Aspects of American Aviation Industry

Aspects of American Aviation Industry Introduction Aviation has increased mobility and made travelling to some of the places where other means of transport would reach an easy task. In conjunction with that, aviation has changed the way people conduct their lifestyles because, due to its speed and ability to navigate almost all places in the world, cultural factors and lifestyles can easily be transported from one place to another. But aviation has not only expanded but also impacted our society in different ways both positively and negatively.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Aspects of American Aviation Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More American Aviation History Though airplanes were fast used by other countries for military purposes, America was the first country that used airplanes for commercial civil and non-military functions which were mostly aero-photography, crop spraying and delivery of mail. America was among the first countries where airplanes were discovered in early 1900’s but the government showed minimal interest, and the industry did not expand as fast as it did in other countries in Europe. For years therefore, America remained behind technologically as Europe was improving its technology in the aviation industry. Fortunately, America started picking up in early 1930’s and by late 1930’s America’s aviation industry had expanded very much that America was the largest manufacturer and exported the largest number of aircrafts than any other country in the world (Crouch 314). After World War II America’s aviation industry increased the rate at which it was expanding with the government injecting money for research and development leading to discovery of advanced aircrafts. By late 1980’s America’s technology had tremendously improved making the country the most advanced in the world in terms of aviation technology. Positive Aspects Aviation expansion has helped in propelling economic growth in America because of the economic benefits that are associated with it. The number of passengers being transported has been improving from the years following World War II therefore, increasing the demand for air transport thus increasing revenue for airlines. Aviation has also gone a long way in influencing the expansion of trade by making importation and exportation faster and convenient, hence boosting international trade and this has helped in increasing aggregate income of Americans (Verhovek 141). The deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 enabled increase in competition and efficiency in the airline industry, leading to reduction of fares and increase in areas covered thus benefiting the stakeholders. In addition to that, aviation industry has led to the discovery of military jets that have put America in a good position to defend itself from enemies.Advertising Looking for essay on aviation? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More America has the most advanced and fast military planes which make it afford one of the most well equipped and strong military sector in the world. In conjunction with that, during 1980’s through to 1990’s America produced wide bodied aircrafts which reduced the costs of operation for airlines due to economies of scale and economies of scope (Crouch 531). Furthermore, discovery of jet engines helped in increasing the speed of air planes and though the initial jet engines were not fuel efficient, advancement in technology led to emergence of piston engines which were more fuel efficient. Negative Aspects The increase in aircraft operations has also led to some negative impacts in the American society. To begin with, airplanes release gases from their fuels when they fly thus contributing to global warming and ocean acidification. Carbon dioxide and other nitrogenous gases are released by airplane engines due to fuel com bustion as well as from ground airport vehicles, emissions from energy demanding activities in airport buildings and in the manufacturer of aircraft. Additionally, aviation industry contributes highly to greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to ozone layer depletion. Research conducted in 1997 showed that aviation industry contributed up to 3% of US greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, implying that aviation plays a significant role in depleting the Ozone layer (Wolfe 353). On the same note, the growth in aviation has brought with it the effect of noise pollution. Aircrafts produce a lot of noise when they are taking off or landing and this highly affects people who are living close to airports. Besides the direct effects of noise pollution, it is also a financial expense since money has to be spent in combating and reducing its effects. Since the end of the Cold war, the aviation manufacturing has been declining with manufacturers reducing to just about five manufact ures from the once high number of 47 (Verhovek 98). Consequently, employment has reduced in the aviation industry by around half during the same period. On top of that, the quality of plane produced in America has been declining in recent years, and in 2003 the secretary of the air force and the air force chief of staff general warned that their pilots were doing better if they were flying imported airplanes. This has been partly as a result of people viewing aviation negatively and also the lack of enough research. It has also been noted that in recent years the number of students who want to study aviation engineering is declining sharply (Wolfe 254).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Aspects of American Aviation Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion Aviation industry has gone through testing times in America to gain the market share and public confidence it enjoys today. On top of that, aviation indu stry requires constant technological advancement therefore the government should be ready to invest in research and development so as the country may keep up with other countries. Nevertheless, aviation plays an important role in our economies and should therefore be given adequate attention. Crouch, Tom D. Wings: A History of Aviation From Kites to the Space Age. Washington: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2003. Print. Verhovek, Sam Howe. Jet Age: The Comet, the 707, and the Race to Shrink the World. New York: Penguin Group, 2011. Print. Wolfe, Tom. The Right Stuff. New York: Picador, 2008. Print.

Evaluation of an iq test essays

Evaluation of an iq test essays Evaluation of an IQ test : Analysing the Reliability and Validity of the Psygat This study involved the examination of a newly developed intelligence test, the Psygat, in order to assess its reliability and construct validity. A group of 268 psychology students, with an average age of 22.37 were asked to complete the Psygat tests after completing two other intelligence tests, a Culture Fair test and a Verbal IQ test. The results of the Psygat were then analysed for internal reliability through a split half analysis based on age. The construct validity of the Psygat was examined through the analysis of the test scores against the other two intelligence tests. The hypothesis that the test would show significant internal reliability as well construct validity when measured against the other two tests was supported, although inconsistencies with the Culture Fair IQ test were detected for the younger age group. It was concluded that the evidence suggests that the Psygat is a test that could be validly used as an assessment of verbal intelligence, but further investi gation is required regarding the tests use for the assessment of culture fair parameters. While countless intelligence tests have been developed over the last century, the need for strict policing over the construction and administration of tests in order to prevent misuse has been well established. As far back as 1944 Lawson (1944,1992) identified significant problems with the construction and use of intelligence tests and proposed strict guidelines. Since then, the number of tests in common use has increased dramatically, with their importance in the functioning of the community being advanced considerably. However, despite the best efforts of the international psychology community, concern has been growing in recent years over the misuse of psychological testing, including intelligence tests (Turner et al, 2001, Daniel 1997), with at least some of this concern being dire...

The Art of Speaking

The Art of Speaking The Art of Speaking The Art of Speaking By Hugh Ashton The art of reporting speech in writing, that is. There are a few writers whom I really admire for their skill in dialog: John le Carrà © and Elmore Leonard. Two very different writers, but their work contains a common element; the ability to place a character in social context with just a few words. Le Carrà ©s characters, almost as soon as they open their mouths, position themselves accurately within the complex British class system, and Leonards characters likewise indicate their origins through their words. In many ways, Elmore Leonards skill is greater, as one of his rules for writing dialog is not to use dialect when reporting characters speech. Other rules he lays down for writers are not to use adverbs when reporting characters dialog (in one of his books, one character is herself a novelist, and claims to have written novels full of rape and adverbs), and not to use any word other than said to describe the act of speech by a character. Maybe this comes from his experiences as a scriptwriter, where the actor is given the words and told to interpret them. At the initial stage of the script, only the words are provided the director and actors then agree on the interpretation. This can only be done effectively, though, if the words themselves provide the meaning, which means the words you put into characters mouths have to be accurate; exactly what that character would say in that situation. Take this exchange from Leonard: Man, you knew it, didnt you? You look at this shit laying on the bottom, you knew it wasnt gonna go off. You run the price up on me with nothing to worry about. Chris said, Thats why people like me like to get hired by people like you. (Freaky Deaky, Elmore Leonard) See, no adverbs, no complained or whined for the first speaker. Just the words, maam and they work so well with no ornamentation. You know the tone of voice of both speakers you can place the sort of person speaking, and you can even picture their relative positions and bodily attitudes while they speak. I sometimes break Elmores adverb rule, but since learning about it, my adverb quotient has decreased radically, and so has my use of words like exclaimed, screamed, protested, as Ive learned to use my inner ear more to listen to my characters conversations. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Slang Terms for MoneyBody Parts as Tools of MeasurementWhen to use "an"

An Overview of the Declaration of Pillnitz

An Overview of the Declaration of Pillnitz The Declaration of Pillnitz was a statement issued by the rulers of Austria and Prussia in 1792 to try and both support the French monarchy and forestall a European war as a result of the French Revolution. It actually had the opposite effect and goes down in history as a terrible misjudgment. The Meeting of Former Rivals In 1789, the French Revolution had seen King Louis XVI of France lose control of an Estates General and a new citizen government form in France. This didnt only anger the French king, but most of Europe, who were monarchies less than pleased about citizens organizing. As the revolution became more extreme in France, the king and queen became practical prisoners of the government, and calls to execute them grew. Concerned about both the welfare of his sister Marie Antoinette and the status of brother in law King Louis XVI of France, Emperor Leopold of Austria met with King Frederick William of Prussia at Pillnitz in Saxony. The plan was to discuss what to do about the way the French Revolution was undermining royalty and threatening family. There was a strong camp of opinion in western Europe, led by members of the French aristocracy who had fled the revolutionary government, for armed intervention aimed at restoring the full powers of the French king and the whole of the ‘old r egime’. Leopold, for his part, was a pragmatic and enlightened monarch who was attempting to balance his own problem-riven empire. He had followed events in France but was afraid intervention would threaten his sister and brother in law, not help them (he was completely right). However, when he thought they had escaped he rashly offered all his resources to aid them. By the time of Pillnitz, he knew the French royals were effectively prisoners in France. The Aims of the Declaration of Pillnitz Austria and Prussia were not natural allies given recent European history, but at Pillnitz they reached an agreement and put out a declaration. This was couched in the diplomatic language of the day, and had a double meaning: taken at face value it issued a rebuke to the revolutionary government, but in practice was meant to produce a limitation on calls for war, restrict à ©migrà © princes and support the royal party in France. While it stated that the fate of the French Royals was of â€Å"common interest† to Europe’s other leaders, and while it urged France to restore them and made threats if harm came to them, the subtext was in the section saying Europe would only take military action with the agreement of all the major powers. As everybody knew Britain would have nothing to do with such a war at that point, Austria and Prussia were, in practice, not tied to any action. It sounded tough but promised nothing of substance. It was a piece of clever wordplay. It was a total failure. The Reality of the Declaration of Pillnitz The Declaration of Pillnitz was thus designed to assist the pro-royal faction in the revolutionary government against the republicans rather than threaten a war. Unfortunately for the state of peace in Europe, the revolutionary government in France had developed a culture that did not recognize subtext: they spoke in moral absolutes, believed that oratory was a pure form of communication and that cleverly written text was disingenuous. Thus the revolutionary government, especially the republicans agitating against the king, were able to take the Declaration at face value and portray it as, not just a threat, but a call to arms. To many scared Frenchmen, and to many agitating politicians, Pillnitz was a sign of invasion and contributed to France engaging in a pre-emptive declaration of war and the mirage of a crusade to spread liberty. The French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars would follow, and both Louis and Marie would be executed by a regime made even more extreme by Pillni tz.

The Value of Incumbency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Value of Incumbency - Essay Example Incumbency is a valued commodity in any election and can mean the difference between winning and losing, but the problem it creates for the system, and for the voters, is not so readily apparent. Incumbents have a de facto advantage because they are running as the hometown favorite. Their district has elected them once, and barring scandal there is no reason for the voters to turn on them. With a little good government and giving the constituents the legislation they prefer, an incumbent should have an advantage. But for most of them this is not enough. The sitting congressman has the purse strings to offer pork barrel projects, highway funds, military spending, and special incentives to their district. This is openly viewed as buying votes and it is a favor that the challenger is unable to provide. They can also raise money for advertising. Incumbents have the inside track on raising campaign funds year round. They have been in office and talking to lobbyists willing to contribute. Contributors are eager to donate money with the hopes of gaining access to the incumbent's influence. PACs have been formed to raise money to support key issues and they can capitalize on the news for public exposure. If the voters are unfamiliar with the challenger, the incumbent has an opportunity to define them (Gerber).

Financial Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Appraisal - Essay Example Charities are evenly exposed to risk as compared to any commercial organization because of changing economic conditions, scare availability of funds and conservative approach towards operations due to limited resources. Regeneration through Education Limited (RTE) also has to be prudent in its business operation as its supporting adult education and training facility in deprived localities. For this purpose trustees must ensure prudence in their business operations. RTE is faced with the situation of tight funding and new supplier for their huge investment of  £100,000 in furniture and fittings. To mitigate the risk management of the trust has to follow two important components discussed below: Beside these two measures for risk coverage, RTE has to make the remaining payment within 10days of receipt of the goods therefore RTE has to manage its cash flow sensitivities during the construction period through: All charities are required to prepare accounts and make them available on request to public and authority commission (Deloitte, 2011).   The duty to file accounts and the Trustees’ Annual Report with the Charity Commission applies to all registered charities earning annual income or expenditure over  £10,000. RTE is maintaining annual turnover of  £ 2.5mn so it has to send its complete Annual Return to Charity Commission with 10 months of the financial year end (Charity Commission, 2011). RTE can only succeed in providing educational courses and infrastructure support to the under privileged segment of society if it is better able to manage its financial resources and report them accordingly within specified timeframe. This implies that RTE has to manage its inflows and outflows to meet their short, medium and long term business objectives and plan operational strategies based on these financial resource reporting and

How Can Small Businesses Practically Benefit from Cloud Computing Research Paper

How Can Small Businesses Practically Benefit from Cloud Computing - Research Paper Example Companies can switch services or use more complex software and platforms without incurring any capital expenditure. This arena has special implications for small businesses as they have the most to gain from it. The decrease in costs helps small businesses and start-ups to access and use applications that they could not afford before. It also enables them to share data and communicate easily with remote locations. Cloud computing is not dependant on any system except internet and thus things can be done faster and more efficiently. New applications can be launched and implemented without incurring high costs. Cloud computing systems can provide smaller companies the same level of software as large companies at lower costs. Cloud computing systems have better security systems and are better at managing and processing data. They can accommodate the company’s needs during peak seasons and reduce operating costs during low seasons. The pay as you go method decreases wastage of res ources and finances and helps in trimming the IT budget. The around the clock availability of data helps in increasing productivity. Thus, smaller companies face numerous benefits from cloud computing. The issues of privacy and security should however be considered. The cloud service provider can retain and use information about the business and is not held responsible for data security. Many instances of servers crashing have been noted causing many companies losing their data or being unable to access their files. Small businesses should always conduct thorough research and read the fine print before committing to cloud applications. Business needs should be kept in mind and a reliable vendor should be chosen.

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Paraphrasing - Essay Example Setting up a proper democracy is the main challenge for Egypt over the next few years. Tourism has always been a huge boon for the Egyptian economy, so all the political upheaval has had quite a negative effect. Tourists are concerned for their safety and security after watching the latest news on television. Furthermore, many foreign countries have warned their citizens not to travel to Egypt because of the high risk of violence. As the number of tourists has been dropping rapidly, tourism minister Hisham Zaazou will have to come up with marketing schemes to get the tourists to come back. In addition, the political strife in Egypt has led to a decrease in foreign investment in the country. Before the violence Egypt was welcoming of foreign investment, so the government needs to get back to that image. Egypt has a robust and fair social security and welfare system for its citizens. The system is designed to help those in need, particularly people who cannot get jobs. Government employers and employees are required to contribute to the national insurance scheme to cover an array of benefits. Unemployment has skyrocketed over the past few years due to the political changes taking place. The World Bank Group is doing its best to provide training and support so that development can continue in the job sector. The Zewail City of Science and Technology was finally established after the January 2011 political protests. The project will help train 5,000 promising and talented students. The goal of the project is to bring Egypt into the 21st century by increasing productivity and exploring new technologies. In September 2012 an agreement was signed between Egypt’s ICT sector and a U.S. business delegation to help stimulate economic growth in Egypt. One of the first focuses of the deal was to improve infrastructure at the Cairo International Airport in conjunction with the Cairo Airport Company. Egypt is very open to foreign investment, although

Information and computer technology on banking Essay Example for Free

Information and computer technology on banking Essay For over a decade, the rapid advancement in information and communication technology has significantly affected the banking industry. The banking sector has embraced the use of technology to serve its client’s faster and also to do more with less. Emerging technologies have changed the banking industry from paper and branch based banks to â€Å"digitized and networked banking services†. Unlike before, broadband internet is cheap and it makes the transfer of data easy and first. Technology has changed the accounting and management system of all banks. And it is now changing the way how banks are delivering services to their customers. However this technology comes at a cost, implementing all this technology has been expensive but the rewards are limitless. The banking sector was one of the first to embrace rapid globalization and benefit significantly from IT development. The technological revolution in banking started in the 1950s, with the installation of the first automated bookkeeping machines at banks. This was well before the other industries became IT savvy. However, in Bangladesh the revolution started in 1990s. Present Status: A good number of technology driven services are provided to the customers by the Private Commercial Banks (PCBs), Foreign Commercial Banks (FCBs)and Nationalized Commercial Banks (NCBs). The FCBs operating in Bangladesh like Standard Chartered Bank and HSBCare the pioneers to introduce technology driven banking facilities. Thesebanks provide services like ATM, debit card, credit card, Point of Sale (POS)services, internet banking, phone banking, any branch banking, ElectronicFund Transfer (EFT). Along with these services Standard Chartered Bank isproviding KIOSK service to its customers. Among the local banks, the PCBs are ahead of the NCBs in providingtechnology driven banking services. A limited number of technology drivenservices are being provided by the private Islamic banks in Bangladesh. For sending foreign remittance NCBs and some PCBs are working collaboratively with mobile phone service operators. Application of computer based services in Bangladesh: Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), SWIFT and MICR cheque are being provided by all the banks. All the banks except Uttara Bank are providing any branch banking to the customers. All banks have debit card facilities for their clients except Citi Bank NA. First Security Islami Bank Limited, Uttara Bank Limited and Citi Bank NA have no own ATM booth. First Security Islami BankLimited is going to establish their own ATM booth. They have already selected the palce for 100 ATM booth and expect to launch within very short possible time.

Cyber war Vs Cyber terrorism Essay Example for Free

Cyber war Vs Cyber terrorism Essay In this time and era, we have witnessed the emergence of electronic resources as the most important development of the modern day communication system. Technologies such as cellular phones, home computers, the internet and websites have added another dimension to the way we live our lives today. This presentation seeks to address and analyse the negative and positive aspects in view of the introduction of computers and telecommunications techniques as follows: Firstly, it raises awareness with regard to the new age of crimes, termed as cyber crimes. The paper focuses, in particular, on the difference between the two common types of cyber crimes, cyber war and cyber terrorism. Secondly, the paper examines the limitations and impact of having graduates through e-learning. Thirdly and lastly, the paper discusses on whether computer practitioners should be required to have a practicing license as it is with other professionals such as doctors, lawyers and teachers. 1. (a) Difference Between Cyber War and Cyber Terrorism The end result of both cyber war and cyber terrorism is the same, to damage critical infrastructures and computer systems. The major difference being  that cyber war is launched by governments whereas cyber terrorism is launched by individuals or a group of individuals. Cyber war, often done in conjunction with traditional military attacks, is an organised attack by one nation against another nation’s information and communication systems with an aim of gaining an advantage over the enemy by disrupting their ability to fight back. Cyber war attacks often targets an enemies systems such as command and control systems, intelligence collection and distribution, information processing and distribution, tactical communication, troop and weapons positioning and so on. For instance, when the United States of America invaded Iraq, they disrupted the country’s communication and defence systems, crippling their ability to find and take down US aircrafts. On the other hand, cybe r terrorism is when individuals or terrorist groups use computers, computer networks and the internet against persons or property to intimidate or coerce government, civilians, society in order to reach political, religious or ideological agenda. The things that are targeted are power plant systems, telephone systems, transportation systems, water or oil pipelines, financial institutions and so on. ([online] Available at: community.mis.temple.edu/mis2901001†¦[Accessed 5 April 2014]) Cyber terrorism takes many forms. One of the more popular is to threaten a large bank. The terrorist hacks into the bank’s system and then leave an encrypted message for senior directors demanding for a sum of money. If the bank does not cooperate, the terrorist threatens to use anything from logic bombs to electromagnetic pulses and high-emission guns to destroy the bank’s files. Most banks would rather pay the money than have the public know how vulnerable they are for fear of loss of business. ([online] Available at: csciwww.etsu.edu/../cases.htm [Accessed 6 April 2014]) One practical example is where banks in Zambia have lost an estimated US$4 million to cybercrime through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) withdrawals. This was reported in the local Post newspaper dated 14 June 2013. This was after the state police discovered a scam in which three foreign criminals had recruited and trained Zambians in cyber-crime. ([online] Available at: www.postzambia.com/post-read article [Accessed 6 April 2014]) Cyber terrorism can also include terrorists getting secret data from defence files, network with other terrorists, or raise and manage funds for terrorism by hacking. (b) Limitations and Impact of Having Graduates   Through E-learning E-learning has become an increasingly popular learning approach in higher educational institutions due to the rapid growth of internet technologies. Many foreign renowned universities offer all types of programmes ranging from Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes, to Short Courses. Essentially, emerging evidence suggests that having graduates through e-learning has substantial beneficial impact on social and economic development of our societies today and includes the following. It has enhanced skills development to would be graduates and their countries to cope with the demands of the 21st century where rapid change and globalisation is taking place. For instance, graduates have acquired an improved ability to conduct independent research, think critically to solve problems through the use of e-technology to communicate and collaborate. It has lead to an increased student turnover because of its flexibility and cost effectiveness and hence has broadened educati onal opportunity for many, especially financially disadvantaged students and those with disabilities. This has resulted in an increased human resource base and enhanced economic progress from direct job creation in the technology industry as well as from developing a better educated work force, much needed in developing countries such as Zambia. Online access promises a new access route for millions of students. This new approach of learning facilitates different students at different continents to attend the same classes almost at the same time. It has brought about improved learning methods and teachers have a more positive attitude towards their work and are able to provide personalized learning. On the other hand, although e-learning has brought about many benefits for students and organizations alike, it also has its limitations. In order to perform the tasks required by system, an e-learning environment requires basic state of the art equipment and minimum level of computer skills. Thus, a student that does not have the minimum computer knowledge, or have access to these equipment is disadvantaged and will not succeed in an e-learning program. Certain subjects, such as sports and public speaking, require physical exertion and practice. Thus, they cannot be applied in an e-learning environment. Needless to say, it can be a useful companion to traditional education for teaching backgroun d and technical information. A successful e-learning program requires students that are well organised, self motivated and have  good time management skills. In other words, an e-learning program is directly related to the amount of effort applied. Successful e-learning students are able to study independently and incorporate study time into their busy lives. Students that lack discipline and are not good at time management are disadvantaged and will not succeed. E-learning requires good reading and writing skills. Most activities and communications are written, and thus, the ability to efficiently interpret instructions is a critical skill to a successful e-learning program. Students that are not comfortable with the ability to express themselves through writing will not succeed in e-learning. 2. Are computer practitioners similar enough to other professionals that they should be required to have a License too? Licensing is not currently required for computer practitioners but is being considered by several professional computing organizations and is believed, in principle, as necessary as the certification and licensing of doctors, lawyers, teachers, hairdressers and other professionals. The question of licensing professional s in general is a very controversial and political question. Licensing generally means that to practice a certain profession requires a government licensee, usually administered through a professional organization. The general theory of licensing professional is that it is supposed to help the general public outside the professional to be assured that someone else is capable of doing certain jobs. For instance,  one of the top e-learning institutions, the University of Liverpool in conjunction with Laureate Online Education offer 41 distance learning courses from a wide area of disciplines. The notion that degrees through e-learning are perceived not to be as rewarding or valuable as full-time traditional degree has been proved not to be the case. In fact, in the late 1990s, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education of the British Government measured academic excellence in more than 100 universities, including the Open University. Surprisingly, the Open University was ranked in the top ten of British Universities in terms of academic excellence. The only underlying difference between a traditional degree and e-learning degree is the manner in which information is conveyed. The traditional setup has been based on a face to face communication where students and lecturers are brought together at the same time and the same place in classes,  laboratories and recreation centers for the purpose of learning, whereas in e-learning systems use technology to separate the learner from the teacher, and the learner from the learning group while maintaining the integrity of the learning process. Follow up statistics placing the Open University in the top 10 with Oxford and Cambridge have been repeated for several years and cannot be statistically be explained as a mere coincidence. ([online] Available at: http.//www.webbasedtraining.com/ [Accessed 3 March 2014]) The main focus of this presentation is to gain insights into critical issues confronting two major stakeholders in the new era of WBT, the student and faculty. The question at hand requires objective views on the advantages and disadvantages of WBT from a student’s point of view as well as advantages of WBT from the college’s point of view. It further requires identifying ways that studying from a website is better than studying from written text as well as discuss in details the social and economical benefits and limitations of E-technology in Zambia. Systems Development Life Cycle The second part of this presentation discusses a linier Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) which is a technique used to assist developers effectively develop information systems. ‘Gaining competitive advantage and improving information delivery will urge an organization to restructure its activities. The information system has to be developed to suite the business scenario and objectives. It needs to be carefully planned and activities well thought of.’ (Ndhlovu, 2009). Thus, in an effort to answer the question at hand a description of the stages involved in a SDLC using annotated diagram shall be discussed. In addition, the discussion shall also include a description of techniques which can be used to investigate the existing system of an organization identifying the advantages and disadvantages of each and also give an alternative to SDLC for developing systems. Having said that, details of the mentioned topics in question is as follows. a) Web-Based Training Advantages and Disadvantages of WBT: Student’s Point of View Advantages Utilisation of the World Wide Web is a current and extensive source of  information and relatively easy to use. Some of the advantages from a student’s point of view include the following. There is unlimited source of information on the internet as compared to textbooks and class lectures as it provides a variety and quality of learning materials. Encountering a new experience of sourcing information on the web increases a motivation to learn among students. For example, the web allows browsing from one link to another on a particular subject or topic Access to meaningful resources foster critical thinking skills and allows the student to see new ways of interpreting and evaluating information. For instance, gathering view points and knowledge from various internet sites cause students to debate previously held values and ideas which they may have had misconceptions. Gain of competence with technology by learning to navigate and use the web successfully, apply computer skill s, use of conferencing tools such as e-mail and listservs. Integration of technology with content-related work provided a more meaningful interaction with the subject matter. For example, students reflected on the lack of relevance in acquiring computer skills in isolation noting that when combined with content, those applications become a tool to improve learning in their field of study. Technological aspects of course assignments encourage cooperative dialogue rather than isolation. For example, e-mail and listservs are used regularly providing a valuable resource for support and collaboration among classmates for help in completing assignments, support with technological frustration and to share acquired skills or content resources. In addition, e-mail communication with instructors gives a student individual attention that is not apparent in a traditional coursework setup. E-mail utilization has many assets that face-to-face classroom contact lacks. For example, student need not wait for class time in order to get or clarify a piece of information. The student who would normally shy away and not ask a question in class or participate in a class discus sion are more comfortable using e-mail as a medium of communication and thus is not left out on the much needed information. For the student, online course allows them to integrate work, family and school more efficiently as it eliminates travel time to and from class for commuters. Disadvantages The positive aspects of WBT are countered with some frustrations that are  experienced by some students. These include the following. Student lack of computer skills, internet server being down, difficulty in accessing computer, use of obsolete computers and lack of technical and instructional support are some of the frustrations that a student may encounter. Required assignments are time consuming as mastering computer application tools and learning to navigate the web efficiently take up most of the time. Advantages of WBT: College’s Point of View Higher education is evolving, consumer needs are shifting, and competition for students is increasing. Consequently, institutions must be driven to some extent by the needs and demands of the consumer. To satisfy the unique needs of growing numbers of nontraditional students and to make graduate degrees more attractive and feasible, the availability of online courses and distance learning opportunities is essential. Most of the faculties consider technology applications in university courses as the wave of the future citing their main reason for wanting its continuity as mainly being the benefits they believe their students receive. Moreover, in this time and era, a faculty member who does not use technology is often considered out of date and out of touch with skills that are needed for the coming millennium. Faculty respondents consistently identified convenience and improved learning as advantages for students enrolled in Web-based instruction. Other advantages identified by facul ty are as follows. Students gain knowledge on how to use numerous technology-based applications such as e-mail, PowerPoint, listservs, graphics programs, and HTML, many of which are considered essential skills for today’s workforce. Students also gain comfort with the medium, anxiety levels are reduced, and they are more willing to explore the potential of technology applications. Students tend to become independent learners, are more motivated to explore related topics on their own, and develop critical thinking skills. The quality of completed assignments is often better than in the traditional classroom because students have more time for reflection and better access to resources. More information can be included in a course with the potential for students to expand on the information received by providing links to related sites. Many students will click on a link more readily than obtaining a print resource identified in a bibliography. Students learning how to access the extensive  resources available on the WWW, online databases, and other technology-based resources. Student convenience. For example, online classes provide students with 24-hour access, eliminate the need to travel or find parking, and eliminate scheduling conflicts with jobs or family. These advantages may particularly benefit graduate students and nontraditional students. Connecting s tudents with technology allows the student to become part of a global community. Information and ideas can be exchanged with other students and experts throughout the world using e-mail and listserv discussions. Collaboration and communication among students are fostered, as well as communication between instructor and student. Online Studying Vs. Written Text Studying Among the several ways that studying from a website is better than studying from written text three distinct ways include the following. Text books become outdated almost immediately after publication and cannot be updated until the next publication which may take several years down the line. Information on the website can be updated daily and printing errors are corrected immediately. Written text is limited to the information on the page whereas educational websites can link to an infinite number of other educational sites to give supplemental detail in as much as possible on a particular subject or topic. Textbooks are limited to the points of view of their authors whereas the website allows multiple view points, which is essential for critical thinking especially if the author is too vague about a particular topic. ([online] Available at: English.varsavskyfoundation.org/education [Accessed 7 March 2014]) b) Social and Economical Benefits and Limitations of E-technology in Zambia Zambia is one of a number of countries in the Southern African region that have sought to include e-technology in its national development plans. E-technology is believed to contribute to improving development outcomes in two main ways: E-technology-based knowledge and products contribute directly to wealth creation. The use of e-technology contributes indirectly to national development through its impact in social and economic sectors such as agriculture, health and education, and by empowering individuals to take advantage of new opportunities. For example,  AfriConnect, in partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Education, have been piloting a project aimed at bringing web-based e-learning to schools in different parts of the country. The objective is to move from the traditional chalk-and-talk pedagogy to enquiry-based learning, while at the same time bringing the option of lifelong learning to people who have already left school. Individuals also benefit from the availability and use of e-technology in a number of ways. For example, by substituting phone calls for travel, which saves time and money, and by using e-technology to obtain information on prices, for their own produce and for purchases. In these various ways, e-technology can have a significant impact on a country’s ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are, however, also constraints on the potential impact of e-technology in many developing countries. These constraints include inadequate technical infrastructure, limited human skills to use available networks and services, the relatively high cost of communications equipment, and poor policy and regulatory environments. These factors reduce the scope for countries and communities to realise the potential of e-technology for development. Question 2 Solution (a) Model of the Systems Development Life Cycle highlighting the maintenance PhaseThe systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project, from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. In general, an SDLC methodology follows the following steps: 1. Planning Stage The existing system is evaluated. Deficiencies are identified. This can be done by interviewing users of the system and consulting with support personnel. 2. Analysis Stage The new system requirements are defined. In particular, the deficiencies in the existing system must be addressed with specific proposals for improvement. 3. Design Stage The proposed system is designed. Plans are laid out concerning the physical  construction, hardware, operating systems, programming, communications, and security issues. The new system is developed. The new components and programs must be obtained and installed. Users of the system must be trained in its use, and all aspects of performance must be tested. If necessary, adjustments must be made at this stage. 4. Implementation Stage The system is put into use. This can be done in various ways. The new system can be phased in, according to application or location, and the old system gradually replaced. In some cases, it may be more cost-effective to shut down the old system and implement the new system all at once. 5. Maintenance Stage Once the new system is up and running for a while, it should be exhaustively evaluated. Maintenance must be kept up rigorously at all times. Users of the system should be kept up-to-date concerning the latest modifications and procedures. (b) The systems development life cycle (SDLC), also referred to as the application development life-cycle, is a term used in systems engineering, information systems and software engineering to describe a process for planning, creating, testing, and deploying an information system.[1] The systems development life-cycle concept applies to a range of hardware and software configurations, as a system can be composed of hardware only, software only, or a combination of both.[2] The waterfall model is a sequential design process, often used in software development processes, in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Production/Implementation, and Maintenance. What is systems development life cycle (SDLC)? (SDLC is also an abbreviation for Synchronous Data Link Control.) The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project  management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project, from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. Various SDLC methodologies have been developed to guide the processes involved, including the waterfall model (which was the original SDLC method); rapid application development (RAD); joint application development (JAD); the fountain model; the spiral model; build and fix; and synchronize-and-stabilize. Frequently, several models are combined into some sort of hybrid methodology. Documentation is crucial regardless of the type of model chosen or devised for any application, and is usually done in parallel with the development process. Some methods work better for specific types of projects, but in the final analysis, the most important factor for the success of a project may be how closely the particular plan was followed. In general, an SDLC methodology follows the following steps: 6. The existing system is evaluated. Deficiencies are identified. This can be done by interviewing users of the system and consulting with support personnel. 7. The new system requirements are defined. In particular, the deficiencies in the existing system must be addressed with specific proposals for improvement. 8. The proposed system is designed. Plans are laid out concerning the physical construction, hardware, operating systems, programming, communications, and security issues. 9. The new system is developed. The new components and programs must be obtained and installed. Users of the system must be trained in its use, and all aspects of performance must be tested. If necessary, adjustments must be made at this stage. 10. The system is put into use. This can be done in various ways. The new system can phased in, according to application or location, and the old system gradually replaced. In some cases, it may be more c ost-effective to shut down the old system and implement the new system all at once. 11. Once the new system is up and running for a while, it should be exhaustively evaluated. Maintenance must be kept up rigorously at all times. Users of the system should be kept up-to-date concerning the latest modifications and procedures.

Censorship Essay - No Need to Censor Pornography -- Argumentative Pers

No Need to Censor Pornography      Ã‚  Ã‚   Pornography is often considered an ugly word and possibly an ugly act. The pictures and words of pornography can be vulgar and degrading to many of us, but is it the evil of all things? Is it, and it alone, responsible for sexism, rape, racism, battery, and child abuse? No! The media is loaded with many sexist, racist, violent material, and most of it is not considered pornography. The issue of violence and oppression is much deeper than pornography. Most people are not in favor of pornography; however, the public should not be in favor of censoring pornography. Freedom of speech is more logical than censorship because of the lack of a definition of pornography, individual rights and the claim that pornography causes violence against women.    First of all, in order to censor something you need to define it. One of censorship's biggest supporters is Andrea Dworkin. Dworkin's definitions is, "It [pornography] means the graphic depiction of women as vile whores"(168). This definition, is very broad. Wnat constitutes a whore? Does what a woman wear make her a whore? Does the way she dances make her a whore? Do sexual acts make her a whore? I have heard the word whore used to describe women in all of these examples. The next part of the definition is "...the graphic depiction of women as vile whores" . What is a graphic depiction of a whore? Is it a woman scantily dressed, dancing provocat lively? Is it a woman in black leather with whips and chains on a music video? Maybe it is a work of art such as Manet's painting Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe. There is no definite answer to these questions. Ones idea of pornography could be another's idea of art. There is no specific definition that tells... ...ould Receive Free Speech Protection." Leone 213223. Katz, Leanne. "Pornography Does Not Promote Violence Against Women.U Swisher and Wekesser 131-134. McEntee, Patty. "The First Amendment Does Not Protect Pornography." Leone 172174. Leone, Bruno, ed. Free Speech. Current Controversies Ser. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1994. Pally, Marcia. "Pornography Should Not Be Censored." Swisher and Wekesser 135140. Pally, Marcia. Sex & Sensibility. New Jersey: The ECCO, 1994. Pilpei, Harriet F. "Porn Vigilantes-Are They Confusing Feminim With Censorship'Y' Vogue. Sept. 1985: 681 +. Small, Fred. "Censoring Pornography is a Danger to Freedom." Leone 207-212. Swisher, Karln L. and Carol Wekesser, eds. Violence Aaainst Women. Current Controversies Ser. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1994. Willis, Ellen. "Pornography Should Not Be Censored." Leone 181-187.   

Mentally Ill People :: essays research papers fc

Mentally Ill People People who are mentally ill and have committed a crime should not be court ordered to take medications. One reason why they shouldn’t is because of the side effects this medicine may cause. The second reason is because they might end up becoming addicted to this medicine. And the third reason is because taking the medication do not solve the reason why this person committed the crime it just sedates the person but the illness is still there. Nowadays over a 100 million people are taking a tranquilizer. One of the most common tranquilizers that are being used is Valium. Valium is the most profitable drug in history and it is used to treat anxiety. People taking Valium are about five and nine times more likely to get involved in accidents at work. Some of the side effects Valium cause are apathy, low blood pressure, lack of coordination, impaired intellectual functioning, loss of weight and it has also been related to violent outbursts. Valium is the most abused drug in the United States. Also the Drug Enforcement Administration has reported that people taking Valium are more often involved in drug related deaths and emergencies than heroin, marijuana or alcohol put together. Long-term use may cause atrophy of the brain. Also of 19.000 live births in the US found that birth defects were five times higher in babies whose mothers have been taking this medicine. After fifteen minutes of taking Valium people feel calm, relieved and secure but between doses they become fidgety. Taking Valium or court order someone to take Valium is not helping the individual who instead of talking out his/her problems and expressing his/her feelings these are just being repressed or ignored. After a while these individuals become addicted and end up with more troubles than the ones they had before taking anything. Mental illness was once considered to be a personal failing but now scientists know that is just a chemical imbalance. It is also known that stress and other factors may contribute to a person’s mental illness. Also it is proved that when people with mentally illness are more willing to cooperate if they are not forced into getting treatment.

Balancing modern and traditional living

It's difficult to hoose because they â€Å"wanna be a part of one world cause it's all shiny and fast but afraid to let go of the other world that's slower and more familiar. â€Å"(pg. 4). This new world, it's fast paced, technologically advanced and overwhelming and it's exceptionally diverse from the peace and calm of life on the reserve. Garnet wants to assimilate to modern society because â€Å"[he] was embarrassed about being an Indian†¦ † (pg. 19) and at various times he was Hawaiian, Polynesian, Mexican orChinese; basically anything other than the â€Å"scary lookin', dirty, drunk, fghtin' in the streets or passed out in the alley'(pg. 22) Indians that his foster father has shown him a while back. The speed of the world is getting faster and faster with the Whitemans inventions and it's hard to differentiate between worlds, the lure of the unknown is great and this modern time is unfamiliar to the ‘born to the land' Indians. Media is, by far, an important source of a lot of our self-education nowadays and we rely on this ermanent source of information to help us learn more about other cultures, beliefs and topics.But it can also be a problematic device as rumours and stereotypical opinions can be spread with a click of the mouse. Back then, books were the major source of information, and when the only books written are by white-men who only are one viewpoint of many in the world, things can get pretty one-sided and it's hard to know what's actually an accurate source of truthful information. Manda Van Os Balancing modern and traditional living By mandavanos ï » ¿Balancing Modern and Traditional Living Balance is an important factor in every life. It’s essential to maintain the control and calm while also experiencing the highs and lows. In Keeper ‘N Me by Richard Wagamese, the protagonist, Garnet Raven, is struggling to figure out his identity knowing that his skin is brown but not understanding how to be â€Å"Indyunn† as he was brought up â€Å"†¦in all-white homes, going to all-white schools [and] playing with all-white kids†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Technology and material items of this new, fast paced life along with media that promotes Indians negatively and the pressure of making your existence count by working so much you have no time to actually enjoy life and all of its values are some of the reasons that balance is even more essential now than ever. The attraction of modern and ‘shiny’ things, as Keeper says, that pull people away from traditional practices and values are indeed, extremely persuasive.It’s difficult to choose because they â€Å"wanna be a part of one world cause it’s all shiny and fast but afraid to let go of the other world that’s slower and more familiar.†. This new world, it’s fast paced, technologically advanced and overwhelming and it’s exceptionally diverse from the peace and calm of life on the reserve. Garnet wants to assimilate to modern society because â€Å"[he] was embarrassed about being an Indian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and at various times he was Hawaiian, Polynesian, Mexican or Chinese; basically anything other than the â€Å"scary lookin’, dirty, drunk, fightin’ in the streets or passed out in the alley†Indians that his foster father has shown him a while back. The speed of the world is getting faster and faster with the Whitemans inventions and it’s hard to differentiate between worlds, the lure of the unknown is great and this modern time is unfamiliar to the ‘born to the land’ Indians. Media is, by far, an importa nt source of a lot of our self-education nowadays and we rely on this permanent source of information to help us learn more about other cultures, beliefs and topics.But it can also be a problematic device as rumours and stereotypical opinions can be spread with a click of the mouse. Back then, books were the major source of information, and when the only books written are by white-men who only are one viewpoint of many in the world, things can get pretty one-sided and it’s hard to know what’s actually an accurate source of truthful information.

Employe Loyalty in Hotel Essay

The essence of competition among hotels is the competition of human resource. If a group of skilled, sophisticated, and loyal employees can be retained by hotels, high quality of service, hotel brand and honor, and revenue can be guaranteed to a large extent. As a result, employee loyalty is one of the core competitiveness of hotel, largely influencing and determining the further development. Also, employee loyalty is one of the indicators of the performance Human Resource Management in a hotel. Employee loyalty is expressed by the behaviors and attitudes that are showed by hotel employees (Ineson & Berechet, 2011). With increasingly severe competition, the quality of product and productivity determine the destiny of a company. The employees who work longer are more familiar with the mission and vision of the company and regular working procedures, with the understanding of how to improve productivity and quality and save the costs, which are the competitive advantages of a company. Employees are part of hotels assets. The society also raises attention to employees’ loyalty, since employees turnover rises with low loyalty, which leads to a series of problems, like unemployment. Before a hotel employs new staffs, the on duty employees will undertake loads of responsibilities. High employee turnover will bring hotel to a chaos and revenue loss. Consequently, employee loyalty counts when dealing with high employee turnover. High employee loyalty can bring in lucrative benefit to hotel by reducing the recruitment and training costs, improving labor productivity, and creating more revenue. Also, the organization structure will be stable with high employee loyalty, stimulating the execution of tasks of related departments and achieving the continuing development. Besides, a specialty of hospitality management is that part-time employees play an important role in the delivery of guest service. Hotel could benefit a lot from properly managing part-time employees by saving training costs. So, part-time employees are another potential group of loyal employees, from which talents might be discovered. Currently, with much more choices are provided to the market, people are given more alternatives and chances, among which there is one that they cherish most and is suitable for their career development, the high employee turnover is a serious problem, which is urging to solve. In the following content, this article is going to talk about the factors that impact employee loyalty, both full-time and part-time, and different ways to improve employee loyalty. Factors that impact employee loyalty Individual Characteristics Individual characteristics, such gender, age, job tenure, and job position, have some impact on employee loyalty. For instance, for older (>40 years old) employees, job security, good maternity/paternity packages, a convenient workplace location, and a planned career path are most important, which reflect their life cycle priorities (Ineson & Berechet, 2011). Also, young employees (25-35 years old) have more ambitious to break rules and make decision without hesitation as long as there are more promising opportunities. Gender difference is obvious in hotels. Traditionally, men are supposed to be the bread-maker in a family, so most cleaning is done by women in the hotel, including the public area and guest rooms. Besides, job position has an impact on employees’ attitudes towards employee loyalty, which means that different hierarchical positions show different employee loyalty in hotel (Ineson & Berechet, 2011). Attitude toward Work With the globalization of economy, the facilities and techniques in hotel industry improve a lot, and so does employees attitude towards career path, changing from consistency to variety—developing through career ladder. In the past, most people’s first job is the last one, whose attitude toward job is that the more stable, the better. Now, however, it is not rare to be told that one’s colleague left to another hotel for further development, mostly because of better opportunities for personal development. Other employees may pay much attention on relatively clean and comfortable working environment offered by most hotels. Since the product of hotel is service, which relies on the direct communication between frontline employees and guests, both frontline employees and managers will deal with all kinds of relations with guests and colleagues, or physical work. If employees’ attitude toward their job is uninterested from the beginning, it’s very hard for hotel to build up employee loyalty. Attitude is everything. Job Commitment and Job Satisfaction Job commitment is measured by how employees feel about the hotel as a whole. It is the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization and is the desire to staying with the organization (Wanda & Salazar, 2011). Job commitment refers to both employees and hotels share goals and values, and willingness to work on behalf of the hotel. Employees can achieve their goals through the success of hotel, which is a win-win situation. Job commitment and job satisfaction are related: job commitment is to measure how’s the employees feel about the hotel; job satisfaction is to measure fulfillment with a specific job. Job satisfaction is strongly associated with employee loyalty. It is easy to work out that satisfied employees will work hard and provide high quality service to guests. Then employees will receive positive response from satisfied guests, which will give employees a sense of fulfillment and increase their loyalty. A virtuous cycle begins. Payroll and Benefits Payroll and benefits are the most direct factors that influence employee loyalty. A high payroll and benefit packages can always retain employee, which just satisfied the most basic needs of living. The most common situation in China is the huge gap between the payroll of managers and frontline employees. Undertaking loads of work and directly dealing with various guests, frontline employees are always offered low payroll, compared with the payroll of hotel managers or with the average salary in the market. Payroll is the most direct factor and may have negative impact on employees’ motivation and it is often the first consideration when people choose jobs. People will naturally compare the payroll and benefit with different hotels. When a feeling of unfairness on payroll arises, the tendency of leaving and slowing down will increase. Training and Opportunities to Develop New Skills Training is one of Human Resource most visible functions. The opportunities of develop new skills measure the management of training program. Training will not only enhance the skills and proficiency in dealing with regular working, but also give employees a sense of fulfillment through learning and making progress. It is also a way to show the care to employees. Hotels who do not invest in employee training cannot see the progress their employees made and the rise of productivity, which is not a long-tern development trategy. Mastering more skills after training, employees will have a much better understanding of their responsibilities, become more qualified to their positions and provide much better service to guests. Training management can be measure by employee satisfaction and guests satisfaction. Factors mentioned above are those that mainly impact full-time employees. Some of them may also work on part-time employee, but the ma in factor that impact part-time employees’ loyalty and commitment is the levels of support received from hotels and supervisors. As mentioned above, employees’ strong commitment will result in greater loyalty and better behaviors. Hotel manager should understand that commitment is a double- way communication. Research indicates that employees who perceive their managers’ commitment will be also committed to their organizations, resulting in much better performance and exceeding hotels’ expectations (Misty, 2009). Additionally, since part-time employees expect less than full-time employees, they will savor the moment of value when treated as part of the organization.

Adam Smiths Invisible Hand

Page 41 questions 2-5, 7 and 9 2) Honoring tradition, because Traditional Economies are based on customs and beliefs of its people, aka cultural things, which is often a tradition. 3) Economic decisions in a command economy are made from government officials considering the resources and needs of the country and distribute resources based on their judgment. 4) Consumers can spend their money as they want; producers decide what goods or services they’ll offer. 5) Adam Smith’s â€Å"invisible hand† does function in both traditional economies and command economies, too.In traditional economies they base everything on survival. To survive, you must think about yourself but more so about your peers to make sure you all produce and consume what you need. In command economies, the government distributes based on their judgments but still after considering what the people need. 7) Well defined economic roles and goals can be a strength in a traditional economy because th ere isn’t much disagreement going on about it. It can also be a weakness because people may not be able to get the role they desire due to their beliefs. ) I believe this is a traditional economy because in a traditional economy, tradition sort of assigns their jobs to them and by belief they can’t change this. Producers have to use materials as custom says, so they may not be able to use them as they would like to. And since they go by tradition, people can’t really change or have any say in the basic economy questions, or how they’re answered. Page 47 questions 2-5, 9 2) So they can provide for everyone. 3) Leaders can use the nation’s resources to produce items that may not make money in a market economy and even the sick or old who aren’t productive economically are provided for. ) Prices are below what they could be worth, and leaders are more unaware of local conditions, making their decisions wrong. The leaders are paged no matter the ir output. No private property makes people want to use resources wrong more. 5) The state rules the individuals every move. 9) Page 57 Questions 2-5, 7, 9 2) Private property, specialization, consumer sovereignty, competition, government involvement, voluntary exchange, profit. 3) People free to make their own economic choices, people are free to develop interests and talents they like. Profit. ) No mechanism for providing public goods and services, cannot provide security to those who cant be productive. 5) Efficiency serves as a reward for hard work and innovation, and if they were inefficient with distributing resources, they would make less profit. 7) What payments they pay to the factor market are sent as income from resources to the households who pay consumer spending to the product market which sends business revenue right back to businesses. 9) The government in this economy can try to help provide for those who can’t be productive and try to do some public services and offer goods.Page 63 questions 2-5, 8-9 2) A market driven mixed economy is an economy where the people want a mixture of command economies and market. France is one of these, their economy emphasized the command system in years following WW2, in the 80’s they witnessed the dissatisfaction with performance of the gov’t. So the French lowered the command role. 3) 4) 5) 8) 9) #1: The producer should be able to decide how many of the digital cameras or of everything else to produce. Because he is producing that good, he should be able to decide who to make it for, as well. #2:

Are Emotion and Reason Equally Necessary in Justifying Moral Decisions Essay

In analyzing human behavior and human thought processes it can be said that reason and emotions are always present in each major decision. There is no human being, even the most morally upright or the most unbiased observer can make crucial moral decisions without having to have felt the power of reason and the equally powerful emotions in his mind and body. If Emotion and Reason are taken together and if the proponent of this paper will not be given the freedom to choose one from the other then the answer to the query is no. There is no need to have the combined benefit of emotion and reason to justify a moral decision. But if allowed a free hand one should insist that Reason is necessary in justifying moral decisions. This paper will look into the implications of using Emotion and Reason in matters regarding moral decisions. This will be done by finding out what is the meaning of emotions and reason in the world of epistemology. But even before that there is a need to have a review of epistemology the theories on how human beings acquire knowledge. Background Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that deals with how man attains knowledge. For many the getting of knowledge from reading, observing the external environment and by doing experiments can be taken for granted. But for philosophers it is not simply about getting data and then having the ability to describe what was observed and inferred afterwards. Philosophers are persistent that man knows the exact process and if there is none then one should suspect if there is actual learning that occurred after all. With this in mind it is time to introduce two diverging schools of thought when it comes to epistemology and how man exactly acquires knowledge. The first group of philosophers believes that human beings can get knowledge using pure reason. It is the use of the rationale mind, to think using logic to deduce and infer from what can be observed. It is easy to say â€Å"reason† but it is difficult to explain the actual processes of how man looks at the different pieces of the puzzle and then be able to see the whole picture and finds a pattern or connection. Reason is the man’s secret weapon and allows him to reign supreme in this planet. There is no other creature that can use the harness the awesome power of reason in the same way as a human being. A good example is on how man can deduce that certain plants are edible while others are lethal. It is common knowledge that man learns to distinguish between a tasty snack and a vine of poison by observing animals around him. This is probably the same technique used to discover that the seeds hidden behind the coffee pod are not only edible but also a source of one heavenly drink. Without the ability to reason it would have been impossible for man to realize that there is something in that coffee pod after observing the goat or maybe birds taking a liking for the sweet fruit. Another example of reason is in finding a pattern and consistency in natural occurrences such as typhoons, fruiting seasons, gestation period etc. Using reason man was able to build a system where he can begin to tame nature and enjoy her benefits. He can plant and expect harvest. He can build shelter and expect to be protected by an upcoming storm. Man can also reproduce his kind and even multiply his flocks knowing pretty well that there are certain laws in nature that he can rely upon and all these are possible by unleashing the power of reason. Diverging Stream Another school of thought when it comes to the acquirement of knowledge is called empiricism. The empiricists believe that it gaining knowledge through reason alone is suspect. They argue that reason can be influenced by many factors and they conclude that biases and prejudices can interfere in the process. This is understandable because for thousands of years man has postulated about something and made predictions about the future only to be made a fool at the end. This is because reason has its limits. It is at this point that that man is advised not to jump to conclusions. Empiricists will assert that accurate knowledge is only possible if man avails of his senses. The eyes to use to see and measure; the hands used to grasp and determine shape; the ears to hear and determine sound; the nose for determining smells; and the tongue for taste. Emotions are feelings and better yet it is a reaction that a person can observe after the body and the mind – or the heart – is exposed to certain external factors. For example, a mother sees her baby crying because she had not eaten the whole day. The mother has no money to buy milk and she too begins to cry. Her emotion – can be labeled as sadness – tells her that her mind and body does not agree to the image that she saw which is her poor baby experiencing acute hunger. There is another view of emotions which can be very helpful in this study. There are those who assert that emotions are not only act as messengers that tell a person whether something good or bad has occurred but they can be feelings that propels a person to do what is right even when faced with great odds. Jaggar remarked that, â€Å"†¦it is appropriate to feel joy when we are developing or exercising our creative powers, and it is appropriate to feel anger and perhaps disgust in those situations where humans are denied their full creativity or freedom† (1996, p. 82). A good example of such an occurrence was again given by Jaggar who wrote, â€Å"Certain emotions may be both morally appropriate and epistemologically advantageous in approaching nonhuman and even the inanimate world Jane Goodall’s scientific contribution to our understanding of chimpanzee behavior seems to have been made possible only by her amazing empathy with or even love for these animals† (1996, p. 182). To those who are familiar with Goodall’s case will admire her courage and determination considering that she had to travel to Africa and be removed from the comforts and security of Western society and be immersed in a hostile environment, not with humans but with wild animals. It is a good instance of how emotions guided someone to do something heroic. It is easy to understand what emotions can do to lift ordinary humans to strive for things that exceed his grasp. Emotions can fire-up a person and allow him to go where no one has gone before. The history of the United States is replete with examples where tough moral decisions were justified with the cry for freedom and equality. But there is also a counter-argument that emotions are not needed to do justify moral decisions. Reason alone should be enough to move a person to do what is right. This is because emotions can be subjective. And there is no need to furnish volumes of scientific material to prove that point. Emotions can even be counter-productive when used to analyze tough moral decisions as evidenced from the results of a new study published in Newsweek. According to Wray Herbert – writing for Newsweek (2008): A large and growing number of psychologists now argue that a welter of prejudices are simmering just below the surface of society: prejudices against many ethnic groups, against women, gays, the elderly, and outsiders like the homeless and drug addicts. The big question is whether these unconscious animosities are potent enough to actually shape our actions, to make us do things we ourselves find shameful. A new study suggests that, unhappily, the answer is yes. Conclusion The question whether emotion and reason are equally necessary to justify moral decisions is a double-headed query that should have been simplified by separating emotion and reason; rephrasing it in two separate questions: 1) Is emotion necessary to justify moral decisions and 2) Is reason necessary to justify moral decisions. If this is possible then the proponent of this study will say no to the first and then say yes to the second question. But since the main topic used the phrase equally necessary then the answer is no meaning there is no need to bring both emotion and reason to the process of analysis of the problem and ultimately giving the justification for a moral decision. To clarify what is meant by using emotion in the decision process, one has to revisit the example of Jane Goodall and his work with endangered species, it was her strong feelings of emotions, specifically empathy that allowed her to do so much. Using this understanding of emotion the proponent still cannot endorse the use of emotion to judge a moral case because even with strong emotions one can still be mistaken. An excellent example would be the events that transpired in Germany in World War II. The residents of this nation enthusiastically embraced the idea given by Hitler that Jews deserve nothing but death and suffering. The majority agreed or at least the Nazis agreed that this is fact, even truth and they are responsible for the death of 6 million Jews. If one will go to Germany today and present the same ideas to present day Germans they will surely not react with the same fervor as they did in the time of Hitler but they will recoil in horror. This is a clear example of the subjectivity of emotions and therefore not needed to analyze tough moral issues.

Peer Assessment as a Teachers Motivating Strategy

Peer Assessment as a Teachers Motivating Strategy Re-orientation Addressing the reading issues that low ability students face in an English class is an essential step towards increasing the academic potential of these students.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Peer Assessment as a Teacher’s Motivating Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In order to study the ways for improving the students’ progress, it is appropriate to propose the intervention based on implementation of the peer assessment into a teaching strategy. The class selected for the intervention includes a group of thirteen year seven low-ability students. It should be noted that the whole class consists of twenty students. Among the specified group of students, two students face problems communicating English as they are ESL students (English as a Second Language); 12 students are with special educational needs (SEN); additionally, one student out of five in the group has eith er dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their knowledge of grammar and syntax rules is of concern and requires attention and improvement (previous results ranged from 3c to 4a; however, the KS2 results showed a tendency of 4a to 5a). Though, compared to the initial test results, the final ones can be discussed as a minor improvement, the current evidence points to the need for the students to work on new skills acquisition and memorising skills development. The literature review provides opportunities to define methods for addressing the needs of the students in question. In their research, Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) note that students usually lack understanding of the role of peer assessment as well as the significance of providing accurate evaluations of their peers.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Zingaro (2013) also focuses on the rol e of peers in conducting assessments. These discussions support the necessity to provide students with a detailed explanation on the process of evaluation of their peers’ success as well as with a close supervision of the specified procedure. Moreover, it has also been noted by Cox and Maher (2007) that peers usually need to provide each other with positive reinforcement so that they could feel motivated to achieve better results. Focusing on low achieving students’ needs, it is also relevant to refer to Carter (2014) who states that these students need graphic data in order to understand the mechanics of the learning process better. It is also suggested by Murayama, Perkin, and Lichtenfeld (2012) that the incorporation of an element of a game into the learning process is helpful to address the specified issue in the learning process, and the introduction of differentiated assignments allowing the choice of interesting tasks proposed by Burguillo (2010) can also enhanc e the learning process among low-ability students. The review of these sources has resulted in designing the intervention oriented to low-ability students and their peers with high scores responsible for providing assessment. Moreover, an overview of the existing literature has shown that students need positive reinforcement from their instructor in order to succeed during the intervention. Thus, the study by Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) shows that it is the teacher’s responsibility to guarantee a positive outcome of the peer assessment. The findings are important support the design and implementation of the effective intervention. Intervention The intervention lasted two weeks, including the observation of students during ten days. In the course of the intervention, lessons in English were conducted, and the students were asked to assess each other’s reading skills with the focus on peer assessment.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Peer Assessment as a Teacher’s Motivating Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first lesson started with the introduction of the students to the idea of peer assessment, and detailed instructions were provided. The students were given a set of statements for the evaluation of their peers, while the teacher explained what each part of the assessment addressed. The teacher suggested that the students should read the questions out loud and ask if anything was not clear. As soon as every student understood the purpose of the questions, they were divided into pairs; then, the reading of the first excerpt from the book for Reading in English started. After the reading, the students were asked to evaluate their peer’s reading skills according to the previously mentioned criteria and instructions and write down the results. Students answered the questions concerning the contents of the excerpt and the new vocabulary; evaluated their peers’ responses assessing the accuracy of the vocabulary use and correctness of the factual information. During two weeks of the intervention, lessons ended with a game or other appropriate activities. One game was based on locating words in a grid filled with letters and defining these words. The students then evaluated their peers’ skills based on the amount of words found and the time taken to locate the words (the students were given fifteen minutes, a minute per word). The basing on the findings of Knight et al. (2014), the teacher scaffolded the students throughout the assessment helping them measure their peers’ success to help the students to feel more confident. The specified model was repeated throughout the conducted lessons in reading with slight alterations because the game could be replaced with a similar crossword activity.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At the end of Week 1, students were asked to answer open questions from the questionnaire. Thus, students were asked to answer Questions 5, 7, 8 (Appendix A). The procedure was repeated at the end of Week 2 in order to ensure comparing the answers with the help of the qualitative data analysis. Being asked to answer questions, low ability students displayed keen interest and genuine excitement about the activities only during the second week because they hesitated to grade each other during the first week of the intervention. However, as soon as the teacher assured them that the grading by peers would not affect their actual score calculated by the teacher, they became rather enthusiastic about the process and reflected these emotions in their answers. Still, high achieving peers seemed to be quite bored after they realised that the pace of the lesson was not going to be accelerated during Week 1 and Week 2, and they informed the teacher about that fact. According to Wadesango Baya ga (2013), the fact that motivation can drop among high ability students in the process of the intervention points at the necessity to introduce the set of activities that would keep the attention of high achieving students and at the same time be approachable for low ability students. As a result, the games to conclude lessons were changed to address the needs of high-ability students. The use of a game as a type of activities that both low and high ability students may participate in seemed to have worked quite well within the specified setting. Following Dominiquez et al. (2013) and Connolly et al. (2012), the success of the strategy can be explained by the fact that games presuppose the incorporation of a competition factor and, thus, make the learning process more engaging for high achievers. Question 6 from the delivered questionnaire was answered by the students at the end of Week 1 in order to state the motivating factors for low achievers to adapt to the peer assessment (Ap pendix A). These students seemed to lack confidence when carrying out their first evaluation of their peers, and were more lenient to each other than the standards required. As a result, the students who were obviously scoring lower than the rest of the class did not feel willing to make greater efforts. As a result, the focus on helpful tips for students was important for the further analysis of the data. At the end of the second week of intervention, the students were asked to answer Questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 from the questionnaire in order to demonstrate their attitude toward the peer assessment and conclude about improvements and motivation (Appendix A). During all ten days of the intervention, the observation was conducted, and the results were fixed with the help of the Observational Checklist (Appendix B). It was important to discover any changes in the activity of low achieving and high achieving students associated with the use of peer assessment at lessons. Changes in activ ities were noted for the further analysis. It was noticed that low ability students and high ability students demonstrated different levels of involvement during Week 1 and Week 2, and the further observation was important to explain these notes. According to Lavy, Paserman, and Schlosser (2011), in order to develop new skills and not only retrieve but also process and remember new information, low ability students have to engage into the meta-cognition process. In other words, the students must understand how they acquire new skills and information, as well as use this knowledge for their further studying process. Peer reviewing, in its turn, allows students to understand how they perceive the world around them. In this context, the observation was necessary to understand how cooperation and interaction with peers could influence the collected results (Cohen, Manion Morrison 2011a; Cohen, Manion Morrison 2011b). Data Analysis The qualitative data aim to represent changes in the s tudents’ perception of peer assessment, whereas the quantitative data aim to demonstrate the changes in the low-ability students’ progress in numerical terms. Qualitative Data Analysis Questions 5, 7, and 8 provided in the used questionnaire are open, and the students were asked to describe their thoughts on the experienced peer assessment in their own words. Students answered these questions after the first week of intervention and after the second week. Table 1 represents meaningful details taken from the students’ answers typical for Week 1 and Week 2 as well as identified themes and emotions. Table 1. Details Taken from Students’ Responses, Themes, and Emotional Colouring Week Question Details from Responses Themes Emotional colouring 1 Why do we peer mark each other’s work? â€Å"Because it’s a new task† Emotions, engagement rates, self-esteem and performance Positive emotions, self-actualisation â€Å"Because we need to know more† â€Å"Because we will make serious mistakes otherwise.† Anything else that might help â€Å"I have problems telling letters like b and d apart† Fear, confusion, unwillingness Negative emotions; uncertainty, fear of failing â€Å"My previous teacher told me I was slow thinking† â€Å"I won’t do the homework, because I have no time for it† Any other comments â€Å"Don’t rate me too low, I have ADHD† Fear, curiosity, enthusiasm insistence, responsiveness Mixed emotions: fear of making a mistake and willingness to succeed in class â€Å"I’m going to be a tough grader.† â€Å"Is there a way to get a better score if my peers rate me too low?† 2 Why do we peer mark each other’s work? â€Å"Because we need to learn on each other’s mistakes† Responsiveness, enthusiasm, pride, cheer Positive emotions: self-assurance, certainty in future success â€Å"Because this he lps us learn new stuff† â€Å"Because we must help each other understand the subject† â€Å"Because it is fun† â€Å"Because it brings us together† â€Å"Because we have to know how far we’ve gone† â€Å"Because it helps us learn about our own progress† Anything else that might help â€Å"I liked the class, especially the evaluation part† Enthusiasm, pride, defensiveness Mixed emotions: fear of performing poorly, enjoyment of the class â€Å"rated my paper unfair† â€Å"I want to have more classes like this† â€Å"I feel I’m much better at writing now† Any other comments â€Å"I’d like to have more of these tasks† Curiosity, enthusiasm, pride, insistence, responsiveness Mixed emotions: enjoyment and the acknowledgement of simplicity â€Å"The assignments became tedious at the end† â€Å"I would like to solve more complicated problems.† â€Å"Tha nks! Now I know how to memorise stuff† Table 1 indicates the coded responses of the students on the purpose of the peer assessment and their overall perception of the task. The responses are coded in relation to the emotions and attitudes experienced by students during the two weeks of intervention and presented in Table 1 as â€Å"Themes†. The generalised discussion of identified emotions is presented in the table in the column titled â€Å"Emotional Colouring† in order to ensure comparing of the students’ emotions, attitudes, and motivation typical for Week 1 and Week 2. According to Table 1, about 75% of students experienced such negatively coloured emotions as uncertainty, fear, and confusion associated with peer assessment during Week 1. Only 35% of students could restate the purpose for peer assessment told by the teacher in instructions. The table also shows that during Week 2, 80% of students formulated the purpose easily and demonstrated such p ositive emotions as enthusiasm and pride. 15% of students felt bored because of the task’s simplicity. According to Acosta and Ward (2010), emotional colouring is important to be checked by instructors in order to determine the emotions that students feel when participating in the class activities. Adopted in the qualitative data analysis, the focus on emotional colouring helps to analyse the students’ answers in terms of their attitudes and emotions. During Week 1, the students were rather reluctant to accept the new approach in learning. The situation differed during Week 2. Thus, following Bryman (2008), the emotional reaction of the students towards peer assessment, as well as the final testing process, can be divided into two major groups, positive and negative emotions. According to Jordan et al. (2013), negative emotions such as fear of making mistakes, lack of initiative and engagement in learning, confusion, and unwillingness are associated with high ability s tudents’ adaptation to the new task. Positive emotions like curiosity, enthusiasm, and pride typical for Week 2, represents students’ achievements in relation to skills acquisition and responsiveness to the teacher’s instructions (Jordan et al. 2013). Quantitative Data Analysis Questions 1 and 2 presented in the questionnaire are related to each other, and the main focus is on Question 2 asking about students’ confidence regarding peer assessment and marking the other students’ work. At the end of Week 2, all students reported that they know how to conduct the peer assessment, and Figure 1 provides the visual representation of the percentage of students feeling confident or non-confident while marking the work of their peers. Differences in the level of their confidence were assessed with the help of the 5-point Likert scale measuring confidence from 1 â€Å"No confidence† to 5 â€Å"Very confident†. Figure 1. Students’ confi dence on how to peer mark another student’s work (%) Figure 1 demonstrates that 70% of students described their attitude as â€Å"Very confident†, 20% of students assessed the level of confidence as good, and 10% of students noted that they were rather confident in terms of peer marking the other students’ work. The results demonstrate that there were no students indicating low levels of confidence in procedure. Denton at al. (2013) note that students are inclined to demonstrate high levels of confidence in peer assessment after a period of practice, when fears are changed with first successes. Therefore, at the end of Week 2, students can reasonably discuss themselves as confident in marking each other’s work. Question 3 asks students about the overall usefulness of using peer marking or peer assessment. Figure 2 demonstrates the percentage of students discussing peer marking as a useful or non-useful strategy after the second week of intervention while utilizing the 5-point Likert scale measuring usefulness from 1 â€Å"Not useful† to 5 â€Å"Very useful†. Figure 2. Students’ opinion on usefulness of peer marking other students’ work (%) Figure 2 shows that 35% of students discussed peer marking as useful, and the other students stated that the procedure was very useful (65%). No students discussed peer marking as useless or ineffective procedure, allowing conclusions about the overall usefulness of peer assessment conducted in the group of students. Lavy, Paserman, and Schlosser (2011) state that peer assessment is highly useful strategy used in the class to improve students’ learning and interactions. Students’ answers to the question about the peer assessment’s usefulness support this idea in terms of students’ perception and experience. Question 4 is directly related to evaluating the usefulness of peers’ comments and assessment to improve the other studentsâ⠂¬â„¢ work. Students were asked to evaluate the impact of peer assessment on achieving improvement with the help of the 5-point Likert scale, measuring usefulness from 1 â€Å"Not useful† to 5 â€Å"Very useful†. Figure 3 shows how students regard usefulness of their peers’ comments in percents. Figure 3. Students’ opinion on usefulness of peers’ comments on students’ works (%) The majority of students (55%) evaluated the usefulness of peers’ comments as â€Å"Very useful†, 40% of students agreed that the comments are useful, and 5% stated that the comments were slightly useful to improve the work. The results demonstrate the students’ positive attitude to the peers’ comments, and they are important to conclude about the role of peer assessment for improving the students’ work. According to Lurie et al. (2006), peers’ comments are usually discussed as the valuable tool to improve the other student s’ performance in different areas. Answers to Question 4 are helpful to conclude that most students are inclined to perceive the peer assessment practice as effective to promote improvement of the work. The key to discussing the improvement of students’ performance influenced by peer assessment is the focus on factors that can motivate students to improve peer marking and guarantee higher results. Question 6 asks students about factors that can improve peer marking and understanding of the requirements. The influential factors are â€Å"Clearer instructions†, â€Å"Sentence starters†, and â€Å"Marking anonymously†. Figure 4 represents choices of helpful factors to motivate understanding by low-ability and high-ability students. Figure 4. What helps students to improve peer marking and their understanding of the task (number of students) According to Figure 4, about 98% of helpful factors to improve peer marking was selected by low achieving stude nts, when only 2% of all factors were chosen by high achieving students. The results show the interest of low ability students in using clearer instructions and making peer assessment anonymously, when sentence starters are chosen as helpful by only 10% of students. In order to improve results in peer assessment, students need to understand the task completely, and certain factors are identified by Murayama, Perkin, and Lichtenfeld (2012) as influential for the effectiveness of peer assessment. Thus, to guarantee improvements in the work, students need to use certain markers of factors to make the whole process of peer marking easier. Figure 5 represents the data collected with the help of the Observation Checklist. It was important to assess the changes in students’ activity and its types during Week 1 and Week 2 in order to conclude about their motivation and involvement into peer assessment. Figure 5. Types of students’ activity during Week 1 and Week 2 (number of t imes active) As Figure 5 shows, most students expressed their willingness to participate in assessment by raising hand. The action was observed 22 times during Day 5 and about 18-23 times during Days 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. During all 10 days of the intervention, students asked the teacher to explain the material 3.9% of the whole number of instances, responded emotionally 13.7%, competed with other students 14.7%, asked for clarification 11.8%, volunteered for peer assessment 10.8%, and asked about the grade 12.8%. The number of students saying â€Å"I don’t know† in response to the activity reduced in 27%. Students often need support and clarification when the new activity is integrated in the lesson, as it is noted by Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000). Thus, students asked additional questions about peer assessment and needed clarification during the first five days of the intervention. The situation changed during Week 2, as students became more active, raising hands an d asking for participation as evaluators. Figure 6 also represents changes in the students’ involvement and interest in peer assessment with the focus on differences in behaviours of high-ability and low-ability students. Figure 6. Activity and involvement of low and high ability students in peer marking during Week 1 and Week 2 (number of times active) In Figure 6, the data is based on the information from the Observation Checklist. Thus, low ability students demonstrated the increases in engagement into the peer marking in about 34% during the second week, when high ability students seemed to be discouraged because their activeness decreased in 15%. The changes in activeness of the students can be explained by the fact that the challenge of completing a difficult task such as peer marking decreased during the second week for high ability students. According to Lai and Law (2013), the responsibility for carrying out peer assessment cannot trigger the high achievers’ initiative during a long period of time. In contrast, activeness of low achieving students increased with gaining confidence and becoming more engaged in the process. Discussion The results of the intervention support the prediction that peer assessment is a motivating and encouraging practice for low ability students, but it can be discussed as boring for high ability students when the challenging component of the practice is not referred to. The qualitative data show that the high achieving students lost interest in the peer assessment during the second week of intervention. Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) state that the key problem of peer assessment as a means to improve the score of low ability students and motivate them can depend on the scaffolding process. The scaffolding strategies used by the teacher can be discussed by the high ability students as tiresome and irritating (Falchikov Goldfinch 2000). The low ability students usually do not pay attention to the scaffolding p rovided by the instructor; however, the manner in which the instructions are delivered may serve as the trigger for the students to develop absence of responsibility. Thus, the qualitative data analysis points at the need to deploy a different scaffolding approach that will presuppose a more active participation of the students (both high and low ability ones) in the assignment. According to Shin (2010), the effectiveness of peer assessment depends not only on the students’ successes in performing the activity but also on the nature of proposed tasks. In this study, tasks in reading proposed for students could be changed to make results more representative. Thus, most high ability students demonstrate lack of enthusiasm due to the simplicity of the tasks, and it will be appropriate to create a set of assignments that become increasingly difficult as a student proceeds with their completion. The specified approach towards developing tests will allow low achieving students to t est their abilities and knowledge to the extent of their capacities and high achieving ones to maintain their academic progress in an appropriate manner. The intervention results reveal the students’ performance was not altered significantly, but the students’ attitude towards acquiring new knowledge and skills changed positively. The purpose of the intervention was to examine peer assessment as a motivating tool for improvement in low ability students. Quantitative data demonstrate that the students became more proactive in their participation in class activities, and they were able to cope with the fear of making mistakes which appeared to be the major barrier for showing the good performance for them. As Wadesango and Bayaga (2013) explain, the ability grouping, as in the setting under research, leads to the development of stronger ties between students and, therefore, it leads to eliminating the fear of being considered negatively. Comfort (2011) notes that low-abi lity students can develop enthusiasm in learning when they understand the task and can demonstrate immediate positive results. The intervention conducted during two weeks allowed decreasing in the level of stress and increasing confidence in performing tasks that these students lacked before the intervention. The study shows that the adequate choice of helpful factors to motivate and support students is effective to promote their involvement and improvement. Limitations The study has certain limitations that restricted reliability. First, the outcomes of the study cannot be applicable to every single instance of low ability students’ training through peer assessment. Indeed, the setting in question was specific and might conflict with the goals and assets of another educational setting as well as the adopted strategy oriented to the selected class. In other words, the approach was tailored to meet the needs of the students that suffered from ADHD and other disorders, had a di fferent ethnic or national background, and experienced difficulties adjusting to the school environment. Comfort (2011) pays attention to determining general and case specific results while conducting the study. It was found that although the research was aimed at testing the idea of using peer assessment coupled with scaffolding in general, it was limited to provide results appropriate for generalising. The number of participants is another limitation that prevents the researcher from considering the implications of the study in a wider context. Since the research demanded the choice of a rather close setting with a relatively small number of participants, the intervention results were rather narrow and suitable for applying only to a specific group of students. Thus, the research has its limits, and needs improvement in terms of involving larger groups of students from different environments. Thus, it is possible to refer to the peer assessment as the intervention in several class es with low-ability students in order to compare results regarding the motivational power of peer marking to improve these students’ successes and involvement into class activities. In terms of methodology, the tools used for collecting the data, such as the questionnaire and Observation Checklist, are rather effective to provide the qualitative and quantitative data for the further analysis. Creswell (2005) notes that a questionnaire is the frequently used tool for qualitative studies to conduct interviews, when checklists are appropriate for observation sessions to collect the numerical data. The limitations of these tools are in the number of questions proposed for students that could be changed depending on variations in the purpose of the future study. In order to guarantee the anonymity and confidentiality following the British Education Research Association (BERA) Guidelines, before the experiment was conducted, teachers and departments were contacted by the author of the study and provided with the informed consent for their students to participate in the research. Thus, the provision of complete anonymity was one of the key conditions of the study. None of the students was named directly in reports throughout the study, and no personal data were disclosed in the process of analysing the case. Therefore, the research complied with the BERA Guidelines, and it did not affect the participants negatively. Implications for the Future Development and Research The outcomes of the study set the premises for carrying out a major analysis of the use of peer assessment along with scaffolding at a more general level, with the focus on involving the larger number of students and possible incorporation of innovative technology, as it is mentioned in the studies by Carter (2014), Connolly et al. (2012), and Knight et al. (2014). It is also possible to refer to the more active use of games in order to motivate students to participate in peer assessment. Accordi ng to Cho, Lee, and Jonassen (2011), students can show improvement in their abilities during these games. Therefore, it may be suggested that games along with the further evaluation may serve as an incentive for the students to achieve the better performance. Moreover, the low scoring students can demonstrate enthusiasm when they perceive the activity as a game and can adapt to less rigid demands which can become a threat to their further performance, as it is discussed by Munro, Abbot, and Rossiter (2013) in their study. As a result, it is important to propose a variety of peer assessment activities in a form of game and other tasks in order for high ability and low ability students to demonstrate change in their progress and motivation. In spite of the fact that the intervention was conducted in the specific and limited setting, it is possible to adapt to the wider audience. It is appropriate to focus on conducting the study that will incorporate students of different social, cult ural, and ethnic backgrounds, and it is imperative to test the effects of peer assessment supported by the teacher’s scaffolding in the larger school area while identifying possible means for improving the current strategy. As the outcomes of the intervention showed, the students became more aware of the stages that they passed as they acquired a specific piece of information or trained in an essential reading skill. This important new knowledge served as a tool for enhancing the learning process for the students, therefore, allowing them to develop the necessary skills within relatively shorter amount of time and apply these abilities in a manner speedier than their previous records showed. Thus, it is important to modify the intervention in order to test changes in the students’ motivation and improvement in a larger context. Conclusion The results of the conducted intervention can be discussed as successful in terms of supporting the idea that peer assessment can be used as an important motivating factor to stimulate the low-ability students’ involvement in class activities and progress. It is possible to propose the interventions based on this one in order to implement in the school environment for improving the participation of low-ability students in class activities. However, some of the hypotheses formulated during the research still need testing because the intervention was based only on the reading tasks, it involved the comparably small number of participants to discuss the received results as rather valid, generalised, and reliable. Nevertheless, the results support the assumption that high ability students may lose motivation for peer assessment and studying according to the specified pattern due to the repetitiveness of the pattern, lesson design, and the overall simplicity of the assignments oriented to low-ability students. Connolly et al. (2012) state that assignments and proposed task for peer assessment need to be highly varied in order to address the needs of students with different levels of academic achievements. The results of the intervention support this idea. Therefore, the tools for involving the high ability students into activities during a long period of time need to be discovered in the future. Still, the results of the intervention support the main hypothesis of the research and answer the question about the role of peer assessment to motivate low-ability students in order to become involved in the class activities and improve their progress. Peer assessment positively affects low-ability students’ motivation and can be used to improve their performance because it is associated with cooperation and the period of adaptation to the new interesting task, as it was previously stated by Knight et al. (2014). The results of the research also have the positive effect on teaching in terms of theoretical discussion of the nature of low-ability students’ motivation and practical us e of peer assessment in order to enhance involvement and learning at lessons. The intervention is helpful for teachers to refer again to the need of motivating not only low ability students because of the academic failures but also high ability learners who need challenging tasks. Thus, it is important to focus on the introduction of differentiated assignments and, therefore, introduction of certain challenges to the relaxed setting associated with peer assessment if students discuss this task as too simple. 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