Saladin 6e Chapter 12 Nervous Tissue

Nervous System Set 2 Study online at quizlet. com/_6rnj1 2. What are the classifications of neurons? 3. What are the four types of neuroglia in CNS? 4. What are the two types of fast axonal transport? 5. What are the two types of neuroglia in PNS? 7. What do brain tumors arise from? 8. What do schawnn cells do in PNS? 9. What does the neuroglia or glial cells do? 10. What guides microtubules along axon? 11. What is anaxonic neuron? 12. What is anterograde transport? 13. What is astrocytes? 14. What is axonal transport or axoplasmic flow? 1.What are schwann cells? envelope nerve fibers in PNS. produce a myelin sheath multipolar, bipolar, unipolar and anaxonic oligodendrocytes, ependyal cells, microglia and astocytes Fast anterograde and fast retrograde. Occurs at a rate of 20 to 400 mm/day Schwann cells and satellite cells. masses of rapidly dividing cells. meninges (protective membrane of CNS), Metastasis from nonneuronal tumors in other organs. Often glial cells that are mitotically active throughout life spiral repeatedly around a single nerve fiber. support and protect the neurons.Prevents neurons from touching eachother and gives precision to conduction pathways motor proteins (kinesin and dynein) carry materials â€Å"on their backs† while they â€Å"crawl† along microtubules many dendrites but no axon. Help in visual processes movement away from the soma down the axon maintain structure. â€Å"nerve growth factors† secreted by astrocytes promote neuron growth and synapse formation 0. 5 to 10 mm/day. always anterograde. moves enzymes governs speed of damged nerve fibers. two way passage along an axon 16. What is bipolar neuron? 17. What is dynein? 18. What is pendymal cells? 19. What is fast anterograde transport? 20. What is fast retrograde transport? 21. What is Initial segment? 22. What is Internodes? 23. What is kinesin? 24. What is microglia? 25. What is multipolar neuron? 26. What is myelin sheath? 27. What is myelination? 28. Wh at is neurilemma? 29. What is nodes of Ranvier? 30. What is oligodendrocyes? 31. What is retrograde transport? 32. What is Satellite cells? 33. What is the trigger zone? 34. What is unipolar neuron? one axon and one dendrite. motor proteins in retrograde transport line internal cavities of the brain.Secretes and circulates CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) â€Å"transport† moves mitochondria, synaptic vessicles, other organelles toward the distal end of the axon for recycled material and pathogens – rabies, herpes simplex, tetanus, polio virus. The short section of nerve fiber between the axon hillock and the first glial cell the myelin covered segments from one gap to the next motor proteins in anteograde transport. (supply) â€Å"soldier† small, wondering macophages formed white blood cell called monocytes one axon, multiple dendrites. Most common, most neuron in brain and spinal cord an insulating layer around a nerve fiber. s segmented production of the myelin sheat h. thick outermost coil of myelin sheath. contains nucleus and most of its cytoplasm. gaps between the segments of myelin sheath form myelin sheathes in CNS. forms an insulating layer that speed up signal conduction movement up the axon toward the soma surround neurosoms in ganglia of PNS. provide electrical insulation around soma. Regulate chemical environment of the neuron the axon hillock and initial segment single process leading away from the soma. Sensory from skin and organs to spinal cord 6. What are tumors? 15. what is axonal transport?

Forward the Foundation Chapter 10

6 The weather was holding up over the undomed area of the Imperial Palace grounds-warm and sunny. It didn't often happen. Hari remembered Dors telling him once how this particular area with its cold winters and frequent rains had been chosen as the site. â€Å"It wasn't actually chosen,† she said. â€Å"It was a family estate of the Morovian family in the early days of the Kingdom of Trantor. When the Kingdom became an Empire, there were numerous sites where the Emperor could live-summer resorts, winter places, sports lodges, beach properties. And, as the planet was slowly domed, one reigning Emperor, living here, liked it so much that it remained undomed. And, just because it was the only area left undomed, it became special-a place apart-and that uniqueness appealed to the next Emperor†¦ and the next†¦ and the next†¦ And so, a tradition was born.† And as always, when hearing something like that, Seldon would think: And how would psychohistory handle this? Would it predict that one area would remain undomed but be absolutely unable to say which area? Could it go even so far? Could it predict that several areas would remain undomed or none-and be wrong? How could it account for the personal likes and dislikes of an Emperor who happened to be on the throne at the crucial time and who made a decision in a moment of whimsy and nothing more. That way lay chaos-and madness. Cleon I was clearly enjoying the good weather. â€Å"I'm getting old, Seldon,† he said. â€Å"I don't have to tell you that. We're the same age, you and I. Surely it's a sign of age when I don't have the impulse to play tennis or go fishing, even though they've newly restocked the lake, but am willing to walk gently over the pathways.† He was eating nuts as he spoke, which resembled what on Seldon's native world of Helicon would have been called pumpkin seeds, but which were larger and a little less delicate in taste. Cleon cracked them gently between his teeth, peeled the thin shells and popped the kernels into his mouth. Seldon did not like the taste particularly but, of course, when he was offered some by the Emperor, he accepted them and ate a few. The Emperor had a number of shells in his hand and looked vaguely around for a receptacle of some sort that he could use for disposal. He saw none, but he did notice a gardener standing not far away, his body at attention (as it should be in the Imperial presence) and his head respectfully bowed. Cleon said, â€Å"Gardener!† The gardener approached quickly. â€Å"Sire!† â€Å"Get rid of these for me,† he said, tapping the shells into the gardener's hand. â€Å"Yes, Sire.† Seldon said, â€Å"I have a few, too, Gruber.† Gruber held out his hand and said, almost shyly, â€Å"Yes, First Minister.† He hurried away and the Emperor looked after him curiously. â€Å"Do you know the fellow, Seldon?† â€Å"Yes, indeed, Sire. An old friend.† â€Å"The gardener is an old friend? What is he? A mathematical colleague fallen on hard times?† â€Å"No, Sire. Perhaps you remember the story. It was the time when†-he cleared his throat, searching for the most tactful way to recall the incident-â€Å"the sergeant threatened my life shortly after I was appointed to my present post through your kindness.† â€Å"The assassination attempt.† Cleon looked up to heaven, as though seeking patience. â€Å"I don't know why everyone is so afraid of that word.† â€Å"Perhaps,† said Seldon smoothly, slightly despising himself for the ease with which he had become able to flatter, â€Å"the rest of us are more perturbed at the possibility of something untoward happening to our Emperor than you yourself are.† Cleon smiled ironically. â€Å"I dare say. And what has this to do with Gruber? Is that his name?† â€Å"Yes, Sire. Mandell Gruber. I'm sure you will recall, if you cast your mind back, that there was a gardener who came rushing up with a rake to defend me against the armed sergeant.† â€Å"Ah yes. Was that fellow the gardener who did that?† â€Å"He was the man, Sire. I've considered him a friend ever since and I meet him almost every time I am on the grounds. I think he watches for me, feels proprietary toward me. And, of course, I feel kindly toward him.† â€Å"I don't blame you. And while we're on the subject, how is your formidable lady, Dr. Venabili? I don't see her often.† â€Å"She's a historian, Sire. Lost in the past.† â€Å"She doesn't frighten you? She'd frighten me. I've been told how she treated that sergeant. One could almost be sorry for him.† â€Å"She grows savage on my behalf, Sire, but has not had occasion to do so lately. It's been very quiet.† The Emperor looked after the disappearing gardener. â€Å"Have we ever rewarded that man?† â€Å"I have done so, Sire. He has a wife and two daughters and I have arranged that each daughter will have a sum of money put aside for the education of any children she may have.† â€Å"Very good. But he needs a promotion, I think. Is he a good gardener?† â€Å"Excellent, Sire.† â€Å"The Chief Gardener, Malcomber-I'm not quite sure I remember his name-is getting on and is, perhaps, not up to the job anymore. He is well into his late seventies. Do you think this Gruber might be able to take over?† â€Å"I'm certain he can, Sire, but he likes his present job. It keeps him out in the open in all kinds of weather.† â€Å"A peculiar recommendation for a job. I'm sure he can get used to administration and I do need someone for some sort of renewal of the grounds. Hmmm. I must think upon this. Your friend Gruber may be just the man I need. By the way, Seldon, what did you mean by saying it's been very quiet?† â€Å"I merely meant, Sire, that there has been no sign of discord at the Imperial Court. The unavoidable tendency to intrigue seems to be as near a minimum as it is ever likely to get.† â€Å"You wouldn't say that if you were Emperor, Seldon, and had to contend with all these officials and their complaints. How can you tell me things are quiet when reports seem to reach me every other week of some serious breakdown here and there on Trantor?† â€Å"These things are bound to happen.† â€Å"I don't recall such things happening so frequently in previous years.† â€Å"Perhaps that was because they didn't, Sire. The infrastructure grows older with time. To make the necessary repairs properly would take time, labor, and enormous expense. This is not a time when a rise in taxes will be looked on favorably.† â€Å"There's never any such time. I gather that the people are experiencing serious dissatisfaction over these breakdowns. It must stop and you must see to it, Seldon. What does psychohistory say?† â€Å"It says what common sense says, that everything is growing older.† â€Å"Well, all this is quite spoiling the pleasant day for me. I leave it in your hands, Seldon.† â€Å"Yes, Sire,† said Seldon quietly. The Emperor strode off and Seldon thought that it was all spoiling the pleasant day for him, too. This breakdown at the center was the alternative he didn't want. But how was he to prevent it and switch the crisis to the Periphery? Psychohistory didn't say. 7 Raych Seldon felt extraordinarily contented, for it was the first dinner en famille that he had had in some months with the two people he thought of as his father and mother. He knew perfectly well that they were not his parents in any biological sense, but it didn't matter. He merely smiled at them with complete love. The surroundings were not as warm as they had been at Streeling in the old days, when their home had been small and intimate, a virtual gem in the larger setting of the University. Now, unfortunately, nothing could hide the grandeur of the First Minister's Palace suite. Raych sometimes stared at himself in the mirror and wondered how it could be. He was not tall, only 163 centimeters in height, distinctly shorter than either parent. He was rather stocky but muscular-and not fat, with black hair and the distinctive Dahlite mustache that he kept as dark and as thick as possible. In the mirror he could still see the street urchin he had once been before the chanciest of great chances had dictated his meeting with Hari and Dors. Seldon had been much younger then and his appearance now made it plain that Raych himself was almost as old now as Seldon had been when they met. Amazingly, Dors had hardly changed at all. She was as sleek and fit as the day Raych had first showed Hari and Dors the way to Mother Rittah's in Billibotton. And he, Raych, born to poverty and misery, was now a member of the civil service, a small cog in the Ministry of Population. Seldon said, â€Å"How are things going at the Ministry, Raych? Any progress?† â€Å"Some, Dad. The laws are passed. The court decisions are made. Speeches are pronounced. Still, it's difficult to move people. You can preach brotherhood all you want, but no one feels like a brother. What gets me is that the Dahlites are as bad as any of the others. They want to be treated as equals, they say, and so they do, but, given a chance, they have no desire to treat others as equals.† Dors said, â€Å"It's all but impossible to change people's minds and hearts, Raych. It's enough to try and perhaps eliminate the worst of the injustices.† â€Å"The trouble is,† said Seldon, â€Å"that through most of history, no one's been working on this problem. Human beings have been allowed to fester in the delightful game of I'm-better-than-you and cleaning up that mess isn't easy. If we allow things to follow their own bent and grow worse for a thousand years, we can't complain if it takes, say, a hundred years to work an improvement.† â€Å"Sometimes, Dad,† said Raych, â€Å"I think you gave me this job to punish me.† Seldon's eyebrows raised. â€Å"What motivation could I have had to punish you?† â€Å"For feeling attracted to Joranum's program of sector equality and for greater popular representation in government.† â€Å"I don't blame you for that. These are attractive suggestions, but you know that Joranum and his gang were using it only as a device to gain power. Afterward-â€Å" â€Å"But you had me entrap him, despite my attraction to his views.† Seldon said, â€Å"it wasn't easy for me to ask you to do that.† â€Å"And now you keep me working at the implementation of Joranum's program, just to show me how hard the task is in reality.† Seldon said to Dors, â€Å"How do you like that, Dors? The boy attributes to me a kind of sneaky underhandedness that simply isn't part of my character.† â€Å"Surely,† said Dors with the ghost of a smile playing at her lips, â€Å"you are attributing no such thing to your father.† â€Å"Not really. In the ordinary course of life, there's no one straighter than you, Dad. But if you have to, you know you can stack the cards. Isn't that what you hope to do with psychohistory?† Seldon said sadly, â€Å"So far, I've done very little with psychohistory.† â€Å"Too bad. I keep thinking that there is some sort of psychohistorical solution to the problem of human bigotry.† â€Å"Maybe there is, but, if so, I haven't found it.† When dinner was over, Seldon said, â€Å"You and I, Raych, are going to have a little talk now.† â€Å"Indeed?† said Dors. â€Å"I take it I'm not invited.† â€Å"Ministerial business, Dors.† â€Å"Ministerial nonsense, Hari. You're going to ask the poor boy to do something I wouldn't want him to do.† Seldon said firmly, â€Å"I'm certainly not going to ask him to do anything he doesn't want to do.† Raych said, â€Å"It's all right, Mom. Let Dad and me have our talk. I promise I'll tell you all about it afterward.† Dors's eyes rolled upward. â€Å"You two will plead ‘state secrets.' I know â€Å"As a matter of fact,† said Seldon firmly, â€Å"that's exactly what I must discuss. And of the first magnitude. I'm serious, Dors.† Dors rose, her lips tightening. She left the room with one final injunction. â€Å"Don't throw the boy to the wolves, Hari.† And after she was gone, Seldon said quietly, â€Å"I'm afraid that throwing you to the wolves is exactly what I'll have to do, Raych.† 8 They faced each other in Seldon's private office, his â€Å"thinking place,† as he called it. There, he had spent uncounted hours trying to think his way past and through the complexities of Imperial and Trantorian government. He said, â€Å"Have you read much about the recent breakdowns we've been having in planetary services, Raych?† â€Å"Yes,† said Raych, â€Å"but you know, Dad, we've got an old planet here. What we gotta do is get everyone off it, dig the whole thing up, replace everything, add the latest computerizations, and then bring everyone back-or at least half of everyone. Trantor would be much better off with only twenty billion people.† â€Å"Which twenty billion?† asked Seldon smiling. â€Å"I wish I knew,† said Raych darkly. â€Å"The trouble is, we can't redo the planet, so we just gotta keep patching.† â€Å"I'm afraid so, Raych, but there are some peculiar things about it. Now I want you to check me out. I have some thoughts about this.† He brought a small sphere out of his pocket. â€Å"What's that?† asked Raych. â€Å"It's a map of Trantor, carefully programmed. Do me a favor, Raych, and clear off this tabletop.† Seldon placed the sphere more or less in the middle of the table and placed his hand on a keypad in the arm of his desk chair. He used his thumb to close a contact and the light in the room went out while the tabletop glowed with a soft ivory light that seemed about a centimeter deep. The sphere had flattened and expanded to the edges of the table. The light slowly darkened in spots and took on a pattern. After some thirty seconds, Raych said in surprise, â€Å"It is a map of Trantor.† â€Å"Of course. I told you it was. You can't buy anything like this at a sector mall, though. This is one of those gadgets the armed forces play with. It could present Trantor as a sphere, but a planar projection would more clearly show what I want to show.† â€Å"And what is it you want to show, Dad?† â€Å"Well, in the last year or two, there have been breakdowns. As you say, it's an old planet and we've got to expect breakdowns, but they've been coming more frequently and they would seem, almost uniformly, to be the result of human error.† â€Å"Isn't that reasonable?† â€Å"Yes, of course. Within limits. This is true, even where earthquakes are involved.† â€Å"Earthquakes? On Trantor?† â€Å"I admit Trantor is a fairly nonseismic planet-and a good thing, too, because enclosing a world in a dome when the world is going to shake itself badly several times a year and smash a section of that dome would be highly impractical. Your mother says that one of the reasons Trantor, rather than some other world, became the Imperial capital is that it was geologically moribund-that's her unflattering expression. Still, it might be moribund, but it's not dead. There are occasional minor earthquakes-three of them in the last two years.† â€Å"I wasn't aware of that, Dad.† â€Å"Hardly anyone is. The dome isn't a single object. It exists in hundreds of sections, each one of which can be lifted and set ajar to relieve tensions and compressions in case of an earthquake. Since an earthquake, when one does occur, lasts for only ten seconds to a minute, the opening endures only briefly. It comes and goes so rapidly that the Trantorians beneath are not even aware of it. They are much more aware of a mild tremor and a faint rattling of crockery than of the opening and closing of the dome overhead and the slight intrusion of the outside weather-whatever it is.† â€Å"That's good, isn't it?† â€Å"It should be. It's computerized, of course. The onset of an earthquake anywhere sets off the key controls for the opening and closing of that section of the dome so that it opens just before the vibration becomes strong enough to do damage.† â€Å"Still good.† â€Å"But in the case of the three minor earthquakes over the last two years, the dome controls failed in each case. The dome never opened and, in each case, repairs were required. It took some time, it took some money, and the weather controls were less than optimum for a considerable period of time. Now, what, Raych, are the chances that the equipment would have failed in all three cases?† â€Å"Not high?† â€Å"Not high at all. Less than one in a hundred. One can suppose that someone had gimmicked the controls in advance of an earthquake. Now, about once a century, we have a magma leak, which is far more difficult to control-and I'd hate to think of the results if it went unnoticed until it was too late. Fortunately that hasn't happened and isn't likely to, but consider-Here on this map you will find the location of the breakdowns that have plagued us over the past two years and that seem to be attributable to human error, though we haven't once been able to tell to whom each might be attributed.† â€Å"That's because everyone is busy protecting his back.† â€Å"I'm afraid you're right. That's a characteristic of any bureaucracy and Trantor's is the largest in history. But what do you think of the locations?† The map had lit up with bright little red markings that looked like small pustules covering the land surface of Trantor. â€Å"Well,† said Raych cautiously, â€Å"they seem to be evenly spread.† â€Å"Exactly-and that's what's interesting. One would expect that the older sections of Trantor, the longest-domed sections, would have the most decayed infrastructure and would be more liable to events requiring quick human decision and laying the groundwork for possible human error. I'll superimpose the older sections of Trantor on the map in a bluish color and you'll notice that the breakdowns don't seem to be taking place any oftener on the blue areas.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"And what I think it means, Raych, is that the breakdowns are not of natural origin but are deliberately caused and spread out in this fashion to affect as many people as possible, thus creating a dissatisfaction that is as widespread as possible.† â€Å"It don't seem likely.† â€Å"No? Then let's look at the breakdowns as spread through time rather than through space.† The blue areas and the red spots disappeared and, for a time, the map of Trantor was blank-and then the markings began to appear and disappear one at a time, here and there. â€Å"Notice,† said Seldon, â€Å"that they don't appear in clumps in time, either. One appears, then another, then another, and so on, almost like the steady ticking of a metronome.† â€Å"Do ya think that's on purpose, too?† â€Å"It must be. Whoever is bringing this about wants to cause as much disruption with as little effort as possible, so there's no use doing two at once, where one will partially cancel the other in the news and in the public consciousness. Each incident must stand out in full irritation.† The map went out and the lights went on. Seldon returned the sphere, shrunken back to its original size, to his pocket. Raych said, â€Å"Who would be doing all this?† Seldon said thoughtfully, â€Å"A few days ago I received a report of a murder in Wye Sector.† â€Å"That's not unusual,† said Raych. â€Å"Even though Wye isn't one of your really lawless sectors, there must be lots of murders there every day.† â€Å"Hundreds,† said Seldon, shaking his head. â€Å"We've had bad days when the number of deaths by violence on Trantor as a whole approaches the million-a-day mark. Generally there's not much chance of finding every culprit, every murderer. The dead just enter the books as statistics. This one, however, was unusual. The man had been knifed-but unskillfully. He was still alive when found, just barely. He had time to gasp out one word before he died and that word was ‘Chief.' â€Å"That roused a certain curiosity and he was actually identified. He works in Anemoria and we don't know what he was doing in Wye. But some worthy officer managed to dig up the fact that he was an old Joranumite. His name was Kaspal Kaspalov and he is well known to have been one of the intimates of Laskin Joranum. And now he's deadknifed.† Raych frowned. â€Å"Do you suspect another Joranumite Conspiracy, Dad? There aren't any Joranumites around anymore.† â€Å"It wasn't long ago that your mother asked me if I thought that the Joranumites were still active and I told her that any odd belief always retained a certain cadre, sometimes for centuries. They're usually not very important, just splinter groups that simply don't count. Still, what if the Joranumites have kept up an organization, what if they have retained a certain strength, what if they are capable of killing someone they consider a traitor in their ranks, and what if they are producing these breakdowns as a preliminary to seizing control?† â€Å"That's an awful lot of ‘what if ‘s,' Dad.† â€Å"I know that. And I might be totally wrong. The murder happened in Wye and, as it so happens, there have been no infrastructure breakdowns in Wye.† â€Å"What does that prove?† â€Å"It might prove that the center of the conspiracy is in Wye and that the conspirators don't want to make themselves uncomfortable, only the rest of Trantor. It also might mean that it's not the Joranumites at all but members of the old Wyan family who still dream of ruling the Empire once again.† â€Å"Oh boy, Dad. You're building all this on very little.† â€Å"I know. Now suppose it is another Joranumite Conspiracy. Joranum had, as his right-hand man, Gambol Deen Namarti. We have no record of Namarti's death, no record of his having left Trantor, no record of his life over the last decade or so. That's not terribly surprising. After all, it's easy to lose one person among forty billion. There was a time in my life when I tried to do just that. Of course, Namarti may be dead. That would be the easiest explanation, but he may not be.† â€Å"What do we do about it?† Seldon sighed. â€Å"The logical thing would be to turn to the security establishment, but I can't. I don't have Demerzel's presence. He could cow people; I can't. He had a powerful personality; I'm just a-mathematician. I shouldn't be First Minister at all; I'm not cut out for it. And I wouldn't be-if the Emperor weren't fixated on psychohistory to a far greater extent than it deserves.† â€Å"You're kinda whipping yourself, ain't you, Dad?† â€Å"Yes. I suppose I am, but I have a picture of myself going to the security establishment, for instance, with what I have just shown you on the map†-he pointed to the now-empty tabletop-â€Å"and arguing that we were in great danger of some conspiracy of unknown consequence and nature. They would listen solemnly and, after I had left, they would laugh among themselves about ‘the crazy mathematician'-and then do nothing.† â€Å"Then what do we do about it?† said Raych, returning to the point. â€Å"It's what you will do about it, Raych. I need more evidence and I want you to find it for me. I would send your mother, but she won't leave me under any circumstances. I myself can't leave the Palace grounds at this time. Next to Dors and myself, I trust you. More than Dors and myself, in fact. You're still quite young, you're strong, you're a better Heliconian Twister than I ever was, and you're smart. â€Å"Mind you, now, I don't want you to risk your life. No heroism, no derring-do. I couldn't face your mother if anything happened to you. Just find out what you can. Perhaps you'll find that Namarti is alive and operating-or dead. Perhaps you'll find out that the Joranumites are an active group-or moribund. Perhaps you'll find out that the Wyan ruling family is active-or not. Any of that would be interesting-but not vital. What I want you to find out is whether the infrastructure breakdowns are of human manufacture, as I think they are, and, far more important still, if they are deliberately caused, what else the conspirators plan to do. It seems to me they must have plans for some major coup and, if so, I must know what that will be.† Raych said cautiously, â€Å"Do you have some kinda plan to get me started?† â€Å"Yes indeed, Raych. I want you to go down to the area of Wye where Kaspalov was killed. Find out if you can if he was an active Joranumite and see if you can't join a Joranumite cell yourself.† â€Å"Maybe that's possible. I can always pretend to be an old Joranumite. It's true that I was pretty young when Jo-Jo was sounding off, but I was very impressed by his ideas. It's even sorta true.† â€Å"Well yes, but there's one important catch. You might be recognized. After all, you're the son of the First Minister. You have appeared on holovision now and then and you have been interviewed concerning your views on sector equality.† â€Å"Sure, but-â€Å" â€Å"No buts, Raych. You'll wear elevated shoes to add three centimeters to your height and we'll have someone show you how to change the shape of your eyebrows and make your face fuller and change the timbre of your voice.† Raych shrugged. â€Å"A lotta trouble for nothing.† â€Å"And,† said Seldon with a distinct quaver, â€Å"you will shave off your mustache.† Raych's eyes widened and for a moment he sat there in appalled silence. Finally he said in a hoarse whisper, â€Å"Shave my mustache?† â€Å"Clean as a whistle. No one would recognize you without it.† â€Å"But it can't be done. Like cutting off your-Like castration.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"It's just a cultural curiosity. Yugo Amaryl is as Dahlite as you are and he wears no mustache.† â€Å"Yugo is a nut. I don't think he's alive at all, except for his mathematics.† â€Å"He's a great mathematician and the absence of a mustache does not alter that fact. Besides, it's not castration. Your mustache will grow back in two weeks.† â€Å"Two weeks! It'll take two years to reach this-this-â€Å" He put his hand up, as though to cover and protect it. Seldon said inexorably, â€Å"Raych, you have to do it. It's a sacrifice you must make. If you act as my spy with your mustache, you may-come to harm. I can't take that chance.† â€Å"I'd rather die,† said Raych violently. â€Å"Don't be melodramatic,† said Seldon severely. â€Å"You would not rather die and this is something you must do. However†-and here he hesitated-â€Å"don't say anything about it to your mother. I will take care of that.† Raych stared at his father in frustration and then said in a low and despairing tone, â€Å"All right, Dad.† Seldon said, â€Å"I will get someone to supervise your disguise and then you will go to Wye by air-jet. Buck up, Raych, it's not the end of the world.† Raych smiled wanly and Seldon watched him leave, a deeply troubled look on his face. A mustache could easily be regrown, but a son could not. Seldon knew perfectly well that he was sending Raych into danger.

Discuss – Whether or not we should use animals

The use of animals for medical research is a debatable issue with some claiming that for the benefit of science, medical research needs animals and testing on animals is a necessity for the progress of science. Others argue that it is unethical to use animals and any other form of life as some of this research would involve killing of the animals and this is completely unacceptable even for the sake of progress of science. Other alternative methods to killing and using animals should be used for research and study and animals should not be directly used, abused and killed. In fact people advocating protection of wild life and related policies are against the capture and indiscriminate use of nature’s resources even if it is in the grab of betterment for humanity.   This essay deals with both sides of the debate showing the advantages and disadvantages of using animals for testing for betterment and advancement of medical research.Part IWhy animal testing is plausible and can be usedIn most cases, most pharmaceutical companies try new drugs on animals first and also try new chemicals or use animal anatomy to understand human anatomy. Many people believe that medical research as practised by big pharmaceutical companies use animals unethically for business gains and profits. The medical companies have their own research and development units where new drugs are initially tested on animals, especially rats or guineapigs and the effects of these drugs are then generalized on to humans a many clinical symptoms of animals are similar to what is expected in humans.Thus if new drugs are not effective or have adverse impact on animals, the same could be presumed in case of humans for the same drug. This generalization factor is important as companies and scientists claim that they use animals to understand the effects of drug on humans or simply to understand the structure and functions of human by studying animals as it would not be possible to study humans an d their body parts directly and it would also be completely wrong to apply new drugs or use new medicines for illnesses on humans directly without knowing what effects these would have on the body.In fact although before releasing a new drug in the market, companies conduct clinical trials on volunteers after testing these on animals and volunteers get paid for this. Yet the ethical aspect of this, or trying new drugs on humans is again debated but then this is the way medical research has to work otherwise new drugs will not be tested. It is again controversial whether new drugs could be tested artificially say with technical or robotic manipulation and whether drugs could be used on humans directly without testing on animals. How ethical would that be and thus there are two points here that touches on ethical issues.In the first case, animal testing would be unethical and yet testing medicines directly on humans without testing on humans would again be unethical as adverse consequ ences can directly affect human volunteers. For this reason it is almost necessary to test new drugs on animals first before testing them on humans as long as there is no suffering to animals and as long as there is some general research progress expected from such tests.Most people consider animal testing acceptable within limits. In one study by Fenwick and Fraser (2005), drug regulatory reviewers and pharmaceutical industry experts and scientists were interviewed to explore different perspectives on obstacles and opportunities of replacement, refinement and reduction or the three Rs in drug research and development (Fenwick and Fraser, 2005). The study found that most scientists and researcher generally tend to support the use of animals in medical research and suggested that the level of animal use is acceptable in pharmaceutical industry and replacing the use of animals would not be a feasible idea.Part II –Why animal testing is unethical and should not be usedIn the stu dy above by Fenwick and Fraser (2005) the three Rs have been considered as necessary in changing animal research. However this could be implausible as there are obstacles to applying the replacement or refinement of animal testing as there is a lack of non-animal alternatives and other alternatives may not fulfill the needs for statistical validity and industry. Also regulators could depart from certain patterns of animal use and in some cases commercial objectives are more important than following the three Rs. Less animal-testing could also jeopardize human safety according to some.However three Rs with replacement and refinement in testing could mean genetically modified animals and better animal models with drug use on gene actions and changes. The re-use of animals and using sufficient number of animals are also some of the issues. In some cases regulatory studies are combined so that animal data is minimized yet fulfill regulatory requirements.Fenwick and Fraser (2005) suggest ed that following the three Rs would be in accordance with industry priorities and validation of alternative methods would also be necessary. Greater consensus would be required in certain areas of disagreement related to animal testing according to the authors and these are issues related to death and re-use of animals and also whether pilot studies and alternative methods would contribute to reduction in the number of animals (Fenwick and Frazer, 2005).Thus animal use and testing is consider unethical due to matters related to death and reuse of animals and the use of too many animals could also be reduced with better more advanced tests that would require fewer samples and could be done more efficiently.Part III –Summary of both the viewsThus as seen, there are many reasons for which animal testing could be useful or even unethical. Death of animals would be suggesting against it and medial progress and usefulness for human drugs would be the strong points. It is important to develop alternative methods of testing that could replace the use of animals in medical research and according to Wilcox (1998), the US Food and Drug Administration or FDA is committed to facilitating the development and validation of new testing methods that could reduce or minimize the use of animals. The international science community has been challenged to develop and discover methods that could obviate the need for animals for extrapolation to human situations and conditions in case of pharmaceutical research.The appropriate mechanisms of toxicity and hazard and safety decisions should be known and the FDA is focused on protecting public health by successfully integrating science and social causes. The agency’s broad regulatory responsibilities relate to understanding the use of vaccines, drugs, blood supply and medical devices as also veterinary drugs and animal feed. The FDA has been in regulating the principles and alternatives of animal testing in medical resear ch.The FDA tries to identify the gaps between industry and academia especially in terms of communication or data gaps and methods gaps and supports in developing new research data and methods to find alternative methods of testing for drugs aiding in the regulatory decision making process. Wilcox (1998) suggests that a new paradigm introducing new and validated testing methods for the FDA scientists is emerging and this is responsible for application and acceptance of regulations in testing.A study by Williams et al (2007) investigated the use and impact of animal testing for research and teaching purposes and the awareness of these regulations among public and the opinions related to this. In a study by Williams et al, an independent telephone study was conducted to collect information on awareness and interest in the use of animal testing for medical research and whether individuals have confidence in such regulations and principles.The study obtained data from 750 individuals in NZ and 33% of the respondents expressed interest in the issue with 39% interested in animal testing for research and 21% showed interest for teaching purposes. Most respondents between 68%-72% suggested that animal testing would be acceptable if there is no unnecessary suffering to the animal and that regulated within the principles of medical research.However most people felt that animal research would be completely justified in case of research on life threatening and debilitating illnesses such as cancer and would also be justified when testing cosmetics and products that can do little or no harm to the animals.   8% of the respondents knew something about regulations dealing with animal testing in medical research.Williams et al (2007) thus suggested from the study that majority of the individuals were not interested in the issue although most who did accepted that animal testing is completely acceptable as long as there is no unnecessary suffering or in case of minimal advers ity or in case of medicines for life threatening illness. Thus there may be certain social opinions on the use of such drug trials on animals considering the seriousness of the research and the results expected.BibliographyAndreas-Holger MaehleGeneral Conclusions: Experimental Pharmacology and Therapeutic InnovationClio Medica/The Wellcome Series in the History of Medicine, â€Å"Drugs on Trial† by A-H. Maehle , pp. 311-315(5)Fenwick, N.P.;  Fraser, D.The Three Rs in the pharmaceutical industry: perspectives of scientists and regulatorsAnimal Welfare, Volume 14,  Number 4, 2005, pp. 367-377(11)Gerdts, Volker;  Littel-van den Hurk, Sylvia van Drunen;  Griebel, Philip J;  Babiuk, Lorne AUse of animal models in the development of human vaccinesFuture Microbiology, Volume 2,  Number 6, 2007, pp. 667-675(9)Roberts, Stephen M.Ethical Issues in the Use of Data from Testing of Human Subjects to Support Risk AssessmentHuman and Ecological Risk Assessment, Volume 7,  Numb er 6, 2001 , pp. 1569-1573(5)Williams, V.M.;  Dacre, I.T.;  Elliott, M.Public attitudes in New Zealand towards the use of animals for research, testing and teaching purposesNew Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 55,  Number 2, 2007, pp. 61-68(8)Wilcox N.L.FDA position on validation and acceptance of alternative methodsToxicology Letters, Volume 95, Supplement 1, 1998 , pp. 31-31(1)

Managment of an Effective Team Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Managment of an Effective Team - Assignment Example The manager should try to be objective when measuring the performance of the employees not to rely on physical appearance which may be deceptive. 2To a larger extent, I think performance can also be clearly measured in the business world. First and foremost, it should be noted that the main essence of engaging in business is to generate profits from the operation. Each organization has startup costs and the expected profits are projected. These constitute the goals and objectives to be achieved by the organization. Thus, a positive increase in the profits generated by a company indicates that its performance is good. However, negative revenue generated in the operations of the organization shows that the performance of the company is not good. The aim of any business is to increase the revenue generated and this can be used as a yardstick to measure the performance of the company. The other method that can be used to measure performance is to obtain feedback from the customers. Essentially, the company should strive to satisfy the needs of the customers. Effort should be made to obtain feedback from the customers in order to e stablish if the company is performing well. 1. My experience with team at school has been influenced by factors such as team size. Working in a team is enlightening given that team members can share their ideas and knowledge in a free environment. It is also easy to share ideas when the tasks and roles to be performed by each team member are clearly outlined. I have also realise that the aspect of synergy of ideas help the team members to pull their efforts towards the same direction. However, the team’s performance can be hurt by adding more members given that people become less motivated. Coordination of the team members becomes a bit challenging and it may also be difficult to control the behaviour of the people within the team.  

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Essay

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry - Essay Example This process shows that analysis and synthetic are crucial elements of literary research and interpretation. 3. The most difficult was to incorporate different points of view of the characters and events in order to understand the epoch and its values. This attempt shows that every personality has both good and bad features and it is incorrect to label a hero as "negative" or "positive" only. Every person has a dual nature which determines relations with other people and the world around us. 4. The strengths of the paper are clear themes and issues under analysis (sub-topics), examples which help to illustrate the main ideas and structure (introduction, thesis, four body paragraphs and conclusion). It is possible to add analysis of the other characters (Ruth, Asagai, Beneatha etc. but it would take more than 3 pages. 5. Historical overview of the epoch (culture and social movements) will help readers to grasp the idea and themes described in the paper. There are no certain events that led me to write on this topic, but I suppose that historical analysis of the society is the first step which helps me to understand the play and its characters. A play "A Raisin in the Sun" vividly reflects social values and ideals dominated in the society during 1950s. ... Thesis The play reflects the values of the society and norms typical for 1950s through family relations and social environment described by Lorraine Hansberry. The play depicts family life of African-Americans faced with racial discrimination and poverty. The Younger family belongs to working class faced with poverty and suffered from lack of money. Hansberry creates in Walter Lee a typical member of the low class with low-class ambitions, while at the same time he is a psychological study: self-deluding, a man unable to come to terms with reality. All of his dreams associated with wealth and luxury are transferred to a liquor store venture which promises to make Walter Lee a prosperous businessman. Walter comments "You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be 'bout thirty thousand, see... Baby, don't nothing happen for you in this world 'less you pay somebody off!" (Act 1, Scene 1). The whole play is constructed around the theme of money which shapes the atmosphere of the epoch. This theme is reflected through the character of Walter Lee. Only money rules the world of low classes and forces them to forget about human dignity and human code of ethics. On the other hand, Hansberry vividly portrays a difference between the old generation represented by Mama and young people like Walter Lee and his wife, Ruth. Because of poverty and hard work, money is the only way for young people to realize their dreams. Hansberry unveils that nothing is sacred for the young generation. For instance, Willy is indifferent towards his wife and unborn child driven by desire for money. Low morals and values have a great influence on the

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 87

Assignment Example Furthermore, the article centralized on the prediction that students who have fewer misconceptions at the beginning of the course are likely to have higher course grades than those students who held more misconceptions. The total population of the study includes 178 undergraduates who were taking introductory psychology classes from 2001 to 2005. Using cluster sampling, 23 samples were derived from a large urban university located in the southwestern U.S., 40 samples from small, private, liberal arts college located in the southwestern U.S., and 115 samples from small, private, liberal arts college located in the northeastern U.S. (Kuhle, Barber & Bristol, 2009, 120). Classes have an average composition of 16.3 students, ranging from 4-26 members. The demographic profiles of the l of classes were not assessed but all of the samples were given similar instructors and class format. Upon analysis of the information from different classes, statistical tests reflect a one-tailed with an alpha level of .05. Majority of the students (83%) held 5 or more misconceptions out of 10 and have lower grades than those students who held few misconceptions; 88% of which came from small southwestern college. In addition, the correlations between KOPT scores and class grades have resulted in five correlations with statistical significance; thus, KOPT scores is a significant predictor of students’ performance with considerable predictive validity in anticipating underperforming students. The title of the article has clarity and indicates clearly the key variables and the study population. Abstract is presented in a short but understandable content. With regards to introduction, the problem is easy to identify and relates to a number of previous researches or studies done. Although one can’t find a conceptual paradigm in the article, there is a relationship and a hypothesis that can be derived from the introduction of the

Health Care Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Health Care Management - Research Paper Example Frequent readmissions occur due to problems related to chronic infections, which are preventable. This article will give a review of a selected hospital related with problems of E.R (emergency room) overcrowding and frequent readmissions. In health care management, there is a minimal number of individuals who utilize hospital emergency department services repeatedly and outstandingly (Hall, 2008). This also includes in-patient services which pose as, their primary source of health care. Some of the most common problems related to frequent hospital readmission include chronic illnesses, mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness (Ken, Young & Spillane, 1998). Even though, these patients are few, they contribute to a large percentage of medical care costs and exploitation of scant hospital resources for conditions that could have been prevented or treated in common societal settings. These recurrent hospital care users promote congestion in the emergency unit hence leading to hig her health care costs for each individual. Demonstration projects and research carried out by hospitals, local governments, non-governmental organizations and community organizations confirm that frequent health care users can be supported in a more efficient way based on case management (Kirby, 2010). This service can direct them to a suitable primary medical care, housing and other community-based services. Advantageously, the service is cost-effective and enhances exploitation of health care resources for their entire society. The case management services are economical and technologically complicated (Richardson, 2009). Through analysis and research, patients noted to use these services patently reduced their dependence on use of ambulances, emergency departments and hospital in-patient services (Richardson, 2009). Most frequent users show reductions in the exploitation of these public services among others. The governments in different states have strived in meeting the require ments of frequent users by not overstretching the extension of the state services (Byrne, 2003). Many state officials have come up with the idea of a beneficiary system whereby the frequent patients are placed as beneficiaries of the system. They receive publicly-financed health services which are rather expensive. Identifying and addressing necessities of these frequent users should be a component of achieving broader health policy goals. Development of healthcare insurance coverage must include appropriate services for these frequent services (Hall, 2008). The needs of the frequent users can be improved further through quality improvement programs. This will help reduce disparities caused by medical reliance on the overburdened emergency rooms (ER), thus creating habitable cities that respond to other exceptional populations like the veterans (Ken, Young & Spillane, 1998). This ensures that the frequent patients get improved healthcare through this improved healthcare system. Nume rous studies conducted in the health field show that the communication factor has contributed largely to frequent patient readmissions in most hospitals. Lack of communication links between patients, hospitals, providers and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is the most common cause related to frequent hospital readmissions (Richardson, 2009). An example is the study carried out of readmission cases of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The results

Developing and Managing YourMoshas Key Marketing Relationships Essay

Developing and Managing YourMoshas Key Marketing Relationships - Essay Example More recently during 1970’s and 1980’s the most significant trends included increasing global competition greater demand for quality and process improvement, shorter product life cycles and the need for a more flexible work force. In 1990’s the most impact trend was the rapid emergence of the Internet. With 50 million people connected in only 5 years, the Internet has become the most rapidly accepted communications medium ever. Initially, the Internet’s potential seemed limited to its function as a dating network but that is no longer the case. The Internet is a sales and distribution channel and is facilitating e- commerce, the ability to do business over the web. It is further enabling the integration of previously isolated information and music industry components. This integration of data, content, storage, networks, business applications and consumer devices is facilitating the convergence of consumer electronics, television, publishing, telecommunica tions and computer business sectors. Technology is shifting power to buyers e-commerce is changing the channels through which consumers and business have traditionally bought and sold goods and services. It provides sellers with access to a global audience, the ability to operate with minimal infrastructure, reduced overhead and greater economies of scale; consumers with a broad selection, convenience, and competitive pricing. Consequently, a growing number of consumers are embracing the web, buying products and services etc.

IMC and Customer Satisfaction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

IMC and Customer Satisfaction - Research Paper Example Advertisement strategy of Holden Trucking and its alignment with marketing goals Holden Trucking is an American organization, which deals in several business dimensions. These business dimensions generally comprise transformation of building materials, motor vehicles, construction carrier and farm supplies among others. Being a medium-sized American company, it is observed as operating its aforementioned businesses under the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). When considering its IMC strategies, the organization can be observed as utilizing various advertising tools in order to advertise its products and/or services offered to the customers worldwide. In relation to the advertising strategy of Holden Trucking, these aspects fundamentally comprise official website promotion, seasonal printing advertisements and billboards. Execution of the aforesaid advertising strategies in the form of various advertisement tools further tends to be aligned with its marketing goals i n terms of promoting its products and/or services to around 48 states of the US and Africa (FindThe Best.com, Inc., 2013). Effectiveness of the advertising strategy of Holden Trucking The effectiveness of the advertising strategy, as implemented by Holden Trucking, can be determined in terms of identifying the sales of one of its products i.e. barley in its network joining 48 states in the US along with Africa and the subsequent satisfaction level observed among the consumers residing in those particular regions. It is worth mentioning that proper management and effective exploitation of advertising strategies can facilitate an organization towards marketing its various products and/or services, subsequently attracting the customers towards buying a product. In relation to Holden Trucking, the marketing tools that are utilized by the organization such as billboards, websites and seasonal printing advertisements would eventually impose a favorable impact upon the perceptions of the c ustomers residing throughout its business network. The IMC strategies performed by Holden Trucking will become much effective at the time when the people in all the 48 states and Africa generating greater awareness about the brand and its products and/or services offered. Moreover, selling of the product will also contribute in making the advertising strategy of Holden Trucking much effective. Different promotional strategies that may be used in addition to advertising Apart from the above mentioned IMC strategies aimed to promote the products and/or services offered by Holden Trucking throughout its network comprising all the 48 states and Africa, there are also certain other various promotional strategies that might be used by the organization in order to attract more customers and gain long-run efficiency in its targeted marketing area. In this similar concern, Holden Trucking might use diverse promotional strategies of personal selling, product giveaways and social media among o thers. Theoretically, the promotional strategy of personal selling denotes advancing the interrelation with the customers. In the similar context, product giveaways signify facilitating the potential customers with a product sample, resulting in promoting a new product. The other promotional strategies of social media represents promoting products and/or services in a relaxed business setting through the incorporation of various social media websites such as Google

Dehydration of Methylcyclohexanol Essay Example for Free

Dehydration of Methylcyclohexanol Essay A common Sophomore Organic Chemistry laboratory experiment that has great potential for further research is the acid catalyzed dehydration of simple alcohols. The classic dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol experiment that was introduced in Journal of Chemical Education in 1967 Taber(1967)JCE:44,p620. The rather simple procedure of distilling an alcohol with an aqueous acid has spawned several investigations that have resulted in formal journal articles. At the same time, the experiment has retained its popularity in the Sophomore Organic Chemistry laboratory curriculum. In one line of inquiry it has been observed that a mixture of 2-methylcyclohexanol diastereomers gives rise to a mixture of three isomeric alkenes Todd(1994)JCE:71,p440; Feigenbaum(1987) JCE:64, p273; Cawley (1997) JCE:74l, p102. Explaining the presence of the three alkene products requires an intense synthesis of information communicated in a typical SOC textbook. The continued popularity of this experiment is corroborated by the observation that Googling the phrase â€Å"Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol† on January 13th, 2008 returned no less than 20 hits for online student handouts and/or guides for this SOC laboratory experiment. Moreover, this experiment provides fertile ground for experimentation and innovation that has not yet been fully explored. At Dominican University, the SOC students performed this experiment during the Fall 2007 semester with not only the dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 153087) but also the 4-methyl (Aldrich 153095) and 3-methyl (Aldrich 139734) positional isomers. The reaction products were submitted to GC-FID analysis. As predicted from the Journal of Chemical Education articles, three methylcyclohexene products were observed. Their relative abundance measured by peak height was 80, 16, and 4%. The alkene products represented by these peaks apparently correspond to 1-methycyclehexene, 3-methycyclehexene, and methylenecyclohexane respectively. [pic] The dehydration of 4-methylcyclohexanol produce two products, that can be distinguished by our current GC column, at 90 and 10% with retention times that match 3-methycyclehexene and 1-methycyclehexene respectively. My current theory is that the retention times 3 and 4-methycyclohexene could not be distinguished with GC column and temperature program. However, there is still the issue of how 1-methycyclehexene is produced from 4-methylcyclohexanol. [pic] The dehydration of 3-methylcyclohexanol yields two products, that can be distinguished by our current GC column, at 80 and 20% with retention times that match 3-methylcyclohexene and 1-methycyclehexene respectively. [pic] Samples of 1-methyl and 3-methyl cyclohexenes purchased from Aldrich chemical confirmed two of compound assignments for the dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol. Obviously, it remains to separate the 3 and 4-methylcyclohexene by GC. There are several advantages of studying the dehydration of methylcyclohexanols in the first semester of Organic Chemistry: 1) The experiment involves reactions that are typically studied during first semester: E1, E2, and the 1,2-hydride shift. It is a time-tested protocol that has been run in hundreds of labs by thousands of students. 2) Analysis of the experiment involves the understanding of all three mechanisms mentioned previously and how they may compete with each other. In other words, it is a simple experiment that demands a rather involved interpretation of results. 3) It shows that textbooks â€Å"rules† such as the Zaitzev’s rule in this case, are not necessarily rules as such, but rather astute observations of general trends that can vary experimentally depending on the reactant and the reaction conditions. 4) Analytically, we are observing/measuring the presence of 3 known methylcyclohexene and methylenecyclohexane products that can be separated and detected by Gas Chromatography. I believe that the product mixtures can also be analyzed by NMR. 5) The reaction lends itself to an inquiry format that involves the study different reactants and reaction conditions on the ratio of products. In fact, this experiment, in my opinion, is an ideal candidate for a multi-institution collaborative study that combines and interprets student data. want to pursue point #5 further by first grappling with the current literature concerning the â€Å"Evelyn Effect.† The JCE article by David Todd, â€Å"The Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol Revisited: The Evelyn Effect† observes a kinetic effect that can be explained by proposing that in a mixture of cis/trans 2-Methylcyclohexanol the cis isomer reacts much faster than the trans isomer to give predominately 1-methylcyclohexene. The formation of 1-methylcyclohexene from cis-2-methylcyclohexanol would involve an â€Å"E2-like† anti-elimination of proton and the protonated alcohol. The dehydration of the trans isomer would go through a E1 mechanism that requires the formation of a carbocation before elimination of a proton. A follow-up study by Cawley and Linder: â€Å"The Acid Catalyzed Dehydration of an Isomeric 2-Methylcyclohexanol Mixture† involves a detailed kinetic study. Students began with a 36.6/63.4 cis/trans mixture of 2-methylcyclohexanol with a cyclohexanol impurity (% impurity was not reported). They performed thy typical reaction+distillation and collected fractions at 4, 8, 16, 24, and 28 minutes. They also collected a 0.1 mL volume of the sample of the reaction mixture at each of these time intervals. These fractions were analyzed by 1H NMR and GC for composition. The cis/trans rate constants for the dehydration of reaction were determined to be 8.4/1.0 – much less than 30/1 ratio reported in 1931 by Vavon and Barbier. An intriguing study! It would be very interesting to have the raw (student) data on this one. Very little is said about the product ratios in the distillate fractions, they just report that they obtained 2.1% methylenecyclohexane and not the 4% previously reported. The dehydration of methylcyclohexanols provides a fecund problem to explore. The key is to develop methods to determine the distribution of alkene products in terms of % total alkenes. There are four possible positional isomers: I. methylenecyclohexane (Aldrich, Acros, 1192-37-6); II. racemic 3-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Acros, 591-48-0); III. 1-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Aldrich, Acros 591-49-1) IV. racemic 4-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Aldrich, Acros 591-47-9). Two of the alkene positional isomers contain an asymmetric carbon. The obvious place to start is by studying how the alcohol structure affects the product distribution of alkenes. There are 5 positional isomers of methylcyclohexanol: I. cyclohexanemethanol (Aldrich 100-49-2); II. 1-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 590-67-0); III. racemic cistrans 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 583-59-5) IV. racemic cistrans 3-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 591-23-1) V. cistrans 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 589-91-3). Three of the alcohols are present in cis and trans diastereomer pairs: cis 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7445-70-1) trans 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7445-52-9) cis 3-methylcyclohexanol (5454-79-5) trans 3-methylcyclohexanol (7443-55-2) cis 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7731-28-4) trans 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7731-28-4). In addition there are 4 entaniomer pairs among the alcohol starting materials. Most of them are commercially available, for a price. [pic] Besides the structure of the alcohol, what other variables may be explored? 1) One variable for this reaction that could be investigated is the nature of the catalytic acid. Aqueous acids, such as the 85% H3PO4 typically used for this experiment, contain some water which is also product of the reaction. I may also add that, the amount of acid is not always in catalytic proportion to the substrate. In my current protocol 0.075 moles of acid is used to dehydrate 0.2 moles of alcohol. Non-aqueous acids may give different results. Acidic resins are an interesting substitute for aqueous acids. For example, John Ludeman and Kurt Field of Bradley University presented a poster at the 2006 ACS Great Lakes Regional Meeting on the use of Dowex 50WX2-100, Amberlite IRC-50S, and Amberlyst 15, for the dehydration of alcohols. 2) Another variable would be the reaction conditions. In the current paradigm, the alkene is distilled away from the reaction mixture. Presumably, it is being distilled away as it is formed. An ad-hoc observation is that students seem to get somewhat different product ratios if they distill is carefully or if they â€Å"crank up the heat† and distill it quicker. What if the reaction mixture was refluxed to equilibrium before distillation? Would we see more thermodynamic products? 3) Reaction conditions could be changed in other ways too. Microwave irradiation is currently being explored as an alternative to heating reactions. Possibly, sonication could also be performed on the alcohol. 4) Another avenue to explore may be different strategies to push the reaction towards the products other than distilling off the alkene. For example, removing water with molecular sieves may be tried. The last installment of this series will explore the logistics of â€Å"dehydration of methylcycohexanols† as a collaborative experiments. The most straightforward collaboration would be to perform the â€Å"dehydration of methylcycohexanols† experiment in the same way and compare the relative yield of alkenes as measured by GC from different starting alcohols. Comparisons could be made with past data or concurrently collected data from different institutions. This may be seem fairly straightforward, but there will most likely be discrepancies that could will need to be explored. One aspect to make note of would be the source and composition of the methylcyclohexanols used a starting materials. Sigma-Aldrich has †¢ 1-methylcyclohexanol #M38214; †¢ 2-methylcyclohexanol #66320, #215295, #178829, #24113, #153087, †¢ 3-methylcyclohexanol #139734; †¢ 4-methylcyclohexanol #66360, #104183, #104191, #153095; †¢ as well as just plain methylcyclohexanol #66370. An experimental variable that is hard to control is rate of heating. Students who crank up the hot plate to get done quickly (even though they were told not to) may get different results than those students who go slowly and maintain an even temperature. Different GC columns and methods may also give results that need to be corroborated.

Developing Students Macro Skills

Developing Students Macro Skills Learning resources and materials are essential components in language instruction since they control learning and teaching processes. For that reason, an English teacher has to possess the ability to be creative and innovative in selecting, adapting and implementing learning resources and materials since the teachers ability in selecting, adapting and implementing learning resources and materials can and do enhance language teaching (Brinton, 2001 in Murcia, 2001). However, based on the writers experience and observation during Praktek Pengalaman Lapangan (PPL), the writer found out that the learning resources and materials used by teachers for their students were just in limited usage; for example, the teacher only used the materials from textbooks and printed materials. Talking about textbook, Allwright (1990) argues that materials should teach students to learn, and that there should be resource books for ideas and activities for instruction/learning. Moreover, they should give teachers rationales for what they do. From Allwrights point of view, textbooks are too hard to be used directly as instructional material. ONeill (1990), in contrast, argues that materials may be suitable for students needs, even if they are not designed specifically for them. In this case, textbooks make it possible for students to review and prepare their lessons. Also, textbooks are efficient in terms of time and money, and that they can and should allow for adaptation and improvisation. Furthermore, Willis (1996) points out that some text book activities are best done at learners own pace; for example, at out of class activities (for homework or to be checked at the next lesson). Indeed, the teacher can get the students to prepare the topic at task related to their homework prior to the task. Therefore, it is widely known that in many cases teachers and students rely heavily on textbooks, and textbooks determine the components and methods of learning, that is, they control the content, methods, and procedures of learning (Kitao, 1997). In other words, students learn what is presented in the textbook, and the way the textbook presents the material tends to determine the way students learn it. Thus, the educational philosophy of a textbook will influence the class and their teaching-learning process. Consequently, in many cases, textbooks are the center of instruction and one of the most important influences on what goes on in the classroom. Therefore, there is no doubt if Harmer, 1991; Van Lier, 1996; Richards, 1998 say that the use of textbooks in many schools and many language program has the function as a curriculum. In relation to teaching-learning resources and materials, the Department of Education in Indonesia has released a guideline for the implementing a decentralization of education at the school level (school-based management). Such management gives a broader authority to schools to run their schools and to work more actively with their communities, but at the same time it also requires more leadership, professionalism, initiatives, innovation, and creativity from principals and teachers (http://www.depdiknas.go.id). In this respect, education policy-makers in Indonesia believe that decentralization at the school level could lead to improvements, such as better school performance, greater school autonomy, better match between the services delivered and the students needs, greater parental and community involvement, and greater participation in decision-making (Depdiknas, 2003). The consequences of decentralization at school level, however, are not hard to determine. Schools, particularly public schools, are now to be responsible for the provision and financing of more training for their teacher development as well as more facilities and resources (http://pakem.org/mbs.html). In line with that, teachers role in developing students English macro skills to fulfill the national educational goals as stated in guidelines and curriculum is very prominent. Therefore, teachers play an important role in catering learning resources and materials for students to enable their success in learning, especially in developing their macro skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Concerning the main task of teachers in providing learning resources and materials mentioned above, theres a need to explore to what extent those learning resources and materials are procured and effectively used to develop the students English macro skills. 1.2 Research Methodology With the intention of getting data on the use of learning resources and materials in senior high school by the English teachers, a case study is selected as the research methodological design. The subjects selected are three teachers from different grades (X, XI, and XII) and their students. In order to get a holistic accurate picture and the meaning of the use of learning resources and materials, interviews, observations, questionnaires and review of documents will be conducted in this research. The use of the data collection methods will ensure the validity of the data through triangulation (Denscombe, 1998; Cresswell, 2008). 1.3 Research Questions The research questions in this study are based on the background of the study. Therefore, the statements of the problems in this study are as follows: a. What learning resources and materials are used by the senior high school teachers to develop the students macro skills? b. What learning activities are conducted in relation with the use of the learning resources and materials in the teaching-learning processes? c. Where do the teachers draw their ideas from to plan their teaching? 1.4 Objectives of the Study The study is aimed at finding out an empirical data on the kinds of learning resources and materials used by senior high school English teacher. It is also intended to explore further to what extent those learning resources and materials are effectively used to develop the students four macro skills. 1.5 Significance of the Study The results of this study provide a thick description on what learning resources and materials as well as how they are used by English teachers at senior high school. The findings can contribute to teachers by providing current information about the use of learning resources and materials for teaching-learning English as a foreign language in senior high school. The findings can also be applied for other English teachers in general to select the teaching-learning resources and materials appropriately that suit students needs. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter discusses some scholars ideas and opinions regarding the issues of learning resources and materials as well as the teaching and learning of English in high school context in Indonesia 2.1 Learning resources and materials 2.1.1 Issues of Learning resources and materials Many educators enthusiastically embrace the use of learning resources and materials as a tool for language teaching and learning since their functions are to lend the authenticity to the communicative situation in teaching and learning English. Resources and materials are important in language instructions since they can assist teachers in their jobs bringing the outside world into the classroom and also making the language learnings tasks more meaningful and exciting (Brinton in Murcia, 2001). Many scholars ideas emerged in relation to the view of learning resources and materials. This includes Allwrights (1990) argument that materials should teach students to learn and they should be resource books for ideas and activities for instruction/learning. In addition, they should give teachers rationales for what they do. Allwright further emphasizes that materials control learning and teaching. This means that in employing materials for instruction/learning, it is the teachers who underl ie the principle behind the use of materials. Another idea comes from ONeill (1990) who says that materials may be suitable for students needs even if they are not designed specifically for them; therefore, from ONeills point of view, materials help teaching and learning. Further, Woods (1996) defines the resources as factors which increase the number of possibilities or options open to a teacher, while the definition of materials is stated by Brown (1995) as any systematic description of the techniques and exercises to be used in classroom teaching. Browns definition of materials draw broad sense since they can include lesson plans, and can accommodate books, packets of audiovisual aids, games, or other types of activities that occur in the classroom. Renyaan (2002) conclude the broad definition of learning resources and material as follows: Teaching media refers to resources used by the teacher for whole class, group, and individual learning. These include texts, audio-visual resources, and authentic material. Text refers to any written materials ranging from reference books, textbooks, activity sheets to flashcards. Audio-visual resources include films, videos, overhead projectors, audiotapes, pictures, magazines, and newspapers and other texts. Authentic material refers to the resources created by native speakers, both for classroom teaching and in the world outside the classroom. ALL Guidelines (Scarino et al., 1988) categorizes resources into three categories. That is, resources which provide communicative data in the target language, resources and activities which promote communicative use of the target language, and resources for whole class, group, and individual learning. Resources which provide communicative data in the target language are sorted into teacher talk, other classroom talk, recording of talk (audio and video), specially prepared written information, other classroom written information, as well as realia and written texts from outside the classroom. While resources and activities which promote communicative use of the target language are classified into problem solving activities, information/opinion/affective gap activities, personalized activities, games, pictures, activities involving processing information from various sources, literature based activities, drama, writing activities, focus and shaping exercise, and integration of activiti es. Lastly, resources for whole class, group, and individual learning can be textbooks, films, videos, OHP and transparencies, problem solving activities, unfinished plays or stories, songs, films, poems, etc. Smith (1986) argues that learning resources and materials are important parts of task for providing the content and shape the basis of learning activities. Richards (1998) also argues that materials are often seen as a way of influencing the quality of classroom interaction and language use. Reece and Walker as cited by Wheeler (2002) add that learning resources should support the teaching strategies which assist learning. In this respect, the use of learning resources may also provide opportunities for arousing and maintaining students interests. Therefore, the teachers can get the benefit for the improvement of their teaching by using those learning resources. Brinton in Murcia (2001) summarized the rationale for using the materials in language classroom as follows: They can be an important motivator in the language teaching process They can create a contextualized situation They can lend authenticity to the classroom situation They can address the needs of students, whether they are visual or auditory learners They can expose the students to multiple input sources as well as enrich the students language experiences. They can help students call up schemata and maximize background knowledge They can provide teacher a time-efficient of presenting lesson, stimulate students senses and help students to process information readily. The importance of learning resources and materials has been figured by several teaching- learning method. For example, in Silent Way (Larsen-Freeman 1986; Stevick 1998) the use of sound-color charts and rods are for helping the teachers to elicit language and provide the students with tools for creative language construction. CLT, (Larsen-Freeman 1986, Littlewood 1981) also puts an emphasis of the need of real life objects or texts (e.g. maps, pictures, application forms, railroad time tables) in order to lend the authenticity to the communicative situation. 2.1.2 Types of Learning resources and material Some theories have been introduced by the scholars for a wide variety of learning resources and materials. Scarino, Vale, McKay Clark (1988) describe the word resources as any published or unpublished material in any medium for the purpose of language teaching and learning. The definition of resources drawn by them refer to variety of text types which may or may not be intended for teaching learning (films, maps, pictures, etc) along with hardware (audiovisual equipments, computers). Further, Marsh (2000) sorts resources into (1) resources available for use in the classroom/school, which include (a) print materials such as textbooks; reference books; project kits; pamphlets and inexpensive materials; study prints and posters; simulation games; maps, globe, and models; and (b) multimedia such as personal computers, internet and world wide web (www), CD-ROM, television, films, radio, slide tapes and filmstrips, overhead projectors, and PowerPoint projectors and (2) resources available beyond the school which consists of (a) persons including people in specific occupations; people now retired; groups, associations and organizations; and (b) materials and artifacts, such as newspapers, documents and reports, photographs, recordings, and miscellaneous personal items. Curtain and Pesola (1988) categorize the learning resources into five parts, they are: (1) Realia, e.g. balls, magnetic letters, flowers (2) Picture Visual, e.g. brochures, flash cards, pictures files (3) Classroom equipments, e.g. white board, chalk board (4) Audiovisual equipments, e.g. overhead projectors, video cassette recorder, slide projector (5) Text books or printed material. At last, Renyaan (2002) adds that it is evident that resources and materials which can be available in the classroom and beyond the classroom are essential parts of tasks as they provide the content as the basis for learning activities. Another idea comes from Richards and Rodgers (1986) who divide materials into text-based materials, task-based materials and realia. Text-based materials are generally known as textbook in which include not only sound recordings and visual aids, but also student workbooks, unit tests, games, and other activities (Savignon; 1983 in Renyaan; 2002). Task-based materials consist of a variety of games, role-plays, simulations and task-based communication activities (jigsaw, information gap, problem solving, decision making, opinion exchange, debate, question-answer, etc) (Richards and Rodgers, 1986).Realia, according to Richards and Rodgers, 1986; Little et al., 1989; Brinton, 2001 incorporate in authentic materials. For example signs, magazines, advertisements, newspapers, novels, handbooks and manuals, recipes, and telephone directories, as well as graphic and visual sources including maps, pictures, symbols, graphs, and charts. Moreover, radio and television broadcasts, computer progra mmes, and video cameras are also classed as authentic materials. 2.1.3 Textbooks as resources in language instruction Research into the use of textbooks as resources in classrooms language instruction have been done by scholars, such as by Harmer, 1991; Van Lier, 1996; Richards, 1998 who say that textbooks have the function as the curriculum. Their points of views are similar to Ariew (1982) who believe that textbook is an important part of the curriculum, especially for foreign language learning context since foreign language textbooks may represent a set of goals and specific teaching methods. Thus, textbooks for foreign language learning can reflect the assumption and belief on how a foreign language should be learned and taught. The development of teaching foreign language has brought new idea into approaches of textbooks design for the authentic data as well as realia which are integrated in the textbooks for the purpose of bringing the real world into classroom (Nunan, 1999). The important point of textbook is also suggested by Richards (1998) that textbooks can help in developing a teachers teaching skills, especially for inexperienced teachers since textbooks can provide hints on approaches to teaching grammar in the communicative class, strategies to correct errors, or how to teach writing. Despite of those positive effects of the use of textbooks in language classroom, there are negative effects of using textbooks. Swan (1992 cited in Richards, 1998) says that ready-made textbooks can seem to release teachers of their responsibility. The teachers merely peg on the textbooks which they use without participating on what to teach and how to teach the material to the students. Moreover, since the teachers only teach what are on the textbooks, teachers tend to look at the textbooks uncritically (Richards, 1998). While Renyaan (2002) argues that textbooks are resources, which, despite their drawbacks, are an essential part of the curriculum from which the teachers can generate materials by adopting, developing, and adapting them. 2.1.4 Adopting Materials As discussed before, the easiest way for the teachers to generate the materials is simply to adopt a textbook and teach systematically through the prepared materials (Brown; 1995), therefore the teachers get no difficulty since they do not have to spend too much thoughts and efforts in the lesson planning process. Though, it is the fact that not all textbooks can suit the teacher and students needs as Flynn (1982, p.39) says: While every textbook has some valuable drills, exercises, explanations, and readings, none will be suitable to every teachers needs. For the reason above, Brown (1995) points out that adopting material includes the following steps, namely: deciding on the types of materials needed, locating different types of materials, evaluating the materials, and reviewing them on an on-going basis. Deciding on types of materials Brown (1995) indicates that materials can come from various forms, different approaches, and different syllabus; therefore it is the teachers responsibility to make the decision about what specific materials to adopt. Locating materials Brown (1995) discusses the three sources of information that can help in finding existing materials: publishers catalogs, the Books Received section of journals, and teachers shelves. Evaluating materials Evaluating materials is important since it can determine the suitability to a particular program (Renyaan, 2002). Brown (1995) also argues that the best way to determine the relationships among a set of materials and a particular program, is to determine the degree to which the materials fit the curriculum. Browns argument is almost the same as Byrds (2001) that the fit between curriculum and the textbooks can create the fit situation for the teacher. On going review of materials Brown (1995) states that the materials evaluation process must continue when they are being used and after each implementation period. Further, Brown also argues that periodic review of the materials seems advisable and necessary. 2.1.5 Developing Materials Developing the materials need to be done if the tentative needs, objectives, and tests really describe a program and if all materials adoption efforts fail to uncover suitable materials to meet the purposes of the program (Brown, 1995). So, there will be a best match between the materials and curriculum. 2.1.6 Adapting Materials As Flynn (1982) argues that no single textbooks can meet the teachers and the students needs, Brown (1995) further points out that there is no such thing as a perfect textbook. This is likely to be true whether the materials in question were commercially produced or created within a given program. Indeed, as stated by Flynn and Brown, materials adaptation is prominent for the sake of fulfilling the teachers and the students needs. Moreover, Ariew (1982) points out that material adaptation is not something new; in fact, teachers constantly adapt when they teach. Concerning materials adaptation, Ariew (1982) further suggests the three categories of material adaptation: (1) the individualizing of materials; (2) modifying texts for purposes unintended by the author; and (3) compensating for the defects of a textbook. In addition, Ariew states the techniques in order to accomplish any of the three-type adaptation above, namely: supplementing, personalizing, expanding, editing, simplifying, modernizing, and localizing or modifying cultural or situational content. However, not all contents in the textbook are true and should be accepted. Textbooks may not suit a particular class or individual students interests. Therefore, it is the teacher who has the responsibility to choose what is best for their students. Harmer (1991) points out that textbooks are an important aid, but not a sacred text, so teachers will have to work out the best ways to use their books; they should never let the textbook use them, or dictate the decisions they take about the activities in which the students are going to be involved. Further, Byrd as cited in Murcia (2001) adds that in order to create the fit situation for the teacher using textbooks, the following must be addressed: The fit between curriculum and the texts It is generally known that publishers create materials based on published curriculum system. For example, in Indonesia, National Education Board (Depdiknas) arranges for publication of its own textbooks; however, it is acceptable for other publishers to publish the textbooks as long as the materials are appropriate and carry out its particular curriculum goals. The fit between curriculum and the texts is believed to be a reasonable and achievable goal. The fit between students and the texts The main reason underlies this idea is that the textbooks are for students; therefore, it must fit the needs of the students as learners of English. The fit between teachers and the texts As the textbooks are also for teachers, the fit between teachers and the textbooks is important in order to create the fit situation in using textbooks as the teaching learning materials. Byrd suggests the basic questions in relation to it: Can our teachers handle this material? and Will our teachers find that the textbook meets their needs and preferences for teaching materials? 2.2 Teaching Learning English in High School Context in Indonesia 2.2.1 English language education in Indonesia Since it was first taught, there have been problems in the teaching of English as a foreign language. For example the fact that the changing of curriculum and approaches along with the changing of the Minister of Education is not uncommon. The big class sizes and teachers with poor mastery of English are two obvious factors that contribute to the ongoing problems in ELT in Indonesia (Dardjowidjojo, 2000). Other reasons for the problems are: (1) limited time allocated for teaching English; (2) students do not have enough time to actually learn to speak English in class because the teacher is more concerned with teaching the grammar and syntax; (3) the absence of the social uses of English outside the classroom; and (4) the absence of good and authentic learning materials (Musthafa, 2001). Recent curriculum in English language education in Indonesia focuses on the teaching of English at junior and high school levels. The curriculum adopts the so-called communicative competence as its m odel of competence (Depdiknas, 2003). Communicative competence itself can be summarized as skills needed for communication, which consists of four important components. Those components are: grammatical/linguistic competence, socio cultural competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence (Richards Rodgers, 1986; Celce-Murcia, Dornyei Thurrell, 1995; Beale, 2002). In line with the concept of communicative competence, the following factors should therefore be present in an English language classroom: Fluency and acceptable language is the primary goal (Richards Rodgers, 1986). This implies that the teacher him/herself should be a fluent English speaker. Students are expected to interact with other students in order to communicate in the target language (Richards Rodgers, 1986; Freeman, 2000). This implies that the tasks should include pair and group work, and those activities like role plays, language games and problem-solving tasks are encouraged. Students should be given enough opportunities to get to know the authentic language (Freeman, 2000). Therefore, authentic materials are important in an English classroom. The role of the teacher is that of a facilitator in communication (Richards Rodgers, 1986; Freeman, 2000). This implies that the amount of teacher talking time should not be a barrier for students for using the target language (McDonough Shaw, 1993). Non-technical and technical media are important tools for language learning and teaching, particularly for carrying out language tasks (Brinton, 2001). Non-technical media include: blackboards, posters, maps, pictures, or photos. Technical media include: tape recorder, CD/Video/DVD player, or overhead projector. Whether or not English teaching and English teachers in Indonesia have met the ideals as stated above, remain a question. The real fact is that the virtues behind the so-called communicative competence as recommended by Richards and Rodgers (1986), McDonough and Shaw (1993), Freeman (2000), or Brinton (2001), and the principles stated and expected in the recent curriculum document might be implemented differently in the real English classrooms due to many unexpected factors, such as funding, unqualified teachers, and limited resources facilities. 2.2.2 Issues of teaching learning English in High School Context The Indonesian curriculum system has been developed by the National Education Board (Departemen Pendidikan Nasional) for many years in order to keep up with the global changes of the world as well as changes in the learners needs to be ready to face the world in the future. Recently, the Indonesian government through Departemen Pendidikan Nasional has made the improvement in the quality of national curriculum system. The newest one is Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan Nasional (Permendiknas) No. 22/2006. Permendiknas No.22/2006 discusses the Standard of Content (Standar Isi) of Elementary and High School level in Indonesia. Also, Permendiknas No.22/2006 contains Basic Competencies (Kompetensi Dasar) for each field of studies in every unit of elementary and high school level. They are the guidelines for the teachers in order to develop the indicators that must be achieved by the students as well as the materials that will be used in the teaching learning processes. The importance of mastering English for Indonesian students is much more felt due to the globalization in all sectors. One measurement to improve the mastery of English done by the Indonesian government is by implementing the English National Examination with a passing grade of 5.50. In Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP), one of the learning purposes of Bahasa Inggris in Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) is developing students communicative competences in written and spoken English through an integral development of those four macro skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Table 1, Standar Kompetensi Lulusan Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) /Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Table 1 Standar Kompetensi Lulusan Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) / Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Bahasa Inggris SMA/MA 1. Mendengarkan Memahami makna dalam wacana lisan interpersonal dan transaksional, secara formal maupun informal, dalam bentuk recount, narrative, procedure, descriptive, news item, report, analytical exposition, hortatory exposition, spoof, explanation, discussion, dan review, dalam konteks kehidupan sehari-hari. 2. Berbicara Mengungkapkan makna secara lisan dalam wacana interpersonal dan transaksional, secara formal maupun informal, dalam bentuk recount, narrative, procedure, descriptive, news item, report, analytical exposition, hortatory exposition, spoof, explanation, discussion, dan review, dalam konteks kehidupan sehari-hari. 3. Membaca Memahami makna dalam wacana tertulis interpersonal dan transaksional, secara formal maupun informal, dalam bentuk recount, narrative, procedure, descriptive, news item, report, analytical exposition, hortatory exposition, spoof, explanation, discussion, dan review, dalam konteks kehidupan sehari-hari. 4. Menulis Mengungkapkan makna secara tertulis dalam wacana interpersonal dan transaksional, secara formal maupun informal, dalam bentuk recount, narrative, procedure, descriptive, news item, report, analytical exposition, hortatory exposition, spoof, explanation, discussion, dan review, dalam konteks kehidupan sehari-hari All those four skills are expected to prepare senior high school students to enter the higher education or work fields, especially those requiring English skills. Due to the objectives of teaching English for senior high school, that is to develop students communicative competences through an integral development of the four macro skills, the learning resources and materials that are used in teaching learning processes have to give students more chances to communicate in English. CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter explains about how this research is accomplished. It considers the methodological design, the subjects, and the instruments of the study also data analysis techniques. 3.1 Design of the study This study aims at examining the use of learning resources and materials by English teachers at one senior high school in Jakarta. It is conducted through a collective case study in order to find in depth what learning resources and materials employed by English teachers. In accordance to Burns definition (2000:460) a case study is relevant to study uses how and what questions. This design is also suitable for a small-scale research which is conducted in one place. Bell (1993:8) also suggests that case study is particularly appropriate for an individual researcher as it gives an opportunity for one aspect of a problem to be studied in some depth within limited time scale. The study deals with three English teachers in one senior high school in Jakarta and their students. In order to get more information about the learning resources and materials used in classroom, the writer conduct the interview to the teachers and students, non participants observation, review of the documents, and distribute the classroom survey. 3.2 The Subjects of the Study The subjects chosen are considered as the representatives of senior high school English teaching condition in general because the school offers English to be implemented as part of its National Curriculum and has English teachers with English Education background.

Dangers of the Internet | Essay

Dangers of the Internet | Essay Abstract This essay presents a critical debate on whether the Internet is as dangerous as the physical world. First, the unique dangers posed by the Internet are outlined. This is followed by an examination of some of the major threats to safety that are present in the physical world but not in the virtual world. In the conclusion, the report also looks into how the virtual world might shape in the future. Is the World of Networked Computing as Dangerous as the Physical World? Introduction In cyberspace, no one hears your screams. (Merkow and Breithaupt, 2000) Modern society depends on the technology of networked computing more than ever. Whether it is the Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW), or other less well-known networks, people around the world depend on it for multifarious reasons from work and entertainment to essentials of life such as life support in medicine. Networked computing offers easy access, a large degree of anonymity and while this presents us with unique opportunities, it also presents us with unique dangers. In light of the increasing use and even dependence on networked computing, it is pertinent to examine the social, physical and ethical dangers presented by it. This essay critically debates the issue of whether the world of networked computing is as dangerous as the physical world. The Dangers on the Internet Preying by Paedophiles One of the most disturbing crimes on the Internet today is ‘grooming’. Child grooming is an act where a paedophile will befriend a child, or form an intimate relationship in order to lower a child’s sexual inhibitions. Grooming will initiate from chat rooms designed for children and teenagers and sometimes through emails, where an adult will pose as a teenager, but will often move into using instant messaging services so that the paedophile can talk the victim into sending images and even using a webcam. Research conducted by the Cyberspace Research Unit at the University of Central Lancashire states â€Å"another of the frequent topics concerned on-line grooming and in particular, ways in which to avoid detection† (O’Connell, 2003). While this statement gives concern that paedophiles may be able to escape without notice, the report goes on to say, â€Å"Throughout each of the stages there are clear and easily identifiable differences in the pattern s of behaviour of the individuals.† The stages that are talked about here are known as ‘Friendship forming state’ where the paedophile will just spend time getting to know the child, ‘Relationship forming state’ where the paedophile will start to ask questions about things such as school and home life, ‘Risk assessment stage’ where the paedophile will ask the child questions like who else uses the computer, ‘Exclusivity stage’ where the victim is encouraged to trust the paedophile, and ‘Sexual stage’ where the paedophile will ask the child about previous intimate experiences. Bullying and Other Negative Electronic Relationships The virtual world is home to some serious negative and destructive electronic relationships. Cyber bullying, one of the more common ones, is mainly targeted at school pupils in addition to actual physical and verbal bullying. Carnell (2007) points out to evidence that many pupils are being targeted in their own homes, by phone texts, silent calls, on instant messenger, and by abusive websites and forums, some set up with the specific intention of causing humiliation and embarrassment. This shows the severity of cyber bullying in society today. Griffiths, M.D. (1998) offers the following explanation. The Internet is easy to access from home or work. It is becoming quite affordable and has always offered anonymity. For some people it offers an emotional and mental escape from real life, and this is especially true for individuals who are shy or feel trapped in unhappy relationships. It is also true for individuals who work long hours and have little opportunity for social life. Electronic (or internet) relationships started off when chatrooms were introduced and really boomed since the creation of Instant Messaging. A person can enter a chatroom, use an alias, and can talk to other members without revealing their true identity. However, this raises an important question. If you can do all that without revealing your true identity can you really trust the person you are talking to? Can you be certain that they are being honest with you? Some say that it’s not real and therefore they don’t really worry about it, while others suggest that Internet relationships have a way of tapping into deep feelings and it’s easier to get hurt. Katz and Rice (2002, p286) suggest, â€Å"students are meeting and â€Å"dating† on the internet†¦they even have monogamous relationships this way, telling others who might ask that they will not go out with them because they are â€Å"dating† someone.† Various researches suggest that it is more common for young people to meet and date people using the Internet and it is becoming more widely accepted as a social meeting point. This however causes concerns about why people are choosing to use the Internet for this reason. Many people feel more comfortable talking about feelings over instant messaging, and this is especially true of shy people or people that feel trapped in an offline relationship. Addictions The Internet also has the notoriety of helping to create unhealthy addictions. The majority of UK bookmakers now run online websites in which people can make exactly the same bets they would in the betting shop, but from the comfort of their own home. The rate at which the online gambling industry is commercialised today is astronomical. From 2005 to 2006 the sector has become the fifth largest advertiser online, jumping to 2.5 billion from 911 million ads in the last year (Schepp, 2002). And this is without the likes of TV ads, magazine ads, and adverts on the radio. This means that the majority of people in society now see online gambling as more acceptable than in recent years. Besides the increased risk of fraud on the Internet, the online gambling also poses the serious problem of an easier way to get addicted. This is because it is relatively easier to sit in front of a computer and gamble than to walk to the nearest betting shop in the cold winter to make a bet. Gambling is ho wever, just one of the addictions people are vulnerable to online. Mitchell (2000) uses the term Internet addiction to indicate the spectrum of additions that one is susceptible to on the Internet. He states that although there is some disagreement about whether Internet addiction is a real diagnosis, compulsive Internet use has psychological dangers, and reports such behaviour can result in the users having withdrawal symptoms, depression, social phobia, impulse control disorder, attention deficit disorder, etc. Viruses and Hacking In 2000, the number of worldwide email mailboxes was put at 505 million, and this was expected to increase to 1.2 billion in 2005 (Interactive Data Corporation, 2001). Schofield (2001) points out that more than 100 million people use instant messaging (IM) programs on the net, and a growing number among them also use it to transfer files. This number is obviously growing, but this example shows that online communication is becoming a much widely used method of communication. Online communication such as email and instant messaging does not come without problems. Hindocha (2003) states that instant messengers can transfer viruses and other malicious software as they provide the ability to transfer text as well as files. Viruses and malicious software can be transferred to the recipients computer without the knowledge of the user. This makes them very dangerous. As the use of online communications becomes more widespread, it is seen as an opportunity for people to gain access to the fi les on a computer. Hindocha (2003) gives the example of hackers using instant messaging to gain unauthorised access to computers, bypassing desktop and perimeter firewall implementations. This is a real concern for most users, especially as the instant messaging and email client software are trusted software; for a home user, their personal information stored on the computer, such as internet banking security details, identifying information that could be used in identity theft, etc. are the risks. However, online communication software such as these are also often used in businesses also, and in this case, extensive records of financial information are vulnerable. Hindocha (2003) goes on to say about instant messaging systems, â€Å"finding victims doesn’t require scanning unknown IP addresses, but rather simply selecting from an updated directory of buddy lists.† This throws up serious concerns. Theft and Fraud Electronic commerce faces the major threats of theft and fraud. Online theft commonly occurs in the form of identity theft, and less commonly, outright theft, for example by unauthorised access to bank accounts. Camp (2000) points out that while it may seem a big leap to exchange a bill of paper money for machine readable data streams, the value bound to the paper abstraction of wealth is simply a reflection of trust in the method of abstraction that is widely shared and built over centuries. Money on the Internet is simply a different abstraction of wealth, and has similar issues with trust and risk as traditional money, together with the additional dangers posed by the virtual nature of the environment. Because all communication on the Internet is vulnerable to unauthorised access, this means that it is relatively easy to commit fraud. Where legislation is not a deterrent, technology is almost none. Credit card fraud and theft, electronic banking theft, etc. are some of the more co mmon crimes committed online involving money. What Makes It Safer Than The Physical World? Safe from Immediate Physical Harm Perhaps the only upper hand the virtual world has is that its inhabitants are immune to the immediate threat of physical violence; one cannot be randomly mugged online. However, vulnerable people are still susceptible to physical violence and harm, perhaps more to self-harm; there are many websites that promote anorexia, suicide and self-harm, and this can leave a big impact on impressionable minds. Presence of Strong Safeguards The main safeguards on the Internet are policing with the accompanying legislation, and technology itself. There are organisations in place to deal with the abusive websites and forums, appropriate legislation to prevent child pornography, paedophilia, theft, fraud and a variety of other online crime. There is also a vast array of technology that can help keep adults and children safe online, from parental control software that can restrict the websites viewed by children, to anti-virus and cryptography software and firewalls that help prevent hacking and viruses and keep data safe. Conclusion Staying safe online It is commonly accepted that the Internet provides us with opportunities that have been hitherto unavailable. Many sing the praises of this so-called information superhighway; however, it is prudent not to be lulled into a false sense of security by the promising opportunities. People should be made aware of the dangers lurking in the Internet, and be given the education and means to take steps to stay safe online. Just as children are taught not to speak to strangers in the real world, they should be taught not to speak to strangers online as well. Education in schools should include education about how to stay safe online; just as children are taught that eating fruit and vegetables are healthy, they should also be taught that excessive online activities can lead to addiction, with various negative consequences. This is because the virtual world is not very different from the physical world in terms of people waiting to take advantage of the weak and vulnerable, and also with respe ct to dangers such as addiction. The future of the virtual world In many ways, the virtual world is a reflection of the real world. After all, the people who inhabit the real world are the same people that also inhabit the virtual world. It follows therefore, that what people do and want to do in the real world, they would try to do in the virtual world too. Where the physical constraints of the virtual world restrict them, they would try to find ways to get around it. The rapid development of technology also gives rise to new means by which people can do things, beneficial or harmful. The development of virtual reality may mean that one day, people in the virtual world may not be immune to immediate physical harm either. However, the technology by itself is neither good nor bad; it is the way the technology is put to use that creates positive and negative consequences for human beings. In the end, it can be said that virtual world is perhaps just as dangerous as the physical world. References Camp, L. 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