Literature Review Essay

Abstract The primary role of literature review in a quantitative research study to gain information on the subject of your research question and identify unbiased and valid studies connected with your research question. For instance, my quantitative research question is â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † My hypothesis is that high school students reading popular fiction will outperform the students who read curriculum-required fiction, because if you enjoy reading you will perform better. Then I need to do a literature review to discover if my question has already been answered and I may need to modify it or if there are related studies to my research question that can provide quantifiable research. Introduction Quantitative Research involves collecting numerical data though content analysis, performance tests, personality measures, questionnaires, etc. This type of research procedures include an objective/unbiased approach to collecting numerical data from a large number of participants and analyzes these numbers using statistics in order to answer a specific, narrow research question. As part of research, a literature review is required. A quantitative literature review is an extensive review of literature that may or may not influence the study and your research question (UOA 2013). The primary role of literature review in a quantitative research study to gain information on the subject of your research question and identify unbiased and valid studies connected with your research question. For instance, my quantitative research question is â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † My hypothesis is that high school students reading popular fiction will outperform the students who read curriculum-required fiction, because if you enjoy reading you will perform better. Then I need to do a literature review to discover if my question has already been answered and I may need to modify it or if there are related studies to my research question that can provide quantifiable research. Why This Research Question This research question â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † needs to be answered. There is a controversy over what types of literature is acceptable for students to have access. One of my favorite book series (Harry Potter) is a banned book in certain states. This research question would add to research already completed. Methodology in the Research Question This research question â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † is an experimental research question and a casual research question. An experimental research question tests the cause and effect and a causal research question that test for a cause and effect relationship between variables. The variables in this research question are the independent variable (IV), age, ethnicity, and gender, the dependent variable (DV), assigned popular fiction and curriculum-required fiction, and the covariant (CoV) socio-economic status. Additionally, this question has ratio data. Ratio data is continuous. Ratio data rank order, but also quantify and compare the sizes of differences between them. Ratio data has an absolute zero and allows for how many times greater. The research question can discover how many times greater or less are the test scores of high school students who read popular fiction than those who read curriculum-required fiction. Supporting Research My hypothesis of the research question is that high school students reading popular fiction will outperform the students who read curriculum-required fiction, because if you enjoy reading you will perform better. The other similar research found during the literature review relates to my research. Although, my specific research question has not been fully researched. Other research relates to my question. According to the article, Impact of Students’ Reading Preferences on Reading Achievement, middle school students in Canada found â€Å"The most significant indicators were reading novels or fictional texts, informative reading or non-fiction, and reading books or other texts from the school library. In-class reading and participation in discussions pertaining to school-related reading were also shown to enhance reading achievement. These results are somewhat surprising in that research documenting this subject mainly emphasizes the use of pedagogical material corresponding to the interests/needs of students to foster achievement in reading† (Bouchamma, et al. 2013). This research shows that reading achievement can come from both required and optional reading. Moreover, according to the article, Reading Attitude and its Effect on Leisure Time Reading, â€Å"gender, educational level, age, and amount of spare time have a positive effect on reading behavior† (Stokmans 1999). Additionally, there is â€Å"a positive relationship between time spent reading fiction and educational level† (Stokmans 1999). This research shows that reading fiction relates positively to reading level. Additionally, according to the article, Popular Publications May Help Students’ Reading Scores, â€Å"We are concerned about the struggle to increase scores that children are posting on state-required exams — not because of the scores themselves, but because they are strong indications that state students may not be gaining the thorough and analytical skills they need to become successful readers† (Michigan Chronicle 1997). This newspaper article shows that popular publications may help students on their reading score. Conclusion This research question â€Å"all other factors being equal, do high school students reading popular fiction achieve better Language Arts test scores than high school students reading curriculum-required fiction? † needs to be answered. This research question addresses the controversy over what types of literature is acceptable for students to have access to. Moreover, this research question would add to research already completed. It would allow  administrators and other educators to decide if certain books can be helpful in high school students learning environments. Bibliography Bouchamma, Y. , Poulin, V. , Basque, M. , & Ruel, C. (2013). Impact of students’ reading preferences on reading achievement. Creative Education, 4(8), 484-491. Retrieved February 6th, 2014 from: http://search. proquest. com/docview/1441488139? accountid=28844 Mia J. W. Stokmans, Reading attitude and its effect on leisure time reading, Poetics, Volume 26, Issue 4, May 1999, Pages 245-261, ISSN 0304-422X, Retrieved February 6th, 2014 from: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1016/S0304-422X(99)00005-4 http://www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0304422X99000054 Popular publications may help students’ reading scores. (1997, Oct 01). Michigan Chronicle. Retrieved February 6th, from: http://search. proquest. com/docview/390200035? accountid=28844 University of Arkansas Libraries (2013, Oct. 30) Literature Reviews. LibGuides. Retrieved February 6th, 2014 from: http://uark. libguides. com/content. php? pid=110370&sid=1384703

Customer Retention Essay

The easiest way to grow your customers is not to lose them The average business loses around 20 percent of its customers annually simply by failing to attend to customer relationships. In some industries this leakage is as high as 80 percent. The cost, in either case, is staggering, but few businesses truly understand the implications. Imagine two businesses, one that retains 90 percent of its customers, the other retaining 80 percent. If both add new customers at the rate of 20 percent per year, the first will have a 10 percent net growth in customers per year, while the other will have none. Over seven years, the first firm will virtually double, while the second will have no real growth. Everything else being equal, that 10-percent advantage in customer retention will result in a doubling of customers every seven years without doing anything else. The consequences of customer retention also compound over time, and in sometimes unexpected ways. Even a tiny change in customer retention can cascade through a business system and multiply over time. The resulting effect on long-term profit and growth shouldn’t be underestimated. Marketing Wizdom can introduce you to a number of simple customer retention strstegies that will cost you little or nothing to implement. Behind each technique listed here there is an in-depth step-by-step process that will increase your customer retention significantly once implemented, and will have a massive impact on your business. 1. Reducing Attrition Virtually every business loses some customers, but few ever measure or recognise how many of their customers become inactive. Most businesses, ironically, invest an enormous amount of time, effort and expense building that initial customer relationship. Then they let that relationship go unattended, in some cases even losing interest as soon as the sale been made, or even worse, they abandon the customer as soon as an easily remedied problem occurs, only to have to spend another small fortune to replace that customer. The easiest way to grow your business is not to lose your customers. Once you stop the leakage, it’s often possible to double or triple your growth rate because you’re no longer forced to make up lost ground just to stand still. 2. Sell and then sell again So many people do an excellent job of making the initial sale, then drop the ball and get complacent, ignoring the customer, while they chase more business. Your selling has actually only just begun when someone makes that initial purchase decision because virtually everyone is susceptible to buyer’s remorse. To lock in that sale, and all of the referrals and repeat business that will flow from it, you need to strike while the iron is hot to allay your customers’ fears and demonstrate by your actions that you really care. You should thank them and remind them again why they’ve made the right decision to deal with you †¦ and put a system in place to sell to them again, and again, constantly proving that they made the right decision. 3. Bring back the â€Å"lost sheep† There’s little point in dedicating massive resources to generating new customers when 25-60% of your dormant customers will be receptive to your attempts to regenerate their business if you approach them the right way, with the right offer. Reactivating customers who already know you and your product is one of the easiest, quickest ways to increase your revenues. Re-contacting and reminding them of your existence, finding out why they’re no longer buying, overcoming their objections and demonstrating that you still value and respect them will usually result in a tremendous bounty of sales and drastically increased revenues in a matter of days †¦ and will lead to some of your best and most loyal customers. 4. Frequent Communications Calendar Avoid losing your customers by building relationships and keeping in touch using a rolling calendar of communications. This is a programmed sequence of letters, events, phone calls, â€Å"thank you’s†, special offers, follow-ups, magic moments, and cards or notes with a personal touch etc. that occur constantly and automatically at defined points in the pre-sales, sales and post-sales process. People not only respond to this positively, they really appreciate it because they feel valued and important. It acknowledges them, keeps them informed, offsets post-purchase doubts, reinforces the reason they’re doing business with you and makes them feel part of your business so that they want to come back again and again. 5. Extraordinary Customer Service The never-ending pursuit of excellence to keep customers so satisfied that they tell others how well they were treated when doing business with you. Moving the product or service you deliver into the realm of the extraordinary by delivering higher than expected levels of service to each and every customer. Key facets include: dedication to customer satisfaction by every employee; providing immediate response; no buck passing; going above and beyond the call of duty; consistent on-time delivery; delivering what you promise before AND after the sale; a zero-defects and error-free-delivery process and recruiting outstanding people to deliver your customer service. Extraordinary service builds fortunes in repeat customers, whereas poor service will drive your customers to your competition. 6. Courtesy system A powerful system that improves the interpersonal skills of your team and changes the spirit of your organisation. It involves speaking to colleagues politely and pleasantly, without sarcasm or parody, and treating them at least as well as you would want them to treat your customers. This will help your team to feel worthwhile and important, which makes for pleasant social contacts at work. It also motivates them to provide extraordinary service, encourages them to be consistently pleasant in all of their dealings and to relate to customers in a warm, human and natural manner. This results in better, warmer, stronger, more trusting relationships and longer term bonds with your customers. 7. Product or service integrity Long-term success and customer retention belongs to those who do not take ethical shortcuts. There must always be total consistency between what you say and do and what your customers experience. The design, build quality, reliability and serviceability of your product or service must be of the standard your customers want, need and expect. Service integrity is also demonstrated by the way you handle the small things, as well as the large. Customers will be attracted to you if you are open and honest with them, care for them, take a genuine interest in them, don’t let them down and practice what you preach †¦ and they will avoid you if you don’t. 8. Measure lifetime value There’s a vast difference between the one-off profit you might make on an average sale, which ignores the bigger picture, and the total aggregate profit your average customer represents over the lifetime of their business relationship with you. Once you recognise how much combined profit a customer represents to your business when they purchase from you again and again, over the months, years or decades, you’ll realise the critical importance of taking good care of your customers. And because you’ll understand just how much time, effort and expense you can afford to invest in retaining that customer, you’ll be in control of your marketing expenditure. 9. A complaint is a gift 96 percent of dissatisfied customers don’t complain. They just walk away, and you’ll never know why. That’s because they often don’t know how to complain, or can’t be bothered, or are too frightened, or don’t believe it’ll make any difference. Whilst they may not tell you what’s wrong, they will certainly tell plenty of others. A system for unearthing complaints can therefore be the lifeblood of your business, because customers who complain are giving you a gift, they’re still talking to you, they’re giving you another opportunity to return them to a state of satisfaction and delight them and the manner in which you respond gives you another chance to show what you’re made of and create even greater customer loyalty.

Critique of Education Standard III Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique of Education Standard III - Essay Example One of the area in which libraries can  strengthen  their  dedication  to sustaining  student  education  is the reference services. Are students  being taught  by the librarians using  reference  orientation? This  study  recognizes eight instructional approaches that the librarians can  relate  in digital  orientation  operations and observes librarians’ use of these approaches in one  university’s instant message (IM)  orientation  service (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 380). Article Summary Since this study indicates a  fresh  method to the knowledge of  training  in digital orientation, the outcomes  anticipate  verification  by  potential  researchers. In order to  exploit  the  force  of digital  orientation  on  student  education, librarians can  implement  a  diversity  of instructional policies based in  educational  theory (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 380). At the start of this study, the inve stigators built up a list of instructional policies on the center of  educational  assumptions, incorporating metacognition, dynamic learning, and social constructivism, and working descriptions of each approach. Metacognition is the capacity to be  deliberate  and insightful about a person’s ideas. ... Librarians can  implement  dynamic  learning  methods in digital orientation operations to  employ  users in successful information looking for behavior.  According to  communal  constructivist  hypothesis, what people gain knowledge of,  is being socially built  via relations with  skilled  members of a particular community.  Elmborg  illustrates that librarians who  implement  a social constructivist  form  of  training  can  lead  users to  develop  into members of a  society  of knowledgeable people (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 381). For the instructional strategies; librarians should  reinforce  constructive  information-seeking actions. They should share breakdowns, successes and coping policies. They should  move  away from  recitation  to images and relations. Librarians should  split  transaction into separate, manageable chunks. They should as well  permit  users to  formulate  choices and take actions . They should  identify  the user’s  capability. Librarians should also refer to  supplementary  librarians with skilled expertise. Librarians should as well  explain  the scope of what they do (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 384). Critique of Article Several authors have emphasized the instructional  prospective  of  orientation  service in the modes of digital and face-to-face. For instance, Moyo recognizes the incorporation of training into  orientation  service as a growing need. Beck and Turner reveal that in-person  orientation  operations take place at the user’s  moment  of need, when they are  mainly  open  to  knowledge  (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 380).  Elmborg  illustrates training provided through  orientation  service as  reliable  in that the learner has a  particular  plan  in  progress  and

Jews in Socio-Religious Seclusion and Persecution Essay

Jews in Socio-Religious Seclusion and Persecution - Essay Example God gave the 10 commandments and other rules to the Jewish people by which they were to live and, this commandments and rules are contained in the first five books of the Old Testament and are referred to as the Torah. These commandments and rules contain the structures of the Judaism religion. Key religious beliefs as a religion include the belief in one God who is Supreme, all-powerful, just and he who reveals himself to people and they refer to Him as JHWH or Yahweh. They have a profession of faith called the Shema, which is recited in their morning and evening services that says, hear oh Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is one. Their central is the Torah or Pentateuch as it was revealed to Moses and it is included in the first five books of the Old Testament (Solomon, 2009). They have the Talmud, which is an interpretation and explanation of Hebrew laws, and it is done in Palestinian and Babylonian interpretations (Solomon, 2009). They follow strict laws in the area of diet and they refer to religiously prepared food as Kosher which implies that it suitable from a religious perspective. They do not believe in instinctive evil or that man has sinned or that he has impurity because they believe that man was made in Gods image. The Jews were persecuted and secluded by the diaspora socially and religiously due to the fact that their religious beliefs were different, being referred to an atheist for their failure to believe in pagan gods of some of the countries concerned. They were known to love learning, and had skill in the art of medicine, and seemed also to be a threat to other people in the Diaspora due to their economic well-being. The hatred for the Jews had been taught for centuries and seems to have taken root in Britain, Germany, Poland, and France, Lithuania, Austria, Russia, Norway other countries.

Efficent Business Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Efficent Business Communications - Essay Example It is therefore imperative that companies embrace the aspect of inter-cultural communication in order for them to be ranked globally. For business communication to be termed effective, it has to put into consideration the aspects of diversity and cultural awareness. At the work place, if these are upheld, the company will register greater productivity and smooth workflow. Therefore, cultural diversity and appreciation of diversity must be applied in business communication to ensure effectiveness. One of the reasons why companies need to embrace cultural awareness and appreciation of diversity in the course of their communication is because of the most recent advanced communication forms. The presence of the internet helps companies, including the locals and multinationals to interact with their local and international clients. Since these clients are of different cultural backgrounds, if the said company lacks the elements of cultural awareness and diversity appreciation in its commu nication plan, then such is likely to miss many profits due to the ineffective communication between it and its local and international clients (Gibson 2002). ... It is crucial that companies uphold cultural awareness and diversity because of the various benefits it presents. First, business communication keeps evolving because of the globalization concept that has brings world business cultures together. New economies ape and integrate aspects of organizational cultures of the stronger and established companies in some of the world’s influential nations. Both small and big businesses must uphold cultural diversity in their business communication plan, starting from the corporate boardrooms to employee break-rooms, they should understand the eccentricities of all cultures to which they are exposed (Okpara 2008). The perceptions in different native cultures have a great influence on language use. Therefore, people belonging to different cultural groups will tend to have a varied understanding of words in a language. In the workplace, employees therefore need to be extra-cautious to ensure that their messages are understood clearly, as th ey communicate with workers of different cultural backgrounds. Employees should avoid taboo topics while conversing. Additionally, different biases in religious aspects, political aspects, or social issues and nuances of life experiences differ between cultures, making it a challenge for employees to find a common ground while communicating. Additionally, different cultures have different ways of addressing and managing conflicts. A case in perspective is that in Netherlands, arguments are regarded as an ingredient for a healthy conversation and communication. On the contrary, people from Japan consider public arguments and disagreements as offensive.

ARTS musuem of denver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ARTS musuem of denver - Essay Example Unlike in a typical museum where visits are usually a bore (except on some occasions where there are great and interesting works that is exhibited) where we spend the whole time staring at paintings or sculpture while listening to a guide, the called Bernadette Berger Discovery Library is different. Visitors are treated like guests there and we do not even have to stand the whole time because there are couch present. They are oversized couch and really look and feels nice and just when we thought that they are just for display, visitors can actually sit on them and relax. And to encourage us just to relax, the guides will just leave us alone to roam around and satisfy our curiosity. This explains why the Bernadette Berger Discovery Library is called â€Å"discovery library† for short to encourage us to discover things for ourselves. And the museum wanted its guests to stay longer to learn more about their exhibits (which do not look like the traditional exhibit where paintings and artworks are displayed uniformly with their boring labels) by not making them stand up most of the time (which is very tiring especially when the museum is big that we have walk around) but just by relaxing with their cozy furniture and climate controlled environment. The set up was like a house only that it is bigger. There are even European cabinets there which were personally used by European nobilities which makes it more interesting. There are also a lot of books but it is not necessarily a library because there are also artworks and artifacts that were hanged on the wall just like our house. There are also small cabinets where you can pull the drawers out and there you can see the well framed pictures, printed materials and some old jewelries. Around the area, you see beautiful vases from ancient Greece as well Egyptian mummy case and an

Developments in Organizational Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Developments in Organizational Politics - Essay Example Defined as a â€Å"controversial concept† by Vigoda- Gadot (2003), organizational politics is a common occurrence the degree of which differs from organization to organization. Self-interest is the main cause of organizational politics and it has been aptly described as â€Å"the pursuit of self interest at work in face of every sort of opposition real or imagined† (Kreitner2008). A more detailed explanation of organizational politics is given by Jennifer (2009) who has described it as activities the managers indulge in to strengthen their position in the firm. Elaborating further Jennifer (2009) said that it is a means through which managers gain power and thereby use it to their advantage such as pursuing goals suited to the individual or the department. Organizational politics originates from a number of sources and operates at individual, collective and organizational level (Yammarino 2002). However it has been observed that an individual could certainly benefit fro m organizational politics (Porter, Angle &Allen 2003). Generally the organizational politics is seen in a negative light and is described as the process which does not conform to the normal role behavior of the organization and is the means through which people acquire and use power to meet their personal goals (McKenna 2000). This statement was confirmed by a majority of employees who stated that organizational politics was harmful for the organization. ... Those managers who obtain a greater share of resources are considered powerful and influential and that’s why managers use dishonest methods such as inflating the budget to gain a favorable share. It has been seen that conflicts occur during annual budget allocation and these conflicts cause political activity in organizations (Daft 2009). Jennifer (2009) believes that as growth in an organization becomes limited especially for managers who already occupy senior positions organizational politics become common to gain power and influence by several methods including impressing the kingpins (Jennifer2009). Organizational politics also occurs because of the presence of uncertainty and lack of clarity in an organization. Organizational politics comes into play when company adopts ambiguous goals. These ambiguous goals provide a perfect opportunity to managers especially those at the top to pursue personal goals in disguise of organization goals. Moreover, political activity become s more prominent when non-programmed decisions need to be taken for instance two managers competing for the same post can be manipulative. Badham& Buchanan (2008) have labeled personal ambition and competition between the various departments as other sources of organizational politics. Another important origin identified by Badham& Buchanan (2008) is â€Å"change†. According to them when change occurs in an organization, it tends to disturb the comfort zone of the employees so to preserve their interests, they engage in organizational politics. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory gives another view to the organizational politics. According to this theory the expectations of an employee significantly influence his perceptions,

Snapshot of Uniqlo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Snapshot of Uniqlo - Essay Example The company has four major brands – Theory, Comptoir Des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam.Tam and g.u. Theory, which is the mainstay brand, has been experiencing growth in the United States and Japan, and is opening markets in China and Hong Kong. As for August 2011, it was operating 371 brands throughout the world. Comptoir Des Cotonniers is a French label for women, and operates 386 stores across Europe, Japan and the United States. Princesse Tam.Tam is a brand which focuses upon lingerie, home wear and swimwear. This brand operates out of well-known department stores and boutiques, and there are 159 outlets in the United States, led by France, and is available in 40 countries in Europe. g.u. is a brand that specializes in low priced jeans, and has net sales of 30 billion yen annually, and the brand operates 148 stores in total as of August, 2011, with two new flagship stores in Osaka and Tokyo. Uniqlo is looking to expand its Asian market, as they opened their first store in Ta iwan in October of 2010, which generated high sales. Next, they want to focus on other Asian stores, with a focus on China, South Korea and Taiwan, and opening a flagship store in Seoul, Korea, in the fall of 2011, as well as two new stores in New York: one on Fifth Avenue and a megastore on 34th Street. They presently operate stores in the United States, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK. The history of Uniqlo is that they opened their first store in 1984 in Japan, and demand for their products surged with their fleece apparel campaign in 1998. Uniqlo, after experiencing an ebb and flow in their sales from 1998, reworked the strategy to focus on an expansion of women’s wear. Their expansion into international markets began in 1991, starting with the UK. After a successful launch in the UK, they ventured into the markets of China, Hong Kong, South Korea, the United States and France, Singapore and Russia. The bulk of their stores are still in Japan, with 843 in that country, and 181 overseas markets. In 2005, they expanded their domain by purchasing a range of companies worldwide, and these companies are the Comptoir Des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam.Tam and Link Theory Holdings Co., Ltd, who developed the Theory brand. These brands are explained above. At present, their worldwide industry ranking in the apparel specialty stores is exceptional, as they rank fourth overall, in terms of sales, in the world, just behind The Gap. They have more sales then the Limited, NEXT, Polo Ralph Lauren, Esprit, Abercrombie & Fitch and Liz Claiborne. As noted above, they are currently the leading Japanese Domestic Clothing Retail chain. The Uniqlo business model is that they have established a SPA, which is a Specialty Store retailer of Private label apparel, and this business model encompasses all stages of the business, from design and production to final sales. This model has helped them make adjustment to p roduction that reflect the latest sales environment and minimizes store-operation costs, such as personnel costs and rent. It is through this SPA that Uniqlo is able to provide high quality clothing at low prices. They have an Research and Development team which looks at the latest fashions

Can Genetically Modified Organisms Save the World Essay

Can Genetically Modified Organisms Save the World - Essay Example Today, the process of genetic modification is rapidly advancing throughout the planet. In 2004, 8.25 million farmers in 17 nations (Ahmed, 30) grew the crops. The production and marketing of GM foods are due to the superficial benefits they hold either to the producer or to consumption of these genetic foods. In the beginning, GM seeds developers needed their products to be accepted by producers and focus on innovations that have direct benefit to the farmers and the food industry at large. For example, the International Rice Research Institute located in the Philippines manufactured the GM golden rice to help people in the South East Asia that were lacking food. GMO foods are unavoidable and we cannot live without them. The WHO, the Food, Drug Administration, and other scientific bodies in the world have strongly advocated for the use of GM foods, since they do not have any harm to the human health. Additionally, research shows that the risks to human health that may be brought about by the consumption of GM foods are the same as those that are brought about by the consumption of non-GM foods. Moreover, the GM foods are safe to use as they tested for food safety and passed the safety assessment. Some people believe that GM foods should be eliminated due to the risks they have like the health issues. It is a fact that people have eaten some of the GM foods unknowingly, but no complains of serious concerns (Ahmed, 18). By 2040, the world’s population is predicted to increase significantly and this therefore means that there are more resources to use and more people to feed. This growing human population entails to being open to new ideas and the use of new technology to curb food insecurity. Moreover, with this new technology, there are many benefits that the genetic modification has in terms of dealing with malnutrition, food security, and agricultural

Prejudice, Stereotype, and Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Prejudice, Stereotype, and Discrimination Essay Have you ever gone a day without judging someone? Probably not. It is so easy to judge others without even meaning to do it. In the textbook Education Psychology, Anita Woolfolk describes prejudice as â€Å"prejudgment or irrational generalization about an entire category of people† (Woolfolk, 2008). Prejudice is a major problem in everyday lives. It is happening all around us. Prejudice can be a positive or negative thing. It is usually negative, brings people down, and not all the way true. Discrimination is â€Å"treating or acting unfairly toward particular categories of people†. (Woolfolk, 2008) Conflict Research Consortium says â€Å"Prejudice and discrimination are negative manifestations of integrative power. Instead of bringing or holding people together, prejudice and discrimination push them apart†. (Prejudice and Discrimination, 1998) Prejudices can be judged by race, appearance, gender, values, location, and religion. By about the age of four, children are aware of differences among people, like appearance, language and names. Later they become aware of religious and cultural distinctions. â€Å"Young children will not develop biases unless their parents teach them to be prejudiced. Even without direct coaching from their parents, many young children develop racial prejudice†. (Woolfolk, 2008) It is sad that children are learning about racial prejudice at such a young age. Young children may or may not be aware of the special treatment boys tend to receive from their teachers over girls. They are very much aware that their feelings, opinions and beliefs receive less consideration because of their youth. When children approach adolescence, they become more alert of the subtle prejudices about the differences in social class and religion. Stereotyping is a â€Å"schema that organizes knowledge or perceptions about a category†. (Woolfolk, 2008) It is so hard not to stereotype others. Stereotyping organizes what you know or believe about people into groups. People use stereotypes to make sense of the world. Stereotypes distort information to fit your thinking better. â€Å"Prejudice creates social and emotional tension, can lead to fear and anxiety and occasionally hostility and violence, and can ruin the self-esteem and self-confidence of those being ridiculed and make them feel terrible, unaccepted, and unworthy. Children’s school performance suffers, they may become depressed and socially withdrawn. † (Prejudice, 2007) Prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination have been going on for a long time. African Americans were considered worthless a long time ago. They were used as slaves. There were segregated schools, buses, and stores. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his speech about whites and blacks should be treated equally. The laws started to change after that point in time. I do not think prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination has gone down. I think it is still a big factor in society. This parenting website I looked at said this â€Å"children are also being exposed to different cultures through the media. They are learning and forming opinions about people and events all over the country and the world. As a result, there is more of a need and opportunity to help children learn to understand and value diversity. † (Prejudice, 2007) Children need to know why people are different and do things differently. Media is still a big part of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. Children see what actors and actresses wear and how they act in movies. They see the commercials about food (if I eat this, I will look like that). I think as teachers and parents we need be good examples for children today. They should not say bad things about people in front of children. Teachers and parents need to tell children that it is okay to be friends with a person who is different. I found an article on this website that parents have asked some questions about prejudice. Some of the questions are â€Å"Is there prejudice in public schools? Yes. Do educators hold different expectations for minority children? Yes. Are children denied access to advanced or gifted placement classed based on racial biases? Yes. Can the battle against prejudice in public education be successfully fought and won? Yes†. (Prejudice and Discrimination In Public Schools, 2001) I really like the last question, prejudice can be fought and won. It all starts at home, parents are their child’s first teacher. Children see what their parents say and how they act. One example of stereotyping that I thought of was that I did an internship my senior year of high school. I helped a second grade teacher. After a couple of times going into the class, the teacher would always whisper to me about this little girl. She says she never gets anything right, she always has messy hair, she is always talking, and the list went on and on. One Sunday I was at church and I saw that girl. I told my mom what the teacher had told me about that girl. My mom said that she has had a hard couple of months. She told me that the little girl’s mom had left her and her family. I felt really bad for the girl. After that day, I started to recognize the girl. I would say hi to her when I would see her. I did not care what she looked liked. To this day, the girl always comes up to me in church and gives me a hug. â€Å"Stereotyping often results from and leads to prejudice. Prejudice leads to discrimination. Prejudice can be spread by the use of propaganda. Language, particularly slang, is often used to dehumanize members of certain groups of people†. (Grobman, 1990) All three of these judgments go together. It is hard to do one without doing the other two. It is really bad that people rather make judgments about people than getting to know them. People really need to take the time to know the person or group of people before they start making judgments. It is sad that young children are making judgments about people. Parents and teachers need to turn prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination around. It can be fought and won. Works Cited Grobman, G. M. (1990). The HolocaustA Guide for Teachers. Retrieved November 29, 2009, from A Guide for Teachers Web site: http://remember. org/guide/History. root. stereotypes. html Prejudice. (2007, June). Retrieved November 29, 2009, from American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www. aap. org/publiced/BK5_Prejudice. htm Prejudice and Discrimination. (1998). Retrieved November 29, 2009, from Conflict Research Consortium: http://www. colorado. edu/conflict/peace/problem/prejdisc. htm Prejudice and Discrimination In Public Schools. (2001). Retrieved November 29, 2009, from The Public School Parents Network: http://www. psparents. net/Prejudice%20%20Discrimination. htm Woolfolk, A. (2008). Education Psychology: Active Learning Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Howard Gardners Theory Of Human Intelligence Education Essay

Howard Gardners Theory Of Human Intelligence Education Essay This assignment will critically discuss the topic of integrated learning in the early primary curriculum with reference to the use of the outdoor learning environment. It will be based on my personal research that stemmed from the curriculum. Firstly, this assignment will discuss the outdoor learning day, which incorporated learning outdoors with a topic themed activity. Secondly, the assignment will discuss integrated learning and outdoor learning in relation to the foundation subject Design and Technology. Howard Gardners theory of human intelligence, suggests there are at least seven ways that people have of perceiving and understanding the world. Gardner labels each of these ways a distinct intelligence in other words, a set of skills allowing individuals to find and resolve genuine problems they face. Within the Curriculum, traditional schooling heavily favours the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences. Gardner suggests that a more balanced curriculum that incorporates the arts, self-awareness, communication, and physical education (Gardner, 1999) is needed. Brief outline to the project. The project theme which was chosen was that of habitats and materials with reference to The Three Little Pigs, as this was a popular story that we all knew well and thought we could do a great deal to facilitate childrens learning across the age ranges of the school. We collaborated as a group and decided the story could be changed and saw it possible to have a good link to the outdoor environment leading to using the natural environment to build habitats. We adapted the story to relate directly to the natural environment by The Three Little Pigs building their homes from twigs, leaves and mud as we thought this would be more beneficial and support questioning and investigation. Within the discussion we chose a shaded area in the school grounds to set the scene for our performance and we believed this would then help with the wow factor of the introduction to the activity. The most successful aspect of the session was, once we had gained confidence and had run through the activities with the children, this allowed us to reflect on what was working and the timing of the session. This enabled our group to adapt our idea and allowed us to engage the children more successfully. The children showed positive reactions when building homes for animals from outdoor resources (sticks, mud, leaves etc), however the session at the beginning was not as successful as we were not sure on timing, in which the initial group finished the set task earlier than expected. We then had adapted our intentions to create new extension activities for the children to do and we decided to carry out a hunt for other items to go in the homes we had made. From this experience we had to dis cuss ideas for other activities we could develop if this timing issue reoccurred. I was surprised how engaged the children were when we were performing the story of The Three Little Pigs. Some of the ideas children came up with when building the homes were unexpected such as making sure the home was waterproof and the creative thinking they used to do this, for example; we need to build underground or in a sheltered spot and they also suggested, making sure that the roof was covered in leaves to keep the animals warm, dry and camouflaged. From the Outdoor Learning Day we collaboratively discussed where we could take the theme of materials and habitats. After a long discussion we decided to draw on our personal talents within the foundation subjects and use them to develop lesson plans and resources. I decided to opt for Design and Technology, as I find this subject interesting and feel that it has a wide scope for learning. The National Curriculum proclaims that, During Key Stage One  pupils learn how to think imaginatively and talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making. They build on their early childhood experiences of investigating objects around them. They explore how familiar things work and talk about, draw and model their ideas. They learn how to design and make safely and could start to use ICT as part of their designing and making. (National Curriculum 1999) The main content area of the project. Integrated Learning is discussed and used with alternative phraseology such as Topic Based Work, Cross Curriculum and Creative Curriculum. In research, Integrated Learning studies are stated as Opportunities to enrich and enhance childrens learning and make connections across the curriculum (Rose 2009).Ofsteds grade descriptor of an outstanding curriculum states: The schools curriculum provides memorable experiences and rich opportunities for high-quality learning and wider personal development and wellbeing. The school may be at the forefront of successful, innovative curriculum design in some areas. A curriculum with overall breadth and balance provides pupils with their full entitlement and is customised to meet the changing needs of individuals and groups. (Rose 2009). The National Curriculum for Design Technology suggests that it provides opportunities to promote pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. (National Curriculum 1999) There are highly tailored progra mmes for a wide range of pupils with different needs. Cross-curricular provision, including literacy, numeracy and ICT, is mainly outstanding and there is nothing less than good. As a result, all groups of pupils benefit from a highly coherent and relevant curriculum which promotes outstanding outcomes. (Rose 2009) The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (2010) explains The new curriculum is based on what is already happening in many schools to bring learning to life, and the structure reflects what other successful countries are doing with their national curricula. (Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency 2010). A quality curriculum should be broad and balanced a statement which was highlighted in the Education Reform Act 1988. Curriculum differs in each country, for example in New Zeland Te  Whariki  was developed by May and Carr to become the first national early childhood curriculum in New Zealand. This curriculum adopts a specifically socio-cultural perspective on learning that recognises the different social contexts in which children in New Zealand live and the social and interactive nature of learning. Carr and May (2000), discussed that the aim was the development of more complex and useful understanding, knowledge and skill attached to cultural and purposeful contexts. As discussed in Woods (2005) book Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum, the  Reggio approach,  from Italy, has developed a distinct pedagogy that places the emphasis on using multiple forms of expression and cross curricular links in learning to help children communicate their understanding and thinking, maintain their interest and explore to give value to activities. Practitioners see themselves as guides who are learning with the children and adopt a listening role that seeks to encourage thinking, negotiation and the exploration of difference, particularly in collaborative group work. Documenting the process of exploration as children work through a project is a key pedagogical activity which offers children a record of their process and progress through the project, and gives educators a detailed insight into childrens activities and learning. (Stephen, C. 2006).Reggio has developed the idea that children will develop their capacity to think, build and test theor ies through exploration and making links with prior knowledge and subjects. The Reggio approach believes that content knowledge is secondary to learning about how to learn, although specific contexts and bodies of knowledge may be the focus of the childrens investigations. Cross-curricular work offers a creative way to incorporate all strands of learning, developing the knowledge, skills and understanding of students while motivating them to learn through stimulating, wide-ranging and interconnected topics.(Wood 2005). It is particularly important to emphasise links between subjects to help children make sense of what they are learning. Cross curricular links are crucial to learning as learning depends on being able to make connections between prior knowledge and experiences and new information. Such connections help us make sense of our world and develop our capacity to learn. The human brain increases capacity by making connections with prior experiences which can be related to, therefore it is a crucial part of education to include experiences which the children can make their own connections. Within the curriculum the process of design may have wider applications in a future curriculum which will embrace features such as creativity on a more intens ive scale. Outdoor learning offers many opportunities for learners to deepen and contextualise their understanding within curriculum areas, and for linking learning across the curriculum in different contexts and at all levels. (Parkinson 2010) Research into this comes from the Primary Review which is a wide-ranging and independent enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England. The review began in October 2006 and continued for two years, an interim report published in December 2007 on childrens learning emphasises the importance of thinking skills: Children think and reason largely in the same ways as adults, but they lack experience, and are still developing the ability to think about their own thinking and learning (meta-cognition). They need diverse experiences in the classroom to help them develop these skills. Learning in classrooms can be enhanced by developing meta-cognitive strategies. (Primary Review 2007) This development in the early years of children is important because of the large amount of brain growth that occurs in the first six years of life. It is vital that thinking skills are nurtured and developed in the early years to support more comprehensive learning when children are olde r. Teaching thinking skills to older children is a valid technique, however helping young children to develop these skills as they play is even more effective. From this it was also found that Cross Curricular Learning is a vital way to support childrens learning and will aid in progressing development in the classroom. Piagets theory is based on the idea that the developing child builds cognitive structures-in other words, mental maps, schemes, or networked concepts for understanding and responding to physical experiences within his or her environment. This can be reinforced by learning through Design and Technology in school which enables pupils to; appreciate the made world, the environments in which they live and work, the products they know about and use and the many communication systems that exist. (National Curriculum 1999) Making links between subjects also helps pupils to learn more effectively as it offers opportunities to apply skills and knowledge in meaningful and purposeful contexts. For example experiencing and describing processes in geography and science offer children relevant experiences and enhanced understanding. Strong links such as these can enhance learning in all subject areas as they help learners see the relevance, within a wider context, of the skills and knowledge they are acquiring in specific subjects. Since the cross-curricular nature of Design Technology needs to involve teachers working in collaboratively to ensure children have progression in their learning and development . This means creating and organising a structure for the management of Design Technology work and, for the effective organisation particularly in the planning and implementation stages which are crucial to its success. In relation to this concept, Palmer and Doyle discussed Education is not just learning kn owledge and skills, but the development of childrens learning capacity. Education is the development of thinking clearly and creatively, implementing their own plans and communicating their ideas to others in a variety of ways. (Sue Palmer and Galina Doyle, 2004) In support of this, making cross curricular links can help learners recognise how they are learning, such as was discovered in constructivist learning theory Constructivist Learning Theory promotes learner-centered study under the guidance of teachers.It has an important role in training students with the innovative capability and subject consciousness, while improving their qualities in human culture as well as in the ideological and ethical standards( TIAN Ye 2010). There are certain aspects of learning such as problem solving, reasoning, creative thinking that are used across the whole curriculum. During cross curricular work teachers can help learners recognise these underpinning skills and how they are used in differ ent contexts. The Design Technology National Curriculum demonstrates that, Opportunities for teaching and learning all these skills across the key stages can be identified when planning. Pupils can be encouraged to reflect on what and on how they learn, and how these skills can be applied to different subjects, different problems and real-life situations. (National Curriculum 1999) Recognition is an important step towards using such skills in a strategic, flexible and intentional way. Learning is enhanced by learners being aware of how thinking and learning occurs, which gives them increased control over their learning, however coherence must be taken into account to ensure lessons are taught with a meaningful outcome. Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism that stresses the nature of a broad range of learning. Vygotsky was a cognitive theorist, but rejected the assumption made by other cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry that it was possible to separate learning from its social context. He argued that all cognitive functions originate in, and must therefore be explained as products of, social interactions and that learning was not simply the incorporation and accommodation of new knowledge by learners; it was the process by which learners were integrated into a knowledge community. According to Vygotsky: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. (Vygotsky 1978 p. 57) Vygotsky accepted Piagets claim that learners respond not to external stimuli but to their interpretation of those stimuli. However, he argued that cognitivists such as Piaget had overlooked the essentially social nature of language. As a result, he claimed they had failed to understand that learning is a collaborative process. Vygotsky distinguished between two developmental levels (Vygotsky 1978 p. 85) The level of potential development, the zone of proximal development is the level of development that the learner is capable of reaching under the guidance of teachers or in collaboration with peers. The learner is capable of solving problems and understanding material at this level that they are not capable of solving or understanding at their level of actual development. The level of potential development is the level at which learning takes place. It comprises cognitive structures that are still in the process of maturing, but which can only mature under the guidance of or in coll aboration with others. Similarly in Literacy from the National Curriculum it is stated that children should; talk about matters of immediate interest. They listen to others and usually respond appropriately. They convey simple meanings to a range of listeners, speaking audibly, and begin to extend their ideas or accounts by providing some detail. (National Curriculum 1999) This valuable approach to learning can give pupils the option to choose their own questions, this gives ownership of control over work and increases commitment to it. The National Curriculum only gives teachers a small amount of flexibility in the way they plan to teach literacy as the structure of literacy hour itself is tightly defined. (Hayes 2004) Using an integrated approach to teaching and learning allows the teaching to be incorporated into a fun and different pedagogy and therefore allows the learning to become less structured, rigid and formal. Teaching Design Technology can be seen to require a cross-curricular and team approac h and ultimately a whole school approach. It has added implications for resourcing, for timetable changes and for different teaching and learning styles and strategies. (Sebba 2007) An activity using the collaborative learning theory, may include going on a treasure hunt and generally being outdoors and undertaking something different and new, which increases enjoyment and variety, thus having potential to enhance teacher-pupil relationships. Child centred teaching approaches, based on interpretations of Piagets work, were adopted with commitment by teachers in the late 1960s and 70s. Great imagination and care were put into providing varied and stimulating classroom environments from which children could derive challenging experiences.( Pollard 2008) This relates also to the Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (REPEY 2002) One of the key findings of this report concerns the development of thinking skills: it has been found that good outcomes for children were found to be linked to adult-child interactions that included sustained shared thinking and open-ended questioning to extend childrens thinking. Including adult modelling is often combined wit h sustained periods of shared thinking. Developing childrens own ideas and investigation activities often provided the best opportunities for adults to extend childrens thinking. In support of this in the research for The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project (EPPE project) sustained shared thinking is identified as one of the key features of high-quality provision, and is described as: Where two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity or extend a narrative. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend their understanding. (EPPE project 2003) The research found that the most effective settings encourage sustained shared thinking, which was most likely to occur when children were interacting one on one with an adult or with a single peer partner. Excellence and Enjoyment which can be developed through varying ways of learning, is a key factor within cross curricular and outdoor learning. Within these factors is the enquiry cycle however, it is vital that the enquiry is structured. This means that children at all levels of development can work in mixed groups to achieve their full potential. The Excellence and Enjoyment Document from the Department of Children Schools and Families (DSCF) claims that education is a critical stage in childrens development it shapes them for life. As well as giving them the essential tools for learning, primary education is about children experiencing the joy discovery, solving problems, being creative in writing, art, music, developing their self-confidence as learners and maturing socially and emotionally.(DCSF 2003) Outdoor experiences reinforce learning in the classroom by providing an environment to test out ideas and hypotheses and allowing pupils to extend their understanding of the real world. The social, economic, physical, cultural and mental environment in which we live seems to have a powerful effect on how we develop intellectually and physically (Barnes 2007) Education is more than the acquisition of knowledge it is improving young peoples understanding, skills, values and personal development which in turn can significantly enhance learning and achievement. Learning outdoors provides a framework for learning that uses surroundings and communities outside the classroom. This enables the pupils to develop communication skills and self confidence and allows them to construct their own learning and live successfully in the world that surrounds them. The Outward Bound Document (2012) hypothesised that outdoor experiences improve academic achievement as pupils are free to learn openly and outdoor learning can introduce children to a widening range of environments. The fact of the environment so clearly affects the brain development of other mammals might lead us to examine closely the relationship between the environments our children work in and their mental, physical and spiritual development(Barnes 2007). Overall learning outdoors provides challenges and the opportunity to take acceptable levels of risk. Giving young people responsibility for achieving these outcomes helps them to learn from their successes and failures. (Outdoors Manifesto 2006) The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) report inferred that creativity in education and learning should include, imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value (Craft, A.; Cremin, T.; Burnard, P. and Chappell, K. 2007). The report includes that creativity should be more incorporated in the national curriculum, however creativity is not just related to the creative arts, music, art and dance it is about different ways of thinking. Creativity is about exploring different ways of doing things, such as asking what if..? questions and then looking for the answers. Being creative helps us to adapt and respond to a rapidly changing world. We dont know the challenges that the children we work with will grow up to face, but we do know that for them to meet these challenges they will need to be creative and imaginative. (Department for Education 2005) Children gain knowledge and develop with different learning styles, visual, auditory and kinesthetic, the outdoors environment reinforces this. Barnes argued that there are other important factors influencing creative development the teachers personal qualities the ethos of the school and the particular pedagogical style all impact on the learning of the child. (Barnes 2007). Creativity is about allowing individuals to follow their interests so that they become lost in a task or an idea. In relation to our group project the children could be encouraged to ask questions, collect materials to use within the class room and from this incorporating the findings into a scrapbook. Within the class room investigation this has a strong link with Design Technology and could include collages, paintings, designing, drama and other ways of developing their creative skills. The Excellence and Enjoyment Document supports this theory as Teachers found that when they actively planned for and responde d to pupils creative ideas and actions, pupils became more curious to discover things for themselves, were open to new ideas and keen to explore those ideas with the teacher and others. Promoting creativity is a powerful way of engaging pupils with their learning. (Department for Schools Children and Families 2003) Ofsted released documents in both 2004 and 2011 which concluded that many educational establishments recognised the importance of outdoors learning. Experience of the outdoors and wilderness has the potential to confer a multitude of benefits on young peoples physical development, emotional and mental health and well being and societal development. (OFSTED 2004 pg17) It is commonly known that children enjoy being outside and exploring new experiences, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the outdoor environment can be more than a place to burn off steam, with more educators and architects and designers embracing the ideas that outdoor play space provides chances for the highest level of development and learning. When used best, it can be a place for investigation, exploration and social interaction. (Child Care and Resource Unit, 2008). The Early Years Foundation Stage (2012) (EYFS) has also stated that young children need adults around them to value and enjoy the outdoors themselves in order to feel safe and secure, and this means there is a need for higher staff to child ratio allowing all children to receive the same support. In support of this it has been stated by Dillon et al (2006) that the fear and concern about  health  and  safety is a main issue about using outdoor provisions freely and meeting school curriculum requirements and the time used meeting these targets. Dillion also stated that the amount of time used for outdoor learning were affected by the shortages of time, resources and support and the wider changes within and beyond the education sector, affecting teachers and pupils experiences of outdoor learning. Moyles discusses the issues of how teachers view outdoor learning; the article researched into outdoor learning and it was suggested that Integrating indoor and outdoor teaching and learning experiences is less well developed. Outdoor experiences are somewhat problematic for some settings which have only very restricted or no outdoor facilities. The most effective practitioners are able to develop creative ways of ensuring field trips to local parks and playgrounds (Moyles et al 2002 pg140) Ideally both environments should the available simultaneously to the children through a seamless transition space and the children should be able to choose between indoor and outdoor spaces in free flow provision, which in turn allows children to make their own decisions building self development skills. This practise can also be used in relation to the curriculum and particularly Design Technology, as the variety of materials that can be collected and use differ greatly when looking at indoor and outdoor resources. The use of interactive communication technology can support all subjects, however with Design Technology and the outdoors it can be part of the planned approach to outdoor learning and can add value to the outcomes for children and young people. Experiences  recorded digitally, for example, can be  taken back into the classroom and used to reinforce and further expand on the experience itself. The EYFS states Outdoor learning complements indoor learning and is equally important. Play and learning that flow seamlessly between indoors and outdoors enable children to make the most of the resources and materials available to them and develop their ideas without unnecessary interruption. (EYFS Effective Practice: Outdoor Learning 2007) The outdoor environment usually offers more freedom and space to move, allowing development of gross motor skills. This is vital for young children to develop their coordination, build muscle mass and experiment with moving their bo dies. Research has shown that encouraging children to play outside may be a key way of increasing their levels of physical activity (Burdette, et. al., 2005). Gross motor skills can be developed better in the outdoors where there is space for children to move around as discussed by Parsons in his article, Young Children and Nature: Outdoor Play and Development, Experiences Fostering Environmental Consciousness, And the Implications on Playground Design (2011). Conclusion Overall from the literature I have read and discussed in relation to the outdoors, integrated learning and Design Technology, it can be seen that both cross curricular and outdoor learning have positive and negative aspects in childrens education, including safety precautions and child development. The outdoors can be seen to offer a perfect companion to provision indoors, used in addition to the outdoor environment as it enhances and extends what we are able to give children inside on the contrary it can be argued many settings do not get the opportunities to use the outdoors space appropriately (OFSTED 2004). Conversely I believe that even without adequate outdoor provision children can be taken outside the setting on walks and trips supported by EYFS (2012) Providers must provide access to an outdoor play area or, if that is not possible, ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis.(DFES 2012) In summary children require a range of teaching techniques to ensure that they develop correct ways of thinking through problems and generally prepare them for the rest of their educational life. As can be seen the use of cross-curricular teaching and outdoor learning is a very useful way of promoting learning. By incorporating a topic which motivates and inspires the children (habitats and materials) into the childrens learning it allows them to make mental cognitive links and allows the children to develop problem solving, and also to develop the ability to make links between curricular subjects such as history, science, art, design and technology, literacy and geography. Promoting creativity in learning provides a new dimension to the curriculum by exciting the children about a subject, which then goes on to develop strong links with the child and the possibilities of learning. Overall the links between cross-curricular activities, linked with local area studies and finally incorp orating creative learning, all go to aid in improving the development of key techniques which a child needs for later life. In thinking about outdoor provision, the central idea that we must hold in our minds is that the outdoors is different to indoors, these differences are what make it special and important. As a professional I need to be clear about how the outdoors differs from the indoors, why children benefit from being outside and how the outdoors affects the ways in which young children learn. This thinking then gives us the key for what to provide and how to plan for the outdoor provision. The special nature of the outdoors fits the ways young children want to be, behave, learn and develop in so many ways. From creating both research and the resource file as a group, I have developed an in-depth understanding of teamwork and the importance of working collaboratively drawing on my own skills and those of others. I have a firm understanding that I need a breadth of subject knowledge to make coherent links between subjects. In reflection from the Outdoor Learning Day and the resource file I have recognised as a practitioner the importance of getting to know the strengths of the team I would be working with and therefore being able to discuss and support each other. As I learnt from the Outdoor Learning Day an issue that was challenging was that of having a whole school doing a similar activity with a wide age range and ability levels. In conclusion to this assignment I believe that integrated learning in the early primary curriculum both indoor and outdoor environments should complement each other. As a teacher I should make valid links between topics and use a wide variety of teaching techniques to enable children to meet all childrens needs helping them to develop and make progress at their own individual level. References Barnes, J. (2007) Cross-Curricular Learning 3-14. SBN-13:  978-0857020680  | Edition:  Second Edition Burdette, H., L., Witaker, R., C., (2005) Resurrecting free play in young children: looking beyond fitness and fatness to attention, affiliation and affect, American Medical Association, www.archpediatrics.com Cambridge Primary Review (2007) Children in primary schools: research on development, learning, diversity and educational needs Carr M. May H. (2000). Te Whariki: Curriculum voices. In H. Penn (Ed.) Early Childhood Services: theory, policy and practice. Buckingham: Open University Press. Craft, A.; Cremin, T.; Burnard, P. and Chappell, K. (2007). Developing creative learning through possibility thinking with children aged 3-7. In: Craft,

Capitalists? :: Free Essays Online

Capitalists? Capitalism is the American way to create massive amounts of wealth through exploitation of helpless or naive people. When capitalism controls one’s future it becomes a noose that will control how one grows up and lives in the future. An example of this type of controlling capitalism is the new Marriott Hospitality Public Charter High School in Washington D.C. that trains mostly black*, inner city, high school students to become desk clerks, sales directors, and caterers (Hedgpeth). Washington Post Staff Writer Dana Hedgpeth in her article â€Å"If You Can’t Hire ‘Em, Train ‘Em† describes this process and the way the Marriott Company is going about creating their ‘future’. While Hedgpeth praises Marriott for its attention to underprivileged high school students, the question remains whether the attention given to these students in this school is the type of attention that will allow them â€Å"to be all they can be†? Marriott and other supporters of this school believe that what they are doing is creating a chance for a lost cause. In Washington D.C. there are plenty of poor black parents who would immediately send their child to a Marriott Charter School instead of a D.C. Public School where the classes are huge, the teachers are less inclined to care about the students, and fights or killings sometimes occur. The high school graduation rate of Washington D.C. in 1998 was approximately 57 percent, which is one of the lowest graduation rates in the country (The Manhattan Institute For Policy Research). †It’s better then having no chance at all,† says Rory Holderness, an inner city Baltimore native, who went to public school, saw fights almost everyday, and two of his friends dropped out of high school. Marriott thinks that their new charter school will be helpful to inner city high school kids that might not have a future or enough money to go to college. â€Å"The l abor market is very tight these days†¦ [These] students†¦ will take on jobs in the city’s largest industry †, said William R. Tiefel, who is the chairman of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and Emily Vetter who is the president of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. (Hedgpeth). Although nothing is guaranteed in life, Tiefel and Vetter have basically promised these District students that if they do not go to college from their charter school they will have secured a job in the â€Å"city’s largest industry†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Hedgpeth).

sports marketing :: essays research papers fc

When it comes to sports television what you can see on certain stations has become a very specific and high money motivated system. Whether the sport is baseball, football, the Olympics, NASCAR or college sports the industry has grown in leaps and bounds. But in order to see this concept fully grow into a big business situation you must first look at its humble and less complicated beginnings. In the beginning the NCAA was just a mere thought in somebodies head. In 1905 a meeting between the then President Roosevelt and 13 athletic institutions directors sparked the debate over college football schedules and who was going to play whom. Of course with this conversation football playing rules were discussed. Because of this and other meetings the IAAUS (Intercollegiate Athletics Association of the United States) was formed. In 1906 the program was changed to its now famous name of the NCAA. In 1952 a program to control live television of football games was approved, the annual convention delegated enforcement powers to the Association’s Council and legislation was adopted governing post season bowl games. The Association’s membership was divided into three legislative and competitive divisions in 1973 at the first special Convention ever held. Five years later, Division I members voted to create subdivisions I-A and I-AA in the sport of football. Nearly 25 years later the program was making billion dollar deals to just sell the rights to show a particular championship games. In 1999 the negotiation of a comprehensive championships rights agreement with CBS was worth potentially $6 billion dollars payout over 11 years. This was not always the way as you can already tell by the previous history on the NCAA, the mom and pop concept was gone to a big business, corporate event. In the beginning coaches came together, in the NCAA, to decide which schools within their conference would play against other schools in the conference. Certain schools later on would extend invitations to join conferences or to have conference playoffs but none the less things were decided by the individuals rather than big business. In the early 90's negotiations became more and more and the coaches had the scheduling taken out of their hands and it was out into the hands of big business. Next we can tackle the kinds of schedules that exist for sports and which are used most often. There are two types of schedules for sports programming, temporally constrained schedules and temporally relaxed schedules.

Artificial Contraception :: essays research papers fc

There are many forms of artificial contraception. I am going to discuss some of those forms and the Church’s opinion. Condoms, or rubbers, are shaped like a balloon and are made of a special kind of rubber. Condoms prevent sperm from reaching the cervix. They are placed over the male’s erect penis before intercourse. They are 80-90% effective. No prescription is needed to use them. They protect against STD’s. They are more protective in preventing AIDS, then preventing pregnancy. They are not fully effective because they can break, have defects, be slippery, or it can be too old. Spermicides such as: creams, foams, vaginal supporsitones, and vaginal film form a chemical barrier that kills or makes the sperm inactive, which makes it impossible to become pregnant. They are 80% effective. It is available without a prescription and provides some STD protection. Effectiveness is increased if used with condoms. Vasectomies are common for men. The tube that carries the sperm is cut and tied which prevents sperm from being ejaculated. It is 99% effective This procedure is permanent and is done through a small incision near the testicles. It does not affect sexual arousal. A cervical cap is a soft rubber dome that forms a barrier to prevent sperm from reaching the cervix. The spermicidal gel kills the sperm. It is 85% effective. It may give some protection against chlamydia and gonorrhea. The diaphragm does the same thing as a cervical cap and is 85% effective. It is a flat rubber-like disk which has to be fitted from a doctor. It is placed inside the woman’s vagina before having intercourse. It is often used with cream or jelly that is placed around the edge of the diaphragm. There is a very high failure rate because sometimes they are not fitted or inserted correctly. They create fewer health risks for women. It may reduce the risk of cervical cancer and provides some STD protection. There are also injections for men and women. In men, a dr ug is injected into the sperm duct to disable the sperm for a period of time. Depo-Provera injections that contain the hormone, progesterone is injected and it prevents the release of an egg from the ovary. It is 99% effective. It is long lasting and highly effective. It also protects against uterine cancer. But it does not protect against STD’s. Female condoms are 75-85% effective but 95% effective if used correctly.

Balance in the Administration of Justice Security

Recent American polls have suggested that Americans, in a bid to reducing terrorism threats, do not mind sacrificing some of their freedom. The choices faced are usually two; a free country which is prone to terrorist attacks, and a restricted country that is free from terrorism. These are hard choices to make, especially with the view that no restrictions can guarantee absence of a terrorist attack, they merely reduce the chances of occurrence. Some people see no conflict between security and liberty, and instead view security as a means to liberty.Proper governments use police powers, both military and domestic, to safeguard the liberty of its citizens. According to Coutu (2006), abrogation, cannot however be used to safeguard individual freedom. Governments that use police powers arbitrarily, destroy the values that they are supposed to secure. Before these governments use police powers to place people under surveillance, question them, arrest them, prosecute them, and in internat ional threats, attack enemy countries, they should have comprehensive evidence of threat to the citizens of its country.This principle is used even in times of war, although procedures and standards, of prosecution and evidence may change. For example, if a certain country supports terrorists, the government has the right to screen or ban citizens arriving from that country. During war, the government has also the right to imprison or execute enemy combatants, without public trials. The major bone of contention when balancing the needs of the justice system and the individual rights of the people, is the perception that individual rights have been trampled on, when enforcing security regulations.Such rights as freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and rights of privacy are seen to be curtailed, when enforcing security regulations, such as using torture to obtain information, monitoring phone calls to obtain information, and checking IDs when screening people. These three issue s are analyzed below, including my suggestions, as a justice administrator, on how to deal with them, so as to balance needs of the justice system and the individual rights of the people. Issues involved in regulation of security. Use of torture to obtain informationAccording to Coutu and Simon (2007), torture has long been used as a means of extracting information from suspects or prisoners. In the United States, the US army and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are the most notorious government agents that have been reported to use torture in extracting information. In fact, both of them have courses on torture, in their training manuals. Torture is normally conducted in dark rooms, which have no toilets and windows, and its aim is to threaten the suspect into giving information, due to belief that lack of cooperation will lead to physical and emotional trauma.There have been many instances where the US army has been caught torturing prisoners, the most notable in the Iraqi pr isons, and Guantanamo bay, Cuba. The exposure by the media has however led to decrease in such human rights violations. In instances of war, it is difficult for soldiers to balance between the freedom of a person and security obligations. This is because a war is a life and death situation, and does not allow the leisure of thinking rationally before acting, especially when in a battle scene.However, in case prisoners are captured, in my opinion as a justice administrator, the security obligations should only outweigh individual rights, and allow reasonable level of torture, if either of three conditions are met. The prisoner should have information that is; crucial to saving lives of other people, will help in achievement of the war mission, or will help prevent further destruction of property. As stated above, reasonable level of torture should be used in these circumstances, and it must be carried out in the presence of a qualified physician.In case it is not during a war situati on, my opinion is a fourth condition is introduced; that a court of law should be convinced that there is evidence that suggests, that torture is the only means that can be used to extract that information. Monitoring phone calls to obtain security threats. According to Stephens and Glenn (2006), telephone and wire taps have been used to obtain information, by third parties, for a relatively long time. Its history can be traced to as early as 1890s and has been carried out in the US, under several presidents.Wire tapping has for many years been used to catch spies, or to spy against foreign countries with a view of obtaining strategic information. However, it has taken a different dimension recently, and is largely used to either catch criminals in the act, or to prevent crimes from happening. This involves tapping the telephones that are used or placing bugging devices close to suspects, so that they might capture their conversation. There have been calls for restriction of wire ta ps, since it is seen as violation of the right of privacy.This is especially true because of the tendency of government agents to abuse such powers, and tap phones, even where there is no accompanying evidence to suggest a crime. When deciding on the use of wire taps, it is important to weigh the security of the wider public, against the rights of the individual. In case the security threat outweighs the rights of the individual, wire taps may be used. However, before wire taps are used, in my opinion as a justice administrator, a court of law has to authorize it, and three conditions must be satisfied.The first is that, it should be proved that there is evidence against a suspect that links him or her to committing, or trying to commit a crime. The second is the alleged crime has to be material enough to warrant a wire tap. The third is that there should be no other possible way to link the suspect to the crime, other than use of a wire tap, and that the chances of its success shou ld be reasonably high. In this case, the security of the wider public will have out weighed the individual freedom, and use of phone taps will be reasonable. ID checks in screening peopleSince the September 11, 2001 attacks, there has been increase in checking of IDs, as a preventive measure against criminal activity. IDs are checked when using airlines, checking into hotels, entering a government building and sometimes even entering a hospital. These checks are all aimed at ensuring security prevails, but some people see it as invasion of privacy, and restricting freedom of movement. When trying to balance liberty and security, it is imperative that a cost benefit analysis is done, and benefits of such measures weighed against costs.In this case, checking IDs should have more benefits against costs, but that is not the case. In fact, according to Toner (2002), all the September 11 terrorist attacks were carried out by people with IDs; some were fake, others were genuine. They carri ed them since they expected to be asked for them. IDs are very easily forged, and are readily available; teenagers use them often to enter clubs when they are under-aged. IDs are also useless to check, if there is no accompanying profile; this means merely having an ID of a criminal without knowledge that he or she is one, does not have any benefit.Presence of profiles divides people into two classes; those that fit the profile and are thus screened cautiously, and those who do not fit the profile and are thus not screened very cautiously. This exposes a very dangerous third category of those who are criminals but do not fit the profile. Examples are Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber, and John Allen, the Washington sniper. In such circumstances, it is clear that benefits of ID checks are lower than their costs, the cost being intrusion of privacy and freedom of movement.In my opinion as a justice administrator, it is important to cease such checks, since they limit freedom and li berty, without reasonable benefits on security of the wider public. The police should use other approaches such as random checks, which are less predictable than regular checks. Changes in technology and mass communication and effects on justice and security areas. The advent of globalization has turned the world into a global village. According to Waldron (2003), it is possible to carry out business activities, communicate, learn, share ideas, and so much more, with anyone in any part of the world, through the Internet.Mobile phone technology has also made it possible for people in all corners of the world to communicate and interact with one another. This is the reason that e-mails and mobile phones have played an important role in many people's lives. However, criminals have also had access to these forms of communication and interaction, which has presented a danger to the society. Technology has enabled criminals to carry out their activities faster, and with higher precision. Technology has enabled them to communicate faster amongst themselves, and obtain information about their targets.Changes in technology have also been the downfall of criminals. Through use of mobile phones and emails, criminals have left traces of their criminal activities and identities. This is because communication between themselves can be recorded, fingerprints and DNA can be ‘lifted' from crime scenes, and data can be recovered from computers and phones that they use. This has been the key to solving many crimes, since it places the suspects at the crime scene, and may unearth crucial evidence to use in prosecution. This is what investigators have relied on, over the years.New technology has enabled investigators to be able to monitor suspects' movements and communication through ‘bugs' placed on phones that record conversations and cameras that monitor movements of suspects. However, there has been cases where investigators have abused their powers, by illegally l istening to conversations of people, without evidence that they are potential suspects. This is what has been regarded by people as restricting the freedom of privacy. Mass media has played a very important role in highlighting issues regarding to liberty and security of citizens.The media has played a very important role, especially with regards to exposing human rights abuses by US soldiers, both in Iraqi prisons and Guantanamo bay, in Cuba. In both instances, the media exposed torture on unarmed prisoners, and in other cases, on non-combatants. This was previously restricted to the closed walls of prison, but once it was exposed, the abuses had to cease, due to the spotlight on the soldiers. The mass media can thus be said to have played a crucial role in restoring justice, in that respect. ConclusionIt is evident that the balance between individual rights and the administration of security is difficult. This is because some people complain, when administration of security is don e, under the guise of violation of their rights. On the other hand, when crimes are committed, they are the first ones to blame the security agencies. This makes it a very delicate affair and the administrators of justice should ensure that a balance between the two is maintained. This can be done by weighing the benefits of the administration of security to the wider public, against the rights of the individual.If the benefits to the wider public outweigh those of the individual, then the security measures should be performed. Another way of ensuring the balance of security and individual rights, especially during a war situation, is to make sure that the decision to torture someone should be guided by saving of lives, accomplishing of war objectives, or saving of property. However, it should be noted that during war, torture should be done to reasonable levels, and that a qualified physician should be present.In absence of war, torture should be approved by a court of law, after e xamining evidence presented, and ruling that torture is inevitable. In the case of phone taps, this should only be allowed after a court of law weighs evidence produced, and concludes that phone taps are the best way of obtaining evidence against the suspect, under such circumstances. ID checks should only be allowed if done at random, since the criminals do not anticipate them. References. Coutu, M. (2006). The Aftermath of 11 September 2001: Liberty Vs. Security. Washington: OUP. Coutu, N.E. , Simon, R. L. (2007), The Individual and the Political Order: An Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Stephens, O. H. , Glenn, R. A. (2006), Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: Rights and Liberties Under the Law. Chicago: ABC-CLIO. Toner, R. (2002). A nation challenged: The terrorism fight; civil liberty vs security. New York Times. Retrieved on October 23, 2008 from . Waldron, J. (2003). Security and liberty: The image of balance. The Journal of Pol itical Philosophy. Boston: Blackwell Synergy.

If You Could Go Back in Time Essay

I have many reasons to explain my choice. First, I wish to come back my childhood to remember my happy and impartial time. After many competition in school, university and now, society I realize that childhood is the most beautiful time and place. I want to forget all stressfulness, competition and response in life. To do that, we need a place that has no noise, no boss, no business, no salary and so on. And only childhood give us peaceful, it reminds us your games with friends, our parents’ sacrifice to give us the best things, our funny and impartial dreams about future job such as: sometimes i wanted to be a rock star, famous actress, doctor, teacher†¦ It is worthwhile to have chance to remember the most beautiful time in whole life. Another reason is that, I want to fix my faults in the past. It is common knowledge that most of us made some bad things in childhood and this chance help us fix them. I have never forgot one story in my childhood. When I was a six-year-old girl, my family was quite poor. Once time I saw a beautiful but expensive doll of my friend. I liked it and hope I would have one but my mother had no money to buy it. She said sorry while I cried loudly and said that:† I hate mom. You can imagine that my suddenly sentence made my mother really sad and she felt she couldn’t give me everything I need. I really regret about this until now. If I could turn back time I would fix my biggest fault in my childhood and say that:† I love mom†. Going back time is an unreal dream but we have rights to imagine and wish. If I can stop the time and fly through time, I would go back my childhood to have peaceful time, to fix some faults those make my love ones sad.

Time Talk and Walk

In his article â€Å" Time Talk, with an Accent† Robert Levine discusses about culture shock when he lived in Brazil and understand Brazilian people’s habit about time. When he began his scientific journey in his early career as a professor of psychology at Federal University in Niteroi, Brazil and he found the hardest part of his life about punctual time rather than different language, his own privacy, and standards of cleanliness issues.As it described in article Robert Levine was a young American, that always cling on with timing in every hours, every minutes, and every seconds. He was taught to move fast in every way he did. In fact, Brazil has another thought of time, to slow down and do it later. It started when he lessons began in 10 o’clock, only a few students showed up, and another came late with smiled and relaxed, some of them greeted him with innocent, some of them apologized, some of them just came a minute when class came to end.At that time, he re alized that brazilian timepieces are inaccurate, and it seemed nobody care beside him. Furthermore, time made him to wait about one and half hour when he wanted to see his chefe. Until his chefe called him to come in and chatted for a few minutes because she had to run for another appointment at the same time. Robert Levine learned that she is a type person who like to make a lots of appointment for the same time and to be late for all of them.Another time case, he had to wait for his appointment with his landlord, he planned to came back after twenty minutes. In fact, he found out the landlord gotten tired of waiting for him. Angry, frustrated, bewildered, and fascinated made him understand about how Brazilians’ beliefs and rules about punctuality. In the end, there are drastic differences from culture to culture, city to city, and neighbor to neighbor. He explained only time can tell those differences.

Christ Impact on My Life

CHRIST IMPACT ON MY LIFE Gary English Literature II April 7, 2013 CHRIST IMPACT ON MY LIFE How Christ has impacted my life is not really the question to ask. The better question would be how has Christ not impacted my life. Every since I gave my life to Christ everything has changed. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says â€Å"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold all things have become new. † Now don’t get me wrong, this change didn’t completely happen overnight. When I decided to follow Christ I wanted to follow Him wholeheartedly.In the beginning it started with a hunger for His word. I couldn’t read or study enough to satisfy that hunger. If I was going to follow Christ then I would need to know exactly what I was suppose to know and do. What changes needed to be made in my life. Now you have to understand I grew up in church. I knew who all the characters were. I had heard all the stories in the bible as a kid, however that’s all it had ever really been to me was a story. When I got out on my own I tried to live my life and do things my way. I was now a 31 year old man with a wife and a six year old son of my own.I knew that there was more to life than what I had been doing. My wife had already been attending a church for about two years without me. I decided it was time to give it a shot. I started going to this church where the people didn’t just talk about living for Christ, they acted it out too. For the first time in my life I felt the love of Christ coming from other people. The more I read about this man, the one who left heaven, became flesh, and died for me, the more intrigued I became. I am the kind of person that if I am going to do something then I am all or nothing.I decided that if Christ would die for me then the least I could do was live for Him. Anything in my life that did not line up with the Bible I tried my best to get it out. Some things took time to stop and I did struggle some. The closer I got to Christ, the more joy I had. It is a feeling that is hard to explain to anyone who has not experienced it for themselves. There is just such a freedom in following Christ. I began to feel like I had a purpose and a calling in life. Since I started following Christ life has been so much more enjoyable.I found that things that were important to me before just wasn’t that important anymore. No matter what it is you are facing in life, Christ has the answer. In the seven years since I started following Christ a lot has happened. This journey hasn’t always been a walk in the park, but it has been so worth it. Even though there was not a major event that happened to me physically that day I gave Him my life; that day was probably the most important day of my life. This new life has giving me a whole new outlook on life. I see people the way Christ sees people. I want others to experience that kind of love.I dove head first into serving others as well. I have been a part of food distribution ministry called Angel Food Ministries were we handed out food that was purchased at a much discounted price. My wife and I have taught Sunday school classes for both youth and adults. We have also had the privilege of leading the youth group which was a huge blessing for me. I really have a heart for teaching young people about Christ and just helping them with life’s problems. I have led a bible study group for men as well as been the over-seer of a married couple’s ministry.I have even completed one year of Bible College. One of the main reasons I decided to go to college was so that I could get my degree and use it to help other people. I have big dreams for my future, but an even bigger God. In Philippians 4:13 it says â€Å"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. † I really believe that with Christ on your side that you can do anything. You just have to surrender to Him and acknowledge that you cannot do it on your own. I can’t say Christ has just impacted my life, because he didn’t just impact it, He gave me a new one.