Bad things

With a increasingly sexualities society (Mulligan, 1994; Kumar, 2013) and the influence the media has over young people (Slough, 1995), it mess pertinent to ask the question why as a nation, are we not more clued up in preventing rather than recovering from such tragedies? A noted aim of Sex and Relationship Education (SERE) is to teach about awareness, knowledge and correct actions related to sexual abuse (Lobber et al, 2010) to ensure the learner has the best chance of societal integration and healthy sex life (Lobber et al, 2010).Herein lies the concern, differing societies engage differently, leading SERE to assume many guises (Lobber et al, 2010; Fontanne et al, 2012). The dichotomy for policy makers and Laotians concerned is that relevant and appropriate content has to be offset against the fear of public outcry (Consoled, 2012; Chou, 2012). Sex and the surrounding paraphernalia is still seen by some, especially parents or those involved in the education of children, as taboo ( Former, 2011).It is a subject that evokes an unusually deep emotional response in a wide demographic of people (Vassar, 2011), perhaps because sex and relationships are something we all feel a connection to. Perhaps then surrounding such controversy it is little surprise that there is elegance to update national policy (Evans and Trip, 2006; Confined, 2012), indeed there has been no major update to any government guidelines concerning SERE in 13 years (Evans and Trip, 2006; Holly, 2012; Sex Education Forum, 2013).Invariably this has led to schools and educators hesitant to deliver any form of SERE (Former, 2011) explaining the comment of the Sex Education Forum's claiming a one in three reply of ‘poor' or Very poor' amongst respondents concerning their experience of SERE (Sex Education Forum, 2013, p. 4). Initially this echoes the contention we know surrounds SERE, however the Sex Education Forum is an independent body, even advising government policy, adding validity to such statements.The previous two and the current government have come under criticism (Evans and Trip, 2006; Former, 2011; Holly, 2012, Sex Education Forum, 2013) about failing to enact meaningful change in support of schools in this clearly vital area of education (Lobber et al, 2010; Fontanne et al, 2012). There is an assumption that governments would wish to enact decisive and lasting policy change after weighty social change is promised, yet Evans and Trip (2006) have suggested that more radical policy is necessary than has been thus implemented. Such policies may even go as far as introducing pornography within the classroom (Holly, 2012).Marled (2012) suggests the current Coalition Government has already hastened and strengthened reforms and guidelines in the wake of recent abuse tragedies such as those in Recordable and Exosphere (Marled, 2012; BBC News, 2013; Burke, 2013). One must be wary to believe such rhetoric in light of these circumstances, as it is common practice for such vague press releases to appear, simply to soothe public fear and discontent. This may be cynicism on the writer's part though and the current Coalition does intend to release a new curriculum for schools in 2014 (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013).It was hoped by pupils in particular that SERE would feature strongly within the revision (Former, 2011) yet it seems that the trend of ambivalence towards SERE continues. Even with an extended consultation period on the curriculum, both pupils (Former, 2011) and advisory councils (Sex Education Forum, 2013) feel that their views or recommendations have been ignored. The position of SERE within the curriculum was meeting all parties wanted to see reinforced with the Sex Education Forum calling for SERE in the form of Personal, Social and Health Education (SHE) or better, standalone to be made statutory (2013, p. ). The proposal curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013; Sex Education Forum, 2013) will not howev er, be making this so. This course of action is analyses by Even and Trip (2006) as predictable, claiming that despite valid and objective support, orthodoxy persists in education. Perhaps disappointing as if there can be a shift in orthodoxy regarding SERE, profound social and demographic benefits may be seen.Sweden has had a strong form of SERE embedded in practice for over fifty years (Lobber et al, 2010) and enjoys a high standard of social stability and new from the current Coalition Government (Analysis: Cameraman's Swede Dreams, 2012). It is dangerous to make broad sweeping statements from limited sources, especially of those with a distinctive demographic difference to the I-J. It is usually agreed though that SERE should learn from those with best practice globally (Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Chou, 2012), perhaps lessons may also be learnt from the Finnish model.Having had tooth statutory and non-statutory shapes of SERE, Lobber et al (2010) surmises that it is the statut ory model that returns the cohesion and essential improvements to sexual health political leaders crave (Evans and Trip, 2006). Instead of taking the opportunity to make SERE statutory content, this Coalition Government has drafted a proposal that has elements of SERE embedded within the new science curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013). Science by nature is objective and if for this reason SERE was amalgamated then it is commendable, combating bigotry and misunderstanding (Chou, 2012).As Lombardi (2012) helpfully reminds us, humans the world over reproduce in the same way and so taking a scientific approach follows. These laudable reasons for merging SERE within a broader science curriculum appear not to be the motive though. Nearly twenty years ago Slough (1995) instructs how children should be aware of basic reproduction biology and yet this is not stipulated for today's learners. It would appear SERE is once more regressing to a state of UN-objective and UN- founded content (Hess, 2010; Former, 2011; Lombardi, 2012; Sex Education Forum, 2013).It is difficult to tell if this slide is uh to bad advice or simply to be purposefully uncontroversial (Vassar, 2011; Confined, 2012). It is unlikely that poor advice is the primary reason as there were both lengthy consultation periods on the draft curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013) and extensive data from numerous reputable studies (Evans and Trip, 2006; Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Lobber et al, 2010; BC Council for Families, 2011; Former, 2011; Channel 4, 2013; Sex Education Forum, 2013).These aversions to objective SERE is unhelpful to learners who are understandably worried about hangers happening during puberty (Former, 2011; Sex Education Forum, 2013) and have a right to know (Mulligan, 1994). These learner responses are supported by More (2012) who asserts learners are inquisitive for biological reasons. Questioners do not simply stop questioning Just because they a re ignored (Lobber et al, 2010). Instead they seek answers from other sources (Slough, 1995; Holly, 2012) with Hess (2010) commenting that these sources should be UN-ambivalent as possible to reduce over simplicity.It is crucial that correct answers are given as The Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013, p. 2) states that an average of ten sexual partners is common in men today. The theory is that if quality SERE sessions are in place, with appropriate answers available, then wider social and sexual health risks can be avoided (Mulligan, 1994; Holly, 2012; Sex Education Forum, 2013) and some, such as the curtailing of the uneasy truth that the I-J has the highest rate of unwanted teenage pregnancy in Europe.This alarming fugue only worsens when realizing that the I-J is second only to the United States of America in terms of developed nations (Evans and Trip, 2006). This should be qualified however tit the Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013, p. 2) and other parties (Holly, 2012; Sex Education Forum) quick to point out that these pregnancy levels are at a multi-generational low here. Ignorance is another principal reason for high quality SERE to be delivered in schools.A Sex Education survey of over 2000 young people, one of the largest of its kind in this country, found that seventy four of sexually active fourteen to seventeen year olds had sexual experiences under the age of consent and that twenty percent of these had these experiences under the GE of thirteen (Channel 4, 2013) It is easy to let emotion override at this point and this is a danger faced at policy level too (Combo, 2012; Holly, 2012).Instead compare these fugues with the six percent from the survey (Channel 4, 2013) who said they would wait until marriage before engaging in sexual experiences. On a personal note, regarding ignorance, the author was surprised to see that ‘Setting (Combo, 2012, p. 28) carried a custodial sentence of up to four years (Crown Prosecution Service, 2012) for the creation and distribution of such images. This is because often those reading are underage and although (hopefully) unaware of it, they are distributing ‘Indecent Images of Children' (Crown Prosecution Service, 2012; Holly, 2012).Evans and Trip (2006) warn that once experimenting in sexual experiences under the age of sixteen (consensual age in the I-J) becomes the norm, it is far harder to prevent unwanted sexual health related issues. This a common counter to allowing overt SERE within education today, as parents, educators and wider societies believe exposure to SERE automatically correlates to a rise in sexual experimentation (Mulligan, 1994; Fontanne et al, 2012; Chou, 2012). The results from the Sex Education survey (Channel 4, 2013) counter this however, showing that the mean age for first consensual experiences is seventeen in both male and females.Certainly, wider evidence from across Northern Eur ope, a good comparison to make with the UK due to similar socio- economic patterns, show that the greater the liberality with engaging children in SERE, the lower the risks (Evans and Trip, 2006; Lobber et al, 2010). There is a third dimension to the debate of SERE, that of abstinence. Abstainers argue that it is the only scientific method that is proven to completely eliminate all forms of sexual health risks (Hess, 2010) such as those outlined by Fontanne et al (2012).Lombardi (2012) argues that this is in fact counter productive as it provides a dichotomy to learners to choose either protection or abstinence, leading to a drop in quality of SERE. The abstinence method does carry weight and is enjoying increasing support globally (Confined, 2012), in terms of the benefits of sex in good relationships. Alongside having the worst sexual health in teenagers in Europe, the I-J also boasts a higher bevel of marital breakdown and single parent families than found on the continental main land (Evans and Trip, 2006).It is argued that by teaching sex as something to be enjoyed once firm commitments have been made to one another, the bond between couples is stronger thereby reducing breakdowns (Hess, 2010; Bloom, 2012). It is also worth noting that Hess (2010) and Bloom (2012) acknowledge the abstinence approach has much ground to cover in terms of accessibility to those who do not see or desire a loving marriage as standard (Evans and Trip, 2006; Comb', 2012). Lobber t al (2010) and Milkshakes (2011) both produce a damming testimony of the abstinence approach.This is not surprising as SERE as a topic does carry strong emotions (Former, 2011). By providing historical contexts and citations in both counters it does however help to remove the personal emotive element often seen in this area of discussion. Such emotions are very apparent in both Hess' (2010) article and the demonstrations reported by Vassar (2011). A final thought for the abstinence methodology is that of the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LIGHT) learners. The Sex Education Forum (2013, p. Rightfully highlight that these people are equal in need to heterosexual learners and the dangers an evasive traditional hetero marriage' approach to sex and reproduction may have on their education and sexual health. By looking to educational theory, we may hope to provide a consensus for SERE. Evans and Trip (2006) note the link to quality SERE with social learning theories. The Social Cognitive Theory (ACTS) established by Bandeau (1986) is a respected and time-tested model to use.Linked to the findings of the Sex Education survey (Channel 4, 2013) and the findings of other noted projects Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Former, 2011; Sex Education Forum, 2013), the ACTS model requires an understanding of current trends of the behavior of society in conjunction with the goal that society is hoping to achieve. The abstinence approach would argue that to achieve the goal of a so ciety having minimal unwanted teenage pregnancies and a majority of stable relationships, it is the attitude of young people that needs to change.This is not the simple fix that may have been hoped for though. The Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013, p. 9) tresses that currently around eighty five thousand females are the victims of rape or assault by penetration annually. It is very difficult for even die-hard abstainers to argue that if these victims had different attitudes, they wouldn't have been assaulted. Indeed, the attitudes of young people and parents are reflected in Livingston and Hadrons report (2009, p. 6) showing that twenty percent were worried about viewing inappropriate sexual content. Using the ACTS, it would seem then that it would be beneficial to more learners if quality and objective SERE sessions were available. This old allow the continuing motivation of society to reduce the spiraling sexual health issues (Evans and Trip, 2 006; Great Britain, Department of Health, 2013) whilst simultaneously progressing education appropriate to the young people. It is clear that young people want answers (Former, 2011; Sex Education Forum, 2013).By providing them through quality SERE, it reduces the risk of obtaining spurious answers such as questions regarding genital size and shape (Channel 4, 2013) from dubious sources such as pornography. The same survey (Channel 4, 2013) found that more than a third questioned rely on pornography for their information. For the educators then, it is clear that emotion and embarrassment needs to be laid aside once more in favor of providing better sources (Barker, 2012; Comb', 2012).It is pertinent then to question who takes on the role of the educator, parents or the school. With the draft curriculum (Great Britain, Department for Education, 2013) it is obvious that some responsibility does lie with schools. Fontanne et al (2012) would support this decision, finding that with expe rienced educators schools provide ideal environments for SERE as they can reach the majority of children instantly. Former (2011, p. 166) does end a counter, suggesting that from his research, sixty seven percent of SERE sessions are not taught by classroom teachers.Fontanne et al (2012) retorts with the idea that this is not a bad thing as often teachers resort to passive learning in SERE and not memorable experiences, provided by external sources, something which Former (2011) agrees is more effective. Chou (2012) comments that teachers should not be expected to deliver high quality SERE as it could involve topics of anatomy and physiology knowledge beyond that of most teachers, yet it is arguable that most parents would fall under this category also.Chou (2012) counters himself too, commenting that in Chinese society, sex is not a topic of conversation traversed by most parents, leaving the question of responsibility unanswered. A common reason for teachers reluctance is being st igmatize as Holly, a leading expert in SERE, found herself (Robbins, 2011) or finding themselves in compromising situations (Knows, 2012; Vaughan, 2012). In actuality the most common reasons cited for hesitance or refraining from delivering high quality SERE is actually identical between parents and teachers (Livingston and Haddam, 2009; Hess, 2010; Former, 2011; Chou, 2012).Lobber et al (2010) does offer consolation to this conundrum, stating that with training, teachers' attitudes reversed dramatically. It is vital that this happens as it necessary that some sort of service is available outside of the home (Livingston and Haddam, 2009; BC council for Families, 2011; Barker, 2012; Children, 2012). As with many quality strategies in education, it has been proved that the most successful SERE occurs when schools and parents cooperate fully (Baldwin and Abrasions, 1990; Evans and Trip, 2006; Barker, 2012; Fontanne et al, 2012; Marled, 2012).With the continuation of findings as outline d in the Framework for Sexual Health (Great Britain, Department of Health; 2013) and truly shocking reports across the UK (summers, 2007; Marled, 2012; BBC News, 2013;) and beyond (Burke, 2013), it must be seen as vital from schools, parents and politicians that the issue of SERE needs addressing. From these brief research findings it is clear that no universal solution has yet been tailored to fit all needs.

In the Knight Kitchen Psychological Review Using Sigmund Freud’s Theories Essay

As per Sigmund Freud, ‘dreams are the royal road to the unconscious’. In this essay I’m going to give an overview of Sigmund Freud’s personality theory in regards to the unconscious mind and how we express it in different ways. With that, I’ll be giving an interpretation of the book, ‘In the Night Kitchen’ by Maurice Sendak using Freud’s views, as well as my own opinions, while relating the child’s dream to his unconscious. To start, Sigmund Freud, who was the founder of the psychoanalytical theory, believed that within the structure of our mind, the unconscious was the largest portion. All of our deepest wishes, desires and pleasures were stored at the back of our mind. With that, he believed since most of our unconscious thoughts were rather disturbing or bad natured, the unconscious had to project itself in different matters. One of the ways it would do so would be through our dreams. Next, ‘In the Night Kitchen’ is a children’s story that was published in the seventies. This book is incredibly controversial, and for a good reason, because it shows a naked little boy in a small section of the story. I, however, think this is a great book. It starts with Mickey, the child in the story, falling into his dream. He falls and falls until he lands in his magical dreamland where all of the buildings and surroundings are bold, colorful and intriguing. He then ends up in the night kitchen. In the night kitchen there are three big and jolly bakers making a cake. They mistake Mickey for an ingredient and add him to the batter. Without realizing they throw him into the oven until he breaks free. He then builds an airplane to find them some milk to finish their cake, and he becomes the hero to his very own story. Furthermore, I believe this story has a greater meaning to it than just the words and pictures. Through Freud’s eyes this book is not just about a child having a dream but it gives us insight to his deepest wishes, desires and fantasies. With Freud’s theories I’m going to explain how he would have seen this story. Mickey, the child in the story, starts his dream by falling and falling, which is the first relatable sequence the author has presented us. We’ve all had that feeling of falling at the beginning of our dreams. Mickey then falls into his dreamland, with giant buildings, all bold and beautiful in color. A more exciting and vibrant land we’d choose to see in contrary to what we are forced to see in our everyday lives. He lands in a kitchen where three jolly, somewhat creepy bakers are in the middle of making a cake. Mickey is then seen wearing no clothes at all, which is where the controversy of the story takes place. This, however, does not disturb me at all. Children like to spend a lot of their time without their clothes on. Freud would have just viewed this from a fixation theory perspective. I believe he would have thought that Mickey was in his phallic stage, which is the third stage in Freud’s theory. In this stage, the child’s erogenous zone and primary focus are his genitals. This is also the stage in which children are learning and understanding the physical differences between males and females. Continuing through the story, everything we see in the kitchen is customized to Mickey’s taste. For example, the flour is called ‘Best Flour’, and the oven is called, ‘Mickey Oven’. He’s created his own little world in his mind, emphasizing his wish for power. Next, the bakers in the kitchen mistake Mickey for an ingredient and add him to the batter, stirring and stirring they do not realize what they’ve done until they stick him in the oven. Mickey then pops out screaming, ‘I’m not the milk, and the milk’s not me! ’ Realizing they need milk to finish their cake, Mickey starts constructing an airplane out of dough. For this part of the dream I believe Freud would have seen it as Mickey fulfilling a wish or desire, as most little boys do dream of becoming pilots, however it’s not possible in their everyday lives, therefore he is dreaming it at night. Next, he flies up and over the kitchen, and into the milk bottle; he retrieves milk for the recipe and brings it back to the bakers so they can finish their cake. Without the milk they would not have been able to finish by morning, therefore Mickey saved the night. Another example of a little boy’s desire for power and wish for heroism, not having it in his daily life, therefore it’s in his dream. Finally, the book finishes after Mickey rescues the evening, he is then returned to his cozy bed. I feel as though the author put a lot of psychological thought into the story before he wrote the book and for that reason I’d recommend it. In conclusion, this book represents a decent portion of Freud’s perspective on the unconscious mind and how it’s expressed through our dreams. The details in the story emphasize the creativity of the little boy’s mind. The actions of the little boy in the dream relate to examples in Freud’s theories, such as the little boy flying the plane or bringing the milk to the bakers, Freud would have seen that as part of his unconscious wishes and desires. I would definitely read this book to my children, as it has a wonderful aspect of imagination and psychological creativity.

International Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

International Human Resource Management - Essay Example Bearing all that in mind a detailed look at how and why EU social policy was developed will be examined and its development to prevent social dumping is also examined. Brown contends that â€Å"national and supranational policies of social protection and labor market regulation are appropriate for a deepening and widening the European Union and explores good and bad ideas for the Social Chapter†. (2004 p 19) Brown also states that the success of the national social policy is prejudiced by the degree of economic integration. (2004 p 10) This means that deeper EU mixing and incorporation will put emphasis on the stress for social policy reform and synchronization. However, the most policy-makers should strive for is minimum standards acceptable to all countries.† (Brown 2004 p 11) To examine the issues surrounding the policy in respect to social dumping it is important to understand the necessary push of economic integration in its numerous forms. These include trade liberalization to enhanced labor and capital mobility. Brown 1004 p 11) These can be can be better understood by putting them in the context of the premise that they are by and large desirable, yet it usually has â€Å"adverse consequences for relatively inefficient producers.† Brown. This is because relations and communication between social policy and economic integration become particularly obvious whenever it is the poorer members of EU countries who lose out. (Brown)In instances such as this integration is likely to lead to demands for greater social protection. The usefulness of national social policy is affected by the amount of economic mixing as well. In this instance organization and synchronization may possibly be essential. Especially if such policies are to be successful and have any value. If this is the scenario governments may possibly use them advantageously. Governments could use them strategically to benefit their own citizens at the expense of foreigners. Brown 2004 p 11) Examples of how this could be done include presenting less regulation and lower social protection. This would encourage inflows of capital, that would otherwise be known as 'social dumping'. The problem that can arise when this occurs is that if left unrestricted lower levels of social protection all round will result. Although to the degree that current national social policies in Europe are" ill-designed or fail to protect the most disadvantaged members of society, this could be a positive outcome." (Brown 2004 p 12) If anything has been learned from past EU integration it would be that the amplification of this, including the poorer Mediterranean countries and Ireland would be the result. In addition, realization of

Managing Activities to Achieve Results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Managing Activities to Achieve Results - Essay Example Diffusion of innovations would also help in improving the core focus of the organization that would help it to sustain itself in the competitive and turbulent business environment. Techniques for Improvement In order to achieve diffusion of innovation in the organization, Apple must adopt a strategy that tends to integrate the different functionalities of the organization. This would also include aligning its organization culture and structure so as to bring about greater diffusion of innovation in the organization. A flat organizational structure with greater functional independence would go about towards generating innovations and would also reduce barriers of communications that would help bring about diffusion of innovations. A ‘zootechnical’ form of innovation which includes use of technology to integrate the organizational culture and the aspect of innovation could be adopted by the organization (Manrique et al, 2000, p.107). In addition the organizational culture must also implement an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) (what is ERP?) that would help it to integrate its different functional units that would help in better coordination and information sharing which would enable better diffusion of innovation in the organization. Apple must also incorporate the ‘Kaizen’ philosophy in the organization. Kaizen philosophy calls for a continuous improvement in the business process by inducing in a process of continuous learning. Adopting this philosophy would help the organization to achieve its objectives by enhancing the learning curve of the employees as well as the organization. This is important as innovations are largely based on learning and knowledge and enhancement of the learning curve can actually go about a long way in inducing employees to indulge in continuous improvement as employees would continuously develop new ideas for the betterment of the business. This in turn would lead to innovations which is the core competen ce of the firm. The importance of Kaizen philosophy is that it tends to include the organizational culture by helping the organization to continuously improve its culture that leads to innovation (Christensen, Betz & Stein, 2007, p.68). JIT and SPC The Just in Time approach is a part of the philosophy of operational excellence. The Just in Time approach envisages a situation in which organizations keep a minimum stock of inventory with them and stock minimal volume of goods. This helps in reducing the inventory carrying costs for a company as only a bare minimum inventory is stocked. This technique has been successfully employed by organizations like Dell and Toyota to derive competitive advantage. The implementation of Just in Time requires a close synchronisation with the suppliers of the organization. It has also been observed that incorporating a Just in Time approach would help foster a better relationship with the organization and the suppliers (Pride & Ferrell, 2010, p.329). is the whole paragraph from this reference? Organizational Issue : a little more detail is needed here. What happens due to this organisational issue. What affect does it have on the organisation? The main issue faced by Apple is with regards to the aspect of promoting innovations and its subsequent diffusion into

Colored Regiments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Colored Regiments - Essay Example In addition, it also sheds light on the life of black soldiers during service and instances of discrimination against them including the controversial issue of payment. The question of the earliest enlistment of colored troops is a tricky one with historians honoring different states as taking the earliest initiatives. The reason for this type of confusion might simply be that by the time the army and the government had mutually and formally agreed to enlist freed slaves as soldiers, many army officers had already begun to enlist and train them. By 1862, there are evidences of black recruitment practices being carried out openly by army and government officers like General Hunter, Major General Fremont and Governor John Andrews. At this time, General Butler also seized the opportunity and enlisted and trained a regiment at New Orleans, by September 1862. The first Negro regiment to be officially inducted in the army, they were called the First Louisiana Native Guards (Edgerton 27, Dawson 6-8). A vital fact worth noting is that freed slaves were enlisted in the war when almost half of it was over, despite the fact that there was no dearth of freed slaves offering their services due to abject poverty and lured by the promise of bounty (Wilson 177). In addition, there was a growing pressure from army officers who insisted that blacks should, in all fairness, be a part of war that was being fought for them and it was unjust of the government to force only the whites in it (Wilson 38, De Forest 31,). The government, however, recruited them reluctantly and after repeatedly rejecting their participation in a war that was being fought for their emancipation in the first place. The obvious reluctance of the government sprang from the fact that racial prejudices were still deeply rooted in the consciousness of the public and the government feared not only a backlash from them but worse - a fierce dissent among their own party members. This fear is voiced by many during discussions in chief newspapers of the time. As a concerned reader, RHV, wrote to the editor of New York's Weekly Anglo-African in 1861, saying that by involving blacks in military service at that time would "would only embarrass the present administration, by stirring up old party prejudices which would cause the loss of sympathy" (Qtd. in Finkenbine et al. 213) [Read complete text of the letter in Appendix] The Freed Slaves As Soldiers: If one were to read firsthand accounts of white officers who fought the Civil War with their black subordinates, it will be noticed that they have spoken highly of the qualities of the Negro soldiers. For instance, Thomas Wentworth Higginson praised his men most warmly for their intelligence, bravery, courage, fearlessness, and dedication and for their surprising readiness to accept disciplining policies as compared to their white counterparts. One characteristic of the nature of his subordinates, which Higginson considered remarkable, was that despite their lack of education and mental training they seemed to fully grasp the enormity of their task, their delicate situation as the first colored regiment and the responsibility and courage needed from them. Not one of them shirked

How to Become a Straight A Student by Cal Newport Essay

How to Become a Straight A Student by Cal Newport - Essay Example What works for a particular student may not work for another. However, there are certain study methods that can work for most students. Students can determine for themselves the study methods that work best for them. Often, most students choose study methods such as making short notes to remember key information, repeating or verbalizing the information studied and using memory tools to help retain the information. Jim was always an average student. Although he was always poring over his books, trying to memorize facts, he was never a good student, only managing to scrape through exams and never getting the grades he wanted. Jim’s parents were disappointed. Jim himself thought that he was a loser with a learning disability. Jim always wondered why some of his friends who spent much of their time partying seemed to breeze through their exams while he was burning his midnight oil and yet flunking some of his exams. For Jim, sitting for an exam was a stressful time that always to ok a toll on his health and emotional strength. He longed to ask some of his friends the secret of doing well in their exams, but they were all such jerks. They would probably laugh at him. Jim was getting tired of the embarrassment of failing and letting his folks down. He was sick of working hard and obtaining poor grades. Sebastian 2 One day, Jim had to study for some important exams in his high school. He tried to cram everything. He tried to practice rote memorization by reading his notes over and over again. Unfortunately, there was too much to memorize and he realized that his brain was not a computer to store everything he had studied. Moreover, there were too many distractions and he just could not concentrate. Jim was desperate. He had to find a quick solution. He sat at his computer and started surfing the internet. It was then he came across a web site that got him interested. It was actually a book â€Å"The Overnight Student† by Dr. Michael L Jones. It did not t ake long for Jim to read the book but it all made perfect sense. By the time he came to the end of the book, Jim realized that he had been doing wrong all these years. He had employed all the wrong study methods to prepare for his exams. He learnt a few things that dramatically changed the way he studied for exams. The book advocated that the student become a teacher of an imaginary class. Jim tried this. He read small segments of a particular topic. Then, he taught what he learnt to an imaginary class. Slowly, he began to understand better what he had studied. Jim began to feel more confident. The wall he was teaching did not laugh or ridicule him. By closeting himself where no one can hear him and vice versa, Jim was able to concentrate on his studies. By teaching the imaginary class, Jim was actually going over his notes in segments. Soon, Jim was getting better grades. Jim’s story teaches us several valuable lessons. Effective learning can only take place when a student s tudies in an environment free of distractions. We all face distractions all the time. We take breaks to browse the internet, we answer phone calls and sometimes the lure of television programmes is just too great a temptation to resist. Distractions not only increase our stress Sebastian 3 levels, they interfere with our studies. Moreover, regaining concentration after a distraction can be time consuming. Therefore, it is best to set aside a study area at home and remove all sources of distractions.

Term paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Term Paper Example Among the properties that matter in thermodynamics and the principles applied hereby, specific heat of a substance occurs to be one of the most significant, particularly as it relates to heat, being itself the quantity of heat required for a unit mass of the substance to experience a degree of temperature change. Analyzing this truth in association to a changing weather should make us ponder on the connection between specific heat and the capacity of an object to withstand real climatic variations. It appears that the higher a material’s specific heat is, the more that such material is capable of holding large amounts of energy, in the form of heat, prior to weakening or wearing down by external forces of nature. Hence, engineers calculate and design hand-in-hand with thermodynamic concepts and prefer schemes where building structures can be optimized with materials that possess ideal specific heat capacities in order to carry out tasks that would be disposed to reduce any fut ure risks of unexpected breakage, impairment, or deterioration when allowable stress or strain is exceeded due to materials that have not been properly assessed in terms of heat capacity. Through the First Law of Thermodynamics which is mathematically stated by – ?U = Q + W we gain fuller comprehension of how energy is conserved as heat and work, being each a form of energy, becomes a sum equivalent to the internal energy of a system in a material dealt with. In materials used for construction such as metal, concrete, glass, sand, or gravel, the stresses which any of these can either bear or not are altogether identified via heat (Q) and work (W) in and out of the system. Thus, considering the sensible ‘Q’ property, especially one that deals with temperature change, specific heat serves a critical tool that partly enables an engineering professional to decide which materials make an exquisite choice. Eventually, a calorimetric approach of determining an objectâ⠂¬â„¢s specific heat, if initially unknown in literature, turns out to be an interesting piece of endeavour. In this regard, a thermodynamic process can be improvised for analysing specific heats of commonly utilized construction materials (as metal and sand) in a comprehensive and systematic simple experimental procedure. Determination of Specific Heat of Metal and of Sand Problem Statement / Purpose Determination of specific heats of certain materials can be carried out in a basic setting in which only heating and measuring temperature are the only tasks involved on the assumption that the value of the heat or energy used is derived from a power input typically in Watts or J/s. The objective of the experiment is to find out the specific heats of metal and sand, respectively, by having each substance reach a certain temperature when on heating. Each heated substance would be placed in a calorimeter containing water (independent setup for each of metal and sand) where temperature ch ange of water would be monitored under time intervals until it stabilizes to a maximum equilibrium temperature. Background The specific heat of any material determines the amount of

Capital Crime in an Incident of Mass Shooting Essay

Capital Crime in an Incident of Mass Shooting - Essay Example It was broadly anticipated that his attorneys would try defending him by entering a diminished capacity plea. However, in the preliminary hearing, they said they needed more time because they were not yet ready to enter such a plea yet (Ingold 2). A plea of diminished capacity is a defense excuse in which the accused agrees to have broken the law but argues that they cannot be fully liable of the crime due to compromised, diminished or impaired mental functionality (Mandery 45). According to Bronner (1), Holmes’ attorneys said in the preliminary hearing that they required more time to review and peruse the huge pile of documentation regarding the case. The presiding Judge in the preliminaries, William Blair Sylvester of Colorado State District Court, also wary of moving the case too fast due to the possibility of eventual appeal that could gather its support from the manner in which the case was handled agreed to a later date rather than proceeding with the arraignment. After the attorney of the accused claimed that Holm was unprepared to enter any plea on March 12, 2013, the Colorado judge entered the not guilty plea (Ingold 2). According to Ingold (2), two weeks later on March 12, the accused attorneys communicated their intention of pleading guilty in order to avoid the death penalty. On the next day, the prosecutors said that they would not accept that offer. Therefore, on 2013 June 4, Holmes pleaded not guilty on the grounds of insanity. The judg e accepted this plea thereafter scheduling the trial for 2014 October. Considering the whole matter from Holmes’ attorney point of perception there are two options for his defendant. His client may plead diminished capacity or he may plead insanity, which he already has. Diminished capacity, which was a possibility in the early stages of the case is now not an option for the defense team.  

Research on behaviour of children with stay at home Essay Example for Free

Research on behaviour of children with stay at home Essay It is a personal and specific decision that has its perks as well as its pitfalls. Advancements in womens rights in the workplace have encouraged women to acquire higher paying Jobs. However, recent research suggests that more women are choosing to stay at home. It is not because of a lack of education or opportunity; they simply dont want to have someone else raise their children. A study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 1999 found that the more hours a child spent at a non- maternal care before age 5, the less positive the childs interactions with his/her other will be. Two studies published in 2003 conducted by the NICHD found that children in day care had higher levels of stress and were more aggressive than those cared for at home by the mother. There are millions of children, however, who have working mothers and who grow up to be responsible, sucessful adults. Benefits for children raised by stay-at-home mothers. STABILITY: This is the main benefir for your children. Knowing that you are there gives your child stability. You are able to answer your child questions, dry tears, and offer support. In addition, you will never get those year back. They experience fewer emotional and behavioural problems in childhood: want to help ensure your children turn out to be happy and socially well adjusted? Bond with them when they are infants. Thats the message from the university of Lowa, USA, which found that infants who have a close intimate relationship with their mothers are less likely to be troubled, aggressive or experience other emotional and behavioural problems when they reach school age. Bonding with your child has proven to help in a childs mental and emotional development. Consistency: Your children can rely on you. They can trust the consistency on the way you run your household. Being consistent with mealitimes, Chores, baths, and bedtimes teaches children organization and discipline. They need this consistency to give them structure and routine in their lives. Quality time: All kids need quality time with their mothers. Quality time gives them the assurance of being loved all the time. Quality time also keeps your child out of trouble, which often stems from boredom. the memories they will have of you depend on this quality time

Education and Louisiana Content Standards Essay Example for Free

Education and Louisiana Content Standards Essay The word comes from the Latin word currere which means the course to be run. It contains the courses of study that a student has to complete successfully to obtain a degree certifying competence. (It is the What and Instruction is the How) In K-12 schools, it also contains the standards and benchmarks for each of the courses of study. Students must successfully complete the benchmarks in order to complete the course. In this new age, those benchmarks are measured by the Louisiana Educational Assessment Plan (LEAP). During the 1920s, the definition of curriculum as school experiences was developed by progressive educators to emphasize the quality of experiences. What children learn in school is wider than what goes on in the classrooms. It includes experiences in hallways, the cafeteria, playground, etc. These experiences cannot be separated from the responsibility of educators. There are five types of curriculum: FORMAL- The formal curriculum is the intended curriculum, explicit, overt, and written. It includes the planned and advertised menu of courses, the content of those courses, the catalog descriptions, and the regular public activities included in those courses. You will find this in the Louisiana Content Standards and Benchmarks and the Grade Level Expectations (GLEs). INFORMAL-The informal curriculum is also intended, but not explicit or written. This includes such things as citizenship, manners, and social skills and is influenced by the teacher and his or her educational philosophy. It is reflected in the classroom and is often found in the rules and procedures that a teacher implements. It is also evident in the methodologies chosen by a teacher. For example, I have a strong belief in learning styles; therefore, in face-to-face classrooms, I include a lot of hands-on activities for students to participate and engage in. Also, I include activities that involve lots of student interaction. The hidden curriculum is the covert, or implicit, implied by the very structure of the school buildings. It is learned by exposure of living in  the environment. It is characterized by the reward systems, physical plan of the school, furniture arrangement, etc. When you look at a school, is there a trophy case for sporting events, but not academics? Are classes dismissed every Friday, 6th or 7th period, for a pep rally? If so, that school would value athletics over academics. As you look at the structure of the school, is there a computer room, or is technology evident in every classroom? Are teachers allowed to attend professional development activities during the school day? All these things will provide information about the hidden curriculum of the school. Hidden curriculum is researched by critical theorists. NULL-The null curriculum is what is left out, not attended to, or taught. What is missing from your school, or even the Louisiana Content Standards and Benchmarks? Does the school embrace diversity, or just say it does? EXTRA-The extra-curriculum includes those activities that are structured by the teachers and administration. If a school has a football team, a basketball team, track team (etc.) but no history club, Spanish club, math club (etc. ), one might infer that athletics are valued more than academics. If the school has a basketball team and track team and also has National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, (etc. ), one would infer that all learnings are valued. What is the relationship between Formal Curriculum and Hidden Curriculum? What is the relationship between Formal Curriculum and Informal Curriculum? How do all forms of c urriculum relate to each other curriculum?

The Chikungunya Virus: Symptoms and Causes

The Chikungunya Virus: Symptoms and Causes Chikungunya virus, also known as Chikungunya fever, is most often found in urban areas of India and also in other countries such as Africa and other regions in Southeast Asia. They tend to appear in very crowded areas, which allow transmission of the virus to be more efficient. It is a single stranded, enveloped RNA virus that is a part of the genus Alphavirus (Riezebos-Brilman). All Alphavirus are transmitted to Humans through infected mosquitoes, which for Chikungunya virus in particular, does not cause as deadly symptoms as does other viruses. Although Chikungunya has not been reported to cause death in Humans, its symptoms can still affect some individuals adversely. These symptoms can be long-lasting; however they seem to eventually disappear. There is not one specific treatment for Chikungunya fever, but it can be treated separately by each symptom (Chikungunya). Even though there are not any specific treatments for Chikungunya fever, there are many prevention methods or strate gies that can be used to avoid mosquitos. In order for Chikungunya virus to gain entrance into Humans, it must first infect mosquitoes. Mosquitoes become infected by biting Humans that are already infected with Chikungunya virus and the mosquitos can then infect Humans who are not infected. Specifically the vector that mainly transmits the infection is the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which are also known as the yellow fever mosquito (Chikungunya). After Aedes aegypti spreads the infection to Humans by biting into the skin, the virus primarily does all of its replication in the cytoplasm. It starts off by attaching its surface protein to the host cells receptor on its plasma membrane where it then enters the cell by endocytosis and transported to endosomes. Uncoating of the capsid occurs by acidification which involves a change in pH eventually causing the capsid to uncoat. The capsid is a regular, icosahedral, twenty-faced structure that holds the genome. The genome is comprised of a positive single-stranded RNA, which is theref ore classified as Baltimore class IV. When the genome is free of the capsid, it can skip transcription and go straight to mRNA processing (because it is a positive strand) and translation in the cytoplasm. A crucial step that initiates translation involves eIF2-alpha, which allows normal-house keeping genes to shut off. Also, during translation, the first ORF is translated, which encodes for four particular proteins (nsP1, nsP2, nsP3 and nsP4) that makes replicase (a viral protein). Replicase forms the negative strand intermediate (42S RNA) and which will then in turn create more positive stranded RNA. After translation, the capsid is assembled by ribosomes and the lipid-protein envelope (only proteins in envelope are glycoproteins) is assembled at the plasma membrane where it egresses the cell by budding (Riezebos-Brilman). Upon replication of Chikungunya virus, there are many symptoms and diseases that affect Humans. Most symptoms start to show within one to twelve days and sometimes symptoms do not even show. One of the most common symptoms that first appears is fever (which is why is it commonly known as Chikungunya fever). Fevers can be as high as 104ÂÂ °F, which can last from days to weeks. Other common symptoms that appear in the beginning of infection are fever, chills, vomiting, joint pain, headaches, vomiting, swelling of joints, bleeding/hemorrhage, fatigue, muscle pain, and rash (Bhowmikb). One symptom in particular that is the most often seen symptom is arthritis. The word Chikungunya comes from an African root that means bend over, which is refers to arthritis (Just The Facts: Chikungunya). Even though almost all of these symptoms can be prolonged (days to weeks to even months), they eventually disappear. The virus lipid envelope is what allows the immune system to detect it. The symptoms are very similar to Dengue, which is seen in the same areas as where Chikungunya virus is present and also which is why Chikungunya virus is often misdiagnosed as Dengue. The only way to differentiate the difference between Dengue and Chikungunya virus is by performing a blood test (ELISA), which can be time consuming. Although it is important that the two diseases are distinguished from one another, many doctors use the symptoms to distinguish between the two viruses simply for the fact because blood testing takes too long (Chikungunya). Even after diagnoses, the virus or disease cannot be treated because there is no vaccine or a particular antiviral treatment. For the most part, symptoms are individually treated and medications such as ibuprofen, paracetamol, or naproxen are suggested to relive symptoms of fever, headaches, aching. Often times NSAIDA pills are given to those who are infected to treat only certain symptoms. There have been a few clinical trials in the making. One for example, is a prototype vaccine that has been successful in monkeys, but will soon be tested on Humans later this year. The vaccine is live and it allows the immune system to recognize the outer layer of the virus but does not allow the immune system to recognize the virus genome (which essentially prevents replication from occurring). They then isolated antibodies from the virus and put them into mice, which were also protected against the virus (Maugh). Since there are only clinical trials in the making as of now and since there is not one specific treatment, it is highly recommended, that fluids are frequently taken. An abundance of rest is also recommended and also infected people should avoid staying out doors from other potential mosquito exposure. Avoiding potential mosquito exposure will essentially help to avoid transmission rate in a given region to rise. It is a good idea to have prevention methods in mind since there is not a specific treatment for Chikungunya fever. An example of a prevention method is using mosquito repellents containing DEET (Bhowmikb) or Picaridin on clothes and on the skin. Also when staying indoors, a well-netted/screened area or air conditioned areas would help prevent transmission. When outdoors, on the other hand, wearing long clothing that covers most of the skin can help prevent mosquito bites. Also, getting clear of any source of mosquitos around living areas would help prevent mosquito existence vastly. Areas such as birdbaths, standing water from flowering pots, barrels, and pet dishes would clear a large source of mosquitoes (Chikungunya). Large sources where mosquitoes usually exist are urban areas because Humans are good reservoirs for the virus. Those areas that are especially surrounded with poverty, environmental tragedies (such as natural disasters), tropical climate predominantly year round, and areas where public health is corrupted are prime spots for mosquitos and are also good spots for a virus to transmit by mosquito-Human-mosquito. Many third world countries are targets for Chikungunya fever. Countries such as India, Pakistan, South Africa, and the Philippines have been seen with problems with this particular disease. In areas where there is an abundance of mosquitos and where poverty has flourished, nets or screens are usually used to prevent mosquitos from entering households. Since there is an abundance of the disease in third world countries, there is an issue of money. Most of these countries cannot afford to provide every household with screening or net and therefore transmission becomes easier. Not only is location an issue but demographic is also. Anyone who is bitten by a mosquito is at risk for being infected, but some people show symptoms more than others. For instance, some individuals do not show any symptoms. This is primarily seen in children. Pregnant women can be at risk for passing it to their children. They can be infected at any time of their pregnancy but they are usually only at risk for passing it to their child if it is in their bloodstream during the time of delivery. Also, mortality rate is very low and is rarely seen but it does increase with increasing age. Perhaps the reason why Chikungunya fever is a problem in various countries around the world is due to the fact that there is no actual treatment and there is only medicine available to help ease the symptoms. Also it seems as if there have been various clinical trials (Dwivedi) arising due to a recent rising epidemic in countries such as India and South Africa. Though this virus is not viewed as detrimental compared to other viruses to populations because of low mortality rate, it still has been arising symptomatic problems in certain people, such as those who experience joint pains or swelling of joints for years (Chikungunya). Not only are the symptoms themselves a problem, but the fact that they can last for so long and they that they can cause multiple symptoms at one time. Since the virus does tend to show up frequently in third world countries money tends to be an issue. There are so many families whom come from poverty and cannot afford to pay for medication that requires to be taken over such a long period of time. Therefore if there were a specific treatment for Chikungunya virus, then maybe is would not be an epidemic in certain countries.

Confronting Death in Richard Wilburs The Pardon Essay -- Wilbur The P

Confronting Death in Richard Wilbur's The Pardon Death is the issue at the heart of Richard Wilbur's poem "The Pardon." This is apparent from the opening line, "My dog lay dead five days without a grave." What is not immediately apparent, however, is that this is not simply a poem about a young boy's sadness over the loss of his dog. What Wilbur discusses in this piece is much more profound, cutting through the superficialities of death and confronting fears and doubts that all of us experience at different points in our lives. This is a poem about atonement, about facing the mistakes of the past and confronting them directly. More specifically, it is about reconciling ourselves with death and everything that life's deepest tragedies entail. The adult narrator of the poem is haunted by his past, unable to cope with feelings and emotions that he had as a youth. He even seems to have attempted to repress a portion of his life. However, as a result of a chillingly realistic dream, he is at last forced to face what he thought was burie d for good. The realization that comes because of this, the realization that death is not something to run from, is the true meaning of the poem and the crux of what Wilbur is trying to say to the reader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "The Pardon" can be divided into three distinct parts. The first sub-section is made up of stanzas one and two, which detail a tragic event that occurred in the life of the narrator when he was ten years old: the death of his dog. It is in these first eight lines that the narrator tries to give the reader an understanding of what he felt when this happened. He uses very descriptive words and phrases, providing vivid imagery of the various sights, smells, and sounds that he experienced. H... ...ightful look into death and the fears and doubts that it induces within all of us. The narrator of the poem is a man who has never been able to confront death, beginning with the loss of his dog at the age of ten. He has chosen to avoid it his entire life, rather than attempting to understand it. It is finally as an adult that a vivid dream causes him to finally face his fears: he sees his dog rising out of its grave and begins to ask it for forgiveness. The dog in the dream can be seen as a representation of his trepidation. Once he is able to confront it and ask for its pardon, he can finally begin to cope with the idea of death.    Works Cited Jarrell, Randall. "Fifty Years of American Poetry." The Third Book of Criticism. NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969. Wilbur, Richard. "Mayflies." Mayflies: New Poems and Translations. NY: Harcourt Brace, 2000.

Summary and Analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest :: Ken Kesey Novel Film Movies Literature Essays

Summary and Analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Presentation of the theme and my motive to choose it I chose the subject about â€Å"One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest† written by Ken Kesey in 1962 for my research paper because my mother told me years ago of the accompanying film and how interesting it is. Two years ago a friend of mine came back from his exchange programme in the United States of America. He told me that he and his theatre group there had performed this novel. He was and still is very enthusiastic about the theme and about the way it is written. Although I started reading the novel, I didn’t manage to finish it till the day we had to choose our subjects at school. When I saw this subject on the list, which we were given by our English teacher Mr Schà ¤fer, I was interested immediately. So I chose it. 1.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My procedure After reading this novel and watching the film I went to the Braunschweig University Library, where I loaned books about Addiction to games of change, The American history in the sixties and The history of Red Indians to receive an insight into the life of the protagonist. With the use of the internet I got further information. By choosing my subject I didn’t assume that it would be so difficult to describe Mac Murphy’s decline. I often thought that the psychological background – knowledge would have been helpful. After having written my keywords I didn’t know how to start with my formulations but finally I wrote and wrote and in the end I had too many pages. As a result I had to shorten my text which was more difficult than my first problem. 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Summary of the novel A half – Indian named Chief Bromden begins telling the reader about his experiences in an Oregon mental hospital. Head of this hospital is Nurse Ratched, also known as Big Nurse, â€Å"(†¦) a stern, controlling woman who behaves with a serene confidence†. She is the antagonist of the novel, manipulative and dictatorical, using any method to assert her power over the patients. In comparison to Randle Patrick Mac Murphy, the protagonist, she â€Å"(†¦) represents ideas of sexual repression, authoritarianism and conservatism† . The nurse and her new patient, who was admitted to the hospital by the state work farm for observation, are in every way opposed to each other - she demanding control, he revelling freedom.

Zero Fee Tour-Making an Ethical Decision?

Zero Fee Tour-Making an Ethical Decision? Generally, ethic is similar to moral value that regulates the behavior of people and we use ethic to justify what is right and wrong. Business Ethic is therefore the standard to justify what is good or bad in making a business decision or in running a business (Geer, 1994). Business ethic is relevant to both conducts of individuals and business organizations. Some of the enterprises just simple ignore the business ethics and run the business practically as profit was the sole target for them. Ethical action may not be practical to a business, while practical action may not be ethical to others.It constitutes an ethical dilemma. A manager should therefore strike a balance between â€Å"ethical† and â€Å"practical† before making a decision. In this paper, I will explore approaches to address ethical dilemma and what aspects will be considered before making an ethical business decision. I will use the tourism industry as an exampl e to examine that can an enterprise only focus on business ethic or the profit and whether or not the business ethics are the key element for it to consider before making decision. I will examine both the positive correlation and negative correlation and draw a conclusion at last.We always wonder what are our ethical standards base on and how can we apply those standard to different circumstances. Many ethicists and philosophers have suggested several approaches to address ethical dilemma. The most common three approaches suggested are the utilitarian approach, moral right approach, justice approach (Velasquez, Moberg, Meyer, Shanks, McLean, DeCosse, Andre, Hanson, 2009). Utilitarian approach is to make a decision base on ethical action that can maximize the benefit or minimize the harm for the majority of people. It deals with consequences and emphasizes the result of a decision.According to the definition, ethical business action is an action that benefits the stakeholders, the co mmunity, and the environment most. However, it is difficult to find out what is good due to changing characters and behaviors (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, Meyer, 2010) and people may not always have the same view on what is a good and what is harm. The moral right approach is based on human nature that people can decide what they want to do on their own. They have the right of free consent, the right to privacy, the right of freedom of conscience, the right of free speech, the right to due process and the right to life and safety (BrowneM.Neil Browne (Author)†º Visit Amazon's M. Neil Browne PageFind all the books, read about the author, and moreSee search results for this authorAre you an author? Learn about Author Central , Giampetro-Meyer, Williamson,2003). According to this approach, ethical action is the best action to protect and respect the stakeholders’ moral right. Right also imply duty, base on this approach people also have duty to respect others’ rights. However, we cannot ensure that the companies maintain the ethical standards depend on their highest value priority.The justice approach bases on the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle that all equals should be treated equally. According to this approach, the ethical actions treat all people equally or fairly based on a standard which is defensible (Conroy, 2010). Favoritism and discrimination are therefore unjust and wrong. However, this approach may not have adequately accounts for the rights and needs of everyone affected and it is difficult to see if the decision is based on a defensible standard or an imbalance of power (Yuter, 2008).All approaches mentioned above help us to address ethical dilemma and to know what we do can be considered as ethical. Although, it is difficult to putting the approaches together as they explain what is â€Å"ethical† in different ways, they give us some information to determine what is ethical in different circumstance. Th e majority of business decisions contain ethical issues, we only have to decide how to fit the issues into the business actions and weigh how much they should be considered (Cadbury, 2002).We should have the ability to determine ethical issues and then weigh the consideration that should influence our business action in order to make a good decision (Velasquez, Moberg, Meyer, Shanks, McLean, DeCosse, Andre, Hanson, 2009). There are five elements enterprises used to think of before evaluating a decision. They are profit, fairness, reputation, community care and sustainability. Profit generally means economic profit, that is, the difference between the total revenue and the total cost (both explicit and implicit) of an enterprise.As assumed in economics, everyone is self-interested and they tend to maximize their profit to achieve profit maximization. Profit is important in business world, especially in profit-making company as profit and money give motivation for business to survive (Williams, 2010). It therefore is an essential element being considered when making business decision. Fairness and reputation is another two elements. Fairness is the mechanism of how we achieve the ideas of just, equal, good, ethical or moral (Bothamley, 1993).Reputation is the feeling or opinion of other people towards an enterprise. It can be defined as the result of what you do, what you say, and what other people say about you. When a company’s reputation for honesty or safety is damaged, it may cause serious impact on the business (Burkhardt, 2008). Community Care will be considered as an element for making business decision also. Community Care is a firm’s obligation as a moral agent extends beyond its legal and economic obligations, to the pursuit of long-term goals are good for society.Assumed that all businesses obey law and pursue economic interest, community care is done voluntarily, but not what it must do by law or they choose to do because of economic s ense (Besser, 2002). Sustainability is the capacity that an enterprise can endure or survive in the market. It is about the doing business better, working with others and staying in business in long run. The enterprise should use division of labors and resources in order to save money, to communicate to the stakeholders and to gain others’ loyalty in order to be sustainable.Enterprises should consider these five aspects with the approaches mentioned before making business decision. For example, if an enterprise wants to make profit ethically, it should focus more on the fairness when it makes decisions. Take the Hong Kong tourism industry as an example. In March this year, a Hong Kong tour guide of Win’s Travel Agency discontented with the insufficient shopping amount of the tourists. She threatened the mainland tourists that if they did not go shopping, she would not let them to eat and did not provide hotel to them for accommodation. She used unethical method to forc e tourist to shop in order to earn more.A tourist recorded what she said and has spread the video online, which seriously influence the tourism image of Hong Kong (Sina, 2010). The cause of this case is the introduction of zero-fee tour. Zero-fee tour was introduced during 2003 the SARS period in Hong Kong. It is tour which charges tourists less than the basic cost of airline tickets, accommodation and attraction tickets. As this kind of tour is charged under-cost, the travel agencies can only earn a profit by receiving commission and tipping from shops (Lu, 2006). According to Wong (2010), we can examine the business ethical problems in two ways.In the view of the travel agency, that is the enterprise, they have to transfer the costs to the service providers in order to save costs of the company as the tour is charged under-cost. The travel agencies therefore do not give basic salaries to the tour guides, and force them to push shopping in order to earn commissions from different s hops. Also, some of the travel agencies may require the tour guides to pay in some cost component in advance and delay the repayment to the guides. In the view of tour guides, they don’t receive any salaries in zero-fee tours.They will earn nothing if the tourists do not shop therefore they tend to force or even threaten tourists to buy in order to earn shopping commissions and tipping. This damages the tourism image of Hong Kong seriously. Using utilitarian approach, the business action should be base on ethical action that can maximize the benefit or minimize the harm for the majority of people. According to Velasquez, Andre, Shanks and Meyer (2010), to use utilitarian approach we should first determine the course of the business action and then find the benefits and harms of taking the action for all stakeholders.In this case, only Win’s Travel Agency gains benefit. The tour guide has no salary in serving a zero-fee zero, she did not earn much benefit and had to for ce the tourists to shop. The business action harmed the tourists, as they were treated badly by the tour guide and are forced to shop. The tourists also had to buy things in unreasonable price as the shops marked up the price of their products in order to pay for the shopping commissions. Also, the action harmed the image of Hong Kong tourism. The action is not ethical as the courses of it cannot maximize the benefit or minimize the harm for the majority of people.By using moral right approach, we should first indicate what rights are involved in a specific case, and then see if the business action conflicts with the rights (Hamilton, 2009). In this case, the tourists had the right of freedom; they can refuse to shop if they do not want to. The tour guide’s action was unethical as she threatened the tourists and forced them to shop in order to fulfill the shopping amount. Also, the tour guide’s action conflict the tourists’ right to life and safety as she threat ened them that they would not be provided a place for accommodation.We should know the distribution first when using justice approach. We have to know who gain benefits and who suffer from losses, and then see if the distribution of the business action is fair (Hamilton, 2009). According to this case, Win’s Travel Agency gained benefits as it have saved costs and the tour guide suffered from losses as she did not earn any salary. It is unethical that the enterprise did not provide the tour guide with basic salary. The tour guide really provided service for the company, and it was not fair for her to receive no pay while other guides not serving zero-fee tour received salaries.Also, it is unfair that those tourists who bought few products were treated badly as all tourists joined the same tour and they had not required to shop when they joined the tour. Now, I would examine why Win’s Travel Agency made the decision to provide this kind of tour according to the five aspe cts mentioned. Firstly, the enterprise mainly focused on profit. Providing this kind of tour, the enterprise need not to pay salaries to the tour guides and it can receive a great deal of commission from shops as most tourists from mainland spend a lot in shopping.Also providing zero-fee tour attracts a great deal of people from mainland to visit Hong Kong, the volume of sales of the enterprise would therefore increase (TICHK, 2009). The enterprise considered less in fairness and reputation. It did not pay the tour guide any salary except the shopping commission although the tour guide deserved to get salary after providing service. It is unfair that the enterprise did this action. As the tour guide was not paid, she treated the tourists badly, this not only damaged the reputation of the enterprise but also that of Hong Kong tourism.In sustainability, the enterprise can use division labors and resources to save costs. However, it communicated to the stakeholders unsatisfactorily as it did not know what the tour guide and the tourists needed. Also, it cannot gain others’ loyalty in order to be sustainable. Finally, in community care, the enterprise did less beyond its legal and economic obligations. Other than increased the sales figure in the tourism industry, it did less that benefited the society. Win’s Travel Agency therefore made decision mainly based on profit rather than business ethics.In conclusion, different businesses would make decisions base on different aspects. They should use the utilitarian approach, moral right approach and justice approach to address ethical issues before evaluating a decision base on the five elements. According to the case above, purely base on making profit practically does not really bring much benefit to an enterprise. Enterprises should therefore strike a balance between practically making profit and the business ethics. It is very important for enterprise to consider ethical issues before making decisions as it is unavoidable. Reference Andre . C, Velasquez .M, Moberg . D, Meyer . M. J, Shanks . T (2010), Calculating Consequences:The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics Andre . C, Velasquez . M, Moberg . D, Meyer . M. J, Shanks . T, McLean . M. R, DeCosse . D, Hanson . K. O (2009), A Framework for Thinking Ethically Besser T. L (2002), The Conscience of Capitalism: Business Social Responsibility to Communities Bothamley . J (1993), â€Å"Dictionary of Theories,† London:Gale Research International Browne . M. N, Meyer . A. G . , Williamson. C (2003), Practical Business Ethics for the Busy Manager Burkhardt . R (2008), Reputation Management in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Cadbury .A (2002), Case Histories in Business Ethics, Conroy . M (2010), An ethical approach to leading change : an alternative and sustainable application Geer . H. D. (1994), Business Ethics in Progress Hamilton J,B (2009), How to Use the Justice Test Hamilton J,B (2009), How to Use the Rights Test TICHK (20 09), Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong Lu . J (2006), ‘Zero-fee' practice damages travel industry Sina (2010), News on Sina. com Williams . W. E (2010), Profit versus Nonprofit Wong . W (2010), Chairman of Hong Kong Association of Registered Tour Co-ordinators, News Yuter R. J (2008), A Fair and Balanced Approach to Social Justice

All In The Name Of Honor Essay

Yale lecturer Joanne Freeman (2001), in her book, â€Å"The Affairs of Honour†, dissects the New Republic through cultural microscopic lenses by focusing on the Founders’ personal honor and reputation as the underlying factor for all political action in America’s inchoate democracy. The auhor strengthens her thesis as she explores with compelling narratives how the nation’s Founders behaved and acted, all in the name of personal honor, to an extent of reckless violence in order to claim their rightful positions in the annals of history. The most stunning account in the book is the renowned duel between then vice-president Col. Aaron Burr and Gen. Alexander Hamilton, former aide-de-camp to George Washington, stemming from a criticism allegedly made by Hamilton against Burr, saying the latter is, â€Å"one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government† (Freeman, 2001, p. 6). By publishing articles on the American Citizen that were deemed insulting to his honor and reputation, Burr eventually made the bold duel dare to Hamilton, who accepted, and lost his life in the end. In saying , as a forewarning to the reader, that â€Å"†¦we must concede that there was a larger logic underlying the duel, a belief so strong that it compelled men to hazard their lives† (Freeman, 2001, p. 65), and proving later on that both men were compelled to risk their lives because of their own vanities, Freeman is actually telling the reader that both men, although great in their own respects, were too obsessed with personal honor to do anything of political significance. Freeman presents the Founders as alpha males out to satiate their personal egos and risking even their lives to prove so. Freeman plays too much emphasis on looking at decisions at face value and ignoring to appreciate the political significance or rationale behind them. For instance, when she says â€Å"at various points in their political careers, even men of seemingly ironclad principles like Jefferson and Hamilton were rumored to have abandoned their supporters to join with former foes† (Freeman, 2001, p. 269), she is misleading and unfairly painting a picture of treachery and backstabbing in the Founders as if to do so would be unforgivable betrayal to the American people. To Freeman, affairs of honor were a way out for great personalities of the New Republic to cope with the seemingly unstable political life, along with gossip networks, media, and duel as the last resort. As there were no established political parties yet, politics was personal, alliances were unpredictable and in short, you could trust no one during this period. Therefore, the â€Å"code of honour did more than channel and monitor political conflict; it formed the very infrastructure of national politics, providing a governing logic and weapons of war† (Freeman, 2001, p. 146). Dueling, like she says, was a trend. A careful reading of literature mentioned by David Waldstreicher (2002) in his article Founders Chic as Culture War appears to indicate a growing trend and acceptance in a cultural (re)writing of American history, from the traditional bottom-up approach to the top-bottom perspective, characterized by what I think, is an unfortunate emphasis on personalizing the progress and gains of the American revolution. While themselves admittedly more appealing than the traditional textbook-styled accounts of history, the accounts by Joseph Ellis, David McCullough and Joanne Freeman being reviewed by Waldstreicher have the effect of de-emphasizing the complex political process during those times to mere political squabbles and â€Å"affairs of honour† instead of an interplay of the yet fluid political divisions (governors) and the people (governed) and how these two groups came to terms in order to produce the democracy that America champions. Judging by the way Waldstreicher presents his views on the three, it is apparent that he agrees with some of the authors, not particularly on Freeman, on how individually, the Founders struggled with their own personal demons, but the former carefully points out Ellis, in still adulating them, saying , â€Å"Things fell apart, but character—greatness—held† (Waldstreicher, 2002, p. 187). A culturalist also, he is careful to create a demarcation line between the views espoused by Freeman and his own, suggesting that Freeman is in a way reviving the Washington beltway vision of how politics operates, telling it from the perspective of the leader or the general, and throwing aside ideologies, partisanship, policy and instutional development. Freeman’s return to the â€Å"dead white men† perspective and exaggerated emphasis to humanize Founders in her book undoubtedly makes for a compelling story; one that would make for a good history read. However, the extreme focus on the personal traits of the Founders in her book undermines historiography in general. I do not believe that men like Adams or Jefferson, could be that dense, especially while basking at the still-idealistic mood out of the gains of the revolution, would have thought that only their personal honor was at stake. There is without a doubt several failings in character among the Founders, like all other human beings, but, like Waldstreicher, an appreciation of them should be based on the political significance of their actions, not on anything else. I possess no sacred reverence for the Founders in excess of how I appreciate their individual contributions in concert with the actions of a vigilant people who, collectively, shaped America to what she is today, faults and all. By singling out the Founders and presenting evidence on how they backstabbed, deceived or shifted allegiances is to ignore that the same culture pervades in modern America and elsewhere as a political maneuver allowed in a democracy. By representing history solely on individual action and characters of the Founders is to brandish a reportage of events that generally undermines American heritage. References Freeman, J. B. (2001). Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Waldstreicher, D. (2002). Founders Chic as Culture War. Radical History Review, 84, pp. 184-94.

Learning Definition

Definition Learning Abstract: What is Learning? Does a new term need to be coined for learning? One hundred and four students undergraduate and graduate were asked to respond to the question. Their responses were coded using the five levels researcher designed rubric which was modeled after Bloom‘s Taxonomy for depth of knowledge. Of the responses coded fifty-one were from Pre-Service teachers and fiftythree were from graduate students enrolled in the Principals Masters Program. The effects of understanding learning include the preparation of lesson plans, classroom instruction, the guiding of student learning, and the professional development of teacher leaders. Introduction: Learning is a term that is being used with great frequency in Education. Learning is a critical event today, because if a child has learned, then doors are opened to the world. If the student has not learned then their opportunities for success have been narrowed. Teachers are heard to say, ? my students learned their multiplication tables today.? It is concrete and measurable, either they can recite them from memory or they can not. Can they recite them today and a week from today? Other teachers are heard to say, ? my students learned to write an essay.? They learned the parts of an essay. They learned the parts of an essay, but can they write an essay? The question of ? What is Learning? has become critical in the lives of children, adolescents, and adults. In some states children cannot move from one grade to another without passing a criterion referenced test which is given on one day of the year. If on that day the child can answer an appropriate number of the given questions they can pass on to the next grade. Should the student fail the test, then he is given the test repeatedly-until he/she ? passes? and then he is permitted to move on to the next grade. If the student does not pass, then the student is retained, to try to learn again (Texas 726 Education Agency, 2010). When the student reaches High School they may face end of course exams that determine whether or not they are able to graduate or the level of the diploma that can students receive. Scores on one test determine whether or not a student is required to take remedial classes before entering the regular college program, even if the student ? assed? the course in high school. If the student received a passing grade and then can not perform on the designated test, did they really learn? No, by our measures they did not learn. When then, has learning occurred? It is often said, ? when I can teach someone else, when I can apply the information, when I can make ? learning? connections of content across conceptual areas.? All the r esponses and many more may be correct. The question still remains, when has learning occurred and to what degree has that learning been embedded for connections to new learnings? What is Learning It is no longer acceptable to say, ? I know that the students are learning as they all are smiling and giving positive body language of acceptance during the lesson?. This was at one time considered a ? check for understanding‘ however, understanding is also a vague term which is not measurable unless ongoing formative assessments are given by the teacher (Popham, 2008). Schlecty (2002) identifies the behavior of smiling and nodding on the part of the teacher pleasing student as either 1) Ritual engagement, or 2) Passive compliance. According to Schlecty (2002) ritual engagement occurs when the student is undertaking the task or assignment because of the end result which is often identified as a passing grade. Passive compliance serves to identify the necessary effort that student will expend in order to avoid negative consequences, which can include a bad grade or not passing the ? test.? Again, the question emerges did learning occur? Can you ? pass? a test and not have learned the information; is the ? learning‘ only in short term memory to be dumped when the 727 goal ? passing the test‘ is achieved. This could lead to another discussion to be addressed at a different time. It is critical for today‘s educators to be able to document a student‘s progress or lack of. Ron Edmonds put forth the belief and is quoted in 1979 as saying ? It seems to me, therefore, that what is left of this discussion are three declarative statements: (a) We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us; (b) We already know more than we need to do that; and (c) Whether or not we do it must finally depend on how we feel bout the fact that we haven‘t so far.? (p. 22) Ron Edmonds believed that all students can learn. He based his life‘s work on learning trying to determine why in some schools all children were learning and in other schools, the same level of learning was not happening. There have always been pockets of schools ? where learning occurred? and other similar schools where students were not learning as identifie d by state criteria. Yet, defining learning is still an area that is often unclear for teachers, parents, and the larger community they serve. When education faculty members are asked to define learning, they are seen to smile and write an answer that is a collection of vague terms or words. By vague, the researchers are defining it as being unmeasurable or something that can not be documented without a judgmental reply on the part of the person attempting to define learning; it is abstract. So what is learning? Learning is defined in about as many ways as the number of people you ask. The dictionary thesaurus states that learning is knowledge, education, erudition, scholarship, understanding, research, study, teaching, instruction, edification and wisdom. The definition in the dictionary defines learning as acquiring of knowledge, acquired knowledge and change of knowledge. The term ? learning? seems to float around teacher meetings, in-service and professional development training, the teachers lounge, parent-teacher conferences, university faculty meetings and even in 728 the classroom with the students. The term learning seems to be used in many cases to indicate a mastery of a concept, yet if a ? number of‘ or ? mount of‘ learning (a quantitative amount) had to be documented for any student, that amount would be a human guess, which maybe altered by the State to reach identified targets for learning for that year, that testing cycle. Learning in this context is not or has not been measured, when the targets for learning continue to move up and down based upon the scores of the students on the test. We are all familiar with movement of the learning—in the University classroom it is called a curve. The moving targ et that maybe unidentified leads to a vagueness or lack of clarity if we want to know ? ow much? or ? what? did the student learn? Learning by necessity in conversations about curriculum is generally connected to assessment in order to determine if learning has occurred. This ? learning? becomes critical for the classroom teacher. W. James Popham says, ? †¦That formative assessment process must be based, not on a whim, but on evidence of the students current level of mastery with respect to certain skills and bodies of knowledge? p. 7. This being the case, then the role of determining learning becomes the responsibility of the classroom teacher. When observing in classrooms, today, many of us have witnessed students being given a passing grade because they were compliant teacher pleasers, or a terrific problem that the teacher did not want to deal with again, they passed on to the next level of learning without understanding the ? learning?. Assessment did not occur and if it did, it was ignored. These children who have not learned and who have been passed from grade to grade experience the frustration and failure that accompanies, never learning. During a recent observation an eighth grade science class, the teacher stated to the observer that this ? as a difficult group of students.? The day before the classroom observation a fight had occurred with three boys in the class and another teacher had to come into the science teacher‘s class to intervene 729 and stop the fight. The planned lab for the observation day was excellent, even though students were threatened, ? if you don‘t behave you will not get to go ou tside for the lab. It is a really good lab and it will be fun. You are going to miss the lab if you don‘t finish the lab sheet. You are going to keep everyone from getting to do the lab; it is fun. You are going to get beads.? Finally, with help and coaxing all of the students finished the pre-lab form. Then students were given string and colored beads to put around their wrists, to go outside and see what happened to the beads in the sun. It was exciting for the Junior High students to watch as the beads as they changed colors. Then it was time to complete the lab sheets. The teacher relished the curiosity of the students as they asked questions about the process of the color transformation and she skillfully guided their responses. Now the students had to write up the lab report. One African American student walked around with his head down looking for beads. Other students, also African American and Hispanic, never attempted to complete the form. The observer offered to help, finally going over to one black child sitting on the ground with his head between his legs. The observer asked, ? can I help you finish the form the student had not started to write. The black child responded that, ? He did not want to.? It became ever so painfully obvious that a number of the students in this predominately low-income classroom could not write and were reading at an elementary level. Had science learning occurred for the students who were actively involved in the lab with the changing colors of beads when exposed to sunlight? Learning was not evidence for the classroom teacher, since the lab forms were not completed. Yet, for the school by state standards, reading is rated at an acceptable level of performance for the majority of the students tested. Given the significance of high stakes testing that effects children and teacher‘s lives, it is no longer acceptable to say learning has occurred, when one child has been left behind. Learning must be measurable and real. It must last. Today educators need to be able to document a student‘s 730 progress or lack there of and the interventions for learning are essential. Yet, is high stakes testing the answer for the dilemma of ? learning.? It is very difficult to pass a high stakes test, and to learn if a child can not read, yet they must also be able to demonstrated learning in science, math, and social studies. High stakes tests provide a framework for accountability. High stakes tests may serve to distribute teaching fairly and equitably for all students. Funding for schools is connected to learning or the lack thereof, but much more is learned in schools than can be measured on one test, on any given day of the week. The measurement for learning and of learning is critical to the life of the child. For the purposes of this work an attempt was made to determine a definition for learning based upon the understanding of Teacher-candidates (pre-service students) and graduate students in the School of Education and Human Development in a regional institution that serves a predominately low income, rural, minority population. Additionally, this institution serves a large metropolitan area, which has a population that is diverse financially, ethnically, and culturally. Research Study This research study began as university faculty reviewed lesson plan assignments of teacher candidates. It was found that an acceptable assessment/evaluation of the skill being addressed was missing in approximately 90% of the plans submitted. This seemed to be very odd that the students would just omitted one of the components of the lesson plans which they were developing even though it was listed in the assignment directions. In the directions, it was stated that all lesson plans must contain a title, objective/s, supplies, procedure and assessment/evaluation which matches the objective/s. It was noted that most of the lessons which were missing components cited an online source for his/her lesson. In her work, Patton (2009) found that many of the lesson plans on the Internet were not quality. Using the very basic components, she found that less than 10% were 731 complete. There was not any judgment used as to the quality of the component as at this point it was a simple response of yes if the was there and no if it was not. The study evaluated approximately 200 lesson plans which were retrieved from the Internet. These lesson plans were just picked randomly after a Google search was done to locate the various sites. Only one lesson plan was printed from each site to be included in the study. Further while in consultation with a graduate faculty member who also teaches ? learning? for teachers becoming principals, it was determined that several class sessions were being spent on ? learning.? What is learning and when has learning occurred? Again, the responses were vague, non-specific and general, without the extended focus and discussion on learning, there was no real determination of ? learning? by prospective principal students. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine what undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Education and Human Development consider to be ? learning.? That is: The researchers for this project were attempting to determine how others describe and interpret learning. Methodology The subjects of the study were 104 teacher candidates and graduate students preparing for the principalship. There were 51 teacher candidates and 54 graduate students. These students were surveyed to determine how or what they perceive as learning. The teacher candidates are in the last semester of coursework before doing student teaching. These Teacher candidates have been busy preparing lesson plans and were asked as a part of a multiple phased assignment to give their personal meaning of learning. In an additional, second assignment, they were asked to write a paper on learning and to state how they could document a student‘s progress. Definition Learning 732 will be addressed in this paper with the primary question being ? Does a new mental model need to be developed for the Teacher candidates The future principals were given the same assignments; we must remember that these graduate students are in the classrooms, thus preparing lesson plans on a daily basis. The process was equally important to these future Teacher Leaders, as they help others at the campus find their meaning of learning. The ethnicity of the students in this study is very diverse. Approximately 50% of the student body is majority and the other 50% are minorities including about 4% international students. Instruments: Survey A: quick 3-4 minute response to the question ? hat is learning Rubric: researcher designed. See figure 1 below. Levels of Learning Level 5 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Gained information, able to apply and then have that information which was gained measured in some way Gained information, complex definition and the person is able to apply what was gained. A detailed definition however is just banking the info rmation and is not able to apply the gained knowledge Is able to give an answer however, is not able to do more than bank the information. Lowest of levels. Only repeat the word, learning; does not give an answer or defines learning with learning. This one is almost lower than the knowledge level on Bloom’s taxonomy. Figure 1 Researcher –designed Rubric of the levels of learning Several weeks prior to the survey being distributed, the researchers developed a hierarchical, five-tier ranking system to evaluate the surveys. Bloom‘s taxonomy served as a model 733 of hierarchical ranking to evaluate the surveys. Charles Randall‘s work with problem solving was also an influence. Responses to the surveys were scored using the rubric to measure levels of thinking. The grading rubric was a 1-5 Lickert scale. Level 1) The lowest of levels. The student only repeated the word, learning; does not give an answer or defined learning with the word learning. Level 2) The student is able to give an answer however, it not able to do more than bank the information. Level 3) The student is able to give a detailed definition, however, but is not able to apply the gained knowledge. Level 4) The student gained information, provided a complex definition and is able to apply what was gained. and Level 5) The students gained the information was able to apply and then have that information which was gained measured or evaluated in some way. The participants in the survey were asked to write their definition of learning. They were given about 3 minutes to do so. They were told well in advance that the task was not a graded exercise as to the quality. It was either a full credit if you participated or no-credit if you did not. It was hoped that this would relieve some anxiety and allow the participants to elaborate on the task. Graduate students breathed deeply and hesitated to respond to the quarry. The responses which only had a few words and repeated the word ? learn‘ or used the word ? earn‘ to complete the definition were rated a one (1). A rating of a two (2) was reserved for definitions which were of very low level and seemed to believe that the human mind was a bank for the information and was not be used. It was to be stored or banked. This banking was more like a safe deposit box where the info was safe but did not gain any interest or in this case no new information could be added. The ranking of a three (3) was given for a more detailed definition and possibly even added a little information but it was still kept in the safety of the bank. For a four (4) the response illustrated that the person gained the information and was able to apply and 734 use it in a constructive manner. The highest tier on the hierarchical chart was a five (5). In this highest ranking the students illustrated gained information, which he/she was able to apply and then have that application measured or evaluated in some manner. After the surveys were completed the responses were first coded into two categories. The first being very simply responses and in the other the responses were more complex. Next the responses were evaluated using a researcher-designed rubric which was modeled from the very low knowledge level response to the highest level which utilized a judgment and evaluation in the explanation. The two researchers rated the surveys individually and then met and re-evaluated each. The ratings of the two researchers were very close. When there was an evaluation not in agreement, the two discussed and came to a consensus. Using the criteria there was 90% agreement thus, establishing inter-rater reliability. Results/Findings: For the purpose of the findings to the question ? What is learning , only one student, a teacher candidate, 1 of 51 responded at the lowest level. None of the graduate student responses were evaluated as a level one response, meaning they only repeated the word learning and did not give an evaluation or an answer to define learning. Fourteen of 51, (27%) teacher candidates responses, were at level two, as did 11 of 53, (21%) of graduate students. By a level two response, they were considered to have given an answer to what is learning, but they did not apply or evaluate learning as apart of the response. Twenty-three of 51 teacher candidates (45%) of the responses were a level Three. A detailed definition was provided, but there was no application indicated in the response. While 20 of 53 graduate students (38%) responses were rated as a level three. 735 Thirteen of 51, (26%) teacher candidates‘ responses were a level four. They gained the information and provided a complex definition which included application. Seventeen of 53, (32%) teacher candidates‘ responses were rated as level four. While 5 of 53 graduate students (9%) had a level 5 response. There were no level 5 responses from the teacher candidates. Level 5 is the highest of levels and most difficult to achieve. To be rated a level 5 response the answer to ? What is learning , encompassed the lower levels of knowledge, application, and added the element of evaluation, the responder could document the ? learning? results. See Table 1 below for these findings. Teacher Graduate Candidates Students Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 0 13 23 14 1 5 17 20 11 0 Table 1 Number of responses at each level Figure 2 represents a graph comparing the teacher candidates and graduate students at each level of the rubric. See the Figure below. 736 25 20 15 Teacher Candidates Graduate Students 10 5 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Figure 2 A comparison of teacher candidates and graduate students at each level Implications Do we as educators need to change the language of the education community? The answer is a definite yes if we are going to document a number which can and does open and close doors for students? Students are allowed in programs where they really do not have the background knowledge or even need in those particular programs. By the same token, students are refused entrance into programs as they did not empress certain adults who are making the call, yet if given a measurable instrument, these students prove to be very proficient in the topic. Further, as Educators we need to define, ? what is learning so that teachers and principals can focus upon the importance of the learning in the classroom. A new term needs to be coined that can describe to the world of education and to the larger community, what is implied when it is said that, one has learned. Did they master the concept, will they remember the learning six months or five years from now? Or, did the student only learn to pass a test and then forget the information to go on to a new ? learning. ‘ The new term needs to be 737 one that is measurable, can be documented, described and explained, have a common meaning so that everyone, including all ethnic groups, will have a fair chance when it is used. If learning is a process rather than a test as suggested by Popham, then clarity is required when the use of the term is applied. Curricular aims need to be determined. Sub-skills leading to learning should be identified and our own beliefs about learning must be clear. (Popham, 2008, Lambert, 2002, Schlecty, 2002). Teacher‘s cognitive development when explored by Ammon (1984) in a study of a two-year teacher education program with an emphasis on teaching teachers about child development (Piagetian theory) found that teachers as they studied Piagetian and related developmental theory, their personal conceptions of students, learning, and teaching changed. The participating teachers progressed from simplistic to more complex, interactive explanations of student‘s behaviors, development, and learning. These teachers moved from ? showing and telling,? to designing a learning environment that fostered the construction of knowledge for learning. The teachers‘ views on learning shifted from passive receptions to active construction of learning. A young teacher is described by C. Yarema as she moves conceptually into understanding a mathematical concept that she herself had never grasp, until reflecting with her learning community (Yarema, Smith, and Hutto under-review). The teacher learning example is a problem for the 5th -6th grade research lesson in mathematics which was stated as follows: ? A new season of sports has started and programs are being designed for printing. Certain companies purchased spaces on your 8? nch by 11 inch rectangular advertisement page to be seen in the next program. Given the ad pieces, your group must design an advertisement page for the program. You will notice that ads are in three categories: entertainment, apparel and food. What fraction of the page is covered by entertainment ads A teacher volunteered with the rest of her group observing and gathering data on student learning. The pri ncipal, an education faculty member, evaluator of the project, university mathematics faculty, and teachers in the 7th-8th grade group were invited to join the 5th– 6th grade group in this phase of their lesson study. 38 Students were introduced to advertising by perusing sports programs, then the teacher posed the problem and gave each group of students materials for designing an ad page using 8 separate ads with different areas. Out of the 8 ad pieces, three fell into the category of entertainment. After some difficulty with designing an ad page, all groups stated the answer to the problem as 3/8. Although this answer was anticipated by the teacher‘s lesson study group, she became disturbed that all students ? got the wrong answer.? Instead of following the suggested interventions recorded in the group‘s Plan to Guide Learning, apart of the Lesson Study Process, the teacher chose to focus students‘ attention on her. From the front of the room, she then directed students through a paper folding exercise, folding the advertisement page into halves, fourths, and eighths. At that point, she asked students to place the 3 entertainment ads on the page. Following this set of instructions, students saw that 3/8 of the page was not covered, and some changed their answer accordingly to (3? )/8. Although this answer is technically correct, the teacher did not see this as a possible answer and instructed students to fold the paper again into sixteenths, thus leading all students through the same solution process to the answer 7/16. During the post lesson discussion with the observers, the teacher learning was identified; the teacher spoke first. She elaborated on the decision made as an individual teacher. Then the group moderator called on various people to ask the Teacher questions. A teacher colleague asked her how she thought her students would have responded if she had focused them on the whole to the fraction in the problem. The Teacher referred back to a mathematics lesson in a summer professional development that she had attended, and she state, ? that she never thought in terms of the whole to the faction.? Then the Teacher‘s principal complimented her on introducing the paper folding exercise and asked her the reason she chose to continue folding the paper to sixteenths. The Teacher admitted that she did not know what to do when all the students answered 3/8 and that her 739 pedagogical choice of folding the paper into sixteenths took away the opportunity for students to engage in problem solving as it led them all to the same answer of 7/16. She also stated that she did not know if they understood this answer. Next, the outreach mathematician asked her why she redirected students away from the answer [(3? ) / 8] of the page being covered by entertainment ads. The teacher was unable to respond as other teachers from her school commented about the need to hear students‘ explanations so the group could learn more about what students were thinking. During this discussion, another teacher commented that she finally understood why [(3? ) /8] of the page is a correct answer. The teacher then reiterated what she had learned from the debriefing? The question evolves again, when has learning occur? Is it incremental, in stages as concepts develop both for students and teachers? Students are held to a different level of accountability for learning. Yet, with the learning, can they move to application and evaluation of the learning? Benjamin Bloom understands the responsibility of the teacher in the classroom for student learning. He states that students, maybe different in the rate that they learn, but not their potential for learning. (Bloom, 1981). Other factors can be identified that effect and influence learning. One of the primary factors effecting student learning is the effectiveness of the teacher, (Podesta, 2000). Studies have shown that students with teachers who are highly effective out perform other students on standardized tests. The expert teacher work can be very different from that of the novice teacher. The implications for the learning of the student are significant. Learning is required. While there are graduations in teacher content knowledge and pedagogy, there still should remain a sense in all teachers in every classroom, what is learning for that day, for that subject, if students are expected to learn. John D. Bransford and Nancy J. Vye (1989) cite the variations in knowledge from ? know that,‘ something is true to ? knowing how‘ to think, learn, and solve problems.? p. 193. The stakeholders of today‘s 740 educational society demand to see documented evidence that the students are learning and mastering the required content. Each school, public and private, answers to a higher entity who in turn reports to the State and ultimately the Federal government the level of learning of the students. Reports i. e. , STEM, etc keep the progress or lack of learning in the public eye. The effectiveness of the schools is closely monitored. The level of learning of the students is monitored by the government, business, parents, and tax payers as they determine whether or not families will choose to move to a town, a neighborhood, or a state. Internationally the educational level of each and every country is compared daily to determine the intellectual capacity of the citizenry. Conclusions If, as a country, we are using high stakes testing to determine if students are learning, then the teacher should be able to state the learning goal and know the scaffolding steps that would lead to the learning goal. What is learning, when did it happen, or if the student did not learn, then what action did the teacher take to re-teach, re-mediate so that the student did learn. Are there learning progressions-scaffolds and have they been identified, in order for the student to learn the larger concept of the lesson. Deep and important discussion should be a part of the teacher education curriculum that include what is learning, when did learning occur, did the information pass the attention threshold for the student, is it stored in long term memory. How do we encourage student‘s to learn? As the Nation moves to National Standards for learning, then translating learning goals into real learning and mastery of concepts become crucial for teacher effectiveness in the classroom (Bulter and McMunn, 2006). Each teacher must be able to identify the timeline for that individual student learning has taken place and for her/him and what is learning for that individual lesson, concept, unit, or area of study. While it is impossible to know everything in 741 today‘s society, it is critical that educators understand learning, in order to assure that all students do learn. Jennifer B. Chauvot, in her article ? Grounding practice in scholarship, grounding scholarship in practice: Knowledge of a mathematics teacher educator-researcher,? speaks to the importance of teacher training, citing that there is limited research focused upon what teacher educators need to know and how they develop that knowledge. There tends to be an assumption that a good teacher will be a good teacher educator, but in reality little attention has been given to the support of teacher educators. The state of Texas is currently involved in attempting to augment teacher training of teacher educators as end of course assessments are requiring a higher level of teaching at the university so that teacher candidates will be prepared to teach the curriculum in the public schools. Bridging the gaps of current teaching and elevating the practice for teacher education has become a focus of the statewide initiative. The curriculum becomes the knowledge to be learned by the student and taught by the teacher. With State and National curriculum standards serving to focus education, teaching and learning, then a clear expectation of ? earning? is necessary for both the teacher and the learner. Implications for colleges and universities as they change their instruction to assure that the teacher candidates become avid classroom teacher. These teacher candidates will progress from the university classroom to the being the confident and secure classroom teacher. Connecting teacher learning wi th student learning is the theme of the ten key principles of professional development as outlined by Timperly (2008), whereby experts work with teachers to assist them as expert teachers who teach others content and skills of pedagogy. Focusing upon student learning whether in the k-12 classroom or the university setting becomes a priority, if all students are going to ? learn.? Additionally, the professional development of teachers to extend and 742 scaffold content knowledge become an important role of school districts and universities as they reach out and build learning communities. Newmann and Wehlage (1995) noted that ? Schools with strong professional communities were better able to offer authentic pedagogy and were more effective in promoting student learning.? p. 3. The next area for research will be for the students to identify their learning goal for their students and then determine, if learning has occurred. 743 References: Ammon, P. (1984). Human development, teaching and teacher education. The Teacher Education Quarterly, 11 (4), 95-108. Bloom, B. (1981). All Our Children are Learning: A Primer for Parent‘s, Teachers, and other Educators. NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Bransford, J. D. ; Vye, N. 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Working on the Work. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco, CA. 744 Timperly, H. (2008). ?Teacher Professional Learning and Development.? Educational Practices Series. Yarema. C. , Smith, P. , Hutto, N. , (under-review, 2010). ?A Community of Practice: Productive Professional development of Mathematics Teaches through Lesson Study.? 745 Copyright of NAAAS & Affiliates Conference Monographs is the property of National Association of African American Studies & Affiliates and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.