Epiphone

The history of Epiphone started in 1873, in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey), where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his own fiddles and lutes (oud, laouto). Stathopoulos moved to the United States of America in 1903, and continued to make his original instruments, as well as mandolins, from Long Island City in Queens, New York. Anastasios died in 1915, and his son, Epaminondas, took over. After two years, the company was known as The House Of Stathopoulos. Just after the end of World War I, the company started to make banjos. The company produced its Recording Line of Banjos in 1924, and, four years later, took on the name of the â€Å"Epiphone Banjo Company†. They produced their first guitars in 1928. Epi Stathopoulos died in 1943. Control of the company went to his brothers, Orphie and Frixo. Unfortunately, they were not as capable owners as Epi. In 1951, a four month long strike forced a relocation of Epiphone from New York to Philadelphia. The company was bought out by their main rival, Gibson in 1957. It is extremely important to understand that all Epiphone instruments made between 1957 and 1969 were made in the Gibson factory at 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan. These 1959–1969 Epiphone instruments were, effectively, identical to the relevant Gibson versions, and made with same timber, materials and components. These guitars were made by the same people, in the same place, and with the same materials and components as the contemporary equivallent Gibson guitars were. They even shared the same Gibson serial-number sequence! To note some of the specific examples of Gibson-made Epiphone instruments from this period: the Epiphone Casino was identical to the Gibson ES-330; the Epiphone Cortez was identical to the Gibson B-25; the Epiphone Olympic Special was technically identical to the Gibson Melody Maker; the Epiphone Sorrento was identical to the Gibson ES-125TC (except for a few cosmetic improvements! ), and the Epiphone Texan was (apart from a change in scale-length) an identical guitar to the Gibson J-45. All of the other Gibson/Kalamazoo-made Epiphones had some clear technical or cosmetic relationship with the relevant Gibson version. This wealth of information can, admittedly, be quite confusing so I direct any interested readers to â€Å"Gruhn's Guide To Vintage Guitars† (Gruhn-Carter, Miller-Freeman Press). Most of the specific information that you will need can be found here. Gibson eventually realized the folly in having two identical brands and, therefore, by 1970, Gibson commenced using the Epiphone brand as a budget-line and started having them made, initially, in Japan. Some confusion arises here because the first year or so of Japanese acoustic guitar production utilizes a label that denotes the address â€Å"Kalamzoo, MI†. At no point does this label say â€Å"Made In USA† but some confusion, especially on internet auction websites, still arises. It is equally important to understand that the overwhelming majority of Epiphone-branded instruments made since 1969 are, in essence, exploitation instruments are and are basically facsimilies of either Gibson (most commonly) or Epiphone guitars of the past. The vast majority of these facsimilies are very decent, budget-versions of the iconic instruments that they replicate and are, in may cases, exactly what a student guitarists needs, but they must not, in any way whatsoever, in terms of materials, components and intrinsic quality, be mistaken for the real item. In the hands of a good player the guitars may sound indistinguishable, but that doesn't grant them inherent equality. [edit]Casino Main article: Epiphone Casino The most famous Epiphone model introduced by Gibson after taking over was the Casino. The Casino was made in the same shape and configuration as a Gibson ES-330 guitar. It has a very heavy sound and is a very good rhythm guitar due to its fairly thick sound when strummed. It is a genuine hollow body electric guitar with single coil P90 pickups. Epiphone Casino VT The Casino is famous for being used by The Beatles. Paul McCartney was the first to acquire one and John Lennon and George Harrison followed suit soon after. Paul McCartney used his for the solo in Taxman and the Casino sound is very prevalent throughout Revolver and their later albums. John Lennon made his Casino one of his main guitars and used it for the rest of his time with the Beatles and into the '70s. Paul still uses his Casino, which has a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, in concert and studio today. [edit]1970–present In the early 1970s, Epiphone began to manufacture instruments in Japan. From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in Korea but also in Japan by contractors licensed by Gibson. One of these contractors was Samick, which also built instruments under license for other brands and in its own name. Thus, a Korean-era solidbody Epiphone would have been built under license. The brand was primarily used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models, in a manner similar to that of the Squier brand by Fender. Like all Asian-made copies, these guitars were constructed using different timbers (usually Nyatoh, for example, instead of Mahogany), were stuck together with epoxies rather than wood-glues, and were finished in hard, quick-to-apply polyester resin rather than the traditional nitro-cellulose lacquer used by Gibson. Nitro-cellulose lacquers are applied very thinly, and as a result, do not impede the resonance of the instrument as resin finishes do. Nitro-cellulose, being a solvent-based lacquer (as opposed to a catalyzed resin), requires many more very thin coats (but still results in a lighter, thinner finish because of much more hand-applied cutting and polishing) and is therefore much more time-consuming (and consequently expensive) to apply. Resin finishes are much quicker and cheaper to apply. These particular budget considerations, along with others such as plastic nuts and cheaper hardware and pickups, allow for a more affordable instrument. Although the decent Epiphone copies look (other than upon very close inspection) to be very much like the iconic, original instruments that they replicate, and often, in the hands of a good player, DO sound very, very close to the originals, they are not, as is the case with all of these budget brands, conceived and constructed to the same intrinsic quality. But it is a matter of budget – if you can look and sound close to how your favorite player sounds for a fraction of the cost then it is a good thing. Gibson, via their Epiphone brand, just like Fender via their Squier brand, bring a close approximation of the real thing to countless players who cannot afford, or justify, the expense of a professional-quality instrument. The result is that Epiphone and Squier have become the world's highest selling brands of electric guitar. Samick has stopped manufacturing guitars in Korea. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars exclusively. With few exceptions, Epiphones are now built only in the Qingdao factory. Unique Epiphone models, including the Emperor, Zephyr, Riviera and Sheraton, are built to higher quality standards than the company's â€Å"Gibson copy† line. Epiphone also produces a range of higher quality instruments under the â€Å"Elitist Series† moniker, which are built in Japan. The â€Å"Masterbilt† acoustics are manufactured in Qingdao.

Deviations of Marxism

The problem of a man’s economic and political freedom has been widely discussed by specialists throughout centuries. Chomsky (1987), Bakunin (1934), Rousseau (1960), Humbold (in Botting 1973) have all questioned the issue whether a man can ever be free in the society. The theory of Marxism can be regarded as a synthesis and conclusion of classical political economy, particularly of utopian socialist authors from which Marx borrowed many ideas. â€Å"The teaching of Marx is all-powerful because it is true.It is complete and symmetrical, offering an integrated view of the world, irreconcilable with any superstition, with any reactionism, or with any defense of bourgeois oppression. † (Eastman, Marx 1959, p. xxi). The problem of freeing man from the curse of economic exploitation and political and social enslavement in Marx’s works has been discussed by Highs (2004), Kozyn (1987), Sayer (1991), Suny (1993), and Wood (1997). As the sources argue, according to the opi nion of Marx, this problem can be solved, but only after many changes take place in the society.Capitalism is destined to fail and be replaced by socialism which can put an end to contradiction between two social classes- bourgeoisie and the working class. Opposite to the system of capitalism, socialism was going to be based on the principles radically different from the principles of capitalist society, and thus end economic exploitation. According to Marx, people could become free if they were free economically, and thus the end of economic exploitation was going to determine the freedom for people.In â€Å"The Criticism of the Gotha Program† Marx devotes major attention to the analysis of ownership and the problem of workers’ estrangement of the results of their work as the major feature of exploitation: â€Å"Within the cooperative society, based upon the common ownership of the means of production, the producers do not exchange their products; †¦ the labor o f the individual becomes, no longer in a roundabout way, but directly, a component part of the total labor. † (Eastman, Marx, 1959, p. 5).According to Marx, the exploitation of workers provided on all levels of production, their estrangement from the results of work all were the reasons of the inevitable changes in the future. The fact that surplus value was obtained by the capitalist was also one of the arguments for the future change in the structure. The class of workers realized that the results of their work were taken by the capitalist even though they were the ones who actually created the value. Therefore, they were eventually destined to struggle for their economic freedom, which would also lead to their social and political freedom.The dialectics argues that contradictions are the driving force of progress. Once contradictions appear in some system, the system will need to undergo many changes and develop until the new level in which the synthesis of new qualities wi ll be finally reached. Therefore, as it was correctly noticed by Marx, the phase of capitalism could not be completely over- it would just develop until its new phase socialism and the most positive features of both systems would be present in the final synthesis of the two systems.People would reach the freedom only after the final stage of evolution, because earlier stages would still contain some features from the earlier system. Marx argues that communist society â€Å"still bears, in every respect, economic, moral and intellectual, the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it is issuing† (Eastman, Marx, 1959, p. 5). Therefore, it is impossible to conclude that communism entirely frees people from economic exploitation and political and social enslavement. Communism is not a completely new system and has connection with the previous system of capitalism.It interacts with it in some ways but at the same time it has many new features which are beneficial for the wor king class and liberates people in many aspects of life. In â€Å"The Poverty of Philosophy† Marx argues that eventually, communism is going to give political freedom to people. â€Å"The working class will substitute, in the course of its development, for the old order of civil society, an association which will exclude classes and their antagonism, and there will no longer be political power. † (Eastman, Marx, 1959, p.2). The author also states that in the new socialistic society, all of the assets will be expropriated from the capitalists and thus they will not be able to obtain the benefits of the surplus value anymore. Therefore, economic exploitation will be finally brought to an end. Another feature of socialism is the equality of people, when they are able to work according to their abilities for themselves and the state they live in. The socialist society is not divided into classes because it regards people equal in all the ways.Marx mentioned that unfortunat ely, all of the major developments needed to happen not as the result of evolution but as the results of struggles and revolutions because they were the only ways of destruction of the old system. Marx did not deny the role of evolution in the process of freeing people but he had very radical views and thus regarded revolution as the best tool of speeding up the evolution process which was going to lead to the long-waited changes in any case. As the author stated, the final end to capitalism could be put and the new socialist society could be established only with the help of arms.A remarkable feature of Marx’s theory of capitalism development and evolution into socialism is that he does not share the opinions of utopian writers on this issue. Many utopian writers considered that social changes could be originated by the government of the country or by a class of â€Å"educated† capitalists. Marx was completely against these theories because he was confident that the f ormer capitalists and members of government were unable to bring any changes into the country’s social structure.In order to form the new society, the new principles needed to be established and those people who belonged to the rival class of the workers were unable to bring any of the mentioned changes. It is also necessary to investigate the problem of freeing man from the curse of economic exploitation and political and social enslavement in Soviet Union. As the experience of the country shows, application of Marxism theory in Soviet Union completely failed to achieve its goals.As it was mentioned by Geoffrey (1997), Grigor (1993), Khazanov (1992), Lieven (1998), Kon (1993), one of the major mistakes made in Soviet Union was connected with â€Å"Russian exceptionalism†. As Grigor (1993) states, Soviet Union applied the concept of Marxist â€Å"nationless† society in a way completely different from its original meaning. Instead of â€Å"freeing† citizen s of the country as Marxism stated, Soviet leaders oppressed all of the nations except Russians. Russia was the major center of all activities going in the country.Soviet Union was a very peculiar structure because it united a large number of nations which were very different in many ways. Some of the nations included in the country were quite close to one another (Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine), while other republics in the Soviet Union structure were very different by their cultures. For example, Eastern republics, like Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan belonged to Muslim countries, and had very different traditions from Russians, but Russian nation forced all of them to act according to the traditions of the dominant nation.This was one of the major reasons of the â€Å"empire’s† failure in the following years. â€Å"Sovietology paid far too little attention for far too long to the non-Russian peoples, to the extrapolitical social environment, and to the part icular contexts, contingencies, and conjunctures of the Soviet past. † (Grigor, 1993: 3) According to Marxists, all the nations within the Soviet Union had to be completely alike and without any differences between them. Soviet leaders took the features of the Russian nation as the basic features. Therefore, all other nations had to adapt to the new culture which was not very familiar to them.The â€Å"nationless† society in reality turned out a â€Å"Russian† society with total dominance of the Russian nation in all the ways. All the nations other than Russians were oppressed greatly. They were all considered a step lower in the society ladder due to their origin, and did not have any political freedom. Policy of the country was in many ways channeled to the development of Russia and its cities. The largest sums from the budget were assigned to the development of Russia. While Russia’s economy was booming, particularly the economy of Moscow, all other eco nomies were at a much lower level of development.Besides exceptionalism, there were many other problems with application of Marxist theory in Soviet Union. For example, Soviet leaders did their best to apply the principle according to which every person was required to contribute to the wealth of the country at his best and would get services from the state in the maximum amount. Instead, it was easy to notice that leaders of the communist party got all of the benefits from the state while working people got only the minimum. As Lieven (1998) states, the reality of Soviet Union was very far from giving any freedom to its citizens.During capitalism workers were oppressed greatly and did not have a chance to satisfy all of their needs. The situation did not change much when Soviet leaders brought communism to the country because the oppression remained the same; it just came not from capitalists but from communist leaders. Communist leaders in Vietnam also failed to implement principl es of Marxism in the country. Similar to Lenin’s Soviet Union, Ho Chi Minh’s Vietnam failed to liberate people from economic exploitation and did not give them social and political freedom. According to Anh (1995, p.126), one of the major reasons of communism’s failure in Vietnam is lack of background for it in the country. Marxism required the struggle between classes as the basis of the future revolution. In rural Vietnam, there were no antagonist classes similar to industrial Britain or Russia. The â€Å"liberation† of people in Vietnam could not be solely based on Marx’s principles due to the radical differences between the British society which Marxism based his theory on and the Vietnamese society. There was no working class in Vietnam looking for liberation from capitalist exploitation.The major figure in Vietnamese society was a peasant fighting against the exploitation by foreigners oppressors. â€Å"At the centre of Vietnamese history, s tands the peasant, tenacious and heroic defender of the land inherited from the ancestors against the foreign invaders, but recurrently rising up against the masters from within in an endless rebellion. † (Le Vietnam traditionnel. Quelques etapes historiques, 1971, p. 170). Communism in Vietnam was supposed to serve the interests of peasants in their fight against French oppressors.â€Å"The highly destructive system of economic exploitation installed by the colonial regime gave birth to new social forces, while aggravating the situation of the rural masses. † (Institute of Historical Studies, Vietnamese peasantry and rural society in the modern period, 1990, p. 35). Despite the attempts of application of Marx’s theory in Vietnam, it was destined to fail because Vietnam was eventually liberated from oppressors, and any basis for the struggle between antagonist classes disappeared.In conclusion, it is necessary to mark that in its pure version, Marxism provides an answer to the question of how to liberate people from economic, political and social oppression. Liberation of people from economic exploitation comes first and as long as it is achieved, political and social freedom can also be targeted. However, the attempts of the application of Marxism in Soviet Union and Vietnam have showed that people’s freedom cannot be achieved in real life due to fatal mistakes made by communist leaders in the application of Marxism.

Child Development Essay

The difference Between the Sequence and Rate of Development Children’s development generally follows a predictable sequence of stages known as milestones. However, occasionally a child may skip a stage or go through a stage very quickly e. g. a child may miss out crawling and move straight from sitting to walking. An example of a sequence is the physical development of a baby where movement begins with their head and then downwards and from the centre of their body outwards. The time of a child’s development milestone isn’t as consistent as the sequence because children’s stages of development happen over different rates rather than particular ages. An example of this is that children don’t begin walking all at the same time. Some children are learning to walk before their first birthdays whereas others may learn to walk many months later. However, it is important to understand that although a child may be developing slower in certain aspects of development, they maybe excelling in others and that all children are generally following the same sequence. 2. 1 Personal Factors Affecting Children’s Development Early childhood development can be affected by a number of factors. A child’s health plays a crucial role in their development and can be determined by factors including the genetics they inherit from their families, malnutrition from a poor diet and poor conditions in their environment. Unhealthy children may find they are less equipped to tackle problems in comparison to healthy children. They may also be restricted in participating in activities which can have a detrimental effect on building relationships with others, access to creating an understanding of their environment and their progression in motor development. Disability can have a profound effect on a child’s development. The three core areas of disability are physical disability, learning disability and sensory impairment. Normal development involves children to be able to interact with their environment, and to understand their findings. Children with physical disabilities will often be restricted in their ability to effectively interact with their environment which can then have a detrimental effect on their ability to develop cognitively and emotionally. The limitation of exploring their environment can also impact on their motor skills due to lack of mobility. Furthermore, children who spend time away in hospital may have limited opportunities to develop age appropriate social skills, language skills and speech. Learning disabilities can affect children’s ability to grasp, process and analyse information. Disabled children often show an uneven pattern of development e. g. language development and physical development which can have some effect on their ability to interact with others. Inadequate interaction with others may have a negative influence on a child’s personal skills, their self esteem and often causes a reluctance to face problems. Children with sensory problems such as visual or hearing impairments may experience difficulties including mobility, language development and communication skills. Visually impaired children often suffer with mobility issues hindering their physical development which reduces their ability to explore their surroundings. It also interferes with engaging in imaginative play limiting the child’s ability to develop imitative skills. Hearing impaired children commonly lack language and communication skills as they have a reduced opportunity to take advantage of the critical early period of language development by hearing people’s voices. The lack of communication skills can impact on the child’s ability to engage with other children. 2. 2 External Factors Affecting Children’s Development Poverty can create a lasting disadvantage in children’s development. The areas of poverty to take into account are housing, diet, education and leisure activities. Children who are underprivileged in these areas are more likely to face challenges with their social and emotional development leading to behavioural problems. This can leave them at risk of developing negative relationships affecting social skills, academic skills and self esteem. Poverty can also influence a child’s health where poor housing and diet and a lack of leisure opportunities often lead to obesity, malnutrition and a likelihood of becoming ill. This can affect a child’s ability to join in activities with other children hindering many areas of development. The family environment can have a profound effect on a child’s development in both a positive or negative nature. Children living in a positive family environment often develop good social interaction with others as a result of positive relations with family members. Therefore this may impact on a child’s development in learning areas such as personal, social and emotional skills and communication, language and literacy skills. Similarly to poverty factors, family factors can also influence a child’s academic pathway. A child with underdeveloped social skills may express themselves with inappropriate behaviour, a lack of interest to learn and an inability to create positive relationships thus reducing the chance to progress and succeed in a predominantly social environment as is education. Personal choices are another major influence regarding normal development. As children grow, they develop a greater independence and are presented with more choices to which can impact on many areas of development. A prominent area of development in which a child’s personal choices impacts on is their relationship with food and physical activity. In recent times and partly influenced by the media, children’s eating habits have become increasingly unhealthy and in addition, children’s physical activity has declined. This has resulted in many children becoming overweight or obese and even diabetes. The consequences of this is likely to impact on physical development as children who are suffering from the above are more likely to be restricted in participating in all areas of physical activity in contrast to their peers who have a healthy lifestyle. The development of a child may also be impacted upon if they are in care of the local authority. An unstable living environment may affect children in many negative ways as often the child may move to various care settings on a regular basis. With this in mind, a child may develop issues with regards to their emotions. A lack of confidence and self-esteem may arise resulting in anti-social behaviour thus impacting on social skills. Academic ability may also be diminished through the inability to socialize effectively as well as many other areas of development in which social skills are essential. Education is an important area of a child’s development as it determines children’s academic ability through their education pathway. In particular, this influential area impacts on a child’s cognitive development in which they gain skills in reasoning, understanding and the ability to solve problems. Education is not only acquired through schooling, it is also gained in the family environment via social activity and family life in general. Educating through schooling can develop a child’s confidence in their ability, encourages positive social behaviour and helps children to understand the norms and values which are appropriate in society. 2. 3 How Theories of Development and Frameworks to Support Development Influence Current Practice. There are many theories which were created in order to understand children’s development. These theories are very important as they often have and influence on current practice. Piaget’s psychological theory of development was of the role of maturation, that by growing older a child would have increased capacity to understand new and differing concepts. This though was not a smooth learning curve but one which was transitional. These stages occurred at specific age ranges; 18 months, 7 years and 11 or 12 years. This appears to have impacted the school curriculum as a basis of when children are capable of understanding new concepts and ideas. The way in which a child adapts to these new changes or differences to their perceptions of the world is through assimilation and accommodation which work in unison. Assimilation refers to the inclusion of new concepts into existing schemas whilst accommodation refers to the challenges to the existing schema and accommodating ones thought processes around the differences. Only at the specific stages of maturation will a child be able to assimilate and accommodate for these new concepts. This approach can be perceived as rigid as although a child may not learn in a smooth learning curve, they may progress at different rates at a lesser staggered approach. Vygotsky’s theory of development differs to that of Piaget in that development was ‘proximal’. The ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ (ZPD) promotes the notion that children develop through their engagement with adults and activities alongside their peers rather than through teaching or by working through concepts and challenges alone. It was the development of language and articulation of ideas that would govern a child’s development and may be seen as an enabling approach that will allow a child to solve challenges and develop in a way that they will as a final result be able to perform the task alone. This approach has proved to be influential with regards to early years education particularly in the frameworks of England and Scotland in that there is an emphasis placed on building positive relationships with adults and other children in the setting. Furthermore, children are encouraged to work together during activities thus promoting teamwork in order to conquer challenges and in addition play an active role in their learning. Skinner, who adopted a behaviourist approach to learning developed the theory of operant conditioning. This theory suggests that a child’s behaves and learns via creating an understanding based on consequences and reinforcements. These reinforcements are divided into three sub-groups described as positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers and punishers. Positive reinforcers are a form of reward in response to being presented with a desired outcome for example, if a child has created a nice piece of work they may be given praise or a sticker as a reward. This then reinforces an understanding that they have done something good to which they will aim to continually reproduce. Negative reinforcers also produce repetition in behaviour in that they are used to stop something from happening for example, a child may try to avoid one of their peers due to the fear of having their favourite toy being taken away from the understanding of previous experiences. In contrast to the above, punishers are believed to weaken the repetition of behaviour such as if a child hurts a member of their peers they may be put in a reflective corner to recognise their inappropriate behaviour and if this process is repeated, the child will understand and aim to avoid this consequence. This theory links in with practice today in that children are often rewarded with positive reinforcements when behaving appropriately for example sharing during activities, comforting a peer who is unhappy or following a task with good results. Furthermore, punishers are also used in todays practice when a child is behaving inappropriately in which tactics such as the reflective corner as well as a telling off are effective in breaking the repetition. 3. 1 How to Monitor Children’s Development using Different Methods. A child’s development is monitored in a number of ways which includes observations, parent – practitioner meetings and standard measurements. Observations can be carried out in a variety ways and provide valuable information in terms of a child’s development. Narrative observations involve watching a child or children during an activity and making notes to what has been seen including all areas of behaviour. In this form of observation it is important that the practitioner who is observing remains unnoticed in order to avoid a change in behaviour of the child or children. Time sampling observations involve making a record at regular intervals of what a child is doing which focuses on a specific behaviour for that particular time. An example of this maybe during outdoor play time in which a child’s social interaction could be observed. Event sampling observations involve focusing on particular events in order to build up a pattern of children’s behaviour over a period of days or weeks. In this form of observation, the events leading to behaviour, during behaviour and after behaviour are recorded in detail. Standard measurements may also be used to monitor a child’s development. This method of assessment is employed by various professionals in order to assess development in areas such auditory, health and education. Standard measurements in contrast to having an overall objective, focus on a child’s development in relation to the overall population and furthermore, is used to determine whether a child has a particular deficiency in an area of development. This form of monitoring children is of particular use when monitoring disability or suspected disability in a child as it places all emphasis on one child whilst using a range of assessment methods to determine any apparent problems. 3. 2 Reasons Why Children’s Development May Not Follow the Expected Pattern. There are a number of reasons in which a child’s development is not following the expected pattern. Disability may affect a child’s development in a range of areas which include physical development, personal development and social development. In some cases disability can restrict a child from participating in normal physical activity, for example some settings may not be wheel chair friend in areas such as outdoors. This in turn may prevent a child from being involved in the same activities as other children thus impacting on their physical development. With this in mind, outdoor play is important whilst developing effective social skills. Children often use a range of communication skills whilst exploring and discovering therefore deprivation of social interaction may have a harmful impact on a child’s personal and social development. Children with emotional problems are also at risk of not developing along the expected pattern. A child lacking in confidence and self-esteem can often become reclusive and struggle with communication in particular during situations where it is loud and fast paced such as in a nursery environment. Children who tend to hide away from the action are inevitably missing out in areas of learning and development and is unfortunately often carried through to later life. Environmental factors are another area to consider in relation to an expected pattern of development. The home environment can have a profound affect in many areas. A negative home life may often determine a child’s ability to socialise effectively thus affecting numerous other areas. Due to a lack of social skills, a negative impact may be made on a child in education and as a consequence their academic achievement may be at risk. In addition, cultural difference may also play a part as there are a variety of ways in which different cultures nurture their children. Some cultures, for example in western society encourage freedom and independence. This in turn gives children the opportunity to discover new things and develop and understanding of the world. Children with learning difficulties often follow an uneven pattern of development. Tasks and activities are often more of a challenge for children with learning difficulties in which failure is not uncommon in academic situations and as a result can lead to frustration and issues regarding self-esteem. In some cases with these personal issues, a breakdown of communication can emerge resulting in a negative impact on areas of learning and development which rely on effective communication skills. How Disability may Affect Development. Disability can have a substantial influence on a child’s development. Disability covers three areas in which normal development is more of a challenge in contrast to children who are not disabled. These areas include physical disability, learning disability and sensory impairment, all of which may hinder development. Due to the interdependence of learning areas in order to maintain normal development, disabled children as a consequence are more unlikely to develop at the same rate as other children. For example, a child with a physical disability such as being wheel chair bound may find it a challenge whilst exploring the environment. This could have a knock on effect in learning areas such as social interaction, communication and knowledge and understanding. This then in turn may be detrimental in terms of developing positive relationships with their peers which can often lead to social rejection or bullying. As a consequence of this, a child may develop personal and emotional issues manifesting itself in reduced self-esteem and confidence resulting in reclusion. How Different Interventions can Promote Positive Outcomes for Children where Development is not Following the Expected Pattern. If a child has been recognised as not following the expected pattern of development, interventions are made in order to establish where the problem lies and the best way to tackle it. External practitioners known as agencies may then become involved and assess the child whilst providing support and expert advice to the family and the nursery or educational setting. These agencies may include paediatricians who are responsible for monitoring progress and make referrals to additional healthcare, health visitors who offer advice and support to families and physiotherapists who are responsible for working with the physical problems of disabled children and young people and suggest exercises. Speech and language therapists provide support to disabled children who have problems with their speech and language. They also offer advice on communication to the parents whether it is verbal or non-verbal for example using sign language. Other areas of intervention include the role of the Educational Psychologist who assesses the way in which a child learns and identifies issues with a child’s learning. They can then identify how to benefit a child’s learning by creating Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and are responsible for managing the child’s statutory assessment and the issue of a statement of needs if required. In nursery and school settings special educational needs coordinators (SENCO) can become involved in the coordination of activities and the provision of support to meet the specialised needs of disabled children. In many cases multi agency and partnership working is adopted as it provides integrated support for children who are not following the expected pattern and their families. Supporting children with additional needs and their families with a range of agencies working collectively provides more effective care for the child due to the sharing of information and agreement as to how to implement plans. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) supports this practice as a way of contributing to a child’s development as this information shared may aid any further assessments. The Importance of Early Identification of Speech, Language and Communication Delays and Disorders and the Potential Risks of Late Recognition. It is extremely important to identify delays in speech, language and communication as soon as possible. Early identification of speech and language delay is critical to a child’s development as it is interconnected and is a key area with regards to many other areas of learning and development and furthermore, it is essential whilst developing the ability to communicate. With the inability to use effective language, a child’s cognitive ability may become weakened as both these areas are strongly linked to each other. Language delay can influence a child’s ability to understand concepts and develop intelligence amongst other areas of cognitive development. Communication and speech delays are also important to identify as they determine a child’s ability whilst interacting with others. In addition they can affect a child’s emotions, in some cases resulting in anti-social behaviour, thus impacting on areas such as education. However, through early identification and intervention, the impact of speech, language and communication delays may be significantly reduced thus creating a more positive future for children. 4. 2 How Multi-Agency Teams Work Together to Support Speech, Language and Communication. Multi-agency and partnership working plays a key role with regards to a child’s speech, language and communication development. When it has been recognised either by a parent/carer or whilst in the nursery setting that a child is showing signs of difficulty in these areas, the child would then need to be assessed by either a health visitor or general practitioner. This would then enable a greater understanding of where the problem may lie and furthermore exclude a number of other possibilities. Once a diagnosis has been found, the child may then been referred to a variety of agencies in order for further assessment and to create a plan to tackle the problem areas. These agencies may include speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers who provide support for children who have sensory impairments, learning difficulties or communication difficulties. These agencies will often work together in collaboration discussing and sharing information which in turn enables the child to make maximum progress. Furthermore, the agencies will work together to develop strategies, provide knowledge and in some cases provide resources to parents/carers and the nursery setting. 4. 3 How Play and Activities are Used to Support the Development of Speech, Language and Communication. Effective play and activities are beneficial in order to support a child’s speech, language and communication development. The nature of play and participating in activities generally involve a great deal of social interaction with others. Therefore by providing play situations and activities that support these learning areas, children’s development will be enhanced. Toy animals are an effective play resource. They engage children into the natural world and encourage them to imitate movements and sounds which in turn enhance a child’s speech development. Nursery rhymes and singing encourage the development of language. Children who are exposed to these activities have a greater ability to listen and understand words and actions. Nursery rhymes also enhance a child’s ability in reading as a result of the development of language. Reading books with children can enhance their communication skills. Stories can generate interest where children become inquisitive. Children often ask questions and discuss ideas which can enhance their ability to communicate with each other. In addition to the above, a child’s speech and language may be developed by role modelling in which they will learn to use new sounds and words by listening and engaging in general conversation. With this in mind and from own practice I feel it is important to provide appropriate speech for a child to be exposed to, using clear and slow language whilst altering vocal pitch in order to convey grammatical information. Furthermore, I feel if a child has attempted to say a word with ineffective results, it is important to praise the child for their effort in order for them to continue trying. 5. 1 How Different Types of Transitions can Affect Children’s Development. Transitions are a significant stage in a child’s life and can affect them in a range of ways and in a number of areas of development. They are an nevitable part of growing up, however it is important to recognise and understand the signs and the impact of transitions on children’s development. A change in the family structure of a child in terms of an additional sibling may have an impact. The child may feel their relationship with their parents is threatened by the arrival of a new baby and they may feel they are getting unequal amounts of attention. The child’s personal and social development may be harmed during this transition. With this in mind the child may develop issues with self-esteem as a result of receiving less attention than previously. The child may also develop anger issues from seeing the frequent attention and care being provided to the new baby which could then in turn manifest itself in sibling rivalry. The position of beginning nursery or school is another major transition for a child which may impact on their development. A new and unfamiliar environment may be a daunting experience for many children. Children who are less outgoing in comparison to their peers may try to avoid interacting with others and avoid social activities. This could then result in the child becoming a recluse resulting in missed opportunities to play, learn and develop. A child’s admission into an institution such as hospital due to ill health is also a significant transition which could impact on their development. Social interaction may be diminished in particular of children who stay for long periods in hospital. Through this lack of socialising, children may become underdeveloped in others areas including their knowledge and understanding through missed opportunities to explore the environment with their peers developing new ideas and perspectives. Moving to a new house or location is another transition which can impact on children’s development. This can be a traumatic time and in particular of a child entering the care of the local authority. Often in this situation a child has moved around a number of locations thus creating a sense of instability resulting in personal issues. These issues are often expressed in the form of anger, isolation and anxiety which in turn can hinder normal development. Furthermore, many children in this situation come from broken families which in some cases involved abuse and neglect. With this in mind when involved in a situation of this type, it is important to build trust whilst working with the child in order to prevent a further negative impact on their development. 5. 2 The Effect on Children of Having Positive Relationships During Periods of Transition. Transitions are a significant and potentially harmful experience in children’s lives, therefore it is important to provide a positive and supportive network around children in order to make transitions an easier and more comfortable process. A child who is undergoing a process of transition whilst receiving positive support and encouragement is more likely to accept changes in their lives and develop a greater confidence in the transition process. A strong relationship with someone such as a key person in an educational setting can benefit a child’s transition. A child beginning nursery will be presented with an unfamiliar environment in which a key worker’s job is to develop a close relationship with the child and provide support allowing the transition to run more smoothly. In some cases a key worker may change settings or may be away for a long period of time such as maternity leave. In these situations a child may react negatively to the loss of familiarity which subsequently may impact on their development. Therefore it is important to provide additional support to the child via attention; reassurance and encouragement in order to alleviate further negative affects whilst a close relationship with a new key worker is being formed. Children encounter transitions with an array of experiences in which some may be positive and some negative. Children generally will always be worried. Confronted with unexpected transitions, like divorce or death, a child may feel excluded or to blame or angry. An understanding of their experience and the possibilities of what is going through their heads and giving a thoughtful and sympathetic response will often help bring them through the transition and in turn lead to a more confident and rounded child.

Kellogs Case Study

The management process is responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. ELEMENTS OF PRODUCT Kellogg’s provide a such variety of food, their food is reliable. They are take care of providing a safe and healthy work environment. Their food is good for health as well, which is the main point what makes product valuable to us. Core of product is benefit. Whatever is makes you satisfied is core benefits. Cornflakes is the actual product of kellogg’s, which is exist with the colour, style, branding, fashion, quality.Kellogg’s cornflakes is the most valuable, reliable, and a very popular product which is makes us satisfied to buy it. In order to satisfied core benefits company create a product. Driving product is depending on process marketing. E. g. i buy cup of coffee, augment this cup with selave when it is hot. Augmented element cost money. Augment product is created with the customer care, finance, installation, service, delivery, warranties. Kellogg’s cornflakes is also provide a customer care, it is affordable by every kind of people, we can buy it from every kind of shopping center and its widely available so easy to buy.TYPES OF PRODUCT Convection Kellogg’s is available in every shopping centre it is a breakfast so people buy it regularly and it is low priced so everyone can buy it easily. It is widely available and often high brand loyalty which is kellogg’s. Speciality Kellogg’s corn flakes is available in all superstore so people can get it easily and in competition with other brand of product corn flakes is perfect and less frequent luxury purchases. This product has got a personal selling skills. On the pack of this product they give all the information so ustomer can get all information about needs / gather lots of information before buying. Shopping Relatively expensive with infrequent purchases. Usually occurring with customer knowledge in relation to the hig h market brands. In relation to kellogg’s, this product is marketed within major superstores and has a variety of high competition with other known brands, e. g. Nestle. In this case, a high brand led would be cereals which would be aimed at certain customers for example weight watching customers. Unsought Distress purchases with little pleasure.Marketers need to make customers aware of where they are available to create preferences. Kellogg’s have approached this by advertising and promoting different corn flakes e. g. chocolate flakes or honey coated flakes. For the selling of product of Kellogg’s we need to understand the customer behaviour. The behaviour includes what they may buy? Why do they buy? When do they buy? And where do they buy? The modal of customer buyer behaviour includes the 4ps where market stimulation occurs. Other market stimulations include; economic, technological, political and cultural.Consumer decision making For the consumer decision m aking first if all we need to know about the problem then search for the reason of that then alternative evolution then purchase evaluation so then we can get purchase decision and behaviour then we can get our post purchase evaluation. BRAND LOYALTY Brand attitude There are different types of attitude for different brands. When we see the corn flakes first of all we goe the brand kellogg’s in our mind and it makes positive image in our mind, which is a very important thing for the product.Corn flakes is the very popular and reliable brand so people got a good image of this brand, so with the good and success image brand its create a positive brand attitude. Brand preference Why customer should buy that particular brand then the other brand it depend on the quality of brand, quantity of brand, prise of brand, dependability of brand. Kellogg’s corn flakes is the more quality brand, very old and trustable, good quantity, affordable, so with this preferences customer buy this brand more then the other brand.Brand allegiance When customer get satisfied with the brand they will like some change with the same product then if they find it more dependable they will continue buy that brand over the long period of time. kellogg’s is the old and trustable brand. Customers are using this brand been long time so with focus on customer needs kellogg’s providing some choices with the flavour and other product as well. E. g. coco pops, crunchy nut nutty, all bran. etc. Consumer buying decision processFirst of all in buying this process ther are different stages with the decision so first step is total set when u got lots of things infront of you then you recognise awareness, then consideration set after that you’ll get some selected things to choice in the choice set then can make your decision. Kellogg's business strategy is clear and focused: * to grow the cereal business there are now 40 different cereals * to expand the snack business by diversifying into convenience foods * to engage in specific growth opportunities. ProductionCornflakes are produced in significant quantities at the Trafford Park factory in Manchester, which is also the largest cereal factory in the world. Cereals derived from cornflakes A former patient of the Battle Creek Sanitarium named C. W. Post started a rival company, as we all as the major other brand of corn flakes in the United States, called Post westies. Australia's Sanitarium also manufactures their own brand of corn flakes called Skippy corn flakes. In addition there are many generic brands of corn flakes produced by various manufacturers. ttp://www. kelloggs. co. uk/products/cornflakes/Cereal/corn_flakes. aspx Kellogg’s commitment At Kellogg’s they are committed to building great brands. they follow shared values, principles and behaviour to provide high quality and great tasting foods in a responsible manner: * They act with integrity and show respect. * They are all accountable. * They are passionate about they business, they brands and they food. * They have the humility and hunger to learn. * They love success. * They strive for simplicity.Kellogg Company has a rich history of corporate social responsibility, a history that has grown and evolved to meet the complexities of today’s business world and the challenges of a global society. They founder, W. K. Kellogg, sought to â€Å"invest my money in people†. That legacy continues to guide they company and they people. Corporate responsibility is a way of life at Kellogg. They responsibilities include: * Sustainability – Understanding, managing and minimising they impact on the environment to a sustainable future for everyone. * Communities – Investing in and enriching they communities so that they can reach their full potential. They are passionate about their business, there brands and there food. * Market place – Behaving responsibly in the market place, se lling nutritious products, advocating healthy lifestyles and acting with integrity and adhering to the highest ethical standards. * Work place – Promoting diversity in their work force and ensuring a safe, healthy workplace. They commitment to social responsibility is as strong today as it was when there company was founded. They are proud of their progress, but there is still much they can do. DiversityThey aim is that diversity in Kellogg’s is something you can feel, see and hear – it is not just a page in the annual report. Instead diversity hits you when you walk through the door. They actively encour age individuals to be themselves and use all of their talents to contribute their best each day for the benefit of themselves, others and Kellogg’s. They desire is for a diverse and inclusive workforce regardless of; language, nationality, work-style, learning style, culture, ethnicity, job level, gender, sexual orientation, life experiences, skills, phy sical abilities, thinking style and marital or family status.Environment They are committed to operating a sustainable business that increases shareowner value and ensures a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. Sustainability has always been an integral part of Kellogg's recipe for success and it will continue to be in the years to come. Kellogg's promotes and maintains environmentally responsible practices for the benefit of there customers, consumers, employees, and the communities in which they operate. They conduct and grow there business in a manner that protects the environment and demonstrates good stewardship of there worldAs natural restheyces.Kellogg's strives for continual improvement through the development of specific programs that address the environmental cost and impact of there activities, products and services. These programs include a commitment to use resources efficiently, minimise waste, and measure environmental impact Responsi ble marketing Since its foundation, Kellogg’s has been committed to informing consumers of all ages about the importance of a balanced approach to diet and physical activity. Kellogg’s has in place a global marketing code and a longstanding commitment to TV advertising in a responsible manner. This means: They will not encourage over-consumption. They will not use words like ‘king-size’ or ‘super-size’ and all there promotions will depict sensible portion sizes. * They will always present Kellogg’s breakfast cereals as part of a balanced breakfast – usually in a family context. * They will run balanced promotional calendars – featuring a good mix of fun, education and overallbeing-based activities for both adults and children. * They will not target any advertising at children under six years of age. Work / life balance Creating a work environment which allows the business to deliver consistently strong results is essentia l to there future.Helping to create a good work / life balance is an essential part of this. Some of the initiatives run by Kellogg’s include: * Flexitime, home-working, part-time working and job share. * Career breaks, parental leave, time off for dependants and maternity and paternity leave. * Personal development planning, secondments and study leave. * On site gyms, or subsidised access to local facilities, free annual lifestyle assessments in work time, a variety of physical exercise based programmes. Health and safety Employee safety is a value at Kellogg's.They are committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment and preventing accidents. Employees are accountable for observing the safety and health rules and practices that apply to their jobs. They are expected to take precautions necessary to protect themselves and their co-workers, including immediately reporting accidents, injuries and unsafe practices or conditions. Employees also are expected to report to work free from the influence of any substance that could prevent or impair them from performing their jobs safely and effectively. Customer information processing PersonalityPersonality is like , if you buy a branded company car so you make personality. when people buy a kellogg’s they think about the image of kellogg’s in the market. so when customer buy a product they buy a brand. Perception Perception works in different way,e. g. we carrying clothes how people look at us, what brand you wearing. So, as the same way its depend on brand what you using. Perception is increases the prise of product. Learning is just not about academic learning but existing knowledge, our own knowledge. E. g. if i am going to buy break fast snack so i need to learn about product a to product b.We learn by application not ny remembering. Attitude from the environment and enfluence we create emotion how good or bad it like attitude. E. g. customer buying a brand to being part of group. Over a hundred years ago, the Kellogg brothers – Will Keith and John Harvey – devised a new breakfast in their quest for healthy foods. That breakfast was of course, Kellogg's Corn Flakes †¦ The Sunshine Breakfast! Crisp, golden flakes made from the finest sun-ripened corn. Since then generations of people have been waking up to enjoy the refreshing, simple taste of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and ice cold milk. Product details

Lack of Minorities in the Information Technology Field Research Paper

Lack of Minorities in the Information Technology Field - Research Paper Example This paper takes a look at this apparent discrepancy, what the recruiting and retention practices are for the Information Technology field. It also looks at how society may play a role in this issue and how, if left unchecked, this issue could create a problem in for the workforce as a whole. Throughout the paper suggestions are made for how this situation can best be resolved. It is the hope that one would walk away from this essay with information on how discrimination is taking place in the I.T. field and what can be done to change it. Table of Contents Certification and Approval 2 Abstract 3 Table of Contents 4 Introduction 5 Discrepancy 6 - 8 Recruiting and Retention Practices 9 - 13 Affects on Society 14 - 15 Conclusion 15 - 16 References 17 - 20 Discriminatory Hiring Practices in the Information Technology Field A young five year old boy runs with lighting fast speed toward the huge sycamore as his mother and her friend watch, with amusement, from the park bench. He proceeds t o climb the tree and swing bravely from the bottom branch. He mother chuckles slightly, â€Å"What are you going to do, boys will be boys† she sighs to her friend. ... While this differentiation may have played out well at the turn of the century, when the majority of women stayed home to clean and care for the children, and the majority of men worked for a living, in today’s economy many women find the need to seek employment outside of the home. This preconceived notion that women are the weaker sex can then result in issues when women seek a career in a field that has been male dominated. Luckily, today, there are laws in the United States in place to protect equality for women and all other minorities in the work place. However, even with these precautions in place it seems there are some fields that are not equally represented by minorities. One field, in particular, where this is becoming a problem is that of Information Technology. After taking a look at the apparent discrepancy, the recruiting, and retention practices in the IT field, and how this could ultimately affect society if left unchecked, it should become apparent how societ y is playing a role in the underlying discrimination seen in IT and what can be done to change it. Discrepancy It is estimated that between 2000 and 2010, there will be a call for 2.5 million new Information Technology jobs available, which is the result of growth in Information Technology occupations, resulting in a high demand for skilled Information Technology workers (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2005). It is projected that from 2008 to 2016 there will be a 29% increase in workforce demands for computer system analysts, a 37% increase in demand for jobs for database administrators, and a 38% increase in the availability of jobs for software engineers (U.S. Department of Labor, 2005).

Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 7

Human resource management - Essay Example The global business environment is now making this change more certain as the environment is becoming more volatile; the need for operational excellence because of variety of forces including technology, economy, society, regulatory forces, competition, individually and collectively. The changes in the business environment has become too constant that it has become imperative for the going concern nature of the organization to adopt the change in all the ways possible – but this changes is easier said than done. Since it involves affecting all dimensions of the organization including the most important recourse i.e. the stakeholders. This change brings in different meanings for and different reactions from these stakeholders – the human resource of the company. The implementation of new information systems revamps the entire operating environment of the organization; therefore, there is a need for organizational development, managing resistance throughout the company, managing the fear that prevails in people because of changing technology, building and reinforcing trust amongst all members and participants, and managing the stress – mental and physical (Suzzana & David, 2008). Organizational Development – the process of implementing the new system, does not involve an abrupt or an overnight replacement of the system; careful and full-fledged planning with effective communication with stakeholders is needed for the proper and effective implementation of the system. The rapid change adaptation is very much a function of the extent to which the employees are involved in the selection and implementation of the new system. This acceptance of change is also affected by the cultural factors, some cultures are risk takers and are more inclined towards easy adoption of change; others are risk averse and thus prone to follow the status quo to avoid any potential mishap. Tackling Resistance throughout the organization – As

Aging population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Aging population - Essay Example Shakespeare has beautifully described the life of a man. He further describes it, in terms of ages and names it seven ages of a man's life. These are ages are: an infant, a child, the lover, the soldier, the justice, the old age and finally mental dementia and death. In short, they were considered as a useless part of the society and were thus isolated. This very idea had and probably has penetrated the business community as well. This fact was quite reflective in the marketing activities and campaigns launched until recently. However, the time is changing now; the old people are getting more prominence in the business society. They are now considered an important segment of the society. Business society is giving more attention the aging population, especially in the industrialized world. Their changing needs and behaviors are tried to be addressed by the marketers in more efficient manner than ever before. This matter is quite encouraging that the need has been realized; however, a s a matter of fact, what is really missing is the direction to cater their changing behaviors and needs. Thus this paper is aimed to address the fact that how the old population in the industrialized country does affects the business strategist seeking to respond their changing needs.In formulating this paper, we would start with the fact that who the aged ones are, in current scenario. Later, we would explore the key features of the aging population and what characteristics and features make them different from others After discussing this, our discussion will lead to the point that what are the corresponding marketing challenges faced by the marketers, furthermore, we will evaluate the efforts of the business community done so far to address these challenge. Lastly, we would like to know that what can be done further to address those issues. (Heibing and Cooper 2004) What is 'Old' Universally there is not any agreed upon age for being called the 'old'. However, usually those who have passed a considerable age of their life are now retired or about to retire are considered as old. Though the age for retirement also varies from country to country, however, in general that ranges between fifty to sixty years. Thus any person beyond the age of retirement is considered as old. If we accept this definition and start to look for the generation that is going to be the old or aging population, we find that our recent aging population is baby boomers. Before moving further, it is essential to know who are baby boomers are, since it would help in building this topic further. Those people who are born between 1946 and 1964 in United States are called baby boomers. (Hess and Markson 1991) Though this phenomenon is referred to US population only but the people who were born in the same period in other industrialized countries also share the same features. The baby boomers w ere born during the economic upsurge in those economies. As a result, they were fortunate to have best possible education, as compared to rest of the world. On account of the fortunate period in which they were, in general, they had a wonderful childhood leading to a promising career and prosperous youth and adult life. Now this generation that has made a lot of money is entering in to the old age. Obviously, the big sum of money that they have gathered in this period has the potential to make them one the greatest market for the marketers of the industrialized world to capture. Aging Population in Various Countries Moving further, we can