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Monday, September 30, 2019

Ikea Enntering the Russian Market Essay

The best way to search for viable alternative entry strategies is to watch the mistakes IKEA made and the problems they had by entering the Russian market. But first there are several company related attributes to mention. IKEA is a company which is highly related to their Swedish tradition and origin as this is a basically part of their marketing strategy and corporate identity. Many people are connecting IKEA’s Swedish image with the way IKEA is communicating their product range: Cheap, easy and yet reliable and stylish. Because of these conditions given, IKEA is forced to make sure that they are able to transfer these elements of their corporate idea into the Russian market. Of course there always are slightly differences from country to country in the way IKEA communicates to their customers, but adoptions should be limited to executive marketing decisions and not interfere with IKEA’s basic business idea. These previous points are strongly limiting any kind of indirect entry strategy. IKEA needs to keep the conceptional differences between their home markets and the Russian points of sale as small as possible. That means as further the gap is between the original shops and the ones in Russia, the bigger is the chance of a flawed identity. Therefore entry strategies like franchising, licensing and indirect export over all could not be an opportunity to enter the Russian market. The reason is simple: It will get quite hard to find a Russian businessman who is familiar enough with Swedish culture. The franchise guidelines IKEA would be forced to give out would probably fill up thousands of pages and even then, Russian IKEA franchise businesses would communicate anything else but Swedish family piece to their customers. IKEA remains facing the more viable entry strategies of a direct export in terms of opening their own stores in Russia as they did, or to start an alliance as a strategica lly partnership or joint venture. The major problem they IKEA faced by choosing the direct export as an entry strategy was the missing knowledge and experience about the Russian market, its further development, the people and the Russian culture as well as Russian living conditions. The arrangement and adaption of the communication strategy and the product range took place steadily and needed time. Therefore, even if the Russian market potential was still growing and expanding IKEA lost market share and sales power because of wasted resources and by performing a not optimally adjusted marketing strategy. A solution to face these problems from the start of the market  entry would have been to search for a Russian partner company that is capable of IKEA’s missing knowledge. The different opportunities in here are based in the shaping and the form of alliance. IKEA can be sure that they have got a very well working business model. They don’t want to share their success even if a deeper alliance would probably allow them to share loss as well in case of failure. IKEA wants to keep control of the company as it is still private hold and they want to keep it that way in Russia. In addition a joint venture alliance usually is kind of a long term relationship. IKEA indeed just needs a partner to get started in the market Russia. Once they catch on they might want to quickly quit former alliances. In my opinion the best solution would have been a strategic alliance with a possibly quite small partner as the object of trade for IKEA is just knowledge. A small, traditional company that enables IKEA the transfer and arrangement of their culture and company politics into the Russian market by providing all the information IKEA needs to prevent the above-mentioned mistakes. The partner company is not needed to perform in any physical goods business as their relationship to IKEA will only be based on information access. After the successful market entry, the strategic, information based alliance could be quit quickly and easy or getting changed into a usual business relationship, depending on the need of future information supply of IKEA.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Justice, Gender, and Affirmative Action Essay

Affirmative action Introduction                   Affirmative action is a policy that is aimed at providing positive measures to remedy effects of past discrimination against members of certain groups (Clayton & Crosby 1992, p.2). One of the areas that suffer underrepresentation of the diverse, underrepresented individuals and minority group in colleges is the laws schools and subsequently in the legal profession. The questioned posed is â€Å"Is affirmative action the best solution to alleviating this crisis or is it the major cause together with other practices that have contributed to these underrepresentation?                   First of all is the admission procedure. Admission selection considers those with a bachelor’s degree for an accredited university or college. Few underrepresented minority students are able to attend college and obtain the relevant qualifications. Moreover, there are disparities in number of applicants and the number who get enrolled. For example in 2000, 74500 individuals submitted their application to ABA- approved school and an estimate of 67% of the total were admitted (ABA/ LSAC Pre-Conference Report, 2005, p, 4). This illustrates a flaw in the acceptance procedure that focus on higher merit in which its well document trend that underrepresented minorities score less on the Law Schools Admission Test (LSAT).                   Secondly the individual state bar exams are a severe impediment. â€Å"While the LSAT remains a reliable predictor of success in law school and the Law School Admission Council (makers of the LSAT), warn against over-reliance on numerical qualifiers alone† (ABA/ LSAC Pre-Conference Report, 2005, p, 5). Raised cut off points detriment the minorities who are disproportionately at the bottom in addition the bars are also misapplied. The percentage of residents in a state should have a proportionate percentage at the law school. The lack of a national bar does also contribute to this issue.                   The above two examples illustrate why affirmative action is needed in leveling admissions. Higher merit and higher cut off points are serving to lock out minority groups from accessing law education. In coming up with a criteria for selection, the selection board should put into consideration performance of minority groups which is at the lower end of the spectrum.                   Terry Eastland suggests that affirmative action promotes discrimination. He argues that there is nothing like positive or negative discrimination. In Higher education for example, when the institution sets a lower grade for color students, the act in itself creates discrimination. These groups of students who will be enrolled under affirmative action are well aware that they are in that position due to their race. It is a negative experience that is not easy to erase. Sometimes attitudes from the majority students will affect the students from the minority. The majority students may not look at the minority as equals.                   Affirmative action leads to stigma. Eastland says that very few people are aware of the abilities and potential of the marginalized groups. In this case they are likely to be less respected and less valued. This can end up psychologically affecting these groups and it can be worsened if they fail to perform. Terry end believes that an environment should an equal working basis. If students have to be enrolled for higher education, it should be based on merit and not race. This will create an equal working environment of mutual relationship.                   Furthermore, Eastland equates ‘Affirmative action’ to ‘lower standards’. The rationale of having a policy that sets asides positions after a normal criterion creates a barrier between quality and less quality. By having this policy, institutions are accepting that results posted from minority groups are of lesser quality and lesser magnitude to that from the majority. Policy makers argue that the minority are affected by certain factors that make them not to equal results of the majority. It then beats logic that it would be easier resolving factors that make minority perform lesser than providing a criterion that guarantee certain results.                   Terry Eastland comments and views in regard to affirmative action tend to disapprove use of affirmative action against underrepresentation based on color. His views do not factor underrepresentation due to gender. However the logic behind his reasons and those of other scholars can equally be equated to affirmative action on gender and sex segregation                   Gender affirmative actions have shown to improve the status of women in the society. In fact advocates for gender affirmative actions have sprung from various women activists and organizations. Women have gained access to representations in legislative organs, various courses in colleges that stereotypically were set for men. However it is urged that continuous paying attention to a group of people will result in then differences becoming more salient than the commonalities among people (Clayton & Crosby 1992, p.11). This statement thus emphasizes Terry Eastland’s arguments against affirmative action.                   To conclude, the benefits of affirmative action are actually visible. Moving forward however, the fundamental principles of affirmative action seem to have been overtaken with time. Putting into consideration Terry Eastland arguments in regard to affirmative action, the negatives of affirmative action outweigh the positives. Affirmative action has led to lower productivity, increased segregation and stigmatization. The call to end affirmative actions thus is justified. References Clayton, Susan D, and Faye J. Crosby. Justice, Gender, and Affirmative Action. Ann Arbor, Mich: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1992. Print. Law Schools Admission Council. Pre Conference Report (2005) Collaborating to Expand the Pipeline. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/op/pipelineconf/PipelinePostReport.authcheckdam.pdf Source document

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Issues in management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Issues in management - Essay Example CSR becomes a focus for an organisation as it is believed that it can enhance profitability and build a positive social reputation for the business. It has been asserted that the idea of CSR is that society and the business are inter-connected and not disparate individuals, hence society maintains anticipation that a business will illustrate appropriate behaviours and outputs beneficial to society (Wood 1991). This essay will debate socially-related issues of corporate social responsibility in relation to the fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), an organisation providing apparel merchandise to youth markets in the UK and the United States. The essay provides a critical debate on the theories and models of CSR with primary emphasis on the ethical responsibilities of a firm to society and their relation to the socially-related problems at Abercrombie & Fitch currently plaguing this retailer. Abercrombie & Fitch is a U.S.-headquartered retailer providing casual fashion merchandise targeted at the 18 to 22 year-old female and male market demographic. The firm’s product line consists of T-shirts, jeans, hoodies and fragrances relevant to this market. Prior to the year 2012, A&F had achieved explosive revenue growth and had managed to build considerable customer loyalty against major competitors such as The Buckle, Chico’s, Eagle Outfitters and Aeropostale. The company’s market share and stock value began to plummet in 2012 and the business was forced to close hundreds of stores as a result of diminished consumer interest in purchasing products from the firm (Eaton 2014; Covert 2014). In October 2011, the firm’s stock was valued at nearly $80 USD per share and, by November 2014, the firm witnessed its stock plunge to a value of only $28.98 (Yahoo! Finance 2014). From the shareholder’s perspective, Abercrombie & Fitch was no longer providin g the wealth and profitability expected by investors. However, why was this occurring so

Friday, September 27, 2019

Toyata Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Toyata - Case Study Example The main office of the company is situated in Tokyo. The company is one of the greatest giants in the field of the world machine building, though it also has expanded into the area of robot building. The mission of Toyota, can be summarized as the following â€Å"to attract clients who value safety and quality as the first priority†. The company also has a well-established system of principles that is strictly followed in all countries of its operation. It proclaims the principle of the respect of any language and traditions of the nation that they involve into their operation or marketing processes. One of the most significant principles is to do one’s best to create a comfortable atmosphere in the company to motivate the staff to be dedicated to their work. The vision of the company covers the company’s prosperity up to 2020. They see the company’s goal in constant development, penetration into new territories, increasing the quality of the car and improvement of the life quality. According to the company statute the eventual goal is to achieve the total satisfaction of a customer. Up to 2020 the company is planning to set the car production or at least its assembly in several countries that still do not have Toyota plant in. They also intend to introduce several new car models. The current strategy of Toyota originates from the one within its foundation. The main principle of it is ‘Just in Time production’ (that implies the manufacturing process follow the time-plan strictly). The company has worked out the System of Toyota Production that covers such elements as teamwork, mutual respect, constant improvement, and facing the challenge. The company’s strategy is to achieve expansion and development. In the industry of operation the company possesses the fifth place in the world. By now a comfortable, safe and reasonable priced car has also captured the American market that with the world crisis started looking for less luxurious

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Business Law Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Business Law Analysis - Case Study Example A guard who was on the platform tried pushing the passenger into the train, while another guard, who was in the train, tried grabbing the passenger. The man had a package, which had fireworks, and dropped in the process of boarding the train and exploded. It was however not easy to know the package’s content and upon explosion, scales on the other side of the rail’s platform fell, causing injury to the plaintiff. The plaintiff sued the guards for negligence that the trial court upheld and the appellate court affirmed, forcing the rail company to appeal at the New York Court of Appeal (New York Court of Appeal 1). Doctrines of causation, proximate cause, and forceability apply to negligence. Despite existence of duty of care, whose breach may amount to harm, these doctrines determines existence of negligent liability. Negligence is upheld if suffered harm would not have happened, had the defendant not assumed his or her action, and a strong connection also ought to exist between a defendant’s act and the suffered harm (Roger and Miller 305, 306). Under foreseeability doctrine, liability arises if, from an ordinary man’s perspective, a risk is likely to occur, and not just a mere possibility of occurrence, and such was a court decision in the case of Fardon v. Harcourt-Rivington. The same decision was held in the case of Bolton v. Stone where even possibility of occurrence, unless occurrence is possible, from a realistic perspective, does not induce negligence liability (Mandaraka-Sheppard 609). Facts of the case undermines causation because the passenger’s suffered instability could have caused the falling of the package, independently, into the harm that the plaintiff suffered, and this further transcends to undermine proximate cause. The fact that the guards could not identify content of the package, to foresee possible impacts of their actions also undermines negligence on from the guards. Even if the content could be identified, possible

How cultural values get reflected in technological artifacts Essay

How cultural values get reflected in technological artifacts - Essay Example Poster informs that the media of first media age is centralized and restricted as it is in the hands of certain producers and consumers who use media for their own purposes. Moreover, Poster adds that no value is given to culture in first media age while the second media age because of its being unrestricted will give value to culture. Technology helps any culture to depict its cultural values. With the help of technological development, media is going to be free to reveal its culture with freedom, as is informed by Poster. According to Poster, technology has affected the society and culture as a whole because it is only because of technological developments that the media is going to enter from first media age to the second media age. With technological development, there will also be culture development and media will enjoy more freedom as compared to its previous status. According to Poster, with the help of technology and culture in the second media age, the communication process will be decentralized. According to Mark Poster, the second media age is closely related to enhancement in technology. Mark Poster informs with the help of interface that the technology has improved. According to him, the word interface means a connection between human beings and the machines. Computers have an interface that allow them to be connected to human beings, while being worked at. According to Mark Poster, it is the technology that can be considered as associated to the second media age. With the help of technology, the second media age will be more supportive for media. Communication in second media age will be decentralized. Winner, in his article, â€Å"Do Artifacts Have Politics?† informs that culture and technology are related to politics. According to Winner, technological design, artifacts and social order have the power to affect the affairs of a community.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Economic policies of the UK on overcoming global financial crisis of Essay

Economic policies of the UK on overcoming global financial crisis of 2008 - Essay Example Every crisis has a unique cause, as well as characteristics; however, the following are typical amongst the factors responsible for generating this disaster: overshooting of markets; rise in credit; excessive debt leveraging; incorrect view of dangers; a country’s capital flight; off-balance sheet procedures by banks; macroeconomic policies that are non-sustainable; deregulation with no appropriate system of supervision; and latest financial instruments utilized in an inappropriate manner. The distinctiveness of the current disaster is that it happens to be a combination of a financial crisis coming from one of the largest world economy, i.e. the USA, with a universal downturn. The present financial crisis got triggered by the replete of the housing bubble, together with the consequent sub-prime mortgage crisis within the USA. Although the crisis has not yet been thoroughly analyzed, there are suggestions by experts that a number of causes explaining the reasons for the sub-pr ime crisis, which exploded in August 2007 in the USA ( Hansjorg & Milka 2011, p.36). There are two significant trends in the years resulting in the crisis; firstly, interest rates had been dropping since the 1980s, secondly, following the financial crisis in Asia during 1997–1998, countries began accumulating foreign exchange reserves, aided by the current account deficit of the US. The majority of countries diverted part of their reserves to sovereign wealth funds put into higher-yielding assets compared to the US Treasury, in addition to other government securities, streaming into high technology stocks and, following the â€Å"dot.com Bubble† spout in 2000, to housing markets within the USA and countries such as the UK. The continuous falling of interest rates, along with the large...This paper clearly outlines the effectiveness of the economic response of the UK to the global financial crisis challenges. Every crisis has a unique cause, as well as characteristics; however, the following are typical factors responsible for their origination: overshooting of markets; rise in credit; excessive debt leveraging; incorrect view of dangers; a country’s capital flight; off-balance sheet procedures by banks; macroeconomic policies that are non-sustainable; deregulation with no appropriate system of supervision; and latest financial instruments utilized in an inappropriate manner. In March 2011, the Government published its â€Å"Plan for Growth† This plan had four ambitions: creating the most competitive system of tax within the G20 group of key economies; making the UK the best place within Europe for starting, financing and growing business; encouraging investment, as well as exports as a key to a more balanced economy; and finally creating a more educated workforce that happens to be the most flexible within Europe. Amongst the measures announced were a lessening in the tax rate on the profits of businesses; an internationally competitive tax rule governing multinational organizations; tax enticement for company investment; an embalm of deregulation particularly for helping small businesses; additional investment within infrastructure, science, vocational training, research and development. In 2009, the international leadership of the UK through its chairmanship of the G20 assisted the world in taming the worst economic crisis. It succeeded in drawing the leaders of the world's main economies at the G20 Summit thereby agreeing on strongly coordinated action of stabilizing the world economy.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

International Asia Pacific Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Asia Pacific Business - Essay Example hile formulating the strategies, the organizations’ leader and the management team will firstly look at the factors that may aid them to make a successful entry. After analyzing the positive factors, the firms will or should have to analyze the challenges that may impede its entry. As every foreign market or country will have different political, social, economic conditions as well as different customers, competitors, prospective employees, etc, etc, there will be many challenges, which will block the firms’ success. Also, there will be country specific challenges as well as industry specific challenges in those foreign markets. For example, the Asian country of China has some distinct aspects, which will surely act as a challenge for the new firms, who are planning to enter it. Likewise, the retail industry in China also has some inbuilt challenges, which may impede the foreign invested retail firms, who may plan to make an entry into China. So, this paper will analyse and asses the challenges faced by Foreign invested Retail firms in China. In the earlier decades, the cheap Chinese products only entered various countries’ markets. But, now seeing the potential of the Chinese economy and the market many foreign firms or foreign invested firms have entered or entering the Chinese markets. The other thing, which is enticing the foreign firms including the retail firms, is the huge population, which translates into the biggest market of the world. â€Å"Most of the world’s major global retail firms are desperate to grab a slice of the world’s largest and most rapidly growing emerging market† (Gamble, 2006). Apart from these two important aspects (high economic growth and huge market), the main thing that allows the foreign firms to enter China including its retail sector is the relaxation of many restrictions imposed by the Chinese Government. China being a Communist country functioned behind an â€Å"Iron Curtain†, restricting the foreign firms to protect

Sunday, September 22, 2019

System Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

System Thinking - Essay Example The company has challenges in productivity since the personnel is not adequately equipped to the development of widgets and operations and management of the IS. The input devices to the IS that will be included in the improvement include computers (workstations), software, and people resources. The company has a challenge in the number of computers it owns. The workers in the establishment have to share the available computers, which lowers the output and productivity. The establishment must facilitate productivity by offering the involved employees up to date computers, for even the existing computers need some upgrading of both software and hardware (Waring, 1996, p. 56). Input devices such as touchpads, keyboards, and mouse should be upgraded for functionality purposes. This is because the current standard devices are in a dilapidated state. The output devices involved in the organization should cater for different team strategies. Although the development of widgets takes on a pe rsonal approach, the teams working on various concepts such as the graphics of a product need brainstorming. The use of printers as output devices will be quite expensive. Since one of the aims of improving performance is reducing the costs of production, cheaper methods of sharing data have to be acquired. I recommend the use of projectors in group and board meetings over the use of printed material. This is so as to lower the costs of production and help in brainstorming. Storage of the establishment can be achieved in two main ways, which include the use of a localized server and the use of an online-based server. This will act as a backup as well as remotely accessed by authorized individuals. The operating system that is to be used in the organization has to meet all the needs of the market and development environment. There are numerous OS systems available in the market, but I recommend the use of Windows 7 Ultimate edition. The reasons behind the recommendation include stabi lity of the OS and the availability of compatible software for the development of widgets. An example of the software that could be useful in the development of the widgets is the Adobe CS 5Master Suite. This is because it has some of its functions non-operable with the other OS platforms as well as a 32-bit system. The Windows 7 OS to be installed should, thus, incorporate the 64-bit system for maximum performance. The utility programs that will be used in the IS will help in management, maintenance, and protection of the company data and resources (Stair, Reynolds, & Reynolds, W. 2008, p. 138). Numerous utility programs should be used to ensure the safety and productivity of the computers. With the development of widgets, it is possible for developed codes to act as viruses; thus, the installation of a strong anti-virus in the network and computers is necessary. The anti-virus will also prevent the spread of viruses acquired from external sources and the network. Backup software w ill also be essential to the company since computers and networks may fail. System monitors will also be installed in the network to monitor the use of resource to determine when an upgrade of the current system is necessary. File managers are another type of utility program that should be incorporated in the IS to ensure the availability, management, and modification of data sets within the IS for easier information and knowledge base management. This may be of use if

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Pedagogical Practices Essay Example for Free

Pedagogical Practices Essay Abstract This paper provides an insight on the effective pedagogical practices that can be used in the children learning. Some of these practices include the incorporation of ICT in early childhood education and some of effective direct instructional strategies that can have an impact in the learning process of children. Five common learning outcomes for children are identified. In addition, the paper outlines characteristics of effective teaching that contribute to effective teaching. Furthermore, the concept of culture in early childhood education is also discussed. Keywords: Effective teaching, Pedagogy Introduction Early childhood education in Australia falls under the responsibility of each state. The approach in each State towards early childhood education is different. The different States have different school starting ages, nomenclature, approaches in the testing and evaluation of the children, policies, support services and both public and private funded childhood education and care programmes. In Australia, children in preschool and childcare are usually placed under the funding and policy of the health sector, whereas those children aged between 5 and 8 years are placed under the school sector. Amendments by the government have resulted to the combination of the health sector provision and childcare policy to the education sector. Childcare in the States of Victoria has been moved to the Department of Human Services to the Department of Early Childhood Education (DEEW, 2009). In Australia, pedagogy and learning have been put within the context of a developmental paradigm that is widely influenced by developmental (Sumsion et al., 2009). In the past, the school segment has been involved in implementing a discipline-focused criterion together with the child-centred approach to learning and pedagogy. The childcare sector mostly concerns itself with the child, whereas the school sector mainly focuses on the implementation of the curriculum (Church, et al., 2010). Some of the efforts by the Australian government in promoting preschool education include the investing of a million dollars in to the research and development of innovative practices in childcare and preschools. In addition, additional funds have been directed towards the development and research of early childhood programmes. Furthermore, the Australian government is developing a nationwide curriculum for early childhood development that will be implemented nationwide (DEECD, 2009). Pedagogy refers to the correct use of teaching strategies. In addition, pedagogical practices are those set of principles that facilitate and support effective teaching. Use of pedagogy standards assists in the teachers and childhood professionals in achieving their goals (Fleet, Patterson Robertson, 2006). According to the Victorian Framework, five outcomes for children can be identified. These include identity, sense of community, communication, learning and well-being (VCAA, 2000). Effective Teaching Effective teaching is dependent on certain outcomes. These outcomes include the whether the students learn something as the result. Despite the introduction of teaching strategies that have been described as effective, use of these strategies will produce different outcomes in the different learning situations (City et al., 2009). In these scenarios, the teacher will be confronted with the idea of developing instructional strategies and behaviours, which are effective practices as well as combining these strategies at the appropriate time to the individual students. In addition, the teacher has to apply of these strategies depending on the different learning situations and what is the teacher’s goal for students learning outcome (City et al., 2009). Effective teaching’s primary purpose is the attainment of academic knowledge of the student. In addition, effective teaching, as a whole encompasses the attainment of skill or knowledge on a subject of interest by a student, students feeling good about themselves, students obeying the society laws and students liking the school (Alter Coggshall, 2009). Besides ensuring increased academic achievement, the use of instructional strategies should not produce affective loss. Moreover, the instructional strategy that produces positive affective results is the most effective teaching strategy. In order to achieve effective teaching fully, vital understanding of the effective teaching practices, the students, teaching contexts, coherent decision making and learning environments is significant (Dahlberg, Moss Pence, 1999). Characteristics of Effective Teaching Effective teaching involves effective communicating, planning, managing and evaluating the actual process of instructing. Reflective teaching plays a major role in making of informed decision relating to the effective teaching strategies (Mabrina, Church Tayler, 2010). Through reflective teaching, teachers can be able to do a critical analysis their actions and their decisions. Reflective teaching allows teachers to foresee the impact of the teaching methods and in the process may make relevant changes in improving their strategies. In addition, the teacher gains a deeper understanding by scrutinizing the goals of the teaching practice. According to the DEECD (2009), children’s learning becomes advanced when they experience interactions with highly effective childhood professionals. Application of reflective teaching allows the childhood teachers to promote practices are supported by evidence to be doing well in supporting and developing children learning (Osterman, 1990). Furthermore, reflective teaching will allow the childhood professionals ability to challenge and develop new practices that they discover to be effective. In the process of reflective teaching the childhood professionals, improve their knowledge and skills concerning early childhood education. Teachers have to have a comprehensive understanding of the learning values of development the children to cater for the variety of and diversity of children in a classroom setting (Ashmna and Elkins, 2009). This allows the teacher to select the best effective teaching strategies. Consequently, this will necessitate the need of the use of a various instructional resources and technology. To be effective teachers must have adequate knowledge on the subject, which they propose to teach. This includes professional knowledge about teaching in general, pedagogical knowledge about the concepts and theories of effective teaching and pedagogical content knowledge concerning the different teaching approa ches and methods. Another important t characteristic of effective teaching involves the use of a variety of teaching strategies. Use of a variety of teaching techniques stimulates the student s during lesson activities and may encourage students to participate actively in the lesson. This especially true when dealing with children who are normally intrigued by different things and hence in the process may enjoy the lessons. The advantage is that children have inquisitive minds and anything new to them encourage exploratory mind (Rinaldi, 2006). Furthermore, proper assigning of tasks taking into account the time factor will provide the children with adequate time for learning new ideas. Various ways can be used to increase children engagement in learning activities. The teacher can monitor the work of the children as the progress and make comments and appreciation of their efforts. In addition, preparation of a daily schedule that gives a description of the activities that the children will undertake will assist in reducing time wastage activities such as giving directions. Furthermore, individual assignments given to the child should be interesting and easy to them as well as different to what the other children are doing. This promotes their confidence in being able to carry out activities on their own. The children should not only be involved in just doing things in class as a way of ensuring children success rate. The activities should be meaningful and have a relation to what the teacher is planning on teaching. Planning of these activities should replicate the capability and interests of the children. If a child is successful in one day, chances are that the child will replicate the same success in the days to follow. Effective Pedagogical Practices Cognitive Construction Cognitive structures refer to the patterns of the mental or physical actions that bring about specific acts of acumen. These are conditioned by stages of development. An assumption using the Piaget theory is that children are natural and active developers of their own understanding. Growth in a child results to the integration of abstract structures in their understanding. Using Piaget theories on child development, the teacher can be able to facilitate developmental change in a child by assisting the child to find contradictions using hid or prior knowledge and understanding. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy The Victorian Framework for early childhood development t recognizes the fact that culture plays a significant t role in the shaping the learning and development outcomes of children. The childhood professional use of culture empowers the children both socially and emotionally. An example of how the Victorian Framework incorporates culture-based pedagogy is in the Aboriginal culture. Respecting and learning the value of this culture will assist in ensuring that the Victorian children have a sense of belonging in the community. Culture, in this case, is used as a vehicle for learning. Moreover, incorporating of children’s books that outlines the different cultures will assist the children in developing their own personal identities related to their different cultures. In addition, the children can be able to understand the relationships that exist between Australia and Asia and in the process grow up understanding the Asian culture. (ACARA, 2010) Creating Relationships Fostering relationships among the children will assist in building trust, understanding thereby creating a peaceful learning environment for the children. The children strengths’ can be increased by encouraging the children to talk about the family histories. Incorporation of this strategy will assist the children develop social and persona competence as they learn to mange and understand their relationships. This is a key aspect of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (2010). Furthermore, the children will be able to start friendship relationship with one another, work effectively as a team, and be able to make responsible decisions (ACARA, 2010). Use of Technology In recent times, the use of computer games and simulations has a possibility of improving how children learn. Early childhood professionals can incorporate an assortment of strategies using technology. These include the use of a learner-centred approach, promoting cognitive activity, and focusing on learning outcomes. A learner-centred approach will help in assisting the natural process through which children learn. In addition, this approach will allow a better understanding of the children’s cognitive processing and, therefore, affect the learning outcomes of the child. In focusing on promoting the cognitive activity, video games cause the children to be more active. This allows teachers to recognize how the different aspects of the computer software affect the learning process of the child. Consequently, measuring the learning outcomes of the games can help in accessing the level of comprehension in a child. In addition, use of reading software can help determine what children learn from the use of the software. Use of ICT is a key component in the Australian curriculum (ACARA, 2010). Direct Instruction Hunt and Touzel (2009) suggest that the use of direct instruction strategies allows teachers to be able to organize and present material to the children. Direct instructional strategies are characterized by a certain level of predictability of the children responses. This allows teachers to be to respond with ease and in the process save time. The teacher best applies direct teaching for children in the learning of procedures and skills. Teachers use the direct instructional strategies to present information through which the children use their prior knowledge and give feedback to the teacher. Direct instruction strategies ensure the close monitoring of the children’s outcomes and ensure effective use of classroom organization and management methods. The direct instruction process consists of modelling, direct practice, guided practice and independent practice. In modelling, the skill to be imparted on children is performed by the teacher. This normally involves thinking aloud so that the children can grasp the concept. In direct practice, the teacher uses questions through a variety of steps that allow the children to understand the reason behind every step, whereas, in guide practice, the children generate questions working through various steps while the teacher observes, guides them, and provides a response to the questions. Lastly, in independent practice, the students have gained the ability to work on their own and can be able to do more questions without much assistance from the teacher. Examples of direct instructional strategies include explicit teaching, drill, demonstration, lecture presentation and teacher led guide discussion. However, lecture presentations are not effective in teaching children. In explicit teaching, the teacher first gain the attention of the children then provides information, which the children can use to provide feedback to the teacher. Use of demonstrations in teaching children is a more effective method the use of direct instruction. In demonstrations, the children can observe how the teacher carries out a certain task, which helps to increase the attention of the children. Furthermore, using demonstrations allow the children to look at the actual activity rather than hearing about something they cannot see. An example of a demonstration that is normally used in teaching children is the teacher showing them how to tie their laces. Most of these demonstrations are explanatory in nature (Moss et al., 2006). References ACARA (2010). The Shape of the Australian Curriculum. Sydney: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Australian Education Ministers. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum.pdf Alter, J Coggshall, J. G. (2009). Teaching as a Clinical Practice Profession: Implications for Teacher Preparation and State Policy. Retrieved from http://www.tqsource.org/publications/clinicalPractice.pdf Ashmna, A. Elkins, J. (2009). Education for Inclusion and Diversity. NSW: Pearson. Church, A., Deans, J., Raban, B. Margetts, K. (2010). The Early Years Learning Frameworks in Practice. Melbourne: Teaching Solutions. City, E. A., Elmore, R. F., Fiarman, S. E. and Teitel, L. (2009). Instructional Rounds in Education. A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning. Harvard University: Harvard Education Press. DEECD. (2009). Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. Early Childhood Strategy Division: Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/earlychildhood/learning/veyldframework.pdf Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., Pence, A. (1999). Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care. Philadelphia: Falmer Press. DEEW. (2009).Belonging, Being and Becoming. The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Retrieved form http://apo.org.au/node/18428 Fleet, A., Patterson, C. Robertson, J. (2006). Insights: Behind early childhood Pedagogical Documentation. NSW: Pademelon Press. Mabrina, L. Church, A. Tayler, C. (2010). Evidence Paper, Practice Principle: Reflective Practice. Retrieved from http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/earlylearning/evi-refprac.pdf Moss, J. et al. (2006). Invitations Inspirations: Pathways to successful teaching. Victoria: Curriculum Corporation. Osterman, K, F. (1990). Reflective Practice: A New Agenda for Education. Education and Urban Society, 22 (2) 133 – 152. Sumsion, J., Barnes, S., Cheeseman, S., Harrison, L., Kennedy, A., Stonehouse, A. (2009). Insider perspectives on Developing Belonging, Being Becoming: The Early Years Frameworks for Australia. Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 24, (4), 4-13. Rinaldi, C. (2006). In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia. Oxon: Routledge. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2000). Victorian Essential Learning Standards, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Retrieved from http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/

Friday, September 20, 2019

Problems Approaching Ancestral Worship In The Korean Protestant Religion Essay

Problems Approaching Ancestral Worship In The Korean Protestant Religion Essay This paper will examine the challenges in the Korean Protestant community dealing with ancestral worship. South Korea still remains to be a strong Confucianism state, which contains rich systems of rituals. However since the Protestant church rejects all practices of ancestral worship it has become a serious problems in the Korean Christian community. Some families within the Christian community still remains to practice ancestral worship and others have switched to chudoyebe. The question of the day is, is ancestral worship a sin to honor your parents? The paper will reveal new ideologies towards ancestral worship in the Korean content, starting with the keyword ancestral worship (jesa). First lets determine whether ancestral worship fits into the Korean ritual practice of their ancestors. This paper will distinguish between the ancient practices with the contemporary practices. Normally, this worship is practiced eight times a year on the death commemoration days from the fourth generation beyond his parents and the other four includes seasonal holidays.  [1]  Many scholars who studied ancestor worship identify there are two types of spirits (good or benevolent ancestor and evil spirit or ghost). These distinctions are made through the cause of their death. For example bad spirits is when a person commits suicide or dies in an accident and it is predicted that these spirits wonder around the world and do harm to people. However good spirits protect their descendants and family and these deaths are normal deaths.  [2]  But the contemporary ancestral worship has changed in recent years. Confucian funerals are no longer practiced since it deals with complex sta ges.  [3]  This represents a huge transformation in our society: concepts, values, and norms of funeral had changed which can imply our society is changing. Therefore we can also examine if ancestral worship had changed. Ancestral Worship in Korea Korea is known for its mixture of beliefs, such as up to the 14th century Korea was a Buddhist country up to the 14th century. During the Joseon dynasty (1392) the government adopted Korea as a Confucian government and even today Korea is one of the most Confucianism countries in East Asia. Ancestral worship is one of the four important Confucian rituals and it is prevalent in many countries around the world. The families make regular visits to their ancestral graves and perform the ritual. Korean families who perform these rituals perform during January 1 (sul), August 15 (chusok, lunar calendar), Hansik Day in March. Funeral rites in a Confucianism tradition is when a person dies, the body is brought to the family and is dressed in a clean cloth. The children then will watch at the deathbed and is to fulfill obligations such as writing down the last words of their parent. Date and time is very important at death, for example they will put the clean cloth before the late breathe. When the death is confirmed, ornaments are removed and hair is loosened and the children weep bitterly. One of the family member will take the upper garment and go outside facing north and climb up on the roof and call the deceased name and repeat the name pok which means return (this is called ko bok).  [4]   When these ceremony is over the family prepares food for the messenger (saja) who escorts the dead body to the other world (the food is prepared with three bowls of rice, vegetables, soy sauce, money and three pairs of straw shoes). Then the body is removed from the deathbed and the body is turned to the north and thumbs are tied together. The mourner will put only put one sleeve of upper garment (left side if it is father and right side if it is mother). A person who is experience will make a spirit called honbaek with string and paper. These string and paper is placed on a small box called honbaek (spirit box). People believe in three spirits and seven souls. One will disappear with the messenger after death, one will stay with the body, and the other will wander around the world. The spirit box protects this last spirits. The seven souls are two eyes, two nostrils, two ears and the mouth. These seven souls are attached to the body after death. The next important stage is sup washing of the body of the deceased. One man will bring warm water brewed with mugwort or juniper and other helpers will hold the corners which was used to cover the body. The body will be washed with a clean piece of cloth that has been soaked in water.  [5]  When the washing process is finished, finger nails and hair is cut and placed into a four small bags known as choballang, which later is placed into the coffin. After the body is washed, the corpse is dressed in grave clothes and before the face is covered, a person will place rice on the corpse mouth and say a hundred sacks of rice and second time, a thousand sacks of rice and for the last time ten thousand sacks of rice. After this is done, a coin in placed on the mouth. The body is bounded with a long cloth known as yom, where both sides are twisted so that friends and family can put money into the twisted section. This body is used to pass the twelve gates of the other world. Then the corpse is placed into the coffin, where the body is covered with coverlets (two coverlets are used one is called the coverlets of earth and the second one is called coverlet of heaven). The deceased clothes are placed into the coffin. The coffin is bound with a straw rope around its upper, middle, and lower parts. After the coffin is bound, a screen is placed in front of the coffin and a big red cloth (the deceased name) is hung. A small table is placed where the spirit box is displayed, sometimes there are materials that the deceased person uses. There are five different kinds of clothes (obok), The chief mourner wears the coat, hat, and leggings which are made all from hemp. The mourner needs to have a cane made from bamboo if his father has died and a cane made from paulownia if the mother deceased. When approaching the deceased, there will be three dedications of wine and two ritual bows. After this performance, the person meets with the deceased family. Food and wine is served to the people who comes to visit the funeral and at all times the visitor wears black clothing. The last ceremony is when the four men will carry the coffin and shake it slowly up and down the four corners of the room and this is suppose to drive evil from the room. The first rite of requiem is held on the day of the burial in front of the mourning shrine. The second rite and the third rite follow. These rites are called samu-je. After these rites the process of ancestor worship follows the normal way, namely three dedications of a glass of wine and two bows. After three months is selected to perform the chokoh-che or final rite of weeping. People are allowed to weep continuously and after this time the mourners weeps only three times a day when he/she dedicates meals. The day after the final rite of weeping, the rite of attachment of the ancestor tablet (pi-ju) is held in cases where there is a family shrine for the ancestors at home. With the rite of the new deceased becomes an ancestor of the family. The first anniversary of the death is called sosang (small commemoration) and the second death anniversary is called taesang (large commemoration). When this is done properly that he will perform the rite of good fortune on the one hundredth day after large commoration. These methods and rituals portray negativity in the Christian community however we should know it also represents a special relationship with the family. There are three importance of ancestral worship, 1. Tradition-this is how our ancestor have lived and its a continuation of our traditions passing on to the next generation. 2. Filial propriety (hyo)- Korean system is made up with Confucian structure, for example younger people bow down to elders. The Korean social system is hierarchy with age. Therefore the term respect portrays solidly in the system. 3. Inter-family relations-the family can come together during the ritual time and spent time with their family. For example this would be thanksgiving in the United States, where food is prepared for all families. Re-examining the terminology ancestral worship The Catholic Church started to understand the Korean culture after 1900. A new paradigm was made towards ancestral worship. Father Thomas Anthony and Father Chang Song were ignorant about memorial rituals. Foreigners saw memorial ritual as an idol worship. When Korea was colonized by Japan and Koreans were forced to believe Shinto, Catholic had greater understandings of rituals and traditions. Bowing down was a problem but eating the food was a problem to the Christian community. Later, St. Paul said, Now, the matter about food offered to idols. It is true, of course, that all of us have knowledge as they say. Such knowledge, however, puffs a man up with pride but love builds up. The person who think he knows something really doesnt know as he ought to know. But the man who loves is known by him. So then man who loves God is known by him. So then, about eating the food offered to idols: We know that an idol stand for something that doesnt exist; we know there is only the one God. Eve n if there are so called gods whether in heaven or on earth, and even though there are many these gods and lords yet there is for us only one God, Jesus Christ, whom all things were created and through whom we live. (Pauls First Letter to the Corinthians, 8:1-6).  [6]  This is was the starting point, when Catholic community started to understand the implication that arises when taking something special from a culture and resolved this problem by accepting their culture. Unless the memorial rites are resolved, Korea will be hard country to send missionaries. The Catholic church accepted memorial rites (ancestral worship) under certain conditions and prohibited some issues regarding memorial rites. They accepted 1. Bowing before the body, a tomb, and photograph of the decreased and a table bearing the name of the deceased. 2. Incense burning during a ritual before the body. 3. Preparing meals for the memorial rites. However they prohibited any kind of cooked or water soaked rice, paper money, shellfish or a pearl into the mouth of the dead person. 2. Offering three pairs of straw shoes for the underworld guides. 3. Cannot call out the name of deceased outside for the his soul which may be hovering in the sky. 4. Prohibits the ideal that the dead comes to the table to eat the food and lastly chanting any prayers during the memorial rite is prohibited.  [7]   The Korean Protestant came up with an alternative which was called chudoyebe.. It was a Christian memorial service for their family. This memorial service was to replace ancestral worship. Christians were prohibited to perform Confucian ancestral ritual on the anniversary of heir ancestors death. It would be disrespect to their parents and ancestors if nothing happened. The chudoyebe was first introduced when Dr. J. W Heron passed away in July 1980.  [8]  The new Christian method to replace ancestral rite spread along the Korean protestant. It included seven sections; hymns, opening prayer, reading from passages, recollection of the deceased, another hymn, silent prayer and the prayer of dismissal.  [9]  Christian homes were encouraged to carry out chudoyebe instead of practicing ancestral worship. However the dilemma here is, Korean Christians practice ancestral worship according to the 2005 government consensus. According to Professor Chang Won Parks article on Between God and ancestors: ancestral practice in Korean Protestantism 77.8 percent of the Korean population practice ancestral worship but looking in the total Korean population, Christians make up 29 percent. Therefore we can conclude that Christians participate in ancestral practices. The Korean protestant community needs to acknowledge somethings cannot be taken away and perhaps accepting the culture and tradition might increase the Christian population. The Catholic Church understanding of the Korean culture has changed over time. Ancestral worship has defined another terminology to memorial rites. There were little minor revisions to fit into the Catholic Church however the culture and traditions has not changed significantly. The Korean Protestant church also needs to revise some parts of the memorial rites since Christians in Korea still remains to carry out memorial rites and it is impossible for the Christian population to grow without tradition and values of their culture such as ancestral worship (memorial rites). Implications with the Protestant Church There are three reasons why the protestant missionaries rejected ancestor worship. They first thought the religious sacrifice to the deceased spirit was in conflict with the commandants. 1st Commandant states, You shall have no other gods before Me, and the second commandant states, You shall not make for yourself a carved imageany likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Secondly, even though the ancestor worship supported the tenet of the immortality of the soul, the protestant missionaries did not accept the idea of how the soul could reside in a tablet in shrine, also eat the food after the worship was over, bless the deceased. The ideology that the ancestors four generations souls exist is the opposite of what the Christian teaching tell. The Christian bible states there are two locations after death (heaven and hell). Thirdly, the belief that ancestral worship degraded women and accepting the first born male or sons as the heir to continue the family linage created problems. Therefore the Christian were also prohibited to eat the food or touch the food during the ritual. This was also repeated through missionaries because the bible states eating sacrificial food is against the will of God as worshipping the idol (this passage is in I Corinthians 10:21, Acts 15:29 and revelations 2:14). The missionaries and the church stately clear to prohibit the ancestral worship through published tracts, which stated it is a form of idolatry; this document was called the Nevius Errors of Ancestor Worship, even though the Protestant church understands filial piety, they believed the best method was to perform good while the parents were still alive. This document failed to address any alternative method to serve after the parents passed away. This caused many criticizes to the public. In September 1, 1920 there was a written article on this issue in Dongah Daily. Refusing and prohibiting ancestor worship was a social problem and it portrayed Christians that filial piety no longer existed. Any bows below the waist was an act of ancestor worship to any kind of picture. This made Korean Christians uncomfortable since they could not perform any sign of respect after their parents had passed away (their loyalty was not expressed to the ones they loved). A New Paradigm for Ancestral Worship As the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church must acknowledge the ancestral worship. At this time lets call the ancestral worship as deceased memorial rites because it can be referred to as tradition and culture instead of religion. First we must discuss what is acceptable and not acceptable to the deceased memorial rites. The bible has different passages against the deceased memorial rites however as mentioned many times in this paper, these tradition has existed before and after the missionaries had arrived in Korea. Therefore it is best if there was some solutions found between the Korean society and the Protestant Church. The Korean society filial piety is very important, as seen in many places, Korean people bow down to everyone. Starting from birth and the age of five, the child bows down to parents and families members. During the preschool years, the teacher is the higher authority in school therefore students show respect to the teachers, this goes on to college. The important idea here is everyone, who is older is respected and younger generations are taught to bow and show some kind of respect. Even in the Korean church, we bow down to pastors, elders, deacons and Sunday school teachers as a sign of respect. If you deny to bow down then its shows a sign of disrespect; so the question here is we bow down in our daily life however once our elders pass away then that principle is taken away from us. Therefore this section of the paper will discuss these ideas of what not to do and what should be allowed. First lets start with bowing down to the deceased family members, this should be allowed because it shows some sign of respect for taking care of their children. The Korean society spends massive money on their children especially education and if the deceased family are forgotten and not taken care of after their death how will the grandchildren remember their family members. Secondly, as the Catholic church states also, we should allow incense burning and the stage of preparing food should be allowed. It is the least that a son or daughter can do for their deceased however it shouldnt be only the son (heir) but the whole family members. The women shouldnt be degraded in part of the deceased memorial rites. The second part is what should not be done in the deceased memorial rites. Descentants should not believe in spirits, for example thinking that the deceased will come down to eat the food. The memorial rite should only be done as a sign of respect and not for believing spirits. The whole idea of calling out the name to call the spirit, sending out messengers, escorts, giving them the straw shoes, the toll money to pass the gates should be all prohibited. The ideology of spirits should be diminished and as mentioned before it is for fulfill filial piety and to show sign of respect to the parents. These cannot be all the ideas however the purpose here is to come up with some solution for the Korean Protestant Church so that it does not cause any more social problems or dilemmas living as a Korean Christian. Conclusion The Korean Protestant Church faced tremendous dilemma towards ancestral worship and even today, these issues are not resolved. Within Christian families, ancestral worship is still practiced and some perform chudoyebe. The Catholic Church later reversed ancestral worship and accepted the Korea tradition and ritual however the Korean Protestant Church is far from creating a new understanding of Korea. If the Korean Protestant Church maintains to accept ancestor worship as a form of idolatry then the Christian population will continue to decline. If simple changes and revisions were made such as deceased spirit is alive and since the bible states clearly that they cannot communicate with the living and there is only heaven or hell after death. For example the family cannot believe in any forms of spirits. The deceased memorial rites is a sign of respect and there cannot be any belief regarding spirits. It is not that simple of course but what I am trying to get through is compromise an d understanding of each culture and traditions since Korea is unlikely to give up ancestral rites for a very long time. This paper has examined the background of Korean Ancestral Worship and explained why it needed to re-examine this terminology in the Korean context and lastly it explained the implications with the Korea Protestant Church. Every culture is different and unique and its our culture that shapes and molds our identity. Confucianism had been in Korea for a very long time and still holds and exists in our community. A new paradigm and understanding is need in our multicultural environment for the Korean Protestant Church to survive.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Representations of Nature in King Lear Essay -- Representations of Nat

We are lucky, today, that the majority of the world’s nations are democracies. This has only been the case in very recent times. For the greater part of human history, society has subscribed to the belief that birth is the most important determinant of one’s future. In Elizabethan England, this was especially true. Those born into the nobility enjoyed a lifetime of privilege, while those born outside of their ranks mainly existed to serve them. A century later, the British encountered an even stricter form of this belief when they conquered India. The Hindu caste system, which dictated one’s future based on birth just as British society did, was deemed even by the English to be excessively restrictive. After gaining control of the Subcontinent, the conquerors attempted to supplant the caste system with the semblance of a meritocracy. The new subjects of the Empire, instead of embracing this imposition of a foreign culture’s values, responded with general u nrest and discontent, showing that no society, no matter how unfair or prejudiced, tolerates interference well. Shakespeare’s King Lear demonstrates the same concept: that any violation of society’s conception of the natural order brings chaos, and that the only way to restore harmony is to conform to the expectations of that society. It is important to distinguish the concept of nature present in King Lear from the imagery it invokes in modern culture of picturesque forests teeming with every sort of adorable squirrel and chipmunk imaginable. As Sarah Doncaster puts it in her essay â€Å"Representations of Nature in Shakespeare’s King Lear,† nature in Shakespeare’s hands, â€Å"is a social construct, which is utilized in order to legitimise the existing social order.† The notion that a... ...e mock trial for his unfaithful daughters. He only regains a modicum of sanity when he is rescued by Cordelia, who treats him as he deserves, giving him fresh garments and restorative medicine. When Lear wakes in her presence, he is not entirely lucid, not knowing his whereabouts and surroundings, but the doctor declares that â€Å"The great rage you see is killed in him† (IV. vii. 90-91). Once Lear is restored to his former majesty, his madness is quelled. The imbalance of nature is rectified, and consequently, the mind of nature’s king is healed. Works Cited Doncaster, Sarah. Representations of Nature in King Lear. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. 6 Jan. 2014. . Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of King Lear. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia L. Freund. New York: Washington Square, 1957. Print.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Sling Blade Paper -- essays research papers

Slingblade Paper The film Slingblade depicts a mentally challenged man, Karl Childers, played by Billy Bob Thornton, and his trials and tribulations of life. When he comes out of the mental institution he was residing in, he meets a boy named Frank who accepts him as a human being like no one had previously done to him. The whole movie shows how this intricate mentally retarded man; who was domesticated from all his time in the mental house adapts to the outside world. Throughout all the foul judgment and harsh words sent his way, he maintains a certain level of sanity and civilness throughout the madness. The beginning of the movie starts and he tells his tales of his murders. Now what’s the first thing you always assume about a murderer? That they are a bad person and took another persons life, and should pay the harsh penalty for it. However, throughout this movie Karl shows how much of a caring and compassionate person he truly is. Any assumptions you had for him at the beginning of the mo vie can basically be thrown out the window about a half hour into the movie. The first major test of this movie was the transition from one world to another that Karl has to go through. This transition shows how hard it is to go from an enclosed, tiny world to an unpredictable, giant world where something is always going on around you. Karl first came to terms with the fact that he would have to adapt to this new world when he talked to a reporter in his latter days in the mental institution. He is talking to Woolridge, who runs the mental institution, and he says to him, â€Å"I reckon I’m gonna have to get used to looking at pretty people†¦ I reckon I’m gonna have to get used to them looking at me too.† This shows he has some recognition of what life outside the box is going to be like, he shows, throughout his mental disabilities that he has comprehension for how he is going to have to adapt to live his new life. The second major scene which shows him making the transition from one world to another is the scene when he makes friends with the boy. This shows his first adaptation he actually makes outside of the mental institution. He shows that he is capable of leading a normal life despite his mental condition and terrible past. At the beginning of the movie, when you hear that he maliciously murdered two people, you think that he is a terrible and vicious person. This ... ...cause he wants to ensure the happiness and safety of Frank and his mother in the future. Doyle was a very dangerous man and frequently had drunken rages which put the safety of the whole family and anyone else in the general vicinity in danger. This shows how truly caring he was, he sacrificed his own life to improve the lives of two other people that he cared about. He believed that he didn’t do anything wrong, and personally I agree with him. He fought for what he believed in and ended up improving the lives of two people he truly cared about, the closest thing to a real family he ever had. These scenes really show how Karl goes through life as a compassionate person. The public opinion on him is truly opposite, but as the movie goes on you see it more and more. The people that he loves, he truly cares about them more then he cares for himself at times. He was willing to put aside the rest of his life to make sure two friends, rather family members, would live a happy life. Although murder is a terrible way to do it, he ensures their happiness. Karl Childers may be seen as a bad man and a murderer, but to the people that really know him, he is a very loyal and caring individual.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Owen Meany Essay -- essays research papers

"Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean-make sure they know what they mean!" (572). In the novel written by John Irving, A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, the protagonist, Owen Meany, developed an unusual religious significance. Owen experienced visions of future events, he had a unique type of faith in God that most do not attain, and Owen spoke endlessly to inform people about God. Throughout Owen's life he demonstrated the same characteristics as a prophet through his actions and his words. Thus one could conclude that Owen Meany is a prophet. Similar to a prophet, Owen was given precognitive powers that allowed him to see into the future. Owen's first prophecy came to him on New Years Eve 1953 during the community production of 'A Christmas Carol'. The most obvious inference concerning the play was that Owen played the part of the ghost of Christmas yet to come. In reaction to Owen's portrayal of this character, the audience's faces which were "so amused, so curious, so various-were rendered shockingly similar; each face became the model of each other's fear" (42). Owen had dehumanized this character to the point that children were leaving the theater crying and some were even wetting their pants. One reference which could be made concerning Owen and Scrooge was that "GOD HAS ALLOWED [them] TO KNOW MORE THAN MOST PEOPLE KNOW-†¦" (366). Both of them were told their futures, however Scrooge made an effort to change his, where as Owen did not. Owen's revelation came through a vision he experienc ed during the graveyard scene of the play. He immediately fainted. The curtains went down, and members of the production all ran to Owen's aid, yet he seemed ungrateful, "He appeared to be sullenly embracing his 'vision' like the typically doubtless prophet he so often seemed to be†¦" (246). Owen believed he had seen his name on a gravestone along with the date of his death. No one could convince him otherwise. The fact that Owen was correct about the date of his death confirmed that he had visions; this proved he had qualities of a prophet. A prophet uses prophecies to not only prove they have powers, but also to benefit others. The second prophecy came to Owen in his dreams when he envisioned the reason and the way his life woul... ...n God but knowing he exists to the point of putting love, faith and destiny in one power. Owen marked his place within the hearts of those who surrounded him with his teachings, strong words of advice and encouragement. Owen Meany demonstrated many characteristics of a prophet, and could be linked to a prophetic figure. On more than one occasion, he had visions of future events which affected other people around him physically and spiritually. Throughout his life he also maintained a special relationship and strong faith in God. Many of Owens morals and values that he voiced became strong teachings about life. Although everyone in the world did not know him, many believed he was special for his wisdom at such a young age. Through these accomplishments, Owen leads himself to the stage of being a prophet. Today, prophets could be all among us, yet society turns away from the idea. The idea of a teacher for the subject of life fascinates many, but the idea of God sending messengers to us repels those who lack faith. What would it take for you to recognize a prophet? Many prophets may go unrecognized in the world and yet the only way they can exist is if someone will believe in them. Owen Meany Essay -- essays research papers "Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean-make sure they know what they mean!" (572). In the novel written by John Irving, A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, the protagonist, Owen Meany, developed an unusual religious significance. Owen experienced visions of future events, he had a unique type of faith in God that most do not attain, and Owen spoke endlessly to inform people about God. Throughout Owen's life he demonstrated the same characteristics as a prophet through his actions and his words. Thus one could conclude that Owen Meany is a prophet. Similar to a prophet, Owen was given precognitive powers that allowed him to see into the future. Owen's first prophecy came to him on New Years Eve 1953 during the community production of 'A Christmas Carol'. The most obvious inference concerning the play was that Owen played the part of the ghost of Christmas yet to come. In reaction to Owen's portrayal of this character, the audience's faces which were "so amused, so curious, so various-were rendered shockingly similar; each face became the model of each other's fear" (42). Owen had dehumanized this character to the point that children were leaving the theater crying and some were even wetting their pants. One reference which could be made concerning Owen and Scrooge was that "GOD HAS ALLOWED [them] TO KNOW MORE THAN MOST PEOPLE KNOW-†¦" (366). Both of them were told their futures, however Scrooge made an effort to change his, where as Owen did not. Owen's revelation came through a vision he experienc ed during the graveyard scene of the play. He immediately fainted. The curtains went down, and members of the production all ran to Owen's aid, yet he seemed ungrateful, "He appeared to be sullenly embracing his 'vision' like the typically doubtless prophet he so often seemed to be†¦" (246). Owen believed he had seen his name on a gravestone along with the date of his death. No one could convince him otherwise. The fact that Owen was correct about the date of his death confirmed that he had visions; this proved he had qualities of a prophet. A prophet uses prophecies to not only prove they have powers, but also to benefit others. The second prophecy came to Owen in his dreams when he envisioned the reason and the way his life woul... ...n God but knowing he exists to the point of putting love, faith and destiny in one power. Owen marked his place within the hearts of those who surrounded him with his teachings, strong words of advice and encouragement. Owen Meany demonstrated many characteristics of a prophet, and could be linked to a prophetic figure. On more than one occasion, he had visions of future events which affected other people around him physically and spiritually. Throughout his life he also maintained a special relationship and strong faith in God. Many of Owens morals and values that he voiced became strong teachings about life. Although everyone in the world did not know him, many believed he was special for his wisdom at such a young age. Through these accomplishments, Owen leads himself to the stage of being a prophet. Today, prophets could be all among us, yet society turns away from the idea. The idea of a teacher for the subject of life fascinates many, but the idea of God sending messengers to us repels those who lack faith. What would it take for you to recognize a prophet? Many prophets may go unrecognized in the world and yet the only way they can exist is if someone will believe in them.

Persuasive speech on volunteer work Essay

Intro It seems like most people who are trying to persuade you to do volunteer work are always trying to get you at their one specific company or organization. They show you all the benefits of working there and everything you should get out of it, all the reasons why it’s the best place to go. I’m sure one reason after another goes in one ear and out the other, especially when you have to listen to so many of them. Well today I want to discuss why any volunteer work is important in itself and it’s not so much about where you go or what you do but rather that you go out there and do it. First I will start with the importance of volunteering and why you personally should get involved, then I will talk about why volunteering should be voluntary and at a place that interests you (that’s not something we are used to thinking about but an important point nonetheless), and last tell you about what I learned during my volunteer work and why the Riley Arena Ice Rink in Cody WY is one great option for getting out there and starting to volunteer. Body The Importance of Volunteering 1. How it helps the community and why it is needed a. We all live in a community and the condition of it affects who we are and what we do. If its run down or has high standards b. A simple act of kindness can change a whole persons day or even their life c. Volunteering provides needed labor that may otherwise not be provided i. WY is ranked 18th in the country for volunteer work with about 30 Percent of residents consistently volunteering. (www.VolunteeringinAmerica.gov) it’s a pretty good number but I think we can do better. ii. In 2012 a total of 14.8 Million hours of work was given by WY residents resulting in $327 Million dollars’ worth of service iii. The sad part- a big chunk of those people are all over the age of 55. We need young people do to this too! I’m sure your thinking well that’s because I don’t really get anything out of it, that’s why only old people do it†¦but that leads to my next point of how it helps you 2. How it helps you specifically a. Learn new skills that can come in handy in life i. According to www.worldvolunteerweb.org 73 percent of employers would rather hire a person with volunteer work than without. and 94 percent of employers think that volunteer work can add useful skills to the job. ii. 94 percent of employees who volunteer actively either got a raise in salary or promoted over the employees who don’t volunteer. If the raise came down to you and one other person b. Increased sense of self-worth i. People who volunteer actively are 63 percent more confident in themselves according to that same study. I don’t know about you but I sure could use a bit more confidence, especially up here. ii. It can give you a sense of belonging and of being needed. This is bigger for men than woman because a lot of times men want to be useful and seen as doing good for the benefit of others. It’s who we are and volunteering is a great way to accomplish that. c. Provides opportunity to meet new people i. Meeting new people could lead to contacts in the future and it’s always a good idea to know as many people as possible, whether its people you are working with or helping serve ii. You never know when having friends will come in handy iii. Can introduce you to people in completely different walk of life or environments and that could be life changing in itself. Why Volunteering Should Be Voluntary 1. We usually don’t think about what doing volunteer work really means. We tend to skip across a big point†¦that it’s our choice to do. 2. According to Google.com the word voluntary comes from the Latin word Voluntas which means â€Å"out of free will† a. If we are going to pick somewhere to volunteer at it should be somewhere that we want to work at. Make it something that’s important to you! This will help in multiple ways including i. Increased happiness when doing the work. No one wants to be bored all day with something they don’t believe is important. ii. The quality of work is improved which makes the place you are helping at even more thankful iii. Sense of self-worth is even higher because we are helping with something that we know is needed b. If you don’t volunteer with something you value  you will get bored and not enjoy doing the work thus resulting in less time spent doing the work. So what’s the point then? It’s all about our will and what we think is right. Riley Arena Ice Rink –now I get to tell you all about my work here and why it’s a great place to start a volunteering career at 1. Background of Riley Arena a. Ice Skating Rink in Cody WY that started in 1999 by Mr.Riley (according to the riley arena website that is) b. During warmer months it also holds banquets and other large gatherings which can be scheduled through their website c. Homes the Yellowstone Quake hockey team 2. Why it’s a good start a. The work wasn’t too hard, mostly just time consuming. We mopped the floor and bleachers a few times b. They were very flexible with the hours that we wanted to come in help and always seemed thankful for us to be there. c. It really does look great on a resume and will let people know you volunteered at a â€Å"cool† place (it is an ice rink after all) 3. How and why it fit me a. I found a lot of pride in volunteering here because I felt like it’s somewhere that doesn’t get a lot of attention but still needed people to help at, even if it was cleaning bathrooms. b. Although I wasn’t out saving the world, or the children, or the animals, or the elderly†¦I was still making a difference in people’s lives. Conclusion In the end that’s what really matters anyway right, helping people in need and being a blessing in someone’s life. Volunteering is about helping the community around you and at the same time helping yourself, whether that is advancing your career or just making yourself feel good. You should try to volunteer somewhere that you believe is important and that you can make a difference, otherwise it won’t be fun for anyone involved. If you’re looking for somewhere to start your volunteering life then you could try out the Riley Arena but more importantly than going there is that you just get out there. Take a little time out of your  busy schedule and make a difference in someone’s live, because you never know what you will get out in return.  Thank you! Works Cited http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org http://www.helpguide.org http://www.rileyarena.coma

Monday, September 16, 2019

Knowledge workers Essay

Knowledge workers are the valuable asset of the company and their management is known as knowledge management. They contribute towards improved productivity and management that leads to success of the organization therefore their role is very important and new organizations should implement it in their culture. There is no limit or boundaries to acquire knowledge or to explore it and knowledge management is one of its kinds. The interview with Karl-Erik Sveiby indicates his familiarization with this concept and his role in the promotion of knowledge management. Karl came across this term when he started working in his own publishing company. It was at this time that his urge to know more about the term knowledge management developed when he saw knowledge workers in his own company. It is a knowledge based strategy some what close to the concept of learning organization. , it improves the functioning of the business therefore it is also known as the competence based strategy. Karl’s interest in it grew over the years especially in the 1990’s as he had passion for creativity and creating value at work through people and environment, moreover the trend was changing from IT towards the people. His urge for tacit knowledge has led him to work on aboriginal knowledge creation for the time being. He believed computers can also play a role in this work as well through the development of tools that contribute towards creativity such as simulations and educational tools. Knowledge management helps in formulating strategies, development of tools and engagement of people into work. Karl has been inspired by new ideas through interaction with the people around him apart from the formal network of people which is a usual way and various thought leaders too such as Marshall McLuhan. He wrote a book named Invisible balance sheet in the year 1989 which got overwhelming response from people who imitated it and used it as their work but a lot of people don’t know that Karl was the original source of these new ideas introduced such as four power players and intangible resources like customer capital, structural capital, and human capital. He believed in sharing the knowledge in humanity and has given access to his work online free of charge to download for everyone including his books, he has got a lot of appreciation from the people for his work and ideas though there are people who have copied his work. Karl has got intangible value in return as a reward of working with gifted people for the benefit of everyone and he is satisfied with this opportunity to learn as a reward. These tools and ideas are to be used to improve people and their thinking. Organizations should implement this in their work to make it a better place. Knowledge and technology should be used to have better control over people rather than it taking over people completely. People exploit the concepts by copying them for their own benefit rather than humanity. Finland is one of the countries which is working on knowledge based policies far ahead than any other country and has embraced it but yet again it needs to be done widely in order to see results. This concept does not change any organization, it depends on the top management that they realize its potential and ingrain in into the business in order to use knowledge as a tool for better management of resources and the organization as a whole.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

General psychology Essay

Introduction ALMOST CERTAINLY YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE COME ACROSS THE IDEA OF PLAGIARISM ALREADY. PLAGIARISM IS ABOUT THE PRESENTATION OF OTHER PEOPLES’ WORK AS IF IT IS YOUR OWN, FOR YOUR GAIN. THE IDEAS AROUND PLAGIARISM ARE PRESENTED TO STUDENTS IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS – SOMETIMES PLAGIARISM IS SEEN AS A DREADFUL CRIME. WE WANT TO PRESENT IT HERE IN THE CONTEXT OF AN UNDERSTANDING OF ACADEMIC HONESTY AND WHAT IS TERMED ‘ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT’. YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THESE THINGS BECAUSE THEY SHOULD GUIDE YOUR MANNER OF WORKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION. PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING ARE SERIOUS ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION, AND PLAGIARISM, IN  PARTICULAR, IS INCREASING A GREAT DEAL AT PRESENT. WE WANT YOU TO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AND THE GOOD WORKING HABITS THAT ENABLE YOU TO MAKE EFFECTIVE AND APPROPRIATE JUDGEMENTS IN YOUR WORK. THIS UNIT IS DESIGNED FOR STUDENTS NEAR THE STARTING POINT OF HIGHER EDUCATION STUDIES. IT PROVIDES THE INFORMATION AND SKILLS THAT YOU NEED AT PRESENT – AND YOU WILL HAVE MORE MATERIAL ON THIS TOPIC AT A LATER STAGE, WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT. The aim of this unit is to: -HELP YOU TO GET A CLEAR IDEA OF ACADEMIC HONESTY AND ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT -CLARIFY THE MEANINGS OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT – CHEATING AND  PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION -PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO BE ACADEMICALLY HONEST; -IDENTIFY AND HELP YOU TO ATTAIN THE SKILLS THAT YOU NEED FOR ACADEMIC HONESTY AND GOOD PRACTICE 1 AS WELL AS PROVIDING SOME EXERCISES TO HELP YOU TO LEARN FROM THIS MATERIAL, THIS UNIT IS INTENDED TO BE A RESOURCE TO WHICH YOU MAY WISH TO RETURN FOR GUIDANCE. THE ANSWERS TO THE EXERCISES ARE AT THE END OF THE UNIT. Some points to think about AS A STUDENT YOU SHOULD LEARN ABOUT ACADEMIC HONESTY BECAUSE IT IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION BEHAVIOUR. THERE ARE SEVERAL ASPECTS TO IT. IT INVOLVES: -ENSURING FAIRNESS TO THOSE WHO HAVE PRODUCED NEW KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS; -ENSURING THAT THE WORK THAT A PERSON SAYS IS HER OWN IS INDEED HER OWN; -THE DISCOURAGEMENT FROM CHEATING TO GAIN UNFAIR PERSONAL ADVANTAGE. THE INTENTION TO DECEIVE STAFF OR THE INSTITUTION IS CENTRAL TO THE ACTIVITY OF THE PLAGIARIST OR CHEAT. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT FAIR ON YOU, AS A STUDENT, IF YOUR FELLOW COLLEAGUES CHEAT AND PLAGIARISE AND THEREBY GET BETTER MARKS. SAM, SUZANNE, IZZY, AND KATRINE ARE IN A LEVEL 1 CLASS AT SOMOUTH UNIVERSITY. THEY ARE ALL STUDYING PSYCHOLOGY AND ARE IN A CLASS OF OVER A HUNDRED AND EIGHTY STUDENTS. THEIR SEMINAR SESSIONS ARE THIRTY IN NUMBER AND SO FAR THEY DO NOT FEEL KNOWN AS INDIVIDUALS BY STAFF. SUZANNE HAS BEEN STRUGGLING BECAUSE SHE, UNLIKE THE OTHERS, DID NOT STUDY PSYCHOLOGY AT SCHOOL. SHE HAS BEEN QUITE DEPRESSED ABOUT IT AND HAS ASKED THE OTHERS FOR HELP. THEY DID WHAT THEY COULD, BUT SHE DID NOT SEEM TO BE ABLE TO TAKE IT IN. AT TIMES SHE TALKS ABOUT LEAVING UNIVERSITY. THEY COME TO THE COURSEWORK ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF LEVEL 1 AND TO EVERYONE’S SURPRISE, SUZANNE COMES OUT WITH ONE OF THE HIGHEST MARKS IN THE CLASS. THE TUTOR PRAISES HER WORK AT THE NEXT SEMINAR AS BEING WELL CONSTRUCTED, AND PARTICULARLY WELL WRITTEN. SUZANNE IS CLEARLY HAPPY AND THEY ALL GO OUT FOR A DRINK IN THE EVENING. UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A FEW PINTS SHE LETS SLIP THAT SHE PAID ANOTHER STUDENT IN HER HOUSE (FROM LEVEL 2) TO WRITE IT. AFTER THE TIME AND EFFORT THE OTHERS HAVE PUT INTO HELPING SUZANNE, AND DOING THEIR OWN WORK, THE OTHERS FEEL CHEATED BY HER ACTION. THE ATTITUDE TO PLAGIARISM CAN DIFFER IN DIFFERENT CULTURES, FOR EXAMPLE SOMETIMES IT CAN BE CONSIDERED TO BE AN HONOURABLE ACT TO REPRODUCE THE EXACT WORDS OF THE EXPERT TEACHER. IN THE UK THE NORM IS TO EXPECT STUDENTS TO PRODUCE THEIR OWN WORK. THEY WILL, OF COURSE, USE THE WORK OF OTHERS WITHIN THEIR WORK AND WHERE  THIS OCCURS THE OTHERS’ WORK NEEDS TO BE CITED AND WHEN QUOTED, MARKED AS A QUOTATION. SOME INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS MAY NEED TO ADJUST TO UK NORMS WHEN STUDYING HERE. 2 LAU COMES FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA. HE WAS ENCOURAGED TO GIVE GREAT RESPECT TO HIS TEACHERS, THERE AND TO REGARD THEM AS EXPERTS WHOSE WORK WAS TO BE EMULATED. HE IS VERY TAKEN ABACK WHEN HE IS TOLD THAT HIS EXAMINATION PAPER SHOULD EXPRESS MORE OF HIS OWN IDEAS AND SHOULD NOT CONTAIN MATERIAL THAT HE MUST HAVE LEARNT BY HEART FROM HIS LECTURE NOTES. HE FINDS IT HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW HE, HIMSELF COULD HAVE ANYTHING WORTHWHILE TO SAY AT THIS STAGE. IF YOU ARE AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AND FEEL THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE MATERIAL IN THIS UNIT, ASK A TUTOR OR STUDY ADVISOR FOR MORE HELP. Some definitions and explanations WE HAVE SAID THAT THE AVOIDANCE OF CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM IS A MATTER OF HAVING INFORMATION AND A SET OF SKILLS THAT BECOME GOOD HABITS OF WORKING. WE START BY LOOKING AT A SET OF EXPLANATIONS AS PART OF THE INFORMATION, AND THEN YOU WILL BE GIVEN SEVERAL DEFINITIONS. YOU DO NOT NEED TO MEMORISE THESE DEFINITIONS, BUT YOU ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THEM. TO START WITH, WE INTRODUCE THE TERM ‘ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT’ TO MEAN THE USE OF  DISHONEST ACADEMIC BEHAVIOUR TO ONE’S OWN BENEFIT. THE TERM INCLUDES CHEATING, PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION. CLEARLY, SUZANNE ILLUSTRATES ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT IN HER BEHAVIOUR – AND THAT WAS PLAGIARISM. CHEATING IS OFTEN SEEN AS A BEHAVIOUR THAT OCCURS IN EXAMINATIONS, BUT IT IS BROADER THAN THAT. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF CHEATING BEHAVIOUR. SIMON KNEW THAT OTHERS NEEDED A BOOK IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE ESSAYS THAT THEY HAD BEEN SET. HE USED THE LIBRARY BOOK HIMSELF, THEN HANDED IT BACK IN (IT WAS A SHORT-TERM LOAN) AND THEN WHEN HE WAS IN THE LIBRARY THE NEXT DAY, TOOK THE BOOK FROM ITS PROPER LOCATION AND PUT IT IN ANOTHER AREA OF THE  LIBRARY. JAMIE WENT INTO THE EXAMINATION WITH TEN KEY NAMES WRITTEN ON HIS ARM IN BALLPOINT PEN JULIETTE WAS DOING A CHEMISTRY DEGREE. HER EXPERIMENT IN CLASS DID NOT GO TOO WELL AND THE DATA SHE ACHIEVED WAS INCOMPLETE. SHE HAD A LOOK AT HER FRIEND’S BOOK AND GOT AN IDEA OF THE APPROPRIATE KIND OF DATA AND MADE SOME UP. CHRISTINA HAD NOT DONE ENOUGH REVISION FOR THE CLASS TEST. SHE TOOK THE DAY OFF, SAYING THAT SHE HAD ‘FLU AND KNOWING THAT SHE WOULD THEN HAVE A BIT MORE TIME TO LEARN FOR THE TEST WHICH SHE WOULD DO LATER. 3 ED HAD A PROJECT IN ENGLISH TO WRITE UP, TO BE HANDED IN AT A PARTICULAR TIME. THERE WAS OTHER ACADEMIC WORK TO BE HANDED IN AT THE SAME TIME AND HE KNEW HE COULD NOT DO ALL OF IT. HE LEFT THE ENGLISH PROJECT UNTIL LAST. AFTER A SESSION IN THE GYM HE COMPLAINED OF A VERY SORE WRIST, PUT A BANDAGE ON IT AND WENT TO SEE HIS TUTOR TO ASK FOR MORE TIME TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT ON THE BASIS THAT HE COULD NOT WRITE VERY QUICKLY AT PRESENT. HIS TUTOR TOLD HIM TO GO TO THE MEDICAL CENTRE AND GET A NOTE. HE CAME BACK TWO DAYS LATER WITH THE PROJECT NOW COMPLETED AND THE WRIST UNBANDAGED AND ‘HEALED’. THE TWO DAYS HAD BEEN VERY USEFUL. ABI WAS ONE OF A GROUP OF STUDENTS WHO WERE WORKING TOGETHER ON A PROJECT  THAT WAS TO BE SUBMITTED JOINTLY. SHE HAD GONE INTO HIGHER EDUCATION PARTLY BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO ENJOY A GOOD SOCIAL-LIFE, AND THE PROJECT WAS NOT GOING TO GET IN HER WAY. WHEN THE OTHER STUDENTS IN THE GROUP MET TO WORK ON THE PROJECT, SHE WOULD CONSTANTLY SAY THAT SHE COULD NOT MAKE IT. THEY GOT ON WITH THE PROJECT, COMPLETED IT AND HANDED IT IN WITH ABI’S NAME ON IT AS WELL. THEY RESENTED HER BEHAVIOUR, BUT BEING IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THEIR PROGRAMME, DID NOT KNOW EACH OTHER VERY WELL AND DID NOT KNOW HOW TO INDICATE ABI’S LACK OF CONTRIBUTION. PLAGIARISM, AS WE HAVE SAID, IS ANOTHER FORM OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT AND IT  REQUIRES A RATHER SPECIAL EXPLANATION WHICH IS AS FOLLOWS: THOSE WHO WORK IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CAN BE SEEN AS WORKING IN A COMMUNITY – THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY. THIS COMMUNITY HAS A SET OF RULES TO WHICH IT WORKS. ACADEMIC CONVENTIONS ARE THESE RULES AND ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT IS THE BEHAVIOUR THAT CONTRAVENES THESE AGREED RULES. THESE RULES, OBVIOUSLY IDENTIFY CHEATING AS A CONTRAVENTION HOWEVER, THERE ARE ASPECTS OF THESE RULES THAT REFER TO THE ‘OWNERSHIP’ OF IDEAS. ACCORDING TO THESE RULES OR CONVENTIONS, NEW IDEAS ARE TREATED LIKE PROPERTY THAT SOMEONE OWNS. ONE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT THERE ARE REWARDS AND AWARDS (GRANTS, PRIZES, QUALIFICATIONS, DEGREES ETC) GIVEN TO PEOPLE FOR THE QUALITY OF THEIR IDEAS. FOLLOWING FROM THE NOTION OF NEW IDEAS AS PROPERTY, WE CAN CONSIDER THE USE OF UNATTRIBUTED IDEAS FOR THE GAIN OF ANOTHER PERSON, AS A FORM OF THEFT. BY ‘UNATTRIBUTED’, WE MEAN THE LACK OF ATTACHMENT OF A NAME AND SOURCE TO THE IDEA – SO IT IS AS IF THE IDEA IS THAT OF THE WRITER. OTHER WORDS FOR ‘ATTRIBUTE’ ARE REFERENCE, ACKNOWLEDGE AND CITE. YOU USUALLY REFERENCE THE IDEA OF ANOTHER IN THE TEXT (WHERE YOU HAVE REFERRED TO THE IDEA, OR QUOTED FROM IT) AND IN A REFERENCE LIST AT THE END OF YOUR WORK. PLAGIARISM IS THE TERM FOR PASSING OFF ANOTHER’S WORK AS ONE’S OWN FOR ONE’S OWN BENEFIT. IT USUALLY THAT OTHERS’ IDEAS HAVE BEEN ‘BORROWED’ WITHOUT BEING REFERENCED TO THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OF THE IDEA. PLAGIARISM OCCURS WHETHER THE ‘PASSING OFF OF THE WORK AS ONE’S OWN’ IS INTENTIONAL OR UNINTENTIONAL. WE HAVE TO SAY THAT PLAGIARISM MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL BECAUSE ANYONE CAN ALWAYS CLAIM THAT ‘S/HE HE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT PLAGIARISM’. 4 CORRESPONDINGLY THEREFORE, TEACHERS AND INSTITUTIONS HAVE TO BE CLEAR THEMSELVES THAT THEY HAVE ENSURED THAT STUDENTS HAVE RECEIVED APPROPRIATE OPPORTUNITIES TO  UNDERSTAND ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT AND TO HAVE LEARNT THE NECESSARY SKILLS TO BEHAVE WITH ACADEMIC HONESTY. BELOW ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM: EMMA WAS DOING A LAW DEGREE AND FOUND THAT HER FLAT-MATE HAD DONE THE SAME MODULE THE YEAR BEFORE AND WAS WILLING TO LET EMMA LOOK AT HER ESSAYS – BUT INSISTED THAT SHE SHOULD NOT COPY ANY OF IT. EMMA COPIED A LARGE CHUNK OF ONE OF THEM BECAUSE SHE DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE SUBJECT AND ALTERED A FEW WORDS HERE AND THERE. UNFORTUNATELY FOR HER, SHE DID NOT NOTICE THE FONT WAS DIFFERENT ON THE COPIED CHUNK AND HER PLAGIARISM WAS DETECTED. ANNA HAD WORK TO DO IN CHEMISTRY THAT SHE DID NOT UNDERSTAND. IT WAS ABOUT THE NATURE OF A PARTICULAR REACTION. SHE LOOKED ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND A PIECE OF WRITING THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT SHE NEEDED – AND CUT AND PASTED IT, ADDING A FEW WORDS OF INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION. ANTONIO PHONED HOME TO HIS FRIEND FOR HELP WITH AN ASSIGNMENT IN CIVIL ENGINEERING. HIS FRIEND FOUND A PIECE OF WRITING IN SPANISH. ANTONIO HAD IT TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL AND SUBMITTED THAT. BILLIE FOUND THAT AN OLD TEXTBOOK ON MODERN HISTORY AT HIS HOME THAT SAID EXACTLY WHAT HE NEEDED TO SAY IN AN ESSAY. HE COPIED IT. THE CHANGE IN STYLE WAS NOTICED BY HIS TUTOR, WHO CHALLENGED HIM. COLLUSION IS A FORM OF PLAGIARISM TOO. SOME EXAMPLES OF COLLUSION ARE: JOANNE WAS STRUGGLING IN HER EDUCATION DEGREE. HER FRIEND WAS DOING A SIMILAR DEGREE AT ANOTHER UNIVERSITY. THEY DECIDED TO CHOOSE THE SAME TOPIC FOR THEIR DISSERTATION AND TO WORK TOGETHER ON IT ASSUMING THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE FOUND OUT BECAUSE THEIR RESPECTIVE DISSERTATIONS WOULD NEVER BE SEEN TOGETHER. STUDENTS IN BUSINESS STUDIES WERE ASKED TO DEVELOP MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR A GIVEN PRODUCT. THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY SHOULD WORK TOGETHER TO DO THE NECESSARY RESEARCH AND TO DEVELOP A PRESENTATION, BUT THAT THEY SHOULD THEN WORK ALONE IN THE PREPARATION OF THE WRITTEN WORK THAT THEY WOULD HAND IN. KAY WAS IN ONE OF THE GROUPS. SHE HAD NOT DONE HER FAIR SHARE OF THE INITIAL RESEARCH, AND WHEN IT CAME TO THE WRITTEN WORK SHE ASKED ONE OF HER GROUP TO HELP HER. THE COLLEAGUE LEANT KAY HIS COMPLETED WRITTEN WORK, AND SHE COPIED IT, THEN WROTE HER ACCOUNT, VERY HEAVILY BASED ON HIS. SHE SHOWED HIM HER VERY SIMILAR ACCOUNT BEFORE SHE HANDED IT IN – AND THANKED HIM BEFORE HE COULD OBJECT. BOTH OF THEM WERE DEEMED TO HAVE COLLUDED. 5 THE DEFINITION OF COLLUSION STARTS THE SAME AS FOR PLAGIARISM. COLLUSION IS THE  PASSING OFF OF ANOTHER’S WORK AS ONE’S OWN FOR ONE’S OWN BENEFIT AND IN ORDER TO DECEIVE ANOTHER. HOWEVER, IT GOES ON TO SAY THAT WHILE IN THE USUAL DEFINITION OF PLAGIARISM, THE OWNER OF THE WORK DOES NOT KNOWINGLY ALLOW THE USE OF HER WORK, IN A CASE OF COLLUSION, THE OWNER OF THE WORK KNOWS OF ITS USE AND WORKS WITH THE OTHER TOWARDS DECEPTION OF A THIRD PARTY. ON OCCASIONS, TWO PEOPLE MIGHT COLLUDE IN PLAGIARISING ANOTHER PIECE OF WORK. WHEN WE DEFINE COLLUSION, WE NEED TO BE CLEAR WHERE THE BOUNDARIES OF UNACCEPTABLE AND ACCEPTABLE CO-OPERATIVE OR COLLABORATIVE WORK ARE. CO-OPERATION IS SEEN AS OPENLY WORKING WITH ANOTHER OR OTHERS FOR MUTUAL BENEFIT WITH NO DECEPTION OF THE OTHER(S) INVOLVED. CO-OPERATIVE BEHAVIOUR IS A COMMON AND IS USUALLY WELCOMED PRACTICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION. RESEARCH TEAMS RELY ON IT. OFTEN YOU WILL BE TOLD THAT YOU SHOULD WORK TOGETHER TO THE POINT OF WRITING UP AN ASSIGNMENT, AND THEN WRITE IT UP SEPARATELY. HOWEVER, THERE MAY BE LOCAL ‘RULES’ OR DESIGNATIONS OF ACCEPTABLE PRACTICE AND OCCASIONALLY VOCABULARY USE WITH REGARD TO COLLUSION, COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION MAY VARY. IT IS IMPORTANT TO FIND OUT FROM YOUR TUTORS JUST WHAT IS  EXPECTED IN YOUR LOCAL CONTEXT. WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE MAY DIFFER FROM ASSIGNMENT TO ASSIGNMENT. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT ON OCCASIONS YOU WILL BE ASKED TO WORK JOINTLY ON A PIECE OF WRITING – AND CLEARLY, THAT IS ALL RIGHT. RATHER THAN TALKING IN THE NEGATIVE ABOUT THE AVOIDANCE OF COLLUSION OR PLAGIARISM, IT IS USEFUL TO USE THE IDEA OF WORKING WITH ACADEMIC HONESTY. ACADEMIC HONESTY IS WHERE YOU UNDERSTAND ACADEMIC CONVENTIONS AND WORK WITHIN THEM. IN THIS INDEPENDENT STUDY UNIT, WE PUT THE STRESS ON PLAGIARISM. THIS IS BECAUSE PLAGIARISM TAKES MORE EFFORT IN UNDERSTANDING THAN OTHER FORMS OF ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT. THIS IS NOT BECAUSE PLAGIARISM IS NECESSARILY MORE SERIOUS. THE FABRICATION OF DATA – OR MAKING UP OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS CAN BE FAR MORE SERIOUS AND HAVE FAR GREATER CONSEQUENCES THAN PLAGIARISM. SO THAT YOU CAN RETURN TO THIS MATERIAL EASILY ON FUTURE OCCASIONS, WE GATHER UP THESE IDEAS AS A SERIES OF DEFINITIONS AND PUT THEM INTO A GLOSSARY IN APPENDIX 1 OF THIS UNIT. Exercise 1: Thinking that you know about plagiarism does not mean that you can always decide what is right YOU HAVE NOW LOOKED AT THE EXPLANATIONS OF ACADEMIC HONESTY AND MISCONDUCT AND HAVE READ ABOUT THE JUSTIFICATION FOR CITATION. IT IS TIME TO TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING. YOU WILL FIND, IN THE NEXT EXERCISE, THAT THINKING THAT YOU KNOW WHAT PLAGIARISM IS MAY NOT MEAN THAT YOU ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT IT IS WHEN IT COMES TO THE DISTINCTIONS OF RIGHT AND WRONG IN YOUR WORK OR THE WORK OF ANOTHER. SOME 6 OF THE EXAMPLES ARE PLAGIARISM, SOME ARE COLLUSION, SOME ARE CHEATING AND SOME ARE ALL RIGHT. REMEMBER THAT PLAGIARISM OCCURS WHEN THE WORK OF SOMEONE ELSE IS PRESENTED AS ONE’S OWN AND IS NOT ATTRIBUTED TO THE OTHER. ONE OF THE THREE ANSWERS GIVEN (A, B AND C) IS CLOSEST TO THE ANSWER. THE ANSWERS ARE AT THE END OF THE UNIT. 1. JOE HAS AN ESSAY TO PREPARE. HE METICULOUSLY READS BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY, BUT IS NOT SURE FROM WHICH TEXT THE IDEAS HAVE COME, AND WHICH IDEAS WERE HIS OWN. HE LISTS THE RANGE OF BOOKS HE THINKS HE USED IN HIS REFERENCE LIST. a) Not plagiarism but he should have cited the books in the text b) Plagiarism – he should have cited the books in the text c) Not a problem – he cited the books in the reference list 2. JAYNE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO GET STARTED WITH AN ESSAY – SHE IS IN HER FIRST SEMESTER. SHE DELAYS STARTING IT AND THEN PANICS AND HER FRIEND SHOWS HER HOW SHE CAN BUY AN ESSAY FROM A PAPER MILL WEBSITE. SHE BUYS ONE AND SUBMITS IT (‘ONLY THIS TIME’ SHE SAYS). a) This is not all right but it is cheating, not plagiarism b) Plagiarism – and it is not all right c) Plagiarism but it is all right at this stage, but not later in the programme 3. TERRY AND FRAN LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE. THEY ARE ON THE SAME COURSE AND HENCE HAVE TO PUT IN THE SAME ASSIGNMENTS. FRAN HAS DIFFICULTIES WITH WRITING BUT SHE REALLY WANTS TO DO WELL IN HER DEGREE. TERRY WOULD LIKE TO GET TO KNOW FRAN BETTER AND SEES THIS AS A WAY OF INCREASING THEIR FRIENDSHIP. HE SUGGESTS THAT SINCE THE CLASS IS LARGE, THEY COULD PUT IN THE SAME ESSAY AND NO-ONE  WOULD NOTICE – AND IN THIS WAY HE ‘HELPS’ OUT FRAN, WHO IS VERY GRATEFUL. a) Fran colluded. Terry did not. b) Terry colluded and Fran did not c) They colluded. 4. MIKE USES THE LIBRARY TO FIND THE RELEVANT LITERATURE TO THE ESSAY THAT HE HAS TO WRITE, THEN, USING ONE OF THE ESSAY SITES, BUYS A SIMILAR ESSAY AND INTEGRATES INTO IT THE MATERIAL THAT HE HAS READ. a) It is certain that Mike plagiarised b) Mike did not plagiarise if he cited the sources and paraphrased appropriately c) Mike has plagiarised because he bought the essay 5. MALACHY FOUND THAT HER FRIEND, WHO HAD DONE THE MODULE LAST YEAR, HAD DONE THE SAME EXPERIMENT. HER FRIEND SUGGESTED THAT MALACHY COULD READ THROUGH 7 WHAT SHE HAD WRITTEN BUT SHE WARNED HER NOT TO COPY IT AS THAT WOULD BE COLLUSION. WITHOUT HER FRIEND KNOWING, MALACHY DID COPY PART OF IT AND PRESENTED IT AS HER OWN. a) Malachy plagiarised her friend’s work b) Malachy and her friend colluded c) Malachy and her friend plagiarised 6. DAMION FINDS THAT AN ESSAY THAT HE HAS DONE IN SCHOOL IS VERY SIMILAR TO ONE HE HAS TO WRITE AT UNIVERSITY. HE USES HIS SCHOOL ESSAY – BUT UNFORTUNATELY HE DOES NOT HAVE THE REFERENCES PROPERLY RECORDED. HE HAS NAMES CITED IN THE TEXT, BUT NOT DETAILS OF THE SOURCES. HE MAKES UP ONE OR TWO AND THINKS THAT  HIS TUTOR WILL PROBABLY NOT WORRY ABOUT THE REST. a) Because it was school work – from a different place, it was all right b) It was all right because it had already been marked c) Damion plagiarised 7. SUE IS A LECTURER. SHE GIVES A LECTURE TO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ON CELL BIOLOGY AND TALKS A LOT ABOUT CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN RESEARCH, BUT DOES NOT GIVE THE REFERENCES TO THE RESEARCH IN THE LECTURE OR ON HANDOUTS. a) Technically Sue plagiarised b) It is all right. If this had been written work, Sue should have cited correctly – but it was oral c) It is all right not to cite if your are a teacher / lecturer in the process of teaching. 8. TIM AND OONAGH ARE WORKING ON THE SAME ESSAY FOR THEOLOGY. OONAGH FINDS A GOOD WEBSITE THAT IS VERY HELPFUL. IT PROVIDES GOOD MATERIAL ON THE SUBJECT ON WHICH THEY ARE WRITING. SHE TELLS TIM ABOUT IT. THEY BOTH DOWNLOAD CHUNKS OF IT. OONAGH CUTS AND PASTES INTO HER ESSAY AND PUTS A REFERENCE TO THE SITE IN HER REFERENCE LIST. TIM PARAPHRASES FROM THE MATERIAL, ACKNOWLEDGES IT IN THE TEXT AND IN HIS REFERENCE LIST. THE TUTOR WOULD NOT HAVE NOTICED THE SIMILAR MATERIAL BUT FOR THE FACT THAT THE TWO ESSAYS WERE ADJACENT TO EACH OTHER IN THE PILE. a) Tim and Oonagh colluded b) Tim and Oonagh plagiarised. c) Only one of them plagiarised 9. IN STATISTICS, GEMMA HAS A PROJECT THAT INVOLVES USE OF A QUESTIONNAIRE TO FIND OUT WHAT TELEVISION PROGRAMMES HER FRIENDS WATCH AT A PARTICULAR TIME IN THE EVENING. THIS WILL GENERATE DATA FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. SHE IS ILL FOR A FEW DAYS AND IS RUNNING LATE. SHE MAKES UP SOME OF THE RESPONSES AND USES THEM. a) Gemma plagiarised 8 b) Gemma cheated c) Gemma colluded 10. HARRY INTEGRATES INTO HIS ESSAY, A CHUNK OF HANDOUT MATERIAL FROM HIS LAST YEARS WORK. HE ALTERS SOME WORDS TO FIT BETTER AND SPLITS THE MATERIAL WITH TWO SECTIONS OF HIS OWN WRITING. a) Harry plagiarised. b) It is all right to quote from handout material without citation c) It would have been all right if Harry had rewritten it more in his own words 11. JAMIE HAS AN ESSAY TO WRITE IN PHILOSOPHY. HE IS NOT VERY GOOD AT WRITING AND HAS DEVELOPED A STYLE WHEREBY HE COPIES DOWN APPROPRIATE QUOTATIONS (CITING THEM APPROPRIATELY) AND THEN PARAPHRASES THE CONTENT OF THE QUOTATION IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH AS A KIND OF SUMMARY, STEERING THE MEANING TOWARDS ANOTHER QUOTATION AND SO ON. a) So long as Jamie paraphrases appropriately, he is not doing anything wrong b) Jamie is plagiarising c) Jamie should be using appropriate methods of referencing 12. FOR SOPHIA, ENGLISH IS A SECOND LANGUAGE. SHE WANTS TO SUCCEED AND GOES TO A FRIEND WHO SPEAKS BETTER ENGLISH. HER FRIEND GOES THROUGH HER WHOLE ESSAY, CORRECTING THE LANGUAGE ALL THE WAY THROUGH. a) What Sophia is doing is understandable. It is all right b) What Sophia and her friend are doing is not all right. It is a form of collusion c) What Sophia is doing is not all right. It is cheating 13. BILLIE, ED AND JAKE LIVE ARE FOLLOWING THE SAME MODULE. THEY HAVE A PIECE OF WORK TO DO AND GET TOGETHER TO DISCUSS IT. THEY TALK ABOUT THE CONTENT AND DECIDE EACH TO FOLLOW UP TWO REFERENCES AND THEN TO MEET AGAIN TO TALK ABOUT. WHAT THEY HAVE FOUND. THIS REDUCES THE VOLUME OF READING THEY WILL HAVE TO DO. THEY MEET AGAIN, LISTEN TO EACH OTHER’S DESCRIPTIONS AND WRITE NOTES AND THEN WRITE THE ESSAY SEPARATELY. THEY REFERENCE THE MATERIAL, WHETHER IT IS WHAT THEY HAVE READ OR WHAT THEY HAVE HEARD DESCRIBED. a) Billie, Ed and Jake are colluding b) They are not doing anything wrong if co-operative study is acceptable to the tutor c) Billie, Ed and Jake are deceiving their tutor and therefore cheating 14. LUI FINDS SOME INFORMATION AT A WEBSITE THAT SAYS EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTS TO SAY. IT IS SIX LINES OF TEXT WHICH HE PUTS INTO QUOTATION MARKS. HE CUTS AND PASTES IT BUT BY MISTAKE LEAVES THE ORIGINAL FONT. HE CITES IT IN THE TEXT AND PUTS THE WEBSITE ADDRESS IN THE REFERENCE LIST WITH THE DATE OF ACCESS. HIS TUTOR CALLS HIM IN†¦ 9 a) Lui cheated b) He plagiarised c) What Lui did is all right. 15. CHARLIE KNOWS A REALLY GOOD WEBSITE THAT WILL HELP HIM A GREAT DEAL IN THE PROJECT WORK THAT HIS HAS BEEN SET. HE IS WORKING IN A TEAM, BUT THE WORK THAT THE TEAM DOES MUST BE WRITTEN UP SEPARATELY. INITIALLY HE MENTIONS THE WEBSITE, BUT GIVES NO ADDRESS – AND THEN REALISES THAT HE WOULD PREFER TO USE IT AS A REFERENCE FOR HIS INDIVIDUAL WORK. WHEN THE OTHERS ASK FOR DETAILS OF THE SITE, HE IS VAGUE AND THEN GIVES THE WRONG WEB ADDRESS TO THEM. a) Charlie is rightly not colluding with his team b) Charlie is not working co-operatively in his team c) Charlie is plagiarising – and it is just as well he did not pass on the information 16. AARON IS WRITING UP A REPORT. HE FINDS A TEXT BOOK THAT IS NOT THE ONE USED IN CLASS AND USES IT TO GET MUCH OF THE INFORMATION THAT HE REQUIRES. HE REFERS TO THE WORK OF JONDA (1998) THAT IS DESCRIBED AND REFERENCED IN THE TEXTBOOK. ARON CITES JONDA IN THE TEXT AND THEN REFERENCES IT TO THE TEXT BOOK IN HIS LIST OF REFERENCES. a) Aaron is behaving with academic honesty, his citations are fine b) Aaron is technically plariarising – he should have cited the original source, not the textbook c) Aaron is colluding with the writer of the textbook 17. TOM FINDS A HELPFUL ARTICLE IN A JOURNAL. HE PHOTOCOPIES IT AND COPIES FROM IT INTO HIS ESSAY, ALTERNATING SENTENCES OF THE ARTICLE WITH HIS OWN WORDS, AND NEVER COPYING MORE THAN A LINE WITHOUT ADDING HIS OWN WORDS OR ALTERING WORDS FROM THE TEXT. HE CITES THE ARTICLE IN HIS BIBLIOGRAPHY, BUT NOT IN THE TEXT BECAUSE HE DOES NOT FEEL THAT HE MAKES A SUFFICIENTLY SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO IT. a) Tom is cheating. b) Tom is plagiarising c) Tom is writing a good essay. He has properly cited the reference in his bibliography 18. AMY OMITS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MATERIAL THAT SHE HAS QUOTED. IT WAS A MISTAKE. a) Amy made a mistake and because she is a first year that is all right b) Amy plagiarised. c) Amy did not plagiarise because not referencing was unintentional 10 Exercise 2: What reasons do students give for academic misconduct? THINK OF FIVE EXCUSES THAT STUDENTS MIGHT MAKE FOR PLAGIARISING, COLLUDING OR CHEATING. SOME EXCUSES ARE UNDERSTANDABLE BUT THEY ARE AGAINST THE ACADEMIC CONVENTIONS THAT WE MAINTAIN WITHIN AN ACADEMIC COMMUNITY. THERE IS A LIST OF POSSIBLE RESPONSES AT THE END OF THE UNIT – THOUGH YOU MAY HAVE THOUGH OF OTHERS. The further information and skills that you need for academic honesty WE HAVE SAID THAT YOU NEED SOME INFORMATION, A SET OF SKILLS AND ASSOCIATED GOOD HABITS FOR YOUR ACADEMIC WORK. WE HAVE DESCRIBED ABOVE THE BASICS OF WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT, PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION BUT BEFORE WE LOOK AT THE SKILLS AND GOOD HABITS, THERE IS MORE TO SAY ABOUT WHY WE REFERENCE MATERIAL (REMEMBER REFERENCING, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND CITATION MEAN THE SAME THING). Further reasons for referencing. WE SAID ABOVE THAT WHEN WE USE THE IDEA OF ANOTHER, WE REFERENCE IT AND INDICATE THE SOURCE OF IT. IN TERMS OF PLAGIARISM, THIS IS IN ORDER TO DEMONSTRATE THAT IT IS AN IDEA THAT WAS GENERATED BY ANOTHER PERSON – AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PERSON FOR THE IDEA. HOWEVER IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO REFERENCE AN IDEA IN ORDER TO SHOW ANOTHER PERSON HOW TO FIND THAT IDEA SHOULD S/HE WANT TO SEEK READ MORE OF IT. IN ACADEMIC WRITING, IN ORDER TO FURTHER YOUR OWN THINKING, IT IS USUAL TO FOLLOW UP REFERENCES THAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS GIVEN IN THEIR REFERENCE LIST. SEEKING AND FINDING INFORMATION BECOMES A KIND OF TRAIL. SO A SECOND REASON FOR REFERENCING IS TO ENABLE OTHERS TO FIND THE IDEAS FOR THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO SEEK MORE INFORMATION. THE THIRD REASON FOR REFERENCING IS SO THAT ANYONE READING YOUR WORK (SUCH AS A TUTOR) CAN SEE HOW YOUR THINKING HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. WHEN YOU DO ACADEMIC WRITING YOU WORK WITH YOUR OWN IDEAS AND THOSE OF OTHERS IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO THE TASK SET. IT IS NOT USUALLY JUST A MATTER OF ‘WRITE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ABOUT†¦(SOMETHING)’ IN HIGHER EDUCATION, BUT THE QUESTION OR TASK WILL REQUIRE YOU TO ‘MANIPULATE’ WHAT YOU KNOW – TO EXPLAIN, TO COMPARE OR COMPARE AND CONTRAST AND SO ON. WHEN YOU USE THE IDEAS OF OTHERS, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR TUTOR TO BE ABLE TO SEE HOW MUCH YOU HAVE READ, WHAT YOU HAVE READ AND HOW YOU HAVE USED AND MANIPULATED THE IDEAS IN ORDER TO MEET THE TASK SET IN THE ASSIGNMENT. LOOKING AT A REFERENCE LIST FOR THIS PURPOSE IS A FORM OF EVALUATION 11 YOU MAY THINK THAT SUCH EVALUATION ONLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE A STUDENT. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH WRITING IN JOURNALS AND BOOKS IS ALSO SUBJECTED TO EVALUATION – THIS TIME BY PEERS. SUCH RESEARCH WRITING USUALLY DEVELOPS NEW KNOWLEDGE. ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE CAN BE. JUDGED BY THOSE WHO MIGHT USE IT, IS BY LOOKING AT THE LIST OF REFERENCES TO SEE WHAT KIND OF IDEAS HAVE FORMED THE BASIS TO THE NEW KNOWLEDGE. SOMETIMES THIS ‘BASIS’ IS IN THE FORM OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL ‘EVIDENCE’. MANY ACADEMICS WILL TURN TO THE REFERENCE LIST AS SOON AS THEY ARE GIVEN SOMETHING TO READ – IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT WORK THIS IS BASED ON. What do you not have to reference? NOT ALL IDEAS ARE CONSIDERED TO BELONG TO OTHERS. MOST OF WHAT WE KNOW IS ‘COMMON KNOWLEDGE’. THIS IS KNOWLEDGE THAT IS IN ‘EVERYDAY’ USE, OR IS IN THE COMMON DOMAIN OR IT IS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHICH WE COULD SAY THAT MOST PEOPLE. AGREE. IT IS THE SORT OF KNOWLEDGE THAT IS FOUND IN REFERENCE BOOKS – IN ENCYCLOPEDIAS OR DICTIONARIES. WE DO NOT NEED TO REFERENCE COMMON KNOWLEDGE, THOUGH USUALLY, IF YOU DO TAKE A DEFINITION FROM A DICTIONARY, YOU WILL CITE ITS SOURCE SO THAT OTHERS CAN FIND IT. WE DO NOT NEED TO REFERENCE IDEAS THAT ARE GENUINELY OUR OWN EITHER. IF THE IDEA IS ONE GENERATED BY YOU, BUT THAT YOU HAVE DESCRIBED IN YOUR OWN WORK ELSEWHERE, THEN IT IS GOOD PRACTICE TO REFERENCE IT TO THE FIRST OCCASION ON WHICH IT HAS BEEN USED (IE TO YOUR OWN NAME). THIS MAY BE MAINLY SO THAT OTHERS CAN FIND IT FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES. THE RULES ABOUT CITATION OF LECTURE AND HANDOUT MATERIAL ARE MORE FUZZY – TECHNICALLY YOU SHOULD SAY WHERE YOU HEARD ABOUT AN IDEA AS MUCH AS WHERE YOU READ ABOUT IT. HOWEVER, SOMETIMES THAT WOULD GET RIDICULOUS. IMAGINE HOW YOU WOULD MANAGE A QUESTION IN AN EXAM THAT ASKS YOU TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED IN THE LECTURE. IT COULD BECOME VERY DIFFICULT. YOU NEED TO ASK YOUR LECTURERS AND TUTORS WHAT PRACTICE TO FOLLOW HERE. THEY MAY FEEL THAT YOU DO NOT NEED TO CITE LECTURES, BUT THAT YOU SHOULD CITE HANDOUT MATERIAL – AND THEY MAY NOT ALL AGREE ON THE SAME RESPONSE. IN ALL OF THIS YOU MAY NOT ALWAYS BE SURE WHETHER OR NOT TO CITE. A RULE BY WHICH TO WORK IS – IF IN DOUBT, CITE! SO – TO SUMMARISE: THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE REASONS WHY WE REFERENCE MATERIAL – -TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE HAVE USED ANOTHER’S IDEA; -TO SHOW ANOTHER WHERE TO FIND THE SOURCE OF THE IDEAS USED; -TO ALLOW ANOTHER TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF OUR REASONING. The skills that you need 12 IN TERMS OF SKILLS, – YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO: -DIFFERENTIATE MATERIAL THAT NEEDS CITATION FROM THAT THAT DOES NOT NEED CITATION; -USE IN-TEXT REFERENCING; -WRITE AN APPROPRIATE REFERENCE LIST AND UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE. BETWEEN THIS AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY; -DEVELOP GOOD HABITS OF RECORD-KEEPING; -WORK APPROPRIATELY WITH QUOTATIONS; -MANAGE THE PRESENTATION OF OTHERS’ IDEAS IN WRITTEN WORK. (THE LIST IS MODIFIED FROM CARROLL, 2002) The ability to differentiate material that needs attribution from that that does not need attribution; YOU NEED TO KNOW AND TO BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WHAT DOES AND DOES NOT REQUIRE CITATION – THE FOLLOWING DO NOT NEED TO BE CITED: -COMMON KNOWLEDGE – WHICH WE HAVE DEFINED AS THAT IN EVERYDAY USE, IN THE COMMON DOMAIN; -FACTS THAT ARE GENERALLY AGREED, OR THAT ARE COMMON TO A VARIETY OF SOURCES; -PERSONAL IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS ETC. THE FOLLOWING NEED TO BE CITED: -DIRECT QUOTATIONS; -REFERENCES TO OTHERS’ IDEAS EXPRESSED ORALLY OR ON PAPER OR WEB-BASED MATERIALS ETC; -REFERENCES TO A REFERENCE ALREADY CITED BY ANOTHER IN A TEXT; -PARAPHRASES, PRECIS AND SUMMARIES OF OTHERS’ QUOTATIONS OR IDEAS; -OTHERS’ STATISTICS, FIGURES, CHARTS, TABLES, PICTURES GRAPHS ETC; -REFERENCES TO MATERIAL WITHIN AN EDITED TEXT. CLEARLY IT REQUIRES JUDGEMENT TO DECIDE WHAT DOES AND DOES NOT NEED TO BE CITED – AND IF IN DOUBT, CITE! Use of in-text referencing THIS IS A MATTER OF UNDERSTANDING HOW TO CITE IN TEXT AND HOW TO CONSTRUCT A  REFERENCE LIST. THERE ARE DIFFERENT CONVENTIONS, AND SOMETIMES THERE ARE VARIABLE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE CONVENTION ADOPTED. SOME USE REFERENCE LISTS AT THE END OF THE TEXT, SOME WORK WITH FOOTNOTES OR ENDNOTES THAT ARE LINKED FROM THE TEXT BY NUMBER OR LETTER. 13 E. G. (1) OR (A). IN THESE CASES, THE DETAILS OF NAME, DATE AND SOURCE ARE EITHER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE OR LISTED BY NUMBER OR LETTER SEQUENCE AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE OR BOOK. REFERENCES MAY BE MIXED WITH NOTES. HARVARD IS A VERY COMMON SYSTEM IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS. E. G. †¦IN THE HARVARD SYSTEM – THE NAME AND DATE IS PUT IN THE TEXT (E. G.DIPPIDY, 1999) AND IN THE REFERENCE LIST AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE OR THE BOOK, THE REFERENCES ARE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY WITH THE FURTHER DETAILS OF SOURCE. DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES TEND TO ADOPT DIFFERENT CONVENTIONS, AND ACADEMIC JOURNALS AND PUBLISHERS OFTEN DIFFER IN THE CONVENTIONS ADOPTED, SO YOU WILL COME ACROSS DIFFERENT STYLES IN YOUR READING. USUALLY IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES, YOU WILL BE TOLD TO WORK TO A PARTICULAR CONVENTION BUT YOU MAY NEED TO LEARN TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE. IT IS NOT WORTH REBELLING IN THIS MATTER. THERE ARE USUALLY HANDOUTS OR BOOKLETS THAT PROVIDE ILLUSTRATION OF THIS. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT SYSTEM OF REFERENCING TO  USE, ASK. MAKE SURE THAT WITHIN THE SYSTEM YOU USE, YOU KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FOLLOWING: – QUOTATIONS (SEE BELOW ALSO); – DIRECT REFERENCES TO WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORD; – REFERENCES CITED WITHIN ANOTHER TEXT – TO WHICH YOU WANT TO REFER; – PARAPHRASES OR SUMMARIES OF OTHERS’ IDEAS; – THE CITATION OF STATISTICS AND FIGURATIVE MATERIAL; – REFERENCES WITHIN EDITED TEXTS, WEB-BASED MATERIALS, CD-ROMS. THERE MAY BE OTHER SOURCES THAT YOU WANT TO CITE. YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ALL THIS ‘BY HEART’, BUT HAVE ACCESS TO A GOOD GUIDE TO REFERENCING AS YOU WORK AND MAKE SURE THAT IT USES THE APPROPRIATE STYLE. IF YOUR FEEL THAT YOUR GUIDE-BOOK IS  NOT HELPFUL, LOOK AT STUDY SKILLS BOOKS OR LOOK ON THE WEB FOR THE SYSTEM YOU NEED. THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES OFTEN HAVE USEFUL MATERIAL The layout of a reference list and its distinction from a bibliography A REFERENCE LIST IS A LIST OF THE REFERENCES TO WHICH YOU HAVE REFERRED IN YOUR TEXT. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS A REFERENCE LIST TO WHICH IS ADDED ANY EXTRA MATERIAL THAT MIGHT PROVIDE GENERAL OR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOPIC. IN ACADEMIC WORK, MOSTLY IT WILL BE REFERENCE LISTS WITH WHICH YOU WORK.