How Play Benefits Autistic Children Essay

Autism results in several deficiencies in children that affect their educational and social lives. Autistic children feel difficulty to interact with their peers and they even cannot play individually (Sherratt and Peter p. 34). Relevant behavioral deficiencies are also found in autistic children if they have deficiency to play either individually or in group (Wolfberg, p. 23) and they feel difficult to socialize (Williams, Reddy and Costell p. 67-77). Types of Play There are different types of play in which children are engaged such as soico-dramatic play, symbolic play and functional play. In symbolic play, children use their imaginations to use any object as any other object that is not present. The object used in this type of play does not possess the properties of the object that is imagined to be present in place of the actual object (Libby, Powell, Messer, & Jordan, p. 487-497). Children use common things in their symbolic play to represent specific things such as they use sticks and imagine that they are using swords. Where as, in functional play, children do not use imaginary things, rather they use things that are really useful for their play (Libby et al. , p. 487-497). In such a play, children may cook pretend food by using toy kitchen objects such as cooking utensils that are made from plastic for playing purpose. Children play specific roles in socio-dramatic play. They use particular themes to represent specific roles. Most common socio-dramatic themes are playing school, playing hospital and playing house in which each child is given a specific role to perform. Autistic children find it hard to engage in such type of play because they do not feel comfortable in playing roles that require specific social cues, nature of pretending and language. There are different levels of playing. The child does not require any other child to play with in an isolated play. In this type of play a child plays gets involved in a particular activity and plays with an object with out the need of other children (Sherratt and Peter p. 58-74). Children involve in this type of play only when they are engaged with their favorite toy or object. Autistic children play with an object or a toy in a way that is not common to that object or toy (Wolfberg, p. 78). An autistic child with lacking playing skills does not play with a car in a way that normal children do rather that child would prefer to spin the wheels of the car and would not move the car as normal children do. There is another type of play known as common focus or dyadic play. This type of play requires a child to play with another child. This type of play cannot be played in isolation (Sherratt and Peter, p. 76-95). Usually two children get involved in this type of play. When an autistic child gets involved in this type of play, he or she is more likely to be closer to another child while play but he or she will not interact with another child. Three or more children get involved in group play (Mittledorf, Hendricks and Landreth, p. 63-86). Children involved in group playing usually play board games, non-team games that can be played in a playground. An autistic child does not get involved in this type of play as it requires social cues and peer interaction Another example of play is team play in which a common goal is set to achieved and two or more groups compete with each other to achieve their goal (Mittledorf, Hendricks and Landreth, , p. 63-86). This type of play is organized either on a playgroud or in-house such as team tag, baseball, kickball and basketball. This type of play requires social interaction, rules of play to be followed and high level of activity and thus autistic children usually find it difficult to get involved in this type of play. Some Play Strategies to Help Autistic Children Learn More Efficiently Educational decisions should be based on the individual qualities, skills and needs of every child. Autistic children should be considered in the same way. There are several factors that determine which intervention should be implemented by a teacher to teach playing skills to a child. These factors are the determination of the developmental level of the child, the language level of the child and the determination of the type of the play to be taught. Developmental Readiness It is very important to determine the developmental level of the child before considering which intervention will be implemented for the child. This type of determination is very important for the children that are passing through their early childhood phase. Lifter et al. (1993) found out that it is very important to know the developmental level of the autistic child in order to select a play to teach preschool autistic children. When children are involved in play activities that are appropriate according to their developmental level, they get involved in those activities very quickly and they do not spend much time to learn those activities. Children learn developmentally appropriate activities more quickly as compared to activities that are appropriate according to their age because at the same age, different children have different developmental levels that are necessary to know (Lifter et al. , p. 139-159). Different developmental objects are used to identify which activity is developmentally appropriate for a child to learn (e. g. , Broomfield p. 732-745). The present level of functioning of a child determines which developmentally appropriate activity should be chosen regarding of the age appropriateness because the developmental level of every child is different. Some children’s level is more advanced so the activities and skills selected for them are different from those whose developmental level is lower than their age. Same thing goes to the autistic children whose developmental levels differ from child to child. Language Development Stahmer (p. 123-141) observed the autistic children with the typical children when both types of children were involved in symbolic play. It was observed that both the groups were involved to an equal extent when their language abilities were the same. So it is advised to initially find out the language abilities and developmental level of autistic children when plan to teach play skills to such children. Mundy, Sigman, Ungerer, and Sherman (p. 349-364) found that language development is based on play skills. The language abilities of autistic children can be developed during their play with other children. The autistic children learn different aspects of language such as they learn how to take turn, their behavior is related when they request for their turn, and they are involved in joint attention and other social interactions (Baranek et al p. 20-30). Peer Involvement Peer involvement matters a lot. Typically developing children can play a great role in engaging their autistic peers in appropriate play and positive activities (Blanc, et al p. 229-245). There are different ways in which the typically developing children can be encouraged to engage their autistic peers in social activities such as programs for peer tutoring, Circle of Friends etc. Teachers can discuss with typical peers about autism through an informal method. In this method, teachers discuss with typical peers about the ways in which they should initiate their social interactions with their autistic peers and they are also taught that they should accept social initiations if made by their autistic peers. If typical peers do not encourage social interactions in a natural setting then training programs are initiated for them. It is also found that group games with same age-group play an important role in increasing positive social interactions and appropriate play (Baker et al. , p. 300-308). The researchers also pointed out that natural setting plays a great role. So, it is advised in order to get successful generalization, the setting of group games should be kept as natural as possible. There are a number of games that can be played in groups on the playground such as tag, baseball etc (Baker et al. , p. 300-308). Setting and Intervention Method Setting and intervention method are as important to consider as the type of play. Teachers should consider different types of setting when they are to select the settings to teach play skills to autistic children. There is a variety of appropriate setting for such a task including the classroom of autistic children or of typical children to give them general education, a day care setting, the home of a child, playground of the school or a local park or other areas where students can be engaged in playing. Using Peer Trainers and Peer Models Blanc et al found that children usually make other children involve with them while they are playing. Children should be encouraged to play because when they play with each other, they learn social and behavioral skills through interaction. Children who do not feel comfortable in such interactions do not go through experiences that are essential for their development. Autistic children do not prefer to play with their peers and they hesitate to socialize but they also get involved in activities when integrated settings are provided to them. This means that autistic children do not prefer non-integrated settings (Blanc, et al p. 229-245). Integrated classroom is essential when typical children are encouraged to interact with their autistic peers. Integrated classroom is useful only if an intervention is implemented, otherwise typical children would prefer to play with other typical children and they would not preferably interact with their autistic peers (Blanc et al p. 229-245). Goldstein et al. also believed that social interactions among typical and autistic peers should be increased and for that purpose they developed a number of intervention strategies that were purely peer-mediated. The main purpose of those strategies was typically to bring typical and autistic peers closer by increasing social interactions between them. In this intervention strategy, typical children were taught how to initiate social interactions with their autistic peers and how to respond when their autistic peer initiate an interaction. This intervention resulted in an improvement in the social behaviors of autistic peers. Autistic children are encouraged through this strategy to respond to any initiation made by typical peers. The social behavior of autistic children are also strengthened when they get a response from the typical peers (Goldstein et al. , p. 265-280). Group Games. The facilitation of play skills and social interactions can be increased by incorporating typical peers into games and activities with their autistic peers (Baker et al. , p. 300-308). Teachers can use the preferred topics of autistic children in which they can get involved easily to increase their social behaviors. Baker et al. (p. 300-308) suggested that group games should be developed by asking the autistic children about their favorite topics. These groups are usually very common such as tag. Children are usually inspired by movie characters so teaches should ask autistic children about their favorite movie character and they should incorporate that character into the game. In this way, autistic children are motivated and they become interested in engaging with their typical peers through social interactions. In tag game, the target autistic child and typical children are given instructions about the game and then they are encouraged to play the game. Baker et al. , found that social interactions among autistic child and typical children increase because the target autistic child is given more importance as he or she is the who has chosen the topic of the tag game, typical children become involved because they find a lot of fun in the tag game, and the target autistic child, as a result, gets motivated to increase his or her social interactions with his or her peers. Integrated Play Groups Model. Integrated play groups model can be used as another effective method to increase the play interactions among the typical and autistic children. In this type of play, the children are provided with proper guidance, support, environmental arrangements (Wolfberg, p. 52). the setting of the play area is very important to consider. Children should be engaged in activities in places where children normally play. In such a setting majority of the children should be socially competent so that they are able to integrate their autistic peer easily and comfortably. The environment of the play area should encourage play activity. The play area should be of a normal size, the materials should be arranged properly and the children should be able to access and organize the material easily (Wolfberg, p. 52). The play groups should be balanced. Wolfberg (p. 52) explained that all the members of the play groups must be familiar to each other, means that they are children who meet with each other regularly. The play groups may have children of different age groups but they should be socially competent. It is very important to determine the competencies of the target child. This element is very important to consider when developing an integrated play groups model. With the help of this feature it will be easy for the teacher to find out how much and what type of support has to be given to the target child. In order to facilitate the group play, the target child should be given the opportunity to select what type of activity he or she wants to play and this thing will help the teacher to find out the developmental level of the target child. Guided participation is also encouraged in this model. Children are guided by an adult how to involve in a play that will enhance their social behaviors. The adult should provide supportive guidance instead of directive one (Blanc et al pp. 229-245). The principle of immersion should be followed in this model, means that children should be fully immersed in the play. Through immersion, more experienced children help the less experienced children in learning their roles under the supported guidance of an adult facilitator (Blanc et al pp. 229-245). Conclusion As autistic children have to struggle for the development of play and social skills in them, the teachers should be aware of all the necessary methods that are useful to teach the autistic children the required skills. A teacher must be able to determine the developmental level, language level and peer involvement level of the target autistic child and then the teacher should design, select and implement strategies that will enhance the required skills in him or her. The learning ability of autistic children also depends on the type of play and setting in which the activity will be initiated. The researcher can conclude at this point that play is very important in childhood as children learn from each others experiences. Autistic children need to be taught how to socialize in order to make them useful citizens and for this purpose it is very important to implement strategies that are necessary to fulfill this task. Works Cited Baker, M. J. , Koegel, R. L., & Koegel, L. K. Increasing the social behavior of young children with autism using their obsessive behaviors. The Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 23 (1998), 300-308. Baranek, G. T. et al Object play in infants with autism: methodological issues in retrospective video analysis. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(1) (2005), pp. 20-30. Blanc, R, et al Dysregulation of pretend play and communication development in children with autism. Autism, 9(3) (2005), pp. 229-245.

Promote learning and development Essay

Understand the purpose and requirements of the areas of learning and development in the relevant early years framework 1.1. Explain each of the areas of learning and development and how these are interdependent. Personal, social and Emotional Development Children must be provided with experiences and support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others; respect for others; social skills; and a positive disposition to learn. Providers must ensure support for children’s emotional well-being to help them to know themselves and what they can do. Communication, Language and Literacy Children’s learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, being read to and beginning to read and write must be supported and extended. They must be provided with opportunity and encouragement to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes, and be supported in developing the confidence and disposition to do so. Problem solving, Reasoning and Numeracy Children must be supported in developing their understanding of Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding. They must be provided with opportunities to practise and extend their skills in these areas and to gain confidence and competence in their use. Knowledge and understanding of the world Children must be supported in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. Their learning must be supported through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations; undertake practical ‘experiments’; and work with a range of materials. Physical Development The physical development of babies and young children must be encouraged through the provision of opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of coordination, control, manipulation and  movement. They must be supported in using all of their senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between new information and what they already know. They must be supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food. Creative Development Children’s creativity must be extended by the provision of support for their curiosity, exploration and play. They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example, through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology. It is important to remember that these six areas of learning do not work in isolation but are in fact interlinked. Good quality activities will cover more than one area of development. For example, allowing children to access the outdoors will not only support their physical development, but encourage their communication and exploration of their environment. Where a child experiences a delay in one area, it is likely to limit their learning and development in the other five†¦a child with cerebral palsy who experiences hand-eye coordination difficulties is likely to find completing a puzzle difficult therefore hindering her problem solving, reasoning and numeracy. It is therefore vital that settings recognise each child’s individual needs and plan holistically in order to help children achieve their full potential across the six areas of learning. 1.2. Describe the documented outcomes for children that form part of the relevant early years framework. These are the goals and targets for children to meet throughout early years, for example communication language and literacy linking sounds. These are documented through observations that are carried out by their key person through day to day, which they then just to develop children’s development with carrying out different activities and adapting or changing them for an individual needs. 1.3. Explain how the documented outcomes are assessed and recorded. Planning for children’s development start’s with observations in order to find out the child’s previous knowledge, their interests and needs. There are many forms of observations that can be carried out to allow us to collate the evidence we need to plan appropriately for the individual child. Each method of observation has advantages and disadvantages of recording the child’s development, so it is important to use a variety of methods of observation for each child to gain holistic knowledge and understanding of the child’s development. In our workplace we do this when activities are taking place observations to see if the child is meeting their development with the six areas of learning and development and to see how they can help to maintain their learning and development. In our workplace we fill in forms regularly for each activity that meets the outcomes. We change activities regularly so children can progresss according to age. These forms are stored and accessed by keyworkers when doing a child’s progression plan. 2. Be able to plan work with children and support children’s participation in planning 2.1. Use different sources to plan work for an individual child or group of children. OBSERVATION 2.2. Engage effectively with children to encourage the child’s participation and involvement in planning their own learning and development activities. OBSERVATION 2.3. Support the planning cycle for children’s learning and development. OBSERVATION 3. Be able to promote children’s learning and development according to the requirements of the relevant early years framework. 3.1. Explain how practitioners promote children’s learning within the relevant early years framework. Practitioners promote children’s learning within the guidance of the EYFS by offering a balanced of child initiated and adult led play based activities, practitioners will use their own guidance on the age and stage of the child using their knowledge that they have on the children that they care for and decide on the correct balance, however we should realise the amount of time that is already taken up with adult led activities such as registration, lining up, snack time, circle time. We should ensure that the same balance should be applied outdoors as well as indoors. Child initiated means a child that engages on a self chosen activity and is allowed to play freely. The adult led activity is usually a group of children that participate w ith adult support, the activity is chosen by the adult. The  adult would have picked the time and the aspect of a particular topic. This could be sewing as a child originally needs help to achieve this and gradually the adult’s involvement will decrease in time. Organisation and management making sure that we provide opportunities to extend play for children, key worker system is in place for legal and responsibility of learning and development of each child, thinking about to the children use the space indoors/outdoors, observation and planning system which meets individual needs and interests. We have a very good balance of adult and child led play we try for a 50% we follow children’s interests by observations and asking the children what they would like in the planning and what activities they would like to do that day. Sensitive intervention is trying to intervene without disrupting or changing the focus on the play. Watching to see if the child wants you to participate or not, so enhancing play but not taking ownership of the play away from the child. Supporting and facilitating when you have a positive relationship with the children they will seek your help doing something like building dens they might need materials and resources or helping them reach their aim. Modelling when children watch an adult they might try to model that action by repeating actions, words or skills. Coaching children do and learn more when given encouragement and support of an adult by making a child feel confident they might try to do or develop something a little further this is linked to the Vygotsky theory (Core 3.1) of proximal development getting children to do something just outside their comfort range. 3.2. Prepare, set out and support activities and experiences that encourage learning and development in each area of the relevant early years framework. OBSERVATION 4. Be able to engage with children in activities and experiences that support their learning and development 4.1. Work alongside children, engaging with them in order to support their learning and development. OBSERVATION 4.2. Explain the importance of engaging with a child to support sustained shared thinking. Using a topic a child is really interested in can allow for sustained shared thinking it can be talking about something or doing something which encourages conversation like we have done planting with our  children this has really captured their imagination the children are talking about what they think seeds are going to grow into what happens as the plants grows, what might the plant produce. We are getting the children to reach conclusions, and explore concepts at a deeper level. The children are thinking about processes and are making connections to things they have already learnt and new information. Processing the information we have given them making them think. 4.3. Use language that is accurate and appropriate in order to support and extend children’s learning when undertaking activities OBSERVATION 5. Be able to review own practice in supporting the learning and development of children in their early years. 5.1. Reflect on own practice in supporting learning and development of children in their early years. OBSERVATION 5.2. Demonstrate how to use reflection to make changes in own practice. OBSERVATION Reflective account covering observations 2.1 2.3 5.1 and 5.2 While at work I organised an activity for all the children to do cooking. We were making fairy cakes. Before the activity the children chose what they wanted on their fairy cakes and went got this from the Tesco opposite our work. Some children got butter and icing and others got chocolate and smarties there was a variety if things that each children chose. To help the young people do the activity we printed a recipe sheet out and also a sheet with pictures for those young people who cannot read some children needed help with the activity more than others. The children did mixing with electric mixers and some used a whisk. We put the cakes in the oven for 20minutes we then waited for the Cakes to cool. We decorated them with the things we bought from Tesco the children had lots of fun. We have done this activity before  and after reflecting on this I think the children are getting better with mixing the cake mixture and decorating the cakes. If I was to do this again I would do everything the same but do it regularly so the children learn the step by step making of cakes.

Contemporary social problems questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contemporary social problems questions - Essay Example The main reason for the high rate of population growth is the poverty and related issues, which could be checked by the increase in the development. Industrial and urban development along with literacy and good standard of living can be of great help in this regard. The rapid growth of population in developing nations can be reduced by the industrialization and its benefits. A. There are various ways in which impoverished nations can be assisted in fighting the problems of malnutrition disease. The underdeveloped and the developing nations struggle due to poverty, hunger, and misery around. Wealthy nations have got much to contribute in this regard. They need to allocate more resources for humanitarian aid, which aim ultimately at the fight against malnutrition and disease in particular. They should also guarantee that the aid reaches its intended targets. Wealthy nations can assist the governments for using these new resources. An international fight against the problems of malnutrition and contaminated diseases and malnutrition can work for the best of such nations. International agencies, supported and funded by the wealthy nations can engage themselves for the betterment of these miserable people.

Film analysis paper,National security movie Research Paper

Film analysis ,National security movie - Research Paper Example He is an LAPD constable who is killed while carrying an investigation. He is really determined to arrest the guilty parties (McClure 1-2). Zahn first encounters Martin Lawrence, a conceited police academy rookie whose determination is to upstage his trainer gets him rebuked. He is somehow both irrational and aggressive. In one scene he explains any and al opposition as resentment against the African American. As the movie, develops, the viewer discovers that Early Montgomery transforms every circumstance into a race concern, at all times with squirm inducing consequences. In reality, the technique needs that these two opposites become partners and the screenwriters arrive here utilizing a remarkably outrageous series involving police hostility. Finally as the movie progresses, Hank bears two days of extreme training an ends up being a party to National Security. But he unwillingly teams with fellow colleague Montgomery. They two though continue to dig into Hank’s colleagueâ₠¬â„¢s murder. The script for this movie was badly edited (O’Sullivan 4). The script has also been overshadowed the film in other numerous other instances of poor editing. It appears to be based just on lots of gun shoot-outs, numerous chase episodes, typecast bad guy engaging the good guy s in fierce gun fights. Unfortunately, they miss a lot. The downward to this movie also are the vulgar jokes and racist allegations against the white man. Earl plays his character precisely like all of his other roles. He is often irritating, bothersome, noisy, juvenile and lusting after every woman he comes across. His role throws childlike tantrums accusing everything on racial prejudice, he gives false accounts of how he was beaten, and he is biased. His lying amounts to his partner being imprisoned for a crime he did commit. His persistent whining about being a victim of white man prejudice gets truly overestimated. The real predicament is that there is nothing like being a victim of whi te man dominance going on in the film. The script as the movie progresses seems determined to reverse prejudice which becomes too lopsided (Leydon 7-8). The colors in the movie are a bit dull, surely on the end of the range and wholly opposite to National Security. Better still, these colors are effectual and manage to establish the mood of the movie. Conversation and music are fundamental to the telling of the story, and both are well represented and well re-produced here. It sounds pretty, though a massive part of it has a rough edge about it. For instance, after Hank’s imprisonment, the offenders not only have they stayed behind in Los Angeles, they continue to commit more crimes with disturbance. The script at first cues at stolen computer chips, but alterations gears to incorporate a more priceless titanium metal alloy that the dangerous offenders melt. At this point, the editing is quite sloppy and careless. The plot suffers from numerous deficiencies, as well. The char acter of Martin Lawrence seems like the most miscalculated endeavor at humor. Every joke buzzing Earl utters involver the extortion of a racial pigeonhole. In the film Earl is incapable of retaining a consistent thought from one episode to another. This therefore makes his character and his humor wildly contradictory. The other problem with the movie is that its shows some standby characters like Feore and

The strategic options that are appropriate to Apple Coursework

The strategic options that are appropriate to Apple - Coursework Example According to the research findings there are various forces characterising the company’s operations. Though Apple boasted of an increase in the sales of the iPad tablet computer, the situation obtaining in the market has been a cause for concern from 2011 since this was likely to have an effect on the smartphone market. It can be seen that though Apple’s larger percentage of revenue came from other non computer products such as iPod and iPhone, there have been some changes in the Smartphone and Tablet industry given that it has been characterised by stiff competition as going to be explained below. However, Google’s development of the Android operating system resulted in the development of smartphones that matched a lot of iPhone’s best features. Google remained the greatest threat to Apple given that different smartphone makers were developing products similar to iPod and would run on the Android operating system. For instance, Acer entered the market for smartphone with the launch of its liquid line of stylish and high end smartphones which used Google’s Android operating system in 2009 and was later developed through the years until 2012. According to The New York Times, the aspect of competition in the Smartphone and Tablet industry cannot be ignored. For instance, Foxconn technology assembles nearly 40 % of all consumer electronics and counts and counts among its clients which include: Nintendo, Nokia, Samsung, Dell, Hewlett-Packard with its palm, Motorola and Sony. Though China presented a lucrative market for the Smartphones in 2010 to 2011, the main problem encountered was related to the emergence of counterfeit products. However, as noted above, with the market for Smartphones growing rapidly, competition was also becoming apparent particularly Google’s entry into the market with its android operating system. However, RIM grabbed the market share with its Blackberry service in 2011 which was specially designed to meet the needs of the business people

Stephen Crane The Open Boat Speech or Presentation

Stephen Crane The Open Boat - Speech or Presentation Example The second, third, fourth and fifth paragraph introduces the reader to the cook, oiler, correspondent and captain, the crew members who are the primary and almost only characters of the story. Told objectively by an ominous narrator, it sets out through the innermost thoughts of the characters in relation to their surrounding and their fight for redemption. The beginning of the story gives off the danger the men are in as they are marooned in a dingy for a vessel as they continue to sail the hostile waters hoping that rescuers will find them soon. Even though the situation is such, there is still no sign of uncontrollable panic or trepidation amongst the men though there is that tinge of helplessness as they continue on with a plan to look for a refuge house or a lighthouse or any other boat that will save them. In part III, there remains a sense of brotherhood among them in the darkest of times which none of them was able to articulate. â€Å"They were a captain, an oiler, a cook, and a correspondent, and they were friends, friends in a more curiously iron-bound degree than may be common† (Crane 730). They shared in near-death an intimacy they would have never known in another circumstance. The first sign of infallible hope was a sight of land, described again in vivid colors, â€Å"From a black line it became a line of black and a line of white, trees and sand† (Crane 731).

EMPLOYERS DO NOT ADOPT HR POLICIES IN AN INTEGRATED AND PLANNED WAY, Essay

EMPLOYERS DO NOT ADOPT HR POLICIES IN AN INTEGRATED AND PLANNED WAY, AND THEREFORE LOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE - Essay Example There has been a change of approach in the way that labour is reviews in the organisation and the modern perception emphasize on viewing labour as an investment and not as a commodity or resources. In this regard, labours has stared to be seen as a made of creative and innovative social being who are able to give the organisation a competitive edge. (Michael 2006, p. 42) The term human resource has been changing to broader management and the concept of human capital has been applied more often in place of human resource. Therefore the modern perception of human labour has been changing the way organisation have been handling their human capital to a more liberalized way. It has been realised that having a competitive workforce can be an important way which can ensure that an organization creates a competitive edge that other organisation may find difficult to replicate. Therefore the focus of modern human resource management has been looking at the ways in which the workforce can be motivated in order to have a more competent and motivated workforce. This has been shown to translate to a more productive workforce who increases the productivity of the organisation. This is because intellectual capital has been shown to be more important that financial capital that an organisation invests in its operation. The modern focus of human resource management

Writing to Evaluate - Product Evaluation Research Paper

Writing to Evaluate - Product Evaluation - Research Paper Example s specification is always the driving force of innovation; this is because most of the manufactures want to comply with the prospective customers to realize more sales (Choulasco, 2012). In this regard, it should not escape our knowledge that satisfying the customers demand is not construed absolutely; this may compromise the need to check into other aspects like health etc. It is then important to know that in as much as the customers may be demanding certain specification in their evaluation, striking a balance with other aspects is equally important. In my product evaluation, I consider upright vacuum cleaners as more efficient and reliable in the cleaning that involves big carpets and other similar materials. The reasons behind this are the following: with the upright vacuum cleaner, it is possible to maintain the upright posture as you undertake the cleaning. This avoids the all tiresome posture of stooping while doing the cleaning (Choulasco, 2012). In this case, one is able to do the cleaning for a long time as well as doing much of the cleaning using the upright vacuum cleaner. Upright vacuums also have a larger vacuum cleaner bag that that of the canister ones (Choulasco, 2012). This is helpful in the sense that one needs not to frequently empty the bag, you can do cleaning in just one whole round without changing the vacuum bag. The other advantage of using the upright vacuum cleaner is that it is made in such a way that when using it, you do not lug the vacuum behind, this makes it appropriate for doing cleaning of large carpets and hallways (Aguirre, 2012). In addition to this, the upright vacuum cleaners are also much efficient and can clean a bigger space owing to their large cleaning path. The cleaners have a larger cleaning path than most of the cleaning vacuums and this makes them have an edge in cleaning materials such as carpets (Aguirre, 2012). Despite all the advantages accrued in the upright vacuums, they still retail at much accommodative

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

HRM - Essay Example Therefore, HR team needs to focus attention when a job needs to be redesigned. Training and development are the key issues in HR activities. HR team of R. R. Donnelley used training and development method to enhance the productivity. This HR activity also motivates and inspires the employees of Donnelley to work more and generate more production. Quality control and quality checking are also important for a production firm like Donnelley. Six-Sigma and other quality control process has been largely used in their training method. HR team also introduces new technologies in making printing plates and films. It changes the job description of the employees of Donnelley. Training and development from HR team train their employees to adopt new technology. As a result, productivity has increased by 20 percent in last three years. This increment in production also stops to build a new production unit. Therefore, this HR activity is cost effective for Donnelley and increases the efficiency an d effectiveness of the employees. (Mathis and Jackson, 160-164; R.R Donnelley, Delivering Value across the Supply Chain, p.1) Technology involves almost every part of our lives. However, to the extent that our individual lives have been transformed, the business world has developed almost beyond appreciation in the past few decades. Caterpillar is the renowned infrastructure company in the world. Caterpillar is the biggest constructer of construction and mining equipment. In Caterpillar, adoption of new technology is very common. In Caterpillar, we resolve the difficult environmental problem by new technology. Caterpillar has a good record as a technology direction. Caterpillar always used new and advanced technologies to meet their customer’s needs. As an infrastructure company Caterpillar has to use different technologies regarding environmental problems. They adopt many

Analysis of as new park case study Essay Example for Free

Analysis of as new park case study Essay Analysis of as new park case study Introduction                   The planning process involves developers, communities, engineers, planners, and government. The involvement of all the stakeholders in planning process ensures that a project is positively implemented in the public interests (Carmona, 2010). The new project would commence as an improvement the old city. The old city was widely used by women and children. Although it was developed 30 years ago, it still remained as the best choice for the people living at its vicinity. It formed the best recreation centre for people during warm winter season. The new park would replace the old trees, grass, and build new shades and buildings that would be used to shade people during hot weather. The case involved closed down of the old city for 2 years and relocation of people living around the city to place where there were no social amenities such as schools and recreation centre. The case represents of unethical issues that pertains to urban planning evident through the developers.                   The ethical issues include closure of the city and denying people their recreational facility. The new park development would deny people a chance to enjoy their recreational facilities, which is professionally unethical to a developer. In addition, the developer would be destroying people’s heritage on old trees and grass. The modern buildings would destroy the old trees and grass heritage in the new park. Moreover, it is not ethical to transfer people from their own comfort zone where they enjoyed social amenities such as schools, parks and other infrastructures such other shopping malls to a place where they no longer enjoy the amenities. The act is believed to on self- interests that do not care about other community. In planning process, it is important for planners and developers to consider professional ethics while executing their city planning so that respect between communities and the affected people is maintained (Allen, 2009).                   In this case, the most probable solution would be first to develop the area where the two communities would be relocated before relocating them. It would be most appropriate if the government could start by developing infrastructures such as roads, schools, hospitals, and recreational centres before displacing people in towns if the new park would not be avoidable. On the other hand, a new park could be developed elsewhere and the old one be renovated to maintain national heritage. Moreover, the old park renovation should not be closed for a long period and should developers should allow people to access the park even under constructions. The renovation of the park would ensure that the national heritage on traditional trees and grass would not be destroyed thus maintain it as way of protecting the countries indigenous species. This would ensure that people are not relocated from their original comfort zone. Consequently, development of area that the two communities were transferred would ensure that the communities’ living standards would not be affected except their geographical shift. The move would maintain the respect between the communities, planners, developers and engineers as their lives will not be affected.                   The solution approach where the planners would ensure that all the social amenities are developed before relocation would ensure that the professional code of ethics on the conscious on the right of a third party would be upheld (American Planning Association, 2009). In addition, the code of ethics on fairly dealing with all the people involved in the process will be highly upheld. However, the value of professional code of ethics on heritage will be violated through electing a new park and indigenous trees will be destroyed. The planners will have made sure that the decision making process involves all the party and thus no one would be negatively affected by the new project. Similarly, the second approach of electing the new park elsewhere would ensure professional code of ethics for planners to ensure social justice and responsibility not to disadvantage people would be upheld. This solution would ensure that people are not relocated and at the same t ime the national heritage is maintained. The value of heritage that is attributed to indigenous trees will be upheld while that of excellence design and updated design will be violated (American Planning Association, 2009).                   Both solutions would minimize the negative impacts of the planning in the city. However, the best solution will be to design and construct the new park elsewhere near the old park. The solutions to planning dispute safeguard the rights of the people and the professional ethics of the planners (Staatskoerant, 2011).The old park can only be renovated so that the heritage of the city will be upheld. Similarly, there would be relocation of people to new areas and thus they will be fairly treated and their lives will not be affected. In addition, the solution will ensure that people are not denied their rights to enjoy themselves during winter. Renovation for the old park could be done during summer when people are not using the park so that they would not be limited access during winter. The move will impact positively to people living there and would retain the respect of communities to developers.                   The solution would limit the planners, developers and engineers from implementing their own design and planning of the city. In addition, the people would not have a chance to enjoy a modern facility. However, there would still be a chance for them to construct a new park elsewhere in the city and increase the number of parks. One that would be rich in heritage and there other one would be modern. Although space and area allocation may be a problem, a new park elsewhere would stand out for this case. Conclusion                   In conclusion, it can be noted that planners, developers and engineers should highly consider professional ethics when carrying out new projects that would impact negatively to the public. All planning processes should involve all stakeholders and fair implementation of the project should be considered to avoid unethical issues that are evidenced in the case of new park development. References Allen, J. (2009).  Event planning: Ethics and etiquette : a principled approach to the business of special event management. Mississauga, Ont: Wiley. American Planning Association,. (2009). AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Planning.org. Retrieved 13 May 2014, from http://www.planning.org/ethics/ethicscode.htm Carmona, M. (2010). Public places, urban spaces: the dimension of urban design. Oxon: Routledge. Staatskoerant,. (2011). Code of ethics and professional conduct for the urban and regional planning profession. Gov.za. Retrieved 13 May 2014, from http://www.gov.za/documents/download.php?f=147400 Source document

Oral And Written Feedback To Improve Writing English Language Essay

Oral And Written Feedback To Improve Writing English Language Essay This study is an investigation of the perceptions about effectiveness of oral and written feedback on writing of thirty-seven Cambodian English-major students at the National University of Management (NUM). Two instruments were used to collect data from the oral feedback group (N=19) and the written feedback group (N=18) before and after the two-month treatment: questionnaires and student paragraphs. Results indicate that the two groups equally delivered better performance on holistic writing although oral feedback was viewed as preferable to written feedback. While the former positively impacted on both the micro-aspects (i.e. grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics and spelling) and the macro-aspects (i.e. content and organization), the latter encouraged revision only in language and organization. The study suggests that student writing improve, regardless of feedback method; that preference may not associate with revision; that reading be integrated into L2 writing classes; and that re vision may correlate with feedback intake which depends on learner-focus and teacher-student interaction. Introduction Since the late 1950s, attitudes towards the role of corrective feedback have changed along with the evolution of language teaching methodologies grounded on theories of both educational psychology and second language acquisition with the aim of enabling learners to acquire the target language effectively. In the late 1950s and 1960s, the Audiolingual Method (ALM), based on behaviorism and structuralism, was very popular in second and foreign language classrooms. Error correction was seen as helping learners to form good habits by giving correct responses instead of making structural mistakes. In the 1970s and 1980s, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), developed from nativism, was commonly practised to equip learners with communicative competence in terms of function over form or comprehensibility over grammaticality. It infers that formal correction should be discontinued since it was deemed as interfering rather than facilitating the acquisition of the target language. In the ear ly 1990s, the Interaction Approach (IAA) emerged, and it entailed such three dimensional phases as learning through input, production of language, and corrective feedback that comes as a result of interaction that arises authentically. Since the mid-1990s, the position of feedback, with the dominance of CLT, has been debated among the theorists, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of second language writing and second language acquisition. In 1996, Truscott, for example, claimed that feedback on student writing should be discarded because it is ineffective and harmful. Ferris (1997), on the other hand, argued that feedback is virtuous as it enables L2 students to revise their own writing and assists them to acquire correct English. Because research evidence was scarce in support of feedback, both Ferris and Truscott called for further research into questions about the impact and provision of feedback on L2 student writing (Bitchener Knoch, 2009). Accordingly, a great body of research has been conducted with a look into teacher written feedback: correction strategies (e.g., Bitchener, Young, Cameron, 2005; Ferris, 1997; Ferris Roberts, 2001; Lee, 1997; Sugita, 2006), feedback forms (e.g., Hyland Hyland, 2001; Silver Lee, 2007; Treglia, 2008), feedback foci (e.g., Ashwell, 2000; Ellis, Sheen, Murakami, Takashima, 2008; Sheen, Wright, Moldawa, 2009), students attitudes toward feedback (e.g., Alamis, 2010; Lee, 2004, 2008a; Saito, 1994; Treglia, 2008; Weaver, 2006), and teachers beliefs about feedback (e.g., Lee, 2004, 2008b). These studies suggested that feedback plays a pivotal role in helping L2 students improve the accuracy and quality of their writing. This finding is in line with the Vygotskyan model o f Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which claims that learners need to be provided with scaffolding to be capable of reaching a stage of autonomy and accuracy (Patthey-Chavez Ferris, 1997). However, many of the studies have design flaws in terms of the small sample size or of not having a control group. Other studies explored the effectiveness of other feedback techniques: oral feedback or teacher-student conferencing (e.g., Hedgcock Lefkowitz, 1992; Hyland, 2003; Marefat, 2005; Sheen, 2010a, 2010b), peer feedback (e.g., Kamimura, 2006; Rollinson, 2005; Tsui Ng, 2000), reformulation (e.g., Hyland, 2003; Santos, Lopez-Serrano, and Manchon, 2010), audio-recorded feedback (e.g., Huang, 2000; Jordon, 2004), and computer-mediated commentary (e.g., Ferris, 2003; Hyland, 2003; Hyland Hyland, 2006). However, most of the studies failed to examine which feedback mode was more effective in improving student writing. Even though some of them were comparative in nature, the studies were conducted solely with a group of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners. As a result, conclusion is hard to be drawn with regard to the effectiveness of each feedback strategy when it is applied in another classroom setting where English is in the Kachrus (1985) expanding circle or where English is taught as a foreign language. As Ferris (2003) put it, What is preferable cannot be equated with what is effective, and what is effective for one student in one setting might be less so in another context (p. 107). In light of the aforesaid insightful and encouraging premise, this current quasi-experimental research attempts to compare teacher oral and written feedback in terms of perceptions and efficacy among Cambodian English-major students at the National University of Management (NUM henceforth). Definition of Terms: Oral Feedback and Written Feedback According to Rinvolucri (1994), the term [feedback] originates in biology and refers to the message that comes back to an organism that has acted on its environment. In biology it describes a neutral process, a link in the chain of action and reaction. (p. 287) In second language writing, feedback can be defined as input from a reader to a writer with the effect of providing information to the writer for revision (Keh, 1990, p. 294). Simply put, the teacher suggests changes that will make the text easier for the audience to read, or that help the writer to be more aware of and sensitive to his/her reader. When the writer of any piece of writing gets the perspective of the reader, then that writer is able to see more clearly where any points of confusion exist. As Keh (1990) elaborates, The writer learns where he or she has misled or confused the reader by not supplying enough information, illogical organization, lack of development of ideas, or something like inappropriate word-choice or tense (p. 295). In this study, feedback can be operationalized in terms of oral and written feedback (Berg, Admiraal, Pilot, 2006; Hedgcock Lefkowitz, 1992; Hyland, 2003; Hyland Hyland, 2006; Patthey-Chavez Ferris, 1997; Sheen, 2010a, 2010b). Oral feedb ack (OF) refers to the provision of feedback on errors and weaknesses in content, organization, and language (i.e. grammar, vocabulary, mechanics and spelling) through face-to-face conferencing lasting about five minutes for each student-writer. In so doing, the teacher gives comments (in the forms of questions, imperatives, praises, and suggestions), provides correct forms or structures in faulty sentences, tells the location of errors, makes recasts, and gives prompts in the forms of elicitation, clarification requests, and repetition of errors. Written feedback (WF), on the other hand, refers to the correction of errors and weaknesses in content, organization, and language through writing on student paragraphs. In this regard, the teacher makes use of direct versus indirect correction, coded versus uncoded feedback, and marginal versus end comments, in the forms of corrections, questions, imperatives, praises, and suggestions. Literature Review Written feedback A number of studies have been done to examine what to be commented on for substantive revision. For example, Ellis (1994), reviewing several studies on what effect formal corrections have on language acquisition, concluded that the learners whose errors are corrected improve the accuracy of producing existential structures (i.e. There is/are). However, the Ellis-reviewed studies entail only focused feedback, meaning that only one linguistic feature is targeted. Kepner (1991), in a comparative study of feedback on content and grammar, found that students who receive content feedback produce writing that has better content than those who receive grammar feedback. He also found that students who receive formal feedback do not produce fewer errors than the uncorrected group. In another study, Leki (1991) asked 100 ESL freshmen to complete questionnaires to examine how effective feedback was and how they reacted to the positive and negative comments on both form and content. He found that correcting errors in both form and content is beneficial since good writing is viewed as equated with error-free writing. Moving a step away from what to be commented on, several studies have been carried out to investigate how errors should be corrected to improve student writing. According to Ellis (1994), formal feedback is helpful to L2 acquisition only if problems are corrected implicitly or only if the errors are induced and then corrected. In a similar vein, Weaver (2006) explored how 44 students in the Faculty of Business, Art and Design perceived written feedback and if the feedback that they received showed a student-centered approach to learning. In light of interviews, questionnaires, and feedback content, he found that teacher comments are useful only if they are specific and clear, give sufficient guidance, focus on positive points, and are related to assessment criteria. Ferris (1997), examining over 1,600 marginal and end comments written on 110 first drafts by 47 university ESL students, found that marginal comments are more immediate and easier for students to locate errors and revise, whereas end comments can be more useful for writing development since they summarize major problems. Marginal comments are also deemed to be more motivating since the reader is actively engaged with the writers text (Goldstein, 2004, as cited in Hyland Hyland, 2006). In a related vein, much research has focused on whether comment types influence revisions and which of them are more, if not the most, effective. In so doing, Sugita (2006) analyzed 115 revised papers by 75 EFL students at a private university in Japan. He found that imperatives are more effective than statements and questions. In contrast, Conrad and Goldstein (1990, as cited in Hyland Hyland, 2006) found that imperatives, declaratives, or questions were less effective than the type of problem in the feedback. They further explained that problems related with facts and details were successfully revised by 50%, while those dealing with argumentation and analysis were successfully revised only by 10%. Treglia (2008) interviewed two teachers and fourteen students in a community college in the United States to examine how the students reacted to the feedback given by the teachers in the forms of mitigation and unmitigation. This study showed that the students saw both mitigated and dir ective comments easy to revise, but they liked the feedback in the forms of acknowledgements, suggestions, and choices. Alamis (2010) investigated the reactions and responses of 141 students at the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas towards teacher written feedback. In light of questionnaires and student essays, Alamis found that praises are superior to criticisms and that content feedback should entail suggestions rather than questions, direct corrections, and indirect corrections. However, this study is a result of opinion-based responses, so it may be hard to conclude that its findings were valid. Many other researchers have moved farther to find out the extent to which teacher written feedback should be made explicit and sufficient in order to encourage comprehension and revision. In so doing, Enginarlar (1993) used 20-item questionnaires to examine the attitudes of 47 freshmen at Middle East Technical University to coded feedback and brief comment in English Composition I class. This study revealed that the participants like the two feedback types, seeing review work as a type of co-operative learning in which the amount of work and responsibility is shared by students and teachers. Ferris and Roberts (2001) also explored how explicit error feedback should be to help students to self-revise their papers. By analyzing papers written by 72 university ESL students, they found that the treatment groups outdo the control group in relation to self-revision, but the coded feedback group is not statistically different from the uncoded feedback group. Ferris and Roberts also conclude d that less explicit feedback seems to facilitate self-revision just as well as corrections coded by error type. Ferris (2003), in her review of three key studies, suggested that comprehensive feedback (i.e. all errors marked) is preferable to selective one (i.e. only some errors marked) and that indirect correction (i.e. coded and uncoded errors) is more effective than direct one (i.e. teachers making the corrections for students). Lee (2004) analyzed teacher error correction tasks and used questionnaires to and follow-up interviews with teachers and students to examine their perspectives on error correction practices in the Hong Kong secondary writing classroom. Like Ferriss (2003) reviewed studies, this research showed that comprehensive error feedback encourages substantive revision and that students depend on teachers to correct their errors. Oral feedback The effectiveness of oral feedback for improving student writing has still got very few answers (Hyland Hyland, 2006). As such, several studies have been done to examine teacher-student dialogue, and they found that successful conferencing rests on the interactive nature. For example, Hyland (2003) claimed that conferencing is fruitful when students are actively involved, asking questions, clarifying meaning, and arguing instead of accepting advice. Johnson (1993, as cited in Gulley, 2010) did a qualitative study and concluded that the question, a tool often used by teachers and tutors during a writing conference, can be ineffective in eliciting a meaningful response from students (p. 13). By contrast, Carnicelli (1980, as cited in Gulley, 2010), in his qualitative study among English-major students at the University of New Hampshire, showed that conferencing is more preferable to in-class teaching. He also noted that conference might fail if the teacher does not listen to the student, if the student feels insecure, or if the student does not remember the teachers comments (p. 13). However, this study has a design flaw in terms of not having a control group, so it is hard to conclude if such a preference is a result of conferencing, instruction, or practice. In his response to Carnicelli, Keh (1990) did his article review and pointed out that conferencing fails when the teachers take an authoritarian role, dominate the conversation, and pay no attention to what their students ask during the dialogue. He also noted that teacher-students conferencing is more effective than teacher-student conferencing since the former allows them to learn ideas and problems from one anot her. Moving a step away from the teacher-student interaction, several studies have been conducted, focusing on students-related variables that may affect the substantive revision of student writing. In so doing, Marefat (2005) examined the perception about the efficacy of oral feedback on the improvement of writing among 17 male and female Iranian students of English as a foreign language. He found that males could write paragraphs better than females, whereas females outperformed males in essay writing. He concluded that the students can produce pieces of writing with better quality, regardless of the feedback technique. Patthey-Chavez and Ferris (1997, as cited in Hyland Hyland, 2006) investigated how four writing teachers did conferencing with poorer and better students. They found that however useful teacher suggestions were for revision, the poorer students seemed to use advice more often than their counterparts. Better students were more self-confident, and they often used teacher suggestions as a base to revise their own writing. The co-researchers suggest that in the case of less capable students, conferences may be harmful if they entail appropriation rather than intervention. In another study, Goldstein and Conrad (1990, as cited in Hyland Hyland, 2006) noted that the L2 learners having cultural or social inhibitions about engaging informally with teachers are most likely to passively and unreflectively use teacher advice to revise their writing. The co-researchers found that only students negotiating meaning well in conferences were able to perform revision more successfully. This finding was similar to that of Williams (2004, as cited in Hyland Hyland, 2006), claiming that students were successful in using advice when teacher-suggestions were direct, when students actively engaged in negotiating meaning, and when they took notes of teacher comments, during the dialogues. Williams also added that negotiation is a precondition for revising higher-level texts, although her research suggested that conferencing has greater impact on correcting local errors (as cited in Hyland Hyland, 2006). However, the findings of all the four studies are based on the sm all sample size, so it is unclear if conferencing strategies and other contextual factors play a part in improving student writing. In line with the studies grounded on L2 writing theory, a number of studies have been done based on the theories of second language acquisition to investigate the impacts of indirect and direct corrective feedback, focusing on single linguistic structures. For example, Ellis, Loewen, and Erlam (2006, as cited in Sheen, 2010b) did an experimental study to examine whether implicit or explicit feedback is more helpful for adult ESL learners to acquire regular past tense. They put the students into three groups: the group with implicit recasts, the group with explicit metalinguistic feedback, and the group without any corrective feedback. The findings showed that both implicit and explicit feedback does not have any impact on the immediate posttests, but the latter is more effective than the former on the delayed posttests. In another study, Sheen (2007, as cited in Sheen, 2010b) found that explicit corrective feedback is superior to implicit corrective feedback in terms of formal acquis ition in both the immediate and delay posttests when the former is provided in the form of metalanguage and the latter in the form of recasts. Several other studies have also been done to compare input-providing feedback in the form of recasts with output-prompting feedback in the forms of elicitation, clarification requests, repetition of error, and metalinguistic clues. Lyster (2004, as cited in Sheen, 2010b) did a study with a group of fifth-grade French learners to examine whether recasts or output-prompting feedback methods encourage more accuracy of using articles agreeing with the gender of nouns. The study revealed that the output-prompting group alone outdid the control group on all eight measures of acquisition. Ammar and Spada (2006, as cited in Sheen, 2010b) investigated if recasts are more effective than prompts on the acquisition of possessive pronouns among six-grade learners in intensive ESL classes. They found that prompts were more helpful only for students with pretest scores below 50 percent, whereas recasts and prompts together were less effective for those whose scores were below 50 percent. However, t hese studies entail only focused corrective feedback, meaning that only one linguistic feature was targeted. Therefore, the results are hard to be generalized since the effects of recasts and prompts might be different if multiple-linguistic features are corrected. Research Questions As can be seen, no research had been conducted before to explore the comparative effectiveness of oral and written feedback in improving student writing in the context where English is in the Kachrus (1985) expanding circle. Accordingly, the present study sets out to look for answers to the following two research questions: How do Cambodian English-major students at NUM perceive oral and written feedback? Which feedback strategy, oral or written, is more effective in improving student writing as measured by writing performance? Methodology Participants Thirty-seven students participated in the present study, 19 of whom were males and 18 were females, with an average age of 22.59 (SD=.62) years. They were English-major students at NUM, and they had been learning English since Grade 7 of Cambodian Secondary Education (G7CSE) under the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MoEYS). The subjects were selected from each English class of the university based on the pre-treatment scores of 150-word paragraph writing. Based on this criterion, 19 of them were put into the oral feedback (OF) group, and 18 were filtered into the written feedback (WF) group. A control group was excluded from this study for two main reasons. First, it is believed that feedback is an essential element, so to get student to write without feedback would be unfair to them. Second, it is claimed that one of the things that students expect from teachers is feedback, so to deny them feedback would be unethical. Instruments Two instruments employed in this study were questionnaires and student paragraphs, both of which were used for data triangulation. The questionnaire, so-called Affective and Effective Response Feedback (AERF), consists of three sections with a total of 22 items: Section A (A1-4 for Demographic Data), Section B (B1-9 for Effective Responses), and Section C (C1-8 for Affective Responses). A five-point Likert scale (1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree) was utilized for the 17 items in the latter two sections (B1-9 and C1-8), and several items thereof (i.e. B1, B3, B5, B8, C2, C5, and C8) were reverse-ordered to reduce response set bias. A statistical validity analysis showed that EARF was reasonably reliable with the Cronbachs Alpha value of .853. The student paragraphs were collected before and after the two-month treatment, and they were inter-rated by three well-trained teachers each with more than four-year experience of teaching writing skills to English-major university students. The scoring was performed based on the researcher-formulated criteria divided into content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, mechanics and spelling, each of which earns equal marks (1=Very Poor, 5=Excellent), with the total score of 25. The reliability of the inter-rated scores employed by the present study was .789 for the pre-treatment scores and .806 for the post-treatment scores, using Cronbachs Alpha coefficient of internal consistency. Procedures Before this study, letters were sent to the Chair of Foreign Languages Center (FLC) of NUM, where it was conducted, and finally to the Rector of the university as well. Once approval letters were received, the researcher went on to select classes for both groups (OF and WF) and sent out informed consent forms. There were informative meetings with both groups of participants to let them know about the study and to receive signed informed consent forms. It was also made clear to the subjects that this study would not affect their course grades. They responded to the questionnaires anonymously, and those who mastered more than 80 percent of the total scores in paragraph writing would be awarded with Certificate of Recognition in order to motivate them to write and incorporate the feedback they had received from one week to another into their revision process. Data collection was conducted in the following steps. First of all, the students were asked to write a 150-word paragraph about the person whom I admire in my life. The paragraphs were then collected and inter-rated by three well-trained lecturers who had been teaching writing skills for more than four years. Based on the results, the participants were divided into two groups of similar size (OF=19, WF=18) and overall equivalent writing competence. An independent-samples t-test revealed that the overall mean score of the oral feedback group constituted 16.47 (SD=3.042) and that of the written feedback group was 16.46 (SD=3.045). Then, the treatment was conducted for two months with single-draft feedback provided on each of the three paragraph types taught during this experimental period: narrative, process, and compare-contrast. The topics included my happy story, how to make a nice cup of coffee, and rural life and city life. The feedback on each topic was comprehensive and targeted all aspects of writing: content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, mechanics and spelling. In this regard, various feedback strategies of each commentary mode were employed to ensure that both groups would receive similar treatment condition and that they would provide more authentic responses to the research questions. It is worth noting that the treatment (i.e. the delivery of feedback) was undertaken with specific reference to the operationalized terms at the very beginning of this study (Please refer to pages 3-4.). Soon after the two-month study, the participants were again asked to write a 150-word paragraph about one of the three topics (i.e. my bedroom, my house, or my favorite place), complete the questionnaires consisting of both close- and open-ended items. Finally, the data obtained from the questionnaires and student paragraphs were coded and input into SPSS 19.0 with the utilization of one-sample t-test, independent-samples t-test, and paired-samples t-test for data analysis, using the test value of 3.5 and the significant level of .05. Findings and Discussion Research question 1: How do Cambodian English-major students at NUM perceive oral and written feedback? A one-sample t-test was employed to provide descriptive statistics by comparing the mean scores and standard deviations of the oral feedback group and the written feedback group with the test value of 3.5 rather than with those of the written feedback group and the oral feedback group, respectively (i.e. oral feedback group vs. written feedback group, and vice versa). Table 1 shows that the students had highly positive attitudes towards oral feedback in the forms of detailed correction (M=4.42, SD=.838, p=.000), comprehensive suggestion (M=4.26, SD=.806, p=.001), and sincere praise (M=4.00, SD=.816, p=.016), which thus enabled them to write with increased confidence (M=4.26, SD=.452, p=.000). This preference was due to the fact that oral feedback was perceived as the cornerstone of building closer bonds (M=4.16, SD=.765, p=.001) between the student and the teacher who always paid special attention during each dialogue (M=4.58, SD=.507, p=.000). However, no statistical differences wer e significant in motivation (C5. It encouraged me to work harder on my revision) and sufficiency (C8. It was helpful enough for my revision), the p-values of which constituted .137 and .497, respectively. Table 1 Descriptive statistics for affective responses of OF group M SD t df p C1. It made me feel I had a more personal and human relationship with my teacher. 4.16 .765 3.750 18 .001 C2. I did not feel more confident about my writing. (Reverse-ordered) 4.26 .452 7.353 18 .000 C3. It gave more details about the errors in my writing. 4.42 .838 4.793 18 .000 C4. It gave more details about how I can improve my writing. 4.26 .806 4.129 18 .001 C5. It discouraged me from working harder on my revision. (Reverse-ordered) 3.84 .958 1.556 18 .137* C6. Praise was helpful for my revision. 4.00 .816 2.669 18 .016 C7. I got special attention from my teacher. 4.58 .507 9.271 18 .000 C8. It was not helpful enough for my revision. (Reverse-ordered) 3.68 1.157 .694 18 .497* * p > .05 (not significant) As can be seen in Table 2, students preferred written feedback in the forms of comprehensive correction (M=4.39, SD=.698, p=.000), detailed suggestion (M=4.39, SD=.608, p=.000), and sincere praise (M=4.22, SD=.647, p=.000), to make them feel more confident about their writing (M=4.00, SD=.594, p=.002). A one-sample t-test also indicates that statistical differences were significant in attention (C7) [M=4.22, SD=.808, p=.001], but not in relationship (C1, p=.655), encouragement (C5, p=.055), and sufficiency (C8, p=.080). Taken Tables 1 and 2 together, oral feedback, unlike written feedback, builds closer bonds between the teacher and the student because the former tends to be more interpersonal in terms of reciprocal attention during the dialogue. While written feedback, if it includes encouragement and personal, text-specific comments, can also strengthen teacher-student relationships, it is not the same experience as sitting down face-to-face for negotiation and questions. Table 2 Descriptive statistics for affective responses of WF group M SD t df p C1. It made me feel I had a more personal and human relationship with my teacher. 3.61 1.037 .455 17 .655* C2. I did not feel more confident about my writing. (Reverse-ordered) 4.00 .594 3.571 17 .002 C3. It gave more details about the errors in my writing. 4.39 .698 5.404 17 .000 C4. It gave more details about how I can improve my writing. 4.39 .608 6.206 17 .000 C5. It discouraged me from working harder on my revision. (Reverse-ordered) 4.00 1.029 2.062 17 .055* C6. Praise was helpful for my revision. 4.22 .647 4.738 17 .000 C7. I got special attention from my teacher. 4.22 .808 3.790 17 .001 C8. It was not helpful enough for my revision. (Reverse-ordered) 3.00 1.138 -1.87 17 .080* * p > .05 (not significant) Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics of the perceptions about the impact of oral feedback on improving student writing. A one-sample t-test was performed with the test value of 3.5 and the p-value of .05. The results show that oral feedback was viewed as effective in encouraging substantive revision of organization (B4) [M=4.32, SD=.671, p=.000], clarity (B1) [M=4.05, SD=.780, p=.006], content (B5) [M=4.00, SD=.577, p=.001], and grammar (B2) [M=3.95, SD=.705, p=.013]. Significantly, oral feedback was also seen as enabling students to use specific linguistic features in conformity to different genres or text-types (M=3.95, SD=.705, p=.013). Such an improvement was strongly confirmed by the

Understanding Alcohol :: Drugs and Alcohol, Addiction, Intoxication

Alcohol is not only the reason why prohibition took place in the 1920s, but it is also the reason why many persons wake up not remembering their previous night’s endeavors. It has always been evident that alcohol has an effect on brain function, which in-turn impairs the behavior of a person. Alcohol can be separated into two separate groups: what is expected to happen, and what actually happens. Alcohol is expected to play social lubricant and aphrodisiac. When it comes to being social alcohol does seem to have a loosening effect on people, however, it is almost the opposite sexually. Alcohol actually acts as more of a suppressant when sex is brought into the picture. It has only be known to be a sort of aphrodisiac because that is the way it is perceived and that is the way in which people choose to perceive it. Given the choice between two women, one holding an alcoholic drink and the other not, a man will more often pick the women with the alcoholic drink due to the fact t hat alcohol is a precursor to the possibility of having intercourse. Introduction Alcohol can be traced back to ancient times when Egyptians used beer and wine for ritual and celebratory purposes (Hanson 1995). Osiris, the god of wine, was praised throughout the entire land of Egypt. The Egyptians believed that this important god also invented beer, a beverage that was considered a necessity of life and was brewed in the home. Both beer and wine were created for and sacrificed to the gods. Fast-forward 12,000 years and the variety of alcohol has become so numerous, people no longer need a reason to drink. However, most of the population is unaware of the chemical reaction that is occurring within their body every time they take a sip. It has always been evident that alcohol has an effect on brain function, which in-turn impairs the behavior of a person. Not only has alcohol been linked to multiple physical issues but also mental and emotional. When alcohol is consumed it can create acetaldehyde in the brain to allow a chemical reaction to take place with other ele ments already in the brain waiting to be activated. When acetaldehyde reacts with chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine then there is a strong chance that psychoactive alkaloids such as salsolinol will be produced (Sullivan et. al 2010). Acetaldehyde is present everywhere in the atmosphere and may be produced in the body due to the breakdown of ethanol.

Biography of Karl Marx Essay -- Biographies Karl Marx Essays

Biography of Karl Marx Only in the course of the world’s history can a person born over a hundred years ago be as famous today as they were back then. Karl Marx is one person that fits this category. He paved the way for people of the same political background as his own. Marx’s ideas were unique and started uproar all over Europe. Marx helped write the Communist Manifesto one of the most important pieces of literature on Communism ever written. At one time people feared Communism as a power, which prompted Marx to write the Communist Manifesto and explain his ideas. How Communism should be used as type of government. He was seen as kind of an outlaw, having to move from country to country to avoid troubles with the local governments. Karl Marx truly had a different view of how government should be run. His view was that the government should run everything that way there would be no rich and no poor, everything would be equal. He believed that the only way to make peoples lives more bearable was too eliminate classes and give everyone a fair chance at life; this was his view of Communism. Marx believed this because he saw classes as an evil creation, and that the gap was just widening between the rich and the poor. Take away a materialistic ideals and no one will be better off than someone else everything will be equal. Karl Marx was born in Moselle, Germany on May 15, 1818 into a middle class home. On both sides of Marx’s family was a long line of Rabbis. But the only way for his father to keep his job as a lawyer in Trier, Germany was to be baptized as a Protestant. He had no choice but to go along with this so that he could still be one of the most respected lawyers in Trier. When Karl Marx was 17 he enrol... ...e poor and suffering. Revolutions started from what he preached, but he never had an easy life. That is part of the reason why he is such an important figure because he believed in his ideas so strongly that he would give his life for his cause. Although he meant well no one has ever thrived under such a government. But Marx is still is important in history for the way he thought and how he changed the way people thought. He influenced people but classes are still around today. Works Cited Coser, Lewis A. Marxist Thought in the first Quarter of the 20th Century University of New York. Page 2. Kries, Steven. The History Guide Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History Karl Marx 1818-1883. Aug 7 2000 Copyright 2000. â€Å"Quotes from the Philosopher Karl Marx.† http://www.philosophy.about.com/homework/philosophy/library/blqmarx.htm Mar. 10 2002.

Sharing Leadership :: essays research papers

Sharing Leadership Song: She'll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain She'll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes, "Whoo, Hoo" Driving six white horses ... "Whoa Back" We'll all go out to meet her... "Hi Babe" We'll kill the old red rooster... "Hack, Hack" We'll all have chicken ‘n dumplings... "Yum, Yum" We'll wear our bright red woolies... "Scratch, Scratch" -The subject of this presentation is Sharing Leadership. -I need 4 (four) volunteers. Each get a Name-tag and corresponding style card. -Now we are going to have a role-playing activity with four patrol leaders... Introduce each. -The situation which each patrol leader will lead us in is: The Scoutmaster would like your patrol to build a campfire for all of the parents who are visiting tonight. The Wolf Patrol has also challenged your patrol to a game of ultimate. What will your patrol do? -Which leader handled the situation the best? -If the Patrol Leaders' Council decided that it would be better if the troop went to a different summer camp this summer, which leader would be best to lead the group? -If young Johnny Scout needs help in setting up his tent, but the patrol leader has to go to a Patrol Leaders' Council, which leader would be best to lead the group? -If the patrol is going rock climbing and the Patrol leader is an expert, which leader would be best to lead the group? -If the patrol must decide on a design for a new patrol flag, which leader would be best to lead the group? -If the Patrol leader needs to decide on a campsite for his patrol at summer camp and he gets knows that he may not get his first choice, which leader would be best to lead the group? -Is there one leader that is best for all situations? -Does a good leader have a combination of all of these styles? -Now that we have a general idea of leadership styles, we can examine each more closely. Remember that different situations often need different types of leadership. -The Four Style of Leadership are Telling, Persuading, Consulting, and Delegating. -The First one, Telling, is sometimes called Ordering. -In this case, who identifies the problem, makes the decision, and directs the activity? (The leader) -Are the group members considered? (Sometimes yes and sometimes no) -When is telling or ordering the right leadership style?

Assessment of the Necessity of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty

Perceptions regarding nuclear weapons presents a contradiction in terms of the existence of a â€Å"peaceful nuclear past and a fearful nuclear future† (Sagan 66). Such a contradiction exists in terms of our current understanding regarding nuclear weapons and deterrence. Consider for example that during the Cold War period, nuclear weapons were widely believed to be one of the most important factors in maintaining the peace between the United States and the Soviet Union (Cimbali 224). Currently, on the other hand, it is widely believed that enabling the continuing spread and development of nuclear weapons will only increase the risk of the development of a nuclear war. This is based upon the assumption that rival countries that are considered nuclear powers are unlikely to maintain stable deterrence. Due to this concern regarding the prevention of such an event, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was formulated during 1968. The treaty imposed an international limitation to the spread of nuclear weapons. It is based upon three main tenets: non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, disarmament of nuclear weapons, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. What follows is an analysis of the nuclear proliferation argument. As was stated above, the main rationale for the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was the prevention of nuclear wars caused by the unstable deterrence between nuclear weapons states. According to the Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, the agreement is based upon international mechanisms that operate within the foundations of international laws and norms. Anxworthy further states that the NPT opts â€Å"to promote and achieve a world without nuclear weapons† hence a world without a nuclear war impending in its historical future (1). As opposed to this, it has been argued by political scientists that if the main rationale for the treaty was the prevention of nuclear wars, then the treaty by prohibiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons defied itself in so far as enabling the proliferation of nuclear weapons ensures the prevention of nuclear wars. According to Kenneth Waltz, â€Å"nuclear weapons have been given a bad name† (731). Waltz argues that it is fallacious to assume that since nuclear weapons may cause catastrophic nuclear exchanges, nuclear wars will thereby cause global destruction. Waltz argues that nuclear weapons will enable the development of stability and peace since â€Å"a nation will be deterred from attacking if it believes that there is a possibility that its adversary will retaliate† (734). It is important to consider that Waltz’s claim is based upon the assumption that major wars amongst states occur as a result of the estimation of zero or low retaliation costs of a state from another state. In lieu of this, it is thereby possible to conclude that allowing the proliferation of nuclear weapons lessens the possibility of the development of nuclear wars since it ensures that countries will consider the high amount of risk involved in launching a nuclear attack towards a state with similar military capacities. In lieu of this, I would like to conclude that it is indeed true that the choice between a more peaceful and co-operative versus a war-ridden and hostile world is highly dependent or critically dependent on the future of nuclear weapons however, it does not necessarily necessitate the prevention of their further spread. Works Cited Cimbali, Stephen.   The Dead Volcano: The Background and Effects of Nuclear War Complacency.   Portsmouth, NH: Praeger/Greenwood, 2002 Halard, Muller, David Fischer, and Wolfgang Kotter.   Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Global Order.   Oxford: Oxford Univ. P., 1994. Waltz, Kenneth.   â€Å"Nuclear Myths and Political Realities.†Ã‚   American Political Science Reviews 84. 3 (September 1990).      

Educational Psychology study Essay

The study was done by Penny Clunies-Ross, Emma Little and Mandy Kienhuis, (2008). It is titled ‘Self-reported and actual use of proactive and reactive classroom management strategies and their relationship with teacher stress and student behavior’. The study was done with primary school teachers in Australia and examined the teachers’ self-report on the behavior management strategies that they use in the classroom and how these affect their stress level and the students’ behavior. The literature reviewed for this study discussed research done in four areas which were used as the theoretical base for the study. One is the level of disruptive behavior in schools. The second is the teacher stress and its causes. Third is the relationship between the two. And fourth is the type of classroom strategies that teachers use which are categorized as proactive and reactive. The proactive strategies have been described as a more positive approach that is preventive. The reactive strategies are more negative and remedial. The proactive strategies have been found to be more effective. This study therefore aims to â€Å"investigate the relationship between primary school teachers’ self-reported and actual use of management strategies, and to identify how the use of proactive and reactive strategies is related to teacher stress and student behavior†. The hypothesis was that using reactive strategies would result in higher levels of teacher stress and lower on-task behavior of the students. Also that using proactive strategies would result in lower levels of teacher stress and higher on-task behavior of the students. The sample was obtained by contacting principals of the schools. First convenience sampling was used, and then random phone calls to ensure that five schools from each district in Melbourne were included in the study. Data was collected by questionnaires to all teachers and observations of those who volunteered to participate. The data was collected and analyzed by SPSS. In general the results showed that hypothesis one was supported while hypothesis two was not supported. The study was generally well done. The literature review was comprehensive and discussed a wide range of studies from as early as 1986 to 2003, showing the range of research on the topic over the period of time. It was also well organized into sections. The sampling technique was straightforward. Persisting until each district was represented by five schools was good. However the final sample was ninety seven participants from twenty one schools. This means an average of less than five teachers from each school. It may have been better to have surveyed fewer schools but more teachers from each school. The culture of the school often affects teacher stress so that the small number of teachers from a large number of schools may not be reflective of the levels and causes of stress in any one of the schools. The effect of the classroom management strategies used in one school may not completely relate to the teacher stress at that school. The results were analyzed as one sample, rather than analysis by school. Therefore there is no examination of whether the difference in school culture, (if in fact any differences exist) affected the study. However, the study did an analysis of the multivariate effects of gender, level of qualifications and years of teaching experience and found that they were not predictors of teacher stress. These are important variables to include as possible effectors of teacher stress. The study presented a lot of detail on the sample and the materials. However there should have been more detail on the procedure- how exactly were the observations set up and carried out. The report only says â€Å"After the 30-minute observation had been conducted in the teacher’s classroom, observation and questionnaire data were matched using the four-digit code†. The analysis of data was another section that was well presented. This section was again well organized into sub- sections which made reading and following the results much easier. All the data were represented by well-laid out and well- labeled tables which were easy to read. This structure was repeated even in the discussion so that the reader was able to follow the analysis of the results and the discussion for each research question or issue. That was in fact one of the key aspects that made this study encouraging to read- that the subsections were repeated in each part of the study- literature review, data analysis and discussion. An important aspect of this study was the use of both questionnaires (self-report) for teacher behavior and observations. It was significant to educational research on the whole to examine the relationship between the two, since generally self-reports alone cannot be relied upon for accurate measures of behavior. The significant positive correlation between the teachers’ reported use of strategies, both proactive and reactive, and what the researchers observed helps to make self-reports a more reliable tool in educational research. The study ends with two important sections- methodological limitations and suggestions for further research. Discussions in these two sections show the researchers’ awareness of the limitations of the study despite the fact that it is a good piece of research and it helps the reader to understand why certain things were not done in a particular way. One example is this study is the mention that the sampling though it seemed random in fact was not completely random as the teachers who volunteered for the study may be teachers who are not particularly stressed, or that the stressed teachers may not have been so willing to participate. Secondly the number of teachers volunteering to be observed was quite small. The study does not mention the actual number. A section that I would have liked to see included in this study was one on ethical considerations. In general the study was a useful one, well conducted and reported. It investigated the effect of proactive and reactive strategies as classroom management techniques on teachers’ stress levels. The study did in fact find that the use of proactive strategies had less effect on teachers’ stress. This would be the most important benefit to teachers to help them to keep the stress of teaching to a minimum. They could be encouraged by these results to focus on implementing activities in the classroom that would prevent classroom disruptions, rather than having to use their attention and energy intervening in classroom disruptions and losing teaching time. The study also looked at the effect of these strategies on students’ on-task behavior, and again found that the proactive strategies fostered more on-task behavior. This is also useful to the teachers to keep students focused on their work and lessen the disruptions in the classroom. Reference Clunies-Ross, P. , Little, E. and Kienhuis, M. (2008) Self-reported and actual use of proactive and reactive classroom management strategies and their relationship with teacher stress and student behavior, Educational Psychology, 28:6,693 — 710

Loftus and Palmer Evaluation Essay

The Loftus and Palmer study is a laboratory experiment. This means that the study is artificial. The artificiality of the setting can intimidate participants or make them more obedient. This in turn can produce unnatural behavior and results that do not generalize to real life. This can be seen in experiment 2 when 12% of the control group reported seeing broken glass even though they were unaffected by the verb. This could be attributed to the leading question or to demand characteristics when participants look for cues as to what the research is about and behave accordingly, perhaps to please the researcher, especially as the participants in this case are students that may even be familiar with the researcher as they are from the same environment. In a nutshell, due to the nature of the experiment, it lacks ecological validity. In a real life situation there would be an element of surprise and an increase in emotion. Basically the eye-witness would be in some way involved, which is not the case while watching the video the eye-witness is not part of the event. Furthermore, an eye-witness in a real life situation may discuss the event with other people which may alter their memory of the event. Lastly, an eye-witness may think more carefully about giving an answer when in a real life situation when they realize that their answer could judge how innocent or guilty a person is, they may hesitate and realize the importance, although when taking part in a study they may just give an answer without as much thought. The participants were students meaning that the researchers used an opportunity sample. This means that all the participants share certain common characteristics and are not representative of society, these may include age, driving experience and educational background. If the study used a random sample the results could be generalized. This study was very useful because it introduced the notion of reconstructive hypothesis and that eye-witness testimony isnt’t reliable. This study, and studies similar to it, have led to changes nowadays as to how the police question and use the information given by witnesses. Certain other details that could also have influenced the participants answers include: the colour or make of the car; the driver; the ability to estimate speed.