My Native Language Essays -- Russian Personal Narrative Communication

My Native Language Is your native language something you take for granted? Well, for me it has been a struggle — a struggle with history, politics, society, and myself. Yet something guided me through it. I don't know what you heard about my native land — Belarus. For most of the world it is a new country, as four centuries of severe Russian assimilation devastated Belarusian culture. But some of it managed to survive, mostly in the villages. This shaped my biography. Although I was born in a city in the western part of then Byelorussian SSR1, the first six years of my life I spent in a village with my grandparents. I remember the manmade old woody gate to the orchard. I remember noises of storks on the roofs of the houses and frogs croaking in the evening. I remember the sounds of whistling "ts," "dz," tough "ch," "r," "dzh" people made while talking. "Volya..." I would hear from my great-grandparents, and I would feel proud as this word also meant "freedom." All of those sounds seemed to come from nature, creating feeling of harmony and peace. At the age of six, like thousands of other children in the 16 Republics of the Soviet Union, I entered a school in my native town, Brest. It was at school I noticed I spoke a different dialect than the other children. They said I had bad grammar and pronounced words in strange, "village" ways, ways they used to correct. I felt ashamed because of my lack of education. In those soviet 80s, for the city people "village" was almost a derogatory word. Little by little, I learned to speak correctly. But during vacations I went back to the village, and the world there worked in other sounds — in another language. I would no longer accept that language as it stood for som... ...an culture, I can afford it, because I am out of the country for most of the year. My parents use Belarusian in the city themselves when I am in Belarus. As for strangers, I chose to surprise them, sometimes meeting resistance or anger, sometimes recieveing thanks and cheers. It is a battle every time I leave my apartment in Brest. It is hard to get used to. But sometimes that what it takes to be who you are. When I visit my grandmother, she laughs: "Remember, when you were a kid you used to correct me when I said "stork" in Belarusian to "stork" in Russian, saying that now you knew how to say it correctly. Old people also know something about life." ENDNOTES: I use a different spelling of Belarus and Belarusian when I refer to the Soviet era, as before 1991 the country's name was translated to English from Russian as "Byelorussia" or "Byelorussian SSR."

Observing Toddlers Essay

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are a number of places where toddlers could be observed unobtrusively—at the park, the playground, the mall, and the daycare center. For the purpose of this study, however, I chose to go to the park and observe parents and their toddlers play together. This way, I could easily observe unobtrusively as people would think I was simply there to write or to write down my thoughts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another benefit that the park has to offer is the lack of formal structures and relationships such as those found at daycare centers. At the park, parents and toddlers could interact easily and in a relax manner. That way, the true nature of the relationship between the parents and the toddlers will be easily observed and analyzed and the understanding of the interactions between parents and children will be better understood. This paper then seeks to look at such a relationship by presenting direct observations from families and toddlers that visit the park in our community. I had a small notebook with me and it is where I wrote down my observations, as well as the communication that went on between the parents and the children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The toddlers that I observed were approximately between 16 to 30 months old and appeared to be pampered by care by their parents. One the toddlers belong to an Asian-American racial stock while the other one to an American family. Although the parents brought strollers with them, the toddlers were walking and occasionally carried by their parents. Both of the families of the toddlers seem to belong to the middle class. Notably, the second toddler belongs to a mother without a father. Although the author could not exactly know whether she is a single parent or not, at least based on the observation at the park, the mother does not have any other company in visiting the park.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both toddlers appear to be enamored with their surroundings. They do notice the colors in the park and usually exclaim in delight when they see a butterfly or a bird. Apparently, they are already starting to recognize some of the features of the environment and their understanding of what they are is already being formed in the minds of the young kids. Toddler 1 The first toddler I observed is male. He displayed curiosity in his surroundings. While they were walking in the park, to the way where the family will sit down for an afternoon snack, the toddler was picking up sticks and leaves on the ground. He raised them to his eyes and offered them to his parents. The mother accepted the offer from the toddler and said that it was a leaf. She explained further that the leaf grows on the branch, which the toddler dutifully picked up and offered to her mother again. When the mother pronounced â€Å"leaf† and â€Å"branch†, the toddler also spoke up and attempted to pronounce the same words. A child is very much curious and interested in his surroundings. As part of his cognitive development, he notices the shapes, colors, and different sensations and wonders he encounter in his world. Even at such a young age, he is also being initiated into the process of socialization where he learns the views of his parents and of the larger society where he is located (Turner, 1991). The child, according to Piaget’s theory actively uses his senses to explore his environment and learn about them. Through the use of his senses, he is able to discern relationships among the actions he take and the behavior of the objects that he is viewing (Turner, 1991). Both the component of nature and nurture are at work in this seemingly simple process that the child is going through. He uses his eyes, his ears, his nose, and his whole body to discover the world and learn how it works. His efforts, because they are yet insufficient, are supplemented by his parents, more particularly by his mother, who tells him the names of objects and how they are being referred to in the world. Through the explanation of the mother about the nature of the relationship between leaves and branches, the child is then able to look at the relationship of different objects in his environment albeit in an incomplete fashion. The explanation of the mother regarding the relationship of leaves and branches may not be sufficient for the child to understand the relationship because most of the knowledge of a child advances through his actions and his interpretation about the consequences of the actions he make (Franz & White, 1985). Notably, the toddler was now engaging in eye-to-eye contact with his parents and occasionally asks them for what he wants. His father brought out a ball that the toddler apparently loved playing with. The father and the child started playing with the ball—they played catch, and sometimes they would race together to get the ball first. The toddler was delighted with such play with his father. Although this is the case, the child would also look at his mother and he asked her to come and join them. This is consistent with the theory of Erikson, which holds that the child’s relationship with his mother is perhaps the most important one during this stage of development (Franz & White, 1985). The child continued to play with the ball and when he saw other children in the park, he also went to them and offered to play the ball with them. Apparently, toddler one has good socialization skills to the point that he can mingle with other kids even when his parents are around. This points to the good relationship that the child is enjoying with his parents. Both his parents encouraged him to play with other children and watched him with other kids. True enough, when the child has strong relationships with his parents, he tends to be more socially responsive and socially amiable. In accordance with Psychosocial theorists, the child is displaying good emotional and social skills because his own relationship with his parents are also good and secure. Otherwise, he might become a recluse and refuse the company of people (Charlesworth, 2003). When Toddler one was playing ball with another child, there was an instance in which the other child managed to grab the ball more quickly than toddler one, so what he did was to forcibly claim the ball from his playmate and withheld it from the latter. Through this, the other child looked as if he was about to cry. It is at this moment that the mother of Toddler one intervened. The mother reasoned out firmly with the toddler in regards to sharing toys so that others would also learn how to share. The tone of the mother appeared to be negotiating instead of imposing. This display of authority on the part of the mother is remarkable and shows the secure connection between her and the child (Charlesworth, 2003). Toddler Two When I felt that I have sufficiently observed toddler one, I decided to turn my attention to another toddler playing with a dog not very far from the first toddler. The only companion of the toddler in the park is his mother and their Labrador. I had the impression, although this is difficult to verify, that the mother was a single parent. The mother was silently looking after her child who was playing with the Labrador. Apart from the toy truck and the Frisbee that the child had, there were no other toys that the mother had for the child. The mother appeared to be preoccupied with her own thoughts. When toddler was not busy with his toy truck, he would play with the Frisbee and the dogs with the strength and the capability that he has. The dog seems to act as a guard to the toddler. He does not socialize with other kids very much and he appears content to play by himself. The toddler, it seems is spending most of the time by himself. Although at first glance, this may seem to be a display of autonomy, yet in closer examination of the child, he does not enjoy the benefits that interaction with other kids and with his parent brings. These circumstances will therefore bring forth negative consequences in the development of the social skills of the child and he might find it difficult to relate with other people when he grows up (Keenan, 2002). When the child attempts to play farther from his mother, the latter would come after him and tell him not to move around too much. The mother actually uses her authority over the child to forbid him from going somewhere else. Apparently, the mother wants to keep the child in her sight most of the time. This kind of attitude might breed negative feelings in the child and will contribute to the insecurity of their relationship. Since the relationship of the child with his mother is of utmost importance (Charlesworth, 2003), then his cognitive, emotional and social development will suffer as a consequence. The child also develops a kind of mistrust in the outside world and he will not view the outside world as a safe place. Instead, he might develop the attitude that he always needs his mother to look after him. Erikson warned against this over-protectiveness of parents as it prohibits children to explore and become curious of their environment. Hence, instead of developing self-confidence and self-esteem, toddler two will instead feel shame and doubt (Franz & White, 1985). Toddler two cried when his mother forbade him to wander into the park. When the child cried, the mother responded by being firmer and she almost shouted to toddler two to stop. Instead of stopping, however, toddler cried even louder and displayed tantrums. At this time, the mother punished toddler two by spanking him three times. After several minutes, toddler two stopped crying and remained where he was instead. This display of authority may become inimical to the overall development of the child over the long run as the initiative and the natural curiosity of the child will be dampened and what he will remember most will be the fear associated with the parent’s discipline (Charlesworth, 2003). Toddler two recovered from the spanking after several minutes by turning his attention to the dog and his Frisbee. By distracting himself, he forgot about the incident and started to enjoy himself again. His mother, however, still issued a warning for him â€Å"not to move out of her sight.† According to Erikson, if the urge of the child to explore is removed, then the result would be a lower level of self-esteem on the part of the child (Franz & White, 1985). Toddler two is very much attached to her mother, however, he is not sufficiently developing autonomy. Through the reprimands and the stern warnings of his mother, he becomes dependent on his mother and unable to explore his environment and his surroundings. Over the course of time as he discovers the world further, he may not have sufficient curiosity and initiative to move away from the familiar and instead, he would keep in sight of whoever is looking after him. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Observing the two toddlers was a good experience for me. It was as if the concepts and theories discussed by Piaget and Erikson were coming to life. Indeed the role of the parents is very crucial in ensuring that a child receives the appropriate socialization and training even while he is young. The strength of the attachment of a child with his parents is very important for him to develop the necessary skills for socialization and in relating with others in his environment. If the relationship of a child with his parents is good as demonstrated by the first toddler I observed, then the child will greatly benefit from it. If, however, the nature of the relationship borders on the dysfunctional, then the socialization skills of the child will be negatively affected. As he grows up, he will have struggles in relating with different kinds of people in his environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By observing toddlers, numerous lessons can be gleaned and the nature of the relationship between child and parents will be assessed. Accordingly, intervention strategies could be arrived at so that the child will not suffer needlessly. Furthermore, parents, and everyone dealing with children, should be sensitive to the different levels of development of the child as demonstrated by Piaget and Erikson. By doing so, perhaps the manner of bringing up of children will be better and over the long run, the society will become a better one because of the good rearing of the children. Reference Charlesworth, R. (2003). Understanding Child Development: For Adults Who Work With Young Children. New York: Thomson Delmar Learning. Franz, C. E. & White, K. M. (1985). Individuation and attachment in personality development: Extending Erikson’s theory. Journal of Personality, 53 (2), 224-256. Keenan, T. (2002). An Introduction to Child Development. London: Sage Publications. Turner, P. J. (1991). Relations between Attachment, Gender, and Behavior with Peers in Preschool. Child Development, 62 (6), 1475-1488.

Management of Primary and Secondary Education in Nigeria Essay

Introduction There is no gainsaying the fact that education is very vital to the pace of social, political and economic development of any nation. This is why most nations of the world strive to devote a sizeable proportion of their Gross National Income to develop the educational sector. In Nigeria, between 7. 6% and 9. 9% of our annual expenditure is devoted to education. Management of primary education refers to the process of planning, organizing, directing, staffing, coordinating, budgeting for and reporting on primary education system. Primary education in Nigeria refers to the education which children receive from the age of 6 years to 11 years plus. It is the foundation level of the educational system which runs for six years, and it is aimed at developing basic literacy, numeracy, communication skills and transmission of the culture of the people to younger generations. Information gathered through the education data bank shows that as at 1998, there were 41,814 primary schools with an enrolment of 16,348,324 (13. 75% of these were females) and 468,770 teachers (26. 45%) of these were non-qualified teachers). The teacher/pupil ratio at the level was 1:38 while the completion rate was 64. 1 percent and the Crucial Issues in the Management of Primary Education in Nigeria74 transition rate of products to Junior Secondary Education level was 39. 1 percent. The structure of our population in Nigeria is such that about 45% of the people are within the age bracket of six to twelve years. According to the provisions of National Policy on Education, this is the corresponding age group for primary education. Obviously, the enrolment pattern in the educational system follows the pyramidal structure of the nation’s population distribution. The primary level has the largest enrolment, followed by the secondary level and then the tertiary level. This enrolment structure, no doubt, depicts the structure of our social demand for the various levels of education. The primary education level, being the bedrock of the child’s basic education, is a very vital aspect of the nation’s educational system that deserves to be handled with great care and caution. Any error committed in the organization and management of this level of education may reverberate on other levels and thus seriously mar the lives of the people and indeed the overall development of the nation. This is one good reason why all the stakeholders must show enough concern for those issues that concern the organizing and managing of our primary education system. This paper presents a humble attempt to highlight some contemporary issues and problems facing the organization and management of primary education in Nigeria with a view to proffering possible solutions to them. Contemporary Issues in Primary Education Management No doubt, there are numerous issues and problems involved in the management of primary education system in Nigeria. However, this paper would simply highlight some of the crucial ones. Some of such issues include: a. Policy gap in the management of primary education in Nigeria, b. Data gaps, c. Funding gaps, d. Institutional capacity gaps, e. Expansion of the curriculum to cater for early childhood care, f. Gender balancing in enrolment, g. Quality assurance in Primary Education, h. Improved nutrition/Health of learners and i. Issues of HIV/AIDS pandemic 75D. O. Durosaro Over the last two decades, the management of primary education had been experiencing some problems as a result of policy gaps. Teachers salaries were not paid adequately, schools were not well-maintained and facilities were not adequately provided owing to the fact that management of primary education had to be oscillating among State Government, Local Government and Federal Government. At a time, State Government took control, later it was handed over to the Local Government and then to a Federal Commission. Moreover, it was just until lately that a concrete legislation was passed on primary education in Nigeria – the UBE Bill. Lack of accurate and timely data has long been the bane of policy formulation and management of our primary education system in Nigeria. To obtain accurate data on enrolment, teachers, non-teaching staff and even facilities appears to be a difficult task for the school managers. The school managers and teachers appear to lack adequate cognitive development in the areas of data collection, analysis and storage. Apart from this lack of capacity of the school managers, school data collection and analysis seem to be marred by other socio-politico-economic factors such as fraud, politics of national resource allocation and social apathy. Another issue of concern in the management of primary education in Nigeria is that of inadequate funding. According to a World Bank survey on Nigeria, the federal expenditure on education seems to be below 10% of its overall expenditures. For instance, between 1997 and 2002, the total share of education in total federal expenditure ranged between 9. 9% and 7. 6% with the trend showing a downward plunge (World Bank, 2002). Table 1: Federal Government Expenditure on Education as Percentage of total Federal Government Expenditure 1997 – 2002 _________________________________________________________ Expenditure199719981999200020012002 Area%%%%%% Recurrent12. 312. 011. 79. 49. 59. 1 Capital6. 17. 55. 08. 56. 06. 0 Total9. 99. 69. 09. 07. 58. 0 Source: FGN, Annual Budgets 1997-2002 It would have been more interesting to spell out what proportion of this expenditure on education actually goes to primary education but the non ¬ Crucial Issues in the Management of Primary Education in Nigeria76 availability of accurate data did not permit this. It is even worth mentioning here that the bulk of this meager expenditure shown on Table 1 even goes to recurrent activities. This issue of under-funding of education U so endemic that it has now encompassed series of other problems of shortages of human and material resources (Durosaro, 2000). The current pattern of investment within the education sector is such that the tertiary level gets the lion share while the primary level gets the least. This pattern is inversely related to number of institutions, enrolment and teachers at the different education levels. Table 2 presents the data on the pattern of funding of the educational levels by the Federal government. Table 2: Pattern of Federal Government funding of Education by levels, more 1996 – 2002 ____________________________________________________________ __ Educ. 1996199719981999200020012002 Levels%%%%%%% Tertiary79. 978. 968. 469. 175. 868. 176. 9 Secondary10. 411. 314. 618. 715. 315. 515. 6 Primary9. 79. 816. 912. 28. 916. 47. 5 Total100. 0100. 0100. 0100. 0100. 0100. 0100. 0 The issue of gaps in the institutional capacity to deliver primary education of a sound quality is also crucial in the management of primary education in Nigeria. It is a known fact that most of our institutions do not have vision whether written or unwritten nor a mission statement to guide their activities. There is widespread shortage of qualified teachers, shortage of even classrooms, shortage of both pupils’ and teachers’ furniture and a dearth of required fund, teaching materials and textbooks. In a survey conducted on primary education cost, financing and management in Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Kwara and Niger States, it was discovered that only f9. 57% of the schools in Kwara and 27. 08% of the schools in FCT had school libraries while none of the schools in both Kogi and Niger States had any school library. It was also found that 24% of schools in Kogi State, 21% of schools in Kwara State, 40. 3% of schools in Niger State and 16. 75% of schools in FCT were not using any form of wall charts teaching aids (Abdulkareem and Umar, 1997). All these gaps have combined with frequent teachers’ strikes and absenteeism in recent years to weaken the capacity of the institutions to deliver sound primary education. 77D. O. Durosaro Furthermore, there is an emerging issue of great importance in the management of primary education in Nigeria. This is that of restructuring the level by expanding it to accommodate both the early childhood care and the pre-primary education curriculum. This is now a burning issue in view of the level of social poverty and the need for poverty alleviation by economic empowerment of women. Stakeholders in primary education are now being mobilized towards this direction with a view to encouraging both public and private participation. This issue will however have grave implications for funding, personnel, facilities, curriculum development and monitoring. A related dimension of this issue is that of expanding and restructuring the system to also cater adequately for the almajiris, area boys, street children and disabled school-age populace across the nation. Furthermore, the issue of poor enrolment in primary schools in some special areas should be of great importance to primary education management in Nigeria. This issue has three major dimensions. The first is that of how to ensure gender balance in enrolment in some parts of the country. Owing to some socio-cultural factors in some parts of the country, female enrolment needs to be improved. In another part, it is the male enrolment that needs improvement. But in majority of cases, the second dimension is that of non-enrolment in public schools. Parents prefer the private school since they appear more effective. The third dimension of this issue is ensuring retention and completion once enrolled. Resolving this issue is closely connected to the next issue of poverty alleviation and provision of good nutrition for children. The issue of poverty alleviation is more about the parents and the wider social constituency of primary education. This phenomenon impacts greatly on schooling particularly at the primary level. Owing to poverty, parents cannot afford to buy school uniforms, books, pay transportation cost and even provide good nutrition for their children. These impair both teaching and learning. There is no doubt that the primary school management should find a way of intervening in assisting the pupils within the national framework of poverty alleviation scheme. Some States have already introduced free mid-day meal service to primary schools. This meal service has some implications for school management to ensure it is . not counter-productive. Nutritional well-being in childhood has been shown to have large benefit on school performance as well as physical and mental capacity in later life (World Bank, 2003). Crucial Issues in the Management of Primary Education in Nigeria78 A similar issue which could also impact seriously on primary education is that of HIV/AIDS pandemic. This could have impact on both teachers and students and its effect on parents or guardians of the pupils could spill ¬over to the school. It was reported in 2001 that the prevalence rate was 5. 8% of teachers nationally (World Ban, 2003). Across the federation, it was found to range between 1. 8% of teacher population in Jigawa and 13. 5% of the teacher population in Benue. This disease was found to be prevalent in the age-group 20 – 24 years which forms the core age group from which primary school teachers are recruited in Nigeria. Table 3: Projected Teacher Attrition due to HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Selected States of Nigeria, 2003 ____________________________________________________________ __ StatesNo. of TeachersPrevalence rateAttrition of % of HIV/A IDSTeachers Benue1384813. 5185 Lagos180405. 590 Plateau175265. 098 Rivers83215. 542 Table 3 presents the projected attrition of teachers due to HIV/AIDS disease in some selected States of Nigeria. This projection is based on the rates found for these States in a previous survey reported by the World Bank. Given the clear fact that AIDS is real and the spread is growing, there is the need to estimate its likely impact on the primary education management in Nigeria and ensure the problems are contained. This could be done through creation of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes on the school curriculum for both learners, teacher and even parents. Expert could be invited to assist in enlightening the school community on how to combat the spread of this pandemics. Conclusion It is quite clear from the foregoing that for primary education in Nigeria to achieve its stated objectives, these crucial issues of policy, funding, data, curriculum review and capacity buildings gaps must be squarely addressed by education managers in Nigeria. In addition, the issues of genderization, poverty alleviation, pupils’ and teachers’ health and nutrition need prompt attention of the stakeholders and managers of 79D. O. Durosaro the system. Primary education is central to the achievement of the overall national educational goals. The primary education managers, in their quest to continue to meet the national demand for primary education quite efficiently and effectively, must constantly device new and improved ways of managing the system. The following recommendations are put forth: There is need for the creation of more social awareness on the recent Ube Bill to ensure compliance. The various States and Local Governments should also back this up with edicts and byelaws where necessary. Various tiers of government should also formulate clear policies on enrolment of pupils, funding, provision of facilities as well as quality assurance. There is the urgent need to set a national minimum standard for primary education which must be followed by all providers of primary education in Nigeria whether private or public. Since the government is still the major source of found to education in Nigeria, there is the need to change the pattern of funding so that provision for primary education should adequately match its needs, To be able to take sound decisions on the management of primary education in Nigeria, there is the need to ensure availability of accurate data on the system. The present effort of the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with both the UNESCO and UNDP on the creation of an Education Data Bank is highly commendable (FGN/UNE SCO/UN DP, 2003). The government should give the data bank all the enabling environment required to generate and analyse and bank the data. The institutional managers and teachers should be constantly trained and retrained in the modern data management techniques. There is the need to step up the institutional capacity building. The school managers should be mandated to attend training workshops and conferences to improve their managerial skills. Organizations like the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, which have been set up for capacity building in educational management, should be empowered to start some annual training programmes towards this end. Concerted efforts by ways of quality control and monitoring would improve the quality of public schools and the drift from them to private schools would be checked. Effort should also be made to promote gender balance in schools Crucial Issues in the Management of Primary Education in Nigeria80 through gender sensitivity of the teachers, curriculum and teaching materials. The school environment should be made more child-friendly. The government needs to step up its poverty alleviation process by rendering assistance to parents indirectly through provision of free books, uniforms and even free mid-day meals to the children of the poor. There is need to embark more aggressively on the public enlightenment on the HIV/AIDS disease control. This would help reduce both pupil and teacher loss that this disease could cause. References Abdulkareem, A. Y. and I. O. Umar (1997) Follow-up Study on Primary Education Cost, Financing and Management in Kogi, Kwara and Nigeria States and the Federal Capital Territory. National Primary Education Commission Project. Durosaro, D. O. (2000) Resource Allocation and Utilization for University Education in Nigeria, Trends and Issues in E. G. Fagbamiye and D. O. Durosaro (eds,). Education and Productivity in Nigeria, N AEAP 51-67. Federal Government of Nigeria (1997 – 2002) Annual Budgets World Bank (2003) School Education in Nigeria: Preparing for Universal Basic Education. , (Human Development II, African Region), September 1. FGN/UNESCO/UNDP (2003). A Decade of Basic Education Data in Nigeria (1988-1998).

Internet and Traditional Books

I. Title Library vs. Internet II. Introduction Students are often unable to distinguish appropriate from inappropriate resources. If the information is not available on the internet, it does not exist for them. Librarians and faculty express concern that students do not know how to adequately evaluate the quality of information resources found on the internet. Both  web-based  and traditional  library  resources are useful when conducting research. Each have their own particular strengths and weaknesses. Conducting research is something that every student will eventually have to do. Research projects are done in English class, in foreign language class, in social studies class and in science class. The sooner students are able to master the skills required for conducting research the better off they are going to be. The two most common places to find resources for research projects are in the library and online. Many thousands of web pages exist, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet instead of a traditional library. Many of these are personal opinions, with the authors ranging from commercial sites to professional organizations. By limiting their research to the internet, students are ignoring the books, journals, databases, full-text digital resources and other scholarly materials provided by the library. In many academic libraries, use of print resources is decreasing. Use of video and other media appears to be increasing. Ignoring library resources in lieu of web resources may imperil the quality of student learning. You may find instructors who do not allow their students to use web resources in class projects for this very reason. Faculty can have an enormous influence over student choices for research resources. However, the Internet and the Web should not be disregarded as valuable research tools. With proper training and cross-referencing, both can be highly effective and efficient means by which students locate information. As computers are becoming more common in schools and homes, students and teachers are becoming more computer literate and Internet literate. The library is the traditional place to conduct research for a school research project. Libraries contain a large collection of books, periodicals and multimedia resources. They also have live people there called librarians who are available to help you find the information that you need. Libraries also give you the opportunity to read hardcopies of the reference materials that you use and they have photocopying machines available to students so that they can take home a copy of the information that they need. Libraries are established for the systematic collection, organization, preservation and dissemination of knowledge and information. It is very important for man to preserve and maintain the valuable knowledge and information contained in the books and documents because we want to preserve our knowledge and wisdom for the coming generations. By preserving the documents in a library this knowledge can be made available to others so that they can benefit from it. Establishment of libraries is not a new concept. The oldest library dates to around 2700 years ago in Sennacherib's Palace in Nineveh which shows how long ago the concept of leaving a piece of your wisdom behind started being formed into the organized collection to preserve the work. While libraries are wonderful resources for a variety of reference materials, they do have a few limitations. First of all libraries are not usually open 24 hours a day seven days a week. This means that your access to the research materials is limited to the hours of operation of the library. Secondly, the books in a library can be somewhat out-of-date, particularly in smaller libraries. Finally, libraries can be crowded and access to reference materials, computers and other pieces of equipment can be limited by the number of people who also need to use those items. Internet research  is the practice of using the  Internet, especially the World Wide Web, for  research. The internet is widely used and readily accessible to hundreds of millions of  people  in many parts of the  world. It can provide practically instant  information  on most topics, and has a profound impact on the way  ideas  are formed and  knowledge  is created. The Internet solves many of the problems associated with conducting research in a physical library. First of all students have instant access to reference materials 24 hours a day seven days a week. Students also do not have to travel to get to the reference materials that are found online. This means that they can find references for their research project any time and it also means that they can access these references from anywhere that has a computer an Internet access. Finally, the Internet provides students access to multiple databases and sources of information, many of which are not going to be found in a library. Common applications of  Internet researchinclude personal research on a particular subject (something mentioned on the news, a health problem, etc. ,  students  doing research for academic projects and papers, and  journalists  and other  writers researching stories. It should be distinguished from  scientific research  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ research following a defined and rigorous process – carried out on the Internet; from straight forward finding of specific info, like locating a name or phone number; and from research  about  the Internet. Co mpared to the Internet, print physically limits access to information. A book has to be identified, then actually obtained. On the Net, the Web can be searched, and typically hundreds or thousands of  pagescan be found with some relation to the topic, within seconds. Just like a physical library the Internet has research limitations. The first limitation is based on the student’s ability to access a computer, electricity and Internet access. The second problem is that not all information found online is good information. There are a lot of websites that have inaccurate and incomplete information. These problems can be overcome by focusing research efforts solely on websites that are run by government or other authoritative organizations or by using databases that hold peer reviewed journals. Many predict that the digital age will wipe public bookshelves clean, and permanently end the centuries-old era of libraries. As libraries' relevance comes into question, librarians face an existential crisis at a time when students need them the most. User demand is ever increasing and putting a great pressure on the librarians. Therefore, there is an imperative need for the modernization of libraries in order to keep pace with the modern times. The new challenges in the field of Library and Information Science can be met by adopting the process of digitization and networking. In the present age the Librarians have to face many problems due to the limitations of time and space. User satisfaction is the main objective of a good library. It cannot be achieved without adopting the modern tools and techniques rendered available by the modern technologies available in the field of Information and telecommunication. These developments have led to the creation of Digital and Virtual Libraries, which have great advantages over the traditional libraries. Therefore, digital libraries are becoming popular due to the advantages and facilities, which are offered by them to their users. III. â€Å"Accuracy is another area where the Internet information and library information are dissimilar. Before information reaches a library, it is filtered in three ways: (a) it is written and/or issued by an authoritative source such as the federal government or a reliable organization; (b) it is authenticated as part of an editorial or peer review process by a publisher; or (c) it is evaluated by experts, reviewers, or subject specialists/librarians as part of collection development (Brandt, 1996). In a library, the information is then selected, reviewed again, evaluated, and catalogued. The information is selected for specific purposes and specific reasons to be included in a section. Information on the Web has no evaluation criteria. Anyone can publish anything on the Web. It is important that teachers and students do not take information found on the Web at face value. Facts and figures should always be cross-referenced with other resources. † — http://www2. hawaii. edu/~nguyen/web/literature1. htm

The fundamentality of Holdens alienation-- a form of self protection Essay

The fundamentality of Holdens alienation-- a form of self protection to resist the process of maturity - Essay Example The book was banned in certain communities, however, because of Salinger's free language and frequent use of profanity. Catcher in the Rye is a book about an adolescent boy caught between desire to appear grown-up and suave, while at the same time being repulsed by what he feels is phoniness in the adult world. The novel represents Holden Caulfield's attempts to come to terms with both of these polarities. Throughout the novel, the reader is presented time and time again with Holden's revolving patterns-his attempt to connect and his habit of alienating himself both from the adult world and people he meets. This essay will take a look at Holden's patterns of alienation, which in the writer's opinion represent his attempt to avoid the process of maturity. By constantly 'running away' Holden manages to evade the demands and pressures The novel describes a period of time of three days in Holden Caulfield's life. Holden sums it up in his talk with the psychiatrist: "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy." (The Catcher in the Rye, 1) "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth," (1) This first interaction that we witness already sets forth some of Holden's patterns. Holden anticipates what the psychiatrist will ask him, but has no desire to talk about details. This is one of Holden's repeating patterns throughout the novel-he reveals only as much as he sees fit, but rarely does he tell the whole truth. He does not feel comfortable revealing his inner self to an adult, and we will see this again and again in the novel. But his attitude about sharing is not limited to adults only; Holden often "shoots the bull" with his peers as well, but his words are evasive. The bottom line of his resistance to self-disclosure is that he does not feel comfortable in the world. In fact, he feels that he is a part of the world in which he feels he does not really belong. This is often a typical adolescent attitude, but what sets Holden apart from his peers is that he searches for the truth, the truth about himself and the truth connected to innocence. Holden's story starts on "the day [he] left Pencey Prep" (The Catcher in the Rye, 2). There is a football game going on, but Holden does not participate. He instead wishes to feel some kind of good-bye as he is leaving the school. Holden is getting kicked out as he did not "apply [himself]" (4) enough to the subjects. His non-committal attitude towards the school work might be puzzling to the reader, as he is very bright, but it reveals his deep resistance to "play the game" of life by the rules set forth by others. He does not believe

POLITICAL CONSPIRACY AND SLANDER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

POLITICAL CONSPIRACY AND SLANDER - Essay Example However, the investigations were unsuccessful in solving crimes of political slander or even to pinpoint the officials and organizations most probable to have been executors (Pfau 2005). Thus investigations of doubtful political incidents eventually came to be ridiculed as ‘conspiracy theories’ due to the fact that, after reviewing official accounts, they frequently apply vague proofs to hypothesize about threatening schemes and convoluted cover-ups (Goldzwig 2002). As remarked by Stewart and colleagues (1994), â€Å"a conspiracy may be real or imagined, but the process is the same; a chain of apparently unrelated events or actions is linked to reveal concerted actions and intentions to cause all sorts of social, economic, political, religious, and moral problems† (ibid, p. 3). Thus, it is at times hard to discern fantasy from reality. It may be hard to put off disorientation as well. This remains a reality. People of the United States are still prone to be victim s of suspicious events that benefit confer advantage to political elites, and still Americans lack means of finding out whether the events are inevitable incidents or, rather, crimes instigated or allowed by the authorities themselves (Smith 2006). Recent cases in point are the 2000 and 2004 election troubles; the failures of defense on the 9-11 attack; the chain of threats of terrorism circulated based on weak evidence (Katyal 2003). A number of these events were never scrutinized. Others were investigated shallowly. Even the September 11 attack, which gained the most elaborate and systematic investigation, was studied by political insiders who circumvented inquiring whether the incident might have been a conspiracy (Smith 2006). Nevertheless, elites exploited these incidents to defend constraints on civil liberties, a current strategy, and an American militarism, unparalleled for the United States, of preventive conflict (Melley 2000). To be certain, large portions of the U.S. pop ulation and all over the world think that the administration of Bush accepted and may have in some way allowed the 9-11 attack, yet these misgivings are only another group of conspiracy theories that create more issues than clarifications. To transcend incident-specific assumptions of government schemes, the discussion of political conspiracy and slander in this paper would employ social scientific premises for ideas into the widespread occurrence of state assaults on democratic principles and practices. Political Conspiracy and Slander in the United States Even though conspiracy theorists have been unsuccessful to build up a sufficient explanation of state crime, they are worthy of recognition for emphasizing a threatening possibility historically taken for granted by scholars. The latter have investigated different types of state criminality, but in nearly every instance the opportunity for government authorities in liberal democracies to undermine or challenge democratic principl es and practices has been overlooked (Pozen 2010). In criminology and sociology, a large number of studies on state crime have put emphasis on connections between subversive and public organizations, particularly the symbiosis that frequently emerges between organized crime and law enforcement agencies (Pfau 2005). Hardly any intellectuals in these disciplines have also investigated state criminality as a kind of political

Ethics in the Engineering Profession Assignment

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