Research Topics: Communication Research Project

Communication Research Project

1. Introduction   1.1  Background and rationale   Our team has chosen chapter 11 power and status        to be the theoretical basis for the study of communication. Our research project works on the notion that power and status are integral components of organizational communication and social behavior. Communication is said to be the lifeblood of all organizations, whether local or national, corporate or nonprofit, governmental or professional.  Communication processes occur in every organizational activity. As communication pervades the organization, people are required to interact with one another. All interactive communication is purposeful, and to achieve this purpose, the individual engages in power activity. Power and status is an essential element of resource allocation, conflict, competition, decision making, planning, staff selection, and the whole range of management, supervisory, and leadership tasks. In a very real sense, power and status in use is merely organizational dynamics and the action of people in relationships             Power and status is a part of life. We have not yet learned how to create a society without power and status It is manifested in people’s social behavior in their aim to influence individual or group behavior to do something or to change in some way despite opposition or criticisms. In organizational context, power and status is the medium of leadership. Effective use of power and status earns a person the right to lead and, effective leadership in today’s complex business environment must depend on power use for success.   1.2 Purpose statement   The research question being addressed by this project is “How does a model communicate with inside and outside organizations to gain more status?”.  The research question revolves around the views on power, status and organizational communication while focusing on models being an important part of the model industry.   The modeling industry requires the most communication techniques in all industries. Models face different kinds of people, travel to numerous locations of varied cultures and work with other professionals including the agency staff, photographers, fashion designers, hair stylists, media people etc. Good communication skills are a necessity.   From the study of the modeling industry, we know that being able to communicate well with different people is an asset to those who are not even working in the modeling industry. No matter what our career paths will be, it is undeniable and unavoidable that we will meet a lot of people. Internal wise, we have to learn to communicate well with our colleagues and bosses in order to give the best performance. External wise, we have to meet and collaborate with the stuff of other companies and other industries and get in touch with the consumers… etc. Knowing how to communicate and gain mutual understanding is the key to success because we are constantly compromising and negotiating with one another.   While many people assume that the models are the most important ones in the modeling industry, it is not the case. Model is not the centre of the modeling universe. We can see this industry as a machine. Model can be seen as the motor, but can a motor run smoothly without fuel, water and other components? It certainly can’t. The co-ordination between modeling agencies, advertising companies and the stuff of different brands, etc are the key parts of the industry too. If any one of these is missing, these parts cannot operate in harmony and the motor cannot work.   And it’s the same with every industry, no matter how big people’s egos are, regardless of how big the projects are and how significant their posts are, they are only a part of the whole thing, without the assistance, support and compromise of others, they can achieve nothing. This is a valuable lesson we can draw from the modeling industry in order to apply it to any other industries. In other words, we can recognize the whole through the observation of the part.   2.     Choice of organization   2.1  Background of host organization STARZ PEOPLE which is both casting and modeling company, it was established in 1997 and specializes in the development of new faces. It promote models for editorial jobs, TV & print advertisements, shows, film projects and singing career. It has since emerged as one of Asia’s most progressive full service modeling and talent agencies. STARZPEOPLE has developed an important scouting team not only in Hong Kong, but also in Shanghai, in order to provide clients which quality models and service as well. This company led by Ms. Mee-Yian Yong specializes to discover new faces and promote them efficiently with high-quality editorials and transforming them into tomorrow’s top models. STARZ PEOPLE represents the region’s leading models such as Christine Au Yang, Vanessa Yeung and Eunis Chan. STARZ is also credited with sculpting the careers of models-turned-artistes Maggie Q, Rain Li, BoBo Chan, Niki Chow, Rachel Ngan, Shawn Yue and Tiffany Lee. STARZPEOPLE works with clients like Bally, Chanel, DKNY, Escada, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Issey Miyake, Loewe, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo and Versace; luxury watch brands Cartier, Omega and Piaget; leading haircare companies Loreal, Pantene, and Vidal Sassoon; internationally renowned skincare lines Mario Badescu, Olay, Pond’s and SK-II; telecommunications giants Motorola and Nokia; the world’s largest banks Chase Manhattan and HSBC; as well as the well-established airline British Airways etc. Moreover, they work for TV production houses, advertising agencies and photography studios. 2.2 Rational for choosing Starspeople   Starzpeople model agency was the organization that we have chosen for our research project. Today, there are more than hundreds of model agencies in Hong Kong. So why do we choose STARZPEOPLE but not others?   Starzpeople is one of the top 5 model agency in Hong Kong. It is also one of the leading agencies to provide professional modeling services in Asia. It has a very good reputation within the modeling industry.  Besides, there are many top models such as Maggie Q, Eunis Chan and Vanessa Cheung etc. are from Starzpeople. Apart from this, it has a huge group of client roster such as DKNY, Prada, Fendi etc.   Our group did take this project seriously. From the first day, we bear the responsibilities to start and complete the project. We think the quality of an organization is important, especially the organization about modeling. Therefore, we seek for the best one to work on. We believed that, the better reputation of an organization, the more convincing our findings would be.   3.     Literature review   3.1 Text book   To investigate how a model communicates with inside and outside organizations to gain more status, we first need to define a number of communication concepts, namely, status and communication. First of all, I would like to define two key terms, namely status and communication. According to Organization Communication for Survival, the definitions of them are as follows: Status p           A person’s role or position within a group or an organization p           Eg. good salaries/job title/size and location of office p           the thing many employees strive for more than pay To give a concrete image of status, there are 2 main type of status symbol.  They are the symbols which can be bought into the organization and which can be earned.  For the visible and tangible status symbol, the typical symbol wants in organization are good salaries, job title, size and location of office and type of office furniture etc. And invisible and intangible status symbols, they are the respect of supervisions and peers etc.  These kinds of symbol generally take years of hard work.  From the book we know, status affects how some people respond to their jobs and how people interact with others who have status. Communication ?               The process by which individuals stimulate meaning in the minds of other individuals by means of verbal or nonverbal messages in the context of a formal organization. To sum up, if quality communication occurs, one can get more status, such as respect from others.             Besides books, we have found another material for our literature review. That is three television shows from the reality show, America Next Top Model. It is because this show is much related to our topic and we can see so many in the videos.             In video 1, a participant, Brandy, lost her temper because she had waited for a long time for the photo shoot. She showed her bad attitude to the photographer and the art director. This gave them a bad impression.             In video 2, Brandy lost her temper again because she did not like the color of her eyebrows. This time, she has made the art director very angry. Finally, the organizer of the competition, Tyra Banks, came to have a speech on the bad attitude and told the participants this would affect the outcome of the competition.             In Video 3, another participant, Jade, complained about the makeup in the judging part. Her aggressive attitude gives the judges a very bad image on her. This would have a negative effect on her evolution during the competition.   3.1  Video   4.     Methodology   Target interviewees             In order to investigate our research question, i.e. “How does a model communicate inside and outside his/her organization to gain more opportunities?” we have chosen five categories of interviewees in inside and outside our organization. Our host organization is Starz People. Our targeted interviewees are senior and junior models, a booker, and a manager from model agency for inside organization; a make-up artist and an employee from advertising company. The details of the interviewees are as follows: Interviewees Inside Organization Outside Organization Models   Manager (mee-yian) Make-up artist (Sandy Wong) Advertising Company (Phoenix) Vin Choi Michael Gordon Gender M P P P       F       P P P Age 20s P P     P P 30s     P       40s       P     Experiences(Years) 5 9 5 20 3 3 Interview Language (C=Cantonese; E=English) C C C E E C     Rationales for choosing these interviewees             There are several reasons for us to choose the above interviewees. For the model, apparently, they are the most related party in this research.  By asking them questions, we can comprehend the importance of communication in modeling industry.  For the booker and manager from Starz People, they are the main person who will arrange job to the models. They communicate most with the models and will affect the model’s career.  They can tell us about the difference between good and bad communicators.  Also, they have expertise knowledge in this industry who can tell us much about modeling.  Lastly, for the make-up artist and advertising company, they are the outside organizations that the model will work with.  We want to know if they have had any communication problem with the model, and how did they solve it and their impression of the models.   Method used             Due to different purpose of interviewing, we have set five sets of interview questions. Each has about 8 questions. Some of them are the same but some are specific. All of the interviews were done by face to face. This can notice their instant reaction and we can ask for clarifications. Except the manager from Starz People was done in her office, all the interviews were processed in Starbucks in Causeway Bay. And the interviews were done during October and November. In order to avoid making mistakes of the transcriptions, we have recorded all the interviews. We have used both Cantonese and English as our interview language. For Cantonese, it is because it is our mother tongue; interviewees will feel more comfortable when talking. And for English, it is because we can avoid translation errors and for the use of some professional terms.   5.  Findings   5.1 Findings of models Finding 1: To make people in this industry like you. The opportunity of the models to be successful in the industry is mostly dependent on chances. Thus, getting more people to appreciate you and your work is one of the most effective ways to have more work opportunities and reach the top. The models’ fate in the industry is then based on how they value and establish interpersonal relations. Vin (our interviewee) said that, he do not like to social much, he can see that his opportunities are comparatively lower than other model.   Finding 2: To avoid disagreements and conflicts with people working in this industry Models have to bear in mind that they should never offend other people who are working within the industry, particularly those who serve as the sources of their work opportunities. Gordon (our interviewee) gave us a real life example; he said if you offend a photographer, they will take revenge on you by just shooting on your less beautiful side of your face, besides, they will spread rumors around in order to attack your reputation. It does sounds quite silly, but in fact it is very common in this industry.   Finding 3: To accommodate yourself to the ever changing modeling industry In every business industry, there are certain cultures and rules to be followed; in the modeling industry, the ability of the models to adapt to their environment is an important key to success. This ability of the models is typically termed as their dark sides. While models have natural talent and beauty to succeed, they must do other tactics in order to ensure their spot as top models. Agencies for example, would usually arrange gatherings or parties so that their models could meet various influential people. In other cases, models would have to do things against their will so as to become successful; models who fail to adapt with this type of environment on the other hand, acquire less work opportunities. Though using the models’ dark side is only optional, models and agencies use this strategy to climb their way easily to the top.     5.2 Findings of model agency   Finding 1: If the models can maintain a good relationship with their agents, they will gain considerable benefits. Actually, the model and the agency share a certain level of partnership. The agent is responsible for selling the product to the market, which is the model. The agent is also the one responsible for generating work opportunities for the models. As the model represents the agency, the quality of the model must be ensured. The agent must then be very familiar with the models before promoting them to the clients. Naturally, if the model shares a good relationship with the agent, both will know each other better. With this relationship, the agent will give due priority to the model and offer more job opportunities outside the industry. In addition, the good relation between the two will encourage the agent to support the models and teach them regarding the nature of their jobs; this would help prepare the models during actual castings.   Finding 2: Models have to completely obey with their agents’ instructions. The modeling business is a highly competitive industry. Hundreds of models compete over good work opportunities. If the models do not comply with the instructions of their agents, the agents could easily find a replacement. Out interviewee’s Mee-yian (STARZPEOPLE’a manager) said that, we will not force our models to listen to our opinions or follow our instructions, we will only suggest them to do so. If they do not listen to our advice, we cannot help. Since we are all adults, it is no meaning to force someone to do something. I wanted to help you but you don’t appreciate it, it is fine. Besides, there is always someone who is willing to listen.   Finding 3: Modeling agencies praise and value their models based on their obedience, working attitude, talents and reputation. Appearance and talent are both essential factors for models aiming for praise, greater value and higher positions within the agency. However, their work attitudes, obedience, reputation and communication skills are also important. Mee-Yian (STARZPEOPLE’s manager) gave us a real life example, she said there was a model that has a perfect appearance and was very talent, but however, her attitude was terribly bad, always late to casting and showed no regret at all. She got so many complaints from outside the organizations. From time to time, she had less and less chances to go for casting. Frankly speaking, we wanted to lavish praise on her at first, we could see that she could be as top as Maggie Q, but she ruined it. At the end, we had terminated the contract with her.     5.3 Findings of outside organizations ( Makeup artist and Advertising company )   Finding 1: Models need to show their professional working attitude Makeup artist sandy said that, In the modeling industry, good appearance alone does not guarantee success. A model’s fame depends on his or her appearance, experience, network and most important, good communication skill. This is a small industry, everything you do tonight is known the next day. If a model has a bad attitude, he or she will be notorious. She also mentioned, it is common to see that some models are very self-conscious. They like to keep checking themselves in the mirrors when makeup artists do their makeup. Some even demand them to change the makeup the way models like it. All these behaviors can affect stylists or the clues emotions and performances.   Finding 2: Models need to avoid gossiping and spreading rumors around People in this industry don’t like gossips and rumors. Once a junior model told the makeup artist that another model had a plastic surgery on her nose…another told her another model slept with a photographer to get more jobs. This is what we know from the makeup artist sandy. She said that She guesses the models are probably too bored just sitting there waiting to have their makeup done. She thinks it is not very nice to backstab others when they are working. There are already too much rumors in modeling industry, no one wants more. If models are being discovered spreading rumors all around, it can definitely affect their reputation. Finding 3: Models have to be able to social with the clients When models meet with clients in the very first time, models themselves have to show their best to clients so as to increase the chances of being selected to work for the new jobs. The other way to say, clients are the ones who employ models and pay for the jobs. Clients have the right to demand from models. So models are responsible to satisfy clients’ wants in anyways.         6.  Discussion and Implication   6.1 Comparison between literature review and data given by interviewees   There are similarities between our findings and the literature review.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RrrWWJm5KE ( Video one ) In video one, model Brandy showed her bad working attitude. She was the last one to go for shooting, she disliked waiting for so long and she complained a lot. Her attitude pissed people off. Both photographer and stylist were discontent with her bad attitude and it affected their working emotions.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T5ryrqd0-I ( Video two ) In video two, the same model Brandy was unsatisfied with the makeover arranged by Tyra banks. When everyone followed the instructions given by the stylist, she just yelled in the salon and had unreasonable complains. She again pissed people off including Tyra banks, and she was told that her bad attitude will definitely affect the judging, which means she may be eliminated because of this.   Two videos present the same ideas with our findings from interviewees. If models want to gain more status, they have to completely obey with their agencies’ instructions. Being model is about accepting changes. If models act egotistically and refuse to co-operate with others all the time, they are putting themselves in a very unfavorable situation since there are a lot of people out there who possess better qualities, finding one to replace you is no hard work at all. The crucial factor to success depends on weather or not models are willing to trust the instructions given by the agency and give their best to meet the requirements.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvKcv1y98Q4 ( Video three ) In video three, when model Jane and the judges look at the photo, both do not think it was a potential shot. At that moment, Jane shirks all the responsible to the make up artist. The judge then said, as a professional model, they should accept everything the stylist gave her without blaming. Since all the make-up artist and stylists are professional. Of course they think it is good if they put it on you.   It is similar to our findings from outside organization. Model needs to show their professional working attitude. Professional attitude include punctual, obedience, good attitude, self discipline etc. Actually, model is just a product; clients can buy them through model agency. Normally, people can do whatever they want to the product they brought. It is the same logic; clients can request things from the models. Hence, model should obey and shouldn’t reject what the client wants from them.     7.       Limitations to the study Our group has encountered several difficulties when carrying out this research project. First of all, it is really hard to arrange interviews with models.  Since the working time of models change frequently, the arrangement of interviews has been modified many times.  Despite the fact that, we have done all the interviews we planned.    Secondly, the sample size of the research is small. We have only interviewed 7 interviewees which only occupy the tiny proportion of the industry.  And the answers from them may be too subjective.  Also, though we assure the interviewees that their information is confidential and we believe that they will give real information, we cannot guarantee that they all will do so.  This may due to their professional principles.  The result of our research thus may not be precise and accurate enough.  Nonetheless, we have done our best to get our research better.   Thirdly, we have some difficulties when having the interpretation of the answers from interviews.  It is because the interviewees have used some professional terms which we don’t know at all, especially for the manager and the booker.  Some terms are having special meaning in the modeling industry.  Yet, we have asked clarifications after we discovered the problem.   Lastly, as it is rare to have books with topics on communications and modeling industry besides the textbook as our reference.  So we have found another form of reference, video, to overcome this limitation.   Though we have experienced many difficulties in conducting the research, our group has tried our best to prevail over them and finish the research in the best way.   8.       Conclusion and recommendation   Modeling and fashion are prevalent trends of the modern world. Although many regard it as a superficial industry, modeling advocates creativity, adventure, beauty, confidence and feeling good for oneself. Also, most people do not know the “behind-the-scenes” situations in the fashion industry. People are unaware of the competition and difficulties that models have to face in order to achieve and preserve a successful career. This research seeks to provide a body of knowledge about how models engage in interaction with internal and outside entities, as well as the necessary factors they have to consider in order to maintain their careers in the industry using the concepts of power, status and communication. Models did not appear until a few decades ago. The fact that a model can rise and fall in a short time shows that the world that we live in has become increasingly ever-changing and unpredictable. Thus, it is essential for us, not only models, to maintain a healthy and cooperative relationship with people around us in order to survive in the new era.      8.1 Personal thoughts   After doing this research project, our group has some thoughts on this isseue.  We discovered that, communication is of vital importance in life, as we cannot live alone. We have to consider so many things derived from communication. For example, the status and power, the messages sent out by non-verbal communication etc. We have recognized many things after conducting the interviews which are much more than we expected. We found that working in modeling industry is very similar to the real world. I think you may notice that we also showed the dark side of the industry. What we want is to present the whole view, i.e. the reality, to our audiences. It is inevitable to avoid the dark side if we want to be succeeded. The most important is, we have psychological preparation to face our future. As we all know that, many of us will enter the working labor force next year. We don’t mean that we will be models in the future, but we can learn so much from viewing this industry.  I believe most of you agreed that, communication is very important in this industry. Just like in the videos, if one of the models cannot communicate well with others, for example, the hair stylist, she might be kicked out from the competition immediately. What the similarity is, if we don’t communicate well, we may lose some status or power, or even our jobs.   8.2 Recommendation Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Communication Research Project

1. Introduction 1.1 Background and rationale Our team has chosen chapter 11 power and status to be the theoretical basis ...

Interest-Based Emergent Literacy Project

Interest-Based Emergent Literacy Project        (Name of Student) Date submitted   NO. of words: 2,459 words          Table of Contents   Cover Page                                                                                                   1   Table of Contents                                                                                        2   Discussion               1. Description of the Children and Context                                3                      2. Map of the Overall Project Development                                4 3. Identification of Children’s Interests                                        5 4. Children’s Responses and Child/Adult                                  5      Interactions through Extended Experiences 5. Introduced Strategies for Interaction and                                6      Emergent Literacy Understanding 6. Learning about Oral, Written, and Visual                                7     Language in Children 7. Overall Evaluation of the Project                                              12             1. Description of the Children and Context             This project is based on the analysis that the literacy and language development of children can be understood through knowing their interests. Five children were chosen and asked to participate in a 6-day project that would help determine their interests through different activities.   Two children would be asked to stay in the playroom for the first day, and asked to play for 4 consecutive hours in a playroom with a variety of toys. For the following days, another child would be added to the playroom, until all the five children are completed as a group. After the 4-hour playtime, the researcher would have the chance to interact with the children. The last two days would be devoted to their group activities, such as watching a movie, hearing a story together, painting together, and solving puzzles. The name of the first child is Ely. He is an impatient child, talkative, hyperactive, and very playful. The second child is Jacky, who is a playful, talkative, curious, and questioning child. The third child is Sam. Sam is a quiet, observant, and curious child. He pretends to be always busy by reading books and playing toys, and just waits to be encouraged by his playmates to talk and play. Anne is the fourth child. She is a charming child, who is always silent, cautious, passive, and smiling. She just waits to be told what to do. The fifth child is Harry, who is the most hyperactive among the children, and is always talkative, playful, stubborn and needy. The differences among the characteristics of the children would be useful in determining their interests.       2. Map of the Overall Project Development         3. Identification of Children’s Interests             Determination of the interests of the five children was done in different ways. Primarily, it was done through direct observation. Direct observation means that the children were only observed through the things that they do while they are inside the playroom. This does not involve direct interaction from the researcher/s. The interests of the children were observed through their speech, their  relationship with other children, and their self-expression. Second way of determining the interests of children is through direct conversation and interaction with them. Through direct interaction and conversation with the children, the researcher/s can directly ask them their interests given the different activities they can do and different objects they can find in the playroom. Third way used by the researcher/s is through the observation of their gestures, including the most frequent object/s that they hold and the most frequent companion or playmate, given the duration of their stay in the playroom. Lastly, the researcher/s determined the interests of the children through the children’s participation in the group activities. Participation of the children in group activities enabled direct interaction and observation, and direct observation of their gestures and speech.   4. Children’s Responses and Child/Adult Interactions through Extended Experiences             Based on the project, the extended experiences of the children include the activities available in the playroom, such as reading books, playing with other children, and playing with puzzles and educational toys available. From the six-day project, it can be observed that the children’s responses have been positive in general. Most of the children were interested in playing with other children and in playing with puzzles, rather than in reading books. In this regard, only Sam and Anne were the ones interested in reading books in the room, unlike Ely, Jacky, and Harry, who have been busy talking, running and playing around with each other most of the time. In addition, most of the children, namely, Ely, Jacky, and Harry have participated in group discussions and activities. On the other hand, although Sam and Anne have been also active in group activities and interaction, their interaction with other children and with the researcher/s is not as active and effective. Interaction of the researcher/s with the children has become active during puzzle solving and reading books, which required the complete attention and participation of the children. From this activity, it can be observed that all of them are competent children, despite differences in their interests.   5. Introduced Strategies for Interaction and Emergent Literacy Understanding             Based on the mind map (), it can be seen that the introduced strategies for interaction include watching television and movies, painting, producing artworks, and role-playing. It has been mentioned that one of the extended experiences of the children includes reading books, followed by group discussions. New opportunities for talk and vocabulary have been facilitated through a film showing (Finding Nemo), which was followed by a short discussion and interaction between children, and between the researcher and the children. The significant events in the movie, their favorite scenes, and the moral of the story were discussed in order to provide learning and understanding about the movie. In addition, aside from the group discussion, which was facilitated by the researcher, the children were asked to create a short skit or role-playing based on the group’s favorite scene in the movie. Through the role-playing activity, the children were able to talk amongst themselves, plan, and come up with a short skit, thus, enhancing their communication and coordination with other children. Moreover, the children were asked to draw or paint their favorite scene from the movie in a sheet of paper. After drawing them, the children explained their work in short sentences for their written language evaluation. Through such activities, the creativity, cooperation, and communication among the children and between the researcher/s have been effectively facilitated.   6. Learning about Oral, Written, and Visual Language of Children             Based on both extended experiences and introduced strategies provided in the project, oral, written, and visual learning can be observed in all the five children, although their range of participation varied. In terms of the oral learning development of children, it can be observed that the Ely, Jacky, and Harry, who are talkative and playful children in nature may have seem to be the most advanced in terms of oral development. This learning or observation is evident, as in all of the sessions, these three children are the ones more participative and expressive in terms of their observations and ideas in the playroom. Ely, Jacky and Harry are observed to be the children setting the mood of the playroom and all of the 6 sessions. They are the children having the most developed characteristics in terms of oral communication and development. However, based on these observations, it does not follow that Sam and Anne do not have a developed oral learning or communication. In fact, although both Sam and Anne were not as noisy, talkative, and playful as was other three children, both of them were able to express intelligent and correct answers during group discussions. Sam was actually the one acting as the group’s “leader”, as they are conceptualizing their role-playing activity. Likewise, Anne was also the one assisting Sam, and supporting her new friends. In this regard, it can be observed that oral learning and development of children may be viewed as having different degrees, based on the personality and characteristics of each child, and based on the support of the child’s environment, which is being improved by an adult in this particular project. The communication and interrelationships of the children would not have been developed and facilitated, without the support and guidance of the researcher.             Such observations lead to the conclusion that all the five children who participated in this project are said to be competent thinkers, facilitated under an embedded context. The embedded context is created both physically through the selection of appropriate resources to stimulate curiosity, and verbally through the child having a sense of purpose in participating in the activity (1995). The embedded context is the one responsible for the development of the child’s thinking that he or she must be compelled to participate in particular activity, which can be realized through the effective child-adult interaction and through the use of appropriate language. It is in this sense that learning can be regarded as a social process, thus, allowing socially constructed learning to take place in the process (1995). Because the use of language in order to communicate with other people is a social process, it can be understood that the children were able to effectively develop their oral language through the different activities facilitated in the project.             The second aspect developed through the activities featured in the project is the written language development of the children. Written language development of the children was facilitated after they have been asked to watch a movie (Finding Nemo), which would be helpful in providing them with new vocabulary words and knowledge. The movie was made as the reference for the written activities of the children, including painting or drawing of their favorite scenes from the movie, along with providing a brief explanation as to why such scenes struck them the most. Based on the observations, Sam and Anne were the most expressive children in terms of writing and painting. Both of them were able to express their ideas effectively through words and drawings. On the other hand, although Ely, Jacky, and Harry were also able to construct good sentences and good paintings in relation to the activity, their work would be deemed not as expressive and creative as the works of Sam and Anne. In this regard, it can be well observed that the oral language development of Ely, Jacky and Harry is being reciprocated by the effective written language development of Sam and Anne.             This written language development of the children being observed through the activities facilitated by the researcher is being supported by one of the fundamentals of the Reggio Approach, emphasized in the study of  (1997). This fundamental point out the role of a child as a communicator, and states that the intellectual development of a child can be observed through a systematic focus on symbolic representations, such as words, movement, drawing, painting, building, sculpture, shadow play, collage, dramatic play, and music, which leads them to surprising levels of communication, symbolic skills, and creativity. To be able to do so, the children must be given the right to use many materials in order to discover and communicate what they know, understand, wonder about, question, feel, and imagine ( 1997). The written activities of the children, which were done based on the movie were effective, as they have been able to express themselves, their understanding of the movie, and their imagination through creative means. This would not have been successful without the help, support, encouragement, and participation of the researcher, who serves to be the foundation of learning based on the activities in the project.             The third aspect developed in the language development of the children who participated in the project is their visual learning. The visual learning of the children was facilitated through the film showing of Finding Nemo and through puzzle solving using building blocks and floor puzzles. The film showing and puzzle solving were facilitated during the last two days of the project, as in these days, the group is already complete and are more or less properly acquainted with one another. Visual learning development through the film showing of Finding Nemo has been an effective means of observation, as the children are completely engrossed, focused, and interested in seeing the movie. Such can be observed as they react to the different scenes featured in the movie. Another activity that has helped the researcher determine the visual learning development of the children was through puzzle solving. Puzzle solving was facilitated using floor puzzles and building blocks, which have corresponding shapes and sizes. Puzzles are good means of stimulating the visual acuity and intellectual capacity of the children. With the variety of colors and interesting shapes of the puzzles, the children were stimulated to participate in the activity, thus, resulting to generating positive responses from the children. Most of them, namely, Harry, Sam, and Anne even asked to solve another puzzle, thus, extending the session. From such activities, it can be observed that the visual learning development of the children is far more advanced, and that they effectively and appropriately use their visual skills in order to participate better and appropriately in activities. In addition, such visual learning development would not have been observed without the support and participation of the researcher. In this sense, the researcher serves to be the partner, nurturer, and guide to the children’s exploration of themes, work on short- and long-term projects, and guide experiences of joint, open-ended discovery and problem solving ( 1997).             The effective and proper visual learning development of the children is associated with the society’s popular culture, which is considered a major source of pleasure among children. To be able to catch their attention, the movie Finding Nemo was played, which is presumed to stimulate the imagination and catch the interest of the children. This is being supported by the belief that states that much of the children’s popular culture is related to the media, through television programs, video games, comics, or the latest Disney film, which emotionally engage the children (2000). In addition, the potential of popular culture in the early years has focused largely on superhero play and related activities, which can be linked to literacy practices. In this regard, popular culture can engage children in writing activities, which enable them to explore issues of power and identity (2000). This statement provides the realization that using visually stimulating activities is one good way of eliciting response and participation from the children. Through the guidance and support of the teacher, the children had expressed their interests, skills, talents, and capabilities, thus, facilitating an effective and appropriate child-adult interaction. In this way, an organized, integrated, and responsive system for developing language and literacy is created, uniting the children’s interests and the adults’ teaching intentions (1993).   7. Overall Evaluation of the Project             From the discussion, it can be understood that learning development in three different aspects, namely, oral, written and visual learning has been successfully observed in the children who participated in the project. Based on the 6-day project, it has been experienced and observed that the interests of the children can be described and determined based on the different activities presented to them. The interests of the children were different from one another, and were determinant of their personalities. Their interests were also expressed orally, written, and visually, and may seem not so significantly different from one another. In this regard, it can be concluded that this project enabled the researcher to gain insights, learning, and understanding of the interests of children, which serve as determinants of their personality and responses to their environment, and influenced by their culture and the people around them.        Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Interest-Based Emergent Literacy Project

Interest-Based Emergent Literacy Project (Name of Student) Date submitted NO. of words: 2,459 words Ta...

Professional and Technical Communication Assignment

Design Your Own Environment-Friendly Shirt Event               According to Klein (2006), in the corporate context, fundraising is intended for contributing to affirmative social changes. A fundraising would not be possible without careful planning, a strong committed group of volunteers to help and a workable organizational structure (p. 2). A fundraising event idea I have in mind is designing own environmentally friendly shirts which will involve the employees of the organization as well as the community members young and old. As it basically focus on the environment, the theme would be “Save Our Mother Earth! What You Can Do.” How people could effectively contribute into sustainable development has now in the forefront of international debates hence protecting the environment is of utmost importance. Raising the level of awareness of the people is likewise important.   The idea   The organization will provide plain organic shirts which will come in adult, teens and kids sizes and of different colors. Organic cotton shirts were chosen because they best manifest the environmental theme of this fundraising event. Organic cotton shirts are grown minus the utilization of harmful chemicals. However, organic cotton shirts are more expensive. Along with the accouterments, these shirts will be given to the people in packages upon registration. A place where they can decorate their shirts will be provided. This will be a contest and the category will be divided into three: adults, teens and kids. Prizes will be available and will be provided by the company. Further, the proceeds of the events which will basically come from the sales of the organic shirts will be given to the Camp Quality charitable organization. It is planned that the representatives of Camp Quality as well as the children and their families will be invited in the said events. The children and their families will be given materials packages free to that they can participate in the activity. As such, it is intended that the fundraising will be limited in expenses so that the company could maximize the financial benefits to Camp Quality. Shirts will be solicited as well as the materials from the internal clients. Prizes will be also solicited. Food will be provided for all the participants but sponsorships will be accomplished to slash the expenses. Additional funds will be shouldered by the company.   This fundraising event will be a whole-day affair and will be divided into two phases. In the morning the registration of the participants will be held and the design contest proper will be conducted one hour after the registration. There will be no registration fees and the organic cotton shirt of preferred color, accessories and use of other design materials available in the design area will be provided free of charge. The design area will be also divided into three for the kids, teens and adults. By 12 noon, all t-shirts must be submitted for judgment. Members of the board of judges will be the top managers as well as the Community Sustainability Officer. Winners will be announced by 2 pm, t-shirts will be sold after the awarding. The winning shirts will be sold at a price higher than non-winning shirts. Those who participate will be given a token. A speaker specializing in the environment education will be also invited in order to provide insights to the people. Towards the end of the program, leaflets and handouts of how important to protect the environment is will be given and other memoirs of the event so that they would not forget the learnings they acquire.         The chosen charity               Camp Quality refers to a non-profit organization located in Epping, NSW. The organization is “committed in bringing hope and happiness to every cancer patient children as well as their families and communities.” Camp Quality carries out its purpose through ongoing quality recreational, educational, hospital and financial support programs. This charitable institution was chosen because I am one with their aim to provide children with cancer the opportunity to live a normal life and put behind them their illness even for just a few days. A fact is that Camp Quality does not put the cost to the families of these children as they shoulder all the expenses. Hence, this fundraising event could provide financial support in perhaps the maintenance of the camps and/or financing their ‘companions’. Camp Quality will hold approximately 240 recreational camps and activities in this year. It is their goal that each child is assigned a companion to ensure that each child will receive the highest quality of care while inside the camps (online).   The benefits of the fundraising event   As such, the benefits of this event are two fold. First, the event serves to be an advisory initiative for the company to become aware of the environmental issues and improve its environmental performance. It is hope that through this event, the company will realize practical ways of increasing profit while also minimizing waste and reducing environmental impact especially in the workplace. Second, the event benefits the community in terms of educating the people about environmental conservation, specifically, for the children as they will learn how to take care, protect and be responsible and also ensure the safety of our planet. Combined, the third benefit of this fundraising event is the message to build an ongoing commitment among the people the necessity to partake in various environmental programmes and projects which aimed at reducing environmental injustice.   References:   Camp Quality 2002, Camp Quality Australia, Epping, NSW, retrieved on 2 February 2009, from http://www.campquality.org.au/.   Environmentally Friendly T-Shirt 2009, Green Living, retrieved on 2 February 2009, from http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Environmentally_Friendly_T-shirt.               Klein, K 2006, Fundraising for Social Change, John Wiley and Sons, New York.           Justification Essay   What are the purposes of the fundraising event?               There are two general purposes of the fundraising events. One is the explicit purpose of creating environmental awareness. According to Tellegen and Wolsink (1998), the public’s perceptions of the environmental issues are as interesting as an indicator of the attention paid by the society to environment. Based on what is currently happening in our world today, there should be the growing importance of environmental values for the people (p. 120). Somehow, this is something which people often overlook without realizing that the consequences of ignorance to environmental concerns will directly and indirectly hit them. More and more, people get to realize how difficult it is to solve and how costly it would be hence the necessity to teach the people to contribute even in the littlest of way they can.   On the other hand, fundraising for businesses aims to build strong relationships between other agencies, departments or businesses and the community as well. Fundraising is not always centered on acquiring funds but rather about establishing partnership between the community and the organization (Goering, p. 287). The event could effectively support a cause-oriented undertaking which is also a community need. As such, the organization could communicate with the community that they share the same values and aspire for similar goals of social betterment. This event is tripartite wherein from the employees the corporate objectives of the company especially in terms of its environmental responsibilities will be conveyed to the community people. In a way, these people are also contributing to the development of a social cause via the children with cancer. For the children with cancer, this event also aims at providing the recreational activity wherein they can unleash their creativeness.   Who is (are) the audience(s)?               Initially, the Head of the Division is the primary audience of the fundraising event proposal. The internal stakeholders could be also regarded as primary audience of the event since their contribution is much needed. This does not necessarily mean monetary as they are the key persons to be solicited from instead they could participate in as volunteers as well. Internal clients or the employees could contribute as members of the Steering Committee. The internal clients, nevertheless, should realize that the success of the event lies on their hand as they are the primary actors. Aside from them, the fundraising also caters to the community members regardless of their ages. As opposed to other fundraising events which are more customary, this fundraising event will be more generalistic, reaching and involving a greater target audience such as the children with cancer and their families. As such, the target audience of this event is not just the internal clients and the immediate community but also to the society in general who holds prejudice and discriminate people with illness.     What information does the proposal should include?   What reasons or benefits are could be used for the company to support the fundraising event?   As contemporary organizations move into a more ethical global business environment, trickling down of corporate social values and mission to the greater public is now deemed a requirement. In simpler terms, corporations are now perceived in the forefront to promote sustainable social development by sharing its resources for the projects, programmes and initiatives which have a social cause. Dubbed as corporate social responsibility or CSR, companies at present are obliged to act responsibly and expected to be sensitive about ethical issues (Carroll, 1979, p. 500). Striking a balance between corporate and social responsibilities should be a strategic focus. Important to note is that companies are intertwined with the societies in which they operate in mutually beneficial ways. Sims (2003, p. 44) highlights that an organization should engage in activities that protect and contribute to the welfare of the society especially those who are affected by the organizations actions. According to Epstein (1987, pp. 99-102), corporate social responsiveness focuses on the individual and organizational processes for determining, implementing, and evaluating the firm’s capacity to anticipate, respond to, and manage the issues and problems arising from the diverse claims and expectations of these stakeholders. As what Werther and Chandler (2006, p. 8) put is, an organization’s legitimacy over the long-term is evidenced by CSR whereby without economic interface, it could lose its mechanism of accountability.   What objections can you expect from the head of the division?               As the way I see it, objections will center on the financial aspect of the fundraising event especially that it highly depends on solicitation and sponsorships. The concern would be that if the company would not be able to solicit as much for the event, the company shall then cover for the expenses. This would be a detriment due to the fact that there are several more important things to prioritize. Second would be the availability of the people and the place to conduct the event. In terms of the people, all employees have their own works to do and their time could be inadequate to spend on volunteering. Nevertheless, it will be communicated to them the importance of their involvement and how such an event could educate them in terms of their practices in the workplace and at home and how they can eliminate unhealthy practices. For the place, the event would need a bigger place and the facilities of the company would not be sufficient. In this case, permission to use the local park will be sought.       How will the context affect the response of the business and the community?               At the onset, the company could answer the question “What is the purpose of business within a society?” There are economic, legal and ethical responsibilities that company must engaged into. Not only that the company has to make profit in order to survive, the organization is obliged to its shareholders to maximize earnings, and operate efficiently. Every company is obliged to comply with the rules and regulations that the government imposes as well with ethical responsibilities that obliged it to do what is right, just and fair (Carroll, 1991, p. 41), and this company is not an exemption. The company then shall put emphasis on how they can provide a quality, sustainable living to both internal and external stakeholders. CSR assumes that the organization does not exist in a vacuum and that a large part of the company’s success comes from actions which are congruent with societal values as from factors internal to the company itself. There should be a constant, ongoing interface with the community and this was realized through the Community Sustainability Policy. Progressively higher standards shall not be the only focus, instead must also deal with the environmental effects of the operation. As such, the company is well aware that reducing own and the customer’s environmental impacts is a necessity if it means to improve the quality of the built environment. There are environment risks such as government legislation including waste legislation, climate change, water supply and use, pollution incidents and sustaining biodiversity and that company and the community shall act upon these risks. Where individuals and activist organizations to enact changes, CSR represents a means of anticipating and reflecting environmental concerns to minimize operational and financial limitations on business. Rational argument for CSR is summarized by the iron law of social responsibility, stating that in a free society discretionary abuse of societal responsibilities eventually leads to mandated solutions (Werther and Chandler, 2006, p. 18; Carroll, 1979, p. 500).   References:   Carroll, A B 1979, ‘A Three Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Performance’, Academy of Management Review, vol. 4, no. 4, p. 500.   Epstein, E M 1987, The Corporate Social Policy Process: Beyond Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsiveness, California Management Review, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 99-114.   Goering, E M 2004, ‘Framing matters: Communicating relationships through metaphor in fundraising texts,’ U Connor and T A Upton, Discourse in the Professions: Perspectives from Corpus Linguistics, pp. 287-305, John Benjamins Publishing Company.   Sims, R R 2003, Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: Why Giants Fall. Praeger Publishing House, Westport, Connecticut.   Tellegen, E and Wolsink, M 1998, Society and its Environment: An Introduction, Routledge, London.   Werther, W B and Chandler, D 2006, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in the Global Environment, Sage Publications Inc., London.       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Professional and Technical Communication Assignment

Design Your Own Environment-Friendly Shirt Event According to Klein (2006), in the corporate context, fundraising is inten...