Andrew Jackson and the Tariff or Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Andrew Jackson and the Tariff or Bank - Essay Example Jackson’s problem with the Second Bank started when he noticed that the Bank controlled most of the country’s financial issues; loans, monetary notes, and deposits. According to Jackson, this was a threat to his re-election since it manipulated the voting patterns and the electoral process. He settled with the decision of seeing to it that the Bank is shut down. The Bank noticed the move Jackson was plotting against it making it to initiated counter moves. The Bank embarked on negotiating for an early four-year re-charter from the Congress which succeeded. However, Jackson and his team formulated a veto against the re-charter when it came time for its approving it. Jackson supported his decision by reiterating that the Bank’s policies were contrary to what the government promoted equality, fairness, and honesty. The veto went to Congress which, unfortunately, was unable to overturn it. After the polls, Jackson was again determined to destroy the Bank by withdrawi ng governments fund from it. That was done through the Treasury ordering all government deposits be put in state banks (Sauers & Weber 14). Jackson’s conflict with the Bank resulted in a nationwide panic when the Second Bank stopped giving out loans. Although Jackson was protecting his self-interest, it was at the cost of the country which suffered in turn. His fellow Democrats were terrified with his moves resulting in there demise from the party. All in all the moves against the Bank proved to be successful since it died in 1834 and Jackson  triumphed.

Microbiology Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Microbiology Assessment - Assignment Example Similarly, S. aureus is also involved in many foodborne illnesses. It is highly salt tolerant and may survive in cheeses and foods with high salt content. Salmonella is notorious for its pathogenic properties in relation to food. It can survive strongly in desiccated conditions and is present in a number of foods like eggs, meat, milk and vegetables. Therefore, it is important to study the internal and external conditions of food so that the food infections may be controlled and quality of food be maintained. The growth and metabolic behavior of food-borne pathogens is highly dependent upon intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Therefore, it is mandatory to examine the environmental conditions for the control and elimination of pathogen-associated risks in food. The microbiological safety and food quality is largely dependent upon the detailed analysis of such factors. In view of Ross and Mckeen (1994, p. 241-264), the response of microorganisms to external and internal environmental factors forms the basis of predictive microbiology. In this study, three food-borne pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, S. aureus and Salmonella are examined in relation to their survival in respective environmental conditions so that food safety and microbiological quality of food maybe ensured. Acid incorporation into foods as a mechanism of lowering the pH is an essential food preservation method. Low pH prevents the growth of spoilage organisms. Moreover, reduction in water activity is employed as a food preservation method. Therefore, we can say that low aW and decreased pH, are important elements involved in stability of foods having longer shelf life. However, the safety of current food techniques has been challenged by the release of E. coli O157:H7 infections from foods that were thought to be too acid rich that no enteric pathogen could have been survived. This has also changed the general perception that the conditions under which

The nyquist theorem is one of the deciding factor in data communication.

The nyquist theorem is one of the deciding factor in data communication. PART A Q1. The Nyquist theorem is one of the deciding factor in data communication. The fibre optics as well as the copper wires are communication mediums. Do you think the theorem is valid for the fiber optics or for the copper wires. Ans. Nyquist theorem is valid for both fibre optics and copper wires this is because the Niquist theorem is purely depend upon the mathematic function and has not any concern with the transmission media for communication. According to Henry Nyquist, a perfect channel has a finite transmission capacity. He derived an equation expressing the maximum data rate for a finite bandwidth noiseless channel. Nyquist said that if an arbitrary signal has been run through a low-pass filter of bandwidth B, the filtered signal can be completely reconstructed by making only 2Bsamples per second. Sampling the line faster than 2B times per second is pointless because the higher frequency components that such sampling could recover have already been filtered out. If the signal consists of L discrete levels, Nyquists theorem states: Maximum bit rate =2* Bandwidth log2 L. For noisy channel: Capacity = bandwidth * log2 (1+SNR), where SNR is signal to noise ratio. Q2. Noise affects all the signals which are there in air. There are some communicating modulation techniques. Noise affects which of the modulation technique the most. Ans. Noise is defined as the disturbance in the signal. When data is send over the network in the form of signal, due the various natural or unnatural circumstances produce disturbance in the signals which is called noise. The noise is various kinds such as thermal noise, crosstalk, and impulse noise. Noise affects all the signals but there are some modulation techniques which are used to reduce the noise. These techniques are: Amplitude modulation Frequency modulation Phase modulation The amplitude modulation is affected most by the noise this is because there is the change in only amplitude and the amplitude is affected easily by the noise. Q3. An analog signal carries 4 bits in each signal element. If 10,000 signal elements are sent per sec, find the Baud Rate and Bit Rate? Ans. Given signal carries r =4 Signal element s=10000 Let N be the bit rate We know that S = N*(1/r) à ° N= S*r à ° N= 10000* 4 à ° N=40000 bps Bit rate is equals to 40000bps Q4. What are the reasons for the imperfection caused in transmission media? How the perfection can be measured? Ans. There are certain reasons for the imperfection caused by the transmission media. These reasons are describe below: Attenuation: All the transmission media has some sort of loss of signal i.e. called attenuation which make then imperfect. During the transmission of the signal from one place to another the loss or energy is occurred which reduce the overall strength of the signals which is called attenuation. For this is reason amplifier is used in various place in the transmission. Noise: Noise is the basically the disturbance which is produced in the signal when the signal send over the transmission media then the natural and un natural climate affect the signal such as pollution etc.   So that some kind of distortion is occur in the signal. Every transmission media is affected with the noise which makes the signal imperfect. Distortion: Distortion means that the change in the signal. Due to some circumstance there must be change in the signal. The signal may deviate from actual one this is called distortion. The perfection can be measure in the form the above three. A transmission media which has less attenuation, less noise and less distortion that transmission media is called perfect. Q5. There are numerous multiplexing techniques available. What in your opinion is the most appropriate multiplexing technique for the fiber optics as well as copper wires? Ans. Multiplexing is the process of converting n signal to the one. There are various technique but two basic technique are FDM(Frequency Division multiplexing) TDM(Time Division multiplexing)   wavelength Division multiplexing In fiber optics multiplexing the best technique used is called WDM Wavelength division multiplexing. The basic principle of WDM on fibers is that n fibers come together at an optical chamber, each with its energy present at a different wavelength. The four beams are combined onto a single shared fiber for transmission to a distant destination. At the far end, the beam is spilt up over as may fibers as there were on the input side. Each output fiber contains a short special- constructed core that filters out all but one wavelength. The resulting signals can be routed to their destination or recombined in different ways for additional multiplexed transport. In the case of the copper wire Frequency division multiplexing technique is used. First the voice channels are raised in frequency, each by a different amount. Then they can be combined because no two channels now occupy the same portion of the spectrum. Notice that even though there are gaps (guard bands) between the channels, there is some overlap between adjacent channels because the filters do not have sharp edges. But nowadays there is use of the Time division multiplexing is used which is particularly deal with the digital signal. In this technique the conversion must be take place from analog to digital signals.   Q6. While transferring the data from the transmission medium there are various aspects of your data getting tempered by other users? Whats your opinion is the most secure and insecure transmission medium. Justify your answer with an example. Ans. Transmission media is the aspect which is caused for tempering of data by the other. All transmission media has this problem. When we use the copper wire it can be taped by another one. One of the improve version is the optical fibre which An improved media is fiber optic cabling, this media does not emanate any signals since it uses light sources to transmit the signals from node to node. It has proved to be the most secure media available for use on LANs today and will continue to be the most secure media until the black hats discover a way to tap it undetected. The last medium reviewed is the wireless media which uses the airways as their path from node to node. The only way to guarantee secure transmissions is to use a layered approach, or combination of techniques to try to encrypt the data. The best way currently to encrypt data over LANs is to use the IPSec protocol with any of the discussed media. IPSec security is compatible with all types of media so it is the one thin g in common with allmedia that will almost guarantee the security of the pathways between nodes. PART B Q1.Assume a stream is made of ten 0s .Encode this stream , using following encoding schemes .How many can you find for each scheme ? Unipolar NRZ-L NRZ-I RZ Manchester Differential Manchester Ans. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unipolar: it can be drawn as: NRZ-L:   It can be drawn as: NRZ-I: it can be drawn as: RZ: it can be drawn as: Manchester: it can be drawn as: Differential Manchester: it can be drawn as: Q2. Two channels ,one with bit rate of 150kbps and another with a bit rate of 140kbps,are to be multiplexed using pulse stuffing TDM with no synchronization bits.Answere the following: What is the size of frame in bits What is the frame rate ? What is the duration of a frame? What is the data rate? Ans. Given bit rate of 1st channel=150 kbps Given bit rate of 2nd channel=140kbps Ans1. We allocate 3 slot for first and 3 slot for 2nd and we each size of frame is six bit. Ans2. Q3. Contrast   compare sampling rate received signal? Ans. In the conversion of the analog to digital, pulse code modulation is used. Sampling is the first stage of the PCM. The analog signal is sampled every Ts second. Where Ts is the sample interval or period. The inverse of sampling interval is called the sample rate or sampling frequency and denote fs where fs = 1/Ts. To produce the anolog signal one necessary condition is that the sampling rate be at least twice the highest frequency in the original signal. This is according to the Nyquist theorem. e.g. Wo well-known examples where sampled sound is used are the telephone and audio compact discs. Pulse code modulation, as used within the telephone system, uses 8-bit samples made 8000 times per second. In North America and Japan, 7 bits are for data and 1 is for control; in Europe all 8 bits are for data. This system gives a data rate of 56,000 bps or 64,000 bps. With only 8000 samples/sec, frequencies above 4 kHz are lost. Received signal strength is a measure of the power present in a received radio signal. RSSI is generic radio receiver technology metric which is usually invisible to the user of device containing the receiver but is directly known to users of wireless networking Q4. Synchronization is the problem in data communication. Explain? Ans. Synchronization technologies are designed to synchronize a single set of data between two or more devices, automatically copying changes back and forth. For example, a users contact list on one mobile device can be synchronized with other mobile devices or computers. Data synchronization can be local synchronization where the device and computer are side-by-side and data is transferred or remote synchronization when a user is mobile and the data is synchronized over a mobile network. In synchronous communications receiver, this specification discloses a decoder for generating a clock signal to synchronize the receiver with the information data rate of the received signal. The implementation of a decoder apparatus as a periodic finite state machine allows a clock signal to be extracted from the energy or transitions of the encoded signal. Such a decoder can define clock information over a large range of data rates. A band pass filter tuned to the characteristic frequency being re ceived can be coupled to the input of the decoder to limit the synchronization range to that desired by the receiver. Q5.Can bit rate be less than the pulse rate? Why or why not? Ans. Yes it is possible. Pulse rate is defined as the number of signals element send per second and the bit rate is defined as the number of data element which may be called bits in one second. Data communication needs to increase the data rate and decrease the pulse rate. So that the speed of transmission may be increased and decrease of bandwidth. But in some of the case it may be possible to the bit rate is less than pulse rate. This is done when the single pulse can carry more bits. When this happen the congestion Q6. A signal is sampled. Each sample represents one of four levels. How many bits are needed to represent each sample? If sampling rate is 8000 samples per second, what is the bit rate Ans. Given Sampling rate = 8000 We know that   bit rate   =1/Sample rate So bit rate =1/8000 =0.000125 bps

Physiologic Effects of Insulin :: essays research papers

Stand on a streetcorner and ask people if they know what insulin is, and many will reply, "Doesn't it have something to do with blood sugar?" Indeed, that is correct, but such a response is a bit like saying "Mozart? Wasn't he some kind of a musician?" Insulin is a key player in the control of intermediary metabolism. It has profound effects on both carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and significant influences on protein and mineral metabolism. Consequently, derangements in insulin signalling have widespread and devastating effects on many organs and tissues. The Insulin Receptor and Mechanism of Action Like the receptors for other protein hormones, the receptor for insulin is embedded in the plasma membrane. The insulin receptor is composed of two alpha subunits and two beta subunits linked by disulfide bonds. The alpha chains are entirely extracellular and house insulin binding domains, while the linked beta chains penetrate through the plasma membrane. The insulin receptor is a tyrosine kinase. In other words, it functions as an enzyme that transfers phosphate groups from ATP to tyrosine residues on intracellular target proteins. Binding of insulin to the alpha subunits causes the beta subunits to phosphorylate themselves (autophosphorylation), thus activating the catalytic activity of the receptor. The activated receptor then phosphorylates a number of intracellular proteins, which in turn alters their activity, thereby generating a biological response. Several intracellular proteins have been identified as phosphorylation substrates for the insulin receptor, the best-studied of which is insulin receptor substrate 1 or IRS-1. When IRS-1 is activated by phosphorylation, a lot of things happen. Among other things, IRS-1 serves as a type of docking center for recruitment and activation of other enzymes that ultimately mediate insulin's effects. A more detailed look at these processes is presented in the section on Insulin Signal Transduction. Insulin and Carbohydrate Metabolism Glucose is liberated from dietary carbohydrate such as starch or sucrose by hydrolysis within the small intestine, and is then absorbed into the blood. Elevated concentrations of glucose in blood stimulate release of insulin, and insulin acts on cells thoughout the body to stimulate uptake, utilization and storage of glucose. The effects of insulin on glucose metabolism vary depending on the target tissue. Two important effects are: Insulin facilitates entry of glucose into muscle, adipose and several other tissues. The only mechanism by which cells can take up glucose is by facilitated diffusion through a family of hexose transporters. In many tissues - muscle being a prime example - the major transporter used for uptake of glucose (called GLUT4) is made available in the plasma membrane through the action of insulin.

A Balanced Review of Strengths and Weaknesses of Learning

Review of Learning in the Panic Zone: Strategies for Managing Learner Anxiety Introduction It is generally agreed that research can be divided from different perspectives, such as being grouped into empirical and philosophical research according to whether collecting data or not (Allison, 2012). So does â€Å"social research†, which features â€Å"focusing on people in a social setting† (Robson, 2011, p. 5) and aims at achieving research purposes of â€Å"action, change and emancipation† (Robson, 2011, p. 39).In terms of research paradigms, â€Å"social research† can be divided into â€Å"quantitative research† and â€Å"qualitative research†, usually the former focusing on collecting numerical data and the latter focusing on collecting data of words (Robson, 2011, p. 5). Thus being aware of different theoretical approaches, researchers become reflexive, creative, and capable of reinvention and evolution (Robson, 2011, p. 41). Also according to Robson, the kind of research â€Å"refers to applied research projects which are typically small in scale and modest in scope†, is termed as â€Å"real world research† (Robson, 2011, p. 3).It usually solves â€Å"problems and issues of direct relevance to people’s lives† (Robson, 2011, p. 4). And the research under review, which applies strategies into real programs (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 420), seems to be this kind of research. In this assignment, I am going to evaluate the article under review from the aspects of strengths and weaknesses, and relate the analysis to the broader issues of research. Strengths Firstly, to some extent, this article is formally logical and well-organized by using subheadings and questions like â€Å"How do trainers support learners who undertake challenging tasks? (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 427). Realizing the â€Å"GAP† (Shon, 2012, p. 3) in literature that few attention has been paid to positive effec t of stress in real cases (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 420), the researchers formed their research questions, presented their â€Å"RAT† (Shon, 2012, p. 3) and then came the research design and research method, â€Å"multi-strategy design† (Robson, 2011, p. 6) and â€Å"triangulation† (Cohen, 2007, p. 141) respectively. Seen from the perspective of the research design, it is closely related to previous literature and theory, and tries to answer research questions by adopting certain research methods.Finally, with the conclusion indicating that the theoretical strategies are in accordance with the comfort-stretch-panic model in previous literature and recommending further studies (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 435). Secondly, as a social research, it is of great value to have a â€Å"scientific attitude†: â€Å"systematically, sceptically and ethically† (Robson, 2011, p. 15). Specifically, by saying â€Å"systematically†, I mean this resear ch is well prepared and arranged by two experienced trainer and consultant, with â€Å"over six years’ experience of providing consultancy in training† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 38) and â€Å"more than 30 years’ experience in education and training† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 420) separately. So they both have a clear understanding of what, how and why they are doing in the research. They made a detailed exposition of literature, including â€Å"theoretical solutions to debilitating learner anxiety† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 421) and â€Å"practical measures that a trainer can take to prepare learners for challenging tasks† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 427) and designed the questionnaires in research utilizing the strategies in literature.Such a coherent process of research design is sufficient for the first aspect of â€Å"scientific attitude†. And by saying â€Å"sceptically†, I mean the researchers have recog nized its limitations of using a small sample of 30 potential participants and the absence of trainees’ feedback and thus recommended future work of considering the â€Å"individual personal differences and how these impact differential responses to stressful situations† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 435), thus â€Å"subjecting ideas to possible disconfirmation† (Robson, 2011, p. 5). And finally, â€Å"ethically† is represented during the questionnaires, which â€Å"were sent only to those who indicated availability to help with the research† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 428). The third part of advantages focuses on research method. Combining strategies of survey and interview, it is obvious that this research mainly conducts qualitative research method. However, it can also be calledâ€Å"triangulation† because of the close connection among literature, survey and interviews.According to Cohen, â€Å"triangulation† may be defined a s â€Å"the use of two or more methods of data collection in the study of some aspect of human behavior† (Cohen, 2007, p. 141). It is often used to mean â€Å"bringing different kinds of evidence to bear on a problem† (Esterberg, 2002, p. 176). Here in the article under review, by saying â€Å"triangulation†, the researchers adopted the approach of triangulating literature, survey and interview. According to different literatures, there are many types of triangulation and each has its own characteristics, of which â€Å"theoretical triangulation† (Cohen, 2007, p. 42) and â€Å"methodology triangulation† (Cohen, 2007, p. 142) are reflected in this research. According to Cohen, the former â€Å"draws upon alternative or competing theories in preference to utilizing one viewpoint only† and the other â€Å"uses either the same method on different occasions, or different methods on the same object of study† (Cohen, 2007, p. 142). Sometimes different theories and results from conducting different methods lead to conflict conclusions, it does not mean the research is wrong, it may indicates the necessary of further study and research in wider field.So by adopting different types of triangulation, researchers feel more confident of their findings and enhance validity (Cohen, 2007, p. 141). Similar with triangulation, there are also variable kinds of validity. The type I will focus on is â€Å"concurrent validity† because it is the type enhanced in the article I am evaluating. How does the triangulation ensuring â€Å"concurrent validity† (Cohen, 2007, p. 140) is the main concern of this part. â€Å"Concurrent validity† is a variation of â€Å"criterion-related validity† (Cohen, 2007, p. 40), also called â€Å"criterion validity† by Perri and Bellamy, implying â€Å"whether the measures are in line with other measures of the same content that are generally accepted as valid in the wide r research community† (Perri 6& Bellamy, 2012, p. 92). â€Å"To demonstrate this form of validity the data gathered from using one instrument must correlate highly with data gathered from using another instrument† (Cohen, 2007, p. 140). To be specific, in this article under review, the data is collected both from survey and interview with the guidance of a large amount of literature, applying â€Å"theoretical riangulation† and â€Å"methodology triangulation†, thus the concurrent validity is relatively ensured. As Lancy indicates, â€Å"using multiple data sources also allows one to fill in gaps that would occur if we relied on only one source† (Lancy, 1993, p. 20). Last but not the least, the research draws on the advantages of its research designs. According to Robson, social research design can be separated into â€Å"fixed design† and â€Å"flexible design† (Robson, 2011, p. 5). And the key to distinguish these two designs is whet her the procedure and focus of research is fixed or not (Robson, 2011, p. ). However, it should be noticed that there overlaps between them. For example, one specific fixed-designed research could be flexible influenced by qualitative data. So for those using both qualitative and quantitative data, there come â€Å"multi-strategy designs† (Robson, 2011, p. 6). Here by saying â€Å"multi-strategy†, which has â€Å"substantial collection of both qualitative and quantitative data in different phases or aspects of the same project† (Robson, 2011, p. 6), I do not mean that it contradicts the qualitative research method.It means a research design of combining qualitative and quantitative elements when conducting the qualitative research method. In a narrow sense, the method used in this article should not be called as â€Å"multi-strategy† because the qualitative elements account for a larger proportion. However, the researchers take advantages of using both el ements. For example, though â€Å"there is tendency for people to over-choose the middle option† (Thomas, 2011, p. 178), the quantitative approach of â€Å"five-point Likert scale† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 29) does help the researchers from the trouble of getting specific data from the abstract description. And for the analysis, evaluation and interpretation of data and sample, this paper uses â€Å"descriptive statistics (methods used to summarize or describe our observations)† (Rowntree, 2000, p. 19) to summarize the sample of research and indicates that future study is needed for â€Å"inferential statistics†, which â€Å"is concerned with generalizing from a sample, to make estimates and inferences about a wider population† (Rowntree, 2000, p. 1). By using â€Å"opportunistic purposive sampling†, the researchers regarded respondents as representatives of â€Å"a diverse group of trainers from across the UK with male and female tra iners aged between 26-55 years† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 428), one might hold the opinion that using â€Å"mechanical methods† (Rowntree, 2000, p. 24) of selecting randomly is a safe way to make a unbiased representative sample, however, â€Å"it is conceivable that you could use random methods and still end up with a biased sample† (Rowntree, 2000, p. 25).So considering the rich experience of the researchers, the â€Å"opportunistic purposive sampling† is a better choice to avoid the less representativeness of random sampling. Weaknesses However, there are some reservations. Firstly, when analyzing the effectiveness of different strategies, it seems that the researchers have not thought about â€Å"control variable†. According to David and Sutton, â€Å"control variable† means â€Å"a variable that influences the relationship between the independent and dependent variables† (David & Sutton, 2011, p. 11). Though it is a term in m athematical notation, I would suggest using it and adopting control groups in each training program. Otherwise the variables such as the difference of trainees, trainers and training environment among different programs might influence the validity of data. Maybe this limitation is hard for researchers to avoid because of the fact that the training is not conducted by the researchers themselves. The data are indirectly collected as comments/feedbacks from different trainers.Thus to some extent, it is really hard to make sure the validity of data in this research since there are so many variables. Moreover, even after adopting control groups and comparing data from several groups in one particular training program, the validity of data is easily to be influenced by uncontrollable variables. Taking interviews for example, uncontrollable variables could be â€Å"characteristics of the interviewers†, â€Å"interactions of interviewer/respondent characteristics† and privacy concerns of the respondents (Robson, 2011, p. 241).Although the researchers have tried to do the best by adopting â€Å"semi-structured interview† (Thomas, 2011, p. 164), indicating that â€Å"11 respondents were interviewed in a ‘guided’ unstructured format in which participants were allowed a considerable degree of latitude to express their opinions within the interview framework† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 429), they have not excluded the influence of the â€Å"framework†. So it is rather difficult for the researchers to ensure the validity of data and to precisely achieve the research purpose.And another influence about the validity the researchers might not consider well is the representativeness of the sample. Considering that the research mainly focus on â€Å"questionnaire-based surveys† (â€Å"Internet surveys† and â€Å"interview surveys† specifically) (Robson, 2011, p. 240), which ignores â€Å"the characteristi cs of non-respondents† (Robson, 2011, p. 240), it is doubtable to say that â€Å"the sample of respondents is representative† (Robson, 2011, p. 240).Maybe it is more persuasive to say that â€Å"our statistical methodology enables us to collect samples that are likely to be as representative as possible† (Rowntree, 2000, p. 23) rather than â€Å"the respondents represented a diverse group of trainers from across the UK with male and female trainers aged between 26-55 years† (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011, p. 428). Conclusion To sum up, this assignment evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the article under review in the framework of different methodology and methods.Within the article, by comparing the positive aspects and problematic areas, it is relatively persuasive for the authors to claim their findings. And the contributions they made by putting the theories into practice are highly appreciated since it is a real world research. References: 1. Alliso n, P. (2012). The source of knowledge: Course introduction [Vedio]. United Kingdom: The University of Edinburgh. 2. Cohen, L. , Manion, L. , & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education. (6th ed. ). London & New York: Routledge. 3.David, M. , & Sutton, C. D. (2011). Social research: An Introduction. (2nd ed. ). New Delhi: SAGE. 4. Esterberg, K. G. (2002). Qualitative methods in social research. United States: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 5. Lancy, D. F. (1993). Qualitative research in education: An introduction to the major tradition. New York: Longman. 6. Palethorpe, R. , & Wilson, J. P. (2011). Learning in the panic zone: Strategies for managing learner anxiety. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(5), 420-438. 7. Perri 6, & Bellamy, C. (2012).Principles of methodology: Research design in social science. Croydon: SAGE. 8. Robson, C. (2011). Real world research. (3rd ed. ). Cornwall: John Wiley&Sons Ltd. 9. Rowntree, D. (2000). Statistics without tears: An introdu ction for non-mathematicians. London: Penguin Group. 10. Shon, P. C. H. (2012). How to read journal articles in the social sciences. London: SAGE. 11. Thomas, G. (2011). How to do your research project. London: SAGE. Self Assessment document When you submit your assignment for this course you also need to include a self assessment document.This is a student version of the mark sheet and must include at least one sentence under each of the headings. Do not suggest a grade for your assignment! POSTGRADUATE ASSIGNMENT SELF ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT Course title: The sources of knowledge Year: 2012 Matriculation number: s1262299 1. Knowledge and Understanding of Concepts [Has the student understood the methodological concepts used (or not) by the authors in the papers? ] Yes, I understand the methodological concepts used by the authors in the paper under review by evaluating it from different perspectives in a balanced view. . Knowledge and Use of the Literature [Has the student shown evidenc e of reading core and supplementary texts? ] Yes, I have shown evidence of reading core and supplementary texts by citing their opinion. 3. Critical Reflection on Theory and Practice [Has the student explained and critically evaluated the pros and cons of the methodology (theory) and methods (practice) the papers analysed? ] Yes, I have explained and evaluated the pros and cons of the methodology and methods the paper analysed in a balanced view.And I have tried to judge on the basis of what the authors set out to achieve and consider the space they have, thus not being too critical. 4. Constructing Academic Discourse [Has the student structured the assignment effectively, adopted an appropriately academic style and tone? Spelling? Vocabulary? Grammar? Format? Fluency? ] Yes, I have structured my assignment effectively and adopted an appropriately academic style and tone. I have checked it to make sure of the correctness of the spelling, vocabulary, grammar, format and fluency. All of the above four areas receive equal weighting

Culturally Diverse Students Essay

Today our classrooms, just like families, are becoming more unique and blended. Teachers are tasked with effectively teaching students with disabilities and diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In order for educators to meet the needs of their students, key strategies must be implemented that will positively affect their students academically and behaviorally. This paper reflects on the experience of one of these families and identifies key strategies to maximize the potential of cultural and linguistically exceptional students. Background I was lucky enough to interview a family that I have worked with over the years as a nanny. For the purposes of this paper and the anonymity of the family I am using the names Lucy and Chris (to refer to the mother I interviewed and her husband) and James (to refer to the exceptional child). Because I have been working in this family’s home for a number of years I am able to give an accurate overview of their socioeconomic status. Lucy and Chris self-identify as African-American and live in San Pedro, CA where the population is 76,415 with 59% identifying as Caucasian and 8% identifying as African American. The town can be classified as predominately middle class as the median household income is $62,422 (City Data, 2011). Lucy completed some college and works full-time as a manager of a credit union. She lives in a three-bedroom house with her oldest son, her younger son, James, who is now 15, and her husband. James is a lively young man with autism who is on the moderate/severe side of the spectrum. He is an exceptional swimmer and participates in his high school general P. E. program. He struggles with social interactions and has very little expressive language. He has learned to use a GO TALK to communicate functionally. James is very sensitive to his environment and sometimes becomes overwhelmed by loud noises and crowded spaces. Autism affects 1:88 children and the prevalence is on the rise. It is the fastest growing developmental disability in the U. S. It is five times more likely for boys to have autism than girls. It is characterized by language delays, social delays, and repetitive patterns of behavior (Facts About ASD, 2012). Lucy knows that I am in the process of getting my special education credential and that my own family member has DS-ASD. When she was interviewing me for the nanny position years ago she was nervous and unsure about letting anybody come into her home. After I told her about my background and how much I have learned from my brother she began to open up and become more comfortable with me. She has since then told me how thankful she is for me and how nice it is to have someone that understands her son. Discovering and Reacting to Disability It all started in preschool school. The teacher kept telling Lucy, â€Å"I don’t think he can hear. † And Lucy kept saying, â€Å"He can hear just fine! † The teacher kept saying the same thing so finally she took him to the doctor. This experience supports the research on professionals in early education or elementary school programs being the parent’s initial source of information about their child’s special needs (Turnball et. Al, 2011, p. 77). Denial was the first phase in the process of Lucy learning to accept her son’s autism. Lucy also said other members of her family were in denial, including her husband and father. Her father told them they â€Å"were not disciplining him enough† on multiple occasions. She did not talk about any anger, bargaining, or depression phases before finding acceptance (The Grieving Process ppt, 2013). Lucy has immense inner strength that I truly admire. After a doctor diagnosed James, Lucy and Chris told their family and her mother pushed her to get extra support. Lucy tells me she probably wouldn’t have ever done gone for it if it weren’t for her mother because they have always worked for everything they had and lively comfortably and didn’t want to ask for help. A person’s culture may affect treatment decisions and is often associated with certain socioeconomic or geographical constraints related to accessing care† (Mandell & Novak, 2005, p. 113). Reaching out for support was not something the family wanted to do and because they lived in San Pedro, accessing the right services often required traveling long distances. Educators must recognize the relationship between status and our society’s symbols of success (holding a job, having a place to live, and being independent). As an educated service provider, I am always caught off guard by a family’s hesitation about pursuing services (even my own family never sought out extra help). My professional experience has ingrained in me the importance of early intervention. Many â€Å"African-American families seek help from family, friends and church groups before they will get professional help for their child (Dyches et al. , 2004)† (Litten, 2008, p. 5). Lucy’s perspective and her mother’s reaction had both been influenced by her experience with her sister, who was developmentally delayed as well. She said her mother wished she had gone and gotten services for her. But when they were growing up, Lucy said, â€Å"It wasn’t something you did. Our family was poor. We did whatever we did to survive and both of my parents worked. † Educators need to keep the roles of culture, poverty, and historical perspectives in mind as we work with these families because they have an impact on the attitudes and behaviors of families with exceptional children. In Lucy’s family growing up, there was a lack of awareness about the availability of services. As educators, we must consider the lack of awareness and the socioeconomic factors that prevent certain families from taking advantage of the services that they are entitled to. We can’t expect them to advocate if they aren’t aware of what is available. We must take on this role. Teacher strategy #1: Fairness is When a Child Gets What He/She Needs Over the years, Lucy and James struggled with the school’s changing James’ placements. It wasn’t until she came to the school to observe him and found him sitting in a corner of the classroom, on a couch, rocking back and forth for hours with no attention or demands placed on him that she decided to pull him out of the district completely. During their search for a new junior high school they came across programs that were solely focused on vocational skills. Lucy and Chris felt their son had more important academic skills to obtain before teachers started teaching him how to get a job. They didn’t expect him to be a scholar, but they did want him to have access to general reading, writing, and math curriculum. Education, rather than life skills, was more of a priority for them. They added an inclusion goal in his next IEP. James would participate in general P. E. and math or computer class. According to Kathryn Pitten, â€Å"Cultural mores may determine which treatment goals families will accept and which goals they will decide not to work towards. Also, parenting style will determine which goals are viewed as important. † (Pitten, 2008, p. 4). Teachers must be responsible for developing a classroom program that fosters the understanding and respect for individual differences and discusses what fairness means to each student. Teacher strategy #2: Develop a Positive Collaboration Between Parents and Teachers Lucy admitted that she did not take an aggressive approach to getting James all of the supports he needed. Most of the things she learned she â€Å"stumbled upon† through conversations with other parents, teachers, and paraprofessionals (all of which have worked out in their favor). She believes she has done the best she can for her son. Once again, awareness was lacking and because of that this family did not get the support they needed until much later on. This is consistent with literature addressing service accessibility in that ethnic minorities typically access services at a much lower rate than their Caucasian counterparts (Balcazar, Keys, & Balcazar, 2001). Learning how the school system could work for her son was a significant stressor for her. If educators embraced the full reality of the student’s and family’s life and committed to supporting emotional and academic needs (Turnball et. Al, 2011, p. 147) this could help to bridge the gap between home and school. Letting parents know that you believe in their child is sometimes all it takes to give your family’s hope. Teacher strategy #3: Implement Culturally Responsive Teaching Ford (2012) points out that African Americans are the only involuntary minority group. African Americans live in a society where race affects every aspect of their lives. â€Å"The overrepresentation of Black students in special education has been dissected, discussed, and debated† (Ford, 2012). We need to understand the negative effects racism has on our children and be sensitive to the history of previous schooling of exceptional students. Some Moderate/Severe students, like James, are moved from program to program (several times a year). Teachers need to understand that not all children in their classroom have learned the same things and they can’t be taught in the same environment at the same time. We need to differentiate and individualize our instruction by providing a wide range of materials and utilizing several learning strategies. School strategy # 4: Ensure Each Student Can Identify With Someone One of the best things to happen to James in his freshman year of high school was joining the â€Å"Big Brothers and Sisters† program in his local community. Having a role model; someone to look up to, relate with, and rely on has made such a meaningful impact on his life. Lucy reflected on the first time James was invited to watch the local football team; â€Å"His face lit up. He jumped up and down and couldn’t contain his excitement. † Teachers need to facilitate healthy inclusive relationships school-wide. It is our job to spread awareness about disability and help all students to become sensitive to the beauty of differences. Conclusion James’ family hopes that one day he will be able to live in a supported living community with roommates but like many families with exceptional members, the future is uncertain. Teachers need to take an active role in the transition planning process and remember that culturally diverse families do not have the same values as those of the dominant culture. (Turnball et. Al, 2011, p. 89). These families deserve our utmost respect and attention. Showing parents that you are interested in their story can lead to unexpected successes. In order to truly do our jobs we must make our professional story a part of their family story.