A Fable by Mark Twain

A Fable by Mark Twain One of the basic exercises (or progymnasmata) practiced by students of classical rhetoric was the fable- a fictional story meant to teach a moral lesson. What lesson about the nature of perception is contained in A Fable, by American humorist Mark Twain? A Fable by Mark Twain Once upon a time, an artist who had painted a small and very beautiful picture placed it so that he could see it in the mirror. He said, This doubles the distance and softens it, and it is twice as lovely as it was before. The animals out in the woods heard of this through the housecat, who was greatly admired by them because he was so learned, and so refined and civilized, and so polite and high-bred, and could tell them so much which they didnt know before, and were not certain about afterward. They were much excited about this new piece of gossip, and they asked questions, so as to get at a full understanding of it. They asked what a picture was, and the cat explained. It is a flat thing, he said; wonderfully flat, marvelously flat, enchantingly flat and elegant. And, oh, so beautiful! That excited them almost to a frenzy, and they said they would give the world to see it. Then the bear asked: What is it that makes it so beautiful? It is the looks of it, said the cat. This filled them with admiration and uncertainty, and they were more excited than ever. Then the cow asked: What is a mirror? It is a hole in the wall, said the cat. You look in it, and there you see the picture, and it is so dainty and charming and ethereal and inspiring in its unimaginable beauty that your head turns round and round, and you almost swoon with ecstasy. The ass had not said anything as yet; he now began to throw doubts. He said there had never been anything as beautiful as this before, and probably wasnt now. He said that when it took a whole basketful of sesquipedalian adjectives to whoop up a thing of beauty, it was time for suspicion. It was easy to see that these doubts were having an effect upon the animals, so the cat went off offended. The subject was dropped for a couple of days, but in the meantime, curiosity was taking a fresh start, and there was a revival of interest perceptible. Then the animals assailed the ass for spoiling what could possibly have been a pleasure to them, on a mere suspicion that the picture was not beautiful, without any evidence that such was the case. The ass was not troubled; he was calm, and said there was one way to find out who was in the right, himself or the cat: he would go and look in that hole, and come back and tell what he found there. The animals felt relieved and grateful and asked him to go at oncewhich he did. But he did not know where he ought to stand; and so, through error, he stood between the picture and the mirror. The result was that the picture had no chance, and didnt show up. He returned home and said: The cat lied. There was nothing in that hole but an ass. There wasnt a sign of a flat thing visible. It was a handsome ass, and friendly, but just an ass, and nothing more. The elephant asked: Did you see it good and clear? Were you close to it? I saw it good and clear, O Hathi, King of Beasts. I was so close that I touched noses with it. This is very strange, said the elephant; the cat was always truthful beforeas far as we could make out. Let another witness try. Go, Baloo, look in the hole, and come and report. So the bear went. When he came back, he said: Both the cat and the ass have lied; there was nothing in the hole but a bear. Great was the surprise and puzzlement of the animals. Each was now anxious to make the test himself and get at the straight truth. The elephant sent them one at a time. First, the cow. She found nothing in the hole but a cow. The tiger found nothing in it but a tiger. The lion found nothing in it but a lion. The leopard found nothing in it but a leopard. The camel found a camel, and nothing more. Then Hathi was wroth, and said he would have the truth, if he had to go and fetch it himself. When he returned, he abused his whole subjectry for liars, and was in an unappeasable fury with the moral and mental blindness of the cat. He said that anybody but a near-sighted fool could see that there was nothing in the hole but an elephant. MORAL, BY THE CAT You can find in a text whatever you bring, if you will stand between it and the mirror of your imagination. You may not see your ears, but they will be there.

Dont Overdo Do

Dont Overdo Do Dont Overdo Do Dont Overdo Do By Maeve Maddox Walking past a bank the other day I noticed a sign that said We do loans. Ive known for some time that some people do lunch, but I missed the transition from making loans to doing loans. This usage of all-purpose do in a multitude of expressions is nothing new in English. Ask Bessie to do the flowers for church. Mr. Ping does our garden. The stable boys do the horses. When is the painter going to do this room? I plan to do the room in red and gold. I can do you now, Sir, said the barber. Even the word do-able which sounds so modern and breezy to my ear has been around since 1449. c1449 PECOCK Repr. I. vii. 37 A lawe..which is doable and not oonli knoweable. (OED) No doubt about itdo is a handy word that serves us well. Professional writers, however, may want to add do to their list of words to cull in a final revision. Hair and flowers may be arranged, gardens tended, and rooms decorated. And banks make loans. (At least, theyre supposed to.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Running Amok or Running Amuck?If I Was vs. If I Were

Joseph Plumb Martin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Joseph Plumb Martin - Essay Example Wit and humor are great assets for a writer. Martin describes about the confusing situations that prevailed in the uncertain battlegrounds. Without able officers to guide, issue orders to the soldiers as to the course of action to be followed everything was in a state of mess in the war-fronts. The soldiers were ill-equipped, untrained and faced life-and death situations often. Most of them were inexperienced and did not possess the skills and intricacies of attacking and defending in warfronts. Martin’s grouse that the authorities did not care for the ordinary soldier is genuine. They defended the people and the cause, and once the war was over they were finding it difficult to defend their poor pensions. This observation of Martin is bone chilling: â€Å"If I chance to die in a civilized country, none will deny me that. A dead body never begs a grave; thanks for that.† (p.179, 180). Martin and fellow-soldiers fought wars with utter dedication in sub-human conditions. Their patriotism was matchless. Martin felt genuine anguish the way the soldiers were treated by the authorities, once the job was done. His language is not that of a bitter critic. His simple words pierce the conscience of a discernable reader, like a sharp dagger. Revolutionary speeches were delivered by the big leaders, theoreticians on the subject of racism, and other think-tanks from the ivory towers. But the real difficulties of the war was borne by the ordinary soldiers, and the goal of freedom for the Nation was accomplished by them fighting from the deadly trenches, with genuine apprehensions about their survival to see the sun rise for another day.

Week 5 leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Week 5 leadership - Essay Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Throughout Scripture many different styles of leadership are incorporated. Abraham was seen as an entrepreneurial style leader and Moses as a kaleidoscope leader. Moses had many styles like charismatic, administrative and a people’s manager in good times as well as during the times of crisis. This project will evaluate my personal ability as a Spiritual leader. Furthermore, this will examine my personal ability and style of leadership, as well as ability to set goals in conjunction with God’s agenda. It will also evaluate my ability to anticipate criticism from other leaders and followers, as a result of change processes. Moreover, this project will examine my potential as a leader to effect and accept change, innovate and effectuate continuous improvement.1 Leadership style and how the leaders deliver the message are important to the followers. Spiritual leadership is more than someone putting on an energetic show. The Spiritual leader is a vessel of the Holy Spirit to communicate the truth of the Gospel; of our Lord Jesus Christ. The leader must be sure that the Lord has called him or her into the ministry. Spiritual leadership is a high calling from the Lord and not just an occupation. Spiritual leaders are different from other styles of leaders. A true Spiritual leader must first be a true servant. In the secular world, leader and servant are completely opposite. We as Christian leaders pattern our lives and leadership after Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said, â€Å"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.† (Mark 10:45) After evaluating my personal style of leadership, I see similarities between my style and Abraham. Abraham had an entrepreneurial style of leadership. Personally I was involved as an entrepreneur in the secular business world, prior to God calling me to the ministry. After the

Discounted Cash Flow Techniques Essay Example for Free

Discounted Cash Flow Techniques Essay A brief tutorial on Excel financial functions (problems to follow) You may find the following Excel, built-in financial functions helpful when analyzing the problems below. (To access these functions, select Insert, Functions, and choose Financial.) =PV(rate, nper, pmt, fv, type) returns the present value of a series of cash flows. =FV(rate, nper, pmt, pv, type) returns the future value of a series of cash flows. =PMT(rate, nper, pv, fv, type) calculates the periodic payment for a loan based on constant payments and a constant interest rate. =NPER(rate, pmt, pv, fv, type) returns the number of periods for an investment based on periodic, constant payments and a constant interest rate. =NPV(rate, range) returns the net present value of an investment based on a discount rate and a series of future payments (negative values) and income (positive values). (Warning: By convention, NPV calculates the net present value one period before the first cash flow.) =IRR(range, guess) returns the internal rate of return for a series of cash flows. In these functions, rate = the discount, or interest rate. nper = number of periods. pmt = annual uniform payment. fv = future value, or future cash flow. type is a logical value allowing you to specify if cash flows occur at the end or the beginning of the period. A value of 1 indicates beginning of period, 0 or omitted indicates end of period. pv = present value. range = the cells on your spreadsheet containing the cash flows you want to analyze. For example, if the cash flows are in the first 10 rows of column A, the entry for range would be a1:a10. guess = your guess as to the internal rate of return. This helps the computer get started and may be left blank. An example Suppose you want to know the present value of $100 per year for 19 years and $500 at the end of the 19th year when the interest rate is 13 percent. Select a spreadsheet cell and enter =PV(0.13,19,100,500). Excel will return ($742.83). This is the amount one should be willing to pay today to receive the indicated stream of cash flows when the interest rate is 13 percent. Problems 1) An investment costing $50,000 promises an after tax cash flow of $18,000 per year for 6 years. a. Find the investments accounting rate of return and its payback period. b. Find the investments net present value at a 15 percent discount rate. c. Find the investments profitability index at a 15 percent discount rate. d. Find the investments internal rate of return. e. Assuming the required rate of return on the investment is 15 percent, which of the above figures of merit indicate the investment is attractive? Which indicate it is unattractive? 2) A $1,000 par value, 10 percent coupon bond matures in 20 years. If the price of the bond is $1,196.80, what is the yield to maturity on the bond? Assume interest is paid annually. 3) Ten years ago you invested $1,000 for 10 shares of Trublock common stock. You sold the shares recently for $2,000. While you owned the stock it paid $10.08 per share annual dividends. What was your rate of return on Trublock stock? 4) Having heard of your knowledge of present value techniques, you have been asked to testify as an expert witness in the following lawsuit. Several homeowners in a nearby community have organized to protest against alleged gouging on the part of a local lending institution. One resident presents his payment book as evidence. The resident has a 30-year, fixed rate loan at 6 percent interest for $200,000. He got the loan 10 years ago and has been making equal annual payments of $14,529.60 ever since. He observes that he has paid the lending company $145,296.00 yet his payment book indicates that the principal due on the loan has only declined by $33,345.40. He presents this as obvious proof of gouging on the part of the money changers. Do you agree? Why, why not? 5) In 1984, the city council of the town of Patterson agreed that their community badly in need of a modern hotel that would cost approximately $25 million. To finance construction members of the council organized the Patterson Hotel Corporation. Through strenuous promotion they raised $15 million by selling 15,000 shares of stock at $1,000 per share. They secured the other $10 million necessary to build the hotel as a loan provided by a local bank on a 10 year, 14 percent mortgage that called for uniform annual payments sufficient to pay interest and to extinguish the debt at the end of 10 years. Upon completion, the Patterson Hotel Corporation leased the hotel to a national company that operated a chain of hotels. The lease ran for 30 years and contained a clause permitting the lessee to purchase the hotel for $10 million at the end of the 30-year period. The lessee agreed to furnish the hotel and pay all taxes (including income taxes) and operating expenses, and was to meet the interest and repayment obligations on the mortgage during the first 10 years of the lease. During the last 20 years of the lease, the operating company agreed to make payments sufficient to permit annual dividends of $400 per share. No payments at all were to be made to the stockholders during the first 10 years. This was the most favorable operating contract that Patterson Hotel Company was able to negotiate. When stockholders, many of whom had bought stock under considerable pressure, learned that there was no prospect of dividends for 10 years, they were quite upset, and a number of them were anxious to sell their stock. Conrad Billings, a local businessmen in the original group that promoted the hotel, was reported to be buying stock from some of these disgruntled stockholders at $750 a share. Some locals were heard to comment that Conrad Billings was a clever old bastard who was taking advantage of his public-spirited neighbors. There were remarks regarding the fat dividends he would be receiving after the mortgage was paid off. One man was said to have declined Billings’ offer of $750 a share and to have commented publicly that nobody was going to get his stock unless they paid what it was worth. Make whatever assumptions and calculations you find necessary to estimate the fair value of the stock. Was $750 a share really too low a price? 6) You need four new tires for your car. You can buy cheap retread tires for $25 a piece and replace them every 20,000 miles or you can spend $40 per tire and replace them every 40,000 miles. If money has an opportunity cost of 10 percent to you, how many miles must you drive annually to warrant the more expensive tires?

An Analysis of Blakes The School Boy Essay -- Blake The School Boy

An Analysis of Blake's The School Boy  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   'The School Boy' is a typical example of Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience in it's themes and imagery. Like many of the other poems in this work it deals with childhood and the subjugation of it's spirit and uses imagery from the natural world. While first published in 1789 as one of the Songs of Innocence there are strong reasons why Blake moved it to the Experience1 section of the 1794 edition. If we compare it to other poems in the collection it sits better with others in Experience than those in Innocence. On first reading 'The School Boy' is the voice of a young boy complaining of being shut inside at his schoolwork instead of playing outside in the sun. When we look at the poem further we can see that the poet is returning to the theme of childhood subjugated and its natural joy destroyed that can be seen in other poems in the collection such as 'The Chimney Sweeper' in Experience with its comparison of the child who was 'happy on the heath' to now "Crying ''weep! 'weep!' in notes of woe!" . The poem begins in Stanza I with the poet giving us a pastoral image of the innocence of nature reminiscent of that in 'The Introduction' from Innocence, some critics have pointed out the similarity of 'The distant huntsman winds his horn' in this poem with 'Piping down the valleys wild' in 'The Introduction' of Innocence2 . The poem gives us an image of rising with the company of many natural joys, not just the huntsman but 'birds sing on every tree' and 'the sky-lark sings with me.' It is in Stanza II that we see the oppression of the natural by authority typical of Experience and continued through the rest of the poem. This stanza compares the pastoral imagery... ...glewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1966. Hyland, Dominic, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Harlow: Longman York Press, 1982. Notes To avoid confusion between the 1789 edition Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Innocence section of the 1794 combined edition I have shortened the section names to Innocence and Experience throughout and refer to the 1789 edition as Songs of Innocence and the 1794 edition Songs Of Innocence and Of Experience as the 1794 edition where it is necessary to draw a distinction. One example is found in D. Hyland, William Blake Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience (Harlow: Longman York Press, 1982), p. 48 William Blake, Songs Of Innocence and Of Experience, (London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1967) plate 53 . D. Hyland, William Blake Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience (Harlow: Longman York Press, 1982), p. 48      

Availability Of Instructional Materials Essay

Some people learn in different ways. Some people are extraordinary good of retaining information fed to them orally and others absorb and retain a great deal of information that they’ve read. Others need visual stimulants or cues to facilitate learning. Education in Basilan State College is now experiencing a period great change, and problematic situations that can spur creative and innovative effects  towards educational experiences. The needs to restore the learners are the instructional materials, because it helps to stimulate and motivate learners. (Esu, Enukoha and umeron 2004). Education will have to project new vision and a new perspective which will expand the school of the community and make it its laboratory for the teaching-learning opportunities that will be provided. Teachers will be a key factor in education and in a culture like ours, they will still be accepted authority in the classroom. Educational facilities and instructional materials do need in improving performance, but in view of limited resources creativity and innovativeness most are experience in their used. Since all effort will involve all people, actions of education system must be directed to make all sectors like media, association and other government and non government agencies compliment rather than compete in the task in developing education so that it can contribute more substantially to the rebuilding of our nation. Instructional materials are said to be part of the instructional procedure. Thus, studies have shown that when skills are related to practical situations, attitude and improve. Inyang-Abia and Esu (1990) cited in Esu et. Al (2004) asserts that instructional materials are the pivot or which the wheel of individuals differ in so many aspects and they learn at different levels, so providing alternative resource materials is very necessary. The purpose of instruction therefore, is to help people learn. Instruction may include events that are generated by a page of prints, by a picture, by television program, or by combination of physical objects among other things. The aim of designing instruction is to activate and support learning of the individual pupil. This aim is characteristic of instruction whenever it occurs whether between a tutor and the pupil in a school classroom, an adult interest or the job setting. A fundamental reason for designing instruction is to ensure that no one educationally disadvantaged and that all pupils have equal opportunities to use their individual talents to the fullest degree. Instructional design calls for a preplanning it involves preparing a blue print of instructional development and delivery, utilizing multimedia, multi disciplinary approaches with objective of improving the teaching and learning processes on one hand. These instructional materials brought about meaningful insight and provide direction for change in education. Basic instructional materials will have to be developed very carefully since these may have in the process of education. They should provide for the desirable values and the skills and knowledge proposed to be learned in each learning level and adequately provide for mastery learning which is requisite to the achievements of quality. Good teaching is not an accident. It is thoroughly planned and organized by a teacher who has in mind the nature of the learners, the objective of the lessons and the availability of materials. All that happens inside the classroom contributes to the learner’s acquisition of knowledge, values and skills. The learning environment provides very meaningful experience not only to the learners but to the teachers as well. Good teachers become better teachers when they used appropriate materials in their classroom. Theoretical Framework Instructional materials have been defined by various authors. For example, Obanya ( 1989) viewed them as didactic materials thing which supposed to make learning and teaching possible. According to Abdullahi (1982) instructional materials or tools usually made or imported that could made  tremendous enhancement of lesson impact if intelligently used. Ikiereonwun (Isola 2010) refered to them as objects or devices, which help the teacher to make a lesson make clearer to the learner. Instructional materials are also described as concrete or physical objects which provides sound, visual or both to the sense organs during teaching (Aguina-obu) 2005). There are also instructional materials that educators use which provide creative ideas to assist in the learning process. Finally, instructional materials can help one troubleshoot a product that is not functioning properly. Instructional materials serve as the channel between the teacher and the students in delivering the instruction. They may also serve as the motivation on the teaching- learning process Instructional Materials serve as the channel between the teacher and the students in delivering the instruction. They may also serve as the motivation on the teaching- learning process. Use to get the attention of the students in order for them to experience boredom, just want to add the importance of instructional materials is that good instructional materials do not teach it encourage the learners to learn. Conceptual framework Instructional materials are in various classes. Independent Variables Dependent Variables Implication Statement of the Problem This study was conducted to determine the availability of instructional materials of the college of Health and Science in Basilan State College. Specifically, it answers the following questions. 1. What are the instructional materials use by the teacher of college of Health and Science a. Audio b. Visual c. Audiovisual 2. To what extent is the audio instructional materials used by the teacher in terms of: a. Radio b. Tape recording 3. To what extent is the visual instructional materials used by the teacher in terms of: a. Chalkboards b. Chart c. Slide d. Film Strip 4. To what extent is the audio-visual instructional materials in terms of: a. Television b. Picture c. Slide show Hypothesis of the Study The under listed hypothesis were formulated to guide these study. There are no significant difference between students taught with standard instructional materials, improvised materials and convention instruction. There is no significant relationship between availability of instructional materials and effective implementation of College of Health and Science. Significance of the Study With insights on the availability of instructional materials brought about meaningful insights and provide direction for change in education. Through the use of instructional materials the students are easily arouse their learning. Students may have different interest and abilities that determine their pace of learning. The Teacher With the use of instructional materials for the teacher in place, their instructional efficiency can be improve. The overcome of this research may help the teacher in place and load more available instructional materials in their classroom or materials. The Department This research will increase and improve the implementation of the available instructional materials to indulge the learning of the students. Scope and Delimitation of the Study Teaching materials is a generic term use to describe the resources teachers use to deliver instruction. Teaching materials can support student learning and increase student success. Teaching materials come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have in common the ability to support student learning. This study was conducted in the College of Health and Science at Basilan Sate College Isabela City Basilan. This study determines the availability of instructional materials in College of Health and Science. Teachers at all levels utilize a variety of instructional materials such as textbooks, presentations, and handouts to enhance the quality of their lessons. The quality of those materials directly impacts the quality of teaching. Knowing how to find the best instructional materials is valuable skills for a teacher. What the use of instructional materials should be useful when they used it, the students can easily gain important information. These instructional materials are used to aid the transference of information from one to another. Right for instance, a teacher may use instructional materials to aid in the learning of subject matter in the class. Instructional materials serve as the channel between the teacher and the students in delivering the instruction. They may also serve as the motivation on the teaching learning process. Definition of Terms For better comprehensive of this study, the following terms were defined: 1. Availability – The quality or state of being available (Merriam Webster) 2. Instructional Materials – Educational resources use to improve students’ knowledge, abilities, and skills to monitor their assimilation of information, and to contribute to their overall development and upbringing. 3. Students – is a learner or someone who attends an educational institution. 4. Teacher – Teacher is the one of parent who thinks good for our future and is the only person who helps us to make the decision then the right for us. 5. Needs – A need is something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. Needs are distinguished from wants because a deficiency could clear a negative outcomes, such as disfunction or death. Needs can be subjective or physical, such as food, or they can be subjective and psychological, such as the need for the self – esteem. Chapter II Review of Related Literature and Studies Some people say that learning can be learned through the use of visual-aids and as a matter of fact, 75% of learning can be acquired through the sense of sight. Now a days students are very much particular with its comes to the teachers visual-aids. Sometimes they find the discussion boring if the teacher didn’t provide their visual-aids. Traditional instructional materials are the materials traditionally use by the teachers to their students in teaching their lessons. It includes the use of textbook, chalk, board, marker, charts and flash cards. These are the common materials that help the teachers to explain the lessons clearly. Instructional materials These are materials that are use to aid the transference of information from one to another. For example, a teacher may use instructional materials to aid in the learning of subject matter for a class. These instructional materials could include power point presentations (visual aids). Books Articles The list can go on and on some call them instructional materials while others may call learning or teaching aids. Instructional materials serve as the channel between the teacher and the students in delivering the instruction. They may also serve or the motivation on the teaching learning process. Students learn principally through interactions with people (teachers and peers) and instructional materials (textbooks, workbooks, instructional software, web-based content, homework, projects, quizzes, and tests). But education policymakers focus primarily on factors removed from those interactions, such as academic standards, teacher evaluation systems, and school accountability policies. It’s as if the medical profession worried about the administration of hospitals and patient insurance but paid no attention to the treatments that doctors give their patients. There is strong evidence that the choice of instructional materials has large effects on student learning—effects that rival in size those that are associated with differences in teacher effectiveness. But whereas improving teacher quality through changes in the preparation and professional development of teachers and the human resources policies surrounding their employment is challenging, expensive, and time-consuming, making better choices among available instructional materials should be relatively easy, inexpensive, and quick. Student learning occurs primarily through interactions with people (teachers and peers) and instructional materials (textbooks, workbooks, instructional software, web-based content, homework, projects, quizzes, and tests). The contexts within which these interactions  occur are surely important. The effectiveness of teachers, the behavior of peers, and the instructional materials with which students have the opportunity to interact are affected by layers of influences that range from circumstances in the home, to leadership in the school, to the international macro-economy and everything in between. But students do not engage in instructional interactions with the governance mechanism for their school or with state standards or with a school district’s evaluation system for teachers or with collective bargaining agreements or with the leadership qualities of their school principal—they learn by engaging in cognitive processes that are triggered and shaped by interactions with people and instructional materials. The balance between attention to context and attention to instruction has come to be substantially out-of-kilter among education policymakers.2 It is as if the managers of a professional sports team spent most of their time and resources on the layout of the stadium, the advertising of the games, the logistics of travel, and the equipment in the weight room while giving little attention to playing the game itself. Instructional interactions are the core of student learning but policymakers attend mostly to context. We must give priority to the education policies that are most likely to improve instructional interactions if we are going to achieve substantial progress in student achievement. CHAPTER III RESEARCH DESIGN AND PROCEDURES These chapters discuss the Research Methodology, Instructional Materials and Achievement Grades, Survey Data and Survey Population and Instrument. METHODOLOGY An instructional material has been shown to have positive impact on teaching and learning in classrooms (Baylor and Ritchie, 2002). For this study, instruction materials were defined as all the materials and equipment that  are used to enhance the teaching and learning process, specifically chalkboards, flip charts, locally available resources, overhead projectors, videos, and computers. The academic achievements in the College of Health and Science could be attributed to many factors among which teachers strategy itself was considered as an important factor. The teaching without instructional materials may certainly result in poor academic achievements. The availability of instructional materials has been found to the consistently positive determinant of academic achievement. In addition to studying the effects of availability of instructional materials like textbooks on achievement it is important to know the extent to which the instructional materials being used in the College of Health and Science to the learning needs of the students in the said college. The purpose of this study was to survey students to determine what instructional materials were available in the teacher training colleges. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS There have been several studies on instructional materials and academic achievement. For instance, Momoh (Isola, 2010), conducted a research on the effects of instructional resources on students’ performance in West Africa School Certificate. Examinations (WASCE) in Kwara State. He correlated material resources with academic achievements of students in ten subjects. Data were collected from the subject teachers in relation to the resources employed in the teaching. The achievements of students in WASCE for the past five years were related to the resources available for teaching each of the subjects. He concluded that material resources have a significant effect on student’s achievement in each of the subjects. In the same manner, Moronfola (1982) carried out a research in Ilorin Local Government Area of Kwara State. She used questionnaires to collect data on the material resources available for the teaching of some selected subjects  in ten secondary schools and related these to students’ achievements in each of the selected subjects and to the amount of resources available for the teaching of the subjects. Finding showed a significant effect of material resources on the students’ academic performance in these subjects. In the same vein, Popoola (1990) investigated the effect of instructional resources on the academic achievements of students in Ogun State. Five secondary schools in Abeokuta were used for this study. Questionnaires were designed to elicit responses on instructional materials that were available for the teaching and learning of each of the three school subjects he examined. He collected WASC examination results for five years and compared achievements of students in schools with adequate material resources and achievements of students in schools with inadequate material resources. He found a significant difference in the achievements of the two sets of students. The schools with adequate instructional materials performed better than those with inadequate instructional materials. The absence instructional materials in the school were great limitation to a number of teachers. Administrators should be aware of the importance of the instructional materials as an instructional tool and provide it to the teacher. Like for instance, textbooks and exercise books are the most important teaching/learning aids. In this study it was found that in general teachers had textbooks for the subjects they were teaching. THE SURVEY DATA There are several ways that surveys can reach respondents for completion. A researcher can contact respondents by mailing the surveys to them and wait for their responses. The advantages with mail out surveys are that the researcher is able to reach participants who are scattered and cannot easily be met in person, and also that respondents have ample time to think of the answer. On the other hand, mailing has a disadvantage because in many cases response rate is low, and the researcher must make several attempts to remind participants to respond (Ary, Jacobs and Razavieh, 2002, Fowler, 2002, Rea and Parker, 1997). In this study the researcher administered the survey in person, one by one. Despite the time and expense incurred, this approach helped the researcher to have a high response rate (Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh, 2002), since the surveys were collected immediately after completion. Another advantage was that since the respondents were clustered at their classes it was possible to get almost all respondents at the same time and allow them to fill in the surveys at the same time. In addition, as Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh (2002) put it, â€Å"the researcher is present [and can] provide assistance or answer questions† about the items. SURVEY POPULATION AND INSTRUMENT The population for the survey was derived from the ten (10) respondents in the College of Health and Science. The instrument used in this study were self-design contains of 7 items and 2 choices or options the â€Å"Yes or No â€Å". The respondents are the students of College of Health and Science an we gathered at least 10 respondents in the said college. The students were made to check the answer of the survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was use to measure the achievements of the students in the College of Health and Science through the use of various instructional materials through the contribution also of their teachers. And it was used to measure how does these instructional materials affecting the grades pr the achievement grades of the students in the College of Health and Science.

Unearthing the meaning behind “the matrix”

What will you do if one day you wake up plugged into a computer, and that computer gives you a reality that is far from what you know? Will it change anything? Will it give less sense of the things that you thought are real? The Matrix is a dazzling depiction of the adventure of a computer programmer as he seeks to find answers to his mind’s multitude of questions. The Matrix was first shown on March 1999. It is a futuristic film which predicted that in the near future, humans’ lives will revolve around Matrix, a simulated reality. It tells the story of a computer programmer who lives under the pseudonym â€Å"Neo†. At the same time, he’s also a hacker who’s been dying to know the real enigma that lies behind the Matrix. In his desperation to find answers, he came across Morpheus, a man who promised him that he’d know the answer if he’d swallow a red pill. Neo doubtfully obeyed Morpheus and after he took the pill, he is unconsciously taken to a strange place wherein his body is connected to a wide array of wires. He woke up to an artificial program that nurses human beings by sustaining them with manufactured and trashed realities. He is rescued by a group of escapees by removing him from the pod that he’s attached with. The group saved Neo, for they believe that he is the one destined who will save the humankind from their doom. In the latter part, Neo found out that he’s in the year 2199 wherein a current rage between humans and intelligent machines is happening. Neo came to a realization that the world that he has inhabited in 1999 is just an illusion. It was made and developed by certain intelligent machines to keep the human population peaceful. Thus, it gave birth to the name Matrix. Morpheus and his team are lucky enough for they are free. Their duty is to remove other humans from their attachment to the Matrix and in return give them inhumane abilities. They believe that Neo is â€Å"the One† who will end the war because of his infinite control over the Matrix. To completely become a member of the group, Neo is trained to possess several self-defense disciplines which primarily include martial arts. Alongside with this, he’s also informed of the dangers that entail the Matrix life.   All the injuries that he will acquire in the Matrix will manifest in his physical body in the real world. As the time progressed, Neo gradually tagged along with the team’s operations. The group entered Matrix wherein Neo met the Oracle. She told Neo that he possessed a gift for being â€Å"the One† but that he is waiting for something. After this, the group was ambushed by Agents, the fast programs whose aim is to eradicate any threats to the simulation. Unfortunately, Morpheus is the only one who was captured by the Agents. All the members of Neo’s group died except him, Tank, Trinity and Morpheus. It turned out that they were betrayed by their own member, Cypher. A lot of things still happened but one of the most gripping scenes is when Neo is captured by the Agents and he was shot dead by one of them. Neo should’ve been dead if not for Trinity who kissed him. Long before that occurrence, Trinity was already warned that she would fall in love with â€Å"the One†. It’s hard for her to accept Neo’s sudden death so she kissed Neo. To her surprise, Neo’s heart starts beating again. The Agents tried to shoot him but Neo just raised his pal and stopped their bullets in the mid-air.   And finally, Neo saw the Matrix- an infinite number of streaming green lines. Hence, he became â€Å"The One†. The Matrix is indeed one of the most compelling examples that can illustrate some of the facets of the cultural anthropology. Anthropology, as defined â€Å"is the study of humankind, both ancient and contemporary.† (www2.cedarcrest.edu) Anthropology also examines the various facets of the society without any biases. Thus, it envisages society without putting any kind of stereotypes. The Matrix contains a lot of implications that which in return are just manifestations of humankind. The film somehow portrayed that humankind is currently driven by a lot of implicit yet unnoticeable things. Some might think that The Matrix is just a great and dazzling action movie but if you’ll really scratch beneath the surface, you’ll discover that a lot of realities about humankind are hidden in the film.   Innumerable people have watched this movie, but only few really understood the superb analogy that covers the film. Cultural anthropology is indeed vast as it curtains a lot of cultures from different sides of the world. However, The Matrix was able to come up with a coherent comprehension of what is happening in the cultures right now. Cultures now including its people are living in an illusory world that’s full of deceits, slavedom, economic turmoil, fear, media stereotypes and material indulgence. What humankinds fail to realize is that a real Matrix also exists within their cultures. They are driven by the wrong things that they gradually forget to value the things that really matter. Because of their struggle to be wealthy and powerful, their task to nurture and enrich their culture is disregarded. The Matrix gives the image of an existence that’s full of superficiality and trivialities. The image shows that people do everything to block an upsetting reality by wallowing themselves with material pretensions. It is quite intoxicating for some cultures that are drenched in wealth while the other cultures are wallowing in misery. The Matrix can also be connected to cultural anthropological perspectives as it neatly depicts the demarcation that the cultures have right now. The film evidently showed the conflict that’s present between Neo’s side and the Agents. It showed that cultures, despite some of their similarities with other cultures will still remain to be poles apart. It is primarily because these cultures live up to diverse ideals and beliefs. The Matrix is undeniably a worth watching film because it’s not just an ordinary action movie full of explosions, special effects, and adrenalins.   It is a movie that truly makes sense as it will help the people to reflect and realize what’s really going on. The film might also show them how to modify their distorted principles about their cultures. A film like this is quite moving because it offers the possible things that might happen to humankind in the future if the continuous clashing of culturally-acclaimed principles will continue. Although you have to really ponder on the film to see its relation with cultural anthropology, it’s still worth-watching because of its profound illustration. The entire hidden implications of the film are completely and utterly true. The Matrix is a ground-breaking film as it changed how action and sci-fi movies are supposed to be made. It demonstrated its own unique sense as it made people change how they look at their cultures. There are lots of symbolisms that were used in the film. Nevertheless, the spirit of humankind still managed to shine in its own way. Neo's journey toward understanding his real fate teaches a lot of lesson regarding culture. The diversities of the people in the film can be clearly related to the present culture. It gives a lot of anthropological manifestations, yet it still pursued the coherence of the factors that revolved around the film. The movie has generated a lot of controversies and questions until now- questions that remain undiscovered and will still continue to raise unfathomable debates and discussions. It was a revolutionary movie filled with mind-boggling questions and intrigues. Though many films before have already demonstrated their assumptions, nothing can beat The Matrix as it presented its ideas in a more graphical way.   In the end, it just sums up the film in a single question: â€Å"Are we really living in a real world right now?† References Cedarcrest Education. (2008. April). The Anthropological Perspective. Retrieved April 26 2008, from http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/socsci/anthropology_perspective.htm ;

Free Essays on Violets Are Blue

A combination of circumstance and circumstances put me in New Orleans on Halloween night in 1999. It was a memorable night for many reasons - the cross-dresser blocking traffic at the corner of Bourbon and St. Ann's will never fade from memory - but one memory came rushing back, over and over, as I read VIOLETS ARE BLUE by James Patterson. It is the memory of two men walking down Bourbon Street, both blond, apparently twins, tall and buff, dressed only in bib overalls, striding through the crowds like bronzed gods slumming. The most striking thing about these gentlemen were their eyes: blue, hollow, and without palpable emotion. It was interesting to watch the reaction of those who encountered them. People of both sexes didn't make way for this couple; they actually appeared to recoil from them. My reaction, then and now, was "Those guys are vampires." A good portion of the latter half of VIOLETS ARE BLUE takes place in New Orleans, and most of it involves a hunt for a serial killer - or killers - who rend their victims during ritual murder and drink their blood. We learn fairly early on who the killers are. They are brothers named William and Michael Alexander and they stride through Patterson's world just as confidently and with the same aloofness as did the gentlemen I saw in New Orleans that night. Alex Cross is brought into the investigation by Kyle Craig, the FBI agent revealed in last year's ROSES ARE RED as the brilliant, maniacal Mastermind. Cross, accordingly, must pursue the Alexanders while dealing with the anonymous taunts and threats of The Mastermind - who knows his every move and location - and attempting to fulfill the role of single parent that fate has thrust upon him. Patterson, as he has done before, adroitly presents the various professional and personal roles that Cross plays among the people in his life and how those roles overlap, often inconveniently. Patterson's writing style lends itself to... Free Essays on Violets Are Blue Free Essays on Violets Are Blue A combination of circumstance and circumstances put me in New Orleans on Halloween night in 1999. It was a memorable night for many reasons - the cross-dresser blocking traffic at the corner of Bourbon and St. Ann's will never fade from memory - but one memory came rushing back, over and over, as I read VIOLETS ARE BLUE by James Patterson. It is the memory of two men walking down Bourbon Street, both blond, apparently twins, tall and buff, dressed only in bib overalls, striding through the crowds like bronzed gods slumming. The most striking thing about these gentlemen were their eyes: blue, hollow, and without palpable emotion. It was interesting to watch the reaction of those who encountered them. People of both sexes didn't make way for this couple; they actually appeared to recoil from them. My reaction, then and now, was "Those guys are vampires." A good portion of the latter half of VIOLETS ARE BLUE takes place in New Orleans, and most of it involves a hunt for a serial killer - or killers - who rend their victims during ritual murder and drink their blood. We learn fairly early on who the killers are. They are brothers named William and Michael Alexander and they stride through Patterson's world just as confidently and with the same aloofness as did the gentlemen I saw in New Orleans that night. Alex Cross is brought into the investigation by Kyle Craig, the FBI agent revealed in last year's ROSES ARE RED as the brilliant, maniacal Mastermind. Cross, accordingly, must pursue the Alexanders while dealing with the anonymous taunts and threats of The Mastermind - who knows his every move and location - and attempting to fulfill the role of single parent that fate has thrust upon him. Patterson, as he has done before, adroitly presents the various professional and personal roles that Cross plays among the people in his life and how those roles overlap, often inconveniently. Patterson's writing style lends itself to...

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was created by the Treaty of Lagos in Lagos, Nigeria, on May, 28, 1975. It had its roots in earlier attempts at a West African economic community in the 1960s and was spearheaded by Yakuba Gowon of Nigeria and Gnassigbe Eyadema of Togo. The primary purpose of ECOWAS is to promote economic trade, national cooperation, and monetary union, for growth and development throughout West Africa.   A revised treaty intended to accelerate the integration of economic policy and improve political cooperation was signed on July 24, 1993. It set out the goals of a common economic market, a single currency, the creation of a West African parliament, economic and social councils, and a court of justice. The court primarily interprets and mediates disputes over ECOWAS policies and relations, but has the power to investigate alleged human rights abuses in member countries. Membership There are currently 15 member countries in the Economic Community of West African States. The founding members of ECOWAS were: Benin, Cà ´te dIvoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania (left 2002), Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,  Sierra Leone, Togo, and  Burkina Faso  (which joined as  Upper Volta).  Cape Verde  joined in 1977; Morocco requested membership in 2017, and the same year Mauritania requested to rejoin, but the details have yet to be worked out. ECOWAS member countries have three official state languages (French, English, and Portuguese), and well over a thousand existing local languages including cross-border native tongues such as Ewe, Fulfulde, Hausa, Mandingo, Wolof, Yoruba, and Ga. Structure The structure of the Economic Community has changed several times over the years.  In June 2019, ECOWAS has seven active institutions: the Authority of Heads of State and Government (which is the leading body), the ECOWAS Commission (the administrative instrument), the Community Parliament, the Community Court of Justice, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID, also known as the Fund), the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA).  .  The treaties also provide for an advisory Economic and Social Council, but ECOWAS does not list this as part of its current structure. In addition to these seven institutions, specialized agencies in ECOWAS include the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF), ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency(ECREEE), The West African Power Pool (WAPP), ECOWAS BROWN CARD, ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC),  ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre (EYSDC), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), and ECOWAS infrastructure Projects. Peacekeeping Efforts   The 1993 treaty also laid the burden of settling regional conflicts on the treaty members, and subsequent policies have established and defined the parameters of ECOWAS peacekeeping forces. The ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (known as ECOMOG) was created as a peacekeeping force for the civil wars in Liberia (1990–1998), Sierra Leone (1991–2001), Guinea-Bissau (1998–1999), and Cote DIvoire (2002) and was disbanded at their cessation.  ECOWAS does not have a standing force; each force raised is known by the mission for which it is created.   The peacekeeping efforts undertaken by ECOWAS are just one indication of the increasingly multifaceted nature of the economic communitys efforts to promote and ensure the prosperity and development of West Africa and the well-being of its people. Revised and Expanded by Angela Thompsell Sources Ecowas agrees to admit Morocco to West African body. BBC News, 5 June 2017.Francis, David J. Peacekeeping in a Bad Neighbourhood: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Peace and Security in West Africa. African Journal on Conflict Resolution 9.3 (2009): 87–116. Goodridge, R. B. The Economic Community of West African States, in  Economic Integration of West African Nations: A Synthesis for Sustainable Development. International MBA Thesis, National Cheng Chi University, 2006.Obi, Cyril I. Economic Community of West African States on the Ground: Comparing Peacekeeping in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, and Cà ´te dIvoire. African Security 2.2–3 (2009): 119–35. Okolo, Julius Emeka. Integrative and Cooperative Regionalism: The Economic Community of West African States. International Organization 39.1 (1985): 121–53. Osadolor, Osarhieme Benson. The Evolution of Policy on Security and Defence in ECOWAS, 1978–2008. Journal of t he Historical Society of Nigeria 20 (2011): 87–103. The Economic Community of West African States, official website

Economic History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic History - Essay Example One of the most major market failures in the world is the presence of imperfect information, and indicative planning is considered as being one of the best attempts that can be used in order to bridge this information gap. Basically, the aim of indicative planning is "to improve the performance of the economy by the provision of better economic information: forecasts or targets are published but compliance with them is voluntary. The underlying logic is that the plan, via collective action, can supply economically valuable information which, as a public good, the market mechanism does not disseminate efficiently" (Young & Holmes, 2000). There are many different reasons as to why it is believed that we need this indicative planning, and namely: if there were complete and efficient forward markets there would be little need for indicative planning or any shared set of assumptions because enterprises could use such markets to hedge the risks attendant on their investment decisions; the economic forecasts embodied in an indicative plan give both buyers and seller's confidence that the general levels of demand for products and supply of materials would be forthcoming; by identifying early the existence of any oversupply or bottlenecks, investment behavior can be modified in a timely fashion and the incidence of market disequilibria reduced; and both business and consumers can benefit from exercise in collective and consistent market research, which is freely distributed to all the relevant actors in the economy. (He, 2007). In regards to French indicative planning, there are many other issues that need to be discussed here, and the theory of French indicative planning is an issue which is of primary importance; the founder of the French indicative planning was a man named Pierre Masse, and it was he who actually introduced the concept of information pooling, where planners carry out 'generalized market research', thus allowing a common view of the future, and "This research involves consulting with leading actors in the economy for their input, a process called concertation. After this step the elements of the plan are adjusted to assure coherence and to guarantee policy coordination. The goal is concerted economy" (He, 2007). The French adoption of indicative planning had many steps involved within it, and this begins around the year 1500, when France surpassed China as being the nation with the largest GDP in the world; Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who was the finance minister under Louis XIV at that time, was pursuing strongly for aggressive and comprehensive governmental policies, and in fact, during this time, Colbertism became a word that was used to describe interventionalist state activity. Similarly, in the 19th century, France was considered as being a 'late' industrializer, and policy was more directed towards the nurturing and protecting of the industry as a whole. In 1830 France was surpassed by the UK; in 1936 a leftist regime came to power, led by L'eon Blum, and resulted in establishing a Ministry of