Business Statistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Statistics - Essay Example Principal Component Analysis helps us in identifying the factors which appear in the items and also helps in determining which items contribute to each of these factors. The main assumption of PCA is that there is no error in the data. KMO and Bartlett's Test helps in determining whether it is appropriate to apply Factor Analysis and Principal Component Analysis to the given data set. The value of KMO should be greater than 0.5. Here the value is almost 0.5 and it may be appropriate to apply Principal Component Analysis to this data. Further the Chi-Square statistic is 14.312 with 6 degrees of freedom which is significant at 5 % level of significance. Thus Factor analysis may be considered for analyzing the data. The next out put is the Communalities. These values are inserted in the diagonal of the correlation matrix which help in identifying the underlying dimensions and common variance. In this table the column " initial ", the communality for the variables is 1.000 which were inserted in the diagonal of the correlation matrix. The next out put is " Total Variance Explained" gives the "eigen values". The eigen values are in decreasing order of magnitude for the component 1 to 4. the eigen value for a component indicates the total variance attributed to that factor. The total variance accounted for by all the four factors is 4 which is equal to the number of variables. Factor 1 accounts for 34.5% of the total variance. The second component accounts for 24.85% of the total variance and so on. Total Variance Explained Component Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Total % of Variance Cumulative % Total % of Variance Cumulative % 1 1.381 34.536 34.536 1.381 34.536 34.536 2 .994 24.852 59.388 3 .977 24.415 83.803 4 .648 16.197 100.000 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. In order to determine the number of factors based on eigen values, the value greater than one is considered. For the component 1, the eigen value is greater than one. And for the components 2 and 3 it is almost equal to 1. But the total percentage is greater than

Summarization essay on The Monkey's Paw by Edgar Allen Poe

Summarization on The Monkey's Paw by Edgar Allen Poe - Essay Example Men, women and families gather together waiting for the lottery to start. Mr. .Summers and Mr. Graves, the postmaster arrives in the square carrying a black box. Mr. Summer is responsible for administering the lottery as he is always willing to do a lot for the village and has ample time to carry this out. This black box he carries is not the original one used by their ancestors as it was lost even before the birth of old Warner. Although this one is worn out and Mr. Summers recommend that it should be changed, nobody has the courage to deceive around the tradition. Nevertheless he is able to use paper instead of the traditional wood chips. These slips of paper are made by Mr. Summer and Mr. Grave last night and for safety locked in a coal factory owned by Mr. Summers. A list of all the people in the village is prepared and Mr. Summers is taken under an oath. Some villagers recall that in the old times, there used to be a song and salutation but these customs have been missing now. Before starting the lottery it is assured that everybody is present. Tessie Hutchinson forgets that today was the day of the lottery and joins her family in haste; she is laughed upon by the crowd. Old Warner’s presence is assured too. The regulations of the lottery are repeated to the crowd. Mr. Summers will read the names of the head of the family and that person will come forward to draw the slip. As the individuals starts to do so he meets everyone and exchange greetings. Nobody is allowed to see the paper until everyone has had his turn. When Old Warner is told by Mr. Adam that villagers of the north town might stop the lottery, he becomes agitated and says that this could guide them to primitives and would bring them trouble. Everyone look at their slips of paper as soon as Mr. Summers stop calling names. In a couple of minutes it is known that Bill Hutchinson has gotten it. Tessie

Learning Diversity Essay Example for Free

Learning Diversity Essay After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 1. De? ne cultural diversity; 2. Describe the role of culture in shaping similarities and di? erences among individuals; 3. Recognise race and ethnicity as an element of micro cultural diversity; 4. Explain the educational implications of di? erences in students’ learning style; 5. Distinguish types of cognitive style; 6. Relategender di? erences and socio-economic status to individual di? erences issues; and 7. Describe teacher’s strategies in embracing diversity. Individual Differences 7 171i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. 171 INTRODUCTION As teachers, we must be aware of about students’individual differences such as differences in culture, ethnicity, intelligent, languages, learning styles, etc. It is because it may enhance students’understanding or limit their opportunity to learn from the school environment. These factors should be taken into consideration when we plan teaching and learning process in the classroom. We begin by discussing the de? nition of cultural diversity and other factors that contribute to students’diversity. Next, we examine the differences of learning styles and cognitive  styles among students. This is followed by the explanation of gender differences that in? uence the students’ performance. In the ? nal section of this chapter, we will discuss how teachers can cope with the individual differences effectively in the teaching and learning process. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 172 â€Å"†¦Characteristics of an individual’s society, or of some subgroups within this society. It includes values, beliefs, notions about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and other socially constructed ideas that members of the culture are taught are â€Å"true†. † (1994 in Tan 3003). â€Å"†¦Those human characteristics that have both the potential to either enrich or limit a student’s capacity to learn from the school environment. † Henson Eller (1999, p121) â€Å" Individual differences are the variations we observe among members of any group in a particular characteristic, such as temperament, energy level, friendship patterns and parent-child attachment. † Borich Tombari (1997, p29) 7. 1 CULTURAL DIVERSITY 7. 1. 1 De? nition of Cultural Diversity According to Garcia, Culture refers to: Henson Eller (1999, p121) posit that the term diversity mean: Whereas Borich Tombari (1997. p29) posit that: 173i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 173 â€Å"Group membership can include racial identi? cation, but regardless of race, it can vary further in term of assumptions, values, language, religion, behaviour, and symbols. † (O’conor, 1988 in Tan 2003). Figure 7. 1: Various races in Malaysia. In Malaysia we have different races such as the Malays, Chinese, Indians and others as illustrated in Figure 7. 1. Each of the races has their own culture. Culture is a broad and encopassing concept. Even though we equate culture with race or ethnic identity, the truth is that within racial or ethnic groups there can  be cultural variations. In short, culture governs how we think and feel, how we behave and how we live, and it is born largely of socialization. We often recognize national culture such as Malays, Chinese, Indians and others. We share Malaysian citizenship. So, differences in culture pertaining to Malaysia also mean differences in ethnicity and race. 7. 1. 2 The Role of Culture in Shaping Similarities and Di? erences Among Individuals Culture has impact on our student’s socialization. Some elements of culture including religion, foods, holidays and celebrations, dress, history and traditions, and art and  music. Cultural diversity also can manifest in our views of the life cycle, decorum and discipline, health and hygiene (Example: Explanations of illness and death), values, work and play, and time and space. All could be elements of a shared national culture or of additional family cultures. Each element shapes our students through socialization within their families, later through teacher, peers and environment. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 174 We need to keep in mind that our students’ membership in cultural groups signi? cantly in? uences their lives both inside and outside of school. Therefore, we have to consider cultural diversities because honouring cultural diversities enhances classroom teaching and learning. As teachers, we have to understand these cultural diversities and try to accommodate to these differences. We have to honour other people’s beliefs and values because they have their rationale and that contributes to a harmonious society and peaceful nation. These have to start in school where the students are aware of their differences and teacher instil within them the espirit de core (spirit to live together peacefully), tolerance towards others, empathy and pro social behaviour. 175i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 175 To answer that question, Tan (2003), recognizes three ways in addressing cultural differences as illustrated in Figure 7. 2: Now let us examine all these approaches. (a) Assimilation Theory According to the assimilation theory, all students must conform to the rules of the Anglo- American group culture, regardless of their family culture or the rules of other groups to which they belong. â€Å"Anglo† culture is superior to all others, differences are threatening and rejected. Figure 7. 2: Three ways in addressing cultural differences INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7. 176 (b) Amalgamation Theory According to Davidson Phelan: Cultural differences are ignored. Through the years, many of us have been comforted by the melting pot view of our society’s institutions. But, it too has encouraged the loss of individual identity. (c) Cultural Pluralism According to Davidson Phelan: Diversity is not feared or criticized or ignored. It is valued, even celebrated. An effective teacher holds this view of diversity and incorporates beliefs about multicultural education. Multicultural education is education in which a range of cultural perspectives is presented to students. â€Å"The amalgamation theory is the â€Å"melting pot† approach in which elements of individual cultures are blended to become a â€Å"new†, synthesized American culture. † (Davidson Phelan, 1993) â€Å" In â€Å"cultural pluralism†, we are encouraged to take multicultural view, in which we attempt to address the elements of both shared national culture and individual and/or family culture together. † (Davidson Phelan, 1993) 1. What is cultural diversity? Give few examples of cultural diversity in your answer. 2. Think of ways in which teacher can accommodate to the cultural diversity among students. 177i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES. 177 7. 2 RACES AND ETHINICITY DIVERSITY Race and ethnicity are factors contribute to students’diversity. Through race and ethnicity, we will be able to trace the students’root and cultural make up. Through this awareness then we can be fair in our treatment to all students in the classroom. As Ladson-Billings (1994) notes: â€Å"The notion of equity as sameness only makes sense when all students are exactly the same†. Ladson-Billings (1994) In reality we are different in race, ethnicity, culture and ways of life. Therefore we should take advantage of these differences by learning other languages, about food and dances. Students would respect teachers who know about their students’languages other than their own because it enhances their knowledge about the students and make their communiaction with the students easier. In Malaysia, we have di? erent race that are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Eurasian and others. Within the races, we have sub-groups or ethnicity. Examples of the sub-groups or ethnicity are listed in table 7. 1. Table 7. 1: Races and it sub-groups or ethnicity in Malaysia. Race Malays Chinese Sub-groups or ethnicity ? †¢? Javanese? Malays? †¢? Bugis? Malays †¢? Kelantanese Malays †¢? Johorean? Malays †¢? Malaccan? Malays? etc. Chinese come from many parts of China which contribute to ethnic di? erences such as: ? †¢? Hokkien ? †¢? Cantonese ? †¢? Hailam? and? etc. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 178 7. 3 LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY Linguistic diversity is one of the elements that contributes to student’s diversity. Your class will have language diversity, and you will have to realize that you need to be sensitive to this linguistic diversity and adjust accordingly. In Malaysia, we are lucky because the medium of instruction is in Malay or Bahasa Melayu for all subjects except for English. Furthermore, English is regarded as the second language andball students must pass the subject at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia level or the form 5 national exam. It moulds young generations of Malaysia to at least mastering three languages, namely Bahasa Melayu, the English language, and their mother tongue. With this capacity, it enhances the Malaysians to understand each other and to live harmoniously. Tan (2003) suggested two ways to teachers in addressing language diversity as shown in Figure 7. 3, which are Facilitating English, and Immersion and Transitional Methods. Indians ? †¢? Tamil? Nadu ? †¢? Hindustani ? †¢? Benggali ? †¢? Pakistani ? †¢? Bangla? (Bangladesh)? ? †¢? Bangla? (Sri? Lanka)? and? etc.? These races and ethnicities also contribute to language differences. 1. What are race and ethnicity diversity? Give few examples of race and ethnicity in Malaysia. 2. Can you understand other race or ethnic language? List out the advantages for teachers if they know their student languages. Figure 7. 3: Two suggested ways in addressing language diversity by Tan(2003) 179i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 179 Let us examine those approaches. (a) Facilitating English Enhancing the mastering of the English language among students can help overcome the problem of communication with others in the school and outside the school. Teaching English to all students is regarded as a tool for cultural understanding and communication among students. We can emphasize comprehension in our classroom. If you can understand the student and the student can understand you, then achievement can continue. Increased student achievement should be our overall instructional goal, regardless of linguistic diversity issues. (b) â€Å"Immersion† and Transitional Method Traditionally, we believed â€Å"immersion† approach was the best way to move children to standard language usage. In this approach, from the beginning till the end, the instructor uses only the language to be learned. It becomes, then, a â€Å"sink or swim† proposition. †¢ Some children swim, they thrive under these conditions; they learn the language with few problems. †¢ Other students, however, sink; they do not learn the language and suffer inside and outside of class. Similarly, linguistically diverse students can sink or swim in language learning. Conversely, teacher may use transitional or balance bilingual strategies for adding standard language as a shared communicative tool are being examined. These approaches start with the language the student brings into the classroom and build on family and cultural language to promote standard language usage. Read on an example case below: Several? years? ago,? a? Massachusetts? teacher,? Gary? Simpkins,? attempted? to? move? his African-American students toward standard American English usage by developing? an? approach? called? â€Å"Bridge†? (Shells,? 1976).? He? used? transitional? strategies? whereby? the? students? learn? English? at rst? in? their? language-Black? English in reading, writing and oral communication. Midway through, he taught partly? Black? English? and? partly? standard? American? English.? By? the? end? of? the? instructional period, he taught all in standard American English but still aloud  student? to? use? Black-English? for? less? formal? communication. The implementation of approach above yielded â€Å"promising† results. 1. What is linguistic diversity? 2. Explain how teacher can help the students overcome language differences. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 180 7. 4 LEARNING STYLE OR COGNITIVE STYLE DIVERSITY 7. 4. 1 De? nition of Learning Style and Cognitive Style Kagan is one of the earliest psychologists who introduced the re? ective and impulsive cognitive style. Later, Witkin and Coodenough(1977) founded the concept of ? eld- independent and dependent cognitive style(Borich Tombari, 1997). Another earliest psychologist, Massick proposed the concept of cognitive style. According to Massick: â€Å"Cognitive style is stable attitudes preferences or habitual strategies determining a person’s typical modes of perceiving, remembering, thinking and problem solving. † Messick (1976, p5) Later, there are various de? nitions for learning style or cognitive style by psychologists, depending on their views and perspectives as shown in Table 7. 2. Table 7. 2: Various de? nitions of Learning Style and Cognitive Style by psychologists. Tan et. al. (2003) Psychologist De? nition of Learning Style and Cognitive Style Henson and Eller (1999, p505). â€Å"Learning? styles? are? biological? and? socialized? di? erences? or? preferences for how students learn. Where as cognitive style is students’most comfortable, consistent, and expedient ways of perceiving? and? making? sense? of? information. † Tan et. al. (2003) ? â€Å"Learning? style? is? how? elements? from? basic? stimuli? in? the? current? and past environment a? ect an individual’s ability to absorb and retain information. † Henson and Eller (1999, p505) †¢? In? this? de? nition,? Tan? stressed? the? in? uence? of? biological? and? socialization? in? moulding? students’? learning? style. †¢? Henson? and? Eller? stress? on? basic? stimuli?that? a? ect? individual’s? learning style. 181i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 181 Woolfolk (2004, p603), Sternberg (1997) ? â€Å"Learning? preferences? is? preferred? ways? of? studying? or? learn- ing,? such? as? using? pictures? instead? of? text,? working? with? other? people versus alone, learning in structured or unstructured situation, and so on. Whereas a cognitive style is di? erent ways? of? perceiving? and? organizing? information. † Woolfolk ? â€Å"Learning? and? thinking? styles? are? not? abilities,? but? rather? preferred ways of using one’s abilities. † (Santrock, 2008, p132). †¢? Woolfolk? proposed? that? learning? styles?as? characteristic? approaches to learning and studying. †¢? She? also? equates? learning? styles? and? learning? preferences. †¢? According? to? Sternberg,? intelligence? refers? to? ability. †¢? Individual? vary? so? much? in? thinking? and? learning? style,? ? literally? hundreds? of? learning? and? thinking? styles? have? been? proposed by educators and psychologist. So from these de? nitions, we ? nd overlapping views on learning styles and cognitive styles. We can conclude that: Learning style and cognitive style cover many domains such as physical, psychological, audio, visual, kinaesthetic, etc. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7. 182 7. 4. 2 Types of Learning Styles According to Butler, there are few types of learning styles(Butler, 1989 in Tan, 2003) such as explained below. (a) Psychological/Affective styles †¢ One of the instruments to assess individual’s learning style for this type of learning style is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). †¢ This instrument will reveal how a student feel about him/herself and how self-esteem developed is linked to learning. (b) Physiological Styles †¢ There are few instruments in this category such as: Honey and Munford Learning Styles Inventory, Kolb Learning style inventory, Modality Preferences Inventory, etc. †¢ These instruments show individual of her/his consistent ways to facilitate learning through the use of the senses or environmental stimuli. †¢ These instruments also show hemispheric specialisation (i. e. right or left brain), auditory, visual, kinaesthetic, olfactory preferences or preferences for environmental conditions. (c) Cognitive Styles †¢ Students may utilize cognitive styles such as ? eld-dependent or independent, impulsive or re? ective, whole or serial, etc. †¢ These instruments measure consistent ways of responding and using stimuli in the environment, how things are perceived and make sense, the most comfortable, expedientnand pleasurable way to process information. 7. 4. 3 Measurement of Learning Styles and Cognitive Styles Since students’ preferred styles of learning in? uence their achievements and teachers’ learning styles in? uence their instructional choices, it is suggested that teacher and students take the test we describe below. (a) Modality Preference Inventory Through this inventory, teacher and students can classify their learning styles such as auditory, visual or kinaesthetic. To assess an individual’s learning style, he/she has to respond to the questions shown in Figure 7. 4. 183i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 183 Learning Styles. Modality Preference Inventory Read each statement and select the appropriate number response as it applies to you. Often (3) Sometimes (2) Seldom/Never (1) Visual Modality †¢? I? remember? information? better? if? I? write? it? down. †¢? Looking? at? the? person? helps? keep? me? focused. †¢? I? need? a? quiet? space? to? get? my? work? done. †¢? When? I? take? a? test,? I? can? see? the? textbook? page? in? my? head. †¢? I? need? to? write? down? directions,? not? just? take? them? verbally. †¢? Music? or? background? noise? distracts? my? attention? from? the? task? at? hand. †¢? I? don’t? always? get? the? meaning? of? a? joke. †¢? I? doodle? and? draw? pictures? on? the? margins? of? my? notebook? pages. †¢? I? react? very? strongly? to? colors. †¢? Total Auditory Modality ? †¢? My? papers? and? notebooks? always? seem? messy. ? †¢? When? I? read,? I? need? to? use? my? index nger? to? track? my? place? on the line. ? †¢? I? do? not? follow? written? directions? well. ? †¢? If? I? hear? something,? I? will? remember? it. ? †¢? Writing? has? always? been? di? cult? for? me. ? †¢? I? often? misread? words? from? the? text? (eg,? them? for? then) ? †¢? I? would? rather? listen? and? learn? than? read? and? learn. ? †¢? I’m? not? very? good? at? interpreting? an?individual’s? body? language. ? †¢? Pages? with? small? print? or? poor? quality? copies? are? di? cult? for? me to read. ? †¢? My? eyes? tire? quickly,? even? though? my? vision? check-up? is? always ?ne. ? †¢? Total Kinesthetic Modality †¢? I? start? a? project? before? reading? the? directions. †¢? I? hate? to? sit? at? a? desk? for? long? periods? of? time. †¢? I? prefer? to? see? something? done? and? then? to? do? it? myself. †¢? I? use? the? trial? and? error? approach? to? problem-solving. †¢? I? like? to? read? my? textbook? while? riding? an? exercise? bike. †¢? I? take? frequent? study? breaks. †¢? I? have? di? culty? giving? step-by-step? instructions. †¢? I? enjoy? sports? and? do? well? at? several? di? erent? types? of? sports. †¢? I? use? my? hands? when? describing? things. †¢? I? have? to? rewrite? or? type? my? class? notes? to? reinforce? the? material. †¢? Total Total the score for each section. A score of 21 points or more in a modality indicates a strength in that area. The? highest? of? the? 3? scores? indicates? the? most? e? cient? method? of? information? intake.? The? second? highest? score indicates the modality which boosts the primary strength. Figure 7. 4:Example of questions should be responded by students to measure their learning styles. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 184 (b) Field-Dependent and Independent Teacher or student may utilize Field-Dependent or Independent Cognitive Style in percep- tion or information processing. Field-Independent learners perceive items as more or less separate from the surrounding ? eld. They are interested in concept for their own sake. They have self-de? ned goals and function successfully in self-structured situations and impersonal learning environments. For ? eld-dependent learners, their mode of learning is strongly in? uenced by the prevailing context or setting. They are more aware of their surroundings as they learn. These learners value practical information. They can memorize human faces and social facts such as best friend’s birth date more easily than ? eld- independent learners. Garger and Guild(1987) have summarized the characteristics of ? eld-independent and ?eld-dependent learners. These are illustrated in Table 7. 3. From this table it is clear that, at least in the extremes, the two styles are very different. Table 7. 3 Characteristics of Field-Dependent and Independent learners. Perceives globally. Perceives analytically. FIELD-DEPENDENT FIELD-INDEPENDENT Makes broad general distinctions among concepts, sees relationships. Learns material with social content best. Requires externally de? ned goals and reinforcements. Makes speci? c concept distinctions, little overlap. Learns social material only as an intentional task. Has self-de? ned goals and reinforcements. Experiences in a global fashion, adheres to structures as given. Social orientation. Attends best to material relevant to own experience. Needs organization provided. Experiences in an articulate fashion, imposes structures of restrictions. Impersonal orientation. Interested in new concepts for their own sake. Can self-structure situations. Learning Styles- Dependence and Independence Descriptions. 185i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 185 More a? ected by criticism. Less a? ected by criticism. Uses spectator approach for concept attainment. Uses hypothesis-testing approach to attain concepts. Teacher and students can assess their cognitive style using Embedded Figures Test (EFT) or Group Embedded Figures Test(GEFT). In this test, they have to recognize geometry ?gure, which are embedded in the picture or in the background. Those who can recognize the ? gure faster than the others are learners with the ? eld-independent style and those who take longer than a few seconds or cannot ? nd the ? gure at all, can be classi? ed as ? eld- dependent learners. Figure 7. 5 illustrates an example of Embedded Figures Test (EFT). Recognize? the? geometry gure,? which? are? embedded? in? the? designs? picture.? INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 186 Answer: Figure 7. 5: An example of Embedded Figure Test (EFT) If you are a ? eld-independent teacher, you may be comfortable giving lectures and empha- sizing cognition. You may prefer offering corrective feedback, using negative feedback as warranted, and you may use grades and personal goal charts motivationally. If you are a ? eld-dependent teacher, you may prefer interaction and conversation with your  students. You may rely less on corrective feedback and little on negative evaluations. You also like to establish a warm and personal environment and prefer to motivate through external reward such as verbal praise. Many educational psychologist views that if the teacher cognitive style match with the student cognitive style, students? will? bene? t? most? and? vice? versa.? Student? learn? best when there is congruence between their preferred teaching style. Unfortunately, most teachers ignore student’s? cognitive? style? because? it? takes? longer? time? for? them to prepare lesson plan and devices or activities to  ful? l their needs. 1. What is cognitive style and learning style? 2. Give a few examples of learning or cognitive styles. 187i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 187 7. 5 GENDER DIFFERENCES Linguistic diversity is one of the elements that contributes to student’s diversity. Your class will have language diversity, and you will have to realize that you need to be sensitive to this linguistic diversity and adjust accordingly. In Malaysia, we are lucky because the medium of instruction is in Malay or Bahasa Melayu for all subjects except for English. Furthermore, English is regarded as the second language  and all students must pass the subject at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysialevel or the form 5 national exam. It moulds young generations of Malaysia to at least mastering three languages, namely Bahasa Melayu, the English language, and their mother tongue. With this capacity, it enhances the Malaysians to understand each other and to live harmoniously. Tan (2003) suggested two ways to teachers in addressing language diversity as shown in Figure 7. 3, which are Facilitating English, and Immersion and Transitional Methods. In Asian society, being a girl or a boy has signi? cant impact. The people usually adore boys than girls. It’s because most Asian country are rice bowl or dependent on agriculture where the man are more utilizable in manual jobs than ladies. But they forget, in terms of resilience and patience, the women are the winners! Now, let us examine gender-related student differences in several ways and explore their implications for teaching. Are you resent being a girl? You don’t have to. Accept things as it is. (a) Developmental rates According? to? Egan? and? Kauchak: â€Å"Di? erences exist in boys’ and girls’ developmental rates. Girls develop faster with? di? erences? in? verbal? and? motor? skills? appearing? at? an? early? age.? Boys?and? girls? are? di? erent in other areas as well, and these di? erences appear as early as the preschool years. Girls tend to play with dolls and other girls and to gravitate toward activities such as? make-believe? and? dress-up.? Boys? play? with? blocks,? cars,? dinosaurs,? and? other? boys. † (Egan and Kauchak, 1997). INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 188 We? can? observe? society? and? family,? school? and? work? place? treat? girls and boys di? erently. In the family, they are treated di? erently from the day they were born. †¢? Baby? girls? are? given? pink? blankets,? are? called? cute? and? handled? delicately. †¢? Baby? boys? are? dressed? in? blue,? are? regarded? as? handsome,? and are seen as tougher, better coordinated, and hardier. Di? erences in treatment continue in later years. In high school, girls? become? cheerleaders? for? the? boys,? who? become? basketball? or? football players. (b) Family treatment (c) Expectation for school success (d) Academic area These di? erences also include expectation for school success. Parents? probably? communicate? di? erent? expectations? for? their? sons and daughters. Researchers have found that: Research on gender e? ects founded di? erences in boys and girls in di? erent academic areas. According? to? Maccoby? and? Jacklin, â€Å"Parents’? gender-stereotyped? attitudes? toward? girls’? ability? in? math,? adversely? in? uence? their? daughters’? achievement? in? math? and their attitudes toward it. † (Nagy-Jacklin, 1989 in Egan Kauchak, 1997) â€Å"Boys? did? better? in? math? and? on? visual? and? spatial? tasks,? example? tasks? in? geometry.? Girls? did? better? in? on? verbal? skills? such? as? in? languages. † (Maccoby Jacklin, 1974) 189i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 189 Boys? and? girls? also? received? di? erent? treatment? in? school.? Both? male? and? female? teacher? treat? boys? and? girls? di?erently. They? interact? with? the? boys? more? often? and? ask? them? more? questions,? and? those? questions? are? more? conceptual? and abstract. (e) Treatment in school Gender stereotyping also in? uences career decisions. According to Kochenberger-Stroeher: Signi? cantly, when children choose non-traditional roles for males or females, their choices are based on personal experience. â€Å"Di? erences in students’ view of gender-appropriate careers appear as early as kindergarten. † (Kochenberger-Stroeher, 1994) ? â€Å"One? of? the? most? powerful? factors? in? uencing? school? performance? is? socio-economic? status? (SES),?the? combination? of? parents’? income,? occupations,? and? level? of? education.? SES? consistently? predicts? intelligence? and? achievement? test? scores,? grades,? truancy? and dropout and suspension rates. † (Ballantine, 1989 in Egan Kauchak, 1997) 1. Why teacher treat boys and girls differently? 2. Give few examples of different treatment to boys and girls. 3. Think of ways in which teacher can accommodate to gender differences. 7. 6 DIFFERENCES IN SOCIO? ECONOMIC STATUS According to Ballantine; INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 190 Many? families? lack? in? proper? nourishment,? and? adequate? medical? care.? Poverty? also? in? uences? the? quality? of? home-life,? unstable? work? conditions? increased? economic? problems? that? lead to parental frustration, anger and depression. These pressures? can? lead? to? family? scattered,? marital? con? ict? and? nurturing homes. The impact of SES is also transmitted through parental attitudes and values where their attitudes and values are different. Example is in interaction pattern. †¢ Low SES parents are more likely to â€Å"tell,† rather than explain. †¢ High SES parents, in contrast, talk more with their children, explain ideas and the cause of events, and encourage independent thinking. Walbergs observed that: â€Å"High SES parents are more likely to ask â€Å"wh† questions (who, when, where, why) promoting language development, provide strong foundation for reading and vocabulary development. † (Walberg, 1991) 191i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 191 The educational aspirations parents have for their children are probably the most powerful variables a? ecting achievement.? Parents? who? expect? their? children? to? graduate? from high school and to attend college have children who do well than parents who have low aspirations. These expecta- tions are communicated through dialogue betweenparents and children.? Low? SES? parents? in? contrast,? allow? their? children? to? â€Å"drift† into classes and often got loss in the shu? e and failed in their lives. The differences between low and high SES families also re? ect the emphasis placed on student’s autonomy and responsibility. High-SES parents emphasize self-direction, self- control, and individual responsibility while low-SES parents, in contrast, place greater emphasis on conformity and obedience. 1. What is meant by parents’ SES differences? 2. Give few examples impact of SES on student’s aspirations, attitudes and values. 3. Think of ways in which teacher can accommodate to SES bdifferences. 7. 7 WAYS IN EMBRACING DIVERSITIES To be a good teacher, you should know the ways to embracing diversities among your students. Below are the discussions on how to handle your student’s diversities in the gender differences, cultural, race and ethnicity, learning style, socio–economy and linguistic differences. (a) Gender differences It is not easy to eliminate gender differences in the class, but to make teacher cautious and not gender bias, Figure 7. 6 shows some recommendations warrant that need to be considered. Avoid stereotypical language. (Example: â€Å"Okay, guys lets get work†) Provide equal opportunities for males and females. (Example: club membership). INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES l CHAPTER 7 192 In eliminating race and ethnicity, we move toward moulding one Malaysian nation with the same identity and characteristics such as same language and same spirit. One of the ways to unite Malaysians is through education system where all races study in the same school, same college and same university. All Malay- sian? know? and? appreciate? the? same? food? like? nasi lemak, roti canai, the tarik, tosay,mee teow, mee suah and etc. In coping with students with learning styles diversity, teacher  may use multi-approach in instruction such as cooperative learning which is suitable for ? eld-dependent students and doing experiment and also suitable for ? Eld-independent students. During instruction, teacher may use diagram and charts which is suitable for visual learner, using records and video tapes? which? is? suitable? for? auditory? learners? and? utilize? hands-on experience such as experimenting for tactile learners. Reduce or oust gender-typed activities. (Example: Girls have to cook, boys wash the car). Figure 7. 6: Some recommendations warrant that need to be consider to eliminate gender  differences in the class. (b) Cultural diversity In eliminating cultural diversity, teacher may utilize assimilation, amalgamation or cultural pluralism approach. In Malaysia we are encouraged to utilize cultural pluralism approach. (c) Race and ethnicity (d) Learning styles diversity 193i. CHAPTER 7 l INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 193 Teacher have to help students from poor family to excel by motivating them to learn, give extra-class to help them catch up? with? the? other? students,? maybe? organizing? charity? work? to? earn? money? that? can? be? donated? to? the? poor? students.? Later,? teacher? can? also?

Other Word Formation Processes English Language Essay

Other Word Formation Processes English Language Essay The language learners referred to in this essay are software engineers, in the age group of 23-26, tasked with developing software products for the travel industry. They were selected on the basis of their performance in a language assessment and identified as intermediate users of the language. All of them had studied English for 10 years in school and later at the university English was the medium of instruction. A few of them were risk takers, ready to take on tasks regardless of any mistakes they may make. There were those who were spurred on by the possibility of their deficient language skills impacting their career graph; they were also ready for self-learning and willing to take responsibility for their learning. Some were hesitant, unsure of their knowledge and afraid to make mistakes. All of them were, however, comfortable with technical language, but were very diffident to face situations that called for regular communication. They needed help with everyday vocabulary to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients. Word parts If we consider words as independent/freestanding units with meaning, a notion proposed by McCarthy (1990), then we can see that these units of meaning can further be broken down and re-combined to form other words. Though the word cancelled is an independently meaningful item, under closer observation it becomes clear that this word consists of two units cancel and the past tense marker -ed. The linguistic item cancel is a freestanding word in English, but there is no such word as -ed in English, even though -ed is a meaning-bearing unit. Such linguistic items that are not freestanding are said to be bound and these forms can occur only in combination with other forms. The two meaningful parts, cancel and -ed are called morphemes. Morphemes Katamba (2003) defines morphemes as the atoms with which words are built. Morphemes are the smallest unit of lexical and grammatical meaning and they are realized by morphs, as morphemes do not have a physical representation. A single morpheme can be manifested as multiple complementary morphs in distinct phonological or morphological contexts. Let us look at the past tense marker -ed to understand the distribution of these complementary morphs known as allomorphs. Free morphemes can stand alone as words; whereas bound morphemes such as -ed are only used in combination with other morphemes. There are word forms which have but a single unbound morpheme and others which consists of more than one morpheme. Words like talk, eat and mend are examples of freestanding morphemes and words such as predictable and reflection are formed by combining many morphemes. Affixation Affixes are bound morphemes attached to a stems either to create a new word or a word form. Affixation of morphemes can be either inflectional or derivational. Inflectional affixes Katamba (2003) posits that the English language has minimal inflections because of its tendency to be an isolating language. The few inflections it has are all suffixes. These suffixes are bound morphemes and are attached to the stem to inflect or change words to express grammatical features, such as the changes in tense, number, possession, and degrees of adjectives. There are 8 inflectional suffixes in English and they are: Derivational Affixes In English derivational affixes include both prefixes and suffixes. Katamba (2003) says that the purpose of derivation is to create lexical items and not to produce grammatical units that will fit in a given syntactic position. The three important derivational processes in English are: affixation, conversion and compounding. Affixation is one of the commonest methods of forming words in English. Derivational affixes can be either prefixes, those that are added before the base, or suffixes, that are attached after the base. Word forming processes like creating nouns from verbs, adjectives from verbs and verbs from adjectives are examples of a few derivational practices in English. Derivational affixes are different from inflexional affixes in many ways: They change the word class as well as the meaning of a word to which it is linked energy (n) +- ise -Æ’Â   energise (v) Even though they combine to create a new word they are not affected by syntactic relations outside of the word, they can be separated and recombined with other morphemes to form other combinations. Stem Suffix Derived word Govern (v) -able Governable (adj) Enjoy (v) -ment Enjoyment Derivational morphemes can be attached only to certain stems. Stem Suffix Derived word Violin -ist Violinist Drum -ist *drumist Drum -er Drummer *drumist is not an acceptable word. Other word formation processes Conversion or zero derivation is the predominant method of generating lexical items in English. In this process a lexical item is assigned to a new syntactic category. The word permit can be used either as a noun or as a verb; the phonological representation and the grammatical context in which it is placed are the two aspects that can alert the change in the word-class. (Permit (v) and perMit (n). Crystal (2012) quotes from Shakespeare, Petruchio is Kated as an example of conversion the name of a person becoming a verb to further his argument that conversion was a customary word-formation process even during Shakespeares time. Compounding is the process of joining two bases to create a new word; of the two words, one which is syntactically dominant is considered the head and the other as the modifier. Generally the modifier is placed in front of the head and any suffix that might later be added to the compound word is attached to the head. Compound words are different from phrases; the meaning of a compound word, unlike a phrase, is not the sum of the meaning of the base units that form the word. Iin a compound word the primary stress is on the first word and in a phrase the primary stress is on the last word. Phrase Compound word Meaning of the compound . Blue print Blueprint an early plan or design for a project green house Greenhouse a building used for growing plants that need warmth Should word parts be learned? A cost/benefit analysis of the learning of word parts should be reason enough for a learner of English language to study word parts. Nation quotes from Roberts (1964), Grinstead (1925) and Bird (1987,1990) to point out that around 60% of the English vocabulary is derived from German, French, Latin and Greek and that a large proportion of these words make use of affixes. The analysis of the LOB Corpus carried out by Bird revealed that 97% of the words in the LOB corpus were derived from around 2,000 roots. Nation maintains that the origins of the English vocabulary and the frequency of word parts validate the study of word parts. The two arguments levelled against the teaching/learning of word parts are based on the contention that, the effort involved in learning word parts is not commensurate with language output. A word is not a sum of its parts The first argument against the teaching of word parts is that the meaning of a word is not the sum of its parts (Deighton, 1970); This argument has been countered by White, Power and White (1989) drawing on their own as well as Nagy and Andersons (1984) empirical evidence that most of the affixed words probably at least 80% convey the meaning their parts suggest. Katamba (2003) argues that compositionality is the key to understanding a word. He says that if we know the meaning of the smaller units which make up the larger units we can decipher the meaning of the whole. For example, if we know the meaning of the suffix -ful (filled with x), and the meaning of the base to which these suffixes are attached, then the meaning of words like useful, careful, fearful and cheerful become self-explanatory. Most of the morphemes that form a word have regular/stable meaning; for example, the prefix re- means again in almost all the words in which it occurs. In the light of the empirical evidence and the example we saw we can conclude that the meaning of most of the English words is what its parts suggest and therefore knowledge of the meaning of the parts can help a learner understand a word across contexts and usage. If we were to extend this argument further we could say that this knowledge along with the contextual clues would be useful in decoding even the metaphorical meaning of a word; a head hunter would thus lose the sinister overtones of the past and acquire the current meaning of someone who recruits people into key business positions. Word families in the lexicon The next argument against teaching/learning of word parts is that the knowing the parts of a word may not familiarise a learner with all the members of that word family (Schmitt 1998, 1999, Schmitt Meara 1997). Nation argues that the notion of word family is psychologically real and a word is to be seen as a member of a word family. Knowledge of the word parts can help the learners understand a word in its relation to the other members of the family. For instance, knowledge of the various inflections of English and the meaning of the base of the word predict can familiarise a learner with all the possible combinations (family members) of predict; predict- predicted- predicting- predictable and prediction are just some of the members of that family. Nagy, Anderson, Schommer, Scott, and Stallman (1989) points out that the speed of recognition of a word is based on the frequency of occurrence of the members of that word family. They quote the findings of Stanners, Neiser, Hernon, Hall (1979) to advance their argument that related words are linked in the mental lexicon. So there are linked entries for create, creates created and creation and accessing any word from this family can partly activate other family members. Word parts are not just linked in the mental lexicon, but morphologically ordered to represent the relation. Interpreting the meaning Another argument against learning word parts is that L2 learners using this for guessing the meaning of a word might cause the learner to misinterpret the word. Schmitt quotes Haynes (1993) to validate this argument; Haynes found that learners continued with the wrong meaning even though it didnt contribute to the context. For example Inflammable is often misinterpreted to mean non-flammable. Clarke and Nation (1980) caution that word parts strategy should be used to verify the guesses drawn from the context. Furthermore, knowledge of the word parts empowers the learner by teaching him to apply his understanding at the receptive and productive level. At the receptive level it teaches him a) to identify the different components of a complex word, b) to be aware that these word parts can be used to make other words, c) how the meaning of the different parts combine to make a new meaning, and d) how the sum of the parts relates to the dictionary meaning. At the productive level it makes him aware of how the formal changes can affect the spelling, pronunciation and the word class of the base when a complex word is formed. (Nation) The challenges Learning word parts presents a set of challenges to language learners. The greatest challenge is that of time and exposure. Studies conducted by Nagy, Diakody, Anderson (1993) point out that L1 learners do not acquire proficiency in morphology until their high school; if this takes so long to develop in L1 learners despite their advantage of maximum exposure, then L2 learners are likely to take more time to learn this aspect (Schmitt). Even though the learners in my group had studied English for ten years, they have learned inflectional suffixes only as part of grammar exercises and have never been explicitly taught derivational affixes. Their exposure to morphological forms was not commensurate with the duration of their study. They have used these forms productively without much knowledge about the rules that guide most of these formations; Though I have putted remainders for this tasks, accidently the remainder was unanswered; the meeting is preponed to three in the afternoon, he is very confidential during presentations are examples of the common errors. Schmitt points out that lack of consistency in affixation can cause problems even if the meaning of the parts is clear. He gives the example of the suffix -ist. Stem Suffix derived word Cycle -ist Cyclist Act -ist *actist Act -or Actor Another challenge for the L2 learner is the lack of awareness that not all words can be broken into parts. Learners sometimes try to decompose words like refuse, repel, repeat, revamp and attempt to use the perceived stem, resulting in a meaningless word. Learners often have difficulty with the formal changes that occur with affixation in spelling and pronunciation. Some derivational affixes lack consistent spelling and has to be learned individually. base suffix word suggest -able suggestible afford -able affordable Gairns Redman notes that affixation sometimes produces changes in stress and sounds in a word. democrat /demÉâ„ ¢kraet/ democratic /demÉâ„ ¢kraetÄÂ ±k/ democracy /dÄÂ ±mÉ’krÉâ„ ¢sÄÂ ±/ Derivational suffixes need to be do not follow rules strategies- guidelines how A good starting point for any teacher wishing to remedy this situation would be to train the learners to break, the complex words that are already known to the learner, into its components and to help them understand the functional meaning of these components. encourage the learners to become more aware of these morphological instill in the mond of the learner that all aspects of language learning is incremental an beA teachers task has probably never been well defines as in this situation Language learning is incremental A good game plan to remedy t Nation suggests that learners should be taught complex words as unanalyzed wholes before they begin to analyze word parts. teacher I would explicit teaching of select morphological units appropriate to the learner level, training the learners the .A teacher needs to introduce the learners to complex words before they are trained to analyse the different parts of that word. Because morphological acquisition is incremental in nature explicit teaching of level suitable affixes ,encouraging them to notice the correct forms encountered in newspapers regular exposure through exercises and receptive material. This rules out the possibility of a completely graded approach; instead I would collect words for analysis from their Collocation Time consuming Not all words can be broken into parts Affixes are not transparent Some affixes are used mor frequently than others so need to be selective Guessing a wrong meaning and sticking on with that explanation even though it made no sense. (Haynes 1993) -Clarke and Nation (1980)- word parts best used to confirm/verify the meaning. Difficulty in guessing the word class deciding on an appropriate stress, formal changes in spelling, phonetics and word forms Derivational suffixes need to be learned individually do not follow rules strategies- guidelines how Furthermore, it empowers the learner by teaching him to apply his understanding at the receptive and productive level. At the receptive level it teaches him a) to identify the different components of a complex word, b) to be aware that these word parts can be used to make other words, c) how the meaning of the different parts combine to make a new meaning, and d) how the sum of the parts relates to the dictionary meaning. At the productive level it makes him aware of how the formal changes can affect the spelling, pronunciation and the word class of the base when a complex word is formed. (Nation)

Martin Luther King Jr. :: Biography

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born at noon Tuesday, January 15, 1929, at his home in Atlanta, Georgia. He was first named Michael Luther King Jr., and later changed his name to Martin, after his father. He was the first son and second child born to the reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King, a schoolteacher.Growing up as an African American in Georgia, Martin experienced and suffered discrimination throughout his boyhood. This discrimination against black people was cruel and demoralizing. Martin Luther King Jr. told once of an experience he had riding a bus with his schoolteacher from Macon to Atlanta, "the driver started cursing us out and calling us black sons of bitches. I decided not to move at all, but my teacher pointed out that we must obey the law. So we got up and stood in the aisle the whole 90 miles to Atlanta. It was a night I'll never forget. I don't think I have ever been so deeply angry in my life."There were many discriminatory laws in the South. They had certain restaurants that they were allowed to eat in, separate water-fountains, separate bathrooms. Just about everything you can think of was segregated. One of his first experiences was with the curtains that were used on the dining cars of trains to separate the whites from the blacks. This incident struck King pretty hard, he said, "I felt just it as if a curtain had come down across my whole life. The insult of it I will never forget."King was an extremely bright student and skipped right through his high school years and entered Atlanta's Negro Morehouse College at age 15. His father encouraged him to study ministry, while he had his heart set on medicine or law. King was embarrassed of his own religion. He didn't understand what all the shouting and stamping was all about. But after reading and rereading Thoreau's essay, "Civil Disobedience," he came to the conclusion that the only way he could bring about his ideas on social protest was through ministry.At Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, King studied the writings and teachings of many philosophers, such as Hegel and Kant, but the person that impressed him the most was Mohandas Gandhi, and his beliefs in a nonviolent protest.

Severe Burns: Neutrophil and Complement Levels Essay -- Medicine

Mortality rate in burn patients continues at a steady 5-10%, 75% of those deaths are related to sepsis (2). In order to understand why, we must elucidate the nature of the innate immune system in these patients. The innate immune system is the first line defense versus pathogens from the outside world. Burn patients receive a double hit to their first line defenses due to the nature of thermal injury to tissue. The skin barrier is breached, the inflammation begins, and though the numbers of neutrophils increases substantially in response to the elevations in compliment activation at the tissue level (1), it seems that the behavior of these neutrophils is aberrant (2). Neutrophils in burn patients were found to be impaired in their ability to adhere, phagocytose, and kill off pathogens via the oxidative burst. Additionally, they were found to have decreased migration speed with abnormal directionality in response to chemoattractants (2). One study suggested that neutrophils in burn pa tients became desensitized to C5a. In the rich inflammatory cytokine milieu, which develops after a severe burn, complement levels increase dramatically, but neutrophils downregulate their C5a receptors and their migratory directional speed decreases (3). This is the perfect situation for the wandering pathogen to invade and sneak past the body’s defenses in the chaos of a massive breach in security. Three studies are presented here to describe the relationship between complement and neutrophils in the severely burned patient. Van de Goot et al. demonstrated that plasma complement levels initially decreased, then rose sharply and stayed elevated for months afterward. Complement levels correlated with the severity of the burn wound and subsequent sc... ...enter around how to control the inflammatory response to the thermal injury such that wound healing occurs more quickly with less scarring, while preserving the patients’ ability to fight infectious agents with normal neutrophil responses. Works Cited 1. Van de Goot et al. Acute Inflammation is Persistent Locally in Burn Wounds: A Pivotal Role for Complement and C-Reactive Protein. Journal of Burn Care and Research 2009; 30:274-280. 2. Butler KL, Ambravaneswaran V, Agrawal N, Bilodeau M, Toner M, et al. (2010) Burn Injury Reduces Neutrophil Directional Migration Speed in Microfluidic Devices. PLoS ONE 5(7): e11921. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011921 3. Solomkin JS, Nelson RD, Chenoweth DE, Solem LD, Simmons RL. Regulation of Neutrophil Migratory Function in Burn Injury by Complement Activation Products. Annals of Surgery 1984; Vol 200 No. 6: 742-746.

Deaf Event Report Essay

About two weeks ago, I had the opportunity of attending a deaf event which was about deaf jewish life in Germany and Eastern Europe in the 1940’s and the Holocaust at California State University Northridge. This event was a great experience and really interesting to know. Not only was it a personal experience from the life of this speaker Mark Zaurov, but it was something to acknowledge within ourselves to learn how other culture express their emotions towards certain aspects they have been through in their daily lives. The presentation discussed the importance of establishing memorial Deaf for Jews. In this discussion Mark Zaurov included the term â€Å"Deaf Holocaust† which meant surviving struggles and hardships facing Jewish deaf during the Holocaust. Through many experiences and crucial humiliations by German Nazis. He then began to talk about the issues that were occurring with Aktion T4 and Forced Sterilization, which are often used general for research or exhibitions about Deaf people in the Holocaust. Despite what Mark Zaurov went through I learned that he was born deaf in Moscow, Russia. Together with his parents and his deaf sister, he emigrated to Israel.