Monday, September 30, 2019

Develop and promote positive relationships Essay

The importance of good working relationships in the setting. It’s very important to have a good working relationship within a setting because it reflects and promotes a positive environment, that is not only inviting for children but for the parents also. Staffs are also approachable and children will be relaxed and confident and will feel that they are able to trust you. Parents would also find it easier to form professional relationships with staff members, this helps to make separation and transitions easier for the child and parent. It also makes discussing important information about the Childs individual needs or concerns easier. Forming good relationships with other colleagues makes the setting run smoothly, information is easily passed on. The working environment is relaxed and more enjoyable. K2 Relevant legal requirements covering the way you relate to and interact with children and young people The relevant requirements covering the way we relate to and interact with children are The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of Children 1989, this legislation ensures that children are listened to, shown respect and have the right to make choices (within reason). They must be protected from discrimination and have the right to freedom of expression. The Children’s Act 1989 brings together various pieces of legislation; it covers child protection and the responsibilities a parent must adhere to, as well as ensuring that children’s welfare is of a paramount importance. K3 Relevant legal requirements and procedures covering confidentiality and the disclosure of information. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires anyone who handles personal information to comply with a number of important principles. It also gives individuals rights over their personal information. This act covers all information held on paper or computer systems and all organizations that store personal data must register with the Data Protection Commission. The eight enforceable principles that must comply with are: †¢Fairly and lawfully processed. †¢Processed for limited purposes. †¢Adequate, relevant and not excessive. †¢Accurate. †¢Not kept longer than necessary. †¢Processed in accordance with the data subject’s rights. †¢Secure. †¢Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection. To comply with these principles every school processing personal data must notify under the Act. Data Protection within the school is also checked with auditors and ofsted. Any passing on of a child’s personal information to other professionals must have written consent from the parents or main carer, or the school would be in breach of the Data Protection Act. All admission details of children leaving the school are passed on to their new schools, but historical data is kept on the school’s IT Management system. This information is stored under a secure password protected application. The different types of personal data which is held in the school are: Name and address of the child. Gender. Contact details of parents/carer including emergency telephone numbers. Development records/profiles of each child. Observations including photographic evidence on each child. Medical information. Absence/attendance records. Unique pupil number. Within the school any general information such as doctor /dentist or other professional appointments should be shared between colleagues only. We also have a medical room within the main school which contains medical records and photographs of those children who have food allergies and other serious conditions such as diabetes. Again this confidential information is only accessible by members of staff. It is also essential and important when working with children not to discuss them or their family outside your setting. No information should be passed on without parental consent, unless requested by the police or social services. The only time that you are allowed to breach confidentiality is when you are safe guarding a child or in an emergency. K4 Relevant legal requirements covering the needs of disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs. Legislation and the special needs code of practice: SEN and Disability Act 2001: Providers should make reasonable adjustments to include children with SEN e. g. provide / attend training. A written SEN policy is needed. A SENCO should be identified. Education Act 1944: Children with special needs should be educated alongside their peers. The views of parents should be recognized. Children’s handicap should be diagnosed. Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Those who provide goods and services to the public must make sure that they do not discriminate against those who have a disability, including children who may have learning or physical difficulties or long term illness. Code of Practice 1994. A five stage process to assess a child’s special needs is identified. If needed a statement is written to say how those needs will be met. Code of Practice 2001. A staged system of assessment consisting of Action and Action plus is introduced to support children whose needs may not require a statement or to contribute to the process of statementing. Education Act 1989. Children with disabilities should be educated in mainstream schools wherever possible. Health, education and social services should work together to asses a child’s needs. Children’s Act 1989. Every local authority should provide services for children with special educational needs in their local area. Early identification of special needs is important. K5 The types of information that should be treated confidentially: who you can and cannot share this information with. Who should have access to any records? Head teacher, teacher, parents/carers, Ofsted, SENCO, Social services and other professionals. 2. Where should records be stored? Records are stored in secure cabinets. In a software package. These records are on the individual teacher’s laptops which are password protected and stored in a central storage room overnight. All back up discs are also stored in secure cabinets. 3. How can records be checked for accuracy? External moderators from the Local Educational Authority check the software for accuracy and EYFS profiling. Regular meetings with current examples of tracking and profiles take place between the school and the moderators. 4. Who should be allowed to carry out observations and assessments? Teacher, Key person, SENCO and assessors. 5. Who can give permission for observations and assessments to take place? Written permission forms are signed by parents/carers at the start of the academic year for all new children attending the school, this also covers photographic observations/evidence. K6 The meaning of anti-discriminatory practice and how to integrate this into your relationships with children and other adults. It is paramount that all children and families feel that the setting is welcoming, non-threatening and that they are respected and valued. These means that all practitioners should have excellent communication skills and have the ability to listen carefully, question, understand and respond in a positive manner. Developing and building a trusted two way relationship means that you will be able to support both the family and child throughout their time in your care. The school also promotes that all individual children are given equal access to the school’s curriculum, care, moral and spiritual input, sports, arts and play opportunities. This support also includes the children being healthy, safe, enjoying and achieving and; making positive contributions to the community and society. A SEN register is held in school of all children who have been identified as having special needs. Other registers record different circumstances which may affect children’s access to the curriculum such as English as an additional language, medical needs, gifted and talented. K7 How you adapt your behaviour and communication with children to meet the needs of children in your care of different ages, genders, ethnicities, needs and abilities. It is still essential with this age group of children and young people to build on good relationships; they will be experiencing many physical changes and may feel anxious about puberty. Adults need to able to listen and be sensitive to the changes they are going through. It is vital that they have positive adult relationships, with an adult who can listen carefully, are sensitive, non-judgmental and have empathy to their individual needs. Within this age group they face far more peer pressure, wanting to fit in with their peers, feeling concerned about their outward appearances, even facing issues such as sex and experimentation with alcohol and drugs. Having a good relationship away from a family member where the children or young people can feel that they can express their own views and opinions and be respected and spoken to as an equal over important issues in their lives is paramount. Therefore they still require an adult who can give them advice, reassurance, praise and encouragement and understand their needs. K8 Strategies you can adopt to help children to feel welcome and valued in the setting. I ensure that all children in my setting are given the opportunities to play with an activity of their choice and that their views and beliefs are listened to. All children must be praised and encouraged, valued and listened to. I make them feel welcome and valued by being a positive role model and by taking an interest in what they do and say. K9 What is meant by ‘appropriate’ and ‘inappropriate behaviour when interacting with children, the policies and procedures to follow and why these are important? The school’s policies and procedures all members of staff must have a full and active part to play in protecting all pupils from harm, and at all times the children’s welfare is of paramount concern. We should all be working together to provide a caring positive and stimulating environment that promotes the social, physical and moral development of all the individual children. All members of staff are expected to develop their performance portfolios and undertake annual performance management meetings to improve on their teaching standards. The importance of following the school’s policies and procedures in appropriate behaviour are that you are contributing to the overall ethos and aims of the school and safe guarding the children. Helping to promote inclusion and acceptance of all pupils and encouraging interaction with others. Appropriate behaviour helps to develop the children’s confidence, self esteem, resilience and independence giving them a feeling of being respected and valued. Inappropriate behaviour from members of staff could result in the children lacking in confidence and lowering their self esteem. The children we feel that their views and opinions are not respected or valued. The children will become less independent and it will promote bad behaviour resulting in an environment where they will not learn or feel safe. Using unprofessional behaviour when interacting with children could become a child protection issue. Therefore it is inappropriate to be too personal or give personal information to the children in your care. K10 The importance of encouraging children to make choices for themselves and strategies to support this. By encouraging children to act in this way you are helping them to develop and make them become aware of their own needs and areas of improvement. This can be done by allowing the child to try and solve problems or necessary decisions before advice is given. Options can be given to the child to help them choose a path to take K11 The importance of involving children in decision-making and strategies you can use to do this. Within the foundation stage, the overall area is split into specific activities such as role play, home corner, writing table, messy area, quiet area and the outside area. The children can make decisions on when, how and for how long they stay at an activity. With all of the activities, there will be under pinned planned learning intentions and outcomes, some of which will have adult led or adult engagement involved. By letting the children play independently and by not interfering or leading the play, the children will develop social and emotional skills and learn to play alongside others or co-operatively. It enhances their imagination and creativity, develops communication and language skills as they work through ideas and concepts, also enabling the children to take risks and make mistakes and learn through their experiences. In involving the children in decision-making it will build on their confidence and self esteem and they will feel that their views and feelings are valued. K12 How to negotiate with children according to their age and stage of development. The first step in negotiation is to ask ‘what don’t you want to do and why. ‘ Using age related language, experience of the situation, the child and or children will in general be able to come to or reach an outcome. All children need choices it is not age specific, it depends on what level they are at in their development and understanding, for the choices that you give them. For example under 3 year olds, Its tidy up time, ask them to tidy away three things, give them a choice of what three things they are going to pick up. With children 3 years of age and over they start to learn for themselves about negotiating through their play by figuring out what the rules are, who’s going to go first, sharing toys and activities. As children get older it is important for them to be involved in negotiating and decision-making as it develops their ability to become responsible, understand consequences and prevents them from feeling excluded and powerless. Giving children choices puts the responsibility and power back into their hands. Within a school there are several ways in which you can negotiate with the children, including rewards such as stickers for those children who can undress independently for PE. For example if a few children who refuse to get changed, rewarding them with a sticker encourages them to try to undress independently or with our support. Maybe reward house points for good behaviour in following our ‘rules’ or trying really hard and working at their best ability. In the outside area we time the use of the bikes, scooter and cars so that all the children have a turn. We ensure that all the children have a choice of independent or adult led activities. When negotiating we are consistent with our actions and give the children explanations and consequences and listen to their views and feelings. K13 Strategies you can use to show children that you respect their individuality Keys to good practice: Provide activities that encourage self-expression. Provide opportunities within the foundation stage in creative development for the children to express themselves in exploring different media such as painting, drawing and modelling. The children can develop their imagination and expression in songs, music and dance, imaginative play and role play. Celebrate diversity by learning about each other’s culture, religion and beliefs. Encourage the children to listen and talk to each other in our weekly show and tell activity where the children can share a special toy, achievement or a special outing with us and their peers. Provide open-ended activities that children can put their own ‘stamp’ on. Allow the children free flow play where they can make up their own rules and games by providing different areas for role play and activities. Have independent activities based around our themed topics in which the children can expand on such as ‘buildings’. The children make 3D and 2D â€Å"Three little pigs† houses which is an adult led activity. By allowing them different mediums the children independently made houses by chalking out a town in our outside area, making houses with constructions toys, junk modelling, tents, and building their own using building bricks and homemade cement. Avoid comments that single children out as being different. Ensure that we listen and talk to the children include them in choices and decision making, acknowledge their interests and abilities by respecting their backgrounds, experiences and culture. Acknowledge children’s particular strengths and talents. Ensure that you respond to the children in different ways depending on their personalities. We share achievements or talents in special assemblies where the children can show their certificates or their talents to the rest of their peers. Show interest in things that the children enjoy doing. By knowing the children really well you can encourage them to try a new way of completing an activity such as if you know a child likes painting try to persuade them to try a different medium like a collage or junk modeling to create a picture. K14 How to balance the needs of individual children with those of the group as a whole. Within the setting daily routines of which the children have to adhere to such as registration and weekly timetable to adhere to. The school’s planning process involves grouping the children together by learning ability, style, physical and social groups and the teaching resources and levels are matched and deployed to deliver different styles of teaching to these different groups. K15 The importance of clear communication with children and specific issues that may arise in bilingual and multilingual settings All communication is a two way process and it is paramount when working with children that you listen carefully, question, understand and respond in a positive manner to what is being communicated to you. This will give the children the fundamental skills to take part in family life, school, employment and social activities. Within the setting we provide opportunities for the children to development their communication and language skills by different activities: It is important to give children clear communication and sufficient time to express themselves. †¢Showing our understanding and respect. †¢Giving children confidence and self esteem. †¢Encouraging independence. †¢Children can express their feelings and views. †¢Encourages socialising skills. †¢Gives children choice. †¢Showing we understand their needs. †¢Develops their language and communication skills. Also within our setting we have several children who are bilingual and multilingual with two or more languages these children have extra weekly support from our EAL co-ordinator. With these children we also ensure that we give clear and understandable instructions and in some cases use hand gestures or picture clues to help with their understanding. K16 Why it is important for children to ask questions, offer ideas and suggestions and how you can help them do this †¢It makes them feel part of the school. †¢They can have their say. †¢Gives the children a sense of responsibility. †¢Encourages their independence and confidence. †¢They will have a sense of belonging and pride in their school. †¢The children’s views and opinions are being listened to. †¢They will look after the new area or equipment (respect it). †¢Gives the children choices. †¢Builds relationships. †¢Develops their communication and language skills †¢They feel respected and valued. †¢They will explore and experience different activities / environments. †¢Develops their knowledge and understanding of the world. I feel that this is important to include the children in decisions about their environment, activities and learning opportunities because it gives them a sense of responsibility, independence and they will feel respected and valued. We do this by ensuring that the children have time to ask questions in a relaxed and natural way throughout their school day. K17 Why it is important to listen to children? It is important to listen to children so they know that you are interested in what they say and that you care for them. You also get to learn about the child when they are talking to you, for example if you need to help them with their language development or help them in their learning. †¢The children will feel that you are not interested in them. †¢Demonstrates that you are a role model to the children. †¢It builds the children’s self esteem and confidence. †¢It builds on good relationships with the children and other adults. †¢The children feel respected and will be happy to share suggestions and decisions. †¢Develops the children’s communication and language. †¢Helps the children to learn socialising, negotiation skills and independence. †¢The children may need to disclose a safeguarding incident. †¢It shows that we understand the children’s needs. K18 How to respond to children in a way that shows you value what they have to say and the types of behaviour that could show that you do not value their ideas and feelings. All children respond well to positive reinforcement of expected behaviour boundaries. By just giving general statements such as â€Å"do not interrupt† or â€Å"well done† does not reinforce or teach good values. Also by asking open questions you can demonstrate that you are listening to the child and or children and giving them time to express their feelings, views and opinions. K19 The importance of being sensitive to communication difficulties with children and how to adapt the way you communicate to different situations. Communication difficulties with children: †¢Hearing difficulties or deaf. †¢Poor vision or blind. †¢Ill health. †¢Special educational needs. †¢Physical disability. †¢Poor language skills or English as an additional language. †¢Disruptive child. †¢Speech problems. Cultural Differences and English as an additional language 1. Smile and have friendly facial expressions. 2. Use hand gestures to gain understanding. 3. Use pictures. 4. Show warmth and encouragement. 5. Use culturally relevant learning materials. 6. Group EAL co-ordinator who shares the same home language. 7. Have some key words in their home language. 8. Use translator. 9. Always treat children with respect and as individuals. 10. Ensure that you take into account their cultural differences, their life experiences and the way they prefer to communicate. 11. Respond appropriately to their non-verbal communication. Hearing impairment 1. Ensure that you always speak clearly and listen carefully. 2. Remove all distractions. 3. Always check and ensure hearing aids are working. 4. Use written communication if age appropriate. 5. Use sign language if and when appropriate. 6. Use a trained interpreter if a high level of skill is required. 7. Explain things using short, clear sentences and draw or use pictures, as required, to illustrate what you mean. 8. Use physical objects when learning new words or concepts. 9. Ensure the child as your full attention and that you maintain eye contact. Visual impairment 1. Use methods of multi-sensory interactions such as touch, sounds and smell. 2. Use different tones of voice with lots of expression. 3. Do not rely on non-verbal communication. 4. Use environmental sounds. 5. Develop routines when interacting with the child, such as using their name and touch in a consistent manner. Have clear signals that show the beginning and the end of your exchanges. 6. When explaining an activity or object ensure all visual communication is clear and understandable. Physical and learning Disabilities 1. Use alternative and augmentative communication such as hand gestures and eye pointing. 2. Use visual aids such as communication boards or displays, photographs, drawings and symbols to represent words or activities. 3. Use chat books or photograph album containing photographs, pictures, symbols, words and messages. 4. Use speech generating devices such as communication boards or displays on a machine which speak a message when a particular button is pressed. 5. Use spelling, using an alphabet board or typing device to spell out words and messages. 6. Use formal signing or signing which is particular to an individual. 7. Use object symbols that include normally objects or small versions of objects which represent an activity, object or person. Such as a set of car keys can represent it is time to go in the car. 8. Use a multi-sensory approach when providing information and learning taking into account the five senses and present information and activities in a different way enhancing learning and involving the children by doing, touching and seeing. 9. Ensure that your surroundings are appropriate and accessible. 10. Judge correct level of understanding. 11. Respond at the correct level repeating information when necessary. 12. Be prepared to wait and listen carefully. These children can be supported by: †¢Senco. †¢Parents. †¢Children under two by the health visitor. †¢EAL co-ordinator. †¢Other professionals †¢Nurture assistant. In terms of our physical environment we have no children with visual or speech impairments or with physical disabilities within the current foundation stage. So therefore we have no need of changing our different areas to accommodate any of these children. I would ensure that we accommodated these children by ensuring that the environment was spacious and accessible, bringing activities to their level or the floor. I would also use more visual and tactile aids. K20 How you can help the children to understand the value and importance of positive relationships with others. Within our school we encourage the children to develop positive relationships with others by praising good behaviour and following our rules. We act as positive role models such as praising nice manners. I have a rule for example, that if you accidently kick a ball over the fence I will let the children retrieve it if they can ask me with lovely manners. If they don’t ask nicely I make them wait and think about what would be a polite way of asking to retrieve the ball, thus instilling positive and desired behaviour. K21 The importance of children valuing and respecting other people’s individuality and how you can encourage and support this. †¢Act as a role model showing that you respect others individuality, feelings, views, ideas and cultures. †¢Have positive images and toys, books and dolls within your setting. †¢Have activities that encourage negotiation, sharing and building on relationships. †¢Demonstrate positive behaviour. †¢Have activities which encourage the children to talk to, listen and find out about others. K22 Why it is important for children to understand and respect other people’s feelings and how you can encourage and support this. †¢Stops the children’s frustration. †¢The children will feel that their feelings are being viewed. †¢Encourages empathy and social skills. †¢Encourages and promotes positive and expected behaviour. †¢Builds relationships. †¢Develops the children’s communication and language. †¢Develops personal, social and emotional skills. †¢Develops the children’s knowledge and understanding of the world. K23 Why it is important to be consistent and fair in dealing with positive and negative behaviour. †¢Being consistent and fair the children will understand right and wrong. †¢The children will understand expected behaviour boundaries and rules. †¢The children will understand consequences. †¢The children will understand that you are not showing favouritism. †¢The children will understand what is acceptable and what is not. Within my setting we reward positive behaviour with praise and other recognition such as house points and stickers. This is done in the presence of the child’s peers to encourage and reinforce positive and desired behaviour. With negative behaviour, if safe to do so we give no attention as it is often a play by the child for your attention. However, some unsafe and disruptive behaviour must be addressed immediately in a consistent and fair manner. K24 Strategies you can use to encourage and reinforce positive behavior Children may have negative behaviour due to: 1. Lack of sleep. 2. Feeling unwell. 3. Problems at home. 4. Sibling rivalry. 5. Tension at home. 6. Some children do not know how to play with others. 7. Bored and frustrated. 8. Lack confidence in socialising with others. We acknowledge positive behaviour and give reasons behind any boundaries such as we walk in school because we might fall over and hurt ourselves or others. We are consistent and fair by rewarding praise, house points and stickers for following the rules. We control negative behaviour by reinforcing and reminding the children of our rules. K25 Strategies you can use to challenge and deal with different types of behaviour which are consistent with your organisation’s policies The school policy aims and expectations are that every member of the school community feels valued and respected and that each person is treated fairly and well. The school’s policy encourages and promotes good relationships and that we work together to help everyone learn. We also aim to help the children grow in a safe and secure environment and for them to become positive, responsible and increasingly independent members of the school community. The school’s main ethos is to reward good behaviour as it believes that this will develop an environment of kindness and co-operation. The school employs sanctions to negative behaviour which are appropriate to each individual child, taking into consideration each child’s needs and the issue. The role of members of staff are to ensure that the rules are enforced in their class, that each individual child is treated fairly and consistently, to monitor repeated incidents and to seek advice from appropriate leadership team if necessary. We also use behaviour observations to help us understand the needs of the individual child such as requiring extra support from key worker, SENCO, EAL Co-ordinator, Management or other professionals. We also use different strategies and resources such as SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) to help individual children with their behaviour. K27 Why it is important to encourage and support positive relationships between children and other adults in the setting and strategies you can use to do this †¢It demonstrates that you are showing respect and sensitively. †¢Promotes good and positive behaviour. †¢Act as a role model for the children. †¢Promotes good communication in a caring and clear way. †¢It promotes good manners. †¢The children feel that they are listened too and that you value what they have to say. †¢It creates a positive atmosphere and environment where the children feel welcome and valued. †¢Promotes a friendly, consistent environment where the children will feel their views are worthwhile. †¢Ensure that you always give reasons and take time to explain your thoughts and actions. The main strategies that we use in the school are we work very closely in a team in the Foundation Area; we have a consistent approach with dealing with the children’s behavioural issues. We encourage the children to interact and build on relationships with all of us by acting as role models and by reinforcing our key rules. We also spend time with all the children across both classrooms in teaching and delivering our planned activities each week including taking phonics sessions, guided reading sessions, show and tell, PE and music, key person story time and supervision of the outside area. We have effective communication across the team to enable us all to keep up to date with any issues such as medical conditions, negative behaviour incidents, records of ongoing assessments / observations, developmental progress and achievements of the children in our care. K28 Why positive relationships with other adults are important. As a practitioner it is important that you maintain and have positive relationships with all adults that you come in contact with to support and develop the children in your care to grow into secure, confident and happy people. Having collaboration and support from parents, colleagues and other professionals will enable you to develop strong relationships which will enhance and benefit the children by demonstrating positive and desired behaviour. The children will cope better with transitions from home to school, to new classroom, to new staff and or support from other professionals. K29 Why it is important to show respect for other adults’ individuality and how to do so ? It’s important to respect other

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Engaging In Comparative Education Education Essay

IntroductionIt is in the very nature of logical activity to do comparings. Comparing is a simple portion of idea procedure which enables us to do sense of the universe and our experience of it. Indeed, it can be said that merely by doing comparings can we decently support our place on most inquiries of importance which requires the devising of the judgements. Comparing causes us to do statements to the consequence that one thing is intellectually or morally preferred to or more effectual or better than the other, and this can be clearly exposed in the instruction field, where the quest for betterment for making things better is ever obliging. In a universe which is chiefly focused on intense planetary economic competition and turning beliefs in the cardinal function of instruction as the beginning of possible advantage, authoritiess have become progressively haunted with the international rankings of measured educational results. Educational policy is progressively driven by national efforts to copy the sensed advantage associated with the educational schemes and techniques of other states. Margret Brown argues that documenting patterns in high-scoring states that give thoughts for alteration are really of import ( as cited in Broadfoot 2000, p.361 ) . It would be at least as of import to happen out why similar undertakings have non been successful in other states. ( Shorrocks-Taylor & A ; Jenkins 2000, p.16 ) It is important to measure any suggested patterns from one state to another. Teachers and the general public demand to be informed about the jobs of seting something â€Å" borrowed † into pattern and reform thoughts from other states to our ain system. The increasing international importance of a policy discourse of larning in relation to conventional educational establishments such as schools and universities, reflects the modern-day apprehension of the deduction of the ‘knowledge society ‘ ( Broadfoot 2000, p.358 ) ; It is of great possible and inevitableness for the whole population to be capable and disposed to take advantage of the new methods for accessing new cognition that information and communications engineering is doing available. This besides reflects the turning acknowledgment that ‘learning ‘ is non tantamount with learning. Today ‘s turning concern is womb-to-tomb larning which is strongly described in a recent European Commission study: ‘The Treasure Within ‘ . ( Broadfoot 2000, p.358 )Different position of comparative instruction by different bookmansAntoine Jullien de Paris in 1817 proverb comparative instruction as an analytical survey of instruction in all states with a position to hone national schooling systems with version and alterations from which policymakers can borrow thoughts to implement in their own-country ( Bray 2007, p.1 ) . In Hans ‘ position the public-service corporation of comparative instruction was that type of instruction which analyzes comparative jurisprudence, comparative literature or comparative anatomy in order to foreground the differences in the forces and beginnings that create the differences in the educational systems ( C.S. Oni 2005, p.244 ) . Lewis approached the issue of comparative instruction in footings of an Island formation. Lewis asserted that, no state is an island ; that each is a portion of the universe ; hence, no educational system anyplace in the universe is deserving anything unless it is comparable to some other systems in the universe. â€Å" ( Quoted from C.S. Oni 2005, p.244 ) . Comparative instruction for Blishen is the subdivision of educational theory that has to make with analysing and construing the educational patterns and policies in different states and civilization ( C.S. Oni 2005, p. 244 ) . Le Thanh Khoi believed that comparative instruction is a multidisciplinary country when he said that it â€Å" is non purely a subject, but a field of survey covering all the subjects which serve to understand and explicate instruction † ( quoted from Bray 2007, p. 35 ) . In add-on to larning about other people and civilizations, comparative instruction besides helps the research worker to cognize about oneself. As George Bereday puts it: â€Å" It is self-knowledge Born of the consciousness of others that is the finest lesson comparative instruction can afford. â€Å" ( Quoted from Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p. 11 ) . With the sweetening of patriotism and the increasing importance of the state states in the beginning of the nineteenth century comparative instruction was pushed in front. The aim was to larn utile lessons from foreign states, particularly refering instruction systems. This contained a really colonialist position of the western societies on the foreign states. School systems were seen as a resource of new educational thoughts, which could be â€Å" borrowed † to better the ain school system. Comparative instruction transferred itself from extremely pure description degree to a more sophisticated analysis. With the rise of the societal scientific disciplines in the 1950s the historical facet became undistinguished. Alternatively comparative instruction was introduced as a true scientific discipline by utilizing statistical techniques and more quantitative methods. The chief attack was structural functionalism.The purposes of comparative instruction:The purposes of comparative i nstruction are to depict educational systems, procedures, and stoping merchandises every bit good as to help in the development of educational establishments and patterns. It besides highlights the relationships between instruction and society and establishes generalized statements about instruction that is valid in more than one state. Comparative instruction besides deepens our apprehension of our instruction and society ; it can be of great assistance to policy shapers and decision makers ; and can be of great plus in the instruction of instructors ( Bray 2007, p.15 ) . Comparative research besides helps us understand better our ain yesteryear ; turn up ourselves more precisely in the present ; and see more clearly what our educational hereafter may be. Comparative instruction gives the research worker the ability to depict what might be the effect of certain classs of political and economical action, by looking at experience in a scope of states. From the theories mentioned supr a extracted from different bookmans, we can see that comparative instruction facilitates the research workers to larn from the achievement and mistakes that other states have made in the procedure of work outing similar educational jobs. The focal point of comparative survey in instruction is the aggregation and classification of information, both descriptive and quantitative. As Sadler stated in one of his talks delivered in 1900: In analyzing foreign systems of instruction we should non bury that the things outside the schools matter even more than the things inside the school, and govern and construe the things indoors. We can non roll at pleasance among the instruction systems of the universe, like a kid sauntering through a garden, and picking flowers from one shrub and some foliages from another, and so anticipate that if we stick what we have gathered into the dirt at place, we shall hold a life works. A national instruction system of instruction is a living thing, the result of disregarded battles and â€Å" of conflicts long ago † . It has in it some of the secret workings of national life. † ( Quoted from Philips in Alexander et. Al 1999, p.19 ) .On ComparingThe comparative instruction research worker should travel far from the familiar to see the unfamiliar ‘to make the familiar strange ‘ , in order to broader the rules, geographical and epistemic position ( Broadfoot 2000, p .363 ) . When comparing in instruction research workers are bring forthing a assortment of descriptive and explanatory informations which differ from micro to macro comparative informations analysis, leting us to see assorted patterns and processs in a really broad context that helps us to throw light upon them ( Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.21 ) . While less developed states have a inclination to look at more developed states to larn from them, more developed states tent to look at states that are on the same economic and educational degree to do cross-national comparings. Examples of this are figure of states that looked at USA as their theoretical account. Switzerland in mid-1990 apart from looking up to USA, it besides hired American advisers to develop a reform bundle for schools ( Steiner- Khamsi 2002, p.76 as cited in Bray 2007, p.18 ) . On the other manus, America learned besides from other states ( Levin 2010, p.96 in www.kappanmagazine.org ) like East Asia, ( Bray 2007, p.21-22 ) where the US section of instruction made an intensive survey of Nipponese instruction and came out with 12 rules of good patterns. Educators and policy shapers went to Finland, which is the top-performing state in the first three unit of ammunitions of PISA, in order to happen the key to education success to accomplish high Markss in PISA. Pr ivate companies like Cisco and McKinsey, are publishing studies on the quality of instruction around the universe. Comparisons across clip provide information about betterment or diminution over the old ages like comparing the different periods in the history of instruction. These comparings though are limited in the nature of the mention groups or standards used: that is they are normally limited to school systems similar to those being evaluated. When policy shapers look at the yesteryear to larn for the hereafter as the British policy shapers used to make in 1980 ‘s to do comparings with their ain yesteryear instead than with other states. Sometimes the ground to compare with the predecessors is to see how the society has developed every bit good as to larn from the errors that were done in the yesteryear ( Bray 2007, p.23, Bradburn & A ; Gilford 1990, p.2 ) . Comparisons with other vicinities or between provinces, provincials and parts compare similar local educational systems within the same province, or with those in other provinces or the state as a whole. Comparisons with other provinces or the state as a whole have the advantage of comparing between educational systems that are loosely similar. They provide information on peculiar state ‘s degree of accomplishment in instruction to the much broader country of the universe ‘s instruction system ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford 1990, p.2 ) .Example of such comparing is the comparing between the instruction systems of Hong Kong ( Bray 2007, p.131 ) or the instruction systems of Macao ( Bray 2007, p.134 ) . When comparing the research worker has to place the countries ; states or topographic points, and can non be generalised. As Le Than Khoi ( in Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.16 ) gave the illustration of the Mediterranean. There are excessively many differences in the part that we call the Mediterranean † to do it the object of comparative analyses. Culture is an of import factor when comparing topographic points. An illustration of this is the consequence that Finland got in the PISA in 2002 compared to other topographic points which was based on the reading competencies. Finland achieved good as it has centuries of cultural tradition that long promoted the reading ability ( Bray 2007, p.167 ) . A comparative instruction research worker must seek non to be prejudiced either on political, national, spiritual, racial, gender or ideological facets. It is important that the paradigms used are relevant to all geographic countries and states that are included in the survey. Differences between inter and intra-national research present challenges in comparative research that must be recognized. Such differences are frequently important resource of cultural fluctuation ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford ( 1990 ) , p.21 ) . The part of developing states in international surveies adds information to the development of local research capacity and besides widens the sample of take parting states. Third-world engagement develops North – South duologues every bit good as East- West linkages as it serves as a good beginning for edifice trust and co-operation ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford ( 1990 ) , p.22 ) . As the economic sector is increasing its value and the importance of holding a sound instruction system, the concern and industry sector may confer with comparative educational surveies in their international planning. Textbook publishing houses, developers of educational package and other educational bargainers use comparative instruction to categorise the demands and markets for new merchandises. So the inquiry raised is â€Å" In whose involvements do the instruction system and determinations taken, work? † ( My talk notes ) . Though comparings in instruction are of great benefit there are besides who is sceptic and critic about it. There is the belief amongst these that comparative research will take to a homogeneous-world attack to education that impede proper attending to each state ‘s alone history, civilization, and people. ( Bray 2007, p.178 ) . This thought comes from experiences with international establishments that forced economic policies that had negative effects in less-developed states. It is critical for policy shapers to maintain in head that non all the methods of any state can or should be put into pattern in other states. ( Lavin 2010, p.96 in www.kappanmagazine.org, Stromquist 2002, p.87 ) It is of import that â€Å" insiders † and â€Å" foreigners † work collaboratively in order to research and development work that is more sensitive to local, societal buildings of world. ( Crossley 2002, p.82 )Education research undertakings and organisations:As planetary economic competition additions, additions besides the beliefs in the instruction as the beginning of fringy advantage, authoritiess have become progressively haunted with the international rankings of measured educational results. However the issue and impact of power on the educational establishments differentiate signifier in society to another. It is going of import more than of all time as the determination devising in instruction is altering well. The chief histrions are no longer those most affected by instruction like the pupils, parents and the instructors but instead private bureaus and international fiscal establishments ( Stromquist 2002, p.87 ) . International bureaus compare forms and consequences in different states in order to better the advice that they give to national authoritiess and policy shapers. The UNESCO, World Bank and OECD are amongst international bureaus each underscoring their ain purposes changing from teaching method, course of study, economic and fiscal affairs, which play an of import portion in the instruction sphere. Their purpose is to help states in planing and implementing successful policies to turn to the challenges that the educational systems are confronting. They besides create strategies for advancing womb-to-tomb acquisition in relation with other socio-economic policies ( Bray 2007, p. 31 ) . New thoughts gained from international surveies such as PISA, TIMMS and Survey -Lang can be tried to see if they will better the instruction system and to understand why the public presentation of pupils in different states differs ( Shorrocks-Taylor & A ; Jenkins 2000 ) . Since the late 1950 ‘s with the initiation of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement ( IEA ) such big graduated table comparative surveies have taken on considerable significance in instruction. From the get downing the IEA has been committed to analyzing larning in the basic school topics and to carry oning on a regular footing study of educational accomplishment. Over clip, these ‘outcome ‘ informations have been progressively linked to analyses of the effects of course of study and school organisation upon larning and the relationship between accomplishment and student attitudes ( Shorrocks- Taylor 2000, p.14 ) . There are different methods on how to mensurate the comparative facet which differs from theoretical grounded surveies intended to construct or prove complex theoretical accounts of educational systems to descriptive surveies whose intent is to supervise different characteristics of educational systems, patterns and results. The intent of theoretically oriented surveies is chiefly to analyze relationships among variables and expression for insouciant accounts. It is designed to analyze links between school accomplishment and such features as course of study, learning methods, household outlooks and support degrees. These highlight the degree of differences between schools or categories every bit good as on differences between pupils as the unit of analysis. ( Bradburn & A ; Gilford 1990, p.5 ) Belatedly, the intensification of international competition, spurred on by globalisation, neo-liberalism and marketizing, has major deductions for cross-national surveies of educational accomplishment, for those engaged in or covering with the powerful influence of national and international conference tabular arraies, and for the theoretical models that we employ in our analyses. If the support of research is progressively linked to commercial involvements, for illustration, the potency for critical theory, or for alternate cultural positions to act upon the building of new cognition, may be progressively challenged. Questions of power and â€Å" whose cognition counts? â€Å" , in the procedure of development arise, possibly, more strongly than of all time before ( mention from my talk notes ) . As Sultana stated, comparative instruction should travel further than the concern with comparing â€Å" like with similar † ( Sultana as cited in Borg 2009, p.9 ) . It focuses more on happening a peculiar point from where educational and related societal phenomenon can be seen from different positions ; make a deeper apprehension of the kineticss as good come up with new thoughts. Comparative instruction provides penetrations on higher instruction, educational invention, teacher instruction, power and instruction researches each conveying the experience of the research worker ‘s state, or the state or the states that research worker has studied and came together in order to portion these issues in debating Sessionss.Comparative instruction and globalisation:In a globalise universe, schools have come under greater national question sing the ways they can lend to or detain a national advancement. Claxton ( 1998 ) has described the rapidly-changing times we are populating a s the ‘Age of Uncertainty ‘ in which it is impossible to foretell the province and form of the universe in few old ages clip ( as cited in Broadfoot 2000, p. 358 ) . The educational universe today encounters systems which may finally turn out to be a revolution in what is to be taught, to whom and how, since, as Edmund King implies, ‘all its established systems were developed for a universe that no longer exists † ( quoted in Broadfoot p.267 ) . Accountability and educational transmutation rose oppugning on the instruction procedure itself. The heightened involvement in and concern over instruction has encouraged pedagogues to re-evaluate in the visible radiation of new planetary worlds, the intent of schooling, the implicit in theories about the relationship between instruction and development and oppugning about pedagogue professionalism. ( Watson as cited in Crossley 2002, p.81 ) The ways in which pedagogues in different states view these issues and the schemes employed to turn to them must be understood in the visible radiation of different cultural, societal and political context in each state. By sing the educational issue from the position of two diverse states the research worker can place factor that might be missed when sing the issue within the context of ain state entirely. If the research country is related to researcher ‘s ain cultural environment, it is non ever easy to comprehend its particular features. The instance may look excessively apprehensible and non-problematic. â€Å" A fish can non see that it is populating in H2O † ( quoted in hypertext transfer protocol: //www2.uiah.fi/projects/metodi/172.htm ) . Multiple cultural positions believing and analytic models from a multiplicity of adherent the research would supply an international context every bit good as tools for opening position to heighten the manner of seeing instruct ion.Critical thought on Comparative instruction:Comparative instruction and the critical position taking that comparative enquiry, assist the research worker to travel into a deeper analysis of the relationship among society, development, instruction and the function that citizens either straight or indirectly play in the instruction procedure. Through the development of comparative thought accomplishments research workers should be able to set about analyses of their place civilizations and systems with a more apprehension of the assorted cultural factors at drama. Comparative instruction encourages both research workers and pedagogues to inquire inquiries like: â€Å" What sort of educational policies, planning and instruction are appropriate and for what sort of society? † The field of comparative instruction focuses attending on what might be appropriate and inappropriate policy while encourage consciousness of doctrines underlying educational policies and encourages inte rdisciplinary review. ( Klein 1990, 1996, Epstein 1983 as cited in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p.7 ) . Comparative instruction is good and necessary non merely for bookmans and policy shapers but for instruction practicians every bit good. As Gutek said, instructors function in two dimensions: as citizens of peculiar nation-states, they foster pupils ‘ national individuality ; and 2nd as citizens of a planetary society, they recognize that possibilities of worlds growing and menaces to human endurance traveling beyond national boundaries ( Gutek 1993 as cited in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p.251 ) . Teachers must larn to look at other tantamount schoolroom and school patterns throughout the universe. As Stake ( 1978 ) said â€Å" we observe that people per se pursue the general by looking at the particular. Peoples make sense out of the new fortunes they encounter by comparing that particulars to the existence that includes their ain frames of mention. We have named the procedure of executing cross-cultural probe and so deducing penetrations from these probes the accomplishments o f comparative position pickings † ( quoted in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p.252 ) . Schools are compared with spheres which constitute tenseness and combination of forces. In order to understand and command such status, involves critical accomplishments and the ability to understand the political underlining of societal and educational fortunes ( Kaplan 1991 as cited in Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p. 252 ) . These sorts of critical thought can advance critical inquiries like: What is the purpose of schooling? What are the just instruction and who decides? What is the appropriate balance between educator authorization and answerability? What factors reinforce or hinder teacher professionalism? ( Quoted from Kubow & A ; Fossum 2003, p. 252 ) . The field of comparative instruction continues to specify its individuality and significance in the new thought about instruction, society, colonialism and development. Ideas from post-foundational thought, post-modernism, post-structuralism and post-colonialism, are of great importance in comparative research because they deal with common metanarratives of advancement, modernness, laterality and subordination that there have been the fulcrum of the chief thoughts in comparative instruction. ( Mehta & A ; Ninnes 2003, p.238 ) , Crossley 2002, p.82 ) .Examples of Case surveies:Case study 1: Comparison literacyThe utility of comparative instruction is seen in the figure of different instance surveies. An illustration of a instance survey is ‘Literacy accomplishments in Maltese-English bilingual kids ‘ by Rachael Xuereb ( 2009 ) . The survey examines the reading and phonological consciousness accomplishments in English and Maltese of kids whose female parent lingua is Maltese and 2nd linguistic communication English. A sample of 50 typically developing Maltese kids aging between 8 old ages 0 months to 10 old ages 5 months was chosen to take part in this survey. The kids acquired Maltese as a first linguistic communication within the household and subsequently acquired English as a 2nd linguistic communication through Kindergarten and/or the early school old ages. The participants in this survey attend a church school situated in the south-western portion of the island. Since kids star traveling to school at the age of 5 old ages, the kids have been larning to read in Maltese and besides in English. For the intent of this survey, Maltese reading and reading-related trials were created to parallel the UK and US standardised appraisals. All the kids sat for the novel trials and the standardized trials. Harmonizing to the consequences found by Xuereb, Maltese kids read better in Maltese than in English, which is the linguistic communication of direction in most of the topics. Each kid was tested on the undermentioned steps in both linguistic communications: word and non word reading, non word repeat, spelling, sectioning words and non words elision, rapid naming of letters, Numberss and colorss, frontward memory for figures. Increasing research has addressed this issue for bilingual pupils, in relationship to whether phonological consciousness in the first linguistic communication predicts phonological consciousness in the 2nd linguistic communication ( Quiroga, Lemos-Britton, Mostafapour, Abbott & A ; Berninger, 2002 ) . Studies comparing first linguistic communication and 2nd linguistic communication decrypting accomplishments in readers of different writing systems suggest that these accomplishments are positively correlated and that single differences in the development of these accomplishments can be predicted on the footing of underlying cognitive and lingual abilities such as phonological accomplishments, memory, orthographic cognition and velocity of processing ( Geva & A ; Wade-Woolley, 1998 as cited in Xuereb 2009, p.331 ) . This survey aimed to happen reply for how do Maltese-English bilingual kids perform on reading and phonological undertakings and to verify whether anterior findings of cross-language transportation from first linguistic communication phonological consciousness to reading or to 2nd linguistic communication phonological consciousness be replicated in this sample of Maltese-speaking pupils.Case study 2: Comparing the function of gender and age on pupils ‘ perceptual experiences towards on-line instruction.This survey conducted by Fahme Dabaj, and Havva BaAYak, was conducted in order to inquiry and analyse the perceptual experiences and attitudes of the pupils to online distance instruction by agencies of electronic mail and the World Wide Web as the method of presenting direction through online sheepskin plans offered by Sakarya University in Turkey with regard to their age and gender. The research was based on a questionnaire as a mean of informations aggregation method. The findings of the analysis explained that although the pupils registered to the on-line plan by will, they preference was for the traditional face-to-face instruction due to the trouble of the gestural communicating, their deficiency of ability in utilizing the engineering required, and their belief in traditional face-to face larning more than on-line instruction. The research methodological analysis of this survey used the quantitative statistical methods and techniques such as significance differences, correlativity and the cross-tabulation distribution to happen out if there is a important relationship between the independent and the dependent variable inquiries, mensurating the function of age and gender of pupils towards their perceptual experiences sing distant instruction. The quantitative information was collected by study questionnaire and was analyzed via quantitative statistical methods. All the pupils enrolled in the distance instruction plans and the online classs in the autumn term of the 2005/2006 Academic Year took portion in the research. Sing gender, the consequences proofed that the female pupils have a better consciousness of the on-line instruction contrasting to the male pupils. Sing age, the consequences showed that the older the pupils ‘ penchant moves towards go toing face-to face categories.Case study 3: Comparison different Art methodological analysiss.I besides attempted to do a little comparative survey in which I compared Art methodological analysis adopted in a province school compared with that adopted by the Verdala International School. The Verdala International is a coeducational international school in which foreign pupils resident in Malta can go to. The Art section in this school in based on two Art Programs ; the IG which is tantamount to O ‘ degree test and the IB which is tantamount to the A ‘ degree test. My research was aimed at conveying out the difference in instructors ‘ and pupils ‘ attack towards the topic. The first difference which I pointed out was the degree of organisation in the province school ‘s Art room in comparing with the â€Å" organized † pandemonium that ruled in the Verdala International. Both instructors ‘ response to my remarks about the Art room environment was that it reflects the methodological analysis they adopt towards the topic. Art lessons in the province school are more structured ; pupils have to follow regulations which hinder them from utilizing their imaginativeness freely. In both schools the lessons where introduced in the same mode there was a batch of instructor talk with the instructor orchestrating the whole thing. The kids were merely asked to take part when the instructor asked them for suggestions. The two lessons differed in the manner they developed while in the province school, the pupils followed the traditional method by copying the instructor ‘s illustrations from the whiteboard and were really limited in experimentation, at Vedala international the pupils were much freer to experiment and be originative. The ground was that although the Art course of study of both schools are really similar, the methodological analysis adopted is different. The instructor at the province school believes that in order to â€Å" interrupt the regulations † in Art foremost the pupil has to larn them by utilizing the traditional method – by copying. While Art lessons at the province school are more exams oriented, although at Verdala International they do hold an terminal of twelvemonth trial, the focal point is more on assisting pupils develop originative thoughts. During my observation Sessionss at the province school, which were carried out in the beginning of November, the instructor systematically reminded the pupils about the test. On the other manus at Verdala International the concluding trial was ne'er mentioned. At the Verdala International I besides tried to compare Maltese pupils who have been to a province school and are now go toing Verdala International with foreign pupils who had been go toing to Art categories in their ain states are now at Verdala. The purpose of such comparing was to place pupils ‘ positions of the methodological analysiss used for the instruction of Art in Malta and abroad. The foreign pupils interviewed were from Italy, USA, Sweden, Germany, Russia and England. From the response given it resulted that the conservative Art methodological analysis used in Maltese province schools is really similar to that in Russia and in the early old ages of the in-between school in Germany. Lessons at Verdala International are more similar to those in Italy where the pupils are active participants and able to take determinations on what they should make. While in province schools every lesson planned out by the instructor following the course of study that is to be covered, at Verdala International the lesson is in the signifier of a group treatment. Each pupil decides on a subject that he/she would wish work on and the instructor will ease his acquisition. This manner, different pupils might be working on different undertakings unlike in province schools where everyone would be making the same thing. Maltese pupils prefer more the methodological analysis used at the Verdala International than the Art methodological analysis used in the province school. The research methodological analysis of this survey consisted of observation Sessionss, interviews with pupils both on single bases and in groups, and interviews with four instructors ( one at Verdala International and 3 at province school ) . The figure of pupils that took portion in this survey was 45 pupils ( 22 at Verdala International and 23 at province school ) .DecisionThe comparative instruction country is composed by what research workers declare about its nature, beginnings, intents, hereafters, by the â€Å" truths † people support and by the battle over what made â€Å" true † comparative instruction ( Mehta & A ; Ninnes 2003, p.240 ) . The significance in analyzing this country utilizing rational truth, the working and foreign systems of instruction will ensue in our better fitted to analyze and understand our ain piece helps to widen and intensify our apprehension of the universe it is a manner to progress our entire capacity to believe. As postulated by Sadler: â€Å" If we study foreign systems of instruction exhaustively and sympathetically-and understanding and thoroughness are both necessary for the task- I believe that the consequence on our heads will be to do us value as we have ne'er prized before the good things which we have at place and besides do us recognize how many things there are in our ain instruction systems which need pmt and seeking alteration. † ( Quoted from Bray 2007 pp. 37-38 ) .

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Analysis of Kraft’s Takeover of Cadbury

Analysis of Krafts Takeover of Cadbury Overview Of Both Companies Cadbury’s origins date back to almost two centuries when it was founded by John Cadbury who started the business by selling cocoa and tea in Birmingham, UK. Later he expanded by starting a line of beverages after a merger with Indian Schweppes changing the company name to Cadbury Schweppes (Chinn 1998). Successful product developments and launches have enabled Cadbury to boast of an extensive confectionary line consisting of Cocoa Essence, Easter Eggs,Milk Chocolate, Cadbury Fingers, Dairy Milk, BournevilleChocolate, Milk Tray, Flake Creme Egg, Crunchie, Picnic, Curly windy, Wispa boost, Twirl and Time Out (Cadbury 2010). Kraft, on the other hand, is a US company about a century old, which started off as a door to door cheese business but expanded into other confectionary items through many takeovers previously such as Ritz Crackers, Nabisco (Oreos) and Phenix Cheese Corporation (Philadelphia Cheese) to achieve success (Smith 2009). It is second in terms of sales and popularity in the confectionary industry with annual revenues of $42 billion, operating in more than 150 countries (Kraft 2008). The Idea Of A Takeover Due to recessionary times following fall in sales, many companies in the confectionary industry recognized the potential of merging with their competitors to become competitive and enjoy economies of scale (Mauboussin, 2010). Cadbury had continued to be a strong performer in the confectionary industry and shown steady performance and growth in light of the turbulent economic times. Much of Cadbury’s growth was due to its presence in emerging global markets. Kraft was attracted to Cadbury due its strong performance during the economic crisis. This led to Kraft’s proposal to Cadbury of a takeover. The initial offering of $16.3 billion or 740pence per share by Kraft to Cadbury was outright rejected as derisory and an attempt by Kraft to take over Cadbury for cheap. Cadbury has had strong brands whose ico ns are etched in the minds all over the world, an impressive category line and extensive worldwide consumer base. Successful financial overview and steady business model reinforced Cadbury’s belief that it should be an independent company. Kraft’s bid did not come remotely close to reflecting the company’s true worth. Kraft proposed another bid shortly: This comprised of an offer of  £10.1 billion ($17 billion, same terms as the first bid in September-300 pence in cash and 0.2589 Kraft shares per Cadbury shares. The closing price of 9th November reflected the bid valuation of Cadbury at 710 pence which was lower than the share price of 761p on that day. Kraft’s share price: $26.53; Exchange rate (as agreed): $1.66 / GBP. Ratio: 0.2589 Kraft shares per every Cadbury share (26.53/1.66 * 0.2589 =  £ 4.133 + 4.13 =  £ 7.13).This was less than the price of Cadbury on that day and even the initial level of  £ 7.45. Cadbury rejected the offer on the basi s of undervalued Cadbury which was now of a lesser value. It was in fact even lower than the current Cadbury share price. The Cadbury chairman said:â€Å"Under your proposal, Cadbury would be absorbed into Kraft’s low growth, conglomerate business model, an unappealing prospect which contrasts sharply with our strategy to be a pure play confectionery company.†

Friday, September 27, 2019

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Taxation - Essay Example In such a society, every member has the capacity to identify what is good, and has the right to discuss the concept with others and make necessary changes based on what is considered as the best for the society. Thus, it is clear that Rawlsian liberalism will support some kind of basic structure that is just. In sharp contrast, conservatism as a political philosophy advocates for the retention of the traditional social orders and institutions. Generally, the traditional conservatives oppose modernism and want to return to the traditional systems (Muller 36). A look into the history of Great Britain proves that conservatives like Burke justified aristocracy and the social order in order to preserve tradition, and for such people, community and social harmony were more important than social reforms. Over the years, conservatism took various forms with increased and decreased intensity, like liberal conservatism, conservative liberalism, libertarian conservatism, fiscal conservatism, gr een conservatism, cultural and social conservatism and so on (Muller 3). A look into the history of conservatism in the United States will show that its main characteristics over the years were support for traditional system, anti-communist attitude, demand for low taxes, limited rules and regulations, and a free market. In addition, one can see conservatives do not hesitate to criticize various environmental issues (Schneider, 45). This attitude was clearly exhibited by the stringent opposition to the rising role of government in health care. Thus, one gets an idea that generally, conservatism is against taxation. Liberalism and taxation Liberalism can be described as the political ideology which favors social progress by improvising laws instead of revolution. This social progress will touch all spheres including social, political and economic rights. That means this social philosophy advocates the removal of inequalities in all these spheres. According to Rawls theory of justice, states should possess enough power to take necessary steps to ensure that the poorest in society are as well-off as they can be. Rawls points out in his theory that an unequal distribution of wealth and income is acceptable if those at the bottom of the society are better off than it is possible under any other distribution (Rawls 85). According to liberalism as suggested by Rawls, it is necessary for the members in a society to decide a just social contract. Also, the scholar points out that it is necessary to eliminate the possibility of any morally arbitrary bargaining advantages from influencing the Basic Structure. In order to achieve this end, the scholar points out that all the bargainers in the society need to be kept behind a veil of ignorance (Rawls 113). That means the members are not aware about their natural gifts, social class background, and such other factors. These members would agree to two principles in general; firstly, each person has an equal right to the most extensive liberties, and secondly, social and economic inequalities should be arranged in such a way that the least advantaged gets the greatest benefit (Rawls 143). Thus, the Difference principle as proposed by Rawls is the very basis of the claim that taxation will be welcomed by liberalism. This principle claims that society can initiate such projects which require giving more power to some people in terms of income and status if the initiative meets two criteria. Firstly, it can offer a better life to the worst off by

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Bacterial Transformation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bacterial Transformation - Term Paper Example To this end, transformation entails the process in which DNA fragments are taken up by bacteria. Evidently, many contemporary scientists have discovered a variety of genetic modifications that invent bacterial strains which are more susceptible to transformation. Furthermore, they assist in maintaining the plasmid devoid of rearrangement and realignment of of the plasmid DNA. In addition, discoveries in contemporary treatments catalyze the efficiency of bacterial transformation. Consequently, they become highly susceptible to either electrical or chemical based transformation. This hence results to ‘competent cells.’ The major application for bacterial transformation includes gene therapy whereby defective cells are replaced with functional copies. Furthermore, it can be applied in the coding of genes for traits such as pest resistance or disease that may be transformed into plants. Furthermore, transformation of bacteria can occur with a gene for human hormone like insulin in order to stimulate production in mass quantities. Evidently, upon the occurrence of transformation, a plasmid is often transferred. To this end, a plasmid refers to a minute, circular DNA that occurs naturally in most bacteria. Furthermore, the plasmid occurs independently from the chromosomal DNA of the bacterium. In addition, it contains genes which are not normally evident in the bacterium. It is important to note that the extra genes at times supply a growth advantage for the bacteria. This can be through giving enzymes such as amylase and extra gene which breaks down beta lactamase or starches and eventually leads to a breakdown of antibiotic ampicillin. To this end, the growth of bacteria is evident even in places outside their natural setting. In the field of medicine, the ability naturally competent bacteria in acquiring plasmids that possess resistant antibiotic genes is deemed as critical. This has immensely influenced the development of new

It 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

It 1 - Essay Example Furthermore, experts in the IT sector require prior knowledge in business strategies and the technological sector. Therefore, IT management is about management because in all business entities, management usually involves togetherness to accomplish certain objectives using available resources. I think that IT experts have a clear understanding of the business better than other individuals in the business sector. In fact, IT experts have the ability to gain a better understanding of the business. It is quite clear that there is no other department in the business sector which interacts with diverse parties as compared to the IT sector. In fact, in the contemporary world, most activities usually require IT information and skills. This has been significantly attributed to the development in technology. Research asserts that business knowledge and technical knowledge should be merged together to improve the overall functioning of the company. If the business experts and the technological individuals share knowledge, communication can be enhanced significantly in the company. This affirms that the overall performance of a company can be improved by the business manager and the IT experts (Austin, Nolan, and O’Donnell 11). According to Barton, it is quite evident that business knowledge and technical knowledge should be merged together. According to the context, the capability gap is depicted by two hills and a valley between them. One of the hills represents the executive side while the other side represents IT leaders. The executives are supposed to acquire enough understanding of a business to become effective IT experts. This capability gap is brought about by the fact that business executives lack knowledge in IT management. Lack of communication between the business executives and the IT department has also contributed to the capability gap. Barton explains that it is difficult to bridge the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

International Arbitration in International Investments A study of the Essay

International Arbitration in International Investments A study of the effectiveness of The International Investments Arbitratio - Essay Example The aim of this dissertation is to study the current arbitration laws in the Kingdom and examine the extent of the effectiveness of investment arbitration. The new 2012 arbitration laws can be said to be a welcome change in the arbitration scenario in Saudi Arabia, as it tries to rectify the drawbacks of the old law. The new law traces many of its provisions to the model law, and therefore has concepts that have an international outlook. One major change in the new law is where the role of the court has been changed from a supervisory body to that of an advisory body. This marked change means that the arbitral bodies have extra powers in the enforcement of arbitral awards. The new 2012 law therefore has provisions that can calm the fears of foreign investors and bring about the effectiveness of arbitral awards in Saudi Arabia. Abstract Since the ARAMCO case, doubts have arisen about the effectiveness of international investment arbitration in Saudi Arabia. This dissertation will stud y and analyse the extent of the effectiveness of investment arbitration in the Kingdom. In the first chapter, the nature and scope of international investment arbitration will be discussed. ... The study of this approach includes analysing the ARAMCO case and the impact it has had. Also, the chapter discusses the basic principles of arbitration included in the SAL and the extent of its contribution to the effectiveness of arbitration. Chapter Four includes an analysis of the role of Saudi courts in the effectiveness of investment arbitration at the start of the arbitration process until arbitration award is rendered. The final chapter focuses on the obstacles of the recognition and enforcement of the arbitration award and analyses the defences, whether formal or substantive, that may lead to the nullity of the arbitral award according to the SAL. The last part of the chapter addresses the analysis of the conditions required for implementation of the arbitration award. Introductionntroduction Arbitration can be termed as â€Å"a private method of dispute resolution chosen by the parties themselves as an effective way of putting an end to disputes between them, without recou rse to the court of law†.1 For international investments, investors consider international arbitration to be the only vital mechanism to resolve disputes arising within the limits of the host state.2 It is an attempt to achieve some kind of balance between two parties whose legal statuses differ by one party being of Private International Law and the other of Public International Law. 3 Furthermore, it is also a way to not apply the authority of regulations and the local judiciary4, which increases in particular cases where these regulations are either unclear or investors are unaware of them. This happens to be true in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)5, where Islamic Shari’a (Shari’a)6 law dominates and controls the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

EU Law on SGEIs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

EU Law on SGEIs - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Article 106(2) TFEU was a provision that allows regulatory measures that derogate from Treaty rules that invoke it by necessity to enable undertakings that are entrusted with services of SGEIs that fulfill their obligations. SGEI is a constitutional concept in EU law where it is subject to articles of Article 14 of TFEU, and it is subject to the Protocol of SGEIs. SGEI is considered as services that allow balancing of the EU market integration in pursuit of legitimate national policies that are associated with public services. It can also be considered as a political concept where its legal interpretation becomes sensitive. SGEI cannot be contrived to be a narrow concept of the EU competition law that is understood as a public service concept that involves public authorities, undertakings, and public service obligations. CJEU understanding of SGEI in its EU concept is regarded from the Hirschman’s theory that talks of exit, voice, and its background in case law. It exits from market rules in EU for purposes of public services and identifying SGEI voice that has enabled it to the Treaties. CJEU notions of public service obligations and tasks are regarded as using the Treaty SGEI laws effectively without showing their political use in the Institution of Europe and all signatories. SGEI competence lays with members states, therefore, implementation and funding depend on them. Obligations of public service refer to services of a certain kind that benefit certain services for the benefit of consumers and companies. Such obligations include commercial and nonprofit services with service producers where the public authorities that are entrusted with public service obligations. Services that are beneficial and are of public benefit are regulated as service for the public with obligations. Member states impose public services obligations that are enforced and fulfilled by the private and public companies and this est ablishes the difference provided by such public authorities. If the service is for economic general interest application of Community law is applied by, member states as the competition rules and state aid rules and rules of public procurement.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Forming of Diamond Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Forming of Diamond - Research Paper Example This study focuses upon Diamond as the hardest mineral on earth. It is a natural mineral and is the hardest on Mohs hardness scale that is used to determine the hardness of solids, particularly minerals. This scale that lists the softest to the hardest solids has diamond as its hardest material with a ranking of 10. Although, graphite is also formed of carbon atoms, it is not as strong as diamond. However, graphite is being used in man-made diamonds due to its similarities in composition, where the ring-like structure of carbon atoms of graphite is altered to form a crystalline structure. It is a carbon component found in the form of an ore that is processed and used. The unique molecular structure of the material is what gives it its strength, as five carbon atoms forming a tetrahedron by each atom forming covalent bonds with four other carbon atoms gives diamond its unique stability which is hard to break. It is a crystalline structure with billions of carbon atoms bonding together under very high pressure and temperatures inside the Earth’s mantle at about 100 miles below its crust. These crystals are carried to the surface of the Earth by violent volcanic eruptions. Diamond is chemically inert to most of the acids and alkalis, has low thermal expansion, has a negative electron affinity, is a good thermal conductor, is least compressible, has high specific gravity, and has high refractive index and reflection. Common morphologies or or isometric crystal structures of diamond are: cubical, octahedral and do-decahedron. (Composition and properties of diamond, 2008). Advantages: Diamonds are usually transparent or pale blue but some coloured diamonds are also found due to the presence of impurities in the lattice structure. Traces of Boron, Nitrogen and other gases result in the blue, yellow and other colours of diamonds. Diamonds are found in Kimberlite and Lamproite rocks that are brought to the Earth’

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Educating Essay Example for Free

Educating Essay â€Å"Individuals venturing into new experiences may encounter obstacles but may also gain significant rewards†. â€Å"Do you agree with this perspective?† In your response, refer to your prescribed text and atleast one other related text of your own choosing. Individuals venturing into new experiences may encounter obstacles but may also gain significant rewards. This is present in the text ‘Educating Rita’ written by Willy Russell and the film ‘The Help’ written by Kathryn Stockett. In this text we see a fairly un-educated woman blossom and find herself through education; the obstacles she faces on her way to knowledge are the stepping stones in finding herself and entering the new world of education. Rita is a typical uneducated woman; her life is already planned out for her consisting of children, cooking/cleaning, pub trips and the overall expectation to be content with this life and not expect any more. However throughout the text we see Rita break away from this lower class/restricting stereotype to blossoming and finding herself in the world of education. The opening scene portrays to us the two completely different worlds in which Rita and Frank live. Rita has enrolled in an Open University course as she sees education as a way of moving out of her world; she feels out of step with her working class background and wants to discover herself first before having a baby and tying herself down for life. Rita’s constant desire to ‘know everything’ makes Frank feel that he is an appalling teacher because he feels he has nothing to offer her. Frank is Rita’s course tutor; he is a very negative and dismal man who is heavily reliant on alcohol to dull his boredom and frustration. Although being a jaded alcoholic he is also a very precise, formal and educated professor who is just on a downward spiral in his life. Throughout the text we see Rita and Frank’s relationship grow as Rita makes him feel as if he has hope again, therefore his drive comes back. In scene one we observe Rita struggling to open the door into Frank’s office; this symbolises her struggle to enter that world, it’s a barrier, however she’s determined to get what she wants – in this case education – therefore almost breaks the door in order to get in. â€Å"You’re the first breath of air that’s been in this room for years† quoted by Frank symbolises the opening up of a new world for him, he’s now got someone new and different to experience. This is a good change for Frank. Scene two beings with Rita oiling Frank’s office door, then handing the oil to Frank. This is symbolic of giving him the key/tool to open up to another world. Rita still doesn’t portray herself as a ‘proper student’ and her self esteem/confidence is still very low. She doesn’t think she is capable of achieving the great essays that the other students write and doubts herself that she will even finish the course. This scene really reveals the cost that trying to change herself is likely to have on Rita. She is dissatisfied with her life and has a desire to change it, yet it would be easier in her opinion to simply stay as she is and continue her boring life of hairdressing and different flavoured beers. Frank assigns Rita 3 novels to read as her hunger for knowledge is starting to grow extremely. The slow change in Rita is starting to become evident as she can read/take on any book presented to her, â€Å"it feeds me inside†. Her hunger is growing and making her slowly discover who she is, â€Å"it makes me stronger comin’ here†. Although Rita feels as if she’s finally accepted in the university and has a place/fits in with the ‘proper students’, she still has barriers to face in her personal life that are important determining points in her progress and choices as an individual. Rita’s husband Denny isn’t accepting nor happy about her doing this ‘whole learning thing’ and forces her to choose between him and education as he doesn’t understand that this is the first time she’s happy and felt a sense of purpose in her life. Denny has made her constantly feel stupid for even considering getting an education and therefore burns all of her books. The burning of the books is symbolic of Denny trying to prevent Rita from moving away. â€Å"You’d think I was havin’ a bloody affair the way he behaves† â€Å"And aren’t you?† symbolises Rita’s affair with education. Although she may not be cheating on Denny, she still desires to educate herself more than spend time with her husband and is happy with this choice as it is her own choice and no one else’s. In scene six we start to see a notable change in the relationship between Rita and Frank. When Rita bursts into Frank’s office excited to tell him that she saw one of Shakespeare’s plays â€Å"it was bleedin’ great†, Frank thought that something serious had happened – which indicates that he is beginning to care for her. After inviting Rita to a dinner party at his house Frank feels closer to Rita – this invite symbolises the change in the basis of their relationship from teacher and student to a more personal one. Throughout the text we have seen Rita grow and shape herself as an individual, no matter what obstacles and new experiences she has encountered with on her way she has got through them with determination and strength, and as a result has been great personal gain. Towards the end of the text Frank presents Rita with a dress; this is symbolic of a dress for an educated woman, she is now one and can wear the dress with pride. Frank decides to leave the university, as he does not feel it is the right career for him anymore and would prefer to spend his time doing something else. Rita and Frank have both grown and found themselves throughout this text which is also evident in the film ‘The Help’ written by Kathryn Stockett. The Help is set in Mississippi during the 1960s, main character Skeeter (Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends lives and the Mississippi town upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of the richer upper class families. Davis, Skeeters best friends housekeeper, is the first to open up and be interviewed to the shock of her friends in the close black community. Despite Skeeters life long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Davis continue their partnership and soon more women come forward to tell their stories and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unsuspectingly/unwillingly caught up in the changing modern times. This is relevant to the text Educating Rita as the women find the co urage and self confidence to venture into new experiences to help better either themselves or their community.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Improving the Accuracy of Arabic DC System

Improving the Accuracy of Arabic DC System The main goal of this research is to investigate and to develop the appropriate text collections, tools and procedures for Arabic document classification. The following specific objectives have been set to achieve the main goal: To investigate the impact of preprocessing tasks including normalization, stop word removal, and stemming in improving the accuracy of Arabic DC system. To introduce a novel technique for Arabic stemming in order to improve the accuracy of the document classification system. The new algorithm for Arabic stemming tries to overcome the deficiencies in state-of-the-art Arabic stemming techniques and dealing with MWEs, foreign Arabized words and handling the majority of broken plural forms to reduce them into their singular form. To use Arabic text summarization technique as feature reduction technique to eliminate the noise on the documents and select the most salient sentences to represent the original documents. To explore the impact of different feature selection techniques on the accuracy of Arabic document classification and proposes and implements a new variant of Term Frequency Inverse Document Frequency (TFIDF) weighting methods that take into account the important of the first appearance of a word and the compactness of the word which can be taken as factors that determine the important features in the document. To implement various classifiers and compares their performances. 1.1.Problem Statement Despite the achievements in document classification, the performance of document classification systems is far from satisfactory. document classification tasks are characterized by natural languages. This means DC is closely related to natural language processing (NLP) which require knowledge of its subject matter. In general NL reveals many of syntactic and semantic ambiguities beside the complexities [45]. In the context of DC, a researcher tries to address various problems arising from characteristics of documents in the process of feature extraction and feature representation; or problems emanating from the classification algorithms. The following sections provide ideas on research problems. 1.1.1. Preprocessing Text Problem The preprocessing stage is a challenge and affects positively or negatively on the performance of any DC system. Therefore, the improvement of the preprocessing stage for highly inflected language such as the Arabic language will enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the Arabic DC system. In spite of the lack of standard Arabic morphological analysis tools most of the previous studies on Arabic DC have proposed the use of preprocessing tasks to reduce the dimensionality of feature vectors without comprehensively examining their contribution in promoting the effectiveness of the DC system. One of the challenges facing the researchers in Arabic document classification systems is the absence of a strong and an effective stemming algorithm. Arabic is morphologically a complex language [46], it uses both kinds of morphologies: inflectional and derivational morphologies. Based on these types of morphology, a single word may yield hundreds or even thousands of variant forms [47]. The impor tance of using the stemming technique in the documents classification lies in that it makes the processes less dependent on particular forms of words and reduces the highly dimensionality of the feature space, which, in turn, enhance the performance of the classification system.   In spite of the rapid research conducted in other languages, Arabic language still suffers from the shortages of researchers and development.   The state-of-the-art Arabic stemmers suffer from high stemming error-rates due to its understemming errors, overstemming errors, ignored the handling of multiword expressions (MWEs), broken plural forms, and Arabized words. Therefore, the limitations of the current Arabic stemming methods have motivated this author to investigate a novel technique for Arabic stemming to be used in the extraction of the word roots of Arabic language in order to improve the accuracy of the document classification system in chapter 5. 1.1.2. Highly Dimensionality of the Feature Space Extremely high dimensional features paces and large volumes of data problems occur in automatic document classification. High dimensionality problems arise because the number of features used in the classification process increases along with dimensionality of the feature vectors[13, 15, 48, 49]. Practical examples show that the number of features consisting the dimensionality could amount to thousands. A large number of features are irrelevant to the classification task and can be removed without affecting the classification accuracy for several reasons: First, the performance of some classification algorithms is negatively affected when dealing with a high dimensionality of features. Second, an over-fitting problem may occur when the classification algorithm is trained in all features. Finally, some features are common and occur in all or most of the categories [50]. In order to solve this problem, the feature vector dimensionality is required to be reduced without degradation of classification performance. It was important to extract the features with high discriminating power using various techniques.   Text summarization, feature selection and feature weighting are common techniques and methods that are used in document classification to reduce the highly dimensionality of the feature space and to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the classification system. The term frequency (TF) weighted by inverse document frequency (IDF) which is abbreviated as TFIDF can partially solve the problem of variation in content and length in the documents but it cannot solve the problem of the distribution of the important words within the document. In general, the document is written in an organized manner to describe its main topic(s). For example, the main topic for news articles may mentions at the title and the first part of the document to draw the attention of the reader. Therefore, depending on the location, the document parts may have different degrees of contribution to the documents main topic(s) [51]. In this thesis, we propose new feature weighting methods that treat the problem of the distribution of the important words within the document in chapter 6. In order to satisfy the objectives stated in this research, the research questions of this study can be summarized as: What are the impact of text preprocessing techniques such as normalization, stop word removal, and stemming in improving the performance of Arabic DC system? What are the available Arabic text preprocessing methods to be implemented in this research? What are their advantages and disadvantages? How to compare and improve their performance in order to improve the accuracy of the Arabic documents classification system? What are the Impact of feature reduction techniques on Arabic document classification? How to overcome the problem of the highly dimensionality of the feature space and the difficulty of selecting the important features for understanding the document? Which classification algorithms have the best performance when applied on different representations of Arabic dataset? 1.2.Research Contribution This research focuses on exploring different preprocessing techniques, dimensionality reduction techniques and investigating their effect on Arabic document classification performance. More specifically, the main contributions of this thesis are as follows: Demonstrate that using preprocessing task such as normalization, stop word removal, and stemming for Arabic datasets have a significant impact on the classification accuracy, especially with complicated morphological structure of the Arabic language. Furthermore, we demonstrate that choosing appropriate combinations of preprocessing tasks provides significant improvement on the accuracy of document classification depending on the feature size and classification techniques. In this thesis, we propose a novel stemmer for Arabic documents classification. The proposed stemmer attempts to overcome the weaknesses of root-based stemming technique and light stemming technique, in addition to dealing with the majority of broken plural forms, MWEs, and foreign Arabized words. We compare the proposed stemmer with the well-known Arabic stemmers, including root-base stemming (Khoja stemmer) and light stemming (Larkey stemmer), to study its contribution in improving the classification system. The comparison is carried out for different datasets, classification techniques, and performance measures. Demonstrate that using document summarization technique help to improve the efficiency of Arabic document classification by reducing the highly dimensionality of the feature space without affecting the value or content of documents, then saving the memory space and execution time for documents classification process. In this thesis, we investigate the impact of different feature selection techniques, namely, Information gain (IG), Goh and Low (NGL) coefficients, Chi-square Testing (CHI), and Galavotti-Sebastiani-Simi Coefficient (GSS) that have a significant impact on reducing the dimensionality of feature space and thus improve the performance of Arabic document classification system. In this thesis, we investigate the impact of feature representation schemas on the accuracy of Arabic document classification. The document usually consists of several parts and the important features that more closely associated with the topic of the document are appearing in the first parts or repeated in several parts of the document. Therefore, the proposed weighting methods take into account the important of the first appearance of a word and the compactness of the word which can be taken as factors that determine the important features in the document. Unfortunately, there is no free benchmarking dataset for Arabic documents classification. One of the aims of this research is to compile dataset for Arabic documents classification that cover different text genres which will be used in this research and can be used in the future as a benchmark for computation linguistics researches including text mining, information retrieval. The dataset collected from several published papers for Arabic document classification and from scanning the well-known and reputable Arabic websites. Compiling freely and publically available corpora is advancement step on the field of Arabic document classification.