Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Flagstaff, Arizona :: Flagstaff Personal Narratives Essays

Flagstaff, Arizona Could a town truly transform me as much as I might suspect? Flagstaff, Arizona is perhaps the coolest town that I have ever been, and yet; one of the quirkiest. Is Flagstaff a little mountain town, a major city, a hip college town, or an enormous modern place? Nature and culture of Flagstaff is amazingly different, making it hard for pariahs to discover their place in Flagstaff. I frequently wonder how I wound up in this little town in the mountains. I originated from a generally huge city in Indiana, however realized that I needed to get away from the Midwest’s preservationist handle. I never truly expected to wind up in Flagstaff. For whatever length of time that I can recall that, I had needed to go to the University of Arizona and live in Tucson. I clearly didn’t end up in Tucson. From the first occasion when that I visited Flagstaff, I realized that this town was extraordinary. Maybe it holds more draw for pariahs than local people, yet its condition and culture has unquestionably attracted me, transformed me, and completely changed me. At the point when I chose to go to Northern Arizona University and be a Lumberjack, it was at first because of its notoriety for being the best instructors school in Arizona, yet amusingly, I have never been a training major, or taken any training courses. Training was a packed field, so I engaged being a Computer Science major. Ha! That kept going not exactly a month prior to I realized that would come up short. From the get-go the way towards graduation, I despite everything held an essentially etic perspective of Flagstaff. For about the initial two years in Flagstaff, I saw Flagstaff as a cool town, yet at the same time believed Indiana to be my home. I either didn’t acknowledge or wasn’t permitting myself to turn into a piece of this town. When I understood that I was a piece of this town, my thought of Flagstaff changed, and the town started to transform me. As I saw how this town ticks I needed to figure out how to turn into a greater piece of this town. I comprehended that this town was intensely dependent on the travel industry for it economy. This is the manner by which I came to be a Parks and Recreation Management major. Flagstaff, Arizona :: Flagstaff Personal Narratives Essays Flagstaff, Arizona Could a town truly transform me as much as I might suspect? Flagstaff, Arizona is perhaps the coolest town that I have ever been, and yet; one of the quirkiest. Is Flagstaff a little mountain town, a major city, a hip college town, or an enormous modern community? Nature and culture of Flagstaff is amazingly different, making it hard for outcasts to discover their place in Flagstaff. I regularly wonder how I wound up in this little town in the mountains. I originated from a moderately huge city in Indiana, however realized that I needed to get away from the Midwest’s traditionalist handle. I never truly planned to wind up in Flagstaff. For whatever length of time that I can recall that, I had needed to go to the University of Arizona and live in Tucson. I clearly didn’t end up in Tucson. From the first occasion when that I visited Flagstaff, I realized that this town was unique. Maybe it holds more draw for outcasts than local people, however its condition and culture has certainly attracted me, transformed me, and completely changed me. At the point when I chose to go to Northern Arizona University and be a Lumberjack, it was at first because of its notoriety for being the best instructors school in Arizona, yet unexpectedly, I have never been a training major, or taken any training courses. Training was a packed field, so I engaged being a Computer Science major. Ha! That endured not exactly a month prior to I realized that would come up short. At an opportune time the way towards graduation, I despite everything held a basically etic perspective of Flagstaff. For about the initial two years in Flagstaff, I saw Flagstaff as a cool town, yet at the same time believed Indiana to be my home. I either didn’t acknowledge or wasn’t permitting myself to turn into a piece of this town. When I understood that I was a piece of this town, my idea of Flagstaff changed, and the town started to transform me. As I saw how this town ticks I needed to figure out how to turn into a greater piece of this town. I comprehended that this town was vigorously dependent on the travel industry for it economy. This is the means by which I came to be a Parks and Recreation Management major.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Study from Home 9 Internet Courses to Study Psychology Online

Study from Home 9 Internet Courses to Study Psychology Online Study from Home: 9 Internet Courses to Study Psychology Online Some of the time, you don’t realize what you need to do until you’re effectively out there in the working scene. Out of nowhere you understand that you don’t get individuals. Furthermore, you need to manage them consistently. That’s when you choose you need to consider brain research on the web. That way, you can keep on working while at the same time figuring out how to oversee peaceful connections with the individuals around you every day. Also, you can even make the ways for some new vocation open doors during the procedure. We think it’s a good thought as well. That’s why we’ve aggregated this rundown of the main nine spots to contemplate brain research on the web. Penn State University. You have the choice of a Bachelor of Life Science in Psychology or a Bachelor of Science with a Business Option. The subsequent track sets you up for professions, for example, business, HR, or human services while the first is a progressively conventional readiness to turn into a guaranteed instructor or advisor. Arizona State University. The online Psychology program at ASU is a piece of their New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, so your coursework will be associated with different controls like humanities and political theory. Washington State University. The WSU Global Campus offers its Bachelor of Science certificate in Psychology through conventional undergrad coursework which can be finished totally on the web. Courses are instructed by profoundly gifted and devoted teachers. Northeastern University. This school has a strong scholarly notoriety and an amazing 96% understudy degree of consistency. Classes are thorough and spread general Psychology notwithstanding territories of unique interests. The University of Massachusetts. This program acquires good grades for adaptability, permitting you to structure your coursework around a timetable that addresses your issues. You can even take a quickened track to finish your degree sooner. Bellevue University. With one of the most moderate online degree programs in the country, Bellevue is an extraordinary alternative if you’re on a limited financial plan. It offers a decent decision of a B.A. or on the other hand B.S. degree in Psychology, the two of which can be earned altogether on the web. Focal Washington University. The school offers a 45-credit BA Psychology major to understudies who live outside the neighborhood. The major can be joined with a minor or an extra major in some different regions to procure a degree. It is most appropriate for the individuals who need to utilize their Psychology studies to supplement their profession in a related field, for example, business or social work. The University of Florida. One of the pioneers of online instruction, UFL has each help set up to enable removed understudies to succeed. One of the highlights that separates it is the arrangement of a one-on-one guide to enable every understudy to adjust his/her duties. Since time the executives can immediately turn into a colossal impediment when you start your online investigations, this benefit ought not be neglected. Notwithstanding center classes and general Psychology prerequisites, understudies likewise take lab science classes to fabricate their examination aptitudes. Southern New Hampshire University. Moderateness and certifiable occupation aptitudes are the qualities of online projects at SNHU. The timetable is profoundly adaptable and coursework can be gotten to all day, every day. Teachers are specialists in the field. With the assistance of one of these five-star, adaptable online colleges, you’ll be something other than a rocker therapist quickly.

Monday, August 17, 2020

MIT Gangnam Style

MIT Gangnam Style In case you havent been on the Internet recently, a music video called Gangnam Style was released over the summer by K-pop rapper PSY, and now has the third most views on all of Youtube.  560,719,326 views, as of 8:23am today. 560,719,327 a few minutes later, because a friend came into my room who had never seen it, and I had to educate her. For the rest of this post to make sense, you should probably catch up: Now youre ready.  On September 14, Chris Peterson e-mailed the bloggers, letting us know that the MIT Korean Student Association was filming an MIT Gangnam Style. At the beginning of October, I started seeing notices on the DanceTroupe mailing list about Gangnam Style rehearsals. On Sunday October 21, there was a Gangnam Style flashmob on Killian Court. This morning, the official MIT Gangnam Style music video was released to the public. Only an MIT Gangnam Style video could feature: the MIT Dean of Admissions, one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project and co-chair of President Obamas Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the father of modern linguistics, and one of  Times 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012 for his liquid metal battery research. Without further ado, prepare to be rendered speechless:

Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Integration At Conifex.com Was Quiet Simple - 1507 Words

The integration to Conifex.com was quiet simple. The current manual posting section on Conifex.com was replaced by embedding the ADP E-Recruitment External Career Centre into the career page. This removed the manual process of posting information on the Conifex website and flowing the information from the ADP site (Figure 14). Figure 14: Conifex.com Join Our Team Forest Products Association of Canada – The Greenest Workforce The project deliverables include the integration of the job posting data to the Forest Products Association of Canada job platform – The Greenest Workforce (thegreenestworkforce.ca) (Figure 15). This website was constructed to focus on forest industry labour opportunities and to promote the association members. The website has many interesting features that educate the public on the jobs in the forestry industry, the employers, and the communities in which they operate. Figure 15: The Greenest Workforce.com The job platform tool will accept the job position data from the ADP E-Recruitment external career centre and redisplay it in the FPAC format (Figure 16-1 and Figure 16-2) . All Conifex positions will then have a link to move the candidate back to the ADP E-Recruitment site (Figure 13-1) to apply for a position. Figure 16-1: Conifex Page - The Greenest Workforce.com Figure 16-2: Conifex Job Postings - The Greenest Workforce.com Project Outcomes The initial project scope was to use the ADP E-Recruitment application to post and trackShow MoreRelatedProject Implementation : Adp E Recruitment Implementation Plan2269 Words   |  10 Pagesproduct to provide feedback on the functionality. 5. Integration development – working with the website developers for the Conifex and FPAC websites to develop data integrations to each site. 6. Application training, User testing and configuration refinement – provide end-user training of the application functionality and workflow on the configured test site. The site will then be tested for workflow process, data input, approvals process, integration of websites and applicant process. Additional configuration

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Essay about What is a child - 1374 Words

What is a Child? Discuss how a scientific, a social constructionist and an applied approach attempt to answer this question. This essay will attempt to discuss how sociologists have attempted to answer the question. Childhood is viewed differently, depending on the country being considered, the period of time being studied or a personal viewpoint. According to the UN convention, a child is anybody under the age of eighteen. Several studies have been undertaken by sociologists to examine childhood. This essay will attempt to discuss three major approaches: 1) a scientific approach tries to study this objectively by observation and experimentation to prove a theory. This essay will discuss Kohlberg’s theory of â€Å"Moral development†. It will†¦show more content†¦The Reliability of Kohlbergs testing is questionable. (Woolfolk, A.E) questioned if all researchers assess a child’s moral levels in the same way. Is moral logic the same moral behaviour? Critics question if the answer to problems that a person chooses given a moral situation has anything to do with the age of an indiv idual or the reasoning powers of an individual. Do both sexes Male and female go through the same stages of development? Carol Gillian (1982) claimed that the masculine and feminine perspectives of moral dilemmas differed depending on concepts, relationships, justice and equality. The answers has more to do with the fact of the person’s reasoning rather than age or the stage of moral development In the course of conducting the studies it was discovered that there were various variations between ages and reasoning of children. A Child’s ability to reason and make moral choices at different ages is dependent on the socio-economic upbringing of the children. The examples in the book about Childhood indicate that children from different countries and backgrounds emphasise this. For example when the children from Chittagong in Bangladesh coming from two different socio economic background were asked the question,Show MoreRelatedWhat Is Child Slavery?907 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is child slavery? This is the slavery of children right from a very young age, in which this young kids are forced into labor or all other conditions that are not suitable for a little child. The rights of this children are taken away while they are young and are forced to do different things against their will for which they are often not rewarded or underpaid. In their book Modern-Day Slavery 2008, Van de Glind and Kooijmans defined child slavery based on the two different strategies usedRead MoreWhat Is Child Dedication? Essay2618 Words   |  11 Pagesâ€Æ' II. CHILD DEDICATION What is Child Dedication? It is the ceremonial act of publicly consecrating a child’s life to God, undertaken by parents, during a worship service in the temple. Through this symbolic rite, parents, on one hand, promise to raise the child in the fear of the Lord, and the congregation, on the other hand, commits to help the parents achieve such a goal by keeping an eye on the child in the community and by encouraging them to bring the child to Sunday schools, worship servicesRead MoreWhat Are The Causes Of Child Obesity?906 Words   |  4 PagesWhat are the Causes of Child Obesity? The rates of child obesity have been increasing in America, and there are more than nine million children between the ages of six to nine years old that are considered overweight (â€Å"Obesity Statistics†). A large percentage of these children are likely to be obese as adults. Lack of diet, exercise, and psychosocial environments are the main risk factors for child obesity. Our First Lady’s platform on child obesity has helped educate children and adults to becomeRead MoreWhat Affects Child Obesity? Essay1397 Words   |  6 Pages What Impacts Child Obesity?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Child obesity is fast growing epidemic throughout the United States, and is becoming a major health concern for the children of today’s society. A child with a BMI (body mass index) greater than 95 percent is considered obese; however, if a child has a BMI of 85, but still less than 95, they are only considered overweight. Since the 1960’s, the prevalence of child obesity has tripled beyond its original percentage. Many factors can influence a child becomingRead MoreThe Importance Of What A Child Needs960 Words   |  4 PagesWhat a Child Needs In many decades back, a family was seen as a stable foundation between men and women. Men were seen as the breadwinners. Women as housewives who provided social, emotional, and physical support. That was an ideal family for all cultures and religion. Families followed their cultural icons by having kids, proper education, and a stable household. However, since the beginning of the 1960s, the traditional family structure began to decline. Movements around the country encouragedRead MoreWhat Are The Child s Strengths?866 Words   |  4 PagesWhat are the Child’s Strengths? Be specific with examples. Cassandra, the student I have been observing, demonstrated interpersonal (social) and intrapersonal skills and academic strengths. First, I recognize one of Cassandra’s social strengths was her ability to follow teacher directions. I observed three instances in which Cassandra demonstrated the ability to follow directions compared to her peers. For example, I notice students at three workstations ignoring the teacher directions to cleanRead MoreWhat Is Child Care Programs?914 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction The US department of health and human services has indicated a commitment to â€Å"reduce the dependency of needy families through the promotion of job preparation, work and marriage† and to â€Å"provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes† (Office of Family Assistance, 2017). With changes in family dynamics and the shifting economy it is increasingly less plausible for single-earner households to achieve economic stability (Stevens, 2017). ParentsRead MoreWhat Does It Become Child Abuse?797 Words   |  4 PagesChild Abuse Is disciplining your child ok? To what extent does it become child abuse? Discipline your child is an everyday thing. What else would they know what not to do when your kick, slap, punch or even hot scolding bath/showers. It comes to the point where it needs to be controlled. There are other ways. Physical abuse Children are innocent human beings. Growing up they have to learn right from wrong. When they do something bad or not right you have to properly discipline them without hurtingRead MoreWhat Should Be The Punishment For Child Marriage?845 Words   |  4 Pagestalks about what should be the punishment for child marriage. Women that was sitting on the group with the nose covered with their saris kept chanting out â€Å"punishment for child marriage†. The women wanted the punishment for child marriage to be one month in jail for the parents and all concerned. Basic needs for the parents if they go to jail for one month are food, clothing, health treatment, education, housing, rightful work, and rightful rest. The first page also talk about what are the fundamentalRead MoreWhat Are Three Stages of Child Development3389 Words   |  14 PagesWhat are the three stages of child development Write two paragraphs on each of the two sub-phases of the first stage 0 to 6 years. Child development refers to the biological and psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Supporting Health And Wellbeing Education Essay Free Essays

Every school and baby’s room in Scotland are on a journey to excellence, all schools and early old ages scenes are at different phases of implementing a new Scottish course of study, entitled Curriculum for Excellence, where there are three nucleus topics, one of which is wellness and well-being. The experiences and results of this topic are listed under the headers mental, emotional, societal and physical well-being, be aftering for picks and alteration, physical instruction, physical activity and athletics and nutrient and wellness. As stated in the Curriculum for Excellence â€Å" Children and immature people will develop their acquisition in wellness and well-being by developing the cognition and apprehension, accomplishments, capablenesss and properties which they need for mental, emotional, societal and physical well-being now and in the hereafter † . We will write a custom essay sample on Supporting Health And Wellbeing Education Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now In readying and during the digest of this undertaking, I have taken history of university readings and notes, literature, statute law, authorities guidelines, local authorization and the baby’s room betterment program. The first reading which influenced my undertaking was â€Å" Promoting Health a Practical Guide by L Ewles and I Simnett † I realised wellness has to be promoted in a holistic position and all facets of wellness are interrelated and mutualist. ( See appendix one ) I will associate the theory of wellness and well-being within the country of physical exercising for the kids, parents and staff in Abronhill Nursery School. At present turn toing wellness and well-being, the baby’s room have already received the gold award for wellness publicity. The manner frontward here is to guarantee all experiences and results, at the early degree are being addressed. Taking history of the guideline which is supported by The World Health Organisation, kids should hold at least one hr of moderate activity most yearss of the hebdomad. In â€Å" Let ‘s Make Scotland More Active † it is emphasised that this hr will merely hold a positive result if it is choice clip, hence my planning for the acquisition experiences in physical exercising had to be thought out and implemented to guarantee kids benefit from them. I knew that I had to pull off my clip in order to accomplish the 10 experiences with the kids and discussed this with the caput instruct or and the two members of staff assigned to be my wise man. My chief focal point in each experience was the results and experiences from the Curriculum for Excellence, in add-on to this I researched and read relevant readings. As detailed in be aftering grid one ( Appendix two ) , I read the Curriculum for Excellence and the Health publicity and nutrition ) ( Scotland ) Act 2007. I gained a cognition and apprehension and was able to take the appropriate results for my planning. When frontward planning, I took into history that physical exercising is critical for physical development, but besides cognitive development, which I learned in one of my talks. This is highlighted in The Helping Young Children to Learn Through Movement Programme by Celia O Donovan who points out that â€Å" Children learn through motion and have a better opportunity of going successful scholars if they develop, organic structure consciousness, musculus tone, balance control, clasp and finger motion and manus to oculus co-ordination † , this in bend links to th e five major constituents of wellness, â€Å" cardio-respiratory, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibleness and organic structure composing † . ( Powers and Dodd 2009 ) In my first learning experience, I planned an experience that related to nursery planning and took history of kids involvements. On contemplation I know that I provided an activity where the kids were to the full engaged, extremely motivated and interacted good, but in treatment with my wise man, it was pointed out that I must concentrate more on the results I wanted the kids to accomplish, this was constructive unfavorable judgments. I will concentrate on the kids ‘s advancement and I will measure suitably. My self-evaluation allowed me to be after my following experience successfully. â€Å" Self-evaluation has become increasing stratified across Scots instruction and has contributed good, to bettering accomplishment for all kids † ( HIME, 2007 ) With mention to The Child at the Centre, quality index 2.2 â€Å" The extent to which parents, carers and households are committed to and actively involved in the life of the Centre † . My following planned experience larning grid three ( Appendix two ) takes history of parents and carers who where encourage to take portion in a Zumba category. It promotes a cognition and apprehension of what I am seeking to accomplish with the kids and involves the parents in physical exercising. I have read parents as spouses and I know that in Abronhill nursery school â€Å" Parents and carers will be encouraged to take portion in the service with staff set uping effectual partnership and maintaining in regular communicating † ( National Care Standards, 2002 ) . This experience besides takes history of â€Å" Young Children ‘s Health and Wellbeing by Underdown A † which states â€Å" Parents are the most important resource in advancing kids ‘s wellness and well-be ing, and they should be valued, respected and supported † . On contemplation I can clearly see how this has been put into pattern and how to include parents in their kids ‘s acquisition. I have included exposure of the wall show I created, utilizing parent ‘s remarks ( See appendix three ) . Within this experience I had a duty to run into the demands of an single kid. I was specifically asked to back up her in the afternoon zumba category, as she had already participated in the forenoon. Her keyworker felt support was necessary as she attendances nursery all twenty-four hours. As my observation notes show alternate support was offered. I closely monitored her advancement and attended to her single demands. My uninterrupted planning for physical exercising within the nucleus topics of wellness and well-being, I am really cognizant of doing certain I plan a assortment of activities to turn to the results. The kids have to be excited and motivated by the challenge set within the activity and this clip I planned an obstruction class. Planing grid four ( Appendix two ) . As my observation notes show the kids where a spot over excited at the beginning, but I was able to settle them, by calmly speech production to the kids and including them in the presentation. It was of import for the kids to listen to the regulations and remain safe. On contemplation in conversation with my wise man I was cognizant of pre-positional linguistic communication and she specifically asked me to listen for kids who used this, as she will farther develop this linguistic communication and take the kids ‘s larning frontward. I now understand that during activities there can be really of import links to other countries of the course of study. The experience I planned for Monday 8th November larning grid figure five ( Appendix two ) was to be held out-of-doorss. This experience was included in nursery planning. ( See Appendix four ) On contemplation I feel the conditions was a factor that influenced the kids ‘s enjoyment, it was stop deading cold and the kids did non profit from this experience, even though they had appropriate vesture on and I am cognizant if the importance of out-of-door acquisition in all conditions conditions. With mention to ( Appendix two ) experiences numbered six and seven, I feel the equipment ( See appendix five ) played a large portion in the kids ‘s acquisition and promoted physical exercising. The difference was evident with all of the kids, in one instance a male child demand a drink of H2O from being on the Wii tantrum and said to me â€Å" I will be back for another spell † . I noticed this in contrast to see figure five, did nil to excited them or desire them to carry-on . I truly learned from this experience how equipment, conditions and motive truly affects the kids ‘s battle and acquisition, in future I would will measure these factors and have another experient planned as a dorsum up. I feel the Wii tantrum is relevant up-to-date, educational and popular with the kids and the experience can be linked from place. On contemplation I used congratulations suitably to actuate the kids and promoted independency, the kids enjoyed the chance to exert. In wellness and well-being, during this arrangement I have addressed and been successful in supplying many chances for the kids to develop a â€Å" positive experience of healthy life activities to larn to get by with ambitious state of affairss and assist them to get down to â€Å" get the capacity to prolong physical, emotional and societal well-being † ( Curriculum for Excellence ) Within this baby’s room puting the caput instructor and staff are advancing healthy instruction to each other, visiting staff, kids and parents. My work fitted in the overall properness in the baby’s room betterment program and I successfully addressed physical exercising in the early old ages puting. Relevant readings and farther surveies made me cognizant of how other factors influence the wellness and well-being of kids e.g. fleshiness, poorness, attitude of parents and environmental factors. In the hereafter I will be able to confidently utilize the cognition and accomplishments I have gained in the country of physical exercising. I shall widen my cognition of the other factors by reading and research. I will be able to travel in to other early old ages scenes and set my cognition into pattern, but I besides need to analyze the others two countries entitled diet and nutrition and mental wellness and wellbeing as they are interlinked. How to cite Supporting Health And Wellbeing Education Essay, Essay examples

Monday, May 4, 2020

BP Case study Marketing

Question: Describe about the BP Case study? Answer: The case study of transformation of BP was started in 25th of June 1992. A major crisis was faced by BP that led to the exclusion from CEO position (Rogan, Gratton GHoshal, 2002). Private sector ownership transition was coincided in 1987 with the fall down of stock market, and oil price is falling down and the rising debt was increasing in number of units after the gulf war. BP generated around $120 billion annual revenue in 2001and employed 100000 people in more than 100 nations and also included them in the top three companies in the oil industry. In 2001 the series of mergers and acquisition emerged as top notch in the sector of oil industry and arrangement of industry was triggering fundamental changes. At last BP registered highest return on the capital invested in comparison to other top oil companies and also earned profit with the excess of a billion dollar per month. They began with a number of acquirement and amalgamation that positioned them into super weighted class. It is known that during 10 or 12 years ago BP was considered as compilation of fiefdoms. The word fiefdom means were they reside in split buildings and also hold a distinct management system with a range of philosophies, here a fiefdom does not unite with each other and people hardly reach to top as combined unit. These case studies tell us about the way that such achievement has been registered in the organization, process of management and quality of leadership (Rogan, Gratton GHoshal, 2002). Line of sights was clearly created by the performance contract process for the leaders of sole business unit and also shared to the objectives of corporate business. Performance management process was described by David Watson as a structure of having conversation. He says that it is the product of series which is connected with the peer groups and top management team. Annual process is a leader that unites with their team unit to identify their goal which can be social, environmental and finan cial in nature which is clearly outlined in the performance indenture. After that the highest performing team met with their leaders in order to review their growth towards the assigned target. To enhance the learning value of conversation is to legitimize dissent and challenge. People are challenged whole time these words are said by John Browne. When Rodney chase and John Browne connected to one of the UKs aligning organization occurred and also the relation between the social order and oil industry become immensely tensed. At that point of time society asked for energy product and also mentioned that their production can be harmful for the society and nation. When the accident occurred, the result of that is publically outrage. In 1997 this type of tension comes to BP, when BP was charged by an NGO Amnesty International for funding the Colombias private armies. In the end in 2001 were they described the challenge which is faced by the company and also they respond the challenges that were faced by the managements. References Rogan, M., Gratton, L., GHoshal, S. (2002).The Transformation of BP. Sussex Place, regent's Park, London: London Business School.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Johnson Behavioral System (JBS) Model Essays - Nursing Theory

Johnson Behavioral System (JBS) Model In this paper, I am going to summarize the Johnson Behavioral System (JBS) Model (Johnson, 1980, 1990), explain the perspectives for nursing practice, and explore its applicability in nursing practice. First, I am going to talk a little about Dorothy E. Johnson the nurse that wrote the Model. Dorothy E. Johnson was born August 21, 1919, in Savannah, Georgia (Lobo, 1995). She received her A.A. from Armstrong Junior College in Savannah, Georgia, in 1938; her B.S.N. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1942; and her M.P.H. from Harvard University in Boston in 1948 (Conner, Harbour, Magers, and Watt 1994). Johnson was an instructor and an assistant professor in pediatric nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing from 1944 to 1949. From 1949 until her retirement in 1978 and subsequent move to Key Largo, Florida, she was an assistant professor of pediatric nursing, an associate professor of nursing, and a professor of nursing at the University of California in Los Angeles (Conner et. al. 1994). In 1955 and 1956 she was eligible to go on a sabbatical and went to the Christian Medical College School of Nursing in Vellore, South India, were she was interested in starting a baccalaureate program which was received well (Lobo, 1995). Dorothy Johnson has had an influence on nursing through her publications since the 1950s. Throughout her career, Johnson has stressed the importance of research-based knowledge about the effect of nursing care on clients. Johnson was an early proponent of nursing as a science as well as an art. She also believed nursing had a body of knowledge reflecting both the science and the art. From the beginning, Johnson (1959) proposed that the knowledge of the science of nursing necessary for effective nursing care included a synthesis of key concepts drawn from basic and applied sciences. In 1961, Johnson proposed that nursing care facilitated the client's maintenance of a state of equilibrium. Johnson proposed that clients were "stressed" by a stimulus of either an internal or external nature. These stressful stimuli created such disturbances, or "tensions," in the patient that a state of disequilibrium occurred. Johnson identified two areas that nursing care should be based in order to return the client to a state of equilibrium. First, by reducing stressful stimuli, and second, by supporting natural and adaptive processes. Johnson's behavioral system theory springs from Nightingales belief that nursing's goal is to help individuals prevent or recover from disease or injury. The "science and art" of nursing should focus on the patient as an individual and not on the specific disease entity. Johnson used the work of behavioral scientists in psychology, sociology, and ethnology to develop her theory. The model is patterned after a systems model; a system is defined as consisting of interrelated parts functioning together to form a whole (Conner et. al. 1994). Johnson states that a nurses should use the behavioral system as their knowledge base; comparable to the biological system that physicians use as their base of knowledge (Lobo, 1995). Theory The reason Johnson chose the behavioral system model is the idea that "all the patterned, repetitive, purposeful ways of behaving that characterize each person's life make up an organized and integrated whole, or a system" (other). Johnson states that by categorizing behaviors, they can be predicted and ordered. Johnson categorized all human behavior into seven subsystems (SSs): Attachment, Achievement, Aggressive, Dependence, Sexual, Ingestive, and Eliminative. Each subsystem is composed of a set of behavioral responses or tendencies that share a common goal. These responses are developed through experience and learning and are determined by numerous physical, biological, psychological, and social factors. Four assumptions are made about the structure and function of each SS. These four assumptions are the "structural elements" common to each of the seven SSs. The first assumption is "from the form the behavior takes and the consequences it achieves can be inferred what drive has been stimulated or what goal is being sought" (Johnson, 1980). The ultimate goal for each subsystem is expected to be the same for all individuals. The second assumption is that each individual has a "predisposition to act, with reference to the goal, in certain ways rather than in other ways"

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Best SAT Math Prep Books (2019) Expert Reviews

Best SAT Math Prep Books (2019) Expert Reviews SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips While there are many differentSAT prep books, they all have one thing in common: they allclaim to be the best. How canyou figure outwhich one will actually helpyou succeed on the SAT? This guide will give you myrecommendations for the best prep books for theMath section of the SAT.Some of these books are best for strategies and thinking through the problems, while others are best for practice problems. A few are geared toward top scorers, while somewill help you improve a low score fast. Before delving into the list, I have to make one disclaimer: Disclaimer Everyone's learning styles and motivation levels are unique. Thus, I don't believe there's a one-size-fits-all book out there that will help everyone equally. While these recommendations should help a lot of students, they can't necessarily account for everyone's individual differences. That's why I'm a huge proponent of PrepScholar's online method of test prep. It diagnoses your strengths and weaknesses and customizes the test prep for you and your schedule. Because of this high level of personalization, it's very effective forhelping students study efficiently and make big leaps in their SAT scores. That being said, prep books can be very helpful in reviewing material and giving you practice with hundreds of sample SAT questions. It's great that you're already starting to break your test prep down by section by focusing specifically on math. Since the best representation of SAT questions come from the test makers themselves, I'll start this list with College Board's The Official SAT Study Guide. There are some pros and cons to this book, but perhaps the biggest con is that you can find these same eight practice tests for free online!Read on to decide whether or not this book would be helpful to you. The College Board's Official SAT Study Guide Price:About $19 Pros When it comes to the SAT, the best sample questions come directly from the test makers themselves.College Board's The Official SAT Study Guideincludes eight real practice tests with official answer explanations. Since College Board makes and administers the SAT, thisbook contains the best representation of the real test. However, and this is an important point, College Board has also released PDFs of every chapter and practice test in the book on its website!As part of its efforts toward greater transparency and equalizing access to test prep, College Board has published its practice tests and offered free resources via Khan Academy. The College Boardbook's main strength is its official SAT questions, since they are the very best practice material. Beyond the practice tests, the book's greatest strengths are its review of the overall test structure and format, its presentation of math concepts, and its description of the new essay. Since the SAT is a written test, it's a good idea to have hard copies of practice tests to gain practice in the most authentic way.Whether this means buying this book or printing out the free tests yourself is up to you. College Board's real questions will get you familiar with how questions are worded, how they're arranged, and other patterns of the SAT. You'll gain practice with the new structure, which gives you a 65-minute Reading section, 35-minute Writing section, and two math sections. The eight full-length practice tests add upto 24 hours of prep or 32 hours if you include the essay section. Cons While College Board's official questions are helpful and effective practice, their answer explanations are not as detailed as they could be. They explain the answer choices but don't give you much information about how to approach and think through the question. Since there are a limited number of officialpractice tests, you might choose to stagger each one throughout your prep as a way to measure your progress and evaluate your approach. The tests could be best used as measuring posts; College Board's official material won't help you as much as some other options in terms of learning and test-taking strategies. Overall, you should familiarize yourself with the material in this book, since it contains the most accurate practice questions compared to any other source. Whether you choose to do so with a hard copy of the book or via College Board's website (for free) is a matter of personal preference. Now that you know where and how to locate official College Board practice problems, let's discuss the best math prep books, starting with the best book for content instruction. Best SAT Math Prep Book for Instruction Steve Warner's SAT MathSeries Price:About $30 Pros Steve Warner offers several SAT math books. The best one for content instruction isNew SAT Math Problems, but you can also find workbooks geared towards students in certain scoring levels. New SAT Math Problems is one of the best books out there for content review and instruction. He discusses the new areas emphasized on the test:Problem Solving and Data Analysis, Heart of Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry, and Passport to Advanced Math. The book arranges concepts and their corresponding practice problems in level of difficulty, from Level 1 up to Level 4. This organizationby level, rather than problem type, is useful, as it allows you to integrate skills and ensure you don't leave out any important concepts. It also lets students focus on the difficulty level that will help them most improve their scores, with students scoring around a 600 advised to focus on Levels 2 through 4 and students aiming for 700+ directed to the Level 4 and 5 problems. The lessons are carefully crafted and paired with practice problems to test your understanding. The questions are realistic and come with detailed explanations, which often go overa few different approaches (unlike College Board's single approach explanations). These explanations allow you to carefullyunderstand your mistakes while learning how to approach a similar question the next time. Cons One major con to this book is simply its restricted length. Compared to Steve Warner's multiple-issue series on the math section of the old SAT, his currentbooks don'trepresent the same scope of material that was so useful to students at all different scoring levels. Not only will future additions be helpful, but they will ideally break down the concepts into even smaller components. This book is a good start, but students who want to review concepts would be best served with a detailed and specific breakdown of each and every one. If you're using this book, you may want to consult other resources to ensure that you've filled in every gapin knowledge for the SAT. Finally, the New SAT Math Problemsbook may not contain a sufficient number of practice problems for your prep. Its strength lies in content instruction and review with practice problems interspersed by concept and difficulty level. If you're looking for a large set of practice problems to test your knowledge, then the next book on this list would be a better resource. Best SAT Math Books for Practice Questions Dr. Jang's SAT 800 Math Workbook for the New SAT Price:About $25 Pros If you're looking for math practice problems, you'll find over 1,500 in Dr. Jang's Math Workbook for the New SAT. This book discusses math topics and concepts, but its real strength lies in the sheer number of practice problems. Since timing yourself, answering questions, and analyzing your mistakes is a key part of your preparation, this book could be a very effective study tool. The practice problems throughout the book are arranged by difficulty level, so if you've got a certain question type mastered then you can challenge yourself with harder ones. Additionally, Dr. Jang's Math Workbook has a diagnostic test at the beginning and 10 sample tests that you can take under test-like conditions. Not only are the practice questions abundant, but they are realistic. You'll find the addition of trigonometry, and the questions will be marked as non-calculator and calculator. This book is well customized to the concepts, format, and rules of the SAT. Cons As mentioned above, this book is most useful for its abundance of practice problems. It's less ideal for students looking for thorough content review. It also is not the best source of test-taking strategies, like time management. Furthermore, its answer explanations are not all that varied, so you won't gain a ton of insight into different approaches you could use to solve a problem. Dr. Jang's Math Workbook is useful for students at all levels, but you'd probably want to supplement it with a book that provided more in-depth instruction, strategies, and explanations. While the above books cater to students at various scoring levels, the two books below are best for strong math students aiming for top scores. Barron's Math Workbook Price:About $12 Pros Barron's Math Workbook has hundreds of practice SAT math questions, all with detailed answer explanations. The questions are divided by content area and concept, so you can learn about a specific skill and then drill with relevant problems. In addition to all of the practice questions, there are two full-length practice tests at the end of the book. You'll also get some test-taking tips, but the real strength of the book lies in its abundance of practice questions. Cons Students have noted some typos and spelling errors in Barron's, as if the company rushed to get the book to print without thorough copyediting first. It doesn't seem to have substantial mistakes, but these little typos can be distracting, especially as you're going through the detail-oriented work of SAT prep. As a traditional SAT book, it's written in astraightforward style that can get a bit dry and boring. If you're looking for a more engaging, personable, or funny writing style, you won't find it in Barron's. Of course, since the book is more of a workbook full of practice questions, you should look elsewhere for in-depth lessons and content review. Best SAT Math Books for High Scorers PWN the SAT Math Guide Price:About $29 Pros PWN the SAT is geared towards highly achieving, motivated students aiming for a top score in SAT Math. The book is written in an engaging, irreverent style,which helps students stay engaged with the material. It's divided into five categories: Techniques, Heart of Algebra, Passport to Advanced Math, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, and Additional Topics in Math. The book breaks down each SAT Math category into its component concepts. It has realistic practice problems that are designated as either "Calculator" or "No calculator" to help you get ready for both question types. Each chapter also provides a list of official questions of a certain type to help you drill specific skills. Finally, you can register on the PWN SAT website to get bonus material, as well as watch video answer explanations that walk you through practice problems, step by step. Cons The main con of PWN the SAT Math Guide is that its target audience is limited. It will help top scorers with strong math skills, but it won't be as accessible to students who struggle with math. If you're looking for foundational knowledge, then PWN the SAT isn't the book for you. It won't be the best resource to raise low math scores. Rather, it's better to bring already strong scores into the top percentiles. Dr. John Chung's SAT Math: 60 Perfect Tips and 15 Complete Tests Price:About $39 Pros As compared to College Board's four practice tests, 15 is certainly an improvement! Dr. Chung's SAT Math book is one of the most comprehensive currently out there in terms of content and practice questions in one place. This book is best for strong math students and top scorers. It doesn't go over the fundamentals and assumes its readers have a stable foundation in math concepts. It advertises itself as "designed for students to get a perfect score" and provides useful examples and practice questions to this end. The 60 "perfect tips" are brief descriptions of concepts, like linear function, exponents, transformations, and average speeds, paired with a few examples and practice problems to reinforce your understanding. Cons First, because there aren't a lot of copes available anymore, this book can be quite expensive. Additionally, Dr. Chung does not give you much in the way of review, lessons, or concept reinforcement. The book mostly assumes you have a strong foundation in math.It's a "no-frills" kind of book that essentially looks like a list of practice problems; you won't find much in the way of introduction or narrative. It's not a book you can fully rely on for your test prep, and it's probably not the best one to start out with, either. Some students have also noted some typos in Dr. Chung'svarious editions, as if the books wererushed to publication without proofreading for all the errors. While it's great that this bookhas so many practice questions, it seems like there may besome careless mistakes throughout the material. Finally, this book is not particularly descriptive of the changes to the SAT. It contains relevant practice problems, but it doesn't go into detail about new skills and question types or even the new structure. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the changes, like the addition of trigonometry and non-calculator questions, outside of this book. The 150 Hardest SAT Math Problems Reincarnated for the New SAT Price:About $10 Pros The 150 Hardest SAT Math Problems Reincarnated for the New SATwas designed for the "A+ student who wants to go from 700 to a perfect score" and doesn't want to waste her time on "fodder problems." This book collected the trickiest questions that most students missed over the last ten years of SAT administrations. According to the author, he "reincarnated" these questions in the format of the new SAT. These questions are useful for top scorers who want to make sure they understand fundamental concepts of algebra, geometry, and numbers and how to apply them to the most challenging question types. At the same time, this book has some major weaknesses that you should understand before purchasing a copy. Cons The author maintains that his problems have been "reincarnated" to fit the redesigned test, but he doesn't seem to have changed much beyond reducing the answer choices from five to four. He does include some non-calculator questions, but other than that the author downplays the major changes that were madeto the SAT in early 2016. For instance, he includes numbers, algebra, and geometry, but no trigonometry. He also provides little explanation of the new SAT's focus on real-world word problems and scenarios. Since the math section is the one that changed the least on the SAT, these recycled problems from SATs past will still help you prepare. At the same time, make sure you're aware of the changes that are being made and supplement these questions with ones more specific to the redesigned SAT. Finally, these next two books are useful for the average math student who wants to shore up her foundation in the fundamentals or can only dedicate a limited amount of time to studying. Best SAT Math Books for Low Scorers If you're planning to devote only a few hours to studying for the math SAT, these books should give you a general overview and introduction to the concepts you need to know. However, if you are taking a more active approach to your test prep, then these are the books you should probably avoid. They're not so helpful for trulyin-depth understanding and preparation. Kaplan Price:About $12 Pros Kaplan's SAT Math Prep Bookis a traditional prep book that reviews concepts and provides corresponding practice sets. It includes new concepts, like trigonometry, and has 16 practice sets and over 250 practice problems. Kaplan's book also breaks down the new format and structure of the SAT Math section, while many other books do not. It's a useful tool for learning about the new SAT, reviewing 16 key concepts, and trying out practice problems. Cons Kaplan's practice questions tend not to be the best written. They're not always realistic or phrased in the same way that the SAT is.In the beginning of this guide, I emphasized the importance of taking official College Board tests, since they're the best representation of the questions you'll get on test day. Kaplan's questions usually represent the other end of this spectrum, because they don't always resemble actual SAT questions. Doingwell on the SAT math is not just about understanding the concepts, but also about understanding the SAT and being able to apply those concepts to the SAT's uniquely worded questions. Without this practice, you won't be asprepared as you could be for the SAT's unique phrasing and tricks. Doing well is also about strategy.Kaplan has some strategies, but they're not that helpful for breaking away from a score of around 600. Kaplan gives a basic overview, but it's not the most helpful resources for students looking to make a large score improvements or understand the material in depth. A second book for students who are not planning to do all that muchSAT prep is Bob Miller's SAT Math for the Clueless. Bob Miller's SAT Math for the Clueless: The Easiest and Quickest Way to Prepare for the New SAT Math Section Price:About $6 Pros While I'm not a big fan of the title, Bob Miller's SAT Math for the Cluelessbook delivers what it says it will - an easy and quick way to prepare for the SAT. It provides a mix of material for the current SAT and theredesigned SAT. While Dr. Chung's Math Workbook is spare, Bob Miller's book has funny and accessible introductions. If you find it hard to focus on math without some humor, you might find this book more engaging (a useful characteristic when you're self-studying with books). Cons Bob Miller's SAT Math focuses more on strategies, techniques, and introductory review than on practice questions. It also lacks an in-depth description of changes being made to the SAT, and it doesn't incorporate the more advanced math problems. This book is really just for the self-described "clueless" math students who want a brief, accessible review. Perhaps it will spark your motivation to move onto better study guides with more comprehensive SAT preparation. So there you have it, my recommendations for instruction, practice problems, high scorers, and low scorers. There are pros and cons of each, and hopefully there will be books of ever higher quality published over the next few months. One challenge that all the above booksshare is the self-discipline that required tostudyfrom them.You'll have to set your own schedule, score your own tests, and learn via reading and writing, rather than incorporating visual or auditory approaches. With these considerations in mind, is solely studying for the SAT from books the best option for you as a learner? Is Studying From Books the Best Option for You? While books used to be the main test prep method for the SAT, now there are lots of other approaches. This gives you a lot more choice in finding a method that fits best with your math level, study style, and goals, not to mention how much money you're able and willing to spend on SAT prep. Books can be affordable, but as you can see from the pros and cons mentioned above, you probably want to use more than one book to truly prepare. This can add up to hundreds of dollars. As more and more test prep companies focus their attention online, you might have to go online to find answers, answer explanations, and other supplementary materials. This could divide your attention while still leaving it up to you to spend a long time scoring your own tests. Books can be very comprehensive and informative, but you'll only access all theinformation you need with the self-discipline to take time to study and learn from your mistakes. PrepScholar's method of online test prepfor the new SAT attempts to address and make up for these weaknesses in a number of ways. One, it's an all-in-one program that incorporates the best practices from all these books, while also customizing the test prep based on what you already know and what you need to study further. It addresses the accountability and self-discipline issue by planning our your study schedule for you in the way that's been proven to be most effective. It also takes away the time-waster of self scoring, since it will give you instant feedback on your performance.On a similar note, you can visually see your progress, how far you've gone in the material and how much you have to left to conquer. By incorporating the "pros" of every test prep book - high-quality questions, comprehensive explanations, diagnostic tests, and expert test-taking strategies - and making up for the cons with personalized motivators and progress reports, PrepScholar is an affordable, accessible, and highly effective method of convenient online prep for the new SAT. Just as you should diagnose your strengths and weaknesses to best prepare for the SAT, you'd be smart to reflect on your learning style and what method of test prep, whether through books or online, will best meet your needs and allow you to excel on all sections of the SAT. What's Next? Are you aiming for perfection? This perfect SAT scorer describes all the strategies and techniques he used to achieve a full score on the SAT, and what exactly you need to do to reach that perfect score. Besides studying, planning exactly when you're going to take the SAT is also a key consideration for maximizing your performance. Read all about when you should take the SAT as you design your schedule. Perhaps you've noticed that theSAT is looking a lot like the ACT these days. If you're deciding which test to take, check out our detailed comparison of the SAT and the ACT. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today!

Thursday, February 20, 2020

The Impact of Family Ownership on Financial Performance Essay

The Impact of Family Ownership on Financial Performance - Essay Example Another problem with application of the data to test the equation is possible existence of other variables that the used data failed to control. While the research focused on studying effect of family ownership on performance, many factors to organizational performance exist that could confound the analysis results. Ensuring control was therefore necessary and could be achieved through identification of possible confounding variables and analyzing organizations with similar levels measurement of the variables. Analysis of potential effects of the variables for adjustment measures would also remedy their confounding effect to ensure suitability of the data in testing the model. Small sample size is another problem that that testing the model with the data faces. External validity is a significant factor to quantitative research and defines the potential to generalize findings from a sample to a population. The measure is directly proportional to sample size and the small sample size m eans that developed information and conclusion from the analysis cannot be inferred to performance of the categories of companies in Hong Kong. This limits the scope of qualitative research and renders the analysis ineffective (Hays and Singh, 2011). The probability value for the coefficient estimate informs the decision on its statistical and economic relevance. The probability value of 0.15, which is relatively small, means that the coefficient estimate for the relationship is statistically significant for an 80 percent confidence interval. This high probability cannot be ignored and justifies the decision for statistical relevance. Statistical significance is however more precise than economic significance by observing set limits for the significance. Contrary to this, economic significance exists even with a minimal probability of occurrence, as well as there is a chance. A probability of 0.15 for beta means a probability of 85 percent exists for a

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Social Disorganization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Disorganization - Research Paper Example The paper "Social Disorganization" examines how does social disorganization relate to organized crime and its evolution. The case of gang culture could remarkably deviate from the prevailing order within the society. Within the gang culture, it could be evident that in one way or another, there is a presence of leadership that is either organized or unorganized. There might be order within this culture, but from the point of view of the society, there is a deviation from the actual law enforced by the people. It is in this case that one could link the case of gang culture with social disorganization. It is important to understand how does social disorganization relate to organized crime and its evolution. One substantial case that could explicate this point is gang culture. Gangs have substantive culture that within it there is a great presence of shared values and beliefs. What makes this shared values and beliefs became a success is the point in which gangs have remarkably hired ne w set of members and flourish due to unsuccessful prosecution effort and even worst, becoming legitimate business. All of these could remarkably start within street gangs. The evolution is so tough, but the bottom line paves the way for organizing street gangs into something vibrant readily associated with business that could also interconnect with corrupt officials, which eventually strengthens them further to become established crime groups. Social disorganization could become established organized crime.... Eventually social disorganization meets the criteria of organized crime because just like the latter, it is completely against the prevailing values and set standard by the society through the prevailing law emancipated for the protection of everybody’s freedom or right. Law-breaking behavior is generally present within the context of social disorganization and ultimately street gangs could evolve as groups that would have fundamental association with corrupt officials leading to their social, economic and political power. Due to these fundamental reasons, there is not doubt that social disorganization such as in the case of gang culture eventually meets the criteria for organized crime. In fact, its evolution substantially completes the achievement of these criteria. Corrupt political machine and social disorganization As already stated, a full-pledged or grown up group of street gangs eventually make it a point to consider undertaking maximum gain through establishing a busi ness for the survival of the group and maximum benefits of each member. However, along the way, social disorganization such as in the case of street gangs and their evolution would try to make it a point to maximize the achievement of relevant gains for the benefits of their groups. In reality, they have close tie or connection with corrupt officials (Lyman & Porter, 2007). In other words, the more there will be corrupt officials, social disorganization continues to prevail and even continue to move in an upward spiral. It is due to the fact that the presence of these corrupt political machines creates the competitive advantage of social disorganization and

Monday, January 27, 2020

Implications For Classroom Teachers Education Essay

Implications For Classroom Teachers Education Essay Learning is the process that results in a relatively enduring change in a person or persons (Alexander et al, 2009: 186). According to Winn, 1990, learning is a dynamic process whereby the students knowledge and skills are different when compared before to after learning. Since teaching is the promotion of learning, our knowledge of learning and the corresponding theories in how we learn should inform our teaching (Muijs, 2007). Understanding how knowledge is developed can allow teachers to shape the methodological delivery of their subject content to match the theoretical frameworks underpinning how knowledge is enhanced. Attending to the way students learn can be used to foster effective teaching practices, allowing teachers to improve their practice, and ultimately enhacne the quality of the learners experience (Macleod Golby, 2003). A number of educational researchers, including Vytsgosy 1986, Piaget, 1976, Skinner 1974; Bandura 1986 amongst others, offer learning paradigms to explain how individuals learn. For the purposes of this assignment the extremes of this learning theory spectrum, which are represented by the Behaviourist and Constructivist theories of learning, will be discussed. Inevitably, learning and teaching poses a synergistic relationship, reinforcing the need for teachers to teach with an approach that reflects how students naturally learn (Muijs, 2007), and subsequently consider the implications of the learning theories on their classroom practice. The behaviouristic theory of learning Learning, according to behaviourists (Skinner 1974; Bandura 1986), is defined as the acquisition of new behaviour. The focus of behaviourism is the conditioning of observable human behaviour and revolves around the principal conception that a reaction is made in response to a specific stimulus (Prittard, 2009). This reaction leads to a consequence. If the consequence is pleasant and positive, the behaviour change becomes reinforced via positive reinforcement. With consistent reinforcement, the behaviour pattern becomes conditioned and is automatically activated upon stimuli presentation. Physiologically, behaviourist theories propose that learning is achieved through reinforcement of a particular neural pathway, which links the stimuli and response in the brain. This repeated activation and reinforcement ultimately strengthens the neural pathways and connections between the stimuli and specific responses, resulting in a faster, smoother implementation of certain responses (Pritchard, 2009). Behaviourists identify this form of learning as conditioning, where with consistent reinforcement the behaviour pattern becomes conditioned. Classical conditioning involves the reinforcement of a natural reflex or behaviours which occur naturally as a response to a specific stimulus. In contrast, operant conditioning involves reinforcing behaviour by praising it, or discouraging undesirable behaviour with punishment (Prittard, 2009). Constructivist advocates, including Vygotsky 1986 and Piaget (1970; 1976) amongst others, began to criticise the behaviourist approach, as it was seen too teacher centred and directed, void of meaningful learning and the teacher process was focused too much on individual rather than collaborative group work. In addition, the constructivist theorists challenged the behaviourist proposed separation between mental processing and knowledge, which had to be bridged by the role of a teacher (Prittard, 2009). The Constructivist Theory The constructivist movement was formed on Piagets (1976) and Vygotsky (1986) work who viewed learning as the effect of mental construction, whereby learners combined their existing knowledge with new information, to construct meaning and formulated their understanding (Cholewinski, 2009). The constructivist theory proposes that learning is an active, contextual process, a social activity, centred on constructing meaning and regards the learner as a responsible agent in their knowledge acquisition (Loyens 2007; Cholewinski 2009). In constructivist learning, individuals use world-based experiences in an effort to make sense of what they perceive and establish their understanding of their surroundings (Harris, 1994). Since constructivism involves learners to interact with their immediate learning environment, learning has been considered to be situation-specific and context-bound activity (McInerney and McInerney, 2002). Constructivism is an umbrella term to encompass the wide range of constructivist perspectives, which can be separated into two branches; cognitive constructivism (Piaget, 1976) and social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1986). Both sub-types believe that knowledge is actively constructed by individuals (Birenbaum 2003), however through the use of different mediums; either through a series of internal, intellectual stages (cognitive constructivism), or by social interaction (social constructivism). The numerous perspectives on constructivism within these two sub-types could be essentially grouped around a rooted assumption about learning. That is, knowledge is actively constructed by the learner (Birenbaum 2003; Harris and Alexander 1998). Piagets (2001) developmental stage theory, which represents cognitive constructivism, presents four age-referenced development stages which provide a theory of gradual cognitive development up to the age of eleven years old. The stages refer to an explicit age range and characterise the cognitive abilities necessary at each stage to construct meaning of ones environment. Social constructivism emphasises the role of language in the process of intellectual development. Vygotsky considered dialogue, usually with a more knowledgeable other, as a vehicle by which concepts are considered, shared and developed. The dialogue, which is based on learners pre existing and current knowledge (schemas), is then exploited to develop and construct new ideas and understanding. Vygotsky advocates that the process of learning involves moving into and across a zone of proximal development, which is aided by the intervention of another through support. The zone of proximal development is a theoretical space of understanding which is just above the level of an individuals current understanding. The process of giving support to learners at the appropriate time and level of sophistication to meet the individual needs is termed scaffolding. Scaffolding can allow the movement from one zone to another and assists in the passing through the zone of proximal development. From reviewing the literature, educational researchers which employ these constructivist principles select aspects from both strands of this learning theory (Biggs, 1979), and use constructivist theories as a generalised term. Therefore, for the purpose of this assignment, the term constructivism will reflect a collaboration of both social and cognitive strands; however specific branches and the implications of these strands are highlighted where necessary. Critique of learning theories and associated implications upon classroom practice A review of the literature suggests that behaviouristic learning does not offer students the chance to develop deep meaning and understanding (Entwistle Smith, 2002), but instead has a tendency to promote superficial learning of skills (Fosnot, 1996). Making a correct response and remembering content does not necessarily imply understanding, and consequently the actual understanding achieved through behavioural approaches is challenged. Marton et al, (1997) and Entwistle and Smith (2002) conclude that the use of rote memorisation represents a learning approach to a surface level of understanding, whilst establishing links with current knowledge, as encouraged by constructivists, reflects an approach for a deeper level of understanding. This suggests that academic and subject knowledge learning, based on the behaviouristic theory, may not be academically supported. Furthermore, from a constructivist perspective, the principle of learning using prior experience is also beneficial in promoting a deeper and richer understanding (Pressley, Harris Marks, 1992). Demerici 2009 advises that information which is connected to a learners prior experiences is more likely to be retained, explaining higher retention rates when a constructivist approach is adopted. (Demirici and Yavuz, 2009). Research suggests that learning through such constructive mediums, like discussion, participation and practice, are academically successful and associated with learning gains and knowledge retention (Demirci Yavuz, 2009). Dericimi also reported a significant difference in post-test grades and retention learning tests grades, with the constructivist approach being more efficient than the conventional, behaviouristic approach. Cumulatively, the research suggests that constructivist approaches lead to a richer and deeper understanding. It is therefore plausible to suggest that the quality and depth of understanding associated to a constructivist teaching approach is more likely to exceed that of the behaviourist approach. However, as Entwhistle and Smith (2002) identify, the association between memorisation and surface approach learning may be weak. Kember, (1996) and Watkins and Biggs (1996) reported that memorisation can be used to learn unfamiliar terminology, as the first stage to establishing understanding. This concept, where memorisation is part of meaningful learning, is defined as memorising with understanding (Marton, Watkins, Tang, 1997; Meyer, 2000) and has been conducted by students as a successful revision tool (Entwistle Entwistle, 2001). Controversially, Fox (2001) suggests that the constructivist theory may imply that remembering is not important, and that learning is solely centred on understanding concepts. However, neither of these are true, and being able to remember knowledge is an important prerequisite of learning. In addition, Biggs, (1998) and Jin and Cortazzi, (1998) have reported that constructivist teaching approaches dont consistently guarantee teaching effectiveness. Instead, traditional, more behaviourist approaches to learning in large classes has proven to be successful internationally, such as in China. Fox, 2001, argues that constructivism neglects the role of memorisation and mechanical learning techniques Arguably, due to the varying nature of meaning which is uncontrollably constructed by students, in some cases, rote learning and memorisation may be more useful when teaching factual concepts and where clarity in understanding is required. Rote learning may be used to help students cope better with some aspects of work that they find difficult. In addition, Smith (2001, 2002) affirms that rote learning can contribute to understanding. However, teachers must consider that rote learning is not an approach to develop understanding and therefore where possible, should be followed by attempts to encourage and promote understanding. For example teachers could consider engaging with the subject content and provoking discussion of the content in an effort to encourage more meaningful understanding. Group work may play a very important role in reinforcing subject knowledge and working to gether and collaborating with peers could be a useful teaching and learning tool. Ultimately, it appears that behaviouristic learning approaches can be beneficial for particular tasks such as establishing classroom behaviour (Prittard, 2009). For example, Muijs Reynolds (2003) report that standard school and classroom routines and expectations for behaviour can be successfully learnt through behaviouristic approaches. Therefore, teachers need to consider whether the learning is academic or behavioural before teaching the class. In the case of behaviour management, a strategy to quieten the class, such as raising of the hand, or counting down from three could be effectively used. In this case, the stimulus, such as the teacher raising their hand or calling out the number three, must be fully explained to the class. In addition, the stimuli must be fully visible and audible to the students, which is possible with a clearly risen hand or an assertive voice. The response desired, such as a student raising of the hand and silence, must be fully understood by students. It is important that the stimulus-response occurrence is repeated by the teacher and used regularly. The same strategy should be employed every time the teacher wants to quieten the class, establishing consistency of stimuli and behavioural response. This repeated activation strengthens the pathways, affording for a smoother and faster implementation of the response. Pupils should be made aware of the negative and positive consequences if they do not respond to the stimuli as desired and the consequences need to be kept consistent. Therefore, consistency of behaviour management strategies is crucial and classroom practice must adhere to the same strategise as the same stimuli is presented for a specific response. Behaviourism relies on reinforcement which is employed to condition the behaviour, and therefore is essentially the tool which brings about learning. Therefore rewards and punishments for behaviours must play a crucial role and actively administered within classroom practice. Behaviourism may therefore stimulate and encourage more use of positive reinforcement which has been a well recognised effective classroom practice (Elliott and Busse, 1991). However teachers must consider that rewarding children who are already highly motivated may not be as effective, and may actually lead to a loss of interest (Prittard, 2009) Rewards and praise have been shown to enhance motivation, and serve as an effective behaviour management tool, however, praising students may not come naturally to teachers. Behaviouristic approaches to learning appear to be more favourable to certain individuals, and teachers need to consider the pupils concerned and whether this approach to learning suits their learning styles, needs and ability. For example, Prittard (2009) reports that behaviouristic methods are more advantageous for those pupils who display anxious tendencies and low motivation. In contrast, those of higher academic ability perceive simplistic drill and practice unsatisfying and dull (Prittard 2009). In addition, some students demand understanding, yet adhering to behaviouristic learning approaches does not accommodate this requirement. In other situations, the concepts of learning without understanding can fuel frustration, lead to misconceptions and generate a difficult learning environment (Prittard 2009) Another important consideration is that behaviourist approaches dont take account of mental cognitive processing involved in learning. In contrast, constructivism emphasises that the learners must develop their understanding for themselves and constructivist researchers advocate that mental activity is the lifeblood of learning and the extent of what is learnt (Jonassen Rohrer-Murphy, 1999). However, the constructivist theory may imply that all individual differences in learning come down to the consequences of each learners history of learning (Loyens, 2008). Furthermore, although we do learn by acquiring knowledge from our environments through interacting with the external world, Fox highlights that the environment also acts upon learners. That is, we act and react, and learning can be achieved from both experiences. However, constructivism appears to fail to acknowledge adaptive instinctive responses as reactive forms of learning (Fox, 2001) and the role of talent in cognitive development. Furthermore, Fox (2001) and Bredo, (2000) argue that constructivism discounts the role of innate, motivational and genetic factors in knowledge construction, which have been proven to play a role in cognitive development and learning (Carey Spelke, 1994). Teachers therefore cannot assume that the products of learning are solely the teachers effort and thought; instead learning is externally and internally influenced. Importantly, teachers need to provide activities which engage and challenge learners. This demands a board array of work which is differentiated to the learners intellect.. Teachers need to offer scope of activities where the accustomed effort and activity falls on the learners responsibility. Differentiation is a critical implication in the classroom to assure that all pupils have to apply mental effort and take an active role in their own learning. Such opportunities would afford learner engagement and optimise the possibility of effective lasting learning taking place (Prittard, 2009). Personalisation is also crucial to ensure all learners, despite genetic and innate differences which may affect their learning are accounted for. If a pupil is set tasks which do not require thought or challenge, learning constructively will fail. Piagets stage developmental theory offers guidance covering the level of complexity that may be expected in a childs thought processes at approximate stages in their development. Piagets Theory may guide a teachers differentiation as to the ability of pupils, and the required scaffolding and support in order to facilitate the movement between zones of cognitive development. Whilst Piagets developmental stage theory influences principally primary school teaching practices, given the ages this theory is related to, the appreciation and awareness that cognitive ability develops with age is important to consider when teaching all ages. The exactness of the Piaget (2001) stage of development has been criticised since in it unclear and presumptuous to assume children will pass through the stages at specific ages, however, as a developmental process; this theory is useful in teaching practices Another implication for teachers is the questioning they employ within the classroom. To allow pupils to construct their own knowledge and understanding, questions need to be higher order and exploratory Moursund (2003), in accordance with Blooms Taxonomy (1956) , to include command words such as evaluate and synthesise. Moreover, questions need to be open-ended and allow pupils to develop their personal understanding though answering the questions, rather than simple closed questions, where the answers are already pre-determined. Pupils need to be given the opportunity to gradually learn processes and construct their own answers. Teachers can promote this using questions which encourage students to gradually construct their understanding, such as evaluate, synthesise and analytical questions. Another pitfall of the constructivist theory is that it assumes students actively seek resources and experiences, and therefore students understanding is dependent and anchored by their experiences and pre-existing knowledge. In addition, it is assumed that learners utilise the construed data to actively construct their knowledge (Renkl, 1999). Therefore, this approach to learning relies on students encountering experiences and applying these experiences to their pre-existing knowledge to develop their understanding. However, such experiences and world-based interactions may not be feasible or available to students due to their lifestyle circumstances. Consequently, teachers need to be aware that understanding and meaning is limited to the individual experiences of the students. In accordance with this assumption, the constructivist theory can explain why pupils conceptions and meaning do vary between each other (Taber, 2000). In addition, if the construction of knowledge is the acti vity of the learner, then the learner can only understand what they have constructed (Duffy Cunningham). Therefore, constructivism may be seen as subjective and relative (Duffy and Cunningham, 1996). This may lead to marking criteria discrepancies, confusion and inconsistency, and student misconceptions, which do not match reality. In addition, Duffy and Cunningham propose that if the constructions and meanings are different amongst students, the little shared understanding may challenge the ease of communication between learners and the class. This may jeopardise the effectiveness of class discussions and social interactions as a tool to enhance learning. Similarly, as construction is activity on part of the learner (Bruner 1966, 1971), what is constructed cannot be controlled by the teacher. Instead the learner has autonomy and self-regulates what understanding is established. Therefore the students constructed understanding may not parallel with other students, with reality or with the teachers construction and understanding, resulting in multiple understandings (Choleweskni, 2009). Consequently, teachers must not assume that the construction and understanding of a concept is universal between all students. Instead teachers must actively access and consider the alternative perceptions and understanding of the learners, hence why a transmission teaching approach is fruitless. On the other hand, teachers come into the classroom with their own construction and conceptions of subject content, and according to Patrick (1988), are not neutral. Therefore, a teachers understanding can colour the students understanding, and together, Patrick (1998) and Marton and Booth (1997) suggested that some teachers moulded the students construction of a concept to align with their concept interpretation. Einsworth and Collins (2002) conclude that the form of understanding impressed onto students is largely dependent on the teachers personal interpretation of the subject content. Therefore, although the constructivist theory assumes that the construction of understanding is the product of the learners interpretation exclusively, the constructivist theory does not account for the interplay between teachers and learners comprehension. To accommodate these pre-requisites of learning, the individuals knowledge needs to be continually assessed. As a regular classroom practice, formative assessment could be used as a regular approach to assess existing and new understanding, before moving to the next lesson. Formative assessment is a regular, informal mode of assessment, allowing teachers to monitor students progress, gain an appreciation of what has been learnt and adapt their teaching practices to optimise further learning (Black and Wiliam, 1998). Accordingly, given that learning is an active and evolving processes, formative assessment can be used by teachers to assess, monitor, challenge unclear perspectives and adapt classroom practices to accommodate the constructivist principles of learning. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that constructivist approaches to learning favour the use of formative assessment and may prompt its use in the classrooms, which Atkin et al, (2001) reports as being very valuable. Since formative assessment alone is associated with learning gains, (Black and Wiliam 1998), learning is positively influenced indirectly via adopting teaching strategies which are aligned to learning constructively. Formative assessment may be undertaken through questioning, teacher and pupil discussion, peer and self assessment and interaction with peers. Formative assessment will also identify pupils individual learning needs, supporting teachers conduct in differentiation to assure pupils are moving forward, across their ZPD and optimise learning gains. However, with behaviourism, the opportunities for feedback are confined to only whether the response desired is correct or not. There is little scope for learning, or how to improve in order to meet the desired response. Therefore, under behaviourist approaches, feedback cannot be used for learning purposes, therefore opportunities for assessment for learning, which have shown to enhance learning, may not be fruitful. Consequently, limited feedback combined with the objective outcomes of behaviourist approaches mean that individual student needs are not necessarily part of the formulae when considering teaching strategies and subject content. The need to consider individual needs is undeniable, therefore such constraints of feedback extent presents a multitude of problems to the teaching and learning of students. Importantly, to help progressive learning and avoid developing misconceptions, teachers need to provide a clear focus and goals, with explicit learning objectives (Clarke, 2001), which are rooted within pupils existing knowledge. The clear objectives allow students to construct their ideas using current knowledge and understand the overarching direction and progression of their learning. Activating prior knowledge is important to elicit pre-knowledge, allowing teachers to decipher the students current levels of understanding. Teachers need to highlight the links between students existing knowledge and the new subject knowledge, to help the learner form bridges and facilitate their mental construction and cognitive processes (REF). By forming these links, students can activate and recall their pre-existing knowledge, and use this foundation to build and integrate new concepts. Teachers should encourage students to relate new knowledge to current knowledge and external experiences, allowing the new subject content to become embedded within the existing knowledge structures, contributing to or amending to the students schema. Since learning constructively is based on the addition of new content to current knowledge, the learner must have sufficient levels of understanding before new content can be used to construct more complex meaning and progress. Teachers and educators need to recognise and appreciate that new content cannot be built up until the foundations, such as current knowledge, is secured. Therefore constructive pedagogies include regular formative assessment to assure students understanding. When constructing new concepts and developing understanding, reviewing and reflecting on what has already been learnt also helps to establish and secure students previous knowledge. In addition, by asking what students understand before embarking on a new concept would help students form links between new and previous knowledge (Fulton). This reviewing could be done as a starter, but also plays a role at the end of the lesson, forming a plenary. Teachers should consider, incorporate and plan for well managed plenary to consolidate knowledge. Time to reflect upon what has been undertaken, the processes and the content gives the opportunity for internalisation and for a deeper level of understanding to be developed. Similarly, learning is most effective when learners become engaged, which means that teachers need to adopt an active approach to learning and involve engaging tasks to promote learning in the classroom. Learning using authentic tasks, which allow pupils to relate to their own experience inside and outside the classroom (Selinger, 2001) increases the probability of engagement with the task and supports findings that learning in a familiar context is most effective. Authentic tasks are likely to hold the attention and interest of children, and lead to a deeper level of engagement than with non-authentic or less authentic tasks (Fulton). Favourably, the constructivist principles match those fundamentals associated with effective contextual learning. Evidence suggests that learning occurs in real-life contexts and learning is actually linked to a context, as deduced by Macleod and Goldby 2003. Children working with new ideas in a familiar content are more likely to engage with the ideas, than if the same ideas were present in an alien context. Therefore teachers should strive to include more authentic tasks and set learning concepts which are aligned with students familiar contexts. If a learning activity falls beyond the cultural understanding of the learning, then learning is likely to be less successful than if it had been situated in a more familiar setting. .Meaningful contexts for learning are very important; however, what is meaningful for a teacher is not necessarily meaningful for the student. The association between the concept of learning being situated and the need for authentic learning tasks is evidence (McFarlane, 1997). However, the recommended approach to situation learning in meaningful contexts (e.g. Lave Wenger, 1991) has been argued against. Walkerdine, 1988, for example argued that if school learning became situated solely within the lived world of daily experiences, the opportunities for abstract reasoning and reflective activity, which are all constituents of constructivism, would become limited and sacrificed, whilst confining students to their local environment. An active learning approach can be achieved by encouraging students to explore concepts and ideas, and to follow their instincts (Wray and Lewis, 1997). Given that exploration can promote sequential development of ideas, it is likely to assist in the construction of new knowledge; the roots to constructivism. Classroom practice could be based on a discovery-based approach (Huitt, 2004);, where students can find answers out for themselves, answer their own questions through experimenting with new ideas and discuss their beliefs and thinking patterns with their peers. Importantly, engaging with each other reflects social interactions, which can be a vehicle to develop understanding using social interaction. Unlike behaviourist approaches where the teacher is the primary resources of knowledge and is influenced by their interests and perspective; knowledge construction offers the opportunity of learning to become dynamic and varied (Sudizna, 1997). The use of resources promotes more interactive learning and interest, which are both shown to positively influence learning. Supported by Winn (1990), student knowledge is dynamic and changes, that is knowledge and skills are different before learning to after instruction and Behaviourist approaches have been criticised for not addressing this dynamic nature of learning. In addition, behaviourism theory does not appreciate that students come into classrooms with prior knowledge. Conversely, the constructivist theory acknowledges that pre-existing knowledge is requisite of learning and that students enter classrooms with pre-conceptions, knowledge and beliefs which they deploy in constructing new understanding. (Jones, Carter, Rua, 1999) As already discussed, scaffolding is crucial for the learner to pass through their zone of proximal development, and can be undertaken by the teacher. Scaffolding can be practiced in the classroom in many ways, and teachers need to appreciate that this is fundamental to the educational progression of students and how this may be achieved. Support materials need to be widely available, such as a writing frame to support a particular style of prose, or a list of words to help in the process of completing an exercise, designed to assist understanding The provision of practical apparatus, especially in science, may help to explain the solution to a problem and is an engaging approach. Students can evidence reality and attach a sense of perspective and reality to their learning. Given the exploratory nature of constructivism, classroom practice needs to be supportive and generate an environment where the student feels safe to ask for help and comfortable in approaching the teacher. The teacher must be aware of the different supportive needs of the class, and meet these through differentiation and allowing time for class discussion, misconceptions and any lack of understanding. To help the teacher identify those who need more support than others, formative assessment can be incorporated to highlight the students individual needs that need to be addressed. Ultimately, this will allow tasks to be designed and geared towards the individuals learning ability. Unlike, behaviourism theories, constructivist theory appreciates the important rol

Sunday, January 19, 2020

A Critical Analysis of “My Kiowa Grandmother”

A Critical Analysis of â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† and â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction† A Critical Analysis of â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† and â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction† The essays, â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† by N. Scott Momaday and â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction,† by Larry McMurtry, both seek to understand the values and traditions of an old way of life that has been lost to the trials and tribulations of time.By reaching back into history through their families, both authors achieve the same effect, while using starkly contrasting narrative structure; they show the characteristics that have been lost to younger generations. The purpose of N. Scott Momaday’s essay, â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† is personal self-expression, because he attempts to define his own values and judgments through an exploration of the memories and stories he has of his grandmother and ance stors. The title of Momaday’s essay sets the stage for the rest of his words. My Kiowa Grandmother,† becomes an exploration of who she was and the values that she lived by as part of the last generation of true Kiowa Indians. The essay that ensues is about Momaday collecting his interpretations of her life and analyzing the stories to find the values that the Kiowa honored and followed. Through his exploration, Momaday establishes a system of values that he chooses to try to follow himself. The essay’s content is divided not by a beginning, middle, and an end, but rather through a series of episodes and recollections that are slightly disconnected but belong to a larger picture.The essay is filled with descriptions of the land the Kiowa dwelled on and the manner in which they lost that land, thus forcing them onto a reservation. He discusses the journey his ancestors took as he himself travels in their footsteps a century later across North America, from Montana to Arkansas, where the Kiowa lived for many decades. He then begins to offer a more personal view of his grandmother and his memories of her when the weight of age has come upon her (290). He illustrates for the reader a very intimate moment where he watched and listened to her praying.Despite not speaking the native language, â€Å"there was something inherently sad in the sound† of her prayers (290). He ends the paragraph by revealing that he knew that he would not see her again after watching her pray that night. As Momaday tells the stories, they are completely separate of one another but all share in a relationship as a whole. His words indicate that the Kiowa Indians were a proud people who faced the cruelties of manifest destiny as the United States spread westward across the Great Plains, forcing Native Americans onto reservations.Momaday sets out on his proud journey to understand his people and to adapt their culture and values in the present day, but ultimately con cludes that those traits have died with â€Å"the last great moment of their history† (288). Similarly, Larry McMurtry also seeks to identify old values and traditions that are long lost to history in his essay, â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction. † Unlike Momaday, however, he constructs his essay with an introduction, followed by the body of his essay, and then offers a conclusion that links the entire narrative together from beginning to end.McMurtry’s approach presents a cleverly braided narrative utilizing literary devices, such as drama and humor, to reflect his main ideas. Still, both essays are expressive in nature. The authors delve deep into their thoughts in order to construct the personal essays in which each man seeks to find his values within himself. Even though McMurtry’s essay is significantly longer and â€Å"prolonged in thought† (142) compared to Momaday’s essay, he seeks to achieve an understanding of the v alues and traditions of his ancestors as well.McMurtry includes a metaphor that equates the departing of his relatives, and the other cowboys of their day, as a train that has left. In a few years, the tail end of the train will pass out of sight; a way of life has come and gone (142). McMurtry creates a story about his family, based on their accounts left to him in memoirs and letters throughout the years. McMurtry’s ultimate purpose is to narrate an expressive literary essay that uses humor and drama to attract the attention of the reader.While discussing cowboys and their straightforward wisdom, he concludes that cowboys’ observations turn into aphorisms. One such aphorism he finds particularly appealing is as follows: â€Å"A woman’s love is like the morning dew, it’s just as likely to fall on a horseturd as on a rose† (149). McMurtry also includes a great deal of drama and suspense as well. At one point, he recalls his grandfather’s tro ublesome drinking; one day his grandmother issued an ultimatum, sober up or she would leave him. â€Å"The threat was undoubtedly made in earnest, and he took it so immediately to eart that he stopped drinking then and there, with a jug half full of whiskey hanging in the saddle room of the barn† (143). Additionally, a substantial difference between the two essays is the author’s view of their ancestors. McMurtry admits that he â€Å"never considered genealogy much of an aid to recognition, and thus never pursued [his] lineage any distance at all† (143). On the other hand, Momaday is very curious of his lineage. So curious in fact that he actually sets out on a â€Å"fifteen hundred [mile]†¦ pilgrimage† (289) to see where his ancestors began their journey onto the plains.Momaday describes his ancestors as people of the Earth, whereas McMurtry’s cowboy ancestors preferred the company of minorities, such as Mexicans and Blacks, to the company of farmers. â€Å"The plow and the cotton patch [were] not only tasks [his ancestors] loathed† they were qualities of a soul that the McMurtry’s despised (146). The method of organization that authors use is important to the overall presentation of their thoughts. Momaday’s attempt at self-definition is an integral part of the pattern of his essay.Momaday achieves his goal by organizing his thoughts in a descriptive, associative pattern that allows him to tell multiple disconnected stories that are a part of a larger picture. Momaday portrays the Kiowa people and where they lived. He describes his grandmother and his memories of her, then recounts the sad and lonely home that once belonged to her, and the commotion that once filled the rooms of the house during reunions. Each of the parts of his essay comes together as pieces of a whole puzzle do when he ventures out to her grave.Ultimately, his quest to understand the values of the Kiowa, and to find himself with in their stories and traditions, is lost as are the generations of old Indian warriors. After visiting his grandmother’s grave, the weight and understanding of the loss prevails and â€Å"looking back once, [he] saw the mountain and came away† (292). His journey to understand his people, for him, ended with the death of his grandmother. As he departed the ancient burial ground at the base of Rainy Mountain, he left not only his ancestors there, but also his dream of carrying out their traditions as well.Each part of Momaday’s essay is a static representation in time, or snapshots of an event that occurred. Conversely, McMurtry’s essay follows a dynamic pattern; the details he provides change from one event to another. McMurtry excels at offering a great deal of description through his narration, and the pattern that he follows is an expressive narration of process. The events that McMurtry depicts are unique to him, and will differ from other accounts of the same stories provided by family and friends. This pattern allows him to eliminate the five stages that a narration of an event demands.All the parts of his narrative are equally important in their accounts, and the resolution is the last event the McMurtry draws from. In addition, tension does not increase throughout the events that are presented. This allows McMurtry to describe a level account of many great stories that prevents the reader from feeling as if he omitted any accounts that would provide additional insight. Although each author’s essay follows a certain format for organization, the patterns the two men use are very similar as well.In describing his essay, Momaday uses a good deal of narration to move the story along from snapshot to snapshot. McMurtry, on the other hand, uses a tremendous amount of description in each of his small stories within his essay to deliver his narration in its literary purpose. For example, when McMurtry shares one of his favorite aphorisms about dew falling on a horesturd or a rose, his description of the cowboys before and after the statement is necessary in order for the statement to make sense. In addition, McMurtry uses a fair amount of description when discussing a country club that was host for a family reunion.The details of that paragraph range from â€Å"rusty slot-machines† to the â€Å"sights and sounds which one associates with big-city country clubs† and finally â€Å"the ploop of badly hit tennis balls† (157). His description allows the reader to generate in their mind the same picture that McMurtry portrays. The two approaches that each author uses, although similar in style, are structurally different and therefore allow each man to express his thoughts using different methods. Both authors utilize an expressive tone that opens their minds to the reader in order to grasp a better understanding of the goal of each essay.Overall, despite the varying structure, both article s are successful in their attempt to find the values and traditions among their families and ancestors. Both endings are concise and manage to bridge the gap between the introduction and the conclusion. Similar to Momaday, McMurtry closes with a scene describing the departure of his Uncle Johnny from a family reunion only a few months before his passing: When he smiled at the children who were near, the pain left his face for a second, and he gave them the look that had always been his greatest appeal – the look of a man who saw life to he last as a youth see it, and who sees in any youth all that he himself had been (172). The final snapshot of McMurtry’s uncle before his death has stuck with McMurtry through the trials of time. Both authors realize that the traditions of their rugged ancestors were gone, â€Å"such as it was, such as it can never be again† (172). Works Cited McMurtry, Larry. â€Å"In a Narrow Grave. † New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. 20 06. Kindle Edition. Electronic book. 24 May 2010. Momaday, N. Scott. â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother. † Purpose, Pattern, and Process. United States of America: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2005. 287-92. Print.