Saturday, August 31, 2019

Violence in Television Creates Aggression in Children

We all love action packed, horrifying, fighting type of movies like Drive, The Dark Knight, Kindergarten Cop, Star Wars or Who Framed Roger Rabbit. These movies don’t seem very harmful to us and may seem more funny then violent, but how children perceive these films is very different from how an adult may perceive it. How do children view these movies? And how do they absorb the information in front of them?. Violence in the media creates aggression in everyone but it has a major impact on children. Parenting and environmental factors also have in effect.Society and media has made us believe that violence is acceptable in films but when it happens in real life, many don’t seem accepting. People don’t seem to realize in order to suppress violence in life you have to begin with not displaying violence as if it was socially acceptable. Many factors play into childhood aggression; family, environment or mass media. Many parents sit their children in front of a televi sion for hours just to keep them occupied, but they are not aware of the damage they are doing to their kids.Movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit may seem like a harmless movie to us but it portrays violence with guns, arguing and even distorted information of how to handle stressful situations. Movies or cartoons like this, show children you have to resort to violence to resolve certain situations. Other cartoons like Bugs Bunny, who cross dress and flirt to bring his hunter into a trap, are highly inappropriate. Young children are very manipulative and tend to reenact or repeat things they see or hear.It may be adorable when your kid is kicking and fighting around like Batman but in their mind they see fighting and aggression as a resolution. As they get older aggression and violence seems like a normal part of life and acceptable. They become desensitized with the more violence they are exposed to and usually want to watch something with more action and violence, hence become more and more absorbed in to aggression. (Huesmann & Miller,1994;) This aggression seems to stand out more on which family class they stand in.Children in lower class families tend to watch more TV, and have lower IQ’s because they are not interacting with others, reading, or using any kind of thought process. Many factors play into why children of lower class families watch more television (Huesmann, 1998). In these days many families find themselves working and not spending as much time at home, leaving the child to watch a lot of television, and if they are not around, there’s no assuring what the child is watching. Lower class families tend to be more stressed and that sometimes reflects on the children; creating anxiety and aggression (Tremblay,2000).Not having money to enjoy other activities, also causes more children to be inactive, and living in dangerous neighborhoods cause them to stay inside more. Television is America’s favorite pass time and people beli eve watching television is a good way to pass time or bond with each other but it does the opposite. There is no interaction with family members or peers and most adults don’t want to sit around watching kid shows, so children watch what their parents want to watch and usually it is inappropriate.Telling your child to cover their eyes or ears during a scene really doesn’t improve much. Some families neglect their children, give them harsh punishments or sometimes don’t discipline them at all and that also plays a role. Many studies have shown, the more a child is exposed to violence, the more often a child will respond with aggression or violence (Andison, F. S. 1977). Andison from the American Psychological Association, also discovered continue exposure to violence can lead to antisocialism, violence, drugs and criminality.Aggressive children prefer violence on television, prefer violent character and see it as part of life more than less aggressive children. S ome children won’t show signs of aggression until they are older. Consistently watching violent or inappropriate programs can affect anybody at any age or gender. Extensive researched from the American Psychological Association, also revealed aggressive behavior is more in males who tend to watch more television ( Huesmann, L. R. , Eron, L. D. , Berkowitz, L. , & Chaffee, S. (1991). Males are also raised more aggressively.Many parents believe they have to be hard on boys to make them tougher, but in actuality that can damage a child or create anger or hatred. Many children who grow up with constant aggression or violence usually don’t turn out to be the American dream person. Creators seem to forget their audience is young children and they side track to create more ratings instead of keeping it appropriate for children of a certain age. Not every person would agree violent television or inappropriate programs are the causes of aggression in children.Taking into consid eration how the child was raised, and the environment they grow up in, can have a large effect on many children. Not all television is bad, but the problem these days is that parents don’t monitor what their children watch. There are many reasons television can be a good thing for a child. If parents gave healthy viewing habits, less viewing time and watched what was on the screen for their kids, television can be very educational. Learning shows like blues clues give children thinking practice by causing them to solve riddles and find clues.Channels like the discovery channel can help children discover about the world around them and in turn learning and using thought. Television has been a revolutionary change for the last few generations. It has changed our way of life for the better and for the worse. I personally believe that before television families were closer, and violence wasn’t as popular on shows, and people were healthier, because there were more activiti es to enjoy, then just sitting at home doing nothing. These days the violence and uneducated shows on television has sadly affected even our younger viewer.Children don’t need to know about depression, hell or anger like the cartoon, Billy and Mandy display. Cartoons like this show children, it’s acceptable to be furious and angry and act aggressively to your siblings. If parents really began to care about their children, they would monitor and lower their television time. No child should have to sit 5 hours or longer in front of a television with no supervision, when they could be interacting and learning with family and peers. Violence in television also has to be decreased in adult watching as well. It has become such a large part in our society.Children shouldn’t have to grow up thinking fighting, cursing, and aggressive behavior towards others is acceptable, and it’s up to the parents to make a change. Sources * Longitudinal Relations Between Childre n’s Exposure to TV Violence and Their Aggressive and Violent Behavior in Young Adulthood: 1977–1992 Psychology Copyright 2003 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 2003, Vol. 39, No. 2, 201–221 * Kidshealth. rg; How TV effects your child by   Steven Dowshen, MD http://kidshealth. org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child. html * Is Television Advertising Good for Children? Areas of Concern and Policy Implications Vol 20 No 1 (2001) http://www. sfu. ca/media-lab/archive/2007/426/Resources/Readings/readings%20kidcult/canadianadpolicy. pdf * Desensitization of children to television violence. Cline, Victor B. ;Croft, Roger G. ;Courrier, Steven Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 27(3), Sep 1973, 360-365

Friday, August 30, 2019

My Favorite Japanese Restaurant

I was driving down the road and I was feeling very hungry. So hungry, I could hardly think straight. All I wanted to do was gobble down lots of Japanese food. I could taste the Kung Pow Chicken and smell the steaming rice as I drove my truck. To my delight, I spotted my favorite Japanese restaurant and it was calling my name. Unable to resist, I parked in the parking lot and got out of my truck faster than I ever had before. The building was very old and badly in need of a fresh coat of paint. There were also several roof tiles missing. Not exactly a five star restaurant. The large sign hanging in the front window was slightly tilted to the left because some broken ceiling tiles were coming out of place. It was hard to miss the brightly lit neon blinking sign that read, â€Å"Sunami†. From the front windows, I could see the tables inside and it did not appear to be very crowded. At the entrance of the restaurant, there was bronze statute of a pudgy monk sitting crossed legged with his large belly bulging out and a huge smile on his face. As I stepped inside, my ears filled with the sound of booming noises that came from the customers. It was obvious from the sound of laughter and chatter that everyone was having a good time. I took a seat at my usual booth, the one with the tear in the old red fake leather. I was such a frequent customer that I could order without looking at the menu, â€Å"#13 Kung Pow Chicken†. Moments later, I was approached by a waitress who had the sweetest sounding voice I had ever heard. After I placed my order, I sat in the booth waiting for my food, enjoying the sights and sounds. I took a sip of water, with a slice of lemon neatly stabbed on the rim, then took a deep breath and the most wonderful yet familiar aroma filled my nostrils. I could not place it but it smelled a little like the Japanese dish I usually order, Kung Pow Chicken. I kept taking deep breaths and turning my head to see where this delicious aroma was coming from. Sure enough, there it was, my platter of chicken and rice brought in by the waitress and it was mine to devour. The wonderful sounding waitress laid down the food and reminded me to leave some room for desert. Right then, desert was the last thing on my mind, all I wanted to do was enjoy my Kung Pow Chicken. I put the first morsel of Kung Pow Chicken in my mouth and wow, it tasted GREAT! The salt was not too much and the seasonings were just right. The rice as well was cooked to perfection and oh so scrumptious. Fifteen minutes later I was finished with the whole plate of food. I was feeling absolutely stuffed, a little like an over inflated balloon ready to burst. Then I was approached by the waitress again, this time trying to convince me to eat some sushi. I had never eaten any sushi before so I agreed to give it a try. So, she brought some out to me on a black plate, it looked like it was something smashed together into a roll. I took it apart and felt it in my hand. The raw fish felt cold and slimly. The rice felt very coarse, a little like it had not been cooked thoroughly. I had a bite of the sushi and realized that it was not as bad as I thought. The salmon just melted in my mouth and the rice gave the whole thing great texture. If I had eaten any more I certainly would have burst. Resisting the temptation of delicious looking deserts, I gracefully paid the inexpensive check, left a generous tip for the sweet sounding waitress, then left the best restaurant in town.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Business Essays – Employment Relation Work

Business Essays Employment Relation Work Employment Relation Work Compare and Contrast Employment Relation System in Britain and America The history of employment relations is dominated by the changing relationships between workers, trade unions, employers and the state. The concept which started from the rights for sufficient payment and good working conditions now has evolved in much broader areas. Coming from mid 19 th century to this date, employment relation has evolved a lot as a concept and practice. Employment relation in Britain and USA has some similarity in its fundamental areas of pay and working conditions; however, there are some differences like in industrial relation, unionism, collective bargaining as well as other HR practices. What are Employment Relation and Industrial Relation? Employment relation is the broader term of industrial relation. The term â€Å"industrial relations† has developed both a broad and a narrow meaning. When defining broadly, industrial relations, relationships and interac tions between employers and employees. From this perspective, industrial relations cover all aspects of the employment relationship, including human resource (or personnel) management, employee relations, and union-management (or labour) relations. However, the term ‘industrial relation’ was narrowed in 1950s and 60s to avoid the confusion from word industrial, now , more restricted interpretation that largely links it with unionized employment relationships. In this view, industrial relations relate to the study and practice of collective bargaining, trade unionism, and labour-management relations, while human resource management is a separate, largely distinct field that deals with non-union employment relationships and the personnel practices and policies of employers. Thus, employment relations can be said to encapsulate both HRM and industrial relations. UK history Employment relation, as we now know, essentially grew from the trade union with the need to improve p ay and working conditions, in particular around issues of health and safety and quality of life for the workers. To understand the issues today it is important to remember the past and the origins of the Trade Union movement and, in particular the role that women played in that process. Trade unions in the industrialization in the 18th century existed as artisans’ guilds; but trade unions did not formally (or legally) come into existence in Britain until the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Employers used to determine the wages of an individual worker. Trade unions were not legal, also legislation prevents their existence. Workers were able to form friendly societies and trade clubs, but were hindered by the legislation. The Six Acts of 1819 extend the magistrates’ powers and restrict meetings and the distribution of leaflets. Trade Unions Act of 1825, allowed trade unions to exist, but not to strike, picket, or intimidate the workers who did not go on strike . The legislation 1824–25 enabled organizations of workers to engage in collective bargaining. In 1851 the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was formed. It was followed by unions in a number of crafts, such as carpentry, bricklaying, and boiler making These ‘New Model unions’ offered schemes against sickness, unemployment, and old age, and did not wish to change the nature of society. They did not support strikes, and tried instead to negotiate with employers. They were well organized and, since they recruited from skilled workers, well financed.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Lottery for Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Lottery for - Essay Example The target audience is casual information seekers or researchers who want to have an entry level source of information that could lead to further research. The basic content for both sites, which is Shirley Jackson’s brief bio, list of works, and further reading, was easy to identify. Locating the information providers was an important step in understanding who created the pages.The author of â€Å"The Works of Shirley Jackson† is clearly identified (Hubbard, â€Å"Author: Kristen Hubbard†) and is a former student of English Literature at Virginia Commonwealth University. It is hosted on the university’s server and would therefore have their approval for authenticity. The site â€Å"Shirley Jackson’s Bio† does not include information about the authors. Further research concluded that Laurence Hyman, son of Shirley Jackson, is the sponsor of the website. The type and amount of information on each site was looked at next. â€Å"Shirley Jackson ’s Bio† shows the last update in 2009, as revealed in the copyright. The links on this site are active, but they do not point to other sites related to Jackson’s works and only lead to Jackson’s works available at Amazon.com. This static information reduces the sponsor’s need to update the pages frequently. ... Both are well structured in a simple and easy-to-navigate layout. Each site lists a brief biography of Jackson and a list of her works. â€Å"Shirley Jackson’s Bio† provides links to Amazon.com to her stories while â€Å"The Works of Shirley Jackson† offers a more complete list, including her short stories and essays. The language used in both sites is easy to understand, error free, and the content is factual information. The author of this paper had searched for papers and criticism on Jackson’s work using the Chadwyck Healy database prior to conducting this survey of websites. While this helped to verify that the information at these two sites was accurate and consistent with information available elsewhere, it also led to the discovery that these sites provided only a brief background of Jackson’s works. â€Å"The Works of Shirley Jackson† is slightly superior by having a reasonably long list of over forty-five books and articles that off er critiques of Jackson’s work. Unfortunately, no useful links were provided on the page. In contrast, â€Å"Shirley Jackson’s Bio† does not give any such information at all and limits itself to a page of single line quotes from reviews of Jackson’s work. Areas of Improvement Both sites are similar in content with the only difference being the type of links offered in each. â€Å"The Works of Shirley Jackson† is geared for the academic audience while â€Å"Shirley Jackson’s Bio† has a commercial tilt. The first improvement would be to merge these two targeted audiences and have links to further information available for both types of audiences. It must be remembered that these two types of audiences are not mutually exclusive and would benefit by this change. As such, a second improvement would

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Hepatitis C-write on a surgery related to a disorder or condition Research Paper

Hepatitis C-write on a surgery related to a disorder or condition liver transplant chronic hepatitis C can cause liver failure, which would result in liver transplant - Research Paper Example Liver also makes components of bile, which is essential for fat digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins from the gastrointestinal tract. This dominating organ is a hub of all detoxification processes and it is a reservoir for glucose storage, which can be utilized by the human body even many hours after a meal. Considering all these roles of the liver, the devastating consequences can be easily predicted if liver does not work efficiently. Diseases having pathologies, which disrupt the architecture and physiological functional tendency of the liver are those that lead to cirrhosis of the liver. They include Hepatitis B and C, excessive intake of alcohol for several years, deposition of excessive iron in liver, and Wilsons disease. Development of Varices and Ascites is a strong indication of Cirrhosis, leading to liver failure (Chakravarty, 2010). Here, the demand of transplanting normal functioning liver lobe from a compatible healthy donor, steps in. Liver Transplantation becomes essential for survival in cases of Liver failure. Apart from the chronic causes mentioned above, transplantation needs may also arise in acute cases, which are mainly due to intake of drugs having acetaminophen. Liver damage due to autoimmune disease and liver cancers also ultimately require liver transplantation (Chakravarty, 2010). This transplantation surgery becomes the ultimate solution of liver failure, as these patients experience malabsorption of fats and fat soluble vitamins, steatorrhea, hyperbilirubinemia causing yellowish appearance of skin and sclera, and generalized edema due to lack of albumin production. It also causes buildup of toxic ammonia due to lack of deamination process leading to hepatic encaphalopathy, hyperhosphatemia and hypocalcemia causing tetany dua to lack of active vitamin D, variceal hemorrhages and

Monday, August 26, 2019

Leadership Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership Analysis - Essay Example Also, being able to take initiative whenever there is a need. Leadership practices have helped individuals to portray a character of self discipline to enable them to work in various offices as if they owned the business personally (Blanchard, Fowler and Hawkins, 2005). This has enabled progress and increased processes involved in growth and development in various companies. This has also influenced living standards among individuals from diverse communities positively. Therefore, self-leadership should be encouraged in various organizations and departments, which will also help maintain and manage quality of goods and services offered by the organizations. Self-leadership has been found to increase levels of honesty in organization performance. Individuals who have learned how to operate and govern their operations in any department, can help reduce levels of dishonesty and help build a better relationship with the management team of the company (Northouse, 2011, 15) . Individuals should learn new skills in various operations undertaken in departments available in an organization. However, it has been noted that, to learn new and advanced skills in various fields, individuals need to be given the opportunity to explore new jobs and talents within their fields. To have better skills that can be considered as more valuable than those that previously existed, it has been noted that self leadership should be attained within the personality of an individual. In this case, having self drive and attainment helps ensure that an individual get to understand the difference between important skills and knowledge to learn, as well as those that are not considered important in the various operations undertaken in the company (Blanchard, Fowler and Hawkins, 2005, 6). This has been found to influence activities undertaken by individuals in various departments in the organization.

The notion of Peace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The notion of Peace - Essay Example This paper will evaluate Dr. Abigail Forsythe’s argument. Question 1: Conclusion of Dr. Abigail Forsythe’s argument In summarizing Dr. Abigail Forsythe’s argument, it stands to be vague as opposing peace portrays a senseless mind. Trying to justify the activities of the armed forces as a way of bridging peace comes out as under reasoning. Instead of stating that people should have given war a chance in 1939 and peace in 1946, the chance of peace should have been embraced in both 1939 and 1946. This would have saved people a lot of suffering. As long as individuals remain imprisoned in the field of self-oriented reasoning, they can easily justify their brutality to others. They excuse their tough eyes and supremacist rankings, ignoring the suffering they cause to others, and continue on rationalizing their actions and blocking awareness of the reality of their feelings and their fundamental oneness with other humans. Question 2: Important premises of Dr. Abigail F orsythe’s argument Dr. Abigail Forsythe’s argument has four main premises, of which some stand as cogent arguments and some as irrational. One premise holds that saying people should not avoid war because of its inconveniences is insane because they do not avoid giving birth to babies even though they come with their own inconveniences. The second vital premise is based on the reason why parents have to take care of their babies. This argument is valid because every parent, despite the hardships, should dictate the course of the children; this stands as their sole reason of bringing them to this world. The third premise stands at trying to justify Canada’s war against Hitler and Mussolini versions of fascism. The premises try to justify that it is Canada’s own right to fight for its rights in a war. This argument is vague as it does not spell out other options that Canada could opt for; hence it stands as an irrational argument. Any reasonable person woul d have thought of other options in the place of Canada instead of engaging in fights. The fourth point, trying to seek peace, lies in the people’s own context, hence is irrational. The premise tries to justify that the country was right to seek war in 1939 and seek peace in 1946. The reasonable fact should be that peace should have been sought in 1939, and more peace in 1946. For this reason, Dr Abigail Forsythe’s argument, for seeking war in 1939, is irrational. Question 3: Quality of Dr Abigail Forsythe’s argument Dr Abigail Forsythe put out an argument whose thesis stood mostly of opposing the wrong things. The argument tried to justify the right things that people do. Some of the fallacies in the argument are as follows: it stands wrongly to avoid war because there is much more to avoid than the inconveniences of deaths on sufferings. The second argument, which can be viewed as a good argument, is the one that says parents have the duty of looking after thei r children, not for any other reason, but because they brought them to this world. The third fallacy trying to justify Canada’s fighting as a measure of doing what stood to be right then shows a lack of reasoning. Other options like peaceful mediation would have been adopted instead of going to the battle field to sort out issues. As a result of the battle, many lives were lost, the losing country lost its dignity, and property was destroyed. In the pursuit of peace, Canada, Germany and Italy could have

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Principles of Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Principles of Marketing - Essay Example ace’ component of the marketing mix this paper will discuss what distribution strategies are used in the industry, with an analysis of how much information is given during the adverts. Lastly this paper will discuss whether or not the adverts tell us anything about distribution and if the product utilizes a push or pull strategy. According to National Geographic (2010) the annual expenditures on cosmetics globally is approximately U.S. $18 billion annually. According to a study conducted by the UK based cosmetic store ‘Superdrug’ it is the case that 70% of women in the UK do not leave the house without makeup (Oneindia.com, 2010). Given the size of this industry and the demand for product there is little question that there are a number of different players have carved out a niche in the mascara industry. While the history of mascara may go back over a century, in the modern context some of the largest players in this market are L’Oreal, Revlon and Maybelline. Moreover, there are a number of smaller independent cosmetics makers that create niche products in the market such as Mary Kay. As it is the case there are different firms with different strategies it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what strategy is employed for each individual company. With aggressive strategies In terms of the promotion mix, advertising plays a very important role with the utilization of most media outlets such as television and radio adverts, billboards, in-store displays, direct marketing campaigns, web-content and even product placement. According to Peachey (2002) Revlon spent  £5m to play a pivotal part in the storyline of the American soap opera, ‘All My Children’ which frequently references the Mascara product offerings of the company. In the example of Mary Kay the company utilizes an aggressive ‘personal selling’ strategy so that an element of expert advice can be provided to help educate consumers of what product offerings can best meet the needs of the

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Peer review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 25

Peer review - Essay Example According to the article, incorporating a balanced scorecard allows any organization to analyze how they are doing both non-financially and financially through going deep into where they are and decide the route that they will follow in order to attain their goals and objectives. According to Blocher et al. (2012), they also believe that in order to succeed, you have to align your business activities to the strategy and vision of the organization, improve external and internal communications, as well as monitor organization performance against planned goals. In the last paragraph, the writer elucidates to the reader how the organization overcame their plummeting sales through changing their strategy and deciding what their client would like to experience, how they can evaluate their financial performance and better manage their internal affairs, which were all significant aspects of assessing the performance of an organization (Michelli, 2007). Some of the thing that the writer could have added to the paper to make it more special is discussions on why the sales of Starbucks decreased in 2007 and how they got back up. Some critics also advise that writers should bear in mind that their articles might reach many people from different religions, thus is it also advisable to write from a neutral point of view rather than dwelling on one religion in order for others to feel recognized

Friday, August 23, 2019

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Essay

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc - Essay Example In the case of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vs. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc the court decided to lay precedent on the issue. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc are a clothing company in the United States (Bittker, Idleman & Ravitch, 138). The company requires its employees to follow a look policy, which does not allow them to wear black caps and clothes. The clothes reflected the style of the business and the employees were to wear this to advertise the company. Sullivan talks about how its hard to exercise religious freedom in the country. Abercrombie does not define the meaning of the cap in their business constitution. Samantha Elauf, a Muslim, in 2008 applies for a job in Abercrombie. She wears a headscarf daily and even during her interview, she was wearing the hijab as part of the Muslim religion. Samantha Elauf does not get an opportunity to join the company because of the look policy of the enterprise. The company has lowered her rating on the section of appearance because of the headscarf. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sues the company for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for denying her chance of employment due to the headscarf. The company argues that she was to inform the individual interviewing her that she needed accommodation from the look policy of the enterprise. The company insisted that she should have told the interviewer that the headscarf expressed her religion.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Tyger Anthology Poem Essay Example for Free

Tyger Anthology Poem Essay The poem begins with the speaker asking a fearsome tiger what kind of divine being could have created it: â€Å"What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame they fearful symmetry? † Each subsequent stanza contains further questions, all of which refine this first one. From what part of the cosmos could the tiger’s fiery eyes have come, and who would have dared to handle that fire? What sort of physical presence, and what kind of dark craftsmanship, would have been required to â€Å"twist the sinews† of the tiger’s heart? The speaker wonders how, once that horrible heart â€Å"began to beat,† its creator would have had the courage to continue the job. Comparing the creator to a blacksmith, he ponders about the anvil and the furnace that the project would have required and the smith who could have wielded them. And when the job was done, the speaker wonders, how would the creator have felt? â€Å"Did he smile his work to see? † Could this possibly be the same being who made the lamb? Form The poem is comprised of six quatrains in rhymed couplets. The meter is regular and rhythmic, its hammering beat suggestive of the smithy that is the poem’s central image. The simplicity and neat proportions of the poems form perfectly suit its regular structure, in which a string of questions all contribute to the articulation of a single, central idea. Commentary The opening question enacts what will be the single dramatic gesture of the poem, and each subsequent stanza elaborates on this conception. Blake is building on the conventional idea that nature, like a work of art, must in some way contain a reflection of its creator. The tiger is strikingly beautiful yet also horrific in its capacity for violence. What kind of a God, then, could or would design such a terrifying beast as the tiger? In more general terms, what does the undeniable existence of evil and violence in the world tell us about the nature of God, and what does it mean to live in a world where a being can at once contain both beauty and horror? The tiger initially appears as a strikingly sensuous image. However, as the poem progresses, it takes on a symbolic character, and comes to embody the spiritual and moral problem the poem explores: perfectly beautiful and yet perfectly destructive, Blake’s tiger becomes the symbolic center for an investigation into the presence of evil in the world. Since the tiger’s remarkable nature exists both in physical and moral terms, the speaker’s questions about its origin must also encompass both physical and moral dimensions. The poem’s series of questions repeatedly ask what sort of physical creative capacity the â€Å"fearful symmetry† of the tiger bespeaks; assumedly only a very strong and powerful being could be capable of such a creation. The smithy represents a traditional image of artistic creation; here Blake applies it to the divine creation of the natural world. The â€Å"forging† of the tiger suggests a very physical, laborious, and deliberate kind of making; it emphasizes the awesome physical presence of the tiger and precludes the idea that such a creation could have been in any way accidentally or haphazardly produced. It also continues from the first description of the tiger the imagery of fire with its simultaneous connotations of creation, purification, and destruction. The speaker stands in awe of the tiger as a sheer physical and aesthetic achievement, even as he recoils in horror from the moral implications of such a creation; for the poem addresses not only the question of who could make such a creature as the tiger, but who would perform this act. This is a question of creative responsibility and of will, and the poet carefully includes this moral question with the consideration of physical power. Note, in the third stanza, the parallelism of â€Å"shoulder† and â€Å"art,† as well as the fact that it is not just the body but also the â€Å"heart† of the tiger that is being forged. The repeated use of word the â€Å"dare† to replace the â€Å"could† of the first stanza introduces a dimension of aspiration and willfulness into the sheer might of the creative act. The reference to the lamb in the penultimate stanza reminds the reader that a tiger and a lamb have been created by the same God, and raises questions about the implications of this. It also invites a contrast between the perspectives of â€Å"experience† and â€Å"innocence† represented here and in the oem â€Å"The Lamb. † â€Å"The Tyger† consists entirely of unanswered questions, and the poet leaves us to awe at the complexity of creation, the sheer magnitude of God’s power, and the inscrutability of divine will. The perspective of experience in this poem involves a sophisticated acknowledgment of what is unexplainable in the universe, presenting evil as the prime example of something that cannot be denied, but will not withstand facile explanation, either. The open awe of â€Å"The Tyger† contrasts with the easy confidence, in â€Å"The Lamb,† of a child’s innocent faith in a benevolent universe.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Conflicts Caused by Differences among Groups Essay Example for Free

Conflicts Caused by Differences among Groups Essay Conflicts Caused by Differences among Groups Throughout history differences among groups have often led to conflict. Two specific conflicts were the persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire and the Armenian massacres. These two conflicts were caused by differences among groups. The persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire was caused by differences in religion. In 1914 the conflict between the Turks and the Armenians led to the Armenian massacre which was caused by political differences. The persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire was caused by differences in religion. The Roman Empire was quite tolerant in its treatment of other religions. The imperial policy was generally one of incorporation; the local gods of a newly conquered area were simply added to the Roman pantheon and often given Roman names. Even the Jews, with their one god, were tolerated. For the Romans, religion was first and foremost a social activity that promoted unity and loyalty to the state, a religious attitude the Romans called pietas, or piety. Cicero wrote that if piety in the Roman sense were to disappear, social unity and justice would perish along with it. The Roman distaste for Christianity then, arose in large part from its sense that it was bad for society. The effect of this conflict was that it led to the persecution of Christians. Secondly, the Armenian massacre was another conflict that happened because of differences among groups. In 1914, the Turks entered World War I on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Military leaders began to argue that the Armenians were traitors. If they thought they could win independence the Armenians would be eager to fight for the enemy. As the war intensified Armenians organized volunteer battalions to help the Russian army fight against the Turks in the Caucasus region. These events and general Turkish suspicion of the Armenian people led the Turkish government to push for the removal of the Armenians from the war zones along the Eastern Front. On April 24, 1915, the Armenian genocide began. That day the Turkish government arrested and executed several hundred Armenian intellectuals. After that ordinary Armenians were turned out of their homes and sent on death marches through the Me sopotamian desert without food or water. Frequently, the marchers were stripped naked and forced to walk under the scorching sun until they dropped dead. People who stopped to rest were shot. In conclusion, differences among groups have  often led to conflicts. Two main conflicts were the persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire, which was caused by differences in religion, and the Armenian massacre, which was caused by political differences

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Implementing a Client-to-client Communication System

Implementing a Client-to-client Communication System Abstract Due to people, behaviour over the social networking and peer-peer needs for the online chatting and sharing the information, file etc, Chat Applications had acquired great importance and there is abundant increase in the development of these applications. Therefore, in this Conference Chat Application Project we are going to develop a chat application to implement client-to-client communication using client server architecture for the group talk of the clients and additional feature of sending the personal messages using keyword and another keyword to leave the group talk. This is java based chat application, where we are going to implement server socket programming in which we have to create the server by creating the server socket in which client request for the connection for further communication. Server socket allows the maximum number of connections. To add new users/sockets in parallel when server is running, we have to create a thread class Server Thread and array lists for s toring the clients information. This Application is developed by using Net Beans (8.0.1). The output of this application enables the clients to join in a group talk, which is already running and allows client to send the personal messages simultaneously. 1. Introduction Conference Chat Application enables the users/clients to exchange the information among all clients or to the specified client in the group. This Application requires Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) to establish the connection between two sockets for the communication. There are two programs, Server side program and client side program. Server will receive the request from the client, establishes the connection, and send the messages sent by the client to all other clients except the sender itself. Before connection, clients user name is needed which immediately after connection will be send to the server using Print Writer, server will save this client, and a message thread will start for this client, which we implemented on the client side as myThread Class. Each client has its own message thread so this thread data will be read/received from server and displayed to client using buffered reader. 1.1Problem Statement Most of the chat Applications need email address to enter the group talk; username will be more flexible instead of email address. Chat Applications does not have personal messaging option in the group chat. Personal messaging in the group chat increases efficiency. 1.2 Research Question How to develop a chat application using Client Server Architecture? How can we send personal messages in a group chat simultaneously? How to add clients in the chat using user name instead of email address? 1.3 Objectives To develop a Chat Application and to implement Client-to-Client communication using Client-Server Architecture. To add Additional feature of sending personal messages in a group using a keyword and to leave the group with another keyword. 2. Literature Review/Previous Work On March 9th 1998 the first version of Yahoo messenger was launched.it supports various operating systems. It is chatting application said to be rapid messaging client. It used to support various operating sytems.Yahoo uses transfer control Protocol for the communication but its header is supported by its own application format.it supports messaging, voice calls and video calling. Microsoft company created MSN which was formerly known as Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client application.it supports various operating systems like Windows etc.., MSN basic functions are pc to phone calls, messaging and game application. Client and server programing is performed over Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) in MSN. In MSN client uses various port numbers to request the server for the establishment of the connection, the server uses the port 80 to reply to the client requests, and it only replies to the clients whose port numbers are less than 1024. For the transport layer protocol, it uses Hyper Text Transfer protocol. MSN also supports file sharing and uses Session Initiation protocol for messaging and Transfer Control Protocol for file sharing. 3. Approach/ Methodology The Methodology we use in this project is Joint Application Development (JAD). It is used for any development process initially used to design computer-based system. End user or client is involve in the development process of an application. Many companies accept Joint Application Development methodology. Data processing industry was developed by JAD. Joint Application Development minimizes errors and produces the faster output, as client is involved in the whole development process the user will acquire great satisfaction. It eliminates the delays, output can obtain in short span of time, and it is cost effective. Transfer control protocol is used by socket to provide communication between computers. On one end of the communication, client creates a socket and tries to connect the socket to server. The server represent server socket object, which denotes port number for the communication. The server appeal accept() method of server socket class. This method will wait until client connects to given port of the server. Transfer control protocol is two-way communication protocol. Therefore, data is exchanged between clients at the same time 4. Results/experiments/Discussion The anticipated results of the project are To create and execute client side program. To create and execute server side program. To execute the server thread for multiple connections. The output of this application enables the clients to join in a group talk, which is already running and allows client to send the personal messages simultaneously. 5. Significance of Study This Application is useful for the peer-to-peer communication Any company can make benefit of this conference chat application which enables group talk as well as personal chat. Faculty and students can make use of this application to discuss about the subjects. The customer service representatives to communicate with the customers can use this Application. 6. Future Works We have many social networking sites like WhatsApp messenger, Facebook messenger, Instagram etc.., which do not have a feature called personal texting in a group chatting. Therefore, this feature will be useful for many mobile chat applications. Conference Chat Application does not have automatic joining of the clients; clients are added manually to the group. This feature can be added to the further development of this application. 7. Conclusion We are going to develop chat application and implement client-to-client communication using Client Server architecture We are going to add Additional feature of sending personal messages in a group using a keyword and to leave the group with another keyword. 8. References 1. Dennis, Alan R., Hayes, Glenda S., Daniels, Robert M. Jr. Business process modeling with group support systems. Journal of Management Information Systems. 115-142. 1999 spring. OSMC Consulting Services. Services. http://www.osmc-web.com/services.htm last update time Unknown. Accessed Nov. 14, 1999. Abhijit A.Sawant, Dr. B. B. Meshram/International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications(IJERA) vol 3, Issue 1,January-February 2013,pp Network programming in java using socket Veletsianos, G. 2012. Higher education scholars participation and practices on Twitter. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp 336-349. Veletsianos, G. and Kimmons, R. 2016. Scholars in an increasingly open and digital world: How do education professors and students use Twitter? The Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 30, pp 1-10. Schiller, S. Z., 2016. CHAT for chat: Mediated learning in online chat virtual reference service. Retrieved July 15, 2016, from Web site: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.06.053. Open Source Chat Servers in Java http://java-source.net/open-source/chat-servers

Monday, August 19, 2019

In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations Essay example -

In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations    Many critics prefer the original ending to the revised version because it is the ending that Dickens himself decided to write without consulting anyone. Many people believe that since Bulwer-Lytton gave Dickens input on the second ending that it is not as true. Although Dickens may have inadvertently been plagiarizing, the original ending is the way that Dickens felt the novel should end, as opposed to the way Bulwer-Lytton felt it should end.    Another reason that the original is preferable is because it seems to flow better with the overall themes of the novel. One of these themes is how people expectations differ from reality. Pip's expectations never seem to be what he thinks they are. He does not inherit money from Miss Havisham, it is really from Magwitch. In this sense, the fact that Estella has remarried to someone other than Pip is just another case of such luck. Although he had always hoped to someday be with her, it will never happen and this ending closes that possibility forever. However, the revised ending leaves the possibilities open. Because of this, Dickens' text loses one of it's major themes. Since Pip and Estella may be together in the future, Pip's mistaken perceptions lose their point. Dickens was using Pip's mistakes as a way to show that people should not expect things from other people, which is what Pip does throughout the novel. He expects money from Miss Havisham, Estella to fall in l ove with him, and his life to be easy. However, life does not work that way, and in the original ending Dickens does not let fictional life work that way either. Most of the problems that Pip finds himself in are the results of hi... ...s loss, but the novel ends on an acknowledgment of the possibilities the future holds for Pip's redemption. However, such a theme also gives rise to a theme of separation. By this point in the novel, Pip had already lost touch with everything that was important to him as a young man. He had grown in a different direction than Joe and Biddy. He could never be with Estella, although the revised ending attempts to have them together. In this sense, Pip is completely cut off from everything that once gave him solace. His only hope for redemption lies in the hands of little Pip. If little Pip can "grow up a much better man than I (Pip) did" (435; ch. 58), then hopefully little Pip will not have to suffer as the older Pip has. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Janice Carlisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996. 440-441.    In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations Essay example - In Defense of the Original Ending of Great Expectations    Many critics prefer the original ending to the revised version because it is the ending that Dickens himself decided to write without consulting anyone. Many people believe that since Bulwer-Lytton gave Dickens input on the second ending that it is not as true. Although Dickens may have inadvertently been plagiarizing, the original ending is the way that Dickens felt the novel should end, as opposed to the way Bulwer-Lytton felt it should end.    Another reason that the original is preferable is because it seems to flow better with the overall themes of the novel. One of these themes is how people expectations differ from reality. Pip's expectations never seem to be what he thinks they are. He does not inherit money from Miss Havisham, it is really from Magwitch. In this sense, the fact that Estella has remarried to someone other than Pip is just another case of such luck. Although he had always hoped to someday be with her, it will never happen and this ending closes that possibility forever. However, the revised ending leaves the possibilities open. Because of this, Dickens' text loses one of it's major themes. Since Pip and Estella may be together in the future, Pip's mistaken perceptions lose their point. Dickens was using Pip's mistakes as a way to show that people should not expect things from other people, which is what Pip does throughout the novel. He expects money from Miss Havisham, Estella to fall in l ove with him, and his life to be easy. However, life does not work that way, and in the original ending Dickens does not let fictional life work that way either. Most of the problems that Pip finds himself in are the results of hi... ...s loss, but the novel ends on an acknowledgment of the possibilities the future holds for Pip's redemption. However, such a theme also gives rise to a theme of separation. By this point in the novel, Pip had already lost touch with everything that was important to him as a young man. He had grown in a different direction than Joe and Biddy. He could never be with Estella, although the revised ending attempts to have them together. In this sense, Pip is completely cut off from everything that once gave him solace. His only hope for redemption lies in the hands of little Pip. If little Pip can "grow up a much better man than I (Pip) did" (435; ch. 58), then hopefully little Pip will not have to suffer as the older Pip has. Works Cited Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Ed. Janice Carlisle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996. 440-441.   

Napoleons Farwell Address Speech Analysis -- essays research papers

Napoleon’s Farewell Address To The Old Guard A truly dramatic moment in history occurred on April 20, 1814, as Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France and would-be ruler of Europe said goodbye to the Old Guard after his failed invasion of Russia and defeat by the Allies. By that time, Napoleon had ruled France and surrounding countries for twenty years. Originally an officer in the French Army, he had risen to become Emperor among the political chaos following the French Revolution in which the old ruling French kings and nobility had been destroyed. Napoleon built a 500,000 strong Army, which used modern tactics and improvisation in battle to sweep across Europe and acquire an Empire for France. But in 1812, the seemingly invincible Napoleon made the fateful decision to invade Russia. He advanced deep into that vast country, eventually reaching Moscow in September. He found Moscow had been burned by the Russians and could not support the hungry French Army over the long winter. Thus Napoleon was forced to begin a long retreat, and saw his army decimated to a mere 20,000 men by the severe Russian winter and chaos in the ranks. England, Austria, and Prussia then formed an alliance with Russia against Napoleon, who rebuilt his armies and won several minor victories over the Allies, but was soundly defeated in a three-day battle at Leipzig. On March 30, 1814, Paris was captured by the Allies. Napoleon then lost the support of most of his generals and was forced to abdicate on Apr...

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers fc

Capital Punishment in America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is capital punishment? The dictionary defines capital punishment as a noun that means putting a person to death. At the end of 2003 there were 3374 inmates at 37 state and federal prisons who were on death row. That number was an 188 decrease from the statistics in 2002. Forty-seven of theses inmates were female which was a thirty-eight increases from 1993.(Lacey, Bonner) Although the number of people on the death penalty decreased the number of females on death row increased. Of the 3374 prisoners on sentenced to the death penalty fifty-six percent were white, forty-two percent were black, and the remaining two percent were of other races.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Currently there are a total of nineteen states with the death penalty that do not allow the execution of juveniles. There are twelve states that to not allow the death penalty at all. Some of theses states included Alaska, Michigan, Vermont, and Maine. (Capital)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some states have a minimum age requirement for capital punishment. There are fourteen states that sixteen is the minimum age. Mississippi and Arkansas are among theses states. Florida is one of the states where the age requirement is seventeen. Tennessee along with eighteen other states and two federal jurisdictions has the minimum age requirement of eighteen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tennessee is one of the states that allow the death penalty. Since 1976 there has only been one execution in Tennessee. However, prior to 1976 there were 335 executions. Currently of the 3374 people of death row 106 of them are in Tennessee with two of them being female. In Tennessee prisoners are given the option of serving life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty and execution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are various methods of execution here in the United State of America. A prisoner can be executed by lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad, and hanging. Of theses methods lethal injection is the most used, preferred, easiest way of execution. Hanging is rarely used. Prisoners in Tennessee are mostly executed by lethal injections, and executions. As of March 16, 2005, there had already been twelve prisoners executed in the United States. All of these prisoners were males and executed by lethal injection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many people who are against capital punishment. People say that the death penalty is like trying to fix a sin with a sin. If a person kills someone and the states feels like in order to punish the person they should be executed and put to death.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 16

Current Day Ella I don't know why I'm in here. I started to run down the street with so much adrenaline lashing through me it felt like my chest was going to explode. The rain was pouring down and all I could think about was getting as far away from Micha's house as possible, but my mind caught up with me and I pulled myself back somehow. My clothes drip on the bathroom floor, which is still stained red from her blood. I sit down and hug my knees to my chest, staring at the bathtub. Something died in me when I found her, but I'm not sure what. Maybe my soul. That night, I'd been so determined to go to that stupid party that I left her at the house alone, even though my dad had left me in charge of her. There was one simple rule: keep an eye on mom. And I couldn't even follow it. â€Å"Ella, what are you doing in here?† Micha observes me from the doorway, his clothes and hair drenched with rain. I cuddle my knees against me and squeeze my eyes shut. â€Å"I saw you go to your bedroom with Naomi.† â€Å"Okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he sounds confused. â€Å"Why do you sound upset, though?† â€Å"It doesn't matter,† I say. â€Å"None of this matters.† â€Å"Of course it matters.† He sits down beside me and drapes his arm over his knees. â€Å"Otherwise you wouldn't be in here.† â€Å"You're right, it does matter.† I run my finger between the cracks in the tile. â€Å"I don't want you to be with Naomi.† â€Å"Wait a minute. Do you think I hooked up with her?† â€Å"Isn't that what you normally do when you take a girl back to your room?† â€Å"Naomi and I were just talking,† he mutters quietly. â€Å"And I haven't taken a girl back to my room in months.† Hearing him say that makes me feel better and I start to face the inevitable. I can run all I want and try to shut myself down, but my feelings for Micha will always be there – they control me. â€Å"You know, you scared the shit out of me that night,† he says, staring at the bathtub. â€Å"The way you looked when I found you†¦ I don't ever want to see that look in your eyes again – that emptiness.† â€Å"It was my fault.† I let it fall off my chest and crash into the world. â€Å"I was supposed to watch her that night, but I was selfish and thought that stupid party was more important.† He turns my head toward him and looks me in the eyes, so I can see how much he means what he says. â€Å"You're not selfish. You were seventeen and you made a mistake just like every other seventeen-year-old out there does.† â€Å"She died because of my mistake.† The words scratch at my throat. â€Å"If I would have just stayed home like I was supposed to then she wouldn't be dead.† â€Å"You have to let this go,† he says, his voice strained. â€Å"You can't keep blaming yourself for something that was out of your hands.† â€Å"I wish I could have a redo.† Tears sting the corners of my eyes. â€Å"I want to do it over again.† He covers my hand with his. â€Å"I think you might need to talk to someone about this. Otherwise it's going to haunt you forever.† I suck the tears back and wiggle my hand away from his. â€Å"You think I'm going crazy.† He shifts in front of me onto his knees, takes my face in his hands, and forces me to look at him. â€Å"Look at me. No one thinks you're crazy. You're strong, but you've been through a lot of shit and you might need some help working through it.† â€Å"I think I'm more fucked up than you realize,† I say. â€Å"I can't even look in a mirror anymore.† â€Å"That does sound crazy.† He tucks my hair out of my face and takes a good look at me. â€Å"You're beautiful.† I shake my head slowly. â€Å"It's not that. It's something else. Like if I look in the mirror I have to see what's really inside.† â€Å"What's inside isn't bad.† â€Å"Yes, it is. If you knew the truth, you wouldn't want to be with me.† He assesses me closely and then helps me to my feet, pulling me up by the arms. â€Å"What are you doing?† I ask as he steers me by the shoulders to the mirror on the medicine cabinet. I wince at the girl staring back at me; big green eyes, wet hair stuck to her head, and mascara running down her face. I begin to recoil, but he holds me in place and forces me to look at myself. His aqua eyes lock on my reflection. â€Å"When I saw you that night, I felt completely helpless. I loved being able to help you, whether it's if you fell off the roof and needed to go to the hospital or you needed help climbing up a tree. It has always been my thing since we were kids and I loved every second of it, but that night there was absolutely nothing I could do to help you. I never want to feel that way again.† He takes a deep breath and lets it out gradually. â€Å"I love you, Ella May and nothing will ever change that. You can push me away – run away – and I will still love you.† Hot tears pour out of my eyes and down my cheeks. My shoulders start to shake as I turn to him and bury my face into his chest. His arms circle around my waist and he lifts me up. My arms and legs fasten around him like he is my lifeline, and maybe he is. He carries me into my room as I continue to sob and he lies down with me on the bed. It's dark and the music from next door drifts through the open window. Tears spill continuously to downpour from my eyes, and I place my hand over his chest, feeling the beat of his heart. I keep crying years of tears that have been bottled up until finally my eyes run dry. Then I breathe again. Micha I wake up early in morning in a state of panic. Ella is fast asleep in my arms, her eyes swollen from crying, and she's clinging onto me like I'm everything to her. It's what I've always wanted, but something feels unresolved within me and I need to fix it before I get in too deep with her. She needs someone strong and until I face the thing plaguing me, I can't be that for her. But I will be. Carefully, I raise her head from my shoulder and slip out of her room. Her dad's snoring on the couch, there's a broken bottle on the kitchen floor, and the back door is wide open. I lock up and then jump the fence. My yard is trashed with beer bottles and cigarette butts and my mom's car is parked in the driveway. The inside looks just as bad and I feel like a dick for leaving it for my mom to clean up, but if I don't go right now, I'll chicken out. So I hurry to my room, where Ethan's passed out in my bed with his arms and legs hanging over the side. He still has on the clothes from last night and the whole room stinks of stale booze and cigarettes. I stuff some clothes into a bag and collect my keys from the dresser. â€Å"Are you going somewhere?† Ethan sits up from the bed, rubbing his eyes. I swing the bag over my shoulder. â€Å"I'm going on a little road trip. I'll be back in a few days.† He gapes at me. â€Å"By yourself?† â€Å"Yeah, this is something I have to do by myself.† He considers something. â€Å"You're going to see your father, aren't you?† I let out a loud breath. â€Å"Yeah man, but don't say anything, okay?† Ethan nods. â€Å"Alright, if that's what you want me to do.† â€Å"It is.† I open the door. â€Å"And hey, help my mom clean up†¦ and keep an eye on Ella.† He falls back into the bed. â€Å"Alright man, will do.† I grab my wallet and leave the room, wondering who I'm going to be when I come back. Ella I wake up to an empty bed, but try to stay calm. I text Micha and ask him where he is because I'm sure there's an explanation. â€Å"I'm sure it's nothing bad,† I say, but there's an unsettling feeling squeezing inside me. I slip on a pair of shorts and a tank top and go downstairs to head to his house, but Dean, Lila, and a girl with short black hair are sitting at the kitchen table with coffee mugs in front of them. There's a box of doughnuts on the counter and someone's taken out the garbage and cleaned the dishes. â€Å"Oh my God, it's so nice to finally meet you.† The girl with black hair stands up and meets me in the middle of the kitchen. â€Å"Likewise, I guess†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I shake her extended hand, glancing at Lila and then Dean. Dean gets up and brushes crumbs off the front of his button down shirt. â€Å"Ella, this is my fiance, Caroline.† My mouth forms an â€Å"O.† She's not how I pictured her; short and slender, with tan skin and shoulder length wavy hair. She has a vest on over a t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. There's a butterfly tattoo on her wrist and her ears have multiple piercings. I pictured her more prim and proper, by the way my brother showed up looking. â€Å"Dean's told me so much about you,† she says with a genuine smile. â€Å"And I'm finally glad to have a face to attach to the stories he's been telling me.† My eyes wander to Dean and my eyebrows arch up. â€Å"Stories, huh? I'd love to hear these stories.† She doesn't miss a beat. â€Å"Like how you like to draw and how you love cars. He also said you attend UNLV, which is so cool because that's where I went.† â€Å"I thought you said you didn't know where I was,† I say to Dean. He shifts uneasily. â€Å"Dad told me once during like a five minute conversation. But anyway, it's not a big deal, Ella, for me to tell my fiance about my little sister.† â€Å"It kind of is.† My voice carries an underlying meaning that only he will understand. â€Å"All things considering.† Dean hisses through clenched teeth. â€Å"Ella, can you not start this shit. It's too early in the morning.† Caroline glances from Dean to me then back to Dean. â€Å"You weren't lying. You guys' relationship is a little intense.† Removing myself from the conversation, I pull my hair into a ponytail and pour myself a cup of coffee. Breathing in the aroma, I stare out the window, noting that Micha's car isn't next door. â€Å"Where the hell is he?† I mutter to myself. Suddenly, I'm being yanked by the arm out of the room. â€Å"Hey,† I protest as hot coffee spills onto my foot. â€Å"What is your problem?† â€Å"Look.† Dean says once we're in the living room. â€Å"I didn't invite her here. She just showed up to surprise me.† â€Å"So you don't want her here?† I take a sip of my coffee, hiding my amusement. He rubs the back of his neck tensely. â€Å"There's just stuff she doesn't know about me yet and I don't think I'm ready to tell her.† â€Å"You told her about me.† â€Å"But not dad. And not mom either.† I set the cup down on the table and wipe up the coffee from my foot with a towel. â€Å"Okay, so what do you want to do about it?† â€Å"Could you hang out with her for the day, while I pack up the rest of my room?† he asks. â€Å"And then I can get her out of here by tomorrow morning.† â€Å"You should just tell her the truth.† I toss the towel on the couch. â€Å"Avoiding the problem will only catch up with you.† He pulls an annoyed face. â€Å"You're one to talk.† â€Å"I know and I'm working on it.† My voice shakes a little and I clear it. His face is turning red. â€Å"Would you please just keep her busy?† â€Å"I guess.† I shrug. â€Å"But where do you want me to take her?† â€Å"For a drive around the lake or something,† he says. â€Å"I don't care just as long as you keep her away from here.† I collect my coffee and proceed for the kitchen, while he heads for the stairs to finish packing. â€Å"And Ella,† he calls out from the stairway â€Å"You look different today – happier.† I give him a small smile, and then I turn away, wondering what looks different.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Discrimination Against Biracial Children Essay

â€Å"Biracial children face a myriad of concerns on a daily basis. Research reveals what common sense suggests–that all these problems are rooted in racist, biased, and discriminatory social attitudes, attitudes which children encounter from their first moments of pre-school. The sense of injustice that they instinctively feel when they sense these biases will manifest out of discrimination towards one or both of their racial backgrounds, as well as towards the fact that they have more than one racial background. Examples of these concerns, and manifestation of racist attitudes, are concerns shared by parents of bi-racial children, who also suffer the emotional brunt of discrimination against their children. An understanding of the suffering of parents, as well as bi-racial children, can provide for us not only a comprehensive perspective on the challenges and concerns that bi-racial children and their parents experience on a daily basis, but a means of providing the proper environment thereof. â€Å" Sample of Sources Used: * â€Å"Black Women with Biracial Children.† 2007:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blackwomenwithbiracialchild/ * Delle, Margaret. â€Å"Raising Biracial Children: Still a Difficult Subject after all These Years.† 2007: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/107661/raising_biracial_children_still_a_difficult.html†Identity Issues and Concerns of Biracial Children.†2007: http://members.aol.com/lacillo/biracial.html * Jones Frank and Gibbs Staff. â€Å"Parenting Biracial Children: Issues for Black/White Biracial Child- Rearing.† 2007: http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Parenting%20Biracial%20Children.htm * Nakazawa, Donna Jackson. Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Multiracial Children. Da Capo Press; Reprint edition March 30, 2004. * Pattnaik, Jvotsna. â€Å"Learning about the â€Å"other: Building a Case for Intercultural Understanding among Minority Children.† Childhood Education Vol 79 2003. P NA

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Factors Related to Student’s Performance in Nat

Chapter I INTRODUCTION Background of the Study The National Achievement Test (NAT) is an examination given annually to assess the competency of both public and private school students. The students’ knowledge and skills are tested in the subjects of Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino, and HEKASI for grade school and Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan for high school. The test is administered by the Department of Education's National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC).The results are intended to guide the Department of Education in its efforts towards the improvement of the quality of education in public schools and to provide appropriate intervention for the students. A score of 75% and up indicates mastery of the subject and 50% to less than 75%, near mastery; while a score of below 50% indicates low mastery. The NAT results guide decision makers in formulating policies relative to progression and promotion of students, especially in the public school system. These will also determine the deficiencies of students that need further intervention. According to DepEd Secretary Brother Armin A.Luistro, NAT is just a part of the report card of DepEd and the whole education system. Results of this indicator will help them formulate appropriate interventions that aimed improvement of the education system. (Philippine Star, January 07, 2010) Calls for educational reforms to address the needs of students are frequent. Their focus has been primarily on the content — what students should learn, context — the circumstances students should be learning in, and outcomes — the knowledge and skills students should acquire. Important changes have come about as educational reform efforts focused on the needs of students.The researcher believes that the profile of the students and school climate conditions greatly affect the students’ performance in the National Achievement Test. Students may not only provide a rigid classroom instruction but the school must provide them a good physical environment, physical facilities that is free from risks and a well-sounded classroom instructions. Researchers will examine relationships between several variables and students’ performance. For students’ demographic profile those are age, gender, birth order, monthly income of the family, parents’ educational attainment, and average grade for the last school year attended.Secondly, the researcher will also examine the school climate condition that will carefully examine the school physical facilities, instructional focus and physical environment. Unfortunately, accompanying the calls for reform in school systems is an underlying assumption that the leadership needed to execute these changes will somehow emerge. The information will be useful to practitioners attempting to implement an educational innovation or a system wide change at the school or secondary level. In additio n, this information may be useful for professional development.The information might also be useful for the evaluation of school climate condition that may affect the students’ performance. This also helps administrators’ to carefully examine school rules and policies on executing the designed curriculum for each learning area. In addition, this may help the secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City to focus also in the school climate conditions. Finally, this paper attempts to raise awareness to internal and external stakeholders who wanted to promote educational transformation. Education literature has often pointed to the importance of student support services in promoting learning.This is usually true in the field of basic education. Unlike in the traditional education delivery, learners tested in national achievement must be given enough attention by teachers, stakeholders and the principal itself. Low rating result in NAT is often blamed to the basic educ ation services that were given to them and to the ability of the teachers. This is true in the eight (8) public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City who could not achieve the 75% passing rate in the consecutive NAT test results for school for numerous years that the NAT was implemented.While there are lots of interventions to meet the national academic standard, best practices to improve NAT performance of second year students in the public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City, there are comprehensive student support system developed and implemented in Calapan City Division. More importantly, the National Achievement Test is not just a test for students but also for the principal leadership skills that promotes a positive school climate condition that can affect the student’s academic performance.According to the Second Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (SERCE), in order to promote learning among students it is essential to provide a welcomi ng and warm environment based on mutual respect. In this line, there is a need to evaluate the level of profile of the students and school climate condition to assess the needs of the students. The purpose of this study is to identify the students’ profile in terms of age, gender, family income, parents’ educational attainment, and grades for the last school year attended.It also needs to identify the school climate condition that provides school to understand the working condition and leadership, instructional focus and physical environment. It will also investigate students’ perspective, questions concerning the school climate condition in response to the result of their National Achievement Test. The ultimate goal of this research is to aid the Public Secondary Schools in the Division of Calapan City for the improvement of students’ services academic program that would result to the increase of NAT against national standard. Statement of the ProblemThi s study aimed to determine the Factors Related toStudents’ Performance in the National Achievement Test in the Public Secondary Schools in the Division of Calapan City. Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of: 1. 1 age 1. 2 gender 1. 3parents’ educational attainment 1. 3. 1 mother 1. 3. 2 father 1. 4monthly income of the family 1. 5 average rating for the last school year attended? 2. What is the extent of the school climate conditions as perceived by student respondents in terms of: 2. school facilities 2. 2instructional focus 2. 3physical environment? 3. What is the level of performance of students in the National Achievement Test in the public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City in: 3. 1English 3. 2Math 3. 3Science 3. 4AP 5. Filipino 4. Is there a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and students’ achievement in NAT in terms of: 4. 1age 4. 2gender 4. 3parents’ educational attainment 4. 3. 1 mother 4. 3. 2 father 4. 4monthly income of the family 4. 5average rating for the last school year attended? 5.Is there a significant relationship between the school climate conditions and students’ performance in NAT as perceived by the student’ respondents in terms of: 5. 1 school facilities 5. 2 instructional focus 3. physical environment? 6. Is there a significant difference in the school climate conditions as perceived by student respondents in terms of: 6. 1school facilities 6. 2instructional focus 6. 3 physical environment? Hypotheses of the Study 1. There is no significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and students’ achievement in NAT in terms of: 1. age 1. 2gender 1. 3parents’ educational attainment 1. 3. 1 mother 1. 3. 2 father 1. 4monthly Income of the family 1. 5average rating for the last school year attended? 2. There is no significant relationship between the school c limate conditions and students’ performance in NAT in terms of: 2. 1 school facilities 2. 2 instructional focus 2. 3 physical environment? 3. There is no significant difference in the school climate conditions as perceived by student respondents in terms of: 3. 1school facilities 3. instructional focus 3. 3 physical environment? Significance of the Study Findings of this study provided vital information regarding the factors affecting the students’ performance in the National Achievement Test (NAT) in terms of students’ profile and school climate condition. The findings of this study will benefit the following: Superintendent. It may help the superintendent to identify the needs of the school and to plan for the support system that the school leaders need to prioritize when it comes to students’ performance.It can also identify the critical gaps and weaknesses of the nine public secondary schools in the division when it comes to students’ learning and school climate conditions. Principal. The result of this study may also serve as framework for various programs and strategies to be employed on the school improvement planning. School climate condition assessment may use as data inputs on the reality check matters of school academic performance. Thus, appropriate programs and thrusts may be formulated and provided with appropriate budget for the improvement of the students’ performance.It is also possible to have a rigid monitoring of monthly result of students’ mean percentage score (MPS) in their chapter test to be posted using graphical representation to easily identify the competencies that needs enough attention in classroom instruction. With the help of graphs, the principal can help and assist teachers in uplifting the performance of the students. Teachers. The result of this finding is of value to teachers because it will provide an overview of the needs analysis of the school.They may be guided from the l evel of assistance the school and the principal may need and may help them to work cooperatively in order for them to attain success in the national achievement test. By means of carefully recorded grades of the student, the teacher and principal can work collaboratively to identify the competencies the students had mastered, not mastered and needs mastery. With this, teachers can be guided to the lesson that he needs to give more emphasis for students. Students. The improvement of school climate condition will be beneficial for the students.A favorable school climate condition may serve as students’ motivation in improving their academic performance. The motivating factors that will start from the initiative of the school principal may help the students to be more enthusiastic in learning process. Future researchers. This study will help to encourage future researchers to conduct the most vital part of the school progress in terms of academic. The study may propel them to go into related area or they may study further school academic achievement for other perspective. This may also provide data bases for further innovation of this research study.Scope and Limitations of the Study This study answered the factors related to students’ performance in the national achievement test given last school year 2010-2011 in the eight (8) public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City. The major task of this research is to answer the specific questions presented in the statement of the problem. This is limited to its complete reliance on the self-made questionnaire of the researcher as the primary instrument for answering the factors related to students’ performance in National Achievement Test in terms of students’ profile and school climate condition.The result of this study will be limited on the perception of 276 student respondents from the eight (8) public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City namely; Bucayao National High School, Canubing National High School, Ceriaco A. Abes National High School, Community Vocational High School, Managpi National High School, Mamerta G. Tolentino National High School, Nag-Iba National High School and Pedro V. Panaligan National High School. Jose J. Leido Jr.Memorial National High School will not be included in the study because it dominates the number of student respondents in this study for, it is the biggest public high school in the Division of Calapan City. Definition of Terms To facilitate better understanding of this research, the following terms were defined conceptually and operationally: Age – refers to the respondents’ age in the public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City. Average rating – refers to the average rating obtained by the student’ respondents in the last school year attended.Instructional Focus – refers to the classroom instruction offered and teachers’ competence in the delivery of instruction. Monthly Income – refers to the income or financial status of student respondent’s family that may affect performance in school. Parents’ Educational Attainment – refers to the educational status of parents both father and mother of student’ respondents. Physical Environment – refers to the condition of school building and its surrounding area, any biological or chemical agent that is detrimental to health and physical conditions, such as temperature, noise and lighting. Source: www. Wikipedia. org) School Climate Condition – refers to the health of the learning environment that it is a multi-dimensional influences to many individuals such as students, parents, school personnel, and the community(source: www. wikipedia. org) School Facilities – refer to the availabilities of classrooms and laboratory and other buildings in school for effective classroom instruction. Theoretical Framework A theory without facts becom es fantasy, uncontrolled imagination, a reverie. Based on these requirements, several theories are presented.This study can be associated to Social systems model theory (Waller, 1932) according to him every institution is a system of social interaction; it is organized whole comprising of interacting personalities bound together in an organic relationship. Further, the school is characterized by an interdependence of parts, a clearly defined population, and differentiation from its environment, a complex network of social relationships, and its own unique culture. The model suggests that a school consists of a number of important elements or subsystems that affect the organizational behavior.Also this can also be patterned to Social systems (Scott, 2003) consist of independent parts, characteristics and activities that contribute to form the whole. The school consists of a number of important elements or subsystems that affect organizational behavior. The individual or members of an organization have their own individual needs, beliefs and cognitive perceptions of their environment and job. Further, the social systems model gives a dynamic view of the school, with the feedback mechanisms and elements providing the action of the components.This study is also linked with invitational theory (Myers and Monson, 1992). The main tenant of invitational theory is to revitalize schools and to encourage students to want to go to school. According to the advocates of the theory, there are five factors that affect the appeal of schools; people, places, policies, programs, and processes. Invitational theory claims that these five factors make schools more socially appealing and safe. To create a more positive learning environment, school administrators must provide programs which are attractive for the students and teachers.Programs, policies, curriculum supervision, human resource management, school climate condition must provide a positive impact for teachers and learner s in order for them to uplift the school academic standards. A democratic leadership with an open system to stakeholders can create an increased performance. Furthermore, research from Sternberg (2000) which is Theory of Mental Self-Government emphasized that students' learning and thinking styles (which are usually ignored), together with their ability levels, play an important role in student performance. TheTheory of Mental Self-Government refers to an inventory of different thinking styles that gives an indication of people's preference of thinking patterns. Where the Triarchic Theory focuses on the ability itself, the theory of Mental Self-Government refers to different thinking styles which constitutes preference in the use of abilities. According to the Theory of Intellectual Abilities, three kinds of intellectual abilities exist, namely analytical, creative and practical abilities. Measures of abilities tend to focus mainly on analytical abilities, whereas all the three type s of abilities need to be regarded as equally important.Research done by Sternberg showed: The more we teach and assess students based on a broader set of abilities, the more racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse our achievers will be. From Wikipedia (2011) Theory of relative weight of Nature and Nurture is a basis of this study about gender influences of pupils on their academic achievement. The biological differences between males and females – sexual differences – account for a relatively small part of the actual differences between men and women.Most of these differences are matters not of sex but of gender which, unlike sex, is socially formed and cultivated. Differences of gender, however, are used to justify inequalities between the sexes and the appropriation by males of the major part of power, leisure, time and property. CONCEPTUAL MODEL Figure 1 Figure 1 showed the hypothesized relationship between profile of the respondents and school climate condition to the students’ performance in the National Achievement Test.The dependent variable consists of the students’ performance in the National Achievement Test in five learning areas such as English, Science, Math, Filipino and Araling Panlipunan. The independent variables such as profile of the respondents which comprises the age, gender, birth order, monthly income of the family, parents’ educational attainment, and average grade for the last school year attended and the next independent variable consists of school climate condition comprises of school facilities, instructional focus and school physical nvironment. The arrows from the two independent variables show the hypothesized relationship between them. The respondents of the study are third year students in the nine public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City. The two-tailed arrow in the independent variable which is the school climate conditions will be used to test the hypothesized d ifference among each variable such as school facilities, instructional focus and physical environment. Chapter II RELATED LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIESThis chapter presented the reading surveyed on and database documents which are significant research materials in this study. The purpose is shown that the content of the subject matter in this study are supported by the authorities. Local Related Literature From the interview of Bulatlat Magazine dated June 2006 to the Chairman of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Mr. Jerry Tinio said that public school students do poorly in diagnostic and achievement tests. Last June 2002, the overall performance score of Grade IV pupils who took the national diagnostic test (NDT) was 39. 9%, while the first year high school students had a lower 28. 04 percent. The national achievement test (NAT) given last March 2010 delivered slightly better results, with the fourth graders garnering a 43. 55%, while the first year high school students earned a 36. 13%. Despite the slight improvement, the scores are still way below the 75% passing rate, Tinio said. From the article of of Dr. LeopoldoSichon (2006)in his article entitled Our Schools, Our Teachers, our Students vs. he National Achievement Test concluded that the plight of the school and students is somewhat murky; the goal of having 75 percent and above mastery levels in academic performance in the National Achievement Test does not seem to be in cognizant of the teaching and learning environment that we have. Of course, we do not discount the fact that DepEd is doing what it perceives to be the best- programs and initiatives had been conceptualized and implemented to answer the pressing need for quality education.Somehow we are doing the best we can to bridge the gap between what we have and what we want for our students. Yet, the effort seems futile due to the fact that we still have to reckon with real problems that confront us the system. These problems are more domina nt than achieving higher academic performance alone and we could not just blind ourselves from the fact that when basic needs are not met, all other needs will be just be meaningless. He said that the teachers need greater empowerment.More than just salary increases, educators need the morale boost by knowing that they belong to a truthfully dignified organization whose philosophical foundation, visions and mission statement are in congruence with its built-in processes and mechanisms. We need local leaders who can charter our educational direction through open channels of communication and can guide us through well-planned, needs-based and competency-based programs that will hone teachers’ managerial skills.These teachers will in return become self-managing, self-governing and self-sustaining and without further ado, can mutually exchange expertise with peers both conceptual and technical. He also said that we need to realize also the disparities between our schools, their l ocations as well as the diverse clienteles that we serve. Students from rural areas are different from those in the urban areas. Demographic characteristics such as family background, economic status, school distance, family background, etc. should be considered in formulating the testing materials intended to measure students’ academic performance.There and then in his perspective, that we can truly measure the quality of teaching instruction done in our schools. Lastly, he added that everything will ever be a never-ending cycle, unless the government can come up with a plan that will finally address these problems especially graft and corruption. From the issue of De Guzman (2002) entitled â€Å"Restructured Basic Education Curriculum† stated that whether in high school or in the elementary level, curriculum must be balanced, articulate, sequential, integrative and continuous.The issue of too overcrowded curriculum was answered by the implementation of the 2002 Restr uctured Basic Education Curriculum which offshoot to restructuring the learning areas, integration of values education and related skills within the learning areas, greater emphasis on the learning areas and integrative strategies in teaching, increased time task allocation in major learning areas such as English, Math, Science, Filipino and Makabayan. Experts agree that there is no perfect formula for the solution of problems especially when they involve human feats.Learners are diverse and the tendency of educators to adopt a one-size-fits-all type of teaching is said to be contributory to low performance of students. Curriculum must be flexible and must allow teachers to freely innovate as necessity and propriety dictate. From the manual, School Based Teachers Program (2002) in the article â€Å"Woes of a Teacher† declared that the effectiveness of teachers in delivering the right and proper instruction is another question that must be considered if we are to delve serious ly into the root causes of our students’ academic performance.Salary issues had been answered by the government although some of the recommendations regarding teachers’ benefits was shelved due to lack of government funds. Strategies for reforms in reference to teachers pay were implemented as well as reforms in the processes of promotion. Teachers were encouraged to sustain professional upgrading and development. Principals were tasked to revitalize the school-based instruction program where teachers were taught effective managerial and instructional skills through the SBTP (School Based Teachers Program).He added that if salary issues were somehow met, look then at the actual classroom teaching scenario. Imagine the nightmarish teaching condition where a teacher has to teach 60 to 70 students in a class with only a piece of Manila paper as her instructional material. This is happening and a clear manifestation that the problem of teachers’ effectiveness is als o surrounded by so many intertwining factors aside from salary. Salary alone cannot guarantee effective teaching when the daily travails of teachers show work overload beyond human capacity.From the DepEd report (2010) declared that technology has brought us sophisticated learning tools but textbooks remain to be the most valuable learning reference of teachers and students in the classrooms. However, despite government initiatives to solve the yearly textbook problems, observation shows that textbooks are always lacking and some of them are found to be erroneous. In answer to this, DepEd reported a more stringent evaluation process it did since 2005 in textbook procurement project.Their evaluation on the textbooks focuses on determining the completeness and sufficiency of development of the learning competencies, accuracy and up-to-datedness’ of contents, determining the appropriateness of the materials to society, to target users and to culture and on the language used to e nsure that these are grammatically correct and appropriate to the level of the students. Improvement on this aspect is still not fully realized for we know that students still do not have enough textbooks to meet the demands of their studies.The Internet has become an effective substitute to information getting, however, since access to Internet is still limited in many areas of the country, this does not solve the problem yet. As mentioned by Meinardus (2003) entitled â€Å"Our Students: the Family Level Factors† mentioned that only some of the internal and external environments affecting the quality of education we deliver. He also said that do not forget the economic situation in our country, the income that sustains the family, the family structure in itself and many others.Experts agree that the educational condition attributed to the family is beyond all doubt or discussion, as there is an ever-increasing awareness of the importance of the parents’ role in the pr ogress and educational development of their children. Researchers consider family background the most important factor in determining the academic performance attained by the student; among these factors of greatest influence are socio economic status and the educational environment in the family. With regard to social class, relevant research tells us that one’s results and expectations for the future are better when one belongs to the social ladder.A student who expects to become a doctor like his parents someday shall perform most likely well than a student who has no clear vision of the future because he/she knows very well that his or her parents could not afford to send him/her to school. Also, influence of the family educational climate is defined by the amount and the style of help that children receive from the family; this is determined by elements of the family context, like the dynamics of communication and affective relationships, attitudes towards values, expect ations, etc.Along these same lines, it is also reported that parental expectations have a notable influence on academic results. It is also noted that there are indirect relationships between performance and the student’s perception of how much importance his or her parents assign to study at home. What do we expect about NAT results then after considering all these factors? As mentioned by Meinardus (2003), 95 per cent of all elementary students attend public schools, therefore the educational crisis in the Philippines is basically a crisis of public education.The wealthy can easily send their offspring to private schools, many of which offer first-class education to the privileged class of pupils. Foreign Related Literature Lent (2000) in his toolkit entitled Improving Academic Achievement stated that students’ achievement in basic education has become an index of child’s future in this highly competitive world. For him, academic achievement has been one of th e most important goals of the educational process. It is also a major goal, which every individual is expected to perform in all cultures.Academic achievement is a key mechanism through which adolescents learn about their talents, abilities and competencies which are an important part of developing career aspirations academic achievement and career aspirations in adolescence are often correlated. Crow and Crow (2009), defined â€Å"Academic achievement as the extent to which a learner is profiting from instructions in a given area of learning i. e. , achievement is reflected by the extent to which skill or knowledge has been imparted to him†.Marzano (2005) reviewed in his article entitled Factors influencing Academic achievement that the factors like parent’s education, parental occupation, type of family, family size, ordinal position and even gender and age of the child are found to have their impact on the academic achievement of every student. He stated that the ef fect of family environment on student’s achievement suggest that several characteristics of family life are relevant. Cromwell (2006) from his text titles Study habit: Students’ Role- A question pointed out that the efficient and effective way of learning depends upon the study habits of the students.Study habits are important they influence the academic achievement of students. So parents and teachers must help in improving the study habits of students. Some investigators have sought to determine what study habits are characteristically used by students when left to work by themselves with little or no direction. Teachers in schools should become facilitators of learning. The finite treasure within every learner should be discovered and nurtured for the purpose of improving learning effective study skills have to be taught. Study skills involve reference, reading listening, study habits and strategies.Learning improves with planning of where, when and how much to stud y. Positive attitude, proper physical condition and balanced emotional states are important factors influencing study habits. From the book of Singh (2004) entitled Gender and Academic achievement declared that the performance of every individual is not equal. There is a lot of variability and dispersion. The variability cannot be attributed to a single factor, but it is the outcome of number of factors as intelligence, study habits, self-concept, creativity, aptitude interests, socio economic factors, area etc.Along with these gender of the child is also an influencing factor on Academic achievement of the child. Singh made a survey of the study habits of high, middle and low achieving adolescents in relation to their sex, intelligence and socio economic status and found that study habits of boys and girls differed significantly at different levels of academic achievement. Vijayalaxmi and Natesan (2002) in their article Socio- Economic Status: Factors influencing academic achieveme nt declared that girls had a higher mean academic achievement compared to boys.However, Kaur and Gill (2003) revealed that achievement in English and total achievement was independent of sex, but boys scored higher than girls in achievement in Punjabi, Mathematics and Science. Ahmed (2008) reported in his review entitled â€Å" Achievement Motivation that the influence of sex on achievement motivation was found to be statistically non-significant. He carried out that there are differences among adolescent boys and girls of various ordinal positions.The study was over conducted on sample of one hundred and twenty students belonging to the age group of 13-18 years, studying in co-educated English medium institutions confined to the suburbs of Mumbai city. Local Related Studies From the study of Galih, (2008) entitled â€Å"Extent of Principal Role and School Structure in Students’ Achievement† mentioned that the principal is central to the extent of stakeholders’ involvement, the relationships among the principal’s leadership, student achievement, and school effectiveness are more indirect, both in this study and in the literature.He also found that the principal’s leadership has strong direct effect on in-school processes and only indirect effects on outcomes. The study also found that principals have a key role in the success of schools generally and, especially, in student outcomes. This result is consistent with the later study of he cited from Leithwood and Jantzi which shows that effective leaders have a powerful indirect impact on student achievement and school effectiveness. He also cited the study of Heck et al. oted that â€Å"Principals do not affect individual students directly as teachers do through classroom instruction, but that activities of the Principal directed at school-level performance have trickle-down effects on teachers and students. † This is also consistent with the findings of Gali that the p rincipal’s leadership has a direct effect on school conditions such as school goals, planning, structure, climate, and work conditions which in turn show a direct effect on classroom conditions such as instruction, policies, and procedures.Masi (2008) in his study entitled â€Å"Relationship of leadership style, school climate, and the organizational commitment of teachers in the Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools in the Philippines† explored the relationship of principals’ leadership style, the school climate, and the organizational commitment of teachers in Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools in the Philippines. Major findings in this study lead to the following conclusions: The principal’s leadership style, school climate, and the organizational commitment of teachers are interrelated.Teachers perceive higher commitment under a leadership characterized by high consideration, regardless of the level of initiating structure. Teachers’ org anizational commitment is positively related to climate openness characterized by supportive principal behavior and teacher engagement, intimacy, and low levels of teacher frustration. Furthermore, considerate leadership behavior is positively related to climate openness. Predictive models of organizational commitment, accounting for approximately 25% of the variance, include marital status, consideration leadership behavior, and aspects of school climate.Although the theoretical concept of leadership quadrants was upheld in the study, it appears that leadership behaviors, particularly the consideration dimension, are more useful in relationship to the areas of school climate and organizational commitment. Major implications are that school principals should seek to practice considerate leadership behavior and create an open school climate. School boards and accrediting agencies should include leadership, school climate, and teacher commitment surveys as an integral part of school p rogram evaluation.It may be of value to conduct additional studies to examine other theoretical antecedents as well as expected outcomes of organizational commitment. San Antonio (2006) in his study entitled â€Å"Effective Participatory School Administration, Leadership, and School Climate Management: Does It Affect The Trust Levels of Stakeholders? † reported on his study that the effectiveness of participatory school administration, leadership and management (PSALM) as perceived by 282 stakeholders in one school division in the Philippines.In his study, he also examined the correlation between the indicators of PSALM effectiveness and the trust levels of the stakeholders. The results indicate that the stakeholders found the implementation of PSALM through advisory school councils to be effective. The effectiveness of implementing ASC (Advisory School Council) as perceived by the respondents reinforces the finding that their levels of thrust were also high.Indeed, many fact ors affect the fostering of thrust in the school. However, this study has shown that, to some degree, the adequacy of time for ASC business, the satisfaction with the composition of the ASC, the appreciation for the usefulness of committees, the sharing of information, the perceived influence on teaching and learning, and the overall satisfaction with the operation of the ASC significantly related to the trust levels among the stakeholders.It is therefore suggested that school leaders wishing to enhance the levels of trust among the stakeholders in their schools should endeavor to achieve a balanced representation in the school council, utilize committees appropriately, share more information with other stakeholders, provide adequate time for doing ASC business, and focus on teaching and learning to make the overall functioning of ASC highly effective.Benito (2009) in her the study titled â€Å"Analysis of the Performance in Trigonometry of the First Year College Students of Divine Word College of Viganstated that subject difficulties exist because of its complexity in using symbols and in computations. Hence student finds it as a difficult subject it not properly taught. It exists too because they forget previously learned concepts and skills that are needed for the new skills to be learned. So, a student cannot comprehend higher level of mathematics if one did not understand yesterday’s principles and skills learned.With these difficulties, students always have a negative connotation of the subject matter. These negative attitudes includes: fear of the subject, anxiety in learning the subject, meaningless of the subject and its abstraction. These lead to inability of students to comprehend the subject which further led to low performance in mathematics. The low performance is true not only of high school students. In the National Elementary Achievement Tests (NEAT), administered to sixth graders from 1993 to 1999, science and mathematics ranked the l owest or second lowest among elementary school academic subjects.According to the study of Soriano (2008) â€Å"Teacher-Related Factors Of Sophomore Students’ Achievement In Mathematics In Three (3) National High Schools In Maragondon District† educational researchers have investigated many factors considered to affect student learning. At the heart of this line of inquiry is the core belief that teachers make a difference. Indeed, teacher plays an important role in the intellectual development of the students, using various assessments and teaching styles to improve students’ performance in school subjects.School subjects’ performance is determined by giving an achievement test. The results of which are used to determine their achievement level, strengths and weaknesses in each subject area. Foreign Related Studies Cash (2008) from the study entitled â€Å"Improving Student Achievement and School Facilities in a Time of Limited Funding† pointed ou t that school building condition, attendance, and academic achievement in New York City, found building conditions to be a predictor of student attendance and student achievement on standardized tests.These results were reported after controlling for other possible factors, including socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and teacher quality. (Duran-Narucki, 2008) That poorer building condition negatively impacts student attendance and that coming to school is necessary to learning are both logical arguments that continue to be supported by research. The National Summit on School Design (NSSD) reported eight recommendations for school design excellence.These included designs to support a variety of learning styles, and the creation of healthy, comfortable, and flexible learning spaces. These recommendations have several implications for changes in the learning environment (NSSD, 2005). While the cumulative effect of the school facility’s condition has been related to student outcom es, further research has been done to pinpoint several specific factors that contribute to this overall phenomenon. These pecific factors include lighting, building cleanliness, health and safety, painting, and student and teacher morale From the dissertation of Akbari (2004) titled â€Å"Teacher Characteristics as Predictors of Students’ Academic Achievement† declared that there has been a substantial theoretical and practical shift of emphasis, mostly in mainstream education, towards acknowledging that teachers are among the principal components of any pedagogical program.In the past ten years, a burgeoning research base has increasingly shown that teachers are among the most important players influencing student achievement, holding the key to sealing the gaps in students’ achievement outcomes. Sanders (1998), for example, states that the â€Å"single largest factor affecting academic growth of populations of students is differences in effectiveness of indiv idual classroom teachers. He also believed that the â€Å"more can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single factor. Along the same lines, Alexander (2005) argues that â€Å"few educators, economists, or politicians would argue with the contention that all things being equal, highly qualified teachers produce greater student achievement than comparatively less qualified teachers. † From the thesis of Steenson (2006) titled â€Å"The School Size and Its Relationship to Student Outcomes and School Climate: A Review and Analysis of Eight South Carolina State-wide explained what size should a school be to optimize learning and teaching — while striving for cost efficiency in operation.At least in South Carolina, after numerous studies, the answer is yet to be found. While on the surface it first appears that, with rare exception, smaller schools don’t produce better results and cost more to operate, closer obs ervation reveals that the issue is much more complex. In South Carolina smaller middle schools appear to produce better student outcomes. And, at the elementary and high school levels, even where bigger appears better, there is evidence that results can vary significantly depending upon the children served.Further, poverty has such a dramatic effect on school outcomes in South Carolina that possible influences of other variables such as school size are possibly masked. Based on the studies to date the only logical conclusion that can be reached is that finding the â€Å"ideal† school size is at least elusive, and possibly so complex that an â€Å"absolute ideal† does not exist. However, the findings from the South Carolina studies supply sufficiently intriguing data to suggest further study of school size is warranted.Sanders and Harvey (2002) in their study entitled â€Å"Beyond the School Walls: A Case Study of Principal Leadership for School- Community Collaboratio n described how one urban elementary school in a high-reform district and state has been able to develop strong connections with community businesses and organizations as part of its program of school, family, and community partnerships. The case study identifies four factors that allowed the school to build successful bridges to its community.These factors are (1) the school’s commitment to learning; (2) the principal’s support and vision for community involvement; (3) the school’s receptivity and openness to community involvement; and (4) the school’s willingness to engage in two-way communication with potential community partners about their level and kind of involvement. The concluding section of the paper discusses the implications of the study’s findings for school, district, and state educational leaders.The literature and studies reviewed by the researcher will help to understand the interconnection of variables that may affect to the stude nts’ performance in the national achievement test. These literatures will help explain the research – after all, literature review will show what other researchers have done. The review aims to show why the research needs to be carried out, how to choose certain methodologies or theories to work with and how the present study adds to the research already carried out.Chapter III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the methodology of the researcher employed by the researcher in analyzing and interpreting the data pertaining to the variables of this study. Research Design The researcher used the descriptive-correlational method of research that seeks the relationships which exist between different factors of students’ performance in the national achievement test in the public secondary schools in the division of Calapan City.The researcher also used the comparative method of research that aims to make comparisons among different variables in school climate c onditions such as physical facilities, instructional focus and physical environment. Descriptive research involves the description, recording, analysis and interpretation of the present nature, composition or process of phenomenon. It involves some types of comparison or contrasts and may attempt to discover a cause and effect relationship that exists between non-violated variables.Correlational studies are designed to estimate the extent of which the different variables are related to each other in the population of interest. The distinguishing characteristic is the effort to estimate the relationship as distinguished from simple description. Research Locale This study was conducted in the eight (8) public secondary schools in the Division of Calapan City namely; Bucayao National High School located at Bucayao, Calapan City, Canubing National High School at Canubing, Ceriaco A.Abes National High School at Mahal Na Pangalan, Community Vocational High School at Masipit, Mamerta G. To lentino National High School at Parang, Managpi National High School at Managpi, Nag-Iba National High School at Nag Iba I and Pedro V. Panaligan National High School at Comunal. Respondents of the Study The respondents of this study were the 276 third year students for school year 2011-2012 from public high schools in Calapan City. The table shows the distribution of the respondents of the study:Table A. Respondents of the study from eight (8) public high schools at Calapan City Division. | | | | |HIGH SCHOOL |TOTAL NUMBER OF THIRD YEAR STUDENTS |RESPONDENTS | |Managpi National High School |146 |45 | |Mamerta G.Tolentino National High School |115 |36 | |Bucayao NHS |95 |30 | |COMMUNITY VOCATIONAL HS |102 |32 | |Ceriaco A. Abes MNHS |82 |25 | |Pedro V.Panaligan MNHS |118 |37 | |Canubing NHS |152 |47 | |Nag-Iba NHS |78 |24 | |TOTAL |888 |276 | Sampling ProcedureThe respondents were taken from the total population using stratified random sampling at 5% error of tolerance. The sample size was determined with the use of Slovin’s formula: Where:n=sample population N=total number of population e2=Error Formula:n = N 1 + Ne2 n = N 1 + Ne2 n = 888 1 + 888 (. 05)2 n = 276 The sample population of each school is computed using the stratified proportional sampling. Research Instrument The main instrument used in this study was the constructed questionnaire by the researcher. The questionnaire was divided into two parts; the respondents’ profile and the school climate condition.The first part of the questionnaire asked questions pertaining to the students’ profile such as age, gender, birth ordinal position, monthly income of the family, parents’ educational attainment, and average grade for the last school year attended. On its second part, respondents asked about their school climate condition which comprises the school facilities, instructional focus and physical environment of the school. The scale used is as follows: 1-Poor/ Pre-Ba sic 2- Fair/ Basic 3- Good/ Approaching to Proficiency 4- Satisfactory/ Proficient 5-Excellent/ Above Advanced Reliability of the InstrumentTo test the reliability of the instrument, the test retest procedure was used. Ten student respondents who were not included in the study were given the test-retest. After 10 days, the questionnaires were given again to the same respondents. The reliability was computed using Pearson’s r. Table B. Results of test-retest |Variable |R-value |Description | |School Facilities |0. 95 |Very high reliability | |Instructional Focus 0. 92 |Very high reliability | |Physical Environment |0. 90 |Very high reliability | Data Gathering Procedure After finding out the reliability of the research instrument, the researcher requested permission to conduct the study through request letter and asked approval from the Schools Division Superintendent and the eight (8) public secondary school principals in the Division of Calapan City through letter.After the approval of the request, the researcher personally administered the set of questionnaires to the student-respondents. The assistance of the teachers was requested to assist the researchers in administering the instrument to ensure the full cooperation of the respondents. Direction for answering the test was explicitly stated to guide the respondents in answering the test. The researcher saw to it that all instruments was returned completely. After the retrieval of the questionnaire, the researcher tabulated and processed the data manually.Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed and the results were interpreted. Data matrix was based on dummy tables to organize, summarize, and analyze the data how variables differ with each other. Scoring and Quantification of Data A 5-point numerical scale with their description was employed as shown below: Table C. Numerical Scale. |Numerical Scale |Statistical Limit |Verbal Description | |5 |4. 1 – 5 |Excellent | |4 |3. 41  œ 4. 20 |Satisfactory | |3 |2. 61 – 3. 40 |Good | |2 |1. 81 – 2. 60 | Fair | |1 |1. 00 – 1. 80 |Poor Statistical Treatment of Data The data gathered from the questionnaire were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics such as Weighted Mean, Pearson’s r, and Chi Square and ANOVA was used to describe the variables of the stud The following formula was used in this study: 1. Mean X = ? x / n Where: ?x is the sum of all the sample observations n is the number of sample observations x is the mean The formula for mean was used in computation of mean scores of students’ performance in school climate conditions and students’ profile. 2. Pearson’s r: r = n? xy – ( ? x)(? ) v [n(? x2) – (? x)2] [ n (? y2) – (? y)2] Where: r is the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation n is the number of scores x is the first variable y is the second variable ? is the sum of scores or the variable ?x2 is the summation o f squared variable x ?y2 is the summation of squared variable y This formula was used to test the relationship between the students’ performance in NAT in terms of age, monthly income, average grade and the school climate conditions in terms of school facilities, instructional focus and physical environment. 3. Chi-square test statistic X2 = ? (O-E2E Where: X2 is the chi-square statistic, O is the observed frequency ? is the symbol for summation differences of cumulative E is the expected frequency This formula was used to test the relationship between the students’ academic performance and respondents’ profile in terms of gender, parents’ educational attainment to the academic performance of the student’ respondents. 4. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is the statistical procedure that was used to test mean differences between among three variables by comparing variability between groups to variability within groups.TSS = Total sum of square S Sb= sum of squares of each group SSw = sum of squares within groups dfb = degrees of freedom between groups dfw = degrees of freedom within groups k = number of samples n = total of all scores N = total number of samples ?Xi = sum of squares in each group X = individual value in all the groups TSS = ? X2 – (? X)2 ?(X1)2 ? (X2)2 ? (X)2 SSb = + n1 n2 N SSw = TSS – SSb dfb = k – 1 dfw = k (n-1) The formula was used to determine the difference among the school facilities, instructional focus and physical environment. Chapter IVPRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA This chapter presents the discussion of the data gathered by the researcher. These are analyzed and interpreted below. 1. Profile of the Respondents 1. Age As shown on the table, age ranging from 14 to 15 dominates the number of respondents, which is 86. 59 percent of the respondents of the study. This is attributed to the fact that the right age for third year level is this range. On the other hand, as shown in the same table, it could also be noted that only one or 0. 36% falls under the age bracket of 20 and above.This might be because the respondent’s dropped from school for 2-3 beyond the age required in in Grade I. Considering the age bracket ranging from 12-13, the table also reveals that only one falls under it which simply means that the respondent enrolled to Grade I, one year ahead of the required age. Table 1. 1 Frequency and percentage distribution of respondents as to age |Age |Frequency |Percentage | |12-13 |1 |0. 6 | |14-15 |239 |86. 59 | |16-17 |31 |11. 23 | |18-19 |4 |1. 45 | | 20 and above |1 |0. 6 | |TOTAL |276 |100 | 1. 2 Gender Table 1. 2 reveals that female respondents are outnumbered males by 58. This might be attributed to the fact that there are really more females than males. Based on the Philippine Demographic Profile (2011) record from www. indexmundi. com/philippines, as to age structure of male and female from 15-65 years old and ove r, there were 32 980 772 males while female has 33 568 847. Table 1. Frequency and percentage distribution of respondents’ as to gender |Gender |Frequency |Percentage | |Male |109 |39. 49 | |Female |167 |60. 51 | |Total |276 |100 | . Parent’s educational attainment 1. 3. 1 Mother As could be gleaned in Table 1. 3. 1, it could be noted that 97 or 35. 14% of the mothers of the respondents are graduates of high school and only 26 or 9. 42 % of them did not finish grade school. This means that mothers of the respondents could assist their children in making assignments and projects at home. Since, all of them have entered schooling they knew how to read and write. The table also shows that there are only two mother who are doctoral degree holder.It is also revealed in the table that all mother respondents have attended schooling. Table 1. 3. 1 Frequency and percentage distribution of Respondents’ as to mother’s educational attainment |Mothers’ Educatio nal Attainment |Frequency |Percentage | |Did not finish grade school |26 |9. 42 | |Graduated from Grade school |42 |15. 2 | |Did not finish high school |44 |15. 94 | |Graduated from High School |97 |35. 14 | |Some College education |26 |9. 42 | |Technical Vocational |21 |7. 1 | |Bachelors’ Degree |14 |5. 07 | |Master’s Degree |4 |1. 45 | |Doctorate Degree |2 |0. 72 | |TOTAL |276 |100 | 1. 3. 2 Father Table 1. 3. presents the frequency and percentage distribution of respondents as to fathers’ educational attainment. It could be noted in table 1. 3. 2 that the highest frequency of 88 or 31. 88% is obtained by those who graduated from high school and the lowest which is 35 or 12. 68% representing those who did not finish grade school. There were also fathers who gained higher education such as college, technical-vocational, bachelors’ degree and master’s degree. This supports that the fathers of the respondents have the capability of assisting their children in doing their homework and projects. Table 1. . 2 Frequency and Percentage distribution of Respondents’ as to father’s educational attainment |Fathers’ Educational Attainment |Frequency |Percentage | |Did not finish grade school |35 |12. 68 | |Graduated from Grade school |50 |18. 12 | |Did not finish high school |40 |14. 9 | |Graduated from High School |88 |31. 88 | | | | | |Some College education |23 |8. 33 | |Technical-Vocational |23 |8. 33 |Bachelors’ Degree |15 |5. 44 | |Master’s Degree |2 |0. 725 | |Doctorate Degree |0 |0 | |TOTAL |276 |100 | 1. 4 Monthly Income of the family Tab