U.S. vs. U.N Security Council essays

U.S. vs. U.N Security Council essays The relationship between the United States and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been very unstable. With most of the international conflicts that occurred during and after the Cold War, the United States has constantly found itself on the defensive with the U.N. and other nations. Where American idealism was the motivating force behind the creation of the United Nations during the waning days of World War II, it was American values that shaped the world organization. However, with the mist of the Cold War arising, the United Nations mirrored the increasing antagonistic competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. United States foreign policy revolved around the prevention of communism and Soviet expansion while the foreign policy goals of the United Nations began to stray away from U.S. policies. With the beginning of the decolonization process emerging, hostile Third World coalitions began to form (which the Soviets allied with) with strong anger towards both European powers and the United States. As a result, U.S. attitude toward the United Nations was filled with wariness and hostility, thus, the U.S. started to become less multilateral and more unilateral in making foreign policy decisions. Although the United States retreated back towards U.N. policies at the end of the Cold War (Reagan Administration), the U.S. has once again has determined its decision making on global security without the support of the United Nations. Despite the fact that the mere creation of the U.N. was to encourage and ensure international security and peace, key questions must be considered- whether or not UNSC approval is necessary for a major power to enter into a conflict or participate in humanitarian intervention. In addition, is the Security Council able to determine what conflicts are just or ethical? In order to answer these important questions, the relationship bet ...

The Redesigned SAT Scoring System

The Redesigned SAT Scoring System    In March of 2016, the College Board administered the first Redesigned SAT test to students across the country. This new Redesigned SAT test looks quite different from the old exam! One of the major changes is the SAT scoring system. On the old  SAT exam, you received scores for Critical Reading, Math and Writing, but no subscores, area scores or specific content scores.. The Redesigned SAT Scoring system offers those scores and much more.   Confused about any of the information you see below? Ill bet! Its tough to decipher the scores if you don’t understand the Redesigned tests format. Check out the Old SAT vs. Redesigned SAT chart for an easy explanation of each tests design.  Want to know even more about the redesign? Check out  Redesigned SAT 101  for  all  the facts.   Redesigned Score Changes When taking the exam, there are a couple of things that will impact your score. First, multiple choice questions no longer have five answer choices; instead, there are four. Second, incorrect answers are no longer penalized  ¼ point. Instead, correct answers earn 1 point and incorrect answers earn 0 points. The 18 Redesigned SAT Scores On Your Report Here are the different types of scores youll receive when you get your score report. Please keep in mind that the test scores, subscores, and cross-test scores do not add up to equal the composite or area scores. They are simply reported to provide additional analysis of your skills. And yes, there are a lot of them! 2 Area Scores You can earn a 200 – 800 in each areaEvidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math will each garner a score between 200 – 800, similar to the old SAT scoring system. 1 Composite Score You can earn a 400 – 1600The composite score will be the sum of the 2 area scores for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (not including the Essay) and Math. 3 Test Scores You can earn a 10 – 40 in each areaThe Reading Test, The Writing and Language Test, and the Math Test will each receive a separate score between 10 – 40. 3 Essay Scores You can earn a 2 – 8 in each areaThe Essay will receive three scores in 3 areas. 2 Cross-Test Scores You can earn a 10 – 40 in each areaSince texts and graphics will be used from History/Social Studies and Science across the Reading, Writing and Language, and Math tests, youll receive separate scores demonstrating your command of these topics. 7 Subscores You can earn a 1-15 in each areaThe Reading Test will receive subscores in 2 areas which are combined with 2 of the Writing Tests subscores.The Writing Test will receive subscores in 4 areas (2 of which are combined with the Reading Tests subscores).The Math Test will receive subscores in 3 areas. Scores By Content Confused yet? I was, when I first started digging in! Perhaps this will help a bit. When you get your score report back, youll see the scores divided by test sections: 1). Reading 2). Writing and Language and 3). Math. Lets look at the scores divided that way to see if it clears a few things up. The Reading Test Scores When you look at just your Reading scores youll see these four scores: A score between 200 – 800 for this test and the Writing Test combined.A score between 10 – 40 just for this test.A subscore between 1 – 15 for how youve comprehended Words in Context. Itll be labeled as such on your score report and will be combined with Words in Context results from the Writing and Language Test, too.A subscore between 1 – 15 for how youve demonstrated a Command of Evidence. Again, this subscore is taken from both Reading and Writing and Language.   The Writing and Language Test Scores Here are the six scores youll receive on your Writing and Language Test: A score between 200 – 800 for this test and the Reading Test combined.A score between 10 – 40 just for this test.A subscore between 1 – 15 for how youve comprehended Words in Context. Itll be labeled as such on your score report and will be combined with Words in Context results from the Reading Test.A subscore between 1 – 15 for how youve demonstrated a Command of Evidence. Again, this subscore is taken from both Reading and Writing and Language.A subscore between 1 – 15 for Expression of IdeasA subscore between 1 – 15 for Standard English Conventions The Math Test Scores Below, find the five scores youll see for the Math Test A score between 200 – 800 for this testA score between 10 – 40 for this test.A subscore between 1 – 15 for Heart of Algebra which is one of the content areas on the test.A subscore between 1 – 15 for Passport to Advanced Math which is one of the content areas on the test.A subscore between 1 – 15 for Problem-Solving and Data Analysis which is one of the content areas on the test. The Optional Essay Scores Taking the essay? Since its optional, you get to choose, but if youre applying to a college or university that considers the essay in its decision-making, you may need to take it whether youd like to or not. The scores are a sum of the results of 1-4 from two separate graders. Here are the scores youll see when you get your report: A score between 2 – 8 for ReadingA score between 2 – 8 for Analysis of the textA score between 2 – 8 for Writing Concordance Between the Old SAT Scores and the Redesigned SAT Scores Since the old SAT and the Redesigned SAT are very different tests, a 600 on one Math test is not equivalent to a 600 on the other. The College Board knows that and has put together sets of concordance tables for the SAT. Likewise, theyve also put together a concordance table between the ACT and the Redesigned SAT. Check it out, here.

Strategic Audit of Wal-Mart and Kmart Case Study

Strategic Audit of Wal-Mart and Kmart - Case Study Example It was started in the year 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, by Sam Walton. It took a long way to reach an annual sales turnover of $1 billion. By the year 2002, Wal-Mart became the world's largest retail giant with sales of $218 billions. In the initial days of starting the business, Wal-Mart designed a strategy to build large discount stores in rural areas. Wal-Mart employed the strategy of selling branded products at a very low price. Initially, the management of the firm decided to develop the firm as a one-stop discounted departmental chain store with a vast variety of general merchandise goods to be offered to the customers that too at a low price. The management's initial focus was on its purchase decisions. The firm focused on exploring each and every opportunity that helped in general merchandise goods. The two important products of the entire Wal-Mart product line on which the firm laid a strong emphasis were health products and beauty products. The stores used to maintain a high stock of these products. When the firma became successful in opening more than 279 stores by the end of the year 1979, the next focus was on designing strategies for expanding the firm aggressively. In contrast, to the other retail stores who built ware houses in order to serve the already existing outlets, Wal-Mart used to first build distribution centers and later started stores around the distribution centers. This strategy of Wal-Mart helped the firm in pooling the advertising and distribution overheads. The firm also focused on the transportation time needed for a customer to reach the outlet. The strategy of aggressive expansion turned out to be a big success because Wal-Mart became the largest retailer and discount stores in United States by the end of the year 1991 which had almost 1,573 Wal-Mart outlets in 35 states. Once the firm attained the position of national discount department store chain, it designed its outlets in such a way that they provided a one-stop-shopping to its customers. The outlets were designed to have 40 different departments like apparel, health products, beauty products, toys etc. Wal-Mart was strict on not spending huge amount on special promotions and advertising strategies etc. It rather operated its outlets on a concept of "everyday low prices." It was a belief in every customer that the Wal-Mart stores would provide them with a friendly, clean and a very pleasant experience every time they shop.The year 2001 was a real challenging era not only to the retail industry but also for many other industries. The reason for this being like a year that ended with a worst holiday season i.e end of 2000, energy crisis, the rise in the unemployment factor, the spending of the consumers became sluggish and last but not least - terrorist blasts of the WTO on September11, 2001. Tho ugh the firm became successful in almost every strategy designed, it did not neglect to focus on the external market environment at the same time. The firm strongly believed that their business in the forthcoming year would definitely be affected by the external market environment. The external factors would also influence the financial figures in the firms' balance

Operations management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations management - Coursework Example The culinary department encompasses kitchen affairs while the rest of the departments are self explanatory given the line of duty. The supply department is one of the key departments that carry a lot of significance in having the hotel and restaurant facilities running. A hotel usually has many amenities that keep it going and these include food and drinks, toiletry amenities, bedding, furniture and kitchen cutlery. Depletion of these supplies fluctuates depending on the high and low seasons of customer inflow to the facilities. However, the Olympic Games are a unique scenario that makes a long calling for hotel facilities. Attendance to this colossal sporting event is recorded as one of the largest in the sporting history that closely competes with FIFA World Cup. In such contexts, hotel organizations are keen to ensure quality services to the expected large number of customers. Quality services entail customer satisfaction, employee etiquette and above all reliable delivery of hote l goods and amenities from various supplies that keep the running of the hotel facility alive. Supply is an aspect in the hotel industry that concerns operational management. A relationship between operations management and supply will be discussed in this paper, in addition to the factors considered in reliable hotel supply. These details will be encapsulated with various analyses of the way hotels and restaurants could ensure reliable supply to their respective requirements, and a further analysis of some operational techniques that could be employed to ensure both quality and reliability in supplies broken under various subsections in this paper. Operations Management and Supply: Techniques to be employed by Operations Management Operations management is a management area that deals with planning and product management, procedures, various business services and most importantly, supply chains. This management level, though at the management level on the management hierarchy betwe en strategic and operational levels, is considered to be the epicenter that holds most businesses. Every efficiency and profit realized in most business franchises should be attributed to this management section and especially the personnel in charge. This might be despite the attribution always being to the strategic level of most organizations. In the hotel industries, among other tasks, operations management is also tasked in ensuring reliable hotel amenities supply for the smooth flow of activities in the facility. To do this, several personality traits for the operation manager are vital to ensure efficiency and effectiveness given the delicate environment of hotel activities that revolve on service delivery and employee etiquette. These traits will ensure efficiency in service delivery that would include reliable supply delivery that has the standard quality characters. They could also describe the various techniques that hotels need to undertake in order to ensure quality in supply from suppliers (Stevenson, 2008). The first trait that the operation manager should contain is leadership. This trait might seem a little bit general, but in the real sense, it has more than is defined by the first impression. Leadership entails the authority to spread influence among a team of subordinates and peers in a given context of society, either in work or other general scenarios. Qualities that may be exhibited by prominent leaders include trustworthy,

The Natural Order Hypothesis Essay

The Natural Order Hypothesis Essay In 1977, Tracy Terrell, a teacher of Spanish in California, outlined a proposal for a new philosophy of language teaching which [he] called the Natural Approach (Terrell 1977; 1982: 121). This was an attempt to develop a language teaching proposal that incorporated the naturalistic principles researchers had identified in studies of second language acquisition. The Natural Approach grew out of Terrells experiences teaching Spanish classes. Since that time Terrell and others have experimented with implementing the Natural Approach in elementary- to advanced-level classes and with several other languages. At the same time he has joined forces with Stephen Krashen, an applied linguist at the University of Southern California, in elaborating a theoretical rationale for the Natural Approach, drawing on Krashens influential theory of second language acquisition. Krashen and Terrells combined statement of the principles and practices of the Natural Approach appeared in their book, The Natur al Approach, published in 1983. Krashen and Terrells book contains theoretical sections prepared by Krashen that outline his views on second language acquisition (Krashen 1981; 1982), and sections on implementation and classroom procedures, prepared largely by Terrell. Krashen and Terrell have identified the Natural Approach with what they call traditional approaches to language teaching. Traditional approaches are defined as based on the use of language in communicative situations without recourse to the native language and, perhaps, needless to say, without reference to grammatical analysis, grammatical drilling, or to a particular theory of grammar. Krashen and Terrell note that such approaches have been called natural, psychological, phonetic, new, reform, direct, analytic, imitative and so forth (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 9). The fact that the authors of the Natural Approach relate their approach to the Natural Method has led some to assume that Natural Approach and Natural Method are synonymous terms. Although the tradition is a common one, there are important differences between the Natural Approach and the older Natural Method, which it will be useful to consider at the outset. The Natural Method is another term for what by the turn of the century had become known as the Direct Method. It is described in a report on the state of the art in language teaching commissioned by the Modern Language Association in 1901. In its extreme form the method consisted of a series of monologues by the teacher interspersed with exchanges of question and answer between the instructor and the pupil all in the foreign language A great deal of pantomime accompanied the talk. With the aid of this gesticulation, by attentive listening and by dint of much repetition the learner came to associate certain acts and objects with certain combinations of the sounds and finally reached the point of reproducing the foreign words or phrases Not until a considerable familiarity with the spoken word was attained was the scholar allowed to see the foreign language in print. The study of grammar was reserved for a still later period. (Cole 1931: 58) The term natural, used in reference to the Direct Method, merely emphasized that the principles underlying the method were believed to conform to the principles of naturalistic language learning in young children. Similarly, the Natural Approach, as defined by Krashen and Terrell, is believed to conform to the naturalistic principles found in successful second language acquisition. Unlike the Direct Method, however, it places less emphasis on teacher monologues, direct repetition, and formal questions and answers, and less focus on accurate production of target language sentences. In the Natural Approach there is an emphasis on exposure, or input, rather than practice; optimizing emotional preparedness for learning; a prolonged period of attention to what the language learners hear before they try to produce language; and a willingness to use written and other materials as a source of comprehensible input. The emphasis on the central role of comprehension in the Natural Approach link s it to other comprehension-based approaches in language teaching. Approach Theory of language Krashen and Terrell see communication as the primary function of language, and since their approach focuses on teaching communicative abilities, they refer to the Natural Approach as an example of a communicative approach. The Natural Approach is similar to other communicative approaches being developed today (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 17). They reject earlier methods of language teaching, such as the Audiolingual Method, which viewed grammar as the central component of language. According to Krashen and Terrell, the major problem with these methods was that they were built not around actual theories of language acquisition, but theories of something else; for example, the structure of language (1983: 1). Unlike proponents of Communicative Language Teaching (Chapter 5), however, Krashen and Terrell give little attention to a theory of language. Indeed, a recent critic of Krashen suggests he has no theory of language at all (Gregg 1984). What Krashen and Terrell do describe about the nature of language emphasizes the primacy of meaning. The importance of the vocabulary is stressed, for example, suggesting the view that a language is essentially its lexicon and only inconsequently the grammar that determines how the lexicon is exploited to produce messages. Terrell quotes Dwight Bolinger to support this view: The quantity of information in the lexicon far outweighs that in any other part of the language, and if there is anything to the notion of redundancy it should be easier to reconstruct a message containing just words than one containing just the syntactic relations. The significant fact is the subordinate role of grammar. The most important thing is to get the words in. (Bolinger, in Terrell 1977: 333). Language is viewed as a vehicle for communicating meanings and messages. Hence Krashen and Terrell state that acquisition can take place only when people understand messages in the target language (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 19). Yet despite their avowed communicative approach to language, they view language learning, as do audiolingualists, as mastery of structures by stages. The input hypothesis states that in order for acquirers to progress to the next stage in the acquisition of the target language, they need to understand input language that includes a structure that is part of the next stage (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 32). Krashen refers to this with the formula I + 1 (i.e., input that contains structures slightly above the learners present level). We assume that Krashen means by structures something at least in the tradition of what such linguists as Leonard Bloomfield and Charles Fries meant by structures. The Natural Approach thus assumes a linguistic hierarchy of structural complexity that one masters through encounters with input containing structures at the 1 + 1 level. We are left then with a view of language that consists of lexical items, structures, and messages. Obviously, there is no particular novelty in this view as such, except that messages are considered of primary importance in the Natural Approach. The lexicon for both perception and production is considered critical in the construction and interpretation of messages. Lexical items in messages arc necessarily grammatically structured, and more complex messages involve more complex grammatical structure. Although they acknowledge such grammatical structuring, Krashen and Terrell feel that grammatical structure does not require explicit analysis or attention by the language teacher, by the language learner, or in language teaching materials. Theory of learning Krashen and Terrell make continuing reference to the theoretical and research base claimed to underlie the Natural Approach and to the fact that the method is unique in having such a base. It is based on an empirically grounded theory of second language acquisition, which has been supported by a large number of scientific studies in a wide variety of language acquisition and learning contexts (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 1). The theory and research are grounded on Krashens views of language acquisition, which we will collectively refer to as Krashens language acquisition theory. Krashens views have been presented and discussed extensively elsewhere (e.g., Krashen 1982), so we will not try to present or critique Krashens arguments here. (For a detailed critical review, see Gregg 1984 and McLaughlin 1978). It is necessary, however, to present in outline form the principal tenets of the theory, since it is on these that the design and procedures in the Natural Approach are based. THE ACQUISITION/LEARNING HYPOTHESIS The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis claims that there are two distinctive ways of developing competence in a second or foreign language. Acquisition is the natural way, paralleling first language development in children. Acquisition refers to an unconscious process that involves the naturalistic development of language proficiency through understanding language and through using language for meaningful communication. Learning, by contrast, refers to a process in which conscious rules about a language are developed. It results in explicit knowledge about the forms of a language and the ability to verbalize this knowledge. Formal teaching is necessary for learning to occur, and correction of errors helps with the development of learned rules. Learning, according to the theory, cannot lead to acquisition. THE MONITOR HYPOTHESIS The acquired linguistic system is said to initiate utterances when we communicate in a second or foreign language. Conscious learning can function only as a monitor or editor that checks and repairs the output of the acquired system. The Monitor Hypothesis claims that we may call upon learned knowledge to correct ourselves when we communicate, hut that conscious learning (i.e., the learned system) has only this function. Three conditions limit the successful use of the monitor: 1. Time. There must be sufficient time for a learner to choose and apply a learned rule. 2. Focus on form. The language user must be focused on correctness or on the form of the output. 3. Knowledge of rules. The performer must know the rules. The monitor does best with rules that are simple in two ways. They must be simple to describe and they must not require complex movements and rearrangements. THE NATURAL ORDER HYPOTHESIS According to the Natural Order Hypothesis, the acquisition of grammatical structures proceeds in a predictable order. Research is said to have shown that certain grammatical structures or morphemes are acquired before others in first language acquisition of English, and a similar natural order is found in second language acquisition. Errors are signs of naturalistic developmental processes, and during acquisition (but not during learning), similar developmental errors occur in learners no matter what their mother tongue is. THE INPUT HYPOTHESIS The Input Hypothesis claims to explain the relationship between what the learner is exposed to of a language (the input) and language acquisition. It involves four main issues. First, the hypothesis relates to acquisition, and not to learning. Second, people acquire language best by understanding input that is slightly beyond their current level of competence: An acquirer can move from a stage I (where I is the acquirers level of competence) to a stage I +1 (where I + 1 is the stage immediately following I along some natural order) by understanding language containing I + 1. (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 32) Clues based on the situation and the context, extra linguistic information, and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible. Third, the ability to speak fluently cannot be taught directly; rather, it emerges independently in time, after the acquirer has built up linguistic competence by understanding input. Fourth, if there is a sufficient quantity of comprehensible input, I + 1 will usually be provided automatically. Comprehensible input refers to utterances that the learner understands based on the context in which they are used as well as the language in which they are phrased. When a speaker uses language so that the acquirer understands the message, the speaker casts a net of structure around the acquirers current level of competence, and this will include many instances of I + 1. Thus, input need not be finely tuned to a learners current level of linguistic competence, and in fact cannot be so finely tuned in a language class, where learners will be at many different levels of competence. Just as child acquirers of a first language are provided with samples of caretaker speech, rough-tuned to their present level of understanding, so adult acquirers of a second language are provided with simple codes that facilitate second language comprehension. One such code is foreigner talk, which refers to the speech native speakers use to simplify communication with foreigners. Foreigner talk is characterized by a slower rate of speech, repetition, restating, use of Yes/No instead of Who- questions, and other changes that make messages more comprehensible to persons of limited language proficiency. THE AFFECTIVE FILTER HYPOTHESIS Krashen sees the learners emotional state or attitudes as an adjustable filter that freely passes, impedes, or blocks input necessary to acquisition. A low affective filter is desirable, since it impedes or blocks less of this necessary input. The hypothesis is built on research in second language acquisition, which has identified three kinds of affective or attitudinal variables related to second language acquisition. 1. Motivation. Learners with high motivation generally do better. 2. Self-confidence. Learners with self-confidence and a good self-image tend to be more successful. 3. Anxiety. Low personal anxiety and low classroom anxiety are more conducive to second language acquisition. The Affective Filter Hypothesis states that acquirers with a low affective filter seek and receive more input, interact with confidence, and are more receptive to the input they receive. Anxious acquirers have a high affective filter, which prevents acquisition from taking place. It is believed that the affective filter (e.g., fear or embarrassment) rises in early adolescence, and this may account for childrens apparent superiority to older acquirers of a second language. These five hypotheses have obvious implications for language teaching. In sum, these are: 1. As much comprehensible input as possible must be presented. 2. Whatever helps comprehension is important. Visual aids are useful, as is exposure to a wide range of vocabulary rather than study of syntactic structure. 3. The focus in the classroom should be on listening and reading; speaking should be allowed to emerge. 4. In order to lower the affective filter, student work should center on meaningful communication rather than on form; input should be interesting and so contribute to a relaxed classroom atmosphere. Cognitive Theories Psychologists and psycholinguists viewed second language learning as the acquisition of a complex cognitive skill. Some of the sub-skills involved in the language learning process are applying grammatical rules, choosing the appropriate vocabulary, following the pragmatic conventions governing the use of a specific language (McLaughlin, 1987:134). These sub-skills become automatic with practice (Posner Snyder, 1975). During this process of automatisation, the learner organizes and restructures new information that is acquired. Through this process of restructuring the learner links new information to old information and achieves increasing degrees of mastery in the second language (McLaughlin, 1987, 1990a). This gradual mastering may follow a U-shaped curve sometimes (Lightbown, Spada, Wallace, 1980) indicating a decline in performance as more complex internal representations replace less complex ones followed by an increase again as skill becomes expertise (McLaughlin, 1990b). From the cognitivists point of view language acquisition is dependent in both content and developmental sequencing on prior cognitive abilities and language is viewed as a function of more general nonlinguistic abilities (Berman, 1987:4). Evidence against the cognitivist theory is provided by Felix (1981) who describes the general cognitive skills as useless for language development (Felix, 1981). The only areas that cognitive development is related to language development is vocabulary and meaning, since lexical items and meaning relations are most readily related to a conceptual base (Felix, 1981). Base in cognitive theory is also claimed by the interactivist approach to second language learning (Clahsen, 1987). The language processing model proposed by the interactivist approach assumes an autonomous linguistic level of processing and contains a general problem solver mechanism (GPS) that allows direct mappings between underlying structure and surface forms, thus short-circuiting the grammatical processor (Clahsen, 1987:105). The language acquisition theories based on a cognitive view of language development regard language acquisition as the gradual automitization of skills through stages of restructuring and linking new information to old knowledge. However, the differences between the various cognitive models makes it impossible to construct a comprehensive cognitive theory of second language acquisition and furthermore, as Schimdt (1992) observes: there is little theoretical support from psychology on the common belief that the development of fluency in a second language is almost exclusively a matter of the increasingly skillful application of rules (Schmidt, 1992:377). The last two theories dealt with in this paper, the Multidimensional Model and the Acculturation/Pidginization Theory, refer mainly to the acquisition of a second language by adults in naturalistic environments. In second/foreign language teacher education, humanistic theory leads to considerable innovation, with greater emphasis on co-operative development (Edge, 1992). The basis for this change is the new respect for the teachers personal autonomy. The teacher educators role is one of supporter and facilitator, with the adoption of counselling models of intervention. An additional important factor is the recognition of the emotional dimension to learning. Within this framework, relationships between supervisors and student teachers are emphasised in pre-service education programmes. In in-service programmes, counselling models are adapted with syllabi containing not only subject matter knowledge, but also skills for self-directed development. Moreover, self-assessment and group-work are determined where feelings, relationships and learning can be inexorably linked. Examples of second/foreign language teacher education practices adopted on a basis of humanistic principles include work by Freeman and Richards (1996), Gebhard (1999) and Woodward (1991). Constructivist Approach Constructivism puts an emphasis on the ways in which individuals bring personal meaning to their world. Early researchers such as Piaget focused on the individual construction of knowledge. Bruner on the other hand, placed a greater emphasis on the interaction of the learner with curriculum materials, the teacher, and other significant factors. Similarly, Vygotsky and Feuerstein criticised Piagets view concerning the individual view of knowledge and suggested that, living as we do in a social world, learning occurs through interactions with other people (Williams and Burden, 1997). The author examines constructivism in relation to teacher education, from both the individual and social aspect as follows: Social Constructivist Approach Based on the work carried out by Vygotsky, Bruner and Feurstein, social interactionism sees the individual as born into a social world, and thus learning occurs through social interactions with other people (Dmitri, 1986). This is in contrast with the views of the individual constructivist approach expressed by Piaget and others. A claim is made that our mental representations are not only internal but also dependent on the mental representations of others and rules and restrictions that society imposes on the roles a person can adopt (McMahon, 1997). Therefore, learning to teach is not an internally constructed process with a set of techniques and some specialist knowledge but rather a social process, involving the adoption of a social role. For teachers, this means that they selectively acquire the values and attitudes, interests, skills and knowledge of their professional group. This implies a need for teachers to assess the relationship between their work and wider social conditions (Roberts, 1998, p.44). Thus, the teachers context is not perceived as a constraint but rather as a challenge within which appropriate methodologies need to be evaluated. Evidently, the application of social constructivism in the field of second/foreign language teacher education reveals that social constructivism focuses on the importance of knowledge constructed within and with the help of the group. This is supplemented with teachers sharing and contrasting ideas, agreeing and disagreeing, etc. The group of teachers in question may also be widened by joining forces with other participants in the education system, in the form of a wider learning community (Gredler, 1997). The recognition of dialogue as central to teacher learning is not new. The experiential learning cycle and the humanistic perspectives also recognise the importance of talk in learning. However, according to Roberts (1998, p.45), within a social constructivist framework, dialogue is seen as particularly valuable, in that it is collaborative, task-focused and offers teachers the chance to clarify their own personal theories and social relationships. Activities which help promote social interaction and construction include awareness raising tasks, e.g. problem-solving, which involves past experience, current beliefs and knowledge, direct personal experience in the form of microteaching and teaching practice with opportunities for reflection in and on these activities through structured observations, journal writing, etc. Within this approach, as within the other person-centred approaches, there is apparently a shift in emphasis from that of training to that of development.

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose

This book report is written in fulfillment of the requirements for (class subject e. g. Hist. 108) under Professor (professor’s name). Band of Brothers is a novel based on the events of World War II, emphasizing more on the lives of the soldiers, particularly the paratroopers of Easy company, 506 regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. Paratroopers are trained soldiers launched into battle by parachute into areas inaccessible by aerial bombing.Written by Stephen Ambrose and published by Simon and Schuster in 2001, Band of Brothers, has been an all time best seller which was made into a mini series by HBO in association with Dreamworks, edited by Billy Fox and directed by Phil Alden Robinson. Life in the military has always been a fascination of many young men. All the amazing weapons and gears that they use in battle, the handsome uniforms, not to mention the recognition and accolade that one can receive sounds like a promising career. A priceless ho nor which brings pride that lasts beyond your lifetime.If one decides to pursue a career in the armed forces, one must be ready to make all the adjustments and face the challenges, not only that of a rigorous training, but a life in the battle field. A soldier’s life, activity and relationships literally changes the moment training commences. The armed forces is a stratified society full of rigidity. A soldier has to understand the hierarchy and chain of command and must learn to obey first before complaining (not that one is allowed to complain). The inability to perform a particular duty, due to whatever reason, is inexcusable, therefore punishable. A soldier’s life is full of misconceptions.Civilians mostly view them as fortunate individuals who enjoy a lot of privileges both from the government and the private sector. Stephen Ambrose used a lot of characters to portray the lives of soldiers in Easy company. Captain Herbert M. Sobel was the commanding officer of Eas y company in the 2nd battalion 506th parachute infantry regiment of the 101st airborne division. He was very strict and usually rude, squeezing the energy of his soldiers during training. He doesn’t tolerate anything that he feels like not tolerating to the point of just simply finding errors on his soldiers just for the heck of it.Although disliked by most of his soldiers, his attitude towards training and his ways of implementing training schedule and activities helped in the honing of his soldiers’ skills and intelligence. In the mini series, David Schwimmer played the role of Captain Sobel. Lt. Richard D. Winters, played by actor Damian Lewis, was the second in command of Captain Sobel. Lt. Winters outdo Captain Sobel in the field. Although a Jew, he was respected and well-liked by the soldiers. Scott Grimes played the role of technical sergeant Donald Malarkey who was refused admission to the Marines due to dental issues.He also tried Army Air Corps, but due to ma th requirements, still he was not admitted. He only became a member of E company (Easy company) when he volunteered to be a part of the paratroops of the United States Army. He was awarded the Bronze star medal for his participation on D-Day’s Brecourt Manor Assault in Normandy. Captain Ronald Speirs was initially company D’s (Dog company) platoon leader. During the end of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Captain Speirs was reassigned to command Easy company. 2nd Lt. Clifford Carwood Lipton a. k. a Lip, joined E company in 1942.From Private he was promoted to company first sergeant, then to second lieutenant. Band of Brothers is a historical documentary novel telling the story of the lives and experiences of airborne soldiers during World War II. 1942 marked the year when the United States Army Airborne Division formed the second battalion of the 506th parachute infantry regiment in Toccoa, Georgia (Ambrose 2001). The story began in Toccoa, Georgia when the U. S. a rmy is preparing for battle against the Germans. Under the command and rigid training of Captain Herbert M.Sobel, the soldiers of E company endured rigorous and severe training. Their company was known to be the best in the regiment and Captain Sobel prided himself on that; and because of their reputation, they were always given the toughest assignments. E company trained for ninety days which included lectures, physical exercises, obstacle courses and field simulations after which, they were deployed to England on board a ship in preparation for the invasion of Hitler’s Third Reich. Their task is to penetrate enemy lines and subjugate German Artillery.On June 6, 1944 in Normandy, the soldiers had their first jump which did not go as planned. Due to heavy firing on the ground, planes carrying the paratroopers flew at high speeds with only a short distance from the ground (Ambrose 2001). One of the planes got hit, went on fire and crash to the ground. Nevertheless, the troop w as able to arrive at Carentan, gained control of the area then they flew back to Aldbourne. On September 17, 1944, the troops made their second jump in Holland which was executed perfectly. After completing their mission in the area, they also fought in the Battle of the Bulge.The paratroopers arrived in Germany on the second day of April, 1945 where the enemies finally surrendered. They celebrated their victory in Austria where they drank alcohol and took a lot of things from the Germans like jewelry and lugers. When the war was over, they parted ways and took different paths. As often as possible, a reunion is made in New Orleans where they all could catch up while remembering the years they spent at war. My impression on the book is positive. Stephen Ambrose was able to make World War II a more relatable event to ordinary people.He was able to show two perspectives of the story – officers’ point of view and the soldiers’ point of view. The story was able to s how that an army officer is not perfect. He might be very good at one thing, but he still has his flaws, like Captain Sobel who was very good at training men but performs poorly on the field. Soldiers are also human beings who feel fear, stress, anxiety and bleeds inside out; but the important thing is ones ability to endure whatever hardships that one has to face in carrying out his duty to the country and the people. They are always together and yet, they feel alone in the battle field.War means death, and these men had to psyche themselves up to be ready in all aspects – physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Focusing on one particular battalion like Easy company, the author was able to present the lives of soldiers in the battlefield. Their ‘humanness’ were more felt and their bond as brothers in their cause was strongly established. However, Ambrose’s exposure of their ‘humanness’ can be a downside as this could lead to debate s and issues regarding the deployment of soldiers to war in support of allied nations under fire.But then again, the personal approach employed by Ambrose in writing the story made the events of World War II more relevant in the lives of people. Band of Brothers enabled us to understand, at a deeper level, the struggles and hardships that soldiers face. True, recognitions and accolades are given, but such can only be enjoyed by them if they are lucky to be alive. Bibliography Stephen Ambrose (2008). â€Å"Band of Brothers. † 123 Helpme. com. 04 January 2006. 05 January 2008. . Stephen E. Ambrose (2001). â€Å"Band of Brothers. † Simon and Schuters. ISBN: 0743216385 Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose Airborne Division of the United States Army was formed in Toccoa, Georgia. They were trained under Capt. Sorbel.. Members of the battalion voluntered for the job for the money, thrill, honor and to be the best among the ordinary infantry men. Because the Band of Brothers was narrated from the points of view of the soldiers of Company E or the Easy Company, the story is unique for the narration was so vivid that a reader would feel that he is there fighting with the band of brothers. Because of the physical requirements during the training only few made it to their graduation day.Here the story is significant for a soldier because the story is about the everyday life of a soldier in the boot camp and in the field—not a story about generals and admirals usually made by most movie companies. It tells a soldier that even how much he has suffered while training it doesn’t guarantee that he would survive in war. From Toccoa the company was sent to Fort Benning for their jumpi ng course. Their earlier training at the boot camp hardened them physically that they even outlasted the physical fitness trainers at the fort.This is the reality about soldiery. There are soldiers who are better than the trainers themselves. After only five jumps, ironically they were made as parachutists, and after nine months of training were sent to England on board a transport ship to prepare themselves for the invasion against the Third Reich of Hitler. The writer narrates the daily regimen of the company while in training in England. The narration was from the points of view from both the officers and men of the Easy Company.Both the movie and the book depict the confusion, heroism and struggle during the time the company jumped into the countryside where they were separated from each other. Many landed on buildings, trees, farm houses, fences, carts, houses, rafters and in the middle of enemies since they jumped behind enemy lines at dawn. There was chaos all around but many maintain their composure as hardened soldiers of Easy Company. Their job was to silence the German artillery and neutralize the enemy soldiers guarding the guns. They effectively put their hard training into practice.The highlight of the Band of Brothers is how Lt. Richard Winters achieved the mission. The book narrates: â€Å" By this time, about 0700, E company consisted of two light machine guns, one bazooka (no ammunition), one 60 mm†¦. † But with less than 100 men from the original 139 jumpers, Lt. Winters’s men were able to accomplish the mission. The mission was done without heroic deeds of a few. They fought as a team and with the right maneuvers attacked the German platoon guarding the battery emplacement. This is also about the best aspect on soldiery.As a soldier, you have also to protect not your life but also your brothers in arms. In this kind of situation, a soldier usually has to consider that everyone in his group as his brother. Why? Because the y shed blood and tears together or suffer pain together. They are blood brothers, so to speak. The book quotes one of the men: â€Å" We fought as a team†¦we were like machine†¦We knocked it out or made it withdraw by maneuver and teamwork†¦We were smart†¦we had learned that heroics was the way to get killed without getting the job done†¦.† Easy Company continued to fight in Normandy until it was pulled out and deployed to Utah beach. They were about 139 when they exited from the plane’s door. And ended the battle with only 79 remaining men. In the movie, you can feel the struggle of private Albert Blithe. He has to overcome fear, as every soldier has experienced fear. Winters, on his part, has suffered anguish after he shot a German teenage soldier. The company jumped into Holland under Operation: Market Garden and fought until November 1944.The company also heroically defended Bastogne almost to the last man. . In the movie, the German Army s ent couriers to relay offer the message of the German commander of Bastogne for them to surrender or perish. Winters made a succinct reply: â€Å"Nuts. † They held their trenches until reinforcements arrived. Then the men of Company E fought in the famous Battle of the Bulge, which marked the defeat of the German Panzer division. Winters’ men continued fighting and were the first to occupy Hitler’s mountain retreat known as the Eagle’s Nest.From Austria the battalion was redeployed to a town near Paris and on November 30, 1945, the 101st Airborne Battalion was deactivated. What’s the significance of the story to a plain infantry man? I can say that the Band of Brothers is one of the few stories written from the testimonies of actual combatants without fanfare or garnishment for use in movies. The book tells the story of leadership amid blood, guts and tears and about overcoming fear by soldiers and officers alike. It tells the credo of an American general who says â€Å" The more you sweat in peace and less you bleed in war. † But many die in war.

Black Like Me a Cultural Book Report - 910 Words

John Howard Griffin was a journalist and a professional on race issues. After publication, he became a leading advocate in the Civil Rights Movement and did much to promote awareness of the racial situation sand pass legislature. He was middle aged and living in Mansfield, Texas at the time of publication in 1960. His desire to know if Southern whites were racist against the Negro population of the Deep South, or if they really judged people based on the individual s personality as they said. Because of this he felt that they had encouraged him to cross the color line and write Black Like Me. Plot: Black Like Me is the story of a man named John Howard Griffin, who underwent a series of medical treatments to change his skin color†¦show more content†¦And last, but not least, he showed us a sense of hope, because no matter what, even in the darkest times, he would still keep at least a small bit of hope in him. Cultural Insights: The things that I ve learned about white people and black people is that things aren t always what they seem to be. A white person could be the nicest person to you at first if you are white, but the next they could hate you for being black if you are a black person. But not every white person is like this. Universal Insight: In Montgomery, Alabama, Griffin decided it was time for him to reenter white society, but he also wanted to gain information of the area as a black man. So, he found the technique of covering an area as a black and then returning the following day as a white. What he found was, as a black he would receive the hate stare from whites and be treated with every courtesy by the black community. As a white, it would be the exact opposite, he would get the hate stare from blacks and be treated wonderfully by the same people who despised him the previous day. The only thing altered was his appearance. He dyed his skin a very dark brown and shaved his head, his clothing, speech patterns, and references had not changed and every question was answered truthfully. If people did judge others by their qualities andShow MoreRelatedDr Nehisi Coates, An American Educator, Journalist, And Writer1086 Words   |  5 PagesTa-Nehisi writes about social, cultural, and political issues, regarding Af rican-Americans for The Atlantic where he is a national correspondent. Not only did Coates write the book Between the World and Me but he also wrote The Beautiful Struggle.Before reading this book I had no clue who Ta-Nehisi Coates was. When I first read that we had to do a book report I immediately froze up because I hate reading books. I prejudged Between The World And Me before I even opened the book. I inferred that it wouldRead MoreRace: A Philosophical Introduction1756 Words   |  7 PagesRace-thinking: what is it? Isn’t the world past the issue of race? 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