The Market for Online Education

Introduction Traditional education is designed around face-to-face communication in a physical classroom. Educational institutions are required to pay for costly inputs, the costs of which are spread out over a limited number of students. It is no surprise then that this education delivery model has produced a 550% increase in the cost of tuition at U.S. universities since 1985 (Vella, 2012). In addition to this, most universities are run by non-profit trusts or governments, where there is little pressure to innovate and fully utilize the physical and intellectual resources of the institution. With this backdrop, online courses are offering low-cost learning alternatives, which are customized for needs of customers, and are available without regard to space and time for different groups of customers worldwide. Over time, attitudes of students and employers towards online education are also improving. Finally, new private companies are coming up to offer customized solutions often backed by cloud computing platforms, though they still lack the brand recognition of traditional universities. This paper will examine the limitations of traditional educational methods and explore sources of demand and supply of online education with a view towards how innovative business models such as crowdsourcing and technology infrastructures such as cloud computing are creating change in online education (Weld et al., 2012). Evolution of Online Education Traditional education delivery in thousands of universities globally is designed around transfer of knowledge from teachers to students via face-to-face, lecture based interaction in physical classrooms. At the outset, this imposes the limit of physical capacity of the classroom on the number of individuals who can enrol in the class. In comparison, recent advances in information and communication technologies have enabled alternative online education delivery mechanisms, which can optimize educational delivery in a cost-efficient manner for a large number of users. Online education can be defined as a new social process which utilizes digital technology to partially or fully substitute traditional classroom learning methods, optimized for learners without the barriers of a traditional educational setup (Hiltz & Turoff, 2006). Allen and Seaman (2013) define online education to include courses where at least 80% of the course content is delivered online. These courses are delivered ov er the Internet and include significant use of digital media, data storage and communication technologies such as computer-assisted instruction, group communications, use of immersive simulations, gaming and asynchronous learning networks, collaborative knowledge systems and use of wireless and handheld devices. Online education offers different sets of opportunities to different organisations and individuals. For existing educational institutions, it offers a way to increase enrolment or reach a different type of audience such as corporate training. For start-ups looking to shake up the education ‘industry’, it offers the opportunity to compete with traditional universities on different bases of competition, such as price, program duration or class timing. For others, it offers the opportunity for lifelong learning or the opportunity to learn from professors of top universities. Surveys show that the number of students taking online learning courses is on the rise. Allen and Seaman (2013) report that the total number of students in the U.S. taking at least 1 online course during 2012 has increased to 6.7 million, representing 32% of the total student population of 21 million students. In an endorsement of the online learning platform, 77% of academic leaders believe that online learning leads to better learning outcomes than face-to-face instruction. On the major obstacles that are holding back the growth of online education, the authors believe that most faculty members still do not have a positive view about online learning. 40% believe employers have reservations about online degrees. Product Offerings Online education is influencing different tiers of the market in different ways. Firstly, in traditional universities, more and more fully online classes are being developed, and technology is finding its way into more traditional classes as well. Many universities now offer online only classes for their students. In addition, universities such as Georgia Tech are creating tailor made degrees for corporations such as AT&T. This setup benefits the university which gets an extra revenue stream and also AT&T which gets high-end skills training for its employees on the job (Kitroeff, 2014). In addition, some new, non-traditional universities have also been set up. These online universities, such as the University of Phoenix, replicate the existing university model but without a physical campus, utilizing online content delivery. A different model has also been developed by some traditional universities such as MIT and Stanford. In partnership with private start-up companies such as Coursera and EdX, these institutions are putting together free classes open to global masses known as massive open online courses (MOOC). These courses are available to all the students in the world who have Internet access and some of these classes boast registrations in hundreds of thousands. Currently, nearly 3% of institutions of higher education in the US are offering MOOCs while another 10% are in the planning process of offering MOOCs (Allen & Seaman, 2013). Coursera is also expanding into China with its more than 1 million online learners (Larson, 2014). However, it is not clear how MOOC offerings will be financed (Anderson, 2012). The author points out that giving away content for free usually never turns out to be good business model. Suggestions for revenue generation include subscription and charging employers who want to hire successful students. Another issue is how to ascertain the identity and actual completion of work by a given individual. Udacity, another start-up has devised a solution by offering physical testing facilities in different countries where students can take certification exams in a supervised environment. While they are becoming increasingly popular, MOOCs offer limited customization. In comparison, some start-up education companies are exploring the idea of customized learning enabled by ‘crowdsourcing’. Crowdsourcing is a term which defines the development of an online community whose physically dispersed members may be called upon to provide results online to a given problem. One limitation of MOOCs is that grading assignments of hundreds of thousands of students requires using automated software, which can only grade multiple choice problems. This solution does not work very well in the humanities and social sciences. A crowdsourcing-based solution is to use peer evaluation for this purpose. These learning environments also deploy other technology enabled learning techniques such as using software to analyse common mistakes made by large groups with the highest frequency. Significant insights can be gained into human learning from observing such errors and analyzing their causes. Other automated software agents can crawl the web for useful resources pertaining to the course and collect it on a new website. Additional functionalities that can be offered by machine learning systems include services that link students with particular needs with tutors with skills suitable for teaching those subjects. Role of technology in the online education ecosystem Central to this paradigm shift in education is the Internet and technology revolution. A key enabling innovation in this regard is the development of a low-cost services model known as cloud computing. Cloud computing is an umbrella terms which describes how computers, servers, and applications and processes on those servers can be networked together in a distributed computing platform to create scalable infrastructure which enables users to connect from anywhere and using any device. Cloud computing may be considered an extension of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), which is a software design which makes it easy for computers on a network to cooperate. An institution or group of institutions that gets together to develop a cloud computing based platform needs to develop content and services that can reside inside the cloud since not all applications are cloud enabled (Mircea & Andreescu, 2011). Cloud computing is a way of designing a network in blocks, not all of which need to be owned or operated by one university. Instead some components of infrastructure, or the platform or the software or even the computing power itself may be owned and managed by service providers who allow the university to pay for them on an ongoing, pay-per-use basis (Matthew, 2012). Cloud enabled service delivery enables access to educational content by anyone, anywhere on a pay-per-use basis, thus enabling deployment of scalable educational services. If a substantial number of users exist, the cost per user and thus the fee charged to the user can be lowered substantially compared to traditional educational institutions (Moore, 2011). This can have several other advantages for institutions as well. For example, institutions can combine resources with others to share a cloud, and then focus on content creation to focus on their strength and outsourcing the IT services to a large degree. The new business models will begin with market need identification, and then deploying a solution to meet that need, offering a high return on investment (ROI). A major university offering a global MOOC would need a very different platform than a commercial service offering English as Second Language in China and cloud computing would allow each to have the right cost and infrastructure for the size of the opportunity. A lot of effort is going into the development of each of the elements of online education. These include digital books, grading software, intelligent software agents, cloud computing infrastructure and tablets. Amazon is also selling more digital books than paper books and it is now even possible for students taking online classes to rent their textbooks for limited time (Schuetze, 2011). Through its success, online education seems to be substituting traditional education (Mehaffy, 2012). This phenomenon has been labelled by Christensen & Eyring (2011) as the process of ‘disruption’. ‘Disruptive technologies’ are championed by new companies which do not compete with the incumbents along the existing bases of competition, but offer new and often low-cost product to a previously underserved group of consumers. Once successful in their niches, they increase volume, improve product quality and unseat incumbents in the high end of the market. Alternatively, disruption forces incumbents to change their business models. One of the reasons the education market seems ripe for disruption is the high cost of university education which makes the high-end of the market out of reach for many students. Some of the new business models in online education offer lower cost alternatives for those average students. In response, several mainstream universities are already considering lowering the residency requirement of their degrees to lower the total cost of earning them, while considering how to improve their online courses. While it may be too early to predict how successful they will be, for now the online education market seems set to grow globally. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that online education is a powerful business model because it can service large underserved segments of the education market at low average cost (Gaytan, 2007). It is a solution for those who could previously not afford the high cost of education or may only need to develop certain job related skills or they may be lifelong learners. Deployment of digital content and software over a cloud enabled distributed computing network is the first step towards infrastructure development required for online learning platforms. More high-quality content is required together with ingenious business models to take online education to the next level of success. Recommendations While they do not face any immediate threats, existing educational institutions will need to adapt their business models in order to not become obsolete. At a minimum, they should consider ways of reducing their cost without diluting the experience. Traditional universities have a strong competitive advantage – they offer a period of residence in an academic community. This is difficult to replicate for online institutions. Online universities should consider partnerships for revenue and content sharing with traditional institutions in order to build their brands quicker. Without brand acceptance, they will never be able to compete with traditional universities. Start-ups should focus on helping develop those innovations that increase the return on investment in new business models for educational service providers to encourage innovation and investment in technology supporting online education. Bibliography Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. 2013. Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. Sloan Consortium. PO Box 1238, Newburyport, MA 01950. Anderson, N. 2012. Elite education for the masses. The Washington Post, 4. Christensen, C. M., & Eyring, H. J. 2011. The innovative university: Changing the DNA of higher education from the inside out. John Wiley & Sons. Conn, S. S., & Reichgelt, H. 2012. Cloud Computing in Support of Applied Learning: A Baseline Study of Infrastructure Design at Southern Polytechnic State University. In Proceedings of the Information Systems Educators Conference ISSN (Vol. 2167, p. 1435). Gaytan, J. 2007. Visions shaping the future of online education: Understanding its historical evolution, implications, and assumptions. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 10(2). Hiltz, S. R., & Turoff, M. 2005. Education goes digital: The evolution of online learning and the revolution in higher education. Communications of the ACM,48(10), 59-64. Larson, C. 2014. Coursera’s plan for online education: Expansion in China. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 28 October, 2014 from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-27/coursera-ceo-richard-levin-plans-to-expand-the-company-in-china. Kitroeff, N. 2014. Why AT&T is investing in virtual school. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 28 October, 2014 from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-24/at-and-t-and-former-google-vp-back-georgia-tech-online-degree-program. Mathew, S. 2012. Implementation of Cloud Computing in Education – A Revolution. International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 4(3), 473 – 475. Mehaffy, G. L. 2012. Challenge and change. Educause Review, 47(5), 25-42. Mircea, M., & Andreescu, A. I. 2011. Using cloud computing in higher education: A strategy to improve agility in the current financial crisis. Communications of the IBIMA, 2011, 1-15. Moore, J. C. 2012. A Synthesis of Sloan-C Effective Practices, December 2011. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(1), 91-115. Schuetze, C. F. 2011. Textbooks finally take a big leap to digital. The New York Times. Vella, M. (2012). Is higher education doomedFortune. Retrieved on October 28, 2014 from http://fortune.com/2012/07/18/is-higher-education-doomed/. Yuan, L., Powell, S., & CETIS, J. 2013. MOOCs and open education: Implications for higher education. Cetis White Paper. Weld, D. S., Adar, E., Chilton, L., Hoffmann, R., Horvitz, E., Koch, M., & Mausam, M. 2012. Personalized online education—a crowdsourcing challenge. In Workshops at the Twenty-Sixth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence.

How can leaders motivate staff in order to improve efficiency and job satisfaction Essay

In this essay I shall define – motivate, job satisfaction, productivity and leaders. I shall then give a brief history of motivational theories and then discuss McClelland’s Motivational Needs Theory; to explain some methods of how staff can be motivated by analysing the 3 main factors in his theory and explain how these factors can motivate staff and to see if motivation does lead to improved productivity, I shall then analyse this theory and thoughts of other theorists to see if motivation also leads to job satisfaction and conclude the results of my research. Motivate – The Oxford University Press (2014) states motivate is to â€Å"provide (someone) with a reason for doing something: he was primarily motivated by the desire for profit† 2014, 2014, February 26th, Oxford University Press, http://www. oxforddictionaries. com/definition/english/motivate? q=motivate What is Job Satisfaction? Job Satisfaction is when a person/employee is happy or content in their job. What is Productivity? Productivity is a term used to describe a state, quality or fact of being able to generate, create or improve goods and services. For example at the Chocolate Factory the Work Productivity was increased and 10% more chocolate bars were produced than last year. Or the Council’s Productivity increased after a restructure and they managed to provide more services to customers. What is a Leader? A Leader is someone who leads other people; this could be a manager, director, team leader, politician or anyone who leads people, usually staff or one or more people. Motivational Theories There have been many management theorists throughout the years from 1908 (Henry Ford) to 1990 (Dr Stephen Covey) and other theorists/theories onwards from 1990. David McClelland’s Motivational Needs Theory in 1961 identified that there were 3 types of needs for motivation: †¢The Need for Achievement (Goals, Deadlines etc. ) McClelland believed that the Need for Achievement would motivate staff; for example leaders setting goals, targets or deadlines for staff to achieve can motivate their staff to meet these deadlines (or goals) therefore enabling leaders to increase productivity and performance of staff by setting, planning and/or varying these deadlines, goals or targets. Without any goals or deadlines there is no need for the staff to achieve a certain amount of productivity such as producing/finishing a specific amount of work. Therefore I agree with McClelland that there is a motivational need for achievement to motivate staff and this can lead to improved productivity and performance. Many large companies such as Halfolds and MacDonald’s believe that Achievement motivates staff and they have reward systems in place to motivate their staff. By achieving a good performance or a certain level of productivity they can earn rewards, if a worker meets the requirements they may get praise or a reward from their leader there also may be an incentive for the staff member to achieve their/these targets of which motivates them to work harder therefore increasing productivity by McClelland’s motivational need for Achievement. But also when a staff member meets their work goals, targets or deadlines this may improve job satisfaction as they would know they have done well and their standard of work is sufficient to meet their goals even if there is no incentive, but an incentive for the staff to meet goals can help motivate staff further to meet their goals. †¢The Need for Power (Authority) Staff having authority or power McClelland believed would motivate staff, I believe this is because it gives the staff member a sense of importance by having authority and by would undertaking extra responsibilities that people with authority would usually undertake such as managing staff, it also enables them to motivate staff who they have authority over and therefore they can improve performance and productivity by successfully managing their staff as well as improving their job satisfaction, possibly by making changes. The Need for Affiliation (Good/Friendly Working Relationships/Being a part of a team, group, organisation etc. ) Affiliation/s in McClelland’s theory refers to staff being closely affiliated (or associated) which can refer to family, social, business or working relationships. This Affiliation is a state of being associated or affiliated, for example a staff member may be affiliated with a team or organisation and staff being in a team (therefore having affiliation with a team) McClelland believed staff may be more motivated by affiliation as they are associated with other staff who may most likely be working towards a similar outcome to themselves and as a part of a team they may wish to be or become a team player and motivate themselves and other team members. For instance I have affiliation with the University of West London Business Studies Course and as a student I am affiliated and effectively a part of a group of students, I am motivated to help other students as they wish to achieve the same outcome as me (a degree) and as I have affiliation with this group I am therefore self-motivated to achieve the same standard of work as my group or excel them and therefore I agree that there is a need for Affiliation and I believe this motivates me and my performance and productivity is improved as a direct result of Affiliation. McClelland believed that the majority of people have or show a combination of these 3 types of needs and some favour specific needs or a combination of these needs. Matching the correct needs to the person can strongly improve their work productivity, performance and behaviour but can increasing motivation therefore lead to an improvement in job satisfaction? McClelland does specify in his theory that motivation can improve performance and work productivity, but he does not specify that it can lead to improved job satisfaction but from analysing his theory above you can see that 2 Motivational needs factors in his theory (the need for authority and the need for achievement) can lead to improved job satisfaction, this is backed up by the fact that McClelland’s motivational theory shows that motivation can lead to improved performance of staff and there is a direct link between improved performance and improved job satisfaction. The 3rd factor â€Å"The Need for Affiliation† through personal experience at university and working as a part of team at various work places, I believe can also improve performance and job satisfaction). Naylor, Pritchard, & Ilgen; 1980; Vroom, 1964 state that; â€Å"expectancy-based theories of motivation generally stipulate that satisfaction follows from the rewards produced by performance. † Lawler and Porter (1967) who were â€Å"expectancy theorists themselves argued that performance would lead to job satisfaction through the provision of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. As these authors noted, briefly stated, good performance may lead to rewards, which in turn lead to satisfaction. † The Job Satisfaction-Job Performance Relationship: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review 2001, 376-379, American Psychological Association, Inc, 3 I can conclude that leaders can motivate there staff using motivational theories such as McClelland’s Motivational Needs Theory in order to improve productivity and job satisfaction. I have also came up with my own theory based on McClelland’s Motivational Needs theory and the work of Naylor, Pritchard, & Ilgen; 1980; Vroom, 1964, Lawler and Porter (1967). Josh Albright’s (2014) Motivational Flow Theory I agree with McClelland’s theory; which I have discovered to some extent also agrees with other theorists (such as Naylor, Pritchard, Ilgen, Vroom, Lawler and Porter) that motivation leads to improved performance (productivity) and job satisfaction, In order to increase job satisfaction and productivity you must increase motivation. The diagram I drew below shows that the more motivation is increased or â€Å"poured into staff† the more job satisfaction and productivity will thereby be increased.

Christmas Day Essay

Speak about one of the holidays celebrated in Great Britain/Moldova Every country and every nation has own traditions and customs. It’s very important to know traditions and customs of other countries. It helps to know more about the history and line of different nations. English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. As I know all English people celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December. It’s the season of good will. It’s the most beautiful time of the year – the time of love, joy and hopes. Is remarkable that children of Great Britain still believe in Father Christmas and write letters to him. Christmas Day is a family holiday. All the people look forward to it, expecting something special. The Christmas trees is the mark of British people. The trees are decorated with candies, cookies and bulbs and are taken down only twelve days after Christmas. After preparation of the Christmas fir-tree British start preparing a festive table. The table seems extremely tempting and is gorgeously decorated with fruits and candles. It is necessary that the Christmas pudding contained thirteen ingredients, of which, one is for Jesus and the rest for the twelve disciples. A silver coin is dropped in the pudding mix which is meant to bring prosperity and good luck to the family. Turkey, served with cranberry sauce, and potatoes are the centre of attraction of the entire feast. After a heavy meal, all members of the family watch the customary Christmas special speech by the British Monarch. In the evening, people pay visits to their relatives around Britain. Certain churches have services in which every child is given a candle wrapped in a red ribbon. These candles represent Jesus Christ and the red ribbons symbolize the blood of Jesus and the God’s love for the entire world.

Influenza A virus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Influenza A virus - Essay Example The envelope has two surface glycoproteins called neuraminidase and hemagglutinin, the latter gets attached to the host cell prior to viral penetration. Often the HA protein undergoes several antigenic changes, such genomic alterations lead to phenotypic changes thus challenging the development of vaccines against influenza virus. [A. Maher and A virulent influenza A virus in humans is responsible for the infection of the respiratory tract leading to necrosis of the epithelial tissues. The infection then extends to the bronchioles and alveoli resulting in interstitial pneumonia. A susceptibility to bacterial super infection is not uncommon. The infection slowly affects extra respiratory tissues leading to myocarditis, myositis, parotitis, encephalopathy and Reye-Jhonson syndrome. [T. Kuiken, G. F. Rimmelzwaan, G. Van Amerongen and A. D. M. E. Osterhaus] For most experimental studies concerned with animal models, mouse is widely used .The low cost combined with its small size permits researchers to conduct large scale studies. Mouse is also considered suitable as a mammalian model for the studies concerning pathogenesis and immunity of human H5N1 influenza virus mainly due to the fact that this virus replicates very effectively and efficiently in the lungs of mouse without any adaptation.

Analysis of the problem of Employees stress in the work place Essay

Analysis of the problem of Employees stress in the work place - Essay Example This paper briefly analyses the causes, effects and solutions for employee stress at workplace. According to Dale Collie (2004), the major reasons for employee stress at workplace are due to the lack of; control, communication, appreciation, feedbacks (good or bad), clarity in policies, clarity in career prospects etc. He also pointed out mistrust, unfairness, office politics, uncertainties, random interruptions, treadmill syndrome (a state of too much or too little to do) etc as the other major factors which can cause stress at workplace (Collie, 2004). Current organizations are functioning at a rapid pace and in most of the times; these organizations fail to communicate properly with the employees. Lack of communication may often results in the development of ambiguity among the employees about their responsibilities, career prospects, organizational policies etc. Sometimes the employees may have too much workload whereas some other times they may have less workload. Too much workload may result in fear of failures which may increase the stress. On the other hand, less workl oad may also develop stress because of the concerns of the security of the employment. Imtiaz and Ahmad (n. d) have mentioned that â€Å"higher level of stress existed with no managerial concern for solution consequently lowering the employee performance; staking organizational reputation and loss of skilled employees† (Imtiaz and Ahmad, n. d, p.1). It is difficult to avoid stress completely; but it is possible to reduce it. Too much employee stress is not good either to the employer or to the employee. The employee may loss his productivity because of too much stress. Moreover, too much stress can cause physical and psychological problems to the employees. Stress can increase the blood pressure which can lead to heart problems, stroke, paralyzing etc. It can also cause psychological problems like depression, anxiety,

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 26

Education - Essay Example The author uses the social class designation of schools to emphasize the point that education in America does not have a standard measure. There are those who are more advantaged than others. The same is reflected in the employment sector. The school that one went to determines their performance and, therefore, their chance of getting a well-paying job. Children from poor backgrounds end up performing poorly and do petty jobs latter in their life. The education system has helped to progress the social inequality in America where the rich get richer, and the poor continue passing on poverty across the generations. â€Å"In the middle-class school, work is getting the right answer. If one accumulates enough correct answers, one gets a good grade†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Colombo, Robert, & Bonnie 180). From this statement, it is clear that education in the United States does not focus on skills acquisition. Getting the right answer, regardless of how one gets it, is enough to give one a good grade. However, children are also taught to learn to explain things and think independently. Even after getting the right answer, one must be able to explain to the teacher how they arrived at the answer. This means that one cannot just copy the answer in order to pass examinations. The education system encourages students to get answers only from their books and their teachers. In other words, teachers are central pillars of the American education system to enhance its success. The American education system also focuses on the acquisition of language skills by the students. Children should â€Å"learn to speak properly, to write business letters and thank-you letters, and to understand what nouns and verbs†¦.† (Colombo, Robert, & Bonnie 182). The emphasis of language in the American education system is important in the public sector since communication skills are essential in the workplace. Language also enables the students to do well in other subjects since they are

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 32

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example In simple terms, the vision and mission of an organization outlines future targets and explicates where the organization wants to be in a specific timeframe. Therefore, analyzing the vision and mission would help identify factors hindering the achievement of projected targets, factors supporting or facilitating achievement of positive results, as well as gaps that would need further action. Doris, I concur with your discussion. in that communication, monitoring, and continued assessment are imperative factors in identification of obstacles and strong points. Ghazinoory, Abdi and Azadegan-Mehr (2011, p.24) define SWOT analysis as "A widely used tool for analyzing internal and external environments in order to attain a systematic approach and support for decision situations". The y further outline internal factors to include operations as they are factors that the organization has control over (Ghazinoory, Abdi and Azadegan-Mehr, 2011). In reference to your unmet need, monitoring patients falls through distance video monitoring is prove that the environment is being analyzed. When falls are identified and the cause identified, informing the management is important as they are the primary decision makers. By informing the management, action plans can be implemented to help reduce the falls. In this regard, I agree that continual communication with Directors of Resource Ma nagement and Professional Practice is essential in SWOT analysis. Hamidi, K., &Delbahari, V. (2011). Formulating a strategy for a university using SWOT technique: A case study. Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 5(12), 264– 276. Retrieved from

Autism - discusion Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Autism - discusion - Coursework Example 946). Over time, the new system may prove to be hard when used in diagnosing children and those are already on the spectrum of autism. It has been noted that there is the likelihood of one child to be diagnosed with several diagnosis when subjected for diagnosis by different clinicians. In the old system, disagreement has always been noted when labels are given to children who are within range of autism hence creating confusion to the child and the family members (Regier et al., p. 645). The new system of autism diagnosis will, therefore, do away with the labels that have not been useful over time. The new system has combined all the diagnosis into one single â€Å"autism spectrum disorder†. Some children who are already diagnosed with autism will still qualify for a diagnosis. Some will not and this will create confusion to the parents concerning their treatment since they will not have qualified to receive any. The question remains on how to treat this those who will not qualify for the new DSM-v be treated. Will they receive a different diagnosis that should improve their treatment or what will be the best step to

Nazi Leadership Pictured in the Black Book Term Paper

Nazi Leadership Pictured in the Black Book - Term Paper Example In the time of its release, it indeed was the most expensive Dutch film that ever existed as well as the most commercially successful film in the Netherlands. The film stands out more realistic depiction of some history. It has been used to offer the conventional wisdom that the Dutch and the resistance were the heroes while the Germans with the Dutch sympathizers were eventually the villains. Additionally, the film acts as a magnificent cross in the business and art. It has been such an entertaining film that appeals the audience from the professors down to the shop assistants which remains worthwhile for many years. During the final years of the World War II, a beautiful woman singer Rachel Stein finds refuge with the Tsjempkema family in the rural part of the Holland. She waits out the war just like any other Jew in Europe as a popular and a wealthy singer. Separated from the family with some moment away from being captured by the Gestapo, her temporary house is destroyed by the Allied bomber in fire by a German fighter where she is left in the arms of Michel Huisman-Rob a very sympathetic boy who promises Rachel’s safety in the period. The following morning Rob helps Rachel to her contact in the town helping that she will be assisted in finding her family to escape across in the liberated territory (Harris 123). On arrival at home, Mr. Smaal with the wife Diana Dobbleman who is a compassionate lawyer having worked secretly in helping the Jews to escape from Holland, reluctantly arranges that Rachel joins the family and crosses the enemy lines in the allied territory, marking her name i n a little leather notebook. In the period of the dangerous crossing, the German troops ambushed the boat whereby the Nazi kills the boat passengers ruthlessly but Rachel narrowly escapes jumping overboard in a river.

Identity Theft in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Identity Theft in America - Essay Example Simply it is all about â€Å"deterring, detecting and defending†. For example deterring efforts that a potential identity theft victim is asked to make include such things as placing a fraud alert in the credit report and going for a credit freeze. A credit alert can be either an initial one for just 60 days only or it can be an extended one. Deterring action might include even avoiding phishing scams. Websites which inveigle potential identity theft victims into phishing scams have to be avoided at all cost. Detecting is another effort that the potential victim would have to do in the process of transacting a deal. Successful detections are very far and few in between, despite ever increasing vigilance by federal and state anti-Identity Theft agencies. Implications of identity theft are diverse and complex. In the US such implications again assume a very risk-prone dimension after the 9/11 attacks. The US internal security environment has become so complex and the current efforts by federal and state law enforcement agencies to identify and prevent potential threats to national security are obviously on the rise. Recent measures at the both the levels include some seminal technologically advanced ones including those targeting identity thieves. Superior technologies are needed by law enforcement officials to deter and detect those identity thieves who increasingly adopt undetectable modus operandi to overwhelm and rob their would-be victims. The US law enforcement authorities have been baffled by the recent spate of crime involving identity theft and phishing scams. With an ever rising global tendency among consumers to shop online, a parallel but highly disturbing development has taken shape too, viz. a breed of thieves known as identity or cyber thieves. Indeed identity thieves is a general term applied to all those potential shady characters lurking in the internet or elsewhere with the

My Experience Essay Example for Free

My Experience Essay As I reflect upon my life I will describe facts and events believed to have contributed to the person I am today. I like how Merriam Webster’s online dictionary explains experience as something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through. I have encountered difficulties, circumstances, and triumphs that have helped me to grow as a person. I am pursuing a higher education as my future goal. In this paper, I will apply theories from Adult Development and Life Assessment in my explanation of challenges I have faced during childhood to adulthood. I was born in Chicago, one of six girls and the middle child of twelve. As early as I can remember we worked as a group. We played together and we worked in the garden that my parents made in our back yard. I hated the garden because every time I wanted to go play, I first had pick vegetables out of the garden. I didn’t understand at the time that my parents used the garden to help feed our large family. My dad always worked two jobs; his primary employment was with a company called Central Soya. When my father retired from there we moved to Alabama because the cost of living was cheaper. We didn’t have a lot of material things like clothes and shoes. My mother would buy tennis shoes from the grocery store and my brothers would be so embarrassed because their friends saw them trying on the shoes in the store. I can remember my dad making me a pair of pants for school; I thought they were the prettiest pair of pants I had ever seen. It was cheaper to make a pair of pants than to buy them. My parents cut corners any way they could. We may not have had material things but what we did have was love and lots of talent. Not real talent but talent that’s appreciated in a family. On rainy days mom and dad would have us put on a talent show. It was so much fun that we kept the tradition even until adulthood. On birthdays and holidays we would use our talents to entertain mom and dad. Birthdays were especially special because my dad would make me a birthday cake. He was a really good cook and everyone in the neighborhood wanted a piece of his cake. My sixteenth birthday marked a significant shift in my life. I became pregnant and it was one of the biggest mistakes that started a downward spiral in my life. I hung out with older girls that had children. They were into partying and so called having a good time. Our environment plays a huge role in how we develop, what pathways are open to us, and which are closed (Witt, G.A., Mossler, R. A. (2010). I feel like the environment that I chose to be in led to early exploration of drugs and alcohol. I could see myself going in the wrong direction with more terrible consequences if I didn’t make a change. I stopped hanging out and got my first job. It was on a military base in the mess hall. I met a soldier and we got married on our way to work one day when I was twenty one years old. We dated for four months then he went overseas for a year. We married a year later after he returned to the states. Being married was a challenge because he was abusive physically, verbally, and mentally. I had listened to his insults for so long that they became part of my own vocabulary. I began to think that maybe he was right, maybe if I could cook, clean, dress or talk better it would fix our problems. In our text Freud believed that the mind uses defense mechanism to protect itself from severe distress. In the beginning I rationalized everything he did, in rationalization: we look for an acceptable reason to justify our thinking or behavior (Witt Mossler 2010). I got involved in church and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. As a result I think a lot of the abusive behavior was able to continue because I simply forgave, thinking it was the Christian thing to do. According to Haan (1977), coping strategies involve choice and purposive behavior, are oriented toward reality, involve differentiated thinking that integrates conscious and preconscious aspects, and permit affective satisfaction in an open, ordered, and tempered way (Psychology and Aging 2000 ). It came to a point after seventeen years of abuse I couldn’t take it anymore. I had done all that I could physically to have a successful marriage but it wasn’t working out for me. I had to face the cruel reality that my marriage was over. Finally I filed for a divorce, which was one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life. Going through the divorce gave me a sense of freedom and strength that I had never experienced in my marriage. Getting a divorced was the best thing I could have done for myself. It started me on a journey to find out what I want out of life for myself. It marked a new beginning to a better, brighter future in my life. I was free to make my own decisions that impact my life. One of those decisions was returning to school for a degree. I really want to be an example to my daughter and her children that education is the key to success, and you are never too old to be successful in life. I must admit that I was very afraid of returning to school because I thought that I would not be successful. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to remember things or comprehend how to do the work. Some researchers contend that intellectual functioning is a process of irreversible decline. However, most scholars agree that intelligence either remains relatively stable through the adult years, with substantial intellectual changes occurring only very late in life, or that intelligence declines in some respects, remains stable in others, and may even increase in some functions, depending on a persons educational level, life experiences, and overall health (Intelligence and Aging 2007). I am now encouraged to pursue my education. I’m not too old, I plan to finish my courses and earn my degree. My goal is to apply for higher positions that require a degree. There will be many opportunities open to me once I earn my degree in my field of study. In conclusion, I have shared different experiences that have influenced my personal life. I have used theories from this class to support my experiences and I have shared my future plans to achieve my academic goals. Every lesson I complete moves me one step closer to my goal. References Intelligence and Aging (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyla/intelligence-and-aging Witt, G. A., Mossler, R.A., (2010). Adult Development Retrieved from http://content.ashford. edu /AUPYS202.10.1 Vief, G. L., Diehl, M., (2000) Cognitive complexity and cognitive-affective integration. Psychology and Aging. Vol.15 (3) US: American Psychological Association pp. 490 -504.doi:10.1037/0882-7974.15.3.490

Summary of Hbr Article Enemies of Trust Essay Example for Free

Summary of Hbr Article Enemies of Trust Essay Stressed situations in organizations such as merger, reorganization, or layoff are situations where people look for something that can provide partial answer to the question: â€Å"What does this mean for me?† * Snatches of remembered conversations. * Innocent statements can be assigned deep sinister meaning. – misinterpreted * Emails can be analyzed word by word Don’t speculate about the future. Treat employees like grown-ups (so:) * In case of layoff, share the performance data that makes reductions necessary. * Be extremely careful about making unequivocal statements such as * I have no hidden agenda * There won’t be any more layoffs * The time we’ve got it fixed * We will be stronger as a result * I have total faith in the senior management team * This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do It will come back to haunt you. All kinds of crisis like an episode of violence, accidents, and serious product flaws can have a profound impact on trust in the organization. Often the damage of the trust occurs not because of the incident itself but because of how it’s handled internally. Company leaders or crisis team members become so distracted by external pressures that they don’t address the crisis internally with attention. (dangerous, because employees feel unsafe during a crisis). * During crises it’s important to recover revenue, and moving the company out of the media spotlight. * But the employees can’t wait until the storm is over. The damage (of trust inside the company) may be beyond repair when you get to it. * Leadership is important (emloyees are under as much stress as the managers and need calm, visible leadership. When everyone worries, trust evaporates). * First lesson is to get yourself some help, a quick check in with an objective third party. (Or if you are directly affected by the crisis maybe you are not thinking clearly). * Lesson two is to not withdraw. Let it be known that you are aware of the situation and that you will keep everyone informed as events unfold and decisions are made. Set an update schedule and keep to it even if the update is that there will be no news until next week. Be accessible to people around you (physically and emotionally). You set the example and people will look to you to see that it is okay to have feelings at work. Taking the time to think it through, what happened, and then they will follow suit. Starting over: It will happen: trust will be badly damaged. This is what the article writers recommend: 1. Figure out what happened * How quickly or slowly did trust break down? (no rapid fix) * When did the violation of trust become known to you and to the larger organization? (if you knew about it for a long time and didn’t do anything about it, your employees will feel it like a betrayal). * Was there a single cause? (easier to address a one-time event, than a pattern of events) * Was the loss of trust reciprocal? (it might be deep seated if both you and the others feel that their trust was violated. No one will behave fairly. A formal process of conflict resolution might be in order). 2. When you have a reasonably good handle on what happened, ascertain the depth and breadth of the loss of trust. (Is it a severe impact or are only some of the regions/branches touched by the breach of trust?) 3. Own up to the loss quickly instead of ignoring or downplaying it. (acknowledge the situation, you don’t need all the answers, just let people know that you are aware of the issue and the impact on them and that you are commited to setting things right). 4. Identitfy as precisely as possible what you must accomplish in order to rebuild trust. (need to change a relationship between people in different departments). 5. Then list the changes you’ll make in organizational structure, systems, people and culture to achiee those outcomes. (which shifts in how decisions are made, how information flows and how it is measured, etc. Should some reporting relationships be changed? Competing areas rivalries dissolve, when they come under the control of a single person. ) 6. Keep an eye on practical issues: How will these valuable changes and initiatives happen? (what work will you do yourself, what will you delegate, what is a reasonable time frame to handle this problem). Working at: The Center for Leading Organizations (CLO) offers highly-tailored educational services, valuable advice, and the delivery and facilitation of offsites at the senior level of organizations. Robert Galford is a managing partner of the Center for Leading Organizations. He divides his time across teaching on Executive Education programs and working with senior executives at the worlds leading firms on the leadership issues that lie at the intersection of strategy and organization. They wrote the book the trusted leader Anne Seibold Drapeau is a managing partner of the Center for Leading Organizations. Her client work focuses on consulting with a wide range of clients on leadership development and frameworks and processes for strategic alignment. She is a leading voice on the leadership requirements of support functions within organizations, and how they are best organized, structured and managed. She also has particular interest in the leadership challenges of early stage businesses and in fostering leadership in women. Patrick Lencioni is the author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, a popular business fable that explores work team dynamics and offers solutions to help teams perform better.[1] In addition to the bestselling Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he has written eight other business books

Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Developing Areas

Effect of Foreign Aid on Economic Growth in Developing Areas The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines foreign aid as financial flows, technical support, and goods that are intended to encourage economic growth and wellbeing. Foreign aid is generally linked with authorized development support which in turn is a division of the official development finance, and usually given to the poorest countries (World Bank, 1998) (TAB 1). Various debates about the usefulness of foreign aid dates back decades. Milton Friedman, Peter Bauer, and William Easterly are critics that have given tough reviews, ranging from the decreased impact aid has on government bureaucracies, propagated bad governments, enriched the selected few in poor countries, or wasted. They lay emphasis on extensive poverty in Africa and South Asia despite over thirty years of aid directed to these countries still having a devastating record, e.g. the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Somalia. In their opinion aid programs should be significantly transformed, considerably managed, or eradicated (PAPER 1). Other researchers oppose these arguments, although partly correct but over emphasised. Jeffrey Sachs, Joseph Stiglitz, Nicholas Stern and others have argued that even though aid has from time to time failed, it has reduced poverty and enhanced growth in some countries and discouraged worse outcome in other countries. They consider the weaknesses of aid to be linked with donors rather than receivers, and identified a couple of successful countries that have received significant aid such as Botswana, Indonesia, Korea, and, more recently, Tanzania and Mozambique, together with thriving ideas such as the Green Revolution, the crusade against river blindness, and the introduction of oral rehydration therapy (PAPER 1). Review by Papanek (1973) disagreed with the negative outcome of Griffin and Enos (1970) that by not adding capital flow to foreign aid and other inflows, a significantly positive aid coefficient can be achieved. In contrast, using a sample of 22 Less Developed Countries 1956-1968, Voivodas (1973) achieved an insignificant negative aid impact on growth. This early periods can be characterised with poor quality of data thereby causing ambiguity in their results(TAB 5). More recently, Knack (2000) debates that an increase in foreign aid increases corruption, rent-seeking and corrodes institutional quality thus having an adverse effect on growth. However, with better data, Dowling and Hiemenz (1983) used the pooled data for 13 Asian countries to test for impact of aid on growth and discovered a significantly positive relationship. In their research, they controlled for certain policy variables like government intervention and trade. While Levy (1988) considered Sub-Saharan Africa and also achieved a significantly positive correlation haven used a regression model with income per capita and aid as a ratio of GDP for 1968-1982(TAB 5). Using 41 countries 1986-1992, Hadjimichael et al. (1995) discovered a positive aid-growth relationship. More recently, Burnside and Dollar (1997) used a model with various policy variables and learnt that aid alone does not directly influence growth in LDCs but when policy variables interact with aid will have a significant impact on economic growth (World Bank, 1998) (TAB 1). The potential side effects of foreign aid as well as certain policy variables were captured in the above mentioned models thus making them slightly more sophisticated than previous research. These studies can be criticised in many ways. Boone (1996) disagrees with the positive aid-growth relationship, stating that aid has no effect on both investment and income growth in LDCs (tab 5). While Easterly, Levine and Roodman (2003) used a higher sample size to reanalyse Burnside and Dollars review, thereby finding that the coefficients of the result is not as significant(TAB 1). Similarly, the most mentioned criticism is the poorly defined growth model where researchers growth model may ignore certain economic activities that would have enabled a more sophisticated empirical growth model in which aid would be a reliable growth factor (TAB 5). An example is Gupta (1975) and Gupta and Islam (1983) who discovered that the negative effect of foreign capital can be reversed if indirect effects were incorporated. On the other hand, Mosley (1980) found a negative (although not significant) correlation in aid and growth haven used a simultaneous equation model. He however, found a positive correlation in the case of LDCs in his sample but in total concludes that his analysis is incomplete. A major shortcoming of the previous research is the deficiency in the growth models. Most of which identify capital accumulation alone as a growth factor but others have thoroughly considered the problem of sufficient model requirement. Mosley (1987) and Dowling and Hiemenz (1983) considered variables representing trade and government activities, while Burnside and Dollar (1997) and Hadjimichael et al. (1995) used macroeconomic variables in their growth model. In contrast, reviews on determinants of growth in LDCs do not consider the effect of aid rather it includes only variables of total savings and investment (Fischer, 1991, 1993; Easterly, 1993; Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1995) (TAB 5). On the whole, the aid-growth relationship can be considered to be full of loopholes and should be further researched. Sample countries regions should be considered as it influences economic growth but has been ignored in economic growth analysis (Gallup, Sachs and Mellinger, 1999)(TAB 1). This study will revolve round impact of aid on growth in intensification on the growth model: the Fischer-Easterly model (Fischer, 1991, 1993; Easterly, 1993). The model will concentrate on macroeconomic policies which encompass the total framework of the aid-growth relationship as argued earlier that aid only increases growth in the presence of sound economic policies in recipient countries (TAB 5). The model specification will be further broken down to include policy variables as well as all key investment sources (domestic savings, foreign aid, private and other inflows) (TAB 5). This study will also strive to surmount past criticism of aid-growth models by applying a cross-section econometric te chnique to a large sample size(50 developing countries) over a long period (1980-2005) (TAB 5). RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Does foreign aid have a positive impact on economic growth across developing countries? Does foreign aid have a diminishing return as volume of aid increases? Does foreign aid have a diminishing return as volume of aid increases? To test for Hypothesis: H0: that foreign aid induces economic growth H1: that foreign aid does not induce economic growth RESEARCH STRATEGY METHODOLOGY: The research will be highly empirical with the use of secondary data obtained from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund database. The use of Cross Section techniques and the Augmented Fischer-Easterly model in order to control for macroeconomic stability/instability and policy distortions. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The data trend in foreign capital flow to 50 developing countries (number of countries may reduce due to unavailability of data) between 1980- 2005 will be analysed. These figures will be in nominal rates to avoid appropriate deflator problems. MODEL SPECIFICATION: Cross section techniques will be used to examine the impact of the data averaging through 1980-2005 and for comparism with previous research. The model will take the form: The study is aimed at making a major contribution to the empirical argument on the capability of foreign aid to induce economic growth in developing countries. The Augmented Fischer-Easterly growth model will be used where macroeconomic variables and foreign aid as well as other financial investment sources are considered in calculating economic growth. (TAB 5).

DBQ On Jacksonian Democrats Essay -- Advanced Placement US History

It is agreeable that the Jacksonian Democrats perceived themselves as strict guardians of the United States Constitution. It is not agreeable with how they went about preserving the political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity they stood for. While trying to create this balance, Jackson used tactics favorable only to his opinion. Jackson’s main idea was to rid of aristocracy, giving the power to the poorer classes, standing against rich white men. The flaw in their scheme was that the people who came up with this idea were all rich white men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the Jacksonian Democrats’ attempts to reduce the influence of the rich was by vetoing the charter to the Bank of the United States. Jackson stated his reasons in Document B mainly as a precaution of...

Justice and Social Order in The Oresteia Essay -- Aeschylus Oresteia

Justice and Social Order in The Oresteia  Ã‚   Democracy, emerging in the city-state of Athens, allowed unprecedented power to her citizens. Among these new powers was the ability to legislate. Yet, legislation was not without its problems. First the citizens must agree upon what is just and unjust, and then enforce the law by bringing the unjust to reconcile their guilt with the public through trial, and finally dispense the appropriate penalty. This evolution was not without concern. The Greeks were attempting to establish a governmental system which would span the middle ground between anarchy and despotism. By the crimes played out in Aeschylus' tragic trilogy The Oresteia, Aeschylus demonstrates the contrast between anarchy and despotism, and judges them both guilty. Indeed he shows, by the end of the play, that the only way man can be absolved of guilt is by joining leagues with the gods in a united effort to promote justice. His premise is supported by sequentially following the criminal legacy of the house of Atreus, and showing that the curse of continued injustice can only be ended by the cooperative effort of man and god. Aeschylus draws his contrast between anarchy and despotism through the main characters in the play. First Atreus, the father of Agamemnon, though never appearing himself in the trilogy is a central figure and the vehicle by which the curse is introduced. His crime is that of anarchy. Second, Agamemnon returns from Troy with the blood guilt of despotism. Next, Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's queen, represents a mixture of the two evils in that she portrays a self-serving ruler. Finally Orestes, son of Agamemnon, is introduced as a pious man who allows his fate to be determined by the gods in conjuncti... ... of the trilogy it was demonstrated the power that democracy wielded. It was able to eliminate anarchy and despotism by the middle ground. Although this had previously been the role of the Erinyes (Eu., ln.526-30), they had through the play proven themselves unsuccessful. Thus at the end of the Eumenides, Aeschylus has the Furies relinquish governance of the city to the citizens, and bestow honor on the people (Eu., ln.1016-20). Therefore Aeschylus demonstrated that democracy allowed for the union between man and gods that neither anarchy or despotism could achieve. Moreover, it was only through this union that justice could be served and the ancient laws and ways could be overturned. With this new social order, man celebrated unprecedented equality, honor and prosperity Works Cited: Aeschylus. Oresteia. Trans. Peter Meineck. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998.

In Defense of Capital Punishment :: Pro Capital Punishment Essays

In Defense of Capital Punishment There are some words that often return when we defend the death penalty: justice and human dignity. These words also constitute a foundation for that which is called democracy and civilization. These two realities can also be regarded as two bearing pillars in the defense of capital punishment. Justice is a highly regarded word in society and in politics, but within the judicial system and that which concerns crime and punishment, justice has, both as a word and as a conception, ended up existing in the shadows. People want to lift forth this truth in the light, since justice should be the foundation within the legal system. When the death penalty is discussed the aspect of justice should be allowed in the foreground first and foremost. Man has an inviolable dignity and, therefore, deserves the highest respect. Human dignity and respect, not foremost for the one who hurts his fellowman but for the victims of crimes and his relatives, is something that should be brought forth considerably more than today, and especially in connection with the death penalty. But the prerequisite for that is that sympathy and solidarity with the victim should increase in society. In order to rightly value the death penalty it is necessary to have empathy and understanding for all the victims and their relatives. The capital punishment makes up one link on the way to a safer society. The capital punishment means that some heinous criminals never again will walk on the streets, and that makes the society a somewhat safer place. Murderers and violent criminals will always exist in society and the death penalty will only lower the number of criminals marginally. It is inevitable, however, that every violent criminal less that exists in a society will mean a safer society. A prison term on the other hand would mean that there would always be a pressing dark cloud of worries over a society. Also, in prisons the interns and personnel would feel safer with the death penalty. It is not unusual with conflicts, violence and murder in prison. Some interns who have been sentenced to long prison terms or lifetime would probably deter from cruel acts of violence and murder if they knew that it could lead to the death penalty. Today, on the other hand, he who has been sentenced to lifetime in prison cannot be sentenced too much more and, therefore, he would probably neither be deterred from committing further crimes. In Defense of Capital Punishment :: Pro Capital Punishment Essays In Defense of Capital Punishment There are some words that often return when we defend the death penalty: justice and human dignity. These words also constitute a foundation for that which is called democracy and civilization. These two realities can also be regarded as two bearing pillars in the defense of capital punishment. Justice is a highly regarded word in society and in politics, but within the judicial system and that which concerns crime and punishment, justice has, both as a word and as a conception, ended up existing in the shadows. People want to lift forth this truth in the light, since justice should be the foundation within the legal system. When the death penalty is discussed the aspect of justice should be allowed in the foreground first and foremost. Man has an inviolable dignity and, therefore, deserves the highest respect. Human dignity and respect, not foremost for the one who hurts his fellowman but for the victims of crimes and his relatives, is something that should be brought forth considerably more than today, and especially in connection with the death penalty. But the prerequisite for that is that sympathy and solidarity with the victim should increase in society. In order to rightly value the death penalty it is necessary to have empathy and understanding for all the victims and their relatives. The capital punishment makes up one link on the way to a safer society. The capital punishment means that some heinous criminals never again will walk on the streets, and that makes the society a somewhat safer place. Murderers and violent criminals will always exist in society and the death penalty will only lower the number of criminals marginally. It is inevitable, however, that every violent criminal less that exists in a society will mean a safer society. A prison term on the other hand would mean that there would always be a pressing dark cloud of worries over a society. Also, in prisons the interns and personnel would feel safer with the death penalty. It is not unusual with conflicts, violence and murder in prison. Some interns who have been sentenced to long prison terms or lifetime would probably deter from cruel acts of violence and murder if they knew that it could lead to the death penalty. Today, on the other hand, he who has been sentenced to lifetime in prison cannot be sentenced too much more and, therefore, he would probably neither be deterred from committing further crimes.

19th Century of American Literature Essay

Choose one short story and one poem from the 19th century. Write to compare the ways in which each of these may be considered representative of American culture during the time period in which it was written. Cite specific evidence from the literature to support your ideas. Short story: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin A woman by the name of Mrs. Mallard has some heart problems so those around her are worried that revealing the news of her husband’s recent death might cause her a lot of stress and sadness which might in turn make her heart worse. See more: Satirical elements in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn essay â€Å"Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.† (Chopin) Upon hearing the news she breaks into tears, just as her loved ones had feared. She is expressing sadness over her husband’s death. â€Å"She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.† (Chopin) She then experiences grief, where she doesn’t want anything to do with anyone at the moment because her mind is in such a fragile state, plagued with emotions and thoughts, that she needs space alone to clear it. â€Å"She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.† (Chopin) After being in her room for some time her thoughts are starting to get to her. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is so sad that she’s allowing her thoughts to get the better of her and she is not in a strong state to deal  with them which will only cause things to get worse. â€Å"There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it?† (Chopin) She is dying from a broken heart and she is welcoming death to take her and free her from the pain she is feeling of missing her husband. â€Å"Free! Body and soul free!† she kept whispering.† (Chopin) She was feeling such sadness and grief that is had but a lot of stress on her heart and weakened it to the point of fatality. â€Å"When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease–of the joy that kills.† (Chopin) â€Å"The Story of an Hour† was written during the romantic period which was a time where writers and artists worked to free humanity from the mindset that everything was based upon logic and explanation. This story was written to bring light to the idea that emotions are important and that they are so important, they can affect you physically and can kill you. This story touches heavily on grief and sorrow and it connects physical problems with emotional ones which portrays the goals of many writers and artists through the romantic period because they wanted to express emotion and this sort story definitely did just that. Poem: Raven by Edgar Allan Poe The Raven is a story about a person who is mourning over the loss of a love . â€Å"ONCE upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore† (Poe) The â€Å"tapping† he hears are his own thoughts, the answer to a question that he longs to know the answer to. He represents it in the form of a physical object coming to him in the middle of the night. â€Å"While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.† (Poe) He wants his lover back because he is still deeply in love with her. â€Å"From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore, 10 For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore: Nameless here for evermore.† (Poe) He is afraid of his own thoughts because deep in his mind he knows that he will never see his lover again and that she is gone for good, but he still refuses to believe she is gone for good so he searches for some reassurance that it’s not true, but he’s scared to find the answer because he’s scared he’ll be proven right. â€Å"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, 25 Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;† (Poe) The poem â€Å"The Raven† was written during the romantic period, a time where literature and art expressed senses and emotion rather than reason and logic. This poem is reflecting deeply on the emotions of love, sorrow, grief, and a possible anger. It touches on human emotions and brought attention to humanity and what it is like to be a human from an emotional view which was the goal in the romantic period.

Quantitative Research Theory Essay

The purpose of the quantitative method is used when measuring the incidence of multiple views and opinions in a singular chosen sample and how it may be used in nursing practice. The quantitative method is often followed by the qualitative method, used to observe further findings. Its objective is to appraise data and conclude results from sample populations of interest. Quantitative methods highlight the importance on objective measures and numerical analysis of data gathered through questionnaires, surveys, and/or surveys. This method of researching focuses on collecting numerical information and generalizing the data across groups of individuals. Quantitative research is an objective, formal, rigorous, systematic process for creating numerical data in regards to the world. The quantitative method of conducting research is often used to describe new situations, events, or concepts and determine the effectiveness of treatments in the world. There are four types of quantitative resea rch methods such as: descriptive research, correlation research, quasi-experimental research, and experimental research. Quantitative research is necessary in developing knowledge vital for evidence-based nursing practices. Conducting quantitative research requires rigor and control. Rigorous research provides credibility and worth. When collecting data disciplined techniques much like on-street interviews, online questionnaires, or telephone interviews should be used. Sampling sizes typically occur when using larger numbers of cases representing populations of interest, randomly selected respondents. Findings of statistical data are conclusive and definitive typically descriptive in its nature. Things to keep in mind when utilizing the quantitative method and reporting the results of a study. An explanation of the statistical treatment and data collected as relevant results are produced coinciding to the research issue under investigation. Chronologically log all unanticipated events that take place during the data collecting stage. Provide an explanation of the techniques used to gather and present v alid and credible data information. Select a sufficient  statistical procedure; provide an account for the selected use and references for such. Describe assumptions for all research procedures and the efforts taken to ensure that they haven’t been violated. If using presumed statistics, descriptive statistics should be provided, confidence intervals, and sample sizes for each variable to include the value of test statistics, the direction, the significance level, and the degrees of freedom. When avoiding the use of inferring causality in particular non-randomized designs or without additional experimentation. The use of tables to provide exact value uses figures conveying global effects. In quantitative research, the objective is to determine the connection between two things, the independent and dependent variable in populations. Its designs are either descriptive or experimental. The descriptive design subjects are typically measured once, whereas experimental subjects are measured before and after treatment. The descriptive study creates associations only between variables. The experimental design, however, establi shes causality. The main characteristics are to classify features, construct statistical models, and count them in an attempt to detail what has occurred and what is observed. The research deals in logic and the objective, numbers, focusing on logic, unchanging static data and detailed, convergent reasoning as oppose to divergent reasoning. Once data has been collected in the quantitative research method, decisions must be made on how the use of information gathered can be altered to offer recommendations. Individuals compare primary focuses on basic quantitative and qualitative methodologies; qualitative methodologies investigate categories and themes of collected input, while quantitative methodologies confirm validity and reliability of the gathered statistics. The objective of this form of research is to populate gaps with knowledge. This nature of knowing is referenced often as ontology versus epistemology. Ontology is in regards to the world’s existence and in what form. Epistemology is simply described as how you know what you know. In ontological quantitative methods, an altered reality occurs in which it can be measured and appreciated to a certain degree of efficiency. In epistemology quantitative research, the process is done through objective observations and measurements. Methodology research is subjective to various ethical implications. Aside from the element of deception that is included, individuals involved in a controlled group may  have a disadvantage when the outcome of treatment or interventions is unclear or believed to be underlying to existing regimens. There are ethical considerations dependent on the form of study. In example, if a study is done on evaluating the effectiveness of an epinephrine auto-injector. It would be unethical to withhold or deny interventions for individuals within the controlled group. The ethics of methodology research demands careful assessments of the benefits and risks that may occur and that information is gathered and delivered to participants during the process of gathering informed consent. A generalized guideline is viewed as â€Å"the degree of risk to be taken by those participating in the research should never exceed the potential humanitarian benefits of the knowledge to be gained†. In conclusion, the quantitative method measures the incidence of multiple views and opinions in a singular chosen sample. The quantitative method is sometimes followed by the qualitative research, which is used to observe further findings. The method of researching focuses on collecting numerical information and generalizing the data across groups of individuals. Reference Babbie, Earl R (2010). The Practice of Social Research. Retrieved from:http://libguides.usc.edu/content.php?pid=83009&sid=615867 Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (3rd ed.). Retrieved from:http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/journalarticle?Article_ID=737387 Polit, D.F., Hungler, B.P. (1999) Nursing Research: Principles and Methods (6th ed).Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. Snap Surveys (2014). Qualitative vs Quantitative Research. Retrieved from:http://www.snapsurveys.com/qualitative-quantitative-research/

Education Timeline Essay

Education Timeline Antiria Jenkins HIS324: History of American Education Instructor: Timothy Kilgore November 12, 2012 http://prezi. com/vcesi_y4xome/history-of-american-education-timeline/ Education in the United States has faced great changes toward development in the past hundreds of years. At the beginning, during the Colonial Era, the principles of education were mainly based on those already used by European nations at the time. However, the country began to adopt its own approaches toward teachings given different social, political and religious practices (Rippa 9). 1635The first Latin Grammar School (Boston Latin School): Founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts, it is known as the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States. The Latin grammar curriculum was designed for boys 8 to 15, based on European Schools in a Puritan area. Schools were to prepare boys for college and the service of God. Protestantism believed that education was needed so that individuals could interpret the bible. 1751American Academy founded by Ben Franklin: The demand of skilled workers in the middle of the eighteenth century led Benjamin Franklin to start a new kind of secondary school, thus, the American Academy was established in Philadelphia. American high schools eventually replaced Latin grammar schools. Curriculum was geared to prepare students for employment. Academies eventually replaced the Latin Grammar Schools and some admitted Women. 783Introduction of Noah Webster’s Speller: Noah Webster published the A grammatical Institute of the English language, also known as, â€Å"the blue-back speller. † This was the most widely circulated of the early American textbooks and like Webster’s American Dictionary it strived to establish a national identity as well as the United States’ linguistic and cultural independence of England. As the first popular American textbo ok, the introduction of Noah Webster’s speller stands as a significant event in the history of American education. 817(April 15, 1817) Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons: The Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons opens. It is the first permanent school for the deaf in the U. S. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc are the school’s co-founders. In 1864, Thomas Gallaudet’s son, Edward Miner Gallaudet, helps to start Gallaudet University, the first college specifically for deaf students. 824First State-Supported School Established: Originally named the Boston English Classical School and established in 1821, the school was renamed the English High School in 1824 and also, during that year, became the first-state supported common school. The adoption of the English High as a state-supported common school is a significant event in the history of American education as it was, essent ially, the first public school. 1855Abolition of Segregation of Schools in Massachusetts: Following the case of Roberts v. Boston, the state of Massachusetts abolished segregation in their schools. The victory would be the first in a long battle lasting nearly an entire century. This was the first law to oppose segregated schools in the United States and is, therefore, a significant event in the history of American education. 1856The First Kindergarten: In the United States Margarethe Schurz founded the first kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin, in 1856. Her German-language kindergarten impressed Elizabeth Peabody, who opened the first American English-language kindergarten in Boston in 1860. The kindergarten was much more influential in the United States and in the northern part of Europe which encouraged the National Education Association to begin a kindergarten department in 1874, and later, teachers founded the International Kindergarten Union in 1892. 1896The Laboratory School of the University of Chicago (First Progressive Laboratory):John Dewey, the father of the progressive education, established the first laboratory school for testing the progressive educational method. This would lead to a popular trend in education adopted by schools during the first half of the twentieth century. Progressive education emphasizes cultivation of problem solving and critical thinking skills through hands-on learning activities. 1905 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of Congress, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center. The Foundation encouraged the adoption of a standard system for equating â€Å"seat time† (the amount of time spent in a class) to high school credits which is still in use today. This system is known as the â€Å"Carnegie Unit. 1939 The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (first called the Wechsler- Bellevue Intelligence Scale): This scale was developed by David Wechsler and is intended to measure human intelligence reflected in both verbal and performance abilities. It introduces the concept of the â€Å"deviation IQ,† which calculates IQ scores based on how far subjects’ scores differ (or deviate) from the average (mean) score of others who are the same age, rather than calculating them with the ratio (MA/CA multiplied by 100) system. Wechsler intelligence tests, particularly the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, are still widely used in U. S. schools to help identify students needing special education. 1944 The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights): Bill signed into law on June 22, 1944 by President Franklin Roosevelt during World War II. The GI Bill affords military veterans government funding to pursue or continue educational goals following their service. The GI Bill not only compensates veterans for their service, but has also been responsible for the growth of American colleges and universities. 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka: On May 17, 1954, The U. S. Supreme court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate schools did not provide equal education to students and therefore banned the segregation of schools nationwide with a ruling of (9–0) decision stated that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and declared unconstitutional. 1958 Defense Education Act of 1958: The Defense Education Act of 1958 was signed into law on September 2, 1958 by the United States government during the cold war in reaction to the successful launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik. The Soviets’ scientific success motivated the U. S. government to fund the U. S. Office of Education’s establishment of scientifically and mathematically centered curriculum. The act contained ten titles designed to improve the nation’s schools. 1964 Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed on July 2, 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson banned discrimination in all federally funded programs and outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and women. This law helped to further the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education as many schools had continued segregation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 financially, â€Å"cut-off,† institutions, such as public schools, which promoted discrimination of any and all types and gave leverage to the movement. 1965 The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA): The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed on April 9, 1965 s a part of the â€Å"War on Poverty. † It emphasizes equal access to education and establishes high standards and accountability as well as provides federal funds to help low-income students, which results in the initiation of educational programs such as Title I and bilingual education. 965 The Higher Education Act: The Higher Education Act was signed on November 8, 1965 to strengthen the educational resources of colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education. It increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships, gave low-interest loans for students, and established a Nationa l Teachers Corps. 1965 Project Head Start: The Head Start program started in the summer of 1965 as an eight week summer program for children from low-income communities going into public school in the fall (Styfco and Zigler, 2003). The program provided preschool classes, medical care, dental care, and mental health services (Kagan, 2002). 1975Education for All Handicapped Children Act now known as The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual needs and requires public school systems to develop appropriate Individualized Education Programs (IEP’s) for each child which will reflect the individualized needs of each student. 002 The No Child Left Behind Act: On January 8, 2002, NCLB was signed into law. NCLB supports standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. States must give these assessments to all students at select grade levels in order to receive federal school funding. All students are required to meet the standards establish by NCLB at the accountability of educators. 2004 H. R. 350, The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA 2004): reauthorizes and modifies IDEA. Changes, which take effect on July 1, 2005, include modifications in the IEP process and procedural safeguards, increased authority for school personnel in special education placement decisions, and alignment of IDEA with the No Child Left Behind Act. The 2004 reauthorization also requires school districts to use the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach as a means for the early identification of students at risk for specific learning disabilities. RTI provides a three-tiered model for screening, monitoring, and providing increasing degrees of intervention using â€Å"research-based instruction† with the overall goal of reducing the need for special education services (Re-authorization, 2004). The history of education has been influenced multiple times over the past years. In some shape, form, or fashion, the many changes have affected many lives, especially those with disabilities. Going from segregation to desegregation, women involvement in education and fighting for equal education of those individuals with disabilities has not only marked historical events but has brought togetherness among all races and genders. Without these historical events in shaping education, the world would be at a standstill. References Dewey, John. 1938 (1963). Experience and Education. New York: Collier Books Kagan, J. (2002). Empowerment and education: Civil rights, expert-advocates, and parent politics in Head Start, 1964-1980. Teachers College Record, 104(3), 516-562. Re-authorization of the IDEA 2004. Retrieved November 5, 2012 from http://www. nj. gov/education/specialed/idea/reauth/ Rippa, Alexander. Education in a Free Society. Eighth Edition. New York: Longman, 1997. 3-107. Print. Styfco, S. , & Zigler, E. (2003). Early Childhood Programs for a New Century. Reynolds, A. , & Wang, M. (Eds. ) The federal commitment to preschool education: Lessons from and for Head Start (pp. 3-33). Washington, D. C. : Child Welfare League of America, Inc.

Importance of Play for Children Aged Between 4 and 6 Essay

The importance of play for children between 4 and 6 Written by Tessa Batchelor Submitted to New Zealand College of Early Childhood Education 2011 This Booklet outlines the importance of the play curriculum and learning for children aged between 4 and 6 years. Creative, imaginative and physical play will be focused on as well as the adults’ role in the promotion of play and the importance of a positive environment for play and learning. Included in this will be examples of play opportunities that link to Te Whariki and explain intended learning outcomes. The information within this booklet is intended to be a resource for early childhood professionals. How Creative Play Can Promote Learning: Creative play can promote learning in several ways. Three ways this booklet will focus on are cognitive development, fine motor skills and social development. Cognitive skills between the ages of four and six can be developed through creative play. It is stated in Beaver, Brewster, Jones, Keene, Neaum and Tallack (2001), that creative play involves children developing individual ideas in ways that are not immediately apparent. It is valuable for children to engage in problem solving, resulting in the ability to take responsibility for their own learning (Smith, 1998). Concentration can be developed by children engaging in creative play due to extended periods of focus on their chosen task. By the age of six children have gained the ability to concentrate on a task without having their attention diverted from ten minutes to longer periods of time. During a creative play activity children will often portray one object as another, which cultivates the use of their imagination (Beaver, et al, 2001). Beaver, Brewster, Jones, Keene, Neaum and Tallack (2001) details how creative play can promote learning in children by encouraging the use of fine motor skills. Fine motor skills include small finger movements, manipulative skills and hand eye co ordination (Santrock, 2007). Between the ages of four and six fine motor skills are becoming well coordinated (Beaver, et al, 2001). â€Å"Hand, arm, and fingers all move together under better command of the eye† (Santrock, 2007, p. 187). An example of how creative play can help develop fine motor skills would be when a child is using a pencil to create a picture; they are using a fine hold involving the thumb and fingers. This builds on their hand eye co ordination (Beaver, et al, 2001). Creative play also encourages social development. This involves associative play which includes other children joining in play together (Smith, 1998). Santrock (2007) explains that associative play gives children the opportunity to play together in a social setting and in a creative manner, with little to no organisation. †¦ Children make intermittent interactions and/or are involved in the same activity although their play remains personal† (Beaver, Brewster, Jones, Keene, Neaum and Tallack, 2001, p. 368). Being involved in a creative activity promotes children sharing and taking turns. Participating in an activity within a social setting presents the opportunity to make and maintain friendships (Beaver, et al, 2001). Creative Play Opportunity for Four to Six Year Olds: One creative play opportunity for four to six year olds is a play dough activity involving varied materials. To set up this activity, distribute equal amounts of play dough evenly across a table. This activity needs to be situated in a resource area with access to various materials, including glass stones, bottle lids, ice block sticks, small wooden sticks, shells, material pieces, straws, feathers, and glitter. Incorporate a wide range of scissors and other implements such as cake containers, paper plates, paper muffin cases, play dough pizza cutters, rolling pins, differently shaped biscuit cutters and plastic cutting utensils. The children choose what materials they wish to include in the play opportunity creating a free play environment. Although creative play should begin with an individual expression of children’s’ ideas and have an open ended outcome, intended learning can still occur. Penrose (1998, p. 96) states â€Å"creativity is a process and the expression is in the doing-not the result†. The intended learning for this play opportunity is problem solving, creative and imaginative skills, co ordination of eyes, hand, arm and body and exploration. This play opportunity will promote the intended learning outcome by encouraging children to problem solve. This can occur because of the children’s’ chosen use of the varied materials and the new concepts that they create in relation to their choices. Because older children are already aware of the conventional uses for the materials imaginative ideas are necessary for the ability to portray one thing as another (Beaver, et al, 2001). Hand eye co ordination and fine motor skills are promoted by this play opportunity due to the manipulative manner in which play dough is used (E. Salcin-Watts, Class Handout, August 5, 2010). Children are involved in exploration through comparisons in textures between the play dough and various materials. Somerset, 2000). Beaver, Brewster, Jones, Keene, Neaum and Tallack (2001) acknowledge that all children learn through play at their own level, therefore this play opportunity provides a wide range of materials. This is to ensure that the diverse needs in a group of children are met. The play dough supplied should be safe to chew but discouraged due to the belief in many cultures that playing with food is unacceptable. Distinguishing the difference between using food substances for play dough and cooking is valuable for cultural sensitivity (Penrose, 1998). As the play dough is evenly distributed across the table, each child has equal opportunity to be involved. This play opportunity links to Te Whariki through Strand 3 – Contribution, Goal 2. â€Å"Children experience an environment where they are affirmed as individuals. Children develop a perception of themselves as capable of acquiring new interests and abilities† (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 68). By engaging in this play opportunity young children are helping their own interests and curiosity progress, they are becoming aware of what their strengths and abilities are (MoE, 1996). Strand 5, Exploration Goal 1 can also be linked to this play opportunity. â€Å"Children experience an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognized. Children develop the ability to make decisions, choose their own materials, and set their own problems. †(Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 84). In this play opportunity young children have access to appropriate materials and are stimulated to enhance their problem solving skills. (MoE, 1996). Imaginative Play Imaginative play can promote learning in varied ways. In this booklet children’s learning of self expression, language development and social development will be discussed. Beaver, Brewster, Jones, Keene, Neaum and Tallack describe imagination as â€Å"the ability to form mental images, or concepts of objects not present, or that do not exist† (2001, p. 118). By participating in imaginative play children have the opportunity to begin expressing themselves and their interpretations of the world around them. Feelings of anxiety about unknown situations can be alleviated by acting out and exploring possible scenarios and outcomes in a familiar setting (Somerset, 2000). New characters or situations can be formed during imaginative play which encourages children to express themselves in unique ways (Beaver, et al, 2001). Role play accommodates for children’s sense of the world and creates a safe environment to explore their feelings (Beaver, et al, 2001). An important part of imaginary play is the dialogue that happens between children (Penrose, 1998). â€Å"Imaginative play provides children with a means of communication with others and themselves. † (Beaver, Brewster, Jones, Keene, Neaum and Tallack, 2001, p. 414). Symbolism is indispensable in understanding language both orally and written. Older children display the ability to use symbolism when they no longer need the ‘real thing’ and begin making their own props or improvising to act out their imaginary play (Penrose, 1998). When children watch the world around them language is a big part of what they observe. Somerset recognises that â€Å"As a child grows, adult words to fit a situation are borrowed, practised and adopted. † (2000, p. 63). Therefore whilst engaging in imaginary play language is being developed through phrases, words and conversations children have heard in their community. Imaginary play can encourage group activities, especially when engaging in role play. In dramatic play children take on a role and every child has their part to play (Penrose, 1988). Children between the ages of 4 and 6 have the ability to participate in c-operative play (Beaver, et al, 2001). Social development is displayed in this age group through the use of co-operative play as children are playing for longer periods of time and are taking responsibility for their peers needs and actions (Penrose, 1998; Beaver, et al, 2001). By partaking in co-operative imaginary play children can acquire the capability to problem solve, build on leadership skills and communicate in various ways in regards to turn taking (Penrose, 1998). Play opportunity for Imaginary play for 4-6 year olds: An imaginary play opportunity for children aged between 4 and 6 is a family role play scenario. To set up this activity a family corner/area will need to be created. To create a family area you will need to ensure that the children have enough space to move around and play together, that children have various materials accessible to them and that equipment imitates things children would see in the home (Somerset, 2000). When providing equipment for the family area it is important to include common objects from other cultures also. For example having kete (Maori flax woven bags/baskets) for children to go shopping with. When providing dress up equipment ensure there are a wide range of different jobs available. Children by the age of 4 will often have picked up on stereotypical gender roles, it is important to encourage children to act out a diverse range of roles. By choosing dress up clothing that is easily put on it gives children the opportunity to involve themselves in the play regardless of ability (Beaver, et al, 2001). Intended learning for this play opportunity is social development, language development and communication through expressing one’s self. Social development at the ages of 4 to 6 can consist of taking turns and taking responsibility of their peer’s actions (Penrose, 1998). In this play opportunity children will be required by their peer’s to share roles and take turns with equipment. A family play situation promotes children’s ability to recognise the rules for behaviour they have experienced. This play opportunity creates a safe space to practice these rules. For example when a child is pretending to be a mother and disciplining their doll for breaking the rules set by the child (Smith, 1998). Smith explores this by stating â€Å"They develop more and more complex rules and roles for themselves in dramatic play. † (1998, pg. 18). Arthur, L. , Beecher, B. , Death, E. , Dockett, S. , Farmer, S. (as cited in Dockett, S. , Fleer, M. , 1999) show how this play opportunity relates to language development by stating â€Å"When children engage in dramatic play, especially shared pretend play, there are many opportunities for language interaction. † (2007, pg. 87). Children will use phrases heard in their home while acting out family situations, for example a repetitive phrase used by a mother could be â€Å"time to snuggle down into bed† which a child involved in this play opportunity could repeat to a doll or peer also involved (Penrose, 1998). Children involved in a family play opportunity can use this safe space to express themselves. This play opportunity is a safe way for children to explore their feelings as they can opt out of play at any time which consequently helps children to feel more comfortable and more able to explore their own emotions and express themselves (Beaver, et al, 2001). This family play opportunity entails all of the following â€Å"Imaginative play helps children to practise adult roles and social relationships, to share each other’s experiences and to integrate various aspects of their own experiences, to inhibit conflict and to develop cooperation, to enhance verbal communication and to express emotion. † (Smith, 1998, pg. 18). This play opportunity links to Te Whariki through the Communication strand and Contribution Strand. Te Whariki explains that an adults’ responsibility in practice is to provide a drama rich environment that extends children’s ifferent concepts, ideas and cultures. Strand 4 Communication, Goal 4; â€Å" Children experience an environment where they discover and develop different ways to be creative and expressive. † (MoE, 1996, pg. 80) shows that children can develop a familiarity with drama in which they express their feelings and moods, and explore situations and cultures (MoE, 1996). This play opportunity displays children’s chance to be expressive in regards to emotions and act out situations. Strand 3 Contribution, Goal 3; â€Å" Children experience an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others. † (MoE, 1996, pg. 0) shows that children can develop â€Å"strategies and skills for initiating, maintain, and enjoying a relationship with other children – including taking turns, problem solving, negotiating, taking another’s point of view, supporting others, and understanding other people’s attitudes and feelings – in a variety of contexts;† (MoE, 1996, pg. 70). This play opportunity encompasses these strategies as children are participating in co-operative play in which they need to, for example, take turns with the dramatic play equipment (Beaver, et al, 2001). Physical Play Physical play can promote learning in several ways. The ways this booklet will focus on are gross motor skills and social and emotional development. By the age of 4 children are confident in climbing up and over large equipment. Between the ages of 4 and 6 children are developing agility and strength. These skills are important for such physical movements as jumping and climbing. Due to climbing children begin developing the ability to balance. Children between these ages are learning hand eye coordination due to new skills in catching, kicking and throwing balls (Beaver, et al, 2001). Arthur, L. , Beecher, B. , Death, E. , Dockett, S. , Farmer, S. ecognises that â€Å"One of the fascinating things about motor skills is that they develop with practice. † (2007, pg. 81). Therefore through repetition children can learn skills involving gross motor skills. Once children are four years of age the speed of their running can be changed more conveniently and their physical competency is displayed through the ability to accomplish tasks such as long jumps while running, skipping or hopping. By achieving in physical activities children have their skills consolidated and consequently develop confidence in their physical aptitude.