Religious beliefs Essay

In What Pragmatism Means, James writes that the central point of his own doctrine of truth is, in brief, that â€Å"truth is one species of good, and not, as is usually supposed, a category distinct from good, and coordinate with it. Truth is the name of whatever proves itself to be good in the way of belief, and good, too, for definite, assignable reasons. † Richard Rorty claims that James did not mean to give a theory of truth with this statement, and that we should not regard it as such; though other pragmatism scholars such as Susan Haak and Howard Mounce do not share an instrumentalist interpretation of James. Bruce Kuklick, (Kuklick, tells us that, â€Å"James went on to apply the pragmatic method to the epistemological problem of truth. He would seek the meaning of ‘true’ by examining how the idea functioned in our lives. A belief was true, he said, if in the long run it worked for all of us, and guided us expeditiously through our semi-hospitable world. James was anxious to uncover what true beliefs amounted to in human life, what their â€Å"Cash Value† was, what consequences they led to. A belief was not a mental entity which somehow mysteriously corresponded to an external reality if the belief were true. Beliefs were ways of acting with reference to a precarious environment, and to say they were true was to say they guided us satisfactorily in this environment. † In this sense the pragmatic theory of truth applied Darwinian ideas in philosophy; it made survival the test of intellectual as well as biological fitness. If what was true was what worked, we can scientifically investigate religion’s claim to truth in the same manner. The enduring quality of religious beliefs throughout recorded history and in all cultures gave indirect support for the view that such beliefs worked. James also argued directly that such beliefs were satisfying—they enabled us to lead fuller, richer lives and were more viable than their alternatives. Religious beliefs were expedient in human existence, just as scientific beliefs were. † William James gave a further direction to pragmatism, developing it as a theory of truth. True ideas, according to James, are useful â€Å"leadings†; they lead through experience in ways that provide consistency, orderliness, and predictability. John Dewey was another leading pragmatist whose influence on educational and social theory is still prevalent in American society. We learn from (American Pragmatism I), that â€Å"James elaborated his theory of pragmatism in works such as Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907) and The Meaning of Truth: A Sequel to Pragmatism (1909). He considered pragmatism to be both a method for analyzing philosophic problems and a theory of truth. He also saw it as an extension of the empiricist attitude in that it turned away from abstract theory and fixed or absolute principles and toward concrete facts, actions, and relative principles. James considered philosophies to be expressions of personal temperament and developed a correlation between â€Å"tough-minded† and â€Å"tender-minded† temperaments and empiricist and rationalist positions in philosophy. Theories, he felt, are â€Å"instruments† that humans use to solve problems and should be judged in terms of their â€Å"cash value† or practical consequences for human conduct. Reference American Pragmatism I. â€Å"Pragmatism†. Adventures in Philosophy. James, William. (1902-1920). â€Å"What is Pragmatism†. The Library of America. Lecture II Kuklick, Bruce. â€Å"William James†. The Introduction to William James’s Pragmatism. Wikipedia, The Free Dictionary.

U Decide

PICO score of 730 and has no late payment in last year and has no defaulted loan in the last five years. I have to give her this loan with the bank's prime rate plus 0. 5%. Brandon Sketches Case I would approve the loan for Brandon because he has a good PICO Score of 650. He has no late payment in last year and no defaulted loans In the last five years.I would need some information about his current employment and Income status, and If he as any other loans because he Is requesting for a large sum of money ($300,000). He deserves the 1. 5% interest of the Bank. Christine McDougall Case I can approve her loan with the bank's prime rate plus 2. 5%. I would ask for more Information regarding her current employment and Income status, and If she has any other loan. I will ask for more details on her late payment. Has Christine ever pall back the balance plus Interest and late tee?We will remember that she has a PICO core of 540 which is acceptable. Daniel Blankness's I will approve Daniel s loan because He has an excellent PICO score of 680 even though he has one late payment. He is still good if he doesn't have any other outstanding balance. Eric Mooring's Case According to the bank's lending policy Daniel cannot be approved (His final two payments due not arrive at all). He asked for a loan that is not too big and has an acceptable PICO score of 490 according to the bank's policy.I would ask if Eric wants to put more down for down-payment. Because if he pays more down-payment the less chance he will default the loan. I will ask if Daniel is currently employed and what his income and debt status are. I will consider approve the loan if everything meet the expectation he can pay back on time the loan and ask the Bank president' approval. The bank can charge higher interest rate of 4. 5% above prime rate which is still risky.

Escape from the Western Diet Essay

In Michael Pollan’s essay â€Å"Escape from the Western Diet,† he informs Americans about the western diet and believes they need to escape from it. The reason Americans should escape the western diet is to avoid the harmful effects associated with it such as â€Å"western diseases† (Pollan, 434). To support his view on the issue, Pollan describes factors of the western diet that dictate what Americans believe they should eat. These factors include scientists with their theories of nutritionism, the food industry supporting the theories by making products, and the health industry making medication to support those same theories. Overall, Pollan feels that in order to escape this diet, people need to get the idea of it out of their heads. In turn he provides his own rules for escaping the western diet as well as the idea of nutritionism set forth by scientists. Pollan explains that scientific theories of nutritionism focus on individual nutrients rather than foods as a whole (Pollan, 434). He further goes on to refute this claim mentioning that these scientific theories contradict with one another. Pollan explains â€Å"the scientists who blame our health problems on deficiencies of [micronutrients] are not the same scientists who see a sugar soaked diet leading to metabolic syndrome and from there to diabetes, heart disease†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Pollan, 435). On one hand there are scientists who blame health problems on a lack of nutrients, and on the other hand there are scientists who blame those health problems on a sugar soaked diet. By stating these theories, Pollan tries to get his point across that they all have the same thing in common; these theories are mere explanations to western diseases. In Pollan’s view, â€Å"scientists can argue all they want about the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, but whichever it is, the solution w ould appear to remain very much the same: Stop eating a Western diet† (Pollan, 435). In other words, no matter what reason scientists have for the causes of western diseases, the common factor among them is the western diet, and that should be the basis for solution. In addition to bringing to light these contradicting scientific theories, Pollan goes further to include how these theories benefit the food industry as well as the health industry. Pollan observes â€Å"for the medical community too scientific theories about diet nourish business†¦ new theories beget new  drugs†¦ and new diets organized around each new theory’s elevation of one class of nutrient and demotion of another† (Pollan, 436). Basically, Pollan is informing that the health industry wants to profit off the theories declared by making drugs in regards to the nutrients cut down on. Similarly, Pollan notes the food industry comes out with a new line of products to match with the new theories made for the western diet. He reminds the reader to escape the western diet even though it will be hard because these industries only seek to profit rather than change the way people eat for the better (Pollan, 436). To address what distinguishes the food of a western diet, Pollan compares whole foods and processed foods. He quotes Gyorgy Scrinis and concludes to himself â€Å"instead of worrying about nutrients, we should simply avoid any food that has been processed to such an extent that it is more the product of industry than nature (Pollan, 438). Pollan agrees with Scrinis for avoiding processed foods, but he complicates it by mentioning that all whole foods are taken over by industrial processes. Again Pollan reminds the reader that escaping the western diet will not be simple, yet he convinced it is possible and he offers his developed solutions for it (Pollan, 438). Pollan encourages Americans â€Å"eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants† (Pollan, 440). His three rules emphasize eating food that is in fact real food, eating in a manner that presents a positive culture, and eating plants which Pollan considers the best types of food a person can eat. As Pollan argues against the scientific theories of nutritionism, he exposes what he considers their contradictions as well as the cycle of new theories creating new products creating new medicine. He informs the reader that these theories exist for these companies to make a profit rather than change the way people eat for the better (Pollan, 436). So again, Pollan reminds the reader to escape the western diet because it is the cause of western diseases. He offers his solutions on how to eat a better, more traditional diet.

Pericles and Julius Caesar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pericles and Julius Caesar - Essay Example As two of the preeminent civilizations of antiquity, the inclination to compare the cultures of Greece and Rome is inevitable. While both civilizations exhibited tremendous advancements in politics and culture, they also exhibit distinct differences that attest to the varying nature of their worlds. An interesting feature of investigation concerning ancient Greece and ancient Rome concerns the degrees to which their geography is similar, as this feature affects later political and economic development. While both countries are Mediterranean, the relative features of their terrain vary greatly. The Greek cities had the advantage of being separated by large hills, which protected them against invading tribes. They also bordered a relied heavily on their contiguity to the ocean. While Rome was mountainous – it famously was found by settlers who naturally habituated on the city’s largest hills – the hills weren’t as strategically positioned to prevent invading barbarian tribes as their Greek counterparts. This essay considers the lives of two of these two men – Pericles and Julius Caesar -- that greatly shaped Greek and Roman culture through their military conquests and subsequent political rule; it argues that the subtle differences in their lives are a testament to the divergent nature of ancient Greek and Roman cultures.... When considering the development and early lives of both individuals it’s clear they shared a number of similar elements. Both men were descendants of nobility, and while Pericles father had been outcast for a period, it is clear they had significant advantages in youth. In terms of vision Caesar and Pericles demonstrated a number of divergent opinions. While Caesar was a progressive thinker who embraced education and intellectual virtues, historians recognize that Pericles contribution to this field of thought was outstanding as he greatly embraced Greek art and culture. This distinction is highly relevant as it underlines what many believe to be one of the crucial divisive elements in terms of these two countries of antiquity. When considering the differing art of the two cultures, history has been more favorable to the Greek work of antiquity than the Roman. While Roman art tended towards imitation and decoration, Greek art – influenced by the philosophical writings of Plato – attempted to capture ideal artistic forms. Art historians have documented distinct phases of Greek artistry, including the Mycenaean and Hellenistic periods; conversely Roman art of antiquity is generally characterized through generic conventions, notably the fresco and mosaic formats (Canfora 1996). Within this art one may further contend that there are deeper elements or conventions of these rulers and the way these perspectives took hold in the societies they so profoundly impacted. In these regards, it appears that while Greek culture through Pericles embraced the concept of intellectual knowledge and the examined life, the Caesarian vision was one of instinctual and emotional

Generalizability of research findings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Generalizability of research findings - Essay Example The dependability of the generalizing aspect is not absolute, statistically it is probable. Since  generalizability needs data on large populations, qualitative research results to the best foundation of generalizability (Ercikan & Roth, 2009). The criteria for evaluating generalizability of qualitative research include various steps. First an ethical research needs to be carried out, and the importance of the research well defined. There should also be coherence and clarity of the report. The methods used in the research should be rigorous and appropriate. It is important to consider the reflexivity and also establish the validity of the research. Lastly, the researcher needs to understand the reliability of the data (Patton, 2004). In conclusion, Qualitative research cannot get described as a unified field. The reviewers are not experts in qualitative research. They also fail to appreciate the set criteria relative to the qualitative approach that has been reported. It is significant that researchers get aware of the tendency and also educate health care researchers about the suitable criteria in evaluating qualitative

Compare and contrast the Piagetian,Vygotskian and information Essay

Compare and contrast the Piagetian,Vygotskian and information Processing theories of cognition. To what extent can these theorie - Essay Example Piaget believed that the wrong answers revealed by children had significance differences between the reasoning of adults and children. Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was the founder of the Vygotskian framework of cognitive development. The elements of Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development include the role of social interactions, the More Knowledge Other, and the Zone of Proximal Development. The Vygotskian theory stresses that social interactions are critical in the cognitive development of children. Information-Processing frameworks are based on the perspective that mental processes undergo maturational changes during children’s development (McCartney & Phillips, 2011). Different cognitive theories of development bear diverse propositions about cognitive stages of development; however, these theories share some similarities concerning cognitive development of children during school years. The Piagetian Theory The Piagetian theory argues that children have the ability to construct and understand the world around them, and experience the difference between their existing knowledge and new information they acquire in the environment (Smith, 2008). The fundamental believe held by Piaget is that reality is a dynamic system characterized by a continuous change. This implies the conception of reality is viewed differently across the ages of development. Some stages of development are filled with imaginations of unreal world, while other stages of development consist of children having the real sense of the world. According to Piaget, the concept reality involves transformations and states. Transformation constitutes the manners of changes that a person undergoes during various stages of development (Smith, 2008). States are the conditions and appearances that characterize developmental stages as they are viewed between transformations. Piaget developed six stages of cognitive development that change as children grow (Bremner and Lewis, 2006). The stages include sensory motor (birth to 2 years), pre-operational stage (2 to 5 years), concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years) and formal operational stage (above 12 years). Children develop various cognitive activities as they undergo these stages. The Concepts of Assimilation, Accommodation, Equilibration and Conservation in Piaget’s Theory Assimilation Assimilation describes the process through which the human mind perceives and adapts to new information. Human beings take in their environment and the new information available and attempt to fit it into the pre-existing cognitive schemas. The human mind tries to make sense of the new learning by referring to be previously acquired information in order to make sense of it (Bekoff, Allen & Burghardt, 2002). The concept of assimilation declares learning a continuous process. The theory also reveals that prior information is crucial in understanding new information. This implies that children who have some concepts of knowledge fi nd it easier to acquire additional knowledge than those who do not have any knowledge. Accommodation According to Johnson, Munakata and Gilmore (2009), accommodation involves taking new information from the environment and adjusting the current schemas to fit in the new learning. Accommodation describes the ways through which human beings continue to interpret new theories, frameworks, and schemas. The mind is adaptive enough to allow proper mental adjustments to accommodate the new learning

Organisation Purpose, Structure, Stakeholders and Functional Areas Assignment

Organisation Purpose, Structure, Stakeholders and Functional Areas - Assignment Example However, it is also vital for the manager to have interpersonal relationships and communication skills of one’s performance. They would help in communicating the goals to people who are engaged into organizational performance. However, here certain challenges in terms of communication can occur and manager should be aware about how to solve such issues (Holtzhausen & Zerfass, 2014). The following paper will illustrate how goals and objectives of certain company, Oman Air in particular serve business’s needs and how managers within an organization are overcoming challenges in effective communication of organizational goals and objectives. While organizational goals provide the basis for what a business if trying to accomplish in terms of programs and organization, they are usually a collection of the related programs and are the reflection of the main activities of an organization (Goals and Objectives, n.d.). Successful companies set long and short-term goals in order to increase sales, improve the quality of products or service and also to reduce errors and become more customer-oriented and build better relationship with society (The Importance and Value of Organizational Goal Setting, n.d.). Objectives are in contrast the very precise and time based, measurable actions that an organization sets in the close relation with its goals, it understands the outcome of achieving an objective and realizes the time when it should be achieved. Objectives are usually reflected in the mission statement of a business and therefore they are continuous. However, goals and objectives are often interchangeable, though they have imp ortant differentiating features and are used at different stages of business planning (Norman, 2015). For such company as Oman Air, a national carrier of Oman which operates domestic and international passenger services, its primary goal was

Consumer-Firm Relationship and Bonding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer-Firm Relationship and Bonding - Essay Example Some claim that behaviors people adopt, simplify the buying experience, reduce risks and maintain a psychological level of comfort. Others describe it as attracting, maintaining and enhancing customer relationships. These relationships go through hierarchical chain of events and development phases including exchanges, transactions through which customers receive psychological benefits. The relationships are earned through transactions. Relationship marketing sets out to establish, maintain, develop and commercialize so that objectives of both the customer and the marketer is met. This is done by mutual exchange and promise fulfillment. Relationship marketing can be viewed as relationships, interactions and networks connecting customers to customers, suppliers to customers, suppliers to suppliers as well as competitors. It includes employing tactical elements like customer contact, customer database management and customer-oriented service. Strategic elements re-characterize the business as a service business and view the organization as a process instead of a function. The dissertation considers all relationships as having life cycles and questions whether relationship marketing is the development of a new marketing paradigm.

How to be happy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How to be happy - Essay Example The quote illustrates the differences in perceptions, the complexities in the society and peace of mind that results from personal fulfillment. Equally, people have particular hobbies and leisure activities. There is no point in life that someone’s view of life or actions shall please everyone. It is in this context that the quote becomes handy by telling people to take responsibility for their happiness. The society will always find a fault in someone’s actions, dressing, education levels, or development. It is imperative to practice what you feel comfortable in and aim to make life enjoyable. The society has mixed characters, and we have to learn to accommodate everyone without hurting our feelings. Some people appreciate our efforts while others are jealous of every progress. Therefore, to be happy people should not care about others views so long as the actions are right. Happiness emanates from an individual’s satisfaction with him/herself. Hence, persons should act according to their principles to reduce instances of stress, acquire life fulfillment and happiness. Precisely, life is a cycle. The actions we undertake in the present shall influence our future. However, it is important to incorporate the aspect of one’s happiness in the pursuit of good health and long life. It is also essential to note that we are responsible for our happiness. We may end up living a boring and stressful life if we seek happiness from other persons. Therefore, take action to improve and appreciate yourself.

University Thrust Essay Example for Free

University Thrust Essay A Thrust is a broad statement of intended strategic actions. The statement should provide a â€Å"compelling theme that knits together otherwise independent activities and focuses the energies of functional groups on things that matter in the market. † A thrust is intended to create a broad, sharedunderstanding of what strategic actions are intended in planning. Universities around the world must maintain their focus in providing quality education. The institutions’ programs and activities are embedded in its thrust to achieve their vision- mission and objective. A Thrust, when referred to an institution, means as the powerful force in leading the institution in its desired disposition. According to Prof. Edwin L. Apawan, a faculty of College of Education in Notre Dame University, University Thrust is embedded in its philosophy translated to its vision-mission and articulated in its goals and paradigms. In an educational institution, Thrust is very much important for it is the reason why it runs. Everything that the institution does is anchored from its thrust. In Notre Dame University, being an educational institution has cited its University Thrust namely: Formation, Instruction, Research and Extension (FIRE). The focus of the study is to know the Thrust specifically in the field of Instruction and Extension and whether if it is running in the Teachers Education Program in Notre Dame University. Instruction is defined by Saylor and his colleagues as â€Å"the actual engagements of learners with planned learning opportunities; thus, instruction can be thought as the implementation of the curriculum plan† cited by Aquino, 1986. The higher education institution must exhibit a continuing quest for excellence in instruction through the quality of its educational programs, outstanding achievements of its students, and above national average performance in the majority of the programs offered requiring government instructions. While each constituent units may have its own thrust in extension that responds to their service area, it may institute mechanisms for the coordination and integration of these activities for more effective use of resource and in order to achieve bigger goals (Sarmiento III, 2009). The University, being a storage, generator, and disseminator of knowledge, should make an impact on the community within its reach. Although its graduates will naturally be involved in the development of the community where they work and live, there are a lot more people who were not able to have formal university training, and the need outside help to make them productive members of the community. The higher education institution must have credible outreach programs which may take the form of continuing education, application of the research results community services, and many others. The study aims to assess the operation of the Notre Dame University Thrust if it is being worked out in the Teachers Education Program of the said institution among its students. Statement of the Problem The study aims to determine if the University Thrust, particularly in the field of Instruction and Extension are really working in the Teachers Education Program as assessed by the third and fourth year students of the College of Education, Notre Dame University in the School Year 2012- 2013. Specifically, this aims to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the students as to their age, sex and year level? 2. How will the respondents assess if the University Thrust, particularly Instruction and Extension arein reality operating in the Teachers Education Program in terms of: a. ) Instruction delivery by the College Faculty; b. ) Community extension Programs initiated by the College; and c. ) Involvement of the College to community exposures? 3. How is University Thrust been able to run in Teachers Education Program? Significance of the Study The study will tell if the University Thrust is working in the College. The assessment of the University Thrust in the Teachers Education Program is important among the Administrator, Faculty, and the Students of theCollege of Education. Administrator Knowing the Thrust runs in the college or not, may help the Administrators become aware of the college’s needs and problems regarding the implementation of the programs and activities that fulfill the operations of the University Thrust especially in the field of Instruction and Extension. As a result, the Administrators will be able to plan programs and activities for the College that will be anchored from the two specific University Thrusts. Faculty The result of the study will help the teaching staff be aware if their instruction is anchored to the desired criteria suggested by the University Thrust in the area of Instruction. This would help them whetherthey will espouse, amend, and seek new ways in delivering their instruction that would fit and reach the expected outcome attached from the criteria. The study will also help the teaching staff in incorporating and integrating Community Extension related activitiesin their teaching approach, strategy, method, and technique. This will help them achieve the criteria recommended by the Community Extension. Students The students’ assessment will indicate certain strengths and weaknesses in the variables considered in the study. This would help in the improvement of the programs and activities in developing them accordingly, especially driven by the University Thrust. Scope and Limitation The study is concerned with the assessment of the University Thrust, FORMATION, INSTRUCTION, RESEARCH, and EXTENSION (FIRE), if it is conveyed in the Teachers Education Program in Notre Dame University. Its focus is specifically in the field of INSTRUCTION and EXTENSION. This would tell if these two Thrusts are actively operating in the College: if students are aware of the University Thrust (FIRE); if the programs and activities conducted in the College are attached with these specific Thrusts (FIRE); and if the teaching staff’s delivery of their instruction, as perceived by the students, is anchored in the desired outcome suggested by the Thrust. Furthermore, the respondents are limited only among the third and fourth year students enrolled in the College of Education for the School Year 2012-2013. Definition of Terms To process the understanding of discussion in this study, the following terms are herewith defined operationally: University refers to Notre Dame University as an educational institution. University Thrust refers to the FIRE (Formation, Instruction, Research, Extension); the driving force of Notre Dame University as an educational institution which is embedded from its objectives and paradigms; it intends to create a broad, shared understanding of what strategic actions are intended in planning; it is where the university’s programs and activities are inclined. Administration refers to those who organizes and operates activities, programs, educational planning and curriculum in the Teachers Education Program. Faculty refers to the teaching staff who implements and supervises the University Thrust, specifically the Instruction and Extension. Students refers to the third and fourth year students of the College of Education; the ones who will simplify the realization and utilization of the University Thrust that was being translated by the Administrators and Faculty. Instruction refers as one of the University Thrust which is focused on the Curriculum and other learning opportunities involved; as the word itself defines, it is the programs of studies done. Extension refers also as one of the University Thrust which is concerned with the activities held outside the Institution; also refers to the community involvement and community service. Chapter II Review on Related Literature This chapter contains the summary of relevant concepts, ideas, and research findings as well as conceptual framework. Related Literature. Topics discussed include the following: Thrust as the driving force of an institution; Instruction and Extension as Thrust of an educational institution; Administration and Faculty’s role in the operation of Thrust in the Teachers Education Program. Thrust as the driving force of an institution Business, government, educational, and many other institutions run because of a driving force that enables to do. In an interview, Dr. Joel Genzon of Notre Dame of Cotabato, Inc. , said that â€Å"Thrust is a driving force that provides the meaning why an institution carries out a certain action or   work. This action or work is commonly known as the one that strengthens its foundation that enables an institution fulfill its Vision-Mission. † In an interview with Prof. Elsa C. Tamse, the Executive Assistant to the President of Notre Dame University, she defined Thrust as the direction and guide of the school for a particular school year that will help in the attainment of the vision of the school. It is anchored with the vision and mission of the school or university. This is being reviewed and changed to meet the particular vision the school wants to attain. It is also in the Thrust that the strategies are crafted so that the mission will operate to achieve the school’s vision for the year. Instruction Instruction is defined by Saylor and his colleagues as â€Å"the actual engagements of learners with planned learning opportunities; thus, instruction can be thought as the implementation of the curriculum plan (Aquino, 1986). The program of studies required and implemented by the university should have well defined and clearly stated objectives and learning outcomes and should meet prescribed standards. The teaching and learning process used in instruction should be appropriate, varied, and should facilitate the wholistic development of the students. The process should reflect to the institutions’ teaching learning framework. Learning should be available inside and outside the classroom. Variety of teaching-learning strategies should be used. For an effective instruction the teaching-learning environment should be conducive. It should be well-equipped and can offer comfort and can accommodate a number of students per session. The learning outcomes of the academic program should be well-defined. Instructional supervision program should exist that includes practical measures: requirement of syllabi, informal dialogues with students and faculty, class visitations, and evaluation of text examinations. Faculty should encourage students to join activities such seminars and educational associations that would help them in developing their instruction. Students should be oriented on the availability of academic guidance and counseling. This is for them to be guided by their instructors if there are some difficulties they are encountering with the delivery of instruction by their teachers (PAASCU). Extension One of the important functions of a higher education institution is to have an Extension program. Vis-a-vis instruction and in light of recent technology advancement, extension complements and fills in the gaps left by instruction especially for those who, for multifarious reasons, cannot access formal instruction to gain individual information (Wakat, 2010). The university being storage, generator, and disseminator of knowledge, should make an impact on the community within its reach. Although its graduates will naturally be involved in the development of the community where they work and live, there are a lot more people who were not able to have formal university training, and the need outside help to make them productive members of the community. It is in this light that the university has the Community Involvement. This acts as the university’s arm in directly reaching out to the people in the community who need help – technical, financial and moral- to improve their living conditions. This mandate is carried out by means of programs like: training and non-formal education. This is done through non-degree training programs, extending financial assistance, if possible. Through Extension the university shall contribute to the development of empowered citizenry capable of making the rational decisions pertaining to the improvement of their livelihood, work productively and efficiently, and be confident part of the mainstream society in their community. Generally, Extension service is the process by which technology and innovation are transferred to an identified clientele with ultimate objective of improving the way of life of the people. Then Senate President Marcelo B. Fernan defined extension service as a concept that encompasses people empowerment and human resource development geared towards human capital enhancement, and technology and facilities diffusion among the â€Å"masang† Pilipino, if not, the poorest of the poor. (www. mseuf. edu. ph, 2012) Community involvement should be one of the basic aspects of the University. This is accurate and true, most especially in a progressing country like the Philippines, where community involvement may be matched to the total effort whereby the university relates itself to national, regional and local imperatives of development. The university, in educating citizenship, should implement not just through academic and professional programs through the pursuit of the fundamental objective of total human formation. It should also include a necessary social aspect. In so applying, it should maintain the focus on the academic, the professional and the personal development. A university that is exposed to community involvement actually enhances pride, dignity, and integrity, extends its identity and achieves greater and larger goal. In the attainment of this goal, such services will take place in the community through programs conducted in the expansion of the university. The community involvement of the university must consist not only about building community awareness and producing graduates in the professions or vocations where they can serve their communities competently and they may achieve personal upliftment. It must also include guiding and motivating students, faculty and staff towards community service and give them chance to be exposed to the community and actual service and to make them more sensitive to extension as an integral part of instruction and research; to establish the structure that will ensure coordination, communication, planning, linkages and monitoring of extension programs; To establish necessary infrastructure to sustain the extension program of the University; to integrate extension into both curricular and co-curricular activities; to formulate clear-cut policies on extension among the various sectors/colleges in the University: and to strengthen coordination and cooperation between and among sectors. The university’s commitment to community service and development should be carried out through projects and activities, which are well planned, organized, implemented, evaluated and supported by the school (PAASCU). Community involvement is an institutional community extension program whose commitment is towards community service and development. It works hard to the conscientization of men and women, equitable distribution of benefits and provision of equal access to opportunities through the optimal use of resources and human expertise in organized cooperative effort. It achieves such through giving of technical assistance in the form of functional education, community organizing, health programs, cooperative formation, capability building, women in development, income generating project and technical assistance. The role of Administrators and Faculty in the operation of Thrust in the Teachers Education Program Administration The Administration of a certain institution plays a very important and has specific roles. It undertakes to be accountable to be efficient and effective when it comes in managing and facilitating the institution especially in administering the instruction and extension as the two of the University Thrust, to its constituents. For an administration shall: * Develop and maintain a school atmosphere conducive to the promotion and preservation of academic freedom and effective teaching and learning to harmonious and progressive school-personnel relationship; * Assume and maintain professional behavior in his work and in his dealings with students, teachers, academic non-teaching personnel and administrative staff; * Render adequate report to teachers, academic non-teaching personnel, and non-academic staff on their actual performance in relation to their expected performance and counsel them on ways to improve the same; * Understand the curriculum and instructional processes of the institution (Aquino, 1986); * And conduct public services where it can be the training ground for young men and women to develop leadership qualities, civic involvement, community participation, training in management and other non- academic areas (Franco, 1994). The following are stated as the expected roles and responsibilities that the Administration should execute in order to pertain and deliver ‘what is due to them’. Litchfield (1956) has identified three broad, functional areas of administration: (1) policy, (2) resources, and (3) execution. These functional areas are applicable to the three fields of administration, including educational administration. A policy is defined as a statement of those objectives that guide the actions of a substantial portion of the total organization. The resources of administration are composed of people, money authority, and materials. Execution is a function of integration and synthesis of resources and policies that are intended to achieve a purposeful organization (Aquino, 1986). Faculty The roles and responsibilities of a faculty member are closely confined to the main functions of higher education. Their roles as an individual supports to the vision-mission of the University. Faculty members, however have similarities on their responsibilities to commit themselves fully to their teaching obligations, to participate in the development of the programs imparted by the institution as a whole, to engage scholarly activities, and as appropriate to support the University in its goal to render public services. One aboriginal formal description of these functions was pertained in the 1915 â€Å"Declaration of Principles† produced by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). According to the declaration, the colleges’ and universities’ functions are â€Å"to promote inquiry and advance the sum of human knowledge, to provide general instructions to the students, and to develop experts for various branches of the public service† (Joughin, pp. 163-164) cited by Aquino, 1986. A faculty member shall also play the role of facilitating and processing of influencing their students towards setting and achieving goals. They should help the group to decide on its goal, able to tolerate uncertainty without anxiety or angry, reconciles conflicts and turns confusion into order, exhibits good judgment and conviction, able to create a climate for creativity and innovation and emphasizes productivity and promotes the growth of students. Theoretical Consideration Social psychologist Douglas McGregor of MIT expounded two contrasting theories on human motivation and management in the 1960s: The X Theory and the Y Theory. (Theory X and Theory Y- Leadership Training from MindTools. com, 2013) The Theory Y behavioral pattern states that: * Employees under this pattern believe that expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is natural as play or rest. * Workers will exercise self-direction and self control in the service of attaining goals and objectives. * They believe that rewards are associated with individual achievements and contribution to group goals. * The average human being learns under proper condition. They seek responsibility to grow and develop as responsible person. The work groups have different values that influence the managerial pattern of leadership. A work group that value independence and unilateral decision making can influence the managers style to be one involvement and participation. On the other hand, the manager should adjust his style when the employee displays an opposite value. The Manager, therefore, must know when to ring the bell to change his course of action. (Pereda, 2011) On our study which focuses on the Notre Dame University Thrust as seen in the teacher education program of the College of Education, the Theory Y Behavioral Pattern visualizes the pattern in which the board of administration processes the crafting and developing of the strategic plans and they have the capability and talents to increase production and develop better services by means of making a direction to reach a particular vision the school wants to attain for a particular school year. This will be translated among the lower sectors/department heads (colleges) that will translate it among the students to see the effectiveness of the developed thrust if it supported the mission in attaining the vision of the school. Chapter III METHODOLOGY This chapter contains research design, respondents, research instruments, sampling design, and data gathering procedure. Research Design The researcher employs the descriptive research design. It describes the perceived effectiveness of the Notre Dame University Thrust, especially in the field of Instruction and Extension, as operated in the College of Education; profile of the College of Education Third and Fourth Year students; and programs and activities being conducted in the College anchored in the University Thrust. Respondents There are 105 third year students, composed of 17 males and 88 females, and 91 fourth year students, composed of 27 males and 64 females who are the respondents of the study with the total number of 196 students. The respondents came from the Notre Dame University College of Education, enrolled during the School Year 2012- 2013. Research Instrument The researchers will use a Key Informant Interview questionnaire and a survey questionnaire instruments in order to gather the data needed in the study. The Key Informant Interview is conducted to the Notre Dame University College of Education Dean and Program Head. The interview is composed of questions that intend to get further information about the programs and activities that the College is conducting. The information is compared to the result of the survey to see if it will coincide with each other making the result of the study reliable. The survey questionnaire will cover two (2) parts: Part I, it’s the profile of the students, specifically the name, gender, and age; Part II are the questions regarding the programs and activities operating in the College of Education that are anchored from the Notre Dame University Thrust (Instruction and Extension). Sampling Design Using the census method, the data will be collected from every member of the total population of the respondents. The respondents will be identified by getting the whole number of population of the Third and Fourth Year students enrolled in the College of Education during the Second Semester of the School Year 2012-2013. Data Gathering Procedure. The activities to be undertaken in the process of gathering relevant data which the study requires: The instruments ready, researchers’ sent letters of permission to the Dean of the College of Education to administer the survey questionnaire. Upon the approval of the letters, the researchers will personally distribute the questionnaire to the respondents. APPENDIX October 18, 2012 DR. MA. CORAZON C. NATANO Dean. College of Education Notre Dame University Cotabato City Dear Dr. Natano: Greetings of peace and love! We, the students of Notre Dame University taking up Bachelor in Secondary Education major in English are currently enrolled in Educ 314B with the descriptive title Thesis Writing. In line with this, may we ask permission from your good office to get a list and conduct a survey for our thesis entitled â€Å"An Assessment of the University Thrust as Translated in the Teacher Education Program in Notre Dame University†. The data will be helpful to us in the completion of our study. We are hoping for your positive response towards our humble request. Very truly yours, MA. CHARIS ELLA AMANDO BUTCH PASCUAL RACHEL ANNE NUNEZ ResearcherResearcherResearcher Noted by: CHARLITO K. CORTEL, JR. Research Adviser January 16, 2013 DR. MA. CORAZON C. NATANO Dean, College of Education Notre Dame University Cotabato City Dear Dr. Natano: Greetings of peace! We are in the process of formulating our survey questionnaire in relation to the study â€Å"An Assessment of the University Thrusts as Translated in the Teacher Education Program of Notre Dame University†. We thought of looking into the Annual Programs and Services of the College of Education as one of the vital documents related to the implementation of the University Thrusts. Hence, we would like to ask permission to have a copy of such documents with the assurance to keep it confidential. Our sincerest thanks for being a helping factor to our research. Respectfully yours, MA. CHARIS ELLA AMANDO BUTCH PASCUAL RACHEL ANNE NUNEZ ResearcherResearcherResearcher Noted by: CHARLITO K. CORTEL, JR. Adviser January 9, 2013 DR. DOLORES S. DAGUINO Vice President for Academic Affairs Notre Dame University Dear Dr. Daguino: Greetings of peace and love. We are third year students of the College of Education and working on a research trying to assess whether the University Thrust (Formation, Instruction, Research, and Extension) are evident/functional in the programs and services in the Teacher Education Program in our own department. We feel that we need help from people who can best enlighten us about it. Hence, we seek your help. We would like appreciate much it you can lend us some documents that will lead us to better understanding of the NDU Thrust. Thank you very much for your kindness. Respectfully yours, MA. CHARIS ELLA AMANDO BUTCH PASCUAL RACHEL ANNE NUNEZ ResearcherResearcherResearcher Noted by: CHARLITO K. CORTEL, JR. Adviser DR. MA. CORAZON C. NATANO Dean, College of Education January 9, 2013 PROF. ELSA C. TAMSE. Executive Assistant to the President Notre Dame University Dear Prof. Tamse: Greetings of peace and love. We are third year students of the College of Education and working on a research trying to assess whether the University Thrust (Formation, Instruction, Research, and Extension) are evident/functional in the programs and services in the Teacher Education Program in our own department. We feel that we need help from people who can best enlighten us about it. Hence, we seek your help. We would like appreciate much it you can lend us some documents that will lead us to better understanding of the NDU Thrust. Thank you very much for your kindness. Respectfully yours, MA. CHARIS ELLA AMANDO BUTCH PASCUAL RACHEL ANNE NUNEZ ResearcherResearcherResearcher Noted by: CHARLITO K. CORTEL, JR. Adviser DR. MA. CORAZON C. NATANO Dean, College of Education Key Informant Interview Questionnaire: 1. What is University Thrust? 2. How important it is especially to be run in the College of Education? 3. How is this University Thrust being translated to the college and to the students? 4. What are the specific programs and activities conducted in the College of Education that are anchored in the University Thrust? 5. Why it is those activities/programs are done? For what reason/s? 6. Are those activities/programs enough? Is it appropriate? 7. Do the activities/programs conducted for the students really helpful? And meet the prescribed standards? 8. What are the efforts done by the faculty and staff of the College of Education for these activities/programs to be successfully implemented? 9. Are those efforts enough? Why? And why not? 10. Are those activities/ programs enough to tell if the university Thrust is really operating in the college? 11. Do you think the college already met the prescribed standards of the University Thrust? Survey Questionnaire: Part I: Students’ Profile Name: _________________________________Sex: ________ Age: ________Year Level: _________ Part II: Survey questions Instruction: Rate the following questions according to what you have observed in the College. Scale:4- Strongly Agree (SA)2- Disagree (D) 3- Agree (A)1- Strongly Disagree (SD) Instruction: 1. The objectives and learning1234 outcomes are well-defined and clearly stated. 2. The given objectives meet1234 the prescribed standards. 3. The learning objectives reflect 1234 to the institution’s teaching learning framework. 4. The teaching and learning1234 process used in the class is appropriate and varied. 5. The teaching- learning strategies 1234 used by the teachers varied depending of students’ learning styles and multiple intelligences. 6. The strategies used in1234 the class facilitate the holistic development of the students. 7. The use of Learning Teams are being1234 facilitated well in the class 8. The instructions used1234 in the class are useful inside and outside the classroom. 9. The teachers practice research-oriented1234 Instruction. 10. The teachers require students with 1234 research-based assignments, projects and assessment tasks. 11. The teachers provide for1234 Collaborative activities that encourage Students to work with learning teams. 12. The teachers provide for 1234 individual tasks that develop students communication skills and promote students HOTS and critical thinking. 13. The teachers conduct activities 1234 that develop students to become problem solvers, creative thinkers and independent learners. 14. The teachers integrate current issues1234 in the course to develop students to become sensitive and responsible of their roles in social transformation in Mindanao. 15. The teachers integrate multi-cultural1234 issues in the course to develop among students respect of diverse culture and faith. 16. The teachers design academic tasks1234 that requires students to develop their ICT skills and utilize technology resources. 17. The faculty in the college1234 encourages the students to join activities such as seminars and educational associations. 18. The teacher is using seat plan1234 and checks the attendance. 19. The learning environment1234 is conducive for the students. 20. The learning environment1234 is well- equipped and offers comfort and accommodates a number of students per session. 21. The learning outcomes1234 of every academic program held in the College are well- defined. 22. The students are well- oriented 1234 on the availability of academic guidance and counseling. 23. The Academic Support Programs in the College are wellconducted and facilitated: * Enhancement program in English1234 * Tutorial Class in Mathematics1234 * Faculty-Student Consultation1234 (eg. tutorial, thesis consultation). Extension: 1. The college has an adopted community. 1234 2. The college has programs involving 1234 Community extension. 3. The students in the College of Education are1234 exposed to community. 4. The college is developing students by 1234 allowing them to be exposed in the community to achievecommunity awareness and personal upliftment. 5. The teachers in the college give activities1234 whereincommunity extension involved. Specify what kind of activity/ies: __________ 6. The college also gives technical assistance1234 in formof functional education, community organizing, health programs and other community programs. 7. The college includes: a.Guiding and motivating students, 1234 Faculty and staff toward community service andgives them chance to be exposed to the community and actual service to make them more sensitive to extension as an integral part of instruction and research. b. Establishes the structure that 1234 will ensure coordination, communication, planning, linkages and monitoring of extension programs. c. Establishes necessary infrastructure1234 To sustain the extension program of theUniversity. d. Integrates extension into both 1234 curricularand co- curricular activities. e. Strengthens coordination and 1234 cooperation between and among students. 8. The college’s commitment to1234 co.

Used In Researching Audiences Media Essay

Used In Researching Audiences Media Essay Methods concentrate on counting and statistics and focus on in-depth analysis of information dissemination. According to Hartley (2002, p. 11), The audience is a construction motivated by the paradigm in which it is imagined, that is to say the different paradigms may cause the location of the audiences role to be disparate. To research on this, various methods are needed. Referring to cultural studies, quantitative and qualitative are two of the most widely used methodologies in the field of audience research; in which, moreover, qualitative methods have been regarded as generally preferable because they place emphasis on cultural meaning (Barker, 2012). Specifically, ethnography and interview are two of the most popular methods which belong to qualitative methods and have been widely used in audience research during 1980s-1990s. This paper will focus on ethnography method and interview method and then critically analyze them by reviewing relevant studies. It will construct by three parts. The first and the second part will lay out the theoretical dimensions separately of these two methods with looking at the advantages and limitations of them by using the leading research projects from 1980s-1990s; for example: Dorothy Hobsons research on housewives with radio and television ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ºJanice Radways research on women reading the romance ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ºDavid Morley focuses on the Nationwide audience. In part three, these two methods will be compared and contrasted. Ethnography used to be taken in anthropology study primordially, which is a branch of science describing a kind of culture or ethnic groups. Essentially, the ethnography method is a holistic description of cultural membership (Lindlof and Taylor, 2002). Specifically, according to Fetterman (1989), it is a process begin with in-depth and rich investigating, followed by interview, record review, perspectives assessing, exploring the organizational connections, and finally write a report to be published. The characteristics of ethnography can be divided into three aspects: Firstly, it uses the holistic research viewpoint. The ethnographer attempts to describe the culture or the social group through the research of history, religion, politics, economy, and environment; therefore, it emphasizes the contextualization of data (ibid). Similarly, Geertz (1973, p.16) highlights that ethnography is thick description, ethnographers grasp the complexity of social community and culture by using th is thick description and restore audiences interpretation from a small range of text  structure to social and historical environment. Secondly, in this process, ethnographers should keep an open mind, trying not to leave out any information. They do not mind spending several hours even only chatting with interviewees; they do a great deal of observation so that they can truly understand the real lives of audiences via equal communications. With discourse analysis, researchers can trace the social power factors behind the words which interviewees have said. However, this does not mean that researchers can conduct the interview with no explicit objectives; a framework reflects their own intention is still needed to carry on an open style interview, seeking information as much as possible. This issue was pointed out as with an open mind not an empty head by Fetterman (1989, p. 1). Thirdly, fieldwork is the most important factor in designing ethnographic method. Ruddock (2001) states that ethnography is attractive because it is based on naturally occurring data rather than artificial materials. This method requires researchers conduct the fieldwork in a natural environment: entering into the community of audiences instead of sitting in their offices and doing research in written form. It usually involves in-depth observation and investigation of a specific audience group or some cases. As Hammersley and Atkinson(1983cited in Barker, 2000) highlight that, researchers often immerse in the context, they participate in peoples daily life for a long period of time, observing what happens, watching the audiences, listening to their opinions, asking questions, analyzing what people do with media, and how they make sense of it. Above all, using ethnography in audience research compensates for the inadequacies of past studies. Ethnographic audience research had become a trend in the 1980s, and there were several studies becoming classic works afterwards because they have adopted the ethnographic method. In the multiple cases of ethnography studies, Radways research which focuses on women reading the romantic fictions is recognized classic work. She  connected the pleasure women felt in reading romantic fiction with the subordinate status of women in the patriarchal family and then investigated them; and she found that the reason why women read romantic fictions was related to evading the pressure of onerous housework. Radway (1984) demonstrates that the women treat reading the romance as a kind of independent declaration; they seek to rebuild their gender subjectivity in utopian fantasy in order to resist patriarchal culture. In early stage, her focus of attention was text analysis, later changed to reception research. At that moment, the content of text was no longer important, but reading itself is the process which establish the meaning and pleasure between text and reader, and the results cannot be predicted by the text itself (Curran, 1991). It seems to be undoubted that Reading the Roman plays a vital role in culture studies, largely due to the important ethnographic finding of cultural consumption it provides. However, some debates challenge this view: methodologist queries about empirical research and epistemology; feminists argue the relationship between feminists and real women; populist question its critical project. Modleski (1986, cited in Wood, 2004, à ©Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ µÃƒ §Ã‚  Ã‚ ) accuses Reading the Romance has over liberated the pleasures the women get from reading fictions. Ang (1988, cited in Wood, 2004, à ©Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ µÃƒ §Ã‚  Ã‚ ) states that the book does not take the possibilities of pleasure and fantasy seriously enough. Lauren Berlant (1987, cited in Wood, 2004) argues that Radway placed too much emphasis on describing the female identity. Although there are many critics about her study, undeniably, the concept stressing the interacting between diverse disciplines which advocate by Reading the Romance lays a f oundation in cultural studies and is regarded as a leading project for over twenty years, until now it has still been used as a compulsory reading for students to learn. In addition to print media, Dorothy Hobsons research on housewives and the mass media cannot be overlooked. The data is shown in Hobsons unpublished MA dissertation A Study of Working-Class Women at Home: Femininity, Domesticity and Maternity. Through talking with housewives, Hobson (1980, p. 85) found that television and radio are never mentioned as spare-time or leisure activities but are located by the women as integral parts of their day. As for those housewives, television and radio were regarded as the important elements in their daily lives, even their work and rest time were formulated by broadcast. They considered the broadcast programs as a friend and a crucial way for them to contact with outside world and to eliminate loneliness. Based on gender differences the understandings of television can also be divided into two worlds; which means men and women have dissimilar preferences. This study marks the beginning of gender analysis on audience. Turner (1998) explains that Hobson did not take the audiences into the world of an academic researcher, while it was she who participated in their world. She entered into the audiences house, watching soap opera with them, observing and interviewing them during that period. After the programs finished, she used to talk with the audiences in an open type for a long time. She asked the audience to determine what is interesting, what do they like or dislike or what do they concern about in those programs they had watched before. The audiences were encouraged by her to tell the reason why the program is popular or why it is criticized by them. To conclude, both these two studies carried out by Hobson and Radway have great significance in the history of audience research. Hobsons study is the first time that ethnographer study on the female audiences, and it is considered to be the first time in the history that ethnography is truly applied in audience research. The main contribution of this study is that it states the specific meanings of gender in the case of dealing with housework. Radway concurs in and further develops Hosons viewpoint of gender differences; she concerned with the common populaces power in domestic context of consumption. In terms of the method in audience research, using ethnographic method should be a kind of progress or breakthrough because it has opened up an unprecedented field of research. The results of such research are conducted by the researchers personal participant experience. The aim of research changes from a one-sided issue extends to an overall scope of daily life; researchers get out of their offices and enter into common peoples living room experience their real livesà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ at least the visible behavior in their lives. Although this approach is still debatable; however, as Zoonen (1994:146) claims, in terms of the location of the researchers, there is no single truth in the world; the reason why we acknowledge the truth is due to the participation of researchers, they learn to tell us, or to depict detailed map. However, some limitations are still exist in ethnography. First of all, the relationships between researcher and researched is difficult. Due to the fact that people often tell the truth to whom they are familiar with, so it is not easy for researcher to integrate into the community and to gain their trust. Ruddock (2001) notes that it is important to arrange researcher and researched in a relatively equal position. Moreover, ethnography requires researcher to stay with the community for a long period of time; for instance, several months or even two or three years. Therefore it is a time-consuming task; it may take a significant amount of human and material resource. Interview Many researchers have found that interview is a particularly appropriate method to understand the experiences and opinions of researched. Kvale(1996, p. 1) proposes that if you want to know how people understand their world and their life, why not talk with them? As a most widely used method, it has three remarkable characteristics: to begin with, it is ordinarily a one-to-one, face-to-face conversation; it involves individual interaction between researchers and researched. The interaction built by interview is different from those usually found in public lectures, meetings or group discussions. Holstein (2001) suggests the relationship between researcher and researched is like a kind of friendship because of the equal and intimate conversation. Livingstone(2010) points out that interviews adapt the way of research with rather than research on interviewees, it seems to be more personalized and humane. The second and the most important aspect is it is usually deep-going. The questions should not as simple as which magazine do you read? or how often do you read it?, they are much more complicated. It is conducted on the basis of individual matters; for instance, interviewee themselves, cultural knowledge, personal experiences and opinions. Interview is a useful and effective way for researchers, which enables them to investigate the root driver of interviewees certain actions and their interpretations towards different circumstances. Lastly, interview is commonly used in addition to other methods or collaborate with them to collecting data. David Morley uses interview method and applies Stuart Halls (1980) encoding/decoding model (He claimed that a message cannot be regarded as a ball which is passed on one by one simply, it should be understood as a process which the program producer encode it and the audience decode it) to the empirical studies. Morley (1980) researches the BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation) evening news program Nationwide, and the purpose of this study is to test the audiences interpretations of television information and the different understandings related to their social classes or stratums. That is to say, through the Nationwide research, Morley tries to prove the process of meaning generated depends on the TV message and the social structure of the audience. Morley has arranged 29 groups of audiences according to their occupation, each group had 5~10 people. These 29 groups are divided into four types: managers, students, TU officials and shop stewards. Morley made them watch two BBC evening news programs: program A was Nationwide in May 10th, 1976 and program B was a similar program in March 29th, 1977. Then he used focused interview and group interview to investigate the diverse understandings from different groups. Focused interview analyzes some specific situations of the participants, which means to understand their subjective experience, and then get the responses of them. He transformed the entire interview questions from open style to structuring type, such as do you think using the word to describe X is appropriate?'(Morley, 1980). He believes that focused interview conforms to the natural situations, and the more structuring questions can make the topic even more real and natural. Morleys research provided empirical proof for Halls encoding/decoding model and it evoked strong repercussions in the field of mass culture while also incurred a lot of comment. Some scholars think Morleys study is not very successful, because it has not broken away from the traditional empirical study which considered the social backgrounds as variable quantity. Turner (1990) criticizes the research of Morley have several drawbacks: Firstly, the community structure of the participants seems to be too simple dividing into four main categories. Moreover, the participants are not distributed in a natural situation, their interpretation are separated from the typical and real environment of television watching since general people usually watch television in the evening at home. So it is questionable whether their interpretations are reliable. Secondly, as participants are assigned with the people in same social class to watch TV programs, their interpretation can be influenced by other s in the same group; The last defect is in the the connection between television program and audiences; are the viewers willing to watch Nationwide which Morley provide to them? The television content are given by researcher instead of chosen by the audiences themselves, this situation makes the research biased. Morley (1986) also acknowledged that this research has ruined the result because of the rough supposition. Nevertheless, scholars still regard his study as an important turning-point in audience research, he transfers audience research from viewing the structure of text to exploring how the audience deal with the text, and the reformation makes a considerable impact on the development of reading ethnographic method (Moores, 1993). In the same way, Ang(2006) notes that The Nationwide Audience has generally been received as an innovative departure within cultural studies, both theoretically and methodologically. For Morley himself, he has profoundly awarded from the deficiencies and revised methods in his later research to respond to the criticism of this study. In 1986, Morley launched another study of audience research with interview methodFamily Television. In this study, He aimed to find what affect peoples viewing experience, especially the interaction between family dynamics process and television-watching behavior. At first he attempted to study on the family social location and class identification; however, he found that the principle through all the researched family is closely related to gender issue. So he began to study the gender differences impact on the viewing practices. He chose 8 topics and selected 18 households as a sample and the researchers personally entered in these families to interview the family members. The interviews aimed at both parents and children, generally last for one to two hours. In order to leave space for thinking and asking questions, the entire inte rviewed process is not structured. Moreover, due to the presences of other family members, as well as the complicated interview questions, Morley was confident to get to the real interpretation. By using such a participation and observation method with interviews, Morley (1986) learned that the living-room politics heavily impact the family viewing reception so that it resulted in various viewing experiences for different family members. For these empirical differences, Morley recognizes it is not caused by the biological characteristics of men and women; however, it depends on their different social roles in family. For men, family is a leisure field, while it is more likely to be a workplace for women. Since domestic environment is constructed by gender relations, it leads to a variety of viewing experiences. However, Stevenson (2002) maintains that although Morleys study reflects the different patterns of media in constructing social life, such life is actually surpassing the fact of the belief. In other words, Morley tends to overly emphasize the importance of audiences interpretation capacity in ideology. Although there are some criticisms, the contribution of Morleys two studies cannot be ignored. Similarly, As Tuner (1998) points out, Morleys study break through the theoretical model encoding/decoding put forward by Hall (1980), Hall concerned text is the key point of the way that viewers decode the text; however, Morley focused on the social process itself of audience watching television. Turner (1998) confirms that Morleys study directly lead us to attach importance on the social forces which produces audience, reduce attention from text and audience. It stresses more extensive study on practice and discourse of everyday life. In summary, with facing (to) a totally unfamiliar world and objects, comprehensive and detailed descriptions are urgently needed. The holistic view and detailed fieldwork which contained by ethnography is in response to these needs. In other words, ethnography is a detailed report records the entire process and various kinds of approaches for researched. However, as all the other research methods, ethnography has its own limitation which is that not all of the social activities can be measured via participant observation or personal interviews. For instance, ethnography cannot be used to research the events of the past, it only can be carried out at present. In addition, ethnography cannot handle large-scale case study, such as large organizations or the whole country (Hammersley Atkinson, 1983). With mention to interview, it is useful and effective in collecting data, researchers can understand the experiences and perspectives through communicating with researched. Moreover, interv iew is also a good way to make audiences feel equal and relax. However, it is not suitable for all of the audience research. For example, it may not be able to insight into the role of the people or organizations which are outside the world of personal life of interviewees. To conclude, as two of the most popular methods, ethnographic and interview are often used in cultural studies to explore indepth under a particular circumstances. As academic trends which grow out of specific historical context, and with the care of individual subjectivity, cultural studies always pays close attention to powers in practice of cultural phenomenon, constructing audiences as active users of media. It places audience in the social context; therefore it breaks through the empirical audience research successfully. Even though scholars still have some controversy, the paradigm raised by the school of cultural studies really provides a different landscape of the interaction between audience and culture, which firmly establishes the characteristic status in audience research. Reading List: Fetterman, D.M. (1989). Ethnography: step by step. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Hartley, J. 2002. Communication, cultural and media studies: the key concepts. London: Routledge. Barker, C. 2000. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. London: SAGE. Lindlof, T.R. Taylor, B.C. 2002. Qualitative Communication Research Methods. California: SAGE. Ruddock, A. 2001. Understanding audiences: Theory and method. London: SAGE. Geertz, C. 1973. The interpretation of cultures. New York : Basic Books. Hobson, D.1980: Housewives and the mass media. In Hall, S (ed.), Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies. London: The Academic Division of Unwin Hyman, pp. 85-95 Turner, G. 1998. British cultural studies: An introduction. London: Routledge. Purdie, S. (1992) Janice Radway, Reading the Romance, in M. Barker and A. Beezer (eds) Reading into Cultural Studies, pp. 148-64. London: Routledge. Radway, J. 1986. Identifying Ideological Seams: Mass Culture, Analytic Method, and Political Practice. Communication, 9, pp. 93-123. Wood, H. 2004. What Reading the Romance did for us? European Journal of Cultural Studies, 7(2), pp. 147-154. Zoonen, L.V. 1994. Feminist media studies. London: SAGE. Sonia Livingstone, Giving People a Voice: On the Crticial Role of the Interview in the History of Audience Research, Communication, Culture G. Critique 3 (4, 2010): 566-71 Kvale, S. 1996. Interviews : an introduction to qualitative research interviewing Interviews. London: SAGE. Holstein, J.A. Gubrium, J. F. 2001. Handbook of Interview Research: Context and Method. London: SAGE. Morley, D. (1980).  The Nationwide Audience: Structure and Decoding. London: British Film Institute. Tunner, G. 1990. Audience in British cultural studies. Boston:Unwin Hyman. Morley,D. 1986. Family Television: Cultural Power and Momestic Leisure. London: Comedia. Moores, S. 1993. Interpreting audiences: the ethography of media consumption. London:Sage. Ang, I. 2006: On the politics of empirical audience research. In Durham. M. G (ed.), Media and cultural studies : keyworks. Oxford: Blackwell, pp.174-194. Stevenson, K. 2002. Understanding Media Cultures: Social Theory and Mass Communication. London: SAGE. Hammersley, M. Atkinson, P.(1983). Ethnography: Principles in practice.New York: Tavistock.

Computer Security And The Threat Of Hacking Computer Science Essay

Computer Security And The Threat Of Hacking Computer Science Essay Computer security is a safety operating system that is an important feature to install on a computer. It ensures safety and protection from unknown users and threats. If a safety operating system is weak, unknown users, or hackers, are able to break into the database and install harmful viruses, as well as steal personal information. Computer security and hacking can have both disadvantages and advantages. Computer security has evolved from early on to being a key component to own. Hacking, as well as computer security, has developed into a more harmful and dangerous activity. Currently, security programs have been developed to stop hacking and viruses from encroach onto a users computer. Computer security and hacking have had impact on society today, globally and locally. Users use computer security to their benefit when keeping personal information stored on their database. Hacking can destroy a users identity, or possibly their reputation. Businesses and organizations have benefit ed from security, by its protection of information and protection from outside harm. Hacking can be used as a good way to check a computers sustainability to dangers through networks and the internet. Computer security and hacking are two important issues discussed and recognized today. Computer Security is an important element of safety precaution when using a computer. These operating systems run on computers to ensure the safety of personal and financial information, along with protection. Computer security can be a very useful component to acquire [1]. If an unknown user tries to access a computer database, computer security will ensure that that user will not be let in [2]. Besides keeping unknown users out of others computer databases, computer security also provides protection from harmful threats and viruses. Once these viruses find their way onto a users computer, information and control access can be stolen [3]. There are significant advantages and disadvantages of having a strong computer system, one advantage being protection from viruses and other harmful attacks [4]. Hacking has found its way into the world of computers. Hacking can be destructive, harmful, and can have some bad impact on peoples lives. If a computer system is not protected by a security operating system, hackers can find their way into that database easily. Once in, hackers can obtain personal, financial, and important information [5]. This can cause ruin in a users business and personal life, and much more. While being branded a bad thing, hacking can help many as well. Some hackers are able to test the reliability of a computers security system, to find weak spots in the barrier [6]. Like computer security, hacking can have both costs, but benefits too [2]. The purpose of this report is to allow computer users to gain insight on the aspects of computer security and the ethical issue of hacking. Computer security can allow users to feel comfortable knowing their personal information is being kept hidden. But even with a high-level computer security system, one is still vulnerable to a hacking intrusion. A computer users private information, such as social security, credit card numbers, passwords, email addresses, and other information is at risk to being taken. There are a number of objectives covered in this report. First, computer security is used to keep personal, financial, and other private information kept confidential. Second, computer security blocks viruses and attackers from encroaching on ones computer. Third, even with this security, one is still susceptible to a hacking attack. And lastly, hacking can be easily hurtful, but could in some cases be just as helpful for users. The main contents of this report include computer security, and the issue of hacking. Computer security is described as a protection technique for personal information, and for blocking unwanted threats from the internet. Hacking is described as being a harmful way to obtain information from other users databases. Viruses and threats are each described in order for other users to know the differences between them all. Also in this report are ways to check a computers security and ways to keep it protected from harm too. 2 Background 2.1Computer security is an operating system used on computer databases to protect and provide safety to users. Besides preventing unauthorized access, computer security provides protection for personal, financial, and classified information [1]. One type of this security system requires a validation of a username and password provided by the user, in order to gain access into the computer database [2, pg.267]. Besides validating who the user is, it also confirms that the user is not trying to attempt an unlawful operation [2, pg.31]. As shown in Figure 1, computer security requires a key, or username and password, in order to access the database. Many businesses and organizations have benefited greatly from this operating system, because it allows their private information to stay confidential and secret [1]. http://comtrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Computer-Internet-Security.jpg Figure 1 Picture representing the security operating system, with the binary representation inside a computer. Computer security had begun physically in the 1950-60s. Computer systems then were guarded by security officers, to stop the attempt of gaining unauthorized access. Later on in the 60s and 70s, access could be granted over telephone lines, which caused a change in the way computers were externally guarded [2, 266-7]. By the 90s, companies sprang up to provide a more modern way of securing computer systems. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) was developed by Netscape Communications, (which was an early web browser) to get secure transfer of info when buying online. By 1999, the Transport Layer Security (TLS) had been developed, and was very similar to the Secure Sockets Layer, but with a few important improvements [2, 350-1]. Hacking can be defined as the encroachment of ones personal or business computer system by an outside source [7]. Hackers, or the outside sources encroaching on the personal computer, can have many motives to these intrusions. Some hackers have admitted to only wanting to enjoy the challenge of overcoming a security system [8]. Other hackers have admitted to wanting private or financial information for their own personal gain [7]. There are different ways a computer can be hacked into. These ways include: through downloads, internet-based programs, and through fraud emails. Through these, hackers can plant viruses and attacks which make it possible to overcome a security system [3]. A hacker has had many definitions from early on. In the Middle Ages, a hacker was in the business of creating tools known as hoes. Later on into the 17th Century, a hacker had become a strong worker that handled a hoe. Today, a hacker has nothing to do with an actual tool, but is capable of being a strong worker, when it comes to intruding upon anothers computer system [2, pgs.657-8]. The earliest form of hacking was known as phreaking. This involved hacking using telephone lines [9, pgs.12- 13]. 2.2There are a number of advantages and disadvantages when it comes to computer security. Some advantages include: greater storage space, resource and file sharing, an increase in cost efficiency, and security of private information. Some disadvantages include: the expensive cost, it could have a number of weak spots, and some security issues [4]. Hacking has some important costs and benefits when it comes into play. Some costs include: the owner loses control over his or her information, harmful viruses and threats on users computers, and loss of data either being intentional or unintentional by hacker. An important benefit is ethical hacking, because users can determine where the weak spots in their system are [2, pg.659]. 2.3 There are some theories to deciding whether hacking can be good or bad. In some ways, it can be dangerous, hurtful, and devastating. Many can lose their personal information, such as social security, credit card numbers, emails, addresses, and much more, and can be left with nothing. In some ways, hacking could be a good thing. This is true because many hire ethical hackers to test their computers security strength to find weak areas in their systems. It is an undecided theory, because hacking can be labeled good and bad, and each argument can be supported [2, 659]. 2.4 A class for viruses, threats, worms, Trojans, spyware, and other forms of attacks is known as malware. [7]. A small portion of software that can enter a users computer secretly and in other easy ways is known as a virus. Trojans are similar to a virus, but different in the fact that once installed, it allows the Trojan horses creator the ability to see everything on the users computer. Spyware is capable of being installed within a users database with or without the user having knowledge of it [3]. These types of threats and attacks are hidden within programs that come as fake emails, internet-programs, and downloads. Figure 2 below demonstrates all the different types of harmful threats that can be uploaded onto your computer by hackers. http://www.dreamstime.com/computer-and-network-security-hand-thumb4123007.jpg Figure 2 This is a collection of all the different types of viruses and threats that can be harmful for a users computer. 3 Computer Security and Hacking 3.1Society has been impacted by computer security in a number of ways. Computer security ensures users that their personal, financial, and other information will be kept secret from the eyes of others. It impacts businesses and organizations by keeping their confidential data safe from view and harm and helping them in staying successful [1]. It allows users to share files and resources, an increased amount of storage space, and an increase in cost efficiency [4]. As well as protecting information, computer security has impacted users and their computers from nasty viruses, threats, and malware as well [3]. Computer security is an important piece of technology that has impacted society since its beginning. Hacking is impacting society today in many ways. Hacking impacts users by taking their personal information, and could possibly display it over the internet [7]. It is causing an increase in cost for companies and organizations to fix their computer systems after a security breach, and to obtain better security. There has been recent documentation dealing with an increased amount of threats found in web sites that can easily be uploaded onto databases. [10]. Hacking impacts businesses and organizations if these do not have a strong security system. Hacking can have a number of impacts on society, especially taking personal information from other users [5]. 3.2 Computer security involves another component, called a firewall. This component, software or hardware, is made to block unwanted threats and viruses from a users computer. A firewall is used to prevent the intrusion of hackers, viruses, and many other threats from gaining access and information onto a computer [11]. An example of a strong firewall that provides protection and dependability is the Cisco PIX Firewall [10]. A well-known security system used by many is called Symantec. Symantec had originated in 1982. It has become the worlds largest software company, with business internationally, and with over 17,000 workers. Symantec ensures security of the computer, its infrastructure, and all the components within it. Symantec has a research lab where new technologies are developed to ensure even more security [12]. Norton AntiVirus is Symantecs current security program. Norton provides safe networking, protection online, and a scanner to check for viruses and threats. Norton is a very trusting program, because it ensures safety for users and for their computers. Figure 4 is a picture of the program Norton AntiVirus. Figure 5 represents the Norton program at work. This main screen alerts the user if their system is not secure, and what types of protection the user would like to be on or off. [12] http://www.amitbhawani.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Norton360-Box-Package.png http://www.windows7hacker.com/wp-content/uploads/blog/DownloadNortonAntivirus2010BetaonWindows_E88F/NewNortonAntiVirus.png Figure 3 Picture of the Norton Figure 4 This figure represents the Norton AntiVirus program AntiVirus main screen 3.3 Even though hacking is labeled as dangerous, some have found hacking to be a blessing. Some computer users hire ethical hackers, which are those who imitate an actual attack onto a users computer system, in order to test that computers security system and its blocking power. While imitating this attack, ethical hackers are also looking for weaknesses within the system, and what could be stolen in a real hacking attack [6]. Another way to check a networks security is by sending a vulnerability scanner over the computer. Like ethical hacking, a vulnerability scanner will check for weaknesses in the security, and will increase the security as well. Besides scanning for weaknesses in the security wall, users should consistently be checking their computers for any type of threats or attacks. If these threats or attacks are not resolved, all types of malware could corrupt the database [10]. 4 Conclusion Computer Security is described as being a protection mechanism for computer databases. This mechanism can come in different shapes, styles, and forms [1]. One of the types of computer security is a validation code. The user of the computer must provide his/her own username and password to access the database [2]. Another type is AntiVirus security, such as Norton AntiVirus by Symantec. This program will provide protection from harmful threats and viruses, and hackers as well [12]. Computer security has provided many with comfort knowing that their private and financial information will be kept safe from other eyes on their computers. Big companies and organizations have benefited from computer security, because with it they have a comforting feeling that their important information will be kept safe [1]. Hacking is a dangerous and unfortunate activity that occurs on vulnerable computers [7]. Hackers find their way into other users systems, and depending on what they want, credit card numbers, social security, or anything of the like, they are likely to succeed in getting [5]. Hackers can plant harmful viruses and threats into a users system with or without that user knowing [7]. It can be a very upsetting and unlucky event to happen, because users are susceptible to having their personal information stolen or revealed to the public [2, pg.659]. But in the light of things, hacking could be a good thing for some users. Ethical hacking can be a useful method for checking a computers security barrier. It finds the weak spots that a computer hacker, virus or threat could enter the database through [6]. There are ways to improve computer security and to keep hackers and viruses out of computer systems. Ethical hacking could be a method used to find the vulnerable areas in the security, which would inform the user that better security is needed [6]. Similar to ethical hacking, a vulnerability scanner runs over the system scanning for weak spots, and improves security too [10]. Certain antiviral programs could be purchased and installed to increase security. Such programs as Norton AntiVirus will alert the user of any threats, scans the system, and will keep a computer safe [12]. There are conclusions Ive drawn from researching computer security and hacking. First, computer security is a very important component to have on a computer. Businesses and companies have impacted from it, because they are able to keep valuable information stored on their computers. Without it, users should not be on the internet or network at all. Hacking can be a very uncomforting and hurtful activity to users and their computers. Users can have their private and financial information taken from them, as well as being made public. There are many types of viruses and threats that can harm users computers, especially the ones thought to be low risk. The reason I drew these conclusions is because they are important things to know and understand. If one is naÃÆ'Â ¯ve to the risks of the internet and hackers, their computers, as well as themselves are in peril. There are some issues that I would like to address in future studies. I would like address the issue of weak spots in a computers security. I would like to see this security to not have these weak spots, and to fix them before using them on computers. Second, I want users to realize how dangerous it is to not have a computer security operating system, before they find it is too late. I would like to see programs such as Facebook and MySpace not allow users to put as much information as they allow now. Because of this displaying of information, many are susceptible to danger. I would like these issues to be addressed in future studies.

my interest in psychology Essay -- Graduate Admissions Essays

my interest in psychology    I have always been intrigued by the mental processes of humans and animals. As a young child and into adolescence, as a student and teacher and as a caregiver, I have always been interested in psychology in one form or another. This essay will reflect not only the development of my interest in psychology, but the development of myself as a person.    I was born into a family with Native American heritage that practiced a strict protestant religion. As a child, I would often wonder why people's attitudes, behaviors and beliefs could be so different from one another. I wondered why some people believed in things with great zeal, yet other people believed the contrary just as vehemently.    As an adolescent, I was enrolled in an accelerated high school program from which I graduated at age 14. I was then faced with the decision at a very young age of what direction my adult life would take. During this time, I also began researching my Native American heritage and began to form my own outlook on individuality, life, spirituality and relationships. My beliefs eventually evolved, and became very contrary to the belief system which was prevalent in my childhood environment.    It was also during this time that I first learned about the field of psychology. I felt it was very natural for me to gravitate towards a field that investigated the affect, behavior, and cognition of humans and animals, since I had always shown an interest in this area.    During my initial years as an undergraduate student, I found myself very interested in the psychological issues that I was learning about. I also found how difficult attending college and working full time could be. Duri... ... expression of cognitive abilities and disabilities. Within this thesis, I investigated common research paradigms, such as twin and adoption studies. Additionally, I examined assumptions used within the methodologies, common data analyses (i.e. concordance rates and heritability measures) and methodological strengths and flaws of different experimental designs. In addition to assisting in research and performing a literature review (first author) in the area of behavioral genetics, I am a member of several behavioral genetic societies in order to remain updated on the research in the field of genetic inheritance and behavior.    Currently I am in the process of furthering my research in these areas by completing my pre-dissertation on interaction of GABA genes in occurrence of Autistic Disorder and an independent project on depression and mental retardation.

Comparing Virtue and Vice in Utopia, The Bible, and Othello Essay

Comparing Virtue and Vice in Utopia, The Bible, and Othello The definition of virtue varies between cultures and societies. Utopian ideas of virtue do not necessarily agree with Biblical or Elizabethan England views, however, More’s "Utopia," the Biblical accounts in Genesis of Joseph and Jacob, and Shakespeare’s "Othello" all present the concept of virtue prevailing over vice. Although at times vice may appear to triumph over virtue, ultimately poetry presents virtue as superior based on the differing definitions of virtue. The punishment of vice and advocacy of virtue is a popular theme of literature and the reason why Sir Philip Sidney correctly asserts that poetry encourages virtue and condemns vice as repulsive. More’s "Utopia" advocates the pursuit of virtue, however, virtue is defined as a type of hedonism. Utopians follow a unique definition of virtue, which advocates a life of pleasure and the pursuit of happiness. Virtue is considered living the way people are designed to live, or according to nature. Utopians believe this translates as living a life based on achieving pleasure. The Utopian definition of pleasure may include helping other people, humanitarian views which are still advocated in the 21st century, but definitely does not include working hard for painful "virtue" which they consider not true virtue at all if you must deprive yourself and suffer misery. A virtuous life is encouraged by the punishment of crime, or vice. Utopians reward virtue, and punish those who attempt crime. Strict slavery is the punishment for violating wedding vows, and the other punishments are determined based on the extent of the crime. More’s fictional world of Utopia contrasts virtue and vice in society and upholds virtue as... ...e and despised character who endeavors to escape the misery of his life through suicide. The virtuous character of Cassio, shows the ultimate success and triumph of virtue over vice as he attains worldly success and defeats Iago, who is full of vice. These complex literary characters present morality as desirable and vices as deplorable. The narratives of Genesis, "Utopia," and Othello" all exemplify the achievements and victories of virtuous characters or traits. The failures and miseries inherently connected with vices are also presented. These literary works corroborate Sir Philip’s claim that poetry presents virtue in a light so "that one must needs be enamored of her." It can be assumed, therefore, that the study of literary works such as these can only improve morals and virtues, and for the good of American society, all students should major in Literature.