Movie Summary The Hurt Locker Essay Example

Movie Summary The Hurt Locker Essay Tuesday,September,11,2001. This was a day that would change the world forever. More importantly, it changed the way America viewed Middle Eastern countries.In the following days after, America would declare war against all terrorist organizations, and would soon learn that it was a fight they would become addicted to. The desire to be in dangerous high-risk situations is a theme that we see constantly throughout the movie and is magnified through Sergeant First Class Willam James’ unorthodox ways of diffusing bombs in intense situations. This leads to the main theme within this movie, that â€Å"War is a drug†- Chris Hedges. In the film The Hurt Locker, by Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow, we see how American politics are conducted through the depiction of the character Sergeant First Class William James. Throughout the movie we see the characters change, develop different beliefs and ways of looking at life.This represents how America has changed through its difficult tim e fighting in The War on Terror. This film successfully portrays how war is a drug, and that Americans will always return to the battlefield with their brothers in arm no matter how dangerous the foreign land will seem, because just like drugs, war is addictive. To fully understand this review you must first understand the political views that America has and what they have been through leading up to the films release date in 2008. America has yet to fully recover from 9/11.The fear of another attack looms large overs civilians.The Obama administration was actively pursuing the leader of the Al-Quaeda.At the same time, they were slowly pulling troops out from Afghanistan and Iraq, with the intention of withdrawingaltogether from the War on Terror, to instead focus on threats only pertaining to the American people. When reviewing the theme of ‘Desire to be in high risk situations’, we see Sergeant First Class William James return to the line of fire aft We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Summary The Hurt Locker specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Summary The Hurt Locker specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Summary The Hurt Locker specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Different Versions of the Birth of Dionysus

Different Versions of the Birth of Dionysus In Greek mythology, there are often different and conflicting versions of mythological events. The story of the birth of Dionysus is no different, and Dionysus complicates matters by having different names. Here are two versions of the birth of Dionysus and one of the related birth of Zagreus: From a union between Persephone and Zeus in serpent form sprang the horned god Zagreus. Jealous Hera persuaded the Titans to attack the infant god as he looked into a mirror. Not only did they tear him to pieces, but the Titans ate him all but his heart which Athena rescued. From this organ, the rest of the god was resurrected. Semele is impregnated by drinking a preparation made from the heart of Dionysus who had been torn to pieces by the Titans. [Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 167]Most familiar is the story of Semeles impregnation by Zeus but failure to live long enough to give birth to the child. To save the fetus, Zeus sewed him inside himself and gave birth through his leg when the time came.(ll. 940-942) And Semele, daughter of Cadmus was joined with him in love and bare him a splendid son, joyous Dionysus, a mortal woman an immortal son. And now they both are gods. Hesiod, Theogony (trans. Evelyn-White) Homeric Hymn1 to Dionysus ((LACUNA))(ll. 1-9) For some say, at Dracanum; and some, on windy Icarus; and some, in Naxos, O Heaven-born, Insewn; and others by the deep-eddying river Alpheus that pregnant Semele bare you to Zeus the thunder-lover. And others yet, lord, say you were born in Thebes; but all these lie. The Father of men and gods gave you birth remote from men and secretly from white-armed Hera. There is a certain Nysa, a mountain most high and richly grown with woods, far off in Phoenice, near the streams of Aegyptus.((LACUNA))(ll. 10-12) ...and men will lay up for her many offerings in her shrines. And as these things are three, so shall mortals ever sacrifice perfect hecatombs to you at your feasts each three years.(ll. 13-16) The Son of Cronos spoke and nodded with his dark brows. And the divine locks of the king flowed forward from his immortal head, and he made great Olympus reel. So spake wise Zeus and ordained it with a nod.(ll. 17-21) Be favourable, O Insewn, Inspirer of frenzied women! we singers sing of you as we begin and as we end a strain, and none forgetting you may call holy song to mind. And so, farewell, Dionysus, Insewn, with your mother Semele whom men call Thyone.Source: The Homeric Hymns I. To Dionysus [3.4.3] But Zeus loved Semele and bedded with her unknown to Hera. Now Zeus had agreed to do for her whatever she asked, and deceived by Hera she asked that he would come to her as he came when he was wooing Hera. Unable to refuse, Zeus came to her bridal chamber in a chariot, with lightning and thunderings, and launched a thunderbolt. But Semele expired of fright, and Zeus, snatching the sixth-month abortive child from the fire, sewed it in his thigh. On the death of Semele, the other daughters of Cadmus spread a report that Semele had bedded with a mortal man, and had falsely accused Zeus and that therefore she had been blasted by thunder. But at the proper time, Zeus undid the stitches and gave birth to Dionysus, and entrusted him to Hermes. And he conveyed him to Ino and Athamas, and persuaded them to rear him as a girl.- Apollodorus 3.4.3

Economy Situation In The USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Economy Situation In The USA - Essay Example The main problem looming around the economy of USA is that of a deteriorated trend in the economic growth rate. Noted economist Ragu Rajan revealed that it will be wiser for the national authorities to focus more upon long-term structural issues such as unemployment and income inequality. In addition, it will also be wise for the national administration to arrange for some vocational training for the national youth as well. In fact, it could easily be realized that unemployment is the reason behind a rising rate of income inequality in the nation. Observers researching this aspect have figured out certain areas which need to be emphasized upon by the national authorities while framing their respective fiscal policies.These measures have been described as follows. Firstly, it has been realized that the national population or rather the labor force is suffering from a lack of productivity which the reason why the creation of economic value in the nation has been poor. This is the reaso n why it has been stressed that the finance committee must lay some emphasis upon investing more and more funds for industrial innovation. The higher the incorporation of technology into the production process, lower will be the efforts that a labor needs to put for the production of a single unit; hence he will be left with more energy to produce excess units within the same time period. In fact, this is the method being followed up in Europe that concentrates upon a stable innovation path so as to stick to a stable economic growth.

PHILOSOPHY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PHILOSOPHY - Essay Example motion, number, figures, solidity etc. As such, these were termed as characteristics of something else that ultimately conveyed facts to the observer yet do not themselves relate anything substantive. Conversely, Locke also introduced secondary qualities, which one would seemingly connect with the identification of real measurable objects. These include but are not limited to sound, taste, smell, touch, etc. In this way, the reader can understand that Locke’s understanding was that primary qualities were measurable whereas secondary qualities were subjective to the individual. However, as with most theories and ways of understanding philosophy, it was not long until Locke’s position was challenged by another philosopher. As this particular case study will illustrate, George Berkeley’s contrarian view of John Locke’s understand of reality which has thus far been related. In this way, Berkeley’s main premise is that neither the primary nor the secondary qualities are sufficient for determining reality. In this way, Berkeley provides a clean break from the ideas espoused by Locke and posits instead that the ultimate measure of reality can only be understood as a function of the ideas that sensations create within the mind of the individual. Whereas Locke sought to differentiate between subjective and objective measurements of reality, Berkeley posits that reality as a construct can only exist in the subjective realm. Due to the fact that no two individuals will behave the same way with regards to given stimuli, as a result of life experience and a host of other factors, it is similarly inconceivable, according to Berkeley, that they will approach reality from the same way and with the same results. Ultimately, Berkeley saw that once the object itself was stripped of its secondary qualities, i.e. the qualities that gave it measurable meaning to the individual, it became increasingly difficult, if not

American in the 50s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

American in the 50s - Essay Example These changes in social interaction as well as culture were largely brought about by the increase in economic prosperity in the country. People were not struggling as much to get a job or earn a living giving hence leaving them free time to engage in other activities. The presence of peace after the war also led to people having the freedom to be creative in the entertainment arena and hence the cultural development alongside the social development. The cold war made the US take sides with the anti-communists and this meant that it preferred capitalism. Capitalism led to the economic boom and the social changes that took place in the society as every person worked hard on their own initiative and interacted in trade hence creating bonds and friendships in the process. The cold war also created a political climate that was conservative and which did not agree much with direct confrontation that would lead to war. The political climate that was present therefore set the atmosphere of increased productivity and creativity without any cause of alarm for future (Costigliola and Michael

Students Choice Of Stem Fields Education Essay

Students Choice Of Stem Fields Education Essay Abstract- In this paper we study the interest of students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from grade 9 to 12 in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Surveys were distributed to students who chose STEM tracks and students who chose non STEM tracks in public and private schools, as well as universities, across the country. The data collected revealed a number of reasons that make students like, or dislike, scientific majors. These reasons include the presence or absence of capable teachers, the influence of role models and the choice of the teaching language. The results presented in the paper also focus on differences between public and private institutions, male and female students, as well as nationals and non-nationals. We also compare our findings to similar research done in the USA. We show that several factors remain valid in both countries whereas others are specific to each of them. This paper also provides suggestions on the way to overcome the challeng es in STEM field. Although this paper is based on data collected in United Arabs Emirates, the solutions can be applied to any other region of the world. Keywords STEM; Students survey; Engineering; UAE; Self efficacy; Role models; Peers; Parents, K-12. Introduction Many countries are currently attempting to improve their school systems, making the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) more important. This is seen as the key educational ingredient that will ensure innovations in future [1-6]. The suggested trend for 21st century national economies is to reach the penultimate label of being innovation based or knowledge based [1, 2]. According to the much heralded and respected The Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum, an innovation-driven state of any economy is the most sophisticated level to which it matures [1-3]. An innovation-driven economy is judged based on the sophistication of business and its ability to nurture technological creations [1-4]. The scientific survey points to the fact that in order for economies to be innovative, they must possess an advanced education system. Without this, innovation will be unobtainable [1-4]. In a concerted effort to diversify and strengthen its rising oil-based economy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken upon itself to revamp its whole education system, especially in instruction of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [4, 7]. The United Arabs Emirites is not a leading contributor in science and technology developments in the Middle East [7, 8]. Though there has been debate over the nature, scale, and to a degree the existence of this problem, most experts seem in agreement that the problem is real and increasing with time [9, 10]. In UAE, the lowering trend of STEM interested students attaining degrees will negatively affect the workforce available for industry [4, 8]. Therefore, UAEs educational system must provide highly skilled STEM workers in order to reach its 2030 Vision of becoming a self-sustaining and innovative economy [4]. Although STEM subjects may be taught with the utmost vigor and high aspirations, this does not guarantee that the studen ts will major in STEM fields and become innovative and productive members of STEM professions [5, 6]. There are many barriers or switch-off factors that affect students choices of studies for further education and/or future careers. This paper consists a starting point for an ongoing research into modeling the interest of UAEs students in the STEM, as done in [5] with regards to the USA education system. The paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, we discuss previous results in literature related to the topic. In Section 3, we introduce the research methods adopted for the sake of collecting the required data. In Section 4, we analyze the results and compare our findings to existing ones. In section 5, we provide the results and the conclusions arrived at from the study In section 6, we provide various suggestions on solving the existing problems. In section 7, we provide the limitations of the study. In section 8, we conclude with several remarks and an outlook for upcoming research projects. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Recently, there has been existence of initiatives and publications related to the overall understanding and the experiences of minority particularly doctoral students. The University of Arizona researched the considerations that students take as they decide to apply to a course in a graduate school [11]. The sample population of the research comprised of students who applied in Arizona and the responses varied out by gender and race (Minority versus White). The top aspects for all applicants in the doctorate program included department reputation, correspondence between student interests and degree program, research conducted by an individual faculty associate, whether there is accreditation of the program, departments receptiveness to questions, overall school reputation, and other external forces. For the minority, on the other hand, aspects such as recommendations from faculty to other institutions, printed resources from the department, and propinquity to the home of the students were highly vital than they were for the overall population. For minority and women, the reaction of a program to the question posed by the applicant also played a highly crucial role. Therefore, the appropriate recruitment of underrepresented teams demands different training and techniques that what is crucial for the majority set [11]. The University of Maryland has published their judgments about victorious programs to create a diverse doctoral student institution on the organization [12]. Some of the programs include Professoriate (AGEP) and Maryland Alliance for Graduate Education. These programs are modeled around comparable successful programs for graduates at other institutions. From these programs, the researchers found some components to be particularly imperative in sustaining minor students before and after graduating. These components include: preparation of graduate learning (application support and GRE); graduate admission (changing the admission strategies); graduate program selection (factors to take in consideration); peer support (with a student who has advanced in the students disciplines and also through interdisciplinary circumstances); summer bridge programs (bonding of students and academic preparation assessment); faculty role models and mentors( from the students research advisor and from ot her department); stable and adequate staff support, professional development and financial support (support needed for the student to pursue in his desired discipline); and exposure to the occupation (funding to yield successful minority graduates to campus for a long or short period, funding towards travelling to professional conferences). It is significant to note that these components focus more on altering the doctoral programs in the university, other than of forcing the students to change [12]. In addition to the research done by these universities, some non-academic institutions have put focus on issues relating to students joining universities. The Woodrow Wilson Foundation produced a report in 2005 on minorities in doctoral programs [14] and doctoral programs in general [13]. The Foundation established four vital factors that institutions have put in use for improving doctoral education [13]. These are: new practices (the means at which they can make aspects of doctorial training be developmental); new paradigms (what promotes or discourages truly exploratory scholarship?); new partnerships (improved relationship between the sectors that employ doctorate recipients and academia); and new people (the doctorate should ensure that all people in the population feel incorporated and their researches are socially applicable). Putting these issues into consideration, the Foundation concludes that the doctoral experience will advance for all students despite their gender and rac e. Underlying the four factors are four principles studied in the report and that has practical application in the institutions. These principles include: Universities should possess a centralized and strong graduate school with imperative power and budge; the graduates should be seen in a vacuum with little or no concern for how the research is affected by or affects the society; students form different backgrounds should be included in these programs; and there should be regular assess of doctoral programs using rational rewards, objectives and consequences. While some institutions follow these principles, others do not follow them. Therefore, through the analyzed report, the Foundation anticipates causing change in the operations and mentality of these institutions so that they can alter the reality of education. Also, the Foundation recommends the use of seven principles to improve the experiences and recruitment of minority doctorate students: research, communication, intellectual support, professionalizing experiences, vertical integration, leadership, and mixture of race and gender [14]. It is crucial for programs to communicate efficiently so that they have a position to share best practices and resources. Additionally, students should conduct research in order to analyze how programs work and what to add so that they can perform better than before. Vertical integrations analyzes how k-12, undergraduate, and graduate programs should work together to ensure that students engage often and early with them. The Foundation recommends that, in intellectual support, the doctorate should be socially responsive ad should also improve the picture of the programs so that they can become attractive to a large audience. The issue of professionalizing experiences and monitoring consists of issues rela ted to the relations between a student and his or her advisors, as well as issues on finance that might push a student away form the chances to interact with his or her professional colleagues. Race and gender principal describes how graduates should try to take in consideration race as well as the requirement in admission, programs, and financial help, other than concentrating on the need as several programs do in order to evade negative views of confirmatory action. Finally, leadership principle focuses on the government and its agencies so that they can provide better oversight and assistance on the use of national funds. Leadership principle imperative for it ensures that there is right usage of funds on the desired programs and people. Whilst some of these principles are close to those suggested by the Foundation, some of them are specifically focusing to the minority experience [14]. The Council for Graduates Schools lately founded the Ph.D. Completion project to scrutinize issues relates to time to degree and retention of students in doctoral programs [15]. This program has corporate funding from Ford and Pfizer. Students in various degree programs from a group of universities were set as a sample population. Then there was the distribution of surveys to get an improved understanding of the experiences of students who graduates and who leave their studies without graduating. From the original research for the project, the satisfying practices that they put across were the utilization of the mentoring, program environment, research processes, mode, and procedures, and financial support. These practices support the points put across by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Finally, a private-public partnership referred to as Building Engineering and Science Talent (BEST) has an analysis of the practices that work well to maintain the underrepresented students in STEM fields [16]. These experimental practices include targeted recruitment, institutional leadership, peer support, personal attention, engaged faculty, bridging to the next point, enriched research experience, and personal evaluation and continuous program [16]. Science education among the United States residents lags extremely behind than that of other developed nations. Implicit notion of this statement is that the quality of science literacy in USA elementary and high schools is not as precise compared to European and Asian countries. Students, specifically those of ethnic and racial descents, have little perceptive of science terms such as DNA and photosynthesis, or even the straightforward fact the earth rotates around the sun. Reasonably, an understanding of a scientific idea is lacking among the entire population but particularly among low income and minority students [17]. Aggravating the circumstance is unawareness on the part of science educators of the slight misconceptions that these students bring to the classroom which make it complex for them to theoretically grab scientific resources. Consequently, the number of competent students to learn science, engineering and mathematics after secondary school graduation is remarkably ne gligible. There is the use of aforementioned best observations and practices to inform the questions used in this research. As discussed earlier in the Introduction section, this study seeks to better understand the experiences of STEM and non STEM graduates and the factors that facilitate their decisions to move along pathways leading towards professoriate. It also focuses on the underrepresented students in the STEM fields and clearly brings out the factors that make students pursue or not to pursue in STEM fields. In order to tackle this to completion, there is the distribution of surveys whose responses will conclude the findings of the study. RELATED WORK Various studies exist with different suggestions about the reasons why students choose to study or not to study STEM fields. These studies point out several reasons why students pursue or do not pursue with STEM fields after completion of their secondary education. There exist some cognitive factors that affect students choice of majors. Firstly, their attitudes and beliefs towards STEM disciplines play a crucial role on this. Emotional, psychological, behavioral and physiological propensities which reveal an individuals perceptions and responses to, interaction with his immediate background define cognitive dispositional features. Earlier studies found that there is relationship between two cognitive aspects in the completion and enrolment of unnecessary (or college preparatory) mathematics and science courses- students self efficacy concerning science and mathematics topics and their interests in both [18]. More studies [19] show that all ethnic groups possess similar aspirations a nd positive fields for STEM occupations. On the other hand, as minority students continue with their academic disciplines, their interest in mathematics and science related topics decrease as their achievement in these classes weakens. Self efficacy is another cognitive factor that affects the choice of students major. Empirical researches show that students have a high possibility to sign up for science courses if they maintain high ranks of self efficacy in the science area [18]. The possibility of choosing science or engineering courses enhances with students awareness that they possess mathematics background or a solid science and in the certainty that they have the capability to perform best in those disciplines. Self efficacy is the strongest forecaster in the consideration of STEM disciplines as a career choice. Reference [19] validates the motivation and significance of self efficacy in foretelling performance in science and mathematics. Minority students possess lower self efficacy in mathematics and science than the other students. Minority students in STEM fields have complication when it comes to perceiving themselves as scientists, even after expressing their interest in STEM careers [20]. One of the most commonly cited rationales for inspiring students to enjoy STEM subjects is good teaching that involves capable teachers [5, 6, 21-24]. The teachers capability can be defined as his/her role and personality in the approach to delivering the academic curriculum [21-24]. The learning environment, or the relationship between the learner and teacher, dictates the outlook of the potential STEM and non STEM interested students. For example, educators who are aware that memorization of content may not be the best method of assessment for learners and diverse methods of pedagogy should be taken into account to reach multiple intelligences tend to produce students who may be more successful [6, 21-24]. According to reference [25], anxiety of mathematics and science has its origins in teaching and in teachers of science and mathematics. Explaining this, they argue that students do not have anxiety before attending school hence, they relate this to the teaching method and the not ion that science and mathematics is somewhat dreaded from the first years learning of a child. Adults and teachers may emphasize that science related fields are hard, whereas they indicate that the skills attained from the field are vital for future accomplishment. If unqualified teachers are forced to teach science related courses, they project signals to students hence scaring students to pursue or complete theses majors [25]. Frequently, students encounters with STEM can force them to feel incompetent especially when presented by educators who do not like STEM. Some teachers may not possess the preparedness to deal with psychological fear of STEM, nor do they have preparedness to handle the defense strategies and mechanisms their students utilize to defend themselves from appearing to fail in STEM. Prior academic preparation often affects the students choice of fields to major. In most cases, student decides that a major in the STEM is not he would like to pursue. The uncertainty to stay enrolled in a STEM field is probably influenced by the students attending mathematic training prior to registering in an institution and his academic aptitude. More exclusively, student achievement in the structure of a grade point and math SAT performance is in association with the persistence of students in STEM majors [26]. Students who earn high math SAT score do not only perform high ranks of participating in mathematics and science clubs but also enrolled in more advanced courses and were more engaged in math and science activities in secondary school. Students with prior academic preparation in STEM have more chances to pursue in majors of STEM disciplines. Studies also show that lack of enough science and mathematical training at the secondary and elementary level has a negative effect on the students interesting secondary mathematics as well as academic preparation, science coursework and in majoring in STEM fields [18, 27]. In conjunction to the aforesaid prevalence of tracking of minority students into the lower class science and mathematics disciplines, it seems that the quality of the academic readiness many minority students receive has a negative impact from the differences among school funding, teachers quality, and money spent on instructional programs. Minority students in most cases get taught by teachers who do not major in that field or even inexperienced teachers who pursue the fields. Minorities have more possibility of receiving funding discriminations in the K-12 education compared to other students [28]. This is because the systems used for funding do not give equal amounts every student exposing minority students to risk of acquiring less funding. Hence, these students have a greater exposure to high quality, challenging mathematics instructions , further daunting their interest in science or mathematics [28]. Commitment of the student to STEM major also has a role in determining whether the student may pursue the major or not. The emphasis on the students involvement to a particular major one enrolled, as in STEM), is as crucial as developing an early interest in STEM disciplines in K-12. A tough involvement to a STEM degree is a persuasive predictor of student perseverance [26]. Minorities who express deep satisfaction with science and engineering as their field of study (or committed to STEM careers) have high possibility of persisting in STEM disciplines. Amazingly, though, researcher points that serving as a leader or role model on campus discouraged students commitment to STEM. The student who put more emphasis on leadership or services is more likely to turn to non STEM majors. One could contemplate that effort and time that is essential to succeed in mathematics and science related field is very challenging leaving less time for students social incorporation on college. Involvement in such areas like political groups, student government or athletic support teams pulls students away from their laboratory and study time [29]. Misperception of STEM disciplines also has an extreme effect on the students decision on the major to pursue. Minority students utilize various criteria when defining an effective curricular program [30]. Non minority student scrutinize general coursework as college or academic preparatory courses and start to develop occupational and educational as untimely as eighth score and start making occupational pronouncement like engaging in extracurricular activities and college-prep courses. However, minorities perceive overall coursework as separate from extracurricular activities taken at one time during secondary school [30]. Another commonly cited reason why students are turned off by STEM subjects is the obsession to receive high marks [31]. Due to the relative difficulty of receiving high grades in STEM classes in comparison to other subjects, students are often discouraged from taking STEM subjects.   As a result, students emphasis on achieving high grades outweighs their interest in taking subjects related to Science and Mathematics. Consequently, they abandon their interest in STEM majors [32]. In addition, many studies provide insight into the switch-off factors, showing that they might come from the influence exerted by the parents, students peer groups within and outside school, role models and the media. Researchers in [33] suggest that families play a critical role in the career choice of their children. The educational background, occupations and aspirations of the parents are important factors, introducing the concepts of cultural and social capital to this process [34-36]. Encouragement from the parent is one of the strongest forces that facilitate the students early education aspirations. It is not surprising if a student whose parent studied and worked in STEM field decides to choose STEM discipline as his major. This happens because those parents help to instill the belief that STEM careers are successful and applicable in peoples lives. Though in [37] the researchers found no impact on female students from exclusively the level of education of their parents, the y did find a vital impact of parental encouragement and support. It is clear that children have a high possibility of choosing gender-atypical courses if their parents have slight education. It is crucial to note that gender stereotyping can result as an influence from parents. In [21, 38, 39] it has been shown that students are influenced by their peers who often stress the uncool aspects of STEM thus preserving negative stereotyping. Reference [38] found that peer achievement positively affects students achievement in academic. For instance, a peer attitude towards mathematics increases, so does an individuals attitude towards mathematics. At an early stage of development, parents sustain their place as the premier social power for their kids, but as the children grow, their peers take the influential role [39]. Deviant peers may expose the deviance behavior from one person to another in the peer group. This brings up the proposal of curriculum tracking: putting students in levels or classes based on their achievement or ability level, or particularly not doing so, turns out to be an appealing topic when scrutinized through the angle of influential peer support. If peers attend the same classes, they have a higher possibility of meeting than if they never shares classes. Added to the overall secondary school spectrum is homophonous character of social networks, a widely accepted phenomenon that measures the tendency of the English proverb that says that birds of the same feather flocks together. For all students, social life in secondary schools and universities becomes an entire world of challenges and issues [39]. The role of role model is clear when it comes to influencing a students choice on the career to major. The idea of role models partly cover that of peers, although a role model can be any other individual who puts inspiration to the student while a peer is a person with similar age with the student or with similar stand in the course of life. Role models in the life of a student can be teachers, parents, peers, people in same the neighborhood, or other kin. Just as with the capability of grouping in classes, some students selection of role models is advantageous while not in others. In addition, just like many others factors in life, socio-economic status often determine the opportunities and choices of role models. Role models possess the power to influence children choices of future careers, education, overall behavior, and can condemn or support gender biased judgments, which becomes particularly significant for adolescent girls. As reference [40] explains that, starting from fema le teachers to female professionals to mothers or other female relatives employed in STEM fields, they offer a tangible image of what is achievable for adolescent girls in their lives. Family support highly influenced the effect that the enrichment agenda had on female students. Perceptions and characterization of STEM in the media also play a significant role in the acceptance and rejection of STEM.  In [36, 41] the media is accused of igniting and perpetuating negative stereotypes about STEM. There is a stigmatization of its degree of difficulty and a reinforcement of the perception that STEM is only for the academic elite. Nevertheless, considerable portions of youth are positively influenced by the media [42, 43]. Another often cited reason for losing interest in the STEM is the absence of technology based instruction in classrooms. Often, students report that they choose other majors simply because of the meager quality of instruction they get at the college level. However, a positive contentment of a students academic program is one of the foremost factor in attainment of degree for both major and non minor students. Research proves that as minority students identify their STEM fields as pleasant, they are likely to persist in studying those courses ignoring their complexity [44]. Researchers in [44] insist that the lack of modern technological infrastructure in the classrooms retards the growth of STEM-interested students. Active learning and positive use of technology to enhance professional developments, e.g. using online resources/mentors, computer-assisted instruction, service-learning, can help transform traditional, lectured-based pedagogy into well-received, interesting STEM classes [45-49]. A rescheduled consequence of the students interest and commitment in his field is that it helps the faculty in teaching classes and unlocks opportunities for students to carry out research independently or in conjunction with the faculty [45]. In response, these experiences serve to enhance the students fulfillment with their faculty members, majors and their general academic understanding. Among the majors in biology science, the presence of a student centered faculty is in question relating to the general fulfillment of student with the faculty and curriculum. Enhancement of satisfaction with faculty happens to follow various factors as, for instance, the anticipation that regardless of the major which the students choose. Among physical fields of system, the presence of a strong faculty research only helps to discourage students to pursue the major and to have dissatisfaction with their study program. While some researchers theorized that the finding is probably the outc ome of the principal utilization of teaching educators among research faculty, a more satisfactory assumption is that the major of attention paid to scientific investigation and findings is not what the students waited for in class [47]. Financial support also plays a huge role in determining whether a student will pursue in STEM major or in non STEM major. Basically, STEM disciplines take a longer period of time to complete than other non STEM fields. Therefore, intervention of financial aid has to be present to encourage the student to pursue in these disciplines. As such, the significance of financial aid on keeping students enrolled and interested in STEM careers or majors is clear. Adequate financial support is one of the main factors related to the perseverance of minority students in STEM disciplines [48]. The type of institution that a student attends is also of great significance when it comes to making a decision to pursue STEM disciplines . Students who attend community colleges are more probably not to major in STEM disciplines. From the research, it is evident that student who enroll in four year institutions are more likely to complete their STEM studies that those who attend community colleges [48]. Furthermore, researcher in [50] points to the role that gender and stereotypes play into the retention of women in STEM college programs. Researchers in [51-53] also point to the lack of women in STEM college programs due to negative stereotypes about women in STEM careers , e.g. STEM is a mens only field and women cant think analytically.  Existence of negative stereotype in the society saddens students personal assessment skills, impacts his or her performance, and discourages the development made by them. Stereotypes impact students career aspirations and decisions, directing them away from degrees and careers in STEM disciplines. This can suggest that adjusting negative stereotypes about women in the STEM field by increasing the confidence of young women about their involvement in STEM may increase numbers of women successfully studying and working in STEM disciplines [50-55].    Following the lack of in-depth field research about the factors that cause UAE students to choose STEM and non STEM fields, this paper considers the starting point of a research project that aims to determine which barriers emerge as the most prominent for United Arab Emirates students, between grades 9 and 12, being switched off STEM and pursuing further education or careers in the field. research Methods The methods of research for this project consisted of the following procedures meted out to both public and private schools. Since the United Arab Emirates is a socio-cultural collage of people originating from different nationalities, these surveys were sent to both institutional sectors, especially since the majority of expatriates attend private schools. Although differences and similarities arising among public/private schools, male/female, and Emirati/non-Emirati were compared and contrasted, the overall goal of the research, as reflected in the questionnaires, was to investigate what motivates students to pursue a STEM related education. Students from a representative sample pool answered a questionnaire that consisted of twenty-five questions. These questions are separated into six major categories. These categories are: Usefulness and value of STEM for students. Effective motivation of students for STEM majors. Students views on STEM related careers and salaries. External influences on students to pursue a STEM related major. Language in which STEM

Lab Report: Bramble Leaf Morphology Essay -- essays research papers

B. IMPLEMENTING SUN SITE SHADE SITE Thickness of bramble leaf/ mm 0.31 0.30 0.25 0.26 0.31 0.29 0.27 0.26 0.33 0.32 0.29 0.25 0.35 0.34 0.27 0.27 0.29 0.25 0.29 0.32 0.25 0.33 0.36 0.31 0.37 0.34 0.27 0.36 0.28 0.29 0.22 0.17 0.24 0.19 0.19 0.21 0.22 0.18 0.16 0.22 0.16 0.19 0.22 0.19 0.17 0.19 0.17 0.19 0.20 0.16 0.22 0.21 0.18 0.19 0.15 0.20 0.16 0.21 0.19 0.18 Mean bramble leaf thickness / mm 0.30 0.19 Light Intensity / mV At 10:30 7.81 At 13:00 8.34 At 15:30 7.65 At 10:30 3.89 At 13:00 4.02 At 15:30 3.76 Mean light intensity/mV 7.93 3.89 Aspect of Site South East South East Results In order to investigate the effect of light intensity on bramble leaf morphology, it was decided that thickness would be the particular morphological feature that was going to be investigated. It was felt that the best possible use was made of the equipment and sites available in order to attain reliable data under the time constraints involved. The sample size for this investigation was set at 30 – this allowed a reasonably large sample and thus reasonably confident conclusions and tests are possible for the Analysis and Evaluation sections. However, a sample size of 30 is still small enough in order to feasibly collect data within the allocated time period. The two sites chosen were suitable in order for valid data to be collected and compared. The two sites were comprehensively distinct sun and shade sites. As can be seen on the photograph, the sun site had virtually no major branches or trees in its vicinity and thus a lot of light was able to shine on the leaves. In contrast, the shade site was surrounded and shadowed ... ...ns, it has to be stated that the validity of the results have been undermined and the conclusion is certainly stated with less confidence. The accumulation of so many sources of error seems to suggest that the conclusion may even be an altogether incorrect one due to unreliable collection of data. However, the sources of error do not change the conclusion itself. Pieces of evidence such as the significant differences in means, use of standard deviation and the comprehensiveness of the t-test suggest that the conclusion is still a valid one. Although the data is not completely normally distributed, the 99.999% confidence at which the t-test accepts the hypothesis is considerable. Certainly, these limitations suggest that that percentage is unlikely to be that high, but given the nature of the investigation and results ascertained, the conclusion is still a valid one.

Analysis of Rosemary’s Baby and Religious Faith

Is God Dead? Rosemary’s baby written by Ira Levin is a masterpiece of modern day horror that emphasizes the importance of religion. Rosemary, Guy Woodhouse’s wife and a young soon to be mother was raised by a strict religious catholic family. As she supposedly became agnostic towards her catholic faith, she left behind her an angry, suspicious father, a silent mother and four resenting brothers and sisters (Levin, 24). Throughout the novel we learn that Rosemary has re-embraced her religious beliefs and has never truly abandoned them.The author is also depicting a crisis of faith in the modern era explaining how there is a growing decline in religious belief in the 60’s. Rosemary regrets doubting and turning away from her religious beliefs after she discovers that pure Satanic evil does exist, and is residing next door. She re-embraces her religious beliefs as she utters a prayer â€Å"Oh Father in heaven, forgive me for doubting! Oh Jesus help me save my innoce nt baby† (287). This reveals how she seeks forgiveness of ever doubting gods existence and the power of religion itself.She is not only seeking forgiveness, but help for her baby. She realises that becoming agnostic and leaving her faith behind has allowed the devil to enter a doorway in her life. She re-embraces religion because it is her last hope since Guy, Doctor Sapirstein, the Castevets have all terribly deceived her: â€Å"All of them, they were all in it together. All of them witches† (257). This betrayal caused her to search for hope and to reconcile her inner conflict she had with her own faith. Moreover, as Rosemary is giving birth she apologizes to her baby â€Å"I’m sorry, my little darling!Forgive me! † (272). She is apologizing for being too late and for failing to protect her new born from the evil that surrounds her. Rosemary knows that if she had not put aside the importance of her catholic faith, this would not be happening. She then ask s the child for forgiveness because she feels that it is her fault. This foreshadows how she wants to accord importance once again to her religion. She feels that she could be forgiven if she became a true catholic again. At this moment she would do anything to save her child from â€Å"those witches†.Furthermore, Rosemary sees her helpless baby in a monstrous bassinet in the hands of the evil Satanists. She then proves re-embracement of her religious faith as she avoids collapsing and crying. Instead, â€Å"she shut her eyes tight to stop the tears and said a quick Hail Mary† (293). Even after all she has just been through, she still takes time to say a prayer. This demonstrates how she still has hope and faith. Additionally, not only does Rosemary go through evolution by re-embracing religion; she has also never abandoned her beliefs.When asked by the Castavets if she is religious, Rosemary's response is flustered and confused: â€Å"No, no not at all, I was brought up to be but now I am agnostic† (76). As Mrs. Castevet wanted more details about how she truly felt about the Pope and religion, Rosemary answers: â€Å"Well he is the Pope; I’ve been conditioned to have respect for him and still do† (77). This demonstrates that even though she does not think of him has holy anymore, she still has respect for him. This proves that the way her family raised her impacts her view on the Pope regardless if she is religious or not.As the Pope is visiting New York, Rosemary takes time to watch his appearance on television and to listen to his speeches. She mentions that the Pope’s speech at the UN â€Å"moved her† (102). Which reveals once again that he is important for her and that she respects him. As well, Rosemary receives a phone call from her sister Margaret and reveals an important declaration: â€Å"Religion doesn’t mean as much to me now as it did back home† (104). This reveals to us how religion r emains meaningful to her even though it is not as important as it used to be. As Rosemary wavers in her own beliefs, she does not abandon them.Furthermore, in Rosemary’s dream we perceive how she is in conflict with the beliefs towards religion and her agnostic point of view. She dreams of a church burning on fire and of catholic prejudices (113). Her unconscious reveals how her loss in interest with the catholic faith troubles her. In the dream, the Pope is also there with a suitcase and she asks him for forgiveness (116). This foreshadows how she wishes the Pope would forgive her for ever doubting the religion and how she seeks acceptance from him and her family. Lastly, the author is aiming to depict a crisis of faith in contemporary society.This is seen when Rosemary picks up a copy of Time magazine that was right next to her. â€Å"Is God dead†? It asked in red letters on a black background (255). This reveals how the society is doubting the existence of god. It a lso expresses the need for society to recognize that it is behaving as if God were no longer active in the world. The fact that the author took the time to mention this specific magazine foreshadows how Rosemary is not the only one doubting existence of god. As well, when Rosemary see’s the cover of the magazine she looks for the index right away and turned to the show business section (255).She did not read it because at that moment the existence of God did not mean much to her. This reveals how the God of the Christian past no longer served a function. For instance, the â€Å"Bramford† is a perfect example. Its morbid history of cannibalism and Satanism, infanticide and suicide, becomes reason for the growing decline of religious belief (26). Society is asking â€Å"If God does truly exist, how could he let these things occur? † 1,001 Words WORKS CITED Levin, Ira. Rosemary’s Baby. New York: New American Library, 1967. Print.

How to Celebrate Even the Biggest Mistakes!

How to Celebrate Even the Biggest Mistakes! Big Mistakes in Big Companies In a famous 2010 tale, Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh chose not to fire an employee who had made a $1.6 million mistake. In another story, a CEO actually thanked the IT guy who caused the company’s site to go down (causing a loss of thousands of dollars per hour) for uncovering a systematic weakness that needed to be fixed. See Top 5 Reasons to Celebrate Mistakes at Work. My Blog Mistake I did not know these anecdotes until I sat down to write this blog about mistakes. Last week, as many of you are aware, I wrote a draft of my blog and sent it to my assistant with a request that she come up with an appropriate title for the article. She offered six suggestions, with her top pick being â€Å"3 Trends Effecting LinkedIn That You Need to Know.† I wrote back the following: I chose #3 [3 Ways LinkedIn Times are a Changin’] and updated the title on WordPress. Note it would be Affecting not Effecting!! The next thing I knew, the blog had gone out to my e-list with the original subject line, the word â€Å"Effecting† intact. Oops. The emails rolled in: I noticed a spelling mistake in your subject title. It should read 3 Trends Affecting LinkedIn†¦. I see this error a lot, but thought you might want to make a note of it. It should be 3 trends AFFECTING Did you use effecting rather than affecting on purpose? Living â€Å"Above the Line† My first response was â€Å"This is bad.† I mean, here I was, a writer and editor, making an error that I’ve actually blogged about in the past! See Top 7 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2012. But as I aim to do in my life, I looked at where the opportunity was in the face of this breakdown. I’ve taken plenty of personal growth courses where we are coached to say things like â€Å"Yay! I made a mistake!† So how could I, dare I say, celebrate this initially embarrassing mistake in my blog title? I issued a correction as soon as possible, thanking my readers for their eagle eyes and explaining what had happened. I did my best to convey an understanding that mistakes happen, and that I probably need another round of editorial proofing before sending out my blog. One message from a reader confirmed I had done the right thing: Love the graceful save you did on this you got it goin on, as they say, girl. Always a fan. When I can ever get a moment I want to work with you to update my LI profile! In the grand scheme of things, this was a small mistake. While I feared I might lose clients over it, since people count on me to know English grammar and spelling, I hope my correction set the record straight. No one was injured or taken advantage of as a result of this mistake. Celebrating Mistakes! Mistakes are the way we learn most in life. Looking back, I can see that my mistake last week was a testament to my ability to trust another person to do work for me! It would not have happened if I had not expanded my business to the point where I need an assistant. The mistake also showed me that many of my readers care and are paying attention. And I was given the opportunity to â€Å"play above the line,† issuing a correction that was gracious and non-blaming. I got to show my commitment to quality, and that I was unwilling to let something like this error go unaddressed! I recently spoke with someone who told me about a $250K mistake she once made at work. When she went to her boss expecting to be fired, she had another thing coming. He appreciated her honesty and let the monetary loss roll off his back. As he said, he could always make another $250K, but he would not be able to get her back. That’s how I feel about what happened with my assistant. I wouldn’t let this one mistake color my undying appreciation of what she does for me and how responsible she is when she does make a mistake! In fact, in the midst of writing this blog, I took a break to apologize to her for my initial â€Å"This is bad† response. I have a lot to learn about celebrating my own mistakes and the mistakes of the people around me. And I’d love to hear what you have learned in your life! How have you celebrated mistakes? How could you or someone around you have done better in their response to a mistake? I look forward to hearing what you have to share!

Queen Elizabeth 1 essays

Queen Elizabeth 1 essays Elizabeth I was the queen of England from 1558 to 1603. During this time she made many great changes for England. She never married and ruled England by her self. Many people look upon her as the greatest queen in England of all time. The people of England had great respect for her and she had respect for the people. Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace on September 7, 1533. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn the second of his six wives. Before Elizabeth reached her third birthday her mother was beheaded on charges of adultery and treason. King Henry paid little attention to her and moved Elizabeth to a house in the country. Elizabeth was provided with excellent tutors and loved learning. She learned to speak five different languages including Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. One of her tutors wrote,Her perseverance is equal to that of a man, and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up. She talks French and Italian as well as she does English. When she writes Greek and Latin, nothing is more beautiful than her handwriting. She delights as much in music as she is skillful in it. King Henrys third wife, Jane Seymour, gave birth to Edward VI. King Henry died when Edward was only ten years old. Elizabeths half-brother became heir to the throne at age ten. He died in 1553 and Elizabeths half sister from her fathers first marriage, Mary became queen. Queen Mary distrusted Elizabeth, who was next in line to be queen. Elizabeth did her best to avoid politics while Mary was in power but came under suspicion in 1554. Queen Mary was a Catholic and Elizabeth was a protestant. A protestant uprising known as Wyatts Rebellion tried to overtake Queen Mary but failed. Queen Mary suspected Elizabeth of helping plot the uprising. Elizabeth spent two months in jail while and investigation was held. No evidence of Elizabeth committing a ...

Autism in African American Culture Research Paper

Autism in African American Culture - Research Paper Example Although such an analysis is somewhat dangerous due to its risk of stereotyping, with regards to the expected and anticipated actions of an entire ethnic group, the author will perform a high level of due diligence in order to ensure that this particular pitfall is avoided at all costs. Within such an understanding, the following analysis will seek to measure and discuss three specific compliments of the way in which autism has been understood traditionally within the African-American community, the overall level of acceptance that it has garnered, the impact of family structure, as well as some recommendations with regards to solutions to key problems which will be analyzed and briefly elaborated upon. Firstly, it should be understood that the overall level of acceptance of autism within the African-American community is nominally higher than with regards to many other ethnic groups. Scholars have long debated why this might be; however, a compelling reason for the relatively high l evel of acceptance that exists within the African-American community with regards to developmental disorders is likely with regards to the overall level of religiosity and belief that exists within this group as compared to others. ... From a sociological perspective, scholars have also pointed to the fact and belief that many African-American parents and caretakers have with regards to an autistic child (Hilton et al, 2010). As such, the belief that the developmentally challenged/autistic will soon catch up with siblings or classmates has a direct level of correlation to the unique African-American experience within the United States. Due to being born within a culture that has traditionally and seemingly perennially been repressed and discriminated against, and in dominant spirit of human hope and belief is evidenced within this community as compared to many others. Although the last determinant was something that could be potentially viewed as a net positive with regards to an understanding and appreciation for autism within the African-American community, the second determinant which will be discussed, family structure, is necessarily and net drawback that this community faces. What is meant by this is the fact that approximately 70% of all children currently born within the African-American communities of the United States are born into a single parent household (Tincani et al, 2009). Although it is not the purpose of this discussion and exploration to analyze the means by which a two-parent household is ultimately a more secure and better environment within which a child should be raised, it must be understood that the level of care and resources necessary for tending to a child/children with disabilities of a developmental nature is an order of magnitude more demanding than would be the requirements and level of attention for a child without a developmental disorder/autism. Within such an understanding, the reader can come to the clear

Comparison of Japans Meiji Period with Chinas Great Leap Forward Essay

Comparison of Japans Meiji Period with Chinas Great Leap Forward - Essay Example One of the main reasons why the Meiji Period is considered a success while the Great Leap Forward a failure is due to the length of time each was given to succeed. The Meiji Period occurred over a longer period of time, and so was more likely to succeed. Emperor Meiji decided that Japan needed to establish itself as one of the world’s leading nations both economically and militarily. To fuel this growth, democracy was promoted as a key component of change in Japan. The old feudal lords had their powers decreased to the point where all Japanese citizens were treated equally. Conversely, China’s Great Leap Forward was abandoned after only a few short years because the goals and objectives set forth by Mao were completely unrealistic. He too realized that China needed to catch up to the Western powers, but he did so in a completely different way than Emperor Meiji. Unlike Japan, which had embraced democracy, China was deeply rooted in communist principles. Mao decided that two improvements would significantly boost the Chinese economy: industry and agriculture. He was correct in saying that these are key areas that need to form the backbone of any economy. Where he got it wrong was setting unrealistic goals and targets for the people to reach. Additionally, families were housed in communes and had no control over their own state of affairs. The result of this was that many people starved to death due to a lack of food. Even though both the Meiji Period and Great Leap Forward set out with the same purpose, the reason why one succeeded and one failed is how they went about it. Japan decided to study Western ways of learning; the Japanese education system was Western-based and education became compulsory for every Japanese child.