African American In The 1920s Essay Example for Free

African American In The 1920s Essay The 1920s were a time of struggle, pride, fear, and creativity for African Americans. Following WWI, blacks fought for the conditions and rights that they were given while fighting in Europe. They fought through countless riots and murders to push for equality. They migrated across the country to escape the horrid conditions of the South. They created an entirely new cultural movement that spread like wild fire. African Americans of the 1920s created a momentous movement of political and cultural dominance that would eventually lead to their freedom. The Post World War I era was a difficult, yet prideful time for African Americans. While African Americans were fighting abroad, they were treated as equals to whites in Europe. Due to American generals refusing to command blacks, African Americans fought side by side with black and white French soldiers under French command. In addition, there were a few all black regiments, the most well known being the 369th Colored Infantry (p. 8). Upon returning home in November of 1918, African Americans faced â€Å"contradictory feelings of hope and frustration† (p. 7). They expected to be praised and rewarded for their sacrifices made during the war; however, they were met with nearly the opposite. This new mood among the African Americans became Flowers 1 known as the â€Å"New Negro. † Coined by black journalists, this term described the new attitude of post-war blacks and their will to fight against the white oppression. Unfortunately, the American public treated them the same as before the war. African American soldiers were in shock from the striking contrast of black social conditions between America and Europe. While the whites were praised for their sacrifices, the blacks were not. In one case, however, on February 7, 1919, a few thousand black soldiers marched through Manhattan, and were praised by both blacks and whites alike; however, most white Americans didn’t feel the same as those in New York. With blacks having a strong hope for equality, and whites having a strong fear of this equality, America was set up for some of the best and worst events of the 1920s. The â€Å"Red Summer†, coined by James Weldon Johnson, was a summer of hate crimes, violence, and even murder. On several occasions, both blacks and whites ended up injuring and killing one another. African Americans began to assert their new hope of equality. The first instance of this new attitude occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, when sailors killed a black civilian. A large fight broke out and several people, both blacks and whites, were killed. Riots began to appear throughout America. The worst riot broke out in Chicago and lasted five days. It all began when an African American swimmer drifted into waters between segregated beaches. A white man threw a rock at him and the black man ended up drowning. White police officers did nothing to arrest the white man. As the news spread, gang related violence quickly began to spread throughout neighborhoods. As tensions grew stronger, the violent crimes Flowers 2 became worse. Eventually, a mass riot broke out. Policemen fired upon several black men, and several thousand men became involved. In the end, 23 blacks and 15 whites were killed, and many more were injured. Unfortunately, the majority of the media downplayed these riots to try and keep everyone else under control, but The Crisis, the primary newspaper for the NAACP, published nearly every event, both good and bad. Over the summer, many other instances of violence occurred, leading to the Great Migration (p. 7-15) The lives of African Americans significantly changed during the 1920s. A large contributor to these changes was the mass migration of African Americans to the North and West known as the Great Migration. African Americans despised the Jim Crow laws, and tried everything in their power to either change or escape them. Many blacks living in the South gained much economic success after migrating to the North. Not only did the blacks want to migrate to the North for economic and civil gains, but they also wanted to escape the worsening conditions in the South caused by the Boll Weevil plague that ruined the cotton industry (p. 23-24). Upon arriving in the North, blacks began to build up their community. They built their own churches, which were significantly different from white churches. Their churches became a part of their lives, and became their community. The YMCA and the YWCA also began during this time period, promoting community as well. Western black immigrants came primarily from places like Jamaica, and were fairly new to the oppression of the whites in America. Because of this, they were not as afraid to start up new things. Flowers 3 On the political side of events, the NAACP was on the rise. By 1919, the NAACP had become the leading organization for black civil rights. Led by W. E. B. Du Bois, the NAACP constantly challenged â€Å"segregation and political equality. † (p. 57) A major success of this organization was the push for the Dyer Antilynching Bill. Even though the bill was never successfully passed, it brought lynching to the attention of the public, and eventually reduced the number of lynchings significantly (p. 60-63). While African Americans fought to make conditions better for themselves, some conditions remained poor. Some blacks began purchasing homes in â€Å"white† neighborhoods, but were faced with violence, especially from the rising Ku Klux Klan; therefore, ending the housing segregation quickly gained importance (p. 66-68). The white schools were far superior, due to the much higher wages and funding provided. In Southern states, studies showed that white teachers were paid nearly four times as much as black teachers, and the black school sizes and facilities were vastly inferior (p. 68). A third problem was the constant fight against the judicial system. On several occasions, blacks were wrongly accused of crimes, even when there was little to no evidence to prove anything at all. For example, two black men in Kentucky ended up in court for raping a white woman on â€Å"the flimsiest of evidence. † Even though no one identified the men, the all white jury spent just fifteen minutes to find them guilty, and the men were sentenced to death (p. 68). Aside from the political issues, African Americans in the North began a mass movement of cultural expansion, including literature, music, and art. This Flowers 4 movement became known as the Harlem Renaissance. The precursor to this movement was the Marcus Garvey movement. Garvey pushed for blacks to â€Å"reject the white society and build a separate life. † (p. 77) He believed that blacks should never conform to white society. He also led the somewhat unsuccessful â€Å"Back to Africa† movement, which was an attempt to have all blacks leave the country and live in Liberia instead. Following the Marcus Garvey movement was the well-known Harlem Renaissance. Even though renaissance is in the name, this movement was more of a birth than a rebirth. It all began during the Great Migration. As thousands of African Americans migrated to the North, many ended up settling in Harlem. This three square mile area became the largest concentration of black people in the world. Following the war, many writers celebrated this new life in the North, and praised the better conditions of the North in their writing. Many hoped that this mass outpouring of literature would â€Å"break down the walls of prejudice. † (p. 80) The most popular of these writers was the African American poet, Langston Hughes. Today, much of his work is considered classic literature. In addition to the mass influx of African American literature, jazz music was on the rise (p. 83-86) Jazz became a symbol of African Americans and the Harlem Renaissance. This product of music pulled concepts from â€Å"African rhythms, blues chord progressions, church spirituals, European melodies, and American marching band instrumentation. † (p. 86) Probably the most well known musician from this era was the trumpeter, Louis Armstrong. Even though jazz originated in New Orleans, it quickly spread to the East coast and eventually to Harlem. The Flowers 5 literature produced in Harlem was by far more successful than jazz, but there was certainly no shortage of jazz in Harlem. Both the jazz and literary greats became idols to many African Americans. They created a wave of inspiration in the black community that quickly spread throughout certain areas of America. The African American community fought through violence, held their pride, and created an entire cultural movement. Through the idea of the â€Å"New Negro† to the eventual Harlem Renaissance, African Americans became stronger and bolder in fighting against whites. Through the NAACP, African Americans gained a stronger stance in politics than ever before. Through riots, beatings, and even deaths, African Americans fought to be treated equally to whites, and paved the way for their eventual freedom and equality.

The Effectiveness Of Heterogeneous Grouping

The Effectiveness Of Heterogeneous Grouping As EFL teachers we are concerned with two main issues in language learning. The first issue addresses the skills students should acquire in EFL classes as a result of teaching-learning experiences. Such skills are often measured by students achievement. The second issue takes account of the strategies EFL teachers use to help students acquire such skills and in turn increase their achievement. Writing is a skill which requires efforts from both the student and the teacher. It is one of the four language skills which are given emphasis in second language learning. Writing is one of the skills which need to be mastered by the learners to meet the secondary school graduation requirements (Panofsky et al 2005). They learn different genres of writing like descriptive, expository, recount and narrative based on the prescribed syllabus of their providers. Language learning involves learning the language code as well as the culture associated with the language (Becket Gonzales 2004). Students writing abilities are affected by the type of instructions teachers use within their classroom practices. It is one of the productive skills that learners are expected to achieve in order to ensure their communicative competence. While learning writing, students are supposed to get involved in many activities that enable them to produce a piece of writing at the end. They can be engaged for example in class discussions, act in role playing or get involved in peer editing (Hensen, 2002). While engaged in classroom activities students build up experience and have more practice that may finally give the chance to reach a proper product of writing. In teaching writing, teachers strive hard to find strategies to facilitate increasing students achievement. There are many methods adopted by the teachers in teaching EFL writing in the classrooms. One of the methods recommended in teaching writing is the incorporation of cooperative learning (Kagan 2002). Students can be grouped in a variety of more flexible ways so that they spend some portion of a school day in heterogeneous groups and some portion in homogeneous groups. (Grady et al 2007). Supporting students writing involves providing some form of assistance that helps them carry out one or more processes involved in writing. These procedures include structuring how students carry out a particular writing process, having peers to help one another as they compose a piece of writing , providing students with feedback on their performance, focusing students attention on specific aspects of tasks, and providing a model of what the end product should look like (Graham Perin 2007). In most EFL classes, some learners perform better beyond grade-level, others struggle with target language, while another great part of the class falls somewhere in between. In their effort to meet the needs of such a diverse students, educators tend to assign pair and group work with students of different ability levels finding ways to involve all students in the activities. These ways could include communicative and cooperative tasks to allow scaffolding of less advanced students. In such a classroom environment, advanced level learners perform as a bridge to assist the learning process and lower level classmates show a readiness to cross that bridge (Sean, 2002).   As a general rule, it seems reasonable to propose that classroom harmony might better be achieved in a group of motivated students who are allowed to take part and cooperate. Statement of the problem Teachers as well as educators seem to have struggled to find answers to questions about heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping: Are they of certain benefits for learners? Do they harm anyone? Who gets the benefit or the harm the most? And why? (Kulik 1992). The answers to such questions are not always clear-cut and often depend on whom you ask and what learning outcomes are considered important. To many educators, grouping is considered as an proper response to academic diversity. To others, the practice has harmful unintended consequences and should be abandoned (Ansalone, 2001). Statement of the purpose Consequently, this study aims to investigate the effect of homogeneous grouping versus heterogeneous grouping on EFL students achievement in writing in the hope that it may settle the argument on which is better for both high and low achievers. Homogeneous grouping can be defined as dividing students into small groups which include students of the same ability or level for example high achievers together and low achievers together. While heterogeneous grouping can be defined as dividing students into groups that include mixed or different levels, high and low achievers together. Theoretical Framework When tackling the issue of cooperative learning or grouping it is useful to draw upon the theories of social constructivism and multiple intelligences so as to view intelligence from a multi-dimensional perspective. Social constructivism emphasizes the significance of the social environment in cognitive development. Vygotsky, as reported by Seng et al. (2003), wrote: Every function in the childs cultural development environment appears twice: first, on the social level, and later on the individual level, first between people (interpsychological), and then inside the child (intrapsychological). Vygotsky (1978) supposed that intelligence starts in the social environment and directs itself inward. Other writers on constructivism elaborated on this theme. Students must interact with other students as well as materials in order to learn. The conventional ways of teaching through lecturing and recitation do not work effectively (Hillocks, 2002). Teachers must allow a learning environment i n which students search for meaning, appreciate uncertainty, and inquire responsibly (Brooks, 1993). Gardner (1993), in his work on multiple intelligences (MI), highlighted the importance of precisely understanding the profile of intelligences of the individual learner to provide a more enlightened search for remedies for difficulties. Edward (2004) stated that the problems students encounter at school are because of the fact that they have different kinds of minds and therefore remember, understand, perform, and learn in differently. Gardner identified 8 separate intelligences; two of them are linguistics and interpersonal intelligences. Armstrong (199) stressed the need to provide learning experiences which may accommodate those 8 intelligences through a variety of multi-spectrum experiences. Moreover, there are two cognitive theories that are directly applied to cooperative learning, the developmental and the elaboration theories (Slavin, 1987). The developmental theories presume that interaction among students around appropriate tasks raises their mastery of critical conceptions (Damon, 1984). When students interact with other students, they will need to explain and discuss each others perspectives, which lead to greater understanding of learning targets. Also the effort to resolve potential conflicts within collaborative activities develops higher levels of understanding (Slavin, 1990). The elaboration theory proposes that one of the most effective means of learning is to explain the material to someone else. Cooperative learning activities improve elaborative thinking and frequent giving and receiving explanations, which increases the depth of understanding, the quality of reasoning, and the accuracy of long term retention (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1986). Thus, the use of cooperative learning methods should lead to the improvement of students learning and retention from both the developmental and cognitive theoretical perspectives. Cooperative learning has its roots in the theories of social interdependence, cognitive development, and behavioral learning. Some research provides remarkably strong evidence that cooperative learning results in greater effort to achieve, more positive relationships, and greater psychological health than competitive or individualistic learning efforts (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1994( Cognitive growth springs from the arrangement of a variety of perspectives at the time individuals work to reach common goals. Both Piaget and Vygotsky saw cooperative learning with more able peers and instructors as resulting in cognitive development and intellectual growth (Johnson, et al., 1998). The assumption of behavioral learning theory is that students will work hard on tasks that provide a reward and that students will fail to work on tasks that provide no reward or punishment. Cooperative learning is one strategy that rewards individuals for participation in the groups effort. Slavin (1987), highlighted two main theoretical perspectives related to cooperative learning, motivational and cognitive. The motivational theories of cooperative learning stress the students motivation to accomplish academic work, whereas the cognitive theories emphasize the effects of working with others. A major element of cooperative learning is positive interdependence, as students perceive that their success or failure depends on working together as a team (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1986). From the motivational theories perspective, cooperative goal structure creates such a situation in which the only way group members can achieve their goals is when the group is successful (Slavin, 1990,). As a result, for the reason of attaining certain goals, students are likely to encourage their group members to do whatever helps the group to succeed and to help one another with a group task. Review of Literature A number of studies examined the effects of cooperative learning techniques on student learning. Humphreys, Johnson, and Johnson (1982) compared cooperative, competitive, and individualistic strategies and concluded that students who were taught by cooperative methods learned and retained significantly more information than students taught by the other two methods. Sherman and Thomas (1986) reached similar findings in a study which involved high school students taught by cooperative and individualistic methods. Slavin(1983) based on a review of 46 studies related to cooperative learning found that cooperative learning resulted in significant positive effects in 63% of the studies, and only two studies reported higher achievement for the comparison group. Johnson, Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson, and Skon (1981) conducted a meta-analysis of 122 studies related to cooperative learning and concluded that there was strong evidence for the advantage of cooperative learning in promoting achievement over competitive and individualistic strategies. Johnson and Ahlgren (1976) investigated the relationships between students attitudes toward cooperation, competition, and attitudes toward education. The results of the study pointed out that student cooperativeness, rather than competitiveness, was positively related to being motivated to learn. Humphreys, Johnson, and Johnson (1982) also found that students studying in a cooperative learning treatment group rated more positively in their learning experience than did students in competitive and individualistic treatment groups. In a study involving elementary and secondary students Wodarski, et al., (1980) concluded that 95% of the elementary students enjoyed the cooperative learning activities and that they had learned a lot about the subject. Cooperative learning can result in positive effects on student achievement (Devries Slavin, 1978; Cohen, 1986; Davidson, 1989; Johnson Johnson, 1989; Okebukola, 1985; Reid, 1992; Slavin, 1990). Academic benefits include higher achievement in reading comprehension, writing (Mathes, Fuchs, Fuchs, 1997) and mathematics (Ross, 1995; Whicker, Nunnery, Bol, 1997) and improved conceptual understanding and achievement in science (Lonning, 1993; Watson, 1991). Social benefits include more on-task behaviors and helping interactions with group members (Burron, James, Ambrosio, 1993; Gillies Ashman, 1998; McManus Gettinger, 1996), higher self-esteem, more friends, more involvement in classroom activities, and improved attitudes toward learning (Lazarowitz, Baird, Bolden, 1996; Lazarowitz, Hertz-Lazarowitz, Baird, 1994). Emmer and Gerwels (2002) stated that some research on cooperative learning addressed instructional components. In a number of studies students were taught interaction skills, such as how to question or to help each other so that they did not give answers but facilitated each others thinking (Fuchs, Fuchs, Kazdan, Allen, 1999; Gillies Ashman, 1996, 1998; Nattiv, 1994; Webb, Troper, Fall, 1995). When students are taught these skills, positive outcomes like increased intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, and liking for school can result (Battistich, Solomon, Delucchi, 1993). Ability grouping can be carried out between-class or within-class (Dukmak 2009). Between-class ability grouping refers to a schools practice of forming classrooms that contains students of similar ability. Within-class grouping refers to a teachers practice of forming groups of students of similar ability within an individual class (Gamoran, 1992; Hollified, 1987). A review of the literature on cooperative learning shows that students benefit academically and socially from cooperative, small-group learning (Gillies, 2002). Mixed-ability grouping is based on cooperative learning which demonstrates positive success related to students achievement. In this type of grouping, students work collaboratively to successfully achieve a desired educational outcome and develop a greater understanding and respect for individual differences. All forms of diversity within the learning environment are embraced (Felder Brent, 2001; Freeman, 1993; Saleh, Lazonder, DeJong, 2005). Moreover, in a mixed-ability, teachers respond to the individualized needs of all learners (Kulik Kulik, 1992). The most compelling argument against ability grouping is the creation of academic elites a practice which goes against democratic ideals (Slavin, 1987). Johnson and Johnson (1999) and Johnson, Johnson and Smith (1998) say that cooperative learning has five basic elements positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, appropriate use of social skills, and periodic processing of how to improve the effectiveness of the group (Johnson Johnson1999 ). When these elements are properly implemented, the research has shown that group collaboration in the classroom can increase learning and achievement, social skills, self-esteem, and attitudes toward classmates and school (Slavin, 1990 as cited in Webb, Nemer Zuniga 2002). Placing students in teams or cooperative learning groups has many advantages. It helps to build a students communication skills, can help increase tolerance and the acceptance of diversity, promotes higher level reasoning, promotes increased generation of new ideas, promotes greater transfer of information from one situation to another, increases retention, builds teamwork skills, reduces stress , and increased willingness to attempt challenging tasks (Baker Campbell, 2005; Huss, 2006; Lin, 2006; Payne Monk-Turner, 2006; Patrick, Bangel, Jeon 2005; Kim 2004; Vaughn, 2002; Johnson Johnson, 1999; Johnson, Johnson Smith, 1998; Slavin, 1996). The cooperative learning experience also [gives] students the opportunity to review and learn information that they did not understand before the cooperative learning activity (Webb, 2002). According to Lin (2006 ), research has concluded that cooperative learning is the top ranked teaching model that promotes greater higher-order thinking, problem solving, and achievement. Students can remember 75-90% of materials when they learn it in cooperative learning situations (Lin, 2006). In a survey of college students after an experiment involving group work, Payne and Monk-Turner (2006) found that 90% of students favored group work and that 90% learned from their group members. Since 1924, 168 studies have been conducted that compare cooperative learning to competitive and individual learning. These studies have shown that cooperative learning yields higher academic achievement than individual and competitive learning (Johnson, Johnson Smith, 1998). Cooperative learning groups are also said to be particularly beneficial to low academic achieving students and students of color (Huss, 2006; Vaughn, 2002). Cooperative learning groups appear to be effective in many ways. Students work as an influential part of the group when they believe their efforts will add to the success of the group (Baker Campbell, 2005). Students are successful and learn in cooperative learning groups because they learn by doing rather than listening (Payne, Monk-Turner, Smith 2006 ) They are also actively using the material and information (Zimbardo, Butler, Wolfe, 2003). Cooperative learning also strengthens students social interactions, it gives them the desire to achieve, to develop more positive interpersonal relationships, and have greater psychological health than competitive or individualistic learning efforts (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1994 as cited in Morgan, 2003,). Cooperative learning can teach students that knowledge can be, or should be, shared with fellow students; that differences in opinion can be rationally negotiated even under conditions of test pressures; and that cooperative learning pr ocedures can be enjoyable and productive (Zimbardo et al., 2003, ). These types of lessons enable students to learn how to work well with others. The interdependent relationships that develop within a group help to facilitate the groups success. Everyone feels the goal of the group will be met if everyone achieves their individual goals (Vaughn, 2002; Morgan, 2004). According to Morgan (2004), group members should also be aware of the fact that a single group member can affect how and/or if the goal is achieved. The cooperative learning experience is most effective when the participants work well together and they successfully achieve their goal. There are many characteristics to successful teams. Some of these characteristics include open communication, effectively listening, open-mindedness, clear roles, an established leader, clearly defined tasks, teamwork where everyone works together and contributes, there are well developed attainable goals (Payne, Monk-Turner, 2006; Baker Campbell, 2005), and a timeline (Payne Monk-Turner, 2006). In a classroom, there are also many things a teacher can do to help insure the success of a group activity. The teacher should provide strong guidance (Payne Monk-Turner, 2006; Baker Campbell, 2005), model the desired behavior, provide immediate feedback, and reward desired behavior (Lin, 2006; Baker Campbell, 2005). The teacher can also use checks and balances to monitor productivity, employ various problem solving strategies (Friend Cook, 2007), leng then the amount of time the group spends together, provide proper group behavior training, establish ground rules (Mitchell, Reilly, Bramwell, 2004) and allow group members rate each other (Lin, 2006). If the teacher monitors, provides rewards and allows the students to rate each other, it may reduce the effects of a slacker and keep students from getting a grade they do not deserve (Payne Monk-Turner, 2006). Students that slack off can demotivate hard working students and give them a negative feeling about group work (Ashraf, 2004). Many studies have been conducted that demonstrate the success of teaming. Robert Slavin has conducted extensive research on the implementation of cooperative learning models in schools. He has examined the effects schools becoming complete cooperative learning centers on their academic achievement. He has found many successful situations where lower performing schools were transformed because they converted to a cooperative learning format (Slavin, 1999 22-23). Payne and Monk Turner (2006) conducted a study that examined how students felt about teams. In this study, they assigned students to groups, gave them an assignment, and then asked them how they felt about the assignment after the group project was completed. They found that 90% of the students had a favorable experience, 90% of the students learned from their group members, and 85% of the students felt they learned teaming skills that could be transcended into business. Baker and Campbell (2005) conducted a study in which stu dents were placed in groups and observed that the students who worked in groups, as opposed to working individually, were more successful because they had more access to knowledge, they felt pressured to succeed to keep the group from failing, and the various personalities helped alleviate the stress of the problems. For example a member often told jokes to help lesson the tension. Additionally, members often provided positive reinforcement and motivation. Placing students in groups to take tests is another way to use cooperative learning and group work. Morgan examined the benefits and non benefits of college students completing exams using cooperative learning groups. She concluded that The increased depth of understanding, the feelings of support, respect for others contributions, and the clarification of information produced more students with a greater awareness of the material and more developed social skills to be contributing members of teams (Morgan, 2004 ). The understanding of successful cooperative learning group models not only affects groups in grade school; it also affects groups in jobs and college. According to Payne, Monk-Turner, and Smith (2006) employers want college graduates that have developed teamwork skills. Miglietti (2002) says that group work is commonly used in the workplace and employers want to hire people with these skills. Furthermore, these skills can be learned when students are placed in successful t eams where the goals have been reached. Socialization and communication are examples of skills that students learn in groups that can help their transition into the business world (Payne et al., 2006). In a survey of college students, after a study involving group work, Payne and Monk-Turner (2006) found that 85% of college students admitted that doing group work would probably work on teams in future jobs. Homogeneous grouping Homogeneous grouping has been proposed and implemented as a potential solution for meeting the needs of the mixed ability classes, suggesting that students of different abilities can be gathered in groups of same ability for the purpose of facilitating teaching (Slavin, 1987). This type of grouping is based on the pedagogical belief that the teacher has the advantage of focusing instruction at the level of all students in particular groups (Ansalone, 2000). An extensive research has been conducted on ability grouping suggesting that academically, high-achieving students achieve and learn more when they are grouped with other high-achieving students (Gentry Owens, 2002; Grossen, 1996; Hollified, 1987; Page Keith, 1996). In mixed-ability grouping it is difficult to provide an adequate environment for teaching to everyone. Since students differ in knowledge, skills, developmental stage, and learning rate, one lesson might be easier for some students and more difficult for the others (Slavin, 1987). In ability grouping, high-achieving students view their own abilities more realistically and feel that they are appropriately challenged with their peers (Fiedler, Lange, and Wine-Brenner, 2002). It is suggested that teachers of mixed ability classes can raise instruction level for high achievers and increase the pace of teaching whereas low level students can have individual attention. As a result advanced pupils can be taught more difficult concepts while low achievers can deal with simple and fewer things. Advocates of homogeneous grouping opine that it is an outstanding means of individualizing instruction. Achievement is thought to increase as teachers would adjust the pace of instruction to students needs. Kulik and Kulik (1982) and Slavin (1987) carried out meta-analyses of studies at the elementary school level, finding benefits of within-class ability grouping. Both low ability students and more advanced ones placed in separate groups, benefited from instruction addressed to their level. More recently, Mulkey et al (2005) found that same ability grouping has constant instructional benefits for both high and low level students. Marsh (1987) supports homogeneous grouping as a technique to cope with mixed ability classes assuming that grouping children homogeneously enables those in lower ability groups to profit with respect to self-evaluation by being isolated from advanced peers. Furthermore, Allan (1991) supports that pupils model their behaviour after the behaviour of similar ability children who are coping well with their school work. The proponents of homogeneous grouping conclude that research fails to support that homogeneous grouping doesnt accomplish anything (Loveless, 1998 ). Although teachers of mixed ability classes seem to have positive attitudes towards homogeneous grouping (Scherer, 1993, Mulkey et al, 2005), a severe criticism of ability grouping has been raised in the last quarter of the 20th century. It has been stated that this type of grouping stigmatizes lower ability students, providing them with inferior instruction. A number of researchers attack homogeneous grouping for not guaranteeing that all advanced or all weak students are alike. Matthews (1997) conducted a relevant research with students in grades 6 through 8 and concluded that gifted students are noticeably more diverse than they are homogeneous. They are of different degrees in their abilities, their learning styles and interests, their advancement, their social/emotional development and their test-taking skills. Ability grouping may reduce the self-esteem and aspirations of low ability children and therefore slow down their academic progress. Welner and Mickelson (2000) carried out an extensive research review and found that low ability children are exposed to lowered expectations, reduced resources and rote learning. Childrens self-concept is affected and expectations are internalized (Ireson and Hallam, 1999, Gamoran, 1987). This implies that students of low ability in mixed ability classes are provided with low expectations if placed in same ability groups causing them feelings of inferiority. This is confirmed by Ansalone (2001) and Hallinan (1994) who demonstrated that children assigned to lower ability groups, are exposed to less and more simplified versions of the curriculum whereas high ability groups have broader and more challenging material covered. In this sense, Oakes (1992) and Wheelock (2005) support that educational benefits in mixed ability settings are not provided by homog eneous grouping but rather by a challenging curriculum and high expectations. Heterogeneous grouping Heterogeneous grouping, that is gathering children of varying abilities in same groups has been proposed by many researchers as an effective strategy to promote academic development of students having diverse background knowledge and abilities. Brimfield, Masci and Defiore (2002) believe that all students deserve an academically challenging curriculum (p.15). So, our goal is to find a way to engage all pupils of the mixed ability classroom in the lesson irrespective of their abilities. The authors point out that by creating mixed-ability groups, we send the compelling message that everybody is expected to work at the highest possible level as high and low ability students deal with the same challenges. Disadvantaged pupils are at reduced risk of being stigmatized and exposed to a dumped-down curriculum in a mixed-ability setting. Teachers expectations for all pupils are maintained at higher levels and less able students have opportunities to be assisted by more able peers. It is assumed that heterogeneous grouping provides pupils access to more learning opportunities. Johnson and Johnson (1987) recommend assigning children of high, medium, and low abilities in the same group maximizing the heterogeneous make up of each group. Such ability diversity within the same group creates an effective learning environment (Manlove and Baker, 1995) providing learning opportunities for low-level students as well as opportunities to more advanced children to provide explanations to others revising, consolidating and using some things they have encountered before. The teachers can use cooperative tasks among high and low achievers of mixed ability groups or pairs in order to promote task engagement of all students in the mixed ability class as advanced children can provide explanations and guidance in carrying out a task. Cooperative tasks among high and low achievers are valued by the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky (1978). Pupils of mixed ability classes differ at their competence level and prior linguistic experiences. Vygotsky supports that children who are exposed to books and other out-of-school factors which contribute to linguistic development i.e .prior knowledge of English from private institutional instruction, are expected to have already run through a large part of their ZPD. On the other hand, pupils with poor literacy opportunities i.e. without prior knowledge of English may possess a larger Zone of Proximal Development (Van der Veer and Valsiner, 1991). So, they may benefit greatly from peer interactions which are likely to help low level students reach higher levels of performance. In this framework, Lyle (1999) showed that both low and high achieving students value the opportunity to work together as all pupils believed that they benefited. It was concluded that peer interactions can facilitate literacy development especially of low ability students. In this vein, Guralnick (1992) points out that social competence acquired in group work affects the elaboration of all students cognitive competencies, implying that both low and advanced learners of mixed ability classes may gain from such settings. The role of peer learning as contributing to language development has also been emphasized by Mize, Ladd and Price (1985) Webb (1989), Jacob et al (1996) and Slavin (1996). Rogoff (1993) refers to childrens social sharing of their cognition through interaction. When pupils participate in collective activities, they guide each others efforts. According to Tudge and Winterhoff (1993) advanced children give constant feedback through conversation forcing peers to strive for reaching higher levels of performance. Various studies have indicated a positive correlation between cooperative learning and achievement in mixed ability classes. For example, Walters (2000) asserts that cooperative learning is suitable for teachers dealing with increasingly diverse classrooms as it easily accommodates individual differences in achievement. Accordingly, Fulk and King (2001) support that class-wide peer tutoring improves all students learning. They add that serving in the role of tutor seems to be particularly beneficial for improving the self-esteem of students with low achievement while they may, for example, grade their partners reading. Therefore, it appears that CL may satisfy the needs of a mixed ability class. Studies conducted by Pica and Doughty (1985), Porter (1986), and Cotterall (1990) indicate that learners of different abilities produce more in mixed ability pair and group work by helping one another to overcome cognitive obstacles. This conclusion is consistent with Urzuas (1987) finding that the mixed ability children in the observational study conducted, appeared to have developed a sense of power in language through the process of working with trusted peers i.e. writing and revising. The benefits of cooperative learning are more touchable

Milton S Epic Poem A Paradise Lost Theology Religion Essay

Milton S Epic Poem A Paradise Lost Theology Religion Essay Paradise Lost could possibly be regarded as one of the most controversial and dangerously convincing piece of literary works of all time. Although, ironically English Scholars and English teachings tend to ignore Miltons masterpiece as an exquisitely elegant form of written work, along with the dismissal of the English Commonwealth from 1649 to 1660. The English Commonwealth was a significantly major part of the British Monarch effecting both religious and political ways of life. There are many early modern literature works that were created during this catastrophic event who attempted to influence the British Public through their subtle underlying Propaganda, yet still sticking to strict authorities. Milton was among these writers that were appointed to specifically use his ability to base transcripts, poems and books on maybe the reflection of how leaders of Britain wanted its citizens to think and live. Milton was an influential part of the literary movement of the time that encom passed a move away from free expression and instead became a voice for the governments agenda of the  period. Milton had many creative works but one particular text over the years has stirred up debates across the minds of many critics. Even by todays standards Paradise Lost has caused controversy, leading into accusations of denying Christianity to the sympathising of the devil. After researching critics that have based their works on studying Miltons epic poem, along with looking closely at his involvement with powerful figures of 17th century government, will assist in determining if Paradise Lost was specifically used for political propaganda or if it was purely written from Miltons own beliefs and experiences. On the surface Miltons Paradise Lost, one could say, is a biblical reconstruction of the globally famous story that basis its context for the doctrine of the original sin. There are many critics that have revolved their analysis of Miltons epic poem solely on the theme of religion, which are the major factors that lead to the disproval of Miltons work. Religion during Seventeenth Century Britain was compulsory; it was indeed part of the law to attend to church. Milton himself was a devote Christian which oppose the views of the likes of Blake and C.S Lewis as they accused him of sympathising with the devil. Both insisted Milton was part of the the devil party. Both observations from these key early critics are a contradiction upon Miltons actual religious beliefs and practices he took part in. They accuse Milton of creating him as a sort of sub hero and provide him with humanised characteristics thus making him to be a dangerously likeable character [quote from a critic that support s this]. Realistically, the content of Paradise Lost does in fact have particular parts that reflect upon these early critical responses to the poem. Specifically in books [ ] the devil seems to become the most humanised character of them all, the speeches he presents to the reader are so simply rhetorically persuasive and some of the most beautiful words come from the mouth of Satan, thus the reader being human can relate more so than that of God[quote]. The reader relates through jealously, seduction and the tempting mind, these being only a few of the attributes humans possess that make up who they are. Therefore these human abilities such as failure, temptations and desire are being regarded to be atrocious because they are being presented through the most famously sinful figure in religion, Satan. Consequently leading to the conclusion that Milton could quite possibly be criticising Christianity suggesting the religion denies a humans downfalls, these downfalls being what make a human, human. However, in retrospect to this argument and the question I ask myself, if Milton was a devote Christian himself why would he deny the religion? There were many figures in the literary world that were against the idea that Milton was portraying Christianity as a corrupt religion and believed Paradise Last was actually strongly supporting his own belief [read keel]. Paradise Lost was written after the Restoration of the monarchy of Charles II in sixteen sixty, when he returned the Church of England back to how it was when his father ruled the country. This brought back the restoration of the Catholic Church and the Puritan faith had failed to subdue and the religion was made illegal. It is a very subjective text and the answers are not all in black and white it is extremely hard to pin point what Miltons exact beliefs were but readers must be aware that he was a very religious man. We can see through many parts of the collection of poems some of his beliefs and can interoperate to an e xtent what he was actually trying to say through his words. Therefore from my own research and opinions I have come to accept it is not plausible to claim that Milton is directly attacking the Christian faith. Milton often changed his views of the corrupt religion and government of the time of Britain in the sixteen hundreds, but he wasnt afraid to express his belief as a Puritan. Puritanism was associated on the Parliamentary side during the English Civil War against the Laudianism Church on the Monarchist side. The puritan faith focused on the importance of preaching from the Bible and the idea that God is the only leader of the Church and Milton evidently believed in God, being noticeable through the portrayal of God being the creator and the King of the heavens [Quote from PL]. Paradise Lost is a reconstruction of a well known biblical story of the original sin; therefore this is defiant evidence that Milton pin pointed the importance of unambiguous preaching. Of course many of Miltons masterpieces were a form of preaching; Lares (2001, pg.1) states in Milton and the preaching arts: Miltons poetic programme in terms of genres in which he may choose to write and on this sense of vocation to serve as a poet-priest. The angels in Paradise Lost can be seen as figures of preachers, a subtle way for Milton to put his message across to his readers. As seen through the angel Raphael Milton applies his preaching words through the mouth of the angel, one specific example that shows a message being advocated across is where Raphael is sent forth to Adam to warn him not to eat from the forbidden tree: in the day thou eatst, thou diest; Death is the penalty imposed; beware And govern well thy appetite; lest Sin Surprise thee, and her black attendant Death. (VII 544-547) Raphael here is warning Adam the extent of his punishment if he is to eat the forbidden fruit having an aim to encourage the obedience of Adam towards God. However as Lares (2001, pg.152), again, quotes that in fact Milton favours correction, and in fact has his angel warn against sin rather than encourage virtue Due to background reading it is known that Milton was in favour of the Independents (see further on for more information about Independents) therefore this particular part of his epic poem communicates Miltons own religious views that everyone is entitled to choose what they believe in and not what institutions tell them to believe in. There is also evidence that Milton agreed with this idea that religion should be accessible to the ordinary person, he took part in writing poems for productions in theatres to allow anybody from all walks of life to be educated about God. Milton, like any other Puritan believed in joyfully practicing the faith and some focused on the value of nature and arts and the natural world. Here the Romantic Writers of the sixteenth century can be linked in to Miltons epic poem where throughout beautiful descriptions of the paradise plays an important part of imagery to the readers. WRITE ABOUT Romantics Another factor that contributes to this idea that Milton believed in an equal soceity is the humanising of Satan. Milton believed in an Independent Church, The independents wanted each specific congregation to be able to decide for itself its beliefs and practices. (Christs College  at  Cambridge University). Here I think, personally, that he believed very passionately in God but he did not believe in the institutions that claimed to be doing Gods will. In other words he warned people against believing everything you hear in church and believed instead in following your own personal beliefs so you have a relationship with God instead of with the church. This is conveyed by allowing both Adam and Eve and the devil to be accessible to their freewill. Thus portraying the devil just as human as anyone else; this could also relate to freewill and the Devils own choices to revolt against God. These ideas surrounding free will are explored in chapter one. However some say that Milton re tracts the reader away from the dehumanising of the devil by indeed making him relatable to us in order for us to feel guilty that we feel sympathetic towards him after realising he is in fact evil, by the use of reverse psychology. Milton emphasises how dangerously tempting Satan is therefore attending church and believing in what you believe in will protect from the evil hands of the devil. [Critics quote] Although on the surface Paradise Lost is indeed a biblical piece of literary work, however under the surface there are many hidden messages through Miltons work that can be determined as Political Propaganda of its time. During the Civil war and the Commonwealth Milton was involved heavily with the Government and especially worked closely with Oliver Cromwell. He was appointed the Secretary of Foreign Tongues under the Cromwellian Government and played an important role of being the voice for the English Revolution to the rest of the country. Unlike many he believed in the Republic and was in favour of freedom the Commonwealth have provided for the Puritan faith. Miltons first piece of major Political Propaganda was The  Readie and Easie Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth where he emphasised the importance and benefits of a British Republic. Paradise Lost is possibly a less obvious form of political regime than the less subtle works he created, however it is achievable to regard certain characters and events as parallel to that of what is happening in the real world. Starting with the Devil: He is constantly fighting for his own dignity and freedom which causes the sympathy most people fight for a democracy especially in 17th century Britain Devil is a symbolic of the failure of the discourse of politics and the corrupt religion should be free and not illegal. The devil could actually be a portrayal of Cromwell or maybe even Milton himself constant battle with lord and rules god/king However when PL was written it was known that Milton actually changed his views on Cromwell and saw flaws in him son couldnt follow him, false leader ship is the devil, wrong.. God can be seen obviously as Godomniscient/ powerful/ leader highly regarded in paradise lost, so should he be in society and not the king the devil could also be see Many Throughout Miltons work there is a fine line between his political and religious beliefs

Education System in the Philiphines Essay -- Education

The Philippines has a recent overflowing issue on its education system, which is the implementation of K+12 education system as the basic education curriculum (BEC). This issue is one of the most controversial things that Aquino Administration proposes. First of all, K+12 is an education system that includes Kindergarten with twelve years of elementary and secondary education (Department of Education, 2010). The Kindergarten is basically started at the age of 5 and the elementary education (primary education) holds for 6 or 7 years of education while secondary education, which holds for 5 or 6 years of education, is defined as high school (Department of Education, 2010). In comparison to the current 10-year education system, the K+12 system adds two extra years of education. According to the Department of Education of the Philippines (DepEd), their main purpose is not just adding two extra years of education rather to enhance the BEC in the Philippines (Department of Education, 2010). Discussions over the K+12 program have already been on since the Commonwealth era. The Americans has suggested this system to be implemented but President Manuel L. Quezon has set aside the issue to deal with more important problems in the country at that time (Vargas, 2012). Throughout the years after the Commonwealth era, suggestions have been made by foreign organizations (Department of Education, 2010). Then, a survey made by Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education in 1970 has recommended the government to give a high importance in implementing the 11-year program with 6 years of elementary education and 5 years of secondary education; but it never pushes through (Department of Education, 2010). The current 10-year program has n... ...s literacy rate and its quality of education system but also it would lessen the number of unemployment and underemployment in the country. Works Cited Cruz, I. R. (2012, January 19). Preparing, Developing and Equipping K to 12 School Leaders. Makati, NCR, Philippines. Department of Education. (2010, October 5). Discussion Paper on the Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program. Manila, NCR, Philippines. Dizon, D. (2011). PH Education System Not Ready for K+12. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from ABS-CBN News: abs-cbnnews.com Manila Bulletin. (2010, October 6). Senators Divided on DepEd's 'K+12' Years Education System. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from Manila Bulletin News: mb.com.ph Valenzuela, E. (2012). K to 12 Trends in Southeast Asia. Manila, NCR, Philippines. Vargas, Y. (2012, February 11). K+12 as Basic Education Curriculum. (I. Stamboel, Interviewer)

Computers Predicting the outcomes of cutting DNA :: Biology

The focus of this study is the interaction between DNA and I-Msol, an endonuclease. An endonuclease is a protein that cuts DNA at a certain sequence with a certain length; I-Msol cuts DNA at approximately 20-24 base pairs and is highly specific in what sequence it is designed to cut. The interaction between DNA and an endonuclease like I-Msol is difficult to determine just by looking at the amino acid sequence of the protein. The difficulty arises because of the many molecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions are affected by how the protein specifically interacts with the DNA, 3-dimensionally. The best method of understanding these complexities is to create model that considers all these dynamics of the DNA/protein interaction. Thus, a I-Msol/DNA model was created in silico to study the areas of contact between the two macromolecules as well as what happened when changes were made to the base pairs of the DNA. In summary: * It is impossible to predict DNA and protein interaction by looking at the amino acid sequence * hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic interactions alter amino acid sequence * I-Msol is a endonuclease, which cuts DNA around 20-24 base pairs with high specificity * Preliminary testing resulted in determining many of areas of contact between I-Msol and the DNA molecule * The researches made base pair substitutions that affected the interaction of the protein with the DNA Results After the protein-DNA contacts were redesigned, then, in this complex, the amino acids that were likely to cause disruption were changed. These amino acids were categorized on affinity for the designed protein for the new site and the decrease in affinity for the original wild type I-Msol enzyme As from the table, the largest predicted change came from the -6C*G, + 6 C*G, because this automatically prevents direct hydrogen bonding. Different amino acids had different disruption predictions. Using a formula, the binding energies were calculated by using the value of the wild type and then subtracting the facilitate comparison. A difference map represented certain values such as electron density for the new amino acids. A gel electrophoretic shift was done to observe the binding specificity. As the experiment indicates the experimental changes in binding affinities differed from the predicted ones. The results indicate that the future looks very bright for medicine and biochemistry as the redesign of the of DNA complexes is predicted to allow us to make mass breakthroughs in the future.

Parisian Realism Artists of the 19th Century

The following body of work focuses upon Realism and the artists, Manet (not to be confused with Monet) and Degas, two Parisian artists of the 1800s who captured the lives of the French people through their paintings.   Realism’s definition, it’s three defining characteristics, and its place in the time line of art history will be briefly presented, moving into the similarities and differences, such as mediums used in the artists’ works and their subjects of focus, found between Manet and Degas, in regards to their life’s passion as artists of the 19th century.   Brief summaries of each artist’s life will precede comparison of two selected â€Å"famous works† to compare and contrast the artists manifested passions for the work each created.RealismRealism is a style of painting which depicts subject matter-form, color, space-as it appears in actuality or ordinary visual experience without distortion or stylization (progressiveart.com).   Through realism, subjects are depicted in as straightforward a manner as possible, without idealizing them and without following rules of formal artistic theory (artcyclopedia.com).   Little emotional value is depicted, as the painter shows nature and people just the way he or she observes them (horton.ednet).Realism began to appear on the art scene in the 18th century, following the styles of Romanticism and Neoclassicism; French realism, in particular, was considered the guiding influence on the philosophy of Impressionists (artcyclopedia.com).   Manet and Degas were both considered Impressionists as well as Realists, Manet eventually being considered the leader in the Impressionist movement (artchive.com).Edgar Degas (1834-1917)Born in 1834 to a wealthy Parisian family, Degas was considered a shy, insecure, aloof individual; he never married.   Due to the family’s status, there was never a shortage of funds for his passion of art (artchive.com)[1].   Receiving his training in Louis Lamothe’s studio, Degas displayed the intense influence of paintings and frescoes he observed on long trips to Italy; his notebooks are filled with these subjects (metmuseum.com)[2].   He eventually came to â€Å"maturity† as a painter in the 1860s, where history painting was considered the most popular art at the time (artchive.com).Degas varied with mediums and supports, ranging from his classical training of oil painting on canvas to working with pastels on paper.   Sometimes he would combine mediums, as evident with his combination of oil and tempera paint on canvas with Dance School, dated 1874.   His subjects were typically women, especially noted for his observation of ballet in the 1880s, and people’s faces, of which he started out with self-portrait work before moving onto Parisians of low class.*Dance School, 1874[3]This work captures several different activities going on in a dance class.   There is the instructor, with whom three students are focused on the instruction being given.   A dancer in the left foreground pays attention to the violinist before her, as if waiting for a cue, from the music being played, to either join her classmates directly behind her or perhaps to wander to another part of the room where other students can be found.   This appears to be a possibility with another dancer, who stands poised with her head tilted to the left, listening for the moment to pull her into full stance and move into formation with her fellow classmates.The young lady directly behind her appears to be distracted, perhaps bored with the routines that are consistently taught, as she places her arms up around her head and looks slightly upward towards the ceiling.   A dancer at the window may be also distracted or bored but the observer is unaware due to the nature of her back being turned towards the class.   A final dancer stands at the bar, leg extended and appears to be concentrating on her bala nce and poise, or perhaps preparing herself to join the class after a proper warm up.Light from outside streams into the classroom, softly touching the floor, reaching out to add a sort of quiet lingering in the room; for all the various activities in the room, one would assume a sort of busy, almost chaotic sense would linger, creating distraction for all dancers, and even perhaps the musician and dance instructor, while in the midst of this setting.Eduard Manet (1832-1883)Manet was born in 1832, into the Parisian bourgeoisie.   Although well educated, he didn’t excel in the academic world; he displayed a passion for the arts at an early age and was encouraged by his mother’s brother to pursue this passion.   It wasn’t until after serving a brief time in the Merchant Marines in 1850 that he took up study with Thomas Couture, of which he stayed with his mentor until 1856.   During this time, he displayed preference for the works of Valazquez and Goya but f elt that â€Å"one’s art should reflect ideas and ideals of the present, rather than the past† (artchive.com).Manet, much like Degas, focused on the lower class Parisian people, a class unlike the class either one were born into.   Manet also had a preference for nude models in his work, of which he displayed in some of his work, the most popular-and controversial work being Olympia, an oil paint on canvas work from 1863.   His mainstay for medium preference was oil paint with a canvas support.*Olympia, 1863[4]The painting that caused a stir in 1863, one of which Manet did not intend.   The artist didn’t consider himself a radical, like Courbet but this work caused controversy just the same (artchive.com).   In the painting, there is a woman appearing to be reclining, with a relaxed, non aroused appearance not only found in her expression but can also be seen in her posture.   She wears a few simple pieces of jewelry, a flower tucked behind her left ea r, and one of her slippers has fallen off of her foot, yet she doesn’t seem to pay too much attention.   A small black cat, almost hidden in the shadows, arches its back and eyes are wide.The indentation made by the lady’s elbow emphasizes the softness of the pillows she reclines upon, and the floral scarf or shawl she is holding in one hand-with the remainder appearing out from under her lower body, seems to add a touch of color to the otherwise stark, white of the bedding she is resting upon.   Emerald curtains, perhaps made of velvet or a similar heavy fabric used with window treatments, hang in the background, one pulled aside just right of the subject’s head.To her left, it appears as if a servant of the house has brought flowers into the room; from a suitor or maybe even from the painter himself-although Manet was newly married at the time of the painting.   The servant’s expression displays a hint of trying to capture the attention of the rec lining woman but to no avail.Compare/ContrastDegas and Manet were working at the same time, and although Degas worked with other mediums and supports, such as pastel on paper, the two artists focused upon the common people of Paris, mainly women.   Degas has been more noted for his work with dance classes, Manet for his focus with women, such as the subject in Olympia, and the barmaid in A Bar at Folies-Bergeres, 1881-82[5].   Natural, relaxed expressions are to be found on the faces of the women who were the subjects of these two Parisian artists, bodies not posed for endless, exhausting hours appear to be more relaxed, giving a sense of â€Å"in the moment† with the work displayed, from beginning to completion.Similarity is found in the ability to allow subjects to â€Å"just be,† as opposed to awkward posing and unrealistic facial expressions. Difference can be found in the quality of the completed work, focusing on the mediums implemented by each artist.   Ma net’s use of oil on canvas provides a polished, almost photograph-like appearance, almost as if numerous sessions were undertaken to capture the quality of the resulting work.   Degas’ use of oil and tempera on canvas, sometimes an implementation of pastels and paper, gives a more â€Å"on the spot,† beginning on sight and then moving away to completion upon return to the studio quality to his finished work.SummaryManet and Degas, Parisian artists of the 19th century, men who were noted as Impressionists as well as Realists of their time, captured the images of the people of France, Paris and low class citizens in particular, and brought them to life on canvas for the world to eventually come to view; their works are displayed across the globe, from such places as Shelburne, Vermont to London to Paris.   Manifesting real life images, in a more natural state of being, was the center of the work Manet and Degas focused on in the duration of their art careers, influencing fellow and future artists to explore capturing the moment, and bringing the moment to life on the canvas.Works Citedwww.artchive.comHughes, Robert.   Nothing if not Critical: Selected Essays on art and Artists.*DegasMacDonald, Lisa.   1999.*Manetwww.artcyclopedia.com*Characteristics of Realismwww.google.com*Characteristics of Realismhttp://www.horton.ednet.ns.ca/staff/syme/arthistory/tsldo39.htm*Definition of Realismhttp://www.progressiveart.com/art_terms.htmwww.metmuseum.orgSchenkel, Ruth.   Edgar Degas: 1834-1917 Painting and Drawing.   In Timeline ofArt History.   New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dgsp/hd_dgsp.htm[1] Notes from Huges, Robert.   Nothing if not Critical: Selected Essays on art and Artists.   www.artchive.com [2] Notes from Schenkel, Ruth.   Edgar Degas: 1834-1917 Painting and Drawing.   In Timeline of Art History.   New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.   http://www.metmuseum. org/toah/hd/dgsp/hd_dgsp.htm [3] Image can be found at www.artchive.com [4] Image can be found at www.artchive.com [5] Image can be found at www.artchive.com

Mgoa Physician Analysis

The primary objectives of the proposed MGOA pay for performance was to return MGOA back to financial stability by motivating the doctors to increase their clinical productivity, ensuring repeated performance, allocating all departmental cost to the doctors and eliminating the salary protection presently provided for low performance. The compensation plan attempted to reward the doctors for number of surgeries they could perform (clinical productivity) in any given period. The new MGOA pay for performance was tied to clinical activities and this, in a way, underestimated the relevance and contribution of teaching and medical research.While Rubash's argument that â€Å"financial security will allow MGOA to achieve its mission† was true, he failed to realize the negative effect of possible misalignment of his proposed pay strategy with the organization mission on the motivation of the physicians. Without a strong medical research activities, MGOA would lose its medical research r eputation and this would had a long term effect on the output and number of patients, which could in turn led to decline in revenue. Expectancy Theory:Rubash goal was to drive productivity in order to increase MGOA revenue, and he figured out he could achieved this by motivating the doctors to increase their clinical productivity and making each one of them take full responsibility for his cost. However, the Expectancy theory reveals that employee motivation is an outcome of how much an individual wants a reward (valence), the assessment that the likelihood that the effort will lead to expected performance (expectancy) and the belief that the performance will lead to reward (instrumentality).This theory concentrates on the following relationship as it applies to MGOA pay for performance strengths and weaknesses: Effort-performance relationship (Expectancy): This relationship examines the likelihood that the MGOA doctors' effort be recognized in their performance appraisal. Rubash pa y plan focused on the clinical productivity, therefore, the doctors who spent most of their hours on clinical activities had high expectancy that their effort would be recognized.However, the MGOA doctors that focused their interests on Medical Research and Education were worried, and did not believe that they proposed pay plan would work in their favor; they had low expectancy. The reaction of the MGOA researchers reflected the misalignment of the pay strategy with the organizational mission. Performance-reward relationship (Instrumentality): This factor examines the extent which the employees believe that getting a goal performance appraisal leads to organizational rewards.Rubash specifically laid down what he expected from the doctors and he set the clinical goals they had to achieve in order to qualify for reward. However, despite the â€Å"operational frank meetings† with the MGOA physicians, they still didn't believe in the instrumentality of the new pay strategy. The e vidence of this weakness was reflected by the complaints of the physicians that the proposed bonus plan would simply be a tax on the productive doctors. They believed the bonus system was a punishment for being over-productive.In addition, the lack of bonus guarantee was a great concern for the doctors. Lastly, MGOA physicians believed the existing collection system would had a negative impact on the measurement of their productivity under the proposed pay plan. Reward-personal goal relationship (Valence): The last relationship is â€Å"all about the attractiveness or appeal of the potential reward to the individual†. This is a question of â€Å"how much† the MGOA physicians wanted or valued the proposed pay plan. The statement made Dr. David Ring summed it up all in one sentence. Advancing the care of patients and the science of medicine takes a motivation beyond money†. Moreover, the uncertainty about the future of Medical Research and Teaching at MGOA discount ed the attractiveness of the proposed plan, and it was a no-surprise that Dr. Jupiter said â€Å"An academic faculty practice should provide an environment that supports its faculty in pursuing interests in research and teaching†. Therefore, while the MGOA clinical oriented physicians did not seem to have any doubt about the attractiveness of the proposed pay plan, the MGOA researchers did not see any attractiveness in the plan.Moreover, medical research was a major factor in advancing physicians careers, and for this reason, the only pay strategy that would gain their acceptance was the one that gave priority to research. Conclusion: Medical research was important to the mission of MGOA, it contributed to the reputation and image of the department as a leader in orthopedics. Putting clinical ahead of medical research did not align with the mission of MGOA. Medical research should be given the same attention given to Clinical activities, and understandable metrics should be d esigned to measure medical research activities, and be rewarded accordingly.Recommendations: A SMART rule should be used to set goals for the physicians. Rubash should involve them in goal-setting to gain their commitment and acceptance, monitor and provide support and regular feedback to the physicians; A measurable reward system that effectively measure both research and clinical activities should be designed and this system must be reviewed periodically. Lastly, MGOA leaders should expand the research fund pool in order to ease the cost burden of research activities on the department; and the department should overhaul its collection process.