Does Standardized Testing Work Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Does Standardized Testing Work - Research Paper Example Different studies have revealed that ‘standardized tests’ are bias in nature as they are favorable for students coming from affluent family background. A ‘standardized test’ is called ‘standardized’ because it is assumed that it treats every student equally and gives everyone an equal opportunity to do well in the tests. The foundation of the ‘standardized tests’ is the fair and equal opportunity to everyone. However, with bias in its design, the foundation of standardized test has proved to be extremely weak and hence, the standardized test fails to work. The nature of standardized tests The intention of ‘standardized tests’ is to measure the learning curve and the academic progress of students. A ‘test’ is called ‘standardized’ when it is designed with a ‘standard’ format and is conducted under ‘standard conditions’ (FairTest, 2007, para.2). Hence, students giving st andardized tests have to give tests under same test conditions, with same questions and same scoring way (FairTest, 2007, para.2). This assures uniformity and objectivity in testing. Moreover, standardized tests have become a decisive factor in the process of getting admissions in schools and colleges and hence, have become extremely significant in the life of a student (and parents) (FairTest, 2007, para.2). It will not be wrong to say that ‘standardized test’ is a matter of life and ‘death’ as far as the education and professional prospects of students are concerned. Hence, it is natural for educators and parents to expect that ‘standardized test’ is designed in such a way that it measures the ‘natural’ potential of a student and not the superficial skills, which can be improved with the aid of resources available outside the school. However, it has been found that standardized test inclines in favor of students coming from afflu ent and advantageous family backgrounds and hence, proves fatal to the education system of the country (FairTest, 2007, para.5). Education has a potential to offer unconditional love, understanding, appreciation and unbiased treatment to children. Right education has the power to shape the future of the world by producing intelligent, mature and confident human beings. However, it has been found that the quality of the education is declining due to the effort in winning the race of scoring well in ‘standardized tests’ (Kohn, 2000, para.14). It has been observed that instead of measuring the natural skills like genuine understanding and intelligence, the standardized test measures the temporary skills of acquisition of facts, copying the answers and â€Å"skill of test-taking itself† (Kohn, 2000, para.14). Hence, what the tests measure is nothing but superficial skill set which does not contribute in improving the quality of learning and education in any way. Unfo rtunately, this fact also applies to the tests like SAT, MAT, CAT, CTBS and ITBS. The measurement criteria People have given importance to tests because they think that tests measure the quality of learning, teaching, intelligence and thinking ability. However, it has been found that non-referenced tests like SAT, MAT, CAT, ITBS and CTBS were designed to give ‘ranking’ to the students and not to measure the quali

Tok Essay Essay Example for Free

Tok Essay Essay People’s choice of belief is possibly one of the most intriguing topics one can study. The journey of gaining knowledge in itself is so dynamic and full of factors that one couldn’t possibly be able to analyze in full. In this essay, the question that is to be answered encompasses and questions the details of that journey in one of the most controversial topics of all time; religion. The question above subjects the issue of belief to the spotlight as it is one of the largest aspects of life that is to many people asserted with no concrete evidence to be found; in my perspective. Yet again not all people agree that evidence must be concrete and therefore the relativity of evidence from a believer to a non-believer could be drastic. Thus, this essay will examine my argument for this statement through personal experience and the lenses of emotion and language in the subjects of World Religions and Philosophy as well as possible counter arguments. Many followers of faith would disagree with Hitchens on this statement, taking the believers of the Abrahamic religions as an example; they believe that their prophets came with miracles like Christ walking on water for example. They don’t have concrete evidence yet to them they see that what came in either the Torah, Bible or the Qura’an is definite truth for many reasons; each generation was told by those before them that these stories did take place so the generations that supposedly witnessed the miracles told their kids about them and the stories kept passing down until our day today. Moreover, the authority of a parent tends to be huge therefore when these stories are told to little kids to be true the kids believe their parents, they take it as a 1+1=2 situation where the student is taught the very basic rules of math, if one asks me why or how do I know the 1+1=2 I wouldn’t be able to answer yet I know it’s a mathematical fact (even though I know there is reason and evidence behind it now, but I am not really interested in reading) so these kids take what their parents teach them at such a young age and not question it. Just like the followers tend to not dig around what they believe to be true because they believe it is already true, the same way many people don’t look into why and how 1+1=2. Believers tend to have what they call a relationship with God, what they feel when they pray is something they can’t put into words yet they know it’s truth for themselves even though they can’t prove it and therefore they won’t agree with the Hitchens statement. Those people have no concrete evidence yet that â€Å"relationship† is evidence enough to them. The followers of Islam for example brag about how the Qur’an has an answer for everything and that to them is evidence enough it’s true, yet again many don’t try to look for the real reasons. The followers of religions in general have a problem with accepting that there are some things one just doesn’t know, they need to be certain about everything to go on in life and that is basic human nature. By the same token though, a lot of other people do agree with the statement above, the majority of scientists, doctors, mathematicians and many more as a mere example. In the subject of world religions we are taught that religion is passed down through language; that in itself proves the Hitchens statement right. Language is a very molding way of knowledge; it changes from time to time according to society it is in. Things can get out of context, meanings could be lost in translation or lost due to the changing nature of language, for example the word â€Å" † which is now used as an adjective for â€Å"good† literary translates to â€Å"wicked† or â€Å"horrid† in classical Arabic and therefore this could be applicable both ways to this arguments; words that were used 1400 years ago in Islam could have meant something in it’s cultural context but now means something completely different which would make a certain rule of Islam that is now applied invalid or vice-versa. Also, Christianity being the most popular religion in the world was originally written in the common Greek language of the first century yet now circulates mostly in English. A huge limitation to this fact is that meaning could’ve been lost in translation, as some words that are used in one language just don’t translate to other languages, therefore basing some of the religion on misinterpreted verses. Now looking at the use of emotion in Philosophy of religion, a theme studied in the subject of Philosophy; the epistemological theory of evidentialism is best described by Clifford’s quote: â€Å"It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence† (Clifford 1879: 186). † Which agrees with the Hitchens statement above. Since I’ve established above that there is no concrete evidence about the truth of any kind of religion, one must assume that believers use emotion as a way of knowledge and not evidence. This in itself has many limitations to it because when emotion is used on it’s own as a way of knowledge it usually prevents one from being objective. Moreover, it also limits the use of other ways of knowledge; for example perception, where because of emotion one might look at things differently or even reason, where if one is too attached to what they â€Å"believe† in this could lead to their lack of open-mindedness. The use of emotion too also leads to a huge logical fallacy; the â€Å"appeal to emotion† fallacy where if for example X makes me feel good I will assume X is true, which is basically the basis of many religions. Furthermore, religions tend to use Pathos in most of their verses; for example in the Qur’an verse 102:3 until 102:7 says: â€Å"No! You are going to know. Then no! You are going to know. No! If you only knew with knowledge of certainty. You will surely see the Hellfire. Then you will surely see it with the eye of certainty. † The use of emotion here to scare the reader that is being spoon-fed since an early age that this is the absolute truth when reading this will defiantly lead him to think a thousand times before questioning the religion because he is scared he’ll â€Å"surely see the Hellfire† and thus making many believers just people that are afraid to think or tempted with the concept of heaven but very few that actually went through the process of actually trying to find out if what they believe in is absolute truth or not. In conclusion, as someone that will be studying law, being objective, putting aside emotion and avoiding logical fallacies are vital to me. I also never felt that â€Å"connection with God† and therefore I do agree with the Hitchens statement â€Å"That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. † Because the counter arguments aren’t convincing enough and there are too many question marks on them. On the other hand my argument is a lot more valid because it’s Empiricism based, which means it’s based on facts and past experiences, not speculations. [ 1 ]. Most Popular World Religions. About. com Geography. N. p. , n. d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. [ 2 ]. Standard New Testament introductions listed below under Further reading: Goodspeed, Kummel, Duling and Perrin, Koester, Conzelmann and Lindemann, Brown, and Ehrman.

Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Era

Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Era Elizabeth Carlos The Elizabethan Era lasted from 1558 to 1603, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. This period was a time of growth and expansion in the areas of poetry, music, and theatre. Because of this, and the peace throughout England at the time, the Elizabethan Era was often referred to as the Golden Age of history (Elizabethan England Era Life). Even though there was a small expansion of knowledge during the period, there was still the belief in supernatural beings, such as witches at the time. The Majority of witches accused were women, and often poor, old, sick, or widowed. There was not much knowledge of medicine during the era, so women were expected to create cures as part of their job of taking care of the household. Those who used herbs for ointments were known as wise women. However, the Catholic Church as the timed defined witchcraft as any knowledge of herbs, which was associated as the work of the devil (Elizabethan Witchcraft and Witches). People of the Elizabethan Era seemed to take interest in knowledge and learning such as sciences and inventions, but the belief in superstitions were still there. Most superstitions developed from old traditions or beliefs. The reason for the arise of superstitions was because of ignorance. Many also feared what they did not know. Some common superstitions that came to be in the Elizabethan Era included leaving the door open behind you, spilling salt, and a lunar eclipse. These were all associated with bad luck. The most common superstition, and the most feared by the Elizabethans, was the existence of witches (Superstitions of the Elizabethan Era). Witchcraft originated from peoples misconceptions of the causes of everyday troubles. Witches were thought to be those who prayed to spirits and performed rituals to resolve problems. These rituals were referred to as magic. Witches were a way to make sense of the unexplained for the people all of Europe during this time. This is also why many blamed seemingly unexplainable events such as fires, floods, droughts, bad harvests, and epidemics, on witches. One of these epidemics, the Bubonic Plague, or the Black Plague, was blamed on witches because of the lack of knowledge of medicine. Men during this period had greater importance than women of the Elizabethan Era. Because of the male dominated society, more women were accused of witchcraft than men. Out of 270 tried, 247 were women and only 23 were men. The women who were accused were usually and most often poor, elderly, sick, or widowed. Besides the fact that men were held higher in society, those who had power or wealth were exempt from most accusations (Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Age). Wise women at the time were often helpful members of Elizabethan society, even though they were considered witches by the Catholic Church. Black witches were much different from white witches. Black magic was practiced to inflict harm onto others. White witches were also known as cunning folk or healers. White magic was just the use of herbs and potions that were thought to have healing powers. However, during the Renaissance this distinction between the two was lost through the witch hunts. Queen Elizabeth I passed a new law in 1562. This Law did not define sorcery as harecy. In France and Spain the punishment inflicted upon the convicted witches was burning at the stake, which is an agonizing way to be put to death. The new law established in 1562 only called for the witches who were convicted of murder by witchcraft were to be hanged. The less severe crimes committed by witchcraft meant they were to be pilloried or to be attacked, ridiculed , and publicly humiliated. Queen Elizabeth I was considered to be more lenient towards witches. Some assume the reason for this is because Elizabeths mother, Anne Boleyn, had been accused of witchcraft and was later put to death. Elizabeth was also highly intelligent for a woman of the time. She had John Dee, an English mathematician and astronomer, as an advisor. Elizabeth herself took an interest in astrology, which some think explained her leniency towards witchcraft (Elizabethan Witchcraft and Witches). Before the Elizabethan Era, in 1486, the Malleus Maleficarum was written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. The Malleus Maleficarum, which means The Hammer of Witches in Latin, was one of the most well known medieval treaties on witchcraft. The treaty was written to help interregate and convict witches as well as to argue against the beliefs that witchcraft did not exist (The Malleus Maleficarum). In 1566 a woman, Agen Waterhouse, was put on trial in Chelmsford, Essex. She was accused of causing William Fynne to become ill. Fynne later died from his illness. She was also accused of using black magic to kill livestock. She was then blamed for the death of her husband. Agnes was found guilty, and she was hanged. She became the first woman to be executed for witchcraft in England. Elizabeth Francis had been accused of witchcraft at the same time as Agnes but she was not found guilty until 1579 when she and several other women were put on trial and found guilty. In 1882, fourteen women were convicted after being put on trial for witchcraft in St. Osyth, Essex, which seemed to be a common place for accounts of witchcraft at the time. In 1884, a man named Reginald Scot published a book called, The Discoverie of Witchcraft. In this, he stated his beliefs about those who were accused of witchcraft. Scot felt that the punishments were un-christian and he blamed the Roman Church. In 1589, three women were convicted of the practice of witchcraft, Joan Cony, Joan Upney, and Joan Prentice. Cony was a worshiper of satan and was convicted of the murder of Elizabeth Finch. Upney was convicted of murdering Alice Foster and Joan Harwood. Prentice was accused of speaking with satan and murdering a little girl by the name of Sara Glascock. An old woman Alice Samuel was accused of being the reason for the Throckmortan children throwing fits. Then in 1590, when Lady Cramwell, an extremely wealthy woman came to visit Warboys, she claimed that she was being tormented by Alice Samuel in her dreams. In 1593, George Gifford published a book called A Dialogue Concerning Witches and Witchcraft. In this he wrote about the ministerial challenges. He brought attention to the challenges brought by witch beliefs (The Beliefs in the Devil During the Elizabethan Times). Witchcraft is something that has been practiced since the beginning of time. It has been a way for humans, in their own mind, to make sense of what they do not understand, or the unknown. Before society knew anything about medicine, or science, they would make up their own reasoning and share their ideas. Sadly, because of our fear of the unknown, many innocent people may have died in the witch trials and witch hunts. Though now we do not have witch hunts and witch trials, some of the superstitions still stick with us. We also have many more religions and much more diversity in religions. Now we know that the reason for the Black Plague and so many illnesses were related to the lack of cleanliness and knowledge of common medicine of the time, and not because of supernatural beings or witches. The existence of witchcraft in todays day and age depends on how you define it. In the Elizabethan Era it was considered witchcraft just to have knowledge of herbs, which we still use today for many different things including using herbs to make natural healing remedies (Elizabethan Era England Life). There are some people in parts of the world who still identify as witches as part of their religion. However, this is much different than the way witches were perceived in  medieval times and in the Elizabethan Era. Those who identify themselves as witches (Pagan or Wiccan) do not, in any way, worship the devil. In the early 20th century a new religious movement developed known as Pagan Witchcraft. Pagan witchcraft is also known as Wicca. Wicca was introduced by a man named Gerald Gardner. There have been books about the core meanings and rules of this religion but Wicca has changed over time. There are many versions of how Wicca is structured. Because of this, Wicca is divided into sects know as traditions. Normally those who follow the Wiccan religion worship a God and Goddess. However, there are others that have very different beliefs. Some believe in duotheism, monotheism, monism, polytheism, or pantheism. Wicca is a form of modern Paganism. Wiccans perform ceremonies and rituals that they refer to as magic. They also believe the work of magic is through nature and senses and that it is misunderstood by science. Even though in most of todays societies witchcraft is not part of daily life, the witch trials and witch hunts were still a big part of history (Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Age). There were many deaths caused by the Bubonic Plague at the time and because of that more deaths were caused from witch executions. The Bubonic Plague became such an epidemic was because the plague was spread by rats that were infested with fleas that carried the disease. However, during the time of the witch hunts, people thought that cats were associated with witches and their black magic, because of this they also began killing the cats as well as the witches. The problem that came from the decrease in the cat population was an increase in the rat population. This is why some people think that the reason that the  plague became a huge epidemic was because people blamed the witches for the plague and killed many witches as well as cats. The witch hunts eventually ended but the effects of witchcraft made an impact on history, in different ways. Many still take an interest in witchcraft. Some even still believe in magic. Superstitions however, are still alive as ever. They have changed throughout time by being passed down through generations (Superstitions of the Elizabethan Era). Works Cited Elizabethan Era England Life. Elizabethan England Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.  . Elizabethan Witchcraft and Witches. Elizabethan Witchcraft and Witches. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.  . Superstitions of the Elizabethan Era. Graziatripodi. N.p., 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.  . Witchcraft In Elizabethan England. Witchcraft In Elizabethan England. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.  . Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Age . Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Age . N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.  . The Beliefs in the Devil During the Elizabethan Times. Synonym. Synonym, 25 Aug. 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.  .

Giving Universities the Business Essay -- essays papers

Giving Universities the Business "The business of America is business." Calvin Coolidge "To talk in public, to think in solitude, to read and to hear, to inquire and answer inquiries, is the business of a scholar." Samuel Johnson In the last ten years there has been a concerted movement in this country to re-design schools according to the Business Model--a movement which has recently gained an apparently unstoppable momentum. We hear continually of the university's need to open up "new markets," to learn new ways to "compete" and create new "customer bases"; simultaneously, we are bombarded with demands from the politicians and administrators who control our public funds to increase our "productivity" and "accountability." (1) Justifications for this evangelical urge are various, but usually take one of two forms: the Times Are Tough argument, which assumes that the traditional sources of university revenues (tuition and public funds) are "drying up," and that the logical substitute are Product Dollars, i.e., money "customers" will only spend for a "product" they have been convinced they either want or need; and the Schools Are Lazy argument, which assumes that universities are islands of idleness and inefficiency in the ocean of American business success, and that the missionaries from the business world can redeem our scholars by converting them to habits of rigor and accountability. Both of these models take their inspiration from the definitions of "business" which usually go something like "a commercial or industrial establishment where the demands of profit rule all other considerations." Interestingly enough, this and related definitions seem to assume "profit" can only be achieved through activitie s practical,... ...orgotten all about teaching: "... [the] culprit is 'process'--the belief that we can teach our children how to think without troubling them to learn anything worth thinking about." Quoted in Cultural Pedagogy: Art/Education/Politics, David Trend, Bergin & Garvey, New York, 1992. 3 As I know this figure will be greeted by some with skepticism,a more detailed breakdown of the average academic work week is available in the WWW document Work Load Figures. 4 Though it may finally be dawning on some that business does not equal efficiency and success when it comes to education, as with Baltimore's recent decision to terminate its contract with EAI. 5 For instance, the recent reorganization of GEDs was a perfect opportunity to negotiate a matching reduction in teaching load, from 4/4 to the much saner (and standard) 3/3. Was a single word spoken about such a "deal"? Giving Universities the Business Essay -- essays papers Giving Universities the Business "The business of America is business." Calvin Coolidge "To talk in public, to think in solitude, to read and to hear, to inquire and answer inquiries, is the business of a scholar." Samuel Johnson In the last ten years there has been a concerted movement in this country to re-design schools according to the Business Model--a movement which has recently gained an apparently unstoppable momentum. We hear continually of the university's need to open up "new markets," to learn new ways to "compete" and create new "customer bases"; simultaneously, we are bombarded with demands from the politicians and administrators who control our public funds to increase our "productivity" and "accountability." (1) Justifications for this evangelical urge are various, but usually take one of two forms: the Times Are Tough argument, which assumes that the traditional sources of university revenues (tuition and public funds) are "drying up," and that the logical substitute are Product Dollars, i.e., money "customers" will only spend for a "product" they have been convinced they either want or need; and the Schools Are Lazy argument, which assumes that universities are islands of idleness and inefficiency in the ocean of American business success, and that the missionaries from the business world can redeem our scholars by converting them to habits of rigor and accountability. Both of these models take their inspiration from the definitions of "business" which usually go something like "a commercial or industrial establishment where the demands of profit rule all other considerations." Interestingly enough, this and related definitions seem to assume "profit" can only be achieved through activitie s practical,... ...orgotten all about teaching: "... [the] culprit is 'process'--the belief that we can teach our children how to think without troubling them to learn anything worth thinking about." Quoted in Cultural Pedagogy: Art/Education/Politics, David Trend, Bergin & Garvey, New York, 1992. 3 As I know this figure will be greeted by some with skepticism,a more detailed breakdown of the average academic work week is available in the WWW document Work Load Figures. 4 Though it may finally be dawning on some that business does not equal efficiency and success when it comes to education, as with Baltimore's recent decision to terminate its contract with EAI. 5 For instance, the recent reorganization of GEDs was a perfect opportunity to negotiate a matching reduction in teaching load, from 4/4 to the much saner (and standard) 3/3. Was a single word spoken about such a "deal"?

Brand Management Article Review

Introduction: Review: Teresa da Silva Lopes & Mark Casson (Winter, 2007). Entrepreneurship and the Development of Global Brands: Business History Review 81 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College (Extract from page 651-680) World’s economy in early 1980s leaded to the merger wave in business industries. Only few independent brands have survived during that period. In the article, the authors addressed the question of why so few independent brands survived and they also aim to address about the contribution of entrepreneurs to the successful and growth of the companies.The authors also of demonstrated some well-known brands and their related case of how did the change in ownership affect the brand name. Summary: Entrepreneurship and innovation is a competitive asset for each organization. In the past time, entrepreneur refers to the founder of the business, but the definition was expanded overtime. In the article, authors define entrepreneur as â€Å"someone who specia lizes in taking judgmental decisions about the coordination of scarce resources with an economic aim and under conditions of uncertainty. This means that the entrepreneur is not necessarily a capitalist or the founder of a business, but is someone who is not afraid of risk and who â€Å"gets things done† and has an economic aim. Because of the changing in business environment, today entrepreneur has more skills, business related knowledge and capabilities in expanding their brand into different geography or internationally or rejuvenate it in order to keep the popularity and still make a profit. Brand is a powerful strategic tool to distinguish company from its competitors, communicate to customer and attract customer loyalty.A brand can have a rise, and then fall out of favor, to be out of date by the arrival of new brand. Trajectory of brands or the life of each brand is surely depends on the company’s performance and strategies they decide to take in action so as to create brand personalities for their products or services. Without careful management, brands can follow the general pattern of a product lifecycle: moving through introduction, growth, maturity, and decline stages in a relatively rapid fashion. Authors indicate that the change in brand ownership or management team may take into account when discussing about trajectory of brands.Thus to keep the brand forever young is necessary mission that each company need to achieve. Some brands become successful immediately after introduced into the market and it remains successful until now under the single ownership and management team but some become successful after their previous ownership or management team was changed. Various strategies are suggested by the author as they are implemented by several successful brands such as the extension of an existing brand (Asahi Super Dry), or by the creation of a new brand, or by forging a compromise between the two (Nescafe).The firm may also hire new managers and consultants in order to boost temporarily the creative resources at the firm’s disposal (as happened in the case of KitKat). Another strategy suggested is to change the firm’s recruitment policies and hiring new managers with stronger entrepreneurial capabilities to obtain a permanent solution. Furthermore, using merger and acquisition strategy to change the brand ownership enable some multi-firm brands especially the companies in food, drink, and cosmetics industries become successful and stay young.Brand rejuvenation in the article refers to â€Å"tweaking the brand image to appeal to a new generation of consumers†. Rejuvenation of the brand should be take into action when customer in the market lose their concentration on the existing one or the traditional market for a brand may stagnate, unacceptable to an emerging market for the brand or there is an increase in demand for products or services, because in order to be well suited to the cult ure, demand, preference of different group of customer and to create availability of the products they want wherever they are.Based on the study, the authors conclude that successful global brand usually originate in developed countries. It takes very long time to build their brand personalities and recognition. Strategies of brand extensions that we often see are merger and acquisition, franchising, licensing and some brands are trades as pieces of intellectual property. Critic Negative: Brand rejuvenation is a strategic tool for the company to recapture market share and to keep the brands up to date for consumers, but not all brand should be rejuvenated since due to two main reasons.Firstly, some brand is very harmful to people health and society. For example, tobacco and alcohol products have many harmful effects are not limited to only health-related issues but as well as a whole society will suffer from its effects. Smoking cigarettes opens the possibility to the people that ar e around you to breathe second-hand smoke. This increases the risk of cancer in others around you. Also, smoke is bad for the environment and the ozone layer whereby people who drink and drive may cause many road accident and they tend to commit violence in the family more that people who do not.Secondly, the negative point of brand rejuvenation is the decrease in physical communication due to the growth in technology related branding. In the past, people spend more time to talk to their friends, colleges and family but presently, digital form of communication decrease social interaction. Because the development of technology, many company try to rejuvenate their brand by introducing high- tech product to the market. Most people believe that technology such as cell phones and e-mail has made their lives easier. From e-mails, to Facebook, to television, people are becoming dependent on technology; we cannot live without our iPhones.As a real example that happen to myself, sometimes I spend a whole day in bedroom just to tweet, facebook and surfing internet; I do not interact with people around at all within whole day. People are distancing themselves from life off- line. This create distant of people interaction from day to day. Positive: We totally agree with the authors who state that entrepreneurs contribute to the growth of a firm and brand succeeds and innovation, intelligence and skills are the required factors to build a successful brand. Brand building is an important issue in strategic marketing and driving force for shareholder’s value.Good brand image and brand recognition in the market is what all entrepreneurs and managements intend to get. The growth and development of a firm mostly depends on the motivation and ambition of the owner itself. Among the important features of an entrepreneur that effects the firm growth involves general background of the owner involving age and education of the owner along with his growth motivation and manage ment know how organizational practices on the behalf of entrepreneurs. Innovative idea and technological capabilities of entrepreneur also the contribution factors that each entrepreneur should care about.We also agree with the authors that brand rejuvenation is a great tool to make more money. Brand rejuvenation is the effort to bring a brand which could not make money into the one that can generate money for company by using new positioning or communication strategy. Normally, companies decide to rejuvenate their brand in order to respond to internal and external changes. For example when new competitors come into the market, they may have taken over the category and the company is struggling to generate revenues from the current product, thus company need to rejuvenate their brand or new option has to be launched.Another reason is when the existing product or service is in declining stage of product life cycle, it is an appropriate time to rejuvenate the brand in order to recaptu re the market share. Some other reason why company should rejuvenate their brand is to shed the negative image of the existing brand, to incorporate in new mission or develop a new brand when repositioning. Moreover, the target market for the brand has aged so the brand has to renew its positioning in the minds of the next generation of consumers. Because brand may no longer meet the consumers’ needs or desires, where in the consumer has shifted to a different platform.Conclusion After reading and reviewing this article, we got more ideas on how branding is very important for each company in generate the profit in long term, how entrepreneur contribute to the firm growth and success. The authors provide enough reasons to support their article by indicated real example of some major brand how they are developed to become the global one. The authors indicate two main strategies for brand development which are entrepreneurship and brand rejuvenation. Brand rejuvenation can lead the company to capture market share as well as to compete in the market effectively in the long run.

Robert Cormier essays

Robert Cormier essays It takes an act of faith to live today This was the attitude that Robert Cormier had when he was writing. He believed that people were living in terrifying times that would leave individuals powerless and fending for themselves (Stines 107). Robert Cormier felt that the children of today needed to be exposed to reality and not to fiction. In all of his writings Cormier used realistic story lines that often left critics objecting to his writings. He frequently drew on experiences from his own childhood and that of his son to make his stories more realistic. Born as the son of Lucien and Irma Cormier on January 17, 1925 in Leominster, Massachusetts, Cormier often used his own life experiences to help him with his writings (Bryfonski 133). As a child Cormier attended a strict Catholic school. Cormier found the experiences there not very positive. Some of the teachers he had were not very nice. He found the nuns rather hard to deal with and he felt that his abilities were not well recognized. You know, I think our lives a re driven by guilt. With me it all goes back to the nuns - making us feel so darn guilty about everything, (Campbell). However, it was when one of his teachers read a story he wrote and told him he had a natural talent, he decided to pursue writing (Stiens, 111). In spite of his negative school experiences, he continued to be a practicing Catholic and his own children attended Catholic school. Writing as a journalist in 1948 for the Fitchburg Sentinel, was Cormiers first job in writing. Later Cormier began working at a radio station where he delivered news broadcasts. Cormier also worked as a reporter for several local newspapers. Cormier used his own life experiences to develop his writings. His fathers death from cancer was the prompt for his first novel Now and at the Hour (Bryfonski 133). It was the story of a New England mill worker ...