Nursing Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nursing Ethics - Essay Example Initially, I felt my skills of dealing with all levels of people, right attitude, patience, showing empathy, being a good listener directed me to help others, which further strengthened me mentally. Every new case I dealt with, I observed that the patient had to recover from a serious injury, illness or a surgery that had moved the client emotionally. So, I had to create an emotional or a psychological environment to facilitate the adjustment for the client to cope with the changes. It is a real challenge to get the customer cope with, adapt and adjust to the new environment. Also, I had to establish trusted and supportive relations with the customers and his/her family to enable them to deal with the situation. My moving to the nursing profession was neither a consequence of this previous experience nor a chance, but only triggered by my utmost urge to serve others and give them the care they deserved. Post my high school, I pursued Bachelor’s degree in nursing and acquired j ob as a nurse in the hospital associated with the college from where I graduated. When I started working as a nurse, I never realized that I had entered a new profession or doing something new, may be, because of my previous experience as human service worker. I did not feel there is much difference between a human service worker and a nurse from a psychological/mental perspective. However, nursing profession requires advanced education and knowledge; most importantly, governed by strong ethical principles. In my earlier days of working with social service organization, I always believed that human beings have to care for fellow human beings who are underprivileged in some way or the other. Although I knew that not all people believe in this, I still expected that people should consciously follow this as a principle of life. However, today I have a better concept of caring for people which makes me

Mother and Daughter, a Heavenly Relationship Failed Essay Example for Free

Mother and Daughter, a Heavenly Relationship Failed Essay Daughter and mother relationship is an endless topic for many writers. They are meant to share the bond of love and care for each other. In the real world, however, their relationship is not as successful as it ought to be. The stories How to Talk to Your Mother and I Stand Here Ironing are the examples of this conflict. Lorrie Moore is distinguished for the clever wordplay, irony and sardonic humor of her fiction. How to Talk to Your mother is a short story in her collection Self-Help. It is about a failed relationship of a daughter and her mother over time. Similarly, Tillie Olsens I Stand Here Ironing portrays powerfully the economic and domestic burdens a poor woman faced, as well as the responsibility and powerlessness she feels over her childs life. Both stories have the same theme, but each has different technique, and the conflicts from the characters are opposite. Poor communication over time is the theme both stories share. In How to Talk to Your Mother, Ginny, the author, faded the relationship with her mother as time goes and things changed from 1939 to 1982. In 1952, Ginny started to break away by slamming the door and say Dont I know it (Moore 105) when her mother asks about her crush in junior high. Then, she becomes a young adult with a new life and would not come home for holidays. However, it is not until her mother called her by her sisters name that makes she feels uncomfortable. Learn that you have a way of knowing each other which somehow slips out and beyond the ways you have of not knowing each other at all (Moore 103). The simply How to title belies the complexities of broken communication between mother and daughter. Ginny attempts to communicate with her mother throughout decades, but it never works. In I Stand Here Ironing, the mother faced the same problem with poor communication. Readers feel deeply sorry for the mother as she is economically alone, lonely, overworked and tired. The mother is always busy and preoccupied with other children. I was working, there were four smaller ones now, there was not time for her (Olsen 191). She has little or no time to talk to Emily, the daughter. The only time they met each other is at night, when Emily is struggle over books and the mother be ironing, or do other house chores. In both stories, the mothers and daughters have really  poor communication. Each character has her own life and stared to ignore their love ones. Ginny lives her wild life with romance. On the other hand, the mother in I Stand Here Ironing is so busy with her low-class life. As a result, their relationship failed as time rolls. Although both stories share similarity, each story was written with different styles, point-of-views, and languages. Lorrie Moore presents How to Talk to Your Mother in reverse chronological order, from latest to earliest. This technique supports her main idea by illustrating the broken communication pattern existing since the narrators childhood. With this style, readers find it amusing as they can read forward or backward. Moreover, this kind of writing is very rare in literature. Tillie Olsens I Stand Here Ironing was written in a traditional flashback. It started with the mother blaming herself for Emilys outturn. Then, she remembered all the life events that result in bad decisions she made for Emily. Both stories also have different point-of-view. How to Talk to Your Mother is told in second-person, using you, instead of I. The second-person narration distances the narrator from the pain inflicted by her mother, father, and lovers. This is Moores clever choice. Readers can relate and sympathize with Ginny. On the other hand, I Stand Here Ironing is told in first-person. The mother is telling readers about her faults and her attempts to help Emily through difficult years. Readers can see the hardship the mother faced and understand her situation. Nevertheless, Moore writes the story like one would write in her diary, very informal. The full title is How to Talk to Your Mother (Notes), and the language is not very aesthetic. On the contrast, Olsen writes her story in formal, literature language. In response to her story, Helen Pike Bauer writes: Olsens story is a dialogue between circumstances and desire, constraint and love, absence and presence, silence and speech, power and helplessness. The conflicts of each character are opposite. The primary conflict in How to Talk to Your Mother is between Ginny and herself. She feels like she has her own life and her mother becomes annoying. In 1971, she wrote: Go for long walks to get away from her. Walk through wooded area; there is a life you have forgotten (Moore 103). Throughout the story, readers can see the  broken relationship is resulted from the external events of her life. She has three abortions and involving many relationships with men that she dont even like. Sometimes you confuse her with the first man you ever love, who ever loved you (Moore 102). Ginny almost blamed herself for their relationship. Her mom is always there, in her house since 1967. A year before death, her mother tells her: Is that any way to talk to your mother (Moore 101)? While Ginny experienced the external conflict of her life, the mother in I Stand Here Ironing faced an internal conflict involving Emily. She makes a very meaningful statement at the end of story: help Emily to know that she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron (Olsen 193). The mother constantly referred to the bad decisions she had made for Emily during her childhood. She sent Emily to live with her relatives as a toddler and came back with all baby loveliness gone (Olsen 188). Then, she sent her off again to a convalescent home. These decisions caused the mother to constantly nag at her internal self. Emily turned to a comedic teen is the result of the mothers ignorant and poor relationship, which makes the mother blaming herself. She feels like the conflict is caused by her and Emily deserved a better life. Thackeray says, God cannot be everywhere and therefore he made mother. Parents are the caretaker of their children. From their experiences, they know what is best and they would never mean ill for them. How to Talk to Your Mother and I Stand Here Ironing are short stories that remind readers to cherish their relationships with parents. Both stories have the same theme of communication, but each has different technique, and the conflicts from the characters are opposite. Their situations are very difficult: poverty, low-class, and early motherhood. Lorrie Moore writes How to Talk to Your Mother to mock the popular How-to style. She marks off each stage of the plot by repeated works and ideas of heart, babies, containers, and unsuccessful talks between mother and daughter. Tillie Olsen writes I Stand Here Ironing with many symbolisms. For example, the iron is the torment, outside pressures. The dress is her problem, or Emily. The mother is ironing out the problem from inside her heart. Both stories carry the same message of mother and daughter relationship that most people faced the same path. In the society right now, there are many children experienced  child abuses. As for many parents, they could not get their kids to listen to them. The heavenly relationship failed as lives go on.

Assess The Company Pixar Media Essay

Assess The Company Pixar Media Essay This report is going to assess the company Pixar from an innovation perspective. This report will focus on the good and bad points of the company to give an insight into its attitude towards innovation. A number of different methods were used to gather the information in this report, such as websites, interviews, articles and books. Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) purchased the computer graphics section of Lucasfilm Ltd in 1986 and called this new company Pixar. Pixar started as a very small company with only 44 employees. Pixar started making short animations films which were at the forefront of CGI technology. Pixar also created a number of adverts for companies such as Listerine in their early years. The first feature length movie Pixar created was Toy Story and it was the first fully computer generated animated film ever, Toy Story grossed $362 million worldwide. Pixar did not just create animations, they also developed a lot of the technology which allowed them to create their films. Work teams and some individuals won numerous awards from organisations like The Scientific and Engineering Academy Awards in fields such as Digital scanning and Direct input devices. One huge advantage Pixar has over other animation companies is their unique understanding of innovation in company structure and employee relations, this report will aim to discuss this in further detail. Section 2 Employee relations Pixar is a very organic company which disagrees with the structure of mechanistic organisations. A mechanistic organisation has a very hierarchical structure and the companies future is dictated by those in senior roles. Section 2.1 Brad Bird Steve Jobs hired Brad Bird into the company after its first three successful films, Jobs was worried that they had ran out of creativity and he did not want the company to go stale. Brad Bird understood that there was room for improvement in the companies creative process. Bird understood that every employees input is valid and has its use. He knew that communication is vital in the innovation process so everyone can help each other to create the best work possible. The main problem with this is that It is difficult to get employees to speak their minds as they are often afraid of criticism from their peers, and they have good reason to fear this as they are working with some of the best animators in the world. Birds solution to this problem was to get the employees in groups to look at the work each member had done that day. Bird wanted to encourage people to speak their minds, he talked about the strong and weak points of each persons work and praised people for challenging his cri ticisms. At first this did not work very well, before Bird was introduced to the company the animators were afraid to criticise any work as previous managers did not take kindly to criticism, however constructive it was. It took nearly two months for any of the employees to actively participate in these group discussions, however one employee finally did and the rest of the employees saw that Bird praised this employee for doing so as he knew it was the best way to get everyone comfortable with this process. Section 2.2 Open Philosophy Pixar has a very open philosophy towards its business. Pixar encourage employees across its company to interact with each other. They want employees of all levels to talk about their ideas and problems so the company can benefit through this interaction. Even the lowest level employees have the option to speak to the highest level employees as Pixar has an open door policy in its offices. This idea originated from the quotation below. Interaction = innovation Steve Jobs Pixar also has a open approach when it comes to their technology and advancements. Pixar encourages employees to publish their work in academic journals as they dont believe in hiding success. At first this may seem like a bad idea from a business perspective as they will be helping rival companies to better their productions. When you look at it more closely it starts to make a lot of sense. Pixar does this because it attracts talent to the company, talented individuals become aware of the new advances being made at Pixar and are often very keen to be hired by them so they can be at the forefront of this technology. Pixar is very interested in bringing new employees into the company as they challenge the status quo and often lead to new and exciting ideas. Section 2.3 Pixar University Pixar wants its employees to branch out and learn new things. Pixar University was created to allow its employees to do so. Every single employee is given up to four hours a week to take courses. Some of these courses are on related subjects such as animation and some are completely unrelated such as yoga. These courses bring employees from different corners of the company together and it helps them all learn new skills or it can simply help them relax. This scheme seems to have paid off as some employees have realised they have a certain talent in a new field and they switch to a different department where their skills are put to better use. Employees are allowed to reject work and meetings if they coincide with these courses, this shows how strongly Pixar feels about learning in their company. Section 2.4 Perfection holds back innovation Brad Bird brought a number of new things to Pixar and one of them has changed the company dramatically in the way it produces its films. Bird believes that perfection is something that holds back innovation. This is something that shocked employees when he joined the company, the below quotation shows exactly what he means. Look, I dont have to do the water through a computer simulation programà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Im perfectly content to film a splash in a swimming pool and just composite the water in. Brad Bird (2008) This was a new innovative approach to how the animators worked. Before this, animators had always painstakingly created every part of an animation and never used shortcuts to create the same effect. Bird understood that some pieces of work needed to be perfect but for some pieces it was unnecessary as the same result could be achieved by different means. It was this kind of innovative thinking that helps the company produce at a faster and cheaper rate. Section 2.5 Concluding employee relations This section of the report has talked about how Pixar treats its employees and how it stimulates them to become better at their work. Its difficult to criticise Pixar from this perspective as they have an extremely good understanding of what employees want and how to develop their creative skills. It is evident that their approach to employee relations is working as they continue to create new and exciting films which could only be produced by employees who enjoy their work. Section 3 Environmental innovations Pixar has an unorthodox approach to the environment that their employees work in. The offices in which Pixar employees work are specifically designed to maximise creativity and interaction. Section 3.1 Cubicles The animators are allowed to completely customise their working cubicles. In a business as creative as Pixar you cant sit the employees in blank cubicles. (http://www.home-designing.com) Most of the employees like to give their cubicles a homely feel by bringing personal items and making the atmosphere as friendly as possible. This sort of environment is best for a creative business like Pixar. Section 3.2 Pixar HQ The building in which Pixar is based also has a slightly different design to conventional working spaces. Steve Jobs who as we mentioned earlier believes that interaction = innovation designed the office with this in mind. The main building has a large atrium situated in the centre of the office which people at first thought was unnecessary, but Jobs designed this atrium to contain the cafeteria, mailboxes and toilets. At first this seemed like a strange idea as everybody had to move from their individual areas to go to the bathroom or to collect mail. The reason for this was that people are essentially forced to see each other on a daily basis which leads to interaction which in turn leads to innovation. Section 3.3 Social environment The environment Pixar creates isnt just physical. There is also an important role in the social environment of the company. During an interview Brad Bird was asked Weve been talking a lot about how you promote innovation. What undermines it? (The Quarterly 2008) His response was the following Passive-aggressive people-people who dont show their colours in the group but then get behind the scenes and peck away-are poisonous. I can usually spot those people fairly soon and I weed them out. (Brad Bird 2008) Brad Bird made it his goal to get rid off people who hindered the innovation process as to him they were a cancer eating away at the creativity of the company. Section 3.4 Concluding environmental innovations The way Pixar designed its working space does seem very suited to the type of business that they are, a creative industry should have a creative environment. The idea of situating all the things people need on a daily basis in the atrium is essentially a good one, however it may not be to every employees liking as it may grow tiresome for people who have to take a long trip to just go to the bathroom. The social environment created by Pixar is very good as it is designed to embrace creative and happy people and it is also designed to eliminate people who bring innovative processes down. Section 4 Films Section 4.1 Films and reviews To date Pixar has produced 11 feature films which are listed below as well as ratings received by the popular movie critic website rottentomatoes.com. Toy story (1995) Rating 100% A Bugs Life (1998) Rating 91% Toy Story 2 (1999) Rating 100% Monsters, Inc (2001) Rating 95% Finding Nemo (2003) Rating 98% The Incredibles (2004) Rating 97% Cars (2006) Rating 74% Ratatouille (2007) Rating 96% WALL-E (2008) Rating 96% Up (2009) Rating 98% Toy Story 3 (2010) Rating 99% The above ratings show that Pixar have a tremendously good track record when it comes to producing films. You can also see that the latest films were produced much quicker. Since 2006 Pixar have been producing a film every year, this could be down to some of the innovative ideas from Brad Bird which were discussed earlier. Section 4.2 Cars In the rating system one film stands out from the crowd, and that films is Cars. (http://reponses.qctop.com) Every film Pixar has done has been rated over 90% except for Cars which received a much lower rating of 74%. There must be a reason for this dramatic drop in rating, and that reason is that Cars displayed a lack of innovation, the visual elements of the film were very good however the story lacked the Pixar magic a lot of critics refer too. The story was unoriginal and it was clear that something was missing when they were working on this film. While this film was being produced Pixar could have used an innovation method such as SWOT analysis to assess their strong and weak points. Below is an example of what they could have done to assess Cars. Strengths Good Animators Effective Marketing Strong Brand Productive work environment Weaknesses Bad basis for a film, Car racing is hard for a lot of people to relate too Unimaginative storyline compared to previous films Opportunities Further strengthen market position Huge profit potential Merchandise Threats Rival companies Growing dislike for cars as an environmental hazard. Above is a basic example of how SWOT analysis could have been used to ensure that Cars was received as well as all the other films they have produced. It would have been difficicult for this to have been performed by Pixar themselves as it is often hard to criticise your own work especially if it took 2 years to produce so an external person could have done the evaluation. Section 4.3 Attitudes towards money Some methods of analysis would not have worked in a company like Pixar such as The Boston Matrix which focuses on market growth and revenue. One of the key values that Pixar holds is that making profit can not be your focus in producing a good film. I dont make movies to make money-I make money to make movies. (Walt Disney) Above is Walt Disneys philosophy on making movies, Pixar as a creative organisation tries to adhere to this as they believe it will lead to greater success in the long term. Pixar has clearly learnt what they did wrong in Cars as the four movies they have produced since have all received above 96% which is an extremely high score. It is unclear what Pixar did, but it has worked. They may have used a method like SWOT analysis or maybe they hired new employees with a fresh perspective. Section 5 Conclusion Overall Pixar are a very good company to assess from an innovation perspective. Rival companies such as Dreamworks create similar films but often these films are overshadowed by the work of Pixar and this is down to the way that Pixar as a company works. Few companies are as organic as Pixar in their organisational structure and a lot of larger companies tend to have a mechanistic approach towards film making. You only have to look at the success that Pixar has had to realise how difficult it is to be critical of Pixar as a company. They are the worlds leading animation company who only have one film which let them down, and even that film was still extremely popular. Pixar are an extremely innovative company which is shown through their work and the dedication that the employees have towards their films. Pixar have had an incredibly good track record with their films and we can only wait to discover the new ways they will continue to spur creativity in their organisation. Section 6 References Pixars company history http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/history/1986.html Interview with Brad Bird http://gigaom.com/2008/04/17/pixars-brad-bird-on-fostering-innovation/ Details of Pixar films and ratings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pixar_films Images references Title page http://userlogos.org/files/logos/AlexT/PixarLogoLight.png Work cubicles http://www.home-designing.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pixar-494539.jpg Cars http://reponses.qctop.com/upload/FlashMcqueen-21976.jpg Section 7 Bibliography Books Capodagli, B. Jackson, L. (2009) Innovate The Pixar Way McGraw Hill Interviews Interview with Ed Catmull http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbreditors/2009/02/creating_a_safe_haven_for_crea.html Websites http://corporatelearning.hbsp.org/corporate/assets/content/Pixararticle.pdf https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Innovation_lessons_from_Pixar_An_interview_with_Oscar-winning_director_Brad_Bird_2127# Pixars Brad Bird on Fostering Innovation http://benfry.com/writing/archives/179 http://consultaglobal.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/pixars-innovation-recipe/ http://www.irishideas.org/GreatJournal7.pdf http://www.getdriven.com/2008/01/pixar-university/

The Changes in Mickey and Edwards Relationship :: Blood Brothers Willy Russell Essays

The Changes in Mickey and Edward's Relationship There! In a flash the whole course of your life has been decided, will you succeed or will you fail? It is not for you to decide, you have had your freedom taken away from you and you will never realise until the last moments of your frustrated, or enjoyable life and by then it will be too late. This is Blood Brothers in a nutshell; a musical which tears through the walls of social ethics exposing the obvious truth, injustice and social inequalities roam our Country and the devices which Russell uses brings this to the audience in a mixture of speech, song and show. In this piece of drama coursework focusing on Blood Brothers there will be several different aspects of the play which will be focused on. The characters, particularly the main two, will be the fundamental building blocks of answering the question because once we know everything about Mickey and Edward we can then go on to look at their relationship changes. Another important issue to look at is the dramatic devices used by the director and how this will link to the structure of the play. Also it would be useful to look at the language used as this can give a good insight into the author and on this note, reach into the ideas and themes of the play so we will have a good view of Willy Russell's intentions. Finally looking at the setting to see more of Russell's intentions and the cultural context; trying to see what kind of audience Russell had in mind. Looking at Russell's intentions I have come up with three main view points: He just wrote this play as you see it at face value; it could be an ironic storyline that they are blood brothers but also real brothers, the fact that it's a musical is purely for show and entertainment. The evidence for this point of view is one of Russell's interviews about Educating Rita, where Rita cuts off Frank's hair; it's supposed to be alluding to the cutting of Sampson's hair by Delilah. In fact the real reason was it was supposed to be a comic gag. So then how do we know that Russell wrote the play for the general audience and not for the commentators and critics, maybe he wrote the play to be enjoyed; rather than for people to debate the social meanings but just watch a musical? An alternative view point would suggest that Russell saw this as way to show how difficult it is to be successful or just to lead a good

Association football and substitute goalkeeper Essay

The goalkeeper is the most specialised position in football. A goalkeeper’s job is mainly defensive: to guard the team’s goal from being breached (to not let the other team score). Goalkeeper is the only position defined in the Laws of the Game. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands and arms, however they are restricted to doing so only within their penalty area; for this reason, they must wear jerseys that distinguish them from other outfield players and the referee. If a goalkeeper is sent off or injured, and there is no substitute goalkeeper available, an outfield player must take the goalkeeper’s place and put on the appropriate identifying uniform.[3]. The discipline of goalkeeping is so specialised that it is very rare in the professional game for a goalkeeper to play in any other position. One notable exception is Jorge Campos of Mexico, who played effectively as a striker when called upon.[4]. A goalkeeper with good technical skill may opt to take his team’s penalties and free kicks though this is rare as the goalkeeper would be caught out of position if possession is conceded immediately after the kick. Josà © Luis Chilavert, formerly of Và ©lez Sà ¡rsfield and Paraguay, and Rogà ©rio Ceni of Sà £o Paulo and Brazil are well-known free-kick and penalty specialists with over 100 goals to their names. Hans-Jà ¶rg Butt is the goalkeeper to have scored in the most different competitions, having scored in all of Germany’s top four divisions, the German cup and the UEFA Champions League. [5][6][7] Physical strength, height, jumping ability and judgement are valued qualities for goalkeepers to have in order to deal with aerial balls and agility, quick reactions and a good positional sense are all needed for shot stopping.[8][9] The standard football skills of ball control, tackling, passing and dribbling are not usually required in a goalkeeper, although the introduction of the back-pass rule in the early 1990s has necessitated improvement on such skills.[10].

European motivation Essays

European motivation Essays European motivation Essay European motivation Essay There Is also a free online version of the book at: http:// . NM. Halfpennyworth. Mom/zlnnapeopleshlstory. HTML. Students are encouraged to obtain their own copy since other chapters will be assigned throughout the course of the year. PART II: Answer the questions at the end of this handout to the first three chapters of Howard Zinc. The answers should be informative, detailed, and completed by the first day. PART Ill: Anyone reading history should understand from the start that there is no such thing as impartial history Howard Zinc, Declarations of Independence Write a one page paper describing whether or to you agree with the above statement. Make sure you use evidence to support your argument. You can give examples from your summer readings and/or any previous knowledge of history you may have. Upon completion of Howard Zions A Peoples History of the United States consider be administered in the first week of school). A. How did the interactions between Europeans and indigenous peoples, African slaves, and indentured servants shape colonial society in North America prior to 1750? How does Howard Zions A Peoples History paint a different portrait than what is normally taught? Explain. B. Analyze the extent to which religious freedom existed in the North American colonies prior to 1700. C. Although Northerners and Southerners later came to think of themselves as having separate civilizations, the Northern and Southern colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries were in fact more similar than different. Assess this statement. D. Evaluate the extent to which trans-Atlantic interactions from 1600-1763 contributed to maintaining continuity as well as fostering change in labor systems in the British North American colonies. When reading the chapters following the concept from below- CODES- this will enable you to actively read and grasp a stronger concept regarding the text. C Count and Number a Sequence or Chronology Many times in history textbooks, you will find concepts or ideas in a sequence or chronological order. A way to remember this is to simply write numbers where there is a sequence of events. When you go back to review the material, you can simply look and find the numbers you have written to review the chorological order. After you eve the chronological time-frame down, you can concentrate on the key details and other concepts. 0= Circle Important Vocabulary, Names Places Also in history textbooks, there are many vocabulary terms, names of people to know and places to remember. An easy way to annotate this concept is to circle these items. Clearly, one should look up vocabulary terms, research the person was and how they were significant and the significance of the places as well, but in an initial annotation of the textbook, this is a good way to identify these items first. D= Decide and Underline Key Details Many students develop techniques of underlining key details to identify the information they need to remember. This can be a very helpful technique, but one should limit the amount of underlining that is done. Too much underlining is worse than none, since it defeats the purpose, which is to clearly mark those items in a book or secondary reading that you think are important to remember. E= Emphasize the Most Important Ideas Identifying the most important ideas and points are also what history is about. In reading, you need to know what the big picture ideas and concepts are as well as, he main ideas within the chapter. Once you have identified the most important ideas, you can then back up this with key details. S= Summarize In Your Own Words truly shows your understanding. When you summarize articles or portions of chapter in your textbook, you are synthesizing information, and demonstrating your understanding of the material. This can be done on an open space or area in the article, or if you are summarizing the text, you can summarize in a section of your notebook. Wherever you have your summaries, this is the last step in the annotated process.

How to Express Exclamations in French

How to Express Exclamations in French Exclamations are words or phrases that express a desire, an order, or a strong emotion. There are various French grammatical structures that can be used as true exclamations. All of them end in an exclamation point, and there is always a space between the last word and the exclamation mark, as there is for several other French punctuation marks. The exclamation mark is a grammatical end mark that occurs often in French, whether the sentence or phrase is a true exclamation or not. It is, thus, in many instances a softer mark than in English. Exclamation points are often added even if speakers are just a little agitated or are raising their voice even slightly; the mark doesnt have to mean that they are truly exclaiming or declaring something.   By the way, Merriam-Webster defines an exclamation as: a sharp or sudden utterancea vehement expression of protest or complaint And Larousse defines the French equivalent verb  sexclamer,  as to cry out; for example, sexclamer sur la beautà © de quelque chose  (to cry out in admiration over the beauty of something).   Here are some French grammatical structures that can be used to express exclamations where urgency or a heightened emotional state is implicit. French Imperative The imperative expresses an order, hope, or wish, as in: Viens avec nous.   Come with us. The imperative can also express urgency or an extreme emotional state, as in: Aidez-moi !  Ã‚  Help me! Que + Subjunctive Que followed by the subjunctive creates a third person command or wish: Quelle finisse avant midi  !   I hope shes done by noon!Quil me laisse tranquille  !   I wish hed just leave me alone! Exclamative Adjective The exclamative adjective quel is used to emphasize nouns, as in: Quelle bonne idà ©e  !   What a good idea!Quel dà ©sastre  !   What a disaster!Quelle loyautà © il a montrà ©e  !   What loyalty he showed! Exclamative Adverbs Exclamative adverbs like que or comme add emphasis to statements, as in: Que cest dà ©licieux  !   Its so delicious!Comme il est beau  !   He is so handsome!Quest-ce quelle est mignonne!   She sure is cute! The Conjunction Mais The conjunction mais  (but) can be used to emphasize a word, phrase, or statement, like this: Tu viens avec nous  ?   Are you coming with us?Mais oui  !   Why yes!Il veut nous aider.   He wants to help us.Mais bien sà »r  !   But of course!Mais je te jure que cest vrai  !   But I swear its true! Interjections Just about any French word can be an exclamation if it stands alone as an interjection, such as : Voleur  !   Thief!Silence  !   Quiet! Quoi and comment, when  used as interjections,  express shock and disbelief, as in: Quoi  ! Tu as laissà © tomber cent euros  ?   What! You dropped a hundred euros?Comment  ! Il a perdu son emploi  ?   What! He lost his job? Indirect Exclamations All of the above are called direct exclamations  because the speaker is exclaiming his or her feelings of shock, disbelief, or amazement. Indirect exclamations, in which the speaker is explaining rather than exclaiming, differ from direct exclamations in three ways: They occur in sub-clauses, do not have an exclamation point, and require the same grammatical changes as indirect speech: Quelle loyautà © il a montrà ©e  ! Je sais quelle loyautà © il a montrà ©e.What loyalty he showed! I know what loyalty he showed.Comme cest dà ©licieux  ! Jai dit comme cà ©tait dà ©licieux.Its delicious! I said it was delicious. In addition, the exclamative adverbs que, ce que, and quest-ce que in direct exclamations always change to comme or combien in indirect exclamations: Quest-ce cest joli  ! Il a dit comme cà ©tait joli.Its so pretty! He said how pretty it was.Que dargent tu as gaspillà ©Ã‚  ! Je sais combien dargent tu as gaspillà ©.Youve wasted so much money! I know how much money youve wasted.

Assessing What Students Learn

Assessing What Students Learn Free Online Research Papers ASSESING WHAT STUDENTS LEARN AND HOW IT CAN BE MEASURED IN AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNE COURSE CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND Assessing student learning outcomes in the advertising campaigns course: What do students learn and how can we measure it? The call for assessment is not new, nor is it a passing academic fad (Boyer, 1990; Maki, 2004, Rowntree, 1987). Accrediting bodies demand to know what our students are learning, while institutions of higher learning face growing political pressure to account for student learning. Evidence of this pressure comes in the form of the Spellings Report, an attempt to provide a comprehensive national strategy for postsecondary education in the United States (Chronicle Review, 2006). What do we think students in advertising programs should learn in our classes? How should we measure what they learn? How can we translate what we discover to improve student-learning opportunities? These are questions that accrediting bodies for journalism and mass communications, Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) and business, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) ask programs to answer in the accreditation process. Those questions are also asked at institutional levels by regional accrediting bodies and by national associations such as American Association for Higher Education and American Association for Colleges and Universities. In 2004 ACEJMC began requiring programs that ask to be accredited to provide not only a plan for assessment, but evidence demonstrating that results are used to improve curriculum and learning (ACEJMC Web site). Likewise, AACSB requires that â€Å"the school uses well documented systematic processes to develop, monitor, evaluate and revise the substance and delivery of the curricula of degree programs and to assess the impact of the curricula on learning† (AACSB International Eligibility Procedures and Accreditation Standards for Business Accreditation, 2006, p. 15). Maki (2002) and Hersh (2005) make strong arguments that the commitment to assessment should come from within the institution, not from politicians, businessmen or consultants outside the academy. They contend that by taking ownership for accountability through assessment, faculty may be able to avoid the one-size-fits-all No Child Left Behind-style testing regime. More importantly, they add, academicians need to work toward good assessment practices not because they are being forced to do so by institutions and accrediting bodies as an act of accountability, but because it reflects a commitment to learning about learning (personal correspondence Maki, 2006). Assessing student-learning shifts the focus from what instructors teach to what students learn. While this concept has been the topic of conversation in the academy for a while, exactly how to do this and how to measure what students learn haven’t been fully explored with respect to advertising. Jeremy Cohen, former editor of Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, issued a challenge to the academy: â€Å"If assessment is to play a meaningful role . . . it is time to create depth and breadth of understanding of assessment theory and implementation through increased availability of professional quality development† (Cohen, 2004, p. 6). Assessment is particularly challenging for advertising programs because they encompass different disciplines – communication studies, journalism and business – that have different sets of assessment/accreditation criteria. An appropriate place to start with assessment in journalism and mass communications is the capstone course, such as the advertising campaigns class (Rosenberry Vicker, 2006). However, literature regarding assessment of student learning in said courses is sparse. In fact, most studies that have dealt with issues in the advertising campaigns course focused on what skills the industry values (Ganahl, 2003; Benigni Cameron, 1999), students’ attitudes toward grades (Umphrey Fullerton, 2004), and the importance of teamwork (Ahles Bosworth, 2004). However, no studies that we were aware of measure direct and indirect indicators of learning as well as other outcomes of the campaigns course that may benefit students as they develop into advertising professionals. This study will investigate learning outcomes identified by professors and look at student comments about those course objectives. The findings of this study can help advertising educators develop assessment tools for stude nt learning related to competence in understanding and applying the skills and tools of the profession that are beyond the grades students receive. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this paper is to investigate how educators might define measurable outcomes for advertising campaigns courses to help faculty develop a sustainable plan to evaluate student learning. This paper argues that the appropriate place to start assessing learning for advertising students is the capstone advertising course. It offers a model for teaching and learning that employs several components of an assessment framework offered by Shulman (2007). CHAPTER TWO Literature Review Grading and Assessment Some faculty might argue that they are already â€Å"doing† assessment because they are grading student work. To some extent this is true. However, faculty needs to be careful to make some important distinctions (Cohen, 2004). Grading student work such as papers and exams produces summative evaluations, which means that the work that is generated is measured against specific outcomes designed for the course rather than evaluating information about the learning process. Secondly, according to Cohen, students, not instructors, are accountable for their learning. The power of assessment lies in the feedback that instructors receive to improve learning opportunities. Rather than a summative emphasis, he contends, the focus should be on formative work because grades are not considered to be a valid indicator of the process of learning that occurs in a course. How, then, can faculty systematically evaluate and improve student learning? Do faculty grade what students actually learn or only the assignments they submit? This question is especially perplexing, given the complex, collaborative enterprise that is part of the campaigns course, and will be explored in more depth later in this paper. Professors are often not entirely comfortable with grading (Barnes, 1985), but many use it as their main evaluation tool. Pollio and Beck (2000) found that â€Å"students wished professors were less grade-oriented, while professors wished students were more learning-oriented† (p. 45) In fact, students often â€Å"confuse grades with learning and do not view grades as a snapshot† (Giese, 2005, p. 255). Grades can be important in the advertising/public relations job search after graduation, although employers often look at other factors when making hiring decisions, including experience, level of confidence, and the quality of the applicant ’s portfolio. While professors appear to believe that grades in advertising and public relations courses generally reflect the quality of a student’s course work, they also think that grades are not necessarily an adequate predictor of a student’s potential as employee (Ganahl, 2003). Still, grades can be an important motivating factor, especially for younger, less experienced students (Umphrey Fullerton, 2004). In their study of advertising majors’ attitudes toward grades, Umphrey and Fullerton theorize that older and more experienced students may be less motivated by grades than younger students because they â€Å"notice less of a relationship between the time they spend studying and resultant grades† (p. 45). At the same time, they found that students who held creative positions on campaigns teams were not motivated by grades. Given that the course has a strong creative focus and almost all students enroll in it during their senior year, what other factors might motivate students to succeed in the course, if not the grade? A review of existing literature uncovers some factors that have been considered in the past. While grades are an important assessment tool for summative evaluations such as papers and exams, Cohen states that they are not considered to be a valid indicator of the process of learning that occurs in a course (Cohen, 2004). Shulman (2007) suggests that instead of measuring the learning that occurs in our classrooms by computing a grade based on how well students meet specific course objectives, learning should be measured via multiple measures such as course-embedded assessment. Why Begin Assessment with the Capstone Course? The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) National Leadership Council (2007) provides support that the culminating experience â€Å"can be structured to show how well students can integrate their knowledge and apply it to complex problems, and students’ level of performance on them can be aggregated and made public.† Rosenberry and Vicker (2006) suggest that it is appropriate to begin assessment with the capstone course in mass communications programs because the culminating experience requires that students integrate and apply knowledge from their majors. The products they generate offer opportunities to reflect on the adequacy of students’ preparation in the program. The culminating experience gives students a chance to synthesize what they have learned during their academic careers and bring coherence and closure to their experience in the major. They suggest further that the capstone experience not only provides a sense of closure, but also one of exploration. Capstone courses push students to extend beyond their present knowledge. Rosenberry and Vicker offer three major themes that emerged from their research on capstone courses: (1) capstones reflect an integration and synthesis of knowledge, (2) they require students to apply knowledge to real-world situations, and (3) they help stu dents make a transition from the classroom to their careers. Other topics they identified include: â€Å"extension of knowledge, opportunities for in-depth study, reinforcement or extension of basic communication competencies, and development of higher-order or critical thinking skills† (Rosenberry Vicker, 2006, p. 270). Interestingly, they identify outcomes that are traditionally thought of as intellectual skills and abilities. Interpersonal skills do not emerge on their list. What should be taught in a campaigns course? A review of literature suggests students learn practical, professional and interpersonal skills (Benigni Cameron, 1999; Ahles Bosworth, 2004). The capstone course in most advertising and public relations programs has a â€Å"real-world† focus, meaning that students work on a campaign that will solve a real life client’s communication problem strategically and creatively. Benigni and Cameron argued the importance of real-world application: â€Å"perhaps the most important function of capstone courses in journalism and mass communications is to prepare students for the real world† (1999, p. 50). They suggest that these â€Å"real world† skills should include communication and planning skills, as well as an ability to base strategic decisions on sound research and theory. The goal of the capstone course is to synthesize skills learned from prerequisite courses in a collaborative learning environment, in which stu dents work in a team environment to create a campaign, they state. In their study, Benigni and Cameron investigated the role that interpersonal dynamics play in a student campaign both internally (within team structure) and externally (with client). They found that two-thirds of campaigns classes used a team approach as class format, with 94% of all presenters being graded on individual as well as team performance. Seventy-three percent of campaigns courses used peer evaluations, while 60% indicated that peer evaluations of other students were reflected in the final grade for those students. They conclude teamwork, therefore, is an important component of the campaigns course. Benigni and Cameron furthermore found that some programs teach about teamwork, team building, and problem solving, and consensus building, but teamwork is not covered in much detail in undergraduate advertising and public relations programs (Ahles Bosworth, 2004). Ahles and Bosworth suggest that effective teams generally earn higher grades and produce a better quality campaign for the client. They found that after students complete the campaigns course, they often have a â€Å"shared vision† of effective teams, characterized by strong work habits and human relations skills, but not necessarily professional skills. Human relations skills included reliability, dedication to the project, and teamwork attitude. Ahles and Bosworth conclude that students may rank human relations skills so high because they think those skills will help them achieve a better grade. Thus, the desire to have these skills is ultimately selfish. In the same study students ranked professional skills, such as advertising and public relations tactical skills, computer skills, and problem-solving skills, lowest. Principles of Assessment Understanding why assessment is needed and how assessment occurs in a cyclical process prepares us to explore what it is that faculty should assess. Lee S. Shulman, president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, argues that assessment should be viewed essentially as a form of narrative (Shulman, 2007). He states that the story told by assessment is a function of the measurements taken, and those dimensions determine the possible directions the narrative might take. In other words, faculty needs to make clear their rationale for telling a particular narrative rather than alternative stories. What is it that advertising educators want to tell in their assessment story? What are the key indicators that those outcomes are being met that should be measured? Shulman (2007) offers â€Å"Seven Pillars of Assessment for Accountability† that can be used as a framework for developing an assessment plan. Four of them guided our work. 1. Become explicit about the story you need to tell and the rationale for choosing it. The story is driven by accrediting bodies to some extent. ACEJMC stipulates competencies that all graduates in accredited programs should know (see Appendix A for list). Another part of the story could be shaped by national standards for the discipline. The National Academic Committee of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), which is comprised of advertising practitioners and faculty, identified a coherent set of goals for advertising education (personal correspondence, Fullerton, 2007, see Appendix B for list). These competency lists give faculty some tools to use to set the outcomes they want their students to achieve – to create the story they want to tell about their programs. Another option for setting outcomes involves researching academic journals to see what other scholars have identified as important curricular areas for advertising. One direction the narrative could take could reveal how the goals of advertising education might link with goals of the institution’s general or liberal education, as some educators call for examining how learning and research are integrated across disciplinary boundaries (e.g., Gilbert, Schilt Ekland-Olson, 2005; AACU National Leadership Council, 2007). Ganahl, for example, surveyed alumni and faculty about the advertising/PR curriculum, finding those faculties were more supportive than professionals of a strong liberal arts education (2003). It is quite obvious at this point that to try to assess every possible aspect of the course at once is overwhelming, if not impossible. Faculty need not tell an epic story with their assessment. Rather they might conceptualize it as incremental steps over a period of time. This way assessment becomes an on-going activity and evolving story, rather than a snapshot taken just to have something to show an accrediting team. 2. Do not think that there is a â€Å"bottom line.† Once an instrument has been selected to assess a learning outcome (or competency), it is important to recognize what it measures and what it does not. Assessment results should be examined in the context of the particular narrative that is being told. This means that assessment that is focused to find the answer to a specific question cannot be generalized to conclude that assessment is complete or successful with one instrument. Rather, assessment is an on-going process of discovery. 3. Design multiple measures. An array of instruments will help provide a variety of assessment evidence from which to make informed pedagogical decisions. ACEJMC guidelines stipulate that these should include direct and indirect methods. Direct methods require students to demonstrate their learning or produce work that lets others judge whether or not outcomes have been achieved. Examples of direct assessment include a paper or test or evaluation of the campaign by a professional expert. Indirect measures involve asking students their perceptions about what they learned. Asking students, alumni and employers about their satisfaction with a program and measuring their job placement rate are examples of indirect assessment. Direct and indirect measures can be complementary and each tells a different part of the assessment story (Maki, 2004; Walvoord Anderson, 1998). 4. Embed assessment into ongoing instruction. The key here, according to Shulman, is to assess early and often. He suggests that assessment that is employed late in a course or program yields helpful pedagogical information when it’s too late to be of much use to students in that course. He says that assessment should be â€Å"a regular physical exam rather than a public autopsy† (p.6). This calls for what Shulman refers to as bilateral transparency. Progress toward learning outcomes should be accessible to both faculty and students. Shulman’s Seven Pillars of Assessment for Accountability invite a challenge for advertising educators. These pillars can be used to guide assessment that is multiple method, embedded, intentional, and iterative. To summarize, there is a need for strategic, intentional learning that improves as a result of evaluation of curriculum. Based on the assessment literature and specifically Shulman’s recommendations, we developed an assessment model called IDEA (Identification, Development, Evaluation and Application). This model illustrates the Teaching and Learning Cycle that is essential to the development of the overall plan for assessment, while providing a manageable â€Å"roadmap† for faculty to measure and improve student learning. The model suggests that faculty begin the assessment process by identifying and aligning a set of interconnected goals, including institutional, college, departmental, major, and course goals. Then, a qualitative and/or quantitative ins trument should be developed to measure specific learning outcomes that will assess the extent to which these goals were achieved. Next, evidence of student-learning should be collected, analyzed, and evaluated based on the specific goals that were identified at the beginning. The most important step is to apply the findings to improve student-learning. Finally, in order to complete the cycle, it is important to identify and align the various goals again and continue the assessment process. IDEA Model of Teaching and Learning: Taking Shulman’s advice to create bilateral transparency, this study focuses the assessment lens on a perspective that is often neglected: the students’. What is it that they report having learned? How does that match what faculty think they are grading and the course objectives they set? This exploratory study will show how assessment of the campaigns course has been attempted by one advertising program by implementing the IDEA model. In this case, the research questions for this study helped us to assess student learning at the course level. We wanted to investigate whether we teach what we are grading and grade what students are learning: RQ1: In what ways do student comments relate to what they learned in the capstone course match the instructor’s learning objectives for the course? RQ2: How do students rate the extent to which they achieved learning outcomes that include professional guidelines (AAF Principles), accrediting competencies (ACEJMC) and personal expectations? RQ3: What types of learning outcomes do students identify as most important? CHAPTER THREE Methodology Based on our experience working with faculty in our college to help them understand what assessment is and how it can help improve their teaching, two questions arise in almost every discussion: How is assessment different from grading? And, what is the difference between a teaching-objectives approach and a student-centered learning approach? As a result, an assessment method was developed that might offer an example of how faculty members could move from a teaching-objectives approach to a student learning focus, and in the process learn what assessment offers beyond meeting the course objectives. The capstone course, Advertising and Public Relations Campaigns, was the target course for this study as recommended by Rosenberry and Vicker (2006). It is an example of a course where cumulative learning and various other types of learning might be assessed. The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed methods design was to explore student reflections on learning in the campaigns course with the intent of developing and testing a survey instrument that measures a variety of learning outcomes. The first phase of the study was a qualitative exploration of how students who have completed the advertising campaigns course at a large Midwestern university reflect on what they have learned in the course and how the course objectives match what they say they learned. These initial course objectives had been developed by the course instructors based on the ACEJMC assessment levels of learning (awareness, understanding, and application). After completing the campaigns course, students were asked to reflect on their development throughout the semester, using the course objectives as a guide. A total of 40 written student reflections from three sections were collected and categorized as pertaining to learning outcomes identified in the course ob jectives listed in the syllabus or additional learning outcomes that emerged from student responses. Students mentioned some of the course objectives and also listed things not on the list of objectives in the syllabus. The reason for collecting qualitative data initially is that an instrument needed to be developed that included more than the course objectives developed by the instructors. In the second, quantitative phase of the study, students’ statements and/or quotes from the qualitative data were used to develop an instrument to measure a more accurate list of learning outcomes among students in the campaigns course. In addition, profession related learning goals offered by The American Advertising Federation (AAF) and professional values and competencies listed by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) were added to complete the list. In short, the revised instrument included learning expectations from an accrediting body, a professional group, as well as students themselves. For the quantitative phase of the study a new group of students from three different sections of the next semester’s campaigns course was asked to complete the revised list of learning outcomes by evaluating whether their team achieved the original course objectives and to what extent they, as individuals, achieved the revised list of learning objectives. Students were then asked to list the top three things they learned from the campaigns course. This ranking was added to provide a measure of the importance of the learning objectives. The revised assessment forms were completed by 51 students from three different sections and three different instructors of the campaigns course at the same institution. CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS A qualitative inventory of the responses to the initial form indicated that student comments were made about their learning on all three levels - awareness, understanding and application - and in about equal proportions. However, there were some learning objectives in each of the categories that were not mentioned in the open-ended comments. In addition, there were comments about what was learned that had not been identified by instructors. These additional comments were related to group learning as well as individual learning that had taken place. This finding was deemed by the researchers to be an example of how the professor’s view of what should be learned in a course may not match the students’ view of what they learned in the course. The traditional approach in higher education has been that the professor outlines the learning objectives, teaches to those expectations, and indicates in the grading how well the student has met those objectives. This first step in our investigation offered a reminder that what we teach may not be what students learn, but also made us cognizant that what students learn may be beyond the teaching objectives we set. The student comments related to individual and group learning were incorporated in the next version of the course evaluation form. The consistency of the student responses on the team and individual sections of the revised evaluation form offer evidence of content validity and reliability related to student-oriented learning outcomes. Almost every student indicated â€Å"yes† related to each of the team achievements on the list. Only one person answered â€Å"no† on four of the learning objective statements. There was greater diversity in the individual versus the team evaluations, but most of the students gave themselves a 4 or 5 on the learning outcome statements. On only four of the individual learning objectives did fewer than half of the students give themselves a high â€Å"5†. The following four statements had the lowest means and the highest standard deviations of this group of questions: â€Å"ability to speak in public† (M = 3.53, SD = 1.689), â€Å"developed leadership skills† (M = 4.18, SD = 1.090), â€Å"played mediator between group members† (M = 3.84, SD = 1.405), and â€Å"learned how to write clearly and concisely† (M = 3.96, SD = 1.371). It is possible that those who did not express high agreement with these statements may not have been presenters for the campaign presentation to the client, did not take a leadership role on the team, or did not think that this course was the place they learned to write clearly and concisely. It is also possible that students did not realize that they reinforced their writing skills in the course, even though those skills were not specifically taught in campaigns. We will need to investigate these learning outcome differences to determine if the statement wording needs revision or if the course does not provide everyone with the opportunity to advance in these areas. Qualitative analysis of student comments about the three top things learned in the campaigns course produced three skills categories identified by the students: professional, personal development and interpersonal. Those three categories were developed from 157 items identified by the 51 students in the three sections of the course. Of those, 43% (67) were professional skills related, 34% (53) were about interpersonal relationships and 23% (37) were personal development items. The differences between the three groups of students in number of items in each category were minimal (Professional 23, 23, 21; Interpersonal 20, 19, 14; Personal development 15, 14, 8). Personal development and interpersonal skills comments were categorized based on whether the comment was given in a group or team context or was offered as a statement about self-development. Student comments about professional skills included such things as: presentation skills, evaluation and application of research, strategy development, understanding of entire process, technology needed to produce what was needed, importance of attention to details, how to build a cohesive campaign, near perfection needed for client, and understanding of what it takes to develop a plans book. Interpersonal skills included such items as: team work, client communication, need to share ideas, put differences aside for the welfare of the group, learn to rely on others and let them rely on you, need to compromise in order to succeed, and group communication is important. Statements about personal development items included such things as: learn to accept criticism, keep an open mind, master multi-tasking, think outside the box, learn to take responsibility, don’t take it personally, learn to compromise, learn to handle frustration, time management, patience is key, my ability may be more than I thought, and this experience confirmed that I do love the ad business. The richness of the student comments provided evidence that they can delineate different types of learning emanating from the campaigns experience. One item, time management, was difficult to categorize because it wasn’t always part of a statement related to self, or the group. It was included in the personal development category for this study because it was often used in a personal trait context. However, this is an item that needs to be investigated in more depth. It may be that time management skills could be considered as important for all three categories. What We Learned From Conducting This Exploratory Study Research question 1 asked, â€Å"In what ways do student comments related to what they learned in the capstone course match the instructor’s learning objectives for the course?† We discovered that student comments indicate the instructor’s learning objectives do match their views of what they learned in many cases, but students also report that there are additional types of learning that go beyond what is traditionally measured with grades that are tied to requirements or expectations listed in the syllabus. Research question 2 asked, â€Å"How do students rate the extent to which they achieved learning outcomes that include professional guidelines, accrediting competencies, and personal expectations?† Our findings indicate that students say they generally have met the professional and accrediting expectations in the capstone course as well as the personal expectations. However, we also were able to identify four skill areas where some students indicated the course did not help them meet the learning expectations. This provides information that could help develop changes in the course materials or assignments that might improve learning in those areas. Research question 3 asked, â€Å"What types of learning outcomes do student identify as most important?† Students in the campaigns course were able to help identify three types of learning that came from their class experience. The first type related to professional skills, which are often part of the grading rubric for courses offered in a professional program. Discovery of the other two types of learning – personal development and interpersonal skills – expands our knowledge of what students learn in a course beyond what was listed as learning objectives in the syllabus. It is our hope that the findings of this study might help faculty members understand the importance of developing assessment techniques that measure learning experiences outside and beyond the class assignments that are part of the grading rubric. Perhaps faculty will see that student input and feedback related to learning objectives can help make course instruction more student-centered. Our plan is to refine this method in the campaigns course and then apply it to other courses in the advertising program, as well as the capstone courses for the other majors offered in our college. CHAPTER FIVE Discussion The purpose of this paper was to investigate how educators might define measurable outcomes for a capstone course and to help faculty and administrators develop tools to build a sustainable plan to evaluate student learning. Based on current conventional practices in assessment, accrediting bodies demand that faculty complete the transition from teacher-centered education to learning-outcome accountability. The accrediting process requires that institutions not only create plans and assess student learning, but that they use the information from their activities to demonstrate how learning opportunities are improved as a result. One place to start assessing learning in the advertising major is the culminating experience students get in the capstone campaigns course. This paper offers the IDEA model for assessment of teaching and learning, which starts by identifying and aligning institutional, departmental and course goals. The goal in this example was to assess if we teach what we are grading and if we grade what we are teach what we are grading and if we grade what we are teaching. We then developed an instrument to measure evidence of student learning pertaining to this goal, collected and analyzed qualitative and quantitative data, and demonstrated how we used it to improve student learning. The last step of the IDEA model is to go back and start the cycle again by identifying and aligning goals. This study followed Shulman’s (2007) recommendation that assessment should be bilaterally transparent. Missing from existing literature is a notion that students had input or feedback into creating the learning objectives. This investigation focused the assessment efforts narrowly, exploring how students reflect on whether the course objectives matched their learning, and asking how they rate learning outcomes that include professional and personal expectations. Findings indicated what was expected to a certain extent. Students reported that they believed they learned what the faculty had established for course objectives. Most interesting however, was the notion that the students themselves believed they learned more than the instructors expected. Three themes emerged in the qualitative portion of the study, which categorized students’ responses: professional skills, interpersonal skills and personal development. To the literature about campaigns courses, this study adds the notion that the personal component is an important learning outcome of the campaigns course as identified by students. Overall, this study demonstrates that it is not necessary to assess every element in a program to be informed about certain parts of it. Incremental assessment conducted over time with multiple measures helps give a fuller picture of the learning experience. While this study is an example of an indirect measure of assessment, faculty needs to add to the assessment story with other evaluations of the course, such as critiques by professional panels and reviews by the clients, which directly measure student learning. Completing the assessment cycle, it is important to implement changes based on evidence generated in the process. Faculty has choices to accomplish improvements. To implement what was learned in this particular case, faculty could revise the learning outcomes and reflect that in the grading. One way to apply the findings of this study to the campaigns course would be to incorporate a â€Å"personal development† component into the grading rubric and share it with the students at the beginning of the semester. Grading rubrics are an effective way to articulate expectations to students (Lattuca, 2005). It involves establishing and defining standards that must be met. In this study, the first step is to define â€Å"personal development,† which can be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, the instructor could provide one by referring to the literature. However, a much more student-centered approach would be to involve students and to ask them to define and reflect on what â€Å"personal development† means in the campaigns course. This could be achieved by implementing an assessment plan similar to the one we presented here. The definition could then become part of the grading rubric and measured by indicating to what extent â€Å"personal development† was achieved by each student. It would be the instructor’s discretion to determine the percentage of the grade that â€Å"personal development† should account for. The grading rubric should be re-evaluated each semester as part of the continuous assessment process. On the other hand, if the instructor does not believe that â€Å"personal development† should be graded, she could simply ask students to reflect on this particular learning outcome and again measure it based on an operational definition as another way to assess what students learn in the course. This study demonstrates that grading is not the same as assessment. We learned that students report learning personal development skills that are not taken into account when grades are given. We now know that an important part of the course includes that dimension. We, as faculty, can choose to integrate it in the grade with rubrics that reflect this component or keep it as a separate ungraded component of the course. The instructors teaching the campaigns course at our institution have incorporated the â€Å"personal development† component in different ways. One has included it in the grading rubric, while another chose to discuss it with students at various points throughout the semester. In both cases, students will be asked at the end of this semester to reflect on this important component, which will again become part of the assessment cycle. Limitations The primary limitation of this study is the relatively small sample size. The findings are meant to be an illustration of how one institution has assessed a specific component of the advertising campaigns course. Future Directions As indicated in the IDEA model of teaching and learning, the most important piece of assessment is to view it as an ongoing process. We need to assess student learning systematically over time so that we can continuously improve it. The next step for us is to assess what advertising alumni say they have learned in the capstone course. This will add another chapter to our assessment story because students who have just completed the course but haven’t had any professional experience may not know what they have learned until they are somewhat established in the professional world. References AACU National Leadership Council for Liberal Education America’s Promise. (2007). College Learning for the New Global Century. Washington, DC: Association of American College and Universities. Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC).Retrieved March 17, 2007 from http://www2.ku.edu/~acejmc/PROGRAM/STANDARDS.SHTML#std9 (assessment standard) 2ku.edu/~acejmc/PROGRAM/STANDARDS.SHTML#std2 (competency list) Ahles, C. B. Bosworth, C. C. (2004). The perception and reality of students and workplace teams. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 59 (1), 42-59. Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. (AACSB). Eligibility procedures and accreditation standards for business accreditation. Retrieved March 21, 2007 from (aacsb.edu/accreditation/business/STANDARDS.pdf. Barnes, S. (1985). A study of classroom pupil evaluation: The missing link in teacher education, Journal of Teacher Education, 36, 46-49. Benigni, V. L., Cameron, G. T. (1999). Teaching PR campaigns: The current state of the art. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, (59) 3, 50-60. Boyer, E.L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Chronicle Review (2006, Sept. 1) The Spellings Report, Warts and All. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53 (2). Cohen, J. (2004). Assessment . . . yours, mine, ours. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 59 (1), 3-6. Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ganahl, D. (2003). Evaluating a professional advertising/PR curriculum: Aligning the liberal arts curriculum with professional expectations. Journal of Advertising Education, 7(2), 24-32. Gilbert, L. A., Schilt, P.E., Ekland-Olson, S. (2005). Engaging students: Integrated learning and research across disciplinary boundaries. Liberal Education (Summer/Fall 2005), 44-49. Giese, M. (2005). An educator’s journal: Evaluating and evaluated. Journalism Mass Communication Educator, 60 (3), 252-256. Hersh, R. H. (2005). What does college teach? It’s time to put an end to â€Å"faith-based† acceptance of higher education’s quality. The Atlantic Monthly, November 2005 , 140-143. Lattuca, L. R. (2005). Making learning visible: Student and peer evaluation. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 60 (3), 247-251. Maki, P. L. (2002). Moving from paperwork to pedagogy: Channeling intellectual curiosity into a commitment to assessment. AAHE Bulletin, May 2002. Retrieved Feb. 14, 2007 from http://wwww.aacsb.edu/resource_centers/assessment/Maki- Reprint.asp. Maki, P. L. (2004). Assessing for learning: Building a sustainable commitment across the institution. Sterling, VA: American Association for Higher Education. Pollio, H. R., Humphries, W. L., Milton, O. (1989). Components of contemporarycollege grade meanings. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 14, 77-91. Rosenberry, J. Vicker, L.A. (2006). Capstone courses in mass communication programs. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 61 (3), 267-283. Rowntree, D. (1987). Assessing students: How shall we know them? (2nd ed.) London: Kogan Page. Shulman, L. S. (2007). Counting and recounting: Assessment and the quest for accountability. Change, 39 (1), (carnegiefoundation.org/change/) Umphrey, D., Fullerton, J. (2004). Attitudes toward grades among advertising majors. Journal of Advertising Education (8)1, 39-47. Walvoord, B. E., Anderson, V. J. (1998). Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Appendix A ACEJMC PRINCIPLES OF ACCREDITATION: Professional values and competencies (adopted Sept. 16, 2000) Individual professions in journalism and mass communication may require certain specialized values and competencies. Irrespective of their particular specialization, all graduates should be aware of certain core values and competencies and be able to: Understand and apply First Amendment principles and the law appropriate to professional practice; Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications; Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of groups in a global society in relationship to communications; Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information; Work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity; Think critically, creatively and independently; Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work; Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve; Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness; Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts; Apply tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work Appendix B A Statement of Principles for Advertising Education Programs, National Academic Committee American Advertising Federation (July 2006) 1. Advertising students should know the following: A. The institutions of advertising, their history, and how they relate to each other. B. How advertising is coordinated with marketing and other aspects of a company or organization’s activities. C. Management of the advertising function and personnel in agencies and client organizations. D. A wide range of alternatives for delivering advertising messages and how to use those delivery vehicles. E. The conceptual basis for crafting advertising messages. F. How advertising is regulated. G. Ethical principles for advertising practices. H. Research methodologies appropriate to guiding advertising strategy and evaluating its results. I. An appreciation for the diversity of markets and audiences for whom advertisers create campaigns and messages. J. Critical thinking, written, oral and visual communication, and presentation skills. K. The ability to work with others to solve problems creatively. 2. Instruction in advertising courses should include both theory and practical application, such as the National Student Advertising Competition (Relevant to ACEJMC Standard 2). 3. Advertising faculty members should have professional experience relevant to the courses they teach (Relevant to ACEJMC Standard 4). 4. Advertising students should be strongly encouraged to gain work experience before graduation through campus media and internships (Relevant to ACEJMC Standard 2) 5. Advertising students should be proficient in using equipment and technology they will use in their careers (Relevant to ACEJMC Standard 2). 6. Advertising programs should be assessed using multiple measures, which could include: Participation in regional and national competitions, such as the National Student Competition, ADDYs, and competitive internship programs Capstone papers Journals and reflection pieces Focus groups Benchmark measurements (pre-tests/ post-tests of courses and senior year Portfolios of student work Research Papers on Assessing What Students LearnStandardized TestingThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseThree Concepts of PsychodynamicInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThe Project Managment Office SystemIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenHip-Hop is Art

B minor Mass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

B minor Mass - Essay Example His positive position in the society had offered him opportunities to improve with his craft, including Mass in B-Minor. The composition is greatly influenced by the composer’s religious views, his personal connections and traditions of his time. About Mass in B-Minor The Mass in B minor was composed by Bach for the Roman Catholic Church. Although it is quite peculiar to think why a devout Lutheran would compose a song for the Catholics, Bach’s relationship with the rest of the society and his roles on it could justify this contrasting idea. The work is consisted of 27 sections divided into four major sections, and six of them are distinctively unchanging and all of which were written in different periods of Bach’s life. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the work is basically â€Å"an anthology† of music written by Bach in the late years of his life (Towe, 1991: 46). The major sections, â€Å"Kyrie,† â€Å"Gloria,† â€Å"Symbolum Nicen um or the Credo,† and â€Å"Sanctus, Hosanna, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei† were written for different purposes in different times; although all of which have a lot to do with the religious proceedings of the Catholic Mass. As how Spitta (n.d.) reviewed the composition, the work is â€Å"the ideal and ‘concentrated presentiment’ of the development of Christianity from Sin (Kyrie), through Atonement with Christ (Gloria), to the Church proceeding from him (Credo) and the memorial supper - the culmination of the doctrine (Sanctus...)† (as cited in Jenkins, 2001); while a lay-man observation would notice the pattern of life Christ followed: birth, death, and resurrection. Kyrie and Gloria Initially, the Kyrie and Gloria were written separately; it was not until 1733 that the two collections were put into one and played in a single setting and became the â€Å"two fifths of the entire work† (â€Å"History,† 2007). Kyrie and Gloria served as a à ¢â‚¬Å"presentation piece to the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland† with whom Bach had indulgence of being the Court Composer (Towe, 1991: 46). The Kyrie is presented to have charming duets of sopranos and interplay or strings and organ (Aylesbury Choral Society, 2004), of which Bach first gained his fame. It started out with a group of choral sopranos, where the ambiance can be best described as an act of awaiting for a predestined suffering; an event where Jesus Christ is particularly famed for. Talbeck (n.d.) noted that the second part of the Kyrie has â€Å"fugal style weaves all voice parts beautifully around the text, portraying a community grounded in hope.† The major sections were divided into several cantatas, which probably were composed also at different times. Most notably, his â€Å"Gloria,† as how the Aylesbury Choral Society (2004) predicts, â€Å"was probably reworked from a now lost instrumental movement.† The cantatas have duets of teno rs, sopranos, a combination of both, and an exploration of other voice ranges to suit the purpose. Symbolum Nicenum The introduction of the â€Å"Symbolum Nicenum† has a slower tempo, where the strings were audibly significant, compared to that of â€Å"Gloria† and denotes ascendance to the throne. The original text is in Latin, but if translated into English, it is known to be the Apostle’s Creed (e.g. Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem as I believe in one God, Father Almighty in English). Thus, the Symbolum Nicenum is also known as the â€Å"

My favorite type of Music - Instrumental Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My favorite type of Music - Instrumental - Essay Example It especially taught that the authentic life is the one in which a person is true to his emotions and not shackled to traditions or the old way of living. It sought to create an aesthetic life rather than a grim and boring one. One of my favourite pieces by Chopin is the Nocturne. This starts off slowly with a melancholic air about it. The melody is quite pretty and delicate. It seems to come from within a deep well inside the composer. The low notes played by the left hard are largely the same, maintaining a certain stability or grounding, while the melody played by the right hand darts around with a much larger range. Sometimes the notes are very high on the keyboard only to fall away like a cascading waterfall down to a lower register. Although the music starts off quite sad, it appears to turn in the middle and to end on a high happy note. The lower notes fade out and the high notes dominate. I especially like this song because it feels like some tension has been resolved. It reminds me a bit of a sunset: at first you are sad to see the day go, but as the sun sinks down and the sky turns pink, you think, â€Å"Ah, the beauty of the sunset is worth the fact that it is now night and a bit cold out.† It is a fine song to relax to. Another favourite piece by Chopin is the Revolutionary Etude. This is a very strong, passionate piece. One of the stories I have heard about it was that Chopin was sick when there was a revolution in France. He was unable to participate because of his health, so was forced to put all of his feeling into this music. What he felt about the revolution went into the composition. It moves along at a tremendous pace, full of gusto and energy. There is a constant shift from soft notes to hard ones, marking it as a very dynamic piece. It requires a great deal of dexterity from its performer, especially to keep the constant swarm of

Equality and Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Equality and Diversity - Essay Example They were attacking more the fact that I was Muslim who looked and dressed differently from them. I shall refer to this incident now and then as I advance in analyzing the concept of racism, more particularly social exclusion. I will mention some two theories of power that could possibly explain my case, where the first one is basically the model against which this paper hinges on, and the other one to explain the ruler-subject set-up and its requirements. The latter one is more political than sociological, however, but it will give insights into social division and how oppression is committed. Basically, this paper will look into racism and limit it to my experience, particularly on same-race racism. I will deal with social exclusion, particularly on the issue of migrant ethnic minorities and the feeling of being looked upon as specimens including matters of dressing. Religion will necessarily be touched especially where Muslims are concerned, and the freedom to study and live where one is allowed to do so. I will then lead to what can be done, mentioning about the general finding of a youth dialogue in a Detroit experiment. Finally I will arrive at proper self-criticism as a resolution to all of these a s a syndrome. Theory of social dominance. Sidanus (in Powell, 2006) forwarded a most logical explanation of power in what obtains in society. Looking at society as a group-based hierarchy, Sidanus mentioned three major divisions that determine power in some ways: age, sex, and grouping. Accordingly, older individuals dominate younger ones; males dominate females; and the more dominant group (in-group) prevails over the subordinate group. Sidanus' theory explained that the third form of division is chiefly expressed by in-group males against out-group males, defined as xenophobia and racism. It is said that for this third division, religion, nationality, ethnicity, and other differences can also serve to mark divisions in society. Accordingly, the reason egalitarianism will never win is because "Whenever the old structures are overthrown, the natural human tendency to draw lines between groups and to establish a societal pecking order kicks into action." (Sidanus. In Powell, 2006). Between xenophobia and racism, according to Stoler (1997), xenophobia is fear of foreigners, while racism, which is more encompassing in meaning, is the belief that built-in biological differences among human races determine whether one's own race is superior over the others and has the right to rule over them. (Dictionary.com, 2006). Racism takes the form of prejudice, discrimination, or subordination, and can be both open and concealed. Individual racism sometimes consists of open acts of individuals resulting in violence or destruction of property. There is also so-called same-race racism where members of one race associate behaviours or appearance of other members of their race as being in relation to another race which is regarded negatively (Stoler, 1997). A form of cultural racism can also be related to this, where members of a racial group are chastised by their members for adopting a culture perceived to be of another race. The incident I had encountered, while I and the two girls could be said to be of same-race [coming from Africa], took a different path. They apparently had expected that since we were in UK, and not Africa, we had to act differently. But

School management Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

School management - Scholarship Essay Example The unit serves as a foundation for years 2 and 3. How a Value Added Framework can explain the UK's economic decline; Value Added: its calculation and its importance; How do markets work' Using markets for cost recovery; New technology, direct exports and Globalisation to increase cost recovery; Using annual report and accounts to analyse a business; Institutional conditions and their impact on business; Using the Value Added Framework: (a) The case of privatisation; (b) Structural factors and how they affect business. Within these themes we separate and de-contextualise the key areas of market, productive and financial performance. Later we reinstate context in order to first, investigate the institutional conditions and secondly, examine how both internal and external forces affect the firm/industry. The lectures are organised into three themes with each lecture introducing and developing a new topic/issue or debate while steadily contextualising our understanding to show inter-relations between topics/issues. Before attending each lecture you are expected to read at least one article related to the topic area in addition to the course textbook readings (see lecture programme). The worThe workshops provide the opportunity to discuss issues related to the lecture and to develop your understanding of the topic while deepening grasp of the subject. The teaching structure will vary but will include discussion of key issues and a small individual/group presentation. During most weeks you will receive a worksheet which you must complete for the following weeks' workshop as it will serve as a basis for discussion. Additionally, you must present a short case study based on a company. Key Bibliography: Individual sets of readings are indicated for each week of the course. Recommended textbook: Haslam, C. and Neale, A. (2000)

Discuss changes and similarities in Roman Republic art and Essay

Discuss changes and similarities in Roman Republic art and architecture as opposed to Roman Imperial art and architecture - Essay Example This research aims to evaluate and present one feature which is noticeable from the Republican period of Roman art. This is the tendency to imitate Greek models of sculpture. Hellenist artists were much admired by the Romans, not just in sculpture but also in literature, music and all kinds of arts and crafts. In sculpture this influence can be seen very clearly in the muscular, semi-naked bodies and the static poses which exude a sublime and noble authority: â€Å"Critics are united in acknowledging the enormous debt owed to Greece by all branches of Roman art.† A good example of the way that Romans imitated Greek culture in the early days of the Republic can be seen in the statue of Diaoumenos which is a marble copy of a Greek bronze. The different material makes it somewhat stiffer and more formal than the bronze original must have been, but it shows a similar preoccupation with physical prestige. Vergil’s account of the early history of Rome contains an illuminating passage on the differing value systems that existed between Greeks and Romans. Anchises says: â€Å"Others will cast their breathing figures more tenderly in bronze and bring more lifelike portraits out of marble. Roman, remember by your strength to rule earth’s peoples for your arts are to be these: to pacify, to impose the rule of law to spare the conquered, battle down the proud.† This suggests that the emphasis for Romans may have been more on the symbolism of power and authority that these statues conveyed, than appreciation of the physical beauty of the piece. There are also technical differences in the way that the Romans adapted Greek techniques and styles. Jackson points out that the Roman funerary rights often involved the production of realistic death masks, from which also portraits in three dimensional marble could be made later, and explains the verism of late republican portrait statues as being partly derived from this tradition: â€Å"the death mask emphasizes the construction of the face and skull, whilst Hellenistic art shows more concern for the plastic rendition of muscle and for the surface detail generally.†

What is childrens literature & how does it enrich children's lives Essay

What is childrens literature & how does it enrich children's lives - Essay Example Therefore, it makes them familiar with all these things and prepares them to handle such situations or problems which may arise in their own lives. A written work produced specifically for the purpose of educating or entertaining young people is termed as Children’s literature. The range of this genre of writing includes classics, picture books, fairy tales, fables, songs from the folk tradition and illustrated stories. Earlier, stories told in the oral tradition constituted this genre, but the late 18th century and the early part of the 19th century saw a spurt in activity in this area while high levels of literacy in the 20th century gave a great impetus to the creation of this form of writing. The purpose of children’s literature is to create a â€Å"revelation, expansion and exploration-pushing back limits† according to Peter Hunt, one of the foremost proponents and critic of this form of writing. Children’s literature plays an important role in molding and nourishing a child’s character. Children’s literature is created keeping in mind the fact that its target audience is not yet ready for adult literature and it is designed to cater to a age group which is still not equipped with the necessary mental skills required to understand and read complex words and ideas. Literature enriches a child by helping him to understand themselves and their surroundings better by placing them in a make believe world, where they immerse themselves into one of the characters and experience the world vicariously. Nancy Anderson has divided children’s literature into six broad categories- early childhood picture books  , fiction, traditional literature, biographies and autobiographies, poems and verses, and non-fiction. She also delineates what does not constitute this genre, and these include joke books, comics, and cartoon books. Pictus† published in 1658 followed by John Newberry’s