The Internet :: Technology, e-commerce

In recent years, Internet has becomes one of the best tools in the modern society covering a wide range of areas such as business, military, communication and information exchange. It is not only limited to web browsing or sending / receiving emails only. People could even purchase tickets of the movie or concert tickets, download any favourite songs or movies and to buy things in foreign countries via the Internet without leaving the house (Pakhare, 2010). Internet is a common term in the 21st century. It is now relatively easier and lower cost to develop an e-commerce business than it was 10 years ago, therefore more individuals have bloomed up to entering into the world of Internet business. At the same time, failure cases are still rising. E-commerce has not been cooled down by the â€Å"Dot com bubble†, but it has caused e-commerce to become more flourished than before (Census and Statistics Department, 2010). It is due to the fact that Internet services are begin provided in 24 x 7 x 365 basis such as service is available all year round. Consumers could gain any marketing information and to gather other consumers’ experiences in a borderless fashion via the Internet (Backer, 2005). Thousands of forums, blogs, news-groups and social utilities are famous channels in distributing consumer to consumer (C2C) information and business to consumer (B2C) information, otherwise known as the â€Å"word of mouth†. Based on the Internet, both good and bad comments of the products could be obtained in a more effective and efficient. Reports from the Hong Kong government were available which provided an overview on the usage of Internet by Hong Kong resident. On â€Å"Usage of personal computers and internet services by Hong Kong Residents, 2000 to 2009† report (Census and Statistics Department, 2010), it showed that there was an increase in the number of families with Personal Computer (PC) connected to the internet during the years 2000 to 2009. The numbers have increased from 770 thousands families (36.4%) in the year 2000 to 1.6 million families (73.3%) in the year 2009. In 2009, there were approximately 620 thousands families (26.7%) without Internet connection. The people among the top usage of the Internet were mainly from 10 to 34 years old with more than 95% of the people in this age group with Internet connection in 2009. The number of people above the age of 45 with internet usage have also increased by nearly 10 times, during the years from around 129 thousands (5.

Honey Bee Farming

Alabang we can see the skyscrapers, big malls and busy viable centers. In a backyard of a small house in a high village is a wood of trees and flowering plants, this is where the bees are camping and in this place Luke Macababbad lives. He is an urban farmer and a custodian of the colonies in a 50-square-meter backyard in Muntinlupa City subdivision. Bees sip the nectar of the shrubs and bushes of the wild flowering plants, vines and trees. January to May is the honey season, flowers bloom and honey flows. A 50 hives or colonies can make 30 to 50 kilograms of honey in 3 weeks. The 80% is being made into wine and the remaining is honey. According to Macababbad, the production is down because of climate change. The flowering season is not distinctive because the bees are confused. At this time, kakawati trees should be blooming but they are not. Honey is not produced after heavy rains. When you are into bee farming, the cost of a queen bee is $300 to $500. A single colony, with four frames to house 3,000 bees, costs about P6,200. Continuous labor and maintenance are the added operating costs. According to Virgilio Badajos, a staff beekeeper who was trained in Australia, bee mortality rate must be monitored. Migratory birds can eat up to 500 bees a day. He started the bee farming as a hobby at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. All we wanted was to have our own home-made honey for home use, he said. He had 4 colonies in his farm which expanded in Batangas, Lipa, Tanauan and Cavite. He harvested 100 kilograms of honey produced at Dielle's Apiary and Meadery Enterprises. With the increase in demand Macababbad seek the technology assistance from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). And the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SET UP) provided him P300,000 to purchase new stainless steel tank. This helped him increased from 1,000 bottles a year to 2,000 bottles per month. Other products were added: mango, bignay and duhat wines, the label designs and packaging were provided by DOST. Sales raised to 300 percent and on-line orders also increased. According to Dr. Teresita C. Fortuna, DOST’s Regional Director for Metro Manila, the bee colony is one of the more successful technology intervention of the DOST National Capital Region (NCR). In 2009, P8.9 million support was provided by DOST-NCR for technology acquisition to 11 microenterprises. This includes consultancies, trainings and workshops conducted in 596 firms. In Twinville Subdivision in Marikina, homeowners association uses hydroponics  or growing plants without soil. The DOST Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) provided the Hydroponic Technology. The Enriched Potting Preparation technology involves nutrient-rich compost soil extract and a specialized watering and aeration-efficient container made from used plastic bottles. Senior citizens of the Twinville Homeowner’s Association participated by planting the first crop of vegetables for home consumption. The harvested crop is sold in the city government and in nearby supermarkets. Marikina and Muntinlupa are the recipients of a bioreactor technology which converts the wastes from wet markets into organic fertilizer. While in Quezon City and Taguig, DOST NCR and PCARRD provided technical assistance and training to city agriculture technologies like edible landscaping, hydroponics and enriched potting preparation and composting.

Ernest Hemingway Essay

Ernest Hemingway is one of the most legendary figures in American literature, known for his writing as well as his love of the dangerous—deep sea fishing, big game hunting, bullfighting in Spain, etc. As an author, he covers myriad subject matter in a very distinctive style. His sentences are short and non-descriptive, and the reader must work to uncover literary elements like theme. Dialogue is his real specialty. He uses very few descriptive details. His novels tend to be more about masculine subjects and based on his adventures while his short stories are known for his exploration of roles between men and women. His novels tend to be based on his experiences. In fact, as the Hemingway Resource Center states, â€Å"When you want to find the truth about Hemingway’s life, look first to his fiction† (Hemingway resource center). In Our Time was published in 1925 and contained some very notable short stories, such as â€Å"Big Two-Hearted River. † Men Without Women was published in 1927. The Sun Also Rises was one of the first books he published, and the subject matter was a group of young people living in Spain, expatriates living abroad. The main character was in â€Å"love† with a woman who was also in love with a bullfighter. â€Å"The Sun Also Rises introduced the world to the â€Å"lost generation† and was a critical and commercial success. Set in Paris and Spain, the book was a story of unrequitable love against a backdrop of bars and bullfighting† (Hemingway Resource Center). Soon after that in 1929 came A Farewell to Arms, which some would say is the best book to come out of the experience of World War I. The tragic ending actually comes from one of Hemingway’s wives (Pauline) and her struggles with childbirth. And after that came his dissertation called Death in the Afternoon, all about bullfighting. Hemingway says that, â€Å"It is intended as an introduction to the modern Spanish bullfight and attempts to explain that spectacle both emotionally and practically. It was written because there was no book which did this in Spanish or in English. † In this dissertation he began to form his idea of the true hero as â€Å"grace under pressure. † He also outlined his â€Å"theory of omission† or â€Å"iceberg principle,† which is a theory very important to future literature. He states: â€Å"If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing. † (Hemingway Resource Center). His novel called The Green Hills of Africa in 1935 came from the fascination Hemingway had with Teddy Roosevelt’s African hunting safaris. With borrowed money from his wife’s uncle, Hemingway spent three months in Africa on a safari of his own. The novel comes from this. 1940 brought For Whom the Bell Tolls, a novel about the Spanish Civil War. Many of his novels were really about that whole idea of the Hemingway hero. The Hemingway hero must face death bravely and live life to the fullest even in the presence of death. Hemingway suffered through a long period of not being favored by the critics and was determined to gain back his previous status. This is when he published The Old Man and the Sea, the quintessential novel of courage and persistence. This book sold over 5 million copies in a very short time, and suddenly Hemingway was on top of the heap once again. This book about a man’s struggle with a humongous marlin even won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. He simply could not duplicate the brilliance of this book again. His nonfiction sketches of Paris in the 1920s called A Moveable Feast (1964) did nothing to advance his reputation. Unfortunately, due to age and medical problems Hemingway never wrote anything close to this again. He ended up killing himself due to depression and medical problems. While the themes of his novels tend to revolve around his experience, his short stories do so too but to a lesser extent. His focus in many of his famous short stories tends to be more about the lack of communication between males and females. For example, His short stories â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro† and â€Å"The Short Happy Life of Frances Macomber† both come from the safari experience as well although the focus is different. In â€Å"Snows of Kilimanjaro,† Hemingway’s main male character is a writer who has basically wasted his talent by becoming sexually involved with a rich woman who buys him everything he needs. This short story can certainly be seen as Hemingway himself lamenting the way that he was wasted his talent as a write although some say it is about F. Scott Fitzgerald. His male character, Harry, is a chauvinistic pig while the female character attends to his every need. She is weak, and this allows the writer to take total advantage of her. Again, the reader can’t help but wonder how much of this is autobiographical. Another short story that has gained much attention is from the 1927 book called men without Women. This story is called â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† shows how much of a story Hemingway could tell with very little. It defines his minimalist style. In classic Hemingway style a couple sits at the bar of a train station discussing an unknown subject. Part of the beauty of the story is that the reader must work to uncover the subject of their conversation, but also that every detail in the setting, in the story itself goes toward making meaning. It also shows the communication breakdown between man and woman. For example, the very fact that the story is set in a train station is pure beauty. This couple must make a decision about the issue before them (abortion). There is no going back and there is not standing still. They must get on whichever train they are getting on without hesitation. As the girl looks out one side of the station, she sees green, fertile ground. As she looks out the other side, she sees dry barrenness. Again, the symbolic meaning is clear. The couple has an entire conversation and never mentions the word abortion, nor do they look at each other. They look at everything else which shows the extent to which they are uncomfortable with the subject and each other. They repeat the same phrases over and over again without any true understanding, although the girl does seem to catch on in the end. This is classic Hemingway to show the lack of communication even between two people who are supposed to be close. A sample of Hemingway’s masterful dialogue follows: Well,’ the man said, ‘if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to. But I know it’s perfectly simple. ‘And you really want to? ’ ‘I think it’s the best thing to do. But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to. ’ ‘And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me? ’ ‘I love you now. You know I love you. ’ ‘I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it? ’ ‘I’ll love it. I love it now but I just can’t think about it. You know how I get when I worry. ’ ‘If I do it you won’t ever worry? ’ ‘I won’t worry about that because it’s perfectly simple. ’ To say that this man and â€Å"girl† do not understand each other is pure understatement. They are talking in circles and are just not communicating. Hemingway’s short stories are full of this kind of dialogue. Another famous story called â€Å"Cat in the Rain† discusses the sense of isolation for an American wife. As Darren Felty states, â€Å"The work revolves around the desire of Hemingway’s protagonist, an American wife vacationing in Italy, to rescue a cat from an afternoon rain storm. She fails in her attempt, revealing in the process the emotional distance she feels from her husband and the attendants at the hotel. The story employs a complex of barriers, enclosures, and geometrically defined details to represent the emotional and psychological boundaries that restrict character interaction† (Felty). This seemingly simple story uses barriers to symbolize the relationship between the man and woman. Once again, communication is a huge problem. While the wife tells her husband of this poor kitty in the rain, he barely looks up from his paper. Eventually she ends in a tantrum, much like â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† in order to be heard. But the details of setting that Hemingway uses are genius to show the alienation of the characters. This story is told to perfect satisfaction in two pages. In following with a very important theme of Hemingway is â€Å"Big Two-Hearted River. † In this story, the reader follows Nick from innocence to knowledge. Basically Nick returns to a place he fished when he was younger, but the whole area has been destroyed by fire. However, by returning to this place of innocence from his youth, Nick is able to go forward in life as Hemingway’s heroes are. The theme of alienation is played out chillingly well in â€Å"A Clean Well-Lighted Place. † Again, we see a Hemingway hero living his life but accepting death. In this story an old man comes to this diner every night. He arrives late one night as the young waiter is closing up, but the young waiter doesn’t want to let him have a drink. An older waiter, the voice of experience, allows him to have a drink because he understands just how important it is for everyone to have â€Å"a clean well-lighted place† that is open as long as possible. In other words, he understands loneliness in a way the younger waiter could never imagine. Lastly, an important short story is â€Å"The Short and Happy Life of Frances Macomber. In this story, Hemingway’s idea of a hero is played out. On this safari, Frances is very scared. He is also ruled by his wife. However, he stands up to his wife and is happy for a few seconds until he is killed. Like Hemingway’s code hero, he becomes brave (if only for a minute). He faces his fear and overcomes it; it matters not that he dies shortly after. F. Scott Fitzgerald criticized Hemingway for writing stories in which nothing happens. That is true in a way. There is not much action in Hemingway’s novels or short stories, but the dialogue and the setting tell the reader so much. Hemingway is known for his masterful use of dialogue and his sparse details to tell more than a complete story. He describes this in his iceberg principle. â€Å"If it is any use to know it, I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows. Anything you know you can eliminate and it only strengthens your iceberg. It is the part that doesn’t show. If a writer omits something because he does not know it then there is a hole in the story† (Hemingway). Overall, Hemingway is one of the greatest American writers the world has seen.

Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and juliet essay : who plays a tragedy Romeo and Juliet: Who is Responsible for the Tragedy? Does Fate play a role? Who is responsible? This question is always asked of any conflict, and usually no one wants to admit that it was his or her fault. It then must be determined what the conflict was, who is responsible, and to what extent. Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, is based on a conflict. In Romeo and Juliet the conflict turns into a tragedy. Now that we know what the conflict was, which is a tragedy, the next step is to determine what a tragedy is?A tragedy is a conflict that ends up with something very sad happening. In Romeo and Juliet, the tragedy, is that both of these lovers kill themselves, to join the other in death. â€Å"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo† (5,3,309-310). The next step in the problem solving process is to assess who is to blame for the tragedy. To do this we must first determine the different types of ro les played in a conflict. There are 5 main roles; there is cause, an instigator, retaliator, passivist, and moderator.The first is the cause, which can be a person or thing, that starts everything, and sometimes people don’t even realize that they are playing this part. In Romeo and Juliet, one of the causes is the ancient feud between the families. Tybalt says â€Å"What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee. † (1. 1. 61-62) The second is the instigator, who is usually very mean, and something that they do or say, is usually the cause of conflict. What this person does or says is meant to provoke someone.Tybalt says to Romeo â€Å"Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford No better term than this: thou art a villain. †(3. 1. 53,54). These words are designed to provoke Romeo to fight. The third role, is that of the retaliator, who responds to the provocative nature of the instigator. Mercutio says to Tybalt â€Å"Consort ? What, dost thou make us minstrels? And thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords. Here’s my fiddlestick, here’s that shall make you dance†(3. 1. 40-43) in retaliation to a verbal jab made by Tybalt. The fourth is the passivist, who does nothing to hinder or help in the conflict.Usually someone who hasn’t decided who is right and hasn’t picked a side. The fifth is the moderator, who is trying to prevent or stop the conflict from happening. Benvolio is trying to prevent a fight when he says â€Å"I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire: The day is hot, the Capels are abroad, An if we meet we shall not escape a brawl, For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring. † Now that we have determined the roles played in a conflict, it makes the next step, of determining who is responsible, and to what extent easier. Shakespeare wrote this tragedy with a lot of complexity to it.I know this because each of the people inv olved play more than one role throughout the play. First the Ancient Grudge, is a cause of fighting between the families. It has played a major role in the development of hatred in some of the people, for instance, Tybalt has picked up a hatred for the Montagues, from his Uncle Old Capulet. This Ancient Grudge has caused two brawls previous to the one we see at the start of the play. Prince says â€Å"Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word, By thee, old Capulet, and Montague, Have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets. †(1. 1. 1-83) By this speech we learn of the nature of the ancient grudge. I believe that the ancient grudge is to be blamed for quite a bit of the tragedy, seeing as none of the fighting would have happened if there was no grudge, and Romeo would have been allowed to marry Juliet, without the secrecy. Second Tybalt is to be blamed for most of the tragedy, because he started the first fight on the street. He also started the fight on the beach. He killed Mercutio, which caused Romeo to retaliate and kill him. Throughout the play Tybalt is always the instigator, he is always looking for a fight.He says himself that he hates peace â€Å"What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. †(1. 1. 61,62) Romeo played an important role in the tragedy, but should not be blamed for any of the tragedy. He played the role of a Moderator, most of the time, like when he was on the beach and Tybalt challenged him to fight he says â€Å"Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee Doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting. Villain am I none; Therefore farewell, I see thou knowest me not. †(3. 1. 5-58) He also plays the role of the retaliator when Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo goes after Tybalt to avenge Mercutio’s death. Romeo says â€Å"for Mercutio’s soul is but a little way above our heads, staying for thine to keep him Company: Either thou or I, or both must go w ith him. †(3. 1. 117-120) so in this sense Romeo’s only fault was that he killed Tybalt, but Tybalt had tried to kill him, and had killed Mercutio, so Romeo should not be blamed. Mercutio’s is but, a very little bit to blame, for his own death, which made Romeo kill Tybalt, and then get Banished for that crime.Mercutio wasn’t going looking for a fight, But he wasn’t looking not to fight either. When Tybalt, comes and wants to fight, so Mercutio responds by challenging him to a fight as well. Mercutio says, â€Å"Here’s my fiddlestick, here’s that shall make you dance. †(3. 1. 41,42) We also learn that he is very proud. â€Å"Men’s eyes were made to look, and let them gaze; I will not budge for no man’s pleasure, I. †(3. 1. 47,48) From these passages, from the book, I have decided that Mercutio played the role of the retaliator.Therefore his fault is only in that of Tybalt’s, so that he should only be slightly blamed. Benvolio’s Role in this conflict was nothing but as a passivist/moderator. I came to this conclusion when he says things like â€Å"I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire: The day is hot, the Capels are abroad, And if we meet we shall not escape a brawl† And â€Å"We talk here in the public haunt of men: Either withdraw unto some private place, or Reason coldly of your grievances, Or else depart; here all eyes gaze on us. †(3. 1. 43-46) By these speeches he is always trying to prevent or postpone the fight.In this case Benvolio is not to blame at all, but rather should be commended for his attempts for peace. Friar Lawerence is to be blamed also, for he had great idea’s of peace after he married Juliet to Romeo. He validated the marriage of these two people, because of his ideas, and he didn’t do the right thing, which would be to tell the parents, and make them see that Romeo and Juliet were really in love. And to let the parents decide what would be best. He messed that up, and then he messed up some more, when he helped Juliet to deceive her parents, by faking her death.He continues to screw up to protect his original mistake of marrying Romeo and Juliet. Juliet’s Parents also contributed by forcing her to marry Paris, and this forced her to fake her death, to get out of her marriage, and to get to Romeo. They were unaware of her previous marriage, so it is not really their fault. After determining this, there is still some confusion over the fault of some people, so that we have to look upon another factor, which may make things a little clearer. That factor is fate. Before determining what role fate played we must first determine the meaning of fate.Fate stems from the Ancient Greek Mythologies, when there were three female goddesses, who were believed to spin a thread that was your life, and they would shake it, to shake up your life. It was also believed that the Fates were in charge of when you died and when you did die, they cut the thread. To make that more clear, Fate, is when something happens or is going to happen, and you have no control over it. It tells us right in the prologue that Romeo and Juliet’s love is fated â€Å"A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. I don’t really believe in fate, but in this fictional tragedy, fate was an excellent choice to explain some of the things that happened. In conclusion this exciting tragic romance, has utilized a intricate web, in the responsibility for the tragedy, so that no one can be held entirely responsible, and no one is left without a part in tragedy. The way that Shakespeare makes a person play more than one of the basic roles, throughout the conflict, is a stunning way to spark interest, because people are confused by a sudden change of attitude or character. This process leaves the audience, trying to understand, so they become intrigued.

Romanticism and Death

Death Death is something that cannot truly be defined. It in fact is a word with a plethora of meanings. Some feel that death is something good for you because you will now be with God and spend a beautiful eternity in the afterlife. Some feel that it is a negative concept because you are leaving those you love and you are Just gone. Others are confused, not knowing what happens after you die and are actually scared of the hold concept. These different meanings were thought out during many different literary eras such as the Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romantic and VictorianThe Renaissance was a time period in which had a much more calm way of eras. Looking at death. Yes they were a bit fearful of what happens after death, but they also viewed it as a way out for them, a place where they could go in order to lose all the pain they were feeling. Death was known as a sense of relief to the people, it was an escape from reality. William Shakespeare was a writer during the Renaissance and as one could tell from his pieces, he as well viewed death more positively versus negatively.In the Neoclassical Era, death was viewed as a portal to the afterlife. In a writer's perspective, they usually spoke about it leading to heaven instead of hell, but the people of this time knew that heaven wasn't the only place they could go, they knew hell was an option too. One writer is John Done who wrote â€Å"Death be Not Proud†. In this pieces of literature, Done speaks of death like it's a human, telling it that it isn't as scary as it thinks. One could tell that Done is from the Neoclassical Era when he says, â€Å"One short sleep past, we wake eternally'.This shows how the people of this Era thought. That no matter how or when you die, you will awake in the afterlife and live on forever. In the Romantic Era, death was focused more on an emotional approach, rather than on the actual action. Authors such as John Keats wrote to express and share their feelings towards death. Keats does so in Ode to a Grecian Urn, he says, She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, forever wilt thou love, and she be fair! † The Romantic period thought death was a negative action.As shown in the quote above, people couldn't stand watching their loved ones pass. Keats expresses devastation when he sees that his beloved is passing, showing a whole new view on the definition of Death then we have seen so far. The Victorian Era was more similar to the Romantic, but they mourned a lot more about the passing of their loved ones. The way the people in this Era viewed death is more of what we see in today's society. When someone passed, in order to honor them, the people would mourn. Everyone, even children were aware of what was going on when a person passed.Death was the only thing people knew would definitely append to them, so they taught their children that as well. A piece called Richard Core by Edwin Arlington Robinson shows that everyone is destined to die wh ether they are rich or poor. A man named â€Å"Richard† is viewed as a â€Å"king† because of all his money. The townspeople all envied him, but in the end found out he killed himself because he wasn't â€Å"happy'. The Victorian Era was one in which brought death to a reality. They knew it existed and that it would happen to everybody so they decided it was best to honor those that passed by mourning over them.The view on death as changed in the past hundreds of years and I believe the views are based upon experiences that happened to those people. The definition on death changes with what one experiences causing them to see things differently. These days we see death as possibly all four of the examples I listed. Some believe it's something to be a bit fearful of because we don't know what happens after we die, some believe we go to heaven or hell, normally we are affected emotionally over our loved ones and lastly we all know that death is destined for each and eve ry one of us.

Reflective Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Reflective Paper - Essay Example Based on this assumption, health is considered as a managed system and the role of nursing is to support the adaptation of their patients to that environment. The adoptive modes under this theoretical model comprise of physiologic, self concept, role function and interdependence. (Benner). This approach is considered as holistic in nature as it attempts to be unifying and purposeful and as such since health is considered as a positive response towards environment. Therefore, the role of the nurse is to promote such an adaptation. As described above that I live in a very small town and most of the patients are poor with lesser access to better health opportunities. Therefore, as a nurse, I always remain focused on facilitating them to cope with their environment. As a part of this process, my experiences are really related to facilitating my patients to understand and learn as to how to deal with four different adoptive modes. As a part of this reflection. However, I feel that real life experiences do not fully match or augment this theory because there are some other factors which restrict the ability of my patients to successfully interact with the environment. Poverty and social isolation have made people ignorant of essential elements required for maintaining a healthy interaction with their environment. As a part of my duty, I also consider that though my patients need nursing care, and they are the focus of my nursing care. However, I fail to clearly establish as to really when that nursing care is indicated. At the individual level and being a part of a society which lacks adequate economic resources, my ability to manipulate different stimuli in order to promote adoptive responses is limited. I still remember one of my patients who could not cope with her mental disorder situation only because of the lack of resources either social or

The Controversial Issue of Student Testing and Assestment Term Paper

The Controversial Issue of Student Testing and Assestment - Term Paper Example Conventional rules require instructors to interpret test scores in accordance with legal and societal expectations, norms and criteria; these norms are either established independently or through statistical analysis of massive numbers of participants (Black & Harrison, (2001). However, Christian perspective on testing and assessment differs significantly from the legal and societal expectations of administering assessment tools. Biblical principles guide instructors to adopt significantly different norms, aims and forms of testing and assessment. The purpose of this paper is to consider the controversial issue of testing and assessment from the legal and societal perspective and contrast these expectations to Biblical principles. The purpose of testing and assessment differs rather significantly across many groups of people considered as education stakeholders. For instance, from the legal perspectives, policymakers’ purpose of assessment include setting standards, focusing o n goals, monitoring the quality of education, formulating policies based on results of tests and assessment, sanctioning or rewarding certain education-related practices and determining the effects of tests. On the other hand, teachers, schools and administrators use tests and assessments as tools to make grouping decisions by monitoring student progress, conducting curriculum evaluations and refinements, offering student diagnosis and motivating students through grading, promotion or mastery by defining grades (Gregory & Chapman, 2002). Societal expectations of testing and assessment include gauging students’ progress in order to assess their strengths and weaknesses, ascertain school accountability and make knowledgeable decisions regarding education and careers. However, from the legal and societal standpoint, instructors are allowed to provide standardized student tests and assessments regardless of the students’ abilities, inabilities or levels of knowledge and un derstanding. The tester, in this case, serves as a determiner of student knowledge. However, Biblical principles regarding testing and assessment are quite dissimilar from societal and legal expectations. First and foremost, Biblical principles require all educational procedures to integrate Christian teachings and messages. These Biblical expectations of teaching and instruction must be woven throughout all educational processes from instruction to assessment. Biblical principles articulate not only what students are expected to do and know, but also what is expected of students as they continue through their life journeys as productive members of society and as followers of Christ. As a consequence, Biblical principles that guide teaching, learning and assessment require that student evaluations and assessment must conform to Christian practices, which not only recognize, but also affirm Christian values (Anthony, 2011). This is accomplished by respecting the worth and dignity of all students. Effective assessment and testing according to Biblical principles also requires the provision of successful experiences to all students regardless of their skills, competences and aptitudes. On the other hand, the universal tests and assessments presented to students based on legal and societal expectations are contrary to Biblical principles. Biblical principl