Should College Have One Attendance Policy Essay Example for Free

Should College Have One Attendance Policy Essay The college should have one attendance policy for all departments. Attendance policy is strange things, and perhaps the strangest thing about them is how often they completely differ from one another. There is no college – wide attendance policy that students must follow, but many departments create their own. Some departments have strict attendance policies, but many times the policy is whatever the professor feels like. I think the college should adopt a more uniform attendance policy for several reasons. First of all, the lack of uniformity can be mind – boggling for student. Attendance policy varies a lot between professors. Some professors don’t enforce these policies; many make up their own and put it in their syllabus. It’s not uncommon for a gen-ed to have a strict attendance policy while an important course for student’s major has a very lenient one. It’s obviously more important that the student attend the major course, but he or she only faces consequences if the gen-ed is missed. Second of all, many department policies are not enforced by professors. This is worse than not having a policy in the first place. How are students supposed to take showing up to class seriously if their teachers don’t? Another reason, attendance policies do not do a good job of reflecting the importance of a class. Furthermore the inconsistent attitudes professors have towards them are confusing to student. Therefore, when faces with so many varying opinions on the importance or unimportance of attendance policies, students lose the basic point. However, every student should attend all classes. Not only are professor there to teach you in the first place, you paid to learn. Not going to class is essentially throwing money away while pretending to be a student. In short, attendance policy at college should be changed in order to be more consistent. Either do away with policies altogether and let the students face the long-term consequences of their actions, or find a policy every professor in the department will stand behind and enforce.

Developing Scientific Thinking in Education

Developing Scientific Thinking in Education Developing Scientific Thinking Abstract The essay title was chosen since developing scientific thinking is a key area of teaching in the primary classroom. The skills which are to be developed through scientific thinking are transferrable to many other areas of the curriculum, and many of the skills are central to real life experiences. The essay will discuss why the skills taught in SC1 are of importance. The aspects of SC1 which were taught were forming of hypothesis and relating conclusions to the hypothesis, selection of appropriate equipment, methods and measurements, fair testing and also analysing ways in which the investigation could be improved. The outcomes of these lessons were positive, with the children showing their ability to interact and produce their own questions which could be investigated. They selected appropriate equipment and methods with teacher guidance, and were able to formulate a hypothesis to test. The children were able to contribute ideas as to how to make the test fair, and were able to comm unicate their results in a scientific way, through graphs. The children were also able to recognise factors which affected the outcome of their experiment and suggest further improvements which could be made. In conclusion, the lesson showed that the methods used were a viable way of teaching SC1. It did however highlight several issues which would need to be accounted for in the future, such as group size; a larger group would require greater organisation, and would possibly require a different emphasis during the lessons to account for different knowledge levels and learning styles. Introduction The main justification for the inclusion of investigations within the national curriculum is to develop the set of skills and processes within the children, with conceptual understanding of science being the secondary outcome to be achieved (Watson et al., 2000). The overall aim is for pupils to be developed into critical thinkers, through the development of various investigative skills. All pupils begin school with some limited skills already developed, but these are built upon throughout Key Stage 1 and 2 so that by the beginning of Key Stage 3 (DfES, 2007) all pupils ideally possess a diverse set of skills which will prepare them for the various subjects to be studied at this level, and will also assist them in many real life experiences, particularly as they reach a stage in their life at which they must be able to use skills to form their own opinions and decisions for the first time in their lives. The science curriculum is broken down into four components, and while the last t hree sections, SC2, 3 and 4, are heavily based on knowledge, SC1 is the component which deals with the development of scientific skills, and is central to each of the other components also. Scientific Enquiry in the National Curriculum Organisation of SC1: Enquiry The SC1 portion of the science curriculum is mostly concerned with teaching pupils the mental processes and practical skills which are needed to think and work in a scientific way (Newton and Newton, 1998): Ideas and evidence Planning Carrying out Interpreting and evaluating Recording and presenting data Some of these skills are already possessed at a basic level when a child begins Key Stage 1, and will be developed throughout Key Stage 1 and 2 (DfES, 2007). Other areas of science curriculum There are three other areas of the science curriculum which are taught in parallel to SC1. SC2 is concerned with life processes and living things. This area of the curriculum teaches the pupil to be able to recognise, observe and describe a range of features of the human body, animals and plants. This area is also concerned with life processes, which pupils learn to recognise, describe and explain. SC3 is the area of the curriculum in which materials and their properties are studied. In this component children are taught to be able to classify materials through various properties. SC4 is the area of the curriculum which is concerned with physical processes, such as electricity and forces, in which children should be able to form comparisons, and learn to offer explanations as to why certain phenomena occur (National Curriculum in Action, n.d.). It can be seen from the content of SC2-4 that the ideas and knowledge which is developed in SC1 is fundamental to the remaining three components of the curriculum. The ideas which SC1 teaches are required in order for the development of the other areas to occur. For example, in SC1 the ability to interpret and evaluate is developed, and this is a transferable skill which can be used in each of the other three strands. The ability to evaluate and interpret data is essential for pupils to be able to spot patterns between the life processes of living things and to use these to make evidence based predictions about the way that life processes work in other creatures which have not been specifically studied. This is only an example of one of the many ways in which there is an interdependent relationship between the four strands of primary science education; there are many other ways in which the development of skills in SC1 impacts on the ability of the pupil to develop in other areas of the curriculum. Importance of SC1 SC1 is concerned with three main areas, which are experimentation, exploration and investigation (Newton and Newton, 1998, p. 77). These ideas are all closely related, and when used together form an effective method for introducing new ideas or concepts, or developing the level of understanding in current knowledge. It has been found in previous studies that while numerous activities are offered in the classroom in which children are able to develop skills involving observations, planning and measurement, there are less opportunities available in which children get the chance to put forward ideas, hypothesise and interpret an investigation (Newton and Newton, 1998, p. 77). Goldsworthy (n.d.) also showed that there is a distinct unbalance in the skills which teachers at Key Stage 2 concentrate on in the classroom; it was shown that half of the teaching sampled concentrated on the ‘fair test’. While this is important, there are other skills which are more easily transferred to other areas that appear to be neglected in the classroom at the present time. For example pattern seeking and exploring were found to be dealt with rarely, and using and applying models not at all. This research assumes that the reason for this is due to previous teacher training, as some years ago the emphasis was very much on the fair test; however there have been many teachers come through training in recent years that would have had more up to date training, which should see this in remission, which has not happened. This suggests that there must be other factors which are affecting the areas which are taught in the classroom. For example it could be that the concepts which are most explored in the primary classroom are more abundant in other areas of the curriculum, or it could simply be that the teachers are more comfortable with certain aspects of the curriculum, so these are the areas which are concentrated on in lessons. It could also be that a lack of knowledge on behalf of some teachers leads to confusion between the fundamental concepts involved, such as thinking that experimentation and investigation is the same thing, which could lead to there being vital areas of development which are ignored. It could also be due to time pressures, since processes leading to investigations are often lengthy (Garson, 1988, p. 62). During science activities, discussion plays a critical role, since it is through discussion between pupil and teacher that questions are raised which can be investigated and explored; discussion also leads to effective development of communication techniques. Experience is also needed for the pupils to draw upon in order to identify questions (Newton and Newton, 1998, p. 79), therefore providing varied practical activities for pupils is also essential to development in science (Newton and Newton, 1998, p. 78). Independent investigations are centred on the pupil being in control of the investigation, by setting their own questions in response to given information, and deciding the best approach to tackle the questions raised (Newton and Newton, 1998, p. 79). This skill is useful in may areas of the curriculum, since it instils the skills necessary for the pupil to conduct their own research into any area which they study, for example if the child were set a literacy task in which they had to find examples of a specific type of poem, they would use the same set of investigative skills as in science; they would assess the knowledge that they already have, identify the question to be answered, and then choose the most appropriate option to tackle the task at hand. These skills are invaluable in life, particularly in adulthood, since it is by these same investigation methods which we make many decisions, such as the decision as to which electricity supplier is the cheapest, or where you would b e able to buy a new tyre for your car. The skills which SC1 aims to develop are fundamental skills, exploration skills, direct experiment skills, and independent investigation skills. Fundamental skills which may be developed through science are the manipulation of materials, measuring skills and recording skills. These skills are fundamental not only to creating a sound scientific method of investigation and reporting for the pupils, but also to other areas of the curriculum. For instance the manipulation and measurement of materials is a skill which is particularly useful in technology lessons, such as cooking and craft; recording skills are important in any area in which information needs to be communicated effectively from the pupil to another person. It can also be seen that these skills are fundamental in life itself; measurement is a transferable skill which enables you to effectively plan and measure the time which you spend doing various tasks in life; recording skills allow a person to communicate information to anyone, not only their teacher; manipulation of materials can be an everyday occurrence, such as knowing how to make a cake. When children begin school they can already use their five senses, and can therefore observe and communicate the things which occur around them. However this is usually on a very shallow level, and exploration skills need to be developed in order to enhance these observations, and enable the child to form explanations. These skills can be put to use in many areas of the school curriculum, for example in history, where rather than simply observe events that have happened in the past, exploration skills enable the pupil to delve further into the reasons behind the occurrences. This skill is particularly useful as a life skill, since without the ability to relate reason to an occurrence, it is not possible to alter events which might occur. For example it may be observed that it is slippery when out walking in the snow, which any child would be able to recognise. However with the ability to explore why this may be, and form an explanation as to the reason, it is then possible to explore ways in which the problem may be overcome. How SC1 was used in teaching Central to my approach on teaching of science enquiry is Vygotsky’s idea of ‘zone of proximal development’ that learning should be child-centred and based on activities that encourage the development of reflection through which they gain abstract understanding. Active learning rather than passive learning, collaborative learning rather than individualised learning and the integration of contextual process skills. I have observed lessons where it seemed that the learning objectives that the teacher had for the lesson were concerned with its factual content rather than with a concern to support children’s learning by involving them in the course of learning. As discussed in the beginning of this essay, while this may lead to the acquisition of knowledge through passive learning, it is unlikely that the children are able to develop the key skills outlined in SC1 through these methods. When planning my science work with the children I considered the scientific enquiry skills to be explored in terms of those that I felt were important to develop and relevant to the topic. My learning outcomes included the following: Finding questions that could be investigated scientifically and Choosing how to achieve answers Able to explain a fair test based on predictions I felt that these learning outcomes would lead to the development of analytical skills, since they centred on the pupils exploring their own ideas, and while they were based somewhat on the fair test, this was not the sole purpose of the lesson, simply a method by which children could be shown analytical skills. I began the lesson by talking to the group about the aspect of scientific enquires and on what scientific skills they will be focusing during the lesson (see appendix 1). We talked about the steps they can make when carrying out a scientific investigation. I asked two children to stand together and the rest of the group in pairs to brainstorm any differences in the children that they observed, a process that required a dialogic discussion. After a couple of minutes I bought the group together, listened to their observations and recorded them on the interactive white board. A short extract below illustrate some of the discussion: Andrew: Simon is taller than Leo. Lianne: I bet Simon can run faster than Leo. CT: Why do you think that? What are you basing your statement on? (Pause, no response) Can you explain why you think that? Lianne: Because he has longer legs means he can cover more ground CT: Does anyone else agree with Lianne’s ideas? Andrew: No, I think it depends on how much energy you have. CT: How could we find out whose idea (hypotheses) is true? Andreas: Simon also has longer arms than Leo. Andreas: I think he can throw a ball higher, because he has got a stronger arm. CT: Why do you think someone with longer arms should have stronger arms than someone with shorter arms? Andreas: Well, because he has more muscles. CT: What could we do to find this out? Through further questioning they were able to turn their ideas into questions that could be investigated (Carrà © and Ovens, 1994, p. 6). Here are a few of their suggestions. â€Å"Whether people with longer arms can throw balls higher?† â€Å"Whether people with longer legs can jump higher?† â€Å"Whether people with longer legs can run faster?† On the interactive white board I wrote two questions, â€Å"What will I need to test my question?† and â€Å"Can we investigate with the resources available?† The pupils had a discussion as to what equipment they would use first. One question was modified to whether people with longer arms threw the furthest, since health and safety issues had to be accounted for. Prior to this lesson, the children had taken part in a PE lesson where they were introduced to foam javelin, and they decided they wanted to use these javelins instead of tennis balls to test their predictions. I wrapped up the discussion by reviewing the question with the group to check that it was well defined and focused, telling them they should think mainly about their predictions and where it fits into the cycle of their investigation and what other skills were connected to the process. The group worked collaboratively and divided the responsibilities among themselves. â€Å"Science is thus a sociable activity by nature of the inherent need to communicate between scientist†¦From all background, cultures, countries and language to communicate† (Feasy, 1999) In a subsequent lesson, the children followed their plan and recorded their results on a chart showing person in one column and length of throw in the second column. The group used their results chart to draw a graph to look for a pattern and discovered that their original hypothesis had not been correct. They drew their conclusion that the people with the longer arm did not necessarily throw the furthest. During the plenary I talked to the group about their investigation and asked them whether they were pleased with their results and the way they had collaborated. The children decided that the hardest part of the investigation was the controlling the variable; they recognized that in this instance there were environmental factors such s the wind which affected their experiment; they thought they should have tested the wind direction and speed to ensure it was accurate. They also thought that it was largely due to the technique employed to throw the javelin and how they were feeling on the day to how far you threw the javelin. From their data they agreed that although there was a pattern of those with the longest arms throwing the furthest this was not a concrete fact: â€Å"Miss, Simon threw further than you and you have longer arms than him†. The children were asked to suggest improvements which could have been made to the investigation to make it better, and they suggested on e improvement could be to perform their investigation indoors. I felt the interaction that went on whilst carrying out scientific investigations was beneficial to the children’s learning and enabled them to find out what they do and do not know. (See appendix 2) â€Å"Within†¦discussion students can be encouraged towards critical reflection, examining practice by articulating it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Loveless and Dore, 2002, p. 148). The children reported orally rather than writing a formal report about their investigation which gave them ownership of their work and it also gave me a chance to carry out some post assessment on their scientific knowledge. Socio-cultural theorist Vygotsky (1978) emphasised the importance of language use and social interaction within communities for the development of educated ways, of making sense of the world, such as those associated with science. Evaluation of lesson In the instance discussed here the children involved were part of a high achieving group; if the same work were to be undertaken with a whole class diverse backgrounds and learning styles would need to be accounted for, which means that there would need to have been greater organization, and possibly longer allowed for the lessons to account for a longer learning process to take place. Motives for learning must be kept from going passive they must be based as much as possible upon the arousal of interest in what there is to be learned, and they must be kept broad and diverse in expression. (Bruner, P. 80) I have taught quite a few hands-on activities in both my placements schools and I find the children are interested and motivated in doing these activities. I feel they enjoyed the open-endedness of their task and the idea that they can do investigations themselves. This was reflected in the reaction of the children to the lesson discussed above: â€Å"The more you work on our investigation, the more you find out. It made me realize how I have to sometimes change my opinion†. I feel the children did have an understanding of how to find questions which could be investigated, and also had knowledge of how to develop a hypotheses and present a fair test. Duggan and Gott (2002) indicate that those who can apply their learning in a novel situation are likely to be more creative. â€Å"Creativity in science needs to be fostered with more emphasis placed on developing understanding†. I also felt that in the lesson there were added benefits to the hands on approach in behaviour management, since none of the children presented problems with behaviour during the sessions. This is possibly because they were all actively involved in the process, which allowed no time for lack of interest by ant child. Implications for future teaching of science enquiry The results of the session were very positive overall. The way in which the children reacted showed that they already had some previous knowledge of the skills which were approached, and this must be taken account of in future lesson planning. For instance if teaching a group which has less previous knowledge more time would need to be devoted to discussing the issues such as the fair test idea in the first session. Children may also need more time to develop their own ideas if this is something they have little previous experience of doing in the science situation. Another issue which must also be accounted for in the future is the size of the group which is being taught. For instance in this example the small group size not only meant that the children were all of the same ability, but also enabled interaction between the entire group easily. If there were a whole class involved in the activity, certain aspects, such as the brainstorming may be less successful, since it would be mu ch harder to engage every member of a large group. This suggests that activities such as this would be better performed in small groups; for instance if the class were to be broken into smaller groups, each could be given ownership of a particular area to discuss. Conclusion The way in which the science curriculum is divided into four components does not mean that each of these components should be taught in isolation. The first of these components is arguably the most important, since it is the one which is based on the idea of teaching skills rather than knowledge, and this unit is fundamental to teaching each of the other three. The fact that Science Enquiry is aimed at developing investigative and exploration skills suggests that practical sessions are fundamental to the lessons. From my own experience I have found that children react very well to practical sessions, and show capability of developing their skills through interaction. The success of these sessions also suggests that the format would be very useful in other areas of the curriculum, such as topic work, where they could be used to demonstrate to pupils that the skills which they are learning are applicable to many other areas outside of science. It also encourages greater development of skills that will be essential to pupils in many real life experiences. References Carrà ©, C. and Ovens, C. (1994) Science 7-11: Developing Primary Teaching Skills. New York: Routledge. DfES (2007) Science at Key Stages 1 and 2. [Online] Available from: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk:80/schemes2/science/teaching?view=get. [Accessed 2nd May 2007]. Duggan, S. and Gott, R. (2002) What sort of science education do we really need?, International Journal of Science Education, 24 (7), pp. 661-679. Feasy (1999) Primary Science Literature, Hatfield: ASE Garson, Y (1988) Science in the Primary School, London: Routledge. Goldsworthy, A. (n.d.) Acquiring Scientific Skills. THIS IS IN THE NOTES, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT BOOK. Loveless, A. and Dore, B. (2002) ICT in the Primary School, Buckingham: Open University Press. National Curriculum in Action (n.d.) QCA [Online]. Available from: http://www.ncaction.org.uk/subjects/science/index.htm. [Accessed 3rd May 2007]. Newton, D.P and Newton, L.D. (1998) Coordinating Science Across the Primary School. London: Falmer Press. Watson, R., Goldsworthy, A. and Wood-Robinson, V. (2000) SC1: Beyond the Fair Test, in Issues in Science Teaching, London: Routledge Falmer, pp. 70-74.

Strategic Marketing by Nintendo Select an organisation

Strategic Marketing by Nintendo Select an organisation Introduction Starting out as a playing card company when it was first founded in 1889, later entered the video game industry in 1985; Nintendo has since become the leading manufacturer and distributor of video-game software and hardware (i.e. handheld consoles and static consoles). Such success has largely been attributed to Nintendos ability to develop and manage some of the most innovative products in the industry, where some still remained as one of the biggest seller of all time. Despite its success and the current position as the market leader in both the console and handheld market, Nintendo is facing increasing competition from its competitors; Microsoft and Sony, the challenges on its market from the recent recession as well as the saturation of demand of the current generation of consoles. This essay will analyse some of the main strategic marketing tools covered in the module, and then evaluate and make suggestions on how they can be used by Nintendo to manage its existing products and product portfolios or help to develop new ones. Defining product Due to the scope of the essay, the strategic marketing tools that will be analysed will be mainly related to product. A product is either tangible or intangible; it can be defined as a good, a service or even an idea or brand. It is an important factor in the marketing mix and can be a companys most important asset. A product can also be broken into three levels, core, actual and augmented (as shown in fig. 1). It is important to note that the core product is not the product itself and is not tangible; it is the basic benefits from gaining the actual product (Dibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferell, 2001). Figure Nintendo has a range of products within the video game industry, from well-known handheld consoles such as the Nintendo DS and the static video-game consoles such as the Wii, to a range of compatible video-game peripherals, accessories and software from its studios. If we take the Wii for example, the core benefit to the user would be the perceived enjoyment or fun from playing the console, the actual product would have the features of running the compatible games, while the augmented product would be the customer service and warranty the end-user could use when console breaks. Some of these products will be analysed in more detail later on using the strategic marketing tools in order to give more details on the current situation of the company and the market. The Tools There are many marketing tools and concepts nowadays to help companies assess their products and the market in order to make more informed decisions in planning. This section will concentrate on three of the strategic marketing tools relating to product as discussed within the module, with focus on the benefits and limitations of each tool when applied to Nintendo and its products. Product lifecycle Perhaps one of the more widely known tools in managing products (Dhalla Yuspeh, 2009), the product lifecycle breaks down the progress of a product developing over time into four main stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The stages can be seen on the graph in fig. 1. The first line represents the sales a company has made, while the line below is the actual profits gained after deducting all the cost. Time is represented on the horizontal axis. Figure Source: http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/products_lifecycle.asp At introduction, despite the rapidly rising sales, it is likely that the profit remains in the negative due to the considerable costs incurred to develop and launch the new product. During the growth period, as more people become aware of the product and demand grows, sales and profit increase rapidly. After a period of time, growth in demand would start to slow as the maturity approaches. At the maturity stage, competition could be the strongest and it is also where the most profit can be earned. After the product reaches maturity, sales and profit will fall into decline as the market shrinks. By understanding the stage a companys product is at, strategic decisions can be made to minimise cost or to boost sales. Many of Nintendos products can be perceived as following such cycle. One example can be seen from Wii, one of Nintendos most success products and the current market leader in static consoles. When it was first released in 2006, there was much hype about the new product amongst the gaming community; the product was part of the seventh generation consoles, and features the distinctive motion-sensitive controllers. Although the new console lacks the graphics and processing power of its rivals, Microsofts Xbox 360 and Sonys PS3; the features of which the traditional video-gaming communities (dominated by young male gamers) have placed great emphasis on, Nintendo has dramatically increased sales by expanding the market into new consumer segments (i.e. older generations and other casual gamers) (Mintel Oxygen, 2008). In 2009, sales have slowed as the market for the current generation of consoles reaches maturity, prompting Nintendo to lower the retail price in order to boost sales (Mintel Oxygen, 2010). While the Wii seemed to be going through the stages of a product lifecycle, yet, the product lifecycle would have been too simple for Nintendo to base most of their strategies and planning on. One of its limitations is that it cannot help managers to effectively forecast sales; a reason for this would be that sales can be affected by a number of factors, internal and external. For instance, the product lifecycle could not have forecasted the recent recession which saw a cut back on spending from the casual gamers who view Wii as one of the luxury goods, thus affecting the sales. Another major limitation of the product lifecycle is that not all products will follow the typical lifecycle curve. An example can be seen from Nintendos Virtual Boy when it was first launched in 1995, the console uses a head-mounted display and controller, but since it had many technological limitations, the product did not get the sales needed and was discontinued after one year (Fletcher, 2010). Here, the product did not reach growth and maturity after introduction, and went into decline soon after. Due to its simplicities and many other limitations ( Day, 1981), some critics even argues that companies can make costly mistakes and miss opportunities if decisions are based on the product lifecycle concept, and would be better off using an information system for each product when deciding whether to promote or cut cost (Dhalla Yuspeh, 2009). Boston Matrix Developed by a large US consulting group, the Boston matrix is a strategic planning tool that base around a products market growth rate and market share when determining a marketing strategy (Donald , Hambrick, MacMillan, Diana, 1982). Each product is analysed in terms of relative market share and market growth and placed onto a matrix, where it can be classified into four categories: stars, cash cows, problem child/question mark and dogs. As seen in fig 3. Figure Source: http://www.learnpremium.co.uk/cima/lesson2/page3.aspx Stars are highly successful products with good prospects for growth and high share of the market, although they may use more cash than they generate in order to finance growth and increase capacity. Stars have the potential to become cash cows, where they have the dominant shares in the market but low growth, and more cash are generated than needed to maintain market share. With low market share and low potential for growth, products that are classified as dogs should be eliminated as they are likely to not generate cash for the company. Problem children, sometime called question marks, are products with low share of a high growth market. Some of the problem children can be turned into stars, which is why some companies still invests in them, although there is also a risk of them turning into dogs instead. The current generation consoles (the Wii and Nintendo DS range) from Nintendo can be generally be classified as cash cows, as they have the biggest share of their market but the markets are no longer growing as fast as it used to be. One of the dogs of the company would be the Game Boy Advance range (including Game Boy Advance SP and Game Boy Micro), the predecessor of the Nintendo DS range, sales and market share have dropped after the introduction of the newer versions of the DS range. An example of the question mark product would be Nintendo DSi XL, which is a newer version of the DS range that provides all the features of the Nintendo DSi along with bigger screens. It was released in November 2009, and its future is still unsure as consumers could prefer spending less on older versions that gives similar experience, rendering the DSi XL unnecessary (i.e. becoming a dog), or could potentially replace the older models and become a cash cow in future. The stars of Nintendo can be de monstrated by some of Nintendos video game software developed by its first-party studios, such as the Wii Fit, which was the third highest selling Wii game as of May 2010 (Nintendo Co., Ltd, 2010). Nevertheless, like the product life cycle model it was based on, Boston matrix, with only two dimensions (market share and market growth) is still too simplistic to use alone in making strategic decisions (Majluf, 1983). It also assumes that high market share is always related to higher rates of profit or the only success factor, and that the attractiveness of a market is not only indicated by its growth. For instance, although compared to the fast growing mainstream, casual gaming market with its large market size potential, the traditional hard-core gamer market with its narrower demographic could be seen as much less attractive. However, the latter group would also be willing to pay more for a higher specification console, and their purchase are less likely to be effected by the economic conditions in the same way that has impacted the decision of the casual gamers. Also, despite a general interpretation that dogs should be eliminated, some dog products could be part of a successf ul product mix, and their existence could serve as one of the motivating factors for consumers to purchase a particular product from the company. An example can be shown from Nintendos accessory sector, where market research has shown low market growth and low interest in accessories overall. However, many customers who chose to purchase Nintendo Wii could be influenced by the fact that parts can be replaced and purchased if required, i.e. extra controls are available for purchase should the customer want to play multi-player games. Despite its weaknesses, the Boston matrix can still serve as a simple and efficient tool to help Nintendo to predict where a product is at in its product lifecycle, for instance, question marks can be said to be on the launch stage, the stars are at the growth stage and cash cows are likely to be on the maturity stage. Ansoff Matrix The previous two marketing tools can help companies to identify the stages their products are at, but does little to help the managers formulating on a set of strategies to achieve growth. The Ansoff matrix is a tool that aids companies in making decisions on how to achieve growth depending on the product and the market it targets (Ansoff, 1965). It can be shown in a chart below, as seen in fig. 4. Figure Source: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm The four strategic choices from the Ansoff matrix are: market penetration, product development, market development and diversification. Market penetration is considered when marketing existing products to existing consumers, this can be achieved through promotions or repositioning the brand. For instance, after it was clear that Nintendos static consoles could not compete in terms of specifications (i.e. powerful processing capacity) with Sony and Microsoft within the hard-core gaming sector (Mintel Oxygen, 2008), the company repositioned its brand to appeal more to the wider public and families in order to increase sales. Product development occurs when companies market new products in existing markets. Within the video game console market, newer models are introduced in order to compete better with the latest features on the market. Within the Nintendo DS range, new models are released almost every year; starting from the original Nintendo DS at release, then the handheld console became smaller with the DS Lite, later a webcam was added on to open up new possibilities with several games in the DSi model, and the current model, DSi XL features a bigger screen for players. All these models compete in the handheld video game console market along with Sonys PSP, with each model offering a slightly different experience to the consumer, but still in the same generation of the video game consoles (Mintel Oxygen, 2010). Market development happens when companies seek growth by introducing existing products in new markets. This can be demonstrated when companies export their products into another country or region, thereby entering a new market. Nintendos consoles and games are usually released in Japan first; the companys home market, before launching and promote them overseas. Lastly, diversification is when the company choose to market completely new products into new markets. This could be within the same industry as the existing products or going into an unrelated industry or sector. Nintendo first started out as a playing card company in the late 19th Century before it diversified into to the video gaming market by launching its first video game console, but still remained within the wider Toys and Games industry. As with the other tools, there are limitations and disadvantages on using the Ansoff matrix. Once again, the format of the two-by-two design similar to the Boston matrix can be too simplistic, and that the real-world markets and decisions are much more complex. Such as that diversification may contain many risks, i.e. lack of knowledge and experience of the new market, and that it may not be the best strategy for growth for some companies with limited resources. Also, although the Ansoff matrix can be used to identify the strategic path products may follow, and as with the Boston matrix can help simplify overly complex scenarios for easy and prompt analysis; it does not provide the marketing options which mangers will need to make based on a wider and extensive research of the company and the market. Combining the tools All the strategic marketing tools evaluated here have both benefits and disadvantages to Nintendo. Also, the market conditions can transform over time, such as changes in trend, technological advances and economic conditions (Pride Ferrell, 2008). Therefore, in order to help managers to effectively manage and develop individual products and product portfolios, the best approach will likely to involve using a number of tools. This section will look at how different marketing tools discussed previously along with other concepts can be used together by Nintendo in managing its products as well as developing new ones. Product management Product management can consist of planning, forecasting and marketing of a product in order to achieve the companys objectives. Nintendo may use the tools mentioned before to help it to paint an overall view of its products. By using the Boston matrix on all Nintendos products that are currently on the market, one can find that there are some in each of the four categories, and some may lie on the lines between two classifications. As mentioned in the introduction, the concept of product is not limited to just goods and service, and Nintendo has many products in its product portfolio. The Pokà ©mon game brand were often referred to as one of Nintendos biggest cash cows by the gaming community, with each release for various platforms and little changes to the content and gameplay providing huge profit for the company. Therefore, for the Pokà ©mon range, Nintendo may opt to spend relatively less investment in product development and promotion to maintain sales, and use the cash generated on investing in new innovations and other less successful products. The Boston matrix will also help Nintendo to identify what stage of the product lifecycle some of their products are currently in. When looking at the product lifecycle of the current generation of consoles, the slow sales growth indicates maturity of the market and the product. Therefore, Nintendo should consider developing the next generation consoles. However, care should be taken in using the product lifecycle as not all products share the same trend. To get an accurate view on what stage of the product lifecycle a console is in, and also when it will move to the next stage, instead of only relying on the Ansoff matrix and market data, Nintendo could also compare it to its predecessors, i.e. the Wii compared with Nintendo GameCube and the DS with Gameboy, as the product lifecycle of similar products within similar markets should be more closely related; though Nintendo should still be aware of some of the major differences in market and competition, such as changes in demographics of Nintendos customers and Sonys entrance into the handheld market with PSP, when comparing current generation of consoles with t he last ones. Product development Should Nintendo decide to go into product development; could be in an attempt to extend the product lifecycle of an existing product or to introduce a new product onto the market (based on Ansoff matrixs view of product development), there would also be number of considerations that needs to be taken. The company could choose to either make modifications to an existing line or to release a completely new product to replace the old one. For instance, if Nintendo want to extend the product lifecycle of its Pokà ©mon game brand by boosting sales, the company would make a new release of another version of the existing games. Such move would not require a huge investment in product development, as the concept already exist and proven to be hugely successful with a large base of loyal customers willing to get the latest version, so small changes such as packaging, improving the graphic to adapt to the latest console, and small modifications to the storyline, would be sufficient enough to release another best-selling game onto the market. Figure Developing a completely new product such as the next generation of consoles would require a much bigger investment and time. Firstly, the company will need to make sure it has done the market research required to understand the market, in order to take advantage of the companys strengths. So far, Nintendo has been successful in expanding the market by identify attracting more casual gamers from the older generation and families, thus focusing on improving gaming experience around a wider group in order to make up for its loss of appeal (due to lower performance power) from the traditional hard-core gamers. The Kanos Model as shown in fig. 5 on product development and customer satisfaction (Bergman, 2003) can be used to help Nintendo to assess the requirements of the new consoles or other products. For instance, some of the expected needs could be better graphics and performance than the previous consoles. The company may also need to assess the technology available on the market and the limitations of developing new ones. Nintendo has already announced its next generation handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS, which apparently is capable giving 3D visualisations on displays without glasses (Nintendo Co., Ltd, 2010). How well the company has evaluated its customer needs and expectations will be reflected on the success or failure (like the Virtual boy) after the product is available on the market. Conclusion Overall, the Ansoff matrix can be used as a framework for deciding upon strategies based on whether the market and the product is new or existing, the Boston matrix can be used to predict where a product is at its lifecycle based on relative market share and market growth rate, and the Product lifecycle can help companies to decide on a marketing strategy depending on the stage a product is in, although not all products go through each stage in the same way. All three tools are too simplistic and do not take into account of many real-world factors, thus extensive research on the wider market and the company is required before making strategic decisions. After evaluating the strategic marketing tools and applying them to Nintendo and its products, I believe that the best approach in managing and developing products or product portfolios is to not make judgements and strategic decisions based on one or two tools and concepts, but to use a combination of them. While managing existing products using the tools discussed here as well as extensive market research, Nintendo may decide to make modifications to its products or extend its line with a new product. Also, with the changing market conditions, Nintendo may find that it will need to change its strategic marketing approach overtime in order to adapt and manage risk to effectively manage and develop individual products and product portfolios.

Measles :: essays research papers

Measles Measles is a highly contagious disease. It is caused by an RNA virus that changes constantly. Measles symptoms usually include a bad cough, sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, sensitivity to light, and a very high fever. Red patches with white grain like centers appear along the gum line in the mouth two to four days after the first symptoms show. These patches are called Koplik spots because Henry Koplick first noticed them in 1896. The Spots are important to diagnose measles. A characteristic red rash in measles is red spots starting at the hairline and going down to the face, body, and limbs. Measles usually ends with a complete recovery, but some rare complications can occur with the lungs and brain. Measles might also be linked with multiple sclerosis and diabetes. In 1978, the U.S. Public Health Service started vaccinating for measles. All school age children were vaccinated. Two years later the measles virus occurring went down 99 percent. Now days, measles is very rare and all children are vaccinated for it.Measles Measles is a highly contagious disease. It is caused by an RNA virus that changes constantly. Measles symptoms usually include a bad cough, sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, sensitivity to light, and a very high fever. Red patches with white grain like centers appear along the gum line in the mouth two to four days after the first symptoms show. These patches are called Koplik spots because Henry Koplick first noticed them in 1896. The Spots are important to diagnose measles. A characteristic red rash in measles is red spots starting at the hairline and going down to the face, body, and limbs.

Macbeth - Power Shifts :: essays research papers

DRAMA OFTEN EXAMINES THE WAYS INDIVIDUALS STRUGGLE TO DOMINATE AND/OR MINIPULATE EACH OTHER. DISCUSS THE TECHNIQUES USED IN ONE OR MORE PLAYS, WHICH DRAW OUT ATTENTION TO THE POWER SHIFTS BWTWEEN CHARACTERS. The text Macbeth by famous playwright William Shakespeare portrays a dramatic power struggle by the careful employment of various literary techniques. "Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself" (Vladimir Ilyich Lenin) aptly describes this prominent theme of Macbeth. Techniques include symbolism, emotive language, narrative structure and imagery, which combine to represent the tragic plot portraying the contest between goodness and evil in Macbeth. In the tragedy Macbeth emotive language and soliloquy have been employed to emphasize the struggle for domination between the characters. The main theme of Macbeth, the desire for power and dominance, is appropriately summarized by the following quote: "Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other" (I, VII, 54) The main character, Macbeth, seeks increasing authority influenced by the witches' prophecies, at any cost. Dramatic language has been successfully portrayed Macbeth's desire, through the above quote, whereby the search for power and ambition has been decided. Yet, the result of such ambitious ideals is at risk of resulting in the opposite, being condemnation. Personification in the form of 'Vaulting ambition" and "itself" has been employed to aid to the understanding of the exert, combining with dramatic language which also contributes to the overall impact of the theme. Macbeth lets his "vaulting ambition" rush fate, hence hasten doom. The technique symbolism has also been suitably employed to further enhance Macbeth's struggle for power and dominance, hence the main theme. This may be demonstrated where Lady Macbeth states: "What, will these hands ne'ver be clean...! Here's the smell of blood still..." (V, I, 174) The apparition of blood on Lady Macbeth's hands, which can not be removed, is symbolic of her subconscious revealing her 'wrong doing' in previous sections of the text. Even though Lady Macbeth is no longer influencing her husband towards evil occurrences, the blood is symbolic of her attempts to aid Macbeth's path towards power and dominance. Blood is linked to treachery and murder, hence the emphasis on Lady Macbeth's crimes. The struggle for authority and supremacy has now shifted from Lady Macbeth to her husband, yet her evil deeds are still prominent in he subconscious mind. Light and dark imagery have been portrayed throughout Macbeth to aid to the representation of the main themes of evil opposing goodness.

Plato, Love and Philosophy Essay

Love, in its narrowest and widest meaning and discussion became the most central element of one of the most discussed and merited dialogue of Plato, the Symposium. In the said dialogue, the characters including Phaedrus, Aristhopanes, Agathon, Eryximachus, Alicibiades and Aristodemus together with Socrates had expressed their judgment, analysis and opinions on the nature of love. As the usual trend on all Plato’s dialogue, the earlier speakers had expressed their own speech about the subject (i. e. Love or the nature of love). Later on, they shall be examined by Socrates himself using his own method (i. e. Socratic Dialectic) which will later debunk or prove the inconsistency of their arguments. This classic flow of the dialogue is seen in the Symposium as the last speech delivered by Socrates had proved that the earlier speeches of the said guests were proved inconclusive, untrue or ill-founded. If we can name one single thing that the Symposium had taught us, it is our redefinition and reconsideration on how we understand love and its nature. As said, earlier, Plato, through Socrates had managed to widen our conception of love from a simple romantic affair to one of the most celebrated activity of humanity. In short, the Symposium had provided us a better and more definite understanding of love and its nature. In this paper, we are going to state the significance of these ideas provided by Plato through Socrates and shall later relate its importance to other fields of knowledge that are significant in the Greek community. Prior to the reading and understanding Symposium, there is a great chance that a common man will see love as a mere affair between a man and a woman. Love can be regarded as the mere bond between lovers or couples. However, with the help of the speech of the said speakers such as Agathon, Aristopahnes, Alicibiades etc. , our perspective on how we see love had widen. It almost seems with our two eyes alone, we are not able to see the real nature of the world around us. However, as we read the insights, theories and opinions of these speakers, it now seems that a new order was introduced to us. Rather than seeing love as a mere affair between two lovers and couple, love become a renewed entity that is or is becoming the central element wherein almost all things revolves. How is this possible? How does a very common element or topic such as love managed to renew its definition from a mere humanly affair toward a divine concept. Well, Socrates is the one we must consult. According to Socrates (through Diotima), love is neither a god nor mortal. Arguing so, will backfire against the love’s inclination towards happiness and beauty. As argued, love is a spirit who bridges the gap between the realm of the gods and realm of the humans. This can be seen on how humans communicate to gods and how gods communicate to human. As a spirit, love is the messenger between the two. As stated, â€Å"Gods do not mix with men; they mingle and converse with us through spirits [love] instead, whether we are awake or asleep. † (Plato 203a) Prayers and rituals are made possible through the love of the humans on gods. Blessings and gifts are made possible through the love of the gods on humans. In this respect, Plato had provided us a new perspective on how we can see love. We learned here that love is neither a god nor godly affair, neither an exclusive affair of the mortal. Instead, love is an instrument that can be used the mortal or by the human to communicate with gods. At the same time, love is also the instrument of the gods to communicate with humans. This discussion will be important if we contextualize the Platonic idea that concerns the world of forms. The idea of Plato, of the people who he regarded as the lovers of wisdom corresponds to this concept. Being a lover, humans are drawn towards the pursuit of wisdom. As can be seen in Plato’s’ numerous dialogues (i. e. The Republic, Phaedrus and Symposium), the real wisdom cannot be found and revealed in the realm of the humans. In short the real wisdom lies on the realm that is beyond this world. In many respects, wisdom is attributed to gods and the world of forms which is a place wherein the real knowledge and the real wisdom can be learned. In this respect, being a lover or possessing love bridges humans and gods. Being a lover gives the human a chance to have a glimpse of the world beyond theirs (i. e. world of forms) and at the same time, gods are given the chance to attract humans towards them. Gods are also able to share the wisdom and knowledge they possess to humans through the help of love. Again, this proved the significant role played by love between gods and humans. Another significant move done by Socrates is his extension of love from mere sexual and romantic affairs towards a more intellectual pursuit. Reproduction or giving birth is made possible through the love between couples. However, on Socrates speech, love does not only produce another human being. Love produces ideas that are immortal and lasts despite the death of its parent. As stated, â€Å". . . would look up to Homer, Hesiod, and the other good poets with envy and admiration for the offspring they have left behind – offspring which because they are immortal themselves, provide their parents with immortal glory and remembrance. † (Plato 209d) Human beings are capable of immortality. The first is his or her bearing of an offspring and the other one is bearing of ideas, worthy of surviving for ages. From these concepts of Plato, through Socrates, they had provided us new lenses on how we can see and define love. Love had expanded from its usual definition that is concerned in mere romantic and sexual affairs. Love is now a tool of gods and humans to communicate. Lastly, love is a powerful force that can widen and heighten the awareness of humans to reach a higher goal in the world beyond this earth. In this sense, the highest form of lovers is the lovers who are engaged in the love and pursuit of wisdom. These new conception of love and later on, philosophy as a whole (since the highest form of lover are the lovers of wisdom) had a big implication on how we will see other fields of knowledge prominent in the Greek era. Philosophy, now being the highest form of activity of man outmatches any field of knowledge. Rhetoric, sciences, education and poetry are merely disciplines of field of knowledge that are just concerned to the material world. All of them are just trying to mirror images. In short, they are providing us an image of another image. Almost seems a picture that took another picture. For Plato’s standards, this is not that an honorable act. It is important to note that for him, we should be engage in the affairs that will give us a glimpse of the world beyond us, simply the world of forms. Fields like rhetoric, sciences, education and poetry are just affairs of the world and do not directly orient us towards the pursuit of knowledge that is heavenly. This explanation places philosophy among these disciplines. This is because philosophy or the love of wisdom itself pushes us to love the things that are beyond the earth. Philosophy obliges its followers to move pass what the eyes can see. Philosophy urges its student to discover what is really there and not what only manifest in the world. The earthly characteristics of these fields of knowledge are very clear. Rhetoric for example is concerned with the persuasion of its audience through words and arguments that are not necessarily true. As long as it rings good to its listeners and able to persuade them, rhetoric is acceptable. Sciences have an edge to rhetoric. Sciences try to answer question, removing biases as much as possible. However, we must still take note that the method of science are merely exclusive on what is observable. In short, sciences are for this earth alone. Education falls on the same pitfall. Education is concerned with the things that concerned our earthly existence, unable to tackle what is the world beyond us. Poetry suffers the same fate. Much of poetry is based on the feelings and emotions of the poet that are worldly. It is subject to the opinions of its creator and not influenced on the wisdom that philosophy offers us. Summing it up, Plato, through Socrates had provided us new standards in assessing disciplines of knowledge. This standard had given a very important influence on how we see love. The conception of love had expanded from a mere human affair towards heavenly affairs. This new standard had put philosophy on the foreground since philosophers are the lovers of wisdom. This provided as a new light, a new goal and a new end that we must all pursue. Plato had taught us that we must take a flight away from the earth that we live in and take a quest that is aimed for the discovery of the world of forms, which are beyond what our eyes can see. Works Cited Plato. Symposium. Michael Joyce (trans). 1961. Princeton University Press. NJ. Print. Accessed 21 May 2010.

Educational Tour

Banares, Roselyn C. BSBA- Fin. Mgt4 â€Å"Educational Tour† (BSP, PSE and NEDA) BSP destination (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) September 12, 2012 that was the date of our educational tour. 6:00 am in the morning is the call time, that’s why I tried to wake up early morning to fixed my things and go to school in time. We leave at 7:30 am and we’re first destination was Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas money museum. BSP allowed us to watch the video on how they made money. I leaned that they consumed of ten months in making money. They showed us the minting process of money.It so happened that I enjoyed watching the minting process. I learned also that the money has security features of money and the history. In security features there is a security threads, security fibers, code for the blind on 200 peso bill, florescent printing, optically variable ink, concealed value on 500 peso bill, perfect see- through register and micro prints. Then after we watched the video, th e speaker orients us about the old money that we have in the past. We saw different shapes, color, size and kind of money in the Philippines.I have enjoyed the tour in that part most especially when I tried to play they’re touched screen machine. We played puzzles and trivia and we’re happy that we got 4 number of right out of 5 questions. We also go to the BSP library to search about our report in monetary policy. Ms. Rose Garcia helped us to enter in the library even though we don’t have a letters of reservations. Then after that we take pictures outside the museum for our remembrance. We also want to take pictures of the old money that we have but the management of BSP did not allow us.As its history of the BSP, the museum of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Inaugurated on January 3, 1999, as part of the celebration of the 50 years of central banking in the Philippines, the museum showcases the Bank's collection of currencies. As repository and custodian of the c ountry's numismatic heritage, the museum collects studies and preserves coins, paper notes, medals, artifacts and monetary items found in the Philippines during its different historical periods. These collections have been placed on permanent display at the useum. Designed to â€Å"walk† the visitor through a number of galleries, individually dedicated to a specific historical period of the country, the museum visually narrates the development of the Philippine economy, parallel to the evolution of its currency. Complementary paintings from the BSP art collection, together with chosen artifacts, enhance each gallery. A panoramic memorabilia of 50 years of central banking in the Philippines showcases the strides made in bringing about price stability, to sustain economic growth in the country.The exhibition hall also carries the busts of the governors of the Central Bank/ Bangko Sentral. We learned all of this inside the BSP money museum. PSE destination (Philippines Stock Exc hange) Our second was Philippine Stock Exchange, and it located in to ortigas city. Sir Harvey told us about the history of PSE which was our speaker. And we knew that the current Philippine Stock Exchange is a conjunction of the Manila Stock Exchange (1927) and the Makati Stock Exchange (1963). The Manila Stock Exchange, when in existence, was the first exchange in Manila and the oldest in the Far East.Regardless of having existed separately for nearly three decades, the two bourses combined in 1992 under President Fidel Ramos. Association was deemed suitable because the two exchanges basically traded the same listings. Ramos also aimed for a more efficient capital market. In 1994, its operations were in full swing with two trading floors – one in Pasig City; the other in Makati City. On January 4 1993, the PSE incorporated the Status Trading System – a mechanical approach for their operations. Six months later, on June 15, they also adopted the MakTrade trading syste m.Although the two systems were linked on March 25 1994 to allow for the same opening and closing prices, it was not until November 13 1995 that the systems were unified under the Unified Trading System – operating under the MakTrade. In 1998 the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission named the PSE a self regulating organization, which allowed it to execute its own policies and regulations. By 2001, the PSE had formed into a stock-shareholder based organization by taking the shape of a profit earning corporation.It also began trading bonds. By 2003, in an effort to be more publicly held, the exchange only allowed shares to be listed through an opening, rather than an initial public offering. He also gathered a game to us to be listened to him. He gave a cd about PSE in every person who answered correctly to his questioned. He also shows us and discusses to us what happened in the real stocks trading. He teaches us the use of electronic board and how to read it. He also told us on how can we buy or sell our stocks in the trading day.He explained to us the importance of stock brokers and where we can meet the stock brokers. He also told us how much the minimum money that we need to have to buy stocks in the market. NEDA destination (National Economic Development Authority) Our last destination was the National Economic Development Authority. The NEDA was established in 1973 with Dr. Gerardo Sicat as its first director general. With the exception of Sicat, the Prime Minister of the Philippines was usually the head of the agency before the First People Power Revolution. Former President Corazon C.Aquino re-organized the NEDA into its present form July 22, 1987 until the administration of President Ninoy Aquino. Former president Corazon C. Aquino appointed Winnie Monsod as its first director-general after EDSA I. the legal basis of NEDA are the following the present form of the NEDA was organized by President Corazon C. Aquino on July 22, 1987 through Executive Order No. 230. It defined the composition of the NEDA Board and the Secretariat and its powers and functions, the powers and functions of the Authority and its committees. On July 26, 1994, President Fidel V.Ramos signed Memorandum Order No. 222 which reactivated the NEDA Board Executive Committee and mandating that the decisions of the NEDA Board Executive Committee shall be final, executor and binding upon the NEDA Board. On July 27, 1992, President Ramos signed Republic Act No. 7640, which constituted the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Committee (LEDAC). The LEDAC serves as a consultative and advisory body to the President as the head of the NEDA and gives advice on certain programs and policies, which are essential to the realization of the goals of national development.While we are staying in NEDA the speaker let us to watch their video while he discussing their goal and the importance of NEDA and why NEDA established and their duties and responsibilities . The speaker also let us asked about he discussed and some of our schoolmates asked some questioned and the speaker maybe amazed and he told us that we as a group are having a good questioned regarding to what hi discussed to us. After we reached our last destination we go back to our school and go home. Educational tour picturesThis picture was taken when we are in BSP money museum. We took pictures for remembrance and for compilation of our final product. We also took pictures when we are in the bus and waiting for our tour guide to tell us that we can go inside the BSP money museum. This picture was taken when we are in the NEDA and PSE. Sir Harvey let us to take pictures inside the PSE when he gathered his discussion about the PSE. He told us to take a picture having the trading floor as our background. We asked him if we can take a picture together with him and he agreed.