Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Got Milk? Essay -- Advertising Media Advertisements Essays

Got Milk? In the fast paced world of today, advertisers have to keep up with the times. One of the best ways they do this is through the Got Milk ads. Milk is a part of everyday life and the advertisers for Milk show this through modern tactics and popular celebrities. By putting familiar faces on magazine ads and using interesting T.V. commercials, companies sell their products. The ways in which they sell the products is not by just stating that their product is good, they appeal to the human emotions, ethics and most of all what is logical. There are many ad campaigns out there that strongly target one area, such as your emotions, but the Got Milk advertisers campaign has all three of these factors. To begin with, each ad is placed in a certain magazine based on who the reader will be, for instance, a 17-year-old girl is going to be reading Seventeen, not Maxim. When I looked through one of my Seventeen magazines I found a Got Milk ad with Britney Spears in tight clothing standing next to a little girl in a ballet costume. Above the little girl’s head was a statement that said Grow Up. This ad tries to appeal to a person’s logical side. At the bottom of the ad is written, â€Å" 15% of your height is added during your teen years and milk can help make the most of it.† A seventeen year old girl looks at this ad and is tempted to look just like her, so not only is this ad logical it also appeals to a girl’s emotional side. You would not find this ad in a car magazine for older men. Ad companies are not just trying to sell you a product they are trying to sell you the image of their product. It is not just magazine companies that try to get people to buy their product by appealing to emotions, logic and ethics, the pr... ...information posted about the company have a copyright from The National Milk Processor Promotion Board. When we see an ad campaign we know who the company is and exactly what they are selling. We have already seen how different tactics that companies use appeal greatly to ones emotions and ethics but exactly how logical is it? We never consider who is telling us that milk is good. People believe buying milk is right because the ads continuously state that it is good. The campaign for milk appeals to people’s emotions, ethics and their logic, it works because, people continue to buy milk. There are so many ads for milk out there that people just see them and believe that milk is right for them because it says so. People will continue living like this, buying the product without really knowing who sells it because it works, they get money for it and we get milk. Got Milk? Essay -- Advertising Media Advertisements Essays Got Milk? In the fast paced world of today, advertisers have to keep up with the times. One of the best ways they do this is through the Got Milk ads. Milk is a part of everyday life and the advertisers for Milk show this through modern tactics and popular celebrities. By putting familiar faces on magazine ads and using interesting T.V. commercials, companies sell their products. The ways in which they sell the products is not by just stating that their product is good, they appeal to the human emotions, ethics and most of all what is logical. There are many ad campaigns out there that strongly target one area, such as your emotions, but the Got Milk advertisers campaign has all three of these factors. To begin with, each ad is placed in a certain magazine based on who the reader will be, for instance, a 17-year-old girl is going to be reading Seventeen, not Maxim. When I looked through one of my Seventeen magazines I found a Got Milk ad with Britney Spears in tight clothing standing next to a little girl in a ballet costume. Above the little girl’s head was a statement that said Grow Up. This ad tries to appeal to a person’s logical side. At the bottom of the ad is written, â€Å" 15% of your height is added during your teen years and milk can help make the most of it.† A seventeen year old girl looks at this ad and is tempted to look just like her, so not only is this ad logical it also appeals to a girl’s emotional side. You would not find this ad in a car magazine for older men. Ad companies are not just trying to sell you a product they are trying to sell you the image of their product. It is not just magazine companies that try to get people to buy their product by appealing to emotions, logic and ethics, the pr... ...information posted about the company have a copyright from The National Milk Processor Promotion Board. When we see an ad campaign we know who the company is and exactly what they are selling. We have already seen how different tactics that companies use appeal greatly to ones emotions and ethics but exactly how logical is it? We never consider who is telling us that milk is good. People believe buying milk is right because the ads continuously state that it is good. The campaign for milk appeals to people’s emotions, ethics and their logic, it works because, people continue to buy milk. There are so many ads for milk out there that people just see them and believe that milk is right for them because it says so. People will continue living like this, buying the product without really knowing who sells it because it works, they get money for it and we get milk.

Memory Strategies Essay -- essays research papers

Memory Strategies 2 Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The research is demonstrating the use of memory strategy in an educational setting; this study examines the use of chunking on telephone numbers by students on campus. There were a total of 40 students that participated, and they were split into two groups consisting of 20 students per group. The control group used chunking as their memory strategy for memorizing a list of 10 telephone numbers. In contrast, the experimental group has used no specific strategy to memorize the list of numbers that was given to them. Each group was given 15 minutes to memorize their list of 10 telephone numbers and they had 5 minutes to write it down on paper. People that used memory strategies has shown to have memorized more telephone numbers, than people who don’t use any memory strategy to remember their list of numbers. Memory Strategies 3 Memory Strategies and Chunking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People have shown to have better recall on certain tasks when they use specific memory strategies. There are many types of strategies that people can use to improve their memory, but everyone has an effective strategy that suites them most. For activities involving memorizing a list of 10 telephone numbers, chunking would be the best method because it helps aids the sequence of numbers. People can remember about seven items give or take two, which is between five and nine items (Shiffrin, R. M., & Nosofsky, R. M. 1994). There’s a certain amount of items that everyone can store in their short-term memory. That’s why it’s important for people to find an effective way of remembering all of the information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relatively large amounts of information are contained in a small number of units by chunking items together into composite units (Bousfield, A. K., & Bousfield, W. A. 1966). A strategy like chunking can be used to break larger units into smaller ones, so people can have an easier way of comprehending the information that is given to them. This process of separating the items can help a person learn things step by step, which increases their chances of recall. Telephone numbers can be separated into 3 groups, for instance 847 - 504 – 8761. People can start by memorizing 847, then 504 and finally 8761, instead of trying to remember the numbers all together.... ...nbsp; 14. Tape Recorded Lecture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this study, 13 people have answered â€Å"No,† when they were asked if they used any specific memory strategies. There was 10 people that has used the recall and recite method to memorize things, 8 people used word association to try relate materials to something their familiar with. Also, there were 7 people that wrote information down in order to rehearse it, while 5 people used flashcards to go over their material. There are 3 groups of 2 people that used color coding, reading things out loud and making a note to remember things. On the contrary, there are 5 groups of memory strategies that a person has used: they practice with others, meditate; remember things by listening, sing a song or rhyme and tape-recorded the lecture. The students who have used memory strategies mentioned above, are the ones that have scored higher on recall. Memory Strategies 12 N= 40 (19 Hispanic/Spanish Descent, 13 Black/African-American, 7 Asian/ Pacific Islander & 1 Other) N= 40 (32 Females & 8 Males)

Monday, September 2, 2019

Womens suffrage movement

Womens suffrage movement BY raider2014 Victoria Woodhull- The first woman to declare herself as a candidate for president, Woodhull announced her run on April 2, 1870, by sending a notice to the New York Herald. This was an absolutely astounding thing to do: women only recently received the right to vote in the two relatively obscure territories of Wyoming and Utah, and it would be another fifty years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment that assured the ballot to all American women. Moreover, she took this step without contacting any leading uffragists, who by then had been well organized for more than two decades.Susan B. Anthony and others were stunned by the action of this controversial woman, whose â€Å"open marriage† was the talk of New York City. The next presidential election was two years away, and Woodhull used this time to bring attention to women's issues, including the right to vote. Undaunted by the fact that women could not vote and that she was not ye t old enough to legally become president, Woodhull traveled the country campaigning. Her speeches not only advocated the vote, but also birth ontrol, â€Å"free love,† and other positions that were a century ahead of her time.Many listeners were surprised to find themselves more sympathetic than they had expected: her beauty, soft voice, and reasoned arguments took the edge off of such shocking statements as her belief that marriage was â€Å"legalized prostitution. † Woodhull and her sister, Tennie C. , were in Jail, however, when the 1872 presidential election occurred. Because they wanted to draw attention to the era's hypocrisy on sexual matters, their newspaper published the facts about an adulterous affair between the nationally popular Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and a leader of the women's movement, Elizabeth Tilton.It was true, but not politically correct, and the sisters were indicted for both libel and obscenity. The charges eventually were dropped, but the scan dal was enough to end Woodhull's presidential aspirations, as she spent election day in Jail. Belva Lockwood- Belva Ann Bennett McNall Lockwood was a self-made woman who adopted bold positions in support of equal opportunity for women. She lived her life fighting to ensure that women had the same opportunities as their male counterparts, both by xample and in her law practice.Lockwood was set to graduate from law school in 1873, but was notified that she would not receive her degree. She appealed to President Ulysses S. Grant and he intervened on her behalf. Later she refused to take no for an answer again when she lobbied Congress for the right to argue in front of the federal courts and helped get the bill passed in 1879. She also Joined the National Women's Suffrage Association (NWSA) lecture circuit, which made her money and gave her recognition.She would upset the NWSA, though, with her decision to un as a presidential candidate for the National Equal Rights Party in 1884. Susa n B. Anthony and others felt that Lockwood's decision was self-serving and distracting from their greater mission, but she saw it as a way to bring attention to women as genuine citizens. Although always a fringe group, the party had its strongest support in Calitornia, where San Franciscan Marie tta Stowe served as the vice- presidential nominee.The party's platform was not Just limited to feminism: it included positions on foreign affairs, civil service reform, and other issues, including n innovative proposal for federalization of family law. The Lockwood/Stowe ticket won Just over 4,000 votes in six states, but Lockwood was not discouraged and ran again in 1888. â€Å"Women should not merely talk about what needed to be done†, she said, â€Å"but should do it†. Margaret Chase Smith- Margaret Chase Smith served 32 years in Congress and was the first woman elected to both the House and Senate.Although a champion for women's issues, she was always clear about being se en as a U. S. Senator and not a woman Senator. In 1964, she became the first credible female candidate for president. Unlike her predecessors, she had legislative experience. A liberal Republican closely associated with her native state of Maine, Margaret Madeline Chase was born to a blue-collar Skowhegan family in 1897. Her entry into politics began when her employer suggested that she be added to the Skowhegan Town Committee.She still was carrying out traditional wifely duties, however, as this helped husband, Clyde Smith, be elected the U. S. House in 1936. She moved to Washington and served as his aide, doing research on pending bills and assisting with speeches. When Clyde died in 940, Margaret won the special election to succeed him, and three months later, Maine voters elected her to the first of four full House terms. Smith moved up to the Senate in 1948, defeating both Maine's current governor and a former governor.Her 1960 re-election was a milestone for women, as it was t he first time that two women were nominated for a U. S. Senate seat: Smith easily defeated Democratic nominee Lucia Cormier. Nationally respected by 1964, Smith ran for president. Most states did not yet conduct primaries, but she ran credibly in those that did, and won the votes f 27 delegates at the Republican National Convention that nominated the more conservative Barry Goldwater. At 66, ageism Joined sexism as a factor in her loss.She was not credited for her greater experience; instead pundits speculated about whether Senator Smith was menopausal. Her point that â€Å"l haven't seen the age played up in the case of the men candidates† was in vain. Patsy Takemoto Mink- Patsy Takemoto Mink was the first woman of color to serve in the United States Congress, but it was the work that she did there that should be remembered. Mink epresented many groups that, prior to her election, had been absent from national politics, working tirelessly to serve women, minorities and the p oor.She brought attention to issues that others ignored. Takemoto learned first-hand that she could not take citizenship and the promise of the U. S. Constitution for granted: her family was put under surveillance after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, and her father was taken from their home for interrogation. Like most Hawaiians of Japanese descent, the Takemotos were not sent to an internment camp, but the awareness that most ainland Japanese Americans were incarcerated was an important factor in Patsy's development.She graduated from law school in 1951, however no Chicago law firms wou d hire her, which sne initially thought was due to her ethnicity, but her gender and married status were also negative factors. Instead of allowing herself to be defeated, she and her husband moved to Hawaii. She opened her own law practice, becoming the first female Japanese-American lawyer in Hawaii. Active in the territorys Democratic Party, she also was a founder of the Young Democrats of America. This led to her election to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1956 and to the Hawaii Senate in 1958.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Mexico †Tax Measures on Soft Drinks and Other Beverages Essay

The Mexico- Soft drinks case was an important case based on the sweetener’s trade market in North America. This case note will try to summarize the facts of the case in order to analyze the issues raised by it. Following, we try to expose the reasons why Mexico decided to implement tax measures as a response to the United State’s refusal to submit their dispute to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) dispute settlement panel. And last, give a brief opinion on the issues and the way they were upheld along the case. Since January 2002, Mexico imposed a twenty percent tax on the sale and distribution of soft drinks and other beverages that used any sweetener other than cane sugar, including, and specially, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The United States is the primary supplier of almost all the HFCS used to sweeten beverages in Mexico, and on the other hand all the beverages sweetened with cane sugar use domestic product. In March 2004 the United States requested consultations with Mexico regarding Articles 1 and 4 of the DSU and Article XXII of the GATT 1994, with respect to these tax measures imposed by Mexico. And on 10 June 2004, the United States requested the WTO to establish a panel pursuant to Article 6 of the DSU. The United States claimed that Mexico had violated the provisions stated in GATT 1994 Article III. The Dispute Settlement Body established the Panel on 6 July stating the following, as purpose of the establishment of the panel : â€Å"To examine, in the light of the relevant provisions of the covered agreements cited by the United States in document WT/DS308/4, the matter referred to the DSB by the United States in that document, and to make such findings as will assist the DSB in making the recommendations or in giving the rulings provided for in those agreements. † Canada, China, the European Communities, Guatemala and Japan participated in the panel as third parties. Relevant Facts regarding the case: The tax measures imposed by the Mexican government were: a) twenty percent tax on the transfer or importation of soft drinks and other beverages that use any sweetener other than cane sugar, b) twenty percent tax on services such as: agency, representation, brokerage, distribution, etc. when transferring or importing beverages sweetened with any kind of sweetener except for cane sugar, c) and some other requirements imposed to taxpayers regarding the above mentioned taxes. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) comprised one hundred percent imports of sweeteners from the US to Mexico and cane sugar is a domestically produced product that comprises ninety five percent of Mexican sweetener production. Considering the fact that the â€Å"soft drink tax† did not apply to beverages sweetened with cane sugar, it is pretty clear that Mexican sugar production industry was being favored by the imposition of these measures. Articles I and III of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT) talk about the non-discrimination on like products. More specifically Article III establishes the national-treatment rule, which seeks the equal treatment to domestic and products imported from other states, establishing criteria such as: â€Å"No domestic laws should be applied to imported products to protect domestic producers from the competing â€Å"like† products. And imported products should receive treatment under national laws that â€Å"is no less favorable† than the treatment given to like domestic products†. United State’s claims: The issues concerning provisions established on Article III of the GATT 1994 that were claimed by the United States were the following: (i) imposing an excessive tax on an imported product compared to taxes applied to a â€Å"like† domestic product, (ii) imposing a tax to an imported product that is directly competitive or substitutable with a domestic one that is â€Å"not similarly taxed†, (iii) imposing a law that affects the internal use of imported HFCS, treating an imported product in a â€Å"less favorable way† compared to products of national origin. So the United States requested the Panel to consider the violations on the imposition of these challenged tax measures. The above-mentioned issues concerning the imposition of soft drink taxes, distribution taxes and bookkeeping requirements were adopted by Mexican legislations by virtue of a decree that reformed the Mexican Special Tax Law applicable to Production and Services as well its Regulations and also the Miscellaneous Fiscal Resolutions of years 2003 and 2004, in order to incorporate the taxes subject to this dispute concerning soft drinks and beverages that use any sweetener other than cane sugar and its distribution and special requirements. So these legislative bodies are also the issues and subject matter to the dispute. Mexico’s requests to the Panel: On the other hand, Mexico requested the Panel to decline the exercise of its jurisdiction and suggested to submit their dispute to an Arbitral Panel in accordance to NAFTA, based on the Shrimp Turtle decision where the WTO recommended that the parties should resolve their difference according to the Inter-American Convention, so both states could resolve their concern with respect to the sugar trade between them. That way, Mexico could claim market access to the United States and the compliance of previous Treaties between them and the United States could also submit its claims regarding tax measures adopted by Mexico. The Panel decided to proceed and exercise its jurisdiction, so Mexico requested for them take into account its particular condition and that as a developing country some â€Å"special treatment† exceptions could apply to their situation. So the Mexican measures could be justified under this understanding and also under Article XX of the GATT. Mexico also requested the Panel to consider the NAFTA framework while resolving and formulations their recommendations. â€Å"Mexico explained that its tax on sweeteners was a necessary measure to secure U. S. compliance with NAFTA in granting access for Mexican sugar to the U. S. market†. Statements considered by the Panel: HFCS-sweetened and cane sugar-sweetened soft drinks are â€Å"like† products in accordance to what is established on GATT Article III:2, first sentence for having virtually identical physical properties, end-uses and tariff classifications and are equally preferred by consumers based on surveys applied by the US. Therefore; The HFCS soft drink tax and distribution tax are inconsistent with GATT Article III:2, first sentence. The imported product (HFCS) and the domestic product (cane sugar) are â€Å"directly competitive or suitable products† that with the tax measures imposed by the Mexican government were not being similarly taxed in order to protect Mexican’s domestic production, consequently; there was no doubt that Mexico was infringing its obligations under GATT Article III,2 second sentence. Based on these statements the WTO Panel rejected Mexico’s petitions and favored the United State’s position. The Panel stated that Mexico was not empowered to take measures in order to â€Å"secure compliance† to induce another Member to comply with obligations owed to it under a non-WTO treaty. , it also resolved that that International Treaties such as NAFTA were not covered in the exceptions established in GATT Article XX (d), and also that the â€Å"laws or regulations† covered in exception of Article XX(d) of the GATT 1994 do not include NAFTA (which is an International Treaty) as part of them, and last, that the measures adopted by Mexico â€Å"were not necessary to secure compliance† to previous agreements to the United States. In December 2005 Mexico appealed the Panel’s decision based on exceptions provided on GATT Article XX(d) and arguing that the Panel failed to make â€Å"an objective assessment of the facts†, as required by Article 11 of the DSU but still, the Appellate Body upheld the Panel’s conclusions and rejected Mexico’s claims. Considering the stated facts, there is no doubt regarding the violation of the GATT Article III by the Mexican government on the establishment the soft dink tax along with distribution tax and other requirements imposed to taxpayer on this matter, but I firmly believe it is important to consider the reasons why the Mexican government was lead to implement these radical measures considering the United State’s non-compliance with obligations established in the NAFTA. One of the main reasons why Mexico implemented the soft drinks tax measures was the United States’ incompliance with market access agreements on sugar trade established on NAFTA, while US export of HFCS to Mexico were substantially increasing. The United States continuously refused to submit to NAFTA dispute settlement while still enjoying the benefits of the agreement regarding sugar trade. Before Mexico decided to take tax measures, it tried to resolve the dispute regarding the scope and meaning of provisions in the NAFTA governing sweeteners, but no dispute settlement forum seemed to be able to hear about the case, they needed the cooperation of the US for the integration of the panel and the United Stated did not cooperate. Importance of the Mexican Sugar Industry The sugar industry it’s a growing sector of the Mexican economy. According to NAFTA agreements, Mexico had an expectation for it to would be competent to export very high quantities of sugar to the United State’s market, but the US never acknowledged what they had agreed by virtue of two letters negotiated between the two states after NAFTA, so there was a confusion on the volume of sugar that could be exported from Mexico to the US. In the mean time, US exports of HFCS to Mexico were increasing and that was reflected on a reduction on the domestic sugar market. So with this background it is now easier to understand the reason why the Mexican Congress decided to impose â€Å"soft drink taxes† in order to balance the situation and try to bring the falling Mexican sugar industry to an equilibrated position in the market so that the sugar that could have been exported to the United States, could now be sold in the domestic market. But it is understandable that even if the United States did not comply with its NAFTA obligations, there is no justification a WTO member to violate its WTO obligations in order to punish another member for not complying with its obligations under an international agreement like the NAFTA in this case. Analysis of relevant issues regarding Mexico’s initial petitions More than criticizing I would like to analyze two of the petitions made by Mexico to the WTO Panel along with the Panel’s and Appellate Body’s responses to those petitions, more specifically determine if a Panel is entitled to decline to exercise its jurisdiction in an issue presented before it. As well as Mexico’s petition to the Panel to consider the NAFTA framework on its resolutions, this leads me to questioning if the Panel can actually exercise its jurisdiction based on other international agreements, and if so, to what extent? The Panel immediately refused Mexico’s petition to decline to exercise its jurisdiction on this case. It seems very obvious that if both parties were subject to an International Treaty such as NAFTA, which regulated the sugar trade between them and they were having conflicts regarding this sector, those issues should have been heard by a NAFTA Panel. But the answer to this issue relies on the Appellate Body’s argument that according to the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) a panel with jurisdiction could not decline to exercise it at all without some legal impediment because it would be contradictory to articles 3. 2, 7. 1, 7. 2, 11, 19. 2 y 23. So according to the Appellate Body’s Report Paragraph 52: A Member is entitled to initiate a WTO dispute whenever it considers that â€Å"any benefits accruing to [that Member] are being impaired by measures taken by another Member† implies that that Member is entitled to a ruling by a WTO panel. The Appellate Body also stated that the issues claimed by Mexico regarding the agreement on NAFTA were NAFTA-based issues related to market Access, that did not necessarily under lapped with the issues claimed by the US that violated Article III of the GATT 1994 with respect of the imposition of soft drink taxes as well as distribution taxes, which in my opinion makes sense but it is clearly an disadvantaged position for Mexico since it would have needed cooperation from the United States in order to constitute a panel that could hear and resolve those NAFTA- based issues. In these I agree, so I think we cannot blame this matter on the Panel or Appellate Body of the WTO, since they just complied with their work and obligation to bring protection to the Members when they considered to be entitled to a ruling from the WTO for being effected by measures taken by other members that are subject to the WTO jurisdiction. So the main problem here is not the decision of the WTO to continue hearing the case, as they were just performing their work, but the way the United States managed the situation, only claiming the actions that directly affected their market and economy without obeying their obligations under an International Treaty or at least making an effort to clarify on the misunderstandings related to them, so Mexico could also be beneficiated from the importation of sugar to the united States. The second matter in question is whether the Panel can consider International Agreements on its resolutions and of so, to what extent? Article 3. 2 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) states that the WTO dispute settlement system â€Å"serves to preserve the rights and obligations of Members under the covered agreements, and to clarify the existing provisions of those agreements†. There could be circumstances in which the Panel or Appellate Body would have to determine for its own purposes as to whether the United States acted consistently with NAFTA, not to determine its rights under NAFTA or to punish them for non-compliance but to take it in account in their determinations and as a preliminary step in WTO ruling. WTO Panels and Appellate Body cannot definitively determine rights and obligations under non-WTO agreements; they can refer to and analyze such agreements as long as it serves to determine rights and obligations under the WTO agreements. This is a very clear statement that clarifies the situation as it should be seen in every case the WTO can always take into consideration obligations that arise from other international agreements between countries subject to a dispute, as long as they relate to the dispute and to rights and obligations related to the WTO. I believe the most important issue raised on the present case relied on the contradiction between an International Treaty and the WTO regulations whereas from the International Law perspective the Tax measures imposed by Mexico seemed fair since the United States was not complying with obligations established under post- NAFTA negotiations so the US was challenging an international obligation derived from an International Treaty (NAFTA). Nevertheless, these fiscal measures are violations from the WTO perspective. What Mexico was seeking with the imposition of these tax measures was to enforce an equitable defense in a way of â€Å"clean hands doctrine† in the understanding that the United States was acting unethically by avoiding the conformation of a NAFTA panel, while being the principal importer of sweeteners in Mexico. It just seemed really unfair for Mexican sugar market to be affected by the exportation of United State’s high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners, when Mexico was not being able to enjoy the benefits from their previous agreement under the NAFTA. But the measures adopted by Mexico were perhaps not the best, since a state is not empowered to attempt against its WTO obligations in order to try to force another state to comply with its obligations under a non-WTO international agreement. And as stated above, despite the controversies arisen in this case, I do not think there is a problematic within the WTO and its jurisdiction or the way they resolved the case, I would say that if the United States would have observed its obligations under the NAFTA or at least tried to cooperate in order to resolve their differences and came to an agreement on the sugar trade, Mexico would have never had to take this radical and GATT-violating measures, still, it is not justifiable for it to have done so. As to the recommendations that raised from this case, on May 2006 the Executive Branch of the Mexican Federal government sent to the Permanent Commission of the Union Congress which is the maximum authority regarding legislations, a reform project in order to overturn the legal dispositions on the Mexican Special Tax Law applicable to Production and Services regarding soft drinks taxes so as to comply with the recommended on the Appellate Body’s resolutions. UNITED STATES, Mexico- Tax Measures on Soft Drinks and Other Beverages , Request for Consultations by the United States, WT/DS308/1, March 18, 2004. [ 2 ]. UNITED STATES, Mexico- Tax Measures on Soft Drinks and Other Beverages , Request for the Establishment of a Panel, WT/DS308/1, June 11, 2004. [ 3 ]. UNITED STATES, Mexico- Tax Measures on Soft Drinks and Other Beverages , Constitution of the Panel Established at the Request of the United States, WT/DS308/5/Rev. 1. August, 25 2004. [ 4 ]. http://www.iisd. org/trade/handbook/3_4_1. htm, International Institute for Sustainable Development. Environment and Trade: A handbook. The basics of the WTO. The key agreements, with a special consideration of those related to the environment. 3. 4. 1. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994 [ 5 ]. http://www. usitc. gov/publications/332/journals/corn_sweeteners. pdf, Kornis, Magda, United States international Trade Commision, Journal of international Commerca and Economics, Web version December 2006. [ 6 ]. UNITED STATES, Mexico- Tax Measures on Soft Drinks and Other Beverages , Report of the Panel, WT/DS308/R, Paragraph 8. 134. [ 7 ]. Report of the Panel, Paragraph 8. 78. [ 8 ]. Panel Report, Paragraphs 8. 170 to 8. 181. [ 9 ]. Mexico- Tax Measures on Soft Drinks and Other Beverages, Notification of an Appeal by Mexico, WT/DS308/10, December 6th 2005. [ 10 ]. Appellate body Report, Paragraph 82. [ 11 ]. Appellate Body Report, Paragraph 47. [ 12 ]. Appellate Body Report, Paragraph 56. [ 13 ]. J.Davey William and Sapir Andre, World Trade Review / Volume 8 / Special Issue 01 / January 2009, pp 5 -23 DOI: 10. 1017/S1474745608004151, Published online: 06 March 2009, page 18. [ 14 ]. UNITED STATES, Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp-Containing Products, WT/DS58/AB/R, adopted 6 November 1998, PARAGRAPH 168. [ 15 ]. http://cdei. itam. mx/ComentarioMexicoRefrescosOA. pdf, Crzo, Ernesto, Corzo Victor, Comentario sobre Mexico – Impuestos sobre refrescos, Informe del Organo de Apelacion, 24 de marzo de 2006, web publication.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Language & Gender Essay

Language and gender in the classroom Many of the issues reviewed in this chapter have far-reaching implications in classrooms. Classrooms and schools are among society’s primary socializing institutions. In them, children come to understand their social identity relative to each other and relative to the institution. Although schools are certainly not responsible for teaching students their gender-differentiated social roles, they often reinforce the subordinate role of girls and women through curricular choices and classroom organizations that exclude, denigrate, and/or stereotype them. However, as discussed earlier in this chapter, recent theoretical insights suggest that identity is not fixed, that language use is not static, and that it is possible to negotiate social identities through alternative language use. It follows, then, that schools are sites in which inequities (based on gender, race, ethnicity, language background, age, sexuality, etc. can be challenged and potentially transformed by selecting materials that represent identity groups more equally, by reorganizing classroom interaction so that all students have the opportunity to talk and demonstrate achievement, and by encouraging students to critically analyze the ways they use language in their everyday lives. Based on a review of 2 decades of research on gender and classroom interaction, Clarricoates concludes that interaction between teachers and students and among students themselves is â€Å"suffused with gender† (1983, p. 6; cited by Swann, 1993). Studies reviewed by Swann (1993) describ e a range of ways in which gender differentiation is maintained in mainstream English-speaking classrooms, including the following: †¢ ‘ While there are quiet pupils of both sexes, the more outspoken pupils tend to be boys. †¢ Boys also tend to ‘stand out’ more than girls. Michelle Stanworth (1983) notes that in her study teachers initially found some girls ‘hard to place’. Boys also referred to a ‘faceless’ bunch of girls. Boys tend to be generally more assertive than girls. For instance, a US study of whole-class talk (Sadker and Sadker, 1985) found boys were eight times more likely than girls to call out. †¢ Girls and boys tend to sit separately; in group work, pupils usually elect to work in single-sex rather than mixed-sex groups. †¢ When they have the choice, girls and boys often discuss or write about gender-typed topics. †¢ Boys are often openly disparaging towards girls. †¢ In practical subjects, such as science, boys hog the resources. In practical subjects, girls ‘fetch and carry’ for boys, doing much of the cleaning up, and collec ting books and so on. †¢ Boys occupy, and are allowed to occupy, more space, both in class and outside—for example, in play areas. †¢ Teachers often make distinctions between girls and boys – for disciplinary or administrative reasons or to motivate pupils to do things. †¢ Teachers give more attention to boys than to girls. †¢ Topics and materials for discussion are often chosen to maintain boys’ interests. Teachers tend not to perceive disparities between the numbers of contributions from girls and boys. Sadker and Sadker (1985) showed US teachers a video of classroom talk in which boys made three times as many contributions as girls — but teachers believed the girls had talked more. †¢ Teachers accept certain behaviour (such as calling out) from boys but not from girls. †¢ Female teachers may themselves be subject to harrassment from male pupils. †¢ ‘Disaffected’ girls tend to opt out quietly at the back of the class, whereas disaffected boys make trouble. (Swann, 1993, pp. 1-52) A 10-year research project by Sadker and Sadker (1993; including participant observation, audio and video recordings, interviews with students and teachers, and large-scale surveys) in elementary, junior high, and high school, and in university classes in the United States, and the review of research on language and gender in the classroom by Sommers and Lawrence (1992), both support these general findings. It is interesting to note the parallel between research on girls and boys in schools on the one hand, and on minority and majority students in schools on the other. Just as boys and men (generally with no attention to factors like race and ethnicity) seem to be advantaged at the expense of girls and women in mainstream schools in Britain, Australia, and the United States, white middle-class standard English speakers (generally with no attention to gender) seem to be advantaged at the expense of nonwhite middle-class standard English speakers (see Nieto, 1992, for further discussion). However, as Swann (1993) points out, these findings need to be interpreted with some caution. The differences between sexes are always average ones, and boys and girls behave differently in different contexts. In other words, these are tendencies, not absolutes, that have been documented in mainstream English-speaking classes. It should be emphasized that there is considerable variation that can be exploited by teachers in their own classes. As discussed earlier, for the variation in how girls and boys use language to be understood, research needs to begin not with boys and girls as fixed categories that behave or are treated the same in all contexts, but with a particular community of practice, in this case a class or a school. The analysis, then, needs to focus on the activity and on how boys’ and girls’ rights and obligations are constructed within that activity within that community of practice. Once the class and the activities to be analyzed have been identified, the teacher or researcher can begin by asking how girls and boys, women and men, are represented, for example, in the texts selected for use in the class as well as in the work that the students produce. Researchers have found that women, like other minority groups, tend to be excluded, marginalized, or stereotyped within the mainstream curriculum content (see Nieto, 1992; Sadker ;amp; Sadker, 1993; Swann, 1993, for further discussion). Although we are not aware of any studies that have documented short-term and longer-term effects of mainstream curriculum content versus curriculum content that is gender balanced, Swann summarizes the concerns of teachers and researchers about gender imbalances in the curriculum as follows: Teachers and researchers have been concerned about imbalances in children’s reading materials because of their potential immediate and local effects: they may affect the way pupils respond to a particular book and the subject with which it is associated; they may also affect the pupils’ performance on assessment tasks. There is further concern that, in the longer term, such imbalances may help to reinforce gender differences and inequalities: they may influence children’s perceptions of what are appropriate attributes, activities, occupations, and so forth for males and females. Introducing alternative images may redress the balance, and also have a disruptive effect, causing pupils to question accepted views of girls and boys and women and men. (p. 113) Swann (pp. 190-197) provides a variety of checklists that teachers and researchers can use to investigate how girls and boys, women and men, are represented and evaluated in the texts they choose and the activities they organize within their classrooms. When teachers find that their curricular choices are not balanced with respect to gender, for example, that the science text includes few contributions by women, that the literature anthology includes stories primarily by white males about white males, or that the women included in the texts are portrayed only in traditional roles, they can adopt texts that offer images of women and men in less traditional roles. If the goal is to encourage students to question traditional notions, simply providing alternative images in the curriculum content may not be sufficient. Teachers may want to encourage students to talk about traditional and alternative images, perhaps by critically reading and responding to sexist materials, by emphasizing choice in women’s and men’s roles, and by challenging representations of women and men (and other groups) in the students’ own work. We will return to these points later in this chapter. As has been discussed throughout this chapter, it is not only what is talked about, in this case through the curriculum content, that helps shape gender roles; equally or more important is an understanding of how girls and boys, women and men, position themselves and each other through their interactions. With respect to the organization of classroom interaction, research suggests that participation frameworks, or groupings of students and teachers for classroom activities (e. . , as individuals, in pairs, in small groups, or as a teacher-fronted classes), can strongly influence the students’ opportunities to talk and demonstrate achievement (see Erickson, this volume; Saville-Troike, this volume). For example, mainstream U. S. classrooms are generally characterized by the transmission model of teaching and learning (Cummins, 1989) and the initiation-response-evaluation (IRE) participation structure (Holmes, 1978). In these teacher-centered classes, the teacher talks for most of the time as he or she transmits the curriculum content to the student population in a relatively competitive atmosphere, and initiates the students5 participation. The students are encouraged to bid for the opportunity to respond to what Cazden (1988) describes as the â€Å"known-answer55 question, and the teacher then evaluates the students’ responses as right or wrong. It is in this traditional competitive classroom that boys seem to be advantaged (Sadker ;amp;c Sadker, 1993; Tannen, 1992). However, just as women participated more in more collaboratively organized meetings than in traditional hierarchically organized meetings (see earlier discussions of Edelsky, 1981; Goodwin, 1990), some research suggests that girls, as well as students from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, participate more in cooperative learning organizations than in traditional teacher-centered classes (Kramarae ;amp; Treichler, 1990; Tannen, 1992; see also Kessler, 1990, for a general review of benefits of cooperative learning). However, the picture is much more complicated; simply organizing students into smaller groups is not the answer. In fact, some research suggests that mixed-sex groupings can reproduce boys’ dominant role and girls’ supportive role. For example, in a study by Sommers and Lawrence (1992) of mixed-sex peer response groups of college students in writing classes, it was found that males took far more turns than females, produced greater quantities of talk, at times appropriated females’ ideas as their own, and tended to interrupt and/or silence their female counterparts. Females tended to wait, listen, acknowledge, and confirm other students’ contributions. When Sommers and Lawrence compared male and female participation in the peer response groups with their participation in the teacher-fronted participation framework, they found that boys and girls tended to participate more or less equally in the teacher-fronted organization because the teachers could exert more control over how the participation opportunities were distributed. It is important to mention that the teachers in these teacher-fronted classes were Lawrence and Sommers themselves, and that they were aware of and concerned about equal participation opportunities for males and females in their classes. In a study by Rennie and Parker (1987, cited by Swann, 1993) of primary school students in science classes in Australia, it was also found that boys tended to talk more in mixed-sex groupings, and girls tended to watch and listen. However, in single-sex groups, and in classes in which the teachers had participated in a â€Å"gender awareness† course, girls tended to participate more actively. Both these examples suggest that when teachers are aware of gender-differentiated language use, they can change the dynamics in their classes so that girls and women are not subordinated, at least in the short run. Swann (1993) provides some useful suggestions for teachers and researchers who are interested in systematically observing and analyzing the dynamics within their own classes to understand how girls and boys are positioned relative to each other (Chap. 8), as well as suggestions for changing discriminatory practices (Chap. 9). The research discussed thus far has been concerned with genderdifferentiated language use in mainstream, white, standard Englishspeaking contexts in the United States, Britain, and Australia. Even in these relatively homogeneous contexts, it is evident that factors other than gender (e. g. participation framework and activity type) may affect the way people behave. Although there has been relatively little detailed research to date on the ways in which boys and girls from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds interact in the classroom, an area of particular concern to ESL and bilingual teachers, it is likely that factors such as culture, race, ethnic ity, and socioeconomic status interact with gender to shape students’ participation opportunities. For example, Swann (1993) discusses a series of analyses of gender and ethnic imbalances in classroom discussions in four nursery and primary schools in Ealing, England. Swann points out that in the original analysis, Claire and Redpath (1989) found that boys averaged three times as many turns as girls, and that some boys were more talkative than others; this finding is consistent with much of the research on girls’ and boys’ participation in classes. Their follow-up analysis of the same data, however, suggests an interaction between gender and ethnic group. They found that the boys who dominated the discussion group were white and black Afro-Caribbean; the Asian boys participated much less frequently. White and black Afro-Caribbean girls participated about equally; Asian girls participated the least of any group. They speculate that the topics of discussion and teachers’ attitudes and behaviors in the lesson might contribute to these classroom dynamics (see Swann, 1993, p. 65, for further discussion). Consistent with Claire and Redpath’s first analysis, research by Sadker and Sadker (1993) found no systematic differences between black and white students, students from different age groups, or students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Friday, August 30, 2019

National Curriculum Establishes Assessment As Part Of Teaching Education Essay

The National Curriculum establishes appraisal as an built-in portion of instruction and acquisition, saying that ‘assessment is how pupils recognise accomplishment and do advancement, and how instructors shape and personalise their instruction ‘ ( National Curriculum, 2010 ) . Appraisal in all its pretenses is a critical factor in be aftering for short, average and long-run student advancement. If the importance of formative and summational appraisal is recognised during the planning phases, it allows for a more in-depth analysis of pupil accomplishment and attainment and a more constructive rating of the effectivity of personal instruction methods. The focal point of this paper is the importance of effectual planning of both formative and summational appraisal for learning and larning. Without some signifier of appraisal it would be improbably hard for both instructors and scholars to estimate how much advancement has been made during a lesson or over the class of a pecu liar unit of survey. Assessment should non be merely an addition at the terminal of a unit of work, but instead a cardinal constituent of day-to-day schoolroom instruction and acquisition. It is for these grounds that I have chosen it as the focal point of this paper. In its simplest signifier, appraisal is the procedure by which instructors analyse pupils ‘ acquisition ( Briggs and Ellis, 2004. p.63 ) ; nevertheless it is much more than that. Assessment enables scholars to recognize accomplishment and do advancement, and instructors to determine and accommodate their instruction to single demands and aspirations ( National Curriculum, 2010 ) . Research has shown that appraisal ( with explicit respect to its National Curriculum intents ) can be divided into two cardinal countries that work as separate entities yet are inextricably linked. Pachler, Barnes & A ; Field have labelled these two countries as the ‘macro and micro dimensions ‘ of appraisal ( 2009. pp.235-236 ) . The macro strand consists of the national, regional and local/school-based statute law, policy and certification that are often updated and used to make public presentation informations. The micro strand, which involves the monitoring and betterment of single class/pupil cognition, understanding and acquisition, utilises these policies and certification in order to accomplish the consequences required to farther inform and develop the macro strand. This cyclical construction of appraisal merely reinforces its importance, as the success and patterned advance of both the single student and the national instruction system depend upon it. With such significance weighing upon its nucleus application through instruction and acquisition in the schoolroom, it is indispensable that appraisal is given due consideration during the planning procedure in order to guarantee that it is used resourcefully and productively. In order to do the country of appraisal more accessible for schoolroom usage, it is possible to farther categorise it so that it becomes a functional characteristic of instruction and acquisition. The micro strand of appraisal can itself be broken down into two distinguishable yet besides interlinked dimensions, viz. formative and summational appraisal. The Assessment Reform Group have defined the formative, appraisal for larning as ‘the procedure of seeking and construing grounds for usage by scholars and their instructors to make up one's mind where the scholars are in their acquisition, where they need to travel following and how best to acquire at that place ‘ ( Assessment Reform Group, 2002 ) . Pachler, Barnes & A ; Field have defined the summative, appraisal of larning as ‘assessment which describes/summarises what a scholar has achieved/attained. A snapshot of accomplishment. It besides informs instructors of how much of and how good a group of scholars has p rogressed against the intended acquisition results ‘ ( 2009, p.236 ) . The 1987 study compiled by the Task Group on Assessment and Testing ( TGAT ) put frontward the construct that formative and summational appraisal could and ought to be used in tandem for the benefit of student advancement. Harmonizing to the TGAT, uniting the consequences of appraisals with the specific intent of supplying formative information could supply a good general image of a student ‘s educational advancement. However, the TGAT besides claimed that since summational appraisals occur at the terminal of a stage of acquisition, formative information could non be obtained from them and hence could non show an accurate position of the student ‘s educational history ( TGAT Report, 1987. paragraph 25 ) . Therefore, utilizing both signifiers of appraisal together would look to be a cardinal attack to analyzing a student ‘s overall academic attainment and was a nucleus factor in my ain planning for learning and acquisition. The planning procedure itself is at the bosom of instruction and acquisition. It is through be aftering a series of lessons that a clear way for the intended acquisition is achieved. Individual lesson programs relate via units of work to the strategy of work, which outlines the work to be covered over a period of clip or a period of survey defined by scrutiny specifications ( Pachler, Barnes & A ; Field, 2009. p.100 ) . Each single lesson planned demands to be portion of a ‘bigger image ‘ in order to put realistic medium-term larning marks. Killen states that there must be a direct and obvious connexion between what you do lesson-by-lesson and what the course of study suggests students should larn in the long term ( 2006. p.66 ) . A instructor needs to make an effectual Medium Term Plan clear uping what it is a student is expected to larn and a assortment of possible methods to assist them accomplish this. Medium term programs begin to locate the acquisition in contexts t hat are meaningful, relevant and appropriate ( Browne, 2007. p.180 ) . A good organized medium term program with accomplishable larning aims and results will assist to supply a clear and concise instruction and learning way. For the intents of this paper I am traveling to measure the planning and instruction of a sequence of lessons for one Year 7 German category. My first measure in this procedure was to garner every bit much information as I could about the School Phase 1 ( SP1 ) school, the section and the category itself, paying peculiar attending to the school ‘s rare societal scene. I did so as a consequence of anterior reading before geting at the SP1 school, viz. Cohen, Manion and Morrison ‘s recommendation that one should get down by look intoing characteristics and resources of the vicinity in which the school is situated, as some of these may turn out to be relevant to the lessons you will be learning and organizing ( 2002. p.44 ) . Through treatments with my wise man and other members of staff I discovered that a big proportion of the students in the SP1 school semen from military households and as a consequence of the nature of this business, the school can often hold students ge ting and go forthing at any clip of the school twelvemonth. Therefore, it was necessary during the planning procedure to be aware of the likely possibility that a student with no anterior cognition of the linguistic communication may fall in the group at any phase. The Year 7 category was a mixed-ability group comprised of students with no anterior exposure to the German linguistic communication before get downing into Year 7, students who were taught German in Year 6 as portion of a Primary Languages Programme and students who had resided in British Army Bases in Germany for more than six months. With such a varied mix of abilities in the group Cohen, Manion and Morrison ‘s recommendation proved to be important to be aftering the sequence of lessons I was to learn. Before composing my ain average term program I observed the group with their regular schoolroom instructor. I had besides intended to familiarize myself with the section ‘s policies and certification, nevertheless, the section was undergoing alterations and developments at the clip so current and up-to-date policies and certification were non available until after I had taken over learning the category from their regular instructor. As a consequence of this I was non to the full cognizant of the prep or taging processs of the section. This is one of the major countries for betterment I have highlighted for developing my ain professional pattern as I aim to be more thorough in my hereafter apprehension of departmental patterns even when no formal certification is accessible. Despite this reverse, I began to develop my average term program by utilizing the National Curriculum and the Framework for MFL every bit good as the section ‘s Schemes of Work and the Teacher ‘s Guides that corresponded with them. Through treatments with my wise man ( who was besides the schoolroom instructor of this peculiar group ) I established where the category was in their acquisition in conformity with the strategy of work and together we agreed an appropriate starting point for my average term program. I used all of the information available to me until I had created a footing for the instruction and acquisition that would take topographic point over the period of four to five hebdomads. Each hebdomad I taught the group one lesson of 100 proceedingss continuance. Before I took over the instruction of full lessons, I began by learning little elements of them including starting motors and activities during a lesson ; nevertheless they did non characteristic in my average term program as they took topographic point before the agreed get downing point. My average term program covered one full unit of work, consisting of five 100 minute lessons ; nevertheless as it was a on the job papers I altered and amen ded it in line with the advancement of existent instruction and larning which was taking topographic point ( appendix I ) . For each lesson accounted for in the medium term program I included the followers: the lesson focal point with mention to identify model aims, the acquisition aims and expected larning results of the lesson, the resources which may be used during the lesson and a general lineation of possible acquisition activities. I later created single lesson programs for each lesson that would be taught which provided a more comprehensive lineation of the instruction and larning involved ( appendix two ) . With this paper in head I narrowed the focal point of my rating of my planning for learning and larning on my usage of both formative and summational appraisal to inform pupil advancement. I planned to utilize both signifiers of appraisal with specific respect to the monitoring of pupil advancement in Modern Foreign Language Attainment Target 4 – Writing. The SP1 school divides the academic twelvemonth into six footings and teaches a tight, two twelvemonth Key Stage 3 course of study and therefore has high achievement marks for the terminal of Year 7. The section concentrates on these through centering its summational appraisal on one Attainment Target at a clip. â€Å" Focus 3: To raise accomplishment at KS3. Quantitative Targets: To enable 80 % or more of yr7 pupils achieve NC Level 3 by terminal of term 2 in composing † ( appendix three ) . As I would be learning this group during term 2 I incorporated this mark into my planning. I developed lessons in which I tried to guarantee there was equal patterned advance of composing accomplishments. In order to keep a balance nevertheless, composing was non ever a cardinal focal point of the lesson so that attainment of the other three linguistic communication accomplishments ; speech production, listening and reading, could besides be enhanced at a similar gait. As I began to learn and measure full lessons, I noticed that the same job countries of my instruction kept looking which were holding an consequence on students ‘ acquisition. These countries were gait, projection of voice and most significantly lodging to my lesson programs. In the beginning I was non able to interpret my planning of lessons into instruction of lessons. On juncture I left out activities I had planned or created new activities during the lesson that I had non planned for. While this did non hold a damaging consequence on students ‘ acquisition, students ‘ advancement was somewhat inhibited due to my ain inability to present what I had planned. Although I had designed specific appraisal for larning elements of lessons to inform me of student advancement, these countries were sometimes overlooked in the beginning for grounds such as my timings of chief activities were unrealistic or I was concentrating excessively much of my attending on pull offing p upil behavior. As a consequence of this, at the early phases of my instruction, I was frequently unable to give equal clip to measure how much acquisition had really taken topographic point during the lesson. Throughout the lesson, nevertheless, I ensured that I would take notice of those students who were fighting with the acquisition involved and those who were happening it straightforward. In my ratings after the lessons this helped me to find a general feeling of what countries of the lesson I had been successful in instruction and those that I needed to better. Once I had evaluated my instruction in relation to pupils ‘ larning I was able to set up clear countries for development which would help the betterment of both. My planning became more focussed and my timings more realistic so that I was finally able to be after a lesson that I could successfully learn and in which I could supervise the accomplishment of larning results. I began to utilize formative appraisal techniques more often and fruitfully during lessons and could therefore supply more suited aid to students of all abilities. I delivered the sequence of lessons with the summational authorship appraisal in head. While in the beginning I was unsure of how to put undertakings at the appropriate degree for the acquisition which had merely taken topographic point, rating and contemplation of these lessons aided my readying of future lessons guaranting I included and monitored undertakings which showed obvious patterned advance of composing accomplishments. For illustration, w ritten undertakings which showed a development in pupil ability from copying individual words for new vocabulary ( Level 1 ) to gap-filling exercisings which modelled cardinal grammatical constructions ( Level 2 ) to finally accommodating these theoretical accounts and composing their ain sentences utilizing the cardinal vocabulary and grammatical constructions antecedently learned ( Level 3 ) . The bulk of students were so besides able to remember this linguistic communication and grammar from memory during the authorship appraisal itself ( Level 4 ) ( appendix iiii ) . As I stated earlier, the focal point of the section was to raise accomplishment at KS3 so that at least 80 % of Year 7 students attained a Level 3 by the terminal of term 2. To measure the advancement made during this term a formal summational appraisal was given. In this appraisal pupils had to compose a short text about themselves utilizing as much of the information they had learned since the beginning of term 1 as they could. I provided the students with a departmental-approved information outline sheet in English to help them with the undertaking ( appendix V ) . In footings of student advancement and making set marks, my instruction and students ‘ acquisition was successful. The consequences of the summational appraisal show that 94 % of the group achieved a Level 3 or higher, with 83 % of the group really achieving a Degree 4 ( appendix six ) . As a summational consequence this is above the mark set, nevertheless, these consequences mean small if the students themselves do non understand the standard for accomplishing these degrees ( appendix seven ) . In the lesson following the appraisal I planned for the bulk of the clip to be spent on returning the appraisals to students and presenting them to the thought of reflecting on their ain development. I besides provided them with teacher-feedback and allocated clip for students to self-assess their ain advancement and place countries to better for their hereafter acquisition. Harmonizing to the Assessment Reform Group, ‘successful larning occurs when scholars have ownership of their acquisition ; when they understand the ends they are taking for ; when, crucially they are motivated and have the accomplishments to accomplish success ‘ ( cited in Pachler, Barnes & A ; Field, 2009. p.234 ) . Equally good as making attainment marks students, every bit good as instructors, need to develop the ability to reflect upon their ain development and indentify the cardinal countries that can actuate them to better and make higher. I introduced this critical component of womb-to-tomb acquisition by supplying each student with a simple feedback sheet attached to their appraisal, so that it was possible for them to reflect upon their work and distinguish and record countries that they completed successfully and those that they need to better upon in order to raise their attainment degrees in the hereafter ( appendix eight ) . I have discovered from my ain planning and presenting a sequence of lessons why such value is placed on contemplation and rating. Without measuring what you have done in the past it would be an backbreaking undertaking trying to come on in the right way. Evaluation is in itself a signifier of appraisal. Measuring my instruction in footings of students ‘ acq uisition has allowed me to see what advancement I have made and what successes and failures have been encountered along the manner. With this cognition it has become much easier to place clear marks and aims for my future professional development.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Aberlyn Capital

Executive Summary The venture leasing deal that Aberlyn proposed to RhoMed is an innovative way for RhoMed, a start-up firm, to acquire financing without diluting its equity value and raising debt in the market. Management believes that the firm is more valuable than venture capital firms would believe, and debt financing would be extremely costly since RhoMed doesn’t currently have positive cash flow. For Aberlyn, the main benefits of the transaction are the interest payments paid on the lease and potential to sell the patent for a much higher value than the original $1 Million valuation by RhoMed. However, this is a rather risky investment for Aberlyn. If RhoMed defaults on its payments, Aberlyn uses the patent as collateral and must sell it in the market. Since the patent is highly individualized and therefore may not be commercially feasible, the patent is probably worth less than what Lulu’s valuation suggests. RhoMed has limited options in terms of financing as the cost of debt and equity are both very expensive for start-up firms without positive cash flow. However, by going this route, they are risking losing the main driver of their business their patent. In order to value RhoMed as a whole we needed to make numerous assumptions, particularly on their future revenue streams, a huge driver for the valuation and share value, as our sensitivity analysis suggests. We believe that the revenue projections given in the case are far too optimistic. We projected our own descending annual growth rates for revenue and assumed that the firm reaches stability in 2004 and grows at the inflation rate of 3%. We estimated capex by using a constant percentage of revenue of 21% and we used our estimated capex to estimate depreciation. Based on these assumptions, the NPV for the value of the firm is about $19.5 M and with a share value of $3.45. To value the warrants we used the black-Scholes model and reached a call price of $180,915 in total or $2.63 per warrant. Alberlyn requires an implicit yield of 15-17% on firms characterized as â€Å"class 2.† To calculate the IRR for Alberlyn, we evaluated three different scenarios that could potentially occur. Case 1 assumes that RhoMed successfully makes all its payments and buys back the patent at $1 at the end of three years. This yields a 15% IRR. Case 2 assumes that RhoMed defaults on its payments and that Aberlyn then successfully sells the patent in the market in 1995. In order to find then  appropriate sale price we assumed an IRR of 15% and backed into the purchase price of $2,750,652. Case 3 assumes that RhoMed defaults on its payment and Aberlyn is unable to find a buyer in the market. This yields a negative IRR and an NPV of negative 950 M, nearly equal to the negative amount of the initial investment. Based on our analysis we think that Aberlyn should not go ahead with the venture leasing deal and that RhoMed should reconsider issuing equity instead. Costs, Benefits, and risks of the venture leasing deal to Aberlyn and RhoMed Aberlyn 1. Benefits: This is a relatively novel transaction where an intangible asset is leased. As a frontrunner, Aberlyn has first mover’s advantage allowing it to capture profits from this innovative financing approach, even in future transactions after RhoMed. Aberlyn has an incredibly qualified management team and utilizes its expertise both in the case of RhoMed and in future leasing transactions. The two main benefits are the interest payments paid on the lease and Alberyn’s higher valuation of the patent. Aberlyn is providing $1 Million in cash to RhoMed but values the patent at $5 Million. If RhoMed cannot pay the interest or the principal then Aberlyn can use the patent as collateral and sell it in the market at a premium. This means that Aberlyn should be able to recoup its investment even if things do not go according to plan. 2. Costs: Aberlyn might have to engage in costly litigation in order to defend against possible infringements on RhoMed’s patent. If other companies sense that Aberlyn is unwilling to pay the litigation fees necessary in order to defend the patent, other companies will use the technology for free, rendering the patent worthless. 3. Risks: A. Novel Transaction: Since this is a relatively novel approach, and since RhoMed does not have experience with external financing, there are multiple areas under the discretion of Aberlyn’s management, which can ultimately determine Aberlyn’s profitability. B. Low cash balance: A potential risk is that RhoMed does not have enough cash flow to cover the interest expense and principal payments. According to Exhibit 6, the cash balance in 1992 is 21,351, and the net cash flow is -37,783. Considering that the interest expense for 1993 is projected to be 27,000, the default risk should be  highly considered. C. Highly specified product: Since the patent is not commercialized and targeted towards the individual, there might not be a market at all for the patent. It could be that if RhoMed does not exercise the option to buy the patent back or defaults on its payments and Aberlyn can’t sell the patent in the market, it would essentially be stuck with the patent, an a sset that has no value. We calculated the NPV in this scenario and concluded that Aberlyn would essentially lose nearly its entire investment. D. Another potential risk that Aberlyn faces is they are only purchasing one patent, and many firms regard one patent as being far less useful than a patent that is part of a broader portfolio. The patent would be more highly valued if antibodies, proteins, and peptides had already been patented and included within the Antibody Delivery System. E. This patent may actually capture a smaller portion of the market share than Lulu believes; this is because the product is highly individualized and not commercially feasible. If it is difficult for this new technology to capture as much market share as is predicted by Lulu, then Aberlyn will have difficulty selling the patent if and when RhoMed cannot meet its payment obligations. Another reason why it may be more difficult for Aberlyn to sell the patent is that much of the patent’s value is derived from the fact that RhoMed’s scientists have a lot of expertise in the area they are researching. If another firm that didn’t have the same level of human capital necessary to realize the full value of the patent bought the patent then they might value it less. RhoMed 1. Benefits: RhoMed can continue on with its business activities while maximizing its control of equity. Without the deal, RhoMed needs to find external financing from places such as banks until its IPO likely around 1994. Since RhoMed is a new company with negative cash flow, limited resources, and limited partnerships, most external sources of financing will be costly. Further, RhoMed’s founders want to retain their equity. Since most other venture capital firms want 30% equity, Aberlyn’s offer is attractive. 2. Costs: While the costs of maintaining the patent, such as defending it, are shifted to Aberlyn, RhoMed still bears additional leasing costs, which are similar to a loan and include both principal and leasing  interest payments. Although this is a significant cost, this cost is much lower than what the cost of traditional debt financing would be for RhoMed. 3. Risks: RhoMed faces quite a few risks, the main one being that they could lose their patents or what they deem proprietary technology. If RhoMed defaults on either the interest payments or the principal, then Aberlyn keeps the patent. If Aberlyn sells the patent in the market, RhoMed will lose its competitive advantage. Overall, RhoMed is putting the highest value of their business at a substantial risk. Nevertheless, this deal is necessary for RhoMed because of limited financing options. Lulu Peckering’s Evaluation The patents that RhoMed developed for immunotherapy of cancer treatment is a novel approach that has not been conclusively demonstrated. Therefore, there is no current market making it hard to find comparable firms and challenging to project future revenues. The best way to get a relative sense of how profitable the company can be is to try to size the market and make assumptions as to how much of the market RhoMed can capture considering the strength of the patent and the technology associated with it. There are two things to consider with Lulu Pickering’s patent evaluation. First are some of her assumptions. We agree with her valuation of the market size at $735.4 M. However, the assumption that RhoMed can capture 20% of the market seems unrealistic especially considering that if a PET machine is available, it will probably be used over other methods. This implies that splitting the market share evenly between the five options is probably not feasible. I would argue that PET will capture 40% of the market. The fact that the product is very individualized and less commercially feasible makes it even more difficult to believe that RhoMed can capture a substantial portion of the market. Therefore, we claim that they can only capture 10% of the market. Using the same method as in the case, we reach a market size of $36.8 M. Dividing that by half to account for the other risks discussed yields $18.4 M. Based on a royalty rate of 5% over the fourteen year time period of the estimate, with the assumption that this is relevant to all types of cancer, this equals $9.2 M. The discount rate is a measure of risk. Because we accounted for some of the risk associated with this product by  cutting down the size of the market, we can use the 7.3% premium above the risk free rate given in the case (13.35%) as the discount rate over 14 years: $9.2 M/(1.1335)^14 = $1.6 M. Assumptions for FCF of RhoMed and Valuation (Appendix 1) Revenues for RhoMed: We believe the revenue projections for RhoMed in Exhibit 7 are too optimistic. The revenue projections between 1993 and 1994 jump nearly 1000% and while start-ups do grow rapidly at the beginning, this seems highly optimistic. Given RhoMed is in its start-up stage, we project descending annual growth rates for revenue. We assume that the firm reaches stability in 2004 and then peg the subsequent growth rate to inflation at 3%.1 Capex: Given the condition that RhoMed is in a capital-intensive biotech industry, we calculated CAPEX as a constant proportion of revenue. We assume the ratio of CAPEX/Revenue remains constant at 21% (as in year 1992) over the following years. Depreciation: To calculate the depreciation, we use CAPEX and depreciated with a consistent 11-year life using the straight-line method. This patent has a 17 year life span and most PPE have a five year schedule. Therefore we chose an average of those two times, 11 years, as the depreciation schedule for the patent. We were then able to calculate depreciation each year using a depreciation schedule (Appendix 3). Terminal Value: For TV, we used the constant growth method, assuming a constant growth rate of 3% and discounted it back one year to yield a 2004 value of $55,642,743 (Appendix 2). Risk-free rate/discount rate: We used the risk-free rate of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds at 6.05%, which we think best reflects the length of the project and added a premium of 7.3% as stated in the case which yielded a 13.35% discount rate. Impact of Warrants: We took into consideration the impact of warrants. Since the warrant coverage ratio is 10%, it means 1,000,000*10%/3.45 = 29,000 warrants can be exercised. Therefore, we added this number to the current total shares outstanding. Based on these assumptions, the NPV for the value of the firm is about $19.5 M. As this is an all equity firm, this is also the firm value, dividing that by the number of shares outstanding (5,699,747) results in a share price of $3.43 (Appendix 2). Assumptions for Warrants and Valuation Sigma: We used the industry average sigma, 68% (from footnotes in Exhibit 10). Risk-free rate: We used the 5-year U.S. Treasury rate of 5.05% as a benchmark, matching the time horizon of the warrants. Valuation: We calculated the value of the warrants using the Black-Scholes model. For the inputs of the B-S model, we used the firm value of $19.5 M that we calculated above as Y, $1.45 for the exercise price, 5,699,747 for the number of shares outstanding, as provided in the case. Number of the warrants is calculated by multiplying 1,000,000 by the warrant coverage 10%, and then divided by the exercise price. Using alpha=n/(n+m), P=alpha*Y and X=(1-alpha)*n*Xw, we derive all the inputs for B-S model. Inputting those values in the model results in: P=234,317, X=98,798 and the value of the warrants or the call price = 181,501 in total or 2.63 per warrant (Appendix 4). Internal Rate of Return for Aberlyn Aberlyn is looking for a 15-17% implicit yield on patents falling into risk class â€Å"2.† We evaluated three different scenarios that could potentially occur based on the benefits, costs, and risks discussed earlier. Scenario 1: Optimistic View In this case, we assume RhoMed would successfully make all the payments and exercise the option to buy back the patent for $1 (which we ignore in our analysis since it’s so small). Amortization of the patent at the assumed book value of $1 million uses the straight-line method and is zeroed out after the sale. This yields a 15% implicit yield (appendix). Scenario 2: Optimistic Default on payments, sell patent. In this case, we assume RhoMed failed to make all the payments either interest or principal or both, loses the option to buy back the patents, and loses the patents in general. We assume RhoMed would fail to make those payments at year 3 (since they borrowed $1 M they could at least make the payment for the first couple years) and thus Aberlyn would sell the patent in the market in 1995. Using Aberlyn’s required implicit yield of 15%, as case 1, we backed out the required sale price of the patent in 1995 = 2,750,652 (appendix). Scenario 3: Pessimistic In this case, we assume that RhoMed would not be able to make payments at year 3 and that Aberlyn will not be able to sell the patent in the market. As discussed above, there could be a situation where Aberlyn cannot find a market for patent and would be left holding an asset that ultimately holds no value. In this case Alberlyn has a negative NPV of $950 M, nearly equal to the amount of the initial investment (appendix). From Aberlyn’s perspective it seems that there is little upside to pursuing this route. They are essentially acquiring an asset that could be replicated by other firms and that is highly individualized, highly narrowing the market. As the sensitivity analysis shows, RhoMed’s valuation and share price are very sensitive to revenue streams (appendix). Even if RhoMed does make the payments, the revenue projections might be off and considered the difficulty in commercializing an individualized product, it seems even less likely that their revenue projections will be realized. While a $1M investment is not large, they could face the possibility of losing nearly entire amount as scenario three indicates. While RhoMed has limited options, this is also a risky approach for them because they are gambling the main driver of their company the patent. While the founders don’t want to dilute equity value, they might want to reconsider traditional equity financing. While this is an innovative approach to venture capital, we think it is risky for both parties involved and we would recommend that they reconsider. Appendix 1 – FCF_Assumptions Appendix 2 – RhoMed FCF, Share Price, Depreciation Schedule Appendix 3 – Depreciation Schedule Appendix 4 – Warrant Valuation Appendix 5 – IRR Calculation