British Sky Broadcasting Limited Essay

The share price calculated for BskyB using the residual income valuation model is  £ 3.72, which is  £ 5.64 below the market share price of around  £ 9.36. Reason for such depleted share price is that the profits reported by BskyB are not showing the impact of the equity capital and hence valuing the BskyB stock on the basis of reported profit for the period doesn’t show the true and fair view of BskyB share price. The price calculate by using the residual income valuation model is showing that how the cost of equity capital has affected the profits of BskyB and thus reporting a decreased value of the company and for the share price as well. Operating income predicted on the basis of the growth rate is showing a constant increase in the operating income in the future period. It is very important for BskyB to achieve a higher rate of growth in revenues which will ultimately gives rise to the need of investing in BskyB’s operating assets and thus both variables will end up with the increased value of company per share for the next period forecast. As the value of company is equal to the net present value of future cash flows discounted at appropriate rate of return to the investor. So the company should try focusing growth in its revenue rather than expending its business in the UK and around the globe. Return on net operating assets of BskyB is also decreasing in the next three years period. The decrease is miner but this is a sign that BskyB could be in more depressed financial conditions if attention is not paid to the growth rate of revenue. As in the above graph the return on net operating assets has been dropped from 49.00% to 48.99%. As the investors are much interested in the future prospects of the company rather than the historical performance of company. At first instance the investor will forecast the value of its investment and if the investment is generating some additional amount on their investment and if investment is not generating any additional return on it then they will consider the alternative company to invest. Following would be the basic assumptions: 1- The stock price can be predicted by using the residual income valuation model. 2- The relationship of current stock price and between the predicted share prices is significant. 3- Share piece of BskyB calculated using the residual income method divided by the current share price is more reliable and appropriate as compared to the book value of stock divided by the current value of stock. 4- The cost of capital will remain the same in the period under forecast which is 5.73%. 5- Terminal value will grow at the rate of industrial sector growth which is 4.00%. 6- Tax rate will not change. 7- Company will invest continuously in its operating assets. Investment recommendations: 1-As BskyB Vodafone are already partners, Vodafone has its customer base and the BskyB has the numerous type of entertainment and various license for the sports events. Recently the BskyB has announced that for the upcoming soccer league season the company has spent 299 million pound. If company sign a contract with Vodafone to show its direct broadcast to the Vodafone users than it will not only enhance the customer base of BskyB but will also promotes its sport broadcasting channels. (Thomson, 2014) Moreover, this could be more beneficial if the company also provides high speed broad band services to its Vodafone customer on a very cheap rate by introducing some attractive sport events covering packages. As the company has a strong customer base of 4.9 million. This will certainly be increased by taking over this investment opportunity. Because the competitor there is capturing the market share very rapidly (British Telecommunications) and due to BT BskyB has lost 1.5 billion pound of its value in November. So it is much vital for BskyB to maximize the revenue by investing in secure opportunities. (PLUNKETT, 2014) 2- â€Å"British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, known as BskyB, (BSYBY.PK,BSY.L), Friday said it agreed to invest $8 million in Luminari Capital, a venture capital fund focusing on technology and media startup companies that operate within the theme of innovation in video. This investment is expected to aid Sky to choose relevant startup companies to partner with in the future†. (British Sky To Invest $8 Mln In Luminari Capital – Quick Facts, 2013) As the broadcasting industry needs continuously development and up gradation of its broadcasting technology and thus it will need investment to achieve that level of competitive broadcasting to compete within the industry and make keep its distinctive position in the UK  broadcasting industry. Furthermore, UK film industry has also called for investment from BskyB of 20 million pound annually; this is major part of the annual investment in the UK film industry which signifies the position of BskyB in the UK broadcasting industry. (Macnab, 2014) As the strategy of BskyB has always remain customer focused and the company has always aimed high to serve its customer with its robust and highly innovative broadcasting technology, from a long period the company has reaped the fruits of its consumer focused strategies. So again the company has the opportunity to gain several film licenses by dominating is position to generate considerable cash flows in future. Already the company is the choice of around 40% of the British household and such continuous significant investment opportunities can turn the ship of BskyB around the globe. 3-As the company is in the industry in which it is required to maintain a research and development for its broadcasting equipment. Currently the company pays a large portion of its earning to the supplier for the payment of equipment which it has purchased time to time. If the company invests in such a operating facility which is well equipped and has the capacity to produce the all tangible broadcasting equipment and as it will also have its R&D department then off course it can innovate its products in house and frequently. This will also be considered as separate revenue generating business segment of BskyB which will ultimately increase the company’s potential to increase its revenue in upcoming periods. BskyB can also sell those in house broadcasting equipment to other organizations operating under the umbrella of the broadcasting. More over a company like BskyB must also consider the investing in the other competitors as it has already invested in many other media and broadcasting companies. this will help the company in a manner, if in a certain year the company remains unable to show increase in its revenue it will be compensated by earning revenue from its short term or long term investments. References: Thomson, A. 2014. Vodafone Said to Discuss Sharing Broadband With BSkyB in U.K. [online] 20 January. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/vodafone-said-to-discuss-sharing-broadband-with-bskyb-in-u-k-.html [Accessed: 31 March]. PLUNKETT, S. 2014. Vodafone, BSkyB in talks to curb BT’s broadband reach – report. [online] 19 January. Available at: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/19/uk-vodafone-bskyb-idUKBREA0I09C20140119 [Accessed: 31 March 2014]. British Sky To Invest $8 Mln In Luminari Capital – Quick Facts. 2013. [online] 15 November. Available at: http://www.rttnews.com/2224924/british-sky-to-invest-8-mln-in-luminari-capital-quick-facts.aspx [Accessed: 31 March]. Macnab, G. 2014. UK panel urges broadcasters to invest. [online] 23 January. Available at: http://www.screendaily.com/news/uk-panel-urges-broadcasters-to-invest/5065719.article [Accessed: 31 March].

How to Break Up with Your Boyfriend

How to cope with being dumped by your boyfriend â€Å"I pray your brakes go out running down a hill, I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill, and knocks you in the head like I'd like to.. † Pray for you-Jaron and the long road to love. When you have a boyfriend whose cheating on you, you need to take certain steps to ensure that you make him as miserable as he made you. You will need to show him that the break up didn't hurt you (even if it really did), delete his phone number from his contacts and delete him off of facebook, and flirt with other boys and have fun!To show him that you didn't care about the break up call him up some day and ask him to go to lunch or a movie, when he says yes make sure you have enough time to get yourself looking super good before your date. Show up a few minutes late so you can make an entrance and just go in and sit down, after a few minutes of awkward silence say ‘I'm so glad we broke up, I've been seeing this other guy and I think it's going to work out really well, my family loves him. Don't explain any more and get up and walk away. He will be sitting there wondering what the heck he just threw out the window, and you being so happy about it will really hit him where it hurts. When you delete his phone number and delete him from facebook he will no longer be able to ‘check up' on you, which will drive him insane. Go out and have fun with your girls and show him that you're having the time of your life, and he's really missing out on it.If he texts you just reply with a simple â€Å"hey, who is this? † and nothing more, he'll wonder why you deleted his number out of your phone and realize you really are done with him.. Which will really hurt his ego. Flirt alot! if you ever see him out or around school act really playful with all of the guys around you, even his friends, if you have enough courage to do so.If he sits a couple seats behind you in class make a plan with one of your friends to tal k about this new mysterious guy you've been seeing and really make him wonder who it could be, and who could be so much better than he was? â€Å"I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls, I pray you're flying high when your engine stalls, I pray all your dreams, never come true.. † Pray for you -Jaron and the long road to love. So when you get broken up with the next time, and it's really hurting you, try these three easy steps in making it look easy, in the process!

Wisdom in Revenge

A Savage Wisdom is a novel that chronicled the fictionalized life of Toni Joe Henry as inspired by the life and crime of Annie Beatrice McQuiston. She was the first and only woman to suffer the penalty of dying in an electric chair at a basement in a courthouse at Lake Charles. She was convicted of murdering a Houston businessman that was her lover.She turned into a cold-blooded murderer because she was consumed with passion and feelings of betrayal. However, at the beginning of the novel she is depicted as beautiful, naà ¯ve, Southern girl that would elicit sympathy from the readers. Because of her naivety, she was taken advantage by Herald Nevers. It is unknown to the girl that Nevers is selling indecent pictures of her. Furthermore, Nevers allowed other men to watch them make love with each other.She then realized that this man has turned her into a prostitute. She was eventually rescued by Arkie Burk. One incident leads her to the killing, while she and Burk were traveling; they encountered a hitchhiker that turned out to be Nevers. Consumed by anger, she lost control and killed Nevers. After the death of her ex-lover, she was imprisoned. While in prison, she had a love affair with a deputy that impregnated her. Before she was executed, she gave birth to a child.The author has been successful in inciting feelings of sympathy towards the protagonist from the readers. That is exactly what I feel towards the protagonist’s predicament.I do not necessarily like and agree to her life’s choices and her life’s decisions; however, she is not to blame. She appears to be a very beautiful, good, and naive girl that deserves love and attention more than what was given to her by Nevers. I pity her because her naivety was taken advantage of by Nevers.Her act of killing him is a kind of revenge for the humiliation that he has done. Women abuse are palpable because of a common belief that women are naturally, biologically, and emotionally weak in relat ion to men. Cases of sexual abuse spawned from another common belief that it is difficult for women to defend themselves.However, this was proven wrong by Toni Jo Henry. Her act of killing Nevers is exemplary. It serves as a model for men and even for women to take heed on the fact that women should not in any way be taken advantage of because they have the capacity to defend themselves by any means. This is where the title of the novel best works. It suggests the wisdom and realization that people get from the incident despite a savage one.While the act of killing may serve a purpose and Henry had a reasonable justification for it, I still believe that she deserves to be punished. I understand that she did the crime because Nevers has done her wrong. She needs to fight for her right as a woman and as a human being that should be respected despite her status in life. But that does not justify the killing itself.I believe that she has to be punished for the crime that she has done. I t was no doubt an act of retaliation and revenge that would not be justified in the eyes of criminal justice. For her to attain justice is to make the law work for her and not against her. A wrong done would not be made right by doing another wrong. I believe she has reasons to kill but those reasons are never justified in the eyes of the law and morals.Works CitedGerman, Norman. A Savage Wisdom. Thibodaux: Thunder Rain, 2008.

Analysis of the Book Two Cheers of Anarchism Essay

Analysis of the Book Two Cheers of Anarchism - Essay Example The essay "Analysis of the Book 'Two Cheers of Anarchism'" discusses anarchism in terms of a concrete connection to the author's experience. An analysis of the author’s central and peripheral ideas would reveal the following: James Scott explains that the author’s interest of anarchist critique is as a result of disillusionments as well as loss of hope in a revolutionary change. When he came to political; consciousness he discovers he has no hope I the revolutionary change. Change is because he needs to get away from certain conditions he does not like or approve of. He justifies this by making reference to Max’s anarchist critique as well as that of Lenin which seemed more relevant. He refers to the revolution in France that consequently led to confrontational Napoleonic state. In this sense, the author is not for revolutionary movements. He has given up in them. He sees the revolutions as counterproductive. However, what brings about revolutions, especially political revolutions. It is dissatisfaction with the status quo. He advocates for anarchy as better since there are the voluntary agreements. In asserting that anarchist behaviors can be seen in people who have never even known about anarchy is indeed true because the anarchist philosophy exists in their political ways and agitations. His anarchist squint entails defense of politics as well as debate and conflict. This is a rather democratic one and seeks to tolerate differences. This implies to true freedom as a way to ensure true justice.

The impact of October Crisis of Canada Research Paper

The impact of October Crisis of Canada - Research Paper Example All in all, the effects of this war had many negative implications for the people of Canada, and especially Quebec. This article reviews the impact of this in Canada and mainly Quebec. On 5thOctober 1970, James Cross, who was a British diplomat, was kidnapped in his residence at gun point. In a few hours the members of FLQ movement admitted to the abduction. They demanded for the release of their own members who were convicted for murder and violence. The justice minister of Quebec denied these demands. On the same day the Quebec minister of labor and immigration, Pierre Laporte, was kidnapped and later killed. This triggered the government to deploy the Canadian armed forces to assist the local police in manning Canada. They also declared the â€Å"apprehend insurrection† under the war measures act. The state of emergency declared a ban against the FLQ movement and detention without charges were authorized (Tetley, 2006). The Quebec nationalists started the FLQ movement in 1963 as measure to initiate a spirit of unity in Quebec. The Quebec people comprised of individuals who used French as their first language. This spirit of nationalism was historical from the time France had colonized the region of North America which is currently referred to as Quebec. In Quebec the majority of the people were French speakers as compared to their number in the rest of Canada. As a result, they viewed themselves as a secluded minority. This feeling to a large extent propelled this group to establish a movement that would sensitive to their democratic rights. For instance, their remuneration was lower than that of the British people. In the province of Quebec, the English Canadian earned 40% percent higher than all other ethnic groups (Monrue, 2009). This strengthened the desire to form an entity to fight for their survival as the government had failed to provide the same. This was the origin of this revolutionary m ovement (Tetley, 2006). The FLQ was started

WSJ3 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WSJ3 - Article Example Himsagar variety on the other hand has a sweetened aroma and comes from West Bengal. This variety ripens in June and it is not fibrous at all thus very delicious. Kesar variety is yellow in color and it has a tinge of green on the outside. It commonly come from Gujarat and is relatively cheaper than the Alphonso. Rajyasree describes Alphonso as the most beautiful mangoes he has ever seen. The variety comes from Ratangiri, Maharashtra and they have a huge market both locally and internationally. Alphonso mangoes are very delicious though they are highly expensive. The final variety that the article discusses is the Banganapalli type. It usually come fromTamil Nadu, and it was first introduced by the royal family of Banganapalli in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. Banganapalli mangoes are also very sweet and relatively cheaper compared to Alphonso (Rajyasree para1-9). However, apart from the varieties mentioned by the article, there exist other numerous varieties that are even popular than the above-mentioned. It appears as if Rajyasree covered mango varieties that are only common in India and ignored global varieties like Akbar, Apple, Betti Amba, Beverly, Banana and Batawi. The future of mango fruits is brilliant since there are various researches that are under way in various agricultural research centers in order to ensure that better mango varieties are introduced in the market that are more resistant to diseases, more delicious and varieties that can take a shorter time to mature. Rajyasree Sen. "Top Five Mango Must-Haves - India Real Time - WSJ." eFinancial Careers | Job News & Advice. N.p.,  2014. Web. 16  June  2014.

Assighment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Assighment - Essay Example It is through this book that various aspects of the hedge fund scheme are being addressed, and how investors should go about resolving the imbalance created by hedge fund managers. It is true that there is a lot of money to be made from hedge funds, because the success of most hedge funds proves that opportunities are present (Lack 42). In an aggressive, fast-changing business environment, individuals are always coming up with ways in which they can benefit from each other. However, the vulnerability of some individuals, especially with regards to finances, is being capitalized on by individuals who are willing to make quick cash from susceptible folks. It is in light of this that the author sought to address some of the aspects that surround hedge funds. The author describes how to tackle the menace that arises from investment managers, and how to become stronger when opportunities are likely to occur once an individual chooses to invest (Lack 46). Summary of the book According to S imon Lack, investors need to be cautious of the risk hedge funds pose on their unsuspecting nature. It is true that hedge funds can be a lucrative source of capital, but the manner in which people are losing their money is not worth ignoring. First and foremost, the charges required to invest in a hedge fund, according to the author, tend to always be ridiculous. It is the author’s belief that half the money invested by investors could make more returns had they put invested in treasury bills (Lack 51). All these assumptions point or lead to one conclusion that; hedge funds are in business for their own interest, and not those of their investors. This bold statement makes one wonder of all that is currently happening to the invested money that happens to find its way into hedge funds. This is also described in the book when the author insinuates that investors lose almost 25% of their invested money to the hedge fund industry. The superior rate of returns, often hyped by hedg e funds, is usually a ploy to have people invest in something that may not necessarily wield high returns (Lack 53). The author believes that even the traditional methods of investment have better luck in having better/higher returns as compared to the glorified schemes of hedge funds. The numbers, as the book suggests, do not add up or are not consistent with what is actually happening in these organizations. It is this claim that leads to the casting of doubt on the whole hedge fund charade. The controversial manner in which the author divulges information about the hedge fund industry brings to light some of the common mistakes people make, and why it is vital to be open-minded when it comes to deals that are too good to be true. Strengths and weaknesses of the book The manner in which the author divulges this information is done in a simple, much easy to understand language. Simple examples have been used to describe scenarios in which individuals are often in, and how they are susceptible to manipulation once the promises of exceptional returns are introduced. No financial or mathematical complexities have been used, so it is easy for even the not so avid reader to comprehend. Moreover, the anecdotes that the author knits into the book form a basis for a relaxed atmosphere where the

Risk Tolerance & need to diversify Research Paper

Risk Tolerance & need to diversify - Research Paper Example Large Company stocks, also referred to as blue-chip stocks or large-cap stocks, refer to the stocks of large publicly traded companies (Leach and Melicher, 2011, p.249). Long term corporate bonds in most cases refer to debentures which offer a higher yield compared to other investments but investors of such bonds are prone to interest risk and credit risk. Long term government bond refers to those bonds which mature in more than 10years. US Treasury bill is a transferable debt contract issued by the US Government that ensures trust and fulfillment of claim of receivable return at the end of the period. Such investment is made for a period of one year or less than one year, and is exempt from local and state taxes (Boston Institute of Finance, 2005, p.105). If my decision is to invest in the current portfolio of mix of stock, bonds and treasury bills in equal proportions, despite of the divisions between fixed earnings and volatility of earnings of the securities, the entire portfolio would give an average (avg.) expected return of 14.78%, with risk of 8.88% associated with it, as per time horizon and risk tolerance. Impact on future Investment Decisions The decision of future investment and formation of portfolio with diversification depends on the characteristics of the investor, the characteristics of the securities in the portfolio and its risk return trade-off which will determine the proportion of investment to be made in each security, observation of the historical performance of the securities, and the time horizon of investment. An investor can be broadly classified into risk averse investors, risk prone investor, and risk neutral investor, based on their degree of risk preference. Risk averse investors prefer security to earnings than risk accompanied by high returns. Such investors prefer to invest more in bonds and treasury bills which will carry a guarantee of return at the end of period with low risk; as such investors try to avoid risks. Some inve stors who prefer to bear risk and avail the high return associated with it belong to a class of risk prone investors. Such investors prefer to invest in risky securities with high returns, such as equity, so as to avail the benefit arising out of it. There is another class of investors known as risk neutral investors, as they do not make any differentiation between debt and equity and opt to invest equal proportion in each (Haslem, 2009, p.158). If I am a risk averse investor, I shall prefer maximum investment in treasury bills and bonds, as this will assure a fixed percentage of returns at the end of the period with low risk associated with it. Thus, 80% of the investment is to be made in treasury bills and bonds, and 20% in company stocks. The proportion of investment in long-term corporate bonds differs from long term government bonds and US Treasury bills, as because long term corporate bonds is a bit risky than the others. If I am a risk neutral investor, I shall prefer equal p roportion of investment in both stocks and bonds (i.e. bonds and treasury bills), with an expectation that if return from stock is higher I shall benefit from my investment, and, if investment in stock fails to provide return, then benefit earned from the fixed income bearing securities would help to offset some portion of the loss. If I am a risk prone invest

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Auditing - Essay Example Later in the year 1999, she was promoted to the post of Vice President in the department of internal audit. However, when the telecom market got saturated the profitability of the company began declining. Cynthia in the year 2002 discovered that the company used illegal practices to manipulate its accounts. It was observed that although the company suffered loss, the balance sheet showed that the company was attaining significant profit. Cynthia thus decided to carry out a secretive investigation on the fraud practices exercised by the company which then resulted to the termination of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Scott Sullivan. In spite of her effort to unveil the illegal accounting practices exercised by the company, she was considered as a major suspect in the federal investigation. Based on the above presented case scenario, this study intends to describe the key criteria for functioning of an effective whistle blower in the corporate level. It also discusses about the polic ies framed by the regulatory bodies to prevent the illegal accounting practices. The term whistle-blower is allocated to a person within an organisation who is engaged in the disclosure of fraudulent and illegal practices executed by employers within the organisation to other organisations or a person who are eligible to take actions for curbing such malpractice (Beller, n.d.). Concerning with case provided, Cynthia Cooper was the whistle-blower who unveiled the fraudulent practices carried in the WorldCom. Almost all organisations are widely concerned about management and employee related fraud. It is thus very important to establish a corporate whistle-blower hotline which ensures effective operation in organisations. The main objective of this hotline should be to detect wrongful accounting practices and avoid future potential illegal practices in organisations. Thus to ensure that the whistle blower hotline is

Main Reasons why Humans Remain Earthbound Essay

Main Reasons why Humans Remain Earthbound - Essay Example As such, as science has grown and developed throughout the years, one of the primal questions that have been born from this original question of the solitary nature of life within the universe is a better understanding and more complete explanation of the universe in which we dwell. For this reason as well as for many others, scientists have long sought to find ways in which to explore the bounds of the neighborhood in which the Earth and the Milky Way galaxy ultimately reside. The extant problem that is illustrated though is the fact that there are a number of constraints that provide an ultimate barrier to humans traveling to other solar systems throughout our galaxy. As such, this brief analysis will consider the key issues that constrain mankind to inter solar system travel (and a limited amount of that). Furthermore, by analyzing each of several different viewpoints for how exploration within and without of our own galaxy might seek to take place, as well as analyzing the key we aknesses inherent in each, it is the hope of this author that the reader might be able to come to a better understanding of just what is preventing us from further exploring and/or colonizing other regions of the universe. The first of these is the fact that the distances that must be traveled are so vast as to be nearly incomprehensible. As a function of this understanding, the reader should come to an appreciation of the fact that distance within the universe is calculated not in miles or kilometers but rather in light years; i.e. the distance covered by a beam of light during the period of a year’s time. To understand just how vast such a distance is, one must understand that the actual speed of light is something approaching 300,000,000 meters per second. As such, the reader can begin to comprehend the actual distance that a single light year actually represents. Furthermore, due to the fact that the nearest star to our own Sun is that of Alpha Centuri, one might assume t hat it would be most reasonable to visit this one as a means of further exploring our universe and understanding the many nuances that exist within it. However, the fact of the matter is that although Alpha Centuri is the closest star, besides our own Sun, it is nonetheless 4.2 light years away (Corley, 2012). This distance provides a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to the current technology that exists. For instance, scientists and researchers in the Russian Federation have been performing extensive rounds of testing on how a manned mission to Mars would affect the health of the crew members. This has been done by isolating a crew of several individuals and putting them in a replicative environment that would simulate the same stresses, both physical and psychological, that such a mission would necessarily engender. Although the trip to and from Mars would take a little under a year’s time, the strain and pressures of sustaining life aboard an unnatural environment for suc h an extended period of time present a whole array of challenges which are but a brief understanding of the means that such pressures would be realized should a longer voyage be undertaken (Landau & Strange, 2011). Although an understanding of the means by which our universe has come into existence, continues to expand, and will ultimately experience a heat death, the science and technology governing astrophysics and space exploration has advanced greatly since the first manned trip into space. However, surprisingly, one aspect of technology that has not developed at all is with

Hamas, hezbolla and islamic jihad Essay Example for Free

Hamas, hezbolla and islamic jihad Essay Hamas is an Islamic resistance movement formed in 1987 to fight for Palestinian occupied land of Gaza strip, West bank and east Jerusalem. However, its initial creation was to destroy Israel and form a Palestinian Islamic state. It is highly known for its suicide bombings and other violence against Israeli military facilities and civilians. Despite these, Hamas has performed various social, military and political activities having provided social and welfare services, such as schools and hospital facilities to Palestinians. It dedicates much of its funds to the welfare, cultural and educational services, which are meant to influence Palestinians so as get their support in their military actions against Israeli. Most of these funds originated from OPEC countries such as Kuwait, Iran, and Saudi Arabia etc. Hezbollah or party of God is a political and paramilitary organization found in Lebanon. It was formed during the Lebanese civil war as the army of Shia followers and they were trained, organized and financed by Revolutionary Guards of Iran. Its main aim of creation was to put to an end Western colonialism, punish the phalaghists and develop a political Islamic nation in Lebanon. To many Western countries, it is considered a terrorist group after being connected to Beirut bombing in 1983, but to Arabian and Islamic countries it is viewed as an organization opposed to Western ideologies and policies. More so, it is highly popular in Lebanese and of them in support of its activities as to them it is legitimate organization. It receives its training, financial and military support from Iran. The organization has its leaders in Lebanese Government, a radio station and a satellites television as well as social and welfare programs such as provision of health and educational facilities. In addition, it is believed to be one of the first Islamic groups to use suicide bombing, assassination and kidnapping of foreigners so that they grievances could be attended to; but later on, they turned to military actions such as firing of missiles etc. Islamic Jihad refers to religious wars, which are declared by Muslims whenever they feel like their Islamic religion is being attacked or threatened. The Islamic groups or organizations have no big difference between them, as they were created to fight for certain grievances or policy changes those they felt inappropriate to the Islamic society. In most cases, they wage terrorist attacks and wars against their opponent without regard for the innocent citizens. They actions are out of desperation and bitterness, given the fact they have to rely on other Arabic and Islamic nations for military and financial support. Without these aid, they have no other way to let world know their grievances and that is why they have to use each and every opportunity to ensure that they point is home, even if its suicide bombing. They differ in terms of their location, financial and military powers, and possibly, their grievances. For instance, Hezbollah is more powerful in terms of its political, economic and social influence than Hamas, this can be attributed to the fact that it is highly effective in its tactics and its policies. The radical groups pose a very big danger to the United States, due to the fact they have a well trained and organized network of their dedicated army strategically positioned waiting for any chance to hit the Americans. These has been portrayed clearly in their current effort to bomb United Kingdom, though one may believe that they are enmity is focused towards Israel. Nevertheless, the fact remains that U. S. support is biased towards the Israelites hence the enmity. At the same time, Muslims believe in religious wars so to them war is part of their religion, hence when they kill a person in the name of protecting their religion they believe there is a reward. Lastly, the fact they are financed by other Islamic and Arabian countries implies that they have the means and the capabilities of attacking the U. S. For instance, Hezbollah was able to defeat Israel with the help of Iran out of Lebanon, and considering that, there is Muslim unity that it is just a matter of what believes. These forms their network which highly in detectable even with the most accurate detecting gadget. Before any negotiations are made, there are several factors, which should be considered: the inducement to commit a terrorist attack is highly determined by the result of a certain terrorist operation, hence the attack that has notably positive impact for the groups are highly and that is the only time when a negotiation is initiated. The Kurdish occupied territories of the Middle East came under the governance of indigenous Kurdish chiefs during the middle era, though they never formed a unified government. However, from 14th century the territories were incorporated to the Ottoman Empire. The incorporation of the Kurdish occupied regions of turkey of eastern Anatolia into turkey angered many Kurds and ended up in a long running war where many people lost their lives. There were major Kurdish conflict in the territory and it was declared a no go zone for foreigners by Turkish authorities for its military use in the year 1925 and 1965. However, turkey first president undertook serious actions to curb the Kurdish cultural and political activities, and this trend followed closely under his successors. For instance, a number of regions were put under martial law to curb the activities of Kurdistan workers party (PKK), and this resulted to severe violent guerilla warfare. This caused much of the country be evacuated and a number of Kurdish inhabited villages destroyed and various judicial execution carried out by both turkey and Kurdish. Since 1999, the state of affairs has cooled down with the abduction other PKK leader Abdullah Ocala, and with the European Union encouragement for official tolerance of Kurdish cultural actions. There are countries that have stake in the Kurdish, turkey and Iraq conflict. These include members of European Union and the western states like U. S, U. K. etc.

Korean Wave Being South Korea’s Economic Growth Booster Essay Example for Free

Korean Wave Being South Korea’s Economic Growth Booster Essay Korean Wave is the growing aspiration to know more about South Korean culture. South Korea itself is an export-orientated country with a total trade volume of 884.2 billion in 2010, which makes South Korea the 7th largest exporter and 10th largest importer in the world. The cultural sector is the second biggest contributor after technological sector to the South Korea’s economic growth. The goods produced by the cultural sector are brought by the Korean Wave not only to the Asian but also to the American and Western markets. Korean Wave does give big contribution to South Korean’s economy through movies, pop music, tourism, and traditional arts. When we think of Korean Wave, we should mainly think of Korean drama and film industries. For example, the Korean wave took an extra boost with the popular TV dramas like â€Å"Winter Sonata† and â€Å"Jewel Palace†. For film, we can take â€Å"Old Boy† and â€Å"Bin Jip† as examples, which were extremely popular, even in Europe. The fact that importing a Korean dramas is a lot cheaper than having to purchase it from any other country can be a reason as well as the emotionally powerful plots they have. Besides Korean movies, Korean pop music also deserves a place on the list of exported Korean culture. K-Pop or Korean Pop is a musical genre originating in South Korea consisting of pop, dance, electropop, hip hop, rock, RB, and electronic music. Let’s say Super Junior, 2NE1, SNSD, Wonder Girls, Big Bang, 2PM, JYP, IU, and many more, who does not know them? In 2011, these groups and singers have donated 35 trillion rupiah to South Korea’s GDP. These idols have a big impact on their fans’ culture, including food, fashion, make-up trends, and even plastic surgery. Leading talent agencies such as S.M. Entertainment Co. and YG Entertainment said recent concerts held by Korean entertainers in the United States and Europe have shown the potential for growth in markets outside of Asia. Korean big business is trying to transform those fans into consumers of Korean products and services. Korean Wave is exposing the beauty attracts that both of their celebrities and the places used by their popular movies have. The locations of the Korean movies took place has become a main destination for tourists. These tourists are mostly the fans who are willing to collect all their savings and travel to Korea just to see the place where their favorite scene in their movie took place, or even to watch their idols on a live show. The filming location of †Full House† in Shido Island, â€Å"Jewel in the Palace† in Daejanggeum Theme Park, Winter Sonata in Nami Island, and so on. Another tourism spots that people aim to visit in Korea are â€Å"Locks of Love† in Namsan Tower, a historic pagoda-style gateway Namdaemun, and another shopping places like Myeong-dong shopping area and Busan market. South Korea is also well-known as a hot spot for medical tourism, the country is expanding its one-stop plastic surgery centers to deal with the influx of foreigners fly ing in for surgical procedures. The government’s goal is to attract one million foreign patients by 2020. Thus, interest in flying to Korea is rising, so is the national income. There are also some Korean traditional arts that interest foreigners to visit Korea. They are like Hanok, Jeongjae, Buchaechum, Nongok, and Taepyeongmu. Hanok is Korean traditional house, whereas Jeongjae , Buchaechum, Nongok, and Taepyeongmu are Korean tradional dances. And don’t forget the Korean ceramics and Korean pottery, that most of them are went to Japan The road to Korean Wave is trodden everyday by new visitors who are warmly welcomed by Korean people and fascinated by the culture. The drive to know more about Korea stimulates Korean Wave to develop into more sophisticated cultural forms, which in turn, brings Korean Wave to a higher level. With this Korean Wave showing the advanced condition of South Korea itself, another countries’ awareness to invest in South Korea increases.

Changes In The Roles And Responsibilities Of Nurses

Changes In The Roles And Responsibilities Of Nurses Nursing staff have seen their roles and responsibilities change considerably within the modernisation of the NHS, but is this a good thing? There are some big changes in the nursing field in the last 50 years such as, uniform, salaries, job demand, the roles of nurses, the different roles for men and women nurses, the technology used, Litigation and Documentation, Holistic Care and patient load. Nurses are becoming more popular and demanding in all sorts of different working environments such as, working in nursing homes, hospitals, home help, travel nurse, school nurse and more. Years ago, nurses were seen just as little more than helpers or assistants for doctors. Today in 2010, nurses are health care professionals in their own right. They are bright, capable, and often have a clearer picture of the overall situation than the doctors they work alongside with. Nursing has not only changed on the face of it but the background work of a nurse has changed to, for example the education given to nurses, the scope of policies and practice, the structures of nurses and the principles of the care of the patient. People are lead to believe that the modernisation of the NHS will be beneficial to the care of the patient, but is this really the case? Due to the increasingly shortage of nurses, they have learned to be more independent which is an outstanding way to increase skills and keep up to date with the new trends in health care. As well as nursing changing, health care in general has changed too. Within the modernisation of the NHS and nursing the care of the patients is still the everlasting goal. This means that there is more work for the nurses, which then has a knock on affect leading to less satisfaction of patient care. Although the NHS and government are doing their best to modernize nursing with the patients interests are heart, it seems like there is less time for care due to time, but more time for paperwork. The Department of Health has laid down certain policy initiatives, targets and structural and organizational changes that can improve the quality of care received by patients through the NHS. These changes are emphasized along with the need for multi-agency and multi-organizational collaborative working acros s disciplinary boundaries. The four key interfaces for which collaboration and coordination measures are being suggested are health and social care; general medical and community health services; primary and secondary care; and interface with carers (DoH, 1996). The education of nurses now days are a lot more intense and harder than it was 10 years ago. Over the last 10 years, there has been a gradual shift for the education and training of nurses. Currently all nurses have to be trained to a degree university level before they can practice as a fully qualified nurse. Opportunities for nurses have increased by large, with one training opportunity being through the internet although this method of training has to be approved by the NHS. On the other hand, years ago nurses only had to have a diploma or LPNS. Now days all nurses have to attend and complete continuing education courses to keep up to date with the new trends and information used in the current day. In addition to the higher and more advanced education, which nurses now have to have, there comes an increases scope of practice. In the current worlds, nurses are doing more and going places that in the past they would not be allowed to have done. The scope of practice is an expression used for various professions that define the procedures, actions, and processes that are allowed to be used and practiced. In the health care profession, there are many different jobs with very different defined scope of practice laws and regulations. These include nursing, social workers, speech and language pathology,  audiologists,  training, radiography,  nuclear medicine, dentists, surgeons, paramedics, physicians and many more. In the interest of the patients, it is a good thing that nurses are allowed to do more and more as there are more doctors than nurses, so the patients may be seen quicker, but on the other hand, it is not a good thing as nurses are doing more and maybe caring for th e patient need and wished less. Nowadays in hospitals, the wards are not gender mixed although the nurses are gender mixed between wards. The stereotypical roles of a nurse have change a lot since the 1990s. There are more male nurses but still not enough. However although there are still not enough male nurses, the female domination of nurses is slowly decreasing and now more men are entering the caring profession. For patients the more male nurses is a good thing because some patients i.e. men prefer to be treated by a man. For example, a man may like to be washed by a man and not a woman for dignity reasons. In addition, for years, the majority of nursing was thought of as a female profession but every year more and more males are joining the nursing profession. Nowadays being a male nurse does not have a stigma attached to it and is now seen as a very good career. The demand of nurses now in 2010 is by large massive. The NHS is always asking for more nurses. When the baby boom started there was a very large need for nurses but as the baby boom is decreasing now there is time and money for improvement of standards of living and disease control, our citizens are living longer. As the general population increases, so too does the demand for nurses. Now more than ever nurses are overworked but with the increasingly shortage of nurses they have to work harder and longer hours, which again is not benefiting the patients. Because of the nursing demand and staff shortage, staffs are taking more sick days due to excessive stress and lack of sleep and self-time. This is because nursing is very demanding on a person not just mentally but physically too. This is seriously compromising the NHS. In 2010 compared to 1980, there is a lot more technology for nurses to use and to be trained to use. Nurses today have to keep up to date with a lot more technology than a nurse 50 years would have had to. Technology can be seen as a good gadget and as a bad gadget, because not only do nurses have to provide basic and skilled care, they also have to learn how to work with many types of equipment that are specific to their area of expertise. The more popular piece of technology used every day by a nurse is a computer. Nurses use them every day as a way to document the care given to a patient. Although new technology is a good advantage for health care, it has its negatives, for example training the staff to use it costs a lot of money, but on the other hand, it can save lifes. Other important technology that is used every day that benefits a patient is, air mattresses as they help to prevent DVTs and assistance with IV insertion which has made things a lot simpler. All of the new high tech equipment being simplified is for user- friendliness, which means that the new methods are speeding things up. Lastly, infection control plays a big part in the NHS every day, so new technology is being developed all the time, although the basic hand washing procedures remain very much the same. There are many different approaches to nursing care, one being the holistic care. This type of care has become more and more popular. The commutations between the Health and Allied Health services improving, a total Patient Care Model has come about. Resulting in decreased in-patient times and better health outcomes. The holistic care has been seen more popular within the complementary therapies and concepts. The patient load that a nursed has is massive. In America, there was a debate about the amount of patients under care of nurses. In 1999, the debate was won and there was a cap of the amount of patients allowed under care of one nurse. The results have been very effective from happier staff and better care for patients. There should be a cap in the UK. The changes of nursing over the last 10 years have been welcomed with open arms, but there are still teething problems and views that need to be heard. Optimal patient care is in a constant battle with budget and we can expect to see new policy reforms, new technology, and new demands created in the decade to come. It remains the responsibility of not only the nurses, but also the patients of the future, to voice their opinions in order to guide the Industry in the right direction. Nurses are now expected to come with a bigger patents load but more paper work as well. The importance of the paper work has increases over the last 10 years. This is due to the society that we now live in as it has been raised to need someone to blame for everything. As a nurse or doctor there are many emotional people around you every day as people are dying all the time. Therefore, sometimes people sue the nurses and doctors as they are upset and think the person died due to the NHSs fault. Following this, nurses and doctors keep finding themselves in court. Even if they have not done anything, all allegations have to be investigated. This is the reason for paperwork there is to write up. Paperwork is the only solid setting stone and proof/ backup of a nurses care. A nurse is required to document every blood pressure reading, every medication, every incident, and every day. They have to  account  for every action, and put it all in writing. The problem with documentation is th at it takes time. More time for documentation means less time for patients. Plain and simple. The polices that nurses have to follow are very similar across the whole world. In Australia, the no-lift policy was introduced in the late 1990s. To date the policy is still used and the nurses are trained using this policy. No-Lift means using Lifting Machines to mobilise patients, using slide sheets to manoeuvre them around the bed and promoting back care in general. Although this concept is yet to be adopted in the UK, the benefits are becoming obvious and discussions have begun on the implementation of a similar policy in the UK. There are many different types of nurses that work in the community and in the hospitals. These can range from, Adult nurses, mental health nurses, Childrens nurses, Learning disability nurses, District nurses, Neonatal nursing, Health visitors, Practice nurses, Prison nurses, School nurses and Healthcare assistants. There are also many different levels to being a nurse. A health care assistant is under a nurse, and then you have staff nurses, then sisters and ward sisters and then nurse manager/ matron. All in all these all make up our NHS and work as a team to provide the best possible care for the patient. There is a large scale of pay, which starts at around  £13,000 to  £67,000. The above table shows how the NHS works. The last 40 years nurses uniform has changed but not that much. In the 1960s nurses still wore dresses and stocking .In the 1970†²s more changes came to the way nurses dressed. Dresses were a little shorter and the white caps were beginning to lose importance in some hospitals across the country. In the 1980†²s there was an end of the nursing caps altogether. Nurses also began wearing disposable aprons at this point rather than cloth aprons and medical facilities became much less militant in regards to restrictions on jewellery and cosmetics. During the 1990†²s and today, nursing dresses have been replaced with much more user-friendly scrub suits. Scrub suits can be found in a wide variety of colours and styles. Some hospitals have specific scrub suit colours for different types of hospital staff and others allow nurses and other staff to choose colours and styles that appeal to them. Todays nursing uniforms are designed more for function than form but are also conside red much more comfortable than those worn throughout history are. There are many different theories towards nursing. The three main ones are needs based theories. The main point being that the focus of nursing is the assessment and care of the patients / clients needs, which they are unable to meet for themselves. The second theory is interactions theories. The main point of this being the focus of nursing is the relationship between the nurse and the patient / client. Lastly, the other theory is the goal-based theories. The main point again being that the focus of nursing is the outcome and emphasis is placed on facilitating the ability of the patient / client to adapt to changes in their health and regain stability and harmony. Today in the NHS nursing takes on a role of the biomedical model. The biomedical model has been around since the mid- nineteenth century as the most common model used to diagnose diseases. The biomedical model states that All illness and symptoms arise from underlying abnormality in the body, all diseases give rise to symptoms and that health is absence of disease. The model overlooks the fact that the diagnosis is a result of commutation between doctor and patient. Biomedical model has no doubt led to huge medical advances although the patient has little responsibility for presence /cause of illness. In conclusion, the changes in roles and responsibilities of nurses in the modernisation of the NHS can beneficial towards the patients but can also be damaging towards the patients. This is due to lack of staff and increased working hours, more paperwork, and more tasks that a nurse has to do and there are generally more patients now than 10 years ago. Therefore, a nurse has less time caring for the patients needs. On the other hand, the modernisation is seen as a good thing because there is more technology nowadays to make the nurses life easier, which also get a more persist result. Within the context of policies and procedures there are no many more rules than year ago, which does make a nurses life maybe easier but maybe harder. With all of these changes to nurses and the NHS in general, is the modernization is good thing, does it have the patients interests are heart or is it about saving money?

Violence Against Women Act :: essays research papers

The Violence Against Women Act creates a right to be "free from crimes of violence" that are gender motivated. It also gives a private civil right of action to the victims of these crimes. The Senate report attached to the act states that "Gender based crimes and fear of gender based crimes...reduces employment opportunities and consumer spending affecting interstate commerce." Sara Benenson has been abused by her husband, Andrew Benenson, since 1978. Because of this abuse, she sued her husband under various tort claims and violations under the Violence Against Women Act. Now Mr. Benenson is protesting the constitutionality of this act claiming that Congress has no right to pass a law that legislates for the common welfare. However, Congress has a clear Constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce. This act is based solely on interstate commerce and is therefore Constitutional. Because of abuse, Sara Benenson was afraid to get a job because it would anger her husband. She was afraid to go back to school and she was afraid to go shopping or spend any money on her own. All three of these things clearly interfere and affect interstate commerce. Women like Mrs. Benenson are the reason the act was passed. There has been a long history of judgements in favor of Congress's power to legislate using the commerce clause as a justification. For the past fifty years, Congress's right to interpret the commerce clause has been unchallenged by the Court with few exceptions. There is no rational reason for this court to go against the powerful precedents set by the Supreme court to allow Congress to use the Commerce clause. In the case of Katzenbach v. McClung, the Court upheld an act of Congress which was based on the commerce clause, that prohibited segregation. McClung, the owner of a barbeque that would not allow blacks to eat inside the restaurant, claimed that his business was completely intrastate. He stated that his business had little or no out of state business and was therefore not subject to the act passed by Congress because it could not legislate intrastate commerce. The Court however, decided that because the restaurant received some of it's food from out of state that it was involved in interstate commerce. The same logic should be applied in this case. Even though Sara Benenson's inability to work might not seem to affect interstate commerce, it will in some way as with McClung, thus making the act constitutional. The Supreme Court had decided that any connection with interstate commerce,as long as it has a rational basis, makes it possible for Congress to legislate it.

Napoleon Bonaparte Essay -- essays research papers

Napoleon Bonaparte   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Napolen Bonaparte was born in 1769 and died in 1821. Napoleon was a military genius for the loyalty of his troops, and for his spectacular victories. The many change of the government in France, against the background of war, made possible the rise of a military dictator. Since childhood, Napoleon was taught stratagies and tactics to help him succeed through battles. At the age of fifteen, he entered the advance military school, the Ecole Militaire in Paris. Napoleon was promoted to a general at the age of twenty four, where he was put in charge of the Italian campaigns. After conquering most of the Italian Penninsula, Napoleon gained the support of the government and earned the respect of Sieyes and Tallyrand. They identified Napoleon as their strong man in the Coup of Brumaire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1799, Napoleon introduced a dictatorship to bring order to the chaos in France. He instituted many reforms, for example in the civil service and treasury. He guaranteed the Frence people equality and fraternity. In exchange, he took away their liberty. Another reform was the creation of the national eduction system. This was a pleasant addition because it adds knowledge to the Empire. Another was a knew constitution, in this he presented to the public in a plebiscite that required them either to accept fully his version or to allow him to govern without the restrictions of a constitutions. This...

Comparison Of Karl Marx And Matthew Arnold :: essays research papers

Comparison of Karl Marx and Matthew Arnold Through their writing, Karl Marx and Matthew Arnold show their opposing views on the importance of internal and external functions of culture. In the first chapter of Culture and Anarchy, "Sweetness and Light", Arnold describes culture as being responsible for the progress of politics and society and as "the best knowledge and thought of the time" (19). Matthew Arnold's culture is based on two main aspects, religion and education. Karl Marx, however, strongly contrasts Arnold's ideas. Marx views culture as being derived from the advancement of the sciences. Matthew Arnold's definition of culture comes from "a mid-nineteenth- century Germanic notion of culture which is founded upon his study of Goethe and Schiller" (19). He believed many other cultures are based on the thought of curiosity and on scientific expansion. Arnold believed culture was based on the expansion of the individual's mind; only through education can a perfect culture be reached. In his writings, Arnold stated that for a man to be cultured he has to be versed in both religion and classic literature. Although Arnold's culture sought the advancement of the human mind; he did not want people to get wrapped up in technology. "Faith in machinery is, I said, our besetting danger; often in machinery most absurdly disproportioned to the end which this machinery" (23). Arnold believes his culture is "more interesting and more far-reaching than that other, which is founded solely on the scientific passion for knowing" (21). Arnold believed that culture dealt with perfection; as he stated in "Sweetness and Light", "Culture is then properly describe not as having its origin in curiosity, but as having its origin in the love of perfection; it is a study of perfection" (21). Arnold also says that culture is the endeavor to make the moral and social characteristics of individuals prevail. Because culture is a study of perfection, then it is also an "inward condition of the mind and spirit, not in an outward set of circumstances" (Arnold 23). Arnold states that, "In thus making sweetness and light to be characters of perfection, culture is of like spirit with poetry†¦" (25). Matthew Arnold felt that religion was an important aspect of culture. Arnold felt that when the reason of God prevailed all society will be cultured. As Arnold states, "Now, then, is the moment for culture to be of service, culture which believes in making reason and the will of God prevail, believes in perfection, is the study of perfection,†¦" (21). Marx states that the ruling class of culture would be the intellectual and material force, he makes no

Multi-layered security Plan Essay

Hardware and software are key pieces of any organization’s infrastructure. Components in each domain of the seven domains of the IT infrastructure may connect to a network or to the internet, and can be vulnerable to malicious attacks. Malicious attacks on hardware and software can also lead to more widespread problems. These problems can include loss of critical data or theft of financial information or intellectual property. Unprotected IT and network infrastructure assets can offer attackers and cybercriminals the widest opening to access sensitive resources. The ease of access makes assets that are connected to the internet the most common first point of attack. That means those assets should be you first line of defense. Technical failure and human error are the most common causes of unintentional downtime. Malicious attacks can occur and cause downtime in all seven domains of an IT infrastructure, but you are more likely to see them in the User, Workstation, LAN, and WAN domains. Opportunity cost is the amount of money a company losses due to downtime. The downtime can be either intentional or unintentional. Some organizations refer to opportunity cost as true downtime cost. It usually measures the loss of productivity experienced by an organization due to downtime. One of the most important things that information security professionals try to protect is their organization’s reputation and brand image. Companies that suffer from security breaches and malicious attacks that expose any assets are likely to face serious negative consequences in the public eye. In the popular usage and in the media, the term hacker often describes someone who breaks into a computer system without authorization. In most cases that means the hacker tries to take control of a remote computer through a network, or software cracking. The media and the general public also use the word hacker to describe anyone accused of using technology for terrorism, vandalism, credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, or one of many other forms of crime. Protecting an organization’s computing resources requires that you have some idea what tools your enemy will be using. Knowing how attackers work makes it possible to defend against their attacks. Many organizations use the same tools that attackers use to help identify weaknesses they need to address and it is better to do so before an attacker does. Computer criminals and malicious individuals use a number of hardware and software tools to help carry out attacks. These tools and techniques include: Vulnerability scanners, Port scanners, Sniffers, War dialers, and Key loggers. As with most technology requirements, it is impossible to cover all of your organizational needs with a single machine or program. By the same token, haphazardly bolting together a number of unrelated solutions leaves cracks that only get bigger as time goes on. What’s required is a multi-layered, company-wide approach in which integrated products complement and reinforce each other. In multilayered Network intrusion detection Systems (NIDS) is the first level of protection against remote intruders. NIDS monitor all the communications that come in to and stop those that look suspicious. This prevents hackers from overloading your server with Denial of Server (DOS) attacks and scanning your ports for vulnerabilities. Next comes the firewall which only legitimate communications (e.g. email, password certified remote users) are permitted to go through the firewall. This prevents unauthorized users from logging into or using your network. Then comes Email Scanning, while an email is technically an authorized form of communication, it may contain objectionable content (pornography, confidential information, overly large files, etc.). This software scans the contents of the email and rejects those that violate your company policies. Internet Security similar to email, a web site is technically an authorized form of communication. However only certain web sites and downloads are appropriate for the workplace. This software uses internal criteria to limit the sites that can be visited, and scans what is downloaded. After that comes Server Level Virus Scanning which is a strong anti-virus program with updated signature files checks for viruses on every file that is saved to the server and protects against them. This is particularly important for email servers, such as those running MS Exchange. Workstation Virus Scanning: Not every file is saved on the server. Files from a number of sources – including those from infected floppy disks or downloaded off the internet – are put directly on the local workstation, which therefore requires its own Anti-Virus software. Update Communication Software: From time to time, prospective intruders and virus writers find vulnerabilities in popular types of communication software, such as Microsoft Outlook. When those holes are discovered software fixes or â€Å"patches† are made to close the vulnerabilities. It is therefore necessary to be diligent about being aware of these updates and applying them to the software. THE BEST DEFENSE: – Attentive Employees and Corporate Policies: We can implement many effective technological solutions, but the most essential piece of a secure business is a company of people who understand the various dangers and the role they play in preventing them. One regularly quoted statistic is that 80% of security breaches come from inside the company. Strong security requires strong corporate policies, clear management dedication, and good employee education about risks. 1) General This MLS plan will give a brief overview of the security strategies that will be implemented at each level of the IT infrastructure. 2) User Domain a. The usage of security awareness training to instruct employees of Richman Investments security policies b. Auditing of user activity 3) Workstation Domain a. The usage of antivirus and anti-malware programs on each user computer b. Strict access privileges to corporate data c. Deactivation of media ports 4) LAN Domain a. Utilizing network switches b. WPA 2 encryption to wireless access points c. Securing server rooms from unauthorized access 5) LAN to WAN Domain a. Closing off unused ports via a firewall to reduce the chance of unwanted network access b. Monitor inbound IP traffic, more specifically looking for inbound transmissions that show signs of malicious intent c. Run all networking hardware with up to date security patches, and operating systems 6) WAN Domain a. Enforce encryption, and VPN tunneling for remote connections b. Configure routers, and network firewalls to block Ping requests to reduce chance of Denial of Service attacks c. Enforce anti-virus scanning of email attachments i. Isolate found malicious software (virus, Trojans, etc.) when found d. Deployment of redundant internet connections to maximize availability 7) Remote Access Domain a. Establish strict user password policies, as well as lockout policies to defend against brute force attacks b. Require the use of authorization tokens, have a real-time lockout procedure if token is lost, or stolen c. Encrypt the hard drives of company computers, laptops and mobile device to prevent the loss of sensitive data

Discuss the scope of mixed branding Essay

Ans. Definition: Mixed Branding is where a firm markets products under its own name and that of the reseller(s) because the segment attracted to the reseller is different than its own market. Eg. The company sells its Elizabeth Arden brand through department stores and a line of skincare products at Wal-Mart with the â€Å"Skinsimple† brand name. Stratergies: When promoting a brand, companies sometimes choose to follow a multiproduct branding strategy, similar to automakers Ford and Toyota. In this regard, a company’s name is an umbrella brand for all its products. Coca-Cola, Apple and Intel have focused their energies on branding their corporate names and images rather than individual products. Grocery chains and big-box retailers use private-label branding to attract value-conscious customers. Advantages: Companies use branding to differentiate their products based on value, quality and other attributes. A positive brand image creates a halo effect that affects existing products and makes it easier to introduce new products. The â€Å"Intel Inside† campaign, for example, was designed to brand all Intel microprocessors as high-performance and high-quality products. Apple has followed a somewhat different route because it relies on its corporate name and unique product brands. A mixed-branding strategy can leverage a company’s reputation for innovation to carve out profitable market niches, such as Apple’s Mac computers for graphics-intensive operations, while developing entirely new markets, examples of which would be iPods and iPads. Kraft consumers know they are getting a quality food product, which makes it easier and more cost-effective for Kraft to introduce and gain consumer acceptance for new products. Disadvantages: The main disadvantage of branding is the high advertising and related public relations costs. Establishing a local or international brand requires years of sustained advertising, high levels of quality and exceptional customer service. A brand image and reputation cannot be established in a few weeks. Companies must continue their promotions even during economic downturns or when sales stagnate, because if they do not, competitors might fill the void and be in a better position when the economy turns around. These expenditures can reduce margins, especially if sales volumes are being affected by price competition or changing customer preferences. Also, there is the risk that poor customer service by wholesalers or retailers in the distribution channel might reflect poorly on the brand itself. Manufacturing issues that lead to product recalls, such as Toyota’s well-publicized problems with brakes from 2009 to 2011, can also affect a brand’s image, which usually requires additional expenditures to repair.

Creativity in Education Essay

A school with creativity at the heart of the learning process will benefit by increasing the motivation of staff and pupils, says former head, Dave Weston. In this article and case study, he shows the way to more imaginative approaches to curriculum planning ‘Creativity is the defeat of habit by originality’ Arthur Koestler Many school leaders and teachers realise that is now time to take more control over the curriculum and to include a greater emphasis on creativity in the learning and teaching process. During the last five years, headteachers have developed the confidence to take innovative and imaginative approaches to curriculum planning and school organisation. This is due to some encouragement from central government in the light of recent perceived improvements in primary literacy and numeracy standards and to the realisation that a wider and more exciting curriculum can lead to greater levels of motivation for all pupils and staff. Creativity and innovation have now been legitimised by the DfES and primary schools are actively encouraged to develop creative ideas and actions: ‘promoting creativity is a powerful way of engaging pupils with their learning’ Excellence and Enjoyment DfES 2003 (page 31) What is creativity? Creativity is often associated with the ‘creative arts’ but in reality it is certainly not unique to the arts. It can be seen and identified in all aspects of the arts, humanities, sciences, maths and technology. The National Curriculum Handbook (1999) included creativity within the section on thinking skills. It stated that: ‘Creative thinking skills†¦ enable pupils to generate and extend ideas, to suggest hypotheses, to apply imagination and to look for alternative innovative outcomes. ’ Didn’t we always teach it? Creativity was taught in the 1970s and 1980s, often through topic-based projects, but there was a lack of accountability, detailed planning and thoroughness. Much of this perceived ‘creativity’ disappeared in the 1990s as it did not fit into a strategic box and schools thought that there was not time for it and that such an approach was not valued by central government. The difficulty in measuring the success of a creative approach to primary learning and teaching gave our education system many problems. As a result headteachers, under the pressures of Ofsted inspection and statistical league tables, became reluctant to take risks with the curriculum. However, more recently this situation has started to change, especially with the development of the creative partnership schemes. The Reggio Emilia approach The success of the Reggio Emilia approach to early years education has influenced theory and practice in the area of creativity in primary education. In schools in Reggio Emilia there is an innovative staffing structure with each early years centre having an ‘atelierista’ (a specially trained art teacher) who works closely with the classroom teachers. In Italy in the primary sector there is significant teacher autonomy with no national curriculum or associated achievement tests. In Reggio Emilia the teachers become skilled observers and they routinely divide responsibilities, so that one can systematically observe and record conversations between children while the other is teaching the class. Teachers from several schools sometimes work and learn together and this contributes to the culture of teachers as learners. The learning environment is crucial in the Reggio Emilia approach and classrooms often have courtyards, wall-sized windows and easy access to stimulating outdoor areas. Each classroom has large spaces for group activities and specially designed areas for pupils and staff to interact. Display areas are large and stimulating and reflect the creativity of the children. Teachers in early years settings in Reggio often refer to the learning environment as a ‘third teacher’ as most centres are small with just two classroom teachers. The curriculum is project-based and there are numerous opportunities for creative thinking and exploration. The teachers work on topics with small groups of pupils while the rest of the class work on self-selected activities. Projects are often open-ended and therefore curriculum planning is flexible and is sometimes teacher-directed and sometimes child-initiated. This philosophy is inspiring and can be partially transferred to the different framework of the British primary school. Whole-school approach to developing ‘creativity’ For school leaders the first step in developing a creative school is the fostering of a whole-school approach. Creativity is not an add-on and it cannot be imposed by the headteacher. There needs to be discussion, involvement and ownership. The debate should be based around some of the following points: †¢taking control of the curriculum by the school. †¢the creation of a school with creativity at the heart of the learning process †¢enhancing the motivation for staff and pupils †¢fostering the professional development of all the staff, both teaching and non-teaching †¢involving governors and parents in a whole-school approach to creativity and showing how this philosophy supports school improvement and high standards of achievement †¢getting the pupils involved in school issues (regarding the curriculum and the learning, perhaps through the school council). How does your school measure up? So how far has your school got in developing a creative approach to learning and teaching? Ask yourself: †¢Have you discussed the freedoms of developing a curriculum appropriate for your school? †¢Does your school development and improvement plan take account of creativity in learning and teaching styles? †¢Is creativity a part of your staff development programme? †¢Is the governing body committed to promoting creativity throughout the school? Is there a nominated governor involved in this approach? †¢How involved are the pupils in discussing the curriculum and in a creative approach to learning and teaching? †¢Does your school carefully plan visits to galleries and projects involving artists and craftspeople? †¢Are creative successes evaluated in the SEF? †¢Does your school celebrate and promote creativity to a wider audience? Celebrating creativity Creativity should be celebrated and the school should consider looking for outside accreditation through the ‘Artsmark’ scheme. Creative successes should be carefully evaluated, highlighted in the SEF and showcased to parents and the community. Staff should be empowered to design activities within the curriculum which are exciting, motivating and relevant to their  school and pupils. Once these seeds are sown, creativity will flourish. Case study: making our school a more creative environment At the primary school where I was headteacher, we recognised that the curriculum had become unbalanced and that we were spending too much of the ‘timetabled’ day on English and maths. Staff kept saying that too little time was being devoted to the arts and humanities. This imbalance was having an effect on the motivation of some pupils, especially in Years 5 and 6 and on the job satisfaction of the staff. Like every school, we were very anxious to maintain high standards in English and maths and to ensure that our KS2 SATs results were good. However, we decided that we were fairly secure in the core curriculum and that the time had come to reclaim the curriculum. Therefore we reviewed our whole-school curriculum plan and looked at all the ways we could make our school a more creative and exciting environment. The aspects of school life we reviewed were as follows: †¢encouraging a more flexible approach to the timetable †¢developing the school grounds to link in with the outdoor curriculum. We decided that the school grounds were under-used as a learning environment. Therefore each curriculum coordinator was given the opportunity to have a part of the grounds as an outdoor curriculum area to support ‘real learning’ in that area. Staff came up with lots of imaginative ideas such as: †¢Music – developing an outdoor music trail with differing instruments hanging from trees and fences. †¢Geography – developing an orienteering trail around the edge of the field. †¢Art – developing an outdoor sculpture area with a clay model from every pupil. †¢Languages – playground signs and rules in differing languages. †¢Science – developing an environmental area with a pond, seating in the shape of different animals and insects. †¢Design and technology – one of the most successful ‘creative’ projects was the development of a courtyard on the theme of ‘containers’. Each of our 11 classes chose a different type of container (Reception chose old wellington boots while Year 6 chose a large tractor tyre) and in the summer they were decorated and planted up. †¢Supporting the Foundation Stage curriculum with exciting outdoor areas and incorporating some of the Reggio Emilia approaches to early learning. The school decided it was important to give the early years staff the confidence to develop an exciting integrated curriculum based on the needs of young pupils rather than on the formalised curriculum. †¢Bringing in artists and craft workers to give pupils to work with adults with different skills. Each year we decided to bring artists into the school so every pupil had the opportunity to work with a ‘real’ artist at some time during their primary school career. This was an expensive approach but worthwhile as often the skills of the artists inspired school staff to try new ideas and therefore provided a professional development aspect to their work. †¢Celebrating the different languages in our school. As our school was very keen on teaching MFL to all the KS2 pupils we decided to celebrate all the languages of our school by designing a mural which showed pupils from all the countries involved saying hello in their home language. Our pupils decided that on the mural the pupils from the different countries should have hats showing the flag of their country. The large mural was painted by the pupils with the support of a professional artist and is now proudly on display by the entrance to the school office. †¢Developing the confidence and role of the art coordinator. †¢Enhancing the motivation of some pupils and giving greater ownership of the learning process to the staff. †¢Getting involved in the ‘Creative Partnerships’ scheme to get access to support and resources. Introduction 1. The HMIE report Emerging Good Practice in Promoting Creativity published in March 2006 gathered evidence from inspections of pre-school centres, primary and secondary schools and community learning and development to: †¢identify and analyse emerging good practice in promoting creativity, and †¢provide advice on a range of issues related to creativity including learning and teaching, assessment, and current practice in evaluating success in promoting creativity. 2. The Scottish Executive Education Department has agreed to supplement the HMIE report by providing a brief overview of some key national policy developments and other initiatives across the UK promoting creativity in education. The aim is to help educators and policy makers by highlighting some important advice and other support to encourage good practice. The paper is not however a comprehensive review. The bibliography is intended to assist those who wish to explore further the issues discussed. Creativity, Culture and Education (Developments in England) 3. Although focusing on England, the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education’s (NACCCE) report All Our Futures: Creativity Culture and Education has proved influential on subsequent efforts to promote creativity in education elsewhere in the UK. 4. The NACCCE was established in 1998 to make recommendations to the then Secretary of State for Education and Employment and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport â€Å"on the creative and cultural development of young people through formal and informal education: to take stock of current provision and to make proposals for principles, policies and practice. † The Committee was chaired by Professor Ken Robinson and its report was published in 1999. 5. The report emphasised that all children and young people can benefit from developing their creative abilities and this should be seen as a general function of education. Creativity can be developed in all areas of the school curriculum: including the sciences as well as the expressive arts. As discussed later in this paper, the NACCE’s definition of creativity was adopted as part of subsequent initiatives in Northern Ireland and Scotland. (A summary of the report’s general advice on teaching for creativity is contained in the annex to this paper.) The NACCE’s report was welcomed by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and Department for Culture Media and Sport. Although the Government did not implement all of the report’s recommendations with regard to the National Curriculum in England, many elements were taken forward. For instance, the report led directly or indirectly to important initiatives such as Creative Partnerships and Artsmark. 6. Creative Partnerships is a government-funded national initiative operating in 36 of the most disadvantaged areas in England and designed to build sustainable relationships between schools, creative individuals and organisations. It aims to transform: †¢the aspirations and achievements of young people †¢the approaches and attitudes of teachers and schools †¢the practices of creative practitioners and organisations who wish to work in schools. 7. Starting with the needs of schools and young people, creative practitioners work across and beyond the curriculum, animating the classroom and finding new ways for teachers to teach and young people to learn. Through the development of projects of varying scales, creative practitioners, teachers and young people work together as equal partners to place creativity at the heart of learning. 8. Artsmark is a recognition scheme for schools’ arts provision run by Arts Council for England and supported by DCMS. The scheme encourages schools to increase the range of arts that are provided to children in schools and raises the profile of arts education. (Further information on Creative Partnerships and Artsmark can be accessed through the links provided in the bibliography. ) 9. The educational debate has moved forward considerably since the NACCCE report was published and there is now a much wider acceptance that a broad and enriching curriculum goes hand in hand with high standards. Since September 2000, schools have been working with a more flexible National Curriculum with greater emphasis on the need for creative and cultural education. There are explicit references to the importance of creative and cultural education in the aims for the curriculum and there are explicit references to creativity – encouraging pupils to use their imagination and look for innovative outcomes. The Schools White Paper, â€Å"Schools: Achieving Success†, launched in September 2001 raised the status of creativity and the arts by pledging to provide a range of additional opportunities for creativity and curriculum enrichment. 10. DfES also hosted the Creativity and Cultural Enrichment Working Group (CACE) from May 2001 to Oct 2003. This working group was set up in response to the NACCCE report as a cross-agency reference group with a clear focus on creativity and cultural enrichment. The idea was to share information across various agencies and departments, to provide updates on key policy initiatives and projects and act as a source of new ideas. 11. CACE has now been superseded by subsequent work such as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority’s (QCA) initiative ‘Creativity: Find it, Promote it’ and Creative Partnerships which have built up the knowledge base of creativity in education and helped spread good practice. QCA promotes creativity as an integral part of all National Curriculum subjects and identified the characteristics of creative thinking and behaviour including: †¢Questioning and challenging conventions and assumptions †¢Making inventive connections and associating things that are not usually related †¢Envisaging what might be: imagining — seeing things in the mind’s eye. †¢Trying alternatives and fresh approaches, keeping options open †¢Reflecting critically on ideas, actions and outcomes QCA advises that, with minimal changes to their planning and practice, teachers can promote pupils’ creativity. 12. QCA’s ‘Creativity: Find it Promote it’, and ‘Arts Alive’ websites shows how to maximise the impact of creativity and the arts in the curriculum, identifies best practice and provides case study examples for teachers containing practical suggestions in promoting creativity and the arts across the curriculum 13. OFSTED — the inspectorate for children and learners in England — carried out a survey identifying good practice in the promotion of creativity in schools (Expect the Unexpected: Developing Creativity in Primary and Secondary Schools published in 2003). They found that there was generally high quality in creative work. Any barriers that existed could be overcome if teachers are committed to the promotion of creativity, possess good subject knowledge and a sufficiently broad range of pedagogical skills to foster creativity in all pupils, whatever their ability. The active support of senior management is also important. OFSTED emphasised that â€Å"the creativity observed in pupils is not associated with a radical new pedagogy†¦but a willingness to observe, listen and work closely with children to help them develop their ideas in a purposeful way. † The report can be accessed here. 14. The latest development in England is an independent review on Nurturing Creativity in Young People jointly commissioned by DCMS and DfES to inform the basis of the Government’s future policy on creativity. The review was led by Paul Roberts, Director of Strategy from IdeA (Improvement and Development Agency). The review team published their report in July 2006. This provides a framework for creativity starting with Early Years, developing through mainstream education and leading to pathways into the Creative Industries. The report also set out what more the Government can do to nurture young people’s creativity. Particular issues discussed include the role of partnerships between schools and the creative and cultural sector, the development of a new Creative Portfolio to celebrate each young person’s creative achievements and creating spaces for creative activity through the Building Schools for the Future the school estate redevelopment programme. The Government will publish a response to the creativity review report and an action plan in Autumn 2006. Unlocking Creativity (Developments in Northern Ireland) 15. Following his work with the NACCE, Professor Ken Robinson chaired a Creativity in Education Working Group in Northern Ireland. The Working Group was a cross-cutting initiative by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL); the Department for Education (DE); the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment (DHFETE) (now known as the Department for Employment and Learning – DEL). The aim was to develop a â€Å"co-ordinated strategy for the development to the full of the creative and cultural resources of the people of Northern Ireland. † The result of this work was the consultation report Unlocking Creativity: A Strategy for Development published in 2000. 16. The report adopts the definition of creativity contained in the NACCE report – Imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value. Creative processes have four characteristics. First, they always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively. Second, this imaginative activity is purposeful: that is, it is directed to achieve an objective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be of value in relation to the objective. 17. Unlocking Creativity: A Strategy for Development made three key recommendations for education: †¢Develop continuity and progression in creative and cultural education throughout learning, teaching and youthwork. †¢The development of methods and principles of assessment and examination that recognise and value the aims and outcomes of creative and cultural education. †¢Ensure that all professional vocational and academic qualifications positively promote the importance of creative and cultural education. 18. The results of the consultation were published in a second report, Unlocking Creativity: Making It Happen, published in 2001. The vast majority of responses supported the proposals made in the consultation document and Unlocking Creativity: Making It Happen set a wide range of objectives for future work. The key objectives for education related to a review of the curriculum being taken forward by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). The report highlighted CCEA’s proposals to include a creative component at all Key Stages. It set a wider objective of signposting clear steps towards accredited programmes of learning for people of all ages interested and inspired by creativity and sought to encourage collaboration between various agencies and departments to ensure that creativity is fully recognised in the development of assessment methods and the curriculum. The report also highlighted the establishment of a Creativity Seed Fund which invested ? 2. 8m over three years to encourage projects that would either promote creativity in education or strengthen Northern Ireland as a competitive presence in the creative industries. The Education and Training Inspectorate produced a set of quality indicators for the Creativity Seed Fund. The indicators cover outcomes and standards, ethos, assessment and review and management arrangements. 19. A third report, Unlocking Creativity: A Creative Region, was published in 2004 and set out a series of medium term strategic measures to maintain the momentum on developing creativity across education, culture and employment. The report again highlighted CCEA’s work on Curriculum Review. The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 will give effect to the revised curriculum, which will be introduced on a phased basis from September 2007. 20. The revised curriculum will be more flexible, offer greater scope for creativity to meet the changing needs of pupils, society and the economy and have a greater emphasis on developing skills. One of the Thinking Skills to be developed across the curriculum is Being Creative, where children should be able to use creative approaches, to be imaginative, to take risks, to question and explore possibilities. The revised curriculum will also provide more flexibility for teachers to tailor what they teach to meet the needs of their pupils and therefore encourage more creative approaches. Assessment will be formative, as well as summative, with pupils assessed in their progress in the skills and areas of learning and pointed towards areas for future development. This Assessment for Learning (AfL) is already being piloted. One of the most important means of promoting creativity in the revised curriculum will be through Education for Employability. Pupils will look at enterprise and creativity in the modern workplace, what it takes to be an entrepreneur and they will have opportunities to demonstrate enterprise and creativity. The pilot work for this aspect of the curriculum has involved school pupils working with local businesses and artists to develop creative solutions to business issues. 21. CCEA is also developing exemplar material and other support materials to illustrate how opportunities can be developed in all curriculum areas to promote creativity. Draft versions of the support materials have been made available to pilot schools and CCEA plans to distribute them to all schools as soon as feasible in the 2006/07 year. 22. Unlocking Creativity: A Creative Region noted CCEA’s work on auditing examination specifications in order to promote creativity in the learning and assessment associated with qualifications. This audit has now been completed and enabled areas in teaching and learning to be identified that would support a more creative approach. The results will be taken into account as specifications are revised for re-accreditation. Re-accredited specifications will be available for first teaching from September 2008 (GCE A-Level) and 2009 (GCSE). CCEA is also working with the English and Welsh regulatory bodies to review accreditation criteria and this will take account of thinking skills, such as creativity. The Department of Education is also considering an incentive and accreditation scheme for teachers, principals and schools with a view to embedding creativity across the curriculum. A pilot has been arranged to test an Artmark Toolkit involving five schools and, following evaluation, will be rolled out to all schools in September 2006. 23. An important feature of Northern Ireland’s work on creativity is the emphasis on harnessing new developments in ICT. Many of the education projects funded through the Creativity Seed Fund included developing ICT skills and linking these to creativity by, for instance, producing material for radio, making documentary films or creating digital content. Unlocking Creativity: A Creative Region seeks to embed the concept of the use of ICT to enhance young people’s creativity across the curriculum. The EmPowering Schools strategy has since been published, which incorporates the development of creativity and innovation in the use of ICT. 24. Unlocking Creativity: A Creative Region included Creative Youth Partnerships (CYP), a 3 year pilot from April 2004 to March 2007 involving the Arts Council NI, the Department of Education, the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Education and Library Boards. Through a collaborative approach, CYP aims to increase participation among young people in arts activities, develop arts infrastructure in NI and develop the contribution of artists and the arts to the learning and development of young people in schools and the youth sector. A key aspect of CYP is local partnerships to develop creative projects using a variety of art forms. The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) is evaluating CYP and its Interim Report (September 2005, full report due October 2006) highlights the developmental nature of the evaluation of a creativity initiative. The Report pointed to some areas for development but found the project to have many strengths. Developments in Wales 25. Wales, like England and Northern Ireland, has a statutory National Curriculum. Creative skills are one of the seven common requirements in the Welsh National Curriculum. Teachers should provide opportunities, where appropriate, for pupils to develop and apply the seven common requirements through their study of all National Curriculum subjects. (The other common requirements include mathematical skills, Information Technology and problem solving skills. ) 26. The Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DELLS) has produced a guidance note for teachers highlighting subject areas of the National Curriculum, from science to modern languages, where pupils can be given opportunities to develop and apply their creative skills, in particular the development and expression of ideas and imagination. 27. A review of the National Curriculum in Wales is currently underway for proposed implementation in September 2008. Findings from an initial consultation in 2004 were that: †¢there should be a clear focus on the needs of learners and effective learning strategies and approaches; †¢there is a need to identify and agree on the range of skills that should be acquired and on their development and application in a range of contexts; †¢there remains a concern regarding perceived overload in some National Curriculum subjects, especially at Key Stage 2 (covering ages 7-11), and the relevance of aspects of the curriculum to the 21st century; and †¢there is a need to ensure that a revised curriculum interests, engages and motivates all learners. 28. Currently DELLS has submitted proposals to their Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning for approval. Following this, the proposals will be open to public consultation. These will include a draft Skills Framework for children and young people aged 3-19. This framework contains the areas of Developing Thinking, Communication, Number and ICT. Within the Developing Thinking are strands highlighting creative thinking. Creativity in Education (Developments in Scotland ) 29. In Scotland, a Creativity in Education Advisory Group was established to consider ways in which creativity could be developed as an important feature of the provision that teachers and schools make for young people’s education. The Group was chaired by Richard Coton, Headteacher of Monifieth High School and its members included representatives from Learning and Teaching Scotland, the IDES Network, HMIE and the Scottish Executive Education Department. The Group’s discussion paper, Creativity in Education, was published in 2001. 30. The definition of creativity in Creativity in Education again reflects that in the NACCE report, All Our Futures, by emphasising imagination, pursuing a purpose, being original and making judgements of value. Creativity in Education, like the NACCE report, stresses the need to encourage experimentation and problem-solving together with reflection and critical appraisal as essential conditions for creativity to flourish in schools. Creativity in Education has a more overt emphasis on the need for schools to foster a personal disposition to be creative in their students. This involves the development of characteristics such as self-motivation, confidence, curiosity and flexibility. However, the publication notes the valuable contribution of group-working to encouraging creativity in, for instance, allowing pupils to build upon each others’ ideas. Creativity in Education also stresses the need for teachers themselves to be creative in the way they encourage and empower children and young people. Teachers need to judge carefully when to intervene and when to take a â€Å"hands-off† approach and to balance planning with improvisation. 31. Creativity in Education was accompanied by case studies providing practical examples of how creativity is being developed across the curriculum. These include the development of a whole school policy on creative learning and teaching (Gylemuir Primary School, Edinburgh); developing creativity in Mathematics (Pollock Children’s Centre, Glasgow/Borgue Primary School, Dumfries and Galloway and Inverclyde Council’s Education Advisory Service) and promoting thinking skills in the context of science education (Monifieth High School, Angus). 32. Follow-up work undertaken as a result of Creativity in Education included the Creativity Counts project. The aims of this project were: †¢To gather evidence of creativity in the classroom across all sectors and all areas of the curriculum. †¢To identify key approaches to learning and teaching, assessment and evaluation. †¢To identify what schools need to do to foster creativity. 27 schools from across Scotland (19 primary, 7 secondary and 1 special) participated in the project. A report of the findings was published in 2004. This was accompanied by Creativity Counts — Portraits of Practice – a publication of case studies drawn from the project. 33. The main findings were that developing creativity in education produced benefits in terms of pupil motivation, enthusiasm and enjoyment. The pupils became more independent in their learning: â€Å"rather than being told; they became more resourceful and reflective. They became good at knowing what worked for them and what did not† (p. 5). However, this freedom to experiment took place within a supporting structure of high expectations and clear outcomes: â€Å"They knew what they were expected to achieve and how to go about that† (p.10). Group working was a strong feature of the projects. This helped to support less confident children and encouraged realistic peer and self-assessment. The pupils responded well to dealing with failure and built confidence in using their imagination and developed a positive attitude to new ideas. 34. Teachers found that they were able to develop a repertoire of teaching skills balancing intervention, â€Å"hands-off†, planning and improvisation. They identified four main characteri.