THE DIET PILLS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

THE DIET PILLS - Essay Example On the other hand, diet pills are much cheaper than invasive operations such as liposuction and gastric bypass, which cost more than $2000. Diet pills go from $25 a month above. If it’s about safety, the safest way to go as exercise and diet. Liposuction has its own horror stories of pain and permanent damage. Diet pills have been found to cause long-term side-effects and even death in some countries. Currently, only a few pills are FDA approved and this includes Orlistat, Sibutramine and other appetite suppressants. Finally, we all know that exercise and a right diet is still the most recommended way to lose weight but the results of this is subjective. Liposuction is a sure way to take out the fat obviously and is the perhaps the most effective. Studies show that it is effective only at a marginal to moderate rate of weight loss. Whatever you choose as your weight loss scheme, don’t just go for results. Be smart and do research. Always think about its value for money, the possible side effect and how well it fits your lifestyle. Consumer Reports. Are diet pills effective? n.d. Web. September 29, 2011http://www.consumerreports.org/health/healthy-living/diet-nutrition/diets-dieting/diet-pill-effective-fat-chance-1-07/overview/0701_diet-pill-effective-fat-chance.htm Newell, Lori. â€Å"Why Exercise is Healthier Than Weight Loss pills†. Live Strong.com. September 27, 2010. Web. September 29, 2011

Life of Pi write-up Essay Example for Free

Life of Pi write-up Essay Life of Pi shows that we are entering a virtual age as Pi, a selfish murderer, is portrayed as a hero throughout the movie. In the beginning of the movie, Pi is portrayed as a smart, virtuous man – there is an emphasis on his strong faith in God, his love for his family and his knowledge of animals. However, later in the movie, Pi brutally murders a hyena after his family’s ship sank and manipulates the tiger that he was left with to do whatever he pleases. Although Pi faced anxiety because he was alone on a lifeboat with a tiger and with despair from thinking that he would die, these circumstances are not to blame for Pi’s awful behavior. Pi has the freedom to make his own decisions and is able to express his emotions in whichever way he wants, making him fully responsible for the course of his actions. Once Pi is rescued, the whole world starts to see him as a hero for his survival, however they do not process all of his wrongdoings. To make matters worse, the journalists that Pi spoke with after he was rescued do not even use the first story that he shares with them – the one involving human beings – because they claimed it was too gruesome, bringing Pi to replace human beings with animals in his second story. This also represents a virtual age because it sends the idea that wrongful actions are okay when they are presented using animals rather than human beings – truly showing the selfishness and carelessness of society. In conclusion, Pi’s inhumane actions are not acknowledged by the public, and furthermore Pi is being rewarded for his wrongdoings. In Life of Pi, storyteller Pi Patel explains the firsthand account of his adventures. When his family’s zoo business fails in India, they embark on a sea voyage to begin a new life – however, one night aboard their ship in the middle of the ocean, a deadly storm hits, leaving Pi trapped in a lifeboat with several zoo animals. After several brutal incidents, including Pi murdering a hyena, Pi is then left to fend for himself in the company of a Bengal tiger. At the end of the movie, when Pi is rescued and questioned by journalists, he tells them two different stories about his journey: one involving human beings and one involving animals, leaving the journalists to publish the story involving animals. Kierkegaard’s philosophy relates to this story because even though Pi is very religious, he is aware that he is free to put his wellbeing before God. While being stuck on a lifeboat with vicious animals, Pi does whatever he can in order to survive – even if that involves taking part in murder and manipulation. Pi chooses to murder a hyena because this animal killed his mother and would eventually kill him, as well as Pi chooses to hunt fish in order for the tiger to survive and to save himself from being eaten. Pi also had to state dominance and mark his territory in the lifeboat, in order to prevent the tiger from hurting him. Pi is therefore the perfect example of putting the individual before God in Kierkegaard’s philosophy because he believes in God, yet he continues to live his own life with freedom as he makes rational decisions. Pi is also aware of the aggressiveness in his decisions, and continuously apologizes to God for all that he has done. By doing this, Pi gains strength and heals through God, as this is also a part of Kierkegaard’s philosophy.

The Crazy Horse Electric Game :: essays research papers

The Crazy Horse Electric Game The story starts of while they are playing their first baseball game of the season against the Crazy Horse Electrics. They decide to put beer in the opposition team's water bottles as a prank, so that they could win. After that Willie decides to go fishing with his dad. They have deep conversations, and they start talking about why Willie's mom does not fish like she used too. Then they get into talking about Missy, Willie's little sister who died of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). After that the book cuts into another baseball game, they are playing against the Crazy Horse Electrics. Sal, a big guy on the Crazy Horse, and Johnny get into a verbal argument, and then Johnny says something personal about him and he wound up and decked Johnny one. They break it up and continue the game. When Willie was about to pitch he looses his balance and Sal hits a good pitch. Then out of pure luck and talent, Willie stretches himself out and robs Sal of a sure triple. Willie becomes a min or legend. On their way home from school Jenny and Willie hook up. Then on the weekend, Jenny, Johnny, Willie and his family decide to go to the lake. Willie and Jenny set the table for a picnic when Johnny is out skiing. Willies mom complains about him never being safe enough. Next it is Willie's turn to water-ski. As Willie was doing a 360Â ° turn, he caught the tips of his skis under the water and he crashed. Willies dad was in shock, Jenny had to give Willie mouth to mouth, and save his life. The left the boat, got into the vehicle, and drove to the hospital. Willie ends up with a speech impediment, and problems walking. He ends up doing crazy things, like acid, and drinking. He talks to a counselor whom he really likes. Willie does not want to go into a Special Ed class that the school is referring him to. He feels hopeless, and even jealous of his girlfriend for her athletics. He tries to play racquetball, but his dad gets frustrated with him. That night he hears his parents arguing over him. He hears his dad say that he thinks it would have been easier if Willie had died in the accident. From there he suspects Jenny and Petey of getting together, and finds out that they are.

E Commerce

E-commerce advantages and disadvantages E-commerce provides many new ways for businesses and consumers to communicate and conduct business. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of conducting business in this manner. E-commerce advantages Some advantages that can be achieved from e-commerce include: †¢Being able to conduct business 24 x 7 x 365 . E-commerce systems can operate all day every day. Your physical storefront does not need to be open in order for customers and suppliers to be doing business with you electronically. Access the global marketplace . The Internet spans the world, and it is possible to do business with any business or person who is connected to the Internet. Simple local businesses such as specialist record stores are able to market and sell their offerings internationally using e-commerce. This global opportunity is assisted by the fact that, unlike traditional communications methods, users are not charged according to the distance over which they are communicating. Speed. Electronic communications allow messages to traverse the world almost instantaneously. There is no need to wait weeks for a catalogue to arrive by post: that communications delay is not a part of the Internet / e-commerce world. †¢Marketspace. The market in which web-based businesses operate is the global market. It may not be evident to them, but many businesses are already facing international competition from web-enabled businesses. †¢Opportunity to reduce costs. The Internet makes it very easy to ‘shop around' for products and services that may be cheaper or more effective than we might otherwise settle for. It is sometimes possible to, through some online research, identify original manufacturers for some goods – thereby bypassing wholesalers and achieving a cheaper price. †¢Computer platform-independent . ‘Many, if not most, computers have the ability to communicate via the Internet independent of operating systems and hardware. Customers are not limited by existing hardware systems' (Gascoyne & Ozcubukcu, 1997:87). †¢Efficient applications development environment – ‘In many respects, applications can be more efficiently developed and distributed because the can be built without regard to the customer's or the business partner's technology platform. Application updates do not have to be manually installed on computers. Rather, Internet-related technologies provide this capability inherently through automatic deployment of software updates' (Gascoyne & Ozcubukcu, 1997:87). Allowing customer self service and ‘customer outsourcing'. People can interact with businesses at any hour of the day that it is convenient to them, and because these interactions are initiated by customers, the customers also provide a lot of the data for the transaction that may otherwise need to be entered by business staff. This means that some of the work and costs are effectively shifted to customers; this is r eferred to as ‘customer outsourcing'. †¢Stepping beyond borders to a global view. Using aspects of e-commerce technology can mean your business can source and use products and services provided by other businesses in other countries. This seems obvious enough to say, but people do not always consider the implications of e-commerce. For example, in many ways it can be easier and cheaper to host and operate some e-commerce activities outside Australia. Further, because many e-commerce transactions involve credit cards, many businesses in Australia need to make arrangements for accepting online payments. However a number of major Australian banks have tended to be unhelpful laggards on this front, charging a lot of money and making it difficult to establish these arrangements – particularly for smaller businesses and/or businesses that don't fit into a traditional-economy understanding of business. In some cases, therefore, it can be easier and cheaper to set up arrangements which bypass this aspect of the Australian banking system. Admittedly, this can create some grey areas for legal and taxation purposes, but these can be dealt with. And yes these circumstances do have implications for Australia's national competitiveness and the competitiveness of our industries and businesses. As a further thought, many businesses find it easier to buy and sell in U. S. dollars: it is effectively the major currency of the Internet. In this context, global online customers can find the concept of peculiar and unfamiliar currencies disconcerting. Some businesses find they can achieve higher prices online and in US dollars than they would achieve selling locally or nationally. Given that banks often charge fees for converting currencies, this is another reason to investigate all of your (national and international) options for accepting and making online payments. In brief, it is useful to take a global view with regard the potential and organisation of your e-commerce activities, especially if you are targeting global customers. †¢A new marketing channel. The Internet provides an important new channel to sell to consumers. Peterson et al. 1999) suggest that, as a marketing channel, the Internet has the following characteristics: †¢the ability to inexpensively store vast amounts of information at different virtual locations †¢the availability of powerful and inexpensive means of searching, organising, and disseminating such information †¢interactivity and the ability to provide information on demand †¢the ability to provide perceptual experiences that are far superior to a printed catalogue, although not as rich as personal inspect ion †¢the capability to serve as a transaction medium the ability to serve as a physical distribution medium for certain goods (e. g. , software) †¢relatively low entry and establishment costs for sellers †¢no other existing marketing channel possesses all of these characteristics. Some of these advantages and their surrounding issues are discussed below in further detail. E-commerce disadvantages and constraints Some disadvantages and constraints of e-commerce include the following. †¢Time for delivery of physical products . It is possible to visit a local music store and walk out with a compact disc, or a bookstore and leave with a book. E-commerce is often used to buy goods that are not available locally from businesses all over the world, meaning that physical goods need to be delivered, which takes time and costs money. In some cases there are ways around this, for example, with electronic files of the music or books being accessed across the Internet, but then these are not physical goods. †¢Physical product, supplier & delivery uncertainty . When you walk out of a shop with an item, it's yours. You have it; you know what it is, where it is and how it looks. In some respects e-commerce purchases are made on trust. This is because, firstly, not having had physical access to the product, a purchase is made on an expectation of what that product is and its condition. Secondly, because supplying businesses can be conducted across the world, it can be uncertain whether or not they are legitimate businesses and are not just going to take your money. It's pretty hard to knock on their door to complain or seek legal recourse! Thirdly, even if the item is sent, it is easy to start wondering whether or not it will ever arrive. †¢Perishable goods . Forget about ordering a single gelato ice cream from a shop in Rome! Though specialised or refrigerated transport can be used, goods bought and sold via the Internet tend to be durable and non-perishable: they need to survive the trip from the supplier to the purchasing business or consumer. This shifts the bias for perishable and/or non-durable goods back towards traditional supply chain arrangements, or towards relatively more local e-commerce-based purchases, sales and distribution. In contrast, durable goods can be traded from almost anyone to almost anyone else, sparking competition for lower prices. In some cases this leads to disintermediation in which intermediary people and businesses are bypassed by consumers and by other businesses that are seeking to purchase more directly from manufacturers. †¢Limited and selected sensory information. The Internet is an effective conduit for visual and auditory information: seeing pictures, hearing sounds and reading text. However it does not allow full scope for our senses: we can see pictures of the flowers, but not smell their fragrance; we can see pictures of a hammer, but not feel its weight or balance. Further, when we pick up and inspect something, we choose what we look at and how we look at it. This is not the case on the Internet. If we were looking at buying a car on the Internet, we would see the pictures the seller had chosen for us to see but not the things we might look for if we were able to see it in person. And, taking into account our other senses, we can't test the car to hear the sound of the engine as it changes gears or sense the smell and feel of the leather seats. There are many ways in which the Internet does not convey the richness of experiences of the world. This lack of sensory information means that people are often much more comfortable buying via the Internet generic goods – things that they have seen or experienced before and about which there is little ambiguity, rather than unique or complex things. †¢Returning goods. Returning goods online can be an area of difficulty. The uncertainties surrounding the initial payment and delivery of goods can be exacerbated in this process. Will the goods get back to their source? Who pays for the return postage? Will the refund be paid? Will I be left with nothing? How long will it take? Contrast this with the offline experience of returning goods to a shop. †¢Privacy, security, payment, identity, contract. Many issues arise – privacy of information, security of that information and payment details, whether or not payment details (eg credit card details) will be misused, identity theft, contract, and, whether we have one or not, what laws and legal jurisdiction apply. †¢Defined services & the unexpected . E-commerce is an effective means for managing the transaction of known and established services, that is, things that are everyday. It is not suitable for dealing with the new or unexpected. For example, a transport company used to dealing with simple packages being asked if it can transport a hippopotamus, or a customer asking for a book order to be wrapped in blue and white polka dot paper with a bow. Such requests need human intervention to investigate and resolve. †¢Personal service . Although some human interaction can be facilitated via the web, e-commerce can not provide the richness of interaction provided by personal service. For most businesses, e-commerce methods provide the equivalent of an information-rich counter attendant rather than a salesperson. This also means that feedback about how people react to product and service offerings also tends to be more granular or perhaps lost using e-commerce approaches. If your only feedback is that people are (or are not) buying your products or services online, this is inadequate for evaluating how to change or improve your e-commerce strategies and/or product and service offerings. Successful business use of e-commerce typically involves strategies for gaining and applying customer feedback. This helps businesses to understand, anticipate and meet changing online customer needs and preferences, which is critical because of the comparatively rapid rate of ongoing Internet-based change. †¢Size and number of transactions. E-commerce is most often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, and as a result very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. The size of transactions is also impacted by the economics of transporting physical goods. For example, any benefits or conveniences of buying a box of pens online from a US-based business tend to be eclipsed by the cost of having to pay for them to be delivered to you in Australia. The delivery costs also mean that buying individual items from a range of different overseas businesses is significantly more expensive than buying all of the goods from one overseas business because the goods can be packaged and shipped together. E Commerce Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or ecommerce, is a type of industry where the buying and selling of products or services is conducted over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDILinventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.Modern electronic commerce typically uses he World Wide Web at least at one point in the transaction's life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices, social media, and telephones as well. Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business transactions. This is an effective and efficient way of communicating within an organization and one of the most effective and useful ways of conducting business. E-commerce can be divided into:E-tailing or â€Å"virtual storefronts† on websites with online catalogs, sometimes gathered into a â€Å"virtual mall† Buying or Selling on various websites and/or online marketplaces The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts and social media Electronic Data Interchange (ED'), the business-to-business exchange of data E-mail and fax and their use as media for reaching prospective and established customers (for example, with newsletters) Business-to-business buying and selling The security of business transactions Types of e-commerce[edit] The major different types of e-commerce are:Business-to-Business (82B): 82B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. This is the type of e-commerce that deals with relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that 82B e- commerce will continue to grow faster than the B2C segment. The 82B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-markets. Business-to-consumer (B2C): Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers, involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods i. . , tangibles such as books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic material or digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving products over an electronic network. It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Business-to-Government (826): Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations.This kind of e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/ leading role in establishing e-co mmerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector nas the greatest need tor making its procurement system more ettective. Web- based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process (and reduces the risk of irregularities). To date, however, the size of the B2G e- commerce market as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C):Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals or consumers. This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical industries where firms/businesses can bid for what they want from among multiple suppliers. It perhaps has the greatest potential for developing new markets. Mobile Commerce (m-commerce): M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless technology-i. e. , handheld devices suc h as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).Japan is seen as a global leader in m-commerce. As content delivery over wireless devices becomes faster, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce will surpass wireline e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This may well be true for the Asia-Pacific where there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users. Governmental regulation[edit] In the United States, some electronic commerce activities are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These activities include the use of commercial e- mails, online advertising and consumer privacy.The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 establishes national standards for direct marketing over e-mail. The Federal Trade Commission Act regulates all forms of advertising, including online advertising, and states that advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive. [24] Using its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits u nfair or deceptive practices, the FTC has brought a number of cases to enforce the promises in corporate privacy statements, including promises about the security of consumers' personal information. [25] As result, any corporate privacy policy related to e- ommerce activity may be subject to enforcement by the FTC.The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which came into law in 2008, amends the Controlled Substances Act to address online pharmacies. [26] Internationally there is the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), which was formed in 1991 from an informal network of government customer fair trade organisations. The purpose was stated as being to find ways of co-operating on tackling consumer problems connected with cross-border transactions in both goods and services, and to help ensure exchanges of nformation among the participants for mutual benefit and understanding.From this came Econsumer. gov, an ICPEN initiative since April 2001. It is a portal to report complaints about online and related transactions with foreign companies. There is also Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established in 1989 with the vision of achieving stability, security and prosperity for the region through free and open trade and investment. APEC has an Electronic Commerce Stearing Group as well as working on common privacy regulations throughout the APEC region. In Australia,Trade is covered under Australian Treasury Guidelines tor electronic commerce, [27] and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission[28] regulates and offers advice on how to deal with businesses online,[29] and offers specific advice on what happens if things go wrong. [30] Also Australian government e-commerce website[31] provides information on e-commerce in Australia. In the United Kingdom, The FSA (Financial Services Authority)[32] is the competent authority for most aspects of the Payment Services Directive (PSD).The UK implemente d the PSD through the Payment Services Regulations 2009 (PSRs), which came into effect on 1 November 2009. The PSR affects firms providing payment services and their customers. These firms include banks, non-bank credit card issuers and non-bank merchant acquirers, e-money issuers, etc. The PSRs created a new class of regulated firms known as payment institutions (Pls), who are subject to prudential requirements. Article 87 of the PSD requires the European Commission to report on the implementation and impact of the PSD by 1 November 2012. 33] Forms[edit] Contemporary electronic commerce involves everything from ordering â€Å"digital† ontent for immediate online consumption, to ordering conventional goods and services, to â€Å"meta† services to facilitate other types of electronic commerce. On the institutional level, big corporations and financial institutions use the internet to exchange financial data to facilitate domestic and international business. Data integri ty and security are very hot and pressing issues for electronic commerce.Aside from traditional e-commerce, m-Commerce as well as the nascent t- Commerce[34] channels are often seen as the current 2013 poster children of electronic I-Commerce. Global trends[edit] In 2010, the United Kingdom had the biggest e-commerce market in the world when measured by the amount spent per capita. [35] The Czech Republic is the European country where ecommerce delivers the biggest contribution to the enterprises' total revenue. Almost a quarter (24%) of the countrys total turnover is generated via the online channel. 36] Among emerging economies, China's e-commerce presence continues[when? ] to expand. With 384 million internet users, China's online shopping sales rose to $36. 6 billion in 2009 and one of the reasons behind the huge growth has been the improved trust level for shoppers. The Chinese retailers have been able to help consumers feel more comfortable shopping online. [37] China's cross- border e-commerce is also growing rapidly. E-commerce transactions between China and other countries increased 32% to 2. 3 trillion yuan ($375. 8 billion) in 2012 and accounted for 9. % of China's total international trade [38] Other BRIC countries are witnessing the accelerated growth of ecommerce as well. In Russia, the total ecommerce market is projected to total somewhere between 690 billion rubles ($23 billion) and 900 billion rubles ($30 billion) in 201 5, at 2010 values. This will equal 5% of total retail volume in Russia. Longer-term, the market size of Russian e-commerce could reach $50 billion by 2020. Brazil's ecommerce is growing quickly with retail ecommerce sales expected to grow at a healthy double-digit pace through 2014.By 2016, eMarketer expects retail ecommerce sales in Brazil to reach $17. 3 billion. [39] India's ecommerce growth, on the other hand, has been slower although the country's potential remains solid considering its surging economy, the rapid growth of internet penetration, English language proficiency and a vast market of 1. billion consumers (although perhaps only 50 million access the internet throug n PCs and some estimate the most active group of e-commerce customers numbers only 2-3 million). E-commerce traffic grew about 50% from 2011 to 2012, from 26. 1 million to 37. million, according to a report released by Com Score. Still much of the estimated 14 billion dollars in 2012 ecommerce was generated from travel sites. ecommerce is also expanding across the Middle East. Having recorded the world's fastest growth in internet usage between 2000 and 2009, the region is now[when? ] home to more than 0 million internet users. Retail, travel and gaming are the region's top ecommerce segments, in spite of difficulties such as the lack of region-wide legal frameworks and logistical problems in cross-border transportation[citation needed].E-commerce has become an important tool for small and large businesses worldwide, not only to s ell to customers, but also to engage them. [40][41] In 2012, ecommerce sales topped $1 trillion for the first time in history. [42] Impact on markets and retailers[edit] Economists have theorized that e-commerce ought to lead to intensified rice competition, as it increases consumers' ability to gather information about products and prices.Research by four economists at the University of Chicago has found that the growth of online shopping has also affected industry structure in two areas that have seen significant growth in e-commerce, bookshopsand travel agencies. Generally, larger firms are able to use economies of scale and offer lower prices. The lone exception to this pattern has been the very smallest category of bookseller, shops with between one and four employees, which appear to have withstood the trend. [43] E Commerce Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or ecommerce, is a type of industry where the buying and selling of products or services is conducted over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDILinventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.Modern electronic commerce typically uses he World Wide Web at least at one point in the transaction's life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices, social media, and telephones as well. Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business transactions. This is an effective and efficient way of communicating within an organization and one of the most effective and useful ways of conducting business. E-commerce can be divided into:E-tailing or â€Å"virtual storefronts† on websites with online catalogs, sometimes gathered into a â€Å"virtual mall† Buying or Selling on various websites and/or online marketplaces The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts and social media Electronic Data Interchange (ED'), the business-to-business exchange of data E-mail and fax and their use as media for reaching prospective and established customers (for example, with newsletters) Business-to-business buying and selling The security of business transactions Types of e-commerce[edit] The major different types of e-commerce are:Business-to-Business (82B): 82B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. This is the type of e-commerce that deals with relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that 82B e- commerce will continue to grow faster than the B2C segment. The 82B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-markets. Business-to-consumer (B2C): Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers, involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods i. . , tangibles such as books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic material or digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving products over an electronic network. It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Business-to-Government (826): Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations.This kind of e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/ leading role in establishing e-co mmerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector nas the greatest need tor making its procurement system more ettective. Web- based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process (and reduces the risk of irregularities). To date, however, the size of the B2G e- commerce market as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C):Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals or consumers. This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical industries where firms/businesses can bid for what they want from among multiple suppliers. It perhaps has the greatest potential for developing new markets. Mobile Commerce (m-commerce): M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless technology-i. e. , handheld devices suc h as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).Japan is seen as a global leader in m-commerce. As content delivery over wireless devices becomes faster, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce will surpass wireline e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This may well be true for the Asia-Pacific where there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users. Governmental regulation[edit] In the United States, some electronic commerce activities are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These activities include the use of commercial e- mails, online advertising and consumer privacy.The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 establishes national standards for direct marketing over e-mail. The Federal Trade Commission Act regulates all forms of advertising, including online advertising, and states that advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive. [24] Using its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits u nfair or deceptive practices, the FTC has brought a number of cases to enforce the promises in corporate privacy statements, including promises about the security of consumers' personal information. [25] As result, any corporate privacy policy related to e- ommerce activity may be subject to enforcement by the FTC.The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which came into law in 2008, amends the Controlled Substances Act to address online pharmacies. [26] Internationally there is the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), which was formed in 1991 from an informal network of government customer fair trade organisations. The purpose was stated as being to find ways of co-operating on tackling consumer problems connected with cross-border transactions in both goods and services, and to help ensure exchanges of nformation among the participants for mutual benefit and understanding.From this came Econsumer. gov, an ICPEN initiative since April 2001. It is a portal to report complaints about online and related transactions with foreign companies. There is also Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established in 1989 with the vision of achieving stability, security and prosperity for the region through free and open trade and investment. APEC has an Electronic Commerce Stearing Group as well as working on common privacy regulations throughout the APEC region. In Australia,Trade is covered under Australian Treasury Guidelines tor electronic commerce, [27] and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission[28] regulates and offers advice on how to deal with businesses online,[29] and offers specific advice on what happens if things go wrong. [30] Also Australian government e-commerce website[31] provides information on e-commerce in Australia. In the United Kingdom, The FSA (Financial Services Authority)[32] is the competent authority for most aspects of the Payment Services Directive (PSD).The UK implemente d the PSD through the Payment Services Regulations 2009 (PSRs), which came into effect on 1 November 2009. The PSR affects firms providing payment services and their customers. These firms include banks, non-bank credit card issuers and non-bank merchant acquirers, e-money issuers, etc. The PSRs created a new class of regulated firms known as payment institutions (Pls), who are subject to prudential requirements. Article 87 of the PSD requires the European Commission to report on the implementation and impact of the PSD by 1 November 2012. 33] Forms[edit] Contemporary electronic commerce involves everything from ordering â€Å"digital† ontent for immediate online consumption, to ordering conventional goods and services, to â€Å"meta† services to facilitate other types of electronic commerce. On the institutional level, big corporations and financial institutions use the internet to exchange financial data to facilitate domestic and international business. Data integri ty and security are very hot and pressing issues for electronic commerce.Aside from traditional e-commerce, m-Commerce as well as the nascent t- Commerce[34] channels are often seen as the current 2013 poster children of electronic I-Commerce. Global trends[edit] In 2010, the United Kingdom had the biggest e-commerce market in the world when measured by the amount spent per capita. [35] The Czech Republic is the European country where ecommerce delivers the biggest contribution to the enterprises' total revenue. Almost a quarter (24%) of the countrys total turnover is generated via the online channel. 36] Among emerging economies, China's e-commerce presence continues[when? ] to expand. With 384 million internet users, China's online shopping sales rose to $36. 6 billion in 2009 and one of the reasons behind the huge growth has been the improved trust level for shoppers. The Chinese retailers have been able to help consumers feel more comfortable shopping online. [37] China's cross- border e-commerce is also growing rapidly. E-commerce transactions between China and other countries increased 32% to 2. 3 trillion yuan ($375. 8 billion) in 2012 and accounted for 9. % of China's total international trade [38] Other BRIC countries are witnessing the accelerated growth of ecommerce as well. In Russia, the total ecommerce market is projected to total somewhere between 690 billion rubles ($23 billion) and 900 billion rubles ($30 billion) in 201 5, at 2010 values. This will equal 5% of total retail volume in Russia. Longer-term, the market size of Russian e-commerce could reach $50 billion by 2020. Brazil's ecommerce is growing quickly with retail ecommerce sales expected to grow at a healthy double-digit pace through 2014.By 2016, eMarketer expects retail ecommerce sales in Brazil to reach $17. 3 billion. [39] India's ecommerce growth, on the other hand, has been slower although the country's potential remains solid considering its surging economy, the rapid growth of internet penetration, English language proficiency and a vast market of 1. billion consumers (although perhaps only 50 million access the internet throug n PCs and some estimate the most active group of e-commerce customers numbers only 2-3 million). E-commerce traffic grew about 50% from 2011 to 2012, from 26. 1 million to 37. million, according to a report released by Com Score. Still much of the estimated 14 billion dollars in 2012 ecommerce was generated from travel sites. ecommerce is also expanding across the Middle East. Having recorded the world's fastest growth in internet usage between 2000 and 2009, the region is now[when? ] home to more than 0 million internet users. Retail, travel and gaming are the region's top ecommerce segments, in spite of difficulties such as the lack of region-wide legal frameworks and logistical problems in cross-border transportation[citation needed].E-commerce has become an important tool for small and large businesses worldwide, not only to s ell to customers, but also to engage them. [40][41] In 2012, ecommerce sales topped $1 trillion for the first time in history. [42] Impact on markets and retailers[edit] Economists have theorized that e-commerce ought to lead to intensified rice competition, as it increases consumers' ability to gather information about products and prices.Research by four economists at the University of Chicago has found that the growth of online shopping has also affected industry structure in two areas that have seen significant growth in e-commerce, bookshopsand travel agencies. Generally, larger firms are able to use economies of scale and offer lower prices. The lone exception to this pattern has been the very smallest category of bookseller, shops with between one and four employees, which appear to have withstood the trend. [43] E Commerce Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or ecommerce, is a type of industry where the buying and selling of products or services is conducted over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDILinventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.Modern electronic commerce typically uses he World Wide Web at least at one point in the transaction's life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices, social media, and telephones as well. Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business transactions. This is an effective and efficient way of communicating within an organization and one of the most effective and useful ways of conducting business. E-commerce can be divided into:E-tailing or â€Å"virtual storefronts† on websites with online catalogs, sometimes gathered into a â€Å"virtual mall† Buying or Selling on various websites and/or online marketplaces The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts and social media Electronic Data Interchange (ED'), the business-to-business exchange of data E-mail and fax and their use as media for reaching prospective and established customers (for example, with newsletters) Business-to-business buying and selling The security of business transactions Types of e-commerce[edit] The major different types of e-commerce are:Business-to-Business (82B): 82B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. This is the type of e-commerce that deals with relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that 82B e- commerce will continue to grow faster than the B2C segment. The 82B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-markets. Business-to-consumer (B2C): Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers, involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods i. . , tangibles such as books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic material or digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving products over an electronic network. It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Business-to-Government (826): Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations.This kind of e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/ leading role in establishing e-co mmerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector nas the greatest need tor making its procurement system more ettective. Web- based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process (and reduces the risk of irregularities). To date, however, the size of the B2G e- commerce market as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C):Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals or consumers. This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical industries where firms/businesses can bid for what they want from among multiple suppliers. It perhaps has the greatest potential for developing new markets. Mobile Commerce (m-commerce): M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless technology-i. e. , handheld devices suc h as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).Japan is seen as a global leader in m-commerce. As content delivery over wireless devices becomes faster, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce will surpass wireline e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This may well be true for the Asia-Pacific where there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users. Governmental regulation[edit] In the United States, some electronic commerce activities are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These activities include the use of commercial e- mails, online advertising and consumer privacy.The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 establishes national standards for direct marketing over e-mail. The Federal Trade Commission Act regulates all forms of advertising, including online advertising, and states that advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive. [24] Using its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits u nfair or deceptive practices, the FTC has brought a number of cases to enforce the promises in corporate privacy statements, including promises about the security of consumers' personal information. [25] As result, any corporate privacy policy related to e- ommerce activity may be subject to enforcement by the FTC.The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which came into law in 2008, amends the Controlled Substances Act to address online pharmacies. [26] Internationally there is the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), which was formed in 1991 from an informal network of government customer fair trade organisations. The purpose was stated as being to find ways of co-operating on tackling consumer problems connected with cross-border transactions in both goods and services, and to help ensure exchanges of nformation among the participants for mutual benefit and understanding.From this came Econsumer. gov, an ICPEN initiative since April 2001. It is a portal to report complaints about online and related transactions with foreign companies. There is also Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established in 1989 with the vision of achieving stability, security and prosperity for the region through free and open trade and investment. APEC has an Electronic Commerce Stearing Group as well as working on common privacy regulations throughout the APEC region. In Australia,Trade is covered under Australian Treasury Guidelines tor electronic commerce, [27] and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission[28] regulates and offers advice on how to deal with businesses online,[29] and offers specific advice on what happens if things go wrong. [30] Also Australian government e-commerce website[31] provides information on e-commerce in Australia. In the United Kingdom, The FSA (Financial Services Authority)[32] is the competent authority for most aspects of the Payment Services Directive (PSD).The UK implemente d the PSD through the Payment Services Regulations 2009 (PSRs), which came into effect on 1 November 2009. The PSR affects firms providing payment services and their customers. These firms include banks, non-bank credit card issuers and non-bank merchant acquirers, e-money issuers, etc. The PSRs created a new class of regulated firms known as payment institutions (Pls), who are subject to prudential requirements. Article 87 of the PSD requires the European Commission to report on the implementation and impact of the PSD by 1 November 2012. 33] Forms[edit] Contemporary electronic commerce involves everything from ordering â€Å"digital† ontent for immediate online consumption, to ordering conventional goods and services, to â€Å"meta† services to facilitate other types of electronic commerce. On the institutional level, big corporations and financial institutions use the internet to exchange financial data to facilitate domestic and international business. Data integri ty and security are very hot and pressing issues for electronic commerce.Aside from traditional e-commerce, m-Commerce as well as the nascent t- Commerce[34] channels are often seen as the current 2013 poster children of electronic I-Commerce. Global trends[edit] In 2010, the United Kingdom had the biggest e-commerce market in the world when measured by the amount spent per capita. [35] The Czech Republic is the European country where ecommerce delivers the biggest contribution to the enterprises' total revenue. Almost a quarter (24%) of the countrys total turnover is generated via the online channel. 36] Among emerging economies, China's e-commerce presence continues[when? ] to expand. With 384 million internet users, China's online shopping sales rose to $36. 6 billion in 2009 and one of the reasons behind the huge growth has been the improved trust level for shoppers. The Chinese retailers have been able to help consumers feel more comfortable shopping online. [37] China's cross- border e-commerce is also growing rapidly. E-commerce transactions between China and other countries increased 32% to 2. 3 trillion yuan ($375. 8 billion) in 2012 and accounted for 9. % of China's total international trade [38] Other BRIC countries are witnessing the accelerated growth of ecommerce as well. In Russia, the total ecommerce market is projected to total somewhere between 690 billion rubles ($23 billion) and 900 billion rubles ($30 billion) in 201 5, at 2010 values. This will equal 5% of total retail volume in Russia. Longer-term, the market size of Russian e-commerce could reach $50 billion by 2020. Brazil's ecommerce is growing quickly with retail ecommerce sales expected to grow at a healthy double-digit pace through 2014.By 2016, eMarketer expects retail ecommerce sales in Brazil to reach $17. 3 billion. [39] India's ecommerce growth, on the other hand, has been slower although the country's potential remains solid considering its surging economy, the rapid growth of internet penetration, English language proficiency and a vast market of 1. billion consumers (although perhaps only 50 million access the internet throug n PCs and some estimate the most active group of e-commerce customers numbers only 2-3 million). E-commerce traffic grew about 50% from 2011 to 2012, from 26. 1 million to 37. million, according to a report released by Com Score. Still much of the estimated 14 billion dollars in 2012 ecommerce was generated from travel sites. ecommerce is also expanding across the Middle East. Having recorded the world's fastest growth in internet usage between 2000 and 2009, the region is now[when? ] home to more than 0 million internet users. Retail, travel and gaming are the region's top ecommerce segments, in spite of difficulties such as the lack of region-wide legal frameworks and logistical problems in cross-border transportation[citation needed].E-commerce has become an important tool for small and large businesses worldwide, not only to s ell to customers, but also to engage them. [40][41] In 2012, ecommerce sales topped $1 trillion for the first time in history. [42] Impact on markets and retailers[edit] Economists have theorized that e-commerce ought to lead to intensified rice competition, as it increases consumers' ability to gather information about products and prices.Research by four economists at the University of Chicago has found that the growth of online shopping has also affected industry structure in two areas that have seen significant growth in e-commerce, bookshopsand travel agencies. Generally, larger firms are able to use economies of scale and offer lower prices. The lone exception to this pattern has been the very smallest category of bookseller, shops with between one and four employees, which appear to have withstood the trend. [43]

Improve Efficiency Essay

A very high percentage of the items selected (picked) in the distribution centers and re-stocked in the stores were in quantities of 1 case. This company’s roots were as a high volume, limited assortment retailer and distributor. Over time the business had shifted allowing the stores to reorder a higher mix of items at lower volumes. Given the companies market position as a low-price leader, this reduced profit margins. The two root causes of this shift were identified as: 1. Stock-keeping-unit (SKU) count growth outpacing sales growth, and 2. Allowing minimum order quantities from the stores to the distribution centers to drop to a quantity of one This white paper will study how this company quantified the impact of allowing its stores to order in one case quantity and then recalculated minimum order quantities for higher volume items. (For details of how SKUs were reduced see White Paper â€Å"SKU Reduction – Biggest SKLUsers†) A Supply Velocity Consultant led a team of employees through this 5 week project. The Supply Velocity consultant facilitated, but the employees did most of the analysis and therefore owned the improvements. nfo@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 2 Project Outline ? Evaluated all SKUs and the case quantity they are most frequently ordered at, to establish baseline data for how stores are ordering ? Time studied retail store shelf restocking and distribution center order selection labor to determine the negative labor productivity impact of the current ordering policy o Graphed the results in a trend chart o Determined that the greatest labor productivity improvement happens when the order quantity increases from just 1 to 2 cases ? Recalculated minimum order quantity for all items using Multi-Variable Pareto analysis based on: o Item unit movement o Pack-out (number of units that fit on the shelf space allocated in stores) o Shelf life ? About 20% of all SKUs had a re-calculated minimum order quantity greater than 1 case o The most conservative methods were used to ensure this project didn’t just push inventory out to stores, resulting in shrink (throwing away items that go beyond their shelf-life limit or are damaged) ? Communicated all items on the minimum order quantity to all stores through a comprehensive communication plan o Communication plan included data to show stores how increasing minimum order quantity on select items would improve their labor productivity ? Created a control plan to ensure new items, SKU reduction and sales history will be used to update the minimum order quantity on a twice yearly basis info@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 3 Time Study Analysis To quantify the problem, we time studied order selection in the distribution centers and shelf restocking in retail stores. We conducted a few snapshot analyses of different distribution centers to understand the current state of â€Å"order quantities†. The graph below shows that out of the approximately 2800 items, a majority are ordered in quantities of 1 case. The time study data also showed that the second case selected or stocked is essentially â€Å"free† and the same movement is used for two cases as for one case. At the outset of this project the team was worried that any increase in minimum order quantity would be viewed by store managers as an attempt to push inventory out from the distribution centers to the stores. This data showed that increasing minimum order quantity from one case to just two, gave us the greatest percentage of labor productivity improvement. However, we didn’t just want to increase all items to a 2 case minimum order quantity. Instead, a statistical tool, Multi-Variable Pareto was used to calculate the proper minimum order quantity based on a mix of inputs. nfo@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 4 Distribution Center Order Selection Quantity (# of items picked per quantity) 57% of the items in distribution centers were selected at a 1 case quantity info@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 5 â€Å"Time to Select per Case Quantity† in the Distribution Centers – Based on case count per selection When selecting 2 cas es of an item, the time per case drops by 45% from 1 case. info@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 6 Time to Re-Stock SKUs on Shelves in Stores – Based on case count When restocking 2 cases of an item, the time per case drops by 61% from 1 case. This shows that the greatest productivity improvement occurs when going from 1 to 2 cases, which is easier to â€Å"sell† to the stores than making large increases in minimum order quantity. They can reduce labor by 37 seconds per case by ordering and stocking 2 cases of an item versus 1. info@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 7 Multi Variable Pareto Analysis ? Recalculated minimum order quantity for all items using Multi-Variable Pareto analysis based on: o Item unit movement o Pack-out (number of units that fit on the shelf space allocated in stores) o Shelf life ? About 20% of all SKUs had a re-calculated minimum order quantity greater than 1 case o The most conservative methods were used to ensure this project didn’t just push inventory out to stores, resulting in shrink Multi-Variable Pareto is a method that uses more than one â€Å"measure† to sort SKUs from highest to lowest performing. Normal Pareto Analysis has been used to develop guidelines such as the 80/20 rule (20% of customers generate 80% of sales). When using multiple variables, there has to be a way to normalize the data so all variables are part of the analysis. We used three variables to determine the correct minimum order quantity for an item. ? Cases sold per week on average for each item ? The number of cases that fit in the given shelf space ? Product shelf-life Each of these variables are positively correlated to Minimum Order Quantity. ? The higher the cases sold equals higher Order Quantity ? The greater the shelf space (pack-out) equals higher Order Quantity ? The longer the item’s shelf-life equals higher Order Quantity The team of subject matter experts used retail experience to determine each of these factors and their impact on minimum order quantity. Results of this analysis are shown below. The calculation was very conservative, as the results have shown. Only 466 of 2800 items have a minimum order quantity greater than 1 case. This was largely driven by two factors. Item shelf-life limited our ability to make any shelf-life sensitive item greater than 1 case. Our calculation took this limiting factor into account, to ensure we weren’t causing shrink (throwing away items that go beyond their shelf-life limit or are damaged) at the stores. In addition, lower case movement drove many items to a 1 case minimum, even if they didn’t have shelf life limitations. The lower case movement is due to SKU proliferation and was addressed by the SKU Reduction (Biggest SKLUsers) project. info@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 8 Results of Minimum Order Quantity Calculation info@supplyvelocity. om Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 9 Communication & Control Plan ? Communicated with all retail stores about how the minimum order quantity analysis was conducted and the resulting new plan o Communication plan included data to show stores that increasing minimum order quantity on select items would improve their labor productivity ? Created a control plan so new items, SKU reduction and sales history will update the minimum order quantity on a twice yearly basis It was critical that this project was presented as a positive for our retail store-customers. We created a communication plan that showed two key aspects of this change: ? The conservative nature of the change o only 466 of 2800 items are receiving a minimum order quantity increase ? This change is good for the stores and will improve their labor productivity To ensure that this process endures and does not get reversed over time we included a control plan. This is shown in the graphic below. As Category Marketing Managers evaluate items, adding and reducing SKUs, changes will be reflected in new pack-out quantities. This quantity will get fed to Distribution Technology who will recalculate this items’ minimum order quantity using the same Multi-Variable Pareto calculation. A control group, made up of Merchandising, Distribution and Retail Directors will review the list, make changes in the ordering system and communicate changes to store customers. info@supplyvelocity. com Copyright: Supply Velocity, Inc. 10 Results By taking the higher sales volume SKUs and increasing the store minimum order quantity, we decreased the time per case to stock shelves in the stores and select items in the distribution centers. Using only the 1 to 2 case increase in minimum order quantity for the 466 SKUs reduced the labor time per case resulting in a labor savings of $1. 2 million. The expectation for this process is to slowly grow the number items with a minimum order quantity greater than 1 case beyond 20%. By rationalizing and reducing SKUs we should increase the shelf pack-out of remaining items, thereby increasing the minimum order quantity.

Biography of Elizabeth Proctor

Biography of Elizabeth Proctor Elizabeth Proctor was convicted in the 1692  Salem witch trial. While her husband was executed, she escaped execution because she was pregnant at the time she would have been hanged. Age at time of Salem witch trials:  about 40Dates:  1652 - unknownAlso known as: Goody Proctor Before the Salem Witch Trials Elizabeth Proctor was born in Lynn, Massachusetts.  Her parents had both emigrated from England and had married in Lynn.  She married John Proctor as his third wife in 1674; he had five (possibly six) children still living with the eldest, Benjamin, about 16 at the marriage. John and Elizabeth Bassett Proctor had six children together; one or two had died as infants or young children before 1692. Elizabeth Proctor managed the tavern owned by her husband and his eldest son, Benjamin Proctor. He had a license to operate the tavern beginning in 1668. Her younger children, Sarah, Samuel and Abigail, ages 3 to 15, probably helped with tasks around the tavern, while William and his older stepbrothers helped John with the farm, a 700-acre estate south of Salem Village. Salem Witch Trials The first time Elizabeth Proctor’s name comes up in the Salem witch accusations is on or after March 6, when Ann Putnam Jr. blamed her for an affliction. When a relative by marriage, Rebecca Nurse, was accused (the warrant was issued March 23), Elizabeth Proctor’s husband John Proctor made a public statement to the effect that if the afflicted girls were to have their way, all would be â€Å"devils and witches.† Rebecca Nurse, a highly respected member of the Salem Village community, was the mother of John Nurse, whose wife’s brother, Thomas Very, was married to John Proctor’s daughter Elizabeth from his second marriage.  Rebecca Nurse’s sisters were Mary Easty and Sarah Cloyce. John Proctor’s speaking out for his relative may have drawn attention to the family.  About this same time, a Proctor family servant, Mary Warren, began to have fits similar to those of the girls who had accused Rebecca Nurse.  She said she had seen the ghost of Giles Corey.  John threatened her with beatings if she had more fits, and ordered her to work harder. He also told her that if she had an accident while in a fit, running into a fire or into water, he would not help her. On March 26, Mercy Lewis reported that Elizabeth Proctor’s ghost was afflicting her. William Raimant later reported he’d heard the girls at Nathaniel Ingersoll’s house saying that Elizabeth Proctor would be accused.  He said that one of the girls (perhaps Mary Warren) had reported seeing her ghost, but when others said that the Proctors were good people, she said that it had been â€Å"sport.†Ã‚  He didn’t name which of the girls said that. On March 29 and again a few days later, first Mercy Lewis then Abigail Williams accused her of witchcraft. Abigail accused her again and also reported seeing the ghost of John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband. Mary Warren’s fits had stopped, and she requested a prayer of thanks at the church, bringing her fits to the attention of Samuel Parris, who read her request to the members on Sunday, April 3, and then questioned her after the church service. Accused Capt. Jonathan Walcott and Lt. Nathaniel Ingersoll signed a complaint on April 4 against Sarah Cloyce (Rebecca Nurse’s sister) and Elizabeth Proctor for â€Å"high suspicion of several acts of witchcraft† done on Abigail Williams, John Indian, Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr, and Mercy Lewis. A warrant was issued on April 4 to bring both Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor into custody for an examination at the town public meeting house for an examination on April 8, and ordering as well that Elizabeth Hubbard and Mary Warren appear to give evidence.  On April 11 George Herrick of Essex issued a statement that he had brought Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor to the court and had warned Elizabeth Hubbard to appear as a witness. No mention is made of Mary Warren in his statement. Examination The examination of Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor took place on April 11.  Thomas Danforth, the Deputy Governor, conducted the verbal examination, first interviewing John Indian.  He said that Cloyce had hurt him â€Å"a great many times† including â€Å"yesterday at the meeting.† Abigail Williams testified to seeing a company of about 40 witches at a sacrament at Samuel Parris’ house, including a â€Å"white man† who â€Å"made all the witches to tremble.† Mary Walcott testified that she had not seen Elizabeth Proctor, so had not been hurt by her. Mary (Mercy) Lewis and Ann Putnam Jr. were asked questions about Goody Proctor but indicated that they were unable to speak. John Indian testified that Elizabeth Proctor had tried to get him to write in a book. Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam Jr. were asked questions but â€Å"neither of them could make any answer, by reason of dumbness or other fits.† When asked for her explanation, Elizab eth Proctor replied that â€Å"I take God in heaven to be my witness, that I know nothing of it, no more than the child unborn.†Ã‚  (She was pregnant at the time of her examination.) Ann Putnam Jr. and Abigail Williams then both told the court that Proctor had tried to get her to sign a book (referring to the devil’s book), and then began to have fits in the court. They accused Goody Proctor of causing them and then accused Goodman Proctor (John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband) of being a wizard and also causing their fits. John Proctor, when asked his response to the accusations, defended his innocence. Mrs. Pope and Mrs. Bibber then also displayed fits and accused John Proctor of causing them. Benjamin Gould testified that Giles and Martha Corey, Sarah Cloyce, Rebecca Nurse and Goody Griggs had appeared in his chamber the previous Thursday. Elizabeth Hubbard, who had been called to testify, had been in a trance state the whole examination. Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam Jr., during the testimony against Elizabeth Proctor, had reached out as if to strike the accused. Abigail’s hand closed into a fist and touched Elizabeth Proctor only lightly, and then Abigail â€Å"cried out, her fingers, her fingers burned† and Ann Putnam Jr. â€Å"took on most grievously, of her head, and sunk down.† Samuel Parris took the notes of the examination. Charges Elizabeth Proctor was formally charged on April 11 with â€Å"certain detestable arts called witchcraft and sorceries† which she was said to have â€Å"wickedly and feloniously† used against Mary Walcott and Mercy Lewis, and for â€Å"sundry other acts of witchcraft.† The charges were signed by Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr., and Mercy Lewis.  Ã‚   Out of the examination, charges were placed against John Proctor as well, and the court ordered John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Sarah Cloyce, Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey, and Dorcas Good (misidentified as Dorothy) to the Boston jail. Mary Warren’s Part Notable by her absence was Mary Warren, the servant who had first brought attention to the Proctor household, who the sheriff had been ordered to have appeared, but who does not seem to have been involved in the formal charges against the Proctors to this point, nor to have been present during the examination.  Her answers to Samuel Parris after her initial note to church and her subsequent absence from the proceedings against the Proctors was taken by some to be a statement that the girls had been lying about their fits. She apparently admitted that she had been lying about the accusations. The others began accusing Mary Warren of witchcraft herself, and she was formally accused in court on April 18.  On April 19, she recanted her statement that her previous accusations had been lies. After this point, she began to formally accuse the Proctors and others of witchcraft.  She testified against the Proctors in their June trial. Testimony for the Proctors In April of 1692, 31 men submitted a petition on behalf of the Proctors, testifying to their character.  In May, a group of neighbors- eight married couples and six other men- submitted a petition to the court saying the Proctors â€Å"lived Christian life in their family and were ever ready to help such as stood in need of their help,† and that they never heard or understood them to be suspected of witchcraft.  Daniel Elliot, a 27-year-old, said he’d heard from one of the accusing girls that she had cried out against Elizabeth Proctor â€Å"for sport.† Further Accusations John Proctor had also been accused during Elizabeth’s examination, and arrested and jailed for suspicion of witchcraft. Soon other family members were drawn in.  On May 21, Elizabeth and John Proctor’s daughter Sarah Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor’s sister-in-law Sarah Bassett were accused of afflicting Abigail Williams, Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis and Ann Putnam Jr. The two Sarahs were then arrested. Two days later, Benjamin Proctor, John Proctor’s son and Elizabeth Proctor’s stepson, was accused of afflicting Mary Warren, Abigail Williams, and Elizabeth Hubbard. He was also arrested.  John and Elizabeth Proctor’s son William Proctor was accused on May 28 of afflicting Mary Walcott and Susannah Sheldon, and he was then arrested.  Thus, three of the children of Elizabeth and John Proctor were also accused and arrested, along with Elizabeth’s sister and sister-in-law. June 1692 On June 2, a physical examination of Elizabeth Proctor and some others of the accused found no signs on their bodies that they were witches. The jurors heard testimony against Elizabeth Proctor and her husband John on June 30. Depositions were submitted by Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Warren, Abigail Williams, Mercy Lewis, Ann Putnam Jr.,  and Mary Walcott stating that they had been afflicted by the apparition of Elizabeth Proctor at various times in March and April. Mary Warren had not initially accused Elizabeth Proctor, but she did testify at the trial. Stephen Bittford also submitted a deposition against both Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse.  Thomas and Edward Putnam submitted a petition stating that they had seen Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Ann Putnam Jr. being afflicted, and â€Å"very believe in our hearts† that it was Elizabeth Proctor who caused the afflictions.  Because the depositions of minors by themselves would not stand up in court, Nathaniel Ingersoll, Samuel Parris, and Thomas Putnam attested that they had seen these afflictions and believed them to have been done by Elizabeth Proctor. Samuel Barton and John Houghton also testified that they had been prese nt for some of the afflictions and heard the accusations against Elizabeth Proctor at the time. A deposition by Elizabeth Booth accused Elizabeth Proctor of afflicting her, and in a second deposition, she stated that on June 8 her father’s ghost appeared to her and accused Elizabeth Proctor of killing him because Booth’s mother would not send for Dr. Griggs. In a third deposition, she said that the ghost of Robert Stone Sr. and his son Robert Stone Jr. had appeared to her and said that John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor killed them over a disagreement. A fourth deposition from Booth attested to four other ghosts that had appeared to her and accused Elizabeth Proctor – and in one case also John Willard- of killing them, one over some cider Elizabeth Proctor had not been paid for, one for not calling a doctor as recommended by Proctor and Willard, another for not bringing apples to her, and the last for differing in judgment with a doctor- Elizabeth Proctor was accused of killing him and laming his wife. William Raimant submitted a deposition that he had been present at the house of Nathaniel Ingersoll in late March when â€Å"some of the afflicted persons† cried out against Goody Proctor and said â€Å"I’ll have her hang,† had been reproved by Mrs. Ingersoll, and then they â€Å"seemed to make a jest of it.† The court decided to formally charge the Proctors with witchcraft, on the basis of the testimony, much of which was spectral evidence. Guilty The Court of Oyer and Terminer  met on August 2 to consider the cases of Elizabeth Proctor and her husband John, among others. About this time, apparently,John rewrote his will, excluding Elizabeth probably because he expected them both to be executed. On August 5, in a trial before jurors, both Elizabeth Proctor and her husband John were found guilty and sentenced to be executed.  Elizabeth Proctor was pregnant, and so she was given a temporary stay of execution until after she would give birth.  The juries that day also convicted George Burroughs,  Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., and John Willard. After this, the sheriff seized all the property of John and Elizabeth, selling or killing all their cattle and taking all their household goods, leaving their children with no means of support. John Proctor tried to avoid execution by claiming illness, but he was hanged on August 19, on the same day as the other four condemned on August 5. Elizabeth Proctor remained in jail, awaiting the birth of her child and, presumably, her own execution soon after that. Elizabeth Proctor After the Trials The  Court of Oyer and Terminer had stopped meeting in September, and there had been no new executions after September 22 when 8 had been hanged. The Governor, influenced by a group of Boston-area ministers including Increase Mather, had ordered that spectral evidence not be relied on in court from that point on and ordered on October 29 that arrests stop and that the Court of Oyer and Terminer be dissolved. In late November he established a  Superior Court of Judicature  to handle further trials. On January 27, 1693, Elizabeth Proctor gave birth in jail to a son, and she named him John Proctor III. On March 18, a group of residents petitioned on behalf of nine who had been convicted of witchcraft, including John and Elizabeth Proctor, for their exoneration. Only three of the nine were still alive, but all who had been convicted had lost their property rights and so had their heirs. Among those who signed the petition were Thorndike Proctor and Benjamin Proctor, John’s sons and Elizabeth’s stepsons.  The petition was not granted. After the wife of Governor Phipps was accused of witchcraft, he issued a general order freeing all 153 remaining prisoners accused or convicted were released from jail in May 1693, finally freeing Elizabeth Proctor.  The family had to pay for her room and board while in jail before she could actually leave the jail. She was, however, penniless.  Her husband had written a new will while in jail and had omitted Elizabeth from it, probably expecting her to be executed. Her dowry and prenuptial contract were ignored by her stepchildren, on the basis of her conviction which made her legally a non-person, even though she had been released from jail. She and her still minor children went to live with Benjamin Proctor, her eldest stepson.  The family moved to Lynn, where Benjamin in 1694 married Mary Buckley Witheridge, also imprisoned in the Salem trials. Sometime before March of 1695, John Proctor’s will was accepted by the court for probate, which means that the court treated his rights as being restored. In April his estate was divided (though we have no record of how) and his children, including those by Elizabeth Proctor, presumably had some settlement.  Elizabeth Proctor’s children Abigail and William disappear from the historical record after 1695. It was not until April of 1697, after her farm had burned, that Elizabeth Proctor’s dowry was restored to her for her use by a probate court, on a petition she filed in June 1696. Her husband’s heirs had held her dowry until that time, as her conviction had made her a legal non-person. Elizabeth Proctor remarried on September 22, 1699, to Daniel Richards of Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1702, the Massachusetts General Court declared the 1692 trials to have been unlawful.  In 1703, the legislature passed a bill reversing the attainder against John and Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, convicted in the trials, essentially allowing them to be considered legal persons again and file legal claims for the return of their property.  The legislature also at this time outlawed the use of spectral evidence in trials. In 1710, Elizabeth Proctor was paid 578 pounds and 12 shillings in restitution for her husband’s death. Another bill was passed in 1711 restoring rights to many of those involved in the trials, including John Proctor.  This bill gave the Proctor family 150 pounds in restitution for their incarceration and for John Proctor’s death. Elizabeth Proctor and her younger children may have moved away from Lynn after her remarriage, as there is no known record of their deaths or where they are buried. Benjamin Proctor died in Salem Village (later renamed Danvers) in 1717. A Genealogical Note Elizabeth Proctor’s grandmother, Ann Holland Bassett Burt, was married first to Roger Bassett; Elizabeth’s father William Bassett Sr. is their son.  Ann Holland Bassett remarried after John Bassett’s death in 1627, to Hugh Burt, apparently as his second wife.  John Bassett died in England.  Ann and Hugh married in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1628.  Two to four years later, a daughter, Sarah Burt, was born in Lynn, Massachusetts.  Some genealogical sources list her as the daughter of Hugh Burt and Anne Holland Basset Burt and connect her to the Mary or Lexi or Sarah Burt married to William Bassett Sr., born about 1632.  If this connection is accurate, Elizabeth Proctor’s parents would have been half-siblings or step-siblings.  If Mary/Lexi Burt and Sarah Burt are two different persons and have been confused in some genealogies, they are likely related. Ann Holland Bassett Burt was accused of witchcraft in 1669. Motives Elizabeth Proctor’s grandmother, Ann Holland Bassett Burt, was a Quaker, and so the family may have been looked on with suspicion by the Puritan community.  She had also been accused of witchcraft in 1669, accused by, among others, a doctor, Philip Read, apparently on the basis of her skill in healing others.  Elizabeth Proctor is said in some sources to have been a healer, and some of the accusations relate to her advice on seeing doctors. The skeptical reception by John Proctor of Mary Warren’s accusation of Giles Corey may have also played a part, and then her subsequent attempt to recover from seeming to call into question the veracity of the other accusers. While Mary Warren did not participate formally in the early accusations against the Proctors, she did make formal accusations against the Proctors and many others after she herself had been accused of witchcraft by the other afflicted girls. Another likely contributing motive was that Elizabeth’s husband, John Proctor, had publicly denounced the accusers, implying that they were lying about the accusations, after his relative by marriage, Rebecca Nurse, was accused. The ability to seize the rather extensive property of the Proctors may have added to the motive to convict them. Elizabeth Proctor in  The Crucible John and Elizabeth Proctor and their servant Mary Warren are major characters in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. John is portrayed as a fairly young man, in his thirties, rather than as a man in his sixties, as he was in reality. In the play, Abigail Williams- in real life about eleven or twelve during the accusations and in the play about seventeen- is portrayed as a former servant of the Proctors and as having had an affair with John Proctor; Miller is said to have taken the incident in the transcripts of Abigail Williams trying to strike Elizabeth Proctor during the examination as evidence of this relationship. Abigail Williams, in the play, accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft to gain revenge against John for ending the affair. Abigail Williams was not, in reality, ever a servant of the Proctors and may not have known them or not known them well before she joined in the accusations after Mary Warren had already done so; Miller has Warren joining in after Williams ha s begun the accusations. Elizabeth Proctor in  Salem,  2014 series The name of Elizabeth Proctor is not used for any major character in the highly fictionalized WGN America TV Series, airing from 2014, called Salem. Family, Background Mother:  Mary Burt or Sarah Burt or Lexi Burt (sources differ) (1632 – 1689) Father:  Captain William Bassett Sr., of Lynn, Massachusetts (1624 – 1703) Grandmother:  Ann Holland Bassett Burt, a Quaker Siblings Mary Bassett DeRich (also accused; her son John DeRich was among the accusers though not of his mother)William Bassett Jr. (married to Sarah Hood Bassett, also accused)Elisha BassettSarah Bassett Hood (her husband Henry Hood was accused)John Bassettothers Husband John Proctor  (March 30, 1632 – August 19, 1692), married in 1674; it was her first marriage and his third. He had come from England to Massachusetts at three years old with his parents and had moved to Salem in 1666. Children William Proctor (1675 – after 1695, also accused)Sarah Proctor (1677 – 1751, also accused)Samuel Proctor (1685 – 1765)Elisha Proctor (1687 – 1688)Abigail (1689 – after 1695)Joseph (?)John (1692 – 1745) Stepchildren: John Proctor also had children by his first two wives.   His first wife, Martha Giddons, died in childbirth in 1659, the year after their first three children died. The child born in 1659, Benjamin, lived until 1717 and was accused as part of the Salem witch trials.John Proctor married his second wife, Elizabeth Thorndike, in 1662. They had seven children, born 1663 – 1672. Three or four of the seven were still living in 1692. Elizabeth Thorndike Proctor died shortly after the birth of their last, Thorndike, who was among the accused in the Salem witch trials.  Ã‚  The first child of this second marriage, Elizabeth Proctor, was married to Thomas Very.  Thomas Very’s sister, Elizabeth Very, was married to John Nurse, son of  Rebecca Nurse, who was among those executed.  Rebecca Nurse’s sister  Mary Easty  was also executed and another of her sisters,  Sarah Cloyce, accused at the same time as was Elizabeth Proctor.

An Evaluation and Analysis of the Effectiveness of Professional Training in Preparing Teachers for Dealing with bullying and Classroom Management The WritePass Journal

An Evaluation and Analysis of the Effectiveness of Professional Training in Preparing Teachers for Dealing with bullying and Classroom Management ABSTRACT An Evaluation and Analysis of the Effectiveness of Professional Training in Preparing Teachers for Dealing with bullying and Classroom Management ). They may be the first adults to observe or become aware of bullying behavior at school, so it follows that teachers should have input into the creation of school anti-bullying programs in order to ensure the classroom environment, and the school as a whole, is safe for all students. Research objective Conducting a study of teachers’ perspectives on bullying and their classroom management skills could make an important contribution to the creation of an appropriate, successful anti-bullying intervention. Olweus noted that to achieve this â€Å"adults at school and, to some degree, at home [need to] become aware of the extent of bully/victim problems in ‘their’ school; [and to] decide to engage themselves, with some degree of seriousness, in changing the situation† (Olweus, 1993, p66). Bradshaw et al., (2011) confirm that an examination of staff members’ interpretations of bullying is important and constitutes a significant advance in improving how these are understood. Wright (2003) provides teachers with strategies and guidelines to assist them to understand, and improve their skills to manage, the problem of bullying in school settings. Thus, teachers’ knowledge, experience and skills in dealing with students are highly likely to make a us eful contribution to the creation of effective interventions. Proposal structure This research proposal contains an overview of the subject literature, followed by an outline methodology. The research philosophy, approach and strategy are explored; data collection and analysis is outlined and access and ethical issues are considered. Ideas for sample questions, definitions of terms and research variables are contained in Appendix 1. LITERATURE REVIEW The literature on bullying is comprehensive and studies are now attempting to address why and how bullying occurs, and ultimately who is to blame. Bradshaw et al. (2011) suggest that teachers should fully comprehend a working definition of bullying and work with the Department of Education to carry out classroom procedures to deal with it. Some researchers suggest that students themselves should not be labeled as a bully or victim, and instead it is the behavior that should be labeled bullying or victim behavior (Burzinski, 2012). Overt or direct bullying behavior involves observable behaviors that are usually conveyed by verbal and physical means. Normally direct bullying takes place face to face and involves relatively blatant attacks on a victim; additionally, children may use disruptive acts that are just as hurtful, but are more difficult to detect. Covert or indirect bullying includes actions such as spreading rumors to damage another child’s character, deliberately excluding others or encouraging other children to dislike another person. Such behavior may happen behind someone’s back, rather than face to face. Porter (2009) states that the intention to harm physically/emotionally is an essential component of bullying behavior. For example, a friend teasing another friend good-naturedly is not classed as bullying, while a person deliberately teasing another in order to upset them is classed as bullying. Further, bullying can be defined as a ubiquitous aggression, frequently occurring in schools, which has specific features that distinguish it from other aggressive behaviors, namely, it is repetitive, and the victims of bullying have less access to power than the perpetrators. Cyber-bullying is increasing but verbal abuse is still more common (Childnet International, 2007). During the last two decades researchers have focused on identifying the causes and results of bullying, however there are still significant gaps in the literature. While many studies have investigated students’ views of school bullying, only very few have looked at these issues from staff members’ perspectives (Bradshaw, Sawyer and O’Brennan, 2007; Juvonen, Nishina and Graham, 2008; Goldstein, Young and Boyd, 2008). Newman-Carlson and Horne (2004) state that despite the existence of numerous commended programs in schools to confront the bullying problem, few empirical studies have evaluated or confirmed their effectiveness. Recording teachers’ views based on managing and monitoring behaviors in a classroom setting is therefore valuable in this context. Pellegrini and Bartini (2002) posit that research provides counselors with useful guidelines for developing successful bullying assessment programs. These programs deliver the most precise information when they are conducted over a considerable period of time. Members of a school team, including teachers, who work alongside counselors, may assist the process of creating a more integrated format for successful programs. However Lakewood (2012) notes that while during the last ten years bullying has become the central issue that schools have to tackle, and research has examined programs to assess successful and unsuccessful interventions, there appears to be no single program for bullying prevention or bullying intervention that is likely to work in every environment. Dan Olweus’ Swedish study of â€Å"mobbing†, a term for bullying most prevalent in the Scandinavian countries, as reported in â€Å"Aggression in the schools: Bullies and whipping boys† (1978) was the first notable study of school bullying. Subsequently many other countries have undertaken research to try to understand the bullying phenomenon including Norway, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan and the United States (Porter, 2009). These studies show the problem of bullying is prevalent on a national and worldwide level. Increasing reports of bullying and its consequences have encouraged more research studies. Milsom and Gallo (2006) note that research demonstrates a tendency for bullying to reach its height in late childhood or early adolescence. This implies that taking steps for prevention and intervention in middle school is crucial. The findings from the National Education Association’s Nationwide Study of Bullying are that the views of bullying expressed by school staff members differ from those of students, who perceive that staff members do not respond adequately when told of bullying incidents (Bradshaw et al., 2011). The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a sub-department of the Department of Education, has decreed that individual schools are responsible for devising policies and programs to tackle bullying. Data held by the OCR seeks to help school officials to better understand that some acts of bullying may effectively violate the civil rights of the victim, and that this can have an influence on the way a bullying incident is reported. Literature review summary Bullying is not just a minor problem; the phenomenon has escalated in recent years to such an extent that community leaders, academic researchers, parents, school officials, teachers, and the media have recognized the need for prevention and intervention. The literature concludes that teachers and other school staff require training to acquire appropriate knowledge and skills to deal with the pervasiveness of bullying (Blosnich and Bossarte, 2011). Research question Teachers and students have different views about how teachers handle bullying incidents. Commonly, victims of bullying fail to report it to a teacher. This is because, according to those who do, while some teachers may help, others are indifferent or even contribute to making the bullying more serious. Contrary to this, the teachers’ view is that they intervene in bullying incidents; students do not feel this is accurate (Porter, 2009). This study seeks to explore teachers’ attitudes to and perspectives on the bullying problem and to gain insights into their understanding of it. Further, this study will look at the different methods teachers use to manage their classrooms and the role of training in developing these methods. Through analysis of the collected data, the study will examine the research question: does teacher training adequately equip teachers with effective techniques to tackle bullying in the classroom? The objective of this study is to use the evidence g athered to arrive at sound conclusions that will help inform future anti-bullying programs. METHODOLGY Research philosophy The majority of researchers agree that the most effective anti-bullying interventions are comprehensive (Espelage and Swearer, 2003), engaging adults and children at individual level, at classroom level and at whole-school level (Olweus, 1993, p64). There is a lack of research on how teachers understand bullying, and on the specific factors that influence their interventions and views (Mishna, Scarcello, Pepler and Wiener, 2005). This is a curious omission as teachers are in an important and influential position on the subject. If teachers feel respected and their point of view is valued, then intervention programs may be more effective. The planned research will adhere to a positivist philosophy, which holds that every rationally justifiable assertion is capable of logical or mathematical proof or can be scientifically verified and will examine teachers’ perspectives on bullying, and how they manage the phenomenon in their classrooms. Research approach There have been many international media stories concerning high-profile events linked to behavioral problems in schools, such as the Columbine school murders in 1999 and the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, both incidents in which angry teenagers killed and injured fellow students on school premises. Subsequent investigations often reveal an element of revenge for bullying on the part of the perpetrators of such crimes. Then there are other incidents where students have died or committed suicide as a result of being bullied. Neil Marr and Tim Field coined the word ‘bullycide’ to describe these tragic deaths in their book Bullycide: Death at Playtime (2001) and the â€Å"bullyonline† website has a Bullycide memorial page listing the names and circumstances of many young people who have died in the UK and elsewhere as a result of bullying. Such events provide a focus on the seriousness of bullying and the extent of the problem, highlighting the enormity of the emoti onal and physical devastation that the victims, and their families, experience. The planned approach for the research is to conduct a quantitative survey of teachers, collecting data and converting it into numerical form in order to make statistical calculations and draw valid conclusions. This will contribute knowledge that will enable improved strategies for classroom management across all schools, which could have a substantial effect on the frequency and severity of school bullying, and may prevent incidents escalating to such extremes. Research strategy The Brentwood School district includes four middle schools – North, South, East and West – which have a total of about 150 teachers. With permission from the school administration and the Institutional Review Board (IRB), the research strategy is to conduct a survey of teachers’ views across these four schools. The researcher will use self-administered questionnaires to gather data, to analyze it across a number of constituent elements and to draw conclusions from the findings. Although a longitudinal study may deliver more detailed results, this would be time-consuming and onerous for participants as well as the researcher. As a research tool, a survey is cost effective, takes a relatively short amount of time to answer, and is more convenient and less stressful for the participants (Creswell, 2009). This study focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of teachers in regard to bullying and classroom management. Both male and female teachers will be recruited from the four middle schools in Brentwood, NY. All teachers will be invited to take part and the target is to achieve a 55% response rate, which is deemed to be sufficient for making sound judgments (Van Bennekom, 2011). School principals will be asked for permission to approach the teachers for this study and also asked to ensure the questionnaires are placed in the mailbox of the teachers, in each school listed. Data collection Having obtained permission from the director of special programs via an introductory letter explaining the reason behind and the importance of the survey, the questionnaires and accompanying stamped, self-addressed envelopes will be placed in the teachers’ mailboxes. Participants will also receive a letter explaining the research, assuring them that responses will remain confidential and asking them to confirm their consent. No financial compensation will be provided for participation in the study; however, respondents will be able to receive a copy of the survey findings. Teachers will be asked to return the questionnaires within a two-week period in the envelopes provided. On completion of all the returned questionnaires, the data analysis will commence. The data will be stored in the office of the researcher in a locked cabinet. Data analysis A good survey design permits a clear and rigorous assessment process via a logical model (Babbie, 1990). The questionnaire for the survey will be designed to measure the attitudes of teachers concerning bullying; a series of questions will allow responses across a Likert scale ranging from 1 (disagree strongly) to 7 (agree strongly). Other questions will cover demographic information, such as age, gender, racial and ethnic background and length of time teaching in this district, as well as a series of questions about teachers’ experiences of observing and dealing with bullying in the classroom, and their perceptions of self-efficacy. A text analysis using a free online lexical analysis tool will be carried out on information contributed in these areas. Bandura (1994) defines perceived self-efficacy as the beliefs people hold concerning their capacity to produce certain levels of accomplishment that are known to â€Å"exercise influence over events that affect their lives† (Bandura, 1994, p. 71). Thus, self-efficacy beliefs govern how people think, feel, behave and motivate themselves. Bandura’s instrument teacher self-efficacy scale will be used to measure responses in which teachers are assessing their own self-efficacy. Teachers will be asked to complete and return questionnaires within two weeks. This should give them sufficient time, without pressure on them, although a prompt may be provided closer to the deadline. The research will undertake coding and analysis of the returned questionnaires using a computer program specifically made for data analysis (SPSS). See Appendix 1 for sample questions, definitions of terms and research variables. Access As long as permission is obtained as planned, there are unlikely to be major access issues. The use of a postal questionnaire means that the geographic location of the participating schools can be overcome. For people with disabilities, additional steps can be taken to make the survey accessible. For example, large-print versions of the questionnaire could be issued for any participants with sight impairment. The two-week period during which forms can be returned is considered to be sufficient time to allow busy teachers to complete the form. Reliability, validity, and generalizability The range of questions asked allows for a correlation between several factors (see Appendix 1), including levels of teacher training, effectiveness of the schools’ anti-bullying programs and policies, and levels of teacher confidence in dealing with bullying behavior. Data on social and ethnic backgrounds is also being collected, in order to underline any specific trends that may emerge concerning how bullying is viewed in different parts of the district, for example, or by teachers of a specific age and background. A T-test can be used to assess whether the means of the different groups of teachers are statistically different from each other. The results will be representative of the district, and may be held to be valid for a large number of middle schools elsewhere in the USA. Ethical issues Bullying causes stress and Blosnich and Bossarte (2011) propose that school bullying, as a form of low-level violent behavior that has been associated with negative outcomes for both physical and mental health, continues to be a serious public health issue. People dealing with bullying also suffer stress, and it will be important when conducting this research to ask questions in such a way as to elicit general information from teachers, rather than ask them to recall specific bullying incidents, which may be upsetting and uncomfortable. The same applies to questions of self-efficacy – being asked to judge their own competence in terms of classroom management is a delicate subject area and must be handled with care. Research limitations Due to time constraints, and the ways in which schools function, it is not feasible or practicable to observe how anti-bullying programs within schools work at first hand. The study is thus limited to an analysis of data gathered via a survey of teachers’ views on the bullying situations in their classes; how they feel about the programs used in their schools; and their self-perceptions of their own confidence levels in dealing with bullying behavior. This data will be specific to teachers and will not reflect the views of students other than as perceived by teachers. The participating schools and teachers, and the information extrapolated from the resulting data, may not necessarily be typical of how all teachers in all schools view bullying. CONCLUSION Bullying is acknowledged as a widespread problem and the need for further research has been voiced consistently by academics in the field. This dissertation proposal offers the opportunity to design a new study focused on teachers’ views and attitudes. Its findings will inform current knowledge about interventions designed to mitigate school bullying, and may provide substantial new information that can be used to improve current policies, programs and the scope of teacher training. APPENDIX 1 An agreed definition of bullying would ensure that stakeholders have a shared understanding of the issue. Important questions to be considered are: What is the individual teacher’s definition of bullying? This may indicate how the teacher approaches bullying in the classroom. A definition will be offered and individuals will be asked to score the extent to which they agree or disagree using a Likert scale. How does the teacher perceive the anti-bullying program that is in place in the school? This may indicate how bullying situations are approached across the whole school. Has the teacher had any training on bullying prevention? This may indicate if the teacher will properly implement the program. How does the teacher perceive the target of bullying and the bully? The words used to describe the individuals will be counted as part of the text analysis. Is the teacher competent and/or confident in handling bullying situations? Examining the age and gender differences of teachers, in the context of the extent of their anti-bullying training, could provide useful information on whether these factors influence approaches to dealing with bullying. These are the key questions that will be addressed during the development of the study. Definitions Bullying– behavior perpetrated by one or more students (the bullies) who single out a child (the target or victim) with an intention to harm that child. Bullying actions may include making threats, attacking someone physically or verbally, spreading rumors and deliberately excluding someone from a group. Teachers’ training– any training acquired as part of obtaining teaching credentials, including training about bullying; any additional anti-bullying training received within the current school. Training may include in school seminars and lectures; knowledge and information obtained through the Internet; workshops given by the school or any outside sources; continuing education credits (CEUs); any extra reading, or individual personal knowledge, or certifications, (there should be written documentation by the organization that gave the class or workshop). Teachers’ understanding– teacher’s understanding and interpretation of bullying and anti-bullying terms according to the definitions used by the New York State Board of Education. Increased reporting– as measured by the teachers’ incident reports (counting increases in the report logs). Effective classroom management– decrease of bullying behavior as perceived by the teacher; evidence of the positive cooperation of students formerly involved in classroom aggression toward other students; increase in student work production. Fewer episodes– evidence of decrease in student involvement in name-calling, shoving, pushing, teasing, etc; evidence of decrease in classroom disruptions. Student trust– evidence that students feel more confident about telling the teacher of any uncomfortable circumstances; evidence that teacher is helping students gain access to needed services i.e., guidance counselor referrals; evidence that the teacher will discreetly attend to the bullying within the classroom and observe the victim and the bully, deflating any pending incidents. Confiding– evidence that the student trusts the teacher to help the student; increased disclosure of any problems they may be having concerning bullying or similar incidents within the school perimeter. Research variables The independent variables are: 1.Teacher training; 2. Teacher understanding; 3. Increased reporting by teachers; 4. Effective classroom management. The dependent variables are: 1. Increase in reported bullying incidents throughout the school; 2. Fewer episodes of classroom bullying; 3. Student trust level; 4. Confiding in the teacher. Students’ levels of trust and the extent to which they confide in the teacher can be measured by counting the teachers’ reports of students coming to them to give an account of bullying incidents, demonstrating the extent to which the students trust the teachers to help them. References American Heritage Dictionary (2nd ed.) (1982). Boston: MA: Houghton Mifflin. Atlas, R. S., and Pepler, D. J. (1998). Observations of bullying in the classroom. The Journal of Educational Research. 92(2), 86–99. Babbie, E. (1990) Survey research Methods (2nd ed.) Belmont: CA Wadsworth Publishing Company. Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, 71–81). New York: Academic Press. Retrieved from: uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/BanEncy.html. [Accessed 18th February 2013]. Blosnich, J., and Bossarte, R. (2011). Low-Level violence in schools: Is there an association between school safety measures and peer victimization? Journal of School Health (81) 2, 107-113. Bradshaw, C., Koth, C., Thornton, L., and Leaf, P. (2008). Altering school climate through school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports: Findings from a group-randomized effectiveness trial. Prevention Science 10 (2), 100-115. Bradshaw, C., Sawyer, A. and O’Brennan, L. (2007) Bullying and peer victimization at school: Perceptual differences between students and school staff. School Psychology Review, Vol 36(3), Sep 2007, 361-382. Bradshaw, et al. (2011). Findings from the National Education Association’s Nationwide Study of Bullying: Teachers’ and Education Support Professionals’ Perspectives. Washington, DC: National Education Association. Online. 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