means to find. This is a little easier to remember if you think of finding a treasure trove. Beyond that, youll also need to memorize the verbs conjugations in order to say things like the present tense finding and the past tense found. A quick lesson will introduce you to the essential conjugations of  trouver  youll need. The Basic Conjugations of  Trouver Verb conjugations in French are a little trickier than they are in English. Where we use -ing and -ed endings to indicate the present and past tenses, French uses a new ending for each subject pronoun within each tense. That means you have more words to memorize. The good news for French students is that  trouver  is a  regular -er verb. It follows the most common conjugation patterns found in the French language, so the endings you learn here can also be applied to a number of other verbs. Well begin the lesson with the indicative mood, which includes the basic present, future, and imperfect past tenses. Once you know that the verbs radical (or stem) is  trouv-, you can apply the appropriate ending. The chart will help you study these words. Simply pair the subject pronoun with the proper tense for your sentence. For example, I am finding is  je trouve  and we found is  nous trouvions. Practicing these in context will speed up your memorization and there are many common  expressions with  trouver  that can help you out. Present Future Imperfect je trouve trouverai trouvais tu trouves trouveras trouvais il trouve trouvera trouvait nous trouvons trouverons trouvions vous trouvez trouverez trouviez ils trouvent trouveront trouvaient The Present Participle of  Trouver For regular verbs, adding -ant to the verb stem forms the present participle. For trouver, that creates the word trouvant. Trouver  in the Compound Past Tense Beyond the imperfect, you can also use the compound past tense known as the  passà © composà ©. This requires a simple construction using the  auxiliary verb  avoir  and the  past participle  trouvà ©. The only conjugation you need to worry about here is for  avoir.  Youll use the present tense that matches the subject, then attach the past participle. For example, I found is  jai trouvà ©Ã‚  and we found is  nous avons trouvà ©. More Simple Conjugations of  Trouver Among the other simple conjugations youll want to study for  trouver  are the subjunctive and the conditional. They both have some degree of uncertainty in the act of finding, with the conditional implying that its dependent on something else happening. There may also be times when youll encounter or use the passà © simple  or  imperfect subjunctive. However, all of the other forms should be your top priority as these are only used on occasion. Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je trouve trouverais trouvai trouvasse tu trouves trouverais trouvas trouvasses il trouve trouverait trouva trouvà ¢t nous trouvions trouverions trouvà ¢mes trouvassions vous trouviez trouveriez trouvà ¢tes trouvassiez ils trouvent trouveraient trouvà ¨rent trouvassent The imperative  form  is the only one that doesnt require the subject pronoun. Its used in short sentences and instead of  tu trouve, you can simplify it to  trouve. Imperative (tu) trouve (nous) trouvons (vous) trouvez

Color Psychology Essay

Color Psychology Essay Color Psychology Essay â€Å"Douglas and Jaelyn are plunked down next to each other playing with dinosaurs. They don't seem to be interacting, but every now and again, one of them will check out the other. And when Jaelyn segues to a different play area, Douglas follows.† (http://wondertime.go.com/learning/article/baby-parallel-play.html) Parallel play is one of the of human psychology. , that we are still uncovering new information about. Play is one of the most essential things that form a child’s life, personality, interests and opinions. However, not all children have a happy childhood. Children of wars, or from abused families, for example. Some children live in rural areas, without companionship from siblings or friends. Solitary play helps the growth of kids without friends around them. Imagination is a child’s greatest tool and is used to its full advantage. From blocks to painting, to dolls and puppets, to running around in a back yard or laughing with friends, play extends everywhere. What is parallel play? Mildred Parten born in 1902, who wrote an article in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, where this was discussed, named the idea of parallel play. Parten also named other types of play such as cooperative, solitary and onlooker. In a â€Å"social participation act† with forty preschool children, she compared and contrasted play behaviors. Put simply, as she described it, parallel play is when two children are in a room together, possibly even playing with the same toys-but not interacting. Cooperative play however, is just about the opposite of that. Cooperative play is when children interact. Usually children transfer from parallel play between the ages of two and three years old (Social and Personality Development - William Damon -Secondary source) when a child is still in preschool. Sometimes parents mistake the growing into cooperative play for the child growing out of parallel play. Some children that grow into cooperative play do so later than others. Interference from a parent or teacher can influence this and can prove to be unhealthy. Even though kids grow into coopereative play, no matter what their stage is they still engage in parallel play as well. Parten had identified the concept of parallel play to understand social development of people better. After she completed her doctoral course in 1929 (genealogy.org), she developed the five types of play- parallel, onlooker; solitary, unoccupied, associative and cooperative (Social and Personality Development - William Damon -Secondary source) . As William Damon states in his book â€Å"Social and Personality Development solitary play helps children develop on their own. Without toys, children use their imagination. Without friends, children use their imagination. Imagination is one thing that never dies no matter what, because it fosters a child’s natural curiosity, if not pushing it gently to its limits. Onlooker behavior occurs when a child does not participate in a game or a movement with the rest of a group. follows. He simply does not feel like participating, though he may be friendly with other children. Parallel play is mentioned above. Associative play is full-blown cooperative play. A child will play with his friends, and probably include talking in the activity. If he is- observed, he will show more interest in his friends and/or environment then the toys around him, although hey will still pay some attention to the toys. Cooperative play begins as mimicry. At this stage, when a child sees something similar to what he has in his possession, he will be interested. Mimicry could be eating the same food, having the same toy, or even imitating body movements. 1. As William Damon states in his book â€Å"Social and Personality Development† solitary play helps children develop on their own. Without toys, children use their imagination. Without friends, children use their imagination. Imagination is one thing that never dies no matter what, because it

Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy - Essay Example Duchenne muscular dystrophy or Pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy or Muscular dystrophy- Duchenne type is an X-linked neuromuscular disorder of muscle caused by an absence of the protein dystrophin. DMD was named in recognition of Dr. G. Duchenne de Boulogne from France around 150 years ago. He was the first person to attribute the signs and symptoms to a distinct familial disease entity. The gene responsible for it is DMD gene which is known to be the largest gene encoding the muscle protein, dystrophin the discovery of this gene was made around 20 years ago. Dystrophin provides structural stability to the dystroglycan complex (DGC) present on the cell membrane as it attaches with the inner surface of the muscle fiber membrane. A mutation in the DMD gene residing in Xp21 region of the X-chromosome, hampers the production of dystrophin protein causing progressive loss of muscle function and weakness (Partridge, 2007). It starts with the lower limbs and gradually covers the entire musculature. DMD is rapidly progressing form of muscular dystrophy affecting male with a frequency of 1 in 3500 infants (Chamberlain, 2006). It is observed that the affected boys start manifesting symptoms of disease early in life usually before 5 years of age. They become powerless and are unable to walk and are restricted to wheel chair during their late childhood or early teen years. Patients usually develop various complications related with respiratory insufficiency and/ or cardiomyopathy as the disease progresses. Death occurs at by late teen age or in the early twenties (Chamberlin, 2006). It is essential to provide appropriate treatment to overcome the basic genetic defect, either through medical, surgical, and rehabilitative approaches to make the patient comfortable (Sussman, 2002). Symptoms Before the age of 6 years symptoms start becoming obvious, although they are visible in early infancy. There are three clinical stages: an ambulatory stage, an early nonambulatory stage, and a late nonambulatory stage. Ambulatory Stage- This is between two and four years of age, at this stage, symptoms start appearing. Symptoms show weakness of forward head flexion and a inadequate capability to sit up persist beyond infancy leading to poor motor development, deficient memory skills and they gradually reduce their ability to cope with their peers both physically and mentally. Heel cord and elbow flexion contractures are also apparent. In rare cases, obstructive sleep apnea also develops along with facial soiling. The ECG readings show- Q waves leads in the lateral precordial while tall R and deep S waves leads in early precordial (Chamberlain, 2006). If glucocorticoids are not given then by the age of nine years, the child starts lacking ability to rise from supine to standing position and to climb stairs or arise from a chair and are able to ambulate with braces. Early Nonambulatory Stage- This stage is between 10 and 12 years, the patient becomes dependent on wheel chair and flexion contractures at the ankle and elbow becomes more obvious. In this stage aquatic therapy may slow the progression. The dependency on wheel chair develops scoliosis and the patient needs orthopedic consultation along with radiological evaluation. The average strength of the patient starts declining at the age of 9 years. Late Nonambulatory Sta

Paraphrasing Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paraphrasing Practice - Essay Example a woman who is not physically and psychologically ready to have a child would lead to many complications that may be hazardous to human community as well, because a child who is not needed/accepted by his mother/parents can pose more threat to the world than a fetus that is medically removed before it becomes a living organism/individual. a. My understanding of the statements of friend changed drastically after I used active listening. At first, I was prejudiced against his view and thought that he was arguing for free sex, without taking into account the serious problems that it would create. However, once I slowed down to paraphrase his statements, I began to see how I misinterpreted some of his views, and could have argued against those in an infuriated state of mind. He got sufficient time to explain his point of view clearly because I held my views until his argument, my paraphrasing, and his corrections/approval of how I comprehended them. I came to know that he had formed a perception regarding the topic on the basis of careful observation, and not on impulse. He did not want to promote irresponsible man-woman relationships, but was adamant that one has to take into account the present state of affairs when discussing a serious issue that dealt with it. I understood his points of view regarding the situations where a woman gets pregnant our of rape or incest, and the cases where a pregnant woman is not mature enough to deal with becoming a mother, or where the failure of contraceptive measures fail even among married couples who have decided that their family is complete. If I had voiced my views vehemently without trying to understand his point of view, we would just have argued for a long time with no use at all, as if speaking in entirely different languages. b. The wide gap that existed among the views of my friend and me narrowed to a great extent as a result of active listening. Both of us took quality time to pause, understand the other’s

No Phones in School Essay Example for Free

No Phones in School Essay Cell phones are good for education. Cell Phones are good for education for many reasons. First you can use cell phones for research purposes. Although most schools have at least 1 computer in the classroom and a computer lab, sometimes this still isn’t enough. It can also be expensive to provide a computer to each student at school, so a good option is to use cell phones for research instead. Next, I want to talk about why apps are good for education. Some people think that some apps are bad and kids will get distracted and use them in class. And the truth is that cell phones have many educational apps as well. Which do you think would be more fun and exciting for a student? Either studying with a boring book that is hard to understand, or playing an educational app that is still studying, but much more exciting. I would definitely choose the second choice. Here are some good features of phones that are good for school: 1.Calculator. It doesn’t matter if your phone is expensive or not, almost every single phone has a calculator. Lots of students are required to have a calculator as one of their school supplies, but if they have one on their phone, then they don’t have to get one. 2. Stop Watch. Lots of phones have a stopwatch, which can be used in science class. I know that when I was in public school we used stopwatches all the time for experiments, and the teacher only had 3 stopwatches so we had to take turns. 3. Dictionary. Cell phones can be used as a dictionary, which can be VERY useful in a classroom setting. You can always search on the Internet for the definition, or if you classroom or school doesn’t have wi fi, you can text to 466-456 the word you need defined and Google will text you back the definition of that term.

Educational Goals and Philosophy Essay -- Education Teaching Teachers

Educational Goals and Philosophy Teaching has always been an honorable and valued profession. With teaching you instill the knowledge and values that the student will take with them throughout life. I have volunteered at the elementary school with my children and have enjoyed watching the encouragement and nurturing of these teachers towards their students. I felt that I have the ability to nurture and share in the wonderment of the knowledge that prevails around us. To achieve this goal I will strive to give these students the understanding, love, and confidence that they need to prepare them for their journey in life. I plan to teach special education. I believe that these children need more patience and understanding towards their academic goals. I have always had a warm spot in my heart for these children. Many of these children do not receive the positive attitude at home that they can succeed and meet challenges in their life. I want them to recognize their challenges and to raise their self-esteem, so that they can achieve every goal in life. I feel that these students have the potential and ability to gain the knowledge and to make a valuable impact on today’s society. It will be my job, as a teacher; to make sure that the correct technique is being demonstrated to ensure that these students reach their full potential. The main goal to any teaching technique is to give confidence to that student that he/she can do anything. There is no obstacl...

Geosciene Online Quiz Question and Answers

The Geosci Motherload Unit 1 – Science! |1. |The US government, and most other governments of the world, provide support for scientists but not for astrologers, palm readers, or telephone | | |â€Å"psychics†. Why do governments support scientists? | | |A. | | |Scientists are amazingly sexy, and government functionaries simply cannot control themselves in the presence of such overwhelming sexiness and | | |throw money at the scientists (sometimes tucking tens and twenties into the pockets of the scientists’ lab coats). | | | | |B. | | |Scientists use a careful method, and governments are always committed to supporting the use of careful methods. | | | | | |C. | | |Scientists help humans do useful things, which makes the humans healthier, wealthier, etc. , and governments often like to support health and | | |wealth. | | | | |D. | | |Scientists all drink Diet Pepsi because they think it makes them look sexy, and governments are all controlled by the powerful Pe psi | | |Corporation and so the governments support the Diet-Pepsi-drinking scientists. | | | | | |E. | | |Scientists learn the Truth, and governments are always deeply committed to learning the truth. | | | The government is often interested in seeing people live longer, or improving the economy, or having better and more-accurate explosive devices for the military, or in many other things that improve our lives, and science plus engineering and scientific medicine are better than any other human activity at delivering these. A cynic might say that politicians are often not all that interested in finding the Truth.And a realist would note that science is being improved all the time, and because you cannot improve on the Truth, science has not (yet? ) learned the Truth. There are many methods in the world, some of them are careful, and many of them are not funded by the government. Some of our spouses or significant others may think that some scientists are sexy, but many other se xy persons are not funded by the government. One of the professors has been known to drink a competitor of Pepsi on occasion, and some scientists refrain from soft drinks entirely. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |C | |Your Response: |C | |2. |What is an accurate description of the job of a scientist? | | |A. | |The scientist does only things that require high-tech equipment. | | | | | |B. | | |The scientist invents new ideas, and goes on to show that some of those ideas are false. | | | | | |C. | | |The scientist learns the Truth through careful application of the scientific method. | | | | | |D. | |The scientist does only things that show how sexy being a scientist really is, causing down-trodden non-scientists to lose control of | | |themselves with carnal lust for the scientist. | | | | | |E. | | |The scientist Invents new ideas, and then goes on to prove that some of those ideas are True. | | | | Much of the fun in science is coming up with great new ideas (h ypotheses, if you like fancy words).But for your new idea to â€Å"win†, you have to show that it does better than old ideas, so you have to prove those old ideas false (or incomplete, or not-quite-right, or whatever â€Å"nice† word you might prefer). The scientific method is a powerful way for humans to learn to do things, and learn what does and doesn’t work, but the results of science are always open to improvement, so are not claimed to be Truth, and probably are not Truth. Some scientists still use pencils and look at things, and there are probably a few non-sexy scientists around somewhere. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |3. |Newton’s ideas on physics â€Å"won†, and Aristotle’s ideas were kicked out of science and over into history. Why? | | |A. | | |Newton’s ideas appealed to dead white European males, whereas Aristotle’s didn’t because Aristotle wore a toga all the time. | | | | | |B. | |Newton’s ideas did a better job of predicting how nature would behave. | | | | | |C. | | |Newton’s ideas appealed to dead white European males, whereas Aristotle’s didn’t. | | | | | |D. | | |Newton’s ideas were more elegant, and so were intellectually favored. | | | | | |E. | | |Newton won the Nobel prize. | | | |Unlike painting or literature, scientific inquiry has a well-defined procedure for figuring out if Newton's ideas are better or if Aristotle had it right all along. In looking at a painting, we can ask different people what they think, or we can make up our own mind on whether we like it or not, and that is perfectly valid. In science, we have to ask: does the idea fit with the way the world works? Can I predict the speed of a falling object better using Newton's ideas or Aristotle's? As it turns out, Aristotle’s ideas didn’t predict things very well, and Newton’s did. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |4. |Scientists often speak of consensus—the scientific community agrees that a particular theory is better than the competitors.What is such | | |scientific consensus based on? | | |A. | | |The insistence of a single scientist that he or she is correct. | | | | | |B. | | |A number of different experiments by different people that all had outcomes that were predicted accurately by the favored theory and not by | | |the competitors. | | | | | |C. | | |Statements in the old textbooks that the scientists studied when they were in school. | | | | | |D. | |The decision of the Nobel prize committee to give the inventor of the idea a lot of money. | | | | | |E. | | |A single experiment had an outcome that was predicted accurately by the favored theory and not by the competitors. | | | | Agreement on scientific theories is a contentious, drawn-out, and sometimes acrimonious business. Scientists are no better (and no worse! ) than everyb ody else: we think we are right and those who disagree with us are dunderheads!I put forward my idea, and the experiments that I did that show the idea is a good one†¦ then everybody else piles on and pooh-poohs my idea. BUT, they go out and do experiments that try and show my ideas are wrong†¦ and they can't do it! So eventually all those experiments accumulate, and finally people agree that my idea is a good one. (Sometimes accompanied by a sneer: â€Å"†¦ but of course I knew that all along. I just didn't bother to publicize it†¦ † I told you, scientists are no better and no worse than the rest of the world. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |5. |Your job depends on you finding the best available information on a particular technical topic. Where should you concentrate your search if | | |you want to do it right and keep your job? | | |A. | | |Watch cola commercials on football bowl games. | | | | |B. | | |Locate articles in weekly news magazines analyzing the views of public officials on the technical issue, as reported in the newspapers. | | | | | |C. | | |Get on the web and go looking for the pages posted by â€Å"think-tanks† headquartered near Washington. | | | | | |D. | | |Scan databases of newspaper articles to find the views of public figures on the technical issue. | | | | |E. | | |Find and study refereed scientific articles in learned journals. | | | | No source of information is perfect, but the refereed articles in learned journals put immense effort into â€Å"getting it right†. The web has reliable information, of course, but probably most of the information on the web is not especially reliable. The web is very inexpensive, and lots of people put junk on it.Think tanks also often are pushing an agenda, and try to â€Å"spin† information their way. Most newspapers are around for the long haul, and try to make the news fairly accurate, although some news papers do have agendas, and the editorial pages are not especially accurate. But, if the report is on the views of a public figure, the newspaper may accurately report what the public figure said, but what the public figure said may be less than completely accurate. Some magazines are quite good and careful, but many are pushing a belief or just overhyping things to tease you into buying the magazine.And while you are welcome to believe that drinking a particular cola makes you sexy†¦ don’t count on it. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |E | |Your Response: |E | |6. |Before they can be published, scientific papers must be peer-reviewed. This means that: | | |A. | | |Some other scientific experts read the papers and guarantee that they are True. | | | | |B. | | |Some other scientific experts read the papers and provide quality control by eliminating many mistakes. | | | | | |C. | | |Government bureaucrats read the papers, to be sure that the papers do not i nsult the political positions of the current officeholders. | | | | | |D. | |Everyone in the world is given the opportunity to comment on the papers through a specially maintained blog. | | | | | |E. | | |An editor reads the papers, to make sure that all the semicolons are in the correct places. | | | | Reviewers work hard to identify errors of any sort, almost always identify many, and then the reviewers and editors insist that those errors be fixed before publication.Review is done voluntarily by scientists; this is part of the cost of being a member of this great human undertaking. Science doesn’t claim Truth; although science strives to be as accurate as humanly possible, that is often well short of Truth. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |7. |What is more accurate about the Earth? | | |A. | |The Earth is formed of flat, vertical layers; one runs from the North Pole to the South Pole, and then others are layered on to the sides o f | | |that. | | | | | |B. | | |The Earth is formed of flat, horizontal layers, a little cap at the South Pole, then a layer above that, and a layer above that, all the way | | |up to a little cap at the North Pole. | | | | | |C. | |The Earth is formed of concentric layers (something like an onion–a central ball with a shell around it, and a shell around that†¦), but with | | |a giant hole on one side where the moon-making collision blasted pieces off. | | | | | |D. | | |The Earth is homogeneous; when it melted, it got all mixed up. | | | | | |E. | |The Earth is formed of concentric layers (something like an onion–a central ball with a shell around it, and a shell around that†¦); when the | | |planet melted, it separated into layers. | | | | The planet is onion-like, with an inner core, then an outer core, a mantle (which has several sub-layers), and a crust. The moon-making collision did happen, but the planet got hot enough to separate again. The plane t separated after melting largely or completely, with the densest stuff falling to the center and the lowest-density stuff floating to the top. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |E | | | | |8. |Geologists get to play with chemistry, physics, biology†¦ and history! And what a history you will meet as you work your way through the | | |course.Starting at the beginning, the textbook provides the scientifically accepted start of the story†¦ and promises that you’ll get to | | |explore some of the evidence for that scientific view, later in the semester. Meanwhile, which is more nearly correct of the scientifically | | |accepted view? | | |A. | | |The Earth is eternal, having been here forever and promising to be here forever. | | | | | |B. | |The Earth formed from the falling together of older materials, about 4. 6 billion years ago. | | | | | |C. | | |The Earth formed in the Big Bang, about 6000 years ago. | | | | | |D. | | |The Earth was assembled by g igantic space beavers, which gnawed down the primordial tree of life and piled its branches together to form the | | |planet. | | | | | |E. | |The Earth formed when the Big Bang caused older materials to fall together, about 14 billion years ago. | | | | The Big Bang is estimated as having occurred about 14 billion years ago. Stars that eventually formed in the wake of the Big Bang led to production of elements such as iron and silicon that are common in the Earth—we are formed from second-generation stardust, which â€Å"got it together† to make the planet about 4. 6 billion years ago. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |9. |National Parks are: | | |A. | | |Regions containing key biological resources that have been set aside for the enjoyment of future generations. | | | | |B. | | |Regions containing key geological resources that have been set aside for the enjoyment of the present generation. | | | | | |C. | | |Regions contai ning key cultural resources that have been set aside for the enjoyment of the present generation and future generations. | | | | | |D. | |Regions containing key biological, geological or cultural resources that have been set aside for the enjoyment of the present generation and | | |future generations. | | | | | |E. | | |Regions containing key roller coasters that have been set aside for the enjoyment of you and your immediate friends. | | | | Old Faithful, the giant sequoias, and Mesa Verde’s cliff dwellings are waiting for you, and your grandchildren. [pic|Points Earned: |1/1 | |] | | | |Correct Answer: |D | |Your Response: |D | |10. You find two neutral atoms. Each has 8 protons in its nucleus, but one has 7 neutrons, and the other has 8 neutrons. It is correct | | |to state that: | | |A. | | |The two atoms are from two different elements. | | | | | |B. | | |The two atoms are from the same element, but are different ions of that element. | | | | |C. | | |The two ato ms are from the same cola, but presented in different packaging. | | | | | |D. | | |The two atoms are from the same element, but are different isotopes of that element. | | | | |E. | | |The two atoms are from the same element, but are different isopleths of that element. | | | | The element is determined by the number of protons, so if each atom has the same number of protons, the atoms are the same element. Changing the number of neutrons primarily affects the weight, giving a different isotope of the same element. Changing the number of neutrons too much can introduce radioactivity, so the isotope won’t hang around forever. ) Ions are made by gaining or losing electrons. Isopleths are lines on a map connecting places with the same concentration of something that someone has measured, not exactly relevant here. And cola requires making atoms into molecules, and then mixing molecules of several sorts (water, sweetener, coloring agent, flavoring agent, perhaps caffeine) to mak e cola. [pic|Points Earned: |1/1 | |] | | | |Correct Answer: |D | |Your Response: |D | |11. You get some stuff, and start taking it apart. But, you are restricted to the use of â€Å"ordinary† means (fire, sunlight, your digestive| | |system) and you cannot use atom smashers or atom bombs. What is the smallest piece that you are likely to be able to produce: | | |A. | | |A quark | | | | | |B. | | |A nucleus | | | | |C. | | |A proton. | | | | | |D. | | |An atom | | | | | |E. | |A neutron. | | | | We can break matter down into atoms (Greek for â€Å"not cuttable† because the Greeks didn’t have atom smashers or other exotic tools that would allow cutting atoms into smaller pieces). All of the wrong answers here are smaller pieces of atoms, but cannot normally be isolated by â€Å"ordinary† tools. [pic|Points Earned: |1/1 | |] | | | |Correct Answer: |D | |Your Response: |D | |12. Ignoring good manners, you start rooting around in the nucleus of a p oor, unsuspecting atom, to see what is in there. What are you | | |most likely to find? | | |A. | | |Only neutrons. | | | | | |B. | | |Neutrons, usually with some electrons hanging around among the neutrons. | | | | | |C. | | |Protons, usually with some electrons hanging around among the protons. | | | | |D. | | |Protons, usually with some neutrons hanging around among the protons. | | | | | |E. | | |Only protons. | | | | The simplest nucleus is the single proton in â€Å"ordinary† hydrogen.All other nuclei include protons and neutrons. Electrons make the cloud around the nucleus. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |D | |1. |What is an accurate description of the job of a scientist? | | |A. | | |The scientist invents new ideas, and goes on to show that some of those ideas are false. | | | | |B. | | |The scientist learns the Truth through careful application of the scientific method. | | | | | |C. | | |The scientist Invents new ideas, and then goes on to prove th at some of those ideas are True. | | | | | |D. | |The scientist does only things that show how sexy being a scientist really is, causing down-trodden non-scientists to lose control of | | |themselves with carnal lust for the scientist. | | | | | |E. | | |The scientist does only things that require high-tech equipment. | | | | Much of the fun in science is coming up with great new ideas (hypotheses, if you like fancy words).But for your new idea to â€Å"win†, you have to show that it does better than old ideas, so you have to prove those old ideas false (or incomplete, or not-quite-right, or whatever â€Å"nice† word you might prefer). The scientific method is a powerful way for humans to learn to do things, and learn what does and doesn’t work, but the results of science are always open to improvement, so are not claimed to be Truth, and probably are not Truth. Some scientists still use pencils and look at things, and there are probably a few non-sexy scient ists around somewhere. [pic]|Points Earned: |0/1 | |Your Response: |B | |1. |Most Americans support science because: | | |A. | | |The scientific method allows scientists to learn the Truth. | | | | | |B. | | |All scientists are sexy. | | | | | |C. | |All Americans are bored silly by science. | | | | | |D. | | |All Americans are fascinated by science. | | | | | |E. | | |Science has helped make our lives easier, safer, etc. | | | | Without science and technology, the great majority of us would be dead, so we tend to be supporters of science.Although we know that science works, we’re never sure that it is completely right. Students so often discover things that professors missed, or that professors got wrong, that scientists would be silly to claim Truth. Comparing the TV ratings of the latest hit to the ratings of the latest science program on public broadcasting shows that many Americans are not fascinated by science, but the science-show ratings are above zero, so some people are fascinated by science. And hope as we might, it is unfortunately clear that not every scientist is sexy (just most of them are†¦). [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |E | | | | |2. |What is an accurate description of the job of a scientist? | | |A. | |The scientist invents new ideas, and goes on to show that some of those ideas are false. | | | | | |B. | | |The scientist learns the Truth through careful application of the scientific method. | | | | | |C. | | |The scientist does only things that show how sexy being a scientist really is, causing down-trodden non-scientists to lose control of | | |themselves with carnal lust for the scientist. | | | | |D. | | |The scientist does only things that require high-tech equipment. | | | | | |E. | | |The scientist Invents new ideas, and then goes on to prove that some of those ideas are True. | | | | Much of the fun in science is coming up with great new ideas (hypotheses, if you like fancy words).But for your new idea to â€Å"win†, you have to show that it does better than old ideas, so you have to prove those old ideas false (or incomplete, or not-quite-right, or whatever â€Å"nice† word you might prefer). The scientific method is a powerful way for humans to learn to do things, and learn what does and doesn’t work, but the results of science are always open to improvement, so are not claimed to be Truth, and probably are not Truth. Some scientists still use pencils and look at things, and there are probably a few non-sexy scientists around somewhere. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |A | |Your Response: |A | |3. |The final arbitrator between two alternate theories (for example Aristotle’s and Newton’s ideas) is: | | |A. | | |A public opinion poll conducted by Gallup, ABC News, and Fox News. | | | | |B. | | |Nature, and experiments conducted to test each idea. | | | | | |C. | | |A committee of â€Å"wise men† who gather twice a year to arbitrate such disputes. | | | | | |D. | | |The Nobel Prize Committee in Stockholm, Sweden. | | | |Unlike painting or literature, scientific inquiry has a well-defined procedure for figuring out if Newton's ideas are better or if Aristotle had it right all along. In looking at a painting, we can ask different people what they think, or we can make up our own mind on whether we like it or not, and that is perfectly valid. In science, we have to ask: does the idea fit with the way the world works? Can I predict the speed of a falling object better using Newton's ideas or Aristotle's? As it turns out, Aristotle’s ideas didn’t predict things very well, and Newton’s did. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |4. |When scientists agree that a particular scientific theory is a good one, and the scientists use that theory to help make new things, cure | | |diseases, etc. that â€Å"agreement† came about because: | | | A. | | |A single experiment had an outcome that was well-predicted by that theory. | | | | | |B. | | |A single, well-respected scientist put forward the idea. | | | | | |C. | | |That's what it says in all the books. | | | | | |D. | | |The Nobel prize committee gave the inventor of the idea a lot of money. | | | | | |E. | |A number of different experiments by different people all had outcomes that were well-predicted by the theory. | | | | Agreement on scientific theories is a contentious, drawn-out, and sometimes acrimonious business. Scientists are no better (and no worse! ) than everybody else: we think we are right and those who disagree with us are dunderheads! I put forward my idea, and the experiments that I did that show the idea is a good one†¦ then everybody else piles on and pooh-poohs my idea. BUT, they go out and do experiments that try and show my ideas are wrong†¦ nd they can't do it! So eventually all those experiments accumulate, and finally people agre e that my idea is a good one. (Sometimes accompanied by a sneer: â€Å"†¦ but of course I knew that all along. I just didn't bother to publicize it†¦ † I told you, scientists are no better and no worse than the rest of the world. ) |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |E | |Your Response: |E | |5. Which is more likely to contain reliable information? | | |A. | | |A web page posted by an independent â€Å"think-tank†. | | | | | |B. | | |A magazine article summarizing recent newspaper and television reports. | | | | | |C. | | |A refereed article in a learned journal. | | | | | |D. | | |The views of public figures reported in a newspaper article. | | | | |E. | | |A cola commercial. | | | | No source of information is perfect, but the refereed articles in learned journals put immense effort into â€Å"getting it right†. The web has reliable information, of course, but probably most of the information on the web is not especially reliable. The web is very inexpensive, and lots of people put junk on it.Think tanks also often are pushing an agenda, and try to â€Å"spin† information their way. Most newspapers are around for the long haul, and try to make the news fairly accurate, although some newspapers do have agendas, and the editorial pages are not especially accurate. But, if the report is on the views of a public figure, the newspaper may accurately report what the public figure said, but what the public figure said may be less than completely accurate. Some magazines are quite good and careful, but many are pushing a belief or just overhyping things to tease you into buying the magazine.And while you are welcome to believe that drinking a particular cola makes you sexy†¦ don’t count on it. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |C | |Your Response: |C | |6. |What is accurate about peer review of scientific papers? | | |A. | | |It insures that they are True. | | | | |B. | | |It almost alway s leads to the recommendation that the papers be published without changes. | | | | | |C. | | |It is why we call scientific papers â€Å"primary sources†. | | | | | |D. | | |It provides quality control by eliminating many mistakes. | | | | | |E. | |It is primarily done by government bureaucrats hired for that purpose. | | | | Reviewers work hard to identify errors of any sort, almost always identify many, and then the reviewers and editors insist that those errors be fixed before publication. Review is done voluntarily by scientists; this is part of the cost of being a member of this great human undertaking.Science doesn’t claim Truth; although science strives to be as accurate as humanly possible, that is often well short of Truth. Asking grandpa what school was like in his childhood gives you a primary source (grandpa), even if he insists that he walked 20 miles through neck-deep snow, uphill both ways. Some primary sources have selective memories. |[pic]|Points Ea rned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |D | |Your Response: |D | |7. The Earth is layered. Most geologists believe that this layering originated primarily because: | | |A. | | |The denser material fell together from space first, and then the less-dense material fell in later. | | | | | |B. | | |The Earth partially or completely melted soon after it formed, and the denser materials fell to the center. | | | | | |C. | |Graham Spanier decreed that it be, so it was. | | | | | |D. | | |The Earth has been separating bit-by-bit for billions of years as the cold oceanic slabs sink all the way to the center and pile up. | | | | | |E. | | |The Moon flew out of the Earth after a great collision with a Mars-sized body, causing the Earth to spin faster and separate. | | | Melting allows things to sort out more easily. Think of the rocks and snow and ice and salt and squirrel parts that stick on the bottom of your car when you drive in a snowstorm, and how they sort themselves out when they melt in t he garage or in the spring. Much evidence points to early separation of the Earth into layers, before the collision with a Mars-sized body that blasted out the material that made the moon, although a little bit of separating may still be going on.The type of material falling together to make the planet may have changed as the planet formed, but this doesn’t seem to have been too important in controlling things. And mighty as Graham Spanier is, this was a bit before his time. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |8. |The Earth has a fascinating history, which this class has just begun to explore.Which is more nearly correct, according to the scientific | | |interpretation presented in the text? | | |A. | | |The Earth has been here forever. | | | | | |B. | | |The Earth formed in the great Pepsi flood, when Graham Spanier’s private reservoirs burst open and flooded Pennsylvania. | | | | | |C. | | |The Earth formed in the Big Bang, abo ut 4. 6 billion years ago. | | | | |D. | | |The Earth formed about 4. 6 billion years ago, well after the Big Bang, as materials made in stars fell together to form the planet. | | | | | |E. | | |The Earth formed in the Big Bang, about 6000 years ago. | | | | The Big Bang is estimated as having occurred about 14 billion years ago.Stars that eventually formed in the wake of the Big Bang led to production of elements such as iron and silicon that are common in the Earth—we are formed from second-generation stardust, which â€Å"got it together† to make the planet about 4. 6 billion years ago. |[pic] |Points Earned: |0/1 | |Correct Answer: |D | |Your Response: |C | |9. National Parks are: | | |A. | | |An invention of the Romans, to overcome the â€Å"tragedy of the commons† that caused them to invade the food-service buildings of the neighboring | | |Greeks. | | | | | |B. | | |An invention of the United States that has spread around much of the world, as a wa y of protecting some of the finest parts of the world. | | | | | |C. | |A U. S. government program to provide roller-coaster rides for disadvantaged grandparents. | | | | | |D. | | |An invention of the United States, which has been routinely ignored by the rest of the world because they really don’t like us. | | | | | |E. | | |An invention of Greenlandic people, who set aside the northeastern part of the island as the world’s first national park. | | | Yellowstone was the first National Park, but now you can find National Parks scattered across the planet, preserving key areas for the enjoyment of this generation and for future generations. |[pic|Points Earned: |1/1 | |] | | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |10. |You find two neutral atoms. Each has 8 protons in its nucleus, but one has 7 neutrons, and the other has 8 neutrons. It is correct | | |to state that: | | |A. | | |The two atoms are from the same cola, but presented in different packaging. | | | | |B. | | |The two atoms are from the same element, but are different isopleths of that element. | | | | | |C. | | |The two atoms are from the same element, but are different ions of that element. | | | | |D. | | |The two atoms are from two different elements. | | | | | |E. | | |The two atoms are from the same element, but are different isotopes of that element. | | | | The element is determined by the number of protons, so if each atom has the same number of protons, the atoms are the same element.Changing the number of neutrons primarily affects the weight, giving a different isotope of the same element. (Changing the number of neutrons too much can introduce radioactivity, so the isotope won’t hang around forever. ) Ions are made by gaining or losing electrons. Isopleths are lines on a map connecting places with the same concentration of something that someone has measured, not exactly relevant here. And cola requires making atoms into molecules, and then mixing mo lecules of several sorts (water, sweetener, coloring agent, flavoring agent, perhaps caffeine) to make cola. [pic|Points Earned: |1/1 | |] | | | |Correct Answer: |E | |Your Response: |E | |11. |You get some stuff, and start taking it apart.But, you are restricted to the use of â€Å"ordinary† means (fire, sunlight, your digestive| | |system) and you cannot use atom smashers or atom bombs. What is the smallest piece that you are likely to be able to produce: | | |A. | | |A neutron. | | | | | |B. | | |An atom | | | | | |C. | | |A proton. | | | | |D. | | |A nucleus | | | | | |E. | | |A quark | | | | We can break matter down into atoms (Greek for â€Å"not cuttable† because the Greeks didn’t have atom smashers or other exotic tools that would allow cutting atoms into smaller pieces).All of the wrong answers here are smaller pieces of atoms, but cannot normally be isolated by â€Å"ordinary† tools. |[pic|Points Earned: |1/1 | |] | | | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |12. |Chemical reactions involve: | | |A. | | |The sharing or trading of partons. | | | | | |B. | |The sharing or trading of quarks. | | | | | |C. | | |The sharing or trading of protons. | | | | | |D. | | |The sharing or trading of neutrons. | | | | | |E. | | |The sharing or trading of electrons. | | | |The clouds of electrons around the nuclei of atoms serve as the Velcro of the universe. Atoms gain or lose electrons and then stick together by static electricity, or else share electrons and stick together inside the shared cloud. The nuclei with their protons and neutrons (which are themselves composed of quarks, which also were called partons at one time) are the things held together by the electronic Velcro of chemistry. |[pic|Points Earned: |1/1 | |] | | | |Correct Answer: |E | |Your Response: |E | |1. Ignoring good manners, you start rooting around in the nucleus of a poor, unsuspecting atom, to see what is in there. What are you most likely | | |to fi nd? | | |A. | | |Neutrons, usually with some electrons hanging around among the neutrons. | | | | | |B. | | |Only neutrons. | | | | | |C. | | |Protons, usually with some neutrons hanging around among the protons. | | | | | |D. | |Protons, usually with some electrons hanging around among the protons. | | | | | |E. | | |Only protons. | | | | The simplest nucleus is the single proton in â€Å"ordinary† hydrogen. All other nuclei include protons and neutrons. Electrons make the cloud around the nucleus. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Your Response: |C | |2. Opinion polls show most residents of the US do not believe they understand science very well, but they do favor more government support of | | |science. Why do most US residents favor government support of science? | | |A. | | |Scientists are so breath-takingly sexy that most people are drawn through sheer carnal lust to support the scientific enterprise. | | | | | |B. | | |Science is so boring that almost everyone uses public-broadcasting science programming as a sleep aid, and government funding is needed to | | |insure a steady supply of boredom. | | | | |C. | | |Science has helped make our lives healthier, wealthier, easier, safer, etc. , and people hope that more funding of more science will provide | | |even more health, wealth, ease, safety, etc. | | | | | |D. | | |Science is simply so fascinating that almost everyone can’t wait to see what will be discovered next. | | | | | |E. | |Scientists apply their scientific method, which allows them to learn the Truth. | | | | Without science and technology, the great majority of us would be dead, so we tend to be supporters of science. Although we know that science works, we’re never sure that it is completely right. Students so often discover things that professors missed, or that professors got wrong, that scientists would be silly to claim Truth.Comparing the TV ratings of the latest hit to the ratings of the latest science prog ram on public broadcasting shows that many Americans are not fascinated by science, but the science-show ratings are above zero, so some people are fascinated by science. And hope as we might, it is unfortunately clear that not every scientist is sexy (just most of them are†¦). |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Your Response: |C | |3. In chemistry, the type of an atom (what element it is) is determined by: | | |A. | | |The number of electrons it exchanges with its neighbors. | | | | | |B. | | |The number of protons it has in a cloud around the nucleus. | | | | | |C. | | |The number of neutrons it has in a cloud around the nucleus. | | | | | |D. | |The number of neutrons it contains in its nucleus. | | | | | |E. | | |The number of protons it contains in its nucleus. | | | | Physicists change the name when the number of charged, massive protons in the nucleus changes. Adding one proton makes a HUGE difference to how an atom behaves, and so deserves a new name. The neutrons hang a round in the nucleus to keep the protons from kicking each other out. Exchanging electrons is important, but doesn’t change the element type. [pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Your Response: |E | |4. |What is an accurate description of the job of a scientist? | | |A. | | |The scientist Invents new ideas, and then goes on to prove that some of those ideas are True. | | | | | |B. | | |The scientist does only things that show how sexy being a scientist really is, causing down-trodden non-scientists to lose control of | | |themselves with carnal lust for the scientist. | | | | |C. | | |The scientist learns the Truth through careful application of the scientific method. | | | | | |D. | | |The scientist does only things that require high-tech equipment. | | | | | |E. | | |The scientist invents new ideas, and goes on to show that some of those ideas are false. | | | Much of the fun in science is coming up with great new ideas (hypotheses, if you like fancy words). But for your new i dea to â€Å"win†, you have to show that it does better than old ideas, so you have to prove those old ideas false (or incomplete, or not-quite-right, or whatever â€Å"nice† word you might prefer). The scientific method is a powerful way for humans to learn to do things, and learn what does and doesn’t work, but the results of science are always open to improvement, so are not claimed to be Truth, and probably are not Truth.Some scientists still use pencils and look at things, and there are probably a few non-sexy scientists around somewhere. |[pic]|Points Earned: |0/1 | |Your Response: |A | |5. |What is more accurate about the Earth? | | |A. | | |The Earth is formed of concentric layers (something like an onion–a central ball with a shell around it, and a shell around that†¦); when the | | |planet melted, it separated into layers. | | | | |B. | | |The Earth is formed of flat, vertical layers; one runs from the North Pole to the South Pole, and th en others are layered on to the sides of | | |that. | | | | | |C. | | |The Earth is formed of flat, horizontal layers, a little cap at the South Pole, then a layer above that, and a layer above that, all the way | | |up to a little cap at the North Pole. | | | | | |D. | |The Earth is formed of concentric layers (something like an onion–a central ball with a shell around it, and a shell around that†¦), but with | | |a giant hole on one side where the moon-making collision blasted pieces off. | | | | | |E. | | |The Earth is homogeneous; when it melted, it got all mixed up. | | | | The planet is onion-like, with an inner core, then an outer core, a mantle (which has several sub-layers), and a crust.The moon-making collision did happen, but the planet got hot enough to separate again. The planet separated after melting largely or completely, with the densest stuff falling to the center and the lowest-density stuff floating to the top. |[pic|Points Earned: |0/1 | |] | | | |Your Response: |E | |1. |The US government, and most other governments of the world, provide support for scientists but not for astrologers, palm readers, or telephone | | |â€Å"psychics†. Why do governments support scientists? | | |A. | |Scientists all drink Diet Pepsi because they think it makes them look sexy, and governments are all controlled by the powerful Pepsi | | |Corporation and so the governments support the Diet-Pepsi-drinking scientists. | | | | | |B. | | |Scientists help humans do useful things, which makes the humans healthier, wealthier, etc. , and governments often like to support health and | | |wealth. | | | | |C. | | |Scientists are amazingly sexy, and government functionaries simply cannot control themselves in the presence of such overwhelming sexiness and | | |throw money at the scientists (sometimes tucking tens and twenties into the pockets of the scientists’ lab coats). | | | | | |D. | | |Scientists use a careful method, and governments are always committed to supporting the use of careful methods. | | | | |E. | | |Scientists learn the Truth, and governments are always deeply committed to learning the truth. | | | | The government is often interested in seeing people live longer, or improving the economy, or having better and more-accurate explosive devices for the military, or in many other things that improve our lives, and science plus engineering and scientific medicine are better than any other human activity at delivering these.A cynic might say that politicians are often not all that interested in finding the Truth. And a realist would note that science is being improved all the time, and because you cannot improve on the Truth, science has not (yet? ) learned the Truth. There are many methods in the world, some of them are careful, and many of them are not funded by the government. Some of our spouses or significant others may think that some scientists are sexy, but many other sexy persons are not funde d by the government.One of the professors has been known to drink a competitor of Pepsi on occasion, and some scientists refrain from soft drinks entirely. |[pic]|Points Earned: |1/1 | |Correct Answer: |B | |Your Response: |B | |2. You hang around with the professor, who is a scientist when he’s not teaching. You observe that the professor learns a lot about how certain | | |parts of the world behave, and the professor then uses that information to successfully predict the outcome of an experiment. What does this | | |demonstrate? | | |A. | | |The professor’s knowledge is True; the professor couldn’t have made the successful prediction without knowing exactly what is going on. | | | | | |B. | |The professor was lucky; no professor could ever know what is going on, so a professor who successfully predicted something must be really | | |lucky. | | | | | |C. | | |The professor’s knowledge is close to being True; no professor really knows what is going on , but some professors are sort of close to knowing| | |what is going on. | | | | | |D. |

Kpmg Analysis

An overview of what the company does its history and its product/service range KPMG is a multinational leading professional services firm, which deals with both audit and tax with over 10,000 partners and staff. They have achieved a vast amount of awards for both employment and health and safety, and this in turn reflects their dedication to excellence in their services. In 2008, KPMG merged with other firms in Europe, which formed KPMG Europe LLP. This therefore makes the company the largest integrated accountancy firm in Europe, with the headquarters based in Frankfurt. KMPG has a wide range of human resources, and these results in a diverse and highly skilled workforce. Furthermore, it can be seen that KPMG treat their workforce as an intangible resource, and this contributes to the firm’s competitive position. KPMG deal with three key areas: audit, tax and pensions and advisory. Their audit department deals with decision making within capital markets (KPMG, 2011 p. 1). Therefore, they provide a service to stakeholders, by ensuring that they are able to independently audit organizations. Their tax and pensions function helps individual organizations to reduce their tax burden and to ensure they meet the highest levels of compliance. Therefore, this involves key areas such as corporate reputation, pensions, and effective tax rates. Finally, they offer advisory support, which supports businesses through their business life cycle. This therefore helps and encourages firms to develop within regulatory environments. An analysis of the firm’s macro-environment Table 1: PEST analysis Political Increased governmental regulation. Increased taxes reducing consumer spending and corporate spending. Focus on environmental governance for example: environmental auditing. Economic Difficult and restrictive economic times. Businesses closing down on the UK high street. Unstable economic times, which has resulted in an increased focus on the financial sector. Social Consumer demand for CSR. Social concerns over the stability of the economy – this result, in firms such as KPMG coming under increasing scrutiny. Technological Integration of economies – the need for global expansion. Boundless economy – technology has facilitated 24-hour communication across borders. Advances in technology, which can be used to promote the detailed nature of KPMG’s services. The PEST analysis highlights a dynamic environment, which is ever changing. In particular, it can be seen that the company must utilize strategic tools to understand and deal with many of the issues presented in the PEST analysis. At present, the main difficulties facing the firm are in the economic and political environment. The economic recession has resulted in a scrutiny of the financial sector, and this in turn demands a need to offer an increasingly integral service. Furthermore, the secondary result of which has been increased regulation, which, not only affects KPMG itself but the many services it offers to its clients. An analysis of the company’s microenvironment Figure 1: Porter’s Five Forces Porter’s five Forces model is an excellent tool for understanding how powerful is a company in its particular business environment. It is very useful, because it can recognize the business’s strength in the competitive market and the possible future position will occur if the company thinks to change its plans. As a result the firm can take benefit in a condition that has power; also it can avoid any wrong steps in the future. On the other hand it can improve a situation that seems to has weaknesses. †¢Competitive rivalry: As KPMG belongs to a market that can be defined as oligopoly; the level of competition is not too high. This kind of market is controlled by the â€Å"Big Four† because they share a huge proportion of the market. Because of this the firms have the power to have high fees. †¢Power of Suppliers: The main purpose of KPMG is the provision of services. As a result of this, the major asset of the business is its own individual’s employees and members. For that reason the firm should seek to keep and extend its talents and trying to hire more qualified accountants. †¢Power of buyers: Customers are powerful in that kind of market. They can easily switch to another competitive firm because the costs of doing this aren’t too high. In addition the services provided by the â€Å"Big Four† are similar and with the same standard and this makes even easier the decision of a customer to move to a similar firm. †¢Threads of substitutes: The thread of possible substitutes in the accounting services is very small because there are not obvious substitutes of those services in the market. †¢Threats of new entrants: The market is conquered by the â€Å"Big Four† so the barricades of new entries in the market are very high. However, it is more common that small firms do not choose one of the big firms. As a result of this there is some space left for new small companies to enter the market. Table 2: SWOT Strengths 1)Asset leverage 2)High research and development focus. 3)Areas of online growth. 4)Strong management team, substantial focus on HR. )Strong brand equity 6)Strong financial position, which allows the firm to internationalize. 7)Strong European presence. 8)Competitive pricing of services. Weaknesses 1)Weak focus on real estate. 2)Vulnerability to litigations over gross negligence in audit practice. 3)Over-reliance on European market – need to understand more developing markets such as China and India (Wilson and Purushothaman, 2003 p. 19). Opportunities 1)Product and service expansion 2)Entry into emerging markets. 3)Future acquisitions. 4)Increased expenditure on infrastructure could increase demand for advisory services. Threats 1)Dynamic and competitive environment. 2)Increased regulation, resulting in a need for a throughout service. 3)Exchange rate fluctuations 4)Changes in the economic environment. 5)Global economic slowdown. The SWOT analysis indicates that the firm has strengths, which aid their position in a competitive market. Furthermore, it can be noted that the firm use such strengths to position themselves in the marketplace; in turn this promotes the resource-based view of strategy which focuses around the notion of ‘core competencies’ (Barney, 1991 p. 99). The threats outlined can be responded to by reviewing the macro environment, and the implementation of strategic tools, which may help to overcome any weaknesses. Finally, the opportunities outlined suggest that the firm should internationalize outside of Europe, this would extend the firms client base, and would allow them to tap in to developing markets such as China and India. This is in line with the BRICS study (Wilson and Purushothaman, 2003 p. 19): which, indicates that by 2050 China will be the world’s largest economy. Thus, an appreciation of the Eastern world is needed by KPMG to ensure success in the future. Evidence of an audit of key competences within the company The first key competency KPMG have is ‘reputation’ this is an intangible asset and one, which sees KPMG respected for a high caliber of services. This is the result of professional, and skilled staff, and a vast extent of knowledge, which can be applied to a vast array of business situations. Reputation is needed when offering such services which, require throughout and exact processing, for example: firms trust KPMG to handle aspects such as Tax and financial advisory, and thus often reputation is a key driver of success in this market. This is linked to the competency of professionalism, in which, strong ethical values of integrity and honesty provide the foundation for the firms work. Moreover, a key competency of the firm is their ability to develop a strong and skilled workforce. A focus on staff as an intangible resource; is something which aids the firms competitive advantage. For example: as Barney (1991 p. 99) notes: it is important that a firm have competencies which are unable to be imitated by their competitors, this in turn allows the firm to gain a strong position in the market and reduce competition. Therefore, it can be seen that the firm have a key competency of transforming the HR system to one which supports overall organizational learning, this is seen as something which supports competitive positioning (Pucik, 1988 p. 1). Accountability is a competency, which drives KPMG’s success. First and foremost, the company is operating in a dynamic, which demands transparency. Thus, the firm can be seen to take accountability for their actions, and this is something, which is supported by the firm’s organizational culture. Organizational culture is defined by Schein (2010 p. ) as ‘the shared norms and values, which are deeply rooted within an organization’. KPMG have a positive culture, which is upheld by values of customer service, customer satisfaction and the building of strong and meaningful relationships. Organizational culture can be seen as a competency, as it values can be translated into tangible resources such as increased clients, and stronger ex ternal relationships. This is linked to KPMG’s focus on making an impact, their clients expect the firm to make an impact and in turn build strong business relationships. Therefore, a strong organizational culture, which upports such values, supports the overall strategic direction of the firm. Needed in a dynamic environment, is the ability to be flexible and problem solving in an open, and innovative manner. These are two competencies which KPMG can be seen to have, in particular these are competencies which highlight how the firm has a key aim to be able to analyze complex data and reach an appropriate solution, in a manner which is simple for their clients to understand. Thus, in summary, it can be seen that the firm have an ability to translate their key, core competencies to contribute to the strategic success of the firm. The most important competencies to the firm are those, which are intangible in nature, as these are aspects, which cannot be imitated easily by their competition. In turn, such intangible resources often result in tangible results, as we can often see a link between the two. For example: higher levels of customer service are likely to result in a larger client database. A forecast of likely future prospects for the company’s market and recommendations as to how it should react to potential changes The ability of a firm to respond effectively to change is vital to the modern day organization operating in a dynamic environment. KPMG have a strong focus on their human resources, and this has resulted in the development of a workforce, which are committed to the strategic goals of the firm. Thus, as Hayes (2010 p. 12) notes a flexible workforce is needed to remain competitive, and therefore the firms reaction to any potential changes in the market is likely to be aided by their investment in their staff. KPMG’s future market is threatened by increased regulation. For example: in 2007 the company was found guilty of criminal wrong doing with regards to tax fraud (Department of Justice, 2007 p. 1). Such ethical wrongdoings damage company reputation, and this in turn is something, which is likely to affect the future of the firm. A firm such as KPMG gains a vast amount of business from reputation, and thus any damage to such may have a negative effect on their future clients. Therefore, in order to respond to increased regulation, the firm must ensure the highest ethical conduct at all times, and high levels of transparency. In addition, KPMG’s clients are faced with increased legislation regarding business reports, and thus, this promotes a need for a thorough service from the firm. Changing legislation will have a result on the firm itself, and increased expenditure is likely to be needed to ensure that all workers have the skills necessary to carry out an effective service. With regards to the external environment, developments in trends are resulting in future changes for the company. Firstly, the company is offering in a dynamic environment, and therefore is required to thrive and not just simply survive. In order to respond to competition it is important that the firm looks forward to the future, and implements a system of strategic planning. In turn, the firm should seek to provide accurate and insightful information to all of their clients, which will result in the firm adapting the finance function to enable their clients to survive during turbulent, economic times. Moreover, due to the economic climate, the needs of their consumers are changing. In order to respond to such a trend, KPMG must simplify complex business issues in a manner, which promotes a greater alignment of business processes. Many firms in a difficult, economic environment often have a short-term focus, and this is something which KPMG themselves need to steer away from, and something which they have to dis-persuade their firms from doing so. Instead, a focus on sustainable business is needed which, in turn will enable more than just reduced short-term costs. Thus, in summary the economic climate has created a difficult environment for both KPMG and their clients, and in order to survive such times and prosper in the future, the firm must position the company in a manner, which promotes success. The final trend portrayed in this section is an increased focus on corporate social responsibility. This is something which is required both from the company itself and it can be seen that KPMG’s CSR actions may influence the decisions of their clients. At present, KPMG have a strong belief that social responsibility and business success go hand in hand, and thus promote charitable donations, volunteering from their workforce and a key emphasis on the environment. In the future, a greater emphasis will be put on corporate social responsibility, and KPMG must respond to such changes by conducting environmental audits, promoting stakeholder theory, and an overall dedication to the cause. Strategy can be used to conduct external analysis, and such analysis will enable a firm such as KPMG to respond to future changes in the market. For many firms, their relevant success or failure is dependent on the ability to strategically align themselves to the external environment (Henry, 2007), and as many markets, in particular the financial market are as dynamic as ever, it is important that the firm are able to discern any trends which may later alter the firm’s strategy. As shown in this paper, the environment consists of both the macro and microenvironment, and this in turn is something, which promotes the complexity of the market. In turn, it is often thought that the competitive environment is the one, which has the most direct impact on the firm; however, it is the more external macro environment, which creates the most problematic situations for the firm, in particular, if a firm is unprepared for change. Dill (1962 p. 12) states that ‘at the one level the environment is not a very mysterious concept, it means the surroundings of the organization, and the concept becomes challenging when we try to move from its simple description to an analysis of its properties’. Thus, it is recommended that KPMG partake in environmental analysis in order to provide the companies with the opportunity to discern trends, and then from these trends create strategies, which enable the firm to best position itself. By using internal strategic capabilities such as reputation, the firm may be able to diversify into other markets, which are noted as being both less challenging and competitive. The prediction of the future is difficult, and is always uncertain due to discontinuities. However, by scanning the environment, the firm can be able to detect any weak signals, weak signals are those trends which ‘may be largely insignificant due to the fact that there impact is yet to be felt, however, the careful monitoring of such can result in the firm being better strategically adept for such uncertainties’ (Henry, 2007 p. 8: Van der Heijden, 1996). Van der Heijden (1996) notes how there are three different types of uncertainties, which all play a part in the external environment. These being: structural uncertainties, risk, and unknowable. Of these both structural uncertainties and unknowable’s are the two most difficult to comprehend, due to the fact that these are events which either cannot be imagined or do not offer any evidence of such a probability. Thus, noted in the literature, is the tool scenario planning (Schoemaker, 1995) which, can be used to deal with even the most unimaginable of events (Porter, 1998). If KPMG were able to adopt the concept of scenario planning, they would be more likely to gain a strong competitive position. Scenario planning is a tool, which can be seen to ‘stand out’ due to its ability to ‘capture a whole range of possibilities in great detail’ (Schomaker, 1995). Thus, it can be seen that scenario planning aims to overcome the under and over prediction of change, it does so by adopting a middle ground, in which, it considers both unknowable and uncertain events. Word count:2546 References Barney, JB (1991) ‘Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage’. Journal of management, 17 (1) pp. 99-120. Department of justice (2007) ‘KPMG to pay $456 million for criminal violations in relation to largest ever tax shelter fraud case’ [online]. Available from: – http://www. justice. gov/opa/pr/2005/August/05_ag_433. html [Accessed 18. 03. 11]. Dill, W. ‘The impact of environment on organizational development' In Mailick, S. and E. Van Ness (eds) Concepts and Issues in Administrative Behavior. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1962. Henry, AE (2007) ‘Understanding strategic management’. Oxford University Press: Oxford. KPMG (2011) ‘What we do’ [online]. Available from: – http://www. kpmg. com/UK/en/WhatWeDo/Pages/default. aspx [Accessed 19. 03. 11]. Porters fives forces model : Industry analysis model [online]. Available from: http://www. learnmarketing. net/porters. htm [Accessed 21. 03. 11] Porter, ME (1998) ‘On competition’. Harvard University Press: Harvard, Boston. Pucik, V (1988) ‘Strategic alliances, organizational learning, and competitive advantage: the HRM agenda’. Human resource management, 27 (1) pp. -16. Schein, EH (2010) ‘Culture and leadership’. John Wiley and Sons: London. Schoemaker, PJH (1995) ‘Scenario planning: a tool for strategic thinking’. Sloan management review, 36 (2) pp. 25-32. Van der Heijden, K. (1996), Scenarios: The Art of Strategic Conversation, Wiley, New York, NY. Wilson, Purushothaman (2003) ‘Dreaming with BRICS: the path to 2050’. Global economics paper 99, [online]. Available fr om: – http://antonioguilherme. web. br. com/artigos/Brics. pdf [Accessed 20. 03. 11].