Saturday, January 25, 2020

Theorists Impact on Teaching and Learning

Theorists Impact on Teaching and Learning The government aims to support and develop childrens learning; these include the Plowden Report (1967), The National Curriculum (1999), a more recent review known as the Rose Review (2009) and The Primary Cambridge Review (2009). These reviews were heavily influenced by both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. This assignment will compare two learning theorists and the impact they have on teaching and learning. My main focus will be on Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky however Jerome Bruner will also be mentioned. Firstly, the assignment will describe and critically analyse Jean Piagets theory of cognitive development. Secondly, I will describe and critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Lev Vygotskys theory of socio cognitive development. Both learning theorists will be examined and compared along with the implications they have on effective teaching practice. I will then move on to evaluate the impact it has on an individual child in terms of teaching and learning, taking their development needs into account as well as talking about maturation of the child. The school will also be mentioned throughout this assignment. The name of both the child and the school will not be disclosed due to privacy. I will also discover the factors that influence teaching and learning in the four main subjects, these include: Literacy, Numeracy/Mathematics, Science and ICT. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a biologist who moved into studying developments of childrens understanding by the age of 21, this was done through observation, speaking and listening to the children on a task that he had set. Piagets work on childrens intellectual development owed much to his early studies of water snails (Satterly, 1987, p. 622) Piaget was a well known French speaking Swiss theorist who believed that children learn by active knowledge through hands on experience. To do this the adult should provide the right materials to allow the child to interact and construct effectively. His views on how a childs mind functions and develops had a great influence especially in education theory. He mainly focused on child maturation to increase the understanding of their world; children cannot carry out certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so (Child-Development-Guide, 2010). Piaget believed that childrens thinking does not develop smoothly throughout childhood as there are certain points in which it expands and progresses into new aims and capabilities. The transitions took place at about 18 months, 7 years and 11/12 years of age; this meant that before these ages, no matter how bright a child is he/she is not capable of understanding things in certain ways. Piaget used Socratic questioning to get the children to think more about what exactly they are asking or thinking about, the aim of this was to get children to see contradictions in their explanations. Piagets theory of cognitive development was the central structure to his theory. The acquisition of knowledge in childhood which included processes such as understanding, reasoning, thinking, problem solving, learning, conceptualising and remembering, as a whole understanding all the aspects of human intelligence that are used to make sense of the world. Cognitive development is purely concerned with intellectual functions that can be studied individually from socio-economical functions (Atherton, J. 2010) Cognitive structures are patterns of physical or mental action which correspond to the stages of child development. Both Piaget and Vygotsky believe that childrens cognitive development takes place in stages. However Piaget was the first to show that children go through different stages of cognitive development. According to Piaget there are four primary development stages, these include: sensorimotor, preoperations, concrete operations and formal operations. The sensorimotor stage ranges from 0 to 2 years; this is where intelligence takes the form of motor actions. By the actions they perform in their environment through sucking, watching, biting and a number of other responses they may perform. According to a test undertaken by Piaget the child will look for an object that s/he has seen being hidden, this occurs when a child is around 8 months old. Intelligence in the pre-operation period consists of 2 to 7 year olds. At this age the children are capable of using symbols such as words and images to make sense of the world, imaginative play is used and they can tell the difference between fantasy and reality. The child can see a situation from another persons point of view, this is known as egocentrism. According to Piaget, the egocentric child thinks that others see, hear and feel exactly the same as s/he does. REF! bbc article The cognitive structure during the concrete operational stage consists of 7 to 11 year olds. Children need a number of mental operations such as classification and conservation so they can mentally manipulate symbols in different ways. Conversion is when the child has to ability to understand that redistributing material does not affect its mass, number or volume. By the age of 7, the child should understand that when a liquid is poured into a glass of different shape or size the quantity of liquid remains the same, only the appearance changes REF. The final stage is the formal operations which consist of 11 to 15 year olds. At this age children are capable of mental operations including abstractions and logical reasoning (Schaffer 2004, p.168). The mind of a child who is 11 years or older can carry out mathematical calculations, be creative, have accurate reasoning and imagine the outcome of specific actions REF. After analysing Piagets theory, I believe that his four stages of development and the structure of teaching is closely linked. The sensorimotor stage fits in to the early years foundation stage (EYFS) where children mainly learn by playing and exploring the facilities around them. In the nursery and reception classes of the school, the children have a variety of continuous provisions areas within the classroom that relate to the real world such as shops, post office and kitchens. This allows the children to explore role play and discover real life situations. Tasks are set up to allow the children to explore freely whilst the teacher observes the childrens involvement in the activity (EYFS, 2010, online). This relates to the principle of enabling environments in the EYFS themes: The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending childrens development and learning (EYFS, 2010, online). The second stage links to children who are in key stage 1 (KS1). The children develop words that support play with ideas. The school has a shop corner which contains a till, plastic shopping basket with play foods and plastic money, this allows the children to play within the shop and explore the money. I believe this allows the children to learn as well as play as its leveled at their ability. It is important to give the children real life situations and problem solving as the skills can be applied throughout their learning and help them develop into mature adults. Providing the children with hands on experience in certain areas of the curriculum such as EYFS, mathematics and literacy has been taken from Piagets theory. The child is observed during a practical activity and his/her engagement and communication skills are recorded (Briggs et al, 2005, p.27). I feel it is important that EYFS, key stage one and key stage two should be closely linked and flexible so the child has the correct skills and knowledge throughout the stages to build their confidence and succeed in the future. As part of a Literacy topic the children had to act out Goldilocks and the three bears. They were put in groups and were given a script. The children had to read the script and act it out. This provided the teacher with information on each childs cognitive ability and allowed her to assess and set targets for each child. The concrete operational stage ties in with KS2. However, after observing a key stage two there is a change in terms of teaching style and the activities undertaken in EYFS and KS1 The aim of KS2 is to develop the logical process in the learning. Every week the children carry out guided reading, this differentiates from fiction to nonfiction depending on the ability of the child. The children have to read and make sense of the book in order to answer related questions. Finally, the formal operations stage links to KS3 and consists of children working independently and building on existing knowledge. Piagets theory allows the child to learn actively and gain knowledge from any mistakes that they make. However, I feel that Piagets methods are underestimated and may have a huge impact on learning. When learning the core subjects mainly Literacy and Mathematics, Piagets theory ignored the social aspects of the child which unvalued the importance knowledge and culture which led to underestimating the ability of the children. His is widely used in a number of schools, however I strongly feel that the teaching should cover a wider range including the external factors and the environment especially the social and emotional aspects of learning (Isaacs, 1929). On the other hand Vygotsky believed that a childs learning cannot be separated from its social context. An example of the importance social context has is Piagets three mountain experiment. Piaget concluded that children are unable to see things from another persons perspective (Schaffer, 2004, p.174). In the experiment he used 3 mountains of different sizes and children aged from four to twelve years old. The children sat on one side of the mountain and a doll was placed on the other side. The children were then shown photographs of the mountains from different positions and were asked to choose a photograph the doll can see from her position. Piaget found that children under seven years of age could not see things from another persons perspective therefore were egocentric (Wood, 1998, p. 66). However the appropriateness of the three mountain experiment was questioned. Borke states that children performed poorly due to unfamiliarity and not motivating enough for the children to complete successfully (Smith et al. 1998). When the experiment was repeated by Hughes (Donaldson, 1987, p.137) using a policeman and a doll. The children were asked where the doll should hide so the policeman does not find her; he found that nearly ninety nice percent of children aged five were correct. He concluded that if the child is given a familiar situation he/she will think objectively. Cognitive structures change through the following processes: adaptation, assimilation and accommodation. Adaptation is found in all biological organisms to adjust to the demands of the environment, assimilation involves the individual to incorporate new experiences into existing schemas and accommodation is where the individual modifies existing schemas to fit the new experiences (Schaffer, 2004, p.165). This relates to other learning theorists in terms of constructivist perspectives of learning including Jerome Bruner and Lev Vygotsky. However researchers have found it difficult to measure developmental processes: assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. They found it difficult to identify processes that are central to Piagets theory (Meadows 1993, p.19). Piaget claims that his stages are universal regardless of culture, this has also been questioned as a number of studies show that children are able to reach stages earlier that Piaget has stated (Bower, 1974). A three month old baby was shown a toy that was covered by a screen, when the screen was moved the toy had vanished and in another condition the toy was still there. The babies heart rate was measured both when the toy was there and when the toy disappeared. The results showed that there was greater change in heart rate when the toy disappeared. The toy was replaced with different objects and Bower (1971) found that babies show more surprise. Schaffer (2004, p. 184) felt that Piaget under estimated the abilities of children. Applying Piagets theory requires specific recommendations for a certain stage in the cognitive development. For children who are at the sensorimotor stage, adults should provide them with a rich and motivating environment and a number of objects to play with. However a child who is at the concrete operational stage should be provided with activities in which they can classify problems, order and location of concrete objects. This allows the adult to see the different explanations the children at different stages of cognitive development will come up with. The activities or situations given should engage the learners and requires adaptation such as assimilation and accommodation. The learning materials given to the children should be relevant and should involve the right level of motor or mental operations for a child depending on his/her age (McLeod, S.A. 2007). Another critic of Piaget is that he used his own three children for many of his experiments and observations not thinking about the culture they came from (Smith, et al 2003, p. 412). Due to this he failed to take children from different backgrounds into account. A larger sample with children from various backgrounds should have been used to get a more accurate and generalised result. Piagets theory received a number of critics however his work had a major influence in the education sector. He disliked the idea of children being taught sat at desks, listening and transmitting information the teacher gives. Piaget believed that children learn through discovery, the task should be set by the teacher and children should be left to discover, any mistakes the children make should provide useful information on the childs cognitive development. Also for the correct answers, the process of how the child worked out the correct answer should be investigated (Smith et al, 2003, p.388). The curriculum is set out in a sequence, particularly in the core subjects such as mathematics and science. This is influenced by Piagets theory. The choice of learning objectives, curriculum sequencing, grade placements of topics, the assessment of childrens intellectual functioning and teaching methodology (Murray, 1985, p.291) It is important that the class teacher knows at what stage of cognitive development each child is at as it is an important aspect in Piagets theory. This also has an impact on pedagogy as teachers have to change their teaching style to enhance the childs development. The second theorist i will be critically analysing is Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). He was born in Russia in the same year as Piaget. He studied law and graduated at Moscow University. He then went on the study a Ph.D in Literature and Linguistics. Vygotskys began to work in psychology after the Russian revolution where the Marxism replaced the rule of the czar. The new Marxist philosophy emphasised socialism and collectivism. Individuals were expected to give up their personal goals and achievements to improve the society as a whole by sharing and co operation. The success of an individual was seen as reflecting the success of the culture. Heavy emphasis was placed on history, believing that any culture can only be understood through the ideas and events that have made it occur. (Vasta, R., Haith, M.M., Miller, S.A., 1995). Vygotsky used these elements in his model of human development; this is known as a sociocultural approach. The development of an individual is a result of culture. The theory primarily applies to mental development such as the thought and reasoning process which were believed to develop through social interaction with others mainly parents. He states: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of ideas. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 1978, p.57). Vygotsky looked at mental abilities and processes in historical terms using the events that led to them whereas Piaget believed that the childs development process follows a similar pattern of stages. Vygotsky saw intellectual abilities as being much more specific to the culture in which the child was reared (Vasta, R., Haith, M.M., Miller, S.A., 1995). Culture contributes to a childs intellectual development in two ways: firstly children obtain knowledge from it and secondly they obtain the tools of intellectual adaptation from the surrounding culture. Therefore culture provides children with the means to what they think and how they think it. Vygotsky viewed cognitive developments as a shared problem solving experience with another adult, such as the parent, teacher or sibling, this is also known as the dialectical process. Initially, the person working with the child takes the majority of responsibility for guiding the child through problem solving and steadily hands full responsibility over to the child. Every child is different and will react and learn in different ways however Vygotsky stresses language dialogue as adults will use it as a primary resource to transmit knowledge within their culture. The childs own language is of great help as it is a primary tool of intellectual transformation. Eventually children can use their own speech to direct behaviour usually in the same way as the parents speech once directed. This change relates to Vygotskys theme of development as a process of internalisation. Knowledge and thought exist outside the child at first in the culture of the environment. Development consists of gra dual internalization, primarily through language, to form cultural adaptation (Rogoff, 1990). The second aspect of Vygotskys theory is cognitive development which is limited to a time span that is known as zone of proximal development (ZPD). ZPD is the gap between what a child can solely achieve, their potential development which depends on the independent problem solving and what the child can achieve though problem solving with help and guidance of an adult or more capable peers. (Wood, D., Wood, H., 1966). What children can do independently is known as level of actual development and is a standard IQ test measure. However this measure is important but incomplete as two children may have the same level of actual development as it gets the same number of answers right on a test. With help of an adult, again one child may solve a number of problems whereas the other child may only solve two or three. What the child can do with help of an adult is referred to as level of potential development. (Vasta, R., Haith, M.M., Miller, S.A., 1995). Maximum development of ZPD depends on full social interaction of an adult with a child. The more the child takes advantage of the assistance the broader their knowledge of ZPD will be. Scaffolding was invented in 1976 to describe tutorial interaction between an adult and a child. It was used to explore the help and resources an adult provides so a child can carry out a complex task efficiently. This links to Burners ideas of the spiral curriculum. A parallel has been drawn between the notion of scaffolding and ZPD theories of Vygotsky (Hobsbaum, A., Peters, S., Sylva, K., 1996). Before an adult can provide learning opportunities they much evaluate the childs development level at present along with the length of the ZPD. It is important that the child values and makes use of the help that is offered. The child needs to be capable to benefit from the give-and-take conversations with others (Bruner, 1983). In Vygotskys theory language plays a major part in the learning and development process. A child is encouraged to think in new ways and gain a new cognitive tool to make sense of the world. Language is used to solve problems, overcome impulsive action and plan a solution before trying it to control behaviour (Jones, 1995). It is also used for a social purpose, so children can obtain help of peers and solve problems. In this process of development the child starts to practice the same forms of behaviour that other formerly practices with respect to the child however this behaviour is only understood in a social context. Vygotsky has had a great influence on Bruners theory with the introduction of scaffolding and spiral curriculum. Scaffolding is an effective strategy that accesses the ZPD. Scaffolding involved the teacher providing the children the opportunity to build on their current skills and knowledge. This involves the teacher engaging the children and simplifying instructions so they are easily understood. Scaffolding has been used in every subject to support learning especially when introducing new topics. In Literacy the children had to write a story ending. Work was set according to their ability, through the spiral curriculum. The child expressed his ideas and the teaching assistant wrote them on a dry white board ready for the child to copy onto paper. The child was assisted by questions directing her to revisit the story and think about the ending. However this can be a problem as the teacher may offer too much help which may lead to the child expecting help every time and not thinking on their own. Also when observing an ICT lesson, the teacher guided the child through the stages of what needs to be done. The children were then left to complete the task independently. The guidance given relates to Vygotskys approach and the creativity and constructivism is enhanced by Piaget. I observed a year two class in mathematics; they were starting a new topic on difference. The objective of the lesson was to work out the missing number in a sum. To explain this, cubes were used to visually represent numbers so they are easily understood. Both the addition and subtraction methods were shown. Many examples were given until the child fully understood and could work on their own initiative. The activity was then extended to using two digit numbers. The teacher adopted Vygotskys method of ZPD and found that most children had understood the word difference and how to work it out after a number of examples were shown. Unlike Piaget, who concentrated more on individual learning rather than providing adults with a role to help children learn, whereas Vygotsky believed that both other adults and culture play a major part in the development of a childs cognitive ability (Schaffer, 2004, p.90). However Vygotsky constantly mentions how children develop with guidance and help from other adults but does not state how they individually develop (Schaffer 2004, p.215). He failed to recognise how children are motivated to learn individually. Vygotsky focussed more on co-operative learning and little attention was given to individual learning. Vygotsky never took development changes of a child into account. He viewed the child in the same way at the age of two and at the age of twelve. Also the ZPD has been critically analysed by researchers. They have found that teachers have control over a childs thinking as they can ask questions that require certain answer which limits their learning. This kind of questioning is only suitable for children who are achieving below average. A teacher has to be extremely talented to successfully apply the ZPD and guide the children through a task instead of telling them what to do. However the ZPD cannot be applied to every child within a class as the teacher does not have sufficient amount of time to do so (Schaffer 2004, p.217). A final criticism is that Vygotsky failed to take the emotional aspects of a child into account. He did not recognise what happens when a child cannot complete a task or gets something wrong. If a child continuously gets something wrong, does the child lose motivation or continue with the task and hope to succeed? A child goes through many forms of emotion when they are unsuccessful in a task or get something wrong however this has not been mentioned anywhere within Vygotskys theory. Likewise Piaget also failed to take the emotions of a child into account (Schaffer, 2004, p.218). Vygotskys behaviour is particularly relevant to those who are concerned with the use of language as it can be crucial and interrelated with the action. Both Vygotsky and Piaget looked at preschool children in problem solving situations. Piaget believed that the self directed behaviour is egocentric and has a minimum relevance to a childs cognitive growth however Vygotsky referred to it as private speech. Vygotsky believed that private speech grows through interactions with adults; they begin to use parents instructions to direct their own behaviour (Sà ³lrà ºn B. Kristinsdà ³ttir, 2008). Both Piaget and Vygotsky had a conflict when explaining that development theories should not be taught until the children are at the right development stage. Piaget believed that the children are the most important aspect of cognitive development which conflicted with Vygotskys zone of proximal development. However Vygotsky argued that the social environment can be of great help when it comes to cognitive development of the child. The social environment can help children adapt to new situations with ease. Both theorists had the same aim of finding out children think of ideas and translate them into speech. Piaget discovered that children like to explore for themselves the way the world works and what it has to offer however Vygotsky wrote in Thought and Language that human mental activity is the result of learning. This led to Vygotsky believing that acquisition of language has the biggest influence on a childs life. Piaget had a huge emphasis on universal cognitive change and Vygotskys theory expected to have variable development depending on the cultural experiences a child has had. Piagets theory had an emphasis on the natural line whereas Vygotsky preferred the cultural line of development (Gallagher, 1999).

Friday, January 17, 2020

Information Technology’s Effect on Society

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Information Technology’s Effect on Society * Tanya Cavaleri * English Compostion II * EN 130. 1. 1 Sitting at the park on a nice beautiful day, you’re reading your friends post on Facebook from your IPhone. At home getting ready to type up a research paper and you realize you still need one last piece of information where do you go? Google and conduct a search. Your teenager just came to you crying because she was accused of sending pictures via text to her boyfriend and now it’s all over Twitter and Facebook that she is a slut.Information technology’s effect on society comes with good and bad effects on people everywhere every day. We have come so far since internet has gone public in early 1990’s (Howe, 2012), but at what cost to our society? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary (2011) information technology is the technology involving the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and network s for the processing and distribution of data. The use of computers and other devices have allowed us to use social medias like Facebook to find and stay in contact with our family and friends.The World Wide Web has all the information we may need at our finger tips. No more waiting on snail mail to deliver mail when we can send an email and have it delivered instantly to the recipient. Information technology is even enabled us to be able to work from home more efficiently. With the click of our mouse or the swipe of our finger we’re able to send off packages and track the delivers without ever changing out of our pajamas. Paying bills and managing budgets having never been easier.But at what cost is all this information technology bringing? Our society is so desensitized that we don’t seem to care what all this â€Å"awesome† technology is doing to our world. For example our teenagers are faced with both bullying at school and online. Having to face their peers daily and fear the rumors that could spread over one remark or wrong picture on Facebook, Twitter or text message is difficult for many of them. So is social media a good thing? Maybe, but it needs to be monitored more.Google (â€Å"Google,† 2012) the word Hacker and there is about 246,000,000 results. Like â€Å"how to become a hacker† or â€Å"how hackers work†. Information technology can open society up to be very vulnerable. Like leaving the back door unlocked for anyone to walk through if we’re not careful. Siciliano (2012) writes according to the Javelin Strategy & Research, in 2011 identity fraud increased by 13 percent. More than 11. 6 million adults became a victim of identity fraud in the United States.Online banking, bill pay, shopping online are all conveniences we have grown accustomed to over the last 18 years but we need to protect our private information. Sometime information technology can fall in the wrong hands and cause havoc for thou sands of people. Just one of many examples is in 2006 the U. S. government warned that a database containing sensitive information about veterans and their families had been stolen, after an employee violated policy and brought the data home (Lemos, 2006).So yes information technology is a much needed asset in today society. Providing helpful guided searches, helping to connect with family that are thousands of miles away, paying bills quickly and sending messages lighting fast. But in the wrong hands in can be more destructive then a hurricane, leaving heartache and pain with every stroke of the finger. Davidson, J. (n. d. ). Ezinearticles. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles. com/? Online-Banking—History-Still-in-the-Making? &a

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Essay about Parkinsons Disease - 588 Words

Parkinsons Disease Damage to Brocas area in the frontal lobe causes difficulty in speaking and writing, a problem known as Brocas aphasia. Injury to Wernickes area in the left temporal lobe results in an inability to comprehend spoken language, called Wernickes aphasia. Cerebral palsy is a broad term for brain damage sustained close to birth that permanently affects motor function. The damage may take place either in the developing fetus, during birth, or just after birth and is the result of the faulty development or breaking down of motor pathways. Cerebral palsy is non-progressive that is, it does not worsen with time. During childhood development, the brain is particularly susceptible to damage because of the rapid growth†¦show more content†¦The chief neurotransmitter#8212;or carrier of nerve signals#8212;in this area of the brain is dopamine, which is deficient in people who have Parkinsons. The cause of this deficiency is not known, but research suggests that several factors may reinfor ce each other to produce Parkinsons disease. There may be a genetic predisposition for some forms of the disease#8212;between 15 and 20 percent of people with Parkinsons are closely related to an individual who displays the diseases characteristic symptoms. In 1996 scientists identified a gene associated with a rare form of Parkinsons disease. Genetic predisposition may be limited only to rare forms of the disease, however. A 1999 study found that the most common form of Parkinsons disease is not inherited, suggesting that exposure to certain environmental agents may be a primary cause. Although the identity of these agents remains unknown, candidates include harmful pesticides or toxins in food; and free radicals, which are unstable molecules that may contribute to neuron damage by reacting with other molecules#8212;especially metallic elements such as iron#8212;in the basic chemical process known as oxidation. Introduction of the drug L-dopa, or levodopa, in the mid-1960s led to the relief of Parkinsons symptoms in many people with the disease. L-dopa stimulates the production of dopamine in surviving neurons in the substantia nigra. L-dopa becomes less effectiveShow MoreRelatedThe Parkinsons Disease1596 Words   |  6 PagesMany people around the world today suffer from Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. A movement disorder is a disorder impairing the speed, fluency, quality, and ease of movement. 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It can i mpair an individual motor as well as non-motor function. Some of the primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are characterized by tremors or trembling in handsRead More Parkinsons Disease Essay1642 Words   |  7 PagesParkinsons Disease Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the shaking palsy first described by James Parkinson in 1817, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which affects in upwards of 1.5 million Americans. The disease begins to occur around age 40 and has incidence with patient age. One survey found that PD may affect 1% of the population over 60. Incidence seems to be more prominent in men, and tends to progress to incapacity and death over one or two decades. Clinical diagnosis of PD isRead MoreEssay on Parkinson’s Disease1305 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s Disease (PD) is a chronic neurological disease that effects about 329 per 100,000 people in the US. The average onset of this disease usually is for people over the age of 50, with the baby boomers getting older there may be an increase in this disease, as much as 9 million people worldwide. (Pawha 2010) Etiology The disease happens when the cells in the brain are damaged or stop-producing Dopamine, which helps with muscle movement, thus leaves those patients unable to control theirRead MoreParkinson’s Disease Essay1260 Words   |  6 PagesParkinson’s Disease Parkinson’s Disease (PD), known for its degenerative abilities and debilitating affects, is an illness that affects approximately 1 million Americans. The cause of this disease has not been pinpointed, although strides have been made towards a cure. As our elderly population increases, so does our overwhelming need to find a suitable cure that may one day eliminate this disease. Concepts of PD After watching the video: My father, My Brother, and Me, viewable at www.pbsRead MoreParkinsons Disease Essay1504 Words   |  7 Pages Parkinsons Disease Parkinsons is an idiopathic, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that attacks neurotransmitters in the brain called dopamine. Dopamine is concentrated in a specific area of the brain called the substantia nigra. The neurotransmitter dopamine is a chemical that regulates muscle movement and emotion. Dopamine is responsible for relaying messages between the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control body movement. The death of these neurotransmitters affectsRead MoreEssay Parkinsons Disease3763 Words   |  16 PagesParkinsons Disease In 1817, James Parkinson published his famous treatise: An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, describing the symptoms which now collectively bear his name. Although many scientists before his time had described various aspects of motor dysfunction (ataxia, paralysis, tremor) Parkinson was the first to collect them into a common syndrome; one which he believed formed a distinctive condition. His sixty-six page essay contained five chapters describing symptoms, differential diagnosesRead MoreParkinsons Disease Essay784 Words   |  4 PagesDiagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease is extremely important in terms of treating the symptoms before the disease gets worse. It is common for patients with PD to have motor symptoms such as gait disorder, which comes from muscle stiffness/rigidity, bradykinesia, postural imbalance, etc. Gait disorders can generally help determine how far the neurological disorder has affected the motor function and control of the individual. Many physicians in general c linics determine if a patient has PD or if it has

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Netflix Case Analysis - 3411 Words

Netflix Case Analysis Netflix is an American provider and the worlds leading internet subscription service of on-demand streaming media in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom and Ireland and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited films and TV episodes streamed over the internet to more than 700 devices for about $7.99 a month. With regards to increasing the influence of the Netflix brand, expansion into the video game industry could be an option, however various factors such as competitors, viability and sustainability of the company as a whole need to be further analyzed in order to assess whether this proposal is feasible. Competitor†¦show more content†¦Plus, Netflix streaming is available on many different consumer electronic devices and is becoming a standard feature for new TVs. * Key Alliances Netflix holds a contract with movie studios and film producers (such as MGM studios, Warner Bros., Dream Works, etc.) to gain direct distribution and access to first run movie content without the traditional 9 to 12 month delay. This strategy of developing key alliances (Best Buy) with content providers in film and the television sector, and merchandise of DVD hardware has moved Netflix straight to the top of the market, making their brand name recognized and trusted. * Very competitive prices. For as little as $7.99 a month, people can watch as many movies as they want, either streaming or on DVDs. For just a bit more, a higher number of DVDs can be taken out at a time, giving users more flexibility. This form of movie renting is less expensive than paying for cable movie channels, while giving customers more selection. Weaknesses * Pricing power. The studios can still dictate some serious terms to Netflix, limiting when various movies become available (the infamous 28-day window for instance) or for however long they desire. * Difficulties in Inventory Control Inventory control is very difficult in Netflix because DVDs are sent to customers through mail, some DVDs might arrive late and some might be broken or lostShow MoreRelatedNetflix : Case Analysis : Netflix1087 Words   |  5 Pages1. SITUATION ANALYSIS Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and his fellow software executive Marc Randolph. Even though VHS was more popular than DVDs, Hasting guessed that the DVDs will get popular and this was an opportunity for them to win the market so they attempted a DVD-by-mail rent service which was an idea that Hastings got it from after paying a $40 late fee for Apollo 13 in 1997. This DVD-by-mail rent service without a subscription was not popular, so Netflix launched the subscriptionRead MoreNetflix Case Analysis2313 Words   |  10 PagesCase Analysis: Netflix.com, Inc k JAVK Consulting Company 6/14/2011 600 Civic Center Dr Detroit, MI 48226 Dear Mr. Hastings, Our company JAVK Consulting has examined the Netflix customer model and looked into the company’s five year financial future. We have analyzed Netflix with a scope of entering a rocky internet based company marketplace and seeing success in the future. The company currently is pumping lots of money into marketing strategy in order to growthRead MoreNetflix Case Analysis3443 Words   |  14 PagesNETFLIX By Roxanne Meyer Netflix is an American provider and the world’s leading internet subscription service of on-demand streaming media in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom and Ireland and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited films and TV episodes streamed over the internet to more than 700 devices for about $7.99 a month. With regards to increasing the influence of the Netflix brand, expansion intoRead MoreNetflix Case Analysis1205 Words   |  5 Pagespaper will analyze Arthur Thompson’s case study titled â€Å"Competition in the Movie Rental Industry in 2008: Netflix and Blockbuster Battle for Market Leadership.† I will address trends affecting the movie rental industry, analyze the competitive industry environment, and discuss the use of both the SWOT and balanced scorecard to assess Netflix’s overall strategy. Trends Affecting The Movie Rental Industry I chose the following areas as relevant in my analysis of the attractiveness of the industry: Read MoreCase Analysis Netflix1969 Words   |  8 PagesNetflix Case Analysis 1. INTRODUCTION Netflix has been successful introducing a new business model for the DVD rent industry. The new model is base completely online, changing the way that price of the service has been settled before. The new business model is bases new pricing system in which customer neither pay late return fees, nor shipping fees. This business model have been so successful that other big player such as Blockbuster, and Wal-Mart start to copy the business model, which is a realRead MoreNetflix Case Analysis3116 Words   |  13 PagesNetflix Philip J. Brooks Business Policy Strategic Planning – BA 4910 Professor Dr. Jeffrey Walls November 25, 2006 GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings, founder and CEO. Prior to this, Hastings founded Pure Software in 1991 and led several acquisitions that allowed Pure Software to become one of the top 50 largest software companies in the world. In 1999, Hastings launched the online subscription service and led Netflix toRead MoreNetflix Case Analysis3347 Words   |  14 PagesReed Hastings created Netflix, an online video retailer. The concept was designed to offer subscribers an online library of DVDs from which they could rent, for a flat monthly fee, a prescribed number of movies at a time and exchange them at their leisure. Once finished with the DVDs, the customers would return them via the postal service and receive their next batch of selected movies. All this was accomplished with neither late fees nor shipping fees. The primary goal of Netflix was to provide itsRead MoreNetflix Case Analysis1752 Words   |  8 PagesNetflix was the first company to create an online DVD movie rental service. The service has created a new ‘movieÂ’ market niche which has secured them a competitive ‘first-moverÂ’ advantage in this new ‘high-techÂ’ venture. The popularity of the service has sparked the interest of market competitor Blockbuster who may become a growing threat to Netflix should they enter the online movie rental market (Perreault, 2004). Netflix was founded by Reed Hastings, Netflix was incorporated on August 29, 1997Read MoreBlockbuster Netflix Case Analysis1533 Words   |  7 PagesDEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTANCY MEMORANDUM SUBJECT: Blockbuster/Netflix Case Analysis Introduction In this memorandum, I will analyze the competitive environment that Blockbuster and Netflix faced, state the key income statement and balance sheet accounts for each firm and use ratios (including DuPont model) to draw comparisons between the two firms in 2008. Competitive Environment Blockbuster is an American-based chain of VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, and videoRead MoreNetflix Case Study Analysis1179 Words   |  5 PagesGROUP CASE: NETFLIX Group Number: 10 Section: 002 SUMMARY The video streaming industry has problems regarding differentiation, supplier power, buyer power. Netflix has the competitive advantage of providing an extensive collection of movies and TV shows to millions of people all around the world while curating the experience to each customer through its algorithm and customer service