Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Learning theories Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words
Learning theories - Research Paper Example Teachers are regularly struck with suggestions for reforms. They are often asked to use different curricula, new assessment and novel teaching strategies. They are constantly been directed to prepare learners for new standardized test or to assess learner’s work by way of conducting portfolios and performance assessments. They are often advised to practice research based approaches to teach learners in order to enhance their performances (Wilson & Peterson, 2006). Traditionally, learning was perceived as just acquisition of skills and knowledge whereas currently, the concept has been viewed to include emotional as well as social and various societal dimensions. Additionally, learning theories attempts to describe and understand the various ways in which the people learn. Very often, the theories are considered to be the important resource of the educational research as they have the potential to guide in constructing new educational approaches and analyzing along with improvin g the existing approaches and trends (Navarro & Hoek, n.d.). With this concern, the paper intends to critically explore three learning theories of Malcolm Knowles’s learning theory of andragogy, transformative learning theory of Jack Mezirow and experiential learning theory belonging to D. A. Kolb. Brief Explanation of Theories Malcolm Shepherd Knowles and the Theory of Andragogy Malcolm shepherd Knowles is often been considered as the fundamental figure in the segment of adult education particularly in the region of United States during the middle of twentieth century. During the year 1950, he was assigned with the responsibility of Executive Director of the Adult Education Association of the US. The first work of Knowles was termed as informal adult education. Later, he developed a unique theoretical basis for adult education and learning through highlighting upon the notion of andragogy. This work of his was greatly appreciated in the US. Furthermore, his work was consider ed to be the crucial factor that has contributed in changing the views of adult teachers from ‘educating people’ to ‘helping them learn’. Knowles was able to convince that learning practices of adults are different from those of children. He was engaged in building inclusive theory concerning with adult learning that was closely related with the features of adult learners. Earlier work of Knowles concerning ‘informal adult education’ had postulated certain basic elements of process as well as settings. Later, he intended to combine all the elements in order to propose new conceptual basis for improving the adult learning practices. The mechanism or the learning theory that postulated by him was termed as andragogy. According to Knowles, the theory concerning andragogy was primarily based upon four pioneer assumptions that were based upon the characteristics of adult learners. These assumptions were related with the adult learners that are quite dissimilar from the assumptions that dealt with the children learners (Mark K. Smith, 2002). Later, a fifth assumption was added to the theory. Thus, the five basic assumptions relating to andragogy theory that developed by Knowles have been portrayed hereunder. Self-Concept According to Knowles, the maturity that occurs in an individual with the passage of times lead towards self-concept moves wherein an individual tends to become more self-directed person from being a reliant personality (Mark K. Smith, 2002). Experience Similarly, Knowles admitted that as an individual becomes
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Politics essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1
Politics - Essay Example The Marxist theory, laid down by Karl Marx, is an ardent follower of a class structure within the state. Marx said that there remained a vast demarcation between the capitalist and the socialist structures of society and in order for the weaker sections to rise; there normatively should be a revolution on part of the working class. The capitalist society exploited the working classes with respect to power and wealth and used the labour in order to gain more and more resources and climb the social ladder. They were not concerned about the plight of the working class at all. Thus, all the political power rested within the hands of the capitalists. The questions however remained, could the working class not rise and abolish the suffering that it was subjected to by the capitalists, overnight? â€Å"Certainly, on paper, the working class could do away with the state However, this would be only a formal, juridical act to the extent that the workers had not seized power in a society already so rich and with such an abundance of material goods and services that social conflicts as such, that is, centring on the distribution of these products, could disappear; and that the necessity for arbiters, watchdogs, police, to control all that chaos disappeared at the same time as did the relative scarcity of goods. This has never happened in the past and it is hardly likely that it ever will.†(Mendel, Ernest) The main reason for Marx’s theory was to establish how power was divided between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ of society; how there was a competition for the scarce resources that existed and how the politically powerful capitalists were the ones that had gained access to everything. The working class could only hope to gain some important by abolishing the existing state in order to themselves regulate the conflicts that existed among the
Monday, October 14, 2019
George Blacks The Trout Pool Paradox Essay Example for Free
George Blacks The Trout Pool Paradox Essay It’s hard to imagine that three rivers, running so purely for so many years could contribute to a damaged environment. The rivers were created by nature and there was nothing harmful about them. They only added beauty to their surroundings and who would have ever thought that such beautiful rivers could lend aid to the destruction of the environment? Several people of an older age were asked about the rives effectiveness, now, versus what they used to be and it would quite clear that industry has put a huge damage on our society.            Less than two hours from New York, the two Connecticut rivers run in parallel valleys only a few miles apart and they have charted the course of American, environmental, industrial, and our social history and they do have very different results as George Black explains.            The Housatonic, The Naugatuck and the Shepaug flow parallel to one another and they are a short distance apart; only a few mile separates the rivers. There are so many similarities connects these rivers. Very fast waters and rock filled, these rivers are surrounded by farmland that is extremely prone to flooding. The town was a great place to start a mill, which could easily turn a small, quiet town into a new revolutionized, booming factory town. Because, one river only was used, the Naugatuck, it became the brass and rubber world capital for the industry. The Shepaug, ended up being a rural idyll.            The main town of Waterbury, one of the towns and it was even named in (Money Magazine as the most unlivable city in America.) Reference Money Magazine, where the two valleys became polar opposites. The main town on the Shepaug is Washington, and it has become a terribly expensive get away for people on weekends for a vast amount of the higher classed people of New York.            George Black made a great attempt to study and explain the â€Å"trout pool paradox†and how these rivers became the focus of an environmentally harmful industry. George Black looks into the history of these three rivers and talks about the effect that the factories, from the Industrial Revolution affected the people who live near these rivers, and the population who fish, live and spend so much of their time fighting and working to protect the Housatonic and its tributaries, recently.            A hundred years ago the idea of the environment being in jeopardy was never even fathomed. It was assumed by the people of Connecticut that their way of life would continue, without interruption. They never imagined that the huge factories that were fed by a waterway could have such a great impact on society. If they could have foreseen the future, I’m sure something would have been done to discourage the development of the water powered mills that would operate the factories that contributed to the deterioration of the environment.            Man directly had a bad impact on the environment by building the factories and destroying the pureness of the rivers that were written about by George Black. He could see that society was directly impacted upon by the dangerous smoke and chemical hazards that were so worried about by him. He was attempting to study and in by writing about the three rivers in â€Å"The Trout Pool Paradox,†to unveil the dangerous hazards that were brought on my society’s incredible desire to make more money and revolutionize the town in Connecticut.            George Black says that it is important that we realize that we have come so far in realizing how everyone needs to be aware of steps we each must take to secure that are environment is being tended to and that we are aware of the hazards that the Industrial Revolution have brought upon our land and waters. He seems generally sincere in the aspect that he cares about our ecosystem.            In the last thirty or more years, great attempts have been displayed with concerned people who fight for the ecosystem and spend much of their time being sure that the hazardous pollutants are being directly made known to the public and George Black is one of these concerned individuals who spent time to give his thoughts on the crumbling of the ecosystem by writing â€Å"The Trout Pool Paradox.† He made us look at these rivers and the town in Connecticut and how they remained untouched since the beginning of their existence, and I think it hurt him to see the direct harm that was cast upon these.            The people of America must come together as a team, each agreeing that it takes an entire society of people working together and expressing their concerns about our stream, rivers and towns. We do have the power as a whole to speak about the dangers that are being forced upon our environment. If we work together and have meetings and television and radio time to discuss the environment and bring so much more awareness to the idea of protecting our ecosystem. If we really believe that we have the power to turn things around, I do believe that we can.            It only takes a few people to get things started. We can each do our part by speaking up and voicing our opinions. We can demand that hazardous factories be shut down and replaced by more economically friendly ran factories.            George Black delved into the thoughts of the public of the two communities that were two competing political cultures, and who were generally having a battle with each other over the meaning of running water. George Black found that each community, each with their own ideas about the way things should be. He searched into the question of what was the motives and how deep did their feeling run, concerning their environment. He realized how differently the two cultures had expressed their perception of what was going on around them. He realized that each had different views, and thought it to be incredible that their views could be so different. He felt after speaking to the people of the areas, that their stories needed to be told and felt that it was important to share his discoveries of the variance in opinions with the public.            I realize after gathering information that it was important for George Black to fish in the Shepaug watershed which is the main ideal of the trout stream. It is terrible that only miles away, the Naugatuck is nothing more than a â€Å"chemical sewer†and it even catches on fire, sometimes and it must have been terribly devastating for the community who had once know the river and loved the river for it’s clean flowing water and it’s popularity for fishing.            I don’t think any amount of money in the world is worth wasting a perfectly good river. There could and should have been a better idea than just destroying our environments and communities because of greed. The people who built and ran the factories in Connecticut should have take more time and should have performed in-depth studies before they so carelessly and directly aided in the destruction of our environment.            It isn’t too late to try to save our ecosystem. Even though so much harm has already been done to our rivers, we can still set forth actions by showing our concern for our environment. We can write to our Congress people. We can voice our opinion, just as George Black did.            When you view the Shepaug and the Naugatuck, you can’t really just see, with your eyes, their radically different evolution. The main important idea is to understand and to try to talk about how the currents of our natural history and our social history are connected. We must look at how each of these waterways and ask ourselves, â€Å"How are they intertwined and how do they influence each other in various ways. A great Revolutionary Revolution, or reindustrialization, does not run uniformly through an area in a community just like New England, one river valley and then the next. There are so many social issues and changes brought on by the rivers but it is evident that the social issues are the ones that are most important. Events in history have altered life, as we know it, and have made huge impacts on the way we look at these two intertwined rivers. Sometimes our natural history can be changed by a single natural disaster but the idea that one river can be untouched and the other so close to it can completely be destroyed is unthinkable!            In the Housatonic Valley, it is evident that the course of history has been altered to a great degree. The leaders of the Waterbury brass industry were able to devastate the Naugatuck Valley due to the fact that there was no effective checks on their power. This neglect has had an impact, as well.            The Shephaug continues to flow seemingly untouched, offering some of the best fishing in the country (Houghton Mifflin, April),â€Å"The Trout Pool Paradox†can be used as a way of exploring four hundred years of our history in America. You could point out different communities in America who have directly been affected by pollutants, and if they were written about and pointed out by other writers, as well as George Black, America could be a safer place to live in and their streams and rivers could be saved. Who knows how many rivers may be under great threat right now, and how one person could write a story such as â€Å"The Trout Pool Paradox†and bring immediate attention to the hazard that a beautiful river or stream might be threatened by. Just by George Black’s thoughts on the destruction of our environment gives me great appreciation for his concern about our natural surroundings and it gives me a sense of responsibility to my community and to all of American rivers, streams, ponds and lakes. Reference; George Black, The Trout Pool Paradox
Sunday, October 13, 2019
College Admissions Essay: My Dad :: College Admissions Essays
My Dad  In writing about an important person in my life, there are a number of people that I could discuss. But, I feel that the person who is very special to me and one who has been the most influential, is my dad.  He is the type of person that makes me very proud to say that he is my father, and the type of father that I am most fortunate to have. My father and I have always been very close. He is both loving and caring and the type of person that always puts his family first.  My dad has always been there for me both as a parent and a friend. When I was little, my dad got involved in coaching in my little league baseball, basketball and soccer, and always made time for these father and son activities. We liked to play ball together and still do at times. My dad is a big sports fan and so am I, and I look forward to the weekends when we watch the ball games together. My dad started to take my to the ball games when I was about 5 years old, and we've been doing that ever since. But, playing ball isn't all that's important in life. My father has given me the necessary guidance and has taught me values as a person that have helped me develop from a child into a responsible adult. I want him to be proud of me too, and I know that he is.  His influence has been very strong and meaningful, as I have gone through some difficult periods where he has helped me to be more focused on my goals and trying to accomplish what I set out to do. We discuss my problems, try to put them in the right perspective and deal with them properly. As I am still living at home, with my parents and sister, I am constantly
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Creating New Enzyme Actions De Novo Essay -- Biology Catalyst
ABSTRACT Enzymes are molecules, specifically proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. Enzymes, like all catalysts, accelerate the rate of a reaction by lowering the activation energy. Nucleic acid RNA molecules called ribozymes can also act as enzymes and catalyze reactions. The development of new enzymes for the synthesis of chemical reactions, pharmaceuticals, and tools for molecular biology is a new and upcoming interest. Work has previously been done in the development for modifying and improving already existing enzymes. There is also much to still learn involving the designs and evolution of enzymes because it is greatly reliant on extensive knowledge of the mechanisms of these reactions. In this paper it is shown that new enzymatic activities can be created de novo, which means from scratch or very differently. There is no need for previous mechanistic information. This is done by selecting from a naive protein library, or one in which it is not designed to do what they are actually doing with it. This library is made up of a trillion different proteins with different amino acid sequences, so there is not much need for a plan. Messenger RNA, RNA used specifically to translate proteins, display is used and the proteins are covalently linked to their encoding mRNA, meaning that they share stable chemical bonds and are tethered to each other. Functional proteins are selected from an in vitro translated protein library. This is not an obvious way to link the genetic information that encodes it together. It is done without constraints imposed by any in vivo step, which simplifies the process when it is in vitro. This specific technique has been used to evolve short or small proteins called peptides as well as specific prote... ...enzymes is much less guided process. Future research will involve continuing to optimize the enzyme’s activity, i.e., seeing if they can get it to catalyze RNA ligation even faster. Sources Cited Denison, R. Ford. "Evolving enzymes in the lab." Weblog entry. 11 Sept. 2007. This Week in Evolution. 15 Nov. 2007 . "Researchers Evolve Artificial Enzymes in the Laboratory." HHMI Research News. 16 Aug. 2007. Howard Hughes Medical Inst. 14 Nov. 2007 . Sadava, David E., et al. Life the Science of Biology. 8th ed. USA: The Courier†¨Companies Inc, 2008 Seelig, Burckhard, and Jack W. Szostak. "Selection and evolution of enzymes from a partially randomized non-catalytic scaffold." Nature 448 (Aug. 2007): 828-833.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Broken Eggs Essay
The young girl’s body is slumped upon an elevated surface, while her head is tilted to the left at a forty-degree angle. She is draped in a sheer, white blouse and apron, covering a yellow corset and light blue dress. A periwinkle scarf on her head keeps her blonde hair pulled away from her face, revealing her luminescent skin – lit up magnificently by the thin stream of light making its way through the window to her right – and innocent features. The girl’s expression seems to be of pure grief, as she looks down towards the egg basket on the floor; it’s as if she has lost something very dear. This young girl is perhaps saddened at the fact that the egg basket has dropped to the ground and the eggs are now broken. However, the other subject matter in the painting alludes to a larger scale of loss. Immediately above the girl’s left shoulder, a man – appearing about equal in age – stands with his body swaying to his right. His rig ht hip is pointed in the direction of the far left corner of the room, while his head is tilted forty degrees to the right, in the opposite direction of the young girl’s. One could draw a line straight down the middle of the painting and see that there is symmetry between the young girl’s, and man’s, head. The egg basket is centered in between them, creating a focus on la scà ¨ne du crime; a sun hat with a girlish ribbon around it lies delicately next to the basket, where countless white eggs lay broken, spewing yellow yolk. As one zeroes in on this fragment of the painting, it is important to take note of its specific mise en scà ¨ne. In other words, the placing of the small sun hat next to the basket allows the artist to better tell a story of innocence, and imaginably the shattered eggs define the loss of that purity. It is essential to mention the style and structure of the painting before going any further with the subject matter. The brushstrokes when conveying the foreground of the painting are smooth and seamless. However, on the wall in the background the strokes appear harsh and horizontal, creating a rough texture in contrast with the character’s skin and clothes. The brown color scheme of the background is uniform throughout, in accordance with the light coming into the very small and dingy room. There is a picnic table behind the young girl and its scale accurately contributes to the probable size of the room. The ceiling is high which suggests that the scene takes place in the servant’s quarters of a wealthy estate.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Do Men make Better managers than Women? Essay
Only in the last century have more esteemed jobs been allocated to women, in light of the women-rights movement. Even though pay between men and women is still unequal and gender discrimination at the workplace is still imminent, the improvement in the opportunities of women to maintain high ranking jobs in the last century has been drastic. However in certain occupations, such as that of the manager, inequality is even firmer, as shown in studies detailing the sex ratio of managers (Vinniecombe and Colwil, 1995). This phenomenon does not advise that men are more suitable managers, as women are especially disadvantaged in more commonly masculine workplaces, like a managerial role. Rise to new managerial styles and a decrease in prejudice towards women may even prove women to be the more effective managers, or at least equally effective, as men. When it comes to the occupancy of the manager, Women are still more unlikely to hold the position than in other relatively higher job positions, with only about 10 % of management positions in Europe being held by Women, further of those the grand majority lie in the lower management ranks (Vinnicombe and Colwill, 1995). The implication of these figures are either that discrimination is rife in the world of management, or that the qualities that are commonly regarded as necessary for a successful manager are mostly masculine characteristics, including â€Å"drive, objectivity and an authoritative manner†(Wajcman, 1998 pg 55). Therefore it would seem that men have a natural advantage to being a strong manager. Nonetheless, in recent times certain developments in organization theory, including human resource management and Japanese management have indicated that a more effective management needs a â€Å"softer edge and a more people-orientated approach†(Wajcman, 1988 pg 55). The main characteristics of women are commonly seen as â€Å"affectionate, helpful, friendly, kind soft-spoken, sympathetic and gentle†(Barreto, Ryan and Schmitt, 2009 pg 23). Thus, this new concept of a productive manager would pertain more to women. However, as mentioned before, the ratio of female to male managers in lower management positions is still dramatically unbalanced, with higher management positions being only very rarely awarded to women, with an average of 5 % in Europe; even only 2% in England, (Vinnicombe and Colwill, 1995 pg3). This imbalance suggests that the traditionally ideal masculine manager approach is still preferred by the majority of firms and unfortunately only government enforced â€Å"Equal opportunities action plans†have really made a significant difference in the sex ratio of managers. These positive action initiatives have been launched by several countries in the last few decades, as for instance Denmark in 1989 which found that it made a two percent increase in female managers over the course of a year, (Vinnicombe and Colwill, 1995). Hence without the aid of government policies, it will take extremely long for women to be equally represented in managerial roles. That the traditional masculine view of the manager is still vastly more popular than the newer managerial perception which would be more suitable for females, is not only shown by the stagnant change of the gender representation, but also by the characteristics of the few females who hold top managerial positions. Whilst high ranking male managers behave in accordance to the stereotypical male traits, women who have made it to the top mostly act in their profession in a masculine manner, almost indistinguishable from their male counterparts ((Wajcman, 1998). Thus, the few Women who have made it to the manager positions have intentionally acted in a masculine manner in order to succeed (Wajcman, 1998). This indicates that the contemporary feminine managerial style has only been implemented extremely rarely, and that in the extensive majority of cases in order to maintain a top ranking manager position one must exert masculine characteristics. Research shows that this feminine approach, also referred to as â€Å"transformational leadership style†, is often more useful than the traditional management style, especially in firms with more feminine employees (Barreto, Ryan and Schmitt, 2009). The fact that the feminine managerial style is thus by many regarded as at least as effective as the traditional style, if not more, yet still barely ever used seems to lie in the explanation of prejudice and discrimination. Tragically, prejudice and discrimination effects equality in the workplace in exponential ways, from the very choice women make when choosing a career, such as being dissuaded from a manager career as it is seen as a masculine position, to the fact that many firms want a man as a manager as they fear a woman may not be treated with the same respect and authority from the employees (Barreto, Ryan and Schmitt). Such prejudice and discrimination cannot simply be vanquished through stricter discrimination laws, the only truly effective mechanism until now has been positive action initiatives by Governments, which for instance in Scandinavian countries has dramatically increased the representation of Women in management(Vinnicome and Colwill, 1998. In theory, women are at least equally suitable for the role of a manager. Sadly in practice women are at a disadvantage in attaining any management position, and once that position is maintained women have a much harder time being an effective manager. The reason for this is a lack of respect of some subordinates who don’t see a woman as enough of an authority. Though woman can be just as effective managers as men, ingrained prejudice and discrimination, affecting how a female manager is seen and treated by her subordinates, may make her less of a successful manager. If women will be more common in manager positions, over time people will get used to a female manager and the prejudice and discrimination will most likely decrease. Thus positive action programs by governments, may be essential to decreasing prejudice and discrimination and making it possible for women to not just theoretically be equal or even better managers than men, but also in practice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)