Innovation Report on the Microwave Oven Essay Example for Free

Innovation Report on the Microwave Oven Essay The famous American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, once said: â€Å"Anything that wont sell, I dont want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success. † His perception was precisely accurate even to date, as the success of any product depends on the demand for it in the market’s economy. Inventions have continuously been reconstructed in different ways stretching technology to new lengths, which has changed the way we live today. When comparing the lifestyle of people in today’s world with those in the past, it is easy to recognize the way in which technology has changed us as; we now rely on it to assist in everyday activities. One such technological device, which is currently relied upon by many is the microwave oven. It is common to have microwave ovens in many different kitchen atmospheres; such as restaurants, offices and homes. At present, it is safe to say most families, over 95% of American households, own a microwave oven. Many of which commented that this device is difficult or impossible to do without it (Remich, 2007). According to a report by Lukovitz (2009), the economic crisis had an impact upon many Americans, which led them to change the way, they ate. This change led to many people eating at home but not necessarily cooking their own food. As the microwave oven gained popularity among households, the objective of this essay is to examine the origins of the microwave ovens in addition to the impact it has on the consumers. During World War II there were numerous radar related research projects being undertaken. These investigations were carried about using magnetrons, a vacuum tube which can produce microwave radiation (Gallawa, 2009). The invention of the microwave oven was therefore classified as a by-product of another technology since this was the method in which it was created. Dr. Percy LeBaron Spencer, a famous engineer with the Raytheon Corporation, was the first creator of the microwave oven in 1946 (Gallawa, 2009). While testing the vacuum tubing, Spencer realized the chocolate bar in his pocket melted and as such, he went on to experiment with popcorn, which popped, and finally with an egg, that exploded. A design was then fashioned to contain all the heat so as to cook food. This invention was to revolutionize the world of cooking from that day forward. Upon the early years of the product, microwave ovens were usually over five feet tall, weighed over 750 pounds and was priced at approximately $5000 each (Gallawa, 2009). A picture of such microwave ovens can be seen in figure one of the appendix. These microwave ovens needed plumbing upon assemble as the magnetron tube had to be water-cooled. During those years, the oven was not very popular; however, Raytheon Corporations thought differently and carried on to invest into the product. As the years went by, the improvements made the microwave oven more reliable and lightweight. Developments of new air-cooled magnetron were also undertaken eliminating the need for a plumber (Gallawa, 2009). As the microwave oven became recognized throughout the food industry, for less wastage and cutting costs, there were also new applications for their usage. Some industries used the microwave oven for drying potato chips, roasting coffee beans and other drying applications (Gallawa, 2009). The microwave oven was therefore becoming popular among many as the usage of it became endless. As with all great technologies, there is always room for improvement within the market and this is what was happening to the microwave oven. Thus enter the era of compact microwave ovens. Two years after Raytheon Manufacturing Company acquired Amana Refrigeration, they introduced the line of compact microwave ovens. Introduced in 1967 these compact microwave ovens, called the Radarange, were a countertop model priced at $495 (SMECC, 2007). An image of these compact microwave ovens can be seen in figure two of the appendix. This microwave oven also had similar effects upon the market as it was not popular and the company was not getting the sales it deserves as yet. According to Gallawa (2009), the first time the microwave oven sales exceeded those of gas ranges is in 1975. From this point onwards it was expected that sales of the microwave ovens would continue to increase especially in the next year. At present, microwave ovens come in many different styles and sizes adapting to the needs of the consumer. For instance some persons may prefer a convection microwave oven with a feature, which saves energy while others may choose a built in microwave oven to compliment their kitchen decor. Upon the invention of any product, there have been changes and modifications for improve its reliability in addition to adapting to the needs of the consumers. When emphasizing the change and innovation upon inventions created, Joseph Schumpeter (1934) made the following thesis; ‘They have employed existing means of production differently, more appropriately, more adventurously. They have â€Å"carried out new combinations†. They are entrepreneurs’ (Lumsdaine and Binks 2007). This interpretation attempts to explain the definition of an entrepreneur and analyzes them to be anyone who can make change upon an invention. Dr. Percy LeBaron Spencer can therefore be classed as an entrepreneur along the definitions of Joseph Schumpeter. He continued by explaining these changes can be categorized into two groups; discrete and gradual changes. The innovation of the microwave oven is a discrete change as there was no previous invention like this before its introduction to be compared to in the market. All associated risks involved with this type of change were experienced in the introduction of the microwave oven. As mentioned earlier, when the first microwave ovens were introduced, they were not popular and as such sales were not appealing (Gallawa 2009). The shareholders took a risk and continued the investments into the product. These risks were high and if there the innovation of the microwave oven was to be a failure this could have incurred large losses within the company. There was also a risk involved whether consumers would change their perspective about the use of microwave ovens within their homes. According to Gallawa (2009), there were many fears and myths about the use of microwave ovens as consumers thought they could make one blind or a person may die from the radiation poisoning. These fears and myths were the sole cause of the unfavorable reaction to the microwave oven in the earlier years. As these myths were tested to be false and fears were being overcome, consumes started to see the benefits of using the microwave oven. Reusch (2008) lists some of these advantages such as saving time in preparing meals, conservation of nutrition values in foods compared to using the stovetop, and it is easy to be cleaned. Thus, consumers began to purchase the microwave oven as a necessary kitchen appliance in the home. Even thought the stovetop is still the most popular cooking device among Americans, its usage has dropped from 53% in 1985 to 33% in 2009 (Lukovitz, 2009). Having gained a large consumer base over the years, the usage of the microwave oven has had a continuous increasing rate. Many companies have recognized the growing use of the microwave oven and as such they have prepared foods that are fully prepared by them. These foods range from pre-cooked entrees to organic and natural foods. Some foods may be packaged in a single serving meal pack that is easy to transport and prepare. Most of them also have a high nutritional value that can appeal to many persons whom are concerned about their health whilst eating good tasting and smelling foods. The use of microwave ovens has come a long way throughout its history. Starting off with an unfavorable initial reaction, the microwave oven has gained its reputation and is now a common way of preparing food. This was mainly due to its time saving feature in which it can cook foods as many people are working longer hours. The reputation gained from the microwave oven has also made it difficult for persons to go back to the original way of cooking and preparing foods. Many people of today’s age would prefer to use the microwave oven over any other cooking appliance. This is one kitchen appliance, which is considered a necessity to many people around the world. In conclusion, the innovation of the microwave oven was a successful invention that changed the way in which we prepared food.

William Preston Essay Example for Free

William Preston Essay The Half-Brothers is a short, realist, tragedy story, that illustrates the hardships that the poorer people had to undergo in the late Victorian period especially the hardships faced by widows and some of those around them. I think that the purpose of the story other than to entertain the reader is more to make people realise how difficult it is for people living in harsh conditions and to perhaps examine human relationships. I think that the genre of the story is perfectly suited to the purpose because of its realism and tragedy, I think that the reader is possibly affected emotionally even if the emotion felt is a slight feeling of happiness because they are not in the scenario faced by the fictional characters portrayed by the author Elizabeth Gaskell. Obviously the reader faced with such a tragedy would want to read all of the story and that is why I think that genre is well suited to this story. The story can be divided into six sections. The first section is the introduction, the second section is the development of the story, the third section is the climax, the fourth section is the narrator of the younger brother and the final section is the conclusion of the story. Many events take place in the story, in the introduction the story mentions the death of the eldest brothers farther, the story tells us that the narrators sister dies before he is born, it also tells us that the narrators mother did not cry at her daughters death but instead did not cry until the coming of the narrators half-brother were I quote, When my aunt came back from the funeral, she found my mother in the same place, and in the same place, and as dry-eyed as ever. So she continued until after Gregory was born; and, somehow, his coming seemed to loosed the tears, and she cried day and night, day and night, in the development of the story it tells the reader about how the narrators mothers job and how his mother had to end her job because of bad eyesight, this part of the story also tells about William Preston asking the narrators mother to marry him and her reaction to that, the narrators mother gets married and has a child early she then dies, with the farther blaming the narrators brother for hastening his brothers birth. In the climax the story tells the reader about the narrator leaving home and getting lost. In the rescue the narrator gets rescued by his elder brother but his older brother dies in the process. And in the conclusion of the story, the narrator tells the reader how his brother saved him, about the respect that his brother gains from saving his life and the sadness faced by everyone because of the way they treated his eldest brother. I think that the plot fits well into the structure because the structure and plot work up gradually to the tragic ending that concludes the story, that is why I think that the story can induce emotion into the reader because of the tragedy involved especially at the end. There are very few settings involved in this story, there is the home of the narrators mother at the beginning, the home of the narrator at his farther farm and the fells which the narrator describes it as, It looked dark and gloomy enough; but everything was so still that I thought I should have plenty of time to get home before the snow came down. And, The right path was clear enough in the daytime, although at several points two or three exactly similar diverged from the same place; but when there was a good light, the traveller was guided by the sight of distant objects, a piece of rock, a fall in the ground which were quit invisible to me now. This is where the narrator gets lost. I think that the narrator choose these settings because this is were the narrator grew up and so new the most about. I think these settings achieved the purpose of the story because the last setting illustrates the difficulty faced by the eldest brother to find the narrator at great risk. There are few main characters in this story, the narrator, his brother Gregory, his mother, his aunt fanny and his farther William Preston. The narrator describes himself as, I suppose I was a cleaver lad; at any rate, I always got plenty of praise; and was , as we called it, the cock of the school. He also says how everybody thinks of his brother, But everyone said he was stupid and dull, and this stupidity and dullness grew upon him.

Morton and Frith Causal Model Dyslexia

Morton and Frith Causal Model Dyslexia Despite different definitions of dyslexia, expert views very largely agree on two basic points. First, dyslexia is identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition. Secondly, the long running debate about its existence should give way to building professional expertise in identifying dyslexia and developing effective ways to help learners overcome its effects(Rose, 2009: 9). There are many complex issues to consider in developing an appropriate definition of dyslexia. One of this is that there is no specific blood test or brain imaging result that can offer a diagnosis. There is a range of different assessments both written and performance actions which are based on the opportunity to compare performance of different formats (Mc Kendree et al., 2011). Firstly, elaboration of the influential causal modelling framework of Morton (1985) is a major tool as it analyses the learning difficulties from the perspective of biological causes, cognitive difficulties and behavioural influences. According to Morton (1985) these bio-psychosocial factors are interconnected and play an essential role towards the syndrome called dyslexia. Based on this model, I will specifically focus on various traditional and innovative assessments of reading comprehension and phonological awareness, including standardized tests, informal reading inventories, observations and retellings. Phonological awareness is a vital part in learning to read (Robelo, 2000). There are strong correlations between phonological awareness and initial reading, much replicated, and have been obviously affirmed (Gillam, McFadden, 1998 cited in Robelo, 2000). Because of the correlation that exists between reading and phonological awareness and the need to identify children at risk for reading failure, numerous tasks have been developed to assess a childs knowledge of phonological awareness (Robelo, 2000). Therefore, children need two significant skills in order to read successfully; ph onics and language comprehension. Regarding the issue of choice of assessments there are a lot of arguments. Indeed, there are some advantages and limitations as far as using these measures is concerned and we should examine these measures before reaching a conclusion. Also, before conclusion it is important to note that failure to identify and address dyslexia early, can have a cumulative effect. Mortons Model (Causal Model for dyslexia) According to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA, 1996): Dyslexia is a complex neurological condition which is constitutional in origin. The symptoms may affect many areas of learning and function and may be described as a specific difficulty in learning, spelling, and written language. One or more of these areas may be affected. Numeracy, notional skills (music), motor function and organizational skills may also be involved. However it is particularly related to mastering written language, although oral language may be affected to some degree (cited in Ott, 1993).Dyslexia as a precise developmental disorder raises interesting issues about the structure of the usually developing mind (Frith, 2009:191). Accordingly Morton and Frith(1995) the phrase causal model is used to describe the origins of a disorder (Krol et al., 2004). Causal model is related to the biological and cognitive origins of developmental disorders and in this way, records are being kept of the a range of levels of description -biological, cognitive, and behavioural. Morton and Frith (1995) distinguish three levels of description, the biological level, the cognitive level and the behavioural level; there is a separate space for environmental influences which can interact at the three levels. Using the biological level, the genetic factors, the brain conditions, and causal links between the two can be described. In this level we can also include the influence of environmental factors, for example, birth complications on brain conditions (Krol et al., 2004). In the cognitive level, affective as well as cognitive factors, can be incorporated. An affective factor would be usually placed at the intermediate cognitive level, although Morton and Frith highlight that affect can also be defined at the biological level as a physiological reaction or defined at the behavioural level as the expression of the affect, such as the facial expression. On the other hand, due to the fact that the internal process which interprets feeling seems to be significant in explaining how affect can have meaning, affect processing is placed at the cognitive level. At the behavioural level, the behavioural descriptions of the disorders are also stated. These are the behaviours we can directly observe and where the causal flow of the model finally leads, e.g., poor reading. (Krol et al., 2004:729). By describing the behavioural level itself does not give a reason why an individual might have a certain problem, such as why a child has problems in reading. causal model includes explanation for a disorder which is a function of the interaction of factors at the cognitive and the biological levels and from the environment. Some of these factors will be of developmental significance, others will describe current processing. The cognitive level cannot be observed directly, but is in fact assessed at the behavioural level. UK Context Assessments of dyslexia Before the investigation of assessments methods, this piece of paper will explore the major perspectives and changes of special and inclusive education, literacy difficulties and how legislation is applied in the educational system of UK. In these changes, the significant Acts for the development of SEN are included, such as the Warnock Report(1978). The Warnock Report(1978) highlighted the commonality of educational aims for all children irrespective of their abilities or disabilities. Furthermore, it recognized disabled learners right to be educated in mainstream schools, thus opening the way to the idea of inclusion (Warnock, 2005). Some of the international conventions and statements that have asserted the principles of inclusive education which influenced the UK policy are stated below: the UN Convention on the Right of the Child (UNICEF,1989) which states that inclusive education should be the goal for the education of children with disabilities. The Salamanca Statement and Fra mework for action on Special Needs Education (UNESCO,1994) were also important steps for the development of SEN, which ensures that all their educational policies specify that disabled children could also attend their neighbourhood school which would be the same even if there were no disabilities. The Salamanca Statement(UNESCO,1994) has also been seen as something of a watershed in enhancing the prospects for inclusion throughout the world (Farell, 2001:6). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities (UN, 2006) was ratified by the UK government in 2004 which requires state parties so that to have an inclusive education system at all levels. The problematic nature of integration coupled with the statements made at the World Conference in Special Education (UNESCO,1994) led to the emergence of inclusive education in England. Another significant development in high quality intervention for children with literacy and dyslexic difficulties was the Rose Review Report (2008). The childrens plan (DCSF,2007), made it clear that the government wants every child to succeed; the ability of each child to read well is a key to success in education and an essential life skill. Moreover reading and writing are two terms closely related and both on the development of childrens speaking and listening capabilities. According to Rose Review(2008), in order to overcome dyslexia and other developmental difficulties of language learning there must be highly quality provision for securing literacy for all children, especially in primary schools. In addition, in order to develop high quality interventions for children with literacy and dyslexic difficulties, well trained, knowledgeable teachers and support staff will be required (Rose Review, 2008). In England and Wales government policies have affected, in many ways for the better, dyslexic people who must learn: structured and phonic approaches are specified in the National Curriculum (Cooke, 2001). The rationale stressed the responsibility of the class teachers by identifying and meeting the individual childs needs in primary schools (Cooke, 2001). According to Gaynor et al., (2011:176 cited in Mckendree et al., 2007) a significant first move to helping children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia was an accurate identification and after the identification there is a variety of different assessments both written and performance based opportunity to compare performance of different formats. As Paris Hoffman state (2004:6 cited in Oakley Barratt-Pugh,2007) assessments of reading in the early years can supply several purposes: it can identify children who need extra support; it can provide information for reporting  purposes; and it can inform teachers a s to the effectiveness of their teaching strategies and programs for meeting literacy outcomes. Assessments can be provided through a variety of assessments tools, techniques or data collection methods, often called assessments, instruments, tools or measures (Oakley Barratt-Pugh,2007). Phonological awareness The first part of assignment will be based on the question: How is phonological awareness (PA) best measured? Before examination on assessments methods of PA should begin with a definition. It is widely accepted that the lack of PA, the ability to detect and control the finer phonological units in either spoken or mentally recalled words, is the main shortage in developmental dyslexia (Seki et al., 2008). According to Muter et al., (2004:194 cited in Rose Review), PA is defined as the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds in words, and is recognized as a key base skill for early word-level reading and spelling development. The Rose Report (2008) recommended that all children should be taught to read using phonics, taught discretely and systematically within a curriculum rich in language and literacy. After the Rose Review current implementation of phonics taught in English schools recommends systematic assessment of basic skills on a regular basis during the 3 years of instr uction. As Eisele and Jordan claim (2002:103 cited Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007) there are several ways in which to assess phonological awareness, and which method to employ will depend upon factors such as the number of children to be assessed, the amount of information the teacher already has about the child, and the amount of time available in which to carry out the assessments.  According to Lancashire Primary Literacy (undated) childrens phoneme knowledge and ability to segment and blend are better to be measured individually, as their progress may not be adequate, or well ascertained in the group activities. As stated by Yopp (1988) a combination of PA measures will be the best recipe for validity and reliability. In my point of view, one of the most helpful measures assessing PA is the use of phonic phases. Teachers may have a variety of activities for each phonic phases, however teachers should use motivating activities each time to encourage children, in order to have a quick re ference and overview. According to The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2008) teachers are expected to track pupils progress through a series of developmental phonic phases, with each phase being quantified by a number of phonic-related skills. The phases move from sensitivity to rhyme and alliteration at Phase 1 to confident and flowing use of letter sound knowledge for reading and spelling unfamiliar words at Phase 6 (Snowling et al., 2011: 159). Activities that can support learning in Phase 1-5 are: storytelling, linking letter shapes with phonemes, blending and segmenting long vowel phonemes (given by Lancashire Primary Literacy). This measure had a number of strengths and limitations too. The variety of the phonics activities make the method more reliable and valid to the users, and there is a plenty of choices each time. An additional advantage of this method is the factor of time, because teachers have the ability to design their lesson plan by setting th e time limit themselves whereas at the same time this could be a disadvantage because it could also be time consuming. As Konza (2006) claims most of  the phonological awareness capabilities and skills can be assessed using informal assessments. However, if screening or informal assessment methods find difficulties, formal and diagnostic assessment, should be carried out (Oakley and Barratt-Pugh, 2007). An additional measure of assessing phonological awareness is the Yopp-Singer (1992) test; the purpose of this test is assessing phoneme segmentation abilities. This assessment is consisted of 22 single syllable words, which children are asked to segment into individual sounds. This assessment is not normed, but competency  benchmarks are suggested. It is quick to administer and they can provide important information on which instruction can be based (Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007). Reading Comprehension The second section of the essay will be referred to the next language and literacy difficulty that children may face from kindergarten and that is reading comprehension. During the period of the last 15 years, great progress has been made to the area of reading, and particularly in reading comprehension. But what is reading comprehension? How is reading comprehension best measured? According to Farr (1992 cited in Carver, 1972: 292) reading comprehension can be defined as thought communication process which involves two primary components, the rate at which the thoughts are received and the accuracy with which the thoughts are understood. The end product of these two components is the efficiency with which the thoughts are communicated. Reading comprehension is one of the most commonly assessment methods across all the stage of ages, when it comes to educational skills (Svetina et al., 2011). In order for someone to be an efficient reader they must have a set of phonemic awareness an d phonemic skills that allow for new words to unlock. According to National Centre for Learning Disabilities, children might face trouble when reading in the late grades if they lack phonemic awareness. In addition, childrens reading could be improved in identifying the phonemes in words by using simple techniques. In this piece of paper, various traditional and innovative reading comprehension assessment measures will be critically analyzed, including formal and informal methods such as standardized tests, observation and informal reading inventories. Each technique has its relative strengths and weaknesses. According to Gunning (2002) whatever the method of reading comprehension is the material which is given to students to be read, must be at their instructional level in order to be read with an adequate fluency. If the student cant read at least 95% of the words, they will have a lot of trouble when reading. The first technique of reading comprehension which will be explored is standardized tests. What is being measured by standardized tests to measure reading comprehension? Do these tests measure comprehension accuracy? What are the strengths and weakness of this technique? Standardized tests are planned in a way which, questions, conditions for directing process to set the scores are accurate and are scored in a fixed and standard way (Popham, 1999). Standardised tests are administered and scored in a structured, prescribed way to ensure consistency and reliability. Such tests often have scripts that are read out by the teacher / administrator. Standardised tests may be norm-referenced or criterion-referenced and they are always formal assessments. As suggested above, the use of  standardised tests needs careful consideration as many are based on the assumption that literacy is a set of skills that a child has or needs to acquire. In addition, because, they are normative they ar e often used as an indication of a childs overall ability rather than an indication of what is yet to be learned. Therefore the cost and the time are some of the strengths of standardized assessments. At the same time, most assessments are scored easily by computer and not by people. In my point of view, this is an assessments limitation, because tests should be scored by a human and not by a device. As mentioned above there is a number of variety of assessments of reading comprehension. The next reading comprehension method is the classroom assessment practises, that are specially informal reading assessments (observation). As Buhagiar states (2007 cited in Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007:10) informal assessments rely on skilful, knowledgeable teacher construction and interpretation and are often regarded as more authentic than standardised and or commercial assessments. Most informal assessments of reading comprehension take place in school or classroom as teachers and assessment specialists select or construct methods to estimate and summarize student performance (Leslie Caldwell, 2008). Teachers use a variety of methods to assess student learning at quite a few points in any semester using common techniques for instance end-of unit tests, quizzes of various types but some alternative classroom assessment are less obvious (Snow, Grifà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ n, Burns, 2005). There are some infor mal and different assessments options which are considered to be the core for the successful assessments of learning, such as student observations, self reporting measures, performance inventories, group work, interviews and they usually provide converging indication over time for the appropriate total assessment at the end of the school year (Snow et al., 2005). Each general type of informal assessment category can be carried out by means of several precise tasks and in different formats. Teachers and administrators have the responsibility to concentrate on appropriate tasks and interpretations of tasks outcomes so that students are not assessed unfairly, despite the informal assessment method used (Snow et al., 2005). In my point of view, the use of informal assessments methods of reading comprehension is more reliable and realistic than using the stereotypic testing formats like standardized assessment methods. There is a range of advantages using informal methods, for instance, they are fairly simple and straightforward using these methods by teachers, and they can gain a lot of important information about childrens progress (Snow et al., 2005). Furthermore, informal tests should function in a way which provides more objective assessment than after-the-fact judgment or overall subjective assessment (Snow et al., 2005). As claimed by Moss (2003:9 cited in Leslie Caldwell, 2008) evidence for the validity of classroom assessments include the match between instructional objectives and classroom instruction as well as the extent to which an assessment contributes successfully to the teaching and learning process .Additionally, the reliability of assessments methods responds to the stage of, which assessment creates reliable measurement with regards to different scorers or contexts (Salinger, 2003 cited Leslie Caldwell, 2008). Classroom assessments permit a much wider range of tasks and student observations (Snow et al., 2005). Observation has an advantage over verbal reports in that they supply the observer with proof of what children actually do (Baker, 2000 cited in Klinger, 2004). Students might be observed during independent reading time or while they are in smaller groups, peer or cross age tutoring or cooperative learning activities (Klinger, 2004). Teachers value the observation as a useful instrument and feel that district assessments are less helpful than examining students written work, listening, asking questions and talking anecdotal records (cited in Leslie Caldwell, 2008). On the other hand as, Snow et al., (2005) assert, that in a classroom assessment, students may feel that they do not achieve well, therefore teachers may be disappointed by a specific performance by a student. An additional limitation of using observation method is that they can be time-consuming (Klinger, 2004). Furthermo re, it can be complicated to find out what is causing a child to behave in a certain way. It is significant to exercise caution when taking observation notes and to identify that there can be many alternative explanations for a childs action (Klinger, 2004). Another promising practise for examining reading comprehension is the use of oral retelling. Retelling a story requires a student to sequence and restructure events and major sources presented in text (Hanse, 1978). In addition, retelling assesses a students ability to rely on memory for accurate details and to relate them to some organized significant model (Klinger, 2004). Burns and Roe (2002) suggest that asking students to recall and retell text is a precious measurement tool. An advantage of retelling is that the teacher is able to know what the student understands. However, a disadvantage is that retelling must be conducted individually and therefore are time-consuming to score. The above elements illustrate that by using a combination of different measures such as: observation, retelling, informal reading inventories, think-aloud and standardized tests might be the best way to assess reading comprehension and phonological awareness (Klinger, 2004). However, due to concerns about the low level of validity and reliability of  informal assessment types, in some circumstances, teachers may need to triangulate results with other assessment types to ensure as high a degree of  veracity as possible (Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007:11). Through combinations of approaches, we can learn more than just identifying whether students can read a passage or reply to reading comprehension questions accurately. Conclusion This essay enabled me to obtain valuable insights with regards to the assessments methods of phonological awareness and reading comprehension. As mentioned above, these two skills are significant in order to read successfully and there is a strong correlation between these skills. Due to this correlation, numerous assessments methods have been developed to assess a childs knowledge of phonological awareness and reading comprehension (Robelo, 2000). Each technique has its relative strengths and weakness. The point is that assessment, no matter the context, is serious business and must be handled with care, purpose, and exercise (Snow et al., 2005: 363). Taking this into account, I assume that teachers must be very careful with the choice of methods for reading comprehension and phonological awareness, and each assessment method should be examined cautiously and the needs of each child, should be considered thoughtfully. In my point of view, classroom assessments and especially informa l methods of reading comprehensions have more advantages than using formal assessment methods such as, standardized tests. With classroom assessment methods, teachers have an overall view for the childs progress; on the other hand I think that standardized tests are not so reliable and may have impact on the childs life, as a mother stated. As mentioned above, in order to assess young childrens reading in a fair, valid, comprehensive, educative and explicit way (Curriculum Council, 1998), it is necessary to assess children by multiple methods, in multiple contexts, on an ongoing, cumulative basis, preferably as a part of the normal teaching and learning context (Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007:99).

Reparations For Descendents of African Slaves in America Essay

Reparations For Descendents of African Slaves in America Slavery has been entwined with American history ever since Dutch traders brought twenty captive Africans to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Slavery in America is a subject with minimal truths and stories rarely told. The public school system excludes the fact that eight of the first twelve American presidents were major slaveholders. Emancipation brought freedom, but not approximation. The civil rights movement killed Jim Crow, but shadows remained. Affirmative Action created opportunities, but racism continues. So why shouldn't the great-great grandchildren of those who worked for free and were deprived of education and were kept in bondage not be compensated? Why should American taxpayers who never owned slaves pay for the sins of ancestors they don't even know? Ask one question and it leads to another. How would the economy be affected? How do you put a price tag on over two centuries of legalized inhumanity? In what form would reparations be paid? How would you establish who is a descendant? Questions start debates. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines reparations as the act of making amends for a wrong. Money paid by a defeated nation in compensation for damages caused during hostilities, is also included in the definition. It is essential to locate the claim for reparations within a framework of law and justice. The following four propositions are truths that attempt to conceptualize a legal framework for the formulation and prosecution of the claim for reparations. First, the evil enslavement of Africans was a crime against humanity. Secondly, domestic and international law recognizes that those who commit crimes against humanity mus... ...ington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Gifford, A. (1993). Legal Arguments in Support of Reparations: First Pan-African Congress on Reparations. Federal Republic of Nigeria. Mazrui, A. (1998). Black Reparations in a Conservative World of Racial Aspirations and Political Realities. New York: Global Publications. Rhone, S. (2000, January 28). America?s debt to blacks. The Post Dispatch, pC1. Robinson, R. (1999). The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks. New York: Dutton. Ruble, R. (2000, February 4). Riot reparations sought. The Associated Press, p.B1. Saul, M. (1997, June 30). U.S. legislation could pay money to descendents. The Dallas Morning News, p.C2. Westley, R. (1998, December). Many Billions Gone. Boston College Law Review, XL, 11.

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Succinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC) is a non-cleavable and membrane permeable crosslinker. It contains an amine-reactive N -hydroxysuccinimide (NHS ester) and a sulfhydryl-reactive maleimide group. NHS esters react with primary amines at pH 7-9 to form stable amide bonds. Maleimides react with sulfhydryl groups at pH 6.5-7.5 to form stable thioether bonds The staining procedure starts by placing the slides in a slide rack, immersed in a staining dish containing PBS and incubated for 5 min. PBS was removed from slides by tipping the slides and allowing the PBS solution to drip out. Residual PBS around the samples was also removed by gently absorbing the solution with Kim wipes without contaminating and damaging the samples. Diluted antibody solution (1/10 v/v in PBS) were directly inoculated to the regions encircled with wax pen and incubated for one hour without letting the sections dry. The slides were washed in PBS solution for 10 min. This step was triplicated. One drop of prolong) media as an antifading agent was applied to each section and covered with a coverslip to preserve the QDs from photobleaching during fluorescence microscopy experiments. The edges of the coverslips were sealed with nail polish to prevent drying. Slides were placed in a dark room and we waited until the nail polish dries at room temperature for 12 hours. They were kept for another 12 hours at 4  ºC in a refrigerator.A confocal laser scanning microscope (Zeiss LSM 710, Carl Zeiss Micro imaging GmbH, Germany) was used to visualize dough sample microstructure. Starch granules were identified by simple polarized light .The excitation wavelengths of the QDs were 405 nm for the reflection and 615 nm for the fluoresce... ...mages of are illustrated in figure for†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The results showed that antibody-quantum dots conjugates successfully diffused into the 3D matrix and were bound to gliadins. Distribution and location of gliadin at different focal planes in each section were found to show similar patterns for a given mixing time. Gliadins were evenly dispersed in dough sections and typically localized in the center of the sections. This supports the observation and hypothesis that the mobility of gliadin due to its lower viscosity enables gliadin to diffuse to the inner sections of the dough along with all other parts of the sample. Intensities of gliadins at top and bottom stacks were relatively low compared to ones located at center. It might be because of optical sectioning of starch molecules found at top and bottom surfaces of sections play a dominant part in the imaging process.

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The Effects of Revenue Management in the Hospitality Industry Up until recent years Revenue Management was something that has never been heard of. Now days, it is something that hotel managers cannot go without. They spend numerous amounts of time checking their computers for the nightly rates of the hotel. But what exactly is Revenue Management? â€Å"Revenue Management (RM) is a scientific technique that combines Operations Research, Statistics and Customer Relationship Management and categorizes customers into price bands, based on various services† (Revenue Management, 2010). In other words someone might reserve a room that is at a going rate of $245 per night while their cousin who reserved a room at the same hotel months in advance only has to pay $105 per night. Now you may ask yourself how hotels can get away with doing this? But what it all boils down to is that someone who reserves a room last minute will end up paying the higher amount because his or her demand for the room is higher. This technique of raising or lowering prices based on the demand of the guest is something that airlines have been using for some time now. The first two airlines to use Revenue Management in 1985 were United and American Airlines. They used a series of algorithms to determine the best price to sell their seats (Desiraju & Shugan, 2000). The reason Revenue Management came about in the airline industry had to do with the airplanes only having a select amount of seats. Trying to sell all of the seats at the same price is very difficult to do especially when the airlines needed to at least be able to cover fixed operating expenses. A lot of times the planes would be left with empty seats, which, doesn’t help the airlines make any money. So by a... ...hould not be. Alan Campbell who has been working in the hotel industry for over thirty years believes that there should be more that goes into Revenue Management than just what the computer tells us. Campbell states, â€Å"Revenue managers need to have a feel for the system, not how it works, but what it does, and how it does it.† In other words a Revenue Manager must know all of the events happening in the area as well as all of the other venues in the area. They must have an instinct for knowing if the numbers are right and will bring the hotel the best property rates. Campbell’s views and ideas are something that is spreading within the Hospitality Industry, because when you are aware of the â€Å"human factor† as he calls it, properties are able to increase their Revenue per available room (Revpar), and occupancy percentages, above what the software will predict.

Interpersonal Conflict in Movies (American Beauty) Essay

Interpersonal conflict is â€Å"a struggle that occurs when two people cannot agree on a way to meet their needs† (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 1999, p.248). Interpersonal conflict can be of love, spirituality, morals etc. In American Beauty (film), interpersonal conflicts are shown as reason to destroy household. Household that appears to be perfect and imaginary from outside, are moth-eaten from inside, owing its failure to interpersonal conflict within the family. Many characters versus character conflicts are shown like interpersonal conflict between Lester Burnham and her daughter Jane, between Angela and Jane, between Col Fitts and his son Ricky, unhappy marriages of Lester and Carolyn and that of Col Fitts and his silent wife, but the conflict between Lester Burnham and his wife Carolyn is of much importance as it was not handled properly.. Three types of conflict are shown in the Lester’s and Carolyn’s interpersonal conflict, namely pseudo conflict, simple con flict and ego conflict. Lester Burnham and his wife Carolyn are living in a pseudo environment where both hate the life in which they are living since the start of the movie. This conflict somehow seemed to last throughout the movie and was not handled properly regardless of the efforts made by the couple. The conflict between them was attributed to the egocentric attitude of Lester and Carolyn towards each other, seeds of lust and adultery, materialistic and pessimistic approach of Carolyn towards happiness and Lester’s lost of interest in the family. The couple should have encouraged healthy discussions in the family and should have avoided the show-off of fake life .As Scott suggests that conflict are more than just debates, or negotiations, in that they are an escalation of everyday competition and discussion into an arena of hostile or emotion provoking encounters that strain personal or interpersonal tranquility or both. During this conflict, they did not even realize how far it was taking them from their daughter Jane. Giving proper time to their daughter and family would have stopped the conflict from escalating. Seeds of adultery, cheating and lust took them away from each other. Carolyn viewed Lester as a loser. Carolyn view materialistic objects as success and Lester sees happiness as success. Lester’s normal life with a monotonous dead-end job and Carolyn’s hard luck in real estate because of pseudo-competition buddy â€Å"The King† Kane was depressing for the couple. The conflict within the couple multiplies day by day. Their physical distances added fuel to fire. Both are sexually frustrated and this was evident in routine fights even fight over song played during the dinner. However, intimate relation with each other would have protected Lester from his interest in Angela and that of Carolyn’s in Kane. Given that couple had focused on the inner beauty of life before than their focus on materialistic beauty (Lester finally realized), the interpersonal conflict would have resolved.