Does a Word Have to Be in the Dictionary to Be a Word

According to conventional wisdom, a word is any group of letters that can be found in a dictionary. Which dictionary? Why, the Unidentified Authorizing Dictionary, of course: Is it in the dictionary? is a formulation suggesting that there is a single lexical authority: The Dictionary. As the British academic Rosamund Moon has commented, The dictionary most cited in such cases is the UAD: the Unidentified Authorizing Dictionary, usually referred to as the dictionary, but very occasionally as my dictionary.(Elizabeth Knowles, How to Read a Word. Oxford University Press, 2010) To characterize this exaggerated regard for the authority of the dictionary, linguist John Algeo coined the term lexicographicolatry. (Try looking that up in your UAD.) In fact, it may take several years before a highly functional word is formally recognized as a word by any dictionary: For the Oxford English Dictionary, a neologism requires five years of solid evidence of use for admission. As the new-words editor Fiona McPherson once put it, We need to be sure that a word has established a reasonable amount of longevity. The editors of the Macquarie Dictionary write in the Introduction to the fourth edition that to earn a place in the dictionary, a word has to prove that it has some acceptance. That is to say, it has to turn up a number of times in a number of different contexts over a period of time.(Kate Burridge, Gift of the Gob: Morsels of English Language History. HarperCollins Australia, 2011) So if a words status as a word doesnt depend on its immediate appearance in the dictionary, what does it depend on? Defining Words As linguist Ray Jackendoff explains, What makes a word a word is that it is a pairing between a pronounceable piece of sound and a meaning (A Users Guide to Thought and Meaning, 2012). Put another way, the difference between a word and an unintelligible sequence of sounds or letters is that--to some people, at least--a word makes some sort of sense. If youd prefer a more expansive answer, consider Stephen Mulhalls reading of Wittgensteins Philosophical Investigations (1953): [W]hat makes a word a word is not its individual correspondence with an object, or the existence of a technique of its use considered in isolation, or its contrasts with other words, or its suitability as one component of a menu of sentences and speech-acts; it depends in the last analysis upon its taking its place as one element in one of the countless kinds of ways in which creatures like us say and do things with words. Inside that unsurveyable complex context, individual words function without let or hindrance, their ties to specific objects without question; but outside it, they are nothing but breath and ink...(Inheritance and Originality: Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Kierkegaard. Oxford University Press, 2001) Or as Virginia Woolf put it: [Words] are the wildest, freest, most irresponsible, most un-teachable of all things. Of course, you can catch them and sort them and place them in alphabetical order in dictionaries. But words do not live in dictionaries; they live in the mind.

The Long Road to Freedom - 1333 Words

Freedom Freedom, the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is more than the power to act, speak, or think as one wants, but it is also the right of one to do anything they please as long as it does not infringe upon another humans rights. Basic freedoms are those such as; freedom of religion, press, speech, assembly, petition, thought, expression, and opinion. These rights are only those given to the Americans through the constitution, but we have more rights as humans that most do not understand. We, as a race, try to discriminate and degrade other races and make our race seem superior, but we are not. There is not a better or a perfect race, we all have flaws and we all have the same rights. We should be allowed to pursue happiness in anyway thou desire, from gay marriage to carrying a gun on your person at all times. Throughout time there has always been a species/race that believes or has the thought that they are superior to th eir intellectually inferior counterparts. The presence of hate and discrimination is and has always been prominent throughout the world, we as a species have fought amongst each other over countless, ridiculous reasons that have destroyed many civilizations and even specific races of humans. War, a wise man once quoted, Violence is never the answer, but war is organized violence that gives people something to blame their problems on. - Duncan Rouleau War is hate andShow MoreRelatedThe Difference Between A Eighteen Year Old And A Years Old990 Words   |  4 PagesWhat’s the difference between a fifteen-year-old and a sixteen-year-old? Freedom. At the age of fifteen, you’re given the training wheels needed to reach freedom; also known as your permit. Nothing is as cool to a fifteen-year-old as driving your mom and dad around for the first couple of months. The roles have finally been reversed. Mark Wahlberg says it best in the Other Guys, â€Å"I’m a peacock and you gotta let me fly.† Getting your permit is the first step to reaching the ultimate goal: gettingRead MoreThe Silk Road And Its Impact On The Future Of The War Against Drugs Ross851 Words   |  4 PagesUlbricht created the Silk Road to make a safer environment for those who choose the freedom to use drugs, â€Å"A frictionless marketplace where everyone had freedom as long as it didn’t impinge on someone else’s freedom.† (1) Keeping up with other countries the government could have profited from Silk Road because being Free is the Libertarian way. Free will and minimal government is what Ross Ulbricht wanted in life. He wanted to be free and for everyone else to be free as long as no one’s rights crossedRead MoreFreedom of Speech: Missouri Knights of the Ku Klux Klan v. Kansas City1542 Words   |  7 PagesThe articles Freedom of Speech: Missouri Knights of the Ku Klux Klan v. Kansas City and Freedom of Religion: Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association both engage in conflicts pertaining to the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Freedom of Speech: Missouri Knights of the Ku Klux Klan v. Kansas City is anRead MoreEasy Rider: a Pursuit of American Identity1359 Words   |  6 PagesEasy Rider: An Epic journey into the unknown For the American dream Easy Rider is the late 1960s road film tale of a search for freedom (or the illusion of freedom) and an identity in America, in the midst of paranoia, bigotry and violence. The story, of filmmakers Fonda/Hopper creation, centers around the self-styled, counter-cultured, neo-frontiersmen of the painfully fashionable late 60s. As for the meaning of Easy rider, Peter Fonda (Wyatt) said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazineRead More On the Road: Jack Kerouacs Rejection of the Middle Class American Dream1597 Words   |  7 Pagesfulfillment. They were the Beats, the pioneers of a counterculture that came to be known as the Beat Generation. The Beats saw mainstream life as a prison. They wanted freedom, the freedom to pick up and go at a moments notice. This search for the true meaning of life was given a literary voice in Jack Kerouacs novel On the Road, written in 1951 but not published until 1957. This essay will investigate some of the aspects of the novel that make it a forcefu l and complex rejection of the white middleRead MoreA Summary of Keynes’ and Hayek’s Views on Economics Essay1312 Words   |  6 Pageshis book The Road to Serfdom, points out that any form of government intervention is dangerous and leads to serfdom. He argued that central government planning leads to serfdom or servitude which destroys personal freedom. Society has tried to ensure continuous prosperity by centralized planning which leads to totalitarianism. For example, socialism was supposed to be a means of assuring equality through restrain and servitude whereas democracy seeks equality in liberty-personal freedom and economicalRead MoreEssay about The Roman Empire979 Words   |  4 Pagesunstoppable force. As their empire grew so did their arsenal of weaponry and consequently the effectiveness of the Roman Army. A prime example of how the Romans adapted weaponry that they encountered was the Gladius Hispaniensis. This was a Spanish long sword that was 34â⠂¬  in length. The Romans utilized the Gladius, as it is commonly know, in chariot warfare. Previously they had used their own short swords that had proven to be inadequate on the battlefield (Real Armor of God). In order to increaseRead MoreThe World s Largest National Economy908 Words   |  4 Pagesare affecting their view, the trends, how people lives their life. In result, the current American culture of freedom is being changed into a misunderstanding of what freedom truly is about, advertently leads to a society in which freedom is confined, imprisoned. One example of an advertisement is the brand Harley Davidson, displaying a biker riding Harley motorcycle at a long, endless road with a famous Harley Davidson quote on the bottom, insisting that â€Å"WHEN WRITING A STORY OF YOUR LIFE, DON’T LETRead MoreAnthem Conflict Essay705 Words   |  3 Pagesindividuality plays a role that Equality needs to overcome in order to complete their quest for freedom which helps create their outcast archetype and gives significance to the final word of the novel. The internal conflict in Anthem plays a role within the novel by providing the problem that the protagonist, Equality, has to overcome in order to complete their quest. Equality is on a quest for freedom and for knowledge, even though it will separate them from their brothers. From the beginning ofRead MoreImposing Strict Punishment for Driving Offences829 Words   |  4 Pageswas still as there were not many cars on the road. However, the silence was disrupted by a loud screeching noise. The flow of conversation came to a halt as we turned our heads in unison towards the source of the noise. At that exact moment, we saw a black car crashed into a lamp post. The front of the car was severely damaged and minutes later, the bleeding driver could be seen limping out of the car. What we have just witnessed serves as proof that road accidents are becoming more and more rampant

English Coursework Free Essays

Think before you ink†. I read the article with an open mind so as not to judge. Clearly you did not have the same sentiment. We will write a custom essay sample on English Coursework or any similar topic only for you Order Now Within the subtitle you decided to slate tattoos, and a variety of celebrities with them. I was amazed that you said â€Å"doesn’t make it classy,attractive or wise† since it was a very strong and unfounded opinion. I was equally appalled by the rude and negative language towards these people, the things that were said about them were extremely offensive. I don’t think it’s appropriate for the article to contain such a negative attitude especially to these celebrities who have achieved great things. An opinion is one thing, but judgment is another. Firstly when you mention tattoos as † body graffiti† its like you associate it as unlawful vandalism-let makes the reader feel as though they are performing an illegal or public act of crime when they get a tattoo,whereas they are expressing themselves through a form of art. However, when you mention it as â€Å"a form of art† its very hypocritical, contrasting when it isn’t derogatory. Graffiti † is usually described as vandalism art, which generally is all the same. This is stating that you think that all tattoos and body art are all the same and is a crime. Your opinion is incorrect and shows your lack of knowledge about tattoos. Your extremely sexist towards women. You slate mostly females for example: Amy Whininess, Victoria Beckman, Madonn a and Angelina Coli etc. You have criticized each and every one of these females for either their tattoos or their image. This can be proven in the subtitle when it says â€Å"among celebrities such as Angelina Coli and Amy Whininess† These are both females, which is presenting tattoo think its only females that have tacky tattoos and a poor image. Why not include equal amounts of males to females? Why just insult females in which are clearly successful for a reason? It seems like your jealous of their fame, so are trying to downgrade them at your advantage. When you say â€Å"beautiful women has been anything but blighted† it seems as though its your attitude of class judgment. Its an old fashioned attitude, showing how narrow minded you are. The word â€Å"blighted† is referring to disease, which is rude,offensive, and a lexical choice. TTS a sexist response, judging women by their looks. let makes women feel insecure and negative about themselves. They can be extremely sensitive and take things personally which can cause many issues and problems with confidence, self esteem and so on . This could of been prevented by your attitude in your article;elf you wouldn’t of been so negative towards females and tattoos many problems wouldn’t be apparent. You marks a judgment that you think that tattoos are â€Å"cheap plumage of the attention seeker† meaning that you think they are tacky, and brightly colored o make them more visible to others and to draw attention to themselves. You also state that people with tattoos are desperate to be noticed on which is shown when it says † last-chance barflies and aspiring † as the word â€Å"aspiring† is referring to an ambition be another person in which in this case is by having a tattoo. That is totally an incorrect statement, hence not everyone with a tattoo has an incentive or desire to be on TV, and people don’t aspire to aim to be on TV. Your clearly stereotyping celebrities, making them out to be attention seekers without talent. As many people know the rate of anorexia is increasing and more patients are being diagnosed with different forms of anorexia. There are many comments about Amy Whininess’s’ body which will cause offence among many people but mainly anorexia sufferers. It says † the ugly marks that covered her emaciated body’. Firstly the comment about her tattoo being â€Å"ugly† is very inconsiderate, but the irrelevant and trivial comment was calling her body â€Å"emaciated†, since its stating she looks malnourished and abnormally thin. People don’t realism how offensive it is to call someone thin ND they think aims only rude to call someone fat. They are both opposites and are very disrespectful to people. Some people have extremely high metabolisms and can’t help being extremely thin, so making them feel ashamed of something they can’t help is wrong. Also on the other hand anorexia is a mental illness which is something that they couldn’t help. Slating someone whom might have this illness is the wrong thing to do and most likely make things worse. Did you take any of the public into consideration? What are they going to think when they read this, and how this may effect hem? Offending and criticizing Amy Whininess because of her weaknesses and problems is insensitive. Rape is a very sensitive topic, which many people are victims of rape. It is wrong to use rape in the wrong context, as people don’t understand the severity of sexual violence. The reason it’s so wrong is because it causes either flashbacks of rape or brings back memories of rape or people they know who have been raped. No one should ever have to go through rape and when they try to forget about it so they can carry on living life it shouldn’t be brought back up into their minds. Joking and using rape out of context shows how oblivious you are of the effect rape has on people and how immature your thought can be to be so stupid to use that to describe something you don’t agree with. This can make people anxious about rape- thinking they can be raped by a needle which clearly isn’t the case, and that the action taken to get a tattoo is life changing and very violent. Using violent vocabulary to scare people to not getting tattoos isn’t the right way to approach it and will only annoy people. You try to joke about tattoos being on â€Å"hyperactive five-year old† which have men â€Å"let loose with a rainbow pack of sharpies†. This is quite a stupid and immature thing to say. The fact you would associate tattoos being like â€Å"hyperactive five year old† as if they have designed and drawn the tattoos shows your dim and negative attitude to them. You don t however, need to assault people with them as if there tattoos are badly drawn and not to a high quality. The fact you bring religion into the subject of tattoos is unnecessary. Some people are extremely sensitive to things about religion so that was an extremely risky thing to bring up. Comparing tattoos and saying that Victoria Beckman thinks her tattoos are â€Å"dead spiritual†¦ Like scented candles and Madonna albums† and incorporating religious sarcasm is insensitive. Why compare scented candles with Madonna’s albums, that just makes you come across as stupid. Furthermore, why compare or relate any of that with tattoos? What right do you have to say Madonna body a â€Å"holy war of Hindi Sanskrit, Hebrew Latin and Roman numerals† You can’t mix religions and you can’t associate her tattoo with a mix of different tattoos, without you knowing it by fact. This is very â€Å"old school† in the sense that your picking different religions which go against each other. Why pick these religions? Why not others? Its a fundamental misunderstanding of terrible atrocities in History and belittles these tropic events. This makes you seem discourteous and a condemnatory act. Think this article should be removed from media to stop animosity to people affected by rape, anorexia, insecurities etc. In future I don’t think there should be articles with such strong negative opinions. The effect these articles have on people is huge. It leaves people with negative attitudes especially those who have suffered with mental health issues and rape. One point I didn’t include was that Tattoos are also used for pigment for breast surgery etc. This can be hurtful to those who have had surgery and a tattoo to correct the issue. This article will end up leaving innocent people feeling bad for having tattoos, and all the other rude and negative remarks. Hope you see the effect of this article in another light. I’m sure many people agree with me and I hope something will change from now on. How to cite English Coursework, Papers

General Purpose Financial Reporting - Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the General Purpose Financial Reporting. Answer: Introduction A large company has a large number of stakeholders who are interested in the financial information of the affairs of the company. The shareholders are owners of the company and can be thousands of lakhs in numbers for any big company. Now it will be practically impossible for the company to provide a copy of financial information of the company to each and every shareholder of the company. Thus the financial statement is made available on the internet and various other public sources. The various another stakeholder of the organization that is interested in the financial information of the company is loan providers, creditors, and investors which want to know the financial position of the company for purpose of their various needs. The financial reporting requirement does not bind the company to present every business activities of the company. The company has to give the financial data of the company which will be helpful in predicting the future of the company. Any financial inform ation that reflects change in the assets and liabilities of the company or the future existence for the company should be considered as material and reflected separately in the financial statements(Walker, 2013). Objective of general purpose financial reporting and characteristic of financial information as per CF The qualitative characteristics help in differentiating the material aspect of the financial information with the non-material aspect. It helps in identifying that which financial data is important for the users of the financial information of the company so that that should be presented in the financial reporting requirement of the Useful financial information. The qualitative aspect applies to the general purpose financial statements well as financial information presented otherwise. The various characteristics of the financial information which determines the qualitative characteristic of the financial statements are as follows : Materiality: The materiality of financial information means that its capacity to influence the decision of the user of the financial statement. Relevance: the financial information presented should be related to the need of the users of the financial statements. It should not contain information that is not relevant to the users of financial information and making financial statement unnecessary long. Comparability: the information provided in the financial statements should be in the generally accepted format so that it can be compared with the financial information of other companies. Faithful representation: the financial information should be presented with integrity and should not contain fake data which can mislead the users. Ansell Limited is a healthcare company that provides healthcare service and manufacture and sells high-quality products for protection of human beings at the workplace. Ansell Limited mainly deals in providing protection equipment for the industrial workers from the accidents that can happen at the workplace while working. Ansell Limited also conduct time to time awareness programs for educating dentists, physicians, and nurses from in different hospitals. These programs are conducted to enhance the capability of these professionals and to aware them about the various new challenges that are emerging from time to time. The criteria of the disclosure requirements for PPE are defined in the AASB 116. It requires the company to disclose the information about the Property, Plant, and Equipment. The various information that is required to be disclosed as per AASB 116 is as follows : The depreciation method used. The base for measuring the gross amount of the asset. Useful lives of the asset. The gross value of the asset and the accumulated depreciation of the asset. Reconciliation of the gross value of the asset from the beginning of the period till the end. In the annual report of the Ansell Limited for the years ending 2016, all the requirements of AASB 116 have been met by the finance departments while preparing the financial statement of the company. The useful life of the assets of different blocks has been separately mentioned in the financial statement. The depreciation method used by the company is the straight-line method. The gross carrying amount is calculated by deducting the accumulated depreciation and adjusting any impairment loss or gain from the cost of the asset at the time of purchasing the plant or Equipment. the cost incurred afterward are either included in the assets or mentioned as separate assets and then depreciated accordingly. The depreciation is charged to the useful life of the asset as per straight-line method(Ansell, 2016). The extent to which the company has meet the regulation of PPE and recommendation of improvement As per the findings mentioned in the Answer B, the Ansell Limited has met the criteria of the AASB 116 reporting requirements. The discloser that is mentioned in the AASB 116 that is required to be disclosed by the company has been reported by the Ansell Limited. The method adopted for Calculation of depreciation and the method used to determine the carrying amount of the asset have been laid down in the annual report of the Ansell Limited(Deloitte, 2010). The Fundamental Qualitative Characteristics of the Financial reporting states that the financial statement of the company should be presented with full integrity and the financial data should be relevant to the users of the financial statement. Ansell Limited has stated the information of the assets in the Annual Report of 2016 as per the Disclosures laid down in the AASB 116. The Annual report of the Ansell Limited given all the relevant calculation and financial information with full integrity. The material aspect of the company has been shown in details in notes to account for the Financial Statements. The materiality concept of the fundamental Qualitative Characteristic of the general purpose financial statement is incepted into the AASB 116. Fixed assets of the company are a very important element of the organization and can seriously affect the decision of the users of the financial statement. False information of the assets can show the different financial position of the company(Accounting, 2014). The enhancing Qualitative characteristic states that the comparability of the financial information of the company should be made easily with the financial information of the other companies. The financial statement of Ansell Limited is prepared and presented in the general format which is used by the other companies listed on the ASX. This format will make it easy for the users of the financial statement of the Ansell Limited to compare the Data with other companies. The data Ansell limited can be compared with the previous year data as the Annual report contain data of previous as well as the present year. The disclosure on the Property, Plant and Equipment that are laid down by AASB 116 provide detail reporting of the financial information about the asset of the company. Assets are an important part of any organization and help in identifying the financial position of the company by various users of the financial statement. The AASB 116 complies fully with the objective of the general purpose financial reporting. As the object behind the general purpose financial reporting is to provide the users of the financial information about the financial position of the company and its affairs. The AASB 116 provides complete information about the assets of the company in the general purpose financial statement. The useful life of the asset over which the depreciation is to be apportioned (Bradbury, 2008). Conclusion The conclusion from the above discussion can be made that the AASB 116 (Property, Plant and Equipment) provide complete information of the plant, property etc to the users of the financial statement. The basic objective of the general purpose financial statement is to give true and relevant information to the users of the financial statement. Therefore it can be assumed that the basic objective of the financial statement is achieved by the AASB in the field of assets reporting of the company. For the further improvement of the AASB 116 with the scope of the objective of the general purpose financial statement, the block of assets of the company should be showing the list of the assets that are covered in the block. The change in method of depreciation should be reported and the effect of such change in the method on the financial statement should be reported by the company. Bibliography Accounting, A. (2014). Property, Plant and Equipment. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from Compiled AASB Standard AASB 116: https://www.aasb.gov.au/admin/file/content105/c9/AASB116_07-04_COMPjun14_07-14.pdf Ansell. (2016). Annual Report 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from Ansell: https://www.ansell.com/-/media/Corporate/MainWebsite/About/Investor-Center/Annual-Report-2016/Annual-Report-to-Shareholders-2016.ashx?la=en Deloitte. (2010). Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from Deloitte: https://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/other/framework Walker, R. G. (2013). Objectives of Financial Reporting. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from Wiley Online Library: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-6281.2003.00137.x/full Bradbury, M.E., (2008). Fifty?seven Curious Defects in Haswell and Langfield?Smith (2008): A Comment.Australian Accounting Review,18(4), pp.287-293.

Student Athletes Essays - Student Athlete, , Term Papers

Student Athletes Athletes Should Get Paid As you sit at the stadium or in your home and watch college football, basketball, or even baseball, do you ever wonder where the money goes from all the ticket sales? Colleges make a lot of money from their athletics. I feel that the profit that is made should partly go back to the student athlete. College athletes should be paid for their participation in sports, since sports make a lot of money for the college. A student athlete's schedule is very hectic. There are many activities that have to be attended daily. A student athlete is expected to go to class every day, and later in, the day they are expected to meet at practice, no matter what the sport. After practice, the student athlete must eat dinner. Then, the person has to go home to their dorm to do homework, which can last for hours. There is very little time during the day, to allow the student athlete to get a job. Most of the time coaches will not allow the students to work, due to schedule conflict, and it is also hard on the student's studies. If the coach doesn't allow a job and there is no time for one, where does the student get money? Student finances are very limited. Most of the money that students have is from parents or student loans. Students need money for food, gas and laundry. If a student eats three meals a day, it would usually cost then about fifteen dollars. For a five-day week it would be around seventy-five dollars. Usually, the student athletes do not travel much, so gas expenses would be minimal. However there are those occasional trips home to see family. The student also needs money for laundry. Laundry runs around five or six dollars per week. Years ago, student athletes at colleges and universities were given laundry money, which was twenty-five to thirty dollars a week. The money could be spent freely. It was like an allowance that your parents would give you every week. I feel that this little support would at least help the student when money is hard to come by at home. With the financial help of the college, a student athlete would only have to supply around fifty dollars per week instead o f seventy- or eighty-five A student would have less financial troubles if they were compensated for athletics. If athletes were paid, they could have a better start out of college. For instance, if the student athlete has to get a loan during college because he or she has no money for necessities, that student athlete has started to dig a financial hole. That hole will be a burden to the student athlete when her or she graduates from college. Also, the student athlete's parents will not be financially troubled when the student graduates from college. It would make it easier on student athletes and their parents mentally and physically if student athletes were paid. Mentally, the parents would not have to worry about paying the bills when tuition is due. Physically, the parents and students would not have to break their back to work overtime, or to have a job while in school, and play athletics as well. I feel that student athletes have a lot to worry about. One is their grades; two is their performance in games. I feel the last thing a student athlete should worry about is how they are going to make money to pay for necessities, since the student plays a sport that makes money for the college. Student athletes should be compensated for their participation in athletics while attending college.

Critical and Financial Analysis of Facebook The WritePass Journal

Critical and Financial Analysis of Facebook Reference Critical and Financial Analysis of Facebook History of facebookDATAREVENUEWebsiteCriticismImpactconclusionReferenceRelated Introduction Facebook is the social network which is used worldwide. It has been famous among the people within short period of the time. It links people from one place to another through easy access. Like Hotmail, G-mail, Yahoo; they are also the web based email service but face book is fast way to transfer any message and information among the people. More than â€Å"600† million of the people have been using this website which was launch in February 2004. In this website user open their personal profile, add other users as friends and join different page or user group according to their interest. They update their pictures, status according to their mood plus they will get automatic notification when they update their profile. The beginning of the face book was started from student, where they were given service stems from colloquial for the book by university administrations in the United States so they can know each other through this service. This helps students to communicate among the students regarding different subject matter. To have a face book account the user must be 13+. Then only they can have their accounts. Now we can use face book in every gadget where there is an internet access commonly are mobile, iphone etc we can know any information that is happening among our friends, family and the latest news wherever we go. Despite of our busy life this face book has been so popular even a single day without using it people won’t stay. In other word, face book have made our busy life easier by connecting people. History of facebook The founder of the face book is:†Mark Zuckerberg† who was the student of the â€Å"Harvard† and; had stolen the idea and some of the computer source code from his roomate. Before this website was used among only students of Harvard   but was gradually expanded to other university later on. With the support of the students face book was officially launch for school and college level also. On the based on consumersreports.org it is assume that there were 7.5 million of the childern who join face book when it was legal for the childern for 13+. On Janauray 2009 face book was the most popular social networking service within month. When Mr. Zuckerberg launch this site he was charged by administration for copyright and was close for few days later on he expanded this project by creating a study tool. Again after when it was launch he was accused by his friend Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevioss and Divya Narendra by misleading them in a fake dream so he can help them to build a social network called Harvardconnection.com. There were a lot of investigation regarding this so finally he was charged against that. Within first month the student were restricted to use this accounts but the expansion of site was so fast mostly in canada and united state. On 26 september 2006 the face book was for everyone of age 13 with an vaild email id. Now we can see how it’s been among us in our day to day life. Every second we can found people comments and launching new page with new idea. Now it’s the 3rd largest US web company after Google and Amazon. DATA Total active User Date User (in million) Days later Monthly August 26,2008 100 1,665 178.38% April 8,2009 200 225 13.33% Sept 15,2009 300 150 10% February 5,2010 400 142 6.99% July 21, 2010 500 166 4.52% January 5, 2011 600 168 3.57% The above data has   been collected for the internet through the help of the google. It shows   how many user are been increased in a particular date. Like in august 26,2008; 100 millon people were using face book which is really alot. This shows how it was so popular among the student since the beginning of this web site was started from students. We can find the increament of the user around 2009 and 2010 alot and alot so finally around 2011 january 5 the total user of face book were 600 million people and estimation is more for the coming year. REVENUE (estimated in millions US$) Year Revenue Growth 2006 $52 2007 $150 188% 2008 $280 87% 2009 $775 177% 2010 $2000 158% This table shows how the revenue has been increased with the increasing user. Mostly the revenue has come from the advertisement. It serves microsoft as bannner adverstisement and only those company who exist in the microsoft ‘s advertisement inventory. The above bar graph shows the age group who has used face book   so often. It’s shows the clear diagram about how often we are using face book. As per the diagram the age group 18-25 they are using the face book in large amount and the least user are from 55-65. But over all we can see the user of face book is mostly femal user who is using face book so often. Website As we know it is an social networking service where user open their account with particular profile picture information about them,contact information and their interest. User should have their valid email address which is needed when they are login and a password for the privacy so you can only open your accounts. When they open it shows notification, new changes happening in there, message and friends request. Whatever notification user gets like comments, friends request, message and other stuff. User can accept the friend request according to their wish, they can look at their information and can add or ignore them. They can upload their new pictures,share the music video,comments and can join different other groups according to their interest There is notification section over the top where you can see the all notification who comment on your status, pictures. Who tag you in which picture ? everythings which are linked with you. Also you can change your status according to your mood and interest. On the side you can see how many friends you have got and you can even classifiy them into relationship as brother, sister, mother, husband etc.. There is privacy setting also which allows the user to do private setting for the account where he/she can make the setting in a such a way where the another user can not view their profile until and unless they are theirs friends. User can block the person whom they do not like and who are doing something beyond the limitation like abuse so they can report as abuse when they are going to block that person. They can even hide the personal information about them through the help privacy setting. They can even chat with their friends online like Yahoo and Messanger which is shown in the corner of the web page. Its shows how many people is online over that tab with their names of face book. You can even use different name as your wish and desire. The other facilities of this web is we can search for the person which is member of face book but not your friend and send a friend request as well as a message. Its’ true wonderfulness is that it makes every ceremony more rejoicable lik e birthdays, anniversery since whole world participates in wishing you. You can create many album to put the picture. And can tag those picture to your friends and even kept the one as your profile picture. So people can recognize you and can add you in their face book. Some times this website work as medium to transfer the news. Although we don’t have time to watch news but the news feed over the face book page so that you are always updated. Criticism Due to its popularity face book has been the matter for   debate.   Where we can see this website is the mostly use by young generation as the above diagram shows it. Where different activities has been accorded after joining it. Several   countries has been blocked such   in Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh etc because it is judge as anti-Islamic and something about the religious discrimination. Some of the work place has been banned using the face book because the workers are busy using facebook rather than working. Newly arised   debate   about face book is regarding it’s having no privacy since any hackers and phishers and top most thing face book does not hold accounts which is clearly written in contract but user do not bother to read them. Impact Being a face book user there a lot of impact which has been caused in our day to day life. Although it has been use worldwide but it shows a lot of impact in society, economic and media. There are been alot of case which cause as distruction in a family and society. As a example: in nepal we found a case where a married guy take his wife picture and with the help of photoshop he cut done his wife n put it into the another picture where a girl is totally naked. He shared this picture to all of this friend as per result when his wife came to know about it there was a lot of conflicts between them. Another case was found in the capital city of nepal where 19 years boy backmailing a girl age 25 to put her naked picture in facebook although the boy was caught but still we can see this problem in our day to day life. Even in uk we can hear a lot of news regarding sucide because their friends are making their fun in face book which they can not tolerate. Its all because we are using it so frequently in our life and it became as a part of our day to day rota. People are afraid to face any situation although it will be wrong but still will be famous when they are kept in face book and in a few moment all user will become to know about it.Another problem is created by parents it’s self who open there children accounts as we can know we are not allowed to open account until and unless we are 13 but still we can find their accounts of face book. Even we can find hackers who can do whatever with our accounts which are not using offen. As a major problem the youth are been more addict with this,where the most important think is their future but they forget this and become busy with picture, comments, status in face book. Even this is happening with the workers who focus in face book rather than doing some work. But for the company they are using face book in different way for adveristment, where they get benefit and plus the owner of facebook is also getting the benefit. And face book are more often use for sending message and giving news which is really positive point. Before it was used as a medium to transfer the notes to other student but now it has been use as a communicating other stuff. One thing is for sure whatever we post in face book it’s easy to spread them among the friends rather than sending email. conclusion This new technology has change so many things in our life with new mobile, iphone we get chance to use face book and even chat from there. This new technology has change our life so hard even a second it’s hard to manage with out it. Because we are so addict with it even a single day we can’t stay without openning   it. Over all we can make a figure through which we can know the girls are more addict with face book no matter what’s there age. Face book is the 3rd largest company who earns alot of money. It has make life easy by making easy access to comunicate with people. Within short period so time it became so popular among the people but it got advantage and disadvantage also. People who are new with it can not figure it out what it is. But it depends upon the ourselves whither we want to misuse it or use in correct way. Its all about our view althought it is huge matter of discussion but no matter how long it will be going on the user of face book is increasing in every second and minute. Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook legalandrew.com/2007/07/21/facebook-and-the-law-8-things-to-know/ google.co.uk/search?q=facebook+founder+picturehl=enprmd=ivnstbm=ischtbo=usource=univsa=Xei=zeHRTdC_PJGLhQeu49yTCgved=0CB8QsAQbiw=1366bih=667 sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/14/BUHP1JFJFN.DTLtype=tech

Character Analysis Lady Macbeth

Set in 1603, Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, follows the life of what started out to be a normal married couple. When the couple, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, discover from a prophecy that Macbeth would one day rule the land of Scotland, the two did everything in power to make sure this would come true. The couple devised a plan to murder Duncan, the current king of Scotland; Macbeth carried out this plan. With this newfound immense amount of royal power, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go through several challenges in their relationship. Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, there are significant changes in the way the audience perceives Lady Macbeth when considering her power, brutality, and physical characteristics. Comparing the beginning to the end of the play, it is apparent that Lady Macbeth is very different when considering her power. In the beginning, it appears as if Lady Macbeth was the superior in her relationship with Macbeth. At this period of time, man being inferior to woman was found to be very unusual. In a sense, Lady Macbeth was the â€Å"man† of the relationship. While debating whether or not Macbeth should kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man† (Shakespeare 43). This line expresses Lady Macbeth’s opinion that Macbeth will only be a true man if he follows through with the murder; until then, Lady Macbeth would question his manhood. By using this line, Lady Macbeth has total control over her husband and can basically get him to do whatever she may ask. On the other hand, Macbeth seemed to turn around and take steps toward being the â€Å"bigger man† in their relationship as the play unfolded. With his immense amount of power, Lady Macbeth had no choice but to go with his superiority. An example of Lady Macbeth’s weakness was when she was conversing with the doctor and said, â€Å"Out, damned spot, out I say! One. Two† (Shakespeare 163). This quote explains how Lady Macbeth was obsessive over washing her hands, in other words, she was trying to get rid of the guilt of Duncan’s Murder. This section of the play shows Lady Macbeth’s significant change of weakness. As a weak woman, she succumbs herself to Macbeth’s power. In sum, Lady Macbeth went from being a powerful wife to a meaningless woman within the play. Another change the audience sees in the play is Lady Macbeth’s brutality. At the beginning of the play, she was the mastermind of Macbeth’s violent endeavors (Duncan’s Murder). When the two were plotting Duncan’s murder, it was Lady Macbeth who conveyed Macbeth to follow through; he was about to back out of the plan, as he did not want to commit such crime. When Macbeth was pondering the idea of failure, Lady Macbeth was quick to respond, â€Å"We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail† (Shakespeare 43). This quote shows that Lady Macbeth was the one with confidence in their situation at hand. Towards the end of the play, it was Macbeth who was the mastermind behind his devious plans. Macbeth develops a sense of anxiety over Banquo, as he was the only one who suspected Macbeth had anything to do with Duncan’s Murder. Macbeth makes plans to kill Banquo, â€Å"Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared† (Shakespeare 85). Macbeth was making these plans with two murders that he hired; not lady Macbeth. With the guilt of Duncan’s murder, it is doubtful that Lady Macbeth would offer support to Macbeth’s plan, given the opportunity, but Macbeth had purposely left her out of his plans. Now that he was king, he no longer needed assistance from his â€Å"housewife†. This just goes to show that Lady Macbeth went from being a brutal organizer of murder to a wife that has no part of her Husband’s secret life. Throughout Macbeth there are several observable changes in the physical being of Lady Macbeth. Though she may appear the same when focusing on her physical appearance, there are several physical changes in her mental health. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth seemed to be a typical put together woman. At the end of the play, she virtually became a psychiatric patient who was in desperate need of mental healthcare. A doctor was consulted, but even the doctor knew there was nothing that could be done to save Lady Macbeth. While the doctor observed Lady Macbeth in her sleep, Lady Macbeth exclaimed â€Å"Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand†¦Wash your hands† (Shakespeare 163-5). The doctor responds to the gentlewoman, â€Å"This disease is beyond my practice†¦So, good night. My mind she has mated, and amazed my sight. I think but dare not speak† (Shakespeare 165). This line shows the astonishment the doctor faces while observing Lady Macbeth. Her illness had reached a level of severity that a doctor could not even fix. Therefore, Lady Macbeth experiences many changes in her physical health throughout Macbeth. Macbeth is a very dense read with a lot of information and different characters. However, the changes in Lady Macbeth were very significant. Though the story concluded with her tragic death, Macbeth put his wife through countless situations that no woman should have to live through. She went from being the brains behind a murder to observing her husband committing several ruthless crimes. She also went from being a strong healthy woman to a woman with severe mental health issues. Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, there are significant changes in the way the audience perceives Lady Macbeth when considering her power, brutality, and physical characteristics. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. N. p. : Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992. Print.

Marketing Orientation in Telecommunication Company Essay

Marketing Orientation in Telecommunication Company - Essay Example A deep analysis of the company has been made within this report. Also based on the study of the company and its competitors, recommendations have been set out for the management. The plan that has been set down which includes the benefits that Etisalat can gain from the recommendation of starting an e-Commerce website. This study has been based on a secondary research. The information collected is mainly from the secondary sources, which include various sources, studies, articles, newspapers, and websites. Secondary data refers to information published by others and which is already available1. It is also data collected by other people rather than the researcher who is carrying out the study2. There has been a through research conducted to gain all the information of this Etisalat. Great care has been taken while choosing the sources from the Internet and it has been ensured that the works chosen from the Internet are from published writers. As Berry refers to the Internet in his books, â€Å"an open door to nonsense to appear, and one way of checking on this is knowing about the author†3. The telecom industry of the Middle Eastern countries has seen a continuous growth. A forecast by Informa Telecoms and Media shows that the year 2009 will continue to see a constant growth, with almost 28.68 million net inclusions into the mobile market this year. The market is very wide and has as many as almost 250 million mobile subscribers and is expected to reach as high as 250.79 million by the end of 20094. Etisalat is one of the oldest telecom providers in UAE. It is headed by Mohammad Al Qamzi, the CEO. The company was incorporated in 1976 and has become a part of the Financial Times Top 500 Corporation. In terms of the capitalization and revenues, this company stands on the 6th position in the Middle East.  

Leadership and Management in Nursing Research Paper

Leadership and Management in Nursing - Research Paper Example No doubt, Nurses in superior clinical practice incorporate education, research, management, leadership, and consultation into their clinical role. They function in uncompetitive relationships with nursing peers, physicians, professionals, and others who influence the health environment. (McLoughlin 1992). If we analyze then we come to know that In this era of high business competitiveness, organizations function in a dynamic and altering environment and as a result, it has to be adaptive to stay ahead of the violent competition. No doubt, healthcare organizations today be familiar with that human resource (HR) is their key asset to ahead an edge over the competition and attaining health organizational success and efficiency. Thus, human resource management (HRM) has now become an up-and-coming field in the business earth and a key element for staying side by side of competition. This research will spotlight on what HRM has to present and how those at the top and HR managers be supposed to work jointly to attain organizational effectiveness. Current HRM leadership and management theory and concepts will also be discussed and interpret into carrying out and from there, its advantages and disadvantages will be highlighted. According to Effective Management of Nurses According to the expert analysis, Advanced Practice Nurses like further primary care providers, have a compulsion to a supporter for abused patients. Specialization of household violence case management holds great possible to address domestic aggression efficiently (Epstein, 1999).  

A Dissertation Proposal Essay Example for Free

A Dissertation Proposal Essay Chapter One: The Problems and Its Components The problem to be investigated in this study is school climate, considering and comparing teacher perceptions of both the actual and ideal psychological environment in three different African American private schools. The literature indicates that an open climate with lines of communication that are established at all levels, staff freedom, professional interest, and participatory decision making, among other similar factors, will lead to positive teacher attitudes and improved teacher performance. The relationship between teachers’ perceptions of the actual and ideal psychological school environment has not yet been tested for African American private schools. See more: Examples of satire in adventures of huckfinn essay Problem Background As explained by Beachum and McCray (2004), school climate has a significant impact on the attitudes and performance of teachers in that it influences professional growth and development in academic and social terms, influences the ability to handle work pressures, and ultimately can lead to attrition if the climate is not open and does not have adequate lines of communication. The school’s value systems, work pressures, participatory decision making, resource adequacy, growth opportunity, and student support all play a part in the overall climate of the school (Cole-Henderson, 2000). The study of this climate is of critical importance to the well being, positive attitudes, and professional development of the school’s teachers. The current need to provide every child with qualified and committed teachers in the face of a national teacher shortage supports the importance of conducting research on factors influencing teacher attitudes and stressors in the teaching profession, particularly those that might affect burnout and turnover. It is also clear that a healthy school climate–a school with a strong academic emphasis and a principal who has influence with superiors and is willing to use it on behalf of teachers–is conducive to the development of teachers beliefs that they can influence student learning and make a difference. It is also clear that work pressures can exert additional stress on a teacher if the school climate is perceived in a negative light. Numerous studies (Harris, 1999; Jamal, 1999; Ma Macmillan, 1999; MacDonald, 1999; Remy, 1999) have focused on teacher stress. According to Remy, research has shown that 40% of new teachers leave the profession within 5 years. These studies also have shown that approximately half of all teachers leave the profession within the first 7 years because of job-related stress. Because teaching is a stressful occupation (Ma Macmillan; Remy; Weiss, 1999), teachers often self-select out of the profession. Schools must then scramble to replace these teachers. Remaining faculty and the school district become further strained in the attempt to make up for the shortage. Knowledge of how teachers perceive the current school climate and what teachers think the ideal environment should be would be of invaluable importance. Theoretical Orientation The literature review will focus on both the conceptual framework of the study and the major variables of concern. The conceptual framework will be based on attribution and motivation theory. The major variables of concern are the ideal and actual perceptions of the school climate by teachers. Initially, attribution theory was presented as a theoretical process in the late 1970s and middle 1980s (Frieze, 1976; Weiner, 1979, 1985, 1986). It provided the framework for examining the responses of teachers to such academic outcomes of students as failure or success in the general education classroom. Since that time a number of studies have been conducted that provide empirical support of its principles. According to Graham (1990; 1991), both ability and effort have been identified as the major perceived causes of individual teacher failure or success. In other words, failure can be overcome by effort, while success comes about as a result of personal competence. Teacher ability is comprised of aptitude and learned skills in an academic context. Effort, on the other hand, is the amount of exertion applied to a learning situation. Attribution can be applied in situations in which teachers try to understand their own behavior. It can also be applied when teachers try to assess the classroom performance of students in order to increase their teaching success (Graham, 1990, 1991). When teachers’ expectations are not met, the instructors may resort to any number of actions. They may often be tardy or absent. In fact, attrition is often the end result. The individuals may also withdraw from teaching psychologically–that is, not concentrate, do no more than absolutely necessary, and have no interest or initiative. As a result, the quality of teaching in general may suffer. Vroom (1964) stated that motivation is a product of the anticipated worth that individuals place on a goal and the chances they see of achieving that goal. According to Vroom, three factors influence achievement: force, valence, and expectancy. Force equals valence times expectancy. Force is the strength of the teachers’ motivation while valence is the anticipated satisfaction from the result. Expectancy is the probability of achieving the outcome. The impact of force depends on both valence and expectancy. For example, if teachers show indifference in achieving a goal, the valence becomes zero. Specifically in his expectancy theory, Vroom (1964) suggested the following: Motivation = Perceived Probability of Success (Expectancy) x Connection of Success and Reward (Instrumentality) x Value of Obtaining Goal (Valance, Value).   From this formula it is clear that a high value for one variables of the formula will result in a high motivation value and vice versa. In Vroom’s (1964) view, the three variables must exist for motivation to take place. Thus, when teachers do not think they will be successful at a task or do not value the results of becoming successful in their school or do not perceive a connection between their attitude and the school climate, it is more than likely that they will not apply themselves to the teaching activity. Organizational theory also relates to the proposed investigative study in terms of communication. According to this theory, restrictive and closed climates with closed lines of communication relate to poor teacher performance (Cole-Henderson, 2000). The school system is an organization, and thus communication theory applies. When lines of communication are closed teachers do not communicate with administrators or students, and school management does not communicate with teachers other than giving orders from the top down. Communication only flows from the top down. In such a school system, the perceived motivational climate is negative and achievement goals suffer (Bennett, 2002). Clearly, when there are open lines of communication, there is more interest in teaching and thus knowledge has more meaning. This translates into improved achievement on the part of both the teacher and the student. It is clear to see that school climate has a decided bearing on teachers in a number of different ways. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to evaluate teacher perceptions of the climate of three independent Black private schools in relationship to the actual and ideal climate. Thus, the purpose is three-fold: 1. To determine if teacher perceptions of the actual school climate differs between and among the three African American private schools included in the study. 2. To determine if the teacher’s perceptions of the ideal or preferred school climate differs between and among the three African American private schools included in the study. 3. To determine if there is a correlation among teachers who teach at different levels in the three schools included in the study regarding their perceptions of their school climate. Research Questions The major research question can be stated as follows: â€Å"Is the actual school climate of independent African American private schools adequately meeting the perceptions of its teachers regarding their ideal school climate perceptions?† From this question several sub-questions have been formulated. These may now be listed as follows: 1. Do teacher perceptions of the actual school climate differ between and among the three African American private schools included in the study, as determined by scores on the actual environment answer form of the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? 2. Do teacher perceptions of the ideal or preferred school climate differ between and among the three African American private schools included in the study, as determined by scores on the ideal or preferred environment answer form of the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? 3. Is there a significant correlation among the perceptions of teachers employed in the three schools included in the study in terms of their view of their school climate, as determined from both answer forms of the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? 4. Do the perceptions of teachers differ for those who teach at different student grade levels, as determined by a comparison of results from the School Level Environment Questionnaire for teachers instructing at different levels? Limitations and Delimitation One limitation of the study relates to the fact that the research has no control over the teacher participants’ reliability. It will be assumed, however, that the teachers will answer the survey questionnaire items honestly and to the best of their ability. There is also a certain weakness associated with only the use of a survey questionnaire to obtain data for analysis. Researchers do suggest the use of two or more sources–that is, triangulation – to produce better support data (Babbie, 2003; Creswell, 2003). With respect to delimitations of the study, the data source of this case will be limited to three independent Black private schools located in an urban city. Definitions Several common terms and designations are used uniquely in the proposed study. These are defined as follows: Independent Black private school. This term refers to a school owned by African Americans which is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operation and is instead operated by tuition charges, gifts, and perhaps the investment yield of an endowment (Mahiri, 1998). School climate. This term refers to the school atmosphere. In restrictive and closed schools, authority emanates from the top down through hierarchical levels. Communication is restrictive and closed. In an open school climate, communication reaches all levels and moves in all directions (Moeller, 2005). School climate perceptions. Teacher views of their school environment will generally influence their motivation to teach, grow professionally, participate in decision making, and handle work pressures. In this study, the term will be operationally defined by scores on the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)? Self-concept. Self-concept is considered the most basic and crucial components of personality and can be influenced by environment. Self-concept can become positive in an open school climate; conversely it can become negative in a closed and restrictive school climate. The proposed study views self concept in this context (Branden, 1999). Staff development. For this research project, this term pertains to any activities that attempt to improve the teacher’s ability to implement a new instructional program. Staff development includes an emphasis on attitude, competencies, and knowledge that enhances learning (Sykes, 1996). Teachers perceptions. In general, perceptions in the present study pertain to teachers thoughts, beliefs, and feelings about professional development training, work pressures, participatory decision making, innovation, staff freedom, student support, professional interest, and affiliation, among other related variables. Their thoughts and beliefs affect their teaching approach and presentation. Teachers are active information processors who affect classroom events as much as they are affected by them (Chance Costa, 1998). Importance of the Study African American students are not doing as well in school as others and this may be related to their teachers (Tatum, 2006). The findings of this investigative study may provide valuable knowledge about the teachers of these students. Also, other independent schools can use these outcomes to improve their educational programs for teachers and improve teacher productivity. In addition, the implications may insure that the professional and development needs of the teachers are met at school. The proposed study will add to the scholarly research. School reform and restructuring as it relates to professional development of teachers have gained momentum in the United States for the past 2 decades (Sparks, 1997). Meaningful educational reform cannot occur, however, unless teachers are integrally involved in the reform process and unless they have the time and resources to conceptualize the implementation of the changes need in their classrooms. But more research is needed to identify the ways in which the school climate can become more open and conducive to these needs. The significance of the proposed study lay in its ability to add to the database in this respect. The significance of the study and its potential results touches a number of areas and addresses several different audiences. As noted, the findings will add to the scholarly research. For example, understanding factors that influence teacher perceptions of climate in African American private schools can help reveal the underlying logic that influences their motivation, professional development, and perhaps their participation in the decision making processes. Chapter Two: Review of Literature It is important to note that educational researchers have consistently found unequal levels of achievement between African American and Caucasian students (Bankston Caldas, 1997; Graybill, 1997). Educational specialists such as Hurd (2001) refer to the problem faced by African American students, as the achievement gap and further point out that in today’s school systems less than 60% of African American high school students graduate in 14 years. Joseph (2000) noted that if Caucasian students were dropping out at the same rates as African American students, we would declare a state of crisis in teaching these students. According to Tyson (2002), it is time to require teachers and administrators to address the problem and to consider issues related to achievement motivation among African American students. According to Baldwin, Coney III, and Thomas (1993), the eleven areas of school effectiveness are â€Å"effective instructional leadership, clear and focused mission, safe and orderly environment, positive school climate, high expectations, frequent assessment/monitoring of student achievement, emphasis on basic skills, maximum opportunities for learning, parent community involvement, strong professional development, and teacher involvement in decision-making.† In these areas of school effectiveness, school climate is one of the most important things wherein it has been subject to extensive research. School climate is a term referring to the â€Å"personality of a school,† according to Hoy and Miskel (1982). It is a characteristic of a school which includes the school’s physical structure of its buildings and the interactions between students and teachers. These are the two factors that both affect and help to define the concept of school climate according to Marshall (2004). Les Gallay and Suet-ling Pong (2004), on the other hand, viewed school climate as â€Å"the part of the school environment associated with attitudinal and affective dimensions and the belief systems of the school that influence children’s cognitive, social, and psychological development.† They also cited Ashby and Krug (1998) and Griffith (2000) on what school climate is a how it affect the society. According to Ashby and Krug (1998), school climate is reflected in the social interactions within the classroom and within the school community. According to Griffith (2000), values, attitudes, beliefs and communications are subjective matters; many researches rely on the perceptions of the participants (teachers, students, parents) to measure the effect of school climate. For many years and up to the recent days, the concept on school climate influencing significantly in educational outcomes is still being researched by many researchers. Perceptions on school climate influence many people (e.g. students, teachers, parents) which may also influence the processes and outcomes in a physical, social, and learning environment. Research shows that both teacher and student perceptions of school climate influence student achievement. An early study by Fraser (1989) laid the groundwork for this research. Fraser (1989) studied the effects of classroom environment on student achievement, for example, and found that student outcomes could be improved by creating classroom environments that are conducive to learning. Classroom environments studied by Fraser (1989) used student perceptual data to assess the school environment and reach conclusions. A number of studies have been conducted since the 1980s showing a relationship between students’ perceptions of the school climate in various terms and their achievement in one form or another. In 1995, the study of Bulach, Malone, Castleman on the investigation of variables related to student achievement showed that there is a significant difference in student achievement between schools with good school climate and schools with poor school climate. On schools with positive school climate, students develop a positive perception on school climate, making them comfortable with the learning environment they are in. On separate studies conducted by Hirase (2000) and Erpelding (1999) on the relationship between school climate and achievement of students, both studies came up with same result that schools with a positive climate had a higher academic achievement as compared to schools with negative climate. Another case presented by Freiberg (1998) showed that the students’ perceptions are important especially during the transition from one school level to another (e.g. elementary to high school). According to him, attending a new school can be frightening for students which could affect their perceptions on the school climate which could consequently affect their learning outcomes or performance. With that, the research showed that having good or positive school climate will result to an easy transition or adaption to the new school environment and a good performance of students may be easily achieved. This chapter will focused more on the theories and studies related to the teachers’ perception on school climate in order to have critical views on it. In addition, this chapter will also present and analyze established studies on the influences made by school climate on teachers’ perceptions and subsequently to the effect of having these perceptions to the assessment and improvement of the students’ performance in school. Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework of the study is related to attribution, motivational, and organizational climate in terms of lines of communication. According to attribution theory, teachers’ perceptions of their school teaching experiences will generally influence their achievement motivation and performance development more than the actual objective of those experiences (Weiner, 1985). School climate is also an important aspect of learning and effective instruction (Freiberg, 1998). When teachers are more empowered, students are able to voice their concerns and learn from the experience. When questions and answers are free flowing, the school climate is open. For example, understanding factors that are influenced by an independent Black school climate such as academic achievement can help reveal the underlying logic that influences teacher motivation and performance (Joseph, 2000). Motivation on the part of teachers is an important aspect of effective instruction (Joseph, 2000). Vroom (1964) defined motivation as a product of the anticipated worth that individuals place on a goal and the chances they see of achieving that goal, as mentioned in Chapter 1. According to him, three factors influence achievement: force, valence, and expectancy. Force is the strength of the teachers’ motivation while valence is the anticipated satisfaction from the result. Expectancy is the probability of achieving the outcome. The impact of force depends on both valence and expectancy. In his view, the three variables must exist for motivation to take place. Thus, when teachers do not think they will be successful at a task or do not value the results of becoming successful in their school or do not perceive a connection between their attitude and the school climate, it is more than likely that they will not apply themselves to the teaching activity. But when teachers are motivated to perform competently in the classroom, they will have more positive attitudes resulting to a positive result to the students. As noted by Banks (2001), school climate can also impact teacher identity. Banks reported that, â€Å"The school climate communicates†¦the school’s attitudes toward a range of issues and problems† (p. 24). School values not in agreement with those of its teachers and a lack of communication and perceptions of shared power and control on the part of administration (teachers and principals), may negatively influence teachers’ attitudes about the school itself and their chances for professional development (Hoy Woolfolk, 1993). When the climate of the school promotes a harmonious value system that is in agreement school wide, and when high levels of communication exist, teacher attitudes are more positive. Thus it can be seen, as Karpicke and Murphy (1996) have noted, a positive school climate has a great impact on success of both teachers and students alike, significantly encouraging achievement on the part of all. Lynn and Hassan (1999) examined pedagogical practices and beliefs of African American teachers and students at a private middle school in an affluent African American community. Their investigative study provided a portrait of the school and the students in an attempt to raise the critical consciousness of the students. From their observations and interviews, they found the role of alignment between the school mission and teacher beliefs and practices was high. Also, there were shared views about the principles taught regarding the development of moral, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of students. According to attribution theory, teachers’ perceptions of their school climate experiences, whether they be the actual objective of the experience or not, will generally influence their attitudes toward teaching (Weiner, 1985). In other words, teachers try to explain their failure or success by relating (attributing) this to certain school climate characteristics. Weiner (1986) also linked attribution theory to achievement motivation in specific steps. In Weiner’s view, the first step starts with an outcome realization. Deciding whether or not the outcome is negative or positive represents the second step of this sequential process. During the third step, specific information about the outcome is gathered. Next, the search for a cause takes place. This involves a determination as to whether the outcome is the effect of a specific strategy, conscious effort on the part of the student in question (i.e., the doer), or just plain luck. In this way, achievement motivation is explained. McClelland (1985) also linked attribution theory to achievement motivation, but carried the analysis as well as the theoretical orientation a step further. McClelland identified variables or component parts that comprised achievement motivation and subsequently acknowledged some common characteristics. These included (a) concern for personal achievement over concern for external rewards for success, (b) an ability to set obtainable goals, (c) the desire for performance related feedback as opposed to attitudinal feedback, and (d) consistent thinking about ways in which progress can be made which thus increases their achievement levels. Expectancy theory as related to achievement theory is yet another theoretical orientation of the present investigative research. It should be explained that the emotional feelings of achievement and satisfaction are actually determined by each individual. Teachers decide on the degree to which their learning experiences are satisfying by comparing them with their own expectations (Whaley Smyer, 1998). Aspects of learning that fall short of these expectations can cause discontent. Often teachers compare their perceptions of their school climate to their perceptions of what it should be. If a teacher’s subjective evaluation or perception of ratio of school climate inputs to output (e.g., positive attitudes and satisfaction) is lower than the comparison, the teacher is very likely to be dissatisfied. Expectations and comparisons of perceived worth, however, are subjective, and often biased or even erroneous. Private Schools As the achievement gap grows larger, African American parents have also lost faith in public school education, especially those who have enrolled their children in private schools (Sander, 1997). This is because of some factors such as racial discrimination of the white teachers and white students to black students, low interest of students to go to school for a reason that they develop low self-esteem in school because of diverse ethnicity, and many other more. Black and White parents alike believe that attending private schools would rid their children of such problems as bullying, skipping school, high dropout rates, and would give their children a better chance to higher academic achievement. According to National Center for Education Statistics (2008), there are 28, 384 private schools in the United States now with 6.1 million PK-12 students enrolled. Over 25 percent of the nation’s schools are private schools and about 11% of all students are enrolled in these private schools. On the other hand, the National Center for Education Statistics, which periodically test the grade 4, 8, and 12 students’ skills and knowledge using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), showed their analysis on the score of students from private and public schools. Based on their results, students in private schools consistently score well as compared to public students. There are many factors that could affect students’ achievement. Factors may include the type of school the student is enrolled, number of students in a classroom (class size), the efficiency of the teacher teaching the subject, the student’s classmates, and many other more including family and social factors that could hinders students’ achievement (Betts et. al, 2003). However, one of the most influential on students’ achievement is the way the teacher is teaching the subject and the values he/she taught to the students. With this reason, the teachers’ perception on their school climate will greatly influenced the way they will teach the students for their perceptions will determine factors that motivates them to teach such as job satisfaction or secured environment. Attribution Factors in Terms of School Climate A number of attribution factors influencing achievement motivation are identified in the literature and are examined in the research. These include (a) school climate in terms of lines of communication, (b) peer influence, and (c) perceptions of educational experiences. Each has an important influence and is considered to be an important attribution variable influencing achievement motivation. With respect to school climate, perceptions are related to their overall educational experience. Studies have shown that perceptions of school climate affect a wide variety of social and academic success factors, and vice versa. For example, the social environment and climate of the school and the actions within those environments influence students’ perceptions of their own effort and success in school (Kaufman, 2004). Moeller (2005) found that students’ perceptions of school climate and their own sense of responsible behavior are correlated. Studies also found that school climate can be effective in many ways. Researchers found school climate positively affect academic performance/achievement. They also found that it influences the behaviour of a student and the decision to remain in school (Monrad et al., 2008). Similarly, according to Kuperminc et al. (1997), a positive school climate showed association with fewer behavioural and emotional problems for students. Smerdon’s (2002) study, which collected data from a nationally representative sample of high school students, discovered that students who may need perceived school membership and open school climate the most and may benefit most from it perceived lower levels of membership than did their peers. The cultural environment in schools can also contribute to African American students’ poor academic performance. Teachers often comment on the fact that these items give them little chance to help African American students in meaningful ways: (a) they often can only maintain minimal order in the classroom, (b) school violence is on the increase, (c) with curriculum requirements teachers have little time to help student’s to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum, and (d) these students become discouraged and very often drop out of school (Hale-Benson, 1996). Voelkll (1995) examined the influence that participation and creating a warm school environment would have on academic achievement. The study included a nationwide sample of 13,121 eighth graders. The finding showed, â€Å"that there was a direct relationship between warmth in the classroom environment parent involvement in the school and students willingness to participate. It seems that participation in class has a distinct and crucial influence on the relationship between students’ perceptions and achievement† (p. 112). In addition, on the study conducted on school climate in urban environments by Haynes Comer (1993) showed that a positive school climate and is conscious of cultural differences can significantly improve academic success or performance among the urban students. Hoy and Woolfolk (1993), on the other hand, assessed teachers’ perceptions of the school climate as related to organizational health. Specifically, the researchers examined the relationships between two dimensions of teacher efficacy (general and personal teaching efficacy) and aspects of a healthy school climate as defined in terms of institutional integrity, principal influence, consideration, resource support, morale, and academic emphasis. The sample of the study consisted of 179 teachers from 37 elementary schools in New Jersey (Hoy Woolfolk, 1993). A modification of the Organizational Health Inventory was administered to the teachers to obtain the data for analysis. The researchers concluded from their data analysis that a healthy school climate (strong academic emphasis and a principal who was able to influence superiors on behalf of teachers) was favorable to the development of teachers’ beliefs that they could influence student learning, â€Å"Thus, teachers confidence that they can reach students was supported by organizational factors that help teachers manage and teach students† (p. 355). Studies have shown that a positive school climate is associated with increased job satisfaction for teachers (Taylor and Tashakkori, 1995; Ma MacMillan, 1999), level of work efficacy, and teacher autonomy. Teachers found satisfied in their jobs have more positive views or perception about school climate as compared to those teachers who were not satisfied (Bahamonde-Gunnell, 2000). While on the research conducted by Hirase (2000), the researcher found out that teachers working in a school with positive school climate have greater sense of work-efficacy. The research conducted by Erpelding (1999) found that there is a strong relationship between teacher autonomy and school climate. Same with the studies of Bempah et al. (1994) and Rosenholz (1989), when teachers feel that they have some power or autonomy and also involves into school-level decision-making, they are less likely to leave. Consequently, when teachers feel powerless and alienated, their efficiency to teach lowers (Ashton Webb, 1986). With an increased in job satisfaction, work-efficacy, and teacher autonomy, teachers will be able to educate the students with quality education, thus, increasing the students’ performance or success in learning and making the school successful too. To support this favourable development of teachers in positive school climate which can lead to successful school, studies also found that a having a positive school climate is related to indicators of school success such as standardized test scores (Monrad et al., 2008). Chapter Three: Methodology Previous chapters introduced the problem of the study, explained the purpose, provided the theoretical orientation, and reviewed the literature pertinent to the major variables. The purpose of this chapter is to detail the methodology that will be employed to collect and analyze the data. Thus, this chapter presents the design, procedures, and analysis plan for carrying out the study. Research Design The method for this study is based on a non-experimental design that focuses on the use of data collected using scores from the SLEQ in a selected population. Thus, the research approach of the study will be descriptive and will essentially represent a quantitative study. Research provides us with a variety of perspectives from which to see things and a way of empirically analyzing our findings (Rinaldo, 2005). It enables use to see from where we have come, provides us with a description of where we are now, and gives us some semblance of the direction in which we seem headed (Rinaldo). Quantitative and qualitative research is vital part of any investigation. Quantitative research is defined as the collection of numerical and statistical data (O’Neil, 2006). Quantitative research is frequently used to investigate research questions. This research often starts with the collection of statistics, based on data, observations, or surveys. One popular quantitative technique is the survey. Surveys can be administered by telephone, face to face, mail, or more recently by the Internet. Quantitative data is described by O’Neil as data which can be sorted, classified, measured in a strictly objective way. The relationship between these variables is expressed using effect statistics, such as correlations, relative frequencies, or differences between means (Hopkins, 2000). The researcher is a very valuable component throughout the collection of data. According to Glesne and Peshkin (1992), when conducting a quantitative study, the researcher is described as being detached, impartial, objective, and portrayal. The researcher’s purpose is to generalize, predict, and provide causal explanations. There are several approaches the research can use. Some approaches are subject to hypothesis, theories, manipulation and control, experimentation, deductive, and component analysis (Glesne Peshkin). According to Hopkins (2000), in a descriptive study, subjects are usually measured once and no attempt is made to change behavior or conditions; things are measured as they are. Hopkins stated that the aim in quantitative research is to distinguish the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable in a population. Selection of Participants Babbie (2003) indicated that it is appropriate for a researcher to conduct purposeful sampling because of the researcher’s knowledge of the population, its elements, and the nature of the research objectives. In addition, Babbie (2003) suggested that a researcher may want to study a small subset of a larger population in which members of the subset are easily identified. It is for this reason that three African American private schools in one urban area in the United States were selected for inclusion in the study. These will be named A, B, and C to ensure anonymity. Together, the study population total will be 67 teachers instructing preschool through twelfth grade. All will become the target population. Those who agree to participate in the study will become the sample. Their responses will provide data regarding their perception of the climate in their school, both actual and ideal. School A focuses on educating students ages 2-12 and strengthening basic educational components to prepare students to be competitive in a global society. The co-educational school enrolls 121 students in grades prekindergarten to fifth grade and employs 20 teachers. The student to teacher ratio is 9.3:1. All of the students are African American. School B is a Christian school. The co-educational school enrolls 220 students in grades prekindergarten to twelfth grade and employs 26 teachers. The student to teacher ratio is 7.8:1. Ninety-eight percent of the students are African American. School C has built its program around the concept currently known as African-Centered education, a holistic approach based upon the premise that children excel academically and intellectually when the curriculum, teaching methodology, and environment reflect the builders of yesterday and the ideas of the future. The co-educational school enrolls 215 students in grades prekindergarten to eighth grade and employs 21 teachers. The student to teacher ratio is 10:1. Ninety-eight percent of the students are African American. Instrumentation Data used in the proposed study to analyze the perceptions of teachers will be collected through administration of a test instrument, the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ), as developed by Fisher and Fraser (1990) and published in the Handbook of Tests and Measurement in Education and the Social Sciences (2000). The SLEQ is comprised of 56 items that measure teacher’s perceptions of the psychological environment of a school. As explained by the originators, the SLEQ consists of two answer forms–one that measures the actual environment as perceived by teachers and the second that measures the ideal or preferred school environment. Three different teacher samples assisted in the development of the test instrument (Fraser, 1989). Alpha coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.81 were provided as an estimate of the internal consistency of each of the eight subscales. These subscales include student support, affiliation, professional interest, staff freedom, participatory decision making, innovation, research adequacy, and work pressure. Each subscale consists of seven items which, when added together, provide a separate score. The scale development for the SLEQ was derived from the Work Environment Scale (Fraser, 1989). It is divided into three basic dimensions. These include relationship, personal development, and system maintenance and system change dimensions. As reported by Fisher and Fraser (1990), these broad dimensions were used for the development of the SLEQ. Non-participatory decision making (suggesting a closed school climate) is indicated, for example, by such items as â€Å"I have little say in the running of the school† and â€Å"It is very difficult to change anything in this school.† Resource inadequacy is indicated by responses to such items as, â€Å"Tape recorders and cassettes are seldom available when needed† and â€Å"The supply of equipment and resources is inadequate.† Assumptions It will be assumed that all study subjects will answer the survey questions honestly and to the best of their ability. It is also assumed that the students in the three schools where their teachers are being surveyed will be representative of the larger population of African American students attending an independent Black private school. Procedures Data will be collected by the researcher from the teachers at each school at a time selected by the administrators and researcher. The purpose of the study will be presented to the teachers and the questionnaires will be distributed. The researcher will remain until the teachers have completed the questionnaires and will collect the completed forms before leaving the meeting. Those teachers who agree to participate and return completed survey forms will become the sample. All respondents will be asked not to sign their name. In this way this researcher can assure anonymity. Those who wish a copy of the results when the study is completed will be asked to provide an e-mail address to be used for this purpose only. Data Processing and Analysis Data collected from survey questionnaires will be assessed to determine whether teachers’ perceptions of their actual school climate are similar to their perceived ideal school climate. The perceptions will be compared. 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