Intension to Use Mobile Banking in Myanmar

Htet Khine Soe Student of Graduate School of Business, Assumption University, Thailand Rawin Vongurai, Ph.D. Lecturer of Graduate School of Business, Assumption University, Thailand  Literature ReviewMobile banking is studied the most value-adding and necessary mobile commerce application (Baptista and Oliveira, 2015; Malaquias and Hwang, 2016; Chaouali, W., Souiden, N. and Ladhari, R. (2017)). Laukkanen and Kiviniemi (2010) defined mobile banking as â€Å"an interaction in which a customer is connected to a bank via a mobile device such as a cell phone, smartphone, or personal digital assistant†. Mobile banking services admit the customers to check account balances, transfer funds between account to account, and make mobile top-up bill and others payments. They have a huge potential market because of their always-on functionality and the option for customers can open their own mobile wallet accounts at anywhere of without needing to pay a visit to the bank.Perceived ease of use (PEOU)Davis (1989) described the perceived ease of use that â€Å"the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort†. It is the terms which a customer believes that a system is easy to learn or use. This system is similar to the complexity system used in innovation diffusion theory (IDT) (Rogers, 1995). Mobile banking technology should be simple and easy for the customer to understand in order to enhance acceptance (Chitungo and Munongo, 2013; Mortimer, G., Neale, L., Hasan, S.F.E. and Dunphy, B. (2015); Koksal, 2016). The factors affects the complexity in mobile banking system such as navigation problems, a small screen size, and transaction issues. Venkatesh (2000) found the perceived ease of use by integrating internal control (computer self-efficacy) and external control (facilitating condition) into technology acceptance model (TAM). The other studies (Davis, 1986, 1989) also pointed that perceived ease of use can impact perceived usefulness because other item being equal the easier the technology is to use the more useful it can be. The research in mobile banking system shows that perceived ease of use has significant effect on perceived usefulness.Social influence (SI)The theory of reasoned action (TRA) and its additions (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) require that human behavior is followed by intentions, which are designed based on an individual's attitude towards the behavior and perceived subjective norms. Venkatesh et al. (2003) represented subjective norms as social influence, which is derived from theories such as theory of reasoned action (TRA), theory of planned behavior (TPB), decomposed theory of planned behavior DTPB, TAM2, C-TAM-TPB, the model of PC utilization (MPCU), and image in IDT. Social influence mentioned an individual's perception of other people's opinions if he or she should perform a particular behavior. The studies of mobile banking adoption have shown a relationship between social influence and intention to use mobile banking (Laukkanen et al., 2007; Amin et al., 2008; Riquelme and Rios, 2010; Puschel et al., 2010; Sripalawat et al., 2011; Dasgupta et al., 2011; Tan and Lau, 2016).Computer self-efficacy (CSE)The derivation of self-efficacy is social cognitive theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986). Self-efficacy expectation is the â€Å"conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce the outcomes† (Bandura, 1977). Additional, â€Å"expectations of self-efficacy determine whether coping behavior will be initiated, how much effort will be expended, and how long it will be sustained in the face of obstacles and aversive experiences† (Bandura, 1977). Self-efficacy belief is termed computer self-efficacy, which is termed as one's perception of his or her ability to use a computer (Compeau and Higgins, 1995). In the mobile banking, if the customer believes that he or she has the required knowledge, skill, or ability to operate mobile banking, there is a higher chance of trying to usage the service. Through this hypothesis, the study explores whether a customer has the self-confidence to use mobile banking. Previous studies have exposed empirical evidence of a causal link between perceived ease of use and self-efficacy (Luarn and Lin, 2005; Wang, Y.-S., Lin, H.-H. and Luarn, P. (2006); Sripalawat et al., 2011; Jeong and Yoon, 2013).Perceived financial cost (PFC)The cost incurred in conducting mobile banking could slow its adoption. In the mobile banking, the cost has been found to be a major barrier to adoption (Yu, 2012; Hanafizadeh, P., Behboudi, M., Koshksaray, A.A. and Tabar, M.J.S. (2014); Alalwan, A.A., Dwivedi, Y.K. and Rana, N.P. (2017)). The cost incurred consist of the initial purchase price, equipment cost, subscription charges, and transaction cost. Perceived financial cost is the extent to which a person believes that using mobile banking would be costlier than other options (Luarn and Lin, 2005).Security (S)Security is a serious concern when conducting financial transactions through electronic channels. Hence, this could be one of the main barriers to the adoption of mobile banking, as personal or financial information could be exposed and used for fraudulent activities. Kalakota and Whinston (1997) defined security as â€Å"a threat which creates circumstances, condition, or event with the potential to cause economic hardship to data or network resources in the form of destruction, disclosure, modification of data, denial of service and/or fraud, waste, and abuse†. Mobile banking contains more uncertainty and risk to the customer. In the mobile/wireless environment, security can be considered as the mobile payment-enabling application security, network security, and device security. The security mechanism of mobile banking has a positive effect on intention to use.Trust (T)Trust can be defined as the willingness to make one vulnerable to actions taken by a trusted party based on the feeling of confidence or assurance (Gefen, 2000). Masrek et al. (2012) defined trust in mobile banking as â€Å"the belief that allows individuals to willingly become vulnerable to the bank, the telecommunication provider, and the mobile technology after having the banks, and the telecommunication provider's characteristic embedded in the technology artefact†. Trust shows a significant role in the adoption of mobile banking, helping customers overcome the fears of security/privacy risks and fraudulent activities in the mobile channels (Gu et al., 2009; Zhou, 2011; Afshan and Sharif, 2016). Trust is improved by the security mechanisms provided by mobile banking services. Customers are more likely to trust the new service if adequate security is provided for their transaction data. The researchers such as Komiak and Benbasat (2004) have noticed trust from the emotional point of view and defined as the extent to which an individual feels secure and confident about relying on the trustee. Ennew and Sekhon (2007) have defined the trust as â€Å"individual's willingness to accept vulnerability on the grounds of positive expectations about the intentions or behavior of another in a situation characterized by interdependence and risk.† This definition combines both the emotional as well as cognitive dimensions of trust. Therefore, consumer trust could be described as a function of the degree of risk involved in the situation and it is basically needful only in uncertain situations.Behavioral intentions (BI)Intention is defined as a prediction of actual behavior in socio-psychological studies (Bagozzi, 1989). The studies evidenced that intention is a prediction of actual behavior. Bae (2014) point out that intentions are powered by a person's attitude, norms an d self-control. This study is founded Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. The theory is used for behavioral intentions. It emphasize that a person's behavior is intentional is the result of attitude, subjunctive norms and self-control. Behavioral intention is also described as the extent to which users are willing to use a technology (Carlsson, Carlsson, Hyvonen, Puhakainen ; Walden, 2006). The subjective norm construct for behavioral intention is the most supreme antecedent (Ajzen, 1991). The theory of planned behavior (TPB) explains the purchase intention (Ajzen ; Madden, 1986). The theory of reasoned action (TRA) describes that performance of behavior is presented by the intention to carry out the behavior itself (Warshaw, 1980). The theoretical studies point out that intentions predicts a person's behavior. This view align with a context of BI to use customer intention of mobile banking system for this system.Research Framework and MethodologyResearch ObjectiveThis study proposed to identify the factors influencing acceptance and adoption of mobile banking systems in Myanmar and develop the behavioral intention to use the mobile banking in the Myanmar banking sector.Conceptual FrameworkThe conceptual framework of the study is adopted from the theoretical framework of Intention to use mobile banking in India (Sindhu Singh and R.K. Srivastava, 2018). The framework using in this research to find the customer intention to use the mobile banking system in Myanmar. To these study the factors consists of self-efficiency, perceived ease of use and social influence and intention to use. The other factors included security, Trust, and perceived financial cost, which are recognized to influence mobile banking acceptance(Luarn and Lin, 2005; Lee et al.,2007; Zhou, 2011; Yu, 2012; Hanafizadeh et al., 2014; Afshan and Sharif, 2016). The bank customer has many digital payment system to use than mobile banking where these six constructs play an important role. The study aimed that if the mobile banking system is easy to use, customers have the self-confidence to use and it is secure, trustworthy system, and cheaper than other digital payment system, more customers will be willing to use mobile banking system. Thus, the conceptual framework is developed to study the factors of influencing to use mobile banking in Myanmar as shown in Figure 1.HypothesisThe hypotheses of this research based on the conceptual framework to find the relationship between Self-Efficacy, perceived ease of use, Social Influence, Security, Trust, perceived financial cost that influence the customer intention to use the mobile banking in Myanmar. There are four hypotheses in this study are as follow;H1:Self-efficacy has significant influence on perceived ease of value of mobile banking system.H2: Self-Efficacy (H2a), perceived ease of use (H2b), Social Influence (H2c), Security (H2d), Trust (H2e), perceived financial cost (H2f) have significant influence on intention to use mobile banking system.H3: Security has significant influence on Trust of mobile banking system.H4: There is a significant mean difference in monthly income level on intention to use mobile banking system.Reliability MethodologyThis research was conducted by performing the qualitative analysis for the adoption of mobile banking systems in Myanmar through a survey method. The survey was carried on in form of online and offline questionnaire to collect all required data. The convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used as non-probability sampling for the data collection. There are three parts of in questionnaire which are screening question, Likert scale and demographic. Measurement of Conceptual Framework and Variables The target respondent of this research were people who live in Myanmar and have used mobile banking system. The literature review was conducted to ensure that the model were appropriate for developing the conceptual framework and to understand all variables incorporated in this study. A five-point Likert scale was applied to test all hypotheses by ranking from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) throughout this study to measure the hypotheses. Population and sample The research questionnaire was distributed through the online and offline based survey with 200 respondents answered to the survey. The questionnaires have been distributed using sampling techniques of the convenience and snowball methods in order to obtain the data. The people who live in Myanmar continuously 6 months and have used the mobile banking system were selected as target respondents for this study.Reliability TestThe reliability test and validity of the questionnaire was established the pilot test by distributing 30 respondents. Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient was considered to examine the reliability level of each group of items included in the questionnaire. The test result of independent variable is consistent the requirement standard with Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient higher than 0.6 (Cronbach, 1951). The Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient result in a range between 0.733 and 0.899 which is greater than 0.6. Therefore, the questionnaire developed for this study is fully achieved the standard required for reliability test. The result is shown in Table 1. Table 1:Consistency of the scales test (N=30)Variables Number of items Cronbach's AlphaPerceived ease of use (PEOU) 2 0.752Social Influence (SI) 3 0.733Computer self-efficacy (CSE) 2 0.789Security (S) 3 0.842Perceived financial cost (PFC) 3 0.748Trust (T) 4 0.836Behavioral Intention (BI) 4 0.899

From Practical Knowledge To Practical Theory Education Essay

Several developments and worldwide alterations have begun to transform the nature of the workplaces and occupations in which they are performed ( Nankervis, Compton & A ; Baird 2005 ; Seel 2002 ) . These developments include the influences of globalisation and technological developments every bit good as political, economical, and societal alterations that are associated with the amendments of the new industrial systems and competitory markets or what is called ‘Postmodernity ‘ ( Stoll, Fink & A ; Earl 2003 ; Hargreaves 1994 ) . Postmodernity is defined as â€Å" a societal status in which economic, political, organisational, and even personal life comes to be organized around really different rules than those of modernness † ( Hargreaves 1994, p. 9 ) . It is characterized by the demand of flexibleness and reactivity as reflected in decentralised decision-making, level organisational constructions, dynamic webs of collaborative reactivity, and increased personal au thorization. In instruction, teacher ‘s engagement in the alteration procedure is considered critical, particularly if the alteration is complex and affects assorted educational scenes over a long period of clip ( Hargreaves 1994 ) . Teacher ‘s engagement is to be meaningful and productive when instructors get more than new cognition of teaching method and course of study. Teachers are non merely proficient scholars ; they are societal scholars who play an of import function in society and for society ( Beare 2001 ; Middleton & A ; Hill 1996 ) . Schooling in the station modern age trades with personal formation, belief building, developing a universe position, civilization transmittal, and geting the utile cognition and enabling accomplishments ( Beare 2001 ) . Teaching is considered a complex undertaking that involves garnering out a set of specific activities, patterns, and resources in footings of several educational intents ( Sanders & A ; McCutcheon 1986 ) . Furthermore, Sanders and McCutcheon argue that successful instructors should form these multiple factors so that they are effectual in cultivating the acquisition of a peculiar group of students. The cognition which is considered utile for instructors in transporting out this undertaking is practical information organized in the signifier of repertory, thoughts, and schemes that are effectual for them in a specific scene. In the last 2 decennaries, research on instruction has progressively focused on the knowledges that underlie instructors ‘ schoolroom patterns, instead than on their behaviours ( Van Driel, Verloop & A ; De Vos 1998 ) . This alteration in focal point was reinforced by developments in cognitive psychological science. These developments were based on the cardinal premise that instructors ‘ knowledges and actions influence each other, and, similarly, those instructors ‘ knowledges and their schoolroom behaviours reciprocally affect each other. These knowledges are referred to instructors ‘ practical cognition that underlies instructors ‘ actions. The term practical cognition is drawn from Fenstermacher, who described it as the cognition of instructors ( Husu 1999 ) . Fenstermacher distinguished this type of cognition from formal cognition, which he described as cognition for instructors. Practical cognition is the cognition that instructors generate as a co nsequence of their experiences as instructors and their contemplations on these experiences. This cognition is anchored in schoolroom state of affairss ; it includes all the practical quandary that instructors encounter in transporting out purposeful actions ( Munby, Russell & A ; Martin 2001 ) . Teacher ‘s Practical KnowledgePersonal cognition is related to the experiences and thoughts that a individual draws upon in order to learn and germinate as a instructor, it relates to adult male ‘s action and behaviour ( Back 2002 ) . Beliefs, values, attitudes, prejudices, and temperament are footings that relate to this personal cognition. Connelly, Clandinin and He ( 1997 ) refer this pre-articulated sense of instruction as personal practical cognition. For personal cognition to develop, instructors need clip and infinite to reflect on past practical experiences that inform their positions on learning. Nevertheless, instruction is a dynamic procedure that is constructed and continuously re-constructed, as instructors frame new experiences into their personal practical cognition on instruction. Practical cognition is at the centre of a instructor ‘s professional pattern ( Munby, Russsell & A ; Martin 2001 ) . There are four features of practical cognition. First, practical cognition is clip edge. Second, practical cognition is state of affairs specific and does non interpret easy to other, even in similar fortunes. Third, practical cognition is personally compelling. While information acquired in a professional development seminar might be interesting, it will non do the instructor to change pattern unless the particular job addressed is one that instructor is presently confronting in the schoolroom. Finally, practical cognition is directed toward action. The information is acquired ‘in usage ‘ with the professional giving significance to the new information even as he/she is make up one's minding the following action to take ( Schon 1987 ) . From a reappraisal of surveies on instructors ‘ practical cognition, the undermentioned features are identified: Practical cognition is personal ; each instructor ‘s practical cognition is to some extent unique, it is defined and adapted to the schoolroom state of affairs, it is based on ( contemplation on ) experience. Practical cognition originates in, and develops through, experiences in instruction, it guides instructors ‘ pattern, and it is connected with the topic that is taught ( Munby, Russsell & A ; Martin 2001 ; Schon 1987 ; Connelly, Clandinin & A ; He 1997 ; Driel, Verloop & A ; De Vos 1998 ) Practical Knowledge as TheoryMarland ( 1998 ) argues that practical cognition serves some of the maps of theory. He asserts that practical cognition provides a footing for instructors to depict and explicate what they do in schoolrooms and why. Practical cognition aid instructors to foretell how pupils might respond, to make up one's mind what is the best response to their reaction, and to bring forth effectual and feasible instruction programs and modify them when necessary or possible. Marland adds that practical cognition serves three standard maps of theory: description, account, and anticipation. Practical theories as Drum sanders and McCutcheon ( 1986 ) point out are markedly different from scientific theories. They lack the conceptual preciseness and generalizability of scientific theories, they have non been formulated in footings of a formal linguistic communication, so, can non be subjected to the same strict logical trials as scientific theories. Practical theories are the conceptual constructions and visions that provide instructors with justification for actions and for learning activities they choose in order to be effectual. They are considered the rules that guide instructors ‘ grasps, determinations, and actions. Teachers Practical TheoriesMarland ( 1998 ) argues that practical theories of instructors are impressions about how to learn. These impressions have been crafted by instructors from their ain experiences of learning for the intent of set uping their peculiar work scenes. Practical theories are hence individualized and context-specific. They are inexplicit in beginning and derived from the experience of learning. Drum sanders and McCutcheon ( 1986 ) specify practical theories as â€Å" the conceptual constructions and visions that provide instructors with grounds for moving as they do, and for taking the instruction activities and course of study stuffs they choose in order to be effectual † ( p. 54 ) . Practical theories are considered of import and of value for instructors because they offer their holders guidelines as to what be most effectual in a peculiar educational context. They are prized by instructors who see them as dependable and best ways to continue. For this ground, practical theories could be sometimes immune to alter ( Marland 1998 ) . Fenstermacher ( cited in Husu 1999 ) asserts that justification can take topographic point when logical thinking may demo that action is sensible thing to make, an obvious thing to make, and the lone thing to make under the fortunes. Each one of these is considered a part to the justification of a regulation of pattern. The regulations are justified because they have proven their worth and have hence been approved. Teachers think, both explicitly and implicitly, that their regulations of pattern work. This is why instructors act consequently. They believe that there is a connexion between the regulations of pattern and their intended results ( Husu 1999 ) . Practical theories draw on and incorporate cognition from assorted spheres of practical cognition, such as, cognition of ego, cognition of pupils, cognition direction, cognition of course of study, and cognition of context ( Elbaz 1983, cited in Reading Module 2 ) . Practical theories are considered critical to the success of learning because educational jobs encountered by instructors are normally practical jobs ( Sanders & A ; McCutcheon 1986 ) . These jobs can non be solved by merely detecting or contriving new cognition or solution. Drum sanders and McCutcheon ( 1986 ) assert that in order to be effectual in work outing educational jobs, solutions must be put in action to suit in the peculiar fortunes of a specific educational scene. It is of import to detect here that practical theories are non ever consciously held, despite that instructors may frequently explain them. Sometimes, instructors may still move if they are non witting of the grounds for their actions. In this state of affairs, instructors ‘ actions themselves may be the lone manifestation of what Argyris called their ‘theories-in-use ‘ , which are realized by instructors through contemplation on their pattern ( Sanders & A ; McCutcheon 1986 ) . Teachers in sch oolrooms use more than one theory, some theories could be known to them and some could be non. Whether or non instructors are witting of their theories of action, all what they enact during their Sessionss is rational in the sense that it is intended to carry through some intent and to bring forth a coveted effect ( Marland & A ; Osborne 1990 ) . Every instruction pattern used by instructors is employed rationally because instructors are engaged in knowing and purposive action to make conditions suited and facilitate acquisition ( Sanders & A ; McCutcheon 1986 ) . Teachers hold thoughts about what is of import to accomplish and what specific patterns they may utilize to learn in a peculiar state of affairs. All these thoughts as Sanders & A ; McCutcheon assert might be incorporated into a individual practical theory of learning in the instructor ‘s head, but more frequently, theories are used together in sets. These theories are developed by instructors over their whole calling by reflecting on what they know of the purposes of instruction, through duologue with, and observation of, other instructors, and by informally detecting their pupils as they talk, write, act, respond, speak, and engage in other activities throughout the twenty-four hours. Schon ( 1987 ) argues that the capacity to develop these meta-structures of cognition can be developed through brooding pattern. Brooding pattern requires that professionals engage in a duologue with themselves and their environments in which they review the jobs that are portion of their day-to-day pattern. The professional, confronted with a surprise job, uses intuition and stored cognition to try solutions, with each effort going progressively closer to an appropriate solution. Throughout this procedure, the professional is forced to oppugn premises about the cognition base, doing a restructuring of schemes of action and apprehensions of the phenomena that occurred. Once the solution is reached, each episode of â€Å" reflecting in action † , causes the professional to change pattern behaviour by adding new information to the shop of professional cognition. This increases the organic structure of adept cognition and makes it less differentiated, leting the professional to r eassign cognition across practical state of affairss. Much of the acquisition that is acquired by instructors in the action context is mostly self-validating and self-confirming. Learning basically occurs in fortunes of hot action where determinations must be made rapidly and instinctively, chances to reflect and do significance of the experience are limited. The significance taken from these experiences tend to be self-validating and self-confirming. Components of Practical TheoriesLiterature on instructors ‘ practical theories depicts most of the constituents of these theories. However, practical theory does non merely consist of constituents but of links among, or inter-relationships among, the constituents. These links or relationships among constituents give the theory its construction or form and find how good it fulfils its map. Footings that are normally appear in the literature in histories of instructors ‘ practical theories are as follows: instructors ‘ values, beliefs, rules, regulations, ends, tactics and schemes, normal desirable provinces and pupil provinces, cues, properties, contextual variables, images, metaphors, and pedagogical content cognition ( Marland 1998, 2007 ; Connelly & A ; Clandinin 1988 ; Marland & A ; Osborne 1990 ; Connelly, Clandinin & A ; He 1997 ) . Marland ( 1998 ) argues that instructors are keenly cognizant of how one constituent influences others. Teachers offer accounts for why they adopt different schemes with different categories at the same twelvemonth degree, why they spend more clip with some groups than with others, how their beliefs about pupil larning affect their pick of rules of instructor behaviour and instruction schemes, and how they use the pupil cues to place that provinces of head of pupils. Marland adds that the constituents of practical theories are non isolated, independent, and free-floating units ; they are linked together in a quite important manner. The constituents within a practical theory must complement and back up each other because a practical theory is a program for action. It is directed at accomplishing some ends. In other words, all constituents in a specific lesson program need to work good together in order for the ends of the lesson to be achieved. It is the links between constituents tha t give coherency and integrity of intent to a practical theory ( Marland 2007 ) . The linkages among constituents of a theory are like linkages among words in a sentence. To ease their communicating with each other, the words have to be presented in a peculiar sequence. This careful sequencing of words would give the set of words a significance. In a similar manner, learning becomes meaningful when instructors can do mention to the interactions among the assorted constituents of their theories ( Reading Module 3 ) . Teachers ‘ RulesRules are the clear statements used by instructors in schoolrooms to bespeak to pupils what represents appropriate behavior or action ( Marland 2007 ) . Elbaz uses the term, ‘rule of pattern ‘ and defines it as â€Å" a brief, clearly formulated statement of what to make or how to make in a peculiar state of affairs often encountered in pattern † ( Elbaz, cited in Connelly & A ; Clandinin 1988, p. 63 ) . Classroom regulations are normally used by instructors to set up forms of behaviour that facilitate a societal order and productive working scenes, guarantee effectual usage of clip, and facilitate bend taking in treatment and purposeful motion by pupils ( Marland 2007 ) . Rules may hold two signifiers, they could be brief statements or drawn-out description of pattern from which a figure of related regulations may be inferred ( Connelly & A ; Clandinin 1988 ) . For illustration, when the instructor provinces at the beginning of twelvemonth to the pupils that he/she will listen really carefully to them, promote them to rephrase, and let them to show their feelings, sentiments, and concerns without judging them. This statement expresses a figure of regulations, such as, listen carefully, encourage pupils to rephrase, let express of feelings, do non judge. All these regulations taken together will organize an attack of communicating in the schoolroom that can be expressed in the statement of a rule. They are called as regulations because they make mention to what and how of the state of affairs with the intent being taken for granted ( Connelly & A ; Clandinin 1988 ) . Rules may be suggested by the instructor or formulated jointly by the instructor and p upils. Seeking pupils input in the preparation of regulations will make a democratic ambiance in the schoolroom and will promote pupils engagement, which increases pupils understanding and committedness. Husu ( 1999 ) argues that regulations are normally justified by instructors because they have proven their worth and have hence been approved. Teachers think implicitly and explicitly that the regulations of pattern used in classrooms work efficaciously. And because they work, instructors act consequently. This type of concluding would warrant a connexion between the regulations of pattern and their intended results in schoolrooms. They are justified because they have met the criterions of the smooth practical action held by the instructor. Rules of pattern are socially constructed ; they emerge from old ages of experience in school scenes. It is a manner instructors found to be effectual in work outing debatable state of affairss. They set a strong organisational power to frequently helter-skelter patterns in the schoolroom. Teachers ‘ MetaphorsMarland ( 2007 ) argues that instructors sometimes refer to learning as mothering, coaching, or horticulture, each one of these descriptions draws attending to some similarities between learning and other activities. This pulling attending to similarities between two things is what a metaphor does. Analysis of these metaphors about learning reveals much about the ways instructors think about learning and how they conceptualize of import facets of their work and how they believe schoolrooms map best. Teacher ‘s behaviour in schoolrooms is normally consistent with the metaphors used in their negotiations about learning. For this ground, metaphors used by instructors are considered as supplying valuable penetrations into their practical theories. Metaphor is a constituent of personal practical cognition. It can be identified when listening to the instructor ‘s address ( Connelly & A ; Clandinin 1988 ) . It gives inventive look to this cognition that makes it possible for a individual to research concealed rational avenues contained in a metaphor ‘s frame ( Connelly, Clandinin & A ; He 1997 ) . A individual metaphor can be used to depict how instructors view their work in the schoolroom. It can be used to convey cardinal facets of the instructor ‘s position of instruction and acquisition ( Korthagen & A ; Lagerwerf 2001 ) , covering such constituents as ends, tactics, schemes, values, and pupil provinces. Deductions of Teachers ‘ Practical TheoriesMarland ( 1998 ) argues that a successful alteration in the instruction perspectives requires developing a committedness to follow new values and beliefs. This hard and time-consuming activity is considered critical because values and beliefs are cardinal to instructors ‘ impressions about learning. Valuess and beliefs are considered the cardinal constituents of the moral models that instructors hold, which besides influence their decision-making about learning. This moral model motivates and gives purpose and way to believing about learning. Teacher pedagogues that intend to do the displacement need to value practical cognition about learning that pupil instructors develop within their classs. They besides need to value the procedures such as those built-in in critical thought and contemplation that contribute to the acquisition and alteration of practical cognition and theories. Accepting these values would do instructors pedag ogues review their beliefs about pupil instructors, how they learn to learn, the function of the instructor pedagogue, and the nature of cognition. Alliance with the position that instruction is shaped by the practical theories of instructors requires that teacher instruction aid pupil instructors to develop practical theories that are personally meaningful and relevant to the contexts in which they pattern. This end emphasizes the importance of valuing personal liberty, critical thought, and diverseness of learning manners. This end besides requires careful attending to the schemes used in teacher instruction to guarantee that they are effectual in advancing personal and context-specific practical theories to the pre-service instructors. The schemes selected should be influenced by the nature of the topic for which the instructor pedagogue has duty. Besides make up one's minding the appropriate schemes, pedagogues should seek to bring on through their classs the provinces of pupils in order to ease end attainment. Students need to be inquiry-oriented and self-evaluative, to take enterprises and to be originative, and to demo readiness to be brooding and unfastened to other possibilities in order to construct their ain practical theories. Furthermore, pedagogues here play an of import function in easing pupils ‘ provinces by honoring enterprise, commending soul-searching, back uping flexibleness and bring forthing options, constructing self-pride of pupils, and promote hazard taking. It is imperative for instructor pedagogues to reflect on the rules which they build into their actions to guarantee that they reflect the values, beliefs, schemes, and pupil provinces that facilitate pupil teacher theory-building. Teacher pedagogues need to guarantee that they know plenty about the pupil instructors they are working with in ord er to be able to polish other characteristics of their practical theories, such as schemes, rules, pupil provinces and ends, and to personalise these in the involvements of maximising benefits for pupil instructors ( Marland 1998 ) . DecisionThis paper presented an overview of instructors ‘ practical theories. Practical theories are considered critical to the success of learning because educational jobs encountered by instructors are normally practical jobs ( Sanders & A ; McCutcheon 1986 ) . Practical theories are impressions about how to learn, these impressions have been crafted by instructors from their ain experiences of learning for set uping their peculiar work scenes. Practical theory does non merely consist of constituents but of links among, or inter-relationships among, the constituents. These links or relationships among constituents give the theory its construction or form and find how good it fulfils its map. They serve as the background to much of the instructors ‘ decision-making and action, and therefore represent what has been termed the civilization of instruction. MentionsBack, S 2002, ‘The Aristotelean challenge to teacher instruction ‘ , History of Intellectual Culture, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-5. Beare, H 2001, Making the future school, Routledge Falmer, London. Connelly, FM & A ; Clandinin, DJ & A ; He, Ming Fang 1997, ‘Teachers ‘ personal practical cognition on the professional cognition landscape ‘ , Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 665-74. Connelly, FM & A ; Clandinin, DJ 1988, Teachers as course of study contrivers, Teachers College Press, New York. Hargreaves, A 1994, Changing instructors, altering times: instructors ‘ work and civilization in the postmodern age, Cassell, London. Husu, J 1999, ‘How instructors know and know about others? ‘ paper presented at the 9th Biennial Conference on International Study Association on Teachers & A ; Teaching ( ISATT ) , Dublin, Ireland, July, 25 pages. Korthagen, FA & A ; Lagerwerf, B 2001, ‘Teachers ‘ professional acquisition: how does it work? ‘ , in FA Korthagen ( ed. ) , Associating pattern and theory. The teaching method of realistic instructor instruction, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, London, pp. 175-206. Marland, P 2007, Learning to learn. A primer for pre-service instructors, Pearson, Gallic Forest, NSW. Marland, PW & A ; Osborne, AB 1990, ‘Classroom theory, believing and action ‘ , Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 93-109. Marland, PW 1998, ‘Teachers ‘ practical theories: deductions for pre-service instructor instruction ‘ , Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education & A ; Development, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 15-23. Middleton, M & A ; Hill, J 1996, Changing schools: ambitious premises and researching possibilities, Hawker-Brownlow, Melbourne. Munby, H, Russell, T & A ; Martin, AK 2001, ‘Teachers ‘ cognition and how it develops ‘ , in V Richardson ( ed. ) , Handbook of research on instruction, 4th edn, American educational Research Association, Washington, pp. 877-904. Nankervis, AR, Compton, RL & A ; Baird, M 2005, Human resource direction: schemes and procedures, 5th edn, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne. Drum sanders, CP & A ; McCutcheon, G 1986, ‘The development of practical theories of learning ‘ , Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 50-67. Schon, D 1987, Educating the brooding practician, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Seel, R 2002, ‘The nature of organisational alteration ‘ , viewed 15 November 2006,. Stoll, L, Fink, D & A ; Earl, L 2003, It ‘s about acquisition ( and it ‘s about clip ) . What ‘s in it for schools? , Routledge Falmer, London. Van Driel, JH, Verloop, N & A ; De Vos, W 1998, ‘Developing scientific discipline instructors ‘ pedagogical content cognition ‘ , Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 673-95.

Analyzing What Boudicca Is

Analyzing What Boudicca Is Though the primary sources on Boudicca are fragmentary and limited, it can still be ascertained that she played a major role in the revolt of the Iceni against the mighty foreign power of Rome. Throughout history powerful men have been viewed as threatening, but powerful women such as the late queen of the Iceni are often seen as awe-inspiring. Owing to Boudicca’s mistreatment and bravery she rose up against the Roman Invasion endeavouring to seek vengeance and in doing so shaped European history. Boudicca, one of history’s most powerful women, suffered rape only vicariously as a mother, but her revenge destroyed thousands. The rebellion of Boudicca has an established and monumental place in British history. Her ability to recruit a brutal Celtic army and massacre thousands in her revolt displays her courage and determination as a leader. The character of this woman and the events of her life, contribute immensely to her importance in history. While over time she has b een viewed by different perspectives, she is most commonly seen as the obvious; a queen, mother, wife and survivor. Boudicca’s revolt against the Romans was initially shaped by misfortunes brought upon her life and her family. Among ancient Celts, women were equal to men and held a number of well established rights. Consequently, when Boudicca’s husband, Prasutagus, King of the Iceni tribe met his death in 60 AD, Boudicca took her assumed role as Leader and queen. Her husband’s will outlined Boudicca’s inheritance of the tribe and its land yet the Romans considered this practise illegal and demanded she hand over her wealth and territories. The injustice of such a demand resulted in Boudicca’s strong refusal which ultimately led to her arrest, flogging and then the public brutalisation and rape of her two young daughters. Tacitus, senator and historian of the Roman Empire depicted the event in his work, The Annals. He states, â€Å"His kingdom was plundered by centuries†¦ his wife Boudicca was scoured and his daughters outrage. All the chief men of the Iceni as if Rome had received the whole country as a gift, were stripped of their ancestral possessions, and the kings relatives were made slaves.†(http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.html). This prominent historian outlines significantly the atrocious actions of the Roman Empire and mistreatment of the Royal Family and its tribe. Manifestly, after the assault to her children, her family and her kingdom, it was time to seek vengeance. Boudicca triumphed as courageous female leader and despite the fragmentary nature of sources; there is strong historical evidence which depicts her heroic qualities. In the case of Boudicca, the public lashing she received and the rape of her daughters was a calculated political move on the part of the offending Romans, whose intent was to show the Celts their helplessness against the conquerors. For years Celtic tribes had suffered under roman domination and taxation. They had been driven off their own land and subject to lives as slaves and prisoners. After suffering yet enduring such great offences, Boudicca recruited neighbouring Celtic tribes which without a doubt strongly supported the revolt. Tacitus articulated that even neighbouring tribes which had not yet been cowed by slavery agreed in secret conspiracy to reclaim Celtic freedom. (Annals, 14,31). Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, could not overlook the magnanimity of Boudicca as he romantically depicts her in his literature when he displayed, â€Å"She was huge of frame, terrifying of aspect, and with a harsh voice. A great mass of bright red hair fell to her knees: she wore a twisted Torc, and a tunic of any colours, over which was a thick mantle, festered by a broach. Now she grasped a spear to strike fear into all that watched her†.(www.unc.edu). Without question, Boudicca’s larger than life reputation, courageous persona and frighte ning stance was clearly recognised and depicted strongly in Roman history. Her ability to inspire support from neighbouring tribes in her vengeance in seeking to revolt made her a leader in her own right. Her final speech to her army, retold by Tacitus, displays the motivations of the Celts. Boudicca stated, â€Å"Roman lust has gone so far that not our very person, nor even age or virginity, are left unpolluted†¦ If you weigh well the strength of the armies, and the causes of the war, you will see that this battle you must conquer or die. This is a women’s resolve; as for men, they may live and be slaves, and captive.†(www.unc.edu). Boudicca expresses that she would rather die than let herself and her tribe fall under the control of the Roman Empire. It is articulated that Boudicca saw the battle as life or death and that women will fight to the very end in the name of vengeance. Despite the fragmentary nature of the sources surrounding Boudicca, it is still evid ent that her efforts to build and motivate her army display her impact and inspiring leadership qualities.

Health & Healing in Cross Cultural Perspective Assignment

Health & Healing in Cross Cultural Perspective - Assignment Example 2. What may be considered normal within one culture may be considered as abnormal in another. Despite the presence of a universally valid system of recognizing the illness and its symptoms, yet cultural differences define behaviors in their own way. This is called cultural theory of normalcy and abnormalcy. A culture defines for a person what behavior he should adopt in order to be normal. For example, average age which is late for a menstrual period to come may be different in different cultures. If a girl of 10 starts menstruating, she may be considered as abnormal in a culture where girls menstruate as late as fifteen. Thus, cultural differences define normal and abnormal behaviors. 3. Spirit possession empowers people in a way that they impart people such spiritual powers (like in Exorcist) that are unable to get without demonic possession. This is a common perspective in many cultures that a spirit has taken the control of a person’s body and he undergoes such powerful ch anges in the physical attributes like voice and etcetera, that we can say that he gets empowered. Spirit possession enables one to be someone else. ... 4. Susto is an ethnomedical syndrome that is usually found in Latin American culture. The concept revolves around the separation of soul from the physical body of a person. The belief is that the victim’s soul or soul of any of the members of his family is taken away through a frightful experience. The women and children may be the victims of this soul loss rather than the person who underwent the frightful occurrence, because they are the weaker members of the family. Rubel and his colleagues found that susto was caused by self- perception of personal inadequacies when the victim is unable to meet social expectations. Hence, social stress was found to be the cause of susto. 5. The hot-cold theory of disease, of Mexican American culture, states that an illness, like food and colors, can be associated with being hot or cold. For example, menstrual cramps are considered as cold illness while pregnancy cramps are regarded as hot. This belief tends to make people comply with the t reatment process much more powerfully. The treatment then consists of such procedures that tend to neutralize the hotness or coldness of the disease, by treating it with a procedure of opposite quality. The health provider should understand the patient’s cultural view on this theory and should proceed accordingly. Giving cold juices in cold illness like flu may lead to patient noncompliance. Hot drinks like tea and coffee can be advised otherwise. 6. Biomedicine is a part of natural diseases causation ethnomedical system because it is based on scientific judgments and clinical procedures of treatments. It is not like primitive medicine which is based on the concept that magic and the possession of supernatural spirits can be used in healing, nor it is like folk medicine which is based on

A Small Scale Study on the Perspectives of Saudi Undergraduate Assignment

A Small Scale Study on the Perspectives of Saudi Undergraduate Students on the Use of Smartphones as a Motivational Learning Tool in Preparatory Year Language - Assignment Example he primary language of international trade, science and technology and since Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producing country, English is perceived as an integral part of the human resource development agenda of the Saudi government (Alseweed, 2009). Given the Saudi government’s commitment to improving English language skills in Saudi Arabia as evidenced by 6 years of compulsory English at school and the unsatisfactory results, several studies have been conducted on identifying the reasons for the unsatisfactory acquisition of English language among Saudi students and how to best motivate Saudi students for improved results (Alsewee, 2009; Liton, 2012; Khan, 2011). Informed by adult learning theories, this research proposes to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of smartphone use in preparatory year language learners in Saudi Arabia. Adult learning theories inform that adult learners are more complex than children learners and that as adults, experienc es together with fixed opinions and perceptions instruct that adults are more amenable to learning that takes account of their specific needs and interests (Hough, 1984). Barrs (2011) considered the learning needs and interests of young adult students and the advances in mobile technology and argued that smartphones in particular have a particular value as a language learning tool for young university students. For the most part, these students own and use smartphones regularly. Moreover, young university students also rely on a number of smartphone applications for sharing and processing information and have access to this information via smartphones on a continuous level. Therefore smartphones can be used to channel the interest, experience and technological needs of young adult students as a... This study will therefore contribute to adult learning theories and the exploration of the possibility of smartphone technologies as a means of enhancing Saudi Arabia preparatory year student’s acquisition of a second language. A qualitative case study will be conducted among male students in the preparatory year at a college in Saudi Arabia. A phenomenological approach will be taken in that students will be interviewed as a means of discovering their experiences with leaning English and their attitudes toward smartphones as a learning tool and how this correlates with their interest and learning needs. The aim of this proposed research is to determine the extent to which the use of smartphones is a viable learning tool for improving the language proficiency of preparatory year language students in Saudi Arabia. Since this research focuses on a specific programme in Saudi Arabia, it is a social phenomenon that is more appropriately investigated using a qualitative case study. Since this research is investigating an educational programme with a view to determining whether or not the use of smartphones can improve language proficiency and thus motivational learning, an illustrative case study will be conducive to achieving this research objective. The illustrative case study will allow for the collection of rich and detailed person-centred data, describing individual perspectives and feelings and thus informing whether or not smartphones are appropriate learning tools for young adult language learners in Saudi Arabia’s preparatory language programme.

Strategic analysis of Acer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic analysis of Acer - Essay Example Acer has since been the third largest computer manufacturing company in the world holding 9.5% of the market share, with its growth being experienced outside USA mature market, largely in emerging nations. The peripherals and PC industry is very competitive and Acer has maintained growth since 1999 with significant growth in revenues. The key competitors in the market include Dell, HP and Lenovo; however there is a fragmentation of the market with 46% of it owned by brands which have market share of less than 4% each. Acer seeks to increase its market share through release of premium PCs under Ferrari brand and expansion in LCD TVs with BenQ brand (Unruh & Ettenson, 2010). This paper seeks to give a detailed report of strategic analysis of Acer Inc. The paper will analyze the environment in which Acer functions and identify the opportunities and threats to which it might expect to have to respond. This will be done through environmental analysis (PESTLE, Porter’s Five Forces, and SWOT). The report will also make analyses of the resources and key capabilities of the company plus the factors that give the company its competitive advantage. This will be done through assessing the Industry Critical Success Factors, analyzing resources and capabilities and link the generic strategy. Finally the paper will assess the extent to which Acer’s existing strategies match its environment and suggest improvements where there is a justification. This will be done through looking at the company’s strategy within its environment and use of the J and S three tests (suitability, acceptability, feasibility and suggested improvements. There will be a final management summary, conclusion and recommendations to the company and sample diagrams of the models of market and environment analysis. Acer is the third largest manufacturer of electronics (PC) in the world using a transnational strategy for procuring its components in order to maintain cost leadership.

Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Journals - Essay Example Therefore, Sufi orders otherwise known as turuql could either be Sunni Shii, or a combination of both doctrines. However, it is interesting to know that most of the turuql originate from Islamic Prophet  Muhammad. Very interesting though, is the fact that sufis strongly believe in the ideologies of peace, pacifism, and tolerance. Nevertheless, although sufi devotion is appreciated by many tenets of muslims, Wahhabi  and Salafist  Muslims have a strong opposition to sufi devotion. Learning and understanding sufi devotion has indeed enlightened me on this unique way of Islamic worship. I certainly support this kind of devotion since it encourages the followers to purify their hearts as they do so. However, I find it very interesting that sufi devotion is somewhat similar to Christian worship especially when Christian go for fasting and prayer. However, what I fail to perceive is the reason why Wahhabi  and Salafist  Muslims have a strong opposition to sufi devotion considerin g the way sufi devotion seems good and interesting. I also think that sufi devotion was the ultimate God’s idea of having an intimate relationship with his people. Looking at Buddhism, Buddha’s appreciate the need for meditation as a way of connecting with divine power. Therefore, sufi devotion is a form of worship done in different ways in different religions but having different names. Modernity Undeniably, the term modernity has different dimensions of definition depending on what is being studied. However, modernity simply means the paradigm shift from feudalism to secularized world. Modernity is often seen through different lens such as capitalism, industrialization, technological advancement, religious ideologies among others. Modernity can also refer to as the element of enlightenment. Modernity within the Islamic context arguably began in Turkey where tremendous change of religious, cultural, scientific, as well as legal ideologies surfaced. Interestingly, the adoption of modernity was not a uniform phenomenon. Indeed, there existed different groups of people that did not embrace modernity. This explains why we still have conservatism in all religions. For instance, Islam is arguably divided into different significant groups. However, conservatism is still appreciated in many Islamic tenets. Nevertheless, those who appreciate modernism have very often maintained that the spirit of reason in the original message of Islam be incorporated in modern lifestyle. Although I am not old enough to have seen the change from the traditional aspect to modernity, I can still perceive the idea through the reading. I strongly feel that modernity has changed many aspects of life including religious thoughts and ideologies. However, I think God, in his mighty power, had foreseen the modern lifestyle and had therefore made religion compatible with modernity. Therefore, as we seek to embrace modernity in all other aspects, I believe that modernity should als o be embraced within the religious context. However, the arguments presented by those who do not support modernity in religion are also important in making sure that modernists do not go beyond what is expected of them. Reading about modernity and conservatism in the same reading is indeed a worthwhile endeavor. Muhammad Muhammad is believed to be the spiritual leader of the Islamic religion. Muhammad born in approximately 570 CE was a religious leader but more notably, he was also a religious and political leader as well.

Discussion and Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Discussion and Conclusion - Essay Example for â€Å"prefer not to interact with the community† (?=6.29). The high mean score of the number of the respondents were as a result of negative perception towards the community as well as the rewards associated with teaching in the community schools. The low motivation in the school communities makes many people to shy away and don’t want to interact or take part in any activity which might join them together. It may also have resulted due to the conflict which exists between that group of teachers and the community in question causing the disparity. As many people would like to identify themselves with certain aspects of the society, others seems to rebel and don’t want to be associated with certain aspects of the community hence limiting their interaction. The similar situation was the same with respondents who â€Å"would prefer not to interact with the community in the future† (?=6.13) items; and, second, more modest expectations of the improvement of community relatedness, as indicated by lower mean scores for items such as â€Å"could become closer if interacted a lot† (?=4.85). ... This group of participant may be made up of the teachers who came from that community and can freely interact with the community if they became closer to them. At the same time, the scores may represent those individuals who have not identified themselves with the community and have not realized the benefits. Competence scores present an even more striking result related to the science teachers’ perception of both their own teaching performance and the one of the whole schools community. This is indicated by the mean value for â€Å"feeling pretty good at teaching science in urban schools† (?=2.09), close to â€Å"highly unlikely† response, with the noteworthy higher mean (?=5.85) for â€Å"feeling pretty good compared to other science teachers†. The above mean scores shows that many teachers feels pretty good in teaching science subjects unlike the small number which does not feel pretty good for the teaching of the subject At the same time, autonomy supp ort score show less strong preferences of the survey participants, with total score as well as the separate item statistics appearing to be generally close to neutral estimates. An interesting insight in this regard can be provided by the observed modest but highly significant correlation between perceived autonomy support and negative community-related experience. The low score on the Autonomy support for the principal is as a result of negative attitude that teachers community have on the principal/administration. This might be as a result of a number of factors related to community involvement in running of the schools affairs as well as issues related to good governance and ethics. The results from ANOVA and one-sample t-tests indicated

Sexual Harassment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexual Harassment - Essay Example These activities can interfere with a workers production or performance of their duties as they may avoid an area that they have duties in if it is an area where they are being harassed. Under the law, co-workers and supervisors are treated differently and have different liabilities. Federal law also holds the employer responsible for the actions of the supervisor in regards to sexual harassment (Pastor, 2007, p.292). However, in regards to coworkers, the employer is only held responsible if they are negligent, such as knowing about the harassment and failing to stop it (Pastor, 2007, p.292). The federal law that protects workers from sexual harassment is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Sexual harassment, 2008). In addition, states may have additional laws that can apply. They are usually modeled after the federal law but often vary in the amount and types of damages that can be awarded in a civil suit (Do states have their own laws, 2009). There are several avenues that a person can pursue if they are being sexually harassed. A worker who is the victim of sexual harassment is encouraged to first report it to their employer or human resources department, and "use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available" (Sexual harassment, 2008). The worker may additionally contact their union or file a suit in state or federal court. However, they must " the first file a formal sexual harassment complaint with the federal EEOC and/or your state’s fair employment agency" (Know your rights, 2009).

Environmental Ethics Essay Example for Free

Environmental Ethics Essay Environmental ethics falls under the discipline of environmental philosophy that studies how human beings relate to their natural environment. This is a wide study that involves a variety of other disciplines such as those that study human relationships, economics, the earth’s structure and biology especially ecology. Human beings being the most superior of all the living things on earth have an ethical obligation to the environment concerning the earth, air, water, other organisms and the human population, both the present and the future generation. Environmental ethics brigs up a variety of issues concerning what, when, how and why we should consider this area of study. Aspects arising include the environment’s moral value, how sustainable are the policies on environmental protection, and how do these apply to the developing nations, and what policies should be put in place to ensure that the environment is safe guarded for the future generation, among others. This topic has been studied by many philosophers through the years, but it only came to be recognized as an independent discipline in 1970, due to awareness of effects of increasing human knowledge on the environment. Growing economics and populations, new technologies and development of industries all have had various adverse effects on nature, although aimed at improving life. The works of Rachael Carson, Paul Ehrlich, Aldo Leopold, among others brought about ethical concerns about the environment. Under environmental ethics, human beings have a duty towards the environment, on protection and conservation as well as having a quality life for themselves. In this context, contentious issues arise as to why we should be concerned about the environment. Should it be for us, the living human beings, the future generation, or for the environment itself regardless of our own benefits? Different personalities offer different answers to this question, hence different views have come up on environmental ethics. The issues of environmental ethics is of growing concern to the government and other institution including United Nations which have come up with incentives to people to value and appreciate nature. Earth Day which is held annually (first held in 1970) continues to create awareness and sensitize people on the value of the environment and why it should be protected. The Moral Standing We cannot handle ethics without reference to moral philosophy, which is concerned with individual behaviors and conducts. the moral standing depends on what is considered ‘right’ or ‘good’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ by an individual or a society. For instance, different societies have different views on areas like land and animal ownership, rights of the future generation, and many more. Personal conduct with respect to environmental ethics defines how people should interact with nature, regarding its exploitation and conservation. The moral standing of the ethical issues on environment are wholly placed on human beings as they are the only living things who can reason and decide on moral issues. Many of the environmental concerns revolve around man and how these affect him, thus the responsibility of environmental ethics should be solely man’s. Responsibility to the environment implies that we are aware of this task, we are able to do it, we are at liberty to do it or not, and carrying out of the task has an effect to others existing in the environment. This means that we know the damage we can cause to the environment, the effects of this damage and the prevention or solutions to these problems. This gives us a moral significance in environmental ethics, and gives us a central role. The moral standing therefore means we have the moral obligation towards nature and the capability to carry out this responsibility. When we consider environmental ethics, then, look at issues such as: †¢ Should we care about nature for itself while it’s people who really â€Å"matter†?  That is if not for human beings benefit; why else should we conserve the environment? And if depleting the natural resources is necessary for life improvement, why not exhaust it? †¢ Is the loss of biodiversity, destruction of scenic geographical features for human benefit such as in agriculture so harmful to man? Where is the need to conserve a species while it has no chance of survival in the near future due to changes in earth’s patterns? †¢ Is it right for a person to own land, it being a natural resource among others, or is it morally wrong?  Is it fair that 5% of the human population use 30% of natural resources, while in other less countries the population suffers due to lack of the basic resources such as food and clean water? Do these resources exist for the benefit of a few or should they be left free for use by all? †¢ Is it possible for human beings to improve nature, seeing how man seems to have no control over nature when it comes to events such as natural calamities? †¢ Do recent developments in technology relieve us of our duty of protecting the environment? For instance, does biotechnology with potential to create new species, or bring back an extinct species, relieve us of the duty to conserve the biodiversity? Or alternative sources of fuel give us a right to deplete the natural fuel reserve? †¢ Should we let nature take its course as it always has or try and preserve it without assurance that this is of any benefit, or that this only hinders the course of nature? Is there any way that nature can take care of itself without our hand, like self renewal? The main issue surrounding environmental ethics today is the activist movements on environmental protection that focus people on the wrong issues, that is the moral standing is more emotional than factual or logical. The following are essential in discussing environmental ethics and policies. Western Religion and Culture It has been viewed by some philosophers that the Western religion has adversely affected the environment as it teaches that human beings have dominion over the earth and subdue it. Others view this as a command to take care of nature as we have been left in charge. The command given in the bible to the first man â€Å"be fruitful and fill the earth† (Genesis 1:28, Holy Bible KJV) raises the question of population control, is it ethical for the sake of the environment or is it a direct defiance of God’s command? To address this sensitive topic, religion should be understood in context. At the time of the command there was only one man on earth, so he was required to ‘fill’ it, but now the earth is already ‘filled’. Is it logical to still apply the very same principles now as they did then? The culture of a people defines how they relate to and use the environment. Many of the historic events that shape the western culture have had a huge impact on the environment. Events such as the industrial revolution, technological advances and the modern culture have affected the environment. Culture can easily adapt to changing environments, as well as cause permanent change to different environments. The environment is very wide and continuous, while cultural practices are defined by the environment. Therefore it is ethical to put environment before culture, and change current lifestyles towards more nature friendly practices. The future generation Most of the damage to the environment is more likely to affect the future human population. This therefore calls on the currently living humans to consider the rights of those who are not yet born. We might not know exactly what that generation will require but we are well aware of the basic needs of living beings; food shelter and basic health. Based on these we can have a model of what the environment should offer the future human beings. Therefore it is our moral obligation to them to utilize nature as much as we need to but ensure that we do not deny them the enjoyment of the same. Animals Other animals should be considered when addressing environmental ethics, since they are sentient beings, that is are capable of feeling. Although animals come after humans, they have rights and should be considered according to what they are interested in, such as feeding, living in their natural habitat, and allowed their existence. Controversy about animal rights arises in what animals exactly should we grant rights to. For instance, are insects or other smaller animals in this category? Is it right to use animals for laboratory research for medical and other studies to better our lives? The simple answer to this question is that unless it is extremely necessary, animals should not be put at risk or in adverse conditions. The harm to animals should be justified and be limited to a certain allowable level. Ecofeminism Women are seen to be closer and more in touch with nature; this is claimed by feminists concerned with the environment (Cochrane, 2007). This is because of their ability to give life, and the fact that the earth is considered female (Shiva, 1993). Thus this gives them a better understanding of nature and how to coexist in harmony. Val Plumwood, an ecofeminist believe, that feminism should go hand in hand with environmentalism as both women and the environment are under the same oppression. Another feminist argues that the problem is in trying to justify this kind of oppression thus allowing such subordination. When considering environmental ethics and policies, the domination over women and nature is a critical issue that requires attention. Economics and Ecology Economics and ecology usually appear as counter forces. Economy involves trying to allocate the limited resources while ecology looks out to protect these resources. The ever growing human population has placed great pressure on nature and thus their distribution is highly competitive. Market forces have added more pressure to natural resources and their exploitation. Rapid growth of industries has contributed to environmental deterioration. The cost-benefit considers questions like; if nuclear power makes electricity cheaper, should this field be ventured? What is the cost of preserving a forest compared to the cost of exporting timber? These raise challenges when setting up policies on the environment because of the question of cost versus the benefit of environmental ethics. Technology Technology has had a huge impact on human life as well as on the environment. The effects of technology are both beneficial and adverse. The medical, agricultural, communication and energy industries rely heavily on technology to better human life. Technology has the power to destroy nature as well as replenish it. The technological advances that are most potentially harmful include nuclear technology that is able to annihilate nature and biotechnology which has the potential to alter the natural species boundaries. Since all technologies come with potential risks along with their benefits, ethical consideration must be made with regards to the environment. Conclusion  In studying environmental ethics, the first thing is to ask the question ‘what should be done about the current environmental situation and how should it be done? ’ The other consideration is the importance of individual natural resources and how much effort and cost we should dedicate to protecting such. This should be based on facts and not feelings, like and dislikes. It is important that policies be based on an integrated system that has in mind all the components of nature, as well as involvement of the government, institutions and other countries.

Study on the lord of the flies

Study on the lord of the flies A. Ralph: Ralph brings civilization to the island with his exceptional leadership and sagacity. Through his wise decisions, he continuously pulls the boys closer to being rescued. However, Ralphs effort to bring peace miserably fails at the end, as boys gradually begin to go against his beliefs. Civilized: As an elected leader of the tribe, Ralph repeatedly attempts to coordinate civilization unlike the other boys. While others stay ignorant to the situation by focusing on having fun on the island, Ralph does not cease to pour all his strengths to civilize the boys by building huts, creating fire, and assigning duties. Unwavering: Throughout the novel, Ralph refuses to succumb to the barbaric lifestyle the other boys have yielded to, despite the given circumstances on this chaotic island. Ralph continues to keep his humanity by holding in his inner savagery, even when his own life is at stake. B. Piggy: As a fat kid with asthma, Piggy holds all the essential traits to being a stereotypical annoying child, causing many to dislike him. Although Piggy can be considered as the most intelligent one in the group, he often fails to get acknowledged and appreciated by others for the contributions he made to the island. Dependent: Despite the sensible decisions he brings to the table that would be prudent to the boys survival, Piggy always requires Jacks presence to get things done. Piggy needs Ralph to accomplish even a simplest task on the island, like giving the littluns commands. Without Jack, Piggy is not respected or accepted by others. Faithful: Through thick and thin, Piggy stays by Ralphs side as his best friend. Almost nowhere in the book can Ralph be seen without Piggy, as two seem to be inseparable throughout the whole store. Piggy devotedly guides Ralph to the right direction and stays faithful, even to the point where he sacrifices his own life. C. Simon: Simon is an alienated figure in the tribe of the boys on the island, due to his unique maturity and morality toward life. Although he prefers being alone in a deserted area away from others on the island, Simon still puts his effort to help and save the boys from trouble. Unfortunately, his innocent efforts later takes his life away at the end, akin to an image of Jesus Christ. Compassionate: Simon may look like he is apathetic toward other boys through his isolated status in the tribe, however, he clearly is not; Simon is actually very compassionate about them. While others are occupied on having fun, Simon alone pours his weak strengths to build huts for the littluns. Also, it is Simon that retrieves back Piggys flown away specs back to him when it flies away from Jacks heavy blow. Sacrificial: Simon becomes one of the first boys to die on the island, despite all his goodness. Although he never harmed others or even intended to, Simon gets killed anyway by the boys own bare hands. It can be inferred that he has been sacrificed to nature for the sins other boys have committed, making him the scapegoat of the tribe. D. Jack: After landing on the island, Jack undergoes a dramatic transition from a choirboy who likes to flaunt his ability to sing C sharp, to a savage who likes to decapitate a dead pigs body. Jack rejects to adapt to the civilization offered by Ralph, but desires to create his own fully under his power. Rebellious: In contrary to the rest of the boys, who easily agree to the decisions made by Ralph, Jack alone refuses to be a follower. Instead, he wishes to have full authority of his own, later resulting him to make his own separate tribe. Jack simply does not want to be under someone elses control, which later causes war and deaths among the boys. Charismatic: Charisma is an essential trait for all leaders. Inclined for power, Jack luckily cherishes that charismatic side in him, unlike Ralph who miserably fails to lead his boys into right direction. All his actions, like camouflaging his face with paint, seem admirable to his followers eyes. Due to Jacks such trait, he eventually obtains full control over his boys in the tribe. Minor E. Samneric: Samneric is a collective term describing Sam and Eric, who are identical twins therefore undistinguishable to others. They tend to be followers in the story to whoever is in power, whether it is Ralph or Jack. Powerless: Samneric are very insignificant to the tribe, as they have no voice or power over what they do. They are expected to obey whatever commands are given to them under any circumstances. Loyal: Although Samneric abandoned Ralph and Piggy for Jack, their loyalty toward the former two can often be seen in the novel. When Ralph is being vigilantly followed by Jacks tribe for him to be killed, Samneric chooses to support Jack, by alerting him that he is being wanted. Samnerics loyalty toward Ralph ultimately causes Jacks tribe to collapse in the end. F. Roger: As Jacks main follower and his official torturer of the tribe, Roger is a cruel boy that only sees hatred in his eyes. No matter who the target is, Roger wishes to destroy them using violence. He sheds no pity on the littluns either, as he once brutally demolishes their treasured sand castle. Sadistic: Even though he purposely misses the shots, Roger is once seen throwing dangerous rocks at Henry. Roger is fully aware that the rocks will frighten the victim in terror, however, the thought does not bother him at all. He is also the person to roll the boulder that murders Piggy. G. The Lord of the Flies: The Lord of the Flies is a voice spoken through stick-impaled sows head, and is only heard by Simon. It is unknown whether the Lord of the Flies is Simons hallucination or the islands supernatural figure. Cruel: The Lord of the Flies signify the cruelty that took over all the boys. It self-proclaims to be indestructible, and declares that it will remain among the boys eternally. It mercilessly threatens innocent Simon as well, who gets terrified of the Lords existence. 5. Settings I. The Lagoon: Blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple, the beautiful lagoon of the island serves as the opening point of the story where the scattered boys of the island come together for the first time. Described as an oasis in middle of a dry desert created by an act of God, the lagoon offers a peaceful and soothing feeling to the readers. Nothing ominous seems to happen to the boys once they are in the lagoon, in contrary to many other settings in the novel. II. The Forest: The jungle in the island can be seen as the place where savagery in the boys hatch to life. With pigs squealing, mice shrieking, and birds screaming everywhere, the forest is undoubtedly an epitome of wilderness in the novel. The boys first murder happens in the forest, as well as their very last. Whenever the forest enters the scene, readers can automatically assume that an act of savagery will take place, whether it is slaughtering a pig for food, or killing an innocent boy with bare hands. III. Castle Rock: Like a magical fortress surrounded by strange growths of coral, poly, and weed, Castle Rock initially makes an exhilarating impression on the boys with its visual enticement. Despite its outer beauty, however, Ralph slowly comes to realize that the Castle Rock is not suitable for a shelter due to lack of essential survival elements like fresh water, food, and shelter. On the other hand, Jack makes an argument that the rock is actually ideal for a shelter, as it is equipped with surplus amount of harmful weapons. Jack later claims Castle Rock as his tribes fort, making use of those very weapons to defeat their enemies like Piggy. In conclusion, the Castle Rock signify a form of savagery for the readers, as one of deathful places on the island. 6. Plot In middle of an ongoing war, a group of English boys land on an uninhabited island from an aircraft. They soon gather to the blow of the conch made by Ralph and Piggy. Led by charismatic Ralph, the boys establish a civilization by creating shelter, collecting food, and assigning duties. To higher their chance of being rescued, the boys decide to make fire as a signal. However, Jacks boys become obsessed with hunting instead, causing their existence to go unnoticed by a passing-by ship. Littluns claim that they have seen a foreign creature on the island, and calls it beastie. Unable to withstand Ralph, Jack rebels out of the tribe and forms his own. A handful amount of boys follow Ralph, leaving him and Piggy behind. The new group begins to hunt wild pigs in the jungle like savages, and even decapitates one of the sows for a gift to the beast. Through that head, the Lord of the Flies speak to Simon of how evil will not be defeated on this island. Silhouette of a fallen parachutist makes an image akin to a large living creature, terrorizing the boys. Simon discovers the true identity of this object, and attempts to tell the others about it. The boys, masked in their savagery, mistake Simons emergence as the beasts and brutally slaughters him with bare hands. The next day, Jacks boys commit to themselves to steal Piggys specs to create fire. In the progress, one of the boys throws a heavy boulder aimed directly at Piggy. Along with the conch, Piggy ends his life in ruins. Jacks boys continue to hunt for Jack in hopes of killing him. After setting the whole forest on fire in attempt to compel Ralph away from his hiding, an officer sights the smoke. The story comes to close as the boys finally get rescued. 7. Major Themes A. Importance of Civilization: A war is being waged outside the island, disrupting the civilized peace. The war then causes the boys to be dropped onto the unknown island. The boys slowly drag themselves away from being rescued due to their own rebellious acts against the leader. Unorganized life on the island ultimately leads the boys into complete catastrophe. The boys end up losing their sanity due to lack of civilization, later even killing each other. Golding emphasizes the need for civilization in order for a community to survive, whether the group is small as a tribe, or big as a country. Without order, each individuals greed and needs will soon cause corruption, resulting in total chaos that might even affect ones life. B. Corruption of Power: Jacks desire for control causes inner conflicts in the group, causing the tribe to separate into two sides: Jacks and Ralphs. As time passes, Jack abuses his newfound strength by fulfilling his needs. Jack quickly becomes corrupted with his control. He even orders his boys to murder Ralph. It is natural for a man to be thirsty for power, as the same goes for Jack. However, Golding highlights that with excessive power, comes an uncontrollable tyranny. Jack was given all the power he had ever wanted in his new tribe with no restrictions whatsoever. Unable to control his unconstrained freedom, Jack soon lets his inner greed take over him. C. The Danger of Fear: It is the terrorizing fear in the littluns that bring the beastie to life. The boys fear of the beastie causes them to takes away Simons life. Through depicting all the unfortunate outcomes caused by having fear in something, Golding dramatically shows the effect a mere emotion has over ones actions. In other words, the author suggests that one should actually fear the emotion fear itself, for its danger is immense and unpredictable. 8. Symbols A. The Conch I got the conch I got the right to speak. (Chapter 2, p.36) He put the conch to his lips and began to blow. Saves appeared, painted out of recognition (Chapter 11, p.157) The conch symbolizes authority, civilization, and order on the island. Once the conch is blown, all the boys are expected to gather at the location of the sound. It would be not an overstatement to say that the conch alone possesses more power than anyone in the tribe, with exceptions to Jack and Ralph. Also, each and every member of the tribe is enforced to obey the laws of the conch, providing a form of civilization to the island. B. The Fire If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire. (Chapter 2, p.33) All at once the lights flickering ahead of him merged together and a tall bush directly in his path burst into a great fan-shaped flame. (Chapter 12, p. 165) As one of the most vital element for survival, Ralph and Piggy become highly obsessed with the burning of fire, and even attempts to spark a battle with Jack for letting the fire go out. Fire symbolizes hope and anticipation for the boys to get rescued, as it seems to be the only way available. Ironically, Golding uses fire to depict destruction as well, as becomes a tool for savages to hunt Ralph at the end. C. Piggys Specs His specs-use them as burning glasses! (Chapter 2, p.32) You havent got Piggys specs, so you cant [start the fire again]. (Chapter 7, p. 102) In the beginning, Piggys specs are treated as an annoyance to others, since it is nothing but a mere visual aide for almost-blind Piggy. However, right at the moment when Ralph discovers its new use, his specs instantly become a must-need object for all boys survival. Piggys specs enable the boys to ignite a fire by focusing the sunlight rays, and if a group does not have this very tool, the group becomes helpless. All in all, the specs symbolize intellect in the tribe, as the tribe cannot be functional without them. 9. Imagery I. The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon. Though he had taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead. All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat. He was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry. (Chapter 1, p.1) Marking off the beginning of the novel, Ralph makes his first appearance as a boy who clearly seems tired and fatigued. To emphasize his weak physical condition, it is depicted by the author that Ralph is trailing his taken-off shirt. Akin to dragging, the image of Ralph trailing the shirt suggests that the boy is fully drained of energy from exhaustion. Many factors around him support Ralphs tiredness, such as a bath of heat hammering him down oppressively. II. They lay there listening, at first with doubt but then with terror to the description the twins breathed at them between bouts of extreme silence. Soon the darkness was full of claws, full of the awful unknown and menace. An interminable dawn faded the stars out, and at last light, sad and grey, filtered into the shelter. They began to stir through still the world outside the shelter was impossibly dangerous. The maze of the darkness sorted into near and far, and at the high point of the sky the cloudlets were warmed with color. A single sea bird flapped upwards with a hoarse cry (Chapter 6, p. 82) In hopes of finding the beast come alive, Sam and Eric fall into the abyss of darkness as they observe the world outside in extreme silence. However, instead of a beast, only the menacing tranquil of nature greets the twins into its interminable sky. Although silent and calm, the mood is yet far from being peaceful, but rather full of claws and full of awful. Supporting this eerie atmosphere, a single sea bird alone from its flock fills the air with a hoarse cry. It seems the discomfort and fear in the boys minds are creating an awkward strange ambiance for all. III. The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the work, turning over as he went. The rock bounded twice and was lost in the forest. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea. (Chapter 11, p. 163) In this passage, the boys and their big boulder brutally obliterates the two key figures of civilization the island has had: Piggy and the conch. Through this destruction, Golding declares the end for all civilization and humanity on the island, both ceas[ing] to exist. The power of the rebellions was clearly too strong for Piggy or Ralph to overcome, ultimately leaving them vulnerable for total defeat. Also, as expressed through thousand white fragments of the destroyed conch, the damage done seems to be irreversible for the boys. 10. Significance of title of work Although neither real or majorly significant in the story, the title of the book, Lord of the Flies actually carries a very important meaning to it. As a sacrificial head of a sow pierced with a stick, the Lord of the Flies symbolizes the indestructible fear, evil, and savagery inside all boys on the island. Those three essence of life ultimately causes the conflicts in the novel, especially between humane Ralph and savaged Jack. 11. Authors techniques Allusion Then the sleeping leviathan breathed out, the waters rose (Chapter 6. p. 93) Simon being Jesus Christ, Jack being Judas Golding uses a handful amount of biblical allusions in Lord of the Flies that are easily noticeable, major ones being the characters. It is quite evident that Simon portrays the image of Jesus Christ in the Bible, as both are known to be the innocent scapegoats in their respective story. Also, Jack partially reflects the image of Judas in the Bible, with both being the betrayer and evil in their group. Lastly, Golding often uses biblical allusions in specific sentences as well, like how he illustrated a scene of rising water as the breath of the sleeping leviathan. Leviathan is actually a sea monster in the Bible that is known to be the gatekeeper of Hell.

Performance Enhancing Steroids in Major League Baseball Essay -- pros

Performance Enhancing Steroids in Major League Baseball The issue that our group is tackling is the use of illegal performance enhancing steroids in Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball is big business in the U.S., with 30 franchises valued at over 8.8 billion dollars. Player salaries range from the league minimum salary of three hundred twenty five thousand per year to ten million or more per year, and are based on the market value of each player when his current contract expires. It is in this hyper-competitive environment that a growing specter of foul play has erupted – the use of steroids. Anabolic steroids and other similar performance enhancing substances allow muscles to recover at a much faster rate than normal. This rapid recovery permits athletes to train harder, for longer periods of time, and with greater frequency. This unnaturally intensified training leads to the development of greater muscle mass and strength, which has a causal effect on physical performance. Another effect of steroids is that game-to-gam e muscle recovery is more rapid, which allows the player to be more fully recovered on an every-day basis, which is a huge advantage in a season where 162 games are packed into 6 months. Many issues surround the use of such performance enhancing substances. One issue is the removal of a level playing field. In a business where competition is the business, any such illegal advantage can injure the integrity and legitimacy of the enterprise. ...

Plagiarism :: Cheating Education Essays

Plagiarism Plagiarism is not only in violation of the law, but also in violation of the ethics that we, as Americans, should possess. This is one case in which laws agree with ethics. To plagiarize means to steal and pass off the ideas and words of another as oneà °s own. It is important to recognize that this definition includes the use of anotherà °s production without crediting the source. When a person makes an effort to present an idea that has been taken from an existing source as new and original, he or she is committing an act of plagiarism. Many may not realize the extreme prevalence of plagiarism in our society. The Center for Academic Integrity conducted a survey in which they found that approximately 80% of college students admit to cheating at least once. A similar study was conducted by the Psychological Record. This study found that 36% of undergraduate students have admitted to plagiarizing written materials. A national survey was conducted and published in Education Week. It yielded the following conclusions that 54% of students admitted to plagiarizing from the Internet and 74% of students admitted that they engaged in serious cheating in the past school year. These statistics prove that this is a growing problem that needs to be solved before it becomes an even larger issue. Many teachers tend to ignore students who are cheating. According to a study conducted by Ronald M. Aaron and Robert T. Georgia, 257 chief student affairs officers across the country feel the colleges and universities do not handle this issue adequately.(Plagiarism.org 1)It can be seen that many faculty members are not willing to devote their time and effort to this growing issue. Gallup Organization has said that the two most pressing issues that are facing society today are education and a decline of ethics.(Plagiarism.org 1) How can one fix an issue that seems to be extremely demanding, when one refuses to put in time and effort? Many students feel that in order to receive a good grade they need to plagiarize, however the Writing Center from Hamilton College provides the public with alternate routes to achieve an A.

George Sugarman a sculpture :: Essays Papers

George Sugarman a sculpture Best known today for his public art, George Sugarman began his career with formally eccentric painted-wood sculptures. In a revelatory New York exhibition, early pieces were shown alongside the 86-year-old artist's more recent aluminum work. In the course of 1998, there were a number of important sculpture exhibitions in New York galleries and museums, including the Museum of Modern Art's Tony Smith retrospective, Dia's presentation of Richard Serra's Torqued Ellipses, and a group of David Smith's late painted-steel works at Gagosian Gallery. For me, however, the most impressive and thought-provoking sculpture show of the year was a concise survey of George Sugarman's work presented by Hunter College at the galleries in its Fine Arts Building on Manhattan's West 41st Street. Bringing together 16 sculptures made between 1958 and 1995, the exhibition allowed viewers to trace Sugarman's career from his carved-wood works of the late 1950s to his polychrome, laminated-wood pieces of the 1960s to the painted-aluminum work that has occupied him since the early 1970s. While the show did not cover Sugarman's extensive activity in the public-art realm--over the last 30 years he has created large-scale public sculptures throughout the U.S. as well as in Europe and Asia--it was an effective presentation of his "indoor" work. (Sugarman has drawn a useful distinction between what he calls the "indoor eye," a museum- and gallery-oriented esthetic vision which perceives the work of art in isolation from its surroundings, and the "outdoor eye," which allows us to view public art as part of a wider environment.) Thanks to the presence of major, rarely seen works such as Two in One (1966) and Ten (1968), the show was a welcome reminder of Sugarman's unique and indispensable contribution to postwar sculpture. One of the earliest works on view was Six Forms in Pine (1959), a carved-wood sculpture which brought Sugarman his first major recognition when it won a prize at the 1961 Carnegie International. Among the last of his unpainted works, it's a nearly 12-foot long, smoothly flowing concatenation of horizontal abstract forms that rests on two pedestals set several feet apart. Rippling patterns of chisel marks are visible across every surface as are the strata of the laminated wood. The forms, which range from gently swelling, landscape-like shapes to more sharply defined volumes that evoke architecture or hand tools, are clearly differentiated within the continuous overall structure. While the carving technique and biomorphism relate Six Forms in Pine to established sculptural styles of the 1950s, the sculpture also possesses properties which presage Sugarman's innovative work of the next decade.

Hetrogenetiy of Problem Behavior in Male Adoloscents Essay

Often an incorrect interpretation or prognosis of an abnormal or extraordinary behavior pattern can draw the line between what is normal and acceptable, and what can suddenly be classified as a disorder or a disease. This paper aims to study the similarities between certain behaviors, and what factors can acts as differentiators between the two. The paper also emphasized how critical correct assessment is for correct prognosis, and that a treatment may thus, vary greatly from one disorder to another. Key concepts including â€Å"delinquency†, â€Å"antisocial behaviour†, â€Å"conduct disorder†, â€Å"conduct problems† and â€Å"externalising behaviour disorders† are often used interchangeably, however these concepts are far from identical (Connor, 2004). These are different definitions from different perspectives of psychology such as juvenile justice, clinical diagnostic/medical settings, psychometrics, and personality/social psychology in order to have a more complete understanding of antisocial behaviour and other related behaviours (Connor, 2004). Disorders that bear similar symptoms Antisocial behaviors are any acts that violate social rules and the basic rights of others. They include conduct intended to injure people or damage property, illegal behavior, and defiance of generally accepted rules and authority, such as truancy from school. These antisocial behaviors exist along a severity continuum. Disruptive Behaviour Disorder is used to describe a set of externalizing negative behaviour that co-occur during childhood; and which are collectively known as: â€Å"Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behaviour Disorders† as outlined in the referred to collectively in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). The following are three subgroups of externalizing behaviors: †¢ Oppositional Defiant disorder (ODD) †¢ Conduct Disorder (CD) †¢ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Conduct Disorder is aggression toward people and animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness, theft, and other serious social rule violations. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is characterized by negativistic, hostile, and defiant behaviors, such as losing one’s temper, arguing, defying rules, deliberately annoying others, blaming others for one’s behavior, and displaying anger or vindictiveness (Childhood Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorders). ADHD A mental disorder of childhood is at least three times as common in boys as in girls, characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. Brief History of Disorder classification In the medieval times, any deviation from norm was dealt with contempt, and any extraordinary behavior shown by people were said to be possessed by an evil spirit. Later, following Darwin’s theory of human evolution, Morel’s idea of degeneration was used to explain criminal behaviour. According to this concept, criminals were less evolved than normal human beings and that all psychopaths exhibited some degree of criminal behaviour. Physician and phrenologist Carl Otto (1824) was the one who initiated the evolvement of the term psychopathy. Although his method was scientifically invalid, he started the trend of what would be called psychopathy as a set of personality traits. The term â€Å"psychopathic† was first used by J. L. Koch (1891) to describe personality disorders as a result of biological causes. K. Birnbaum (1909) first used the term â€Å"sociopathy†, because it was felt that environmental factors were causes of the personality. Now, psychopathy, as defined by Hare’s revised Psychopathy Checklist, is associated with both personality traits and overt behaviour. (Source: How Does Conduct Disorder correlate with Phsychopathy) What are the factors in the patient’s history that will help determine whether the adolescent has a certain disorder or he is simply â€Å"acting out, and will eventually outgrow such behaviours Most of these disorders are generally and holistically classified as antisocial behavior. Antisocial behaviors tend to be consistent across social settings, such as school and home environments (Dishion et al. 1995). Although the inclination towards serious antisocial behaviors is quite steady across the lifespan, the manifestations of this propensity vary according to developmental stages. This concept has been termed â€Å"heterotypic continuity† (Moffitt 1993, extracted from Childhood Antisocial Behavior and Adolescent Alcohol Use Disorders ). For example, antisocial behavior that is interpreted as irritability and impulsivity in younger children may become criminal behavior once these children reach adolescents or adulthood. Antisocial behaviour is a heterogeneous phenomenon and encompasses a wide variety of behaviours and definitions as mentioned above. One way to distinguish subtypes of antisocial behavior is from the developmental perspective where current classification system (APA, 1994; Lahey et al. , 1998) and developmental pathways (Hinshaw, Lahey, & Hart, 1993; Loeber, 1990; Moffitt, 1993; Nagin, Farrington, & Moffitt, 1995; Patterson, Capaldi, & Bank, 1991; Shaw, Bell, & Gilliom, 2000) feature two different subtypes of antisocial behaviour: child-onset (also early-starter, aggressive-versatile) and adolescent-onset (late-onset, non-aggressive). This paper focus on adolescent on-set behavior, from the perspective of developmental pathways. Despite the extent of information gathered on Psychopathy, little is known about its developmental nature. Presumable, there are certain risk factors or distinct developmental pathways which correlate them to other groups of delinquents. Knowledge of such developmental risk factors will greatly enable psychologists and researchers related to this field to deal with the serious problem of Psychopathy. Some risk factors of psychopathy include a history of abuse, parental antisocial characteristics and related factors. It is also widely believed that phsychpathy is manifested at a young age (Hare 1991, Hart and Hare 1997, extracted from Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy). However this does not mean that psychopathy manifested in adulthood has been developing in an early age. Certain risk factors are identified in the assessment and prognosis of a disorder. Risk factors are generally associated with earlier events or conditions that are associated with a negative outcome which has been caused or influenced (McBride, Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). This includes factors which act within the environment of the individual, and may be casually or indirectly linked to a negative outcome are also referred to as risk factors. Thus, serious assessment of anti-social behavior in an early and timely intervention may be able to mediate these risk factors. Loeber and Stothamer Lober (1996) indicate that these conditions are cumulative and may lead to ‘stacking’, and may become resistant to change if not interrupted or mediated (Moffit 1990). It is important to understand that dynamic or changeable risk factors (such as knowledge about a childhood aggressive condition) are important in early identification of an adolescent disorder. Factors such as poor parenting or poor parental monitoring are important to be identified at an early age and thus can be monitored and treated, preventing it from becoming a an aggressive and adolescent delinquency in the future (Loeber and Stothamer Lober 1986). These factors are mutable through treatment, and prevents the accumulation of antisocial behavior in aggressive adolescents (Kazdin 1987). Twentieth century theorists report that parental care is a key characteristic in the development of child behavior. Theorists have suggested that poor family attitudes and interactions fail to provide the attachments that could leverage children into socialized life-styles (e. g. , Hirschi, 1969). Poor home environments manifest antisocial characteristics in their children and associate them with disengaging themselves from their environment (e.  g. , Sutherland and Cressey, 1974). Reports based on two adolescents studies have addressed this issue. Both studies have used data collected by the Youth in Transition project from adolescents at ages 15 and 17 years (Bachman and O’Malley, 1984). Delinquency related to parent-adolescent interaction was studied by Liska and Reed (1985); their analyses suggest that attachment or interaction with parents inhibits delinquency, which in turn, promotes school attachment and stronger family ties. Wells and Rankin (1988) considered the effectiveness of various dimensions of direct control on delinquency; their analyses suggest that restrictiveness, but not harshness, inhibits delinquency, however these studies do have their limitations as they were made using the same database, but none of the same parameters to conclude the relationship between the variables (adolescent studies from Youth in Transition project extracted from Mc Cord Family Relationships, Juvenile Delinquency, And Adult Criminality). Many suggest that psychopathy disorders, such as antisocial behavior, are also genetically inherited (Hare 1993.  Forth and Burke 1998, Lykken 1995, (source: Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). Parents who are psychopathic also behave violently towards their children, thus instilling seeds of similar behavior into them. Children who have displayed signs of aggressiveness also may not culminate into aggressive adolescents with disorders or psychopathy as suggested by studies done by White, Moffits, Earls, Robins and Silva, 1990 (Individual and Familial risk factors for Adolescent physchopathy 1998). Aggression in a proportion of boys emerges early in life and is usually accompanied by ODD symptoms (Loeber et al.  , 2000, extracted from Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). DSM-IV prescribes that the diagnosis of CD should not be made when behaviors are in reaction to their immediate external environment or influences, an example would be of an aggressive adolescent living in a high-crime area (Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). There is a consensus among delinquency studies of both official and self-report data, showing an increase from childhood through adolescence in the prevalence of nonaggressive CD behaviors (Achenbach et al.  , 1991; Stanger et al. , 1997); these include behaviors such as theft, breaking-and-entering, and fraud (e. g. , Loeber and Farrington, 1998; Loeber et al. , 1998a). More studies show that the prevalence of clandestine conduct problems increases from childhood through adolescence (Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber, 1998). However, studies also give evidence that certain forms of aggression (such as physical aggression) has shown to decrease during the same period (Lahey et al. , 1998; Loeber and Hay, 1997; Loeber et al., 1991). However, more violent forms of aggression, such as robbery, rape, and attempted or completed homicide, tends to develop more during adolescence (Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I) What are the important factors that the clinician should assess? Often during clinical assessment, when investigation is conducted, external factors and information from parents and key influencers are extracted to determine the behavior of children and adolescents. It is, however, important to understand that children and youth in subject are essential informants regarding CD because their covert acts are not always noticed by adults. It is essential to combine the important informants diagnosis and results to establish the correct diagnosis and assessment, however much of this is missing. Even minor changes or difference in diagnostic criteria can produce large variations in prognosis leading to incorrect assessment and treatment of disorders. A comparison of DSM-1II and DS2v1-III-R diagnoses on the same sample showed that between DSM-III and DSM-III-R ODD became 25% less prevalent and CD became 44% less prevalent (Boyle et al. , 1996; Lahey et al. , 1990 extracted from: Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder: A Review of the Past 10 Years, Part I). Diagnostic Assessment The assessment of Conduct Disorder, for example, requires collecting data from multiple informants, such as parents, teachers, colleagues, in different settings using varying methods over time, in order to develop more realistic assessment and information about the subject in question. Contact with medical, school, social service, and juvenille justice personnel should be established to obtain more realistic informationd . A history of the patient should be gathered including the patient’s prenatal and birth history, substance abuse by the mother, maternal infections, and medications taken during as well as post-pregnancy. The adolescents’ history should cover problems of attachment, temperament, aggression, oppositional behavior, attention, and impulse control . Complete investigation of any physical and sexual abuse, both as a victim and perpetrator, should be dealt with in detail. DSM-IV target symptoms, and the course of their development, should be reviewed. The quality and quantity of peer relationships should be assessed . Obtaining information about the patients’ performance at school is imperative. Data from intelligence testing, achievement test, academic performance, extra-curricular behavior, and interaction as well as other behavioral reports should be gathered and analyzed. Referral for intelligence testing, speech and language assessment, testing for learning disability, and neuro-psychiatric testing may further help in establishing relevancy of the diagnosis and further prognosis and assessment. Family assessment is an essential part of the evaluation and should include details of the family’s stlye of coping and dealing with situations; socioeconomic status of the family as well as history of social and economic stressors, social support, rehabilitation etc should be obtained. How the parent has been dealing with adolescent, managing his behavior, and addressing the disorder’s relevance to the adoloscents’ life should be investigated. Any sign of parent’s harshness towards the adoloscent, abuse/neglect, and any abnormal inconsistency should be noted. A history of family antisocial behaviors, including incarceration, violence and physical or sexual abuse of the patient or other family members should be investigated as all of these have effects on the adolescents’ ultimate behavior and development. The family should be screened for any history of ADHD, CD, substance use disorders, specific developmental disorders (i. e. , learning disabilities), or any other personality disorders. Also included are any information on adoptions and placements in foster care and institutions and any behavior experienced there by the patient. An evidence of a physical evaluation specifically within the last twelve months is necessary for prognosis. Physical condition including pulse rate is useful or any medical history is important so that treatment can be planned accordingly. Other medical and neurological conditions, with especial focus on central nervous system (CNS) pathology (head injury, seizure disorder, or other CNS illness), chronic illnesses, etc should be evaluated. Any other relevant medical examinations should be conducted during the assessment. As mentioned above an interview with the patient, which can precede the parental interview, should cover the same aspects that are covered in the interview with the family; these include family history, the patient’s personal substance use and sexual history (including sexual abuse of others). DSM-IV target symptoms may be detected by interviewing parents and other informants, and perhaps not directly from the patients’ interview. A close observation of the patient’s capacity for attachment, trust, and empathy; tolerance, anger and expression should be conducted during the interview; the patient might convey his/her capacity to show restraint, accept responsibility for actions, and experience of guilt. A close assessment of factors such as cognitive functioning; mood, affect, self-esteem, and suicidal potential; presence and quality of peer relationships (loner, popular, drug-, crime-, or gang-oriented friends); and disturbances of ideation (inappropriate reactions to the environment, paranoia, dissociative episodes) may be the factors which can differentiate the CD from other disorders .