Why Understanding Learning Style Is Useful Education Essay

Harmonizing to Honey ( 2006 ) define larning manner is a method through which pupils use to get the hang his or her learning manner, by believing and to work outing jobs. It is besides called ‘orientations or ‘approaches ‘ to larning. Honey ( 2006 ) identified four distinguishable larning manners such as are Activist, Theorist, Pragmatist and Reflector. Persons use these four acquisition attacks to larn. Learning is really indispensable for life ; it is the key and it reinforces everything. Learning is formal every bit good as informal and a procedure every bit good as an result. It is witting and unconscious. We learn because we want to larn. Reece and Walker ( 2002 ) stated that â€Å" as a pupil, you should hold the competency and the cognition to use all your accomplishment in pattern and be able to analyze and measure the service user nursing attention comprehensively. For scholars to derive understanding and cognition they need to listen and understand what was taught. In add-on a construct of larning manner is used to depict people ‘s differences by which they learn. Each person have method to absorb and treat experiences every bit good as information. Learning manners has become of import for persons, pedagogues, parents companies and to understand the good acquisition environment allows persons differences. For illustration, research workers have suggested that one ‘s larning environment affects the pupils ‘ public presentation with respects to the consistence with their acquisition penchants. Learning manner is a method through which pupils use to get the hang his or her learning manner, by believing and to work outing jobs. It is besides called ‘orientations or ‘approaches ‘ to larning. Kolb ( 1984 ) and Bastable ( 2003 ) , both agreed in their statement that larning manners should non be perceived as fixed personality traits but as adaptative. Students have their peculiar manner of acquisition and will larn best when there is a assortment of larning chances which will enable them to larn in their ain manner. Hence, the pupil will be observed for any alterations to find if any acquisition has taken topographic point utilizing brooding, observation, concrete experience, active experimentation and abstract conceptualization. They can get down at any phase and are uninterrupted ( McgiII & A ; Beaty, 1995 ) . Harmonizing to Honey and Mumford ( 1998 ) , learner ‘s manner of larning will act upon instructor ‘s instruction method. However, as a pupil nurse cognizing my acquisition manners will enable me to derive assurance as an grownup scholar. Understanding my learning manner will assist me to cognize how to travel about my acquisition methods. Knowing my acquisition manner has besides helped me to be in the right environment which is suited for my acquisition. Students have their curious ways of acquisition manners and will larn best when there is a assortment of larning chances which will enable them to larn in their ain manner. Hence, the pupil will be observed for any alterations to find if any acquisition has taken topographic point utilizing brooding, observation, concrete experience, active experimentation and abstract conceptualization. Moreso, it is utile for me to understand my acquisition manner because this will assist me to cognize how to make my class surveies and every bit good as being able to understand how to utilize my larning manner to measure the patient ‘s demands and support. It is utile for pupil nurse because it helps them pass on with their patient in the best manner the patient can understand every bit good as utilizing it to reply, get cognition and accomplishments on how to make my surveies. On the manus, my learning manner was confirmed following the completion of an audit questionnaire Honey ( 2006 ) . My learning manner is a reflector. Reflector are cautious people and thoughtful people who into consideration all possible angles, deduction before taking any action I.e. They explore many different positions. They are people who like to detect people and listen to what they have to state before they come to decision. I learn by detecting. I ever listen to people when they are talking to cognize what they are stating before coming to a decision. An illustration is when we have group activities in our talks or seminars, I normally listen to the thoughts of others first before I come up to thoughts of my ain. In my old topographic point of pattern were I did my arrangement, I observed nurses when they are making some undertaking like the readying for giving terminal injection. Before they begin the disposal, the two nurses foremost of all did some observations by look into ing the expiring day of the month, name of the client, day of the month of birth, the path, clip, and they besides checked the medical specialty cabinet temperature and it was recorded in the book where they do enter it. The prepared the injection, ready to be given. And both of them signed the book. The nurse put on baseball mitts this to avoid cross taint. Then after the injection was given, the acerate leaf was disposed in the crisp box. However, my weaker manner is activist, militant are people who engages themselves in batch of activities. They try to experiment. They ne'er think about effects before the act. As this is my weaker manner of acquisition, I will be affecting myself in a batch of activity because pattern makes perfect. I will besides seek to do instant determinations, inquire to be given group activities in category and be unfastened to new experiences. Furthermore, I will develop my weaker manner of acquisition by pull offing my clip efficaciously. I would seek to cut down the times I invest in thought and reflecting utilizing it more to seek out practical things such as inquiring that I give patients the endovenous out in pattern as opposed to watching and reflecting on the effects that could go on if I was given to make it. This manner I would be able to larn with people of different acquisition manners and be a batch more flexible both in pattern and in schoolroom activities. Like what I mentioned above, pattern makes perfect, hence I need to larn how be much more confident on prosecuting myself in activities that are more hands-on. Militant, are persons who involves themselves in a batch of activities. They are unfastened to seek out new experiences. They think of the effects of their action after they have already carried out the action in tonss of activities. They are unfastened to seek out new experiences the think of the effects after they have already carried out the action. They like to be the Centre of the activity. Harmonizing to Kolb ( 1984 ) , scholars learn better when the topic affair is presented in a manner consistent with their preferable acquisition manner. Theorist, are logical people, they think through everything before the act. They are more like perfectionist who analyse and synthesise. They are more on the nonsubjective side than on the subjective side. They reject anything non-logical and they maximise certainty. Pragmatists are people who open to seeking out thoughts and experimenting. They are down to earth people who act fast and confidently on any thought they come across. They are job convergent thinkers that make practical determinations. They take every job as a challenge. Reflectors are cautious people and thoughtful people who take into consideration all possible angles, deductions before taking any action. For illustration: they explore many different positions. They are people who like to detect people and listen to what they have to state before they come to a decisio n. Kolb ‘s acquisition distinguishes four acquisition manners which are perceivers, minds, deciders and actors. Each of these has strength and failing. It is of import that pupils become more cognizant of their learning strengths and work on their failing. Perceivers are people who beliefs in existent event of life they like listening to other peoples experiences and travel back to believe about it. They are speculative scholars desiring to cognize how to use it in their acquisition. The methodological analysis used in collating the grounds for set uping my acquisition through the questionnaire we completed is called qualitative method. However, the literature reappraisal provided me a secondary method in collating farther grounds of what is already known in the field. In decision, I have learned a batch from larning manners and every bit good as deriving cognition and accomplishments. I recognised the different types of acquisition manners and cognizing my ain method of larning. In the hereafter being able to understand my single acquisition manner will let me to be able to reassign the cognition acquired in a schoolroom scene to pattern. This will profit my experience as a pupil nurse.

Bullying Essay/Story

Note: This is an essay based on a true story. This was used in a olo provinical exam in the past to help prepare for my English 10 provincials this past summer. Names were changed for identification reasons. Bullying is one of the most common issues in today's society. Bullying occurs in school, work, or our own neighbourhood. Bullying also occurs online. Bullying is one of the hardest things to get over, and this is my story. ~Intro ~ During the years I was bullied in school, I had a time sticking up for myself and did not feel completely about myself.I have been called names, been target for pranks, and I know was physically and sexually harassed by my peers and classmate. The only two people I can trust is my best friend since 8th grade Rue and my grandmother (who is my guardian). When something happen to me during the school day, I try to be silent about it and try not to let it bother me. My way of getting away from bullying is listening to music on my iPod. ~Chapter 1~ Grade 8 was the most emotional, stressful year I had in all of my school years. This is because this one girl named Clove, was ruining my life.She would tell anyone I was trying to get to know that I had some sort of diseases and advice them to stay away from me and forces them to be friends with her. She took one of my good friend from dance in the past. She made everyone of my friends to go against me, except for Rue. She stayed with me until the end. Her and I are still great friends today. We may not go to the same high school now, but we try to see each other whenever we can. ~Chapter 2~ Clove, however, got meaner everyday. One time, her and her friend Glimmer wanted to talk to me after our class made cookies in Home Ec near he end of the day. We were allow to take the cookies home to our family and put them in a bag. Both Glimmer and Clove had one paper bag. I said yes then they took me outside under the huge Oak trees behind the school. Clove asked Glimmer to leave her and I some pri vacy. Glimmer left us after that. Clove asked me if I saw Clove's boyfriend-at-the-time Peeta a couple days ago and kissed him. I already knew that answer to her question because I was doing my homework on that night. So I said no. Clove was assuming that I was lying to her and stared each other for a few minutes.What I didn't know is that Glimmer was sneaky creeping up to me and dumped an entire flag on me. Clove and Glimmer ran away laughing, leaving me shocked and completely covered in flour. I ran to the classroom (and it was also raining that day too) angry and furious. When I walk into my homeroom classroom, everyone was shocked and asked what happen. I told my teacher Ms. Kennedy what happened to me and made Clove and Glimmer stay in the office and sent me to the principal office. ~Chapter 3~ Our principal Mr. Burwell, couldn't believe what he has seen when I walk into his office that day.When I sat on the extra chairs in his office, little traces of flour from the top of my head fell down to the chair as if the flour was snowflakes falling down from the sky. He asked me what happen to me and I told him the story. He was completely stunned. Ms Kennedy walked into Mr. Burwell a few seconds later after I told him what happen. Ms. Kennedy asked me who was picking me up and I sad my grandpa is picking me up. My grandpa's 2009 Hyundai navy Elentra was sitting in drop off zone, waiting for me to come out. Ms. Kennedy then ran outside and the pouring rain and told my grandpa to come inside to the office.He was confused and wondered why he needs to come inside, that's when he saw me in the principal office, covered in flour. My grandpa was shocked and ask what happen. My head started to irritate me and scratched my head as hard as I can until my scalp started to sting and bleed from the flour. The white small snowflakes from head continue to fall into the chair. Mr. Burwell asked Ms. Kennedy to take me to the handicap washroom (which was located by nearby his o ffice) to try to take some flour off of my face while he explains my grandpa why I was covered in flour. When Ms.Kennedy was trying help me to take some of the flour off my face, it irritated my skin. I just want to rip off my skin and let myself bleed to death. ~Chapter 4:~ When my grandpa and I came home from the principal's office, I ran upstairs to my living room and burst into tears. I didn't understand why Clove was doing this to me. I mean, why me? When the last month of school came along, it was the worst month of my life. This is all started when Clove decided to throw a birthday party for Rue. One of the food that was â€Å"suppose† to be provided at the party was a look-a-like oatmeal cookies, but they didn't taste like oatmeal at all.Clove, Glimmer, Cato, and Marvel (or I call Clove's friends the â€Å"Career Tributes†) forced me eat this cookie that was filled with dead insect, dust, dirt, broken eggs shells, you name it. I felt sick for 2 weeks after that incident. ~Chapter 5~ I went to Rue's part a couple days after the cookies incident. I bought a nice, brand new outfit for Rue's party. A blue tank top with lace on the top and on the bottom on the shirt, a dark grey skirt from American Eagle, a light black jacket to go on top of my shirt, and my black Franco Santo wedges I got from my grandma for Easter when she went to Seattle a week before Easter.The party began at an Italian restaurant. I had a terrible time at the restaurant because Cato â€Å"accidentally† split pasta sauce from the meal he ordered onto my brand new top. I knew pasta sauce was hard to remove on clothes. We later went to Clove's house, which it is not far from the restaurant. Clove told everyone that will be a water fight in an open field across the street from Clove's house and told everyone to get change into their swimsuit. I, however, did not know there was going to be a water fight, but I remember Rue told me that the party is going to do something with water.During the water balloon fight, I had a hard time throwing the balloons at everyone because the size of the balloon was so big over my small child-like hands. The Career Tributes, including Clove, enjoyed this fight. Why? Because I was their. Of course, they had to use me as their target. After the fight, I was extremely cold and wet thought that I was going to get a nasty cold the next day. ~Chapter 6~ We then watch Drag Me To Hell, a horror movie. Rue hates horror movie. I gave Rue her birthday present while the movie was on. I got her a journal, and a book call Three Cups Of Tea.I also made her a homemade card, using my grandmother's extra card stock and stamps she collected over the years. Rue loved her present and the card. Meanwhile, while everyone else was watching the movie. There was a killing scene on the TV. Everyone jump, including Cato, who split an entire glass of lemonade on my brand new skirt. I was so close of slapping him on the face. He spilt the lemon ade juice on me on purpose. ~Chapter 7~ After I got home from the party was over, I went home with my Dad, and my sister Prim, angry and upset. I have to take action, but how?School was ending in 2 weeks, so what's the point? Nearly two 2 weeks later, just a day before grade 8 grad, Clove and I got into a fight. She was violent and horrifying, like if she was going turn into a nasty beast. She punched me, scratched me and called me names. All I did was telling her what I thought about her. Telling her that she stole Peeta from me, I tried to fight back. , but I didn't want to because I know that fighting is not a way to solve the problem. Her career tributes were right behind her to defend her. The rest of my classmates went along what Clove told them.Too scared to stick up for themselves. They were afraid of Clove and they did not want to go against her. They just watch me suffer. Rue was trying to break up the fight between me and Clove. The scratch on my left arm, nearby my elbow , turned into a scab. The scab drove me crazy and I couldn't stop scratching it. I decided to turn the scab into a scar. To show people how violent Clove was really was. ~Chapter 8~ Finally, at last, Grad day came along. Unfortunately, though, I had to miss grad practice a couple hours before grad because of Clove.I had to sit in the office for the hour while the my grade 8 class was practicing for the ceremony. I hate the fact that I missed something that was once in a lifetime, but Mr. Burwell was only doing this to protect me. The rest of the day, everyone (except for the Career tributes and Clove) signed my year book. The torture was finally over. No more fear. No more hiding. No feeling like I want to take my own life and cutting myself. I can move from this nightmare and go to high school in peace. The best part of going to high school, is that I wouldn't have to worry about Clove anymore. Epilogue~ In the end, the story is on my mind everyday lie it was grade 8 all over again . One of the thongs I learn is to speak to others. When I talk to someone about things, it makes me feel better. When I left middle school, Clove and her tributes mates left me a lot of damage, physically, mentally, and emotional. When I see my self in the mirror, I don't feel beautiful and sees myself as an ugly person and wishes to have plastic surgery. When I do my hair and make-up, the comments of what Clove and her pack said to me would bother me.When I go clothes shopping, I would hate it because I'm not skinny and fit like Clove and Glimmer. to be honest, it's hard to get over it. It will haunt me for years to come. ~Note~ If you notice on the names of the characters (expect for Mr. Burwell and Ms. Kennedy), you may recognize their names because they are from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collions I look up to Katiness Everdeen (the main character in the novel) as a role model because she fought what she believed in and got through the worst through out the novel. I also got in troduced the Hunger Games in grade 8 by my learning support teacher, by Mrs. Collions.

Social issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Social issues - Essay Example abor in the West African cocoa farms; the situation has worsened today and more casualties have been involved in the abuse.They are hundreds of thousands and are forced to work as slaves with little or no pay at all. They work under the harshest conditions that include receiving all sorts of mistreatment from their bosses; they are beaten up, being locked in small huts, and are badly fed with an unbalanced diet. They usually rely on the bananas and the cocoa fruits that they eat. Latest statistics estimates reveal that approximately twelve thousand to two hundred thousand children are taken as slaves in West Africa. They work for twelve hours to fifteen hours in a day, and they are ten to twelve years old. Ironically, in all the countries where slave trade is carried out, slavery is illegal but the laws are bent, and slavery is practiced at a high rate. One of the West African countries that have deteriorated in its practice of child labor is the Ivory Coast. Every year, there is an approximate value of three million tons of chocolate that are consumed in the whole world (The film). Ivory Coast is the primary supplier of Chocolate in the entire world with forty-three percent of the total worlds supplied cocoa. However, the success of this industry is dependent on how many children are exploited under the child labor practices. From the Documentary, it is shown how thousands of Malian children are transported to Ivory Coast by rogue slave traders the trade remains unknown by most of the laws enforcers since the farms are small and isolated. Traders are usually found hanging in the bus stations and targets children who are alone or those begging for food. They then lure them to travel to Ivory Coast with them, and then they exchange the abducted children with farmers who are in a need of cheap labor with money. Most of the farms are found in the plains where access of people is rare hence nobody can recognize the presence of the illegal trade among the

Worldview Integration and Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Worldview Integration and Reflection - Essay Example According to the views of the positivists, the facts which generally originated from experiments as well as clarifications could be regarded as the actual truth and hence rejected all the discussions related to values as being worthless or non-cognitive chats (Harris, â€Å"A Summary Critique of the Fact/ Value Dichotomy†). Modern society is basically characterized by a sharp disintegration between the sacred and secular fields where both the aspects of work as well as business has been identified to be strictly secular. It is because of this fact, Christians are often found to exist in two separate worlds varying in terms of the private world of family and church as well as the public world. This dichotomy tends to pose a profound impact upon the personal lives of the people. It is to be mentioned in this regard that by identifying a universal perspective that combines the secular as well as sacred aspects into a single framework, it becomes easier to break free from dichotomies thereby limiting God’s power in the lives of people. It is quite significant to reject the division of life into a sacred sphere which has been restricted to worship and personal morality against the secular realm that comprises politics and other general aspects related to the public (Pearcey 20). 2. How Would You Make The Case That Christianity Alone Gives A Complete And Consistent Account Of Reality? The statement that Christianity relates to total reality implies that this religion provides a comprehensive perception of the world. This further implies that Christianity tends to offer the view of the world. It further signifies a biblical conversant view over reality. A worldview is almost similar to the mental map which guides human beings regarding the ways of living an effective and meaningful life. It is assumed that with the help of these views Christians are capable of comprehending and pursuing their faith in the world thereby, fulfilling the cultural consent (Pearcey 20). Nancy Pearcey states the fact that most of the Western cultures have been monitored by a dualism that tends to separate the public sphere from that of the private one. Such dualism has been known to demote the Christian worldview to the sphere of private values and holds no stake with regard to the public aspects where general strategies are made. Hence, it can be observed that Christianity has been incapable to spread over a wider arena. The chief reasons behind this have been the fact that Christianity in the public sphere has been evaluated in terms of rationality. Christianity usually depend more upon facts instead of focusing upon the related values. Christianity has also been threatened in the private sphere as people fail to strictly follow the doctrines of

Organisational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organisational Change - Essay Example The current paper elaborates upon only a few of the things that are possible for workforce planning and management managers to initiate organizational changes. Organizational Change ideally is an ongoing phenomenon that ensures that organizations are responsive to the changes in the external environments (Beitler, 2006, pp 7). Environmental changes due to changed business and legal requirements, changing governmental and political situations, change in technology, change in market place and competitors and change in society etc. have a direct impact on the working and performance of an organization. These changes will impact how the products or services of the organization are perceived by the customers and may also impact upon the sales and long term survivability of the organization (Beitler, 2006, pp 9). Internal organizational changes may be spontaneous - as in the case when the organization launches a new product in response to the competitor’s new product, or in case when change is enacted in compensation and leaves policies in response to changes in law or regulations of the country in which the organization is operating. Spontaneous or mandatory changes are not pre-planned and are considered to be one-of actions or changes to meet a current crisis or to take advantage of an existing opportunity. On the other hand, organizations that have a strategic vision and do long term planning are able to predict and prepare for future challenges by enacting a planned organizational change. Such organizations are able to develop an insight about future requirements, future business opportunities or perceive future threats and then spend time and resources in enacting pervasive and lasting changes in the business operations, organizational structure, business planning or manpower planning and trainings . Traditionally, human resource management and workforce management has been viewed

Common law and Equity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Common law and Equity - Essay Example Equity is no part of the law, but a moral virtue which qualifies, moderates and reforms the rigour, hardness and edge of the law and is a universal truth. It also assists the law where it is defective and weak in the constitution. It refers to a particular set of remedies and related procedures. The role of the office of equity is to support and protect the common law from shifts and crafty devices against the justice of the law. Equity neither destroys nor creates the law but assist it. Equity is a means of preventing any unfairness which might otherwise result from rigid application of formal legal rules (Hudson, 2005, p.14,). Equity supplemented and remedied the deficiencies in the common law. The main remedy at common law is damages. Equity offers remedies other than damages such as the injunction and specific performance (Gubby, 2004, p.37). Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy, and thus equity establishes its core jurisdiction to ensure that a claimant will be entitled to acquire some redress for a wrong done to him or her or to protect some right in property (Hudson, 2004, p.9). The fundamental similarity between common law and equity is that... s a moral character to the common law and may be used synonymously with common law for the simple reason that what is legal is necessarily moral (Hamilton, Jaren, Pound, 1999, p.91). Except for different mode of administering justice in each court, it is law and reason which governs both equity and common court. Both equity and common law are 'damages'. 'Damages' at common law means a monetary response to a breach of duty. That breach of duty might be a breach of contract or it might be tort. This approach nullifies a prevalent view that 'damages' are synonymous to compensation. In common law, non compensatory monetary awards for wrongs that are acknowledged to be forms of damages namely exemplary damages, restitutionary damages and disgorgement damages. All these forms of damages have counterparts in equity. Awards of equitable compensation or 'accounts of profits', which responds to wrongs in equity, are actually different forms of damages. With the recognition that the former are simply equity's 'compensatory damages' and the later are equity's 'disgorgement damages', an understanding of rules of causation and remoteness in equity can be developed in comparison to common law counterparts. Although different sets of rules apply for different wrongs and different conducts, the nature of law is always relevant for both common law and equity. For example, the wrong of fraudulent representation in equity is identical to the tort of deceit and for that matter the same test of remoteness should apply and comparison is helpful (Robertson, 2004, p.32). Differences In case of common law, remedy is granted to a claimant who could establish a case at law, usually in proof of certain formalities and pleading a specified form of action. A common law is fairly inflexible in

Urban tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Urban tourism - Essay Example Increasing worldwide visitation and foreign travel has given tourism a unique status as, not only an extremely lucrative industry, but one with continued growth potential. It possesses almost limitless growth potential, both as an income and a job generator. Accordingly, many countries, both developing and developed, are actively engaged in the integration of the tourism industry in their socio-economic development projects and in the promotion and support of their tourism industry. World Tourism Organisation facts and figures are strongly supportive of the viability and the validity of the aforementioned approach. In 2004, the industry grew by 10% and in 2005 by 5%, far more than the 1.5% long-term average for any other industry. Last year there were 800 million worldwide tourists and the industry generated US$680 billion. Added to that, the sector employed (and continues to employ) 10% of the global labour force (WTO, 2006). These figures quite clearly underscore the importance of the tourism industry and the reason why countries are both promoting it and integrating it into their national socio-economic development plans.The tourism sector is an expansive one, in the sense that there are various forms and types of tourism. When explaining the aforementioned, Hall and Page (2000) clarify that the different types of tourism are determined by vista/destination, intent and activities. It is, thus, that urban tourism, rural tourism, safari tourism, and seaside tourism, among others, have emerged (Hall and Page, 2000). Of these variant forms of tourism, urban tourism is particularly important. This is not simply because, as Hall and Page (2000) point out, because it is one of the oldest types of tourism but because it is one of the most economically lucrative, insofar as it involves comparatively significant volumes of tourist expenditure within major cosmopolitan cities. Given the stated, this paper will focus on urban tourism in two major cities, Paris and Dubai , comparatively outlining the strategies by which these cities attract tourists and sustain tourism and the ways in which the cities themselves are marketed and managed as tourist destinations. The characteristics of urban tourists will also be explored. 2 The Economy of Urban Tourism The economic importance of urban tourism stems from the fact that it improves the quality of life for an urban city's residents, boosts the city's vitality, and improves its economic position (Hall & Page, 2000). Accordingly, many urban governments and policy makers are now relying on tourism for economic regeneration and for strategic local development (Rogerson, 2004). According to Jurowski and Brown (2001), "When attempting to maximize the benefits for a specific community, planners should gather information about individuals who stand to gain economically from the development, those who are currently using the resource to be developed, those who are attached to their community and those with a strong environmental attitude" (p. 9). As may be inferred from the preceding, tourism has become an important and essential element of urban area economics and can significantly contribute to a city's revitalization or recovery (Haywood & Muller, 1988). According to Sirgy and Su (2000), tourism had grown into the "largest industry surpassing automobiles, steel, electronics and agriculture" (p. 342). As such, the industry has become an important part of global economics and tourism research is being centered on direct, indirect, and total effects of visitor spending, which affects jobs, regional output, and taxes (McHone & Rungeling, 2000). The economic impact of tourism is driving researchers to explore several aspects of this industry, including consumer satisfaction, travel behaviour, hospitality opportunities, leisure measurement, and recreation interests (Kozak &

Use of marijuana for medical purposes in Florida Essay

Use of marijuana for medical purposes in Florida - Essay Example As per these scientists, the chemicals contained in marijuana have lot of potential for treatment of various diseases. Due to these reasons, more and more people support the arguments regarding making it legal for medicinal purpose (Norml, 2015). In fact, more and more states in the country are legalizing the use of marijuana in medications. Till the last count, twenty four states of the country have allowed the use of marijuana for various medicinal purposes. As regards legalizing marijuana, the primary US stakeholders are the law enforcement wing, the medical community and of course, the citizens. As per a survey, the strongest supporters of legalizing marijuana are the 18-35 age groups (Millennials). On the other hand, the most vociferous opposition is from the age group of 70-87, the Silent Generation (Pew Research, 2015). The people who are supporting the use of marijuana point out that marijuana can be used for various medicinal purposes. One of the main uses of medicinal marijuana is to reduce pain. There can be many reasons of the pain, such as a normal headache or a fatal disease such as cancer, or any long-term health issue such as nerve pain or glaucoma (Harding, 2015). If the patient stays in a state where it is legal to purchase medical marijuana, he or she can get marijuana card with permission of the doctor. Further, he or she can enroll in the list so that they can purchase medical marijuana from any authorized seller. The other diseases where medical marijuana can be prescribed are weight loss that is caused due to chronic illness such as nerve pain or HIV, the seizure disorders, muscle spasms due to multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. Some other health issues include the treatment for nausea caused due to cancer chemotherapy (Harding, 2015). Although there are experts who swear regarding the medicinal

Leadership and Management in Nursing Research Paper

Leadership and Management in Nursing - Research Paper Example No doubt, Nurses in superior clinical practice incorporate education, research, management, leadership, and consultation into their clinical role. They function in uncompetitive relationships with nursing peers, physicians, professionals, and others who influence the health environment. (McLoughlin 1992). If we analyze then we come to know that In this era of high business competitiveness, organizations function in a dynamic and altering environment and as a result, it has to be adaptive to stay ahead of the violent competition. No doubt, healthcare organizations today be familiar with that human resource (HR) is their key asset to ahead an edge over the competition and attaining health organizational success and efficiency. Thus, human resource management (HRM) has now become an up-and-coming field in the business earth and a key element for staying side by side of competition. This research will spotlight on what HRM has to present and how those at the top and HR managers be supposed to work jointly to attain organizational effectiveness. Current HRM leadership and management theory and concepts will also be discussed and interpret into carrying out and from there, its advantages and disadvantages will be highlighted. According to Effective Management of Nurses According to the expert analysis, Advanced Practice Nurses like further primary care providers, have a compulsion to a supporter for abused patients. Specialization of household violence case management holds great possible to address domestic aggression efficiently (Epstein, 1999).  

Issues in Multicultural Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issues in Multicultural Education - Essay Example As part of the solution, the people who are involved comprise of the community elders who shall induct such teachers and mentors who have no difficulty in coming up with the standards and levels of the students and the ones who are gaining education in more than a single way. This is so needed because the same people are involved within the problem phase as are the ones in the solution element. The distinction of people depends entirely on how a task is cut out and what kind of activities come about with the passage of time under differential circumstances. The proposed solution is that the multicultural education is an important affair and should be treated with the required respect that it richly deserves (Bertera, 2007). The people involved with education and making the entire process possible are the ones who have to bring about a change, and that too for the betterment of all and sundry. This is because the multicultural education norms highlight the element of success that the community elders are instilling within the students who want to attain new heights and learn a number of new trades in the changing professional world of today. The proposed solution takes into account that the funding initiatives are handled properly and without much fuss. It would mean that the people involved at different levels find the best possible solution for collective growth and development of the students for which the multicultural education is in place in entirety. The elements that will be needed in order to implement the proposed solution comprise of the money issues that engulf the multicultural education in essence. This means that the multicultural education will only be seen as a point of strength if the educational levels are properly addressed and when there are enough budgeting inputs by the people who matter the most within the related domains of inculcating quality education within the diverse set of students. Thus the time element is also an important consid eration when one speaks of the aspect of multicultural education bringing in sound results (Oikonomidoy, 2009). The projected timeline to implement the solution is around a year’s time. This is the time during which the multicultural education would be exponentially enhanced and its success would therefore be dependent on significant steps, all of which are undertaken by the community members on a proactively consistent basis. This time is enough to analyze the problem at hand when one speaks of the multicultural education and its varied norms (Coutts, 2007). Also there would be enough time in between to take care of the negatives which would arise in the wake of undertaking certain steps. It would comprise of the steps that have been left unattended as well as the ones which were never fulfilled in the first place. The projected outcome of the entire exercise of multicultural education is that it will put the people in close perspectives of one another, and ask of them to br ing about success as it is required by the students.

Assignment Questions Chapters 5-7 Psychology Essay Example for Free

Assignment Questions Chapters 5-7 Psychology Essay 1. Most current studies aimed at understanding human memory are conducted within a framework known as information-processing theory. This approach makes use of modern computer science and related fields to provide models that help psychologists understand the processes involved in memory. The general principles of the information processing approach to memory include the notion that memory involves three distinct processes. The first process, encoding, is the process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory. The second process, storage, is the process of keeping or maintaining information in memory. The final process, retrieval, is the process of bringing to mind information that has been stored in the memory (p.168). Two influential theorists concerning the information-processing theory are Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin. They characterized memory as three different, interacting memory systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is the memory system that holds information from the senses for a period of time ranging from only a fraction of a second to about 2 seconds. Sensory memory can take in an enormous amount of information, but it can only hold on to it for a very brief period of time (p.169). Short-term memory is the component of the memory system that holds about seven (from five to nine) items for less than 30 seconds without rehearsal; also called the working memory. When short-term memory is filled to capacity, displacement can occur. In displacement, each new incoming item pushes out an existing item, which is then forgotten (p.170). Long-term memory (LTM) is the memory system with a virtually unlimited capacity that contains vast stores of a persons permanent or relatively permanent memories. There are no known limits to the storage capacity of this memory system, and long-term memories can persist for years, some of them for a lifetime. Information in long-term memory is usually stored in semantic form, although visual images, sounds, and odors can be stored there as well (p.174). 2. The analogy heuristic involves comparing a problem to others you have experienced in the past. The idea is that if a particular strategy worked with similar problems in the past, it will be effective for solving a new one. Another heuristic that is effective for solving some problems is working backward, sometimes called the backward search. This approach starts with the solution, a known condition, and works back through the problem. Once the backward search has revealed the steps to be taken and their order, the problem can be solved (p.207). Another popular heuristic strategy is means-end analysis, in which the current position is compared with a desired goal, and a series of steps are formulated and then taken to close the gap between the two. When you adopt a heuristic strategy, it may or may not lead to a correct solution. By contrast, the algorithm is a problem-solving strategy that always lead to a correct solution if it is applied appropriately (p.208). 3.Research suggests that there are both advantages and disadvantages to learning two languages early in life. One of the pluses is that, among preschool and school-age children, bilingualism, fluency in at least two languages, is associated with better executive control skills on language tasks. Executive control skills enable bilingual children to suppress impulsive responses to verbal tasks and, as a result, think more carefully about them. Thus, executive control skills are important in learning to read and write. On the downside, even in adulthood, bilingualism is sometimes associated with decreased efficiency in memory tasks involving words. However, bilinguals appear to develop compensatory strategies that allow them to make up these inefficiencies. Consequently, they often perform such tasks as accurately as monolinguals, though they may respond more slowly. Researchers have found that there is no age at which it is impossible to learn a new language. While it is true that those who begin earlier reach higher levels of proficiency, age is not the only determining factor (p.214). There is one clear advantage to learning two languages earlier in life, however. People who are younger when they learn a new language are far more likely to be able to speak with an appropriate accent. One reason for this difference between early and late language learners may have to do with slight variations in neural processing in Brocas area, the area of the brain that controls speech production. Research suggests that bilinguals who learned a second language early rely on the same patch of tissue in Brocas area for both of the languages they speak. In those who learned a second language at an older age, two different sections of Brocas are are active while they are performing language tasks (p.215). 4. Charles Spearman observed that people who are bright in one area are usually bright in other areas as well. In other words, they tend to be generally intelligent. Spearman came to believe that intelligence is composed of a general ability that underlies all intellectual functions. Spearman concluded that intelligence tests tap this g factor, or general intelligence, and a number of s factors, or specific intellectual abilities. Spearmans influence can be seen in those intelligence tests, such as the Stanford-Binet, that yield one IQ score to indicate the level of general intelligence. Howard Gardner also denies the existence of a g factor. Instead, he proposes a theory of multiple intelligences that includes eight important forms of intelligence, or frames of mind. The eight frames of mind are linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. In recent years, he has proposed a ninth type of intelligence, one that he calls existential intelligence, deals with the spiritual realm and enables us to contemplate the meaning of life. He first developed his theory by studying patients with different types of brain damage that affect some forms of intelligence but leaves other intact. The most controversial aspect of Gardners theory is his view that all forms of intelligence are of equal importance. In fact, different cultures assign varying degrees of importance to the types of intelligence (p.216-217). 5. I would perform a fixed-ratio (FR) schedule, in which a reinforcer is given after a fixed number of correct, non reinforced responses. So, if my dog knew that after rolling over correctly ten times without getting reinforced meant that she would get a reinforced after those ten times, she would then learn that after rolling over ten times correctly, she would be reinforced (p.147). In fixed-rate schedules response rates are very high, and the higher the ratio, the more resistant to extinction (p.148). 6. Psycholinguistics is the study of how language is acquired, produced, and used and how the sounds and symbols of language are translated into meaning. Psycholinguists use specific terms for each of the five basic components of language. The smaller units of sound in a spoken language-such as b or s in English-are known as phonemes. Three phonemes together form the sound of the word cat: c (which sounds like k), a, and t. Combinations of letters that form particular sounds are also phonemes, such as the th in the and the ch in child. The same phoneme may be represented by different letters in different words; this occurs with the a in stay and the ei in sleigh. And the same letter can serve as different phonemes. This letter a, for example, is sounded as four different phonemes in day, cap, watch, and law. Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a language. A few single phonemes serve as morphemes, such as the article a and the personal pronoun I. The ending -s gives a plural meaning to a word and is thus a morpheme in English. Many words in English are single morphemes-book, word, learn, reason, and so on. In addition to root words, morphemes may be prefixes (such as re- in relearn) or suffixes (such as -ed to show past tense, as in learned). The single morpheme reason becomes a dual morpheme in reasonable. The morpheme book (singular) become two morphemes in books (plural). Syntax is the aspect of grammar that specifies the rules for arranging and combining words to form phrases and sentences. The rules of word order, syntax, differ from one language to another. For example, an important rule of syntax in English is that adjectives usually come before nouns. So English speakers refer to the residence of the U.S. president as the White House. In Spanish, in contrast, the noun usually comes before the advective, and Spanish speakers say la Casa Blanca, or the House White. Semantics refers to the meaning derived from morphemes, words, and sentences. The same word can have different meanings depending on how it is used in sentences: I dont mind. Mind your manners. He has lost his mind. Or consider another example: Loving to read, the young girl read three books last week. Here, the word read is pronounced two different ways, and in one case, is the past tense. Pragmatics, is the term psycholinguists use to refer to aspects of language such as intonation, the rising and falling patterns that are used to express meaning. For example, think about how you would say the single word cookie to express each of the following meanings: Do you want a cookie? or What a delicious looking cookie! or Thats a cookie. The subtle differences reflect your knowledge of the pragmatic rules of English (P.210-211). 7. An intelligence test is a measure of general intellectual ability. An individuals score is determined by how his responses compare to others of his or her age. Thus, intelligence tests are norm-referenced. All psychological tests, including all the various types of tests that measure cognitive ability, are judged according to the same criteria.They must provide consistent results. An intelligence test must have reliability; the test must consistently yield nearly the same score when the same person is tested and then retested on the same test or an alternative form of the test. The higher the correlation between the two scores, the more reliable the test. Tests can be highly reliable but worthless if they are not valid. Validity is the ability or power of a test to measure what it is intended to measure. Once a test is proven to be valid or reliable, the next requirement is norm-referenced standardization. There must be standard procedures for administering and scoring the test. Exactly the same directions must be given, whether written or oral, and the same amount of time must be allowed for every test taker. But even more important, standardization means establishing norms, age-based averages, by which all scores are interpreted. A test is standardized by administering it to a large sample of people who are representative of those who will be taking the test in the future. The groups score are analyzed, and then the average score, standard deviation, percentile rankings, and other measures are computed. These comparative scores become the norms used as the standard against which all other scores on that test are measured. Reliability, validity, and standardization are especially important with regard to intelligence tests because the kinds of decisions that are sometimes based on intelligence test scores can have grave consequences. For example, a few years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that is unconstitutional to execute individuals who have mental retardation. Thus, a psychologist who is charged with the responsibility of administering an intelligence test to a person who will or will not be subject to the death penalty at least partly on the basis of his or her intelligence test score must ensure that the test given is reliable and valid and has been properly standardized. Likewise, childrens scores on these tests are often used to place them in special school programs that, in a very real sense, change the course of their lives for years to come. In fact, such a goal was the impetus for the development of the first standardized intelligence test (p.219). 8. In memory loss there are two broad categories that involves this kind of memory loss, amnesia and dementia. Amnesia is a partial or complete loss of memory due to loss of consciousness, brain damage, or some psychological cause. Unlike the memory disorders that are experienced by some older adults, amnesia can be experienced at any age. In some cases, amnesia takes the form of an inability to store new information. This kind of amnesia is known as anterograde amnesia. Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form long-term memories of events occurring after a brain injury or brain surgery, although memories formed before the trauma are usually intact and short-term memory is unaffected. Some individuals with amnesia can form new memories, but they cannot remember the past, a disorder known as retrograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is a loss of memory for experiences that occurred shortly before a loss of consciousness. These people often lack knowledge of themselves and/or the events surrounding the development of their memory loss. It is not unusual for a person to have both retrograde and anterograde amnesia with regard to the events that immediately preceded and followed a serious car crash or other traumatic event (p. 189). Another form of memory loss is dementia. Dementia is a state of mental deterioration characterized by impaired memory and intellect and by altered personality and behavior. Dementia can result from such conditions as cerebral arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries in the brain), chronic alcoholism, and irreversible damage by a small series of strokes. Dementia is most common among older adults. However, diseases such as HIV/AIDS can cause dementia to develop in a younger person as well. About 50 to 60% of all cases of dementia result from Alzheimers disease. This is a progressive deterioration of intellect and personality that results from widespread degeneration of brain cells (p.190). 9. People reconstruct memories, piecing them together using schemas to organize fragments of information, a process that has both advantages and disadvantages. Information that fits with preexisting schemas can be efficiently remembered, but schemas can also introduce distortions into memory. Sir Frederick Bartletts research demonstrated how reconstructive processing changes memory over time (p.178). Most memories do not include source information, so memories for sources must be reconstructed. Source monitoring results in encoding of source memories. Flashbulb memories are different from others in that they always include source information, although the source information is subject to reconstruction changes over time (p.179). Autobiographical memories are reconstructed memories that include factual, emotional, and interpretive elements. They are subject to positive bias (p.180). 10. Bandura suspected that aggression and violence on television programs, including cartoons, tend to increase aggressive behavior in children. In several classic experiments, Bandura demonstrated how children are influenced by exposure to aggressive models. One study involved three groups of preschoolers. Children in one group individually observed an adult model punching, kicking, and hitting a 5-foot, inflated plastic Bobo Doll with a mallet, while uttering aggressive phrases. Children in the second group observed a nonaggressive model who ignored the Bobo Doll and sat quietly assembling Tinker Toys. The children in the control group were placed in the same setting with no adult present. Later, each child was observed through a one-way mirror. Those children exposed to the aggressive model imitated much of the aggression and also engaged in significantly more nonimitative aggression than did children in either of the other groups. The group that observed the nonaggressive model showed less aggressive behavior than the control group. The researchers concluded that of the three experimental conditions, exposure to humans on film portraying aggression was the most influential in eliciting and shaping aggressive behavior (p. 158-159). 11. Experiencing hunger pangs when you smell your favorite food is an example of classic conditioning.Your stomach rumbles when you smell your favorite food because smell and taste are so closely linked that food odors, functioning as conditioned stimuli, can actually make you think you are hungry even if you have just finished a large meal. The conditioned stimulus (CS) would be the presence of the smell of your favorite food which brings about the unconditioned stimulus (US) hunger pangs. Because humans do not need to be taught to be hungry for food, the act of feeling hungry would be the unconditioned response (UR). The conditioned response (CR) would be knowing that you will get hungry when you smell your favorite food (p.143). 12. Critics argue that therapists using hypnosis and guided imagery to help their patients recover repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse are actually implanting false memories in those patients. They are especially critical of claims of recovered memories in the first three years of life, because the hippocampus and areas of the cortex are not well developed enough to store long-term memories. Therapists who use these techniques believe that a number of psychological problems can be treated successfully by helping patients recover repressed memories of sexual abuse. These therapists believe that a process called repression, a form of motivated forgetting, can cause traumatic memories to be so deeply buried in an individuals unconscious mind that he or she has lost all awareness of them (p.192-193). 13. Writing notes, making lists, writing on a calendar, or keeping an appointment book is often more reliable and accurate than trusting to memory. But if you need information at some unpredictable moment when you dont have aids handy, several mnemonics, or memory devices, and study strategies have developed over the years to aid memory. Mnemonics, or rhymes are a common aid to remembering material that otherwise might be difficult to recall. As a child, learning to recite i over e except after c when you were trying to spell a word containing that vowel combination is an example of a mnemonic. The method of loci is a mnemonic device that be used to when you want to remember a list of items such as a grocery list. Select a familiar place your home, for example and simply associate the items to be remembered with locations there. For example, visualize the first item you want to remember in its place on the driveway, the second in the garage, and the third at the front door, and so on until you have associated the item you want to remember with a specific location. Overlearning is another method of improving memory. Overlearning is practicing or studying material beyond the point where it can be repeated once without error. It makes material more resistant to forgetting (p.173). 14. Bandura proposed that four processed determine whether observational learning will occur: Attention: The observer must attend to the model. Retention: The observer must store information about the models behavior in memory. Reproduction: The observer must be physically and cognitively capable of performing the behavior to learn it. In other words, no matter how much time you devote to watching Serena Williams play tennis or listening to Beyonce sing, you wont be able to acquire skills like these unless you possess talents that are equal to theirs. Reinforcement: Ultimately, to exhibit a behavior learned through observation, an observer must be motivated to practice and perform the behavior on his own (p.156). 15. In some cases, we are hampered in our efforts to solve problems in daily life because of functional fixedness, the failure to use familiar objects in novel ways to solve problems. Objects you use everyday such as, tools, utensils, and other equipment are what help you perform certain functions. Although, you probably do not think to use the normal functions of such objects in new and creative ways. Suppose you wanted a cup of coffee, but the glass pot for you coffeemaker was broken. If you suffered from functional fixedness, you might come to the conclusion that there was nothing you could do to solve the problem at that moment. But, rather than thinking about the object you dont have, think about the function that it needs to perform. Another impediment to problem solving is mental set, the tendency to continue to use the same old method even though another approach might be better. Perhaps you hit on a way to solve a problem once in the past and continue to use the same technique in similar situations, even though it it not highly effective of efficient. The cognitive process that underlies both functional fixedness and mental set is confirmation bias, the tendency to selectively pay attention to information that concerns preexisting beliefs and ignore data that contradict them. For example, when faced with an operating system crash, most computer users know that the first line of defense is to reboot. Every time rebooting solve the problem, confirmation bias in favor of rebooting as a solution for computer problems becomes stronger. As a result, when a problem arises that proves resistant to rebooting, most of us try rebooting a few more times before we confront the reality that rebooting isnt going to solve the problem (p.209).

Strategic Management of ExxonMobil

Strategic Management of ExxonMobil Strategic Management Abstract Proper business modelling requires in depth analysis of the business conditions that affect the performance of the business enterprise. This analysis must be objective and very informing in terms of highlighting the prospects of business growth and forecasting the position of the business by using the current growth opportunities and strengths too. A growth oriented business franchise must take into account the four facets involved in the SWOT criteria, critically analyse them and establish a framework for propagating growth through the inferences of SWOT criterion. ExxonMobil, being a multinational oil company with immense business interests has plenty of business variables that directly stand on its way to greater growth. Conversely, the business has humongous opportunities and cardinal pillars on which it stands to inspire its growth in the industry. This report is tasked with the examination of these key factors and opportunities of growth and offer the recommendations to capitalize on these factors in order of importance. In contrast, the report shall examine the threats and weaknesses of these variables with a view of turning them into opportunities for the business. Introduction The growth of a Company depends on its successfule formulation and implemtation of strategy. Formulation of strategy cmusttake heed of the envinromental forces impacting on he organisation. This paper analyses ExxonMobil Oil Company position in its operatig markets and through a careful analysis of Strenght, Weaknesses pportunities and threats. The comapnuy operates in the oil sector and as such the company’s strategy has a long term focus, heavy fixed costs, low margins and huge economies of scale. The company has experienced consistent grwth in sales and profitability. The present strategy is based on cutting edge research and development to develop upstream units coupled with an efficient system of distribution structured to reduce costs. The companyalso emphasises on superior customer service to maintain customer loyalty. Competition in the oil sector is ntense and as such firms rely on customer loyaty to bind customers to their products. Griven that the company operates in an iduusry where several players sell perfectly substitutable products, each of the players invests in quality and customer service to driv profitability (Andersen 2009). The industry is characterised by huge fixed costs and thin operating margins. Thus, firms have to sel excessive quantities of poduce to break even. Profitabiliy therefore relies on economies of scale. Besides, environmental concersn have a huge impact on the firm’s profitability. Mistakes in production can result in huge oil spills and resultant fins bythe authorities. Extreme violations of the operationsl codes can result in denial of operating licence. ExxonMobil Company operational analysis ExxonMobil has two main operating segments namely upstream and downstream. Upstream operation include all activities involved in exploration, driigng and pumpting fossil fuels from beneath to the surface for onward processing. Downsteam operatios involve the processing distribution and marketing of hydrcarbons. The company was formed in 1999 and hasrealised consistent growth in sales and profitability to become on e of the largest producers in the word. The compsny now handleds 3% of global energy output. The company is aslo the second largest (by market capitalisation) listed firm in in the US (Vassilou,2009). The company has capacity to produce 6.5 million barrels of crude daily, a relativey huge amount relative to the other players in the industry. The ccompany has operations in more than 100 countries under its various brands and has 37 refineries (Exxon, 2007). The firm’s annual growth in capacity stands at 17% and has enough resources to invest in efficient production (E xxon, 2009). Organization structure of the company ExxonMobil has a strict staffing policy throughout its operational divisions. The firm has a favoured brand name that allows it to attract talented employees. This offers the comaony an edge against the competition (Exxon Company 2007). The firm’s is to hire highly motivated and skilledstaff to drive its strategy (Exxon Company 2009). Berberoglu (2008) explains that ExxonMobil has an organisation structure s that is fashioned along the concept of autonomous gobal operaitons. The company has eleven (11) separate divisions each operating globally. These divisions are organied in a manner that they offer the much needed synergy in the business. The global merger of the former 2 energy giants Exxon and Mobil offers the company expanded reach in markets, global playing field in terms of resources and a harmonised pool of human resources with differtnt abilities and orientation to drive the mered entity’s strategy. Following the merger, the firms combined upstream companies were moved to Houston where a significant amount of the company’s upstream businesses are located. These includes functions such as esearch and development, exploration drilling and production. Downstream operations weremoved to Virginia including such functions as marketing, engineering research, production of lubricants etc (McLeish 2008). Methodology This paper builds a case of trategic orientation of the company based on the findings of the SWOT matrix. The paper utilises interpretative analysis to determine the firm’s competitive strengths and weaknesses as well as its weakmesses and strengths. The following is the firm’s Swot matrix. SWOT Analysis Strengths Private ownership Being a private company, ExxonMobil the government has minimal governeent control. It is therefore driven by the key aims of profits as opposed to state’s social interests. It therefore suffers form minimal state interference experienced by the National Oil Companies. NOCs suffer from extreme redtape and subversion of profitable causes in the interests of state (Omeje 2008). Leadership in environmental conservation The company has minimal violations of environemental code of condust as laid down by the varous environmental agencies in its various operating markets. However, concerns over global warming have resulted in the increased scrutiny of its producton oerations especially deep sea drilling and emissions. This presents the company with no immediate operatonal problems. Strong research and development team The company has a strong asset base. This is crcuail in the industry owing to the high fixed operational costs experienced in the sector. The company reinvest an average of 16% of its revenue in its opreations to boost capacity its capacity for research and development and output. Thefirm has the capacity to acquire promising business operational units to grow its business. Competitive labor force Human resource offers firms the most potent form of competitive advantage. The company attracts huge talent of labour force due to its sting brand and reputation as a good employer. This offers the company ability to execute its strategy. Weaknesses Litigation The company’s 1989 Alaska oil spill and its sponsorship of research pubications hurt the firm’s image and resulted in numerous law suits and other contingent liabilities that could cost the firm billions in claims. The company’s sales experienced a dip following concerns of irresponsibility. The oil spill also pushed the firms operational costsup by 11%. This led to the company’s adoption of new, more expensive technologies to gaud against such violations (Porter 2008). These measures continue to ngatively impact the firms profitability. Rising production costs Following the firm has aging oil wells and its new oil finds are deeper and moer expensive to drill (ExxonMobil, 2009). This means that the per unit production costcontinues to rise over even as other costs such asmarketing and distribution rise (Vassiliou 2009). While rising nergy prices have largely compensated for the rising production costs,increased regulatory costs and taxes have offset such gains. High fixed costs The iniial cost of production is very high. Exploration, drilling and maintenance of oil wells makes firm’s incur excessive costs. The company has to recoup the high costs by operating in large scale. The firm cannot sell at high prices due to competition and thherfore it has to rely on economies of scale to driv its profitability. High fixed costs mean that the company experincesa disproportionate fall in profits if sales decline (Porter 2011). Limited human resource pool Despite the firm’s prefeed position as an employer, there is a shortage ofquaified talent in selected areas that are critical to firm’s productivity. Most of the firm’s new hires require excessive training to orient the to the training environement (Mondy, Noe Gowan 2005). Opportunities Tax breaks Energy companies earn tax breaks from the government. Being a private listed company, ExxonMobil qualifies for annual tax breaks and subsideies by the federal government (Pennell et al. 2008). Strategic organizational growth through mergers and acquisition The company has a comprehensive strategy of buying promising business ventures. These venetures not only have the potential to add value but also enable it capture key markets and customer groups. The company has a high capital base and other resources that enable can enable it undertake mergers and acquisitions without having to extert unnecessary pressure on existing business. Improvements in drilling technology to lower costs and conserve environment The company has the capability to ensure environmental safety through safer, more technologically advanced operations. The company has necessary technology to find oil in previously impossible conditions and bring it to the surface at significantly lower cost. Newer innovations like shale gas drilling Shale Gas drilling (called fracking) promises to transform the fortunes of the company. Shaleis cheaper and easier to explore than conventional fossil fuels. Access to talent pool The company enjoys goodwill among proffessionals due to its preferred emplotyer status. Besides, the company has operations spanning various markets makimg the company access variously talented and diverse talent groups. Threats Difficult regulatory frameworks The firm’s main operating units face different and challenging legal, political and regulatory frameworks in their various operating units. Changes in business regualtions can severely disrupt the form’s output. Concerns of global warming Global concerns of a warming planet put the continued reliance on fossil fuels in doubt in the long term. The company’s investment in other renewable energy sources that pose no threat to the envieoentmen are yet to bear fruits. Restrictive labour laws in key markets and assertive labour unions Labor laws in is key perating markets are extremely restrictive. Besides, employees have protective labor unions that make it hard to implement policies. Ucertain political climate Changes in political leadership can have maret impact on the firm’s operations. For instance, a change of fgovernement in the US can result in denial of licences to drill in offshore areas where the company pderives significant oil deposits. (Reinecke Strobenreuther 2008; Mondi Gowan, 2005; Powel, 2013). Increased costs of Global warming The firm’s costs of operation are likely to rise as the effect of global warming take their toll. This will be more pronounced especially in the low-lying areas where the firms drilling operations are more exposed to extreme weather (Environment, 2012; Coll 2012; Vernon, 2012; Prahalad Hamel 2010; Smith 2012). Technological know how The energy industry depends heavily on technological advancements to drive production and efficiency (Powel, 2013). There is a real possibility that competing firms can strike low cost deposits and sell at a lower price effectively driving the firm from its market leadership position. See the statistical comparison below (Detsche Bank and Wood Mackenzie) Justification for SWOT analysis SWOT analysis helps indicate the firm’s state of operation. Once a firm identifies tee variables under SWOT, the next step is to take advantage of its strengths to overcome its weaknesses and to take advantage of opportunities. This positions the firm at a point of competitive advantage. Shortfalls of the SWOT analysis SWOT analysis does not prioritize the competing opportunities making it hard to pick the most appropriate (Ringland, 2014). This makes it ineffective for analysis. In addition to lack of prioritization, SWOT does not offer solutions or alternatives to the firm’s weaknesses and threats. The general rule of thumb is to use the company’s strength to counter threats and exploit opportunities. However, without prioritization, it is difficult to know the threats to tackle or opportunities to exploit first. Recommendations Establish operations in emerging markets to drive growth and profitability as well as spreading risks (McDonald Meldrum 2013). Invest in green energy to guard against losses from environmental (Vernon, 2012).disasters (Madrigal, 2011). Invest in staff training to boost performance Invest in research and development to drive down operation costs and raise efficiency Conclusion The company should use its strengths identified in the SWOT analysis to overcome its weaknesses and take advantage of its opportunities. It should spread its risks by establishing more operations in emerging markets. Besides, the company should invest in green energy to guard against losses from environmental disasters. Lastly, the company should invest in staff training to boost performance as well as in research and development to drive down operation costs and raise efficiency (Everard Burrow, 2010). References Andersen, B 2009, Business process improvement toolbox, ASQ Quality Press, Milwaukee. Berberoglu, B 2008, Turmoil in the Middle East imperialism, war, and political instability, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY. Coll, S 2012, Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, Penguin group US, New York. Environment 2011, United Nations, New York. Everard, K Burrow, J 2010, Business principles management, South-Western Pub, Cincinnati. Exxon Company 2007, U.S.A.s Energy outlook, 1977-1990, Exxon Corp, Houston. Exxon Company 2009, U.S.A.s energy outlook, 1980-2000, Exxon Corp, Houston. Madrigal, A 2011, Powering the dream: the history and promise of green technology, DA Capo Press, Cambridge, MA. McDonald, M Meldrum, M 2013, The complete marketer 60 essential concepts for marketing excellence, Kogan Page, London. McLeish, E 2008, Energy crisis, Stargazer Books, Mankato, Minn. Mondy, R, Noe, M Gowan, M 2005, Human resource management, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Omeje, K 2008, High Stakes and Stakeholders: Oil Conflict and security in the World, Ashgate Publishing, Burlington. Pennell, N, Lavery, G Fowler, R 2010, The Low-Carbon World Is Already Here Five Imperatives for Succeeding in an Era of Carbon Constraints. Booz and Company, New York. Porter, M 2011, ‘From competitive advantage to corporate strategy’ Harvard Business Review, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 43–59. Porter, M 2008,‘The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy’,Harvard business Review, Vol.5, no.2, pp. 23- 37. Powell, T 2013, ‘How much does industry matter?An alternative empirical test’, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 323–334. Prahalad, C Hamel, G 2010, ‘The core competence of the corporation’, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, no. 3, pp. 79–91. Reinecke, N, Sohn, M Strobenreuther, H 2008, Sustainability: The carbon imperative, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, New York. Ringland, G 2014, Scenario Planning: Managing for the Future. John Wiley Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Sampson, A 2009, The seven sisters: the great oil companies and the world they shaped, Viking Press, New York. Smith, T 2012, Renewable energy resources, Weigl Publishers, Mankato, MN. Vassiliou, M 2009, Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD. Vernon, R 2012, The Oil crisis, Norton, New York.

Triple Bottom Lines And Sustainable Development Construction Essay

Triple Bottom Lines And Sustainable Development Construction Essay In this assignment, the notion of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting is being analysed critically. The term created by John Elkington is being defined with its concept and general principles (social, environment, and economic lines) discussed in this report. Representations of TBL in the Business and Government Organisations sectors is further explored with its five different interpretations Wait and see, Packaging information for community right to know, stakeholder alignment, endorsing core principles, and holistic cultural perspective. The relationship between sustainable development and TBL is discussed in the report by considering the environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability, with a backing example of the TBL Toolkit and the The Capital Works Sustainability Statement practiced in the city of Melbourne. Lastly, the application of TBL in sustainable construction and its indicators of social and environmental, and economic performance used in the construction sector are discussed in the report. Lastly, a case study has been done on Enviro-Cottage constructed in Spring Hill, Brishbane. The project has addressed TBL reporting considering the sustainable development and construction. INTRODUCTION Triple bottom line (TBL) reporting is becoming more common across many sectors of society. Although the concept was born out of the corporate and business world to report corporate social responsibility conveniently, it has been embraced by many organisations to give social and environmental agendas more prominence in the face of corporatist globalisation (Price, R n.d.). The term Triple Bottom Line was formed by John Elkington in 1997. Based in UK as a consultant to companies like BO, DuPont and the World Bank, John Elkington has been described by Business Week as a dean of the corporate responsibility movement for three decades (John Elkington 2010). Instead of the usual financial bottom line, Elkington define and the expanded baseline for measuring performance using social, environmental and economic bottom lines (Centre for ISA Information Sheet 7 n.d.). Elkington stated on his book, Cannibals with Forks that: The triple bottom line focuses corporations not just on the economic value they add, but also on the environmental and social value they add and destroy. At its narrowest, the term triple bottom line is used as a framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance against economic, social and environmental parameters (Elkington,, J 1998). Generally, Triple bottom line is an integrated management approach that consists of managing, measuring and publicly reporting performance in business and government sectors (Potts, T 2004). TBL also acts as a medium to discuss issues regarding the organisation and the community. According to A tool for measuring, communicating, and facilitating change in local governments by Tavis Potts, TBL is a correspondence and process for reporting on sustainability and using the results to engage communities in an ongoing discussion. For sustainable organisations this means balancing the needs of the organisation against the environmental, economic and social factors as depicted in Figure 1 to enhance the quality of life. Figure . Triple Bottom Line Model (Source: Triple bottom line: a ticket to the game or the emperors new clothes? 2005). Representations of tbl Business Sector In the business sector, the growing tension between increasing social values and conventional forms of value creation has forced consideration of sustainability (including TBL reporting). Pressure has been applied on organisations to be more socially and environmentally responsible in their pursuit of profit (Beilin, R Paine, M, Pryor R 2007). As an example, BP Australia reported that a TBL approach to business provides them with a sustainable competitive advantage and it is also a good business sense. It demonstrates to stakeholders the integrity of a business or industry, thus improving its reputation, increases investor confidence and enhances marketing and profit opportunities. Governments Sector Similar to businesses, local governments have adopted the TBL in response to community concern about issues of environmental sustainability. In the Governments sector, the field of organisational accountability has broadened. Government organisations must now consider the wider impacts of their practices on other local, regional, national and even global stakeholders (Beilin, R Paine, M, Pryor R 2007). Growing government interest in corporate social and environmental responsibility is expressed in policy at local, State and federal levels. TBL reporting has changed the appearance of the role of government in regulating private businesses and industries. TBL has come to demonstrate good public relations in government organisations with its integrated focus on social, environmental and economic outcomes of practice. Principles of Triple Bottom Line The three vital aspects of corporate and government performance are based on Triple Bottom Line are the economic, social and environmental line. TBL is also interpreted in 5 ways in business and governments sectors. The Economic Bottom Line The economic bottom line is the organisations record of economic performance (revenue and profit) and integrity. Even though the companies are still making profits in the business, profit is viewed as the economic benefit enjoyed by the employees and community as a whole within a sustainability framework. The Social or People Bottom Line The social bottom line is the organisations record of social or people performance as it affects employees, consumers, and communities. This also refers to fair, ethical, and beneficial business practices toward employees, community, and country in which a corporation conducts its business. The Environmental Bottom Line This is the organisations record of performance as it considers all the issues related with environmental concerns. The goal of 21stà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ century companies is to not only help protect the environment by producing Green or environmentally responsible products but also to have their own sustainable, environmentally sound business operating practices. This means organisations are to function in an environmentally responsible approach, such as taking steps to reduce their own environmental footprint, consuming less energy and little or no non-renewable resources, and producing less waste. Five interpretation of TBL Five broad categories capture the current diverse state of TBL performance measurement and reporting in Australia according to Triple Bottom Line Measurement and Reporting In Australia. The five categories are more to show the diverse business rationales and analysis of community expectations for triple bottom line measuring and reporting (Suggett, D, Goodsir, B 2002). Wait and see Wait and see is the category where organisations are satisfied with their present approaches to communication and accountability. Examples of such companies are Fosters and Woolworths. This may due to the reason that a change is not necessary in their business priority, and there is a sense of potential benefit as it is still early in their business to use the TBL approach without understanding the directions of the business. Packaging information for community right to know By observing the community right to know attitude and supporting the notion of greater responsibility to the community for their business performance, other organisation make an obligation to their stakeholders to be open and transparent. To meet this commitment, they collect and package internal information or report for external audience. This report shows the values they seek to meet, their performance against those standards and a description of their activities. Examples of companies practising this approach of TBL in environmental reporting are Wesfarmers and Orica. As they keep on collecting data, reporting and verifying approaches, those organisations do not see that a change in approach is required to embrace social or economic scopes. Stakeholder Alignment This approach analytically seeks the relationship between stakeholders expectations and corporate strategy. In order for TBL reporting to drive maximum value, it is necessary that the information reported aligns with business strategy and objectives and accurately reflects the focus of the company activity. This serves to strengthen the significance of companies developing indicators in a structured way that reflects their objectives and the requirements of key stakeholder groups. As the stakeholders could be the shareholders, investors, employees, customers, suppliers, the community and government, organisations practicing this approach will be required to set up new management systems and in a long run is intensive on the business resource. One example is the WMC. WMC continues to expand in this direction and a number of other companies have embarked on the first steps, such as Westpac and ANZ. Endorsing Core Principles A few organisations outline their response to stakeholder expectations into values that guide their business activity: sustainability principles. Examples of organisations are Rio Tinto and Shell. This approach is directed at integrating these core principles into management practices. Holistic Cultural Perspective Organisations in private ownership define their business purpose and their commitment to sustainability values and accountability as a whole. Their business success depends on this cultural perspective. The Body Shop is the often-quoted example and the Co-operative Bank in the United Kingdom. Sustainable development Sustainability is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while at the same time preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only for the present generations, but also for future generations. Sustainable development ties together the concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social challenges (Sustainable construction gives a competitive edge n.d). Conceptually, sustainable development can be broken down into three constituent parts: Environmental sustainability Economic sustainability Social sustainability Sustainable development is often portrayed as the act of balancing economic, ecological and social concerns, and the triple bottom line is commonly used internationally to prove corporate performance on sustainability and its approach to sustainable development in the corporate world. However, in sustainable development, triple bottom line also concentrates on the external structure of development and excludes the internal structure of development. In other words, TBL also focuses on technological, economic and institutional development while excluding cultural and personal development (Riedy, C 2003). As an example, the City of Melbourne is using TBL approach to accomplish the goal of sustainable development. The city has developed a TBL Toolkit which includes checklists, guidelines, templates and case studies for the application of TBL decision-making and reporting (Triple-Bottom-Line Evaluation Approach Shows Promise for Local Government 2004). Part of this tool is the The Capital Works Sustainability Statement and it is a rating system that recognizes the degree to which a project contributes to the Councils sustainability objectives. The Capital Works tool is being applied to different ways, such as the bidding of capital works, budget approval process, and evaluating criteria against of capital works. Through this TBL approach, councils are able to demonstrate responsibility and transparency in decision making and administration. Moreover, TBL approach in the public sector including local government has helped to develop global standards and procedures in reporting decisions at all levels (Triple-Bottom-Line Evaluation Approach Shows Promise for Local Government 2004). Application of tbl in sustainable construction Construction activities worldwide consume 40 per cent of all raw material exploited globally (Sustainable construction gives a competitive edge n.d.). For this reason, the use of sustainable building materials can help improve the global environment significantly. The public demand for sustainable solutions is growing, and in the years to come contractors who are able to document that they build sustainably will have a strong presence in the market. In order to make construction sustainable, one has to practise TBL in order to consider the environmental impacts of extraction, transportation, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these materials. It is easy to understand why TBL has received acceptance in sustainable construction. Indicators of social and environmental performance are used to diversify work and practices of construction sector. TBL allows organisations to assess quantitatively and qualitatively how they are achieving their key performance indicators (Triple bottom line: a ticket to the game or the emperors new clothes? 2005). TBL has been applied to the construction sector in the UK where the phrase Sustainable Construction has been coined. The UK Government is seeking to apply sustainable development practices to the construction industry. Leading construction companies in the UK, USA and Europe now report annually on social and environmental performance as well as financial performance. Jim Lammie, director of Parsons Brinckerhoff in a speech on sustainability of 8 September 2004 said that over 77% of construction companies in the UK had a sustainable development policy to deal with regulation, competitive edge, client policy, enhanced reputation, legal risks and future investments as well as addressing ethical obligations. Lessons from the construction industry overseas have a place for Australian construction companies who want to outperform their counter-parts in an increasingly aware society. Implementing daily practices to elicit performance under TBL can be as simple as adopting recycling programs , giving to the workforce through university sponsorship programs and adopting best practice voluntary standards. When a full assessment of practices are made construction players may find that they are already carrying out sustainable practices but are not reaping the reward through reporting their practices to stakeholders. Truly sustainable construction practices may mean assessing projects and work practices with TBL in mind (Triple bottom line: a ticket to the game or the emperors new clothes? 2005). The triple bottom line concept of sustainable construction could be achieved through the application of sustainable design principles at early stages of planning and construction. By making these decisions beforehand, it creates a home that is safer, more secure, flexible, comfortable, environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient in a long-run. A sustainable construction project is designed and constructed to include the principles of sustainable design which attempts to balance soc ial, environmental and economic considerations (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008). The triple bottom line approach to sustainable construction is a balanced integration of social, environmental and economic design factors. Social Sustainable buildings are designed for the people considering access, safety, security and design that consider the clients future needs throughout the different stages of lives young families, older users or users with varying abilities. Sustainable constructed building is safe, easily adaptable to suit a diverse range of needs and comfortable for people with varying abilities and at different stages of their lives, especially the elderly with our ageing population (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008). Socially sustainable construction can also strengthen social networks and allow people of every age and ability to participate in their community throughout their life. An aesthetically pleasing and stimulating built environment will reinforce the sense of well being of residents and people in the local community of the building. The local community and streetscape should also be considered, ensuring sympathetic development, enhancing the streetscape and community function (Tr iple bottom line in housing n.d.). Environmental Sustainable construction are resource efficient by incorporating sustainable management of water, energy and waste efficiencies, as well as other features such as passive solar design by considering the orientation, ventilation, insulation, shading and building materials (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008). Resource efficiency is also related to water efficiency in the building, waste efficiency of materials used during construction, and energy efficiency through good passive design and high star-rated green technology appliances and lights. It is also associated to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption. Local market for materials should be considered as well (Triple bottom line in housing n.d.). Besides that, resource efficiency equates to lifestyle benefits for residents of the buildings in terms of improved thermal comfort (social sustainability) and reduced running costs for the home (economic sustainability). Economic Economic sustainability means designing and construction to make a house more cost-efficient in a long-run, considering the selection of low maintenance materials. Extra expense during construction should be provided for longer term operating cost savings as it is important to obtain the choices of design and material right the first time and removes the need to make additional costly changes later. Installation of solar panels or water tanks will also add instant value to a property (Triple bottom line in housing n.d.). The consideration of the local market in the selection of building material suppliers can optimise costs through reduced transportation expenses to the site. Other economic savings can also be done with the amplified focus on the embodied energy that building materials may represent in their journey from the source, through refinement, product manufacture and transport to eventual use on-site in the construction of the home (Sustainable Homes Triple bottom line 2008) . Sustainable construction could cost efficiently over time by improving the design and construction features and the use of low-maintenance materials Usage of appliances with high energy-star ratings that reduce the ongoing costs of running your home should be encouraged. By practicing sustainable construction, energy and water bills are lower and potential future modification costs are greatly reduced, thus making the home more adaptable over its life cycle. Case study: Enviro-Cottage Enviro-Cottage is constructed in Spring Hill, Brisbane. It was built as a workers cottage in the late 1800s. During 2008, the houses were transformed from a traditional Brisbane cottage into a sustainable development for inner-city living. Figure . Conceptual drawing of Enviro-Cottage. (Source: http://www.envirocottage.com.au) Enviro-Cottage as shown in Figure 2 isnt a new, purpose-built house unlike other display homes. It is a renovation project that highlights the simple, technological and the necessary construction methods to help make a home more efficient by using less electricity, water and other resources, while improving how people live in the available space. Some of the ideas are very simple and easy to apply in any home renovation or construction projects to reduce its environmental footprint. Examples of sustainable construction methods used are passive design, thermal mass and solar orientation (Enviro-Cottage n.d.). Other revolutionary sustainable ideas are the installation of solar cell technology, water tank and grey water systems, glass technology, kitchen and laundry appliances, taps and showers, insulation, flooring, paints and other finishes, heating and cooling systems, and energy efficient lighting. The Spring Hill Enviro-Cottage Project has addressed the TBL reporting (Triple bottom line in housing n.d). Examples of the Enviro-Cottage TBL report considerations included in the sustainable development and construction according to Our Brisbane are: Social sustainability Enviro-Cottage is constructed to be multi-purpose. Its multi-use design is suitable for people from different background, such as families, professional couples, or people with disabilities, young couples to families with older/independent children The cottage is constructed using the local Tuff stone to tie to Spring Hills heritage and preservation of the heritage streetscape Open front aspect to connect with local street life Open design to aid easy internal and external surveillance High security features to all doors and windows with simple and consistent locking systems The set back garage is designed and constructed to de-emphasise the role of the car Addition of two off-street parking options takes two cars off the crowded local street Preservation of the heritage streetscape Environmental sustainability Maximum use of passive solar design aspects, taking advantage of natural energy flows, and minimising the scale of overlaid systems lighting, cooling etc No air conditioning required or other mechanical heating or cooling systems Capture, use, recycle and re-use of as much rainwater as possible, inclusion of grey water processing system Generation of required energy needs through onsite photovoltaic system and where possible provision of clean renewable energy back to the community Use of environmentally preferred materials eg. no use of rainforest or old growth forest products Re-use of the existing 1800s building to reduce consumption of new materials Use of materials with a lifespan equivalent to the projected life of the building Source local products and materials where possible, minimising energy used to transport materials Economic sustainability Use of passive solar design and selected enviro-products will drive future operating costs down to a minimum Modular design, flexible usage model, and choice of long lifespan materials, minimising any requirements for future renovations, minimising ongoing construction costs The Enviro-Cottage project has demonstrate sustainable development through TBL reporting and the project signified sustainable living ideas, solution and options which can be in most construction even when it is challenged with the many constraints facing such renovations such as council building codes, existing dwelling condition and design, and smaller block sizes. Conclusion In conclusion, the TBL concept demonstrates responsibility to stakeholders in terms of economic, social and environmental impact. The idea behind TBL reporting is sustainable success which will benefit the organisations. Benefits include better reputation and increased confidence, benchmarked performance, increased operational efficiency, stakeholder satisfaction, and improved risk management of the business. TBL reports may have different representations in the business and government sectors, and each of the sectors has different interpretation of TBL. TBL reporting is one way organisations can add value to their daily practices of their business. In terms of sustainable development and construction, TBL is the union of the three constituent parts social, environment, and economic. TBL is commonly used to prove corporate performance on sustainability as it covers accountability in an economic, social and environmental sense.