Early Childhood Studies

Tania Edison

Obama Quotes on Early Learning

“And we should raise the bar when it comes to early learning programs… Today, some early learning programs are excellent. Some are mediocre. And some are wasting what studies show are – by far – a child’s most formative years.

“Even as we invest in early childhood education, let’s raise the bar for early learning programs that are falling short. Now, today, some children are enrolled in excellent programs. Some children are enrolled in mediocre programs. And some are wasting away their most formative years in bad programs….That’s why I’m issuing a challenge to our states: Develop a cutting-edge plan to raise the quality of your early learning programs; show us how you’ll work to ensure that children are better prepared for success by the time they enter kindergarten. If you do, we will support you with an Early Learning Challenge Grant that I call on Congress to enact. That’s how we will reward quality and incentivize excellence, and make a down payment on the success of the next generation.”

  

Childhood:  the period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth – two removes from the sin of manhood and three from the remorse of age.  ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911

Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.  ~John Betjeman, Summoned by Bells

What fuels my passion for early childhood is being able to give the children the love and attention they don’t receive at home. I provide those children with warm and loving environment so they will feel safe.  I am happy to say I ‘m giving them an early start with education.

My favorite children’s book is The Color Bear.  I like this book because it makes the children think and teaches colors.

 

Reflections

Reflections

The first time I enrolled in college I was 18 and fresh out of high school.  I completed one semester and decided that college was not for me.  I was a single parent and I had more than myself to think about, so I got a job.  It was good being able to work and make my own money, but I felt as if something was missing.

During my time off from school I had several family members to graduate from high school, start college, and finish with a degree.  As I found myself being supportive and congratulating them, I realized what was missing, my degree.

At the time I decided to return to school I had started working for Head Start.  Because I was working in an educational environment, in order to keep my job I was required to get a certificate basically saying I was competent to be working with children.  I wanted more and a certificate of competence, I went for the next best thing; my first degree.  I re-enrolled in school to earn my Associates Degree in Early Childhood.  It felt good knowing that years later I had become a family member being supported and congratulated for an academic achievement.  I then felt that that was not enough, I wanted more. So I decided to return to school to get by Bachelor’s Degree, this time in Business Administration.

This journey has not been an easy one. In my pursuit of higher education I have had many problems and setbacks.  Half way through my program class were added that I was not aware of in the beginning, thus extending the time I would be in school.

In this course I have learned a lot about business.  What it takes to start one and keep it going.  I have learned how to get my ideas out to the public, and make them want to be a part of what I have to offer.  The things that I have learned in the course are things that are transferable into other parts of my life, from school to work.

Becoming an Entrepreneur

Becoming an Entrepreneur

Why do people become entrepreneurs?  According to Scott Shane, most people become entrepreneurs because they want to be their own boss.  When comparing compensation, job stress, and hours worked of employees and entrepreneurs, the sat are not equal.  People who work for themselves tend to work more hours during the week, more stressed and exhausted, and can earn less money.  Though the numbers may not add up, being your own boss is considered a grater job satisfaction for entrepreneurs.

Knowing that being your own boss can be stressful and pay less, why would you still want to start your own business?  I discussed the idea of starting a business with my cousin, who is going to school for education in hopes of teaching, here is what she had to say.

“I enjoy children.  Getting an education is one of the most important things that a person can do.  For the last ten years, I know that I have wanted to start my own business.  I love working with children and knowing that I am teaching them something new, and providing them with good life experiences. But seeing as I and unable to find employment doing what I love to do, the next thing for me would be to move forward with starting my own business.”

As you can see, she has great passion for children and education.  But having the passion for something is not enough to start a business.  When starting a business you must first have determination, motivation, and know-how.  Darrell Zahorsky provides nine essential steps for starting a small business.

1. Identify your business opportunity
2. Build a business plan
3. Find start-up money
4. Name your business
5. Choose a business structure
6. Get you business license and permits
7. Set up and determine you r business location
8. Get business insurance
9. Create an accounting system

Since careful planning is fundamental to success.  A great resource for starting a business is the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).  The SBA provides future entrepreneurs with information to help them become successful in starting a business.

            According to SBA you need to plan for all stages of your business cycle.:

1. Plan your business
2. Start your business
3. Manage your business
4. Getting out

References:

Starting a Small Business 101: The Essential Steps, By Darrell Zahorsky, www.about.com

U.S. Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov

Why Do People Become Entrepreneurs? By Scott Shane, www.usnews.com

Product Placement

Product Placement

 

According to CommonDreams.org, by the end of 2004, there were an estimated 6.5 million homes with digital recorders.  With the increase in DVRs consumers are less likely to view commercials and skip through them. More than two-thirds of DVR users skip commercials.  So, with the fact that most consumers are skipping commercials, advertisers had to come up with ways in which to get their products noticed.

 

Product placement is a form of advertisement, it is showing a brand name product in a feature film, television program, or other medium not typically perceived to be an advertising medium. The marketer sometimes pays a substantial fee for the placement. In other cases, the producers consider the product to be an integral part of the plot and merely request permission from the marketer. The marketer benefits from exposure to a large audience in an environment that is perceived to be objective.

 

Some companies consider product placement as alternate advertising. According to Premier Entertainment Services International, Product placement breaks through today’s cluttered media environment. Builds awareness and brand loyalty, expands reach, increases frequency of exposure, is cost effective, provides “soft-sell” through positive association, features products in an environment free of commercial zapping, and provides implied endorsement of your product by a celebrity.

 

The cost of product placement does not come cheap.  The average cost of placing an ad on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox is about $175,000 for a 30 second ad.  Most companies invest in an advertisement plug that cannot be skipped along with purchasing ad space.  CommonDreams.org also stated that Volkswagen will spend $200 million over three to five years to place its cars in Universal movies and in TV shows and ads on NBC, Bravo, Sci Fi and USA.  With the average cost of a national prime time spot running $185,000, coupled with the cost of $343,000 to produce the average 30 second spot, product placement is a much more cost-effective proposition.

 

Examples of product placement according to Listverse (ultimate top 10 lists)

1. Reese’s Pieces in E.T
2. Pepsi  in Back to the Future
3. Subway in Happy Gilmore
4. The Miami Dolphins in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
5. Mello Yello in Days of Thunder
6. FedEx in Cast Away
7. Dodge in Twister
8. Mercedes Benz in The Lost World: Jurassic Park
9. Apple Computer in Mission Impossible and Independence Day
10. Taco Bell in Demolition Man

 

References:

Answers.com http://www.answers.com

Common Dreams http://www.commondreams.org

Listverse http://listverse.com

Premier Entertainment Services International http://www.pesfilmtv.com/product.html

Advertisement/Advertising

Advertisement/Advertising

Advertising is one of the most important things present in our society today.   Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action. It includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume that particular brand.

It helps to keep the consumers informed about whatever new products or services are available in the market at their disposal. It also helps to spread awareness about products or services that are of some use to consumer and potential buyers.  Many believe the main aim of advertising is to sell. These are the people who strongly oppose anything that makes advertising seem unethical. Advertising on the whole helps business as well as the economy to prosper and makes the consumer aware of the various choices that are available to him.

An advertising technique used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as HIV/AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation and deforestation are called PSA or Public Service Announcements(Advertising).

There are several types of advertising.  Practically any medium can be used for advertising.  Methods of advertising include:

• Television
  • Infomercials -a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or longer
  • Radio advertising
  • Press advertising
  • Online advertising
  • Billboard advertising
    • Mobile billboard advertising- generally vehicle mounted billboards or digital screens
    • In-store advertising
    • Covert advertising- also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media
    • Celebrities

 

References

Blurt It, www.blurtit.com

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org

2nd Entry-Business Ethics

Business Ethics

What is (Business) Ethics?   According to dictionary.com ethics is defined as a system of moral principles; the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group.  Since ethics if recognized by particular classes’ of human actions and groups, it is safe to say that ethics has a place in business.  As stated by ask.com business ethics can be defined as: the application of social and individual moral values upon business decisions, professional attitudes and behaviors, and the moral principles a work environment practices. Simply stated, ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves-as friends, parents, children, citizens, businesspeople, teachers, professionals, and so on.

Ethics is NOT:

• Ethics is not the same as feelings. Feelings provide important information for our ethical choices.
• Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone.
• Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt, as some totalitarian regimes have made it.
• Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms. Some cultures are quite ethical, but others become corrupt -or blind to certain ethical concerns (as the United States was to slavery before the Civil War). “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is not a satisfactory ethical standard.
• Ethics is not science. Social and natural science can provide important data to help us make better ethical choices.

 

Why Identifying Ethical Standards is Hard

There are two fundamental problems in identifying the ethical standards we are to follow:
1. On what do we base our ethical standards?
2. How do those standards get applied to specific situations we face?

If our ethics are not based on feelings, religion, law, accepted social practice, or science, what are they based on? The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University has suggested at least five different sources of ethical standards we should use.

Five Sources of Ethical Standards

• The Utilitarian Approach
  Some ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm, or, to put it another way, produces the greatest balance of good over harm. The utilitarian approach deals with consequences; it tries both to increase the good done and to reduce the harm done.
• The Rights Approach
  This approach starts from the belief that humans have a dignity based on their human nature per se or on their ability to choose freely what they do with their lives.
• The Fairness or Justice Approach
  Today we use this idea to say that ethical actions treat all human beings equally-or if unequally, then fairly based on some standard that is defensible. We pay people more based on their harder work or the greater amount that they contribute to an organization, and say that is fair.
• The Common Good Approach

This approach suggests that the interlocking relationships of society are the basis of ethical reasoning and that respect and compassion for all others-especially the vulnerable-are requirements of such reasoning.

• The Virtue Approach
  Ethical actions ought to be consistent with certain ideal virtues that provide for the full development of our humanity. These virtues are dispositions and habits that enable us to act according to the highest potential of our character and on behalf of values like truth and beauty. Virtue ethics asks of any action, “What kind of person will I become if I do this?” or “Is this action consistent with my acting at my best?”

 

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University provides a framework that could be helpful method for exploring ethical dilemmas and identifying ethical courses of action.

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

• Recognize an Ethical Issue
• Get the Facts
• Evaluate Alternative Actions
• Make a Decision and Test It
• Act and Reflect on the Outcome

 

References:

Ask.com www.ask.com

Dictionary.com www.dictionary.com

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html

First Blog Post

Today I was riding through town and I so a store with no sign. The only sign I notice was a open sign and cardboard sign in the window with small writing.  It was so small I caoukdn’t tell you the name of that store. I don’t  think they will be in business long. They didn’t put any effort in advertising.  They should at least put brought a sign so people will know the name of the store.

setting up

First I would like to say Hi. My name is Tania Edison. I am trasient student from Talladega College. My major is Business Administration. I am hoping to graduate in May of this year.

my link is https://taniaedison3.wordpress.com

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