Teaching of Maths in Primary Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Teaching of Maths in Primary Schools - Essay Example Mike Askew et al in their study on effectiveness in the teaching of numeracy isolated three belief systems that were characteristic of the approaches teachers took in teaching numeracy. They were the connectionist, transmission and discovery models. An in-depth look at their respective characteristics, relative merits and overall efficacy is given below. The Connectionist Model: In the words of Askew et al (1997, p.341) it includes "beliefs based around both valuing pupils' methods and teaching effective strategies with an emphasis on establishing connections within mathematics." The stress here is on efficiency as well as effectiveness. The keyword is "connection" as connectionist oriented teachers seek to teach students to establish links between the numbers, methods and concepts in mathematics in order to facilitate a deeper understanding of the subject. Students are expected to be aware of the available methods and to demonstrate skill in selecting the appropriate method. "The connectionist orientation places a strong emphasis on developing reasoning, justification and, eventually, proof within the teaching of number."(Askew et al, 1997, p.343) These teachers believe that students come equipped with mental strategies and it is possible for anyone to achieve proficiency in mathematics with the help of effective teaching. Misunder standings are seen as a way to clarify matters and enhance understanding. An important tool for the connectionist oriented teacher is the use of dialogue as the basis of imparting knowledge. The Transmission Model: According to Askew et al (1997, p.341) it is the "beliefs based around the primacy of teaching and a view of mathematics as a collection of separate routines and procedures." Teachers of this orientation set much store by routine and paper and pencil methods. They teach mathematical concepts in isolation. A student's prior knowledge of the subject is largely seen as irrelevant. The emphasis here is on teaching rather than on learning. If the student fails to learn despite a clear verbal explanation, it is seen as a result of the child's inability to learn. The teacher uses the question and answer format to discern students' progress. The Discovery Model: Askew et al (1997, p.341 state that it includes "beliefs based around the primacy of learning and a view of mathematics as being discovered by pupils." Here the stress is on the process of discovery as the student explores and understands the world of mathematics. The method used is considered irrelevant, provided the correct answer is arrived at. It aims to focus on and improve practical skills. As per this orientation learning is of importance and students are encouraged to learn at their pace and use the strategies they see as appropriate. Numeracy is seen as a natural process and it cannot be hastened. Having noted the salient features of these belief systems, it must be remembered that they are 'ideal types' and it is unlikely that any teacher will be a purist with regard to these orientations. With regard to efficiency in teaching mathematics there is little room for doubt. Askew et al (1997, p.345) have concluded from their studies "that those teachers with a strong

Business Model of Nike Essay Example for Free

Business Model of Nike Essay Introduction Nike Inc. was founded in 1962 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as a partnership under the name, Blue Ribbon Sports. Nike’s main products are sports shoes, sportswear, sports goods. In this paper, we will talk about ‘The Challenge of Entrepreneurship’ ‘Competitive Business Model’ ‘Solid Strategic Plan’ ‘Feasibility Analysis’ and ‘Business Plan’. All of these topics are very important when we study the ‘EOE and SBM’, and in each topic have more than one point. We got ‘The Benefits of Entrepreneurship’ ‘Competition’ of ‘The Challenge of Entrepreneurship ’; ‘Core Competencies’ ‘Innovations’ ‘Sustainable Competitive Advantage’ ‘Key Success Factor’ of ‘CBM’; ‘Vision and Mission’ ‘Objectives and Goals’ ‘SWOT’ ‘Competitor’ ‘Business strategy’ of ‘Solid Strategic Plan’; ‘Industry and Market Feasibility’ ‘Product or Service Feasibility’ ‘Financial Feasibility’ and ‘5Forces Model’ of ‘Feasibility Analysis’. Now, we are going to show you the detail. The Challenge of Entrepreneurship The Benefits of Entrepreneurship Surveys show that owners of small businesses believe they work harder, earn more money, and are more satisfied than if they worked for someone else. (Via Dr. Josà © A. Torres Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Powerpoint) Opportunity to Create Your Own Destiny. Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger(now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knights automobile. According to Otis Davis, a student athlete whom Bower man coached at the University of Oregon, who later went on to win two gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, Bower man made the first pair of Nike shoes for him, contradicting a claim that they were made for Phil Knight. Says Davis, I told Tom Brokaw that I was the first. I dont care what all the billionaires say. Bill Bower man ma de the first pair of shoes for me. People dont believe me. In fact, I didnt like the way they felt on my feet. There was no support and they were too tight. But I saw Bower man make  them from the waffle iron, and they were mine. (Via HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) Opportunity to Make a Difference. In 1979, Nike Air cushion technology Air, by the inventor of the m. Frank Rudy patented, first applied on the Tailwind running shoes, the gas film in running shoes soles for the protection of the cushion. And Nike has created many print and television advertisements with Wieden+ Kennedy, Wieden+ Kennedy remains Nikes primary ad agency. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan Just Do It for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Walt Stack was featured in Nikes first Just Do It advertisement, which debuted on July 1, 1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to Lets do it, the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed. Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass many sports and regions throughout the world.[16] In 1990, Nike moved into its eight-building Wo rld Headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon. (Via HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) Opportunity to Real Improve profits. In 2005, Nike Air Jordan 20 generations. Nike Free series, also in protecting the foot, like barefoot training is provided for the wearer. Nike as of May 31, total annual profits had 13.7 billion dollars, a 12% growth in the past fiscal year. On December 19, 2013, Nike Incs quarterly profit rose as a result of global orders for merchandise for delivery by April increased 13 percent. Future orders of shoes or clothes for delivery between December and April, rose to $10.4 billion. Nike shares (NKE) rose 0.6 percent to $78.75 in extended trading. (Via HTTP://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) Opportunity to Contribute to Society and Be Recognized for Your Efforts. NIKE Charity Organization, is a Non-Governmental Organization Headquartered in PORT HARCOURT RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA. It is autonomous and submissive to the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They are determined to achieve our dreams and purpose of giving hope to the less privilege and to discharge our duties as members of non-profit organization in accordance to our core  values at National, State and Local Government levels. We are prepared to harness, strengthen and efficiently direct our efforts as much as we are out to join hands with other organizations, and individuals in the fight against the Girl Child Abuse. (Via HTTP://saccharinity.com/about_us.php) Competition NIKE is a consumer products company and the relative popularity of various sports and fitness activities and changing design trends affect the demand for our products. The athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment industry is highly competitive in the United States and on a worldwide basis. We compete internationally with a significant number of athletic and leisure footwear companies, athletic and leisure apparel companies, sports equipment companies, and large companies having diversified lines of athletic and leisure footwear, apparel, and equipment. We also compete with other companies for the production capacity of independent manufacturers that produce our products and for import quota capacity. Our competitors’ product offerings, technologies, marketing expenditures (including expenditures for advertising and endorsements), pricing, costs of production, and customer service are areas of intense competition. This, in addition to rapid changes in technology and consumer preferences in the markets for athletic and leisure footwear and apparel, and athletic equipment, constitute significant risk factors in our operations. If we do not adequately and timely anticipate and respond to our competitors, our costs may increase or the consumer demand for our products may decline significantly. (Via Nike-2013-form-10K) Designing a Competitive Business Model Core Competencies Nike’s quality , technology and brand is famous . Nike’s Air cushion technology is almost using in every basketball shoes ,it’s good for athlete’s foot . the Nike having its own core competence due to organizations own skills and core competence it has taken a competitive advantage and now is taking a large market share. The core competence of Nike is to specialize in athletes foot wear and other sports items. As we know every organization has its R D department .The R D department of Nike is playing a vital role because of its innovations in foot wear how the  consumers can feel comfort by wearing their shoes and the quality thats the most important factor to be given in shoes and they have different categories of shoes which is running shoes nick shocks, Jordan, and other types that is targeting different type of consumers having different perceptions. But most important thing of Nike is they dont make shoes they design and then give their design to the production companies in Korea and china or Vietnam. Due to which they are more specialized in their innovation and in this way they have made their core competence in making innovative design of athlete shoes. Innovations Nike believe his research and development efforts are a key factor in nis success .NIKE strives to produce products that help to reduce injury , enhance athletic performance and maximize comfort success . (Via Nike 2013 Annual Report) Nike also find many expert in chemistry, exercise physiology, engineering, industrial design, sustainability and related fields ask they advices to fixed Nike’s shoes and clothing . Nike’s air cushion shock absorption technology is famous in the basketball shoes area .Nike’s Brand shoes like LBJ , Kobe and KD has many color and types . Sustainable Competitive Advantage External Analysis : Nike’s brand awareness is famous all over the world ,everyone buying shoes first chose is Nike . Nike sponsored the top athletes and gained valuable coverage. , like Jordan , LeBron James , .From the Nike’s 2013 annual report will find that Nike growing up every years . Nike has many competitors , like Adidas , Puma , Reebok and so on , but Nike’s market share is more than any other . Internal Analysis :As we know ,Nike’s product is quality , Nike’s has own RD center to creative new technology ,like air cushion shock absorber technology ,environmental technology and so on .It’s basic technology to Nike’s product .Nike always find many creative thing to put in Nike’s product ,like knitting technology in his shoes .That’s awesome . Nike has employed creative marketing and advertisement platforms in building brand awareness and equity of its diversified products. For instance, the company uses Tiger Woods a skilled golfer to build its line of golf products. It further employs professionals in various departments that include distribution, marketing, finance,  product management, research and design, information technology, and product development so as to sensitize the market of its diversified products Nike also operates an internship program every summer lasting for three months giving students an insight on the diverse brands. Other avenues Nike accomplishes diversification strategy is through mergers, joint ventures, takeovers, and acquisitions. The company also has an RD unit called the innovation kitchen located in the main parent company in Oregon, to enable it to continue producing unique products such as the cushioning system in shoes. Key Success Factor Jordan Brand : Jordan brand is a big part of the Nike. Jordan’s shoes is popular in all over the world .Jordan shoes occupy the USA 10.8% market share in 2009 .Jordan shoes sales almost two times of Adidas . (Via :http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2009-09-12/16084584096.shtml)So Jordan brand is a key success factors of Nike .) Jordan brand is popular in young people , every young people want a Jordan’s shoes it’s beautiful and comfortable .Especially Jordan’s air cushion technology , using in every basketball shoes . Technology :In addition to Nike’s own staff of specialists in the areas of biomechanics ,chemistry , exercise physiology, engineering , industrial design, sustainability ,and related fields , we also utilize research committees and advisory boards made up of athletes , coaches, trainers , equipment managers , orthopedists , Podiatrists , and other experts who consult with us and review designs , Materials , concepts for product and manufactur ing process improvements and compliance with product safety regulations around the world . (Nike Annual Report ) Advertisement : Advertisements play a significant role in the athletic apparel industry, as consumers rely on catalogues and online advertisements . Nike has many endorsers ,like Jordan ,James ,Durant and so on. These guys bring many customers .Nike has online store ,you can buy many things in this store ,before new product star sales ,you’ll get an e-mail about this product .Nike’s advertisement not only online but also in everywhere .It’s very amazing! Adidas :Adidas is a very famous company ,it’s very popular in world too .But in these years, Adidas’s market in decrease very fast .Because Adidas’s endorsers did not famous than Nike’s endorses .Adidas’s endorses including Yao Ming ,A.I ,D.Rose and so on .But they hurt or retied .Adidas’s  quality and technology is also well known .But Adidas lost because the endorses . New Balance :New Balance (I will call New Balance as NB for short ) is known as a most comfortable shoes .They has many new technology ,such as BIOSHIELD ,ABZORB EX ,REVAX ,ENCAP ,and so on .And NB is popular in young people ,you will find many youn g people wear NB in the street .IT’s a huge market to NB. Building a Solid Strategic Plan It’s a significant part of a successful business. It keeps the company to where they oriented, to meet their mission, goals and objectives, and lead it on the right way. A Strategy plan is to build a competitive advantage. It involved Vision and Mission Statement, also Objectives and Goals, SWOT Analysis, Competition Analysis and Formulate Strategies. We are going to find out what does Nike different from others, why it is unique, and what it has that others don’t. I am about to use Five Forces Model to analyze the competitive advantages for Nike. Vision, Mission, Goal and Objective Nike’s vision is â€Å"To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.† The legendary University of Oregon track and field coach, and Nike co-founder, Bill Bowerman said, â€Å"If you have a body, you are an athlete.†. It’s their mission. (Via http://help-en-us.nike.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/113/p/3897) Their goal is to become and keep the number one sportswear brand all over the world. Their objective is keep down the manufacturing cost and keep their price down then they can occupied the market in some less developed countries who can become the economically dependent in the industry. (Via http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_objectives_of_Nike_company) SWOT Analysis. Strengths As one of the ‘Fortune 500’ company, Nike has numerous strengths. It is positioned at being the number one sportswear brand globally, it Offers their products worldwide, it has a very strong marketing campaign that increases brand familiarity, and it has no factories, it uses OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to get the work done. It has contracts with above 700 shops globally in about 45 different countries. it also has offices in these different countries. It has chains of retail stores like  Niketown so that it can sell there. Its famous Swoosh is instantly recognizable, and Phil Knight even has it tattooed on his ankle. Weaknesses The organization does have a diversified range of sports products. However, the income of the business is still heavily dependent upon its share of the footwear market. This may leave it vulnerable if for any reason its market share erodes. The retail sector is very price sensitive. Nike does have its own retailer in Nike To wn. However, most of its income is derived from selling into retailers. Retailers tend to offer a very similar experience to the consumer. Can you tell one sports retailer from another? So margins tend to get squeezed as retailers try to pass some of the low price competition pressure onto Nike. Opportunities Product development offers Nike many opportunities. The brand is fiercely defended by its owners whom truly believe that Nike is not a fashion brand. However, like it or not, consumers that wear Nike product do not always buy it to participate in sport. Some would argue that in youth culture especially, Nike is a fashion brand. This creates its own opportunities, since product could become unfashionable before it wears out i.e. consumers need to replace shoes. There is also the opportunity to develop products such as sport wear, sunglasses and jewelry. Such high value items do tend to have associated with them, high profits. The business could also be developed internationally, building upon its strong global brand recognition. There are many markets that have the disposable income to spend on high value sports goods. For example, emerging markets such as China and India have a new richer generation of consumers. There are also global marketing events that can be utilized to support the brand such as the World Cup (soccer) and The Olympics. Threats Nike is exposed to the international nature of trade. It buys and sells in different currencies and so costs and margins are not stable over long periods of time. Such an exposure could mean that Nike may be manufacturing and/or selling at a loss. This is an issue that faces all global brands. The market for sports shoes and garments is very competitive. The model developed by Phil Knight in his Stamford Business School days (high value branded product manufactured at a low cost) is now commonly used and to an extent is no longer a basis for sustainable competitive advantage. Competitors are developing alternative brands to take away Nikes market share. As discussed above in weaknesses, the retail sector is becoming price competitive. This  ultimately means that consumers are shopping around for a better deal. So if one store charges a price for a pair of sports shoes, the consumer could go to the store along the street to compare prices for the exactly the same item, and buy the cheaper of the two. Such consumer price sensitivity is a potential external threat to Nike. (Via Nike 2013 Annual Report, http://www.quality-assurance-solutions.com/swot-analysis-nike.html, http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/account-management-provides-special-treatment-in-marketing-administration-marketing-essay.php http://www.marketingteacher.com/swot/nike-swot.html) Analyze the Competition. Nike has some competitive Direct competitors- Adidas, New Balance and Li Ning. They offer the product that Nike does, and all of these companies have different key success factors. Adidas, is the most competitor od Nike with do doubt, they compete with Nike for No.1 sportswear branding for over 40 years But in these years, Adidas’s market in decrease very fast .Because Adidas’s endorsers did not famous than Nike’s endorses .Adidas’s endorses including Yao Ming ,A.I ,Derrick Rose and so on .But they hurt or retied .Adidas’s quality and technology is also well known .But Adidas lost because the endorses; New Balance is known as a most comfortable shoes .They has many new technology ,such as BIOSHIELD ,ABZORB EX ,REVAX ,ENCAP ,and so on .And New Balance is popular in young people ,you will find many young people wear New Balance in the street . IT’s a huge market to New Balance; Some Significant competitors like Under Armour and Skechers, they offer similar products like apparel or footwear, they compete with Nike in some fields. Some Indirect competitors like The North Face or Columbia, both of them are the most of the famous outdoor brand, they offer windbreaker or accessories that Nike does. They have impacts to Nike in some mutual markets. Conclusion: Nike does perfectly in quality and endorsement, they almost signed all significant players and teams all over the world. Adidas has no most strength but all factors are averaged. New Balance does best in technology, it can makes sneakers more comfortable. (New Balance has never signed any endorsers since it founded, so its score is little bit lower) Cost leadership. Nike uses Business Simulation Strategy. It has no factories, it uses OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to get the work done, and it doesn’t has stores mostly. It offers products to Franchised retailers, and let them sell the products. It saved money from factories and rent, so its overhead is low. No shop, no labors,. quantity of materials, low too. If a supplier increases costs, Nike can easily change a new one with lower cost, Nike can do this because of its ability. Nike definitely has low cost access to factors of production. The enormity of Nike in respect to their suppliers gives them a huge advantage in production negotiations. Due to their high volumes for products, the cut-throat low cost nature of selecting a manufacturer, and coupled with the fact that Nikes suppliers depend so heavily on them for their own success that they have little to no bargaining room toward raising prices, allows Nike to continuously enjoy low costs of production. Nikes hardware and software technology implementations of using the not only using the best materials but creating them in a vertical fashion and housing an innovation culture from the top down, allow Nike a first move advantage into cost savings. However most of these advances only bring definite savings for a short time due to competitive parity within the industry, their creative nature definitely does benefit over the long run. Nike reduced costs by cutting some of its endorsements. Company research suggested the endorsement by the Italian soccer team, was not achieving the desired result. Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and a few other endorsers were retained while some other like Italian soccer team, were eliminated, to saving over $100 million. Nike does incredible in cost control. (Nike 2013 Annual Report) Differentiation. Differentiation strategy by Nike is used to gain market share advantage in the broad foot ware market. Aside from foot wear, the company boasts of products such as clothing, equipment, and even accessories. The strategy is achieved by producing consumer goods and services that customers perceive to be of high quality or have added unique features. This has been achieved by the company innovating state of the art athletic shoes that are publicized through dramatic â€Å"guerrilla† marketing. Marketing of the different products is designed to coerce customers that Nike’s shoes are not only superior but also a high fashion statement which is a necessary part of a lifestyle based  on athletic or sporting interests. The company has also differentiated itself by using highflyers that are best used in distinguishing sporting disciplines hence enabling the company reach its target market, for instance, the Brazilian national soccer team or even Michael Jordan. Also, Nike is different from others in their Ads. They show not only their technology but also leading endorsers like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Cristiano Ronaldo in their Ads of new products. At the same time, their Ads are also very creative and with imagination, make people who watched them unforgettable. (Via Nike 2013 Annual Report) Focus.

Irony as an Instrument Essay -- Ironic Irony Essays

Irony as an Instrument Its 7:09 am and Olivia is woken up by a wetness between her legs. She looks down and finds that the wetness is actually her water that broke. She anxiously wakes up her husband John, and the two of them quickly gather their things. After nine long months of waiting, John and Olivia are finally on their way to the hospital to welcome their first child into the world. The two have already chosen Jacob Alexander as the baby's name and have the nursery ready for him at home. Once at the hospital, Olivia and John meet with their doctor, Dr. Rodriguez, who assures the anxious couple that everything will be fine and their new son will be in their arms in just a matter of hours. It is now 8:22 am and the pain from Olivia's contractions is beginning to grow stronger. Several hours later, Olivia is in crucial pain but is only dilated 4 1/2 centimeters and is beginning to bleed. Knowing that something is wrong, Dr. Rodriguez realizes that the baby's heart rate is declining and that Olivia's blo od pressure has significantly dropped as well. Worried about the health of both the baby and Olivia, Dr. Rodriquez decides that emergency surgery would be the only way to have a successful delivery. Before preparing for surgery, he once again reassures the family that everything will be just fine and shows John to the waiting room. After hours of surgery with several complications, Dr. Rodriguez has successfully delivered baby Jacob but unfortunately could not save Olivia. Soon after Jacob was born, Olivia began hemorrhaging and there was no way for Dr. Rodriguez to stop the bleeding. She simply lost too much blood and he was unable to save her. With his pounding heart caught in his throat and a feeling failure, Dr. Rodri... ...on why readers respond to irony is because it catches them off guard. By incorporating the element of irony, the author has an opportunity to provoke desired emotions within the reader then change them within an instant. In both stories, the thoughts and expectations of the reader were altered and the truth was revealed. No matter who the author, one truth about irony remains: there will always be an inconsistency between what you predict and what will actually transpire. Now isn't that ironic? Works Cited Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. Eds. Dana Gioia, X.J. Kennedy. New York: Longman, 2002, 513-520. Gioia, Dana, X. J. Kennedy. "Glossary of Literary Terms." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th Edition. New York: Longman, 2002, G1-G32.

Plato and Gettier on Knowledge Essay

Plato in one of his most famous earliest dialogue Meno tried to provide a new way of explaining how we humans ‘acquire’ knowledge. The common notion of the ancient Greeks and even to our times on how we acquire knowledge is the characteristic of knowledge to be taught and learned. Knowledge in a sense is an outside entity that resides outside ourselves. We learn outside of ourselves through our environment or other people that try to teach us. However, the events and flow of discussion in Meno had convinced Plato to provide a new framework that will be able to discuss how we acquire knowledge. Plato’s basic discussion says that knowledge acquisition is more in fact a matter of recollection rather than learning. We acquire knowledge and ideas from the inside of ourselves and not through the lessons outside ours. Plato rooted this from the belief of the priest and diviners and even philosophers to the immortality of the soul. The soul had existed since time immemorial making it able to know everything it needs to know. Whatever knowledge and ideas had already been embedded on the soul because of immortal existence. However, as the soul transfer from one body to another body because of the mortality of the human body, Plato argued that as the body withers and dies, all the knowledge are forgotten and put into background. From here, Plato would argue for the knowledge acquisition to be a matter of recollection and remembering of the knowledge and ideas already possessed by the soul. Plato believed that whatever we know is a recollected and remembered idea of the soul’s former existence. This concept was explained by Socrates to Meno with the help of Meno’s slave. Socrates called the slave and asked some questions regarding geometry and the measurement of some shapes. Socrates tried to ask some questions that direct the slave to answer them rightfully. It is important to note the slave is uneducated in the classical sense. However, through Socrates’ questions, he managed to enable to direct the slave towards right answers. This had help to prove to Meno that the soul already possessed the knowledge and opinions about everything. For Plato, this knowledge can be accessed by examining ourselves and with yourself or someone asking the right questions that will redirect you to the knowledge and ideas inside your soul. Knowledge is defined in its justification, truth and being a belief. After discussing the nature of knowledge and how we can acquire it, Socrates and Meno moved on to discuss to define opinion and its relevance on the affairs of man. The task is simple, to define opinion (true opinion) and to contrast it to knowledge. Primarily, Socrates acknowledged the role of a good opinion in the human affairs. He did not disregard it completely but rather understand its use in some cases. In fact, he acknowledges the inclination of virtuous men to rely on their true opinion to do good things. However, Socrates clearly undermines opinion; even they are good when it is contrasted to knowledge. For Plato, an opinion does not last long and easily withers in contrast to knowledge that has the capability to last eternally. The main difference lies on the presence of a rationality and grounds on knowledge and its absence of an n opinion. He used the example of a statue. He stated that the statue with that is tied in a good foundation will be able to last longer compare to a statue that is not tied. For Socrates, though an opinion can produce the same awe to an observer, it is a natural tendency for humans to ask the question of why and how. These questions cannot be answered by an opinion because of its absence of ground. In this sense, knowledge exceeds an opinion. This definition of knowledge that is characterized by Plato which is defined as a justified true belief had dominated from the ancient Greeks up to the mid-late 20th century. The general belief that knowledge for it to be referred as knowledge must be able to satisfy three basic characteristics, which is (1) justification (2) truth (3) belief was questioned by Edmund Gettier’s paper entitled â€Å"Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? †. This short paper that had managed to provide a doubt to the long tradition in epistemology that considers knowledge to be a justified true belief. Edmund Gettier provided to two cases or examples will put in to question the long era of this ancient belief. He presented a case in which the three conditions are present namely justification, truth, belief yet unable to be count as knowledge because of the play of other factors. In Gettier’s examples which were referred as Gettier’s cases, the three criteria were only made possible by some elements of luck and chance which clearly invalidate it to be knowledge. This put an ‘end’ to a long tradition of considering knowledge by the virtue of three elements of justification, truth and belief. Though the paper of Gettier did not provide an alternative view or solution to his problem, responses on his paper can be summarized to the attempts of many philosophers to look or find out for the fourth criteria that will make the definition of knowledge. Works Cited Plato. Grube G. M. A. (trans) Cooper, John (rev) Five dialogues. 2002. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. IN. Print Gettier. Edmund. Is Justified True Belief Knowledge? Web.

The Chrysalids: Uncle Axle Character Sketch

In the novel The Chrysalids, Axel Strorm—David Strorm's Uncle—is described as â€Å"a cripple. † (24). They live in Waknuk, Labrador; a community with very unique and bizarre laws and religions. As you read through chapters 1-8 you see his traits prevail. You also learn that David sees his Uncle as a friend and a role model rather then just a relative. â€Å"†¦because he was Uncle Axel and my best friend among the grown-ups. † (30) You also get the sense that David almost feels as if his Uncle is the only supportive, understanding, logical, and open- minded member in his family.Axel shows that he is very trustworthy when David first realizes that he might be a deviation and goes to speak to him. â€Å"I want you to promise me that you will never, never tell any one else what you have just told me – never† (30) David chose to tell his Uncle about his telepathy over anyone else because he knows that anyone else but his Uncle would charge h im for blasphemy and turn him in, even his own father—who is the towns priest. In this community, you can be charged just for knowing about a deviation and reporting it, which gives Axel nother reason to keep it a secret. The reader could see Axel as logical and adventurous when he spoke to David about the Blacklands and his adventures travelling the sea. He voyages to places people would describe as â€Å"a weird, evil land† (59) He knew everything from â€Å"how to reach the rest of the world† (58) to what people from different places looked like. Axel also saw â€Å"corn growing higher than small trees†¦fungus colonies that you'd take at first sight for big white boulders† (59) and communities where â€Å"they all have white hair and pink eyes. (62) He explains to David that there are places that â€Å"you'll find Deviations who think they're normal. † (62) and â€Å"where they do have a sense of sin, they've got it mixed up. † (62) Axel has seen the world and decides to share his knowledge with David because he's thinking about running away. Axel is very supportive and open-minded about Davids gift when David tells him about it. Charging him for blasphemy or telling anyone else doesn't even come to his mind;he didn't even seem shocked. Despite that his Nephew is a Deviation, Axel is very supportive nd he's the only one —other then the others who are telepathic—that knows of David's gift. Axel makes sure that no one else will ever find out. Axel is a hard-working and â€Å"useful all-around man† (22) He sailed the seas until â€Å"he was on a voyage that left him a cripple. † (22) Despite his life-long injury, he still works on his brother-in-law's farm. Open-minded, logical, adventurous, and trustworthy, Axel Strorm has all of the appropriate traits to get David and his group of gifted friends out of Waknuk alive. He is willing to go against the strict religion enforced in the Wakn uk community to aid a young boy and his

What They Say Affects our Understanding Essays

What They Say Affects our Understanding Essays What They Say Affects our Understanding Essay What They Say Affects our Understanding Essay The short story, â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, speaks of the life of a woman who was caught in the past and refused to participate in the change. Written by the award-winning Southerner author, William Faulkner, the story revolves on the different aspects of being the only daughter of a small town pillar. The story presented how somebody like Emily Grierson, an epitome of an individual caught in the past, lived with only her pride and loneliness in an enclosed world, and remained envied by women and admired by men. It showed how the very things that people see as another person’s weakness may become strength as in the case of the author.An Epitome of the UnmovedThere are instances when people are left trying to relive the past over and over again in their own personal ways. This is oftentimes done in order to maintain one’s sanity or to keep a memory that only during that moment can be left real. In the case of Emily Grierson, both may have bee n the reason to exhaust all means to remain in that certain period in her life.She exhibited the seeming obsession to retain her past many times in the story. Initially, through keeping her father’s corpse in the house, by staying indoors from then on, and even after her death, she proved to have stopped time at some point as the townspeople discovered the rotten body of her lover, Homer Barron, in her home (Faulkner).In a commentary by the literary critic, Cecilia Rodriguez, she pointed that Colonel Sartoris, and the negro-servant is a representation of the past; while Homer Barron and the new Board of Alderman represented the present. Emily, however, does not only represent the past but also lived in it. There had been many struggles to keep the present away, which was evident in the murder of Homer Barron and many other incidents. The consequence of these efforts is the aloof, cold, and almost cruel Emily that people saw (â€Å"Interpretations of William Faulkners A Rose for Emily†).The obsessive ways to maintain life as it used to be may point to Emily’s last resort to keep the honor that the Griersons achieved through efforts of Mr. Grierson. It was mentioned in the story how Emily had been the shadow of the elder Grierson. As such, upon dying, the mission of keeping the dignity of the lineage rested on Emily’s shoulders. It is probable that shying away from the public was Emily’s way of keeping things in control, and a means of fulfilling the arduous undertaking.Admired by Many, Envied by SomeWhen Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house. (Faulkner n.p)Exuding a bitter disposition, women felt either anger or fear, while men found in Emily’s attitude a sense of beauty worth appreciating. Despite the observable cruelty in the way Emily presented herself, she had been found exceptional. Walking with her chin up and not caring about the gossips being spread, Emily projects a woman of strength and independence. These are the traits that did not exist among the women during that time, yet had to exist in Emily in order to preserve her family’s dignity (â€Å"The Narrator’s Point of View†).According to the influential critic, Cleanth Brooks, Emily’s refusal to be criticized by the public, and the denial of the present resulted to the independent, vindictive persona she projects. The enormous pride, in ways proven by the decline to conform to social norms, and the rebellious manner towards the town’s Aldermen may be considered as preclusion of failure to maintain the image of her family. It also points to Emily’s inner desires to get away from the superficiality of the town’s life yet having no means to do it (â€Å"Interpretations of William Faulkners A Rose for Emily†).However, peopleâ₠¬â„¢s reactions to these details directs to the idea that even with the negative perspective most women have on Emily; men felt the opposite towards her. As such, she may have been as well a subject for women’s envy. The fear and pity may be attitudes to cover an inherent feeling of loathing (â€Å"The Narrator’s Point of View†).The Author and His workIn a book written on the tenth anniversary of William Faulkner’s birth, it was mentioned that he was a writer who kept work to himself. Faulkner had been a loner who devised guises, roles, and masks that kept the people at distance. Although, not as cruel as the character in the story, it may be pointed that Emily Grierson symbolizes a part of the writer’s life. Faulkner was a shy and troubled man as much as his character was. The ways in which his fictions were written were signs of how he delimits his relations with others. As much as Emily was marked by the townspeople, critics have probed Faulkner ’s gothic, almost grotesque style yet it still received approbation for the influences it had in the world of literature (Minter)Analysis and ConclusionAlthough the critics’ comments were not suggestive, it supports the idea that Emily Grierson’s personality was the result of the great struggle between the heavy burden of maintaining a social status and the desire to be free from it. Because of this inherent battle, she had turned herself into the proud woman who lived in loneliness, yet still remained envied and admired by others.Owing to Rodriguez’ commentary combined with the criticism of Brooks, Emily’s decision to remain in the past may be considered as the wall that she has put up in order to maintain control and keep things as they were. It has brought her the independence that may be said as necessary given her predicament. However, it was causal to the aloof and independent personality she has developed. These traits became the point of en vy for some females and a subject of admiration for men. What the women may have seen as her weaknesses were seen as also her strengths by other people.As such it may be said that the story presents how people’s personalities affect others’ perception. It is probable that the very feature hated or loathed are the key features that attracts others. Further, as pointed by Minter, the same thing may be applied in the writer’s life. As such, the shield he put up to delimit relationships became both a subject for criticism as well as for praise.

Future Plan and Scholarship Interests Essays

Future Plan and Scholarship Interests Essays Future Plan and Scholarship Interests Essay Future Plan and Scholarship Interests Essay Essay Topic: Scholarship Name: Instructor: Course: Date: : Future Plan and Scholarship Interests I am fascinated by the chaos that exists in a construction site. This particular chaos inspires me to come up with measures that are aimed at creating order in the site. I have possessed this unique trait from childhood. I tend to be a problem solver and an individual who enjoys multitasking. For these particular reasons, I aspire to be a Construction Manager. The entire process of handling a construction project creates a vivid picture of success in my mind. This is because I know that I have what it takes to effectively plan, coordinate and budget for a project that entirely deals with construction. This has directed my education path to focus on the field of Construction Management. I am aware of the cost implications that arise with pursuing a degree course in Construction Management. Unfortunately, I am not able to fund my education pursuit in this particular field. This will however not be a hindrance to realizing my dream of becoming a Construction Manager. For this reason, I am also interested in the scholarship offered by Construction Management Association of America. I believe that this financial aid will act as a bridge to the achievements of my dreams. The scholarship will allow me to gain the adequate knowledge needed for me to become a competent Construction Manager. I believe that I am the best person to receive this scholarship. I understand that CMMA introduced the scholarships to enable deserving students to pursue their dream careers in the field of Construction Management. Apart from this, one of the company’s qualifying criteria is that the scholarship recipient must show the potential of becoming a successful practitioner in the field. I believe that I have the qualities that successful Construction Managers should have. The first of these qualities is that I am a multitasker. A construction Manager has a wide job description. The roles of a Construction Manager includes acquiring the land for construction, hiring the required labor, obtaining the necessary permits and keeping a report of the construction’s process. The multiplicity of these duties requires an individual who can multitask. I am able to work on different activities while apportioning time and attention appropriately in accordance to the needs of the activitie s. I am also a problem solver. Problems always provide opportunities for me to be innovative and creative. They challenge me to come up with solutions for the problems. When faced with a challenge, most of the times I usually try to be calm. This allows me to analyze the particular problem carefully. The effect of this careful analysis is that I am able to come up with apt solutions. The construction site is usually faced with a diversity of challenges and this trait will help me to manage them effectively. My passion in the field of Construction Management is what drives my pursuit for the scholarship that the Construction Management Association of America is offering. This scholarship will act as a stepping-stone towards becoming a Construction Manager. The success of my plans of becoming an exceptional Construction Manager is dependent on the kind of education and skill that I acquire. This implies that my energy should be focused on ensuring that I receive efficient education in the field. The scholarship will be a way of ensuring that I acquire this education.

How To Get More Followers On Pinterest With 21+ Tactics

How To Get More Followers On Pinterest With 21+ Tactics So you want to learn how to  get more followers on Pinterest. That makes sense since a  hefty majority of you told us that you want to grow your audience and  you measure your success through social media follower growth. Luckily for me, we have a Pinterest pro on the team here at . When I asked Nicole  how she gets more followers on Pinterest, this was her very first piece of advice: The general consensus seems to be Pin really great content that you love, and your followers will, too. Thats an awesome place to start. But Nicole wasnt done helping me learn this stuff quite yet, and since were trying to grow our own following on Pinterest here at - and you can now schedule Pins to Pinterest with - I thought Id share her tips and research with all of you, too. Sound good? This is about to get Pinteresting. (I know maybe I should quit the jokes.) How To Get More Followers On #Pinterest With 21+ Tactics That Will Grow Your Following Optimize Your Pinterest Profile To Get More Followers While your Pins are likely some of the first things potential followers see from your brand, Neil Patel notes it's super important to optimize your Pinterest profile to help you get more followers. This is likely due to the halo effect, which is the psychology behind first impressions and physical attractiveness- something super important for the visual audience who loves Pinterest. In its most essential form, the halo effect  suggests that when people have a positive experience with you, they're more likely to expect positive experiences in the future. Whoa! So if you make a good first impression, doesn't it make sense that  you could get more  followers because they'll expect favorable outcomes in the future? So filling out your profile helps potential followers see you're not a fly-by-night Pinner while giving you the chance to share information about your blog, brand, and your other social networks. Use the psychology behind #firstimpressions to get more followers on #Pinterest.While there are a lot of different fields to look into while fleshing out your Pinterest profile, here are the ones that will make a difference for getting more followers. Go to Settings to get started: 1.  Help Potential Followers  Find Your Pins Through Search Engines Start with your Business Account Basics  and slide  the Search privacy button to No.  This way, Pinterest will allow search engines to crawl the content you Pin which could help  you get more visibility in image searches with popular search engines like Google. Help Pinners find your content through search engines by changing your Search privacy setting to No. Recommended Reading: How to Determine Your Marketing Tactics 2.  Complete Your Pinterest Profile To Instantly Boost Your Credibility Then, in the Profile area, fill in your Business Name and Location. Your Picture  could be a professional-looking logo for your business or blog (remember the rule from the halo effect with physical attractiveness). Create a  Username  that will get pulled into your Pinterest URL, so as a business, using your company name probably makes the most sense. Add a brief description of your business and the value you offer potential Pinterest followers in the About you field. Wrap it up with one of the most important  fields: Confirm your Website.  This field helps Pinterest verify your site so you can use Rich Pins to add bonus information for article, movie, place, product, and recipe which get Pinned by more than 2 million people every day. When you confirm your site, Pinterest also shows the verified icon on your profile, which as Neil Patel notes, "may give potential followers more confidence in following you." The Website field is one of the most important things Pinterest uses to verify your site, which will boost your credibility via the halo effect. 3. Connect Your Other Social Networks To Your Pinterest Profile You can also connect your other social networks directly into Pinterest.  Mitt Ray, a Pinterest expert, took to Social Media Examiner to explain that this simple practice can "attract your Facebook and Twitter friends and followers to your Pinterest account." Simply sign  in to your company's Twitter handle. Then slide the Log in button to Yes. You can also connect to Facebook and Google+, but since those accounts are typically associated with a single person and not a business page, your Pinterest followers will be directed to your personal profiles. Connect your social profiles like your company's Twitter handle to your Pinterest account. When you connect your social profiles, you'll get the added bonus of having them appear in your Pinterest profile, which is a great way to offer your Pinterest followers the opportunity to follow you on other networks, too. When you connect your Twitter handle (or Facebook and Google+ profiles), the icon will show up in your Pinterest profile to help you get more followers. Optimize Your Blog And Social Media 4. Keep Pin It And Follow Prompts On Your Blog And Website Nicole  suggests  having  Pin it and follow prompts on your site to help convert the traffic you get into Pinners and followers. For example, Social Media Examiner uses the Pinterest follow prompt on their blog: Social Media Examiner uses the Pinterest follower button to convert blog visitors into Pinterest followers. And when you click on that button, an appealing window opens from Pinterest to help you convert your  visitors into Pinterest followers: This is what your followers will see when you add the Pinterest follow button to your blog. Getting that follow button- and the Pin It button- is easy.  When you're on your home page, click the gear icon and select Make a widget. Navigate to your Pinterest home page, then select the gear icon to make a follow widget. Then, in the popup, click Learn More. Click Learn More in the widget popup. Now you can create Pin It buttons for specific blog posts and also grab  a follow button you can embed in your theme. Create a follow button by entering in your Pinterest URL and embedding the code on your blog. Recommended Reading: Are You Excited? You Can Now Pin To Pinterest With How To Improve Your Visual Marketing On Pinterest And Instagram A Cheat Sheet For Marketing On Pinterest The Ultimate Guide On How To Use Pinterest For Marketing 5. Embed Boards And Pins Into Your Blog Posts This idea is an extension of what you just learned about the Pin It and follow buttons  but relates much more directly to your blog posts. Pinterest now makes it easy to embed Pins and board previews right into your posts to help you get more followers from your blog visitors. Follow the same instructions from the prior step, and embed your Pinterest content like this: You should probably hit that follow button. Come on, you know you want to! ;) When we recently embedded a board like that into a  blog post, we  received a 640% boost in Pinterest followers that week. 6.  Share Your Pinterest Love On Other Social Networks Some of your followers on other social networks may also like to follow you on Pinterest. It is definitely some people's preferred discover tool, as Nicole pointed out to me. And it turns out, Pinterest is smart enough to help you share  your Pins and boards on your other social networks easily. Share your Pins to followers on other networks to encourage them to follow you on Pinterest. You can use that functionality to share your Pins with your Twitter  and Facebook followers to encourage them to follow you on Pinterest, too. Pro Tip: Grab the Pin link  to easily schedule a social message right in  your social media calendar. Participation On Pinterest Is A Conversation Advertising isn't very effective because it talks to your audience, not with your audience. Communication is different than mass marketing because it is a real conversation between people and isn't one-sided.  That's how  Pinners demand participation.  And since that's the case, it's a great lesson to keep in mind as you try to get more  followers on Pinterest. Advertising talks to, communication speaks with. Have a conversation to participate on #Pinterest.7. Repin Often To Introduce Yourself To New Pinners Nicole says: Don't be spammy. Pin at least 50/50 ratio of other content to your own. Treat Pinterest like its own entity, so get creative and CURATE. And that says a lot. Pinterest is an information discovery engine: Like a social site fused  with a search engine. Pinterest feeds  on curation, and Pinners demand conformity to the culture for its participants. Still other Pinterest experts suggest Repinning even more content  by following the Pareto principle of 80% Repins to 20% of your own original Pins. Regardless of your approach, here are the major reasons why Repinning will help you get more followers: You will connect with more people who share similar interests.  Pinners take notice of those who Repin their work often, which can lead to follows. You will build robust boards of curated content to vet your ideas. By Pinning other folks' content to your boards, you can see which boards get the most followers and double down the time you invest into creating  original content to increase your followers even more. You will show potential followers  that you're not just out for #1. A  while ago, Paul Wilson at Pinnable Business built an audience for a new Pinterest account of 6,275 followers by focusing on building  a community.  Curating and Repinning were an undeniable  first step. Takeaway: Define the amount of content  you'll curate and Repin, and  stick to the plan. When you find great content from a Pinner, plan to share their Pins  a few times to build a  connection that could turn into a follow. 8. Follow  Pinners  Who Already Love You As Aaron Lee  explains, "Following 5 to 10 people a day can make a huge difference compared to waiting for people to follow you." That makes sense, especially since you know Pinterest  relies on participation- and especially at first, you might have to make the first move to grow your following. To get started, find Pinners who have shared your content because they already know who you are. Simply search on Pinterest using this query:  https://www.pinterest.com/source/YourDomain.com/. Then you'll see all the Pins that came from your domain- complete with the Pinners' names. Find Pinners to follow who have already shared your content by using this query: https://www.pinterest.com/source/YourDomain.com/. These Pinners would all make for great folks for to follow on Pinterest. Just click through to see those Pinners' profiles and follow them. Nicole says: Make sure that you trust the source you're Pinning from. If it's spammy or not legit, you can be flagged as spam and land in Pinterest jail.  So watch who you follow because spammers are rampant there, and only Repin from trusted sources. So how can you tell if a potential person you'd like to follow isn't that great? Spam accounts might look a little like this where they share the same things over and over: 9.  Find Pinners Who've Already Pinned From Your Blog You can learn a lot from Pinterest Analytics  including: Your own  profile's best-performing Pins and boards. Use that knowledge to share more content that is similar to your top performers. That will increase your Repins and help  you reach new followers. Your existing audience's demographics and interests. Just like before, use that information to help you curate more content that suits their interests and plan original Pins  that they'll love. Your top activity for content shared from your domain. This is where you can find the top Pins from your content and most popular boards those were Pinned to. That means you can use this information to find folks who already love your content so you can engage with them through Repins, comments, and follows. The Activity tab in your Pinterest Analytics is probably the best place to start to find new potential followers. Simply scroll through to find the Pinners who gave you your top Pin impressions, and the boards that were most popular for your content. Pinterest Analytics can help you find popular boards from Pinners who share your content, which can help you find new followers. With that information, you can find the Pinners who created those boards- and those who  follow  them- to start building your community. You can learn a lot from the Pinners who follow the popular boards that share your content. 10. Ask  Your Friends From Other Networks To Become  Pinterest Followers, Too Everyone seems to have their favorite social networks, so why not reach out to your existing friends to see if they'd also like to connect with you on Pinterest? It turns out, Pinterest thought that was a pretty good idea and created a Find Friends feature right in the tool itself. Since you've already connected your other social profiles like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ into Pinterest, just navigate from your Pinterest profile to the Find Friends page. Navigate to the Find Friends feature from your Pinterest profile. From here, you can follow the people you already know from your other networks. Mitt Ray elaborates on this tactic  on Social Media Examiner, "As you follow people you already have relationships with, they’ll be very likely to follow you back." Use Pinterest's Find Friends feature to follow people who already know, like, and trust you. That will encourage them to follow you on Pinterest. 11. Follow Your Competition's Pinterest Followers When content marketer Matthew Barby decided to start a food blog from absolutely nothing, he wrote about his experience getting his initial followers. One tactic that worked for him  involved researching his top competition and following the boards of his competitors' followers. Matthew walks through those steps: Follow 50–100 of your competition's followers' boards every day for about two weeks. Create several boards every day to rival the ideas your competition shares, adding 2–3 boards a week. Pin great content from your own blog or website to get a solid foundation for those boards. Repin about 10 Pins twice a day to each of your boards. This process, combined with solid content strategy, helped Matthew get an initial 515 Pinterest followers for a very competitive niche. The best part is that you can follow his advice and experience similar results. Pro Tip: If you wanna catch your competition's followers in near real-time so you know they're likely still active on Pinterest, use the query you just learned, but substitute your competitor's domain in it: https://www.pinterest.com/source/YourCompetitorsDomain.com/. 12.  Meet New Pinners Through Great Group Boards Here's another Pinterest tip  from Nicole: Get into GREAT group boards, but don't go crazy with Pinning.  When people follow those boards, they see your content, which could influence more shares. You want to find group boards that  have high followers  and  relatively low contributors. When you join a group board, you will instantly have access to more followers- to every Pinner who already follows that group board. Seems like great advice, so how can you find group boards that are right for you to contribute to? Start with PinGroupie. It's a database site dedicated to helping Pinners find group boards. You can sort tons of boards by category, then number of  followers to narrow the group boards to that of your niche that have  a larger following with fewer contributors. PinGroupie will help you find group boards to grow your following on Pinterest. Group boards are especially helpful for getting more followers because when a Pinner chooses  to "Follow all" of the boards from the creator, they also subscribe to receiving Pins from you through that group board. 13. Create Your Own Group Boards To Build A Community With Pinners You Love While existing group boards are a great  way to tap into the leg work someone else has done to grow their Pinterest following, you can start a group board yourself and invite Pinners you already respect to join you. Just create a new board by hitting the + Create a board button, then invite other Pinners to contribute to  your board. Creating a new group board will help you tap into the followers your friends already have. Now, most group boards have ground rules and structure. A good place to start is by building the board out with a following using all of the advice you've learned from this post, define your rules for participation, then invite others to join you once they can see the benefits of Pinning with you are worth it. Here are a few things to consider as you come up with your group board contribution guidelines: What  topics are appropriate to cover in your group board? How many times can a contributor Pin to your group board per day? How will you handle new Pinners who ask  to contribute? Write your guidelines up briefly, then add a note into your board description on how people can contact you to join. Create a new group board on #Pinterest to tap into your friends' followers.14. Host A Contest To  Increase Your Engagement Let's start this off by acknowledging that Pinterest is a bit wary of contests in general because marketers have abused them in the past. To run a successful contest and not end up in "Pinterest Jail" as Nicole calls it, follow their acceptable use policy: If you're thinking of hosting a Pinterest contest, know the rules first. While that sounds like a lot of things that you shouldn't do, that leaves you with a few creative ways that focus on real engagement (which is, after all, what your potential followers  really like anyway): Create a  page on your own website to cover your rules, share how you'll choose the winners, ask for entry, and show off the prizes you'll give away. From there, you can share Pins to your landing page that have those clear guidelines  that are easy to understand. Ask Pinners to Pin  original pictures of them using your products, coming up with their own recipes or formulas with Repins from anywhere, sharing their own stories, and so on. Often, you can ask Pinners to create a new board where they can Pin  all they'd like, then they can simply provide the URL to that board to you via your contest landing page. Judge the winner  through creative interpretation and not through number of Pins, likes, boards, or comments. Note: You can't ask for a follow and consider that an opt-in to the contest. Pinterest elaborates that it's against terms to "Compensate or incentivize Pinners to take actions on Pinterest such as Pinning or following." So you also can't require contest participants to be followers in order to participate if you plan on giving them a prize or giveaway. However,  a contest like this can help you increase your engagement and build a community that will inevitably turn participants into followers. 15. Comment On Pins To Increase Your Reach You can start with Popular Pins, a category that Pinterest creates  with Pins that get a lot of engagement. Find a couple that you have experience with, and comment on them to share your perspective. As Mitt Ray notes, you're looking for more than easy comments like "Nice Pin." Provide your take on the Pin, additional advice it's missing, or takeaways you've learned on that topic. Mitt says that this tactic can help you increase your visibility- and the potential of earning new followers- because you're commenting on the most popular content on Pinterest. Provide your thoughts on Pins. Add in advice that is missing. #Pinterest #marketingWhile that sounds smart, another very targeted way to reach more people is to comment on Pins from those who've already shared your content. Build trust with people who already know who you are by showing them the real personality behind your blog or brand. Here's a reminder on how to find those folks: Check  your Pinterest Analytics domain tab or  search  this query for your domain:  https://www.pinterest.com/source/YourDomain.com/. 16. Mention Others  When You Share The Love Consider mentions an extension of commenting and Repinning. Mention Pinners to spark a conversation. You can use mentions in  Pin descriptions and in comments, which "can be a great way to attract their attention and get them to follow you." An easy tactic is to ask someone a question via a mention to spark up a conversation. The more interaction, the more likely they'll be to follow you. Mechanics Behind The Scenes 17.  Name Your Boards To Stand Out From The Crowd Remember when you read that Pinterest is a fusion between social and search engines? That applies into the names  and descriptions you use in your boards to help  potential followers find your Pins. Rebekah Radice suggests that Pinterest boards should be direct, descriptive, and  personal to help you get more followers. And a few of the defining elements that make good boards stand out to new followers are solid cover  images, keyword rich names and descriptions, and a niche focus. Make your #Pinterest boards stand out with a brilliant cover image. #marketingLet's explore each of those areas to help you get more followers by optimizing your boards: Choose your cover  images iFabbo, a resource for fashion bloggers, knows a thing or two about catching people's attention. They offer some simple advice for choosing your cover  images to make your boards stand out: Rock a high-quality image. Make it colorful or out of the ordinary to catch the eye. Fit it into the constraints of the board cover itself (222 x 150 pixels is the perfect size). Make sure it represents the topic of the board. You can create an image specifically for your board cover following those guidelines. First, Pin the image you'd like as your cover. Then  go to your Pinterest profile, hit Edit on your board, then on Cover, hit the Change button. You can choose any Pin you'd like as your cover image. Niche focus Your blog likely has a content core: The magical place where you  strategize what you want to say with what your audience wants to know. The process looks a little like this: Use the words your audience uses to describe that niche in your board descriptions. Keyword rich When you defined your target niche, you likely also found several sub-topics that you could cover. Use those topics in your board names to help Pinners find your content. Note: By focusing  each board on one clear topic, you'll make it an easy decision to follow those boards  for Pinners  who are interested in those very niche and specific subjects. 18. Get More Visibility  With The Best Design For Your Original Pins Some kinds of content perform significantly better than others on Pinterest.  So it makes sense, then, to use the experience from others to improve your own Pins: Images without  faces get 23% more Repins than those that have faces. Craziness. Red and orange Pins get two times as many Repins when compared to blue (and other dominant color) Pins. Pins with less distracting backgrounds get more traffic. So stick with simple designs. Longer is better. Design pins that are 735 pixels wide and 2:3 aspect ratio (1,102 pixels tall) to get the most traffic. Nicole explains the art behind designing images and graphics for Pinterest: Make sure you are using vertical collage-type Pins, which perform much better on average than regular verticals because they take up more space on a user's screen.  And always, always, always consider how it looks on mobile. Small and ugly text on photos can end up being totally unreadable on a mobile device.  And a lot  of people are mobile pinning. And, of course, Nicole is right. 75% of Pinterest's users rock Pinterest on their mobile devices. That means if you don't consider mobile in your design, you're neglecting how three-fourths of your followers prefer to experience your content. 19. Use Keywords In Your Pin Descriptions To Help Pinners Find Your Content You've already  found keywords for your blog posts  that you're Pinning. Use those same keywords in your Pin descriptions to help potential followers find your content. Target keywords in your Pin descriptions to help potential followers find your content. Recommended Reading:  An SEO Driven Approach To Content Marketing: The Complete Guide 20. Pin On The Best Days And At The Best Times To Maximize Your Engagement Pinners are more active on certain days and times than others.  When we analyzed 10 studies to find the best times to post on social media, the data told us: Saturdays are definitely the best for Pinning to Pinterest, and specifically from 8–11 p.m. Next up is any day between 2–4 a.m. or 2–4 p.m. Try Pinning on Fridays at 3 p.m. That's the sweeping general answer. You can Pin a lot every day, so what are really the best times when your audience is using Pinterest? After all, you are probably trying to attract new followers that are similar to your existing fans, so sharing at the peak times when they're online could help you get more followers. So grab this Google Analytics custom report  to find the best day  to Pin based on your own audience (the report is also available in your kit that complements this post). When you use the report, you'll see a list of  networks. Click through on Pinterest. Choose Pinterest from the list in your Google Analytics custom report to see the best day when you get traffic from Pinterest. Now you'll see the  list of days  of the week when you typically get the most traffic from Pinterest. These are the days of the week when you get the most traffic from Pinterest. So these are the days when your followers are most active. You can drill in even further to find the specific best time to Pin to Pinterest on any day of the week. This is the best time of day to get traffic from Pinterest specifically for the day of the week you just selected. Or use this second Google Analytics custom report  if you're looking for a bit more general information just on the best time to Pin when you typically get the most traffic- omitting days (this report is also  in your kit). Just like the other report, click through on Pinterest and you'll see the times when you typically get the most traffic. 0 is midnight and 23 is 11 p.m. The Google Analytics custom report shows the times when you get the most traffic from Pinterest. Use this to gauge when your followers are most active and schedule your Pins accordingly. 21. Share More Often To Get More Visibility How many times to Pin a day? It's a good question because if you Pin too little, there really isn't a reason to follow you, while if you Pin too much, you just get annoying. So is there a magical number of times to Pin a day to help you get more Pinterest followers? That was the question I explored recently analyzing 10 different studies  to find a recommended minimum, maximum, and a solid starting point for how often to Pin. Here's what that research uncovered: The pros all disagree. Some say a maximum Pinning frequency is 3 times a day whereas others say 20. Some say a minimum is 5 while others say 10. So I averaged all of those studies' data to find a starting point for an ideal daily Pinning frequency: Pin 9 times a day. After you get started, test sending a few more Pins, then a few less. Use the Google Analytics reports in your kit to understand if your tests had positive impacts on your traffic, then continue doing what works. Pinterest is a high volume sharing community- so error on the side of more engagement than less. Bonus! 22. Schedule  Your Pins Throughout The Day To Keep Your Followers Happy With her more than 1.6 million followers on Pinterest, Kim Vij knows a thing or two about building an audience. She says: It’s probably the quickest ways to lose followers if all you do is pin tons of pins at the same time and focus most on you and your most recent post. Mitt Ray agrees with Kim, saying: Don’t share everything at once: Instead of clouding your followers’ feeds with your pins all at once, time your pins to go out at regular intervals. So, what's the best approach? Use 's new integration to schedule your Pins to Pinterest. Plan Pins for your own content, and use the social curation Chrome extension to add other folks' awesome content into your Pinterest schedule. Schedule your Pins around the peak times when your audience is most active. Use your best day  and best time  Google Analytics dashboards to understand when you typically get the most traffic so you can  schedule your Pins to get noticed. Start by scheduling 9 Pins a day, with at least 5 of those being curated content. Here's an example of what your daily Pin schedule could look like to help you visualize your work: Now You Know How To Get More Followers On Pinterest By this point, you're pretty much a follower-generating machine. You know how to: Optimize your Pinterest profile to draw in those visual-loving Pinners to become your followers. Optimize your blog to turn your traffic into followers and share Pins with all of your social media followers. Share content and participate in the conversation according to the informal rules Pinners demand that you follow. Now go build an audience that'll help you grow your blog.  You've got this!

Planning for Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Planning for Opportunity - Essay Example Under such circumstances, those providing the products feel the need of continuously developing themselves and their companies in order to meet the increasing demands. The thing is that the professionals today need to be more effective and productive than ever before in order to achieve success, and thus, innovative techniques in order to deal with such an issue must also be identified (JSBM, Tang &Murphy, 2011). It has also been observed that B2B market thus holds a lot of opportunities for companies that provide training and seminar sessions as a service. This is said so, because a few years ago professionals who followed the self-taught rule were taken as an asset to the company, regardless. Now, however, jobs have become much more difficult and an untrained employee is nothing but a burden, especially when all companies are attracting trained employees from their competition. In turn, if the employee is not trained enough, the customers switch easily that impacts the sales easily , thus affecting the overall business (Barringer & Ireland, 2008). Thus, the employees in the organizations must be educated and fully trained. Not only that but they must be able to learn and relearn according to the changing conditions, as today’s world needs more than just a skill that can be easily acquired. The companies nowadays, need productive and educated professionals. This means that, recognizing this opportunity in the market for a company that focuses on corporate training is the best solution. The organization will thus be able to provide the organizations strategies, processes, and tools that are needed to succeed in the 21st Century (Barringer & Ireland, 2008). The business description UK TRAINCO is a company that provides training as well as seminar programs. The UK TRAINCO will be focusing on corporations and companies that are medium and large sized, and will be focused on gradually increasing needs for education in professionals from all areas of the vario us industries. UK TRAINCO thus aims to provide trainings that are result oriented in order to hand out expertise in the required area at the right time for the right person. The services thus provided by the UK TRAINCO to the medium and large sized firms will cater to training programs as well as seminars like time, stress, reading management, project management and many more. The programs thus taught will use various techniques in formats of seminars or training sessions. The seminar format with which the sessions would be carried out would be a set of presentations with the audience observing. As for the training programs, it would use the seminar format with various activities and having the audience participating in the session. The Market Plan UK TRAINCO is aiming to establish the business in the corporate market of the UK. As stated earlier, the target market consists of those companies that continuously need trainings as well as seminars, and are medium and large sized. The m arket will thus be reached through referrals, word of mouth (WOM), and public seminars. Market Segmentation The large sized companies are those segments which contain more than 100 employees. These companies have specific departments that handle the training and seminar needs through a specialized department and have the respective budget available. They usually need training and seminars for usually a specific departmen

Introduction to Psychology ........Midterm quiz, Essay

Introduction to Psychology ........Midterm quiz, - Essay Example Moreover, some of the behaviors are the outcomes of unconscious mental activities. In other words, mental processes are conscious and unconscious. But we don’t know which behavior is the outcome of the conscious or unconscious mental processes. So psychological studies based on mental processes alone may not be logical In an experiment to determine whether a drug reduces anxiety, the experimenter manipulates who in the experiment gets the drug and who gets the placebo.   The variable that is manipulated is the drug.   In a double-blind experiment, neither the individuals nor the researchers know who belongs to the control group and the experimental group. In the above experiment the experimenter knows which subjects are getting the drug and placebo. In order to make the above experiment a double blinded one the experimenter should also unaware of what is given to the subjects.   A psychologist decides to study whether Buddhist meditation reduces anxiety and interviews 20 people who meditate regularly and 20 people who do not meditate at all.   The experimenter asks a series of questions designed to test anxiety level and finds that those who engage in meditation have less anxiety.     It is possible that people who are less anxious to begin with choose to meditate. Moreover it is not clear from the study that whether the subjects were suffering from anxiety disorders or not before the start of the meditation. It is also not clear that whether the subjects used any other medications at the time of testing the Buddhist meditations. The selection criteria of the subjects are also not evident from the study. It is quiet possible that some of the subjects might be children who usually experiences less anxiety compared to adults.    Identical twins come from same egg and sperm whereas the fraternal twins come from different eggs and sperms. Thus Fraternal twins develop

Wilson v First County Trust Ltd (No 2) [2004] 1 AC 816 Essay

Wilson v First County Trust Ltd (No 2) [2004] 1 AC 816 - Essay Example 8). Cane (2011, p. 15) explains that as a legal maxim, the rule of law implies that decisions made by the government should be based on the existing legal principles; it insists that law should govern the society. The proponents of the rule of law argue that it is the foundation of society’s order and freedom since it treats all citizens as equals and therefore none is above the law, not even the rulers. In broader terms, the rule of law implies that the state should subject its citizenry to the laws that were publicly promulgated, no one within a given state should be above the law, and legislative function and the adjudicative functions of the state should be separate from each other. These terms are essential in ensuring that the rule of law is adhered to, fundamental rights of the citizenry are protected, and the powers of the government are limited. Pollard, Parpworth and Hughes (2007, p. 11) argue that contemporary constitutional democracy could be impossible in the abse nce of the rule of law. However, in some cases democracy and the rule of law are not in harmony. It is against the background of the rule of law that this discussion will focus on it and its main features with specific reference to Wilson v First County Trust Ltd (No 2) [2004] 1 AC 816. An English Law Commentary on this case will attempt to bring the concept of rule of law and its main features into focus with the aim of enhancing understanding of the concept. Since the time the phrase â€Å"rule of law† was coined, there has been divergence of understandings with people giving varying explanations of what the phrase really is and what it fundamentally implies. Ranjan (2011, p. 22) notes that there are two divergent views regarding the phrase, majorly. The first one is that it goes beyond legal framework and includes substantive rights that are derived from, or based on the rule of law. The second view is that the rule of law does not focus on how just the law is but rather d efines certain procedural characteristics that an existing legal framework should have so as to comply with the rule of law (Ranjan, 2011, p. 23). The divergence of understandings notwithstanding, there are key aspects of the rule of law that are agreed upon by the majority of people and entities; it is agreeable that rule of law is a governance principle in which all entities, persons, and institutions, whether private or public are accountable to publicly promulgated laws which are in conformity with international human rights standards, independently adjudicated, and enforced equally. In addition, it is agreeable that under the rule of law everyone is equal before the law, there is separation of powers, there is legal certainty, supremacy of law principles are adhered to, there is participation in decision- making, legal and procedural transparency principle is adhered to (Cane, 2011, p. 16). The aspects of the rule of law described above are in general terms and only give the ge neral features of the concept. So, what are the main features of the rule of law? As has been noted, people have different interpretations about the concept of rule of law (Ranjan, 2011, p. 29). However, this does not mean that the fundamental features of the concept has been lost; actually, these different interpretations are derived from the main features of the concept. In modern times, the concept of the rule of law and its features was propounded by a British Philosopher and Jurist, Albert Dicey, and that is why it is not uncommon to find rule of law

Paper on engineering failure with guidelines Essay

Paper on engineering failure with guidelines - Essay Example One of the most epic sea engineering failures was seen in the 1912 during the Titanic accident that saw many lives and property perish in helpless circumstances. In 1912, the world ever largest ship sunk deep into the ocean leading to over 1500 deaths due to poor safety designs by the engineers during its construction (Lisbon 36). The impact with the iceberg in the middle of the ocean. The expert expressed their concern that the engineer’s key failure was allowing aesthetic value to take the center of the construction while disregarding safety designs. Research has found that the engineers were the primary cause of the inability to have adequate security infrastructure. In fact, the initial design had included two rows of lifeboats under the deck; however, the designers removed one row in order to create ample space for passengers views. The nature of the error was largely technological and reverse priority. During the accident, the iceberg buckled the popped plates leading to gushing of water into the transverse bulkheads that were reduced to allow for spacious first-class rooms (Lisbon 67). Probably the ship would have withstood the iceberg had the original design been executed. The fundamental principle of the security had been catered for in the original design. Following a disaster, there were changes in policy to increase the heights of the double hulls transverse bulkheads that will reach the sides of ships in the future. The engineers most important lesson was the importance of enhancing security measures in ship designs as number one priority (Lisbon 125). Macdonald & Jones (2006) article on Sustainable Drainage System (SUDs) presents a case study at Glasgow introduces an engineering design of drainage systems in cities and urban centers. The authors use Glasgow as one of the cities in the world with a classical SUDs

Risk Assessment of Strident Marks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk Assessment of Strident Marks - Essay Example This also computes a covariance of returns between any the stocks and the market value where they have positive covariance, and those that move in opposite directions will have negative covariance. The expected return and variance of several stocks, a portfolio of these stocks that has a desired variance (risk) with a certain expected return. The expected return is the measurement of investment risk, what variances can be expected by the amount of investment. CAPM formula. The CAPM formula is: Beta is the overall risk in investing in a large market, like the New York Stock Exchange Beta is the R-squared statistic found in the regression analysis. The Beta of a Strident Marks is risk compared to the Beta (Risk) of the overall market. Beta indicates the volatility of the security, relative to the asset class (Frontline Systems, Inc. 2006). In conclusion, the Beta statistic defined by R-Square is positive 1 in the Market analysis, and 0.004 in the Stock analysis, it can be assumed, provided that the stock and market follow a normal distribution, that the stock holds a 40% greater risk than that market

Hegemony and Educatiom Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hegemony and Educatiom - Research Paper Example This essay will also discuss the ethical issues and the negative effects contained in hegemony and education. As stated above, hegemony and education are closely related. Hegemony presents itself in various fields including cultural, religious, and regional studies. In the past, hegemony was closely associated with political and military rule of states. However, in the 20th century, it was centered on cultural hegemony. This concept was invented by Antonio Gramsci, a Marxist scholar (Roger, 1991). The concept was known as the cultural domination theory which is an analysis of the economic class. Therefore, the sociological and philosophical theories are an analysis of the norms that form social structures (Raymond, 1977). Elementary education is also known as primary education. It is usually a period of at least 8 years of schooling from age five or six (Brandt, 1986). However, this varies depending on the country that the learner is located in. The politico-military connection in th e ruling of a subordinate society encourages cultural and social tasks that are quite non-beneficial and deviant to the members of the society (Roger, 1991). These social, cultural and political issues are of significant effect in the elementary curriculum. In the elementary education level, both the learners and the staff are affected by the socio-cultural and economic factors. For example, elementary tutors face formidable challenges in their work. In the contemporary world, many elementary teachers are subjected to demands in the philosophy of education, standardized assessment of their teaching skills, and school organization. In general, critical pedagogy shows that there is unequal social stratification in the society (21st Century Schools, 2010). It is based on gender, race, and social class which are evident through the military and political rule in a social setup. At the elementary educational level, the learners are to be taught effectively to achieve a positive outcome i n the society in the future. However, the hegemonic control over various educational levels reflects negatively to the learners in various countries. Additionally, the issue of hegemonic masculinity has also affected the female tutors in most educational institutions. This concept has been contested and has also attracted serious criticism in the academic world (21st Century Schools, 2010). In hegemony, the authority relations are said to have significant implications in the way individuals understand ethics. Ethics can be defined as the moral way of life. Ethics is applied in most fields of life including the military sector. In the military, ethics guides the militia group to act consistently while following the necessities of the organization. Just like in the militia organization, schools have also set up ethical guidelines that are to be observed by the teachers, learners, and other staff in a school (King, Hollins & Hayman, 1994). In hegemony, the most common ethical issues th at are able to arise include diversity, inequity, injustice, and growth-hindrance factors that affect the society. These factors are considered the central ethical challenges in this case study. The ethical issues are likely to arise from the indirect rule in any subordinate state. The inequality and injustice elements in the society are based on gender, race, and economic class of the individual or society involved. Furthermore, the diversity and growth-hindra

Risk Assessment of Strident Marks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk Assessment of Strident Marks - Essay Example This also computes a covariance of returns between any the stocks and the market value where they have positive covariance, and those that move in opposite directions will have negative covariance. The expected return and variance of several stocks, a portfolio of these stocks that has a desired variance (risk) with a certain expected return. The expected return is the measurement of investment risk, what variances can be expected by the amount of investment. CAPM formula. The CAPM formula is: Beta is the overall risk in investing in a large market, like the New York Stock Exchange Beta is the R-squared statistic found in the regression analysis. The Beta of a Strident Marks is risk compared to the Beta (Risk) of the overall market. Beta indicates the volatility of the security, relative to the asset class (Frontline Systems, Inc. 2006). In conclusion, the Beta statistic defined by R-Square is positive 1 in the Market analysis, and 0.004 in the Stock analysis, it can be assumed, provided that the stock and market follow a normal distribution, that the stock holds a 40% greater risk than that market

BMW Cars in US Car Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

BMW Cars in US Car Industry - Case Study Example Mini and the 1-series rapidly grew at much higher rate through 2008. Since the early days of the new millennium BMW has been one of the first automakers to utilize flexible factories in which more than one vehicles model could be produced at the same time. This enabled the company to meet shifts in market demand more effectively than BMW's competitors could. BMW challenges to retain its market position in the international market for luxury cars. Many automakers, such as Hyundai with its Genesis sedan or Nissan's Infiniti brand are increasingly successful in realizing higher margins earned on luxury vehicles. BMW is rated behind luxury brands such as Lexus, Porsche, Mercedes, and Infiniti for these reasons 1. The car industry is undergoing a rough phase for some years because of recession set in many parts of world including USA. According to Mr. Kinoshita of Toyota Credit squeeze has made sales and profits tumbling caused by deteriorating demand. . The BMW Group reported a year-to-date sales volume of 70,606 vehicles, which is 29.4 percent, compared to 99,977 vehicles sold in the same period of 2008. Experts project that in future strongest sales growth is unlikely to come from the US and Europe which became more a manufacturing centre. Sales growth is likely to come from Asian countries such as China, India, Middle East and Russia where demand for motor vehicles is increasing. Sales in number of vehicles are shown declining in the following table. Supply side During recession the demand for the product is the primary factor. Supply is usually flexible to adjust with the demand without which products will have to be idle in the market or to be sold at reducing prices. There are so many suppliers in the market and most of them are languishing for want of adequate demand for vehicles. In this situation prices fall. A price war has been set in the premium car market among importers and dealers who are struggling to survive in a market with declining sales. And now BMW has entered the battle for the second time with price reductions. The new pricing of BMW cars are lower by about 15 per cent in Mini and BMW range of models. (Despite sales decline of 38.4 percent) The car market in US is very competitive with so many manufacturers and suppliers. The main competitors of BMW are Daimler Chrysler AG of DAI, Lexus of Toyota of, Audi of Volkswagen, Infiniti of Nissan; Cadillac of GM. Whereas other firms in the automobile sector manufacture commercial trucks, lower market vehicles, and buses as well BMW focuses exclusively on the production of premium personal automobiles and motorcycles. They have fewer brands that are easily recognisable. This specialized product positioning has earned success to the company in the US market with 2% of market share. GM, the local US company held the maximum market share in 2006 but fell down to 19% in May 08. Toyota has increased its market share from 15% in 2006 to 18% in May 08. Ford has lost market share from 17% to 15% in May 08. Honda has increased its market share from 9% in 06 to 12% in May 08. BMW maintained its market share at 2% in May 08. Foreign companies like BMW, Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes Benz repre sent one-third of all cars manufactured in the United States.Their operation is enormous and not infected by

World History Essay Example for Free

World History Essay 1. What do you already know, or think you know, about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? They had a lot of wars and disagreements. 2. In what parts of the world are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam dominant today? Christians are dominant in north South America; followers of island dominate north Africa, western and central Asia, and Indonesia. Followers of Judaism can be found most everywhere but are concentrated in Israel and North America. 3. How are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam related? They began in Southeast Asia. All three religions claim they began with Abraham. 4. How are the stories of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad alike and different? Moses andJesus, are considered the founders of Judaism and Christianity respectively. Muslims of Arabic descent however, trace their roots, to Abrahams other son, Ishmael. His descendent Muhammad founded Islam. 5. After reading these excerpts, how do you think these religions compare? 6. What are the primary differences and similarities among the three religions? Why? Jewish people do not believe that Jesus was the messiah or the son of God or that he was resurrected. 7. Why are some sites considered sacred in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? The holiest site in Islam, the Kaaba, stands at the center of the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca. The mosque known as the Dome of the Rock sits where the temple once stood, the place where Muslims believe that Muhammad rose into heaven. 8. Why do divisions occur within as well as among the three major monotheistic religions? More than 50 percent of the worlds population follows Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Christianity has approximately 2,286,000,000 followers worldwide. This is 33 percent of the world. Christians are concentrated in North and South America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia. Islam has approximately 1,524,000,000 followers worldwide. This is 22 percent of the world. Followers of Islam, known as Muslims, are concentrated in North Africa, Western and Central Asia, and Indonesia. Judaism has approximately 15,000,000 followers worldwide. This is less than 0.25 percent of the world. Followers of Judaism can be found most everywhere but are concentrated in Israel and North America. Buddhism has approximately 484,000,000 followers worldwide. This is 7 percent of the world. Buddhists are concentrated in China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, and Japan. Hinduism has approximately 901,000,000 followers worldwide. This is 13 percent of the world. Hindus are concentrated in South Asia. Jewish people do not believe that Jesus was the messiah or the son of God or that he was resurrected. Muslims follow the Five Pillars of faith. These are the declaration of faith (shahada), prayer (salat), almsgiving (zakat), fasting (sawm), and the pilgrimage (hajj). Followers of all three religions practice some type of fasting Sabbath All three religions honor a weekly holy day, typically involving prayer and worship with other followers. Christians believe in the sacraments as a process for preparing each believer to join God. Among these are baptism, by which people agree to worship God and become Christian. All three faiths hold that humans have a soul that will be judged when their bodies die Neither Jews nor Muslims are permitted to eat pork. They also have certain processes for preparing food properly, called kosher in Judaism and halal in Islam. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe in one, and only one, god The Star of David, also known as the Shield of David, has stood for Judaism from as early as the 11th century. The star has 12 sides for the 12 tribes of Israel. Jewish congregations are led by rabbis. in Christianity, the cross became a sacred symbol when Jesus was crucified. Its a symbol of his sacrifice and the resurrection. Christian congregations are led by priests, minister, or pastors. The star and crescent has roots that reach back to pre-Islamic times, but today it is a symbol of Islam. Muslim congregations are led by imams. n the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a cenotaph, or empty tomb, stands over the place where Abraham is believed to have been buried. Also in Old Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is believed to be the location of Jesus crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. One of the oldest churches in the world, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem marks the location where the gospels of Matthew and Luke indicate Jesus was born.