University Study Skills

Students need to make a number of adjustments when starting university. Critically discuss some of these adjustments in terms of skills brought with them, and new skills that must be developed. Draw on relevant SSK12 material in your essay. ————————————————- In this essay it will be argued that even though students may bring with them such skills as competence in writing secondary school essays and reports, good comprehension and grammar and motivation to succeed with them to university, there are other skills they will need to develop as well as refine those they already possess.The main skills which any new student will need to develop in order to succeed at university are critical thinking, which also includes critical reading, reflective thinking, learning independently and adjusting to the concept of the university culture which has its own languages and behaviours. Ne w students are likely to experience a cultural clash as university possesses its own culture, and sub-cultures. Adjustments will have to be made with students needing to develop bicultural habits. As Kolb asserts, students entering higher education will have to engage in ‘learning how to learn’ (Kolb 1981).The lead-up to the first study period, as well as the first study period itself, of a student’s beginning in university can be a massive culture shock. Some students may develop the feeling of uncertainty as to whether they have made the right choice about pursuing higher education and whether they are even likely to succeed. This can be observed by reading some of the student comments on the SSK12 Facebook page during the first weeks of the first study period. In other cases we may see students that take on a particular discipline and after a period of time find that they no longer have a desire to pursue that discipline.There may be few opportunities for stud ents in these positions to change disciplines. This is primarily due to the fact each discipline has its own sub-culture within the greater university culture. As Kolb has discussed, there are many faculties within the university, each have their own conventions that are unique to themselves such as language, values, ideas and norms (Kolb 1981). This impending transition may be too much for a student who has already had to become acculturated and has potentially experienced a culture shock.The average individual can be affected by several cultures, for example and not necessarily restricted to, culture of family, culture of the workplace and culture of religion. The culture of university is but one of the cultures that can make a big impact on the individual. Students are faced with a new workload that may come with a pace of instruction that is probably faster and more intense than what they may be used to. There is a potential to feel overwhelmed at first and ways to overcome this may be to develop habits of early preparation, prioritising and time management.There is an expectation that students need to be self-motivated and independent. There will be some guidance available but the general expectation is that the individual should know their own deadlines and the amount of study that is required. This may take some adjustment for individuals as they may be reeling from the cultural demands that university has already begun to place upon them. If they are studying more than one subject in their first study period they will have already potentially experienced the distinction in sub-cultures.For example, Ballard and Clanchy have noted that each sub-culture will have its own language and values and the new student will have to navigate themselves through an unsteady transition between cultures (Ballard and Clanchy 1988). Individuals also need to develop critical thinking as it is a cornerstone of university studies. Warren contends that critical thinking is n ecessary to university studies as an individual cannot â€Å"process information, form reasoned opinions, evaluate beliefs, construct positions, or articulate a thesis without the use of critical thinking† (Warren 1995, 4).I can support this through my own experience as critical thinking has been an important component of my university studies to date. One may see, however, that some individuals may have difficulties bringing themselves around to this mode of thinking as critical thinking involves developing an impersonal approach and attempting to put aside any biases that the individual may possess about particular subjects. Critical thinking may also involve critical reading and this may also be a foreign concept to the new student.One needs to get into the habit of identifying theses in readings rather than just ‘reading’ – ‘sorting the wheat from the chaff’, as it were. Once the thesis has been identified the argument then needs to be ana lysed and criticised. Any evidence within the reading needs to be assessed. Any conclusions reached need to be examined as well as whether they are supported by evidence. Any other alternatives also need to be considered. In short, the individual will need to read more widely than what they may be used to and in a more analytical fashion. Reflective thinking is another skill that students must develop as it is a valuable tool.Reflection is integral to learning and assists in critical thinking as it starts with being self-critical in order to learn and improve. As Marshall and Rowland assert, ‘thinking about your own thinking, or metacognition, will give you insights into how you go about your learning, and is important if you want to change or adapt study behaviours’ (Marshall and Rowland 2006 9). Warren further asserts that ‘critical thinking is necessary to learning. One cannot process information, form reasoned opinions, evaluate beliefs, construct positions, o r articulate a thesis without the use of critical thinking.As such, the critical self is integral to learning itself’ (Warren 1995). Reflective thinking makes the individual ask themselves what may be working, what is not working and what may require improvement. Some students may already bring a form of this skill with them to university. I can support this through my personal experience in this area. I served in the police force for thirty years and the procedure in the police force was to conduct ‘debriefs’ of incidents that we were involved in. The police debrief was always framed in the format of discussing what went well and what could be done better.Every individual involved in that particular incident was expected to contribute. The expectation was that this process would lead to constant improvement in performance. It is a very similar process to reflection within university learning. One method of reflective thinking that students may learn a great deal from is through the keeping of a reflective journal, also known as a learning log. Pavlovich asserts that reflective journals are an invaluable aid in the development of self-awareness and inner leadership (Pavlovich 2007).The use of a reflective journal aids in developing the individual as a critical thinker as the very nature of its use forces the user to be critical of themselves and lead to change and improvement. Students will also need to develop the skill of speaking and writing in academic English. This is part of the acculturation to the university culture of which language is a major part. Students will have to learn very quickly to become bicultural. In their written work they will have to learn to avoid contractions and develop the passive voice over the active voice.Academic English is specific whereas informal English, that the student may be used, to is rather vague. Academic English is also often structured in a cautious manner whereas informal English is often stru ctured in a more definite manner. Using my own personal experience to add support to this, I thought I had a reasonable grasp of formal English having come from the police force where, for example, great care goes into compilation of files for the prosecutors to proceed with, but I have also had to make adjustments and become bicultural through working on my own understanding and application of academic English.The new student may bring skills with them to university but they will be confronted with the need to refine these skills and indeed develop new skills in order to survive at university. Skills that will need to be developed will include the need for critical and reflective thinking, critical reading and adjustment to independent learning. Students will also have to become acculturated to university which possesses its own culture and sub-cultures which are separate to what they may be used to. REFERENCES Avruch, Kevin. 2002. Culture and Conflict Resolution.Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press. Ballard, Brigid, and John Clanchy. 1988. Literacy in the university: An ‘anthropological’ approach. In Literacy by Degrees, ed G. Taylor, et al. , 7-23. Milton Keynes: The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press. Beasley, Colin. 2012. Communicating at University. Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. Bizzell, Patricia. 1986. What Happens When Basic Writers Come to College? College Composition and Communication. 37(3). Grant, Barbara. 1997.Disciplining Students: the construction of student subjectivities. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18(1): 101-114. Hobson, Julia. 1996. â€Å"Concepts of the self: Different ways of knowing about the self†. SSK12 lecture transcript. Ed. Lorraine Marshall. Perth: Murdoch University. Kolb, David A. 1981. â€Å"Learning styles and disciplinary differences. † In The Modern American College. Ed. A. W. Chickerine & Associates, 232-235 and 251-252. S an Francisco: Jossey Bass. Marshall, Lorraine, and Frances Rowland. 2006. A guide to learning independently. th ed. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Pavlovich, Kathryn. 2007. The development of reflective practice through student journals. Higher Education Research and Development 26 (3): 281-295. Samovar, Larry A. , and Richard E. Porter. 2004. Communication Between Cultures. 5th ed. Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Vivekananda, Kitty, and Penny Shores. 1996. Uni is Easier When You Know How: Success Stories, Study Secrets, Strategies. Sydney: Hale and Iremonger. Warren, Karen. 1995. ‘The critical self’. Perth: Murdoch University.

Secularism v. Spirituality in the Second Nuns Tale Essay

Secularism v. Spirituality in the Second Nuns Tale In the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer describes the men and women of the Church in extreme forms; most of these holy pilgrims, such as the Monk, the Friar, and Pardoner, are caricatures of objectionable parts of Catholic society. At a time when the power-hungry Catholic Church used the misery of peasants in order to obtain wealth, it is no wonder that one of the greatest writers of the Middle Ages used his works to comment on the religious politics of the day. Yet not all of Chaucers religious characters are failures in spirituality. His description of the Second Nun is of a truly pious woman who spends her life in the service of†¦show more content†¦Chaucer does not only the tale to show off his writing abilities -- it is not simply a display of his incredible versatility as an author. Chaucer uses this tale to contrast his anti-church sentiments within the Canterbury Tales; it shows his great respect for spiritual beliefs and benefits him in making his argument against the Church. In essence, Chaucer is clearly defending his anti-secular position by showing his reverence and devotion to spirituality; his problems lie with the Church, not the faith. While very well known for his sardonic criticism of the Church, he is less often acknowledged for his appreciation and respect for the religion itself. Judith A. Weise puts forth one of the more shocking theories concerning the Second Nuns Tale in her essay Chaucers Tell-Tale Lexicon: Romancing Seinte Cecyle. Weise argues that Chaucers purpose for writing the saints tale as a self-imposed literary penance for the raptus of Cecilia Chaumpaigne. She posits: Chaucer began translating the lyf in the wake of Cecilias release to deflect negative reactions by his family... Is it just a stunning coincidence that the one saints life Chaucer writes concerns a virgin martyr with the same name? (1) Why not? Perhaps Chaucer, like many other writers, uses his writing as some form of psychological and spiritual cleansing;

Essay on Freedom-Determinism debate - 1689 Words

Freedom-Determinism Debate The controversy between freewill and determinism has been argued about for years. Freewill is defined as the belief that our behaviour is under our own control and do not act in response to any internal or external factors. Freewill has been found to have four different conditions and to have freewill at least two conditions must be obtained, these are; people have a choice on their actions, have not been coerced by anything or anyone, have full voluntary and deliberate control of what they do. One example of freewill in psychology is Humanism. The humanists are in favour of freewill as they believe that humans aren’t ever determined to behave in a certain way. According to Maslow (1950) we all strive†¦show more content†¦The evidence for the theories is almost entirely co- relational because of the methods used i.e. case studies and interviews, which in comparison to experiments do not produce falsifiable predictions. Although the Humanistic approach remains important, it has limited influence in psychological research because of its un-testable ideas and emphasis on the experiences of the individual. Determinism is the opposite of freewill and is defined as a philosophy that states that our behaviour/experiences are pre-determined by e.g. genes, learned behaviour or early experiences. There are two sides to determinism, hard and soft determinism and there are four types of determinism, biological, genetic, psychic and environmental. Hard determinism is the belief that our behaviour is determined and predictable and controlled by these internal and external factors. Hard determinism is usually associated with social scientists such as Skinner, Freud, and Lorenz and usually rejected by philosophers. The behaviourist approach is in favour of hard determinism arguing that human behaviour is determined by learning from the environment and its causes can be explained in terms of environmental stimuli. Skinner, an environmental deterministic, asserted that in actual fact freewill in human behaviour was merely an illusion because in reality we are all at the mercy of our environment. He also proposed that we repeat behaviour that is rewarded and vice versa henceShow MoreRelatedFreedom-Determinism Debate1726 Words   |  7 PagesThe controversy between freewill and determinism has been argued about for years. Freewill is defined as the belief that our behaviour is under our own control and do not act in response to any internal or external factors. Freewill has been found to have four different conditions and to have freewill at least two conditions must be obtained, these are; people have a choice on their actions, have not been coerced by anything or anyone, have full voluntary and deliberate control of what they do. OneRead MoreFilm Analysis of Minority Report Essay968 Words   |  4 Pagestraditional view of man, what distinguishes him from animals is his freedom to choose between one course of action and another, his freedom to seek good and avoid evil. The animal has no freedom, but is determined by physical and biological laws; like a machine, the animal responds whenever the appropriate stimulus is present† (Bolles 1963, p.182). In Minority Report (2002) one of the main issues is free will versus determinism. Is there some point that people can and do change their mind whileRead MoreAnalysis Of The Philosophical Concepts Of Determinism And Free Will1711 Words   |  7 Pagesof act ion.The debate and arguments that surround free will have occupied philosophers for many centuries. Many scholars believe that the concept of free will is connected to the concept of responsibility, guilt, sin and other judgments that apply to the actions that are freely chosen by people. Other philosophers also link free will to the concept of persuasion, prohibition and advice that make no point unless different possible results arise from the courses of action. Determinism, on the otherRead MoreCompatibilism vs. Imcompatibilism: Is There Really Free Will1043 Words   |  5 Pages　　Compatibilists and Incompatibilists debate determinism and free will. Determinism is the idea that our actions are determined by past events. In other words, in our present state we do not have control over our actions and they are pre-determined. Only one thing can happen given a certain condition and nothing else can occur. Determinism seems to pose a problem because it tests the possi bility that we do not have free will or control over our actions because with certain conditions there can onlyRead MoreThe Basic Theories Of The Free Will1095 Words   |  5 Pagesmake. When viewing perspective we can decided that ultimately what around can shape us to do good or bad. This question ultimately leads us to an overwhelming question when it comes to the freedom we have in life and if we truly are free to choose. There are three basic theories involved in the free will debate. Determined being the first one all our choices are caused by preexisting events. Determination is based that free will that humans can t even act otherwise based on predetermined decisionRead MoreThe Case Of The Unwilling Addict1479 Words   |  6 Pagesbolster this case, I will argue for the Principle of Alternative Possibilities by re-evaluating Frankfurt’s case of the Unwilling Addict. I will then refute the notion of determinism by referring to Wolf’s JoJo example by taking a compatibilist approach. In 1971, Harry Frankfurt wrote his second most influential paper on free-will. Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person asks; what is it to be a person? In Frankfurt’s view, one essential difference between persons and non-human animals is to beRead MoreWilliam James on Free Will1537 Words   |  7 Pagesphilosophy and psychology (in which he officiated as a formal study through lectures) (Goodman, 2009). As did many philosophers, Jamesian thinking seeded many discussions on various philosophical topics such as metaphysics, morality, free will-determinism, religion and the afterlife; however, what truly made his ideas notable was his uncanny ability to borrow and integrate knowledge from branches of physiology, psychology and philosophy to weave new insights and dimensions onto traditional philosophicalRead MoreDavid Hume s Theory Of Free Will1559 Words   |  7 Pagesthinkers. Hard determinism bases its viewpoint on the strict theory of causality, rejecting the idea of free will. On the contrary, Libertarianism opposes this, supporting the concept of free will and denying that a deterministic universe exists. Both of these arguments adhere to incompatibilism as they refute the coexistence of both notions. Subsequently, 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume (1748) procured his influential proposal of compatibilism, attempting to resolve the debate as he arguesRead MoreDeterminism Vs. Free Will1341 Words   |  6 PagesDeterminism is a doctrine suggesting that for every event there exist conditions that could cause no alternative event. Free will is a philosophical term describing a particular sort of capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives. Understandably, the dichotomy between these two concepts is a topic philosophers have debated over for many years. As a result of these debates, a number of alternative philosophical perspectives arguing for the existence ofRead More oundation or Indivi dual in a Determinate Universe1627 Words   |  7 Pagesof compatibility of determinism and the freedom of human choice. This problem becomes apparently an isoluble paradox if one admits that the notion of freedom of human choice includes negation of the predetermination of decisions taken. Denial of such an inclusion is based on an analysis of the reasons that have led to the notion of freedom of human choice. Basically, this notion is intimately linked with the actual mechanism of decision-making. However, the concept of freedom of human choice is

Assess Whether Pericles Was a Good or Bad Leader - 1434 Words

Assess Whether Pericles Was A Good or Bad Leader Pericles (C. 495-429 BC) was a very influential politician and general in Athens. He is said to have brought about a very important time in Athenian history known as ‘The Golden Age of Athens’ where he brought about or placed focus on certain things like art, which gave Athens the reputation as the cultural and educational centre of Ancient Greece, architecture, where he created a project to beautify the city and provide work for Athenians with most of its products like the Parthenon still surviving and giving us an idea of the glory of Athens. He also made valuable contributions to drama, the bringing about of democracy and the establishment of the Greek empire. Democracy, which allows all†¦show more content†¦Other symbolic attributes for a lion are strength, courage, power, royalty, dignity, authority, dominion, justice, wisdom and ferocity which I believe are all attributes displayed by Pericles in both his political and military career. Ancient Greek symbolism for a lion is the protector of the home and Pericles really showed that in the battles protecting his beloved home, Athens. There is also the argument of whether Pericles was actually a leader or just got carried away by the masses. Plutarch said, ‘he was no longer the same man as before, nor alike submissive to the people and ready to yield and give in to the desires of the multitude as a steersman to the breezes.’ Here, Plutarch suggests, Pericles had no leadership over the Athenians and that he put the city in chaos to do as they could do what they want which is supported by others saying he made the Athenians idle, talkative and greedy (Plato). This motion would however have to be rejected with strong evidence against it in his speeches and oratory skills. Thucydides offered the correct leadership style of Pericles by arguing that Pericles ‘was not carried away by the people, but he was the one guiding the people.’ The evidence, as said in the last paragraph is in his great speeches and his ability to draw a certain reaction from the Athenian people and so though some may argue that he left the Athenians with no authoritative leader which could only be gainedShow MoreRelatedInvestigating Athens Treatment of Her Allies4015 Words   |  17 Pagesallies changed dramatically as she rose to become the leader of an empire. The establishment of the Delian League marked the beginning of a significant series of events, which lead to Athens’ rise to extreme power. From the evidence of Thucydides and the inscriptions, it is possible to track the progress of these events and the rapidly changing treatment that Athens enforced upon her allies. The Delian League was an establishment formed in 478 BC. A large number ofRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 PagesBritain on acid-free paper by Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham, Wiltshire ISBN 0–19–928335–4 978–0–19–928335–4 ISBN 0–19–928336–2 (Pbk.) 978–0–19–928336–1 (Pbk.) 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 3 FOREWORD ‘ Michael Bromwich is an exemplar of all that is good about the British tradition of academic accounting. Serious in intent, he has striven both to illuminate practice and to provide ways of improving it. Although always appealing to his economic understandings, he has been open to a wide variety of other

What Does It Mean to Be Jewish free essay sample

When someone says they’re Jewish, that can mean a couple things. Either that is their religion, or their ethnicity, it could even be both. Judaism is the term of following the Jewish religion. Judaism isn’t a religion based off of one single founder or central leader, nor is it based off theological decisions made from a group. The Judaism religion is better described as an Israel way of life that’s based off of the Tanakh. The Tanakh is essentially a different version of the Christians â€Å"Old Testament. † Including the creation of the world by God, and his commandments. The Torah aka â€Å"The Penateuch† are the teachings of the Jewish religion referenced by the five books of Moses. The Torah consists of Genesis, Exodus, Levicticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Another group of books from The Tanakah are the â€Å"Prophets† The Prophets are a group of books that are ascribed to the leading of reformers such as Isah, and spoke about the flaws in society, promising a Messiah to freeing them and leading them to power. We will write a custom essay sample on What Does It Mean to Be Jewish? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jewish theology elaborates on the principles of faith in the light of contemporary life and thought. Philosopher Maimonides blends the theology of the Jews with Greek and Muslim Philosophy, creating his â€Å"Thirteen Principles of Faith. † An example of the spiritual side of Judaism that expresses the soul’s â€Å"mystical journey toward God† is known as Mystical Kabbalism, and it began during the second temple period. Mystical Kabbalism began to seriously develop during the European Middle Ages. Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer was the founder of the mystical Jewish Hasidic sect in Eastern Europe in the 1700’s. Eliezer was known as Baal-Shem Tov, which means â€Å"Master of God’s Name. Rabbi Eliezer strived to want others to live by the Torah with its insight, and to follow God’s principles. God’s principles are: Ecstasy (Hitlahavut), embracing God beyond time and space, Service (Avoda) to God in time and space, Intention (Kavana), the mystery of the soul directed to redeeming the world, and Humility (Shiflut). The place where the Rabbi worked and followers of Judaism gathered where in a temple. The first temple of Jerusalem was built under the reign of King Solomon, who was the son of â€Å"Israel’s greatest king. After a long time of wandering worship, Israelites now had a place to go where god would be most present to them. Temples are still used today for the Jewish to worship, it is also known as the synagogue. Friday is known as Shabbat also known as Sabbath eve, and is the day that majority of Jewish people go to worship. On Shabbat Jewish people are prohibited from using electricity, and driving cars. I personally have several Jewish friends with only one who was raised to follow the strict guidelines of Shabbat. Thus proving that not all Jewish people are the same. The Jewish are also restricted from eating pork and non-kosher meals. Kosher (Kashrut) is a set of Jewish dietary laws. The laws even go far as to having to cook your food in kosher pots and pans. The Jewish community follows, and practices a lot rituals, and they also celebrate a lot of different holidays. Holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Passover, Lag B’Omer, Shavu’ot, and Tisha B’av, and Hanukkah. Hanukkah which is probably the most popular to everyone in the united states is celebrated over eight days in December. Jewish also have their children participate in this ceremony when they become of age for their actions. When boys reach 13, they have Bar Mitzvah’s, and when girls reach 12 they have Bat Mitzvah’s. This rite of passage comes with a lot of responsibilities for an adult Jew to follow. They include moral responsibilities for own acions, being able to read from the Torah, May posses’ personal property, and may legally be married according to Jewish laws. Being Jewish is takes a lot of responsibility.

Obesity surgery free essay sample

The purpose of this paper is to critically review the research carried out by Ogden, Clementi and Aylwin (2006) on â€Å"The impact of the obesity surgery and the paradox of control: a qualitative study†. This research was carried out to investigate the patient experience on obesity surgery. Therefore, this paper will try to identify the accuracy of the tittle, the rationale behind the research work and its aim. The strengths and weaknesses will be highlighted, literature will be critically review with support from relevant sources, ethical issues, method of analysis and the methodology adopted will be identify (Bryman, 2008). The tittle of this article was clearly stated and concise. Cutcliffe and Ward (2006) point out that the tittle of an article should reflect the content of the work and also stimulate the interest of the reader to read it. Also some of the title words were cited in the keywords subsection (Marshall, 2005; Parahoo, 2006). The credibility of the researchers, undoubtedly the researcher place of work was mentioned appropriately. We will write a custom essay sample on Obesity surgery or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, there is no evidence of two of the researcher being linked to the professional field relevant to the research undertaking. (Ryan et al. 2007). The article went through a rigorous review process before it was accepted for publication (Day, 2012; Benos et al. , 2007). Ogden et al. (2006) was received first in 2004; in final form 2005 and was published in 2006. The reference in the article is up to date (ranging from 1977-200) which shows that the article is supported by rang of studies over an intensive frame of time. Therefore is a scientific article (Shewan and Coats, 2010). The abstract gives a concise overview of the paper, the summary of the introduction, aim of the study, method used and result of the findings (Calmorin and Calmorin, 2008). Also, according to Hek and Moule (2006) an abstract gives a succinct analysis of a study. The research used a qualitative methodology to explore the experience of the participants. Ogden et al. (2006) achieved this by carrying out research on the experience of the participants on obesity surgery which was done in a natural setting (Kylea et al. , 2003; Daymom and Holloway, 2001). More so the flexibility of the research was evident by the use of in-depth interview which gave deeper insight on the phenomenon under study. Boyce and Neala (2006) indicate that in-depth interview is good when the researcher want to understand in detail about experience, thought and behaviour. Although the method the researcher used for data collection is preferred. However, the response of the participant to the interview question may be biased (Boyce and Neala op cit 2006). The introduction has background information and offers a theoretical context of study that orientate the reader to the problem (Ellison and McGraw-hill’s, 2010; Marshall, 2004). In addition, the literature was well reviewed through information drawn from valid sources, which showed that Ogden et al,(2006) did a wide and thorough search to compare the pass studied to present study and the literature review were related to their study (Marshall, 2005; Calmorin and Calmorin, 2008). A qualitative researcher should ensure that a good rapport is established with the interviewees (Dicicco-Bloom and Crabtree, 2006). It gives a conducive atmosphere for the respondents to feel at ease and comfortable to provide access to information of their stories (Polit and Beck, 2008). Qualitative researchers should be able to point out the setting where the sample was generate, the sampling method used and describe their sample in terms of characteristics and relevance to the wider population (Aderson, 2010). Although Ogden et al.(2006) presented that 22 patient from a previous quantitative research that had completed their questionnaires were invited to be interviewed, the setting the sample was selected was not mentioned so the appropriateness of the sample cannot be ascertain. According to Polit and Beck (2004) the external validity of a study depends on the adequacy of the sampling design used. Moreover, the researcher was expected to us a sample technique which will put the age range, population and characteristic of the sample into consideration (Profetto-McGrath, Polit and Beck, 2010). Furthermore, the researcher stated the number of participants in the sample; these include 15 out of the 22 people that are invited for the interview. Smith and Osborn (2008) and Carey (2013) noted that sample size depends on a number of factors and that there is no â€Å"right† sample size and that a small sample size is norm in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as larger data may lead to loss in meaning of the result. Ogden et al. (2006) used in-depth interview to investigate the experience of the respondents on Obesity Surgery. He pointed out that after the 15 people were interviewed; they assumed to have attained saturation as no fresh theme where emerging and similarity stories were also seen to be emerging, therefore no further interview were arranged. â€Å"Saturation† is a problematic concept in this context. According to Klenke (2008) the concept of saturation is inappropriate. However researchers may present to have attained saturation which they may not be able to explain or prove (Bowen, 2008). The researcher applied ethical consideration by obtaining approval from hospital ethical committee (Denscombe, 2009). However Ogden et al. (2006) did not obtain a written consent from the participants. According to Jefford, (2008) individual has the right to make a â€Å"reasonable† decision to participate or reject. Ogden et al. (2006) used interpretative analysis to analyse their data which is a technique that help in understanding human experience better (Smith, Jarman and Osborn, 1999). Furthermore the researcher showed evidence of peer review evaluation which is essential in qualitative research, where they opted that the transcript were re-read by JO and CC to have good insight of the data (Holloway and Wheeler, 2010). That makes the credibility of their finding unquestionable to some extent. However, the researcher gave room for criticism; they were somehow biased in analysing the data because the entire researcher had already regarded surgery as a positive treatment alternative (LeCompte and Margaret, 2000). In conclusion, although the setting and the sampling method used in generating the sample was not mention, also there was no written consent obtained from the participant. However, the researcher used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the data which is a reliable technique.  Finally it has brought to light the advantage of obesity surgery over behavioural intervention and other health benefit.

Internal and External Analysis of Apple Inc. Essays - Steve Jobs

Internal and External Analysis of Apple Inc. Essays - Steve Jobs Internal and External Analysis of Apple Inc. Introduction Apple Inc., is a multinational company that is known for its expertise in consumer electronics industry. Over the years, Apple has immensely grown to provide its customers with personal computers, cell phones, and computer software. Ever since Apple Inc., was established, it has operated in many different industries. From Personal Computing to Desktop publishing industry and to current consumer electronics industry, Apple has established itself has one of the most diversified companies. "Apple's 15 product lines were slashed to just four categories - desktop and portable Macintoshes, for consumers and professionals" (pg. 3). As a result, the attractiveness of the overall industry will be determined by industry analysis, generic strategy and internal analysis. Industry Analysis Threat of New Entrants Although in the past, there were many competitors (such as IBM and Dell) in the industry, the threat of new entrant was possibly medium to low. This is because, in compa rison to other industries, the electronic indus try required extremely hig h capital investments mostly to support R . Over the years, companies like Apple has improved its supp ly chain, which has led to difficulty for new entrants to compete in the market . Bargaining Power of Suppliers According to the past market conditions of electronics industry, the bargai ning power of suppliers was low . Suppliers of electronic industry are once that supply components for phones, and Intel's chips for Apple laptops. As most of the electronics consist of similar hardware, this enables switching cost to be low; as a result bargaining power of suppliers is low as well. As the case specifies "Apple uses vertical integration where as other suppliers uses open system" (p. 2). This implies that in Apple could use its other long term contracts to produce needed components. Bargaining Power of Buyers Based on the electronics industry, it can be said that bargaining power of buyers is high. This is because, the price of the products had been extremely sensitive due to which buyers would switch to a different company with similar product. The buyers in this industries are retailers such as Wal-Mart, and Best Buy. For a company like Apple (who has maintained consistency in their pricing of each product), mid income consumers would not want to spend extra on something that is already being offered by another company with lower price. Threat of Substitutes Threat of substitutes in the e lectronic industry is medium to low. As technology started to advance, customers feel more attracted towards new inventions of technology. There are very few who woul d prefer books, and newspapers. In other words, people would rather prefer to use their phones to read a book rather than buying an actual book from the book store. When Apple was established there were certain items already available in the market (such as VCR's, DVD's, and regular telephones). As threat of substitutes starts to increase (which is the present situation), Apple's profit starts to decrease Rivalry among Competitors The intensity of rivalry among competitors is extremely high in the consumer electronics industry. Major competition comes from companies like Apple, IBM, Dell, HP and Samsung. Not only that "Online music stores such as Amazon.com, Napster, and Walmart.com offered individual song downloads at competitive or discounted prices to iTunes. Most competitors offered songs to play on various devices including iPod" (p.9). As competitors were coming up with identical products at lower cost, demands for iPods was decreasing. As a result, Apple did not have a competitive advantage anymore. Generic Strategy Over the past years, Apple Inc., has focused on many different generic strategies. These include: premium-price differentiation strategy by Gilbert Amelio, and low cost strategy of John Sculley. Overall, Apple Inc. followed a focused differentiation strategy. "Focused differentiation strategies are keyed to offering carefully designed products or services to appeal to the unique preferences and needs of a narrow well-defined group of buyers" ( Mortez, Ak bari, Hossein-Nejad, p. 108). Apple Inc., is a company that does not sell its products for lower price that its competitors. As a result, its innovative products have been targeted towards customers with high earnings. When Apple launched iPod, many