Development in Language Learning Essay

Language educators in mono-linguistic societies world-wide face a commonly held myth: children are only able to handle one culture and one language at a time. No doubt this is due to the fact that these perceptions are largely formed by adults who have been brought up and conditioned to think in the modes of a one-language, one-culture society. Yet research has shown that children are much more flexible in these areas than most adults would give them credit for. Children world-wide learn two, three and more languages in their early years and while there may be some short-term developmental delay the long-term benefits from learning other languages is considerable. In the great majority of cases parents are the principle teachers of one or two of these languages and as the children’s main caregivers are ideally suited for the job. Parents, the most prestigious people from a child’s perspective, are the most important factor in molding a child in the pre-school years. The purpose of this paper is to take lessons learned from bilingual homes and apply them to second language learning at preschool. The core elements discussed will be the benefits of bilingualism and pre-literacy programs in the preschool years. There is no doubt that early literacy gives a marked advantage to children entering into primary school. It follows that the advantage would be double if literacy was promoted in two languages. What this paper seeks to show is that this can be done by using methods taken from successful bilingual households and mimicking them in second language education for preschoolers. Additionally, by providing early reading and listening activities linking the home and the second language, schools can make use of the one of the most powerful factors in the learning of a second language by preschoolers, parental support. Before these activities are outlined it is essential that we summarize the benefits of pre-reading skills in bilingual households. Discussion and Summary of Research 1. Benefits of Early Reading in Diverse Languages There is no doubt that given the environment and the proper motivational tools young children show an interest in reading and being read to. Parents who incorporate the reading of stories into a preschooler’s daily activities will see the increased chance of literacy at a young age. Theorists for years have been telling us about the benefits of reading to our child. Mackler (1997) claims that the more enjoyable a child’s experience with early reading the greater is the possibility that they will read with frequency in the future. She states that, â€Å"Young children’s self-initiated interactions with print at home are important behavioral indexes of emerging motivations for reading. Shared storybook reading plays an important role in promoting reading motivations; when the socioemotional climate is positive, children are more interested in reading and more likely to view it as enjoyable† (p. 69). Andersson (1977) concludes that â€Å"Parents who read, study, and discuss interesting or important subjects in the presence of their children and who answer their children’s questions create a close relationship with their children, a relationship which older children are quick to adopt with their younger siblings. † It only follows that if reading in one language to a child is profitable to the child’s future education reading in two languages is even more profitable. Andersson (1977) claims that early reading for children and their parents is an experience that brings joy and self-esteem to a child and that this is doubly so for children who have the opportunity to enjoy literature in two languages. In his study on family reading in two languages Andersson (1977) researched the early reading process of three families. He concludes that, â€Å"far from being a double burden, learning to read in two languages is a double joy, leading to a positive self-image. † Meier (2003) adds that children being read to in two different languages tend to learn about the distinctive cultures of the two languages. She claims that â€Å"From these book reading experiences, many children acquire an extensive book-based vocabulary and absorb important cultural lessons about things like gender roles, family relationships, and the nature of friendship† (p. 242). She also claims that these early reading experiences help children adapt to the school environment by teaching them to listen quietly and attentively, raising their hand when they wish to speak and remembering their questions until the end of the story (p. 243). One study done on low-income Spanish speaking immigrants and their children showed that reading done within the family helped considerably in expanding vocabulary of Spanish at home with a group of three-year-old children (Akers, Boyce, Cook, Innocenti, Jump & Roggman, 2004, p. 371). Forty-seven mothers and their three year old children were analyzed while they shared reading time. The conclusions were that their children’s attention was expanded and that conversation and interaction within the family were enhanced (Akers, Boyce, Cook, Innocenti, Jump & Roggman, 2004, p. 383). The most significant change was that the children’s vocabulary was significantly broadened (p. 384). Yet it is important to emphasize that investigation shows that while literacy can improve upon second language learning, bilingualism does not necessarily improve upon literacy. Bialystok (2002) contends that much of the literature surrounding literacy and bilingualism in fact argues that bilingualism promotes literacy and that this is not necessarily the case. She concludes that the relation between bilingualism and literacy depends to a large extent on certain skills developed by teachers and parents and that in this sense bilingualism at the time literacy begins can result in â€Å"an advantage and sometimes a disadvantage for bilingual children. Bilingualism clearly affects children’s development of literacy, but its effect is neither simple nor unitary† (p. 159). 2. Bilingual Families: What We Can Learn Although there is a great deal of literature on the benefits of learning a second language the deep grained fear in mono-linguistic cultures is that learning two languages at the same time is trying for that child. But some theorists claim that language learning for bilingual children is in fact quite the same for monolingual children (Paneque, 2006, p. 171). What is more important for authors such as Paneque (2006) are other factors such as â€Å"who provides the language input, or when the second language is introduced† (172). She adds that while some children may start the process of becoming bilingual at birth other start in their preschool years but that â€Å"Either way, both methods of becoming bilingual can be effective† (p. 172). Other studies claim that the fear of slow development caused by bilingualism causes children to know neither of the languages well. Mclaughlin (1995) claims that, in fact, it is uncommon that both languages be in balance. He claims that, â€Å"One language typically predominates in use and exposure. When this happens, elements of the other language can quickly be lost. The child can forget vocabulary and even rules of grammar† (p. 4). The author concludes that it is only a question of time before the other language catches up and evens out the results (p. 4). Genesee, Paradis and Cargo (2004) conclude that children are more than capable of learning more than one language, either at the same time or one after the other. While many people focus completely on teaching methodologies authors such as Walqui hold that the psychological side of second language learning is in fact just as important. Stresses and fears brought out in the home and school environment can result in problems for the bilingual child. Walqui claims that, â€Å"While many discussions about learning a second language focus on teaching methodologies, little emphasis is given to the contextual factors—individual, social, and societal—that affect students’ learning. There is no doubt that the success with which bilingual children develop both languages depends largely on two factors: school support and home support. While at home a child may speak one language at school they may speak another. In order for them to become proficient in the home language they must have the support of their family. Walqui (2000) claims that support from family is essential to second language learning. She states that â€Å"Some educators believe that parents of English language learners should speak only English in the home. However, far more important than speaking English is that parents value both the native language and English, [and] communicate with their children in whichever language is most comfortable. † There are a couple of important conclusions to make on the research done up until this time. The first is that the literature has shown us that the natural process of becoming bilingual can lead to inequalities in the learning of one language or the other at certain times. The second conclusion is that given the right support by the family and education institutions children can learn both languages to the satisfaction of both. The third is that communication through conversation and shared reading can greatly enhance a child’s vocabulary in either language. What we can take from these three points of bilingualism in preschoolers is that if the same circumstances of sharing and reading with bilingual children are applied to children learning a second language out of the home the possibilities of success would be enhanced. Application of Research Activities That Use the School and the Home to Promote a Second Language Playschool support, home support and shared reading are the three elements of the program this work will propose to use to develop the second language abilities of preschoolers at an age in which they may learn the basics of literacy in their second language at the same time they do so with their first language. Although there is debate on the language learning window and when it closes Paneque (2006) concludes that early childhood does seem to be the optimal time for language learning. She claims that it is â€Å"when the child’s mind is still open and flexible, and not cluttered with all sorts of other learning, not to mention the society’s views on which languages are ‘prestige’ languages, and which ones are regarded by the society as of little or no importance† (p. 171). Before we go into the particulars of the proposed program first we should mention that it works around the presumption that the first priority to the family of a second language learner is to push their maternal language and excellence in that language. Indeed, Fortune (2003) states of English speaking students in immersion programs that parents must provided an atmosphere which will enhance their development of the English language. She claims that principally they should read and play games with them that will develop their literacy and vocabulary in English. She concludes that â€Å"Research shows that the stronger the development of the native language, the greater the proficiency in the immersion language, so children who enter an immersion program with a strong base in English will succeed more easily than those whose English skills are not as strong. † What is proposed here is that parents simply use one of the tools of promoting that language, pre-reading skills, to incite their preschoolers to open their mind to another language. So how can pre-reading be incorporated into a family that may not even understand the basics of the language being learned by the preschooler? This can be done by organizing a pre-reading program which connects the home and the preschool. Throughout the year teachers will choose a variety of simple word books that incorporate vocabulary the children have already learned in class. The teacher will read the story to the children and attempt to encourage their participation on discussing its characters, ideas and plot. Over the course of time they will do various activities that will work with the stories vocabulary and plot. These types of activity will obviously be dependent on the age group the teachers are working with. When the teacher is finished working with the story they will send the project on to its second stage – home discussion. The story will go home with the preschooler where it will be incorporated into family reading but it will not be the parents reading the story but rather the preschooler. The preschooler will be required to re-tell the story or act out the story as they remember it but by translating it into the families language. The family will be encouraged by the school to ask the child to instruct them on new vocabulary in the outside language. It is through activities like this that parents can help to support the second language by showing pride and accomplishment in what their child has learned up until that moment. Preschoolers in particular will be pleased that they have the opportunity to â€Å"teach their family. Bilingual books may be used to further help the parents with the activity. Meier (2003) also provides an outline for choosing and presenting the chosen books that would help preschool and kindergarten teachers gain more interest from their students. She recommends that first and foremost a teacher choose a book that â€Å"relates to children’s lives† (p. 248). Secondly she recommends that teachers ask â€Å"creative and open ended questions† to stimulate interest in the story (p. 248). Lastly Meier believes that if a teacher makes a book come a live by using props it will garner a far greater interest in the story (p. 248). Summary It is through pre-reading programs like this that playschool teachers teaching a second language might harness the most powerful factor in a young child’s life, parental support, without disrupting the important mode of communication that is the maternal language. It is undeniable that both the reading and the acquisition of languages are of great educational importance. By combining the two and providing the right support at preschool and at home teachers and parents may be creating an atmosphere where these young children can take advantage of the flexibility their young minds allow them in language learning. References Akers, J. F. , Boyce, L. K. , Cook, G. A, Innocenti, M. S. , Jump, J. F. & Roggman, L. A. (2004). Sharing Books and Learning Language: What do Latina Mothers and Their Young Children Do? Early Education and Development, 15 (4), 371-386. Andersson, T. (1977). A Guide to Family Reading in Two Languages The University of Texas at Austin Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles, http://www. ncela. gwu. edu/pubs/classics/preschool/iii. htm Bialystok, E. (2002). Acquisition of Literacy in Bilingual Children: A Framework for Research Language Learning, 52 (1), 159–199.

Psychological Assessment and Testing Essay

Several websites that discuss psychological assessment and testing are scattered throughout the Internet. These psychological-based sites help students, experts and ordinary people to discern the basic concepts of psychology and recognize its various functions. One of the functions of psychological assessment and testing websites is to determine and somehow predict and pinpoint the possible psychological problem that an individual experienced. In this paper, two peer reviewed articles from two different websites devoted to psychology will be critically evaluated to illustrate the importance and role of psychological assessment and testing. The first website is www. apa. org, the title of the article is ‘How is Psychopathology Assessed in Older Adults? ’ The author of the article is the American Psychological Association. The problem deals specifically to the assessment of ‘older adults’ which are 65 years old and above. The authors list and identify several types of psychopathological assessment for older adults. The identification of the different types of assessment and test regarding the psychopathology in older adults help students, experts and other concerned individual understand the process and the meaning of the said assessments. The group hypothesize that dimensional type (age-based) of analysis is better than categorical type (illness-based) analysis in the case of older adults. The research design they used is a qualitative design. The methodology that they used is historical research wherein they analyze the data from previous works to find a generalization from deduction that can help in understanding the past, present and even future trends regarding the psychopathological assessment in older adults. They conducted their research through a comparison of the different screening measures used for older adults. The authors suggested that the Geriatric Depression Scale is the most useful due to the fact that it is age related, it can assess those who are cognitively impaired since it can either be oral or written and it is not depressive. They compared the BECK Anxiety Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Cage and Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test-Geriatric version, the MMPI-2 test, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Rorschach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test. The authors decided to find out which assessment is most applicable and helpful since no standard exist regarding the psychopathological assessment of adults. The second website is www. mental-health-matters. com, the article is entitled ‘Personality and Stress? ’ The author was Gillian Darby, a psychologist and affiliated to Get Mental Help, Inc. The research problem was concerned on the possible relationship between personality and stress. It was important to identify the relationship to help caution those people with a personality prone to stress regarding future problems and help them understand themselves better through stress-management activities. Darby hypothesize that those who posses type ‘A’ personality are more prone to stress. Darby further elaborates that hose with type ‘B’ personality were often less aggressive and are therefore less prone to stress. The research design that was used was a qualitative research. Using this research design, Darby tries to explore the connections that exist between type ‘A’ personality and stress. The methodology that the author used is data analysis to be able to formulate the pattern/s and principle/s involve. Darby used literature review and case study review. The author included a personality test in the article to help readers qualify their personality type. Therefore the article showed the possibility that psychological assessment of personality can affect stress levels which might also lead to stress-related illness such as heart diseases. Both websites and articles proved that indeed the use of psychological assessment and test are helpful and educational. Psychological assessments help individuals to evaluate themselves. Thus, the websites and articles can also be considered as self-help materials. Psychological assessments and testing are in themselves important in understanding oneself and promoting good health and healthy living since. Second Part The article ‘How is Psychopathology Assessed in Older Adults? ’ could help medical practitioners or concerned individuals identify the best or most applicable type of assessment for the older adult patient. Most specifically, the group believes that Geriatric Depression Scale is most useful due to its nature which is somehow considerate of the older adult’s psychological state. Nevertheless, whenever these type of assessment might not be applicable, several other test and scales are presented. The article can be helpful in assisting the patient with information regarding the Psychopathology of his illness or problem. The suggestion and study in the article can be treated to be of primary importance to the medical practitioner or attendant upon admission of the patient. In case that the Geriatric Depression Scale is not applicable to the patient, the article mentioned other relevant Psychopathological assessment scales and test. If possible the Geriatric Depression Scale can be use in conjunction with another scale or test to get a better view of the psychopathology of the patient. Particularly, the assessment recommended by the group is ‘most useful’ due to the fact that it tries to focus on the medical cause of the problems by eliminating depressive questions. Geriatric Depression Scale unlike other Psychopathology Scale is not lengthy and can be answered or done orally. This somehow helped the patient minimize the effort and stress that accompanies answering lengthy and technical assessment test. The second article is about ‘Personality and Stress’. In this article, the patient will be asked to answer a questionnaire or personality test which would determine whether he/she has a type â€Å"A† or a type â€Å"B† personality. A person who understands his/her situation and behavior would normally perform better than those who cannot acknowledge or is not aware of his or her behavior and personality. Thus, with the use of the personality test employ in the article, a person is able to check him/her self and the situation. The person might opt to try new types of defense mechanism against stress or the person might want to seek professional advice regarding management of stress. As a common knowledge, stress often times leads to heart diseases. Since the article affirms that people with type â€Å"A† personality are prone to stress, it prompts necessary actions to control or reduce the possibility of heart disease. The person might try low cholesterol diet or engage in regular exercise. According to article, studies revealed that those who has type â€Å"A† personality are less relaxed than those with type â€Å"B†. This shows that the treatment for stress in the two types of personality should also vary. A medical practitioner, a psychologist or a counselor will find it easier to prescribe treatment if the cause of the illness or the source of the illness is identified. A person who has personality problems may not be treated properly with medication alone if the person still receive the same stressors at work or at home (several work load, weather, pets, traffic, etc). In case that the person already has a heart disease, knowing the personality type can help the family and the patient understands the things that can worsen the situation. For instance, a patient can understand himself better and the reason why he felt stress out. The patient might try to avoid the things that made him lose his temper. The counselor can also administer the necessary advice for the patient, since a type â€Å"A† personality is usually aggressive and critical. References: American Psychological Association. ‘How is Psychopathology Assessed in Older Adults? ’ Retrieved on January 5, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www. apa. org/pi/aging/practitioners/assessment05. html Darby, G. 2007. ‘Personality and Stress’ Retrieved on January 6, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www. mental-health-matters. com/articles/article. php? artID=1323

Relationship between Humans and Nature Essay

The relationship between humans and nature is an important topic in which many people contribute ideas to and have done studies on. It is important for people to see that nature is a necessity and that we are responsible for protecting it. In essays and an article, John Steinbeck, Lynn White, Peter Kahn, Rachel Severson, and Jolina Ruckert discuss their beliefs and information they have found to be true about humans and nature living together. In the article â€Å"Americans and the Land†, John Steinbeck talks about the American settlers’ impact on the land. He states that the relationship between humans and nature used to be one of settlers living with or against nature, but has over time come to humans living on or from the land. Steinbeck writes his feelings of humans being very irresponsible in their use of land back in a time when they thought there was an abundance of resources. He writes that people â€Å"burned the forests and changed the rainfall; they swept the buffalo from the plains, blasted the streams, set fire to the grass† (Steinbeck). During the time of the Indians, humans attacked and defended themselves without giving thought to the damage they were causing to their environment around them. To go along with how little Americans thought about the environment, Steinbeck addresses how people went land-mad. Because they had so much of it, â€Å"They cut and burned the forests to make roo m for crops; they abandoned hyknowledge of kindness to the land in order to maintain its usefulness† (Steinbeck). The idea of conservation didn’t much start until after engines and heavy mechanical equipment were in full use. And even since conservation and people finding awe and beauty in  the nation’s national parks, most people don’t think twice about using engines and machines to keep us warm or cool, give us light, or transport us quickly. In response to this essay, I do have to agree that in the past people did not know about the damage they were causing on the earth. However, I disagree with Steinbeck when he says that people do not think twice about using all available technology. I know that through conservation efforts, most everyone is very aware of the impact they have on the environment. Although people are not as in tune with nature as the Native Americans were, I think we could learn from them and appreciate and take more responsibility for nature. Lynn White, Jr.’s essay â€Å"The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis† addresses the relationship between humans and nature by bringing up the issue of what Christianity tells people about their relationship with the environment. It is interesting that White brings up the component of religion in how people treat nature because it is a huge aspect that oftentimes doesn’t get talked about much. White states that Christians believe that God gave them dominance over nature and that it was given to serve man. Because of this dominance that we have, people feel indifferent about exploiting nature and using it to serve themselves. Although I know this is true and is found in Genesis, I believe God intended it differently. I believe that just as God has ultimate rule over the earth and exercises his authority with loving care, he expects humans to do the same with the environment. God was careful in how he made the earth, and He wants us not to be careless and wasteful in how we take care of it. Although, I do agree that this mindset is a problem and has been a problem, so the best way to combat this is to teach Christians to dig deeper in to God’s word to figure out what exactly He means when he says something like that. Peter Kahn, Jr., Rachel L. Severson, and Jolina H. Ruckert discuss the impact on humans of how technological nature is coming to replace actual nature in the essay. In the essay, they come to the conclusion that this replacement causes changes in the physical and psychological well-being of the human species. Kahn, Severson, and Ruckert state that nature is imperative to have in human lives. The authors did a study in which they found that simply  looking outside of a window reduces heart rate which in turn reduces stress. Near the end of the essay, the authors discuss the issue of Environmental Generational Amnesia. This is a condition that humans may face in which, because of â€Å"adapting gradually to the loss of actual nature and to the increase of technological nature, humans will lower the baseline across generations for what counts as a full measure of the human experience and of human flourishing†(Kahn, Severson, and Ruckert, 37). In a study, they figured out that technological nature is better than no nature at all. And they also know that humans have an evolutionary need to affiliate with nature, so we either have to adapt to technological nature, or go extinct. The authors know that talking to people about these environmental issues is becoming harder as most people aren’t aware of or simply don’t believe that they are a problem. I think that this was a very important study to do and shows people the importance and necessity of going out into nature. The relationship between humans and nature is important to everyone because we really can’t escape the fact that we are living together. Knowing the history of why nature is so important to humans can help create a sense of responsibility for its well-being which in turn should unite people to try to make a difference in how we are treating it and using current technology. Because of Kahn, Severson, and Ruckert we now know that nature is something that humans innately need and that increases our health. Reading the ideas and conclusions of these authors about this topic has made me wonder about what my own stance on nature is, how my faith effects that, and if I am substituting technological nature for real nature. Works Cited Kahn, Peter. Severson, Rachel. Ruckert, Jolina. _The Human Relation with Nature and_ _Technological Nature._ (2009). http://depts.washington.edu/hints/publications/Human_Relation_ Technological_Nature.pdf Steinbeck, John. _Americans and the Land._ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxlbmdsaXNoMTEwMzI4bGN8Z3g6NGIwMDEzNDA4NDhhYzEw White, Lynn. _The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis._ (1974). http://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/ENV-NGO-PA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf

ABC Financial Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ABC Financial Business - Research Paper Example Business planning to expand its sales with a 25% increase requires the management and its shareholders to set their targets and goals through a forecast budget. An effective business will lays out the perfect strategy in realizing the companies’ goal of profit maximization. By having the capability to read the agency’s future, it is practical to form feasible strategies that work in favor of the additional products that can leverage the current ABC employee skill-set as well as the manufacturing facilities. In this case, it is critical to form a financial plan to assist the agency’s long term objectives. This is especially if it is the first time trying to make it in this entrepreneurial venture. Some of the aspects that surround this business need addressing so as to make it simpler to deal with the hurdles that these project faces. This paper will examine such a plan in bide of setting aggressive growth target of reaching $3 million annual sales within the next 3 years and how it may impact the growth and development of the business, in the long run. The paper also analyses the overall risk profile of the company based on current economic and industrial issues that it may be facing based on the track records of its financial statements. Discussion It is fundamental for one to be apprehensive about the issues the market may be facing. One of these issues may be an economic downturn. The economic activities that surround this manufacturing industry are a vital aspect in the continuation of the new proposed project (Chandra, 2011). An expansion of the activities occurring in the manufacturing environment means that, there is a chance of having restructuring other interdepartmental that do facilitate the production of final product. As a growing business, the board of management needs to be sensitive to such customer needs and requirements. Overall customer satisfaction is another sensitive area to look into in the business. Customers prefer to have access to information. The ability to provide this access at a rapid pace means that, they will be inclined to get more involved with the business (Brigham, & Ehrhardt, 2011). This works in boosting the annual revenue acquisition. This is where technology comes into play in the business. Offering customers information leads to more interaction, which is the primary focus of the product. Government regulations are also a sensitive area to look into while trying to grow the business in order not to derail the quality of their product (Chandra, 2011). The government policies could also improved access to financial services which on the other hand is help-full in raising the funds for such proposed expansion. All these sensitive areas might determine if the business will grow after expansion, or if it will remain stagnant as at the commencement of the pursuit of new venture. It is very pertinent to acknowledge the presence of all factors present in the industry that might enable it to grow, decline, or remain stagnant (Brigham, & Ehrhardt, 2011). In order to attract a wide variety of customers, it is vital to have an image of the build cedar dollhouses that are to be offered in the market. The price would depends on alternative product which the competitors also do offer in market, that reflect the loyalty of the client, and how much they are invested in the business as a cost of production. Loyalty in any business is fundamental in its growth as cabalist. However, diverting customers from the competition is instrumental in covering the business and some of its costs. In order to provide capital to enable the business to grow and give the shareholders their share,

Imposing Quality Models and Performance Management Tools to Help an Essay

Imposing Quality Models and Performance Management Tools to Help an Organization to Innovate - Essay Example Corporate of different sizes, whether engaged in giving any service or producing any specific type of product, should implement one of the given quality models like six sigma, total quality management and ISO 9000 etc. The standard implementation of quality models and performance management techniques can create damage on the company resource & time, since people usually show resilience in implementing them but quality management training and other awareness program can help a lot in changing wrong perceptions. The seven most basic quality management tools known to the world must be there in an organization, serving their intended purposes for improvement. The players in an organization must have some common quality values, they all must follow a structured scheme for doing any project, and all must focus on customer requirements and instincts. Customer requirements and company’s objectives must be clearly identified in an organization; the employees must work as a team with d ecision making based on consensus. There should be a healthy environment to use fish bone diagrams, control charts & Pareto analysis in order to analyze the root cause of any problem. There should be a common habit of using Gantt chart for managing projects, and the organization should be well aware of advance quality management techniques to improve via these where applicable. 2. Quality Models Contribution for Business Excellence There are varieties of quality & management models which can be used for achieving business excellence. A balanced scorecard is a way of determining of the company's routine in opposition to its goals. The elements of a balanced scorecard are enterprise procedures, monetary ins and outs, learning, development and customer happiness. Some merits of utilizing balanced scorecards are that all the statistics are in one place and the manager can observe how he/she is doing at a glimpse. In order to create a balanced scorecard, choose a center business practice . In combination with stakeholders, choose the objectives to follow. Manuscript the present routine and generate an intentional goal. On the scorecard, manuscript the plans executed to assist accomplishment of the goal. Every month, follow progress in the direction of the goal (Ramsey, 1990). Employees are a valuable quality improvement model. They have the acquaintance of the business and comprehend its internal mechanism. Employees are conscious of both in-house and outside quality matters practiced by consumers and co-workers. For procedures that originate unremitting issues, employees have typically made a "workaround" to avoid the trouble. To employ workers as a quality improvement tool, make a questionnaire about those procedures in their sections that generate the main impact. Empower the employees to resolve those troubles that can be simply solved. Give confidence to them to job jointly inside the department and transversely with other departments to apply solutions. Consum ers are essential in quality development. They can be utilized to implement the quality improvement program. Customers can be involved in quality improvement for an organization by conducting customer satisfaction surveys and asking consumers about their perception of the company's products and services, enquiring consumers how healthy the commodities carried out, and what they would get better

Anarexia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Anarexia - Essay Example Pediatrics, 99:505-512 Kohn MR, Golden NH, Shenker IR (1998). Cardiac arrest and delirium: presentations of the refeeding syndrome in severely malnourished adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Journal Adolescence Health, 22: 239-43. Von Ranson, K., Iacono W, McGue M. (2002). Disordered eating and substance abuse in an epidemiological sample: 1. Associations within individuals. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 389-403 .. Cardiac arrest and delirium: presentations of the refeeding syndrome in severely malnourished adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Journal Adolescence Health, 22: 239-43. McIntosh V.V, Bulik C.M, McKenzie J.M, Luty S.E, Jordan J. (2000). Interpersonal psychotherapy for anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 27(2): 125-39. Meyrowitz, J. (1985). No sense of place: The impact of electronic medial on social behavior. New York: Oxford University Press. Misra, Madhusmita et al (2004). Effects of Anorexia Nervosa on Clinical, Hematologic, Biochemical, and Bone Density Parameters in Community-Dwelling Adolescent Girls" Pediatrics, 114, 1574-1583 Paris, J. (1999). Nature and Nurture in Psychiatry. Oxford Press Steiner H, Kwan W, Shaffer TG, et al. (2003). Risk and protective factors for juvenile eating disorders. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 12, Suppl. 1, 38-46. Treasure, J., and Ulrike Schmidt (2005). Anorexia Nervosa. Clinical Evidences, 14; 1-13 Veale, D. (2001). Cognitive-behavioural therapy for body dysmorphic disorder. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 7: 125-132 Von Ranson, K., Iacono W, McGue M. (2002). Disordered eating and substance abuse in an epidemiological sample: 1. Associations within individuals. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 389-403 Walsh, T.D., and Michael J. Devlin (2000). Psychopharmacology of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating. Science, 29: 1387-1390 Weinshenker, N. (2002). Adolescents and Body Image: What's Typical and What's Not. Child Study Center Letter, Vol. 6, No. 24 Wolfe BE, and L.B. Gimby (2003). Caring for the hospitalized patient with an eating disorder. Nursing Clinics of Northern America, 38: 75-99. Yager, J, and Arnold E. Andersen, M.D.

Thinking critically Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thinking critically - Essay Example Being ethical does not mean that an individual has to come from a specific family or attend a certain school. Others feel that they are educated and thus have more ethics. This is due to attending a given school or coming from a certain family. However, this perception is wrong since one may have attended any school and still embrace the sense of being ethical. Possessing the knowledge of what ethics are and conforming to the principles of being ethical goes unnoticed. The society focuses on teaching the young people on right and wrong but do not focus on the essence ethics in once life. However, in schools, there are efforts made to teach students about ethics and ways to be an ethical person but it does not seem to have a lot of effect on our lives. This teaching does not seem to influence our lives since they are not well articulated in our minds. Therefore, this brings into spotlight numerous things that the societies have to put into consideration on focusing. This is due to the conviction that it is not necessarily that a person who have been taught the ethics be ethical, some of them know what it is but turn a deaf ear. The colleges are charged with moral obligation of assist students in the pursuit of being ethical people. Colleges are believed to be the final stage of learning the essence of ethics and being ethical. Therefore, there is the need of having a keen focus on the colleges to ensure that learners have acquired ample knowledge about ethics. Professors are charged with the responsibility of taking their students through acquiring knowledge about ethics. This is most importantly showing them where the knowledge is applied in real life situation. Ethics knowledge is integrated in various disciplines i.e. business, engineering and others. This ensures that the students are acquiring significant information that is going to be helpful in their carrier. Instructors for given courses

Your Site Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Your Site - Assignment Example Thus, a website should be user-friendly and connect with the user. It should be able to attract the customer and retain him. A website is only effective if it is able to achieve this task. The Wireframe of ABC Limited is an important component of the website design. This is the basic visual guideline of the website around which the information, pictures and other graphics are placed within the website (Kerr and Keats, 2009). When placing information and other elements on the website, it is important to consider the target customer and their way of interacting with the website. Research on this topic reveals that the average customer has a way in which he processes information on a website. This depends on his eye movement when he opens a website. A typical eye movement begins from the top left, moves to the center and then scans the right and left side of the website. This shows that the top left is the first interaction that the customer has visually with the website. It is here that most companies place their logo in order to identify the website to the customer. This will also be the position of the logo for ABC Company. The next place that the customer interacts with is the center of the website. This information will also be used strategically by ABC Limited. It will be here that ABC Limited would project its special offers that will be intended to lure the customers. This layout is quite similar to other websites of the same genre. This is an important consideration since most professional websites are built on nearly the same wireframe. These standard designs are built to reassure the customer that the website is professional and to make navigation easier. Most customers are used to the same layout and they expect others to carry the same layout. Totally unique wireframes confuse the customers and they tend to escape the website earlier (K elly, 2007). On the left side of the web page, a vertical text menu would appear. This

Math exploration of Pascals Triangle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Math exploration of Pascals Triangle - Essay Example As a mathematics student and an astronomer, he made immense contributions to the revision of the Chongtian calendar in 1023 while he also served in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau in the middle of the 11th century. However, he is mostly remembered because he devised a method of extracting the solutions of solutions of degrees higher than three extracts. The method is as to the Chia-Hsien triangle which contains binomial coefficients of binomial expressions up to the sixth degree. This triangle is similar to the Pascal’s triangle that was later discovered in Europe. In India, the expansion of binomial expressions was not well researched and studied. However, Brahmagupta in 628 A.D correctly expanded (a + b )3. It was one level higher that what Eucid, a Greek mathematician, did. Although his work may not be the greatest, it found its way to Baghdad after several decades and elicited some curiosity about binomial coefficients amongst mathematicians in the Middle East (Bassarear, pp178-212) Amongst those who used the work of Brahmagupta as a basis of more research in the Middle East is Al-Din Al-Tusi. Al-Din Al-Tusi works were published in 1265 and Al-Kashi whose work titled â€Å"Key of Arithmetic† contained the triangle up to the ninth degree. In Europe, several authors discussed ideas with respect to expansion of binomials and combinatorial problems (Cullinane, pp.145-178). A Spanish mathematician, Rabbi Ben Ezra in 1140 discovered the seventh row of the Pascal’s triangle. Moreover, this was in relation to the question of taking into consideration the sun and the corresponding six planets, which were known at that time in combinations of a single element each period, which is repeated each time. Fibonacci in 122 independently wrote down the solutions of the binomial equation of the third degree although it was known in India and Middle East (Birken & Anne, pp.124-167). Fibonacci was also the first European

Classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning Essay Example for Free

Classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning Essay Classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning Classical conditioning is about pairing a stimulus with another stimulus that cause a natural reaction. As a good example of Pavlov’s dog meat powder experiment, the dog meat powder and dog salivating is unconditional reponse which naturally occurred. However, if a dog was given a meat powder after the bell ring, eventually the dog will salivate whenever bell rings even if there are no meat powder, meaning, by pairing the two stimulus the desired behavior will be evoked without the unconditional stimulus which originally used. Operant conditioning is encouraging a particular behavior by positive reinforcers such as rewards or sometimes by punishment. The marketers use this conditioning to attract consumers and as well as keeping them satisfied. Consumers feel that they are compensated and gained extra value when they are given some kind of rewards. By applying operant conditioning technique, the person, company or the source selling the product or service are getting their desired benefit but also consumers sometimes feel it is win-win situation. The main difference between the Classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning is that, with operant conditioning, the consumers must be passive and participate and act in some way to achieve desired behavior where in classical conditioning, the behavior is elicited by natural unconditional response. Shaping is process of altering desired behavior over time. By instrumental conditioning, this behavior can be achieved from offering small reward to a larger reward and gradually the consumer will behave as planned by a markters. In a Starcity casino in Sydney, they are applying instrumental conditioning on their marketing strategy. They provide consumers with various levels of membership cards, meaning if casino customers spend more time their level of card will be promoted to a next level. First membership starts with blue card, then silver, gold and if one spends more than 1000 hours, he or she will be rewarded with Sovereign card. Different levels of rewards and offers are given to each card levels. For example, if you receive a blue card in the beginning, you will receive a free buffet ticket every week by post. The buffet entrance is right next to the casino  entrance, this way there are big chance that consumers will visit the casino in some point as they are exposed continuously to the casino. And with the sovereign card, if you sit and play at the casino for just 3 hours, you will get a free hotel room for a night at Starcity. The casino shapes their customers by giving variety and different levels of rewards. This is very effective in attracting consumers and making them the end-user/customer to the business. Classical conditioning – Pairing the two stimuli, to make reponse. Clothing(conditional) with sexual image(unconditional), = (wear this clothes and you can hook girls) PAVLOV dog with meat(unconditional) and bell(conditional) = (hear the bell and that’s when you get the meat) , Conditioned stimulus – Does not occur naturally but must do(pairing unconditioned stimulus) Unconditioned stimulus – Response that occurs naturally - Unconditioned response conditioned stimulus is bell ring paired with meat powder but later on, the response was made unconditionally after bell rang. EG Psychologically, woman seek for men who can satisfy or fulfill their needs of, shelter, food, safety and social belongings. When they meet a men, they look if he is financially stable. One specific element that she will look for could be a nice car. If he has Porsche kind of nice expensive cars, there is big possiblility that this men can take care of the women. In men’s implicit memory, there is something like purchase a nice car and you can attract nice woman. Therefore men desire and trying to buy a nice sport car is becoming unconditional response. If someone buys a nice shirt or uses perfume and more women are attracted, he will use Instrumental (operant) ConditioningSKINNER Behavior is conditioned with reinforcement, do. Rewards. Behave - gets reward Discriminative stimuli – Presence of reinforce needed. Reward will occur if type of behavior is made.(if you do this, you will get reward) (shop at store and get 10% discount) (online 10% cheaper and etc) STARCITY MEMBERS 3hours play and receive free parking. 5hours free rooms EG become a starcity member and get half discount on garden buffet. Casino membership - discount ticket used to elicit desired purchase(people coming to casino or exposed to casino environment more often making them it looks more familiar) Through classical conditioning, the dogs â€Å"learned† to respond to the bell instead of the meat powder by salivating. Today, advertisers use sexual or intimate imagery to create unintentional learning. Shaping – planning making strategy to catch a bigger fish. Desired behavior is altered over time in small increment. Making the small rewards, to achieve other behavior. Punisher – children gets punished, or by making poor decision, consumers get the products delivered wrongly, and they learn, Negative reinforcers - focusing bad outcomes for not using their product Extinction - if reinforcers are not made after the behavior, consumers are not likely to return

Are Video Games Good For Children Children And Young People Essay

Are Video Games Good For Children Children And Young People Essay For that matter, are video games good for adults. Has anyone ever seen the effects of prolonged exposure to video games and the effects it has on someones family or the community? As a father, I have dealt with negative effects of video games first hand. There have been numerous studies and debates on the subject of video games and the effects, whether positive or negative, they have on children. Video games are not good for children because of the negative effects to a childs behavior and overall health. Violent tendencies Children that play violent orientated video games have displayed violent tendencies toward others. There have been numerous studies and research conducted, on violent video games played by children, which suggest that children may become more aggressive after playing (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2010) those types of games and the conclusion behind this reasoning, are three traits of the personality, which are high neuroticism, disagreeableness, and low levels of conscientiousness (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2010). Playing violent orientated video games cause children to act and think aggressively (Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2010). These conditions may cause children to commit violent acts or behavior. Violent Behavior In addition to increased aggression, children who play violent video games are associated with increased violent behavior (Souccar, 2012). Because of this behavior, there have been multiple despicable acts such as the Virginia Tech shootings where a gunman killed over thirty people in 2007(Lee, Finley, 2011). In 1999, another devastating act in Columbine, Colorado, two teenage gunmen entered a school with weapons, killed twelve students and a teacher, before taking their own lives (Belanger, Wagner, 2011). Eric Harris and Dylan Kiebold were frequent players and program contributors to a violent video game called Doom (Lee, Finley, 2011). Children or teens, that do not commit violent acts, may still display pathologic behavior. Pathologic Behavior Children that play video games exhibit pathologic behavior. There are many warning signs of pathologic behavior, such as lying about or hiding how much time is spent playing or disobeying parental limits; losing interest in sports and hobbies; choosing the game over time with friends; and continuing to play despite plummeting grades(Wagner, 2008). This is a very touchy subject in my household. My thirteen year old step-son has exhibited pathologic behavior because of video games. When the neighbors kids come to ask him to play outside, he refuses and has continued playing his games. His grades at school have suffered because he does not concentrate on doing his homework and worries more about playing video games. He has told a few lies, thrown tantrums, kicked walls and our washing machine, and is constantly disrespectful to his siblings, my wife and myself. My step-son has also exhibits signs of video game addiction. Video Game Addictions Children with video game addictions, if left untreated, could have disastrous effects as adults. There are millions of people all over the world who love to play video games, either on game systems or online social media, but that love for the video games turns into tragedy for those with video game addictions. According to Lee and Finley (2011), a couple in Korea went to a local establishment to feed their video game addiction, only to return home over five hours later to find their four month old baby girl dead because she was left alone. Also according to Lee and Finley (2011), parents in Reno, Nevada were arrested after their obsession with video games caused them to neglect to feed their two young children. Increase of Video Game Addictions The increase of video games addictions has prompted the opening of clinics in countries such as the Netherlands, United States, China, and other countries around the world, to help combat the effects of video game addiction (Belanger, Wagner, 2011). Also stated, by Belanger and Wagner (2011), the Council on Science and Public Health recently proposed adding video gaming addiction to a list of formal disorders, such as drug addiction. Video game addictions and its symptoms mirror other addictions so closely, that it was almost classified as an official psychiatric disorder (Lee, Finley, 2011) by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 2007. With all of the negative effects of video games, such as addictions, there are good video games children can play. Good Video Games There are many video games that are good for children. Over the past few years, there have been many advances in good video games and game systems, such as the Wii from Nintendo and the EyeToy Kinetic from Sony, which engage the players with the game (Barros, et al, 2012). I and my family have played games on both systems, The Wii system controller is held by the player which controls the actions of the avatar on the screen. The Kinetic system is similar, but the player controls the movement of the avatar with his/her body movements through the use of a camera. One game that is used to induce physical activity, with both gaming systems, is a game called Dance, Dance, Dance (Barros, et al, 2012). The players are actively involved in the games that they are playing and are increasing their heart rate and physical activity. These Exergames (Barros, et al, 2012) are promoting exercise and physical fitness. Even though there are good video games, there are still other negative effects, su ch as inactivity from playing non-active games, which may induce childhood obesity. Childhood Obesity For children that do not have access to those types of games, cant afford the games, or just dont care to play them, often play the games that they have, for long periods of time, which leads to the lack of physical activity, and the onset of childhood obesity (Childhood Obesity, n.d.). A report, issued by the U.S. Department of Health Human Services, mentions a few reasons children may play video games for long periods of time. It may be the lack of parental control, being left alone by their parents for hours at a time, or just having to stay inside because of safety concerns (Childhood Obesity, n.d.). There is a growing concern, from parents such as myself, that children are becoming lazy from the lack of exercise because of video games. This lack of exercise contributes to weight gain and obesity. I have a personal connection with this subject because a member of my family was constantly playing video games, not getting any physical exercise, became a social outcast, and over a short period of time became obese. Video Games Are Not Good Video games are not good for children because some children exhibit too many pathologic behaviors and display violent tendencies because of video games. Children become addicted to video games which may carry over into their adulthood; they may lose all sense of reality, and their addiction to video games may become so severe, that tragedies happen because of that addiction. For other children, they may become obese because of the lack of physical activity. There are an abundance of good video games for children to play, but as a parent, I have been a witness to most of these negative effects for over 10 years and I am not going to let my step-son or any of my children play video games excessively. I will control how much time is spent playing video games; make sure that they take extended periods away from video games to get their homework completed and to get daily exercise.

Challenges Facing Goodyear Essay -- Business Management Consumerism Ti

Challenges Facing Goodyear Problem Statement There are several challenges facing Goodyear in the current environment. Our sales have leveled off in the past few years and we need to increase our market share in order to improve these numbers. Our debt is high and our interest payments are eating away at our profiles so we need to get more income to pay down this debt. The more immediate question is if Goodyear should launch its new line of Aquatred tires. The trend has been toward higher mileage tires and the Aquatred tire is not in line with this trend, being more of a higher end tire. Additionally, if we do determine that we are going to launch the Aquatred, do we start the advertising during the Olympics when we don’t have all the tire sizes available? We are also determining if remaining with our current distribution channel is the best approach or if we need to expand the way our tires get to market. If we decide that we are going to expand our distribution channels, we then have to determine which tires, we are going to offer in the new channels. Finally, our market share in the replacement market is lacking not sure this is true, and since consumers feel that buying tires is a necessity we have to find a way to make them excited about purchasing our product. Goodyear used to be considered the Gorilla in tire producers, but with increased competition in recent years, that is not longer the case. Issues: Consumer model and expectations Essentially, consumers fall into 4 basic segments. Â § There are Price-constrained buyers who buy the best brand they can afford. They do not show any loyalty toward any brand and tend to shop around for tires so we would have to get our tired in front of them and be the best priced. Â § There are the Value-oriented buyers that shop around a lot to get the best price, but would generally buy major brands only so we would probably be able to capture this buyer because of our brand name, but we would need competitive pricing. Â § There are the Quality buyers who were loyal to the outlet and the brand of tire. These consumers were generally upscale and are going to be our main target audience and the challenge here would be to get the tire to the outlet that the consumer is comfortable buying at and communicating the difference in our tire verses our competitors. Â § Finall... ... and concern was put forth by the company to try to make tires as safe as possible. This is a positive spin on the company as a whole, which should translate to higher sales for our other tire products. In conclusion, we have a unique opportunity to take advantage of a niche market that is as of yet untapped. We have already purchased advertising time at the Olympics for which we are going introduce our new Aquatred tire, as well as promote Goodyear’s continuing quest for safety and quality. We are going to open up new distribution channels for our lower end tires so as to increase market share in these areas, while ensuring that our independent dealers sales are respected and promoted as much as possible. This is a very exciting time for Goodyear and the Aquatred tire. A little long, but I like your plan of action. Most important attributes for consumers when purchasing a new tire: 1. Tread Life 2. Wet Traction 3. Handling 4. Snow traction 5. Dry traction US market for Passenger Tires Replacement OEM Total Industry 152.0 43 195 Goodyear 22.8 16.3 39.1 Goodyear’s percent 15% 38% 20%

Design Build Test Operate :: essays research papers

Design Build Test Operate Table of Contents 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teams and Leader Responsibilities 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Design Components 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introductory Project 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Project Selection Process 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analysis Report 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Preliminary Design Review 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Critical Design Review 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Final Presentation 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conformity Inspection I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction The purpose of the detail design class is to provide a design-build-test-operate experience for the student. The requirements for the project that the students select begin with the requirement that the project have a minimum of three subsystems, chosen as a subset of the subsystems used in the project from preliminary design. In addition, it must have more than one sub-assembly; there must be a subset of the requirements that are test-able (with our campus facilities); it must undergo a vibrations test according to the requirements specified by the chosen launch vehicle; and the structure must be tested to failure. The design component consists of detailed drawings submitted in the context of the configuration management system defined under the Design folder in the Courses drive. More detail of the design component is given in the Design Components section. The students are required to build their design. This enables them to understand the manufacturability of their paper concept. It also gives them the opportunity to see if their predictions on the performance of their system are good. The build process provides an opportunity for the students to see clearly what the integration issues are in bringing the various subsystems together. The test component requires the students to write detailed test plans and to perform them with their design prototype. The project should have various subsystem tests as well as tests at the various phases of integration and finally, a fully integrated functionality test, which shows how the system as a whole operates. The entire design must be supported by analysis based on work done in previous courses as well as on any new material they must learn for their specific design. The analysis section describes in more detail the types of specific analyses required. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teams and Leader Responsibilities The teams utilize the entire class and are divided into subsystem teams and an integration team. The integration team is composed of the team leaders from each subsystem team and the project lead is the team leader for this team. Each team must also have a person responsible for all the CAD drawings. The responsibilities of the integration team, project lead, team leads and the CAD person are defined below. Integration Team: This team is responsible for the system coming together. They must make sure that all integration issues are addressed early and are passed on to the appropriate team for resolution.

How War was Portrayed in Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

How War was Portrayed in Beowulf The anonymous author of Beowulf can easily be construed as either arguing for or against war in its basic form. However, on a deeper level, the author is giving a profound and perhaps comforting view of war during this time period. The author we know has a great respect for wyrd or fate. We know that the outcome of any engagement of war is already pre-ordained by the Almighty so how could one argue for or against war when the general consensus was that there was really nothing to be done about it? The author is trying to say that war is a fact of life and no more in the command of man than the weather storms or rising and falling of the tides. In â€Å"The Wanderer† the author says of the warrior that â€Å"fully fixed is his fate†(Norton 100). There can be no meandering on the path of one’s fate, no matter his mindset or resolve. Beowulf also echoes this sentiment in the line â€Å"Hrothgar was given success in warfare, glory in battle†(Donaldson 4). Glory in battle is not something that is won or achieved. The virtues of success in battle and glory are not given out by lords, save but One. Only the Almighty may bestow the honor and glories of battle. Another passage in Beowulf further reveals this idea. â€Å"Then may Almighty God assign glory on whichever hand seems good to him.† This reinforces the idea that fate controls all things but further asserts that the strength of both combatants has no real relevance to the outcome of battle which is decided by the Almighty. This is not to say that any man on any day who is favor of God may achieve glory and renown by haplessly throwing himself into battle. We are shown in Beowulf that the only part of the battle left up to man is his courage and bravery. These virtues, which were held in such high esteem, can bring a man to the brink of victory and glory. His steadfastness seems a prerequisite to God’s favor. God does not reward cowardice as we see in the case of Unferth and the thanes of Beowulf save for Wiglaf in his final battle with the dragon. God rewards those who stand tall in the face of evil. Here is a passage to illustrate this point found in Beowulf.

Female Circumcision Reader Response

Conn 1 Jennifer Conn Professor Michael Hickman GWRTC 103 –Sect. 61 15 April 2013 Reader Response #3 Though Meyerhardt states that the opening account on female circumcision seemed â€Å"Amusing†, I personally found it far more disturbing. I was very shocked and disgusted while reading this piece, as I am sure my classmates were as well. The â€Å"small opening left for urination and menstruation . . . held open by a single piece of straw which is left there during the healing process† (1) forced me to feel that is an unbelievably unnatural, dehumanizing practice. I was extremely curious about what cultural beliefs supported this practice.When coming to the supposed health reasons and seeing how flawed and inaccurate they all were, I was unable to keep an open mind or continue trying to understand this practice. The idea of â€Å"looking at each other’s genitals to see who had the smallest opening† (2) struck me in a large way. This procedure that is done for society, for a future husband, and for acceptance, seems to take away from the woman. It is as if her body does not truly belong to her. I thought it was interesting and important for the author to include the effect of cultural relativism on the reader.I know that my lack of experience and understanding of the topic, as well as the way of life influences my opinion towards the procedure. Throughout the piece, I was unable change my perception of female circumcision as horrid. Though she seemed to go back and forth in the second half of the essay, the author seemed to have bias as well. I could see the vague connection to culture dominating a woman’s view and treatment of her body. In this way, the procedure seems similar to eating disorders in America. In fact, eating disorders come across as far more deadly.However, I feel that the connection was weak and overdramatized especially when the author stated, â€Å"in America, being fat and ugly, for some, is a fate w orse than death†(3). If this was true, and our culture was as consistent with our beliefs, then we would not have obesity rates as high as they are today. The statement that plastic surgery in America by trained professionals causes â€Å"as much pain† as â€Å"midwives [using] whatever is lying around: a razor, a knife, a broken bottle† (3) is absurd. Safe, comfortable, controlled cosmetic surgery is not widespread, made by someone’s own will, and often looked down upon.The fact that eating disorders are not accepted in our society destroys this analogy to female circumcision. Another poor analogy attempted by Meyerhardt can be found in the beginning of the piece. The author connects children no longer making funny faces due to slight unjustified fear to the cutting off of female genitalia. Though the â€Å"thought of looking odd and malformed scared us enough to stop† in both circumstances, the examples are extremely different. Funny faces are not natural, and little is required to stop making them. Possessing female genitalia is natural however, and the removal of it is dangerous.This analogy downplays the extremity of female circumcision, and does not work. This piece was interesting, and informative on a topic I had known nothing about. For many reasons, it was my impulse to reject the idea of female circumcision and find it horrifying. There seemed to be no truly justified reasoning for why it is still happening, aside from traditional. Though the author attempted to describe opposing views, I found them very weak and confusing. I was unable to connect this procedure with concepts in American life, or accept the vague, unrealistic, positive ending that the author provided.

Educational Psychology Essay

Explain the Vygotskian notion of the zone of proximal development. Evaluate the efficacy of approaches to teaching and learning [eg. reciprocal teaching, cognitive apprenticeships, and communities of learners] which incorporate this notion. Many theorists throughout the century have developed concepts that have analysed and explained how a child learns during their schooling years. Educational theorist Lev Vygotsky produced the social development theory of learning. He believed social interaction is the primary cause of cognitive development. He named this the zone of proximal development. There are many approaches to learning in the zone of proximal development such as scaffolding, reciprocal teaching, cognitive apprenticeships and communities of learning, each with their own unique way of transporting the learner into an easier more motivated state of learning. Compared to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development where the child is seen to go through four stages of development; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations, Vygotsky believed that the cognitive developmental process should be analysed through social contexts. He believed that this was a lifelong process that was influenced by social interaction with family, teachers, and friends in the cultural community surrounding the student. He emphasised the instruments that specific cultures provide to maintain thinking, and the idea that children use the instruments they’re given to build their own comprehension of the physical and natural world. He named this the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky defines this as â€Å"the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers† (Vygotsky, 1978, cited from McInerney and McInerney, 2006,part 1,ch 2,p58). During this time cognitive development takes place. Throughout this development the child is said to go through four stages of growth (Gallimore and Tharp, 1990): 1. Assistance: in their routine from other more capable peers, parents, and teachers. 2. Growing independence: from their more capable peers as they begin to build their own ideas by using self directed speech and assume responsibility for their learning. 3. Automation of response: they develop, make the movement of idea automatic and internalise their thinking. Assistance from others is not needed. 4. De-automatisation and recursion: constant practice of routine is necessary so as not to lose the knowledge and re-enter the zone of proximal development. Sometimes there is always a movement between in and out of the zone of proximal development. Vygotskian principles are evident in everyday teaching practices and are maintained by parents, peers and teachers who believe that using a social constructivist perspective for education will give their child or students the opportunity to grow within themselves through the help of others from different levels of knowledge. Vygotsky believed that the role of the teacher using the zone of proximal development for learning is to find an appropriate stage of complexity for the learner to handle. This is called assisted learning. Teachers provide â€Å"strategic help in the initial stages of learning, gradually diminishing as students gain independence† (Woolfolk, 2001, p49). The teacher must simplify tasks so that they are manageable for the student to deal with. This guidance or help is called scaffolding. It is the support for learning and problem solving. The support could be clues, reminders, encouragement, breaking down the problem into steps, providing and example, or anything else that allows the student to grow as an independent learner. They provide students with the opportunities to further extend their current skills and knowledge. For example, think about a mathematics problem. Assume that the learner has made good progress and the time has come to learn how to do a Pythagoras theorem question. We know that the leaner cannot complete the task independently but has enough knowledge to master the problem with the help from a mathematics teacher. The learner is in the zone of proximal development and will be able to benefit from the scaffolding, in the form of explaining, demonstrating and guiding by the teacher. While doing this, teachers look for discrepancies between student’s effort and the solution they come up with. They are looking to control the frustration and risk that the student encounters. Also they model an idealised version of the act of learning so the learner can use it to help them solve their educational problems (Hausfather, 1996). The key to getting students to help themselves learn independently is not to make the students reinvent information or rediscover it themselves. The teacher must make the information available for the learner to examine and work out their own ideas and solutions whilst allowing them to be open to advice from people who are more informed on the subject. So although scaffolding is an extremely helpful tool for teachers to use in their teaching and their student’s learning, they must make sure that the child is educated in the right approach so as not to deter the child from making advances on their own educational capabilities. Cognitive apprenticeships have proved very useful over the centuries as an effective form of education. The bond that is formed between master and apprentice is both personal and motivating. By working alongside more experienced people, young people are able to learn the tricks of the trade first hand. There is a creation of dialogue between student and teachers that goes beyond answering questions and engages in the discourse more informally (Driscoll, 1994). Communication is important between master and apprentice and the teacher must learn to properly use proxemics, paralanguage, and kinesics right for the outcomes to be reached. The performances required of the learner are real and important and grow more complex as the learner becomes more competent (Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991). Some academics believe that knowledge and skills learned in school have become separated from the everyday world. To compensate for this, many schools have adopted many of the features of apprenticeships. Apprenticeships in schools would focus on cognitive objectives such as reading, writing, problem solving and mathematical problems. There are six main features of cognitive apprenticeships: 1. Students observe an expert model the performance 2. Students get external support through coaching or tutoring 3. Students receive conceptual scaffolding, which is then gradually faded as the student becomes more competent and proficient 4. Students continually articulate their knowledge – putting into words their understanding of the processes and content being learned. 5. Students reflect on their progress, comparing their problem solving to an expert’s performance and to their own earlier performances 6. Students are required to explore new ways to apply what they are learning – ways that they have not practiced at the master’s side. (Woolfolk, 2001) In the classroom there is normally one teacher to 30 or so students, so where is there time for cognitive apprenticeships? Often there are students on the class that are at a much higher level of capabilities than other less capable students. Teachers put these students into groups where they can learn at a comfortable rate whilst have been immersed in a master and apprentice style learning environment. An example of a cognitive apprenticeship is the notion of reciprocal teaching. This is a method based on modelling, to teach reading comprehension strategies. The goal of reciprocal teaching is to help students understand and think deeply about what they read (Palincsar, 1986). Palincsar’s research has focused attention on strategies that improve reading comprehension. In Brown and Palincsar’s 1989 case study students and teachers took it in turns to lead small group discussions on an important issue. They were shown 4 reading strategies and the students began to teach themselves. This type of educational style showed significant gains over other instructional strategies as they did not allow students to gradually teach themselves. Research on reciprocal teaching has shown some remarkable results. Most research was carried out with students who were younger adolescents who can read fairly accurately so therefore the research doe not have results and data from students who are in a different age group and who are not very capable in reading comprehension skills. So the overall research is not very reliable, however of the students that was involved their reading abilities improved. Those who were in the lower bottom half of their class moved up to average or above average level on tests of reading comprehension. Palincsar has recognized there are three guiding principles for effective reciprocal teaching (Palincsar & Brown, 1984). 1. The shift from teacher control to student responsibility must be gradual. 2. The difficulty of the task and the responsibility must match the abilities of each student and grow as these abilities develop. 3. Teachers should carefully observe the â€Å"teaching† of each student for clues about how the student is thinking and what kinds of instruction the student needs. By considering reciprocal teaching, instructional approaches are used to emphasise social interaction between student’s active constructions of meaning. In a community of learners, students and teachers together construct a culture that values the strengths of all participants and respects their interests, abilities, languages, and dialects. Students and teachers shift among the roles of expert, researcher, learner, and teacher, supporting themselves and each other. There are different ways to help create a community of learners. Collaboration is a technique that teachers and student can use to enrich their solutions to harder and complex problems. Students may work with small groups in the classroom, between small groups creating difference of opinions and with others on a larger scale. One of the advantages of having students work in groups solving problems is that they will be called on to explain their proposed solutions to one another (Woolfolk, 2001). Putting solutions into words usually improves problem solving. Collaboration provides shared responsibility, enhanced communication, new questions, new answers, engaged learners and enthused teachers. Research suggests that computer technology is a cultural tool that mediates and internalises the students learning. Changing their learning contexts with different technology is a powerful learning activity (Crawford, 1996). With children learning more about computers at an earlier age they are able to interact with others that are not on the same level of ability as them, thus creating a technological community of learners. Teaching students in the modern era can guarantee a more exciting and unpredictable learning experience sort out by many in society. Vygotsky perspectives uphold many beliefs about how students learn. The zone of proximal development was and still is challenging modern thinking about effective teaching and learning in philosophical ways. By examining Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development teachers are able to recognise that students of similar ages will be experiencing similar concerns and interests but there will be differences for each individual. Each student is different. Different from adults, different from each other and as such teachers have to provide for these individual differences in each area of learning. The learning process is very active. Vygotsky emphasises the need for experience and social interaction and that they play a key role in development. The development of a student is an important factor in deciding on the subject matter to be taught, the resources and knowledge experiences to present, the teaching strategies to be used and the procedures for evaluating learning. In order to appreciate, transmit, correspond and cooperate with students, teachers and peers must know how they think feel and act at different ages. They must learn to use the zone of proximal development to help their students determine their own opinions and ideas on life itself in the classroom and in the home community. From assisted learning and the scaffolding style of teaching, to cognitive apprenticeships and a full community of learners, students are able to mature their knowledge levels through the zone of cognitive development so as to become a stronger and more inquisitive student during their educational years of schooling.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Internet Essay

People nowadays seem to spend a lot of their time on smart phones, laptops and ipads. The reasons behind them spending so much time are because of the internet. Internet has made people to connect with the world. One cannot imagine a life with internet. It has become so popular in people lives. Internet has made communication and access to information easy. Though internet has made people lives simple and convenient its has also wreaked havoc in their lives. The writer will show the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet. Oxford dictionary( ) has defined internet as ‘a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols’. Therefore one can say internet is a network that promotes people to research and communicate easily in the global village. According to Webster’s dictionary he defines information as data that is stored and can be retrieved either from library or internet. The storage of information by internet has made easily accessible. Read more:Â  Essay on Role of Internet in Education Communication is defined by Gordon (2013:np) as ‘a process of sharing information thoughts and feelings between people’. Therefore for communication to take place the is need for a reliable medium. Internet has played a vital role in making communication an easy process for people. The introduction of computers, smart phones even ipads has help in improving the communication industry. One of many advantages of using internet is that it has promoted access to information. Internet has promoted access to information. It has become a source of information. Whatever question one has internet has made it easy for people to search for answers. Lecturers now encourage their students to research on internet. With internet one can research at the comfort of their homes. According to Steve and Charette () ‘internet opens up potential research modalities’. Therefore internet has made it easy for people to do their research their projects or subjects. Internet has provided search engineers like Google and yahoo. Numerous of web sites offer loads of information for people to research on. Though internet has made it easier for people to research, some resources in the internet have proved not to be reliable compared to the research done on the library. Resources in the library have been thoroughly evaluated by experts before they were published were as the internet on the other side anyone puts anything they want on the website and there is no review or screening process. Another advantage of using the internet is that one can conduct personal and business transactions from home. It has introduced what is called online banking were one does not need to physically go to the bank they can do any transaction in their finger tips. Internet has also helped people not to carry money around but to pay using their electronic cards e.g. bank cards, credit cards. Shopping online has also made people lives simpler by just typing what item you want to buy and the price; the transaction will be processed without physically going to the shop. People can even purchase tickets of bus or movies, hotel reservations and many more from home. Though the introduction of these electronic cards has made people’s lives simple it has also brought havoc in their lives. There has been reported cases were one identity has been stolen through hacking of accounts. People will access your name, address, and credit numbers for their personal use. They can steal money from your accounts or con you out of your money from the internet and they don’t usually get caught if they are pros in hacking. Internet has played a vital role in improving communication around people. It has played a greatest domain in the communication industry. It has excelled beyond expectations. Internet has made people who are miles away from each other to communicate easily. Today there is no need for one to write a letter and post it to be processed and transported to a different city now one can type and just click send to the receiver. We took to friends and strangers physically who are a distance away from us through chat rooms therefore by establishing global friendship were you share thoughts and ideas. People are now able to stay involved in their families’ lives. Internet has made the world a smaller place by communication and attained the form of a global village. Internet has made communication easy but it has also made people to drift apart. There are less face to face interactions. People have disconnected socially they prefer to chat online than physically. My homes have been broken through social network sites. People have become so addicted to internet to the extent that they hardly get enough time to spend with their families. They prefer on line friends than chatting physically. Social networking has become so popular that it has replaced the physical networking. Internet is also a source of entertainment. People are now able to download games or visit chat rooms for entertainment. People now spend most of their times downloading games and movies. Also chat rooms have become so interesting to people because that’s where they meet new and interesting people even life partners. Other disadvantages of using internet are that computers that have internet are prone to virus. Virus is a program that disturbs the normal functioning of a computer. Access to pornography by minor is also another disadvantage of the use of internet. There a lot of pornographic sites that can be easily accessed if minors are exposed to internet. In conclusion one can say that internet has made people’s lives simple in terms of research, banking as well as communication on the other hand it has brought havoc and disorder in their lives. References 1. The Oxford English Dictionary.1884 2. Webster, M. Unabridged dictionary. Online. 3. University of Florida. 2006: using active listening as a communication tool. [Online] accessed at www.contempinctuct.com on Thursday 5 September 2013. 4. Steven,M.H and Charlette.A. conducting a research in internet,potential,cor=ncerns and reflections. 5. Steven ,D.K.2007. Understanding and using the library and the internet for research. [online] Accessed at http/www.stevenkrause.com/tprw on Thursday 5 September 2013.

Critical Analysis of Dillard’s “An American Childhood” Essay

Throughout â€Å"An American Childhood†, Dillard shares with us her childhood experiences with her dear mother. Dillard’s admiration for her mother is clearly visible through the way she explains in depth all of the memorable situations and events. Dillard explains how intelligent her mother was and how she always played mind games with her and her sister. The characteristic Dillard displays of her mother can tell the audience that Mother is as unique and spontaneous as can be. After hearing one phrase over the television â€Å"Terwilliger bunts one†, Mother would be using it for over 7 years in odd ways such as saying it to testing a microphone or writing it to test a pen if it had ink. If anyone spoke in French around her she would reply to them with â€Å"Terwilliger bunts one†, just because she liked the way it sounded. During a trip to Florida, she would repeat words that interested her like â€Å"portulaca† or â€Å"Tampiami Trial†. Words always excited her, she would pronounce words carefully and spell them out aloud. She would ask Dillard as a child to spell hard words like â€Å"poinsettia† or â€Å"sherbet†, just to prove to them that they do not know it all yet. She once told Dillard that there was a deer in their hall. Dillard replied, â€Å"Really?†. â€Å"No,† replied Mother,† I just wanted to tell you something once without you saying ‘I know'†. Many of times Dillard was in line at the checkout stand with her mother at supermarkets, the cashier would ask â€Å"Save Stamps?† and mother would reply â€Å"No. I build model airplanes†. The quickness of diction and dry sense of humor makes Mother that much more unique and different from other mothers. When Dillard’s younger sister, Molly, started to crawl, Mother bought her gowns with drawstrings. Mother would walk up behind Molly and step on the drawstrings to get a laugh out of it. Molly would crawl, crawl, and crawl while gaining no distance. Mother exercised her career with anarchism by always dragging Dillard into her gags and pranks. If Mother were to get a call from a wrong number she would hand the phone to Dillard and expect her to act as the intended person who was called. One day at a the Highland Park Zoo, Mother walked up to a couple that were holding hands, sitting on a bench. She interrupted their private time by speaking to the male and acting as an ex-girlfriend who had a baby with the guy. Mother would point to Dillard and say she was their child. Mother then walked away with Dillard in hand waiting for the reaction of the female and answer from the male. Pulling pranks on random people like that which could have such a nasty effect somehow did not bother her. If Mother was ever bored in a situation, she would do something spontaneous to brighten it up. Dillard’s mother dearly loved to fluster people as well. If a board game, like checkers, was becoming dull or she was losing she would throw out game rules to mix it up. While her opponent was not looking she would switch up the pieces or hide them under the rug. During the card game â€Å"Rummy† she would play out of turn or call out a card she did not hold, simply to cause an uproar and watch the reaction. â€Å"She was an unstoppable force†. When Mother moved to a new house, she came marching to the Post Office’s door demanding that she keep her same address because she already had stationary printed with the old address. Dillard’s mother was also a designer for inventions and a remodeler of earlier inventions. The corkscrew irked her the most and she claimed that the inventor of it never used it to see if it worked. Mother designed an invention called the â€Å"Lendalarm† which was a beeper that was attached to a borrowed item. It would beep after ten days and could only be turned off by the owner. Dillard’s mother was encouraged by opposition and would take any one on with passion whether it was a doctor, the mayor, or the President of the United States, she would â€Å"fly at them with a flurry of passion, as a songbird selflessly attacks a hawk†. Dillard’s mother was an incredible and extraordinary person, that expressed her sense of humor and displayed her intelligence every day.

Leader-Management-Exchange (LMX) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Leader-Management-Exchange (LMX) - Coursework Example   However, since these leaders do not have much time and power on their hands, they seek to narrow down their radar to focus their attention on those members who seem to capitalize on the leadership outcome that is the extent of the relationship. The theories prior to the leader-member-exchange theory either focused too much on the leader or on the members. The LMX, on the other hand, has a different approach, whereby it considers the relationship between the leaders and the members as an important element that contributes to leader effectiveness. Also unlike other theories that considered the entire group of members as a whole, the LMX judges each individual separately. According to the dealings and agreements between the members and the leaders, the theory identifies two different types of relationships. The two distinct relationships that are found after application of the LMX include the in-group and the out-group. There is a set of people within the members' group that tend to go further than and achieve more than what their expected roles would limit them to, this set of people also take up a more productive and comprehensive approach to the tasks they need to complete. This set of people makes up the in-group that is shown as the high quality of the LMX with positive results. Characteristics of the in-group consist of negotiations by the members to develop and increase their role ahead of their job prescriptions, mutual trust, respect and concern between the leaders and the members.... The out-group is formed by the set of members who work hard enough, only to complete the contractual requirements of their job prescriptions, nothing more. There is a low degree of enthusiasm compared to the in-group and they do not receive any form of special attention from the leaders, nor any additional perks or promotions. Even though the leader tries to better the degree of interaction, the out-group member does not show much interest and remains self-concerned. Therefore, the out-group is a low quality LMX and provides average level outcomes. It is argued that the existence of these two unique groups is somewhat discriminating and de-motivating, however they will continue to exist and the leader must constantly make an effort to expand the in-group of the organization. The quality of outcomes that the LMX is able to provide is under effect of several factors that may enhance it if controlled properly, however, if these factors are left casually undecided, they may very well res ult in average or possible less than average LMX outcome. Communication plays an important element in deciding the quality of the LMX. Individual interaction and communication with the leaders and the coworkers allows for a sense of belonging for the subordinates to build, making them feel like a significant part of the organization that matters. This results in a high quality LMX. When the leader of a group has authority that reaches higher on the ladder of an organization enabling him/her to have a good say in managerial decisions, task assignment and performance review, the members tend to be more motivated and confident, eventually leading to a good LMX. Sometimes

WTO (world trade organization) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WTO (world trade organization) - Research Paper Example Hence, the origin dates back almost a century ago. The mother of WTO was General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (Ministry of Commerce and Industries 1). GATT offered some basic trade rules for member countries. However, with time it grew to an influential economic powerhouse. The aim of GATT was to have efficient trade rules to have a stable and predictable world trade. As a result, under GATT there was a reduction of tariffs and formidable trade rules. The initial members were twenty-three countries that were known as Contracting Parties (Ministry of Commerce and Industries 1). The members met in every six moths to negotiate on various issues of trade affecting member countries. Moreover, larger negotiating sessions â€Å"rounds† were held to deal with emerging issues (Ministry of Commerce and Industries 1). The body grew over the years. In the growth, there were more issues as well as greater responsibility. Moreover, reductions of tariffs in this period forced countries to divert their attention to addressing non-tariff trade barriers that were affecting the world trade. After this period, there were several rounds held. The most significant of the rounds was the Uruguay round. The round led to the birth of an organization that covered expanded issue of trade (Ministry of Commerce and Industries 1). In this round, over 120 countries took place (Ministry of Commerce and Industries 1). It was claimed to be the most significant trade negotiations to have happened. The result of the negotiations was formally approved in Marrakesh, morocco on 15 April 1994 (Ministry of Commerce and Industries 1). The approval led to the birth of WTO. There are various functions of WTO. The significant function is to negotiate for the reduction of barriers to trade and agree on principles of operation of the international trade (World Trade Organization (WTO) 1). Secondly, the organization plays a key role in reviewing of policies relating to trade. It