Critique assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critique assignment - Essay Example It should be noted that the author has also helped in identifying a flow of the problem with the research purpose. The manner in which the topic has been discussed in the introduction makes it easier for the reader to expect the research methodology and findings. From the first instance of having a look at the title of the article, the readers can expect that the introduction will be able to create a textual as well as contextual construct. In simpler words, it can be said that the introduction of the article is clearly relevant with the objective as appointed by the author. It can also be said that the author has address some of the information tags in the introduction which may provide information which takes the reader beyond the understanding of article’s subject matter. This may be considered as irrelevant by some of the critiques but it is important to note that additional information in the introduction allows the readers to evaluate the peculiarities of the research. T hus, overall it can be said that the introduction written by the author in the article proves to be a stronger context to the research’s findings (Barton et al. 2012) The article has been published by International Journal of Audiology which is one of the most significant contributions in the field. The article was received on 15th September 2010. As per the reliability test, the acceptance of the article was done on 10 September 2011. Since the journal in publishing the content for the research purpose, it took another year for the journal to publish the article. The affiliation of the article is with International Journal of Audiology which makes it joint with British Society of Audiology and Nordic Audiological Society. The article’s publishing source, International Journal of Audiology has been a publishing source for many high-rated contributors in the field of audiology. The journal includes both original articles as well as reviews of

Let’s analyze the gaming console industry Essay Example for Free

Let’s analyze the gaming console industry Essay We can define two types of supplier: the hardware supplier and the software supplier. The hardware suppliers providing the elements needed to build the consoles have a low bargaining power because there have very low switching costs and there are a lot of them. On the other hand, the software suppliers (developers) have a high bargaining power because they choose and set the conditions to work with each console. Entry Barriers Entry barriers are high because of high RD costs and the high capital investment needed to start a business in the console industry. Internal Rivalry There is high internal rivalry among competitors because the core player market is growing slowly, competitors have high exit barriers and the products developed turn obsoletes in less than 5 years due to the fast progress of technology. The players in the industry are: Sony, XBOX and Nintendo. Buyer Power The bargaining power of buyers is high because there are many options with very low switching costs. Substitutes Low substitute power because they are not very similar (like TV or other entertainment device) and don’t fulfill the same exact purpose. Sony has few competitors due to high barriers-to-entry and startup costs but buyers and suppliers (game developers) have high bargaining power and low switching costs. Sony should target a new market as Nintendo did. We could call this market the casual players market. In order to get in this new segment, Sony will have to develop a more interactive way of using their console without dropping the numerous features to avoid losing their core player market share. The key of success for Sony is to adapt a new technology such as Nintendo did with Wii that will enable the company to target a broader market and not only the males from 16-36 years old. The advantage of entering those two markets with one console is that Sony will enter a bigger market with bigger returns and consequently bigger economies of scales. Also, entering the casual player market is important for the company to avoid falling behind its competitors in both markets since this new segment will enhance the brand exposure and recognition. The risk associated to this option is to turn this high performing console in a low performing console (as Nintendo did) and lose the core players customers that are very important to Sony financial stability and growth. A big challenge for this new console will be to cut costs in order to make it more accessible to customers, since the casual players market will definitely be â€Å"guided† by price. Vis-a-vis the Five Forces, if Sony were to pursue this option, the company will be competing in the core player market and on the casual player market. On the casual player market the substitutes will have more power. Sony will compete with other activities such as watching TV, watching a movie and others living room activities. The main â€Å"purpose† of this market is entertainment in general while the core player market is about playing video games. Update: Sony and Microsoft had already implemented advanced interactive technologies. Nowadays, Microsoft has the most advanced software and hardware that don’t need controllers anymore, just your body.

Learning through exploration, active participation and imitation

Learning through exploration, active participation and imitation Young children learn through exploration, active participation and through imitation and as such quality arts programme comprising of all art forms visual art, music, media, dance and drama should be included as part of the curriculum in the early childhood classroom. As stated by Spodek,1993 (cited in Isenberg Jalongo, 2001) through participating in the art activities children are able to express themselves and it provides opportunities for development of creativity , symbolizing and enhances their learning about aesthetics which further helps them gain academic knowledge. Smith, 1982 (cited in Wright, 1991) mentioned that children are able to organise their experiences and know about themselves and their world through participating in the arts. Dyson (1990, p.52) further stated that art and play have critical roles in childrens growth as symbol makers . Like play, art is voluntary and intrinsically motivated as children are free to choose the content and direction of the activity . There are no external demands or expectations and children are free to explore, experiment and investigate with the people, objects and materials provided. He also mentioned that children pursue art activities for intrinsic pleasure rather than external rewards. Furthermore, the gestures and first words children use during make believe play reflect upon peoples actions and things around their daily lives which is the early understanding of symbolisation as well as the basic foundation that develops into drawing pictures, spoken and written words in their later stages. Based on my practical experiences in the classroom and as well as through the readings from books I believe that arts is just as important as any other subject in the curriculum and children do learn and develop their physical, intellectual, emotional and social skills through participating in the arts activities. It is also a requirement by the Ministry of Education that the arts be included as part of the curricul um in the Singaporean classroom. (cited in Framework for A Kindergarten Curriculum in Singapore, 2006). This essay is a brief attempt at looking at the importance of the arts in the education of young children drawn from two art forms which are music and drama. According to Isenberg Jalongo, (2001) four types of learning are promoted through the arts and they are 1) knowledge about the arts 2) skills in the arts 3) dispositions towards the arts and 4) feelings about the arts. As knowledge about the arts is developed through sensory experiences and explorations of materials, children provided with such opportunities to observe, explore and discover about the world, develop their cognitive ability and it further enhances foundation for later learning in the preschool years whereby they use symbols, language and make believe play develops. Skills in the arts are developed when children are allowed to explore and experiment in a safe and healthy art environment provided with a variety of tools and materials under the guidance of an adult who has already acquired these skills. For example, children creating a paper use the skill of printing, painting, tearing, rolling, and colour mixing. They use their fine motor skills, eye hand coordination and social interaction skills. Throughout the activity they engage in the process of problem solving as they experiment with colour and texture to create the paper. There is a certain amount of trial and error while they experiment with the tools. Self expression as children are able to use their own imagination and creativity to express themselves while creating the paper. (Isenberg Jalongo, 2001) Vygotsky, according to Berk, (2000) viewed childrens cognitive development as a socially mediated process whereby processes and skills are transferred and supported from more knowledgeable adult as children try new tasks. He also believed that as long as children acquire language, their ability to communicate with others leads to changes in thought and behaviour that vary from culture to culture. As such, the third type of learning dispositions towards art depends on the adult being the role model and the interaction with more competent peers and teachers to support the child to parti cipate successfully in the arts. Providing feedback as stated by Wright, (1991) is part of summative assessment that guides childrens learning and helps them acquire the elements, concepts, forms, and vocabulary about the arts. When children are given opportunities to respond to art works created by others, for example, when they are taken for visits to art galleries and teachers model ways to respond thoughtfully while viewing the works by professional artist children learn to respect the work of others and when teachers value childrens work and display them, these develops their sense of efficacy and enables them to have positive feeling about the arts. On the other hand, Swanwick, (1998) mentioned that the three elements of play applicable to learning through the arts are mastery, imitation, and imaginative play. Mastery involves learning of a skill associated with an art form for example children learning to make finger puppets for a drama performance or trying to keep to the rhythm while experimenting with a musical instrument during a musical percussion session. Children being able to identify things and people other than themselves as well as learning how to express sympathy, empathy and show concern explains the expressive nature of the art form known as Imitation. Based on my classroom experience, preschoolers making musical sounds for pigs running away from the wolf and moving their bodies to suggest movements of a wolf and expressing through facial expressions as an angry wolf for a drama performance of the story Three Little Pigs are examples of imitation. Imaginative play focuses on the structure of an art form. Examples of imaginative play during the Three Little Pigs drama are when children experiment with different musical instruments until they are able to create the sound that best resembles the pigs running away from the wolf and when experimenting with the different ways as they can move that suggests the movement of the wolf. Swanwick, (1998) also suggests that all three elements of play must be in action for all ages in order to learn through the arts. Isenberg Jalongo, (2001) claim that music contributes to the total development of the child cognitive, physical, social, emotional, cultural and aesthetics. In my centre, we have a music and movement area equipped with a variety of musical instruments like bells, tambourines, triangles etc. Children participate in music and movement activities whereby they move as well as sing along and play musical instruments. Through these activities children develop their large muscles of their bodies as they invent actions to go along with the songs .They develop fine motor skills as they play musical instruments and become aware of beat, tempo, and pitch. These activities also build kinaesthetic intelligence. Gardner, (1973, cited in Isenberg Jalongo, 1997) Children gain experience with music and use of language as they sing the songs for instance when singing the song If you happy and you know it clap your hands they link words with actions and focus on the sequence and task and all these i nvolves childrens ability to process mentally the tone, rhythm, and melody and thus involves thinking skills and cognitive connections between music and learning. As mentioned by Isenberg Jalongo , 1997 that Bruners three learning stages enactive, iconic and symbolic suggests developmentally appropriate musical experience for children and they add that Bruners enactive stage relates to Piagets(1952) sensorimotor stage and Eriksons (1950) trust-building stage where physical activity and music are intertwined. Thus, musical activities stimulate the childrens senses, cognitive development and also build social relationships. Childrens creativity is enhanced when they are asked to decide on the other actions and movement apart from those suggested by the teacher. As stated by McAllester, (cited in Isenberg Jalongo, 1997) music encourages participation, sharing and cooperation .Through participating in the musical activities, there is cooperation and sharing when children get together and work with a partner or in a group and these develops their social skills. Music is also an excellent tool to familiarise children with the different culture. When children are given the opportunity to experience and listen to different cultural music, they begin to appreciate and understand what each ethnic group is about.and these develops their aesthetic skills and understand the art form. Cornett (1999) supports the need for teachers to integrate creative drama in the classroom as she states that drama being a part of everyday life, prepares an individual to connect to real life situations. Cornett (1999) adds that when children are participating in the drama, they are able to look at problems from different points of view, respect diverse thinking, and realise that there are many ways to settle one problem. She further states that through drama, children learn to exchange feelings and emotions with each other. This enhances their personality development. Cornett (1999) also states that personal development takes place when children control their body and words as they express ideas and feelings during the drama activities. She also indicated that positive self image and confidence are developed through the problem solving situations. Cornett (1999) reiterates that children engaging in situational confrontations during their role play, also become aware of the different emotions people feel for example happiness, sadness .anger, fear. She adds that the children learn that these feelings can be dealt with, thus developing a tolerance towards them. Isbell Raines (2007), agree that social skills can be developed in drama as children working in a group overcome difficulties through problem solving skills. They experience working with peers as they negotiate plans to stage the drama. During interactions, children learn to negotiate with each other, work cooperatively, and develop respect for each other. In my centre, besides the dramatic play in the home corner, my class of four year olds involve in simple puppetry and mask drama using rhymes and childrens stories. Rhymes like This little pig went to market are taught to children using puppets and later children retell the rhyme using the puppets. In addition, children take turns to dramatise the rhyme each child given a mask of a pig (mask designed and made by child), actions like going the market, eating roast beef are incorporated. Puppets and mask are excellent props in focusing childrens attention. Through such activities children are able to participate in dramatic action using the element role, as they pretend to be someone other than themselves. Language is enhanced as they retell rhyme and children are able to express ideas and feelings through dramatic movement. (Isbell Raines, 2007) .As mentioned above, experts strongly believe that musical activities and drama enables children to develop their physical, cognitive, social, emotional and aesthetic skills as well as to provide opportunities for development of self expression, creativity, symbolizing all of which enhances their academic knowledge .There are many opportunities for children to learn and develop skills, knowledge and processes through participation in the arts , as such having discussed the benefits and leaning outcomes of childrens participation in the arts , I strongly believe that the arts is important in the education of preschoolers and all art forms should be integrated into the preschool curriculum with equal emphasis as any other subject in the curriculum.

Telecommunications Act of 1996 Essay examples -- essays research paper

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 The Telecommunications Act of 1996 can be termed as a major overhaul of the communications law in the past sixty-two years. The main aim of this Act is to enable any communications firm to enter the market and compete against one another based on fair and just practices (â€Å"The Telecommunications Act 1996,† The Federal Communications Commission). This Act has the potential to radically change the lives of the people in a number of different ways. For instance it has affected the telephone services both local and long distance, cable programming and other video services, broadcast services and services provided to schools. The Federal Communications Commission has actively endorsed this Act and has worked towards the enforcement and implementation of the various clauses listed in the document. The Act was basically brought into existence in order to promote competition and reduce regulation so that lower prices and higher quality services for the Americans consumers may be s ecured. Of particular importance is the deregulation of the telecommunications industry as mentioned in the act (â€Å"Implementation of the Telecommunications Act,† NTLA). This reflects a new thinking that service providers should not be limited by artificial and now antique regulatory categories but should be permitted to compete with each other in a robust marketplace that contains many diverse participants. Moreover the Act is evidence of governmental commitment to make sure that all citizens have access to advanced communication services at affordable prices through its â€Å"universal service† provisions even as competitive markets for the telecommunications industry expand. Prior to passage of this new Act, U.S. federal and state laws and a judicially established consent decree allowed some competition for certain services, most notably among long distance carriers. Universal service for basic telephony was a national objective, but one developed and shaped through feder al and state regulations and case law (â€Å"Telecommunications Act of 1996,† Technology Law). The goal of universal service was referred to only in general terms in the Communications Act of 1934, the nation's basic telecommunications statute. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 among other things: (i) opens up competition by local telephone companies, long distance providers, and cable companies ... ...ns especially when it came to deregulating the telecommunications industry. The new law was expected to bring radical changes to the communications industry, providing high quality services to the masses at minimal cost. The act was also designed with the specific purpose of ensuring that advanced telecommunications will be available to every citizen as part of the policy for universal service. The FCC and the states, as the regulatory bodies, implement the law. Its been over three years since the law was passed and most critics have claimed that nothing worthwhile came out of the act besides the mergers of course. Ultimately however, the services brought to the public will depend on the providers of those services and their success in the marketplace. Bibliography 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Telecommunications Act of 1996.† Available online at: http://www.fcc.gov/telecom.html 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Implementation of the Telecommunications Act.† Available online at: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/opadhome/opad_act.htm 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Telecommunications Act of 1996.† Available online at: http://www.technologylaw.com/act.html

China Global Imbalances, Reserve Currency and Global Economic

Global imbalances, Reserve currency, and Global economic governance The accepted hypotheses for the root cause of global economic imbalances are: 1)East Asian economies’ export-led growth: recently the integration with international markets leads to an import and export expansion making the trade surpluses in EA dramatically increase. It had a great success in EA producing higher living standards and poverty rates declining. This cannot be the main cause for the emergence of large global imbalances in 2000 and thereafter since before 2000 EA economies’ TB were roughly balances. )Self-insurance motivation for foreign currency reserve accumulation: after the financial crises in the late 1990s, emerging market economies in EA increased their CA surpluses substantially, and they experienced rising international reserves. After 2005 Chinese surpluses and reserves are too large to be justified by the self-insurance motivation. 3)China’s exchange rate policy: the g. i. started to grow in 2002 and China has been accused of causing the imbalance sustaining a large undervaluation of its real exchange rate since 2003, but it is not true because: †¢China trade surplus did not become large until 2005 RMB appreciated against US$ by 20% in 2005-2008 but the global imbalances continued to grow †¢Most other developing countries also increased their CA surpluses in the same period (if exchange rate was the cause, the other countries that compete with China would have experience declining trade surpluses and reserves) >The need for an alternative hypothesis: these hypotheses imply that the EA economies are driving the g. i. but is not consistent with the basic statistics.While the US trade deficits with China did increase substantially, the share of the US trade deficit due to EA economies as a region actually declined significantly. The three hypotheses surely contributed but they cannot be the main cause of the global imbalances. >An alternative h ypothesis consistent with the data: it views the g. i. as a result of the status of the US $ as the major global reserve currency, combined with: †¢The lack of appropriate financial sector regulation due to deregulation in the 1980s. The federal reserve’s low interest rate policy following the burst of the â€Å"dotcom† bubble in 2001. These policy changes led to excessive risk-taking and higher leverage, producing excess liquidity and â€Å"bubbles† in the US markets, which enabled the US overconsumption that increased the US CA deficit. As China had become the major producer of labor-intensive processed consumer goods by 2000, the US ran a large deficit with China, which ran trade deficits with the EA economies that provided intermediate products to China.The excess liquidity also led to the large outflow of capital to developing countries, which enhance their investment and consequently in large trade surpluses in capital-goods exporting countries and na tural resources exporting countries. Since the US is the reserve currency issuing country, the foreign reserves accumulated through trade/capital account surpluses in other countries would return to the US leading to the US CA surplus. >Why did China stand out in the global imbalances? : the large CA surplus in China reflects high domestic savings.There are several commonly accepted hypotheses about China’s high households saving rate: such as the lack of well-developed social safety net and the demographics of an aging population. But the uniqueness of China’s savings is the large share of corporate savings, which are driven by the excessive concentration of the financial system that serves the big firms, low taxation on natural resources, and monopolies in some sectors. Reforms are required for removing these distortions and increasing consumption. The role of the reserve currency in global imbalances: the status of the $ as the major global reserve currency, combine d with the financial deregulation of the 1980s and the low interest rate policy of the 2000s, led to the emergence of global imbalances. To prevent their recurrence, the ultimate solution is to replace national currencies as global reserve currencies with a new global currency, but US is unlikely to give up its reserve-issuing privilege to a global body (IMF).A more likely scenario is the emergence of a basket of reserve currencies with some changes in the basket’s consumption and weights. >A win-win solution for the global recovery: the most urgent challenges are high unemployment and the large excess capacity in high-income industrialized countries. Win-win solutions for the global recovery and long-term growth could be based on new international financial arrangements along with structural reforms in both high-income and developing countries.On the financial front it could be created a global recovery fund (supported by hard-currency countries and large-reserve countries a nd managed by multilateral development banks) to finance investments to release bottlenecks and enhance productivity in developing countries. These investments would increase the demand for capital goods produced in high-income countries, reduce their unemployment now, and enhance the developing countries’ growth in the future. The fund could be complemented by structural reforms in high-income and developing countries to create space for investment and to improve the efficiency of investment.

The Russian Annexation of the Crimea, 1772-1783 essays

The Russian Annexation of the Crimea, 1772-1783 essays The Russian Annexation of the Crimea 1772-1783 by Alan W. Fisher is a text that contains detailed research based on Russian and Ottoman archival documents, as well as primary and secondary sources relating to the subject. The study covers the political events from 1772 to 1783, and is an objective source for understanding not only the Crimean Tatars, but also the rivalry between the Russian and Ottoman empires. A rivalry which not only deeply affected the people of the Crimean peninsula, but also affected its surrounding areas. The grave importance of the Crimea was illustrated because of its access to the Black Sea. As a result, its coastal areas have played an important role throughout the history of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. As an economic area it served its importance through its trade, its grazing lands and also as an entrance into Eastern Europe. As a political zone the Black Sea area was of prime importance to the power of those states which controlled it and its loss to a rival state was always a significant one. (Fisher, 2) As a result Byzantium, Kiev Rus, the Golden Horde, Lithuania, Poland, the Ottoman Empire and Muscovy have all tried throughout various periods of history to control the whole or individual parts of the Crimean Peninsula. The text explained how firm political control around the Black Sea was first gained in the mid-thirteenth century with the Mongol-Tatar conquest. Before this Turkic nomads had passed through the area, but no political or economic unity had existed. As settlements grew the Mongol-Tatar aligned itself with the Ottoman Empire for security. Acting as an independent province with its own political control, the Crimea was still ultimately under Ottoman control. From the Ottoman point of view, the Crimea was of utmost military significance. It acted as a strong northern defense and allowed the supply of soldiers for campaigns in the east against Persia and in...

Mood (Composition and Literature) Definition Examples

Mood (Composition and Literature) Definition Examples In essays and other literary works, the mood is the dominant impression or emotional atmosphere evoked by the text. Distinguishing between mood and tone can be difficult. W. Harmon and H. Holman suggest that mood is the emotional-intellectual attitude of the author toward the subject and tone the attitude of the author toward the audience (A Handbook to Literature, 2006). Examples and Observations From Other Texts Authors often use concrete details to engage the readers imagination, establishing mood and tone; they often draw on sensory imagery. In Journey to Nine Miles, when Alice Walker writes, By five oclock, we were awake, listening to the soothing slapping of the surf and watching the sky redden over the ocean, she appeals to the readers senses of sight and sound to establish a colorful, sensual tone that pervades the essay. Similarly, Arthur C. Clarkes narrator creates tension- establishing mood and tone- in the first few sentences of The Star, while providing readers with a clear sense of time and place: It is three thousand light-years to the Vatican. Once, I believed that space could have no power over faith, just as I believed that the heavens declared the glory of Gods handiwork. Now I have seen that handiwork and my faith is sorely troubled.(J. Sterling Warner and Judith Hilliard, Visions Across the Americas: Short Essays for Composition, 7th ed. Wadsworth, 2010)[T]he reader must h ave a sympathetic relation with the subject matter and a sensitive ear; especially must he have a sense of pitch in writing. He must recognize when the quality of feeling comes inevitably out of the theme itself; when the language, the stresses, the very structure of the sentences are imposed upon the writer by the special mood of the piece.(Willa Cather, Miss Jewett. Not Under Forty, 1936) Tone in fiction is like the tone of a storytellers voice: is it playful, serious, melancholy, frightening, or what? (It can be any of these things, and still be the same voice.)Mood has to do with the emotions the author makes the reader feel in less direct ways- by the sounds of the words she uses, the length and rhythm of sentences, the choice of images and their associations.Sometimes tone and mood are most effective when they are mismatched.(Damon Knight, Creating Short Fiction, 3rd ed. Macmillan, 1997)The mood of a poem is not quite the same thing as the tone although the two are very closely linked. When we refer to the mood of a poem we are really talking about the atmosphere that the poet creates in the poem. . . .One way to try to help yourself establish the mood of a poem is to read it aloud. You can experiment with various readings, seeing which one you think best fits the particular poem. (Dont try this in an exam, of course.) The more practice you get at reading poems al oud and the more you are able to hear others read them, the better able you will be able to hear poems in your mind when you read them to yourself.(Steven Croft, English Literature: The Ultimate Study Guide. Letts and Londale, 2004) The essay, as a literary form, resembles the lyric, in so far as it is molded by some central mood- whimsical, serious, or satirical. Give the mood, and the essay, from the first sentence to the last, grows around it as the cocoon grows around the silkworm. The essay writer is a chartered libertine and a law unto himself. A quick ear and eye, an ability to discern the infinite suggestiveness of common things, a brooding meditative spirit, are all that the essayist requires to start business with. (Alexander Smith, On the Writing of Essays. Dreamthorp, 1863) Mood in Walkers Jubilee (1966) In several instances [in Margaret Walkers novel Jubilee] mood is conveyed more by conventional notation- the number thirteen, boiling black pot, full moon, squinch owl, black crone- than any decisive nuance of thought or detail; or more precisely, fear is disembodied from internal agitations of feeling and becomes an attribute of things. Midnight came and thirteen people waited for death. The black pot boiled, and the full moon rode the clouds high in the heavens and straight up over their heads. . . . It was not a night for people to sleep easy. Every now and then the squinch owl hollered and the crackling fire would glare and the black pot boil. . . . Hortense J. Spillers, A Hateful Passion, a Lost Love. Toni Morrisons Sula, ed. by Harold Bloom. Chelsea House, 1999)