Principles of Assessment Essay Example for Free

Principles of Assessment Essay Educational assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community (class, workshop, or other organized group of learners), the institution, or the educational system as a whole. According to the Academic Exchange Quarterly: Studies of a theoretical or empirical nature (including case studies, portfolio studies, exploratory, or experimental work) addressing the assessment of learner aptitude and preparation, motivation and learning styles, learning outcomes in achievement and satisfaction in different educational contexts are all welcome, as are studies addressing issues of measurable standards and benchmarks. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Educational_assessment Some of the key concepts of assessment are as follows: * Accountability * Achievement * Assessment Strategies. * Initial, Formative or Summative types Accountability means that I am answerable to my learners and my organisation to ensure that I am performing my role as an assessor correctly. I always let my learners know when they are going to be assessed and how they will meet the criteria. Achievement- I will look at what the learner has achieved while they have been doing the course and compare this with the standards to ensure they have been fully met. Assessment Strategy- I follow my organisations assessment strategy for the subject I am assessing to ensure I am carrying out my role correctly. The assessment strategy I follow for NVQ2 in Cleaning is: * UPK questions * Observations * Progress Review * Supplementary questions * Exit Interview. The qualifications and experience I require are A1 V1 and experience in the cleaning industry. Formal Assessment * Ongoing during a course * It enables progress to be regularly monitored and reviewed * The student can see what they need to develop further before a final assessment * A student can identify gaps in their learning * It shows a student how much they have learnt so far which encourages and motivates them Methods of Formal Assessment. * Tracking Sheet * Observations * Tutorials * Midway Review * Oral Questions Summative Assessment * Usually taken at the end of the course * Usually leads to a pass/fail situation * Tests whether performance criteria have been met Methods of Summative Assessment * Exit Interview * Portfolio Completion * Demonstration * Summative Testing * Evaluation Form â€Å"Summative assessment takes place at the end of a course or topic and is used mainly for certification purposes. It is used to see if a student has learned the material and is capable of going on to further study. † Formative assessment is most suitable where the results are to be used internally for example: Teachers to ensure learning has taken place and for improving methods of instruction and for students to have an idea of their success etc whilst summative assessment can be set by the teacher or by an awarding body/examination body. When making a summative decision I confirm to my learners that they have met the criteria. They may receive a certificate as with NVQ2 or progress further with their training. Summative assessment takes place at the end of a course or topic and is used mainly for certification purposes. Formative assessment, on the other hand, takes place during the course and is useful in telling the student how the learning is proceeding. Reece Walker 2007p323. STRENGTHS WEAKNESSESS Formative Assessment Formative Assessment Role Play Make learners uncomfortable Physical demonstration of ability Embarrassed Not Realistic Summative Assessment Summative Assessment Demonstration Make learners feel uncomfortable Authentic Realistic Valid The assessment practice starts with initial assessment before the course starts. It may happen at pre- entry, entry or induction stage. The initial assessment will inform you about the learner’s prior knowledge, skills, qualifications, learning styles and any support learner may need. When you have found out the current level of ability you can then set goals, plan future learning and assessment. There are different types of initial assessment: Enrolment Form- shows what qualifications the learner has if they have special needs. Interview when you interview the learner you will be able to ask many questions. Skills Scan the skills scan will tell you if the learner is in employment what there job requires and if they will need additional training. Diagnostic Tests will inform you if the learner has difficulty in reading or writing. You may be able to tell if a person has dyslexia as they will have blurred vision, suffer from headaches when reading and they find it easier to read large print. To help them with reading you can print on to coloured paper or have a coloured overlay. 10% of the British population are dyslexic, 4% severely. Dyslexia is identified as a disability as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Some of the famous people who suffer from dyslexia are: Albert Einstein Tom Cruise Henry Winkler. Vince Vaughn (British dyslexia Association www. bdadyslexia. org. uk, (11/07/11 I have taught learners who have learning difficulties including deaf people, people who have difficulty in reading and writing and understanding. ILP It states on the ILP what qualifications a learner has, the results of diagnostic tests and if they require additional support, what units they are doing, midway review and exit interview. Learning styles is recognising individuality in your class it is the way in which learners begin to concentrate on and process and retain new and difficult information. There are different types of learning styles: David Kolb’s Converger, Diverger, Assimilator, Accommodator Honey and Mumford’s Having an Experience, Reviewing Experience, Concluding from Experience Planning next steps Fleming Vak/Varks Visual, Auditory, read/write, Kinaesthetic. Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia En. wikipedia. org/wiki/learning styles 11/07/011 Learning style is the way that you absorb information 1 We decode 2 How you store information 3 Recall information Learning style is how we receive and recall information. We can absorb information through our senses, hearing, seeing and doing. In my role I use all of the styles of Fleming. In further education if there is no initial assessment this will disadvantage the learners as they may be placed on the wrong program or course, which will lead to lack of interest and little motivation if any, they may not get additional support and the teacher will have no baseline to assess their progress. Peer and Self Assessment Self or Peer Assessment is a process whereby students or their peers grade assignments or tests based on a teacher’s benchmarks. [1] The practise is employed to save teachers time and improve students understanding of course materials as well as improve their metacognitive skills. Rubrics are often used in conjunction with Self- and Peer-Assessment. [2] http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Self-_and_Peer-Assessment 12/07/11 Peer assessment is when the learners or colleagues assess another learners or colleagues progress. It is used to develop learner’s ability to work as a group and to be critical of others work as well as receiving review and comment. Self assessment is when you assess your own progress. Both methods encourage the learners to make decisions on what they have learnt so far and to reflect on future development. The learners need to know the criteria fully. Advantages Disadvantages Peer Assessment Peer Assessment Can reduce the amount of teacher assessment. All peers need to be involved So planning needs to take place As who gives feedback and to Whom. Learners may accept comments from peers Appropriate conditions and More willingly than from the assessor environment are needed Promotes learner and peer involvement some peers may be anxious, Nervous or have lack of confidence To give feedback. Self Assessment Self Assessment Encourages learners to check Difficult to be objective when Their own progress making a decision Encourages reflection Learners need to fully understand Promotes learner involvement the assessment criteria. And personal responsibilities some learners may lack Confidence in their ability to make Decisions about their own progress What research tells us? * Giving feedback on learning errors and getting the learner to correct them and identify strategies to improve future work is directly linked to significant improvement in achievement rates. (Professor John Hattie, 2002) Assessment should involve both teacher and learners in checking and reflection. Feedback is very important not only to learners but to the teachers from the feedback teachers can decide whether they have to change anything. Feedback and Questioning Feedback is information we give our learners to let them know what they have achieved to date and how they can develop further all learners need to know how they are progressing and what they have achieved. Feedback can be both formative and summative. Formative is ongoing and includes praise and encouragement. Summative is at the end has the learner achieved to specific criteria. Feedback should be a two-way process allowing discussion and questions. Most people need encouragement to tell them how well they have done or how well they are doing when you give feedback you should give praise first then how they can improve then end on a positive note to give them motivation. This is known as the praise sandwich. http://www. google. co. uk/search? q=feedback+sandwichhl=enprmd=ivnsbsource=lnmstbm=ischei=vXQcTsrxHNKwhQepndXdBwsa=Xoi=m 12/07/11 The advantages of giving feedback are: Confirms achievement, success or otherwise Creates opportunities for explaining and discussion Highlights progress rather than failure. Helps improve confidence and motivation Identifies further learning opportunities or any action required. Feedback should be given as soon as possible after the assessment while the information is still fresh. Questioning can be used formally and informally as part of the feedback to ensure the learner understands what has been said. My response should question appropriate questioning skills so the feedback is effective to the learner. Questioning skills include: * Using open questions (usually beginning with who, what, when, where, why and how). * Using closed questions (only requiring a yes or no answer). * Clarifying (for example can you go over that again? ). * Probing (for example why was that? ) * Prompting (for example what about†¦? ) Feedback should were possible be positive negative feedback presents learners with difficult and unachievable targets or naming and making learners embarrassed in the classroom. You should never criticise always praise and if the teacher makes a mistake he/she should be honest and apologise. Record Keeping Accurate records that are taken through out a course enable the teacher and learner to continually assess the effectiveness of the teacher/learner relationship. Records indicate whether pupils are learning what they are being taught and their progression with the course, records can tell you which learners may need a little more help, and whether a teacher needs to refine any aspects of their teaching. Maintaining attendance records can give an idea of where learners may fall behind through their learning. Being able to identify learners attendance can indicate problems which may benefit from referral to other professional bodies, or a learner may be unhappy with the teaching style or the course they have chosen. As well as a register a tracking sheet of all learners names, forming columns starting with a date, the assessment and a column for a pass or refer, in cleaning you are competent or not yet competent. These tracking sheets are recorded and form part of the learner’s portfolio along with any practical tasks and also a guide for the learners to follow through their course. When learners begin their course its good for them to have their own individual learning plan as a teacher its good to have our own individual teaching plan. A session plan should relate to the scheme of work, it helps to record your aims and objectives, assessment activities and self evaluation. It can also help to assess your learners. As a teacher my responsibility is to teach and guide and assess my learners. Records can be used as a guide for learners focusing on their learning strengths and weaknesses, where they do well or could do better. There are organisational records and external records. Organisational records: * Enrolment form * ILP * Learners record of achievement * Peer group feedback * Tutor feedback * Incident report * Observation records. * Contact Logs The types of records I use are: * Enrolment form * ILP * Learners record of achievement * Observation records * Contact Logs â€Å"You need to keep records of how your learners are progressing. If you mark a test or observe a task, how can you prove your learner has achieved something if they lose their work†? (Gravells 2008p88) JOIN NOW FOR FREE RATIONALE METHODOLOGY Wishing to gain a broad balance to my teaching experience, I started working as an assessor at Swan Training Group. The following assignment will cover the following areas: Negotiating with learners Inclusive learning. Integrating Functional skills Communication I have researched all of the above and this written assignment will be a short overview of the main areas using examples from both research and personal experience. Negotiating with learners is a form of communication where cooperation is established so that the learner and tutor agree on the learner’s goals; negotiation is the process of two individuals or groups reaching a joint agreement. When you have got all the information via initial assessment at the start of the course it is important to agree on goals and actions based on the information. The learner should be encouraged through negotiation to take control and responsibility for their own learning by contributing in discussions and decisions about their learning and how this will develop. Also in initial assessment you can include tests for literacy and numeracy to see what level learner is at and if they will require additional help. In my specialist area I integrate functional skills as the learners need to use literacy and numeracy to read labels and dilute chemicals, complete upk questions, order supplies, complete holiday sheets. Inclusive learning is described as recognising, accommodating and meeting the learner’s needs of all of the students and supporting them in the learning environment. All learners are allowed to take part in their chosen subject and should be placed in the best possible environment regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation and age. Communication is very important and we not only communicate by speaking we communicate through our eyes, gestures and body language. There are also many barriers to communication such as: Family Commitments Lack of Resources Lack of Support. Peer Pressure Emotional Disability and many more. To overcome these barriers you must be honest with the learners if you do not know something you should tell them you will find out, be positive and enthusiastic, communicate effectively and give constructive and positive feedback. I am learner centred as I pay attention to what the learner is learning, how they are learning, whether the student is retaining and applying the learning. I like to teach this way so all of the learners can participate and differences between learners are accommodated so that all in the group have the best possible chance of learning.

A report on Value Added Tax Essay -- Economics

A report on Value Added Tax Introduction Value Added Tax originated in France in 1954 and is under implementation in more than hundred countries. Value Added Tax is perceived by many as means to promote neutrality and uniformity of tax burden and to provide incentives for increased productivity and industrialization. The spread of VAT to the developed and the developing countries alike certainly, makes for an interesting study. Financial Times (London) too stressed the growing importance of VAT when it observed in its centennial review â€Å"The economic and technological changes of the second half of the century have made VAT the quintessential modern tax†. It will not be an exaggeration if one were to say that the emergence of the VAT as an important and elastic source of revenue over the last four decades is unparalleled in the history of taxation. Despite the widespread proclamation of VAT, there have been difficulties in implementing VAT in its true spirit like in the case of Argentina, Brazil, Canada and India. VAT has been introduced in more than 120 countries – developed, developing and those economies, which are in transition. There have also been attempts to introduce Value Added Tax in USA, which however has preferred to retain the Retail Sales Tax system. Yet, those difficulties notwithstanding, it can be said that Value Added Tax system definitely has its advantages and is certainly recommended for most economies, particularly the developing ones. Definition â€Å"Value Added Tax is a tax on the value added at each stage of production and distribution process and can be aptly defined as one of the forms of consumption taxation since the value added by a firm represents the difference between its receipts and cost of purchased inputs.† Need for VAT Value Added Tax is one of the most radical reforms that have been proposed for the Indian economy after years of political and economic debate. The reasons for advocating Value Added Tax is that it will replace a complicated tax structure that will also do away with the fraudulent practices. Following are some of the most important benefits if VAT is introduced. †¢ VAT will encourage and result in a better-administered system that will close avenues of tax evasion. The taxpayers will also be compelled to keep proper records of their sales and purchases. VAT .. ...center for the revenue loss for states from the change over. The center has ensured that this will not be so and has assured compensation in case of deficits. If VAT system is adopted there would be no exemptions or incentives. This can adversely affect some business houses. To crown all this there was also political opposition fearing disfavor of the trading community and the resulting political fallout. VAT – the way forward In order to make the VAT a thorough success following could be few suggestions. * The deadline for all legislations and computerizations should be same across the states. * VAT should be implemented by all the states at the same time. * Laws regarding VAT should be uniform across all the states and there should be no disparity among the states. * There should be a monitoring mechanism at the central to overlook the new system. * A lot of changes have to be made in ancillary legislation (income tax, company law etc.) to ensure VAT compatibility. Bibliography 1. www.ciionline.org 2. The Indian Express dt. June 24, 2004 3. The Economic Times dt. 10-03-04, 15-06-04, 18-06-04 & 27-07-04 4. Magazines & journals

Fantasy in 20th Century Children’s Literature

Most critics agree that children’s literature is a diverse paradoxical area of study combining different literary genres. Like the concept of childhood, children’s literature is a social and cultural concept that evolves over time. Since the fourteenth century, children’s literature has gone through different literary periods each defined by its own divisions and genres. Many children’s novels, such as J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy, and C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe were published in the twentieth century and became classics. These books were marked with an increased diversity of literary genres such as mystery and fantasy literature. Fantasy literature has been a dominant literary genre in twentieth century children’s literature, particularly in Barrie’s and Lewis’s novels. In general, as a genre, fantasy literature integrates imaginative elements that shift away from reality into a secondary world . Fantasy literature in the twentieth century, namely in Barrie’s Peter and Wendy and Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wadrobe serves to help children develop vast imagination, and through imagination it allows children to understand and resolve real-world social issues. Doubtless, most people would be able to name some of the features of fantasy literature. Richard Mathews in his book Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination describes fantasy as a distinct literary genre that may be best thought of as a â€Å"fiction that elicits wonder through elements of the supernatural or impossible† (Matthews 2). Fantasy literature assumes the existence of supernatural elements within the framework of a certain text. These supernatural elements can exist in many locations throughout the text: they may be buried in, or leak into the apparent real world setting, the case of the boy character Peter Pan and his fairy Tinker Bell in Barrie’s Peter and Wendy. Supernatural elements may also appear in a secondary world where characters are drawn into a world with such fantastical elements. Narnia in Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is an example of such setting. The fictional realm of Narnia contains various mythical creatures, and magical occurrences. Narnian inhabitants such as Tumnus and the White Witch are themselves supernatural creatures with unusual traits often seen in European mythology and preceding British fairy tales. Fantasy literature can be categorized into two main sub-genres; high fantasy, which consists of a distinct entirely fictional secondary world, and low fantasy, characterized by being set in the real or primary world with the inclusion of supernatural elements. In almost all cases, supernatural elements shift events away from reality. The secondary world operates according to its own rules and altered laws of reality, different in many ways from those in the primary world. Fantasy and supernatural occurrences in the secondary world are depicted as being â€Å"natural† within its boundaries. This feature is important in keeping the secondary world internally consistent. To maintain this inner uniformity, fantasy in this modified world must be realistic. Improbable fantastical events must appear probable within the framework of rules and laws in the secondary world. As Aristotle puts it, â€Å"you can have a text that is improbable with reality as long as it is consistent. As long as the improbable is consistent, then fantasy is realistic†. Probable fantasy in the imaginative world is hence an essential prerequisite for Fantasy literature. The secondary imaginative world and the fantastical events that contain within play an important role in shaping the way Fantasy literature elicits a child reader response. Perhaps one of the most recognized characteristics of Fantasy literature is its appeal to imagination. Fantasy stretches the imagination, enforces creative thinking and encourages dreams. Through the use of the supernatural elements in the secondary world, children travel on a journey fueled by imagination and inventive creation. The way Fantasy literature is received by children audience has a direct effect on the ideas and responses it elicits on them. The act of reading fantasy requires the use of the imagination. In this sense, a great deal of interplay between the writer and reader is present. Because the role of imagination is so important, children readers have much to contribute as they read fantasy. In general, the writer provides the setting, characters, plot and other elements, but the children readers add their imagination to whatever the text allows. It is when children enter this secondary world, engaging with its characters and events that they become part of the story. They feel a sense of pride when characters rise to goodness and a sense of disappointment when the characters fail. Their sense of self and identity is fully shared with the characters as they live the experiences of the fantasy story. Take Barrie’s Neverland for example, a world without esponsibilities, filled with unlimited possibilities – seemingly all wishes of children come true. Neverland is a space where restrictive parents are absent, school is unheard of, and playtime is only interrupted by self-imagined meals (Barrie 113). At first glance, the ideal place to be as a child. Children readily associate with Neverland, this utopian world where everything is made possible stimulates their imagination. They imagine how seawaters are inhabited with mermaids, the endless fights with pirates, and the magic of fairy filling up woods (Barrie 116). Children create their own Neverland using their own imagination. An interesting point to note is that even the story characters themselves in Peter and Wendy imagined their own Neverland. For Michael and John, Neverland was a dream, the extraordinary world they dreamed about when they were asleep and the place where they desired to live in real life. John’s Neverland for instance, â€Å"had a lagoon with flamingos flying over it at which John was shooting, while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it† (Barrie 74). Barrie’s story itself reflects a prime example of uncorrupted imagination through the child’s interactions with the text. Barrie carefully explains that the Neverlands are located within the children’s minds, and although every Neverland is always more or less an island, each one will be uniquely individual. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis creates Narnia and supernatural Narnian creatures to provoke wonder and imagination in the minds of children. Narnia offers children a separate world where they escape to allowing them to paint their own images of this far secondary world. Lewis further creates heroines, who are gifted in imagination and who readily accept Narnia, the fantasy world, as a valid reality. One of the heroines, Lucy, goes into an enormous wardrobe and suddenly finds herself in this imaginary world, Narnia. Lucy felt a â€Å"little frightened, but she felt very inquisitive and excited as well† (Lewis 9). She later meets Mr. Tumnus, a Faun who asks her how she came to Narnia. Lucy, so puzzled, asks him: â€Å"Narnia? What’s that? † (Lewis 11). Right from the start, Lewis engages children in this imaginative world. By showing Lucy’s vast imagination and acceptance of Narnia, children readers extend their imagination accordingly, and view this secondary world as a valid reality. The heroines explore the new worlds of Narnia without hesitation. In Lewis’s book, the Pevensie siblings go through the Wardrobe to leave the primary world and enter into the secondary world, Narnia. The Wardrobe in the story functions as a portal between the two worlds. After reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, every child is left imagining the sight of wardrobes. This common and tangible object that most children had in their rooms during the time Lewis wrote his book opened a gateway of wonder, imagination and curiosity for the secondary world. It is very interesting how Lewis takes ordinary familiar ingredients and transforms it in a certain way which fascinates children and stretches their imagination. Imagination is very important in allowing the child resolve real world issues. Fantasy literature, through the imagination elicited within its context plays a central role in promoting the idea of a capable wise child. Adults like to view children as innocent, unable to comprehend surround real life situations. Warner in Little Angels, Little Monsters refers to Kipling’s unforgettable vivid Mowgli, and J. M Barrie’s Peter Pan, the boy who would never grow. Both examples reveal the depth of adult investment in a utopian childhood image (Warner 134). Heywood, in Some Themes in the Cultural History of Childhood, refers to the ideal innocent child incapable of solving real world problems, as part of the nineteenth and twentieth century British culture (Heywood 34). Certainly, many other authors of the twentieth ce ntury including Barrie and Lewis tried to convey the image of the innocent powerless child, unable to comprehend universal situations. This ideal image of childhood is seen in Barrie’s Peter Pan, as the boy who is â€Å"suspended in a state of perpetual childhood†, refusing to grow up (Cuthew 43). This eternal childhood is supported by Neverland, the secondary world where such attitude is cherished. Although this idea of innocent child is deeply integrated in the works of Barrie and Lewis, but without doubt, fantasy in both of Barrie’s and Lewis’s texts serves to promote a whole different role of the child. The secondary world, Narnia, provides a setting where children deal with issues universal to humankind and ones specifically associated with childhood and adolescence. Both Lewis’s and Barrie’s child protagonists are faced with numerous epic challenges, journey and battles in the imaginary world. By using fantasy, and placing this struggle in a secondary fantasy world, children’s actions and decisions are given adult proportions and importance, whilst the safety remains in the known world to which they will return. As Zipes states, by using fantasy, the child understands universal situations in a complex, â€Å"adult-life† manner (Zipes 178). Warner believes adults see it as their task to socialize children and teach them how to work on real life issues (Warner 139). In some cases even, children â€Å"outsmart adults (Warner 137). Warner further mentions Novalis who stresses on the importance of fantasy literature in creating an â€Å"intimate connection† between children and a wonderful, â€Å"free-floating world† of imagination (Warner 135). Novalis insists that the observable, active fantasy-life displayed by childrens books gives children access to a world of wisdom. For him, through myth and fairy tale, a child is seen as a â€Å"good deal cleverer and wiser than an adult†. Spielberg’s children characters in E. T and Back to the Future fiction films are prime examples of such children. Twentieth century fantasy literature particular to children's authors such as Barrie and Lewis, enforces imagination to deal with universal social issues. The fantasy world contained within Barrie’s and Lewis’s texts allows children to rely on an imaginary world that will offer them order and meaning. In both Peter an d Wendy and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the child protagonists, Peter Pan and the Pevensie children are sent on a fantasy adventure and they encounter various challenges. Through their experiences, these child characters drive children to rely on their own imagination and creativity to solve problems around them. In bother novels, child protagonists are virtual role models for the child reader and so their actions and the way they deal with real life issues carry great relevance to the child reader. By allowing children make their own decisions, children are given agency and added responsibility. Children learn to use their own imagination and gain insight on how things should operate without adult rules hanging over their heads. In Barrie’s book, the story character, Peter and Wendy go on a journey to Neverland, a world where restrictive parents are absent. Peter and Wendy face different challenges. Wendy mothers the Lost Boys; Peter has various encounters with Hook. In both cases, these two child figures are left without adult guidance. Despite the lack of parental rule, these children characters manage to face difficulties and apply their insight to solve problems that come across in Neverland. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe reflects another important example of children’s ability to comprehend certain moral and social issues without adult guidance. In Lewis’s book, Edmund, the third oldest Pevensie child learns the importance of honesty and trust, and the severity of lying. When he is given Turkish delight the first time, he directly falls under the White Witch’s trap and agrees to bring back his siblings to her. All he wants is to â€Å"shovel down as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate the more he wanted to eat† (Lewis 38). Upon Edmunds betrayal to his siblings, Lucy notices the change of Edmund, because Edmund’s face is â€Å"flushed and strange† (Lewis 42) and he looks â€Å"awful† (Lewis 44). This quotation indicates that a treacherous person has a different appearance. Without explicitly saying to the child, â€Å"you should not lie†, fantasy and fairy tales allow children to see the bonuses and consequences of virtues followed and disobeyed. Through fantasy, children are also allowed to come to their own consensus of the binaries of good and evil, right and wrong without having parents guide them through the entire learning process. Fantasy gives children the freedom to create their own set of morals through stories, characters and imaginative places. Take Lewis’s treatment of the concepts of good and evil in Narnia. The Pevensie children are set on an adventure taking them into the fantasy world that is equipped with ideal tools for exploring good and evil. In this fantasy world, the children protagonists are offered many chances to use their own judgment in differentiating right from wrong. Lewis uses this secondary world to allow children see extremes of good and evil. On one hand, Lewis shows the White Witch, the evil queen of Narnia. She seems to abuse her evil powers and carries a wand that can turn creatures into stones. On the other hand, Lewis shows Aslan, the king and God of Narnia. Aslan is a noble lion who sacrifices his life so that the Witch will spare Edmund. Not only does Lewis place his setting in a fantasy world, but he also takes advantage of fantastic creatures to stimulate the child reader’s sense of dread and imagination. These extreme Narnian characters offer two opposite extreme measures of good and evil for which children can compare to. By looking at real world issues, the child is able to deal with situations of good and evil the same way they were played out in the imaginary world. The child is better able to understand his or her position in the world in relation to those around. Allowing the child to judge the good and evil can arguably be seen as means of socialization, a way of opening the child’s eyes to their surrounding society. Through eliciting imagination in children, twentieth century Fantasy literature has also highlighted social values of its period. Even in fantasy when authors write adventures taking place in a secondary world, it is quite difficult to escape certain institutions and values which make our society function. Twentieth century Fantasy literature carried many adult social messages to children. As Henry Jenkins mentions in Introduction: Childhood Innocence and Other Modern Myths, children’s social learning is shaped both by â€Å"adult desires and childhood fantasies† (Jenkins 25). Warner further adds on the topic by saying that in society there is a deep involvement of adults in shaping children. As members of a functional society, how we treat children â€Å"really tests who were are and fundamentally conveys who we hope to be† (Warner, 137). British writers made comments on society and British life through children’s fantasy books. For example, Lewis in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe mentions the Beaver family in Narnia. The Beaver family can be seen to function on the stereotypical model of a twentieth century British family. In one example, Mr. Beaver rushes out in the cold with Peter to provide food for the family, meanwhile â€Å"the girls were helping Mrs Beaver to fill the kettle and cut the bread† (Lewis 69). It can be argued that through Narnia, Lewis reflects the British life in the twentieth century where men spend long hours working away form home whereas mothers shield the home from the corruptions of the outside world (Jenkins, 7). It is now agreed that twentieth century Fantasy literature is vital in the child’s development of imagination. Although children’s minds are less developed than adults’, their ability to imagine is far greater. Fantasy stories not only allow children to imagine other worlds, they let children create those worlds. Barrie and Lewis wrote for children in a sense that they used simpler language and fantastical settings. These authors tried to fully engage children readers with texts. But, not for a moment did they underestimate the child’s ability to comprehend greater universal and social problems such as the arguments between siblings, the struggle to fight temptation and make the right decision, the importance of imagination in providing children with self-guidance and the ability of evaluating good and evil in society. Twentieth century British authors such as Barrie and Lewis also used Fantasy literature to comment on social issues of that period and reflect certain values of society. In twentieth century children’s literature, fantasy is not used to deceive but to enlighten.

Marketing Strategy of Softxpand Software Free Essay Example, 2500 words

The companies must reanalyze its marketing strategies and product strategy. As a result of business environment complexity even a small decision involves various stakeholders. Project management involves putting into practice skills knowledge, techniques and tools to meet the expectations of all involved stakeholders. Each project s success is measured in terms of the quality, time and cost. In some cases this factors can be adjusted within the period of the project to ensure successful completion of the project within the allocated time and resources in form of cost and staff (Enterprise pm n. Therefore a project has to start and end at specific period of time, using specific resources to attain a specific objective n. Major stages of a project are initiation, planning execution, control and closing. Project management helps the company to plan, organize and implement its activities in an organized manner using the available resources, project manager must have management skills, c ommunication skills, risk mitigation skills, procurement skills, time and cost management skills as well as integration skills n. The development and implementations of a marketing strategy like any other project requires time, resources and measurable objectives. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Strategy of Softxpand Software or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The project team will be based at the mainframe headquarters. The team will consist of five members. Members will be drawn from marketing department, product development and innovation, finance department and human resources department. The project will be funded by the company. The stakeholders will be the Mainframe, company appointed partners as well as distributors across the globe. This will paper will analysis a project aim at developing a marketing strategy for Softxpand. Mainframe, like any other company, is seeking to increase its market share in a competitive business environment. Its competitors for Softxpand are NComputing, MPS and conventional computers in a company.