Military Operations Based on Climate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Military Operations Based on Climate - Essay Example fferent climatic changes such as high and low temperatures, drought and floods, high and damaging winds, and heavy or blowing snow have significant impacts on military operations. These may lead to increased risk to life and safety, injury, and a degrading effect on mission performance. The effects of snow are felt across a range of tasks from intelligence gathering by sensors to mobility of vehicles and personnel. At the tactical level, the climate and its extremes affect soldier and unit issues such as doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leaders, personnel, and facilities. Proper training and doctrine have At the operational level, climate and extreme weather have an effect on the design and organization of successful campaigns, theater operations, and battles. When the campaigns are launched in the environments of tropical storms, monsoon season, or extreme desert heat these are clearly affected by the expected climate. Extreme weather events can cause delays and disruptions in plans for mobility, lines of communication, point of embarkation, logistics and support. At the strategic level, climate and extreme weather affect the national and international resources. The requirements for developing new aircraft, ground vehicles and ships are also affected by the range of extreme weather conditions. The operating and maintenance costs that are tied to both climate and the frequency of extreme weather, such as heating and cooling costs, damage by tropical storms and periodic floods. There have been many examples in the past when military attack has been affected by the extreme climatic conditions. During World War II the bad weather in Europe was the worst enemy of the air operation. Bad weather is the enemy of the side that seeks to launch projects requiring good weather, or of the side possessing great assets, such as strong air forces, which depend upon good weather for effective

Caterpillar's Organizational Structure and Culture Essay

Caterpillar's Organizational Structure and Culture - Essay Example For this reason, organizational environment has been divided into three sections: general environment, task environment and internal environment. The first of them refers to factors that are likely to impact the organization as a market’s unit, as for instance technological and socio-cultural factors. Task environment refers to factors influencing the organization’s daily operations; customers and suppliers are factors of such type. As for the organization’s internal environment, this refers to factors, which are related to the organization’s internal boundaries, meaning factors such as employees and culture (Caterpillar, case study). Changing organizational structure can be a challenging task mostly because all parts of organizational structure need to be transformed. If a change successfully occurs, this fact can be made known to the management in the following way: no problems appear in the organization’s daily operations, especially in regard to the areas where change was promoted. The organizational culture can include a series of elements, such as symbols, ceremonies and stories; in Caterpillar, the above elements have been set as value hallmarks (Caterpillar, case study). Moreover, organizational culture can set the rules on which organization’s plans are based; reference is made particularly to the plans that regulate employee relations across the organization. In Caterpillar, organizational culture also refers to understandings, beliefs and norms; the above elements are characterized as shared values and define the cultural framework of Caterpillar (Caterpillar, case study). In accordance with the case study, adaptability and involvement are key characteristics of Caterpillar’s culture, ensuring flexibility and employee participation in organizational plans. In Caterpillar corporate culture is of critical value; teaching

Ethnic Identity Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Identity Essay Introduction Many studies on the academic achievements of Mangyans prove to be so beneficial to many enthusiasts concerned with indigenous people’s development. A critical look on the levels of school attitudes and self–esteem of Buhid Mangyan pupils in Mirayan, Buong Lupa and Pakpaklawin Elementary Schools serves as a springboard in drawing deeper implication how these potential variables actually impact on their academic performance as priority learners in the school. Based on the actual observation of the researcher, the increasing number of Buhid Mangyan enrollees in the schools for the last five years positively indicates their improved appreciation of formal education and trainings as a capital means to enrich their social, economic and cultural conditions. Given all the opportunities to develop their innate potentials, the Buhid Mangyan pupils are able to cope with the learning environment they are in; however, a set of many obvious problems as regards to how they will effectively learn and perform are seen. Because most of the pupils in Mirayan, Buong Lupa and Pakpaklawin Elementary Schools reside in far-flung communities, most of them usually report to class late, others cannot simply present themselves in the entire whole day of classes, sometimes they prefer to be absent in the afternoon to help out their parents do some house chores for girls. The male Buhid Mangyans on the other hand, go out to the field to plant, take care and feed their animals and perform other labor intensive household activities like cutting wood for cooking, fetching water to drink and others. These economic factors are potential hindrances why the Buhid Mangyan pupils remain left behind compared with their counterparts among Hanunuo and Alangan groups. The same factors seemingly bear direct impact on the level of attitude of the Buhid Mangyan pupils which they most usually manifest in their behavior towards learning, study habits, preparation of projects readiness to learn and participation in classroom activities. Although they are interested to learn, their ability to respond to the teachers’ instruction appears to be at a dismal level due to hunger, uneasy behavior and timidity. The result indicates that the Buhid Mangyan pupils cannot perform on time their assignments and prepare projects because most of their time is spent for earning a living as their form of support to their parents. The lingering effects of these patterns of behavior results in the low-level esteem they feel at the midst of frustration and discomfort, which in the process, results in the lack of quality time for sensible socialization with various groups of people, thus, a feeling of isolation from the mainstream community leads to dwindling individual morale, and failure to sustainably exhibit respect, pride, indigenization and love of cultural beliefs and traditions they ought to keep up deeply rooted in themselves. In the same manner, the most obvious effect of the state to which they are in is the relatively low extent of academic achievement of the Buhid Mangyan pupils. The foregoing statement implies that the experiences of Buhid Mangyan pupils are certainly unique to themselves being in an environment that induces their patterns of actions and behavior. According to Llyod (2007), whatever ethnic affiliation a certain person belongs to, he has a certain set of value system and behavioral patterns being practiced and adopted. The value system of the family and constituent members plays a big factor in the importance given to education, the value of child labor, gender discrimination that prevent girls from attending school to work and discrimination in pay based on sex or type of work of children. For Connolly (2009), the idea of ethnicity relates to the actual condition of Buhid Mangyan pupils from Mirayan, Buong Lupa and Pakpaklawin Elementary Schools in Gloria District. Ethnicity plays a major role in many people’s lives which sometimes have a positive influence. It helps people identify and understand their needs, while the negative influence includes can be prejudice and discrimination. The valid connection between academic achievements and level of attitude and esteem of Buhid learners can still be best assessed with the application of creativity, genuine understanding by the 1 / 17 teachers of the holistic identity of the learners. As diversely unique individuals with special traits and experiences, there may also be some good things about them the teachers can value so much as every individual has his own giftedness endowed to him. Problems underlying the mismatch between positive attitude and high esteem and the high level academic achievement of these learners can also be stopped from lingering when teachers continue to perform their sworn in function in the name of long-term development aspired for by the national government. By discovering and exploring the hidden talents of Buhid Mangyan learners, chances are that their concept of education can improve. In support to this, the Philippines, as a geographically and ethno- linguistically diverse country, has long undertaken initiatives in identifying and educating gifted individuals. The preponderance of psychometric assessments in identifying gifted individuals, however, research investigating indigenous conceptions of giftedness has been scanty (Orosa amp; Fernandez, 2008). Given all these scenarios, the researcher derived inspiration from the current situation in which Buhid Mangyans are in, because this study provided hard data on the level of attitude and esteem of the respondents and how these significantly relate to their academic achievements. This undertaking would also shed light to the fact that a needed improvement in treating the Buhid Mangyan is just a necessity to make them feel they are as important as other cultural groups inhabiting the province in general and the Municipality of Gloria in particular. Theoretical Framework This study is strengthened by concepts from educational and psychological theories that relate to learners’ attitude, esteem and academic achievements. Classical Conditioning Theory Berliner (2007) espoused that Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory describes how stimuli that occur together may come to evoke similar responses. It also describes how rewards shape and maintain behavior. This supports the idea that the Buhid Mangyan pupils can be inspired or motivated to interact with the mainstream community without thinking of their ethnicity. This can be done by school managers and teachers as well when Buhid Mangyan pupils get the equal amount of recognition from these people, which will insulate them to exhibit positive traits and behavior towards learning and achieving academically. Capitalizing on their good attitude and esteem as individuals, Buhid Mangyan pupils can be given a chance to discover their strengths and contribution to individual development through showing responsibility, independence and love of work. Attribution and Psychosocial Theories Lilienfeld et al. (2010) state that the Attribution Theory proposed by Fritz Heider, describes the role of motivation in a persons success or failure in school situations. Success on a test, for instance, could be attributed to luck or hard work; the theory predicts the behavior of students depending on their responses. The theory of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget that intellectual ability is qualitatively different at different ages and that children need interaction with the environment to gain intellectual competency has influenced all of education and psychology. This new concept of intelligence affected the design of learning environments for young children and the development of mathematics and science programs. The various concepts discussed in the theories mentioned above relate to the present study because dealing with the behavior of the Buhid Mangyan pupils may require a strict consideration of their attributes based on their cultural integration with the same or other groups of Mangyan who find comfort and convenience without inhibitions due to their commonalities and mutual understanding. However, teachers from the selected elementary school at Gloria District with Buhid Mangyan pupils can help themselves predict what patterns of behavior or attitude may be manifested by the pupils depending on how their unique attributes are regarded with a humanistic touch. The amount of extraordinary concern and care shown by school officials and teachers towards Buhid Mangyans can spur an increased level of esteem among them. This will eventually 2 / 17 result in the development of trust among pupils and a sense of fulfillment despite their cultural orientation. Theory of Behaviorism As cited by Kohlberg (2010), the Theory of Behaviorism developed by B. F. Skinner in 1958 is anchored on three assumptions of learning. First, learning is manifested by a change in behavior. Second, the environment shapes behavior. And third, the principles of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a bond to be formed) and reinforcement (any means of increasing the likelihood that an event will be repeated) are central to explaining the learning. For behaviorism, learning is the acquisition of new behavior through conditioning. The first conditioning is classical conditioning which describes that the behavior becomes a reflex response to stimulus while the other is the operant conditioning where there is reinforcement of the behavior by a reward or a punishment. The precepts of the theory have binding principles in the current study’s inclusion of attitude and esteem of Buhid Mangyans in relation to their academic achievements. This implies that there is an expected positive change in the behavior of Buhid Mangyan pupils once they feel they are motivated and highly esteemed leading to quality learning, which can be manifested by their high academic achievements. Because of the stimulating environment created collegially by the school community including their parents and themselves, they are also able to the positive effects of their environment to productive learning. In essence, the principles of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a bond to be formed) and reinforcement (any means of increasing the likelihood that an event will be repeated) are central to explaining the learning, the Buhid Mangyan pupils can likewise appreciate that interconnected ideas they learn can lead to the fulfillment of their individual learning goals to get higher grades in the subject areas discussed. All the discussed theories are helpful sources of theoretical precepts which may help the researcher justify the probable relationships between the paired independent and dependent variables under study. Conceptual Framework Independent VariablesDependent Variable School Attitude Attachment Involvement Commitment Beliefs in School Rules Ethnic Identity Cultural Identity Involvement in Traditional Activities Involvement in traditional Spirituality Self-Esteem Output Proposed Program/Activities to Improve Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem and School Attitude of Grade V Buhid Mangyan Pupils in Gloria District 3 / 17 Figure1. Conceptual Framework of the Study Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study. The independent variables are ethnic identity expressed in terms of cultural identification, involvement in traditional Buhid activities, traditional spirituality; and self-esteem; the dependent variable is the school attitude of students in terms of attachment, involvement, commitment, and beliefs in school rules. The lines with the arrow from the two independent variables going to the dependent variable show the hypothesized relationship between the these variables. The two-tailed arrow connecting the independent variables, ethnic identity and self-esteem shows the perceived relationship between these variables. Whereas, the two broken lines from the independent and dependent variables pointing downward lead to the proposed plan that may strengthen or sustain the ethnic identity, self-esteem, and school attitude of Buhid Mangyans. Statement of the Problem This study focused on ethnic identity, self-esteem and school attitudes of Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: What aspects of ethnic identity are practiced by the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro? What is the level of self-esteem of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro? What is the level of school attitude of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District Gloria, Oriental Mindoro? Is there a significant relationship between ethnic identity and school attitude of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro? Is there a significant relationship between self-esteem and school attitude of Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro? Is there a significant relationship between ethnic identity and self-esteem of the Buhid Mangyan Pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District? What programs/activities can be undertaken by the schools to sustain/strengthen ethnic identity and self-esteem to improve the school attitudes of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro? Hypotheses The study proposes the following hypotheses: There is a significant relationship between ethnic identity and school attitudes of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro. There is a significant relationship between self-esteem and school attitudes of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro. There is a significant relationship between ethnic identity and self-esteem of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in the selected elementary schools at Gloria District, Oriental Mindoro. Significance of the Study This study may be of great contribution to different groups of people who are openly engaged in the educative development of pupils in the Department of Education (DepEd) and its stakeholders. Buhid Mangyan pupils may be able to appreciate this study as a source of credible information on how their school attitude, self-esteem and school attachment help them feel as proud members of a Mangyan ethnic group. The information to be gathered may also enable them to relate these factors to their academic achievement. Thus, this study may serve as an eye-opener to them insofar as their cultural authenticity, self-esteem as individual member of a Mangyan community would be given just consideration through an academic and professional study. Being the principal beneficiaries of this study, they may likewise be given the means to analyze how their personal attributes determine their academic standing, from which they could identify their most liked and 4 / 17 least liked subject area/s as herein enumerated. Buhid Mangyan parents may come across with assessment results pertaining to the effects of their children’s attitude and self-esteem on their academic performance. As the children’s immediate environment at home, they may assess the intensity of the need for their children to be provided with parental support, particularly moral and spiritual guidance to make them obedient, compliant and value-laden members of society. The parents may be able to increase the amount and quality of time necessary for the pupils to learn to an optimum level. Teachers of the Buhid Mangyan pupils may be given sound reference to reinforce the psycho-social and analytical competence in instruction to make their classrooms for the pupils conducive, welcoming and adhere to the principle of cultural diversity and ethnicity. The findings of this study may encourage them to undertake necessary measures to further increase the potential of Buhid Mangyan pupils to show positive attitude relative to learning behavior, study habits, preparation of projects, readiness to learn and participation in classroom activities. The idea of quality instruction, anchored on indigenization may be developed in the teachers because this study may enable them to gain deeper understanding of how the level of esteem of the Buhid Mangyan pupils contributes to socialization, exhibition of respect, pride, practice of indigenization and love of cultural beliefs and traditions. The results on the assessed academic achievement of pupils measured by the grade they obtain in different subjects may help them determine how well their instruction and the Buhid pupils’ attitude and esteem serve as determinants of performance. The school principals of the selected public elementary schools with indigenous people-pupils may be able to use the recommendations of the researcher to improve the state of instruction among Buhid Mangyan pupils at all levels. This is because the information of the respondents’ attitude and esteem may be used as his/her basis in preparing a more indigenized and inclusive academic programs designed to enrich their overall potentials as learners. The usefulness of class observation may also be justified by the results of this study because as school administrators they could provide their teachers with inputs on how to deal effectively with the learning needs of Buhid learners. Mangyan historians and writers may make use of the entire study as supplemental data to be included in write-ups on Buhid pupils’ behavior, esteem and their appreciation of formal educational trainings to enhance their socio-economic status. The findings, conclusions and recommendations of this study may be considered as documents for their deeper treatment of the cultural background on Buhid Mangyans who now experience development through education, which can be compared with other ethnic groups of Mangyans. Officials of the Office for the Southern Cultural Communities (OSCC) and other private non- government organizations like the Mangyan Mission, National Indigenous People’s Coalition (NIPC) may regard this study very useful. They may be supplied with factual information on the financial, material and other relevant educational needs of the tribal group, which they could consider as instrumental in the fulfillment of national government’s thrust to improve the plight of indigenous peoples in the province of Oriental Mindoro. Future researchers may also put prime value on this study as their back up local study should they perform a professional study dealing on Mangyan attitudes, esteem and academic performance. The whole study may support their claim that educational development among Mangyans continues to be observable, thus deeper analysis and interpretation of related variables and indicators can be delved. Scope and Delimitation of the Study. The pupils’ ethnic identity, self-esteem and school attitude as an expression of cultural identity and their school attachment as independent and dependent variables in this study were assessed by the researcher. These were inter-paired to determine each significantly related to one another. After the analysis and interpretation of the variables and their indicators, the researcher came up with a plan to improve the school attitude and self-esteem of the Buhid Mangyan pupils for their cultural 5 / 17 development. This study is limited to the Buhid Mangyan pupils from Mirayan, Buong Lupa and Pakpaklawin. Elementary Schools. The Buhid Mangyan pupils will be chosen base on the fact that the selected elementary schools has the biggest population of Buhid Mangyan pupils. Definition of Terms The researcher defined all the terms used in this study to enable its readers to gain deeper understanding of what this study is all about. Attachment refers to the developed intimacy of Buhid pupils with the school officials, teachers and all members of the school organization which enable them to grow as individuals. Belief in school rules are the assessed perceptions of the Buhid Mangyan on the applicability of school policies, how these are implemented and how pupils comply with. Buhid Mangyans refer to one of the eight recognized ethnic groups of Mangyans, mostly residing in the upland communities of Gloria in Oriental Mindoro. Commitment determines the school attachment of Buhid Mangyan pupils in which they show their willingness to perform their academic tasks. Cultural identification refers to the common cultural practices recognized by Hanunuo Mangyans that make them distinct from the other ethnic groups in Mindoro. Ethnic identity pertains to how individuals interpret and understand their ethnicity and, specifically, the degree to which they identify with their ethnic group (Phinney, 1996). Involvement means the active participation of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in classroom, academic and non- academic activities of the school for their holistic development. School Attitude and Self-Esteem Plan refer to the output of the researcher which guides the implementation of relevant cultural development programs anchored on school attitude, self-esteem and school attachment. School attachment of Grade V Buhid Mangyan Pupils describes the respondents as to their commitment, attachment, involvement and belief in school rules. School attitude refers to the statement of cultural identity of the Buhid Mangyan pupils in Gloria District. Self-esteem of the Buhid Mangyan pupils pertains to the level of morale and pride felt by the Buhid Mangyan pupils as member of the said ethnic group. Traditional activities refer to social activities reflecting aspects of culture in which Buhid Mangyans involved themselves in. Traditional spirituality refers to the practice of religious activities of the Buhid Mangyans. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE. This chapter presents all the related literature and studies which support the discussion of the researcher on ethnic identity, level of self-esteem and school attitude of Buhid Mangyan pupis in Mirayan, Buong Lupa and Pakpaklawin Elementary Schools in Gloria District. Ethnic Identity Identity development is critical for individuals because it is during this process that they discover who they are and who they hope to become. A fundamental social environment that influences the development of a self-identity is ethnic group membership (Markstrom-Adams, 1992). Ethnic identity pertains to how individuals interpret and understand their ethnicity and, specifically, the degree to which they identify with their ethnic group (Phinney, 1996). The impact of ethnic identity is especially relevant in heterogeneous societies, such as the United States, where minority groups and a dominant social group coexist (Rosenthal, 1987). From the above cited literature, it was found out that ethnic identity has relationships with psychological well-being, and it has effects on the contextual factors in adolescents’ lives that may influence or interact with their ethnic identity development. Contextual factors such as family, school, and community are linked with ethnic identity because it is within these contexts that adolescents’ lives are embedded (Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Garcia Coll et al. , 1996). According to Erikson’s (1968) identity formation perspective, it is through exploration of options (sometimes experienced through 6 / 17 crises) and firm commitments to ideologies and an occupation that individuals come to achieve a secure identity. Marcia (1980) furthered Erikson’s ideas by developing four identity statuses with which to operationalize   Erikson’s theoretical notions. Individuals are classified into the statuses based on the presence or absence of a decision-making period (i. e. , exploration) and the extent of their commitment in the domains of occupation, ideologies, and interpersonal values (Marcia, 1994). Phinney further extended these ideas by examining Marcia’s statuses in relation to ethnic identity development. According to Phinney (1990), ethnic identity development is a process that takes place. The above-mentioned reviews on the concepts of ethnic identity find fitness in this study because they stress the idea that ethnic identity development is linked with factors such as family, school, and community because it is within these contexts that adolescents’ lives are embedded. Self-Esteem Self-Esteem is literally defined by how much value people place on themselves. It is the evaluative component of self-knowledge. High self-esteem refers to a highly favorable global evaluation of the self. Low self-esteem, by definition, refers to unfavorable definition of the self. Self –esteem does not carry any definitional requirement of accuracy whatsoever. Thus, high self-esteem may refer to an accurate, justified, balanced appreciation of ones’ worth and one’s successes and competencies, but it can also refers to an inflated, arrogant, grandiose, unwarranted sense of conceited superiority over others. By the same token, low self-esteem can be either an accurate, well-founded understanding of one’s shortcoming as a person or a distorted, even pathological sense of insecurity and inferiority. School Attitude One aspect of school attitude that has been identified is school spirit. A component of school spirit which has particular relevance to adolescence is the belief that one’s school is an adequate reflection of who they are (Coker amp; Borders, 1996). Another way to understand the adolescence strong need to identify with school is through Finn’s (1989) identification participation model. Finn argues that that being able to identify with school is critical for adolescents’ school attitude and well-being. Jenkins’s (1997) work with the school bond demonstrates measures of involvement in extracurricular activities including sports, clubs, and special school events is a strong predictor of school attitude. In keeping with Finn’s (1989) Identification-Participation model, school bonds represents involvement and engagement that also includes non-academic, school related activities. Involvement in Traditional Activities and SpiritualityPow-wows are community social gatherings that include traditional activities such as dance and song. It is also a celebration of tribal custom and cultural connectedness. Pow-wows begin by way of a grand entry with all dancers participating in honor of the event. A master of ceremony is the voice of the pow-wow to the singers, dancers, drums rotation, and informs the public in general. Different styles of dancing with traditional regalia are accompanied by drums and native songs. Traditional and contemporary foods are provided or sold along with the event. (Wright et al. 2001). The sweat lodge ceremony is traditional purification ceremony that incorporates traditional singing, prayer, counseling, and sharing similar to a talking circle. It takes place in an enclosed space (lodge) with heated rocks, heat, and steam (Mails, 1978). Tribes may vary to integrate their own customs, philosophies and traditional use of medicines during facilitation of the ceremony (Wright et al. 2011). Drumming groups are accompanied by native singing of traditional songs and intertwined with dancers at pow-wows of other cultural based tribal event. Roundhouse is a large ceremonial house where America Indian people gather together for ceremonial dances, singing and prayer (Bibby, 1993). The Buhid Mangyans The Philippines has its vowed responsibility to provide accessible and quality education to all children. Here, all types of learners, regardless of their cultural groups and orientations are 7 / 17 included, even the Buhid Mangyans. Perpertua (2009) stated that schools do not use Moro languages as mediums of instruction to any significant extent nor do most of the civil service and governmental positions require fluency in one of these languages, though they do demand fluency in Filipino. This creates a very real obstacle to the full participation of the Moro Muslims in the countrys public and political life, and they remain vastly under-represented in categories of educational attainment and in civil service employment and political representation. Not only ordinary Filipinos should be provided by the state with opportunities to develop, but also and most important, those who belong to the marginalized sectors of society which include the indigenous peoples (IPs) whose condition seems so irreparable. Postma (1967), retrieved from http://www. mangyan.org/content/buhid on December 22, 2013, states that the Buhids are known as pot makers. Other Mangyan tribes, like the Alangan and Hanunuo, used to buy their cooking pots from the Buhids. The word Buhid literally means mountain dwellers. As stated by Litis (1989), retrieved from Mangyan website on December 22,2013, Buhid women wear woven black and white brassiers called linagmon and a black and white skirt called abol. Unmarried women wear body ornaments such as a braided nito belt (lufas), blue thread earrings, beaded headband (sangbaw), beaded bracelet (uksong), and beaded long necklace (siwayang or ugot). The men wear g-strings. To enhance body beauty, the men wear ornaments like a long beaded necklace, tight choker (ugot) and beaded bracelet (uksong). Both sexes use an accessory bag called bay-ong for personal things like comb and knife. Together with the Hanunuo, the Buhids in some areas possess a pre-Spanish syllabic writing system. The Buhid Mangyans live in the municipalities of Roxas, Bansud, Bongabong and some parts of Gloria and Mansalay in Oriental Mindoro, and in the municipalities of San Jose and Rizal in Occidental Mindoro. Mahusay (2008) said that financing educational and scholarship programs for Mangyan pupils as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda improves their quality of life. The firm’s CSR program not only involves education but also includes other social development projects such as nutrition, health and sanitation, livelihood, infrastructure and other community- oriented programs. Pestano (2008) said that community relations activities which normally involve many poor Mangyans included in educational grants that help them pursue their dream, enhance behavior and value their culture and heritage. Felipe (2007) defined the ethnography and culture of the Alangan Mangyans in order to determine the extent of peace process and their level of indigenous sustainable development. The indigenous culture of the Mangyan Alangan was focused on the social, economic, political, and religious practices. The social practices were confined within the family in the â€Å"esoken† of the â€Å"balaylakoy†. The Mangyan also developed peace- making attitude in order to appease the spirit hovering over them. Failure to do so would mean disaster. They highly agreed on building structured democracy, interdependence, respect for the integrity of culture, respect for human rights and sharing of responsibilities as manifestation of peace process. Mallari (2007) asserted that Mangyans and other poor but deserving students in Oriental Mindoro receive educational support and take a step toward a brighter future, thanks to the efforts of a mining company that has made it a policy to extend assistance to the impoverished communities where it operates. Not far from the experiences of the Philippines, other countries worldwide recognize the socio-economic significance of formal education and trainings to achieve total human development. Indigenous Knowledge (IK). Cotter (2011) asserted that indigenous knowledge (IK) is the local knowledge people unique to a culture or society passed from generation to generation through a wide range of other activities that sustain societies in many parts of the world, particularly in formal education. Harper (2011) stated that indigenous peoples have a broad knowledge of how to live sustainably. However, formal education systems disrupt the practical everyday life aspects of indigenous knowledge and ways of learning, replacing them with abstract knowledge and academic ways of 8 / 17 learning. Today, there is a grave risk that much indigenous.

The Recessions Effect On Consumer Behaviour Commerce Essay

The Recessions Effect On Consumer Behaviour Commerce Essay A recession is a negative decline in economic activity over a period of time. This is usually defined as a decline in Gross domestic product for two or more consecutive quarters. GDP is a measure of the countrys overall economic performance over a period of time. It is made up of consumption, investment, government spending, and exports minus imports. Consumer behaviour is the study that looks at all the reasons why people purchase products and where and when they purchase them. The credit crunch first started with the USA mortgage market and the collapse of the global housing bubble. Individuals were taking out mortgages that they could never afford to pay back. It all went wrong when the house prices in the USA started to fall. This in turn caused the value of securities connected to house prices to fall. The financial institutions all over the world were damaged. This put uncertainty regarding banks ability to pay its debts. The banks panicked and there was a rapid decline in credit availability. The investors confidence also declined and this had an impact on global stock markets. It was argued that investors did not accurately put a price on the risk involved with mortgage-related financial products. This causing the whole finance market to fail. The recession has caused banks to tighten credit availability. This has caused massive problems to secure credit for big ticket items such as cars and holidays. [1] The recession has had a major effect on many peoples consumer behaviour. There are many industries that have been hit by the recession. One important sector hit by the recession is the car industry and a knock on effect to companies that supply the car industry. Due to people finding it hard to secure finance they are unable to purchase new cars. So the sales of new cars have dramatically declined. An example of this is the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. It has always been at the top of its game for many years. It has been producing exceptionally reliable cars and always at the cutting edge of technology. While in the recession the chief of Toyota Mr Katsuaki Watanabe produced the final annual figure which showed a loss of $4.4 billion. This was the companies first loss since 1950. This shows just how bad the car industry has been hit by the recession with many other firms in the industry achieving even bigger losses. [2] Another area that has been hit is the trade associated with the housing market. Due to problems with getting a mortgage people are unable to purchase new houses. So the development of new properties has fallen. Many house building companies such as Redrow and Barretts actually stopped building new houses on their sites when they realised they could not sell them. So all the labour associated were now unemployed. The Steel industry has also been hit hard. This is due to the car industry and house industry not needing the amount of steel they used to demand. With the recession affecting the whole economy the government has tired to use monetary policy to fix our situation. The government has tried to alter the supply of money by lowering the interest rate. But in doing this it has affected other sectors of the population. It will have a massive effect on people who rely on good returns from money they have invested. An example of this is the older population using their savings to give them an income to live on. At the moment the interest rate is at 0.5% compared to 4.5% in 2006. So the return they will receive on their investment has declined. The consequence of this is that their disposable income will fall causing them to purchase less. The government has also reduced Value added tax from 17.5% to 15%. This is a monetary policy that aims to increase the purchasing of consumers in the economy. The recession has also caused the exchange rate to fall against the pound. This means that the price of imports increase and price of exports de crease. This in turn has caused the import of raw materials for manufacturing to increase for many businesses. Due to the fact that the UK does not produce a lot of goods we rely heavily on imports. These now cost more than what they did before. This means that the consumer is getting less value for their money. The recession has had varied effects on different demographics within the economy. How people are affected depends on age, gender, occupation and location. The highest unemployed age appears to be the 18-24 category. This may be due to their lack of experience. A company would prefer to employ people who are skilled in doing their job. The older workers (45-64) will find it harder to obtain a new job if they are made unemployed. The current unemployment rate is at 7.8%. During a recession unemployment is a serious factor that affects consumers behaviour. Even if the individual consumer is not facing unemployment themselves they will still be affected psychologically. This is because other people around them such as family and friends may be affected. It will give them a thought that it may actually happen to them soon. It will affect their consumer confidence. With people having less consumer confidence they are more likely to save money rather than spend. So this makes the recession worse because it will reduce GDP more if consumers are not spending. Consumer behaviour is related to consumer motivation. Motivation is a basic concept in human behaviour. There is believed to be tension that arises as a result of unfulfilled needs that we have. The needs that are unfilled will move a consumer away from homeostasis balance. The Homeostasis See-Saw shows that a consumer needs a balance between Need satisfaction and Deprivation. The balance between these two is believed to be the homeostasis state. There are four drives that take us away from this equilibrium. Biogenic drives are such things as hunger and thirst that we automatically think we need. Psychogenic drives which drive us to achieve a certain status. These will depend on social and cultural environment that a person is used to. Cognitive motives are those that stimulate people to adapt to the environment and achieve a sense of meaning in society. Affective motives are associated with the need of obtaining emotional goals and the ability to achieve a satisfying feeling state. In a recession all these motives would be affected. Peoples purchasing pattern and ability to purchase certain products would follow a different pattern. In a recession when times are hard it could be potentially difficult to reach the homeostasis balance.[3] An impact the recession can have on consumer behaviour is the Lipstick Effect. When times are hard within an economy a consumer will stop spending money on big ticket items such as Expensive holidays or a new car. In order to achieve the feeling shopping brings consumers simply trade down to cheaper items to make them feel happy and content. The recent sales figures from cosmetic companies such as LOrà ©al and Revlon show that the lipstick effect is in operation within our economy at the moment. LOrà ©al showed sales growth of 5.3% in the first part of the year when the recession started. It shows that when consumers budgets are tightened that people just substitute larger luxury goods such as a new fur coat for small luxuries such as expensive makeup. [4] Some consumers in the recession are choosing to drop a brand level in their weekly shop. This means that rather than purchasing the brand products such as Heinz and Kelloggs they are choosing to purchase supermarkets own brands or no frills brands. It is said to save on average 33% on your weekly shop by dropping one brand level.[10] Brand loyalty has less effect in a recession due to consumers not being able to afford to be loyal if there is a cheaper close substitute. While in a recession there are many consumer behaviour trends that start to emerge. One example of this is Sellsuming. This is a trend where Consumers are very creative in selling products or services that they have to offer. With need to generate extra income consumers become inclined to sell things they dont need or want anymore. An example of this is the use of eBay the online auction site to sell unwanted products. Some consumers may even go as far as renting out parking spaces. Another trend is the Increase of  online services and social media usage. With the unemployment rate increasing and jobs not being very secure, people spend more time looking for job advertisements on the internet. Consumers are also being sensible when they are shopping. The consumer is continuously looking for very good deals both online and offline. Consumers are looking for the best price and the best value available to them. Internet shopping has become the best channel for a consumer to achieve this with price comparison websites such as kelkoo.com and comparethemarket.com. Kelkoo is a shopping portal that compares many retailers and shows the best place to purchase a product depending on the cheapest prices found. Another trend in a recession is skills enhancement and  training. When people feel unsure about the future they believe that increasing their knowledge and skills is a good way to keep in them employable. The younger generation are also not entering the jobs market and choosing to increase their prospects for the future. Examples of this are the figures that show almost an 8% increase in applications for full-time study at universities in 2009. This is the biggest growth in eight years. The recession and rising unemployment have been blamed for this substantial increase.[6] While the economy has been in recession there has been an increase in the number of people searching dating agencies. According to the New York Times Online and offline matchmakers are reporting that dating interest is up, way up. Match.com, for instance, had its strongest fourth quarter in the last seven years. There may be a few reasons for this increase. People may now have more time on their hands due to being unemployed. Also meeting a potential partner on the internet is easier and more affordable than socialising in other ways such as going to the pub. A major trend of consumer behaviour in a recession is Escapism. Consumers are said to be spending money on products and services in order to distract themselves from the economic hardship. The entertainment industry should in theory be experiencing an increase in attendance. This would be such services as bowling and cinema. The figures show that in 2009 cinemas are up 13% year on year. Fast Furious tore up the record for the most lucrative opening weekend for a movie released in April 2009.[7] But this can also be seen in related companies such as the American-based chain of DVD and video game rental company Blockbuster. Their sales have increased over the recession with people choosing to rent. This may be due to the reduction in layout cost of actually purchasing the DVD yourself. It could also be another form of entertainment for people. Another business that is doing very well in the recession due to a change of customers behaviour is Dominos pizza. They are benefiting from con sumers trading down on their choice. A consumer who would have usually gone out for a meal now stays in and purchases a dominos pizza. [8] Consumers in recession also tend to talk more about their purchases and experiences. The OTO Research confirms 54% of consumers say that their primary source of information when choosing a brand is the Consumer Generated Content about the product and brand experience. Due to people being careful with their money they want to make a good purchase that will satisfy their needs. In a recession people will be more likely to tell their family and friends about good deals. This is compared to in a boom consumers tend to boast how expensive a product they purchased was. Consumers are also taking out more insurance policies during the recession. It appears that the desire to protect property becomes a high priority in a recession. This may be due to the fact that people are worried about replacement or repair costs if something does go wrong.[9] People are more likely to repair items if they break when the economies in recession. Such businesses as cobblers are seeing more and more people bringing in worn shoes. Before the recession consumers would of thrown them in the bin and purchased a new pair [12]. In order to try and reduce the effects of the recession the government introduced a scrappage scheme. It aims to increase the purchase of new cars. The consumer is offered a  £2000 incentive if they have a car that is over 10 years old and are willing to scrap it. The government has also tried to increase the money in the economy by offering lower vat of 15%. This is not really much of an incentive unless you are purchasing big ticket items. They have also dropped interest rates down to 0.5%. This provides people with mortgages lower repayments. This gives them more disposable income which they could potentially spend in the economy. In the recession not all companies are being affected. Some companies are actually doing better than they did before. Examples of people doing well in the recession are supermarkets, Amazon, dominos, cinemas, pawnbrokers. The best strategy to follow in a recession is cost leadership. By keeping your costs to a minimum you can maximise profit and be competitive. The best way to get consumers to purchase your products is by giving them an irrefutable offer. During a recession companies should try to increase positive motivation in a consumer. You can do this with a good use of advertising. If a consumer has increased positive motivation they are more likely to want to purchase your products. Overall it is important to realise that consumer behaviour and the recession are linked and have an effect on each other. But the effects will depend on the industry, products and the people it involves. Businesses need to be proactive in a recession in order to be successful. They must be able to change their strategy quickly and efficiently. 1 His journal 2 Ian Rowley (May 8th, 2009) Toyotas Loss Is Worse Than Expected, Available at http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb2009058_991777.htm , [Accessed 16th December 2009]. 3 book- SEE SAW 4 Larry Elliot (December 22nd 2008) Into the red: lipstick effect reveals the true face of the recession,http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/22/recession-cosmetics-lipstick , [Accessed 16th December 2009]. 5 Yulia V Smirnova (June 16th 2009) Top 10 Emerging Consumer Behavior Trends in Recession, http://www.memesponge.com/2009/06/top-10-emerging-consumer-behavior-trends-in-recession/, [Accessed 21st December 2009]. 6 Nicola Woolcock (February 16th 2009) University applications rise by 8% as recession bites,http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5741496.ece, [Accessed 21st December 2009]. 7 Alain Portmann (April 16th 2009) Consumer Behavior During the Recession, http://webliquidgroup.com/knowledge/consumer-behaviour-during-the-recession-four-key-consumer-trends/, [Accessed 29th December 2009]. 8 Chris Moore (17 February 2009) Recession hots it up for Dominos Pizza, http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=476450HYPERLINK http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=476450in_page_id=3HYPERLINK http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=476450in_page_id=3in_page_id=3, [Accessed 29th December 2009]. 9 Nick Elliman (September 1 2009) Consumer behaviour in the recession, http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/marketing-advertising-measures/13183075-1.html, [Accessed 29th December 2009]. 10 Martin Lewis (January 2 2010) Supermarket Shopping Downshift more, halve weekly bills, http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheap-supermarket-shopping, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 11 CBI (June 2009) Employment trends 2009 Work patterns in the recession,http://www.cbi.org.uk/ndbs/press.nsf/38e2a44440c22db6802567300067301b/56ebefb25149a68b802575da00308471/$FILE/CBI%20-%20Harvey%20Nash.%20Work%20Patterns%20in%20the%20Recession.%20June%202009.pdf, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 12 Sunday Times (November 23, 2008) Riding the recession: how some businesses are doing well in the downturn, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/article5213280.ece, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 13 Charlie Makin (December 23, 2009) 10 key pointers of consumer behaviour in a recession revealed http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/e_article001261803.cfm?x=b11,0,w , [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 14 Philip Atkinson (2009) Customers Consumer Behaviour in 2009 http://www.philipatkinson.com/change-customer-consumer-behaviour-millennial.htm, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 15 16

Lev Vygotsky Theories Analysis

Lev Vygotsky Theories Analysis Lev Vygotsky was a developmental psychologist born in Russia in 1896 in Byelorussia and passed away in 1934 due to Tuberculosis. Throughout his lifetime Vygotsky went from Medical school to law school, from law school to literature, and from literature to psychology. Although he was in the five percent of Jews allowed to attend a university he wasnt allowed to study to be the teacher that he desired to be. After finding an interest in psychology he began to explore child development and child psychology. He graduated from the University of Moscow with a degree in literature. According to Vygotsky the overall goal of education is to generate and lead development which is the result social learning through internalization of culture and social relationships. (The Educational Theory of Lev Vygotsky: an analysis) Lev Vygotsky was intrigued by the relationship between learning and human development. In addition to his theories he wrote over a hundred books and articles that were all stored in a secret library and were not published until after his death. His two major recognized pieces are The Psychology of Art and The crisis in Psychology. Two of his main concepts were inner speech and the zone of proximal development. Vygotsky believed that inner speech is what guides a childs planning and other thought processes. He also believed that learning leads development and the immaturity of students conscious awareness and mastery of their thinking at a school age and sets the stage for his concept of the zone of proximal development (Education Encyclopedia: Lev Vygotsky). Vygotskys theory is called sociocultural because it focuses on how values, beliefs, skills, and traditions are transmitted to the next generation. He considered the child as a whole, and believed in a connection between culture a nd development. He believed that childrens skills and interactions varied by culture and that a child learns through family not through stages. Vygotsky thought that a large amount of learning was through play because language and development are built upon each other. When a mentor thinks that a student is ready for a new challenge and can conquer the challenge almost independently, a zone of proximal development is drawn. It is a range of learning that would be what a child can learn on its own but better with the help of someone else. Scaffolding involves encouragement and assistance in the form of advice and suggestions to aid a child in mastering a new concept (Davison). Through what Vygotsky called dialogues, we socially interact and communicate with others to learn the cultural values of our society. The sociocultural theory suggests that learning is active and constructive. Vygotsky claimed that interaction and direct teaching were critical aspects of a childs cognitive deve lopment and that a childs level of thinking could be advanced by such interaction. Language is socially based and childrens speech during age three to seven is tied to what children think. The development of language is considered to be a major principle of Vygotskys sociocultural theory. The language of a certain group of people indicates their cultural beliefs and value system. He thinks that children gradually grow intellectually and begin to function on their own because of assistance. He also says that a childs cognitive abilities increase through exposure to information that is new, interesting, and easy to understand. When children play and cooperate with others they learn what is important in their society and advance cognitively in their understanding of the world. The sociocultural theory suggests that development is a reciprocal transaction between the people in a childs environment and the child. According to Vygotsky, people and settings influence a child and in return influences the people and settings. He also suggested that children with and without disabilities be taught together, he thought isolation would hinder social Development. As a constructivist, Vygotsky believed that learning is affected by the context in which an idea is taught as well as by students beliefs and attitudes. Vygotsky felt that learning happens before development can occur and that children learn because of history and symbolism. Lev Vygotsky is considered a seminal thinker in psychology, and much of his work is still being discovered and explored today. While he was like Skinner, Pavlov, Freud and Piaget, his work never attained their level of acknowledgement during his lifetime. Part of this was because his work was often criticized by the Communist Party in Russia, and so his writings were largely inaccessible to the Western world, his early death at age 38 also contributed. Vygotsky was one of the first people to recognize and acknowledge the importance of culture and as today becomes more multicultural the sociocultural theory is helping us understand the influences on development. In conclusion, cognitive development plays a key role in learning and thinking methods of children. Vygotsky offers some incredible insight into the possible ways children learn and by using these theories it is possible to create a more conducive learning environment for each child. I believe that principles such as scaffoldi ng, co-constructed knowledge, dialogue, and cultural tools are all important components of a students knowledge acquisition. By helping students within their zone of proximal development, we offer them useful learning strategies which they internalize and utilize later. Works Cited Browne, Gordon. Beginnings and Beyond. Thomson Delmar Learning , n.d. -. Beginnings and Beyond. Thompson, n.d. Davison, Brandi. Piaget Vs. Vygotsky. Ac Associated Content 08 December 2006. Feldmen, Robert. Child Development 5th edition. Prentice Hall, n.d. Gredler, Margaret E. Education Encyclopedia: Lev Vygotsky. 10 23 2009. . K. Geonnotti, D. Passalacqua. The Educational Theory of Lev Vygotsky: an analysis. 2007. .

Ambush :: essays research papers

The short story â€Å"Ambush† by Tim O’Brien is a story about a young American soldier, O’Brien, in the Vietnam War. While on watch O’Brien spots a young enemy soldier approaching his position. He throws a grenade and kills the young man. Years later O’Brien’s is faced with the decision of answering his daughter when she asks him if he ever killed anyone in the war. Not only was killing the man a tough decision, but now O’Brien must answer his daughter. Ultimately he lies to her and I think that is the correct choice in that situation. O’Brien’s daughter is only nine years old when she asks her father that painful question. I believe that the taking of someone else’s life is such a life changing event that it should only be discussed by mature adults. If O’Brien chooses to tell his daughter the truth when she is older, that is okay; that is what I would do. Later in his life O’Brien thinks back and tries to sort out the mixed up issues of the foggy dawn in Vietnam. Sometimes he believe that the young man would have just kept walking and never seen him, but sometimes he believes he did the right thing and forgives himself. Although I don’t know any war veterans, and I have never killed anyone, there was an event in my life similar to the one in this story. When I was in third grade my dad was electrocuted and actually was clinically dead. He was later revived and when my mom talked to him the hospital he told her some far out things. She has briefly mentioned some of them to me throughout my life, but I

Essay --

Not Everyone Can Climb a Tree Many people have gone through our education system believing they are stupid when in fact the schools have failed to teach and assess them in the manner they are best suited to. How we learn and how we are assessed in retaining lessons is key to a productive and inclusive society. In the past, rote learning was the primary method of teaching and assessments were based on how much knowledge the student could recite. Currently, other methods are additionally employed to improve creativity and connection to information and retention is measured by benchmarks and expected developmental stages. However, with weaknesses attributed to both methods, a more inclusive method that incorporates positive aspects of all types of learning and teaches in the way that works best for each individual would be preferable. A blended learning method would be the best because it combines the acquisition of knowledge from rote learning with the creative problem solving connections from prior knowledge learned in creative play and adds critical thinking skills or the ability to assess the value of information. Assessments would be based on the kind of learner each person is and how the students master concepts and essential skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and decision-making. This kind of learning would focus on understanding how individuals learn best and then using that type of learning as the primary tool for teaching that individual. In this way, students who excel in artistic endeavors would not have their intelligence assessed by how well they determine the biochemical structure of the latest new polycarbonate molecule and no one would go through life thinking they are stupid. Historically ... ...ing, which I think is the cost of the development of this learning style and the assessment. The cost would be a big factor in the decision to go ahead with this kind of learning in the classroom or not. In the past, learning was limited to rote memorization and recitation, which resulted in a noticeable segment being bored or turned off by academics, believing they were not smart enough to learn anything. More recently new learning methods have been employed that incorporate play into learning and is more student directed rather than teacher directed. While this method employs additional learning skills it still lacks a critical thinking component. Blended learning employs the best of rote and creative learning while adding the ability to assess the value of information as well. Learning is based on methods that are best suited for each individual student.