Language and Communication Essay

Choosing a college is one of the most difficult choices you can make in regards to your career and there are many facets which need to be looked at when making that decision. Since we have a similar career path, I wanted to take the time to share with you the many different reasons why I chose Western Governors University as my college of choice. Credited certification courses, online access, flexible scheduling, expediting graduation date, and cost were all major factors I considered when I chose WGU. Information Technology certifications many times can still be a requirement that employers look for, even if you have a degree, as I know, it is also one of your major concerns. WGU offers industry certifications as a part of their course curriculum, which is one of the only colleges to do this. They include many of the different types of certifications depending on your learning track like Microsoft, CIW, CompTia, and Oracle. By incorporating them into the courses it enhances your resume, not only by the ability to declare your education but also that you have certifications that showcases your knowledge within the information technology industry, giving you an edge. Having an outstanding online program with easy access to the certification and course material was another advantage of choosing WGU, which is another concern you raised due to your current travel demands with your job. The online presence offered by WGU is the best that I have seen and having used it for the last year, and I know firsthand its quality and accessibility. Whether I am in the hotel, a rest stop, or having lunch at work I can access all my program information. Furthermore, they utilize Pearson, Task Stream, course mentorship, online communities, and workshops and have an extensive online library. The online dashboard outlines your entire degree program, course descriptions, emails, course contacts, degree tracking, and financial aid information. Overall the quality of the online functionality is the best, and will help ensure your experience is a great one. By having a well laid out online degree program not only assists you gaining, access but also actually helps you stay on track with flexible scheduling. With a busy work schedule, I am not bound by offsite classrooms, conference calls, or online live classes which can be mandatory for some schools; I pick the time to work on my education. Having this flexibility is key as I move forward in my current job meeting its demands, and meeting my education demands as well. Whether it is before work, lunchtime, after work, or weekends it is up to myself to find the time when it allows. Also, meeting the demands of an active family life can be very difficult to manage. With on-demand materials, when you want them, you can maintain a normal family lifestyle. To be empowered with flexibility of scheduling your classes online, along with a dynamic, robust education platform, make Western Governors a clear choice. Even though flexible scheduling is an import aspect of WGU when considering a college, the power to expedite your graduation date is just as important. When you sign up with WGU, you select your courses that match your degree program and can control what semesters you would like to take at that time. Once you have completed all your courses for a semester, you can still take additional courses within that semester. By utilizing the pre-assessments within the online dashboard, you can pre-qualify what you know about the course and move forward with the test, completing the whole course in days rather than months. This is great if the course is on something you have already established industry knowledge in the work place. Another great aspect is that if you already have certifications that you have earned, you can get credit for it, thus fulfilling a credit course. Being able to expedite your graduation is a huge value in saving your time, efforts and, most importantly, costs. College tuition has been on the rise over the years, and choosing a school that provides a top knowledge education, that is credited, sums up yet another reason for choosing WGU. They have a unique cost-cutting education system where you pay by the semester, not by each credit. So as you complete each course and then add more within that semester, you can actually reduce your overall cost for that degree. There are also savings found when you do not have to take additional certification classes and tests outside of your normal tuition, because it is all included. Another cost saving piece is that the school provides all the course materials for free, the books for each class is provided electronically. You save on commuting, as well as room and board which can also add to the bottom line of your education costs. The value of going to WGU for a top quality education is an undeniable benefit to you and your family, and should be a major factor in your decision. The decision to go to school or going back to complete your education can be a daunting task and one not to be taken lightly. But with your own research, you will find out what I have, that WGU is the best answer to your quest for success. With the certification built into the program, it just makes sense not to duplicate learning tracks. Online access gives you the resource to control your education and gives you a wider, flexible schedule to work with. Expediting your graduation date can only speed up and increase career opportunities. Finally, the cost comparison between a campus college verses an online education at WGU will give you the sense of value for the money spent well. Western Governors University is one of the fastest growing, premier online schools, providing a great education in a timely manner and results that will enhance your career.

Further Oral Proposal

12th Grade IB Further Oral Activity Proposal Due Date: November 5th 1. Describe the primary text for your presentation. What type of text is it? What is its origin? Who created the text? (2 points) Our text is 3 different songs from three different artists. The first one is â€Å"Get Up† by 50 Cent. The second one is â€Å"Grenade† by Bruno Mars. The third one is â€Å"La La La† by Snoop Lion. 2. Complete the following chart for your primary text. Make sure you answer all of the questions provided. (2 x 5 points) Audience / purpose: ? Who does the text target?The first two songs may be directed to a younger audience. The second song’s audience may especially be romantic or heart-broken people. The third song is written for everyone. ? What does the author wish to achieve through the text? 50 Cent tries to show off about his way of life. Bruno Mars tries to be romantic and depicts his love life. Snoop Lion tries to affect people. Content / theme: ? How does the content of the text relate to the overarching themes of the unit (Language and Power, Language and Identity, Language and Gender)?The texts relate to theme of Language and Culture. They might also be related to the theme of Language and Gender. Tone / mood: ? What is the attitude about the subject of the text? How is this achieved? 50 Cent is more aggressive and bossy. Bruno Mars is emotional, questioning and dreamy. ? Describe the atmosphere of the text. How is this achieved? In â€Å"Get Up†, you feel pressured and weaker as 50 Cent keeps giving orders and shows off. Bruno Mars makes you feel emotional as well.He depicts the contrast between the woman’s lack of interest to his romance. Stylistic devices: ? How does the author use language to convey a sentiment or message? ? What type of language is used (dialect, jargon, accent, diction)? ? How is imagery created? ? Does the text contain any of following: irony, sarcasm, rhetorical devices, figurative language, analogy, musical qualities, etc? Structure: ? How is the text organized (i. e. layout/ formatting)? ?What kinds of structural elements of a particular text type do you see? . Provide an outline for your presentation. (8 points) One of the songs will be played in class. It’s video can be shown as well. Then, if necessary or interesting or related to the song, the background and culture of the artist will be shared with the class. Then the lyrics will be analyzed and a connection will be made between the language in the song and the artist’s culture. After that, the second and third songs will be presented the exact same way

Modern vs. Postmodern Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern vs. Postmodern - Essay Example Modern architecture works to reduce the embellishments and decorations of earlier trends to a minimum, to reduce the form of the structure to a minimum, to reduce external influences on the designs, or perhaps to accomplish a combination of all of these. A better understanding of what might be meant by the term modern architecture can be found through an examination of the artistic movements that occurred in the mid-1900s that applied to architecture. Modernism was â€Å"the name given to the new forms that appeared in all of the arts – in paintings, sculpture, architecture, music and literature† (Pile 323). Malcolmson describes it as a reflection of the search for â€Å"a better place for all citizens at all social levels after the appalling carnage of the Great War† (410). Modernism in Gold’s view was â€Å"developed in the background of war, revolution and social dislocation† (21). It was the search for a utopia which combined the artistic and ae sthetic movements important to the common man while providing curved, comforting spaces for the traumatized citizens of the post-war age. According to Barr (1954), modernist architects had followed the trails of Art Noveau which depended on curvilinear and organic forms. Modernism emerged in art and architecture as the composition of forms started to articulate into asymmetry, grouped shapes, and flat colors. The common themes of modern architecture include the master plan which was a layout of structures in geometric harmony with the boundaries of different zones of land use within its surroundings. The interiors were characterized by the lifestyle of the owners and depiction of every day activity (Gold 1998). Early modernist architects looked to their past for inspiration and trends, while later ones developed original and radical ideas of form. The Bauhaus designers were driving contributors to the art of employing straight lines and the inventive use of materials in household it ems, but the four drivers of the modern architectural movement were Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright (Barr 220). The designs of these men have been held as the epitome of logic, clarity of structure, use of space as fluid planes, and surfaces as fine materials. Mies van der Rohe’s grand but mystical skyscraper designs and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye denoted the age of the citizenry. Among these men, Le Corbusier was perhaps the most influential for later development of the modern age. He is largely considered the pioneer of modernism. He was also a pioneering urban planner whose vision encompassed the building of high rise structures in open spaces developed for individuals. His logic was based on humanitarian logic, and revolved around equality, fundamental needs regardless of cultural background and the right to comfortable and accessible dwellings. Le Corbusier based his architecture and design philosophy on collective a nd family life (Le Corbusier Le Grand 2008). He developed three layers of needs to address man’s need for dwellings. First is the pure physical need for living space. To satisfy this aspect, Le Corbusier felt the building needed to consider the need for sun, space and vegetation within living spaces as the logic for construction. The second level of need was psychosomatic

Does bullying during childhood affect the person's future behavior as Essay

Does bullying during childhood affect the person's future behavior as an adult - Essay Example The perpetrators of bullying also suffer from negative effects, and they have been demonstrated to be having an increased risk of mental health disorders. These may be attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, oppositional defiant disorder, and various conduct disorders. It has been stated that effects of bullying carries into the adulthood in some form of other. One such example is that the childhood bullies are often severely punitive with their children, and these children may subsequently show higher predilection for being more aggressive to peers (Sourander et al, 2007, 397-404). There is considerable body of literature on this topic, and several facts have been known that can be used to design proper interventions into this social problem of considerable magnitude. Consequently, a literature review would be worthwhile, which could present the existing body of knowledge in this area, through which gaps in knowledge could be identified to direct further research. An exhaustive literature review was undertaken with the key words, "bullying", "childhood bullying", "school bullying", "effects", "future behavior", "adulthood", and "adult behaviors." A combination of these key concepts was used to narrow down the search, so the articles published in the last 10 years on "effects on childhood bullying on adult behavior" could be located. Four such most recent articles were selected to conduct a careful literature review, the findings from which have been presented below. Literature Review Sourander et al. (2007) in their study explored the predictive association between bullying and victimization at the age of 8 and development of psychiatric disorders in early adulthood. In support of their hypothesis, the authors present findings from literature that this is a significantly prevalent problem in American schools. It has been already known that bullying and victimization are associated with poorer family functioning, interparental violence, and parental maltreatment. There is a difference between the bully and the victims in that bullies are aggressive, hostile, and domineering; they are hyperactive, and they demonstrate little anxiety and insecurity. On the contrary, the victims are depressed, withdrawn, anxious, and insecure. They score higher on the psychosomatic scales. They demonstrate lower self-esteem, and they tend to be more cautious, sensitive, and quieter. The authors present findings from other studies that the bully victims tend to be more troubled in ter ms of future outcomes. Once bullied, they demonstrate high levels of verbal and physical aggression. Their externalizing and hyperactive behaviour are higher, but at the same time their depressivity, self-worth, academic competence, and social acceptance are lower. This study attempts to fill the gap that exists in prospective bullying. The authors report a Finnish study, where observations suggest that being bullied at childhood has future consequences. Bullying at age strongly predict criminality at adolescence. Such a study would be necessary since information about long-term effects of bullying in the childhood into the future adult life will have public health implications, and knowledge about these may lead to

How do retailers make sure that they are reaching the older customer Thesis

How do retailers make sure that they are reaching the older customer How can they successfully keep the retail experience relev - Thesis Example Layout of products and websites (how are products presented) How easy is it to navigate? Screen Language used Promotional offers Delivery charges and methods Mailing, newsletter (sent according to previous purchase or not) Help and FAQ area Swot analysis and recommendations III. Conclusion Recommendations One of the major changes of the century is the global ageing population. As Richard Watson says in his book Future Files (2008), the ageing population is the biggest trend that will shape the next 50 years and that will radically modify the way people consume. According to the British Parliament website, 10 million people in the UK are over 65 years old.   The latest projections are for 5? million more elderly people in 20 years time and the number will have nearly doubled to around 19 million by 2050. We can explain the trend by the fact that people are now not only living longer thanks to great progress in the medicine but also the ageing of the large number of individuals born during the baby boom. Figure 1: Population by age in the UK in 1984, 2009 and 2034 Source: National Statistics Online, 2010 Hence, the 60 plus market represents a great market for retailers who shouldn’t ignore them since they not only have more time to shop than any other age category but they usually have a significant buying power across many product fields. However they have different needs, including the fact that, most of the time, they do not want to go shopping for hours in crowded and gigantic stores or others can’t because they don’t drive (mostly for seniors over 70 years old). As a consequence, the retailers have to find a way to reach these customers by bringing the products to them. Several ways can used to do so, for example Internet or catalogue shopping. They can also facilitate their shopping experience, for instance by offering to deliver the products that they choose in the shop directly at home for free. We will study in this report all of t hese channels focusing on the E-Retailing as a way to reach the older customer. Who are these seniors? As Barry Gunter explains in his book Understanding the older customer (1998), when it comes to communication, a major mistake that the retailers need to avoid is stigmatising the older customer with stereotypes regarding their physical and mental capacities as they could be misunderstood and depreciated. Age is a relative concept; we can’t really define seniors by their age but more by the age felt. For doctors, people become seniors at the age of 70 years old when specific diseases affecting their patients. For the state, the barrier is 60 years old at the time of retirement. But for our study, we will focus on people over 60 years old, the fact that they retire from their careers make them different consumers from younger age groups who buy differently and have much more free time on their hands. We will limit our study to 80 years old people who are part of the oldest gen eration who don’t really consume that much, due to their difficulty to move out of the house and the fact that they are in nursery houses. So how do senior citizens see themselves? At 65, there is a gap of almost 20 years between chronological age

Business Synoptic 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Business Synoptic 1 - Essay Example This has been described in detail in the diagram elucidating a close linkage between the concepts. The diagram below helps to understand the linkage between the strategic management and the management accounting. Evidence Link between Strategic management and Management Accounting Accounting plays a vital role in the calculation of the product and to measure the profitability of the customers. In the figure above, it can be seen that the supply chain management of the company which is a strategic management concept can be linked to the customer focused accounting which on the other hand is a management accounting concept. The link between the two concepts is evident in the form of increased sales, profitability and productivity. The strategic decision making process incorporates a customer focus in order to guide value creation and delivery decisions. It is useless to supply the goods and services if the organisation is not able to create value in the minds of the customers. The mana gement accounting techniques involve efficiency measures and control which help the organisation to analyse the performance of the suppliers and the abilities of the company. It is worth noticing that the supply chain management consists of each of the link in the whole supply chain, starting from the producer to the consumers. In case of horizontal organisation, the use of various management accounting techniques such as target costing, life cycle costing, consumer focused accounting, theory of constraints, balance scorecard and activity based cost management techniques are evident. The overall activity of the supply chain can be aligned with the wants and needs of the customers in order to satisfy both the organisations as well as the customers. If the company’s supply chain is customer focused then the company as a whole will be benefited. Based upon Nestle’s case study, a connection can be formed between the strategic management and the management accounting that e lucidates the firm’s approach in its highly successful growth strategy. It has been argued by the researcher that the organisation that implements the strategic management approaches tend to be at a successful and profitable state. The business that uses the strategic management approaches shows progress in sales, profitability as well as productivity in comparison to the firms which lacked systematic planning activities (Virtual University of Pakistan, n.d.) There are various elements that are involved in Nestle’s competitive strategic management approach. They are ‘situation analysis, the strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation’. The competitive strategy of Nestle is associated with foreign direct investment in both the businesses namely the dairy and food businesses. It has been believed by the company that strengthening their leadership in this market is the most important element of their corporate strategy (Castelarhost,

Task Force Smith (Korean War) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Task Force Smith (Korean War) - Research Paper Example Introduction The term, â€Å"Task Force Smith† derives the ill-fated battle between the United States of America (USA) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) where U.S.A lost shamefully to the opponents. The cause of the loss resulted from machinery and artillery incompetence. The Americans, under the command of Colonel Charles B. Smith, engaged in the battlefield with lesser powerful weapons as compared to the North Koreans (Murray, 2005). The troop set foot on the Korean land at a time that the enemy was advancing. The U.S.A had assumed a tremendous win following that of the Second World War. They did not train prior to the battle, used poor equipment, and approached the battle with a troop of 514 men (United States, 2007). The following outlines the deeper script of the turn of events, the artillery used to attack the enemy, the result of the war and the eventual failure of the American troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Smith. The cause of the war In the ye ar 1950, North Korea advanced towards South Korea, three years after the Second World War, thus, provoking a battle over territorial rights. The North was fully prepared to war unlike their neighbors with whom they caught unawares. South Korea, being weak in military skills and weaponry, seek help from U.S.A thinking that it would help defeat the enemy, but this posed more than enough challenges to U.S. America lacked enough and most recent ammunition thus, they declined to attend the war (McMurran, 2008). The South Koreans further pleaded for help and the U.S.A offered two-week training to the Korean army. After the two weeks training, America applauded South Korean Military and commented on their degree of integrity and the skill, they now possessed to retaliate against the enemy. The South Koreans, overwhelmed by the praises, proceeded to the battlefield with a lion heart, as they perceived a win over an enemy they did not analyze (United States, 2007). South Koreans depended ful ly on guns, while their enemy had the best weaponry from the Soviets. Approximately, the north possessed over 34 tanks each with 88mm caliber. However, this did not distract the Southerners as they pursued their enemy to the battlefront. The turn of events was extremely sad as they lost their lives to the mortars and shelling of the North Korean tanks and troops. South Koreans fought relentlessly to win their bid over the sophisticated enemy (McMurran, 2008). All their efforts bore no fruits, and many lost their lives to the battle thus; they slowly retreated. America got the news at the same time that the southerners’ were retreating from the battlefield. America deployed 514 men to combat the vulnerable enemy, unknown to them that the enemy rest prepared (Edwards, 2010). The U.S.A troop and its government overlooked North Korea’s potentials in the battlefield and underestimated them altogether. North Korea had already forecasted chances that the Second World War winn er would intervene into the battle were similarly high, and this led to the massive preparation in training, equipment, and competent troops. U.S.A assumed that, on stepping grounds, northerner’s would retrieve from the battle and eventually surrender. Therefore, it did not hit to them that, the northerners would dare stand them despite their number. On the contrary, North Korea remained adequately prepared to conquer the enemy, thus instead of retreating, they proceeded further into the battlefront to counter the advancing U.S.A troop

Health Psychology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health Psychology - Article Example According to this model, every illness is the result of abnormal bodily processes such as biochemical disorders or neurophysiologic anomalies. This system is completely based on the western concept of medicine and is being used by health practitioners since the last 300 years. The discovery of antibiotics for treatment of chronic disease has been a major breakthrough in medical science and is the primary advantage of this system of treatment. Moreover, this model helps doctors to design treatment for patients efficiently, allowing them to reveal the current situation of the patient, the required appropriate situation, and thereby develop a course of action to make that happen. However, the model has been widely criticized since it views the human body as parts of a machine which needs to fixed or repaired if something goes wrong. Secondly, it is a single factor model which reveals a reductionist view of illness deducting it to merely low-level processes such has disordered cells and mechanical disparities (Taylor & Sirios, 2012, 6). The biopsychosocial model is an interdisciplinary model that assumes that health and illness are caused by a multiple interaction of biological, psychosocial, and socio-cultural factors. According to this model, ecological systems, social system, psychological system, biological system, and physical system, all together play a crucial role in determining health and illness. The major advantage is that it involves multiple factors in treatment which allows it cover both the macro-level processes (social, psychological, biological) and micro-level processes (physical) related to health. Secondly, it involves developing an effective relationship between the patient and the practitioner thereby, leading to a speedy recovery (Taylor & Sirios, 2012, 7). However, according to some researchers, this model fails to guide on how to prioritize one factor over the other since it covers various factors. As a result,

Investigative journalism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Investigative journalism - Assignment Example Different stories were heard as the case in Baghdad was different from what officials had promised to be the case. Screams of death could be heard in different corners and alleys of the city as the citizens were gripped with fear. Back home, American officials who were interviewed never though the necessary to mention the laws of wars in the different speeches whereas the Iraqi government was opposing the air strikes campaign with dead bodies littered in every corner of their streets. The hospitals were a horrific site to witness as Iraqi televisions broadcasted civilians who were either injured or maimed in different parts thus creating the scene as a blood scene. What next? The American government was quick to announce that the government of Iraqi had built their bases amidst civilian population therefore conflicts their earlier statements that civilians in the region were to be kept safe from harm caused by the air strikes. The responses from the two government sides further added to the point that during times of war, laws are assumed or considered to be irrelevant. Citizens in different parts of the world believe in rules or laws during war. This is true in spite of them also different the laws governing the terms of war but the force applied in any war. However, as much there is memorandum that controls the rules of war, there exists disagreements on who has the authority to declare war and enforce war rules when situations calls for the element of war. In sum, who owns the element of war in a country or a

High school graduates should take a year off before entering college Essay Example for Free

High school graduates should take a year off before entering college Essay A woman takes a selfie from a high angle A selfie is a type of self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone. Selfies are often associated withsocial networking, like Instagram. They are often casual, are typically taken either with a camera held at arms length or in a mirror, and typically include either only the photographer or the photographer and as many people as can be in focus, which is more commonly known as a group selfie Contents History The first known selfie, taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839 Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer in photography, produced a daguerreotype of himself in 1839 which is also one of the first photographs of a person. Because the process was slow he was able to uncover the lens, run into shot for a minute or more, and then replace the lens cap. He recorded on the back The first light Picture ever taken. 1839. Early Edwardian woman taking her picture in a mirror roughly 1900 Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia taking one of the first teenage self-portraits The debut of the portable Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900 led to photographic self-portraiture becoming a more widespread technique. The method was usually by mirror and stabilizing the camera either on a nearby object or on a tripod while framing via a viewfinder at the top of the box. Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna at the age of 13 was one of the first teenagers to take her own picture using a mirror to send to a friend in 1914. In the letter that accompanied the photograph, she wrote, I took this picture of myself looking at the mirror. It was very hard as my hands were trembling. The concept of uploading group self-taken photographs (now known as super selfies) to the internet, although with a  disposable camera not a smartphone, dates to a webpage created by Australians in September 2001, including photos taken in the late 1990s (captured by the Internet Archive in April 20 04). The earliest usage of the word selfie can be traced as far back as 2002. It first appeared in an Australian internet forum (ABC Online) on 13 September 2002. Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie. Popularity The term selfie was discussed by photographer Jim Krause in 2005, although photos in the selfie genre predate the widespread use of the term. In the early 2000s, before Facebook became the dominant online social network, self-taken photographs were particularly common on MySpace. However, writer Kate Losse recounts that between 2006 and 2009 (when Facebook became more popular than MySpace), the MySpace pic (typically an amateurish, flash-blinded self-portrait, often taken in front of a bathroom mirror) became an indication of bad taste for users of the newer Facebook social network. Early Facebook portraits, in contrast, were usually well-focused and more formal, taken by others from distance. In 2009 in the image hosting and video hosting website Flickr, Flickr users used selfies to describe seemingly endless self-portraits posted by teenage girls. According to Losse, improvements in design—especially the front-facing camera copied by the iPhone 4 (2010) from Korean and Japan ese mobile phones, mobile photo apps such as Instagram, and selfie sites such as ItisMee—led to the resurgence of selfies in the early 2010s.

Integrating ICT in Teaching and Learning

Integrating ICT in Teaching and Learning Information and Communications Technology commonly termed as ICT comes from the acronym IT and CT and refers to methods of storing, manipulating and communicating information. Information Technology (IT), as defined by the Smart Computing Dictionary, is A general term used to describe any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, or disseminate information. IT refers to the most expensive, complex computers, with devices usually dealing with electronic data in binary format. However, these IT machines are not able to communicate with one another. And, Communication Technology (CT) is the term used to describe telecommunications equipment through which information can be sought and accessed. (New Zealand MOE, 1998). Examples include: video conferencing, teleconference phones, and modems. Globally, educational systems are adopting new technologies to integrate ICT in the teaching and learning process, to prepare students with the knowledge and skills they need in their subject matter. In this way the teaching profession is evolving from teacher-centered to student-centered learning environments. ICT integration is understood as the usage of technology seamlessly for educational processes like transacting curricular content and students working on technology to do authentic tasks (Kainth and Kaur). Nowadays ICT facilitate not only the delivery of lessons but also the learning process itself. This includes computer based technologies, digital imaging, the internet, file servers, data storage devices, network infrastructure, desktops, laptops and broadcasting technologies namely radio and television, and telephone which are used as instructional tools at schools. INTEGRATING ICT IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS In Mauritius government has spent tremendously to promote ICT integration in teaching and learning. Is it worth investing so much money? What advantages do ICT have in education? Many researchers have given their view points about the advantages and how ICT can be integrated in curriculum. Allen (1997) believed that the basic skills of the future are the use of powerful technologies. The traditional textbook can no longer fulfill the need in the rapid changing and the information-explosion world. He asserted that the traditional teacher-centered approach makes classroom no longer an effective system to prepare students for the realities which they face in the near future. Parmley et al. (1997) stated that technology works best as a supporting tool-making complex processes or creative experience either possible or easier to accomplish. He thought that technology can offer new ways to provide meaningful, real-life context for learning, it also allow students to collaborate with peers and experts across the country and around the World. Rosener (1997) described IT as good as, or even better than, traditional method of teaching and learning as it being limitless of time and space. Poole (1998) pointed out that suitably integrated computer use can contribute to successful results in the classroom as to: support teaching and learning, support childrens socialisation, enable children with disabilities to integrate and enables a teacher to duplicate excellence. According to Kennewell et al. (2000), integration of ICT in teaching requires understanding at a deeper level to facilitate the development of strategies and process to identify opportunities, solve problems and evaluate solution. They believe that these higher-level objectives require not only technical knowledge and skills, but the ability to choose an effective strategy for a problem. Poole (1998) shared his view that the technology is only a tool to both teacher and student. The effectiveness of the tool depends entirely on the skills they bring to the learning process. He believed that the teachers task is thus to nurture the students willingness to learn. Gregoire et al (1996) provided the following important points in respecting student learning in analysing that the contribution new technologies can make to teaching and learning: New technologies stimulate the development of intellectual skills New technologies contribute to the ways of learning knowledge, skills and attitudes, but still dependent on pre-requisite knowledge and type of learning activity. New technologies spur spontaneous interest more than traditional approaches of learning. Students using new technologies concentrate more than those in traditional settings Moreover the above outlined points are balanced by further genuine observations: Benefits of ICT for students are greatly dependent on the technological skills of the teachers and their attitudes towards technology. Skill and attitude in turn are largely dependent on the staff training in this area. (UNESCO Paris, 2002). 2.2.1 Impact of ICT on education In educational context, ICT has the potential to increase access to education and improve its relevance and quality. Tinio (2002) asserted that ICT has a tremendous impact on education in terms of acquisition and absorption of knowledge to both teachers and students through the promotion of: Active learning: ICT tools help for the calculation and analysis of information obtained for examination and also students performance report are all being computerised and made easily available for inquiry. In contrast to memorisation-based or rote learning, ICT promotes learner engagement as learners choose what to learn at their own pace and work on real life situations problems. Collaborative and Cooperative learning: ICT encourages interaction and cooperation among students, teachers regardless of distance which is between them. It also provides students the chance to work with people from different cultures and working together in groups, hence help students to enhance their communicative skills as well as their global awareness. Researchers have found that typically the use of ICT leads to more cooperation among learners within and beyond school and there exists a more interactive relationship between students and teachers (Grà ©goire et al., 1996). Collaboration is a philosophy of interaction and personal lifestyle where individuals are responsible for their actions, including learning and respect the abilities and contributions of their peers. (Panitz, 1996). Creative Learning: ICT promotes the manipulation of existing information and to create ones own knowledge to produce a tangible product or a given instructional purpose. Integrative learning: ICT promotes an integrative approach to teaching and learning, by eliminating the synthetic separation between theory and practice unlike in the traditional classroom where emphasis encloses just a particular aspect. Evaluative learning: Use of ICT for learning is student-centered and provides useful feedback through various interactive features. ICT allow students to discover and learn through new ways of teaching and learning which are sustained by constructivist theories of learning rather than students do memorisation and rote learning. And a mentioned in Teaching of ICT by MIE/IGNOU (2005), improvements in telecommunication technologies can lead education to provide more independence to teachers and students by: Better use of learning resources- a presentation once made through use of technologies can be showed to students over and over again. Motivating to learn-ICTs combine text, sound, and colourful, moving images that increase learners motivation and their interest to learn. Facilitating the acquisition of basic concepts that are the foundation for higher order concepts and creativity can be facilitated through drill and practice as repetition and reinforcement of content and skills are being focused. Aspect Less traditional pedagogy More emerging pedagogy for the information society Active Activities prescribed by teacher Whole class instruction Little variation in activities Pace determined by the programme Small groups Activities determined by learners Many different activities Pace determined by learners Collaborative Individual Homogenous groups Everyone for him/herself Working in teams Heterogeneous groups Supporting each other Creative Reproductive learning Apply known solutions to problems Productive learning Find new solutions to problems Integrative No link between theory and practice Separate subjects Discipline-based Individual teachers Integrating theory and practice Relations between subjects Teams of teachers Thematic Evaluative Teacher-directed Summative à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Student-directed DiagnosticTable 2.2.1 Overview of Pedagogy in the Industrial versus the Information Society While theoretical arguments can be put forward to provide a strong rationale for the use of ICT in enhancing the teaching and learning process, the only real rationale is based on whether, in practice, it has a positive impact on learning, the learners, and teachers (Newhouse, 2002). learning environment entities and external entities. IMPACT OF ICT ON LEARNERS ICT has very strong effect in education and it provides enormous tools for enhancing teaching and learning. There have been many studies that have highlighted the various ways that ICT may support teaching and learning processes in a range of disciplinary fields such as the construction of new opportunities for interaction between students and knowledge and accessing information. ICT enable new ways teaching and learning when used appropriately under right conditions such as suitable resources, training and support. ICT also offers the potential to meet the learning needs of individual students, to promote equal opportunity, to offer learning material, and also promote interdependence of learning among learners (Leach, Ahmed, Makalima Power, 2005). The five ways to establish and sustain effective learning environments through ICT suggested by the Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning (2000) are: 1. Real world problems 2. Scaffolding 3. Feedback, reflection and guidance 4. Local and global communities 5. Extending teacher learning. (Newhouse, 2002) IMPACT OF ICT ON TEACHERS Roblyer and Edwards (2000) suggested that there are five important reasons for teachers to use technology in education: (1) Motivation; (2) Distinctive instructional abilities; (3) Higher productivity of teachers; (4) Essential skills for the Information Age and (5) Support for new teaching techniques (Samak, 2006). In order to make use of technology in the classroom effectively, educators should have a positive attitude toward technology and they should be trained in using the modern technologies in their respective field of education. Chin and Hortin (1994) stated that teachers must act as the change agent in the relationship between technology and the students as teachers are more likely to implement the recommended and proposed changes concerning ICT in education. But at the same time there are many challenges faced by educators as they consider how best to best incorporate ICT tools into their teaching. This is being discussed in the following article. 2.4.1 Factors affecting technology integration in Teaching and Learning I. Jung talks about the enormous challenge teachers are facing in our society due to the rapid expansion of knowledge. The modern technologies are demanding that teachers learn how to use these technologies in their teaching. Hence these new technologies increase the teachers training needs. Gressard and Loyd (1985) asserted that teachers attitudes toward computers are a key factor in the successful implementation of ICT in education. They pointed out that teachers do not always have positive attitudes towards computers and their poor attitudes may lead to a failure of the computer- based projects. Also the most commonly cited barriers are: lack of time; lack of access; lack of resources; lack of expertise and lack of support (Butler and Sellbom, 2002, Leggettt Persichitte, 1998). Another barrier given by Butler and Sellbom (2002) and Chizmar Williams (2001) is reliability. Reliability included hardware failures, incompatible software between home and school, poor or slow internet connectivity and out of date software which are available mostly at school while the students/educators are having more up-to-date software at home. SUBJECT DIFFERENCE IN ICT INTEGRATION Subject being taught is also a factor influencing the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning process. In general, science teachers have more positive attitudes towards ICT and possess a higher level of computer literacy knowledge than other teachers such as Arts, Humanities and Commerce. Law et al (2000) believe that they used ICT in their teaching more frequently. Rosener (1997) sated that the use of IT should be used when they provide more opportunities for students to visualise and understand study materials. In areas where the subject matter focuses more on value, meaning and philosophical ideas, IT will only partially be able to substitute for human interaction. However, in areas which have a high volume of students studying the subject like the sciences which constitute of a standardised curriculum and factual content, it will more likely be able to supplement the content and teaching methods with use of ICT. ICT AND MATHEMATICS There are many potential uses for computers in the teaching and learning process of mathematics. According to Oldknow and Taylor (2000), the role of ICT in the teaching and learning process of mathematics are as follows: In terms of teachers, the use of ICT:- Improves their efficiency Reduces their administrative burden since less paperwork Releases more time to address students individually Provides better records of students progress Acts as a stimulus to rethinking their approach to their mathematics teaching Acts as a stimulus to rethinking their understanding of mathematics Acts as a means to communicate with other teachers sharing the common problems. The use of ICT makes students:- Engage their attention and motivate them Stimulate their curiosity Encourage them to develop their problem-solving strategies Provide models and images which aid them in concept formation Improve their test and examination results since they learn by own pace and learn through feedback provided to them. Mathematics lessons are associated with real life situations and increases the relevancy of the lessons to the real world. The curriculum needs to be updated continually to take account of the technology prevalent in society. Mathematics has tended to be very abstract while most students tend to operate on a concrete level. The use of concrete materials in some lessons is useful but often not convenient. The computer can provide experiences with virtual concrete materials. In approaching problems associated with remedial and extension students computer use can provide appropriate material and overcome classroom management problems. In 1995 the National Council for Educational Technology published a leaflet in which are included the six opportunities students can enhance their mathematics learning through the use of ICT: Learning from feedback: Fast and reliable feedback is provided which encourages students to make their own judgements and to test out and work over their ideas. Observing patterns: The use of computers and electronic calculators enables students to practice as many examples as possible when working out mathematical problems. This chains their study of patterns. Seeing connections: With use of ICT graphs and related formulae and tables of numbers are readily linked. Changing one value probes them to see the immediate effects in the other variables thus helps students to understand the connections between them. Working with dynamic images: Students can make use of IT to manipulate diagrams. This encourages them to visualise the change of geometry when using the required software and this develops their reasoning skills. Exploring data: With the use of IT students get the opportunity to work with real data which can be represented in a variety of ways, which supports explanation and analysis. Teaching the computer: When students design algorithm to achieve a particular result, they are required to express their commands clearly and in the correct order thus developing their thinking skills. These listed opportunities are applicable with the existence of ICT tools that can help students in their mathematics learning and teachers can map those mentioned opportunities with the various types of ICT tools (including both software and hardware), from the guide ICT and Mathematics, for instance Hand-held technology use numerical and graphing features of graphical calculators with data-loggers Programming languages use Logo Small software in the form of games and simulations. Spreadsheets set up a basic spreadsheet to enter data and replicate formulae- use of advance facilities of like statistical graphing Web-sites explore web-based resources related to mathematics teaching. Whiteboards use of electronic whiteboards for whole-class teaching, using OHPs. General purpose software Microsoft Office package such as Excel, Word, Explorer and PowerPoint. Mathematics teaching software dynamic geometry software(for constructions and transformations e.g. for coordinates, measures) and interactive package including graph-plotting using Graph-plotters, data-handling (database or statistical software), symbolic algebra. E-learning- For e.g.Xerte (open source e-learning) is an interactive program and a fully-featured e-learning development for creating rich interactive environment. An example is taken from the guide ICT and Mathematics on the dynamic geometry software. This can help students arrive at a convincing proof. Figure 2.6: Geometry Software The software is used to see the sights of the relationship between the areas of quadrilaterals and the areas of the figures formed by joining their midpoints. The two areas appear to be equal, but clearer seen by dragging A,B,C or D about through the software. So formulating a speculation that the area of EFGH is always half that of ABCD EFGH always appears to be a parallelogram or by adding a diagonal BD, might suggest geometric relationships from which students can arrive at a convincing proof. As mentioned in the leaflet from Mathematics and IT a pupils entitlement in the guide ICT and Mathematics: As the technology progresses and becomes more prevalent, teachers will also need to be continually reconsidering the mathematical content of their teaching. Having software which can, for example, solve systems of equations at the touch of a button has strong implications for the way particular topics are approached. One vital aspect of the widespread availability of ICT tools and easy access to resources of mathematical information through the Internet is that they can enable us to keep in touch with developments prevailing around the world for Mathematics. The four key concepts, highlighted in the ICT in mathematics (DfES, 2004), that are noteworthy for mathematics are: using data and information sources; organising and investigating; analysing and automating processes; models and modelling. How can the use of ICT raise standards in mathematics? (DfES, 2004) ICT can be used as a tool: to support teachers in teaching an objective more effectively, in improving lesson design and improving teaching and learning; to enable pupils to engage with learning and to be motivated to improve their learning; to enable pupils to access geometrical, graphical and statistical ideas dynamically and so to make connections in their learning; to build pupils confidence in their mathematical abilities by testing their conjectures, learning from feedback and using reasoning to modify their solutions. Students learning mathematics most benefit from the use of ICT in areas such as: the teacher using an interactive or electronic whiteboard for starters and plenaries; the teacher using an electronic whiteboard for interactive teaching in the main part of the lesson; using generic software such as databases or spreadsheets as a means of making sense of data; using content-free, mathematics-specific software on computers or graphical calculators to aid visualisation and help make connections in algebra and geometry; using simple programming languages, such as LOGO, to build increasingly complex mathematical models and relationships in shape and space, number and algebra; using content-specific software, usually targeting specific mathematical skills; processing and interpreting experimental information from data-loggers; using information resources such as the Internet, CD-ROMs or data files. E-Learning E-Learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. (Wikipedia). It can use an information network or even no network necessary for the lessons delivery and interaction. It can also be termed as term online learning. Tinio mentioned that Web-based learning is a subset of e-learning and refers to learning using an Internet browser (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer). Figure 2.6.2: E-Learning 2.6.3 Blended Learning Another learning model which is evolving in our educational system is blended learning. This refers to combining traditional classroom methods with e-learning solutions. For example, students in a traditional class can be assigned with printed copies and also online materials through an educational program and even have online monitoring sessions with their teachers through the chat. Blended learning is a supplement to traditional delivery methods in class to support face-to-face lessons. (Tinio). Blending learning can be an online or offline process. 2.6.4 Open Source E Learning Like any teaching styles, e-learning requires a variety of resources to be run effectively. (Tinio).So there are many interactive packages which can be of great use and they are free software packages and of good use to educators since they help to add plain text, images, videos, drawings and other interactivities to their teaching and also various types of questions are included like: true/false multiple choice matching fill in the blank calculations When the student clicks on the submit button, they get their feedback directly and can have repetition of the work if need is. Thus e-learning can be beneficial to educators in the following ways as described by the University of Nottingham: E-learning is delivered through blended learning to supplement traditional learning methods. E-learning can cover a large or small part of a lesson, having already the necessary materials that can be converted into e-learning. Any use of technology to support the teaching and learning process can be described as e-learning. Help to manage and organise lessons materials in a more effective and efficient way Reduction of administrative tasks, for example printed materials and marking tests Enable educators to monitor student involvement and progress and offer support and advice promptly and make effective use of teacher-student contact time Widen communication opportunities with students Help the change in educators role from knowledge provider to learning facilitator Encourage the development of flexible learning materials. The University of Nottingham stated that in terms of students, e-learning: Encourage flexibility of access to lesson materials- anytime, anywhere Provide self-responsibility for learning and allow students to learn at their own pace and to keep track of their progress Enhance student participation while encouraging less confident students to take part Encourage student engagement when using interactive learning materials and improve students motivation and satisfaction and facilitate understanding of the subject matter Promote communication with educators Promote peer support as there is more interaction between the students Help in the preparation of upcoming topics and revision of preceding lessons Increase the accessibility of information and lesson materials to students with low abilities in the subject matter.

Twinning In Cattle :: essays research papers fc

Twinning in Cattle   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Due to the continual fluctuation of the cattle market cattle producers have been searching for ways to improve their production and increase their profits any way possible. For years genetic engineers have been working hard on improving economic efficiency in cattle. It is their hope that through genetic research they can improve the yield and the income of cattle producers around the world. Research has shown that twinning is one way that farmers can increase their yield . Twinning has a significant influence on producers as well as people who are involved in all realms of agriculture. The reason for this large impact at this time is the fact that the occurrences are limited. However, many producers have a vision that twinning can be more than a once in a blue moon occurrence. These producers see twinning as a way to dramatically increase their yield per calving season. Producers will increase their income due to more weight per year per cow. It is necessary ;however, that the producer be well educated on how to handle twinning, in order for it to be successful for them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many agencies see twinning as an economic move upward. The American Breeder Service has made efforts to produce semen as well as embryos with high predicted breeding values available to producers. They have been recorded based on twinning probabilities and ovulation rates. A large amount of work on twinning has also been done by the Meat and Animal Research Center. Since the early eighties, they have located cattle with a high frequency of twinning and been forming a breeding foundation based on this characteristic. â€Å"We believe the time has come to make some of these unique genetic resources available to the beef industry through artificial insemination and embryo transfer† (Gregory 23). An extensive amount of research has been done using embryo transfer in cattle. In one study recipients were implanted with either a single embryo, two embryo in one uterine horn, or one embryo in each uterine horn. It is also possible to split embryos using a micro manipulator and implant each half to produce identical twins. On the average about 16% of the cows implanted with two embryos produced twins. When two embryos were implanted, and one was placed in each horn, conception rates were comparable with the prior method, however the twinning rate was much higher when the embryos were in separate horns (73% vs. 45%). For the most part, when one embryo was split in an attempt to produce identical twins, only one of the offspring survived birth (Davis 302).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many producers see twinning as a possible advancement in

Essay --

South Africa, a beautiful country located at the southern tip of the African continent with about 3000 kilometers of coastline, is the largest and most developed country in Africa. With eleven official languages and people from various ethnic backgrounds, South Africa is home to distinct cultures that coexist. Despite this diversity, South Africans faced one of the harshest racism in the world. The Dutch first settled in South Africa in 1652 as a stopping point for ships on their way to the East Indies. However, it became a British colony in 1815 after the Napoleonic wars. The Dutch moved inland to escape the British but broke out into war against the Shaka tribe in the northern part of South Africa. The Dutch Boers won, and so they established an Afrikaner state in the north. In 1899, the British tried to annex this Afrikaner state resulting in the Boer Wars. Finally in 1910, the war ended in a coalition between the Afrikaner States and the British. During this period (1910-1948), the Union government enforced several laws that restricted the rights of the black people. They were denied job reservations, the right to form unions and equal citizenship. One Such law was the Pass Law, which required blacks to carry identification pass books with them at all times. In 1948, South Africa gained its independence from British rule, but this did not mean freedom in any shape or f orm for the indigenous South Africans. What this meant was that the Dutch settlers, the â€Å"Boers† now had full right to treat the blacks as they wished and they certainly did. Between 1948 and 1999, a harsh system of racial segregation called apartheid, or â€Å"apartness† in Afrikaans was practiced in the Republic of South Africa. Under this regime, the white minori... ...ter testament to the basic dignity of ordinary people everywhere than the divestment movement of the 1980s.† (tutu, p.1). Today, South Africa is a free nation and it enjoys democratic rights. However, life is still not good. â€Å" It has changed for some people, not for others. Some people still have no jobs. People are hungry.† (Mpumalanga) Nonetheless, numerous NGOs and countries around the world are working towards providing a better life to Africans. Different organizations raise money to help African children receive better education and food. One example of such an organization is â€Å"World Vision Africa† that allows you to sponsor a child in Africa and also visit him/her. With organizations such as these, South Africa will hopefully emerge out of its apartheid shell. With more time, energy and love, we can live as a part of the world and not as a part of a race.

Impact of Revolution on women and slavery Essay -- essays research pap

The American Revolution caused a change in America that was far greater than just the forming of an independent nation. In the years after the revolution, a government had to be set in place. The new nation was greatly influenced by models of previous governments, including Great Britain and ancient Greece and Rome. Despite the great change in political structure, aspects of social culture were influenced by the revolution as well, especially in the areas of slavery and the status of women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ideology of the revolution can be looked at as a positive step in the area of slavery. The years following the revolution saw a larger opposition towards the whole principal of slavery. The North during the late 1700’s saw a slow decline in slavery, to the point where it was being ended. Vermont was the first colony to fully abolish slavery in 1777, and Massachusetts soon followed. Emancipation laws were implemented by Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well, and in New Hampshire no slaves were present by 1810. The South did not show as much generosity to the issue of slavery, however many colonies did change laws that restricted a slave owner’s right to free their slaves. The only colonies that refused to implement these laws were South Carolina and Georgia. The years subsequent to the revolution saw a large jump in the number of free African-Americans. Despite all these advancements for African-Americans, whites still did not recognize them as equa ls. In th...

The Reasons of Chinese Immigrated to the United States

The Reasons of Chinese immigrated to the United States Chen Zhang The Reasons of Chinese immigrated to the United States Introduction In China, since the reform and opening-up, there have been two waves of immigration in the last century late 70s and early 90s. With the advent of a new century, China’s economy has come into the phase of rapid development and its informatization construction has been developed at a high speed. Surprisingly, at that time, there is growing the third emigration which is a larger scale one. Among these immigrants, the professional elite and the proportion of affluent people increases year by year.Why do so many Chinese immigrate to US while China is growing fast and full of opportunities? That’s a very good question which might have thousands of answers from the Chinese immigrants. The present study surveys Chinese immigrants’ reasons and attitudes toward immigrate to the United States. Method Participates: The interviews were request ed to be completed by Chinese people I have met in the Chinese school in Edison and New Brunswick, people work in the Asian Cultural Center of NJ, and some of my friends in Montclair State University, Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickenson University.I have totally interviewed 30 people included 5 people want to immigrate, 23 immigrants, 2 second-generation immigrants (American born Chinese). Questions: Besides the basic information about ages, incomes, the questions included 1) When was your first come to the United States? 2) When did you immigrate? 3) Is there any family member immigrated with you? 4) Why you immigrated to the United States? 5) Why did you choose the United States? Conclusion First, people pursue the high quality of life and the high quality of experience.In this rapidly developing society, the pursuit of a high quality of life has become a demand of modern people. As economy is developing fast, people's living conditions have greatly improved. When people ge t a promotion, they want to move into bigger house and higher living conditions. Human desires are not always fulfilled. People are alive and never satisfied with the present condition. Especially, some successful young people prefer to choose one new life in order to pursue the high-quality experience. They want to challenge themselves in a totally different situation. Life isn't about finding yourself, Life is about creating yourself! † said Lichun Zhang, 46. She is a reporter of one of the biggest Chinese newspaper in the USA. When she was in China, she was a manger of one famous company of Shanghai. For her dream, she left her native place. For this dream, she abandoned a lot such as her prestigious job and her comfortable life. Second, the natural environment in United States is better than in China. During the rapid development of the global economy, natural resource encounters the over-limited exploitation that destroys the environmental balance.Some heavy industry citi es have been serious polluted. Industrialization quickly affected local water and air quality around factories. We can see the big gap between the air quality in China and in some Western country such as the United State. A Chinese student studies in the Fairleigh Dickson University, Zerong Ding said that he likes this new life. He seems to live and study in a big forest park. On the contrary, there are varied and numerous of tall buildings around us. More and more buildings were constructed, less and less green space were damaged.The green space has a great function on adjusting and meliorating the urban climate system and on purifying the urban atmosphere. There are apparent differences in forest fragmentation and disturbance patterns between China and the USA in the current analysis. The possible underlying reasons responsible include differences in political systems, institutions, economy, and so on. (Li, Mao, Zhou, Vogelmann, Zhu,2010) Lawmaking in China did not take ecological , economic and societal benefits of forests into account in the past, which led to an inadequate protection of natural forests.In particular, forest fragmentation issues were not involved in the processes of legislation. To date, a well-defined tenure or ownership has not been available for those collective forests in southern China, and an overloaded forest-related taxation still exists for forest farmers. This has heavily undermined the afforestation initiatives available to forest farmers (Zhang, 2008). In contrast, the USA has pushed many favorable policies, including an adoption of taxation incentive packages to encourage citizens to manage forests.A comprehensive system of laws related to forest management has dramatically advanced forest management levels and led to an overall forest inventory regularly. Beside governmental supports, various NGO’s pay much attention to forest fragmentation issues when management plans are being developed. (Li, Mao, Zhou, Vogelmann, Zhu ,2010) In contrast, USA attaches greater importance to the preservation of natural forests (FAO, 2006). More importantly, the USA tends to pay more attention to technical innovations, as well as efficient and sustainable forestry practices, to help minimize anthropogenic disturbances to forests.Currently, there are significant gaps in forestry technologies and administrative philosophy and capabilities between China and the USA, which are key contributors to different types and levels of forest fragmentation(Li, Mao, Zhou, Vogelmann, Zhu,2010). Although the hardware environment in some big cities of China is good, sometimes even better than American, the forest management levels and the relatively policies must be improved. Third, the rhythm of life in China has become faster and faster, people can easily feel pressure and lost their happiness. China is densely populated.As for China, a developing country with large population, it is hard to solve the problem of employment. Obtainin g employment of university students is a vital and key problem in the development of higher education. More and more graduates are facing a serious problem of obtain employment. In today's highly competitive market environment, working pressure and heated competition are growing day by day. No one wants to be left behind in the competition. Everyone is confronted with more and more fierce competitions. As everybody is pressed for time, the rhythm of life is more anxious. The level of people’s happiness dropped apparently.Today, when people visit China’s major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai or Chongqing, people can easily feel the rhythm of life much faster than America. Everything happens in a fast forward mode. People feel the vibrancy, and people feel the pressure, too(Lifestyle – China vs. North America). Starting from late 90’s, China pushed forward its reform in its residential housing system, privatizing residential houses by encouraging people t o buy houses with governmental subsidiary. Only since then, China’s real estate market tool off (There was no houses or apartments you can buy before the reform.Everyone lives in the state owned apartments). In merely 10 years, accompanying the fast growing economy, the housing prices in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have skyrocketed over 10 folds. However, the affordability went straight down(Lifestyle – China vs. North America). For instance, (Bridge to China, 2010) the current average housing price in Shanghai is about RMB10,000 per square meter, which means a 100 square meter (930 sqft) apartment would cost RMB1 million. (Note: Because China’s large cities are heavily populated, e. g. 0 million in Shanghai alone, few people can afford living in a house, or â€Å"villa† in Chinese term, which costs millions in US or Canadian dollars. Most people live in high-rise condo apartments). The average annual personal income, however, is only RMB40, 000. That means a double income family need 12. 5 years income to pay off their home without spending a dime on food or entertainment. Here in North America, we only need 4 to 5 years. Simply put, in China the young people there just cannot afford to be not aggressive, no matter at work, in business or study. Fourth, the parents want their children can received better education.Shushu Ye, a teacher of Chinese school in Edison said that she has immigrated for her eight-year-old son, Boyang. She wants her son can received advanced skills and techniques in this developed big country. On the other hand, the different between Chinese education system and American is significant. Hailin Wang is the principal of Chinese school in New Brunswick used â€Å"Fear of public speaking†, the most common phobia that people have, to explain these two different systems. For example, strictness is the well-known brand of education in China. In class, students take notes while listening to the l ecture.Most teaching still emphasizes direct instruction and passive learning. Gradually, students become silence and lost our own views in class. We have not chance to talk in public. On the contrary, the interactive learning in the American classroom offers the opportunities to exploit the logical thinking and creativity. American students are used to voice their thought in public. We need to learn from them and practise more in order to supply our deficiency. Fifth, it is convenient for travellers, visitors or the business men do the commercial intercourse between China and America. People have to go through a lot of red tape to get the visa.However, if people become American citizen, they can enjoy the visa exempt. It is convenient for the business man to do the commercial intercourse. For the past ten years, Huang Ye has done a lot of trade with American company. Generally, she needs to travel from China to America three times per month. She has a big company to sell china and Zisha teapot. Zisha teapot of Yixing, is a wonderful work of the traditional Chinese arts with a long history. Ye told me that she loves her job because she found that many American people love these Chinese crafts very much.ReferencesMingshi Li, Lijun Mao, Chunguo Zhou, James E. Vogelmann, Zhiliang Zhu, Comparing forest fragmentation and its drivers in China and the USA with Globcover v2. 2 , Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 91, Issue 12, December 2010, Pages 2572-2580 Zhang, 2008 L. Zhang, Reform of collective forest right system in Jiangxi Province, Scientia Silvae Sinicae 44 (7) (2008), pp. 79–83 (in Chinese). FAO, 2006 FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 Rome (2006) ftp://ftp. fao. org/docrep/fao/008/A0400E/A0400E00. pdf/Online . Lifestyle – China vs. North America, January 26, 2010, http://bridge2china. wordpress. com/tag/chinese-immigrants/. Online.

Millennium Development Goals

In this twenty first century, one of the most widely discussed topics throughout the world is Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In September 2000, meeting at the United Nations Millennium Summit, the world leaders agreed to a remarkable document, the Millennium Declaration. The Declaration demanded that the world set its sights higher and aim for eight specific goals, most of which were to be achieved by 2015. What subsequently came to be known as the MDGs are – 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. 2. Achieve universal primary education. 3. Promote gender equality and empower woman. 4.Reduce child mortality. 5. Improve maternal health. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases. 7. Ensure environmental sustainability. 8. Develop a global partnership for development. MDG and Bangladesh: Bangladesh is signatory of the MDGs and it has made noteworthy progress in the attainment of MDGs. Notwithstanding the relatively slow income growth and modest pace of income poverty r eduction, Bangladesh’s achievements in the broad area of human development were faster and in some respects remarkable. Although the level of social deprivations is still high, the pace of improvements has been encouraging.We are happy that our efforts in reducing child mortality in Bangladesh have been duly acknowledged by the United Nations at 65th General Assembly session 20-22 September 2010. The world body has presented Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and through her the people of Bangladesh This recognition of Bangladesh’s sincere efforts in trying to reach the MDGs set for 2015, while clearly encouraging for us, is also a reminder for us of what we must yet to do in order to tackle the remaining sense of the eight MDGs. Our success in reducing child mortality must now be followed by proactive efforts towards achieving the seven other MDG targets. As thePrime Minister pointed out in New York, Bangladesh will need $ 22. 1 billion if it has to attain all the MDGs. Sta tus of MDGs in Bangladesh: Goal-1: Bangladesh is well on track to achieving goal-1 with poverty coming down to 40% in 2005. The poverty gap ratio has also decreased dramatically to 9. 0. Goal-2: While a significant 87% has been achieved in terms of primary school enrollment,dropout rates remain high & therefore primary school completion rate low. Goal-3: Bangladesh has achieved gender parity in primary and secondary education together with being on track with respect to percentage of women employed in agriculture sector.Goal-4: The country is on track with regard to achieving this goal. Significant strides have been made and if the trend sustains, the country will meet the 2015 target well ahead of schedule. Goal-5: The maternal mortality ratio is on track but the percentage of skilled birth attendants is low. Goal-6:Bangladesh has made some progress in the spread of malaria and other diseases. Goal-7: While significant progress has been made in terms of access to safe drinking wate r and sanitary latrines in urban areas, the same remains a challenge in rural areas.Also maintaining wet-lands and bio-diversity is still a challenge. Goal-8: Penetration of telephone lines and internet, particularly cell-phone usage, has increased to a great extent but youth employment rate is still low. Overall, goal-3 has been already achieved. There is more than 50% progress in attaining goal-2. In case of other goals, attainment is possible if necessary changes are made in policy and strategies. Conclusion: Bangladesh had adverse initial conditions at the start of its journey three decades ago.With one of the most vulnerable economies of the world characterized by extremely high population density, low resource base, high incidence of natural disasters and extremely adverse initial circumstances associated with the inheritance of a war-ravaged economy, the implications for long-term savings, investments and growth were deemed extremely bleak. Bangladesh which was once termed th e test case of development may indeed represent a learning site for keeping the hopes alive for other equally less fortunate post-colonial societies with adverse initial conditions.

Job Shadowing

The career of choice I would like to pursue is auditing. Since this field involves a lot of confidential items and work I was not able to find someone outside my own current job to allow me to job shadow. Therefore, I would like to discuss a time where I first went on an audit at my current job, which is with the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. Before I got this job I was not sure of what I wanted to do with my accounting degree. I did not think of auditing as being a career choice until I got hired on with the IRS. Before working with the IRS I only worked as an usher for the Journal Pavilion and I knew I needed to get a job with experience related to my degree. So I took the opportunity to register to the e-recruiting listservs for the Anderson School of Management. Any job description that was sent to me where I knew I could qualify, I applied for. I applied to several job descriptions and got many rejections, and I knew it was because I had no experience related to the accounting field. Finally I got a call from Leonard Lopez who is now my boss for an interview for a temp position with the State of New Mexico. I went to the interview not really knowing what this position entailed but I knew any experience would be beneficial to me. That day I was hired as a temp and it started a chain of events that led me to wanting a career as an auditor. The first week I began to realize what the job was about and what the IRS did. My boss asked me to join two female auditors to help them with the audit field work. I was very excited as I have heard about audits and now I was about to experience hands on what an audit entailed. The females I went with were Christina Owens (Internal Audit Manager) and Jennifer Leal (Entry level Auditor). Christina has had nine years experience with auditing and she has a BBA in accounting, an MBA in Tax, and also a CPA. Jennifer just started as an auditor and has had about two years experience with another firm. We went out to audit the Dealership Reliable Nissan. When we first arrived we spoke to the manager about what we were there to look for and also what documents we were going to be looking at. The manager complied and gave us the transactions for our audit period which was for a year. Before hand Jennifer had seen the transactions and picked a random sample for us to check. We took those samples from the files and began to look at everything that was on our check list for the compliance based on the New Mexico state statutes related to the sales of vehicles. I enjoyed looking at these files and making sure the Dealership was doing its job properly. We also looked at bank statements to make sure checks were clearing and for other possible errors or fraud. We were there for about a few days and I enjoyed being out on the field. Then after we were done with the test work it was time to look over everything and write the report. Jennifer had me help her write the findings and I enjoyed that she gave me the opportunity to do so. Self Assessment I believe I enjoy this field of work because of both going out on the field and also having some time in the office. I like that most of the audits are done with more than one person so this gives you the opportunity to work with others and to learn from others. I am an introvert but I also like to be around people so I think auditing is a great mix for me to handle being around others but not just being by myself in an office all day. I also like the investigative part of auditing and being detail-oriented. When I started college I thought about being a detective of some sort and I think auditing feels that interest of having investigative work without having to be in such danger with the police department or FBI. One thing I have noticed is that I would like to give back to others or help the community. I think auditing does a little of helping others. For example, our agency goes to audit businesses to help them not just to find out things that are wrong with their operations. Also with the IRS, yes we try to save taxpayers money as weird as that sounds. So I think this helps with me wanting to help others. So for the most part I feel like auditing is the choice for me right now. I need to dwell on the fact that if I choose auditing as a career will I want to do this for 40 years. Right now I say I can but I never know what I will encounter in the future. Career Exploration As I said above I was introduced to my current job from the e-recruiting services offered at ASM. I think that this service is great to have for busy students. I found it hard to find jobs online or from the newspaper. I registered on the Monster. com site and although it gave me job descriptions related to my degree it was a bit confusing to use and I got so much junk mail and pop ups when using there site. With the e-recruiting I get the best job ads sent right to me knowing that they are legit and meaningful to my degree and career choice. I also will attend information sessions and job fairs at UNM in the future. I have attended an accounting job fair once but I was really not sure what I wanted to do at the time so it was a little waste of my time. I also think when going to these sessions and career fairs I will gain access to the companies available for auditing positions and I will access these companies websites. All options made by UNM should surely help me find a job to apply for. List of Search Tactics I have already taken the opportunity to upload my resume and information on the Career Services site for UNM. I continue to get job descriptions from the ASM listservs form e-recruiting and I keep my eyes open for any job I feel will be worth applying for or interesting. With the opportunity to do an informational interview for this class I believe I have got my foot in the door with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). I will continue to reach out to them and hope one day I can apply for a position. I will also continue my internship with IRS as long as I can and hope a position opens up for me there as well. I enjoy where I currently work and hope to continue networking with people in my organization. I plan to reach out to the DCAA when I have acquired my MBA and even the CPA. I will attend the career fair next semester when I am going to get my BBA, this way I can put my foot in the door for many companies and hopefully also see the DCAA there. Really if the opportunity comes up for any of these tactics I will act on them as I see them being appropriate.

Save A Girl

Save girls, save the girl child, is a campaign in India to end the gender-selective abortion of female fetuses. Aborting a foetus because it is female is a major social problem in India and has cultural connections with the dowry system that is ingrained in Indian culture, despite the fact that it has been prohibited by law since 1961. In India a strong preference for sons over daughters exists, unlike in Western cultures. Pregnancies are planned by resorting to ‘differential contraception'. Following conception, foetal sex is determined by prenatal diagnostic techniques after which female foetuses are aborted.Social discrimination against women and a preference for sons have been promoted. Pre-natal sex-determination was banned in India in 1994. This act aims to prevent sex-selective abortion. But it is estimated that more than 10 million female foetuses have been illegally aborted in India. Researchers for the Lancet journal stated that 500,000 girls were being lost annually through sex-selective abortions. The dowry system in India is often blamed; the expectation that a large dowry must be provided for daughters in order for them to marry is frequently cited as a major cause for the problem.Pressure for parents to provide large dowries for their daughters is most intense in prosperous states where high standards of living, and modern consumerism, are more prevalent in Indian society. In India, dowry is the payment in cash or some kind of gifts given to bridegroom's family along with the bride. Generally they include cash, jewellery, electrical appliances, furniture, bedding, crockery, utensils and other household items that help the newly-wed set up her home. The dowry system is thought to put great financial burden on the bride's family.It has been one of the reasons for families and women in India resorting to sex selection in favor of sons. Female foeticide has led to an increase in human trafficking. In 2011, 15,000 Indian women were bought and so ld as brides in areas where foeticide has led to a lack of women. Government response to the problem has been known to not have stopped female foeticide from occurring. The existence of several loopholes in the system means the practice of sex-selective abortion continues.An example of one of these loopholes would be on the pretext of checking for genetic disorders in the foetus, who can stop a doctor from examining the sex of the unborn child and informing the parents in secret. Authorities often let the unlawful parents and doctors off with light punishment. Often, when the mothers disobey the husband’s family decision to abort the female foetus and report it to the authorities, the suits are ignored or given a light sentence: The mother is targeted for bearing girls and disobeying the family’s decision to abort the child.She may even lose her job, be expose to constant death threats, and be left with unresolved cases. In addition, others who give birth to girls are prone to violence. Even if she is able to give birth to the baby girls, the family is likely to not report the births and even murder them. The â€Å"Beti Bachao† campaign is supported by human rights groups, non-governmental organizations, and state and local government in India.Beti Bachao activities include large rallies, poster campaigns, wall paintings, billboards, and television commercials and short animations and video films. Some celebrities have become involved in â€Å"Save the girl child† initiatives. Another example of an organization, or campaign designed to help or promote girls right’s and lift them out of poverty is â€Å"Because I am a Girl†. It is geared towards equipping, enabling and engaging girls of all ages to acquire the assets, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life.The campaign focuses on inequality faced by girls in developing countries, and promotes projects to improve opportunities for girls in education, medical c are, family planning, legal rights, and other areas. The campaign has reported some success in parts of India. In 2009, it was reported that in Gujarat, rates of female births increased from 802 to 882 for every 1000 male births. India declared the year 2007 as â€Å"Awareness year of female feoticide†. Beti Bachao activities were credited with this improvement.

Construction industry studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Construction industry studies - Essay Example ion to instruct all employees the importance and worth of all these factors for the purpose of improving performance and increasing organizational productivity. Every company or organization has got some legal responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of all employees working in the company and to protect the organizational environment. Its up to the management of any company to make sure that all potential risks to the health and safety of the employees are assessed on time and controlled properly. The management needs to be aware of its roles and responsibilities regarding the issue of health and safety. Hitshopi (2009) asserts that â€Å"No matter where you are working, whether it is in a bookshop or at a large warehouse, it is vital for all employees to have some basic health and safety training†. It is the legal responsibility of the management and the employees to look after health and safety at workplace together. Those construction industries which pay great attention to the health and safety at work become able to promote a very safe and healthy workplace environment. It is important to know that poor health and safety management at any company leads to illness of employees, accidents at the workplace, and significant costs for the company. Proper health and safety management practices prove to be a key to success for any company because when the workplace environment of the company is safer and healthier, employees work with more dedication and pay more concentration to their work rather than worrying about health and safety aspects. Some basic responsibilities of the employees of any company include: Another important issue regarding organizational success is quality which is the ongoing process of building and sustaining relationships between the company and its customers by providing the customers with quality products. A product, process or service that is reliable, and that performs its intended and proposed function perfectly with no faults

Various summaries from 5 Leadership articles which I submit to you Essay

Various summaries from 5 Leadership articles which I submit to you - Essay Example This is a problem because a cynical workforce can have a very damaging effect on the performance of the company as a whole. â€Å"Organizations that have been struggling with a cynical workforce increasingly note a decrease in the quality of service to internal and external stakeholders, customer satisfaction, productivity and market share† (125). What cynicism does is causes employees to be hyper-sensitive to shifting climates within the organizational structure and to view any attempts at improvement as a failure waiting to happen. This attitude almost guarantees the expected results as employees fail to ‘buy into’ the program initiatives. What Dreilinger offers in this article, though, are some very specific steps that companies can take to try to overcome some of these issues. He indicates the first step in addressing cynical employees or a cynical company atmosphere is to acknowledge that it exists. Organizations that have successfully turned around the corporate climate have done so through what Dreilinger characterizes as a five step process. â€Å"First, they make past history discussable – and learn from it. Second, they directly address the legacy of previous change efforts and do so without ‘business babble’. Third, they take steps to anticipate and address unintended and potentially adverse consequences of new changes. Fourth, they provide employees with real opportunities to participate in decisions about future changes that affect them personally, rather than those that simply benefit the company. Fifth, they communicate information by telling employees: what they know and are able to discuss; what they are unable to discuss; what they do not yet know; and by asking employees what else they want to know† (126). Within this process, it can be seen that these companies are directly addressing the two main contributors to the development of cynicism – fear and mistrust. These steps are effective in this

Wealth of nations by Adam Smith Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wealth of nations by Adam Smith - Term Paper Example Written by Adam Smith in 1776,readers of today find the book â€Å"Wealth of Nations† almost impenetrable since the language used is flowery and the terminologies are outmoding yet wander into digressions.In spite of that, this book is one of the world’s most important books because it did for economics what Newton and Darwin did for physic and biology. Adam took what seemed outdated in trade and commerce then used public policy and his wisdom to re-state all these facts into complete, fresh, and new principles that people use fruitfully centuries later (Smith, 2010). In his work, Adam outlined gross domestic product concept for measuring wealth of a nation through identification of huge gains of productivity facilitated by specialization. He recognized benefits of trade, automatic market mechanism as well as the collaborated wide and fertile resources that provided great efficiency. Consequently, it is these ideas that make the basic fabric economic science that we adh ere to up to date. This book inquires about the nature and causes of a nation’s wealth. In book one, chapter five, Adam expounds on real and nominal price of products and their prices of labor and money. In simple terms, Adam believes that every man is wealthy or poor. This status depends on the degree in which a man can afford to enjoy the conveniences, necessities, and the amusements of life. Nevertheless, after taking thorough division of labor, this degree value these fruits as a very small part with which a man’s own labor can afford to supply him. ... The real worth of a product that a man acquired and wants to tender or simply exchange it for another product is the burden that he can spare himself and impose it on others. Labor purchases whatever a man can buy with money or with products as much as what a man can possess through the sweating and troubling of his own body. Nonetheless, the availability of goods or money that a man can use to purchase a product indeed saves him toil and trouble as these goods contain quantity of certain value of labor that one can exchange for what is of the same amount at that time to obtain a value of an equal measure. At first, labor was the original purchase money paid for all things. Therefore, what originally purchased the world’s wealth is not gold or silver, but labor. Surprisingly, wealth is power. However, whoever acquires wealth or succeeds to great fortune, does not entitle him to any political power may it be military or civil. The power may perhaps afford the person both milita ry and civic power but his or her mere power possession does not necessarily convey to him or herself. In this case, this person only possess the power of immediate or direct purchasing a certain command over all the available labor or over labor produce that is in the market by then. This person’s fortune is greater or lesser according to the proportion to the extent of power that enables this person to purchase or command the quantity of other people’s produce of labor. Thus, everything’s exchangeable value must be precisely same to the extent of power, which it conveys to its owner at all times. Even though labor is the real measure of value of exchange of all commodities, it is not labor which commonly estimates the value of commodities since it is not easy to

Ethics of Stock Option Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics of Stock Option - Case Study Example The stock option was based on the company shares thus resulted in an increased urge to the executives to raise the stock’s price. Some of the executives chose foul ways of raising the stock prices such manipulating of companies financial statements, firing of employees and closing of plants to increase the company income. The executives thus looked for ways through which they could engineer the stock prices for their own benefits. The grant date for the stock option was also chosen by the executives which meant they could do it in a way that favors them; for instance when the market share price was lowest to benefit the recipients. Stock price manipulation also resulted in increased salary gap between the highly paid employees and the lowly paid employee in the company. During market downturn due to stock price manipulation, investors suffered as a result greedy character of the executives while the executives were being awarded for the failures of the company. (Raiborn, et al ., 2007). All these ethical issues of stock option handling needed to be looked upon for a moral reason. Due to the many shortcomings of the old ways through which stock options were handled, new changes were made that could reduce the unethical issues that arose and enhancing of doing the right things for the right reasons. The changes included new laws of reporting stock option grants within two days of issue, â€Å"synthetic† re-pricing and the indexing stock options. The changes had a great impact on the ethical issues as they enforced rational stock option awarding. (Raiborn, et al., 2007) Manipulation of the stock prices reduced and the employee received what they deserved. Even so, new ethical issues arose from the changes as the adoption of the Spring- Loading and Bullet-Dodging by some companies which benefited some of the participants of the company which was unethical. Stock option handling in the past raised some ethical issues. These were reduced by the recent changes even though more ethical issues arose.

Monty Python Grail Video Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Monty Python Grail Video - Essay Example The Monty Python Grail Government video casts an interesting light on several of the topics we have discussed in this class. Two of the most prominent is relativism and the role of religion in government. Relativism, in general, is the idea that there is no one objective truth, but that everything is relative to the speaker’s viewpoint. In other words, our perceptions of what goes on around us make us see things differently to how others perceive them. This is seen in the video through the way King Arthur and the peasant interpret things so differently, from his right to rule down to how people should be treated. They also clearly have different ideas about what Arthur is doing on his quest. The role of religion in government has a lot to do with relativism. Although some would consider this role to be vital, and the only way for a government to be legitimate, others would not. In the video, for example, King Arthur explains how he became king by getting Excalibur from the lady of the lake, and how this makes him the true king of the country. The peasants, on the other hand, think this is ridiculous. Although the lady of the lake is not religious as such, she makes a good example of the arguments against religious rule. For instance, the male peasant talks about how, instead of â€Å"farcical aquatic ceremonies,† the real right to power should come from the people of a country. This would suggest that the only way to be really a legitimate ruler or government would not be religious, but popular support.