Thursday, October 31, 2019
American improvement in the conduct of military operations in Europe Essay
American improvement in the conduct of military operations in Europe - Essay Example After the Second World War, the United States emerged as a global superpower in terms of its military power and the Cold War era saw the development of the nation as a super power. Towards the end of the twentieth century, it is because of these improvements in the conduct of military operations in Europe that helped the nation to dictate terms over international relations and global terrorist upheavals. Murray & Millett (2001), in this respect, observe that the ââ¬Å"American commanders had shown considerable improvement in the conduct of military operations in 1945â⬠(Murray & Millett 483). The authors observe that the American drive to the Rhine and the encirclement of the Ruhr by First and Ninth U.S. Armies were the greatest American victory in the war. For them, the U.S. commanders in the campaign were successful as they had ââ¬Ëa superior understanding of exploitation and maneuver warfareââ¬â¢. The U.S military also realized the significance of more robust radio communications that would assist infantry platoon. Similarly, the U.S military developed an innovative ââ¬Å"ability of the artillery to adjust and mass fires on unseen targets, either by map analysis or, more importantly, by the use of ground or airborne observersâ⬠(Murray & Millett 30)
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
The Century Quilt Essay Example for Free
The Century Quilt Essay Marilyn Waniekââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"The Century Quiltâ⬠employs symbolism to relay a young girlââ¬â¢s emotional attachment of a grandmothersââ¬â¢ blanket to that of her own quilt. Waniekââ¬â¢s depiction of the quilt not only serves as a reminder of how passionate the young girl felt about her grandmotherââ¬â¢s blanket, but also how she envisioned her quilt to share similar properties that embodied her grandmotherââ¬â¢s blanket. In lieu of the literal concept of using the quilt to keep her warm, the speaker suggests that he quilt will tie-in with her grandmotherââ¬â¢s blanket in that the memories of her childhood would be preserved. This relationship allows the reader to interpret the symbolic importance of the quilt to that of the girlââ¬â¢s personal desires. It can also be inferred that the quilt also served as a reference to the speakerââ¬â¢s heritage. When describing her quilt, the speaker describes a pattern of squares with the colors of white, brown, and ââ¬Å"the yellowbrown of Mamaââ¬â¢s cheeksâ⬠(Line 17). These repeating patterns of squares most likely pay homage to the speakerââ¬â¢s mixed heritage, with her family being of both Native American and Caucasian descent. The speakerââ¬â¢s heritage is supported by her visions of her grandmotherââ¬â¢s childhood back in Kentucky ââ¬Å"among her yellow sisters; their grandfatherââ¬â¢s white familyâ⬠(Lines 25-26). While one could argue that the speaker is simply reciting the life of her grandmother, it can also be said that the speaker is optimistic about her own future, and that she herself would relive her memories whilst under the quilt, such as meeting her unconceived son. The speakerââ¬â¢s desire to share the same emotional response to her quilt as her grandmother to her blanket signifies the priority Waniek placed symbolism.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Impact of Increased Temperature on Delosperma Cooperi Pollen
Impact of Increased Temperature on Delosperma Cooperi Pollen Eunice Oh The Impact of Increased Temperature due to Global Warming on Pollen Germination ofà Delospermaà Cooperi Introduction: There is an ongoing crisis that is beginning to influence ecosystems throughout the world,à which may lead to largeà scaleà natural disasters due to the rise in temperature from global warming. According to NASAââ¬â¢s Goddard Institute for Space studies,à 0.8à °Cà have increased around the world since 1880. In addition, the rise in temperature is pervasive andà isà increasing at a faster rate in the last two decades (SITE1). This warming phenomenon can disturb ecosystemsà andà lead to extinction in extreme cases.à Such ecosystems are dependent on plant growth and proliferation to sustain itself.à Therefore, an experiment toà observeà theà effects ofà a significantà rise in temperature on pollen germination was conducted to predict the adaptability ofà Delopspermaà cooperi,à aà common species ofà iceplantà grown around the world, toà this phenomenonà . Tà Delosperma cooperià (trailing iceplant) was compared toà Tulbaghia violaceaà (society garlic)à to obtain a broader view of how different plants from the same environment would react to a distinct change in temperature.à An increase of 10à °C was chosen as the variable to performà analysis with the Q10à temperature coefficient.à Pollen is a fine powder that contains microgametophytes of seed plants and produces male gametes. When pollination occurs, the pollen grainà germinates and a tube is producedà as a conduit to transport the male gametes from the stigma to the pistilsà of the ovule in flowering plantsà (SITE2).à In nature, germination occursà when the stigma is hydrated fromà waterà sources (e.g. rain)à . can also be inducedà in vitroà usingà aà germination media andà theà hanging drop method (SITE 3).à Three replicates were observed the wereà analyzedà withà statisticsà toà measure the significance of the variable à (via a T-test, and Dixon Q). à The plantââ¬â¢s temperature dependence was quantified with the Q10à temperature coefficient. It was predictedà that the increase in temperature would result inà a significant improvement ofà pollen germination rateà and longer pollen tubes than the controlà due toà Delospermaà cooperiââ¬â¢sà adaptive traits (quote). Materials and Methods: Germination ofà Delospermaà cooperià was induced in basic germination media, composed ofà 1mM KCl, 0.1mM CaCl2, 1.6mM H3BO3, 10% glucose,and distilled water. Standard labà equipments wereà used: lightà microscope,à gardenà gaskets, depression slides, slides warmer, petri dish,à and micropipettes. The light microscope was used under the 10x objective to track the germination process and measure the elongation of pollen tubes. Toà accommodateà forà a large sample volume (50à µLà transferred using micropipettes), garden gaskets were employed to extend the capacity of the depression slides.à Aà slides warmerà was used to maintain the high temperature environment (37à °Cà )à andà wetà petrià dishes wereà utilized as germination chambers. The hanging drop method consistsà of several steps. à A gasket was placed on top of the slide in order to create an area for the hanging drop to be intact with the cover slideà and held together with grease. The slides were placed in the humidityà chamber toà allow germination andà prevent drying. Two sets of the hanging drops were prepared, one for the higher temperature (37à °C),à and another for theà positiveà controlà (27à °Cà ). The negative control was prepared by observing the pollen without any germination media. Statistical analysis methodology: Theà germinationà elongation rates were recordedà by sampling fiveà pollenà tubes from each slide in 30 minutesà intervals, up to 150 minutes.à This data was analyzedà using biostatistics.à Aà Dixonà Q test was performed to identify and remove outliers.à Theà Dixon Q testà was calculated using the equation, Q= (gap)/(range). The gap refers to the absolute difference between the outlier and the closest number to the outlierà and the range is simply between the smallest and largest valuesà (CITE). After the elimination of outliers from the Dixon Q test, a student T-Testà (with a 95% confidence interval)à was performed to determine whether the variables were statistically significant in the difference of their elongation ratesà using P valuesà (SITE).à Finally, aà Q10à value was determined from the mean ofà elongationà rates.à It was calculated by using the following equation: Q10à = (R2/R1)10/(T2-T1).à Q10à is a unit-less measur ement thatà quantifyà the change of a biological systemà due to temperature change. Results: The purpose of the experiment was toà measure theà elongation rates after every 30 minute interval, 32 points of data were obtained and analyzed.à Overall, the elongation rateà ofà Delosperma cooperifor the highà temperature variable was as much as threeà times fasterà compared to the controlà temperatureà (0.686à à µm/min vs.à 0.278à µm/min)à in trial three. The percent germination wasà alsoà noticeably better for theà high temperature variableà versus the control, whereà it wasà approximately 60% compared to 20%à after 120à minutes from initiation. From the list of data, theà Dixon Q-test result indicated the data point 0.780à µm/min of the higher temperature control as an outlierà with a 95% confidence level. The mean elongation rate for the room temperature was 0.314à µm/min and 0.454à µÃ m/min for the higher temperature control. The student T-Testà yieldedà a P value of 0.0447, which indicatesà that the result is statistically significant at a 95% confidence interval.à Theà Q10à temperature coefficientà forà Delosperma cooperià was calculated to beà 3.59, categorized as a temperature dependent biological system. Figure 1.à The graph shows the averageà elongationà rates ofà Delospermaà cooperià at two differentà temperatures. The tubule elongation rate wasà 0.314à µm/minà for the control andà 0.454à µm/minà for the variable. Error bars denote one standard deviationà (0.152à µm/minà andà 0.177à µm/min, respectively)à above and below the mean. Figureà 2. The graph shows the average elongation rates ofà Tulbaghiaà Violaceaà at two differentà temperatures. The tubule elongation rate wasà 17.4à µm/min for the control andà 3.00à µm/min for the variable. Error bars denote one standard deviation (1.95à µm/minà andà 0.279à µm/min, respectively)à above and below the mean. Discussion: The results appear to support the hypothesis, whereà Delospermaà cooperià was positively affected by the increasedà temperatureà by approximatelyà a 0.140à µm/minà and 40% germinationà improvement.à The result shows that the higher temperature yielded in an improvement in both percentage germination and pollen tube length growthà at a significant level (P10à value is higher than 2. Q10à is a unit-less measurement that establish a temperature coefficientà that correlates a systemââ¬â¢s change to temperature differenceà (of 10à °C)à (SITE 4) In addition,à theà higher percentage germination was observed from the higher temperature controlà correspond to an articleà in whichà Delosperma cooperià is more adapted to a higher temperature environmentà due toà increased metabolic rate under temperature stressà (SITE 5). The results ofà Delopsermaà cooperià were compared withà Tulbaghiaà violaceaà and suggest that the increased temperature had the opposite effect onà Tulbaghiaà violacea, whereà pollen germination percentage and pollen tube growth were more effective in the room temperature control.à Tulbaghia violaceaà is known to be better suited in the colder environmentà while highà temperaturesà restrict their germination (SITE 6). However, the data was determined to be not significantly significant.à (P>0.6).à A possible future experiment includes testing a greater variety of indigenousà flower pollensà under more temperature variances. The experiment provided a glimpse into how certain plants would respond toà the consequences ofà globalà warmingà and more studies are needed for a more comprehensive overview.à References Leistner, O. A. (ed.). 2000.à Seed plants of southern Africa: families and genera. Strelitzia10. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria. Mozaffar Ebrahim Edmund John Pool (2010). The effect ofà Tulbaghiaviolaceaà extracts on testosterone secretion by testicular cell cultures.à Journal ofà Ethnopharmacologyà 132(1): 359ââ¬â361 Reyes, A.B.,à Pendergast, J.S., andà Yamazaki, S. 2008. Mammalian peripheral circadian oscillators are temperature compensated. J.Biol. Rhythms 23: 95-98. ââ¬Å"Global Warming Facts.â⬠2007. National Geographic.à http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html Raven, Peter H.; Ray F. Evert, Susan E. Eichhorn (2005).Biology of Plants, 7th Edition. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company Publishers. pp.504ââ¬â508. Pfahler PL (1981).In vitro germination characteristics of maize pollen to detect biological activity of environmental pollutants. Health Perspect.37: 125ââ¬â32. Reyes, A.B.,Pendergast, J.S., and Yamazaki, S. 2008. Mammalian peripheral circadian oscillators are temperature compensated. J.Biol. Rhythms 23: 95-98. Rinnanà R, Steinke M,à McGenityà T, Loreto F. Plant volatiles in extreme terrestrial and marine environments.Plant Cell Environ. 2014 Mar 7. http://autocite.durkmed.com/
Friday, October 25, 2019
Catholic Theology Essay Highlights -- essays research papers
*Sense experiences/depth experiences: not limited by the empirical data-the really ââ¬Å"realâ⬠is not necessarily able to be seen. *Religious Experience (depth experience): Not just a sense experience, an experience that causes people to change, always touches on the ââ¬Å"otherâ⬠(the transcendent)-that which goes beyond our understanding (anything that we can come up with) (ie..who can really explain the sunset?). *Orthopraxis (Right-practice): The process of doing the right things. *Orthodoxy: Believing the right thing. *Sacramental Approach: Sacraments use the world around us as a way/event in which we encounter God: The way we do that is being involved with life/experiences in this world-that we are able to reach God in the afterlife (ex: eating is a way of being joined w/ God). *The things of this world matter-it becomes the way we reach God on the road to reaching eternal happiness (meeting God). *Foundation Theology/Fundamental Theology: Explains what theology is all about. *Theology: ââ¬Å"Faith seeking understandingâ⬠ââ¬â we need faith 1st before understanding can be reached. *Determining the ââ¬Å"cannonâ⬠(cannon of scripture): list of writings that adequately express the faith of the community. *Apacal Writings: didnââ¬â¢t make it onto the list (cannon) because they didnââ¬â¢t adequately express what the community expressed as far as their understanding of faith. C.Rahner: Sees theology as the science/study of faith (it has excepted way of doing things). à à à à à *Theology has a special subject matter: the act & content of faith à à à à à *Act: what it means to be a believer/a person of faith à à à à à *Also sees faith as the goal of theology à à à à à *We have to have faith 1st (itââ¬â¢s a gift given to us by God) *Theology doesnââ¬â¢t assume faith, it produces it. Theology is a practical science, it impels us to put what we know into action-practice what you preach. *Christian faith is a community based function, not an individual function. *Revelation: The historical passing over/on of beliefs (the interpretation of faith). *Catholic Theology: Lives build on faith in God who has been mediated to human beings through Jesus Christ. *Formative Factors in Theology (Macquarrie): where we get our theology from à à à à à 1. Experience 2. Revelation: God making himself ... ...esus as the definitive revelation of God in the world. à à à à à *Christ accepted as the center of the universe and the hope of humanity. à à à à à *Christ as both the way to realization of full humanity and the disclosure of the à à à à à à à à à à true face of God. *Act of faith embraces: à à à à à *Orthodoxy (Creed) à à à à à *Orthopoiesis (Code) à à à à à *Orthopraxis (Cult) *Difference between religious faith and primordial faith in the nature of the act of religious faith: à à à à à *Object of religious faith is transcendent and transcendental. à à à à à *Interior grace: first grace, supernatural existential, unrestricted desire to know à à à à à à à à à à and love (love doesnââ¬â¢t know boundaries) à à à à à *Exterior grace: second grace (based on message for community), Godââ¬â¢s à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à revelation in Christ. à à à à Ã
Thursday, October 24, 2019
PTLLS Unit 012 Principles of Assessment in Lifelong Learning Essay
Produce 1 Written Rationale of 1000 words for all areas of research in 1 to 3. 1.1 Analyse how types of assessment are used in lifelong learning: ââ¬Å"Assessments should be a regular process; it might not always be formalised, but you should be observing what your learners are doing, asking questions and reviewing their progress throughout their time with youâ⬠. Gravells A. Page 113. Assessments are used to track not only learner but tutor progress. Below I have documented some utilised in my everyday teaching life: Initial Assessment Undertaken prior to a lesson or course is delivered and helps direct my session planning to meet learnerââ¬â¢s expectations. Ideally this identifies prior knowledge, individual learnerââ¬â¢s current levels and any special requirements. Undertaken using a combination of the following: * Observations * One-to-one evaluation ââ¬ËIs the learner is on the right courseââ¬â¢ ââ¬ËWill they successfully complete all requirements to pass this courseââ¬â¢. * Competency tests (Functional Skills). Is there is any weakness? Additional modules to aid the learner. Formative Assessment An on-going process taking place during sessions taking the form of: * Quizzes and puzzles. Helps ascertain knowledge absorption. * Verbal question and answers. Helps see if the learners comprehend the topic. * Journals. To help the record feelings, what went right and what can be improved on. This helps me assess teaching to the correct level or beneficial I adjustments to my plan and methods. * Observations. I can walk around the room and observe the learnerââ¬â¢s work. Summative Assessments Carried out at the end of a course to measure how much has been retained usually through: * End of course formal tests or exams. To see what they have learnt. * Portfolio: This is a collect ion of the learners work throughout the course. 1.2 Analyse how assessment methods are used in lifelong learning: To identify what prior knowledge a learner has, I would create a self-assessment questionnaire that requires specific answers, (tick boxes). I would then build this into my session plans. Diaries or Learning Journals are used to document on-going learning from each session. Progress is measured and any gaps in teaching or learning addressed. Simulation is used to see if learners are able to understand instructions and reproduction of what they have seen or heard in everyday life situations. Assignments evaluate how well learners are able to research particular subjects then put their findings into words. Discussions are a good vehicle for assessment and understanding when other methods may be difficult to manage. Peer feedback where fellow learners give their comments and ask questions for clarity. 1.3 Evaluate strengths and limitations of assessments methods to meet individual leaner needs: Quizzes and puzzles can be used informally to assess if learning is taking place. However if the purpose is to measure individual learning the questions need to be varied. The most effective way is to have the assessment computer generated though this is not always possible if the correct software or facility is not available. Diaries aid literacy and language skills. The learner would also be able to reflect back on what they have learnt; building their confidence to self-assess. In order for this to work, there needs to be clear aims and objectives. A portfolio is a formal way to gather evidence produced over a period of time covering all topics taught. This needs to be checked for things such as plagiarism and if information used is current and correctly referenced. Role play is another assessment method. The learners are given a scenario from their lesson which they have the opportunity to act out linking theory to practice. There needs to be clear explanation given, this can be time consuming and not all learners may feel comfortable playing roles. Examinations can assess what learners have retained by just recalling information. The down side of this is that learners may have only been taught what is needed to pass the exam and not retain any of the other theories they may need at a later stage. 2.1 Evaluate how to involve learners in the assessment process: As a tutor I will carry out various methods of assessment to maintain continuous improvement; I also involve my learners in the process. By giving my learners clear guide lines they undertake peer to peer assessments, where they give verbal feedback to each other. This stimulates focus on the subject being taught; encourages communication skills and the discovery of common ground. Sometimes comments coming from a peer can be better received than from the tutor. Checking their own work and progress through self-assessment is useful as this gives learners an opportunity to step back and reflect on their objectives and whether theyââ¬â¢ve attained them. I also conduct one to one tutorials in an informal manner where we discuss objectives, progress and development. This demonstrates positive and individual inclusion. As stated by Wilson L. (2009). page112 ââ¬Å"Assessment is a term given to checking that learning has occurred. It may happen at any stage during the learnerââ¬â¢s progress through their qualificationâ⬠. Assessments are also a tool to motivate and boost the confidence of learners. 2.2 Analyse the role of peer and self ââ¬âassessment in the assessment process: Peer assessments are a good means of confirming and sharing ideas. During teaching sessions I am able to describe my observations and justify how I reached conclusions. My peers may agree or get me to look at what Iââ¬â¢ve expressed in a different way thus through discussion we come to a consensus. Looking at peer assessment on my micro-teach session. I was pleased with the feedback. It clearly showed what I am confident in; what I need to improve on and what I should consider for future delivery. Their feedback was encouraging and it has confirms I have made the correct decision career-wise. I found putting into practice what I already know with what I have learnt over the past few weeks very useful. There were some challenges I had when creating my own micro-teach session, this is all part of the learning process for me. Both during but predominately as session come to an end I to do a mental self- assessment leading to putting down my own thoughts on paper to aid improvement going forward. 3.1 Explain the need to keep records of assessment learning: Assessments should be documented create evidence of learning, how it is evaluated and progress made. Records also serve for the purpose of verification for audits, for quality assurance and for regulatory bodies. * Assessment tracking can be used to show development and learners requirements being met. * Feedback and action records are used to show that a learner has had feedback, what was agreed and when it is carried out. * Learning styles results will aid with inclusiveness when reviewing or creating session plans. * Enrolment forms to confirm the learnerââ¬â¢s details, emergency contact, whether they are permitted to study and what the learner signed up for. 3.2 Summarise requirements for keeping records in an organisation: All government, legal and organisational guidelines should be followed and regularly audited. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times by any persons holding/using personal data in line with the ââ¬ËData Protectionââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËFreedom of Informationââ¬â¢ Acts. Records should be accurate, legible and current with specific rules regarding storage, access and removal of obsolete information. All methods should be to an agreed standard irrespective of who, whom and how undertaken. WORDCOUNT: 1089 Bibliography Gravells A. (2012) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector 5th Edition, London: Learning Matters Wilson L. (2009) Practical Teaching A Guide to PTLLS & DTLLS. Cengage Learning EMEA
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Hard Times is a novel written by Charles dickens Essay
Hard Times is a novel written by Charles dickens at the time of the industrial revolution. It is set in the nineteenth century in England. It is Dickensââ¬â¢ harsh and satirical attack on the industrial and educational systems of his time. Dickens believed in good fellowship and community values, which he felt were being destroyed by this new system based purely on ââ¬Ëfactââ¬â¢.à In the novel Dickens uses satire, humour, irony and symbolism to convey is vision and show the world what he thinks it should be like.à This novel, set in a place called Coketown, England, is showing how English people live in a very harsh place. The characters in the novel include both good and bad people. Throughout this novel Dickens attacks the industrial and educational systems using satire and humour. He uses such techniques to poke fun out of them. He also uses irony, such as in the name Stephen Blackpool who at the end of the novel dies in a black pool. Dickens uses satire to describe things, for example: ââ¬Ëred brick buildings, or at least they would have been if it werenââ¬â¢t for the grime.ââ¬â¢ Dickens also used characters and their names as a way of attacking the educational and industrial systems. Thomas Gradgrind is a leading businessman in the town of Coketown. He is a good example of how things are run and done in Coketown, all based on facts. He says ââ¬Ë now what I want are facts,ââ¬â¢ and facts are what Mr. Gradgrind use as a way of destroying other people in the novel such as young Tom, Louisa and Bitzer. Louisa Gradgrind, Thomas Gradgrindââ¬â¢s daughter is a prime example of how the educational system is a complete failure. At the start of the novel she is caught looking at the circus, which shows how she wanted to experience more than ââ¬Ëthe philosophy of factsââ¬â¢ that her father exposed her to. She is seeking love in her life later in the novel as she makes two pleas for help to Stephen Blackpool and to James Harthouse. She gets married to a fellow businessman of her fathers, Mr Bounderby. She doesnââ¬â¢t marry him out of love but for the sake of her brother Tom Gradgrind. Tom Gradgrind is the son of Thomas Gradgrind. Tom is dependent on his sister Louisa a lot as he needs help to fuel his gambling habits. Throughout his life the educational system along with his father dehumanises him. Near the end of the novel the bank is robbed and Louisa fears that Tom had robbed it. She knew he was in debt and believed he did it as he worked there for Mr Bounderby.à Bitzer is a model pupil of this so-called educational system. The system is so dehumanising that he thinks and acts more like a robot than a human. He has no imagination at all and as he gets older he gets more and more selfish. He has no sensitivity and no communal concern for others. He is the complete opposite of Sissy Jupe. Mr James Harthouse is the sneaky seducing snake of the novel, who came to Coketown looking for a part in Gradgrindââ¬â¢s political party. He has an immediate interest in Louisa and uses Tomââ¬â¢s weakness in money to get to her. His name Harthouse is satirical, as he is a heart stealer. He takes advantage of young vulnerable women such as Louisa. Louisa makes the mistake of falling for Harthouse and when she realises what she had done came to her father and collapsed at his feet. This collapse symbolises the collapse of the educational system and shows its failure right in front of MR Gradgrind. Mr Bounderby represents the industrial system in the novel. Throughout the novel he reminds people about his rags to riches story, about how he started out as a ââ¬Ënobodyââ¬â¢ on the slums of Coketown, to reach his present social and economic status.à Stephen Blackpool, who is the victim of the industrial system, works in the factories of Coketown. He is unhappily married and in love with another woman, called Rachel. His wife represents all the pain and suffering in his life and Rachel represents all the happiness in his life. He falls down a mineshaft or a ââ¬Ëblack poolââ¬â¢ at the end of the novel. He is pulled out alive but then soon dies. His name is ironic, Blackpool, as he dies down a blackpool. Sissy Jupe is the good person in the novel. She cannot be beaten by the system. She had imagination, which only the circus folk else in the novel had. She is the heroine of the novel as she saves Louisa from James Harthouse and Louisaââ¬â¢s young sister from her father and his educational system by educating her. MR Gradgrind at the start of the novel adopted her, as her father, who was in the circus, ran away and left her. Sissy symbolises imagination and humanity. She is the hope for the future. Dickens uses satire and humour in this novel very well. His attack on the educational and industrial system of his day was very good. Our world today is much different than his. There are still people today who would fit the personality of such people like the characters in the novel, however our educational system and industrial systems are probably quite the opposite of Dickensââ¬â¢ daysââ¬â¢ system. We are encouraged to use our imagination with such school subjects as english, art, music technology and drama.
Peer Assessment as a Teachers Motivating Strategy
Peer Assessment as a Teachers Motivating Strategy Re-orientation Addressing the reading issues that low ability students face in an English class is an essential step towards increasing the academic potential of these students.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Peer Assessment as a Teacherââ¬â¢s Motivating Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In order to study the ways for improving the studentsââ¬â¢ progress, it is appropriate to propose the intervention based on implementation of the peer assessment into a teaching strategy. The class selected for the intervention includes a group of thirteen year seven low-ability students. It should be noted that the whole class consists of twenty students. Among the specified group of students, two students face problems communicating English as they are ESL students (English as a Second Language); 12 students are with special educational needs (SEN); additionally, one student out of five in the group has eith er dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their knowledge of grammar and syntax rules is of concern and requires attention and improvement (previous results ranged from 3c to 4a; however, the KS2 results showed a tendency of 4a to 5a). Though, compared to the initial test results, the final ones can be discussed as a minor improvement, the current evidence points to the need for the students to work on new skills acquisition and memorising skills development. The literature review provides opportunities to define methods for addressing the needs of the students in question. In their research, Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) note that students usually lack understanding of the role of peer assessment as well as the significance of providing accurate evaluations of their peers.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Zingaro (2013) also focuses on the rol e of peers in conducting assessments. These discussions support the necessity to provide students with a detailed explanation on the process of evaluation of their peersââ¬â¢ success as well as with a close supervision of the specified procedure. Moreover, it has also been noted by Cox and Maher (2007) that peers usually need to provide each other with positive reinforcement so that they could feel motivated to achieve better results. Focusing on low achieving studentsââ¬â¢ needs, it is also relevant to refer to Carter (2014) who states that these students need graphic data in order to understand the mechanics of the learning process better. It is also suggested by Murayama, Perkin, and Lichtenfeld (2012) that the incorporation of an element of a game into the learning process is helpful to address the specified issue in the learning process, and the introduction of differentiated assignments allowing the choice of interesting tasks proposed by Burguillo (2010) can also enhanc e the learning process among low-ability students. The review of these sources has resulted in designing the intervention oriented to low-ability students and their peers with high scores responsible for providing assessment. Moreover, an overview of the existing literature has shown that students need positive reinforcement from their instructor in order to succeed during the intervention. Thus, the study by Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) shows that it is the teacherââ¬â¢s responsibility to guarantee a positive outcome of the peer assessment. The findings are important support the design and implementation of the effective intervention. Intervention The intervention lasted two weeks, including the observation of students during ten days. In the course of the intervention, lessons in English were conducted, and the students were asked to assess each otherââ¬â¢s reading skills with the focus on peer assessment.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Peer Assessment as a Teacherââ¬â¢s Motivating Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first lesson started with the introduction of the students to the idea of peer assessment, and detailed instructions were provided. The students were given a set of statements for the evaluation of their peers, while the teacher explained what each part of the assessment addressed. The teacher suggested that the students should read the questions out loud and ask if anything was not clear. As soon as every student understood the purpose of the questions, they were divided into pairs; then, the reading of the first excerpt from the book for Reading in English started. After the reading, the students were asked to evaluate their peerââ¬â¢s reading skills according to the previously mentioned criteria and instructions and write down the results. Students answered the questions concerning the contents of the excerpt and the new vocabulary; evaluated their peersââ¬â¢ responses assessing the accuracy of the vocabulary use and correctness of the factual information. During two weeks of the intervention, lessons ended with a game or other appropriate activities. One game was based on locating words in a grid filled with letters and defining these words. The students then evaluated their peersââ¬â¢ skills based on the amount of words found and the time taken to locate the words (the students were given fifteen minutes, a minute per word). The basing on the findings of Knight et al. (2014), the teacher scaffolded the students throughout the assessment helping them measure their peersââ¬â¢ success to help the students to feel more confident. The specified model was repeated throughout the conducted lessons in reading with slight alterations because the game could be replaced with a similar crossword activity.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At the end of Week 1, students were asked to answer open questions from the questionnaire. Thus, students were asked to answer Questions 5, 7, 8 (Appendix A). The procedure was repeated at the end of Week 2 in order to ensure comparing the answers with the help of the qualitative data analysis. Being asked to answer questions, low ability students displayed keen interest and genuine excitement about the activities only during the second week because they hesitated to grade each other during the first week of the intervention. However, as soon as the teacher assured them that the grading by peers would not affect their actual score calculated by the teacher, they became rather enthusiastic about the process and reflected these emotions in their answers. Still, high achieving peers seemed to be quite bored after they realised that the pace of the lesson was not going to be accelerated during Week 1 and Week 2, and they informed the teacher about that fact. According to Wadesango Baya ga (2013), the fact that motivation can drop among high ability students in the process of the intervention points at the necessity to introduce the set of activities that would keep the attention of high achieving students and at the same time be approachable for low ability students. As a result, the games to conclude lessons were changed to address the needs of high-ability students. The use of a game as a type of activities that both low and high ability students may participate in seemed to have worked quite well within the specified setting. Following Dominiquez et al. (2013) and Connolly et al. (2012), the success of the strategy can be explained by the fact that games presuppose the incorporation of a competition factor and, thus, make the learning process more engaging for high achievers. Question 6 from the delivered questionnaire was answered by the students at the end of Week 1 in order to state the motivating factors for low achievers to adapt to the peer assessment (Ap pendix A). These students seemed to lack confidence when carrying out their first evaluation of their peers, and were more lenient to each other than the standards required. As a result, the students who were obviously scoring lower than the rest of the class did not feel willing to make greater efforts. As a result, the focus on helpful tips for students was important for the further analysis of the data. At the end of the second week of intervention, the students were asked to answer Questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 from the questionnaire in order to demonstrate their attitude toward the peer assessment and conclude about improvements and motivation (Appendix A). During all ten days of the intervention, the observation was conducted, and the results were fixed with the help of the Observational Checklist (Appendix B). It was important to discover any changes in the activity of low achieving and high achieving students associated with the use of peer assessment at lessons. Changes in activ ities were noted for the further analysis. It was noticed that low ability students and high ability students demonstrated different levels of involvement during Week 1 and Week 2, and the further observation was important to explain these notes. According to Lavy, Paserman, and Schlosser (2011), in order to develop new skills and not only retrieve but also process and remember new information, low ability students have to engage into the meta-cognition process. In other words, the students must understand how they acquire new skills and information, as well as use this knowledge for their further studying process. Peer reviewing, in its turn, allows students to understand how they perceive the world around them. In this context, the observation was necessary to understand how cooperation and interaction with peers could influence the collected results (Cohen, Manion Morrison 2011a; Cohen, Manion Morrison 2011b). Data Analysis The qualitative data aim to represent changes in the s tudentsââ¬â¢ perception of peer assessment, whereas the quantitative data aim to demonstrate the changes in the low-ability studentsââ¬â¢ progress in numerical terms. Qualitative Data Analysis Questions 5, 7, and 8 provided in the used questionnaire are open, and the students were asked to describe their thoughts on the experienced peer assessment in their own words. Students answered these questions after the first week of intervention and after the second week. Table 1 represents meaningful details taken from the studentsââ¬â¢ answers typical for Week 1 and Week 2 as well as identified themes and emotions. Table 1. Details Taken from Studentsââ¬â¢ Responses, Themes, and Emotional Colouring Week Question Details from Responses Themes Emotional colouring 1 Why do we peer mark each otherââ¬â¢s work? ââ¬Å"Because itââ¬â¢s a new taskâ⬠Emotions, engagement rates, self-esteem and performance Positive emotions, self-actualisation ââ¬Å"Because we need to know moreâ⬠ââ¬Å"Because we will make serious mistakes otherwise.â⬠Anything else that might help ââ¬Å"I have problems telling letters like b and d apartâ⬠Fear, confusion, unwillingness Negative emotions; uncertainty, fear of failing ââ¬Å"My previous teacher told me I was slow thinkingâ⬠ââ¬Å"I wonââ¬â¢t do the homework, because I have no time for itâ⬠Any other comments ââ¬Å"Donââ¬â¢t rate me too low, I have ADHDâ⬠Fear, curiosity, enthusiasm insistence, responsiveness Mixed emotions: fear of making a mistake and willingness to succeed in class ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m going to be a tough grader.â⬠ââ¬Å"Is there a way to get a better score if my peers rate me too low?â⬠2 Why do we peer mark each otherââ¬â¢s work? ââ¬Å"Because we need to learn on each otherââ¬â¢s mistakesâ⬠Responsiveness, enthusiasm, pride, cheer Positive emotions: self-assurance, certainty in future success ââ¬Å"Because this he lps us learn new stuffâ⬠ââ¬Å"Because we must help each other understand the subjectâ⬠ââ¬Å"Because it is funâ⬠ââ¬Å"Because it brings us togetherâ⬠ââ¬Å"Because we have to know how far weââ¬â¢ve goneâ⬠ââ¬Å"Because it helps us learn about our own progressâ⬠Anything else that might help ââ¬Å"I liked the class, especially the evaluation partâ⬠Enthusiasm, pride, defensiveness Mixed emotions: fear of performing poorly, enjoyment of the class ââ¬Å"rated my paper unfairâ⬠ââ¬Å"I want to have more classes like thisâ⬠ââ¬Å"I feel Iââ¬â¢m much better at writing nowâ⬠Any other comments ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢d like to have more of these tasksâ⬠Curiosity, enthusiasm, pride, insistence, responsiveness Mixed emotions: enjoyment and the acknowledgement of simplicity ââ¬Å"The assignments became tedious at the endâ⬠ââ¬Å"I would like to solve more complicated problems.â⬠ââ¬Å"Tha nks! Now I know how to memorise stuffâ⬠Table 1 indicates the coded responses of the students on the purpose of the peer assessment and their overall perception of the task. The responses are coded in relation to the emotions and attitudes experienced by students during the two weeks of intervention and presented in Table 1 as ââ¬Å"Themesâ⬠. The generalised discussion of identified emotions is presented in the table in the column titled ââ¬Å"Emotional Colouringâ⬠in order to ensure comparing of the studentsââ¬â¢ emotions, attitudes, and motivation typical for Week 1 and Week 2. According to Table 1, about 75% of students experienced such negatively coloured emotions as uncertainty, fear, and confusion associated with peer assessment during Week 1. Only 35% of students could restate the purpose for peer assessment told by the teacher in instructions. The table also shows that during Week 2, 80% of students formulated the purpose easily and demonstrated such p ositive emotions as enthusiasm and pride. 15% of students felt bored because of the taskââ¬â¢s simplicity. According to Acosta and Ward (2010), emotional colouring is important to be checked by instructors in order to determine the emotions that students feel when participating in the class activities. Adopted in the qualitative data analysis, the focus on emotional colouring helps to analyse the studentsââ¬â¢ answers in terms of their attitudes and emotions. During Week 1, the students were rather reluctant to accept the new approach in learning. The situation differed during Week 2. Thus, following Bryman (2008), the emotional reaction of the students towards peer assessment, as well as the final testing process, can be divided into two major groups, positive and negative emotions. According to Jordan et al. (2013), negative emotions such as fear of making mistakes, lack of initiative and engagement in learning, confusion, and unwillingness are associated with high ability s tudentsââ¬â¢ adaptation to the new task. Positive emotions like curiosity, enthusiasm, and pride typical for Week 2, represents studentsââ¬â¢ achievements in relation to skills acquisition and responsiveness to the teacherââ¬â¢s instructions (Jordan et al. 2013). Quantitative Data Analysis Questions 1 and 2 presented in the questionnaire are related to each other, and the main focus is on Question 2 asking about studentsââ¬â¢ confidence regarding peer assessment and marking the other studentsââ¬â¢ work. At the end of Week 2, all students reported that they know how to conduct the peer assessment, and Figure 1 provides the visual representation of the percentage of students feeling confident or non-confident while marking the work of their peers. Differences in the level of their confidence were assessed with the help of the 5-point Likert scale measuring confidence from 1 ââ¬Å"No confidenceâ⬠to 5 ââ¬Å"Very confidentâ⬠. Figure 1. Studentsââ¬â¢ confi dence on how to peer mark another studentââ¬â¢s work (%) Figure 1 demonstrates that 70% of students described their attitude as ââ¬Å"Very confidentâ⬠, 20% of students assessed the level of confidence as good, and 10% of students noted that they were rather confident in terms of peer marking the other studentsââ¬â¢ work. The results demonstrate that there were no students indicating low levels of confidence in procedure. Denton at al. (2013) note that students are inclined to demonstrate high levels of confidence in peer assessment after a period of practice, when fears are changed with first successes. Therefore, at the end of Week 2, students can reasonably discuss themselves as confident in marking each otherââ¬â¢s work. Question 3 asks students about the overall usefulness of using peer marking or peer assessment. Figure 2 demonstrates the percentage of students discussing peer marking as a useful or non-useful strategy after the second week of intervention while utilizing the 5-point Likert scale measuring usefulness from 1 ââ¬Å"Not usefulâ⬠to 5 ââ¬Å"Very usefulâ⬠. Figure 2. Studentsââ¬â¢ opinion on usefulness of peer marking other studentsââ¬â¢ work (%) Figure 2 shows that 35% of students discussed peer marking as useful, and the other students stated that the procedure was very useful (65%). No students discussed peer marking as useless or ineffective procedure, allowing conclusions about the overall usefulness of peer assessment conducted in the group of students. Lavy, Paserman, and Schlosser (2011) state that peer assessment is highly useful strategy used in the class to improve studentsââ¬â¢ learning and interactions. Studentsââ¬â¢ answers to the question about the peer assessmentââ¬â¢s usefulness support this idea in terms of studentsââ¬â¢ perception and experience. Question 4 is directly related to evaluating the usefulness of peersââ¬â¢ comments and assessment to improve the other studentsâ⠬⢠work. Students were asked to evaluate the impact of peer assessment on achieving improvement with the help of the 5-point Likert scale, measuring usefulness from 1 ââ¬Å"Not usefulâ⬠to 5 ââ¬Å"Very usefulâ⬠. Figure 3 shows how students regard usefulness of their peersââ¬â¢ comments in percents. Figure 3. Studentsââ¬â¢ opinion on usefulness of peersââ¬â¢ comments on studentsââ¬â¢ works (%) The majority of students (55%) evaluated the usefulness of peersââ¬â¢ comments as ââ¬Å"Very usefulâ⬠, 40% of students agreed that the comments are useful, and 5% stated that the comments were slightly useful to improve the work. The results demonstrate the studentsââ¬â¢ positive attitude to the peersââ¬â¢ comments, and they are important to conclude about the role of peer assessment for improving the studentsââ¬â¢ work. According to Lurie et al. (2006), peersââ¬â¢ comments are usually discussed as the valuable tool to improve the other student sââ¬â¢ performance in different areas. Answers to Question 4 are helpful to conclude that most students are inclined to perceive the peer assessment practice as effective to promote improvement of the work. The key to discussing the improvement of studentsââ¬â¢ performance influenced by peer assessment is the focus on factors that can motivate students to improve peer marking and guarantee higher results. Question 6 asks students about factors that can improve peer marking and understanding of the requirements. The influential factors are ââ¬Å"Clearer instructionsâ⬠, ââ¬Å"Sentence startersâ⬠, and ââ¬Å"Marking anonymouslyâ⬠. Figure 4 represents choices of helpful factors to motivate understanding by low-ability and high-ability students. Figure 4. What helps students to improve peer marking and their understanding of the task (number of students) According to Figure 4, about 98% of helpful factors to improve peer marking was selected by low achieving stude nts, when only 2% of all factors were chosen by high achieving students. The results show the interest of low ability students in using clearer instructions and making peer assessment anonymously, when sentence starters are chosen as helpful by only 10% of students. In order to improve results in peer assessment, students need to understand the task completely, and certain factors are identified by Murayama, Perkin, and Lichtenfeld (2012) as influential for the effectiveness of peer assessment. Thus, to guarantee improvements in the work, students need to use certain markers of factors to make the whole process of peer marking easier. Figure 5 represents the data collected with the help of the Observation Checklist. It was important to assess the changes in studentsââ¬â¢ activity and its types during Week 1 and Week 2 in order to conclude about their motivation and involvement into peer assessment. Figure 5. Types of studentsââ¬â¢ activity during Week 1 and Week 2 (number of t imes active) As Figure 5 shows, most students expressed their willingness to participate in assessment by raising hand. The action was observed 22 times during Day 5 and about 18-23 times during Days 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. During all 10 days of the intervention, students asked the teacher to explain the material 3.9% of the whole number of instances, responded emotionally 13.7%, competed with other students 14.7%, asked for clarification 11.8%, volunteered for peer assessment 10.8%, and asked about the grade 12.8%. The number of students saying ââ¬Å"I donââ¬â¢t knowâ⬠in response to the activity reduced in 27%. Students often need support and clarification when the new activity is integrated in the lesson, as it is noted by Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000). Thus, students asked additional questions about peer assessment and needed clarification during the first five days of the intervention. The situation changed during Week 2, as students became more active, raising hands an d asking for participation as evaluators. Figure 6 also represents changes in the studentsââ¬â¢ involvement and interest in peer assessment with the focus on differences in behaviours of high-ability and low-ability students. Figure 6. Activity and involvement of low and high ability students in peer marking during Week 1 and Week 2 (number of times active) In Figure 6, the data is based on the information from the Observation Checklist. Thus, low ability students demonstrated the increases in engagement into the peer marking in about 34% during the second week, when high ability students seemed to be discouraged because their activeness decreased in 15%. The changes in activeness of the students can be explained by the fact that the challenge of completing a difficult task such as peer marking decreased during the second week for high ability students. According to Lai and Law (2013), the responsibility for carrying out peer assessment cannot trigger the high achieversââ¬â¢ initiative during a long period of time. In contrast, activeness of low achieving students increased with gaining confidence and becoming more engaged in the process. Discussion The results of the intervention support the prediction that peer assessment is a motivating and encouraging practice for low ability students, but it can be discussed as boring for high ability students when the challenging component of the practice is not referred to. The qualitative data show that the high achieving students lost interest in the peer assessment during the second week of intervention. Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) state that the key problem of peer assessment as a means to improve the score of low ability students and motivate them can depend on the scaffolding process. The scaffolding strategies used by the teacher can be discussed by the high ability students as tiresome and irritating (Falchikov Goldfinch 2000). The low ability students usually do not pay attention to the scaffolding p rovided by the instructor; however, the manner in which the instructions are delivered may serve as the trigger for the students to develop absence of responsibility. Thus, the qualitative data analysis points at the need to deploy a different scaffolding approach that will presuppose a more active participation of the students (both high and low ability ones) in the assignment. According to Shin (2010), the effectiveness of peer assessment depends not only on the studentsââ¬â¢ successes in performing the activity but also on the nature of proposed tasks. In this study, tasks in reading proposed for students could be changed to make results more representative. Thus, most high ability students demonstrate lack of enthusiasm due to the simplicity of the tasks, and it will be appropriate to create a set of assignments that become increasingly difficult as a student proceeds with their completion. The specified approach towards developing tests will allow low achieving students to t est their abilities and knowledge to the extent of their capacities and high achieving ones to maintain their academic progress in an appropriate manner. The intervention results reveal the studentsââ¬â¢ performance was not altered significantly, but the studentsââ¬â¢ attitude towards acquiring new knowledge and skills changed positively. The purpose of the intervention was to examine peer assessment as a motivating tool for improvement in low ability students. Quantitative data demonstrate that the students became more proactive in their participation in class activities, and they were able to cope with the fear of making mistakes which appeared to be the major barrier for showing the good performance for them. As Wadesango and Bayaga (2013) explain, the ability grouping, as in the setting under research, leads to the development of stronger ties between students and, therefore, it leads to eliminating the fear of being considered negatively. Comfort (2011) notes that low-abi lity students can develop enthusiasm in learning when they understand the task and can demonstrate immediate positive results. The intervention conducted during two weeks allowed decreasing in the level of stress and increasing confidence in performing tasks that these students lacked before the intervention. The study shows that the adequate choice of helpful factors to motivate and support students is effective to promote their involvement and improvement. Limitations The study has certain limitations that restricted reliability. First, the outcomes of the study cannot be applicable to every single instance of low ability studentsââ¬â¢ training through peer assessment. Indeed, the setting in question was specific and might conflict with the goals and assets of another educational setting as well as the adopted strategy oriented to the selected class. In other words, the approach was tailored to meet the needs of the students that suffered from ADHD and other disorders, had a di fferent ethnic or national background, and experienced difficulties adjusting to the school environment. Comfort (2011) pays attention to determining general and case specific results while conducting the study. It was found that although the research was aimed at testing the idea of using peer assessment coupled with scaffolding in general, it was limited to provide results appropriate for generalising. The number of participants is another limitation that prevents the researcher from considering the implications of the study in a wider context. Since the research demanded the choice of a rather close setting with a relatively small number of participants, the intervention results were rather narrow and suitable for applying only to a specific group of students. Thus, the research has its limits, and needs improvement in terms of involving larger groups of students from different environments. Thus, it is possible to refer to the peer assessment as the intervention in several class es with low-ability students in order to compare results regarding the motivational power of peer marking to improve these studentsââ¬â¢ successes and involvement into class activities. In terms of methodology, the tools used for collecting the data, such as the questionnaire and Observation Checklist, are rather effective to provide the qualitative and quantitative data for the further analysis. Creswell (2005) notes that a questionnaire is the frequently used tool for qualitative studies to conduct interviews, when checklists are appropriate for observation sessions to collect the numerical data. The limitations of these tools are in the number of questions proposed for students that could be changed depending on variations in the purpose of the future study. In order to guarantee the anonymity and confidentiality following the British Education Research Association (BERA) Guidelines, before the experiment was conducted, teachers and departments were contacted by the author of the study and provided with the informed consent for their students to participate in the research. Thus, the provision of complete anonymity was one of the key conditions of the study. None of the students was named directly in reports throughout the study, and no personal data were disclosed in the process of analysing the case. Therefore, the research complied with the BERA Guidelines, and it did not affect the participants negatively. Implications for the Future Development and Research The outcomes of the study set the premises for carrying out a major analysis of the use of peer assessment along with scaffolding at a more general level, with the focus on involving the larger number of students and possible incorporation of innovative technology, as it is mentioned in the studies by Carter (2014), Connolly et al. (2012), and Knight et al. (2014). It is also possible to refer to the more active use of games in order to motivate students to participate in peer assessment. Accordi ng to Cho, Lee, and Jonassen (2011), students can show improvement in their abilities during these games. Therefore, it may be suggested that games along with the further evaluation may serve as an incentive for the students to achieve the better performance. Moreover, the low scoring students can demonstrate enthusiasm when they perceive the activity as a game and can adapt to less rigid demands which can become a threat to their further performance, as it is discussed by Munro, Abbot, and Rossiter (2013) in their study. As a result, it is important to propose a variety of peer assessment activities in a form of game and other tasks in order for high ability and low ability students to demonstrate change in their progress and motivation. In spite of the fact that the intervention was conducted in the specific and limited setting, it is possible to adapt to the wider audience. It is appropriate to focus on conducting the study that will incorporate students of different social, cult ural, and ethnic backgrounds, and it is imperative to test the effects of peer assessment supported by the teacherââ¬â¢s scaffolding in the larger school area while identifying possible means for improving the current strategy. As the outcomes of the intervention showed, the students became more aware of the stages that they passed as they acquired a specific piece of information or trained in an essential reading skill. This important new knowledge served as a tool for enhancing the learning process for the students, therefore, allowing them to develop the necessary skills within relatively shorter amount of time and apply these abilities in a manner speedier than their previous records showed. Thus, it is important to modify the intervention in order to test changes in the studentsââ¬â¢ motivation and improvement in a larger context. Conclusion The results of the conducted intervention can be discussed as successful in terms of supporting the idea that peer assessment can be used as an important motivating factor to stimulate the low-ability studentsââ¬â¢ involvement in class activities and progress. It is possible to propose the interventions based on this one in order to implement in the school environment for improving the participation of low-ability students in class activities. However, some of the hypotheses formulated during the research still need testing because the intervention was based only on the reading tasks, it involved the comparably small number of participants to discuss the received results as rather valid, generalised, and reliable. Nevertheless, the results support the assumption that high ability students may lose motivation for peer assessment and studying according to the specified pattern due to the repetitiveness of the pattern, lesson design, and the overall simplicity of the assignments oriented to low-ability students. Connolly et al. (2012) state that assignments and proposed task for peer assessment need to be highly varied in order to address the needs of students with different levels of academic achievements. The results of the intervention support this idea. Therefore, the tools for involving the high ability students into activities during a long period of time need to be discovered in the future. Still, the results of the intervention support the main hypothesis of the research and answer the question about the role of peer assessment to motivate low-ability students in order to become involved in the class activities and improve their progress. Peer assessment positively affects low-ability studentsââ¬â¢ motivation and can be used to improve their performance because it is associated with cooperation and the period of adaptation to the new interesting task, as it was previously stated by Knight et al. (2014). The results of the research also have the positive effect on teaching in terms of theoretical discussion of the nature of low-ability studentsââ¬â¢ motivation and practical us e of peer assessment in order to enhance involvement and learning at lessons. The intervention is helpful for teachers to refer again to the need of motivating not only low ability students because of the academic failures but also high ability learners who need challenging tasks. Thus, it is important to focus on the introduction of differentiated assignments and, therefore, introduction of certain challenges to the relaxed setting associated with peer assessment if students discuss this task as too simple. The study has also shed some light on the specifics of addressing the needs of students from different backgrounds and with different learning difficulties. More attention should be paid to developing skills in the sphere of teaching students with different potential, capacities, needs, and expectations. Reference List Acosta, J C Ward, A J 2010, ââ¬ËAchieving rapport with turn-by-turn, user-responsive emotional coloring,ââ¬â¢ Speech Communication, vol. 53, no. 9-10, pp.1 137ââ¬â1148. Bryman, A 2008, Social research methods (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Burguillo, J C 2010, ââ¬ËUsing game-theory and competition-based learning to stimulate student motivation and performance,ââ¬â¢ Computers and Education, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 566ââ¬â575. 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Comfort, P 2011, ââ¬ËThe effect of peer tutoring on academic achievement during practical assessments in applied sports science students,ââ¬â¢ Innovations in Education and Teaching International, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 207ââ¬â211. Connolly, T M, Boyle, E A, MacArthur, E M, Thomas Hainey, T Boyle, J M 2012, ââ¬ËA systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games,ââ¬â¢ Computers Education, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 661ââ¬â686. Cresswell, J W 2005, Educational research, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Denton, C A, Tolar, T D, Fletcher, J M, Barth, A E, Baughn, S Francis, D J 2013, ââ¬ËEffects of tier 3 intervention for students with persistent reading difficulties and characteristics of inadequate responders,ââ¬â¢ Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 105, no. 3, pp. 633ââ¬â648. 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Lai, M Law, N 2013, ââ¬ËQuestioning and the quality of knowledge constructed in a CSCL context: a study on two grade-levels of students,ââ¬â¢ Instructional Science, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 597ââ¬â620. Lavy, V, Paserman, M D Schlosser, A 2011, ââ¬ËInside the black of box of ability peer effects: evidence from variation in the proportion of low achievers in the classroom,ââ¬â¢ Economic Journal, vol. 122, no. 559, 208ââ¬â237. Lurie, S J, Nofziger, A C, Meldrum, S, Mooney, C, Epstein, R M 2006, ââ¬ËEffects of rater selection on peer assessment among medical students,ââ¬â¢ Medical Education, vol. 40, no. 11, pp. 1088ââ¬â1097. Munro, J, Abbot, M Rossiter, M 2013, ââ¬ËMentoring for success: accommodation strategies for ELLS,ââ¬â¢ Canadian Journal of Action Research, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 22ââ¬â38. Murayama, K, Perkin, R Lichtenfeld, S 2012, ââ¬ËPredicting long-term growth in studentsââ¬â¢ mathematic s achievement: the unique contributions of motivation and cognitive strategies,ââ¬â¢ Child Development, vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 1475ââ¬â1490. Saldana, 2008 Shin, S J 2010, ââ¬ËTeaching English language learners: recommendations for early childhood educators,ââ¬â¢ Dimensions of Early Childhood, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 13ââ¬â21. Wadesango, N Bayaga, A 2013, ââ¬ËAbility grouping as an approach to narrow achievement gap of pupils with different cultural capitals: teachersââ¬â¢ involvement,ââ¬â¢ International Journal of Educational Sciences, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 205ââ¬â216. Zingaro, D 2013, ââ¬ËStudent moderators in asynchronous online discussion: a question of questions,ââ¬â¢ MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 159ââ¬â172.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Essay on Women In Science Why So FewEssay Writing Service
Essay on Women In Science Why So FewEssay Writing Service Essay on Women In Science: Why So Few? Essay on Women In Science: Why So Few?Cara Santa Maria has chosen to pursue career in S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. She notices not enough women there. American women make up a half of the workforce of the country, but hold less than one quarter of the S.T.E.M. jobs. Recent survey revealed that for 30% of teen girls, maths is the most challenging subject for them, while only 19% of boys tell the same thing. Girls show less interest in pursuing maths, science, technology or engineering careers. Males outscore females in tasks measuring spatial skills, for example, mental rotation, while females generally perform higher results on verbal tasks. However, these discrepancies can be overcome with simple training in a short period of time. Socio-cultural factors, like stereotype threat, have the greatest impact on young girlââ¬â¢s attitude. In one of the 1st experiments on stereotypes threats, two groups of both genders with equivalent maths interest s and abilities were given a graduate level test in mathematics. The first group before taking exam was told that there were no gender difference in scores. The graded exams showed similar results (around 60% and 55%). The second group beforehand was told that men got better results on the test then women. There, boys scored in 86%, while girls scored 16%. Since then, more than 300 different experiments demonstrated that phenomenon. Girls have less confidence in their ability and possibility to succeed in S.T.E.M. subjects, so they are unlikely to try to succeed. Both men and women have unconscious attitudes towards gender and socials roles. We should let people realize that. One of the best way to educate girls is to give them some example to look up to. We need more women in science, technology, engineering and maths. We must remind young girls that it is cool to be smart.Joanne Cohoon. The Path to Full Participation ââ¬â Understanding, Intervening and AccessingJoanne Cohoon f rom National Center for Women IT, University of Virginia, USA claims that the USA has a women underrepresentation in different spheres of computing on different levels. According to SAT exam, from all the high school female students, only 13% were going to make career in computing in 2008 and 2009. Only 18% of all students who took advanced placement test on computer science were females in 2009 and 19% in 2010. There is a slight increase in femaleââ¬â¢s share in studying and graduating with computer profession, as well as engineering and science. Womenââ¬â¢s representation in computing is rather low in most countries, not only the USA.If we want to change this situation, we need to understand what is going on, to make interventions based on this understanding and to access the outcomes of our actions. One of the reasons for womenââ¬â¢s underrepresentation in computing is cultural belief about gender and technology. We need to learn different theories and consider differen t approaches, examine research results and make a plan of our actions. The study has shown that local efforts can counter prevailing conditions and beliefs about gender and technology. It is important to apply research findings and apply programs that will work. Besides, this problem should not be considered a womenââ¬â¢s issue, men must be involved if we want to have progress. Activists should work together with policymakers, share the results of the research, so that people would know what might work.In order not to waste time, we need to access the results of our actions to learn whether they work. Another integral part of changing the situation with womenââ¬â¢s underrepresentation in computing is communicating with others, as only together we can move forward.Impact investing women fuel 21st century economy: Kay Koplovitz at TEDxBayAreaThe video presents the speech of Kay Koplovitz who starts with explaining why she believes women will empower the economy in the 21st cent ury. Her story begins with the description of events of 1999, when she worked as a national business counselor appointed by Presidentà Clinton to measure the results of women businesses, especially those that were supported by government. She understood that over a 100 billion dollars was the capital and only 1,7% was going to women. She decided to find the women from different spheres of business whom people would want to fund. After some research, she found 350 companies in technology and life science and chose 26 best of them to present. The unique fact of that entire situation was that all those 350 companies where ruled by women. After the presentation, 22 of those companies got funded. That story was about the ability of women to grow into a scale of large businesses.The video continues with showing the most successful business women of that project. Robin Chase, the thought leader in transportation, presented the first car sharing club in the USA which is called Zipcar. Li nds Hall, the leader of urgent care healthcare, presented her project called Minute clinic. Ping Fu, the leader of 3-D technology, became famous thanks to her company Geomagic. One more interesting story was about Kathleen Callender`s project called PharmaJet, the idea of which was the use of needless injectors to indicate blood borne diseases spread through unsafe needle usage in the developing world.At the end Kay Koplovitz provids interesting facts: women do 66% of the worldââ¬â¢s work, but only earn 10% of the worldââ¬â¢s income, yet invest 90% of their income into family and community. She finishes the speech telling about being sure that women are going to power the economy in the 21st century.Why More Women Arent Computer Scientists, EngineersThe video presents an interview of Judy Woodruff with Dr. Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College. The main question is ââ¬Å"Why women are not pursuing careers in so called STEM fields (science, technologies, engineerin g and maths) in the same way as menâ⬠.Dr. Maria Klawe informs that there are many young women going into chemistry, and biology, but there are very few women going into computer science, physics and engineering. On her opinion, it happens due to several reasons: 1 ââ¬â they think it is not interesting; 2- they don`t think they can be good at it; 3 ââ¬â they have the image of the people whose field is not attractive. Taking into account all these reasons, Dr. Maria Klawe just suggests young women to follow their passion.She is sure that careers in science are amazing, they are well paid and are very flexible and give opportunity to combine career with family, especially computer science. She mentions that what is created in the technology today depends on who creates it: it can be computer games, medical devises or something else. If women decide to create things, it can be a different set of products.Dr. Maria Klawe recommends parents of girls to encourage their daughte rs to try science and to find the instructor who is encouraging.Discussing the importance of math and science at school, elevating their roles, she mentions that future economic opportunities are impossible without STEM; it demands that we need to have a work force that is well skilled in these spheres. The final message tells that we don`t have a future if we donââ¬â¢t achieve this.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
The Company of Wolves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The Company of Wolves - Essay Example While her mother mourns, she goes to spend some time with her grandmother (Angela Lansbury), who tells her stories and warns about wolves and men, intuitively and effortlessly drawing parallels between both species; After she returns to her parents, and while taking a walk in the woods with a friend, they find that a wolf has entered town to lay siege on their cattle. They run into town to alert the men, who hunt down the wolf and kill it. However, the carcass transforms into a human corpse. The rest of the story is reminiscent and full of the symbolisms from Perraultââ¬â¢s Little Red Riding Hood. It also includes the usual suspects ââ¬â huntsman, wolf, granny etc. But that is where the likeness ends ââ¬â it does not end or even proceed as would be expected. Based on Carterââ¬â¢s short stories, which, according to Merja Makinen, are (in)famous for the ââ¬Å"excessiveness of their violence and, latterly, the almost violent exuberance of their excess,â⬠The Company of Wolves delivers on its promise of violence and morbid dispositions. It is also very vicious in its attack on and reversal of the damsel-in-distress tradition present not only in Perraultââ¬â¢s Little Red Riding Hood, but in fairy tales, generally. For example, in one scene, where Rosaleen is cornered by a wolf, she has the courage to grab a rifle and shoot at it (as opposed to the helpless/hapless young girl crying for help). It is also ââ¬Ëladenââ¬â¢ with sexual innuendo and symbolic portraits of female sexual liberation, which can be deduced in the scenewhere she gives up her bright red shawl (which is said to symbolise her virginity) of her own volition, not out of coercion. The wholesomeness of the plot, however, is brought to question by the directorââ¬â¢s barely comfortable employment of the ââ¬Å"Chinese Boxâ⬠structure in the film. Throughout all four stories narrated in the movie, I was conscious of the separateness of the
Friday, October 18, 2019
Hombres Necios by Sor Juana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Hombres Necios by Sor Juana - Essay Example However, Sor Juana argues that these faults are caused by men themselves. This is seen in the first stanza of the poem where she argues that men wrongly accuse women forgetting that they are the ones to blame for the emergent faults. During the writing of the poem in the seventeenth century, gender equality was a main issue though it was hardly spoken about. Nonetheless, the poem gives a reflection of the scenario during this period while simultaneously condemning menââ¬â¢s actions against women. For example, the poem uses a relationship approach to show the inequality and atrocities committed to women. In every step of the relationship from courtship to the course of the relationship, men always strive to win and do not take responsibility for any fault at all but rather blame women. Generally, although Sor Juana argues for women, she does use the term ââ¬Ëweââ¬â¢ in the entire poem. Additionally, the poem is arguably easy to understand owing to the short stanzas, four lines each, and the recurrence of the message. Although Sor Juana was from Mexico, the poem gives a reflection of the general societal setting in Latin America. During this period womenââ¬â¢s voice and contributions to the society were limited with only two opportunities as either housewives or nuns. Although nuns enjoyed some privileges such as learning, they were still held back by the limitations imposed on women. As such, Sor Juanaââ¬â¢s poem critiquing men was a bold move from a woman making her one of the first pioneers of feminism. Considering the odds against women, it is only logical to ask what motivated her. Did other women approve of her ways? More importantly, did her efforts bear any fruits? Additionally, the poem is relatable to the modern society where issues revolving around gender equality are still imminent. Gender inequality is not only an issue in Latin America but rather a global
AT&T and T-Mobile's failed merger Research Paper
AT&T and T-Mobile's failed merger - Research Paper Example Both the corporation, AT&T and T-mobile were of the opinion that the merger lacked the intensity to affect the interests of the consumers in the wireless market. In other words, the wireless market will remain indifferent in spite of the merger. The deal amounted to 39 billion dollars. As the result of the deal, AT&T emerged as the largest mobile phone service provider in the country. Research question Whether the deal would have been fruitful from the consumersââ¬â¢ point of view? Literature Review and Analysis The resulted deal would offer AT&T to enjoy 43% of the market share. The market power would have widened the difference among the competitors in the market further. Researchers were of the opinion that the resulting merger would contribute to enhance the market power. The market structure is highly concentrated with lots of competitors and follows the guidelines of the horizontal merger. The arguments as well as the evidence provided by AT&T in the application were found t o be insufficient to ignore the presumption of increase in market power. According to the guidelines, the concentration of the market and the share of the market are measured on the basis of revenues. The products can be differentiated in the market and therefore revenues will act as the relevant parameter for measurement. If the revenues are fully attributable to the facilities based carriers, The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index would result to 3356 for the wireless market while the increase in index would be 741. On the other hand if the subscribers of the resellers are fully attributed to the resellers, then the index on the basis of revenue would be 3279 and the increase in the index would be 727. Therefore both the approaches show the market power is getting enhanced as a result of the merger. T-mobile continued to remain a strong player in the market. The other players lacked the competency to deal with the slack resulting from the elimination of T-mobile from the market. The effec ts of anti-competition could not be rubbed off completely as the resulting inefficiencies were not up to the mark (Goldfarb, 2011). The competitive disadvantages of the competitors rose. The effect was felt on quality and costs. The costs took the steep rising curve with poor standards of quality. The power of the competitors was limited and the roaming services felt the heat. AT&T and T-mobile offered the same quality of product under different conditions and at different prices. The authorities have to evaluate the national market and the local market separately as the price ranges kept on changing. The competitive effects on both markets were evaluated. A concern at the national level may not be a concern at the local markets and vice versa. The effects of the merger on the consumers would have been two folds. The subscribers of T-mobile will be left with no other option but to avail the highly priced smart phones and data services from AT&T instead of the affordable data plans o f T-mobile. The objective of AT&T in the merger was to enhance the consumer base (Besen, Kletter, Moresi, Salop and Woodbury, 2012). If the consumers of T-mobile come under the umbrella of AT&T significant amount of revenues will be generated and AT&T can gain the same level of profits. The customers will have to feel the pinch on the pockets by paying higher charges and also compromise of the quality of service. If T-mobile can be rubbed off from the market scenario, AT&T
The positive and negative effects of social enterprise to the Research Paper
The positive and negative effects of social enterprise to the community - Research Paper Example This essay will look into the negative and positive effects of social enterprise to the community. Introduction A social enterprise is a business, which aims not only to generate money, but as well to bring about a positive impact upon the communities it serves, the individuals with whom it operates with as well as their own work forces. A social enterprise can hire and pay earnings like a private-sector business; however, its focus is on the environmental or social aim, which differs from that of the private-sector (Dart & Zimmerman, 2004). Therefore, social enterprise entails the quest of business activities to attain a social undertaking. Social enterprise could include a range of activities like community-economic development, profit making activities within a nonprofit corporation, which might or might not be interrelated to the corporationââ¬â¢s services, and an alliance with the private industry (Alter, 2004). When social enterprise mission deviates from the intended missio n can bring negative effects to the community such as its accountability to the mission. This paper will discuss the negative effects of social enterprises to the community. ... Yet again, some imagine that rationalist justifications overlook several of the political and cultural basis and derivations of social enterprises. Economic and rational explanations are deemed to highpoint narrow strategic or economic aims for the structure and existence of establishments while they may have developed in reaction to wider and more intricate structures (Alter, 2004). Institutional elucidations explore organizational atmospheres to pinpoint changes, which would explain the changes in the manner that community confers legality to organizational languages, forms, practices and values. Environmental changes elucidate the advent of novel organizational systems (Dart & Brenda, 2004). A legitimacy typology suggests accounts and effects for the comprehensive development of social-enterprises as well as for its snowballing emphasis upon the commercial attribute of its description. The least theoretical legitimacy level is 'pragmatic'. On this degree, legitimacy is rendered by stakeholder factions when an endeavor affords something of significance (Heeks & Arun, 2009). Social enterprises are pragmatically legitimate since they reduce organizational financing needs or are an innovative resolution to social hitches. Pragmatic legitimacy is alike to rationalist as well as instrumental descriptions of social-enterprise importance. Nevertheless, pragmatic legitimacy states that legitimization might just as freely originate from social-enterprise clients or investors. This underlines the likelihood that social-enterprise is propelled by investor groups and priorities, which strengthen the traditional social-sector dependency upon investor resources
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Benefits And Necessity Of Bilingual Education In Schools And Essay
Benefits And Necessity Of Bilingual Education In Schools And Universities - Essay Example The broader view perceives bilingual education as the presence of double languages, and, hence, tasks for students, in an instructional environment. However, while many people think bilingual education is ineffective and unnecessary, I have discovered it to be otherwise. Critics have opined for long that bilingual education is financially beyond most foreign parents and, therefore, unnecessary. Their view has always been that the cost of educating the minority-language learners in classes undertaking bilinguals in foreign countries is more than that it requires educating students in dominant-only language programs (Crawford 71). A political view has also stated that encouraging bilingual education in universities encourages minority-language students to go against assimilation initiatives as they protest the teaching of the dominant language (Crawford 39). Although most of them are willing to live as part of mainstream society, they are not as ready to let go or alter their culture a nd native languages. This aspect is further compounded among the more informed university students who tend to associate the term ââ¬Å"bilingual studentâ⬠with uneducated or poor backgrounds as it has been stereotyped in the US or Europe (Lindholm-Leary 68). Furthermore, a public perspective of government-implemented programs on bilingual education has been of that intended to assimilate immigrants into the American culture hence, working in an opposite direction as to its intended outcome. Most foreign students are welcomed with the idea of being isolated linguistically, limiting their learning and earning potential while in foreign countries.
Gender, Trade and Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Gender, Trade and Religion - Essay Example According to Drislane and Parkinson, Patriarchy is ââ¬Å"literally rule by the father but generally it refers to a social situation where men are dominant over women in wealth status and in all other aspectsâ⬠(Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences). Since the time of creation women had been assigned the natural role of childbearer, homemaker and pleaser of their husbandââ¬â¢s every whim. She didnââ¬â¢t chose, she was chosen. As in the case of biblical Leah and Rachel who were both given to Jacob in exchange of 14 years of labor. Or in the case of Rebekah, who was given to Isaac in exchange for gold, silver and other jewelries (Genesis 29:16-28). For thousands of millenia, the lot of women had been dictated by Patriarchy. When men had discovered that by bartering and trading, gargantuan profits could be amassed, women were either given away by their fathers in exchange for something dear or they served as courtesans to the foreign traders mostly with the knowledge and blessing of the fathers (Whitfield 133 ). To my opinion, this inhumane status of women being either given, bartered or rented by the hour as a result of international trade and contacts by the native populace with foreign merchants, soldiers and other kibitzers is the most interesting and important idea that we can put forward regarding gender relations in history. In the Indian epic poem of Ramayana, 2 Sita was given away in marriage to Rama because Rama succeeded in wielding the "mighty bow of Siva" a possession of Sita's father, King Janaka (Narayan 23). In utter obeisance to paternal pressure, Sita acceded. In The Analects of Confucius, out of 20 chapters of desiderata that compel the men to follow or avoid, only four sentences pertained to women, two of them were outright shocking to modern civilization. One says "The Master said of Kung-ye Ch'ang that he might be wived.Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife" and "Of Nan Yung.He gave him the daughter of his own elder brother to wife" (Confucius chapter 5). Confucianism then, was the worst because women were not bartered or exchanged but outrightly given away gratis et amore. In the African Igbo tribe in Nigeria where polygamy is being practiced by men, women are not allowed to choose their husbands but they are given away after negotiations by groups representing both sides (Achebe xxx ). Since the subject matter of this paper involves gender relations as a result of international trade which also result to the spread of religion, nothing else illustrates this situation better than the Silk Road of olden days as all 3 elements are interlaced together. We therefore focus on the Silk Road phenomenon. The Silk Road is one of the world's most important and oldest trade route leading to ancient China. It was made possible because ancient China especially during the Han Dynasty was reputed to be the wealthiest and the most civilized among all nations and it had so many important and useful products to offer to the rest of humanity. Some of these are silk, porcelain, jade, lacquer ware, pearls, rubies, diamonds, satin, musk and rhubarb (Wood 9, 13-23).
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
The positive and negative effects of social enterprise to the Research Paper
The positive and negative effects of social enterprise to the community - Research Paper Example This essay will look into the negative and positive effects of social enterprise to the community. Introduction A social enterprise is a business, which aims not only to generate money, but as well to bring about a positive impact upon the communities it serves, the individuals with whom it operates with as well as their own work forces. A social enterprise can hire and pay earnings like a private-sector business; however, its focus is on the environmental or social aim, which differs from that of the private-sector (Dart & Zimmerman, 2004). Therefore, social enterprise entails the quest of business activities to attain a social undertaking. Social enterprise could include a range of activities like community-economic development, profit making activities within a nonprofit corporation, which might or might not be interrelated to the corporationââ¬â¢s services, and an alliance with the private industry (Alter, 2004). When social enterprise mission deviates from the intended missio n can bring negative effects to the community such as its accountability to the mission. This paper will discuss the negative effects of social enterprises to the community. ... Yet again, some imagine that rationalist justifications overlook several of the political and cultural basis and derivations of social enterprises. Economic and rational explanations are deemed to highpoint narrow strategic or economic aims for the structure and existence of establishments while they may have developed in reaction to wider and more intricate structures (Alter, 2004). Institutional elucidations explore organizational atmospheres to pinpoint changes, which would explain the changes in the manner that community confers legality to organizational languages, forms, practices and values. Environmental changes elucidate the advent of novel organizational systems (Dart & Brenda, 2004). A legitimacy typology suggests accounts and effects for the comprehensive development of social-enterprises as well as for its snowballing emphasis upon the commercial attribute of its description. The least theoretical legitimacy level is 'pragmatic'. On this degree, legitimacy is rendered by stakeholder factions when an endeavor affords something of significance (Heeks & Arun, 2009). Social enterprises are pragmatically legitimate since they reduce organizational financing needs or are an innovative resolution to social hitches. Pragmatic legitimacy is alike to rationalist as well as instrumental descriptions of social-enterprise importance. Nevertheless, pragmatic legitimacy states that legitimization might just as freely originate from social-enterprise clients or investors. This underlines the likelihood that social-enterprise is propelled by investor groups and priorities, which strengthen the traditional social-sector dependency upon investor resources
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Gender, Trade and Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Gender, Trade and Religion - Essay Example According to Drislane and Parkinson, Patriarchy is ââ¬Å"literally rule by the father but generally it refers to a social situation where men are dominant over women in wealth status and in all other aspectsâ⬠(Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences). Since the time of creation women had been assigned the natural role of childbearer, homemaker and pleaser of their husbandââ¬â¢s every whim. She didnââ¬â¢t chose, she was chosen. As in the case of biblical Leah and Rachel who were both given to Jacob in exchange of 14 years of labor. Or in the case of Rebekah, who was given to Isaac in exchange for gold, silver and other jewelries (Genesis 29:16-28). For thousands of millenia, the lot of women had been dictated by Patriarchy. When men had discovered that by bartering and trading, gargantuan profits could be amassed, women were either given away by their fathers in exchange for something dear or they served as courtesans to the foreign traders mostly with the knowledge and blessing of the fathers (Whitfield 133 ). To my opinion, this inhumane status of women being either given, bartered or rented by the hour as a result of international trade and contacts by the native populace with foreign merchants, soldiers and other kibitzers is the most interesting and important idea that we can put forward regarding gender relations in history. In the Indian epic poem of Ramayana, 2 Sita was given away in marriage to Rama because Rama succeeded in wielding the "mighty bow of Siva" a possession of Sita's father, King Janaka (Narayan 23). In utter obeisance to paternal pressure, Sita acceded. In The Analects of Confucius, out of 20 chapters of desiderata that compel the men to follow or avoid, only four sentences pertained to women, two of them were outright shocking to modern civilization. One says "The Master said of Kung-ye Ch'ang that he might be wived.Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife" and "Of Nan Yung.He gave him the daughter of his own elder brother to wife" (Confucius chapter 5). Confucianism then, was the worst because women were not bartered or exchanged but outrightly given away gratis et amore. In the African Igbo tribe in Nigeria where polygamy is being practiced by men, women are not allowed to choose their husbands but they are given away after negotiations by groups representing both sides (Achebe xxx ). Since the subject matter of this paper involves gender relations as a result of international trade which also result to the spread of religion, nothing else illustrates this situation better than the Silk Road of olden days as all 3 elements are interlaced together. We therefore focus on the Silk Road phenomenon. The Silk Road is one of the world's most important and oldest trade route leading to ancient China. It was made possible because ancient China especially during the Han Dynasty was reputed to be the wealthiest and the most civilized among all nations and it had so many important and useful products to offer to the rest of humanity. Some of these are silk, porcelain, jade, lacquer ware, pearls, rubies, diamonds, satin, musk and rhubarb (Wood 9, 13-23).
Effect of Electronic Media on Children Essay Example for Free
Effect of Electronic Media on Children Essay The media has demonstrated otentially profound effects, both positive and negative, on childrens cognitive, social, and behavioral development. Considering the increasing exposure of children to newer forms of media, we decided to review the current literature on the effects of media on child health both in the Western countries and India. It is widely accepted that media has profound influence on child health, including violence, obesity, tobacco and alcohol use, and risky sexual behaviors. Simultaneously, media may have some positive effects on child health. We need to find ways to optimize the role of edia in our society, taking advantage of their positive attributes and minimizing their negative ones. We need to understand better how to reverse the negative impact of media and make it more positive. Key words: Media, Child, India. ne of the notable changes in our social environment in the 21st century has been the saturation of our culture and daily lives by the mass media.
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