Initial Personal Development Plan Essay Example for Free

Initial Personal Development Plan Essay Study skills. During my GCSEs I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of life. I chose to study French, Graphics and History. I enjoyed French the most and did quite well in it, however if I had concentrated more I could’ve done a lot better. I was also working in my dads’ cafà ©. I enjoyed working at the cafà © a lot. It was hard at times to manage my time between School, working at the cafà ©, going to football practice and also making time to do homework and revision. In class I enjoyed myself a lot and got my work done fast so went on to do extra question or ‘bonus questions’. When I was in the classroom environment I felt more confidant in my work as I had the teacher to double check if I had any doubts but because I didn’t go over my work at home I feel it put me really behind .However having to juggle school, work, football and revision was very stressful and I didn’t do well as well I would have liked which put education in a negative light for me. I did consider at one point to stop my education after leaving school while I was at school because I didn’t believe I would be able to handle the pressure, however I knew that education is a very big part of my life and my family’s life as everyone has been to university in my family so I felt I had to go to college and further my education. Through this time my teachers were very helpful, I found it hard to ask for at first but when I did seek advice it was definitely the right choice. It made it clearer what I wanted in the long term and helped boost my confidence a bit in my work. After school had finished, in the summer I worked full time in my dads’ cafà © and learned a lot of new skills. I worked at the front of the shop. This made me in charge of taking orders, making sure the customers were happy, making sure the chef understood what the customer wanted, deal with complaints and come up with a fair solution. I got to experience what it’s like to run a business first hand, I got experience in taking stock, ordering stock, deliveries, cash handling, making targets, pushing sales, customer service and sorting the rotas out. This was my first time having a proper full time job, it was hard at times as at the beginning it a new environment and I wasn’t used to it, however I soon realised that one of my strengths is that I can adapt to new environments rather fast which has helped me in other jobs. While at college I studied Psychology, Sociology and English language/literature. I preferred psychology to my other subjects as I find behaviour very interesting and the cause behind it. Studying at college was a completely new environment, I didn’t have the same pressure as I did at school from my teachers, but however I had more pressure on me to get my work done on my done. I got a part time job as sales assistant in a mens shirt shop. The job was a one person shift job, so it was all up to me to make sales, attending to all the customers, making sure the shop was in a selling state. I soon moved from being just a sales assistant to supervisor which gave me more responsibility, I opened and closed the shop, cash handling, did the banking, ordering stock, sorting the delivery and sorting the rota. Again working and studying was quite stressful, but as I was enjoying my courses at college I did not find it as stressful as I did at school. I had more freedom and also more time so I was able to manage my time a lot better without the pressure. When it comes to my strengths and weaknesses, I sometimes feel my strengths can by my weaknesses. I have a strong sense of empathy which makes it a lot easier for me to get along for with different people and be able to communicate with them on their level. Also being able to speak more than one language has helped too, I speak English, Kurdish, Arabic and a bit of Swedish. Having a strong sense of empathy can be a weakness as I can be too pleasant towards people and can be a push over, but I can stand my ground if need be. I am very strong about my morals and I know where to draw a line between what’s right and wrong. I believe one of my biggest strengths is my will power. I’m very driven when it comes to my work, when I’m in a selling environment I’m very comfortable. Sometimes I am too driven and I can ignore things on the side. Being a very goal oriented person I sometimes forget to enjoy myself and spend too much time achieving my goals. Coming for the middle east a region that is very rich in oil and gas, I am inspired to work in the field. Not very many people from my part of the world work in managing our local resources, I wish to be able to work managing oil and gas and ensure all members of society benefit from the riches of the industry. One of my life’s dreams is to open an orphanage and educate the less fortunate. I firmly believe that an education is the only way to eradicate the social ills affecting my region. I am a firm believer in the fact that education is the cure for all evils. I hope by educating myself as a women from a region where education is not very common I hope to able to stand on my own two feet so as to be able to help others better themselves.

Understanding the Modern Consumer Culture :: BTEC Business Marketing GCSE Coursework

Understanding the Modern Consumer Culture In The Rise of Consumer Society in Britain, John Benson identifies consumer societies as those "in which choice and credit are readily available, in which social value is defined in terms of purchasing power and material possessions, and in which there is a desire, above all, for that which is new, modern, exciting and fashionable." For decades research on the history of consumerism had been winding the clock up to the nineteenth century as the starting point of a culture of consumption that fits Benson’s description. For societies like these to exist, there needed to be a fair portion of the population with enough money to purchase goods beyond daily necessities; there needed to be powerful productive forces to make enough goods available and allow for new strategies of marketing and selling; there also needed to be a tendency among people to start investing social meanings and emotions in the acquisition of goods. Industrialization, these histories tell us, prepared the grou nd for a consumer culture to develop thanks to malleable markets, large production lines, rise of shopping, advertising, marketing, etc. In Consumer Culture and Modernity, Don Slater argues against a "productivist bias" which misleads into believing that production is the "engine and essence of modernization" (p. 16). Through a brilliant overview of the literature of revisionist historians, he traces the development of consumer culture from the present day to the early modern period. A consumer revolution, with the characteristics Benson suggested, was emerging as early as the sixteenth century. A new ‘world of goods’ deriving from colonial exploitation led to a wide penetration of consumer goods into the lives and homes of more social classes. Towards the eighteenth century a growing consuming public bred a desire for the new and created new demands and new styles. Contemporary features of consumer culture existed in the early modern mind, but they were recognizable in different forms. Under the disguise of commerce and trade, not production or consumption, the early modern man came to contact with a new ideology of free exchange, not only of goods and services, but of ideas, opinions, and meanings as well. Consumer culture, according to Slater, is not a reference to a recent phenomenon: it is rather part of a new terminology that came to replace the notion of civil society, which itself is born to modernity. The ideal of autonomous individuals rationally pursuing their interests in a free market – a notion so much cherished within consumer culture – stands at the heart of the project of modernity in the eighteenth century.

Does This Milkshake Taste Funny

George Stein, a college student employed for the summer by Eastern Dairy is faced with an ethical dilemma. His co-workers don’t care about proper procedures required in ensuring that the milkshake produced during the shift is hygienic and safe for human consumption. The milkshake that is produced is usually delivered to fast-food restaurants and drive-ins. George had less than a minute to think about his choices and must decide if he is going to remove the filters from the plant's piping and, thus, allow the current production run of milkshake mix to be contaminated with maggots or refuse to remove the filters, and report the maggot problem to management. Removing the filters will save the company’s money, at least in the short run, and allow George's shift to go home on time. George is disturbed, however, by the thought of children drinking those milkshakes. Analysis: The others looked Paul Burnham as direction. He’s goal was completing all of the assigned work before the end of the shift and clean the equipment. He does not care about other things from this. Such as the quality of the final product, the contaminants whether or not mix into the milkshake. Eastern Dairy was lack of quality control and quality management. It over relied on an occasional visit by the inspectors from the county health department for the overall production facility health check. Recommendation: * Create the quality control and quality management system, ensure that the quality of products, stuff behavior and administration are under control. * Design a monitoring situation. The company can set a night superintendent to monitor stuff and quality of production. * Establish a ethical concept and corporate social responsibility to stuff. * Improve the organizational culture.

Ethnicity and Religion Essay

This compared with around 45% of Hindus and Sikhs. In contrast, only 11% of white people described themselves as belonging to the Church of England. Amongst Muslim men over the age of 35, four in five reported that they visit mosque at least once every week. Data from the 1991 census demonstrates that Britain is ethnically diverse, there is a wide range of ethnic groups with different religious affiliations, and there are more ethnic groups than identified in the census data Modood and Berthoud (1997) analysed the 1991 Census data on ethnicity they suggest that ethnicity comprises: 1. Subjective identification: with which ethnicity do I and my group identify? 2. Religious identification; to what extent does it help construct ethnicity? A number of general points can be made about religious affiliation among ethnic minority groups; that is, those people comprising the 5. 49% of the population identified in the Census as non-white. Most ethnic groups are more religious than the majority of the population. The table below shows the results of a survey conducted in Britain which asked respondents to state their religious affiliation

Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Essays

Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Essays Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Paper Aesthetic Music Education and the Influence of Bennett Reimer Paper An explicit concept since the late 1950s, aesthetic education first developed to provide a strong philosophical foundation for music education and continues to evolve as a solid theoretical orientation for current effective practices. Bennett Reimer has contributed much to the discussion and development of the value of aesthetic education for the teaching and learning of music. Others in music education also support and promote these ideals and focus on developing an improved understanding for music educators. Some scholars oppose the principles of an aesthetic education, recently demonstrated by David Elliott who favors a praxial philosophy of music education centered on musical performance. The work of Reimer shows an influence of these thinkers and illustrates the essential benefits of a professional emphasis on aesthetics, the branch of philosophy especially devoted to studying the value of the arts. With guidance from aesthetics, music educators better understand the value of music and its fundamental role within the school curriculum. With its introduction, aesthetic education provided an understanding of authentic fundamental characteristics of music not previously discussed and encouraged an articulation of those ideas into relevant objectives for teaching and learning. The appearance of Basic Concepts in Music Education (ed. Nelson B. Henry, 1958) and the college text Foundations and Principles of Music Education (Charles Leonard and Robert W. House, 1959) promoted the acceptance of an aesthetic-based philosophy as a guiding theoretical foundation. These significant resources encouraged individuals to put their previous intuitions into effective practice using a shared, progressive concept of musical experience and learning. Many music educators embraced aesthetic education (and continue to do so) because it reinforced the validity of music study in the school curriculum for reasons intrinsic to the art itself. Reimer emphasizes that we (as music educators) need not establish discipleship to one particular person or point of view of aesthetic education. The ideal of Music Education as Aesthetic Education (MEAE) does not exist as a particular collection of fixed certainties; it supports the attitude that philosophical truths develop and transform as we advance and verify new ideas. Many sources (books, journals, articles, etc. ) provide the insight of professional scholars on the fundamental values of music supporting the aesthetic approach. The music educator who commits to MEAE must seek this knowledge to understand the art of music beyond his or her own instincts. Only with that awareness can the teacher adequately portray a genuine representation of the artistic values of music to students. Reimer describes aesthetic education as the development of a sensitivity to the aesthetic qualities of things. He consciously avoids using the term definition yet provides a much-appreciated explanation that achieves that function. Reimer further illustrates that MEAE should encourage our ability to perceive and respond to conditions of musical relationships (e. g. tension-release, expectation-deviation) in perceptible objects and events. Musical works may possess various qualities (such as functional ones), but the primary significance of music should lie in its aesthetic value. If we abandon this unique characterization of music and emphasize its societal role, we risk degrading ourselves as well as our work. As teachers, we mediate the interactions between our students and aesthetic objects and should seek to improve these relationships with different experiences. Yet, we must first ensure that students have the ability to perceive expressive conditions as well as the ability to respond to them. Reimer distinguishes that effective MEAE cultivates a persons ability to yield meanings from (a work of arts) structures of interrelated sounds and to transform words, images, ideas, emotions, and any other socially shared human values by incorporating them as meaningful aspects of musical structure?. Abraham Schwadron also promotes this perception of feeling in music, pioneered by Susanne Langer. He asserts that formal education should address structural approaches to describing responses to music and not the emotive states that may result. That is, teachers should use elements of music to explain qualities of feeling (suspense, deception, resolution, etc. ) and not teach music as the translation of sound into emotion by the composer or the performer (i. e. , how does this music make you feel? ). MEAE should consider extra-musical descriptions, however, when those factors influence the understanding of a particular piece of music or musical process. Once we have created the potential for our students to recognize aesthetic qualities, we must encourage their ability to perceive and respond to those experiences. Teachers must present a variety of musical items and events to develop this aural aptitude. They must also guide the relationship between the student and the aesthetic object as each learner produces, conceptualizes, analyzes and evaluates music. In 1972, this philosophy led Reimer to emphasize the necessity of a unified curriculum in the arts and advocate curriculum development in music education. We observe this influence, years later, in the music section of the National Standards for Arts Education, published in 1994. These (relatively) recent standards, which Reimer helped developed, promote an expansion of the music curriculum and encourage a comprehensive approach to music instruction, which incorporates many characteristics of MEAE. Even with this concept of an inclusive aesthetic education, performance remains the primary curricular activity with which we attempt to realize our goals, especially at the secondary level. This myopic approach neglects other ways that people experience music (e. g. , listening, composing) and often emphasizes skill development over musical understanding. Bennett Reimer declares that, Our past and present mentality about music, so dominated by the performance model, is now beginning to be out of phase with the realities of our art. He offers that we can learn much from the Discipline-Based Art Education movement that recognizes that multi-dimensional curriculum guidelines (which include aspects of history, criticism, and analysis) enhance aesthetic experiencing. Embracing the ideals of MEAE means accepting that all students, not just a small percentage of gifted ones, should have access to the aesthetic qualities of music. By cultivating enjoyment in the majority of students (about 85 percent, Reimer implies) who choose not to perform, we also augment our authentic presence in the school environment. To achieve our aesthetic intentions, a transformation must occur that creates three aspects of a comprehensive music curriculum: the required general music program, the elective performance program and the elective composition program. These components would more accurately represent the three key functions involved in Western music: listening, performing and composing. A complete program of music, aligned with the fundamentals of MEAE, would use performance and composition to enrich the universal musical activity of listening emphasized by the comprehensive general music program.

Effects of the American Revolution on Britain

Effects of the American Revolution on Britain American success in the Revolutionary War created a new nation, while British failure tore away part of the empire. Such consequences were inevitably going to have impacts, but historians debate their extent compared with those of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, which would test Britain soon after their American experience. Modern readers might expect Britain to have suffered greatly as a result of losing the war, but its possible to argue that the hostilities were survived so well that Britain could fight a very long war against Napoleon soon after. Financial Effect Britain spent a huge amount of money fighting the Revolutionary War, sending the national debt soaring and creating a yearly interest of nearly 10 million pounds. Taxes had to be raised as a result. The trade that Britain had relied on for wealth was severely interrupted. Imports and exports experienced large drops and the following recession caused stocks and land prices to plummet. Trade was also affected by naval attacks from Britain’s enemies, and thousands of merchant ships were captured. On the other hand, wartime industries, such as the naval suppliers and the part of the textile industry that made uniforms, experienced a boost. Unemployment fell as Britain struggled to find enough men for the army, which caused them to hire German soldiers. British privateers experienced as much success preying on enemy merchant ships as almost any of their opponents. The effects on trade were short term. British trade with the new USA rose to the same level as trade with the colonies by 1785, and by 1792 trade between Britain and Europe had doubled. Additionally, while Britain gained an even larger national debt, it was in a position to live with it, and there were no financially motivated rebellions like those in France. Indeed, Britain was able to support several armies during the Napoleonic wars and field its own instead of paying for other people. Its been said that Britain actually prospered from losing the war. Effect on Ireland Many in Ireland opposed British rule and saw the American Revolution as a lesson to be followed and a set of brothers fighting against Britain. While Ireland had a parliament, only Protestants voted for it and the British could control it, which was far from ideal. Campaigners for reform in Ireland reacted to the struggle in America by organizing groups of armed volunteers and a boycott of British imports. The British were afraid a full-blown revolution would emerge in Ireland  and made concessions. Britain relaxed its trade restrictions on Ireland, so they could trade with British colonies and freely export wool, and reformed the government by allowing non-Anglicans to hold public office. They repealed the Irish Declaratory Act, which had secured Irelands dependence on Britain while granting full legislative independence. The result was that Ireland remained part of the British Empire. Political Effect A government that can survive a failed war without pressure is rare, and Britains failure in the American Revolution led to demands for constitutional reform. The hardcore of government was criticized for the way it had run the war and for the apparent power it had, with fears that Parliament had ceased to represent the views of the people- except for the wealthy- and was simply approving everything the government did. Petitions flooded from the Association Movement demanding a pruning of the king’s government, the expansion of voting, and a redrawing of the electoral map. Some even demanded universal manhood suffrage. The Association Movement had huge power around early 1780, and it achieved widespread support. That did not last long. In June 1780 the Gordon Riots paralyzed London for almost a week with destruction and murder. While the cause of the riots was religious, landowners and moderates were frightened away from supporting more reform and the Association Movement declined. Political machinations throughout the early 1780s also produced a government with little inclination for constitutional reform. The moment passed. Diplomatic and Imperial Effect Britain may have lost 13 colonies in America, but it retained Canada and land in the Caribbean, Africa, and India. It began to expand in these regions, building what has been called the Second British Empire, which eventually became the largest dominion in world history. Britain’s role in Europe was not diminished, its diplomatic power was soon restored, and it was able to play a key role in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars despite the loss across the sea.

Enterprise Skills Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Enterprise Skills - Assignment Example Entrepreneurialism mattered less and remained so for long although we can see the importance it plays in the economy at present. Ward asserts that we are in the third phase of the industrial revolution marked by telecommunications, nanotechnology, and information technology (IT), robotics and biotechnology. The traits of the present revolution include breakthroughs and harnessing scientific knowledge. Technological changes have brought social impacts in the present world. A fast response time is a requirement for the emerging mass customization. There has been the emergence of skills divide over the last decade, and the gap between skilled and unskilled labor has grown immensely. High-skilled labor demand has been on the increase for the present technological change. On the other hand, there has been automation or outsourcing of low-skilled labor to low-wage countries. Martinez et al.  assert that, in the new economy, many people have accepted the increasing relevance of entrepreneurship in job creation. However, he argues that a few exhaustive studies on the subject exist. This means that people are still viewing entrepreneurship with a negative attitude. Galloway et al. mention that it is not large industrial companies that drive the growth of modern economies, but rather small and new businesses. The concepts of innovation and flexibility are fundamentally crucial in the present shift of economic focus. Entrepreneurial economy and the past industrial capitalist economy are similar in that both have innovation, exploitation of innovation and creation as economic drivers. Ward mentions refer to this present time as the ‘Age of Personal Sovereignty’ in which, unlike the previous generations, there are several choices for individuals to make.