Thursday, October 31, 2019
Portfolio Report of Theory of Customer Service in a Service Setting Essay
Portfolio Report of Theory of Customer Service in a Service Setting - Essay Example A futuristic outlook should be used for an increasingly growing and counterintuitive, making an analysis with fewer errors (Shuen, 2008). Currently, the net lifetime worth of every Redbox client stands at 70$, and the stir rate stands at a constant 5%. This $70 presumption is openhanded because it does not consider the dilutive impacts of stock-based payment. This reimbursement does not have an impact on the value for every consumer. However, it has a direct impact on the share of every shareholder on every customerââ¬â¢s value. Redboxââ¬â¢s stir rate can keep on reducing, causing other competences to rise. At the same time, Redboxââ¬â¢s may perhaps raise its prices, an approach that has previously been done numerous times. This strategy creates a favorable environment for the organization to stick with the $70 value for its customers (Redbox.com, 2005; Shuen, 2008). Critical Incidents Redbox is a media store that provides rental movies to its clients, along with other enter tainment material such as music, videos and books. Redbox has a headquarter store that is located at 1 Tower Ln., Ste. 1200 Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181, United States, the enterprise has more than 27000 branches all over the country, with about 750 workers employed in these stores (Redbox, 2011). The specific locations at which the stores are situated include grocery stores, huge merchant vendors, drugstores, restaurants, and huge convenient stores nationwide. Redbox has however been looking forward to expanding its objectives into majority of the demands and requirements of the movie renters market. Founded by Coinstar, Redbox has the initiative as establishing it stores in major supermarkets and mall stores such as McDonalds as well as discount stores. However, the store is experiencing poor customer service management systems due to the lack of the latest and popular movies, which are the films with the most demands (Redbox, 2011). A major move that the owner of Redbox has to real ize is that customer service has five main varying orientations. They include CS (Customer service) software expertise, system, and technology; data storage space and scrutiny; CS has to be viewed as an alteration in business culture from a dealing objective to a client centric one; CS involves managing demand and that CS is also a strategy phase aiming at clientsââ¬â¢ interests. Redbox on the other hand has the intentions of employing internet streaming to enable smoother movie selection as well as viewing (Reinartz et al, 2005). This initiative will enable the preferences of the clients to be heard and dealt with at a closer scale. Data storage systems of Redbox require improvement since the latest films are very much reported by clients to not be available at websites and their stores. Since such films are in the most demand, therefore, to maintain the most returns that the enterprise is capable of making, the data storage improvement can withhold the latest movies at a higher number that can sustain the market demands. This approach will improve the customer service with the enterprise (Kumar et al, 2011). Another approach about a proper CS system is the existence of elements that comprise the CS system. The elements are a data storehouse, systematic apparatus, protests management apparatus, interfaces to sustain panels. Databases ran by Redbox operate on the
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 17
Marketing - Essay Example The main types of media that the marketer needs to utilize are television, newspaper and print media, public relation activities and direct selling. Television: Television advertising assists business to cover wide geographical locations (Shimp and Andrews, 2013). The marketer needs to invest near about 30% of the budget for celebrity endorsement through these advertisements. Public relation: Sponsoring different tournament and live events will help the brand to attract the attention of different consumers. They need to allocate almost 20% of the budget for this promotional strategy. The new recipe for breakfast cereal is intended to the health conscious consumers. The organisation is mainly targeting the slimmer consumers. They have assigned major budget for the promotional procedure. The management has utilized differentiated strategy where they have only targeted a particular section of the society (Weinstein, 2013). The important media for the promotion are sponsorship, television and print media. Television: Displaying advertisements of the product during different morning healthcare, exercise and yoga shows will prove to be beneficial for the organisation. Another 25% need to be allocated for this media. The promotional activity of the new energy drink mainly focuses on the players and sports personalities. The organisation has decided to spent minor budget for the product as they are focusing on concentrated targeting strategy (Debruyne, et al., 2002). They can utilize internet advertising, posters/ hoardings and sponsorship to promote their product. The word of mouth promotional procedure plays a major role for this kind of products rather than the traditional electronic advertisement procedure (Buttle, 1998). Internet: The organisation needs to design an interactive website to promote the benefits of their product towards the sports
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Causes and Effects of the Amazons Deforestation
Causes and Effects of the Amazons Deforestation Dr. G. Leckebusch Deforestation in the Amazonas Basin and the Climate Policy of Brazil ââ¬â A Critical Review The contemporary issue of deforestation is seen as a rising global concern involving the complete clearance of forests either by cutting or burning. Forest clearance is seen to fluctuate however rates of decrease across the Amazon basin where as large as 30% between 2001 and 2002 (Santilli et al, 2005). Optimistic climate change models show that the median distance between the areas in the Amazon rainforest and their closest future (2050) climate model according to the prediction based on temperature and precipitation change increase to over >475km (Feeley and Rehm, 2012). Deforestation affects the Amazon basin on a large scale whereby rates have exponentially increased since 1991 (Fearnside, 2005). Cattle ranching within the Amazon are seen to account for 70% of the clearing activity (Fearnside, 2005). This argued upward trend of deforestation is set to continue due to cattle, pastures and highways (Nepstad et al, 2001). Prior to this the Amazon remained largely intact until the ââ¬Å"modernâ⬠wave of deforestation in 1970 due to the transamazon highway. Therefore due to modern issues such as global population increase, increased demand for land and resources forest degradation is becoming an important concern which needs to be addressed. With the original extent of the Amazon forest covering approximately the area of Western Europe (Fearnside, 1993a); reliable estimates are needed to monitor deforestation levels. Recent values of deforestation are seen in Figure 1. It can be argued that there is no real explanation as to why deforestation rates fluctuate therefore Fearnside Barbosa (2004) question whether the statistics produced are valid. However these estimates are needed in order for protocols to come into action. As high deforestation rates are contributing to the global concerns such as loss of biodiversity, greenhouse gas warming as well as the destruction of such valuable resource. Protocolââ¬â¢s can monitor these fluctuations however before prevention takes place the causes of deforestation need to be addressed. Causes Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest can be attributed to many different factors. Although the expansion of the highway infrastructure can explain part of the deforestation in the 1970s and 1980s it cannot be the sole reason (Schaeffer et al, 2005). As it does not provide the explanation for the issue in the 1990s when the infrastructure development came to an end however the rates of deforestation still remained high. Nowadays the current expansion of highways is seen as a consequence rather than a cause as blaming governmental organisations masks the real reasons. The primary underlying forces behind deforestation in the Amazon region are combined effects of cultural, demographic, economic, technological, political issues (Schaeffer et al, 2005). Then underlying governmental policies, as well as institutional, socio-economic factors interact among themselves and function as one, driving deforestation within the Amazon (Schaeffer et al, 2005). More recently there have been different drivers of deforestation such as soybean and beef production which have therefore required a larger portion of land for production and the infrastructure involved due to globalisation. However these new drivers have not replaced existing ones they have been added to the ongoing list of deforestation drivers. These new plantations involve new infrastructure development which can expect to destroy more forest alone (Fearnside, 2001c). Infrastructures developments are seen as an added effect as the Forest loss in the 1990s would have been notably less severe were it not for the preceding infrastructure standing in its way. These transportation links are seen to accelerate the clearing of rainforests. The Avanca Brazil Program created a development package for the period 2000-07 which included a US $20 billion development in infrastructure within the Amazon region (Laurance et al, 2001; Nepstad et al 2001; Fearnside, 2002a). This development was driven by the perceived need to transport the new production of soy beans. Particularly damaging roads where the BR-163 and BR-319 highways (Fearnside, 2005). Large landholders are seen to be the most sensitive to economic change such as variable interest rates, financial returns, land prices and inflation. With Tax drivers been a strong driver of deforestation rates in the 1970-80ââ¬â¢s (Mahar, 1979). With government subsidised credit at rates considerably lower than inflation meant that they became much scarcer after 1984. However in 1994 when Brazil set out the plan for a ââ¬Å"Plano Real Reformâ⬠(Fearnside, 2005) hyperinflation dominated the economy however this resulted in land been at peak price reaching levels which were justifiable for production. As a result deforestation enabled claims to land and cutting for cattle pastures was the cheapest and most effective method (Hecht et al, 1988; Faminow, 1998; Fearnside, 1987/2002b). Due to Brazilââ¬â¢s recession deforestation rates declined throughout 1987-1991 as ranchers were unable to expand as quickly due to the government lack of funds for infrastructure developments. H owever the ââ¬Å"Decree suspending incentivesâ⬠(Fearnside, 2005) came into practice in mid 1991 which was the result of the most effective decline; evident in figure 2. It has been argued that the peak in 1995 was a result of economic recovery due to the Plano real response however due to this the fall seen in 1996 and 1997 was a logical decision of the Plano Real to cut the rate of inflation; shows fluctuation in deforestation rates (Fearnside, 2005). These major rates of fluctuations where due to money availability, inflation rate due to most of the clearing been done by those who invest to medium/large cattle ranchers. In figure 2 it is clear to see that deforestation rates climbed per year which then remained constant for 4 years followed by a steep rise in 2002 to a new level. Timber extraction has seen to be a cause of such rises as increased forest flammability has meant higher rate of loss. This undetected deforestation leads to severe damage that is visible on landsat imagery as deforestation (Cochrane et al, 1999; Nepstad et al, 199b). The role of logging increases the chance of forest fire as fires dry out large areas making a wider catchment susceptible to fires. Verissimo et al (1992) notes that forest fires create the damage of almost twice the volume of trees being harvested. Similarly a major resulting concern is the number of rainless days needed for a logged area is much lower to reach flammable conditions than for one that hasnââ¬â¢t (Nepstad et al, 2004). Due to the above causes a global climate impact has occurred. Global climate impact Deforestation creates a large global climate impact which includes loss of biodiversity, reduced rainfall and global warming contribution; similarly a loss of productivity, soil erosion, nutrient depletion and soil compaction. A change in the hydrological regime impact involves watershed functions been lost and flooding. The percentage of water recycled within the Amazon basin is now seen to be 20-30% (Lean et al, 1996) rather than the previous figure of 50% (Salati Vose, 1984). This at a policy view is not appreciated (Fearnside, 2004) as current levels of available water worldwide is seen as low. Results show that currently 150 million people live in cities with a persistent water shortage (defined as ââ¬Å"having less than 100L per person per dayâ⬠) and by 2050 is set to increase to almost 1 billion people (McDonald et al, 2011). The deceptive view of the potential deforestation rates increasing global precipitation levels misleads the idea that deforestation is bad. Biodiversity loss is a result of deforestation which impoverishes the earthââ¬â¢s biodiversity (Capobianco et al, 2001). Net emissions of greenhouse gases are increased as a result of deforestation through forest fires. Amazonian deforestation distinguishes a greater concern due to potential future emissions. In 1990 the net commission emissions from Brazilian deforestation represented 5% of the global total from a variety of sources (Fearnside, 1997b). However the concern is in the carbon stock in biomass within the Amazon which represents 38% of the tropical total (Fearnside 2000a:129). Likewise this release of carbon through tropical deforestation showed a release of 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon (GtC) to the atmosphere annually throughout the 1990ââ¬â¢s; which can be seen as 20% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. It can be seen that global climate models show that as precipitation decreases linearly there are increasing amounts of precipitation. The climate of Brazil changes due to the loss of tropical rainforests to pasture; the surface temperature increases by approximately 1à ° to 3à °, precipitation increase and a decrease in evapotranspiration. This heating out the surface leads to localised upward motions that cause the formation of clouds which in turn produces more rainfall (Shukla et al, 1990). Similarly compared to rainforest cover the degraded pasture is seen to have a higher albedo value, with lower surface roughness and a shallower and sparser root system and lower available storage capacity for soil moisture (Shukla et al, 1990). Thus cannot retain the high levels of precipitation leading to higher rates of surface runoff. Due to deforested areas been drier and more susceptible to forest fires, the ENSO triggered an extended dry condition in 1997-98 across the Amazon. This meant an increase in tree mortality and forest flammability especially in logged areas due to large areas burned releasing carbon to the atmosphere (Page et al, 2002). However even in non ENSO years global warming has been observed to be putting tropical regions at risk. Over the last 5 years droughts within the basin droughts have been detached from ENSO events but have collaborated with some of the highest temperatures on record (Gullison et al, 2007). If these droughts become more frequent and severe or the dry season lengthens due to deforestation or a reduction in rainfall due to global warming then a proportion of the carbon stored in the tropical rainforests will be released into the atmosphere (Santilli, 2005). So as Malhi et al (2004) states the undisturbed rainforests act as a ââ¬Å"sinkâ⬠for the atmospheric carbon w hich is yet to be released. The effects of Amazon deforestation upon climate change is investigated using numerical experiments of an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) with set global sea surface temperature and the same AGCM joined to an ocean GCM (CGCM) over the global tropics. The joined model demonstrated a reduction in rainfall which was 60% larger compared to its control run (Nobre et al, 2009). Nobre concluded that amazon deforestation affects climate change and is dependent on AGCMââ¬â¢s. However there is a general agreement that amazon deforestation results in a local reduction in rainfall and an increase of surface temperature. This abundant cheap land within the amazon needs caps on it to ensure all is not sold. As this means destructive, fire-based agriculture, such as cattle ranching and slash-burn-farming, will continue to thrive. In the Amazon an area the size of France has already been deforested, a large fraction of which is now degraded cattle pasture with minimal benefit for the natives (Schaeffer, 2005). Therefore sustainable development is the step forward.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Frank Lloyd Wright :: essays papers
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect who was a pioneer in modern style, and he is considered one of the greatest figures in architecture in the 20th-century. In Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867 Wright was born. 17 years latter at the University of Wisconsin his interest in architecture had already shown itself. He enrolled in civil engineering because the university didn^t offer any classes for his chosen field. He gained some practical experience by working on a construction project for the university part time. He left school and went to work for the firm of Adler and Sullivan in 1887. Louis Sullivan from the firm had a profound in Wright work. He left the firm and went to make his own office in Chicago in 1893. Organic architecture was a philosophy created by Wright. It means that a building should be developed out of it^s natural surroundings. Originality was shown in his designs for public and private structures. The ornate neoclassic and Victorian styles favored by conventional architects was the kind of thing Wright rebelled against. Wright was opposed to the mechanical imposition of preconceived styles. The particular function of the building, it^s environment, and the type of materials employed in the structure should be the things that ultimately determined the architechtual form is what Wright believed in. One of the many fundamental contributions was the use of building materials for their natural colors s well as structural characteristics. With the open planning of one room flowing into another his interiors emphasize the sense of spaciousness. Precast concrete blocks reinforced with steel rods was one of the many new techniques Wright initiated. Air conditioning, indirect lighting, and panel heating were a few of the numerous innovations Wright invented. One of Wright big feats was to make the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. The building was made to withstand earthquakes. One year after being completed it suffered no damage from a disastrous earthquake. Architects who were more conventional then Wright were against his different ways all thorough out his career. He went into exile for a year in Europe because of personal difficulties and professional antagonisms. Upon his return he began a new career of ever widing-achivments. Some of his later works are the Millard House; the Kaufmann House; called Falling Water; The Johnson Wax Company Administration Building; the First Unitarian Church; the V.C. Morris gift shop; and the Price
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Judicial Method: Activism vs Formalism
ââ¬ËJudicial Method: activism versus formalismââ¬â¢ A new era has emerged from the societal and legal changes that have occurred in Australia. The age of Judicial activism has taken over the more traditional method of judicial formalism. Supporters of the latterââ¬â¢s concerns that it promotes power without responsibility, and blurs the separation of powers, however the supporters of the former agree that inevitable changes in society force the judiciary to acknowledge that judicial formalism is a method that is not completely obsolete, but takes is less of a primary concern as it were, compared to other factors that effect a case. Those who are in favour of judicial activism argue that social change has increased the need for legal change and judges need to be able to make decisions considering external factors and using processes other than the law that make judicial method more subjective, adhering to legislation and legal policy but giving more significant acknowledgement to situational factors. The Honourable Michael Kirbyââ¬â¢s pro-activism article centers around the view that judicial method must divert from the traditional method of legalism that Justice Kirby defines as ââ¬Å"strict logic and high techniqueâ⬠. It starts by outlining the need for the judiciary to make this transition into judicial activism due to societal changes, where strict legalism is put under pressure. Justice Kirby then goes on to explain that the method of judicial activism should not be abused by the judges, where it should ââ¬Å"be anchored in legal authorityâ⬠and be ââ¬Å"neither wholly mechanical or excessively creativeâ⬠. He describes that ââ¬Å"restraintâ⬠be used when using judicial activism to ensure that a total ignorance of the written law does not occur . A similar article about pro-activism by Michael Coper agrees that the ââ¬Å"phenomenon of social changeâ⬠¦. has accelerated the rate of legal changeâ⬠and put a ââ¬Å"pressure on concepts like ââ¬Ëstrict logic and high technique ââ¬â¢, thus supporting the viewpoint that judicial activism is a reaction to social change. Another article by Frank Carrigan praises Justice Kirbyââ¬â¢s use of judicial activism directly, outlining this by comparing Justice Kirbyââ¬â¢s methods with Gava, a strong believer in the Dixonian theory of legalism. It explains that even Chief Justice Dixon J, considered to be a leader in the legal formalism movement, used contradictory methods of judgment, promoting legalism but applying judicial activism . This is evidence that change to judicial activism is inevitable as societal changes occur. Pertaining to the other articles, however, there are some shortfalls in Justice Kirbyââ¬â¢s article that must be addressed. Firstly, the article does outline that certain ââ¬Å"restraintâ⬠must be used when applying judicial activism in the process for a judgment. However, exactly how this restraint will be measured, or the factors to be considered in which a judgeââ¬â¢s judicial method is considered to cross these boundaries are not mentioned in his article. He also fails to describe the consequences of the divergence of judicial formalism, that a failure of the independent judges to keep external factors other than the legal text as impartial dynamics rather than personal ones would result in a cataclysmic failure to achieve justice. A loss in consistency would result in a loss in public confidence in the judicial system. Also, Justice Kirbyââ¬â¢s proposal of a more transparent judgment, where the judicial method and processes used to achieve a judgment is open to the general public for critique, may be a technique in which to make sure that a judge does not overstep the restraints, but by openly presenting the judicial method and decision process of a controversial judgment for critique to a society that is already critical of the judicial system may backfire and result in a further loss of public confidence instead of building credibility. Contrasting against Justice Kirbyââ¬â¢s heavily biased pro-activism article, is Justice Heydonââ¬â¢s article that describes the absolute need for adherence and paramount importance to the impartial application of the legal text. Justice Heydonââ¬â¢s article clearly outlines what Justice Kirbyââ¬â¢s article does not, the downfalls of having a judiciary use judicial activism. Justice Heydon points out that by allowing judges to use judicial activism, it ââ¬Å"tends to the destruction of the rule of lawâ⬠by impairing two qualities that are expected of a judge, a ââ¬Å"firm grip on the applicable law [and]â⬠¦total probity. The article continues to state that there is a blurring of the separation of powers, and this becomes a problem as the facility for a legislature to make laws compared to that of a judge results in concerns about the clarity, inconsistency, decisiveness and retrospectivity of the laws that are changed or made by the judiciary. Justice Heydon pro poses that it is not primarily the function of the judiciary to create and change laws, that it should be a limited amount, limited to the legislature, and that the failure to adhere to judicial formalism or legalism would result in failures in various areas of the application of law . John Gavaââ¬â¢s article adds to the need for strict legalism, by indicating that human error in judges can create issues in consistency, and that with a ââ¬Å"state of mindâ⬠the is of legalism, a more ââ¬Å"institutional mindsetâ⬠can be achieved that relies more on a collective wisdom which create decision that conform, rather than those that are more individualized when judicial activism is applied . Owen Dixonââ¬â¢s article further outlines a deeper issue at hand with the abandonment of judicial formalism, the loss of the ability to develop legal principle. It states that there was a ââ¬Å"attempt to develop the law as a scienceâ⬠which would not be possible by neglecting the very ââ¬Å"strict logic and high techniqueâ⬠that is constantly used to describe legalism . As with any legalistic paradigm or state of mind, it is inherent that there will be a pro to a con, an advantage to a disadvantage. According to these articles it is clear that the more common emergence of activism is due mainly to societal change, and the resurrection of formalism has occurred due to concern for the drawbacks that takes place with activism, and rightly so. The former three pro-activism articles and the latter three pro-legalism/formalism articles compliment each other in revealing the advantages and flaws of both judicial methods. After the analyses of these articles, it is apparent that an appropriate balance between the two judicial methods be maintained, always changing, according to the change in Australiaââ¬â¢s society. Bibliography Justice j D Heydon, Judicial activism and the death of the rule of law, (2003), 23 Aust Bar Rev 110 John Gava, ANOTHER BLAST FROM THE PAST OR WHY THE LEFT SHOULD EMBRACE STRICT LEGALISM: A REPLY TO FRANK CARRIGAN, (2003) 27 Melb U. L. Rev. 188 The Right Honourable Sir Owen Dixon, G. C. M. G, Concerning Judicial Method, (1956) 29 The Australian Law Journal 469
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Assessment and Feedback Essay
Many of my lessons involve embedding literacy into a topic so it is more meaningful for the learners. There are various ways of assessing work which are used. One method that is used is initial assessment, where the learners at the beginning of their induction into our pre-16 program do an online BSKB initial assessment in Maths, English and ICT. This is to ensure that the learner is at the right level of learning. These tests are formative and convergent where choices of multiple choice questions give indications of gaps in the learnerââ¬â¢s knowledge. Once the learner hasà completed an initial assessment they are then given the diagnostic BSKB assessment to see what subject strengths and weaknesses they have. These learners tend not to have attended much school therefore it is difficult to assess the work they produce as very often little or no work is achieved. Assessment is about making a judgment to make sure that learning is taking place. It is about identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the learner so that the learner is progressing with the work that is set. Assessment in all forms that involve making a judgment and it includes an element of subjectivity by me. It should be objective, fair and transparent. It plays an important role in the education process as it determines the work students undertake and affects their approach to learning. There are varying degrees of assessment that are designed primarily to serve the purposes of accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying competence. However, an assessment activity can help learning if it provides information that I can use and can give students feedback. Feedback can be used to modify teaching and learning activities in which the learners are engaged in. Such assessment becomes formative whenà the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs. Much of what teachers and learners do in the classroom is assessment based. Tasks and questions prompt learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. How the learners respond and interpret this can give indications of how their learning can be improved. Verbal feedback and discussion tends to be the main method that I use where opinions can be discussed and attainment of knowledge can be assessed during lessons. This is classed as affective learning where topics can gain an emotional response or a tone of interest/values that theà learner may have prior knowledge or experience. These types of responses are 1 usually focused on the learnerââ¬â¢s feelings, and they are often difficult to measure in quantifiable terms. However, in my classroom, I want the learners to feel that their work is valued and that the effort has been worthwhile. During lessons, informal assessment is the preferred choice for me and my pre-16 colleague as students are wary of tests or exams. The reason for this maybe the learnerââ¬â¢s previous experience of learning or the fact that they feel vulnerable when the word test, exam or assessment occurs within the learning environment. Informal assessment is easily incorporated into classroom routines and learning activities. It can be used at any time without interfering with teaching. The results give indication of the learnerââ¬â¢s performance on the skill or subject of interest. However, it is not intended to give a broader view of the learnerââ¬â¢s ability apart from the lesson that took place. This is not to say that informal assessment is spontaneous or absent from accuracy. Formal tests assume a single set of expectations for all students and come with prescribed criteria for scoring and interpretation. Informal assessment, onà the other hand, requires a clear understanding of the levels of ability the students bring with them. Only then may assessment activities be selected that students can attempt reasonably. Measuring the validity and reliability of informal assessments is achieved by expected goals and objectives outcomes. Once the work is completed, I assess the knowledge that the learners have gained by their attempted completion of the tasks. Scoring procedures can be used to measure progress and achievement in content areas and literacy skills can be measured by oral, reading and written work. Reliability is a statistical measure of which we can trust the results of a given writing test. Reliability estimations and their interpretations will vary according to particular assessment contexts and purposes. In real practice, high score reliability is indeed necessary and feasible in large-scale assessment, where the actual tests are the main source of interpretable information. In more local contexts (e. g. classrooms), reliability measurements are to a great extent unfeasible and, simultaneously, other sources for qualitative evaluation are available. The work that the learners produced enabled me to assess their level ofà understanding and also their literacy progress. Feedback was given in written format on the activity worksheet, to identify strengths and weaknesses of each individual 2 learner. All the learners attempted the worksheet and I gave feedback in the format of Petty (2004) medals and missions. Medals (sometimes called positive reinforcement) are given when the learner has done something well, such as spellings or written something in their own words although most of the learners just wrote down what was on the computer screen. This was what I commented on as missions where the learners need to improve, correct or work upon. Written tasks, alongside oral questioning, should encourage students to develop and show understanding of the key features of what they have learned. Opportunities are given during lessons for the learners to respond to comments made about their work and advice is given on what areas they are struggling on. The key point to feedback is for it to be effective and for the learners to think about the good and bad points in their work and that clear goals can be achieved. The negative aspect of feedback for disaffected learners is that low self-esteem influences their reaction to feedback. Building self-esteem and confidence is one of the main aspects in my classroom. Low self-esteem can knock confidence and ability and their previous experiences of learning can have a considerable impact on their academic ability. In this environment learners are in a vulnerable position and in some cases their low esteem can be forgotten by teachers due to distractions and challenging behaviour. The comments I make have to be sensitive and constructive so that the comments do not impact on the learnerââ¬â¢s self-esteem and confidence. The comments are to be constructive and build on their learning capabilities. When Ià ask the learners whether or not they understood the feedback given regarding their work, the learners give the appearance that they are not bothered about the feedback or acted disinterested. Students find the feedback messages hard to understand and complex in their meaning especially in the written form. However, when feedback is used as dialogue within the lesson it provides opportunities for feedback and feedforward. This is a good scenario as the learner responds to initial feedback with their opinions. This gives the chance for the teacher to help the learners develop their understanding and has an instant response in correctingà misunderstandings. Although, the response to verbal feedback regarding the learners knowledge, skills and understanding is feasible in the classroom, further development of feedback and feedforward is required so that the student can improve and grow in their 3 understanding of the subject and true learning has taken place. When I assess a learner this has an impact on my teaching. The feedback I get from the students gives me the opportunity to reflect on my practices and adjust accordingly so that the learners are engaged, focused and completing the tasks given during lessons. However, learnersââ¬â¢ indifference to learning and feedback can cloud my judgement about what I am doing right or wrong. In my sessions I need to develop the dual narrative where the learners work together as a group but also there are one to one opportunities. This would work towards full differentiation where students are working independently but within a whole group setting. This has been difficult to achieve yet it is possible; progress has been made with the learners providing work that can be assessed verbally or written. However, it has taken six months to gainà trust, confidence and self-esteem of the learners to provide any work at all. Nonetheless, with a longer time restraint development of feedback and feedforward can be achieved. The learners need to see feedback as a reflection on their work not that itââ¬â¢s personal to them, the problem these learners face is to understand what feedback is and what its intentions are. The trouble is that once the disaffected learners arrive at Rathbone they already feel that school as failed them therefore feel disengaged with the learning environment. This can be a contributing factor to the way they feel towards assessments. The attitude towards motivating and engaging the learners towards learning objectives is a more social context. Therefore, the attitude of Rathbone and its staff is to gain confidence, trust and self-esteem so that learning is more enjoyable to them. This then becomes a platform for the learners to want to learn post 16. As their teacher, the environment is complex and challenging however I feel that the learners are starting to become aware of what is required of them in the classroom. This means that I am doing something right and that my assessments, judgement and feedback are starting to be acknowledged.
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