My Philosophy Of Adult Education - 1318 Words

How My Philosophy of Adult Education Changed Before taking adult education classes, I was under the impression that learning for adults and children were the same. The difference being that correct context was being taught to children and different content for adults. My impression of adult education has changed immensely. First and foremost, the first lesson learned that teaching adults are a separate, intensive, and long debated process. Portions of certain theories learned illustrated below. I have extended knowledge about Meizrow (Transformational Learning) and Knowles (Andragogy). The six key features of Adult Learners are: (1) Self/directed learning, (2) Utilizes knowledge and life experiences, (3) Goal oriented, (4) Relevant-oriented, (5) Highlights practicality, and (6) Encourage collaboration. To teach nontraditional students on a collegiate level education is imperative to earn a Master’s Degree, specifically in Adult Learning and Development. The benefits are astronomical; nonetheless, not monetary. I am a firm believer that if one does what one loves, the dollar component will follow within time. As an African-American woman, I have experienced a great deal over the past 60+ years. Furthermore, as a Christian, my identity aligns with my race, culture and ethnic background concerning spirituality, and no it has not always been easy. However, I am most thankful for, George T. Doran, the originator of the S.M.A.R.T. Goals. The adult population in the UnitedShow MoreRelatedThe Educational Philosophy Of Adult Education803 Words   |  4 Pages ADE 6600 Foundations of Adult Education, 15/T3, Dr. Jonathan Taylor The focus of this assignment was to view the educational philosophy concerning adult learning. Background histories of the adult’s education ages ago were briefly gleaned. Other topics viewed were on the adult educational philosophy, the five educational philosophical approaches, the personal adult educational philosophy, the adult learner, developing my own adult educational philosophy, and lastly on how changes is an educationalRead MoreWhat I Believe About Philosophy, Ethics, Adult Education, And The Curriculum1412 Words   |  6 PagesAdult educators must strive to understand their beliefs, the perspectives that they shape and the ethics that drive their profession. As Merriam and Brockett said, â€Å"The practice of adult education does no happen in a vacuum. It occurs in a context that manifests certain beliefs and that values certain behaviors over others. Understanding what those beliefs and values are can only lead to more informed and reflective practice.† (2007) This essay will outline what I believe about philosophy, ethicsRead MoreAs Part Of My Pgce Early Education, I Have Been Instructed1030 Words   |  5 Pages As part of my PGCE Early Education, I have been instructed to conduct an assignment based on my own philosophy of teaching in Early Years settings. Farquhar and White (2014: 821) highlight the importance of early education as the ‘theory and practice of educating young children’, which is deeply rooted in the philosophy of the practitioner as they have a repertoire of strategies to teaching and learning. King and Howard (2016) believe that philosophy and pedagogy are connected asRead MoreEducation Is The Most Modern Means Of Learning778 Words   |  4 Pagesformulated a philosophy of teaching statement with the foundation that that the student is the center of attention. My philosophy is also in-line with Merriam and Brockett (2009), where according to them, the progressive philosophy is w here it places more value in knowledge derived from observation and experience than it does from tradition and authority (p. 35). In this respect, I believe that study and knowledge is critical to solving a problem or correcting a situation within adult education. OnlineRead MoreThe Role Of A Teaching Philosophy Statement1408 Words   |  6 PagesThe Role of a Teaching Philosophy Statement (TPS) Personal development is one aspect of gaining new information to enhance skills, abilities and overall knowledge. The development of a TPS, is a personal analysis of general concepts of teaching, learning, observations and experiences, transferred into the learning environment (Caukin, 2017). Consequently, the statement is intimate, insightful, with an inclusion of personal views of the aspects of teaching, foundation of learning, in addition toRead MorePhilosophy : The Liberalistic Philosophy Of Education807 Words   |  4 Pages Philosophy of Education 2 Perspective: The Liberalistic Philosophy of Education The empowerment of individuals within a community appeared to be nonexistent in Greek philosopher Plato s, Allegory of the Cave. Preferentially, it was simply not within the range of one s knowledge, experience, or understanding; strange; therefore, unfamiliar. Greek philosopher Plato, an astute student of Socrates, his focal point - an advocateRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Education1335 Words   |  6 Pagesteaching style in the â€Å"Finding Your Philosophy of Education Quiz.† While I enjoyed learning about the different philosophies and psychological influences of teaching, I prefer constructivism, social reconstruction, and progressivism due to their student-centered learning, hands-on or project based learning style, while making efforts to improve the world around them. I will be discussing why I chose progressivism, social reconstruction, and constructivism as my preferences, as well as the role ofRead More My Philosophy of Teaching Essay1076 Words   |  5 PagesMy Philosophy of Teaching Teaching is a daunting task that I do not intend to take lightly. Becoming a teacher has been a dream of mine for several years. I always knew that teaching would be the career for me, especially when I began working in the school system as a substitute secretary. I loved working in the school environment; coming in contact with children everyday made me realize how much I would enjoy teaching a classroom full of students. Teachers play such an importantRead MoreEarly Childhood Education Essays1052 Words   |  5 Pages â€Æ' Contents Introduction 2 Principles and Philosophy 2 Common and Differences 2 Contributions 3 Personal Reflections 4 Bibliography 5 Introduction In this assessment I will be talking about the principles and philosophy of Frobel and Montessori, what they have in common and differences, there contributions to Siolta and my own thoughts in relation to early childhood education and their impact on the learning environment Principles and Philosophy Froebel believed that the kindergartens primaryRead MoreEssay on I Want to Be Part of the Future605 Words   |  3 PagesPart of the Future I believe that education is the hope of the future, and as an educator I will be an important part of that future. Behind every president, doctor, lawyer, and parent there was a teacher. I believe that all children can learn and should be provided with the opportunity to do so. Education should be equal and without prejudice. Education should be provided to all children in accordance with their ability. Education should foster each child’s feelings of community

Personality Disorders Paranoid Pd - 1486 Words

Overview: Have you ever wondered why some people have a change in personality at some point in their life. Most of the time this is because they have a personality disorder (PD). There are ten types of personality disorders: Paranoid PD, Schizoid PD, Schizotypal PD, Antisocial PD, Borderline PD, Histrionic PD, Narcissistic PD, Avoidant PD, Dependent PD and Obsessive-Compulsive PD. This biggest debate in psychology today is whether these personality disorders have something to do with our chemical makeup or if it is just caused by traumatic events in a person’s life such as being raped at a young age. Being diagnosed with a personality disorder doesn’t mean that there is something majorly wrong with your personality, it just means that†¦show more content†¦Also, people with BPD tend to be impulsive and not really think about the consequences that go along with their actions. These impulsive actions can include but are not limited to: spending money, sex, drug abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating. Most people with BPD have a fear of abandonment and usually attempt suicide multiple times. This fear of abandonment lead them to take measures into their own hands to make sure that the people around them such as family and friends do not leave them. People who suffer from BPD also tend to have waves of emotions in very short periods of time. This means that a person with BPD can go from happy to sad to angry to depressed to happy again within a period of a couple minutes. After suffering with this disorder for a while without treatment, patients learn how to become numb to their feelings and emotions. Most of the time when these patients learn to become numb they don’t really bother to seek medical help or help from family or friends. This causes them to internalize their feelings and emotions even if they are not feeling the best, they won’t let anyone know and just deal with it all by themselves. Another characteristic of this disorder is having unstable or intense relationships. In the beginning of their relationships, they tend to show a lot of affection towards their partner and tell them about every aspect of their life such as secrets, weird habits, family

My American Dream Free Essays

The American dream can have so many different meanings to so many different people around our country. This is what makes the American dream so wonderful, the fact that you get to determine your dream is in some cases the American dream for some people already! Luckily I myself am able to determine my American dream. I have always thought of my American dream of being able to live a simple life in which I am able to have a stable job that I enjoy. We will write a custom essay sample on My American Dream or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most importantly though is I would like to not only have free time and do things that enjoy like watch my favorite sports team or spend time with my friends. Overall I guess you could just say that I would just like to live my life to the fullest. Some other things that I would like to be included in my American dream is being able to manage my time the way I want to, although this sounds like a very simple wish in my opinion people don’t realize how much time can dictate your life. So many times I find myself missing out on the opportunity to do something simply because there wasn’t enough time. Lastly but most importantly I dream of living a long-term healthy life because no matter what you wish for, you would never be able to enjoy it without your health. I believe that my American dream is reasonable and achievable and one day I hope to end up getting to live a life similar to this. How to cite My American Dream, Papers

In order for a business to succeed, it must put more money in advertising free essay sample

On account of the rapid development of economy, it is indisputable that there are more and more business, small or big, emerging in the market, producing more and more commodities which enables consumers to choose at will. Under such circumstances, some business put more money in advertising than before in order to succeed. I am, and probably will always be, one of those who agree with such idea that business should put more money in advertising. First, it is indispensable for business to advertise their products so that people can recognize them. With the increase in types and quantity of products, the faultfinding consumers have many alternatives to turn to. In order to increase consumers’ awareness of the products, business must put more money than before, which otherwise will lost in such intense competition, which leads to low products sales. Only when business put money in advertising generously, can they make more money by selling more products. We will write a custom essay sample on In order for a business to succeed, it must put more money in advertising or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Second, it is advisable for business to create exquisite, entertaining and reliable advertisements to make their products stand out as well as to attract consumers. I could pick up examples here and there around us. Just take me for example. Last month when I was shopping online for some skin care products, I saw a new domestic brand. Immediately, a new ad on TV occurred to me, which is endorsed by a well-known actress who I appreciate very much. Such an exquisite ad and the famous actress enhanced the credibility of that brand, which finally attracted me to order exactly the product that advertised on TV. Instead, if business doesn’t put more money in advertising, such as invite a celebrity to advertisement, there won’t be more consumers who are willing to buy the products, in other word, the business won’t succeed. Admittedly, if business only focused on advertising, neglecting the significance of product quality and innovation, the advertising won’t be effective and efficient. For example, Li Ning is a well-known sports equipment company in China. Its advertisements are often seen on TV. However, there is something wrong with it in recent years. Its products are no longer as popular as before because they are out of date. In a word, taking into account of all factors mentioned above, we might reach the conclusion that business will prosper, if and only if they put more money in advertising, as well as pursue the principle of â€Å"quality and customers first†.

The Zen Temple as the Place of Worship in Japanese Zen Buddhism

Vertebrates - Vertebrata - the Animal Encyclopedia

Vertebrates - Vertebrata - the Animal Encyclopedia Vertebrates (Vertebrata) are a group of chordates that includes birds, mammals, fishes,  lampreys, amphibians, and reptiles. Vertebrates have a vertebral column in which the notochord is replaced by multiple vertebrae that form a backbone. The vertebrae surround and protect a nerve cord and provide the animal with structural support.  Vertebrates have a well-developed head, a distinct brain that is protected by a skull, and paired sense organs. They also have a highly efficient respiratory system, a muscular pharynx with slits and gills (in terrestrial vertebrates the slits and gills are greatly modified), a muscularized gut, and a chambered heart. Another notable character of vertebrates is their endoskeleton. An endoskeleton is an internal assemblage of notochord, bone or cartilage that provides the animal with structural support. The endoskeleton grows as the animal grows and provides a sturdy framework to which the animals muscles are attached. The vertebral column in vertebrates is one of the groups defining characteristics. In most vertebrates, a notochord is present early in their development. The notochord is a flexible yet supportive rod that runs along the length of the body. As the animal develops, the notochord is replaced by a series of vertebrae that form the vertebral column. Basal vertebrates such as cartilaginous fishes and ray-finned fishes breath using gills. Amphibians have external gills in the larval stage of their development and (in most species) lungs as adults. Higher vertebrates- such as reptiles, birds, and mammals- have lungs instead of gills. For many years, the earliest vertebrates were thought to be the ostracoderms, a group of jawless, bottom-dwelling, filter-feeding marine animals. But during the past decade, researchers have discovered several fossil vertebrates that are older than the ostracoderms. These newly discovered specimens, which are about 530 million years old, include Myllokunmingia and Haikouichthys. These fossils exhibit numerous vertebrate traits such as a heart, paired eyes, and primitive vertebrae. The origin of jaws marked an important point in vertebrate evolution. Jaws enabled vertebrates to capture and consume larger prey than their jawless ancestors. Scientists believe that jaws arose via the modification of the first or second-gill arches. This adaptation is thought to have at first been a way of increasing gill ventilation. Later, as musculature developed and the gill arches bent forward, the structure functioned as jaws. Of all living vertebrates, only the lampreys lack jaws. Key Characteristics The key characteristics of vertebrates include: vertebral columnwell-developed headdistinct brainpaired sense organsefficient respiratory systemmuscular pharynx with slits and gillsmuscularized gutchambered heartendoskeleton Species Diversity Approximately 57,000 species.  Vertebrates account for about 3% of all known species on our planet. The other 97% of species alive today are invertebrates. Classification Vertebrates are classified within the following taxonomic hierarchy: Animals Chordates Vertebrates Vertebrates are divided into the following taxonomic groups: Bony fishes (Osteichthyes) - There are about 29,000 species of bony fishes alive today. Members of this group include ray-finned fishes and lobe-finned fishes. Bony fishes are so named because they have a skeleton made of true bone.Cartilaginous fishes (Chondricthyes) - There are about 970 species of cartilaginous fishes alive today. Members of this group include sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras. Cartilaginous fishes have a skeleton that is made of cartilage instead of bone.Lampreys and Hagfishes (Agnatha) - There are about 40 species of lamprey alive today. Members of this group include pouched lampreys, Chilean lampreys, Australian lampreys, northern lampreys, and others. Lampreys are jawless vertebrates that have a long narrow body. They lack scales and have a sucker-like mouth.Tetrapods (Tetrapoda) - There are about 23,000 species of tetrapods alive today. Members of this group include birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. Tetrapods are vertebrates with four limbs (or whos e ancestors had four limbs). References Hickman C, Roberts L, Keen S. Animal Diversity. 6th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2012. 479 p. Hickman C, Roberts L, Keen S, Larson A, lAnson H, Eisenhour D. Integrated Principles of Zoology 14th ed. Boston MA: McGraw-Hill; 2006. 910 p.

Should Assisted Suicide be Legal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Should Assisted Suicide be Legal - Essay Example John is hospitalized with cancer, death is imminent, and he is in excruciating pain that is not relieved by medicine. He begs his family and his doctors to end his life so he will no longer feel the pain. John has been diagnosed with a cancer that is not treatable and this cancer will take his life eventually. A medically hastened death that speeds up the process should be an alternative for John. The suffering of John cannot be understood by anyone else apart from John himself and to choose for death over life is not an easy option. Thus the decision of John implies a very important aspect of human suffering and if he wants to end his misery by ending his life, he should be permitted to do so as this is the only option left for him. With the development in the world, the human mind has broadened its perspectives. The spread of knowledge has enabled a person to know how human beings have evolved as well as to understand their position and rights in the society. Gone are the times whe n people used to be suppressed by their powerful counterparts. With this evolution the recognition of the self and civil liberties have been understood. People have reached to levels where they believe that they possess complete control of their lives to an extent that they can strongly advocate the fact that they can choose for death as an option and they consider this demand to be their due right. Pain and suffering is a feeling which is very difficult for a human being to bear. If a person feels that he has lost all hope of living a normal live and his life would only be filled with pain and suffering, he can opt for the decision like assisted suicide. It is extremely important that all options relating to the aspect of assisted suicide should be considered before legalizing it. It should be a practice which should be allowed for people but there should be a set of strict rules and regulations to check for all the aspects of the person before he opts for this option. This is beca use many people could opt for this method without any sound and important reasons. Thus a set of rules should be implemented along with the legalization of this method which must include thorough research on the life of the person who opts for assisted suicide. This should be followed by a confirmation of the fact that there is no way in which the condition of the patient can improve. The practice of assisted suicide has been met with much criticism by many groups. The religious groups argue against this practice very strongly. According to these religions human beings are not the judges of the lives of other human beings and thus euthanasia that is assisted suicide is an unethical issue. Moreover, these religions say that the individuals have to suffer as it has been written in their fate by God himself and human beings have no interference in killing these individuals and relieving them from pain. A person has to face all the difficulties and hardships that come in their way. Thus opting for assisted suicide is not justified according to the religious perspective (Bowie, 2001). The critics of Euthanasia have other concerns as well as they believe that following this practice may divert the professionals from their original line of work. The doctors and physicians were supposedly the ones who saved the lives of people and provided them the hope of living their lives and providing them with the best possible forms of treatment. Their function is not to kill them out of mercy. So if a doctor or

Statistical Analysis Discussion paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Statistical Analysis Discussion paper - Essay Example The mean overall job satisfaction of the male employees was 4.43 on a scale of 1-7 with 7 being the highest while the mean overall job satisfaction for the female employees was 4.26. The organization can target the female population in its efforts to increase job satisfaction perhaps by methods such as job sharing, paid time-off for family, child-care facilities, etc. This is especially important in light that there exists a 79% chance that an individual, randomly picked from the database will be female while there is a 50.7% chance that any randomly picked employee will be aged between 22 and 49 years old, the group that has most family commitments. Correlational research is concerned with measuring the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two random variables as measured by the correlation coefficient (Daniel and Terrell, 1995; Watson et al., 2005). It is dimensionless and it may assume any value between -1 and 1, inclusive (Daniel and Terrell, 1995). If the correlation coefficient is either -1 or 1, the variables have a perfect linear relationship in that all of the points lie exactly on a straight line. If the correlation coefficient is near -1 or 1, there is a high degree of linear association.

Leadership and management in nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership and management in nursing - Essay Example General strategies for effecting changes in human systems are power coercive strategy; empirical-rational strategy; and normative/re-educative strategy. Though there are many change strategies, and responsibilities of pathway leadership is challenging, successful change will materialize only with the cooperation and commitment of those involved in the change process. Under these circumstances a case study of the challenges faced by a registered nurse, newly posted in orthopaedic ward of a regional hospital, is attempted to identify efficacy of different change strategies. All professional nurses prefer autonomy and control of their practice and want to apply their nursing knowledge and skills without interference from nurse managers, physicians, or persons in other discipline. â€Å"Changing clinical practice involves addressing deeply held beliefs and traditional rituals† and â€Å"developing new services often involves changing professional roles, boundaries, and loyalties,† because each profession has a unique set of values (Ridout 2002). Leading change is the mainstay of leadership skill, and â€Å"the person responsible for moving others who are affected by the change through its stages† is identified as a change agent ((Daly, Speedy and Jackson 2003, p.195). â€Å"The ability to harness internal motivation, the readiness to take responsibility and to persist, and the drive to stretch for higher performance, take risks, and accomplish goals typify leaders high in achievement, orientation and initiative† (Roussel & Swa nsburg 2008, p.123). General strategies for effecting changes in human systems identified by Robert Chin and D. Benne (1976) that are based on reasons people change their behaviour are: (1) power coercive strategy; (2) empirical-rational strategy; (3) and normative/re-educative strategy (cited by Nickols, 2003) â€Å"The power-coercive style is a top down dictatorial style to change† (Ridout 2002). The basic tenet of power-coercive

The Common European Framework For Languages English Language Essay

The Common European Framework For Languages English Language Essay The teaching and learning of languages in Germany in school contexts changed a lot in the last years. The trend in terms of education policy of standardization and competence orientation dominates more and more the German language teaching. The policy supports in an active way this reform. One of the most influential documents of this development is the Common European framework for languages. Its influence is in Germany especially strong since the authors of the German education standards for the first foreign language adopted nearly completely its concept. In this work I will show what the reform of language teaching in Germany mean. I will find answers for the question what competence orientated foreign language teaching is and I will consider how the Common European framework for languages and the German education standards for the first foreign language are related to this trend. Finally I will weight the positive aspects up against the problematic points of this development. 2. Reform of German foreign language teaching development of a competence orientated learning and teaching For quite a while the teaching and learning of languages in Germany in school contexts is influenced from a trend in terms of educational policy, called competence orientated teaching. (Hu 2008: S. 1) But what exactly is this trend, which dominates the discussion of the scientific community of those concerned with foreign language teaching and research? What is the potential of the changes which are accompanied by the competence orientated teaching and which aspects of this trend are controversial? A long time language teaching in German schools aimed to the instruction for four language skills: oral comprehension, written comprehension, speaking and writing. The teaching and learning of foreign languages was therefore clearly geared toward the language system of the respective language. (Hu, Leupold 2008: 52) Changes of the conditions of the external world, such as the progression of the globalisation, an increase of mobility of the people, relating to the evolution of globalisation and the phenomenon of migration lead to a different target of language teaching. The objective of language teaching in German schools was now the training of a so-called competence of communication. Before that time, the language system of the respective language was the focus of language teaching. After the change of the role of foreign languages in the life, the focus of learning and teaching languages was that the learners become able to express whatever it is they want to express. (Hu, Leupold 2008: 53) The Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistic, explained the complexity of the competence of communication by dividing it in several parts: linguistic competence, socio-linguistic competence, competence of discourse, strategically competence, socio-cultural competence, social competence. (Hu, Leupold 2008: 53) All in all, the development of language teaching in Germany is often described by scientific community as a change from orientation towards the input to an orientation towards the output. No longer the contents that the pupil has to learn are considered as the most important question of educational policy. The competences, abilities that the pupils can achieve by learning quite different contents are now the focus of the discussion in terms of educational policy. (Weil 2010: 16) In Germany that restructuring was especially driven forward after the so-called shock of Pisa in 2000. The Kultusministerkonferenz  [1]  (KMK) developed a strategy, a key element of which are the German education standards for the first foreign language (English/French) and the included idea of competence orientated teaching. The plan is to develop medium or long term aims for each subject of the German education system. The targets should be competence orientated and clearly fixed, so that it is possible to peer-review them. This project both challenged and changed the teaching and learning of languages in Germany. The idea of competence orientated language teaching is reflected in different parts of the German school system: in the education standards for the first foreign language, which is based on the Common European framework for languages, in exams comparing the accomplishment of all German pupils at a certain age, in types of exercises, which have to be involved in all language classes of German schools, etc. One of the most important or maybe the most important event of the described reform of learning and teaching languages is the Common European framework of languages in Germany. That is why this document will be the focus of the next part of my work. In the first part of this chapter I will look into what kind of document the CEFR is. In the second part I will show the implementation of the document in the German education system of language teaching. In the third part I will consider the reception of the CEFR and the idea of competence orientated teaching. 3. The Common European framework for languages 3.1 What is the CEFR? The CEFR was published in 2000 as result of many years of work on the European level. One year later a version in German language was published. The primary goal of the document was to create a closer unity between the member states. Therefore the target of the CEFR is first of all politically motivated. (Hu 2008: 4) Other important intentions of the CEFR can be summarized as follows: Intensification of learning and teaching languages, so that the people of the European Union have more mobility and so that a international communication can be more effective support of the concept of a European plurilingualism lifelong language learning to make the recognition of language qualifications easier to create the possibility of comparison of programmes for language learning, for language certificates to create more transparency and to describe realistic goals of language learning (chapter 1 of the CEFR) In the CEFR language is always considered, as we can see in the first chapter of the long document, as kind of a human action. In the concept of the CEFR learning a language serves for communication. The division of the complex ability to have mastered a foreign language in several parts, that can be assessed, has an especially huge influence of language teaching. Here you can see which different competences, considered as important for learning a language, are listed in the CEFR: declarative knowledge (savoir) knowledge about the world socio-cultural knowledge intercultural awareness skills and procedural knowledge (savoir-faire) practical skills intercultural skills competences of personality (savoir-à ªtre) ability to learn (savoir-apprendre) So the traditional targets of language learning are extended in the CEFR by up to other intentions, that where unconsidered until then: Techniques and strategies about how to learn are presented as important aspects of language learning. The cultural dimension of learning foreign languages is represented and the CEFR also pays some attention to the demands of the personality of the learner which are related to the process of language learning. Besides this, the process of learning languages was, in the CEFR, for the first time analysed in an instrumental-functional way by dividing the process of learning in six levels. (Caspari, Grà ¼newald etc. 2008: 1) The reference levels of the CEFR serve to describe the progresses in the process of learning. It is therefore evident that the underlying concept of language of the CEFR is an instrumental-functional one. Appropriate to his competences a language learner belongs after the concept of the CEFR to one of the three broad divisions, which can be divided into six levels. Here the structuring of learning languages which is developed by the authors of the CEFR: A Basic Speaker A1 Breakthrough or beginner A2 Waystage or elementary B Independent Speaker B1 Threshold or pre-intermediate B2 Vantage or intermediate C Proficient Speaker C1 Effective Operational Proficiency or upper intermediate C2 Mastery or advanced 3.2 The implementation of the CEFR in Germany: the CEFR as underlying concept of the education standards for the first foreign language After I have outlined what kind of document the CEFR is, I will describe his implementation in the German education standards for the first foreign language and with that his enormous influence on language teaching in German schools. In 2000, for the first time the international school study PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) was performed. This is an international evaluation of the scholastic performance of 15-year-old pupils, which is coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The relatively bad results of the German pupils (Born 2003) revealed the discrepancy between the targets and the requirements of the educational system and the real results. Because of the PISA results of 2000, the German educational policy was under big political pressure for action. (Caspari, Grà ¼newald etc. 2008: 1) In this conditions, the Kultusministerkonferenz passed education standards for the first foreign language (English/French) in 2003. These standards give information about the required standard of a pupil after having been at school for ten years, after the lower secondary school. These actions in term of educational policy should, at least at medium-term, improve the scholastic performance of German pupils and give Germany the chance to get a better ranking in the future. (Klieme, Leutner 2006: 876) The standardization of learning languages was a special case because a system of levels already existed from the CEFR. So the existing work form the Council of Europe was taken up. The B1 level was used as the basis for the level, which was expected at the end of lower secondary school. The educational standards describe consequently as well as the CEFR the expected normal level and not a minimal level. (Kunze 2007: 236) Since the educational standards practically adopted the skills of the CEFR, two more or less simultaneous developments in educational policy with original different intentions, coincided: the possibility to compare language competences in Europe and the goal in term of educational policy to describe accurately which competences are expected from the pupils at a certain grade, so that the scholastic performance can be assessed in a well founded way. (Hu 2008: 5) In spite of the different intentions the education standards for the first foreign language are clearly based on the CEFR. Also the division of the very complex competence to have mastered a language follows the example of the CEFR. Merely the terms and the presentation are different. The concept is nearly the same: skills of communication oral comprehension written comprehension speaking writing translating handling of the language system (grammar and vocabulary) vocabulary grammar pronunciation and intonation orthography intercultural competences socio-cultural knowledge comprehensive way to handle cultural differences coping with intercultural situations in practice competences of methods reception of texts (oral and written comprehension) ability to interact with texts production of texts (speaking and writing) strategies of learning presentation; to handle with mediums being conscious about the process of learning By the implementation of the CEFR in the German education standards, the European Councils document of learning and teaching of languages has a large influence on the language teaching in German schools. That is the reason why the CEFR is conspicuously often discussed by the German scientific community of those concerned with foreign language teaching and research. 3.3 Reception of the Common European framework for languages in Germany In this last part of my work I will consider the controversial discussion about the CEFR, its positive aspects and its weak spots. First I will speak about the positive points of the CEFR. Later I will present aspects which are criticised and at last I will give a short personal view on the CEFR and the underlying concept of language learning. 3.3.1 Positive aspects of the CEFR The CEFR led to a fundamental discussion of the teaching and learning of languages and it brought up the question about what the global targets of learning foreign languages are. The function of the CEFR as a stimulus to think about the being of language teaching is clearly profitable for future teaching and learning of languages. The process of rethinking traditions which was activated this way has shown for example one more time that the grammar focussed language teaching can not be justified by the actual point of view. (Neuner 2003) Many see the standardization of language learning positively, especially in Germany. Since the sixteen federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany have developed their own targets up to that time, the demands in the various parts of Germany were often quite different. Therefore a standardization of the global intention and the expected competences from the pupil, was necessary to support the pupils in achieving mobility and to create more justice for the pupils in Germany. (Caspari, Grà ¼newald etc. 2008: 9) A great step forward for language teaching, which is related to the CEFR, is the change of perspective on the process of learning. Before that, the judgements of the pupils performance was usually made deficit orientated. Faults and aspects of the language at which the pupils arent good were the focus of traditional language teaching. The CEFR lead however to a perspective in which the already acquired competences are focused. (Caspari, Grà ¼newald etc. 2008: 9-10) Like this change of perspective, the division of the global language-competence in several parts, as well as the organization in six levels influence the motivation of learner and teacher in a positive way. The process of learning a language is getting more structured and can be better organized. (Caspari, Grà ¼newald etc. 2008: 10) 3.3.2 Criticised aspects of the CEFR and his implementation in the German education system After the presentation of all this positive aspects I will show some examples of important points that are criticised. Problematic in the reform of the German education system by the implementation of the described standards is, that the teachers arent sufficiently involved. There are only very little workshops for introducing the teacher to the new way. (Caspari, Grà ¼newald etc. 2008: 11) Besides the underlying concept of language is often considered as one-sided: only the instrumental-functional aspect of language is taken into consideration. Aesthetic, creative and cultural dimensions of language are for example neglected. (Caspari, Grà ¼newald etc. 2008: 12) Another paradox problem related to the concept of competence orientated teaching is, that competences like intercultural competences, that are hard to assess, will be probably neglected in this reform, even if it is listed in the CEFR and the German education standards. Under the pressure of proving, that certain targets are reached, it is not surprising, that at first those goals which are hard to assess will be neglected. (Hu 2008: 6) All in all the emotional aspect of learning a language is not sufficiently taken into consideration. The importance to consider the needs and interests of learners are not really appreciated. (Kà ¶nigs 2003: 115) 4. Conclusion The precedent considerations about the development in educational policy show that a reform of language teaching in Germany was necessary. The results of the Pisa-studies 2000 made this necessity obvious. Nevertheless the changes are discussed in a controversial way and there are many aspects which have to be criticised. Especially the concept of language which underlie the idea of competence orientated language teaching is in several aspects problematic. It is one-sided instrumental-functional and overlook the creative, aesthetic and cultural dimension of languages. In my personal experience this aspects of foreign languages were always very important in the process of learning a language a way which is sometimes hard to go. That is why the needs and interest of language learners are extremely important aspects in the language-learning-process and why they it is important to involve them more in the actual development.

Nothing Can Bring You Peace But Yourself. :: essays research papers

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." "Yourself,"†¦ I am thinking about the time when my best friend died, and when I stopped being myself and my life started going to hell. It happened maybe two or three years ago. The day is very clear in my memory. The weather was cold and nasty. The monotonous rain made everything outside look gray. I was at home, waiting for my girlfriend to arrive. I was sitting on the couch drinking hot tea and feeling warm and cozy. My cat was there too, I remember. We were watching a Mexican soap opera, and I think the cat was enjoying it, but I wasn’t paying much attention to what was going on. All I cared about was that my girlfriend was finally coming home and that we would be able to see each other again. She had left only four weeks earlier, but I missed her greatly. We had been friends since the first grade. In the beginning we were the worst enemies; we just hated each other. Oh, how we fought! One time she accused me of taking her marker, even though I did not know what marker she was talking about. I remember her mother came to school and everyone was mad at me and was convinced that I was guilty. Later she found her marker. It seems she had put it in a wrong box. This turned out to be the first, but not the last, accident that would occur. What didn’t we argue about? After a while, hmmm, five years, we became the best friends ever. We were perfectly compatible with each other. We began spending all of our time together. We were vital to each other. I came to know each and every detail about her as she did about me. My life was intertwined with her life and her life was intertwined with mine. It was the most enduring friendship of my life. I looked at the clock above my head. Four fifty. She was supposed to arrive at three o’clock. I felt uncomfortable; some weird feeling crawled around my heart. I did not understand it. I waited and waited. It was dark already and I was afraid of being in solitude. I couldn’t stand it anymore. Five o’clock. The phone rang and it startled me. Who might it be? I wasn’t expecting a phone call from anyone.

Act 2- Proctor’s house Essay

The crucible is set in the early 1920’s in a place called Salem in Massachusetts America. The story is based on the problem of witchcraft; to be a witch or warlock in those days was unforgivable. The people living in Salem were all strict Puritans and anything un-natural was said to be wrong. Anyone with any evidence of another being â€Å"in contact with the devil† was immediately taken to court for a case, they could be imprisoned for many years or worse killed. As you can imagine this arose a great deal of problems including people’s greed or jealousy taking over their moral beliefs. People would accuse others to get what they wanted e.g. land. Act 2- Proctor’s house. Role of Elizabeth  Elizabeth- â€Å"What keeps you so late? It’s almost dark.†Ã‚  At this point in the story Elizabeth still has a slightly higher status than her husband, and has done for quite a while this is because he is the one that has sinned and still needs to watch his step if he wants to keep her as his wife. As she walks in from singing to the children, she will be looking at her husband at first, then look out side swiftly when she says â€Å"It’s almost dark.† She asks a question about his work to be polite, not necessarily interested so will be busy with something on the table, e.g. a candle stick. When she has to respond to Proctor asking if the boys are asleep she will look up from what she is doing and answer while walking quickly over to the fireplace. She answers vaguely to Proctors wishing for a â€Å"fair summer.†Ã‚  When Proctor asks if she â€Å"is well today† She turns around with the plate of his food and smiles kindly and responds â€Å"I am† Although not returning the question. She then nods at the plate and tells him it is rabbit. She then pulls out a chair and sits by him watching him sit down to eat. Her eyes never leave him apart from to look at the rabbit describing how painful it was for her to â€Å"strip her.† While she watches him taste it, there is a look of slight anticipation on her face to see his respond. She is still sitting up right facing him, perfect posture. It is at this point that their statuses are equal, she wants praise from him. Which when she gets she blushes and smiles, but asks for more; so asks- â€Å"it’s tender?† Maybe leaning slightly further forward, closing the distance that is between them. After proctor tells her that he means to please her, the eye contact becomes more intense for a split second but soon disappears. Her facial expression is of fake happiness maybe even slight sadness. As she replies she looks at Proctor for the beginning of the line â€Å"I know it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but then looks down when she says â€Å"John.† Indicating it is very hard for her to say. When Proctor tries to kiss her she does not lean in towards it but sits very still and up right in her chair, looking away. She receives it but does not return it. After he has sat down she continues to look at him, which is when he sullenly says â€Å"Cider.† In a thanking sort of way, for changing the subject she quickly stands replying â€Å"Aye!† The subject back onto the farm, Elizabeth still shows that there is something still annoying her. She walks quickly back with the cider and places it by him, and sits back down. Proctor then introduces the idea of flowers in the house, she answers quickly, and looking around, hands on the table and feet perfectly together on the floor. She says that she has forgotten, but this is not top on her list, so says it rather quickly, with the air of not really caring about it. Proctor then suggests that they go on a walk together one day to look at the flowers; he finishes the sentence with saying how beautiful Massachusetts is in the spring. Elizabeth only responds to this, not the walk through the wood together. Her answer is short and quick, and as she says it has a knowing look upon her face and nods slightly but it is obvious that she doesn’t care and this is not what she is thinking about at the moment. There is a pause and she continues to watch him for a short while, with a look of enquiry and un-knowing on her face. When he does not say anything she gets up and picks up his plate and cutlery. She does this briskly not saying a word. She stands by the basin, after placing the plate and cutlery in it. She has her back to him and does not move, but waits.  Proctor then says â€Å"I think you’re sad again, are you?† She doesn’t reply immediately and still doesn’t turn round, as if holding back words. She soon does however and when she speaks it is slowly, this is because she does not want an argument so she makes it look as if she is the one in the wrong asking herself a stupid question in her mind. This immediately lowers her status ever so slightly. His reply is harsh and sudden, which doesn’t strike her, if anything makes her slightly more frightened, she rubs her hands around each other nervously but subtly, yet still stands tall. â€Å"You did speak of going, earlier this week.† As if reminding him, that she had good reason to think that he might have gone Salem that day.  When she tells him that Mary Warren had gone that day, she looks at him directly; she still does not move her body though, she announces it very clearly. After his reply she has weakened a little, she knew that by telling him this it would get to him, now she can see that he is holding back from shouting. This still gives her the upper status. So when she says â€Å"I couldn’t stop her.† She shakes her head slightly but still watches him. She then goes on to say how Mary Warren frightened all her strength and power away from her, at this she will step forward, it’s now that she begins to use her body to express, all the way so far her torso has stayed upright. As she steps forward she looks Proctor in the eye. And she moves her arms forward, which shows her weakness breaking through.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It is a mouse no more. I forbid her to go, and she raises up her chin like the daughter or a prince and says to me, ‘I must go to Salem, Goody Proctor, I am an official in the court!†

Ethical Issues in the School

Ethical Issues in the School Robert is a disruptive student whose case raises several ethical concerns. The first one is that he does not follow school rules and regulations as a student. He is also disobedient and bullies other students in class. Teachers do not expect their students to behave in such a manner hence the behaviour portrayed by Robert is not ethical.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Ethical Issues in the School specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The second ethical issue raised in the case is that Robert has gone to the extent of stealing a phone from the bag of another student. Stealing is not accepted whether the person involved is a teenager or an adult. It is wrong for Robert to involve himself in stealing because this is likely to cause serious consequences. To begin with, it will affect his studies negatively. Secondly, legal action might be taken against him because stealing is prohibited by law. The third ethical issue r aised in the case is that Robert risks being expelled from the school completely although he is capable of changing into a good student and a kind person. Since the case of Robert is a serious ethical issue, it is important to apply certain ethical approaches and theories in order to handle it effectively. The first ethical theory that will guide my action in handling the case is deontological theory. This theory argues that human beings are governed by certain moral rules that cannot be broken. According to deontologists, doing the right thing is considered ethical regardless of whether the outcomes are good or bad. My actions will also be guided by utilitarianism theory. This theory focuses on the outcomes of a certain decision. According to the theory, choices or decisions that benefit a large number of people are considered ethically right. In Robert’s case, the concept of good denotes actions that are acceptable to the school administration and ones that do not disturb o ther people within the school environment. This theoretical approach provides a rational approach for making a decision on the most appropriate thing to do in the case of Robert.Advertising Looking for case study on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In this case, there are two options of action that can be used to handle the situation. The first option is to expose Robert as a thief because information about the stolen phone has spread in the school and the girl concerned is distraught. The second option is to summon Robert privately, counsell him and get the phone without informing everybody. Robert should not be exposed to the rest of the school members if he apologises because he has the potential to change and become a good person if the problems he faces at home are solved. In this case, the option I will choose is to report Robert to the school principal for the necessary action to be taken. The first rea son behind this decision is that Robert has been a disruptive student in many occasions. He bullies other students, yells in class, and does not do assignments. It might be assumed that he will change with time but this might not be practical because the principal has warned him many times without any success. He has even gone to an extent of giving Robert a last warning. One of the factors that might prevent me from taking this action is the fact that I have observed Robert for six months and I think he can change into a good and kind student. This might be true but eventually the action will have to be taken because even after several warnings, he has not changed and still behaves unethically. It is unethical to keep him in the school with the hope that he will change yet he does not show signs that he will change. Exposing him might have negative consequences since he will be expelled out of school. However, this is the most appropriate option because according to utilitarianism, it will result in the greatest benefits for the people in the school. Robert will suffer but teachers and students will be free from his disturbance.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Ethical Issues in the School specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Philosophically, the decision to expose Robert as a thief is the most appropriate method of handling the situation. This is because this decision will have the greatest benefits for the majority. In addition, the decision might have short-term negative implications for Robert but eventually, it will prevent him from getting into more trouble. For instance, his behaviour has shifted from causing disturbance to other students and disrupting normal school operations to stealing. If he is allowed to continue stealing, he might continue doing it until he lands in prison. It is therefore philosophically right to expose him as a way of preventing him from getting into bigger tr ouble. The course of action taken in this case is consistent with choices ethically conscientious people make. An individual who is ethically conscious looks at how the majority benefit from certain actions although some individuals might suffer. In the case of Robert, the most appropriate action is to expose his unethical behaviour that disrupts other people. Some people might think that he should not be exposed as a thief but instead should be given a chance to reform and change his behaviour. However, he has been warned several times and he seems not to change. It will be unethical to give him more time to change while he disrupts normal school operations. The decision to expose him is therefore consistent with choices made by conscientious individuals. Deontology and utilitarian theories have been used to analyse the case of Robert. The two theories will assist an individual in everyday decision making. It is important to make decisions based on certain theories since they provi de insights on what is ethically acceptable. Deontological theories argue that it is important to do what is right regardless of the outcomes because human beings have obligations that are not supposed to be broken. This theory will assist individuals in everyday decision making because some situations make it difficult to make the right decision.Advertising Looking for case study on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Utilitarianism is the second theory that will be useful in everyday decision making. According to utilitarian theorists, decisions should be made on the basis of their benefits for the largest majority. This implies that our actions should not favour individuals at the expense of a larger group of people. The theory is therefore important in everyday decision making because it enables individuals to make decisions that benefit the majority.

Free Essays on Controversy Of The Bomb

Controversy of the Bomb Criticism and praise have always followed the debate over the United States government’s decision to use atomic force in World War II. Depending on who is surveyed, one can get a variety of opinions. But the nature of the controversy, according to Ambrose and Brinkley, seems to be whether this atomic force was necessary to resolve World War II in the Pacific theater. In addition, the targets for the bomb were not even military targets, so the bomb would not have any effect on the military situation. If atomic force was necessary, why was the bomb dropped in such haste? Why hadn’t Truman waited to see how the Japanese government responded to the Russian declaration of war? Ambrose and Brinkley suggest several reasons, other than immediate military necessity, for using the bomb. Most of the high level officials that knew about the Manhattan project, including President Harry Truman and the scientists who developed it, simply regarded the atomic bomb as new military technology. Military leaders hadn’t hesitated to use recently developed napalm on air raids over Tokyo so the atomic bomb was considered, simply, as another easy option of force. Ambrose and Brinkley also suggest that many administrators felt deployment of the new weapon was the only justification to Congress and the public for spending two billion dollars on the research and development for it. Others felt that Japan needed to be punished for the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor and felt the atomic bomb would destroy enough so the American public would finally feel Pearl Harbor avenged. The use of the bomb would also allow Japan to save face to themselves and the world. The Japa nese army, prepared to fight to the death to avoid dishonor, would not consider surrendering even when Allied victory was eminent. The atomic bomb gave Japan a way out. No longer would surrender seem dishonorable against such a horrific weapon. Another ... Free Essays on Controversy Of The Bomb Free Essays on Controversy Of The Bomb Controversy of the Bomb Criticism and praise have always followed the debate over the United States government’s decision to use atomic force in World War II. Depending on who is surveyed, one can get a variety of opinions. But the nature of the controversy, according to Ambrose and Brinkley, seems to be whether this atomic force was necessary to resolve World War II in the Pacific theater. In addition, the targets for the bomb were not even military targets, so the bomb would not have any effect on the military situation. If atomic force was necessary, why was the bomb dropped in such haste? Why hadn’t Truman waited to see how the Japanese government responded to the Russian declaration of war? Ambrose and Brinkley suggest several reasons, other than immediate military necessity, for using the bomb. Most of the high level officials that knew about the Manhattan project, including President Harry Truman and the scientists who developed it, simply regarded the atomic bomb as new military technology. Military leaders hadn’t hesitated to use recently developed napalm on air raids over Tokyo so the atomic bomb was considered, simply, as another easy option of force. Ambrose and Brinkley also suggest that many administrators felt deployment of the new weapon was the only justification to Congress and the public for spending two billion dollars on the research and development for it. Others felt that Japan needed to be punished for the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor and felt the atomic bomb would destroy enough so the American public would finally feel Pearl Harbor avenged. The use of the bomb would also allow Japan to save face to themselves and the world. The Japa nese army, prepared to fight to the death to avoid dishonor, would not consider surrendering even when Allied victory was eminent. The atomic bomb gave Japan a way out. No longer would surrender seem dishonorable against such a horrific weapon. Another ...

Proposed Market Research for Famuss car Rental Essay

Proposed Market Research for Famuss car Rental - Essay Example In 2009 Car rental industry, took a major plunge due to economic recession. But they slowly emerged out from recession and in 2012 and 2013 this industry looked very positive and they started to gain profit. With the growth in the tourism industry the growth of car rental agencies has risen (Henry, 2008, p.57). The travellers have the liberty to move around freely with such rental cars. A growing number of air travellers had led to the increase in revenue of the car rental agencies around the world. Discussion The Trends in the Overall Market The car rental industry is a major part of the transport industry. It is affected by various factors like increase in the GDP growth which in turns results in increase in the number of air travellers. 45 to 50 Millions of vehicles are rented all across the Europe. The importance of car rental industry can be seen from the growth of major car rental companies like Enterprise Rent a car and National Car Rental. For example UK’s largest car rental company National Car Rental has a fleet base of over 40,000 vehicles and 170 branches all over. Both of the above mentioned companies have received prestigious ITM awards and have made notable contributions in the sector (Vogel, 2012, p. 124). The global Car rental industry is now facing radical transformations. Some year ago most of the major car rental companies of US were owned by the car manufacturers (Lee, 2013, p. 1). Now only Ford has their own car rental business named Hertz. But apart from that most of the other large car rental companies are owned by individual companies who are only into car rental business. Few examples are Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental are owned by Taylor family of St. Louis; Budget and Ryder is owned by Sandy Miller who is a former franchisee. These players along with a few others control over 90 per cent of the market (Autoescape. 2013, p. 12). Here are some of the facts of car rental industry of US in 2012 It employed over 126,000 i n US The Total revenue grew from $31.6 billion in 2007 to $33.7 billion in 2012, which shows that the industry is rising. Demand of car rental companies increased throughout 2012 as the air travel cost increased. The revenue is expected to grow from 5.6% in 2012 to 3.0% in 2013. The number of foreign tourist which visited the US had increased by 3.4% for the past five years to 2012. Market Segment Famus Car Rental intends to target basically two markets. The market of the company is segmented into two parts the luxury car segment as well as the economy segment. The company thinks that the luxury cars would be the suitable in case of the special occasions (McDonald and Hawkins, 2013, p. 15). The people may hire the luxury cars during the weddings or various events. On the other hand the economy cars would be hired on the day to day basis for the regular requirements of the individuals. The market for the high end customers would be comparatively niche because the rental costs of the cars would be more. On the other hand the rental costs of the cars would be less for the economy sections. The luxury cars would also be taken by the business travellers. The business travellers would not hesitate to pay the high price for the cars. On the other hand the event management companies would also be an ideal target market for the luxury cars. The competition in this

Lewis and clark among the indians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lewis and clark among the indians - Essay Example The American explorations have extended beyond the earth and now venture to delve into the interstellar space. But space adventure is insipid because it has more space for machines and the technicalities are beyond the comprehension of ordinary men. Ronda thinks that the story of Lewis and Clarke is more palpable as it is still accessible. It is possible to follow the footprints of Lewis and Clarke and hence Ronda gives the directive, " to get off the boat, and get on the bank". It is usual for American explorers to use casually terms like "wilderness" and "unknown" to describe homelands of native people. In fact these regions were the real milieu of Native American homes with their adjoining gardens and hunting lands. The journey of Lewis and Clark and their entourage, bearing the massive inventory of the expedition could not have completed the mission without co-operation and support of the natives. It is highly doubtful whether they would have survived in the rugged and hostile terrain without heavily relaying on the expertise of the natives for whom it was their home. The wealth of vital topographic knowledge about rivers, streams, hills, and passages might have been invaluable logistic support on their itinerary. Sacagawea epitomized in many ways the wide interaction between the natives and Corpse of Discovery. She was not merely a handy guide; her presence reassured the Native Page 3 Americans that the expedition was not a hostile military infringement on their domain. Her standing as the sister of Cameahwait, a Shoshone chief, who provided crucial assistance, which did contribute to the success of the expedition. In addition to that Sacagawea was a crucial link facilitating communication with her own people, the Shoshones. The expedition of Lewis and Clark was a command exploration ordered by the then United States President, Thomas Jefferson. Why did he order it There are a plethora of motives that goad explorers to brave the tumultuous waves of perilous oceans, to confront the dusty heat waves of the desert and to scale the precipitous cliffs. But social historians have narrowed down the motives of the states man to the inordinate craving of man for gold and glory. Ronda's book does highlight these motives found in this mission. The purchase of Louisiana in 1803 was an event that wet the American appetite for expansion. The U. S. Congress appropriated 2500 U S Dollars for this. The parameters of the exploration were set as the study of the Indian tribes, Botany, Geology, Western Terrain and wildlife and to evolve a strategy to contain the British and French-Canadian poachers who were some what well established in the region. Page 4 Another motive of the venture was to carve out a viable route and survey the possibility of opening up a fully operational waterway to aid the American expansion further westward. Though this objective could not be achieved, the first contact of Lewis and Clark

Discuss the ethical issues of using GM golden rice in the developing Essay

Discuss the ethical issues of using GM golden rice in the developing world - Essay Example Vitamin A is found in butter, milk, liver and kidney, green and yellow vegetables, but only very little in conventional rice. Today, much of Vitamin A can be supplied by the genetically modified rice that offers beta-carotene, a metabolic precursor to vitamin A. In year 2000, researchers in Zurich and in Freiburg, Germany succeeded in creating the yellow rice that has both beta carotene and iron content (GMO Compass). The GM rice research, which was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation by $100 million, took 10 years to produce the genetic strain. It will take million dollars more and another decade of development at the International Rice Research Center before it can reach the fields of farmers. (Shiva, 2000) Genetic engineering is the deliberate, controlled manipulation of the genes in an organism with the intent of making that organism better in some way (What is.com). This is a thoroughly new technology that alters the characteristics of the living organisms by inserting genetic materials manipulated through artificial means. Union of Concerned Scientists said that advocacies of genetically modified food should proceed with care, alternatives examined, and case to case evaluation of genetic engineering applications be done. GM rice has been a source of complex issues. A group of 22 international scientists and experts, in 2009, questioned this issue in an open letter to Professor Russell at Tufts University School of Medicine, who is in charge of the clinical trials of GM Golden Rice testing to adults and children (GM Watch). This group asserted that â€Å"golden rice is inadequately described in terms of biological and biochemical makeup†¦has not been shown to be stable over time†¦.has never been through regulatory approvals process anywhere In the world†. Researchers from Ban GM food worry on the safety of GM rice as it has not been tested to animals. They argued that when pharmaceutical drugs are tested for safety, it should be first tes ted to animals. When no harmful effect is seen in the animal, it is only then that it should be tested to human volunteers. GM rice defenders said that it is intended for humans, so animal test is no longer needed. Same research group argued that since GM rice is engineered to overproduce beta carotene, they are worried that some retinoid derived from beta carotene are toxic and cause birth defects, as studies would show (GM food.org) As controversies grow, research findings conclude that there are many opinions on the negative effect of GM food, but lacks data to support the claim on the potential risks to health (Arpad, et al.) Potential harm of GM foods can be acute to the young, elderly and those suffering HIV, hepatitis or other viral diseases. Those suffering from gastrointestinal tract, allergies and other disorders are further advised not to consume GM food as there is possibility of unforeseen irreversible consequences. For this reason, GM food labeling should be mandatory, research suggested. The emergence of genetically produced crops has generated various policy reactions from different countries as well. Discussion has reached international level, particularly, the World Trade Organization (Nielson & Anderson). Accordingly, both exporters and importers of GM rice will be affected by the biotech policies of the countries within which they operate. Trade relations are affected by the consumer confidence

The Dangerous Danger That Dangers the Danger Essay Example for Free

The Dangerous Danger That Dangers the Danger Essay PURPOSE The purpose of this experiment is to determine if the elasticity of bubble gum affects the diameter of a bubble blown with the gum. HYPOTHESIS If the elasticity of the bubble gum is higher, then the diameter of the bubble blown will be significantly larger because the bubble will be able to stretch farther, therefore giving it a larger diameter. The independent variable is the elasticity of the gum. The dependent variable is the diameter of the bubble blown. The constants are the stopwatch used, environment tested in, and temperature outside. There was no control group. MATERIALS  · 3 tape measurers  · 1 piece of Bubble Yum Original gum  · 1 piece of Wrigley’s Extra bubble gum  · 1 piece of Orbit Spearmint gum  · 1 piece of Mentos Tropical Mix gum  · 1 piece of Trident Tropical Twist gum  · 8 strands of Big League Chew gum  · 4-6 test subjects to chew gum  · 6 data sheets  · 1 pen PROCEDURE Part 1: 1. Gather materials. 2. Take one piece of Orbit Spearmint gum. 3. Chew the gum for approximately three minutes (the exact time does not matter). 4. Take the chewed gum and begin to blow a bubble. 5. Use the tape measurer to measure the diameter of the bubble when the bubble is at its largest. 6. Record the diameter of the bubble blown onto data sheet. 7. Repeat steps 4-6 two more times. 8. Proceed to Part 2. 9.Repeat steps 2-8 for all the types of gum. Part 2: 1. Remove gum from mouth. 2. Place the wrapper on the ends of the gum and slowly pull it apart. 3. Measure the length of the gum while continuing to pull it apart until the gum breaks or sags to the ground. 4. Record the length the bubble gum stretched before breaking. 5. Analyze and draw conclusions. WRITTEN RESULTS AND ANALYSIS The data collected from this experiment shows that overall Big League Chew produced the largest bubble, and Bubble Yum had the largest elasticity. Orbit Spearmint and Trident Tropical Twist produced the two smallest average bubble diameters; also, both had the smallest elasticity. The remaining brands fell into the middle of the categories; Wrigley’s Extra had a bubble diameter average of 8 millimeters and an average elasticity of 3500 millimeters, and Mentos Tropical Mix had a bubble average of 5.7 millimeters and an average elasticity of 1200 millimeters. Bubble Yum Original had an average diameter of 72 millimeters and an average elasticity of 4000 millimeters, and Big League Chew had an average bubble diameter of 100 millimeters and an average elasticity of 1500 millimeters. Lastly, Orbit Spearmint had an average bubble diameter of 24 millimeters and an average elasticity of 800 mm, and Trident Tropical Mix had an average bubble diameter of 20 millimeters with an average e lasticity of 1050 millimeters. The largest bubbles with the greatest elasticity had significantly larger servings of gum than all of the other brands. The small bubble sizes and poor elasticity could be because of the small size. CONCLUSION The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the elasticity of bubble gum affects the size of its bubble. The hypothesis for the experiment was if the gum has a high elasticity, then it will blow a larger bubble because it would be able to stretch out more. The hypothesis was supported because the results of the experiment showed that the bubble gum with higher elasticity generally had higher bubble sizes. The bubble gum types that stretched the most and also had the largest diameters were Bubble Yum Original and Big League Chew. The bubble gums with the least elasticity and the smallest diameters were Orbit Spearmint and Trident Tropical Twist. The scientific explanation for the results is that the higher amounts of elasticity in the gum allowed it to expand and stretch more, giving it a larger diameter. Attempts to limit errors in this experiment included using three trials, testing with the same person per type of gum, using the same measuring devices, and the testing enviro nment. Some possible sources of error were the fact that there were different people chewing the gum, the measuring was not always always accurate, there was a time constraint forcing the experiment to be rushed, and the gum bubble sizes were dependent on the person chewing it. From this experiment, it is suggested that the elasticity of bubble gum does affect the bubble size. In future experiments, more types of gum could be used to get a better sense of the results. In the real world, this information can be applied so that people don’t chew gum with high elasticity in schools. If someone is chewing gum of high elasticity, it would make bigger bubbles, make a louder sound, disrupt the classroom, and be a big problem academically for the students.

Can Terrorism Be Defeated Only By Military Means Criminology Essay

Can Terrorism Be Defeated Only By Military Means Criminology Essay We blindly cant say that terrorism is the only option to reduce or stop terrorism without examining how terrorist groups end or fade out after some years. The governments in the other hand will have different options like military force, intelligence team, political negotiations and economic sanctions. The governments should prioritise their options on the terrorist organisations. According to a research, which examined more than 250 terrorist organisations from the period of 1965 to 2006, it found that many of the terrorist organisations ended because of the local police intervention like that of the Al-Umma organisation which carried out attack in Coimbatore during 1998. Many other organisations stopped their or dissolved their campaign due to intelligence or because of the settlements with the governments. It is to be noted here that military force did not have an adverse effect on the terrorist organisations to stop their violence against the non-combatants. United States stance on Al-Qaida proved wrong when the chief (Osama Bin Laden) was caught only by the intelligence force rather than the war on terror which lasted for more than a decade. Until the year 2006, there were around 648 terrorist groups and the research found that their survival for a longer term was due to the factors of economic condition, control type, their ideas, size and their goal. According to this research by Memorial for the prevention of Terrorism, it states that 268/648 groups ended within the year 2006, 136 groups fell apart because of difference in strategies and goals and the remaining 244 were active. The main reason for most of the terrorist organisations to quit terrorism was due to local police intervention and intelligence or a beneficial agreement with the governments to satisfy their needs for a particular group of people. Only very less terrorist organisations ended because of the military force. Military force was affective only when the terrorist groups were large and had the state-of-the art weapons to defend their goals and needs. The only place where military force turned out to be a good idea was in Sri Lanka when the government fought against the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE). This group demanded a separate land for Tamils in Sri Lanka which caused the biggest civil war in the history. Only in this case, governments action of using military force was beneficial because the opponent was well armed and had a large army to reach their goals. The research also found that the terrorist organisations which had some religious sentiments took longer time to stop their activities but rarely achieved their goals. Size of the group also determined their results. The example of a bigger group coming out victorious in terrorism was that of the army found by Mohammed, the founder of Islam which conquered Mecca in the Holy war or Jihad. The research also found that the terrorist from upper-income groups were nationalist and rarely were religiously motivated. COUNTERTERRORISM RATHER THAN WAR ON TERRORISM: After the September 11 attack by Al-Qaida on the World Trade Center, United States strategy to fight terrorism was mainly by the military action. They have also employed some non-military operations like reducing the foreign assistance and securing their states with more power. It was only during the Obamas regime, counter terrorism proved to be effective rather than the War on Terror Obama employed the intelligence squad to break in to or kill the al-Qaida chief in 2009. This initiative proved beneficial and the U.S killed their target in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. This made a way for many countries to withdraw the aspect of War on Terror and employ counterterrorism. As of 2008, the war on terrorism had not much effect on Al-Qaida as it remained strong and well organised. Its goal of uniting Muslims to fight the west remained strong and it continued to encourage terrorism to be employed in more places around the world. They conducted many such attacks without any problems when military attacks were employed on them. Military force only helped the governments to reduce some bigger attacks like that in New York or Mumbai. United States then decided to change their strategy to negotiate some political settlement with the Al-Qaida. As Al-Qaida was religious and fought the war against the west in the name of Allah, the negotiation strategy was not effective. So the governments should decide to abolish them by two strategies. They are: Governments should start to depend on intelligence and policing to destroy Al-Qaidas plans in attacking the non-combatants. Al-Qaida is a large group who are active around the world and commit some deadly acts only when a message is received from the head of the group. In order to track their moves and those peoples involved in the attacks, U.S has employed Central Intelligence Agency and FBI to track and demolish the terrorist activities with the help of foreign police and some intelligence agencies. The governments should also reduce their military personnel in the borders and promotes local forces to take charge as they had a greater understanding of the places. The main aim of this move is to promote counterterrorism as this proved to be effective than War on Terrorism in many countries who are fighting terrorism. This replacement in strategy also makes the terrorist think that they are criminals and not warriors who are fighting for the religious cause of Jihad. DEPENDING ON INTELLIGENCE: The U.S government should concentrate more on police forces and an intelligence agency at least after the Al-Qaida Chief was killed in the counter attack by the U.S Navy Seals. The governments should now focus on CIA, FBI and increase the budgets which specialises in counterterrorism. The military forces should have the same strategy for the groups involved in insurgencies and for large groups. According to Hoffman, he suggests the intelligence agencies to cooperate with the local police and the intelligence agencies in the countries where terrorism is prevailing to build more effective ways to combat them. Policing and intelligence are best suited to demolish the terrorist organisations like Al-Qaida because of their operation in many countries. These terrorist organisations are decentralised and receive funds and messages from a particular place to carry out a operation. The operations of these terrorist organisations are a little complex and have different nodes for operation. The se nodes can be easily identified and demolished only with the help of police and intelligence groups. The main drawback of this type of act is reducing the nodes of the terrorist organisation in many countries than in a single country. This method of counterterrorism is only possible only by the full support of the local police and the community unlike that in Pakistan. The terrorist organisations in the present days are easy to be demolished by the police and intelligence networks because of its structure. The terrorist organisations employ top-down or bottom-up approach to communicate between themselves. As the message needs to be passed by many people, it is easy for the intelligence agencies to track their location. These terrorist organisations dont get demolished if only the key members are caught or killed as in case of Al-Qaida. The terrorist organisations have a large network and can work without the commandments of the key leaders. These terrorist networks are active for long term because of its the presence of its hubs. The terrorist organisations get isolated if the hubs that send most messages are destroyed or demolished. These hubs are also easily isolated because it is considered as the information centre for the terrorist organisations. These hubs can be busted with good intelligence activities like tracking down the telephone lines, monitoring the email, couriers and fax facilities in countries like Pakistan. By these measures by the personnel, terrorist can be caught, arrested and enforced in the court of law. There are different steps involved in this kind of approach which include data analysis, capture of key leaders of terrorist organisations and amending the law in some special cases. For the list of above operations, police and intelligence agencies are best suited to do the acts. DATA ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION COLLECTION: Data collection and analysing the information proves to be one of the important aspects of intelligence bureau on terrorists. There are different ways in finding the terrorist activities. They are by human intelligence or by signal intelligence. The information got by the human network proves to be the most beneficial one. But it takes determination and patience to break up the human network of terrorists by recruiting the terrorists who are already in the terrorist groups. It is difficult to recruit the informants from the terrorist groups because of the faith and love for their friends and religion. According to an intelligence agency, it takes around 18 month for a terrorist to carry out any attack on the public. This period of establishment is the important period for the intelligence agencies to identify, arrest and reveal the plan of their action. Another source for the intelligence agencies could be from the fundamentalist mosques who oppose terrorism. They might prove to be useful recruits as they might provide some information on the relative or friends of some terrorist and their recent activities. Detaining some important individuals who are associated with the terrorist groups would make them less capable of launching some large attacks. If this case of detaining and arresting the individuals in a small terrorist organisation takes place, the other operator may lose confidence and become some mere criminals. Making these men mere criminals would be possible only with the help of media and the intelligence personnel and not with some counter attack by the military forces. Another difficulty that might be faced by international intelligence agencies is with the cooperation with the local police and intelligence agencies as they might have their internal security issues to be solved. The information got by human couriers wa s more beneficial than the signal intelligence. The top terrorist individual understood the drawbacks of using cell phones and internet to transmit some information to their hubs. So they decided to send the information through some trusted individuals who had been in the organisation for many years. Only by continuous monitoring by the intelligence agencies, the couriers can be caught and be beneficial. This was the case when the U.S Navy seals found out the whereabouts of the Al-Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden. The U.S intelligence agency spied on some couriers to find out and kill the chief. In this case open action by the U.S Navy was unavoidable because of the doubt he (Osama) tried to defend him by hiding behind his wife. Capture of Key Leaders: Another important way of counterterrorism is to capture their key leaders and punish them severely according to the law. The terrorist should be punished severely because they were involved in some deadly acts to kill the non-combatants in the particular country. The law should punish them in a way which should be as an example for the other criminal and terrorists in the country. This task also involves collection of evidence for some terrorists before producing the convict before the court of law. Producing an individual before the court of law for terrorism might not be easier as that of drug trafficking, it should have direct connection with the deadly acts. The capturing of terrorist in any position of their group hierarchy will reveal much important information about their future attacks. The communicating devices used by terrorist such as diaries, laptops and cell phones will provide some very sensitive information on the future attacks and the names of other group members. Fo r example, capture of Khan Muhammad with his laptop in 2004, revealed the plans of Al-Qaida to attack the gold mines in Pakistan and also some attacks on IMF and Citigroup buildings in United States. Another good example to prove this fact is that of capturing of Osama Bin Laden on May 2. In the recent news, it revealed that his diaries contained some very sensitive information about the Al-Qaidas links with other terrorist groups and their future plans to attack many places in the world. Other measures to combat terrorism: Other ways to stop terrorism is by the help of legal approvals. This process may involve accusing the acts of terrorist organisations such as recruiting members, buying of weapons from other countries. These legal procedures will help the intelligence agencies and the local police to stop the acts of terrorism by some means like freezing the bank accounts of the suspected terrorists, conduct searches by modern means and to interrogate suspects who pose a terrorist threat to the community as whole. Freezing the accounts of the terrorist organisations also help the intelligence agencies to get leads about their whereabouts. But nowadays, terrorist exchange the money to fund their operation through some third person in the place where the money should reach and this illegal activity is called hawala in Islamic terms. The money transferred by the hawala means is not recorded or taxed by the governments. Monitoring of the money movement from the terrorist organisation is a tedious task fo r the intelligence agencies.

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Self-improvement. When I finished highscool in Ukraine, my mother taught me one very important lesson. She said: â€Å"Self-improvement is a key for your success†. In 1998 I got a bachelor degree in Child Education. I took me two years to complete a school program. During my school years I went through difficult times. There were moments when I wanted to drop out of school, but I always remembered my mother’s words about continual self-improvement. Now, after all, I am really proud of my achievements. I have accomplished my goal. But, I’ll never stop to better my education, because this is lifetime process for me. After I finished high school I had a dilemma. Whether to do ordinary, low paying work, or pick a major and further my education. One evening I had a long conversation with my mother. She explained to me that education is the only way to improve my life. Regular jobs would only allow me to survive, but if I wanted to improve my life I need to go to college. For that reason, I decided to make a plan of my further education. During my collage years, 1996 – 1998, I wanted to drop out of school many times. I had to complete a four-year program in two years. I had a very busy schedule. Monday through Friday I was in school form 8 am to 6 pm. After school I did my homework until 3 am in the morning. Even, on Saturdays and Sundays studied for 8 – 10 hours. Nevertheless, I graduated with good grades and award letter for my academic achievements Right after I had finished my studies; I felt a sense of relief and a great joy of self-achievement. . At that moment I wanted to relax for a while and then continue my education. My education didn’t stop after completion of the college program. During the summer of 1998 I went to my parent’s village for a short rest. Then I decided to continue my studies at Kyiv Pedagogic University. In fall 1998, I started an eighteen-month program. It was easy for me at this time, because I had a basic knowledge of the subject. Also I didn’t have to study until 2 – 3 in the morning. On top of that, during the weekends I was able to relax. In February 2000, I successfully graduated from Kiev Pedagogic University. I received a diploma for Child Care specialist.

Assess the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Functionalist Approach to Society Essay

Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism being a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole. Functionalism is also seen as a consensus theory, it sees society as fair and just, and it acknowledges that many societies, including the majority of western ones, have democracy and all individuals within a particular society share the same or similar norms and values. This could therefore be seen as a strength as it acknowledges that democracy does exist in many societies. However, as functionalism is a macro-scale approach and sees society as a whole, it could miss crucial factors/ groups which contribute to the functioning of society; these include small groups and tribes, such as gipsies. Not acknowledging these minority groups within society could lead to functionalist sociologists lacking crucial information about how society functions and how minority groups live within a large society. This could therefore be seen as a weakness of functionalism as it fails to acknowledge that there are minority groups within society. Also, as functionalism is a consensus theory where all individuals within a particular society share the same or similar norms and values and sees society as being fair and just; however, it fails to acknowledge that there are inequalities within society, these inequalities could be present amounts social class, gender or ethnicity. However, other approaches, such as Marxism and Feminism acknowledge that there are inequalities within society which raises the question as to whether functionalism is the most appropriate approach to use when studying society. This is therefore seen as a weakness of functionalism as society does have many inequalities which functionalism fails to acknowledge. Talcott Parsons, a functionalist sociologist who elaborated on Durkheim’s work about society and its functions, claimed that society is like an organism, in particular, the human body. He argued that all institutions, such as the family and the education system, within society function together to maintain society just as the organs within a human body work together to maintain life. In particular, Parsons identified three similarities between the human body and society; he claimed that they were both systems within themselves – all the parts of a body and the institutions within society fit together in fixed ways. He also identified that these ‘systems’ have needs – the human body needs nutrition to help it sustain life, whereas society needs adequate socialisation in order for society to continue functioning in the way that it does. Parsons also stated that both the human body and society have functions – the functions of the systems within the human body ensure that the body’s needs are meet thus maintaining life; whereas, in society, the economy functions to maintain the social system. As parsons’ analogy helps sociologists to better understand the way in which institutions in society work together to maintain a ‘healthy’ society, it can be seen as a strength of functionalism as it helps to structure sociologists’ perceptions about how society functions. Parsons also identified four needs of society and how they are met. He claimed that society needs adaptation, this is where the material needs of society are met; for example, individuals within society work in order to gain their wages which in turn provides for their material needs. He also argued that society needs goal attainment – society needs to set goals and achieve them; this need is met via the political – political leaders set goals for society to achieve and these goals help to improve society. Integration is another need which Parsons identified, this is where cohesion between the different institutions, such as the family and education system, is promoted; this is done to avoid chaos and conflict. Latency is also needed by society, this refers to the way in which individuals cope with problems in society – they may turn to religion to reduce the strain which has been put on them by society. These needs which Parsons identified can be seen as a strength of society as they help sociologists to understand what society needs in order to function adequately. However, functionalist sociologist, Merton disagreed with the needs which Parsons identified. Merton claims that Parsons ignored the fact that there are institutions within society that can be dysfunctional, for example, religion can form cohesion but can also cause divisions within society. According to Merton, Parsons failed to acknowledge this. Merton also argues that Parsons fails to differentiate between intended (manifest) and unintended (latent) functions within society and therefore, Parsons’ idea about the needs and functions of society are very simplistic. Merton also criticises Parsons’ idea about indispensability, he assumes that everything is necessary in the way that it is; for example, children can only be socialised adequately in a two parent, nuclear family, however, Merton rejects this claim as he argues that adequate socialisation can occur even within a single parent family. Due to Merton’s arguments, some aspects of functionalism, such as the needs and functions of society, are seen as a weakness of society. There are also other criticisms of functionalism; it’s argued that functionalism explains the effects before the causes. For example, functionalism claims that children need to socialised (this is the effect) and therefore the family exists (this is the cause). Due to this, may sociologists argue that the functionalism approach is not one which can be used to explain society properly. Also, Marxist sociologists argue that functionalism has failed to explain conflict and change within society; the approach claims that society is harmonious and built on consensus. However, Marxist and Feminist sociologists argue that exploitation and inequality do exist in many forms, such as social class and gender inequality; however, functionalism has failed to acknowledge this and is therefore considered to be an approach which has traditional ideology which is outdated. This therefore shows flaws to the functionalist approach and therefore points out the weaknesses within the functionalist approach. Overall, in conclusion, the functionalist approach has many strengths and weaknesses about the way in which society functions and the needs it requires. It strengths are seen in the way in which it explains the basic needs and function of society, these explanations can be used by other sociologists to improve and maintain an adequate society. However, other approaches, such as Marxism and Feminism have criticised functionalism due to its lack of acknowledgment of exploitation and inequality which occurs within society. However, overall, it is a balanced argument.