Thursday, August 27, 2020

Amazon Case Syudy

AMAZON. COM Q. 1: A. Break down Amazon. com utilizing the serious powers and worth chain models. Five serious powers shape destiny of firm According to Porter's Five Forces Model, as I would see it, rivalry has expanded by and large because of the web and internet business. The web and IT has made it conceivable to both spotlight on the top and primary concerns and piece of the overall industry is extended and costs are cut. Numerous items and administrations exist simply on the web, significant organizations have gone online to effectively enlarge the physical enterprises, and the playing field is right to edges of the internet, any place that is Traditional contenders Amazon has solid contenders like web based retailing stores and countless physical stores(Books, Grocery,Electronics,Video games and so forth). Models : Barnes and Noble, Inc. , Wal-Mart. com USA, LLC (secretly held), Catalog and Mail Order Houses High †As web crawlers are turning into the main decision for purchasers when shopping on-line e. g. Google. This builds the open doors for different retailers. High †There is an expanding measure of dotcom organizations because of the little capital expected to fire up. Littler specialty member online stores when joined make considerably more rivalry New market participants Threat of new contestants is high when it is simple for new rivalry to enter the market. As the innovation is expanding and encouraging the organizations to an ever increasing extent so it is getting simpler for any business to begin web based retailing tasks. Low †For online built up retailers a solid brand picture creates customer trust. Low †Economies of scale †Retailers that have refined innovation and forms and can purchase in mass can offer the most minimal costs. This is a significant upper hand as there is a lot of decision on the web. Low †Strong involvement with the online retail industry gives e-retailers points of interest as far as cost and client faithfulness. High †Capital prerequisite passage is a low for online businesses’ as cost of rent premises is insignificant. Substitute items and administrations High †Physical stores and contact, feel, hear factors. High †Renting items online as opposed to getting them is expanding in prominence. This is a significant worry for Amazon in their book deals as online retailers, for example, Textbookflix. com and BookRenter. com are giving a lot less expensive choices than purchasing. High †The web is a â€Å"Global Market†, shoppers can substitute any item by buying from organizations abroad where items are less expensive, yet of good quality. Low †Catalog/mail request in spite of the fact that not as well known still a substitute to web based purchasing. Clients/Buyers High †There is an enormous assortment of online shops and correlation sites to look at best costs. Purchaser power is higher when purchasers have more options. Organizations are compelled to increase the value of their items and administrations to get steadfastness. Numerous steadfastness programs incorporate magnificent administrations that clients request on-line. Clients need to take care of their issues and ordinarily they are more fruitful on-line than on-telephone. Additionally, we see web keen organizations jumping up offering increasingly important merchandise and enterprises at lower costs. Presently with the approach of eBay, numerous individuals are accepting jobs as drop shippers. People can have a flourishing business offering products of bigger organizations without conveying stock. Providers Low †For normalized items that are effectively accessible provider force will be low. High †Specialized items and brands increment exchanging costs for purchasers so the providers have higher force. With Amazon items, for example, the Harry Potter books are selective from distributer. High †Online shops making it simpler for distributers/brands to sell legitimately to customers without an outsider (e. g. Blackwell’s), providers may not require Amazon. High †If there is a grouping of providers for specific items in the business as opposed to divided. Low †Global delivery has expanded the measure of providers accessible. Worth Chain The worth chain examination attempted analyzes the operational viability of exercises that empower Amazon. om to perform superior to its rivals. Amazon. com arranges its worth chain exercises to make one of a kind incentive for clients, diminish its expenses of doing these exercises and decrease the expense of its customers’ exchanges. Bolster ACTIVITIES Firm Infrastructure Huge focal client information stockroom accessible to all specialty units. Focal arranging capacity. Amazon. com has a solitary Technology stage with ad ministrations being gradually appropriated to other overall areas, along these lines diminishing expenses by utilizing speculations. Human Resource Management Amazon. om offers workers one of a kind advantages, for example, clinical, took care of time and stock awards and migration stipends. Such a procedure implies distribution centers could be situated in financially less expensive territories yet these advantages can pull in profoundly gifted laborers. For instance in Kentucky, Amazon. com offers a better than average pace of pay of about $11 †$12 in this way decreasing expense of work. Amazon. com sources mastery from exceptionally experienced specialists from different contenders, for example, Walmart. Innovation Development High interests in innovation advancement to use new however obscure open doors in computerized deals of music, books and recordings. For instance having the option to rapidly digitize media for direct online deals/download or for â€Å"Search inside the book† administration. Utilizing standard equipment frameworks from HP to diminish cost of upkeep and similarity Building an IT technique, IT foundation and Data Center on Linux open source programming consequently decreasing expense of innovation improvement. Leasing processing assets to different organizations decrease all out expense of Ownership Procurement Using the Strategic Business Unit †BookSurge to keep a rich stock of computerized duplicates of books in order to make this promptly accessible for clients through print-on-request and lessen time of conveyance. Extraordinarily manufactured appropriation habitats, stockrooms and satisfaction focuses to speed up request preparing in this manner maintaining a strategic distance from exchange costs. Essential ACTIVITIES Inbound coordinations Highly decreased comes back to providers, (for example, unsold books and media) because of accessible precise determining innovation Laseter et al (2000). Productively assembling data about client encounters to advise administration information sources and stock controls. Activities Easy and quick installment frameworks Online client contact and input. 24hour distribution center activities to satisfy client needs. Outbound coordinations Close nearness to motorways e. g. UK Fulfillment Center in Bedfordshire situated close to M1. Capacity to total requests headed for explicit areas. Promoting and Sales Discounts and value decreases made accessible with proposed item blends. Comparable items prescribed to clients intuitively. Intelligent transportation and distributing estimations. Free conveyance dependent on single exchange spend. Administration Free returns strategy inside 30 days. Utilizations commercial center to expand channel and scope of products through outsiders and clients. Value correlation of new items with utilized items in commercial center shops. B. How has it reacted to pressures from its serious condition? They reacted with a ceaseless advancement in business methodology and data frameworks. Its business developments are totally determined by tremendous interests in data frameworks. There were 3,000,000 titles in print, and any one physical book shop could just stock a small amount of them. A â€Å"virtual† book shop offers an a lot bigger determination of titles. Amazon. com had the option to charge lower costs than physical book shops since it kept up almost no of its own stock (depending rather on wholesalers) and didn't need to pay for keeping up physical customer facing facades or a huge retail deals staff. Amazon likewise presented Amazon. com Auctions (like those offered by eBay), and zShops (online customer facing facades for little retailers). To support these new product offerings, Amazon altogether extended its stockroom and conveyance abilities and recruited huge quantities of workers. C. How can it offer some incentive to its clients? In 1995, previous speculation financier Jeff Bezos made the most of new business openings made by the Internet by setting up a Web website to sell books legitimately to clients on the web. Amazon. com gave online summaries, tables of substance, and audits to help with determination. Amazon attempted to give unrivaled client assistance through email and phone client assistance, computerized request affirmation, internet following and transportation data, and the capacity to pay for buys with a solitary snap of the mouse utilizing charge card and individual data a client had given during a past buy. This was called â€Å"1-Click† express shopping, and it made the shopping experience considerably increasingly advantageous. Q. 2: Describe Amazon’s advancing business procedure? Amazon has changed its system throughout the previous 13 years. They began from an approach to sell books over the web straightforwardly to clients, They offered such a large number of things with time as : a. An a lot bigger determination and lower costs b. Incredible client assistance by means of phone and email c. Customer’s capacity to associate with genuine individuals d. The formation of â€Å"1-click† shopping e. In 1998 started selling music and video items They set an objective of being a greatest virtual retail organization. Their extension incorporates lean inventories, low head check, and huge cost reserve funds over customary book shops and other retail contenders. Likewise in mid 2000 they brought down costs, gave free delivery, and offered internet business to clients so as to build benefit. They improved their proficiency and turned into a productive partnership. Q. 3: Why did the organization change its methodology? Amazon continued changing its strate

Saturday, August 22, 2020

What is engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is designing - Essay Example In that specific circumstance, the extent of building is extremely broad and omnipresent. On the off chance that one attempts to get a handle on the qualities of building in an exceptionally straightforward and brief way, it is a science that has to do with getting things going. In the event that I investigate the greater part of the machines and items that I use are it the kitchen oven, lift, water radiator, PCs, advanced cells or vehicles, these are the contraptions that do certain particular things. These are the items or machines that tackle numerous human issues, and these machines or devices have been made conceivable by the science or order of building. Henceforth, I unequivocally accept that designing is a science that assists mankind with illuminating or manage the troublesome assignments and issues it faces in the regular daily existence. Building does as such by utilizing the accessible logical information to think up advancements, which help in the creation and creation of differed inventive items and contraptions. These devices or machines may shift from bein g straightforward bikes to space ships and rockets. In that sense I basically can't resist wondering about the flexibility of the study of designing. Interestingly, building is an order which I accept has changed each part of the advanced life. I can't discover any part of the contemporary life that has not been impacted by building. For example PC engineers have to do with the planning and creation of the PC equipment and programming, which could be utilized to settle numerous unpredictable issues and errands. Vehicle engineers structure and make fluctuated vehicles and cars that are proposed to satisfy explicit points and destinations like guaranteeing negligible fuel utilization or being able to run on elective powers. At the point when I take a gander at such dumbfounding advancements, I can't resist accepting that a significant number of the solaces and ponders of the cutting edge life could never have been conceivable, yet for

Friday, August 21, 2020

How To Reevaluate and Create Your College List TKG

How To Reevaluate and Create Your College List It’s that time of year again! The weather is cooling down, back-to-school sales are in full swing, and it’s time to really evaluate where you are in your college application process. You’re going to be back in school pretty soon, so there’s never going to be a better time than now. Let’s talk college lists!Hopefully, you have a list of colleges you are planning to apply to. You may have toured a few of them, done some interviews, and have an idea of which one is your favorite. Hopefully, you’re set up to get in there. Your test scores and GPA are well above their median, you have solid extracurriculars, and you’ve spent your summer working on your essays and supplements. But what if you’re not quite where you thought you’d be when fall rolled around? What if the school you want to go to the most is now a major reach?The college process is all about getting you into the best college you can go to, but by best we mean two things. It should be the most respected school you can get into, but it should also (and this is the more important of the two) be a school that will truly work for you. Its academics should match up with your interests, its location should be somewhere you’re interested in being, and its social life should offer things that both make you feel at home while also pulling you out of your comfort zone. We have a habit of defying the odds and every year our kids get into schools that they don’t fit the normal profile for, but we also don’t advise students to apply to schools that are truly impossible. And, unfortunately, some things are just not possible.So we ask that students take some time before school starts up again to sit down with their lists and to see where they stand. Are your SAT scores well above the range for your safety schools, within the range for your target schools, and no more than 100 points (or 1 point for the ACT) below the range for your reaches? Ask the same thing about your grades. The hard truth is that you aren’t going to get into Yale with B-’s even if your scores are great. Test scores do matter, but you only have a few hours in a room to make or break them. It took you 3.5 yrs to earn the GPA colleges will be judging you off of, so we’re big believers that an exceptional GPA can make up for test scores that are less than ideal.Literally go down your list, school by school, checking how you match up. If you’re really lucky, you might even be ahead of your projections. Maybe your reaches are more accessible than you thought they’d be, so it might be worth adding a school that’s a little further of a stretch. Maybe, though, it’s time to add a few more safety schools because you’re a bit below where you expected.Chances are that it’s not the time to retake the SAT/ACT, but it is time to get real, to get honest, and to make decisions that will set you up for success in life. The Ivy you grew up coveting might be out of reach, but for every Ivy there are dozens of amazing schools in large metropolises, small cities, idyllic towns, or the middle of nowhere, that are respected, engaging, and that provide a stellar education. There are literally thousands of colleges in the US alone, so having to get real about one isn’t going to hurt your chances of having an amazing collegiate experience. Looking for other options may even reveal that somewhere you never would have thought of is your perfect fit, and we think that’s pretty awesome.Our biggest goal is to get you into the best school for you. If want some help re-evaluating what that school might be, we’d love to help you out.

Monday, May 25, 2020

How Does Lack Of Support System And Resulting Poverty...

Introduction: (1.5-2) (Story on prisoner and his life after prison here) In 2014, the United States incarcerated 449,000 newly convicted offenders while releasing 636,300 inmates (Carson, 2015). Upon release, offenders were expected to be able to function back in society under parole supervision. This is not the case for many offenders. As they are released from prison, they lack the necessary skills, education, opportunities and support system to successfully reintegrate back into society (Petersilia, 2000; Travis Visher, 2003). In 2005, research showed that 67.8% of released prisoners were arrested for a new crime within 3 years, and 76.6% were arrested within 5 years (Cooper 2014). The high percentage of recidivism is overpopulating correctional facilities while producing a cycling effect for offenders. To attack the issue of recidivism this paper will address the following question: How does lack of support system and resulting poverty influence prisoner re-entry? What are some programs or policies we can incorporate to reduce recidivism? Recidivism can be better understood through the flaws of the United States’ prison industrial complex. The U.S. spends $6 towards correctional facilities for every $10 we spend on higher education (Pew Center on the States, 2008). Research from 2014 demonstrates that we house 2.4 million people into correctional facilities including: local jails, federal prisons, state prisons, juvenile detention centers, immigrant detentionShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Jean Valjean s Les Miserables 7860 Words   |  32 Pagessaid, â€Å"He who opens a school door, closes a prison.† Such a brilliant reflection from this French poet and dramatist explored an astounding reality of life with one of his best-known works, Les Miserables (1862). In this play, Jean Valjean is a prisoner on parole who created a new life for himself with a great deal of time spent exploring the decision that changed his life (Hugo, 2015). Each year, thousands of adults all in the United States go to prison for crimes that may both minor and atrociousRead MoreAfrican American Male Enters The Criminal Judicial System, And A Generational Cycle Of Crime2127 Words   |  9 Pagesincarcerated African American males, in comparison to Hispanic and White males. It is believed that social interaction, area of residency, and social networks have major influence on the increasing crime and incarceration rates of African American males. A larger portion of White males hold more positions within the U.S. Judicial system than African American males who make up a larger population of prison inmates and less involvement in legislation. This coincides with data suggesting that African American’sRead MoreSSD2 Module 4 Notes Essay28478 Words   |  114 Pagesdifferent status levels. Relative poverty Relative poverty is the difference of perceived wealth vis-à  -vis others in the same society. Impression management Impression management is the active process of influencing how one is perceived by others. As a refresher, lets review the key concepts about culture. Culture is the primary determinant of human behavior. Culture determines your emotional responses to social situations. Your culture includes your language, which influences the way you think. You haveRead Moreâ€Å"Violation of Human Rights in Police Custody with Reference to Evidence Act†8119 Words   |  33 Pageshuman rights violation in police custody. * How far the rights of a person in custody are protected by the international covenants, Constitution of India and other laws. * Why do police resort to third degree methods. ------------------------------------------------- Aim :- The researcher aims to be examined which are as follows: * How to strike a balance between the authority of police and protection of rights of Person in custody * How to modify the existing provisions of legislationsRead MoreThe Main Problems of Economic Development of Kazakhstans Regions11951 Words   |  48 Pagesuse in accordance with the functions entrusted to them part of the social product in the form of money. Local finance is an important component of the financial system of the state. They include local budgets, special off-budget funds and finance businesses owned by local governments. Local budgets are the foundation of the budget system, which is not strengthened, it is impossible to radically improve the budgetary relations in accordance with the functions assigned to each level of government.Read MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesRiver, New Jersey 07458. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions DepartmentRead MoreLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 Pageshad moved to Mexico to avoid segregation and racial injustice in the United States. As the manager of an electric company and owner of a ranch and mines, Jim expressed contempt for black Americans who continued to submit to segregation and live in poverty. Langston Hughes, 1933 (Library of Congress) Langston was not ashamed of being a black American. He had already written poems celebrating his heritage. He felt connected to the oppressed brown people of the world and hated his father for mistreatingRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pages22/10/2007 11:54 Page 599 Guide to using the case studies The main text of this book includes 87 short illustrations and 15 case examples which have been chosen to enlarge speciï ¬ c issues in the text and/or provide practical examples of how business and public sector organisations are managing strategic issues. The case studies which follow allow the reader to extend this linking of theory and practice further by analysing the strategic issues of speciï ¬ c organisations in much greater depthRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagespublishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use materi al from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions DepartmentRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesMcKeown 9 †¢ 2 Twentieth-Century Urbanization: In Search of an Urban Paradigm for an Urban World †¢ Howard Spodek 53 3 Women in the Twentieth-Century World Bonnie G. Smith 83 4 The Gendering of Human Rights in the International Systems of Law in the Twentieth Century †¢ Jean H. Quataert 116 5 The Impact of the Two World Wars in a Century of Violence †¢ John H. Morrow Jr. 161 6 Locating the United States in Twentieth-Century World History †¢ Carl J. Guarneri 213

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Essay about Okonkwo as a Tragic Dero - 824 Words

Okonkwo as a Tragic Dero Is Okonkwo a tragic hero? To answer that question one must start by defining the term tragic hero first introduced by Aristotle. Aristotle defined a tragic hero simply as being a character fulfilling three different requirements. The character must be larger than life, and must have a high social standing. The character must also have ordinary human qualities, and must have a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. In Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart, all these characteristics are found in Okonkwo of Umuofia. The first characteristic of a tragic hero according to Aristotles definition is that the character must be larger than life. The character must be better or greater than his fellows in the sense†¦show more content†¦The second condition for a character to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle is that he should share common human qualities and concerns. He is a mixture of good characteristics and bad ones. Also, he must be someone that people can relate to, and, theref ore, must have the same human problems and must go through life with the same obstacles of ordinary people. This we can see when the author is describing Okonkwos feelings for Ikemefuna, a young boy who has been in his household as compensation to the village for a murdered citizen of Umuofia, Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy --inwardly of course. Okonkwo never showed any emotions openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else --with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. Sometimes when he went to the big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. And, indeed Ikemefuna called him father (Achebe, page 28) From this text we find out that Okonkwo actually had feelings of fondness and admiration toward Ikemefuna. This we see when Okonkwo

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

It is possible to notice differences in the climate...

It is possible to notice differences in the climate behavior around the word. The elderly people from my hometown claim that today the sun burns more than in the time of their youth; in fact, scientists proove that the average of the patterns of precipitation, temperature, seassons, humudity, and wind of a region over a long period of time, have been abruptly changing through the years and causing several impacts in the earth. The prevision is that it will keep changing. The climate changing is one of the major negative effects of the Global Warming, which is the result of the excess of Greenhouse gases, that happens when the orange light released by the sunrays get in to the atmosphere and hits the ground (surface), reflecting Infrared†¦show more content†¦It also can harm the animal and vegetal spicies, extinguishing them in a worst scenario. Socially, as consequence of the loss of land it would result in crowded population and health implications: air polluiton, pests and diseases, and tremendous ease of propagation, as same as decrease the production of edible resources, less job oportunities for the population; therefore, adversely affect the global economy. There is no proof of how much countries need to reduce the production of Greenhouse gases, but since years ago that scientists have been studying attempts to solve te Global Warming and avoid or stop the climate changing. With the development of the technology, many countries start slowly replacing the old fashioned cars for electric cars to reduce the pollution, which is an example of use of alternative sources of energy. Use renewable energy such as wind, sun, hydro and geothermal energy, and reduce the coal burning from the industries, are plausible solutions too. In the year of 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, it was signed an agreement from over 191 countries with the exception of Andorra, Canada, United States, and Sudan, to legally stop the emissions of Greenhouse gases in two commietment period from 2008 to 2020. Although all those efforts, the soluction begins with ourselves in small actions in our daily routine, since rationalize theShow MoreRelatedIb Math Studies Ia1217 Words   |  5 Pagescom/nba/team/roster/_/name/bkn/brooklyn-netsgt;. * Toronto Raptors Roster 2012  Players in the NBA. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. lt;http://espn.go.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/bkn/tornto-raptorsgt;. * New York Knicks Roster 2012  Players in the NBA. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. lt;http://espn.go.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/bkn/new-york-knicksgt;. * Philadelphia 76’ers Roster 2012  Players in the NBA. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. lt;http://espn.go.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/bkn/philly-76ersgt;Read MoreFlood Essay828 Words   |  4 Pagesthe short message system (SMS) is also provided to warn employees of related government agencies such as the Police, the Army, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (JMM), Civil Defense Department, the Department, and National Security Division (BKN) in the Prime Minister and other agencies involved (Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran, 2013). The Meteorological Department has also provided a weather forecast web site to facilitate public access to current weather conditions. In 2001, Malaysia has introducedRead MoreFundamental Liberties in Federal Constitution2333 Words   |  10 PagesRujuk balik artikel nie. Isu yg pnting dlm artikel nie is artikel 11)4. Dua term yg perlu diambil perhatian is profess n propagate. Profess mksudnye menganut. Semua org berhak profess agama apa pun yg dia nak. Tp,tak boleh propagate agama n iktikad yg bkn islam kpd org islam. Mksudnye tak boleh ada gerakan yg mengajak org islam untuk keluar n memahami fahaman selain drpd islam. Contohnye mcm kes jamaluddin othman. Dia ni org islam yg murtad n jadik paderi. Kesengalan dia nie adlh,dia na murtad,murtad

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Success is believing in yourself free essay sample

Most of your applicants went through school being told that they were the best, that they were intelligent, successful, talented.I went through school being told I was stupid.It began in first grade. My teacher told my mother that I needed extra help: tutors and summer programs for students behind in school. But here’s the truth — I didn’t have a learning problem. I just couldn’t see a thing. Whenever my teacher put a lesson on the board, it was blurry. And when I would ask the student next to me what it said, I was told I was disrupting class. Soon I stopped asking.In first grade, I was put in the remedial reading group along with Marco and Emilio, two brothers from Mexico who spoke no English but soon became my friends.I was the last of three brothers to pass through elementary school. My teachers, who had watched my brothers thrive, couldn’t figure out why I was so bad and my brothers so good. We will write a custom essay sample on Success is believing in yourself or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They made obvious their perception, that I was bad and stupid. And when I would look back at them, everything was a blur.At school, kids would hold their spelling test scores high over my head, bragging that they were smart and I was not. At home, my brother would taunt me by calling me the â€Å"bad-stupid boy† of the family. And as of then, I was. I felt stupid, and everyone seemed to agree.***Back then, I don’t remember trying to change people’s perceptions. But when you’re so young and you don’t know who you are other than what people tell you, you believe what they say. I believed I was bad and I believed I was stupid, and so I acted that way. I didn’t want glasses to see the board because making friends was all that I had. Cool kids didn’t wear glasses, and I needed to be cool.Teachers didn’t believe in me. But there was one teacher who was different, who looked at me and saw someone else. Mrs. Kirk, my sixth grade teacher, was the first person who believed that I was better. And there was one thing she said that righted the course of my academic ship.â€Å"You’re better than you think you are,† she said as she held me late in her classroom after school. â€Å"You’re better than you think you are.†And that was where my trouble ended. No one had believed in me, and I hadn’t believed in myself. But Mrs. Kirk helped change that. Mrs. Kirk had told me that I wasn’t bad and that I wasn’t stupid, and so slowly I began to play catch-up. My parents took me to the optometrist and I received eyeglasses. I entered the seventh grade, and for the first time, I could see the board. I took notes during class and there was no reason to zone out. At night, I had my parents quiz me on basic fundamentals I had never learned in elementary school.By the end of the year, I got my report card; I was on the honor roll. I continued to improve and challenge myself. I elected to join an eighth grade advanced history class that began an hour before school. By the time I started high school, I was all caught up. It was as easy as that — all I needed was a pair of glasses, some hard work, and a belief in myself.While my outlook had changed quickly, others had moved more slowly. I have not forgotten the reaction from the girl next to me when I took a seat in the first period of ninth grade — Geometry Honors.â€Å"What are you doing here?†To my peers, I was still not an academic. They couldn’t grasp the fact that I wanted to be a scholar, that I wasn’t bad or stupid. And it wouldn’t be easy to change their minds.I received my report card that year: 4.0.***If you look at my high school transcript, you would find no evidence that I was ever â€Å"stupid,† that I was ever an underachiever. And there is surely no evidence that anyone ever thought I was. Instead, you would have to look deeper, ignoring my grades and looking at my actions. Even though I have now excelled in school, being â€Å"behind† gave me the experience of feeling at a disadvantage—of knowing what it was like to have people think I was unintelligent. I have never forgotten my roots—the feeling of being lost in the classroom, the feeling of inferiority. I now strive in high school to share my good fortune, to raise awareness of educational inequality, and to mentor kids from disadvantaged backgrounds so that their confidence may grow.This year, I am a tutor for Sal and Heidi, two students who are seeking to become first-generation college graduates. Looking into their eyes through my well-worn glasses, I sense their fear. It is a fear of failure, and it is a fear of ridicule — which I once felt.â€Å"Well, some day you may fail a test,† I tell them, â€Å"and someone will call you stupid. †As I speak, I think of the times when I felt ashamed because I could not read.â€Å"But we will rise to try again,† I continue. â€Å"And this will make us better. With a belief in ourselves, we can succeed.†With this, Sal and Heidi smile. It may be a challenge for them to go to college, a goal that some perhaps have told them they cannot achieve. But I know they can. I know that they are better than they think they are.Sal and Heidi have not yet connected with their biggest advocates, the people who know that they will make it. And when they ask me who those people are, I tell them to start by finding a mirror — in order to succeed, they need to believe in themselves.