Assignment 8 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

8 - Assignment Example For one to know where to draw the line when it comes to such offers, there is a criterion that has to be met for it to amount to corruption. It is important that one makes consideration on whether the action was meant to influence the person whom the offer is being made to. Secondly, that action should compel the officer to use his power to benefit himself or as a way of returning the favor. Corruption is a deviation from the ideal norms in the society. The vice is so deeply rooted in society such that there are those instances where people feel that it is permissible. Corruption permissiveness occurs where the citizens or actors are willing to justify the illegal acts in order to get away without punishment. It is important to draw the line on what amounts to corruption and what is just behavior. It is not corrupt to feel that you should appreciate someone for what they do, like in the case of giving a police officer discounted prices. It will only be corruption when one uses their position carelessly to favor some people or to get their way

Image of death Essay Example for Free

Image of death Essay As she attempted suicide, â€Å"I am not his yet.† She is possibly tempting death as the quote â€Å"..how badly I photograph†, suggests death may have been stalking her and Plath is possibly taunting him back as he insults her, or it may also be that Plat is not ready for her death photograph yet. Plath shocks the reader by talking about children in coffins in such a matter of fact manner, â€Å"He tells me how sweet the babies look in their hospital icebox†, paradox, as the beautiful and ‘sweet’ children are linked to death, â€Å"Ionian death gowns†, again Plath contradicts the beauty of the gowns with the horrifying image of death. Plath uses simple but very harsh descriptions to portray death amongst children, â€Å"two little feet† very graphic in a simplistic way. Plath explains death is in two forms, a traditional view of death and the other one a more modern view of death. She portrays the death as very laid back, â€Å"He does not smile or smoke† as before cool people, celebrities and models smoked, so people followed them but death does not as he’s not trying to be popular. The â€Å"other† death Plath describes with â€Å"hair long and plausive† and also suggest that this death does smoke â€Å"the other does that† giving this death a more positive feel, making him more modern and more appealing. An act of masturbation, seen as a powerful act as it’s done alone â€Å"Masturbating a glitter† almost as if Plath is saying that death thinks he’s special as he’s masturbating a glitter, â€Å"he wants to be loved† paradox, as you can’t love death. Plath suggests the idea of rigourmortus although it’s ironic as she’s still alive â€Å"I do not stir†, or it may be Plath suggesting that she’s dead on the inside, and that her emotions may have gone stiff. In contrast to Plath’s poem â€Å"Death and Co.†, Hughes poem â€Å"Examination at the Womb-Door† emphasises on death owning existence as even as soon as you are born you face death but death still being inferior to God, as the examiner being God the questions throughout the poem are very authoritive, suggesting that Hughes may think that God has authority over death. The title could possibly be Hughes signifying the point of crossing into the physical world. It seems as if sees death as the starting point: Man has been living, just to get experience to pass an exam before God, also giving a very ominous feel to death, the ultimate fear of all mankind and a sacrilegious tone to the poem. It maybe that Hughes sees the soul as immortal as when the crow is asked â€Å"But who is stronger than death?† the crow replies â€Å" Me, evidently† as the crow is immortal due to the rebirth cycle, so despite the body’s death, the soul remains, therefore the crow is in fact stronger than death. Hughes uses negative adjectives and pronouns throughout the poem possibly to remark the deficiency of the human body against death.

Poor Reproductive Fitness of Sperm in Aging Males

Poor Reproductive Fitness of Sperm in Aging Males Deterioration of germline DNA found to produce low quality offspring in aged male houbara bustards. A study in houbara bustards, an African bird species gives insight on what is happening with aging men. The scientists suggest that the decline in hatching success observed is caused by senescent decline of both male and female gametes. On the other hand, the development of chicks within the egg appear to be influenced solely by maternal aging which can be explained by reduction in older females’ abilities to provision their eggs. The researchers then monitored the artificial insemination of houbara bustards ranging in age from 1 to 23, recorded the egg hatching success as well as the growth of resulting chicks. Their results found that eggs produced from inseminating older females with ejaculate from older males have lower hatching success as compared to eggs of parents at peak age. The scientists suggest that the decrease in hatching success observed is caused by senescent decline of both male and female gametes. Of the eggs that did hatch, it was discovered that the mass of chicks at hatching were heaviest in chicks born to young mothers, suggesting that the development of chicks within the egg appear to be influenced solely by maternal aging. This can be explained by reduction in older females’ abilities to provision their eggs. Additionally, it was found that chicks born to young fathers had the best overall growth within the first month of life than those born to older fathers. The reason for this is that since males only contribute their DNA to offspring, the growth of the How Reproductively Fit is the Sperm of Older Males? A study in houbara bustards, an African bird species gives insight on the production of low quality offspring in aging men. Gametes are reproductive cells such as ovum or sperm, containing the genetic material required to form a new organism. This genetic material is essential in determining the quality of offspring produced. According to the paper by Brian Preston and his colleagues in Nature Communications, gametes from animals of advanced years undergo degradation by a process called senescence. Senescence is a gradual decline of function and can occur by two mechanisms. The first is the decline in the performance of their spermatogenic machinery such that the sperm has difficulty in carrying out its function. The second mechanism involves the build-up of genetic mutations within the germline of gametes, resulting in the degradation of the DNA carried within. These mechanisms lead to a reduction in both the viability and quality of offspring produced. To determine whether male aging has influence on reproductive fitness, Brian Preston and his colleagues examined 10 years’ worth of data regarding the post insemination success of male houbara bustards part of a captive breeding programme. To begin with, female bustards were inseminated with ejaculates collected from males. The male and female bustards involved in this study ranged from 1 to 23 years of age. Eggs produced were collected and the hatching success recorded. The researchers found that eggs produced from inseminating older females with ejaculate from older males have lower hatching success as compared to eggs of parents at peak age, suggesting that this is caused by senescent decline of both male and female gametes. Furthermore, of the eggs that did hatch, it was discovered that the mass of chicks at hatching were heavier in chicks born to young fathers compared to older fathers. Additionally, a measure of overall growth within the first month of life showed that chicks born to old fathers had the worst overall growth. The scientists reasoned that the cause for growth patterns observed in chicks born to old fathers confirms that the dominant mechanism of senescence in the bird species is mutation-based aging of germline DNA. This is because, since males only contribute their DNA to offspring, the growth of the chicks is inhibited. Eggs produced were collected for incubation and hatched chicks were hand-reared so as to avoid any confounding variables. The researchers monitored the artificial insemination of houbara bustards ranging from 1 to 23 years old, recorded the egg hatching success as well as the growth of resulting chicks. Their results found that eggs produced from inseminating older females with ejaculate from older males have lower hatching success as compared to eggs of parents at peak age, suggesting that this is caused by senescent decline of both male and female gametes. Of the eggs that did hatch, it was discovered that the mass of chicks at hatching were heaviest in chicks born to young fathers. Furthermore, it was found that chicks born to old fathers had the worst overall growth within the first month of life than those born to younger fathers. The scientists suggest that the development of chicks within the egg appears to be influenced solely by maternal aging. This can be explained by reduction in older females’ abilities to provide their eggs with nutrients. On the other hand, the researchers reasoned that the cause for growth patterns observed in chicks born to old fathers confirms that the dominant mechanism of senescence in the bird species is mutation-based aging of germline DNA. This is because, since males only contribute their DNA to offspring, the growth of the chicks is inhibited. According to a recent study by Brian Preston and his colleagues in Nature Communications, gametes (ovum or sperm) from animals of advanced years undergo degradation by a process called senescence. Senescence is a gradual decline of function and occurs by two mechanisms. The first involves the decline of the spermatogenic machinery performance while the second mechanism involves the build-up of genetic mutations within the germline DNA of gametes. To determine whether male aging has influence on reproductive fitness, the researchers examined 10 years’ worth of data on the post insemination success of male houbara bustards aged between 1 to 23 years that were part of a captive breeding programme. First, female bustards were inseminated with the male ejaculates collected so that gametes are the only influencing factor on offspring quality. The eggs produced from older parents were seen to have lower hatching success when compared to eggs of peak age parents. Of the eggs that did hatch, researchers observed that the lightest chicks at hatching were a result of maternal aging. Alternatively, a measure of overall growth within the first month after hatching revealed that chicks born to older fathers had the worst overall growth. In other words, as males age, their ability to produce offspring that are viable and of high quality diminishes. These findings lead scientists to conclude that the dominant mechanism of senescence in the bird species is mutation-based aging of germline DNA. Additionally, it seems that the decline in offspring development linked to paternal aging is similar in scale to that linked to maternal aging. Interestingly, when findings were compared with that of human studies similar patterns were observed, deepening concern for the recent trend of delayed parenthood in both sexes. In future, Brian Preston and his colleagues wish to be able to identify and quantify the reproductive cost associated with male aging in a long-lived species. In their most recent work, published in Nature Communications, they found that, not only did males appear less able to produce offspring successfully as they aged, they also appeared to produce offspring that were of intrinsically lower quality. Perhaps most surprisingly, these declines in offspring quality were of a similar size to those resulting from maternal aging. Patterns observed in humans are in line with the findings in houbara bustards and their interpretation, with paternal aging being linked to adverse reproductive outcomes, a number of genetic diseases, and some mental disorders. The evidence is beginning to accumulate that delaying parenthood until later life can potentially have negative consequences for the children of both older men and women. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-male-birds-reproduction-life.html#jCp

Power and Leadership in Organizations Essay -- Empowerment Business Man

The topic that I chose for my semester project is Power and Leadership. The main points within the main subject I am focusing on are Power in Organizations, Sources of Power, The Dark Side of Power, and Empowerment. I will define each, apply them to every day business situations and theoretically analyze the context. The topics that I have chosen will give good insight to what Power and leadership really are and how they are used in are everyday businesses organizations to give a general understanding of what it means to be powerful. The first topic that I have chosen is Power in Organizations. Power is the ability of one person to influence another. They can use this power to become leaders and to manage businesses. Power also brings influence on the behavior and attitudes of other people. This can be applied to customers and/or suppliers. The demand for power is common among the business world. There is a difference in power and authority. Only people who hold formal positions have authority, whereas all people at any level of an organized company have the power to influence other people. Authority is power. It is power on another level. Power is obvious and understood, while authority is vested in a particular position. An example of such a position of authority would be the CEO of a company or a GM. The distinguishing aspect however lies between the position and the need to become more powerful. Where there is power, there are also consequences that go along with it. It depends on how the power is used and to whom it is inflicted. The consequences range from a number of general effects. There are three specific examples of this. They are commitment, compliance, and resistance. Power is the stronghold for the three fold outcome that is brought on through consequences. The first consequence is commitment. It can be as simple as following through with the task at hand or lack thereof. It is best defined in this way, â€Å"when the followers welcome the influence process and accept it as reasonable and legitimate.† (pg. 98) Commitment can be shown through an employee’s ability to complete the task they are given by the person with more power than they possess. They will change their ideals to match that of the higher authority. If the CEO of a company says that his proposal is going to change, in the mind of the employee, they agree to change... ...e to stick with it or else the employees will think they have failed. Empowerment is a good tool to bring out new ideas and thoughts to the organization. It gives employees a sense of self worth and they become more motivated when they have some independence. All in all it is a good idea only if you approach it the way I have explained. A thing to think about is that two minds are better than one when it comes to completing a task. I n conclusion I have talked about powers and leadership. The information that I have given all ties together in the sense that in an organization you have people with different types of power. The source of the power is what type of power they have and how the convey it to the employees. The most important topic I think is the dark side of power thus allowing your organization to become unfit for normal operation. Just because you have power doesn’t make you superior to other people it just puts you in charge. That is why I feel that empowerment it such a great idea it allows every one to have somewhat the some status or feeling in the company, this would allow you to be a better cohesive organization in hole.

Ebt Classroom Management Essay

This is a free additional chapter for ‘Evidence Based Teaching’ by Geoff Petty (2006) Nelson Thornes. It can be downloaded from www. geoffpetty. com. The book as a whole combines and summarises research on which teaching methods and strategies work best, and explains these strategies with examples. See the notes at the end of this chapter for more detail. Can I get my students to behave better? The evidence is emphatic, yes you can! And we know how. There are of course very many strategies designed to improve classroom management and discipline, but which ones work? Robert Marzano (2003) summarised the findings of over 100 reports on classroom management, including 134 rigorous experiments designed to find out which classroom management techniques work best. These experiments were carried out with real teachers in real classrooms. This chapter draws heavily on this ‘meta-study’ of Marzano’s, and compares strategies to find out which is best. Such studies of studies are the best source of evidence on what works as they include and integrate all reliable evidence. For a full account see ‘Classroom Management that Works’ Robert Marzano et al (2003) for the detail, it is well worth reading. These experiments tell us what teachers have made work, rather than reporting hunches and wishful thinking. No special training is required to use these strategies. If you are a reasonably experienced teacher, just experiment with the following methods, and you should get positive results quite quickly. You will need to give them a fair try for a few lessons before you and your students get the hang of them. The investment will be well worth it as their improved behaviour and motivation will begin to show. Less experienced teachers may need more time to make the strategies work. Marzano’s meta-study describes four basic approaches that have been found to improve behaviour in classrooms. Their effectiveness is compared in the table below. Comparing the effectiveness of aspects of classroom management| Average effect-size| Number of students or pupils| Number of studies| Decrease in number of disruptions(Average for the studies)| Summary of experimental data from Marzano (2003)| | | | | Rules and proceduresStrategies to clearly and simply express rules and other expectations of student behaviour. Also to justify these persuasively from the teacher’s and students’ point of view. For greatest effect the rules are negotiated with students| 0. 76| 626| 10| 28%| Teacher-student relationshipsStrategies to improve the rapport, and mutual respect between teacher and student| 0. 87| 1110| 4| 31%| Disciplinary interventionsThe effective use of ‘sticks and carrots’ to enforce the rules described above| 0. 91| 3322| 68| 32%| Mental setStrategies to develop your awareness of what is going on in your classroom and why. A conscious control over your thoughts and feelings when you respond to a disruption. | 1. 3| 502| 5| 40%| Marzano grouped high quality research studies on classroom management into the four categories above, and then calculated an average effect size for each. â€Å"Effect size† is explained in chapter 4, they are a measure of how effective a strategy is. If you don’t know about effect sizes look instead at the last column in the tables: ‘percentage reduction in the number of disruptions’. For example, in experiments on strategies that involve teachers in devising rules and procedures the number of disruptions in the classroom was reduced by 28% on average. This is in comparison with not devising explicit rules and procedures. In experiments, only one strategy can be used at a time. (If two were used, we would not know which caused any positive effects. ) However, you can obviously use strategies in all these categories at once. This will have a greater effect than using strategies in one category alone. However, it is not statistically valid to add the effect sizes or the percentages in the table to find their combined effect. If you find this a bit bewildering, just remember that the strategies that teachers made work best are those with a large percentage in the last column in the tables. However you are unique! You might not get the same results as an average teacher. So the best results will probably come from concentrating on the category that you or your students have most difficulty with, or that you have considered least in your teaching. The final test is what works in your classroom, try the methods for a few weeks and see what happens! I will now look at the strategies that have been found to work best in each of Marzano’s four categories. I will only outline these, and if you want more detail please read the following chapters in my ‘Teaching Today’, which have more strategies and more detail. I am relieved to say these chapters are very much in line with the Marzano findings. Alternatively follow up one of the Chapters in ‘Teaching Today’ that might be helpful: 7 The teacher – learner relationship and equal opportunities page 77 8 Classroom management page 96 9 Discipline and problem solvingpage 108 references at the end of the chapter. Some teachers think a well-planned, interesting lesson will by itself prevent disruption. Or that if the teacher is entirely benign and respectful of students, conflict will simply melt away. This isn’t the case. We often start our teaching careers with these assumptions, but enlightenment usually doesn’t take long. All teachers experience problems with behaviour, it’s just that some are better at preventing it, and dealing with it. But how? The strategies that teachers have made work best in experiments are explained below, with the theory outlined. However, if you are only interested in the strategies themselves look for the strategy icon in the margin: Improving your use of rules and procedures You might be forgiven for believing that how students should behave in classrooms is blindingly obvious, and explanation is entirely unnecessary. However, experiments show that classrooms become much more orderly when rules are stated, or better still negotiated, discussed and fully justified. It seems the little blighters need persuading of the obvious! So: 1. Create rules: Decide for yourself what rules and procedures will maximise learning, and would create a good atmosphere in your class. Alternatively adapt the rules in the box on page 4. Express these rules positively rather than as a list of â€Å"don’ts†. There should be a maximum of about 8 rules at secondary level, some say less at the elementary level. 2. Justify rules. Work out to your own satisfaction a persuasive case for each of these rules, however obvious this is. I’m afraid ‘because I say so’ is not a persuasive justification! Very early on, perhaps in your first meeting with the class, explain that you want an effective, fair and happy classroom, and a set of rules and procedures to achieve this. There are two main ways to do this, set out in 3 and 4 below. 3. Discuss rules with the class. Discuss why we have laws, rules and procedures in football, families, and in society. Ask for examples. (Avoid the off-side rule even if you understand it! ) What would happen if we didn’t have rules? Explain that the purpose of class rules is not to pump your megalomania, but to improve learning, and to ensure people enjoy the class. 4. Negotiate to get commitment. Suggest your set of rules as a start, asking for deletions, additions and suggestions. Be prepared to justify and compromise. (Alternatively ask the class to devise their own set of rules as described in 5 below. ) * Consider asking students to work in small groups to make sticky note responses to your rules. Then display and discuss these as a class. * Consider asking each group to design a poster to illustrate one of the rules, and display these on the notice board. These can then be used as a reminder in subsequent lessons. * Students could literally ‘sign up’ to the rules as political leaders sign treaties. Refer to the rules as ‘our rules’ not as ‘mine’. 5. Get the class to devise their own rules. Especially with older or more responsible groups you could ask them to come up with their own class rules. It may help to start this process off if you give them issues such as ‘how can we make sure everyone gets the help they need? ’. Or you could ask them what has worked in other classrooms. * Students can work in groups to devise rules on different aspects of class management, e.g. bringing materials; talking; attendance and punctuality, etc * The class can then discuss and then vote on suggestions * Then you go away and finalise the set of rules. You have every right to the last say of course. If you reject a popular suggestion explain why. Here is a typical set of rules at secondary or college level. It is of course best to devise your own: 1. Treat others as you want to be treated yourself. Be positive and helpful. Try to help two other people every day. 2. Treat other people’s property at least as well as you would treat your own. 3. Hands up if you want to say something when the teacher, or another student is talking. 4. Don’t distract others from their work. Only talk to neighbours, and only about work. 5. If you are stuck ask neighbours for help first, then ask Mr Petty. 6. No unpleasantness, snatching or hitting. If you can’t resolve a disagreement yourself, or with your group, consult Mr Petty 7. Leave the room better than you found it. The aim here is to get students to ‘buy into’ the rules and to see them as their own, and as worth keeping and enforcing. Other uses of rules * Remind students of any relevant rules before a potentially disruptive activity. This is more positive than only responding to disruption and has been found to reduce disruption by about 25%. You could even gather students around the poster that illustrates the rule(s) and ask them for the justification for it. * If a rule is broken remind the student that, â€Å"we agreed†¦.. † and remind them that they are part of a team so must keep to team rules. Be a ‘team player’ could be a heading on the list of rules * Get students to self assess their own behaviour against the rules with a self-assessment form. Then use this to set themselves targets for improvement. See the example below Self-assessmentIs†¦((student name here))†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. a team player? | I kept to this rule:| | always| often| some-times| never| Treat others as you want to be treated yourself| | | | | Hands up if you want to say something when the teacher is talking| | | | | Don’t distract others from their work| | | | | Etc.. | | | | | | | | | | Improvement since my last self assessment:What I need to work on most is: | If you use self-assessment consider the following: * Asking students to remind themselves of their self-assessed targets at the beginning of a class (see the last row in the self assessment form above). Tell them you will ask them to self-assess any improvement at the end of the same class. * Allow students to reward themselves with a sticky blob against their name on your notice board if they have improved, say, twice running in these self-assessments. Yes I know this sounds toe-curlingly naff, but the less mature students often love this. Strategies to improve teacher-student relationships If you have read chapter 25 you will recognise the value driven management and leadership approach that was so successful in managing staff. The strategies below have reduced disruptions in classrooms by 31% on average. Good teacher-student relations ensure that students have a more positive attitude to the teacher and to learning, and make them more likely to accept rules and any disciplining. They turn the classroom into a cooperative team, and reduce antagonism. So even if you detest the little clutch of demons, its worth developing good relations with them, and if you do, you might find that you don’t detest them quite as much! What is the nature of good teacher-student relations? Marzano (2003) quotes internationally renowned research by Theo Wubbels, whose findings remind me of the old staffroom adage ‘be strict but fair’. Wubbels has found that the most effective teachers are both dominant (strong leaders) and cooperative (helpful, friendly and fair), but they are neither to extreme. This is shown diagrammatically below. The Ideal teacher-student relationship Dominant * Strong sense of purpose in pursuing clear goals for learning and for class management. * Leadership. Tends to guide and control * Prepared to discipline unapologetically Too dominant * Too controlling * Lack of concern for students * Teacher student relations damaged Ideal teacher- student relationship Opposition. * Treats students as the enemy * Expresses anger and irritation * Need to ‘win’ if there is a disagreement between teacher and students Cooperative * Great concern for the needs and opinions of students. * Helpful, friendly * Avoids strife and seeks consensus Too cooperative * Too understanding and accepting of apologies * Waits for students to be ready * Too desirous to be accepted by students Submission * Lack of clarity of purpose * Keeps a low profile * Tendency to submit to the will of the class * Entirely unassertive, rather glum and apologetic The diagram tries to show that the most effective teachers have found an optimal balance between cooperation and dominance. They are not so dominant that they fail to cooperate, nor so cooperative that they fail to lead. The precise approach will of course depend on the nature of the class; some need more dominance or more cooperation than others. Research has also shown that students prefer the dominant-cooperative mix about twice as much as the purely cooperative style, or indeed any other style. Wubbels has found that teachers new to the profession tend to start too cooperatively and with insufficient dominance. However after 6 to 10 years they often become too dominant. To improve student-teacher relations experiment with some or all of the following strategies which other teachers have made work well. Are you better at dominance or cooperation? Ideally you should strengthen your weakest style, even if you also work on your strongest. Many students are coping with stress, difficult home circumstances and worry about abuse, depression, eating disorders and so on. If your students experience such social and psychological strains you will need to attend to these as well trying the strategies that follow. This goes beyond the scope of this chapter. The ‘FATE’ approach in ‘Teaching Today’ may help, as will Marzano (2003). Strategies to increase your dominance (leadership) Don’t be put off by the word ‘dominance’. It means to become an effective leader, to pursue, vigorously and enthusiastically, a clear path towards both important learning goals, and good behaviour in the classroom. It does not mean to strut about in jackboots barking orders. We are doing this for the students, so we need not be shy about taking charge and accepting responsibility. 1. Ground Rules If you negotiate ground rules with students, and consequences for not keeping them as described on page , then you have already shown this attribute to some considerable extent. 2. Orientation Clarify the purpose and the key points in each topic before it is taught, including a persuasive reason for studying it. If you have read chapter 16 you will remember that these methods had very high effect sizes. (An effect size of 0. 5 for a strategy means that if it is done well students learn the topic about a grade better. An effect size of 1. 0 gives a two-grade improvement. By ‘grade’ I mean an improvement equivalent to a GCSE or ‘A’ level grade, but just for that topic of course. ) Strategy| Effect size from Marzano| Goal setting before introducing a new topic. E. g. ‘your goal is to use the information in this topic to solve this problem in the case study†¦. ’| 0. 97| Goals which the students are involved in designing| 1. 21| Advance organisers (summary in advance of what is about to be learned along with a persuasive case for studying it)| 0. 48 for easy topics0. 78 for more demanding topics| Highly specific behavioural objectives â€Å"At the end of this lesson you should be able to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ | 0. 12| Another way of setting goals is to discuss with students the assessment criteria for the task they will do, as long as they really understand these. 3. Authoritative body language Appear absolutely confident and in control, especially when you are not. When interacting with students, especially if dealing with misbehaviour, your dominance is conveyed by ‘body language’. This includes proximity, confident posture, and tone of voice (not shrill or angry, but authoritative. ) In Teaching Today I describe the ‘PEP’ approach, which stands for: * Proximity: dominance is increased by walking closer to the student. Walk around the classroom, if you notice students about to misbehave stand by their desk. When you talk to students stand a little ‘too close for comfort’ but don’t invade ‘personal space’. This is not an easy judgement. * Eye contact: Holding eye contact expresses dominance, especially if you hold it for some time. What you say will be taken more seriously if you hold eye contact first for a few seconds, then say it maintaining the eye contact, then maintain eye-contact for a few seconds more. * Posing questions. Rather than telling a student off for not working, ask questions such as ‘Why have you not started? ’ Do this with proximity and eye contact. This has much more effect than getting angry or raising your voice, and will make you appear much more in control. The combined effect of close proximity and sustained eye contact can be very powerful indeed, so don’t over do it. Strategies to increase Cooperation Being cooperative sounds easy, until you notice it means being cooperative with the worst behaved students in your class. This can try a saint. As so often in educational problems, we have a vicious cycle to deal with here, but with determination we can turn it into a virtuous cycle: Vicious cycle The student misbehaves more or works less well You are less positive, friendly and fair towards the student You dislike the student more and/or†¦ The student dislikes you and your classes more In your direct control Breaking this cycle is hard, but it can be done. If you succeed it ensures the student behaves better, learns better, but it also makes your life much easier. You will need to have negotiated clear rules with your students as described earlier, then you can start to break this cycle. This requires a great deal of emotional generosity and/or patience and restraint. If you cannot muster the generosity, try acting! Probably the only part of the cycle you can break is: ‘You are less positive, friendly and fair towards the student’ here are some strategies that break the cycle here: 1. Catch them doing something right. Keep an eye on them, and when you notice they are doing something right, even by accident, comment on this positively in private. ‘Well done, you’ve made a start’. Many students who misbehave are attention seekers, and if they earn attention for behaving well, they are less likely to steal attention by misbehaving. You can even bribe such students: â€Å"That’s an interesting start, when you’ve finished the question let me know and I will have a look at it† A promise of attention like this will often motivate students, but do keep your promise. See Madsen et al (1968) 2. Put the student into ‘intensive care’. There is a violent method to do this, which in your darkest moments often appeals! Here is a legal way. As well as ‘catching them doing something right’: Smile, use their name positively, ask for their opinion in class discussion, try to find something positive to say about their response. Make a point of looking at their work, and comment favourably about any genuine effort or achievement. Talk to them about it. ‘That’s an interesting point, what made you think of that? ’. Keep high expectations however: ‘I know you can do this’. Be patient and helpful. If you react like this it shows you are not ‘rattled’ by their misbehaviour. Warning! The above advice can be overdone. Don’t try too hard with ‘intensive care’ especially, as you will be disliked if you appear desperate to be liked. The trick is to make your behaviour seem very natural, and the way you teach everyone. So you must give this same attention to at least some well-behaved students nearby too. More general advice about increasing cooperation includes other ways of showing that you value students as individuals: 3. Learn and use their names 4. Communicate informally with students, Don’t just talk about learning issues. When they are coming into, or going out of the classroom ask their opinion: â€Å"Do you think your haircut would suit me? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. â€Å"What do you think of the new library? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Ask about hobbies, attitudes and opinions, 5. Use eye contact and proximity to spread your influence about the whole room. 6. Negotiate difficulties with the class. â€Å"I am having problems with students not giving in work, what’s the problem? What can we do about this? † The strategies on page 17 and 18 also help with cooperation. Improving disciplinary interventions The strategies that follow reduced disruptions in classrooms by 31% on average. There has been a heated debate for some decades over whether teachers should use mild punishments, or should only give students praise and recognition for appropriate behaviour. You may not be surprised to find that Marzano’s meta-study, having statistically compared these approaches, shows that you are best doing both. However, while nearly all teachers will use mild punishments, few give enough recognition for good behaviour. If you only use punishments, such as telling students off in response to inappropriate behaviour, then you can create a negative, nagging image for yourself. Also, attention-seekers will begin to misbehave in order to get your attention, as it is the most effective way. Effect sizes are from Marzano (2003)| Average effect-size| Number of studies| Decrease in number of disruptions| Disciplinary Interventions| | | | RemindersReminding students of relevant rules just before they start an activity. E. g. reminding them of the ground-rules for working in groups before starting a group-work activity | 0. 64| 70| 24%| ‘Sticks’ Mild punishments| 0. 78| 40| 28%| ‘Carrots’ Strategies that reward students for appropriate behaviour including recognition, praise, symbols etc. | 0. 86| 101| 31%| ‘Carrots’ plus ‘sticks’Using both mild punishments, and strategies that reward students for appropriate behaviour with recognition symbols etc. | 0. 97| 12| 33%| Reminders. Many teachers are reactive, waiting for disruption and then responding to it, yet reminding students of the ground-rules for a forthcoming activity is a very positive and quite effective strategy. If you have agreed class rules, and students have designed posters to illustrate them, gather students round the posters to discuss the rules, and ask questions about why we have them. This need not take long, yet has reduced the number of disruptions in experiments by almost a quarter on average. Carrots: strategies to reinforce appropriate behaviour. This works better than just telling students off, and most of us don’t do it enough. Try these strategies: 1. Tokens or symbols Here is an example. A teacher asks each student to start off the lesson with five behaviour ‘points’. Or they might only do this with two or three problematical students. The students write five ‘1’s on a piece of paper on their desk. During the class the teacher places an extra ‘1’ if the student is working well, and crosses one off when they are not. Students often don’t need an explanation for the removal of a point if the class rules are clear. Simply praising good behaviour also works remarkably well, Madsen et al (1968). At the end of the class the student records how many behaviour points they have on a proforma. This might ask them to set targets for improvement. They might also be able to exchange these points for privileges such as sitting where they want, or giving out materials etc. It is important to explain the system you use and why: ‘to help you become better and more mature learners’. It should not be seen as a bribe even when privileges are given. These are often laughed off by teachers, but they really work and are greatly underused Tokens and symbols can include: * A ‘thumbs up’ sign, wink, smile, praise etc to a student working well. It works especially well with problematical students * ‘Official Pat On The Back’, this can be public or private. It is fun to ‘say this with capital letters’ and administer it with mock ceremony, but not sarcastically * Recognition in class notices, bulletins or notice-boards * Round of applause†¦ or even standing ovation! * Encouraging words * ‘Open microphone’. The student is asked to speak to the class to explain how they succeeded, or, if you are brave, to make any point they like. * Smiley faces, points, or stickers on a privately held record card, that you can ask to see and use as the basis for discussion on behaviour improvement. * Smiley faces, points or stickers on a publicly displayed class list * Badges: e. g. â€Å"I’m an improver† â€Å"The gal done good† * Displaying work * Letters home saying that behaviour is good or has improved. Most students regard this as very significant and it doesn’t cost that much. You could also use e-mail, text message, or phone message, but letters are permanent and you don’t even need to put a stamp on as students will be keen to take them home. They can be used to earn: * Privileges such as sitting where you choose, helping to give out materials, leading groups, being allowed to present to the class, etc * â€Å"Class pressure points† which the class can ‘spend’ to persuade you not to set homework one particular week, or to allow more time to prepare for a test etc. * The opportunity to choose the work they do or the way they work. E.g. be able to write up their work on a classroom computer. * Letters, e-mails or text messages home, after say three weekly improvements * College or school certificates for mature behaviour. These can be given in half-termly ‘award ceremonies’ presented by the head of department * Being chosen to present to another class, or at parent’s evening or open evening * A class trip or visit earned if the class all improve in behaviour * Home privileges such as being allowed to keep your TV or computer games in your bedroom, to rent a video or buy a computer game. This clearly requires parental involvement. See the case study in the box below. 2. Self-assessment Students can use the self-assessment process described on page 5 to award themselves points or stickers etc. 3. Contingent rewards: These makes use of peer pressure to improve behaviour: a. Class carrots if the whole class behaves or improves. E. g. If the whole class reduces calling out instead of putting their hands up, then the whole class earn pressure points (described in the above box), or are allowed to go and see the Art Department’s final show of work. Success needs to be defined carefully, for example no more than three people calling out in each class for at least one week. b. Class carrots if a specific individual or group of students behaves well or improves. This needs to be treated with caution. E. g. â€Å"We are all going to help to keep Philip in his seat. If you are next to him remind him if he moves. If he does move, don’t talk to him. If Philip doesn’t get out of his place inappropriately for a week, the whole class gets five Team Player Points and Philip gets ten. † ‘Sticks’: strategies that involve mild punishment. This works best in conjunction with the ‘carrots’ above. Marzano’s metastudy stresses that the effect of this strategy comes from consistency rather than severity. Case studies with the use of rewards and punishments. TES 16th June 2006 www. tes. co. uk/search/story/? story_id=2250510 Duncan Harper, Head of a Special school says many children are miss-labelled as ‘autistic’ or having ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’ (ADHD). He believes their poor attention span etc is due to being too tired to work after spending four to five hours a night watching TV or playing computer games. 20% of his 58 children are diagnosed autistic, and 50% ADHD. But Harper thinks non are autistic, and only 2 have ADHD! He develops excellent relationships with the parents, who are contacted by phone every two weeks. He arranges with them to remove TVs and computer games from bedrooms if the student’s behaviour/tiredness does not improve. Harper himself made seven such removals that year. A recent inspection graded the school as outstanding in all categories. Evidence is growing that poor sleep is affecting students’ behaviour, thinking and learning. Try Googling ‘sleep student attainment’. Consistency and assertiveness The punishment itself seems less important than your consistency in expecting a rule to be obeyed, and your assertiveness when talking to students or punishing them when you have to. Assertiveness is not the same as hostility. It is linked with ‘dominance’ mentioned earlier and means that when you deal with class management you are firm, unemotional, matter of fact, unapologetic, confident and business like. It often includes a reminder to the student that you are implementing agreed class rules, not personal dictats. Being hostile angry or very strict is less effective, and may suggest to students that you are losing control. Be assertive Imagine you are dealing with a student who has been persistently talking. You have warned her that if she talks inappropriately again, you will move her. Despite this, she continues to talk. You could get angry, sarcastic and over-strict at this point. But it is more effective to be assertive: 1. Proximity and eye contact. Walk up to the student (proximity), with a firm upright posture, and fix them with eye contact . There should be little emotion in your voice or face. Just a business like confidence. 2. Ask for what you want in a decisive manner, act as if you mean it, and expect to be obeyed. The pitch of your voice should not be shrill, only slightly raised. â€Å"I want you to move next to John now. † â€Å"But Pete started it† 3. Listen, but use the broken record. Listen to such legitimate objections. It sometimes helps to repeat the objection to show you have listened as below. However do not accept denials, blaming or other arguing unless a genuinely strong case is made. It is the student’s duty to keep the class rules despite difficulties. Repeat what you want. â€Å"Even if Pete did start it, you should not have talked again. Please move now. † â€Å"But that’s not fair† (This process of listening, perhaps acknowledging what was said, but then repeating what you want continues as long as necessary. This is sometimes called the ‘broken record’. ) You remain firm unruffled and business like. â€Å"We all agreed our class rules are fair. Please move. † 4. Defer discussion but require obedience. If the student persists tell them that they are wasting valuable class time, and must continue this conversation after the class. In the meantime they must move. Repeat this once if necessary very firmly. 5. Withdraw. If they still don’t move remind them that defiance is a very serious There is a list of responses to inappropriate behaviour in Teaching Today 3rd edition, pages 117-8 offence and that they must see you after the class. Walk away to signal the dialogue is now over. The student might now move. If not, seek guidance from tutors and class managers; defiance is a health and safety issue as they might not even stop doing something dangerous when you tell them to. 6. Use Discipline Plans. If a student does not respond to assertive behaviour like this and problems persist, consult tutors and managers. Sit down with the student in a private one to one situation, and draw up a ‘Discipline Plan’ Allen. T (1996) * State the relevant class rules and explain why they help everybody learn and help create a happy classroom * Ask the student why they have a problem keeping the rule(s) and what would help them keep it better. Stress that the rule must be kept despite the stated difficulties. Ask them to become a team player.

Campaign Strategy essays

Campaign Strategy essays As you have already know, the president is not chosen by the people directly like most all other political offices are. The president is chosen by a group of 538 electors from all fifty states and the District of Columbia who cast their votes for president. The candidate who receives 270 votes becomes president. Electors are given to each state based on the population. The more people the more electors. In theory electors from each state vote for the candidate who the people from there state voted for. Even if the candidate wins the state by just one vote, all electoral votes go to that person. Candidates have in recent times started campaigning three to four years in advance for a presidential election. Campaigns are heavily influenced by the media and candidates try to get their names and views shown to everyone. A candidate knows that everything about his life is going to be found out by the media. The candidate must have no skeletons in the closet. Because electoral votes decide the winner, presidential elections are really 51 separate contests for the electoral votes of each state and the District of Columbia. Presidential candidates, then, must devise strategies and allocate resources across the states to produce a majority in the Electoral College. A candidate knows he has some states that are a given victory, usually his home state and the majority of the states that are heavily his party. The candidates know that Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Minnesota, and Hawaii are all very strong democratic states. The candidates know that Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, Alabama, Arizona, Utah, Montana, and Alaska are all very strong republican states. The other party must campaign hard in the other states if it wants any chance to steal it. Some states a president knows he cant win and he will tour those states much less. The south states and many of the rural states strong ...

What is meant by fiscal policy

What is meant by fiscal policy Economy is the sum total economic resources of a certain region which enable it to provide services and goods to its inhabitants. These resources may include: infrastructure, land, trade, labor, manufactured goods, capital, and medicine among others. Global Economy thus can be seen as the sum total of the world human and physical resources that enhance survival of its inhabitants.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What is meant by fiscal policy? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this century every country in the continent has seen an economic recession which basically affects the livelihoods of the people for instance increased food prices. This is one the reasons why countries develop policies that may enable them improve their economy. Policies such as fiscal policy, sustainable food production, green cities and sustainable housing for city dwellers have been developed. Michl (54) defines Fiscal policy as, â€Å"t he use of government expenditure and revenue collection (taxation) to influence the economy.† According to Dwivedi instruments of fiscal policy include the following, â€Å"Surplus budgeting, Government expenditure, Taxation, and Public borrowing (602). These instruments may have different effects on the economy.† For instance, surplus budgeting means reducing the government expenditure slightly below the revenue thus creating surplus. On the other hand government expenditure is the allocation of revenue to various areas of the economy for example education and health. Taxation is the collection of money from the citizens directly or indirectly in which they don’t expect direct returns and public borrowing is borrowing in the form of loans either from the public or external sources. The above instruments are adjusted in order to create a desired effect on the economy; as an illustration if the government increases expenditure in infrastructure development it expe cts that in the long run it will attract investors which in return create jobs and revenue in form of taxation. Depending on the economic state of a nation, the policy makers adjust each of the fiscal policy instruments so as to focus on the desired outcome. How fiscal policy can be used to aggregate demand An expansionary fiscal policy tends to increase the amount of liquid income that citizens have hence improving the purchasing power which implies more money will be disposed to the economy. According to Reuters (4), â€Å"The aggregate demand will increase and thus reduce the deflation gap which may be caused by growth or unemployment.† The figure below shows a the effect of fiscal policy on aggregate demand;Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Aggregate demand is dictated by investors and consumers of such goods and services from the investments. This means that the fiscal policy adopted mainly tends to increase the desire for investors to invest and the available market to have the power to purchase. Fiscal policy has a short term positive effect but on the long term if it is not checked it may cause undesired effects. How effective is the fiscal policy? Is a question that needs to be carefully studied if economies will have to continue using this policy as a measure to react to economic recession. Thomas R. Michl (81) notes that, â€Å"fiscal policy were unlikely to succeed in combating unemployment because the jobs gained through the government spending would be cancelled out by jobs lost in the investment goods industries by crowding out.† Thus fiscal policy may not be the best tool to use when economic recession is caused by natural economic factors. It is rather better to let the factors that contribute to the economy to regulate themselves naturally. For example, consumption may be affected by inflation by making consume rs avoid unnecessary purchases and the desire to create more wealth thus having a positive effect on both investment and consumption which are the key instruments on aggregate demand. Furthermore, increasing taxation may not affect consumption because the goods in which taxation may be imposed may be a necessity whose consumption must remain the same. For example increasing the cost of transportation may not be affected by taxation as much because it is a necessity in wealth creation. Another undesired effect arises from the increase in government spending without increasing taxes; this might lead to a recession and undesired deflationary gap. Australian budget The following is the fiscal policy stance of the Australian government for the financial year 2010-2011. According to Australian Government Website, â€Å"The Australian government budget website describes the government’s fiscal stance to comprise of: achievable budget surpluses, on average, over the medium term, kee p taxation as a share of GDP below the level for 2007-08 (23.5 per cent of GDP), on average, and improve the Government’s net financial worth over the medium term.† According to Marc (55), â€Å"The government will further allow the tax receipts to recover naturally as the economy improves and hold growth in spending to 2 percent a year until the budget returns to surplus.†Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What is meant by fiscal policy? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The government puts into consideration any physical calamities that may occur so as to mitigate its effects on the budget as fast as possible. The table below shows budget aggregates and their projections. According to a research done by the Melbourne Institute the Australian (8), â€Å"Inflation pressure is rising.† The report indicates that ‘inflation rates increased from 3.2 percent to 4.5 percent in the months of March and April respectively.’ As an assertion to the research report, Michael Chua, a research fellow at the Melbourne Institute said, This months report indicates inflation pressure is mounting after a relatively stable period. (8) This implies that the fiscal stance may have not been achieved as much in terms of inflation control. Australian inflationary measures The Australian high dollar rate has seen the mining industry gain whereas other areas of the economy like tourism and local imports have been affected negatively. Thus inflation has been experienced. The government though optimistic, has fears of the return of economic recession in America and the Europe. The current inflation pressures on the Australian government can be mitigated by disaster preparedness as one of the major effects of inflation. The Australian consumer is also expected to reduce expenditure so as to create a balance thus combat inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia (9) said that, â€Å"It re mained concerned about the outlook for domestic inflation and said it was too soon to know if demand would soften enough to restrain price pressures over time.† It also expressed its fears on the ‘unsettled global financial markets.’ The Australian government put in place a fiscal policy for the financial year 2010-2011; was the policy the most appropriate? According to the Australian, â€Å"these fiscal rules mean we are on track to return the budget to surplus.† The country expected to go back on track and achieve a 2 percent surplus on its budget. So far the government can only brag about a 1 percent surplus. This means that despite the government not hitting on its minimum target, it has brought back a surplus budget after the global economic recession.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The gains made are attributed to the tough spending measures the government imposed in its fiscal policy. The government further intends to retain the strict measures, which it argues will help it deliver a surplus within three years of the deficit peaking as a share of the economy. It further argues that this will be a smaller duration as compared to the four years it used in the 1980’s. Overall, the economy has improved slightly which may be attributed to the strong Australian dollar which has improved revenue from the mining industry. Michl (66) argues that â€Å"High interest rates discouraged the consumers from borrowing consequently less expenditures.† In one way or the other the government has achieved its goals; however, there are no air tight policies. The negative effects are the failure to mitigate inflation which is a major dissatisfaction on the citizens. In conclusion, fiscal policy is the control of government expenditures against taxation. There are fou r major instruments for implementing fiscal policy that include the following according to Michl (5), â€Å"Surplus budgeting, Government expenditure, Taxation, and Public borrowing.† Each of these instruments can be controlled in a particular way so as to achieve the expected results. The government would reduce tax rate thus it will enhance compliance and collect more taxes, increase the lending rate thus reduce purchasing power, reduce government expenditure which may cause unemployment or reduce public borrowing hence reducing the national debt margin. The fiscal policy adapted by the Australian government seems to have worked mainly through the stringent rules imposed on the stimulus package. Australian Government Website. budget.gov.au, 2010. Web. Australian Government Website, Geoffrey. Business with The Wall Street Journal. theaustralian.com.au/business, 2011. Retrieved Dwivedi, D N. Macroeconomics: Theory and Practice. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill, 2010. Print. Marc, Robinson. Medium Term Fiscal Policy Issues and Challenges in Australia, Melbourne: Queensland U of T, 2001. Print Michl, Thomas R. Macroeconomic Theory: a Short Course. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2002. Print. Reuters, CNBC First in Business World Wide. cnbc.com, 2011. Web.