Lesson Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Lesson Plan - Essay Example That student writes another pair of antonyms and passes the paper to the next person, and they keep it going around their group until the two minutes are up. The goal is for each group to list as many antonyms as they can. Encourage students to help one another if anyone in the group is having difficulty thinking of a pair of words. Have each group read their list aloud. Let the class decide whether the words in each pair have opposite meanings. 3. Give each student a blank Antonym Matching Game Board (attached). Have students think of any five antonym pairs and write one word in each box, making a matching game. Students can cut the words apart, lay the cards face down, and flip them over, two at a time, to try to find a match that are antonyms. Write some words on the blackboard and ask the students to identify them. The students are to say what antonyms they can act. Split the students into groups of three or four. Every member of each group to write a pair of antonyms on a piece of paper, and teamwork is encouraged. Students to be given a blank antonym matching game board and match the antonyms. Handout a worksheet to the students containing fill-in sentences on the left end of the paper, as well as a list of words on the far right side which will serve as antonyms for the fill-in sentences. After submission, the students will be coached on how to figure out the correct for every question on the

Douglas Coupland, Generation X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Douglas Coupland, Generation X - Essay Example It means that the American society is open for changes and innovations, unlike the Canadian society, which rejected the book at first. Generation X is positioned by Coupland as a distracted youth, free of moral stereotypes and prejudices. Moreover, Coupland claims that the Canadian dimension of literature does not present a blur of regional and national identity. This claim of the author plays an important role in the modern globalized, internationally blurred context. Moreover, it is argued that Generation X is a future prospect of the future social development of the contemporaries in technologically savvy world, freed from social bounds. Xers and their essence A tendency of escape from the strict bonds of the society is one of the most crucial issues of the novel. In other words, Coupland appeals for freedom and independence of the contemporaries. There is nothing, but individuals, who are technologically savvy and rigorous. A contemporary society is a society of consumers and cur rent communication implies nothing more than commentaries to the actions of other individuals. There is no need for the main characters of the novel to live in compliance with worn-out moral norms and ways of behavior. The contemporaries are ready to call for their earlier lives. There is a massive appeal of the author for the modern society to discard stereotypical behaviors and escape from monotonous lives. On the other hand, there is no evident possibility to escape from a socially stable reality: â€Å"...the realization that the smiles that they wear in their daily lives are the same as the smiles worn by people who have been good-naturedly fleeced, but fleeced nonetheless and who are unable because of social convention to show their anger† (Coupland 1991, p. 7).   It is essential and interesting to notice, that such kind of unusual arguments and a new air for the development of the Canadian minds was not readily accepted by the latter. The author appeals for the remov al of consumerist stereotypes or any other standardized types of behavior. It is not appropriate and even ill-mannered for the contemporaries to think and to act in accordance with irrelevant stereotypes. Coupland underlines a widening gap of generations’ split and there is a need to bridge the gap. The only way to do it is to become â€Å"naked† individuals with clear minds and create the modern reality, which is between reality and cyber space. Unlike earlier years, modern social templates of behavior are not linear. It is evident, that the modern society is being developed in different directions, blurring the borders and static limits of diversified development. Therefore, one of the greatest dilemmas, parent-children relationships is described by Coupland in an unusual manner. Modern youth is confident and they do not want their parents to be confident instead of them. Parental â€Å"crowbars† cannot be applied to reshape the lives of their children, as it used to be many centuries ago. Divided sections of text underlines dualistic development of the modern life: the modernity is being developed in accordance with the laws of computer technologies: a bipolar system of the modern society development reiterates binary system of computer technologies. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to have emotional features of human beings and the main characters Andy, Dag, and Claire have remained sensual humane characters and not computerized machines. There is enough courage among these characters and they are able to abandon a well-structured world, designed by the worn-out social system for them for life, which has no structure, templates and purpose. The modern culture is being develope

Analysis of Cherry Flavour using GC-MS

Analysis of Cherry Flavour using GC-MS Tziamourani Athanasia Analysis of cherry flavour using GC-MS and development of a recombinate Cherry is one of the most important fruits globally and a non-climacteric stone fruit, mainly grown in temperate climate countries. The most important factors that contribute to the uniqueness of cherry include skin colour, sweetness (sugar content), sourness (organic acid content), fruit firmness, fruit weight and aroma. The compounds that contribute to the final aroma of cherry represent a very small portion, only 0.01% 0.001% of the fruit fresh weight, but have a substantial impact on its quality (Zhang et al., 2007; Vavoura et al., 2015). Aroma is one of the most valuable attributes of cherries which may affect the consumer acceptance of the fruit and is a result of a complex mixture of chemical compounds, such as esters, alcohols, aldehydes, organic acids, ketones, terpenes, etc. (Valero and Serrano, 2010). According to the literature, most of the studies examined cherry fruit have used various techniques for extraction and analysis of the compounds. These methods include stati c and dynamic head space analysis, supercritical CO2 extraction and solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) (Bernalte et al., 1999; Malaman et al., 2011; Vavoura et al., 2015). Scientists used these have conclude that SPME with GC-MS is the simplest, most rapid and effective method to analyse fruit volatiles (Zhang et al., 2007; Li et al., 2008; Vavoura et al., 2015). This review will examine the existing researches on the compounds present in cherry fruit that contribute to its flavour and on the methods that applied to obtain them. Origin of cherry Cherry fruit belongs to the Rosaceae family, which also includes other fruits such as peaches, apricots and plums. Cherries are available in many species, but two of them are selected for human consumption, the sweet cherry which is a direct descendant of the wild cherry Prunus avium and the sour cherry Prunus cerasus. Those two species differ largely in taste and thus they are considered to be separate species (Wen et al., 2014). A ripe cherry fruit has bright shiny pale to deep red or purple colour with very thin peel, but there are some cultivars that produce yellow fruit. The colour, aroma, taste and health properties of cherries have made them very popular and greatly appreciated. Sweet cherries are cultivated mainly for fresh consumption because they are highly perishable and have short fruiting seasons. Although, they are processed into jam, juice and wine (Revell, 2008; Wen et al., 2014). Wild cherry is originated from Europe, Northwest Africa, Western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia and east to Southern Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, Caucasus and northern Iran (Revell, 2008). Cherry flavour Flavour is the sensation produced by a material taken in the mouth and perceived principally by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The sense of taste is detected by five basic tastes on the human tongue which are sweet, bitter, sour, salty and lately discovered umami taste (Taylor and Mottram, 1996). According to Fisher and Scott (1997), the resulting flavour of fruit are a blend of the sweetness due to sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose and the sourness of organic acids, such as citric and malic acids. However, it is the aroma of the different volatile components of fruits that allow us to distinguish among them. Flavour of each fruit is a complicated area, as every attribute is a result of specific interactions between various compounds present in fruit like sugars, phenolics, organic acids and more specialised flavour compounds including an extensive range of aroma volatiles (Tucker, 1993). The differences in the type and proportion of these compounds produced have an impact on the distinctive flavour and aroma of a particular fruit. The concentration of these constituents which included in cherries shows a fluctuation and this may be the source of flavour variations between the individual fruit and each cultivar (Bernalte et al., 1999). Flavour compounds present in cherries can be complex but the majority of them are relatively simple molecules which are volatile and contribute to the fruit’s odour and aroma. These two terms are usually misinterpreted and it is important to distinguish them in order to be fully understood. Odour is the smell of food before the consumption and is perceived orthonasally, whereas aroma is the smell of food during consumption in the mouth and is sensed retronasally (Revell, 2008). These compounds, as it was mentioned before, are analysed by SPME method coupled with GC-MS. Volatile Analysis Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis demands extraction of the aroma volatiles from cherries to create a sample suitable for injection to the instrument. The most widely applied techniques for the extraction of volatiles are solvent extraction and solid phase micro extraction (SPME). The dominant factor that determines the selection of the type of solvent is the polarity of the volatiles. Therefore, it is apparent that polar volatiles require a polar solvent like methanol, while non-polar volatiles require organic solvent like hexane. Especially, as Li et al. (2008) underlines, a non-polar solvent is suitable for the key volatiles of cherry flavour. Furthermore, a known or quantified internal standard is absolutely necessary to enable quantification of the other compounds, as the area of different peaks from various volatiles in the cherry sample will be compared with the peak area of the known internal standard. As a result of this, the polar compounds such as acids and sug ars end up in the water phase whereas the volatiles in the hexane layer. Centrifugation is crucial to separate the polar and non-polar compounds. After the application of centrifugation, the hexane layer which is formed in the top of the solution is removed and analysed GC-MS. GC-MS analysis uses only a small quantity (1ÃŽ ¼l) of the volatile sample which is injected into the instrument via a hot region which evaporate the liquid. The resulting gas including various volatiles is swept on the chromatographic column with the aid of a carrier gas (usually helium). The increasing temperature of the column provokes the compounds to leave the gum lining, where they are deposited initially, and enter the carrier gas flowing through the chromatographic column. The compounds with the lowest boiling point pass through the column first. This separates the aroma volatiles before they enter the ionisation and detection in the mass spectrometer (Revell, 2008). Volatile Compounds During the last decades, extensive research has been done on different cherry varieties from various countries in different periods of fruit development. A recent study found out a total of 18 compounds in cherry fruit classified into the groups: alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, hydrocarbons/terpenes and esters were identified and semi-quantified using 4-methyl-2-pentanone as the internal standard for the GC-MS analysis (Vavoura et al., 2015). Almost all these compounds have been previously identified in fresh sweet cherry fruit (Serradilla et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2007; Bernalte et al., 1999; Mattheis et al., 1992; Girard and Kopp, 1998). Many studies have shown that carbonyl compounds, specifically aldehydes, ketones and esters, are some of the most significant compounds of sweet cherry fruit aroma (Girard and Kopp, 1998; Mattheis et al., 1992; Zhang et al., 2007; Bernalte et al., 1999). Matsui (2006) has identified that 2-hexenal and hexanal, which are carbonyl compounds, give green leafy notes in the fresh cherry fruit and for this reason are known as â€Å"green leaf volatiles† with low perception threshold. The results from Vavoura et al. (2015) showed that 2-propanone was the most abundant volatile compound identified in all four cherry cultivars that they examined; Lapins, Canada giant, Ferovia and Skeena followed by 2-hexenal and acetaldehyde. The carbonyl compounds that Vavoura et al. (2015) identified were linear and aromatic and the most abundant was 2-propanone followed by 2-hexenal and acetaldehyde. Moreover, Vavoura et al. (2015) found that carbonyl compounds showed the most abundant signals prese nt in sweet cherry aroma. In contrast with these results, Serradilla et al. (2012) found that alcohols are the most abundant compounds present in sweet cherry, which include linear, aromatic and branched compounds. The most abundant among them was (E)-2-hexen-1-ol and also the main alcohol found in Picato type and Sweetheart sweet cherries in Spain. Furthermore, along with (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, hexanal and 2-hexanal are important compounds which are related with green notes and fresh green odours associated with vegetables and fruits. Girard and Kopp (1998) have also underlined that these compounds are predominant flavour volatiles in cherries. The only alcohols that Vavoura et al. (2015) identified were 2-Hexen-1-ol and benzyl alcohol present in the Skeena cultivar and thus they are used as a marker to distinguish this cherry cultivar from the others. There are other minor components which contribute to the aroma profile of cherry cultivars such as esters (methyl-2-hydroxybenzoate), alkenes (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) and terpenes (D-limonene) (Vavoura et al., 2015; Serradilla et al., 2012). Although, studies on strawberry and kiwifruit showed that esters compounds were the important aromas of the fruits because they have low perception threshold and high aroma value of these compounds (Perez et al., 1996; Li et al., 2002). According to Vavoura et al. (2015), the most representative compounds in the Skeena cultivar were C6 and aromatic compounds. Furthermore, in many studies the content of C6 compounds and aromatic ones are the most representative class of compounds (Mattheis et al., 1992; Zhang et al., 2007; Sun et al., 2010). Girard and Kopp (1998) studied 12 sweet cherry cultivars from the same orchard and identified 50 volatiles with the combination of two techniques dynamic headspace and gas chromatography, (E)-2-hexenol, benzaldehyde, hexanal and (E)-2-hexanal were predominant compounds which could be used to segregate commercial and new cherry selections into various subgroups. Similarly, Sun et al. (2010) conducted their study in order to determine the aroma-active compounds present in five sweet cherry cultivars from Yantai region in China. A total of 52 volatiles were identified, among these were hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, 1-hexanol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, benzaldehyde, and benzyl alcohol. Also, they suggested that hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenal, nonanal, benzaldehyde and geranylacetone are responsible for the green, orange, almond and floral notes of the cherry fruit (Sun et al., 2010). In a similar study, Zhang et al. (2007) using the same techniques identified 37 volatiles in sweet cherries in C hina. Especially, reported that hexanal, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexenal, benzaldehyde, ethyl acetate and hexanoic acid ethyl ester were the characteristic aroma volatiles of sweet cherry fruit. Moreover, they examined the various developmental cherry periods and concluded that the optimal harvest time of sweet cherry was at the commercial stage (Zhang et al., 2007). According to Reineccius (2006), cherry flavour changes across its developmental stages as it cannot be identified in the primary stages of the fruit formation but grows during a brief ripening period. During this period, metabolism of the fruit changes to catabolism and hence the flavour development starts. This is obvious as carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids are enzymatically converted to simple sugars or acids and volatile compounds. All the previous studied had focused on the volatiles compounds which are in a free form but the aroma of cherries might also come from non-volatile glycosidically bound precursors. These aroma precursors have been extensively examined in a wide range of fruits such as blackberries, mangos, pineapples, strawberries, kiwifruit, oranges and grapes (Fan et al., 2009; Chyau et al., 2003; Garcia et al., 2011). As for the cherry, in a recent study, a total of 97 volatile compounds were reported. The groups of the chemicals compounds which were found, were alcohols, aldehydes, acids, esters, ketones, terpenes, norisoprenoids, furans, phenols and benzenes. The majority of these constituents have been previously identified, as it is mentioned before, in fresh sweet cherries. Of the 97 compounds, most of them were in a free form while 13 of them were glycosidically bound. In addition, 20 terpenoid compounds and 7 norisoprenoids were reported. One important thing that has to be taken into accou nt is that many of these compounds such as citronellol, nerol, geraniol, ÃŽ ³-geraniol, (E)-isogeraniol, (Z)-isogeraniol, 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronapthalene (TDN), (E)-1-(2,3,6-Trimethyl-phenyl)buta-1,3-diene (TPB) are identified for the first time in cherries. In contrast to the free volatiles, which were predominantly aldehydes and alcohols, the bound volatile profiles were slightly different. The most abundant compounds were benzyl alcohol, geraniol and 2-phenyl-1-ethanol, followed by 3-methylbutanoic acid and 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol. In terms of sensory evaluation, the free volatile compounds illustrated a fresh green, citrusy and floral aroma while the bound volatiles were odourless in the fresh fruit (Wen et al., 2014). Conclusion To sum up, extensive research has been done on identification of volatile compounds in cherry fruit but the techniques that have been applied to obtain and identify the volatiles are limited. Therefore, our research is intended to examine different cherry varieties both commercially available and from farmers. The methods that will take place for the extraction of the volatiles from the cherries are liquid-liquid extraction, solvent-assissted flavour evaporation technique or most commonly known as SAFE method and headspace solid phase microextraction as in the previously mentioned studies. The results from these techniques will then be identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-olfactometry analysis (GC-O). Then, a preliminary aroma reconstitution experiment will be conducted in order to be created a â€Å"juice† that resembles the organoleptic properties of original cherry juice after a quantification of the concentrations of the identified predominant aroma compounds. This experiment have been previously achieved in other fruits, such as strawberries but not in cherries (Prat et al., 2014). References Bernalte, D. M., Hernandez, M. T., Vidal-Aragon, M. C. Sabio, E. (1999). Physical, chemical, flavor and sensory characteristics of two sweet cherry varieties grown in Valle del Jerte (Spain). Journal of Food Quality, 22, 403-416. Chyau, C. C., Ko, P. T., Chang, C. H. Mau, J. L. (2003). Free and glycosidically bound aroma compounds in lychee. Food Chemistry, 80, 387-392. Fan, G., Qiao, Y., Yao, X., Mo, D., Wang, K. Pan, S. (2009). Free and bound volatile compounds in juice and peel of Jincheng oranges. European Food Research and Technology, 229, 571-578. Fisher, C. Scott, T. R. (1997). Food Flavours. Biology and Chemistry. Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry Garcia, C. V., Quek, S. Y., Stevenson, R. J. Winz, R. A. (2011). Characterisation of the bound volatile extract from baby kiwi (Actinidia arguta). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 59, 8358-8365. Girard, B. Kopp, T. C. (1998). Physico-chemical characteristics of selected sweet cherry cultivars. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 46, 471-476. Li, H., Tu, Z. S., Wang, H. Liu, F. (2002). Analysis of aroma components of kiwifruit wine by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 21, 5-10. Li, X. L., Kang, L., Hu, J. J., Li, X. F. Shen, X. (2008). Aroma volatile compound analysis of SPME headspace and extract samples from crabapple fruit using GC-MS. Agricultural Science in China, 7, 1451-1457. Malaman, F. S., Moraes, L. A. B., West, C., Ferreira, J. Oliviera, A. L. (2011). Supercritical fluid extracts from the Brazilian cherry: Relationship between the extracted compounds and the characteristic flavour intensity of the fruit. Food Chemistry, 124, 85-92. Matsui, K. (2006). Green leaf volatiles: Hydroperoxide lyase pathway of oxylipin metabolism. Journal of Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 52, 1248-1254. Mattheis, J. P., Buchanan, D. A. Fellman, J. K. (1992). Volatile compounds emitted by sweet cherries (Prunus avium cv. Bing) during fruit development and ripening. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 40, 471-474. Perez, A. G., Sanz, C., Olias, R., Rios, J. J. Olias, J. M. (1996). Evolution of strawberry alcohol acyltransferase activity during fruit development and storage. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 44, 3286-3290. Prat, L., Espinoza, M. I., Agosin, E. Silva, H. (2014). Identification of volatile compounds associated with the aroma of white strawberries (Fragaria chiloensis). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 94, 752-759. Reineccius, G. (2006). Flavor formation in fruits and vegetables. Flavor Chemistry and Technology 2nd ed. USA: CRC Press. Revell, J. (2008). Sensory Profile and Consumer Acceptability of Sweet Cherries. University of Nottingham. Serradilla, M. J., Martin, A., Ruiz-Moyano, S., Hernandez, A., Lopez-Corrales, M. de Guia Cordoba, M. (2012). Physicochemical and sensorial characterization of four sweet cherry cultivars grown in Jerte Valley (Spain). Food Chemistry, 133, 1551-1559. Sun, S. Y., Jiang, W. G. Zhao, Y. P. (2010). Characterization of the aroma-active compounds in five sweet cherry cultivars grown in Yantai (China). Flavour and Fragrance Journal, 25, 206-213. Taylor, A. J. Mottram, D. S. (1996). Flavour Science. Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry. Valero, D. Serrano, M. (2010). Postharvest Biology and Technology for Preserving Fruit Quality. USA: CRC Press. Vavoura, A. V., Badeka, A. V., Kontakos, S. Kontominas, M. G. (2015). Characterization of Four Popular Sweet Cherry Cultivars Grown in Greece by Volatile Compound and Physicochemical Data Analysis and Sensory Evaluation molecules, 20, 1922-1940. Wen, Y., He, F., Zhu, B., Lan, Y., Pan, Q., Li, C., Reeves, M. J. Wang, J. (2014). Free and glycosidically bound aroma compounds in cherry (Prunus avium L.). Food Chemistry, 152, 29-36. Zhang, X., Jiang, Y. M., Peng, F. T., He, N. B., Li, Y. J. Zhao, D. C. (2007). Changes of aroma components in Hongdeng sweet cherry during fruit development. Agricultural Science in China, 6, 1376-1382.

The Andromeda Strain: A Critical Analysis Essay -- English Literature:

The Andromeda Strain: A Critical Analysis In 1969 Michael Crichton wrote The Andromeda Strain, a book that would forever expand the limits of a science fiction novel. Although written in 1969, it deals with very current issues facing the modern day boilogical and even political realm. Technically a science fiction novel, the meticulously crafted plot is so intertwined with actual science and technology that some have catagorized it as "science fact." It is this realistic overtone that gives the impression that perhaps, someday, events in the book could actually take place. Plot Synopsis The book opens up with a fictional page of acknowledgments stating "This book recounts the five-day history of a major American scientific crisis." From this opening sentence, the author immediately sets the tone as one of historical narration of events that actually took place. It is supposed to be a retelling of a scientific tradgedy with monumental implications. From here, the story the author relates begins. Five years earlier the United States government initiated a program called Project Scoop. The project's purpose was to send unmanned space capsules into the earth's outer atmosphere to collect samples and examine them. The hope was that undiscovered biological agents could be found for potential use as biological weapons of war. Overall, the Scoop program had been somewhat of a dissapointment until the seventh launch. It reentered the earth's atmosphere over small town in Arizona, where a team of two men were sent to retrieve it. Upon entering the town they found no signs of life and suddenly and unexplicably died themselves. This occurence set in motion something the government had secretly planned for ca... ...ploy would be to grow a number of microorganisms that would grow uninhibited in the vastness of space. The alien race would send them out in random directions where they would drift perpetually until finally reaching other life. Once reaching their destination, they would develop into full organ, or organism capable of communication. They would inform the other race of the presence of the other, and possible ways to communicate back. This seemed amusing to the more practical scientists, but it had to be considered a possibility with Andromeda. Overall, "The Andromeda Strain's" extremely technical subject matter made it challenging to read, but informative on a level usually not touched on by other science fiction novels. The plot itself as well as the concepts conveyed in this book make it relevent to the modern biologic world, even over 30 years later.

Audiences and Spectatorship

Are audiences' vulnerable pawns ensnared under the manipulative and calculating control of the media or, do audiences' actively engage in the media by constructing their own interpretations and meanings of the world? This is an extremely controversial issue that is extensively debated all around the world. Some view audiences as being easily influenced masses of people who can be persuaded to purchase products and conform to societies ideals or even follow corrupt leaders through advertising. There have also been fears that the media may alter the way people behave for example, being more violent and aggressive. On the other side of the coin, there are theorists who believe that the media has a great deal less influence over audiences then is hypothesized. This is the central argument that this essay will be debating, to conclude whether audiences are passive individuals who are targeted victims of the media, or whether they are active and are thus not fictitious cohorts who believe everything they are told or watch in the media. To avoid misrepresentation the definition and differentiation of audiences is crucial. An Audience is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ dictionary definition. There are two types of audiences that are marketed in the media-mass and niche. The mass audience includes people of different social cultures, different degrees of class and wealth and people with varying grades of education. The mass is composed of individuals who are oblivious to each other and who, in an ocean of people, don't individually stand out. Due to this oblivion, members of the mass audience rarely interact and this lack of interaction means little exchange of experiences. A niche is that part of the audience, being relatively small in size, that marketers produce and can thus be easily targeted, producing only a small but secure profit. Audiences are not blank sheets of paper on which media messages can be written; members of an audience will have prior attitudes and beliefs which will determine how effective media messages are. † (Abercrombie, 1996:140) Mass media assumes that its audiences are credulous, susceptible and incompetent. This is however challenged by the idea of an ‘active audience' in which individuals are not mere sheep that follow the flock but individuals who possess agency over their lives and the messages they receive. As Philip Hanes (2000) states, meanings are encoded by the producer into the media text and the audiences decodes the meaning from the text. â€Å"†¦ this intended message is not simply dumped into the minds of passive audiences†¦ â€Å"(Croteau and Hoynes, 2000:263), the producer inscribes a specific meaning in the text that he/she hopes to be decoded, but encodes it by the conventions of the particular medium so as to hide the texts own ideological construction. This concealed message is then decoded by the audience according to external influences such as class, ethnicity, gender, age etc. Thus a text could mean completely different things to different audiences meaning that no text has only one meaning and is thus polysemic. ‘Reception Analysis' suggests the audience themselves help to create the meaning of the text by individually decoding the intended message in different ways according to the mood one may be in or as a result of ones own beliefs and morals. So we can conclude that audiences create their own meanings from the text and are thus not mere passive adherents. However, Its is also shown that media texts contain an excess of meanings within them and thus, â€Å"media contains the raw materials for multiple interpretations; the texts are structured in ways that facilitate peoples reading against the grain†¦ the most successful texts will have components that appeal to different audiences† (Croteau and Hoynes, 2000:266-267) As with all debates it is imperative to discuss and analyze certain theories pertaining to that debate. Firstly, it is important to note that the media only has a limited influence and effect on audiences. As Klapper(1960) demonstrates, â€Å"persuasive mass communication is in general more likely to reinforce the existing opinions of its audience than it is to change its opinion. † The idea of ‘Selectivity† deals with the idea of the resistant audience-it is up to the audience to resist the manipulative powers of the media and be not only cognizant of its manipulative capacity but bend these manipulations in favour of themselves. The Gratifications theory is in support of the premise that audiences are active. This theory testifies that we do not engage in media texts as â€Å"some kind of mindless entertainment. â€Å"(Baker) but make choices over what we consume and thus presume to get something out of it, some form of satisfaction. The types of gratification that we incur comprise of: satisfying our curiosity regarding the world-information; finding ones personal identity by looking to others i. e. celebrities for assistance and corroboration; to find out more about others circumstances and for social interaction(Media allows for communication amongst friends. ); and lastly for pure entertainment. Agenda setting' deals with the notion that although there is an abundance of media messages being thrown at the audience, the audience intercepts this bombardment with their prior beliefs and attitudes. Thus media effects are limited because the audience practices a degree of autonomy. The Marketplace Model positions the audience in the rank of the consumer. This model states that audiences are not inert victims of the media but enthusiastically elect to choose commodities that satisfy their desires and preferences. This model suggests that audiences are realistic and clued-up and know exactly what it is they want. Their preferences allow them to pick and choose the viewing they wish to indulge in and if â€Å"the audience demands diverse content, then the marketplace will provide it. â€Å"(Webster and Phalen, 1994:29) This model insinuates that in view of the fact that audiences actively engage in their choice of viewing they, to a certain degree, have power over the media. One must, however, not be too hasty in succumbing to the notion of the active audience because there is a proliferation of theories regarding audiences as being passive entities. The debate concerning audiences being passive victims of the media and media being capable of radically effecting people's behavior and beliefs, dates far back into history. An extremely appropriate illustration of this is when Hitler and Stalin attempted to use the media as propaganda by persuading the mass audiences to follow their policies and beliefs. Thus we can see how what an extremely precarious weapon media can be in the wrong hands, capable even of convincing millions to follow iniquitous beliefs. We see this persuasion still today in elections which is the same sort of propaganda. The Effects model of media audiences assumes that being exposed to adverse content can result in harm, that the audience is equally harmed by the media withholding high-quality content and the fact that although beneficial content is made accessible, it is being underused by the audience. â€Å"The Commodity Model is less wedded to any notion of audiences as individual decision makers and is more a reflection of the fact that, under advertiser support, they are a common coin of exchange. (Webster, 1994:30) Audiences are thus seen as commodities; the media will construct a text, in such a way that it will produce an audience. An example of this is the show Friends and how it is theorized that this show is actually a method of selling beauty products. Friends features stunning people, in amusing situations who are all blissful. Thus young audiences wanting to follow the latest trends of the main characters and experience their happiness would buy the beauty products sponsoring the show. In the argument pro passivity, â€Å"The Frankfurt School, who were concerned about the possible effects of mass media†¦ considered society to be composed of isolated individuals who were susceptible to media messages. â€Å"(Hanes, 2000) Thus the theory of the Hypodermic Syringe was proposed. This theory states that the media takes on the life of a syringe by injecting principles, and beliefs into the audience, who as passive mass viewers have no option but to be influenced and accept or imitate these messages. An example of this is if you see a woman sweeping the floor, being a woman you would go and do the same or being a man, you would expect the woman to go and sweep the floor. † Certain films such as the Exorcist were banned for this very reason; it was felt that it might encourage people to imitate the acts of violence in the film, in other words, if you watch something violent you will accordingly perform a violent act yourself. Yet another theory supporting the passivity debate is the Cultivation theory. This theory surmises that although an individual media text might not impact or affect an individual, years and years of being exposed to violence may consequently make you less sensitive and responsive to violence. If an audience, for instance, is constantly exposed to domestic violence, it may not bother them too much because they have been desensitized and domestic violence may have become just another societal norm which is exceptionally problematic. Yet another theory hypothesizes that we are likely to communicate our media encounters with others, and if we value their judgment, the likelihood is that we will be influenced by it and thus come to a deduction concerning our experience established on the foundation of the ‘opinion leaders'. These theories give us a great deal of insight into the reality of the audience as a passive victim. It is imperative that mention is given of how violence in the media can influence audiences as this is an integral part favouring the audience as victims' debate. It seems evident that by observing violent or aggressive acts on television and film, audiences are learn behaviors which are appropriate, in other words, which behaviors will be punished and which are rewarded. Audiences imitate those behaviors which are positively rewarded. For instance, if the protagonist is in a fight scene with the ‘enemy,' although the enemy may get punished by being defeated by the protagonist and thus the protagonist be rewarded for defeating evil, the protagonist himself was still involved in the violence and aggression. What is problematic is the fact that the protagonist is seen as the hero and is in turn imitated by audiences as it is seen as a good thing. So we can assume that violence in television and film is encoded and continuous viewing of this violence can help to maintain aggressive thoughts and violent ideas. It is also evident how the media may allow for the release of tension and desires through identification with fictional characters. Violent acts in the media may also erode inbuilt inhibitions against acting violently. Through the attraction of television and films, audiences acquire an imprecise comprehension of society, realism and moral values. Although the many theories surrounding the debate of whether audiences are passive or active are extremely influential, they have also been criticized. Firstly, the Gratifications theory can be criticized as it disregards the actuality that we do not always have absolute selection as to what we receive from the media. We typically have to choose the media that we consume from what is available. This emasculates the Gratification theory since we may not all have the equal prospects to utilize and benefit from the media merchandise we want. The Hypodermic Model can also be criticized on account of it being too simplistic and disregarding audiences' individuality. There is a definite association between the mass media and social change but many of the consequences attributed to the mass media can also be attributed to many other influences within society, thus the extensive debate. In weighing up the evidence of whether mass media is influential or not, it is clearly identifiable that the media does play a major role in the construction of representations in society. Therefore we see how the media is used as a powerful instrument in influencing audiences into certain modes and beliefs within society. So we can deduce from the arguments presented in this essay that while audiences are passive victims of an all-encompassing world of messages, they too are active in that they can rebel against the medias domination by ardently participating in it or by resisting it.

Human Nature Essay

Over time, there have been numerous portrayals of the war between good and evil that has forever existed in society. However, very few have come forth that have shed light upon the tussle between the tendency to indulge in either one of good and evil that exists inside the human mind and continues to do so throughout the course of one’s life. It is essential to understand that works such as these are not mere contribution to literature but are in fact in depth insights into the human mind and present a picture of the nature of the perceptions that exist within it. This is so because of the fact that no matter how much man chooses to evolve in his society and surrounds himself with monuments to sophistication, there will always be the desire to break free of moral boundaries and to indulge one’s self in the free and uncontrolled activities of evil. This paper shall consider Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a depiction of the fight between good and evil that ensues within the darkest of depths in the human mind, then one can see how there is a continuous battle that perseveres within these depths and that there are instances when the suggestion to be evil becomes so strong that there is no longer any degree of possible control that can be attained on the rampage that evil engages in (Colvin, Adcock and Stevenson). The novella was first published in 1886 and has served as one of the most clear and concise insights into the intricate workings of the human mind. If one was to consider the character of Dr, Jekyll, it is evident that Robert Louis Stevenson has chosen to portray that all people are not inherently either completely good or completely evil by nature, rather they hold a frame of mind that comprises partially of a tendency to good, and partially of a tendency to indulge in evil. However, if one was to refer to the bigger picture that is visible in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; it is evident that Robert Louis Stevenson has chosen to use his characters to reflect upon particular dimensions of human nature. For instance, one can see that in contrast to the elusive Dr. Jekyll there exists firstly, Mr. Hyde who is a severe contrast to the principles and morality that Dr. Jekyll stands for. Further on, Mr. Enfield appears to be the continuously probing element of curiosity that is ever present and active in the human mind. Lanyon appears to be a vessel that holds logic and a desire for life to be composed of a series of events that are in no way out of the ordinary or do not comply with the rudiments of logic. Also, the degree of loathing that develops amongst the common man towards this dark side of the human mind once it becomes exposed comes out to be nothing more than prevalence and broadening of the element of hatred and evil. An example of this fact can be seen in the very first few pages of The Strange Case of The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when Mr. Enfield states in a reply to the lawyer’s question about the appearance of the suspected criminal: â€Å"I never saw a man I so disliked†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I can’t describe him. And it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment† (Stevenson 5). From this line, we can surmise that Mr. Enfield develops a loathing towards the creature that lurks in the darkness of the night and indulges in actions out of the pure loathing to all that is good, pure and honest. By giving personalities such as those mentioned above to each individual character and taking the traits that form these personalities to their natural extremes, Robert Louis Stevenson has taken a stance that shows how each individual holds his/her own set of good and evil traits, both of which come together to form the mind of the ordinary every day person. An aspect that should be highlighted at this point is that Dr. Jekyll is perhaps in no way different from the rest of the characters in the plot, and the only distinction that exists between Dr. Jekyll and the rest of the characters is that Dr. Jekyll crosses a threshold of sorts and enters a state of mind where his evil bent of thinking dominates over him. We can therefore surmise that Dr. Jekyll is not an individual person who manages to experiment with his own perceptions and allows his evil side to roam free, but is in fact an example of the form that any normal every day character from the plot would have taken, had it been allowed to roam free and unattended. However, if one was to raise a question concerning the value of friendship or the loyalty towards it that exists with regard to the revelation of different sides of the human mind, then one can see from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that there is hardly any element of loyalty or commitment to friendship that remains when a part of the concerned party enters into the absolution of evil. It is perhaps because of the very same illustration of the forces of good and evil that exists within each individual that The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been subjected to not only numerous forms of adaption over time, but has also been the center of numerous interpretations for the same reason. According to an interpretation by The Guardian, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be seen in more perspectives in modern times than it could have been possibly seen in the earlier days (Campbell). This is because of the reason that the tendency to submit to the desires of evil or the desire to adhere to the principals and morals that define all that is good can be replaced by numerous other tendencies that lurk within the depths of the human mind and it is for the same reason that Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde holds more relevance now than it did at any other point in time. Works Cited Campbell, James. The beast within. 13 December 2008. 21 May 2009 . Colvin, Sidney, Arthur St. John Adcock and Robert Louis Stevenson. Robert Louis Stevenson: his work and his personality. Hodder and Stoughton, 1924. Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Courier Dover Publications, 1991.

Quantitative Analysis Of The Griffith University Hotel Tourism Essays

Quantitative Analysis Of The Griffith University Hotel Tourism Essays Quantitative Analysis Of The Griffith University Hotel Tourism Essay Quantitative Analysis Of The Griffith University Hotel Tourism Essay The Griffith University Hotel wished to measure the bing installations at the City Hotel. The study aims to carry on quantitative analysis to measure the importance and public presentation of bing installations. In making this, the hotel will happen out which sort of installations are over-resourced and which need to be improved. In this study, statistical procedure is worked through by quantitative analysis and questionnaire study. Statistical informations are collected from respondents including concern and pleasance travellers. Quantitative analysis is a sort of research method based on numerical and statistical informations. It aims to place the results of research and guarantee it is dependable ( Carlson et al. , 2009 ) . During the research procedure, a big group of people are selected as respondents to reply certain inquiries. And so, replies are given as primary resources. In this study, concern and pleasance travellers are chosen to reply the inquiries to place the importance and public presentation of bing hotel installations. Meanwhile, during the statistical research by utilizing Excel, p-value for t-test and standard divergences are calculated based on the importance and public presentation of hotel installations. In this research, there are 17 hotel installations in entire in conformity with the importance and public presentation tabular array provided by Excel. Generally, concern and pleasance travellers feel same about the hotel installations. Most significantly, there are three important insta llations in the City Hotel including in-room overseas telegram telecasting, in-room broadband connexion, and free day-to-day newspaper. Finally, there are besides three highest public presentation installations including household eating house, tennis tribunals and express check-out. Research inquiries What are the five most of import, five least of import, five best public presentation and five worst public presentations installations in the City Hotel? Which installation is over-resourced and which needs to be improved? Which installation has the most of import difference between concern and pleasance travellers in conformity with the term of importance? Research method The research of the study is conducted by importance and public presentation analysis. The type of analysis is widely used and gives prescriptions to efficaciously advance the direction of client satisfaction ( Rood and Dziadkowiec, 2010 ) . Meanwhile, it is besides a tool to develop selling schemes. In the cordial reception industry, importance and public presentation analysis is viewed as a important research method. The purposes of the research method are to place and measure the importance and public presentation of bing hotel installations in conformity with customersaa‚Â ¬a„? satisfaction. It is focused on two groups of people, including concern and pleasance travellers. In making this, the director of the City Hotel will cognize which installations are over-resourced and which need to be improved. It gives recommendations for future direction and operations. Therefore, importance and public presentation analysis is an efficient and effectual manner to cover with s uch issues. There are four stairss when carry oning the importance and public presentation analysis. First, place the two groups of people including concern and pleasance travellers. Second, calculate relevant informations for concern and pleasance travellers by utilizing Excel. Third, make a spread secret plan in conformity with the concern and pleasance travellers means. Finally, happen out the five most and least importance, highest and lowest public presentation bing installations from measuring the p-value for t-test. And so, place any differences of importance and public presentation between concern and pleasance travellers. Consequences The tabular array below indicates the mean and standard divergence in conformity with the importance and public presentation of bing installations in City Hotel. It is obvious that there are five most of import installations in the City Hotel, including in-room overseas telegram telecasting ( m=4.24, SD=1.01 ) , in-room broadband connexion ( m=4.03, SD=1.17 ) , free day-to-day newspaper ( m=3.75, SD=1.43 ) , a-la-carte eating house ( m=3.74, SD=1.39 ) , and express check-out ( m=3.62, SD=1.53 ) . On the other manus, there are besides five least of import installations including tennis tribunals ( m=2.26, SD=1.59 ) , mini-bar ( m=2.75, SD=1.65 ) , wireless broadband connexion throughout hotel ( m=2.92, SD=1.65 ) , express check-in ( m=3.21, SD=1.64 ) , and tour engagement service ( m=3.25, SD=1.60 ) . Meanwhile, there are five highest public presentation installations which are household eating house ( m=3.96, SD=0.75 ) , tennis tribunals ( m=3.93, SD=0.73 ) , express check-out ( m=3. 89, SD=0.71 ) , express check-out ( m=3.89, SD=0.71 ) , and in-room wage films ( m=3.85, SD=0.71 ) . And eventually, there are five lowest public presentation installations which are express check-in ( m=3.66, SD=0.65 ) , in-room broadband connexion ( m=3.69, SD=0.69 ) , wireless broadband connexion throughout hotel ( m=3.69, SD=0.69 ) , room service ( m=3.69, SD=0.68 ) , and a-la-carte eating house ( m=3.69, SD=0.65 ) . Table 1, Overall importance mean and SD Facility Overall Importance Mean Overall Importance SD Overall Performance Mean Overall Performance SD In-room broadband connexion 4.03 1.17 3.69 0.69 Wireless broadband connexion throughout hotel 2.92 1.65 3.69 0.69 Room service 3.49 1.53 3.69 0.68 A-la-carte eating house 3.74 1.39 3.69 0.65 Family eating house 3.26 1.61 3.96 0.75 Mini-bar 2.75 1.65 3.83 0.76 Swiming pool 3.36 1.54 3.83 0.71 Secondary school 3.31 1.68 3.77 0.68 Tennis tribunals 2.26 1.59 3.93 0.73 In-room wage films 3.41 1.60 3.85 0.71 In-room overseas telegram telecasting ( foxtel ) 4.24 1.01 3.79 0.68 Express check-in 3.21 1.64 3.66 0.65 Express check-out 3.62 1.53 3.89 0.71 Valet parking 3.39 1.61 3.71 0.69 Free day-to-day newspaper 3.75 1.43 3.70 0.70 Games room 3.37 1.58 3.84 0.74 Tour engagement service 3.25 1.60 3.89 0.76 Figure 1, Scatter secret plan of the importance-performance The figure above is the spread secret plan based on the importance and public presentation of hotel installations. There are four sections in this spread secret plan, including A, B, C, and D. Part A means over-resourced so that the installations in this portion are non of import but have a high public presentation. Although such installations have good public presentation, clients will non see them as an indispensable factor to their satisfaction. Most significantly, the tennis tribunals are viewed as the most over-resourced installation in the City Hotel. Part B means good public presentation and good importance. The installations in this portion have good public presentation and are of import to customersaa‚Â ¬a„? satisfaction. And so, express check-in is an first-class service in the City Hotel. Part C has low public presentation and low importance. The installations in this portion are non of import to clients and have low public presentation. The radio broadband is useless to clients. The installation may be eliminated to cut down the hotelaa‚Â ¬a„?s operation cost. Part D means high importance but low public presentation. The installations in this portion need more attending. The in-room broadband connexion should be earnestly considered and improved consequently. Table 3, T-test ( P lt ; 0.05: there is a important difference ) in-room broadband connexion radio broadband connexion throughout hotel room service a-la-carte eating house household eating house mini-bar swimming pool secondary school tennis tribunals in-room wage films in-room overseas telegram telecasting ( foxtel ) express check-in express check-out gentleman parking free day-to-day newspaper games room circuit engagement service Business 4.16 2.99 3.62 3.84 3.09 2.77 3.29 3.03 2.19 3.28 4.24 3.05 3.77 3.47 3.97 3.16 3.00 Pleasure 3.86 2.84 3.34 3.61 3.48 2.73 3.45 3.55 2.35 3.56 4.24 3.41 3.43 3.29 3.49 3.62 3.56 T-test ( P-value ) 0.033 0.456 0.130 0.197 0.049 0.834 0.385 0.010 0.413 0.155 0.972 0.073 0.074 0.388 0.006 0.017 0.004 P lt ; 0.05 Bacillus Phosphorus Phosphorus Bacillus Phosphorus Phosphorus The tabular array above indicates the results of T-test on the City Hotel installations. It is obvious that there are differences between concern travellers and pleasance travellers. The information for free day-to-day newspaper and in-room broadband connexion are 0.006 and 0.033 severally. It means that concern travellers and pleasance travellers have different attitude on the same installations. In room broadband connexion and free day-to-day newspaper are considered more of import by concern travellers ( M=4.16 A ; M=3.97 ) than pleasance travellers ( M=3.85 A ; M=3.49 ) . On the other manus, some installations are more of import for pleasance travellers than concern travellers. Tour booking service ( T=0.004 ) , games room ( T=0.017 ) , secondary school ( T=0.010 ) , and household eating house ( T=0.049 ) are considered more of import by pleasance travellers because they are more often used than concern travellers. Decision In decision, the study gives the importance and public presentation of bing installations in the City Hotel. There are five most of import installations in the City Hotel, including in-room overseas telegram telecasting, in-room broadband connexion, free day-to-day newspaper, a-la-carte eating house, and express check-out. They need to keep because they have appropriate importance and public presentation. Meanwhile, there are besides five least of import installations including tennis tribunals, mini-bar, radio broadband connexion, express check-in, and tour engagement service. There are besides five lowest public presentation installations which are express check-in, in-room broadband connexion, radio broadband connexion, room service, and a-la-carte eating house. Such installations need to be improved for future operations and public presentation in order to run into customersaa‚Â ¬a„? satisfaction. And so, there are five highest public presentation installations which are household eating house, tennis tribunals, express check-out, express check-out, and in-room wage films. Such sorts of installations are over-resourced so that they need non future betterment. The City Hotel can cut disbursals on the installations to cut down costs. Meanwhile, concern travellers and pleasance travellers have different penchant on same installations. In room broadband connexion and free day-to-day newspaper are considered more of import by concern travellers. Tour booking service, games room, secondary school, and household eating house are considered more of import by pleasance travellers. The City Hotel should place and measure the different penchant on certain installations in order to run into the overall client satisfaction.

The Math of Simple Debt Amortization

The Math of Simple Debt Amortization Incurring debt and making a series of payments to reduce this debt to nil is something you are very likely to do in your lifetime. Most people make purchases, such as a home or auto, that would only be feasible if we are given sufficient time to pay down the amount of the transaction. This is referred to as amortizing a debt, a term that takes its root from the French term amortir, which is the act of providing death to something. Amortizing a Debt The basic definitions required for someone to understand the concept are:1. Principal: The initial amount of the debt, usually the price of the item purchased.2. Interest Rate: The amount one will pay for the use of someone elses money. Usually expressed as a percentage so that this amount can be expressed for any period of time.3. Time: Essentially the amount of time that will be taken to pay down (eliminate) the debt. Usually expressed in years, but best understood as the number of an interval of payments, i.e., 36 monthly payments.Simple interest calculation follows the formula:​  I PRT, where I InterestP PrincipalR Interest RateT Time. Example of Amortizing a Debt John decides to buy a car. The dealer gives him a price and tells him he can pay on time as long as he makes 36 installments and agrees to pay six percent interest. (6%). The facts are: Agreed price 18,000 for the car, taxes included.3 years or 36 equal payments to pay out the debt.Interest rate of 6%.The first payment will occur 30 days after receiving the loan To simplify the problem, we know the following: 1. The monthly payment will include at least 1/36th of the principal so we can pay off the original debt.2. The monthly payment will also include an interest component that is equal to 1/36 of the total interest.3. Total interest is calculated by looking at a series of varying amounts at a fixed interest rate. Take a look at this chart reflecting our loan scenario. Payment Number Principle Outstanding Interest 0 18000.00 90.00 1 18090.00 90.45 2 17587.50 87.94 3 17085.00 85.43 4 16582.50 82.91 5 16080.00 80.40 6 15577.50 77.89 7 15075.00 75.38 8 14572.50 72.86 9 14070.00 70.35 10 13567.50 67.84 11 13065.00 65.33 12 12562.50 62.81 13 12060.00 60.30 14 11557.50 57.79 15 11055.00 55.28 16 10552.50 52.76 17 10050.00 50.25 18 9547.50 47.74 19 9045.00 45.23 20 8542.50 42.71 21 8040.00 40.20 22 7537.50 37.69 23 7035.00 35.18 24 6532.50 32.66 This table shows the calculation of interest for each month, reflecting the declining balance outstanding due to the principal pay down each month  (1/36 of the balance outstanding at the time of the first payment. In our example 18,090/36 502.50) By totaling the amount of interest and calculating the average, you can arrive at a simple estimation of the payment required to amortize this debt. Averaging will differ from exact because you are paying less than the actual calculated amount of interest for the early payments, which would change the amount of the outstanding balance and therefore the amount of interest calculated for the next period.Understanding the simple effect of interest on an amount in terms of a given time period and realizing that amortization is nothing more then a progressive summary of a series of simple monthly debt calculations should provide a person with a better understanding of loans and mortgages. The math is both simple and complex; calculating the periodic interest is simple but finding the exact periodic payment to amortize the debt is complex.

Causes and Effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Posttraumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder caused by exposure to a trauma event. When the body feels that it is in danger, it responds to flying or fighting reactions designed to protect people from harm. When the body faces horror, functions such as memory, emotions, thinking, etc. are currently not important and are turned off. This allows the body to concentrate on adding stress hormones to increase heart rate, blood movement to the muscles and in the case of injury in combating infections and bleeding (National Alliance on Mental Health Website, 2014). Post traumatic stress disorder, that is exactly that. The first response to this disease would be the pressure for over-application and trauma experience. Kay Jankowsi (2010) said posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be traced back to ancient times. History Medical literature literature began with civil war, where PTSD-like disease was called Dakosta syndrome (Jankowsi 2010). Janko wsi (2010) argues that Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that may occur after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event (gospelassemblyfree.com). Post-traumatic stress disorder post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental illness that people remember repetitiously or have a dream of a terrible experience (post traumatic stress disorder 710). The explanation of post traumatic stress disorder mainly focuses on the way in which psychological trauma experience is affected. When a person is facing an overwhelming trauma, the brain can not handle information or emotion correctly (Cohen Web). Post traumatic stress disorder changes the body's response to stress. Hundreds of different types of psychiatric disorders, fourth edition are posted in the mental disorder diagnosis and statistics handbook. (DSM - IV) One of them is called post - traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to this study post-traumatic injuries usually experienced and witnessed life-thr eatening events such as military attacks, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, serious accidents and rape, and other violent personal attacks It will occur later (Harvard Women 's Health Watch, 2005). Causes and Effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Posttraumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder caused by exposure to a trauma event. When the body feels that it is in danger, it responds to flying or fighting reactions designed to protect people from harm. When the body faces horror, functions such as memory, emotions, thinking, etc. are currently not important and are turned off. This allows the body to concentrate on adding stress hormones to increase heart rate, blood movement to the muscles and in the case of injury in combating infections and bleeding (National Alliance on Mental Health Website, 2014). Post traumatic stress disorder, that is exactly that. The first response to this disease would be the pressure for over-application and trauma experience. Kay Jankowsi (2010) said posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be traced back to ancient times. History Medical literature literature began with civil war, where PTSD-like disease was called Dakosta syndrome (Jankowsi 2010). Janko wsi (2010) argues that Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that may occur after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event (gospelassemblyfree.com). Post-traumatic stress disorder post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental illness that people remember repetitiously or have a dream of a terrible experience (post traumatic stress disorder 710). The explanation of post traumatic stress disorder mainly focuses on the way in which psychological trauma experience is affected. When a person is facing an overwhelming trauma, the brain can not handle information or emotion correctly (Cohen Web). Post traumatic stress disorder changes the body's response to stress. Hundreds of different types of psychiatric disorders, fourth edition are posted in the mental disorder diagnosis and statistics handbook. (DSM - IV) One of them is called post - traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to this study post-traumatic injuries usually experienced and witnessed life-thr eatening events such as military attacks, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, serious accidents and rape, and other violent personal attacks It will occur later (Harvard Women 's Health Watch, 2005).

Reflection scenario based essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Reflection scenario based - Essay Example Abuse does not only include physical or verbal abuse. They are of different types and can occur at home, hospital wards, at work or in nursing homes (Age UK, 2013). The term neglect means not getting appropriate services, facilities, treatment and stuff which make you feel comfortable and safe (Tidy, 2013). Older adults are people above the age of 65 referring to the retirement age ( Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2010). They are frail and dependent and are at great risk of getting abused. This paper will discuss how older adults in the acute mental ward are safeguarded and which issues are mostly faced depending upon the particular scenarios. In acute adult wards safeguarding patients of old age is a very challenging task. While safeguarding patients the health care providers encounter several issues. As, in the old age people become very weak a slight physical harm may result into bruises or fractures so they need to be handled with extreme care. For the older adults suffering from mental disabilities, it is very difficult to make them understand about anything. They are almost unable to protect themselves or even participate in safeguarding therefore the responsibilities on the care providers become much higher. Older adults with mental illnesses cannot take care of their financial problems in particular because of lack of understanding and their mental incapacity. The adult ward nurses and staff have to manage their financial issues which sometimes also involve lawyers and police. Handling all these problems is more specific with older adults with mental incapacity. Being older adults the vulnerability to get abused increases, but if it is associated with mental illness the threshold of abuse becomes maximum and therefore, the problems in safeguarding also get intensified. In short, the major issues are lack of understanding due to

THE ECONO,Y AND MONOPOLIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

THE ECONO,Y AND MONOPOLIES - Essay Example Monopoly is a concept that strides under macroeconomics. In addition, it is a situation when there is a single seller in the market who acts like the godfather of all products; it means that only the seller may alter prices of the products according to his own intentions. Below mentioned are three reasons (Allison, 2009) in which monopoly would not be efficient: There has been a consensus many times practically that a government intervenes in the decision making of the country in economic activities like monopoly. United States (US) is one of those economies that used antitrust policies to stop a monopoly from occurring. There are several companies that faced problems here in the US and the name of Microsoft is one of them, largest company of software development in the country. The government of the US took several actions against the company to restrict their quota of manufacturing products in order not to build monopolistic stance within the economy. Apart from that, Microsoft was obliged to disclose everything in front of the public before the making and launching of any product in order to minimize the effects of monopoly to comply with the standards and to be in contact with the economic consequences with the country of

Vincent Van Goghs Starry Night and Hans Hofmanns Spring Essay

Vincent Van Goghs Starry Night and Hans Hofmanns Spring - Essay Example The essay "Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Hans Hofmann’s Spring" discovers two paintings of Vincent Van Gogh and Hans Hofmann. Despite the similarities in the titles to the two works of art, they reveal a differences which reflects on the artist as a person and as an artist given expression to his experience and perspectives. Where Van Gogh looked to create work that was an interpretation of life through his own deeply emotional brush, Hofmann's works were directed at all expressions that his audience could relate to. However, since art is both an expression of mood/emotion and the artist’s own experiences, the contextual backgrounds of both Hofmann and Van Gogh help to explain why similar titled paintings convey different emotions. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was an iconic nineteenth century Dutch painter of the post-impressionist movement. Van Gogh was a deeply religious man, known for his struggles with mental illness (Blumer: 519). Van Gogh’s let ters and accounts of his life indicate that he suffered episodes of high energy and moods swings that are consistent with Bipolar Disorder. In the last two years of his life, a French doctor diagnosed Van Gogh with ‘temporal lobe epilepsy’. Still, Van Gogh’s life is described as ‘extraordinary’ due to his special artistic talents. After studying in Belgium, he spent time in Paris which exposed him not only to both the classical and then modern works of the French avant-garde, but as a metropolitan city exposed him to the Ukiyo-e style of Japan.

Consumer Behaviour in the UK high street clothing sector Essay

Consumer Behaviour in the UK high street clothing sector - Essay Example Particularly, UK and US can be regarded as the innovators of industry trends. Subsequently, the retail industry in these regions is substantially competitive, organized and efficient with the growth rate of 35%. The feature of urbanization has transformed the retail format of these countries with innovative tactics and business strategies. Wal-Mart, Mark & Spencer, Morrison, Tesco and Sainsbury are some of the leading chains of UK retail industry. The introduction of global competitors on board have not only enhanced the competition in retail sector but also have groomed the taste of consumer base resulting in the wide diversity towards brands and trends with an exceptional taste. (Experian, nd). In the year 2,000 the spending of consumer (worldwide) estimated on clothes marked the figure of US$1 trillion. (al., 2006) Current consumer behavior concepts; Consumer Behaviors is the study of people buying patterns, depicting the what, when and why aspects of buying. Effective understandi ng of buyer decision making process with social and economical concerns is necessarily to be evaluated in an attempt to understand people’s want and expectations for successful growth. Consumer buying behavior in retail industry is supported by set of six consecutive actions that include: Need / Want acknowledgment. Information hunt Evaluation of substitutes. Buying decision Buying Post Purchase Evaluation. A Model of influencing factors will illustrate various grounds influencing consumer behavior. (Phillip Kotler, 2003) However, the most influencing factors that underpin the ultimate buying decision of consumer are the psychological factor that is being controlled by features like motivation, perception, believes & attitudes and learning. The role of advertising in controlling the psychological factor to steward the others cannot be under estimated. A commentator on American literature claims that, â€Å"Advertisements are the pervasive part of the American aural and visua l environment. It is impossible to ignore their wider role in providing people a general education in goods, status, values, social roles styles and art†. (Phillips, 1997) (Agnes Nairn) The role of advertising can be regarded as factor to mould consumer towards a specific pattern. The different media outlets used for advertisement includes radio, TV, billboards, internet and even the walls. In the broad spectrum the â€Å"can do† aspects of advertising plays a major role in the growth of consumption. A research conducted to unfold the fact witnessed attitude shifts when â€Å"shame campaign† was jointly launched by department of Environment in Belfast and National road safety council in Dublin in November 2000. Attitude shifts were monitored by researchers among the core target of 17-24 males and massive increase in understanding that even one drink would affect driving were found as below: ("Industry as a partner for sustainable developments") Marketing Research and Strategy; The role of Marketing Strategy in the words of John Scully can be defined as a series of integrated actions leading to a sustainable competitive advantage. Competitive advantage depicts development of features which are not simultaneously implicated or discovered by competitors. On the wide spectrum a successful strategic marketing management draws its objectives from the corporate mission of the organization, driven by organizational values and embedded in company’

Three topics every topic one page Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Three topics every topic one page - Essay Example As early as the 1820s the United States instituted reform measures aimed at curbing slavery throughout the country. For instance, the Missouri Compromise, established in 1820, outlawed the practice of slavery in any of the territories acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. While the Missouri Compromise constituted a major reform measures, undoubtedly another of the most prominent reform measures was the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 established a number of reform measures aimed to curb the then boiling tensions regarding slavery. This compromise specifically indicated that Washington D.C. would not become a slave state and that the Southern wish to involve California in the slave trade was also prohibited. Conversely, the act granted the southern states a strong fugitive slave act, which ensured escaped slaves would be returned. Ultimately, however, while these reform measures put off the eventual war, they would not be enough to stop the significant sectional crisis that e merged. 2. The mid-19th century American division between the northern and southern states over slavery came to be referred to as the sectional crisis. The sectional crisis divided the nation along geographic lines and created new divisions that the nation had never previously experienced. This essay argues that the

E-Logistics2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

E-Logistics2 - Essay Example This report describes the various challenges in global supply chain strategy of VF and provides recommendation to improve the â€Å"Third Way† supply chain system globally. Challenges of â€Å"Third Way† supply chain Strategy of VF VF produces apparel products from its own manufacturing plant as well as acquires apparels from other suppliers. The outsourcing strategy of VF focuses on flexibility. VF possesses strong manufacturing capacity and it can also outsource from suppliers to improve the manufacturing process and thus reduce the cost of production. The suppliers of clothing industry use term contract to produce particular garment in particular quantity. This strategy helped VF to shift production among suppliers in different locations for optimizing cost and respond to the changes in any business conditions such as changes in tariff or exchange rates and other factors related to cost. VF had responded to the market condition and implemented â€Å"Third Way† supply chain strategy to gain advantage of both in house manufacturing and outsourcing as well. VF had two critical elements in the growth strategy which were to expand sales outside the US and expand the ‘direct to consumer’ business. ... For example, Walmart, one of the largest jeans retailers of the US had launched jeans under their own brand. The apparel companies mostly concentrated on design and marketing rather than production. The production was generally a labour intensive method which had several disadvantages. This enabled the garment companies to outsource the production of their design in high competitive terms (Pisano & Adams, 2009). As the supply chain had become globalized, it was a great challenge for VF to find good supplier and develop good relationship in order to coordinate the production flows. The apparel companies do not possess appropriate skill and good bond for efficient outsourcing in Asian region. For this reason, a few Asian manufacturers had started to modify their business to provide fully incorporated supply chain to the apparel companies (Pisano & Adams, 2009). The economic recession of 2008–2009 was also another challenge of VF. Compared to other competitors, VF had managed the global recession much better, though it has also seen decline in sales by 9% in the year 2009. Their income had reduced by 30% in the same year, but the financial condition of VF was strong. It had relatively lower debt, good credit line and comparatively higher cash than their competitors. The biggest fear for VF was the long term impact of the economic crisis on the supply chain. Several garment suppliers were operating on low margin and did not have any financial cushion. When the volume fell because of low demand of garment products, suppliers were forced to shut down their business. The sudden closure of supplier’s business had proved to be troublesome for VF Company. For example, a supplier of VF had informed that it would close down its

Three topics every topic one page Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Three topics every topic one page - Essay Example As early as the 1820s the United States instituted reform measures aimed at curbing slavery throughout the country. For instance, the Missouri Compromise, established in 1820, outlawed the practice of slavery in any of the territories acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. While the Missouri Compromise constituted a major reform measures, undoubtedly another of the most prominent reform measures was the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 established a number of reform measures aimed to curb the then boiling tensions regarding slavery. This compromise specifically indicated that Washington D.C. would not become a slave state and that the Southern wish to involve California in the slave trade was also prohibited. Conversely, the act granted the southern states a strong fugitive slave act, which ensured escaped slaves would be returned. Ultimately, however, while these reform measures put off the eventual war, they would not be enough to stop the significant sectional crisis that e merged. 2. The mid-19th century American division between the northern and southern states over slavery came to be referred to as the sectional crisis. The sectional crisis divided the nation along geographic lines and created new divisions that the nation had never previously experienced. This essay argues that the

Life without IT Essay Example for Free

Life without IT Essay In 21th century, people are probably all in Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, etc. Are you spending too much time on your computer? A recent survey shows that about 83% of users said â€Å"Yes† and only 17% of users said â€Å"No†. Internet influences us so much! But, did you ever think that if there haven’t computer any more, so what would life be like without the Internet? People may say that:† No, it is impossible! Although Steve Jobs died, but Apple Company still survives. † So here I want to say, everything is possible, not absolutely. And what would happen if the Internet completely disappeared? For me, Life is very different without the internet. Because without the internet, I maybe always go out to the pubs and enjoy the company with them. Also without the internet I cant have this much knowledge in computers because I usually learn some cool stuffs under the internet. The Internet is a useful tool for communication through email and instant messaging, finding information and other resources and for just killing free time. People who find social relations difficult in the real world, or infirm or elderly people, can use the internet to reach out and forge lasting relationships with people they otherwise would never have been able to meet. Well, people would have to start talking to each other more, like they used to, and the whole morning chat at the post office will return. Kids would have to used the library to find stuff out instead of using Google, which will get them out of the house and learning to do things for themselves. People will receive letters instead of emails. So many people use the Internet that if whoever banned it from the world everyone would complain that much and so many people would sue them that they would be forced to put it back on to regain all their money, or everyone should just move to the planet mars. It’s boring life! The Internet was a technological advancement that excelled us into the 21st century and changed the way we socialized, did business and purchased goods. It paved the way to the future and still has many exciting advancements ahead of it’s self. There are however many of us who practiced life before it’s time and have experienced a life without the Internet. A life without Internet, I cant imagine, myself, living in this century, without the internet, therefore we should treasure the things we have, don’t let Internet disappeared in the world!

Comparison of Teacher Education Programmes in Pakistan UK

Comparison of Teacher Education Programmes in Pakistan UK Comparative Analysis of Teacher Education Programmes in Pakistan UK CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study The overall development status of every country depends upon the standard of education prevalent across that country. It is an era of knowledge based economies, and countries failing in education find it hard to catch up with the developed world. In other words a countrys economic and cultural future as well as its scientific and technological growth owe to the academic standards being maintained by the teachers in its educational institutions. Thus teachers contributions are well acknowledged as builders of the nation and molders of personalities. In fact the key player of every educational system is the teacher, who is considered the backbone of the entire system all over the world, and a pivot around which the whole education system revolves. Teacher is the major implementer of all educational reforms at the grass root level. Teaching without doubt is considered one of the very noble professions. It offers constant intellectual challenges, acknowledgement, respect in the society a nd above all the opportunity to mould the personalities of a big majority of youth. This centrality qualifies teachers to be the crucial position holders in creating impact on all aspects of students personalities. They are the teachers who bring about positive behavioural changes in students by grooming and developing their personalities. That is why it is necessary that they should be adequately equipped with skills and abilities that would enable them to play an effective role in human development both from national and global perspectives. The Indian Education Commission 1964-66, as observed by Sheikh M.A (1998)[1] had ranked the quality and competence of the teachers as the most important factor determining the quality of education significantly contributing to the national development. Nothing is more important than securing a sufficient supply of high quality recruits to the teaching profession, providing them with the best possible professional preparation and creating satisfactory conditions of work in which they can be fully effective.† However, this central position, demands great care and attention in the education and training of teachers, who develop and enable students meet effectively the challenges of present and future. Ascertaining the effectiveness of these trainings asks for the analysis of teacher education programs in the social context of every country socio economic, cultural and historic factors substantially influence its nature and value. Concept of Teacher Education Teacher education is a discipline and sub sector of education with its distinct pre service and in service forms. It equips prospective and in service teachers with information, knowledge and pedagogical skills to help reform their attitudes and behaviour to the profession of education. The key objective is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) to students and to build their character and personalities. In other words teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the school and classroom. (Wikipedia, 09) [2] According to Sheikh M.A (1998), teacher education encompasses acquiring all that knowledge, skills and abilities which are relevant to the life of a â€Å"teacher as a teacher† It reshapes the attitudes, remodels the habits, and develops the personalities of teachers. Need for Teacher Education Teachers general education and professional training both require utmost care and attention, as whatever is acquired by them is transferred to their students with high multiple effects. The present has witnessed and is still experiencing a rapidly but positively changing scenario of processes and procedures of teacher training. New innovative methods are continuously being added to the already practiced traditional pedagogical techniques. Acquainting with these developments to the point of mastery is needed for the promotion and maintenance of good teaching learning standards. Good quality teacher education about these key elements paves the way of the development of the education system in the long run. Teachers are the layers of the foundations of future citizens, hence need to be educated with futuristic perspective, so that they can develop the personalities of their students, not only as per present requirements but also for the years to come, accommodating the new trends from the global outlook. This is very important as teacher is one of the key agents of change in all communities and a service provider as per needs of the future. Changes are taking place not only at national but also at international level. With every passing day distances are shrinking and communities are coming closer to each other affecting each others practices of life. Purpose of Teacher Education The purpose of teacher education primarily is to equip prospective teachers not only with suitable aptitudes for teaching but also with appropriate skills and abilities required to make them effective and efficient professionals. Through different theoretical and practical activities, they are helped to understand not only the philosophical, psychological, and sociological basis of teaching, but also the relationship of education with the society and its values through teaching and learning processes. The process of formal teacher education can help the prospective teachers minimize the troubles and save the students from the wastages of hit and trial. Appropriately rendered teacher education, provides ample opportunities to would be teachers to understand the nature of teaching; to envisage responsibilities of a teacher; to discover that to be a teacher is much more than learning by heart the philosophies and theories of learning; and to comprehend the practical implications of the pedagogical strategies. It is learnt that the profession of teaching is in fact facilitating the acquisition and retention of knowledge, values, skills and right attitudes for successful life that can initiate and promote positive changes in the society. Keeping this in view teacher education, through teacher-preparatory years focuses on the development of abilities and skills that would not only make them capable teachers but will enable them to discharge duties effectively, take initiatives, motivate students and facilitate learning. With the belief that practice makes one perfect, students during teacher education phase are given the opportunity to teach or instruct and receive constant guidance and encouragement during practical delivery, in order to strengthen good habits and to overcome the pedagogical weaknesses. Phases of Teacher Education Farrant, J. S. (1990)[3], observed that since the dawn of the twenty first century teacher education in developed countries remained divided into three phases: 1) Initial Teacher Education 2) Induction 3) Continuing Teacher Education 1) Initial teacher training / education This education pertains to the training that is undertaken before formally starting the teaching profession. It is a pre-service course done before entering the classroom as a fully responsible teacher. It is usually provided in education colleges and education departments of universities where the student teachers are introduced to the knowledge and skills needed to be professional teachers. The students are formally taught the important components of this profession including aims of education, history of education, perspectives of education, modern approaches to learning, assessment and evaluation of learning and basics of curriculum development, educational psychology, philosophy and pedagogy. It also provides first hand experience of the practical aspects of the teaching profession. It usually takes a year or so and culminates into a certificate or a degree. 2) Induction This informal phase begins when a student teacher changes from being a part time, visiting student teacher to a full time adequately responsible professional. Basically induction refers to the process of providing on the job guidance and support to the teachers during the first few months of teaching or the first year of the professional career. In countries like UK, during induction the teacher is on probation, and receives guidance and supervision formally by the teacher-tutor, and informally from all other colleagues head teacher. The work load during this phase of education is reduced in order to provide time and opportunity for guidance, reflection and grooming. This is a transitional phase from being a student to being a full time teacher. 3) Teachers continuous professional development It is an in-service process for professional refinement of practicing teachers. It is a life long process in which efforts are made to improve and polish up the potentials of the teachers. It includes professional trainings like workshops, short courses and seminars. This is usually formally arranged by good schools or can be self directed through reading of professional books, discussions with colleagues, benefiting from on line courses, or attending training workshops, conferences, and symposiums. With the passage of time, all institutions have started to value in service training of teachers more and more; and are regularly arranging training programs of different durations for their teachers. These trainings are sometimes general in nature for the improvement of the overall teaching methodologies, and sometimes focused on improving specific subject-teaching skills, enabling teachers master innovative concepts recently incorporated in the existing curriculum. Such in service trainings are usually taken up in anticipation for the expected promotions. Usefulness of Comparing Teacher Education Systems Sodhi (1993)[4] documented, â€Å"Comparative education is a popular educational venture and is considered very useful in countries like USA, UK, Russia and even India. It is considered so, as education has been recognized an investment for development of human resources, which is in fact the development of human capital formation. All people engaged in the field of education have much to learn from the policies and educational practices of other lands. Apparently the educational system of a country grows out of the historical background, economic and social conditions, geographical features and political systems and no country is in a position to totally adopt the educational patterns of another country as such. But lessons can be learnt, and successful practices can be adopted to meet the needs from the angle it looks upon them.† With advancement in technology and with communication explosion, the geographical distances are shrinking and people are coming closer to each other. The similarities caused by science and technology are overpowering the differences resulting from cultural diversities. The fact suggested by increasing similarities is that different nations of the worldwhich looks like a global village now, can learn a lot from each others experiences and progress to save time, energy and resources required for the ‘try and learn activities. The knowledge about the successes and failures of other systems can be very awakening and beneficial in comprehending ones own educational problems. The backwardness or advancement of ones own system can be ascertained only through analytical comparison, particularly with those of the economically and educationally advanced countries. In spite of increased investment in education sector, Pakistan has not yet achieved its target of UPE (Universal Primary Education) set in 1960 that was to be achieved by 1980. Analysis of the educational status of Pakistan reveals that a reasonable progress has been made by it since independence. At that time not even a million students were studying in schools, whereas now more than twelve million children are in schools. But at the same time due to a very high population growth rate, more than twelve million school age children are out of school, doing jobs or just doing nothing. The recent comparisons with the educational situation in China and India show that Pakistan is still far behind than the more thickly populated neighbouring countries, where China with literacy rate of 90% and India with 65% are substantially ahead of Pakistan. The situation of full enrollment which is a far cry is further aggravated by an alarmingly high rate of dropouts. Female literacy rate is abysmall y low, and education of females and rural population at all levels is much underrepresented. As the population is growing at a geometrical rate, the need for more schools and for more and better teachers has risen substantially. With increased focus on the quantitative expansion necessitated by substantial raises in population, the qualitative dimension of teacher education in Pakistan has not received adequate attention, resulting in passing out of scores of teachers from different teacher education institutions with inadequate grip over the content and teaching methodologies. This demands special focus to improve the status of teacher education, by learning through analysis and comparison with education systems that are progressing and delivering well in other countries of the world. As the education system has grown over years, the number of teachers has also shown increases, but it is still far from being adequate, particularly for subjects like science and mathematics. Along with this teacher education programs in Peshawar based teacher education institutions like other similar institutions of Pakistan have some critical deficiencies, which are hampering their effectiveness. Some of those were summarized by Asia and the Pacific Program of Educational Innovation for Development (APIED)(1987)[5], and are reproduced hereunder: i) Short duration of teacher training programs ii) Minimal interaction of trainee teachers at schools iii) Outmoded methods of teaching and evaluation iv) Shortage of audio visual aids and other educational equipment in teacher training institutions. v) Deficiency of supplementary reading material/professional magazines/ research journals vi) Lack of co ordination among training institutions. vii) Absence of incentives for prospective teachers These and similar other deficiencies ask for keen analysis of the local system and for its comparison with better performing systems. The best way to analytically compare any two teacher education systems, as highlighted by Galambos C. Eva, (1986) [6] would be to find out: 1) How the two systems strengthen subject area preparation? 2) How long and adequate is the duration of pre service training of teachers? 3) How theory and practice address better inclusion of the practice of teaching in learning to teach effectively and efficiently? 4) What level of general education would be necessary for all prospective teachers? and 5) What major and minor subjects would be preferred as most supportive for the profession of teaching? In order to survive successfully in the global community, and to bring the indigenous teacher education at the international level it would seem pertinent to critically analyze the local prevailing teacher education programs and to compare them with one of the educationally advanced countries, like that of the United Kingdom, which had laid the foundation of the existing education system in the sub-continent during the colonial rule. Education System in Pakistan Education in Pakistan comes in the domain of the responsibilities of the provinces. However the Federal government is responsible for over viewing Pakistans entire system of education, and is assisted by the provincal ministries and departments of education in all the provinces. The Federal Ministry of Education (MOE) deals with policy-making, curriculum development, accreditation and coordination as an advisory authority, along with the direct administration of the educational institutions situated in and around the capital. Education up to Secondary level is provided by public and private schools, and by Islamic madrasahs, (the faith schools). Education provided at the public/government schools is free of cost, but in the private sector institutions educational expenses are borne by the parents for the purpose of good quality of education. Provincial governments overview and administer all the Universities which are financed by the Federal government through the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Both public and private universities and other higher education institutions are overviewed by HEC for the planning, development and granting of charters. The academic progress of these institutions is coordinated, reviewed and evaluated by the HEC. Primary Education Primary education begins at five years of age and is completed in five years. The medium of instruction at the government schools is either Urdu or the regional language and is English at the private educational institutions. The curriculum revolves around Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, General science, Social studies, Islamic studies, and Physical training. Secondary Education Secondary Education comprises of three stages: a three-year stage of middle level education; other two-year of secondary education; and a further two-year of higher secondary education at intermediate and degree colleges. At the Middle level, (Grades VI to VIII), at ages 11-13, compulsory subjects of Urdu, English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Islamic studies are studied and students are examined on terminal and annual basis. In Grades IX and X at ages 14 and 15 studies are divided into streams of Science and Humanities, and externally examined by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education to award Secondary School Certificate on successful completion of ten years of education. However, Intermediate or Higher Secondary Education stream involves studies of Grade XI and XII either in Science or Humanities at the ages of 16 and 17, with external examination and certification by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. Many students in the private sector opt for the examination of (GCE) General Certificate of Education. Madrassahs / Madaris: (Religious Schools) The madaris, operating simultaneously with regular schools are fewer in number as compared to the public and private schools. These provide Islamic education through Urdu and Arabic as languages of Instruction. The key features of the curriculum are the study of the Holy Quran and Hadith (teachings of the prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h). Enrollment and boarding lodging facilities are mostly free of charge, although in some cases they receive grants from the federal government. The primary level institutions called maktabs, are usually attachments of mosques, and provide basic Islamic education focusing on the reading and learning the holy Quran by heart. Secondary school madrasahs deal with the higher level of Islamic education. For better standards of education and in order to integrate the Islamic and formal education systems, the formal schools curriculum of English, mathematics, general science and computer Science are now studied compulsorily at all madaris. Madrasahs are largely self-governing and independent. The official regulatory and certificates/Sanads awarding bodies include ‘Jamea-tus Safiya ‘Wafaq-ul-Madaris, and ‘Tanzeem-ul-Madaris. Different madrasah levels correspond to the formal system, like ‘Tajweed wa Qiraat Ibtidaya is equal to primary schooling, ‘Mutawassita is at par with Middle level, ‘Saniya Aama is equated with Secondary School Certificate, and ‘Saniya Khasa to the Higher Secondary School Certificate, after which the students are eligible to continue higher education at Madrasah or at Universities of the formal sector. Vocational / Technical Secondary Education Nearly all vocational schools run both certificate and diploma programmes. The duration of certificate courses is one year and that of diplomas is two years, in various trades at the secondary level (Grades IX and X) leading to the Secondary School Certificate in technical education; qualifying students to continue their education at Technical Institutes of higher education. Higher Education At the time of partition in 1947 the country had only one University, the Punjab University. Now as of 2008-2009 Pakistan, according to Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC), there are 124 recognized Universities in the country, 68 of these universities are public sector universities and 56 are from the private sector. The guidelines for charter and operations of Universities are issued by the HEC. For standardization, all degree-granting higher education programmes are assessed by HEC. With English as medium of Instruction the Higher Secondary School Certificate, a pass in the entry test, are the essential pre requisites for admission to the study at the university. University Higher Education Stage I: A Bachelors Degree is awarded after two years of formal education and with honours after three years of fulltime study in humanities, sciences or commerce. Four years of formal education is required for Bachelors degrees in engineering, pharmacy computer science, whereas five years are needed for Bachelors in medicine. Stage II: Two years of study after the bachelors degree and one year after the honors bachelors degree leads to the acquisition of Masters Degree Stage III: A minimum of four to five years of study beyond masters degree leads to the doctoral degree. But the duration of study is five to seven years for programmes like the Doctor of Literature (DLitt), Doctor of Science (DSc) and Doctor of Law (LLD). Higher Education (Non University) Polytechnics, technical and commercial institutes and colleges provide non-university higher education comprising programmes of two or three years leading to certificates and diplomas in commercial and technical fields, awarded by Provincial Boards of Technical Education. Teacher Education Programs at Pakistan Primary School Teachers Teacher training at the post secondary level takes place in Regional Institutes of Teacher Education (RITE), and at the Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad for a one-year program known as the Primary Teaching Certificate. In addition, prospective teachers are also prepared at the private sector institutions affiliated or enlisted with universities of public or private sector. Secondary School Teachers Government training institutes of education and different affiliated colleges in private sector train teachers for the secondary school level. They are awarded a Certificate of Teaching (CT) for one year study after passing the examination of Higher Secondary School Certificate. Teacher Education at Universities The prospective teachers aspiring to teach at the higher secondary school level study for one year at the Education Colleges for the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree, after two-year bachelors of Arts or Science (BA/BSc) education. Teachers possessing B.Ed degree are eligible to teach at the Secondary school level. Masters of Education (M.Ed) is a one year university education after completion of B.Ed. Policy Priorities for Teacher Education All the National Education Policies of Pakistan have accorded great importance to teacher education. The 1959 Commission on National Education stressed upon the necessity of adequate pre service teacher education gave recommendations about functions of teachers in a university and about selection and promotion of teachers. The Education Policy 1972-80 estimated the teacher producing capacity of then existing 12 teacher training colleges and 55 teacher education institutions in Pakistan, to be four thousand which was much less than the estimated demand of three hundred thousand additionally required teachers. It recommended the introduction of Education subject at Secondary, Higher Secondary and Degree level and students qualifying these subjects were suggested to be taken as primary, middle and high level teachers. Relaxation of training requirements for women teachers in special cases was recommended in order to increase the number of women teachers. An academy for teachers and educ ational Administrators training was recommended to be set up. The outdated nature of the teacher training courses was admitted, and their revision was recommended, along with this preparation of model standard textbooks for teacher trainees were advised. The National Education Policy 1979 had vividly valued the significant role of teachers in the effective implementation of the education policies. It was asserted that teacher is the pivot of the entire educational system. In order to promote pre-service teacher education, all the Primary Teacher Training Institutions were planned to be upgraded to Colleges of Elementary Education. An Academy of Higher Education was approved to be established to provide in-service and pre-service training to the College and University teachers. Another Academy for Educational Planning and Management was also established to provide opportunities of training to administrators and supervisors working at different levels of the educational system. This National Education Policy envisaged that every teacher would be expected to undergo one in-service course during five-year cycle of his/her service. A system of National Awards for best teachers was planned to be instituted. Every year ten teachers of vario us levels and categories were planned to receive these awards from the President of Pakistan at national level. Similar awards were planned to be given to selected teachers by the respective provincial governors. The Sixth five Year Plan (1983-88), earmarked sixty million rupees for the teacher education programs to establish additional primary and secondary teacher training institutes and to enhance the training capacity of the existing primary and secondary teacher training institutions, and departments of Education at the Universities. This plan was unique in the sense that it allocated special funds categorically for the teacher education programs. Prior to this the trend of blanket approval was in practice and the badly needed requisite improvement in the standard of teachers could not be facilitated. The incremental allocation, as given in the following table reflected the increased importance accorded to teacher education. Table: 1.1 The Sixth Five Year Plans (1983-1988) Allocations for Teacher Education Year Recurring Expenditure Developmental Expenditure (in million rupees) 1983-84 12 16 1984-85 14 20 1985-86 18 27 1986-87 20 32 1987-88 24 38 Total 88 133 The Seventh Five-Year Plan (1988-93) identified a number of shortcomings in the teacher training programs, which included the irrelevancy of curriculum for PTC and CT; the inadequacy of the training duration, of in service training, and lack of good career prospects due to which good students were not attracted to the profession of teaching. It was proposed to improve the efficiency of teachers by gradually raising the minimum qualification, revitalizing the teacher training programmes, continuous in-service education and providing better career proposals to teachers. The Ninth Five-Year Plan focused upon the strengthening of one hundred and twenty then available teacher training institutes. The high priority attached to the promotion and facilitation of teacher education as envisaged in the above mentioned policies and plans spoke of the importance accorded to teacher education by all the governments of Pakistan. Entry Qualification The requisite entry qualifications into the teaching profession at different levels are as follows: a) Primary Level (I-V) : Matriculation + one year teaching certificate (PTC) b) Middle Level (VI-VIII) : Intermediate + one year teaching certificate (CT) and, c) Secondary Level (IX-X) : B.A/B.Sc + one year Bachelor of Edu. degree course/B.Ed Non Formal Teacher Education Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is offering non formal teacher training courses for both male and female students living in the far away areas of the country. These programs are substantially contributing to the provision of trained teachers. United Kingdoms System of Education In Britain compulsory schooling takes place between the ages of five and sixteen. The over riding objectives of the governments education policies are to raise standards at all levels of ability, increase parental choice, make further and higher education more widely accessible and more responsive to the needs of the economy, and to achieve the best possible returns from the resources invested in the education service. (Britain 1990) [7] Parents are legally bound to ensure that their children aged five to sixteen regularly receive efficient full time education. Most students receive free education financed from public funds, and a small proportion attends private schools independent of public financial support. Pupils follow a common curriculum leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE). Students are allowed to select a number of GCSEs, VCSEs as per their personal preferences and aptitudes. Quite a few sch ools cater for the educational needs of the students for additional two years till they sit for the Advanced Level of General Certificate of Education. (GCE A Levels) Primary and Secondary Schools Ninety percent of boys and girls are taught together in most primary schools. Most independent/private fee-charging schools are mixed at the primary level and single-gender at the secondary level. These schools are registered with, and inspected by the government and governed by an independent board. No fees are charged in government schools, which are governed by the Local Education Authorities (LEA). There is no statutory requirement to provide education for the under-fives, but nursery education is well established now. Compulsory education begins at five at infant schools and at seven they go to junior/primary schools. The average age of passing out from primary school and entry into secondary school is eleven years. Schools are organized in a number of ways including secondary schools with age range, from 11 to 18; middle schools whose students move on to senior comprehensive schools at the age of 12 to 16. Tertiary colleges offer a full range of vocational and academic courses for students over 16. Examinations At the completion of the secondary education at UK, at the age of sixteen, secondary school students appear for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). This examination in order to raise the standard of performance has replaced General Certificate of Education (GCE), Ordinary Level (O Level), and the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) since 1988. GCSE examination is taken after five years of Secondary Education and evaluated at a seven point scale of grades, A to G. The GCSE Advanced level (A Level) examination is taken after two years of further study. Its successful completion qualifies the student for induction into universities. Educational Standards Her Majestys inspectors report to ministers on the quality of education provided at all schools colleges and universities. They also advise the Local Education Authorities (LEA) and the government, and publish the reports. LEAs also employ inspectors or advisers to gu Comparison of Teacher Education Programmes in Pakistan UK Comparison of Teacher Education Programmes in Pakistan UK Comparative Analysis of Teacher Education Programmes in Pakistan UK CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study The overall development status of every country depends upon the standard of education prevalent across that country. It is an era of knowledge based economies, and countries failing in education find it hard to catch up with the developed world. In other words a countrys economic and cultural future as well as its scientific and technological growth owe to the academic standards being maintained by the teachers in its educational institutions. Thus teachers contributions are well acknowledged as builders of the nation and molders of personalities. In fact the key player of every educational system is the teacher, who is considered the backbone of the entire system all over the world, and a pivot around which the whole education system revolves. Teacher is the major implementer of all educational reforms at the grass root level. Teaching without doubt is considered one of the very noble professions. It offers constant intellectual challenges, acknowledgement, respect in the society a nd above all the opportunity to mould the personalities of a big majority of youth. This centrality qualifies teachers to be the crucial position holders in creating impact on all aspects of students personalities. They are the teachers who bring about positive behavioural changes in students by grooming and developing their personalities. That is why it is necessary that they should be adequately equipped with skills and abilities that would enable them to play an effective role in human development both from national and global perspectives. The Indian Education Commission 1964-66, as observed by Sheikh M.A (1998)[1] had ranked the quality and competence of the teachers as the most important factor determining the quality of education significantly contributing to the national development. Nothing is more important than securing a sufficient supply of high quality recruits to the teaching profession, providing them with the best possible professional preparation and creating satisfactory conditions of work in which they can be fully effective.† However, this central position, demands great care and attention in the education and training of teachers, who develop and enable students meet effectively the challenges of present and future. Ascertaining the effectiveness of these trainings asks for the analysis of teacher education programs in the social context of every country socio economic, cultural and historic factors substantially influence its nature and value. Concept of Teacher Education Teacher education is a discipline and sub sector of education with its distinct pre service and in service forms. It equips prospective and in service teachers with information, knowledge and pedagogical skills to help reform their attitudes and behaviour to the profession of education. The key objective is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) to students and to build their character and personalities. In other words teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the school and classroom. (Wikipedia, 09) [2] According to Sheikh M.A (1998), teacher education encompasses acquiring all that knowledge, skills and abilities which are relevant to the life of a â€Å"teacher as a teacher† It reshapes the attitudes, remodels the habits, and develops the personalities of teachers. Need for Teacher Education Teachers general education and professional training both require utmost care and attention, as whatever is acquired by them is transferred to their students with high multiple effects. The present has witnessed and is still experiencing a rapidly but positively changing scenario of processes and procedures of teacher training. New innovative methods are continuously being added to the already practiced traditional pedagogical techniques. Acquainting with these developments to the point of mastery is needed for the promotion and maintenance of good teaching learning standards. Good quality teacher education about these key elements paves the way of the development of the education system in the long run. Teachers are the layers of the foundations of future citizens, hence need to be educated with futuristic perspective, so that they can develop the personalities of their students, not only as per present requirements but also for the years to come, accommodating the new trends from the global outlook. This is very important as teacher is one of the key agents of change in all communities and a service provider as per needs of the future. Changes are taking place not only at national but also at international level. With every passing day distances are shrinking and communities are coming closer to each other affecting each others practices of life. Purpose of Teacher Education The purpose of teacher education primarily is to equip prospective teachers not only with suitable aptitudes for teaching but also with appropriate skills and abilities required to make them effective and efficient professionals. Through different theoretical and practical activities, they are helped to understand not only the philosophical, psychological, and sociological basis of teaching, but also the relationship of education with the society and its values through teaching and learning processes. The process of formal teacher education can help the prospective teachers minimize the troubles and save the students from the wastages of hit and trial. Appropriately rendered teacher education, provides ample opportunities to would be teachers to understand the nature of teaching; to envisage responsibilities of a teacher; to discover that to be a teacher is much more than learning by heart the philosophies and theories of learning; and to comprehend the practical implications of the pedagogical strategies. It is learnt that the profession of teaching is in fact facilitating the acquisition and retention of knowledge, values, skills and right attitudes for successful life that can initiate and promote positive changes in the society. Keeping this in view teacher education, through teacher-preparatory years focuses on the development of abilities and skills that would not only make them capable teachers but will enable them to discharge duties effectively, take initiatives, motivate students and facilitate learning. With the belief that practice makes one perfect, students during teacher education phase are given the opportunity to teach or instruct and receive constant guidance and encouragement during practical delivery, in order to strengthen good habits and to overcome the pedagogical weaknesses. Phases of Teacher Education Farrant, J. S. (1990)[3], observed that since the dawn of the twenty first century teacher education in developed countries remained divided into three phases: 1) Initial Teacher Education 2) Induction 3) Continuing Teacher Education 1) Initial teacher training / education This education pertains to the training that is undertaken before formally starting the teaching profession. It is a pre-service course done before entering the classroom as a fully responsible teacher. It is usually provided in education colleges and education departments of universities where the student teachers are introduced to the knowledge and skills needed to be professional teachers. The students are formally taught the important components of this profession including aims of education, history of education, perspectives of education, modern approaches to learning, assessment and evaluation of learning and basics of curriculum development, educational psychology, philosophy and pedagogy. It also provides first hand experience of the practical aspects of the teaching profession. It usually takes a year or so and culminates into a certificate or a degree. 2) Induction This informal phase begins when a student teacher changes from being a part time, visiting student teacher to a full time adequately responsible professional. Basically induction refers to the process of providing on the job guidance and support to the teachers during the first few months of teaching or the first year of the professional career. In countries like UK, during induction the teacher is on probation, and receives guidance and supervision formally by the teacher-tutor, and informally from all other colleagues head teacher. The work load during this phase of education is reduced in order to provide time and opportunity for guidance, reflection and grooming. This is a transitional phase from being a student to being a full time teacher. 3) Teachers continuous professional development It is an in-service process for professional refinement of practicing teachers. It is a life long process in which efforts are made to improve and polish up the potentials of the teachers. It includes professional trainings like workshops, short courses and seminars. This is usually formally arranged by good schools or can be self directed through reading of professional books, discussions with colleagues, benefiting from on line courses, or attending training workshops, conferences, and symposiums. With the passage of time, all institutions have started to value in service training of teachers more and more; and are regularly arranging training programs of different durations for their teachers. These trainings are sometimes general in nature for the improvement of the overall teaching methodologies, and sometimes focused on improving specific subject-teaching skills, enabling teachers master innovative concepts recently incorporated in the existing curriculum. Such in service trainings are usually taken up in anticipation for the expected promotions. Usefulness of Comparing Teacher Education Systems Sodhi (1993)[4] documented, â€Å"Comparative education is a popular educational venture and is considered very useful in countries like USA, UK, Russia and even India. It is considered so, as education has been recognized an investment for development of human resources, which is in fact the development of human capital formation. All people engaged in the field of education have much to learn from the policies and educational practices of other lands. Apparently the educational system of a country grows out of the historical background, economic and social conditions, geographical features and political systems and no country is in a position to totally adopt the educational patterns of another country as such. But lessons can be learnt, and successful practices can be adopted to meet the needs from the angle it looks upon them.† With advancement in technology and with communication explosion, the geographical distances are shrinking and people are coming closer to each other. The similarities caused by science and technology are overpowering the differences resulting from cultural diversities. The fact suggested by increasing similarities is that different nations of the worldwhich looks like a global village now, can learn a lot from each others experiences and progress to save time, energy and resources required for the ‘try and learn activities. The knowledge about the successes and failures of other systems can be very awakening and beneficial in comprehending ones own educational problems. The backwardness or advancement of ones own system can be ascertained only through analytical comparison, particularly with those of the economically and educationally advanced countries. In spite of increased investment in education sector, Pakistan has not yet achieved its target of UPE (Universal Primary Education) set in 1960 that was to be achieved by 1980. Analysis of the educational status of Pakistan reveals that a reasonable progress has been made by it since independence. At that time not even a million students were studying in schools, whereas now more than twelve million children are in schools. But at the same time due to a very high population growth rate, more than twelve million school age children are out of school, doing jobs or just doing nothing. The recent comparisons with the educational situation in China and India show that Pakistan is still far behind than the more thickly populated neighbouring countries, where China with literacy rate of 90% and India with 65% are substantially ahead of Pakistan. The situation of full enrollment which is a far cry is further aggravated by an alarmingly high rate of dropouts. Female literacy rate is abysmall y low, and education of females and rural population at all levels is much underrepresented. As the population is growing at a geometrical rate, the need for more schools and for more and better teachers has risen substantially. With increased focus on the quantitative expansion necessitated by substantial raises in population, the qualitative dimension of teacher education in Pakistan has not received adequate attention, resulting in passing out of scores of teachers from different teacher education institutions with inadequate grip over the content and teaching methodologies. This demands special focus to improve the status of teacher education, by learning through analysis and comparison with education systems that are progressing and delivering well in other countries of the world. As the education system has grown over years, the number of teachers has also shown increases, but it is still far from being adequate, particularly for subjects like science and mathematics. Along with this teacher education programs in Peshawar based teacher education institutions like other similar institutions of Pakistan have some critical deficiencies, which are hampering their effectiveness. Some of those were summarized by Asia and the Pacific Program of Educational Innovation for Development (APIED)(1987)[5], and are reproduced hereunder: i) Short duration of teacher training programs ii) Minimal interaction of trainee teachers at schools iii) Outmoded methods of teaching and evaluation iv) Shortage of audio visual aids and other educational equipment in teacher training institutions. v) Deficiency of supplementary reading material/professional magazines/ research journals vi) Lack of co ordination among training institutions. vii) Absence of incentives for prospective teachers These and similar other deficiencies ask for keen analysis of the local system and for its comparison with better performing systems. The best way to analytically compare any two teacher education systems, as highlighted by Galambos C. Eva, (1986) [6] would be to find out: 1) How the two systems strengthen subject area preparation? 2) How long and adequate is the duration of pre service training of teachers? 3) How theory and practice address better inclusion of the practice of teaching in learning to teach effectively and efficiently? 4) What level of general education would be necessary for all prospective teachers? and 5) What major and minor subjects would be preferred as most supportive for the profession of teaching? In order to survive successfully in the global community, and to bring the indigenous teacher education at the international level it would seem pertinent to critically analyze the local prevailing teacher education programs and to compare them with one of the educationally advanced countries, like that of the United Kingdom, which had laid the foundation of the existing education system in the sub-continent during the colonial rule. Education System in Pakistan Education in Pakistan comes in the domain of the responsibilities of the provinces. However the Federal government is responsible for over viewing Pakistans entire system of education, and is assisted by the provincal ministries and departments of education in all the provinces. The Federal Ministry of Education (MOE) deals with policy-making, curriculum development, accreditation and coordination as an advisory authority, along with the direct administration of the educational institutions situated in and around the capital. Education up to Secondary level is provided by public and private schools, and by Islamic madrasahs, (the faith schools). Education provided at the public/government schools is free of cost, but in the private sector institutions educational expenses are borne by the parents for the purpose of good quality of education. Provincial governments overview and administer all the Universities which are financed by the Federal government through the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Both public and private universities and other higher education institutions are overviewed by HEC for the planning, development and granting of charters. The academic progress of these institutions is coordinated, reviewed and evaluated by the HEC. Primary Education Primary education begins at five years of age and is completed in five years. The medium of instruction at the government schools is either Urdu or the regional language and is English at the private educational institutions. The curriculum revolves around Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, General science, Social studies, Islamic studies, and Physical training. Secondary Education Secondary Education comprises of three stages: a three-year stage of middle level education; other two-year of secondary education; and a further two-year of higher secondary education at intermediate and degree colleges. At the Middle level, (Grades VI to VIII), at ages 11-13, compulsory subjects of Urdu, English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Islamic studies are studied and students are examined on terminal and annual basis. In Grades IX and X at ages 14 and 15 studies are divided into streams of Science and Humanities, and externally examined by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education to award Secondary School Certificate on successful completion of ten years of education. However, Intermediate or Higher Secondary Education stream involves studies of Grade XI and XII either in Science or Humanities at the ages of 16 and 17, with external examination and certification by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education. Many students in the private sector opt for the examination of (GCE) General Certificate of Education. Madrassahs / Madaris: (Religious Schools) The madaris, operating simultaneously with regular schools are fewer in number as compared to the public and private schools. These provide Islamic education through Urdu and Arabic as languages of Instruction. The key features of the curriculum are the study of the Holy Quran and Hadith (teachings of the prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h). Enrollment and boarding lodging facilities are mostly free of charge, although in some cases they receive grants from the federal government. The primary level institutions called maktabs, are usually attachments of mosques, and provide basic Islamic education focusing on the reading and learning the holy Quran by heart. Secondary school madrasahs deal with the higher level of Islamic education. For better standards of education and in order to integrate the Islamic and formal education systems, the formal schools curriculum of English, mathematics, general science and computer Science are now studied compulsorily at all madaris. Madrasahs are largely self-governing and independent. The official regulatory and certificates/Sanads awarding bodies include ‘Jamea-tus Safiya ‘Wafaq-ul-Madaris, and ‘Tanzeem-ul-Madaris. Different madrasah levels correspond to the formal system, like ‘Tajweed wa Qiraat Ibtidaya is equal to primary schooling, ‘Mutawassita is at par with Middle level, ‘Saniya Aama is equated with Secondary School Certificate, and ‘Saniya Khasa to the Higher Secondary School Certificate, after which the students are eligible to continue higher education at Madrasah or at Universities of the formal sector. Vocational / Technical Secondary Education Nearly all vocational schools run both certificate and diploma programmes. The duration of certificate courses is one year and that of diplomas is two years, in various trades at the secondary level (Grades IX and X) leading to the Secondary School Certificate in technical education; qualifying students to continue their education at Technical Institutes of higher education. Higher Education At the time of partition in 1947 the country had only one University, the Punjab University. Now as of 2008-2009 Pakistan, according to Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC), there are 124 recognized Universities in the country, 68 of these universities are public sector universities and 56 are from the private sector. The guidelines for charter and operations of Universities are issued by the HEC. For standardization, all degree-granting higher education programmes are assessed by HEC. With English as medium of Instruction the Higher Secondary School Certificate, a pass in the entry test, are the essential pre requisites for admission to the study at the university. University Higher Education Stage I: A Bachelors Degree is awarded after two years of formal education and with honours after three years of fulltime study in humanities, sciences or commerce. Four years of formal education is required for Bachelors degrees in engineering, pharmacy computer science, whereas five years are needed for Bachelors in medicine. Stage II: Two years of study after the bachelors degree and one year after the honors bachelors degree leads to the acquisition of Masters Degree Stage III: A minimum of four to five years of study beyond masters degree leads to the doctoral degree. But the duration of study is five to seven years for programmes like the Doctor of Literature (DLitt), Doctor of Science (DSc) and Doctor of Law (LLD). Higher Education (Non University) Polytechnics, technical and commercial institutes and colleges provide non-university higher education comprising programmes of two or three years leading to certificates and diplomas in commercial and technical fields, awarded by Provincial Boards of Technical Education. Teacher Education Programs at Pakistan Primary School Teachers Teacher training at the post secondary level takes place in Regional Institutes of Teacher Education (RITE), and at the Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad for a one-year program known as the Primary Teaching Certificate. In addition, prospective teachers are also prepared at the private sector institutions affiliated or enlisted with universities of public or private sector. Secondary School Teachers Government training institutes of education and different affiliated colleges in private sector train teachers for the secondary school level. They are awarded a Certificate of Teaching (CT) for one year study after passing the examination of Higher Secondary School Certificate. Teacher Education at Universities The prospective teachers aspiring to teach at the higher secondary school level study for one year at the Education Colleges for the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree, after two-year bachelors of Arts or Science (BA/BSc) education. Teachers possessing B.Ed degree are eligible to teach at the Secondary school level. Masters of Education (M.Ed) is a one year university education after completion of B.Ed. Policy Priorities for Teacher Education All the National Education Policies of Pakistan have accorded great importance to teacher education. The 1959 Commission on National Education stressed upon the necessity of adequate pre service teacher education gave recommendations about functions of teachers in a university and about selection and promotion of teachers. The Education Policy 1972-80 estimated the teacher producing capacity of then existing 12 teacher training colleges and 55 teacher education institutions in Pakistan, to be four thousand which was much less than the estimated demand of three hundred thousand additionally required teachers. It recommended the introduction of Education subject at Secondary, Higher Secondary and Degree level and students qualifying these subjects were suggested to be taken as primary, middle and high level teachers. Relaxation of training requirements for women teachers in special cases was recommended in order to increase the number of women teachers. An academy for teachers and educ ational Administrators training was recommended to be set up. The outdated nature of the teacher training courses was admitted, and their revision was recommended, along with this preparation of model standard textbooks for teacher trainees were advised. The National Education Policy 1979 had vividly valued the significant role of teachers in the effective implementation of the education policies. It was asserted that teacher is the pivot of the entire educational system. In order to promote pre-service teacher education, all the Primary Teacher Training Institutions were planned to be upgraded to Colleges of Elementary Education. An Academy of Higher Education was approved to be established to provide in-service and pre-service training to the College and University teachers. Another Academy for Educational Planning and Management was also established to provide opportunities of training to administrators and supervisors working at different levels of the educational system. This National Education Policy envisaged that every teacher would be expected to undergo one in-service course during five-year cycle of his/her service. A system of National Awards for best teachers was planned to be instituted. Every year ten teachers of vario us levels and categories were planned to receive these awards from the President of Pakistan at national level. Similar awards were planned to be given to selected teachers by the respective provincial governors. The Sixth five Year Plan (1983-88), earmarked sixty million rupees for the teacher education programs to establish additional primary and secondary teacher training institutes and to enhance the training capacity of the existing primary and secondary teacher training institutions, and departments of Education at the Universities. This plan was unique in the sense that it allocated special funds categorically for the teacher education programs. Prior to this the trend of blanket approval was in practice and the badly needed requisite improvement in the standard of teachers could not be facilitated. The incremental allocation, as given in the following table reflected the increased importance accorded to teacher education. Table: 1.1 The Sixth Five Year Plans (1983-1988) Allocations for Teacher Education Year Recurring Expenditure Developmental Expenditure (in million rupees) 1983-84 12 16 1984-85 14 20 1985-86 18 27 1986-87 20 32 1987-88 24 38 Total 88 133 The Seventh Five-Year Plan (1988-93) identified a number of shortcomings in the teacher training programs, which included the irrelevancy of curriculum for PTC and CT; the inadequacy of the training duration, of in service training, and lack of good career prospects due to which good students were not attracted to the profession of teaching. It was proposed to improve the efficiency of teachers by gradually raising the minimum qualification, revitalizing the teacher training programmes, continuous in-service education and providing better career proposals to teachers. The Ninth Five-Year Plan focused upon the strengthening of one hundred and twenty then available teacher training institutes. The high priority attached to the promotion and facilitation of teacher education as envisaged in the above mentioned policies and plans spoke of the importance accorded to teacher education by all the governments of Pakistan. Entry Qualification The requisite entry qualifications into the teaching profession at different levels are as follows: a) Primary Level (I-V) : Matriculation + one year teaching certificate (PTC) b) Middle Level (VI-VIII) : Intermediate + one year teaching certificate (CT) and, c) Secondary Level (IX-X) : B.A/B.Sc + one year Bachelor of Edu. degree course/B.Ed Non Formal Teacher Education Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is offering non formal teacher training courses for both male and female students living in the far away areas of the country. These programs are substantially contributing to the provision of trained teachers. United Kingdoms System of Education In Britain compulsory schooling takes place between the ages of five and sixteen. The over riding objectives of the governments education policies are to raise standards at all levels of ability, increase parental choice, make further and higher education more widely accessible and more responsive to the needs of the economy, and to achieve the best possible returns from the resources invested in the education service. (Britain 1990) [7] Parents are legally bound to ensure that their children aged five to sixteen regularly receive efficient full time education. Most students receive free education financed from public funds, and a small proportion attends private schools independent of public financial support. Pupils follow a common curriculum leading to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and Vocational Certificate of Secondary Education (VCSE). Students are allowed to select a number of GCSEs, VCSEs as per their personal preferences and aptitudes. Quite a few sch ools cater for the educational needs of the students for additional two years till they sit for the Advanced Level of General Certificate of Education. (GCE A Levels) Primary and Secondary Schools Ninety percent of boys and girls are taught together in most primary schools. Most independent/private fee-charging schools are mixed at the primary level and single-gender at the secondary level. These schools are registered with, and inspected by the government and governed by an independent board. No fees are charged in government schools, which are governed by the Local Education Authorities (LEA). There is no statutory requirement to provide education for the under-fives, but nursery education is well established now. Compulsory education begins at five at infant schools and at seven they go to junior/primary schools. The average age of passing out from primary school and entry into secondary school is eleven years. Schools are organized in a number of ways including secondary schools with age range, from 11 to 18; middle schools whose students move on to senior comprehensive schools at the age of 12 to 16. Tertiary colleges offer a full range of vocational and academic courses for students over 16. Examinations At the completion of the secondary education at UK, at the age of sixteen, secondary school students appear for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). This examination in order to raise the standard of performance has replaced General Certificate of Education (GCE), Ordinary Level (O Level), and the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) since 1988. GCSE examination is taken after five years of Secondary Education and evaluated at a seven point scale of grades, A to G. The GCSE Advanced level (A Level) examination is taken after two years of further study. Its successful completion qualifies the student for induction into universities. Educational Standards Her Majestys inspectors report to ministers on the quality of education provided at all schools colleges and universities. They also advise the Local Education Authorities (LEA) and the government, and publish the reports. LEAs also employ inspectors or advisers to gu