Video Games and Violence Essay Example for Free

Video Games and Violence Essay Video Games and violence a topic that has caused many a spirited debate both in the classroom, and amongst parents and children. There are plenty of arguments both for, and against the issue. However, there is research out there that shows that large amounts of time spent playing violent video games can contribute to aggressive behaviors, poor academic performance, and desensitization to violence in adolescents. The debates all begin withviolent video games contributing to aggressive behavior both in and out of the classroom. Reports show clear evidence that exposure to violent video games increases aggression in terms of behavior, cognition, and effect, including serious real world aggression, and violence. (Kutner, Baer, Beres, Warner, Nicholi II, 2009). Things such as trait anger increase the odds. Violent game play was linked to high aggression in people that had high anger traits, as well as to a lesser extent to those with moderate and low anger traits. (Kutner, Baer, Beres, Warner, Nicholi II, 2009). Studies showexposure to M rated games is a strong and significant predictor for adolescents engaging in aggressive behaviors like bullying, and fighting. Results also showthat the results are dose related, meaning the more time the child spends playing the game the higher the odds. The numbers go up as much as 45%. M rated game play was an even stronger predictor for this behavior appearing in adolescent girls. (Kutner, Baer, Beres, Warner, Nicholi II, 2009). The classroom is also where the effects of violent video games can be seen. Concerns are rising among parents, educators and health care professionals that there is a dark side to 1 excessive game play. Studies show that parts of the brain that trigger feelings of addiction are activated during game play. Sign of video game addiction include lying about time spent playing, plummeting grades, loss of key relationships, scholarships, and isolation. Children begin to choose the game over participating in school activities, social activities, chores, and homework. For example a ninth grader plays a game with members of the group from around the globe, his parents tell him it’s time to get homework and chores done. The child sends an email to the group saying he is dropping off line. This causes chaos, he gets responses like† are you nuts! We are in the middle of a mission. † The group dynamic takes priority over everything else. An anonymous mother and physician tells of howher son went from a thriving student to user. His grades plummeted, he failed all his classes, lost his scholarship, and is now trying to rebuild his life. Membership becomes so important it becomes hard for the child to separate the fantasy from reality. The more they play the more they begin to identify with the character, and members of the group. Once this happens some type of intervention is usually needed. (Wagner, J. (2008). Professionals feel that violent video games can also contribute to desensitizing adolescents to every day violence, and human suffering. What are seen as horrific, and violent events are just an everydayoccurrence. Most people would never expose their children to violent, or mature content depicting killing law enforcement, and civilians. However, one of the most top cited, and played games among adolescents is Grand Theft Auto, which includes all of the above, and more . (Kutner, Baer, Beres, Warner, Nicholi II, 2009). Professionals feel games like this have an even greater effect on adolescents than slash, and gore movies. Studies show that games like Quake IIeffect how a child sees things after gameplay. If they were angry going into the game, it affected their outlook after gameplay. 2 The debates will continue on video games and violence. Will there be problems with every child? No, of course not. However, evidence is out there to support the fact that video games and violence cancontribute to aggressive behaviors, poor academic performance, and desensitization to violence in adolescents. Parents, educators and Medical professionals can work together to lessen the odds. However, monitoring, boundaries, and playing an active role in the child’s activities are still the best defense. 3. References Kutner, L. A. , Baer , L. , Beres Olson, C. K. ,in, E. V. , Warner, D. E. , Nicholi II, A. M. (2009). M-Rated Video Games and Aggressive or Problem Behavior Among Young Adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 13(4), 188-198. doi:10. 1080/10888690903288748 Green, J. , Dunn, E. C. , Johnson, R. M. , Molnar,B. E. (2011). AMultilevel Investigation of the Association Between School Context and Adolescent Nonphysical Bullying. Journal Of School Violence, 10(2), 133-149. doi:10. 1080/15388220. 2010. 539165 Report, Wagner, J. (2008). When Play Turns to Trouble. U. S. News World 144(14), 51-53.

Common Agricultural Policy by European Union

Common Agricultural Policy by European Union The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a policy, set forth by the European Union (EU). It also comprises of a set of rules that control the manufacture, trade, and processing of agricultural products. The CAP currently accounts for almost fifty percent of the EU budget, however, this number continues to decrease over the years. The CAP is significant in that it symbolizes Europes switch from sovereignty on a national level to a European level. The CAP is funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).This fund is allocated into two different sections, the Guidance section and the Guarantee section. The Guidance section is one of the structural funds, which contributes to the structural improvements in agriculture and the development of rural areas; the Guarantee section funds expenditures concerning the common organization of the markets. Storage taxes, manufacture taxes, and portions of each member states Gross National Product (GNP) also finances the CAP. The Treaty of Rome, in July 1958, formed the foundation for a unified Europe via the implementation of the general objectives for the CAP. â€Å"The CAP was established as a means of rectifying the deficit in food production within Europe through supporting internal prices and incomes† (Blair 123-124). The CAP succeeded in realizing its initial goals of increased production and productivity, stabilized markets, secured supplies, and farmer protection. However, the system included problems, which became apparent as the Community established a surplus for most of its agricultural products. First, the CAP increased output beyond the markets need via the guaranteeing of prices through intervention and production aids. Second, the very success of the Cap caused tension within the Communitys trading partners as subsidized exports affected the market, and thirdly, the desire to produce more food brought with it environmental damage to certain regions (Blair 123-4). The legal base for the CAP is defined in Articles 32-38 in Title II of the EC Treaty, in which, Articles 33-34 form the basic foundation for the CAP. Article 33 lists the objectives of the CAP as a means, â€Å"to increase agricultural productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the balanced development of agricultural production and the optimal utilization of the factors of production, to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, in particular by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture, to stabilize markets, to assure the availability of supplies, and to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices† (europa.eu.int).Through Article 34 came the creation of the Common Organization of the Agricultural Markets (COM). These COMs were to take on one of three different forms, depending on the product. They successfully eliminate obstacles to intra-Union trade while also keeping a common customs barrier with respect to countries outside the Union. Results of the COMs include a unified market in which products move freely between nations, community preference, in which EU products are always given preference, price advantage over imported products, and financial solidarity in which all expenses by the CAP are covered by the Community budget. The CAP has had a long history of reform, and is nowhere near perfect. The main attempt of improvement came just ten years after its operation. In 1968, the Mansholt Plan in which he aimed at rationalizing farming with the community, giving farmers an adequate income and reducing the burden of subsidies in the economy was put into effect in an attempt to reduce the number of people in the agriculture business and to promote more efficient means of agricultural production. In 1972, the extensive food surpluses were targeted through the creation of structural measures designed to modernize European agriculture. This attempt at reform is generally regarded as a failure because many of the problems it tried to fix were still left unchecked. In 1983, a publication was released entitled, The Green Paper, which sought to balance the on-going differences between supply and demand through improvements in production. In 1988, the European Council agreed on various reform measures. The â€Å"a gricultural expenditure guideline,† limited the percentage of CAP expenditure in the complete budget. In 1991-92 the future of the CAP was addressed through what has been called, â€Å"The MacSharry Reforms† in which the reforms included the cutback of agricultural prices to make the products more competitive, compensation for farmers that incurred a loss in income, and environmental protection. With the positive effects on European agriculture, the reform of 1992 was generally regarded as successful. However, international trends, the expansion towards Central and Eastern Europe, the preparation of the single currency causing budget constraints, the increasing competitiveness of products from non-member countries, and a new round of World Trade Organization negotiations forced further adaptation of the CAP† (europa.eu.int). In July 1997, â€Å"Agenda 2000† was created to address many of the important issues facing the EU and the CAP. the reinforcement of t he competitiveness of agricultural commodities in domestic and world markets were the key focuses of this new agenda , the promotion of a fair standard of living, the creation of extra sources of income for farmers, a new rural development policy, revamped environmental considerations, better food quality and safety, and the simplification of CAP legislation. The European Unions common agricultural policy protects and subsidizes agriculture so heavily as to bring serious social losses to the Economic Union. The policy creates inadequacies in the agriculture sector as well as other sectors of society such as manufacturing, textiles, and service industries. Furthermore, â€Å"there have been many economic consequences of the CAP, including the high level of protection, the burdens on consumers, taxpayers, and the EU budget, environmental damage, the harm to international trading relations, and the failure to raise farmers incomes† (Howarth 4). There have been a number of negative effects on the European Union countries. First and foremost, the Common Agricultural Policy has kept agricultural prices in the member countries above world market prices. â€Å"The CAP has encouraged production of certain products to the extent that net importers of these products have become net exporters† (Rosenblatt 9). Also, the CAP has contributed to large agricultural net export or stock-building by the European community. This has contributed to the CAP hindering the economies of the EU member countries. Higher food prices, which the CAP causes, and which fall hardest on the least well off, hinder economic development and reduce international competitiveness and EU employment. Consumers lose twice under this policy since they have to pay higher prices for their good and pay taxes to subsidize the agricultural sector. The CAP has also led to inefficiencies in production and the European Unions total budget. The European Unions expenditures on agriculture consume roughly 45 percent of their total budget (Rosenblatt 36). The expenditures are paid to keep farmers from letting land go idle, and there is no condition on what types of crops are to be grown on this land. Under the Common Agricultural Policy, farmers tend to harvest more profitable crops on land that is not as suitable for their growth. For example, producers have switched over from producing wheat and oil seeds to butter because the EU has such a high price support for it. This causes the market to go from excess supply to excess demand, and the producers are becoming a net exporter of butter (Pugel 312). Thus, farmers may actually grow crops for which production costs are not covered by the prevailing market prices, but payments make production of these crops profitable to them. The CAP has also caused concern for the environment as well as concerns for the economy. Because of the subsidies provided to farmers, they have the incentive to produce more agricultural products because they will receive more money. The CAP price policies have encouraged intensive farming and the overuse of antibiotics, pesticides, and nitrates. This has put a strain on the environment and has concerned the people of the European Union. The policy did not foresee farmers overproducing and over using chemicals, but this has become an indirect cost created by the policy. Europeans are also concerned with food safety because of farmers using so many chemicals in production. Farmers have been getting away with using the chemicals and unsafe practices because of the limited food safety regulations. Policymakers believed that high price supports would lead to higher food safety and quality. â€Å"High support prices do not increase either food safety or quality: indeed, minimum prices a nd intervention guarantees encourage low quality and standardized produce† (Consumers in Europe group). Under the CAP, the European Union countries have shifted from net importers to net exporters of food products. With the EU subsidizing the agricultural sector so heavily, as to raise some sectors, such as non-grain crops, to eight times larger than it would normally be at (Borrell 18). This has drawn resources and labour out of other sectors of the economy and into the agricultural sector because of the subsidies. â€Å"These costs and resource misallocation reduce the total output and income of the European Union† (Borrell 18). Borrell charts the percentage changes in specific industries due to the CAP in the EU. For example, the CAP has caused negative changes in the following industries: construction and utilities are down one percent, the service industry is down two percent, the manufacturing sector in down almost five percent, and other primary products are down almost six percent (Borrell 20). This information demonstrates that CAP is taking away resources from these se rvice type industries and placing it in the agricultural sector. The transference of these resources is coming at the cost of the consumers, taxpayers, or society as a whole. The effects of the EU Common Agricultural Policy have not just altered the European Unions economy, but it has also restructured other economies throughout the world. The CAP has caused farmers to produce a surplus of agricultural goods in the EU. This has led to dumping of these products into other countries. As a result, importing countries have shifted away from producing agricultural goods to goods such as manufacturing, construction, services, and other primary goods. The United States and Canada have experienced a decrease in agricultural production due to the CAP. Combined, the United States and Canada have experienced a decrease of approximately 8.1 percent across primary agricultural goods (as much as 13 percent for non-grain products to as low as 2.9 percent for meat products) (Borrell 23). Also, with cropping exports down between 26 and 45 percent, this shows implications that output has been dropping in the cropping sector. The effects of the CAP have also shifted resourc es in Australia and New Zealand from agriculture to other primary industries. These countries have experienced an expansion in the mining and forestry industries of 7.5 percent (Borrell 21). These examples display how the CAP has suppressed exports of agricultural products and has led to the allocation of resources into other industries in other countries. It is apparent that the Common Agricultural Policy has been and is causing problems not only in the European Union, but it has also been creating problems in the rest of the world. What the CAP has effectively done to the European Union is that it has caused it to become a net exporter of agricultural products when it should be a net importer of these goods. The EUs policy has changed the world markets for agricultural goods and has imposed significant costs to the EUs consumers and taxpayers. Consumers and taxpayers in the EU bear most of the cost of 70 to 80 million US dollars a year, which is used to increase farmers incomes. The taxpayers and consumers are responsible for this increase in cost, which in turn causes an increase in unemployment. â€Å"The CAP was responsible for a loss of one million jobs in the EU manufacturing sector alone. The EU unemployment rate is currently around 10 percent, which is currently 40 percent higher than the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Op eration and Development) average† (Borrell 20). It is clear that the Common Agricultural Policy is responsible for increases in unemployment, increases in taxpayer cost and consumer burden, drops in farmer income, and harm to international relations. If the CAP were not implemented, many of these issues would be alleviated. There have been significant losses to the European Union as a whole because of the CAP. To understand, however, what this does to an individual country, an analysis of Britain experience must be looked at. In 1973, Great Britain entered the European Community and, therefore, accepted the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The acceptance of the CAP caused Britain to move from an agricultural market of free trade and cheap food, to an agricultural market that became the pawn of the European Unions protectionism (Harvey 2). The CAPs main goal was, â€Å"to keep agricultural markets stable, ensure that farmers earn a fair living, and provide consumers with affordable food supplies† (Think quest Library 2). The CAP achieved many goals it set out to accomplish. The very generous price supports to farmers and technological innovation have caused surpluses that are not being offset by a decreasing demand. The CAP has run into criticism in recent times by both British consumers and taxpayers alike, and many citizens and even farmers are calling for its reform. One recent event that caused the European Union to rethink the restrictions of the CAP was the outbreak of mad cow disease in Britain. British cattle that were infected by mad cow disease experienced nervous system breakdown and eventually death. The beef industry suffered in Britain and many of the cattle had to be put to death because they were not suitable to eat. Therefore, the European Union, in 1996, had to impose a British beef export ban (Barclay 21). The ban, and the fall in beef consumption in the UK market, caused the United Kingdom cattle market to lose sales totalling 800 million pounds (Barclay 22). The British were not allowed to export tainted beef to member countries and many member countries feared to import any British beef (Barclay 22). The CAP has hurt Britain in more ways than one. British consumers have been burdened by higher domestic agriculture prices because of CAP policies when they could easily go buy the same product cheaper in the world market. The taxpayers in Britain have been burdened by taxes the European Union imposes to finance subsidies to farmers. Undoubtedly, the United Kingdom would still have to face the mad cow dilemma regardless of its prior entry in the Union. However, the British would be able to develop a unilateral policy in which they would be free from the strict requirements of the European Union.

The Introduction To What Is Learning?

The Introduction To What Is Learning? Philosophy is taking a theory on what one believes and why s/he believes, and these beliefs are based on ethics. It is also based on how and what one thinks about something. In short, philosophy is ideas that create reality and makes ones view clear. In this paper, in order to address my philosophy of education with regard to the Zambian education system, the purpose of education, what learning is, and what teaching is, will be discussed. Thereafter, my educational philosophical statement shall be discussed to summarize my final paper on Teacher Education. In the first place, this paper will look at the purpose of education for Zambia, at its different stages of development to what it is and serves at the moment. Purpose of Education: Education, in the Zambian scenario, has moved from indigenous, pre colonial, colonial, post colonial and after independence to the present times. It has also continued to move through the three political republics and economic phases the country has experienced. In all these periods, the school system and the education at large have tried to answer to the demands of the prevailing trends and were tailored to satisfy the needs of society at that time. This is because political changes define the purpose of education when a particular party is in power or leadership. From time immemorial, before formal education came into existence, Africans and Zambians in particular, had their indigenous form of education, which usually stressed on communal and social aspects of life rather than on individual and competitive aspect. This was true as everyone in the community took responsibility in making sure that certain values in the community were preserved. This was also part of each community members social responsibility for the common good of all. This, therefore, made this kind of education meaningful, unifying, holistic, effective, practical and relevant since it was meant to address immediate social and communal concerns. In todays education system, these characteristics can still create meaning though with a broader view of addressing both immediate and long term problems. The education offered must possess the above characteristics if it has to promote healthy democratic societies of this century. Indeed this kind of education is relevant as it addr esses the whole human being in his/her entirety. During pre colonial and colonial times, schools did not take into consideration various needs of the people, especially indigenous locals. Colonial masters and settlers gave minimal education to Zambians, which later proved to be a source of economic inequalities and social stratification, as well as an instrument of imperialism. This kind of education was not just inadequate but was also largely irrelevant to the needs of the locals (Kelly, 1999). On the other hand, missionaries introduced some kind of formal education to Zambians. This education condemned the African indigenous ways of teaching and learning to the strongest terms and labeling it as paganism or worship of idols. In their quest to introduce some form of western education, missionaries faced difficulties converting the elderly Africans. This made them target young people so that they could teach them how to read in order to help spread the gospel messages to the locals. However, this formal education given to Zambians was also just limited to learning literacy and numeracy, while other missionaries tried to develop locals skills in the vocational type of education, that is, Agriculture, Carpentry, Black smith, and many other skills. This was said to be a better way of improving the living standards of the African locals. To the contrary, the skills imparted in young Africans were meant to serve the colonial masters and missionary interests. With all the efforts missionaries put in to bring some form of formal education, colonial masters did not support the idea. Instead, the Northern Rhodesia government pursued an education policy designed to foster a rural school system biased toward education of the masses, preparing them to work in a rural setting and consolidating a conservative social order, based on tribal authority, in the interest of a settler class (Camody, 1992). This type of school system was meant to keep the Zambian locals under developed even when natural resources, such as Copper, earnings and taxes were being collected form Northern Rhodesia. The colonial government made sure that if education was to be provided, it did not go beyond primary or elementary level. It was believed that locals with this kind or level of education would carry out clerical and vocational kind of jobs for the white settlers and colonial masters with less difficulty. After independence, Zambia realized the importance of formal education to its locals. This had to be done by constructing more Primary and Secondary schools. From that time to the present, most locals look at schools as liberators and a stepping stone to a brighter and better future life. During pre colonial and colonial times, locals that received good education also got some good jobs. With good education and good jobs, living standards of some people was seen to be changing for the better as they could afford basic necessities when they got their pay. With this clear view of what education could do, Zambians realized the need for their children to go to school and get jobs that they could not get before independence. The school today is seen as a window toward economic independence for a family as one member gets a good paying job. It is believed that going to school is the best chance Zambian children have to take control of their lives. This is because an educated population wi ll help tackle the overwhelming problems of poverty. For a Zambian child today, the opportunity to stay in school and obtain a secondary education can mean the whole world to a young student. This is surely the chance to keep learning, developing and dreaming, as the gift of education is one that really never stops giving. As Young (1971) stated that, for children from disadvantaged homes, active participation in school may be the only opportunity that they have to acquire powerful knowledge and be able to move, intellectually at least, beyond their local and the particular circumstances. Most schools in Zambia have provided this service to many as they have rekindled the urge to learn and abilities imbedded in most people who might not have realized their potential without the current school system or education. The current Zambian government has developed a policy of universal free primary education. This has allowed enrollment of about 95% primary school age children with about 2 0% continuing to secondary school level and 2% of the 20 to 24 age group in tertiary level (www.unicef.org/zambia/children). This shows that drop out rate is very high and only about one third of children enrolled at first grade reach the anticipated levels at grade six. Without schools, Zambia would not have seen the current development and economic growth. The school system has helped tap talent and skill in most young Zambians who have in turn contributed to the economic and social being of our country. For sure the knowledge acquired in school may not have been acquired at home. So, we see that the purpose of education is to make sure that learners gain access to different specialist fields of knowledge, thus uplifting their social economic status in life. However, the school in Zambia needs to do more as many reasons why it existed in pre colonial and colonial times are still evident that only a few rich are able to access high and tertiary education. The poor have had difficulties realizing their dreams as they cannot afford the expensive education, which can easily change their social economic status in a short time once acquired. Only a selected few and their families achieve or attain this purpose. The curriculum seems to promote the interests of the rich and powerful citizens of our time. Politicians and ministers send their children to good schools, which are well funded and with qualified teachers while the poor people will send their children to mostly public schools, which are also poorly equipped and lack teachers. Higher education is equally very expensive making it only accessible by the few rich people. It is like a school is not, truly, just a place where everyone is special. Therefore, it is important that education is given to all regardless of their social and economic status. Government must provide equal access and same conditions to all public schools. Boyer, in his book The Basic School says that, a school is a place where everyone comes together to promote learning. If everyone is allowed to come to any school of choice in terms of specialty, then sharing of ideas will cater across all sections of life. These ideas put together would bring about national development for the good of our country. Above all, the purpose of education for the future of Zambia should be to create democratic citizens. Democracy is mentioned and stated in various forums and is documented but is also less practiced or not put into practice at all. The effective democratic principles need to be imparted in each and every learner so that the political climate and values are protected in our nation. Since the school is a disciplined place, students begin to understand that everyone lives within limits, along with free dom, and that the rights of others must be sensitively respected. Therefore, it is true to say schools have a unique role to reproduce human societies and in providing the conditions which enable them to innovate and change. Society must change as times change and try to be innovative with new ideas to ease human conditions of survival, in order to be at par with latest demands and changes in the education system. Without schools, life would have been as difficult as the world would have been fragmented and underdeveloped. Without schools, each group of people would have had difficulties to begin doing things, thus making life for each generation difficult. This is because education is there to assure coherence or continuity from one generation to the next. Schools are important for each generation as we live in a world of new developments. However, this education can only be meaningful if the learning that goes on the schools has meaning. So, what students learn, help in defining what the purpose of education is for a country like Zambia to develo p, but the question may be asked as to what really is learning? What is Learning? Learning is a wider term that may not have one specific meaning. However, it can easily be defined as the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or study or by being taught. This knowledge acquired is usually new or the modification of existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types. Websters Dictionary also defines learning as the act or experience of one that learn; knowledge of skill acquired by instruction or study; modification of a behavioural tendency by experience. Basically, from an educators perspective, learning involves helping people along the learning process, and learning includes all of the things that we do to make it happen. As an end result, we know that learning occurs when people take newfound information and incorporate it into their life. Munsaka (2011) defines learning as a relatively permanent change that happens to behaviour and/or knowledge due to experience. So, learning m ust bring some form of change in one in order to be meaningful and qualify as learning. Children learn in many ways, as can be confirmed through the many theories of learning that notable scientists and researcher have devised, such as Humanist, Behaviorism, Social Learning, Cognitive, Critical Reflection and/or Constructivism. Humanists believe that learners will naturally progress toward increased competence, autonomy, freedom, and fulfillment, while Behaviorism emphasizes on changes in observable behaviors. Social learning theorists explain that most of what children learn is through observation and interactions with other learners in a social context. Cognitive learning is a process occurring inside the learner in an attempt to make sense out of the world and give meaning to experiences, while Critical Reflection refers to learning that is deeper, more fundamental, relating to values, philosophical, and worldview and the nature of knowledge itself. Constructivists look at the importance of active involvement of learners in constructing knowledge for themselves. Cons tructivism, therefore, emphasizes top-down kind of learning, that is, begin with complex problems and teach basic skills while solving these problems. In todays learning, how children learn is just as important as what they learn. They are taught the basic skills in all the fundamental areas and also to be active seekers of information and constructors of knowledge. This is accomplished through learning activities that emphasize problem solving, communication, collaboration, seeking connections, technology, and engaged learning as children are actively involvement in the learning process. This is opposed to the current system where it is expected that learning goals should be achieved by a certain age, (Medina, 2008: 67). So, one of the first things a teacher must do when considering how children learn is to acknowledge that each child does not learn in the same way. This means children develop at different rates even when they are of the same grade or at the same age. Therefore, un derstanding the learners before they learn is inevitable. Because of this, some will learn better by modeling others, while some learn better when either positively or negatively reinforced or motivated. On the other hand, many children will learn well when they do things for themselves. This has not been the case in many instances as children are usually viewed as blank slates, meaning people who do not know anything until the teacher has imparted something in them. Since learning refers to changes in the learners knowledge that arise from experience, learners should not be viewed as passive receivers of information, but rather as active participants in the process of generating knowledge (Munsaka, 2011). Learning can, therefore, be viewed from the perspective of the changes that take place in behaviour and/or the changes that take place in knowledge through learners own initiative to create their own content or information to learn. Our role as teachers is to make sure that as ch ildren learn; they gain knowledge in the learning process and actually implement the new skills over a long period of time. For learning to take place, learners must be actively involved in the learning process. Some interaction of some kind between a learner and his/her environment should happen. This means the learner determines the course of learning as s/he tries to solve problems and constructs ideas to answer to the questions at hand. In this case, the teacher acts as a guide who assists the learners to make sense of the information recorded in order to create meaning through correct interpretation. Resnick (1989: 2), states that, learning occurs not by recording information but by interpreting it. It is very true that learning occurs when the students are confronted with something new or different from what they already know. Learners learn when they respond by incorporating new ideas, adapting to the new environment or even rejecting what is new. As learners attack or respond to new ideas, it is the duty of the teacher to help out as learners are not the sole players in the constructivist learning process. Other players, such as tutors, lecturers, and friends are very important if meaningful learning is to take place. Since learners are allowed to build their own understanding from various sources and make this learning a very personal construct, I believe constructivism is the way to go if learning has to be relevant to learners. For instance, in my teaching of Art and Design, learners are at liberty to determine what they want to know and how they want to learn, especially with their practical learning, which requires them to produce artifacts. At the moment, the students use sketch books to draw and come up with artworks of their choice and ideas. However, to design effective environments, one needs a very good understanding of what learners know when they come to the classroom. Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge or experience. In other words, learning involves constructing ones own knowledge from ones own experiences. (Devries Zan, 2003) Constructivist learning, therefore, is a very personal endeavor, whereby internalized concepts, rules, and general principles may consequently be applied in a practical lesson. Regardless of the variety of content, constructivism promotes a students free exploration within a given framework or structure. Learners have to construct and do what they want to learn since Constructivism demands that learning be an active, contextualized process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring it. This knowledge is constructed based on personal experiences and hypotheses of the environment and learners continuously test these hypotheses through social negotiation. Each learner has a different interpretation and construction of knowledge process. The learner therefore is not a blank slate (tabula rasa) as other theories might suggest but brings past experiences and cultural factors to a situation. The teacher acts as a facilitator who encourages students to discover principles for themselves and to construct knowledge by workin g to solve realistic problems. Aspects of constructivism can be found in self-directed learning, transformational learning, and experiential learning. I strongly believe that learning makes sense when learners determine what they want to learn. Learning also brings meaning when learners discover for themselves and can learn from even unexpected sources. If all teachers can give room for learners to decide what and how they want to learn, then learning will make meaning, be exciting and also relevant to the learners. This, however, does not rule out the importance of teaching. A teacher remains important in the learning process, thus the need to look at what teaching really is and what it does to complete the whole process of learning. Though learning can take place without a teacher, guidance is cardinal in order to be systematic in the learning process of students. What then is teaching and what role does it play in the education of students? What is Teaching? Teaching is a term that one may not be so clear if in its definition learners are not mentioned anywhere. Most importantly, the two cannot be separated as they go hand in hand. Teaching, in my view, is learning, challenging, trying in great ways, and is caring for the learners as it involves helping them. Anderson and Burns (1989) defines teaching as an interpersonal, interactive activity, typically involving verbal communication, which is undertaken for the purpose of helping one or more students learn or change the ways in which they can or will behave. So, we see that teaching is a process which is designed and performed to produce change in behaviour of students. It is however important to realize that the purpose is not to teach students how to memorize information, or how to know all the correct answers, but it lies in getting students to truly understand the concepts being put across for their benefit. If well handled, teaching is a profession that can produce something amazin g when the right ideas and beliefs are implemented in the classroom. Therefore, teaching refers to the teachers construction of environments for the students that are intended to foster changes in the learners knowledge and behaviour. (Gagne, 1974) As a strong supporter and believer of constructivist theory, I always acknowledge that no one learner learns the same way as the other. Each learner learns in his/her own way and understands things differently. Hence, careful selection of styles or methods of teaching would be of help for better comprehension in learners. This means if a teacher chooses just one style of teaching, the students will not be maximizing their learning potential. However, in my style of teaching, I have in many times believed that students can construct their own learning and that all students have something to contribute to the classroom environment. By connecting students learning to something they know, they get involved in their works with the seriousness it deserves and are motivated more than ever before. My job solely remains as a facilitator, where I clearly guide and assist the students through their tasks and their own discoveries. As a guide, I provide access to information rather than acting a s a primary source of information. This allows students to search for knowledge through the artifacts they make, thus answering to the questions on their minds. So, for students to construct knowledge, they need the opportunity to discover for themselves and practice skills in real situations. Providing students access to hands on activities and allowing adequate time and space to use materials that reinforce the topic being studied creates an opportunity for individual discovery and construction of knowledge to take place. I take learning in a direction relevant to students interest by asking them to come up with their own practical projects. In this way, students generate ideas and set goals that make for much richer activities than I could have created or imagined myself. Therefore, I view teaching as a process of encouraging students to make links between their real world experiences and the subject being studied. In Art and Design, it is important to provide students with hand s on activities because it makes students have ownership in the project or activity. They are motivated to work hard and master the skills necessary to reach their potential and/or goals. Being clear, however, about my expectations and communicating them clearly helps my students to learn more and perform better. Teaching is not just telling and supplying students with facts and information in much the same way that an empty glass is filled or a plain paper is filled with writings or even as though they were blank slates, as convinced by most of the behaviorists. These educational practices have been successful at producing proficiency in the lower order skills measured on many tests, but have generally met with little success in developing the kind of knowledge and abilities that students need in real life situations (National Assessment of Education Progress, 1981). Newer understanding of how people learn present a formation of teaching that focuses on developing thinking students who understand and can use what they learn. This idea is what is termed as constructivist because it sees learning as an active internal process in which learners actively create knowledge by connecting new information to what they already know, rather than as a process in which learners are passive recipients of information transferred to them from external sources. Teaching in this way emphasizes on developing students capacities for analysis and problem solving, rather than on having them cover the curriculum in the most efficient manner possible. It is rooted in the assumption that all human beings have a deep drive to make sense of the world (Carini, 1987). Constructivist classrooms function on the basis that learning in school should not be different from the many rich natural forms of learning that students have experienced before they have ever entered the school. Real life situations form the basis for learning and teaching is based on the confidence that in the course of trying to solve practical problems, students have continual opportunities to organize and reorganize their understandings and to develop various access routes to their knowledge. In my teaching, students are allowed to do practical activities, which are mainly hands on type of artworks. My teaching style, based on the constructivist theory of learning, allows students to use their own imaginations and personal experiences to come up with artifacts. As students interact socially, their learning is supported by multiple exposures since they bring into one place various experiences. In this way, they determine their course of learning. They are also allowed to copy and learn from other prominent artists and craftspeople in the community. This gives them an opportunity to learn from other people other than the teacher or lecturer and peers. This kind of learning remains natural as it does not alter the usual form of learning, which the community has always embraced. Although in most cases the choice of a teaching strategy depends on the topic being covered and the availability of teaching resources, the use of materials and tools is definitely inevitable in order to motivate the learners to develop their manipulative skills and to be creative students. Lessons guided by constructivist understandings provide opportunities for the students to actively explore, inquire, discover, and experiment with the materials provided. The learning and teaching materials, which are so essential in the teaching of Art and Design, provide students with insights and practical realities of concepts and theories they are learning. On the other hand, some students l earn well through observation and curiosity. They are able to reproduce artworks of others after learning by observation. In my teaching, I emphasize on the use of a critical eye, asking students to go beyond just looking at things but to see things with an extra eye. Some students learn faster while others learn slower, but the fact is they are able to use their curiosity to learn and do well on what they see. As a teacher who is always there to facilitate teaching and learning, I give more time to the students so that they can perfect their curiosity. Above all, I should know how to employ the most effective teaching and learning strategies to enable students make progress. The whole process of teaching using the constructivist ideas, as a teacher, is to help the students learn as much as their potential permits (Travers et.al, 1993). Using the four practical starting points in Art and design, the teacher makes sure that performance based teaching provides opportunities for real world experiences in which the student can apply prior knowledge, create new understandings and extend their skill in practical ways. Perkinson in Muzumara (2011) also emphasizes that as teachers we need to involve our pupils in the lessons we teach through practical work where they can use their knowledge, manipulative skills and apply their different senses to learn new ideas and develop knowledge and understand. Much of the art lessons are practical, where students usually learn by doing, which helps to enhance and promote the development of processes, manipulative skills, attitudes, as well as the acquisition of knowledge. The available literature, however, reveals that there is not any theory of teaching at all. There are only models or paradigms of teaching. Teaching theory takes a wider viewpoint. Thus, teachers and students are the major variables of teaching theory. It is based upon learning theory, learning conditions and learning mechanisms. Constructivists, therefore, provide students with flexible schedules and lots of time to explore a variety of issues and topics. This gives them the opportunity to temporarily shift their attention, if they want, and their work to focus on other studies and to return, at later dates, to previously unfinished projects or interests. Even if this theory is integrated around a theme and generally consists of more active assignments than written tasks, the ideas in it are developed and organized by someone other than the student, who in this case, is the lecturer or teacher of Art. In contrast, curricula developed through constructivist teaching are not only driv en by students pursuits of their own questions but also are built to include opportunities for students themselves to connect, organize, and integrate their understandings from the information they encounter in the course of their various experiences. As a teacher or lecturer, I act as a guide, a mentor, and an advisor, building bridges between my students individual interests and understandings and the common skills and knowledge society expects them to acquire. Falk (1994) affirms to this fact that constructivist teachers help students understand that there is a place for everyone in the classroom and the school. My philosophy of Education In order to define the purpose of education, what learning is, and indeed what teaching is, it is important also to state my philosophy of my involvement in education, thus my philosophy of education. In my teaching of Art and Design to the students, I have come to believe that my students have something to offer in my art classes. In order to foster critical thinking in my students, my teaching philosophy is to make sure students learn by discovery, do things with their own minds and own creativity. I believe this kind of teaching and learning brings true meaning of what education must be like or is like. By doing things for themselves and directing their learning, students truly understand the concepts for each topic under study. Art and design is a practical subject. In its practicability, it allows me as a lecturer to give guidance and facilitate students learning as they discover relevant information. The practical nature of the subject I teach allows every learner, slower or faster, to give in their best abilities even as I give guidance. Through encouraging students in what they do practically, students are connected to the real world as they produce things they see in the environment through hands on activities. I also believe that as a guide and as an educator, I must accord a fertile ground for my students to meet their fullest potential in their construction of knowledge through the artworks they make. I do this well by providing access to relevant knowledge that will help them develop emotionally, socially, physically, and intellectually. The use of a variety of strategies due to a number of topics which require diversity in teaching will be/is considered but students do more of discoveries and construct their own knowledge, thus constructivist theory. A variety of material used in Art and design accords my students a chance to improve their manipulative skills and creativity. As I provide these materials, the students take this opportunity to experiment and discover answers to the questions that puzzle their minds. With the materials provided, students discover information relevant and of interest to their lives, thus self motivation in their own course of study. This also creates ownership of the artifacts for the students. As an educator, my role is to instill the desire to find out more by students as they discover and re discover new information and knowledge through their various artworks. My role as lecturer is to give students the tools with which to cultivate their own gardens of knowledge. To accomplish this goal, I will teach to the needs of each student so that all can feel capable, competent and successful. I will present the curriculum that involves the interests of the students and makes learning relevant to life. This is easily done when students are directly in hands on learning in order to make them active learners. This ensures learning is tied into the world community to help students become caring and active members of the society, who will also function effectively in a dynamic world. The acquisition of knowledge for long life skills is d

Winston Churchill Essay -- History

Winston Churchill Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace, his family's ancestral seat in Oxfordshire, on November 30, 1874. He was the older son of Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, a British statesman who rose to be chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the House of Commons. His mother was an American, Jennie Jerome, the daughter of a New York financier. Churchill inherited a family tradition of statesmanship that went back to the great English general John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, in the 17th century. Winston as a youngster attended Harrow School, in the ghetto (outskirts) of London, where he was schooled in the classics. He was a diligent student and, like his father, had a remarkable memory, but he was also stubborn. Churchill had little interest in learning Latin, Greek, or mathematics. By his own account, he considered himself such a dumb ass that he "could learn only English." However, he said, "I learned it thoroughly." Since he was but a wee lad Churchill was way into soldiers and warfare, and he often played with the large collection of lead soldiers in his nursery. His later years at Harrow were spent preparing to enter the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, from which he graduated with honors. Early in 1895 his father croaked; Churchill was only 20 years old. A few weeks later Churchill was promoted as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars, a regiment of the British army. Hamilton's March (1900). In November 1895 Churchill spent his first military leave on assignment for a London newspaper. He traveled to Cuba in order to accompany the Spanish army, which was trying to stop a rebellion. On his 21st birthday, which was spent in the Cuban jungle, and for the first time he encountered a live battle . Later, after his regiment was sent to India in 1896, he secured a temporary transfer to the rugid North-West Frontier, where a tribal rebellion was under way. Churchill's dispatches to the Daily Telegraph newspaper in 1897 formed the basis for his first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898). In 1898 Churchill went to Egypt attached to the 21st Lancers and took part in the reconquest of the Sudan. This area south of Egypt had been controlled by Egypt prior to 1885, when it fell to a rebel Muslim group. As Britain gained control of Egypt in t... ...nly seeking a summit conference between the Soviet Union and the Western powers. In 1953 Queen Elizabeth II conferred on him the Knighthood of the Garter, and he became Sir Winston Churchill. In the same year he won the Nobel Prize for literature for his historical and biographical works and for his oratory. In November 1954, on Churchill's 80th birthday, the House of Commons honored him on the eve of his retirement. In April 1955 he resigned as prime minister but remained a member of the House of Commons. In his retirement, Churchill worked on completing A History of the English-Speaking Peoples (1956-1958), a four-volume work begun in the late 1930s but postponed during World War II. He devoted much of his leisure in his later years to his favorite pastime of painting, ultimately producing more than 500 canvases. The Royal Academy of Arts featured his works in 1959. In 1963 the U.S. Congress made Churchill an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill died peacefully at his town house in London, two months after his 90th birthday. Following a state funeral service that was attended by dozens of world leaders at Saint Paul's Cathedral, he was buried near Blenheim Palace.

Communism :: Communism Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Communism is a very abortive political theory. It has never been in practice in the United States of America. It has usually been placed in practice among very unstable political environments such as Cuba and China. The general consensus on communism is that it’s a very good idea but falls short in practice because people have and always like to make decisions for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Karl Marx is known as the â€Å"Father† of communism. He is recognized for this because in 1848 he wrote the Communist Manifesto. It is the basis for communism that has and is currently in practice, even though there are many different forms of communism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many communists believe that capitalism encourages the exploitation of the poor by the rich for cheap labor. Another communistic belief is that communism itself encourages workers to organize and to take over the political and economical world. Communists also believe that class privilege and every other vestige of this present system of economic exploitation and military organization and preparation must be eliminated. In order to explain this, you must understand that by class privilege they mean that their should be no poor, and no rich, that everyone gets the same opportunities as the next individual, and that by vestige of economic exploitation of this system of economic exploitation and military organization, they mean that their should be no trace or hint of the working class being exploited by the richer or more powerful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were some very intriguing and thought provoking quotes in the book. One is â€Å"Capitalism did not arise because capitalists stole the land or the workmen’s tools, but because it was more efficient than feudalism. It will perish because it is not merely less efficient than socialism, but because it is self destructive†-J.B.

Film Sense Shot Essay

The development of formalist film theory was deeply connected with the formation of cinematograph as the autonomous art. The specific character of this theory, hence, should be understood in terms of theoretical and practical elaboration of film production instruments and thorny path of mastering various means for delivering cinematographic ideas and content to spectators. It should be noted that the basic elements of formalist film theory, such as montage, lighting, scoring, shooting etc. became generally accepted technical means in cinematograph, which were used irrespectively of theoretical approaches preached by a given director. However, it should be noted, that notwithstanding universal spread of major theoretical and technical findings of formalist theory, it has its own unique historical features, represented by the work of such notable contributors as S. Eisenstein and R. Arnheim. Generally speaking, formalist film theory may be described as the totality of views, which claim the centrality of technical and formal means of film production to maintaining its inherently artistic and cultural nature. Eisenstein, the pioneer of formalist theory, in his major works Film Form and Film Sense Shot claimed that montage is the central practice to film-making, because it covers its both technical and artistic aspects (Beyond the Shot, p. 13). The utilization of technical approaches to montage and shooting is essentially linked with general objectives of film production, as it is understood in formalist film theory, that is, creating meanings and artistic ideas through copulation/combination of images, shots and sound elements. Basic features and premises of the formalist film theory Formalist film theory is premised on the dialectical understanding of relations between form and content in film production. Technical means, including montage, shooting, lighting, sound are not neutral vis-a-vis artistic content of a given film. In contrast, their collision or sequence, help realize artistic ideas. Based on this theoretical underpinnings Eisenstein developed several approaches to montage, which should be utilized depending on specific goals director pursues. Eisenstein defines five basic approaches to montage such as metric, rhythmic, tonal, overtonal and intellectual (Eisenstein 1949 72-79). All these approaches are premised on the complexity of artistic ideas, which director delivers to spectators. The dialectical relations between shots in these types of montage are based on conflicts between volume, rhythm, scale, speed etc. Metric montage may be described as the control of time sequence of different episodes and images, irrespectively of their intellectual content. These include various formal transitions and interruptions in the visual sequence of shots. Rhythmic montage includes metric elements, but pays specific attention to the visual composition and content of shots, which is made to deliver complex meaning. One of the notable examples of this type of montage, developed by Eisenstein and practiced by his colleagues such L. Kuleshov and D. Vertov, is a famous scene from Eisenstein’s masterpiece Battleship Potemkin, often referred to as ‘Odessa Steps’. This scene portrays the massacre of protesters (including women and children) in Odessa by Imperial Cossack Forces. Metric and rhythmic approaches to montage are extensively used to portray the ugliness and brutality of Tsarist regime and its servants and the sufferings of ordinary people. To achieve this effect, Eisenstein ‘copulates’ shots of soldiers’ boots, marching down the steps with shots of baby carriage with a child in it, moving downstairs. Besides this, Eisenstein uses close images of people, who were killed and massive flight, caused by the gunfire. Temporal metric transitions, hence, are copulated with rhythmic elements, delivering emotional content (Eisenstein 1925). Tonal montage ranks the next stage in complexity of emotional appeal. It uses entire image to create certain emotional effects in spectator. Using specific lighting, sound techniques or special effects, a director creates certain aesthetic atmosphere, which communicates new artistic meanings to visual dimension of the episode. The next type of montage, which Eisenstein calls overtonal, represents combination of tonal, metric and rhythmic elements to produce complex psychological impact on the viewers. The characteristic features of each type of the montage are used in complex to capitalize on the volume, rhythm, scale and speed. And, finally, the most complex type of montage is intellectual montage, which does not only affect feelings, but imbues thinking and reflection. Objectives of formalist film theory Hence, the main objective of formalist film theory, as Eisenstein constantly repeats, is creating artistic effects and meanings, which are communicated to spectators. Eisenstein vividly showed this opportunity, provided by montage, referring to Japanese hieroglyphs, which create new meanings by adding new elements to already existing (Eisenstein, Beyond the Shot 14). Formalist theory’s basic objective may be described as creating conditions for artistic representation of reality in film production. According to Eisenstein and Arnheim, using technical means is not neutral vis-a-vis objective representation of reality. Inability to master technical means results in negative implications for films artistic content and precludes ‘intellectual’ perception of reality. Therefore, formalist film theory, seeks to overcome mere reproduction of reality, peculiar to commercial movie projects. Besides this, representatives of formalist theory hold that spectators should be influenced emotionally and intellectually in order to give them proper understanding of director’s ideas and subjective goals. This goal has its real historical reasons, because the formalist theory developed within a tradition of revolutionary propaganda films, such as Battleship Potemkin and Alexander Nevsky by S. Eisenstein. Arnheim, who is another important representative of the formalist film theory, showed that representation of reality peculiar to cinema, essentially differs from physical contours of reality. Hence, according to Arnheim, formal elements of film-making have great significance for creating emotional and intellectual effects (Arnheim 323). Arnheim gives vivid examples of unique modes of reality perception, generated by films. As he states, film images can not be reduced to physical dimensions. Neither a position of shooting, nor its objects can not be defined mathematically, because they are premised on artistic taste and understanding of reality. Moreover, as Arnheim states, film and visual realities significantly differ in depth, as films are ‘neither absolutely two-dimensional, nor three-dimensional, but something in between†(Arnheim 324) For instance, in Ruttmann’s film Berlin, the director creates interesting juxtaposition of two physical dimensions, depicting trains moving in the opposite directions (Arnheim 324). Tensions and Contradictions within Formalist Film Theory Notwithstanding positive elements, inherent in the formalist film theory, it has certain contradictions and inner tensions, which are often mentioned by the representatives of opposing film theories. For instance, Andre Bazin, one of the most prominent representatives of realist film theory, claimed that formalist understanding of form and technique of film production is manipulative and precludes genuine communication between spectators and artistic subjects (Bazin 48). Besides this, it should be noted that heavy emphasis of formalist film theory on formal and technical means prevents directors from focusing on objective cognition of reality and its representation, making it (reality) a hostage of subjective manipulation with it. However formalist film theory claims that it provides the tools for objective representation of reality, in fact, it is one of the most subjective approaches, even more subjective than auteurship film theory. According to Bazin, formalist film theory breaks world into many small separate pieces, which are then linked to produce structured, but subjective worldview (Bazin 48). Advantages of formalist film theory and its relation to other film theories Formalist film theory has its unique advantages, which are proved by the widespread utilization of its theoretical findings and innovations by film currents, which theoretically contradict its main premises. The importance of montage and other technical procedures was recognized by the majority of directors, who worked after S. Eisenstein. Today, we can not imagine any film, which does not use montage to produce certain artistic affects. Even documentary films, which represent a separate genre, essentially focus on montage. Besides this, deep connections are obvious between formalist film theory and auteur theory, which both put significant emphasis on the role of subjective artistic appeals and aims, which are necessary to maintain cinematograph as a genuine form of art. Both auteur and formalist film theories oppose neutral and quasiobjective film production, which is prone to standardization of techniques and approaches to achieve certain commercial results. In such kind of film production standard genre elements, ideological prejudices and common sense significantly erode the instance of auteurship, transforming films into faceless (without auteur) products of cinema conveyer. It should be noted, however, that formalist film theory is characterized by excessive emphasis on such elements of film production, which often have negative effect on the quality and artistic value. The parasitizing on formal elements and conscious manipulation, as it was noted, is harshly criticized by representatives of realist film theory. It seems that this critique has proper theoretical grounds. Realist film theory, represented by Bazin, calls upon to following the continuity of real images and events and finding artistic meanings in their mere existence. In this view artistic truths should be found in difficult relations between time and space, which entails montage, having subordinate function. Moreover, unlike realist film theory, formalism leaves practically no room for the freedom of interpretation and understanding, aggressively imposing already designed meanings and interpretations on spectators. Such important elements used in realist film theory as deep shot and focus, which help meet its theoretic goals, are ignored in formalist film theory. Failing to master these tools leads to losing visual integrity of reality, which is, according to Bazin, is even more important than montage (Bazin 49). Formalism in Hitchcock’s Spellbound We have already mentioned the use of formalist theory of montage in Eisenstein’s film Battleship Potemkin. However, it should be noted that crucial aspects of formalist film theory may be found in films, directed by people, who are not openly associated with this tradition. This is, for instance, the case with Hitchcock, who based his techniques of film production on Expressionist approach. Hitchcock’s film is based on psychoanalytic and surrealist subjects, which may be proved by its plot and extensive use of Dali’s designs in the Brown’s mysterious dream. One of the major characteristics of Spellbound, which links it with formalist film theory, is that it distorts normal physical perception of time and space in reality. As we remember, Arnheim’s main requirement for film production referred to its creative approach to time and space, designed to break false continuity and present artistic sequence. Hitchcock pays primarily attention to the characterization of different protagonists and objects, but not on their appearances and actions, which is so characteristic of mainstream thrillers. The characters of Constance, false Dr. Edwards, Dr. Murchison are developed in a coherent way, following strict formal structure of plot development. Besides this, Hitchcock utilizes other techniques of formalist film theory, such as fragmentary editing, psychological collision of shots, various lighting effects, and extreme angles. Moreover, Hitchcock uses different approaches to montage, elaborated by Eisenstein. Rhythmic and tonal types of montage are extensively used in scenes, designed to produce strong emotional effects on the spectators. Rhythmic montage is used in the scene depicting Ballantine/Brown/false Edwards phobia of seeing black lines on white things, when these objects are juxtaposed with protagonists’ scared look. Another example includes Constance reading false Edward’s book on the guilt complex and notices that Dr. Edward’s signature differs from that of the man who is the author of the book (real Dr. Edwards). Intellectual type of montage, developed by Eisenstein is evident in surrealist dream scene, when false Dr. Edwards looks at the wall covered with eyes. The same episode includes rhythmic juxtaposition of the close-up shots of Constance and Brown, looking at each other, as well as purely technical tool of shots’ imposition, which creates flexible and vague atmosphere of surrealist dream. Another episode including this type of montage is when Constance, while recollecting Brown’s dream, realizes that the real murderer is Dr. Murchison. In this scene, her recollection of the dream is juxtaposed with her thinking process and eventual discovery. To sum it up, we have analyzed basic characteristics of formalist film theory, its objectives, positive and negative aspects and relation to other film theories. Practical realization of formalist film theory was researched based on the examples of Eisenstein’s Battleship of Potemkin and Hitchcock’s Spellbound. Works Cited Arnheim, Rudolf. Film as Art. University of California Press,1957. Bazin, Andre. What is cinema? Vol. 1 & 2 (Hugh Gray, Trans. , Ed. ). Berkeley, University of California Press, 1967-71. Eisenstein, Sergei, Film Form: Essays in Film Theory, New York, Hartcourt. Trans. Jay Leyda, 1949. Eisenstein, Sergei. dir. Battleship Potemkin, 1925, USSR. Hitchcock, Alfred. dir. Spellbound. 1945, USA, Vanguard Films. Ð °

Motivation in Hospitality

E XECUTIVE WHITE PA P E R A new study on employee motivation and performance lays the groundwork for creation of the SITE Foundation Motivation Index . MOTIVATION In The Hospitality Industry Introduction About the Research The CANE Model Implications for Employers About the Researchers Where to Get the Study INTRODUCTION E mployee turnover within the U. S. fast-food and hotel industries costs those industries in the neighborhood of $140 billion annually. In more bite-sized terms, it will cost roughly 100% to 200% of an employee’s base salar y to recruit and train a replacement. Although the turnover rate for these ndustries hovers between 78. 3 percent and 95. 4 percent on a national basis, some fast-food restaurants and hotels experience much lower rates, and have significantly greater success retaining employees. Overall, higher levels of motivation and motivated performance translate into a 53 percent reduction in worker turnover. It is generally understood that employment in these industries is often considered to be temporar y, or stop-gap employment, with workers leaving eventually for what they will consider â€Å"greener pastures. † And certainly, different economics are at work depending on the region, the type of establishment, etc.However, turnover rates also vary within the same economies, the same chains, the same cities, and the same regions. All things being equal, then, what accounts for the differences in turnover rates? And more importantly, what can managers do to reduce turnover at their properties? The Site Foundation is seeking to answer those questions by studying employee motivation and performance in the fast- food and hotel industries. The study – Motivation in the Hospitality Industry – measures key indices of motivated behavior using the widely recognized CANE (Commitment And Necessary Effort) Model of Motivation.The following describes key findings from research to date and offers methods managers can use to reduce turnover in their fast-food or hotel operations. About The Research Hotel and fast-food employees from twenty-two job sites located in the Orlando, Florida area were surveyed in October Published by: T he SITE Foundation Copyright 2004. All Rights Reser ved. This paper is an edited version of a full report by the same name written by Steven J. Condly, Ph. D. , Educational Studies Dept. , College of Education, University of Central Florida, and Robin DiPietro, Ph. D. , Rosen School of Hospitality Management,University of Central Florida. EXECUTIVE WHITE PA P E R Employment in these industries is often considered to be temporary, or stop-gap employment, with workers leaving eventually. 2003. All told, 545 responses were received. Mid-scale hotels contributed 14. 9 percent of the responses; fast-food restaurants contributed 85. 1 percent. A follow-up phase conducted in February 2004 surveyed the same job sites. The survey instrument was modeled after the CANE Model (Richard Clark, 1998). The CANE Model helps us to understand the various aspects of why people are motivated to perform a specific task. The CANE ModelThe following chart illustrates the dynamics at work in the CANE Model. It is followed by an explanation of the ten predictor variables and questions in which the employee might express the effect of the variable on his or her behavior. (Commitment And Necessary Effort) Perceptions of Capability Self-Efficacy Agency Self-Efficacy 2 Effort Affect x Emotion Mood Task Value x Goal Commitment Importance Interest Utility Choice Persistence IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYERS Simply put, the study demonstrates that certain behaviors have various impacts on turnover in various ways, and these differences suggest strategies employers ight use to reduce turnover. These include: T urnover is less when employees have a high level of value for their work. These employees persist more than colleagues who report low levels of value. Employers can help employees valu e their work through consistent praise, recognition, and special incentives. T urnover is less at work sites where employees feel supported by the organization. Organizations can increase the level of support their employees feel by listening more, understanding employee issues, and taking action accordingly. Employees who feel better about their jobs persist more, exert more ffort, and are less likely to leave. EXECUTIVE WHITE PA P E R THE CANE MODEL Ten predictor variables identified by the CANE Model guided the investigation of the hospitality industry. These included: self-efficacy, agency, emotion, mood, importance, interest, utility, choice, persistence, and effort. Self-Efficacy The belief that one can organize and execute courses of action to obtain desired goals (Bandura, 1997). Can I Do This? Do I Have What It Takes? Agency The belief that you will be supported in doing a task or allowed to perform the task in accordance with your goals. W ill I Be Permitted To Do This and Be Supported?Can I Do This Under These Circumstances/Conditions? Emotion Negative emotions produce avoidance behaviors (tardiness, inattentiveness, job abandonment); positive emotions energize (choosing a task, staying longer on a task, etc. ) How Do I Feel About This Task Or Job? Mood Moods bias people’s thoughts, not their actions. How Am I Feeling In General? Importance People tend to commit to tasks when they identify with the task. Is This Task â€Å"Me†? Interest People can commit themselves to tasks even when the only thing they get out of it is pleasure from doing the task. Do I Like This? Utility Willingness to perform A to secure B.Task utility is often the most powerful motivator. If the answer to the question at the right is â€Å"nothing,† people are unlikely to commit to the task. What’s In It For Me? Choice Buy-in or the first step. This is that actual goal that people have selected; it differs from intention in that it involves some sort of action or response and not mere thought or words (Kuhl, 1986). Do I Agree With This? Persistence Continued choice in the face of obstacles. When people persist, they generally succeed. Can I Continue To Do This? Effort An energy-based behavior involving actual thinking rather than rote performance.When people exert effort, they increase the likelihood of succeeding in a task. Is It Worth The Effort? Older employees tend to be more motivated, persistent, exert a greater effort, and are less likely to leave in the face of difficulties. Salaried employees are more motivated than hourly employees. Women are more likely to say their work is more interesting, more important, and more useful; however, turnover for women is higher than men. When employees feel they cannot perform certain tasks, managers should reduce the size of complexity of the task into smaller â€Å"chunks. † This helps the employee to build self-efficacy.Employees who perceive their work conditions to be unfa ir and/or unreliable need evidence that the system is there to help them be effective. If negative perceptions are cor rect, management should rectify them. Conclusion: When tasks are being avoided or devalued, a carefully targeted incentive system can solve the problem in both the short- and long-terms. About the Researchers This summary of a SITE study is an edited version of a full report by the same name written by Steven J. Condly, Ph. D. , Educational Studies Dept. , College of Education, University of Central Florida, and Robin DiPietro, Ph. D. Rosen School of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida. WHERE TO GET THE STUDY For copies, contact The SITE Foundation: Frank J. Katusak, Executive Director 304 Park Avenue South 11th Floor New York, NY 10010 212-590-2518 f. [email  protected] org; www. sitefoundation. org 3 WE’VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE THE CARROT Give Sales Force Motivation the Attention it Deserves Improve sales representa- Improve team field f orce per- tive performance an average of formance by up to 45% with a 22% with a carefully designed, properly structured incentive implemented and monitored program incentive programNinety-two percent of sales Q uota-based incentive pro- representatives surveyed indi- grams are proven to yield the cated they achieved their goals greatest results because of incentive programs Your Program Costs Can Be Based on Results and Payable Upon Success Research Shows Why Certain Incentive Programs Work While Others Don’t Get a free summary of the research, â€Å"Incentives, Motivation and Workplace Performance: Research & Best Practices,† conducted by the International Society of Performance Improvement, 2002. Contact Frank Katusak at 212-590-2518 or f. [email  protected] org. The complete study is available for $50.