Customer Service Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Customer Service Plan - Essay Example Internal Customers: Owner/CEO: He wants the event to be a success from all aspects and also wants maximum sponsorship deals. Employee Teams (Internal): Sponsorship team: They want to sign maximum fruitful sponsorship deals. Operations team: They want proper coordination between the designers, models, technical staff, auditorium authority, etc. Hospitality team: There motto is to take care of designers, models, guests, sponsors and to look after them in an coordinated manner along with the other two teams. Temporary staff: They might be present if need be, to help in any activity, the teams tell them to perform. External Customers: Designer: They want their designs to be showcased in the best possible manner; they would demand the best infrastructural support for the show. Sponsors: They would want high return from the sponsorship amount they have spent and would demand the broadest mileage for their Brand. Guests: Would want to be taken care of with respect and proper concern. Current innovations: Customer service can play a key role in any industry in today's day and age, especially when differentiation in product offering has almost become commoditised. It is only out of the box 'customer service' that can add value to your business. In the context of event management customer service garners an extra connotation of importance, as event management deals with people and their expectations of a superior event experience from the company. Innovative customer service starts from proper planning about all the resources and also predicting the moot points along with possible areas of failure and taking care of them beforehand along with having contingency supporting...The event will take place on 5th June 2009, at TAFE Sydney Institute, Ultimo. The night would commence with a cocktail party and live entertainment. More than 150 guests will be invited, amongst those will be guests connected with the fashion industry. The event is a unique opportunity for the young designers as well as for the sponsors to connect with the fashion industry and its insiders. Customer service can play a key role in any industry in today's day and age, especially when differentiation in product offering has almost become commoditised. It is only out of the box 'customer service' that can add value to your business. In the context of event management customer service garners an extra connotation of importance, as event management deals with people and their expectations of a superior event experience from the company. Innovative customer service starts from proper planning about all the resources and also predicting the moot points along with possible areas of failure and taking care of them beforehand along with having contingency supporting plans with adequate resources. Communication with the customer and logical assumption of the key necessities in terms of resources are key to its success. When all these come together in perfect synchronization, customers are satisfied and there are possibilities of retaining them or gaining more business opportunities arise.

Global Warming And Its Many Ramifications Essay Example for Free

Global Warming And Its Many Ramifications Essay The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U. S. EPA) supports all ordinances involving environmental protection and the abatement of natural resources degradation. These laws aim to restrict people from abusing the environment and destroying the natural habitats of numerous species. The CATO Institute in Washington believes that the government is not doing enough in terms of environmental protection. The institute emphasizes that government intervention needs to exert more effort in pursuing environmental preservation. The government is essential in pursuing this goal since this endeavor requires a huge amount of monetary and human resources and may not be achieved by a small number of people only (439-440). With the population continually increasing, natural resources are quickly dwindling, and with the loss of natural habitat, the flora and fauna also perish. Currently, the government pursues strategies that aim to protect the plants and animals affected by heightened human development. Better laws and ordinances need to be passed for the government to effectively preserve the ecosystem. If not, the world risks the possibility of humans satisfying only their own needs and satisfaction, without thinking of the long-term effects of development (U. S. EPA) Crucial Environmental Issues The emergence of numerous environmental issues, including the extinction of several plants and animals as well as changes in weather patterns, caused the government to implement restrictions on the activities of man affecting the environment. However, despite the efforts on the part of the government, environmental problems still occur. According to the U. S. EPA, fragmented tactics are not expected to be effective in protecting the environment as only the obvious problems are being undertaken, while the complex and less obvious environmental issues still remain. The U. S. EPA believes that it is important for the government to change the fundamentals of environmental policies. More restrictions need to be incorporated whenever development is envisioned. This is because with the current rate of development, plants and animals are in danger of not continuing to live in their natural habitats. Population explosion depletes the natural resources, which include plants and animals, which humans consume for their survival. In addition, human settlements also destroy the natural habitats of numerous species. Howard M. Singletary, Director of Plant Industry of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, believes that biological diversity is essential in environmental protection (Evaluate the Social). Conserving biological diversity involves the protection of the entire ecosystem. Humans may see themselves as important or more important than the plants and animals that get destroyed as a result of increased population, but it should be noted that the environmental issues that man is facing at the present time are due to the absence of preventive planning. The short-term economic and monetary gains have frequently been treated as more important than the ecosystem. Yet, the destruction of plants and animals as well as their habitat contribute much in global warming and extreme weather situations. (Evaluate the Social). Humanity needs to see the impact of overdevelopment. People also need to realize that they need to invest and sacrifice certain conveniences and luxuries in order to achieve long-term environmental goals. The scientific community and several advocacy groups are supporting government efforts to preserve the environment. The global movement is for the greater good and is based on the fact the earth and everything in it is not owned by a single individual, group or corporation. The scale of the human economy is now such that the wilderness areas that sustain much of the world’s remaining biological diversity are shrinking fast. The rates of wildlife habitat takeover and of species extinctions are the fastest they have ever been in recorded history, and they are accelerating. Tropical forests, the world’s richest species habitats, have already been 55 percent destroyed, and the current rate exceeds 168,000 square kilometers per year. (Evaluate the Social). Stabilizing populations Stabilizing population is more important in industrial countries than in developing countries, since the former overconsume and hence overpollute and are thereby responsible for the greatest increase in the impact of human activities on the already overtaxed environment. The richest 20 percent of the world consume over 70 percent of the world’s commercial energy. Thirteen countries have already reached a fertility rate required in order to achieve zero population growth, so it is not utopian to expect others to follow. The population growth-rate of developing countries of course must also be reduced dramatically. Their population is now 77 percent of the world’s total, and they are responsible for 90 percent of the world’s annual population growth. (Evaluate the Social). The poor must be helped and will justifiably demand to reach at least minimally acceptable living standards by obtaining access to the remaining natural resource base. When industrial nations switch from input growth to qualitative development, more resources and environmental functions will be available for the poor in the South. Scientists observe that as the planet warms up, a great deal of ice and snow near the poles will probably start to melt. That will expose dark tundra and dark seas. That will warm things up – like painting a white roof black. The darker the terrain gets, the warmer those parts of the world will get. More snow will melt there, making the terrain even hotter. All these explanations fill more than thirty pages of rather small print in the Philosophical Magazines, and every one of the calculations had to be solved by hand. To make a greenhouse forecast, experts now build what amounts to a working scales model of the Earth inside a supercomputer. They start with a blank globe, divided into a grid like the grid of latitude and longitude. Typically each box in the grid covers several hundred miles on a side. These boxes are stacked from the surface of the planet high into the atmosphere – a dozen layers of giant boxes of air. Public concern over environmental policy was minimal until the end of the nineteenth century. As the United States expanded westward, the horizon seemed to present an unlimited supply of land, water, mineral deposits and timber. Farming techniques reflected little concern for minimizing soil depletion. Forests were cleared without concern for reforestation or the devastation of soil erosion. Minerals were mined and metals smelted without concern for their effects on fresh-water supplies; when contamination did result, it seemed a minor problem, because alternative sources of water seemed endless. (Royan, 2001). Despite a history of conservation policies, fundamental concerns over environmental protection were still absent from the policy agenda as late as the 1950s. The publication of Silent Spring in 1962 drew attention to the dangers of pesticides such as DDT, in the food chain. The sense of social responsibility that emerged in the 1960s also moved environmental policy from the background to the forefront of the policy agenda. Energy made it to the headlines once again in the year 2000; a shocking power crisis hit the state of California (Royan, 2001). Companies had realized once more that the horrors brought about by serious energy problems over the past three decades had not gone away. The California electricity crisis could potentially fan out towards other states; not only impact would it impact the profitability of a company, but could certainly put many out of business. As the new century fast approaches, the world has slowly realized the synergy between energy conservation and global economic competitiveness. Energy conservation entails the elimination of wastes through the improvement of industrial facilities and processes. Energy conservation also implies environment preservation through pollution prevention, and mitigating the trends toward global warming. Global competitiveness goes hand in hand with energy conservation, and many industrial firms from all over the world have realized that. Worldwide energy consumption in recent years has continued to escalate not only in developed countries but also in developing countries, primarily as a result of rapid industrialization and improvement in the standard of living. In a recent survey conducted by the Association of Energy Engineers, about 22 percent among those surveyed claimed to have reduced accumulated costs by $5 million or more by implementing energy conservation strategies (Cornforth, 1992). The potential for additional savings is still great. Thirty-six percent among those surveyed indicated that further savings that amount to over 10 percent are possible. Thus, investment in protocols that promote energy conservation has proven to be effective in saving costs by reducing waste materials resulting from industrial processes. As the next century approaches, the economic world has gradually come to realize that energy conservation offers the most profitable competitive advantage. Marked improvements in the efficiency of industrial processes or facilities to save fuel consumption reduce wastage. HiTAC has been a significant energy conservation development in recent years, and is now applied to industrial furnaces in many factories worldwide. A positive consequence of saving energy is minimizing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Because of the increased efficiency in combustion using HiTAC, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide-byproducts of incomplete burning, are reduced. Therefore, HiTAC saves on operational costs by making fuel consumption more efficient; and consequently, efficient fuel consumption minimizes waste products, among which are greenhouse gases that trigger global warming. (Hotel Sarofim, 1967). Major Changes Taking Place in the US Population and Projected Problems Due to the Climate Changes The US is said to have the highest population of the developed nations, and one of the highest population growth rates at one percent, equivalent to 2. 5 million new Americans every year (Haub). Three national population trends that have been identified in a recent US census are changes in geographic distribution, changes in ethnic composition, and the effect of immigration on population (Haub). With regard to the changing geographic distribution of the population, the population is said to be shifting from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, both because of internal migration and immigration from other countries (Haub). With regard to ethic composition, while ethnic minorities are said to comprise 25 percent of the population currently, that percentage will increase to 50 percent in 50 years, with Asians rising in numbers from 7. 1 to 40 million by 2050, and Hispanics rising in numbers to 90 million in 2050, constituting 22 percent of the population (Haub). Immigration, on the other hand, presently accounts for a third of the population increase yearly, and is expected to be a major contributor to population growth in the future (Haub). It naturally follows that the South and West will have to deal with the attendant problems of the shifting geographic distribution in its favor, while the change in ethnic composition can be predicted to contribute its own set of problems. Problems Causing the Decline in the Quality of Life in Cities, Possible Solutions It is said that more than a billion urban dwellers, out of a total of three billion, are located in slum areas, with half living in Asia (Whelan). This is indicative of the mammoth problems of governments with regard to the provision for food (Sustainable Development Networking Program), opportunities for employment, environmental degradation, sanitation, and general quality of living in cities. Another problem causing the decline in quality of life is said to be urban sprawl, whose effects range from over-congestion to pollution (Goodwin). In the US, the states that are the destination of internal and external migration and immigration in the ongoing shift in geographic distribution of the population that will have to deal with these issues. Proposed solutions include the revision of federal laws to limit immigration, the creation of boundaries that will redirect urban growth to places where urban services can be provided, and tighter control on allowable density and housing (Goodwin). There are many environmentalists like Senator Hillary who had been bold about her support on the Supreme Court’s Global Warming Decision. She states that the scientific consensus is that global warming poses a serious threat to human activities (Statement of Senator Hillary Clinton on the Supreme Court†¦2007, par 1). She challenges President Bush to address this pressing global environmental threat as soon as possible. Issues on the Ozone In the discussions on the ozone hole, it is but apt to provide a brief explanation on what exactly is the ozone and how it is formed. The ozone, according to the Centre for Atmospheric Science, â€Å"forms a layer in the stratosphere, thinnest in the tropics (around the equator) and denser towards the poles†. More specifically, â€Å"[O]zone is a toxic, strong reactive compound consisting of three oxygen atoms† (Francois). As explained by the Centre for Atmospheric Science, the ozone is formed â€Å"when ultraviolet [radiation coming from the sun], strikes the stratosphere, dissociating (or splitting) oxygen molecules to atomic oxygen†¦[that] quickly combines with further oxygen molecules to form ozone† More commonly, the ozone is known as the layer that protects human beings and other living things from the harmful rays of the sun, more specifically, the ultraviolet rays-shielding us from being stricken by skin cancer. This common conception of the ozone layer, which provides a good notion of what ozone is, is just one side of the coin. Scientists refer to this more commonly know ozone as the stratospheric ozone (Centre for Atmospheric Science). On the other side of the coin is the tropospheric or the ground level ozone, which is considered as a major health hazard, is a â€Å"major constituent of photochemical smog† (Centre for Atmospheric Science). It is referred to as a pollutant because of its being lethal if inhaled (Newman). Ozone Facts According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the story of the ozone hole has its roots from the chlorofluorocarbons or CFC’s, â€Å"a family of most commonly used industrial compounds†. CFC’s was invented by Thomas Midgley in 1928 which later on was called as a â€Å"miracle compound† due to its proven useful for man’s convenience (NRDC). Since then, it was effectively â€Å"used in refrigeration systems, air conditioners, aerosols, solvents and in the production of some types of packaging† (Francois). However, decades after the â€Å"miracle compound† was invented and used in many industries and households as effective refrigerants, it was found out that it had caused a serious damage to the environment, more particularly to the ozone layer. It took American scientists Mario Molina and Sherwood Rowland to prove that the â€Å"miracle compound† turned out to be damaging to the environment as they hypothesized in 1974 that CFC’s â€Å"possibly played an active role in the depletion of the ozone layer† (NRDC). This announcement had sparked heated debates not just among scientists but also among policymakers, environmentalists and industry players on the â€Å"whys and wherefores of ozone depletion† (NRDC). It was explained by Newman that CFC’s became harmful to the ozone because of its chlorine make-up and â€Å"it turn[ed] out that CFC’s are an excellent way of introducing chlorine into the ozone layer†. This happens as the ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun strikes CFC’s that go up into the altitude of the ozone layer, this UV radiation breaks down CFC’s and frees chlorine (Newman). After chlorine has been freed, this â€Å"has the potential to destroy large amount of ozone† (Newman). Francois also provides connection of the thinning of the ozone layer to the introduction of large amount of chlorine in the atmosphere through the use of CFC’s. The Centre for Atmospheric Science stated that â€Å"Evidence that human activities affect the ozone layer has been building up over the last 20 years, ever since scientists first suggested that the release of CFC’s into the atmosphere could reduce the amount of ozone over our heads†. But prior to the hole being discovered, the negative effects of the CFC’s were never taken seriously by the majority of the people as they were not convinced on the connection between CFC’s and the depletion of the ozone layer (NRDC). In 1985, a major discovery had brought great alarm to the whole world as it was discovered by Joseph Farman and his colleagues that there was a hole in the ozone layer (Newman [b]). In fact, the severity of the discovered ozone depletion made the English scientist in the Halley Bay station in Antarctica, who discovered the hole, to think that the equipment he used to measure the extent of the hole was broken (NRDC). He sent the equipment back to England to have the equipment repaired but when he tried to measure the depletion again, his initial finding that the ozone layer had been depleted was confirmed (Francois). Another theoretical attempt, which later on was proven to be correct, was the â€Å"recipe of the ozone loss† as summarized by the Centre for Atmospheric Science as follows: †¢ â€Å"The polar winter leads to the formation of the polar vortex which isolates the air within it. †¢ â€Å"Cold temperatures form inside the vortex; cold enough for the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). As the vortex air is isolated, the cold temperatures and the PSCs persist. †¢ â€Å"Once the PSCs form, heterogeneous reactions take place and convert the inactive chlorine and bromine reservoirs to more active forms of chlorine and bromine. †¢ â€Å"No ozone loss occurs until sunlight returns to the air inside the polar vortex and allows the production of active chlorine and initiates the catalytic ozone destruction cycles. Ozone loss is rapid. The ozone hole currently covers a geographic region a little bigger than Antarctica and extends nearly 10km in altitude in the lower stratosphere. â€Å" Basically, the preceding enumeration of the â€Å"recipe of the ozone loss† is similar to the Heterogeneous Chemistry Theory that proposed chemical reactions occurring within the ozone layer. This also explains why the hole is over Antarctica and not over the other continents. The atmospheric conditions prevailing in Antarctica, which is its having ultra cold temperature, suits the chemical reactions that take place resulting to ozone depletion. Consequences of Depleted Ozone The most common knowledge as to the adverse effects of the depletion of the ozone layer is that it increases the penetration of the ultraviolet radiation resulting to more skin cancer. As Francois puts it, â€Å"[W]hen this protective layer is reduced, it has dramatic consequences on life† such as slower photosynthesis among plants as increased radiation results to less metabolism; destruction of micro-organisms which play a vital role in the food chain; and, the increase in cases of skin cancer. Basically, the depletion of the ozone layer can result to an enormous change in the ecological balance. It is a universal fact, based on the studies and researches that have been made, that a little tip in the ecological balance could result to a mammoth change in our environment that could adversely affect the way people live. The slight increase in temperature can cause destructive floods to countries surrounded by oceans. In the case of the increase in the ozone hole, it can results to unfavorable changes in our environment starting from the destruction of micro-organisms and the instability that it causes to the metabolism of plants responsible to changes in photosynthesis. These changes may not be visible in the present time, which makes many people complacent and insensitive as to their roles in the protection of the ozone layer, but catastrophic results can be felt in the near future.

An Investigation into the Enthalpies of the Combustion of Alcohols Essa

An Investigation into the Enthalpies of the Combustion of Alcohols ================================================================== Planning My aim for this experiment is to see the energy produced from different alcohols. This investigation involves burning alcohol in the air. ‘GCSE Chemistry’ by B.Earl and L.D.R Wilford says that "alcohols form, another homologous series, with the general formula Cn H2n+1OH ". The alcohol reacts with the oxygen in the air to form the products water and carbon dioxide. This reaction is exothermic, as heat is given out. This is because the amount reactant energy is more than the product energy the difference between this is ΆH, therefore some energy has been given out in the form of heat. The energy is given out when forming the bonds between the new water and carbon dioxide molecules. This can be shown in an energy level diagram: Reaction co-ordinate ΆH is the heat content, which is the enthalpy, which is negative in exothermic reactions as the diagram shows that energy is 'lost' as heat. Enthalpy is defined as the energy of reaction, or the heat energy associated with a chemical change. For any reaction carried out directly at a constant pressure, the heat flow is exactly equal to the difference between enthalpy of products and that of the reactants. To measure the heat energy given off, we must use this energy to heat something, this will be water. This is assuming that all the heat produced by combustion of the alcohol will equal the amount of heat absorbed by the water (q). So I will measure the amount of energy required to do so. This can be worked out by using the formula: q = mass x specific heat capacity x temperature rise or q = MCΆH. Where q is the quantity of heat. The specific heat capacity is the amount of energy required to heat the substance, and is calculated using the formula: q =energy supplied/ Mass x Temperature, where q is the enthalpy, c is the specific heat capacity and ΆH is the temperature rise. I chose to use water as it is safe, easily obtainable, and has a constant, reliable specific heat capacity of 4.2J/ °C. The bonds which are made in a exothermic reaction are forces of attraction between the atoms or ions in a substance. These can be of two types: covalent, in which the atoms share electrons. Examples of this are water and carbon dioxide, whi... ...low temperature reading to heat the 100cm3 of water. The procedure of the experiment was good enough of finding out the energy gained from the individual alcohols, but changes could have been made to make the reliability of the results more accurate. This could have been done by using a better and more accurate thermometer, such as an electric thermometer, which have gave me a much more pin point set of results. If I were to do this experiment again I would make a number of improvements or changes, I could use a Bomb Calorimeter which submerges the reaction inside an insulated container of water. An electrical heating device starts the reaction inside a sealed reaction vessel and the temperature rise of the water which surrounds it is measured. Bomb calorimeters are often used to find the calorific value of foods. Looking at the experiment I did I thought we could have extended the results we achieved by using different flame lengths, this would have told us how much the alcohol uses its energy when the flame is increased. I could have also changed the amount of water in the copper calorimeter, or even change the concentration of alcohol to see the effect.

Overview of the life of Andrew Carnegie Essay

Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big BusinessHarold C. Livesay said in his book, Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business, that Carnegie â€Å"was a collection of paradoxes, this man of American steel-violent and peace-loving, ruthless and loyal, greedy and generous, boastful and diffident, vain and doubting, brash and shy†. Andrew Carnegie was a quite normal in his younger years. He was born on November 25, 1835, and grew up in the rural town of Dunfermline, which was located in Scotland. His family was like many other families in Dunfermline. Dunfermline’s livelihood depended on the hand weaving of linen,† (pg 10) so when everything shifted to machine production, nearly 5,500 people lost their jobs. This was known as the Industrial Revolution. The Carnegies were one of those families that were affected by the rise of machines, which replaced workers. His mom tried to help the family income by cobbling and selling her work in a small store she opened in front of their house, but nothing worked out, despite efforts to find a steady job by his dad and mom. People started sailing to America because their â€Å"old home no longer promised anything at all.† (pg 14)Andrew Carnegie got his first job when he got to America. He worked for a local textile mill as a bobbin boy getting paid $1.20 a week. The owner of this mill helped out because he gave preferential treatment to people from Scotland, which was his homeland. During this time, his father â€Å"failed as a man of the world† and â€Å"gave up in defeat and drifted back to the loom.† (pg 21) His next job was for the O’Reilly Telegraph Company. He started off as a mere messenger boy but in time became a full-time telegrapher. He was later advanced to be the superintendent of Pennsylvania’s railroad system. All of these jobs and entrepreneurs suppo rt Livesay’s conclusion that Carnegie was ruthless in his career advances. Andrew Carnegie was constantly trying to make money. Switching from job to job to get more money and later in his life he got into investments. He started off when Tom Scott â€Å"persuaded him to buy ten shares of Adams Express Company stock for $600, lending him the money.† (pg 53) He continued to make investments in different companies, which most of the time resulted in profit. Early in his investment stage, he would borrow money from different people, and turn around and invest all of it. One might agree that this method of investing shows that Carnegie was greedy, thus supporting  Livesay’s remark. Carnegie was one of the major investors in many of the new businesses and franchises, such as the Pennsylvania oil wells. â€Å"Carnegie’s last financial adventure came in July 1872† (pg 79) when he took $6 million in bonds to a bank in Germany and tried to get them to buy the bonds. Carnegie then altered his vigor to a different field, the construction of what was to be known as Carnegie Steel. Created in November 1872, Carnegie Steel manufactured steel rails by means of the new Bessemer method. He credited his success to his skill to be a good employer. He treated his workers right, which they returned with excellence in the workplace. This supports Livesay’s remark that Carnegie was loyal. Carnegie strived to make business deals and other alliances in the steel industry in interest of making his business grow. In 1872, a new furnace was constructed. â€Å"Called the ‘Lucy’ after Tom Carnegie’s wife† (pg 100), which was pushed hard to increase production. This is when Carnegie observed that machine work cost a lot less than manual labor, and he acted accordingly. Later, Carnegie scraped his â€Å"Bessemer converters for more modern equipment, despite the hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in them.† (pg 129) By 1900, Carnegie Steel Company was making one fourth of all the steel in the US. Carnegie had been waiting a long time to sell, and finally, U.S. Steel Corporation was created to buy him out. In 1901 he sold out for $250 million in bonds and retired from business. In the years that followed, be donated the rest of his wealth to charities such as schools, libraries, churches, and other educational and recreational places. Carnegie had given 90% of his total riches to philanthropic groups by the time he â€Å"died peacefully in his sleep on August 11, 1919.† (pg 208) This shows Carnegie’s generosity of which Livesay mentioned. It is stated by Harold C. Livesay’s in his book, Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business, that Andrew Carnegie â€Å"was a collection of paradoxes, this man of American steel-violent and peace-loving, ruthless and loyal, greedy and generous, boastful and diffident, vain and doubting, brash and shy†. All of these things are true about Andrew Carnegie. From his hard life he and his family had in Scotland to his rise in life, from his low paying job at the textile factory to selling out his own company for $250 million, and  finally the depression that began in 1893 which he responded to with a â€Å"policy of aggressive price cutting† and â€Å"aggressive attention to cost.† (pg 163) Source: Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business

Play Area Critique Essay

The area of the pre-school room that I have chosen to critically evaluate is the dress up area. Our pre-school consists of 20 children aged 3-4 years old spread over two sessions, and comprises both boys and girls. In our pre-school we have two polish children, one boy and one girl, who speak both English and Polish, one Chinese girl and one Zimbabwean boy. The rest of the children are Irish. Our pre-school room is one large room in a general childcare facility, located at the rear of the building adjacent to the after-school room, and opens out onto the outdoor play area. The development of a learning environment which supports children‘s learning, socialization, interests and needs, is one of the foundation stones to quality early years curriculum and service. According to Aistear, taking time to develop a good indoor and outdoor learning environment will assist in the development of your curriculum and provide a welcoming and supportive learning atmosphere for the children. There are two roles for the adult in preparing this environment: organising it and resourcing it. In a pre-school room the space should be divided into interest areas i. e.  child-sized areas rather than in a single large group space. The supervisor should create well-defined areas of interest that encourage a variety of types of play and helps children see and experience the choices on offer. As you enter our room, the room the sinks and wash up area are to the left, as are the toilets. To the right is the table top area and arts & crafts corner. To the rear of the room, the book and reading corner is on the left hand side adjacent to the construction area, the dress up stand is along the back wall, and the home corner is a separate area on the right hand side. Our building is relatively new and the room is bright and airy, with most of the toys and equipment in a good state of repair. There is no obviously old or shabby area that needs attention. Primary Research In deciding which area of the room needed improvement, I needed to conduct some primary research. The areas of assessment and planning have become increasingly important in childcare. In order to support children’s learning and development, providers must support each individual child by providing appropriate opportunities, experiences, activities, interactions and materials within the daily service. Therefore, I decided to carry out an observation on the children playing, and an informal interview with the children. Observation and assessment processes can be used to identify the effectiveness of the setting, specific areas of the setting, specific activities and the practitioner. Through observing the children and/or the learning environment we can revise plans and, perhaps, changes to the environment, to improve provision. In carrying out my research I: †¢ observed the children when they were playing using a trail record observation sheet to determine the most and least popular areas of interest. †¢ observed how the space and organisation of the environment was supporting or hindering play †¢ interpreted what I saw and heard in the play †¢ used the assessment information gathered in planning for improving the play areas. The children were invited to participate and give their opinions on the room during the informal interview with the group. Indeed consulting with the children in relation to the development of the space and materials can be empowering for the children and give them a sense of ownership. The results of my research indicated to me that the book area and dress up areas were the least utilised areas of the room during free play time. The book area didn’t overly concern me, as we incorporate reading and storytelling into our curriculum during the day, but I was concerned to see the lack of interest in the dress up area. Home Corner/ Dress Up Area The dress up area should be a very active area in the preschool room where children engage in a lot of role play. When children put on dress-up clothes and pretend to be grown up, they are discovering more than how it feels to dress as an adult. â€Å"Pretend play† helps children to understand how other people think and feel. It gives children the opportunity to discover new experiences or new places they can see only in their imagination. This is called symbolic thinking and is indicative of Piagets pre-operational stage of development. Symbolic thinking is an important, complex skill necessary for many tasks in life, including language and communication, social skills, and even algebra and geometry. When we watch children playing in dress-up clothes, we notice they often use problem-solving skills they see adults use. Negotiation and shared responsibility become easier when children are pretending to be adults. They are gaining a sense of adult rules and expectations. Sometimes children may find the dress-up area a place to confront fears and work through stressful situations. By pretending to be a doctor or a monster, a child gains a sense of power over the unknown, or by acting out a traumatic event and talking about it, it becomes less scary to the child. Furthermore, engaging in dress up play can help further develop practical skills, as little fingers are learning to tie, zip, button and snap. Providing dress up supplies and dress up time allows young children to practice these skills without the pressures of time constraints. Preschoolers will be building fine motor skills and improving self-help while using their imaginations, enjoying creative play and having fun. Dress up play also encourages language skills as kids discuss amongst themselves what they are wearing, the colours and textures of the clothes, and the roles they are playing. Proposal of Recommendations From my observations, I saw that the children often bypassed the dress up stand on their way to other areas, or at times even forgot that it was there. When the children did stop and have a look, they usually pulled out one costume, put it on and ran off to play elsewhere. Our dress up area consists of a child sized clothes rail with 4 costumes 1 x fairy, 1 x princess, 1 x bob the builder, 1 x fireman, and two baskets with some doctor/nurse paraphernalia, a few scarves, a straw hat, a couple of  Halloween masks, fairy wings, a crown and a plastic gun. It became obvious to me from my observation and interview with the children that our assortment of dress up clothes was completely inadequate, both in quantity and in variety. Our costumes were limited to a number of fairytale or cartoon characters, with no reference to ordinary everyday practical contexts. I also realized that we were sadly lacking in accessories, to enable the children to adapt and change the outfits on a day to day basis, thus maintaining interest and motivation. Furthermore, the location and display of the dress up clothes needed attention, to attract the children to this very important play area. Rather than the dress up area existing as a separate area, it should be incorporated into another relevant interest area such as the Home Corner, to help extend play between areas. I picked up on this concept from observing the children, when one child dressed up as a fireman and then went to the Home Corner to â€Å"put out a fire† in the kitchen. Of course it comes naturally to children when engaging in symbolic or pretend play to link areas such as dress up and home corner. In conducting some reading and research into how to effectively organize a dress up area, I learned that the area should be attractive and inviting to children, yet well organised in order for children to discover and explore various costumes, accessories and items of clothing. There also needed to be enough space to allow groups of children to play in the area at the same time. Materials and equipment should be kept visible to the children and easily reached. The supervisor should make sure that the shelving is low level and that dress up equipment is within easy reach of the children. Choosing see-through containers allows the children to see what is inside without taking it from the shelf, or using labels on the outside of the boxes would help the children greatly in choosing items and also at tidy up time, which is an important part of the High/Scope philosophy. In addition to these criticisms of our dress up area, I realised that we have not made any effort to bring cultural or ethnic diversity to our selection. In developing the home corner and dress up area, you should take the profile of the children attending your service into account. Our pre-school has 4 children of different ethnic backgrounds attending, and we as room leaders should endeavour to include their ethnic clothes, music, dance, food and customs into the room, as well as those of other ethnic groups also. Implementation of Recommendations I had an informal meeting with my pre-school colleagues and the centre manager to outline my observations, and proposal of recommendations for improving the dress up area. From this meeting we came up with the following plan of action: |Improvement Area |Action Required |Delegated to |Comments | |Location of dress up area|To be moved to, and incorporated into |Myself & |The layout will be changed one afternoon| | |the home corner |colleague |after playschool session | |Display |Additional rail needed |My colleague |My colleague was to purchase items after| | |Two coat racks to be fitted on wall | |funds made available by manager, and | | |Baskets to be swopped for clear storage| |arrange for assembly with caretaker | | |boxes | | | | |Two additional boxes req. | | | | |Full length mirror req. | | | |Variety |Additional costumes req. |My colleague |Funds to be made available by manager | | |Additional everyday clothing items req. |Myself |for purchase of costumes. Other items to| | |Ethnic clothing req. |Myself |be sourced by myself via request for | | |Variety of accessories req. |Myself |parental contributions and charity | | | | |shops/ jumble sales | |Curriculum |Dress up time to be strategically |Myself & |We will do this through drama, music and| | |incorporated into curriculum |colleague |dance activity. | Therefore to follow through on our plan of action, our centre manager made â‚ ¬100 available for the purchase of necessary items and additional costumes. My colleague went to Home base and purchased the coat racks, child clothes hangars, storage boxes and mirror, and then purchased a child sized clothes rail in Smyth’s as well as some new additional dress up items. These items included a policeman’s costume, nurse’s costumes and some additional props. Dress up clothes should ideally comprise a wide variety of clothes which reflect the occupations of family members, local customs and people in the community, and should not be limited to superheroes or stereotyped dress up clothes. We re-arranged the home corner incorporating the dress up area on a Thursday afternoon, and my colleague had the caretaker fit the coat racks on the wall beside the clothes rails and the mirror. I sent home a letter with the children requesting donations for our dress up corner including a variety of accessories, and I also included the request in our pre-school newsletter. I also asked all the staff in the childcare facility for same. I made sure to specify that all donations should be clean, in a good state of repair and non hazardous for children. I included a list of suggested items which would be greatly appreciated. The response was overwhelming and we took in approximately 5 black refuse sacks of items for use in the area. I went through all the items and took out what I felt was appropriate. These items were washed and sanitized, and double checked by my colleague and centre manager for any safety hazards. I took the remainder of the dress up items given to us, and donated them to our nearest Barnardos charity shop on behalf of the pre-school. This list of items I requested was as follows: |Phones |Old Hair Dryers – Cords Removed |Sunglasses | |Small suitcases |Hats |Large fabric pieces | |Purses & Wallets |Aprons |Belts | |Baby items such as bottles, dodies, babygro’s, |Ties |Feather boas | |blankets etc. | | | |Empty toiletries i. e. shampoo bottles, facecream jars|Scarves |Jackets or shirts with buttons, zippers and | |etc. |Capes & Shawls |snaps | |Sponge Curlers |Tool belts |Crowns | |Handbags |Uniform items |Shoes with laces | |Small dresses |Football kit |Wands | |Leg warmers |Gloves | | We managed to procure most of the items requested via donations, and the families of the foreign national children very kindly donated some items of clothing and accessories from their cultures. For example the mother of the Chinese girl very kindly gave us a piece of Chinese silk fabric and a Chinese fan, whilst the Zimbabwean family gave us an ethnically printed tunic and a small turban style printed hat. We carefully displayed all our dress up items so as to make it interesting for the children to try different combinations, and make it easy for them to find things. Dress up clothes were put on hangars on the rails, hats and belts and aprons etc. were hung on the coat racks, whilst scarves and other accessories were stored in clearly labeled storage boxes and baskets at the base of the rails. A special basket was filled with props such as wands, microscopes, toy swords and other such items to bring fantasy to life. One very important new addition to the dress up area was a full length mirror, which was fitted to the wall beside the rails. This is very important in maintaining interest in the dress up area, and helps the children to observe and assess their choices. Furthermore, allowing kids to self-verify the results of their work is very Montessori. The overall result is that we now have a first class area which the children love. The time spent in the dress up area and home corner area in general has increased hugely, and the children have great fun trying different combinations of costumes. [pic] [pic] Bibliography Harding, Jackie Meldon Smith, Liz â€Å"How To Make Observations & Assessments† 2nd Edition Hodder & Stoughton UK Hayes, Noirin â€Å"Early Childhood An Introductory Text† 1999 Gill & MacMillan Dublin Madigan, Imelda â€Å"Defining, Assessing and Supporting Quality in Early Childhood Care and Education: The High/Scope Ireland Model http://www. cecde. ie/english/pdf/Questions%20of%20Quality/Madigan. pdf Miller, Patricia H â€Å"Theories of Developmental Psychology† 2002 Worth Publishers US. Sylva, Kathy Lunt, Ingrid â€Å"Child Development: A First Course† 1982 Blackwell Publishing UK Aistear – National Council for Curriculum and Assessment www. ncca. ie www. education. com http://www. ehow. com/how_10055611_set-up-fancy-preschool-classroom. html#ixzz29Hs4JKT9 http://www. kildarechildcare. ie/wp-content/uploads/Guide-to-Play-The-Learning-Environment. pdf http://education. scholastic. co. uk/resources/144269 http://www. sagepub. com/upm-data/9656_022816Ch5. pdf