Friday, December 27, 2019

Collecting Data for the Problem Behavior

When you are writing an FBA (Functional Behavior Analysis) you will need to collect data. There are three kinds of information you will be choosing: Indirect Observational Data, Direct Observational Data, and if possible, Experimental Observational Data. A true Functional Analysis will include an Analogue Condition Functional Analysis. Dr. Chris Borgmeier of Portland State University has made a number of helpful forms available online to use for this data collection. Indirect Observational Data: The first thing to do is to interview parents, classroom teachers and others who have had ongoing responsibility for supervising the child in question. Be sure that you give each stakeholder the functional description of the behavior, to be sure it is the behavior you are seeing. You will want to explore instruments for collecting this information.  Many questionnaire formats evaluative forms are designed for parents, teachers and other stakeholders to create observational data that can be used to support student success.   Direct Observation Data You will need to determine what kinds of data do you need. Does the behavior appear frequently, or is it the intensity that is frightening? Does it seem to occur without warning? Can the behavior be redirected, or does it intensify when you intervene? If the behavior is frequent, you will want to use a frequency or scatter plot tool. A frequency tool can be a partial interval tool, that records how frequently a behavior appears during a finite period. The results will be X occurrences per hour. A scatter plot can help identify patterns in the occurrence of behaviors. By pairing certain activities with the occurrence of behaviors, you can identify both antecedents and possibly the consequence that is reinforcing the behavior. If the behavior lasts a long time, you may want a duration measure. The scatter plot may give you information about when it happens, a duration measure will let you know how long a behavior tends to last. You will also want to make an ABC observational form available for any people who are observing and collecting the data.  At the same time, be sure you have operationalized the behavior, describing the behaviors topography so each observer is looking for the same thing.  This is called inter-observer reliability.   Analogue Condition Functional Analysis You may find that you can identify the antecedent and consequence of behavior with direct observation. Sometimes to confirm it, an Analogue Condition Functional Analysis would be helpful. You need to set up the observation in a separate room. Set up a play situation with neutral or preferred toys. You then proceed to insert one variable at a time: a request to do work, removal of a favored item or you leave the child alone. If the behavior appears when you are present in a neutral setting, it may be automatically reinforcing. Some children will hit themselves in the head because they are bored, or because they have an ear infection. If the behavior appears when you leave, it is most likely for attention. If the behavior appears when you ask the child to do an academic task, it is for avoidance. You will want to record your results, not only on paper but perhaps also on a videotape. Time to Analyze! Once you have collected enough information, you will be ready to move on to your analysis, which will focus on the ABC of the behavior (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence.)

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Essay on Colonialism - 740 Words

Colonialism It is almost a given now that most everyone considers colonialism as a mistake. They thought that the spreading of ideas, culture, and religion would have a positive effect on the native cultures they colonized. In fact though, these changes had an adverse effect on the peoples of these countries. For although many laud the efforts of these countries to spread Christianity, some question the motives of these countries in dealing the everyday needs of these people. In seeing the natives as inferior the mother countries were able to justify their treatment of them. At this time many subscribed to the belief of manifest destiny and social Darwinism. This is the belief in which the colonizing of other countries is justified†¦show more content†¦In fact probably the best method would have been to leave the history part of education in the hands of the natives. In other subjects, such as math, the colonizing may then be able to add insights that may not have been apparent to the n atives. But as for the history of the country, there is nothing that a colonizing country can tell a native culture that wasn’t already known. As Jamaica Kincaid implies in her book, if there is one thing that was sorely missed after the English left Antigua it is the fact that for the first time in Antigua there were quality built, well organized places to learn. As kincaid explains in the book, the beautiful library built by the British has since been demolished. And although the renovations for a new one were supposed to end years ago it hasn’t worked out that way. The library has now been moved to a tiny apartment above a grocery store. Where once these books had been categorically stacked on shelves, they were now gathering dust, strewn across the floor and randomly inserted into cardboard boxes. This demise of education in Antigua says only one thing to me, that being that the emphasis of the government is in the wrong place. It is true that Antigua has had their problems with a corrupt government that is more interested in padding their pockets with foreign money than doing anything to improve the state of edu cation. For what does it mean when you have a Minister of Education, possibly thatShow MoreRelatedColonialism : Colonialism And Colonialism1821 Words   |  8 PagesJà ¡fia Petersen ENL 110B Professor Evan Watkins November 18th, 2014 Post-Colonial Colonialism Although Edward Said is one of the intellectuals who helped start the field of post-colonialism, the topic of colonialism in Orientalism raise the following question: is there such thing as â€Å"post-colonialism†? Is colonialism not happening every day in various forms? It seems that the only difference from modern colonialism to its classic meaning is that a ruler representing the colonizer has physically leftRead MoreColonialism740 Words   |  3 PagesPolitical legacy of colonialism in India A lot of countries were experienced of political legacy of colonialism. This essay will focus on concept colonialism and its reasons. This notion could be defined in different ways. Colonialism is a situation of some territory which ruled by another country. Colonialism is a political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. Colonialism developed from imperialism, which canRead MoreColonialism2524 Words   |  11 PagesDefine Colonialism (Western) Colonialism: A political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. 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She also expanded the concepts including two new terms imperialism and Neo-colonialism. This is notRead MoreAfrican Colonialism During Post Colonial Colonialism2100 Words   |  9 PagesIt is evident that European colonialism had deeply affected the political system within post-colonial Africa. One of the main leading legacies of colonialism that hindered the development of post-colonial African states would be the ethnic division and the state conflicts resulting from ethnic rivalry after independence . Scholars would argue the weakness within African politics would be due to creation of forty new states brought about by the European colonial powers in the Berlin Conference ofRead MoreColonialism And Imperialism1836 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.† – M ahatma Gandhi â€Å"I would say colonialism is a wonderful thing. It spread civilization to Africa.† – Ian Smith Over the centuries Colonialism and Imperialism have been viewed, justified and experienced differently throughout the world. The very idea created questions of both legitimacy as well as indignity in the minds of historians, writers, scholars and critics of the world. However, the growing incongruence andRead MoreColonialism in Nigeria1132 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is Colonialism? Colonialism is a system where one country has taken over another and foists its political power, culture, religion and language on it, or as Kozowsaki puts it: â€Å"Colonialism is a system of direct political, economic and cultural control by a powerful country over a weaker one† (Kozlowski, 46). The following essay takes two underdeveloped countries – Nigeria and Iran – and assesses the impact of the colonial era on their contemporary politics and political systems. More specificallyRead MoreThe Selfish Act Of Colonialism : A Nascent Of English Colonialism1741 Words   |  7 Pagesis completely a nascent of English colonialism, because it’s plot is based around colonialism. The story describes white men inhabiting an island and proceed to fight for control, without any input by the natives. What makes this a story specifically about nascent English colonialism is the alluding fact that humans are power hungry, which will prove to be true within the Engl ish government when they start to invade other countries. The selfish act of colonialism is revealed through the characters

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

E-Commerce Technologies and Business Processes

Question 1: Analyze the current issues faced by the online groceries in Europe. What areas of the product delivery, customer service and supply change management are they handling well? What are the key issues and problems that they are currently faced with? What are the future trends in the online grocery business? Answer 1: Based on the case study of online food retailers in Europe and US, it can be said that presently the online groceries model is based on for business model represented below: Figure 1: Business models of online food retailers Hence online groceries in Europe are using one or any combination of four approaches to distribute grocery to customers. However it is important to know that success of online grocery shop depends on two critical factors i.e. market potential and distribution costs. Hence issue faced by online groceries in Europe revolves around these two factors. In online grocery market, if the market potential is high then distribution cost remains moderately high (Morganosky Cude, 2012, pp.17-26). However if the market potential is less then distribution cost becomes extremely high to a level where operating that online grocery business results in no profit. European online grocery market has been multiple issues, which can be understood from the case study provided. Firstly customers do not find online grocery shopping cost effective. Except few specific segments such as that of young professionals and young mothers, majority of the customers do not want to pay a premium for getting just an additional service of picking the product from store. Grocery shopping related decisions are often made during the process of shopping itself (Hansen et al, 2014). However, online grocery shopping wants specific inputs and deprive the end customer of that entire experience. It can be said that an average customer who has access to a good supermarket majorly prefers to buy his grocery by visiting the store rather than going for online grocery shopping. Also, for European retailers, cost of setting up online grocery retailing has translated into high distribution cost and additional operational expenses which ultimately erode the profitability of the b usiness. However despite of issues, there are certain areas where the online groceries are handling well, for example in a business environment of online grocery, these organisations are handling the product delivery in an efficient manner. Companies are offering their end customers a time bound time of delivery, in fact in model of click and collect as well; it hardly takes an average of 5 minutes for a customer to collect his purchased grocery. Customer service is another factor which is being handled efficiently. Major reason behind efficient handling of customer service is the one-time customer impact in case of wrong or poor customer experience from online grocery shopping. Organisations offering online grocery shopping know this fact very well that, there is no margin of error when it comes to customer experience for online grocery shoppers, because any issue such as wrong delivery of food items, or poor quality of the grocery delivered can completely change the customer perception towa rds the organisation and he can quickly move to his competitor or can all together abandon the online grocery shopping model itself. However Supply chain management is one such aspect which is still in nascent stage when it comes to online grocery shopping. Organisations are still trying to find out the optimum way through which they can provide an efficient supply chain model (Anckar et al, 2012). For example in Online to home model startups are renting dedicated warehouses to store the products, whereas in case of Drive through model customer drives and collects the item after placing the order beforehand. Main issue lies with the brick and mortar business such as Asda, Tesco etc. who are now transitioning from pure brick and mortar model towards a hybrid model where they have presence online as well they have physical shops as well. In such case extracting efficiency from their current supply chain management is the biggest challenge, which they are facing. Some of the key issues which are being faced by the online grocery retailers are: Getting the service model right Consumers are increasingly shifting towards online retailers who can provide best value for money. That is why consumers are increasingly shifting towards retailers who are offering home delivery. But for online grocery retailers, home delivery has its own set of challenges. Firstly for them it is an additional operational expense. Secondly handling supply chain in case of home delivery is completely different from other models such as click and collect etc. Online grocery shopping is not competitive Food and overall grocery retailing has always been a very competitive business. However the scenario completely changes when it comes to online grocery retailing. The amount of capital which companies are spending in setting up their online grocery shop is much more than the expected profit. Due to this reason, traditional stores across Europe and other parts of world still remains one of the most competitive ways of grocery retailing for organisations. Trust factor Majority of the population in Europe and United States, especially the one from middle age range still find it hard to trust on the quality of product delivered from online grocery stores. These people always prefer visiting the store, touch and feel the product and then only take a buying decision. Due to this reason, target customer market of online grocery retailing still remains less, however, despite of all challenges and issues which the organisations are facing in online grocery retailing. One thing is sure that future for online grocery retailing has tremendous potential. According to report by IGD Online sales are soaring and expected to more than double in value to 17bn by 2019, which is 8% of the total market. This means, that more and more people will be willing to shift towards this model in coming years. One major trend will be use of smart phones based shopping. Currently online grocery retailing is focused more on websites (Ramus Nielsen, 2013). With mobility already at a high rate, people are more and more shifting towards use of mobile applications to complete their day to day tasks such as banking transactions etc. In that case, online grocery retailers need to ensure that they are prepared with the mobile based application to support the customer demand for mobile based grocery shopping. Another major change which might surface is the partnership between brick-and-mortar business model and organisations offering pure online grocery shopping. This will help both business models to consolidate on each others strength and to remain efficient and competitive in current market situation. Question 2: Identify an Australian online store. Compare performance of this store with this store with the performance of the European grocery stores. What are the competitive advantages of the Australian seller? What are the areas where the Australian seller is falling behind? What e-commerce technologies and business processes would you advise the Australian company to adopt in order to improve its performance and increase its market share? Answer 2: There is no doubt, that today internet has become the next big battleground for the supermarkets giants, as they see their revenue gradually increasing from online grocery shopping. In Australia, online grocery shopping is one of the fastest growing segments with profit of more than $2.45 billion. In terms of performance of Australian and European online grocery stores, it can be said that Australian online grocery stores are more profitable compared to their European counterpart. This can be understood by example of Woolworths-Australian major retailer, for which online shopping increased in range of 50% taking its profit from $0.8 billion in 2013 to $1.2 billion in 2014. In which the organisation delivered more than 3 million items to homes. Whereas on other hand, profitability of European online grocery retailers remain in range of 10-15%, this drops further in case of hybrid model offered by brick and mortar retailers who are managing both types of business model. In Europe brick and mortar model still dominates and accounts for more than 75% of the total revenue earned from the grocery shopping in 2013. It doesnt mean that European sellers are not competitive enough, but the amount of acceptance which Australian online grocery retailers have got is much ahead of what European grocery retailers are yet to achieve. For example Australian online Grocery retailers have several competitive advantages: Impact of demographics Demographics have a major role in success of online grocery stores in Australia. For example, in Australia more than 40% of the total population in Australia comes in the age bracket of 25-45 years. This is one major target customer segment for the online grocery websites, as this is the age group which comprises of working professionals, students, young mothers etc. who forms the major customer segment of the online grocery. However, in case of Europe, demographic is one major issue. It is a proven fact that Europe is going through ageing problem, which means major part of European population is above 50 years of age. As already mentioned in the case study, online grocery retailers user base is from young segment of population. Due to this reason, Australian online grocery retailers are relatively more profitable and progressive as compared to their European counterpart. Population spread In online grocery websites, home delivery is one major aspect. Whether it is click and picks model, or home delivery model, expansion of population plays a major role in ease of delivery. Europe as a continent has a vast geographical region with spread of population in a larger area. Due to this reason, setting up the logistics for facilitating the home delivery is a major issue for many retailers. That is why; online grocery retailers might be successful in a densely populated area, but their efficiency decreases when they enter into area where population density is less. In case of Australia, its geographical spread is far less as compared to European cities, due to which population density in each of the major cities is high which makes it a high potential market, and online grocery retailers find it much each to cater to the masses and provide services such as home delivery etc. without much increase in their operational cost. Competitive environment In Europe online grocery sector is relatively less competitive, as it is mainly spearheaded by already existing players such as Tesco PLC, ASDA, Sainsburys etc. These organizations already have monopoly in the brick and mortar model, due to which there are less small online grocery organizations further resulting into decline in competition (Delaney-Klinger et al, 2013). On other hand, Australian online grocery market is dominated startups, which means there is more scope of competition, which further results into competitive market. More competition in market helps in a better option for the end customer who gets benefitted from new offers, schemes, discounts etc. Australian online grocery market however needs to catch up in terms of quality. As per report, in initial phase of the online grocery market there have been many issues reported related to quality of the product delivered to the customer. In case of Europe this is one major advantage; despite of less profitability companies are not taking chance with the quality of the product, especially since it might impact their brand name. Also, amount of capital which European company has to infuse in their business is huge, because many of the already established company have been running their retail business since many years. On other hand, Australian online grocery market has lack of investors and capitals, due to which they find it difficult to scale up their business. Overall it can be said that Australian company can become more efficient in their operations, but focusing on their supply chain management. They need to identify loop holes in their existing SCM processes, and accordingly t ake corrective actions to rectify it. They can also focus more on use of new technologies such as cloud computing to reduce their operational expenses. References Morganosky, M. A., Cude, B. J. (2012). Consumer response to online grocery shopping.International Journal of Retail Distribution Management,28(1), 17-26. Hansen, T., Mller Jensen, J., Stubbe Solgaard, H. (2014). Predicting online grocery buying intention: a comparison of the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior.International Journal of Information Management,24(6), 539-550. Anckar, B., Walden, P., Jelassi, T. (2012). Creating customer value in online grocery shopping.International Journal of Retail Distribution Management,30(4), 211-220. Ramus, K., Nielsen, N. A. (2013). Online grocery retailing: what do consumers think?.Internet Research,15(3), 335-352. Delaney-Klinger, K., Boyer, K. K., Frohlich, M. (2013). The return of online grocery shopping: a comparative analysis of Webvan and Tescos operational methods.The TQM Magazine,15(3), 187-196.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

The US Auto Economy

Introduction The invention of Auto industry in US started in the twentieth century. Three big companies controlled the market activities that involved selling and buying of cars and other related services. Henry Ford produced his first model Ford T, which marked a revolutionary journey of the industry (York, 2010). Later on, other two companies Chrysler and General Motors came into action with their models.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The US Auto Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They dominated the industry until 1980s when other companies started engaging in the industry. This changed the oligopoly status of the market to a very competitive market. Currently, there is competition from national and international bodies that makes it difficult for all the companies to maximize their profit margins. On the other hand, the US government is experiencing a major economic setback. This paper will ad dress important reasons for government participation in controlling the economy and merging as the best decision for the big three auto industries. Reasons for Government Involvement in the Economy Pollution control Government involvement in business has many advantages to both business operators and government itself. First, auto industry manufactures and sells vehicles to consumers in different parts of the world. It is important for any government to monitor the types of vehicles that the companies are manufacturing (Michaels, 2011). This is because most vehicles use petrol, diesel and other forms of energy to operate. Some sources of energy cause pollution to environment while others are environmental friendly. For example, vehicles that use energy from wind, water and thermal gas do not emit harmful gas in the environment. On the other hand, energy sources like crude oil can pollute environment at a high rate. Therefore, vehicles that use petrol and diesel emit harmful gases li ke carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to the environment. These gases pollute air, water and soil. For that case, the government should intervene in controlling pollution that may come from vehicles. This means that they should encourage motor industries to manufacture vehicles that use energy sources that are friendly to environment. Control of Harmful Competition Competition in business can be in two different points. First, healthy competition is a type of competition where companies are able to compete favorably providing better services to consumers. The second type of competition is unhealthy competition.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is where well-off companies dominate over small companies thus taking advantage to monopolize the market. The big three companies have faced unfavorable competition from foreign vehicle producers. This has made it almost i mpossible for them to sell their vehicle as before. The government should step in to control the importation of foreign goods to prevent depreciation of its currency. Merging of companies may have many technical issues. The major company may have selfish motives for joining the other company. The government comes in to provide terms and conditions that companies should observe when merging. This is quite important since it will provide the basis on which merging can take place. Enacting a Legal and Social Framework Buyers and sellers need to get their goods with guarantee that goods bought are of good quality. The US government controls all motor vehicles that get in and out of the country. They keep records of manufactured cars in the country and those imported from other countries. This helps consumers to get valuable information on their desired vehicles (York, 2010). The buyers also require knowing if the vehicles that are sold by specific companies belong to them. National Defe nse National defense is a critical issue that makes the government interfere with the operations of the economic markets. All people who buy and use vehicles need protection from unauthorized dealers. Some dealers may duplicate knowledge and skills to disadvantage their counterpart companies. The government should be available to oversee whether the merging companies have same interests or one of them may have a different idea (Michaels, 2011). Government monetary policies The US government has the critical role for providing economic conditions that the private and public enterprises can function effectively. The most important role is to avail an acceptable currency, which eliminates barriers to trade. Additionally it should be able to maintain the quality of its currency using policies, which prevent currency inflation that may cause an overall increment of vehicles at the market.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The US Auto Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More History reveals that price increase is dependent on the rate of inflation together with the level of unemployment in the nation. It is the government to oversee that merging of the companies should be in the view of providing extra employment opportunities to citizen. If it may render some of the citizens unemployed and then make it unnecessary for the companies to merge (Rubenstein, 2001). Rationale for government involvement market place The government may decide to involve in business activities majorly for changing allocation of resources to achieve improved social and economic welfare. All government organizations through political persuasion can intervene in the economy to affect scarce resources within competing firms. Some of the major reasons for government intervention in business organizations include correcting a failure on the market, achieving equal distribution of wealth and income to different people a nd improving economic performance. In this case, the market economy has depreciated and thus it requires a quick action to save the auto industry. The three companies have really failed to make profits due to the invasion of international and national companies, which are causing unfavorable competition to their vehicles. Complexities for a self-expanding company Merging of companies may have up and downs. It is possible for the merged companies to face major setbacks and decide to pull out of the merger to expand as an individual company. The company can face several complexities in its daily operation. First, the shareholders may have a positive attitude towards the merger. This will evoke negative sentiments from them together with workers who may be against the merger. Approaching the market through innovative means will be important and it will require the company to employ or utilize its staff for providing innovations through information and technology. Convergence forces The re are different forces that determine the management desires and shareholders desires. For instance, the shareholder will be requiring the company’s performance to be high.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This includes high profits organizational structures among others. the management on the other hand, will also need to include management strategies that are geared towards better performance of the company (Cooney Yacobucci, 2007). It is for the interest of the shareholders and the management team to ensure that the company gains considerable profits to maintain its market value. Goals for the company The management team is considering majorly the investors interest. This is because if the shareholders withdraw their investment the company will have a negative impact on the market. Therefore, it has to be careful while making decisions at the expense of the shareholders. On the other hand, it may work towards improving its general income. Once the investors identify the performance of a company, they will invest without any fear. It is a two-way traffic. References Cooney, S. Yacobucci, B. (2007). U.S. automotive industry: policy overview and  recent history. New York: Nova Scien ce Publishers. Michaels, R. (2011). Transactions and strategies: Economics for management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Cengage. Rubenstein, J. (2001). Making and selling cars: innovation and change in the U.S.  automotive industry. London: John Hopkins University Press. York, M. (2010). Henry Ford: manufacturing mogul. New York: ABDO Publishing. This research paper on The US Auto Economy was written and submitted by user Angela W. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.