Internet Addiction in Modern Society

Today, the internet has become the biggest source of information in the whole world thanks to the advancing technology (Green 52). Any kind of information concerning anything in this world can be found there. Therefore, many people have sought to improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities about the internet in order to be in a better position to benefit from it. As a result, the world has since become just like a small global village whereby people can communicate from any corner of the world in seconds. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Internet Addiction in Modern Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People have also been able to acquire education without having to step in a lecture hall (Tomei 71). It is no longer the time when students had to travel from one continent to another in search of the best institutions of higher learning. These institutions have been brought right in their homes and that ha s cut them all that cost of having to travel and live in a foreign country. Never the less, everything good has its negative side, the emergency of the internet has come with its own ills. A lot of work that was done manually is now being done through the internet (Tomei 73). Students need not walk to classrooms; there are no longer messengers to post or deliver written messages from one office to another. The physical activity that was there is no longer in existence and hence people have become lazy. This is not healthy for the body as people end up developing health complications because of lack of exercise. On top of that, children have been exposed to sources of misleading information. Pornography sites are common sites that are visited by many young people and as a result, they end up learning a lot that can spoil their lives (Green 53). The biggest problem of all is the fact that many people have become addicted with the internet. People in KSA spend most part of the day on line staring on the screen and that has greatly affected other useful activities that used to be carried out there before. There are various reasons that have caused people in KSA to get addicted in the internet. Having a good connection of internet wiring is one great cause of internet addiction (Green 55). Without the wiring, people would not be in a position to access the internet services. Therefore the fact that the government does a lot in ensuring that people get connected, increases their chances of being addicted. There is also increased speed in the use of the internet, which enables people to get any kind of information or entertainment that they may want in a very short time (Kutais 100). If people had to wait for a long periods before accessing what they want in the internet, then perhaps they would lose interest and find better things to do.Advertising Looking for report on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn M ore It is no longer the time that entertainment could only be found in the televisions, newspapers, and magazine. The internet has created a more efficient source of entertainment, which creates a mental stimulation just like in a television (Kutais 100). Continuous exposure to the television has made people too much addicted to some programs and thus their minds are always tuned there. This number of people has since reduced because people have found a more appealing source of entertainment in the internet. There is always that urge to get online and chat with friends, watch movies, play games among other things. The most visited sites in the internet are social sites like face book and twitter. People can now get to know others and make friends on the social cites while others go ahead and get married. Good internet connectivity coupled with the fact that the cost of using the internet is very cheap make people to spent countless hours in the internet (Green 56). There have bee n countless cases of people neglecting their duties even starving children with hunger not because there is no food but simply because they cannot get themselves off the damn internet. By paying a very little amount of money, one can be able to stay glued to the screen for a very long time. Suppose the charges for accessing internet services could be raised, perhaps the number of internet addicts could decline. The internet services can be accessed not only in the computers but also on mobile phones. Social network addicts are on the increase because even in the absence of the computer or the cyber cafà ©, they can easily chat with friends through their mobile phones (Kutais 103). The number of hours people spend on sleep has tremendously declined. A person may need to sleep and even go to bed but fail to do it immediately because of the urge to view other people’s status, to update one’s own and the like. This has been made simpler by the use of mobile phones. From the comfort of one’s own bed all that is done and thus many people no longer take the required healthy number of hours of sleep. Internet addiction has had both positive and negative effects in KSA. In the kingdom of Saudi Arabia where Islam is the religion, gender segregation is at a very high scale. The females are not allowed to interact with the opposite sex from outside their families (Azzam 44). This gap has since been bridged by the social networks; they can communicate and make friends with people of their own choice from the comfort of their houses. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Internet Addiction in Modern Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There have been many cases of relationships ending due to this. A man may feel jealous when his fiancà ©e keeps chatting with other members of the opposite sex and vice versa. Once cautioned to stop it and one fails to because of addiction, seriou s problems ensue and many times the relationship becomes very strained. On top of that, health complications have arisen because of staring at the screen for long hours and the failure to carry on activities that cause the body to exercise. Internet addiction has led to an increase in antisocial behavior. The way people used to communicate in the real world has since changed. The daily practices that comprise interpersonal communication are declining as internet addicts are now using smiley faces and avatars instead of body gestures (Azzam 41). There is a decline in the use of facial expressions and other body gestures to put across intended emotion. As a result, people have developed personality disorders in which they do not identify with their real life persona but rather with their Internet representation. Therefore, the ability of people to maintain a healthy social life has greatly been reduced (Young 7). In order to help the people in KSA to deal with the problem, rehabilita tion is the best thing that can help them with the best solutions to internet addiction (Young 8). Our group is going to make use the little savings that we have to start a company that will offer rehabilitation services to people addicted to the internet. It is our expectation that we are going to get funding from the government and other donors since we do want to charge any fee to our clients. I am the overall leader of the group and my role will be to see to the success of the company. I will organize everything that has to be done, and make sure that everything is in the right order. My duties include looking for the best facilities that will enable us carry out our mission effectively. I will also go ahead to acquire the best sources of labor from people who are experienced and willing to work as volunteer. The greatest professional problem that many encounter when setting up our company is getting the best human resource (Noble 21). Given that, we do not intend to charge an y fee to our clients, we will need a lot of sacrifice. Advertising Looking for report on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More We will not be in a position to pay for any labor not unless we get good funding or a donor. Therefore, people will offer their services based on helping but not earning daily bread. As a result, we are expecting that many people are going to turn our invitations down never the less we are determined to make it. To deal with the above problem, we intend to spread awareness on the importance of offering voluntary services. In addition to that, we are going to request the government for some funds and apply for sponsorship by other able individuals or organizations. If all goes well, we are looking forward to start rewarding our human resources with some amount of money at the end of each month. The big problem is that, the government may turn down our request and we may not be able to get a good donor. On top of that, it is very hard for some people to offer free services given that they have spent quite a lot in acquiring the knowledge that they have. They see it as a waste of time and their energy (Noble 148). That can make us not be able to get the best human resource to add on the one that we already have. The other professional problem that we are likely to face is to do with the training of all the members. Professional ethics require that a person should be well conversant with what he or she is doing in a company. Therefore, we need to train our staff thoroughly for them to be able to offer the best services (Noble 4). Getting the required personnel to give the proper training may be quite a challenge given that we do not have the ability to pay in order to get the best. In order to deal with the above problem, we have decided to make the best use of the internet to look for a volunteer who can offer the service. If that is not possible, we intend to contribute the little that we have to pay for the lowest bidder. In addition to that, we shall try as much as possible to get a lot of information about rehabilitation of internet addicts from the internet. Getting a volunteer trainer may not be easy and contributing the little that we have to pay for one will mean a decrease in the limited finance that we have. Lack of enough capital when starting a company is a great setback (Worthington 12). Still the information on the internet is not enough to equip us for what we are about to do. Depending much on it will mean that our services will be limited to certain activities. We intend to work on looking for the best human resource first before considering the issue of training. This is because with the best skilled labor, there is no need for a lot of training (Worthington 13). That will cut down the cost of having to hire a professional trainer. We will have also been spared the cumbersome duty of having to search for a volunteer trainer. Getting the best skilled labor means having those particular person in our midst throughout. They will end up showing us what to do and correcting us whenever we go wrong. There is a good internet net work in KSA and that has facilitated the use of internet services. Many people are able to access it at very low cost. There are interesting sites like the social media that keeps people glued to the screen for long hours. As a result, people have been addicted to it, and are exposed to many problems (Young 9). We intend to start a company that will help the people to deal with the problem. Getting the required skilled labor is our greatest problem and in addition to that training the staff could pose a big challenge. Works Cited Azzam, Henry T. The Arab World Facing the Challenge of the New Millennium. London: Tauris, 2002. Internet resource. Green, Lelia. The Internet: An Introduction to New Media. Oxford: Berg, 2010. Print. Kutais, B G. Internet Policies, and Issues, Volume 4. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2002. Print. Noble, Dawn. How to Start a Home-Based Professional Organizing Business. Guilford, Conn: Globe Pequot Press, 2007. Print. Tomei, Lawrence A. Lexicon of Onlin e, and Distance Learning. Lanham: Rowman Littlefield, 2010. Print. Worthington, Kelvin. Setting Up and Running a Successful Home Business. Glebe, N.S.W: Pascal Press, 2006. Print. Young, Kimberly S, and Cristiano N. Abreu. Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley Sons, 2010. Print. This report on Internet Addiction in Modern Society was written and submitted by user Emelia Marshall to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The American economy boomed in the 1920s Essays

The American economy boomed in the 1920s Essays The American economy boomed in the 1920s Essay The American economy boomed in the 1920s Essay As Europe was beginning to recover from a very damaging and costly war, both in human and economic terms, America entered a period of prosperity. In the years following the end of the First World War America experienced an economic boom, a rapid growth of wealth. It resulted from an economic cycle known as the cycle of prosperity. This is a continuous cycle, one aspect of which leads on to another and so on. In the USA it began with the rise of demand for goods produced which led to the need to increase production. This in turn naturally led to the need to employ more workers providing people with jobs and thus with money to spend on goods produced. The result was a further increase in demand and the continuation of the cycle. As the cycle continued, the country experienced an economic boom and became more and more prosperous. This essay will assess the causes of the boom, both long and short term, and their relative importance. This essay will firstly examine the first long-term causes that created an environment in which the American economy could boom. The first long-term cause was Americas natural advantage. Without this long-term cause it is questionable whether the boom would have happened at all. There were two parts to Americas natural advantage; raw materials and regional diversity. Since America was (and still is) such a large country, she had an abundance of raw materials. During the nineteenth century America had been busy developing these riches(Harriet Ward World Powers in the 20th century) and had an ample supply of coal, iron ore, and oil. With this abundance of raw materials America was able to build up industries. This made many people rich, In 1914 there were 4,500 millionaires and in 1929 11,000! (Harriet Ward World Powers in the 20th century). America was also aided by the fact that she was huge, this allowed for the creation of internal markets. This is called regional diversity. America in the 1920s was divided up into four main regional sections. These were; the East Coast, The Mid-West, the South and the West Coast. Each region specialised in one area of production, whether it was film or farming. An example of this could be the difference between the East Coast and the West Coast of America. The East Coast was the financial centre of America, it included cities such as New York. It was also the richest part of the USA with a lot of factories and businesses. The West Coast was the newly developed part of the USA, with lots of high-tech industries. This regional diversity greatly benefited America. Where other, smaller, counties had to look abroad to sell their goods America didnt have to. This factor gave a boost to the American economy as the internal market gave a kick-start to the process known as the Cycle of Prosperity. It created an initial market, and this demand was a platform on which the rest of the cycle could be based. Americas natural advantage meant that she had the materials and a market for her products. But industrious workers were needed to produce the goods. To ensure a sufficient number of workers, the American government and businesses promoted the American Dream. This American Dream wasnt a new idea at the time, it had been around for a long time, and it is the second long-term cause of the economic boom. The American Dream was the idea that if you worked hard, you would become well off and successful. Although this was not true in most cases many people believed it. Many immigrants believed it also, but they were, in most cases, just used as cheap labour. Businesses and the government promoted the American Dream because they wanted people to work hard and to follow the work ethic. The Dream was promoted by propaganda, an example of this propaganda can be seen on an American poster used during this time. You are boss of your future (The USA, a divided nation. Neil de Marco). The gave an incentive for working hard, because it claimed that one might become boss of ones own business in the future. America had the environment, created by the long-term causes, for an economic boom. She had raw materials, hardworking workers and an internal market. All that was needed now was a spark to turn economic growth into an economic boom. America had the means of making the goods but did not have a large enough demand for their goods. This demand came during the First World War. There are two main reasons why the war led to an economic boom in America. Firstly, the war was fought in Europe. Many European factories had been destroyed by the war and some factories were converted to produce weapons and uniforms. This meant that there were fewer factories producing consumer goods for the civilians. So the allied countries turned to America for consumer goods. This created demand for American goods as American industry and agriculture had not been affected by the war, as no fighting took place in America and she did not join the war until 1917. This huge amount of demand for American goods turned economic growth into an economic boom. Secondly, America had lots of money because of this economic stability and therefore she was able to lend huge sums (Harriet Ward World Powers in the 20th century) of money to allied countries during the war. After the war America lent money to Germany so that she could pay her war debts to Britain, France and Belgium. (Harriet Ward World Powers in the 20th century). This money was to be paid back with interest that created extra money to be invested in industry. Hence, American industries continue to grow and became more mechanised and efficient. This enabled more goods to be produced, which contributed to the economic boom. The long-term causes had created the environment for an economic boom to take place in and the First World War acted as a spark to ignite the boom. However, short term factors were also needed because the economic boom had to be maintained and developed. The first short-term cause that allowed the economic boom to continue and grow was the policies followed by the Federal Government of America. A car in every garage and a chicken in every pot. (BBC GCSE Bitesize). This was the aim of American politicians in the 1920s, and the Federal Government followed two economic policies to create this. The first of these was laissez faire, which, in English, means leave it alone. As a result of laissez faire taxes were kept low. This meant that more people had more money, which created more demand for goods. This all linking back to the circle of prosperity and fed into it. Laissez faire also meant that banks were able to lend more money to people, who could invest it in new businesses. These new businesses were able to meet the increased demand created by the decrease in taxes. This kept the circle of prosperity going. The President at the time, Calvin Coolidge, agreed with the policies of the Government as he once said the business of America is business. This meant that it was Americas aim to make her businesses rich, powerful and successful. The Federal Government also started to use tariffs. High taxes were put on foreign goods, this encouraged Americans to buy American products as imported goods would cost more. There were two tariff acts. In 1922 the Americans introduced the Fordney McCumber Tariff Act and in 1929 tariffs were made even higher as a result of the Hawley Smoot Tariff Act. The tariffs added to the circle of Prosperity as it created more demand for American goods. The Circle of Prosperity was continuing to go and grow as a result of the Federal Governments policies. Another short-term factor which contributed to the economic boom was that companies used a great deal of advertising during the economic boom. This is supported by the fact that in 1914, approximately $250,000 was spent on advertising in magazines but by 1929, this had increased dramatically to $3 billion. Companies and businesses started to spend more and more money on advertising because it directly created demand for their products. Posters advertisements, radio advertisements and travelling salesmen encouraged Americans to spend (Modern World History, Ben Walsh). The aim of the advertising was to make people feel dissatisfied if they did not have a certain product. The advertisements led people to believe that their lives would be enhanced and improved by the certain products or goods. A range of advertising methods such as posters, radios and magazines were used. Advertising w as very important because it stimulated demand and consequently maintained and increased the cycle of prosperity and the economic boom. People wanted to buy goods because of advertisements, this meant that they would also work harder, to try to earn more money. This had another positive effect, because people were working so hard that it meant that more goods could be produced. All this kept the circle of prosperity going and growing, which kept the economic boom going. It is all very well to have advertisements plastered all over, but people had to have money to buy the products. Purchasing power had to be increased to keep up with demand for goods which was created by the advertising. Purchasing power was important because without it, having demand would be of no use. We have already seen how the policy of Laissez Faire, implemented by the American Federal Government, reduced taxes enabling people to have more money to spend on goods. People were, and still are, also inclined to work harder for products that they really want or need. Good advertising, in most cases, created this need for something. However, there were two other ways in which purchasing power was increased. Between 1923 and 1929 the average hourly wage rose by 8%. This meant that people generally had more money, therefore being able to buy the products they desired and adding to the cycle of prosperity. Products also became more widely available to a wider variety of people. This was because finance companies (World History 1870-1992, Peter Lane) were set. These companies meant that people didnt have to pay the whole cost in one go, but they could pay in monthly or weekly instalments, after having paid a deposit. This was called credit. Credit also allowed more people to join the cycle of prosperity as more people could buy things that they could not afford before. All this meant that there was a massive increase in purchasing power, which in turn led to an increase in demand and therefore an increase in overall production, as more products were needed all this fed into the cycle of prosperity and kept it going and growing. So far, the short-term causes have increased demand for products, and increased purchasing power. However, if all went as it was supposed to without any addition to the cycle, people would soon have bought everything they wanted or could afford. To keep the economic boom going therefore, new industries and new types of goods were created. This was to maintain a high level of demand throughout the 1920s. The introduction of electricity boosted the production of new goods and industries a great deal. Electricity acted as a type of catalyst for the creation of new goods. By 1927 approximately 63% of all homes in the USA had electricity. It meant that a whole new range of products could be made like vacuum cleaners, washing machines, toasters, fridges and radios, this, therefore also led to the growth in the electrical engineering industry and in the industries producing these consumer goods (World History 1870-1992, Peter Lane). This new influx of demand kept the cycle of prosperity going and the economic boom maintained. Advertising also increased as more new products came about, this also helped to create and maintain a high demand. More jobs were also created, as all these new industries needed to employ more people. This meant that there was less unemployment in the USA and more people with money to spend on American produce. This new wave of people with money to spend also contributed to the economic boom and maintained it. The industry which created the most amount of jobs was the car industry, this was because the car industry required other industries, for example the basic raw materials such as steel. The car industry also created the need for roadside petrol stations and these in turn led to the creation of roadside restaurants. These new industries and such, kept the economic boom going and growing. Having accepted that new industries were necessary to keep the boom going, it is now necessary to look at how the demand was met with the goods. If enough goods werent being made to keep the demand high, the cycle of prosperity was likely to end. There were two ways in which the demand was met. The first of these ways was the buying of stocks and shares. During the 1920s buying shares became extremely popular. Companies would float their company on the stock market so that people would buy stakes in the company. This provided money for the company, which could be invested back into the company to make it larger so that more goods could be created. This then led to higher employment, higher purchasing power and into even more demand. Also during the 1920s share buying became much easier. This was partly due to the government policy of Laissez faire. Laissez faire meant that people were able to borrow money from banks more easily so that they could invest it into shares. Another reason why it was easier to buy into shares is because people were able to buy them using instalments. People could put down a 10% deposit and then pay for them over the period of time following. The second way that the USA could keep production high enough to meet the demand was by using mass production and the moving assembly line, as pioneered by Henry Ford. The moving assembly line sped up production a great deal. For example, before the assembly line, on average a car took about 12 hours to make, but by using the line it took only 2 hours, this being a dramatic saving in time. Not only did the moving assembly line increase production, it helped to lower the price of goods meaning that the price of these goods could go down, increasing demand. The prices were able to go down because more products could be made within the same amount of time, with the same amount of workers so companies could afford to lower their prices. This essay has shown that both long-term and short-term causes were necessary to cause the American economy to boom in the 1920s. The boom would not have happened without the long-term or short-term causes. The long-term causes created an environment for which an economic boom could happen in and the short-term causes maintained and increased the economic boom once it had started. Both the long-term and short-term causes fed into the cycle of prosperity. The long-term causes created it and the short-term causes stimulated it and kept it going. The First World War was probably the single most important factor that caused the economic boom to happen. Without the First World War America would not have had an external market to sell her goods to. America also leant money to European countries after the war, this money was repaid to America with interest. If this hadnt happened it would have meant that not as much money would have been coming into America, therefore not as much money would have been invested into American companies and businesses, making them probably less successful. However, all the factors that created and maintained the economic boom were important. But they all needed to happening at the same time and to and to a great extent. This happened when there was increased demand, increased means of production and increased spending power. However the economic boom only lasted a short whist and on the 29th of October 1929 the American economy crashed during the Wall Street Crash and a period of depression followed.

When work comes home; Coping Strategies of Teleworkers and their Essay

When work comes home; Coping Strategies of Teleworkers and their Families - Essay Example What paradigm is the author writing within, Critical or uncritical? The term critical refers the rational arguments and logic to explain questions and to weigh up evidence to support claims (Goatly, 2000). The authors use a critical paradigm for their work, with the help of which they build their arguments and present their data eventually leading to evaluation which supports what the authors are trying to portray. The information in this research paper is based both on primary data collection as well as secondary data obtained from various literature sources. The primary information was collected through structured and semi-structured interviews with numerous participants. This information was then categorized into representative case studies which illustrated various home and work situations. The paper follows a logical order of arguments throughout. The purpose of the paper is highlighted in the beginning. Teleworking and "coping strategies† along with various definitions and explanations of â€Å"work† and â€Å"home† are presented as the writers identify both as two separate discourses and the different temporal regimes they â€Å"draw on†. The writing criticizes the co existence of work and home in the same environment. In their selection of the research sample the writers recognize their limitations and clearly state that their â€Å"findings cannot be generalized to other telework groups...† The evidence leading to the conclusion is presented adequately. Is there any bias in the paper? If so, what? Incomplete descriptions limit the overall understanding of the participants in the research therefore greatly impacting the interpretations and applications of the research findings .

The Concept of Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Concept of Risk - Essay Example The occurrence of an undesirable event is known as risks and risk management is a subject of great importance in project management. The risks which occur in project management is objectified and often occurs in the form of monetary loss and there is always an uncertainty associated with the occurrence of risk, however, the results of a risk are always undesirable for the people and organizations involved in the project. Project Risk Management has become a very important field of study in recent years because the project costs are very high these years and substantial capital is involved in the execution of the projects. Moreover, monetary loss is not the only issue, the time constraint has become much more important in the current economic and political scenario and the uncertainties in the execution of the project can delay the completion of the projects. These delays can result in fines and heavy penalties and can also affect the execution of other associated projects, therefore it is imperative to analyze and manage risk properly. Some authors also include the risk of life in risk assessment associated with a project, however, in this essay, it will not be discussed as a risk in project management because it is more relevant to health and safety issues. Thus there is a general consensus among the authors regarding the definition and concept of risk in project management. A risk is always an uncertainty in the execution of the project with a little probability of occurrence.... has become a very important field of study in recent years because the project costs are very high these years and substantial capital is involved in the execution of the projects. Moreover monetary loss is not the only issue, the time constraint has become much more important in the current economic and political scenario and the uncertainties in the execution of the project can delay the completion of the projects. These delays can result in fines and heavy pnealties and can also affect the execution of other associated projects, therefore it is imperative to analyse and manage risk properly. Some authors also include the risk of life in risk assessment associated with a project, however in this essay it will not be discussed as risk in project management because it is more relevant to health and safety issues (Jeynes, 2002). Thus there is a general consensus among the authors regarding the definition and concept of risk in project management. A risk is always an uncertainty in the execution of the project with a little probability of occurrence, however if occurs it always has undesirable result. Risk Management is always carried out in five steps: 1. Identification 2. Analysis 3. Resolution 4. Implementation 5. Monitoring Risk in PRINCE2 PRINCE2 is a process driven project management method and thus the management of a project as per PRINCE2 is carried out in steps. It gives ultimate liberty to the project management team to control and neutralize risks in project management. According to PRINCE2 risk is an uncertainty in the outcome of a project, this uncertainty is a two way pehnomenon, it can be a positive opportunity or a negative threat. Thus all the unclear outcomes of a project are termed as risk in PRINCE2 method of project management (Bentley, 2005).

Professional Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Professional Journals - Essay Example Striving for carbon neutrality not only makes good social sense, it makes good business sense. The US has balked at taking action on global warming citing fears it would hurt the economy. However, I think excessive planetary warming and polar meltdown would be more damaging. Besides, New Zealand is in an excellent position to lead the world in new carbon reduction products and technologies. It seems to be an inevitable path and we should take the lead. 19/7/2007) I had a discussion with my friend "Anthony" about the obligations that a business has to society. He is a strict free market advocate and believes the only obligation a corporation has is to make a profit. He argues that a business will self regulate its responsibility to society by its need to stay in business. He said if they sell substandard or unsafe products, the marketplace will reject them and the company will go out of business. I maintain that he has a naive view of business. A company that is only profit driven will focus on profit at any cost. They will use deceit, advertising, and lies to exploit the public. Companies will exploit consumers and nations will exploit weaker nations. Unsafe drugs will be sold that may take years to detect. A business has a responsibility to society and that should be a part of their motivation for existing. 21/7/2007) Random thoughts on stakeholder power: What do we do when there is a conflict of interest among the stakeholders What if a community thinks a business is creating too much noise at night On the one side there is the corporation, the suppliers, the shareholders, and the distributors, and employees who have little interest in investing money or paying higher prices for noise abatement. There are also the secondary beneficiaries such as local shops where workers spend their money. This bloc has vast wealth, legal teams, and wide support. On the other hand there are the local people who are annoyed by the noise. They have stakeholder power: economic, voting, political, and legal. But the only way that any of these powers are of any value is through organization. Non-economic stakeholders only have the power of organization because most companies will only be reactive. The role of the manager in the future will be to alter the reactive nature of business. 23/7/2007) 'Anthony' dropped by for another visit and we spoke about government's role in business. Of course, the hardened capitalist that he is advocated for absolute hands off of commerce. He did bring up a good point. He said that government regulation would always favor the party with the greatest influence. That's why the major portion of corporate public affairs involves relations with the federal government. In fact, government regulation is simply a tool that can be used by corrupt businesses to allow them to operate immorally within the law. He still insists that consumer choice and market pressures are the only real and valid form of regulation. 24/7/2007) Had to take a walk this evening in this chilly wet weather. I must remember to look for some footwear that is a little more resilient to moisture. Stopped by a little cafe and had a cup of coffee from Hawaii. Best I've had in quite a while. Made me think that I'm sitting in a local shop, drinking American coffee, and contemplating buying shoes probably from China. I'm no jet-setter but I certainly have gone global. As global cooperation and interaction

Education Essays Design and Technology

Education Essays Design and Technology Can we promote more interest in Design Technology by having more relevant projects. Abstract To define Design and Technology and what students need to know in education is complex, and drawing directly on real world practices may provide educators with confidence and guidance in teaching design. This should give clear definitions and descriptions on how design works in practice, thus enabling educators to select which features of these practices can be translated into the encouragement of designer thinking and behaviour in educational contexts. This paper considers the encouragement of interest required to enhance and motivate a higher interest in Design Technology by having more relevant projects. Where realisation of concepts empowers fantasies, freeing the imaginations from reality into design. Creating the desired from the perceived. Resulting in keeping the process sharp. This paper will discuss considerations on the way a pupil perceives and processes information, for design in terms of action, reflection and appraisal and for technology in respect to solutions to technological problems through the process of invention. Evaluation will be made of performance in respect to previous research highlighting the teaching strategies used and the managing of the project. Above all, the undertaking of the project and the design process involved will set out to be a successful evaluation of teaching / learning experience. Review of Literature The work of Denton (1993) discussed the relevance of the design process in schools and whether it has merely a stylised ritual, more to do with the production of endless sheets of over decorated artwork with elaborate borders than a design tool. He discusses how the ritual of designing has arisen in education, the origins predating the National Curriculum, around the time when Craft, Design Technology was introduced into the Curriculum. Furthermore, Denton states that it appears to be centred on an incomplete understanding of the process of designing and the functions of modelling and drawing. The formal design process, as used in industry certainly does flow from initial ideas, research, questionnaires and so on, and Denton is not being overcritical of the design process as such, instead he points to the obvious primary function in design activity being the practical outcome rather than a neat visual presentation of the design activity. Commercial designers have a rough idea of the outcome before they actually start designing and they model a progression of refinements and variations in their ideas. By modelling, Denton makes reference to three types that are useful design tools:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Drawing: These range from rapid sketches of the design to externalise design ideas to formal rendered pictorial representations of the finished product, complete engineering drawings and exploded diagrams.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Models: These range from 3D lash ups to demonstrate he principles, give a better idea of proportion and, again, to externalise design ideas. The other end of the scale is the professional presentation scale model that we are familiar with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CAD: These can also range from doodles in ProDesktop (or something similar), which enables the designer to get an idea of scale, right through to professionally produced rendered CAD designs. Most of these final coloured, rendered, anatomically correct models (and drawings) are used to communicate with clients, who will have no interest in rough sketches. It is these rough sketches and doodles that are at the heart of the design process and should be of prime importance to teachers as they are better indicators of the childs design thinking. Denton asserts that most schools prefer exquisitely finished and attractively presented work, complete with borders, in contrast with the rudimentary initial sketches of the design process. This preference is communicated to the pupils, who then spend time reworking their initial drawings, wasting time and efficiency in the process, and slowing down the exploration of fresh ideas. Much of this folder work is finished to such a standard that it is indicative of it being produced after the artefact has actually been made. In this paper, he proposes that it may be a more useful strategy to break away from the current strategy: starting at AT1: Investigating Making generating ideas, and instead start by evaluating something in order to make proposals on how it may be made better. I find that this proposal makes perfect sense, after all most designs are a redesign of an earlier design. The first cars were redesigned carriages, and subsequent cars were simply evolutionary changes, besides, one can empathise with pupils that have limited life experiences, trying to design an artefact starting with a virgin sheet of paper. Another proposal that, I think, has merit is changing the ratio of designing to making in favour of making, since it is the making that takes the most time. A disproportionate amount of time is spent doing research or more accurately, collating images. Entire lessons devoted to cutting pictures out of Argos catalogues have little merit and a minor influence on the final design. Denton suggests that efficiency and effectiveness may also be developed by the use of informal groupwork in the early stages coupled with the use of short deadlines can also promote motivation and possibly the generation of ideas (Denton, 1992). Kimbell et al explores the results derived from the APU (Assessment of Performance Unit) study of 1991, that described the capability in Design and Technology in terms of action, reflection and appraisal. He explains, in graphical terms, how boys and girls differ in the results of their coursework. According to the APU, girls consistently outperform boys right across the range of abilities, ie, high achieving girls perform better than high achieving boys and low achieving girls perform better than low achieving boys. While this study is fruitful, it doesnt explain why this should be the case. Lawler (1999) examines this disparity in results between genders by setting a group of pupils in the final year of primary school two separate tasks, recording the results and making comparisons. This age group were chosen because they had had minimal exposure to the procedural methodology imposed on them by their teachers. The paper hasevolved from research into ways of describing the process of designing. Two possible descriptors to show the effects of introducing project work have been called Big pictures and Small steps. Big pictures designing is future focussed, inspirational, and results in statements of complete ideas. Concerned with the mental process rather than the procedural, self directed, metacognitive process of design. Smallsteps designing is reflective, sequential, analytical, and descriptive. Good designing is evidenced as a combination of these two styles. Some pupils may have a preference for one approach that, if it conflicts with the way their teacher manages the project work, may restrict their progress. Raising the awareness of the teacher to the effects that the strategy that they impose on the project work has on the pupils, could be an important factor in increased student success. The study compared two different contextualised designing approaches to the presentation and management of project work. It shows the effects that each approach had on the performance of a group of seventy-five 11 year olds, and highlights the different responses of boys and girls to the same design situations. The results indicate that the strategy adopted by the teacher for the sequencing of practical project work had a greater effect on good designer boys, than it did on good designer girls and had a greater negative effect on less able girls than it did on less able boys (Lawler, 1 999) In a different attempt to relate pupils thinking styles to performance in Design and Technology, Atkinson (1995) used a test of Cognitive Style, shown to be intimately related in ideas and attitudes, to examine the performance of pupils in their GCSE coursework, utilizing a test devised by Riding and Cheema (1991) The Cognitive Style Analysis (CSA). The test was a result of over thirty methods of defining cognitive style being reviewed had it was concluded that most could be grouped within two fundamental independent cognitive style dimensions. These descriptors used in that test were seen along two axes (x, y) each subject being placed along the two continua of Wholist to Analyst (x axis) and Verbaliser to Imager (y axis). Analytic Verbaliser Imager Wholist A pupils position in the Wholist to Analytic dimension reflects whether they understand situations as a whole or see things in parts, while their position in the Verbal to Imagery dimension reflects the manner in which they represent information while thinking, either as words or mental pictures. In psychological terms analysts were defined as being field dependent, being affected by the world around them (in their perceptions) and wholists as being the opposite and field independent. By combining these two concepts, using wholist and analyst to examine pupils style of designing, new descriptors for designing styles were proposed. The CSA was produced as a computerised test that automatically calculates and plots a pupils position on both dimensions. The results reflect the way a pupil perceives and processes information. The relative speed in which a pupil answers different styles of questions, reveals their cognitive style (Riding Staley, 1998) Methodology Whilst on school placement, I noticed another teacher suggesting ideas to a year-12 pupil. Within minutes, the teacher had filled up a side of A3 with quickfire sketches and doodles. If pupils have a short time to focus their minds on quick sketches, it can be more productive than spending an entire lesson producing coloured drawings. I had an opportunity to try this approach at my last school placement when teaching a class of mixed ability Year 9s. The class were stuck, having spent the previous lesson producing 1 or 2 designs. I suggested that they all swap papers in their groups of four and improve on the original idea. After 10 minutes, the papers were swapped again, and again after another 10 minutes. This resulted in each pupil with three additional ideas to work with. From this placement experience, I have decided that the best way to establish what Key Stage 3 pupils gain from the Design Make tasks would be to revisit the two schools in which I taught whilst on teaching practice. The purpose of my visits would be as follows:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To examine the projects that are made by Key Stage 3 pupils and taking one example note the following; the tools required to make the task, the processes involved, and the amount of the pupils own design input.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Subject to approval by the head of department, ask pupils to complete my questionnaires. This will be an indication of whether the pupils have enjoyed making the project, what the pupils have learned from making the project and, if the pupil is in Year 9, whether that pupil is considering taking up Design Technology in Key Stage 4.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, I will also ask pupils if they have any suggestions that will improve the project. The purpose of undertaking design is the development of outcomes of various types. Each design project has stages of construction: these are the components of the final object, in which each stage contains action, reflection and appraisal. As an example: to build a car, there are stages of construction for the engine, transmission, wheels, bodywork, doors, windows, and interior etc. Each of these components has an initial concept, in which action, reflection and appraisal takes place for choice, material and size before it is offered into the final construction of the car, where once again action, reflection and appraisal will take place. Then once all the components are fitted and the car is complete, then reflection and appraisal takes place. Final changes are made and appraisal takes place. The car is completed. The degree of action, reflection and appraisal that each pupil with undertake is governed by the leadership of their long-term teacher, the teachers experience of design in general and knowledge of design in the real world, and most importantly their confidence and competence within their specialism. This performance of the teacher: and their use of rapid sketches, pictorial presentations and engineering assembly drawings all go towards efficient modelling techniques. The final piece may be a scaled version or may only exist on a computer screen, but regardless its value is in the development of design ideas and the extent of the pupils thinking. I will visit each school every two weeks to evaluate and discuss pupil progress. The project being set for the Design and Make task for Key Stage 3 will be in the context of control, which allows pupils to appreciate the final significance of their work. My direction will be focused towards: the efficiency effectiveness of design, and a good quality product within a short deadline. These factors I will encourage, as they are the foundation towards the promoting of motivation and the generation of ideas (Denton, 1992). My direction of evaluating for the projects research will be concise as possible, giving the pupil the high-level skill opportunity, looking for the right amount of information that allows them to realise the aim. Following completion of my evaluation, I will give verbal feedback to everyone, with a more detailed written appraisal sent within a reasonable time period. The written assessment is an important factor, for the pupils motivation and long-term progression of development for both designerly thinking and behaviour. My aim will be to make clear links between the knowledge and skills the pupils need and the sequences of learning activities they are being taught. In my preparation before the visits I will have a clear direction for the design problem: who is it for, what are their needs, where will it be used, number of units to be produced etc., and which design solution of: particular materials, technologies, or products can be identified and taught (Anning et al, 1996) During each visit I will look for the teaching of technology to be presented in a clear manner that shows a real understanding of technology can be obtained. This understanding will be of the processes of design as well as elements of technological knowledge and essential technological principles. I will look for pupil seeking solutions to technological problems through the process of invention, showing a deeper, fuller understanding of technology by result. Throughout I shall look for encouragement in the use of independent strategies, methods and principles of development, for out of this process of technological development by the pupil can be examined (Hill, 1996). During my visits, through a brief allocated period, by way of this time constraint test I will evaluate their design performance by way of the Big Picture and Small Step descriptors. I will encourage the pupils towards professional designers practices for inspiration, and seek evidence for emphasis the importance and need for the following in professional design: discussion at all stages of the design process, to continually refer back to the project aims, to continually evaluate progress, and to use sketching as visual notetaking (Hill, 1996, p.3) Throughout the allocated time for completion of the project, the pupils will be able to access their normal range of information sources made available to them. Therefore I can gain the pupils comments with regard to their depth of to investigation, discussion and resulting informed decisions on the quality, purpose and function required. On completion of the task I will ask each pupil to complete the questionnaire (see Appendix) from which the responses will be assessed. Above all, the undertaking of the project and the design process involved should be a successful teaching / learning experience for all. Results Discussions The project was to complete the design and construct a fuse tester. From the results in table1 it is clear that from the two schools visited, School A shows that there are more stages involved in designing and making the fuse tester. Pupils from School A also had greater scope for individualising their designs, although many pupils copied each other because of lack of creativity. School A School B Circuit theory Circuit theory Draw circuit using livewire Spider diagram to identify end user Solder Components into PCB Initial ideas Test Circuit Final ideas Research into hand-held devices Mark out acrylic Spider diagram to identify end user Cut out design Initial ideas Bend acrylic to shape Final ideas Stick copper tape on acrylic Make prototype from foam Solder the joins Make Mould (two halves) Test and Evaluate Vacuum form case from Moulds Test Evaluate Table 1 My aim to make clear links between the knowledge and skills the pupils needed and the sequences of learning activities was successful. With my preparation before the visits I had a clear direction for the design problem: Who is it for: General consumer What are their needs: To test general household fuses Where will it be used: In home and office Number of units produced: 250,000 Which design solution- particular materials: Plastic, technologies: True or false indicator, Circuit board and products: Connector(s), Battery On each visit, on initially addressing the class I checked with those pupils furthest away that all could hear me, and that my voice was not too quiet. I then briefly explained the task, whilst handing out extra information sheets, which I then covered in details and finished by asking for any questions. I had taken with me large print versions on the task in case there was pupil(s) present with sight difficulties. My teaching of technology was presented in a clear manner, where good listening and learning regarding the processes of design as well as elements of technological knowledge and essential technological principles took place. It was clear that individual pupils on the whole, sought solutions to the technological problems through the process of invention, where a fuller understanding of technology followed. I encourage the use of independent strategies, methods and principles of development, from which the process of technological development by the pupil could be examined. I successfully informed the pupils towards professional designers practices for inspiration at a reasonable pace, checking that all pupils understood, and emphasised the need for discussion at all stages of the design process, to make sure to continually refer back to the project aims, to continually evaluate progress, and to always use sketching as visual notetaking. All of which was successful in varying degrees. It was seen that some pupils were stronger in relating to some production concepts than others, and in using a varying degree of photographic memory in their detailed sketches whilst seeking their solutions. Not all designers in the real world are specialists in all fields, therefore it was not expected that a pupil would excel in all areas. And that was confirmed with some pupils being stronger in relating to some design and production concepts than others, a degree of photographic memory being one example where a pupil showed promise in solving a problem with a detailed sketch of a related or unrelated object as the solution. The completed questionnaire results confirmed the finding of Atkinson (1995) that showed no significant gender difference regarding the pupils perceived ability or their enjoyment of the design process. From the total sample a large number of the pupils believed that they were poor at designing and did not enjoy the task. Boys % Girls % Enjoyed and achieved Enjoyed but could not achieved Did not enjoy but achieved Did not enjoy and could not achieve Totals 100% ( ) 100% ( ) Table 2: Pupils perceived enjoyment and capability to achieve good results. As outlined in Atkinson (1995) the skill and teaching strategies used confirm a clear comparison of collaborator (School A) and interventionist mode (School B). The concept of collaborative learning brings to mind the image of a circle of learners, in which the pupils learn with each other by co-constructing knowledge. Collaboration means that people labor together to construct something that did not exist before the collaboration. From this it was seen that the input by the teacher: their personal technological capabilities; their understanding on how each idea could or could not be manufactured by the available resources; the time available; and the knowledge of the pupils manufacturing capability. Whilst the interventionist mode a faster pace is dictated, not much time was spent on the design, it was draw initial ideas and straight to manufacturing. Very few detailed sketches and their development took place, the project development took place during the manufacturing. Pupils tended to get out of their depth with their technological ability, and showed that here the pupil lost ownership of their idea to the teacher. At this point even capable pupils would be waiting for further instruction as the next step was beyond their capability, which resulted in the teacher becoming frustrated with the pupils demands. Regardless of which teaching strategy was adopted the findings confirm that of Atkinson (1995, p.40) at the projects start they both followed a similar pattern. The project was explained, then work began on the specifications and analysis of research required. It was observed that girls were at ease working in a reflective, evaluative research and analysis phase, whilst a large number of the boys were intent on looking forward, past this important design period, on to the manufacturing period ahead. In respect to the assessment of Big Pictures and Small Steps the process of control and achievement of the pupil by the teacher. Observed over the duration of the project it proves that the creative thinking and project management of Small Steps in School A was clearly passed on to the pupils, as opposed to the linear model of Big Pictures used in School B, yet on an individual level, pupils being offered a combination of both processes produced Good designing capabilities. From the undertaking of the time constrain test the results confirmed the findings of Lawler (1999) in that a large proportion of the boys achieved better results when the project was introduced through Big Picture designing, and that a large proportion of the girls achieved better results when the project was introduced through Small Step designing. It was interesting to see a confirmation of data as found by Lawler (1999, p.136) in that the boys did better with a Big Picture

The Scarlet Letter :: Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

When someone makes a mistake, they usually try to hide the truth to avoid the consequences. The Puritans had a very stringent society in which all sins were met with harsh punishment. In The Scarlet letter, by Nathanial Hawthorn, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commit adultery, but the public only knows about Hester’s sin; Dimmesdale’s remains hidden. However, by hiding his sin, Dimmesdale suffers much more than Hester does. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorn shows that the repercussions of a â€Å"secret sin† are much worse than those of a revealed sin. Hester’s punishment comes from society, so it is not nearly as painful as it could be. One part of Hester’s punishment is to stand on the scaffold – in shame – for three hours. The scaffold is a place where â€Å"iniquity is dragged out into the sunlight† (57) and the truth is revealed, so everyone in the Puritan town knows that Hester is guilty of the sin. While her punishment is denigrating, it is not as bad as the punishments usually are, for she does not have to undergo â€Å"that gripe around the neck† (58). The other part of her punishment is to wear, for the rest of her life, a scarlet â€Å"A† on her dress. The A, for adulterer, is meant to be a stigma for everyone to see and mock. However, Hester beautifully embroiders the mark with gold-thread and wears it with pride. The mark stays with her after she leaves the scaffold and finds a home on the edge of town. She is originally scorned and avoided, but she is needed: S he sews for the governor and soldiers for public ceremonies. Due to the passage of time, her usefulness, and her acceptable behavior (she never battles with the public nor complains), Hester is forgiven and her sin is forgotten. Seven years after receiving the â€Å"A,† people change the meaning of the letter from â€Å"adulterer† to â€Å"able,† and instead of referring to her as a sinner, the townspeople refer to her as one who is â€Å"so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted† (169). Society feels that Hester had already served enough punishment, and she eventually becomes a respected woman in the town. Since the truth about her sin is known, Hester is able to overcome society’s punishment; eventually she regains the acceptance, and even the admiration, of the Puritan townspeople.

Writer compare

The writer is Pharisee. I do not get any background about the writer. 2. The writer want us to know not everyone is suitable for taking college. The writer hope us can embrace her opinion. 3. The topic is the title â€Å"Is college for everyone†. I think this is a very common, popular topic.We still no consistent conclusion on this topic. . People still believe college education is the key to happiness and success for everyone. 5. A point, â€Å"the US, approximately 50% of students who begin college never graduate. There exist students who are not yet ready for the academic and financial challenges of college. There exist students who do not have the desire for college or learning. Some students may be better suited for a different type of education, If any. â€Å". Uses logic. And another point, â€Å"There are jobs that do not require a college education. Some work can be learned on the job, or from a trade school.We need fork lift rivers, factory workers, sales clerks a nd cashiers. What would we do without tractor- trailer drivers, mail carriers and construction workers? † 6. The writers thesis is college is not for everyone. We can find from these two sentences† Refuse to accept the political correctness that says all of our citizens should receive a higher education. Embrace the reality that college is not for everyone. † 7. The writer talk student's purpose and financial challenges of college and let us think if it is wroth to send students to take college. I think the writer provides a clear, sober and well- written analysis of his opinion. . For example, according to â€Å"We need to start distinguishing between the right to an education, and the benefit of an education. College does not benefit everyone. Not everyone should attend college. ‘We can see college is kind of business right now. The writer want us to think it very carefully. This opinion.The writer compare people who has higher education and lower educatio n to prove his opinion,†higher education is not the key to happiness and success for every person. † 1 1 . I think college is not for everyone. Not everyone likes studying. Someone also can have great achievement without college education.College is kind of waste for them, like Bill Gates. I agree with writer's opinion. I think this is a bold opinion. Summary The writer talk about the academic and financial challenges of college to show us some students are not comfortable in taking college. And He talk about college is business right now. People need to think about the benefit of an education. The writer want us to know College does not benefit everyone and higher education is not the key to happiness and success for every person. People can have happiness without college education. All in all, the thesis is college is not for everyone.

The Ethical Argument Surrounding Assisted Reproductive Technology ART †Ethics Essay

The Ethical Argument Surrounding Assisted Reproductive Technology ART – Ethics Essay Free Online Research Papers The Ethical Argument Surrounding Assisted Reproductive Technology ART Ethics Essay Prompt: Assisted Reproductive Technology is an issue with many facets that tend to contribute to the ethical arguments surrounding it. Three subissues in particular, including access to this technology, the definition of a parent/conflicting claims on custody, and the commodification of people, contribute to the ethical argument on ART, all in a rather negative manner. First, access to this technology seems to make ART unethical. ART is an extremely expensive procedure, ranging into the tens of thousands of dollars and up for something that may not even be successful, and this is before the baby is ever born. It is obvious that only people with access to such funds would be able to take advantage of this technology. In this case, only the very well-off would be able to have children at an advanced age or under certain physical conditions; thus, less wealthy people would not be able to have their own children. Taken to an extreme, this could be seen as a form of genetic â€Å"purification† of society, where the very wealthy are able to have more children than the less wealthy. In addition to the high cost, this technology is more available in certain geographical areas, including the U.S. West Coast and Northeast and Western Europe. Even if they could afford it, people in Africa, Asia, or South America would have to fly somewhere else t o obtain access to ART. Again, taken to the extreme, this could be seen as a â€Å"purification† of the human race, with people in the U.S. and Europe having more ready access to this technology and thus more able to take advantage of it. While Stock and Fuykuyama argue over government regulation of this technology in the text, it seems that the more important issue is the fact that access to this technology is limited to very wealthy individuals who tend to live in the U.S. and Europe. Secondly, ART seems to change the definition of a parent, making custody battles – already a difficult topic – even more complicated, and further adding to the argument that ART is not necessarily ethical. As we see in the case with the triplets, parenthood in ART is a complicated affair because you have several sets of contributors to these children’s lives: the donor mother and/or father, the intending mother/father, and/or the surrogate mother all can feel that they have the rights to these children. First, the donor mother and/or father are the genetic parents; they can feel a genetic connection with those children who may look or act just like them. The court just ruled that even these people, who signed a contract to sell their eggs or sperm to an ART company, have rights over the children, and granted custody of those triplets to the egg-donor mother. Then there are the intending mother and/or father. They are the people who are spending all this mon ey to have these children; these are the ones who say they will take care of these children and raise them as their own. But are they their own? The courts have ruled in the father’s favor in this case, but then it was reversed. Do intending parents have just as much right to the children as the biological parents? Finally there is the surrogate mother, who formed connections with these children for nine months as she carried them around. Would a surrogate not be informed that she may develop feelings for these children as she carried them? It would seem that this business would take into account the fact that a pregnant woman more often than not forms connections with the unborn children that intending and biological parents cannot otherwise make. And unless that woman is willing to completely give up her claim on the children and cut all emotional ties to them, it would seem that putting a woman through that emotional pain would be unethical. Thus, judging from the issues surrounding the definition of a parent, ART seems to be an unethical practice. Finally, the issue of the commodification of people is a more cloudy subissue for ART; it could be argued in two ways. First, from the very beginning, when a woman decides to donate her eggs or a man his sperm, some people can argue that we are buying and selling human beings or at the very least, the make up of humans. Should this not be akin to slavery? Slavery is wrong in the sense that we are treating people like cattle, mere commodities, like something that can be assigned a monetary value, when, in fact, are humans not more valuable than money? On the other hand, others argue against this, saying that a human is not a human until conception, and some go even further to say a human becomes a human at birth. Otherwise, would a woman not be accused of murder every time she menstruates? And what about all those sperm that men waste? We would all be in jail. I suppose the difference between these points of view is that in the first argument, we are selling our eggs or sperm in order to create human beings, whereas the second argument is a natural process, not an intentional disposal of human material. Intention, then, would be very important in this argument. Depending on which side of the intention argument you lie, the commodification of people could contribute to or detract from the ethical argument against ART. And so, ART can be argued as unethical from the points of access and parent definition, while it can be supported as ethical or unethical from the issue of commodification. Research Papers on The Ethical Argument Surrounding Assisted Reproductive Technology ART - Ethics EssayComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoGenetic EngineeringArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Personal Experience with Teen PregnancyThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenThe Project Managment Office SystemPETSTEL analysis of India19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

The Role of Reading Fluency Tables in Comprehension

The Role of Reading Fluency Tables in Comprehension Listening to a student read, even for a minute, can be one of the ways a teacher determines a students ability to comprehend text through fluency. Improving reading fluency has been identified by the National Reading Panel as one of the five critical components of reading. A student’s oral reading fluency score is measured by the number of words in a  text that a student reads correctly in a minute. Measuring a students fluency is easy. The teacher listens to a student read independently for one minute in order to hear how well a  student reads accurately, quickly, and with expression (prosody). When a student can read aloud with these three qualities, the student is demonstrating to the listener a level of fluency, that there is a bridge or connection between his or her ability to recognize words and the ability  to comprehend  the text: â€Å"Fluency is defined as reasonably accurate reading with suitable expression that leads to accurate and deep comprehension and motivation to read† (Hasbrouck and Glaser, 2012). In other words, a student who is a fluent reader  can focus on what the text means because he or she does not have to concentrate on decoding the words. A fluent reader can monitor and adjust his or her reading and notice when comprehension breaks down.   Fluency Testing A fluency test is simple to administer. All you need is a selection of text and a stopwatch.   An initial test for fluency is a screening where passages are selected from a text at the students grade level that the student has not pre-read, called a cold read.  If the student is not reading at grade level, then the instructor should select passages at a lower level in order to diagnose weaknesses.   The student is asked to read aloud for one minute. As the student reads, the teacher notes errors in reading. A student’s fluency level can be calculated following these three steps: The instructor determines how many words the reader actually attempted during the 1-minute reading sample. Total # of words read ____.Next, the instructor counts up the number of errors made by the reader. Total # of errors ___.The instructor deducts the number of errors from the total words attempted, the examiner arrives at the number of correctly read words per minute (WCPM). Fluency formula: Total # of words read __- (subtract) errors______words (WCPM) read correctly For example, if the student read 52 words and had 8 errors in one minute, the student had 44 WCPM. By deducting the errors (8) from total words attempted (52), the score for the student would be 44 correct words in one minute. This 44 WCPM number serves as an estimate of reading fluency, combining the students speed and accuracy in reading. All educators should be aware that an oral reading fluency score is not the same measure as a student’s reading level. To determine what that fluency score means in relation to grade level, teachers should use a grade level fluency score chart. Fluency data charts   There are a number of reading fluency charts such as the one developed from the research of Albert Josiah Harris and Edward R. Sipay  (1990) which set fluency rates that were organized by grade level bands with words per minute scores. For example, the table shows the recommendations for fluency bands for three different grade levels: grade 1, grade 5, and grade 8.   Harris and Sipay Fluency Chart Grade Words per minute Band Grade 1 60-90 WPM Grade 5 170-195 WPM Grade 8 235-270 WPM Harris and  Sipays  research guided them to make recommendations in their book  How to Increase Reading Ability: A Guide to Developmental Remedial Methods  as to the general speed for reading a text  such as a book from the  Magic Tree House Series  (Osborne). For example, a book from this series is leveled at M (grade 3) with 6000 words.   A student who could read 100 WCPM fluently could finish  A Magic Tree House  book in one hour while a student who could read at 200 WCPM fluently could complete reading the book in 30 minutes. The fluency chart most referenced today was developed by researchers Jan Hasbrouck and Gerald Tindal in 2006. They wrote about their findings in the International Reading Association Journal in the article â€Å"Oral Reading Fluency Norms: A Valuable Assessment Tool for Reading Teachers.† The major point in their article was on the connection between fluency and comprehension: â€Å"Fluency measures such as words correct per minute has been shown, in both theoretical and empirical research, to serve as an accurate and powerful indicator of overall reading competence, especially in its strong correlation with comprehension. In coming to this conclusion, Hasbrouck and Tindal completed an extensive study of oral reading fluency using data obtained from over 3,500 students in 15 schools in seven cities located in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New York.† According to Hasbrouck and Tindal, the review of student data  allowed them to organize the results in average performance and percentile bands for fall, winter, and spring for grades 1 through grade 8. The scores on the chart are considered  normative  data scores because of the large sampling.   The results of their study were published in a technical report entitled, â€Å"Oral Reading Fluency: 90 Years of Measurement,† which is available on the  website for Behavioral Research and Teaching, University of Oregon. Contained in this study are their grade level fluency score tables  designed  to help instructors to assess the oral reading fluency of their students relative to their peers. How to read a fluency table Only three-grade level data selections from their research are in a table below. The table below shows fluency scores for grade 1 when students are first tested on fluency, for grade 5 as a midpoint fluency measure, and for grade 8 after students have been practicing fluency for years. Grade Percentile Fall WCPM* Winter WCPM* Spring WCPM* Avg Weekly Improvement* First 90 - 81 111 1.9 First 50 - 23 53 1.9 First 10 - 6 15 .6 Fifth 90 110 127 139 0.9 Fifth 50 110 127 139 0.9 Fifth 10 61 74 83 0.7 Eighth 90 185 199 199 0.4 Eighth 50 133 151 151 0.6 Eighth 10 77 97 97 0.6 *WCPMwords correct per minute The first column of the table shows the grade level. The second column of the table shows the percentile.  Teachers should remember that in fluency testing, percentile is different from  percentage. The percentile on this table is a measurement is based on a grade level peer group of 100 students. Therefore, a 90th percentile does not mean the student answered 90% of the questions correctly; a fluency score is not like a grade. Instead, a 90th percentile  score for a student means that there are nine (9) grade level peers who have performed better.   Another way to look at the rating is to understand that a student who is in the 90th percentile performs better than 89th percentile of his grade level peers or that the student is in the top 10% of his peer group. Similarly, a student in the 50th percentile means the student performs better than 50 of his or her peers with 49% of his or her peers performing higher, while a student performing at the low 10th percentile for fluency has still performed better than 9 of his or her grade level peers. An average fluency score is between 25th percentile to 75th percentile Therefore, a student with a   fluency score of 50th percentile is perfectly average, squarely in the middle of the average band. The third, fourth, and fifth columns on the chart indicate into which percentile a students score is rated at different times of the school year. These scores are based on normative data. The last column, average weekly improvement, shows the average words per week growth that student should  develop to stay on grade level. The average weekly improvement can be calculated by subtracting the fall score from the spring score and dividing the difference by 32 or the number of weeks between the fall and spring assessments. In grade 1, there is no fall assessment, and so the average weekly improvement is calculated by subtracting the winter score from the spring score and then dividing the difference by 16 which is the number of weeks between the winter and spring assessments. Using the fluency data   Hasbrouck and Tindal   recommended that: â€Å"Students scoring 10 or more words below the 50th percentile using the average score of two unpracticed readings from grade-level materials need a fluency-building program. Teachers can also use the table to set long-term fluency goals for struggling readers.† For example, a beginning fifth grade student with a reading rate of 145 WCPM should be assessed using fifth grade level texts. However, a beginning grade 5 student with a reading rate of 55 WCPM will need to be assessed with materials from grade 3 in order to determine what additional instructional support would be needed to increase his or her reading rate. Instructors should use progress monitoring with any student who may be reading six to 12 months below grade level every two to three weeks to determine if additional instruction is needed. For students who are reading more than one year below grade level, this kind of progress monitoring should be done frequently. If the student is receiving intervention services through special education or English Learner support, continued monitoring will provide the teacher the information on whether the intervention is working or not.   Practicing fluency For progress monitoring on fluency, passages are selected at a students individually determined goal level. For example, if the instructional level of a 7th grade student is at the 3rd grade level, the teacher may conduct the progress monitoring assessments by using passages at the 4th grade level. To provide students the opportunity to practice, fluency instruction should be with a text that a student can read at an independent level.   Independent reading level is one of three reading levels described below: Independent level is relatively easy for the student to read with 95% word accuracy.Instructional level is challenging but manageable for the reader with 90% word accuracy.Frustration level means the text is too difficult for the student to read which results in less than 90% word accuracy. Students will better practice on speed and expression by reading at an independent level text. Instructional or frustration level texts will require students to decode. Reading comprehension is the combination of numerous skills that are performed instantaneously, and fluency is one of these skills. While practicing fluency requires time, a test for a students fluency takes only one minute and perhaps two minutes to read a fluency table and to record the results. These few minutes with a fluency table can be one of the best tools a teacher can use to monitor how well a student understands what he or she is reading.

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Appeal letter - Essay Example During that time, I had a second course, which I was to attend, running concurrently with this one, and this presented me with a conflict of interest. I consulted as to whether to attend the first course or leave it and attend the second course. My instructor advised me to stay with the first course; also, he mentioned that it was not necessary for me to complete the whole book. However, afterwards, when I turned in my first paper after reading the book halfway, I got a D. I just had only one night to rewrite the work. My instructor sent the comment of my first paper to an email that I rarely used, it was not the IU mail. I had to rewrite the first paper, as well as, complete the new second paper in a very short time and in a tense mood. My stress levels were elevated since I had other assignments, and he had set a tight deadline for me to revise the paper. I worked the whole night in order to finish the assignments; the stress that I experienced must have made me to include direct quotes from the book or I thought that I could cite later. This is also, why I was so sure that I had provided the correct citations, at the end of the paper. My instructor put a lot of effort in looking for mistakes in my first and second paper, and he did not get anything to prove. If he was not discriminating me as a Chinese student, why was he spending a lot of time looking for mistakes instead of grading? I can say it is because, he did not believe Chinese students could write well. Without having any other material to prove that I plagiarized in my first paper and second paper, he said to me that he already changed the grade to F. In addition, my second paper was D+ at first. For that reason, I thought it would be meaningless to complete my third paper since this course only graded three papers and there was no exam. I had never missed any classes