Secondary Business - Business Quiz 02/02/2012

Here is this week's Business News Quiz! You can print off a Word version (with answers and weblinks) and use it with your classes.

Download the Word file

1. A £963,000 bonus in shares awarded to Stephen Hester from which bank has been strongly criticised?
   HSBC ( )              
   RBS ( )               
   Natwest ( )            
   Lloyds TSB ( )
   
   
2. Which coffee chain has posted a 10% rise in profits for the three months to 1 January 2012, benefiting from new stores and new products?
   Gusto ( )                
   Caffé Nero ( )            
   Costa Coffee ( )            
   Starbucks ( )
   
   
3. Which social networking site has announced plans for a stock market flotation, raising $5bn?
   Twitter ( )             
   Facebook ( )            
   MySpace ( )            
   Bebo ( )
   
   
4. AstraZeneca has announced a further 7,300 job cuts over the next two years as part of a new restructuring programme to save $1.6bn, what industry do they operate in?
   Petrol ( )                
   Clothing ( )             
   Broadband ( )            
   Drugs ( )
   
   
5. Which major US Airline says it will shed 13,000 jobs - around 15% of its workforce?
   Delta ( )               
   US Airways ( )            
   American Airlines ( )        
   Alaska Airlines ( )
   
   
6. Fred Goodwin was stripped of his knighthood this week, which bank did he used to run?
   HSBC ( )                
   Northern Rock ( )           
   RBS ( )                
   Lloyds TSB ( )
   
   
7. Richard Branson stars in his own current Virgin media advert with which other person?
   David Beckham ( )            
   Cheryl Cole ( )           
   Usain Bolt ( )           
   David Cameron ( )
   
   
8. English Premier League football clubs spent how much less in the January transfer window than they did last year, according to Deloitte?
   30% ( )                
   50%( )                
   70% ( )                
   80% ( )    
   
   
9. Tesco has seen its share of the UK grocery market dip to what figure for the first time in nearly seven years?
   15.9% ( )                
   19.9% ( )            
   20.1% ( )              
   29.9% ( )
   
   
10. Giant’s Xstrata and Glencore International have announced they are in talks over a possible merger, what do they provide?
    Mining & Commodities ( )        
    Mining & Mobile phones ( )        
    Comodities & fast food ( )        
    Mining & Oil ( )

Bonus Question- what is the Unit 4 AQA pre-release based on?

Donna Jestin

Teacher of Business Studies Notre Dame College & Senior Examiner for AQA

Secondary Sociology - 10 favourite Youtube clips

Ten Favourite Sociology YouTube Clips

“Can we watch a video miss?” A fairly common request in my lessons that really means “I want to get out of doing any work today”. The students have a point. Sometimes. We all need the occasional break in the lesson, especially they teachers. Short video clips can provide very useful examples for illustrating more abstract sociological concepts.

As you are reading this blog, you have probably been using YouTube in your lessons for years; surely schools will have lifted their blanket ban on YouTube by now? (If not, referring to the views of an e learning “guru”/ expensive consultant might help convince people of the educational benefits).

I have hundreds of YouTube clips saved in my favourites. (What did we do before YouTube? Teach probably.) Sift through the finger biting babies and hippo regurgitating snakes (a must see) and you will find some Sociological gems. There is also a lot of rubbish too, (not the snake, you need to watch it) my students can testify this as they have, on occasion, included a video clip in their presentations that they clearly had not previously watched. They then stand at the front of the class, shame faced, while trying to explain the significance of a clip which is at best irrelevant, or at worst, entirely inappropriate. A YouTube warning there.

What follows is a list of my favourite Sociology clips at the moment in no particular order:

1. Poor Kids - YouTube – An excellent BBC documentary that opens with the line that the gap between the rich and poor is wider now than at any time since the end of World War Two. The documentary follows the lives of four British children growing up below the poverty line. Very useful for social class inequality and a refreshing anecdote to the “benefit scroungers” rhetoric.
   
   
2. 7 Up Series Documentary 1964 Part 1 - YouTube – A classic documentary. The 7 Up series is the longest running documentary still on television. Every seven years Apted and his team revisit the same group of children to see how their lives have changed. The ‘children’ are now in their fifties. Excellent for social class and research methods (Longitudinal research)
   
   
3. WHS - sociology video one, 'Unequal opportunities' - YouTube – This 2011 documentary with John Humphreys shows how wide the class gap still is in education today. Very useful for recent trends in education and social class.
   
   
4. The Family - 4oD - Channel 4 – A funny and insightful documentary highlighting changes between the first and second generation South Asian in Britain. Useful for family and cultural diversity.
   
   
5. Going For An English - YouTube – Goodness Gracious Me was a brilliant comedy sketch show which parodied stereotypes about British Asians. Excellent for teaching Ethnicity.
   
   
6. Who gets the best jobs part 1 - YouTube – An interesting documentary which illustrates the lack of social mobility our generation of students are potentially facing. Excellent for an education module, but also wider inequalities.
   
   
7. Enoch Powell: British Hero Part 1 - YouTube – A fascinating analysis of one of the most controversial speeches in recent British history: Rivers of Blood. Very useful for ethnicity. (I would recommend discussing the questionable source of this YouTube video with your students).
   
   
8. Race and Intelligence: Science's Last Taboo - Part 6 - YouTube – An excellent Channel 4 documentary which busts myths about race and intelligence. Useful for an education module.
   
   
9. David Starkey On Newsnight - YouTube – An interesting and very controversial debate about last summer’s riots. Useful for crime and deviance, racism and youth culture.
   
   
10. Dove evolution - YouTube – Reveals the realities of Photoshop. Useful for social constructions of beauty within the topic of gender and the media.

Emily Painter

Sociology Teacher, Cadbury Sixth Form College

Secondary Citizenship - Who picks the cotton?

Every student in a Citizenship class will be wearing some cotton but do they know who picks the cotton from the bushes in the fields of Gujarat or processes it in local factories? It’s unlikely because the high street shops selling the t-shirts and socks don’t know. Most high street retailers now try to ensure that the factories which make their products are monitored because pressure groups watch them with an eagle eye. Reputation is hard to earn and easy to lose so businesses try to protect themselves by keeping a close eye on their suppliers. Perhaps they are not looking far enough - as few know where the raw cotton comes from.

These BBC video clips and articles looks a step further back and shows children, far from home, working in the fields and factories where cotton is picked and processed.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16642808

Photo from www.bbc.co.uk

The children have been sent by their parents to pick and process the cotton. Conditions are appalling. They work long hours, are scratched to bits by the plants and breath in the fibres from the cotton which fill the air in the factory.

The children’s paltry pay is sent back to their parents – although the children have little idea where they are.

The UNICEF document here will help students to work out what’s wrong with these practices.
http://www.unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_resources_crcchildfriendly.pdf

The BBC’s video clip also shows how things have improved in the manufacture of clothes. Organisations like the Clean Clothes Campaign  - http://www.cleanclothes.org/ - have put pressure on many businesses to help this change take place.

Should ethical sourcing of cotton just be the responsibility of businesses and pressure groups or do consumers have a responsibility too? Do students think about how their clothes are produced? Should they?

There are businesses which will only sell clothes from ethical sources. Rapanui, a company based in the Isle of Wight, is one that takes this approach. It was set up three years ago by Rob and Martin Drake-Knight who are now aged 24 and 25, with savings of just £200. They have since won a long list of awards. Their business takes sustainability very seriously as their website shows.
http://www.rapanuiclothing.com/about.html

The cotton used in their clothing lines is all traceable. They know exactly where every fibre comes from and how it has been grown and processed.
http://www.rapanuiclothing.com/ethical-fashion/traceability-clothing.html

You can see the difference that this sort of approach makes from the case study of Khima on the Fairtrade organisation’s website.
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/producers/cotton/agrocel_pure_and_fair_cotton_growers.aspx

Perhaps the high street stores need to go a step further?

Jenny Wales is author of Citizenship Today for GCSE, published by Collins.

Health and Social Care - Benefits of Active Participation

This blog is for candidates studying Levels 2 and 3 of the Health and Social Care Diploma, BTEC Health and Social Care, Dementia Care units and other courses relevant to the field of health and social care

What is active participation?

Active participation is defined by Edexcel (2010), the body that sets the specifications for the Levels 2 and 3 Health and Social Care Diplomas, as recognising an individual’s right to participate in the activities and relationships of everyday life as independently as possible; the individual is an active partner in their own care or support rather than a passive recipient.  This definition accentuates two key principles underpinning care: the rights of the individual and the independence or autonomy of the individual.

Many people who experience health and social care, especially individuals with significant needs, are marginalised, excluded and disenfranchised.  They are not given the same opportunity to have a say in how they live their lives as most other people in the general community; their choices in what they do are severely limited.

What are the benefits of active participation for the individual?

Active participation is an approach that enables individuals to be included in their care and have a greater say in how they live their life in ways that matter to them.

The benefits of active participation can be divided into primary benefits and secondary benefits.

Primary benefits include:

1. Physical benefits including greater activity levels.
2. Increased independence and autonomy in what people do.
3. An opportunity for individuals in health and social care settings to have a say in matters of direct concern to their lives.
4. Increased opportunities for social contact and interpersonal relationships.
5. Encouraging involvement and self-awareness.  Individuals become more involved in the community and more aware of opportunities and what they can hope for themselves. 
6. Increased opportunities for learning and development of important skills, knowledge, education and employment.
7. Enhanced well-being, with increases in self-confidence, self-esteem and self-belief.

The benefits of active participation include the above primary benefits where the individual gains from its application in the real world of health and social care practice, but there are also some secondary benefits.

The secondary benefits can be described as benefits that occur as a result of active participation, but are not a direct aim of active participation.  These include:

1. Decreasing the likelihood of abuse. As the individual engages positively by actively participating is area of their life, such as in personal care, the scope for abuse by others is reduced.  
2. Decreasing vulnerability. As individuals gain in their self-confidence and self-esteem they are less prone to exploitation and harm from others

Conclusion
Active participation is an approach that empowers individuals in the activities and relationships of everyday life leading to them living as independently as possible. The importance to the individual as an active partner in their own care or support is that it brings physical, psychological, relational and over all wellbeing benefits.

John Rowe works for the Open University and has a wealth of practice experience in health and social care settings.

Secondary Business and Economics - Evaluation in A Level Essay Writing

The skill of writing decent evaluations often evades students within their essay writing. It is a skill that can easily be taught, but it is their ability to discuss the validity of an issue well that takes time. As we know it cannot just be an opinion, but an argument that is fully supported by a stimulus, be that Economics or Business.

I tell my students early at AS Level that you cannot simply memorise judgements, but must use the stimulus material or understanding of the key issue to form a judgement that is both focused, logical and doesn’t simply sit on the fence. They must take a stance. If the argument is well supported then the student will do well.

One way that I have always found effective is to deliver a case study with an essay question that requires evaluative higher order thinking skills in the following way:

1. Prior to the lesson prepare a Pecha Kucha presentation. These will represent 20 images directly or indirectly related to the case delivered in 20 seconds for each slide. This is something I have only just started experimenting with, but you would be surprised how well it works. See here: http://www.pecha-kucha.org/what. The idea is to quickly focus their attention on the stimulus and discuss the theory once again at a quick pace. Remember no longer than 20 seconds for each slide.
   
   
2. Provide the students with the stimulus/case study after the presentation.
   
   
3. On their own they are given a short period of time to read the material. I will then ask for the following:
   
   a) Command word/Definition to introduce essay. (2 minutes)
   
   b) 10 points that they think are worth considering in simple note format. (5 minutes)
   
   c) Then in pairs they are to compare these points and decide on only those issues that they feel most relate to the stimulus/question. (5 minutes)
   
   d) They then return to working on their own to flesh out these points into four paragraphs that highlight understanding of the point, illustrated with examples, use of graphs, applied well to the case.
   
   e) Next, I will ask students to exchange their paragraphs with their partner one more time. Their partner must then explore their arguments critically, making notes around their work in terms of cause and effect. Allow students to then feedback with each other. This allows for wider implications and evaluation that may possibly have passed them by. Allow for a period of discussion.
   
   f) Finally, they themselves decide what they would like to include in a concise and focused essay.
   
   g) I will normally end by having a discussion with the whole class as to how they might like to conclude their essay. Refer back, express judgement, express argument and make a decision.

In Economics I have always liked the WEE STEPS. Pushing evaluation within their writing through the consideration of Wider context, Efficiency, Equality, Scope, Time, Effectiveness, Prioritisation and Scale. These can be seen within an excellent resource provided by tutor2u.com, using inflation as a perspective:
http://www.tutor2u.net/economics/presentations/workshops2010/A25/player.html

Daniel Baker
Business and Economics Department, Trinity Catholic High School

Secondary Geography - Group Work

I often observe lessons where group work is used. Whilst the teaching is often outstanding, the learning is often lagging behind because not all students take an active role in the group work. As a result I have been working with my faculty in strategies to ensure all students are participating in group activities.

The first area is to engineer group dimensions and structure. Groups of 3-4 seem to work better than larger groups, in which it is easy for some students to take a ‘back seat’. Whether the teacher or students chooses the groups is a personal preference. I operate a ‘home and away’ set-up, where my home groups are decided by me. These groups are engineered on ability so I use assessment data to divide the class into 4 bands. Each group then has a student from each band. I also consider friendships and behaviour. The students are now used to working in these groups and are able to support one another. If I want different groups e.g. friendship or ability then they work in ‘away’ groups and are able to organise themselves quickly. Having strategies such as this avoids time-wasting setting up groups at the start of the lesson.

Sometimes I begin lessons with 'home groups' but then they break off into 'away groups' depending on the activity. For example in a recent lesson on Earthquake Preparedness, each group had to develop a plan for Japan to cope with Earthquakes. Each group had to produce a design for an Earthquake Proof House, an emergency box, a plan for an Earthquake drill and a leaflet to explain what to do in the event of an Earthquake. They discussed their ideas in their home groups and then assigned one task to each member of the group. This has the advantage of ensuring that all students are involved as they are all responsible for one task. They then worked in ‘away’ groups depending on their tasks – in other words all members of the 'away' groups were doing the same task. This is successful as they can then share ideas and it also means that they have to complete the task for their home group and can’t hand it over to a fast worker within the group who has finished their own task. They also get support from students completing the same activity.

I think in any group activity it is important that the activity has a structure so that students can take responsibility for a portion of it. De Bono’s thinking hats are useful in allocating each student in the group with a different coloured hat and asking them to come up with ideas for each hat. It is possible with this strategy to have larger groups of 5-6. I have done this successfully in a GCSE lesson looking at impacts of tourism on Antarctica. Each student took one hat e.g. the ‘white hat’ found out facts and figures about tourism in Antarctica, the ‘red hat’ looked at the positives of tourism and so on. They then held a group discussion using each of the hats and finally compiled a report together.

Another idea to ensure full participation is to have a log sheet for students to complete to show who has done each task in a group activity. This means they have to think about sharing the work out. However you need to watch that it is completed honestly as often students will just write down all names for an easy life! This tends to be more of problem when they are working in friendship groups.

If you are doing group work where students are required to complete a mind map, ask them to add the initials of who contributed to each idea. I explain that I want each student to have their names down at least once. You can then ask the individual students to explain their idea to you or the rest of the class.

All of the above both allow all students to make progress and you demonstrate clear differentiation as it makes learning accessible for all!

Tania Grigg

Head of Humanities at Clyst Vale Community College and Senior Examiner for AQA (GCSE and A level)

Secondary Business - News Quiz 26/1/12

As the first half of the year comes to an end with the January exams we now start looking towards June and the final exams of the year! For any A2 student a good understanding of the external business environment is vital, and researching the news each week is a great starting point! This week we have seen UK economic activity shrinking to 0.2%, does this mean a double dip recession will be happening? Also a week after Tesco's market share has declined, we se the growth of Android  getting closer to the dominance of Apple in the computer tablet market!

Download the Word version (with answers and weblinks) to print off and use with your classes here!

1. How many iPhone’s did Apple sell in the last quarter of 2011, this was twice the amount of the same period in 2010?
   45 million ( )
   37 million ( )
   35 million ( )
   47 million ( )
   
   
2. Which fast-food chain said it would create 2 500 jobs in the UK in 2012?
   McDonalds ( )
   KFC ( )
   Burger King ( )
   Pizza Hut ( )
   
   
3. In 1979 some 13.5 million workers in the UK were members of a union; today that figure is what?
   9.5 million ( )  
   10.5 million ( )
   6.5 million ( )
   7.5 million ( )
   
   
4. Which mobile company has apologised for a technical problem which caused users' phone numbers to be disclosed when using its mobile data?
   T Mobile ( )
   02 ( )
   Vodafone ( )
   Orange ( )
   
   
5. UK economic activity shrank by how much in the last three months of last year according to official figures?
   0.4% ( )
   0.8% ( )
   0.5% ( )
   0.2% ( )
   
   
6. Which company that went into administration has said that items bought within the last 28 days in a UK Peacocks store could be exchanged with a valid receipt? However, refunds could not be offered or vouchers accepted!
   Black’s leisure ( )
   Jane Norman ( )
   Peacock’s ( )
   HMV ( )
   
   
7. Which business' share of the tablet computer market has risen to 39%, from 29% the year earlier?
   Apple ( )
   Blackberry ( )
   Android ( )
   Microsoft ( )
   
   
8. Which low-cost airline saw revenues rise 16.7% in the last three months of 2011 as passenger numbers rose 8.1%.?
   Jet 2 ( )
   Ryanair ( )
   Monarch ( )
   Easyjet ( )
   
   
9. Government debt has risen to a record figure of what from £883bn a year ago?
   £1 trillion ( )
   £1.5 trillion ( )
   £2 trillion ( )
   £2.5 trillion ( )
   
   
10. Which sandwich chain will open 600 new branches in the UK and Irish Republic and create 6,000 jobs over the next three years, and has also said it would display calorie information on all its menu boards?
    Earl of Sandwich ( )
    EAT ( )
    Subway ( )
    Pret-a-manger ( ) 

Donna Jestin

Teacher of Business Studies Notre Dame College & Senior Examiner for AQA