AP US history

You should be very proud of yourself. Prepare o immerse yourself in the great story that is U. S. History. As Mark Twain once wrote, â€Å"Truth Is stranger than fiction, but It Is because fiction Is obliged to suck to possibilities; Truth isn't. Unfortunately, this class will only meet one period a day. Therefore, you are required to do readings and preparation over the summer (see below). Feel free to email me over the summer with any questions or concerns (l will be going away to Europe and Florida so be patient for a reply).Summer Assignment: You will need a copy of Howard Zion's, A People's History of the united States: 1492 – present Directions: 1 . Due on the first day of class: You are required to answer the questions for the assigned chapters. 2. Your response must be typed. 3. This Is an individual assignment. 4. Your answers should be as detailed as the question requires AND you must cite the pages from which you draw your response. Chapter 1 – â€Å"Columb us, the Indians, and Human Progress† 1. According to Zion, what Is his mall purpose for writing A People's History of the United States? . Write down he five most important things Zion says about Columbus and the two most important things Zion says about the writing of history. Chapter 2 – â€Å"Drawing the Color Line† 1. Why were Africans considered â€Å"better† slaves than Indians In Valhalla? 2. How did slavery in Africa differ from slavery in Europe and the Americas? 3. Why did slave 1 OFF poor whites and slaves in a rebellion? Chapter 4 – â€Å"Tyranny is Tyranny' 1. After reading the entire chapter, describe Zion's purpose for the chapter. 2. What myth, associated with â€Å"Common Sense,† has come down from 1776?To what extent is the myth true? (include evidence) 3. Explain the statement: â€Å"Tyranny is Tyranny let it come from whom it may. † Chapter 11 – â€Å"Robber Barons and Rebels† FYI: Chapter 4 and 11 ar e similar in the description of power and a class struggle. Pages 253 – 262 or the reading before the description of schools 1 . Horopito Alger wrote of â€Å"rags to riches† stories and the opportunity for anyone to make a fortune. To what extent did Lager's stories represent fact or to what extent did Lager's stories represent myth? Cite specific evidence to support your position.Pages 262 forward or the reading beginning with the description of schools 2. What do you believe is the purpose of education in today's world? How is your opinion similar to or different from the purpose of education in the years between 1860 and 1900? Cite specific evidence to support your position. 3. Describe the factors (1860- 1900) that led the farmer, the â€Å"backbone of the US economy', to organize against capitalists (industrialists) and government. 4. Explain specific ways that the Farmer's Alliance movement addressed he factors that led to organization.Chapter 17 – †Å"Or Does It Explode? † 1. What is Zion's thesis for this chapter? 2. Describe the mood of the poems that Zion includes in the chapter. 3. Who represented the African American sentiment the most and WHY? Dry. Martin Luther King, Jar. , Malcolm X, or Hue Newton and the Black Panthers. Chapter 18 – â€Å"The Impossible Victory: Vietnam† 1 . Who was responsible for ending the war in Vietnam? The President of the US, the Military, or the war protesters? WHY? Support your answer with evidence!!!

Langston Hughes Essay

Langston Hughes is considered to be one of the most influential writer and poets of his time. His works and masterpieces greatly contributed to the advancement of the Black literature. His journey from a small-time boy into a knowledgeable man is very inspiring. He wrote poems and stories that apparently depict the culture and status of his race. Langston Hughes is a native of Missouri and had a humble beginning. From the start, his writing skills were already very visible but his father wanted him to become an engineer. He soon dropped out and decided to continue his love affair with poetry. Instead, his travels abroad served a great deal of inspiration for his work. When he came back, he moved to New York and became one of the movers in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s. His travels opened his eyes for different culture in the world and at the same time, encompassing his roots. Harlem made a very deep impact on his writing style. Most of his poems are inspired by the blues and jazz era in Harlem that is why many of which is written in rhythmical language and is almost set into music. Furthermore, he also wrote plays and dramas that were staged in New York. His plays touched some taboo topics. But then again, he also founded the first ever Black theater groups in New York. Aside from being a playwright, he was also a contributor for Baltimore Afro-American. In 1929, he received his bachelor’s degree and continued to be a great writer and poet all throughout his generation (â€Å"Langston Hughes (1902-1967)†). Hughes is very influential not just in the African-American literature realm but also to the whole world. During the Harlem Renaissance, he was considered as one of its leading voices. Most of his works revolve around the great deal of discrimination and oppression that many African-American endured during the 1920’s. His poems and short stories mostly reflect the actual state of the society in their time. Through his poems, he was able to express his zealous viewpoints and sociopolitical protests. Most of the characters in his stories are based from a real person that he met while passing time in the many bars in Harlem. Through these characters, he was able to portray people who experiences racism and sexual conflicts. His environment was also a very gigantic influence on his stories, novels and poems. In his stories and essays, one will notice that he tell stories of violence in the south, the street life in Harlem, poverty, injustice, hopelessness and famine. Because of his poems, many politicians regarded him as a Communist but in 1953, he attested to the Senate that he was and never is a Communist. But, as the conscientious artist that he is, he kept his ordinary position and worked very hard to chronicle the experiences of an American black which normally is contrasting the splendor of the soul with the repressive conditions(â€Å"Langston Hughes (1902-1967)†). Hughes was not contented with just being regarded as a good writer. Besides that, what he really wanted was to capture the spirit of the ordinary man. With so much love and regard for his fellowmen and their culture, his specialty revolved around the daily way of life and situations of African Americans. All throughout his life, he exhausted every imaginable form of media just to convey his observations and interpretations into a fine piece of literature. In his lifetime, Langston Hughes was able to achieve no other Black literary figure of his time was able to do. He not only wrote stories and poems but for every literary piece that he finishes, it embodies the dreams, bliss, laughter, rage, sadness and pride that any human feels (Sylvester). One of his earliest essays was entitled â€Å"The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain†. In this essay, he tells about Black artists and poets â€Å"who would surrender racial pride in the name of a false integration. †(Jackson) He reiterated that Black poets and writers preferred to be called poets rather than putting a color adjective before the word. For almost forty years, Langston Hughes became a very prolific writer with over a hundred essays, poems, plays and books under his belt. Even after his last days, Hughes did not give up writing. Instead, he became a professor and lecturer. When he died of cancer in 1967, many people mourned. Even after his death, countless praises were bestowed upon his works and until now, it is considered to be one of the greatest forms of African-American literature in history. Even in another lifetime, Langston Hughes’ life and works is worth looking back. His life inspired countless people to fight for their rights and assert their places in the society. His essays, poems and stories became a medium in which many African-American were able to relate to because they were actually the subject. They saw themselves sin the characters that Hughes created. But more important than the technical contributions that he gave, he is praise-worthy for his courage to step up against the oppressor of their times. His works, particularly his poems depicts the struggles and emotions of the ordinary African-American in1920’s. Furthermore, he is instrumental in the Harlem Renaissance in New York. He became one of the leading purveyors of Harlem art in New York. And through the different forms of media, he was able to convey the message of his fellow African-Americans to the world. Because of his poems, the world became aware of the resistance of the Blacks in America. Additionally, his poems are very straight to the point and simple; but no matter how simple his poems may seem, it does not fall short on its messages. Truly, Langston Hughes deserves to be a part of the African-American culture not just in New York but all over the world not only for his great literary contributions but also as one of the voices in uplifting the image of African-Americans to the world. Reference http://www.redhotjazz.com/hughes.html

Move And Position Individuals In Accordance With Their Plan Of Care

When i work with a client with different conditions, this effects how i support them to move and change positions. A client with dementia who is confused might not understand what we are saying and when we are supporting her to move, so we have to show the client by our actions and take time to do this. Clients with arthritis have to be supported to move gently as they may be in a lot of pain and positioning or moving may be uncomfortable. An individual that has had a stroke might have one arm or leg stronger than the other, so this needs to be taken into account when weight bearing or moving so as to avoid putting pressure on the weak side and resulting in the client falling.Legislation that is relevant includes the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations; this iintroduced the requirement for risk assessments, risks when moving and handling clients must be assessed, acted on and reviewed; also all staff must be trained in moving and handling. The Manual handling Operatio ns Regulations for employers states that they must carry out risk assessments for all moves and reduce the risk of injuries from happening and avoid dangerous moving and handling; the employees' responsibilities include using all equipment as trained to do so, follow all health and safety working practices and putting themselves or other staff at risk, reporting any hazards or risks to their employer.Agreed ways of working mean that employers must have work place policies and procedures for moving and handling; these must be explained to staff and staff provided with training and supervision. it is also important that all employees, read these procedures and if they do not understand they attend training.Before moving or positioning a client, i have to take responsibility for the health and safety of the service user, others and myself and while doing this adhere to the organisational policies in place and meet all health and safety obligations. I only move and positions clients whe re I have had training to do so. I do this by ensuring that I am wearing appropriate clothing and foot wear when I move a client or am supporting them to change position to avoid any risk of being harmed; for example when using a hoist IÂ  must not wear open shoes or sandals.I also make sure that I do a manual risk assessment before performing any move or re-position. I do not use any equipment that I have not been trained to use and I check that there is enough space around me to carry out the move. All equipment needs to be checked that it is working correctly, if a hoist that it is charged, and all equipment must be clean and safe to use. I look out for any obstacles, like loose rugs, clothes and move them to one side. It is important the space around me is clean and comfortable. All moving and handling must not be rushed. Infection control is also important, washing of hands before and after and wearing of PPE according to my workplace policy.I also check with the client their needs and preferences and check this against their plan. I then ask the service user for their agreement before the move and make sure I am using the correct equipment, that the sling and hoist are clean and safe to use and the correct ones for the client; these must then be stored away safely to avoid any accidents or them being used for someone else. Also to take into account is whether the client will keep their arms in the sling or whether they may decide not to or may become anxious when being moved.

Alfred Hitchcock Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Alfred Hitchcock - Essay Example Margot once had a relationship with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), a crime writer for American TV, but broke it off when Mark went to America. The meticulous planning of his wife's murder invariably brings Tony under the spotlight but does not diminish his stature by one iota for the sole reason that he is not desperately trying as someone in his position should do. Tony's diabolical character and the macabre detail of the film make it not only a three dimensional suspense thriller but also a multidimensional critique of upper echelons of the society. German Expressionism and post-modernism could have influenced Hitchcock to a greater extent because he uses a lot of symbolism and mise-en-scene that borders on imaginative handling of the plot. Mise-en-scene is a production technique that enables the director to achieve some of the mood effects through improvisation. Hitchcock's incredible manner of seamlessly integrating the plot and then resolving it by using that uncannily characteristic deus ex machina in the form an untiring intelligent sleuth is obvious throughout the story. Though a number of films were made in keeping with this novel discovery, none of them could match the 'master effect' of it as "Pandora's Box" did. German Expressionism had a big impact on Hollywood by way of influencing some of the big studios to employ German migrs wh o were mostly cinematographers and directors fleeing Nazi rule in Germany.Expressionism, particularly, had a positive effect on horror genre and noir genre - both highly receptive to imaginary influences in design and production. Though the very far fetched features associated with this movement, were gradually rejected, the visual aesthetics of it continue to appeal to generations of film-makers till the present day. The plot thickens here with more suspense being added by Margot's susceptibility and naivety. When Margot is alone at home, Swann the hired would-be assassin sneaks in with a key that's been left for him. Tony calls his wife on the telephone, luring her out of the bedroom, and Swann strangles her with a stocking. But Margot buries a pair of scissors in her killer's back. Through some fancy maneuvering, Tony is able to make it appear that his wife acted against a blackmailer in cold blood. She's arrested and sentenced to death, but a police inspector (John Williams) beg ins to unravel Tony's story. Critics have not spared Hitchcock and his films of their poison pen. We should take a closer look at the Montage technique used in this film. From the 1930s to the 1950s, montage sequences often combined numerous short shots with special optical effects such as fades, dissolves, split screens, double and triple exposures and even music. There were special artistes to assemble these effects other than the director. Hitchcock made use of this technique to achieve a coordinated synthesis between the conveyed impression of a set and the anticipated response of the audience. Critics did not appreciate this technique much. Hitchcock's first American movie, Rebecca (1940), won the Best Picture Academy Award., but in spite of this achievement the critic in "Variety" (March 27, 1940) gave it a bad review. He wrote "Dave Selznick's picture is too tragic and deeply psychological to hit the fancy of wide audience appeal. General

What roles do religions play in Appiahs analysis Essay

What roles do religions play in Appiahs analysis - Essay Example Known to be one of the oldest institutions in the world, the Catholic Church is rich with traditions and beliefs seen through the eyes of devotees. The Catholic Church requires parishioners to attend mass every Sunday and holy days of obligations, such as Christmas, Easter, and Ash Wednesday, among others. We observe a Lenten season which depicts the sacred passion of Jesus Christ. This is a one week celebration of the passion and death of Jesus which culminates on the Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.Another important event is during Advent (the coming of Jesus Christ) which is during Christmas season, depicting the birth of Jesus. This is a happy event which is being anticipated mostly by children. Church services include novena masses at dawn for nine consecutive days ending on December 24. Then, at midnight, Catholic devotees celebrate the midnight mass commemorating the birth of Jesus. All family members gather together after the mass to share a midnight meal an d open gifts given by family members.Devotees of the Catholic religion are also encouraged to confess their sins at least once a year, receive the Eucharist during Holy Communion at least once during Easter season, observe the prescribed days of fasting and of abstinence as established by the Church, and also help provide for the Church's needs. It is my contention that religion is a personal expression of one’s values and beliefs as has been accepted to be part of one’s identity and way of life.

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 47

History - Essay Example With his power, he ran a strict government that was the first in the form fortified behind the great wall china, which was built by his directive (â€Å"Qin Shi Huangdi: The First Emperor of China†). On the other hand, the leadership of Augustus used integration of power and authority to lead his subject. To conquer the world in his era, Augustus used power where he forced his subjects and conquered nations to fight in order to achieve peace. This was his doctrine, pax romana, that the only way to achieve peace was to assert his power upon the world through military victory (â€Å"Qin Shihuangdi, Caesar Augustus and Jesus†). However, the authoritative phase followed the creation of a new world order that was based on morality and military superiority. From this moral superiority stemmed from commitment to marriage and family thus, he coerced his subject through marriage laws to stamp out immorality (â€Å"Qin Shihuangdi, Caesar Augustus and Jesus†). Through this, both authority and power seem to work for the good of the

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 34

Essay Example This study will focus on one nation, the Iroquois, as a prime example. The Iroquois people, who called themselves Haudenosaunee envisioned their Nation as being one giant family. In truth they created a governing body that was a family of nations. The name, Haudenosaunee, which is used to refer to this Iroquois nation, means literally, "People of the Longhouse." They built long houses that were large structures creating a long hall and became the meeting place for local and distant chieftains and other dignitaries to speak, make laws, give announcements, etc. Some of these structures were hundreds of feet long for meeting of all the nations, while single villages’ were less than fifty feet in length. However, the width and height of longhouses varied only slightly. Haudenosaunee longhouses were usually between twenty and thirty feet wide and the apex of their roofs were generally between eighteen to twenty feet high. The true center of longhouse family relationships revolved around the fireside family. (Johnson, 2003, p. 12) In fact their many c enturies old culture may have actually been the first congress of democracy in the America’s long before the Declaration of Independence or the United States Constitution. The Iroquois Nation was bound together by what is probably the worlds first constitution, known as the Gayanashagowa (Great Law of Peace). They are also touted as being the first true participatory democracy on the planet. (Benner, 2005, p. 32) They formed a United Nations among themselves. While our very recent constitution states that â€Å"all men are created equal,† in practice if certain people have something you need and do not want to give it up, then suddenly they are no longer people, savages and not men, but animals. While there had always been many disputes over the Native American, the Iroquois would find that in 1785 New York and its then Governor, George Clinton, along with a company called The New York Genesee

Preparation of Business Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Preparation of Business Plan - Assignment Example However, it is possible for more successes to be reached in new entrants because the target segments of customers in the travel agency market in Singapore vary a lot. By focusing on some potential business opportunities witnessed in the Singaporean tourist market, business investors can expect to achieve pleasing business successes. The name of the travel agency to be started is Enjoy life to the fullest. As is indicated in the words included in the name of the travel agency to be started in Singapore, the major values proposed for operating the businesses are facilitating in the process for people to enjoy their life as much as possible by going on interesting trips to the different tourist attractions in Singapore. Instead of passively following the arrangements made by the travel agency in the form of tour trips, the travel agency to be started will emphasize on the participation of the tourists in making an optimal tourist plan for achieving their expected tourist purposes in Singapore. Under the competitive business environment of the travel agency industry sector in the current times, inspiring the tourists to take part in the process of making the practical and detailed tourist plans would enable the customers to enjoy their trips to their selected tourist attractions on more occasions. The competitive a dvantages of the travel agency to be started in this business plan will be expected to be improved compared with the business rivals in the Singaporean tourist market.   In addition to that, the travel agency to be started in Singapore will also focus on providing more considerate services to cater for the needs of reaching smooth communication in the process of offering tourist services for the customers from different countries. Interpreters that can speed different languages used in different countries of the world will be employed as service staffs to help reach a smooth communication with the tourists from different places of the world. That

Space International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Space International - Essay Example Between June 27 and July 5, 2014, Webmasters carried out a usability test on the publicly available Space website in Mexico, at the main usability test lab at Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as well as the Webmasters offices. The sessions at Webmaster’s offices provided the required geographic range to the test crew of Space participants; this similar test procedure was used for all the participants.  Between June 27 and July 5, 2014, Webmasters carried out a usability test on the publicly available Space website in Mexico, at the main usability test lab at Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as well as the Webmasters offices. The sessions at Webmaster’s offices provided the required geographic range to the test crew of Space participants; this similar test procedure was used for all the participants.  The functionality tests were majorly based on task cases obtained from Space’s past knowledge of the website’s main purpose and relevant end-user needs. W ebmasters came up with each activity to assess end-user’s ability to easily maneuver around the interface and be able to understand the kinds of information associated with each major areas of the site content.  Basically, Webmasters conducted the usability test to avail answers to some of the following questions:†¢ How well does the new Space website convey a sense of the type of content that users may expect whenever they explore the new Space’s internet sites? It is always essential to use modern technology by upgrading organization system to meet and satisfy user needs (NORLIN & WINTERS, 2001).  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Does the new Space website wide navigation and organization ensure effective and efficient access to the relevant content?†¢ How well do users get to understand the meaning of links, site instructions, and labels?†¢ What groups do end users create whenever clustering functions according to discerned similarity?  

Annotated Bibliography-Terence Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Annotated Bibliography-Terence - Coursework Example It is work done by McMurtrey that was published at the University of Central Arkansas. The information contained suggests that there is a difference in the use of digital data between the older generation and the young generation. In fact, the gap is widening which is such a concern to many researchers. The article provides avenues for other studies as to establish as to what criteria can be used to make them adopt the technology. The review involved past studies that enabled comparison easier while the methodology was limited to surveys that were in line with other research. It is significant on how the number of the elderly individuals is increasing, and yet the manufacturers cannot take the upcoming opportunities. Osman, Z., Poulson, D., & Nicolle, C. (2005). Introducing computers and the internet to older users: Findings from the care OnLine project. Universal Access in the Information Society, 4(1), 16-23. doi:10.1007/s10209-005-0111-8 This is an article by Osman and the core. It provides various computers to selected households of the old generation and determines their experiences with the use of services on the internet and various websites. This coincided to the gaps existing on the usability of the computers by the old generation. The peer-reviewed paper nonetheless does not offer space for other studies and provides analysis based on the research findings. The literature review used case studies to provide an in-depth overview of the paper. Research methods used is interviews to determine their experiences with computers and were common to all the researchers. It is important on how persons are concerned with the elderly generation to become literate on computer usage. It is an article by Paurasama and Colby published at the research gate. The report shows how technology advancements can be used to spread the knowledge to

Computing security exam question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computing security exam question - Essay Example PKI provides a powerful and robust environment to ensure security of consumer interests, transactions, and information. Stephen Wilson states that â€Å"It is well known that PKI’s successes have mostly been in closed schemes†. This paper will seek to assess and analyze the effectiveness of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a schema that provides high level of security and confidentiality for Internet users that seek to engage in online transactions and e-commerce. It enables information and monetary transactions to be conducted in a safe and secure manner. A digital certificate is issued in order to recognize individuals and organizations. PKI utilizes public and private keys over the Internet in order to ensure high levels of authentication and privacy. The Internet presents valuable business opportunities for individuals and organization, but it also causes safety and veracity problems (Carlisle, 1999). PKI helps to provide supplementary levels of safety and veracity for online business transactions and e-commerce. The rapid growth of the Internet pushed the need for high levels of trust, confidentiality, and security. Several companies began to design security algorithms and protocols in order to ensure safe and secure transactions. Netscape designed the SSL proto col which allowed the use of digital certificates and security algorithms for safe business transactions over the Internet. PKI was dubbed to the ultimate security protocol and mechanism in the 1990s. A number of vendors began to operate in the environment seeking to create standards and procedures. However the hype over PKI was over by the start of the twenty first century as vendors began to register technical and operational problems over its implementation. The rapid proliferation of the Internet during the 1990s also raised concern about conviction and

Balanced score cards Essay Example for Free

Balanced score cards Essay Scorecards are more like performance graphs utilized to monitor progress toward attaining goals. Scorecards typically show monthly snaps of summarized information for business managers who monitor long-term and strategic objectives or weekly and daily snapshots of information for executives who need to graph the progress of their team of project toward attaining goals. In Orange Ltd, the data is fairly summarized so consumers can observe their performance standing at a glimpse. Scorecards make use of visual graphs and charts to show performance condition, variance against goals, and trends. However, most scorecards in Orange Ltd contain a great deal of textual commentary that deduces performance outcomes, describes action taken, and projects future outcomes (Ishikawa, 1976). 1. 1. 1 Dash Boards Dashboards are just like automobile dashboards. They enable operational experts and their managers monitor activities generated by core business procedures. But unlike automobiles, most company dashboards display no real times for activities, as they happen; they display them in right time, as customers need to see them. Dashboards mostly show performance visually, by use of simple graphs or charts, such as meters and gauges. However, dashboard charts are mostly updated in place making the chart to change dynamically (Genichi, 1998). 2. 0 Conclusions Many news headlines concerning the poor quality of IT projects illustrate that quality is a big issue. Some mission-vital IT systems have resulted to deaths, and quality complications in many company systems have lead to major financial crisis. Clients are at the end responsible for defining quality. Significant quality approaches include conforming to requirements, delivering products that are fit for use, and satisfying implied or stated stakeholder requirements. Project quality management involves performing quality assurance, planning quality, and performing quality control. Quality planning singles out quality standards relevant to the project and how to satisfy them. Quality control involves tracking specific project outcomes to ensure that they conform to quality standards and also identifying methods to enhance general quality. There are many techniques and tools linked to project quality management. The seven common tools of measuring quality are: control charts, scatter diagrams, run charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, histograms, flow charts, and Pareto charts. Many people contributed to the creation of current quality management. Juran, Ishikawa, Taguchi, and Crosby all made vital contributions to the sector. Many firms today utilize their ideas, which also influenced balanced scorecards, spider charts, and dashboards. There is much room for enhancing IT project quality. Well founded leadership aids emphasize the significance of quality. References Crosby, K. (1979). Leadership for Quality: An Executive Handbook, NY: Free Press. Foster, S. (2004). Managing Quality: An Integrative Approach, 2nd ED. NJ: Prentice Hall. Genichi, J. (1998). Planning for Quality in IT firms, NY: Free Press. Ishikawa, K. (1976). Guide to Quality Control, Asian Productivity Organization, Tokyo 1976. Juran, J. Frank, M. (2002). Juran’s Quality Control Handbook, 4th Ed. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill Book Co. Juran, J. (1992). Juran on Quality by Design: The New Steps for Planning Quality into Goods Services, NY: Free Press. Kathy, S. (2008). Information Technology Project Management, NY: Free Press. Taguchi, M. (2004). Quality Control Handbook, 4th Ed. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill Co.

Grocery market in UK

Grocery market in UK INTRODUCTION It is a fact that the last couple of years most of the industry and service sectors worldwide have lost their reliability on customers confidence. Fortunately, lately there have been some significant efforts by some industries mainly with the help of their major players (larger companies), to get back to the game. The industry sector that we are going to analyse is the food industry retailing in the United Kingdom. In order to help the simple reader to have a taste of what are the situations that occur inside the sector, we will provide some significant informations about the size of the sector, the general activities taking place in it, statistics and forecasts and generally as many informations as we can to help him understand whats happening inside the sector. Size of the grocery market in UK The calendar year 2009, the grocery markets value was  £146.3bn, an increase of 4.8% concerning 2008. For every  £1 of food and grocery expenditure , 52p goes for retail accounts for in every . 21p in every  £1 spent in food grocery is spent in convenience stores. Number of grocery stores in the UK The number of grocery stores in UK is 92,796. There are split into four main sectors, which are defined as followed : 1. Convenience stores: These are stores with less than 3.000 sq ft sales area. They are open for many hours during the day and their selling products that have at least eight different grocery categories, (e.g Co-operative Group, Londis, SPAR). Traditional retail: These stores have less than 3,000 sq ft sales area.This includes newsagents (selling confectionary, newspapers and tobacco), specialist off-licences,specialist grocers, food specialists (chains of bakers, health foods,butchers, etc.) and independent specialists. Hypermarket, supermarkets superstores: In this category, we have the Supermarkets which have sales area of 3,000-25,000 sq ft ,Superstores with sales area over 25,000 sq ft and Hypermarkets with over 60,000 sq ft sales area. All of them are selling a broad range and a variety of mainly grocery items. Non-food products are also sold in those stores (eg Tesco, Asda). Online channel: Here we have the category of sales via internet. We must mention the fact that approximately 70% of sales are made in superstores and supermarkets. The remainder majority is accounted by convenience retailing, with traditional small retailers that account for only 7% of sales. Table 1 provides a breakdown by category. Table 1 UK Grocery Retail Sales by Category, 2009 value % food and drink  £ 91.6 bn 62.6 % tobacco  £ 16 bn 11 % non-food grocery  £ 23.5 bn 16.1 % non-grocery  £ 15.2 bn 10.3 % Total retail sales through UK grocery outlets  £ 146.3 bn source: IGD Grocery Retailing 2009 As we can see from table 1, food and drink are by far the category that is consumed more by the public. What is really interesting and for that reason we provide Table 2 is the increase of non-food grocery category by the amount of  £6.5 bn (38%) from 2005 to 2009. It is also very important the fact that there has been a general increase of the total retail sales through UK grocery outlets by 21% in that period of time. UK Grocery Retail Sales by Category, 2005 value % food and drink  £ 78 bn 65 % tobacco  £ 12 bn 10 % non-food grocery  £ 17 bn 14 % non-grocery  £ 12 bn 10 % Total retail sales through UK grocery outlets  £ 120 bn source: IGD Grocery Retailing 2005 Value of sales Continuing the above, we add the fact that through grocery, outlets have increased by 3% per annum in real terms over the last 10 years. This growth reflects rising non-grocery sales and higher average spend (i.e. better quality or ‘premium food, more convenience purchasing etc). UK Grocery Market Performance Grocery market performance. Source: IGD Research 2009 As we can observe from the diagram above, year by year there has been an improvement on the UKs Grocery Market Performance. Some of the multiple reasons that we present here is first the fact that demand and technological trends have reinforced each other. Larger stores with a wider product variety and range have encouraged customers to make larger and less frequent shops. Also, the technological improvements (i.e. checkout scanning, stock control, longer shelf-lives, fresh produce) have further reduced the costs and attracted consumers. Loyalty card schemes have indeed given retailers a new insight into consumer preferences as well as managed to enable them to get more involved into product development. Aggregate Market Share The diagram below shows the larger groceries in UK, according to their share in the domestic market. Tesco currently has a steadily and commanding increasing of slightly more than 30 % share of the non-convenience grocery market in the UK. During the 1990s, Sainsbury and Tesco enjoyed analogous market shares (of 20 to 25 %), however Sainsbury has lost a lot of ground since. Number of employees Employment in food drink retailing exceeded the number 1.2 million of employees in December 2009. This number aproaches almost 5 % of the employees in the UK. Over 60 % of the employees were either part-time or female employees (45 % were both female as well as part-time occupied). Profit Margins Supermarket profit margins range typically between 2% and 6%. According to Food Industry News, (just-food.com, 2010), the beginning of 2010 for the UK grocery retailing group were much improved in comparison with last year. More accurately, there was a 4% rise on grocery sales in relationship with 2009. Group revenue from ABFs (Assosiated British Foods) continuing businesses was 17% ahead of the same period last year. The matrix below shows the sales and the profit margins for the year 2009 for the UK retailers. source: DTI Added Value Scoreboard 2009 Forecast Circumstances look set to remain really challenging for retail throughout 2010. Verdict is forecasting growth of just 1.3% for 2010, the second smallest growth rate, following 2009. Verdict is predicting a low growth in retail sector over the next couple of years, as the impact of the recession continue to be felt by customers. Food inflation continues to ease in Q1 2010, at 1.7%, compared to 8.9% in the same period a year ago. Inflationary pressures are subsiding due to falling commodity prices, less seasonal price fluctuations and price competition within the sector. In fact, we are forecasting food inflation of 1.9% for the year, down from 4.4% in 2009. Major Challenges Establishing an Online Grocery One of the major challenges that food retailing industry is dealing with nowadays is the online grocery market. The Internet grocery market is an extension of the home-shopping philosophy. It is a sector that has already demonstrated considerable growth and that promises further substantial increases in the future. Online grocery sales in the UK are expected to double by 2014, according to researchby industry analystsIGD (just-food.com, 2010). Internet sales across many product sectors have achieved and continue to achieve high annual growth rates in the UK. Indeed, consumers passion for and propensity towards purchasing items online show no sign of abating. Last year, 13% of adults shopped online for groceries an increase of 63% on 2008, according to the IGD data. UK consumers will spend GBP7.2bn on food and grocery shopping online by 2014, nearly double the figure for 2009, IGD supports. For retailers, the online option provides a new channel through which to sell their products, display a wide range of items to their customers and develop their share of what continues to be one of the fa stest-growing sectors of the grocery market. Internet grocery, offers to the consumer, a variety of options and a number of advantages: It enables them to view a wide range of products, to compare prices and to arrange delivery at a convenient time. From the moment that these options and these benefits are appeared to the consuming public, a necessity is created for the food retailing sector and more specific for the large supermarkets to respond to this major challenge. The Internet or online grocery market in the UK is dominated by four of the UKs major supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Waitrose and by a fifth supplier, Ocado, which is a warehouse-based online operation and a partner distributor to Waitrose. Outside of these five major suppliers, the market is mainly populated by a wide range of niche, specialised retailers, many of which offer products that are not always available in the major supermarkets. Apart from the five leading online suppliers, no other supermarket chain in the UK operates in the online grocery market not even Morrisons, which is the fourth-largest supermarket chain by market share. The way UKs retailing sector and its marketers are responding to this major challenge, is -as we have just mentioned- by setting in the front line its Supermarket and hypermarket chains to create a profitable and competitive online grocery. Tesco, leading the online offers in the domestic market, provides a variety of benefits that the customer-member can enjoy. Visiting the companys site (www.tesco.com) we can find not only everything that is related with food-product variety and prices, but also a number of other services (non-food) like books and entertainment, clothing, mobiles and a number of banking and insurance services as well. This way, the consumer can be informed about any price of the product that he is interested on buying and calculate the exact total amount of money needed for his/her supermarket expenses, rather than making an off-hand calculation in the duration of his/her shopping. Also, the non-food services create the feeling of a complete market in which the con sumer can find almost everything. A similar approach is been followed by the other supermarkets too. Another innovative way that the British grocery has invented is the club-card. This card is provided to every customer-member of a specific supermarket, either by registering online or by simply asking to the supermarket to provide him/her one when he/she visits the supermarket for shopping. That way, every time the consumer buys a product, a small amount of money is been credited in his account with the form of points, and after a predetermined period of time -when a number of points is collected-, a letter arrives to his address informing him that he can exchange the number of points with a number of products depended on his decision (i.e. a voucher of 10 pounds for consuming products), or with a number of gifts that the supermarket has decided to provide (i.e. a T.V. set for each consumption of products, valued above 500 pounds ). Home delivery, is another very important benefit of services that the online grocery provides. Throughout a wide variety of products that the consumer can find on the web-site of every online grocery, he can order the desirable products and have them home delivered in an exchange of a small amount of money (usually 4-5 pounds). That way he can save a lot of time from going to the supermarket, waiting in the queue and carry all those bugs to his house. In addition, exclusive research commissioned for this report showed that 17.8% of all respondents purchased groceries via the Internet at least once in a year, with 3.8% making online purchases at least once a week and a further 2.4% making them two or three times a month. One in 20 respondents said they purchased groceries online once a month. However, almost a third of those who said they bought groceries via the Internet agreed that, due to the recession, they had reduced the amount they usually spent on online grocery purchases. The recent focus of the five major online grocers has seen them expand their distribution networks, improve their stock availability levels and enhance the functionality of their websites. However, in the current recession, other factors are now being given more attention particularly price competition between the sites, which is becoming increasingly important. In addition, environmental issues have become more significant. For example, the leading suppliers have introduced measures to reduce the number of plastic bags used for home-delivered orders and to use more fuel-efficient delivery vehicles. As at December 2008, the UK had the fifth-highest number of broadband subscriptions among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of countries (and the third-largest number among the European OECD countries). These high broadband connection rates have enabled the UK to become a leading centre for online sales in general, and for online sales of grocery products in particular. Plans have been outlined to construct a super-fast broadband network across the UK, and this should in turn allow the online grocers to develop new website designs and technologies in order to take advantage of such developments. Key Note forecasts that in the 5 years up to 2013, the UK Internet grocery market will continue to demonstrate high annual rates of market expansion and to account for an increasing proportion of grocery sales overall. The value of the Internet grocery market is projected to more than double by 2013, compared with the size of the market in 2008. Promoting Sales of Healthy Brands Another great challenge for the British food retailing sector -in order to maintain its position, its good reputation but also to increase it is to promote the sales of healthy strong brands. But what is a healthy strong brand and what are the key points for the marketers for energizing a healthy brand? A healthy and strong brand generates more results than just bigger sales. It sustains a product over time through consistency and excellent communication, providing at the same time value to its target customers. It is based on a proposition of genuine substance and value to the target customer. It wins, builds and retains customer loyalty and also maintains its relevance over time by evolving in response to changing customer expectations and perceptions. It creates a competitive advantage, increases the profitability of the business and also it is consistent with the business strategy. It provides a protective for growth strategies but also tries and most of the times succeeds to become a barrier for new entrants or substitutes to the market. Ways of succeeding some of the above goals we are providing to the following paragraphs. Trust is one of the drivers of brand credibility. Its an intangible that overrides the importance of any product, service or experience. Yet, as we have mentioned in the beginning (the latest years most of the industry and service sectors worldwide have lost their reliability on customers confidence), trust has eroded. In order for a company to gain customer trust is first of all to be simple and dont give great promises that could be proved untrue or impossible to be realised. Of course every promise must be kept. Going forward, trust is growing in importance, to become one of the most important and sustainable competitive advantages an organisation can own. If a brand and its marketers follow that strategy combining with being close to the customers, the long term affects could be unpredictably well. Adding value to the brand is in our opinion also a major factor to the sales promotion of a healthy brand and in order to achieve this we need what we call innovation. Imagining and creating new value requires seeing what others dont. In a food retailing sector, innovation could be achieved either by influencing or shaping the companys vision, or to inspire to come up with a new business concept, an entirely new venture, or a new brand. vale edo mia kainotomia ton supermarket morrisson. Other innovative ways could also be the addition of a new product, service or experience for a certain customer segment or the effort to speak the language of those consumers already â€Å"living† a trend so they can produce new products adjusted to the new trends and needs. The goal of any organisation is to create sustainable competitive differentiation, by providing to customers what they value and want in ways that others cant. One way to beat competition, according to Kim and Mauborgne in their book Blue Ocean Strategy, is to stop trying to beat the competition. Instead, create uncontested market space to create and capture new demand. Thereby, the competition becomes irrelevant. The classic example of creating a blue ocean (referenced in their book) is Cirque du Soleil. From a group of 20 street performers in 1984, Cirque is now a major artistic entertainment company delighting almost 90 million spectators a year. The company looked at traditional circus acts like Ringling Brothers and transformed them into â€Å"Broadway meets artistic music and dance† experiences. While increasing customer value and ticket prices, they simultaneously eliminated the largest cost items of the circus, including the star performers and animal shows. This is an extremely good example of how health brand marketers managed to create an uncontested market space. Finally, we can support that the more you know about your customers as real people looking beyond their obvious needs to their hopes, dreams, fears and challenges the more you can help them achieve. In return, you will have customers who become enthusiastic fans of your organisation. The most significant method that should be used to achieve this is through the social media and its ways. Social media has really changed the way brands are connecting with their customers. More and more companies are starting to realize the value of social media and are quickly adapting this new form of communication. However in order to have a successful social media strategy, it is important to have an internal culture that is ready to accept and learn. Some effective ways to achieve social media method are the following: 1.Internal engagement. Internal engagement gives employees, the ones who power your brand, the chance to shine. One of the best examples is Best Buy Connect. Best Buy has been a brand at the forefront of social media, using blogs, social networking tools, forums, and video to build brand awareness and keep consumers up-to-date with Best Buy News. Best Buy has given people a platform to share and discuss technology and tech-related products. In this platform, someone can find â€Å"Product Discussions† and discuss topics like Computers, TV, Gaming, Appliances, Audio, Cameras, iPods, Mobile Devices and more. They also have a section for â€Å"Customer Service†, â€Å"Reward Points†, and â€Å"Meet the Moderators†; who by the way take the time to make sure the forum is a stimulating environment where there are valuable conversations. 2. Collaboration. Another very important technique is to create mechanisms for customers to influence your products and services. The best example here is Dells IdeaStorm. Through this innovative website-idea of Dell the visitors-customers of the website can view all the posted ideas from the community, post their ideas for Dell products or services, promote or demote ideas by voting, or seen their ideas become a reality by sending them to authorised people of the company who examine them and if there are eligible they make them true. By surfing a little bit on the web-site, we found some amazing informations like that people who where participating to this web-site have contributed 11,790 ideas, theyve posted 84,546 comments and the site has been promoted 667,054 times. Most important, Dell has implemented 337 ideas based on customer input.This web-site provides a real contact with the customer. It is a web-site where everybodys ideas reign. 3. Authenticity. Hear we provide an excellent example where Mayo Clinic (One of the best clinics in the USA) keep their customers (old people in this specific example) happy by buying them a piano. In the video that we are referencing, someone can really see the happiness on their faces when the old couple is playing the piano. 4. Feedback. Some companies lately have created a site that really communicates with the customers. An expert daily replies to a number of customers through twitter or other similar methods where he really helps them with any kind of problems that they have or answer to any possible question. ComcastCares is a very good example to describe such a situation. 5. Participation. My Starbucks Idea is a web-site that Starbucks has created where they have pursuit their customers that they know better than anyone else what they want from Starbucks. There, people are able to share their ideas, express what they think of other peoples ideas and join the discussions. Finally experiences (create new ways of delivering experiences that fit with their lifestyles), conduit (allowing customers to share with each other through you rather than driven by you) and sharing (allow customers to share their ratings) are some supplementary methods that can be considered as effective ways to achieve social media method. Summary-Conclusion As we have seen so far, there has been a significant effort with a variety of ways -by the food retailing sector in Britain- to attract their customer confidence again. In our opinion, the approach that overrules every other method is the fact that the new strategy includes the customer as a real part of the organisation or the sector. This new era, sets the customer in the top of the pyramid making him the one who takes the basic decisions of what he really needs and giving then the green light to the companies to make it true. When people feel like they matter to the company, and when you engage them in ways they value and want, theyll matter more about you. This way, company and customers are acting no more individually and rivalry to each other. On the contrary, they move hand by hand on the same side of the river trying to accomplish the best outcome for both of them. Once again, the forecast predicts rise tade% until 2015 Finally, if the online grocery continuous this way, it will give more push to the top

Literature Review On Skills For Life Education Essay

Literature Review On Skills For Life Education Essay Introduction The importance of the education sector of any country lies in its ability to meet the production demands of its economy. The shaping of traditional education (where students are passive learners), for example, was mostly done at a time where the Government needed the mass to conform to the decisions of the elites (Botsford, 1993), who were the ones to be able to access the best form of learning, which the mass could not reach, irrespective of their abilities (Kelly, 2004). As the needs of the society changed, so did the educational system. From the DFEE report (Department for Education and Employment, 2001), a need for an improvement in basic skills has been identified, hence the document Skills for Life. The Leitch Review (2006) also reinforces the need of the UK society to meet the demand of higher level skills in the job market. This report analyses the impact of the Skills for Life (SFL) document on the curriculum that I am teaching (Postgraduate Diploma in the Lifelong Learning Sector- DTLLS). It is developed in the following manner: A literature review on SFL An evaluation of the curriculum design model being implemented and the impact of SFL on the curriculum The above mentioned impact is also evaluated via the analysis of interviews carried out with the Awarding Body and a College representative and a questionnaire filled by the students in the course of an activity conducted in a session on Skills for Life and the extent to which as a teacher I can influence the curriculum and hence the DTLLS programme itself. Literature Review on Skills for Life Policies are introduced to solve issues identified. The Skills for Life (Department for Education and Employment, DFEE, 2001) endeavour was an attempt by the Government of that time to maximise the earning capacity of citizens by increasing the levels of their essential skills including literacy, and numeracy. The then Secretary of State, Mr D. Blunkett (DFEE, 2001) stated that there were, shockingly, seven million Britons who did not know how to read and write and use numbers. These skills are important throughout an individuals life hence the name Skills for Life. The document discusses on how illiteracy can affect a person physically and emotionally in terms of not being able to do certain tasks by himself/herself, which, consequently, can affect his/her self confidence. The vision expressed in this document is the eradiation of illiteracy and low numeracy skills, (DFEE, 2001). The DFEE proposed to achieve such targets by introducing national standards for numeracy and literacy, assessment tools that will diagnose the exact areas to be improved, and resources to support this endeavour. The department also suggested the training of teachers as specialist in these domains (literacy and numeracy) and promoting and motivating the involvement of learners and those who can support their learning process. This will undoubtedly require quite an effort because it not only means improving the levels of those who have already passed through the formal education pe riod but also ensuring that those who are still in that period do not face the same problems in terms of their functional skills (literacy, numeracy and ICT). One of the major influences of this project is the Moser Report (DFEE, 1999) which is based on research such as It Doesnt Get Any Better. The impact of poor basic skills on the lives of 37 year olds by Parsons and Bynner (1997) and Skills for Life national needs and impact surveys (2003) carried out by the DFES (Department for Education and Skills). Literacy and numeracy levels can be classified from Pre Entry to Level 2 and above (Pre Entry, Entry level 1 to 3, Level 1 and Level 2 and above). Basic skills have sub elements, for example literacy has reading, writing, speaking and listening (The Sector Skills Council for Lifelong Learning, LLUK, 2007). The overall level of a learner will be determined by what they achieve in each of these sub areas. Parsons and Bynner (1997) found a relationship between low levels of literacy and numeracy and many social issues that the learners faced. Such a link is quite obvious because if a person is not able to read and count adequately, he/she wi ll not be confident in social interaction. A solution was put forward in the form of the Leitch Review (2006) where one of the main arguments was that Britain was losing ground in terms of the academic strength of its population compared to countries such as India and China. Another point that I quite agree with is that the educational system of the country should produce individuals with the qualifications which are being demanded by the job market. Therefore if there is a need for increased levels of functional skills, this is the area where the educational investment should be poured. These findings concurred with the survey, conducted by the DFES, which mentioned low levels of literacy and numeracy (2003). The reasons suggested for the lower levels were the social and economic background of the individuals, the extent to which they stayed in education and whether English is their first language or not. The last factor is obvious in my teaching practice. I teach international students for whom low literacy level (English) proves to be a barrier in the achievement of their course. These students are studying a Postgraduate Diploma in the Lifelong Learning Sector, after which they aspire to gain a Qualified Teacher Status in the Lifelong Learning Sector, teaching adult learners. Despite being highly literate in their native language, they find it difficult to critically analyse concepts (an essential skill at their level of studies) due to their low English level. This is where the importance, of the impact of the Skills or Life policy on the programme that I am currently teaching, is apparent. Because of the embedding of strategies to improve the student-teachers functional skills (which are the skills promoted by the policy) the language barrier that they face during this course is being addressed by the curriculum being taught. Over the years, the meaning of the term curriculum has evolved specially with the development of the perceived purpose of education. Thus, there are various types of curriculum identified, among which the learner focused curriculum (Brown, 2003) predominates learning in the institution where I teach. Right from the start of the learning journey of a student, we carry out an initial assessment to identify the needs of that learner and to formulate their individual goals with regards to the course. The delivery and assessment of the curriculum are then shaped bearing in mind the information obtained from these initial and any subsequent assessments done thereafter. Based on the course specifications which are provided by the Awarding Body, I have prepared the curriculum of the course that I teach: Postgraduate Diploma for Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS). During this process, I had to incorporate the requirements of Skills for Life through embedding literacy, numeracy and ICT. The Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) an independent organisation providing guidance to educational stakeholders about the developments in this sector- elaborates on how the learners needs, with regards to their functional skills, can be addressed (Lawton and Turnbull for the Sector Skills Council for lifelong learning on behalf of LLUK,2007). Guidance is given with regards to every aspect of the teaching and learning process namely the resources used, the classroom environment, the teaching and learning approaches and communication strategies. The logic behind embedding these skills is that no matter what a student is learning, he/she will be developing his/he r skills for life, be it knowingly or unknowingly For example by using presentations, the learner will not only be demonstrating knowledge about the topic but also will be improving his/her speaking and listening skills. From the very start of the learning process, therefore, the principles of the Skills for Life project are embedded: the initial assessment process includes a skills test so that their learning plan can include improvement of such skills (for example combining their main courses with a skill course depending on where their need lies). Therefore, developing a curriculum with the principles of the SFL project concurs with the constructivist approach (Bruner, 1960)-which involves constructing learning adopted by my institution. Thus the impact of the SFL principles on the curriculum relevant to my practice has caused it to improve. But investing in skills is not always an applauded endeavour. Investing in human capital has been from long the priority of the Government. There has been a link pointed out between educational background of individuals and their social and economical success. Investment in learning in the 21st Centrury is the equivalent of investment in the machinery and technical innovation that was essential to the first great industrial revolution (DFEE, 1997a, pp.15, cited in Coffield, 1999) I would agree with Coffields (1999) argument that focussing on the Human Capital Theory (HCT) enables politicians to overlook other factors which could have contributed towards the economic status of individuals. Karabel and Harsley (1997) further criticised this theory saying that it puts the blame of being poor on the poor! Investing in human capital does seem to be profitable for the population. But as Levin and Kelley (1997) pointed out, this theory does not state where the individuals will go after being educated if there is no job market for them. Being given that the investment has already been done, the best we can hope for is that it has been profitable. When any policy is suggested and implemented by the Government, I feel the urgency of trying to find its political implications. In an article in the Guardian, Kingston (2006) quotes Mr. Wells (the then Director of the Basic Skills Agency) as criticising the Labour Government for exaggerating the number of adults in the UK who cannot read and write to make their task seem more successful. Vignoles (cited by the Press Association, 2009) further argued that trying to develop literacy skills at an adult age might not be effective because such skills are more easily developed at an early age. Personally, I do not believe that more difficulty teaching adults language is reason enough to completely eradicate the benefits that such a project brought to many individuals: improved chances in terms of job seeking, more confidence, a better social life, among others. Even if the Gover nment may have a hidden agenda for starting the Skills for Life project, the focus brought on these skills have enabled educationalists to give even more weight to their learner-centred approach in designing their respective curricula around very crucial needs of the learners- Basic Skills. This leads us to the analysis of the impact of the SFL policy on the curriculum I teach. Implications of the policy for curriculum change and pedagogy There is much debate about what is to be called a curriculum. With the shift of focus from the teacher to the learner, curriculum is moving away from being just content to be completed during a time period syllabus- and more of a learner centred approach (Dolence,2003; Coles, 2003). For the purpose of this report, Wojtczaks (2002) definition will be adopted. According to him, curriculum is An educational plan that spells out which goals and objectives should be achieved, which topics should be covered and which methods are to be used for learning, teaching and evaluation. (Wojtczak, 2002, pp 6) Therefore, the construction of a curriculum can start from its objectives, its content and the methods used to teach. If Tylers (1949) four questions with regards to curriculum design are considered, another approach of curriculum models can be added namely evaluation (Kelly, 2004). The curriculum I use is designed from the Lifelong Learning teacher training programme. The key driver of the curriculum set by the Awarding Body is the assessment criteria. As the teacher trainer I derive the outcomes to be achieved from the assessment criteria and the content set by the Awarding Body. This is done by discussing the assessment criteria and how to achieve them as a class exercise with the student-teachers at the start of a Unit. The rationale behind this is that if the students are shown what they need to achieve from the start, the learning journey becomes easier. The teaching and learning methods and formative (or ongoing) assessment tools are developed from the outcomes with close adaptation with regards to the learners targeted (in line with being learner focused) whereas the summative assessment is set by the Awarding Body. It is important to note that wherever the starting point of a curriculum design may be, it will have to use the four approaches identified by Tyler (1949). For example, although I designed the curriculum for Lifelong Learning for my College by forming objectives from the assessment criteria, I still need to adhere to the content expected and apply the appropriate teaching methods. At this point it is important that I differentiate between the Unit aims provided by the Awarding Body and the learning objectives that I derive with my learners which are based on the assessment criteria. The learning objectives formed with the learners are more detailed than the aims prescribed by the Awarding Body  [1]  . Since they are formed by the learners (guided by the teacher trainer), they understand better the reasons for these outcomes and thus are able to take control of their learning process (Knowles, 1984). It is also important to differentiate between the prescriptions provided by the Awarding Body and the curriculum that I design for my student-teachers. For the purpose of this part of the report, the curriculum to be analysed will be what I design in terms of a long term plan of how the assessment criteria set will be achieved (the teaching methods, activities, the assessment techniques and resources to be used). The manner in which I build up my sessions is thus objective based (firstly because the assessment criteria set by the Awarding Body act as general objectives and secondly because I derive specific objectives to be achieved with my students) which can be said to be very precise and scientific (Kelly, 2004). As Bobbitt (1918; cited by Kelly, 2004) stated, the learners are more focused in terms of what they need to complete to achieve the certificate. Building a curriculum from objectives has been criticised by Kelly (2004) as assuming passive learning. The learning goals seem to be more extrinsic. This is closer to the behaviourist approach to learning where the learners are moulded to achieve goals, which most of the time, are derived for them. Szasz (1991) strongly criticised such an approach to education stating that humans, unlike animals, need to have intrinsic motives to learn. If Kellys (2004) thinking is considered, one might have the impression that this curriculum is closer to training as opposed to education. According to him, training is very focused on what knowledge is to be gained and does not consider the students at all. But this is where the combination approach to curriculum design comes as a rectifying tool. Although the curriculum starts with objectives (based on assessment criteria), I can adapt the learning journey of my student-teachers through the teaching and learning methods that I use  [2]  which include embedding the requirements of SFL. The curriculum content for the DTLLS programme was introduced after the SFL project. When this project came to be put in place, it has, thus, affected the curriculum that I utilise in two ways. Firstly, SFL amplified the skills required as teachers to include minimum core areas. Secondly, the teachers had to learn skills to embed these minimum core subjects- literacy, language, numeracy and ICT- in their teaching strategies. These two aspects are linked because to be able to address the needs of learners, teachers must have an adequate level of these skills themselves  [3]  . Every Unit of the teacher training programme has opportunities for the student-teachers to improve their own functional skills. This will enable them to be in a better position to identify the SFL needs of their learners and adapt their teaching strategies accordingly. Therefore, each part of the curriculum has to reflect SFL in these two aspects: developing the student-teachers own minimum core skills and equipping them with the ability to develop those of their students. Taking Wojtczaks (2002) definition of curriculum, SFL will have to be reflected in: the goals and objectives to be achieved the methods to be used in the teaching and learning process The above will again be in two folds: as a student-teacher and as a future educator, that is, the improvement of the student-teachers own SFL and his/her ability to embed the minimum core subjects in his/her teaching. To be able to start this teacher training, the student-teachers have to have a level 2 in Literacy and Numeracy. This is conducted, using the skills test, which was developed by the Secretary of State in 1999, following the Green Paper published by the Department for Education and Employment (DFEE) in 1998 on improving skills of teachers (Blunkett,1998). Thus, right from the start of their learning journey (Lawton and Turnbull for the Sector Skills Council for lifelong learning on behalf of LLUK,2007), the student-teachers feel the impact that these skills mentioned in the SFL policy will have on their teaching and also their learning processes. The Individual Learning Plan of the student-teachers then will contain individual objectives to be achieved in terms of their functional skills. The goals are negotiated in line with the principles of Androgogy (Knowles, 1984) as part of my motivation strategy. With regards to the teaching methods, with each Unit of the DTLLS programme, as the teacher educator, I had to make sure that the improvement of these skills was being encouraged. This was done by encouraging more group discussions and presentations and, more recently, by including a literature review hour where the student-teachers will be discussing on the articles and books that they have recently read. These will not only improve their communication and discussion skills and develop their research skills (which are crucial for the professional development of a teacher) but also will enable them to construct learning in line with the principles of social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978; Bruner,1986, 1990, 1996). Although great emphasis is not made on Numeracy Skills in this teacher training programme (unless the specialist area of the student-teacher is related to numbers such as science and mathematics), there are aspects of these skills which, as a teacher educator, I can develop in my learners. Part of the continuous professional development of the student-teachers is being able to evaluate their own skills. In the second part of the training programme, the student-teachers learn to represent data in a simple graphical manner to be able to interpret the extent of success or a particular teaching method. If such exercises are carried our frequently, the student-teachers improved numeracy skills will enable them to better explain their continuous professional development. Another important aspect proposed by the SFL project is computer skills, which the majority of the student-teachers lack. In the current age, where learners are digital natives  [4]  (Garrison and Anderson, 2003), future teachers cannot afford to be below average in ICT  [5]  skills. Their responsibilities include not only to improve the ICT skills of learners who are not in tune with their peers but also to challenge the skills of the digital natives. The curriculum has thus to comprise of strategies such as use of computers for research and presentation purposes  [6]  . During the completion of the teacher training programme, the student- teachers have to build up their teaching (planning and delivery) and assessment strategies. For each of the strategy developed, they need to demonstrate how they will embed the principles suggested by the SFL project. When embedding these principles in teaching my student-teachers, I am also giving them ideas which they themselves can use in their own teaching practice. It is to be noted, however, that their embedding strategies have to be specific to their own specialist area. The SFL endeavour has thus influenced the teacher training programme to a very large extent. Not only do the student-teachers need to develop their own skills as part of their Continuous Professional Development, but they need to create and/or adapt ways to improve the skills of their learners. Thus the curriculum that they have to follow as learners (and I have to follow as their educator) has to promote the development of their functional skills, be it in terms of the goals to be achieved or the methods and resources to be used. As future teachers, they need to be well equipped with regards to their own SFL to be able to facilitate the learning process of their learners. The purpose of this research is to ascertain the impact of the Skills for Life policy on the curriculum that I teach. After reviewing the literature on the topic and an initial analysis of the SFL policy on the DTLLS programme (which affects the curriculum I build for my teaching), I wanted to analyse the views of three main stakeholders of the College- the department executive, the students and the External Verifier from the Awarding Body- on the matter. Evaluate curriculum changes resulting from the policy / research document. Because of the individualised nature of collecting opinions, a quantitative approach to data collection and analysis will be quite useless (Miles and Hubermans, 1994). Moreover it is the depth and meaning of the data which I am after and therefore a qualitative direction seems to be more appropriate (Bryman, 2001). The data collection tool chosen for this purpose is semi structured interview (Appendix A). Semi structured interviews combine the benefits of structured and unstructured ones. They not only provide the interviewee with the freedom of expressing his/her views in detail (which is required to obtain a deeper understanding of the opinion given), but also, with the questions set by the interviewer, the discussion is more focused on the relevant topic (Horton, Macve and Struyven, 2004). Instead of hindering my conclusion, the subjective nature of this tool (Bryman, 2001) will, hopefully, provide new ideas about the project. Because it is also very specific to the curriculum that I teach, the issue of inability to generalise the results (Bryman, 2001) will also not arise. The third stakeholder to be questioned will be the student-teachers. A session will be conducted on Skills for Life (Appendix F) after which the student-teachers will be asked to work in groups to fill the questionnaires (Appendix B). To ensure confidentiality (Bryman, 2001), the names of the stakeholders will not be disclosed. The results of these two approaches are analysed below. The student-teachers seem to grasp the impact of the SFL policy on the DTLLS programme and even identified the aspects of the programme which develop their own basic skills. As one of the groups mentioned the objectives that they have to achieve have been affected by the SFL policy in that they have to Embed minimum core subjects in the curriculum (Extracts from questionnaires, Appendix D). On the other hand, both the External Verifier and the Vice Principal of the College described the link between SFL and DTLLS programme quite similarly in terms of development of the student-teachers own skills and embedding strategies that he/she has to implement to develop that of his/her students (Appendix C). As the Vice Principal suggests: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ DTLLS students have, to apart from a select group of specialists who do are not involved in SfL, consider SfL as a key focus for all their work. Approaches to delivering DTLLS therefore have to be adapted to achieve SfL requirements (Extract from transcript, Appendix C) I quite agree with both of them that the programme as it stands, although it does offer resources and teaching methods that reflect SFL principles, can still be improved. Offering an optional module which is specific to SFL instead of the fragmented state it is now (as the Vice Principal states) will provide the student-teachers with unique skills that are very much in demand in the education market. As mentioned before, the DTLLS programme came after the SFL policy. However, had there not been this policy, the programme would not have included the minimum core requirements as it does now. The impact that the SFL policy has on the DTLLS programme will inevitably affect the curriculum used to deliver it. This leads us to the evaluation of the curriculum built on the basis of the assessment criteria and general objectives prescribed by the Awarding Body. The first aspect to be analysed is the purpose of the evaluation. Most evaluations done are to determine the extent to which set objectives are being met (Tyler, 1949; Kelly, 2004), that is summative evaluation. However, a more meaningful evaluation would be one which assesses the objectives themselves. As Kelly (2004) states, curriculum should be subject to continuous evaluation as an essential element of continuous change and development (pp 36). This leads to the next issue which is choosing a model of curriculum evaluation. According to Kelly (2004), this should match the curriculum model adopted, otherwise the criteria of evaluation will not reflect the purposes of the planners or the teachers (pp 139). The DTLLS curriculum that I developed is based on a combination of the four perspectives proposed by Tyler (1949) with objectives as starting point  [7]  . But if I use an objective model of curriculum evaluation, it will not serve my purpose as it will only identify success or failure of achieving the objectives set (Kelly, 2004). According to MacDonald, a more holistic approach would be assessing the projects impact on the educational system and the types of evaluation problems which the impact would throw up (1973, pp 83 cited by Kelly, 2004, pp 142). As mentioned before, the curriculum is designed on the basis of the outcomes derived from the assessment criteria set by the Awarding Body. This enables the student-teachers to be focused on what is to be completed to achieve the Units. But one of the consequences of such an approach is a decreased possibility of achieving unintended (but potentially beneficial) outcomes. Although the student-teachers do have to attain a certain level in the minimum core subjects (similar to SFL), if they are already at that level there is no incentive to improve them further (since there are no specified needs to do so in the curriculum). Developing SFL is often drowned in the achievement of the multitude of other objectives to be achieved. Having said that, with the embedding strategies -where the student-teachers learn to develop the minimum core subjects of their own students- the picture is more promising. This is because the focus is then on developing these skills. But the extent to which my curriculum evaluation will be considered by the Awarding Body is questionable. If we take the interview carried out with the EV (Appendix C), when I was discussing about agreeing a date for the interview, she initially did not see a link between SFL and DTLLS, To be quite honest with you Shaivi, at first I thought that there was no direct link. Basic Skills is what it saysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..basic. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But if we analyse it deeper, we can see that one of the requirements for teachers on the programme is to have a level 2 in literacy, numeracy and ICT. (Extract from transcript, Appendix C) After I explained my project and my point of view, she agreed with me and hence the interview was much more useful. The Vice Principals suggestion that SFL delivery techniques should be added as an optional module to the curriculum as the next cycle of improvement is valid because this will increase the marketability of the award. But, although the External Verifier shared his views, from our experience in terms of suggestions we made, it is doubtful that she will take it on board and suggest it to her institution. Thus as a curriculum developer, although I can certainly build up outcomes which will further improve the minimum core levels of my student-teachers, the extent to which I can influence the curriculum development is restricted. This brings us to the argument that the External Awarding Body still has a very strong hold on what is important in terms of delivery and assessment. The extent to which they will consult the Delivery Centres (such as my College) to determine or assess what is to be delivered is quasi nil, that is their own evaluation of the DTLLS programme and resulting curriculum seem to be more autocratic (Mac Donald, 1975, pp 133, cited by Kelly, 2004). A more democratic approach to curriculum evaluation (where the teachers are involved) would have served the purpose of meaningful continuous curriculum development (Kelly, 2004). If we were to measure how stringent the Awarding Body is with regards to the four perspectives of curriculum identified by Tyler (1949)-Appendix E- we can see that assessment has a medium level of stringency since we can choose the evidence linked to practice to be included in the portfolio from a set list. The same is with the specific objectives which we can form on the basis of the assessment criteria set by the Body, which is thus the key driver of the curriculum. The only way that the curricula will differentiate in different centres is through the delivery methods being used and the objectives to be set (which is however based on the assessment criteria set by the Awarding Body). Centralised control (Kelly, 2004) is apparent over the content of the curriculum. This also demonstrates how the programme is driven by its assessment process (Kelly, 2004). Any method or activity used is geared towards the final portfolio of evidence of achievement of learning (based on the assessment criteria set by the Awarding Body). The DTLLS programme, although very specific to the age group the student-teachers are being trained to teach, have similar outcomes to the other programmes on the market (Postgraduate Certificate in Education for Post Compulsary Education) with regards to strategies of embedding basic skills. Because the student-teachers are mostly international, they have specific timeframes within which they have to complete the programme. Therefore, they do not have time to explore the topics in dept

The Role of Hamartia in Oedipus the King Essay -- Oedipus the King Oed

The Role of Hamartia in Oedipus the King Literary tragedy has roots that extend two and a half millennia into the past, but throughout this history the genre's defining characteristics have remained the same. At the very core of tragedy lies an uncertainty over the cause of the tragic predicament. The leading candidate for an explanation of this cause often comes under the name of hamartia, a Greek word that translates into "a defect in character", "an error" or "a mistake." However, the most common conception (or misconception) of this notion is that it involves "a moral or intellectual weakness," a view that often leads scholars to regard hamartia as the answer to questions of tragic flaw. Care must be taken in making this assumption since no element in tragedy bears easy explanation and since the exact nature of hamartia itself is impossible to pinpoint.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In this spirit of uncertainty and as Aristotle's conception of the "ideal" tragedy, Oedipus the King revolves around just such an elusive "why". This play, like all tragedies, defies our notions of cause and effect--no single action or fault of the hero could have rightly vaulted him into the intense shame of incest and patricide. In the incessant search for what could have created this downfall, one line of thought gives responsibility for Oedipus' story to the heavy hand of destiny. If this theory is to be believed, his entire life can be viewed as a confirmation of a prophesized fate, much as a reading of the text is a fulfillment of the story we already know. Whether a prewritten destiny dictated the king's actions, or whether he earned this destiny with the faulted life foreseen by the gods, an analysis of Oedipus' behaviors may suggest why he was forced to f... ...sible to call Oedipus' faults an object of Sophocles' exploration. Perhaps, too, the great tragedian sought to illustrate the consequence of such behaviors by associating them with a doomed individual. Though it is difficult to imagine Sophocles offering an Aesop-like lesson, the Greek tragedies always served a civic function to the audience that gathered to view them. Thus it may be reasonable to believe that this drama meant to illuminate the faults that could lead to downfall in the ancient world, and even to caution against them. The unpredictable influences destiny and divinity surely played a role in Oedipus' decline, but just as significant a contribution to the tragic predicament came from his own failings. Works Cited: Sophocles. â€Å"Oedipus the King.† The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston. Bedford/St. Martin’s. 1999.

24 Hour Society :: Economics

24 Hour Society Objective 2 Â · What is the 24 hour society? Â · Describe the growing 24 hour society? Â · In special detail explain the reason for the growing number of E-commerce and 24 hour supermarkets and specialised stores? Analysis of main elements of the system. These days extended working hours are not uncommon. The 24 Hour Society is one in which certain activities are performed around the clock. The old saying "there is a time and a place for everything" no longer holds true. This trend is partly driven by the levels of convenience demanded by consumers, but also enabled by changes in legislation and the increasing opportunities provided by technological innovation. GRAPH When using the library I will look in books with the most relevancies to my objectives, for instance I would want to look up why shops decided to become E-commerce and not just lists of E-commerce shops although this could also be partly relevant. Using the Internet will be very difficult for this case study, the reason for this is because if you search using the keyword 'E-commerce', '24 hour' or '24 hour society' many of the results will be just online shops with out information of the reasons they become E-commerce, however some other reports published on the 24 hour society might be useful. Interviews will also be quite hard but not impossible. It is not easy to find someone who has an active role in E-commerce businesses this is because of the 'junk' on the Internet. Detailed research plan. Visit County Library Using Library search engine input "24 hour society" and other variables Note down the placement number of the section Go to that section and collect books that seem most relevant Scan through books and look for information on the 24 hour society Mark places in books with bookmarks Check out the books and take them home for heavier research Find a computer with Internet access Go to a search engine such as http://www.google.com / http://www.yahoo.com / http://www.ask.co.uk Type in the key work '24 hour society' Scan through search results for relevant sites If sites are too general try using bouillon commands such as '+', 'AND' or 'NOT' From results copy relevant information in to a word processing program such as Microsoft Word and edit it down in to useful points Save and print Find a person with information you would like to here from him/her Ask if you could record the conversation to write the report Ask the person the questions and push for a detailed response

Swot Analysis of Jollibee Foods Corporation

Introduction Jollibee Foods Corporation Company Background Tony Tan Cacktiong founder of Jollibee Foods Corporation tells a story about the success story of his company. There are many other stories about Tan and Jollibee that many people didn’t know about, and that would have remained unknown, If Tan hadn’t bested successful entrepreneurs from 30 other countries to win the â€Å"World entrepreneur of the year† Award in Montecarlo, Monaco, on May 28, 2004. Tan had always been low-key and media-shy.He was quiet happy to let his lieutenants do the talking for him to the press, actually – but his winning the award from the accounting firm Ernst & Young had forced him to agree to so many newspaper, magazine, and TV interviews later to tell them the story about the Jollibee story. After all it was he who won the award – not any of his lieutenants. Still, if Tan had always been reticent about telling the Jollibee story beyond his immediate circle of frien ds and acquaintances, he had been equally reticent-if not more so-about revealing his personal history to the outside world. This reticence comes from humility.Unlike many corporate leaders who trace their lineage to wealthy Chinese clans, and who had studied in the more prestigious schools, Tan had comparably very humble beginnings, with his family exactly mirroring the stark circumstances in which the early Chinese immigrants found themselves in Manila. His father had been an immigrant cook in Binondo’s Seng Guan Buddhist Temple on Narra Street before he opened a small Chinese restaurant in Davao City, where Tan and his siblings helped clean tables and get water to customers. It was his experience in his father’s restaurant that set Tan and his siblings on the road to entrepreneurship.In 1975, when he was set to graduate as a chemical engineer at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Tan and his family pooled P350, 000 to open 2 Magnolia ice cream parlors: Cubao I ce Cream House near the Coronet Theater, in the middle-class shopping area of Quezon city, and Quiapo Ice Cream House under the Quezon Bridge in Quiapo, Manila. The siblings themselves manned the cash registers and served as waiters. After two years, the siblings began serving chicken and hamburger sandwhiches, and in 1978, when they already had six ice cream parlors, they decided to convert their stores into hamburger restaurants and called the chain Jollibee.By that time McDonald’s entered the market in 1982, Tan was already entertaining dreams of growing the business outside the Philippines, and was neither interested in getting a McDonald’s franchise nor afraid of competing with the U. S. giant. Tan found McDonald’s very good at everything, but he thought it would not find favor with the customers because it served bland food (though McDonald’s has since started serving chicken, spaghetti and other great tasting value meals).McDonalds didn’t kn ow the culture like the Tan’s did, and they used that knowledge to advantage to thrive and eventually become the Philippines’ top fast-food chain. Paulino cheng, a Jollibee franchisee in Greenhills, San Juan, says the fast food chain owes it success to its great tasting food and its advertising campaigns extolling the brand and its mascot as part of the Filipino pop culture. Indeed, with affiliates Chowking, Greenwhich and Delifrance, the Jollibee group now counts over a thousand outlets here and abroad, 50, 000 employees and about P30 billion to 50 billion annual sales.Tan’s success in transforming Jollibee into a Filipino icon has led many entrepreneurs to dream about following in his footsteps, and analysts to heap praise on his entrepreneurial and people skills. Ernst & Young’s chairman, James S. Turley, has called his story â€Å"a truly inspirational one. † Howard Stevenson, professor of entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School, descri bes Jollibee as a success story â€Å"based on solid foundations, not a meteor that will burn itself out. Says Lance Gokongwei, president of JG Summit Holdings: The success of Jollibee can be attributed to good leadership, vision and corporate culture. Company Logo Company’s Trademark Jollibee is known for its trademark: â€Å"BEEDA AND SARAP! † Proposed Picture Capital According to Mr. Chaze the service manager of Jollibee Foods Corporation at Dasmarinas Central Mall as I’ve made an interview with him, he said that before you enter this kind of business you have to consider so many facts to be able to have a business franchise like this.First you should have the enough capital of franchising this company raging from 30 million to 50 million pesos. Second fact is that, the company will take a look at your proposed location or best to say that they will make an ocular inspection on where you plan to put up the business to check out if it will have a great amount of customer, and the last one and the most important fact to consider is that the company will take a look at your income or budget and to your other properties to see if it will fit or will be able to raise or support the franchise when crisis came.The 4 P’s of the Business Product As history tells about Jollibee, It was once an ice cream parlor before, until the time that Tan and his family came to see the opportunity to come up with new products to serve. On 1977, they began selling chicken and hamburger sandwiches, and in 1978 the family of Tan decided to convert their 6 ice cream parlors into hamburger restaurants. As time came by, after all the successful years of Jollibee, In this new generation, they were widely known for their best selling products the â€Å"chicken joy†, and the Jollibee’s hamburger which is also known as the â€Å"Yumburger†.Tony Tan Cacktiong used his knowledge of Filipino taste and culture to turn Jollibee into a true Filipi no icon. Place One of the important factors to consider before you can have this kind of business is the place or location, before you can say that this spot is best for the location of your franchise you should ask these question, â€Å"who are the target customers in this site? †, â€Å"what are the possible threats in this location? †, â€Å"Who are the competitors in this area? †, â€Å"Is the place suitable for the kind of business I will establish?Or vice versa†, If you are able to answer all of these presiding questions then you are now on your road to survival in establishing a business. Of course in minding your four P’s, the place is the most critical among the four. You have to consider everything. According to Mr. Chaze, you have to make sure that the place where your business franchise will be built should be in a very crowdy place. Given the examples are near the schools, malls, market place, subdivisions and etc. Price Franchisees ar e given the right to use the franchiser’s trademark in franchising.Then franchisers are providing full support to franchisees in terms of staff training, research and development, advertising and promotion. However, franchisees follow strict standards and run their outlets by the book. So in terms of pricing, franchisees needs to abide the rules and regulations in price setting according to the book of rules of the company. If the company changes their price on the products, so will the franchisees be. Overall, the prices in all Jollibee stores are based on the main office of the company. PromotionIn terms of promotion, the Jollibee foods corporation promotes their products through advertising in TV commercials and radio stations, Sponsorship, tarpaulins, and promo’s like tipid cards. If they have new offers in purchasing their product, they made it through personal or suggestive selling. Like their latest offer now the â€Å"happy plus card†, this card is a rel oadable card wherein you can buy their product without paying cash. You can also earn points for rewards. The bigger points you have, the bigger reward you may get. SWOT Strengths of the company 7-Eleven convenience storeCompany History The 7-eleven chain of stores started when an ice dock operator in Dallas, Texas began selling bread, milk and eggs to customers on Sundays and evenings-when grocery stores were closed- apart from the ice blocks they bought to keep in their boxes at home. The idea for the convenience store chain began in 1927 at the Southland Ice Company in Dallas, Texas. 7-elevens first outlet was known as tote’m stores because the customers â€Å"toted† away their purchases (some even lugged Alaskan totem poles in front The name 7-eleven originated in 1946; when the stores were open from 7a. . to 11 p. m. It wasn’t long before 7-eleven stores were open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Company logo Company Trademark 7-eleven is known for it†™s gulp and Slurpee products. It is open 24/7. Capital In getting a franchise of a 7-eleven store, you should have at least a starting capital of 5 million to 10 million, this is only for the name of the company. For the stocks, you should have an another million for sustaining the needs of your store in order to meet also the needs of the customers.