Parker and Nichols in Las Vegas

Parker woke to the sharp sound of his phone ringing. â€Å"Hey are you up because you have to drop your sister to the airport' his dad's voice sounded harsh through the receiver. Parker glanced at his alarm. â€Å"Oh my God!† he yelled, â€Å"it is 11.15, everyone get up now!† He quickly jumped out of bed, ran into the shower and half an hour later, everyone toppled into the car. â€Å"Mum's right,† groaned Natalia â€Å"you are a waste of time, both of you!† â€Å"Shut up!† commented an annoyed Parker, â€Å"We will be there on time. It's not that far.† Natalia hurried through customs and her brothers waved her off. They watched her plane take off and gasped in horror. On the side of the plane was written, ‘Las Vegas'! Nichols shook Parker's shoulder. â€Å"Oh my God!† he yelled, ‘we have sent her on the wrong plane!† â€Å"What shall we do?† cried Parker shaking in disbelief. â€Å"Ok, calm down and breathe,† soothed Nichols, â€Å"I am sure that the air hostess will have checked her ticket and sent her back† They waited for a further ten minutes and then with no more patience, marched up to the departure desk. â€Å"Excuse me, Ma'am,† asked Nichols politely, â€Å"we have sent our sister on the wrong plane. Has she got off yet?† After three hours Parker and Nichols were climbing the walls in desperation. As they worriedly checked their watch, the air hostess came hurrying over and said, â€Å"Your seats are ready. You have been booked and the plane is leaving in ten minutes.† The boys sighed in relief; they would have to follow their sister hoping she would be waiting at MC Carran International Airport, in Vegas. The flight was long and tiring and both boys could not rest because of their worries. All they could do was worry about Natalia and wait for the plane to land. The pilot announced, â€Å"We have now landed at MC Carran International Airport. I hope you enjoyed your flight.† For a split second Parker and Nichols smiled at the pilot's ironic statement. Their humour vanished as they entered the airport and remembered their sister. They caught sight of her exiting the building through a door and ran after her yelling her name. Natalia not hearing the two, jumped into a nearby cab. â€Å"Why is she not listening?† yelled Parker, â€Å"Why is she getting into a cab? Does she not realise she is in Vegas?† They hailed the next cab and Nichols shouted â€Å"Follow that cab. Ha-ha I always wanted to say that.† As the confused driver stared at them, Parker and Nichols collapsed into laughter. Natalia arrived at ‘Loews Lake Las Vegas,' a five star resort. The gobsmacked brothers caught her just as she entered the suite. â€Å"Why the hell are you ignoring us? Could you not hear? We have been chasing you for ages!† shouted Nichols. â€Å"I couldn't hear you!† protested the young girl, â€Å"How was I supposed to know you were here. Besides, I am old enough to be on my own. I don't need you two!† Parker looked at Nichols and burst out laughing. â€Å"YOU don't need US?† they mocked, â€Å"You are still a little girl yet.† Natalia blushed red but said nothing. The suite was beautiful. It had a view of an artificial lake and sunny skies. Light reflected on the glass table. Bright orange sofas matched the painting on the wall. The children had never seen anything so fascinating and their faces reflected their happiness. â€Å"Wow,† exclaimed Parker â€Å"How could you afford this suite?† â€Å"Erm I borrowed Mum's credit card† said Natalia quietly. Parker grinned and pointed out, â€Å"You are going to be in so much trouble, once this is over.† The next hour was spent inquiring about the quickest flight home. Luckily they managed cancelations for the next day. â€Å"Well, while we are here we may as well have some fun tonight † laughed Parker † Come on, everyone, we are in LAS VEGAS!† Nichols gleefully agreed with his brother and just as they were leaving, Nichols ordered Natalia, â€Å"Stay here till we get back. We won't be long.† â€Å"But why can't I come too?† moaned Natalia â€Å"Because you are too young and we might lose you again. Now stay here and be good† said Parker They quickly left a sulking Natalia at the hotel and waited for a cab outside. As they stood, the brothers noticed a red-faced angry looking man staring at them. They realised that he was the same man who they had sat next to on the plane. He spoke harshly, â€Å"How dare you steal my briefcase. Who do you think you are?† As the boys confusedly denied this accusation, the man showed them a bag that read ‘property of Parker Jones.' The boys realised that, on the plane the bags must have accidently been switched. However they had no time to explain as the man pulled up his sleeves and clenched his fists tightly. Parker and Nichols screamed and in a panic, ran down a deserted street yelling for their lives. Unfortunately the furious man was stronger and faster than either of them. Catching up to the two, he punched them in the head knocking them out. Parker and Nichols saw stars and then everything went black. Parker opened his eyes. He was lying on a sticky brownish floor covered in filthy dark stains. A foul odour overpowered Parker's nose and he wretched repeatedly. The broken door had been gnawed away at by the rats. â€Å"Where do you think we are?† asked Nichols worriedly. Parker shook his head. ‘I don't know. I just hope to God that we can get out of here† They both hesitantly peered out of the door into another room similar to the one they had woken up in. Nichols observed a man standing near a small wooden table. â€Å"Hey, that is Mr. Andrew Stevenson.† The two gasped in horror and scuttled back inside. They knew they would have to escape somehow, so shaking with fright; they tried to slowly peer out again. Four men were all busy opening a bag, the same that had been switched earlier. The place was smelly and dirty but the men were more interested in the black bag. As they forced it open, a huge pile of fifty dollar notes popped out. â€Å"We stole this money good and proper† smirked one of the men. â€Å"Perfect plan don't you think?† In shock Parker and Nichols tiptoed out of the building and ran as fast as they could to get help. They explained the whole story to a detective and the police frantically stormed the building handcuffing the men. â€Å"Phew I am glad that is over† said Parker in relief. As he was speaking the detective came up to them and smiled. â€Å"Congratulations boys, you have done a good job. It turned out that the men were on the FBI's most wanted list! As a sign of our gratitude we are awarding you with 10,000 dollars! The boys whooped shouting ‘Viva Las Vegas!'

Issues in the Mock Negotiation Problem Essay

Being a member of the Local 5000 in this whole project I could point out numerous things that make the employees at Auto Products Corporation want things better. There seems to be issues at the Indianapolis plant concerning overtime, premium pay, and even subcontracting instead of using their own employees to do the work. What I have also gotten from this mock negotiation is that in the past, the union and management have been satisfactory. Different viewpoints: I have not had a very good experience with my teammates on this project. I agree that this should’ve been a fun project but it has been very stressful to me. As far as different viewpoints I feel again as though I’ve done this whole project by myself because everything I posted the only response I received most of the time is â€Å"sounds good†, â€Å"I agree†, â€Å"good idea†. I could go on and on about how my views differed from my teammates or how I feel like I had no help in the negotiation. I also feel as though I played the role of secretary and chairperson in this project but overall I am satisfied with the final results on our issues raised to management. Research Provided: Research was provided for my team by me concerning the current seniority clause, required overtime, and the issues concerning the company’s right to subcontract. The union wanted to stick to the current seniority clause, which management agreed, because it isn’t fair that junior employees can come in before a senior at the company to take the place of a job when a senior employee is qualified to fill the position. I provided the following research to my team from the textbook: In many contracts, seniority governs promotions when a senior employee is â€Å"qualified† to fill the position in question. Under others, seniority becomes the determining factor in promotions when the senior has the ability for the job in question equal to that of all other employees who may desire the better job.(Text page359) Sticking with the current seniority clause will ensure that positions are filled properly. Also, in the Mock Negotiation it states that the company has the right to require overtime in the existing contract but there was an issue raised by the employees that the supervisor isn’t fair and that they have been giving their friends the opportunity to earn the extra money and discriminating against the other employees. For this issue I provided the following research from the textbook: The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 places no restriction on employees to work more than 40 hours in a workweek, other than the employees who work more than 40 hours must be paid at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours in excess of 40 hours. The textbook also states that when a supervisor makes an error in the regard of offering his/her friends to work overtime and discriminating others; the employer may be faced with a grievance filed by the employee and ask for the amount of money he/she would have earned if he/she would’ve worked. Also, the situation of paying for the same work twice at overtime rates.(text pages288-290) This could be a major disaster if the company doesn’t fix this and if it isn’t then many possible grievances can still be filed. On the issues concerning the company’s right to subcontract, in the negotiation it stated that for many years each skilled tradesperson has worked only within his or her trade and five months ago the company required a mechanic to do a job normally performed by a plumber. A grievance was filed and the arbitrator sustained the position of the union on the basis of the â€Å"past practice† principle. I provided the following research from the textbook for my team: The union should ask the the company add a subcontracting section in the labor agreement. The textbook gives an example of a subcontracting section in a labor agreement that states whenever the company contemplates contracting out any type of work normally performed by a maintenance employees, it shall inform the President, Chairman, and Grievance Committee and the affected Shop Steward of its intentions prior to making a decision to award the contract.(text page389)This would be great considering for many years the company had each skilled tradeperson working only within his or her trade. When the company required a mechanic for a job that normally was performed by a plumber the employee and union filed a grievance. The company should stick with â€Å"past practice† and continue to keep their tradepeople working only within his or her trade. If not then workrightspress.com states that stewards can do the following: Past practices grievances are well suited for group action. Unions can: †¢ Encourage numbers of workers to file grievances on the matter †¢ Distribute leaflets about the dispute †¢ Circulate petitions †¢ Hold meetings during breaks †¢ Picket before or after work or during breaks (being sure not to interfere with employees, suppliers, or shippers) Also in the textbook, the example also states that the union retains the right to examine any existing or new subcontracting agreement for the purposes of checking wage scales and the specific work contracted.(text page389) These are great things we could put in the subcontracting section of the labor agreement. Also in the subcontracting section in the labor agreement, I think the union should also ask that limitations be put in place such as: 1. Requiring the employer to have an agreement that subcontractors will be used only on special occasions ( where specialized equipment that isn’t on company premises is required or where special skills are needed ) 2. No-layoff guarantees to current employees (as in â€Å"no employee of any craft, which craft is being utilized by an outside contractor, shall be laid off as long as the outside contractor is in the plant doing work that employees in such craft are able to do.† 3. Provisions giving the union veto power over any or all subcontracting 4. Requirements that the management prove to the union that time, expense, or facility considerations prevent it from allowing current employees to perform the work. (text page388) The Local 5000 Union Demands: After reading the Mock Negotiation the union decided on the following demands mainly on the issues raised in the negotiation. The union has developed the following demands concerning the Mock Negotiation at Auto Products Corporation for the Indianapolis plant: 1. The union will not permit any change in the medical insurance program. The union wants to fight for better benefit packages, which would include a 401K and also better medical insurances. In the current contract, the medical insurance program does not cover employees that are laid off for more than 30 consecutive days and 80% of the employees laid off, have been laid off for longer than 30 consecutive days. We would like to ask that management remove this and also; still cover the employee’s on layoff, visits to physician offices, hospitals, and emergency rooms up to 60 days. 2. The union would also like to ask the company add a 401k, the union would ask that the company match dollar for dollar what the employees decide to put into their 401k.This will help employees’ retirement. We would also like to administer an Employee Stock Ownership Program which entitles employees’ 5 shares of company stock yearly. 3. The union would also like to stick with the current seniority clause that provides for promotions based on length of service and ability. If the company says that promotions are bid for on a departmental basis then the department that has the position open should be available to the candidate within the company that has seniority based on length of service and ability before a junior employee. 4. The union would also like to discuss the current contract about r equired overtime. The union insists on paying employees time-and-a-half while working these days and insisting that the company use a volunteer method when selecting the employees to work on these days. 5. I think that the union should also place a restriction on the company’s right to subcontract. No subcontracting can occur when skilled trades are available to do the work. When the company contemplates contracting out any type of work normally performed by a company employee, it shall inform the President, Chairman, and Grievance Committee and the affected Shop Steward of its intentions prior to making a decision to honor the contract; allowing the company to subcontract only if, all of their own personal resources have been exhausted. 6. As part of the union, I would also like recommend placing demands on management to allow for a supplementary unemployment benefit program to help dislocated workers. The first is supplementing the unemployment benefits of various state unemployment insurance systems. Second is allowing further income to still unemployed workers after state payments have been exhausted. Without sub pay, laid off workers will start looking for new employment and will most likely be unavailable to return to their original position when an opening occurs. We would also like to remind you that a sub pay clause can catch the attention of the most talented people looking for jobs, people like to work for companies that take care of their employees. Also asking management to supplement the union employee’s unemployment benefits (while laid off through no fault of their own) and allow for up to 90% of their original pay for a maximum of 52 weeks’. 7. I would like to recommend the union demand the removal of the no-strike clause because grievance procedures in some cases seem to not work like they should. I believe a strike or slowdown might help convince man agement that something needs to change. 8. The union would also like an annual wage increase for all workers along with adjusting the escalator clause in the current contract. The current contract provides for a $.03 increase in wages for each .4-point increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). We as the union ask that the company provides a $0.10 increase in wages for each 0.5-point increase in the CPI. I feel these demands were adequate for negotiations because these demands will benefit our employees and fix the problems that are going on at the plant. Although not all were agreed on the only demand that didn’t even get a second look would be adding a supplemental unemployment benefits for dislocated workers. Which I understand this is due to APC’s current costs due to the current loan the company has just borrowed. The Bargaining Zone: Going into this negotiation the union, in all, knew that APC would try and change the medical benefits for their employees. Our demand states that we weren’t going to accept any change to the medical benefits but our plan was to ask for this and negotiate in permitting the company to only pay 80% of medical costs throughout the new contract. Management and the union chairperson, Ziaria, agreed that the company pay for 65% of medical costs throughout the course of the new contract. Our final result was close to what we were original to in the first place so I’d say we accomplished what we wanted in the bargaining zone for this demand. Another demand in which we knew that management would counter on would be the current No-Strike Clause in the current contract. The union requested that this clause be removed and management wouldn’t accept this claiming â€Å"Auto Product Corporation is a production company. Feasibly, we are not able to produce the volumes of quality parts for our vendors when the company is being disrupted with strikes and work slowdowns. Our Local unions file grievances for their members and they go through the process. The contract contains a standard grievance procedure and provide for arbitration for all disputes arising under the contract. The company, with the help of its 3800 employees wants to remain vital to the community, vendors and families of our employees; we can only be effective, if we are producing quality parts.† But, the entire time, the union knew this wasn’t going to work and Paul had mentioned a No-Sue section to be added which management had no problem with. Our bargaining limits on this were accomplished with ease considering management said they had no problem adding this as long as the union was not directly involved or instigating a strike or slowdown. The Negotiation Process: Overall I would have to say that the negotiation process was somewhat difficult in the beginning because management was unsatisfied with our demands refusing pretty much all of them. I feel like the union was more willing to negotiate but that could be because our goal was the employees and the managements goal was reducing costs. For example, the union and management went back and forth on decreasing the amount of stewards to job families, trying to reduce stewards from having 60 to 20 and decreasing the amount of time they have to do grievance work daily. The union and management also went back and forth on non-productive time. Management wanted employees to clock out for lunch and then only have a 5 minute paid wash up at the end of their shift. The union agreed on clocking out for lunch but wanted to keep the 10 minute wash up and management wouldn’t accept this until the very end of negotiations. Besides these two matters, the negotiation process went rather smoothly. My personal thoughts: There are things that I wish would have went differently. For example, my teammates should’ve contributed more to discussions. I feel as though I was constantly waiting on a response from them and more than half the time I would only hear from Paul and as I discussed earlier he would respond mainly with â€Å"I agree† which gives me no other viewpoints or if I should have done things differently. Or, the would respond after deadlines to where I couldn’t change anything. Then, Ziaria, not being in hardly any of our discussions goes in the boardroom and conducts negotiations without even consulting with me or Paul. I understand though that you can’t always choose your teammates. Conclusion: Before conducting these negotiations I went into this thinking I wanted to be on a management team because I have always had this view of unions being dramatic. Instead, my views now are more pro-union because this negotiation has taught me that unions are there for your rights as an employee. When management tries to change the contract, you as an employee, should want the union there to try and get the best possible outcomes for all employees because management is just going to try and cut costs any way they can. Overall I found this project to be interesting and informative on the things that actual companies negotiate on. References: â€Å"The Mock Negotiation Problem.† Sloane, Arthur A., Witney, Fred. Labor Relations. Prentice Hall- Pearson Education, 2012. 435-440. Work Rights Press. How to Win Past Practice Grievances. n.d. 16 November 2012 .

Learning from the patient

The healthcare profession involves augmentation of a patient’s condition through therapeutic intervention.   The shared moment between a healthcare worker and a patient who is unbearably suffering by himself provides guidance for proper course of action, often resulting in greater patient satisfaction and healing potentialities (Gooden et al., 2001).   During this interaction, the healthcare professional establishes his presence by using a human care transaction mind-body-soul with another’s mind-body-soul in a lived moment. Presence has been defined as a relational style within healthcare professional interactions that involves being with, as well as doing with.   The core of this interaction is to learn and understand the circumstances of the situation and to direct the course of action to achieve the desired outcome of healing and recuperation in the part of the patient (Rachagan and Sharon, 2003; Hagihara A and Tarumi K, 2006).   In addition, the focused shared moments with the patient and his family teaches the healthcare professional to identify the key turning point necessary for patient’s healing process (Gore and Ogden, 1998; Street et al., 2003). The professional learns the needs of his patient by being fully present and consciously relating to his whole being, enabling the professional to use aesthetic ways of discovering the obstructions in the hidden pathways preventing the healing process (Murphy DD and Lam CL, 2002).   The healthcare professional plays a major role as a therapeutic agent by getting deeply involved with the situation using his inner energy of caring, being open and listening with solid awareness, and developing and sustaining a helping-trusting, authentic caring relationship (Ornstein, 1977; Heszen-Klemens and Lapinska E, 1984; Berry, 2007). Healthcare guidelines highlight that every healthcare professional is accountable for his decision and action and for maintaining competencies in every day of practice. This strong foundation requires that all nurses provide a therapeutic professional-patient relationship and provide care to patients under the scope of practice according to their needs, which will in turn, lead to significant outcomes (Clark, 2002).   Healthcare workers use different types of presence in order to learn from their patient, in order a therapeutic relationship and mutual understanding under any circumstance. References Berry PA (2007):   The absence of sadness: darker reflections on the doctor-patient relationship.   J. Med. Ethics 33(5):266-8. Clark PA (2002):   Confidentiality and the physician-patient relationship — ethical reflections from a surgical waiting room.   Med. Sci. Monit. 8(11):SR31-4. Gooden BR, Smith MJ, Tattersall SJ and Stockler MR (2001):   Hospitalised patients' views on doctors and white coats.   Med. J. Aust. 175(4):219-22. Gore J and Ogden J (1998):   Developing, validating and consolidating the doctor-patient relationship: the patients' views of a dynamic process.   Br. J. Gen. Pract. 48(432):1391-4. Hagihara A and Tarumi K (2006):   Doctor and patient perceptions of the level of doctor explanation and quality of patient-doctor communication.   Scand. J. Caring Sci. 20(2):143-50. Heszen-Klemens I and Lapinska E (1984):   Doctor-patient interaction, patients' health behavior and effects of treatment.   Soc. Sci. Med. 19(1):9-18. Murphy DD and Lam CL (2002):   Functional needs: agreement between perception of rural patients and health professionals in China.   Occup. Ther. Int. 9(2):91-110. Ornstein PH (1977):   The family physician as a â€Å"therapeutic instrument†.   J. Fam. Pract. 4(4):659-61. Rachagan SS and Sharon K (2003):   The patient's view.   Med J Malaysia. 58 Suppl A:86-101. Street RL Jr, Krupat E, Bell RA, Kravitz RL and Haidet P (2003):   Beliefs about control in the physician-patient relationship: effect on communication in medical encounters.   J. Gen. Intern. Med. 18(8):609-16.

The argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The argument - Essay Example Tight state budgets of the current year have drawn attention towards the efficient and effective use of taxpayer money instead of wasting it in, otherwise activities that are deemed to be used for illicit drug abuse. According to those in favor the money that is being used to help the welfare program can be saved for other public welfare expenditures where it is more needed. A Republican speaker of the Wyoming house, Edward Buchanan, said, â€Å"The idea from Joe Taxpayer is, ‘I don’t mind helping you out, but you need to show that you’re looking for work, or better yet that you’re employed, and that you’re drug and alcohol free.’ † (The New York Times). He has simply tried to put forward the motive for drug testing. To be able to be qualified to receive the welfare aid, one must be subjected to drug tests first to ensure that the taxpayer money will not be used in illegal drug activities. To support the point, Garth Everett, a Lycoming County Republican who is in support of drug testing legislation said that the workers are often tested for drug abuse by their prospective employers before their employment, however the recipients of welfare aid are never subject to such tests which may reduce the effectiveness of this program. Such drug tests will enable the government (that can be seen as an employer in this case) to ensure that the money expenditure on welfare program is being spent responsibly and in the best interest of the beneficiary. Since government can be seen as an employer of welfare recipients in this case, this shouldn’t be contrary to the law and constitution. (Hall). As opposed to those in favor of the new legislation, those against it have tried to make their point on the basis of statistical evidences and past data relating to substance abuse. The main point of their argument is that, the new legislation makes an unnecessary and unreasonable assumption about the recipients of welfare aid pr ogram that they are necessarily involved in some kind drug activity. This is strictly against the US constitution which prohibits any unnecessary search of people. Therefore testing these unfortunate citizens for drug abuse would amount to an unconstitutional search of people who sought help. Eventually this will also lead to withdrawal of public confidence in the welfare program and attract unnecessary expenses in future. Courts in US have dropped such issues in the past on the similar grounds. A Democrat state representative against the legislation, W. Patrick Goggles, said, â€Å"This legislation assumes suspicion on this group of people, it assumes that they’re drug abusers.† (The New York Times). Democrats are also of the view that the actual costs to conduct these drug tests and all other overheads preponderate the potential benefits and savings expected to be derived from it. In Idaho, such a budget analysis was conducted last year which showed that the costs of this program are likely to be more than the saving. This caused the proponents of the program to drop this idea. There are also various statistics available to support this theory, for example, one such study says that the recipients of government aid are not more likely than the general US population to abuse drugs which is 8% of the population. Maria Kayanan said, "What the states are doing

Discuss the challenges of implementing sustainable solutions to the Essay

Discuss the challenges of implementing sustainable solutions to the global - Essay Example â€Å"The key challenges of water management can only be understood within the context of water’s role in the world today† (WWDR 2, 2006: 1). Various factors play a part: the impact of extreme climates as witnessed in floods and drought conditions; many of the socio-economic systems in the world connecting at a rapidly growing rate; poverty, warfare, diseases such as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) afflicting many of the world’s populations; and the prevalence of increasingly crowded urban conditions. The world’s water managers have to monitor equitably and with more refined techniques, the increasingly scarce freshwater resource. At the same time, they have to face the complexities and pressures of the rapidly changing conditions and deterioration of available resources. In November, 2002, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), created a milestone in the history of human rights by recognizing water as a fundamental human right. The one hundred and forty five countries which have approved the International CESCR will now be required to progressively ensure that there is access to safe and sufficient drinking water, without any form of discrimination among people (WWDR 1, 2003). The world’s socio-economic development including poverty alleviation, demographic and technological change, globalization, trade, warfare and security; as well as climate variability are each mutually interdependent with freshwater resources (UNESCO, 2006). The natural cycle of water around the earth is the hydrological cycle. All water on earth is constantly recycled, repurified, and reused. The three main impacts that humans have on the hydrological cycle are: withdrawing freshwater for domestic, industrial or agricultural purposes, polluting the water while using it, and returning the used water into the hydrological cycle for purification through further stages till it is again available for use (Wright & Nebel, 2005:

Drosophila Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drosophila - Research Paper Example The chromosomes are also organized in an orderly manner. In this regard, the sections of darkness and light have high levels of DNA and protein especially in the chromatin. This enables researchers to observe them by use of a light microscope. According to Carter and Jennifer, the appropriate magnification for this observation customarily is 450X (34). Incidentally, the salivary glands of Drosophila are crucial. This partly owes to the fact that these glands help in producing materials in the pupa stage of the life cycle of the Drosophila. Moreover, each dark and light band has a unique number for identification. This enhances the research work of the biological researchers. In addition, the Drosophila has some chromosomes, which have similar fundamental structures, which aids scientists to make informed deductions pertaining to the phenomenon of research. The Drosophila also is not subject to hibernation in the event of a cold climate. Researchers can then easily access this species for studies, as opposed to other similar organisms. In this regard, they are easily found especially near ripe fruits. The other attribute that qualifies the Drosophila as the best model for laboratory experiments is that adults and larva of drosophila usually feed on yeast. Researchers are able to feed the larva on the laboratory yeast cells to make the required scientific studies within the laboratory. The life cycle of the drosophila depends on the environment, which the Drosophila occupies. According to Smeitink, the life cycle period of the drosophila is 26 days for the Drosophila (44). This period is valid for the female, but the cycle for the male Drosophila is 33 days. The Drosophila has only four of its life cycle. This includes egg and three other larval stages. After mating, the sperm from the male is conveyed to the uterus of the female. This is

Final Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Final - Term Paper Example However, majority people assume that a single male who is the main source of income, earn more than enough to support himself and his family. There was not at all a mutual agreement on in what ways a living wage can be define, however, there were number of administrative bodies and governments who take initiative in taking up the mission of developing multifaceted formulas (David, pp. 6-11) In modern times, this phrase living wage has reoccurred in United States of America. In the period of early 90s, focus was given more on jobs with low wage. Protesters in Baltimore, Maryland suppress their government to look for a policy tool so that their problems can have proper solution. The city then passed an ordinance known as living wage ordinance according to which any firm which hires workers must pay their employees or workers a good living wage. The idea was spread quickly in every part of the country. Today, after approximately seventeen years later, in 140 cities, multiple countries a nd countless universities this living wage ordinance is implemented. ... After some calculations, it is anticipated that more or less one-fifth of the entire population of the world are suffering from lack of adequate shelter, on the other hand, approximately a million or more people, mostly children, die every day due to lack of proper housing majority of which are targeted in developing world. There were many scholars who argue that it is quite complicated to make standardized criteria for sufficient housing in this entire world but there are some general norms which are: authorized security of residence, availability of infrastructure and services, accessibility, habitability, affordability, cultural and location adequacy. The rapid expansion and development in many cities go along with speedy increase in the total number of urban residents who reside in overcrowded and sub-standard conditions. The statistics of developing countries illustrate that town inhabitants represent approximately an average of twenty five to sixty percent of the population in urban areas. The current situation shows that the estimated percentage of urban population who lives in intense poverty is more than fifty percent; however, this may rise to almost seventy nine percent in most of the cities. More than one billion of urban dwellers are included in urban poor, whereas low income groups consist of approximately half of the existing urban population (Moser & Satterthwaite, 1985). Over the past three eras, there were many programs of official housing started in developing countries were unsuccessful in order to reach significant segments of the group, particularly households which are below twenty to thirty percent of the entire population. The

The Struggle for Equality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Struggle for Equality - Essay Example However, for purposes of this brief analysis, the author will consider the case of Irish immigrants. Whereas it might be assumed that Irish immigrants had a relatively easy immigrant experience, based upon the fact that they were partially similar to existing immigrants that comprise the United States, the fact of the matter is that immigrant experience of the Irish was oftentimes every bit as difficult, if not more, as compared to even more socially or culturally dissimilar groups. The equality differential that Irish immigrants faced was not based upon race per se; instead, it was based upon religion, cultural dissimilarity, bias, and a view that stereotypes concerning ability and intelligence, as well as role within society, should be enforced. In terms of citizenship and the ability for immigrants to gain it, the United States was relatively open. During the massive waves of Irish immigration that took place during the late 1800s, as a result of the Irish potato famine, the United States continued to exhibit a very open immigration policy and clear path to citizenship. However, the overall level to which this luxury was afforded to Irish immigrants did not encapsulate the entire immigration experience. Whereas it is true that it has to immigration, education, suffrage, and civil liberties existed, there were still massive disparities with respect to availability of housing, employment opportunities, and pervasive and continual societal judgments with respect to whether or not this particular group should continue to be viewed as outsiders more should be accepted into the melting pot of American society. As has been alluded to within the introduction, one of the main reasons for why this particular group was so ostracized was not based upon skin color, race, or even language; instead, it was based upon the fact that the vast majority of Irish immigrants were Roman Catholics; something that was viewed as deeply â€Å"un-American† in a

How much of Yogasara's teachings close to original Buddhist doctrine Essay

How much of Yogasara's teachings close to original Buddhist doctrine - Essay Example For instance, the central focus of many religions is God or gods leading to scholarly question of whether Buddhism is a religion or not. Harris calls Buddhism, "the richest source of contemplative knowledge that any civilization has developed. Currently, there exist three main branches of Buddhism tradition; The Theravada -Doctrine of the Elders, the Mahayana -Great Vehicle and the Vajrayana -Diamond Vehicle simply known as Tibetan Buddhism, (Olson 56). Furthermore, many scholars agree that the origin of Buddhism is Northern India in the 5th century B.C.E .By meditation and analysis, Budha resulted to enlightened state of personality that marked the end of suffering and thus, upon his death, release from the cycle of rebirth (samsara). His teachings are mostly summarized in the Four Noble Truths, hence providing a basic guide for how to live in the world. Buddhas immediate teachings following his awakening focused on the key Noble Truths, which forms the basis of Buddhism. The truths are the truth of suffering (dukkha), the cause of suffering (samudaya), truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha) and the truth of path that frees indivindual from suffering (magga). The Truth of Suffering -This discourage many people new to Buddhism beginners to Buddhism .However they are encouraged by Pali word  dukkha that means anything that is temporary, conditional and compounded of other things either precious or enjoyable will end. They thus relate the nature of life to that of self, That we are also temporary, conditional and made of many parts .According to Buddhism , understanding life and death is only possible after understanding the self. Thirst (tanha) is seen as the main suffering cause; therefore, people continually look for something external to make them happy. But no matter how successful we are, we never get full satisfaction. Furthermore, Buddha observed that this thirst

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Strategic Management - Essay Example Some of the local brands are also considered by the company that includes Aguila, Castle, Snow, Victoria Bitter, Miller Lite, and Tyskie. The company has been successful in creating its position in both the emerging as well as developed markets across the globe (Overview, 2012). The present study has been considered to make an environmental analysis of SABMiller. Environmental analysis involves identification of the environmental factors that can affect a company, and hence their nature and impact on the level of success of the company. Depending on such factors, if identified, a company would be able to consider measures accordingly such that any negative impact may be prevented. SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis, application of Porter’s Five Forces are some of ways through which environmental analysis of a business can be done (Business Environment Analysis, n.d.) and these will be applied in the present study to have an understanding on SABMiller company. Position of SABMiller : SABMiller is older than the state of South Africa itself and has faced several challenges in determining the position that it currently holds. There were several business restrictions that SAB had to fight by ruling over the production of beer along with acquisitioning competitor companies and enhancing the facilities of production and distribution. The large brewing companies accounted for 17 percent of the market in the early period of the 1990s. However, by the year 2009, these companies have started accounting for around 45 percent of the market that reflects on the increasing competition. SABMiller has thus since 2010 considered strategizing more focusing in the impacts of the environmental factors (Johnson, 2010, pp.643-644). SABMiller’s operations in the present day may be represented through the following chart: Figure 1: Summary Scope of SABMiller Operation Today (Moulaeifar, 2009, p.2). SWOT Analysis: SABMiller: SWOT analysis is a technique that enables an underst anding on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a business organization thereby allowing the business to consider measures accordingly for the benefits and success of the company. However, this technique makes the strategic planning of the business highly formal (Jacob, 2009, p.9). From the case study and other readings, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company could be learnt. The strengths of the company are reflected through its operations that are spread across the globe, and taking advantages of locations like India, China, Vietnam, and African markets. The worldwide knowledge of the company is good in terms of entering new markets creating its presence. The market dominance of the company being the second largest brewer too adds to its strengths. In terms of value addition, cost leadership, economies of scale and efficient distribution, the company has a competitive advantage over other brewers. Also the company has a strong presenc e in the US (Johnson, 2010; Moulaeifar, 2009, p.5). The company’s weaknesses include lack of assets in Western Europe that limits the company’s operations in the region. Moreover SABMiller does not have any assets in the markets where there could be major growth for the company. Thirdly, the income level of individuals largely determines the level of

Marketing Analysis on Google Inc Essay Example for Free

Marketing Analysis on Google Inc Essay With the objective of â€Å"To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful† (Google, 2012), Google expands its business to strive towards becoming the leader of internet-related provider, in particular in Internet research and advertising technology. The company has expanded nationally and globally, providing its search service in a large number of different languages and countries through its own unique strategy. The report starts with a discussion about the market Google is operating in, how Google smartly manages its internationalisation and globalization strategy according to its own market position in different stage. Followed by the comment on whether its diversification strategy appropriate across the whole international market. The report then will evaluate this strategy mainly focus on the aspect of the potential to damage its own brand, especially based on the case of their failure expansion in the Chinese market. Then the report will look at impact for the market as Google fully enter the Android market, Google’s business model in terms of reating revenue will be described and processed by the critique of whether the model would be sustainable in the long term. The report finally will define the market Google operate in and how it enters into android market will be explained in detail. Additionally, there are some recommendations provided in terms of its sustainable development through the whole report. ? Defining the market which Google Inc’ operates in? The market in which Google operates in is collaborative and interactive; Google has acquired and merged with different companies, which have given it a competitive edge over other firms. It recently acquired Motorola and this brought a lot of speculation as to whether it could handle the hardware business without any prior experience or necessary skills According to the case (Tangirala and Debapratim, 2012), Google had no skills in the supply chain, monitoring physical stock or achieving efficiencies. However such acquisitions have benefited Google because it has been able to have more reach as it can now target mobile users with the new hardware business. Other companies it has collaborated with are HTC and T-Mobile on implementing the Android platform. Competition The environment is also quite competitive. Having to face giants like Apple, Microsoft and Facebook means that Google has to be highly adaptable and maintain their market share by being more aggressive in their marketing strategies. (Tangirala and Debapratim, 2012), Google says that their acquisition of Motorola will be able to intensify the competition. Motorola’s purchase will fully bring Google into the mobile market as they will now have hardware for their operating system Android, Also Motorola will strengthen the patenting of Google as they have more than 17,000 patents in their name. Apple and other mobile providers might feel threatened by this move. (Rusli and Miller, 2011) Diversification More to this, Google has not focused on its core business of being a search engine rather it is diversifying and looking for new opportunities for growth. Google has expanded into other segments such as maps and Google scholar, in the communications section there is Gmail and an enterprise segment where cloud computing and Google docs are involved, social networking among others. This means that Google is not only able to reach a wider audience but that it is able to spread risks. Diversification means that in case one area of their business fails they have an alternative to rely on. (Tangirala and Debapratim, 2012) Innovation Google’s survival could be attributed to its highly innovative structure. It has a culture of being innovative and an atmosphere that encourages employees to bring new ideas and creativity. However, Google must keep on innovating in order to outdo their competitors and to keep at pace with the changes in the highly volatile global environment (Tangirala and Debapratim, 2012) Infrastructure Together with all the companies that Google has acquired, they also have data centers and servers which it uses to create its web presence and to store information. These infrastructures increase reliability and make information access faster. Google Inc’ had a total of 90,000 servers by 2010 and they invested heavily on technology this gives Google a good platform. Pg. 4 Some of it is virtual for example cloud computing. (Tangirala and Debapratim, 2012) ? What’s internationalization and globalization strategy? In which way Google is going? Internationalization strategy is a development strategy that enterprises want to offer their products and services outside their home country, it usually reflected in the form of greater existence in different locations around the world. That is why internationalization also refers as international expansion (Stephen and Karin, 2002). Internationalization strategy is a development planning during the process of internationalized operation and management, which is designed to give the assistance of improving company’s competitiveness and environment adaptability. Corporations have adopted this strategy view overseas market separately. They treat the markets differently due to various markets’ features. Globalization strategy refers to the procedures of global integration, which incorporate the international operations and markets into a united strategic entity (Stephen and Karin, 2002). Corporations that use this strategy are generally powerful multinational enterprises, they attempt to monopolize markets in their own industries. However, if using this strategy inappropriately, it is more likely to have a detrimental effect on the whole company. The merit of globalization strategy is that companies can concentrate their efforts in building competitive advantages by leveraging capabilities and coordinating activities through boundaries. Which like a double-edged sword, the demerit is that it is hard to coordinate between each subsidiary as well as between headquarter and subsidiaries, because each host country has their own business characteristics. According to the collected evidences Google tends to be relying on the globalization strategy. To begin with, as mentioned above, one reason for companies adopting a globalization strategy is that they want to monopolize the market in their own industry. Definitely, Google achieved this goal. In October 2011, Google accounts for 82. 4% of the worldwide desktop search engine market share. Furthermore, in 2008, Google shifts its international marketing structure form representation offices to Research and Development center, and then to partnerships with other enterprises, which reflected that Google gradually integrated the competitive advantages from the alliance partnership and improved its own capabilities (Ronen, 2009). In addition, Google has many RD centers worldwide. For instance, if the software was RD in Israel, this software is not only specialized in Israel market, but also launched globally by using different languages. Therefore it is clear that Google did not focus on localizing their products or services for different markets nowadays. Finally, globalization is focusing on building united competitive advantage. In order to keep its competitive edges, Google transfers and share outcomes of technology innovations within various RD centers, and with alliance partnerships to connect the operation nd management activities from different counties and locations. Google’s retrieval from china, impacts upon globalization plan. According to the list of info-facts (2012), China is the second most powerful country in the world. And in Fleming’s (2010) report, â€Å"U. S. , China, and India will be the three most powerful countries in 2025†. These illustrate that China is a hugely influential nation around the world. Moreover, China has more than 500 million internet users (Efrati Chao 2012), and the number is still increasing. China is a market which cannot be ignored. Google’s retreat from the Chinese market has definitely impacted upon Google’s overall global expansion strategy. Most of the Asian countries have strong regional relationship and China has a widely impact on them. As we all know, eastern countries are in high context cultures, but, Google is from a low context culture which is totally different from high context culture. Their ways of running a business are quite different. It seems that if Google cannot operate successfully in China, it cannot operate well in other Asian countries either, such as Japan and Korea. And this will deeply impact its global expansion strategy. As the picture (adapted from Chardonneau’s slides) shown in appendix 1, Asia owns the biggest internet market, and Google’s coverage in Asia is so weak. If Google still wants to achieve its global expansion strategy, it has to come into the Asian market and first of all, Google needs to solve the problem in China. In fact, Google’s quit in China offers its competitors a good opportunity to enter into the Chinese market. After all, not all the international companies are unable to handle the operation problems in China. Since Google announced its retreat, its market share has declined 5% and its biggest competitor in China, Baidu has increased by 50% (Powell 2010). Other internet companies like Microsoft, Sohu and Tencent where all benefit from this great opportunity which offered by Google (Powell 2010). Cultivating your competitors will obviously diminish your own benefits. More and more powerful competitors will absolutely hamper Google’s global expansion. In addition, they need to keep putting efforts to the beta test before they aunch any new products into new market, especially in the Asian market. It needs to customize it according to different market to satisfy local consumers. As discussed above, one of the main reasons why Google failed in the Chinese market was because it did not use ICP, which is a compulsory for all websites operating in China (Zhou, 2009). ? Diversification strategy working in the international market The multi-diversification strategy is generally appropriate a cross the whole international market. This strategy is being used in different markets, while the only difference is whether it more focus on direct-diversification or indirect-diversification that depends on the intensity of competition on the core products. Briefly, since 2004 Google’s endeavor mainly focuses on encouraging innovation by bottom-up through the whole company. It acquires innovative companies to diversify into new areas or to add value to existing technologies and services (Kotelnikov, 2012). From â€Å"personalized web†, â€Å"Google News†, â€Å"Website Optimizer† to acquire technology to put up online display and banner advertisements by buying out â€Å"DoubleClick†. Followed by the direct diversification, Google, starts to expand its new product line through indirect diversification strategy. For instance, Google enters the social networking space through launching â€Å"Orkut†, â€Å"Google Checkout† then was launched as a payment gateway for online buyers and â€Å"Google Chrome† which is a representor of a desktop browser, see appendix one. Firstly, in the current global market, Google’s diversification strategy take the development of its core products as a priority. It makes a great contribution on perfecting its core competencysearch engine, which is the most profitable product. Additionally, it also increases the reputation of â€Å"innovation† for Google all over the world. Multi-products line adds more values for the consumers will become the main competitive advantages for Google in the long-term in the international market. Therefore, the benefit of diversification strategy is to protect current market share and attract potential customers by World of Mouth. Particularly, Google launches early nd often in small beta tests before releasing new products into the market, with many markets becoming more and more competitive as a result of new competitors from global or deregulated markets, those who innovate best will win in the future (Kotelnikov, 2012). Secondly, while even through the company put great efforts to add more value on its core products, the competitors also come up with substitute products, for example, â€Å"Powerset† from Microsoft and â€Å"Search Monkey† just launched by Yahoo attack the weakness of Google, providing a much flexible search engine. Google needs to add up more new product lines to create and exploit economies scope. In particular, â€Å"Baidu† whose market share in China is up to 78. 3%, while only 16. 7% of â€Å"Google’s Hong Kong Site†(Baidu, 2012). Google can use its direct-diversification strategy, which pays attention on internal growth of search engine to increase its market share in the market, which doesn’t have a strong competition, such as Australia. The indirect diversification strategy should be used in the market that already has some strong competitors such as China, Korea. It is certain that the risk of this diversification strategy is there is a huge investment in the new businesses and the majority of the new businesses haven’t started making profit for Google. However, take current global market trend into consideration, the strategy will work in the long term in the international market. If we look closely at year 2009, revenue from ads on their sites accounted for 83% of the total. Compared to 2008, this item represented 90% of Google’s total income. Nevertheless, the growth rate of these â€Å"windfall† is, so far, relatively modest (Sebastian, 2010). Thinking of Google, what product stands out? But are there too many? Is Google too ubiquitous now is an arguable question in recent years? â€Å"I think that, ultimately, we do have too many products and we need to condense them,† Marissa Mayer, Google’s VP of Search, said Friday at the SXSWi conference in Austin (Matt McGee, 2011). According to the map of Google’s product in the appendix, Google products now covered in many different fields such as search engine, social network, music, mobile system etc. But there is people say As Google Becomes More Ubiquitous, They Get More Sloppy (Jeff Y, 2012) Google is taking information from almost all of your Google services (Tsukayama, 2012). It was very serious privacy issue and been intensely discussed. Google makes its money by selling yourself; by knowing where you live, what videos you like watching, and your entire search and surfing history, Google sells targeted advertising to the tune of tens of billions of dollars per year. Selling you is 96% of Google’s revenue stream. ( Anthony, 2011). Google was not obligated to pay a fine for doing so but the brand was damaged to some extent. Google also faces the risk from failed product or services. It comes down to having too many things going on at once. At Google, quality control is slipping. (Jeff Y, 2012). For example, Google lunched Google Buzz in February 2010, it was considered a threat to Facebook and twitter but its been shut down very soon in November 2011 by Google because of the lack of users and the late show in the market compare with twitter. The failure of Google buzz damaged not only the real money but also the trust and confidence of consumers toward the brand. (Rob, 2010) Besides, with too many successful products, customers may lose what the brand Google really represents which is also a risk of brand damage. Were very aware that our business is based on the trust of users and if damaged then thats the worst thing we could do. The new privacy director said. (Google, 2010) But will all these factors really hurt Google? The answer is uncertain. As we can see from the Googleland map in appendix , Googles main product is always the search engine and they use all the other products to support it. Today, with approximately 70 percent domination of the global search market, the omnipotent, omniscient, omnivorous and ubiquitous Google keeps upping the ante to stay on top of the search engine game. (Callari, 2012) Therefore some people argued that as long as people still use and trust the Google search engine, the Google brand will not be hurts seriously. Google’s foray into Android market, all around impact. In this section, we will focus more on Google’s capability after it has bought Motorola and gain access to becoming one of mobile phone providers with its own Android OS. After Google has bought Motorola, there are a few implications to mention here. First of all Google will be the owner of all patents from and therefore will be of a great support for Google when their mobile phone enters the market where Apple is a dominant player (Reisinger, 2011). During the launch of a new phone company is most likely to be sued by their competitor arguing over the originality of the phone. Therefore after having Motorola as a patent support Google may save a lot of money in this aspect. Secondly is that Google now has a capacity to create and manufacture their own mobile phone and tablet PC. The benefits of buying Motorola also extends to the field of hardware that Motorola has been in for sometimes, what Google has bought to it self is the hardware manufacturing ability, ranging from TV top box, internet TV to internet router and live stream (Bryant, 2011). Therefore again apple will have to be careful since now Google has a potential to fight Apple not just in the field of mobile phone but also as a TV top box provider i. . Google TV (Purdy, 2011). Thirdly it is not clear that when the new Motorola, Google phone is released, it will come with the newest Android OS or not. But move to buy motorolla to gain access to manufacturing capability can really affect Google’s android mobile partner. One clue to this argument is current news about Samsung, which has been Google’s main Android phone provider, has announced that its mobile phone in a short future will also feature the windows operating system (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2012). Although the news said it was all about Samsung providing more variety to the consumer, but it can also be thought of an uncertainty avoidance move by Samsung who might feel an aggressive move by Google coming into the hardware market. Perhaps besides Google and Motorola as the two winners from the incident, Microsoft surprisingly might gain benefit from this incident (Wortham, 2012). This move from Google is actually what Microsoft is hoping for because besides Google, the only well know non-phone maker operating system is the â€Å"windows 8† from Microsoft. The moment of changes to watch out for is the time that Google’s partners feel that they are indeed competing against Google instead of having Google as their partner (Wortham, 2012). Microsoft windows 8 here will then act as a preferable alternative operating system for those ex-Google’s partners to adopt. So what will happen in short-long run for the market? In the short run it will not change much because the majority of the mobile phone relies on Android OS. Breaking off partnership with the OS they rely on is really not a good idea in the short run. Also since by law after closing the deal that Android will still remain free for another five years (Waugh, 2011). In the long run the story may be entirely different. It is expected that mobile phone manufacturers may start thinking about an alternative plan according to Google’s moves. If Google still keeps its promise that buying Motorola is just for its own defense, then it is still a great idea to have such a big company as your support (Wortham, 2012). How does Google create revenue? To scrutinize the business model of Google Inc, one impressive feature in this model is that Google offers free resource to the end user. Analyzing the reasons behind it, Google’s philosophy is to share information universally and make it accessible globally (Google, 2012). Thus, the characteristic of free is a necessary catalyst which accelerates Google to become the largest search engine company around the world. By doing this, advertisers have become the main income rather than the end users.

Revolution on British government and society Essay Example for Free

Revolution on British government and society Essay It is not so much the events of 1688 that constitute a revolution as the subsequent changes in the constitution that show a transformation in the nature and ideology of government. There was no internal uprising, no civil war and most importantly, the succession of William of Orange and his wife Mary to the English throne was authorised by a Convention, acting in lieu of parliament in the absence of King James II. Indeed it could be argued that this was not a revolution at all, if James departure is to be interpreted as his abdication. Contemporaries, keen to replace the unpopular, Catholic monarch with a man who was seen as a deliverer from popery and slavery, reasoned as such. In actual fact James never did renounce his claim to the throne. Fleeing London in the dead of night, he took with him The Great Seal, traditionally held by the monarch and dropped it in the Thames and he burnt the writs that were to call anew parliament. He would later attempt to recapture his crown, rallying support in Ireland to prepare for an invasion that was to fail. But whether or not this dynastic change, made by those who, in theory, did not have the authority to do so, is enough to deserve the title revolution, what cannot be denied is that this marks the end of the era of the absolute monarch. Williams Declaration of Rights, which was to become statute within a year, echoed Lockean ideas of sovereignty, supporting a parliament that was to keep check on the authority of the monarch and protecting Rights and Liberties of the people. No King or Queen thereafter would be able to rule as James or Charles had done before them. In the years following the revolution a system of government working through the authority of the executive Privy Council and the houses of Lords and commons, headed by the monarch soon evolved into a working body that formed the basis of what we still have for government today. By the 1720s the way Britain is ruled had been turned around, but the changes cannot be solely accredited to the events of 1688. When William invaded England he had European motives at heart. He was keen to avoid a union of France and England that would be a threat to the Protestants of the Northern and Germanic lands. He was aware of James unpopularity as a Catholic ruler of an overwhelmingly Protestant nation and he sought to take advantage of this to try and win allies. He expected to meet with resistance and had prepared and army of troops, but James was deserted by the little support he had to begin with in the face of danger, eventually even by his closest advisors and his own sister. William toured England for four weeks, propagandising himself as a saviour from James evil counsellors, who had challenged the laws, liberties, customs and religion and wanted to revive Catholicism. He arrived in London and in the absence of the monarch the city was occupied and ordered by his Dutch soldiers while a decision could be reached. It is important to remember that William never independently laid any claim to the throne; he had expected to meet resistance in England. He aimed to battle against what he saw as a catholic threat, which he was careful to stress as being on the part of James advisors and not the King himself, and although the impact that this revolution had was profound, it was not all part of a pre-ordained plan. What followed was an immediate crisis. The capital was under the order of foreign troops and the King had deserted. It forced the political nation to examine the constitution and find a solution. A Convention was called and a vote was taken to offer the throne to William and his wife Mary, daughter of the departed king on January 22nd 1689, only a month after James departure. It was a hasty political decision, pressure was felt by the presence of Dutch troops, but there was also a Protestant fear of James gathering support and returning, or claims being laid for his infant son, whom he had taken with him. There was resistance, the House of Lords initially voted against the idea, feeling they had sworn an oath of loyalty to James, that he was still their king, and that such radical action was not right. A monarch is not elective. The theory was that the monarch was granted his authority form God and man was not to meddle with His choice. There was no support for a republic, with the feeling that a firm figurehead was necessary to maintain order and a deep attachment felt for hierarchy and patriarchy. Yet to instate a new monarch seemed in itself to mock the whole principal of monarchy. Under pressure from the Commons and from William and Mary themselves and with no other solution, the Lords were finally swayed, their stance weakened by internal disunity and mistrust. Interpretation of the finer details of the theory of monarchy and nuances of vocabulary played and important role in this unique revolution, which, on the whole, was met with popular support. William and Mary had been put on the throne as an alternative to James II. Parliament had granted them this privilege and they were willing to allow parliament a more active role in government. The revolution had been almost ad hoc and there was sparse new ideology to implement, the Convention drawn up by parliament was effectively a reaction to the way in which both Charles II and James II had ruled and a call to protect the peoples ancient and indubitable rights. It was more of a written version of what was previously expected behaviour with little fundamental change to the relationship between legislative and executive powers specified. But William had to accept this as a code of practise from his parliament, recognising that even if the monarch had popularity and capability, he needed to work through the legislative powers. The monarch was required to call parliament to session, but this would be inevitable as William was only granted a years revenue. Parliament had the authority to oversee all public expenditure and so the monarch would always be dependant on them. Changes to the structure of government took effect gradually during the years following the revolution, but from the start the role of parliament was augmented, which initiated subsequent developments. They met for much longer sessions than before 1688, enabling a great deal more legislation to be passed, and allowing for Bills to be more thoroughly debated. Much of the legislation passed was still local or occasional in essence, such as permission to build a workhouse, but although this could be viewed as undermining the revolutionary nature of parliaments more prominent role, the fact that MPs were more available to take action on their electorates specific grievances, helped to ease the frictions between local and executive power as the nations political make-up was evolving. Although from a modern perspective these changes are viewed as progressing towards a more rational system of government, during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, people were often concerned about social stability which they believed was at risk with so much legal development. It was a commonly held view that life should be stable and predictable. People wanted to feel sure of their position, their income and their king and government. In an era where the poor always risked slipping into poverty after a bad harvest, increasing involvement in foreign warfare and frequent changes in the government, questions were raised about the permanence of law, and whether Common Laws of liberty and property, viewed by many as sacred, were at risk. But at court the belief that good government was upheld by frequent parliament, against the weakness of individual MPs or encroachment by the monarch led to the Triennial Act of 1694, limiting parliament to three years. Elections were held on average every two years and there were various amendments and contests in between. This Act was later replaced and the time extended to seven years, the advisors to the king often too easily influenced elections proved costly and short-lived parliaments. The Act shows parliament as uncertain of its own role, and is an example of a developing government that was evolving along its own path in the years following the revolution, more caused by what the revolutions changes allowed rather than what they intended. The development of the two key political parties, the Whigs and the Tories is another feature of this evolution of government. With three active parts to the government all being of equally weighted importance, and more frequent changes of personnel in parliament, there was more of a need than ever for politicians to associate themselves with a certain ideology and for Lords and MPs to support each other to push through Bills. William himself wanted to remain above the level of party, which he did, and indeed, there were members of parliament, more so in the House of Lords who chose to be independent and cast their vote on issues individually. But the solidarity of party was the most effective way of getting laws passed and King George himself, not many years later, was aligned with the Whigs, who although in the days of the revolution had been in favour of political progression, now came of as the monarchical party and there were suspicions of Jacobinism in the Tories. Religion was still a very important factor in politics, despite the Act of Toleration in 1689, which allowed non-Anglican Protestants to swear allegiance to the throne. There was still a widely held belief that religious homogony was key to social stability, but it had been the clergy that had shown the most resistance to William taking the crown, and with no clear heir in line for the throne the problem of succession and the possibility of a Jacobite up-rising prompted him, a Calvinist himself, to attempt to include Protestant minorities, especially those in Scotland and Ireland. Although the law did not make any exception for Catholics or Quakers, it did encourage a sense of tolerance that was benefited by both groups. The Quakers would be later allowed the right to practise in legalised meetinghouses, but Catholics still posed a threat, especially in Ireland, where the population was largely Catholic. After the Revolution, James had attempted to reclaim his throne, starting in Ireland, arranging support from France for the Catholic cause. But James lacked the leadership and resolve that he met in William when they met at battle in Derry and Enniskillen and he again escaped to France. The so-called bloodless revolution may have been so in England, but in both Ireland and Scotland the transition was not so smooth. Civil war in Ireland exhausted James supporters into defeat and in Scotland a series of highland wars lasted around five months in 1691, which initially started as a Jacobite up rising. William found Scotland impossible to manage. Although not dominated by Catholics, it was not predominantly Anglican either and James had more support here because of his familys close ties with Scotland. In the years following the Revolution, Scotland was only reluctantly part of Britain. She had her own laws and traditions, presided over by a Scottish parliament in Edinburgh, which declared even further independence with the abolition of the Lord of Articles, further undermining control from Westminster and making Scotland appear more of a threat. William would not be able to exert his Royal will through Edinburgh. But following a bad harvest in 1695, with many dying of hunger or fleeing to Ulster, Scotland realised the benefits of a closer union with England to involve herself in Englands efficient internal trade and lucrative colonial empire. The Act of union came into effect in 1707, dissolving the parliament in Edinburgh and instating peers and MPs from Scotland at Westminster. In England, the union provoked little reaction, but in Scotland it was bitterly opposed by many. Problems within Scotland were often a result of internal social divisions, most markedly between the highland clans and their more anglicised lowland neighbours, who had seen the union as a way to improve Scotlands economy. The death of Queen Anne in 1714 proved a difficult start for the union. The question was raised of the possible succession of her Catholic half brother, but with the Act of Settlement from 1701 forbidding any non-Protestant to sit on the throne, the Crown was inherited by George I. He faced a Jacobite uprising within the year, but his reign is largely characterised as a time of peace and relative stability after the turbulent post-revolutionary years. The Glorious Revolution had seemed on the surface to be swift, decisive and painless, yet the principals of change that as Burke claimed justified it as a revolution took years to really take shape. By the time of King George the role of monarch had been dramatically reviewed, no longer seen as a ruler from God, but as a figure head for a nation governed by a system of parliament, which relied on the mutual dependency of the two houses and the executive to abide by a sense of appropriate behaviour. Queen Anne was the last to use the Royal veto, something much exploited by the monarchs before 1688, the workings of parliament and the Privy Council had become more regular and thorough and a system of party politics had developed. The characters of William, Anne and George, who all failed to immerse themselves in domestic affaires and the extraordinary calibre of ministers at work during this time, perhaps eased the transition but it still remains that, while the revolution of 1688 had a profound and lasting impact on British society and government, the relationship worked both ways. The practical workings of British society and government were what moulded the developments after the revolution, developments that justified the glorious revolution to be called as such.

Ideal school for international education

Ideal school for international education Before to start talking about international education, it seems appropriate to give a definition from experienced researchers in this sector: The interest in the field of international education has never been more intense a rapidly increasing number of schools world-wide have been established specifically to meet the demands of those parents who, through their own global professional activities, wish to have their children educated in programmes based on international values and often in contexts other than their home country. Such schools have embraced the promotion of international education as one of their major goals.(Hayden, Levy and Thompson 2007:1) We also want to draw the readers attention to the fact that another researcher named Skelton also defines international education and international curriculum in relation to international schools. This is obviously only one vision and one definition of international education but these are the ones we are interested in investigating with this assignment because we will analyze whether an international school, namely St Andrews International School Bangkok, is close to the ideal school for international education. Our School St Andrews International School Bangkok is, as stated in the first definition above, a school that is established (in Thailand) to meet the demand for expatriate parents and wealthy local families who want their children educated in programs based on international values. St Andrews International School Bangkok, offers the international IGCSE and IB Diploma programmes ( we will explain later what are these IGCSE and IB programmes), and has, as main purpose, to promote international education as its mission statement says: Our mission is to provide an inclusive, international education in a happy, supportive and stimulating environment, where all the needs of the individual learner are met and students are inspired to achieve their full potential enabling them to become responsible global citizens. We will, of course further analyze the mission statement in later chapters when we will speak about ideologies, values and global citizenship education. What will we analyze? We defined above our focus, which is The International Schools. With this starting point, we must look at what are the components of an international school. We will focus on the following: the Values and Ideologies, the Curriculum, The Students, The Teachers, The administrators, the Board and the role of English language and other languages; compare and criticize all these points with what is said in the literature and our own experience in the field. What we are going to analyze is, of course, not all the elements of an international school, but those most important to analyze, in order to answer our assignments question. The values and ideologies In the syllabus, we read that Watson and Ashton (1995) point out that Society does not wait for consensus before transmitting values, and neither do schools. They convey values every day, knowingly or unknowingly, both at the more explicit level of what is taught, and at the less openly acknowledged level of how the school is administered (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Education cannot be value-free. Indeed, we believe that the official curriculum and also the hidden curriculum (what happens in the classroom, the relationship between teacher and student and how they interact) will automatically transmit values. In our school, the IGCSE curriculum transmits, clearly, the values of the Western World and more specifically, Great Britain. Even if the IGCSE allows adaptation to the context, the curriculum is there, with the knowledge to be transmitted, and that knowledge comes from Great Britain. The values transmitted, are humanists as we can read in our syllabus: Humanism as an ideology places a high emphasis on knowledge. Some forms of humanism (think classical humanism, conservatism, traditionalism, academicism) advocate the restriction of high status knowledge to an elite minority: the selective grammar school/secondary modern school system of pre-1960s England, for instance, typifies a classical humanist approach. Other forms of humanism, such as liberal humanism for instance, while still placing a great emphasis on knowledge advocate that high status knowledge should be accessible to all. We find that, indeed, the IGCSE curriculum focuses generally on knowledge. We also feel that they want this high status knowledge (a knowledge that comes from Cambridge University) to be accessible, if not to all, to the biggest number of students, abroad, especially in International Schools. Regarding the IB curriculum, it also transmits values, the values of openness, world mindedness, the child is the center of his learning, the child must be knowledgeable, balanced, Inquirer, etc. (IBO website, learner profile) These values are clearly progressivist because we can read on the IBO website: Progressivism as an ideology is essentially child-centered, with the emphasis clearly on the individual child. Curricula such as the International Baccalaureates Primary Years Programme (2008) are examples of a progressivist (or constructivist) approach to education. (Syllabus) Although we still do not teach the PYP program, these values are the same in the IB Diploma and are implied throughout the schooling of students until they pass their diploma examinations. In the syllabus, we read: Halstead (1996), meanwhile, argues that The values of schools are apparent in their organization, curriculum and discipline procedures, as well as in the relationships between teachers and pupils. Values are reflected in what teachers choose to permit or encourage in the classroom, and in the way they respond to childrens contributions to learning. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Even the seating arrangements in a classroom convey certain values. It is true that this transmits values as well. In our school, students are always encouraged to ask questions and to come to find the teacher after class for further explanation. The students are sitting in the classroom in a circle, to allow the exchange during the class. It is clear that in this case, the teacher is not the master of knowledge delivered to the student, but the students are encouraged to take control over their learning and there is a form of trust and closeness between the student and the teacher, to allow an o ptimal construction of the knowledge. To conclude this point, we read the mission statement of our school: Our mission is to provide an inclusive, international education in a happy, supportive and stimulating environment, where all the needs of the individual learner are met and students are inspired to achieve their full potential enabling them to become responsible global citizens. We note that the school wants to be inclusive which shows we put a high value on the acceptance of others. The mission statement also says we want our students to be happy to learn and, when learning, they receive all the necessary support from the staff. This is a value our school wants to transmit to the students. We can finally see that we place a great importance on the individual and their learning, and we hope our students to become Global Citizens. This shows that we give importance to the individuals but also to the overall population, which gives an international perspective to the values we try to instill. The Students St Andrews International School has a student population of more or less 680 children. There are about 40 percents of Thai students, 15 percents of Japanese, 10 percents of Indians and a large German and French community. One of the advantages of the international schools is the teachers students ratio, which is 1:25 by schools policy. It allows space for individual care. Anyway, by the Thai law, in an International School, there cannot be more than 30 students per class. The Thai students Regarding the huge percentage of Thai students, they are mostly from rich families, the countrys elite families or possessing businesses. These families have the choice of National Education (which is not highly regarded because there is a huge disparity in terms of quality) and International Education, which is very popular with families of these elites, as they want their children to have access to foreign universities in order to have more chances of success in this globalized world. These children will have an advantage over other local children. Their parents put them in these schools as an investment for the future. Langford says concerning these students, that they may feel isolated and different, living on the local economy rather than enjoying the many benefits shared by their expatriate classmates. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) or they may dominate the community to the extent that the school has to adjust practices to suit their interests and the expatriates are made to feel outsiders. (2002:48) This is true in the sense the Thai students at St Andrews International School, live in Thailand and many of them have never lived abroad, unlike their friends who often have lived, in most cases, in more than two countries. On the other hand, the Thai students are so much in majority (40 percent) compared with other nationalities; that, indeed, this may be the expatriate students who feel like outsiders, especially those Thais students often come from very wealthy families. That said, after what I saw, it seems the Thais students and those from other nationalities mix well, talk and play together, through a family atmosphere which the Head of School, Mr Paul Schofield was able to install. It should also be noted that students from our school have been there at least 5-6 years and feel, with the time, part of a family. The Expatriate students The expatriate students are, in the vast majority, Globally Mobile Children that Eidse and Sichel define as having parents who are educators, international business people, foreign service attaches, missionaries and military personnel. The children shuttle back and forth between nations, languages, cultures and loyalties. They live unrooted childhoods. (2004:1) In our school, most students are from families as described above and I would add, in many cases, their parents work for NGOs or in embassies. These children are also often better adapted to the teaching style of international schools in general. They also learn languages more easily than Thais students due to the fact they have lived in several countries and had to learn local languages each time. The Special Needs students Another important facet of the population of students in our school is the Special Needs students. As our mission statement says, our school is an inclusive school inclusive where all the needs of the individual learner are met and students are inspired to achieve their full potential. We have a Special Needs student population of about 10 percents and we also have in place, a wonderful learning support program for these students, with qualified, dedicated teachers and coordinators for several different Key stages. The Special Needs students are divided into two categories, those with learning difficulties and those with physical problems or syndromes such as autism or Down syndrome. It should also be noted that each student has a Special Needs individual tutor who accompanies them in the mainstream classroom. Our philosophy is that every child has the right to education. At the same time, we must emphasize that to be accredited by a body such as the CIS (Council of International Schools), if accreditation is to be given, that provision is made for the initial identification of the learning needs of students and for the subsequent addressing those needs. Therefore, did the school really have a choice to implement such a program? It is clear that, from the beautiful philosophy of we accept everyone, even if they have learning needs and the reality, that, to be accredited, we must implement a program of Special Needs, there is a gap. The relationship between the two is not very healthy. We think there is a market issue because, nowhere else than St Andrews we can find a school with an inclusive policy. Looking at this, we realize that International Schools, in general, are businesses with the purpose of finding a market and making money. In the case of our school, for the special needs children, it is beneficial, but it is not always the case of other I nternational School focusing on making money and not caring the students well being. With regard to the Gifted Children, St Andrews International School has no program in place, which is, in my view, inconsistent with the mission statement saying that all the students must realize their full potential. How can a student with superior capabilities than others realize its full potential? We have only the differentiation as a tool to work with the brightest students. The transition for students, from one school to another Another area of concern for students in international schools is the transition from one school to another. Regarding our school, unfortunately there is no transitional program for students from other countries or other international schools. Only teachers of these students can help them to integrate successfully into their new environment with techniques inspired by the mission statement: our teachers are fully trained in teaching methods that promote an interactive approach to learning within a stimulating and structured environment where the highest premium is placed on self- discipline and motivation and our children are confident communicators where they realize their full potential in an atmosphere of calm cooperation, tolerance and understanding. The teachers At St Andrews International School, we have a population of teachers around 90 people. From these 90 teachers, 70 are from Great-Britain, six teachers are from New-Zealand and the remaining teachers from Japan, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Thailand etc. The reason there are so many British teachers is certainly related to the fact that St Andrews is a British school, following the British curriculum as well. These Britannic subjects are teaching the core subjects at the school, such as Math, Science, History and Geography while teachers of Japanese, French, and Swiss etc., teach their native languages. All the teachers though, British or from another nationalities must hold at least a Bachelors Degree, a teaching certificate with, usually, a minimum of a two years full-time teaching experience. British International School, British teachers? M. Hayden cites Richards (1998: 174) who highlights a good point about this subject in a passage from a promotional brochure of an international school. He wrote: Over 70 teachers share a broad international experience, coming from such countries as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States. Can we infer from the above, Richards asks, that no teachers are employed (or employable?) from so-called less developed regions of the world? Or merely that advertising such teachers would not be a positive selling point for the school? When Richards says no teachers from developing countries are hired, this is almost true in our school as well, as 80 percent of the teachers are from developed countries. Maybe if the school hired teachers in developing countries, it would not have a good image for the school because it is a British School. We think that one of the reasons is the parents from local families would not appreciate paying an expensive international school instead of a local school for teachers to be hired from less developed countries than theirs. At the same time, it is in contradiction with our philosophy of internationalism to show a good example of tolerance and openness. We teach our students to be people with a global vision of the world, tolerance and a world mindedness, and the school sets a poor example by discriminating against the hiring of teachers, choosing only teachers from so-called developed countries because it looks good. Others will say it is normal for a British school to hire a majority of British teachers and that is what parents expect. Both views can be justified but there should be a right balance between pragmatism and ideology. The expatriate overseas hired, the expatriates locally hired and the host national teachers Another point we want to address here is, at St Andrews, there is no segregation between the expatriate teachers hired overseas and expatriate teachers recruited locally. There is no difference in contract or salary, or extras such as return flights and health insurance, which does not create jealousy among teachers and we think it is a good thing. On the other hand, host country national teachers are paid two times less than teachers from other countries, which sometimes creates a feeling of injustice because they teach the same number of hours as teachers who are expatriates and they are paid less. Again, this is a pity to notice that we, as an International School should promote equality between citizens of the world and, in practice, we do not really do what we say. Some will say that if there was not an advantageous package for those expatriates, they would probably not leave their home country to come to teach abroad, when, for instance, host country national teachers do not ha ve to leave their families behind and the comfort of their own country. So, again, the two views can be justified. The penelopes I just wanted to add that, at St Andrews there are a lot of Penelopes (who have been at the school for more than seven years), as Hardman says they are those teachers who remain faithful to the country they have adopted. I think it is a good thing for the students as a gage of stability, where in some other International Schools in Thailand, teachers cannot stay more than seven years. The induction Speaking about teachers, we must also mention the phase of induction of new teachers when they arrive at an international school. M.Hayden said:  « Any teacher who moves from one school to another within the International Schools system could reasonably expect some form of induction in at least the early stages of a new appointment.  » (2006: 82) Regarding St Andrews International School, the induction is four days. The Head of School spends four whole days with new teachers, explaining all aspects of the school and the culture shock that awaits them from the Thai culture. This allows a smooth start in the new host country. However, the induction is not going further. Never again, ones organizes any meeting with new faculty to ensure that everything goes well. To conclude this point we cite here Hayden who says that The question of how best support new recruits in a new cultural environment is by no means an easy one to answer. (2006:83) The teachers appraisal Dimmock and Walker say Teacher appraisal is a contentious and divisive issue regardless of the context within which it operates (2005: 143). It is true there is no recipe to make a good appraisal, it is a difficult process to implement. At St Andrews, the appraisal system is fairly simple and does not put too much pressure on the shoulders of teachers. Once a year, the head of department comes to visit the classroom for two lessons. At the end of the observation the head gives his feedback to the teacher and they set two targets for the following observation, the year after. The head of school come to observe the teacher once per contract to give his consent for its renewal. The method is simple, do not stress too much the teacher, but at the same time, is it a good tool to evaluate the staff? Coming to observe a lesson and give two targets for next year means that everything else is not important; the teacher will focus only on one aspect of his teaching. The Turnover In our school, the latest statistics, which date back two years and cover a period of five years, show that teachers remain at St Andrews about five years. There are about four to five teachers, from a number of ninety, who leave each year. We think this is a good sign because if a teacher stays five years in a school, we think it shows he is happy to work there. Another factor may be that the teacher cannot find a job elsewhere or he is married to a Thai person and therefore has no choice but to stay at the school, but our experience and discussions with teachers at St Andrews have shown us that teachers are generally very satisfied with working at this place. To be more complete, we should conduct a survey on why teachers stay but it would be difficult to the lack of time. The Administrators At St Andrews, there is a British Head of School who administers the school of a budgetary standpoint and oversees other heads such as the Head of Keystage1, the Head of Keystage 2 and the Head of high school with his Deputy. These people belong to the so-called Senior Management. In the Middle Management, there are the heads of departments. Under the Thai law, the sole Head of School must be a Thai national. This is indeed the case at our school. There is a Thai Head whose role on paper is very different from its role in practice. On paper, she has to take academic and budgetary decisions but in reality she does only take care of the Thai teachers and the Thai curriculum. We find that it is not fair because the law states that a person in charge must be a Thai Head of School. Our school lies on paper to meet the Thai law and to meet the demand of parents who want to see a foreign Head of School. On top of that, the Thai Head is also paid as a local teacher, that is to say, four times less than the foreign Head. The Board Littleford writes Schools with healthy boards do not have crises, and we must agree with him regarding our school. In our school, the board is only composed of a family, Thai and very rich. They are the only ones to make big financial decisions for the school development. They always follow the recommendations of the Head of School and never intervene in the daily running of the school. There never was any crisis between the Board and the Head of School since the inception of the school and we welcome that fact. The Accreditation St Andrews is currently accredited by CIS (the Council of International Schools), the Thai Ministry of Education, and is in the process of being accredited by CFBT. The fact our school is accredited by the Ministry of the host country and by an internationally acclaimed body shows that we are in the standards of international education. We read on the website CFBT Accreditation with CfBT shows that your school demonstrates high standards of student achievement with an effective curriculum, good use of resources, a successful leadership team and strong partnerships with parents. CFBT therefore focuses on quality of student achievement, curriculum and relationships with parents. We may wonder whether the failure to look at the results of pupils is not just elitist. Should not International schools give students a chance to improve? Another aspect that CFBT looks at is the curriculum, which is normal, but they should also look at internationalism, the values, etc. The last point CFBT looks at is the relationship the school has with parents. In our school we have a very active group of parents who organize events of all kinds at school and are much supported by our Head of School. To return to accreditation with CFBT, we feel that our curriculum deputy encourages us to only look at the CFBT criteria to satisfy them. We can therefore ask whether the accreditation system is not a little hypocritical. Yet we do a great job, professionally, but we offer something completely prepared to CFBT, just to satisfy their criteria, which does not seem very ethical or honest. On the other hand, accreditation can be useful tool, to give us the time to reflect on our practices. The English as a Second Language and Mother-Tongue languages English as a Second Language Hayden says: Many International Schools offering an English-Medium education provide language support for non-native speakers of English () the extent and nature of support clearly vary. It is true that in our school, support comes down to putting these students in an ESL class a few times per week, while other students have classes in French or Japanese, and these ESL students follow the rest of the courses in mainstream class where they understand almost nothing. In my old school, Hanoi International School, we had ESL classes and on top of that, for mainstream courses, an ESL support teacher came into class to help students understand the instructions or what the teacher explained. We believe this latter approach is more effective because students receive constant support and feel less stressed towards the English language because there is always someone to help them understand what is said in class. After a while, of course, if the students made significant progress, they join the mainstream class, without any ESL support anymore. Mother-Tongues About the provision of other languages, Murphy is in favor of a greater provision of support for the childs first language in order to support cognitive development in that language, which would make the second language less difficult to acquire (Murphy, 2003: 36-7). That is exactly what our head of School think about the fact that a student cannot have a good cognitive development with a language he does not control at all if he does not master his own language. Children need intellectual development in their own language before they can grow intellectually in a different language. In our school, that is why we have an extensive program of mother-tongue language. It is obvious that such a program is not easy to implement, especially for smaller schools that have limited financial resources. Carder said: There are certainly scheduling and administrative problems in mother-tongue in finding teachers, and financial difficulties about whether to add it to the payroll or to the parents to pay extra. At St Andrews, it is certain that it is not easy to administer the program of mother tongue and foreign language as it creates a lot of clashes in the timetables. It is not easy either to find language teachers for French, Japanese and German in Thailand. From a financial standpoint, the school request parents wishing to enroll their children in the first language program, a supplement to the school fees of about 300 U.S. dollars. This program meets over the years, more and more success because kids love to speak their mother tongue at school, a few hours per week; and parents are reassured that their children can more easily reintegrate school in their home countries if they move back there. Écouter Lire phonà ©tiquement Dictionnaire Afficher le dictionnaire The Curriculum In the world, there are several international schools curricula. The most common are the British connoted IGCSE, and IB which claims to be more international. Before considering in more detail the two mentioned curricula, we will dwell a moment on some definitions of curriculum. Hayden cites Bulman and Jenkins in her book International Education, International Schools and their communities, which describes the curriculum, following three aspects: The academic curriculum or what is formally taught in schools, the pastoral curriculum which includes social skills, study skills, careers and counseling for the hidden curriculum that all these practices are not explicit in the official curriculum, such as teacher-student relationships, the rules in the classroom, the structures rewards etc. We will come back to these aspects later on this chapter. At St. Andrews, the academic curricula are the IGCSE and the IB. Our Head of School says that we teach the IGCSE in the middle school because it gives more importance to academic skills and therefore prepare well for the IB which has an approach to the whole child and preparing students for university and has a globalized world. To corroborate these claims, we will read what the IGCSE and IBO say on their websites: The IBO: On the IBO website, we can read: Our challenging Diploma Programme assessment is recognized by the worlds leading universities. The IB diploma is not recognized in all universities, but by the world leading Universities. Does that mean, as some people think that the IB is elitist? They also write: We encourage international-mindedness in IB students. To do this, we believe that students must first develop an understanding of their own cultural and national identity. All IB students learn a second language and the skills to live and work with others internationally-essential for life in the 21st century. At St Andrews, we encourage students to learn their culture and their first language. We have a large program such as First Language: Japanese, German, French and Thai, which allows these students to stay in touch with their languages and cultures within the international school. On the other hand, we do not provide first language courses for all nationalities, creating a division between the languages called important and others, which results in a risk of partitioning students between important and not important languages, which can cause frustrations. At the same time, all students, without exception, learn a second language. They can choose between Japanese, Chinese (very popular with Thai students), German, French and Thai. The range offered is wide enough for second language courses, allowing students to sample a different culture or language of their choice, enabling them, as stated by the IBO, to live, to communicate, to understand and to work with others, internationally. At St Andrews, we organize an international day, which allows students to see how their friends from other cultures dress (thanks to the international fashion show), what are the typical dishes of other countries (through the international buffet), which languages are spoken, and thus learn to know each other, which leads to some form of international friendship and tolerance. On that matter, we believe that our school reflects well the values of international IBO. On the IBO website we can also read: We encourage a positive attitude to learning by encouraging students to ask challenging questions, to reflect critically, to develop research skills, and to learn how to learn. We encourage community service because we believe that there is more to learning than academic studies alone. The curriculum is, as stated above, child-centered. The child is responsible for their learning, encouraged to ask questions, think critically, research, and to learn how to learn. All this forms the learner profile that the IBO tries to promote. This approach is progressivist, as described in the syllabus. The IBO also encourages community service through the program, CAS (Creativity, Action and Service), since the IBO says that academic studies are not enough and we have to consider educating the child as a whole, it is therefore, without a doubt, different from the IGCSE which just consider the academic side of the learning process. We personally believe that the CAS programme is beneficial for students because it allows them to be more open t