Review and analyze John Updike's portrayal of the American middle Essay

Review and analyze John Updike's portrayal of the American middle class in his fiction - Essay Example So successful was his original representation of Rabbit Angstrom in his 1960 that he published two subsequent novels that followed the development of his character in both the 1970’s and the 1980’s. These novels describe many themes and motifs that were, and to a large extent still are, experienced by middle-class America. Accordingly, this brief essay will analyze some of these themes by considering key progressions that manifested themselves within two of John Updike’s novels. The first of these novels, Rabbit, Run, deals with the dissatisfaction that hid very casually beneath the surface of late 1950’s America. The topic is hardly ever discussed due to the fact that the post war years have been so highly stylized and idealized that the reader would think that not a care in the world existed (besides perhaps the Soviets and the bomb). Yet, within this seeming idyllic world, Updike portrays the life of the middle class, via the character of Rabbit Angstro m, as one which is fundamentally dissatisfied by the superficial consumerism and fraudulence that the late 1950’s had on the society of that time (Edwards 13). ... o the reader is one that engages the audience on a host of rather un-kosher topics (at least for the 1950s) with relation to abortion, prostitution, homosexuality, and even the topic of blow jobs. In this way, Updike is able to present to the reader, via the vehicle of Rabbit Angstrom, the frustration, confusion, despair, and ultimate desire for experience and sexual revolution that typified the generation of the late 1950s and early 1960s. As such, this representation was indicative of what would come to fruition during the 1960s and the cultural and sexual revolutions that re-defined the American landscape (Clasen 134). In this way, more than a running commentary on the factors that led to the growth and development of the American society during the period, Updike’s novel engages the reader with the understanding that fundamental dissatisfaction and unhappiness were the underlying reasons why the developments of the proceeding decades developed in the way they did. Similarl y, the second book in the series, published in 1971 and named Rabbit Redux, follows the same character, Rabbit Angstrom, and develops upon he and his deteriorating personal life and relationships that it has spawned. Rather than relating that the liberation of the 1960s has brought Rabbit the comfort, meaning and solace that he so desired in the first novel, the author relates that Rabbits life is very much incomplete in much the same way it was in the first novel (Crowe 83). Rabbit is still working a dead-end job, still quite unfulfilled, and has recently had his wife leave him. However, such a situation is not indicative of the middle-class struggle that Americans of this particular era were going through. As a means to engage the reader on the struggles that the middle class experienced in

Ethan from - Realism Essay Example for Free

Ethan from Realism Essay The rise of Realism in 1855 was the time when farming began to industrialize, communication expanded through railroads, and Nationalism was yet again revived. On top of all these important transformations that have marked this period of time was the significance for literature with a new audience, new settings, and new characters. The novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, is a magnificent example of literature from the Realistic period. First, Realism is a definite movement away from the Romantic period. Romantics wrote regarding the unique and the unusual, whereas in Realism, literature was written about the average and ordinary. The town where the novel takes place is Starkfield, an average farming community. There is not much in the town that is of interest or anything extravagant to be known for. In addition, literature from Romanticism focused on hopes, while Realistic literature illustrated skepticism and doubt. The narrator describes the scene where Zeena declares to Ethan that her sickness is getting serious, saying, She continued to gaze at him through the twilight with a mien of wan authority, as of one consciously singled out for a great fate. Ive got complications, she said (108 Wharton). Hope for Zeenas health is nonexistent, and she, being a hypochondriac, confirms the fact that she feels doubtful about life. The Romantics wrote about the unusual and hopeful, which are characteristics that are not strongly represented in Realistic literature. The second aspect of Realism is the idea of Regionalism. One indication of Regionalism in literature is the characters dialect. An excellent depiction of dialect is where Harmon Gow says, Wust kind, . . . Moren enough to kill most men (6). His regional accent is shown by the spelling and punctuation, allowing the reader to have an idea of how Harmon would have said it. Another aspect of Regionalism is the customs and the way of life of the characters. One way of life that the characters are accustomed to is the normality of marriage between cousins. As this practice is not enthusiastically accepted everywhere, it brings the Regionalistic aspect to the novel. Regionalism, which includes the characteristics of dialect and customs, is a critical component of Realism. Third, Realistic literature uses the concept of Naturalism. In Ethan Frome, the bleak winter setting is a primary clue that nature plays a key role in the story. Nature is displayed as a powerful and malevolent force that is indifferent to humankind. In the novel, the narrator once stated, But when winter shut down on Starkfield, and the village lay under a sheet of snow perpetually renewed from the pale skies, I began to see what life thereor rather its negationmust have been . . . (7). This statement depicts the winter seasons in Starkfield as gloomy and undesirable weather. Aside from the setting, the basic animal nature of humans also draws out the Naturalistic traits in Realism. The narrator tells what was going through Ethans mind following the smash-up, . . . and far off, up the hill, he heard the sorrel whinny, and thought: `I ought to be getting him his feed. . . (172). At such an intense moment, Ethans animal nature brings him to think about tending to his hungry horse instead of caring about his and Matties teetering lives. These examples signify the sense of nature and its forces used in the literature of Realists. Edith Whartons novel, Ethan Frome, is a wonderful example of Realistic literature. Its style shows signs of a distinct shift away from Romanticism and illustrates the aspects of Regionalism and Naturalism, two major components of Realism. Authors of the Realistic period depicted life as typical, everyday people lived and knew it to be, using these important points. The ordinary characters that dealt with common problems and situations in the literature brought a new group of readers, establishing a unique new era that has changed the way people perceive life forever.

The lamb to the slaughter and The speckled band :: English Literature

Wide Reading: The lamb to the slaughter and The speckled band For me, a good murder mystery needs to contain a mixture of aspects. Like in mid-summer murders and Morse it needs to include the following things, a good setting, there needs to be a good setting so that it sets up the whole of the story, it needs to be somewhere quiet and peaceful. The characters need to be strong characters that all relate to each other, there also needs to be a twist in the characters to add depth an mystery, perhaps the last clue to the murderer. The murderer has to be someone unexpected, someone who perhaps wasn't the strongest character. The victim has to be someone who has mystery but perhaps gave the killer reason to, so you might feel that they deserved it but you might have sympathy for, it also needs to be someone you least expect to be killed, perhaps the stronger character. And the detective has to be someone who everyone can sort of relate to, who has a slight mystery behind him or her so that even when you think you know them there is a skeleton in their closet. The murder weapon has to be something of power and something that represents some element in the play. It also has to be something unexpected like an exotic animal or as in lamb to the slaughter, a leg of lamb! Also the plot has to be thick and unexpected, with plenty of twists and red herrings. It also needs to make the reader feel included in the story so you feel as if you were there. Finally the ending of the story has to be meaningful and it needs to draw a conclusion. The killer has to be found, the reasons to be explained and the murder it self be told and what happened prior to the event. This finishes off what happened and lets us draw our own conclusions, although for a good murder mystery something's need to be left a mystery. I am going to compare the different areas in each story. I shall be comparing the following  · Settings  · Characters The settings for Lamb To The Slaughter and The Speckled Band a very different. The setting for the speckled band is in Victorian England, in the earlier 1900's. it is set in a country town, in a big mansion. A wealthy family lives in it. It is torn apart by deceit, greed and the death of the lady of the household. The back ground to the story goes a little something like this. The lady of the Stoke morans first

The Negative Impact of Exposing Children to Media Violence Essay

The Negative Impact of Exposing Children to Media Violence On April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School, 13 people were killed and another 23 were wounded in one of the worst school killing incidents ever (Skeesis). Since the 1980's, overall homicide rates in the U.S. have declined. However, homicide rates for ages 14-17 have increased quite dramatically during this time period (Fox). Among other numerous potential causes, violence in the media may play a role in this increase in youth violence. Today, there is much controversy over the potential harmful effects of media violence on childrenà ­s lives. I believe that exposure of children to media violence is harmful. For the purposes of this paper, I will limit the definition of (mass) media to television, and, subsequently, violent (mass) media to television programs that contain violent acts. By children, I will be referring to people of age 18 and below who live in the U.S., since this group is the focus of the majority of the research data that I have used. I will begin my argument by acknowledging a counter argument to my position. I will then go on to discuss the negative effects of television on children. These effects include an increase in aggressive tendencies and an instilling of the idea that violence will go unpunished. Also included are the concepts of desensitization and stimulus addiction. Finally, I will discuss some potential solutions to the problem of television violence affecting our children. Granted, people are correct in saying that television violence has been around for decades. In fact, public violence has been around for centuries. In ancient times, many cultures made gruesome public executions or sacrifices. During the Middle Ages, entire villag... ...per impact than you realize. And what respectable parents would want their child to end up reenacting a scene from HBOà ­s Oz on his or her classmates? Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. "Psychiatric Effects of Media Violence." http://www.psych.org/psych/htdocs/public_info/media_violence.html (17 Oct. 2000). Berkebile, Nicole, Julie Newman, and Susan Parker. "The Effects of Television on a Childà ­s Development." 1995. http://www.richmond.edu/~psych/tvmain.html (17 Oct. 2000). Fox, James A. "Trends in Juvenile Violence: 1997 Update." 1997. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/tjv97up.pdf (17 Oct. 2000). Skeesis. "The Tragedy at Columbine High." 17 May 1999. http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/coroner/columbin.html (17 Oct. 2000). "Video Game Violence." Feb. 2000. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/champaign/connections/0002-family4.html (17 Oct. 2000).

Criminology Essay

This essay is going to explain a crime definition, criminology development and two different crime theories: biological and psychological. Crimes have been an inseparable companion of humanity. It occures everywhere, from upper to lower class, but as long as there are people, there will always be crime. And due to this fact, along with the flow of time, the need of studying crime emerged. So what is crime? According to Oxford Dictionaries: an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law. However the law is not the same in every country, thus a second definition, in my words, would be more accurate: socially constructed concept that changes over time and place and relates to many behaviours that go against the morals of society and actions that cause harm. Sources to look at that promote me theory would be the Sage Dictionary of Criminology and Introductory Criminology textbooks. Around the1870s the classical theory, was replaced with new one – the biological approach. This approach stated that an individual might be driven to commite a crime by abnormalities he/she had been born with. Abnormalities such as involving body function/health and facial details could determine that an individual is a criminal or not. The idea itself was meant to isolate those qualified as â€Å"bad people† from the society beforehand. This particular approach excluded those whom were born different and made rational reasoning and free will unavailable to them- one was simply born a criminal or not. (Akers 2000: p. 42) Cesare Lombroso is most known for one of the biggest contributions to a biological approach. In 1876 he published The Criminal Man where he described his conclusions after comparing body features of Italian prisoners and Italian soldiers. Lombroso called those matching the description of a criminal â€Å"atavisms† as they degenerated to a lower level. He has the physical makeup, mental capabilities, and instincts of primitive man. New born child can be indentified with stigmata (details stated by Lombroso) which are for example: an unsymmetry of the face or head, large monkey-like ears, large lips, receding chin, twisted nose, excessive cheek bones, long arms, excessive skin wrinkles and extra fingers or toes. Female criminals are also born criminals however in their case, they have only three abnormalities available for determining them to be criminal. (Akers 2000: p. 42-43; Maguire, Morgan & Reiner 2002: p. 25) This approach did not last long. It’s met harsh criticism in 1913 when Charles Goring, an English medical officer published The English Convict. He hired well educated people in order to form a team and run certain observations based on Lombroso statements. They compared people from various layers of society with various backgrounds – from prisoners, through army and hospitals, all the way up to university students and professors. The result of his research was that ultimatley, Lombroso was wrong. Goring arrived at the assumption that criminals were characterized by the defects in intelligence. His work met some criticism as well but from that point on people started slowly moving away from born-criminal theory. (Akers 2000: 43-44: Maguire, Morgan & Reiner 2002: p. 147) A second approach would be a psychological one. Let’s split it on two theories, psychoanalytic theory and personality theory. Starting off with psychoanalytic it can be said that it does not have much in common with the biological approach. Both seek for the causes of crime within the makeup of an individual. However in this case we focus rather on mind and processes going inside a subject’s head. Classical Freudians explain that someone might’ve suffered emotional disturbances or experienced abnormalities in early childhood. Those events, if not overcomed properly, could lead to insufficient development of an individual’s id, ego and superego causing imbalance. Id is an unconscious element, it’s irrational and antisocial therefore must be controlled. This can be done by properly maintaining properly ego and superego which develop around the age of three. Freudians state that a child wants to be in possession of the parent of the opposite sex and sees the other as a rival. Feelings can lead to the development of either an Oedipus or an Electra complex. The basic idea of this theory is that delinquent or criminal behaviour is caused by psychic conflict between id, ego and superego due to poor early relationship with either mother or father. It relies heavily on irrational and unconscious motivations as basic forces behind crime. Everything has it’s pluses and minuses, this theory is no different. Actions of an individual, let’s say a murder, can be influenced by something hidden deep in his unconscious mind making it practically impossible to test and check it’s reliability. (Akers 2000: p. 59-61) Personality studies have long tradition in psychology. Hans Eysenck (1916-1990) came up with his own theory regarding personality. It bases on interaction of biological, social and individual factors. He asks: Why don’t more people go out and engage in criminal behaviour? Rewards are instant, punishment if happens is temporally distant from the deed and chances of being punished in reality are quite slim. However our conscious plays a big role here, society in general pairs up an act with consequences – we have a fear of being punished. Eysenck defined three dimensions of personality during his research: extraversion (E), neuroticism (N), psychoticism (P). High ‘E’ level is meant for people who are under-aroused and thus will look for stimulation while high ‘N’ individuals are considered irritable and anxious. The best set up would be with low ‘E’ and low ‘N’ while high ‘E’ and high ‘N’ would be the worst. The ‘P’ dimension was not well described, it could refer more to psycopathy rather than psychotism. This scale is concerned with aspects of behaviour such as preference for solitude or lack of a feeling for others. (http://www. docstoc. com/docs/2216719/Eysenck? s-Theory-of-Personality–Crime ; Maguire, Morgan & Reiner 2002: p. 152-154) In personality theory the problem lies not in unconscious motivation, but the content of the person’s personality. It states that some people have specifically criminal focused personalities: impulsiveness, aggressiveness, rebelliousness, hostility and so on. These apply to self-centered individuals who have not been properly socialized into prosocial attitudes and values, they have no sense of right and wrong, lack of empathy. (Akers 2000: p. 62) Those two approaches are out of many. Cannot really say that one’s right and second’s wrong. Each has scientific points that either support or are against it. The newer biological explanations of crime have found greater acceptance in criminology, but they happened to be criticized for their dependence on research and serious methodology problems – resulted in generally weak support. Psychoanalytic and personality theories also concentrate on the causes of crime arising from within the individual, but the causes are not seen as inherited or biologically predetermined. Personality theories are more testable than psychoanalytic theories, but research has produced mixed results.

School uniform essays

School uniform essays School uniforms are nowadays a very controversial and well-debated issue although it is still widespread, mostly in English speaking countries. England has a long tradition of school uniforms and is the country where mandatory uniforms are most frequently worn, mostly in elementary and secondary schools. Unexpectedly, school uniforms were traditionally worn by non privileged students in charity schools, and were only later introduced in public schools. A typical uniform consist of dark pants or shorts for boys, skirt for girls, and a shirt or a blouse. A blazer and a school tie might also belong to the Swedish schools does not have an uniform requirement and school uniforms are unknown to most Swedish children. Although students can buy and wear a jumper or T-shirt with the school logo, it is not very common. However, in many Swedish schools the "unofficial" dress code amongst students is very hard. If you don't follow the latest trends you might be treated as hopelessly out of fashion. This demand for expensive brand clothes puts, naturally, a large economical pressure on the parents. This frequent problem leads us into the arguments used by proponents and opponents of the school uniform. I will identify and discuss the most common arguments both in favour for, and against, school uniforms. I will thereafter continue by sharing my own opinion regarding whether or not Sweden should introduce mandatory school uniforms. The most common argument in favour of school uniforms seem to be regarding discipline; that school uniforms encourage the students to focus on schoolwork rather than on socialising or fashion related competition, and might therefore be helpful in improving the discipline and the behaviour, as well as the academic results. School uniforms will also prevent students from wearing inappropriate clothing items ...

ww2 essays

ww2 essays What is war? Websters Encyclopedic Dictionary describes it as: an armed clash between nations or factions in the same nation. Thats how a dictionary describes it, but in fact, it is something much worse. War is the epitome of what is wrong with human nature. War is devastating. Perhaps no other war was as devastating as World War II. (1)World War II killed more people, destroyed more property, disrupted more lives, and had more far-reaching consequences than any other war in history. It brought about the downfall of Western Europe as the center of world power and led to the rise of the Soviet Union. The development of the atomic bomb in 1945 would begin nuclear war. There is no one simple cause to World War II. There were many causes, most of which grew out of World War I. World War II was known as the war to end all wars. Instead of fixing old problems, it actually crated new ones. Germany was mad at the Allies for making it loose its territory. It lost one eighth of its land, and its army and navy were virtually wiped away. If Germany ever got strong again, it would definitely seek revenge. On September 1, 1939, the German army stormed across the borders of Poland. First came the stuka, dive-bombers that blasted the Polish planes on the ground. Then the German pilots bombed major railroads and highways. After that came the motorcycle infantry the fast soldiers that moved in to finish the job. This was a new kind of war employed by the Germans known as Blitzkrieg, which is a German word meaning lightning war. The German soldiers were trained for this and the Polish soil was flat and just right for it. Poland had no chance against the German army. Its army had no chance to fight back or even retreat. Poland was overwhelmed. Within two weeks, Germans surrounded Warsaw, the biggest city in Poland. In a li...

Electronic Components Assembly essays

Electronic Components Assembly essays Mr. Jim Harris, plant director of Electronic Components Assemblies (ECA), commissioned this investigation and report on the 22 August 2001. Mr. Harris is concerned about the potential impact of new technology and its effects on production systems. He has commissioned Management Consultants International to review and make recommendations concerning the existing ECA policy. 1. review strategic options for the business in terms of h procedures and systems for material planning and control h production management systems and h human resource management policies, personnel and payment systems 2. report on implications on proposed changes for management, staff, customers and suppliers. 3. develop an implementation plan based on recommendations. 4. draw conclusions and make recommendations. 5. submit report by 26 September 2001 This report describes the result of an in depth analysis of the current policies that ECA employs. ECA currently manufactures electronic deflection units for computer monitors for its holding company International Electric (IE) in South Africa. ECA operates as a cost centre within the commercial goods division of IE. The plant was established in 1973 and is based in the Western Cape and operates in parallel with a plant in Botswana. Jim Harris, the plant director has recently observed a decline in the sales of computer monitors at a time when production capacity is expanding. This has resulted in fierce competition and has forced ECA to reconsider its product sourcing policies. The objectives of this report are to identify problems within the existing ECA policy and offers possible solutions. It also identifies the impact of these proposed solutions on ECAÂ ¡s current policy and provides a framework for implementation. This analysis was restricted to the information enclosed in the briefing document. Where applicable, assumptions were made to augment the findings. ...

Managing Across Cultures Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Across Cultures - Research Paper Example The international HRM practices are the focal point of research community for a considerable period of time. Tayeb, (2001) notes that the social scientists engaged in studying management styles in various cultures could not subtract their emotions from their respective work, due to this reason their findings are not impartial. The employees are found to stand apart from adopting various methods of operating, which appears foreign to them (Kirkman & Shapiro), so the global enterprises have to select those people, who are not rigidly committed, to their indigineous ways of performing organizational tasks and readily willing to embrace new norms of doing the routine work. There is a significant positive link discovered, amongst the companies’ norms and these of overall domestic nuture across various nations on the globe (Verburg, Drenth, Koopman, Muijen, & Wang, 1999). Conflict Management Strategies The term team could be referred as an entity containing individuals, these indivi duals compensate for the weaknesses of each other and support each others’ strengths to achieve a common goal, often these formal groups are lead by an inidividual entitle as team leader (Sasou & Reason, 1998). Forming a team could take several years. During teamwork every individual has a distinctive task to perform, therefore when one or more teammembers are absent, they will be missed by other in the team, usuaally members of these teams are crossfunctionally trained to take up the role of others when needed common instances are football, basketball and baseball teams. The conflict of interesr could also arise within teams, often when the members constituting, an entity mentioned above have diverging objectives or goals from those of the entity. So the researchers identified the following strategies to manage the clash amongst the team members Arbitration through Openness This method revolves around frankness and low power distance among the levels of command within the or ganization (Rahim & Psenicka, 2002), so the individuals in conflict are given all means to rectify the undesirable condition and the top management does not interfere with the situation, but it plays the role of facilitator at most. This type of arbitration is ideally suitable for the cultures where power distance is low and sense of professionaism is at its best. Arbitration through Similarities This way is offshoot of the previous one, but in this case the team lead, is somewhat active in pointing out the similarities both parties have in common (Rahim & Psenicka, 2002),, thus attempt to ease the tension. Thus it is all about making the conflicting parties see each other viewpoint and practice empathy. Arbitration through Authority This method involves, leader utilizing organizational authority vested in him or her, to resolve the issue (Rahim & Psenicka, 2002), but in this modern era, this approach is discouraged, because in the long run it results in job stress and low level of organizational and job commitment among the suppressed ones. Non interference It is not a method of resolution, but it is best described as let the problems solve themselves (Rahim & Psenicka, 2002), it is the most passive approach and responsible for

Macroeconomics coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Macroeconomics - Coursework Example (6 marks) c)First-order conditions: Uc(C , l) – l = 0 Ul(C , l) – lzFN(K , h – l) = 0 zF(K , h – l) – G – C = 0 When the first two conditions arcombined Hence, in equilibrium MRTl,C = MRSl,C = w Which states that the Pareto optimum is the point where the indifference curve is tangent to the PPF? d) What happens to consumption, wages and output as G increases? (6 marks) After the increase in g = G/Y, the model can be able to predict a decrease in (c, w), increase in (Y,N, r), spending of Private consumption is â€Å"crowded out† by government spending increase. Output increases but welfare loss as both c, l fall.T (Besada and, Miras (2002) Question 2) a) Solve for labor supply as a function of t. (6 marks) Since w = z, we obtain the system Ul(C , l) – z(1 – t)Uc(C , l) = 0 C + G – z(h – l) = 0 Totally differentiating these gives [Ucl – z(1 – t)Ucc]dC + [Ull – z(1 – t)Ucl]dl  œ zUcdt = 0 dC + zdl + dG = 0 We had 2 equations from the previous sections: C = w(1 – t)(h – l) (1) C = z(h – l) – G (2) By substitution, we will have G = zt(h – l) It indicates the total spending by the government that equals total tax revenue. b) Sketch the Laffer curve for values of t from 0 to 1. (4 marks) Laffer curve c) What is the equation for t that maximizes tax revenue G? Either graphically or by other means, find this value numerically. (6 marks) The equation is as below; G = tz[h – l(t)] Basing on the curve above, the tax revenue is zero if t = 0 and t = 1 Therefore the numerical value is 0.5 Government maximizes tax revenue at t = t*. REV = REV* d) If G=0.2, find (either graphically or otherwise) the two values of l and t that satisfy this requirement. (4 marks) If G=2 then l and t is as below Question 3) Calculate the % year-to-year growth rates in each series, and graph them using a time series plot and a scatter plot (4 mark s) Scatter plot Time series (b) Are they positively or negatively correlated? (3 marks) They are positively correlated c) Does one lead the other? (3 marks) Basing on the graphs it is evident that one leads to the other d) Do the same using quarterly GDP and quarterly M2. Is there any consistency between M2-IIP and M2-GDP? Explain. (10 marks) Scatter plot Time series Basing on the graphs, there is no consistency between the two. This is because there is no correlation and one doesn’t lead to the other and the range or interval between one value is to small. Question 4) (a) Draw the consumer’s budget constraint, and show the optimal choice of consumption and leisure. Is it possible that the consumer may only choose an income of X? (8 marks) Consumer budget constraint The equality above holds at point H where the curve of indifference is tangent to the budget constraint and it is not possible for the consumer to choose an income of X b) What happens when the threshold va lue X decreases, explaining in terms of income and substitution effects; consider the cases of (i) someone whose income was initially below X and (ii) someone whose income was initially above X. (12 marks) When the value of X threshold decrease the impact is for example marginal substitution rate diminishes over time due to there is a diminishing marginal utility principle (Becker, 1965). Question 5) (a) Show how an increase in such government spending

Why the Operations of the South Sea Company Proved to be Financially Essay

Why the Operations of the South Sea Company Proved to be Financially Unsound - Essay Example The purpose of the essay is to test the ability of the researcher to assimilate information and to order it in support of specific arguments. Students are expected to read the book, entitled A Very English Deceit: The South Seas Bubble and the World’s First Great Financial Scandal, written by Balen, M to answer the essay question. The objective is for students to think out the answer themselves, using general knowledge and plus material from Balen. The essay contains a clear, concise arguments on the subject. Therefore, the researcher concluds that there are similarities between the collapse of the South Sea bubble and the bankruptcy of Enron. Both companies seemed financially more secure than they actually were. They were companies that were attractive to investors, the South Sea Company due to price of it shares at the height of the bubble, Enron because of its size and the diversity investments. Both companies also presented themselves as being sure fire winners for investo rs, the South Sea Company inflated its own share prices, Enron fiddled its accounts to hide its mounting loses. Both companies believed that they bribed the right people in the right places and did not ensure that their books balanced enough to allow survival when times were harder. The South Sea Company had no source of income and no coherent or sustainable strategy; all it had was shares and monopolies that were worthless. In conclusion, Enron had strategies that did not work; the South Sea Company only had confidence amongst its naà ¯ve investors.

Critique of the play How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel Essay

Critique of the play How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel - Essay Example This expresses much more broadly Bits character: When she is drunk, she is cynical but also deeply afraid; her childhood experiences, the warnings her parents gave her, ring out through her at a highly internalized level. This helps inform us how they will interact when it comes to the more serious issue of Uncle Peck. This line, uttered by the Teenage Greek Chorus, says that Bits father is ruled by his stomach and his superiors in life. This is a critical expression of how the play and the people within it tend to view men, and will help to give an understanding of the developments of the plot. This quote is literally Bit telling her friend that sex is painful, especially before marriage. But it is also a sign into how Bit, thanks to her uncles treatment of her, views sex. She has been molested, and she realizes the degree of the trauma to her. It is similar to another quote, Quote #4, which shows that Bit thinks that men are monsters that cannot control their urges. Quote 4: â€Å"Lucy, you’d better not be filling Mama’s head with sex! Every time you and Mary come over and start in about sex, when I ask a simple question like, â€Å"What time is dinner going to be ready?† Mama snaps my head off!† This quote has Bit literally asking someone not to talk with sex to her mother. But the quote is showing two things about Bits psychology. First: She views sex as something beyond the purview of control, something that people are just forced into by their urges (and, in her case, others). Second: It demonstrates that she has to talk about sex enough to irritate her mother, which is caused by her

Impact of technology automobile Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Impact of technology automobile - Research Paper Example Most of the automobiles are dependent on petrol or diesel to run. This ground breaking technology is a blessing to the human race as it is capable of covering long distances within minutes (Abernathy, 1976). The intention of this research work is to cover all the major aspects of the automobile industry from its inception till date. How has this technology facilitated human beings and in what ways transactional activities have been affected? Discussion of positive and negative impacts of this technology will be illustrated along with its role in the society. Advantages and disadvantages of automobile industry and societal horizon will be demonstrated. The role of political invasion, economic side and massive usage will be critically examined so that all the essential parts would be covered. Environmental changes that have taken place due to this technology and its impact of people’s health remains the essence of this research work which will be scrutinized. In the last alterna tives to this technology along with the conclusion will be exemplified to present a clear picture about its impacts. Inception and Progress Historically it is reported that the first automobile was designed in the year 1672 for the Chinese Emperor, which neither had seating arrangement for the driver nor for the passenger. Emperor alone had to drive it. Another mechanical automobile was built in the year 1769 which was a stream powered tricycle created by Nicolas Cugnot. He built furthermore two tractors for the French Army to have a competitive edge in wars. His technology was dependent on the supply of water and steam that is why it could not sustain for long (White, 1971). (Abernathy, 1976) demonstrates that many innovational steps were taken in the preceding years by the different inventors but a promising automobile was yet to come. A French inventor Gustave Trouve presented his three wheeled revolutionary tricycle in the International Exposition of Electricity which was powere d by electricity. This was a big step taken at that time and got huge applause from the fellow inventors. Karl Benz- a German engineer is however considered as the father of the modern automobile technology. Benz designed his first engine in 1878 and got its patent in the year 1879. He produced his first Motor wagon in 1885. He brought his automobile technology into the consumer market in 1886 under the flagship of his company; Benz & Cie. After the inception of Benz technology in the market, rapid changes were seen in the industry and many French and German engineers came up with the innovatory automobile production. Companies like DMG and Ford emerged afterwards and gain huge acceptance and accomplishment in the market. Previously automobile technology was dependent upon steam, water and electricity but in the later years this was shifted to gas, petrol and diesel. In the later years focus came into designing of the exterior and interior of the cars came so that it would appear fi ne-looking. Comfortable seats and other technological specifications were uploaded making them eminent and impressive (White, 1971). Automobile industry is a big success in the technological world and the engine designing has been improved a lot. It has been more than a century since the inception of the first modern engine and till date massive advancements

Critique of the play How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel Essay

Critique of the play How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel - Essay Example This expresses much more broadly Bits character: When she is drunk, she is cynical but also deeply afraid; her childhood experiences, the warnings her parents gave her, ring out through her at a highly internalized level. This helps inform us how they will interact when it comes to the more serious issue of Uncle Peck. This line, uttered by the Teenage Greek Chorus, says that Bits father is ruled by his stomach and his superiors in life. This is a critical expression of how the play and the people within it tend to view men, and will help to give an understanding of the developments of the plot. This quote is literally Bit telling her friend that sex is painful, especially before marriage. But it is also a sign into how Bit, thanks to her uncles treatment of her, views sex. She has been molested, and she realizes the degree of the trauma to her. It is similar to another quote, Quote #4, which shows that Bit thinks that men are monsters that cannot control their urges. Quote 4: â€Å"Lucy, you’d better not be filling Mama’s head with sex! Every time you and Mary come over and start in about sex, when I ask a simple question like, â€Å"What time is dinner going to be ready?† Mama snaps my head off!† This quote has Bit literally asking someone not to talk with sex to her mother. But the quote is showing two things about Bits psychology. First: She views sex as something beyond the purview of control, something that people are just forced into by their urges (and, in her case, others). Second: It demonstrates that she has to talk about sex enough to irritate her mother, which is caused by her

Chapter12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter12 - Essay Example e key aim of developing educational settings, the chapter had emphasized strategies and actions plans of determining skill areas that ensure individuals with physical disabilities to become productive citizen within the nation. The significance of preparatory programs for the secondary education has been considered in this chapter as the fundamental key aspects for empowering educational stability of the youth with physical disabilities (Schloss et al., 2006). Corresponding to the pivotal role of the preparatory programs, the incorporation of providing adequate guidance to build self-determination of the students with disabilities is one of the key agents for the educational settings. The process would enable students with disabilities to strengthen their belief for establishing and achieving their educational goals. The process of creating self-determination would further facilitate the students with disabilities to make effective choices along with decision making skills to improve quality of life from different undue influences and interferences from the external environment. In addition to the significance of self-determination, the chapter has also provided a clear understanding about the function of assessing interests and skills of the students with disabilities that can substantially help the vocational institutions to improve the educational environment. In this context, emphasizing strategic priority of conducting curriculum bas ed vocational assessment, vocational aptitude tests along with person centered planning and career awareness instructions have also been accentuated in this chapter that can empower the vocational student to ensure better future of the students with disabilities (Schloss et al.,

Conservative dominance in the years 1951 to 1964 Essay Example for Free

Conservative dominance in the years 1951 to 1964 Essay The main reason for conservative dominance in the years 1951 to 1964 was labour disunity?† Access the validity of this view I agree with this statement as the labour party leaders were ageing. The labour leaders were from the pre-war era therefore it meant that they were not in touch with the population. This led to labour disunity throughout the years as it caused Attlee to retire, he found that he couldn’t understand what the young wanted. For the public they left their trust with the labour party and put it in the conservatives as they felt that labour had failed to create the consumer revolution that everyone had hoped for. By 1951 the public were also fed up with the rationing that they still had to endure even though the war had ended 6 years ago therefore this helped the conservative dominance in those years. Another reason as to why labour disunity was to blame for labour dominance was the growing split in the party caused by the Bevanites and Gaitskillites. The split in the party was due to Gaitskell introducing prescription and dentistry charges. Bevan supported the left wing of the party whereas Gaitskell supported the right wing of the party and followed Attlee in becoming the next leader of labour government. The split led to disunity as Gaitskell didn’t have the full support of the party; his ideas were always going to be argued against. Another reason why the split caused disunity in the labour party was to do with the trade unions. The trade unions were supporting the left wing of the party; this was a problem particularly during the Scarborough conference in 1960. Frank Cousins was the leader of the one of the most powerful unions, TGWU (transport and general workers) and was an extreme left wing. He led fierce opposition to Gaitskell over Britain’s nuclear weapons. Gaitskell wanted Britain to have nuclear weapons because of the looming threat of Russia, during the cold war; they could wipe out countries at any time. At the party conference in Scarborough Frank Cousins opposed Gaitskell’s leadership over the labour party and in particular nuclear weapons. He challenged Gaitskell over his decision not to refect unilateral disarmament. This caused disunity in the party because it showed to the public how weak the labour party was if a trade union leader, who had no power within the party was able to dictate what they did. It showed to them that someone who was a small minority was able to gather a lot of power. It was humiliation for Gaitskell because it showed he wasn’t able to control what was happening to the party. Alsoà ‚  disunity in the party was due to the fact that the left wing of the party was closely associated with CND (campaign for nuclear disarmament). The left wing side of the labour party were in favour of nuclear disarmament and being connected with nuclear disarmament scared many labour supporters. Many people were not in favour of nuclear disarmament as it was at the height of the cold war and they were scared of a nuclear war happening; this link between the CND and the labour party could have led to many voters turning away from the labour party in the 1959 election. Another reason which could have turned people away from voting for the labour party in the 1959 election was the association of CND being anti-government. Their ‘unilateralism’ became a powerful magnet for anti-government protest in some ways it almost was seen as a substitute for opposition in government. With many labour left-wingers associated with one of the most powerful pressure groups in Britain it made people question the ideas that the labour government had and their ability to run the country. The final reason for a split in labour disunity was clause four. Clause four was the commitment to nationalisation of everything which was a step towards socialism and communism. Gaitskell put forward the idea to abolish this clause and labours commitment to nationalisation to nationalisation. He was impressed with the way Germany had dumped their commitments to Marxist ideas in their party conference in 1959. Many people including the left wing of labour opposed this ide a and Gaitskell had to back down from his idea. With events happening in the world connected with socialism and communism, the abolishment of clause four was linked to the ideas of radical socialism which scared people as it was too close to communism for their liking. However it wasn’t just the labour disunity that caused the conservative party to remain dominant. The conservatives had strengths of their own that they used to the best of their ability. When conservatives came into power in 1951 it marked the end of the austerity era and the start of the post war boom. From 1952 most economic indicators pointed upwards with the boom in car ownership, home ownership increased, helped by the easy access to cheap mortgages and food rationing ended completely in 1954. Harold Macmillan who was then the housing minister fulfilled the election pledge of getting new homes constructed above 300,000 per year. The age of affluence helped keep the conservatives dominant in politics as it meant the public saw that party  as the ones who could make a change. Also the conservatives keeping their promises meant the public would respect them. In the run up to the 1955 election Butler was able to boost conservative election prospects with a ‘give-away’ budget. This meant for people in the middle classes would be provided with  £134 million in tax cuts. For these middle classes it meant an overwhelming support in favour of the conservatives because of the classes that might not have been able to afford the consumer goods were given a chance to. For the conservatives in the 1955 general election the public mood was what was described as a ‘feel good’ factor. They wanted the continuation of the consumer goods and therefore they would continue to vote for the conservatives as they saw them as the party who would be able to offer them it. Another reason for conservative dominance was that the national press was overwhelmingly in favour with the conservatives. During the 1955 election this helped win support and it also helped during Macmillan’s time as prime minister. Macmillan seemed to have the media in the palm of his hand using the new political opportunities that were provided by the television. With the conservative party gaining wide spread coverage throughout the country and labour not, it meant people knew more about the conservative party. With the national press focusing on the conservatives it gave them enough attention to win the elections crushing labour in every defeat. An important reason for the conservative dominance was the personalities that led the party. Winston Churchill gained his reputation for leading Britain to victory during the war. However during his post war leadership he was very much absent and Anthony Eden the acting prime minister led the conservatives. Eden was the first prime minister that the public felt they could understand what they wanted. Anthony Eden was said to have ‘represented contemporary manhood.’ This led the public to believe that for the first time after the war they would receive the benefits that they wanted. Eden has also many progressive ideas in domestic affairs however in the end this was his downfall. The Suez crisis split the conservative party and for the first time it looked like they would be weakened and labour would take power however it didn’t. Eden was resigned in 1957 and Harold Macmillan who led the campaign to abort the Suez crisis emerged as prime minister. He restored the party unity and in the 1959 led the conservatives to another win in the election. Macmillan from 1957 showed  his aura of confidence and political mastery. This showed to the public that the politicians and leaders in the party were strong willed and would do anything in their power to protect their country. This gave the conservatives the respect that they needed to go on and win the elections. Overall I think that although the labour party were weak, and this weakness led to the conservatives dominating politics and government; conservative dominance was due to the power that the leaders had. The people saw that this party was able to give them everything they wanted with the age of affluence. Also conservatives made sure that labour supporters would change sides as they gave respect to the labour’s post war consensus. With keeping with the post war consensus it showed to the people they were leaders who knew what they party wanted and not the ageing leader s in the labour party.

Assessment And Classroom Based Assessment English Language Essay

Assessment And Classroom Based Assessment English Language Essay The aim of this chapter is to look at relevant research studies in relation to assessment in the classroom context, and to explore the role of classroom assessment in more details, with a specific focus on formative language assessment. It appears that the teachers classroom assessment practices and strategies may directly impact learners learning, and this includes young learners.(Oksana:not only with young learnersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..so what should I put here) Classroom teachers are in the front line of helping learners learning and assessing their performance in the classroom. Thus, the literature review is mainly concerned with the role of classroom assessment and the relationship between classroom assessment practices and learning. The following section clarifies some terminology and explores the links between assessment and learning with young language learners in the EFL context through a review of literature on experiences of assessment with primary-age learners. 2.2 Definitions of assessment and classroom-based assessment In this section, the definition of the term assessment is provided and the definition of classroom-based assessment (CBA) is discussed to provide more details of the relationship between assessment and learning in classrooms. In the educational context, the term assessment is often associated with testing for most of the teachers, learners and other stakeholders. However, testing is only one element of assessment and it actually encompasses a wider range of factors from tests to dynamic and collaborative activities and tasks. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the difference between assessment and testing before looking at the definition of classroom-based assessment(Oksana: insert page numberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦what?). 2.2.1 The distinction between assessment and testing Ioannou-Georgior and Sophie (2003: 4) provide a broader interpretation of assessment; they describe assessment as a general term which includes all methods used to gather information about childrens knowledge, ability, understanding, attitudes and motivation. Assessment can be carried out through a number of instruments (for example, test, self-assessment), and can be formal or informal. This definition suggests that teachers may use both formal and informal methods to collect information in relation to learners performance, such as their ability and attitudes, as an evidence of learning. Ioannou-Georgior and Sophie (ibid) point out that assessment refers to all kinds of methods, whether they are formal or informal, with the aim of collecting evidences of learners learning.(Oksana: similar to above, suggestion: remove it) The studies of Rea-Dickins(2000), Lambert and Lines (2000) go further to suggest that assessment is a constant ongoing process rather than a onetime thing. Rea-Dickins (2000) illustrates assessment as the general process of monitoring of keeping track of the learners progress. (p. 376). She highlights that such process is a continuous method to monitor the learners performance. Lambert and Lines (2000) also show the similar view of point, they define assessment as the process of gathering, interpreting, recording and using information about pupils responses to educational tasks (p. 4) From their viewpoint, assessment is related to what teachers do during the process of teaching and learning, including gathering, diagnosing, recording and using information about pupils performance and feedback. As can be seen, assessment is a part of both teachers and learners life within classroom and is integrated to the process of teaching and learning. It is also used to monitor and respond to lea rners regular work, such as learning activities, tasks and tests. On the other hand, testing refers to a procedure that is used to measure learners ability by teachers and examiners (Rea-Dickins, 2000). According to Ioannou-Georgior and Sophie (2003), testing is a procedure with a certain objective and is used by teachers to assess learners performance in order to understand whether the learner has achieved this objective or not. They also point out that testing used tasks or exercises and assigns marks or grades based on quantitative results (p. 4) This seems to suggest that testing is one of the tools that used by teachers to assess their learners ability and is a way to demonstrate what learners have learnt. It also implies that testing is a onetime thing rather than an ongoing process. As can be seen, testing is a procedure with a certain objective and is used to collect quantitative results, in terms of marks or grades. It is used to measure what the learners have learnt and to check whether they have met their goal or not; meanwhile, assessme nt refers to all methods of collecting both quantitative and qualitative data in relation to learners performance and is a continuous process. (Oksana: Yes, but it is classroom based assessment specifically that does thisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..what?)In fact, through clarifying the boundaries between testing and assessment may help us to get insight into the meaning and definition of classroom-based assessment. 2.2.2 Definition of Classroom-Based Assessment Classroom-based assessment is defined by Airasian as the process of collecting, synthesizing and interpreting information to aid in classroom decision making (2005, p. 2). He highlights the work that teachers need to take during the process of assessment in the classroom context, with the aim of supporting teachers in decision making, such as deciding what forms of assessment are most appropriate for gaining information about learners learning and measuring achievement. In classrooms, teachers collect data in relation to learners needs, strength, and weakness and try to interpret the information on the basis of teachers own beliefs, capacities and knowledge. They then provide help to learners and may be able to support individual learning needs. Such ongoing processes, including assigning grades, providing feedback and learning opportunities, and modifying the teaching and learning, are aiming to renew, keep track and record learners performance in the classroom. By doing so, teacher s may be able to enhance learners learning and help them to close the gap between their current status and their target level (Sadler 1989). Further, Mckay describes that classroom assessment or teacher assessment refers to assessment carried out by teachers in the classroom (2006, p. 140). He then notes that classroom assessment may be formative, for instance, when the purpose is to provide feedback to help learners improve learning, or it may be summative, when the purpose is to record and report pupils achievement and attainment (Rea-Dickins 2000). As can be seen, the purposes for classroom assessment may lead to using assessment information formatively or summatively by teachers. For example, they may need to use formative assessment to identify learner needs and use summative assessment to provide learners achievement to school authorities in the end of a school year. In fact, there are a variety of purposes for teachers to use classroom assessment. Rea-Dickins suggests three objectives of using classroom assessment: teaching, nurturing learning, and measuring learning (2000). In other words, teachers may use classro om assessment to modify their teaching methods and materials, provide appropriate help to learners and meet the bureaucratic demands. Classroom assessment plays a significant role in collecting information about learners learning and can also be used to support teachers teaching and learning (Rea-Dickins, 2001). It is a continuous and integrated process which can be planned in advance as well as be unplanned, such as observing learners language performance during the course of teaching and assessment activities. The roles of teachers may have an impact on learners learning in the classroom, whether as facilitators to develop learners language development or as assessors to measure learners language learning, (Rea-Dickins, 2008). Teachers may use both formative and summative assessment as pedagogic tools to scaffold learners, adjust their teaching, and assign grades for learners in the classroom. It is important for teachers to develop classroom assessment skills and strategies, and bring about positive change in classrooms. The aims of adopting classroom assessment strategies are to support learners learning and te achers teaching, and to meet the ultimate achievement of the curriculum goals. Rea-Dickins (2001) provides a model of classroom assessment which illustrates teachers roles in four stages in the classroom assessment process (see Figure 2.1). It also reveals the fact that teachers may need to play a mediating role in order to deal with various demands from improving learning and modifying teaching. For instance, in stage 1, the Planning stage, teachers may be interpreters to explain the learning goals and assessment criteria with learners and evaluators to identify learners needs and levels. They may become supporter in stage 2 in order to scaffold learners and provide feedback to them. As for stage 3, teachers may also need to be interpreters to interpret the learning evidence and improvers to refine the assessment process; meanwhile, they may need to be reports to report and record the learning progress to administrative authorities. Stage 1: Planning Identifying the purpose for the assessment?(why?) Choosing the assessment activity(how) Preparing the learners for the assessment Who chooses/decides for each of the above Stage 4: Recording Dissemination Recording reporting progress toward NC Formal review for LEA or internal school purposes Strategies for dissemination of formal review of learners Stage 2: Implementation Introducing the assessment(why, what, how) Scaffolding, during assessment activity Learner self- peer monitoring Feedback to learners(immediate) Stage 3: Monitoring Recording evidence of achievement Interpreting evidence obtained from an assessment Revising teaching and learning plans Sharing findings with other teachers Feedback to learners (delayed) Figure 2.1 Process and strategies in classroom assessment  [1]   However, teachers may not be able to predict the complex interaction between these two assessment purposes before actually implementing the assessment active. For instance, teacher-planned summative assessment may also provide formative assessment opportunities for students during the teaching process. Rea-Dickins (2006) points out that the boundary and interaction between formative and summative purposes of assessment cannot be identified in any watertight way in advance, as they will unfold and be enacted through the classroom discourse (p. 183). As can be seen, teachers need to be flexible with their classroom assessment practices and be able to use both formative and summative assessment as pedagogic tools to scaffold learners, adjust their teaching, and assign grades for learners in the classroom. Thus, it is important for teachers to understand the functions of both formative and summative assessments and how to use them to modify their teaching, enhance pupil achievement, and report to school authorities, parents and other stakeholders. 2.3 The Functions of Classroom Assessment: Formative and Summative Assessment On the basis of the definition of classroom assessment (2.2), classroom assessment may be used as a variety of instruments by teachers to collect data in relation to learners needs, ability, knowledge, understanding and performance in the classroom. This seems to imply the primary role teachers play in classroom assessment process and the importance of linking formative and summative assessment to effectively enhance learners learning and report it to other stakeholders, including parents, other teachers, learners themselves, and school authorities. In this section, the functions of classroom assessment, in terms of formative and summative assessment, will be discussed, particularly with assessment for learning, through a review of the literature in relation to the role of both formative and summative assessment in classrooms. 2.3.1 The Role of Formative and Summative Assessment Classroom teachers are in the front line of assisting learners to develop their ability and enhance their learning, thus, it is crucial for teachers to recognize the different functions and characteristics between formative and summative assessments and to integrate them into everyday teaching and learning. Harlen and James (1997) share the different roles of formative and summative assessment in classroom assessment. They urge the need to distinguish the differences between formative and summative assessment, in terms of the functions and characteristics, and then connect and wave them together. To reveal the complexities of the differences between formative and summative, some research reports have provided a variety of interpretations to help teachers to clarify the concept of formative and summative assessment. According to the report of Task Group on Assessment and Testing, known as TGAT, it defines formative and summative assessment through clarifying the different purposes and timing between them. For formative assessment, teachers may use it to understand the the positive achievements of a pupil (DES/WO, 1988, para. 23) (Oksana: This is quite an old reference, is there anything newer/more recent on this point?)and then plan their teaching in order to help the pupil to reach to the next step. It highlights the dynamic process of teaching and learning in the classroom and more importantly, it points out the future direction through using the results of assessment. Formative assessment is a continuous process of adjusting teachers teaching and learners learning; meanwhile, summative assessment is used for systematic recording of learners overall achievement. In other words, teachers may use summative assessment to note learners performance, such as recording the grade or scores of teacher made and standardized tests, after a certain period of time. In 2001, Clarke expressed similar views in providing a clear illustration for formative and summative assessment: If we think of our children as plantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦summative assessment of the plants is the process of simply measuring them. The measurements might be interesting to compare and analyse, but, in themselves, they do not affect the growth of the plants. Formative assessment, on the other hand, is the garden equivalent of feeding and watering the plants directly affecting their growth (p2). As can be seen, the main function of formative assessment is to nurture pupils and improve learning, which is a continuous process of interaction between teachers and learners. For instance, in classrooms, teachers provide guidance for learners toward improvement through formative assessment feedback during the processes of teaching and learning. As for summative assessment, it takes place after the teaching and learning. Teachers may grade or make judgments in relation to learners learning in order to inform and report to other stakeholders. In the classroom, teachers use formative assessment to help learners learning as well as modify their own teaching methods and materials. They also use summative assessment to assign grades and report attainment at the end of a school year for administrative purposes (Bachman Palmer 1996). As such, formative assessment requires the ability of the teacher to diagnose learners performance, in terms of what causes him or her to get struck, and to help learner to understand what to learn, how they learn, and how well they have learned. 2.3.2 Formative Classroom Assessment: assessment for learning More recently, the focus of the classroom assessment studies has shifted from forms of test to the interactions between assessment and classroom learning. This shift also highlights the importance of the improvement of learning through formative teacher assessment. Black and Wiliam (1998) review a variety of past research studies in relation to classroom formative assessment. They point out that several empirical studies show evidence to support the claim that improving formative assessment do raise standards and help pupils learning, particularly with low ability pupils. They also present evidence in relation to how teachers use formative assessment practices and strategies to enhance pupils learning in the field of general education. A broader explanation of formative assessment is provided by Black and Wiliam, they illustrate that all those activities undertaken by teachers, and/or by their students, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged (1998, p.7). Their interpretation not only points out that formative assessment activities can be used by both teachers and learners but also indicates how teachers and students use feedback to adjust the teaching and learning. From this perspective, formative assessment is embedded in teaching and learning and can be used to prompt learner learning. Key formative assessment strategies, such as effective teacher feedback, teacher scaffolding, self- and peer- assessment, and raising learners self-esteem and motivation, may be integrated and embedded within teacher-learner(s) interactions(Rea-Dickins 2006). As can be seen, the activities that conduct by teachers, such as observation, teacher made tests, take-home tasks, and learners, including self- and peer- assessment, would provide information to help both teachers and learners improve themselves. Further, Brindley (2001) points out formative assessment should undertake by teachers during the learning process, by doing so, teachers can use the results to improve instruction (p. 137). In addition, Sadler (1989) connects formative assessment with feedback and believes that feedback to teachers and to learners are separate. He suggests that the aim of using feedback for teachers is to diagnose learners performance and modify their teaching in order to help learners to enhance their abilities; meanwhile, for learners, the purpose of using feedback is to monitor their performance and understand their own learning weaknesses and strengths. Further, Tunstall and Gipps (1996, p.393) identify two types of feedback used by teachers in classrooms: evaluative and descriptive feedback respectively. They suggest that the former seems to be more close to affective and conative (effort-based) aspects of learning with a performance goal, whereas the latter places the emphasis on the cognitive development with a mastery goal. Teachers act as facilitators in providing descriptive types of feedback, such as making suggestions and questioning as part of discussion, rather than directing (p. 401). As can be seen, there is a greater links between descriptive feedback and formative assessment. However, Torrance and Pryor (1998) point out that teacher feedback may have a negative influence on learners, for instance, when the teacher tries to correct learners mistakes which may lead to the impression of learners producing wrong answers. It may even be seen as criticism by the pupils and discourage learners self-esteem. Further, teacher feedback with praise may result in encouraging competition among learners instead of increasing learners motivation. Thus, it is important for teachers to recognize the influences and impact of formative assessment feedback on learner motivation and self-esteem. To sum up, classroom assessment is used by teachers to collect data in relation to the process and attainment of learners with aim of responding to individual needs and curricular demands. Formative assessment is crucial in enhancing learner learning and closing the gap between learners actual level and potential level. The following section explored assessment of young language learners in a foreign classroom context through review of past research studies in relation to classroom assessment in practice. 2.4Research on Assessment of Young Learners in the EFL Classrooms In this section, the relevant research studies of classroom assessment of young language learners are explored, followed by introducing a unique Taiwanese educational context, in terms of learning English in private ESL schools, as the classroom assessment context in this research. 2.4.1 Classroom Assessment of Young Language Learners Rea-Dickins (2000) points out that since the 1990s research studies in relation to assessment for foreign language learners has been more in evidence (e.g., Low et al., 1993; McKay et al., 1994; Edelenbos and Johnstone,1996; Breen et al., 1997; Leung and Teasdale, 1997). Language Testing proposes a special issue that is focusing on assessment for young language learners, who ages 5 to about 12, in the school system. The key idea of these reports in this issue is related to a variety of purposes for assessment for young language learners within an early years language learning curriculum which results in raising the awareness of wider issues in relation to assessment of young language learners, such as how the validity of classroom-based assessment is achieved. Teadeale and Leung (2000) draw the attention to the validity of implement alternative assessment and monitoring learners learning performance through teacher assessment. Rea-Dickins and Gardner (2000) also look at the same issue in relation to the implementation of formative classroom assessment, in terms of keeping track of learners language development, in the English as a Second Language (ESL) context. Their findings suggest the potential variables which may influence the validity of teacher assessment during the assessment procedure. This is followed by Gattullo who explores the way to implement formative assessment in the Italian primary foreign language classroom, where English is taught since grade 3 (age 8). She investigates different formative assessment processes through analyzing classroom assessment discourses and she also observes the everyday interactions between teachers and learners. The results suggest that instead of using formative assessment actions which may be m ore beneficial for learning, including observing process, examining product and metacognitive questioning; teachers use more common actions, such as questioning, correcting and judging. Continuing the theme of formative assessment of primary learners in the EFL context, Zangl (2000) provides the methods of assessment to gain information in relation to primary-age learners language skills. She argues that teachers may be able to draw a developmental picture for individual learners, including their general interactional skills and specific language skills, through ongoing assessment throughout primary school. Hasselgren (2000) looks at the innovative ways to develop materials, such as tests, teacher assessment, and learners self-assessment, which can improve both teachers and learners assessment skills in Norwegian primary schools. In the context of Norway, one significant difference is that there is no tradition of testing for young language learners due to local policy. This contributes to high-demand assessment methods, particularly in materials development and task design, and to the implementation of formative assessment, in terms of assessment for learning. Both teachers and learners are encouraged to develop their ability to assess. As can be seen, the national policy is one of important variables that influences teachers attitude towards integrating classroom-based assessment into their everyday language teaching. It is also crucial to take variables, such as learners prior cultural knowledge, teachers knowledge and ability in assessment, and the English curriculum, into account when assessing primary-age learners of English as a foreign language. Teachers should choose and design the appropriate assessment material for Young language learners. The material should be well adapted to learners cognitive and linguistic skills and to their interests. The work of Hasselgren suggests that classroom assessment may be influenced by a variety of factors, particularly by the national policy. These external elements, such as the government policy and English curriculum, may have direct impact on the implementation of assessment, teachers attitude towards classroom assessment and their classroom assessment practices in the EFL context. A brief history of primary school English education in Taiwan is explored in the next section to gain insight into a special English classroom in Taiwan. 2.4.2 ESL Program in Taiwan English teaching and learning for young learners has become increasingly important in Asian countries, such as Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea, where learners study English as a Foreign Language (EFL) over the past few decades. At this point it is useful to clarify some terminology before introducing the English educational context in Taiwan. The term English as a Second Language (ESL) used in countries, , such as Canada, North America and Australia, which refers to learners who are using English as the medium of instruction in school contexts but who are not English first language (L1) speakers (Rea-Dickins, 2000, p. 115). On the other hand, the term English as Foreign Language (EFL) refers to when English is taught to non-native English speakers in non- English speaking areas, such as Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 1997, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan decided to implement curricular and instructional reforms in elementary and junior high school education. One of the most significant changes is that English courses are officially introduced in grade 3 (age 9) with two 40-minute lessons per week (Ministry of Education, Republic of China, 2010). Since then, learning English has become a popular movement for young learners from the ages of 5 to 12 across the country. Butler (2004) points out that some Asian countries, such as Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, have introduced English language instruction at the elementary school level, with special focus on oral communication skills. Although the officially suggested starting age is 9, most parents want their children to learn English as soon as possible. The assumption of the younger the better in foreign language acquisition is supported by many Taiwanese parents, who believe an early start will help their children to achieve greater profici ency. These factors above contribute to the significant growth in the number of cram schools and private language schools across the country over the last decade. Cram school also known as abuxiban in Taiwan are very common and popular in competitive Asian countries, particularly in Taiwan and Japan. The aim of these schools is to help pupils to enhance their achievement scores (Harnisch, 1994; Oneil Fukumura, 1992; Stevenson Stigler, 1992). In 1999, a report from China Central News, on 6 April 1999, stated that at least more than one quarter of elementary pupils attend private language institutions after school to learn English. Tsai and Kuo (2008) report that there are more than 5,000 cram schools in Taiwan. Most English cram schools offer additional after-school teaching to enhance pupils English ability. In particular, numerous so-called ESL schools aim to help Taiwanese learners to learn English as a Second Language (ESL) through using American elementary textbooks and teaching all subjects, including handwriting, computer, music, social science, reading, math, science, grammar, phonics and writing, in English. They also offer an ESL p rogram to kindergarten children of 3 years old up to students in grade 6 (age 12). In general, kindergarten pupils and grade 1 to 2 learners receive an average of 4 to 5 lessons a day, each 30 minutes long. As for grade 3 to 6 learners, they receive approximately 2 to 3 lessons a day due to their longer elementary school hours. Such ESL schools provide a unique educational context to investigate these ESL English teachers perceptions of classroom assessment and their own classroom assessment practices.

Acute Morphology of Streptococcus pyogenes Essay -- Medical Disease Ba

Acute Morphology of Streptococcus pyogenes Abstract: Streptococcus pyogenes is a gram positive coccus bacterium that is extremely common bacteria. This bacterium is part of group A streptococci, which meant that it has a certain type of polysaccharide antigen on its cell surface. It is commonly known as pharyngitis, or strep throat and produces over twenty exotoxins. Even though this bacterium has been around for thousands of years it still has a susceptibility to penicillin and there have only been a few cases of resistance. Streptococcus pyogenes is a gram positive bacteria that is associated with multiple types of diseases. Streptos means a chain of links and coccus means a round object. Together this describes the shape of Streptococcus pyogenes, a round chain of ten or more cocci, each measuring 0.5 to 0.75 ÃŽ ¼m in diameter. This bacterium can cause scarlet fever, streptococcal pharyngitis and erysipelas in humans. It is identified mainly by its ability to create ÃŽ ²-haemolysis in blood agar plates. Streptococci can be separated into groups by a polysaccharide antigen that is deep inside the cell wall. The groups are labeled by the letters ranging from A to R, each group represents a different type of organism that it mostly infects. Group A is mainly pathogenic to humans, while group B is found in cattle. Groups C to R infect animals of lesser complexity. Streptococcus pyogenes is part of group A, which means that the polysaccharide antigen is composed of rhamnose and N-acetylglucosamine and its main host is in humans. The morphology of S. pyogenes is a chain of cocci that are normally in groups of ten and each cocci range in diameter from 0.5 to 0.75 ÃŽ ¼m. They are nonmotile, which means that they 2 have no form of moveme... ...agar plates. S. pyogenes produces many extracellular products, they are called streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxins and are classified into three serotypes, A-C. SPE B is the most unique of the three and is responsible for multiple diseases, including toxic shock syndrome. This bacteria does have a weak point, almost all streptococci are susceptible to penicillin. 7 Works Cited Christie, A. B. (1987). Infectious Diseases (Vol. 2, 4th ed.). New York: Churchill Livingstone. Evans, A. S. (1991). Bacterial Infections of Humans (Vol. 1, 2nd ed.). New York: Plenum Medical Book Company. Kaplan, E. L. (2000). Streptococcal Infections (Vol. 1). New York: Oxford University Press. Todar, K. (2002). Streptococcus pyogenes (Vol. 1). Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Bact. Retrieved July 30, 2008, from http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/streptococcus.html

Huckleberry Finn ( Huck Finn ) :: Essays Papers

Huck Finn3 Characters found in Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn are shown as being victims of the times through their ignorance to the possibility that all men are equal no matter what color skin one has. Pap, Huck’s father, is the most ignorant character within the book. He blatantly comes out and tells the reader his feeling of blacks, while a character such as Tom isn’t so obvious. Along with these two characters, the Royal Nonesuch and the Phelps’s friends display an ignorance of the times. Huck displays ignorance at its best, and shows that with a little love, it can easily be diminished. Throughout the book characters reveal their basis towards black people through the various situations. The most racist of the characters was Pap. He refused to believe that blacks and whites were equal. Pap walked around with a superior attitude because he was white, which was a common attitude of his time. While some characters, such as Huck, had sympathy towards blacks, Pap did not care for them at all. He thought it to be quite absurd that a free slave â€Å"had a gold watch and chain and a silver-headed cane† while Pap had nothing (24). He was disgusted with the fact that this free slave was allowed to vote and he said, â€Å"I’ll never vote ag’in as long as I live,† to stress how much he despised blacks (24). Pap believed the government to be corrupt because it couldn’t â€Å"sell a free nigger till he’s been in the state six months† (24). He even went on to tell the reader that the free slave was a â€Å"prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted nigger† only because he had a different color skin than Pap (24). He never had anything nice to say about blacks, and constantly looked down on them. Twain used Pap’s character. Tom’s ignorance was a lot more subtle than Pap’s. His ignorance was not shown until much later in the book when Huck tells Tom that he is going to â€Å"steal† Jim back. Huck was surprised when Tom said he was going to help Huck steal Jim because Huck thought that Tom would say, â€Å"it’s dirty, low-down business† (203). Huck, knowing that Tom â€Å"was respectable and well brung up; and had a character to lose,† could not figure out why Tom would help steal a slave (210).

Hiv Voluntary Counseling and Testing

Cyber-VCT Program The 2010 UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic states that based on the 2009 data, 33. 3 million people are living with HIV worldwide and Sub-Saharan Africa makes up 68% of the global total with 22. 5 million people living with HIV. 1 In an effort to address this epidemic, voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) programs have been implemented in many of rural and remote areas. VCT serves as the gateway to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by allowing people to learn their HIV status.According to World Health Organization (WHO), knowledge of one’s HIV status benefits the individuals, community, and population through awareness and education. 2 Therefore, there have been great efforts to expand VCT services since inception over 20 years ago. Unfortunately, global participation remains low, especially in the remote areas. 3 Studies show that there are various reasons why people do not participate. Some of the main reasons are stigma, lack of awarene ss, lack of access, cost of the test, and test-related fears. Several VCT models have been implemented to address these concerns but research suggests that further work needs to be done. Organic Health Response (OHR) has piloted an innovative Cyber-VCT Program in Mfangano Island by using technology to attract residents to participate. The Cyber-VCT Program uses access to solar-powered internet as an incentive to attract people to do HIV testing. The people who participate become part of the Post-Test Club and have free access to the labs in the Cyber-VCT facility called Ekialo Kiona Center (EKC).The facility has confidential VCT rooms, solar-powered computer lab with satellite Internet, radio studio, seminar rooms, and an   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Global report: UN AIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic 2010† (UNAIDS, 2010: http://www. unaids. org/globalreport/documents/20101123_GlobalReport_full_en. pdf). 2 World Health Organization, â€Å"Scaling-up HIV testing and counselling services: a toolkit for programme managers. † (WHO Press, 2005: http://www. who. nt/hiv/pub/vct/counsellingtestingtoolkit. pdf) 3 Information from World Health Organization on HIV testing and counselling accessed May 4, 2011: http://www. who. int/hiv/topics/vct/en/ 4 Joseph K. B. Matovu and Frederick E. Makumbi, â€Å"Expanding access to voluntary HIV counselling and testing in sub-Saharan Africa: alternative approaches for improving uptake, 2001–2007,† Tropical Medicine and International Health, 12:2 (November 2007), pp. 1315-1322. Page 1 of 6   1 Cyber-VCT Program open-air amphitheater.The program provides access to the only internet / library facility on the island and according to OHR, needs assessment and ethnographic research have sh own that residents are enthusiastic about having access to technology, which suggest the potential for program effectiveness. 5 There is a bi-annual membership renewal process where residents need to do individualized VCT session with a counselor from the International Medical Corps. This renewal process will provide the structure for more longitudinal effects.The ultimate goal of Cyber-VCT Program is to encourage voluntary counseling and testing, facilitate the process of referrals to Ministry of Health and FACES treatment programs, connect those who are HIV positive with locally formed psycho-social support, and improve dissemination of HIV education. It is more comprehensive and effective than community stand-alone VCT centers, mobile VCT, Routine offer of VCT or better known as provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC), and home-based VCT. These other VCT models have increased uptake but they have limitations that the Cyber-VCT program helps address.Stand-alone VCT ce nters values client initiation – people have to travel and access the services on their own but the stigma associated with it is a huge barrier that limits people from utilizing the services at the centers. The mobile VCT provides services with a mobile team traveling to communities in a van equipped with HIV-testing facilities. It addresses the issue of cost and accessibility but stigma and fears related to testing were not addressed. 6 PITC has proven to be effective in increasing participation through recommendations by providers to those attending health facilities.These patients are provided with the options to opt out but there were ethical concerns as to whether testing was actually voluntary because providers were not consistently counseling the patients Information from Organic Health Response website: http://organichealthresponse. org/cyber-vct-pilot. Jan Ostermann et al. , â€Å"Who tests, who doesn't, and why? Uptake of mobile HIV counseling and testing in the Ki limanjaro Region of Tanzania,† PLoS One 6:1 (January 2011) e16488. 6 5 Page 2 of 6 Cyber-VCT Program 7 thoroughly.Home-based VCT provides services at residents’ homes which addresses accessibility and cost concerns, in addition to eliminates the stigma resulting from being seen at a testing site, but it does not eliminate people’s fear of being stigmatized and rejected by their own family members. 8 The Cyber-VCT program is superior to these models because it helps to eliminate the stigma attached to getting HIV testing, ensures confidentiality, provide proper education, and focuses on sustainability through micro-clinic networks. The Cyber-VCT program has been pilot tested in Mfangano Island in Suba District Lake Victoria (West Kenya).OHR’s vision is to implement an effective comprehensive model starting with Mfangano Island and expanding it to the entire Lake Victoria through micro-clinic networks in hopes that the model can be implemented in other rural impoverished areas to continue fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic worldwide. Mfangano Island is the appropriate pilot site because it has a population of 19,000 people with an estimate of over 30% local prevalence of HIV/AIDS. One of the major threats of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the island is the possible extinction of the indigenous Suba language and way of life.In addition, the neglected people of the island face various health, economic, political, environmental, and social issues. The island has no electricity and there is one road that circles the base of the island. The primary occupation is fishing and subsistence farming. The impoverished people rely on the Nile perch stock that has been the source of many other issues. The industrial Nile perch export fishery has resulted in unsafe â€Å"fish-for-sex† practices and natural resource depletion. The Nile perch stock has also caused interstate resource conflicts between Kenya and Uganda.Even worse is that   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mercy K. Njeru et al. , â€Å"Practicing provider-initiated HIV testing in high prevalence settings: Consent concerns and missed preventive opportunities,† BMC Health Services Research, 11:87 (April 2011): http://www. biomedcentral. com/1472-6963/11/87. 8 Edgar M. Mulogo et al. , â€Å"Facility and home based HIV Counseling and Testing: a comparative analysis of uptake of services by rural communities in southwestern Uganda,† BMC Health Services Research, 11:54 (March 2011): http://www. iomedcentral. com/1472-6963/11/54. Page 3 of 6   7 Cyber-VCT Program overfishing and the environmental issues are endangering the existence of the Nile perch stock. Overpopulation, deforestation, and unsustainable farming practices are the cause of these environment al issues. 9 OHR is taking a comprehensive multi-step approach starting with the Cyber-VCT program to address the complex interconnected issues feeding into the HIV/AIDS problem. OHR plans to sustain the program by building a local infrastructure with micro-clinic networks that empowers the communities.The Cyber-VCT program is the first layer that serves as the gateway to these networks. The networks are formed to encourage people to support each other in an organic way and make the program attractive to residents. Interested participants will go through a five-week social solidarity program to receive education and training on tools to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The workshops will take place at EKC. The goal is for the program participants to provide continuous support to their communities in micro-clinic teams of 5-25 people.In this way, an infrastructure is established for future innovation, such as organic farm plots, composting bio-gas latrines, solar cooking ovens, youth r adio, and other sustainable projects, to occur. Most importantly, the infrastructure empowers local communities rather than merely looking â€Å"western. † The objective is to develop a mutually beneficial connection between the local community-based organizations and the international health governance systems rather than having the impoverished rural communities depend only on international assistance.Global scalability will depend on proving the effectiveness of the comprehensive model because the model required a great amount of resources. Obtaining support and acquiring funding from various entities will be crucial. The cost of building the center (sustainable ferro  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Ripples of Dispute Surround Tiny Island in East Africa,† New York Times, August 16, 2009 (http://www. nytimes. com/2009/08/17/world/africa/17victoria. html). Page 4 of 6   9 Cyber-VCT Program ement design), research, program design, curriculum development, program staffing, implementation (community mobilization, training workshops) is estimated to be $339,000. This amount does not include the cost of land because it was donated by a community leader so the estimated cost for implementation at other areas may be higher. In addition, the $339,000 includes mostly upfront cost and further detailing of maintenance cost will need to be considered. Some of the maintenance cost will be related to technological equipment or systems, security, and infrastructure sustainability.A comparative study is necessary to show improvements in VCT uptake and HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, to attract funding for implementation in other remote impoverish areas that are affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Furthermore, each workshop within the sol idarity program will need to be closely evaluated to make improvements or eliminate any ineffective training and education. Beyond funding, the mutual beneficial relationship between the local communities and international organizations will also play an important role in scalability for resource stability.Strong local ownership of the program will also be invaluable. The networks will likely serve to engage residents organically because the micro-teams will consist of residents’ neighbors, friends, family members. Perhaps, to further encourage local ownership and stabilize the infrastructure, it may be effective to consider creating jobs for local residents to maintain the EKC and microclinics networks. Another layer to the program can be to train local residents to take on positions that may be initially be filled by international partners.OHR’s Cyber-VCT program strives to provide an innovation solution to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in remote impoverished areas b y using technology. The program is more innovative than other VCT models in that people are incentivized to participate and become part of a network that is intended to build itself in an organic way. Furthermore, Cyber-VCT Page 5 of 6 Cyber-VCT Program program uses access to technology as cover and ensures confidentiality to address the people’s concern of being stigmatized, which is on the top of list of the many reasons why VCT participate rate remains low.Another way the program is more innovative is that it has a high chance of sustainability because of OHR’s focus on building a local infrastructure. The added benefit of establishing a local infrastructure is that it allows for further innovations to address other social, environmental, economic, political issues that are connected to the HIV/AIDS problem. In regards to scalability, securing funding by proving the effectiveness of the program, maintaining the mutually beneficial relationship between the local and nternational organizations, encouraging strong local empowerment, and other considerations such as creating local job opportunities for residents can help drive down cost and make the program scalable. As detailed in this paper, OHR’s Cyber-VCT program incorporated in the comprehensive model meets the five Tech Award evaluation criteria outlined on their website10 and is a great candidate for the award. 10 The Tech Awards Criteria: http://www. techawards. thetech. org/nominate/criteria/. Page 6 of 6

Language development in children

All the other ways of knowing are controlled by language. The appropriate use of language is central to virtually all aspects of learning and social development. Successful and appropriate language communication is also closely linked to the individual’s place in society, while the inability to communicate clearly hampers and may virtually eliminate a person’s ability to cope with even the simplest educational and social situations. The manner in which children learn to understand and successfully communicate through language is among the most important questions studied by psychologists. The appropriate use of language is central to virtually all aspects of learning and social development. Successful and appropriate language communication is also closely linked to the individual’s place in society, while the inability to communicate clearly hampers and may virtually eliminate a person’s ability to cope with even the simplest educational and social situations. Traditionally, psychological accounts of language development  Ã‚   have been developed by theorists who have included language learning in their discussions of a general acquisition process (e.g. Miller and Dollard, 1941; Skinner, 1957). Skinner for example, believes that language is learned in large measure by waiting for children to emit approximations of the forms of speech which are ultimately desired and then by gradual shaping  Ã‚   (by parents or other socializing agents) until the correct sounds and sentence forms can be reproduced in appropriate situations with a high degree of fidelity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In contrast, some psycholinguists (e.g. Chomsky, 1959; Fodor, 1966) have  Ã‚   cogently argued that operant learning theory cannot adequately account for complex verbal behavior. Chomsky (1959) offers the following pregnant critique of a â€Å"conditioning† viewpoint: †¦it seems quite beyond questions that children acquire a good deal of their verbal and non-verbal behavior by casual observation and imitation of adults and other children. It is simply not true that children can learn language only through â€Å"meticulous care† on the part of adults who shape their verbal repertoire through careful differential reinforcement, though it may be that such care is often the custom in academic families. It is a common observation that a young child of immigrant parents may learn a second language in the streets, from other children, with amazing rapidity, and that his speech  Ã‚   may be completely fluent and correct to the last allophone†¦ A child may pick up a large part of his vocabulary and â€Å"feel† for sentence structure from television, from reading, from listening to adults, etc. Even a very young child who has not yet acquired a minimal repertoire from which to form new utterances may imitate a word quite well on an early try, with no attempt on the part of his parents to teach it to him (p. 42). Numerous experiments have now disclosed that principles for generating novel responses can be acquired through the observation of others (for example, Bandura & McDonald, 1963; Bandura & Mischel, 1965). If principles of language usage, rather than mere words can be shown to be acquired through observational learning, then this would provide at least a partial account of the process of language acquisition. The classic experiment in this area was conducted by Bandura and Harris (1966). They were interested whether second-grade children could make up sentences that included prepositional phrases and the passive voice. The children were tested first during a base rate period and then again after some form of intervening training. The results demonstrated that the children showed a greater increment in the production of the relevant construction in their sentences (than did the control group) if they were exposed to a combination of (1) an adult model’s production of sentence3s with and without the relevant construction (2) reward to both the model and the observer for sentences containing the relevant construction and (3) attention-focusing instructions. This study clearly suggested that children’s language productions might be modified through modeling in conjunction with other procedures. It is likely, however, that the children in Bandura and Harris experiment had been exposed to prepositional phrases and the passive voice many times in their lives prior to entering the experimental situation. Therefore, the question still remained as to whether children could actually acquire new or novel language rules as a function of observation. Indeed, language is important and in fact, traditionally, psychological accounts of language development have been developed by theorists who have included language learning in their discussions of a general acquisition process (Miller & Dollard, 1941; Skinner, 1957). Skinner, for example, believes that language is learned, in large measure by waiting for children to emit approximations of the forms of speech which are ultimately desired and then by gradual shaping (by parents or other socializing agents) until the correct sounds and sentence forms can be reproduced in appropriate situations with a high degree of fidelity. This is a fair representation of the interrelationship between perception, emotion, reason and language, for numerous experiments have now disclosed that principles for generating novel responses can be acquired through the observation of others (Bandura & McDonald, 1963) If principles of language usage, rather than mere words, can be shown to be acquired through observational learning, then this would provide at least a partial account of the process of language acquisition. In the area of linguistic diversity, researches reveal that in spite of enormous impact that language has on children’s schooling, lack of English skills alone cannot explain the poor academic achievement of students. It is tempting to fall back on this explanation and thus count on simple solutions to solve the problem. Cuban students, for example, have the highest educational level of all Latinos, yet they are the most likely to speak Spanish at home. (Valdivieso & Davis, 1988). However, the fact that students speak Spanish is treated by many teachers as a problem. There is also evidence that teachers interact more negatively with students who do not speak English than with those who do. (U.S. General Accounting Office, Bilingual Education: A New Look at the Research Evidence, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, March 1987). Thus, this is where the emotion and perception side come in the picture. Because if this is the case, then the language dominance of students is not the real issue; rather, the way in which teachers and schools view their language may be even more crucial to student achievement in acquiring knowledge. How language and language use are perceived by the schools and whether modifications in the curriculum and imparting of knowledge are made as a result are important factors to keep in mind. The fact that English speakers rarely have the opportunity to enter bilingual education programs reinforces status of these programs. This is where the methodology of knowledge is more important than the knowledge itself. According to Jean Piaget, what differentiates humans from animals is human’s ability to do â€Å"symbolic abstract reasoning† [Piaget’s Theory] and this forms the basis for the constructivist theory in learning and instruction [Ibid.]. During his experiments, he observed that children think differently from adult and answer questions differently, but it does not mean that children are dumb [Ibid.]. Piaget’s theory had two major aspects: the process and stages of cognitive development [Ibid.]. The process of learning and acquiring intelligence of children is influenced by ‘schemas,’ which is actually the child’s representation to the world. The processes used by children to attain equilibrium between their schemas and the real environment are â€Å"accommodation† and â€Å"assimilation† [Ibid.]. It is assimilation when a child tries to fit cubes into square holes during playtime. It is accommodation when a child tries to push harder a heavier play cart with classmate- passengers than a cart with no one riding. As a child grows, schemas become more complex [Ibid.]. The stages in cognitive development of a child are divided into three: sensorimotor [infancy], pre-operational stage (toddler and early childhood), and concrete operational stage (elementary and early adolescence). During infancy, a child only recognizes an object when he or she sees it [Giants]. During toddler hood and early child hood, a child knows the direction of the right and left of an object, but the child cannot correctly think relative to that object [Ibid.]. At the concrete operational stage, a child becomes more logical in their understanding of the world. It is important that teachers of pre-school and primary schools learn to challenge abilities of children [Piaget’s Theory]. â€Å"Discovery learning and supporting the developing interest of the child are two primary instructional techniques† [Ibid.] to help children understand the world more. â€Å"Children construct knowledge, learning can lead development, development cannot be separated from its social context, and language plays a central role in cognitive development† are the main themes of Vygotsky’s developmental theory [Giants]. Children construct knowledge in a way that Piaget had described it [Bodrova 2005]. A child’s learning can be measured in a level of independent performance and level of assisted performance [Ibid]. The area between these measures will result to the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which increases as learning occurs [Ibid]. Both content and processes of thought is determined by the culture [Ibid.]. Higher functions in man such as focused attention, deliberate memory and symbolic thought are passed down thru teaching [Ibid.]. â€Å"Learning always involves external experience being transformed into internal processes through the means of language† [Ibid.]. Vygotsky’s principle taught that teachers should know the specific learning needs of a child and determine what most appropriate intervention could be done. The ZPD would eventually be filled-up if the learning needs were met thru proper teaching practice. One good practice was to devise an assessment questionnaire that would equally gauge independent performance and assisted performance, and from there, the ZPD can be quantitatively determined. By identifying the gap qualitatively, the learning needs of a child would be revealed.  Ã‚   Moreover, teachers should also know how to develop a child’s attention to focus, improve child’s memory, to teach children think symbolically, and use a language game that children understand. Meanwhile, one’s cultural and social upbringing affects the way a person views this. There are no assumptions or deducing involved here. One can verify the information by just looking again at the dizzying array of program alternatives in bilingual education, each claiming to be more successful than the others. In general, most research has found that bilingual programs of all kinds are effective not only in teaching students content area knowledge in their native language but also in teaching them English. This has been proven time and again to be the case in research analyses and specific program reviews (Hakuta, 1990). According to Hakuta, the most significant effect of bilingual education may not be that it promotes bilingualism in general, which he claims it does not, but rather that it â€Å"gives some measure of official public status to the political struggle of language minorities, primarily Hispanics.† He suggests that raising the status of these children’s native languages contributes to their opportunities for friendships with English-speaking children. Similarly, Erik Erikson as psychoanalyst taught that any person, child or adult faces specific life crisis that they have to resolve in order to perform their tasks (Atkinson 1993). During early childhood or preschool, a child develops an ability to initiate activities (Ibid. 118); teachers have to learn how to encourage or discourage them in order that the child would not feel inadequate. During middle child hood or elementary, children learns various skills such as reading and writing, but they have to interact socially with others in order to feel successful or competent, otherwise they would feel inferior. During this time, a teacher should constantly but reasonably praise a child for a job well done. The LOGO programming used with young children was believed to be supported by Erikson’s theory on the psychosocial stages (Gillespie and Beisser, 2001, p. 230). LOGO is a computer programming language developed by Dr. Seymour Papert in 1980s that is loaded with MicroWorlds software. With the MicroWorlds, a child creates his own animated graphics thru self-directed activity and independently explores cause and effect. Giving children ample time to spend with LOGO programming,   building and constructing encourages children to work without making them feel guilty which makes smooth the transition of a child in his guilty-prone period   (Ibid. p. 234). The same activities enable a child also to acquire mastery of the game in order to feel competent. REFERENCES Atkinson, R.L., Richard C. Atkinson, Edward E. Smith and Daryl J. Bem (1993). Introduction to Psychology 11th ed.. United States: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Bandura, A. & McDonald F.J. (1963). The influence of social reinforcement and the behavior of models in shaping children’s moral judgments. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.   67, 274-281. Bodrova, Elena (2005). Vygotsky’s Developmental Theory: An Introduction. In Davidson Films Homepage. Retrieved Oct. 29, 2006, from http://www.davidsonfilms.com/develope.htm Chomsky, N. Review of B.F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior (1959).Language, 35, 26-58. Gillespie, C., Beisser, W. (2001). Developmentally Appropriate LOGO Computer Programming with Young Children. Retrieved Oct. 29, 2006, http://www.aace.org/dl/files/ITCE/ITCE2001-229.pdf Hakuta, K. (1990). Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: A Research Perspective, no. 1 Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, Spring. Miller, N.E. & Dollard, J. Social learning and imitation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1941. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development. In Educational Psychology Interactive Homepage. Retrieved October 29, 2006, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html. Skinner, B. F. Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1957. U.S. General Accounting Office (1987).   Bilingual Education: A New Look at the Research Evidence, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Valdivieso, R. and Davis, C. (1988). U.S. Hispanics: Challenging Issues for the 1990s Washington D.D.: Population Trends and Public Policy.                            Language development in children All the other ways of knowing are controlled by language. The appropriate use of language is central to virtually all aspects of learning and social development. Successful and appropriate language communication is also closely linked to the individual’s place in society, while the inability to communicate clearly hampers and may virtually eliminate a person’s ability to cope with even the simplest educational and social situations. The manner in which children learn to understand and successfully communicate through language is among the most important questions studied by psychologists. The appropriate use of language is central to virtually all aspects of learning and social development. Successful and appropriate language communication is also closely linked to the individual’s place in society, while the inability to communicate clearly hampers and may virtually eliminate a person’s ability to cope with even the simplest educational and social situations. Traditionally, psychological accounts of language development  Ã‚   have been developed by theorists who have included language learning in their discussions of a general acquisition process (e.g. Miller and Dollard, 1941; Skinner, 1957). Skinner for example, believes that language is learned in large measure by waiting for children to emit approximations of the forms of speech which are ultimately desired and then by gradual shaping  Ã‚   (by parents or other socializing agents) until the correct sounds and sentence forms can be reproduced in appropriate situations with a high degree of fidelity.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In contrast, some psycholinguists (e.g. Chomsky, 1959; Fodor, 1966) have  Ã‚   cogently argued that operant learning theory cannot adequately account for complex verbal behavior. Chomsky (1959) offers the following pregnant critique of a â€Å"conditioning† viewpoint: †¦it seems quite beyond questions that children acquire a good deal of their verbal and non-verbal behavior by casual observation and imitation of adults and other children. It is simply not true that children can learn language only through â€Å"meticulous care† on the part of adults who shape their verbal repertoire through careful differential reinforcement, though it may be that such care is often the custom in academic families. It is a common observation that a young child of immigrant parents may learn a second language in the streets, from other children, with amazing rapidity, and that his speech  Ã‚   may be completely fluent and correct to the last allophone†¦ A child may pick up a large part of his vocabulary and â€Å"feel† for sentence structure from television, from reading, from listening to adults, etc. Even a very young child who has not yet acquired a minimal repertoire from which to form new utterances may imitate a word quite well on an early try, with no attempt on the part of his parents to teach it to him (p. 42). Numerous experiments have now disclosed that principles for generating novel responses can be acquired through the observation of others (for example, Bandura & McDonald, 1963; Bandura & Mischel, 1965). If principles of language usage, rather than mere words can be shown to be acquired through observational learning, then this would provide at least a partial account of the process of language acquisition. The classic experiment in this area was conducted by Bandura and Harris (1966). They were interested whether second-grade children could make up sentences that included prepositional phrases and the passive voice. The children were tested first during a base rate period and then again after some form of intervening training. The results demonstrated that the children showed a greater increment in the production of the relevant construction in their sentences (than did the control group) if they were exposed to a combination of (1) an adult model’s production of sentence3s with and without the relevant construction (2) reward to both the model and the observer for sentences containing the relevant construction and (3) attention-focusing instructions. This study clearly suggested that children’s language productions might be modified through modeling in conjunction with other procedures. It is likely, however, that the children in Bandura and Harris experiment had been exposed to prepositional phrases and the passive voice many times in their lives prior to entering the experimental situation. Therefore, the question still remained as to whether children could actually acquire new or novel language rules as a function of observation. Indeed, language is important and in fact, traditionally, psychological accounts of language development have been developed by theorists who have included language learning in their discussions of a general acquisition process (Miller & Dollard, 1941; Skinner, 1957). Skinner, for example, believes that language is learned, in large measure by waiting for children to emit approximations of the forms of speech which are ultimately desired and then by gradual shaping (by parents or other socializing agents) until the correct sounds and sentence forms can be reproduced in appropriate situations with a high degree of fidelity. This is a fair representation of the interrelationship between perception, emotion, reason and language, for numerous experiments have now disclosed that principles for generating novel responses can be acquired through the observation of others (Bandura & McDonald, 1963) If principles of language usage, rather than mere words, can be shown to be acquired through observational learning, then this would provide at least a partial account of the process of language acquisition. In the area of linguistic diversity, researches reveal that in spite of enormous impact that language has on children’s schooling, lack of English skills alone cannot explain the poor academic achievement of students. It is tempting to fall back on this explanation and thus count on simple solutions to solve the problem. Cuban students, for example, have the highest educational level of all Latinos, yet they are the most likely to speak Spanish at home. (Valdivieso & Davis, 1988). However, the fact that students speak Spanish is treated by many teachers as a problem. There is also evidence that teachers interact more negatively with students who do not speak English than with those who do. (U.S. General Accounting Office, Bilingual Education: A New Look at the Research Evidence, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, March 1987). Thus, this is where the emotion and perception side come in the picture. Because if this is the case, then the language dominance of students is not the real issue; rather, the way in which teachers and schools view their language may be even more crucial to student achievement in acquiring knowledge. How language and language use are perceived by the schools and whether modifications in the curriculum and imparting of knowledge are made as a result are important factors to keep in mind. The fact that English speakers rarely have the opportunity to enter bilingual education programs reinforces status of these programs. This is where the methodology of knowledge is more important than the knowledge itself. According to Jean Piaget, what differentiates humans from animals is human’s ability to do â€Å"symbolic abstract reasoning† [Piaget’s Theory] and this forms the basis for the constructivist theory in learning and instruction [Ibid.]. During his experiments, he observed that children think differently from adult and answer questions differently, but it does not mean that children are dumb [Ibid.]. Piaget’s theory had two major aspects: the process and stages of cognitive development [Ibid.]. The process of learning and acquiring intelligence of children is influenced by ‘schemas,’ which is actually the child’s representation to the world. The processes used by children to attain equilibrium between their schemas and the real environment are â€Å"accommodation† and â€Å"assimilation† [Ibid.]. It is assimilation when a child tries to fit cubes into square holes during playtime. It is accommodation when a child tries to push harder a heavier play cart with classmate- passengers than a cart with no one riding. As a child grows, schemas become more complex [Ibid.]. The stages in cognitive development of a child are divided into three: sensorimotor [infancy], pre-operational stage (toddler and early childhood), and concrete operational stage (elementary and early adolescence). During infancy, a child only recognizes an object when he or she sees it [Giants]. During toddler hood and early child hood, a child knows the direction of the right and left of an object, but the child cannot correctly think relative to that object [Ibid.]. At the concrete operational stage, a child becomes more logical in their understanding of the world. It is important that teachers of pre-school and primary schools learn to challenge abilities of children [Piaget’s Theory]. â€Å"Discovery learning and supporting the developing interest of the child are two primary instructional techniques† [Ibid.] to help children understand the world more. â€Å"Children construct knowledge, learning can lead development, development cannot be separated from its social context, and language plays a central role in cognitive development† are the main themes of Vygotsky’s developmental theory [Giants]. Children construct knowledge in a way that Piaget had described it [Bodrova 2005]. A child’s learning can be measured in a level of independent performance and level of assisted performance [Ibid]. The area between these measures will result to the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which increases as learning occurs [Ibid]. Both content and processes of thought is determined by the culture [Ibid.]. Higher functions in man such as focused attention, deliberate memory and symbolic thought are passed down thru teaching [Ibid.]. â€Å"Learning always involves external experience being transformed into internal processes through the means of language† [Ibid.]. Vygotsky’s principle taught that teachers should know the specific learning needs of a child and determine what most appropriate intervention could be done. The ZPD would eventually be filled-up if the learning needs were met thru proper teaching practice. One good practice was to devise an assessment questionnaire that would equally gauge independent performance and assisted performance, and from there, the ZPD can be quantitatively determined. By identifying the gap qualitatively, the learning needs of a child would be revealed.  Ã‚   Moreover, teachers should also know how to develop a child’s attention to focus, improve child’s memory, to teach children think symbolically, and use a language game that children understand. Meanwhile, one’s cultural and social upbringing affects the way a person views this. There are no assumptions or deducing involved here. One can verify the information by just looking again at the dizzying array of program alternatives in bilingual education, each claiming to be more successful than the others. In general, most research has found that bilingual programs of all kinds are effective not only in teaching students content area knowledge in their native language but also in teaching them English. This has been proven time and again to be the case in research analyses and specific program reviews (Hakuta, 1990). According to Hakuta, the most significant effect of bilingual education may not be that it promotes bilingualism in general, which he claims it does not, but rather that it â€Å"gives some measure of official public status to the political struggle of language minorities, primarily Hispanics.† He suggests that raising the status of these children’s native languages contributes to their opportunities for friendships with English-speaking children. Similarly, Erik Erikson as psychoanalyst taught that any person, child or adult faces specific life crisis that they have to resolve in order to perform their tasks (Atkinson 1993). During early childhood or preschool, a child develops an ability to initiate activities (Ibid. 118); teachers have to learn how to encourage or discourage them in order that the child would not feel inadequate. During middle child hood or elementary, children learns various skills such as reading and writing, but they have to interact socially with others in order to feel successful or competent, otherwise they would feel inferior. During this time, a teacher should constantly but reasonably praise a child for a job well done. The LOGO programming used with young children was believed to be supported by Erikson’s theory on the psychosocial stages (Gillespie and Beisser, 2001, p. 230). LOGO is a computer programming language developed by Dr. Seymour Papert in 1980s that is loaded with MicroWorlds software. With the MicroWorlds, a child creates his own animated graphics thru self-directed activity and independently explores cause and effect. Giving children ample time to spend with LOGO programming,   building and constructing encourages children to work without making them feel guilty which makes smooth the transition of a child in his guilty-prone period   (Ibid. p. 234). The same activities enable a child also to acquire mastery of the game in order to feel competent. REFERENCES Atkinson, R.L., Richard C. Atkinson, Edward E. Smith and Daryl J. Bem (1993). Introduction to Psychology 11th ed.. United States: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Bandura, A. & McDonald F.J. (1963). The influence of social reinforcement and the behavior of models in shaping children’s moral judgments. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.   67, 274-281. Bodrova, Elena (2005). Vygotsky’s Developmental Theory: An Introduction. In Davidson Films Homepage. Retrieved Oct. 29, 2006, from http://www.davidsonfilms.com/develope.htm Chomsky, N. Review of B.F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior (1959).Language, 35, 26-58. Gillespie, C., Beisser, W. (2001). Developmentally Appropriate LOGO Computer Programming with Young Children. Retrieved Oct. 29, 2006, http://www.aace.org/dl/files/ITCE/ITCE2001-229.pdf Hakuta, K. (1990). Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: A Research Perspective, no. 1 Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, Spring. Miller, N.E. & Dollard, J. Social learning and imitation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1941. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development. In Educational Psychology Interactive Homepage. Retrieved October 29, 2006, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html. Skinner, B. F. Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1957. U.S. General Accounting Office (1987).   Bilingual Education: A New Look at the Research Evidence, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Valdivieso, R. and Davis, C. (1988). U.S. Hispanics: Challenging Issues for the 1990s Washington D.D.: Population Trends and Public Policy.