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Child Understanding of Floating and Sinking Theory

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Child Understanding of Floating and Sinking Theory. Gemma L Sobah Practical Report Word count: 2006 An investigation into the way of children’s scientific thinking: concepts of floating and sinking Abstract This is a study on the nature of children’s logical understanding of the theory of floating and sinking, and the cognitive challenge and scaffolding in supporting theoretical change. The study involved two video based interviews with two female participants of different ages, one aged 6 and the other aged 11. The videos were later analyzed for the purpose of the research. It was shown from the results that, while the younger participant’s way of thinking was restricted to her existing experiences, the oldest participant reached a more complex understanding of scientific concepts. Furthermore, the older participant showed theoretical change when confronted with contradictory evidence, and the scaffolding discussion supported her development. On the contrary, the cognitive challenge did not encourage a real qualitative change of thinking in the younger participant. Moreover, she appeared to gain less from adult direction and showed an unclear progress in her logic, which was in difference with Wood and Vygotsky’s predictions. Introduction To be able to think about the world and try and generate an understanding of it is an essential requirement for being able to understand mathematical and scientific principles. Inhelder and Piaget (1958), believe it is only in the later stage of a child/ adolescents cognitive development, (formal operation stage), that they start abstract thinking and the way they understand the world around them becomes less controlled by their existing experience of the world. Piaget argues that scientific thinking is connected to development of associated cognitive structures and theoretical change starts when a child has an internal struggle with their current thoughts and ideas and the actual evidence. A process called equilibration, then compels the child to change their way of thinking. Shelley (1993) agreed with the idea that a child’s understanding of scientific concepts grows through various stages, and argued that teachers ought to support children in creating their own reasons and explanations with the available evidence they have. While far-fetched explanations should be disputed, he states, teachers should not push hypothesis on children that are too hard from them to be able to properly understand at their current cognitive stage, as their abilities to grasp such concepts will advance in time as they grow and mature: as their understanding of the world expands with age, all children will become more likely “to adopt a new explanatory model” (Shelley, 1993). Vygotsky (1978) concentrated more on the social role of cognitive development instead of its structures and there so, argued that social contact was useful to the formation of an area of proximal development; that is, the difference between the cognitive progress of an individual and cognitive progress by working alongside others. In this circumstance, adults peers can help cognitive development with what Wood (1988) termed as “scaffolding”. The aim of the present study was to explore how children understand and explain scientific processes focusing on the understanding of the idea of floating and sinking, and part of cognitive challenge and scaffolding discussion in supporting theoretical change. The investigation was carried out by analyzing and coding children’s responses during two semi-structured interviews. Method Design The current study involves a compared analysis of the thoughts and ideas given by two female participants during semi-structured interviews and practical tasks. Participants There were two female participants, Emily (aged 6 years 6 months,) and Sian (female, aged 11 years 10 months), were volunteered for this study from a bigger sample of children, aged from 6–12 years from a primary school in Milton Keynes. Material The material included two semi-structured interviews that were recorded and provided by The Open University and dated July 2012. There was technical apparatus involved, including cameras, lights, and a microphone boom. During the floating task, a big plastic tank with water in and 18 different objects were used, these were classified into the following categories: light floaters, heavy sinkers, light sinkers, heavy floaters. Detailed object list can be found in Appendix 1. A pair of scales were also used to compare weights in the last section of the practical task. Procedure The interviews were conducted by a doctoral student from the Open University, and the interviews took place in the library of the school. In the room with the interviewer and the participants (interviewed separately) were the film director, two camera operators, a sound recordist and an assistant. The interviewer had not met the participants prior to the interview and only had information on their first names and ages, this was to anonymity of the children. Before the study took place, the informed consent of the participant’s parents was gained. The participants were told of that they could leave the study and the recording at any moment, in line with the BPS ethical guidelines. For both interviews, the positioning of the extra personnel and equipment was placed to be as unobtrusive as possible and to help put the children at ease, this was also achieved by conducting the interview in a room that was familiar them. The details of the interview protocol, provided by The Open University (2013), have been included in Appendix 2. In both parts, the interviewer gave the children a set of objects and asked them if they thought the object would float or sink and why they thought this. The children then tested their predictions by placing each item into the tank of water, and then to form an explanation as to why the object floated or sank, and if it was different to what they predicted, why they thought that was. The interviews were transcribed and the responses the children gave were then coded and put into a table. This table can be seen in Appendix one. The number of coded stage was then counted and themes each child used as each put into a table that can be seen in Appendix 3 Results Appendix shows the data sheets for the participants and also shows both predictions and explanations for all the object used. The percentage of accuracy for Emily’s prediction was 22.2% compared to 50% for Sian’s predictions. Most of the wrong answers seem to be with objects that weren’t dealing with day today such as (the small wood block, the spanner) or objects where the weight was used as the main factor when making a prediction over other characteristics such as material etc. (as for the tin lid, the white candle, the yogurt, the coin and needle) Initial predictions and explanations. At stage 2, Sian used many causal themes, using Weight as the most frequent cause (37%) for objects to sink or float. By contrast, Emily explanations at Stage 2 were less diversified, explained sinking and floating mainly in terms of Weight (47%) and Material (42%). Sian’s made references to both Holes, Structure and Material, For example, while she realized that candles floats because of the wax they are made from and wax is light, she still assumed that the white heavier candle would sink, because it was heavier than the other candles. After the practical Task. In stage 6/7, the number of causal themes used decreased for both participants. The change in reasoning is particularly evident in Emily’s case, with a shift from 47% to 9% for Weight and an increase from 42% to 63% for Material. She also used the theme Holes to explain why objects sink or float. The patterns of Sian’s explanations at this stage varied slightly, covering a wide range of themes; Weight, Structure, Material and Holes. Discussion Piaget, had a theory on cognitive development and believed that if a child hasn’t yet reached the ‘formal operations stage they can only use their previous experience to understand how the world works and cannot yet formulate new ideas with no evidence. In this study, this theory has been seen within the responses of the participants, in the beginning of the study. Sian’s predictions quite varied and made new assumptions with little evidence to back them up, while Emily’s predictions were mainly based around her previous experience with certain items. I.e. their weight. Sian showed a more sophisticated way of thinking, and thus her predictions were a lot more accurate. Both Emily and Sian changed their theories once challenged. Emily dismissed her first idea against what Piaget described as cognitive conflict, and came up with a new theme, Holes. Although, if we was to take a closer look at her response she lacked real complex scientific understanding. She appeared to choose an explanation that matched the evidence, instead of making any change to her reasoning to explain the inconsistencies. Meanwhile, Sian used two new themes, structure and shape, which showed a change of thinking. Although it is still hard to say whether she actually understood the concepts she was applying (mainly that of structure- ‘hollow’), the Archimede’s principle and the boat effect are both shown by Shelley as a complex scientific way of thinking on why some objects float or sink. Responses to scaffolded discussion. In this part of the study, both participants’ explanations began to change. Sian, maintained her themes such as weight and materials but then went for a new theme, shape, to further explain her thinking. For example, she hypothesized that the tin lid sank because it collected water and became heavy and sank. , while the black wood block floated because, while it was heavier than the eraser, it was hollow like a boat. To contrast, Emily, seemed to think systematically the idea that if an item “gets wet”, it will sink, while objects that were waterproof will float. Sian’s change of thinking shows strength towards the end of the interview: unlike Emily, she came up with reasoning by moving from explanations based solely on materials and then one aimed on the shape. For instance, while in stage 2 Sian argued that the tin lid would float because it was light, yet in stage 6/7 her reason altered slighted and she then considered that the fact that the tin lid was ‘boat like’ and hollow, allowed it to collect water and sink. Likewise, Emily tended to simplify the idea that if water couldn’t get into an item it would float. Even though these results showed that a child working together with an adult is very beneficial for their development in terms of cognition, Emily’s failure to move forward in her concepts and look beyond her concrete experience, in comparison, differed with the idea of zone and proximal development by Vygotsky. It was clear that Emily struggled to gain a greater understanding of why things float and sink regardless of having an adults help. Unlike Sian, she didn’t thrive with the assistance of the experimenter, and this shows a potential methodological issue with this research. The experiment demanded too much from Emily in terms of attention span, (the interview length), and the questions being asked may have been too much for her current cognitive stage. Further still, the fact that Emily had no much previous knowledge scientifically on the world may of affected her potential in the experiment. It could even be argued that her answers weren’t affected by the approach of the interviewer or the techniques used, but her responses were limited to her age and her current cognitive development. There are other problems to think about. The small sample used may affect the reliability of the study and would be hard to generalize on a broader scale. Further still only females was used and it would have maybe been better to use both genders as males and females have different levels of learning, and it may have shown more differential results. Future research is required in this area on scientific reasoning and cognitive development. Conclusion While a child’s way of thinking has many different aspects that cause it to advance or be limited there are some techniques that have been proven to help strengthen their understanding. The matter of floating and sinking requires a high demand of cognitive abilities, and can cause conflict within the child’s reasoning. This conflict helps promote change in reasoning and a more complex understanding like Piaget suggested. (2006 words) References Nunes, T. and Bryan, P. (2006) ‘Mathematical and scientific thinking’, in Oates, J. and Grayson, A. (eds) Cognitive and Language Development in Children. Milton Keynes. The Open University. Grayson, A. Oat, and, J. (2006) ‘Introduction: perspectives on cognitive and language development’, in Oates, J. and Grayson, A. (eds) Cognitive and Language Development in Children. The Open University, Milton Keynes. Shelley, N. (1993), cited in The Open University (2013) [online] The Open University (2013), ED209 TMA 06 [online], available from https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=212250 [accessed 19 April 2015] Appendices Appendix 1: Data sheets Appendix 2: Interview protocol Appendix 3: Table of Theme usable and percentages Appendix 1. Data sheets (including object list and accuracy of predictions) Data sheet 01 – Participant: Sian aged 11 (SIAN)Object Prediction Initial Explanation Causal Codes Final Explanation Causal Codes Light floaters Small wood block Pencil Small candle Ball NS Sink Sink Float Smooth, hollow Not hollow, hard like can Not hollow, heavy Spongy, Absorbs water St, M St, M St, W M, OS Heavy Sinkers Spanner Stone Food tin Tin lid Sink Sink Sink Float Metal, Heavy Heavy Heavy Light, Hollow W, M W W W, St Shape collects water Sh Heavy Floaters White candle Red candle Yogurt pot Black wood block Grapefruit Sink Float Sink Float Sink Heavy, smooth Not as heavy Heavy Other block floated Not hollow, Heavy M, W W W OS St, W It’s heavy, wax, hollow It’s a candle, light hollow Plastic and what’s inside it Hollow, wood like a boat W, M, St St, OS, W OS M, Sh, St Light Sinkers Eraser Needle Coin Button Elastic band Sink Sink Sink Float Float Small, Metal sinks Not plastic Small with holes Light, sit on top of water M S, W M S, H W Pure rubber Made of metal metal Holes M M M H M Accuracy of predictions: 50% Legend: W (Weight), Sh (Shape), M (Material), St (Structure), H (Holes), DK (Don’t Know), OS (Object-Specific) S (Size) Data Sheet 02 – Participant: Emily (EMILY)Object Prediction Initial Explanation Causal Codes Final Explanation Causal Codes Light floaters Small wood block Pencil Small candle Ball Sink Sink Sink Sink Not water proof Not waterproof Made of wax Squishy M M M OS Heavy Sinkers Spanner Stone Food tin Tin lid Float Sink Float Float Metal Heavy Metal Metal, lighter than Stone M W M W, M Heavy Floaters White candle Red candle Yogurt pot Black wood block Grapefruit Sink Float Sink Float Sink Heavy Light Heavy Light Heavy W W W W W It’s made of wax It’s made of wax It has a lid… to keep it dry Wood Got skin so it don’t get wet M M OS M OS Light Sinkers Eraser Needle Coin Button Elastic band Sink Float Float Float Float Waterproof Light Metal, Smooth Light M W M W Made of rubber, heavy Made of metal Made of metal Water goes through the hole Made of rubber M,W M M H M Accuracy of predictions: 22.2% Legend: W (Weight), Sh (Shape), M (Material), D (Density), H (Holes), DK (Don’t Know), OS (Object-Specific) Appendix 2. Interview protocol. * Stage 1: examining the objects. The child is presented with eight objects. * Stage 2: predicting what will happen and why. The child is asked to make a prediction about whether each object will float or sink. The researcher also asks them why they think the object will float or sink. * Stage 3: testing the predictions. One by one the objects are placed in a tank of water and the child is asked to comment on what has happened. * Stage 4: examining the objects. The child is presented with 11 objects. * Stage 5: predicting what will happen and why. The child is asked to make a prediction about whether each object will float or sink. They are also asks them why they think the object will float or sink. * Stage 6: testing the predictions. One by one the objects are placed in a tank of water and the child is asked to comment on what has happened. It is likely that some of the children’s predictions here will not be confirmed. They are asked to explain this result and may begin a ‘Stage 7’ type discussion for an object. * Stage 7: a Piagetian approach – inducing cognitive conflict. The researcher draws to the child’s attention examples where their explanations are inconsistent and demonstrate an incomplete understanding. For example, a child who states that ‘heavy things sink’ may be asked to consider the heavy wood block, which floats, and the light needle, which sinks. This stage finishes with the child identifying the objects that floated and being asked to explain why all the items in this group floated. This is repeated for the objects that sank. * Stage 8: scaffolding children’s thinking. They engage in a further discussion with the child (scales are used if the child has used the concept of weight in their explanations) in an attempt to help the child to take account of both size and weight, and to develop a more adequate (albeit incomplete) explanatory concept. * Stage 9: re-assessing the child’s understanding. Finally, the child is asked to explain why the objects that float and sink behave as they do. Appendix 3: Table of Theme usage and percentages Sian Emily Code Theme Initial Stage 6/7 Initial Stage 6/7 W Weight 10 (37%) 3 (18%) 9 (47%) 1 (9%) M Material 6 (22%) 8 (50%) 8 (42%) 7 (63%) H Holes 1 (1%) 1 (6%) 0 (0%) 1 (9%) St Structure 5 (18%) 1 (6%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) OS Object-Specific 2 (7%) 1 (6%) 1 (5%) 2 (18%) Sh Shape 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) DK Don’t know 1 (1%) 1 (6%) 1 (5%) 0 (0%) S Size 2 (7%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) Child Understanding of Floating and Sinking Theory
OCCC Week 5 Career Goals in The Profession Discussion.

Week 5 (September 14 – September 20, 2020)Topic – Recommendation (including qualifications, characteristics, recommender information, validity of recommendation, and deadlines)1. Please post your responses (25 sentences or more, website/s used in your discussion will not be counted toward the sentences) on the topic under Discussions – Career Goals on Canvas. Please share your findings, opinions, how the topic/learning changed your view toward the topic now, possible questions, and more with classmates.First posting due: Thursday, Week 5, 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Canvas2. Please read your classmates’ responses and add your thoughtful comments or opinions (9 sentences or more each) about TWO of the classmates’ discussion postings. Two follow-up postings due: Sunday, Week 5, 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Canvas3. Please pay attention to the Academic Integrity and Plagiarism under the Course Policies of the course syllabus
OCCC Week 5 Career Goals in The Profession Discussion

PSYC 122 Loma Linda University Dogs and Mirrors Interactions Presentation.

This is a group presentation I only need 5-6 slides for my part. However, my partner is going to present on two articles which their likings are below so make sure you do not use them please https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-cor…
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/dog-spies/wha…use different articles and different information instead because he is going to talk about it and I do not want to talk about the same thing. Please try not to put a lot of wordings on each slide, add pictures/figures and the details for each slide put it in note section such as information/mechanisms, which I have read and understand it well in order for me to present it. Also, add 10-20 seconds video that shows an example for the topic, and another 5-20 minutes video that summarizes the presentation. I have attached the rubric for the presentation below as pdf file. Please make sure you are not going to use the above links and read the rubric before you start. Also, to prepare for the presentation, students should read key papers on your topic from the relevant literature (e.g., journals such as Animal Behaviour, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Evolution, Behavioral Ecology, etc.).
PSYC 122 Loma Linda University Dogs and Mirrors Interactions Presentation

RWS 305W Grossmont College Ann Baumgartner Carl & Religion Discussion

RWS 305W Grossmont College Ann Baumgartner Carl & Religion Discussion.

Take Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian as a model and create three fictional interviews with deceased people in order to advance an argument about our society, culture, or existence in general.To be clear, I am asking that each of you write THREE brief “interviews” that follow the same format/style as Vonnegut’s text. Each should be approximately 200 words in length, so that they combine to be 600 words or more.The arguments can be nearly anything you want, but they must matter to a significant portion of society. In other words, you cannot make one that argues something in your own private life. It must have societal implications. The best ones tend to focus on existence more than politics or policy.IMPORTANT NOTE: Your subjects do not matter as much as the arguments you select, so try to be creative about who you choose! I’d much rather read three excellent arguments interviewing unknown people that you found in old newspaper articles than three ordinary texts interviewing Michael Jackson, Robin Williams, and Gandhi. Remember that I read at least 90 of these per semester, so if a person is wildly famous, they’ve been done before!Last thing to note: emulate Vonnegut instead of relying on too much dialogue.STEP 1:Think of three separate arguments that you want to make in these pieces. Examples are hard to give because it’s so broad, but yours may look something like this:- Our society gives up on people after one mistake and we should not do that- Working too much makes life unbearable so we should do more that brings us joy- Prioritizing our online images takes away from authentic interactions with peopleSTEP 2:Attach a deceased person to each idea so that you can make your point through them. Examples related to those above could be:- Bill Buckner, whose error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series haunted him the rest of his life- Day Davis, a man who died on his first day working in a factory in Florida- Henry David Thoreau, whose writings about being in nature inspired readers for generationsTry to avoid the major religious figures, such as Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha, etc. They are simply too difficult to encapsulate in a 200-word assignment at the end of a college semester.Also, consider avoiding figures who are so popular that they are the first that come to mind in an industry. For example, every semester, 5+ students select Robin Williams, Michael Jackson, or other major pop figures. If your argument about depression is perfect for someone like Robin Williams, consider researching others who have suffered similar fates. Try to be original!STEP 3:For that nice finishing touch, try to format it in the way that Kurt Vonnegut did. While I don’t mean you all need to find the right font and margin settings (though this can look nice), I really want to see you break your arguments up into small chunk paragraphs rather than just writing in dense ones. READ “God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian” pages 7-45Here is sample to look at and take advantage of the format here is a professor recording to look at and follow his requirnment
RWS 305W Grossmont College Ann Baumgartner Carl & Religion Discussion

EDU 520 Strayer University Education Enrollment in United States Paper

online assignment help EDU 520 Strayer University Education Enrollment in United States Paper.

In two pages (excluding attached articles), complete the following:Conduct research on the Internet, through the Strayer Library, and in the textbook to find information related to school attendance laws and homeschooling.Analyze one law of your state related to school attendance and one law related to homeschooling.Explain the guidelines of the necessity for each. Provide two examples of plausible challenges or problems that might arise in relation to the laws.Schools must establish rules and guidelines that comply with constitutional standards to control student behavior and to implement necessary disciplinary proceedings. Summarize a scenario from the cases presented in the course textbook of ways public school institutions can place limitations on student freedoms. Explain the reasons public school institutions do so and the legality of such rules and guidelines.Use at least two quality resources in this assignment.Attached PDF’s for sources
EDU 520 Strayer University Education Enrollment in United States Paper

Role of financial institutions in the decision making of individuals Essay

The rates of interest charged on loans, service fee charges, and nature of services offered by financial institutions, to a large extent, influence the decision making of individuals in regard to financial matters. If for instance commercial banks in the US, as is the case presently, decide to offer high interest rates for savings, a lot of Americans will be influenced to open savings account and to start saving. Again, individuals are often required to get approval from commercial banks or other financial institutions in order to receive large sums of money that they may use to make expensive purchases. The differences between various financial institutions in terms of collateral requirement, loan repayment period and service fees charges also influence the financial decision making of individuals. In other words, more people will tend to transact business with banks or financial institutions which offer favorable terms. Thus, as intermediaries of financial markets, financial institutions including commercial banks, insurance companies, building societies, trust companies, mortgage loan companies and credit unions are major players in determining financial decisions of a majority of individual consumers and businesses. How financial institutions facilitate transactions Financial institutions create financial instruments such as stocks and bonds, “maintain efficient and modern payment systems” and lend money to creditworthy individuals and businesses organizations (Siklos 40). Government securities, bonds and other savings deposited by investors in commercial banks and other financial institutions are made available as funds which can be obtained by individuals and businesses in form of loans. Normally, financial institutions pay depositors a specified percentage of interest on funds deposited and, on lending out these funds to other consumers, the institutions charge higher interest rates on these loans. Through this way of accepting deposits, providing loans and paying and charging interest rates, financial institutions are thus able to effectively play there role in facilitating transactions between individuals, businesses and governments. Financial institutions are virtually the only gateways through which payments of bills are made and economic transactions effected. Modern facilities such as credit cards, ATMs, internet and mobile banking have revolutionized the way payments are made and changed the way transactions are conducted between individuals, businesses and governments. These roles of financial institutions are necessary for economic stability and development. They provide “safe custody of individual and business savings and offer interest” for amounts deposited (Lewis 39). Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Financial institutions also enable businesses to grow by extending loans that can be used to expand the business. Without financial institutions, businesses would come to a standstill and the whole economy would go down in free fall. Provision of efficient payment facilities by financial institutions, on the other hand, enables transactions to be carried smoothly and reliably. Role of financial institutions in financial matters for businesses In regard to the financial matters of businesses, financial institutions are important intermediaries in financial decisions and play a similar role as to individuals. Like individuals, businesses often approach banks other money lending agencies for loans and make and receive payments through the same institutions. Commercial banks, particularly, work closely with businesses in successful management of business finances. Financial institutions also work with businesses to “appraise business assets, to link them with potential buyers” and to facilitate and approve access to business loans (Dobson 61). Financial institutions, like commercial banks, offer services such as trade finance, general corporate finance, as well as project finance that can be used by businesses to cover purchases of inventory, machinery and raw materials. Using business tailored services, financial institutions also make possible the reliable transfer of funds and facilitate smooth exchange of valuable economic and financial information which affects business operations. Works Cited Dobson, John. Finance Ethics: The Rationality of Virtue. New York: Rowman

Bill Browder’s Corporate Activism Strategy Case Study

Corporate Governance Issues: Hermitage CEO’s Case Study The CEO of Hermitage Fund Bill Browder undertook an unusual approach in his efforts to foster corporate governance. Hermitage’s presence in Russia was progressing smoothly before both domestic and international occurrences started affecting fundamental corporate governance issues. As a response, Browder had to take into account some of the basic aspects of the Russian corporate governance environment and thereby deciding to take the option of shareholder activism as a corrective measure. Some of the factors that influenced Browder’s decision include Russia’s weak judicial instruments and the lack of reliable regulatory bodies in the country. Nevertheless, there are concerns as to whether shareholder activism was the most viable approach to Hermitage’s problem. This essay investigates Bill Browder’s corporate activism strategy including its merits and demerits. Furthermore, the essay offers viable alternatives to corporate activism and some recommendations for players who might be in similar situations. One feasible strategic option for the manager is to rely on Russian regulatory authorities both from the political and professional realms. Turning to regulators would have improved Browder’s approach but this strategy also came with its strengths and weaknesses. The first weakness in this approach is that during this era, corporate governance regulations and regulators were mostly weak. Therefore, this strategy was a gamble for Browder who was most afraid of the influence that Russian oligarchs had on independent bodies (Lazareva et al 315). The other shortcoming in this approach is that it was hampered by the fact that Hermitage was mostly among the minority shareholders in most of the companies that it had put its investments. Therefore, a likely outcome was that the regulators would have sided with the majority shareholders, who were mostly the perpetrators of corporate governance ills. The use of regulators would have made Browder’s approach less confrontational. Corporate activism was quite a confrontational approach, which came with several risks. For example, in his story, Browder admits to hiring bodyguards during the height of his activism (Dyck 6). Another positive aspect of the use of regulators was that it was more effective to get the regulators to act instead of reacting. Regulators only reacted to the bad publicity that Russia got from Browder’s shareholder activism. Nevertheless, corporate governance issues in Russia would have benefited more from a wholesome reaction by the regulators as opposed to knee-jerk reactions. Another feasible strategic option for Browder was to utilize Russian judicial instruments without taking a confrontational stance. The case study notes that most of the other players in Russia preferred not to air their dirty linen in public when it came to policy and governance issues (Dyck 5). One major strength of using this approach is that it guaranteed a speedy conclusion to Browder’s issues. The use of activism only prolonged the process of getting justice for Hermitage’s interests. Furthermore, the judicial strategy would have ensured that Browder was left with other viable approaches when the court processes failed. One weakness in the court strategy is that there were high levels of corruption within Russia’s judiciary at the time. Browder had identified oligarchs and other cartels to be the main perpetrators of corporate governance problems. Therefore, relying on the judiciary was unlikely to yield the results that the manger had hoped to achieve. Courts also came with the disadvantage of high costs and unfulfilling outcomes. For example, without activism, likely, the Gazprom’s case ruling would only have given Browder only half of the concessions that he wanted. An outcome of this type would have made the court process lengthy leading to more losses by the investors. Some of the people who were at the center of corporate governance issues in Russia included individuals who had enough power to influence the judiciary. Some of these personalities include government ministers and people within the infamous Russian oligarch (Dyck et al. 1096). There are several recommendations regarding Browder’s corporate activism approach. First, the manager should have taken it upon himself to maintain a certain level of civility and cordialness in the course of his activism. To date, Browder’s activism remains a blotch in Russia’s corporate governance record. For instance, one of the government regulators at the time denies knowing Browder leave alone his perceived activities. This scenario is a strong indicator that although significant gains were made as a result of Browder’s activism, there is a possibility that things could have been even better for all those who were involved in the activism. Observers also doubt Browder’s intentions when he was engaged in explosive contests with the Russians. It was recommendable for Browder to gain the support of the Russian Media on top of relying on the international press. This strategy would have proved fruitful during the aftermath of the activism. For example, although Browder considers himself a hero in the fight for better corporate governance in Russia, this sentiment is not echoed in Russia, whereby ordinary investors were the main beneficiaries of his activism. The use of international media had a polarizing effect because it elicited a feeling of West’s perceived superiority over Russia. Consequently, most observers could not immediately confirm the good intentions of Browder’s activism. It is important to note that some of the selected international media outlets eventually lost interest in the manager’s activism, thereby weakening his resolve. It would have been recommendable for Browder to manage his media usage to avoid overuse. Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Another recommendation for Browder was to have his activism be an attraction to Russia than a deterrent. The activism served the purpose of discouraging small and medium investors who felt that they could not take on Russian entities (Claessens and Yurtoglu 14). Throughout his activism, Browder should also have given a higher priority to international governance regulators. The activist’s one-man army eventually appeared to be a form of showboating as opposed to being a struggle for better governance. Some of the alternative strategies that were taken in this case are only theoretical as the available evidence shows that activism was highly effective to some extent. Therefore, some of the proposed alternative strategies could be only great on paper and not when they are put into practice (Tricker 39). First, focusing on courts would have been a great risk for the activist because historical data indicated that Hermitage investors did not stand a chance. Second, focusing on press reports only could have killed Browder’s efforts prematurely. Mixing media activism with court cases extended the half-life of the manager’s activities. A single strategy would not have been a good idea for Hermitage under any conceivable conditions. It remains to be seen how a friendly approach would have worked in Browder’s favor. The activist reports that he had received pseudo threats from oligarchs and majority shareholders before he decided that it was time for ‘war’ (Dyck 7). Therefore, there is a high chance that a non-confrontational strategy would not have worked for the investor. The governance issues that apply to this case are prevalent even in the modern economic environment. Corporate governance issues are mostly manifested in economies where majority shareholders wield extraordinary influence on both economic and political matters. Japan is one such country and it has a corporate governance rating of 3.3 even though it is a first-class economy (Lazareva et al. 321). The element of oligarchs has been associated with Japan in the last few centuries. China, another giant economy has issues to do with regulators and regulations. Therefore, just like Russia, Chinese regulators are mostly expected to react and not to act on international matters. Developing economies such as Mexico, Turkey, and Brazil are also constant offenders when it comes to corporate governance (Mallin 29). Most of these countries suffer from high levels of corruption and unreliable judicial machinery hence their poor performance. In the course of concluding this analysis, it is important to note that the case of Hermitage investors in Russia can offer valuable lessons to firms that face similar challenges. The first important lesson, in this case, is that although corporate activism worked for Browder, it is not a solid response to corporate governance issues. Activism only worked for Browder under unique circumstances. Another important lesson to be drawn is that international corporate governance bodies are the most viable enforcement tools for aggrieved parties. Therefore, investors who want to play it safe should opt to invest in countries that are covered by international governance codes. In cases where local means of seeking justice have failed, activism through international media is a viable strategy for victims of corporate governance issues in foreign countries. Nevertheless, it is important to note that high-risk corporate governance environments are likely to bring high returns like in the case of Hermitage. Works Cited Claessens, Stijn, and Burcin Yurtoglu. “Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets: A Survey.” Emerging markets review, vol. 15, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1-33. Dyck, Alexander. “The Hermitage Fund: Media and Corporate Governance in Russia.” HBS Case, vol. 2, no. 1, 2002, pp. 1-24. Dyck, Alexander, et al. “The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia.” The Journal of Finance, vol. 63, no. 3, 2012, pp. 1093-1135. We will write a custom Case Study on Bill Browder’s Corporate Activism Strategy specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lazareva, Olga, et al. “A Survey of Corporate Governance in Russia.” Corporate Governance in Transition Economies, vol. 63, no. 1, 2010, pp. 315-349. Mallin, Christine. Handbook on Corporate Governance in Financial Institutions. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016. Tricker, Bob. Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies, and Practices. Oxford University Press, 2015.