Speaking And Pronunciation Syllabus Education Essay

Syllabus design is an built-in portion of English linguistic communication instruction and as instructors seek develop linguistic communication proficiency in 2nd linguistic communication scholars they are expected to make constructions of larning which will enable the accomplishment of this enterprise. As such, this essay provides a justification for a course of study designed to be used in learning speech production and pronunciation to Libyan secondary pupils with Arabic as their first linguistic communication. Ideally, the syllabus marks to decide speech production and pronunciation jobs experienced by English linguistic communication scholars of Arabic descent. More frequently than non, Libyan and Arabic speech production pupils are merely exposed to larning English through formal instructions as explained by Rabab'ah ( 2003:181 ) . Following this, they are unable to to the full foster their speech production and pronunciation accomplishments which are best acquired through syne rgistic and communicative acquisition. As a consequence of the differences which are present between English and Arabic pronunciation, most of these scholars experiences jobs related to emphasis and modulation. However, the greatest hard present amongst Arabic scholars of English is their incapacity to pass on fluently and proficiently in English. It therefore becomes rather important to turn to these jobs by explicating an effectual course of study. The speech production and pronunciation course of study is hence aimed at developing English linguistic communication proficiency and particularly with focal point at developing expert eloquence which as asserted by Chambers ( 1997:536 ) , is the chief index of communicative proficiency. This purpose will at the terminal facilitate communicative and matter-of-fact competences which will let scholars to use the English linguistic communication suitably in their twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours interactions. The scholars targeted by this course of study have shown great enthusiasm for the acquisition of English speech production and pronunciation. Their motive is fuelled by the demand to interact and pass on with English talking tourers who usually frequent Libya. The scholars who are aged between 16 to 17 old ages possess limited capacities in speech production and pronunciation accomplishments as indicated by a nosologies trials carried out prior to the designing of the course of study. At the pre-intermediate degree, this course of study is ideal for them. Organization and Description of the Syllabus The course of study which focuses on developing speech production and pronunciation accomplishments is comprised of a sum of 12 Sessionss with each session amounting to one hr. As such, scholars will hold a sum of 12 hours of contact. There will be 16 Libyan scholars go toing the Sessionss at a linguistic communication centre located in Tripoli. The course of study is organized in such a manner as to reflect the subject, speech production and pronunciation focal point and the speech production activities for every session. In the first unit of the course of study the chief focal point is on talking where scholars will larn how to do questions and besides give information. In making so, they will besides integrate this in larning the pronunciation of long vowel sounds. The 2nd unit follows the same guidelines but the speech production focal point is directed towards speaking about others in a conversation while at the same clip familiarising oneself with the pronunciation of the shwa sound. While the speech production focal point for most Sessionss revolves around doing questions, giving information, doing remarks and explicating descriptions, pronunciation ‘s focal point is at groking the usage of vowels and consonants. Unit 6 utilizes descriptive undertakings in larning the usage of consonants /s/z/iz. Other elements of pronunciation are besides addressed with Unit 3 learning scholars how to associate words and sounds in sentences. Unit 4 marks to learn contracted address signifiers. Other phonological constituents such as modulation, falling and raising modulation are tackled in Unit 7. Word emphasis which is an of import facet of pronunciation is taught in Unit 8. Unit of measurements 11 and 12 accommodate assimilation and the pronunciation of the [ -ed ] signifier severally. The course of study ideally reflects its aims by supplying speech production activities for each session which are meant to supply scholars with an synergistic environment for tackling th eir speech production accomplishments. Evident in the course of study is the usage of synergistic activities throughout all Sessionss. These activities include pair work, function drama, treatments, group work, questionnaires and games. These activities fit the purpose of the course of study as they will give scholars ample pattern on their English communicating, speech production and pronunciation accomplishments. The sample lesson program for Unit 4 clearly indicates learning processs for this scholar centered course of study. Since the chief focal point is to transfuse talking accomplishments to scholars, the instructor is expected to use instruction methodological analysiss which mostly focus on the scholar ‘s acquisition demands. Indeed, functional purpose of the lesson is to enable scholars to seek and give information utilizing telephone devices while the phonological aims include larning how to use contracted address suitably. As indicated by Nunan ( 1998:26 ) , such a scholar centered course of studies can be implemented efficaciously by integrating ample communicative and synergistic undertakings. This is observed in the lesson program as scholars are invariably asked inquiries by the instructor ; they are besides involved in synergistic group work where they pattern colloquial accomplishments. The lesson program is besides realistic and made more effectual by the instructor â⠂¬Ëœs usage function drama undertakings and the usage of familiar content such as the engagement of hotels frequently done by tourers with whom these scholars would desire to interact with. In general, scholars will hold acquired equal speech production accomplishments which they can use in their day-to-day interactions with other English talkers. Talking besides accommodates the formation of relationships with others and the Libyan scholars will make so during their extremely synergistic speech production and pronunciation lesson. Follow up is an of import facet of instruction and acquisition. From the lesson programs guided by the course of study, scholars ‘ apprehension of the content is evaluated by the instructor during the assorted lessons. For case in Unit 4, scholars are expected to transport out group function drama undertakings as they examine their capacity to inquire and give information. The instructor ‘s function in this activity as in all other lesson activities is to interact with the scholars and point out countries which need rectifying. Oral accomplishments are likely to attest with the usage of such synergistic and prosecuting follow up activities as indicated in the course of study. Theoretical Justification of the Syllabus It is quite cardinal in the designing of such a course of study to organize a theoretical footing for its content. This factor provides intent for the course of study and besides provides a nexus between its design and pattern. This course of study chiefly targets the Libyan pupils ‘ capablenesss to pass on efficaciously with other English speech production persons. As such, the course of study must concentrate on bettering eloquence, rightness and intelligibility in their usage of the linguistic communication. Contrary to old aims of larning speech production and pronunciation which was to derive native like speech pattern, current purposes of larning pronunciation focal points on deriving intelligibility as observed by Tarone ( 2005 ) . It is therefore critical to see the rules of the communicative attack of linguistic communication larning utilised as a footing for the course of study. In this attack, the focal point is chiefly on communicating and the content being taught d epends on the scholar ‘s demands. Since the Arabic speech production Libyan learners seek to go better communicators, the course of study has accommodated legion speech production and synergistic undertakings and chances. Libyan scholars are observed to hold troubles in articulating [ -ed ] signifiers and besides the plural signifiers /s/z/iz. Following this analysis, it is important for the course of study to integrate communicative chances for them to pattern the pronunciation of these sounds. Indeed as Brinton, Goodwin and Celce-Murcia ( 1996:8 ) assert that such methodological analysiss like listening and copying and phonic preparation are rather effectual in learning pronunciation. These techniques are reflected in the course of study as scholars are encouraged to accommodate the instructor ‘s competent pronunciation by copying and so practising pronunciations during the lesson activities. In add-on, Libyan scholars will profit amply from the interactive linguistic communication they will larn whose accent as described by Richards ( 1990 ) is to let the creative activity of positive interactions between persons and this is reflected in the course of study as it focus on subjects aimed at le ting scholars to do little talk, questions, give regards and do new brushs. The above communicative attack which has been used in the course of study incorporates undertakings which will enable scholars to incorporate both eloquence and truth in their speech production. Indeed as postulated by Ellis ( 2003 ) , the usage of such undertakings like descriptions and narrations which are dominant in the course of study non merely allows scholars to pattern linguistic communication usage but besides sums to complex and accurate usage of the linguistic communication. Talking truth is besides said to emerge from the usage of unwritten communicating undertakings as described by Lynch ( 2007:317 ) who argues that when scholars cooperate in placing their speech production mistakes and rectifying them they are able to derive assurance in the mark linguistic communication and even strive to talk the linguistic communication suitably. This factor implies that as Libyan scholars who experience troubles in utilizing contracted address will happen it helpful to engaged in un dertakings which encourage both the scholars and the instructor to rectify their mistakes and besides steer them towards avoiding the unneeded usage of long words and sentences. The Syllabus and Pragmatic Competence The mark of the course of study is non merely to develop communicative competency in scholars but besides matter-of-fact competency. Matter-of-fact competency trades chiefly on the utterance degree of linguistic communication and with factors which allow native talkers to use the mark linguistic communication in societal interactions uninhibited. Harmonizing to Rueda ( 2006: 170 ) there are many facets of matter-of-fact competency which can be facilitated during schoolroom direction which means that the course of study needs to actively integrate such sole instructions. For scholars to derive this signifier of competency, they must possess the ability use the mark linguistic communication for different intents. Besides, scholars must get the ability to grok a talker ‘s purposes and have a bid of the linguistic communication regulations utilized in making signifiers of discourse. Explicit direction in the instruction of English to the Arabic speech production pupils is rather ne cessary. Such direction is expected to expose scholars to the accurate English linguistic communication input as observed in the course of study where scholars are provided with relevant speech production and pronunciation contents. Besides as seen in the course of study, it is important to make chances for the pattern of the matter-of-fact cognition that scholars have acquired during the learning procedure. Arabic talking scholars frequently experience jobs in understanding intended significances in discourse chiefly because they are unable to hold on the usage and significances of modulation and word emphasis. Harmonizing to Smith and Swan ( 2001:198 ) the unpredictable nature of English word emphasis eludes most Arabic talkers and instructors need to fit them with accomplishments for observing alterations in significances brought approximately by English word emphasis. As this is important to deriving matter-of-fact competency, the course of study has incorporated these facets as scholars engage in larning undertakings which enable them to separate between falling and raising modulation and the several implied significances. Chapman ( 2007:10 ) points out that the instruction of modulation in an synergistic environment will let scholars to understand how native talkers of English construe them. While trying to learn the Libyan pupils English and promote matter-of-fact competency, it is of import to see the function of top- down and bottom-up abilities. In order to accomplish the acquisition of these accomplishments, learning schemes need to see the differences which exist between linguistic communications and guarantee that scholars utilize these differences in larning the mark linguistic communication and that their native linguistic communication competency does non impede their mark linguistic communication acquisition. For case as illustrated by Chang, El-Ashry, Leclere and Palmer ( 2007:8 ) negative transportations can happen in the acquisition of English vowels by Arabic talkers due to the bing difference in the writing system of both linguistic communications. While vowels are found in the English alphabet and each of them stand foring multiple phonemes, Arabic talkers express their long vowels utilizing letters which represent individual phonemes. This contrast need s to be clearly addressed in the instruction of English long vowels to Arabic scholars. McCarthy and O'Keeffe ( 2004:26 ) ascertain that the usage of spoken principal has become rather of import in the instruction of speech production. Corpus in the instruction of Arabic talkers provides a native illustration of the usage of the mark linguistic communication and efficaciously assists scholars in look intoing their competency. The usage of written texts and recordings in the mark linguistic communication is demonstrated in the course of study and lesson program and promises to heighten eloquence and pronunciation. In learning matter-of-fact competency in Arabic scholars of English, there are assorted underlying premises which include the fact that the act of speech production is tantamount to executing speech Acts of the Apostless, that there are peculiar address Acts of the Apostless used by all linguistic communications and that there are differences in how talkers of different linguistic communications do things and in when they do them. The elaborate course of study has accommodated a huge scope of address Acts of the Apostless as scholars are taught how to transport out assorted colloquial undertakings. Besides, the usage of communicative activities like group work and function drama provides an effectual manner of leaving matter-of-fact competency. Decision From the above treatment, it is apparent that syllabus design is a complex and affecting undertaking. The analyzed course of study will efficaciously transform the speech production and pronunciation capablenesss of the targeted Libyan pupils. Greatly motivated to derive communicative competency in English, the scholars will profit from a communicative instruction attack which is besides learner centered. In add-on, this attack makes it easy to get matter-of-fact competency every bit good. The course of study has incorporated assorted countries in speech production and pronunciation which are considered to be debatable amongst Arabic talking 2nd linguistic communication scholars. As such, the surveies of contracted address, modulation, word emphasis, [ -ed ] signifier application, long vowels and plural signifiers of /s/z/iz/ have been incorporated. Other facets of significance which have been addressed include the usage of spoken principal and the top-down, bottom-up abilities in sc holars. In kernel, this course of study has the capacity to act upon the accomplishment of the larning aims desired by the Libyan pupils.

Characteristics of a Good Boss vs. a Bad Boss

We live in a society that offers a diverse and broad range of job opportunities, though finding suitable employment can be difficult in today's economy. For some, that means putting up with a bad boss or a good boss. The most notable distinction between the two types of bosses is whether they trust you to do your job . A boss are generally defined as someone who directly supervises the work activities of others. The perception of whether a boss is considered good or bad depends on the outlook of the employee being supervised. Bosses come in all flavors and styles. Most bosses are easy to work with and will do their best to create an enjoyable working environment for everyone. Flexibility, honesty understanding, listening, open for the input of your employees and taking full responsibility are the most important qualities you need to be a good boss. A good boss provides good work direction, has a hands-off approach, and is available when needed. Usual a good boss is one that becomes the mentor of their employees. A good boss is as much as team player as a leader. Good bosses always understand and encourage focused side-projects. .A good manager promotes on merit and ability. A bad manager promotes his friends based on their ability not to show him or her up. As a result, employees tend to be happier, more at ease, and more likely to be more productive. Bad bosses are not pleasing to be around. No one likes an individual who criticizes, belittles and disrespects people. On the other hand, a bad boss micromanages the work of employees, hangs over their shoulders, and often criticizes their work in front of others. A bad boss fails to give recognition for the little things his employee does. Another quality of a bad boss is inability to communicate. Usually, a bad boss does not listen to what is being said or does not care about what is being said. A bad manager promotes his friends based on their ability not to show him or her up. The boss whose self-interest always comes first or whose chief drive is to constantly curry favor with senior managers at higher levels in the organization without sharing credit with his/her staff or employees. The boss, who demands that a task be completed on an unrealistically small budget, or with an unrealistically close deadline, then goes ballistic when those impossible demands cannot be met.

Discussion Week 5 Question 1 Stock Options Chapter 8 Assignment

Discussion Week 5 Question 1 Stock Options Chapter 8 - Assignment Example Using Wal-Mart Company as an example, the company usually gives options to its employees. Each option covers a maximum of ten years from the time when it is granted. For those who at the time the option is granted own stock which represent 10% of the voting power in stock at the company, the term will not exceed five years. An employee can exercise an option when he gives notice to Wal-Mart and the company receives full payment for the option. An employee can exercise their option when their term ends as long as the option does not have restrictions. This can be done within sixty days. Options are transferable and are disposable to an immediate family; this is a â€Å"Permitted Transfer†. An option cannot is not transferable to another person other than through the â€Å"Permitted Transfer† or by the laws of distribution. The best way that the company can leverage stock options so as to offset employee compensation is by allowing employees to sell, transfer and dispose stock in the open market. This is because many employees see options as being part of their compensation and usually want to exercise them so as to get money. Restricting this to just family members is likely to make the options unattractive to employees. Employees should also be free to exercise the options at any time without following the process of notifying the company. This is because as they are in the process of notifying the company, they may miss out on making profits the moment that the stock prices go up in the stock

Censorship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Censorship - Essay Example There has always been a conflict regarding this issue as many people argue for and against drawing a protocol of guidelines on what can be said on the mass media. From the beginning of civilization, censorship has been used by groups as well as individuals to prevent and control artistic creations, information and ideas. The main causes of censorship are religion, politics and sex related issues. Censorship is particularly dominant in libraries, especially school libraries. The relationship between the libraries and censorship has always been tumultuous. The banning of certain ideas, thoughts and information in libraries as well as media is unconstitutional as the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. No individual or groups should forbid anyone from accessing information. As such, censorship should not be done in libraries as it restricts access to literature and is unconstitutional to limit the intellectual freedom of knowledge. Censorship is authoritarian and it hampers to the growth of literature. It is unjustifiable for libraries to limit the access to knowledge and dictate what is right and wrong in the works of literature. Censorship also undermines the faith of the intelligence of the readers and at the same time oppresses free thinking. It not only obstructs the growth of literature but also, the development of creativity in students. There are also many rationalizations that are used by people in favor of censorship in libraries. One of the common arguments in favor of censorship is that the information or a piece of literature which are deemed as dangerous or misleading by the standard of authorities must be suppressed as they can corrupt the youth. People who are in favor of censorship are also of the view that students should not be subjected to controversial issues in literature as these may lead them astray. Censorships are also solely motivated by morality and the belief that exposure to violence in literature causes stu dents to behave in a destructive ways. All these arguments do make sense. However, in reality this is an attempt to put students inside a bubble where they are protected from the issues of the outside world. There is no evidence to prove that fictional violence causes students to be become violent or that students who are exposed to violence in literature are prone to act violently. If literature is censored solely on the base of the actions of unstable people, no work of literature or art can survive. Many works of literature are banned in schools in the 90s: Of Mice and Men, Catcher in the Rye, The grapes of Wrath, Lord of the Flies etc are some examples. All these books are award winning classics and amazing literature in their own rights, which have the ability to influence people positively. Most frequently, books are censored by school libraries as they contain violence, sex, homosexuality and rebellious children. â€Å"Behind textbook controversies, are beliefs and values th at encompass more than curriculum decision in classroom† (June 1). But, the real question is why should students be prohibited from reading books which have lesbians as the main character or about gay couples? It is not that students are not aware of such issues and the reality is that the libraries are just dictating a norm of regulated rules as to how an individual should behave in society. The libraries are acting as

Music and the society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Music and the society - Essay Example The lyrics therefore fuses with the instruments to resulting a holistic peace that does not only entertain but also communicates the basic aspects of the society. Set in the society and targeting the same society for audience, musical compositions limit their creativity to the similar attributes of the society. This implies that the themes in the songs and the musical instruments used in the songs must come from the societies in which either the composers or the audience belong. Songs therefore portray the social, political, economic and cultural aspects of the society. In doing these, the draw lyrics from the specific features of the above elements that affect the society daily (Chris, Gerald and Allen 44). Through time, societies develop their technologies and cultural behaviors alongside other pertinent attributes. Songs and other works of art should therefore communicate the constant change in their presentation. This includes the type of instruments they use and the level of cre ativity in composing the songs. Songs must therefore reflect the changes through time. This implies that songs produced in different times should portray the difference in the features of society. The difference should be easily evident in the lyrical composition of the songs and even the instruments used. The technological changes often result in improvements in the instruments and other technological aspects of the composition. Songs should therefore always have better quality owing to the fact that they subsequent song productions employ better technologies. Due to the modern telecommunication developments, the world has eventually become a global village denoting that people easily trade cultural products key among which are songs and other works of arts. With such developments, any work of art that targets the global audience must address issues that are familiar to the global market. This compels detailed researches to identify the prominent aspects of the global society. Song s determine the trends in the global popular culture, composers of songs and other global works of art therefore have increased responsibility of regulating their cultural products to limit their compositions to uphold the values and virtues in the wider global society. From the above discussion, it is obvious that comparing to musical compositions is synonymous to comparing the different times of production for the two or more songs. Through the themes in the songs, the instruments used and the composition styles, the social, economic, political and technological state of the times become evident. Two of such songs composed and produced at different times in history but are still classical master pieces are The Four Seasons by Antonio Vilvadi in 1723 and Music for the Funeral of Queen Marry written by Henry Purcell in 1965. The time differences between the two songs is more than three centuries a time within which the society changed its structure. Political, social, economic, cult ural and even technological factors all changed thereby creating a big difference in the nature of the songs. They both have a representation of each of the five aspects of the society and the nature of representation in the two communicate the difference in the time lines. As its name suggests, The Four Seasons describe the seasons in the year and the activities in them. In his composition, Vilvadi composes and produces four concertos to represent he four seasons. Published for the first time in 1925, the four were part of the twelve concerti named the contest between harmony and invention. Each of the four concerti has unique composition structure and uses different instruments to create the difference in the tempo and therefore the general composition. The first two represent the warm seasons of

Teen smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teen smoking - Essay Example As a child, I remember waking up to my father coughing uncontrollably. I would always dutifully ask if he was okay, to which he answered yes, silencing any of my lingering objections. What could I have done differently? After reflecting on my fathers death, I have come to realize that if the laws were written in such a way to impose severe punishment upon teenage smokers, no one else would have to die from this slow-killing diseases. With laws in place to catch early users before they become life-time users, a multitude of future smokers would be avoided due to such laws. Why not treat cigarette smoking like one would treat alcohol use ? Our laws governing alcohol use is such that no one under the age of 21 can buy or consume alcohol Similarly, if an adult over the age of 21 facilitates a minor with alcohol, they can be charged and fined up to $1,000 for each minor that they outfitted with alcohol. If a teenager spends a night in jail for smoking illegally, then perhaps he or she would think twice about ever picking up a cigarette again. Additionally, the tacking on of fines to a minor who has used a fake ID or a proxy to ascertain cigarettes. Usually when someone is forced to pay a fine for a misdemeanor or is placed on probation, their likelihood of doing the same thing again becomes minimal. Alternatively, perhaps the police should fine the teenager. In â€Å"Teen Smokers Should Worry About Fines,† Eric Zorn suggests, "This isnt a new idea. PUP laws-so named because they ban the purchase, use and possession tobacco by minors-have been around for decades. Chicagos dates to 1992 and calls for a $25 fine for the first offense"(1) Certainly if these fines are the law, Ive never been aware of it - principally because the cops do not enforce the statutes. In the Zorn article, Professor Leonard from DePaul University in Chicago reveals that if the PUP laws had been successfully enforced, numerous teenagers would have quit long ago - or perhaps

Short Exegesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Short Exegesis - Essay Example His idea that followed is contrary to what he mentioned that was popularly known and accepted- not an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but that if an evildoer strikes someone on the right cheek, he should turn the other. Jesus was not trying to make another commandment contrary to what was given in the Old Testament, but as he claimed in Matthew 5:17, he came to fulfill the law. Jeremiah confirms Jesus’ words in Lamentations 3:30 saying, â€Å"Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him.† The concept Jesus was offering was not new however, it was lesser known than the justifiable concept of retaliation mentioned earlier. Jesus was advocating non-violent reactions in contrast to the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth reaction. Moreover, he encourages people to give their cloaks as well when someone sues them and tries to take their coat. The coat is the inner garment used by the Israelites while the cloak is an outer garment (Attridge, 1677) which they also use for sleeping. Exodus 22:26-27 and Deuteronomy 24:12-13 shows that a cloak used as a pledge by borrowers should be returned before the sun sets because it is essential for him during the night. Furthermore, Jesus advises to go an extra mile if one is forced to go one mile. Those who are in position oftentimes asked too much from their subordinates and rebellion could be an easy reaction for most but, Jesus recommended doing more than what is asked, instead. Similarly, Jesus counseled giving to everyone who begs and not to deny borrowers. Beggars seemed common during the time of Jesus and these were usually the sick and incapacitated like the beggar at the gate called Beautiful (Acts 3:1-10) or the widows and orphans. Jesus told the people to do what he was about to exemplify during his crucifixion. As he told them to turn the other cheek to those

Steve Jobs leadership and management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Steve Jobs leadership and management - Essay Example The success of businesses in the global market is strongly depended on their ability to identify the needs of customers and to develop product/ services that best respond to these needs. This fact is reflected in the strategies of firms, which own an important share of their industry; these firms tend to prioritize their targets in order to ensure that risks are minimizing. In all cases it has been proved that the ability of firms to develop competitive plans is related to their leaders. Of course, managers are highly involved in such initiatives but it is mainly the leader of each firm who sets the rules on which organizational strategies will be based – taking into consideration the mission of the organization but also the market’s pressures and the resources available. On the other hand, there are leaders who can perform higher compared to their counterparts in most organizations internationally. These leaders are known as charismatic leaders and can respond to organ izational issues and challenges requiring either leadership or managerial skills. Steve Jobs is one of these leaders. Four resources of different characteristics have been employed in this paper in order to explain the leadership skills of Steve Jobs not just regarding his work in Apple but also regarding his contribution in the development of leadership, as a factor influencing the performance of organizations operating in all industries. The article of Conaty and Charan, published in 2011, explains analytically the characteristics of leadership style of Steve Jobs. On the other hand, a report published by the Stanford News referring to Steve Job’s Commencement Address in 2005 has been considered as valuable including Steve Job’s personal views on the facts, which most influenced his leadership style. A recent financial statement of Apple has been also used in order to indicate the firm’s performance, under the influence of Steve Job’s leadership style. Finally, the article of Thoma published in 2010 in regard to the leadership style of Steve Jobs has been included in th e resources of this paper as it emphasizes on the management skills of Steve Jobs, an issue which should be also discussed when evaluating the involvement of Steve Jobs in organizational issues which are normally handled by leaders but also in those which are likely to be handled by managers. The leadership style of Steve Jobs can be characterized as unique even if it can be partially related to existing leadership theories. The key advantage of Steve Jobs compared to the leaders of most organizations seems to be the following one: Steve Jobs can ‘identify the product that appeals to the customers and act decisively’ (Conaty and Charan, online article). The specific fact is reflected in the following tale – referring to Steve Jobs’ first participation in the board meeting of Apple. It is noted that after entering the room, Steve Jobs focused on the company’s products, which were set on display and ‘began taking them down, one at a time; when h e was done, only four were left’ (Conaty and Charan, online article). He explained that only these products, among the firm’s products, could help the firm to develop a competitive advantage towards its rivals. The above tale reflects the approach of Jobs in highlighting the products on which Apple should invest for

The Commission and the Crime Committed Case Study

The Commission and the Crime Committed - Case Study Example The policy on the corruption being committed in the case of Former State corrections Chief James Crosby Jr. will be reviewed. The policy involved in this case is the Federal law about the corruption of a government official. Even though this policy was not clearly defined, the case of Crosby was able to pursue. Based on the evidenced presented against Crosby it was clear that he committed corruption by taking kickbacks from the prison vendor. The only confusing about this case is that what policy or Federal law was being violated. The official being convicted of corruption means that he committed the Chapter 839 of the 1999 Florida Statutes. Chapter 839 - The Offences by Public Officers and Employees Chapter 839 of the 1999 Florida Statutes under title XLVI is the Offences by Public Officers and Employees. (1) The "Official Misconduct" as defined in Chapter 839.25, means the commission of the following act by a public servant, with corrupt intent to obtain a benefit for himself or herself or another or to cause unlawful harm to another: Knowingly falsifying, or causing another to falsify, any official record or official document. (2) "Corrupt" means done with knowledge that act is wrongful and with improper motives. (3) Official misconduct under this section is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in section 775.082 Penalties, and section 775.083 Fines. The charge of Corruption to Crosby maybe questionable but it appears to be legal and justifiable. The force removal of Crosby in position is the result of the violation of Chapter 839.04County officers not to speculate in county warrants or certificates.- (1) Any... This report is to be presented in order to help the commission to revise and reviewed the policy involved in cases. Ethical issues involve are important to discuss to avoid misunderstanding and further questioning on the cases. As the ethics laws are â€Å"strictly construed,† because they are penal in nature, virtually any ambiguity in a statute will be construed in favor of the public official. Therefore, the ethics laws must be written to specifically address ambiguities that have arisen. In addition, meaningful enforcement of the laws is enhanced when the laws clearly identify appropriate standards of conduct. Federal law prohibits federal employees from leaving their public position and then participating in a matter in a way that is adverse to the former agency where the employee had participated personally and substantially in the employee’s official capacity. Attorneys are subject to a similar restriction, under Bar regulations. The Code of Ethics should cover the same situations. Otherwise, for example, a Department of Revenue employee involved in a taxpayer case could quit the Department and work for the taxpayer, against the Department, on the same case.

Johannes Kepler Essay Example for Free

Johannes Kepler Essay Johannes Kepler was born in the midst of an exciting and confusing time for Europe. The continent was entering the Renaissance, a reawakening of thought across the continent. By the time of Keplers birth, the Renaissance had reinvigorated European culture, politics, philosophy, religion, literature, and science. The authority of the Catholic Church was challenged for the first time in centuries by the reformer Martin Luther, who pointed out the wrongs that he felt the Church had committed. Luthers rebellion spurred the Protestant Reformation, in which Luther and his followers freed themselves from the authority of the Church, creating a new sect of Christianity. Kepler, a Protestant, often found himself caught in the midst of the resulting tension between Catholicism and Protestantism. Catholics frequently persecuted him. A similar challenge of scientific authority was also in progress, a radical shift in thought that later became known as the Scientific Revolution. Scientists in all fields were beginning to question the wisdom of the ancient philosophers who had molded their disciplines. They gradually began rely on objective facts and observation and to turn away from the mysticism, religion, and unfounded theorizing that had previously dominated the field. This drastic change in scientific practices and beliefs was most apparent in the field of astronomy. Physics and astronomy had been dominated by the work of Aristotle, a philosopher from the time of ancient Greece, and Ptolemy, an astronomer from the second century A.D. Astronomy was rooted in both philosophy and theology, and it was difficult for scientists to separate their work from that of the mystics or the clergy. Through the work of the four fathers of the astronomical revolution, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton, both the practice of astronomy and mans view of the universe were transformed. Astronomers rejected the Ptolemaic view of the universe that had held court for centuries. They supplanted Ptolemys earth-centered universe with a new sun-centered system. These modern thinkers, far ahead of their time, persevered against the mockery, apathy, and anger of their peers. And eventually, through Newtons synthesis of math, physics, and astronomy, they triumphed. The work of these astronomers shook the world. They denied everything that humans had held certain for centuries. The excitement and confusion that these astronomers left in their wake in is reflected in John Donnes seventeenth century poem An Anatomy of the World – The First Anniversarie. As he wrote, And new Philosophy calls all in doubt. Tis all in pieces, all coherence gone. General Summary Johannes Kepler was born in Germany in 1571, in the middle of the Scientific Revolution. The weak and sickly child was abandoned by his father Heinrich in early childhood. Because his family moved around so much, it took Kepler twice as long as usual to get through elementary school. He eventually graduated, moving on to a theological seminary and then to the University of Tuebingen. At the university, Kepler decided to pursue a graduate degree in theology, but he was soon distracted from that goal. A Protestant school in the Austrian town of Gratz offered him a job as a professor of math and astronomy. Although Kepler believed he had no special skills in those subjects, he took the job. Once there, he turned his attention toward deciphering the mysteries of the universe. Kepler was convinced that God had created a universe with some discernable pattern or structure, and he devoted himself to figuring out what it might be. In 1595 Kepler decided that the planets were spaced as they were because the planetary orbits were arranged around geometric figures: the perfect solids. Perfect solids are three-dimensional figures whose sides are all identical, and Kepler was convinced that God had used these forms to build the universe. He elaborated on this view in his first book, the Mysterium Cosmographicum, or the Cosmic Mystery. Keplers theory was incorrect, but the book was the first major work in support of the Copernican system since Copernicuss death fifty years before. The book was also significant because Kepler was the first major astronomer in centuries to address physical reality, rather than being content with a mere mathematical description of the universe. Kepler could not quite get his data to fit his theory; he needed a source of more accurate data. He found this in Tycho de Brahe, a wealthy Danish astronomer. Tycho was the best observational astronomer of his age, and Kepler decided that only Tychos observations would do. So Kepler traveled to Prague to work in Tychos lab. Tycho, an arrogant, demanding, and unpleasant employer, died after only a year. But Kepler worked for seven more years on the problem he had started on while there: constructing the orbit of Mars. Keplers work on Mars led him to discover his first two planetary laws: that the planets travel in elliptical orbits and that they sweep out equal areas of their orbits in equal times. He published his results in 1609 in the Astronomia Nova, or the New Astronomy, revolutionizing astronomy and greatly simplifying the Copernican system. Kepler was considered one of the top astronomers in Europe–although not because of his published work. Few of his peers recognized the importance of his planetary laws, and few even accepted that they were true. It was difficult for his colleagues to recognize him as a scientist of the modern age, when his work remained mired in the mysticism of the past. The years just before and after the Astronomia Nova were a professional triumph for Kepler – he was well known and well respected. He spent these years researching lenses, as well as astronomy, adding several major contributions to the field of optics. At the same time, his personal life was taking a turn for the worse. In quick succession, Keplers wife and favorite son died, and his patron went insane and abdicated the throne. His new home, Prague, was torn apart by civil war, and his mother was accused of being a witch. Through it all, Kepler continued to work toward his greatest goal: finding a way to explain the structure of the universe. He had been forced to abandon most of his theory of the perfect solids, and needed so mething new to replace it. After years of thought, he came up with a new idea: the theory of universal harmonies. Kepler decided that the planets were spaced around the harmonic ration of another set of geometrical figures. Once again, he believed he had looked directly into the mind of God. Once again, his theory was completely wrong. Butthe pursuit of an incorrect theory led him to a stroke of scientific genius. In 1618, Kepler published the Harmonice Mundi, or the Harmony of the World, in which he explained his new harmonic theory. Keplers third law offered a specific mathematical relationship between the distance of a planets orbit from the sun and the time it took a planet to circle the sun. Kepler thought little of this law, as did his peers, because it made little sense to him at the time. It was only later, when Sir Isaac Newton created the theory of universal gravitation, that the fundamental importance of this law became clear. Kepler continued to publish important works. In 1619, he published Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae, a summary of the Copernican system, adjusted to accommodate Keplers laws. The Copernican system as we now know it is basically the one offered in the Epitome. Then, in 1627, Kepler published the Tabulae Rudolphine, or the Rudolphine Tables, a comprehensive list of astronomical observations, predictions, and explanations, all based on Tychos data and Keplers discoveries. Keplers final publication came a few years after his death. Though filled with scientific explanations, it is not actually a scientific work – instead, it is a science fiction story. Somnium, or Dream, tells the story of a young boys trip to the moon. Much of the story seems to be a thinly veiled autobiography. However, the Somnium was also packed with notes on the scientific ramifications of Keplers discoveries. The accuracy of his prediction of what a lunar journey would be like reveals what remarkable physical intuition he had. Kepler is perhaps the least known of the major figures of the Scientific Revolution. His lack of fame may be due to the fact that he is difficult to classify – he seems less modern than the other scientists of the time, and he relies on mysticism and religion. His scientific contributions are themselves harder to simplify than those of Copernicus or Newton. But while he may be less known than his peers, Kepler is no less important. Physics and astronomy had been separated for two thousand years before Keplers birth. It was an incredible leap for him to put the two together – and in doing so, he paved the way for the Newtonian revolution that was to come. Important People, Terms, and Events People Copernicus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer and clergyman who, in 1543, introduced a new heliocentric system of the universe. In Copernicuss system, the planets revolved on a complex system of epicycles, but they all revolve around the sun. This was a revolutionary idea in the sixteenth century. Everyone was firmly convinced that the earth was motionless at the center of the universe. To imagine that it moved around the sun seemed ridiculous. It took several decades for the Copernican system to become fully accepted by astronomers and the public. Kepler was the first major astronomer to publicly acknowledge his support of it. Tycho de Brahe Tycho de Brahe was a Danish nobleman who made a name for himself in the late sixteenth century as Europes best observational astronomer. He kept a closely guarded collection of astronomical observations, the most accurate astronomical data available at the time. Eager to use Tychos figures to develop his own system, Kepler traveled to Prague to work in Tychos lab. In addition to being a brilliant astronomer, Tycho was also an arrogant and temperamental man. Tycho and Kepler had a love-hate relationship; they respected one another, but each was also jealous of the others achievements and potential. Several times, Kepler fled the lab, only to return full of apologies. When Tycho died, he expressed a hope that Kepler would use his data to develop the Tychonic system of the universe, in which the planets orbited the sun, which orbited the earth. Instead, Kepler applied Tychos observations to the Copernican system, which led him to discover his first two laws. Galileo Galilei Galileo was an Italian astronomer who discovered the moons of Jupiter. Galileo was the first major astronomer to use a telescope to observe the heavens. When these observations yielded findings that the scientific community was reluctant to believe, Kepler lent him public support Galileo later became a symbol of sciences break from religion during the scientific revolution. He was put on trial by the Catholic Church and convicted of heresy for his support of the Copernican system Heinrich Kepler Keplers father, Heinrich, was an itinerant criminal who repeatedly abandoned his family. At one point he owned a tavern, at another, he was nearly hanged for an alleged crime. One of Keplers younger brothers was forced to run away from home when Heinrich threatened to sell him. Heinrich left for good in 1588 – he was not missed. Katherine Kepler Katherine Kepler, Keplers mother, was born Katherine Guldenmann. She was the daughter of an innkeeper and the niece of a woman who had been burned at the stake as a witch. Kepler later described her as a petty, angry, quarrelsome woman. She came back into Keplers life in 1615, when her fellow villagers accused her of being a witch. Kepler was quick to come to her defense. After five years of argument and negotiation, Katherine was interrogated under threat of torture. When she continued to deny being a witch, she was finally released. She was driven from her town and died six months later. Michael Maestlin Michael Maestlin was Keplers most influential teacher at the University of Tuebingen. Maestlin was the first to teach Kepler about the Copernican system. In the classroom, Maestlin was a strong supporter of the Copernican system, but on paper, he continued to propound the Ptolemaic system. Kepler turned to Maestlin for help and advice throughout his life, but Maestlin seems to have grown tired of his troublesome student. He often ignored Keplers letters for years at a time. Barbara Muehleck Kepler married Barbara Muehleck in 1597. It was a marriage of convenience, not love. Keplers friends had decided it was time for him to marry and had chosen Barbara as a good mate; Kepler acquiesced. They were married for fourteen years and had four children. Barbara died in 1611 of the Hungarian fever. Susanna Pettinger Two years after his first wife died, Kepler married the 24-year-old Susanna Pettinger. They had eleven children together and Kepler had nothing negative to say about her in later life – a ringing endorsement considering the way he described most of his family members. Ptolemy Ptolemy, an astronomer from the second century A.D., formulated a system of the universe that lasted for over one thousand years after his death. His system placed the earth at the center of the universe, with the planets and the stars revolving around it. Ptolemy insisted that the planets in his system moved with uniform circular motion. Because this is not actually how the planets move, he was forced to introduce the following mathematical devices. The deferent is the main circle around which each planet orbits the earth. An epicycle is a smaller circle around which the planet orbits the deferent. Finally, the equant is an imaginary point in the exact center of the planetary orbits. Ptolemys system was so complex that, by the time of Copernicus, it contained somewhere between forty and eighty epicycles. Terms Astronomia Nova  · The Astronomia Nova, or the New Astronomy was Keplers masterpiece. Published in 1609, it was the result of over eight years of work. Kepler spent those years trying to work out the shape of the orbit of Mars. Using Tychos data about the motion of the planets, Kepler was finally able to determine the shape of the orbit more accurately than anyone who had come before him. This resulted in the formation of his first two laws, which were published in the Astronomia Nova. Geocentric  · A geocentric system is one in which the earth is at the center of the universe. For thousands of years, scientists, philosophers, and theologians believed that the universe was geocentric. They were unwilling to believe Copernicus when he challenged that assumption. Harmonice Mundi  · The Harmonice Mundi, or Harmony of the World was the culmination of Keplers life-long study of the structure of the universe. Published in 1618, it described a system in which the spacing between th e planets was determined by universal harmonies. The theory was wrong, but the book is nonetheless important, as it marks the first appearance of Keplers third law. Heliocentric  · A heliocentric system is one in which the sun is at the center of the universe. The system that Copernicus introduced was a heliocentric system. This was not a completely original idea – some of the philosophers of ancient Greece had imagined that the universe might be constructed in this way. However, the dominant view had always been that the universe was geocentric, so Copernicuss claims were a shock to the European system. Keplers Three Laws  · Kepler is best known today for his contribution of the three planetary laws, which were instrumental in Newtons later development of his theory of universal gravitation. They are as follows: 1. The planets travel around the sun in elliptical orbits with the sun located at one focus. 2. As the planets travel around their orbits, they sweep out the same amount of area per unit of time, no matter where they are on the orbit. 3. The distance a planets orbit is from the sun, cubed, is directly proportional to the time it takes the planet to travel around the orbit, squared. Mathematically, this can be stated as a 3/p 2 = K where a is the distance a planets orbit is from the sun, p is the period, the time it takes for a planet to revolve around the sun once, and K is a constant. Mysterium Cosmographicum  · Published in 1597, the Mysterium Cosmographicum, or Mysteries of the Cosmos, was Keplers first major work. It described his theory of the perfect solids, which, although he never fully admitted it, was completely wrong. More importantly, the Mysterium was Keplers first step to rejoining physics and astronomy, as he grasped for physical explanation for the structure of the universe. He was the first astronomer in centuries to do so. It is in the Mysterium that Kepler first proposes that the sun be moved to the exact, physical center of the universe, and that a force from the sun is responsible for moving the planets around their orbits. The Mysterium was also the major work in fifty years to support the Copernican system. Perfect solid  · A perfect solid a three dimensional figure, such as a cube, whose sides are all identical. There are only five perfect solids: the tetrahedron (which has four triangular sides), cube (six square sides), octahedron (eight triangular sides), dodecahedron (twelve pentagonal sides), and icosahedron (twenty triangular sides). Each perfect solid can be inscribed in and circumscribed around a sphere. In the beginning of his career, Kepler believed that the planetary orbits could all be inscribed in one of the perfect solids. Growing Up Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, in the small German town of Weil- der-Stadt. He was born at the tail end of the European Renaissance, an age of intellectual, religious, cultural, and scientific transformation. But Keplers own early childhood showed no such signs of enlightenment. The young Kepler was trapped in his own period of personal depression and darkness. The Kepler family tree had distinguished roots – his arrogant grandfather Sebaldus Kepler had even served as town mayor. But by the time Kepler came on the scene, the family had fallen into a state of disrepair, filled with tormented personalities, hot tempers, invalids, and criminals. Sebaldus and his wife, Katherine Mueller, had twelve children. Heinrich, Keplers father, was the oldest surviving child; three others had died in infancy. When he was twenty-four years old, Heinrich married Katherine Guldenmann – Johannes was their first child. Katherine had a slightly less auspicious pedigree than Heinrich. She was an innkeepers daughter whose aunt had been accused of being a witch and had been burned at the stake. Heinrich was a restless husband who abandoned his family often. When Kepler was only three, Heinrich left to fight the Protestant armies in the Netherlands. This was a public embarrassment for the Keplers – one of many that Heinrich would cause – since the Kepler family itself was solidly Protestant. Heinrich came and left frequently through Keplers youth. At one point, he was accused of a crime and almost hanged. After briefly running a tavern, the itinerant Heinrich abandoned the family for good in 1588. Johannes Kepler had six brothers and sisters, three of whom died in childhood. Of the remaining three, two grew up to be normal, law-abiding citizens. The last one, Heinrich, was an epileptic who was always either sick or in trouble. He eventually ran away from home after Heinrich Sr. threatened to sell him. Historians have an incredibly detailed sketch of Keplers childhood, thanks, in large part, to the scientist himself. At the age of twenty-six, Kepler drafted a horoscope of his entire family. He also spent a fair amount of time analyzing his own personality. Kepler recorded everything, including the time of his conception (May 16, 1571), the length of his mothers pregnancy (224 days, nine hours, and fifty-three minutes), and his own opinions of each member of his family. The image we are left with is not a pretty one. Grandfather Sebaldus was remarkably arrogantshort tempered and obstinate and Grandmother Katherine was restless, clever, and lyingan inveterate troublemaker, extreme in her hatred, a bearer of grudges Mother Katherine is described as small, thin, swarthy, gossiping, and quarrelsome. But it is Keplers father who bears the brunt of Keplers familial criticisms. In Keplers autobiographical study, Heinrich appears as a man vicious, inflexible, quarrelsome, and doomed to a bad end. Kepler spares no one in his autobiography, least of all himself. He portrays himself as a sickly child, weak in health and personality, always picked on by other children. He describes a miserable childhood filled with illness, injury, and skin disorders. His chronological listing of events from his early days reveals that Kepler was not one to look on the bright side – the list is a recital of moments of suffering and weakness. In 1575, Kepler almost died of smallpox; in 1585, he suffered from a series of sores, wounds, and skin problems. The litany of complaints breaks for only a few events, including the sighting of a comet in 1577 and, a few years later, a sighting of a lunar eclipse. As these astronomical events marked a few bright moments in a childhood of darkness, astronomy itself would soon illuminate Keplers troubled adult life.

How Self Evaluation is implemented for school improvement

How Self Evaluation is implemented for school improvement The aim of the study is to investigate how School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is implemented for school improvement. There is an increasing international trend of democratisation and decentralisation of education, from the bureaucratic national to an autonomous school based education, in terms of financial management, human resource management and curriculum management. The Department of education observes that with the democratisation of education and associated decentralisation of authority, schools are increasingly being held accountable for their performance (DoE, 2004). School Self-Evaluation is defined as a procedure involving systematic information gathering which is initiated by the school itself and aims to assess the functioning of the school and the attainment of its education goals for the purpose of supporting decision-making and learning for fostering school improvement as a whole (Schildkamp, 2007). Paradoxically, the quality of education that is offered, especially in rural schools of South Africa, is decreasing dramatically. This is confirmed by national and international assessment bodies like the Systemic Evaluation (SE), the Trends in Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). The Department of Basic Education, (2010) contends that both the Systemic Evaluation in 2004 and SACMEQ in 2000 indicated that less than one in four Grade 6 learners passed minimum standards in mathematics (DBE, 2010). It further stipulates that the international tests that South Africa participates in show that the top 10% of learners in South Africa do worse than the top 10% of learners in other developing countries such as Kenya, Indonesia and Chile (DBE, 2010). School improvement is defined as a systematic, sustained effort in changing learning conditions and other related internal conditions in one or more schools with the ultimate of accomplishing educational goals more effectively (Van Veltzen, Miles, Ekholm, Hamemyer, and Robin, 1985). The above observations do not presume that the decline in the quality of education in South Africa is due to the democratisation and decentralisation of education, but rather depicts an inevitable demand for a more relevant mechanism, at school level, to be put in place to ensure high quality education and continuous school improvement. This condition imposes that an effective implementation and monitoring of School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is indispensable. Vanhoof, Maeyer and Petegem (2011) confirm that schools are increasingly required to assume a greater share of the responsibility for developing and guaranteeing educational quality (Vanhoof, Maeyer and Petegem, 2011). SSE is a school-based evaluation that is supposed to be implemented by principals, School Management Teams (SMTs), School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and the community, on an annual basis, to ensure continuous improvement and high quality education in all schools. problem statement and rationale for the study School self-evaluation was introduces by the former Minister of education, Professor Kader Asmal in 2001. It is the initial phase of Whole School Evaluation (WSE), preceding external evaluation. In his foreword, the minister states that the National Policy on Whole School Evaluation introduces an effective monitoring and evaluation process that is vital to the improvement of quality and standards of performance in schools (DBE, 2002). This policy aims at improving the overall quality of education in South African schools, and its purpose is to facilitate improvement of school performance through approaches characterised by partnership, collaboration, mentoring and guidance (DBE, 2002). According to the National Education Policy Act (No.27 of 1996), the Minister is mandated to direct that standards of education provision, delivery and performance are monitored though out the country. It remains a worrying factor that rural schools seem not to be considered as part of South African sch ools by these education policies. This view is confirmed by the New Vision for Rural Schooling, (2005) which states that the states commitment to social justice in all matters and especially to universal access to education, written into the Constitution, remains unfulfilled for a large number of children, youths and adults living in rural areas (DoE, 2005). A plethora of education policies have been developed in the new political dispensation, but the serious challenge is that they do not translate into school improvement. Schildkamp and Visscher (2010) argue that enormous resources are invested to develop and implement school self-evaluation instruments, but how schools actually use the instrument has never been thoroughly evaluated longitudinally (Schildkamp and Visscher, 2010). Furthermore, they contend that several studies report a lack of effect of school self-evaluation feedback, but this lack of effect may be caused by a lack of use of school self-evaluation feedback (Schildkamp and Visscher, 2010). McNamara and OHara (2008) note that there has been a remarkable rise in the regulation of public services and servants, especially in education, in an attempt to counterbalance the autonomy of schools. Furthermore, external evaluation and inspection has been an important element of this trend, however as their limitations become more apparent, the concept of internal or self evaluation has grown in importance (McNamara and OHara, 2008). These authors proceed to warn that the greater emphasis an evaluation system places on teacher appraisal and accountability, the less useful that system is likely to be for school improvement and professional development (McNamara and OHara, 2008). The European Parliament and Council on European Cooperation in Quality Evaluation in school education, in McNamara and OHara (2008), argue that improvements in European schools evaluation provisions are dependant on the enhancement of schools abilities to evaluate themselves and call for all member states of the European Union (EU) to encourage school self-evaluation as a method of creating learning and improving schools (McNamara and OHara, 2008). This analysis is echoed by the OECD report which views development of school evaluation skills within the education system as being a critical component of the drive to improving educational provision in OECD member states (McNamara and OHara, 2008) During the apartheid era, prior 1994, traditional quality assurance approaches like school inspection were vehemently opposed by teacher unions who felt that their members were intimidated. When WSE was introduced, there was hope that this democratic process would bring satisfaction to educators and yield better learner attainment results, particularly in previously disadvantaged areas, but that positive change is still being awaited. Despite the surfeit of education policies, South Africa is facing a serious challenge of a growing trend of dysfunctional and underperforming schools, especially in previously disadvantaged areas. Efforts by the government to swivel this proclivity have been in vane. This is confirmed by the fact that the government has made some strides to develop education policies that should have culminated in school improvement, but that outcome has not yet been realised. The Whole School Evaluation policy was introduced in 2001 to improve school performance, but c onversely, schools are performing worse as time goes by, as revealed by national and international studies like Systemic Evaluation, TIMSS, SACMEQ and PIRLS. It should be a worrying factor to every educationist as to why this education policy is not yielding the expected outcomes. It is a cause for concern to find out if this policy is being implemented as prescribed by the relevant policy document. Even though the Mpumalanga province of South Africa has reported an 8,9 % improvement in grade 12 results in 2010, it is still the lowest province in terms of learner attainment in the country, sitting at 56,8 % (MDoE, 2011). Poor performance is shoddier in rural schools where socio-economic challenges and challenges of providing qualified teachers, adequate physical and financial resources are still overwhelming. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that a good number of these rural primary schools are multi-graded farm schools. As a principal of one of the rural primary schools in the neighbourhood of one of the worse performing secondary schools in the sub-region, I have an obligation to find out the root course of underperformance in rural school. It has also come to my realisation that during school visitations by the circuit management, district office or provincial external evaluation team, the school self evaluation instrument is neither enquired about nor monitored. There is no link or correlation between inspection and school-based evaluation. According to the WSE policy, schools must complete and submit self evaluation forms A and B before the end of March on an annual basis (DoE, 2004). On the contrary not even a single school submits such a document to the regional office. I have also noted that in my three years of experience as a principal, not even a single official from any of the structures of the education department has ever enquired about the self evaluation instrument. One then tends to wonder what purpose is this education policy serving. Whether they are meant to improve the quality of education or they were just developed for symbolism still remains mysterious. I am therefore determined to come out with a turn around strategy to ensure effective implementation of the self-evaluation instrument of the WSE policy so as to ensure accountability and improvement in the education quality of rural schools. This study will investigate how and to what extent the school self-evaluation instrument is utilised in rural schools. It will further explore the perceptions of school principals towards school self-evaluation. Lastly, it will determine how school self-evaluation could be better utilised to ensure school improvement and quality education. It is my conviction that if school self-evaluation can be efficiently implemented, school improvement and quality education can be achieved. Moreover, the school self-evaluation findings must easily accessible to all stakeholders, analysed, and its recommendations must be implemented so as to realise the desired outcomes of school improvement. This study will advocate for keeping all stakeholders informed about the performance of their school, and encourage them to positively contribution to the improvement of their school. It will also assist different officers in all structures of education, from the school principal to the provincial Superintend ent Generals, to perform their designated duties diligently. Finally policy makers will get feedback of implementation of the policy such that they can evaluate its impact and make possible amendments if necessary. main research question In order to address the problem statement, this study must give an explicit answer to the following question:- How and to what extent is school self-evaluation implemented for school improvement in rural schools? structure of the proposal Section 1 of the proposal is the introduction of school self-evaluation, enunciation of the problem statement and rational, and elocution of the main research question. Section 2 portrays the context of the study and section 3 presents the literature that has been reviewed. Section 4 will demonstrate the research design and methods that will be implemented and section 5 will illustrate the timeline for the whole research process. Section 6 will give the outline of chapters and section 7 will be the list references. Context for the study The study will take place in the rural schools of Mpumalanga province. Mpumalanga is one of the provinces that have the lowest socio-economic status. Consequently, most schools are in quintiles one and two, indicating that the learners in these schools are from destitute families. Learners have to travel for over five Kilometres every single day, to get to school, posing absenteeism problems to educators. Some of these schools have no electricity and sanitation, such that introduction of the new forms of technologically advanced equipment is implausible. Mpumalanga has the least percentage decrease in the number of learners at farm schools. The new vision for rural schooling states that between 1996 and 2000, it decreased by -65% (DoE, 2005). This figure shows that there is a steady increase in the number of learners at farm schools. The Ermelo sub-district has three circuits with ninety seven schools, out of which only eight are in town. The rest of them are located in very remote farms such that access to such schools for the support teams in a daunting task. There are no secondary farm school, but combined schools. This is because the enrolment of these schools does not allow them to be fully fledged secondary schools. A good number of primary schools have multi-graded classes, combining learners from different grades into one class. This situation does not only present management problems but pedagogical challenges as well. It is unbearable for educators to manage curriculum delivery under such adverse conditions. Even though conditions seem to be unfavourable for provision of quality education, rural schools are also expected to improve their performance. School self-evaluation must be implemented just in the same way or better than it should be implemented in urban schools. The WSE policy however recognises that the inauspicious conditions may retard the pace of school improvement. A provision was made in the policy, to evaluate each school based on its contextual factors. One of the principles of the WSE policy is seek to understand why schools are where they are and to use the particular circumstances to the school as the main starting point of evaluation (DoE, 2001). literature review introduction This section reviews researches that were conducted in Ireland, Netherlands, England and South Africa, based on School Self-Evaluation (SSE). A comparison is made to identify and best international practices and set them as a benchmark for implementation of School Self-Evaluation for school improvement in South Africa. A DISCUSSION OF research conducted internationally AS WELL AS studies in south africa SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN IRELAND In Ireland, the first system of evaluation that was piloted between 1990 and 1999 is the Whole School Evaluation (WSE). This system culminated in a series of rancorous industrial disputes that lasted until 2003. The reason for these quarrels was that educators viewed evaluation as reductionist and managerialist interference in their profession while stakeholders such as parents, learners and business community demanded hard data from a transparent school evaluation process (McNamara and OHara, 2006). In 2004, a new framework for school evaluation, Looking At Our School (LAOS), was implemented (McNamara and OHara, 2006). McNamara and OHara explain that the School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is based on a broad framework for inspection and evaluation of schools that includes five areas of evaluation that are subdivided into 143 themes for self-evaluation, which are used to prepare for external evaluation by the inspectorate (McNamara and OHara, 2006). In short, SSE precedes external evaluati on and it is conducted by each schools stakeholders, unlike external evaluation which is conducted by external officials called inspectorates. McNamara and OHara (2006) also contend that Ireland is adopting a model of quality assurance that emphasizes school development planning through internal school-review and self-evaluation, with the support of external evaluation carried out by the Inspectorate (McNamara and OHara, 2006). This model concurs with MacBeaths idea which argues that the role of external evaluation and inspection is merely to ensure that internal systems of evaluation and self-review are implemented effectively (McNamara and OHara, 2006). In their study, McNamara and OHara (2006) reveal that principals expressed their view that any form of external evaluation was by its nature superficial, underestimated the non-academic achievements of schools and raised deep concerns among teachers, yet to the contrary, self-evaluation with no external mandate or monitoring was perceived as a major success (McNamara and OHara, 2006). According to McNamara and OHara, self-evaluation in Ireland had its negatives. Firstly, LAOS documents lack suggestions as to how schools should collect the data on which the effectiveness and credibility of the whole system must rest (McNamara and OHara, 2006). Secondly, the judgments in the areas, aspects and components requires data that in the present system does not exist- there is, for instance, no data regarding the ability and general expectations of pupils (McNamara and OHara, 2006). McNamara and OHara argue that evaluation, whether external or internal, mandated or self-driven, requires at a minimum the collection and analysis of real data on which firm conclusions can be based (McNamara and OHara, 2006). Thirdly, the Chief Inspector shifted the responsibility of addressing weaknesses identified during inspection to self-governing and self-evaluating institutions. McNamara and OHara argue that the weaknesses identified during inspection should not be a responsibility of sch ools to address them since they do not have the capacity to control over resources, teacher tenure and conditions of employment, and issue. Moreover, schools cannot solve all problems themselves in-house-that is a fiction (McNamara and OHara, 2006). After the court judgment, the honours of whether to release none, some or all of the Inspection Report lies solely on schools management team. Fourthly, LAOS is silent about the appropriate role of parents, teachers and learners in the school evaluation process. One other worrying factor is that the concept of an ongoing self-evaluation was said to be puzzling to most schools (McNamara and OHara, 2006). Lastly, McNamara and OHara (2008) lament that the lack of any guidelines in LAOS as to criteria or research methods that might inform judgments has led to what amounts to data-free evaluation in practice, and moreover, it is clear that without such guidelines and the provision of training and research support for schools, the situation is not likely to change (McNamara and OHara, 2008). The study by McNamara and OHara reveal acceptance of the new themes of self-evaluation to give a comprehensive picture of all schools activities and not just their academic outcomes (McNamara and OHara, 2006). According to McNamara and OHara (2006), the above point was particularly stressed by respondents from the two primary schools designated disadvantaged, which felt very strongly that the affirmation of good practice provided by the inspectors was of extraordinary importance to teachers in disadvantaged school who rarely feel valued or supported. This was perceived as a considerable achievement in an education community deeply suspicious of evaluation, inspection and appraisal (McNamara and OHara, 2006). SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN SCOTLAND Croxford, Grek and Shaik (2009) state that despite the change from Conservative to Labour government in 1997, education policy in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom (UK) continued to reflect an emphasis on quality assurance and a belief that competition and setting standards would enhance quality and ensure accountability (Croxford et al., 2009). They further stipulate that Scotlands approach to Quality Assurance and Evaluation (QAE) has a greater emphasis on self-evaluation by schools, whereas England had a stronger focus on hard performance indicators (Croxford et al., 2009). The Inspectorate is a major influence on the formulation of education policies. In 1980, the Inspectorates set up a Management of Education Resource Unit (MERU) that later became the Audit Unit, to promote good management achieve value for money in education. It started publishing papers that identified characteristics of effective schools in an attempt to encourage secondary schools to evaluate thei r own practice and performance (MacBeath and Mortimore, 2001). In 1990/91 it began publishing annually information for parents series-reports giving the details of schools attainment data; school costs; attendance and absence rates and school leaver destination for secondary schools. In 1991, it published the role of school development plans in managing schools effectiveness as well as statistical information about examination performance per school, which was used for school self-evaluation. Standards Tables were used each year to compare the performance by subject departments within each school and nationally, the Relative Ratings and National Comparison Factors, respectively (Croxford et al. 2009). The Scottish Office Education Industry Department (SOEID) in Croxford et al. ( 2009) state that the process of self-evaluation and development planning were set out more explicitly by the Audit Unit publication How good is our school? (HGIOS?), which provided a set of performance indic ators of what a good school should look like (Croxford et al. 2009). Schools were encouraged to use the same performance indicators as those used by the HMI in school inspection to identify, report and take action where required on strengths and weaknesses (Croxford et al., 2009). In 1997, HMI set out its vision of working in partnership with local authorities and schools through the quality initiative in Scotland schools. This was endorsed in the standards in Scotlands schools Act 2000. According to Cowie and Croxford, in Croxford et al. (2009), this act places local authorities under great pressure to implement the required quality assurance procedures by the threat of adverse inspection by HMI of education (HMIE) (Croxford et al., 2009). A new professional group of Quality Improvement Officers (QIO) has been established to challenge and support schools. They scrutinise statistics on school performance, seek to ensure a robust self-evaluation structure within schools and identify areas that need to be addressed (Croxford et al., 2009). They carry out a regular cycle of visits to schools to: assess the schools progress with its school development plan; discuss improvement issues with management and staff; and support the schools management in making improvements (Croxford et al., 2009). The local authorities themselves are inspected by HMIE, with special regard to their own self-evaluation and the extent to which they support and challenge their schools (Croxford et al., 2009). In Scotland, schools are required to evaluate their own performance each year using the 30 quality Indicators from HGIOS and their performance on the indicators is extremely judged on a regular basis through inspection of schools carried out by HMIE. The indicators are based on key performance outcomes, delivery of education, policy development and planning, management and support staff, partnership and resources, leadership capacity for improvement (Croxford et al., 2009). Self-evalua tion procedure requires schools to look at each aspect of provision and ask: How are we doing? How do we know? What are we going to do now? For each indicator, schools must gather evidence in order to evaluate their performance, on a six-point scale from 1 [unsatisfactory], to 6 [excellent] (Croxford et al. 2009). SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN ENGLAND Prior 1990, the government of England implemented a top down strategy to school monitor performance of schools. A change was seen in 1997 when the government showed some commitment to support and promote school self-evaluation (Turnbull, 2007). The Department for Education and Skills (DfES), 2004 notes that in 1999, a revised framework was of inspecting schools that included guidance for schools on using it for school self-evaluation, and not just inspection was introduced (DfES, 2004). Local authorities had been providing support for head teachers as they increase their efforts to manage and lead the self-evaluation process and procedures now expected in their schools (Plowright, 2008). The Office for standards in education (Ofsted), in Plowright (2008) contends that the school that knows and understands itself is on the way to solving any problem it hasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ self-evaluation provides the key to improvement (Plowright, 2008). In his empirical research, Plowright discovered that head teachers held a positive view of the use of self-evaluation in contributing to school improvement (Plowright, 2008). The introduction of the new inspection framework in September 2005 in England culminated in an obligation that every school had to maintain and submit an online Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) that records the judgments of its current performance and its priorities for improvement (Bubb, Early, Ahtaridou, Jones and Taylor, 2007). According to Ofsted in Bubb, et al. (2007), intelligent accountability is based on a schools own views of how well it serves its learners and suggests that all schools need to be able to answer two key questions: How well are we doing? And how can we do better? Bubb, et al. (2007) further argue that even though the SEF is not statutory but all schools seem to use it, which is unsurprising as their inspection is largely based around the SEF which includes the performance data (Bubb, et al., 2007). The areas of evaluation are: the characteristics of the school; views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders; leadership and management; overall effectivenes s and efficiency (Bubb, et al., 2007). Leung, 2005 emphasises that unless teachers beliefs are changed, and shared meaning is achieved, for example believing in the importance of evidence-based evaluation methods for self-evaluation and the importance of continuous self-improvement, there will not be commitment towards the reform initiatives and success cannot be guaranteed (Leung, 2005). She further warns that restructuring, changing only procedures, designing performance indicators and mandating the public announcement of evaluation results cannot help us but providing assistance to schools, supporting professionals networks and providing school-based on-going school development is vital (Leung, 2005). Scholars like Hargreaves and Fullan ascertain only that recruiting can facilitate educational professionals to transform their old beliefs and practices (Leung, 2005). In their research on 38 schools across England, where they were investigating self-evaluation and school improvement progress, Bubb, et al. (2007) discovered that SEF are completed in many different ways, ranging from individual efforts by head teachers to involvement of external consultants to collective efforts by all staff members (Bubb, et al., 2007). They also found out that some dissatisfaction demonstrated by support staff who felt left out and expressed that they could have made crucial contributions if they were not excluded. The process started with training the whole staff so as to raise awareness of the process and its requirements. Each staff member, including heads of departments, would the complete his/her form under supervision of their Senior Leadership Group (SLG) (Bubb, et al., 2007). In her study, Turnbull, (2007) discovered that head teachers in England saw that self-evaluation in some form became a reality of practice through the intervention of Local Education Authorities (LEAs), reflecting the growing impact of globalisation and accountability of schools (Turnbull, 2007). SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA Prior 1994, schools performance was monitored through inspection, but there was no requirement or expectation of schools to undertake self-evaluation in South Africa (Turnbull, 2007). Some form of self-evaluation was introduced in 1998 through the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS), and Whole School Evaluation (WSE) in 2001 for full implementation in 2003 (Turnbull, 2007). These systems aimed at involving all educators in evaluating their practice, enabling self-evaluation of the WSE and impact of management, and they were to be monitored by the external supervisors from the provincial office of the Department of Education (DoE) (Turnbull, 2007). Both systems failed to realize their objective and a new Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) was introduced in 2003, combining DAS, WSE and Performance Measurement (PM). School Self-Evaluation (SSE) is the initial phase of the two-phased WSE. The second phase is external evaluation conducted by provincial supervisors in a three year cycle. Both phases utilise the same instrument for evaluation. There are 9 key areas of evaluation namely: basic functionality of the school; leadership, management and communication, governance and relationships; quality teaching and learning and educator development; curriculum provision and resources; learner achievement; school safety, security and discipline; school infrastructure and parent and community (DoE, 2001). The process of evaluation cycle includes pre-evaluation; school self-evaluation; detailed on-site evaluation, post-evaluation reporting and post evaluation support. Each supervisory team will have a team leader who has the responsibility to build a brief profile about the general level of functionality of the school and to share with the school the procedures that will be followed by the evaluation team. The team leader also has overall responsibility for the evaluation process and the conduct of the supervisors. Supervisory teams will comprise accredited supervisors capable of evaluating the nine areas for evaluation. Members should have the experience to evaluate at least one subject/learning area and have an awareness of the key elements of good provision for Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN). The number of supervisors will normally be within the range of four to six, depending on the school size and resources available. Evaluations will normally be conducted between th ree to four days of the week, depending on the size of the school. A school will be helped by district support services to formulate and implement an improvement plan based on the recommendations in the report and provide the school with support as it seeks to implement the plan (DoE, 2001) The findings in Turnbulls research disclose that all educators interviewed identified that the various attempts to introduce self-evaluation had failed, though all saw that the concept was one that should be in place, but attempts to use self-evaluation to improve the quality of teaching and learning in individual schools were taking place, with individual teachers working together on classroom practice and in some schools using IQMS, with senior team ensuring that every member of staff was observed at least once a year, met with the observer, and those seen to have issues being visited (Turnbull, 2007). The failure of introduction of self-evaluation is attributed to two groups of factors. The first issues are managerial and they include: the linking of the use of self-evaluation to the annual pay increments making it impossible to award someone less than satisfactory even though he/she deserves it, especially in township schools; the unwieldy nature of the system needed to implement policy; and the lack of capacity of the local DoE to either monitor the process, or provide support for schools where a need was identified. The second issues are cultural/historical and they include: the limited experience of educators of any form of self-evaluation and limited training provided; the limited practical training of the majority of township teachers and principals; the impact of the previous political system leading to a resistance to change; and in township schools the real danger o

Differentiating the Renaissance Period and Middle Ages Era in Europe Es

The Renaissance was a time of change and prosperity. The decision was made depending on the difference of two eras. Unlike the Renaissance, the Middle Ages were a thousand years of ignorance and superstition. The Renaissance men were leaders in an era of rebirth and learning looked to the Ancient Greeks and Romans for models of advance. Many historians felt that the Middle Ages and the Renaissance were one era. The debate centers around whether the Renaissance was a unique age or a continuation of the Middle Ages. â€Å"Was the Renaissance a period distinct from the Middle Ages, or was it a continuation?† Par my opinion I feel that the Renaissance was a distinct period of change and prosperity. â€Å"The world is waking out of a long deep sleep†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc. 5) A.J. Froude finds specific examples that lead him to the understanding that their was distinction between both periods. The Life and Letters of Erasmus say that the church was a corrupt place and there was no religious teaching. Erasmus is trying to say in his book, directed tot the Prince, that he should bring back the respect of the Church and religious aspect to give the Church power again. These statements written by Erasmus show the want by townspeople for change. In the Middle Ages many people disregarded the advancement in society and only thought about the world and they were not humane. Erasmus shows how humanist actions begin. â€Å"In the Middle Ages both sides of human consciousness lay dreaming or half awake†¦the Renaissance we find artists who in every branch created new and perfect works†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc. 2) From The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy by Jacob Burchardt he identifi es that medieval man was childish, half-awake controlled by faith and defined by his group of membe... ... life in the early modern period. â€Å"Thus, from the beginning, the double conception of medieval darkness and subsequent cultural rebirth was colored by the acceptance of classical standards†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doc.1) Writers and thinkers were inspired by the classical culture of the Greeks and Romans. They found their society much more â€Å"fascinating† than feudal and religious literature. They re-identified architecture, astronomy, medicine, and math. They corrected the order of the Church and began to believe again in karma, reincarnation and moksha. Renaissance men advanced the knowledge of human body, scientific calculations, and changed building attributes. As the change of these amenities came a change in the social structure. More men and women became literate, resulting in the increase and need for universities. Education. The Renaissance has a long and complex historiography.

Definition Essay - Genre -- Definition Essay

Definition Essay – Genre "Genre," in the most generic definition, takes the meaning "kind; sort; style" (OED). Prior to the term's inception, the notion of genre in the study of media emerged in The Poetics, with Aristotle's discussion of the mode or manner of imitation in poetry. Of this Aristotle writes, "the medium being the same, and the objects [of imitation] the same, the poet may imitate by narration - in which case he can either take another personality as Homer does, or speak in his own person, unchanged - or he may present all his characters as living and moving before us" (Aristotle, 53). Here lies the distinction between epic, lyric, and drama, a distinction based solely in convention, the usage of the medium, independent of specific content (see also Narrative/Lyric/Drama). Yet Aristotle's genre binary of Tragedy and Comedy rests on some observation of the objects of imitation themselves: "Comedy aims at representing men as worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life" (Aristotle, 52). Later, in Section IV of The Poetics , Aristotle offers another method of generating this binary, based in historical observation (or some semblance of it). One final consideration, that of a work's purpose, arises in Aristotle's definition of Tragedy as "through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions," (Aristotle, 61). In this way The Poetics sketches out the basic framework of genre; yet this framework remains loose, since Aristotle establishes genre in terms of both convention and historical observation, and defines genre in terms of both convention and purpose. In Anatomy of Criticism (1957) Northrop Frye wrote, "We discover that the critical theory of genre is stuck precisely where Aristotle left ... ...ohns Hopkins University Press, 1979. Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism. Princeton University Press: Princeton. 1990. Lacey, Nick. Narrative and Genre: Key Concepts in Media Studies. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000. Liddell & Scott. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (Middle Liddell). London: Oxford University Press, 1968. MacLuhan, Marhsall. Understanding Media. Malmkjà ¦r, Kirsten. "Genre Analysis." The Linguistics Encyclopedia. Ed. Kirsten Malmkjà ¦r. New York: Routledge, 1991. Monaco, James. How to Read a Film. Oxford University Press: New York. 1981. Trowse, Nadeane. "The Exclusionary Potential of Genre: Margery Kempe's Transgressive Search for a Deniable Pulpit." The Rhetoric and Ideology of Genre. Cresskill, NJ: Hampston Press Inc., 2002. Warshow, Robert. The Immediate Experience. Harvard University Press: Cambridge. 2001.

Essay - Bridge Between Worlds in Virginia Woolfs To The Lighthouse :: To The Lighthouse Essays

To the Lighthouse - Bridge Between Worlds Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse illustrates a bridge between the worlds of the Victorian mother and the modern, potentially independent woman. The Victorian woman was to be absorbed, as Mrs. Ramsay is, by the task of being mother and wife. Her reason for existing was to complete the man, rather than to exist in her own right. Mrs. Ramsay certainly sees this role for herself and is disturbed when she feels, momentarily, that she is better than her husband because he needs her support to feel good about himself and the life choices he has made. Yet the end of the Victorian era saw the rise of women's rights and greater freedom for women to excel without men or children. Adrienne Rich, in Of Woman Born, says that To the Lighthouse is about Virginia Woolf's need to understand her own mother and to prove, through the character of Lily Briscoe, that a woman can be "independent of men, as Mrs. Ramsay is not" (Rich, p. 228). The trauma of this transition from Victorian to modern woman is portended by Mrs. Ramsay herself, at the beginning of the story. In the first chapter, as Mrs. Ramsay defends Charles Tansley against the criticisms of her children, she muses on her desire to protect men and the "trustful, childlike, reverential" attitude that her protection inspires in men. "Woe betide the girl. . . who did not feel the worth of it, and all that it implied, to the marrow of her bones!" she exclaims to herself, thinking of the way men respect and admire her. But Woolf shows us that as Mrs. Ramsay admonishes her children for ridiculing Charles Tansley, her daughters "could sport with infidel ideas which they had brewed for themselves of a life different from hers. . . not always taking care of some man or other." The issue of the change from one concept of womanhood to another is not as simple as the newer generation revolting against the older; at the same time that Mrs. Ramsay's daughters hope to be different, they admire and worship their mother for her beauty and power. Prue, the eldest daughter, proudly watches Mrs. Ramsay as she descends the staircase and feels "what an extraordinary stroke of fortune it was for her [Prue], to have her [Mrs.