The TECH 497 Team Project Reflection Paper of Clifton Adams

What I have learned Every group project provides a teachable experience and this one has been no different. I have learned some things during this Capstone team project, however, more than not, this team project has reinforced or refreshed my memory regarding lessons that I have already learned during the numerous other group projects that I have participated in and lead during my collegiate development here at Davenport University. One of the most significant things that I have learned during my project experiences is that, whether or not one is labeled as the team leader or project / group manger / leader is far less important that how one leads the group. I have, on occasion, lead groups from behind even though I have not been elected or otherwise been placed into a leadership position. What I Would Do the Same There are several things that I have, and will continue to do the same when working in a group. When people collect to form teams, a collective team personality is formed which can cause individuals to act contrary to how they normally would under the same circumsta...

America Censored: A Battle of Rights Essays -- Censorship Censoring Me

America Censored: A Battle of Rights Welcome to the United States of America. This is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. A place where our forefathers once gathered and drew up the foundation for which we live our lives. The Constitution of the United States grants us a certain amount of freedoms for which we cannot be punished for. The first amendment to this constitution of the Constitution allows us the freedom of speech, religion, the right to assemble, and to express ourselves in a way in which we feel fit. Under this amendment, people such as musicians and newsmen and able to write and speak what they feel without being told that it is wrong. They cannot be manipulated to change their thoughts or views on a topic, or can they? Even though the first amendment protects freedom of speech and press people everyday fight not to be censored because they write and speak what they feel. When people are censored for speaking their mind, it shows that the first amendment is nothing more than a falsehood that pr otects some but not all. Letà ­s start this off at the very beginning. What is Censorship? According to The American Heritage College Dictionary to censor is, "To examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable" (American Heritage College Dictionary 226). So basically it is when a select group of people go through books, movies, and music, and ask that anything that might be seen as offensive to a group of people or anyone in general be removed from the publication. Right away you can see how by doing this a personà ­s first amendment is being violated. If, as Americans, we are granted the freedom of speech and expression then having something you write or say censored directly violates th... ... day they die. Why donà ­t we let them use it and everyone just worry about themselves. If you donà ­t like something then stay away from it. Ità ­s as simple as that. If it wasnà ­t for the first amendment people like Tipper Gore wouldnà ­t even have the freedom to speak her mind of what she was against. I think people need to step back from trying to act as god and control their lives. The freedom of speech and expression is one of the greatest things that we, as a country, have. How many countries out there can you get arrested for speaking out in public on an issue. The first amendment is such a great thing but it needs to hold true for all. If something is censored it is as if the government is playing favorites and if that holds true then we are not a free country at all. For everyone out there who is against censorship I have just one more thing to say to all of you...

Basic Business Concepts

Business: It is the act of manufacturing, producing or buying and selling of goods and services whose aim is to make profit. A product may be defined as the output which could be in terms of services or goods within the normal business transaction.Generally, the fundamental goal of business if to make profit through optimization of its costs and revenue. However, business organizations are the entities that are ideally driven by the profit motive. Non profit making organizations does not aim atmaking profit. 2. Every business activity involves various participants/stakeholders.They include producers/manufactures, distributors, consumers and legal entities (John, 2006). Producers/manufacturers make the goods and services for use in the business process. Consumers are involved in using the products that are manufactured and produced in business processes. Distributors create channels of goods and service transfers from the manufactures to the consumers. Legal entities/government create s the legal layout of conduct between the other three participants. Studying business in the today’s American society is ideally an important aspect that provides information on the aspects that ensure strong business functionality.It provides the most rational knowledge that would help to succeed in any business process. However, business process is affected by various aspects such as international forces of demand and supply, income of the consumers, government regulation, availability of raw material, and economic systems (John, 2006). 3. Economics is the study of fundamentals of incorporating the scarce resources in processes that yield the highest benefit to the community. There are various economic systems which include; Traditional economy is that characterized by techniques and models based on social foundations.It involves resource inheritance and brings a passive sense of togetherness and community. It has low technology and no competition. Command economy is that w hich is controlled and planned by the central government. It is shaped by the will of the government. The means of economic production are owed by the people. It can be found in Vietnam. Market economy is controlled by forces of demand and supply. Government rarely fixes the prices. Private corporations govern the control of distribution and exchange. Example is United Kingdom.Mixed economy compliments both market and command economy. There are both the hands of government and corporations. It is governed by high freedom in its activities. An example is in US (John, 2006). 4. Supply is the total amount of goods and services offered in the market by the produces. Demand id the total quantity of goods and services required for consumption in the market. Price is the single cost paid for a unit of goods or services. Competition refers to the interactive process between suppliers and consumers within the market to yield an equilibrium quantity and price.In America, the competitive natur e of the market ensures the interaction between the quantities of goods and services supplied and demanded to produce an equilibrium price and quantity for the supplies and demands levels (John, 2006). 5. There are four types of competitions. Perfect competition is where we have many suppliers and consumers who interact cohesively with one another to yield an equilibrium quantity and price. Example is the hotel industry. Monopoly competition is where there is one supplier against many consumers. He/she controls the pricing of the goods and services.Example is the development in new communication technology. Duopoly competition is the competition between two suppliers. It may include the development in mobile phone technology between two manufactures. Oligopoly competition is where there are few sellers and many buyers. It may include the market of electronics. 6. The government uses various attributes to measure the state of economic development. They include; Inflation: This is the subsequent increase in the price of commodities. GDP: It is the sum total of all goods and services produced within a country within one year.Unemployment: It is the relationship between the workforce that is willing and also able to work and is in the process of finding a job compared to the number that is absorbed in the employment industry. Consumer Price Index: This is relative changes in the prices of consumer goods within the economy. The rate of unemployment is relative to the level of GDP. Higher unemployment implies lower GDP. This is because, there are low levels of income earned by the household and consequently law levels of aggregate demand within the economy. Economic fluctuations are usually desirable in the economic functionality theory.This is ideally because such fluctuations are detrimental in clearing the various markets within the economy. The federal government in America performs the role of ensuring both strong fiscal and monetary policies which ensure a str ong economy (John, 2006). 7. Service economy is the economy endowed with product output that is governed by services rather than goods. In America, service economy refers to the economic domains implied by the supply and demand of services as product outputs. Reference John Robert (2006) Economic Theory: An Introduction. New York, Prentice Hall

My Grandparents

The piece of writing you are about to read is original and true. It is presented in the form of a Biography of three of my Grandparents my Dads parents (Granny Rita & Granddad) and Mums Mum (Nanny). Granny Rita My Dads Mums maiden was Mason it was given to her by her Fathers Father who was an Irish man. Her matrimonial name is Maynard her forename is Maynard I have always called her Granny Rita. Rita Mason was born in Bridgetown Barbados in January 1942. As a child, she was taught to be polite, friendly, good and helpful, this is most probably the truth as this is how she is today. Also read The Story of an Eyewitness Essay Analysis Rita Mason left Barbados for England in 1959 aged 19. She took a course as a trainee nurse and realized that it wasn't the job for her so she gave up the course. She then got a job as a home machinist and made skirts and dresses for various factories. Eventually in 1972 when my dad was about 12, she stopped making clothes as a profession and got a City ; Guilds degree in Baking and Decorating Cakes and other delicatessens by this time she had my Uncle George her second child. My Dads parents knew each other from before they left Barbados. They got Married in 1961 after my Dad was born in 1960 George was born three years later 2 years later my Auntie Margo was born. Not too long after they got married they set up shop in Walthamstow everything was alright for the few years but the business failed due to lack of experience and or knowledge. They soon got back on their feet and bought a spot in Walthamstow market near Walthamstow Central Station selling summer clothes during the warm months and winter clothes, jackets and coats during the colder months. They've been working on the market for over 16 years now and the business was going well till about late 2000 when the consumers started to drift from the market. They had another son Ricardo who was born in 1983 who was two young to experience the shop like me he has only stories and pictures to show him what it was like. The Maynard's lived in Chingford North East London bordering the London Borough of Walthamforest and the east coast region of Essex. Granddad George Maynard was born in Bridgetown Barbados May 1942, unlike Granny Rita while he worked as a supermarket clerk for 5 months in Barbados. He left his Native Barbados in 1961 with my Rita Mason (Granny Rita before marriage). On arrival in England, he went to trade school and got a degree in the sale of Merchandise and a traders licence. He then bought a spot in Petticoat lane Market. He worked there for about 3 years. After selling the spot in the market, he put a down payment on a shop front that was for sale and started to trade from it the shop was situated within close proximity to London Liverpool St. Station. He then found himself redundant, as the stock was not selling in an inner city shop he sold the shop for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½65k and bought a new van and a spot in Walthamstow Market he also bought a spot in petticoat lane for Sunday trading. By this time as I mentioned previously they had already had all there kids. They kept petticoat lane until 1993. The summer of 1992 was a bad time for us as my Uncle George was Shot dead in gang related attack he was killed round the corner from his parents home where it was thought he was running to. Coping with the death of my Uncle was hard for all of the family but Auntie Margo and Granny Rita found it harder to accept. I think that it was a lot easier for me as I had only known him for 5 years were, as they had known him for a lifetime. The reason it was so hard to over come was because he was shot nine times, while trying to escape to his parents house he was shot while jumping from a first floor balcony in a block of flats, after being shot once while he was running from his killers. He was shot once in the leg, twice in the buttock and then four times in back it was said at the time by coroners that he might of survived if he didn't get shot so many times. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the time the Ambulance and Police had arrived. My Grandparents were informed of what had happened by my mum who was told by Nan who was told by one of her church friends who had seen the incident on a News Bulletin. Thru out my Uncles final days a flock of seven white doves were seen flying around the estate several times on the morning of my Uncles last day which was Friday 15th May 1992 two of them landed one at the back and one at the front of house. The block that he was shot in had walls stained with blood as people had often been murdered in them before. There were originally six of these 16 storey blocks that towered over Chingford hall Estate. They were all eventually pulled down after most of the local residents had signed a petition to have them blown down, as they were associated with drugs, violence and murder. The estate was left felling quiet and empty but it had become a safer place to live in for adults and children new facilities were put in like a Youth Club and a Park. The demolition of the blocks led to the gangsters that used to live on the estate being driven out and then the construction 2500 new houses and flats. The sad thing about the incident was that my Uncle had to die for the council to realize what was going on in the estate, which was well known by Police also just hours before my uncle was looking after and playing with his Daughter Lekiesha aged one at the time. She looks just like him. In a spear time as a family we all go down to the cemetery and tend to my uncles grave my granddad keeps a little corner in the Garden for him which my uncle kept for himself. Nanny My Nan's life before coming to England is similar to Granny Rita's, apart from the fact that she was born in Clarendon, St. Anns Bay, Jamaica August 1942. My Nan didn't marry and still has her birth name Winifred Rose Brown. From what I've heard about my Nan as a child, she was boisterous and was climbing trees and hills. In Jamaica, my Nan was lived in St Anns Bay, which, is situated very close to Montego Bay Jamaica's second most popular region after Kingston and Spanish Town the Kingston being today's Capital Spanish town was the islands capital during the Spanish rule over 500 yrs ago. She was educated in a Jamaican school by her Uncles, Aunts and older Cousins who taught at the school, so when she got in trouble in school she got more trouble at home as my Great Grand Parents would believe the teachers so my Nan never lied about getting in trouble as it didn't make any sense. My Nan often worked my Great Grand parents land with her Brother's and Sisters. My Nan moved to London in 1960 aged 18 she lived in Sigdon Rd Stoke Newington bringing her oldest children with her, boys, Jimmy and Tony (not twins) so that they could get a better quality of life. My Great Grand parents were already here my Nan and her boys arrived. My Nan went on a baking course and passed. She started making cakes as a profession but as she had small children, she quit baking professionally and took up child minding. By now, she had had her first set of twins my mum (Sharon) and her twin Sandra. My Nan, My Great Grandparents, My Mum, My Uncles Jimmy and Tony and My Auntie Sandra moved to Evering Rd Stoke Newington. Where she had her second set of twins a boy and a girl Tracey and Keith some years later she had my uncle Stephen and then two years later she had her last set of twin's boys Brian and Barry. The house was getting a bit crowded so my Nan moved out to Well St Hackney taking her younger Children with her the oldest two Jimmy and Tony stayed with their Grandparents. When they went back to Jamaica in 1972 Jimmy ; Tony decided to go with them Tony cam back for good 2yrs later Jimmy comes over whenever he can find the time. My Nan still bakes cakes and child minds although she a 60 yr old diabetic she is still strong and healthy and makes annual trips home to her Native Jamaica. She still bakes and child minds but not as much as she used to. She also doesn't take in as much children as she used to. My Nan has 18 Grand Children in Total, in the UK 14 living 1 dead at birth, 2 in Jamaica and 1 in the US. My Nan has 9 children 8 live over here in the UK Jimmy lives in Jamaica. My Nan makes sure that the family in Jamaica stays well looked after and cared for. My Nan's Dad sadly passed away at 23:00 Jamaica Time / 4.00GMT (24hr) on Saturday 22nd November 2002. He was very sick and in his early 90's The reason I chose these three of My Grandparents was because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't I be here today. In addition, out of 6 my Grand Parents alive today these three are the closest to me and have helped me in many ways as well as because of what they've done in their lives.

Slave Dbq

Julie Giaimo DBQ Going back to 1619, Africans were bought to America and sold to Americans as workers. It wasn’t long before slavery became a controversial issue. Over the course of almost two and a half centuries the debate of weather to continue or abolish slavery went on. The supporters and the abolitionist had their arguments on how they viewed slavery, and the government played their part too. Those who supported slavery were for the most part southerners. Senator John C. Calhoun states that slavery is a â€Å"positive good†.He says that through slavery, the conditions of the races improved physically, morally, and intellectually and the two races of black and white were brought together. Calhoun also says that the living conditions for the slaves were good and they were taken care of. But in reality, the slaves were living in shacks fearing for their lives and hoping not to get beaten by their slave owner after a long hard day of working in the blistering sun on t he plantations (document 2). Another man against the abolition of slavery is Chancellor Harper.According to Harper, the emancipated slaves would harm the economy of the United States and Europe. This is because he believed that the free laborers would strike against working for higher pays and they wouldn’t do their jobs, thus affecting the trade. The slaves did get paid but very low amounts compared to the hard work that they put into their jobs (document 3). Those were some arguments of people who supported slavery and believed that it should be continued. People who didn’t believe in slavery are known as abolitionist.

Assessment and Feedback Essay

Many of my lessons involve embedding literacy into a topic so it is more meaningful for the learners. There are various ways of assessing work which are used. One method that is used is initial assessment, where the learners at the beginning of their induction into our pre-16 program do an online BSKB initial assessment in Maths, English and ICT. This is to ensure that the learner is at the right level of learning. These tests are formative and convergent where choices of multiple choice questions give indications of gaps in the learner’s knowledge. Once the learner has  completed an initial assessment they are then given the diagnostic BSKB assessment to see what subject strengths and weaknesses they have. These learners tend not to have attended much school therefore it is difficult to assess the work they produce as very often little or no work is achieved. Assessment is about making a judgment to make sure that learning is taking place. It is about identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the learner so that the learner is progressing with the work that is set. Assessment in all forms that involve making a judgment and it includes an element of subjectivity by me. It should be objective, fair and transparent. It plays an important role in the education process as it determines the work students undertake and affects their approach to learning. There are varying degrees of assessment that are designed primarily to serve the purposes of accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying competence. However, an assessment activity can help learning if it provides information that I can use and can give students feedback. Feedback can be used to modify teaching and learning activities in which the learners are engaged in. Such assessment becomes formative when  the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs. Much of what teachers and learners do in the classroom is assessment based. Tasks and questions prompt learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. How the learners respond and interpret this can give indications of how their learning can be improved. Verbal feedback and discussion tends to be the main method that I use where opinions can be discussed and attainment of knowledge can be assessed during lessons. This is classed as affective learning where topics can gain an emotional response or a tone of interest/values that the  learner may have prior knowledge or experience. These types of responses are 1 usually focused on the learner’s feelings, and they are often difficult to measure in quantifiable terms. However, in my classroom, I want the learners to feel that their work is valued and that the effort has been worthwhile. During lessons, informal assessment is the preferred choice for me and my pre-16 colleague as students are wary of tests or exams. The reason for this maybe the learner’s previous experience of learning or the fact that they feel vulnerable when the word test, exam or assessment occurs within the learning environment. Informal assessment is easily incorporated into classroom routines and learning activities. It can be used at any time without interfering with teaching. The results give indication of the learner’s performance on the skill or subject of interest. However, it is not intended to give a broader view of the learner’s ability apart from the lesson that took place. This is not to say that informal assessment is spontaneous or absent from accuracy. Formal tests assume a single set of expectations for all students and come with prescribed criteria for scoring and interpretation. Informal assessment, on  the other hand, requires a clear understanding of the levels of ability the students bring with them. Only then may assessment activities be selected that students can attempt reasonably. Measuring the validity and reliability of informal assessments is achieved by expected goals and objectives outcomes. Once the work is completed, I assess the knowledge that the learners have gained by their attempted completion of the tasks. Scoring procedures can be used to measure progress and achievement in content areas and literacy skills can be measured by oral, reading and written work. Reliability is a statistical measure of which we can trust the results of a given writing test. Reliability estimations and their interpretations will vary according to particular assessment contexts and purposes. In real practice, high score reliability is indeed necessary and feasible in large-scale assessment, where the actual tests are the main source of interpretable information. In more local contexts (e. g. classrooms), reliability measurements are to a great extent unfeasible and, simultaneously, other sources for qualitative evaluation are available. The work that the learners produced enabled me to assess their level of  understanding and also their literacy progress. Feedback was given in written format on the activity worksheet, to identify strengths and weaknesses of each individual 2 learner. All the learners attempted the worksheet and I gave feedback in the format of Petty (2004) medals and missions. Medals (sometimes called positive reinforcement) are given when the learner has done something well, such as spellings or written something in their own words although most of the learners just wrote down what was on the computer screen. This was what I commented on as missions where the learners need to improve, correct or work upon. Written tasks, alongside oral questioning, should encourage students to develop and show understanding of the key features of what they have learned. Opportunities are given during lessons for the learners to respond to comments made about their work and advice is given on what areas they are struggling on. The key point to feedback is for it to be effective and for the learners to think about the good and bad points in their work and that clear goals can be achieved. The negative aspect of feedback for disaffected learners is that low self-esteem influences their reaction to feedback. Building self-esteem and confidence is one of the main aspects in my classroom. Low self-esteem can knock confidence and ability and their previous experiences of learning can have a considerable impact on their academic ability. In this environment learners are in a vulnerable position and in some cases their low esteem can be forgotten by teachers due to distractions and challenging behaviour. The comments I make have to be sensitive and constructive so that the comments do not impact on the learner’s self-esteem and confidence. The comments are to be constructive and build on their learning capabilities. When I  ask the learners whether or not they understood the feedback given regarding their work, the learners give the appearance that they are not bothered about the feedback or acted disinterested. Students find the feedback messages hard to understand and complex in their meaning especially in the written form. However, when feedback is used as dialogue within the lesson it provides opportunities for feedback and feedforward. This is a good scenario as the learner responds to initial feedback with their opinions. This gives the chance for the teacher to help the learners develop their understanding and has an instant response in correcting  misunderstandings. Although, the response to verbal feedback regarding the learners knowledge, skills and understanding is feasible in the classroom, further development of feedback and feedforward is required so that the student can improve and grow in their 3 understanding of the subject and true learning has taken place. When I assess a learner this has an impact on my teaching. The feedback I get from the students gives me the opportunity to reflect on my practices and adjust accordingly so that the learners are engaged, focused and completing the tasks given during lessons. However, learners’ indifference to learning and feedback can cloud my judgement about what I am doing right or wrong. In my sessions I need to develop the dual narrative where the learners work together as a group but also there are one to one opportunities. This would work towards full differentiation where students are working independently but within a whole group setting. This has been difficult to achieve yet it is possible; progress has been made with the learners providing work that can be assessed verbally or written. However, it has taken six months to gain  trust, confidence and self-esteem of the learners to provide any work at all. Nonetheless, with a longer time restraint development of feedback and feedforward can be achieved. The learners need to see feedback as a reflection on their work not that it’s personal to them, the problem these learners face is to understand what feedback is and what its intentions are. The trouble is that once the disaffected learners arrive at Rathbone they already feel that school as failed them therefore feel disengaged with the learning environment. This can be a contributing factor to the way they feel towards assessments. The attitude towards motivating and engaging the learners towards learning objectives is a more social context. Therefore, the attitude of Rathbone and its staff is to gain confidence, trust and self-esteem so that learning is more enjoyable to them. This then becomes a platform for the learners to want to learn post 16. As their teacher, the environment is complex and challenging however I feel that the learners are starting to become aware of what is required of them in the classroom. This means that I am doing something right and that my assessments, judgement and feedback are starting to be acknowledged.

Service innovation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Service innovation - Assignment Example Designing for service, according to Barrett et al. (2015), is fundamental to achieve service innovation in the contemporary businesses environment. Design thinking entails generating insights about the end users of a service to outlining perspective of their preference. First, Barrett et al. (2015) suggest that researchers should embrace the concepts of design thinking approach to integrating insights of end users of a service to promote innovation solutions. That involves focusing on multiple the demands actors who use the service such as managers, employees, customers, users and other stakeholders during the design process. In relation to the suggestion, designing for service in the banking sector should take into account the unique demands of all users of the system. It must integrate the necessities and demands of managers in the banking sector. It must suit the demands of customers and other users. For instance, designing for service should ensure security of the system that constitutes a key concern of the managers. Managers should have a secure system that is not vulnerable money laundering or effects of cyber-attacks. It should support supervision of activities and transactions in the system. In meeting the demand of employees, design for service in the banking sector should be easy to use and secure. Customers demand innovation solutions that are effective in driving competition. It should create new possibilities in financial transactions that are convenient for the customer to use. Design for service in the banking sector should allow the use of new technologies that promote efficiency for the customer. Other users such as shareholders in the banking sector should find the system easy to access and use. In essence, all users of the service expect exceptional mix of products suited to address their distinct