Choosing a Course Book Essay

Every teacher knows the students need a course book. It would seem that a course book is an essential element in any course, at any age, no matter how young or old the students are. Every teacher also knows it should be the best course book possible for those students. But what exactly is the best course book? So, how do we choose the course books we want use with our students? Choosing a course book is not a frivolous matter. When deciding on a course book for the students, we should be making an informed decision. It should be made based on analysis and knowledge. It shouldn’t be made lightly and we shouldn’t feel that ‘any old course book’ will do. Furthermore, we shouldn’t be coerced or bullied into choosing one course book over another, by anyone. Choose your course books based on a clear, detailed analysis of what it offers and what your students need. Many researchers have compiled checklists and guidelines for choosing appropriate course books for different students. Some are more detailed and some are less so, but all deal with more or less the same issues. It is very important to know what to look for when choosing a book. Before choosing a course book for the students in any course, it is important to create a needs-analysis for your own students. What will the students need to know by the end of the course or school year? Once the needs-analysis is done, it’s a good idea to create a list of items that you consider desirable in a course book. Based on these lists, any course book can then be analyzed. Below are a few basic questions (to help get you started) that should be asked when we are in the process of choosing a course book for our classes and our students.

Frankestein and his creature Evil Essay

He ate the berries and other small fruits that he found in the woods. He is good at this stage because He has seen how He was upsetting the family when He was eating their food; He realised this and started to chop wood to repay the family. He is aspiring to be like the family, He wishes to be friends with them and have friends of His own. There are a series of events, which leads up to the creature becoming resentful and violent. He first saw His reflection in a pond; His gaze laid eyes upon His ugly, repulsive reflection. He could not believe that His creator had made Him this ugly. When He saw the blind Grandfather alone one day, He decided He would approach Him because He thought the Grandfather would be more understanding as he was old and more wise. This was so but when the old man’s daughter in law and Granddaughter returned, they screamed at the sight and the son came rushing home. The son thought the creature was attacking his father and so the son attacked the creature. The creature ran away and did not respond with violence. The creature did not lash out because He thought that if He did it would ruin any chance of becoming friends with the family. Later on in the week he over heard a conversation between the son and their landlord, the son said, â€Å"My wife and sister will never recover from their horror. † After the conversation the creature gave up all hope of befriending the once, happy, joyous and caring family. The family left the cottage out of fright; meanwhile the creature was angry and very upset. He went back to the empty cottage and set the wooden building alight. He watched the cottage burn and He enjoyed it. Later on in the creature’s life He found Victor’s diary which contained notes on how His creator abandoned Him. In the front of Victor’s diary it had His home address of Geneva written in it. The creature was determined that Victor would feel His wrath. He set of to Geneva to get revenge. On His arrival in Geneva, he saw a small boy walking on the same lane that He was on. The creature hid in the bushes and wandered whether he should He reveal Him self to the child. He thought that if the child being young would understand His condition. He decided to reveal Him self. He took hold of the small boy’s arm, He wanted to protect and look after Him. The child screamed, the creature told the boy His intentions, that He wanted to be friends. The boy kept on screaming, He cried out, â€Å"Monster! Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me and tear me to pieces, you’re an ogre, let me go or I will tell my Papa. My father is Mme Frankenstein. † â€Å"You belong to my sworn enemy, Victor Frankenstein. After all the upset He has caused me, I will give Him something to be upset about. † With that the creature picked up the small boy William and throttled Him. The creature gained enormous pleasure over killing William, He had the taste for killing and He wanted revenge. The creature met with Frankenstein in the remote mountainous regions of Geneva, no one around to disturb them. The monster did not attack Victor, he wished to talk; the creature wanted Victor to create another being, a female one this time. Victor was served with an ultimatum, if he would recreate another being they would retire to South America or Victor would feel his wrath, fired by hatred, self-pity and desire for a mate. The creature does have a right to a mate, He will go away and not disturb any one ever again or He will destroy Victor if He does not. Victor has reason not to create a mate, She could be even worse, she has not promised to be good, the creature could hate it, they could come back or they might desolate the world. When Frankenstein was on His death bed, He said, â€Å"Examining my past conduct, nor do I find it blameable. † He feels it is not His fault about what has happened and He feels He had done nothing wrong. He knows He had responsibilities but He ignored them thinking the duties towards the beings of my own species were more important. Victor said He was right about not building a new creature. He says the first one went wrong and killed his friends and family, so He will not create a partner for the creature that killed them. He said it was evil and He had to kill it. The creature is very upset, He admits to killing Victor by leading Him to the icy lands. He asked for forgiveness but He knows it will not change anything. It said He had put up with more anguish than Victor ever had, He had to do it even though he didn’t want to do it. When Victor was about to be cremated on the ice fields, the ice cracked up, the monster swam across and lit the pyre, and He stayed there next to Victor while He burned. I think that Victor Frankenstein was not evil, He was very confused and completely adsorbed in what he was doing, he was sure he was right, wanting to get rid of death, apart from a violent on. The creature was good in that he helped the family in the winter when food was scarce. However he did turn to evil was towards the end of the book after he failed with living with him self, destine to walk alone for the rest of his life. Another aspect for being evil was that he killed his creator; the man he gave him his pitiful life, and his family.

The importance of exchange rate regimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The importance of exchange rate regimes - Essay Example In terms of monetary policy (management of money and interest rates), the exchange rate is managed by a country through its exchange rate regime, an organized set of rules through which a nation’s exchange rate is established, especially the way the monetary or other government authorities are or are not involved in the foreign exchange market. These regimes include floating exchange rates, pegged exchange rates, managed float, crawling peg, currency board and exchange controls. It is the manner in which a country manages its currency in vis-à  -vis foreign countries and the foreign exchange market.  Dornbusch et al. (1999) differentiates the fixed and floating exchange rate regimes through the following: in a fixed exchange rate system, foreign central banks stand ready to buy and sell their currencies at a fixed price in terms of another currency, for example, dollars. From the end of the second world war up to 1973, major countries had fixed exchange rates against one an other. Presently, there are still those that use the system while others prefer to use the floating exchange rate. Recent developments include the revaluation of the Chinese yuan in July 2005 in which Chinese monetary authorities decided to allow the currency to gradually â€Å"float† against the dollar. By contrast, the central banks allow the exchange rate to adjust to equate the supply and demand for foreign currency in a floating exchange rate system.   Dornbusch et al. (2003) divides such exchange rate regime into three more subsystems.... Mishkin (2003) defines the exchange rate as the price of one currency in terms of another (say euros per dollar) and it is in the foreign exchange market that they are determined. In terms of monetary policy (management of money and interest rates), the exchange rate is managed by a country through its exchange rate regime, an organized set of rules through which a nation's exchange rate is established, especially the way the monetary or other government authorities are or are not involved in the foreign exchange market. These regimes include floating exchange rates, pegged exchange rates, managed float, crawling peg, currency board and exchange controls. It is the manner in which a country manages its currency in vis--vis foreign countries and the foreign exchange market. Dornbusch et al. (1999) differentiates the fixed and floating exchange rate regimes through the following: in a fixed exchange rate system, foreign central banks stand ready to buy and sell their currencies at a fixed price in terms of another currency, for example, dollars. From the end of the second world war up to 1973, major countries had fixed exchange rates against one another. Presently, there are still those that use the system while others prefer to use the floating exchange rate. Recent developments include the revaluation of the Chinese yuan in July 2005 in which Chinese monetary authorities decided to allow the currency to gradually "float" against the dollar. By contrast, the central banks allow the exchange rate to adjust to equate the supply and demand for foreign currency in a floating exchange rate system.1 Dornbusch et al. (2003) divides such exchange rate regime into

Strategic management and leadership (Royal Dutch Shell plc) Essay

Strategic management and leadership (Royal Dutch Shell plc) - Essay Example Before assessing a business performance indicator, it is important to delve into the ambiance so that a causal analysis may be put forward. This is called understanding the environment. It helps in establishing what-leads-to-what in a more objective way. Royal Dutch Shell p.l.c like all other multinationals is prone to such variable. According to Ben Van Beurden, CEO Shell, 2013-2014 remains tumultuous years for the company (Ben, 2014). The main variables that were held responsible for swerving performance of the company were related to law and order of their business countries. The operating environments which Royal Dutch Shell p.l.c had to face were confronted by deteriorating security situation. Citing Asia and Africa the CEO outlined that a depression was seen lower demand and an oversupply of global refining capacity. 2013 was the year which performed below the potential company has. Lack of competitiveness in capital efficiency and day to day operational performance was seen, as acknowledged by Ben in 2014 CEO Review note. The strategy in theory remains robust and calls for a change in focus only. Ben is of the view that improving cash flow performance and returns must be taken as challenge so that company’s strategy may emerge as sure success (Jeong, 2014). To an answer to how, Ben states that focus should be kept on: Dismal performance in 2012 and 2013 brought a paradigm shift in company’s plans for divestment and new acquisitions. This does not mean that Royal Dutch Shell p.l.c has not been able to perform at all. It means that company is gearing up to realign itself with current market forces and business environments. An abrupt response to the performance in 2012-13 has proven maturity of the company’s leadership. In 2013, earnings fell from $27 billion to $17 billion, and the net cash flow from operating activities went down from $46

Impact of Democracy on Economic Development Research Paper - 1

Impact of Democracy on Economic Development - Research Paper Example is that of the negative impact democracy has on the economy as noted by Przeworski & Fernando (1993).The pro-dictatorial stand taken by their article argues strongly against the public choice theory (Przeworski & Fernando, 1993, p.8). The public choice theory which advocates for minimal government questions the true existence of democracy by arguing that bureaucrats, states, politicians and citizens act solely from a perspective of self interest. Such encourages acts of corruption from the above parties which in turn diminishes economic development. Governments exercise authorities and powers designed for selfish needs of their own. Politicians use resources of the government to maintain and consolidate positions of authority and power. States employ powers to confiscate individuals’ private properties. Citizens use influence from politicians to attain exceptional benefits. Bureaucrats extract bribes from citizens seeking for the benefits and protect their businesses (Przewors ki & Fernando, 1993, p.8). The same theory however, proposes an opposing hypothesis where minimal government justifies freedom for all where the government liberates its citizens to participate in economic development and this in turn would translate into a higher GDP and per capita rates thus positive development of the economy. The theory may also assume a null hypothesis where the levels of democracy have neither positive nor negative relation to the economic development. Such is when the natural circumstances of a country are protagonist to economic activity. (Przeworski & Fernando, 1993, p.8) Wickrama and Mulford (1996) generate a hypothesis in which the levels of democracy is said to lead to the achievement of proportional levels of economic development. Their restrictive model of real GDP growth per capita supports the concept that the highest growing nations have a relatively high democracy level. A research carried out between the years 1960 and 2010 has findings on the same

Week 12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 12 - Essay Example Associating nicely with my colleagues enabled me to get the positive remarks from them during instances when the organization was conducting some performance appraisals in order to measure the efficiency of their work force. My trick in winning over my fellow workers was to initiate positive communication with them, always on the lookout for their interests, ensuring that I did not breach them, as long as their interests was not against the operations of the organization. This made me popular with my colleagues, and because of this, they helped me in instances when my work load was heavy. The only thing that I could change about my internship experience is the discriminative tendencies in which the organization uses in selecting the employees to train. The organization uses the results it obtains from its performance appraisal measures to select the employees in question. In my own opinion, the organization needs to train all of its employees on the new technological skills they should have for purposes of efficiently conducting their duties Berger, 15). The organization should have a timeline that identifies who should be trained at a certain period, and how it the organization should conduct the train. By doing this, all employees would benefit, and this would result to efficiency in their work performance (Berger, 27). Finally, in my work experience, the issue that I could change is manner in which I controlled my time. Though I used to complete my work at the right time, the problem emanated at the time in which I was supposed to carry out my work. The problem is that I used to take almost an hour, before I began working on my work, and this made me constrain a lot, with the purpose of accomplishing the work before the deadline. The reason to this one hour delay was the time I was taking to collect the materials, and solve certain issues with my colleagues. The thing that I would like to do differently is

Chinese literature paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chinese literature paper 2 - Essay Example eturn, there is an understanding of the accepted identity of the time frame, specifically as it relates to the cultural and social concepts that are a part of China. Questioning how identity is formed and how it relates to other aspects of the culture not only provides a story used through this time, but also shows a deeper meaning of the concepts associated with the lifestyle of this time frame. The Story of the Stone is known as a unique literary work because of the time frame it was written in. The story was written in the mid 18th century at the height of the Qing Dynasty. The story is also known to be based on the biography of the writer and his lifestyle during this time with regard to the memorial of those that are around him. The focus is on the women that Cao knows through his lifetime and the identity that they hold within his life and in society. This is specifically associated with the Qing Dynasty, which was known for changing the social and economic status into the present day. The dynasty was built on establishing a centralized system and reached the golden age of the emperors from the establishment. The social construction that is a part of this leads to contradictions of the past traditions as well as the movement into more contemporary establishments. The foundation of the social standing begins to change with specific aspects that are linked directly to th e movie and the social reform that was continuing to accommodate to society at this time (Rowe, 5 – 30). The Story of the Stone is one that is representative of the transitions of the Qing Dynasty and shows how the identity of the characters in the book reflects the transitions. The women that are in the book reflect both the traditions of the old dynasty as well as the newer and modern reforms that were a part of the social changes of the time. The stories and the autobiographical recounts of the author are able to display the lifestyle at the time, the sense of identity that is

Disney World Value Driven Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Disney World Value Driven - Term Paper Example Value driven management has a significant goal of value maximization over a given period. The aim of this work is to show how Disney World is linked to value driven management. Disney World is a diversified mass media corporation for multination. It is the biggest in terms of revenue generation. It was founded in 1923 as a cartoon studio. It has its products ranging from cable television, publishing, movies, theme parks, broadcasting, radio, web portals, and offers licensing services. In order for Disney World to be successful, it took value driven management into action. The owner, Walt Disney, had a form of self-assessment and the knowledge to operate the company. He was committed towards bringing new products to the market. This led to the growth of the company that enabled it to survive even in tough economic times of the US that existed in the late 1930s and early 1940s (Capodagli & Jackson, 2006). This self-assessment tool is a feature of value driven management. One other grea t feature that connects the Disney World to value driven management is its diversification of products. The company did not focus only on film production but it also thought of introducing new products to meet the competing customer needs. It had some other products like television debuts and theme park that quickly became successful. In order to achieve this, Disney solicited sponsorships that acted as cost subsidizers and it merchandised (Capodagli & Jackson, 2006). Value driven management aims at value creation in order to cope with the changing times and to meet customer needs. Companies that do nothing about their products end up failing and therefore there is need for companies to keep on differentiating their products as time changes. The products of a company have to be unique at all times as this maintains the competitive nature of the company. This is what has maintained the growth of Disney World from the founding times to its present days. Walt Disney was a pioneer in cr eating unique animations that impressed both children and adults (Capodagli & Jackson, 2006). He always applied skills and knowledge to his creativity making the products to be unique. Value driven management aims at no stopping even in adverse conditions. Value driven management is built with optimism. Disney had discouragements even from his family members and one of his projects was even termed as Disney’s Folly. His projects got him bankrupt at some points but he never had the attitude of stopping. He tried to look for funding of his work from film producers and in the process, he found one that funded snow white, which became a successful film and this is what made him begin his feature films (Capodagli & Jackson, 2006). The real study of ideas by the World Disney has also played a major part in its success. On top of that, the management always believes in new projects. The confidence that that members have enables them to build ideas out of everything. His idea of Disn ey Land for example, was based on a park in Missouri. The idea of train had run in his mind at childhood age and he brought it to his creation of Disney Land (Capodagli & Jackson, 2006). Revision and reform is a feature of value driven management that ensures that ideas are more than static. The success of Disney’s world also comes from Disney’s commitment for success. His dreams played a major role in the development of Disney’

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Essay Example for Free

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Essay Americans who have always looked westward when reading about this period should read this book facing eastward†. Despite the popularity of the eyewitness accounts, Brown is not an absentee narrator. In the book Brown emphasizes two main points, the language he uses and the storyline of the book. He uses these two things to give the eyewitness accounts as much impact as possible. In the process, he attempts to defile his enemy in all kinds of different manners: The way Brown makes his readers; view eastward is by using the faults that have plagued the Native Americans. Brown’s way of emphasizes language allows the readers to connect to the Native Americans and this allows the book to thrive and continue. This book differs from a lot of other books about Native Americans, because he uses many Native American interpretations. For example, the Sioux and Cheyenne’s frequently see trains pass through their land in the Powder River country. Says Brown: ‘‘Sometimes they saw Iron Horses dragging wooden houses on wheels at great speed along the tracks . They were puzzled over what could be inside the houses. ’’ Brown uses the terms ‘‘Iron Horses’’ and ‘‘wooden houses’’ to describe trains and train cars, as a Native American at this time would have perceived them. Brown also uses the Native American designations for U. S. military ranks in his descriptions. For example, to a Native American at this time, a general was known as a â€Å"Star Chief† and a colonel was an â€Å"Eagle Chief†. In addition, Brown refers to prominent American historical figures by their Native American names. For example, many Native Americans called General George Armstrong Custer ‘‘Hard Backsides,† â€Å"because he chased them over long distances for many hours without leaving his saddle †. Brown also uses Native American naming systems for natural processes like time. Because Americans during this time divide the year into twelve months and refer to these months by names like May and June, however, Native Americans referred to these time periods by their relationship to nature. So, in Brown’s book, May is â€Å"the Moon When the Ponies Shed† and June is â€Å"the Strawberry Moon†. By using distinctly Native American interpretations like these in his narration, Brown takes his readers deep into the Native American experience. In the process, the reader begins to identify with the Native Americans. When readers identify with characters, they tend to feel sympathy for them. Through Dee Browns thesis, Brown organizes his story to maximize his readers’ sympathetic emotions. Brown establishes a three? part structure for most chapters, which demonstrates again and again that Native Americans lost no matter what they did. Francis Paul Prucha for examples states that â€Å"The materials have been selected to make the authors point, not to present a balanced view of what happened, from the Native American standpoint or from any other†. Typically, the chapter begins with a discussion of a chief or tribe who has lost something, generally a piece of their land and still has more to lose. For example, in the beginning of the second chapter, Brown notes: â€Å"As the result of two deceptive treaties, the woodland Sioux surrendered nine? tenths of their land and were crowded into a narrow strip of territory along the Minnesota River†. Following the discussion of what has been already lost; Brown introduces the second part, the struggle. For Native Americans in the nineteenth century, the struggles were many, whether they decided to go to war or did not. Many tribes in the book do choose to fight to retain their remaining land and freedom. In most cases, the tribes win some battles but end up losing the war. The U. S. soldiers are too advanced and numerous to be defeated, something that the Native Americans begin to realize. For example, Little Crow is cautious about fighting at first, because he had been to the East and seen the power of the Americans. They were everywhere and with cannons they would destroy everything in their path. Even when the Native Americans outnumber the whites, the military technology can be the decisive factor in the victory. As many Native Americans learned, even though they had bravery, numbers, and massive charges all of that would mean nothing if the Native Americans were armed only with bows, lances, and clubs. In cases where the Native Americans try to remain peaceful, Brown shows many ways that they are provoked into war. In several cases, settlers or miners hungry for the Native Americans’ remaining land spread lies in an effort to get the government to take their land. During the Civil War, Native Americans were sometimes provoked into fighting because it was the safer of two options for white, male citizens. For example, Brown says there was political pressure on soldiers from Coloradans who wanted to avoid the military draft of 1864 by serving in uniform against a few poorly armed Indians rather than against the Confederates farther east. Even after the Civil War, when the draft was no longer an issue, some drafted soldiers used lies to provoke Native Americans and kill them because peace was not profitable for the settlers. The final part of Brown’s argument in most chapters is the ending. Due to the massive struggles that Native Americans faced whether or not they chose to remain peaceful, most chapters end badly. The chiefs, who are often depicted as strong in the beginning and middle of the chapters when they are fighting for their land and people, end up dead, in prison, in exile, or on a reservation with the rest of their people. Even the exceptions to this rule, such as the chapter depicting Red Clouds successful war, ultimately end negatively. Red Cloud’s story is an example of the overall structure of the book. The book starts out with many Native Americans living free and retaining parcels of their land. As the story progresses and the white emigration start to take over, large armies and groups of white settlers cut down the various tribes. By the end of the book, the effect of white emigration has impacted around so much of the country that most Native Americans are dead, in prison, or on scattered reservations. To conclude I felt the effect on the reader is profound. Brown has gotten his readers to root for the underdogs by using eyewitness accounts and language to draw readers into the Native American experience. Yet, in each chapter Brown steadily crushes any hope that the reader might have for the Native Americans winning much of anything by using his plot. By using these strategies, Brown makes his readers feel more into the book by trying to make them sympathize to the Natives. Brown’s tone, or attitude towards his subject matter, is one of barely restrained outrage, and he wants readers to get angry, too. Tom Phillips, another reviewer states, â€Å"Brown has gone too far at some points and is guilty of the same faults as those who created the raditional image of the Native American as savage, alcoholic and expendable†.

Support the Provision of Environment and How My Work Environment Is Organised to Promote the Development of Children Essay Example for Free

Support the Provision of Environment and How My Work Environment Is Organised to Promote the Development of Children Essay Support the provision of environment and how my work environment is organised to promote the development of children The physical and emotional environment we create for children at Wattville primary school has a huge impact on their development. The environment is stimulating and attractive as children learn though their senses they need the environment to be interesting and visually attractive. There are also different types of activities and play opportunities; the layout of the classroom is well planned and organised and there is a variety of equipment which meets individual needs. Outside the classroom, along the corridor there are pegs for the children to hang up their coats, hats and scarves, these are personalised with each child’s name helping to promote children’s intellectual development as they learn to recognise their name and location of their peg. Inside the classroom, near the door there is a table with trays on it for children to put their water bottles in, this allows children to gain easy access to a source of drinking water throughout the day as they need to stay hydrated in order to concentrate and take part in activities. The book corner is situated on the left hand side as soon as you enter the classroom, away from other activities to minimise disruption to children who want to use the area. There is a desk and chairs for children who wish to sit and read there and this area is also used for one to one reading sessions. There is also a soft seating area with pillows and cuddly toys so that children can relax while enjoying their book. There are a variety of books for the children of all abilities and cultures to enjoy. The book corner helps to promote children’s language development and fine motor skills development. It also supports their social and emotional development as they sit with friends sharing stories and at times playing ‘being the teacher’ where they pretend to be the teacher reading the story to the children using facial expressions and changing the tone of their voice. At the maths area there are bright, colourful equipment set out including shape sorters and abacuses. This area supports children’s mathematical development as well as their language and fine motor skill development. The computer area consists of one computer and a printer, this develops children’s fine motor skills as they learn to move and click the mouse during different computer based activities. Children’s social and emotional skills are also encouraged as they learn to share and take turns. The writing area is set up with a variety of writing resources including; white boards, papers, pencils, felt tips etc. This area is set up to promote children’s communication, language and literacy as well as their creative development as they use their imaginations e. g. to create lists or write stories. The creative area is situated at the back of the class room where it is not carpeted so that any spillage can be cleaned up easily. There are a variety of resources which include; coloured paper/card, materials such as foam and foil, scissors, glue, paint etc. This area promotes children’s fine motor skill development and also supports their language development as they begin to ask questions and talk about things that they are creating. The sand and water play is also located at the back of the classroom on suitable flooring away from books, tables and chairs to minimise mess and ensure children’s safety. Water and sand play helps children’s fine motor skills and also supports social development as children play and interact with their friends and peers. The tables and chairs are set out in a way which allows children to move around the classroom with ease. There are a number of colourful and attractive displays containing the children’s work around the classroom. There is also a behaviour chart and reward charts displayed in the classroom, this helps children’s emotional development as they feel valued and it also encourages their confidence and self-esteem.