Individual Critical Reflection On Learning Outcomes Marketing Essay

Individual Critical Reflection On Learning Outcomes Marketing Essay Tag Games is formed in 2006 as an independent game development studio and publisher by 3 game manufacturer veterans eager to bring new experiences to mobile gaming primarily, and then to further platforms. The 1st heading Dead Water was launched on J2ME mobile phones in Sept 2006 to extensive very important praise. Since then the studio has developed a desirable status for modernization and excellence, structure strategic partnerships with several main games developers and development studios all around the world. Having achieved success in the beginning period 2007 Tag raised seed deal from successive Scottish technology industrialist Bill Dobbie and they funded in middle of 2007 to enlarge manufacture ability and to allow a more hostile move toward the licensing and publication activity. Tag Games was featured as no.23 in the 02/ Real business 50 in 2007 to watch in Mobile listing, a greeting acknowledgment of the excellence of the studios games and potential of the business strategy. Marketing Plan for Back on the saddle game. Most of the mobile games developers develop the games basing on the news events. Marketing plan illustrates the market segments and strategies, which we are employing to get customers and create good revenue stream. We always develop the games with real life twist, which always give advantage over our competitors by giving customers a new outlet to enjoy mobile games. We will fund development of our own game by providing consulting services to create similar games for corporations who are looking to create mobile games for promotional purposes. The consulting project will come from advertising sponsorship relationships that we will establish with companies who are interested in embedding their brand and offers inside our other games and would also like something more custom that they can offer as their own game. In first few years of the business, we expect consulting to constitute a large portion of our revenue stream. Vision Our Vision is to provide people with a fun over the course of their normal day. We create games that are easy to play. We develop games basing on the real life situations and on life styles of different country people. This unique feature always helps us in winning the customers. We also help the customers in understanding the various cultures. Our software development team is experienced to create timely games quickly. Our marketing challenge is to attract visibility quickly and we intend to accomplish this by leveraging a multi-pronged approach that involves social media, email marketing and search engine optimization strategies to gain market share. As we gain traction in the marketplace, word of mouth will lift our game downloads significantly Goals Boost sales by 100% by the end of year 1. To be a mile stone in traditional game development within two years. To set up reliability among the clients. Our goal is to establish a reputation for games that poke fun at what many would consider humorous actions by well-known people. Our aim is to create the most innovative and fun casual games in the whole wide world! Target Customers Ideal customers is between the ages of 15 and 25 who enjoys playing video games and has a mobile phone that allows applications to be downloaded, such as the moderate to high end mobile phones. Customers usually have play station or TV-based video game unit at home. Some of the even have a portable gaming unit such as the DS/DSI and other portable gadgets. Most of the customers have access to a home computer, pc or Mac. Most of the customers are teenagers living at home, others are college students or who have joined the workforce in the last 6 years. They have a wide range of disposable income. Market Definition and Segmentation We target two segments: Mobile game users. Organizations that want to reach them. In the above segments, customers enjoy creative experiences and computer and mobile phone savvy. Free mobile games: Some features of free versions are disabled and advertising is displayed in some strategic locations within the game so that users are not bothered or distracted by the ads. For example, a shoes company pays for a sponsorship and we might embed their name as a tappable billboard that appears as if it is part of the game itself. We offer trail versions of our games for free so that users can get a taste of the full game without committing any money up front. Paid mobiles games: Paid mobile games contain a broader set of features. The price was fixed to create very low price resistance for customers. Games are accessible via instant download on their mobile platforms. Paid games are monetized via clickable ad sponsorships embedded within the games. Organizations that want to reach youth: There are customers who purchases custom mobile game development services. Their intent is to promote their brand and products to the demographic that overlaps with mobile game users. Target Market Segment Strategy: Strategies focus on developing an initial set of libraries containing game attributes that can be combined to create new games. After launching the game, we will stay in regular contact with our customers via numerous online methods, including social media and email marketing. After creating these libraries and games, we will be able to market fast-turnaround consulting services to organizations who would like their own promotional games. Target Mobile Game Users: Our mobile games have a timely connection to current news events. Due to which we release new games basing on previous and present news. For example, we created a cow boy character in back to the saddle game. And we create the new versions considering the latest political scandals, celebrity comments. The mobile game users enjoy interacting with games that give them a sense of power and excitement, allowing them in some way to live vicariously through the game. Most of our games are help in increasing the users concentration levels. Needs and Requirements: Mobile games users always get tired quickly and are constantly looking for new games to play. We target the news media so they discuss games related to the stories they are covering. Our target stories are taken from all around the World. Generally teens get money from their parents to purchase games, which can be from low paying jobs or allowances. Teens also have limited financial capacity yet choose to spend part of their disposable income on game as one of their sources of entertainment. Most of the mobile users have limited financial capacity. Customers always talk to each other about which games they enjoy, including strategies for playing and winning. They also participate in online forums and discussion group to gather tips and other information to help them play or to find new challenges. Most of the customers enjoy being listed as the high score when there is a public setting available for players. We intend to offer this public setting by allowing the customer to upload their score to our web site for each game. The highest scores will be posted, giving the player worldwide bragging rights. As a result, the word of mouth potential for timely games is explosive. We emphasize more on focusing on creativity along with spectacular service and speed of development for our consulting clients. It is important for us to get to market quickly in order to capitalize on the news event that is associated with game. The longer the delay between game conception and game release, the less the penetration of that game. Distribution Channels: Approaching senior marketing executives is typically done through a variety of means. Our finances and resources are limited, so we need to manage them effectively. We focus on two aspects: Advertising Networking The advertising will primarily be online via search engine ads so we see the results within days instead of not knowing whether a print ad has effect. We have identified 4 trade shows and 3 conferences that these executives typically attend over the course of a year. Part of our marketing plan is to attend these events to network with these potential buyers. We also will submit response to calls for papers to be speakers at some of the events when possible. Blackberry applications are controlled by Blackberry through Blackberry App world. Their users tend to be older and more focused on business uses for their mobile devices. Because of this, we will not focus our initial efforts on Blackberry. However, we do have the expertise to build Blackberry applications and will create custom games for this device for consulting clients who would like them. iphone games are distributed through the Appstore which is currently controlled by Apple. One of the obstacles we have to overcome is the speed with which apple approves applications for downloading, which will be important for us since our games have a time sensitive nature to them as they will be popular as long as a new story is in circulation. Googles Android offers an open source model so they will likely surpass the iphone in the number of applications available soon. This also eliminates the need for review and allows us to post new applications quickly. As more applications come out for this device, it will gain market share. We want to be positioned so that we provide excellent games for the community. Competitive Forces: There are many mobile game developers. Most games are developed by one person who does not have the marketing savvy to integrate advertising sponsorships into their games as we have outlined in this marketing plan. Our unique twists on the type of the games is also an advantage because we will not have to spend as much time and energy thinking of the game themes. The news of the day will provide that folders so our efforts can be concentrated on developing that real-life story into a game. There are many software developers targeting organizations to build custom games. Some are developing games overseas at lower cost. Even some larger domestic companies outsource portions of their game development. In order to keep up with pricing pressures, we have established ties with one overseas organization to help us with game development as we release new games and create the component libraries. Communications: We leverage word of mouth and social media for the vast majority of our marketing using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Orkut. These platforms are widely used by the customers in our demographic market. We will make announcements via regular tweets and updates to our fan page on Facebook. We also use email marketing list which is comprised of people who have expressed interest in knowing when we release new games. We have segmented our email list so that we can send appropriate emails to media and different ones to actual gamers, our customers. We also develop an online ad campaign with landing pages containing lead generation forms that visitors can fill out to get whitepapers on using mobile gaming to attract customers. We also network at major trade shows and conferences, including obtaining engagements where we can discuss case studies to expose our concepts and strategies to the right level of buyer. Each game will contain a link to our web site where users can find out about more games and subscribe to our email list and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. To help promote games via word of mouth, each game has the option to notify a friend. So, a user can send a text message to a friend instantly to share their excitement or recommendation about the game. Budget: Marketing expenses are mostly for staff required to do the marketing activities listed. The vast majority of the software tools needed to implement the activities, such as analytics and landing page creation, are available for free. The exceptions to this are for specific tools like email marketing and forums. We do not expect an increase in marketing staff requirements during year 1 because one person can actually do a lot of these activities. Once they have put marketing plan processes into place, the marketing activities upkeep becomes easier and can handle by junior staff. Below is breakdown of marketing expenses by month for year 1. Keys to Success: Many companies leveraged the power of mobile games to reach their market, however we will show case studies which is the primary key to success. This can be tracked using metrics such as the number of times a gamer clicked on an ad embed into a game, the number of times a custom game was downloaded or an increase in sales of the product being promoted. Success can also be tracked by industry buzz. For example, fast food chain burger king created a Facebook application that allowed users to earn points for unfriending one of their friends. This application would show the image of the friend burning. Upon burning 10 friends, the user would be entitled to a free burger. This application spread very quickly and quite a few Facebook users enjoyed participating. This campaign did two things: generated traffic into restaurants and generated a tremendous amount of media buzz. It cost significantly less than a paid advertising campaign involving television time purchases. Our posting to social media sites will include a trackable link so we know how many people click on each post. Using online tools like link redirectors. We can also see how many readers repost or forward such links. We will also include trackable links within our email marketing messages. People who want more information about the game will be directed to landing pages, which are web pages that contain more information about the game, which includes details about the game and the links to download the game. These landing pages will be optimized for search engines so that when internet user search on various keywords, our pages will rank highly in their search results. The usage of online analytics tools helps to enable to see how many people click on various links in our media campaigns to go to the landing pages and how many clicks to download each game. On the other hand, online clicks cannot track users who use their mobile phones to download the apps directly, which may comprise the bulk of our downloads. For those, tracking of downloads is provided by the platform such as Appstore. We estimate that one of every ten people who visit the landing page or see a tweet or Facebook post will download a game. The average sale price estimated based on paid downloads as well as sales of advertising sponsorships and custom game development. Sales Forecast: Sales forecast is a difficult area of management. We have three sources for sales: Custom games development: This will be consulting projects to develop promotional games. Game downloads: This includes free and paid downloads. The free downloads are monetized from embedded advertising sponsorships. Embedded advertising sponsorships: ads embedded in both free and paid games. Sales Monitoring: Sales must be constantly monitored to ensure that targets are being reached and revenue is being generated. The best way to do this is by comparing sales against pre-determined targets which we have. The revenue generated from sale should also be tracked against the companys budget. Â  Sale achieved should be reported on a regular basis so monitoring can take place. It is sometimes not always obvious when a deal has been closed, so a reporting template to record sales may be helpful in this process. This template can also capture prospects that are being worked on so there is overall view of the sales pipeline. In monitoring Process, it is good to understand why a sale has been successful, and why a sale was not made. This can help us readjust our approach or learn about competitors so that the sale can be won the next time. Progress Monitoring: We created a variety of key metrics that will measure on a regular basis, to make sure we are on the track. These require many adjustments and fine tuning as we progress. INDIVIDUAL CRITICAL REFLECTION ON LEARNING OUTCOMES The Tag Games Company sets forth a clear mission statement that is outlined with three major principals in mind that outline the companys values and motivates its employees. Their mission statement is divided into two parts: Product mission Economic mission Social mission Further defines the companys outlook on how they should impact the world. By using clear energizing goals and communicative goals, the mission statement of Tag Games provides a motivating ideal that its employees can strive for. The Tag Games Company has a mission statement that motivates its employees to want to produce a good product. The Tag Games mission statement is divided into three subsections that make it simpler to see what the overall goal is. The subsections are product, economic and social missions. Each area addresses energizing goals as well as communicative goals to provide a clear and motivating mission statement. Energizing goals state the intent of the company and what goals the organization would like to achieve. Under the product mission, it is stated that their goal is to make, distribute and sell the finest thought provoking games. This is the primary mission of Tag Games because they are in the business of selling games. It is also the first subsection in their mission statement, they are saying that this is who we are and this is what we do. Tag Games is a games company, so the first line makes sense because it simply states what the primary goal of the company is to make games. Along with this line, there are more lines about serving the society and using the morals. These statements add a sort of validity to the business of making Games. These statements add a sort of validity to the business of creating games. Employees reading this might feel like they are doing the world a service by working for Tag Games. These sorts of statements are designed to make the employees feel like they are making a better product, better for the people who play the game and better for the rest of the world too. A portion of people that work for Tag Games as well as a portion of their customers base will place great importance on the companys outlook on the style and creativity of the games. The goals in the first paragraph are clear organizational goals and will make some of the employees that work there feels good about working there. The next portion of their mission statement goes into their economic mission. The economic mission states that part of their mission is to expand opportunities for development and growth for their employees. This is a sort of communicative goal. By making expansion a part of their economic mission for the purpose of providing opportunity, it becomes in the interest of all employees to work hard for expansion. By adding this section into their mission statement, Tag Games is communicating to every employee that it is their duty to help expand the business to create even more opportunity for current and future employees. Every employ gains from the economic mission includes increasing revenue for investors and making profit. Most companies will include profit making for investors and increasing revenue because stating this in the mission statement can attract investors. The final area that is included in their mission statement is the social mission that Tag Games has outlined for its organization. They state that because business plays a vital role in society that they should initiate ways to improve conditions locally, nationally and internationally. This paragraph basically outlines how to be a good citizen or neighbor within the community. A certain portion of the employee population will feel inspired by this portion of the mission statement and get increased job satisfaction from working at Tag Games. Working in the community and coexisting with neighbors is good for the company as well as being good for the employees. When the whole picture is put together, the values that Tag Games is trying to push in their mission statement is clear. Respect for nature, helping one another and being good neighbors to each other sums up the Tag Games mission statement. Their mission statement is very idyllic, but it is a good idea that many people would take to heart. The mission statement of Tag Games sets the tone for all employees and creates a positive impression of their company. The employees of Tag Games are probably very motivated to work for a company that has so much social conscientiousness and basic love for fellow man. It is definitely a feel good kind of mission statement. I always felt that marketing play a major role in promoting a product. However I never had a clear picture of importance of growth of the company and values. Tag Games, successful employment relations has seen the company become a leader within the gaming and development industry. Marketing and employment relations are equally important aspects to the successful operation of all businesses, through correct marketing businesses can expect to grow and expand, both in size and profitability. Tag games have employed a range of strategies to accomplish its aims and become a more competitive player within the aviation industry. With the development of new game, individual strategies will need to be used to help the business succeed. Role of marketing in the growth of the company The role of marketing is to connect the business with its target market. Marketing is the major link between the business and its customers. As the market changes and becomes more competitive, the business needs to know and understand its target market so it can provide better service to its customers. Successful marketing will identify customers needs, and then, plan price, promote and distribute the products and service that will satisfy these needs. This way the business goals of increased profit and greater share of the market can be achieved. But continually researching customers and monitoring the business environment, marketing provides the information the business needs in order to change direction on adjust its tactics by providing new product or changing existing products. The objectives and strategies of the marketing plan are used to determine the plans of the other functions such as operations, employment relations, and accounting and finance. Management has recognized t he role of marketing in business success and so continually researches its market and modifies its marketing strategies to meet customer needs and wants. Setting Marketing Objectives The next step in the marketing planning process is setting the marketing objectives. The objectives establishes in the business plan will be the guide for the marketing objectives. Tag Games main objective is to make a profit, both in the current and long terms. The overall goal is to provide a satisfactory return to investors and to generate enough profit in reserve to fund growth and the development of the new games. Tag Games main objective is to sell its games at affordable prices that will ensure enough demand to sustain its profit objectives. However there are other objectives, Such as increase sales, increase customer service, decrease operating costs, increase market share. Planning Planning is essential for successful marketing. In order to carry out the marketing program, a business needs a plan that will help it to achieve its objectives. For each business marketing plan is going to be different depending on the size and nature of the business. The marketing plan involves 5 stages these includes: Marketing mix As the gaming industry has become more competitive, the competitors have focused on product planning. Tag Games designs products to be attractive and hold customers from a particular market segment and to do so profitably. This means using its detailed understanding of the needs and requirements of its different market segments. Such understanding is acquired through market research. In gaming industry customer always get bored after completing the levels in the game. They always want something new which is not present in the market. To achieve this Tag Games always comes with creative ideas to develop new games. Price is an important element in any marketing plan. Strategies for promotion the new game. Image of Tag Games in the society. Advertising Sales promotion Strategies of Marketing A business can use a number of different strategies to reach the same objective, and a combination of different strategies can be used. Whichever strategies are used they must meet a number of basic points. Meet the objectives of the business and marketing plans Satisfy the needs of the target markets Work together in achieving marketing objectives. Tag Games uses market segmentation to better meet the needs of all its customers, to compete more effectively, and to attain financial goals more readily. Tag Games is launching new game called Back on the saddle which is targeting on youth and teenagers. Positioning is the image that Tag Games projects in relation to its competitors. Tag Games brings attention to its games by using a variety of positioning strategies. Situational Analysis The situational analysis looks at the market n terms of size and growth, needs of the target market and trends in buyer behavior. The performance of the products or service in terms of sales, profit margins and stage in the product lifecycle are examined. Major competitors are identified and analyzed in terms of marketing and stage in the product lifecycle is examined. Major competitors are identified and analyzed in terms of marketing strategies. A major part of such as market share, loyal customers, level of customer satisfaction and product quality. Marketing Plan Implementation Process of implementing Tag Games marketing plan into action. The marketing department of TagGames continually monitors, controls and adjusts its marketing activities using the following tools; Comparing actual and planned results using a number of tools. Revising market strategies and taking corrective action where appropriate. Developing a financial forecast of revenue using models, past sales data, executive judgment and surveys of customer trends. It then estimates costs such as market research cost, promotion costs. Tag Games marketing plan and strategies are effective because of the following: Focus on market research. Identify and satisfy customer needs. Encourage new product development. Comprehensive marketing plan and strategies. Apart from these, working on various projects has given me varied experience on the basis of which I have decided that marketing is where I would like to base my future. A career in marketing would give me an opportunity to work across boundaries of industry definitions with a number of industries ranging from consumer goods to innovative communication and high tech markets. The project helped me gain exposure, insight, knowledge and hands-on experience with time environment. The Project also helped me in understanding consumer buying behavior entails marketing, relationships, and consumer behavior. Consumer behavior comprises all the consumer decisions and activities connected with the choosing, buying, using and disposing of goods and services. I learned that marketers must pay very close attention to consumer behavior that occurs before the purchase and after the particular product has been used. Studying consumer habits is one of the steps in marketing search and analysis. In add ition to other basic principles of consumer buying habits, marketers also need to study the decision and actions of real people. If companies does not have the correct or necessary information about the competitors and market, bad business decisions occur, leading to companies not making marketing decisions without knowing specific details about their customers. I have understood and learned the planning and implementing marketing promotions to capture the market, within given budget constraints. And various methods of approaching companies marketing head for contracts or business deals. The bottom line of my experience is, every business is to attract customers continuously. It takes more than a good product or service; it takes serious planning and committed people working the plan.

An Analysis of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning Essay -- My Last Duc

An Analysis of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning â€Å"My Last Duchess† is written as a dramatic monologue, which is a poem that is read as if on stage, talking to an audience or character in a play. This method of writing has been used because the poem wants to give one perspective, the Duke’s, in an effective manner. By using this technique, Browning is also silencing the antagonist, the Duchess, and becoming the protagonist. The rhyming scheme consists of rhyming couplets, which give the poem a sense of order, and make the speaker, the Duke in this case, seem well educated and in control of their emotions and actions. These methods of writing help show the character of the protagonist and the way he viewed the traditions during the Victorian times. There are two different views in which this poem can be interpreted, the Marxist, and the feminist. The Marxist view interprets the poem as if the Duke thinks of everything as his object, and the feminist viewpoint makes the Duke look as if he doesn’t treat the Duchess as he should. The Duke’s personality is revealed by different aspects in the poem, for example the rhyming scheme, rhyming couplets, makes the poem flow more easily, which leaves no gaps for interruption. This shows the Duke’s love of being the centre of attention and being in control. The Duke also shows this keenness of control when he says the painting is of â€Å"my last Duchess†, showing he treated her as just another article in his collection of art. The Duke also mentions Frà   Pandolph in his conversation with the count’s servant, showing he is proud of the painting he has of the Duchess and he is showing off about having a great artist to paint this picture that he calls â€Å"a wonder†. How... ...round the abuses and unhealthy attainment of material goods in the Victorian society. The Duke is shown to be a very materialistic person in the way he speaks of the Duchess as if she were an object he had acquired instead of a loving wife. I said `Frà ¡ Pandolph’ by design: This shows the Duke’s materialism, because he is showing off about having such a good artist paint a picture of his last Duchess. The Duke also takes innocent, worthless things, to us, like his â€Å"nine-hundred-years-old name†, which she, according to the Duke, took from him like it was anything else she had been given before by a man. Near the end of the poem, the Duke’s love of control and materialism is summed up in one passage, in which he thinks himself as a powerful God taming a beautiful, excitable animal: Notice Neptune, though, Taming a seahorse, thought a rarity.

Current State of Education in Nigeria

CURRENT STATE OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: Education can be referred to as an act or process of developing and cultivating, whether physically, mentally or mortally, ones mental activities or senses; the expansion, strengthening and discipline of ones mind, faculty etc; the forming and regulation of principles and character in order to prepare and fit for any calling or business by systematic instruction.The result of these is determine by the knowledge/’skill acquired, the discipline of character acquired, the act/process of training by a prescribed or customary course of study discipline. Education is also seen as a means towards understanding, awareness creation, enlightenment, controlling, altering and re-designing human destiny and environment with a view to achieving and sustaining a better quality of life for the individual and towards the full integration of the individual into his environment in particular and then his nation in general; making rea sonable contributions towards national developments.The nation’s view on education is government’s way of realizing that part of the national goals that can be achieved by using education as a tool. No views on education can however be formulated without first identifying the overall philosophy and goals of the nation viz: I. To live in unity and harmony as one indivisible, indissoluble, democratic and Sovereign nation founded on the principles of understanding. Freedom, equality and justice. II. To promote inter-African solidarity and world peace through mutual understandings and interactions.The main goals of education in Nigeria which have even been endorsed As the necessary foundation for the National policy on education are towards the building of: i. A fair, equitable and democratic society ii. A just and egalitarian society iii. A united, strong and self- reliant nation iv. A great and dynamic economy and v. A land full of bright opportunities for all citizens. In Nigeria’s own philosophy of education, we collectively believe that: i. Education is an instrument for national development and to this end, the formulation f ideas, their integration for national development and the interaction of persons and ideas are all aspects of education. ii. Education fosters the worth and development of the individual, for each individuals sake and for the general development of the society/nation iii. Every Nigerian child shall have a right to equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real or imagined disabilities and each according to his/her own ability. iv. There is the need for functional education for the promotion of a progressive and United Nigeria.To this end therefore, school programmes need to be relevant, practical, comprehensive and research oriented while interests and ability should determine the individual’s direction in education, which is an aspect of sustainability. STAGES OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: EARLY CHILDHOO D/ PRE PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: Early childhood/Pre-primary education refers to the education given in an educational refers to the education given in an educational institution to children prior to their entering the primary school. It includes: the creche, the nursery and the kindergarten stages.In Nigeria, the purpose of pre-primary education shall be to: i. Effect a smooth transition from the home to the school. ii. Prepare the child for the primary level of education. iii. Provide adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents are at work iv. Inculcate social norms into the children even from the earliest stages v. Inculcate into the child, the spirit of enquiry and creativity through the exploration of nature, the environment, art, music and playing with toys etc. vi. Develop a sense of co-operation and team spirit ii. Learn good habits, especially good health habits and viii. Teach the rudiments of numbers, letter, colours, shapes, forms etc through p lay. The responsibilities of government and other stakeholders for pre-primary education in Nigeria shall be to promote the training of qualified pre-primary school teachers in adequate number; contribute to the development of suitable curriculum, supervise and control the quality of such institutions as well as establish pre-primary sections in all existing public schools.In specific terms therefore, government shall: i. Establish pre-primary sections in all existing public schools and encourage both community and private/corporate efforts in the provision of pre-primary education. ii. Make provision in teacher education programmes for specialization in early childhood education. iii. Ensure that the medium of instruction is principally the mother-tongue or the language of the immediate community. And to this end, develop the orthography of many more Nigerians languages and produce textbooks in Nigerian languages. v. Ensure that the main methods/medium of teaching play and that the curriculum of teacher education is oriented to achieve thuis. v. Regulate and control the operation of pre-primary education in Nigeria by setting and monitoring minimum standards for early childcare centres in the country. vi. Ensure full participation of government corporate organizations, entrepreneurs communities and teachers associations in the running and maintenance of early childhood education and educational facilities throughout the country BASIC EDUCATION:In Nigeria, basi education shall be of 9- years duration comprising 6-years of primary education and 3-years of junior secondary education. It shall be free and compulsory. It shall also include adult and non-formal education programmes at primary and junior secondary education levels for the adults and out-of-school youths. The specific objectives of basic education in Nigeria shall be the same as the goals of the levels of education to which it applies (ie primary education, junior secondary education and adult /non à ¢â‚¬â€œ formal education). 1) PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIAPrimary education in nigeria as referred to on this document is the education given in institutions for children between the ages of 6 – 11 years and above. Pupils spend six years in the primary school level in Nigeria and graduate with a school-leaving certificate. And since the rest of the education system is built upon it, primary level is the key to the success or failure of the whole system. This being the case, the goals and objectives of primary education in Nigeria are to: i. Inculcate permanent literacy and numeracy as well as the ability to communicate effectively. i. Lay a sound foundation for scientific and reflective thinking iii. Give citizenship education as a basis for effective participation in and contribution to the life of the people in the society. iv. Mould the character and develop sounds attitude as well as morals in the child. v. Develop in the child, the ability to adopt the child’s cha nging environment. vi. Give the child opportunities foe developing manipulative skills that will enable the child function effectively in the society within the limits of his capacity and capability. vii.Provide the child with basic tools for further educational advancement, including preparation for trades and crafts of the locality. these goals from the basis of primary education in all the states of the federation and, in pursuance of the above goals, primary education in Nigeria shall be tuition free and compulsory. The curriculum for primary education therefore include: language (language of the environment, English, French and Health Education, Religious Knowledge, Agriculture/Home Economics, Social Studies/citizenship Education, Culture and Creative arts (ie Drawing, Handicraft, music and cultural activities), Computer Education etc.Teaching at the primary level shall be by practical, explanatory and experimental methods and the following educational services are expected to be provided: school library, basic health scheme, counseling, educational resource centre, specialist teachers of particular subjects like: mathematics, science, physical Education, language Arts (in relation to English, French, Sign language and Nigerian languages), librarians, music, Fine Arts and Home Economics. Primary school students are required to take a Common Entrance Examination to qualify for admission into the Federal and State Government Secondary Schools.The UBE came as a replacement for Nigeria’s universal primary education scheme of the 6-3-3-4 system of primary Education. The 9 – 3 – 3 – 4 system of primary education. The 9 – 3 – 4 system of education was designed in conformity with the MDG’s and education for all. The UBE involves 6years of primary school and 3 years of junior secondary school. Culminating into 9 years of uninterrupted schooling. Transition from one class to another is automatic but assessed through continuous assessment.This scheme is however monitored by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and has been made free as well as a right of every child in Nigeria. To law stipulates a 9 –years formal schooling, adult literacy and non-formal education, skill acquisition programmes as well as the education of special groups such as: nomads and migrants, girl-child and women, Al-majiri, street children and the physically challenged. SUSTAINABILITY OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: To these effects, i. Special efforts shall be made by all appropriate agencies to encourage parents to send their children, especially, their daughters to school ii.Everything possible shall be done to discourage the incidence of dropping out at the primary level of education. But where this occurs, provisions shall be made in the context of adult and non-formal education to enable such early leavers to continue with their education. iii. Government therefore welcomes the contributions of vol untary agencies, communities and private individuals in the establishment and management of primary schools alongside those provided by the states and local governments as long as they meet the minimum standards laid down by the federal government. v. In recognition of the prominent role of Information and Communication Technology in advancing knowledge and skills necessary for effective functioning in the modern world, there is therefore urgent needs to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into education in Nigeria even at the primary level. v. Government shall therefore strive to provide basic infrastructure enabling environment and training facilities for the realization of all these goals at the primary school level. SECONDARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA:Secondary education in Nigeria is the education children receive after primary education but before the tertiary stage. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is made up of thirty six states and the federal capital territo ry. There are about two federal government colleges in each state and these schools are funded and managed directly by the Federal Government through the ministry of Education. Teachers and staff of these schools are Federal Government employees and they possess at least, a bachelors degree in Education and/or in any particular subject area such as mathematics, physics etc. hese schools are supposed to be model schools carrying and maintaining the ideals of secondary education for Nigerian students. Admission is based on merit and determined by the national Common Entrance Examination taken by all final year elementary school pupils tuition and fees are very low, appropriately one hundred dollars ($100. ), because funding comes from the Federal Government State owned cesondary schools are funded by each state government and are not comparable to the Federal Government colleges.Although education Is supposed to be free in the majority of the state owned institutions, students are req uired to purchase books and uniforms costing them an average of two hundred dollars ($200). Teachers in state owned institutions usually have a National Certificate if Education or a Bachelor’s degree. Often, these schools are understaffed due to low state budgets, lack of incentives and irregularities in the payment of staff salaries Private secondary schools in Nigeria tend to be more expensive with average annual fees averaging from one to two thousand dollars ($100 – $200).These schools however have smaller classes, modern equipment cand better environments. Teachers n these schools all posses at least, a Bachelors degree in specific course areas and are sent for workshops or short – term programmes on a regular basis. The broad include the preparation of the student for: i. Useful living within the society ii. Higher education IN SPECIFIC TERMS HOWEVER, SECONDARY EDUCATION SHALL: i. Provide all primary school leavers with the opportunity fo education of a h igher level, irrespective of sex, social states religious and /or ethnic background. i. Offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents, opportunities and future roles. iii. Provide trained manpower in the applied science, technology and commerce at sub-professional grades. iv. Develop and promote Nigerian languages, art and culture in the content of world’s cultural heritage. v. Inspire students with a desire for self improvement and achievement of excellence. vi. Foster National unity with an emphasis on the common things that unite us in our diversity. vii.Raise a generation og people who can think for themselves, respect the views and feelings of others, respect the dignity of labour, appreciate those values specified under our THE PLANNING AND GUIDING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. Educational research and development in this context refers to all efforts aimed at facilitating the implementation of educational polices in the country, the attai nment of policy goals the promotion of effectiveness as well as the broadening of the entire educational system.STRATEGIES AND SUSTAINABILITY OF PLANNING AND GUIDING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA. The strategies for the planning and guiding of educational research will include the following: i. Develop, assess, improve and expand educational programmes in line with what is obtained in the developed economies. ii. Enhancement of the teaching and then, improve the competence of teachers with state of the art equipments. iii. Making education more cost-effective. iv. Promoting in-service education v. Development and promoting effective use of innovative materials in schools and vi.Making learning experience more pragmatic and more meaningful for students so that the entire economy will be served with a more focused and committed labour force. In terms of sustainability, we suggest the following: i. State and local governments shall establish Teacher’s Resource centres where teachers will meet for discussions, investigations, study workshops, short courses and conferences. ii. Federal and state governments shall establish Educational Resource cntres whose activities would be multi-disciplinary. iii. Federal, state and local governments hall set aside a pre-determined percentage of their allocations to support research and development in line with UN resolutions. iv. Federal, state and local governments shall establish more public/mobile libraries as well as actively promote readership. v. Private establishments and proprietors shall also support research and development efforts in education especially in the establishment of state of the art libraries with established standards. They shall also provide for the training of librarians and library assistants for this service. i.MONITORING PROGRESS IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AMONG THE INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITIES/ESTABLISHMENTS. This concerns itself with all efforts by the concerned authorities in the education ministries in ensuring that R/D efforts are strictly adhered to by educational establishments and even industrial organizations. STRATEGIES AND SUSTAINABILITY: All educational authorities in the country from the local to the federal levels should be held responsible for: I. Enunciating a National Policy on Education II. Setting-up and maintaining uniform standardsIII. Co-ordinating sound educational practices in Nigeria IV. Establishing a federal Inspectorate services would responsibities amongst others would include: to encourage the dissemination of information on innovations and progressive educational and research principles practices in the school system through publications, workshops, meetings, seminars, conferences and other means of interactions between and among the industrial and educational communities. V. Planning and organizing educational research on a national scale. VI.Acquiring storing and disseminating national educational data and ag encies research finding to communities, and industrial organizations. VII. Co –ordinating non-formal education including adult education, vocational improvement centres, correspondence cources etc etc. VIII. Co-ordinationg international co-operation in educational researches. For all the above strategies to be sustained, I. Special and adequate inducement shall be provided for all teachers and researchers even in the rural areas so as to make them stay on their jobs.II. Government must establish efficient services at federal, state and local government levels for the monitoring and maintaining standards at all levels of education and research III. Government must also establish an efficient research control and monitoring body to ensure that the findings of quality researches are dessimated to all desening communities agencies institutes and industrial organizations ii. ENSURING THAT PUBLIC AND EDUCATIONAL (R/D) EFFORTS WITH THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENTAL PLANNING OF THE NATION.It has already been stated that Nigeria’s philosophy of education believes that education is an instrument for national development. And to this end, the formulation of researches towards the development of ideas, their integration for national development and the interaction of persons/ideas are all aspects of effective education. STRATEGIES AND SUSTAINABILITY: The recommended strategies here would be to align our educational system so as to: i. Foster the worth and development of the individual for each individual’s sake and for the general development of our society. i. Ensure that every Nigerian child has a right to equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real or imagined disabilities, hindrances and shortcomings, each according to his/her ability. iii. Foster functional education for the promotion of a progressive and united Nigeria. And, to this end, school programmes need to be made relevant, practical and comprehensive while interest and ability shoul d determine the individual’s direction in his/her educational pursuit.For the above aim/objective to be sustainable in view with proper alignment with the overall development al planning of the nation as well as to be in harmony with Nigeria’s national goals, educational research and development has to be geared towards self realization of the students, better human relationship, individual and national efficiency, effective citizenship, national consciousness, national unity as well as towards social, cultural, economic, political, scientific and technological progress. All these will involve the following: i.Thorough inculcation of national consciousness and national unity into the students. ii. Through the inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian society. iii. Through the training and re- training of the mind in the understanding of the world around and iv. Through the acquisition of appropriate and re quisite skills as well as the development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society. iii.LINKING RESEARCHERS WITH ENTREPRENEURS FOR THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF R/D RESULTS. Academic institutions the world over, are set up to provide an environment for teaching, research, community participation and the moulding of characters. Unfortunately, they have failed, in the case of Nigeria to meet the needs of the individuals in the promotion of economic self-reliance and self sufficiency. The starting point of research here would be on such educational services that would offer a range of educational experiences which would depend on the needs of the individual and the requirements of potential work places.Also, it must emphasize on the development of the job skills and work behaviours directed towards specific occupational requirements. Having done the above, a rapport would have been e stablished between researchers , their finding/ results and industrialists/entrepreneurs with a view towards the commercialization of R&D results. It is however expected that the concept of entrepreneurial skill development recently introduced by the NUC will be imbibed by all institutions of learning in Nigeria. Some of the mandates of the entrepreneurship section of the NUC is to: i.Promote linkage between academic institutions researches on the one hand and industrial/financial institutions on the other hand. ii. Promote the exhibitions of commercialized researches in Nigerian institutions of learning and. iii. Promote Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Nigerian Universities and the individual, manufacturing and service sectors etc. For sustainability, the following are proposed: i. A serious partnership between our institutions of learning industrialists, entrepreneurs etc so that the findings of the volumes of researches conducted in our institutions will definitely g et to the end users. i. Findings/results of researches in our institutions should be collected and published periodically so that individuals, organizations and the government at all its tiers, levels and agencies would study and where necessary adopt such findings in their policy making processes iii. Our institutions of learning should be upgraded to become more research oriented. And to the effect, government and the organized private sector should advance more funds in upgrading our libraries, laboratories and research institutions across the country. iv.NURTURING PROJECTS BY THE USE OF FACILITIES OF TECHNOLOGY INCUBATION AND EDUCATIONAL PARKS. A project by definition is an optimum set of investment oriented activates by means of which a defined combination of human and material resources are expected to bring about a determined amount of economic and developmental benefits. It is also, an agreed fact in both private and government/public circles that a project involves the use of one or more scare resources within a specific period of time snd for the purpose of yielding some economic and social benefits/returns at a much later time.Projects are usually classified into: i. Current and/or capital projects ii. Private sector and /or public sector projects Men invest for the purpose of profit maximization, share holders wealth maximization, stock value maximization, market share maximization, capital gains and other intrinsic ownership/personal reason. Government on the other hand invests so as to improve peoples standard of living, provision of security, protection, social welfare, employment provision, health, education etc. No matter the type or form of a project, it involves the covering of several tages, each involving a different set of decisional processes too. While the starting point of any project is known as its â€Å"operation stage†. However, the entire series of activities that must be covered for the idea to the operation stage is refer red to as the â€Å"project Cycle†. Projects, either of the private or of the public sector type are most inevitable for the growth and development of any nation. It is also said that ideas rule the world, and this is the reason why our educational institutions are veritable breeding grounds for fresh ideas via technology incubation and educational parks.Technology education however incorporates post secondary education in technology offered in polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Education Technical. And the strategy here shall include: i. The provision of full-time and part time courses of instruction and training in engineering, other technologies, applied sciences business and management, leading to the production of trained manpower. ii. The provision of technical knowledge and skills necessary for agricultural, industrial, commercial and economic development in Nigeria. iii.Giving training and imparting the necessary skills for the production of technicians, techn ologists and other skilled personnel who shall be enterprising and self – reliant. iv. Training people who can apply scientific knowledge to solve environment problems for the convenience of man and v. Giving exposure on professional studies in the technologies. In the pursuance of the above goals and for the purpose of sustainability, Government shall adopt the following measures: In the pursuance of the above goals and for the purposes of sustainability, government shall adopt the following measures: i.Develop and encourage the ideas of polytechnic education through student’s industrial work experiences. ii. Improve upon immediate and long term prospects of polytechnic graduates and other professionals with respect to their status and remuneration. iii. At the very early phase of the education system, efforts shall be made to include an attitude of respect for and appreciation of the role of technology in society iv. Students shall be made to appreciate the dignity o f labour by using their hands in making repairing and assembling things. v.Polytechnics shall be encourage to conduct applied research relevant to the needs and aspirations of the nation. vi. polytechnics shall continue to maintain a two-tier programme of the National Diploma (ND) and the Higher National Diploma (HND) with one year period of Industrial experience. Serving as one of the pre-requisites for entry into the HND programmes. vii. Polytechnics that meet the requirement above shall be allowed to run post professional HND programmes. viii. The modes and operations of polytechnics shall be the same as in the monotechnics 6.PROMOTING STRATEGIC PROJECTS THROUGH DIRECT INTERVENTION WOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BODIES: INTERACTION We had previously and comprehensively explained what public and private projects are. However, Strategic projects are those that expected to have far reaching effects on the life of the ordinary man, Corporate organizations and even the government. These proj ects are also those that are expected to impart positively on the development processes of the nation. Some of them would include: health educational, Transport, Aviation, Military and para-military, Information, Telecommunication and even space related projects.The importance of these projects permeated both the private and public sectprs of any nation and the need to promote and facilitate such projects require the simultaneous interation of our educational/research –based institutions with both the organized private sector and appropriate government agencies. Strategies for the achievement of the above would include the following: i. The government to understand that the success of any system of education research institute is hinged upon proper planning, efficient administration and adequate financing. ii.That administration is a function of organization and structure, proprietorship and control as well as inspection/ supervision. iii. School systems and research institut es as well as their management and administration shall grow out of the life and social ethos of the communities which they serve. iv. Shared responsibility for the funding and management of all educational research facilities by the three tires of government. v. Close participation and corporate organization at even he local levels in the administration and management of all educational research facilities. vi. Effective line of ommunication between local communities and government on the one hand and then educational/ research institutes and corporate organizations on the other hand vii. The integration of educational and research development policies with national objectives and programmes especially, as it concerns the evolution of strategic national projects. Sustainability here will require the following: i. Ensuring adequate and effective planning management and monitoring of educational/research services ii. Provide efficient administrative and management control for the mai ntenance and improvement of the entire systems. ii. Ensuring quality control through regular and continuous of supervision of instructional and other research related services. iv. Providing adequate and balanced financial support for all educational/research related services. v. Ensuring that the findings of all these research instituted are disseminated to the necessary public and private institutes that would need them. vi. The organized private sector to be more responsible to the needs of our academic/research institutes in partnership with government. 7. ADVISING THE GOVERNMENT ON EDUCATIONAL MATTERS AND IMPLEMENTING THESE POLICIES AND PROJECTSEducation all over the world is an expensive social services that require adequate financial provision from all tiers of government and even the private sector for the successful implementation of all the educational programmes and for the expected end results to be achieved. Government ultimate goal is to make education free at all leve ls and for the dividends of education to permeate across the strata of the entire society. The financing of education should be a joint responsibility of the faderal, state and local governments on the one hand, and the organized private sector, communities and even religious organizations on the other.In this vain and while government welcomes and encourages the participation of local communities, individuals and other organization. She must be adviced along the following lines: I. That the curricula of all the academic programmes taught in all our educational institutions need to be updated in order to reposition Nigeria’s manpower requirements to be able to keep-up with the constant dynamics of technological advances globally. II. There hould be an inclusion of a course on â€Å"entrepreneurship development† in allour institutions of higher learning so as to encourage corporate sector participation, encourage corporate sector participation, encourage corporate secto r participation, encourage self-employment and boost the ability of graduates to create jobs. III. Institutions should adhere to the quaota assigned to them for admission so as to portray national policy prescription with regards to the science/Arts ratio of 60% for science and 40% for Arts. IV.Youths and fresh graduates should be empowered primarily through the development of new government and corporate development of new governmental and corporate strategies/policies to teach, mentor, monitor and create new platforms for adequate self-expression and socio-economic mental alertness. V. Higher institution should strengthen their practical training programmes and skills acquisition through industrial attachment, field/practical training, university – industry interaction forum and adequate supervision of students on industrial attachment.VI. There should be a strong linkage between entrepreneurship and technology so that entrepreneurs can benefits form research and developmen t (R/D) outputs of our educational and research institutes VII. Research must be intensified on the various aspects of entrepreneurship such as educational, training, new ventures, finance, marketing, organizational strategies, technology, entrepreneurship characteristics and behavior, citizenship education etc. VIII.The public and private sectors should establish an effective feedback mechanism with graduates and their prospective employers so as to monitor graduate performance at work/industrial attachments in terms of knowledge, skills and adaptability that are needed in addition to the provision of adequate funding for institutions so as to enable them revitalize their academic and physical facilities/laboratories and equipments on a continuous basis in order to maintain high academic/research standards.IX. Finally and for all the above to be both possible and feasible, government should adhere strictly to the 25% of annual budgetary allocation to the educational sector of the e conomy. This however is in line with the UN budgetary prescription for educational. The will ensure adequate availability of funds for education at all levels and will also ensure that our educational institutions would bounce back to the days of glory when they were the veritable centres for urturing private and public projects with the use of the facilities of improved facilities of technology incubation and educational parks. This is exactly how it is in the developed countries of the world. Government must stop destroying itself will inconsequential issues of tenure elongation and financial indiscipline/corruption and set the pace for our technological breakthrough via spiritual ad serious improvements in our educational sector in all ramifications.

Russian Revolution Timeline

The Russian Revolution of 1917 deposed the czar and installed the Bolsheviks in power. After winning the civil war in Russia, the Bolsheviks established the Soviet Union in 1922. Timelines of the Russian Revolution are often confusing because up until February 1918 Russia used a different calendar than the rest of the Western world. The 19th century, the Julian calendar, used by Russia, was 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar (used by most of the Western world) until March 1, 1900, when it became 13 days behind. In this timeline, the dates are in the Julian Old Style, with the Gregorian New Style (NS) date in parentheses, until the change in 1918. Thereafter, all dates are in the Gregorian. Timeline of the Russian Revolution 1887 May 8 (May 20 NS): Lenins brother, Alexander Ulyanov, is hanged for plotting to kill Czar Alexander III. 1894 October 20 (November 1 NS): Czar Alexander III dies after a sudden illness and his son, Nicholas II, becomes the ruler of Russia. November 14 (November 26 NS): Czar Nicholas II marries Alexandra Fedorovna. 1895 December 8 (December 20 NS): Lenin is arrested, kept in solitary confinement for 13 months, and then exiled to Siberia for three years. 1896 May 14 (May 26 NS): Nicholas II crowned czar of Russia. Print Collector/Getty Images / Getty Images 1903 July 17–August 10 (July 30–August 23 NS): The Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) meeting in which the Party splits into two factions: Mensheviks (minority) and Bolsheviks (majority). 1904 July 30 (August 12 NS): After having four girls, Czarina Alexandra gives birth to a son, Alexei. 1905 January 9 (January 22 NS): Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg—a protest which is ended by imperial forces firing into the crowds—begins the 1905 Russian Revolution. October 17 (October 30 NS): The October Manifesto, issued by Czar Nicholas II, brings an end to the 1905 Russian Revolution by promising civil liberties and an elected parliament (Duma). 1906 April 23 (May 6 NS): -A constitution (the Fundamental Laws of 1906) is created, reflecting the promises made in the October Manifesto. 1914 July 15 (July 28 NS): World War I begins. 1915 September 5 (September 18 NS): Czar Nicholas II assumes supreme command of the Russian Army. 1916 December 17 (December 30): The mystic and confidant of the Czarina Rasputin is murdered. 1917 February 23–27 (March 8–12 NS): The February Revolution begins with strikes, demonstrations, and mutinies in Petrograd (also called the March Revolution if following the Gregorian calendar). March 2 (March 15 NS): Czar Nicholas II abdicates and includes his son. The following day, Nicholas brother, Mikhail announced his refusal to accept the throne. Provisional Government formed. April 3 (April 16 NS): Lenin returns from exile and arrives in Petrograd via a sealed train. July 3–7 (July 16–20 NS): The July Days begin in Petrograd with spontaneous protests against the Provisional Government; after the Bolsheviks unsuccessfully try to direct these protests into a coup, Lenin is forced into hiding. July 11 (July 24 NS): Alexander Kerensky becomes Prime Minister of the Provisional Government. August 22–27 (September 4–9 NS): The Kornilov Affair, a coup engineered by General Lavr Kornilov, commander of the Russian Army, fails. October 25 (November 7 NS): The October Revolution begins when the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd (also called the November Revolution if following the Gregorian calendar). October 26 (November 8 NS): The Winter Palace, the last holdout of the Provisional Government, is taken by the Bolsheviks; the Council of Peoples Commissars (abbreviated as Sovnarkom), led by Lenin, is now in control of Russia. 1918 February 1/14: The new Bolshevik government converts Russia from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar turning February 1 into February 14. March 3: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, between Germany and Russia, is signed and takes Russia out of World War I. March 8: The Bolshevik Party changes its name to the Communist Party. March 11: The capital of Russia is moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow. June: The Russian civil war begins. July 17: Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed. August 30: An assassination attempt leaves Lenin seriously wounded. Heritage Images / Getty Images 1920 November: Russian civil war ends. 1922 April 3: Stalin is appointed General Secretary. May 26: Lenin suffers his first stroke. December 15: Lenin suffers his second stroke and retires from politics. December 30: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) established. 1924 January 21: Lenin dies; Stalin will become his successor. Laski Diffusion / Getty Images