3 Dimensional Modelling in Architectural Design

Computer package engineering is an of import portion of computing machine engineering, because computing machine is made up of computing machine package, computing machine package engineering is one of the most concerned country in the computing machine engineering, human today manipulated by the fast development of computing machine engineering. Today ‘s package development tends to be more professional and directivity, as a pupil whom is analyzing design, we are frequently in chase of better consequences and had to utilize particular design package to accomplish our ends. As a design pupil we must be all familiar with computing machine 3 dimensional mold package plans Today I’m traveling to discourse the most common known and most frequent used 3 dimensional mold package plan utilizing by non merely design pupil but besides many professional architecture interior decorators and jewellery interior decorators, merchandises interior decorators, urban, interior, exterior interior decorators! Introduction to 3 dimensional mold: The so called 3 dimensional, harmonizing to the theory, is where the human describes any point in 3-dimensional infinite by agencies of three co-ordinates, and we labeled each co-ordinates, the x co-ordinate, y co-ordinate and the omega co-ordinate, where the ten co-ordinate represent left and right of a infinite, y co-ordinate represent up and down of a infinite and omega co-ordinate represent forepart and dorsum of a infinite. Thus it concluded the formation of the human stereoscopic vision ; the 3 dimensional theoretical accounts are made up of 3 dimensional computing machine package plans, this to accomplish further development of computing machine engineering in assortment of industries. We live in a 3-dimensional universe ; meanwhile, we besides live in an informatization epoch and informatization epoch which is characterized by computing machines and digital. Computers are widely used in all industries. Today’s planar imaged computing machine would no longer be satisfied, we wanted the computing machine to be able to show a more reality signifier and the 3 dimensional mold package plans can turn this into world. The alleged 3-dimensional mold is to utilize 3 dimensional informations to construct up bing objects in world or our imagined objects and reconstructed this objects in computing machine. It includes the basic information such as the 3D co-ordinates define the locations of object points, the colour of the object surface, Transparency, and texture etc†¦3 dimensional mold plans is widely used in assorted countries, and it provides an Intuition, so 3 dimensional images play an progressively of import function in assorted Fieldss. There are many benefits and good grounds of why utilizing 3 dimensional mold package plans, First, cognizing how to utilize 3 dimensional computing machine package plans can develop our intelligence to heighten our imaginativeness. During our survey life clip, Because of our acquisition system and the environment, we have become less able to bring forth alone imaginativenesss and less able to lucubrate on thoughts. Chiefly because of the emphasis we are covering with each twenty-four hours, we have become uncreative ; most of the clip we thought copying would be a much simpler manner to bring forth work. However cognizing how to utilize a 3 dimensional mold package plan will make full this vacancy. Second, those who know how to utilize 3 dimensional mold plans can do abstract in writing image become more intuitive and easy to understand. Introduction to Rhino 3 dimensional patterning techniques: Rhino is a powerful 3-dimensional package plan ; it is the first powerful AGLib NURBS patterning engineering complete the debut of the Windows operating system package. Rhino is easy to utilize, extremely flexible and extremely accurate mold tools. Rhino provides about all tools to be used in the creative activity of 3-dimensional theoretical accounts ; it can make any conceivable form, it can besides make any undertaking can non be completed in world therefore Rhino is a really powerful 3 dimensional patterning doing package plan 3 dimensional mold devising is the basic consensus in design devising procedure, without theoretical account edifice, the design thought would be hard to show. It plays an of import portion in the design procedure, because a realistic 3d theoretical account is able to reflect the bend quality and the stuff of the theoretical account, it genuinely made our design thoughts becomes existent. Rhinoceros 3 dimensional Modeling treatment: Modeling devising is the basic mold technique ; Today ‘s 3D mold package plans has its ain unique patterning system, patterning method can hold many different types, but the chief 3 types are the NURBS mold, Polygon mold and Patch Modeling. The rhino package plan provides NURBS patterning devising, subdivision mold, Carving Modeling and polygon mold. Polygon mold is the oldest method, and is besides the most common method ; polygon mold is the splicing of trigons and quadrangles, the 3 dimensional theoretical account we see on screen is connected by the â€Å"face† of polygons, and every â€Å"face† are different sizes and orientations, by arrenging these â€Å"faces† it complete a really complex 3 dimensional theoretical account. NURBS mold, Is the most popular mold method, it offers great flexibleness and preciseness for managing theoretical account forms, is a much more merely and efficient method, it seems everyone can make their 3 dimensional theoretical account utilizing the NURBS engineering. Subdivision mold is besides sometimes called the bomber mold, is a manner of as it named, it applies subdivision surfaces to make new geometry that has the consequence of smoothing out geometries, like regular hexahedrons, pyramids, it produces smooth out render forms. Use of rhino 3D mold in my undertaking analysis: To be able to show my imagined design thought to my audience and interpret my imagined design thought to world, at this phase I began to utilize 3 dimensional package plan rhino to construct my imagined 3 dimensional theoretical account. To construct up a 3 dimensional theoretical account utilizing rhino, it sometimes take longer times, therefore it would be better for us to take a concluding development theoretical account to construct alternatively. This manner we can concentrate on every inside informations of the theoretical account. When utilizing a 3 dimensional patterning plan making a theoretical account, we need to believe carefully about its construction, we must hold a full apprehension of this theoretical account, if we are non certain about the theoretical account construction so the theoretical account that we are traveling to construct would non hold a realistic visual aspect, the inside informations would be losing. Therefore I prefer the quality, non the measure. The use of this 3 dimensional package plan rhino has clearly improved the quality of my design, rhino provides theoretical accounts with texture, the textures of the theoretical account is really merely an image we see on screen, but after rendering, it can do the theoretical account appeared more elaborate and more realistic. Compared with wireframe theoretical accounts, it is a higher degree engineering. Design procedure:Collect relevant information, research relevant graphicssDesign construct: chalk out out all useable and suited thoughtsDeleting unserviceable and unsuitable thoughtsSet up a concluding development theoretical account3 dimensional mold doing utilizing 3 dimensional package plan rhinoKnowing how to utilize this 3 dimensional plans rhino, I have learned many valuable know ledges, foremost, to hold a good presented 3-dimensional theoretical account is a really of import procedure when making a design work, without a good 3 dimensional theoretical account, it is impossible to finish a good design work. And with the aid of this 3 dimensional plan rhino, it made design work go smooth, easy and efficient. Design construct: My design is called the rain angle, the rain angle was inspired by the conditions of Auckland, where the I did a record of the conditions of Auckland, I noticed the conditions of Auckland was interesting due to the rapidly velocity alteration of temperature. The temperature is colder in the forenoon, the temperature is hotter during tiffin clip, the temperature rises at tiffin clip and temperature bead in the late afternoon. I besides noticed Auckland is ever high in degree of humidness, before it rains, humidness normally increases, When it is raining, comparative humidness draws near 85 % -100 % , Auckland mean humidness is between 75 % -98 % , therefore it sums up a decision that Auckland rains really often, I did a record of Auckland conditions by roll uping informations on the web site â€Å"the accuweather.com† the ruddy point represents a twenty-four hours it rained, and base on these ruddy points, I did a graph that shows the rain informations of Auckland! Yet Auckland has unstable temperature, and rains often, but it does non consequence on wild life’s life, people ever say New Zealand is the last Eden for the birds, as New Zealand has more species of flightless birds – both life and nonextant – than any other state. I recorded a conditions information graph and translated the conditions informations graph of Auckland into a 3 dimensional theoretical account ( the rain angle ) the flow and the geometry allows the theoretical account to roll up rain H2O, rain H2O will be reused by birds, birds’ utilizations as a H2O armored combat vehicle and a bird’s bath! This theoretical account is specially designed for birds.

Personal and Professional Development Essay

Task 1. Individuals can research they will be able to do, can be or has been issued a university or college, or even in workplace learning, people can learn different techniques to do research but also for example, a friend of the British business-related information to understand what in a commercial environment. Seminars and conferences People can learn seminars, meetings where they experienced what the future changes. Seminars and conferences, so that people have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge about something other people who end up learning something new. Seminars and conferences can help people become confident in public speaking and development are needed in the organization’s Presentation Skills Social Networking There are different social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, and I book a year, who spent more than two hours a day chatting with friends to learn about other people’s information may also make use of Blackboard, the Internet and the new group of people can learn new things. People can learn how social networks like Mark Zuckerberg, how he became successful owners, individuals can learn and find their way in their career success. Internet Individuals can learn through the Internet, such as different from the articles written by different authors involved in management, strategy, risk management, and other people get this knowledge could be transferred to the workplace. There are on the internet to help people learn things such as Directgov.co.uk, there is different information and services, people can learn from them different websites, you can search. Through self-management of learning, personal experiences like me personal things, there are ways to encourage lifelong learning for personal and professional background. Lifelong learning is constantly learning about the individual, may contribute to their fields of specialization. Individuals can be used as a means of lifelong learning have a personal assessment of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). My advantage is a good learning ability, ambitious, friendly, etc., weakness is that sometimes I feel the pressure, when I’m tired, but I tried to control it with adequate sleep and do some physical exercise, helps to maximize reduce the pressure on me, the opportunity to continue to further my education and the threat of a recession, money. SWOT analysis By assessing personal SWOT analysis, which will help me with my professional learning is selfreflective learning and continuing professional development (CPD) using other tools. Self-reflective  learning attempts to review some comments, personal judgment, understanding and action, you are willing to consider an appropriate manner and honesty. This will help me link to my professional development to practical problems that I’ve experienced in my life, social or academic. Learning self-reflection Learning self-reflection can help in the workplace also have a job assigned to me the tasks and responsibilities, through the development of personal skills and learn new skills. The self-reflective learning comments of things, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) a combination of methods, concepts and technologies to help develop my personal learning and growth to a certain level, I can contact my effective learning, planning and assessment through professional other people, to accept the judgment or opinion. Decision-making, self-management of learning the skills to help individuals purchase decision, through a variety of learning experiences, they may be from the education or work experience. Morality, individuals can from personal experience, this may be an advantage in a professional way to organize learning about moral judgments. Solve the problem, these are the kind of skills, personal skills through self-study, a person can get them on how to solve a variety of problems, almost can be applied in the organization of work,  education, hobbies or interests transferred. Organizations prefer people to be flexible working patterns mean people without a job, may limit any individual to assume different tasks. Individuals can obtain this through self-study to focus on organizational goals. Task 2. What does the word priority mean? When we prioritise something in our workplace we have established its order of importance. We are giving it special attention because it is important at that time to do this task first. Let me give you a very broad, perhaps exaggerated example. You are bagging instruments in the steriliser room. The receptionist has slipped out to get some milk. The telephone rings. What do you do? Of course you don’t keep bagging the instruments because that is now not your top priority. You stop and answer the telephone. Spare time duties tend to come into play when prioritising work. These are tasks we carry out when we have spare time rather than giving them top priority. Take a moment to think of  tasks that take priority over others. These tasks will have a hierarchy of importance. Most times you will automatically place your tasks in some priority order without even thinking about it. At other times a certain task takes precedence over what you are doing at the moment and you have to change tack. There may be many tasks similar to the telephone incident that you will have to give priority to when the situation demands it. That is what work prioritising is all about. The right of self-analysis and job analysis First, through scientific methods and means of cognition, their career interests, temperament, personality, ability to conduct a comprehensive understanding, know their strengths and strengths, weaknesses and shortcomings. Designed to avoid the blindness, to design a highly appropriate. Secondly, the modern professional with its own regional, industry, job and other characteristics. To rate this occupation where the industry status and development prospects of a more in-depth understanding of such talent supply situation, the average wage situation, an informal group of industry norms; also need to understand the specific occupational skills. Construct a reasonable knowledge structure The accumulation of knowledge is taught basic and necessary conditions, but knowledge alone is not sufficient to show that a number of people really level of knowledge, not only to have a considerable amount of knowledge, but also to form a reasonable knowledge structure, there is no reasonable knowledge structure, can not utilize their creative function. Reasonable knowledge structure generally refers to the pagoda, and network type. Training of professional practice ability required Comprehensive ability and knowledge is the basis for the employer select talent. Generally, enter new positions should focus on training to meet the needs of the community in decision-making ability, creativity, social skills, practical skills, organization and management skills for lifelong learning and self-development ability, psychological adjustment, resourcefulness capability. Participate in vocational training useful Vocational training, including vocational skills training, vocational adaptability of self-assessment, career intentions of scientific determination and so on. Through the â€Å"three rural† activities, students â€Å"youth volunteer† activities, graduation practice, and engage in social entrepreneurship on campus part-time simulation of professional practice, career intentions evaluation etc. vocational training. To meet the company’s  needs and future requirements 1. Self-assessment. Including the individual’s needs, abilities, interests, personality, temperament, etc. analysis to determine what career is more suitable for themselves and what they have the ability. 2 .Organization and Social Environment. More emphasis on short-term planning analysis of an organization’s environment, long-term planning should focus more on the analysis of the social environment. 3. Career Opportunity Assessment. Career opportunities include the assessment of longterm opportunities and short-term opportunities for assessment. Through the analysis of the social environment, combined with my specific situation, assess what the long-term development opportunities; organization’s environment through analysis, evaluation organization which short-term opportunities for development. 4. career goals OK. Determine career goals include goals in life, long-term goals, medium-term goals and short-term goal setting, they are associated with life planning, longterm planning, medium-term planning and short-term planning correspond. First, according to personal professional, personality, temperament and values and social trends to determine their own life goals and long-term goals, and then provide detailed life goals and long-term goals, based on personal experience and organizational environment in which to develop appropriate medium-term goals and short-term goals. 5. to develop an action plan. The objectives into specific programs and measures. This process is the more important action programs have career path choices, career choices, appropriate education and training plans. 6. Assessment and feedback. Career planning assessment and feedback process is an individual constant awareness of their own process, but also the constant awareness of the social process, is to make more effective career planning a powerful tool. Task 3.First began to weave dreams, including you want to have, what you want, you want to be, and you want to experience. Sit down, take a piece of paper and a pen, write down your wishes hands. When you write, do not control what those goals the way to go to reach, is to try to write. Until you feel there is nothing you can write, you can look at the following questions and answer them, and these questions will guide you to get to know their own heart’s desire, which would take some time, but you are now efforts to The next step is for the rich harvest for the next base. 1) in your life, what five things  do you think the most valuable? 2) In your life, which of the three most important goals? 3) If you have only six months to live, how would you utilize these six months? 4) If you immediately become a millionaire, in what matter, your approach will be different and today? 5) What are the things that you have always wanted, but did not dare try to do? 6) In life, what activities do you find most important? 7) If you are sure that he will not fail (have substantial time, resources, capacity, etc.), which one would you dare to dream something? After answering these questions, you have a list of all the targets are divided into six categories – 1 healthy 2, training / knowledge 3, love / family 4, career / fortune five, six friends, social Look at what you wrote, I hope to reach the expected time frame. When do you want to accomplish? There just might be called to achieve time-bound targets, no time limit can only be called a dream. Selected in this year’s most important to you four (also can be increased to six) goals. Your list of goals from Select your most willing to invest, you most excited I want to try, the best way to satisfy your four things, and write them down. I suggest that you clearly and concisely, certainly write your  real reason for implementing them, tell yourself to achieve its objectives and their grasp of the importance to you. If you do things to know how to find a good reason, then you can do anything, because the motivation to pursue goals motivate us more than the goal itself. Check your list of four goals, whether the result of the formation of the five rules match. 1) with a positive tone to anticipate your results, say what you want rather than undesirable; 2) the results to be as specific as possible, but also a clear deadline set for the completion of the project; 3) to be able to get things done when you know completed; 4) To be able to seize the initiative, rather than fancy about; 5) whether the benefit to society. List what you already have a variety of important resources. When you make a plan, you have to know what tools to use. You have listed a list of resources, which includes its own personality, friends, possessions, educational background, time, capacity, and others. This list is more detailed the better. When you finish all this, would you please review the past, there are those who will use the resources listed in your very skillful. Find out what you think the past two or three most successful experience, think about what to do special things  that has caused career, health, finance, relationships successes, make a note of this particular reason. When you’re done in front of career planning method, please write to achieve the goal itself has the condition. Write down your reasons for not immediately achieve their goals. First you have to start from the analysis of their personality, why hinder your progress? To achieve their goals, you have to take what approach to take? If you are unsure, you can think of are there any winners worthy of you to learn? You have Daosuan from the final achievement, to your current position one step list the required practices. Then you find out in Article VII of the data as you design your plans for the future reference. May now that four important goals for yourself, set out to achieve their career planning approach for each. Do not forget, set back from your target career planning methods, and ask yourself, how to do my first step, to be successful? What hinders me, how do I change ourselves? We must remember that your plan may contain what you can do today, do not aim too high. Find some for themselves a model worthy of emulation. Celebrities from around you, or from which to identify three, five goals in your outstanding achievements in the field of people who simply write down their successful character and deeds. You done that, you think the eyes closed, as if each of them will be able to offer you some suggestions to achieve their goals, write down each of them a recommended approach, as they talk privately with you, like, focus in the next sentence down his name. Recall that in the past there had been a major success stories. Biao for technology use it with your new target image replacement. There are so diverse and the overall significance of the target. Create for themselves an appropriate environment. Often reflect the results made. Out a form, write down your goals in the past has been realized something. Thou shalt see what he  learned during this period which is worth to thank the people that you have what special achievements. Many people often only see the future, but do not know to cherish and make good use of already owns. So I’ll tell you that one of the elements of success is to keep a grateful heart, and always be grateful for their situation. Task 4. Skills are those that can be migrated from one job to another job transfer in use, and can be used to perform many types of job skills. Many liberal arts students may be positive for the lack  of formal work experience and concerns, but also feel that they have few skills, here to talk about liberal arts students in schools can and should play in the development of skills that can be migrated The modern college students, need to exercise can be migrated skills include: 1. Communication Skills: Effective Listening, drafting articles and reports, to individuals or groups illustrate the importance of your point of view, the negotiations deal with controversy. 2. solve problems or critical thinking skills: analytical thinking, abstract thinking, in order to examine the broad vision problems, define a problem, identify the problem with a different solution, create a different response to the problem, to persuade others to groups to act in the best interests prevail. 3. interpersonal skills: talking with colleagues, knowing that others, to help people solve problems, communicate ideas effectively, collaborate with others to solve problems and complete the task, with diverse groups to work well, professors or training others. 4. Organizational Skills: assessment of needs, planning and scheduling presentations or social events, project design, coordination of activities, licensing, project evaluation, management of project implementation. 5. Research skills: computer database searches or printed reference materials, discovery and formation theme, analyze data, to data classification, to deal with specific matters, survey questions, recording data, writing term papers report back. School, work and social life needs, may mean that you leave things the night before, or forgot to hand important task. Good time management can help you to play with your busy life. You do not need your grades suffer, all the hard work go to waste, because you let some slip through the net. Step 1: Get your schedule helicopter view In your academic planners to: 1. assignment deadlines and other assessments due 2. Date of Examination 3. need to participate in social functions, such as a family birthday or regular sporting events. Step 2: Create a master to do list The best you can do one of the things you need to do is to list all the things. Writing things down and get them out of your head and onto the paper’s behavior to reduce your stress, so you know exactly what you need to do. Step 3: Weekly Use Plan Plan your work and work your plan, you avoid the trap of last minute cramming sessions and nervous the night before the job to write-ups. Time management for students, this is a win-win situation, because you 1. to reduce your stress, 2. Improve the quality of your learning, 3. to improve your score! Step 4: Improve your learning skills Effective learning is not an all-night cram session the day before the exam. Nor is it his desk 12 hours straight! One of the important time management skills for students to plan and manage new information. This involves up to date with your reading and learning experience is a positive contributor. Achievement of a part can be connected with the fact that the knowledge of the larger model, and then communicated to their own words.

Band of Brothers Essay Example for Free

Band of Brothers Essay The book title, â€Å"Band of Brothers,† by Stephen E. Ambrose is a book that shares the risky undertaking and hazardous experience that the United States Army had to go through in World War 2. Bravery is an understatement when describing the men of East Company’s personalities. The book really helps the reader describe the relationships and friendships that were either directly or indirectly developed as a result of going to war. From the extremely brutal training, to the depths of enemy territory, these men developed a brotherhood that only can come about as a result of extreme situations such as preparing and training for war, as well as World War 2 itself. This book not only describes Easy Company but other military veterans or active service members can relate to the situations described in the book. First of all, the book’s title describes things very accurately. Like most military divisions, Easy Company which was a part of the 101st Airborne Division in the Army, had to go through an exhausting basic training course in Camp Toccoa in Georgia. This alone is going to establish bonds and friendships among the young men participating in this training, whether they are looking for a buddy or not. Much of Easy Company already had an unspoken brotherhood before they even came into basic training. Many of these men had grown up in the terrible time of the depression and many of them had something in common. During Easy Company’s time in basic training, they not only had to compete with their selves, but with other militaries. â€Å"A day or so before leaving Toccoa, Colonel Sink read an article in the Reader’s Digest that said a Japanese Army battalion had set a world record for marching endurance by covering 100 miles down the Malayan Peninsula in seventy-two hours. (p. 28)† Colonel Sink wanted to top the Japanese’s achievement so he ordered his men to do better. This was a very miserable journey and test for Easy Company but they accomplished more than the Japanese Army had. War in itself is a competition but this book also examines with detail, the miniature competitions that occurred during World War 2. This march helped bring the soldiers together even closer and it also gave them the confidence and conditioning they needed to go into the brutal battles of World War 2. Most importantly, trust develops between these men because they are confident that they have well trained soldiers going into battle with them and not people that are going to drag their feet. â€Å"They were prepared to die for each other; more important, they were prepared to kill for each other (Pg. 1). The first battle which was the invasion of Normandy proved to be an eye opener that would just only strengthen the bond and brotherhood that Easy Company had. The pure terror of landing in Normandy and facing the Nazi German in a low vision area was at this point, the ultimate test to see if the training they bared in Camp Toccoa was good enough. With bullets flying and loud bangs disrupting their hearing, many of the men could not locate the rest of the group. Winters helped to organize and reunite a few men so they could have a better chance against the Germans by sticking together. Even though men were lost, Lieutenant Winters proved in a small victory that Easy Company was a highly trained group of soldiers that could get the job done in defeating the Nazis. Winters achieved this with a small group of soldiers as well. â€Å"The attack was a unique example of a small, well-led assault force overcoming and routing a much larger defending force in prepared positions (Pg. 84). † Even though this gruesome battle was an eye opener to the horrors of war, Easy Company’s soldiers were described as confident, had a will to survive and a sense of pride. Band of Brothers. (2017, Feb 03).

Finance project 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finance project 2 - Essay Example This means that the products produced within Hungary are sold to other countries in fewer quantities and monetary amounts than the products purchased from those nations. Since all the transactions are carried out in US Dollar, this trade deficit would increase pressure over country’s foreign reserves thus demand from importers (for dollar) will surge and would possibly result in lowering the monetary value of Hungary currency. Perhaps, the most important factor that could result in increasing trade deficit is reversal of international oil and commodity prices because today international economies are coming out of recession and are demanding more oil, food and other commodities to fulfill their domestic needs and oil requirements. Oil prices have already recovered to a level of 75-80$ per barrel and are expected to increase further in near future in the wake of better economic outlook and forecasts. This would put great pressure over Hungarian government because it would incre ase the trade deficit and further deteriorate HUF-Dollar parity. The dollar-HUF disparity (at present the exchange rate is 170 HUF per dollar) is perhaps a major reason of inflation (higher prices) which currently stands at 3% and could increase in near future amid higher international prices of various products. The rule is simple and clear: the higher the exchange rate, the more expensive the imports and prices will observe an upward trend in domestics for these imported products thereby causing inflation. Moreover, the rise in prices will also lower down the purchasing power of people in Hungary; therefore, would result in greater unrest and lower economic growth. People are bound to cut down their expenses to improve their savings. On the flip side, the weakening of US Dollar against international currencies such as Euro, Pound, Japanese Yen etc because of USA’s surging trade deficit and various internal factors might not aggravate the exchange rate in Hungary and could therefore

Deferred Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Deferred Taxation - Essay Example Such differences only impact on the taxation computation of one period. Deferral method is where the tax effects of current timing differences are deferred and allocated to future periods when the timing differences reverse. Since deferred tax balances in the balance sheet are not considered to represent rights to receive or obligations to pay money, they are not adjusted to reflect changes in the tax rate or the imposition of new taxes. Under the deferral method, the tax expense for a period comprises of provision for taxes payable and the tax effects of timing differences deferred to or from other periods. Liability Method is where the expected tax effects of current timing differences are determined and reported either as liabilities for taxes payable in the future or as assets representing advance payment of future taxes. Deferred tax balances are adjusted for changes in the tax rate or for new taxes imposed. The balances may also be adjusted for expected future changes in tax rates. Under the liability method, the tax expense for a period comprises of the provision for taxes payable, the amount of taxes expected to be payable or considered to be prepaid in respect of timing differences originating or reversing in the current period and the adjustments to deferred tax balances in the balance sheet necessary to reflect either a change in the tax rate or the imposition of new taxes. 3. Nil provision, partial provision and full provision Nil provision is where no provisions are made for deferred tax whatever the circumstances. This is based on the principal that only the tax that is deemed to be payable in respect of a period should be accounted for in the financial statements. Full provision is where the tax effects of all timing differences are recognized as and when they arise. Although this method is arithmetically accurate it can lead to the building up of large meaningless provisions in the balance sheet. Partial provision lies between the two extremes stated above. Deferred tax should be accounted for in respect of the net amount by which it is probable that any payment of tax will be temporarily deferred by the operation of timing differenced, which will reverse in the foreseeable future without being replaced. 4. Discounting Discounting deferred tax assets and liabilities enables to reflect the time value of money. IAS 12 does not permit discounting due to the difficulty in ascertaining the timing of reversal of each temporary difference B) Critically assess the current IAS 12 requirements for accounting for deferred tax Deferred tax is an accounting term, meaning future tax liability or asset, resulting from temporary differences between book (accounting) value of assets and liabilities, and their tax value. This arises due to differences between accounting for shareholders and tax accounting. Deferred tax arises when the actual tax as a result of a particular transaction (tax payable or recoverable) arises in a different period from the period in which the transaction is included in the financial statements. The provision for taxes payable is calculated in accordance with rules for determining taxable income established by taxation authorities. In many circumstances these rules differ from the accounting policies applied to determine accounting income. The effect of this

Chinese history and culture analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chinese history and culture analysis - Essay Example However, watching the movie, it is difficult to say if this fact destroyed him or helped him survive. The trouble is that in the conditions of so-called â€Å"cultural revolution† it was really impossible â€Å"to live†. It is essential to overview the historical facts in order to understand the plot of the movie. The Great Proletarian Cultural revolution in China represented a series of ideological and political campaigns of 1966—1976, which were organized and supervised by the chairman Mao Zedong. The main goal of Chairman Mao was to discredit and abolish political opposition and set up the regime of his own absolute power under the pretext of the possible â€Å"restoration of capitalism† in the Republic of China and â€Å"the struggle with internal and foreign revisionism†. According to the Chinese historians, the main reasons of â€Å"cultural revolution† were the following: 1) absolutization of the role of class struggle by Mao Zedong; 2 ) the cult of Mao Zedong’s personality that reached its peak in 1966—1976; 3) the struggle for the leadership in the party, active use of the mistaken views of Mao, the cult of his personality and his style by the heads of the Party in order to strengthen their power. â€Å"Cultural revolution† led to the wide-ranging repressions against intelligentsia, the destruction of Communist Party, social organizations, as well as to the great damage of culture and education, destruction of cultural monuments under the pretext of the struggle with the feudal principles and traditions, the changes in foreign policy, rapid expansion of the anti-Soviet ideology in the country. The system of state control was actually abolished. The law-enforcement and judicial system were inactive, thus hongweibing and zaofan, the groups or rather bands which were actually implementing the Cultural Revolution, were free to act in their own way. Certainly, this led to chaos. At the beginning hongweibing acted under the control of Mao and his people. There were many careerists among them and they managed to make a fast career. They were going ahead without remorse accusing their teachers in â€Å"counter-revolutionary revisionism† and their â€Å"comrade-in-arms† in the insufficient revolutionary character. Many of them grew up in unhappy families. Uneducated and cruel, they became the perfect tools in the hands of Mao. However, at the same time, among the strugglers there were many intellectuals. Later the Hongweibing were divided into two groups according to their origin. The first group included those who grew up in the families of intellectuals and the members of the Party and the second included the descendants of working class. There was an uncompromising struggle between the two groups. They followed the same rules, but interpreted them differently. After the confrontation of the two bands a murderer could say that it was â€Å"mutual assistanceâ₠¬ , a thief, who stolen bricks from the plant justified himself stating that â€Å"revolutionary class should reach its goals†. Mao’s control over the executors of Cultural Revolution was becoming weaker, but the main directions of the chaos development remained under his control. Mao had to interfere in the struggle when hongweibing became too cruel. Even in the small villages there was a war between â€Å"the North and the South of the village†

Case interpretation Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Case interpretation - Research Paper Example These scenarios provide a basic idea about the challenges which might be faced by the business environment in order to survive in the marketplace in the year 2050 (Deutsche Post AG, 2012). Among these case scenarios, this paper aims to evaluate the state of affairs presented in the first scenario, titled as Untamed Economy – Impending Collapse. Furthermore, the paper will assess the challenges which might be faced by the logistic industry due to the most probable challenges in the business environment of 2050. It will also intend to identify the reasons and/or causing factors of these challenges. Case Scenario: Untamed Economy – Impending Collapse The entire world is distinguished with the assistance of unrestricted materialism and consumption. In addition, the rapid growth of international trade set the pace of business and economy all across the world. The advanced global transportation also ensures the frequent exchange of goods and services all across the internatio nal territories and/or boundaries. With this concern, it has been observed that the world economy is forced by unsustainable standard of living along with the uncontrolled exploration of natural resources which in turn creates a string negative impact over the stability of business environment. ... It is most likely to be disrupted by the frequent natural disasters which in turn can have strong influences on the global supply chain increasing capital costs in terms of logistic companies. Apart from this, the international trade is also quite likely to increase the demand of production processes by the companies in the global dais. Therefore, rising insufficiency of energy resources, higher energy prices and costlier raw materials shall lead to slackened profit margin in the industry sector. With this concern, operational managers of the global logistic industry should actively response to the disasters with the help of contingency planning (Operations Manager, 2012). It has further been observed that operational managers are mainly engaged with inventory management processes, shipping and receiving as well as hiring and training employees in the current day context. However, in such probable scenario of 2050, an operational manager shall need to focus on inventory management al ong with strong networking of supply chain according to the regional divergences in order to maintain the profit margin (Johnston & Clark, 2012). Challenges to be faced by the Logistic Industry in the Year 2050 In the year 2050, the logistic industry might have to face various challenges in terms of supply chain disruption, high energy prices, expensive raw materials and shrinking profit margins. In the upcoming eras, there are high chances for scarcity of resources due to the natural disasters and frequent climate changes which in turn shall create the nationalism and protectionist barriers across the international boundaries. Additionally, this might come up with

The Benevolent Benjamin Franklin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Benevolent Benjamin Franklin - Essay Example Franklin had to learn at an early age to become an independent studier of academics, since books were quite rare and very expensive in this period in history, thus setting the foundation for his motivational prowess found later in life. Because of the aforementioned experiences, and many other exposures to diverse citizens in domestic and international society, Franklin began to understand the importance of virtue, character, integrity and the pursuit of securing the common welfare. Franklin eventually evolved into a highly-benevolent statesman who genuinely believed in the construction of ethical philosophy and the social promotion of self-improvement to better personal character. THE JOURNEY TOWARD SELF-IMPROVEMENT In Franklin’s autobiography, he continuously refers to situations that occurred throughout his lifetime that lay the foundation for his views on self-improvement, with considerable emphasis about the importance of divinity in establishing this principle. In 1756, Franklin was commissioned to take a leadership role in the construction of fortified structures for the military to ensure protection against growing Indian enemy threat. During these months, involving very difficult labor, Franklin witnessed what he referred to as â€Å"contemptible† management policy for workers (Eliot, 140), who had been charged with using axes and shovels to dig trenches and process lumber for fort construction. Franklin found that when men were gainfully employed, they were more jovial and willing to comply with management and laboring direction. During periods where there was limited work available, these same laborers would argue and complain due to these frustrations. The leadership of the fortification construction projects, rather than recognize laborer needs, would simply provide them with trivial grunt work as a means of satisfying the ongoing complaints. Through these observations, Franklin began to recognize the foundations of human nature and e ffective management which is more in-line with contemporary leadership philosophy about establishing relationships and providing satisfaction to laborers to improve productivity and commitment. Franklin seemed to recognize the imperative of searching for opportunities for self-improvement in terms of providing for the social and tangible welfare of others through these experiences. During this construction phase in Franklin’s life, he provides an example of where these realizations became apparent when discussing a lack of commitment by the aforementioned laborers for attending prayer services. Franklin offers to the project chaplain regarding the use of rum provisions as an incentive for regular and timely attendance of these services: "It is, perhaps, below the dignity of your profession to act as steward of the rum, but if you were to deal it out and only just after prayers, you would have them all about you." (Eliot, 141). Franklin believed that the volume of promises for incentive-based alcohol was not meeting with expected results for prayer attendance, since men inherently have gluttonous attitudes (this was apparent during periods where laborers were argumentative and dissatisfied). Franklin recognized that men required seeking self-improvement and that it is not always beneficial to provide abundance until the individual has sought emotional intelligence and self-reflection to monitor and control behaviors. Even though Franklin

Business CourseWork (Should NewPostcom Introduce a 10-day military Essay

Business CourseWork (Should NewPostcom Introduce a 10-day military training course) - Essay Example mployees declared the training beneficial for their discipline, confidence and incentive to work as well as for future teamwork collaborations, something that is evident from their professional record as well. The costs of the military training were recorded, as well as the difficulties in the way of the launch of such a training course. However, in view of the great benefits of such a program, as well as keeping in mind the positive results and cost effectiveness thereof, it is recommended that the training course be launched. This project will undertake to discover whether it is practical for telecommunications firms, such as New Postcom, to introduce a 10 day military training course for its new employees. It was observed that some firms have concluded that the new generation of Chinese professionals lacks the professionalism to function effectively at work. Some of the senior managers have laid the blame on the pampering of the new generation that was brought up under the One-child policy of China; being the only child at home, the young professionals were pampered a great deal by their parents and, consequently, did not develop a responsible and independent character. Therefore, some of these employees, who lacked the incentive to work hard professionally, underwent a 10 day military training course in order to improve their professional skills: motivation, confidence and hard work. The project aims at finding out whether such a military course would, indeed, be so beneficial. This would be done by surveying the employees who have underwent such a training course to find out if they felt any benefits of the training course. They will be handed questionnaires to answer that would help gauge their feelings concerning the course. Direct interviews, both of the employees and the employers who are supervising them, will also be conducted. The first set of interviews, as well as the questionnaires, will shed light on what benefits the course had on the employees,

The Black Death and its aftermath Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Black Death and its aftermath - Essay Example The religious view argued that the "Black Death" was created by the Jews so that they could eliminate all the Christians from this world. They believed that the Jews had poisoned all the wells and springs. Therefore, they persecuted the Jews demanding them to confess their evil schemes. Many of the Jews confessed that they obtained this lethal poison from a foreign land but it was done without the knowledge of the Jewish community. Many communities had to pray hard for rain so that their people could have pure water to drink and cook. Some of the regions that were severely affected by this disease believed that God would want the Jews to be punished for this act. So they began to burn the Jews for poisoning all the wells and springs. As a result of the torture, many Jews were adopted to the Christian faith through baptism in order to avoid undeserved punishment 2 (Horrox, 1994). The religious view also argued that the plague was a punishment from God. They believed that the human race deserved to be punished because of their disobedience to God. People lived lifestyles that were sinful, unrighteous and not pleasing to him. Because of this, God had to demonstrate his sovereign power by allowing humanity to suffer. People could be cured from this disease but in order to be healed they had to humble themselves and totally submit to His authority. In comparison, the practitioners from Egyptian and Mesopotamian nations had 'medicine' to make peace with the gods. They believed that performing certain rituals and incantations before the sick person would cause him to be delivered from the demon spirit, for they all believed that diseases were caused by demons 3 (Horrox, 1994; & Longrigg, 1998). The medical theory presented two main explanations on the plague. Firstly, they believed that the cause of 'Black Death' was associated with "miasma" which means "bad air". They said that when a person inhales 'bad air' it goes directly into their lungs before it gets transmitted into their blood stream. Therefore, it starts to affect the patient's body by generating various symptoms such as headaches, coughing up blood, and a rain increase in the pulse rate. 2 The disease also would spread quickly into the air when the afflicted patient exhaled. This medical theory supported the fact that the air was not the main cause of the plague; instead, the plague was a direct result of the pollution or bacteria in the air that which was the cause for the disease. So when a normal individual contracted the disease through an afflicted person, they were both required to immediately leave the town before they passed it on to more people4 (Horrox, 1994). The medical theory also claimed that the plague was caused by an imbalance in the individuals' diet. For instance, individuals with inadequate nourishment were more vulnerable to the plague than people with malnutrition. People who consume an adequate amount of water were less susceptible to the disease. This indicated that the socioeconomic status was a significant factor in determining the rate at which the disease spread. Therefore, people from low class families were mainly blamed for the elevation of 'Black Death'. The medical view

Compare the importance of team work and personal attributes Essay Example for Free

Compare the importance of team work and personal attributes Essay There are three ways Asda and Betta Value can use communication skills this is done through written, verbal and listening skills. Asda and Betta Value have different structure and size so the businesses needs a different balance of team working skills personal attributes in their staff. Listening, verbal and written skills At Asda Written is internally most dependants for the reason that they are a big business if you are relying on verbal communication the employees need good listening skills and good at following instructions. More instructions will be written into rules and processes to follow, their will be more check lists to make sure tasks are done and dusted. Betta Values uses verbal skills because of the size and level of the business this is because that Betta Values is a flat structure so the staff uses a lot of verbal communication Both businesses need to listen because they are both dealing with customers, if staff dont then they will loose clients but Asda is more likely to formally train employees in communication skills. For Asda personal presentation will be more consistent because staff will get issued with full uniform and it says on terms and conditions you must wear full uniform as for Betta values dress code and badges is what they have to wear because Betta Values has fewer budgets to spend. There will be more details in terms and conditions in employment regarding the job at Asda than Betta Value. Punctuality and time planning Punctuality and time planning are what both businesses want so the staff must be punctual so that they get full value for the wage they are paying. Time planning at Asda is critical because you have to link job and role in matrix structure which have to link with mesh and also time and planning is critical at Asda. Betta Values can afford a slightly relaxed aptitude to time planning but each manager controls the whole function so this means the managers have to many issues, time effectively because no one to pass on work. Betta Value would need good time management and planning because they have 19 people to control and make sure all employees are working effectively. Head office Head office at Asda supports the store project teams this means you have to time scale running in the business 1) To coordinate the functions at head office 2) For the store to meet their sales targets and objectives 3) The role of the project team at Asda is to synchronise the time for head office with through for the store Time scales at Asda is important to the achievement of the company. Betta Value can afford a little calmer attitude to time planning but every boss controls an entire function; this means with the purpose of the managers have to handle their own employment load independently for the reason that they have no one to pass on their work. Courtesy, honesty and confidentiality These are qualities that every retailer expects in their employees at Asda and Betta Values. Courtesy is when dealing with a customer the employee should be polite at all times because if they do not they will loose their customers. Honesty is an essential quality because retailers have stock and cash on premises dishonesty of staff means costs go up and profit goes down because of wasting and theft. Betta Value would its finance manager to be honest, as the manager will be dealing with a big amount of business money and if this money is taken Betta Value would be left bankrupt Confidentiality is most workforce at Asda wont have access to confidential information but Betta Values is a small value of staff and are more likely to overhear or find out sanative information therefore they may want to check how good staff are at and keeping affairs private an example through references. Interdependence of team members Group responsibilities share as individual targets In store at Asda staffs work in teams and have similar skills supervisors will have more experience and knowledge but they will have the same skills Reliance on specialist skills of other members and reliance on other teams The specialists teams at both business relay on other specialists from outside the team at Betta Values these are Human Resources and Finance etc at Asda specialists are located at head office and deliver through the matrix structure. Both businesses will have team targets but its because the operations (store managers team) at Betta Values has various specialists in the team targets and responsibilities will be very general but individual targets will be more specific. An example at Asda you will have specialists team groups and responsibilities are shared and individual targets will focus on developing staff. But at head office the people specialists with in a function their and their staff and their specific role in the team.

Pest Analysis Essay Example for Free

Pest Analysis Essay 3.  (a) Training program Companies who work hard to meet the needs of their employees can cultivate a work atmosphere conducive to productivity. Being able to plan for the needs of employees by thinking ahead can help to improve the rate of skilled employees who chose to remain working for a company. Improving the employee retention rate can reduce the money companies spend on finding and training new employees. It is important to consider employees may want or need and what the company can reasonably supply. Providing specialized on-site training, even if provided by senior members of the company, and offering one-on-one assessment and coaching sessions, can help employees reach peak performance rates. After being hired on, a strong training and mentoring program can help a new member of the staff get up to speed on company policies and any current or ongoing projects they will be working on. To help employees perform at their best, a company can follow up with continual training programs, coaching, and regular assessment. Investing in the development of its employees can allow a company to turn out more consistent products. Incentive system An incentive program represents a substantial investment to most organizations. Engaging all employees to participate in the program will help them receive a sufficient return on their investment. Based on the concept of quality performance, incentive programs will increase an employees perception of themselves in achieving their program goals. In order to properly motivate, programs must be designed to offer a variety of products and services to employees based on their interests and needs. The programs need to have carefully determined their rewards methodology in order to maintain an employees motivation. In addition, successful campaigns require clearly defined rules, aligned rewards, efficient communication strategies and measurable success metrics. By combining each of these elements into the program, companies are better able to engage program participants and enhance the overall program effectiveness. In order to create an effective incentive program, an organization must keep the overall objective in mind when considering program design and implementation. Objectives should be clearly defined based on the companys goals and need to be specific so employees understand their expectations. Objectives can vary depending on the needs of each organization and they should be challenging, yet achievable. If objectives are viewed as unattainable, the program will not be successful. Once the program goals have been defined, all aspects of the program should be measured against this goal in order to ensure the programs success. 3.(b) communication network Communication is the exchange of useful information between and among people and organizations to support decisions and coordinate activities. Within an organization, information should be communicated to management and other employees who need it in a form and within a time frame that helps them to carry out their responsibilities. Communication also takes place with outside parties such as customers, suppliers and regulators. Management should ensure that there are open lines of communication for both staff and management to use. Open communication fosters reporting of both positive and negative results to the appropriate level of management without the fear of reprisal. Management should ensure that it takes the proper actions to address these results. For example, management may decide to: establish new goals and objectives to take advantage of newly identified opportunities; counsel and retrain staff to correct procedural errors; or adjust control act ivities to minimize a change in risk. Hierarchy of objective Objectives are the organizations desired outcomes. They are a product of the planning process and are necessary for coordinating efforts within an organization. Without clearly defined objectives, employees could be working in conflicting directions. Objectives can be organizational or operational. Management derives organizational objectives from the mission and often develops them during the strategic planning process. They are long-range, broad statements, which define the desired outcomes of the organization as a whole. Good organizational objectives can serve as starting points for more specific and detailed objectives within the subunits (i.e., divisions, departments, bureaus and assessable units) of the organization. They also serve as standards for evaluating overall organizational performance. Management derives operational objectives from the broad organizational objectives. Operational objectives are shorter-range, more specific and define the desired outcomes of each of the organizations subunits. They should be structured in a hierarchy so that each subunits accomplishment of its operational objectives helps the next higher level achieve its operational objectives, all of which helps management meet its organizational objectives. All objectives should be in writing. Management should provide employees with written organizational and operational objectives along with the mission statement. Management should ensure that employees understand the objectives and how their work helps to achieve them. Finally, just as changes in the environment can affect the adequacy and relevancy of the mission statement, these same factors also affect an organizations objectives. For an organization to function effectively and grow, it should periodically reassess its organizational and operational objectives. Company’s name: De vest Fashion Berhad Industry: Fashion Industry 3.1 Political Factors To improve consumers spending in the clothing industry, the Malaysian government has implemented the Mega Carnival Sale which is to be held 3 times a year. Its main purpose is to promote Malaysia as a value for money shopping destination. This aggressive approach calls on to the tourist to shop at the local malls, which in turn would increase foreign tourist spending and thus increase the countrys foreign exchange earnings. Furthermore, this approach would encourage the Malaysians to shop locally, which would benefit Elba Holdings Bhd in terms of their sales. Malaysia is a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), which aims to reduce trade barriers between the member countries Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. This has created an opportunity for the domestic companies, like Elba Holdings Bhd to venture into the overseas market, such as Vietnam, where by the retail market there is lucrative for foreign investors. However, with AFTA, foreign investors would be interested in the Malaysian market, and with new foreign entrants, competition becomes fierce for Elba Holdings Bhd. In addition to this, the Malaysian government attempted to stabilize the retail industry after its slump in the 97 crisis by reducing inflationary pressures in the form of tariffs reductions, so that foreign investors would invest in the domestic market. The result of this would transform the retail industry into a competitive market, making it difficult for Elba Holdings Bhd to be a dominant player in the clothing sector as well as a market leader. Under the Eighth Malaysian Plan covering 2001-2005, the retail industry is expected to play a more pressures prominent role in the growth of the economy, due to a sustained economic growth and expansion of the tourism industry. A fair trade policy and law will be formulated to prevent collusion, cartel price fixing, market allocation and the abuse of market power. New distribution modes will be developed such as franchises, direct sales, factory outlets, and e-commerce, to provide the consumers with a variety of choice. 3.2 Economic Factors Malaysias economic growth is to be maintained at 4.5% in 2003 and expand further to 5.5% or 6.0% in 2004, taking into account the external demand conditions and the economic impact of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the first half of 2003. The economic growth is expected to be due to the domestic market with growth in the private sector. The private sector makes up the bulk of the Malaysian economy, with private consumption accounting for nearly 44% of GDP. Despite the recovery in the household consumption over the last few years, inflation has remained unchanged. The overall inflation rate is expected to be at 1.5% in 2003 mainly due to mild deflationary from major global economies. Looking at the earlier years, total retail sales in Malaysia amounted to RM46.9 billion in 2001, with a 3.7% increase over2000. Having experienced healthy growth per annum from 1990, the Asian crisis caused total retail sales to plummet by21.2% in 1998. Reduced consumption and increased savings were some of the major causes of the significant decline. Apart from challenging economic conditions, 2001 also had unexceptional events that threatened to have a major impact on retail businesses. The recovery of the retail industry in Malaysia has been gradual, having yet to return to a pre-crisis level. The first quarter of 2001 had a slowdown of the retail industry as a result of the economic crisis in the United States. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States had further dampen the potential of economic recovery in the country. Nevertheless, the industry managed to have an overall growth rate of 3.7% in 2001. Retail industry growth rate was above GDP growth rate for the entire year. The fall in consumer confidence resulted in reduced consumption and increased savings. The government subsequently launched a national campaign on wise spending, with the aim to educate consumers on the importance of domestic demand on the GDP growth and economic recovery as a whole. The Love Malaysia, Buy Malaysia campaign was also launched to get Malaysians to buy local products and take local holidays. This effort proved successful. The implications of these economic events had affected the growth of Elba Holdings Bhd, due to a fall in the tourism industry as well as the reduction in consumers spending. The company was adversely affected in terms of its financial position, and it was impossible to have a complete recovery due to unfavourable economic events reoccurring, for instance SARS. 3.3.Social Factors Malaysian is classified as an upper middle-income country, and considered as one of the most developed of developing countries. Middle income households defined as those earning between RM1, 500 and RM3, 500 per month, and has increased from 32.3% of total household population in 1995 to 37% in 1999. The low-income group, categorized by household income of up to RM1, 500 per month, spend a proportion of this amount on food. Meanwhile, the high and middle income households spend most of their money at hypermarkets. A small percentage of about 3.4% of their income is spent on clothing and foot wear. There has been a decrease in consumers spending since 2000, because consumers have begun to realise the values of money especially since the 97crisis took place. It is now slowly picking up in 2003.Malaysias consumers lifestyle has been changing to rising affluence and education levels. High profile retailers as well we global mass media have shaped consumers buying behaviour, resulting in the Malaysians being more westernised. The Malaysians life leisure life revolves around trendy shopping malls, such as one utama, mega mall, and klcc. Thus Elba Holdings Bhd has to me more update and kept abreast with the latest trends. They have to advertise and keep the consumers informed and reminded that they still exist and produce clothing with style and quality. 3.4 Technological Factor With the Internet and e-commerce, retailers can now sell their products on line and deliver it to customers on their door-step. It can make customers life a lot easier as they need to have to go to the city to make a purchase. Furthermore, retailers can also sell their products to the overseas market without the need to physically enter the foreign country. Microsoft (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Tradenex.com Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers(FMM), signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and operate a supply-chain hub for the retail sector, known as the Malaysian Retail Exchange. The Malaysian Retail Exchange is part of FMMs broad e-commerce initiative to assist manufacturers transact electronically with their trading partners as a community. The Exchange will provide the infrastructure and technology to connect manufacturers, distributors and retailers to adopt electronic trading in order to improve speed of communication, reduce transaction costs, better synchronization of supply with consumer demand and significantly improve inventory management. FMMs initiative is in line with the governments call to Malaysian businesses to be empowered with the tools of emerging technologies to improve operational efficiency and hence, competitiveness in amore open economy. The result of this would bring closer ties to the entire retailer in the retail industry, however in the case of Elba Holdings Bhd, the company stills practice the orthodox methods of getting to the consumers, and this has caused them to be laid back with other competitors such as Padini Holdings Bhd.

Method Of Language Teaching: The Silent Way

Method Of Language Teaching: The Silent Way The Silent Way is the name of a method of language teaching devised by Caleb Gattegno. Gattegnos name is well known for his revival of interest in the use of coloured wooden sticks called cuisenaire rods and for his series Words in Colour, an approach to the teaching of initial reading in which sounds are coded by specific colours. His materials are copyrighted and marketed through an organization he operates called Educational Solutions Inc., in New York. The Silent Way represents Gattegnos venture into the field of foreign language teaching. It is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom and the learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible. Elements of the Silent Way, particularly the use of colour charts and the coloured cuisenaire rods, grew out of Gattegnos previous experience as an educational designer of reading and mathematics programs. (Cuisenaire rods were first developed by Georges Cuis ­enaire, a European educator who used them for the teaching of math. Gattegno had observed Cuisenaire and this gave him the idea for their use in language teaching.) The Silent Way shares a great deal with other learning theories and educational philosophies. Very broadly put, the learning hypotheses underlying Gattegnos work could be stated as follows: 1) Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned. 2) Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects. 3) Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned. Let us consider each of these issues in turn. 1. The educational psychologist and philosopher Jerome Bruner distinguishes two traditions of teaching that which takes place in the expository mode and that which takes place in the hypothetical mode. In the expository mode decisions covering the mode and pace and style of exposition are principally determined by the teacher as expositor; the student is the listener. In the hypothetical mode the teacher and the student are in a more cooperative position. The student is not a bench-bound listener, but is taking part in the play the principal role in it (Bruner 1966: 83), The Silent Way belongs to the latter tradition, which views learning as a problem-solving, creative, discovering activity, in which the learner is a principal actor rather than a bench-bound listener. Bruner discusses the benefits derived from discovery learning under four headings: (a) the increase in intellectual potency, (b) the shift from extrinsic to intrinsic rewards, (c) the learning of heuristics by discovering, and (d) the aid to conserving memory (Bruner 1966: 83). As we shall see, Gattegno claims similar benefits from learners taught via the Silent Way. 2. The rods and the coded-coded pronunciation charts (called Fidel charts) provide physical foci for student learning and also create mem ­orable images to facilitate student recall. In psychological terms, these visual devices serve as associative mediators for student learning and recall. The psychological literature on mediation in learning and recall is voluminous but, for our purposes, can be briefly summarized in a quote from Earl Stevick: If the use of associative mediators produces better retention than repetition does, it seems to be the case that the quality of the mediators and the stu ­dents personal investment in them may also have a powerful effect on mem ­ory. (Stevick 1976: 25) 3. The Silent Way is also related to a set of premises that we have called problem-solving approaches to learning. These premises are succinctly represented in the words of Benjamin Franklin: Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn. In the language of experimental psychology, the kind of subject involve ­ment that promotes greatest learning and recall involves processing of material to be learned at the greatest cognitive depth (Craik 1973) or, for our purposes, involving the greatest amount of problem-solving activity. Memory research has demonstrated that the learners memory benefits from creatively searching out, discovering and depicting (Bower and Winzenz 1970). In the Silent Way, the teachers strict avoidance of repetition forces alertness and concentration on the part of the learners (Gattegno 1972: 80). Similarly, the learners grappling with the problem of forming an appropriate and meaningful utterance in a new language leads the learner to realization of the language through his own perceptual and analytical powers (Selman 1977). The Silent Way student is expected to become independent, autonomous and responsible (Gattegno 1976) in other words, a good problem solver in language. Approach Theory of language Gattegno takes an openly sceptical view of the role of linguistic theory in language teaching methodology. He feels that linguistic studies may be a specialization, [that] carry with them a narrow opening of ones sensitivity and perhaps serve very little towards the broad end in mind (Gattegno 1972: 84). Gattegno views language itself as a substitute for experience, so experience is what gives meaning to language (Gattegno 1972: 8). We are not surprised then to see simulated experiences using tokens and picture charts as central elements in Silent Way teaching. Considerable discussion is devoted to the importance of grasping the spirit of the language and not just its component forms. By the spirit of the language Gattegno is referring to the way each language is composed of phonological and suprasegmental elements that combine to give the language its unique sound system and melody. The learner must gain a feel for this aspect of the target language as soon as possible, though how the learner is to do this is not altogether clear. By looking at the material chosen and the sequence in which it is presented in a Silent Way classroom, it is clear that the Silent Way takes a structural approach to the organization of language to be taught. Language is seen as groups of sounds arbitrarily associated with specific meanings and organized into sentences or strings of meaningful units by grammar rules. Language is separated from its social context and taught through artificial situations, usually represented by rods. Lessons follow a sequence based on grammatical complexity, and new lexical and structural material is meticulously broken down into its elements, with one element presented at a time. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching, and the teacher focuses on prepositional meaning, rather than communicative value. Students are presented with the structural patterns of the target language and learn the grammar rules of the language through largely inductive processes. Gattegno sees vocabulary as a central dimension of language learning and the choice of vocabulary as crucial. He distinguishes between several classes of vocabulary items. The semi-luxury vocabulary consists of expressions common in the daily life of the target language culture; this refers to food, clothing, travel, family life, and so on. Luxury vocabulary is used in communicating more specialized ideas, such as political or philosophical opinions. The most important vocabulary for the learner deals with the most functional and versatile words of the language, many of which may not have direct equivalents in the learners native tongue. This functional vocabulary provides a key, says Gattegno, to comprehending the spirit of the language. Theory of learning Like many other method proponents, Gattegno makes extensive use of his understanding of first language learning processes as a basis for deriving principles for teaching foreign languages to adults. Gattegno recommends, for example, that the learner needs to return to the state of mind that characterizes a babys learning surrender (Scott and Page 1982: 273). Having referred to these processes, however, Gattegno states that the processes of learning a second language are radically different from those involved in learning a first language. The second language learner is unlike the first language learner and cannot learn another language in the same way because of what he now knows (Gattegno 1972: 11). The natural or direct approaches to acquiring a second language are thus misguided, says Gattegno, and a successful second language approach will replace a natural approach by one that is very artificial and, for some purposes, strictly controlled (1972: 12). The artificial approach that Gattegno proposes is based on the principle that successful learning involves commitment of the self to language acquisition through the use of silent awareness and then active trial. Gattegnos repeated emphasis on the primacy of learning over teaching places a focus on the self of the learner, on the learners priorities and commitments. To speak requires the descent of the will into the voluntary speech organs and a clear grasp by ones linguistic self of what one is to do to produce definite sounds in definite ways. Only the self of the utterer can intervene to make objective what it holds in itself. Every student must be seen as a will capable of that work. (Gattegno 1976: 7) The self, we are told, consists of two systems a learning system and a retaining system. The learning system is activated only by way of intelligent awareness. The learner must constantly test his powers to abstract, analyse, synthesize and integrate (Scott and Page 1982: 273). Silence is considered the best vehicle for learning, because in silence students concentrate on the task to be accomplished and the potential means to its accomplishment. Repetition (as opposed to silence) con ­sumes time and encourages the scattered mind to remain scattered (Gattegno 1976: 80). Silence, as avoidance of repetition, is thus an aid to alertness, concentration, and mental organization. The retaining system allows us to remember and recall at will linguistic elements and their organizing principles and makes linguistic communication possible. Gattegno speaks of remembering as a matter of paying ogdens. An ogden is a unit of mental energy required to link permanently two mental elements, such as a shape and a sound or a label and an object. The forging of the link through active attention is the cost of remembering paid in ogdens. Retention by way of mental effort, awareness, and thoughtfulness is more efficient in terms of ogdens consumed than is retention attained through mechanical repetition. Again, silence is a key to triggering awareness and hence the preferred path to retention. Retention links are in fact formed in the most silent of periods, that of sleep: The mind does much of this work during sleep (Stevick 1980: 41). Awareness is educable. As one learns in awareness, ones powers of awareness and ones capacity to learn become greater. The Silent Way thus claims to facilitate what psychologists call learning to learn. Again, the process chain that develops awareness proceeds from attention, production, self-correction, and absorption. Silent Way learners acquire inner criteria, which play a central role in ones education throughout all of ones life (Gattegno 1976: 29). These inner criteria allow learners to monitor and self-correct their own production. It is in the activity of self-correction through self-awareness that the Silent Way claims to differ most notably from other ways of language learning. It is this capacity for self-awareness that the Silent Way calls upon, a capacity said to be little appreciated or exercised by first language learners. But the Silent Way is not merely a language teaching method. Gattegno sees language learning through the Silent Way as a recovery of innocence a return to our full powers and potentials. Gattegnos aim is not just second language learning; it is nothing less than the education of the spiritual powers and of the sensitivity of the individual. Mastery of linguistic skills are seen in the light of an emotional inner peace resulting from the sense of power and control brought about by new levels of awareness. Silent Way learning claims to consolidate the hu ­man dimensions of being, which include variety and individuality as essential factors for an acceptance of others as contributors to ones own life and even moves us towards better and more lasting solutions of present-day conflicts (Gattegno 1972: 84). Design Objectives The general objective of the Silent Way is to give beginning level students oral and aural facility in basic elements of the target language. The general goal set for language learning is near-native fluency in the target language, and correct pronunciation and mastery of the prosodic elements of the target language are emphasized. An immediate objective is to provide the learner with a basic practical knowledge of the grammar of the language. This forms the basis for independent learning on the learners part. Gattegno discusses the following kinds of objectives as appropriate for a language course at an elementary level (Gattegno 1972: 81-83). Students should be able to correctly and easily answer questions about themselves, their education, their family, travel, and daily events; speak with a good accent; give either a written or oral description of a picture, including the existing relationships that concern space, time and numbers; answer general questions about the culture and t he literature of the native speakers of the target language; perform adequately in the following areas: spelling, grammar (production rather than explanation), reading comprehension, and writing. Gattegno states that the Silent Way teaches learners how to learn a language, and the skills developed through the process of learning a foreign or second language can fee employed in dealing with unknowns of every type. The method, we are told, can also be used to teach reading and writing, and its usefulness is not restricted to beginning level stu ­dents. Most of the examples Gattegno describes, however, as well as the classes we have observed, deal primarily with a basic level of aural/ oral proficiency. The syllabus The Silent Way adopts a basically structural syllabus, with lessons planned around grammatical items and related vocabulary. Gattegno does not, however, provide details as to the precise selection and arrangement of grammatical and lexical items to be covered. There is no general Silent Way syllabus. But from observation of Silent Way programs developed by the Peace Corps to teach a variety of languages at a basic level of proficiency, it is clear that language items are introduced according to their grammatical complexity, their relationship to what has been taught previously, and the ease with which items can be presented visually. Typically, the imperative is the initial structure introduced, because of the ease with which action verbs may be demonstrated using Silent Way materials. New elements, such as the plural form of nouns, are taught within a structure already familiar. Numeration occurs early in a course, because of the importance of numbers in everyday life and the ease w ith which they can be demonstrated. Prepositions of location also appear early in the syllabus for similar reasons. Vocabulary is selected according to the degree to which it can be manipulated within a given structure and according to its productivity within the classroom setting. In addition to prepositions and numbers, pronouns, quantifiers, words dealing with temporal relations, and words of comparison are introduced early in the course, because they refer to oneself and to others in the numerous relations of everyday life (Stevick 1979). These kinds of words are referred to as the functional vocabulary of a language because of their high utility. The following is a section of a Peace Corps Silent Way Syllabus for the first ten hours of instruction in Thai. It is used to teach American Peace Corps volunteers being trained to teach in Thailand. At least 15 minutes of every hour of instruction would be spent on pronunciation. A word that is italicised can be substituted for by another word having the same function. Lesson Vocabulary 1. Wood colour red. wood, red, green, yellow, brown, pink, white, orange, black, colour 2. Using the numbers 1-10 one, two, ten 3. Wood colour red two pieces. take (pick up) 4. Take (pick up) wood colour red two pieces give, object pronouns 5. Take wood colour red two pieces hive him where, on, under, near, far, over, next to, here, there 6. Wood red where? Wood red on table. Question-forming rules. Yes. No. 7. Wood colour red on table, is it? Yes, on. Not on. adjectives of comparison 8. Wood colour red long. Wood colour green longer. Wood colour orange longest. 9. Wood colour green taller. Wood colour red is it? 10. Review. Students use structures taught in new situations, such as comparing the heights of stu ­dents in the class. (Joel Wiskin, personal communication) Types of learning and teaching activities Learning tasks and activities in the Silent Way have the function of encouraging and shaping student oral response without direct oral instruction from or unnecessary modelling by the teacher. Basic to the method are simple linguistic tasks in which the teacher models a word, phrase, or sentence and then elicits learner responses. Learners then go on create their own utterances by putting together old and new information. Charts, rods, and other aids may be used to elicit learner responses. Teacher modelling is minimal, although much of the activity may be teacher directed. Responses to commands, questions, and visual cues thus constitute the basis for classroom activities. Learner roles Gattegno sees language learning as a process of personal growth re ­sulting from growing Student awareness and self-challenge. The learner first experiences a random or almost random feeling of the area of activity in question until one finds one or more cornerstones to build on. Then starts a systematic analysis, first by trial and error, later by directed experiment with practice of the acquired sub areas until mastery follows (Gattegno 1972: 79). Learners are expected to develop independence, autonomy, and responsibility. Independent learners are those who are aware that they must depend on their own resources and realize that they can use the knowledge of their own language to open up some things in a new language or that they can take their knowledge of the first few words in the new language and figure out additional words by using that knowledge (Stevick 1980: 42). The autonomous learner chooses proper expressions in a given set of circumstances and situations. The teacher c ultivates the students autonomy by deliberately building choices into situations (Stevick 1980: 42). Responsible learners know that they have free will to choose among any set of linguistic choices. The ability to choose intelligently and carefully is said to be evidence of responsibility. The absence of correction and repeated modelling from the teacher requires the students to develop inner criteria and to correct themselves. The absence of explanations requires learners to make generalizations, come to their own conclusions, and formulate whatever rules they themselves feel they need. Learners exert a strong influence over each others learning and, to a lesser degree, over the linguistic content taught. They are expected to interact with each other and suggest alternatives to each other. Learners have only themselves as individuals and the group to rely on, and so must learn to work cooperatively rather than competitively. They need to feel comfortable both correcting each other and being corrected by each other. In order to be productive members of the learning group, learners-thus have to play varying roles. At times one is an independent individual, at other times a group member. A learner also must be a teacher, a student, part of a support system, a problem solver, and a self-evaluator. And it is the student who is usually expected to decide on what role is most appropriate to a given situation. Teacher roles Teacher silence is, perhaps, the unique and, for many traditionally trained language teachers, the most demanding aspect of the Silent Way. Teach ­ers are exhorted to resist their long standing commitment to model, remodel, assist, and direct desired student responses, and Silent Way teachers have remarked upon the arduousness of self-restraint to which early expedience of the Silent Way has subjected them. Gattegno talks of subordinating teaching to learning, but that is not to suggest that the teachers role in Silent Way is not critical and demanding. Gattegno anticipates that using the Silent Way would require most teachers to change their perception of their role. Stevick defines the Silent Way teachers tasks as (a) to teach, (b) to test, and (c) to get out of the way (Stevick 1980: 56). Although this may not seem to constitute a radical alternative to standard teaching practice, the details of the steps the teacher is expected to follow are unique to the Silent Way. By teaching is meant the presentation of an item once, typically using nonverbal clues to get across meanings. Testing follows immediately and might better be termed elicitation and shaping of student production, which, again, is done in as silent a way as possible. Finally, the teacher silently monitors learners interactions with each other and may even leave the room while learners struggle with their new linguistic tools and pay their ogdens. For the most part, Silent Way teachers manuals are unavailable (however, see Arnold 1981), and teachers are responsible for designing teaching sequences and creating individual lessons and lesson elements. Gattegno emphasizes the importance of teacher-defined learning goals that are clear and attainable. Sequence and timing in Silent Way classes are more important than in many kinds of language teaching classes, and the teachers sensitivity and man ­agement of them is critical. More generally, the teacher is responsible for creating an environment that encourages student risk taking and that facilitates learning. This is not to say that the Silent Way teacher becomes one of the group. In fact, observers have noted that Silent Way teachers often appear aloof or even gruff with their students. The teachers role is one of neutral observer, neither elated by correct performance nor discouraged by error. Students are expected to come to see supportive but emotionally uninvolved. The teacher uses gestures, charts, and manipulates in order to elicit and shape student responses and so must be both facile and creative as a pantomimist and puppeteer. In sum, the Silent way teacher, like the complete dramatist, writes the script, chooses the props, sets the mood, models the action, designates the players, and is critic for the performance. The role of instructional materials The Silent Way is perhaps as well known for the unique nature of its teaching materials as for the silence of its teachers. The materials consist mainly of a set of coloured rods, coded-coded pronunciation and vocabulary wall charts, a pointer, and reading/writing exercises, all of which are used to illustrate the relationships between sound and meaning in the target language. The materials are designed for manipulation by the students as well as by the teacher, independently and cooperatively, in promoting language learning by direct association. The number of languages and contain symbols in the target language for all of the vowel and consonant sounds of the language. The symbols are colour coded according to pronunciation; thus, if a language possesses two different symbols for the same sound, they will be coloured alike. Classes often begin by using Fidel charts in the native language, colour coded in an analogous manner, so that students learn to pair a sound with its associate d colour. There may be from one to eight of such charts, depending upon the language. The teacher uses the pointer to indicate a sound symbol for the students to produce. Where native-language Fidels are used, the teacher will point to a symbol on one chart and then to its analogue on the Fidel in the other language. In the absence of native-language charts, or when introducing a sound not present in the native language, the teacher will give one clear, audible model after indicating the proper Fidel symbol in the target language. The charts are hung on the wall and serve to aid in remembering pronunciation and in building new words by sounding out sequences of symbols as they are pointed to by the teacher or student. Just as the Fidel charts are used to visually illustrate pronunciation, the coloured cuisenaire rods are used to directly link words and structures with their meanings in the target language, thereby avoiding translation into the native language. The rods vary in length from one to ten centimetres, and each length has a specific colour. The rods may be used for naming colours, for size comparisons, to represent people build floor plans, constitute a road map, and so on. Use of the rods is intended to promote inventiveness, creativity, and interest in forming communicative utterances on the part of the students, as they move from simple to more complex structures. Gattegno and his proponents believe that the range of structures that can be illustrated and learned through skilful use of the rods is as limitless as the human imagination. When the teacher or student has difficulty expressing a desired word or concept, the rods can be supplemented by referring to the Fidel charts, or to t he third major visual aid used in the Silent Way, the vocabulary charts. The vocabulary or word charts are likewise colour coded, although the colours of the symbols will not correspond to the phonetics of the Fidels, but rather to conceptual groupings of words. There are typically twelve such charts containing 500 to 800 words in the native language and script. These words are selected according to their ease of application in teaching, their relative place in the functional or luxury vocab ­ulary, their flexibility in terms of generalization and use with other words, and their importance in illustrating basic grammatical structures. The content of word charts will vary from language to language, but the general content of the vocabulary charts (Gattegno 1972) is paraphrased below: Chart 1: the word rod, colours of the rods, plural markers, simple im ­perative verbs, personal pronouns, some adjectives and question words Charts 2, 3: remaining pronouns, words for here and there, of, for, and name Chart 4: numbers Charts 5, 6: words illustrating size, space, and temporal relationships, as well as some concepts difficult to illustrate with rods, such as order, causality, condition, similarity and difference Chart 7: words that qualify, such as adverbs Charts 8, 9: verbs, with cultural references where possible Chart 10: family relationships Charts 11, 12: words expressing time, calendar elements, seasons, days, week, month, year, etc. Other materials that may be used include books and worksheets for practicing reading and writing skills, picture books, tapes; videotapes, films, and other visual aids. Reading and writing are sometimes taught from the beginning; and students are given assignments to do outside the classroom at their own pace. These materials are of secondary im ­portance, and are used to supplement the classroom use of rods and charts. Choice and implementation depends upon need as assessed by teachers and/or students. Procedure A Silent way lesson typically follows a standard format. The first part of the lesson focuses on pronunciation. Depending on student level, the class might work on sounds, phrases, or even sentences designated on the Fidel chart. At the beginning stage, the teacher will model the appropriate sound after pointing to a symbol on the chart. Later, the teacher will silently point to individual symbols and combinations of symbols, and on monitor student utterances. The teacher may say a word and have a student guess what sequence of symbols compromised the word. The pointer is used to indicate stress, phrasing, and intonation. Stress can be shown by touching certain symbol more forcibly than others when pointing out a word. Intonation and phrasing can be demonstrated by tapping on the chart to the rhythm of the utterance. After practice with the sounds of the language, sentence patterns, structure, and vocabulary are practiced. The teacher models an utterance while creating a visual realization of it with the coloured rods. After modelling the utterance, the teacher will have a student attempt to produce the utterance and will indicate its acceptability. If a response is incorrect, the teacher will attempt to reshape the utterance or have another student present the correct model. After a structure is introduced and understood, the teacher will create a situation in which the students can practice the structure through the manipulation of the rods. Vari ­ations on the structural theme will be elicited from the class using the rods and charts. The sample lesson that follows illustrates a typical lesson format. The language being taught is Thai, for which this is the first lesson. 1. Teacher empties rods onto the table. . 2. Teacher picks up two or three rods of different colours, and after each rod is picked up says: [mai]. 3. Teacher holds up one rod of any colour and indicates to a student that a response is required. Student says: [mai]. If response is incorrect, teacher elicits response from another student, who then models for the first student. 4. Teacher next picks up a red rod and says: [mai sti daeng]. 5. Teacher picks up a green rod and says: [mai sii khiawj. 6. Teacher picks up either a red or green rod and elicits response from stu ­dent, If response is incorrect, procedure in step 3 is followed (student modeling). 7. Teacher introduces two or three other colors in the same manner. 8. Teacher shows any of the rods whose forms were taught previously and elicits student response. Correction technique is through student model ­ing, or the teacher may help student isolate error and self-correct. 9. When mastery is achieved, teacher puts one red rod in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng nung an]. 10. Teacher then puts two red rods in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng song an]. 11. Teacher places two green rods in view and says [mai sii khiaw song an]; 12. Teacher holds up two rods of a different color and elicits student response. 13. Teacher introduces additional numbers, based on what the class can comfortably retain. Other colors might also be introduced. 14. Rods are put in a pile. Teacher indicates, through his or her own ac ­tions, that rods should be picked up, and the correct utterance made. All die students in the group pick up rods and make correction is encouraged. 15. Teacher then says: [kep mai sii daeng