Open Source Software

The open source software filling with innovation and vitality 1. Introduction With computer’s development, the software of the computer is more powerful. The software can be divided into two parts which are free and fee-based, and also can be classified with the closed software and the open source software. In order to understand the features of the open source software, and know the reason why the software can be filled with vitality and innovation, which attract a lot of technicists devoting themselves.This paper will give a deep analysis of the open source software in nearly all ranks. This essay mainly includes four parts. Firstly, giving an introduction to the definition of the open innovation and the open source movement and what is the Linux and the history and development of the Linux. Secondly, enumerating some wide use of the open source softwares and taking Linux for example to analyze strengths of open and innovation source software. Thirdly, the author will discus s the challenges and the future of the open source and innovation software.Finally, the author makes a conclusion for the value of the open source and the open innovation. After reading this essay, it’s my target to make you have a better and deep understanding of the concept of open source and open innovation, attempt to make use of the open source software such as Linux operating system, realize the great value of the open source and open innovation, and also be aware of some challenges of the open source and open innovation as well as its future. 2.Open innovation,open source,history of Unix and Linux Henry Chesbrough who is a professor and executive director create the term of open innovation, in his book Open Innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology, though the idea and discussion about some consequences (especially the inter firm cooperation in R&D) date as far back as the 60s (Chesbrough, 2003). With the development of technology and kn owledge, new creation of the products begins to face challenges. In order to create new alue, we must established extensive connection with the outside world widely, realize the complementary advantages in the knowledge dissemination and sharing to speed up inner innovation. In software, for example, companies such as SAP and Microsoft have started to build research labs on university all over the world to improve the integration of outside-in innovation to create new commercial benefit. Even Apple that is so strong no matter from any ways had to open up its proprietary technology to appeal to the high-tech users.There are some outstanding examples in the electronic industry which are Philips' open innovation park, Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, Siemens' open innovation program and IBM's open source initiatives. Today, open innovation has been driven by many computer software suppliers on a strategic level. Nowdays the open source software that needs more creative can appeal to people to use. Due to open innovation, we can concentrate the inner and outer power on developing the creation or innovation.The  open source movement  is a profound movement of individuals who support the use of  open source  licenses for some or all software. Open source software is made available for anybody to use or modify, as its source code is made available. Some open-source software is based on a share-alike principle, whereby users are free to pass on the software subject to the rule that any enhancements or changes are just as freely available to the public, while other open-source projects may be freely incorporated into any derivative work, open-source or proprietary(Eu. conecta, 2011) .The open source software allows users to use some or even all software by giving them authorization. What is more, sometimes, the source code is also available to users. That makes it possible for users to read and modify the source code. Usually, any individual can changes and m odify the code and make available to public, and other users can download his/her code, read his/her code, discuss with the writer, and enhance the code. By doing so, the source code can be optimized and consequently the software will be more powerful and a stabilized system because of some users’ creative ideas and critical thinking.The open source is a profound revolution by taking the advantage of users’ participation(Eu. conecta, 2011). Nowdays the security of software is more and more concerned. Though the open source, we can solve the problem of security by a mass of programmers. With the open innovation and open source movement developed, there are a vast of professional and perfect softwares happened. For example, Linux and Unix, Unix operating system that many of the cooperative programmers make efforts in the 1970s is the most successful program that could run on different computer device.A free version of Unix operating system can be attempted to build by th e developers in 1986. There is a project called GNU that stand for â€Å"Gnu’s not Unix† allowing programmers to contribute to the development effort regardless of individual or commercial interests. The most important thing is that the operating system is free for user. The GNU is very famous as a copyleft agreement including four points. The first is that software can be copied and distributed under the GNU license. The second is that products that are obtained and distributed under this license may be sold.The third is that user can alter the source code, but if they want to distribute or publish the source code, they must make the software work under the GNU license. The third is that without a GNU license, the source code could not work , through an individual can modify, distribute and publish the source code. The fourth is that we can develop the assistant technology for the open source software which don’t include core licensed under the GNU license. Ità ¢â‚¬â„¢s not published as the Linux kernel created by a young student who is called Linus Torvalds until in1991.He gave programmers his code so they can contribute to revise and develop the code. Linux becomes into an advanced and powerful operating system, because a mass of programmers analyze the code and write development that Linus included into Linux. With the Linux improved rapidly, there are a series of versions of Linux delivered that can meet different needs. 3. The strengths of open and innovation source software In this section, the author will talk about the wide use of open and innovation source software and its strengths and profound impact to modern society and some traditional fee-based software.It is hard to realize something until we stop for a while and look at how different it is from the software that we know. The open and innovation source software have some incomparable advantages that conventional paid software can’t match. The author will take Linux f or example to discuss the strengths and impact of open and innovation source software. Firstly, the open source movement is the collaborative nature that allows smaller companies to take part in the global economy. The smaller companies or individuals can have rights to access to create, organize, or distribute the software.It’s an equal opportunities for people around the world to participate in the movement. So the movement has attracted more and more involved. There are over 120,000 programmers all over the world who are distributed internationally and support Linux as a means of reducing the large companies’ technical domination (Ceraso, A. , & Pruchnic, J,2007) . It is computed that only 5-10 percent of code of the Linux kernel remains compiled by Linus Torvalds. The collaborative nature create the culture of sharing, which is pervasive in the programming project.Programmers in those project help each other, make progress together to complete the programming. Seco ndly, the creation of open source software is not individual so that we can reduce the cost. The Research and Development of Linux operating system is made efforts by volunteer labor that is worth about two billion dollars (Kusnetsky and Greg , 1999). Companies like Microsoft that develop the windows operating system spend about $80-100 million per year. Technologists are addicted to the code of Linux programming due to their hobbies or personal interest.The programmers don not care the money and time so that they can devote themselves into it with their professional responsibilities. Individuals who have keen interest in coding and software creation or distribution promote the development of the open source software, which is not different from the proprietary software which is motivated by the money gain. Sometimes the developers want to get satisfaction and a reputation from other programmers by contributing to the open source code. Others want to receive such as good job offers, shares in programming values and so on.Thirdly, system administrator in the development of open source software will have control in the risk of deploying the tool. It is similar to in a corporate organization that Linux has a leadership structure. Linus Torvalds is a header in the Linux community who is a respected manager that can control the progress of programming, and his thoughts are considered final. Torvalds can appoint some programmers to be responsible for managing specific part of the project, and in reverse the programmers can guide other coordinators.However, this leadership structure only is suited to the Linux kernel; it does not apply to program such as system utilities. Fourthly, there is a major advantage in the open source code that is the ability for a mass of various people to edit and fix problems and errors that have occurred. The advantage is that programmers make improvements to open source software and will give meaningful feedback to the original programm er. The feedback benefits the entire project. Because of the feedback, the open source softwares become more and more powerful, riskless, high-quality.Fifthly, open source programs divide into small teams of programmers that work independently to settle specific problems. Those teams are parallel development that can make it possible for 435 Linux projects to be underway (Sullivan, 2011). Parallel debugging can improve the efficiency of individuals working on the project. Parallel debugging can feed back quicker modifications than traditional development. For example, Linux is attacked by the TearDrop IP because of some bugs, but Linux programmers repair it in less than 24 hours (Sullivan, 2011). Sixthly, open source software has the feature of the long-term sustainability.The open source software is different from the proprietary softwares, which is not driven out of business in the short-term. The open source software will be still developed all the time so long as the programmer can keep the sufficient interest and skills, even the user always has the choice to work in the house, maintain the running of the software and support to continue the programming of the software. It can have been seen the strengths of open and innovation source software. Better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in are the targets of the open source software.It is important to maintain the open source definition that creates a trusted group that connects all users and developers together. Just because of the strengths of open and innovation source software, expect for the Linux or Unix operating system, there are some other excellent softwares such as apache that is successful server software and scripting programming language on the web, Mozilla that is a excellent web browser like IE and mysql that is very popular database management system, giving people different experience and meeting the diversity of requirements. Th ese softwares also have been extremely successful. . Challenges of open source and innovation software Even though the open source and innovation softwares have gained great success in many areas, but there are still challenges facing in front. One challenge is the quality of the open source and innovation software. Previous research has shown that the size of software module have a certain relationship with software defects. For example some scholars think that there is an U-shaped relationship between software modules and software defect, therefore, the software module wants to be moderate, too big or too small scale will lead to defect increased.Despite criticism of scholars views, but the size of the software modules should be paid attention to control In the software development to ensure software quality,which recognized by most of scholars. However, the above conclusion is based on the non-open source software, and is not suitable for quality control of the open source softwa re, because the module of the open source software usually is constantly changing the old module, adding a new module or deleting constantly in the process of evolution of software development.Koru AG, Zhang Dongsovg, LiuHongfang take Mozilla for example to prove that there is a relationship between the size of of module of the open source software and the defects of product, and the results still show that l with software quality has a direct relationship with the scale of the software. Although there are a large number of experts auditing the open source software quality on the surface, but in fact, there are a small number of relatively fixed experts auditing the quality periodically,even some softwares don't have a quality audit, which is one of reasons that the quality of open-source software is doubted.Another risk is the legal risk of business development using open source. First, there is a problem that copyright of Open source software is unknown. Open source software often has a very complex origin because of its special patterns of development. Open source software has a massive pool of programming expertise all over the world to develop. For example, there may be a few people, more dozens, or hundreds of people contributing to the programming of open source software. Over one thousand people are needed in large projects such as Linux operating system (Langley, 2007).But the participants have a variety of backgrounds, as a result, It is difficult to ensure that their codes don’t have problems. This kind of confusion property rights of knowledge and complex situation makes a lot of open source software have a risk of infringement all the time. For example, Linux was suspected of violating the copyright of Unix programming code belongs to the company of SCO. For the problems of infringement ,license of open can’t provide any special terms or other promises to ensure that the programmers who devote to projects don’t violate the int ellectual property of others.Due to these licenses that do not provide any liability protection, there is a risk of open source software for commercial development. Second, There are other problem such as the infringement of patent rigth and trademark right that we should pay attention on. 5. Commercial value and trend of open source and innovation software In this part, we will discuss the open source software’s economic value and predict its future. On one hand, a lot of commercial software companies are always paying attention to the rapid development of open source software.Due to the massive excellent open source software projects and high quality codes, if the resources can be directly used, business company can save a lot of cost. The company of Business software develops commercial software based on the open source codes, which is flexible to decide based-fee or free when it is used for commercial purposes. For individuals, it is still free to use the commercial softw are, of course, Except commercial purposes, at the same time, these companies can provide technical service’s support.This flexible business model is more and more welcomed by more and more business software company. On the other hand, launch of android makes people be full of expectation for the open source software. Because of the open source software portability, custom pattern of Linux is a breakthrough of the industry model. Custom pattern of Linux because of the current Linux operating system that has deficiencies at performance, stability, and grasping the user needs ,can meet the user’s requirements. Though we discuss the commercial value of open source software, we can predict the trends of the open source software.In the future, the suppliers of open source software will have a closer relationship among themselves. Due to the development of the industry, the model of self-reclusive development do not clearly conform to the trend of the times, high requirement s of the software in the future promote manufacturers of open source software Seeking a deeper cooperation among themselves, which provides effective means to compete with the large proprietary software vendors for the supplier of open source software. The overall open source solutions are easier than traditional solutions on the deployment and maintenance.From hardware to software infrastructure, enterprise customers will know and experience the effective cost of overall open source solutions. Grasping the good opportunity of open source software will have a better future. 6 . Conclusion Now the software’s feature is more complex and the work of software’s programming is more lager, the open source software occupy a lot of advantages such as its collaborative nature which can offer customizability and, as a result, promotes the adoption of its products, the open innovation which is not proprietary, resulting in lower costs and so on.Now software is built more complica ted and the work of programming is more lager than ever. Because the open source software is not proprietary, that means taking the advantage of collaboration and customizability could lower the cost and make the software system stronger. From the introduction above, It can have been already cleared the definition of open innovation, the open source movement and the history of Unix, Linux operating system. Though the deeper analysis, it can be known the reason why the open source softwares become more and more popular is that powerful strength of open source software.Just because of this, there are some excellent software such as Linux, apache and mysql giving people different experience and meeting the diversity of requirements. These softwares also have been extremely successful. For now the use of open source software in some areas is limited, but its value will dig out driven by the maturity of technology and idea. However, there are also challenges. One difficulty is the promis e of the quality of the open source software. And another difficulty is the legal risk of business development using open source.Notwithstanding the challenges, the quality of massive open source software could prove invaluable over time. From the author’s perspective, driven by the portable, the open source software will have much huger development space, play more important role in some developed areas and show unimaginative value in some undeveloped areas as well. References A. Carleton, et al. (1992), â€Å"Software Measurement for DoD Systems: Recommendations for Initial Core Measures,† Software Engineering Institute, CMU/SEI-92-TR-19. B. Curtis, H. Krasner, and N.Iscoe (1988), â€Å"A Field Study of the Software Design Process for Large Systems,† Communications of the ACM, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 1268-1287. B Littlewood and D Miller (1989), â€Å"Conceptual Modeling of Coincident Failures in Multi-Version Software†, IEEE Transactions on Software Engine ering, vol. 15, no. 12, pp. 1596-1614. B. Perens (1999), â€Å"The Open Source Definition,† in Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution , C. DiBona, S. Ockman, and M. Stone, Eds. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, pp. 171-188. Chesbrough, H. W. (2003). Open Innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology.Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Definition of Open Source: Open Source Initiative Retrieved . Kusnetsky, Dan, IDC, and Greg Weiss, DH Browen (1999), Linux E-Seminar M. Krochmal (1999), â€Å"Linux Interest Expanding,† in TechWeb, at http://www. techweb. com/wire/story/TWB19990521S0021 Norman Fenton (1994), â€Å"Software Measurement: A Necessary Scientific Basis,† IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 199-206 Pearce, J. M. (2012). â€Å"The case for open source appropriate technology†. Environment, Development and Sustainability  14  (3): pp. 425–431. P.Vixie (1999), â€Å"Software E ngineering,† in Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution , C. DiBona, S. Ockman, and M. Stone, Eds. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, pp. 91-100.. R. T. Fielding (1999), â€Å"Shared Leadership in the Apache Project,† Communications of the ACM, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 42-43. 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Small Business, Innovation, and Public Policy in the Information Technology Industry

New firms have played a major role in fomenting innovation in information technology. A recent study by Greenwood and Jovanovic [1999] provide one dramatic illustration of these trends. These authors show that a group of â€Å"IT upstarts†Ã¢â‚¬â€firms specializing in computer and communications technologies that went public after 1968—now account for over 4% of the total U. S. equity market capitalization. While some of this growth has come at the expense of incumbent information technology firms, the new market value and technological spillovers created by these new businesses appear to be substantial. The role of new firms in the information technology industries has rekindled interest in the relationship between firm characteristics and innovation. Are small businesses more innovative in general? Are high-technology start-ups particularly important? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, how should policymakers seek to encourage these firms? The relationship between innovation and firm characteristics has been one of the most researched topics in the empirical industrial organization literature. To summarize these discussions and draw some implications for policymakers in a few pages is thus a daunting challenge! Consequently, this essay takes a quite selective approach to these issues. First, I very briefly summarize the academic literature on the relationship between firm size and innovation. This work suggests that there appears to be a very weak relationship between firm size, the tendency to undertake R&D, and the effectiveness of research spending. Small businesses, in aggregate, do not appear to be particularly research-intensive or innovative. I then turn to examining one subset of small businesses that do appear to excel at innovation: venture capital-backed start-ups. I highlight some of the venture-backed firms’ contributions. I also discuss why the success of such firms is not accidental. In particular, I highlight the key problems that the financing of small innovative companies pose, as well as some of the key mechanisms that venture investors employ to guide the innovation process. It is not surprising, then, that venture capital investments are concentrated in information technology industries, and that they appear to pur innovation. Finally, I consider one set of policy issues related to small firms and innovation. In particular, I discuss some recent changes in the intellectual property protection system that appear to favor larger firms. I then argue that this may be an area that would reward increased attention by policy-makers interested in helping innovative small businesses in information technology a nd other high-technology industries. 1. Small Business and Innovation A substantial but largely inconclusive literature examines the relationship between firm size and innovation. These studies have been handicapped by the difficulty of measuring innovative inputs and outputs, as well as the challenges of creating a sample that is free of selection biases and other estimation problems. While a detailed review of this literature is beyond the scope of this piece, the interested reader can turn to surveys by Baldwin and Scott [1987] and Cohen and Levin [1989]. Much of the work in this literature has sought to relate measures of innovative discoveries—whether R&D expenditures, patents, inventions, or other measures—to firm size. Initial studies were undertaken using the largest manufacturing firms; more recent works have employed larger samples and more disaggregated data (e. g. , studies employing data on firms’ specific lines of business). Despite the improved methodology of recent studies, the results have remained inconclusive: even when a significant relationship between firm size and innovation has been found, it has had little economic significance. For instance, Cohen, Levin, and Mowery [1987] concluded that a doubling of firm size only increased the ratio of R&D to sales by 0. 2%. One of the relatively few empirical regularities emerging from studies of technological innovation is the critical role played by small firms and new entrants in certain industries. The role of entrants—typically de novo start-ups—in emerging industries was highlighted, for instance, in the pioneering case study-based research of Jewkes, Sawers, and Stillerman [1958]. Acs and Audretsch [1988] examined this question more systematically. They documented that the contribution of small firms to innovation was a function of industry conditions: the contribution was greatest in immature industries which were relatively unconcentrated. These findings suggested that entrepreneurs and small firms often played a key role in observing where new technologies could be applied to meet customer needs, and rapidly introducing products. These patterns are also predicted in several models of technological competition, many of which were reviewed in Reinganum [1989], as well in several analyses in the organizational behavior literature [several were discussed in Henderson, 1993]. The 1990s have seen several dramatic illustrations of these patterns. Two potentially revolutionary areas of technological innovation—biotechnology and the Internet—were pioneered by smaller entrants. Neither established drug companies nor mainframe computer manufacturers were pioneers in developing these technologies. By and large, small firms did not invent the key genetic engineering techniques or Internet protocols. Rather, the bulk of the enabling technologies were developed with Federal funds at academic institutions and research laboratories. It was the small entrants, however, who were the first to seize upon the commercial opportunities. 2. Venture Capital and Innovation One set of small firms, however, appear to have had a disproportionate effect on innovation: those backed by venture capitalists. Venture capital can be defined as equity or equity-linked investments in young, privately held companies, where the investor is a financial intermediary is typically actively as a director, advisor or even manager of the firm. ) While venture capitalists fund only a few hundred of the nearly one million businesses begun in the United States each year, these firms have a disprop ortionate impact on technological innovation. This claim is supported by a variety of evidence. One measure, while crude, is provided by the firms which â€Å"graduate† to the public marketplace. In the past two decades, about one-third of the companies going public (weighted by value) have been backed by venture investors. A second way to assess these claims is to examine which firms have been funded. Venture capitalists, while contributing a relatively modest share of the total financing, provided critical early capital and guidance to many of the new firms in such emerging industries as biotechnology, computer networking, and the Internet. In some cases, these new firms—utilizing the capital, expertise, and contacts provided by their venture capital investors—established themselves as market leaders. In other instances, they were acquired by larger corporations, or entered into licensing arrangements with such concerns. Consider, for instance, the biotechnology industry. Venture capitalists provided only a small fraction of the external financing raised in the industry, and only 450 out of 1500 firms have received venture financing through 1995. These venture-backed firms, however, accounted for over 85% of the patents awarded and drugs approved for marketing. Similarly, venture capitalists have aggressively backed firms in information technology industries, which accounted for 60% of all venture disbursements in 1998. These have included many of the most successful firms in the industry, including Amazon. com, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Intel, and Yahoo. A final way to assess the impact of the venture industry is to consider the impact of venture backed firms. Survey results suggest that these investments have powerful impacts. For instance, a mid-1996 survey by the venture organization Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers found that the firms that the partnership had financed since its inception in 1971 had created 131,000 jobs, generated $44 billion in annual revenues, and had $84 billion in market capitalization [Peltz, 1996]. While Kleiner, Perkins is one of the most successful venture capital groups, the results are suggestive of the impact of the industry. More systematically, Kortum and Lerner [1998] examining the influence of venture capital on patented inventions in the United States across twenty industries over three decades. They address concerns about causality in several ways, including exploiting a 1979 policy shift that spurred venture capital fundraising. They find that the amount of venture capital activity in an industry significantly increases its rate of patenting. While the ratio of venture capital to R&D has averaged less than 3% in recent years, the estimates suggest that venture capital accounts for about 15% of industrial innovations. They address concerns that these results are an artifact of the use of patent counts by demonstrating similar patterns when other measures of innovation are used in a sample of 530 venture-backed and non-venture-backed firms. Lending particular relevance to an examination of these firms is the tremendous boom in the U. S. venture capital industry in recent years. The pool of venture partnerships has grown ten-fold, from under $4 billion in 1978 to about $75 billion at the end of 1998. Venture capital’s recent growth has outstripped that of almost every class of financial product. It is worth underscoring that the tremendous success of venture-backed firms has not happened by accident. The interactions between venture capitalists and the entrepreneurs that they finance are often complex. They can be understood, however, as a response to the challenges that the financing of emerging growth companies pose. Entrepreneurs rarely have the capital to see their ideas to fruition and must rely on outside financiers. Meanwhile, those who control capital—for instance, pension fund trustees and university overseers—are unlikely to have the time or expertise to invest directly in young or restructuring firms. Some entrepreneurs might turn to other financing sources, such as bank loans or the issuance of public stock, to meet their needs. But because of four key factors, some of the most potentially profitable and exciting firms would be unable to access financing if venture capital did not exist. The first factor, uncertainty, is a measure of the array of potential outcomes for a company or project. The wider the dispersion of potential outcomes, the greater the uncertainty. By their very nature, young companies are associated with significant levels of uncertainty. Uncertainty surrounds whether the research program or new product will succeed. The response of firm’s rivals may also be uncertain. High uncertainty means that investors and entrepreneurs cannot confidently predict what the company will look like in the future. Uncertainty affects the willingness of investors to contribute capital, the desire of suppliers to extend credit, and the decisions of a firm’s managers. If managers are averse to taking risks, it may be difficult to induce them to make the right decisions. Conversely, if entrepreneurs are overoptimistic, then investors want to curtail various actions. Uncertainty also affects the timing of investment. Should an investor contribute all the capital at the beginning, or should he stage the investment through time? Investors need to know how information-gathering activities can address these concerns and when they should be undertaken. The second factor, asymmetric information (or information disparities), is distinct from uncertainty. Because of his day-to-day involvement with the firm, an entrepreneur knows more about his company’s prospects than investors, suppliers, or strategic partners. Various problems develop in settings where asymmetric information is prevalent. For instance, the entrepreneur may take detrimental actions that investors cannot observe: perhaps undertaking a riskier strategy than initially suggested or not working as hard as the investor expects. The entrepreneur might also invest in projects that build up his reputation at the investors’ expense. Asymmetric information can also lead to selection problems. The entrepreneur may exploit the fact that he knows more about the project or his abilities than investors do. Investors may find it difficult to distinguish between competent entrepreneurs and incompetent ones. Without the ability to screen out unacceptable projects and entrepreneurs, investors are unable to make efficient and appropriate decisions. The third factor affecting a firm’s corporate and financial strategy is the nature of its assets. Firms that have tangible assets—e. g. , machines, buildings, land, or physical inventory—may find financing easier to obtain or may be able to obtain more favorable terms. The ability to abscond with the firm’s source of value is more difficult when it relies on physical assets. When the most important assets are intangible, such as trade secrets, raising outside financing from traditional sources may be more challenging. Market conditions also play a key role in determining the difficulty of financing firms. Both the capital and product markets may be subject to substantial variations. The supply of capital from public investors and the price at which this capital is available may vary dramatically. These changes may be a response to regulatory edicts or shifts in investors’ perceptions of future profitability. Similarly, the nature of product markets may vary dramatically, whether due to shifts in the intensity of competition with rivals or in the nature of the customers. If there is exceedingly intense competition or a great deal of uncertainty about the size of the potential market, firms may find it very difficult to raise capital from traditional sources. Venture capitalists have a variety of mechanisms at their disposal to address these changing factors. They will invest in stages, often at increasing valuations. Each refinancing is tied to a re-evaluation of the company and its prospects. In these financings, they will employ complex financing mechanisms, often hybrid securities like convertible preferred equity or convertible debt. These financial structures can potentially screen out overconfident or under-qualified entrepreneurs and reduce the venture capitalists’ risks. They will also shift the mixture of investors from whom a firm acquires capital. Each source—private equity investors, corporations, and the public markets—may be appropriate for a firm at different points in its life. Venture capitalists provide not only introductions to these other sources of capital but certification—a â€Å"stamp of approval† that addresses the concerns of other investors. Finally, once the investment is made, they monitor and work with the entrepreneurs to ensure that the right operational and strategic decisions are made and implemented. 3. Innovation, Small Business, and Public Policy If small firms—or even some subset of small firms—are playing an important role in the innovation process, one policy goal should be to address threats to their future development. This is particularly true of threats that have been created by misguided government policies, however good the intentions of their designers. The area that I believe deserves particular attention relates to the key mechanism for protecting intellectual property, namely patents. The U. S. patent system has undergone a profound shift over the past fifteen years. The strength of patent protection has been dramatically bolstered, and both large and small firms are devoting considerably more effort to seeking patent protection and defending their patents in the courts. Many in the patent community—U. S. Patent and Trademark Office officials, the patent bar, and corporate patent staff—have welcomed these changes. But viewed more broadly, the reforms of the patent system and the consequent growth of patent litigation have created a substantial â€Å"innovation tax† that afflicts some of America's most important and creative small firms. Almost all formal disputes involving issued patents are tried in the Federal judicial system. The initial litigation must be undertaken in a district court. Prior to 1982, appeals of patent cases were heard in the appellate courts of the various circuits. These differed considerably in their interpretation of patent law. Because few appeals of patent cases were heard by the Supreme Court, substantial differences persisted, leading to widespread â€Å"forum shopping† by litigants. In 1982, the U. S. Congress established a centralized appellate court for patent cases, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). As Robert Merges [1992] observes, While the CAFC was ostensibly formed strictly to unify patent doctrine, it was no doubt hoped by some (and expected by others) that the new court would make subtle alterations in the doctrinal fabric, with an eye to enhancing the patent system. To judge by results, that is exactly what happened. The CAFC's rulings have been more â€Å"pro-patent† than the previous courts. For instance, the circuit courts had affirmed 62% of district court findings of patent infringement in the three decades prior to the creation of the CAFC, while the CAFC in its first eight years affirmed 90% of such decisions [Koenig, 1980; Harmon, 1991]. The strengthening of patent law has not gone unnoticed by corporations. Over the past decade, patents awarded to U. S. corporations have increased by 50%. Furthermore, the willingness of firms to litigate patents has increased considerably. The number of patent suits instituted in the Federal courts has increased from 795 in 1981 to 1553 in 1993; adversarial proceedings within the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office have increased from 246 in 1980 to 684 in 1992 [Administrative Office, various years; U. S. Department of Commerce, various years]. My recent analysis of litigation by firms based in Middlesex County, Massachusetts suggests that six intellectual property-related suits are filed for every one hundred patent awards to corporations. These suits lead to significant expenditures by firms. Based on historical costs, I estimate that patent litigation begun in 1991 will lead to total legal expenditures (in 1991 dollars) of over $1 billion, a substantial amount relative to the $3. billion spent by U. S. firms on basic research in 1991. [These findings are summarized in Lerner, 1995. ] Litigation also leads to substantial indirect costs. The discovery process is likely to require the alleged infringer to produce extensive documentation, time-consuming depositions from employees, and may generate unfavorable publicity. Its officers and directors may also be held i ndividually liable. As firms have realized the value of their patent positions, they have begun reviewing their stockpiles of issued patents. Several companies, including Texas Instruments, Intel, Wang Laboratories, and Digital Equipment, have established groups that approach rivals to demand royalties on old patent awards. In many cases, they have been successful in extracting license agreements and/or past royalties. For instance, Texas Instruments is estimated to have netted $257 million in 1991 from patent licenses and settlements resulting from their general counsel's aggressive enforcement policy [Rosen, 1992]. Particularly striking, practitioner accounts suggest, has been the growth of litigation–and threats of litigation–between large and small firms. This trend is disturbing. While litigation is clearly a necessary mechanism to defend property rights, the proliferation of such suits may be leading to transfers of financial resources from some of the youngest and most innovative firms to more established, better capitalized concerns. Even if the target firm feels that it does not infringe, it may choose to settle rather than fight. It either may be unable to raise the capital to finance a protracted court battle, or else may believe that the publicity associated with the litigation will depress the valuation of its equity. In addition, these small firms may reduce or alter their investment in R. For instance, a 1990 survey of 376 firms found that the time and expense of intellectual property litigation was a major factor in the decision to pursue an innovation for almost twice as many firms with under 500 employees than for larger businesses [Koen, 1990]. These claims are also supported by my study [1995] of the patenting behavior of new biotechnology firms that have different litigation costs. I showed that firms with high litigation costs are less likely to patent in subclasses with many other awards, particularly those of firms with low litigation costs. These effects have been particularly pernicious in emerging industries. Chronically strained for resources, USPTO officials are unlikely to assign many patent examiners to emerging technologies in advance of a wave of applications. As patent applications begin flowing in, the USPTO frequently finds the retention of the few examiners skilled in the new technologies difficult. Companies are likely to hire away all but the least able examiners. These examiners are valuable not only for their knowledge of the USPTO examination procedure in the new technology, but also for their understanding of what other patent applications are in process but not awarded. (U. S. patent applications are held confidential until time of award. ) Many of the examinations in emerging technologies are as a result performed under severe time pressures by inexperienced examiners. Consequently, awards of patents in several critical new technologies have been delayed and highly inconsistent. These ambiguities have created ample opportunities for firms that seek to aggressively litigate their patent awards. The clearest examples of this problem are the biotechnology and software industries. In the latter industry, examples abound where inexperienced examiners have granted patents on technologies that were widely diffused but not previously patented [see, for instance, the many examples chronicled in Aharonian, 1999]. It might be asked why policy-makers have not addressed the deleterious effects of patent policy changes. The difficulties that Federal officials have faced in reforming the patent system are perhaps best illustrated by the efforts to simplify one of the most arcane aspects of our patent system, the â€Å"first-to-invent† policy. With the exception of the Philippines and Jordan, all other nations award patents to firms that are the first to file for patent protection. The U. S. , however, has clung to the first-to-invent system. In the U. S. , a patent will be awarded to the party who can demonstrate (through laboratory notebooks and other evidence) that he was the initial discoverer of a new invention, even if he did not file for patent protection until after others did (within certain limits). A frequently invoked argument for the first-to-invent system is that this provides protection for small inventors, who may take longer to translate a discovery into a completed patent application. While this argument is initially compelling, the reality is quite different. Disputes over priority of invention are resolved through a proceeding before the USPTO's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences known as an interference. The Board will hold a hearing to determine which inventor first made the discovery. The interference process has been characterized as â€Å"an archaic procedure, replete with traps for the unwary† [Calvert, 1980]. These interferences consume a considerable amount of resources: the adjudication of the average interference is estimated to cost over one hundred thousand dollars [Kingston, 1992]. Yet in recent years, in only about 55 cases annually has the party that was second-to-file been determined to have been the first-to-invent [Calvert and Sofocleous, 1992]. Thus, the U. S. persists in this complex, costly, and idiosyncratic system in order to reverse the priority of 0. 3% of the patent applications filed each year. But this system has proved very resistant to change. At least since 1967, proposals have been unsuccessfully offered to shift the U. S. to a first-to-file system. As recently as January 1994, USPTO Commissioner Bruce Lehman was forced to withdraw such a proposal. While the voices raised in protest over his initiative—as those opposing e arlier reform attempts—were led by advocates for small inventors, it is difficult not to conclude that the greatest beneficiary from the first-to-file system is the small subset of the patent bar that specializes in interference law. It may be thought puzzling that independent inventors, who are generally unable to afford costly litigation, have been so active in supporting the retention of â€Å"first-to-invest. † A frequently voiced complaint is that small inventors take longer to prepare patent applications, and hence would lose out to better-financed rivals, in a â€Å"first-to-file† world. This argument appears to be specious for several reasons. First, economically important discoveries are typically the subject of patent filings in a number of countries. Thus, there is already an enormous pressure to file quickly. Second, the recent reforms of the U. S. system have created a new provisional patent application, which is much simpler to file than a full-fledged application. Finally, as former Commissioner Lehman notes, many most vocal independent inventors opposing patent reform are â€Å"weekend hobbyists . . . [rather than representatives of] knowledge-based industries† [Chartrand, 1995]. As this case study suggests, the failure of Federal reform efforts is due to several factors. First, the issues are complex, and sometimes difficult to understand. Simplistic claims frequently cloud these discussions. For instance, because firms use patents to protect innovations, it is frequently argued that a stronger patent system will lead to more innovation. Second, the people with the greatest economic stake in retaining a litigious and complex patent system—the patent bar—have proven to be a very powerful lobby. The efforts of the highly specialized interference bar to retain â€Å"first to invent† is a prime example. Finally, the top executives of technology-intensive firms have not mounted an effective campaign around these issues. The reason may be that the companies who are most adversely affected are small, capital-constrained firms who do not have time for major lobbying efforts. Thus, an important policy concern is that we avoid taking steps in the name of increasing competitiveness that actually interfere with the workings of innovative small businesses. The 1982 reform of the patent litigation process appears to have had exactly this sort of unintended consequence. References Zoltan J. Acs and David B. Audretsch, â€Å"Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis,† American Economic Review, 78 (1988), pp. 78-690. Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Annual Report of the Director, Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, various years. Gregory Aharonian, â€Å"Internet Patent News Service,† http://metalab. unc. edu/patents/ipnsinfo. html, 1999. William L. Baldwin and John T. Scott, Market Structure and Technological Change, Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1987. Ian A. Calvert, â€Å"An Overview of Interference Practice,† Journal of the Patent Office Society, 62 (1980), pp. 290-308. Ian A. Calvert and Michael Sofocleous, â€Å"Interference Statistics for Fiscal Years 1989 to 1991,† Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society, 74 (1992), pp. 822-826. Sabra Chartrand, â€Å"Facing High-Tech Issues, New Patents Chief in Reinventing a Staid Agency,† New York Times, July 14, 1995, p. 17. Michael P. Chu, â€Å"An Antitrust Solution to the New Wave of Predatory Patent Infringement Litigation,† William and Mary Law Review, 33 (1992), pp. 1341-68. Wesley M. Cohen and Richard C. Levin, Empirical Studies of Innovation and Market Structure,† in Richard Schmalensee and Robert D. Willig, editors, Handbook of Industrial Organization, New York: North-Holland, 1989, volume II, chapter 18. Wesley M. Cohen, Richard C. Levin, and David C. Mowery, â€Å"Firm Size and R&D Intensity: A Re-Examination,† Journal of Industrial Economics, 35 (1987), pp. 543-563. Paul A. Gompers and Josh Lerner, The Venture Capital Cycle, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999. Jeremy Greenwood and Boyan Jovanovic, â€Å"The IT Revolution and the Stock Market,† American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 89 (1999) forthcoming. Robert L. Harmon, Patents and the Federal Circuit, Washington: Bureau of National Affairs, 1991. Rebecca Henderson, â€Å"Underinvestment and Incompetence as Responses to Radical Innovation: Evidence from the Photolithographic Alignment Equipment Industry,† Rand Journal of Economics, 24 (1993), pp. 248-270. Michael C. Jensen, â€Å"Presidential Address: The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems,† Journal of Finance, 48 (1993), pp. 831-880. John Jewkes, David Sawers, and Richard Stillerman, The Sources of Invention, London: St. Martins Press, 1958. William Kingston, â€Å"Is the United States Right about ‘First-to-Invent'? ,† European Intellectual Property Review, 7 (1992), pp. 23-226. Mary S. Koen, Survey of Small Business Use of Intellectual Property Protection: Report of a Survey Conducted by MO-SCI Corporation for the Small Business Administration, Rolla, Missouri: MO-SCI Corp. , 1990. Gloria K. Koenig, Patent Invalidity: A Statistical and Substantive Analysis, New York: Clark Boardman, 1980. Samuel Kortum a nd Josh Lerner, â€Å"Does Venture Capital Spur Innovation? ,† National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 6846, 1998. Josh Lerner, â€Å"Patenting in the Shadow of Competitors,† Journal of Law and Economics, 38 (1995), pp. 63-595. Josh Lerner, â€Å"Small Businesses, Innovation, and Public Policy,† in Zoltan Acs, editor, Are Small Firms Important? , New York: Kluwer Academic Publishing, 1999, forthcoming. Josh Lerner and Robert Merges, â€Å"The Control of Strategic Alliances: An Empirical Analysis of Biotechnology Collaborations,† Journal of Industrial Economics (Special Issue on â€Å"Inside the Pin Factory: Empirical Studies Augmented by Manager Interviews. †), 46 (1998), pp. 125-156. Robert P. Merges, Patent Law and Policy, Charlottesville: Michie Company, 1992. National Venture Capital Association, 1999 National Venture Capital Association Yearbook, Arlington, Virginia: National Venture Capital Association, 1999. Michael Peltz, â€Å"High Tech’s Premier Venture Capitalist,† Institutional Investor, 30 (June 1996), pp. 89-98. Jennifer R. Reinganum, â€Å"The Timing of Innovation: Research, Development and Diffusion,† in Richard Schmalensee and Robert D. Willig, editors, Handbook of Industrial Organization, New York: North-Holland, 1989, volume I, chapter 14. Miriam Rosen, â€Å"Texas Instruments' $250 Million-a-Year Profit Center,† American Lawyer, 14 (March 1992), pp. 56-63.

Effective Education Web Site Essay

The rapid development of the internet has made it into one of the greatest tools of learning for many individuals in the academic environment. Even students still in primary and secondary education have become highly dependent on the services provided over the World Wide Web. What libraries and tutorial programs used to be for the older generation, the computer and on-line sites have become for the younger generation. The qualities of an effective education web site for primary and secondary schools thus needs to be assessed. Cook & Dupras (2004) state that an educational websites effectiveness lie in its ability to answer specific needs and goals for the student. This means that the website needs not only to be user-friendly and easily navigable but it also needs to be content-oriented. There should be a specific task for the website and all possible media that can fulfill this task should be incorporated in the site’s design. For example, if the site aims to teach the basic principles of arithmetic, different elements can be mixed together to reach this aim – a step-by-step tutorial, examples, sample problems, quizzes, and even games. An effective education website needs to encourage active learning especially if it is for primary and secondary schools. (Cook & Dupras, 2004) This can be done by allowing self-assessment, learner interaction, feedback and even self-directed learning. The website itself should be made accessible, user-friendly, and should have templates that encourage the student to study. Colorful pages, interactive images, and regularly updated content all perform the said task. Educational websites may well be the classrooms of the future. As such, more research need to be conducted in order to better understand the dynamics that would allow optimum learning from the sites. Reference Cook, D. A. , and Dupras, D. M. (2004). A practical guide to developing effective web-based learning. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 19(6), 698-707.

Writing Reading, and Researching in My Major Essay

Writing Reading, and Researching in My Major - Essay Example Accounting major is a study concerned with the measurement, analysis, evaluation and reporting of information including computerized information which assists the managerial in organizing of the resources of business entities and government organization. The accounting major comprises of both theory and practice to prepare students for analysis and reporting regarding the economic activity of business organizations and communication of that information to managerial heads. In major, the students acquire skill in managerial accounting, accounting system, budgeting, internal contrails, financial analysis, taxation, internal and external auditing, financial reporting and international accounting. The major prepares the student for a range of careers in accounting in business of profit, non – profit and also for government firms. With a major in accounting a person will be able to work efficiently with interdisciplinary professionals and diverse stakeholders. They can interact with financial and non – financial audiences in a concise and clear manner by taking appropriate decision with reliability, relevancy and accusation. They can research on financial matters and analyze business data by applying management and accounting principles and understand the standards that apply to business reports. He a proficiently use current technology and analytical tools to work on business functions work integrally with team and facilitate on decision making. This major helps in taking critical thinking problem solving and validate processes, and analyzing financial data and apply current and emerging ethical standards. However the major in accounting has many requisites and the student who satisfy them can get an admission for the same. The reading done in accounting would be basically conceptual framework of accounting. The financial accounting standards

My Aunts Wedding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

My Aunts Wedding - Essay Example I had known my aunt as a flower enthusiast and therefore, hoped that her wedding would be the most colorful wedding. True to my speculation, the wedding arena was overly beautified with all kinds of flowers. The weather was chilly in the morning but the chilly weather gave way to warm and calm weather in mid-morning. As we arrived at the church where the wedding would take place, I could feel the serenity of the compound, which was fully decorated with flowers, balloons, and ribbons of different colors. The background of classic gospel music complemented the beautiful environment. We were among the first to arrive and therefore sat at the front seat. After approximately an hour, many people had arrived and the church was already full. Everybody was happy and wore cheerful faces. It was such a wonderful scene to watch how people dress in their best outfits to match such an important occasion. The bride and the groom arrived shortly thereafter and the ceremony began. The highly awaited moment arrived and the pastor facilitated the exchange of vows. The climax of the wedding happened when the pastor told the bride that he might now kiss the bride. Although my aunt was covered in a wedding veil, I could see the tears of joy in her eyes. I had never imagined that joy could be so overwhelming. The screams from the audience were so loud at this moment that it drowned the pastor’s voice. Since the wedding reception was taking place in the social hall in the next building, we had to proceed there in a procession. The flower girls led the procession and the newlywed followed. Each step of the procession followed the slow beats from the background music. Although it took a lot of time, we finally found ourselves inside the decorated reception hall. I noticed the big and colored wedding cake, which had candles of different lights.  

Managing Human Resources and Labour Relations Term Paper

Managing Human Resources and Labour Relations - Term Paper Example Rights of employee at the workplace All the employees working at the workplace have the fundamental rights that involve the privacy rights, rights to have fair compensation and complete liberation from any sort of discrimination (Sims,2007, p.556). A person who is not the employee of the firm but is there for applying for a job has also certain basic rights that should not be violated by the employer even before hiring the employee. The rights that comes under such category includes right of no discrimination on the basis of age, cast, race, nationality, religion or gender while hiring the person. For instance: forthcoming employer has no right to ask personal questions to the applicant regarding family issues or matters while taking interview. In U.S. many of the states are following the right of privacy for the employees at the place of work. Such privacy right diverges into many areas like privacy of personal items, handbags, briefcase, and lockers for the employee as well as priv ate mail address that has no access of the employer. Moreover, the employees also have the right to have the private phone talks and voice mail message box that is only accessible by him. Nevertheless, there is a minimum privacy given to the employees to their email addresses while using the internet connection and desktop of the workplace. For the employer, it is vital not to enter into the potential job applicant personal information as well as some other issues. The employer has no right to check the background and get the information about the credibility of the person until and unless the employer has taken the written permission from the employee to conduct the check. Without the permission, the employer may face a violation of employee right. In addition to these rights of employees, there are some other rights that include: Employee right to have a freedom of no discrimination and harassment Employee has all the right to work in a safe environment that is free from the toxin materials, dangerous circumstances and should be given the safety precautions. Employee has the right to complain or file a claim regarding the employer in case of any misconduct. Such rights of employee are also termed as whistleblower rights. Employees have the right to get the accurate wages of the work they have done. Federal laws for employment relationship There are several federal laws and regulations dedicated to the employment relationship. Title VII is applicable to a workplace with more than 15 employees according to which there should be no discrimination while hiring the employee by the employer on the grounds of color, gender, cast, nationality or religion (Griffin, 2007, p.195). American with disabilities act ADA act describes the disability as the mental or physical that limits the moves or activities. This law prevents the discrimination against the disable person (Veres, 1995, p.)159. Age discrimination in employment act prohibits the employer to prefer the younge r generation over the older workers. This act is applicable to workplace with more than 20 employees and for employees having 40 years of age. There is no law regarding the prevention of preference

Corporate Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Corporate Training - Essay Example This paper presents a detailed research analysis in to the training practices prevalent in the South African entities and the effect of such training on the global competitiveness of the firms form the view point of the management and also the threats and opportunities the training poses form the employees' view point. The biggest challenge for many companies is found in establishing a workforce that is enthusiastic and at the same time having a sense of belonging to the organization. Through research studies, this has been identified as a key element in ensuring the corporate success both in the short and long-term functioning of the firms. In the current business environment of increased labour attrition rates, employee retention has been the major task of the Human Resources Professional in many larger organizations. They are always on the look out for innovating techniques of increasing the job satisfaction and morale of the employees in order to keep the attrition rates low. One of the distinct ways of securing the employee retention is to impart periodic comprehensive training programmes on developing the skills of the employees so that they become more useful to the organization. ... Section 1 Introduction The biggest challenge for many companies is found in establishing a workforce that is enthusiastic and at the same time having a sense of belonging to the organization. Through research studies, this has been identified as a key element in ensuring the corporate success both in the short and long-term functioning of the firms. In the current business environment of increased labour attrition rates, employee retention has been the major task of the Human Resources Professional in many larger organizations. They are always on the look out for innovating techniques of increasing the job satisfaction and morale of the employees in order to keep the attrition rates low. One of the distinct ways of securing the employee retention is to impart periodic comprehensive training programmes on developing the skills of the employees so that they become more useful to the organization. The effects of such training on the employee motivation and improved performance has been proved many a times res ulting in higher advantages to the employer. It is important to understand though the business employs the greatest business model in the world and the best of the systems, unless the employees have the strength and ability to handle such sophisticated corporate aids, it may not really help the firm to enjoy the benefits of such investments. The employee trainings may cover a wide range of corporate functional areas including developing the communication skills of the employees, improving the technical skills, training about quality concepts and interpersonal relationships. The different aspects of training and development has varying impact on the employers and employees in that the employers look at the training

Interior Design Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interior Design - Research Paper Example Each facility will require its own design. Interior design is based on function, purpose and aesthetics. Each design has its own affect on different facilities. Interior Design is the ability to enhance the function, safety, and aesthetics of interior spaces (U.S. Department of Labor 2009). Interior design can add function to an area that would normally be not functional. This can be achieved by adding key elements which allow the space to serve a purpose. A purpose of a space is dependent on the spaces surroundings. Each room has its own needs. Adding functionality to a room is important in Interior Design. Interior Design allows for the ability to transform a space. An empty room in a commercial setting can be transformed into a waiting area with proper use of seating. A living room can also become functional with proper use of seating. Functionality is one of the major reasons a client may decide to choose an Interior Designer. The Interior Designer may be able to offer the client with a space that allows for more functionality then before. An Interior Designer will base ideas based on purpose. Using the appropriate elements allows for purpose. Purpose in Interior Design can be explained as allowing a room to have a purpose and a use. A good interior designer can allow for a space to serve more than one purpose. Serving more than one purpose can make a space more appealing. ... This type of design becomes an eclectic area to show off certain pieces in a way that they all flow together. According to Allen with All About Interior Design2011, It takes an eclectic eye to be able to show off many pieces and make them work with one another. This is true with many different design techniques. Not just anyone can put pieces together and make them work. Interior Design is important for many aesthetic reasons. An area needs to be aesthetically pleasing to the individual in the environment. An appealing environment is important in a design sense. Interior Designers typically design for residential or commercial settings. Many residential settings will require a pleasing and welcoming environment. An interior designer can gather information about the clients likes and create a space that is aesthetically pleasing. Use of objects and colors that are naturally appealing will help the space appeal to more individuals. Neutral tones and fabrics can allow for the use of dif ferent types of elements. In a commercial setting it is important for an Interior Designer to keep the focus on what the purpose is for the commercial setting. Many Interior Designers will need to create spaces that are pleasing to the eye so that businesses keep customers returning. Pleasing aesthetics can be achieved by bringing earthly elements into the space and keeping with a theme. It is important to achieve an attractive interior environment (Basics of interior design 2011). An attractive interior environment can allow for better usage of the area. It is likely that a space that is attractive will likely be used more than other spaces. The effects of interior design can be great on different facilities. Each facility will

Environmental Importance of Concentrating on Renewable Energy Sources Research Paper

Environmental Importance of Concentrating on Renewable Energy Sources - Research Paper Example Nonconventional sources include solar thermal power, biogas wind energy, solar photovoltaic and tidal energy. Most of these sources are cheaper and renewable as compared to conventional sources. However, in most of the countries, these sources have not yet been fully developed and commercially exploited. The overall limitations and scarcity of fossils have given a rose to the urgent need for developing and exploiting these alternate energy sources. In addition, considering the cost of transportation of energy to far-flung and rural areas, local available non-conventional and renewable energy sources become more important for meeting localized rural energy needs. The sources of energy are divided into three categories: Renewable Sources, Non-Renewable Sources, and Nuclear Sources. In Nonrenewable sources comes the fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum. The renewable energy sources are solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, and geothermal power. The nuclear-powered sources are fission and fusion. The advantages of Renewable energy is that they are sustainable energy sources and are replaced by nature after use, unlike fossil fuels and petroleum which take millions of years and special conditions for their formation and are in limited supply. Among renewable energy sources Sunlight, wind, water, and biomass are mostly used all over the world. Sunlight can be transformed into electricity using photovoltaic panels. This electricity can be used to drive a multitude of electrical appliances. In addition, light, heat, and ultraviolet composure of the sun's energy can also be converted into heat using solar thermal panels. The heat can be used to heat water or air for residential, commercial and industrial use. Electricity is also produced by flowing water and Wind in large scale in man parts of the world.

Case Study #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study #1 - Essay Example Iron deficiency anemia is characterized by abnormalities in hemoglobin synthesis leading to small red blood cells that have had a little hemoglobin. The reduced hemoglobin negatively affects the cells effectiveness in carrying oxygen to various body parts. According to Cook (2002), adolescents are highly predisposed to anemia because of body requirements to support rapid growth. Females lose an average of 20mg of iron every month during menstruation and thus require high iron content to maintain normal body functioning. Symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, dizziness, lethargy, shortness of breath, restless leg syndrome, brittle nails, blue sclera, pale conjunctivae, glossitis and pica. Depending on its severity, iron deficiency has several consequences for patients. Decreased physical activity , diminishing endurance, abnormal temperature regulation, vulnerability to infections, compromised growth and development, increased lead and cadmium absorption hence a high probability of lead poisoning, pregnancy complications like premature birth and growth retardation of the fetus. Although there is no specific test to indicate iron deficiency in anemic patients, tests of iron status can be used to determine whether an individual has sufficient iron or not. For instance, hemoglobin tests are used to determine the level of iron-containing protein in red blood cells. Hematrocit indicates the percentage of red blood cells in the blood. Thus, use of the hemoglobin test is more direct and efficient in diagnosing iron deficiency in individuals. When the erythrocyte count is less than 2%, it shows that the blood has insufficient reticulocyte to enable the bone marrow to replace the worn out hemoglobin hence leading to deficiencies. The presence of hypochromic microcytic red blood cells in a blood smear is an indication of a deficiency in hemoglobin synthesis (Beard, 2001). Shortness of breath can be attributed to a reduced oxygen supply to

Greenwich Peninsula Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Greenwich Peninsula - Essay Example It is important to understand the aspect of cultural heritage in the landscape. At the core of this discussion is the question of how landscapes may be characterized, especially the non-visual features of the landscape. Interpretations of the landscape may be different from the perspective of different assessors, depending on their knowledge and experience. Therefore, the question of restoration becomes even more difficult to resolve especially when the authentic landscape - against which to measure success and the very legitimacy of the restoration - itself are in a hiatus. Humanities and the natural sciences appear to be in conflict in the interpretation of landscapes. Cosgrove (2003) compares landscape concepts and points to an approach that could harmonize the two perspectives, ecological and semiotic, closer. Another way is to increase interdisciplinary approaches in landscape studies. The concept of the landscape already implies an interdisciplinary appreciation; its study rarely achieves levels of theoretical integration (Tress et al. 2003). A group exercise was undertaken to examine Greenwich peninsula regeneration project with this inter-disciplinary approach and to critique the work carried out on this development. The findings of the group have been condensed into a 'group presentation' which is enclosed for reference. This essay represents an individual assessment of the Greenwich project as viewed by this writer. Choice of the Regeneration Project The group considered a number of regeneration projects currently under implementation in the UK, including the Glasshouses project, Kent coalfields, Spitalfields Market, Limestone House Education, and heritage center. Greenwich Peninsula regeneration project was selected for study, for a host of reasons, the prominent among them being: The reconstruction and regeneration of an area in the urban milieu was of special attraction to the members, especially because of the large variety and (voice) presence of the resident communities; The art and cultural background of the area; The challenge of regeneration in an area that has existed for centuries and has its own and special 'landscape'; and The proximity of the area. Description of the Development work In 1997, English Partnerships purchased a 300-acre site on the Greenwich peninsula and has invested 225 million to develop the site as a 'first-millennium' community promising homes to 28,000 people and deliver over 25,000 jobs. In all a quality of life that meets the expectations and challenges of the 21st century. The Greenwich Peninsula is being developed by Lend Lease and Quintain Estates and Development PLC in the joint venture under the name and style of Meridian Delta Limited, chosen by English Partnerships and the UK government to lead London's single largest regeneration scheme. The area has a rich history and has many listed buildings, monuments and places of historical interest.  

Dead Stars Essay Example for Free

Dead Stars Essay 1. Is the title â€Å"Dead Stars† appropriate for the story? Justify. Yes, the title Dead Star is very appropriate for the story. In the story, dead stars symbolize a dream for something that is nonexistent. Alfredo loved Julia. She was his dream, his star. He thought there was love there. But like a dead star which is far away, and whose shine could actually be the leftover traveling light from it, he was a long way from getting the girl. And when the time came that they parted from each other, Alfredo kept on wishing to be with Julia but when finally they met again, he realized that the love he thought was possible was in fact, never was. The spark that he saw in his star was gone a long time ago even before he realized it. When he was with Julia after many years of separation, it was then that he learned that all along, he was dreaming for a love that was only an illusion, he was dreaming for a dead star. 2. What Filipino practices are evident in the story â€Å"How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife†? Perhaps one of the most evident Filipino practices shown in the story is the formal introduction of the wife-to-be to the parents of the man before the actual wedding. This is done as part of giving respect to the parents and also to get their blessings. This is a very important Filipino trait and it still done until now although there are instances that it is neglected. Another is the prevailing rule of the father in the family which is the common arrangement of the family system here in the Philippines. It was also shown in the story the tendency of the Filipinos to test the girl or boy so as tofind out his/her real personality and intentions. This was greatly depicted in the character of Leons father through Leons brother. 3. Does Filipino custom explains that love is absent when you dont see the person? Filipinos are best known for being loyal people especially when it comes to love. This is mainly because our culture dictates that loving should be in this way, with all honesty and loyalty and being stick-to-one no matter what the hindrances there may be. These hindrances may include the long  distance between two lovers but still the relationship grows stronger because of the distance and this is one proof that even when we Filipinos dont see our love ones, we still continue to love them deeply. In the case of Alfredo and Julia in the story Dead Stars, Alfredo had only thought that it was love that he had for Julia but in fact it was only a misconception and misinterpretation. So, the question could not be applied to them because at the first place, it wasnt love that Alfredo felt for Julia before they were separated. However, there are really instances when love fades away due to the long absence of our love ones. This is only a case to case basis and it does not generalized the Filipinos. To answer the question, I would say no for love is not grounded in physical presence only. Personally, I would say that love for another continues to live even when the person is not present as long as it is being acknowledged and appreciated, otherwise, it will fade away.

Strategic Planning And Development Of Addidas Marketing Essay

Strategic Planning And Development Of Addidas Marketing Essay According to Data monitor Adidas is among the leading players in the global sporting goods industry. The group is the leading sporting goods group in Germany, France and Japan, the most important markets outside the US. Adidas, through Reebok, has also a strong position in the US. The acquisition of Reebok has helped Adidas gain a 20% share of the US athletic footwear market. However leading market position help Adidas gain competitive advantage in market and brand loyal customers and Adidass high brand equity enables it to attract more customers. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was a big success for Adidas. The company had a supreme presence at the event with twelve teams including the host nation in the finals, combined with its status as official sponsor, supplier and licensee. The event had a great effect on the Adidas brand overall due to its unprecedented scale of media coverage. As of June 21, 2010 (almost ten days after the competition began), the company achieved record breaking sales, predicting sales of soccer-related merchandise at least $2.2 billion, surpassing the $1.9 billion obtained in football sales in 2008. Adidas markets its products through an extensive marketing infrastructure. The group offers its products through its own retail stores and franchised stores. However extensive marketing infrastructure helps Adidas to reach a wide range of customers and eventually expand its size of the market. According to Data monitor the group has geographically-diversified operations. It operates in Europe, North America, Asia and Latin America. Moreover, the group has balanced revenue mix in terms of revenue generated from various geographical locations. However this means Adidas can acquire greater economies of scale with its geographically diversified operations. Adidas has sponsorship agreements for major sports events across the globe. The company has a sponsorship agreement with the Japan Football Association until March 2015 and with the Australian Olympic Committee until 2016. It also secured sponsorship rights to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In addition, in 2009, Adidas extended its partnership with UEFA for the UEFA EURO 2012 and UEFA EURO 2016 football championships, as well as for the UEFA Champions League. The company has also signed an 11-year global merchandising partnership agreement (beginning with the 2006-2007 season) with the National Basketball Association (NBA). This deal makes Adidas the official uniform and apparel provider for the NBA, the Womens National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Additionally, Adidas is also the Official Sportswear Partner to 2012 Olympics in London. Sponsorship of major sports events would help the company to strengthen its profitability and enhance its brand recall among consu mers. Government and other organisations are highly promoting active lifestyle to fight obesity and various diseases. According to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), more than 600 million adults were considered obese in 2010. An additional 1.0 billion were estimated to be overweight. This development has serious health consequences and a dramatic effect on health care expenditures. So this issue might bring new opportunity for Adidas. 3. Women Segment Offers Long Term Potential: Till date most of the Adidas revenue comes from the men segment. But in the upcoming days the women segment is showing more potential for Adidas. Adidas should focus on this segment by creating new products and design for womens. 4. Growing global footwear market: According to Data Monitor the global footwear market has shown positive growth in recent years. The global footwear market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4% in the six-year period 2005-2011 to reach $202.3 billion in 2011. So this is a major opportunity for Adidas to explore itself globally which will result in increase sales and revenues and ultimately gives the group chance to catch the global market. Threats: 1. Macroeconomic Risks: Growth in the sporting goods industry is highly dependent on consumer spending and consumer confidence. Economic downturns, socio-political factors such as civil unrest, nationalisation, in particular in regions where the Group is highly represented, therefore cause a significant short-term risk to sales development. 2. Consumer Demand Risk: Nowadays consumers are more choosy and its quiet difficult to predict their demand. So therefore it is essential to maintain a balance between the supply and demand. Failure to anticipate and respond to changes in consumer demand for sporting goods products is one of the most serious threats for Adidas. 3. Customer Bargaining Power: Nowadays markets are more buyers dominated. The bargaining power of customer is rising rapidly because of intense competition between the suppliers. This issue can harm on Adidas overall business operations. 4. Intense Competition: The athletic footwear, apparel and equipment industry is highly competitive. Adidas group competes with players such as Nike, Callaway Golf Company, New Balance Athletic Shoe, and PUMA AG Rudolf Dazzler Sport. High level of competition in the market place could negatively impact the market share of the group. (Data monitor, 2010). 6. Adidas AG: Strategy Adidas has `diversified its strategy in three dimensions. They are: 1. Group Strategy. 2. Global Brands Strategy. 3. Global Sales Strategy. 1. Group Strategy: 1.1 Creating Shareholder Value: Adidas is trying to create more value for its shareholders through generation of cash flow. Therefore, Adidas AG is focused on carefully managing those factors under its control, making strategic choices that will drive sustainable revenue and earnings growth, and ultimately cash flow. 1.2 Multi Brand Strategies: To maximise customer reach with variety of choice Adidas has adapted multi brand strategy. 1.3 Investments focused on highest potential markets and channels: Adidas has prioritised its investments based on those markets which offer the best medium to long-term growth and profitability opportunities. In this respect, we continue to place a considerable emphasis on expanding our activities in the emerging markets, particularly China and Russia. 2. Global Brand Strategy: 2.1 Driving the long-term development of Adidas and Reebok: To secure long-term sustainable growth for the Group, Global Brands is focused on driving the development of the Adidas and Reebok brands. The overall strategic goal is to achieve qualitative, sustainable growth by building desirable brands in consumers and customers perception. 2.2 Brand architecture and differentiation: Adidas multi-brand structure gives them an important competitive advantage. Through its brand architecture, It seamlessly cover the consumer segments they have defined, catering to more consumer needs, while at the same time keeping clarity of brand message and values. 3. Global Sales Strategy: The global sales function is responsible for the commercial activities of Adidas. The functions is categorised in three distinctive channel retail, wholesale and e-commerce. 3.1 Focus on Controlled Space To make its products more competitive Adidas has adapted several techniques. As a result they are refining their distribution channel with stronger focus on controlled space which includes e-commerce, own retail store, mono branded franchise stores, partnership with retail stores etc. Focusing on Three Attack Markets: As a part of strategic business plan route 2015 the global sales function has identified North America, Russia, UK, Latin America, Greater China, Japan and India as key growth markets. Among them North America, China and Russia are anticipated to contribute over 50% of total sales. To ensure the efficiency of these markets they directly report to the group CEO. 7. Concluding Thoughts Based on the above information this assignment would conclude that Adidas is one of the largest companies in the sporting goods industry. The group operates through more than 150 subsidiaries in Europe, the US and Asia, each focusing on a particular market or part of the manufacturing process. To be concluded Adidas has a priorities SWOT analysis with leading market position as its biggest strength and Geographically-diversified operations enable Adidas to take advantage of a range of market opportunities

Perceptions of Catholic School Teachers

Perceptions of Catholic School Teachers PART ONE: RESEARCH DESIGN A title for your study A mixed methods study of student perceptions of the qualities of highly effective traditional Catholic secondary school teachers. A description of the research context/background/problem leading to your study (three to five sentences approximately) It is a well-established and researched fact that individually and collectively, teachers play a pivotal role in facilitating student success (Duncan, Gurria, Leeuwen, 2011; Hattie, 2009; Reddy, Fabiano, Jimerson, 2013). Moreover, there is much evidence to suggest that the level of teacher quality is linked with the level of student performance (Darling-Hammond Youngs, 2002; Goe Stickler, 2008; Hattie, 2003; Leigh, 2010). Although recent research on teacher quality has identified general traits (Canter, 2014; Coles, Owens, Serrano, Slavec, Evans, 2015; Cooper, Hirn, Scott, 2015; Spilt, Hughes, Wu, Kwok, 2012), Jimerson Haddock (2015) advocate further research regarding teacher effectiveness (p488). Consequently, this study proposes looking into teacher effectiveness within the sphere of traditional Catholicism, an area which is gradually burgeoning (Society of Saint Pius X, 2016; Wikipedia, 2017a) and hitherto unexplored. Additionally, as Sutcliffe (2011) suggests, it is impo rtant to examine high school students perceptions of teacher quality (p24). Describe your study aims The aim of this mixed methods exploratory sequential study is to explore and examine student perceptions of traditional Catholic secondary school teacher effectiveness in order to identify and eventually come up with a list of ten top characteristics for this group. Findings will be used to inform future teacher education programmes which have a specific emphasis on training Traditional Catholic teachers. The nature of the exploratory sequential study is such that it will be divided into two stages (Onwuegbuzie Collins, 2007). The aim of the first stage of the study is to collect qualitative data from select samples of students in order to then identify general themes/characteristics using an inductive approach to data analysis (Schulz, 2012). The aim of the second stage of this study is to further identify a top ten list of characteristics via a quantitative survey which will ask students to choose from a list of key characteristics and then ask them to rank the top ten. The result s would then be published. What are your qualitative research question (s)? What elements set a highly effective traditional Catholic secondary school teacher apart from others? What characteristics do they have? What teaching methods do they use? What qualities/virtues do they possess? What behaviours do they exhibit? What spiritual qualities do they have? How do highly effective Catholic secondary school teachers promote learning and engagement? What are your quantitative research question (s)? Of all the characteristics identified, which are considered the most appealing? What are your mixed methods research question (s)? Which characteristics of highly effective traditional catholic teachers are considered most appealing and to what extent? Describe the qualitative data that you will collect and how you will analyse it. What methods will you use? Discuss some of the key aspects of the data that you wish to collect (e.g. Interview question, what you will look for in observations etc.). How many participants and how will you chose them (sampling) (approximately 300 words). I intend taking a focus group approach to the collection of qualitative data. Focus groups allow participants to interact with one another, share and compare and often generate new insights beyond what individual interviews can do (Carey, 2016; Pedersen et al., 2016). Furthermore, given the fact that participants will be secondary age students, I thought they would feel more comfortable with each other rather than in an individual interview alone with an adult. At the same time focus group interviews give the researcher an opportunity to hear the language of the participants and explore the topic in more depth (Pedersen et al., 2016). In regard to the number of participants I intend using what Onwuegbuzie Collins (2007) call cluster sampling. That is select focus groups consisting of 10 students from each of 10 different traditional Catholic schools so that qualitative data is collected from a total of 100 participants. It was thought advisable to select clusters of senior age students, that is, students in their last year of school only, for two reasons. Firstly, older students have years of experience behind them and are able to reflect on those experiences, and secondly, older students are more mature. In regard to key aspects of the data, it is hoped that semi-structured questions such as reflecting on your own personal learning experiences, what examples of effective catholic teaching have you seen? and what makes a traditional catholic teacher great? would elicit responses from the students which the researcher could then explore in more depth. Data would be collected via a voice recorder then from the recording a conversation analysis would be undertaken. This involves constructing a transcript of the interviews and then analysing the data using an inductive approach, that is finding themes/characteristics and recurring themes/characteristics which have emerged from the data (Schulz, 2012; Wikipedia, 2017b). These popular themes could then be used to develop a quantitative instrument for the next stage of the research project. A few factors would also need to be considered during data collection and analysis. For example, the schools, parents and students would have to give informed and voluntary consent and anonymity and confidentiality with regard to names of teachers and students, including the names of the schools would have to be respected (Tolich Davidson, 1999). Describe the quantitative data that you will collect and how you will analyse it. What methods will you use? Discuss some of the key variables that you will collect data on. How many participants and how will you chose them (sampling) (approximately 300 words). I intend collecting quantitative data from a survey which would be sent to the same students who had participated in the first stage of this research project, that is to say, those senior age secondary school students who had participated in the focus groups. The survey would consist of a list of variables, that is, the results of the qualitative conversation analysis and the key characteristics of highly effective catholic school teachers. To cite an example, one such variable might be the proposition that highly effective catholic secondary school teachers prepare well for their lessons. Others might be that highly effective catholic secondary school teachers have positive attitudes or that they are masters in their subject areas or that they include a spiritual dimension in their teaching. I consider it advisable to add one other variable and that is school location so the researcher can identify how many surveys from each school were returned. Other nominal demographic data such as gender, age etc. were considered unnecessary for this particular research project because the focus of the project is on a list of top ten characteristics of effective catholic secondary school teachers and not on gender or age differences. In regard to the administration of the survey itself, students would be invited to read the list of variables and choose a top ten. Students would be asked to rank the characteristic they felt most defined an effective catholic secondary school teacher as number one and so on and so forth until they reach number ten. Results would be entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the top ten key characteristics would be determined by working out which characteristics had the 10 lowest total scores. Drawing on the work of Creswell Plano Clark (2011), draw a diagram of your mixed methods study.    PART TWO: CRITICAL REVIEW Using Onwuegbuzie and Poths meta themes, conduct a critical review of the following mixed methods article (500-750 words): Wyant, J.D., Jones, E.M. Bulgar, S.M. (2015). A mixed methods analysis of a single-course strategy to integrate technology into PETE. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 34, 131-151. A critical review has been conducted on Wyant, Jones, Bulgers (2015) above mentioned article using Onwuegbuzie and Poths (2016) meta-themes. Unless otherwise noted, all references are citations from this article. META-THEME #1 WARRANTEDNESS Many terms were introduced and defined however I assess that there were too many. In the introduction alone readers were introduced to the terms PETE, NASPE, ISTE, CBAM, Stages of Adoption, External Barriers, First-Order Barriers and TPACK. Whole articles have been devoted to explaining TPACK! Additionally, what are occupational socialization researchers? The reference list was comprehensive however there were quite a few errors. For example throug technology instead of through technology; the use of capitals in some of the titles Teachers Use of Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools: 2009 (NCES 2010-040), US States missing Eugene: instead of Eugene, OR, the words Author Retrieved instead of just Retrieved and many recent journal articles were missing DOI numbers. In regard to the latter, was this the fault of the authors or were they simply unable to be found? Citations were inconsistent within the article, for example, three authors were consolidated to (Hall et al., 1979) and (Rochanasmita et al., 2009) while others with four were written out in full (Allan, Erickson, Brookhouse Johnson, 2010) and (Russell, Bebell, ODwyer OConnor, 2003). META-THEME #2 JUSTIFICATION The article appears to be underdeveloped. Although the authors used the TPACK model as a theoretical framework to explain the first theme, nowhere in the article do the authors explain this. They refer readers to the TPACK model in the introduction but that is all. The same could be said for First-Order Barriers which is used as a framework for the second theme. The authors advance qualitative/quantitative research/mixed methods research. They used a mixed methods design and quantitative and qualitative data collection procedures consisting of closed-ended survey instruments and weekly journal entries and end of course semi-structured interviews. The purpose of the study was cleared stated in the purpose statement paragraph The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a domain-specific technology course META-THEME #3 WRITING QUALITY Although the authors made good use of headings and sub-headings some sections seemed out of order. For example Research Design followed Methods when it really should be the other way around, participants were mentioned twice and the introduction seemed too long. Furthermore the authors did not follow the structure recommended by Onwuegbuzie and Poth (2016) who advocate the following framework literature review, theoretical framework, rationale, purpose statement, research questions, hypothesis, and educational significance. The authors used a number of appropriate transitional words such as Accordingly, More specifically, For example, Typically, Further etc. However, the abstract repeats the purpose statement. META-THEME #4 TRANSPARENCY Information relating to sample size was mentioned specifically and clearly. Readers were directed to the fact that participants included 12 pre-service teachers and were recruited from a sample of 34 (male=24, female=10). However, information regarding the two participant sampling techniques could have been made clearer. For example, the authors could have clearly stated that the first participant sampling technique used wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, the second participant sampling technique wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.etc. All tables and figures were referred to, for example, see Figure 1, see Figure 2, see Table 1 etc. However, in my opinion they were not explained sufficiently. To cite just one example on this point, Figure 1 was a visual model of the mixed methods design, however, the authors only referred readers to this visual diagram under Data Collection Procedures and Analysis and not under Research Design where it seems more appropriate to put it. Furthermore, readers were referred to the model as a timeline a timeline was created à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. (see Figure 1), yet the caption clearly indicated that it was a Visual Model of Mixed Methods Research Design. Directions for future research were provided in the final concluding paragraph What this study further highlights is the need for scholars to devote greater attention to the research and dissemination of technology-related projects. META-THEME #5 INTEGRATION Figure 1, which consisted of a visual model of the mixed methods research design, was clear and visually appealing. However as said above, it should have been referred to and explained in detail under the heading Research Design. Measures were taken to ensure validity/legitimation. For example, the use of experienced social science researchers (plural) to review and legitimize research procedures, and interview transcriptions and journal entries were also distributed to participants to confirm the data accurately captured their feelings. META-THEME #6 PHILOSOPHICAL LENS The authors refer to research philosophies such as occupational socialization and constructivist-based learning, however, both could have been presented in a better way. For example, in regard to the former, the authors refer the readers to occupational socialization researchers, yet they do not clearly define this it but simply refer readers to it at the very end of the paragraph As with occupational socialization, research on learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Shouldnt philosophies be clearly defined first so readers understand? REFERENCES Canter, L. (2014). Classroom management for academics success. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Carey, M. A. (2016). Focus groups-what is the same, what is new, what is next? Qualitative Health Research, 26(6), 731-733. doi.org/10.1177/1049732316636848 Coles, E. K., Owens, J. S., Serrano, V. J., Slavec, J., Evans, S. W. (2015). From consultation to student outcomes: The role of teacher knowledge, skills, and beliefs in increasing integrity in classroom management strategies. School Mental Health, 7(1), 34-48. doi.org/10.1007/s12310-015-9143-2 Cooper, J. T., Hirn, R. G., Scott, T. M. (2015). Teacher as change agent: Considering instructional practice to prevent student failure. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 59(1), 1-4. doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2014.919135 Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. Darling-Hammond, L., Youngs, P. (2002). Defining highly qualified teachers: What does scientifically-based research actually tell us? Educational Researcher, 31(9), 13-25. doi.org/10.3102/0013189X031009013 Duncan, A., Gurria, A., Leeuwen, F. (2011). Uncommon wisdom on teaching. Retrieved from www.huffingpost.com/arne-duncan/uncommon-wisdom-on-teachi_b_836541.html Goe, L., Stickler, L. M. (2008). Teacher quality and student achievement: Making the most of recent research. National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED520769.pdf Hattie, J. (2003). Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence? Presented at the Paper presented at the Australian Council for Educational Research Annual Conference on Building Teacher Quality, Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved from http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003context=research_conference_2003 Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London, England: Routledge. Jimerson, S. R., Haddock, A. D. (2015). Understanding the importance of teachers in facilitating student success: Contemporary science, practice, and policy. School Psychology Quarterly, 30(4), 488-493. doi.org/10.1037/spq0000134 Leigh, A. (2010). Estimating teacher effectiveness from two-year changes in students test scores. Economics of Education Review, 29(3), 480-488. doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2009.10.010 Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Collins, K. M. . (2007). A typology of mixed methods sampling designs in social science research. The Qualitative Report, 12(2), 281-316. Pedersen, B., Delmar, C., Falkmer, U., Grà ¸nkjaer, M. (2016). Bridging the gap between interviewer and interviewee: Developing an interview guide for individual interviews by means of a focus group. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 30(3), 631-638. doi.org/10.1111/scs.12280 Reddy, L. A., Fabiano, G. A., Jimerson, S. R. (2013). Assessment of general education teachers Tier 1 classroom practices: Contemporary science, practice, and policy. School Psychology Quarterly, 28(4), 273-276. doi.org/10.1037/spq0000047 Schulz, J. (2012). Analysing your Interviews [Southampton Education School] [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59GsjhPolPs Society of Saint Pius X. (2016). General statistics about the SSPX. Retrieved from http://sspx.org/en/general-statistics-about-sspx Spilt, J. L., Hughes, J. N., Wu, J.-Y., Kwok, O.-M. (2012). Dynamics of teacher-student relationships: Stability and change across elementary school and the influence on childrens academic success: Teacher-student relationship trajectories. Child Development, 83(4), 1180-1195. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01761.x Sutcliffe, C., P. (2011). Secondary students perceptions of teacher quality. Electronic Theses Dissertations. 391. Retrieved from www.digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/391 Tolich, M., Davidson, C. (1999). Starting fieldwork: An introduction to qualitative research in New Zealand. Auckland, N.Z: New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Wikipedia. (2017a). Conversation analysis. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversation_analysis Wikipedia. (2017b). Traditionalist Catholic. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_Catholic Wyant, J. D., Jones, E. M., Bulger, S. M. (2015). A mixed methods analysis of a single-course strategy to integrate technology into PETE. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 34(1), 131-151. doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2013-0114