Using the Spanish Verb Encontrar

Using the Spanish Verb Encontrar Although encontrar is obviously a cognate of the English verb to encounter and has the same basic meaning, it is more common than the English verb and is used in a wider variety of situations. Most of the time, encontrar can be translated as to find with its varieties of meanings: Quiero encontrar al hombre de mi vida. I want to find the man of my life. Aquà ­ vas a encontrar el mejor jazz en el mundo. Here you are going to find the best jazz in the world. No encuentro la opcià ³n de exportar la foto. Im not finding the option for exporting the photo.  ¿Encontraste las llaves del coche? Did you find the keys to the car? No pude encontrar lo que estaba buscando. I couldnt find what I was looking for. Encontrà © que las puertas de las oportunidades se abrieron. I found that the doors of opportunity were opened. Los mà ©dicos le encontraron el cncer justo a tiempo. The doctors found his cancer just in time. Encontraron dificultad para diferenciar entre lesiones benignas y malignas. They found difficulty in differentiating between benign and harmful injuries. In the above examples, other translations for encontrar are possible: Im not locating the option for exporting the photo. I saw that the doors of opportunity were opened. The doctors discovered his cancer just in time. They ran into difficulty in differentiating between benign and harmful injuries. They encountered difficulty in differentiating between benign and harmful injuries. If you try translating a sentence using encontrar and find doesnt work well, you may have better luck using one of the verbs in the above paragraph. The reflexive form encontrarse sometimes suggests that something was found unexpectedly or by chance: Se encontraron el dinero en la calle. They (unexpectedly) found the money in the streets. Yo me encuentro el mismo problema. I am (unintentionally) finding the same problem. The reflexive form can also be used to mean to meet each other or to find each other. Brad y Jennifer se encontraron en secreto. Brad and Jennifer met in secret. La medicina y la fe se encuentran en Lourdes. Medicine and faith meet at Lourdes. The reflexive form can also be used to give the verb a passive meaning: Se encontraron las llaves de la casa, pero ningà ºn efecto personal. The keys to the house were found, but no personal effects. No se encontrà ³ nada. Era una falsa alerta. Nothing was found. It was a false alarm. Keep in mind that encontrar is conjugated irregularly, following the pattern of . When the stem of the verb is stressed, the o changes to ue. Verb forms that are irregular (in boldface) are: Present indicative (I find, you find, etc.): yo encuentro, tà º encuentras, usted/à ©l/ella encuentra, nosotros/as encontramos, vosotros/as encontris, ustedes/ellos/ellas encuentran. Present subjunctive (that I find, that you find, etc.): que yo encuentre, que tà º encuentres, que usted/à ©l/ella encuentre, que nosotros/as encontremos, que vosotros/as encontrà ©is, que ustedes/ellos/ellas encuentren. Imperative (commands): encuentra (tà º), no encuentres (tà º), encuentre usted, encontremos (nosotros/as), encontrad (vosotros/as), no encontrà ©is (vosotros/as), encuentren ustedes. All other forms are regularly conjugated. The most common related noun is el encuentro, which can refer to encounters of various kinds, including meetings, discussions and even collisions.

Expert Guide Which SAT Subject Tests Should You Take

Expert Guide Which SAT Subject Tests Should You Take SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Feeling lost and confused about which SAT Subject Test to choose? There are a lot of options - 20 to be exact - so it can be bewildering to know which ones will be best for your college applications. Not to worry! We've gathered the most important considerations in selecting an SAT Subject Test. As long as you approach your decisions with these ideas in mind, you'll be sure to choose the best SAT Subject Tests to take for you. We're going to go step by step through the most important questions to consider. First and foremost, what do your colleges require? Then, which subjects are you good at and which will you score highest in? What SAT Subject Tests Are There? Before we begin discussing which Subject Tests you should take, let's first go over all your options. There are currently 20 Subject Tests, and they're each listed below. Biology E/M Chemistry Chinese with Listening French French with Listening German German with Listening Italian Latin Literature Japanese with Listening Korean with Listening Math Level 1 Math Level 2 Modern Hebrew Physics Spanish Spanish with Listening US History World History What Do Your Colleges Require? First, you need to understand your colleges' specific requirements. Do they want to see one, two, or three subject tests? Are you applying to technology schools that want you to showcase your achievement in math and science? Or are you aiming for liberal arts schools that want to see a range of academic knowledge, including both literature and math? More often than not, selective colleges prefer the latter - they like to see that you possess a diversity of knowledge across various domains. More and more colleges are adopting test optional and test flexible policies, which offer you the option of sending Subject Test scores in place of the general SAT or ACT. If you feel that these specialized tests could better represent your skills and abilities, then you may want to take advantage of these flexible policies. Check out the full list of test optional and test flexible schools here. Finally, some schools use the SAT Subject Tests for placement purposes, like in a language level once you arrive on campus, or to make up for lower than desired SAT scores. Research your college of interests' approaches by checking out their admissions website or calling their admissions office and speaking to an officer directly. It will help your application to leave no stone unturned, and most admissions officers are happy to help and will appreciate your detail-oriented approach. You probably have a lot of strengths, but which ones are your best? Take SAT Subject Tests to reflect your greatest ones. Which Subjects Are You Best At? Once you've figured out what your colleges require, you need to figure out which tests will most strengthen your application. The SAT Subject Tests are a chance for you to demonstrate subject mastery, that you know a subject really well and have devoted a good deal of time to learning all about it. The subject tests are less about general reasoning skills and more about specific knowledge of content, whether it's in Math, Biology, Chemistry, Spanish, or U.S. History, among many others. Since you're demonstrating your knowledge in a particular subject, you have to ask yourself: What do I know well? What have I studied? Which classes have I excelled in? Do you love reading and writing and have always been excited to go to English class? Then the Literature test is likely for you. Do you immerse yourself in understanding the natural world and have taken at least one year of Biology in high school? Then you should direct yourself toward the Biology Subject Test. Within these subjects, there may be variations of tests among which to choose. For example, there are two versions of the Biology Subject Test, one with an ecological focus and another with a molecular focus. Math offers Level 1 and Level 2, and some Language Tests offer Listening and non-Listening options. For a more detailed explanation of the various formats of the Subject Tests, check out this article. So once you have your subject chosen, you may have to decide where your knowledge is most specialized. Are you more interested in populations and energy flow or cellular division and photosynthesis? Are you confident with trigonometry and pre-calculus or do you prefer to leave those subjects off the test, as in Level 1 Math? Are your listening skills extremely strong in your understanding of another language? By understanding where your knowledge is specialized, you'll be able to narrow down your choice to the right subject and the right format. Finally, if you have taken and feel you excelled in several subjects, then you should ask yourself which subjects you felt most connected to and interested in. Like with the rest of your college application, your choice of Subject Tests communicates something about you to admissions officers. It indicates your own unique interests, interests that you might pursue further in college. So if you're having trouble narrowing down your choices, consider which subjects you like the most and want to highlight in your applications. Which Exams Are You Most Prepared For? You may have taken several classes in the subjects covered by the Subject Tests. Which ones are most fresh in your mind? The best time to take a Subject Test is often at the end of a school year in which you have been studying that subject. May and June are popular dates, and it can help to schedule your Subject Test close to a final or AP exam so you're fully immersed in studying that subject. Read more about the best dates to take the SAT Subject Tests and schedule them in and around the general SAT or ACT. Since the Subject Tests are about content readiness, you don't have to wait until junior year to take them. You might be prepared to take Biology at the end of freshman year for example, or perhaps you're ready for Math Level 1 or Level 2 by the end of sophomore year. If you familiarize yourself with the tests and plan ahead, then you might be able to get these tests over and done with before the busy spring and fall of junior and senior year. Most colleges should take your highest scores, so you can always retake a Subject Test if you're not totally satisfied with your score. What are your future goals? What Are Your Future Goals? If you have a sense of what you would like to study in college or what professional field you want to pursue, then you might want to take a Subject Test related to that area. If you'd like to study engineering, for example, then the Math and Physics Subject Tests could demonstrate your relevant interest and talent. If you're gearing up for pre-med, then the Biology Subject Test is a good bet. As mentioned above, liberal arts schools, especially the selective ones, often like to see diversity in your choice of tests, one from the humanities and another from math or sciences. So make sure you ask for advice from the school as to what scores and tests will most impress them in your application. What Are Your Language Abilities? If you are fluent in a language other than English, then the SAT Subject Test in that language could be a fantastic way to showcase your multilingualism. You still need to prepare and familiarize yourself with the test, to make sure you know what to expect. Since the majority of students tend to score highly on many of the language tests, you will have to achieve a high score to compare favorably with the other test-takers. As long as you make time for test prep and have strong language skills, then you should be able to get a great score and highlight this additional asset on your applications. If you're not very confident in your language abilities or have only studied the language in the classroom without much exposure to or development of your speaking and listening skills, then the language tests may not be the best choice for you. Since native and fluent speakers will be taking the test, you may end up in a low percentile even with what seems like a relatively high score in the upper 600s or even 700s. College Board recommends at least two years of study of a language. If you'd like to take a language test but aren't sure if your language skills are sufficient, definitely read over the content and try some practice questions. If you're still not sure, then a different Subject Test is probably your best bet for achieving a high score. Which Subject Tests Are Easiest? Another consideration when choosing a Subject Test is how students score on average. A low average score may suggest the test is particularly challenging. If scores show a large standard deviation, then it means that students scored across a broad range. Overall, students show very high averages on the Math Level 2, Chinese with Listening, and Korean with Listening tests, meaning you have to very confident and prepared to take these tests as you'll be compared with high-achieving students. You can also take a look at our more in-depth analysis ofthe easiest SAT Subject Tests. To Sum Up When asking yourself, "What SAT Subject Tests should I take?" you can find your answer by considering these questions: What exactly do my colleges require and want to see? What do I know? What classes did I do well in? You can even ask your family and teachers for feedback here. What classes am I currently taking that will prepare me for the Subject Test by the end of the year? How advanced are my language abilities? What do I want the admissions committee to know about my academic interests and strengths? How does this Subject Test relate to my future academic and professional goals? Which Subject Tests have the most favorable scoring curve? You have likely already chosen or been placed in classes that will help to determine your content readiness. Plus by answering all these questions, you should have a clear sense of what Subject Tests are best for you and your college applications. Now it's up to you to study so you can best demonstrate your knowledge and interests on the SAT Subject Tests of your choosing. What's Next? For a more detailed look into all the SAT Subject Test options and their different formats, check out our article here. Another important consideration about SAT Subject Tests iswhen to take them, especially when you have to schedule around the SAT or ACT and all your other activities. Check out our article on thebest dates to take the SAT Subject Tests. Are you also taking the SAT or ACT? Find out exactly when you should start preparing so you can balance your SAT prep with your Subject Test prep and achieve your best target scores. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

Wed Class Cases due Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wed Class Cases due - Assignment Example In fact, I can say that the success of the whole project lies on the design you produced. Currently, there is some distraction with technical composition of the project and that is taking up everyone’s focus. The details in the technical bit will enhance the design you come up with, therefore, as much as few comments arise currently, you are a key person in the success of this team. Hello Vander, this is an expression of my interest in the upcoming position is very high because I believe I have what it takes. I can support this because I have an engineering degree, record of accomplishment for excellence, excellent employee record, and adequate experience. I am exceptionally keen on customer satisfaction and aims at production of quality. I request for your support of my interest in this position because I believe you are focused on supporting the best talent for the position. On 3 April 2012, I paid for my electricity bill through mobile money specifications, but things never worked out. I stayed in darkness for several hours before opting to buy units through other means following several hours of trying to reach customer care in vain. My phone number is +4457898769 and I am requesting for a refund because, two weeks later, I have not received the tokens I had bought. Dear Sir, following the information customers has been receiving recently regarding warranties; it means that there is more information to the customers than our company ever expected. This is not a good thing for the reputation of our company, as the customers will soon look at our company as swindlers, especially if we do not deliver the promise we make to them. It is not appropriate forging ahead with the efforts of training the sales team if the company has to save its reputation from negative opinions of customers. Social media has become a great way for executives meeting with their clients. That is what Opra Winfrey, Richard Branson and Donald Trump

Strategy and Transformation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Strategy and Transformation - Essay Example The company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange, listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on April 8, 2004 and appears on the S&P 500 Component. Pfizer revenue for the year ending 2011 amounted to $67.425 billion, while the operating income was $8.739 billion in the same fiscal year. During the same year, the company’s net income amounted to $10.009 billion while the total assets and equity amounted to $188.002 and $82.190 billion respectively. The company employs a great number of employees who totaled to 103,700 by the year 2011. Pfizer Company also has a number of subsidiaries, which include, Agouron Pharmaceuticals,  G. D. Searle & Company, Greenstone,  Parke-Davis, Pharmacia,  Upjohn, Warner Lambert,  and Wyeth. However, this giant firm has faced a number of challenges in the last few years. In the year 2009, the company pleaded guilty of health care fraud that was the largest fraud case ever to be heard in the US. It also received the largest crimina l penalty ever levied because of illegal marketing of four of its drugs, which included Bextra,  Geodon, Zyvox, and  Lyrica. The company was called a repeat offender since it was its fourth such settlement with the US department of Justice in the last decade. That year, the company agreed to purchase Wyeth, a large pharmaceutical company, for $US$ 68billion. Cash, shares, and loans financed this deal. The completion of this purchase was finalized in October 15, 2009. These challenges have forced the company to think of strategic decisions that will enable the company achieve its vision, mission, objectives, short-term, and long-term goals. Strategic Uncertainties Facing Pfizer Pfizer Company faces a number of uncertainties, which are also facing various pharmaceutical firms. The modern pharmaceutical market place is characterized by change and uncertainty. Pfizer is facing a tough road ahead in its future markets with some of its major products facing patent rights expiration. A dditionally, its new drugs are not replacing the ageing products. The approval by NMEs is declining and the development and commercialization cost continues to increase at a high rate. There is an increasing pressure in the pharmaceutical industry due to the increasing competitive pressure and cutthroat rate of spending. This rate of spending cannot continue at infinitum. Pharmaceutical will linger on being the most cost effective health care intervention initiative and the market for its products will always continue to exist and expand as people and animals increases. Emerging trends in the pharmaceutical industry will persist and others will need to be transformed in order to cope with the modern changes. Some of the strategic uncertainties that the Pfizer are the changing landscape of the pharmaceutical industry. This is happening because the contemporary state of pharmaceutical industry is not good. A recent research has indicated that the current US prescription drug sales ind icate growth of only 4% whereas the wholesale grew by only 3.8%. This is low increase compared to the previous years since 1961. It shows a slow growth rate that means, with the increase in the number of pharmaceutical firm, the market will increase more division and therefore, minimal sales. Pfizer has shown these trends by making changes, which will respond to the unfolding pressure in the industry. Pfizer has been forced by this circumstance by resting off workers in order to focus on the therapeutic areas and respond

We Cannot Live in It Can We Live Without It Essay Example for Free

We Cannot Live in It Can We Live Without It Essay Water is very important to us. Period. We will die without it, but unfortunately we also can not live with too much water. Our bodies are not designed to handle too much water. Our infrastructures also can not withhold massive amounts of water. Therefore we hope things like tsunamis, or hurricanes or typhoon or heavy snowfall or blizzard would not occur in an extreme manner. We all know our resources are depleting and I am going to encourage you to find ways to safe water. We have too much water this year, thats true. At the moment, despite of too many chaotic problems happening in the Arabian countries, other countries are trying to stay alive fighting with the environment. Australia has so much water, flood upon floors. Brazil as well, also flood. Many parts of Europe are having so much snow this winter, and even in US, many states are just struggling to keep their home premises snow-free. So why should we start to save water? and How? Good old days. In the good old days, people collect rain water. I remember my grandmothers garden had 3 huge vase like the picture on the right at the corner of the house where the pipes would hang out from the roof. When it rains the rainwater would flow down to these huge vase. Save money my grandmother replied whenever I ask her why she had those three huge vases in the garden. I dont have to use clean water to water plant. They dont need drinking water, rainwater is the best for them. Very natural, good for me and for them. When she washed the rice, she would not just throw away the rice water, she would pour it over her plants. Or when she washed fish or shrimps. she would do the same. Very nutritious for them. She would tell me. The good old days, people then would look at the resources around them and then think about how the resources can benefit humans and nature. Now, what happen between good old days and now? Water is an increasingly and precious topic of discussion worldwide. The irrational use and pollution from major sources (rivers and lakes) can cause a lack of fresh water very soon, if no action is taken. Soon there will be a lack of water for irrigation in many countries, especially in poor countries. The continent hardest hit by water shortages are: Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The need for fresh water increased about two times more than the world population. This was caused by high consumption of water for industrial and agricultural areas. Unfortunately, only 2.5% of Earths water is fresh water. The main causes of deterioration of rivers, lakes and oceans are pollution and contamination by pollutants and sewage. Humans have caused all this damage to nature, through the waste, sewage, industrial waste and mining without control. Aquifers (large underground reserves of fresh water) have already been explored. In South America, we have one of the largest aquifers in the world. Much of the water of this aquifer is located in the Brazilian underground. Studies of the World Water Commission and other international agencies show that billions of people on our planet are living without the bare minimum of health conditions. Millions of persons have no access to drinking water. Given these serious problems, several diseases such as diarrhea, hepatitis and many others are spread. Haiti According to the Center for Infectious Disease Control (CDC), based in Atlanta, United States, approximately 1.3 million Haitians are still living in relief camps after the January earthquake, hindering access to drinking water, health conditions and health care. The first cases of the disease, transmitted through contaminated water or food, were recorded at the river Arbonite, in the north. Cases of cholera have been identified in all ten regions of Haiti. About 1,100 people have died from the disease last month. In total at least 17 000 cases of the disease have been recorded. It is necessary that the public be informed that the disease is treatable. Cholera causes diarrhea and vomiting, leading to acute dehydration. The disease can kill quickly, but is easily treated with antibiotics and hydration. Simple measures can help us avoid the water-borne diseases: Bathe daily; Using the toilet; Wash hands thoroughly before and after using the toilet; Wash hands thoroughly before eating; Trim fingernails and keep them clean; Only drink water that has been filtered and / or boiled; Wash fruits and vegetables before eating them; It is estimated that 76% of Haitians live on less than $ 3 per day and 50% have less than $ 1 a day. A bar of soap costs in normal times, $ 0.50 in most markets and Haitians, for many families, washing hands turned a potentially fatal dilemma between using the little money to buy soap or buy food. The head of the NGO Doctors without Borders in Haiti, the Italian Stefano Zannini, in a tone of relief and frustration in an interview last Wednesday, said that the workload is stressful. It is not easy to work with the smell, the noise and pressure of so many patients. He said they are working 24 hours a day and they are overloaded. Zannini also says none of the measures to contain the epidemic is meant to doctors. They depend on washing hands; have clean water and be provided by suitable target to corpses and human feces.

Children At Work :: Essays Papers

Children At Work Autonomy, Responsibility and Child Labor-Introduction and Conclusion Child labor has recently become a very touchy subject throughout the world. Well known corporations and clothing and sporting goods distributors that have for decades been taking advantage of cheap labor in third world countries are seeing their names and images tarnished by allegations of child labor practices and obscene working conditions. Child labor is nothing new to the world. It has been a part of almost every society in recorded history. From ancient times, children have been a part of the economic survival of their families, particularly in industries like the farming and crafting industries. What remains confusing is the exact definition that separates child labor from just children doing work. Child labor is meant to define unfair, abusive work whereas work is an important part of the sculpting of most children. There is no question in society that some forms of labor are acceptable and some are not. Children may work without being abused and in many countries and even some American cultures, it is both necessary and integral that children perform some laborious duties. The line between work and child labor is most commonly drawn where normal tasks are replaced with exploitative tasks and children are expected to do things that go well beyond the borders of inhumane. An example of this overstepping the boundaries is the following text taken from an actual court case in 1833 following an investigation into the practice of child labor during the British industrial revolution: "Have you ever been employed in a factory? --Yes" "At what age did you first go to work in one? --Eight" "How long did you continue in the occupation? --Four years" "Will you state the hours of labour at the period when you first went to the factory, in ordinary times? --From 6 in the morning to 8 at night." "Fourteen hours? --yes" "With what intervals for refreshment and rest? -- An hour at noon." "When Trade was brisk what were your hours?--From 5 in the morning to 9 in the evening" "Sixteen hours? --Yes" "With what intervals at dinner? --An hour" "During those long hours of labor could you be punctual, how did you awake?-- I seldom did awake spontaneously; I was most generally awoke or lifted out of bed, sometimes asleep, by my parents.

C20th Century Drama English Coursework Essay

This particular play is ‘A view from a Bridge’ written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915, in New York City. His parents were both Illegal Immigrants in the United States, which links to the background of the play. A view from the Bridge was first produced as a one-act play in verse 1955; Arthur divorces his wife to marry his co-star actress Marilyn Monroe Miller has now become America’s world’s popular playwrights. Most of his plays are about the society and the responsibilities of its relation. But also in all the plays they hide a deep considerate of how people act and behave with the situation of life around them. These obstacles they face which they have to successfully defeat over. ‘A view from a Bridge’ has its roots in the late 1940’s when Miller was interested in the work and lives of New York. Miller purposely wanted the play to be a modern version of a Greek Tragedy, which a main character is faced with trying, daring situations, which cannot be escaped from. In this play a tragic hero commits an offence unexpectedly. He then learns from his misdeed and therefore must die for his actions. Then as it is a Greek Mythology the God’s restores the Universe. In this play the â€Å"Hero† is inked onto a man named Eddie Carbone. He is uniquely and ordinary everyday man. Courteous, hard working and a man that people liked. This play is themed on the background of Italian origins, which relates to the dispute of Italians and Americans. This is introduced with Alifieri’s Speech; â€Å"This is Red Hook not Sicily†¦ now we are civilised, quite American. Now we settle for half†¦. In no longer keep a pistol in my filling cabinet† This reflects with the context of the play and links with the storyline. It also reflects on the reason of the main cause concluding to the violence. The story is also based on the ‘American Dream’ that any person can accomplish what and no matter what upbringing culture or race. He has added this, as in that period of time the American Dream was quite popular which was appropriate for it to relate the aspects of their life. Arthur Miller has produced the main character being the lead role of the play. Eddie Carbone is an Italian Longshoreman working on the New York docks. Eddie is a simple hard workingman who worked on the piers. When his wife’s cousins were sent, Marco and Rodolfo, he agrees to refuge them as illegal immigrants from Sicily. First signs of disturbance are when Catherine starts to show attraction to Rodolfo, at this Eddie disapproves. This is because of Eddies over protectiveness towards Catherine. His possessive behaviour towards Catherine brings him to envy towards Rodolfo. Out of anger and rage at the end Eddie reported them to the Immigration Beaureu. In response of ferocity Marco decides to kill Eddie, but Eddie kills himself with the knife. In one section of evidence, which relates to his own downfall is the possessiveness of Catherine. Catherine is Eddie’s orphaned Niece. In the first scene the audience is immediately given the information that Eddie has a peculiar concern towards his niece. He mentions and details out of her dress sense and suggest it is too short. The evidence showing that he is overprotective is when he indicates that she is walking â€Å"wavy†. â€Å"I don’t like the looks they’re givin’ you in the candy store†¦ the heads are turnin’ like windmills. † In this it is brought immediately to the audience attention of the over protectiveness for his own nice. His concern and obssesiveness of his actions may have a hidden feelings that Eddie has for Catherine. An uncertainty of more than relative love is present with the way he feels for Catherine. Toe Eddie Catherine represents to him as â€Å"just a baby† and therefore she â€Å"does not understand these things† but this is a cover up for his possessive behaviour. In Act 1 page6-10 I suggest his behaviour is both possessive and protective but more possessive. As the conversation of Beatrice, Eddie and Catherine it shows that Eddie treats Catherine like a child, and not the rightful age that she should be treated. The relationship between Eddie and Catherine changes with the arrival of Marco and Rodolfo. As they talk and get to known each other Catherine shows an interest to Rodolfo as she keeps gesturing to Beatrice â€Å"He’s a real blond† He then sings to her â€Å"Paper Doll†, but in a kindest way Eddie tells him to stop. Also that is when the changes of Eddie’s behaviour begin. He embarrasses Catherine by telling her to ‘go ahead’ meaning get out. Eddie again tries to humiliate Catherine so that Rodolfo will lose interest by telling him that â€Å"she wants to be an actress† meaning she’s a drama queen. But Rodolfo flirts back by saying

Adult Learner Assessment

Adult Learner Assessment Theresa Ann Hayden, M. A. , Ed. S. Classroom Assessment in Education Dr. Kelli Ligeikis Capella University June 15, 2011 Adult Learner Assessment Classroom assessment is critical to the measurement of student achievement. As stated in Angelo and Cross, (1993): Classroom assessment helps individual college teachers obtain useful feedback on what, how much, and how well their students are learning†¦ [the purpose] is to produce the highest possible quality of student learning†¦to help student learn more effectively and efficiently than they could on their own (p. ). Student learning is the overall goal of education; the student may be a child, an adult, an informal learner, or a formal learner; regardless of which type of learner he or she is, the goal is to learn new concepts, topics, and subjects. The mastery of that subject matter is the charge of both the teacher and the student. In identifying three concepts pertinent to classroom assessments for adult learners, â€Å"assessment procedures can be used for measuring entry performance (placement assessment), monitoring learning progress (formative and diagnostic assessment), or measuring end-of-instruction achievement (summative assessment)† (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, p. 14). This translates to the classroom as pre-test, or preview (to writing skills, for example); on-the-spot identification of â€Å"opportunities for improvement,† feedback and post-testing, whether it’s verbal, written, or another assessment. Classroom assessment is typically, one of the last steps performed in the education of adult learners. However, assessment of a student’s abilities before, during, and after teaching can also be performed. First, the teacher plans and prepares instructional objectives which are in line with the learning institution, state, and local objectives. These objectives must also be: Guided by what the students are expected to learn†¦ [while] the instructional objectives are also in harmony with the assessment produced†¦ [these] should also be stated in terms of the student performance to be demonstrated†¦ [and] those observable skills such as speaking, or a product such as a written paper†¦and typically a rubric, scale, or a checklist of some type is used (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, pp. 43 – 44). Teacher Effectiveness According to â€Å"Effective Classroom Instruction† (2004): Effective classroom instruction refers to the application of the ‘teacher effectiveness’ variables, that is, those variables that have been demonstrated to bear the strongest relation to student achievement. These variables include time on task, content coverage, pacing, scope and sequence, questioning, feedback, and praise. Systematic application of these elements has been demonstrated to increase academic achievement. Behavioral outcomes are the initial objectives in place before any of the instruction takes place. In addition, the characteristics of classroom assessment include that it is â€Å"learner-centered, teacher-directed, mutually beneficial, formative, context-specific, ongoing, and rooted in good-teaching practice† (Angelo and Cross, 1993, pp. 4 – 6). In layperson’s language, the typical activities of a teacher and where they fit into the characteristics of student-achievement learning include: Teachers will use various techniques and tools to facilitate the learning of the students which is learner-centered. The teacher will impart knowledge and the student will obtain knowledge is teacher directed. The opportunity for both teachers and adult students to meet in an environment conducive to learning with a common goal of ‘knowledge’; the teacher to impart knowledge and the student to obtain knowledge is mutually beneficial. Using internal and external feedback to modify lessons is formative and ongoing. The assessment on the part of the teacher comes from goal-setting at the beginning of the quarter, semester, etc. ith regard to the quantity and quality of concept and skill knowledge required for the students to learn is context-specific. Teachers will use various techniques and tools (altering these to the ‘microculture’ of the classroom) to facilitate the learning of the students is rooted in good-teaching practice (Angelo and Cross, 1993, pp. 4 – 6). While it may seem obvious, teacher effectiveness is tantamount to meeting and exceeding planning, execut ing, and analyzing for improvement instructional objectives, assessment instruments, and measuring performance objectives. When the adult student finds that all of this is relevant to his or her personal and academic objectives, and there are instructional objectives which are interconnected to the personal and academic goals of the student, then there is student achievement and teacher effectiveness. This is illustrated where a diagnosis of sorts occurs by the teacher—this may be a pre-assessment; then the teaching begins; then the teacher may assess the situation by obtaining results from the assessment tool; and whatever adjustments or modifications are needed are determined and then put into place; and they the teacher assesses the learning again. See Appendix, p. 1). This is the visual flow of a teacher’s â€Å"work-in-progress† of diagnosing, teaching, and assessing results, and then modifying teaching, and then teaching, assessing, and modifying, and so on. Type and Purpose of the Assessment The type of assessment to be used is a multiple-choice question, true-false question, and short-essay exam. The purpose of the exam will be to determine whether the students have mastered the concepts of ethical theories; this will aid them in making quick decisions in a work environment or in an ethical dilemma. Context and Learning Situation The class being taught is Ethics which has several different ethical theories available through the textbook Ethics: Theory and Practice textbook. The applications of the different ethical theories and their tenets are applied to different relevant scenarios. The students will participate in class discussion and give their opinions freely in an open-environment. The goal here is to keep the students’ interest in the subject of ethics, as a whole, by using different circumstances, where the student might have to make split-second ethical decisions in the work environment. This shows the adult learner applicability and immediate relevance. Student Demographics The student demographics include the educational program of Criminal Justice with the adult students and are the following: 1. Ranging in age from 18 to 50 years and beyond. 2. The gender of the group is 55% male and 45% female 3. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree; an Associate’s of Science degree in Criminal Justice. 4. The academic attainment before entering college of all students includes either a G. E. D. certificate or a high school diploma. 5. Some students have completed prior college coursework; some have other associate’s degrees. . The adult students in this assessment are European-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, African-American, and Mixed Ethnicities. 7. The students come from Lower Class, Working Class, and Lower Class backgrounds. Hypothetical Learner Subject Taught The subject being taught in this scenario is Ethics, and the students are expected to develop sound ethical reasoning and judgment through the study of practical applications of ethical theories. Topics studied include ethics as it relates to criminal justice, health care and nursing, society, and the environment. Emphasis is on practical applications of ethical principles and analytic methods. In particular, the students are exposed to different scenarios involving reason and judgment in the context of the degree-seeking program. Learner Outcomes The adult learners are expected to learn the following at the completion of the Ethics class: 1. Apply the Consequentialist (Teleological) ethical theories to different scenarios presented as if a proponent of consequentialism. 2. Apply the Nonconsequentialist (Deontological) ethical theories to different scenarios presented as if a proponent of nonconsequentialism. . Discuss the origins of Virtue Ethics, and explain which cultures might be more predisposed to use this type of ethics due to its origin. 4. Solve ethical problems using Absolutism and Relativism 5. Describe and explain the difference between Determinism and Free Will 6. Perform critical thinking in ethical dilemmas using both Reward and Punishment. Adult Learner Assessment Instruments A ny type of assessment should always be congruent with the instructional objectives, as well as the content taught to those instructional objectives (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). To assess students properly, the students must be made aware of the instructional objectives, first, at the beginning of the term, while covering the material in the syllabus, and then throughout the term, at the opening of each class meeting. This way, the students are kept â€Å"on track† as to what is expected of them to learn, and the daily instructional objectives are in alignment with the overall learning objectives. College and university policies should come into play regardless of the type of assessment (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009), but the assessment instrument can be tailored depending on the type of material which is being measured. There are different types of skills which can be evaluated in any one college subject. The assessment used in this scenario is at the conclusion of this course will be cumulative, and will assess all of the concepts using criterion-referenced assessment, which asks the question, â€Å"Did the student learn the concepts? † and then also using norm-referenced assessment, which checks for, â€Å"How did the student fair when compared to other students’ performance? † The Adult Learning Scenario The assessment used to ascertain the adult learners ranging in ages from eighteen to fifty plus, with dominant demographics of 75% Hispanic, and 15% European, and 10% African American, will be a Final Project, culminating the quarter’s learning in an Ethics course in an associate’s degree program in Criminal Justice. In addition, of the 75% Hispanic students, at least half of them are working as English as a second language learners. This course runs twelve weeks and will cover ten main ethical theories and each of their sub-theories. The Special Needs Student Overall, the adult learner has many challenges in â€Å"going back to school,† the ESL student has even more challenges. The foundation for education and the mindset of all students is aptly stated as: Many students today assume that it is the teacher's job to educate them, tell them what they need to know or give them the answers. Moreover, because they have been taught to be passive learners, they think that their job is to listen without resistance and to try to learn as best as they can, and, in some cases, verbatim what they are taught. Many students, in fact, accept everything they read as factual information (Baitlinger, 2005, p. 1). Adult Learners in the Southwest region of the United States, whose first language is typically Spanish, and English is their second language, are in good company. Often times, classrooms of adult learners are filled with several different students of many ethnicities and cultures. This is one of the beauties of living in the Southwest; there are typically Spanish speaking people who are the majority of bilingual speakers in cities such as Vista, which is a suburb of San Diego, California, where the Ethics class is located. In this particular classroom of thirty-two, about 24 (75% of the class) will speak Spanish fluently; some will speak English fluently, but there is also a large population who have been in the United States for only a few years, and there are challenges as an adult when it is tempting to stay in the native language with friends, but whose assignments and assessments are all either spoken, written, or lectured in English. These following are some of the challenges that both teacher and student face when the student is English as a Second Language (ESL) learner. As far as the educating of these adult learners whose English language is still in the practice stage, there are many students who are very open and willing to learn the new culture, the new language, and the new academia. However, there are challenges that face many who are not so approachable due to emotional issues such as embarrassment, shame, or resistance, which can even turn into stubbornness. The Teaching Strategies The administrator will use the following teaching strategies throughout the course: 1. Lecture 2. Board work 3. Demonstration 4. Classroom exercises 5. Class discussion 6. Textbook exercises 7. Practice quiz questions 8. Case studies and reading assignments 9. Guest speakers 10. Group and pair work 11. Verbal presentations 12. Pencil and paper examinations In addition, all students will be required to demonstrate proper use and application of the computer and the different software required, and the materials located in the Learning Resource Center throughout the course. The Teaching Strategies for Special Needs Students The teaching strategies for the special needs students which are comprised of 75% of this class’ population will include not only accommodation for the ESL student in the teaching stage, but also in the assessment stage. This will be accommodations for the assessment will be covered later in the paper. Many lessons may need to be repeated; the teacher may need to work tenaciously side-by-side at the desk with the ESL student until he/she understands the material; the teacher may exercise unlimited patience; and also need to use metaphors or analogies in order to find other avenues of reaching the student. Professors can be challenged to their limit when grading an ESL adult student’s written paper. Many times, there are words which are used which are not words at all in forming sentences. For example, a student who has only heard the word â€Å"limelight† in observing his non-ESL counterparts, may mistake it for the word â€Å"live light. † This type of error can perplex a professor who is unsure of what the student is trying to convey. It isn’t serious, but the point is, in order to build an assessment, the teacher must first teach, and the student must first have lots of practice and drill with reinforcement by the teacher. Another challenge for ESL adult learners is learning how to conjugate verbs; many bilingual and multilingual adults have experienced this. For example, if an adult learner, who spoke English first, and he or she were attempting to learn Spanish, the result is the same with conjugation of verbs. If a child grows up with correction by his mother or father when he says, â€Å"I ‘goed’ to the store,† with the parent saying, â€Å"No, Honey, you say, ‘I went to the store,† then this child has at least twenty years of practice. This is another challenge when grading any type college papers; many ESL adult learners will use substantially incorrect verb tenses. In addition to these challenges, most ESL learners do not have the immense vocabulary in English that many lifelong English speakers do; of course, this is the same for the inverse relationship and any other languages where the learner speaks a different first language and is learning another language. The estimated recognition vocabularies of fluent readers range from 10,000 to 100,000 words (Johnson and Steele, 1996 cite Nagy and Herman, 1987, p. 48); English or Composition teachers understand that reading, writing, and speaking are all related. In fact, students build a vocabulary by doing all of the above. Because reading is fundamental to all education and it follows that being able to write and speak the language; ESL students know this because their challenges â€Å"snowball into one another. † The Course Outcomes The course outcomes whic h align directly with the instructional objectives in each unit are what the student is expected to perform to upon completion of the course. The students should be able to: 1. nvestigate the importance of sound ethical judgment and reasoning for responsible living; 2. analyze significant case studies using key ethical concepts; 3. debate significant ethical issues using respectful, clear, and incisive argumentation; 4. explain, defend, and assess personal ethical perspectives on issues of significance in their own lives; 5. discuss application of course knowledge in professional settings in the criminal justice arena. The Course Outline The course outcomes will be achieved by the following outline of topics: 1. Unit One: Introduction to Ethics and Morality . Unit Two: Consequentialist and Non-Consequentialist Theories of Morality 3. Unit Three: Virtue Ethics, Absolutism, and Relativism 4. Unit Four: Freedom, Determinism, Rewards, and Punishments 5. Unit Five: Setting Up a Moral Sys tem 6. Unit Six: Ethical Applications: Dishonesty 7. Unit Seven: Ethical Applications: Personal Relationships, Business, and the Media 8. Unit Eight: Ethical Applications: Abortion and Bioethics 9. Unit Nine: Ethical Applications: Life and Death 10. Unit Ten: Ethical Applications: Environmental Ethics and Course Reflection The Assessment Instrument The actual student assessment handout (See Appendix, p. 2) that is developed by the educator is a Final Project, which is written in a research paper format; this paper should incorporate each of the ten main ethical theories, as well as each sub-theory which belongs under the main ethical theory presented. The theories, along with their sub-theories, are covered, as well as the students must show that they can apply each theory to a real-life criminal justice situation, albeit hypothetical, but realistic to a situation they might find themselves in as a law enforcement officer. Directions for the Students The student must use and reference the text book, Ethics: Theory and Practice, 10th edition, by Thiroux and Krasemann. The expected deliverables must be in American Psychological Association (APA) formatted paper; it must be between ten to twelve pages in length; it must have a cover page; a references page; there must be no less than twenty resources used, with at least three print books (including the textbook), and at least two peer-reviewed journal articles; and lastly, there must be fifteen in-text citations. In addition, the paper must be in Arial, 12 point font, double-spaced, and written in third-person perspective; there must be a thesis statement at the beginning of the paper, and to categorize the topics, there must be bold and centered sub-headings. The Page minimum and Resource minimum are non-negotiable; if the project does not meet these particular criteria, then the paper will not be graded. This project is worth 30% of the student’s overall course grade. The content must include each of the ethical theories, including the sub-theory; and each should be first outlined with a definition of the theory or sub-theory, and at least three examples of how this theory can be applied. Following the definition and basic application of the theory, the student will produce an ethical dilemma in a complex scenario which might occur in the life of a law enforcement officer, where each of the theories are applied as though the student is taking on the role of the decision-maker exercising ethical judgment as a Consequentialist, Determinist, etc. Essentially, the students are putting themselves in the place of each type of ethical theorist. The student must perform this decision-making for each theory and sub-theory; these theories are shown in the following paragraph. The Ethical Theories The theories with their sub-theories are as follows as cited in Thiroux and Krasemann, (2008): 1. Consequentialism (Teleological) a. Psychological Egoism b. Ethical Egoism c. Utilitarianism d. Care Ethics 2. Nonconsequentialism (Deontological) a. Act Nonconsequentialism b. Rule Nonconsequentialism 3. Virtue Ethics a. Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics b. Confucius’ Ethics . Absolutism 5. Relativism 6. Freedom and Free Will 7. Fatalism 8. Determinism a. Hard Determinism b. Soft Determinism 9. Reward 10. Punishment Directions for Special Needs Students The special needs student who is an English as a second language learner will have the same expectations for tangible deliverables as any other student. However, there will be some a ccommodations made. The ESL student will more time to complete the final project paper due to a slower reading-comprehension speed; these students are bright, they just have a special need, and if more time is necessary, then that is also possible. For example, if it is warranted, the special needs student will be given the final project specifications â€Å"cut sheet† up to two class periods sooner than the other students. This is so that the teacher has time to explain verbally each of the instructions in a more step-by-step fashion. If a teacher has a student who is truly struggling, then it is possible for that student to be assigned additional practice assignments so that he or she can practice the concepts. Another accommodation might be to assign daily dictionary readings by the student (along with their own language dictionary), so that the student’s vocabulary increases, and he or she practices reading. This also works with children’s books; assign the student stories to read out loud to the teacher after class; this will enable the student to practice his or her â€Å"American accent† and will help acculturate the student to the English-speaking, reading, writing environment. Prior to the final project assignment, the teacher can take the ESL student aside to check for understanding of the directions. The teacher can also read the final project specifications to the student with an English-Spanish interpreter so that any challenging words are truly understood. In addition, the teacher can show samples of quality papers to the ESL students so that they understand the format and comprehensiveness of the assignment given them. Lastly, the ESL adult student still needs lots of encouragement. While a teacher insists on keeping this fair amongst all students in the class, it doesn’t hurt to encourage these ESL students in the hall, in private, and in front of his or her peers. Direction for Assessment Administrator Since the assessment will be administered by the educator, the direction that she will follow includes: 1) checking for each component required of the students as outlined in the directions to the students, 2) verifying the adherence to the APA format standards using The Official Pocket Style Guide From the American Psychological Association 6th ed. Concise Rules of APA Style, in every aspect of the paper 3) confirming that the students used all of the ethical theories and sub-theories as outlined in the directions to students, by comparing to those in the textbook, Ethics: Theory and Practice, by Thiroux and Krasemann, 2009, to those that the student outlined in the paper, 4) Making certain that the definitions and applications for each theory is, in fac t, correct, and 5) attesting that the scenario produced and the ethical decisions made are aligned with those made by each of the ethical theories and sub-theories. Assessment Items Linked to Learning Objectives The assessment items linked to the learning objectives are in table-format and illustrate each assessment item in the final project assigned and its link to the learning objectives or course outcomes outlined above. (See Appendix, p. 3 – 4) Assessment Consistent with Learning Environment The assessment chosen, the final project which is written as a comprehensive paper by the student is aligned with the course outcomes, as well as the course outline of units covered. In addition, the adult learners’ environment, whether it be in a face-to-face classroom or an online course is conducive to a comprehensive written paper, as this is the medium for showing definition, application, and creativity in producing scenarios, in which the concepts learned can be used in immediate, relevant, and real-world situations. This is directly in line with Angelo and Cross (1993) states, â€Å"Creative thinking is the ability to interweave the familiar with the new in unexpected and stimulating ways† (p. 81). It is also consistent with Knowles’ assumptions of adult learners where: An adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience which is a rich resource for learning†¦the readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her special role†¦adults need to know why they need to learn something (Knowles, 1984; 1980; 1968, as cited in Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007). In fact, a final project in the form of a written paper is the best format to use the adult learners’ life while utilizing a performance instrument that is closely related to his or her special role. Above all, adults will find that the instrument is relevant to something they need to learn for their upcoming professions in criminal justice. Interpretation of Results Interpretation of a course assessment is the last step after administering a classroom assessment technique; it is the step that the teacher is most interested in after providing the instruction; adequate opportunities for practice and drill of concepts; planning and implementing procedures which are equitable to all; formulating the criteria for constant observation and timely and detailed one-to-one student coaching; and the analysis of each student’s improvement or the necessity for review; and then the assessment tool is administered (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). Only then can the interpretation of the assessment be articulated. â€Å"In the interpretation step, the teacher seeks answers to the ‘why’ questions of the students’ [incorrect] responses† (Angelo and Cross, 1993, p. 54). Because interpretation is the â€Å"goal† of all teaching by teachers, and the learning by students, then it is crucial that the foundation of the teaching, the tasks and tools used, and the learning objectives are all synchronized with the assessment tool, and the interpretation of the results should align with the learning objectives. As outlined in Gronlund and Waugh (2009), assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning-assessment process. Assessment Development and Use For the Ethics class presented, the assessment tool used is a research paper which offers the culmination of the entire course. This type of assessment is a criterion-referenced instrument due to the nature of the course subject, and â€Å"criterion-referenced interpretation is especially important for instructional uses of assessment results† (Gronlund and Waugh, p. 27). This assessment will suggest results which correlates to each individual student’s learning of the ethical concepts; the application of said concepts to invented scenarios; the application to realistic criminal justice events; the proper use of the American Psychological Association (APA) format; and the students’ research, organization, paragraph construction, and mechanics skills in using written communication. This final paper is a hybrid between the supply-response [assessments] which are higher in realism†¦ [and] can measure the ability to originate, integrate, and express ideas†¦ and] the summative assessment†¦ [which] checks the extent to which the students have achieved the intended outcomes of the course instruction†¦ [and] performance assessments using extended response which includes a high degree of realism (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009, pp. 9 – 10; 27). The supply-response speaks to the format of the final paper which is written using research, but the students must also integrate their own ideas. The summative portion is the overall assimilation of ideas and concepts to the made-up scenarios, and lastly, the performance assessment illustrates the knowledge and skills necessary to perform on-the-job in a criminal justice capacity. The assessment will gauge not only the students’ understanding of the concepts presented, but will also measure the ability of the student to develop everyday scenarios, and ultimately, devise realistic events in which the different concepts can be applied. This may ensure ethical stability on the part of student-then-officer while enhancing his or her decision-making ability when faced with ethical dilemmas where the law and ethics may overlap, run parallel, or do neither in some cases. In addition, the student would be assessed on his or her written communications skills which include formatting the paper in its entirety in the APA format. The other skills which would come into play include research, organization, paragraph construction, and the overall mechanics of the paper. The quality of the content and the application of the concepts and principles would be weighted more heavily at 75% of the total assessment, with the APA format, paragraph construction, and mechanics would be weighted less at 25%. Assessment Interpretation and Grading According to Gronlund and Waugh (2009), â€Å"criterion-referenced interpretation is facilitated by assessment tasks that provide a detailed description of student performance†¦in performance-assessment this means performance tasks that make clear what the student can and cannot do† (p. 5). Since the students have been given the final project subject, the directions for completing the final project in paper-form, the expectations for deliverables, the grading rubric, and the assignments and tasks throughout the course have been tailored to learn the concepts and application necessary, then there should be no issues with what the criterion are for performing in a superb manner. Although a grading rubric is considered an assessment tool used to grade using subjectivity, it can have a set of criteria and specific metrics which link it to students’ learning objectives, which in this case, measure the student’s performance using a final project in research paper format. Because assessment is an ongoing process with a student in a degree-seeking program, the rubric is aimed at accurate and fair assessment for all students, by fostering understanding, and indicating the way to proceed with subsequent learning, re-learning, and teaching and re-teaching. This is the integration of performance and feedback which occurs prior to each assessment, and during the course of the class term, so that by the time the student is nearing the end of the quarter term, he or she should be able to articulate the items presented in the rubric using the final project directions adhering to the expectations for deliverables. According to Flash (2009), when students are apprised of grading criteria from the start, they can be more involved in the process of working toward success. According to Mansilla, Duraisingh, Wolfe, and Haynes, 2009: Rubrics are generally thought to promote more consistent grading and to develop self-evaluation skills in students as they monitor their performance relative to the rubric. However, rubrics are not without their critics who are concerned that rubrics can never truly capture the complexity of written work. If rubrics are to be useful, they must capture all the actual objectives of an assignment (p. ). In this case, the rubric (See Appendix, p. 5 – 6) is given to the students at the third week of the quarter term; the directions are explained in detail with opportunity for questions answered, with the actual objectives outlined in the rubric along with final project specifications. As mentioned previously, this rubric, along with the final project specifications, is given to the student at the third week of the quarter. Conclusion In summarizing adult learner assessment, first, it is recognized that the adult learner is motivated differently than other learners. Therefore, the teacher who teaches adult learners must be aware of not only the learner’s diversity and culture, but also his or her motivators. Then, the teacher must identify the initial abilities of his or her class; align the course objectives along with the teaching activities; verify that the teaching is aligned with the assessment instruments; then, analyze the results. After completion of this â€Å"cycle,† the educator can them adjust or modify the teacher, or the re-teaching, in this case; and then the â€Å"cycle† starts all over again. In summarizing assessment procedures, an assessment, in and of itself, is the procedure which measures the entire student learning during a course, and the teacher’s teaching, facilitating, observing, and coaching, it is the interpretation of those performance results which are invaluable. As long as the educator plans for assessment during the planning of the learning, then it probable that the assessment will gauge student learning, and will meet the instructional objectives (Gronlund and Waugh, 2009). In this case, the final project is one of the best assessment tools when measuring students’ cumulative learning, this is as long as several mini-assessments are given throughout the quarter, and adjustments are made to teaching, if the students do not understand the material. In addition, an verall assessment is done on the student’s writing skills, as well as his or her attention to the proper writing format. However, it is possible that the â€Å"assessment often generates more questions than it answers,† (Angelo and Cross, 1993, p. 54) and it is incumbent upon the educator to answer these questions of â€Å"why†¦the students respond the way they [do]† (p. 54), during all of the previous assessments administered throughout the quarte r term, so that there are few to none, by the time the final project is due. Lastly, in reflecting how the process of interpreting assessments will impact teaching, it is important to note that in teaching, â€Å"the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,† meaning, in this case, that without analyzing the end product of learning; then it is difficult to choose an assessment tool and the types of results that can occur; which makes it nearly impossible to understand how to assess students after teaching has occurred; it will be fruitless to set initial learning objectives; if it is not understood what it is the educators would like to teach the students; and to diagnose when they build the student pre-assessments. Each section is bound to the other in seamless alignment, with the opportunity for improvement at each juncture; it is in this way that goals and classroom assessment drive everything in education, and in learning, in general. In teaching, there can be no greater impact than to learn that each of these components is critical to the goal of facilitating the obtainment of knowledge, and it is a bright insight to teachers of all philosophies, experiences, and tenure. References American Psychological Association. (2010). The official pocket style guide from the American Psychological Association: Concise rules of APA style (6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Angelo, T. A. , ; Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Baitlinger, K. (2005). Engaging adult learners in writing/ESL Classroom. College Quarterly, 8(1),1. Create Rubrics for your Project-Based Learning Activities. (2000 – 2008). Rubistar. Retrieved from http://rubistar. 4teachers. org/index. php? screen=NewRubric;module=Rubistar Effective Classroom Instruction. (2004). Encyclopedia of applied psychology. Retrieved from http://www. redoreference. com. library. capella. edu/entry/estappliedpsyc/effective_classroom_instruction Flash, P. (2009). Grading writing: Recommended grading strategies. Retrieved from http://writing. umn. edu/tww/responding_grading/grading_writing. html Gronlund, N. E. , ; Waugh, C. K. (2009). Assessment of student achievement (9th ed. ) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Johnson, D. , ; Steele, V. (1996, February). So many words, so little time: Helping college ESL learners. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 39, 5; ProQuest Education Journals. . 348. Mansilla, V. , Duraisingh, E. , Wolfe, C. R. , ; Haynes, C. (2009). Targeted assessment rubric: An empirically grounded rubric for interdisciplinary writing. Journal of Higher Education. 80(3), 334-353. Merri am, S. , Caffarella, R. , ; Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed. ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Thiroux, J. P. , ; Krasemann, K. W. (2008). Ethics: Theory and practice (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ————————————————- Top of FormBottom of Form| Adult Learner Assessment Running head: ADULT LEARNER ASSESSMENT Adult Learner Assessment Enter Student Name Here Capella University August 26, 2012 ED7712 Classroom Assessment in Education All students are familiar with assessments. They have been assessed on various levels all through primary and secondary school, and if they attended school afterward they've experienced assessments in postsecondary school as well. Why do we do assessments? Assessments are necessary – they not only tell the instructor how well the students are doing but they also tell the instructor how well they are teaching. But there is much more to assessments than that.Assessments can be â€Å"an excellent instructional method to provide understanding of what adults are learning, how they are thinking, what their progress is, and which learning problems to address† (Wlodkowski, 2008). This paper will demonstrate this. The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate an assessment of the adult learning of students who are enrolled in IS100 – Introduction to Databases, a course at Two Rivers Community College. This course covers topics that include basic concepts of relational database systems, database architectures, data storage, and data mining.This course utilizes problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is an education strategy that uses problem-solving for optimal learning and is particularly useful in environments such as information technology. The benefits are twofold: students not only acquire knowledge but they also develop problem-solving skills necessary for real world application (Williams, Iglesias & Barak, 2008). Therefore the best type of assessment for this course will include a problem-based learning assessment.The learners are students who have been allowed to enroll in this course for one of three reasons: (1) it is a required course for the Information Systems major, (2) it is a being taken as an elective for another major, or (3) they are undecided on which majo r they want to pursue and want to learn more about this aspect of information systems career path. The majority of the students who attend this course are predominately post-adolescent white males who range in ages from 18 to 23 years old and are in their first year at the community college.These students typically complete their associates degree here prior to continuing their education to obtain a bachelor's degree in either Computer Science, Information Systems Management, or Industrial Technology. However, in recent years there have been an increasing number of adult learners who are of mixed nationalities, range between 28 to 35 years old, and are returning to the community college environment due to job loss or a change in career path. These individuals have chosen the community college environment because of the short duration of time to complete a degree as compared to the traditional four year university.Three Learning Outcomes The overall learning objective of this course is for students to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of database systems. To ensure this, students will be assessed on the following three learning outcomes throughout the course: 1. Unit 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the theory, history, and evolution of the relational database. 2. Unit 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals of good relational database design. 3. Unit 3: Students will demonstrate basic knowledge of data mining and storage.Adult Learner Assessment The assessment described here will be on assessing students learning after the first unit is covered. The first unit of instruction is designated for an overall view of databases. Topics include relational database theory, the history and evolution of databases, types of database models, database query languages, and an overview of databases in use today. It is imperative that students have a good understanding of this information before moving on the next unit, therefore an assessment of this understanding needs to be evaluated.The two most widely used types of test items are selection-type items and supply-type items. The use of selection-type items will gauge how well the students can recognize or recall facts whereas the supply-type items will measure the more complex learning outcomes (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). Items from both of these will be used to design the assessment to get a true measurement of students learning after unit 1. The assessment is listed in Appendix A. Accommodating Learners With Special NeedsIn accordance to the Americans with Disability Act and the policies of Two Rivers Community College, learners with special needs will have reasonable accommodations given during assessment taking. Reasonable and appropriate support services that may be needed for this course could include, but are not limited to: interpreters, questions and answer choices read out loud to the student, and extra testing time. Accommodations will be evalua ted on a case-by-case basis and every means will be done to ensure the student has a fair chance to take the assessment.The instructor will also seek guidance from The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (aka AccessComputing). This organization partners with postsecondary institutions to increase participation of people with disabilities to computing fields. This organization can provides optimal strategies for instructors to accommodate a student with special needs. Specific to assessment taking, they recommend:  ·Alternative, quiet testing locations and distraction free rooms.  ·Alternative formats of the assessments, if needed.  ·Extended test-taking time. Reading or scribe services. All of these recommendations are already available at the school. Directions for the Assessment Administrator and the Adult Learner The way in which an assessment is administered to students is especially important for good assessment outcomes. Assessment administrators play a key role in this occurring. The main role of an assessment administrator for this course includes 1) to give clear instructions to the students and 2) to prevent cheating. The following directions will be provided to the assessment administrator.The instructions for the students will be written on the test itself:  ·Administrator: Prior to the class starting, ensure equal distance is between each student seat. Ensure there are no pieces of paper laying in or around the desks. When all the students have arrived, separate each student with a desk between them, if possible. Tell the students why they are there and the purpose of the test. Explain how the test is laid out (10 multiple choice questions, 10 true-false questions, and 3 short answer questions) and how much time they have to complete it (50 minutes).Breaks will not be given unless extenuating circumstances would dictate otherwise. Once the student has completed the test, they are to bring the test to you and place the test face down o n the desk. The student will gather their things and quietly leave the room. Interpretation of the Results of the Assessment Assessments provide the instructor with a relative ranking of students and a description of the learning tasks a student can and cannot perform (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). These two items have more to do with the interpretation of the assessment results. Criterion-referenced vs.Norm-referenced The first item is centered around an interpretation method called norm-referenced assessment whereas the second one is centered around criterion-referenced assessment. The basic difference between the two is what the results are compared to. When an instructor is using norm-referenced assessment interpretation, they are comparing each student's performances with the other students in the class whereas when an instructor is using criterion-referenced interpretation, they are comparing each student's performance with a predefined set of criteria (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013).Each type of interpretation serves a specific purpose. If an instructor wants to use the interpretation of assessments for instructional decision-making, they would use the criterion-referenced approach whereas if they wanted to measure the psychometric different between students, they would use the norm-referenced approach. For the purpose of this paper, the criterion-referenced approach will be used to interpret the results of the assessments in this course. This will ensure the students have a clear guide to their learning objectives competency.Grading For the students, assessment is about grades. Grades tell the student to what extent they are meeting the instructional objectives. However grading is just as important to the instructor. There are three guiding principles that instructors use to determine their grading system for a course: 1. choose the best reference (standard) for the basis of grading, 2. choose the best way to combine the various assessment results, 3. choose the m ost effective and fair grading system (Waugh & Grunlund, 2013).Similar to the assessment interpretation types noted above, when choosing the best grading standard, instructors have a choice between grading the student's performance against predetermined standard (absolute grading) or against their fellow peer's performance (relative grading). The most common way is to use the absolute grading approach by assigning letter grades based on a 100 point system. This will be the approach used in this course. In choosing the most effective and fair grading system, there are a number of things an instructor can do to enlist the confidence of their students.First and foremost, the instructor should be upfront from the beginning with the students about their expectations of them, explain how the students will be graded, and explain the grading rubrics for the course. Lastly, the instructor should be sure to not grade based upon subjective components such as learning ability, the amount of imp rovement a student has achieved, or lack of or improved effort. In determine the best way to combine the various assessments, each graded item must be assessed. For this course, the students will have grades for four unit tests and one problem-based course paper.Each unit assessment will count for 15% of their grade and the course paper will count for 40% of their grade. No weighted scores will be used. The best way to grade the student's course paper was to develop a scoring rubric. For the problem-based course paper, students are given a completed database to study. Utilizing the Classroom Assessment Technique called Problem Recognition Tasks (Angelo & Cross, 1993), they students are to 1. determine if it meets the definition of a relational database, 2. elect and explain one relational database theory about their database (i. e. the relational model, dependency, normalization), 3. determine what database programming language was used to create it, 4. discuss database design model , and 5. explain one technique they'd use to extract data from it. The scoring rubric and letter grades for the course paper is below. Criteria|2 points|1 point|0 points| Determine if the database meets the definition of a relational database and provides supporting research to explain their reasoning for the decision. Correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database and provides supporting research to explain their reasoning the decision. |Correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database and but doesn’t provide supporting research to explain their reasoning the decision. |Doesn't correctly determines if the database meets the definition of a relational database. | Thoroughly explains one relational database theory about their database. |Fully explains one relational database theory about their database. Somewhat explains one relational database theory about their database. |Doesn't explain one relational dat abase theory about their database. | Correctly identifies the programming language use to create the database and thoroughly explains the programming language with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the programming language used to create the database and thoroughly explains the programming language with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the programming language used to create the database and but doesn't thoroughly explain the programming language with supporting documentation. Doesn't correctly identify the programming language used to create the database. | Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database and thoroughly explains the model with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database and thoroughly explains the model with supporting documentation. |Correctly identifies the database design model used to create the database but doesn't thoroughly explain the model with supporting documentation. |Doesn't correctly identify the database design model used to create the database. Thoroughly explains what technique they'd use to extract data out of it. |Thoroughly explains what technique they'd use to extract data out of it. |Somewhat explains what technique they'd use to extract data out of it. |Doesn't explain a technique they'd use to extract data out of it. | Course Paper Letter Grades| 9-10 pts = A|7-8 pts = B|5-6 pts = C|3-4 pts = D|0-2 pts = F| A series of steps were taken to arrive at the scoring rubric. First, the intended learning outcomes were evaluated and used to construct the items needed to be graded on.Second, the focus of the assessment was determined by determining where the emphasis should be placed. It was determined that it should be focused on a process of examining a database for certain attributes. Third, it had to be determined if this would take the form of a paper-and-pen test or a practical exam. It was determined it would b e best to be a paper-and-pen test due to the time constraints of such a task. Forth, the performance situation was determine to be a identification test because the students need to be able to do this in a real world setting.Lastly, the method of observation chosen is the scoring rubric because they will provide the instructor with an objective scoring guideline, and they will give the students a clear guideline of what is expected of their final paper. (Waugh & Gronlund, 2013). In conclusion, the goal of this paper was to demonstrate assessment in an information technology course at a community college. The overall goal of instructing is to provide the highest possible quality of learning. Assessments, in forms of varying degrees, can be utilized to ensure this is happening.Specifically, the problem solving assessment described here will be a driving force in directing students' efforts toward critical thinking and real world applications. Appendix A IS100 – Introduction to Databases Unit 1 Assessment Name: ______________________________________ Date: ____________________ Assessment Instructions: This test is being given to assess your understanding of the theory, history, and evolution of the relational database. The Assessment Administrator will monitor your progress during the est to ensure students are completing their own work and not sharing their responses with others. Multiple Choice Directions: For each of the following multiple-choice questions, please select the best answer for each question and circle the letter to the left of the answer you have chosen as the most appropriate response. | | Question 1: Which of the following databases was an early implementation of the relational model developed by E. F. Codd ? A. IDMS B. DB2 C. dBase-II D. R:base Question 2: An online commercial site such as Amazon. om is an example of a(n): A. single-user database B. multiuser database C. e-commerce database D. data mining database Question 3: Which of th e following was the first to implement true relational algebra in a database? A. IDMS B. dBase-II C. Oracle D. R:base Question 4: The acronym SQL stands for: A. Structured Query Language B. Sequential Query Language C. Structured Question Language D. Sequential Question Language Question 5: The following are functions of a relational database except: A. creating and processing forms B. creating databases C. rocessing data D. administrating databases Question 6: Which of the following databases implemented the CODASYL DBTG model? A. IDMS B. dBase-II C. DB2 D. R:base Question 7: All the following are database models except: A. Spreadsheet Model B. Relational Model C. Hierarchical Model D. Object-Oriented Model | | Question 8: Today's banking systems use this type of database: A. Analytic database B. Operational database C. Network database D. Hierarchical database Question 9: The term Relational Database Management System (RDMS) was coined during the: A. 1950sB. 1960s C. 1970s D. 1980 s Question 10: All of the following are popular database query languages except: A. SQL B. OQL C. XML D. MySQL True-False Directions: For each of the following true-false questions, indicate a True response by circling the T next to the question and a False response by circling the F next to the question being answered. Question 1: A database is called â€Å"self describing† because it contains a description of itself. T F Question 2: One of the reasons why OODBMS is no longer used for today's businesses is because OOP is obsolete. T FQuestion 3: In an enterprise database system, users interact with database applications, which directly access the database data. T F Question 4: Microsoft Access is a database management system. T F Question 5: Prior to 1970, all data was stored in separate files, which were mostly stored on reels of magnetic tape. T F Question 6: SQL is an internationally recognized standard language that is understood by all database management system product s worldwide. T F Question 7: Databases that contain historical and summarized information are usually called data warehouses. T FQuestion 8: As legacy file-based systems and applications become candidates for reengineering, the trend is overwhelmingly in favor of replacing file-based systems and applications with database systems and applications. T F Question 9: A central focus of database theory is on understanding the complexity and power of query languages and their connection to logic. T F Question 10: The Object Oriented database model is best described by organizing data into a tree-like structure, implying a single upward link in each record to describe the nesting, and a sort field to keep the records in a particular order in each same-level list.T F Short Answer Directions: For each question, hand write your answer below each question. If additional paper is needed, please ask the Assessment Administrator. 1. Briefly explain three of the twelve rules of E. F. Cobb's relati onal database theory. 2. Briefly explain the three views (schema) of a DBMS. 3. List two advantages and two disadvantages of using a DBMS. References AccessComputing. The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers. Retrieved September 9, 2012 from http://www. washington. edu/accesscomputing. Angelo, T. A. , & Cross, K. P. (1993).Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (2nd ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Waugh, C. K. , & Gronlund, N. E. (2013). Assessment of student achievement (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Williams, P. J. , Iglesias, J. & Barak, M. (2008). Problem based learning: Application to technology education in three countries. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 18( 4), 319 – 335. Wlodkowski, R. J. (2008). Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A comprehensive guide for teaching all adults (3rd ed. ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

How to Copy And Paste an Essay Without Getting Caught by Turnitin

How to Copy And Paste an Essay Without Getting Caught by Turnitin Youre working on an ugly essay assignment. Youve found an essay that is nearly perfect. It may be a friends or one that you wrote for another class. The only problem is that you dont want to take the time to rewrite it so that it becomes your own. Instead, You want to know how to not get caught by turnitin by copying and pasting things directly into your new essay. In other words, you want to know how to cheat on an essay without getting caught. First, this is a no judgment zone. We understand that hardworking students can find themselves in tough positions. Work, family, illness, even other academic demands can all come together to make finishing writing assignments difficult. If you are wondering how to plagiarise without getting caught, you arent alone. We will go over one method on how to copy and paste without getting caught. However, we dont recommend it. Instead, we hope that you will read to the end and consider some of our alternatives. How to Copy And Paste an Essay Without Getting Caught One method that students use to copy and paste material that is not original into a paper that will be scanned by turnitin or another plagiarism scanning software is to take a screenshot and save the text in an image file. Then insert the image file into your document. This way your instructor sees text, but the scanning software sees a picture. There are some problems with this method. First, it can screw up your word count. None of the words that are embedded in a picture will be counted. Second, its a pretty old method. You can be pretty sure that turnitin has found ways by now to detect it when students attempt to use this method. We do not recommend attempting this. It simply isnt worth your academic reputation or future to get caught up in an accusation of plagiarism. There are people today in their fifties and sixties who were caught cheating in college, and have never recovered from it. You can lose your scholarships and financial aid. You can be expelled, suspended, or placed on academic probation. You will fail the assignment and the course. Your academic record will be marred forever. Getting into a graduate program or being allowed to participate in research projects are all things that may just go down the tubes all because you wanted to learn how to copy and paste and not get caught. Quote Cite Paraphrase And Rewrite If you have time to research ways to cheat, you may have time to simply do things the right way. Learn to quote, to cite sources, to paraphrase, and to rewrite things so that they are your own. In almost every case it will be worthwhile for you to do so. Conclusion: Consider Getting Help From The Pros If you simply dont have the time or ability to write your own essay, dont cheat! Instead, let us recommend a quality writing company that will be glad to help you with your essay writing needs.

How to Find the Inner and Outer Fences

How to Find the Inner and Outer Fences One feature of a data set that is important to determine is if it contains any outliers. Outliers are intuitively thought of as values in our set of data that differ greatly from a majority of the rest of the data. Of course, this understanding of outliers is ambiguous. To be considered as an outlier, how much should the value deviate from the rest of the data? Is what one researcher calls an outlier going to match with another’s? In order to provide some consistency and a quantitative measure for the determination of outliers, we use inner and outer fences. To find the inner and outer fences of a set of data, we first need a few other descriptive statistics. We will begin by calculating quartiles. This will lead to the interquartile range. Finally, with these calculations behind us, we will be able to determine the inner and outer fences. Quartiles The first and third quartiles are part of the five number summary of any set of quantitative data. We begin by finding the median or the midway point of the data after all of the values are listed in ascending order. The values less than the median corresponding to roughly half of the data. We find the median of this half of the data set, and this is the first quartile. In a similar way, we now consider the upper half of the data set. If we find the median for this half of the data, then we have the third quartiles. These quartiles get their name from the fact that they split the data set into four equal sized portions, or quarters. So in other words, roughly 25% of all of the data values are less than the first quartile. In a similar way, approximately 75% of the data values are less than the third quartile. Interquartile Range We next need to find the interquartile range (IQR). This is easier to calculate than the first quartile q1 and the third quartile q3. All that we need to do is to take the difference of these two quartiles. This gives us the formula: IQR Q3 - Q1 The IQR tells us how spread out the middle half of our data set is. Find the Inner Fences We can now find the inner fences. We start with the IQR and multiply this number by 1.5. We then subtract this number from the first quartile. We also add this number to the third quartile. These two numbers form our inner fence. Find the Outer Fences For the outer fences, we start with the IQR and multiply this number by 3. We then subtract this number from the first quartile and add it to the third quartile. These two numbers are our outer fences. Detecting Outliers The detection of outliers now becomes as easy as determining where the data values lie in reference to our inner and outer fences. If a single data value is more extreme than either of our outer fences, then this is an outlier and is sometimes referred to as a strong outlier. If our data value is between a corresponding inner and outer fence, then this value is a suspected outlier or a mild outlier. We will see how this works with the example below. Example Suppose that we have calculated the first and third quartile of our data, and have found these values to the 50 and 60, respectively. The interquartile range IQR 60 – 50 10. Next, we see that 1.5 x IQR 15. This means that the inner fences are at 50 – 15 35 and 60 15 75. This is 1.5 x IQR less than the first quartile, and more than the third quartile. We now calculate 3 x IQR and see that this is 3 x 10 30. The outer fences are 3 x IQR more extreme that the first and third quartiles. This means that the outer fences are 50 - 30 20 and 60 30 90. Any data values that are less than 20 or greater than 90, are considered outliers. Any data values that are between 29 and 35 or between 75 and 90 are suspected outliers.

Final Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final Exam - Assignment Example esses in a way but there should be clear, well-defined, and realistic goals, even if those goals are limited to one aspect of life or restricted to one region of the world. The fact is that these movements are able to fulfill their goals (Schulze, 2002). Promote and establish various training programs to educate women and men, Muslim and non-Muslim, on the principles of gender equality and social, economic, and political justice in Islam. The majority of Muslim women are marginalized from the legal and power structures. Thus there are needs and concerns of women arising from their daily struggles to be addressed in local laws and customs. Customs have to be changed in ways that increase women’s life options, the goal of the process by strengthening of the religious and ethnic or national community. Moreover, questions of sexual morality, marriage and family life, divorce, custody, inheritance has to be addressed (Wagner, 2007). There is a change in Attitudes toward Democracy. There are many countries encompassed by Muslim around the globe. Research has shown that Muslim religious and politics are mostly influence by their ideologies, political and legal orientations which is also true to other religions. Muslim preferred forms of government, attitudes toward human rights, community agendas and relations to terrorism have been viewed as tendency for violence. Muslim societies should try to alter this perception and find ways of falling within democratic values spectrum and reject violence by those that oppose democracy. This strategy can help policymakers identify potential partners in the Muslim world who may cooperate in promoting democracy, stability and countering the influence of extremist and violent groups (Schulze, 2002). Muslim societies should discourage radical activities in their corresponding areas. This is because in some nations there are several developments that have been made over time in attempting to intensify Islamic radicalism. For example

Negative effect of popular culture on teenage girls Essay

Negative effect of popular culture on teenage girls - Essay Example The unprecedented advances in digital communication have redefined the communication landscape in many positive ways (Shay and Cynthia 23). However, this communication has given rise to emotionless individuals whose communication is akin to robots. For example in instant messaging, which is a popular form of communication among teenagers, emotions can only be shown by a combination of punctuation marks or icons called emoticons. An agent of popular culture, media has created images on the ideal appearance of ladies by selecting very beautiful news anchors and talk show hosts. Research has shown that the more exposure a girl has to media, the higher the chances that she will be dissatisfied with her body. Media portrays the ideal ladies as those who exhibit these characteristics: a thin body frame, flawless and with impeccable beauty. This has changed the perception of teenage girls on beauty and for this reason most of the girls strive to be thin and flawless so as to meet these unre alistic standards. In a study done in North America, most anorexic girls were between 15 years and 20 years and 60 percent of them expressed their fear of being fat. The statistics further showed that 13 percent of North American high school teenage girls eat one meal in 24 hours, 6 percent use weight loss pills while 30 percent of the students are dieting (Sharon and Norma 32). These statistics clearly manifest the effect of pop culture on the deteriorating health of teenage girls in America. In some extreme cases, girls who consider themselves fat have attempted suicide because they feel unworthy living in a world that depicts only thin girls as... Popular culture has greatly diluted the importance of values in the society. These values include: hard work, humility and respect. Through mainstream media, popular culture emphasizes on the need for money and flashy things over hard work (Hannah and Peg 35). Some genres of music praise crime by showing the amounts of money they derive from criminal activities. Video game vendors cash in on this premise by creating games in which players get awarded sums of money for committing crimes in the game. Teenage girls may lose interest in studies because they do not see the possibility of raking in huge sums of money from academic excellence. Moreover, the emphasis on how power is desirable may have negative implications on teenage girls. Everyone will desire to be the decision maker and this will diminish the importance of respect in the society. This situation is further compounded by parental control which is deemed as unreasonable by teenage girls. They may therefore resist directives and violate rules so as to feel powerful inconsiderate of the fact that such behavior is inconsistent with the moral convictions of the society. The effects of popular culture may be diverse with some being positive and others in the contrary. Through the essay, it is clear that the implications of popular culture on teenage girls in North America is largely negative. The precedents in our constitution advocate for freedom of expression. However, no type of legislation can shield us from the consequences resulting from irrational actions that are undertaken under the guise of freedom of expression. It would be erroneous to declare anyone the villain of negative popular culture.