What Drive Individuals to Commit Crime

Every crime is the result of individual, physical and social conditions. (Ferri, 1893). In â€Å"Thinking seriously about crime† Jock Young described crime as â€Å"a product of the undersocialisation of the individual. This can be a result of (a) an innate genetic or physiological incapacity of the individual to be easily socialised; (b) a family background which was ineffective in the use of socialisation techniques in its child-rearing practices; (c) a social setting which lacked coherent and consistent consensual values†. This statement nicely introduces this essay, as all the main aspects that lead people in to crime will be discussed. Drugs are constantly the issue of intense government and political debate. Drugs and Alcohol are major factors in why people commit crime. An individual may be dealing in drugs to make money; they may commit crimes to feed their habit or they may just use drugs for recreational use. All these are practices are illegal. In the United States of America the number of inmates and prisoners has more than tripled since 1980. Four out of every five got there with the help of drugs and alcohol, says a report released by the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The report says: Of 1.7 million prisoners in 1996, 1.4 million had violated drug or alcohol laws. They had been under the influence when they committed their crimes, they had stolen to support their habit or had a history of drug or alcohol abuse that led them to commit crimes. In â€Å"The Drugs-Crime Connection† John Ball discusses the criminality of heroin addicts. â€Å"There is a general agreement among criminologists that an increase in criminality commonly occurs following the onset of heroin addiction†. Ball goes on to present the results of a survey conducted on a large group of heroin addicts and their activities whilst on and off heroin. The results are quite significant and clearly show that more crimes were committed whilst on heroin. It is important to note that most of the crimes reported were for theft and that drug use or possession was not classified as a crime. This is hardly surprising. Drug addiction is expensive. But have these people been propelled in to crime or are they committing crime by their own choice? It was most likely that they chose to take heroin but eventually could not come off it. They were then forced, because of their addiction, to go out and commit crime. So in a way they were propelled in to committing crime. But the question should be asked: What propelled them in to taking drugs? Are individuals who grow up or live in poverty propelled in to committing crime? It is certain that individuals who live in poverty are more prone to committing crime than individuals who live in opulence. Comparing crime figures for different areas will clearly show that. But do individuals who live in poverty only commit crime for financial gain? The fact that money is not in abundance is not a just reason to commit crime. There are many people who live in less privileged areas that do not commit crime. So what is the main reason why a person will commit crime? An Individuals† upbringing surely plays the most significant part in determining how they will turn out in life. An article published by Reuters in 1998 discussed the effects absent fathers had on children: â€Å"Sons with absent fathers are more likely to be jailed†. When a father is not present in the home, his son is twice as likely to end up in jail, according to a new study by Cynthia Harper of the University of Pennsylvania and Sara S. McLanahan of Princeton University. Tracking a sample of 6,000 males ages 14 to 22 from 1979 to 1993, the sociologists also found that even after accounting for differences due to race, income and education: The boys who grow up with a stepfather in the home were â€Å"more at risk than those with an absent father, with roughly three times greater risk of incarceration than those who live with both their parents†. Young men whose parents divorce during their adolescence were â€Å"roughly one and a half times as likely to wind up in jail as children from intact families† — faring slightly better than boys who were born to single mothers. While whites have lower rates of father absenteeism than blacks, white youths whose families split are at a higher risk of incarceration than their black peers. The presence of live-in grandparents in households without fathers â€Å"appears to help improve youths' chances of avoiding incarceration†, the study found. The lack of a decent role model in a childs† upbringing can cause many problems. When a child is growing up he/she needs discipline. They need to know what is right and what is wrong. Discipline is best administered by both parents and not just the mother. The statistic above clearly show how detrimental an absent father is to a child but other homes have fathers who, although present, did not nurture their children, or provide basic instruction on establishing healthy boundaries. Child abuse is found in families at every income. It is much more common at the lower income levels. Children who grow up in violent homes tend to use violence when they become adults in marriage and as parents. Each generation directly affects its descendants and indirectly influences later generations in the same family line. If a child grew up in an abusive household and later went on to commit violent crime, would his upbringing be a major factor? From the evidence presented here it can be concluded that an individuals† upbringing has a significant influence on their life. So an individual can be propelled in to crime. But perhaps he/she still has to be a certain type of person? Can people be born bad? The possibility that genetic research might identify genes for criminal Tendencies† has stimulated intense controversy. Media interest in the case of Stephen Thomas Mobley in which a ‘genetic defence† was pursued, together with News coverage of a conference in London in 1995 on ‘The Genetics of Criminal and Antisocial Behaviour†, brought the question of a link between genetics and Criminal behaviour to wide public attention. Mobley was convicted in February 1994 of the murder of John Collins and sentenced to death. Inspired by patterns of aggression in the Mobley family tree, his lawyers attempted to put together a genetic defence, not in hope of an acquittal, but to try to have the sentence reduced from death to life imprisonment (Mobley vs. The State 1995). The defence claims that there is a pattern of aggression and business success in Mobley†s ancestry that suggests a relevant genetic underlying for his criminal behaviour. In Mobley†s case the jury rejected the genetic defence. Whatever the merits of that particular case, might the findings of Behavioural Genetics provide any grounds for a legal defence? Since then a steady output of Newspaper articles and television documentaries have reflected continuing interest and concern over the suggestion that criminals might be born, not made. The nature/nurture debate rages on in many channels, but amongst psychologists and geneticists it is largely resolved that both are important. There are two possible theses of Genetic Determinism. Firstly there is ‘Weak Genetic Determinism† which suggests genetics has a role in the causation of a range of Behavioural and/or personality traits, such as aggression, dominance and IQ which are relevant to criminality. Secondly there is ‘Strong Genetic Determinism† which suggests genetics is a causally sufficient condition (under normal circumstances) for a range of behavioural and/or personality traits that Lead to criminality. But can an individuals genes lead to a life in crime? Are they the main contributing factor? Weak genetic determinism seems to be the more plausible theory. Strong genetic determinism would suggest that there exists something like a â€Å"Murderer gene† or a â€Å"Bank robber gene†. We clearly know this not to be true. We would then see a more even spread of crime throughout the nation if this were so. The premise that genes contribute towards persons† outcome in life can be accepted. If an individual has genes which make them highly aggressive then that person would be more prone to violent situations than a person whose genes make them a less aggressive person. The same would apply to IQ and dominance. However, it is sensible to say that not enough is known about genetics to make these theories solid fact but enough is known to show that genes can influence a person when certain situations exist. It is therefore safe to conclude that an individual is not propelled in to crime because of his genes, they can only influence him. This essay has looked at many possible reasons why individuals are propelled in to committing crime. We know that individuals† upbringing is clearly a large factor in determining an individuals† outcome in life. When an individual is being brought up he/she are taught what is right and wrong by their parents. The data shown in this essay clearly shows the detrimental effect that absent parents have on a child. The possibility that genetics plays a key role in the reasons why people commit crime has been looked at. It is safe to say that most likely, individuals are not propelled in to crime because they were â€Å"born bad†. It is also safe to say that not enough is known about genetics to present a concrete conclusion on the matter. From the data shown we know that when people are on drugs such as heroin, they will commit crime. Most individuals commit crime of their own accord. Whether they had a poor upbringing, they live in a â€Å"problem area†, are on drugs or have â€Å"criminal genes† they still commit crimes for personal gain. They are not propelled in to committing anything.

Diction, Syntax and Imagery Essay

Have you ever listened to a young child talk? I mean really listened? They don’t sound like a teenager or an adult, do they? In Eleven, Sandra Cisneros uses different techniques to help Rachel’s age come out in her speech and thoughts. Diction, syntax and imagery help the reader to better interpret Rachel’s youthful thoughts and feelings. Sandra’s use of diction helps the reader understand how Rachel is feeling when she is accused of the sweater belonging to her. â€Å"†¦She sees I’ve shoved the red sweater to the tippy-tip corner of my desk†¦all over the edge like a waterfall†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Cisneros 20) Not many adults would say â€Å"tippy-tip†, so the use of the phrase helps get Rachel’s point across. Rachel’s youthful tone is shown through this choice of words. â€Å"†¦The sweater is still sitting there like a big red mountain†¦not mine, not mine, not mine.† Cisneros’s use of repetition here helps show how upset Rachel actually is. This helps show the youthful tone in her sadness. The use of diction throughout the story helps the reader comprehend Rachel’s sadness and embarrassment when the sweater is put onto her desk. The use of syntax in Eleven helps you see the youthful voice in Rachel’s thoughts. â€Å"Not mine, not mine, not mine, not mine.† (Cisneros 20) The short, repetitiveness shows the quick thinking of a child. It’s easy to see this small argumentative line coming from an eleven year old in comparison to a fifteen year old or a thirty year old even. â€Å" – Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one -†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Cisneros 20) The continuous counting could be seen as a child counting down on its fingers. This is a way of showing the youthfulness in Rachel’s thoughts. Sandra Cisneros’s uses of syntax make it easier for you to notice Rachel’s youthfulness throughout the story. Sandra’s use of imagery also helps you see the youthful tone throughout Eleven. â€Å"My face all hot and spit coming out of my mouth because I can’t stop the little animal noises from coming out of my mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Cisneros 21) This example from the text makes it easy to picture a young girl being this  flustered. It makes it makes it easier to see Rachel sitting there becoming more and more overwhelmed and upset. â€Å"†¦And it’s hanging all over the edge like a waterfall, but I don’t care.† (Cisneros 20) Cisneros’s use of imagery here helps the reader see just how far Rachel is going to prove that the sweater isn’t hers. It gives a more youthful vibe to the story with this use of imagery to help show the reader how she is feeling. There are several examples of imagery throughout Eleven that help show a more youthful tone. Age is very important in stories, and how the author presents the age is important as well. Young children and adults have such different opinions and vocabularies and ideas. Using different techniques such as proper diction, syntax and imagery help define a characters youthful voice, and help the reader have a better understanding of what is going through a character’s mind.

Drawing on What You Have Learned About City Road from the Making Social Lives Dvd and Learning Companion 1, Describe Some of the Ways in Which Order Is Made and Repaired on the Street Which You Know

Drawing on what you have learned about City Road from the Making Social Lives DVD and Learning Companion 1, describe some of the ways in which order is made and repaired on the street which you know. The purpose of this assignment is to compare and contrast the social order of City Road with a local road to demonstrate how order is made and is continually repaired over time. Abington Street, has changed considerably over the past 50 years, from a quiet street of individually owned shops such as, Halford Jewellers, Benefit footwear, and only one a big convenience store.Today, you will find fewer individually owned and many more big name high street shops, such as Primark and Tesco Express. Firstly, I will compare Abington Street, and how it has changed to City Road. Abington Street used to be the main thoroughfare to the town centre, with a tram running down the centre of the street creating â€Å"invisible order†, nowadays the street remains invisibly ordered but is used diffe rently as it is now completely pedestrianised. It is both a daytime shopping zone and a night time social space.Meanwhile City Road has changed from a simple country road to a busy town through road, however similarities still exist with Abington Street as both are now shopping and social spaces, as City Roads 1960’s car showrooms, have been replaced by shops, cafes, takeaways and restaurants designed for a wide range of people. With the changes in use, have come the changes in visible order, Abington Streets use changes throughout the day, in a very similar way to City Road.Shopping is the daytime occupation, with people eating and drinking in the cafes, visible order is demonstrated by adherence to the society’s rules as people queue in orderly fashion to purchase goods. Disruption of social order occasionally happens when for example, shoplifting occurs, however this is deterred by CCTV keeping invisible order and is repaired by the presence of security guards preve nting further incidents. Social order is present at night in Abington Street as well as in City Road, at night the shops close, as the takeaways, pubs and clubs open. Young people then use Abington Street for entertainment rather than for shopping.Although, Abington Street brings in different types of people during the different times of day, different shops and venues are aimed at certain groups of people. The younger generation use fast food takeaways or go to socialise at the pubs at night, whilst in the DVD Jose Romas Surez, from Taste bud cafe talks about how mostly elderly customers regularly come back to his cafe during the day, because they feel secure in there this could be to do with the types of people using the streets during a day – the elderly or school children (Making Social Lives on City Road DVD, 2009, scene 3).Most invisible social order at night in Abington Street is maintained by the use of CCTV, whilst visible night time order is maintained by the presen ce of club bouncers, the police and local community support officers. Young people may see the presence of the police and community support workers as a deterrent to them having fun, whilst the shopkeepers rely on the police to maintain social order and protect their property from drunken or accidental bad behaviour.Social order is also affected by the influx of big business; this is demonstrated in the DVD, which shows how the arrival of Tesco Express to City Road results in the closure of smaller businesses. There are inequalities between local shops and the big named supermarkets on both streets. On Abington Street there are two very dominant stores, Tesco Express again as well as Marks and Spencer’s. Both of these shops have a large variety of products on offer at competitive prices; these stores also have a wider range of goods for the convenience of the customers.In City Road, like in Abington Street, the smaller business owner reports adverse affects, an example of thi s is Colin Butwell (the newsagent),he described how he had been affected, saying that Tesco moving in close to his store has resulted in a reduction in trade. On the positive side the opening of well known chains can have a positive effect on remaking society, and social ordering, as it can bring about more jobs, and encourage people to use the area more resulting in other places such as cafes, restaurants being busier.As Georgina Blakely point out some people gain from the reshaping and some people lose (Making Social Lives, 2009, Scene 5). In conclusion, social order will always need to adapt, change and be continually restructured, and repaired to meet society’s requirements. The effects of a single change can have a massive impact on a street and the people that it involves. This can be seen in the effect that pedestrianisation had on Abington Streets main uses, it is also clear to see that the slightest change can have a massive impact on the social ordering of the area. This can be applied to any street in the world. 814 WORDSBibliography, * Blakeley, G. , Bromley, S. ,Clarke, J. , Raghuram, P. , Silva, E. and Taylor, S. (2009) Learning Companion 1,  Introducing the social sciences, Milton Keynes, The Open University. * ‘The street' (2009)  Making Social Lives  [DVD], Milton Keynes, The Open University. * What have you enjoyed about starting this module? I have enjoyed getting back into studying again, after leaving college. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of this course. What have you found difficult? Time management is my main difficulty, juggling working and writing an assignment but I’m sure I will find this easier as time goes on.

Employment and Law of Tort Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employment and Law of Tort - Essay Example The law provides for anyone who has been wrong to seek redress on the grounds that have resulted into the loss (Klar, 99). Those individuals who have suffered losses due to tortuous injury are entitled to monetary compensation. In this case, the extent of legal injuries is not limited to those of physical but to the extent, that it covers the emotional, reputational, and economic. Of all the liabilities related to tort, negligence takes the lead (Cane, 67). Negligence is when one is fails to observe the duty of care at work place resulting into one of the injuries mentioned above. In such a situation when one knows or is expected to know what should be done and deliberately or not fails to do as expected thus resulting into a loss, he/she is held liable for the losses (Larouche, Pierre, Jeremy , and Walter, 132). Tort is thus categorized into many ways as Quasi-torts, the intentional tort, and the negligence tort (Cooke, 112). This category implies that in any event of tort, the liab ility will be classified into any of the sub categories of tort. In this case, study, the different cases in the Mavis enterprise is are considered and appropriate legal decision is given to him so that he can seek redress where applicable. The following are legal position of the cases in relation to tort. Case 1 It is important for Mavis to understand the stipulations of the contract between her and the employer. This will enable her to determine whether the employee’s action warrants termination of the job or not. It is also important to classify the type of tort involved and to determine whether it has resulted into any financial loss or not (Geistfeld, 78). Following the situation given in the case, Nell has only been sleeping in the store during low season in which the customers are known to be reasonably scarce (Deakin, and Angus, 88). Though the customers may be scarce during sometimes in the year, it does not imply that the employees should deviate from the normal dut ies of the work place. The decision to terminate Nell’s engagement in the cafe verbally is not legally recognized. Nell’s conduct can be classified as Negligence in consideration of tort law. Within the negligence, it is further classified as dereliction and breach of duty. Once Nell accepted to sign a contract with her employer, Mavis, she ought to have observed the duty of care to ensure that all the duties are done immediately and that no one goes without service. This position does not consider the extent of customer availability (Edwards, Linda, Stanley, and Patricia, 154). Even in the law season, one cannot tell when customers can come and when they are not. It was therefore the responsibility of Nell to keep vigil all the time as a manifestation of the duty of care. Mavis should explore filling a suit under the tort law regarding negligence and Nell would be made to pay in monetary the amount Mavis would have lost due to her negligence. Case 2 The Case of Olga a nd peter is also considered under the tort law, Olga had prior knowledge that the pulling the chair intentionally can/will cause injury to peter and went ahead to pull it. This is considered under intentional torts (Elliott, Catherine, and Frances, 201). Mavis the employer should thus consider filing a suit against Olga to foot the bills for that will be accrued during the treatment of Peter and any other inconveniences rendered. Without Olga’s action of pulling he chair, Peter would have not sustained a waist injury. Olga should thus be made to make the payment for any cost in terms of medication and hospitalization of Peter since all the problems emanates from her. Since Olga’s conduct is considered tortuous, the best legal action to be taken in this regard is filing

Global Executive or Manager Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Executive or Manager Case Study - Essay Example Today, American Express is one of the most recognized brands in the world. From a company that forwarded freight and valuables across America, it has emerged as a global company that sells payment and financial products all over the world. Chenault joined the company in 1981 and since then has served in many positions ranging from director of strategic planning in the Merchandise Services division to president of the Consumer Card division to Chairman. He restructured the company’s line of cards and in the 90’s displayed courage bold leadership in persuading people from airlines and restaurants to continue with American Express and at the same time quelled internal feuds in the company. It was Chenaults strength and leadership that stabilized American Express when American economy was weak. Chenault was hand-picked by Harvey Golub, the then head of the Travel Related Services (TRS) division, when the company was going through troubled times. Chenault accepted the challenge and streamlined the staffs of four divisions and created one productive business unit, resulting in savings of $3 billion in operating costs to the company. Golub has this to say about Chenault "There are qualities in leadership that c an only be observed over time--how an individual deals with others, how he deals with adversity and complex issues, how he organizes his time and efforts, and deals with external constituencies. And Ken has demonstrated amply over the years his abilities. Hes more than capable." American Express is one of the worlds largest travel agencies and is also well known for its charge cards and revolving credit cards. The company in addition issues travelers checks and publishes magazines such as Food & Wine and Travel & Leisure. The company has operations in more than 2,200 locations all over the world. It was established in 1850. In its early years AmEx was a

Financial Accounting and reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Accounting and reporting - Essay Example f financial accounting and reporting is the preparation of financial statements such as the income statement, cash flow statement, fixed assets movement schedule and the balance sheet (MAYNARD, 2013, 309). The financial statements are to be made available to all users of financial information who include creditors, regulators of business operations, investors as well as the government through its taxation unit. Other objectives of financial accounting and reporting include provision of information that can be used to establish the solvency position of a given business. The financial statements provide information relating to a firm’s ability to meet its short-term and long-term liabilities as they fall due. The information assists in ascertaining the financial position of a business in terms of its assets and liabilities which assist the business to clearly establish where they stand in reference to what they own and what they owe others. Another objective to be attained by financial accounting is the fact that it offers systematic recording of business transactions in an organized manner thus enhancing accountability and order in the business (SUTTON, 2004, 26). Providing relevant information to be used by several users of financial statements is one of the top objectives of financial accounting and reporting. It assists the stakeholders in making rational decisions. Some of the key users of financial statements are listed below. The investors require financial statements in order to evaluate the practicality of investing in a given business venture. Investors use the information specifically to determine and to predict the future of a company’s dividend growth through the use of income statements. They are able to further establish the various forms of risks associated with a given investment through a keen look into fluctuations in after tax profits, share price and dividend growth. The government requires financial statements from all companies and

Bill Tilden - American Tennis Legend Research Paper

Bill Tilden - American Tennis Legend - Research Paper Example When he returned to the championships he quickly became the best tennis player of his era. His biggest win soon after his return came in the U.S. National Finals in 1920. It was a very important match for boosting his ego as he beat Bill Johnston, the same man who beat him in the finals in 1919. At the end of 1920 Bill became the number one player in the world. He was the first American to win Wimbledon singles in 1920 and he went on to secure victories in 1921 and 1930. Tilden dominated the sport. His wins were very impressive. In the decade of the twenties he won the U.S. singles championship seven times and the U.S. doubles championship four times. He played twenty eight Davis Cup matches and won twenty one times. He reached the finals of the U.S. Open ten times. He won fifty seven games consecutively in 1925. Between 1912 and 1930 he played in 969 matches and he won ninety four percent of those matches. These matches included singles, doubles and mixed doubles. One of the techniq ues that led to his fame and success was his powerful serve. It was referred to as ‘cannonball’ serve. He holds the record for the fastest tennis serve. This he achieved in 1931. It is recorded at 163.3 mph. Bill continued to be victorious in spite of some misfortunes. He suffered from a knee problem and he also lost one of his middle fingers due to infection but this did not deter his progress. In 1930 at age thirty seven he became the oldest man to win a Wimbledon singles title. Tilden’s Tennis Strategies Tilden had a strong backhand and he used several tactics while he played. He had a preference of playing from the backcourt. He sometimes liked to copy the tactics of his opponents while beating them.... The researcher of this essay focuses on the description of life, death and legacy of well-known American sports star and tennis player - William Tatem Tilden II, which was more popularly known as Bill Tilden or often nicknamed â€Å"Big Bill†. The researcher discusses his early years of life and his rise to stardom, that took place during the ‘Golden years of Sports†. He was born on February 10, 1893 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a relatively wealthy family. During the first twenty years of his life he experienced many tragedies within his family. When he was fifteen years old his mother became disabled after contracting Bright’s disease. She died three years later. His father died three years after the death of his mother and shortly after, Bill’s only brother Herbert succumbed to pneumonia. Three siblings also died in infancy from diphtheria before he was born. Bill Tilden, although, he may not have gotten the recognition he deserves, has left a lasting impression on the sport of tennis. The researcher mentones that perhaps his greatest recognition to date came in 1959, when he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It is concluded by the researcher that many great American tennis players have come after him, but none has reaped the number of successes like Tilden. His love for the sport has left an indelible mark in the American sports, one that is hard to erase by the passage of time even though full recognition has not been given to him. Fortunately, in the minds of some persons his memory still lives on.

Ijarah and conventional lease contracts Assignment

Ijarah and conventional lease contracts - Assignment Example The main aim of this research is to give detailed characteristic of conventional leasing system and Ijara, to disclose differences and common features and discuss the variety of options and applications of both(Usmani). â€Å"Ijarah† in the language of banking and finance can have two simple definitions â€Å"hiring† and â€Å"leasing† which are commonly interchangeable, but the origin of that word comes from Arabic ‘ajara’ which means ‘recompensing’ or ‘rewarding’. From the view of the Islamic banking system Ijarah is referred to Islamic contract of leasing of property and equipment, of land to be leased to a client for rental payments or stream payments. From the view of Islamic banking system Ijarah is referred to a certain leasing contract of property and equipment or land which is leased to a client for rental or stream payment(Open to comparison). Ijarah word is to symbolize a contract between the two sides – the lessee and the lessor where the lessor is presented as an owner of a property of any kind and he gives permission to a lessee to make use of the usufructs of the property in question with terms agreed about the leasin g and the rental period. According to the fact that Islamic countries cannot be disconnected with their religion Ijarah contract has gained the permission of the Shari’ah due to several authorities(Nizram): The both parts of the contract are to be provided with certain conditions: they must be able to take responsibilities as well as being in sound mind and having reached the age puberty and the majority age. Secondly, the must not be banned to deal with their property, they need to present stability and stay far from being declared bankrupt or wasteful. Both of the sides should not be under pressure re any kind of compulsion. There are four conditions set up for property: first and foremost property must be owned by a lessor, it has to be available for immediate use, it is supposed to be delivered to the lessee and

Defense Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Defense Ethics - Assignment Example In this regard, any decision is evaluated, reviewed and premised on protecting the rights and interests of people, which, as noted, â€Å"is consistent with accepted views on ethics, since ethics is generally concerned with principles and obligations that govern all actions and practices† (Defense Ethics Program, January 2002, p. 6).More precisely, the three general principles contained in the DEP are as follows: (1) Principle 1: Respect and dignity of all persons; (2) Principle II: Serve Canada before self; and (3) Principle III: Obey and support lawful authority† (PSE402, 2010, p. 6/8).b.   Ethical obligationsFrom a review of Lesson 10 and from the guidelines presented under the Fundamentals of Canadian Defence Ethics,   the six ethical obligations contained in the DEP are: (1) Integrity (â€Å"the requirement to consistently give precedence to ethical values in our decisions and actions† (Defense Ethics Program, January 2002, p. 11); (2) Loyalty (â€Å"sta nding by their commitments to the nation† (Defense Ethics Program, January 2002, p. 12); where keeping promises (identified as closely related to the obligation of loyalty where in this case, honouring promises are identified as crucial) fall under this category; (3) Courage (â€Å"facing up to and dealing with anything that is recognized as dangerous, difficult, or a cause of pain, instead of avoiding it†; (4) Honesty (practice of being open, frank and sincere in dealings and endeavours).... To response to the question on moral grounds, one can use the readings from Lesson 11 stipulating that although â€Å"loyalty is a functional military necessity, which also implies the need for obedience... (where) most orders do not require blind obedience or instantaneous obedience... (and where) loyalty should be broadly based on personal integrity and trust† (PSE 402: Lesson 11, 2010, p. 4). Further, as emphasized in the same discourse, â€Å"although immediate obligation is to the chain of command, the highest obligation is to humanity at large† (PSE 402: Lesson 11, 2010, p. 6). In addition, another relevant point presented under Lesson 11 is Huntington’s discussion of justifying obedience versus disobedience, to wit: â€Å"Huntington is only referring to lawful orders. He does not imply that a subordinate is obligated to obey a clearly unlawful order† (PSE 402: Lesson 11, 201, p. 8). With the foregoing supporting statements, as AWWO, one should clear ly disobey the Captain’s order (presuming scenario 2 that the Captain deliberately intends to report inaccurate results) due to unlawful order, which is contrary to moral grounds and disregards professionalism in terms of integrity and the obligation to uphold the highest standards of the military profession for the sake of humanity. When one decides to obey the order, which in the first place was unlawful, it would be a precursor for future orders that could be given and expected to be followed despite of being based on lies and immoral grounds. One should remain steadfast in adhereing to the values of truth, integrity, and honor above loyalty to unworthy and compromising cause. 2. Using the Statement of Defence Ethics in the Fundamentals of Canadian Defence Ethics (2002), identify ethical

Learning strategies Essay Example for Free

Learning strategies Essay Learning or instructional strategies determine the approach for achieving the learning objectives and are included in the pre-instructional activities, information presentation, learner activities, testing, and follow-through. The strategies are usually tied to the needs and interests of students to enhance learning and are based on many types of learning styles (Ekwensi, Moranski, Townsend-Sweet, 2006). Thus the learning objectives point you towards the instructional strategies, while the instructional strategies will point you to the medium that will actually deliver the instruction, such as elearning, self-study, classroom, or OJT. However, do not fall into the trap of using only one medium when designing your course. . . use a blended approach. Although some people use the terms interchangeably, objectives, strategies, and media, all have separate meanings. For example, your learning objective might be Pull the correct items for a customer order; the instructional strategies are a demonstration, have a question and answer period, and then receive hands-on practice by actually performing the job, while the media might be a combination of elearning and OJT. The Instructional Strategy Selection Chart shown below is a general guideline for selecting the learning strategy. It is based on Blooms Taxonomy (Learning Domains). The matrix generally runs from the passive learning methods (top rows) to the more active participation methods (bottom rows. Blooms Taxonomy (the right three columns) runs from top to bottom, with the lower level behaviors being on top and the higher behaviors being on the bottom. That is, there is a direct correlation in learning: Lower levels of performance can normally be taught using the more passive learning methods. Higher levels of performance usually require some sort of action or involvement by the learners. Instructional Strategy Selection Chart Instructional Strategy Cognitive Domain (Bloom, 1956) Affective Domain (Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia, 1973) Psychomotor Domain (Simpson, 1972) Lecture, reading, audio/visual, demonstration, or guided observations, question and answer period 1. Knowledge 1. Receiving phenomena 1. Perception 2. Set Discussions, multimedia CBT, Socratic didactic method, reflection. Activities such as surveys, role playing, case studies, fishbowls, etc. 2. Comprehension 3. Application 2. Responding to phenomena 3. Guided response 4. Mechanism On-the-Job-Training (OJT), practice by doing (some direction or coaching is required), simulated job settings (to include CBT simulations) 4. Analysis 3. Valuing 5. Complex response Use in real situations. Also may be trained by using several high level activities coupled with OJT. 5. Synthesis 4. Organize values into priorities 6. Adaptation Normally developed on own (informal learning) through self-study or learning through mistakes, but mentoring and coaching can speed the process. 6. Evaluation 5. Internalizing values 7. Origination The chart does not cover all possibilities, but most activities should fit in. For example, self-study could fall under reading, audio visual, and/or activities, depending upon the type of program you design Instructional Skills: What are Instructional Skills? Instructional skills are the most specific category of teaching behaviors. They are necessary for procedural purposes and for structuring appropriate learning experiences for students. A variety of instructional skills and processes exist. Explaining Demonstrating Questioning Questioning Techniques Levels of Questions Wait Time Explaining The teacher spends much classroom time explaining or demonstrating something to the whole class, a small group, or an individual. Student resource materials typically do not provide extensive explanations of concepts, and students often need a demonstration in order to understand procedures. Demonstrating The teacher spends much classroom time explaining or demonstrating something to the whole class, a small group, or an individual. Student resource materials typically do not provide extensive explanations of concepts, and students often need a demonstration in order to understand procedures. Questioning Among the instructional skills, questioning holds a place of prominence in many classrooms. When questioning is used well: a high degree of student participation occurs as questions are widely distributed; an appropriate mix of low and high level cognitive questions is used; student understanding is increased; student thinking is stimulated, directed, and extended; feedback and appropriate reinforcement occur;students critical thinking abilities are honed; and, student creativity is fostered. Questioning Technique The teacher should begin by obtaining the attention of the students before the question is asked. The question should be addressed to the entire class before a specific student is asked to respond. Calls for responses should be distributed among volunteers and non-volunteers, and the teacher should encourage students to speak to the whole class when responding. However, the teacher must be sensitive to each students willingness to speak publically and never put a student on the spot. Levels of Questions While the need for factual recall or comprehension must be recognized, teachers also need to challenge students with higher level questions requiring analysis, synthesis, or evaluation. The consideration of level is applicable at all grade levels and in all subject areas. All students need the opportunity to think about and respond to all levels of questions. Teacher probes or requests for clarification may be required to move students to higher levels of thinking and deeper levels of understanding. Wait Time  Wait time is defined as the pause between asking the question and soliciting a response. Providing additional wait time after a student response also allows all students to reflect on the response prior to further discussion. Increased wait time results in longer student responses, more appropriate unsolicited responses, more student questions, and increased higher order responses. It should be noted that increased wait time is beneficial for students who speak English as a second language or English as a second dialect. Instructional Strategies: 1. Direct instruction 2. Indirect instruction 3. Interactive instruction 4. Independent study 5. Experiential learning 1. What is Direct Instruction? The Direct instruction strategy is highly teacher-directed and is among the most commonly used. This strategy is effective for providing information or developing step-by-step skills. It also works well for introducing other teaching methods, or actively involving students in knowledge construction. Possible Methods Structured Overview Lecture Explicit Teaching Drill Practice Compare Contrast Didactic Questions. Demonstrations Guided Shared reading, listening, viewing, thinking What is Structured Overview? Structured Overview is verbal, visual or written summary or outline of a topic. It can occur at the beginning of a unit, module or new concept, or it may be used to help relate a learned idea to the big picture. A Structured Overview distills difficult or complex idea into simple definitions or explanation, and then shows how all the information relates. It is the process of â€Å"organizing and arranging topics† to make them more meaningful. What is Lecture? Lecture is a valuable part of a teachers instructional repertoire if it is not used when other methods would be more effective. If the presenter is knowledgeable, perceptive, engaging, and motivating, then lecture can stimulate reflection, challenge the imagination, and develop curiosity and a sense of inquiry. Criteria for the selection of the lecture method should include the types of experiences students will be afforded and the kinds of learning outcomes expected. Because lecture is teacher-centred and student activity is mainly passive, the attention span of students may be limited. Many students, because of learning style preferences, may not readily assimilate lecture content. In addition, lectured content is often rapidly forgotten. What is Explicit Teaching? Explicit teaching involves directing student attention toward specific learning in a highly structured environment. It is teaching that is focused on producing specific learning outcomes. Topics and contents are broken down into small parts and taught individually. It involves explanation, demonstration and practise. Children are provided with guidance and structured frameworks. Topics are taught in a logical order and directed by the teacher. Another important characteristic of explicit teaching involves modeling skills and behaviours and modelling thinking. This involves the teacher thinking out loud when working through problems and demonstrating processes for students. The attention of students is important and listening and observation are key to success. What is Drill Practice? As an instructional strategy, drill practice is familiar to all educators. It promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through repetitive practice. It refers to small tasks such as the memorization of spelling or vocabulary words, or the practicing of arithmetic facts and may also be found in more supplicated learning tasks or physical education games and sports. Drill-and-practice, like memorization, involves repetition of specific skills, such as addition and subtraction, or spelling. To be meaningful to learners, the skills built through drill-and-practice should become the building blocks for more meaningful learning. What is Compare Contrast? Compare and Contrast is used to highlight similarities and differences between to things. It is a process where the act of classification is practiced. It is effectively used in conjunction with indirect instructional methods, but can also be used directly to teach vocabulary signals, classification, nomenclature and key characteristics. It is often presented in either written text paragraphs or a chart. Its most common use is as a graphic organizer of content. What are Didactic Questions? Didactic questioning offers the teacher a way to structure the learning process (McNeil Wiles, 1990). Didactic questions tend to be convergent, factual, and often begin with what, where, when, and how. They can be effectively used to diagnose recall and comprehension skills, to draw on prior learning experiences, to determine the extent to which lesson objectives were achieved, to provide practice, and to aid retention of information or processes. Teachers should remember that didactic questions can be simplistic, can encourage guessing, and can discourage insightful answers or creativity. However, effectiveness of this method can be increased by the appropriate addition of why questions, and the occasional use of what if questions. What is Demonstration? A method of teaching by example rather than simple explanation What are Guided and Share? Prioritizes intrinsic motivation and helps students to become more engaged in learning experiences through connecting their beliefs and life goals to curricular requirements 2. What is Indirect Instruction? In contrast to the direct instruction strategy, indirect instruction is mainly student-centered, although the two strategies can complement each other. Indirect instruction seeks a high level of student involvement in observing, investigating, drawing inferences from data, or forming hypotheses. It takes advantage of students interest and curiosity, often encouraging them to generate alternatives or solve problems. In indirect instruction, the role of the teacher shifts from lecturer/director to that of facilitator, supporter, and resource person. The teacher arranges the learning environment, provides opportunity for student involvement, and, when appropriate, provides feedback to students while they conduct the inquiry (Martin, 1983). Possible Methods Problem Solving Case Studies Reading for Meaning Inquiry Reflective Discussion Writing to Inform Concept Formation Concept Mapping. Concept Attainment Cloze Procedure What is Problem Solving? There are two major types of problem solving – reflective and creative. Regardless of the type of problem solving a class uses, problem solving focuses on knowing the issues, considering all possible factor and finding a solution. Because all ideas are accepted initially, problem solving allows for finding the best possible solution as opposed to the easiest solution or the first solution proposed. What are Case Studies? Case studies are stories or scenarios, often in narrative form, created and used as a tool for analysis and discussion. They have a long tradition of use in higher education particularly in business and law. Cases are often based on actual events which adds a sense of urgency or reality. Case studies have elements of simulations but the students are observers rather than participants. A good case has sufficient detail to necessitate research and to stimulate analysis from a variety of viewpoints or perspectives. They place the learner in the position of problem solver. Students become actively engaged in the materials discovering underlying issues, dilemmas and conflict issues. What is Reading for Meaning? Children become curious about printed symbols once they recognize that print, like talk, conveys meaningful messages that direct, inform or entertain people. By school age, many children are eager to continue their exploration of print. One goal of this curriculum is to develop fluent and proficient readers who are knowledgeable about the reading process. What is Inquiry? Inquiry learning provides opportunities for students to experience and acquire processes through which they can gather information about the world. This requires a high level of interaction among the learner, the teacher,the area of study, available resources, and the learning environment. Students become actively involved in the learning process as they: act upon their curiosity and interests; develop questions; think their way through controversies or dilemmas; look at problems analytically; inquire into their preconceptions and what they already know; develop, clarify, and test hypotheses; and, draw inferences and generate possible solutions. Questioning is the heart of inquiry learning. Students must ask relevant questions and develop ways to search for answers and generate explanations. Emphasis is placed upon the process of thinking as this applies to student interaction with issues, data, topics, concepts, materials, and problems. What is Reflective Discussion ? Reflective discussions encourage students to think and talk about what they have observed, heard or read. The teacher or student initiates the discussion by asking a question that requires students to reflect upon and interpret films, experiences, read or recorded stories, or illustrations. As students question and recreate information and events in a film or story, they clarify their thoughts and feelings. The questions posed should encourage students to relate story content to life experiences and to other stories. These questions will elicit personal interpretations and feelings. Interpretations will vary, but such variances demonstrate that differences of opinion are valuable. What is Writing to Inform? Writing that reports information to others can vary greatly in content and format. Many learning experiences culminate in expository or informative writing activities. Students must have opportunities to read a variety of resources and printed materials for information. During writing, students can apply their knowledge of the structures and formats of these materials to organize and convey information. What is Concept Formation ? Concept formation provides students with an opportunity to explore ideas by making connections and seeing relationships between items of information. This method can help students develop and refine their ability to recall and discriminate among key ideas, to see commonalities and identify relationships, to formulate concepts and generalizations, to explain how they have organized data, and to present evidence to support their organization of the data involved. What are Concept Maps? A concept map is a special form of a web diagram for exploring knowledge and gathering and sharing information. Concept mapping is the strategy employed to develop a concept map. A concept map consists of nodes or cells that contain a concept, item or question and links. The links are labeled and denote direction with an arrow symbol. The labeled links explain the relationship between the nodes. The arrow describes the direction of the relationship and reads like a sentence. What is Concept Attainment? Concept Attainment is an indirect instructional strategy that uses a structured inquiry process. It is based on the work of Jerome Bruner. In concept attainment, students figure out the attributes of a group or category that has already been formed by the teacher. To do so, students compare and contrast examples that contain the attributes of the concept with examples that do not contain those attributes. They then separate them into two groups. Concept attainment, then, is the search for and identification of attributes that can be used to distinguish examples of a given group or category from non-examples. What is Cloze Procedure? Cloze procedure is a technique in which words are deleted from a passage according to a word-count formula or various other criteria. The passage is presented to students, who insert words as they read to complete and construct meaning from the text. This procedure can be used as a diagnostic reading assessment technique. It is used: to identify students knowledge and understanding of the reading process to determine which cueing systems readers effectively employ to construct meaning from print to assess the extent of students vocabularies and knowledge of a subject to encourage students to monitor for meaning while reading  to encourage students to think critically and analytically about text and content 3. What is Experiential Learning? Experiential learning is inductive, learner centered, and activity oriented. Personalized reflection about an experience and the formulation of plans to apply learning to other contexts are critical factors in effective experiential learning. The emphasis in experiential learning is on the process of learning and not on the product. Experiential learning can be viewed as a cycle consisting of five phases, all of which are necessary: experiencing (an activity occurs);sharing or publishing (reactions and observations are shared); analysing or processing (patterns and dynamics are determined);inferring or generalizing (principles are derived); and, applying (plans are made to use learning in new situations). Possible Methods Field Trips Narratives Conducting Experiments Simulations Games Storytelling Focused Imaging Field Observations Role-playing Model Building Surveys What are Field Trips? A field trip is a structured activity that occurs outside the classroom. It can be a brief observational activity or a longer more sustained investigation or project. While field trips take considerable organization, it is important to: be clear about what the field trip will accomplish prepare students for the learning have a debriefing session for students to share their learning when they return to the classroom What are Narratives? Narrative essays are told from a defined point of view, often the authors, so there is feeling as well as specific and often sensory details provided to get the reader involved in the elements and sequence of the story. What are Conducting Experiments? Is an orderly procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated. What are Simulations? A simulation is a form of experiential learning. Simulations are instructional scenarios where the learner is placed in a world defined by the teacher. They represent a reality within which students interact. The teacher controls the parameters of this world and uses it to achieve the desired instructional results. Simulations are in way, a lab experiment where the students themselves are the test subjects. They experience the reality of the scenario and gather meaning from it. It is a strategy that fits well with the principles of constructivism. Simulations promote the use of critical and evaluative thinking. The ambiguous or open ended nature of a simulation encourages students to contemplate the implications of a scenario. The situation feels real and thus leads to more engaging interaction by learners. They are motivating activities enjoyed by students of all ages. What are Games? Is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as  an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. What is Storytelling? Is the conveying of events in words, and images, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, and instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters, and narrative point of view. What is Focused Imaging? Imaging, the process of internally visualizing an object, event, or situation, has the potential to nurture and enhance a students creativity (Bagley Hess, 1987). Imaging enables students to relax and allow their imaginations to take them on journeys, to experience situations first hand, and to respond with their senses to the mental images formed. What are Field Observations? The process of filtering sensory information through the thought process. Input is received via hearing, sight, smell, taste, or touch and then analyzed through either rational or irrational thought. What is Role Playing? In role playing, students act out characters in a predefined situation. Role playing allows students to take risk-free positions by acting out characters in hypothetical situations. It can help them understand the range of concerns, values, and positions held by other people. Role playing is an enlightening and interesting way to help students see a problem from another perspective. What is Model Building? What is Survey? is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that publishes papers related to the development and application of survey techniques. 4. What is Independent Study? Independent study refers to the range of instructional methods which are purposefully provided to foster the development of individual student initiative, self-reliance, and self-improvement. While independent study may be initiated by student or teacher, the focus here will be on planned independent study by students under the guidance or supervision of a classroom teacher. In addition, independent study can include learning in partnership with another individual or as part of a small group. Possible Methods Essays Computer Assisted Instruction. Journals Learning Logs Reports Learning Activity Packages Correspondence Lessons Learning Contracts Homework Research Projects Assigned Questions Learning Centers What is Essay? is generally a short piece of writing written from an authors personal point of view, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article and a short story. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. What is Computer Assisted Instruction? Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) refers to instruction or remediation presented on a computer. Computer programs can allow students to progress at their own pace and work individually or problem solve in a group. Computers provide immediate feedback, letting students know whether their answer is correct. If the answer is not correct, the program shows students how to correctly answer the question. Computers offer a different type of activity and a change of pace from teacher-led or group instruction. Also, computer-assisted instruction moves at the students’ pace and usually does  not move ahead until they have mastered the skill. What is Journal Writing? Journal writing is a learning tool based on the ideas that students write to learn. Students use the journals to write about topics of personal interest, to note their observations, to imagine, to wonder and to connect new information with things they already know. What are Learning Logs ? Learning logs are a simple and straightforward way to help students integrate content, process, and personal feelings. Learning logs operate from the stance that students learn from writing rather than writing what they have learned. The common application is to have students make entries in their logs during the last five minutes of class or after each completed week of class. The message here is that short, frequent bursts of writing are more productive over time than are infrequent, longer assignments. What are Reports ? Written reports are documents which present focused, salient content to a specific audience. Reports are often used to display the result of an experiment, investigation, or inquiry. The audience may be public or private, an individual or the public in general. Reports are used in government, business, education, science, and other fields. Learning Activity Packages Correspondence Lessons What are Learning Contracts ? Learning contracts provide a method of individualizing instruction and developing student responsibility. They permit individual pacing so that students may learn at the rate at which they are able to master the material. Learning contracts can be designed so that students function at the academic levels most suitable to them and work with resource materials containing concepts and knowledge that are appropriate to their abilities and experiences. Although this method focuses on the individual, learning contracts also provide an opportunity for students to work in small groups. The teacher may select this approach for some students to support them as they learn to work independently. What are Homeworks ? Refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built (such as a diorama or display), or other skills to be practiced. What is Researching? Research projects are very effective for developing and extending language arts skills as students learn in all subject areas. While doing research, students practice reading for specific purposes, recording information, sequencing and organizing ideas, and using language to inform others. A research model provides students with a framework for organizing information about a topic. Research projects frequently include these four steps: 1. determining the purpose and topic 2. gathering the information 3. organizing the information. 4. sharing knowledge. What are Assigned Questions ? Assigned questions are those prepared by the teacher to be answered by individuals or small groups of students. Students discuss their responses among one another or with the teacher. Particular positions or points-of-view should be supported by evidence. In some instances, it may be desirable for students to generate their own set of questions. What is Learning Center? There are eight basic learning centers in an early childhood/elementary classroom, according to the Stephen F. Austin State University Charter School program, each structured to expand the students’ experiences in a variety of meaningful and effective ways. Each center is constructed to encompass numerous objectives, including state and federal standards, school standards, and community standards. The learning centers approach focuses on student autonomy and learning style by giving each student an opportunity to explore his learning environment hands-on in a developmentally appropriate classroom 5. What is Interactive Instruction? Interactive instruction relies heavily on discussion and sharing among participants. Students can learn from peers and teachers to develop social skills and abilities, to organize their thoughts, and to develop rational arguments. The interactive instruction strategy allows for a range of groupings and interactive methods. It is important for the teacher to outline the topic, the amount of discussion time, the composition and size of the groups, and reporting or sharing techniques. Interactive instruction requires the refinement of observation, listening, interpersonal, and intervention skills and abilities by both teacher and students. The success of the interactive instruction strategy and its many methods is heavily dependent upon the expertise of the teacher in structuring and developing the dynamics of the group. Possible Methods Debates Role Playing Panels Brainstorming Peer Partner Learning Discussion Laboratory Groups Think, Pair, Share Cooperative Learning Jigsaw Problem Solving Structured Controversy Tutorial Groups Interviewing Conferencing What is Debating? Debating is a structured contest of argumentation in which two opposing individuals or teams defend and attack a given proposition. The procedure is bound by rules that vary based on location and participants. The process is adjudicated and a winner is declared. What is Role Playing? In role playing, students act out characters in a predefined situation. Role playing allows students to take risk-free positions by acting out characters in hypothetical situations. It can help them understand the range of concerns, values, and positions held by other people. Role playing is an enlightening and interesting way to help students see a problem from another perspective. What is Panelling? Panel discussions, however, differ from team presentations. Their purpose is different. In a team presentation, the group presents agreed-upon views; in a panel discussion, the purpose is to present different views. Also in a team presentations, usually speakers stand as they speak; in panel discussions, usually speakers sit the whole time. In panel discussion each speaker prepares separately, the other speakers here one another for the time at the session itself. What is Brainstorming? Brainstorming is a large or small group activity which encourages children to focus on a topic and contribute to the free flow of ideas. The teacher may begin by posing a question or a problem, or by introducing a topic. Students then express possible answers, relevant words and ideas. Contributions are accepted without criticism or judgement. Initially, some students may be reluctant to speak out in a group setting but brainstorming is an open sharing activity which encourages all children to participate. By expressing ideas and listening to what others say, students adjust their previous knowledge or understanding, accommodate new information and increase their levels of awareness. What is Peer Partner Learning? Peer partner learning is a collaborative experience in which students learn from and with each other for individual purposes. Students reflect upon previously taught material by helping peers to learn and, at the same time, develop and hone their social skills. What is Discussion ? A discussion is an oral exploration of a topic, object, concept or experience. All learners need frequent opportunities to generate and share their questions and ideas in small and whole class settings. Teachers who encourage and accept students questions and comments without judgement and clarify understandings by paraphrasing difficult terms stimulate the exchange of ideas. What is Laboratory Groups? What is Think, Pair, Share? Think-Pair-Share is a strategy designed to provide students with food for thought on a given topics enabling them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with another student. It is a learning strategy developed by Lyman and associates to encourage student classroom participation. Rather than using a basic recitation method in which a teacher poses a question and one student offers.

Review Of The Historical Perspective Animation Essay

Review Of The Historical Perspective Animation Essay This section in my dissertation focuses not on the history of animation per se but on the evolution and progress of animation in films and in particular claymation which is one form of stop-motion animation. The desire to animate is as old as art itself. Animation is a form of movie magic with its origins in art form. The earliest examples are still drawings, found in Palaeolithic cave paintings depicting animals with multiple sets of legs in superimposed positions, that attempted to convey the illusion of movement. While such images came to life through fairy tales and folk lore, it was only during the 19th century -when inventions were made to make motion picture- that animated pictures became a real possibility. A live -action film and an animated film are different because the live -action camera captures a scene moving in real time, automatically freezing into separate still pictures that can then be projected on to a screen. In an animation film, the animator, on the contrary, can not film anything until and unless he/ she creates through drawings(2D animation) or models (3 D animation) or computer imagery every single frame of a film from scratch. While animation is definitely a highly creative medium, it entails time-consuming processes for an animator who should have vision, faith in the concept and creation, abundant patience and capacity for sustained efforts. THE DEVICES: The development of devices from crude form to highly technical gadget has played a key role in evolution of animation over the years. The earliest device to create an image of a moving picture is known as Zoetrope, invented in China around 180 AD. The modern day zoetrope contraption was produced in 1834 by William George Horner and is considered to be the beginning of the animation devices. The device is basically a cylinder with vertical slits around the sides. Around the inside edge of the cylinder there are a series of pictures on the opposite side to the slits. As the cylinder is spun, the user then looks through the slits producing the illusion of motion. Actually, even in present day animation classes for the beginners, the Zoetrope is being used to explain the early concepts of animation. The magic lantern, believed to have originated from China in the 16th century, is the precursor to the modern day projector. It consisted of a translucent oil painting and a simple lamp. When put together in a darkened room, the image would appear larger on a flat surface. The most significant early day animation device was Phenakistoscope (1831) disc, invented simultaneously by the Belgian Joseph Plateau and the Austrian Simon von Stampfer. The photographic sequence experiments done by English-born American Eadweard Muybridge in 1872, using 24 still cameras set up along side horse race track, have been of help to later generation of animators. The animated film took a major step thanks to a sophisticated version of Zoetrope, known as Praxinoscope, invented by French scientist Charles-Émile Reynaud in 1877, a painter of lantern-slides. It used the same basic mechanism of a strip of images placed on the inside of a spinning cylinder, but instead of viewing it through slits, it was viewed in a series of small, stationary mirrors around the inside of the cylinder, so that the animation would stay in place, and provide a clearer image and better quality. After fifteen years of hard work, Reynaud also developed a larger version of the praxinoscope, an animation system using loops of 12 pictures, that could be projected onto a screen, called the Thà ©Ãƒ ¢tre Optique, first demonstrated at the Musee Grevin, Paris in 1892, comprising 500 pictures on a transparent strip of gelatin. This was the first animation film entitled Pantomimes Lumineuses which lasted up to fifteen minutes. Reynauds films were simple tales mainly concern ed with love and rivalry. Reynaud used drawings rather than photographic images, and every subsequent animated film using line animation -from Felix the Cat and Micky Mouse to the Rugrats and the Simpsons -is a successor to the moving pictures that he created. Flip Book, patented in 1868 by a John Barns Linnet, was another development that brought us closer to modern animation. The Flip Book creates the illusion of motion through a set of sequential pictures flipped at a high speed. The Mutoscope (1894) is basically a flip book in a box with a crank handle to flip the pages. 1919 marked the invention of rotoscope. While Emile Reynaud, showed the first animated film using his Theatre Optique system in 1982, three years later, two French brothers, Auguste and Louis Lumiere, presented the first authentic demonstration of what we now think of as cinema. Lumiere Brothers characters were images of real people and hence overshadowed the Emile Reynauds presentations of moving drawings. Humorous Phases of Funny Faces made by J. Stuart Blackton in 1906, featuring a cartoonist drawing faces on a chalkboard, and the faces apparently coming to life, can be termed as the first animated work on standard picture film. This film was released by Vitagraph. Two years later, the French director Émile Cohl (also called Émile Courtet), created Fantasmagorie which was screened for the first time on August 17, 1908 at Theatre du Gymnase in Paris. It was Émile Cohl who relocated to New York City in 1912, spread its technique in the US. Though these animations were rudimentary, Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914 and Koko the Clown in 1919 by Max Fleischer, considered as classics, stepped up the pace of animation films in silent movie era in USA. The Beautiful Lukanida released in 1912 and conceived by the Russian-born director Wladyslaw Starewicz (later known as Ladislas Starevich) gets the honour of being the first puppet animation film. Neither this film, nor the first animated feature film -El Apà ³stol, made in 1917 by Quirino Cristiani from Argentina as well as his two other animated feature films, including 1931s Peludopolis, {the first to use synchronized sound}, have survived the present day. The silhouette-animated Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) directed by German Lotte Reiniger and French/Hungarian Berthold Bartosch is one of the earliest-surviving animated feature. This film used colour-tinted scenes, perhaps for the first time. The list of other animated films during the silent era included the following films: Gertie the Dinosaur made by Winsor Mccay in 1914, The Sinking of the Lusitania in 1918, Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend in 1921 by John Randolph Bray who rediscovered some of McCays techniques, The Dinosaur and the Missing Link by Willis OBrien in 1915, the first cartoon super star Felix the Cat in 1919 and The Lost World , a stop motion marvel made in 1925. This was followed by the famous Aesops Film Fables during 1921-1929 created by Paul Terry, released by Van Beuren Studios. Initially, Walt Disney also made silent cartoons like Laugh-o-Grams, Alice Comedies, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse. Other significant silent era series were Heeza Liar, Mutt and Jeff, Krazy Kat, Bobby Bumps etc. The notable production houses during this period were: Barre Studio, Bray Productions, Barre-Bowers Studio {The Bray Studios was the first and foremost cartoon studio, housed in New York City-} Many budding cartoonists like Paul Terry of Mighty Mouse fame, Max Fleischer of Betty Boop fame, and Walter Lantz of Woody Woodpecker fame, all statrted their career in this studio.The cartoon studio was based in Circa during 1915-1928. Farmer Alfalfa by Paul Terry and Bobby Bumps by Earl Hurd were well known cartoons produced by the Bray studios. Fleischer Studios, set up by Max and Dave Fleischer created the Koko the Clown, Out of the Inkwell, and Sound Car-Tunes series. In addition, this era also saw distributors of animated films such as Margaret J. Winkler, Charles Mintz, Educational Pictures, Red Seal Pictures, and Bijou Films. Although 1930s witnessed a few more animated feature films, Walt Disneys Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs released in 1937 is deemed to be the first animated feature film with sound effects. It could be because Snow White became successful and well-known within the English-speaking world. The first animation to use the full, three-color Technicolor method was Flowers and Trees (1932) made by Disney Studios which won an academy award for this work. We are all aware how Walt Disney dominated throughout the 1930s, through revolutionary cartoons Silly Symphonies, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck. The 1930s, termed as the Golden Era in USA animation also witnessed the emergence of big studios making animation films like Warner Bros, MGM and The Fleischer Studios with their creations like Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons. Following the golden Age of American animation (1920s through 1950s), animation evolved at a more hectic pace during the television era i.e. 1950s through 1980s. During this period, the theatrical cartoons and feature films declined to some extent. Hanna-Barbara productions did dominate this phase with their TV animated series. Then we saw the emergence of morning cartoons on week ends, adult animation in the 70s, and a slew of commercial cartoons in the 1980s. The present day animation (1980s onwards) boasts of mind boggling creations most of which are futuristic in concept such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Disney Renaissance and Steven Spielbergs collaborations with Warner Bros like ET, Jurasic Park etc. The Simpsons is one of the most successful series that revived the adult-oriented animation. The other series of this genre is Cartoons Networks late night animation show Adult Swim. Many studios all over the world have joined the bandwagon of making animation films for world wide distribution. The rise of CGI , increasing popularity of Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and the Anime explosion which is mainstream version of Japanese animation represent the current scenario in animation. HISTORY OF STOP -MOTION CLAYMATION: Stop motion and cel animation are two basic techniques in traditional animation. Stop motion animation, is used for many animation productions using physical objects rather than images of people, as with traditional animation. An object will be photographed, moved slightly, and then photographed again. When the pictures are played back in normal speed the object will appear to move by itself. Clay animation is one the forms of stop-motion animation. It is the animation of clay models made preferably of plasticine clay. Producing stop-motion animation using clay /plasticine clay is a time consuming and labour intensive process. That is because, to produce a 30 minute stop motion animation movie using clay models, approximately 21,600 times one has to stop to change the figures for the frames. In the case of feature-length films, in addition to clay, rubber silicone and resin-cast components are used to create models. The term Claymation is a registered trade mark in USA, registered by Will Vinton, the greatest pioneer in clay animation. Though foamation, meaning use of foam-rubber process, invented by Will Vinton has found a place in stop motion animation films, it is clay which is the preferred material to bring about aesthetic effect as well. A variant to claymation is the clay melting used in Will Vintons film Closed Mondays. While there are several forms of clay animation, the notable few are: Freeform claymation represents a process wherein the shape of the clay changes significantly as the animation progresses, as exemplified in the films of Eliot Noyes Jr and Ivan Stang. Character Clay animation maintains a recognisable character throughout the shot as in Art Clokeys and Will Vintons works. The Strata -cut animation entails long bread like loaf of clay packed with varying figures/ images, which is sliced into thin sheets with the camera taking a frame of the end of loaf for each cut as a result of which one could eventually see the movements of internal images within. This technique was pioneered by the German animator Oskar Fischinger during 1920s and 1930s subsequently upgraded by David Daniels in mid-90s as seen in his film Buzz Box. Clay painting is termed as another form of claymation. This process requires clay to be placed on a flat surface and moved like wet oil paints. This technique results in a seamless merger of stop motion and traditional flat animation. Early films using stop-motion were the clasic Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, and later The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. Sometimes even objects are used, such as with the films of Jan Ã…  vankmajer. Stop motion animation was also commonly used for special effects work in many live-action films, such as the 1933 version of King Kong and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. It was in 1920s, though eight years earlier Edison Manufacturing released a clay animated trick film called The Sculptors Welsh Rarebit Dream, the clay animation films using either cels or the slash system became the dominant mode in animation film production. Although the cel method was preferred for cartoon films by the studios, clay animation was the medium in the well known film called Modelling produced by Fleischer Studio in 1921. Joan Gratz, won academy nomination for her clay animation films Creation (1980) and won the Oscar for yet another film Mona Lisa descending a Stair Case made in 1982. Craig Barlett, another Vinton animator was known for variation in clay animation used in his series of short films Arnold in the mid 90s. Charles Bowers a comedian with great talent in animation made many bizarre films in the 1920s combining stop-motion animation and comedy. Academy Award winning short films such as Closed Mondays made by Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner in 1974, The Sand Castle'(1977) and Creature Comforts; , produced by Aardman Studios in 1989 and all four Wallace Gromit films created by Nick Park of Arrdman Animation and last but the least The Presentators again filmed by Aardman Animation are typical claymation films. Clay animation has been creatively employed in several computer games as well viz. The Neverhood, Clay Fighter, Patypus, Primal Rage. Besides TV commercials such as Chevron Cars, childrens shows in the electronic media in the recent times are dominated by clay animation techniques which are often seen on Cartoon Network. Computer graphic image of clay animation is presented in a film called Flushed Away. COMPUTER -GENERATED IMAGERY {CGI } What has caused a real revolution in animation industry is the Computer -generated imagery- abbreviated as CGI. It is significantly different from traditional animation because the drawings (known as 2D animation) in traditional animation gave way to 3D Modeling which is the virtual version of stop-motion. CGI combines these two forms of animation through computer aided animation but on 2D Computer drawing. CGI is as tedious as the traditional animation and many of the underlying principles of traditional animation are used albeit through computer aided software programmes. Most of the characters employed in CGI films are based on animal characters, monsters, machines or cartoon-like humans. The latest rend is to create realistic-looking humans. The notable animation films of this genre are Films are Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001, Final Fantasy: Advent Children in 2005, The Polar Express in 2004, and Beowulf in 2007. The constraint in this method of animation is to create the nuances and details of a living person if one has to make a realistic CG character; in particular, to synchronise the movement of the hair and clothing with the animated human character. CEL-SHADED ANIMATION Cel shading is a type of rendering, known as non photorealistic rendering, to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. A recent development and a comples process, this is generally applied to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon. The console video games use cel- shaded animation in addition to computer graphics. The material used in cel- shaded animation is the clear sheets of acetate , called cels. Some animators consider Cel -shaded animation as 2.5 D form of animation, a via media between 2D and 3D animation. It was only the console video games which shows the true real-time cel-shading as seen in Segas Jet Set Radio launched in 2000 for their Dreamcast console. This style of animation was used in Freedom Project in 2006. ANIMATION IN INDIA: As in the western countries, the roots of animation in India are in Indian Cinema. In the early 20s, Dadasaheb Phalke, arguably one of the founders of Indian Cinema, {in whose name a prestigious award has been instituted to honour every year outstanding contribution in the field of cinema}, match sticks and a stop-motion camera to create a short film which was unfortunately not distributed for public viewing. After a lot of struggle, he succeeded in making a stop motion film The Growth of A Pea Plant in 1912, marking the beginning of animation in films in India. However, the first animation film ever released in a theater was The Pea Brothers produced by New Theatres Limited, and directed by Gunamoy Banerjee, and released on June 23, 1934. It took nearly seventeen years to produce the next animation film called Jumbo The Fox coming from Ranjit Movietone and released in 1951. In the same year, another animation from New Theatres, Michke Potash, directed by Bhaktaram Mitra was release d. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting , Government of India set up a Cartoon Film Unit as part of its Filns Division to promote animation films. This unit produced in 1956 Radha and Krishna, a 22 minute film based on cel animation, directed by J.S. Bhownagary. It is believed that camera movements over the miniature paintings of Indian art were employed to create the animation. This film won prestigious awards in International Film Festival held in Berlin. Films Division had a team of animators like Kantilal Rathore, Pramod Pati, G.K. Godbole, and V.G. Samant, along with Ram Mohan, Bhimsain, Satam, Suresh Nayek. A film which impacted animation in India was Kalpana, made in 1948, directed by the legendary dance maestro Uday Shankar, although it was not an animation film. Because, the use of feet movement, film language with rhythm and melody skillfully synchronized appealed to all the film makers including Satyajit Ray Mrinal Sen, doyens of Indian Cinema.

Ryanair External Analysis

Ryanair External Analysis Ryanair is an airline company which is well known for its low cost airline service in Europe. Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Christy Ryan, Liam Lonergan and noted Irish businessman, Tony Ryan. It has its head office in Dublin Airport in Ireland. The company which was running in loss was restructured in 1991 by Michael OLeary with no-frills, low-cost service which yielded profits to the company. It operates more than two hundred and twenty Boeing 737-800 aircrafts from 40 bases all over Europe, which is the largest airline company that carries millions of passengers every year. Revenue where raised from $231million in 1998 to $843 million in 2003.It showed considerable profits from  £48 million to  £239 million over the due course. The company yielded revenues of  £ 2,713.8 million during the financial year which ended March 2008, which is an increase of 21.3% compared to year 2007.The other revenue provide to Ryanair where car hire, travel insurance, etc which account to 16% of the total revenue. So the major vision of the company is to be the leader in the low fare airlines in Europe. The objective of the Ryanair airline company is to be the number one company in terms of customer service. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS: In the environmental scanning process we are going to see the external analysis. The PESTEL is an macro environmental scanning tool. The PESTEL which is known as Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Leagal. Let us discuss the factors in detail. (P)olitical Factors: The major political factors that affect the Ryanair are the pressure which is caused from the trade unions especially Pilot trade unions. The act of terrorism is another major political factor which will affect the airline service with increased time delays for security services. The landing charges is another important factor which influences politically. Due to the high landing fee in Stansted, Ryanair has decided to move routes from the Stansted to Gatwick (which is providind lower landing charges). Also the EU which has abolished the sales of duty-free items also causes major impact. (E)conomic Factors: The major economic factor is the unstable conditions in the fuel prices which affects the airline companys growth. Ryanair estimated that fuel bill is set to increase  £732m (in the financial year 2008) to  £1.01bn which had affected the profits down to  £235m between 2008 and March 2009.Further the weakening of the Pound value(GBP) also influences a lot on the growth of Ryanair. The recession and increase in the inflation rates have also affected the growth. The taxation issues are a very important factor which affects the economic growth of the company. (S)ocial Factors: The major social factors is the increase in travelling lifestyles of the people which affects the business of Ryanair .There are a variety of people who will prefer different ways of travelling and comfort. The increasing population which will be focusing on the health and fitness safety measures provided. So this will make the company spend a lot on the security service. Further the ageing population needs more leg space and health safety measures implementations. (T)echnological Factors: The new bigger planes with good modern technologies are required for the huge passenger traffic. So this in turn affects the economy of the company. The other important factor is the internet. The online ticket booking has increased from the year 2001 which made the company invest more on the outsourcing of these operations. Further the new technology planes with less fuel consumption are very important focus to buy in the situation where the fuel prices are increasing. (E)nvironmental Factors: The most important environmental factor which affects the companys revenue growth is the carbon emission and green house issues. So this makes the company to upgrade its existing planes to less carbon emission and less noise producing new technology planes. Further the carbon emission schemes differ between countries which in turn increase the taxing policies, so this also affects the economy of the company. (L)egal Factors: These include the EU regulators and the regulations which in turn reflects in the companys growth. The health and safety measures are also one of the legal factors in which case the passengers might sue the company for any accidents occurred . Further the landing charges varies between the countries which causes the company to pay more for landing in some bases. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE: For the industrial analysis we use the Porters Five Forces. In this picture L-LOW M-MEDIUM H- HIGH Considering this porters five forces the bargaining power of customers and the suppliers will be low because the airfare is already low which is quite reasonable. The threat of the substitutes will be medium which might depend on the relative price and quality of the substitutes. The threat of new entrants and the competitive rivalry is very high. For example the major competitor for Ryanair is the EasyJet airline which offers low price airfare with good customer service. This is described as below Market Segmentation Positioning Of Ryanair: Ryanair targets the people belonging to the middle class. It offers best low airfare with attractive packages. Even Ryanair offered free carriage of skis and snowboards to passengers flying to the Alps on September 2009. This even made people more happy to choose Ryanair for their travel, whereas their rival British Airways stopped their passengers from carrying their skis Positioning Of Ryanair: 1. Premium 2. Premium/ Competitive 4. Competitive 5.Competitive/ Leader 1. Excellent 2. Excellent/ Average 4. Average/ Acceptable 5. Acceptable 1. Original 2. Original/ Customized 3. Customized 4. Customized /Basic 1. Restricted 3. Restricted/ Selective 4. Selective/ Universal 5. Universal 1. Prestigious 2. Prestigious/ Respected 4. Respected 5. Respected/ Functional 1.Comprehensive 2.Comprehensive/ Standard 3. Standard 4. Standard/ Minimal PRICE QUALITY FEATURES AVAILABILITY SUPPORT REPUTATION Resource Resources of Ryanair: The resources are known as the tangible and intangible assets that a firm uses to choose and then implement them in strategies. The capabilities are the skills that the firm uses in order to bring its resources to bear the ongoing things. The Resources of the Ryanair are Physical Resources Ryanair operates a fleet of 232 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ryanair has 41 bases and more than 1100 routes across 26 countries, which is connecting 153 destinations. Even the company has ordered 82 new flights which will be delivered within 3 years of time. This shows the companys rapid growth and expansion. Financial Resources The major financial resource like the number of flights that the company yielded is from the low cost airfare. The financial resources of Ryanair is quite strong when compared with its rival Easyjet which is shown in the table below Human Resources Ryanair currently has a crew of around 7000 people and carries around millon more than 58 million people in the year 2008.   Capabilities Of Ryanair: The capabilities of the Ryanair are the lowest airfares and the quickest turnaround time. Their innovative strategies on the cost reduction and the principle of No Frills are also an added advantage. They also focus on particular segment of market with some clear offers. They also have the large brand awareness. Ansoff Strategic Direction Matrix: The Igor Ansoff direction matrix helps the firms to decide on the possible ways to grow the business in the existing or new products , in the existing or new market. In this way we get four possible combinations. They are: Market Penetration Product Development Market Development Diversification These are describes in the picture below So by using the combinations from Ansoff , the Ryanair company seems to have successfully penetrated into the airline market by offering its customers with a very Low Airfare . Here the product which means the various services offered by Ryanair in the flight . The most significant one is the Low Airfare pricing offered to the passengers. Hence their market penetration is very strong and successful and also their product developed very well because of the low pricing of the air tickets. So naturally this made the company to become the largest low fare carriers across the Europe . This also influenced the development of the company in the airline market with the purchasing of many Boeing aircrafts with modern facilities. Further the company has expanded its routes to more than 1100 in more than 26 countries with 153 destinations. This is the major development in the airline market which attracted more customers. The company recorded the largest passenger carriers with 58 million pass engers travelling during the year 2008. This expansion made them to be more popular internationally which in fact required the divergence of employees and culture. So these have diversified the management and people they operate and made them to successfully unite them together. This is the major factor which made them to further penetrate and result in the product development to the existing and new markets. Hence the Ryanair here maintains B2C which yields them more profits. This also helps them to make a good customer relationship and also give them a reliable low priced air tickets. This makes the company Ryanair to be the leading Low airfare carriers among the European airline companies. Hence the low pricing strategy of Ryanair have targeted on the middle class people but with very basic services. Cost Reducing Strategy: The Ryanair follows the most effective strategies which is the cost reducing strategies. This cost reducing strategies helps the company to achieve the desired targets of low cost airfare. These are achieved by five major aspects. They are: Fleet Commonality Contracting the services to third parties The charges in airport and route policy Managing the staff and productivity costs Managing the marketing cost Fleet Commonality: The Ryanair has only the new Boeing 737 flight models which help the company in reducing the costs spent on maintenance such as obtaining the spare parts and also the training costs .This is the major advantage to the company to maintain single model of the air fleet which even increases the travel line security with new technology flights. Even these will help the company to save the fuel consumption and these flights are more fuel efficient and also maintain good safety. This also helps them in scheduling the fights and assembling the crew members. Contracting the services to third parties: The Ryanair has outsourced the services to third parties. They made deals with Hertz car rentals and hotels. So in this fast moving world people prefer to go for these good services along with their trips in order to save time and money. In this way they earn ancillary revenue of 16% of the profit. Further apart from the Dublin airport where they have their crew members to serve, the remaining airports they have contracted to the third parties to serve the ticket handling. In this way they also escape from the direct exposure of the potential disputes. The charges in airport and route policy: Since the Ryanair sells the tickets on its own, there is no activity of the agents required most often. So there is no necessity for the agent commission. So the company saves upto 15% on the agency commission. In order to reduce the airport landing fees, passenger landing fee, etc the company select the secondary and the regional airports which in turn increases the passenger throughput. Managing the staff and Productivity cost: The Ryanair follows the principle of paying the salary to their employees based on their performance. This is one of the best practices the modern companies are following these days to increase the work force performance and which in turn bring good revenue to the company. Hence they follow the modest salary policy. This in turn increases the productivity. Further most of the pilots are recruited when they are young pilots cadets which makes the company to train and make short term deals with them. Even the cabin crew should pay for their uniforms to be clean. Managing the marketing cost: The Ryanair in order to reduce the marketing costs it makes most of the marketing on its own without the travel agents. So it saves a lot in the agent commissions. Further the company spend a reasonable amount of money in advertising. The advertising tools used are like the newspapers, company website and also television. Porters Value Chain: The porters value chain is a chain with various activities for the company operating in a specific field. It has various varies Primary activities like the Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing sales, Service. The other part is the support Activities which consists of administration infrastructure, Human Resource Management, Technology part and the Procurement. These values are very important for the company to maintain its performance and get a good profit in turn. Here the very important value is the no frill service and which makes the company to offer a low cost airfare. The various value drivers and their costs are identified for each of the value activity. Hence here for the Ryanair airline company the following are the identified values using the Porters Value Chain. Porters Generic Strategies: Michael Porter categorised the three general strategies that are to be used by the business firms in order to achieve competitive advantage. Hence these three strategies are defined in two different dimensioned they are the competitive scope and the competitive strength. The various generic strategies that the Ryanair company has chosen are the cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus, differentiation focus. The cost leadership is the major strategies used by the Ryanair which still makes it to the leading airline companies in Europe. The Ryanair maintains the low cost policy which is an advantage for its good market existence. Further it has made the people to choose the option of low airfare even in the existing market competition. Differentiation here is that it made their customers to be more satisfied regarding the low pricing airfare. Hence there it still retained the long run customer satisfaction regarding the airfare cost. The cost focus is mainly targeted on the people choosing low airfare travels. So the company has chosen the no frill strategy which still makes it more profitable in the markets. Even it has very cheap advertising concept which even adds more advantage. The reduced turnaround time and the various corporate partnership offers are also the competitive advantages of the company. The outsourcing of services in various international airports is also helpful to main tain its low cost airfare. Further the Ryanair follows the In-house marketing which also helps it to focus on low cost airfares. Even the company focussed on the narrow customer segment which will be including the Irish and the UK passengers who cannot afford to fly in expensive airlines. So the major goal of the company Ryanair is to provide the people with no frill service and low cost airfare all time. So Ryanair is the only company which has not yet revealed its strategic position. It has tried to mix up the focus and cost leadership together. So finally in 1997 the cost leadership strategy was being chosen by the company. This made the company more successful in its campaign. Hence the cost leadership is the best chosen strategies which make the company to be the leading one in the European airline industries. Hence this is the major competitive advantage the company has pursued. Conclusion: Hence from the above analysis the Ryanair proved to be the low cost airline which is confident of competing with its competitors in pricing. It is recommended that it should increase its services in the web which will yield more revenue these days. The Ryanair will surely make its successful way in Flying people withlow cost airfare. Critical Reflection: From the above discussed strategies the Ryanair airline company has achieved its goal of low cost airfare through no frill services. But still there are some areas that the company still need to improve in the strategic aspect. So based on the analysis we strongly recommend Ryanair to consider the airline expansion which is specifically the atlantic routes which is having the worlds 60% of air travel. Hence if it is moving on to the new market with this low cost airfare with some added services , then it will yield more profits compared to the present level. Further I recommend the Ryanair company to focus more on the following fields to improve its performance and which also yield good revenue to the company. Merging and Acquisitions Better reforms in human resource management Improving the market planning strategies Additional third party services Merging and Acquisitions: The merging and the acquisitions has become one of the major corporate-level strategies in this new millennium. Since the Ryanair is continuing to grow , it should make mergers or acquisitions with the companies in other countries which will rapidly increase its revenue. Even this will improve its capabilities and will also acquire more competitive advantage. Better reforms in human resource management: Since from the moment Ryanair started following its low cost airfare, it has sacrificed all its basic services. The company Ryanair does not seem to be valuing its people. Even it charges for the people for using the toilets. This made the pilots to oppose against this rules. There is a belief that the competitive advantage is also dependent on the human resource of the company. So there should be proper reforms in the human resource management .In this technological world the human resources are the only resources which will be bringing the sustainable competitive advantage. Improving the market planning strategies: The Ryanair should provide good customer services which in turn will yield good revenue to the company. So it should offer good airfare packages and promotions to the customers. This is the best way of improving the Core competence and will maintain its levelling in the competitive advantage. Further the company should also work out in holding the important air routes which will increase the revenue of the company. Further the expansion strategies are more important among the competitors. Further the Ryanair can give good low cost airline packages according to the various passenger population from different countries. This will helps the company to maintain a stable competitive advantage. The company should also provide the onboard entertainment services, Internet services and satellite television services. In online it can also sell some products with its brand name which is a good advertising strategy and also it will generate revenue. It can also reduce the charges imposed on over weight and extra luggages. The advertising strategies also should be made as digital marketing because the usage of internet has increased and people are more interested in booking tickets through online. So this digital marketing should be more effectively carried out which would increase the revenue of the firm. Additional third party services: The Ryanair outsourced the services to the third parties. Even still there are complaints from the passenger for the catering services in the plane. The company doesnt offer food free of cost inside the flight for the passenger. So it can also consider these recommendations to serve the passenger with food at a minimum charge. This will place the company more stable position among the competitors. Further the company can out source this catering service to a third party which also help the company to offer good service to the passengers.