Fadia Faqirs Pillars of Salt and Leila al-Atrashs A Woman of Five Sea

Fadia Faqir's Pillars of Salt and Leila al-Atrash's A Woman of Five Seasons The portrayal of the Arab woman has always been through several different perceptions. Some believe that these women are weak, dependant and victims of a hyper patriarchal tradition and culture. They live their lives as if caged from one man to another. First it is their father and brothers and then their husbands and sons. It is true that Arab women do live within patriarchal traditions and cultures but the same can be said for majority of the women around the globe. A much more accurate perception can come only through the realization that what popular Western concepts conceive as women liberation and independence does not necessarily apply to every women around the world. One must understand the culture, religion and traditions and history of a people to know what their ideas regarding concepts such as liberation and independence are. In the west for example women were allowed to vote relatively recently compared to Muslim women who were allowed to vote over fourteen hundred years ago, the same could be said for owning businesses and property and the right to a career. One of the most popular beliefs in the Western world today regarding oppression is that women in Arabia are sexually controlled by their men. This has been brought about especially by the concept of the Hijab as being one of the channels to control women’s sexuality and freedom. It can be argued that in various cases this is true but one cannot commit such a grave injustice and put all Arab women under one umbrella and stamp them as sexually oppressed. The fact is that the Middle East is a region where many states, cultures and identities exist. The novels that we have read are a refl... ...nary’s removal to the government, is where her victory lies. Whereas the relationship between Maha and Harb is one of passion and love, Ihsan and Nadia are the complete opposite. Nadia hates how Ihsan looks at her as a woman always and never a person. She struggles to prove her capability of being an individual and forming an identity of her own that is separate and goes beyond Mrs. Natour. She proves that she can ‘think and feel’ for herself and by herself. In the West where we have women out on the streets rallying for equality between men and women, fighting in the armies, present in the workforce, these victories may seem minute. However if one pays close attention to social structures and social norms in different cultures one can realize that this challenging and questioning is as important and holds as much weight as getting equal wages for women in America.

Odysseus,the Hero, Homer :: essays research papers

Odysseus, The Hero   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today*s eclectic society, everybody*s heroes are different. However, during the era Homer*s The Odyssey was created all heroes had same characteristics. Heroes were the people who saved people, they were courageous wise and had fighting spirit. Odysseus, the main character in Homer*s epic poem was clever brave and a great strategist.Ê Although he has these strengths, he has some negative qualities, but most of his heroic qualities still hold true today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Odysseus possesses heroic qualities, such as bravery, wisdom, a strategic thinking and honorable. Most of the story in The Odyssey is told by Odysseus, so we can say from his narration that he is eloquent. Book 9 shows Odysseus* positive and?@negative qualities.Ê When he escapes from Cyclops* cave he showed that he was brave and a great strategist.Ê When he poked Cyclops* eye with pike of olive, he decided not to kill him because if he killed Cyclops, he would not be able to get out of the cave.Ê This also shows he was wise and able to think about the situation before doing anything.Ê Another example that shows that he is brave that he went to the Hades, which was a feared by many.Ê By his eloquence and cleverness Odysseus could get Nausicaa to assist him, and his devotion to his wife makes him so honorable.Ê He showed sensitivity when he met his mother and when he heard the song of the Trojan War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, Odysseus* qualities are not considered heroic today are his impulsiveness, arrogance, and curiosity.Ê He struggle?@with these points. Odysseus went to Cyclops* cave because he was curious but didn*t think what may happen next. When Odysseus was able to escape from Cyclops* cave, he yelled to Cyclops identifying himself because of his pride. That made Cyclops so angry that he prayed to his father Poseidon to destroy Odysseus. The result of that is Odysseus* companions all died before Odysseus could return home. If he didn*t reveal his name to Cyclops, maybe his companions wouldn*t died. Even though he has negative characteristics it shows Odysseus is just a human. He is not a god or a perfect man. His negative points aren*t favorable, but they make his positive points look stronger. If he were a god or a perfect man, his positive points wouldn*t be special or great. When his weak points get him into trouble, his strong points rescue him. For example, his impulsiveness with Cyclops almost destroyed him and his companions but his bravery and clever strategy

Marine Iguana

The marine iguana, scientifically known as Amblyrhynchus cristatus, is the only lizard in the world that takes to the sea.   Markedly different in appearance, size, and physical attributes, than its land-living cousin.   As one of the many varieties of iguana that Darwin observed in the Galapagos Islands, the marine iguana demonstrates an evolutionary response to a particular set of environmental challenges and has offered marine and land biologists alike the opportunity to study one of the true cross-over species. The discovery of this iguana variant was part, clearly, of the evidence that led so many scientists to immediately see the logic and accuracy of what Darwin had â€Å"discovered†.  Ã‚   Understanding the marine iguana’s habitat, diet, behavioral patterns, survival techniques, and outlook is the purpose of this examination. It is intended to gain a broad understanding of how the marine iguana lives, breeds, and survives. First discovered by Charles Darwin, aboard the Beagle, while touring the Galapagos Islands,   the marine iguana, or Amblyrhynchus cristatus became one of the most remarkable finds of that journey. The marine iguana is distinguished from other iguanas by â€Å"their short, blunt snouts and slightly laterally compressed tail that efficiently moves this lizard along the surface   or beneath the water,† (Amblyrhynchus cristatus, Marine Iguana – MarineBio.org. Retrieved Monday, April 9, 2007, from http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=165.) The marine iguana is of a similar length to the full-grown land iguanas (reaching two to three feet from nose to tail) and can weigh up to eight pounds.   The color of the marine iguana is quite closely matched to the black volcanic rocks in which it lives.   While there are no natural predators of the marine iguana on land, thus making the evolutionary argument for the coloring of the creature to be necessary for camouflage, there are very specific benefits – primarily being that of heat absorption.   In the water, however, predators abound. The marine iguana, living both on land and in the ocean, and being a cold-blooded creature, requires an adjustment time when going from hot to cold and heat-absorbing coloring, such as the dark black dominant color on the marine iguana helps to reduce that shift in temperatures and helps to return the iguana to normal speed of functioning faster.   The marine iguana, like all reptiles, does not have the ability to thermoregulate which also accounts for the dark coloring as a necessary boost in the absorption of heat from the sun. This ability is absolutely critical to the marine iguana’s pursuit of food.   All reptiles will physically slow down to a near halt the colder they get.   Therefore, in order to prevent an absolute cessation of movement during a dive, the marine iguana must raise its body temperature to combat the nearly 10degree-Celsius loss that comes from an average dive. In fact, heat is a very significant part of the marine iguana’s life. They must warm themselves to dive, but they also must maintain a consistent temperature or risk getting too hot. (Rothman, p1). The marine iguana’s adaptations also include a nasal gland that excretes the excess salt taken in while in the ocean.   All of these factors, and more, contribute to making the marine iguana a most fascinating creature. The habitat of the marine iguana is not just limited to the Galapagos Islands but that is the only place it is naturally found (there are many marine iguana exhibits in zoos.   The Galapagos Islands are generally characterized by a variety of   both high and low and scrub or cling-vegetation.   Each island is unique in its combination of vegetation and animal life.   The marine iguana does not appear on all of the Galapagos islands, but, as has been previously stated, it is only found there which shows that it, as a unique creature, came to be what it is as a result of living in its particular habitat.   Interestingly, there are also variations in average size depending upon which island you find the marine iguana upon. Those found on Isabela and Ferdinandina are the largest and the smallest are found on the island of Genovesa.  Ã‚   How the marine iguana found its way to the Galapagos islands (and the marine iguana is the only iguana species on the islands) is unknown.   But, the prevailing theories center on the idea that the iguanas crossed on a land-bridge that sank long ago, or that they were transported from the mainland of Argentina or elsewhere in South America. Regardless, because of their distance from their origins, their unique environment that other iguanas had not been exposed to, and the relative lack of traditional iguana food (which is, actually, just about anything) but on these islands, the iguanas were either too slow to catch prey, or the natural vegetation was simply not nutritious enough for their needs. So, faced with this, the iguanas adapted to their environment and found that algae, one of the worlds most nutrient-rich foods, was a better and more consistent source of food than any other. There are thousands of insect varieties that other lizard species feed upon on the islands, but for the marine iguana, it is the algae growing on the rocks under the ocean surface that provides their food. Getting the algae does not require a great deal of hunting or foraging.   As algae is exceptionally abundant.   Because of this, the marine iguana has an average dive depth of up to 15 meters (with most only needing to be in the 1.5-5 meter range) and can remain under water for three to five minutes (with a notable few observed dives of up to 30 min), (marinebio.org). The day of the marine iguana is spent doing predictable reptile behavior: sunning to absorb heat in order to have a more successful dive for food, diving for food, and, reproducing.   The reproduction cycle for the marine iguana begins in December and goes through March.   The nesting season follows immediately after breeding, which takes place in the January to April time frame.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Breeding begins when females hit three to five-years of age and when the males are within the 6 to 8 year range. As is the case with only a few reptiles, the male marine iguanas have nothing to do with the guarding of the eggs.   But, the females will do so for up to a week (Rubenstein & Wikelski, â€Å"Seasonal Changes in Food Quality: A proximate cue for reproductive timing in marine iguanas†, 3013).   After that period, they leave the eggs on their own to incubate under two to four feet of sand.  Ã‚   Hatchlings weigh an average of 55 grams and are geared for survival from the moment they emerge from the shell. The challenges to the survival of the marine iguana are many, but they are no more so than those facing every other species of plant and animal on the islands or, indeed, anywhere else in the world.   Pollution, climate change, environmental shifts (such as El Nino), and human encroachment all play a part in determining the long-term survival of the marine iguana.   Fortunately, though, for this species at least there is relatively little industrialization or human colonization of the Galapagos. This results in much lower amounts of land and ecosystem loss.   But, as is the case for any creature that can’t make its own food, the marine iguana’s challenge is to eat enough to survive each day.   As long as ocean pollution does not find a way to kill off the algae, the marine iguana will continue to thrive in the Galapagos. The marine iguana is, indeed, a unique and special animal.   Referred to derogatorily as being â€Å"ugly†, the marine iguana is uniquely suited (adapted) to its environment through a series of evolutionary shifts that took it away from the land iguana to one that can   swim under water, expel salt through a nasal gland, and gets nearly all of its food underwater.   These creatures eat primarily algae found on the rocks and reefs below the ocean surface and, in order to make these dives to get that food, must raise their core temperature to as to have quick reflexes even as their body temperature is going down. Found on many of the Galapagos islands, the marine iguana even shows variations in body size from island to island.   Breeding takes place in the summer months (of the Southern Hemisphere) and nesting follows shortly.   The marine iguana provides a look into the deep biological past (one can see the dinosaurs in the background) for its appearance which is designed to assist with the absorption of heat.   While the marine iguana is not currently under environmental threat, but can be greatly affected by a host of events both locally and globally. References Amblyrhynchus cristatus, Marine Iguana – MarineBio.org. Online. Internet. Avail.   http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=165. Info acc 8 March, 2007. Rothman, Robert. â€Å"Marine Iguana†. RIT.edu. Online. Internet. Avail: http://www.rit.edu/~rhrsbi/GalapagosPages/MarineIguana.html. Access: 8 March, 2007. Rubenstein, Dustin R. and Wikelksi, Martin. Seasonal changes in food quality: a proximate cue for reproductive timing in marine iguanas. Ecology 84.11 (Nov 2003): p3013.

Local Ethnography On Women’s Pay Equity

In modern era of technological advances and scientific innovations business nevertheless remains the epicenter of global events. Therefore, labor market to great extent is associated with equal human rights and productive human relationships that form the basis for social justice. The latter, as viewed by the majority of sociologists, is an equal treatment of society members regardless of their social status, condition, race, gender, political preferences, religious beliefs, etc. Social justice is regarded as the medium for every individual to achieve goals and have identical opportunities in modern society characterized by various economic, cultural, social, and political inequalities. In Canada each federation is governed by federal employment laws, which prohibit discrimination based on gender and sex. Also, a number of provinces have introduced new laws on wage gap elimination among men and women. Top managers along with sociologists were supposed to conduct surveys in their working atmosphere on the topic of women’s pay equity comparing fair treatment and compensation for work among occupations dominated by men and women. Results showed that women involved in both full and part-time jobs received less money than men. In fact, in late 1990s female workers earned 75% of the amount of money their male colleagues had regardless of the fact that according to the research their abilities to successfully negotiate with clients and work hard on the given tasks were several stages higher than those men were characterized by. Basically, it would be fair to claim that there exist several challenges modern social justice in Canada may experience throughout its attempts to achieve equal treatment among women and men in terms of financial and compensative situation: First of all, there is a strong tendency in the Canadian society to resolve the issue of wage gap and sex discrimination among men and women without resorting to legal assistance. Typically, these situations do not receive publicity and remain unknown being tackled on individual level. Most often, becoming a victim of underpayment or pay inequity women tend to seek other ways of additional income without leaving their previous jobs. This results in the situation when officially women are satisfied with their condition. Secondly, pay inequity has much in common with timetable as according to the recent research middle-aged women earn much less money than those in their twenties or thirties or than men of any age. Also, ethnicity and race play an extremely important part in the issue. â€Å"Visible minority women have the lowest income and highest unemployment rates of all groups.   In 1995, the average income of visible minority women was $16,600, compared to $17,100 for other women in Canada, and $23,600 for visible minority men† (Recommendations to the Pay Equity Task Force). The concentration of women in certain â€Å"underestimated† spheres is traditional and pronounced to high degree. For instance, the service industries include such jobs of no prestige and low income as waitress, cleaner, nurse, etc. According to the survey conducted in 2005, about 65% of working women are involved in service industry and have a part-time job due to numerous overwhelming home duties. Working several hours per day on regular basis greatly contributes to the issue of wage gap as such women are perceived as unqualified workers and add to the problem of poverty. Also, they tend to have low level of livelihood, which may cause poor living conditions resulting in high expenses on health care, etc. With these preliminary considerations in mind, it would be fair to claim that the issue of pay inequity reflects the adverse status of women in Canada. It denotes that despite numerous social changes implemented by work groups and both governmental and non-governmental organizations, the notions of self-employment and flexible working hours among women still remain of current importance. â€Å"In 2001,over three-quarters of a million women reported being self-employed, representing 11 percent of those with jobs. Over the past decade, 39.6 percent of new jobs in Canada were linked to self-employment, and 44 percent of those who are self-employed earn less than $20,000 a year†. (Recommendations to the Pay Equity Task Force). According to the Canadian Human Rights Act it is unlawful to evaluate the same task accomplished by men and women differently and pay unequal amount of money in the same organization.   The Act comprises all categories of state employees and necessary conditions for the implementation of the law. However, many find fault in the section that deals with the wage gap issue, as it is not catered to the needs of women. Forming the main risk group and therefore most often applying to higher echelon with complaints that require numerous formal rules and signatures, women tend to refuse from the idea of publicity especially taking into account the fact that the application requires certain expenditures and does not always guarantee the petitioner’s satisfaction. In order to support women and resolve the issue of unemployment, wage gap, and poverty among them there is a need in creating an efficient action plant that will meet the criteria of governmental establishments in terms of legal policy and comply with the demands of women in the community. The following are the decisions to be made:  §Ã‚   To gather all necessary available data on the problem of women’s pay equity. This will help the participants of the program to realize the scale of the issue and properly organize preventive measures. After the materials are received and processed, it is important to spread the information in the test field and among those who are relatively or not at all familiar with the problem. This may be implemented through mass media, public gatherings, etc. Identifying the problem helps in its faster and effective solving.  §Ã‚   To organize clubs and societies where unpaid or low-paid women will have an opportunity to talk about their previous or current experience, share their own ideas on how to reduce the number of those suffering from social inequity. It would be a significant contribution to the implementation of the project as the victims are the best source of thoughts and ideas on how to help people to solve the problem.  §Ã‚   To enlist governmental, non-governmental, and public organizations in the program including their financial support as project sponsors. To encourage them to tighten already existing rules of their companies in terms of wage gap and money distribution.  §Ã‚   To encourage women to start their own business and actively participate in public life  §Ã‚   To support women in new beginnings and promote their further professional education and training  §Ã‚   To collaborate with various associations and groups such as the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women Clubs  §Ã‚   To issue newspapers or journals on the topic  §Ã‚   To create favorable working atmosphere for women (especially of foreign origin).  §Ã‚   To promote global interaction among the members of the high-risk group portraying adverse conditions and consequences of inability to speak up and be assertive.  §Ã‚   To promote equal payment for jobs of identical value  §Ã‚   To uphold safe working environment with all necessary skills such as computer literacy, etc.  §Ã‚   To eliminate violence against women and avoid excessive number of men in the staff. In conclusion, it would be appropriate to note that the main objective of the action plan and other projects connected with the indicated above problem is to destroy the traditionally established stereotype denoting that women are supposed to be involved in low-income sector. â€Å"Policies such as paid parental leave, equal employment opportunities and the promotion of fair bargaining can improve women's ability to participate fully in the labor market† (Pay Equity). In order for us to succeed it is necessary to create a positive image of independent and smart woman who in fact always remains such and demonstrate her ability to cope with tasks that traditionally are only given to men.         

Implications of Watching Foreign Movies Essay

ABSTRACT This study looked at the relationship between watching foreign film, dramas, or variety show habits and the students’ academic performances. To determine whether its exposure benefitted the students or not, a reliable research has to be conducted. Considering student’s differences factors and strategies while studying, the results might be differ from many aspects. The individual skills include how frequent they watch the movie, how long they spent their time and what types of entertainment that they favored the most. An argument about the uses of visual aids such movie shows and others can enhance the academic performances will be settled on after the results of this study had been processed. A pilot study was conducted first to check whether there was any problem regarding this issue. About 3 to 5 students were tested. Finally a survey was conducted at the boys’ and girls’ hostels in Kolej Profesional MARA Indera Mahkota where 40 students consist of 15 male students and 25 female students. This survey was conducted by distributing a set of questionnaires to all the respondents. In general, this study was a big success where majority of the students agreed that this method of learning can enhance their academic performances. Winding up, several suggestion, opinion and recommendations were recorded in the finishing part of the report. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my special thanks to my advisor, Madam Jamilah Binti Abdul Manan, who provided me with detailed and insightful feedback for every draft, who spent an enormous amount of time reading and editing my investigation, and more importantly, who set an example for me to be a prudent presenter. I also want to thank her for her encouragement and assistance throughout the entire graduate program. I would also like to thank my family especially my auntie, Nooraini Binti Abdul Wahab for her assistance and suggestions in helping me to better understand the concept of visual study and etc. Also, I want to thank my parents for their great encouragement throughout the writing of this research. I want to offer a tremendous thank you to all my friends and anyone who has contributing  themselves in this study. I will remember your patience and assistance in helping me finish this program. I treasure your friendship and support. 1.0. Introduction 2.1. Background of the Study Watching movies and dramas has been a trend nowadays in students’ life especially in KPMIM. This habit does influence the student’s result in academic studies. By practicing this hobby, students manage to fill their free time. But the question is what the implications of this attitude are. Is it positive or negative impact towards the students themselves? A research has been done by Christine Canning Wilson from the Centre of Excellence for Research and Training, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi. In her research, it has been stated that audio-visual aids can enhance the language learning process. It said that note-taking studies are less successful nowadays. Instead of that, advanced visual organizers such as educational videos or any other related matters helped the learners  improve comprehension and aid in the retention of information. Students also like learning language through the use of videos. One of the result is learners prefer action/entertainment films in the classroom. In addition, this shows that visuals can be used to help enhance the meaning of the message to be conveyed by the speakers. By providing this kind of learning method, learners may be benefitted by seeing immediate meaning in terms of vocabulary recognition in the first language. Besides that, it is easier for them to clarify the message and clarify the gist of the stories. However, individuals process information in different ways. The strategies used by one learner are likely to differ from another. Thus, further investigation needs to be done in order to identify the real impact of watching movies/dramas and the relationship between these habits towards the students’ academic performances will be resolved after the research has been carried out. 2.2. Statement Of The Problem The problematic issue of this study is to identify the implications of watching foreign movies or films towards students. Besides that, the increase or any decrease in academic performance will be observed and to be concluded after this study has been completed. There is also an argument that questioning about either it is a kind of wasteful activity for KPMIM students. So a reliable research needs to be carried out regarding this issue. 2.3. Purpose Of The Study Since watching movies, dramas and variety shows have been a trend nowadays in students’ life especially in KPMIM; there may be some consequences for them particularly in academic performance. Apart from piling up their free time, a research needs to be done to investigate whether it is a beneficial or a wasteful activity for them. The purpose of the study portrayed in this research report was to assess the either lecturers and the students in teaching and learning process despite making them easier to understand and memorize all the input during language classes. Besides that, to make  learning process more interactive and enjoyable so that the students would think that education is not something that is too heavy and boring. 2.4. Objective Of The Study The objectives of this study are: 1. to find out whether it is beneficial activity during student’s leisure time or not 2. to investigate what is the relationship between this activity and students’ academic performance 3. to figure out what types of movies/dramas that have been the students’ favorites 4. To make suggestion that it could be one of the effective medium of learning or teaching. 2.5. Research Question The questionnaires will be given to some random students at Kolej Profesional MARA. 40 respondents will answer this questionnaire based on the research project. 15 of them were males and another 25 were the female students. The question will be focus on what are the impacts of the habit. * Is watching movies/ dramas a beneficial or waste type of hobby to students? * Does watching/movies really help the students in their academic studies? * What is the favorite categories/type of movies/dramas that most of the students like? * Should it be implemented as a medium for teaching and learning in education institutions? 2.6. Significance Of The Study This finding will help the lecturers and students to be aware of learning and teaching process can be easily done in a simple and effective way by using visual aids. Furthermore, students will be managed to fill their schedule with some beneficial activities instead of doing nothing. Apart from enhancing the students’ interest and enthusiasm in learning, students should be able to improve their vocabulary and other skills that are required in  language studies such listening skill and speaking skill. Authoritatively, this will help the college to introduce the concept of entertaining while studying so that students can have an enjoyable environment while in the class perhaps. Last but not least, to increase the academic performance in college by adapting a new way of study for the students. 2.7. Scope Of The Study The scope of this research is that the respondents are 40 people of KPMIM students. 15 people of male students and another 25 are the female students. The solution or any recommendations about this topic will be decided after the data has been collected. 2.0. Literature Review About few centuries ago language is hard to learn by mass of people. But a poet named Simonides has come out wit a great principle of learning which was ‘Words are the images of things’. His statement was almost similarly accurate as the famous great Aristotle perception, â€Å"Without image, thinking is impossible†. From here, we can clearly seen that both statement support the principle of visual aids towards one’s ascertain and edifying skills. Visual aids does enhance the language learning process. Video is one of the visual aids that usually used by a teacher, lecturer or a presenter to educate and instrcut pupils. Videos at best defined as the selection and sequence of messages in an audio-visual context. Research by Herron, Hanley and Cole (1995) indicates that the visual support in the form of descriptive pictures significantly improved comprehension scores with language videos for English speaking students. The results of the study indicate that extensive listening is facilitated by the richness of the context that visual organizers, such as educational videos, provide. Heron (1994) finds that advanced organizers based on videos helped learners improve comprehension and aid in the retention of information. A recent large-scale survey by Canning-Wilson (2000) suggests that the students like learning language through the use of videos. One of the results of her survey shows that learners prefer action/entertainment films to language films or  documentaries in the classroom. She states although these films may seem to hold student interest, she believes that it could be inferred that student comprehension of the video may be due to the visual clues instead of the auditory components. Heron, Hanley and Cole also hypothesize that the more meaningful an advanced organizer is the more impact it can have on comprehension and retention. Their results of using twelve different videos with foreign language learners indicates that scores improved when advanced organizers, such as a pictures and/or visual stimuli, are used with the video. Perhaps the findings from these studies can be attributed to the fact that video offers contextual support and/or helps learners to visualize words as well as meanings. Individuals process information in different ways. The strategies used by one learner are likely to differ from those used by a different learner. It has been proven that what benefits one group of learners may actually hinder the performance of a different group of learners (Bovy, 1981). Issues of the value of video as a teaching tool are often questioned. Omaggio (1979) suggests that â€Å"the profession has virtually no empirical basis for promoting the use of visuals as aids to comprehension in the second language; we know practically nothing about how students benefit from visuals† (1979, p.107). Recently, in a lecture on the use of visuals in research, Canning-Wilson (2000) claims that the use of illustrations, visuals, pictures, perceptions, mental images, figures, impressions, likenesses, cartoons, charts, graphs, colors, replicas, reproductions, or anything else used to help one see an immediate meaning in the language may benefit the learner by helping to clarify the message, provided the visual works in a positive way to enhance or supplement the language point. She reports that images contextualized in video or on its own can help to reinforce the language, provided the learner can see immediate meaning in terms of vocabulary recognition in the first language. Furthermore, her research suggests that visuals can be used to help enhance the meaning of the message trying to be conveyed by the speakers through the use of paralinguistic cues. Last but not least, additional factors must be considered when looking at video as an instructional medium to teach a foreign or second language. Balatova’s studies indicated that visual cues  found in videos were informative and enhanced comprehension in general, but did not necessarily stimulate the understanding of a text. It was also found that teaching with video had some affective advantages. If the results of their findings are true and the same results can be replicated, perhaps practitioners will no longer have to rely solely on anecdotal evidence. . 3.0. Research Methodology 4.8. Introduction This section discusses the methodology of the research. The main purpose of the research is to investigate the relationship between watching movies, dramas or variety shows and the academic performance among KPMIM students. Does it really affect the educational outcome or not? Besides that, to assess the students and lecturers in teaching or learning process apart from making them easier to absorb, distinguish and memorize the entire thing that they should. The data for the research were collected through questionnaires distribution. 4.9. Research Instruments This research utilized both the quantitative and qualitative research methodology. The instrument used to collect data was questionnaires. A set of questionnaires containing 13 questions divided into 2 parts. Different types of questions such as ranking, yes – no questions, listing and were used in the questionnaires. The questionnaires were piloted to five students to assess its validity before it was distributed. The qualitative data for the research come at open-ended questions. 4.10. Respondents of the Study The respondents of the study were several students at Kolej Profesional Mara Indera Mahkota, KPMIM. In March 2012, a total of 40 questionnaires were distributed to students randomly. 4.11. Research Procedure Before the actual data collection phase, a pilot study was conducted to assess the validity of the research instruments. A total of five students were involved in the pilot study chosen at randomly at Kolej professional Mara Indera Mahkota. During the actual study, the questionnaires were distributed at various locations on campus such as library, cafà ©, classes and dormitories. 4.12. Data Analysis To analyze the data, a several variables were taken into consideration namely the duration, effectiveness, oftenness of the students watching their favored movie, dramas or variety shows, and from which countries.besides that, major immpacts of this study were also been questioned. For examples, does it improve student’s vocab and lexis in writings, develop creative thinking, reasoning skill and crtical review and assist students to focus in class. The data were saved into the computer using Microsoft Excel software. Results were presented through frequency counts and other descriptive statistics. The data were transcribed accordingly. 4.0. Findings and Discussion This section will discuss the results of the research that had been done to determine whether it is an effective way as a method of learning and teaching towards KPMIM students. These findings received responses from 40 students which were 25 females and 15 males. FIGURE ANumber of Respondent (Students) Figure A shows the proportion of male and female students who were involved in this research. 15 of them were males and another 25 of them were the  females. The sum of them were 40 and the percentage that has been calculated as shown in the figure above. FIGURE BPercentage of students who watch movies/ dramas/ variety shows during free time. Figure B shows how many of students watch their favored shows during their leisure time. Majority of them watch movies and etc. during free time. 100 percent of male students did watch the movies while 92 percent of the female students who did the same thing. Only few of the female students did not watch the movies, dramas or variety shows. Maybe because of unnecessarily circumstances. Figure C Types of entertainment that mostly watched by the students The figure above shows the type of entertainments that mostly watched by KPMIM students. To sum up, majority of the respondents preffered variety shows as their most favored types of entertainment. It is because it has been a phenomenon nowadays. Not only in KPMIM but all over Malaysia educational institutes. Maybe because the show is really funny and make them laugh every time they watch it. Nevertheless, it educates while entertaining. That is the most important. Otherwise, the data for other type of entertainments that prefferably watch by the students are shown in the figure above. Films at the 2nd rank followed by animation series as the 3rd and dramas was the least. Figure DForeign Entertainments that most Influential Based on the figure above, the well-influenced foreign entertainment among male students in KPMIM is the Bollywood followed by English, Korean and Japanese as the least. The reason why they chose Bollywood as their favoured foreign entertainment, it is because the eye-catching lyrics from pleasant songs and it teaches a lot of moral and values. For the female respondents, majority of them pick English as their favored entertainment followed by Korean, Bollywood and Japanese. FIGURE EFrequencies of Sudents watch their Favored Shows As shown in the figure above, the female students often watch their favored shows for only 3 times a week whereas the male students watch their preffered entertainments 7 times a week which is everyday. FIGURE FTime outlay for each sessions From the figure above, it is shown that majority of the male students spend their time about 4 to 5 hours for each session. For the female students, they only spent about 3 to 4 hours for their leisure movie times. This shows the females were good in managing their times compared tom the males. Notwithstanding, as long as the shows that they watched bring some benefits to them, it is alright. FIGURE GHelp them in improving the Vocabs and Lexis in Wrtings Greater part of the respondents agree with the hypothesis, ‘by watching movies, dramas or variety shows, they can improve their vocabularies and lexis in their writings’. When they watched foreign shows or movies, they learned by reading the subtitles and find the meaning of words that they do not understand. By doing that, although it looks like a slow way of improving their vocabs, it really helps them in their examination. Especially in writing and speaking skills. FIGURE HDevelop Creative thinking, Reasoning skills and Critical Review For this section, 98 percent of the respondents agreed with the hypothesis by practising this habbit, they can develop their creative thinking, reasoning skills and critical review. Only 2 percent of them did not agree with the statement. The figure indicates that, majority of them could develop some of the useful skills especially in language classes. This means that watching movies, dramas and variety shows is not wasteful activity during leisure time. FIGURE IAssists to Focus and Improve Academic Performance Based on the figure above, 88 percent of the students do agree with the hypothesis of by applying this type of inclination, they tend to focus during classes. Only minority of them, 15 percent did not agree. Besides that, for sure, it will also aiding their academic performance. From this situation, we can conclude that this kind of practice lead to success for the students whom put run through it. Open ended question:- â€Å"Visual Aids (Movies/dramas/etc.) should be one of the effective mediums of learning or teaching because it brings a ton of advantages rather than disfavors†.  Give your opinion/ comments regarding this issue. Please state the reasons why did you support or oppose this statement. Based on all the anwers, most of them are all the positive comments. This shown that, Visual Aids such Movies, dramas, and etc. are really should be implemented as one of the effective mediums of learning and teaching in any KPMIM since it bequeath loads of benefit rather than disfavors. 5.0. Conclusion This research investigated the relationship between the methods of using visual aids as learning process and the academic performance towards KPMIM students. Primary data were collected by randomly with distributing a set of questionnaires to 40 students. As has been mentioned earlier in the introduction, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using visual aids in teaching and learning towards the academic performance of students The following conlusions can be drawn based on the findings of the study: 1. This study shows that watching movies/ dramas/ variety shows, students managed to perform well in their academic performance. 2. By practicing this habit, educatees can improve their vocabularies and lexis in writings instead of developing their creative thinking, critical reviews and reasoning skills. 3. Last of all, this method of learning and teaching is ought to be implemented in every educational institutions. The results of this study indicate that teaching and learning by using visual aids as a method compulsarily implemented in KPMIM especially in English subject. This is because after a thorough study has been investigated, it bring a a lot more benefits rather than detriment to students or even lecturers. However, this findings are only true for KPMIM students. The same study needs to be done with students from other educational institutes to see if there are any similarities with the impact of watching foreign movies, dramas and variety shows habit towards the academic performances. 6.0RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1Recommendations based on Findings Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, here are several recommendations to be considered: 1. Visual Aids such (Movie Reviews / Documentaries /etc.) should be one of the effective mediums of learning because it brings a ton of advantages rather than disfavors. 2. Educators are also counseled to use this method of teaching as it makes edifying process more simpler, cooler, interactive and valuable. 6.2Recommendations for Future Research Since this study only focussed on KPMIM students, it is highly recommended that further reseach be carried out for other students from another colleges or universities to explore whether there might some differences in the study or similarities in the findings. Besides that, the implementation of this method of learning and teaching could be the worldwide most effective way in teaching English because it is essential for all walks of life. Lastly, M.O.E or any other parties could impart some expenses and provide new high-tech facilities to all education institution. BIBLIOGRAPHY * Richard Cameron & Dolati Roman. (2010). Harnessing the Use of Visual Learning Aids in the English Language Classroom. Retrieved December 15th, 2010 from the Arab World English Journal. * Koren, S. (1996). Vocabulary instruction through hypertext: Are there advantages over conventional methods of teaching?.TESL-EJ, 4(1), 1- 14. * Mayer, R. & Simes, V. (1994). For whom is a picture worth a thousand words? Extensions of a dual–coding theory of multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Technology, 86, 389-401. * The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 11, November 2000 http://iteslj.org/

Business Management and Leadership Personal Statement - 1

Business Management and Leadership - Personal Statement Example While working as an event specialist for Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, I have to handle and manage various financial statements by using the software such as Excel and Quikbooks. The business of Jamaica Chamber of Commerce mainly deals with renting space to those clients or businesses that intend to host any sort of event that may include birthday parties and bridal showers among others. One of my chief roles along with responsibilities as an event specialist in this business is to organize events for the customers and also closing contracts on a weekly basis. Apart from this, I also work as a college assistant at York college. In this job profile, my main tasks are to handle purchase requisitions and also handling e-mails for the department of student activities of this college. Thus, by taking into concern the above discussed tasks that I perform, the online Master’s degree of Business Management and Leadership (M.S.) program would prove quite beneficial for me. This can be j ustified with reference to the fact that the above mentioned core business areas on which the stated online program mainly focus upon will make me to learn and acquire in-depth understanding about how to conduct such activities efficiently within a definite timeframe. From the very beginning, I had a keen interest to work in Army and for that I am currently attending officer candidate school in the Army National Guard. I have certain targets to accomplish in the future. One of such targets is to become a Financial Officer in the Army and thus, I expect that the online Master’s degree of Business Management and Leadership (M.S.) program would guide me to fulfill such target. The fulfillment of such target matters a lot for me owing to the reason that it would make me to realize my own job responsibilities and also enable me to take better professional decisions. There lay certain

ENVS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ENVS - Essay Example On the other hand, I used three Tissue papers and diverted then to garbage can. However, I have wasted a little juice in my glass. I used two more tissues. In the similar way, I have written down the weekly routine and the Assessment is as under. The weekly average of all my waste in combination and calculation becomes. At the end of the first day, I have thrown, one full egg, about 100 ml juice, 2 slice of the bread,100 gram of beef and little oil that is required to fry it. On the other hand, I have wasted 14 tissues, 3 notes papers and 5 computer papers. At the end of the second day, I have wasted one full egg; about 67 ml of juice, 2 and a half slice of bread, 67 gram of chicken and some oil to fry it. I have wasted 13 tissues, 4 notes paper and 2 computer papers. At the end of the second day, I have wasted one full egg; about 117 ml of juice, 2 and a half slice of bread, 132 gram of chicken and some oil to fry it. I have wasted 12 tissues, 5 notes paper and 6 computer papers. At the end of the second day, I have wasted one full egg; about 113 ml of juice, 1 and a half slice of bread, 106 gram of beef and some oil to fry it. I have wasted 11 tissues, 2 notes paper and 4 computer papers. At the end of the second day, I have wasted one full egg; about 109 ml of juice, 1 and a half slice of bread, 106 gram of chicken and some oil to fry it. ... I have wasted 17 tissues, 4 notes paper and 2 computer papers. Weekly Results In Packs My Food Waste 1 Littre Juice-16 slices of the Bread, 7 eggs, 375g Beef, 300 g Chicken and Half a litter oil, 212 ml of milk My Paper Waste Country Average 101 Tissues, 25 notes papers, 34 computer printed papers. 4 juice tetra packs Bottles and Plastic Can waste 3 milk bottles, 7 beverage bottles, 17 plastic bags, 8 plastic food cans. The pattern of the garbage shows that I am producing much waste but an Average person, in the country I live in, produces the similar quantity of the waste. There is need to change the way I live and the way, the food products are delivered. I am much surprised that I am producing such a massive amount of waste. There is need that I must reduce the waste by adopting the waste reducing tactics and planning. Most of the waste, I threw in the garbage, can be recycled. While, the food waste can be composted in order to extract the waste energy out of it. There is a need t o manage my food waste, as I am filing full glass with the juice while; I should fill half the glass and fill it again if I feel the necessity. In the similar way, I should take less slice of bread to reduce the waste. I realized that I am frying one egg daily in the breakfast just to fill the garbage. I should fry only one egg. In the similar way, I am filling full glass with the milk; I should fill half and take more if it is required. Beef and chicken should be cooked according to the need not more than the need. I realized that I use much tissue papers, I should use hand towel at home to reduce the need of tissue papers. On the other hand, the waste of computer printed papers and