Beliefs, Assumptions, Knowledge (BAK) Research in Teaching

Beliefs, Assumptions, Knowledge (BAK) Research in Teaching 2.1 Belief Research In the mid-1970s a new body of research began to emerge that worked to describe teachers thoughts, judgments and decisions as the cognitive processes that shaped their behaviors (Calderhead, 1996, Clark and Peterson, 1986; Dann, 1990). As a consequence of this, a surge of interest in the area of teacher belief systems has appeared (Pajares, 1992). This research â€Å"has helped to identify the nature and complexity of the teachers work , and helped to provide ways of thinking about the processes of change and support† (Calderhead, 1996, p.721). Researchers found that teaching could not be characterized simply as behaviors that were linked to thinking done before and during the activity but rather that the thought process of teaching included a much wider and richer mental context. As Shavelson and Stern (1981, p.479) explained, research on teacher cognition made â€Å"the basic assumption that teachers thoughts, judgments, and decisions guide their teaching behavior†. Kagan (1990, p. 420) noted that teacher cognition is somewhat ambiguous, because researchers invoke the term to refer to different products, including â€Å"teachers interactive thoughts during instruction; thought during lesson planning, implicit beliefs about students, classrooms and learning; reflections about their own teaching performance; automized routines and activities that form their instructional repertoire; and self-awareness of procedures they use to solve classrooms problems†. Currently, there is increasing recognition that the beliefs individuals hold are the best indicators of the decisions they make during the course of everyday life (Bandura, 1986). Pajares (1992, p. 307) argues that the investigation of teachers beliefs should be a focus of educational research and can inform educational practice in ways that prevailing research agendas have not and cannot. Educational researchers trying to understand the nature of teaching and learning in classrooms have usefully exploited this focus on belief systems. The research of Jakubowski and Tobin (1991) suggests that teachers metaphors and beliefs not only influence what teachers do in the classroom, but that changes in these same metaphors and beliefs can result in changes in their practices. A belief can be defined as a representation of the information someone holds about an object, or a â€Å"persons understanding of himself and his environment† (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p.131). This object can â€Å"be a person, a group of people, an institution, a behavior, a policy, an event, etc., and the associated attribute may be any object, trait, property, quality, characteristic, outcome, or event† (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p.12). While Rokeach (1972) defined a belief as â€Å"any simple proposition, conscious or unconscious, inferred from what a person says or does, capable of being preceded by the phrase ‘I believe that† (p.113), Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) defined a belief system as a hierarchy of beliefs according to the strength about a particular object. Researchers exploring teachers beliefs at the primary and secondary levels have used a number of definitions: â€Å"the highly personal ways in which a teacher understands classrooms, students, the nature of learning, the teachers role in the classroom, and the goals of education† (Kagan, 1990, p. 423); â€Å"psychologically held understandings, premises or propositions about the world that are felt to be true† (Richardson, 1996, p.103); and â€Å"generally refer to suppositions, commitments and ideologies† (Calderhead, 1996, p.715). Beliefs play an important role in many aspects of teaching as well as in life. They are involved in helping individuals make sense of the world, influencing how new information is perceived, and whether it is accepted or rejected. Teachers beliefs are a term usually used to refer to pedagogic beliefs or those beliefs of relevance to an individuals teaching (Borg 2001b). Teacher beliefs have been identified by Kagan (1992a) as tacit, often unconsciously held assumptions about students, about classrooms, and the academic material to be taught. The literature on teacher knowledge and beliefs from the primary and secondary levels has developed a number of terminological differences. Kagan (1990, p.456) highlighted this problem by noting: â€Å"Terms such as teacher cognition, self-reflection, knowledge and belief can be used to refer to different phenomena. Variation in the definition of a term can range from the superficial and idiosyncratic to the profound and theoretical†. The use of these varying terms makes it difficult to investigate in this area of teacher cognition. Pajares (1992) addressed this difficulty: Defining beliefs is at best a game of players choice. They travel in disguise and often under alias-attitudes, values judgments, axioms, opinions, ideology, perceptions, conceptual systems, preconceptions, dispositions, implicit theories, explicit theories, personal theories, internal mental processes, action strategies, rules of practice, practical principals, perspectives, repertories of understanding, and social strategy, to name but a few that can be found in the literature. (p.309) Defining beliefs is not a very easy task. There is a â€Å"bewildering array of terms† as Clandinin and Connelly (1987, p. 487) put forward including teachers teaching criteria, principles of practice, personal construct/theories/epistemologies, beliefs, perspectives, teachers conceptions, personal knowledge, and practical knowledge. 2.1.1 Belief Research in English Language Teaching The concept of belief, which has been a common feature of research papers in education for the past decade, has recently come into favor in ELT. In the field, various terms have been used to refer to the term ‘belief: pedagogical thoughts (Shavelson and Stern 1981), perspective (Zeichner, Tabachnick, Densmore, 1987), theoretical orientation (Kinzer, 1988), image (Calderhead, 1996), theoretical belief (Kinzer, 1988; Johnson, 1992; Smith 1996). Terms used in language teacher cognition research include theories for practice (Burns, 1996) which refer to the thinking and beliefs which are brought to bear on classroom processes; philosophical orientation and personal pedagogical system (Borg, 1998) which corresponds with stores of beliefs, knowledge, theories, assumptions and attitudes which shape teachers instructional decisions; maxims (Richards, 1996) to comprise personal working principles which reflect teachers individual philosophies of teaching; images (Johnson, 1994) which means general metaphors for thinking about teaching that represent beliefs about teaching and also act as models of action; conceptions of practice (Freeman, 1993) to cover ideas and actions teachers use to organize what they know and to map out what is possible; BAK (Woods, 1996) which includes the concepts beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge, In all those studies the core term on which there is focus is â€Å"belief†. Despite the popularity of the term, there is no consensus on meaning yet. The definition set forth by Rokeach (1968) claims that a belief is any simple proposition, conscious or unconscious, inferred from what a person says or does and knowledge is a component of belief. Rokeach uses the term ‘attitude to refer to the beliefs teachers have about constructs. Richards and Lockhart (1996, p.30) state that â€Å"teachers beliefs systems are founded on the goals and values that teachers hold in relation to the content and process of teaching, and their understanding of the systems in which they work and their roles within it†. These beliefs and values serve as the background to much of teachers decision making action and hence constitute what has been termed the â€Å"culture of teaching†. Richards and Lockhart (1996) summarize those teachers beliefs systems, which are derived from a number of different sources. They are, a) their own experience as language learners, b) their experience of what works best for their learners, c) established practice, d) personality factors, e) educational based or research-based principles, f) principles derived from an approach or method (pp.30-31). Borg (2001b) discusses three aspects of the term belief: The truth element-drawing on research in the philosophy of knowledge, a belief is a mental state which has as its content a proposition that is accepted as true by the individual holding it, although the individual may recognize that alternative beliefs may be held by others. This is one of the key differences between belief and knowledge must actually be true in some external sense. The relationship between belief and behavior most definitions of belief propose that beliefs dispose or guide peoples thinking and action. Conscious versus unconscious beliefs on this point there is disagreement, with some maintaining that consciousness is inherent in the definition of belief, and others allowing for an individual to be conscious of some beliefs and unconscious of others. The field of language teaching has been one of tradition and transition since its beginning hundreds, indeed, by some accounts, thousands of years ago (Kelly, 1969; Howatt, 1984; Richards and Rodgers, 1986). Even though a much newer pursuit than the teaching of languages such as Greek and Latin or Chinese, the teaching of the English language has already been through many transitions in methodology. What are now considered traditional methods were once the innovations of their time, characterized by the attitudes and values of their creators, who recommended that other educators abandon one method and choose another, with unquestioning optimism, as though this latter method were the solution to their classroom concerns (Clarke, 1982). In the past 50 years alone, English language teaching has gone through a whirlwind of transitions in its methodology, from grammar translation to direct method, to audiolingualism, to cognitive code, and a host of variations in each. In recent years, the most substantive transition in English language teaching has taken place through a collection of practices, materials, and beliefs about teaching and learning that are known by many different names, e.g. communicative methodology, communicative language teaching, and the communicative approach (Richards and Rodgers, 1986). Contemporarily, English teaching methodology is going through yet another transition. This transition, frequently referred to as the `post method condition (Kumaravadivelu, 2001), Research in the area of teacher thinking has grown rapidly particularly since the 1980s, with the consequence that the literature is vast and is often focused on very specific aspects of teaching. Nevertheless, the research concerned with teachers implicit theories of teaching and learning, particularly concerned with epistemological and pedagogical beliefs is of considerable relevance to research in language teaching (Kagan, 1992a; Pajares 1992). The reasons are: first, educational beliefs have shown to influence teaching practice (Kagan 1992a) and learning outcomes. Second, methods used to investigate relationship between beliefs and/or conceptions and teaching practice and the ways of analyzing data, are of interest. By the mid 1980s, a rising view of teaching began to highlight the complex ways in which teachers think about their work as being shaped by their prior experiences as students, their ‘personal practical knowledge (Golombek, 1998). More recently the notion of work context has been recognized as central in shaping teachers â€Å"conceptions of their practices† (Freeman, 1993). Language teaching is defined as a dynamic process, which arises out of the meeting and interaction of different sets of principles: different rationalities. In this sense, a rationality is the inner logic which shapes the way in which participants perceive a situation and the goals which they will pursue in this situation (Tudor, 1998). Tudor proposes that to understand language teaching, a first step is to explore the different rationalities which are present in each situation in order to discover the reality the participants involved in. There are four different types of rationalities: those of the students and teachers, socio-cultural rationalities and then the rationality of methodology. While describing teacher rationalities, Tudor (1998) argues that research into subjective needs has led us to appreciate the uniqueness of each learners interaction with their language study. More recently something similar about the teachers has been realized. They, too will perceive and interact with methodology they are implementing in the light of their personality, attitudes, and life experience and the set of perceptions and goals which these give rise to. For this reason there is a need to listen to the teachers voices in understanding classroom practice. There is a need to understand teachers perceptions and the way in which these perceptions influence teachers classroom behaviors. The maxims (Richards, 1996) or the pedagogic principles (Breen et al.2001) teachers use are important in understanding their pedagogical actions. The reality of classroom teaching is how the teachers interpret official curricula or the recommended materials. Teachers are not skilled technicians who dutifully realize a given set of teaching procedures in accordance with the directives of a more or less distant authority. They are active participants in the creation of classroom realities and they do this on the basis of their own attitudes and beliefs, and their personal perceptions of interaction with their teaching situation. All teachers hold beliefs about their work, their students, their subject matter, and their roles and responsibilities. They are individuals with their personal perceptions and goals, which go to shape the rationality which will guide their actions in the classroom and their interaction with the context in which they are operating (Tudor, 1998, p. 324). A major goal of research on teachers thought processes is to increase our understanding of how teachers think and behave in the classroom. The drive for this area of research comes from the assumption that what teachers do is a reflection of what they know and believe, and that teacher knowledge and teacher thinking provide the underlying framework or schema which guides teachers classroom practices (Sutcliffe and Whitfield 1976, Westerman 1991, Flowerdew, Brock Hsia 1992, Kagan 1992a, Richards and Lockhart 1994, Bailey 1996, Woods 1998, Borg 1998, Richards 1998). Therefore, in order to understand teaching, we must understand how thoughts get carried into actions (Clark and Yinger 1977, Shavelson and Stern 1981, Clark and Peterson 1986, Johnson 1992, Nunan 1992). Pajares (1992) reviewed research on teacher beliefs and argued that ‘‘teachers beliefs can and should become an important focus of educational inquiry (p. 307). He then sketched numerous facets of beliefs and acknowledged that a variety of conceptions of educational beliefs appear in the literature. Citing Nespors (1987) influential work, he suggested that ‘‘beliefs are far more influential than knowledge in determining how individuals organize and define tasks and problems and are stronger predictors of behavior (p. 311). Studies on teacher beliefs have slowly gained prominence, especially with regard to teacher change issues. Guskey (1986), for example, examined 52 teachers who participated in teacher development programs and concluded that change in teachers beliefs ‘‘is likely to take place only after changes in student learning outcomes are evidenced (p. 7). In contrast, Richardson, Anders, Tidwell, and Lloyd (1991) found that change in beliefs preceded change in practices. The current view is that relationships between beliefs and practices are interactive and ongoing (Fullan, 1991; Richardson, 1996). Richardson (1996) even states that ‘‘In most current conceptions, the perceived relationship between beliefs and actions is interactive. Beliefs are thought to drive actions; however, experiences and reflection on action may lead to changes in and/or additions to beliefs (p. 104). Pajares (1992) promoted 16 ‘‘fundamental assumptions that may reasonably be made when initiating a study of teachers education beliefs (1992, p. 324). These assumptions include among others, the notions that (a) beliefs are formed early and tend to self perpetuate, persevering even against contradictions caused by reason, time, schooling, or experience; (b) individuals develop a belief system that houses all the beliefs acquired through the process of cultural transmission; (c) beliefs are instrumental in defining tasks and selecting the cognitive tools with which to interpret, plan, and make decisions regarding such tasks; (d) individuals beliefs strongly affect their behavior; and (e) knowledge and beliefs are inextricably intertwined (for complete discussion of all 16 assumptions, see Pajares, 1992, pp. 324-326). 2.2 Teacher Knowledge Research Meanwhile doubts arose also from the scientific community about a conception of professionalism that asked professionals (such as teachers) to just apply the theories and insights provided by others. Schà ¶n (1983, 1987) analyzed the work of various groups of professionals and concluded that they applied a certain amount of theoretical knowledge in their work, but that their behavior was not at all ‘‘rule governed and that they had no straightforward way to determine which behavior was adequate in specific circumstances. Schà ¶n contrasted this principle of ‘‘technical rationality to the principle of ‘‘reflection-in-action, which pertained to the thinking of the professional during professional activity and implied a continuing dialogue with the permanently changing situation. This situation does not present itself as a well-defined problem situation. On the contrary, defining the problem is itself one of the most difficult tasks of the professio nal. This recognition of the centrality of the teacher and the teachers knowledge and beliefs regarding each educational process, including educational innovations, is relatively recent (Calderhead, 1996). Birman, Desimone, Porter, Garet (2000), for example, searched for key features of effective professional development and, based on their research, reported that professional development should focus on deepening teacher knowledge in order to foster teacher learning and changes in practice. Similarly, Hawley and Valli (1999) considered the expansion and elaboration of teachers professional knowledge base as essential for their professional development. In the literature about teacher knowledge, various labels have been used, each indicating a relevant aspect of teacher knowledge. The labels illustrate mainly which aspect is considered the most important by the respective authors. Together, these labels give an overview of the way in which teacher knowledge has been studied to date. The most commonly used labels are ‘‘personal knowledge (Conelly and Clandinin, 1985; Elbaz, 1991), indicating that this knowledge is unique; ‘‘the wisdom of practice (Schwab, 1971), and in more recent publications, ‘‘professional craft knowledge (e.g., Brown and McIntyre, 1993; Shimahara, 1998), referring to a specific component of knowledge that is mainly the product of the teachers practical experience; ‘‘action oriented knowledge, indicating that this knowledge is for immediate use in teaching practice (Carter, 1990); ‘‘content and context related knowledge (Cochran, DeRuiter, King, 1993; Va n Driel, Verloop, De Vos, 1998); knowledge that is to a great extent ‘tacit (Calderhead and Robson, 1991); and knowledge that is based on reflection on experiences (Grimmet and MacKinnon, 1992). It is important to realize that in the label ‘teacher knowledge, the concept ‘knowledge is used as an overarching, inclusive concept, summarizing a large variety of cognitions, from conscious and well-balanced opinions to unconscious and unreflected intuitions. This is related to the fact that, in the mind of the teacher, components of knowledge, beliefs, conceptions, and intuitions are inextricably intertwined. As Alexander, Schallert, and Hare (1991) noted, the term ‘knowledge is mostly used to encompass ‘‘all that a person knows or believes to be true, whether or not it is verified as true in some sort of objective or external way (p. 317). This is particularly relevant with respect to research on teacher knowledge. In investigating teacher knowledge, the main focus of attention is on the complex totality of cognitions, the ways this develops, and the way this interacts with teacher behavior in the classroom. Following Pajares (1992), knowledge and beliefs are seen as inseparable, although beliefs are seen roughly as referring to personal values, attitudes, and ideologies, and knowledge to a teachers more factual propositions (Meijer, Verloop, Beijaard, 2001). 2.2.1 Teachers Knowledge and Beliefs About Teaching In his extensive review of the literature, Calderhead (1996) found that many different kinds of knowledge have been described as underpinning effective teaching. The main forms are those related to the subject being taught, to teaching methods, and to the ways in which students develop and learn. The extent to which teachers have conscious access to this knowledge is, however, far from clear. Some researchers argue that much of this knowledge is implicit or tacit, derived from experience rather than from any conceptual framework. The research concerned with teachers implicit theories of teaching and learning, particularly work concerned with epistemological and pedagogical beliefs, which reflect their experiences, is of considerable relevance to research in language teaching (Kagan, 1992a; Pajares 1992). First, educational beliefs have shown to influence teaching practice (Kagan 1992a) and learning outcomes. Second, methods used to investigate relationship between beliefs and/or conceptions and teaching practice and the ways of analyzing data, are of interest. Pajares (1992) attempts to clarify the confusion with the distinction between knowledge and belief. However, as many researchers have found, it is not so much that knowledge differs from beliefs, but that beliefs themselves constitute a form of knowledge. In his attempts to characterize beliefs, Nespor (1987) provides some distinctions between beliefs and knowledge. He singles out four features of the construct previously identified by Abelson (1979) and considers them in relation to teachers: Existential presumptions or personal truths are generally unaffected by persuasion and are perceived by the teacher as being beyond his/her control or influence. Alternativity is a feature of beliefs that would include situations such as when teachers attempt to establish an instructional format of which they have no direct experience but which they might consider ideal. Belief systems can be said to rely much more heavily on affective and evaluative components than knowledge systems. Teachers values and feelings often affect what and how they teach and may conflict with their knowledge. Belief systems are composed mainly of episodically stored material which is derived from personal experience, episodes or events which continue to influence the comprehension of events at a later time. Whereas beliefs reside in episodic memory, knowledge is semantically stored. A further distinction between beliefs and knowledge, notes Nespor (1987, p.313), is that, while knowledge often changes, beliefs are static. As well, whereas knowledge can be evaluated or judged, such is not the case with beliefs as there is usually a lack of consensus about how they are to be evaluated. Furthermore, there do not appear to be any clear rules for determining the relevance of beliefs to real world events. While there is no doubt other distinctions can be made between the two constructs, a better understanding may be gained by exploring the relationship between the two and by considering beliefs as a form of knowledge. This form of knowledge could be referred to as personal knowledge. Kagan (1992a) refers to beliefs as a particularly provocative form of personal knowledge and argues that most of a teachers professional knowledge can be regarded more accurately as belief. According to Kagan, this knowledge grows richer and more coherent as a teachers experience in classrooms grows and thus forms a highly personalized pedagogy or belief system that actually constrains the teachers perception, judgment, and behavior. In terms of beliefs being personal knowledge, Kagan explains: A teachers knowledge of his or her profession is situated in three important ways: in context (it is related to specific groups of students), in content (it is related to particular academic material to be taught), and in person (it is embedded within the teachers unique belief system) (p.74). Like Clark (1988) who equates ‘implicit theories with beliefs, Nespor (1987) explains how beliefs become personal pedagogies or theories to guide teachers practices: Teachers beliefs play a major role in defining teaching tasks and organizing the knowledge and information relevant to those tasks. But why should this be so? Why wouldnt research-based knowledge or academic theory serve this purpose just as well? The answer suggested here is that the contexts and environments within which teachers work, and many of the problems they encounter, are ill-defined and deeply entangled, and that beliefs are peculiarly suited for making sense of such contexts. (p.324) Munby (1982) also equates implicit theories with teachers beliefs. Clark and Peterson (1986) in their review of the literature on teachers thought processes, argue that teachers theories and beliefs represent a rich store of knowledge. Teachers make sense of their complex world and respond to it by forming a complex system of personal and professional knowledge and theories which, as Kagan (1992a) describes, are often tacit and unconsciously held assumptions about students, classrooms and the material to be taught. 2.2.1.1 Beliefs, Assumptions, Knowledge Throughout this study the term BAK is used as an inclusive term to refer to beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge. Therefore, the following section describes the rationale behind using this term. In the discussion so far, approaches which divide aspects of teacher cognition were examined in separate categories. A more recent strand of research, however, challenges the categorical distinctions outlined above. Woods (1996) suggests that these dichotomies do not accurately reflect the relationship between Teachers beliefs, assumptions and knowledge and their practices in the classroom. In order to take appropriate action, people need to understand; and to understand they need knowledge about the world and specifically about the situation they are in (Woods, 1996, p. 59). Woods (1996) develops a multidimensional cycle of planning and decision making within teaching. He describes three phases of assessment, planning and implementation which operate recursively to inform different hierarchical levels of the teaching process going from the most local level of discrete events in the lesson plan to the most global level of whole course planning (p. 139). Woodss analysis of interview data suggests that knowledge structures and belief systems ‘‘are not composed of independent elements, but [are] rather structured, with certain aspects implying or presupposing others (p. 200). Woods proposes a model to signify the evolving system of beliefs, assumptions and knowledge (BAK) that recursively informs or is informed by the context of teaching: the BAK was part of the perceiving and organizing of the decisions. Woods has demonstrated that language teachers create and maintain background networks of beliefs, assumptions and knowledge which constitute a valid theory of teaching and learning. These background theoretical networks are grounded in every level of routine classroom practice in much the same way that educational theory is grounded in the systematic collection of empirical data. This construct (BAK) is supported by MacDonaldo, Badger and White (2001). They also suggest that while there is some support for a categorical di stinction between theory and practice in language education, it is suggested that the beliefs, assumptions and knowledge of teachers are in fact inextricably bound up with what goes on in the classroom. 2.3 Research on the Relationship between Teachers Beliefs, Instructional decisions, and Practices Beliefs are manifested in teaching practices because teachers instruction tends to reflect their beliefs. Pajares (1992) and Richardson (1996) investigated the relationship between teachers beliefs and their teaching practices, concluding that teachers beliefs were reflected in their actions, decisions and classroom practices. Kagan (1992a) also supported Pajares and Richardsons claim that teachers beliefs served as a vital role in influencing the nature of the instruction. In her study, Johnson (1992) examined the relationship between ESL teachers defined, theoretical beliefs about second language learning as well as teaching and instructional practices during literacy instruction for non-native speakers of English. Three tasks, such as an ideal instructional protocol, a lesson plan analysis, and a beliefs inventory were used to determine how much ESL teachers beliefs were reflected in skill-based, rule-based, and function-based orientations. The findings in Johnsons study showed that ESL teachers defined beliefs were congruent with their theoretical orientations, and teachers with different theoretical orientations gave quite different instruction for ESL students. Therefore, her study concluded that overall, teachers had different teaching approaches, selections of teaching materials, and images of teachers and students according to their beliefs about learning and teaching. For example, a teacher whose dominant theoretical orientation was function-b ased focused generally on comprehending the main idea, following a pattern of pre-reading as well as post-reading questions, and discussion as usual reading activities in her instruction. In addition, Smiths (1996) study explored the relationship between nine experienced ESL teachers beliefs and their decision-making in classroom practices. The result of her study showed that teachers articulated theoretical beliefs were consistent with their instructional planning and decisions. For example, those teachers who believed in communication of meaning as a primary goal in learning a language designed and implemented tasks which promoted student-interaction and meaningful communication, such as small-group or pair activities. Golombek (1998) examined how two in-service ESL teachers personal practical knowledge informed their practice through a description of a tension each teacher faced in the classroom. The teachers personal practical knowledge informed their practice by serving as a kind of interpretive framework through which they made sense of their classrooms as they recounted their experiences and made this knowledge explicit. The results of this study suggested that L2 teacher educators should recognize that L2 teachers personal practical knowledge is embodied in individuals. For this reason, personal practical knowledge is important to acknowledge in L2 teacher education practice and research. Similarly, in his article Borg (2001a) presents two cases which illustrate the extent to which teachers perceptions of their knowledge about grammar emerged as one of the factors which influences teachers instructional decisions in teaching grammar. The two case studies suggested clearly that teachers self-perceptions of their knowledge about grammar had an impact on their work. Two conclusions emergi Beliefs, Assumptions, Knowledge (BAK) Research in Teaching Beliefs, Assumptions, Knowledge (BAK) Research in Teaching 2.1 Belief Research In the mid-1970s a new body of research began to emerge that worked to describe teachers thoughts, judgments and decisions as the cognitive processes that shaped their behaviors (Calderhead, 1996, Clark and Peterson, 1986; Dann, 1990). As a consequence of this, a surge of interest in the area of teacher belief systems has appeared (Pajares, 1992). This research â€Å"has helped to identify the nature and complexity of the teachers work , and helped to provide ways of thinking about the processes of change and support† (Calderhead, 1996, p.721). Researchers found that teaching could not be characterized simply as behaviors that were linked to thinking done before and during the activity but rather that the thought process of teaching included a much wider and richer mental context. As Shavelson and Stern (1981, p.479) explained, research on teacher cognition made â€Å"the basic assumption that teachers thoughts, judgments, and decisions guide their teaching behavior†. Kagan (1990, p. 420) noted that teacher cognition is somewhat ambiguous, because researchers invoke the term to refer to different products, including â€Å"teachers interactive thoughts during instruction; thought during lesson planning, implicit beliefs about students, classrooms and learning; reflections about their own teaching performance; automized routines and activities that form their instructional repertoire; and self-awareness of procedures they use to solve classrooms problems†. Currently, there is increasing recognition that the beliefs individuals hold are the best indicators of the decisions they make during the course of everyday life (Bandura, 1986). Pajares (1992, p. 307) argues that the investigation of teachers beliefs should be a focus of educational research and can inform educational practice in ways that prevailing research agendas have not and cannot. Educational researchers trying to understand the nature of teaching and learning in classrooms have usefully exploited this focus on belief systems. The research of Jakubowski and Tobin (1991) suggests that teachers metaphors and beliefs not only influence what teachers do in the classroom, but that changes in these same metaphors and beliefs can result in changes in their practices. A belief can be defined as a representation of the information someone holds about an object, or a â€Å"persons understanding of himself and his environment† (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p.131). This object can â€Å"be a person, a group of people, an institution, a behavior, a policy, an event, etc., and the associated attribute may be any object, trait, property, quality, characteristic, outcome, or event† (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p.12). While Rokeach (1972) defined a belief as â€Å"any simple proposition, conscious or unconscious, inferred from what a person says or does, capable of being preceded by the phrase ‘I believe that† (p.113), Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) defined a belief system as a hierarchy of beliefs according to the strength about a particular object. Researchers exploring teachers beliefs at the primary and secondary levels have used a number of definitions: â€Å"the highly personal ways in which a teacher understands classrooms, students, the nature of learning, the teachers role in the classroom, and the goals of education† (Kagan, 1990, p. 423); â€Å"psychologically held understandings, premises or propositions about the world that are felt to be true† (Richardson, 1996, p.103); and â€Å"generally refer to suppositions, commitments and ideologies† (Calderhead, 1996, p.715). Beliefs play an important role in many aspects of teaching as well as in life. They are involved in helping individuals make sense of the world, influencing how new information is perceived, and whether it is accepted or rejected. Teachers beliefs are a term usually used to refer to pedagogic beliefs or those beliefs of relevance to an individuals teaching (Borg 2001b). Teacher beliefs have been identified by Kagan (1992a) as tacit, often unconsciously held assumptions about students, about classrooms, and the academic material to be taught. The literature on teacher knowledge and beliefs from the primary and secondary levels has developed a number of terminological differences. Kagan (1990, p.456) highlighted this problem by noting: â€Å"Terms such as teacher cognition, self-reflection, knowledge and belief can be used to refer to different phenomena. Variation in the definition of a term can range from the superficial and idiosyncratic to the profound and theoretical†. The use of these varying terms makes it difficult to investigate in this area of teacher cognition. Pajares (1992) addressed this difficulty: Defining beliefs is at best a game of players choice. They travel in disguise and often under alias-attitudes, values judgments, axioms, opinions, ideology, perceptions, conceptual systems, preconceptions, dispositions, implicit theories, explicit theories, personal theories, internal mental processes, action strategies, rules of practice, practical principals, perspectives, repertories of understanding, and social strategy, to name but a few that can be found in the literature. (p.309) Defining beliefs is not a very easy task. There is a â€Å"bewildering array of terms† as Clandinin and Connelly (1987, p. 487) put forward including teachers teaching criteria, principles of practice, personal construct/theories/epistemologies, beliefs, perspectives, teachers conceptions, personal knowledge, and practical knowledge. 2.1.1 Belief Research in English Language Teaching The concept of belief, which has been a common feature of research papers in education for the past decade, has recently come into favor in ELT. In the field, various terms have been used to refer to the term ‘belief: pedagogical thoughts (Shavelson and Stern 1981), perspective (Zeichner, Tabachnick, Densmore, 1987), theoretical orientation (Kinzer, 1988), image (Calderhead, 1996), theoretical belief (Kinzer, 1988; Johnson, 1992; Smith 1996). Terms used in language teacher cognition research include theories for practice (Burns, 1996) which refer to the thinking and beliefs which are brought to bear on classroom processes; philosophical orientation and personal pedagogical system (Borg, 1998) which corresponds with stores of beliefs, knowledge, theories, assumptions and attitudes which shape teachers instructional decisions; maxims (Richards, 1996) to comprise personal working principles which reflect teachers individual philosophies of teaching; images (Johnson, 1994) which means general metaphors for thinking about teaching that represent beliefs about teaching and also act as models of action; conceptions of practice (Freeman, 1993) to cover ideas and actions teachers use to organize what they know and to map out what is possible; BAK (Woods, 1996) which includes the concepts beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge, In all those studies the core term on which there is focus is â€Å"belief†. Despite the popularity of the term, there is no consensus on meaning yet. The definition set forth by Rokeach (1968) claims that a belief is any simple proposition, conscious or unconscious, inferred from what a person says or does and knowledge is a component of belief. Rokeach uses the term ‘attitude to refer to the beliefs teachers have about constructs. Richards and Lockhart (1996, p.30) state that â€Å"teachers beliefs systems are founded on the goals and values that teachers hold in relation to the content and process of teaching, and their understanding of the systems in which they work and their roles within it†. These beliefs and values serve as the background to much of teachers decision making action and hence constitute what has been termed the â€Å"culture of teaching†. Richards and Lockhart (1996) summarize those teachers beliefs systems, which are derived from a number of different sources. They are, a) their own experience as language learners, b) their experience of what works best for their learners, c) established practice, d) personality factors, e) educational based or research-based principles, f) principles derived from an approach or method (pp.30-31). Borg (2001b) discusses three aspects of the term belief: The truth element-drawing on research in the philosophy of knowledge, a belief is a mental state which has as its content a proposition that is accepted as true by the individual holding it, although the individual may recognize that alternative beliefs may be held by others. This is one of the key differences between belief and knowledge must actually be true in some external sense. The relationship between belief and behavior most definitions of belief propose that beliefs dispose or guide peoples thinking and action. Conscious versus unconscious beliefs on this point there is disagreement, with some maintaining that consciousness is inherent in the definition of belief, and others allowing for an individual to be conscious of some beliefs and unconscious of others. The field of language teaching has been one of tradition and transition since its beginning hundreds, indeed, by some accounts, thousands of years ago (Kelly, 1969; Howatt, 1984; Richards and Rodgers, 1986). Even though a much newer pursuit than the teaching of languages such as Greek and Latin or Chinese, the teaching of the English language has already been through many transitions in methodology. What are now considered traditional methods were once the innovations of their time, characterized by the attitudes and values of their creators, who recommended that other educators abandon one method and choose another, with unquestioning optimism, as though this latter method were the solution to their classroom concerns (Clarke, 1982). In the past 50 years alone, English language teaching has gone through a whirlwind of transitions in its methodology, from grammar translation to direct method, to audiolingualism, to cognitive code, and a host of variations in each. In recent years, the most substantive transition in English language teaching has taken place through a collection of practices, materials, and beliefs about teaching and learning that are known by many different names, e.g. communicative methodology, communicative language teaching, and the communicative approach (Richards and Rodgers, 1986). Contemporarily, English teaching methodology is going through yet another transition. This transition, frequently referred to as the `post method condition (Kumaravadivelu, 2001), Research in the area of teacher thinking has grown rapidly particularly since the 1980s, with the consequence that the literature is vast and is often focused on very specific aspects of teaching. Nevertheless, the research concerned with teachers implicit theories of teaching and learning, particularly concerned with epistemological and pedagogical beliefs is of considerable relevance to research in language teaching (Kagan, 1992a; Pajares 1992). The reasons are: first, educational beliefs have shown to influence teaching practice (Kagan 1992a) and learning outcomes. Second, methods used to investigate relationship between beliefs and/or conceptions and teaching practice and the ways of analyzing data, are of interest. By the mid 1980s, a rising view of teaching began to highlight the complex ways in which teachers think about their work as being shaped by their prior experiences as students, their ‘personal practical knowledge (Golombek, 1998). More recently the notion of work context has been recognized as central in shaping teachers â€Å"conceptions of their practices† (Freeman, 1993). Language teaching is defined as a dynamic process, which arises out of the meeting and interaction of different sets of principles: different rationalities. In this sense, a rationality is the inner logic which shapes the way in which participants perceive a situation and the goals which they will pursue in this situation (Tudor, 1998). Tudor proposes that to understand language teaching, a first step is to explore the different rationalities which are present in each situation in order to discover the reality the participants involved in. There are four different types of rationalities: those of the students and teachers, socio-cultural rationalities and then the rationality of methodology. While describing teacher rationalities, Tudor (1998) argues that research into subjective needs has led us to appreciate the uniqueness of each learners interaction with their language study. More recently something similar about the teachers has been realized. They, too will perceive and interact with methodology they are implementing in the light of their personality, attitudes, and life experience and the set of perceptions and goals which these give rise to. For this reason there is a need to listen to the teachers voices in understanding classroom practice. There is a need to understand teachers perceptions and the way in which these perceptions influence teachers classroom behaviors. The maxims (Richards, 1996) or the pedagogic principles (Breen et al.2001) teachers use are important in understanding their pedagogical actions. The reality of classroom teaching is how the teachers interpret official curricula or the recommended materials. Teachers are not skilled technicians who dutifully realize a given set of teaching procedures in accordance with the directives of a more or less distant authority. They are active participants in the creation of classroom realities and they do this on the basis of their own attitudes and beliefs, and their personal perceptions of interaction with their teaching situation. All teachers hold beliefs about their work, their students, their subject matter, and their roles and responsibilities. They are individuals with their personal perceptions and goals, which go to shape the rationality which will guide their actions in the classroom and their interaction with the context in which they are operating (Tudor, 1998, p. 324). A major goal of research on teachers thought processes is to increase our understanding of how teachers think and behave in the classroom. The drive for this area of research comes from the assumption that what teachers do is a reflection of what they know and believe, and that teacher knowledge and teacher thinking provide the underlying framework or schema which guides teachers classroom practices (Sutcliffe and Whitfield 1976, Westerman 1991, Flowerdew, Brock Hsia 1992, Kagan 1992a, Richards and Lockhart 1994, Bailey 1996, Woods 1998, Borg 1998, Richards 1998). Therefore, in order to understand teaching, we must understand how thoughts get carried into actions (Clark and Yinger 1977, Shavelson and Stern 1981, Clark and Peterson 1986, Johnson 1992, Nunan 1992). Pajares (1992) reviewed research on teacher beliefs and argued that ‘‘teachers beliefs can and should become an important focus of educational inquiry (p. 307). He then sketched numerous facets of beliefs and acknowledged that a variety of conceptions of educational beliefs appear in the literature. Citing Nespors (1987) influential work, he suggested that ‘‘beliefs are far more influential than knowledge in determining how individuals organize and define tasks and problems and are stronger predictors of behavior (p. 311). Studies on teacher beliefs have slowly gained prominence, especially with regard to teacher change issues. Guskey (1986), for example, examined 52 teachers who participated in teacher development programs and concluded that change in teachers beliefs ‘‘is likely to take place only after changes in student learning outcomes are evidenced (p. 7). In contrast, Richardson, Anders, Tidwell, and Lloyd (1991) found that change in beliefs preceded change in practices. The current view is that relationships between beliefs and practices are interactive and ongoing (Fullan, 1991; Richardson, 1996). Richardson (1996) even states that ‘‘In most current conceptions, the perceived relationship between beliefs and actions is interactive. Beliefs are thought to drive actions; however, experiences and reflection on action may lead to changes in and/or additions to beliefs (p. 104). Pajares (1992) promoted 16 ‘‘fundamental assumptions that may reasonably be made when initiating a study of teachers education beliefs (1992, p. 324). These assumptions include among others, the notions that (a) beliefs are formed early and tend to self perpetuate, persevering even against contradictions caused by reason, time, schooling, or experience; (b) individuals develop a belief system that houses all the beliefs acquired through the process of cultural transmission; (c) beliefs are instrumental in defining tasks and selecting the cognitive tools with which to interpret, plan, and make decisions regarding such tasks; (d) individuals beliefs strongly affect their behavior; and (e) knowledge and beliefs are inextricably intertwined (for complete discussion of all 16 assumptions, see Pajares, 1992, pp. 324-326). 2.2 Teacher Knowledge Research Meanwhile doubts arose also from the scientific community about a conception of professionalism that asked professionals (such as teachers) to just apply the theories and insights provided by others. Schà ¶n (1983, 1987) analyzed the work of various groups of professionals and concluded that they applied a certain amount of theoretical knowledge in their work, but that their behavior was not at all ‘‘rule governed and that they had no straightforward way to determine which behavior was adequate in specific circumstances. Schà ¶n contrasted this principle of ‘‘technical rationality to the principle of ‘‘reflection-in-action, which pertained to the thinking of the professional during professional activity and implied a continuing dialogue with the permanently changing situation. This situation does not present itself as a well-defined problem situation. On the contrary, defining the problem is itself one of the most difficult tasks of the professio nal. This recognition of the centrality of the teacher and the teachers knowledge and beliefs regarding each educational process, including educational innovations, is relatively recent (Calderhead, 1996). Birman, Desimone, Porter, Garet (2000), for example, searched for key features of effective professional development and, based on their research, reported that professional development should focus on deepening teacher knowledge in order to foster teacher learning and changes in practice. Similarly, Hawley and Valli (1999) considered the expansion and elaboration of teachers professional knowledge base as essential for their professional development. In the literature about teacher knowledge, various labels have been used, each indicating a relevant aspect of teacher knowledge. The labels illustrate mainly which aspect is considered the most important by the respective authors. Together, these labels give an overview of the way in which teacher knowledge has been studied to date. The most commonly used labels are ‘‘personal knowledge (Conelly and Clandinin, 1985; Elbaz, 1991), indicating that this knowledge is unique; ‘‘the wisdom of practice (Schwab, 1971), and in more recent publications, ‘‘professional craft knowledge (e.g., Brown and McIntyre, 1993; Shimahara, 1998), referring to a specific component of knowledge that is mainly the product of the teachers practical experience; ‘‘action oriented knowledge, indicating that this knowledge is for immediate use in teaching practice (Carter, 1990); ‘‘content and context related knowledge (Cochran, DeRuiter, King, 1993; Va n Driel, Verloop, De Vos, 1998); knowledge that is to a great extent ‘tacit (Calderhead and Robson, 1991); and knowledge that is based on reflection on experiences (Grimmet and MacKinnon, 1992). It is important to realize that in the label ‘teacher knowledge, the concept ‘knowledge is used as an overarching, inclusive concept, summarizing a large variety of cognitions, from conscious and well-balanced opinions to unconscious and unreflected intuitions. This is related to the fact that, in the mind of the teacher, components of knowledge, beliefs, conceptions, and intuitions are inextricably intertwined. As Alexander, Schallert, and Hare (1991) noted, the term ‘knowledge is mostly used to encompass ‘‘all that a person knows or believes to be true, whether or not it is verified as true in some sort of objective or external way (p. 317). This is particularly relevant with respect to research on teacher knowledge. In investigating teacher knowledge, the main focus of attention is on the complex totality of cognitions, the ways this develops, and the way this interacts with teacher behavior in the classroom. Following Pajares (1992), knowledge and beliefs are seen as inseparable, although beliefs are seen roughly as referring to personal values, attitudes, and ideologies, and knowledge to a teachers more factual propositions (Meijer, Verloop, Beijaard, 2001). 2.2.1 Teachers Knowledge and Beliefs About Teaching In his extensive review of the literature, Calderhead (1996) found that many different kinds of knowledge have been described as underpinning effective teaching. The main forms are those related to the subject being taught, to teaching methods, and to the ways in which students develop and learn. The extent to which teachers have conscious access to this knowledge is, however, far from clear. Some researchers argue that much of this knowledge is implicit or tacit, derived from experience rather than from any conceptual framework. The research concerned with teachers implicit theories of teaching and learning, particularly work concerned with epistemological and pedagogical beliefs, which reflect their experiences, is of considerable relevance to research in language teaching (Kagan, 1992a; Pajares 1992). First, educational beliefs have shown to influence teaching practice (Kagan 1992a) and learning outcomes. Second, methods used to investigate relationship between beliefs and/or conceptions and teaching practice and the ways of analyzing data, are of interest. Pajares (1992) attempts to clarify the confusion with the distinction between knowledge and belief. However, as many researchers have found, it is not so much that knowledge differs from beliefs, but that beliefs themselves constitute a form of knowledge. In his attempts to characterize beliefs, Nespor (1987) provides some distinctions between beliefs and knowledge. He singles out four features of the construct previously identified by Abelson (1979) and considers them in relation to teachers: Existential presumptions or personal truths are generally unaffected by persuasion and are perceived by the teacher as being beyond his/her control or influence. Alternativity is a feature of beliefs that would include situations such as when teachers attempt to establish an instructional format of which they have no direct experience but which they might consider ideal. Belief systems can be said to rely much more heavily on affective and evaluative components than knowledge systems. Teachers values and feelings often affect what and how they teach and may conflict with their knowledge. Belief systems are composed mainly of episodically stored material which is derived from personal experience, episodes or events which continue to influence the comprehension of events at a later time. Whereas beliefs reside in episodic memory, knowledge is semantically stored. A further distinction between beliefs and knowledge, notes Nespor (1987, p.313), is that, while knowledge often changes, beliefs are static. As well, whereas knowledge can be evaluated or judged, such is not the case with beliefs as there is usually a lack of consensus about how they are to be evaluated. Furthermore, there do not appear to be any clear rules for determining the relevance of beliefs to real world events. While there is no doubt other distinctions can be made between the two constructs, a better understanding may be gained by exploring the relationship between the two and by considering beliefs as a form of knowledge. This form of knowledge could be referred to as personal knowledge. Kagan (1992a) refers to beliefs as a particularly provocative form of personal knowledge and argues that most of a teachers professional knowledge can be regarded more accurately as belief. According to Kagan, this knowledge grows richer and more coherent as a teachers experience in classrooms grows and thus forms a highly personalized pedagogy or belief system that actually constrains the teachers perception, judgment, and behavior. In terms of beliefs being personal knowledge, Kagan explains: A teachers knowledge of his or her profession is situated in three important ways: in context (it is related to specific groups of students), in content (it is related to particular academic material to be taught), and in person (it is embedded within the teachers unique belief system) (p.74). Like Clark (1988) who equates ‘implicit theories with beliefs, Nespor (1987) explains how beliefs become personal pedagogies or theories to guide teachers practices: Teachers beliefs play a major role in defining teaching tasks and organizing the knowledge and information relevant to those tasks. But why should this be so? Why wouldnt research-based knowledge or academic theory serve this purpose just as well? The answer suggested here is that the contexts and environments within which teachers work, and many of the problems they encounter, are ill-defined and deeply entangled, and that beliefs are peculiarly suited for making sense of such contexts. (p.324) Munby (1982) also equates implicit theories with teachers beliefs. Clark and Peterson (1986) in their review of the literature on teachers thought processes, argue that teachers theories and beliefs represent a rich store of knowledge. Teachers make sense of their complex world and respond to it by forming a complex system of personal and professional knowledge and theories which, as Kagan (1992a) describes, are often tacit and unconsciously held assumptions about students, classrooms and the material to be taught. 2.2.1.1 Beliefs, Assumptions, Knowledge Throughout this study the term BAK is used as an inclusive term to refer to beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge. Therefore, the following section describes the rationale behind using this term. In the discussion so far, approaches which divide aspects of teacher cognition were examined in separate categories. A more recent strand of research, however, challenges the categorical distinctions outlined above. Woods (1996) suggests that these dichotomies do not accurately reflect the relationship between Teachers beliefs, assumptions and knowledge and their practices in the classroom. In order to take appropriate action, people need to understand; and to understand they need knowledge about the world and specifically about the situation they are in (Woods, 1996, p. 59). Woods (1996) develops a multidimensional cycle of planning and decision making within teaching. He describes three phases of assessment, planning and implementation which operate recursively to inform different hierarchical levels of the teaching process going from the most local level of discrete events in the lesson plan to the most global level of whole course planning (p. 139). Woodss analysis of interview data suggests that knowledge structures and belief systems ‘‘are not composed of independent elements, but [are] rather structured, with certain aspects implying or presupposing others (p. 200). Woods proposes a model to signify the evolving system of beliefs, assumptions and knowledge (BAK) that recursively informs or is informed by the context of teaching: the BAK was part of the perceiving and organizing of the decisions. Woods has demonstrated that language teachers create and maintain background networks of beliefs, assumptions and knowledge which constitute a valid theory of teaching and learning. These background theoretical networks are grounded in every level of routine classroom practice in much the same way that educational theory is grounded in the systematic collection of empirical data. This construct (BAK) is supported by MacDonaldo, Badger and White (2001). They also suggest that while there is some support for a categorical di stinction between theory and practice in language education, it is suggested that the beliefs, assumptions and knowledge of teachers are in fact inextricably bound up with what goes on in the classroom. 2.3 Research on the Relationship between Teachers Beliefs, Instructional decisions, and Practices Beliefs are manifested in teaching practices because teachers instruction tends to reflect their beliefs. Pajares (1992) and Richardson (1996) investigated the relationship between teachers beliefs and their teaching practices, concluding that teachers beliefs were reflected in their actions, decisions and classroom practices. Kagan (1992a) also supported Pajares and Richardsons claim that teachers beliefs served as a vital role in influencing the nature of the instruction. In her study, Johnson (1992) examined the relationship between ESL teachers defined, theoretical beliefs about second language learning as well as teaching and instructional practices during literacy instruction for non-native speakers of English. Three tasks, such as an ideal instructional protocol, a lesson plan analysis, and a beliefs inventory were used to determine how much ESL teachers beliefs were reflected in skill-based, rule-based, and function-based orientations. The findings in Johnsons study showed that ESL teachers defined beliefs were congruent with their theoretical orientations, and teachers with different theoretical orientations gave quite different instruction for ESL students. Therefore, her study concluded that overall, teachers had different teaching approaches, selections of teaching materials, and images of teachers and students according to their beliefs about learning and teaching. For example, a teacher whose dominant theoretical orientation was function-b ased focused generally on comprehending the main idea, following a pattern of pre-reading as well as post-reading questions, and discussion as usual reading activities in her instruction. In addition, Smiths (1996) study explored the relationship between nine experienced ESL teachers beliefs and their decision-making in classroom practices. The result of her study showed that teachers articulated theoretical beliefs were consistent with their instructional planning and decisions. For example, those teachers who believed in communication of meaning as a primary goal in learning a language designed and implemented tasks which promoted student-interaction and meaningful communication, such as small-group or pair activities. Golombek (1998) examined how two in-service ESL teachers personal practical knowledge informed their practice through a description of a tension each teacher faced in the classroom. The teachers personal practical knowledge informed their practice by serving as a kind of interpretive framework through which they made sense of their classrooms as they recounted their experiences and made this knowledge explicit. The results of this study suggested that L2 teacher educators should recognize that L2 teachers personal practical knowledge is embodied in individuals. For this reason, personal practical knowledge is important to acknowledge in L2 teacher education practice and research. Similarly, in his article Borg (2001a) presents two cases which illustrate the extent to which teachers perceptions of their knowledge about grammar emerged as one of the factors which influences teachers instructional decisions in teaching grammar. The two case studies suggested clearly that teachers self-perceptions of their knowledge about grammar had an impact on their work. Two conclusions emergi

Which Is More Effective In Reducing Arm Lymphoedema For Breast Cancer Patients

Breast cancer treatment involves different aspects like through surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, bone marrow transplant, oophorectomy, and adrenalectomy. With this kind of treatments, the patient may develop arm lymphoedema due to the surgery to remove lymph nodes or radiotherapy to the lymph nodes in the armpit. If lymphoedema is not treated, it will get worse. It can be painful and make it difficult to move the arm. This complication can lead to systemic infections and localized swelling that will be very hard to bear. But today, lymphoedema is becoming less common. This is because specialists now try to avoid giving women both surgery and radiotherapy to the armpit. Having surgery and radiotherapy to the armpit greatly increases the risk of damaging the lymph nodes and causing lymphoedema. It is important that the patient know about his or her disease and the risk of developing lymphoedema. Poor drainage of the lymphatic system due to surgical removal of the lymph nodes or to radiation therapy may make the affected arm or leg more susceptible to serious infection. Even a small infection may lead to serious lymphoedema. Patients should be taught about arm care after surgery and/or radiation. It is important that patients take precautions to prevent injury and infection in the affected arm because lymphoedema can occur 30 or more years after surgery. Breast cancer patients who follow instructions about skin care and proper exercise after mastectomy are less likely to experience lymphoedema. As management of lymphoedema, compression bandages and manual lymphatic drainage are the mostly used care for such patients. Statement Of Fact After treatment, some things can increase fluid collection in your arm and increase your risk of lymphoedema. These include Infection in a cut or graze, insect bites, severe sunburn, putting too much strain on your arm too early. But this can be prevented by not using your arm for anything heavy until you are told you can, not letting anyone take blood, give injections or take your blood pressure from the treated arm, unless it is an emergency and there is no alternative, wearing gloves when gardening or doing housework, taking care when playing with pets, using insect repellent and high factor sunscreen, using nail clippers rather than scissors and not pushing your cuticles back, using an electric razor rather than a manual one if you shave under your arms, avoiding anything that will increase the temperature of your skin, like very hot baths or showers, sitting too close to a heater, saunas, steam rooms and sun beds, using a non scented moisturizer or oil on your skin each day to help it stay moist and supple, using a thimble when sewing, continuing to do the arm and shoulder exercises you were taught after your surgery. If you do get a cut or scratch on your arm, however small, wash it well and cover it un til healed. If you see any redness or swelling around the cut, see your GP straight away. You may need antibiotic. Lymphoedema can start at any time after there have been treated for breast cancer. It is important to take these precautions for the rest of life. If lymphoedema has occurred already, it can be managed by exercises that help the fluid to drain from your arm, compression bandages or by manual lymphatic drainage. Definition of Terms: 1. Lymph – a pale coagulable fluid that bathes the tissues, passes into the lymphatic channels and ducts, is discharged into the blood by way of the thoracic duct, and consists of a liquid portion resembling blood plasma and containing white blood cells but normally no red blood cells. 2. Lymphatic – a vessel that contains or conveys lymph, that originates as an interfibrillar or intracellular cleft or space in a tissue or organ. 3. Lymph node – any of the rounded masses of lymphoid tissue that are surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue , are distributed along the lymphatic vessels, and contain numerous lymphocytes which filter the flow of lymph passing through the node. 4. Arm Lymphoedema – swelling of the arm and armpit due to the treatment of breast cancer by surgery or radiation. 5. Lymphoedema – edema due to faulty lymphatic drainage. 6. Breast cancer – a carcinoma in the breast 7. Axillary lymph clearance – operative management for disease control in invasive breast cancer, obtaining prognostic information and influencing postoperative therapy including the choice of breast cancer trials. Main Body The management of lymphoedema consists of compression bandages, manual lymphatic drainage, or by exercises but shou ld be done by trained or specialist person. Mostly used now are the compression bandages and the manual lymphatic drainage. In using the management of lymphoedema, the patient should have passed the axillary lymph clearance. Axillary node clearance is the established operative management for disease control in invasive breast cancer, obtaining prognostic information and influencing postoperative therapy including the choice of breast cancer trials.Dying of Breast Cancer in the 1800s Axillary node clearance can be defined as clearing the axillary contents bounded by the axillary skin laterally, latissimus dorsi, teres major and subscapularis posteriorly, the lower border of the axillary vein superiorly, pectoralis muscles anteriorly, and the chest wall medially. The levels of axillary nodes are anatomically defined as level one (inferolateral to pectoralis minor), level two (posterior to pectoralis minor) and level three (superomedial to pectoralis minor). There are alternatives to level one, two and three axillary node clearance for breast cancer. Some surgeons simply excise the lower axillary nodes (level one), others believe, particularly for small or impalpable cancers, that an axillary node sample taking a minimum of 4 nodes is a satisfactory alternative. Most recently the concept of sentinel node biopsy (reviewed by McIntosh and Purushotham in 1998) has been exciting great interest. Current recommendations, by a range of surgical and oncological groups, are that some form of axillary surgery, and hence axillary staging, should be performed in all patients who undergo operative treatment for breast cancer. It is no longer acceptable to ignore the axilla if performing surgery for breast cancer. The axilla is one of the area with lymph nodes mostly affected by breast cancer and the patient who finished the axillary lymph clearance will then be undergoing the management of compression bandages or the manual lymphatic drainage. There is no cure for lymphoedema, which makes proper care and treatment of the affected arm even more important. Compression bandaging, also called wrapping, is the application of several layers of padding and short-stretch bandages to the involved areas. Short-stretch bandages are preferred over long-stretch bandages (such as those normally used to treat sprains), as the long-stretch bandages cannot produce the higher tension necessary to safely reduce Lymphoedema and may in fact end up producing a tourniquet effect. During activity, whether exercise or daily activities, the short-stretch bandages enhance the pumping action of the lymph vessels by providing increased resistance for them to push against. This encourages lymphatic flow and helps to soften fluid-swollen areas. Compression bandages gives comfort to the patient through giving pressure and compression in the affected area specifically in the arm and armpits. It serves as a support in the said area preventing further swelling and redness. Practitioners may want to encourage long-term and consistent use of compression bandages by women with lymphoedema. Its advantage is in terms of support and comfort to the patient and less invasive. Compression bandages may also protect the extremity from injuries such as burns, lacerations and insect bites. The compression bandage has its benefits such as it is less costly and patient does not need further effort to use it because it is for support and pressure in the specified area. In contrast to compression bandages, another management to lymphoedema is through manual lymphatic drainage. One of the main treatments for lymphoedema is a massage-like technique called manual lymphatic drainage that helps to stimulate the lymphatic vessels. However, massage, the way people generally think of massage, is a vigorous technique that can cause an increase in fluid production. The type of massage that is used to treat lymphoedema is a very gentle technique. Lymphatic massage is directed towards the heart from the fingertips, up the arm, towards the shoulder, and there are very specific directions and strokes that are used in this particular massage. A very specialized type of massage called manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) is an important part of the treatment of lymphoedema. To be effective in treating lymphoedema, it is important to use the correct technique. The aim of the massage is to stimulate or move the excess fluid away from the swollen area so that it can drain away normally. Massage also encourages and improves drainage in the healthy lymphatics (which helps keep fluid away from swollen areas). Manual lymphatic drainage differs from ordinary massage – it is very gentle and aims to encourage movement of lymph away from swollen areas. MLD is particularly useful if there is swelling in the face, breast, abdomen, genitals or elsewhere on the trunk. As this is a specialized form of massage, it should be given only by a trained therapist. There are some other different techniques including the Vodder, Foldi, Leduc or Casley-Smith methods. Therapists should be trained in at least one of these. The aim of this massage is to stimulate the lymph channels on the trunk to clear the way ahead so excess fluid can drain away. The skin is always moved away from the swollen side. You will find it easier to start with one hand, and then swap to the other as you move across the body. Before and after MLD, breathing exercises can help to stimulate lymphatic drainage. This can be done by letting the patient sit upright in a comfortable chair or lie on your bed with your knees slightly bent. Rest his hands on ribs and let patient take deep breaths to relax. This exercise should be done 5 times and there should be short rests before getting up to avoid dizziness. Manual lymphatic drainage is improved during exercise; therefore, exercise is important in preventing lymphoedema. Breast cancer patients should do hand and arm exercises as instructed after mastectomy. Patients who have surgery that affects pelvic lymph node drainage should do leg and foot exercises as instructed. The doctor decides how soon after surgery the patient should start exercising. Physiatrists (doctors who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation) or physical therapists should develop an individualized exercise program for the patient. The advantage of the manual lymphatic drainage as management of lymphoedema is that it gives opportunity for open wounds to drain with gentle massage and excess exudates to drain freely without pressure. In terms of the disadvantage side of the management of lymphoedema, it differs also. In compression bandages, there is an exemption in placing it especially if the affected area has an open wound or has an ample amount of drainage in the area or with pus. The pressure given by the compression bandage can even more contribute to the entry of microorganisms or infection to occur. This may cause another disease process to start and give greater complications to the patient. Compression bandages are probably the most difficult problem is in the maintenance and control of lymphoedema before, during and after treatment. Patients may be noncompliant with using compression garments because the garments are unsightly, uncomfortable, difficult to put on and expensive. Customized, lightweight and colourful garments may be an option for comfort and wear. As for the manual lymph drainage, its disadvantage is in terms of the inaccurate use of the MLD of the one giving care which can also rupture other lymph nodes in the area and also as well as the hygienic process in giving the manual lymphatic drainage. Some patients also experience some discomfort on such procedure as the drainage is in its process. The preference in such procedures is by the patient by giving proper education and explanation on each management. Conclusion Both compression bandages and manual lymphatic drainage as management of arm lymphoedema gives comfort and benefit to the patient giving different of care to the patient in relieving such discomfort. Both have advantages and disadvantages to consider but what matters most is the greater care and comfort the patient gets in being free of pain and swelling in such areas which would be very difficult for the patient to do the activities of daily living with an arm that cannot be moved and with great amount of pain being experienced. It also is extremely important to remember that a certified lymphoedema therapist needs to either perform the treatment or educate the patient and/or family members in self-care techniques, once the patient has gone through an intensive treatment program. The therapist will design the treatment plan based on the severity of the lymphoedema. It can also depend on the type of reimbursement patients can get from their health plans. In my practice, for example, we would treat a patient with a mild upper extremity lymphoedema for a five-day period, including of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), bandaging, exercise, and also education in self-care. So by the end of the five days, usually the patient is able to manually drain the limb and follow a home program. There is no greater comparison on both management, the physician orders such management for the patient’s welfare and fast recovery yet this lymphoedema does not have the accurate cure but just the rehabilitation to the pain and swelling to the arms and its surrounding areas. It may be done by compression bandage or manual lymph drainage, it all points out to the care of the patient that lessens the access of infection, occurrence of pain and swelling.

The Appeal of Argumentive Essay Topics

The Appeal of Argumentive Essay Topics You research, develop an argument, find evidence to back up your claims, etc. At the exact same time, it also needs to be simple to research, that way you'll discover evidence to support claims you make. To compose a terrific argumentative essay the students first must investigate several sides of the argument, which enables them to make an educated stance. You need to be able to use persuasive language. The Hidden Facts on Argumentive Essay Topics At the conclusion of these list, you will discover links to a range of argumentative paragraphs and essays. When you've got a completed outline, you'll have a step-by-step guide that you're able to follow till you are done writing. Thus, it's important to read corresponding formatting guide. Keep your eye on academic paper formatting whilst writing. You can be totally sure your paper is going to be delivered in time and be of the maximum quality. Make sure you've included everything that you would like to be incorporated into your paper. With the demand for writing help rising, various paper writing services are established to assist you with your writing tasks. Understanding how to compose a strong argumentative paper will help you advance your very own argumentative thinking. Argumentive Essay Topics Fundamentals Explained Facts, in the long run, will always win out against how folks are feeling at a specific moment. Therefore, you can ask all the essential questions and consult on some points. When you're picking your topic, remember that it's much simpler to write about something which you presently have interest ineven in case you don't know a great deal about it. For instance, you can write about something that personally affects you or somebody you know. Finding Argumentive Essay Topics Online Constructive argum ents are typical among medical students. You have to develop an original thesis and utilize evidence to support it. Your professor or client reads lots of essays and a great majority are written by men and women who like to play it safe. In most cases, he gives a certain topic that you have to discuss throughout the paper. Be part of our happy clients who have found the very best essay service online and are enjoying the advantages of it. Our crew of professional writers with the essential experience and writing skills is always prepared to fulfill your demands and exceed your expectations. There are a lot of things to argue when it has to do with the law. One particular important and appropriate subject is technology. What You Should Do to Find Out About Argumentive Essay Topics Before You're Left Behind When you have the topic, answer the question and support your answer with three or more explanations for why you believe it. The topic has to be based on an excellent ev idence base. Thus, it should be debatable! There are a few great topics to take into account when deciding on a topic for your argumentative essay. It's not sufficient to pick a topic which everybody agrees on. When you are requested to opt for a great topic for your argument, start with something you're acquainted with. Deciding on an emotional topic is also an excellent idea. Choosing topics for argumentative essays is very important for your general success. The Argumentive Essay Topics Trap Argumentative essays are a few of the best that you can write as a student. An argumentative essay is a certain kind of academic writing. Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatableand it's vital to at all times be critically considering the world around us. There are several argumentative essay topics. If you need to write your whole essay in 1 day, do your very best to give yourself breaks so you don't burn out. Bear in mind you may make funny argumentative essays if you do a few things. When it has to do with writing an argumentative essay, the most significant issue to do is to select a topic and an argument you can really get behind. Get out a sheet of paper and a pen and get started scribbling down every thought associated with your undertaking. There are many steps which you should take to be able to write a great essay. You may continue to keep your argumentative essays for your upcoming job portfolio in case they're highly graded. Now that you're aware that we are the ideal online essay writing service to work with, don't hesitate to go to our site and order an essay. There are lots of on-line essay writing services to assist you with your writing tasks.

Introducing Phrasal Verbs to ESL Students

Getting students to come to terms with phrasal verbs is a constant challenge. The fact of the matter is that phrasal verbs are just rather difficult to learn. Learning phrasal verbs out of the dictionary can help, but students really need to read and hear phrasal verbs in context for them to be able to truly understand the correct usage of phrasal verbs. This lesson takes a two-pronged approach to helping student learn phrasal verbs. It begins with a reading comprehension which can also serve to introduce some interesting student stories for discussion. This comprehension is peppered with phrasal verbs which can then be discussed as a class. The second part of the lesson includes a brainstorming session for students to create lists of phrasal verbs to share with one another. Once students have become familiar with phrasal verbs, you can refer them to these resources to continue their learning. This phrasal verbs reference list will get students started with short definitions of approximately 100 of the most common phrasal verbs. This guide in how to study phrasal verbs will help them develop a strategy to understand and learn phrasal verbs. Aim: Improve phrasal verb vocabulary Activity: Reading comprehension followed by brainstorming session and discussion Level: Intermediate to upper intermediate Outline: Have the students read the short story full of phrasal verbs.Ask them some general comprehension questions about the text. Once they have read the text, ask them to tell a story of their own from their youth.Now that you have discussed the text, ask the students to find the phrasal verbs from the list which occur in the reading selection. Once the students have found these phrasal verbs, ask the students to provide synonyms for the phrasal verbs.Tell the students a little bit about what you have done that teaching day:Example: I got up at seven this morning. After I had breakfast, I put together tonights lesson plan and came to school. I got into the bus at X square and got off at Y square...Ask students which of the verbs you used were phrasal verbs and ask them to repeat those verbs. At this point, you might want to ask them if they have ever taken a look under the heading get in a dictionary. Ask them what they discovered.Explain that phrasal verbs are very important in English - especially for native speakers of the language. You can point out that it might not be important for them to be able to use a lot of phrasal verbs if they use their English with other non-native speakers. However, it is important that they have a passive knowledge of phrasal verbs, as they will need to understand more and more phrasal verbs as they become used to reading, listening, seeing and exploring authentic materials in English. Obviously, if they are going to use their English with native speakers, they will really need to buckle down and get used to using and understanding phrasal verbs.Write a list of common verbs that combine with prepositions to make phrasal verbs. I would suggest the following list:TakeGetMakePutBringTurnBeCarryDivide students into small groups of 3-4 each, ask students to choose three of the verbs from the list and then brainstorm to come up with as many phrasal verbs using each of the three verbs that they can. They should also write example sentences for each of the phrasal verbs.As a class, ask students to take notes while you write the phrasal verbs down that each group provides. You should then give a spoken example or two for each of the phrasal verbs so that students can understand the phrasal verbs from the context of what you are saying.Once you have provided the students with examples, ask the students to read their own examples and check to make sure that they have used the phrasal verbs correctly. NOTE: Dont introduce the idea of separable and inseparable phrasal verbs at this point. The students will already be dealing with almost too much new information. Save that for a future lesson! Adventures Growing Up I was brought up in a small town in the countryside. Growing up in the countryside offered lots of advantages for young people. The only problem was that we often got into trouble as we made up stories that we acted out around town. I can remember one adventure in particular: One day as we were coming back from school, we came up with the brilliant idea to make out that we were pirates looking for treasure. My best friend Tom said that he made out an enemy ship in the distance. We all ran for cover and picked up a number of rocks to use for ammunition against the ship as we got ready to put together our plan of action. We were ready to set off on our attack, we slowly went along the path until we were face to face with our enemy - the postmans truck! The postman was dropping off a package at Mrs. Browns house, so we got into his truck. At that point, we really didnt have any idea about what we were going to do next. The radio was playing so we turned down the volume to discuss what w e would do next. Jack was all for switching on the motor and getting away with the stolen mail! Of course, we were just children, but the idea of actually making off with a truck was too much for us to believe. We all broke out in nervous laughter at the thought of us driving down the road in this stolen Postal Truck. Luckily for us, the postman came running towards us shouting, What are you kids up to?!. Of course, we all got out of that truck as quickly as we could and took off down the road. Phrasal Verbs to make outto make off withto drop offto set offto get out ofto get intoto get readyto be up toto take offto grow upto make upto set offto turn downto get intoto bring upto break out There are at least 7 other phrasal verbs in the text. Can you find them?

Comparing Digging by Seamus Heaney, Catrin by Gilliam...

Comparing Digging by Seamus Heaney, Catrin by Gilliam Clarke, The Little Boy Lost y William Blake and Tichbornes Elegy by Charles Tichborne Digging by Seamus Heaney, Catrin by Gillian Clarke, The Little Boy Lost by William Blake and Tichbornes Elegy by Charles Tichborne are the four poems that are going to be compared. Each of these poems all contain images which create a feeling of apprehension and express feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. Digging by Seamus Heaney uses images in concern to his future as a poet following his family all being farmers. Perhaps the most central image of the poem is contained on line two, The squat pen rests; snug as a†¦show more content†¦William Blake rhymed the words deep and weep in line seven to emphasise and link the feeling of loneliness the little boy had. Similarly, Seamus Heaney used The squat pen rests; snug as a gun, using the reverse spelling of snug (with dropping thes) to write gun in the same line to emphasise the image of his pen being a weapon. The squat pen rests; snug as a gun also shows great contrast with snug being a comfortable and secure word while gun is a word that conjures up images of violence and war. This type of negative, contrasted, imagery is used throughout Tichbornes Elegy to emphasise loss. Charles Tichborne uses images such as my crop of corn is but a field of tares which expresses that anything worthy of praise he once had, is now worth nothing at all. Conceivably the poem the expresses the most sadness, Tichbornes Elegy uses strong imagery that creates the air of grief surrounding the poem. An example of this powerful imagery is the haunting refrain which is repeated throughout the poem at the end of each stanza, And now I live, and now my life is done. At the time Charles Tichborne wrote this poem, he knew he was going to be executed. This contrast emphasises that though he

Interest to UC Berkeley MBA program Free Essays

Interest to UC Berkeley MBA program is out of careful evaluation of MBA program in different colleges. I have had a personal experience at Berkeley campus in 2003 when I tried to find out the location of the campus. I happened to meet some MBA students who told me a lot about the program at Berkeley. We will write a custom essay sample on Interest to UC Berkeley MBA program or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was a very joyful and the good impression of Berkeley attracted me most from the Business weekly journal I happened have a view of the programs on offer and I happened to compare the various Berkeley MBA degree programs. From Berkeley’s website, the MBA program will give me innovation skills and enhance entrepreneur spirits. This will greatly improve my professional growth and development. I need to work on my knowledge of Accounts in junior high school and improve my ability to be a qualified graduate accountant. The Taiwan MBA forum I happened to develop a powerful feeling and realized that Berkeley MBA program will be a right fit for my career advancement. One of the Berkeley old students introduced the program to me and made me realize how much I could gain from schooling at Berkeley. The field experience given to MBA students international will provide me with necessary skills for my effectiveness and efficiency in production. I also have a number of relatives schooling at Berkeley society community. These are people who are used to the environment and know the place better. In conclusion, Berkeley MBA program will enhance my career, provide one with innovative, entrepreneur skills, give me a global exposure in business skills and is located at a good environment with good weather. I therefore don’t regret applying for Berkeley MBA. Conant E (2004) How to cite Interest to UC Berkeley MBA program, Papers

Strategic and Responsible Innovation Management

Question: Discuss about theStrategic and Responsible Innovation Management. Answers: Introduction Banaitja Restaurant is planning to open a Restaurant in Northern Australia with its decoration and themes entirely structured based on several historical events of Australia. This brand is new and thus they are preparing a business plan in order to understand the market of Australia so that they can prepare their organization accordingly. Banaitja Restaurant is attached with the most popular financing service provider organization of Australia named as Australian Mutual Provident Society (AMP Australia). However, the management of the restaurant knows it clearly that entering into the restaurant business of Australia is not an easy task as the industry is highly competitive with periodic overcapacity, low margins and low entry barriers. On the other hand, according to Piercy (2014), the amount of substitutes in the market is also quite high. This is the reason that the organization is implementing a unique idea as a competitive advantage in the industry. Not only that, the organizati on has also established a set of goals for themselves, which includes repeat business, offering healthier foods to the customers, location and right food in order to attract the potential customers. The mission of Banaitja Restaurant is to serve fast hot or cold sandwiches with huge verities of salads with specific recipe focusing on Australian and Asian cuisines. According to Walker (2015), in Australia a large number of students belong from Asian countries such as India and China and none of the restaurants in the country offer Indian and Chinese foods and beverages. Therefore, the organization is planning to target this specific segment of the market. As mentioned by Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons (2013), there are several other challenges remain in the Australian market and this is the reason that the organization is conducting a complete marketing research to point out those issues and challenges as well as the benefits and advantages they will have. Company Description Banaitja Restaurant is a North Australian based organization that is starting their new venture by opening their restaurant. The organization is connected with one of the most popular financing organization of Australia, which is AMP Australia. AMP Australia is helping Banaitja financially and helping to them to gain a superior position in the Australian Service Industry. The owner of the restaurant is north Australian citizen and that the reason they named their organization as Banaitja that means creator deity or God as per native beliefs. They have also decided to design the restaurants based on the well renowned historical events of Australia, China, India and other Asian countries. New Business Idea Australia is famous for its service organizations such as restaurants and hotels. All the hotels and restaurants are offering several types of foods and beverages based on the customer demand. However, Banaitja has come up with a new business idea by giving a cultural and historical tough in the restaurant. The design of the restaurant will be structured based on the history and culture of Australia and other countries such as India and China. The management of the restaurant will organize different places for different types of customers. For example, for an Australian customer the serving area will be different from an Asian customer. The organization is also planning to offer newspapers and magazines to the international customers based on their country. For example, an Indian customer will be able to have an Indian newspaper or magazine. This diversity will also be applied on foods and beverages. Based on the country and culture the customers will be offered foods and beverages. However, the customers will also be free to order any food or beverage. The main attraction of the business will be different types of salads including Caesar Salad, Greek Salad, Watercress and Sesame Salad, Homemade Potato Salad, Italian Eggplant Salad and Maury Island Cranberry Arctic Salad. Industry Attractiveness (Porters Five Forces) Figure 1: Porters Five Forces Model of Australian Restaurant Market (Source: E. Dobbs 2014) Threat of New Entrants (Moderate) A number of quick service restaurant chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC and Dominos dominate the Australian restaurant industry. Those global brands are exceptionally valuable and have gained strong customer loyalty and recognition. The specialty of these brands is its consistent quality and service. According to Jayawardhana and Weerawardena (2014), McDonalds is the leading restaurant brand in Australia that has adapted their marketing orientation to suit Australian cultures and social norms. This not only helps them to strengthen its brand but also helps them to avoid consumer disaffection. Therefore, it can be said that as a presence of some well-renowned brands, new entrants struggle to compete as their brands are unknown and advertising campaigns are expensive. Besides, the existing firms already have the resources to retaliate uncompromisingly via pricing promotions which stops the new players from entering the market (Al Shibly et al. 2015). However, Banaitj a has a strong support of AMP finance which will allow them to deal with these issues. Threat of Substitution (Moderate) In Australia, threat for substitute is high for Banaitja as food can be purchased almost everywhere through numbers of online and offline foodservices. However, according to Rothaermel (2015), the expediency is the value-adding service component of the service that reduces the threat of substitutes in the Australian restaurant industry. Consumers can cook at their homes but this lacks the element of convenience that the people require nowadays. Although, there are a numbers of fast food restaurants in the Australian market the latest trend of the obesity has ensured that the current business idea of nutrias food will be highly profitable. Therefore, it can be stated that ready meals are substantial threat for Banaitja Restaurant. Competitive Rivalry (Strong) According to Thornton et al. (2016), McDonalds and Burger king rules the burger segment in Australia and the rest of the market is fragmented with many global chains and independent operators such as Quay, Attica, Momofoku Seibo, Marque, Vue de Monde and Sepia. As mentioned by Ryu et al. (2012), the competition is mainly cost-based as the firms are regularly investing in their services in order to outnumber its competitors. On the other hand, exist cost is also low in the Australian restaurant industry and capacity can be increases easily through franchising. However, the biggest weapon for gaining a position in the Australian restaurant industry is branding which Banaitja does not have now. Power of Buyers (Moderate) The market competitiveness in Australian restaurant industry is enormously high that increases the buyer power. Besides, the customers are price sensitive with no switching cost among the providers. However, according to Ryu et al. (2012), the leading restaurant and fast food brands are trying to reduce the buyer power in Australia by offering a product range that will cater for the entire demographic segment rather than one specific segment. Besides the firms are also trying to implement high brand value and customer loyalty to reduce the buyers bargaining power. Therefore, it can be stated that Banaitja will face a moderate amount of buyer power when they will launch their business in the market. Power of Suppliers (High) According to Cavusgil et al. (2014), power of supplier is relatively high in Australian restaurant industry than any other industry. The bargaining power of suppliers is known as a reversal of the power of buyers. This force is also called as the market of inputs. The suppliers of raw materials, labor and technical services carry a moderate amount of influence on the organizations. The bargaining power of suppliers is considered as high in restaurant industry Australia as they suppliers hold the key for the raw materials such as meat. All the restaurants and fast food organizations of Australia offers foods related to meat. None of the organizations has the infrastructure to produce meat on their own. They will have to rely on several supplier organizations for that. It would be no different for Banaitja restaurants as they will have to maintain a amicable relationship with the suppliers in order to run their business properly. Therefore, the suppliers will have the opportunity to di ctate terms as per their advantage. Figure 2: Pestel Analysis of Australian Restaurant Market Environment (Source: Yksel 2012) Political Factors According to Parsa et al. (2012), from the political prospective, Australia is considered as a safe destination for investment. The political and regulatory atmosphere of the country is stable, open and progressive that helps the investors with to gain confidence and certainty. Besides, the political system of Australia is highly efficient in responding challenges related to economy. The Australian Government has been ranked in the top two countries as a most adaptable country that can frequently change its policies to match the changes in any business industry. Therefore, it is highly expected that Banaitja will have proper and appropriate help from the political policies of the Australian Government. Economical Factors Restaurant industry of Australia is known as the peak organization that includes nearly 40,000 restaurants and caterers in the country. The industry is responsible for achieving some $15 billion per annum which is contributing highly to the economy of the country. Besides, the economy of the country is also stable and wealthy which is investing highly in its restaurant industry. Besides, as a result of good looking economy and increased amount of earning by the citizens, the buying behavior has also changed significantly (Butlin 2013). The people are more happy to buy foods from restaurant either offline or online. Besides, the restaurant industry of Australia largely contributes to the economy of the country; therefore, the Government is also looking after the industry by implementing suitable rules and regulations to help the restaurant industry. Social Factors Recently most of the countries and their health care departments have taken a big step to minimize the effect of obesity on the citizen. Several health care events and programs sponsored by the Government are also implemented to increase the awareness among the people about healthy lifestyle (Zhang et al. 2013). Australia is one of the top counties that are affected by the problems related by obesity. Therefore, the Government of Australia is also trying to increase the awareness among the people so that they can reduce the consumption of fast food (Porter and Tanner 2012). This is the reason that many fast food players are feeling pressure in the restaurant industry of Australia. According to Thomas (2015), none of the fast food chains or restaurant chains of Australia provides healthier foods to its customers. Most of the foods contain a huge amount of calorie which can hit the restaurant industry of Australia. This is place where Banaitja Restaurants can avail a great opportunity. For the existing restaurants it is tough to restructure the entire menu in order to provide healthier food. However, as Banaitja is just starting their business, they can easily include number of healthier foods in their list, which will attract health concerned customers of the country (Nielsen and Parker 2012). This is the reason that the organization has already decided to offer a huge number of salads to its customers. However, as the organization is going to target the international students, the chances are low that offering healthier foods can attract them, as the students are not much concerned about their health. Technological Factors Consumer familiarity with new technology is increasing day by day. Therefore, the fast food firms are using social media websites to reach and communicate with the existing and potential customer base. For example, McDonalds is the ninth most liked brand on Facebook. Besides, according to (Franks et al. 2014), 83% of the total population of Australia is habituate in online food buying. Therefore, it is obvious that a restaurant or fast food brand that has an online website possesses a great competitive advantage over other brands. Therefore, Banaitja is recommended to implement their online site as soon as possible right after launching their restaurant. Besides, it is also essential to develop a Facebook page to communicate with the potential customer base in order to increase to brand value (Kucukusta et al. 2014). Environmental factors As a result of high amount of awareness among the countries in terms of environmental pollution, environmental lobbyists and governments are pressuring the fast-food firms to become more green. Burger King has already faced a big challenge as in Australia the Government has restricted the destruction of forest which used to help the organization to increase the beef production to meet the demand for beef-burgers. On the other hand, recycling of products is another major issue faced by the Government of Australia that they are trying to maintain at any cost (Jeston and Nelis 2014). As a result, most of the restaurant organizations have already adopted recycled packaging. Therefore, before starting their venture, Banaitja must consider these factors and must structure their restaurants to support meet these governmental rules and policies. Legal Factors Legally the taxation policies and all other policies of Australia are supportive to the restaurant industry of the country. However, recently the restaurant organizations are dealing with a serious problem which is false negative reviews of the customers (Lucas et al. 2013). A research conducted by R CA members show that almost 61 percent restaurant chains are concerned with this problems, as they believe that these comments can play a major part for the other customers while selecting a restaurant brand (Finkelstein 2013). Therefore, The restaurant industries have requested the local Government to enforce powers to ACCC to investigate issues of misuse and also requested to implement rules and regulations so that restaurant owners can have the right of reply when negative review is posted. Besides, it is also demanded that a user must reveal his identity when making a post in any review related website which will ensure that whether the customers has really faced any issues with the restaurant or not. 4ps of Marketing Mix Figure 3: Marketing mix of Banaitja Restaurant (Source: Armstrong et al. 2014) Product Banaitja will have to understand that customers have other priorities and places to spend their money. Therefore, before offering menu items to the customers they will have to put considerable emphasis on it. It is important that the restaurant brand must conduct a market research to understand the customer requirements and spending behavior. However, requirements and demands of the customers change over time. According to Sacks et al. (2015), what is attractive to the customers today might not attract them tomorrow. That is the reason the organization is focusing on various food options in order to meet the demands of all the customers. On the other hand, to meet the healthy needs of the customers, Banaitja is also going to provide several salad items to its customers. As the organization has targeted the international students of Australia, their products will also include food products that are famous in those countries. Price As mentioned by Mintz and Currim (2013), the perception of a customer is an important determinant of the rice charged. Customers have a habit of drawing their own mental picture of what a product if worth. Sometimes the companies offer low price for a product to gain competitive advantage over the market rivals. However, according to Huang and Sarigll (2012), customers might feel that the quality is being compromised and that is why the organization is able to offer such low prices. On the other hand, offering high prices is also a threat as the chances are high that other market rivals are offering same product in a lower price. In Australia, market competition is tremendously high, Therefore, Banaitja will have to adjust their product prices so that customers do not judge its product based on price but on quality. Promotion The only best promotional tool that Banaitja can sue is online advertisement. It is already mentioned that 83% of Australias population is using internet to gain knowledge about anything (Pavlou and Stewart 2015). Therefore, the organization can open their online website to reach to the customers. On the other hand, opening a Facebook page will also help the organization to communicate with the customers and to attract them by offering gift coupons and special discounts. The organization can also use some traditional promotional steps such as television advertisements, newspaper advertisements and advertisements through magazines. Place In the marketing mix place is not only indicates the physical location or distribution points but also encompasses the management of a range of processes that serves to bring the products to the customers. Currently, Bnitja has selected North Australia to start their venture which is strategically good decision as the organization is North Australia based which will allow them to operate with a minimum transportation cost. In its initial stages of business, low transportation will help Banaitja to gain a competitive advantage over the market competitors. Overall Market Segment 7.1 Market needs Market needs or customer needs in Australia in terms of fast food have changed a lot in past few years. As a result of several Governmental projects, the citizen of the country are now aware of the threat carried by obesity. They also know that excessive fast food consumption is the major factor of obesity. Therefore, the demand of fast foods is reducing slowly but steadily in the country and the customers are looking for healthier foods. Market Trends Market trends in Australian restaurant industry includes higher amount of investment to develop new concepts like different menus and outlets and services. According to Grn and Dolnicar (2015), fast food customers of Australia are the most demanding and in terms of quality of the food and service of the food. They also possess higher expectations from the restaurant brands while visiting their places. From many years, McDonalds and KFC have done several experiments with concept stores that offer health care meals, gourmet ingredients and table services to acquire a superior position in the Australian market. Banaitja will have to do same or something better than this to gain market share in this competitive market place. Market Growth Market growth of Australian restaurant industry is getting smaller as the people of the country are choosing healthier foods. Healthy eating campaigns by the local Government achieved enormous success as one in three happy meals sold in Australia includes a healthier meal (Lee et al. 2016). Therefore, the fast food industry one the verge of facing a crisis in customer demands. For Banaitja this is an opportunity, they are already planning to add healthier foods in their menus, which is for sure, will attract more customers. Target Market The primary target market for Banaitja is the normal Australian citizen. However, they understood that fact that a large amount of the countrys population includes international students. They also figured out that students from Asian countries such as India and China are facing some issues to cope up with the prices of fast foods in the country (Dolnicar et al. 2012). Therefore they have also decided to include Indian and Chinese foods in their menus to attract those international or migrated students towards their restaurant. Financial Projections In order to analyze the feasibility of the proposed business, it is important to undertake financial projections of the project that aims at providing the investors about the projects profitability (Kauko and Palmroos 2014). Financial projections for a new business or project comprise sales forecast, breakeven analysis, profit and loss projections and cash flow statements (Wang 2014). Sales Forecast From the above discussion about the market opportunities and the ability of the management to successfully implement the proposed business plan, it can be stated that the market has huge potential for the restaurant business and restaurant sector is expected to grow in a fixed rate of 10 to 8% per year. The overall restaurant market in the Northern area of Australia is estimated to be around 0.75 million and the project aims at capturing the 10% of the market share (Soofi and Cao 2012). The table below represents the expected sales for five consecutive years in AUD per year and average customer that are expected to visit the restaurant. In addition, the customer spending is estimated to be AUD 20 for each visit to the restaurant. Further, the sales is dependent on many factors such as customization of the products and the quality of service provided to the customers, these factors are taken into consideration before determining the sales forecast. Product/ Year 1 2 3 4 5 Units (customers) 3750 4312.5 4959.4 5,703.3 6,558.7 Sales @ AUD 20 75,000 86,250 99,188 114,066 131,175 (Source: As created by author) Cash Flow Cash flow represents the total amount of money invested into the business at various points of time and also the money taken out from the business (Kingdon 2012). For this project the money is sourced from the investors own end and no loan or other source of income is considered as the business is primarily a partnership business. Therefore, the total investment of 100,000 AUD is the prompters own capital. The closing balance for the year 0 represents the provision for the work in capital for the first year of the project before the business starts generating its own surplus. The cash flow summary for the project is presented as - Cash Flow Summary Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 Net Cash flow For Period 88,000 9,500 14,495 15,566 22,007 35,181 Opening Cash Balance 0 88,000 97,500 111,995 127,561 149,568 Closing Cash Balance 88,000 97,500 111,995 127,561 149,568 184,749 (Source: As created by author) Profit and Loss Forecast It is the most important element of financial projection that provides information about the profitability of the project. Profit and Loss forecast Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 Revenue 0 75,000 86,250 99,188 114,066 131,175 Cost of sales 0 37,500 43,125 49,594 57,033 65,588 Gross profit 0 37,500 43,125 49,594 57,033 65,588 Expenses/overheads Premises (rent, rates) 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 Wages and salaries 15,000 15,450 15,914 16,391 16,883 General expenses 6,000 6,180 6,365 6,556 6,753 Interest and bank charges payable 0 0 0 0 0 Lease payments 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 Depreciation 0 0 0 0 0 Other expenses 5,000 Total expenses/overheads 0 33,000 28,630 29,279 29,947 30,636 Profit before tax 0 4,500 14,495 20,315 27,086 34,952 Tax @25% 4,749 5,079 6,771 8,738 Profit after tax 4,500 9,746 15,236 20,314 26,214 Dividends 0 0 0 0 Transfer to reserves 4,500 9,746 15,236 20,314 26,214 ROEI 5% 10% 15% 20% 26% (Source: As created by author) Breakeven Analysis Breakeven point is that point where the total expenditure to the project equals the total revenues generated from the project, beyond this point the company enters a stage where the total revenue surpasses the investment and produces profits for the business. Breakeven analysis enables the investors to determine when the project would be able to yield positive revenues. Breakeven sales value = Average fixed cost / Contribution. (Source: As created by author) Conclusion After analysis the present market condition of restaurant industry of Australia, it can be mentioned that this is the perfect time for Banaitja to start their restaurant business in the country. Most of the existing restaurant brands of the country are offering fast foods that includes high amount of calories and are the major reasons of obesity. Therefore, slowly but steadily the customers are rejecting the major brands such as McDonalds, KFC and Burger King. Banaitja is going to start their business with not only a historical tough but also a mission to serve healthier food to the customers which will obviously provide them a competitive edge over its upcoming market rivals. On the other hand, it is also seen that the Government of the country is very much friendly and helpful to the existing industries of the country; therefore, Banaitja will also have support from the Government policies and rules. The only threat the organization will face is high supplier power. However, curren tly it is not possible for Bnitja to open their own meat production houses; therefore, the only option for them is to maintain a friendly relationship with the supplier organization so that it can continue to gain the organizational goals. Reference List: Al Shibly, H., Aisbett, J. and Pires, G., 2015. A characterisation of consumer empowerment drawn from three views of power. InRevolution in Marketing: Market Driving Changes(pp. 208-213). Springer International Publishing. Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. and Kotler, P., 2014.Principles of marketing. Pearson Australia. Butlin, N.G., 2013.Investment in Australian economic development, 1861-1900. Cambridge University Press. Cavusgil, S.T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J.R., Rammal, H.G. and Rose, E.L., 2014.International business. Pearson Australia. Dolnicar, S., Kaiser, S., Lazarevski, K. and Leisch, F., 2012. Biclustering overcoming data dimensionality problems in market segmentation.Journal of Travel Research,51(1), pp.41-49. Dobbs, M., 2014. Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), pp.32-45. Finkelstein, R., 2013. 15. Legal protection of business research and development: can it harm.Business Innovation and the Law: Perspectives from Intellectual Property, Labour, Competition and Corporate Law, p.244. Fitzsimmons, J. and Fitzsimmons, M., 2013.Service management: Operations, strategy, information technology. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Franks, D.M., Davis, R., Bebbington, A.J., Ali, S.H., Kemp, D. and Scurrah, M., 2014. Conflict translates environmental and social risk into business costs.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,111(21), pp.7576-7581. Grn, B. and Dolnicar, S., 2015. Response style corrected market segmentation for ordinal data.Marketing Letters, pp.1-13. Hua, N., Xiao, Q. and Yost, E., 2013. An empirical framework of financial characteristics and outperformance in troubled economic times: Evidence from the restaurant industry.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,25(6), pp.945-964. Huang, R. and Sarigll, E., 2012. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix.Journal of Business Research,65(1), pp.92-99. Jayawardhana, K. and Weerawardena, J., 2014. Conceptualizing the Role of Market Learning in Social Innovation-Based Competitive Strategy. Jeston, J. and Nelis, J., 2014.Business process management. Routledge. Kauko, K. and Palmroos, P., 2014. The Delphi method in forecasting financial marketsAn experimental study.International Journal of Forecasting,30(2), pp.313-327. Kingdon, J., 2012.Intelligent systems and financial forecasting. Springer Science Business Media. Kucukusta, D., Heung, V.C. and Hui, S., 2014. Deploying self-service technology in luxury hotel brands: Perceptions of business travelers.Journal of Travel Tourism Marketing,31(1), pp.55-70. Lee, C., Hallak, R. and Sardeshmukh, S.R., 2016. Innovation, entrepreneurship, and restaurant performance: A higher-order structural model.Tourism Management,53, pp.215-228. Lucas, T., Cunningham, R. and Lamberton, G., 2013. Small business engagement with sustainability in regional Australia. Mintz, O. and Currim, I.S., 2013. What drives managerial use of marketing and financial metrics and does metric use affect performance of marketing-mix activities?.Journal of Marketing,77(2), pp.17-40. Nielsen, V.L. and Parker, C., 2012. Mixed motives: economic, social, and normative motivations in business compliance.Law Policy,34(4), pp.428-462. Parsa, H.G., van der Rest, J.P.I., Smith, S.R., Parsa, R.A. and Bujisic, M., 2015. Why Restaurants Fail? Part IV The Relationship between Restaurant Failures and Demographic Factors.Cornell Hospitality Quarterly,56(1), pp.80-90. Pavlou, P.A. and Stewart, D.W., 2015. Interactive Advertising: A New Conceptual Framework Towards Integrating Elements of the Marketing Mix. InNew Meanings for Marketing in a New Millennium(pp. 218-222). Springer International Publishing. Piercy, N., 2014.Export Strategy: Markets and Competition (RLE Marketing). Routledge. Porter, L. and Tanner, S. eds., 2012.Assessing business excellence. Routledge. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. McGraw-Hill. Ryu, K., Lee, H.R. and Gon Kim, W., 2012. The influence of the quality of the physical environment, food, and service on restaurant image, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,24(2), pp.200-223. Sacks, G., Mialon, M., Vandevijvere, S., Trevena, H., Snowdon, W., Crino, M. and Swinburn, B., 2015. Comparison of food industry policies and commitments on marketing to children and product (re) formulation in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.Critical Public Health,25(3), pp.299-319. Soofi, A.S. and Cao, L. eds., 2012.Modelling and forecasting financial data: techniques of nonlinear dynamics(Vol. 2). Springer Science Business Media. Thomas, D.S., 2015.Social Aspects of the Business Cycle (RLE: Business Cycles)(Vol. 7). Routledge. Thornton, L.E., Ball, K., Lamb, K.E., McCann, J., Parker, K. and Crawford, D.A., 2016. The impact of a new McDonald's restaurant on eating behaviours and perceptions of local residents: A natural experiment using repeated cross-sectional data.Health Place,39, pp.86-91. Walker, G., 2015.Modern competitive strategy. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Wang, X.S., 2014.Financial management in the public sector: tools, applications and cases. Routledge. Yksel, I., 2012. Developing a multi-criteria decision making model for PESTEL analysis.International Journal of Business and Management,7(24), p.52. Zhang, Z., Zhang, Z., Wang, F., Law, R. and Li, D., 2013. Factors influencing the effectiveness of online group buying in the restaurant industry.International Journal of Hospitality Management,35, pp.237-245.