Tuesday, May 26, 2020

The Definition of Popular Culture in Sociology

Popular culture (or pop culture) refers in general to the traditions and material culture of a particular society. In the modern West, pop culture refers to cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that are consumed  by the majority of a societys population. Popular culture is those types of media that have mass accessibility and appeal. The term popular culture was coined in the mid-19th century, and it referred to the cultural traditions of the people, in contrast to the official culture of the state or governing classes. In broad use today, it is defined in qualitative terms—pop culture is often considered a more superficial or lesser type of artistic expression. The Rise of Popular Culture Scholars trace the origins of the  rise of popular culture to the creation of the middle class generated by the Industrial Revolution. People who were configured into working classes and moved into urban environments far from their traditional farming life began creating their own culture to share with their co-workers, as a part of separating from their parents and bosses. After the end of World War II, innovations in mass media led to significant cultural and social changes in the west. At the same time, capitalism, specifically the need to generate profits, took on the role of marketing: newly invented goods were being marketed to different classes. The meaning of popular culture then began to merge with that of mass culture, consumer culture, image culture,  media culture, and culture created by manufacturers for mass consumption. Different Definitions of Popular Culture In his wildly successful textbook Cultural Theory and Popular Culture (now in its 8th edition), British media specialist John Storey offers six different definitions of popular culture. Popular culture is simply culture that is widely favored or well-liked by many people: it has no negative connotations.Popular culture is whatever is left after youve identified what high culture is: in this definition, pop culture is considered inferior, and it functions as a marker of status and class.Pop culture can be defined as commercial objects that are produced for mass consumption by non-discriminating consumers. In this definition, popular culture is a tool used by the elites to suppress or take advantage of the masses.Popular culture is folk culture, something that arises from the people rather than imposed upon them: pop culture is authentic (created by the people) as opposed to commercial (thrust upon them by commercial enterprises).Pop culture is negotiated: partly imposed on by the dominant classes, and partly resisted or changed by the subordinate classes. Dominants can create culture but the subordinates decide what they keep or discard.The last definition of pop cul ture discussed by Storey is that in the postmodern world, in todays world, the distinction between authentic versus commercial is blurred. In pop culture today, users are free to embrace some manufactured content, alter it for their own use, or reject it entirely and create their own. Popular Culture: You Make the Meaning All six of Storeys definitions are still in use, but they seem to change depending on the context. Since the turn of the 21st century, mass media—the way pop culture is delivered—has changed so dramatically that scholars are finding it difficult to establish how they function. As recently as 20 years ago, mass media meant only print (newspapers and books), broadcast (televisions and radio), and cinema (movies and documentaries). Today, it embraces an enormous variety of social media and forms. To a large degree, popular culture is today something established by niche users. What is mass communication moving forward? Commercial products such as music are considered popular even when the audience is tiny, in comparison to such pop icons as Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. The presence of social media means consumers can speak directly to producers—and are producers themselves, turning the concept of pop culture on its head. So, in a sense, popular culture has gone back to its simplest meaning: It is what a lot of people like. Sources and Further Reading Fiske, John. Understanding Popular Culture, 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2010.Gans, Herbert. Popular Culture and High Culture: An Analysis and Evaluation Of Taste. New York: Basic Books, 1999.McRobbie, Angela, ed. Postmodernism and Popular Culture. London: Routledge, 1994.Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, 8th ed. New York: Routledge, 2019.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Essay on Privacy on the Internet - 1281 Words

Privacy is mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but in which amendment does privacy on the Internet fall. In the website â€Å"The Right of Privacy† it says that â€Å"The U.S. Constitution contains no express right to privacy† (n. pag.). Freedom of religion is given to us in the First Amendment. The Fourth Amendment protects you from searches and seizures unless the officials possess a warrant. The Fifth Amendment gives us the right to interpret the first eight amendments in ways that can protect the people. Since the internet was not created until the late 20th century should we and another amendment or is it already covered in what the first nine amendments say. Even if the Bill of Rights gives us the right to privacy, the internet is easily accessed†¦show more content†¦318). The white house computers have long-term backup systems which save even deleted messages. The privacy of this individual was invaded when they searched his emails without his knowledge. Even though your privacy can be invaded at work, far worse incidents may occur when posting important information. According to Margaret C. Jasper in Privacy and the Internet â€Å"Unfortunately, identity thieves who are able to obtain your username and password are also able to access this wealth of information and services (p. 47). Jasper says that, â€Å"Online bill payment is becoming increasingly popular with consumers (p. 46). People are putting their personal information online when they use online banking. This information is very important and if they lose this information it can lead to massive debt and bad credit. From online banking to social networks these websites require that the users post important information. Facebook is a very popular social network especially with high school and college students. Lane discusses â€Å"The motivating factor behind the success of the current Internet rage†¦is that people crave a sense of community, and one of the ways to build community is to share personal information† (p. 232). Lane also states, â€Å"†¦Facebook encourages us to reveal increasingly large amounts of information about ourselves, from the banal (â€Å"I’m standing in line at the postShow MoreRelatedInternet Privacy And The Internet1895 Words   |  8 PagesInternet privacy is an issue that has constantly taken up a portion of the world stage for many years. Legislators are even now trying to find the delicate balance between Internet privacy and Internet security. The medium of the Internet is simply too new to be completely understood by lawmakers, and it wil l take some time before there is a complete grasp. Online Privacy and Facebook Nowadays, the new generation life without Facebook is almost unthinkable. Since its inception in 2004, this popularRead MoreInternet Privacy.1148 Words   |  5 PagesSolutions for Violations of Internet Privacy. In the past thirty years computer technology has been developing very rapidly. Internet in last decade has revolutionized the way how we conduct our lives and businesses. Internet has become a daily necessity we cannot live without. Development of Internet and wireless technologies together with advancement in miniature technology has made it possible for us to have access the internet on the go. Every year we expect new and more advance modelsRead MoreThe Privacy Of The Internet1737 Words   |  7 PagesIf a casual user of the internet were to Google a search for the word â€Å"privacy† as of June 2015, there would be close to 2 billion hits. Discussions of privacy, piracy and internet breaches are everywhere. The numerous Google hits show there is nearly universal agreement that (1) we have less privacy and more information than we used to, and (2) this is bad.Information itself is, of course, not bad, but as we have witnessed recently, even personnel record maintained by the United States governmentRead MoreInternet Privacy And The Internet954 Words   |  4 Pagesunauthorized information by computer, but they actually make the internet a safer place. With the growth of the internet comes the growth of hackers and internet privacy. New laws that would increase internet privacy and, limit hackers would halt the internets growth and development. Since the year 2000, the internet has grown enormously we can all agree and with this growth comes a growth of internet users. With all the internet users, online comes people trying to accuse their information byRead More Essay on Internet Privacy - Invasion of Privacy on the Internet964 Words   |  4 PagesInvasion of Privacy on the Internet       Invasion of privacy is a serious issue concerning the Internet, as e-mails can be read if not encrypted, and cookies can track a user and store personal information. Lack of privacy policies and employee monitoring threatens security also. Individuals should have the right to protect themselves as much as possible from privacy invasion and shouldnt have to give in to lowered standards of safety being pursued by the government.    EncryptionRead MoreInternet Privacy1375 Words   |  6 PagesA Right to Privacy? What a Joke! It has become a sad and upsetting fact that in todays society the truth is that the right to ones privacy in the I.T (information technological) world has become, simply a joke. In an electronic media article No place to hide, written by James Norman, two interesting and debatable questions were raised: ‘Are we witnessing the erosion of the demarcation of public and private spaces brought on by the networked economy and new technology? Also, ‘What rolesRead MorePrivacy on the Internet1616 Words   |  7 PagesPrivacy on the Internet Ever feel like you are being watched? How about having the feeling like some one is following you home from school? Well that is what it will be like if users do not have the privacy on the Internet they deserve. EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center), a advocacy group that has been fighting the Clinton Administration for tougher online consumer protection laws, and other privacy protection agencies have formed to protect the rights and privileges of the InternetRead MoreInternet Privacy1946 Words   |  8 PagesInternet Privacy The concern about privacy on the Internet is increasingly becoming an issue of international dispute. ?Citizens are becoming concerned that the most intimate details of their daily lives are being monitored, searched and recorded.? (www.britannica.com) 81% of Net users are concerned about threats to their privacy while online. The greatest threat to privacy comes from the construction of e-commerce alone, and not from state agents. E-commerce is structured on the copy andRead More Essay on Internet Privacy - Cookies and Privacy on the Internet1385 Words   |  6 PagesCookies: Privacy on the Internet?      Ã‚   Today, many web sites on the internet can use cookies to keep track of passwords and usernames and track the sites a particular user visits (Cookiecentral.com). But, the use of cookies to track users browsing habits is becoming a concern of many internet users. These concerned people are beginning to think of cookies as an invasion of privacy. Companies with web sites can use cookies to track what sites you visit frequently and then select specificRead MoreInternet Privacy : An Analysis Of The Internet1380 Words   |  6 PagesInternet Privacy: An Analysis of â€Å"The Internet is a Surveillance State† Since its inception in the late 1960s, the internet has changed the expansion of communications to new levels. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and many others have provided the public with means of communication. The sharing of photos, thoughts and even ideas has become a more prevalent event for everyone as time has progressed. Computers, tablets, and phones are used widely each day for social media sites, as well as purchasing

Friday, May 15, 2020

Definition and Examples of Ethnic Dialects

An ethnic dialect is the distinct form of a language spoken by members of a particular ethnic group. Also called socioethnic dialect. Ronald Wardhaugh and Janet Fuller point out that ethnic dialects are not simply foreign accents of the majority language, as many of their speakers may well be monolingual speakers of the majority language. . . . Ethnic dialects are ingroup ways of speaking the majority language (An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 2015). In the United States, the two most widely studied ethnic dialects are  African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)  and Chicano English  (also known as Hispanic Vernacular English).   Commentary People who live in one place talk differently from people in another place due largely to the settlement patterns of that area--the linguistic characteristics of the people who settled there are the primary influence on that dialect, and the speech of most people in that area shares similar dialect features. However, . . . African American English is spoken primarily by Americans of African descent; its unique characteristics were due initially to settlement patterns as well but now persist due to the social isolation of African Americans and the historical discrimination against them. African American English is therefore more accurately defined as an ethnic dialect than as a regional one. (Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction. Wadsworth, 2010) Ethnic Dialects in the U.S. The desegregation of ethnic communities is an ongoing process in American society that continually brings speakers of different groups into closer contact. However, the result of contact is not always the erosion of ethnic dialect boundaries. Ethnolinguistic distinctiveness can be remarkably persistent, even in face of sustained, daily inter-ethnic contact. Ethnic dialect varieties are a product of cultural and individual identity as well as a matter of simple contact. One of the dialect lessons of the twentieth century is that speakers of ethnic varieties like Ebonics not only have maintained but have even enhanced their linguistic distinctiveness over the past half century. (Walt Wolfram, American Voices: How Dialects Differ From Coast to Coast. Blackwell, 2006) Although no other ethnic dialect has been studied to the extent that AAVE has, we know that there are other ethnic groups in the United States with distinctive linguistic characteristics: Jews, Italians, Germans, Latinos, Vietnamese, Native Americans, and Arabs are some examples. In these cases the distinctive characteristics of English are traceable to another language, such as Jewish English oy vay from Yiddish or the southeastern Pennsylvania Dutch (actually German) Make the window shut. In some cases, the immigrant populations are too new to determine what lasting effects the first language will have on English. And, of course, we must always keep in mind that language differences never fall into discrete compartments even though it may seem that way when we try to describe them. Rather, such factors as region, social class, and ethnic identity will interact in complicated ways. (Anita K. Berry, Linguistic Perspectives on Language and Education. Greenwood, 2002)

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Disaster Of Emergency Management Plan - 1276 Words

When disasters strike, emergency management plans get put into action. Often we see terms such as mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery used to describe emergency management. This paper will look into the recovery aspect of disasters. We will see all of the planning that goes into recovery to best minimize the effects of a disaster. From the planning to the training to the execution phases, we can agree that recovery is an important part of emergency management. We will explore disaster recovery from the points of view of the American Red Cross, FEMA, and other key agencies. Because when we think about it, disasters are going to happen and recovery will happen too. When disaster strikes will you be ready? We hear this all the time and I think some us are ready. But what about after? What do you do? Where do you go or turn for help? Most us will turn to our leaders for guidance and help. To look at recovery lets first define it. The dictionary defines recovery as a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. The action or process of regaining possession or control of something stolen or lost. Disaster recovery is the area of security planning that deals with protecting an organization or community from the effect of significant negative events. (Rouse, M) These negative events could be anything from hurricanes, earthquakes, other types of natural disasters to that of cyberattacks and terrorist attacks. Plans to help with recovery tend to give policies,Show MoreRelatedCommunity Disaster Assessment and Planning Essay1241 Words   |  5 PagesCommunity Disaster Assessment and Planning The potential for natural and manmade disasters is a constant threat, especially in today’s world of climate change, political upheaval, and global unrest and terrorist activity. Due to the many potentiating factors that substantially increase the potential and threat of disaster it is necessary that at a national, state, county, and community level plans are in place for immediate response and action. The threat of disaster is a global, national, stateRead MoreResponsibilities Of Virginia Beach During A Disaster1021 Words   |  5 Pages Disaster Management in Virginia Beach Megan Kinlaw American Public University Community Health in Nursing II Responsibilities of Virginia Beach during a disaster. The City of Virginia Beach upholds an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that defines all roles carried out during an emergency. Procedures are utilized throughout each stage of the disaster by all involved agencies, in order to decrease any adverse effects on the community. The state of Virginia utilizes the Incident CommandRead MoreEssay about Knoxville, Tennessee Emergency Operations Plan989 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction An emergency operations plan for the community in which we live is a document of great importance to each of us whether we know it or not. This paper examines the emergency action plan for Knoxville, Tennessee. In the course of the examination, it will compare and analyze the plan for Knoxville with the standards set forth in the textbook for this course along with other recognized sources in the field of emergency management. Knoxville, Tennessee With a population of nearly oneRead MoreEmergency Management : A Threat Of Public Safety1451 Words   |  6 PagesEmergency Management is an important aspect in our everyday daily lives. Emergencies can arise any place at any time on any day. The nature of any disaster can be unpredictable and may change in scope and impact. When an emergency is encountered there is a threat of public safety, the community, properties, the economy, infrastructure, public health, etc. Disaster Management is not a problem solver it does not avert or eliminate the threats made, it mainly focuses on eradicating the severityRead MoreNatural and Man-Made Disasters, and How to Manage Them Properly730 Words   |  3 PagesDisasters and emergencies can happen anywhere, at any time (Pellegrin, 2012). A disaster is a term describing a whole range of distress situations, both individual and communal. These include fires and drowning, earthquake and tornado, epidemics and starvation, heat and cold, rats and locusts (Kumar, 2000). While the Malaysian National Security Council (MNSC) Directive 20 (2003) defines disaster as â€Å"an emergency situation of some complexity that will cause the loss of lives, damage property and theRead MoreOccupational Health And Safety Policies1680 Words   |  7 Pagestoolkit to support you to: †¢ Understand what a robust occupational health and safety system means for your business; †¢ Make the case with factory management and other colleagues to invest in this area and support you; †¢ Assess the performance of your current health and safety system; †¢ Identify areas where you can improve and develop action plans to improve your health and safety system. †¢ Monitor implementation Why use this toolkit? Using the guidance and information in this toolkit to improveRead MoreThe National Incident Management System1579 Words   |  7 PagesThe National Incident Management System is a systematic guideline on how to effectively plan, mitigate, respond and recover, from significant incidences especially those that encompass diverse interest and involves all levels of governments. It works hand in hand with the National Response Framework, which provides structure for incident management while NIMS provide the guide for all departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to workRead MoreThe Emergency Management Planning Process1305 Words   |  6 Pagesof unexpected disasters as well as calculated ones. As a whole, society cannot account for all disasters that will occur nor can we successful eliminate the results of these disasters. That’s why in most advanced societies there are people in place to manage and or monitor natural disasters. These people are in charge of the planning process and execution of emergency management systems or operations. They are essentially the people responsible for ensuring that when a disaster whether naturalRead MoreEvolution Of The Framework For Hazard Management1487 Words   |  6 Pagesparadigm of emergency and hazard management. Major disasters, often resulting in catastrophes, have caused changes in emergency management and preparedness. As discussed in Disasters: Lessons from the past 105 years, â€Å"a disaster is a natural or man-made event that negatively affects life, property, livelihood or industry often resulting in permanent changes to human societies, ecosystems and environment† (Quarantelli,1998). Hurricane Katrina was one of the biggest emergency management catastrophesRead MoreEmergency Responders And Emergency Emergencies1233 Words   |  5 PagesHowever, their effectiveness depends upon proper coordination of volunteers, groups an d volunteer organizations. Having large numbers of people and supplies can pose serious challenges for emergency management. Massive volunteer responses are typically part of the initial response phase following a disaster but, on some occasions volunteer efforts extend throughout the post-impact and recovery periods. In order for the volunteers to remain successful throughout the post-impact period, it is important

The Rise and Fall of the Italian Mafia - 1664 Words

La Cosa Nostra and the Five Families of which the surrounding area of New York City is comprised has drastically altered the culture in the region; transforming industries with brute force and attracting much public attention. Hollywood focuses on glamorizing the Mafioso lifestyle, distracting from the true nature of organized crime. Over the past decade, the key opportunities have been utilized by the Italian Mafia, resulting in a powerful behind-the-scenes dominance over many aspects we may not expect. Its gonna be a Cosa Nostra. The Honored Society, or Mafia, as it was less often called, was a vast criminal brotherhood that had developed in Palermo and western Sicily independently of the Camorra of Naples. They developed†¦show more content†¦Gambling has proven to be one of the more profitable things that the Mafia provides. From their own private casinos to games for elite clientele, to booking off-track bets in Belmont and Saratoga, their profit margins are tremendous. In the 1920s Mafia Boss Bonanno started to fix horse races, betting huge amounts of money on the known outcomes. Fixing boxing matches was also a favorite of the early crime lords. Sammy The Bull Gravano, John Gottis ex Underboss states that charitable casino events in New York from the period of 1970-1995 were most likely a front for private profiteers. A man named Joe Pistone, an undercover FBI agent who became a made man, relates to gambling events hosted by Cosa Nostra as having been taken care of by bribing city officia ls and local police officers. In the 20th century this has proved very profitable, but in the last few years has slowed down due to police forces cracking down heavily. Gambling, however, serves only a limited number of people, and more money can be made on a larger spectrum. Extortion along with the threat of violence is a very common practice among the New York Mafioso, and the Genovese family has used these tactics to substantially gain power in the past decade. When Lucky Lucchese was a boss, his family took income from virtually all importations into New York City ports, and the boats of thoseShow MoreRelatedThe Italian Mob And The Russian Mafia1323 Words   |  6 PagesWhen people think of organized crime they think of the Italian mob and the Russian mafia. They are the ones that they see in movies and on television, and the ones that they hear about the most. However, they were created a couple centuries after their Asian counterparts, the Yakuza in Japan, and the Triads in China. These Asian syndicates were founded in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and consisted of merchants and other people in what was basically the middle class. They were just groupsRead More Realism and Idealism for the Godfather Essay1173 Words   |  5 Pages Realis m and Idealism for the Godfather I will never forget what I felt when I first seen my first mobster movie, I was about 12 years old, it was real late at night and I just could not fall asleep. I was flipping the channels looking for something to watch, and that is when I encountered my first mobster movie. I was intrigued from beginning to end; it was like nothing I had ever seen before. The way they talked so confident and cool to the way they looked so sharp and sophisticated. AlthoughRead MoreRealism and Idealism for the Godfather1166 Words   |  5 PagesRealism and Idealism for the Godfather I will never forget what I felt when I first seen my first mobster movie, I was about 12 years old, it was real late at night and I just could not fall asleep. I was flipping the channels looking for something to watch, and that is when I encountered my first mobster movie. I was intrigued from beginning to end; it was like nothing I had ever seen before. The way they talked so confident and cool to the way they looked so sharp and sophisticated. AlthoughRead MoreGoodfellas Analysis Essay803 Words   |  4 Pageswhich is one of my favorite movies. Describe the story - Goodfellas is a mafia movie that follows closely the life of Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, an Irish/Italian American, and his two partners/friends, Jimmy Conway, played by Robert De Niro, and Tommy Devito, played by Joe Pesci, as they climb the ranks of organized crime, by performing hijackings, robberies and drug dealing. The film deals with the actual rise and fall of the Lucchese crime family over a period of time from 1955-1980. The filmRead MoreThe Most Problematic Crimes That Are Polluting Italy s Criminal Justice System1832 Words   |  8 Pagesagencies domestic and international promoting to combat corruption with their anti-corruption laws. Corruption in these institutions causes them to lose focus of what they should really be doing is protecting the community, instead they take bribes from mafia organizations. The global impact of transnational crime in Italy has risen to extraordinary levels. Crime in Italy is becoming more problematic throughout the years. Since last year, the corruption perceptions index ranked Italy to be 69th comparedRead MoreAnalysis Of Goodfellas1152 Words   |  5 Pagesnotably used in the 1990 Gangster film Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese, who uses these to set the atmosphere of each scene, and reinforce the running narrative of the film. Goodfellas retells the story of American born gangster Henry Hill, and the rise and fall of him and his way of life from the ‘50’s through the ‘80’s. I picked Goodfellas as the focal point of this essay because of it’s use of music and sound to set it’s story’s atmosphere both visually, and through auditory means. Firstly, GoodfellasRead MoreEssay about Organized Crime Around the World1874 Words   |  8 PagesWhen people think of organized crime they think of the Italian mob and the Russian mafia. They are the ones that they see in movies and on television, and the ones that they hear about the most. However, they were created a couple centuries after their Asian counterparts, the Yakuza in Japan, and the Triads in China. These Asian syndicates were founded in the sixteenth and seventeenth century and consisted of merchants and other people in what was basically the middle class. They were just groupsRead MoreWorld War II : The Best And The Worst That The World4057 Words   |  17 Pagesthem, even if it means collaborating with a different enemy, The Mafia. The Mafia, born out of Sicily is a criminal organization that has lived to become something of legend and myth. As opposed to organized criminal organizations of today the Mafia has worked in the shadows only resorting to outright and blatant displays of violence when necessary or during times of unrest within opposing crime families. As a result of the Mafia s ability to blend into the shadows they were able to slowly integrateRead MoreThe Story Of A Story1351 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Whos that?† I ask Alice. â€Å"Don Bellini, probably the reason youre here.† I raise one eyebrow. She wears a bewildered expression. â€Å"When we get home, were watching some Mafia movies. Anyway, hes the big boss, whatever he says, goes.† ï » ¿Clyde returns to his position behind the bar. â€Å"What can I get you, two lovely ladies?† â€Å"Coke please,† we respond simultaneously. â€Å"Thats a gorgeous dress, Eva. Is it new?† â€Å"Yes, I bought it today.† My hand flutters up to the neckline of my dress to caress the fabricRead MoreThe Portrayal of the Gangster Genre in American and British Cinema in Goodfellas by Martin Scorcese and Layer Cake by Matthew Vaughn2145 Words   |  9 Pagesand revenge. The first film looked at is Goodfellas (1990) directed by Martin Scorcese, a stylistic, hard-hitting true mobster story about three ‘wise guys’. The film is based upon the non-fictional book ‘Wise guy: life in a mafia family’ by Nicholas Pileggi, following the life of a gangster, Henry Hill, who turned to the FBI and entered the federal witness protection programme to avoid his enemies. This fast-moving film follows the life of a young boy growing up

Assessment and Students free essay sample

Journal assessment Conclusion Reccomendation III. INTRODUCTION: Why do Assessment? Are you asking too little of your class? Are your students approaching your course as hurdlers, barely clearing required levels of performance? Or are they approaching your course like high jumpers, pushing themselves under your guidance to increasingly more challenging heights? If your students arent high jumpers, maybe its because you arent asking them to high jump. By using appropriate assessment techniques, you can encourage your students to raise the height of the bar. There is considerable evidence showing that assessment drives student learning. More than anything else, our assessment tools tell students what we consider to be important. They will learn what we guide them to learn through our assessments. Traditional testing methods have been limited measures of student learning, and equally importantly, of limited value for guiding student learning. These methods are often inconsistent with the increasing emphasis being placed on the ability of students to think analytically, to understand and communicate at both detailed and big picture levels, and to acquire lifelong skills that permit continuous adaptation to workplaces that are in constant flux. Moreover, because assessment is in many respects the glue that links the components of a course its content, instructional methods, and skills development changes in the structure of a course require coordinated changes in assessment. IV. RESEARCH (CONTENT) What is Assessment? Assessment is a systematic process of gathering, interpreting, and acting upon data related to student learning and experience for the purpose of developing a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experience; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning. Huba and Freed, 2000 Key Points Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning Multiple methods Criteria and standards Evidence Students know, can do and understand It’s more than just collecting data Sequence in Preparing Instructionally Relevant Assessment INSTRUCTION Indicates the learning outcomes to be attained by students LEARNING TASK Specifies the particular set of learning task(s) to be assessed. ASSESSMENT Provides a procedure designed to measure a representative sample of the instructionally relevant learning tasks. Is there close agreement? What is the Assessment Process? AIMS ASSESSMENT ACTION ADJUSTMENT Importance of Assessment To find out what the students know (knowledge) To find out what the students can do, and how well they can do it (skill; performance) To find out how students go about the task of doing their work (process) To find out how students feel about their work (motivation, effort) What is Student Assessment for? *To help us design and modify programs to better promote learning and student success. To provide common definitions and benchmarks for student abilities that will enable us to act more coherently and effectively to promote student learning. *To provide feedback, guidance, and mentoring to students so as to help them better plan and execute their educational programs. *To provide improved feedback about student learning to support faculty in their work. Functions of Assessment Diagnostic: tell us what the student needs to learn Formative: tell us how well the student is doing as work progresses Summative: tell us how well the student did at the end of a unit/task What can be assessed? Student learning characteristics -Ability differences -Learning styles Student motivational characteristics -Interest -Self-efficacy -goal orientation Learning Content knowledge Ability to apply content knowledge Skills Dispositions and attitudes Performances Direct and Indirect Assessment Measures Direct methods ask students to demonstrate their learning while indirect methods ask them to reflect on their learning. Direct methods include objective tests, essays, case studies, problem solving exercises, presentations and classroom assignments. Indirect methods include surveys, interviews and student reflection and/or self-assessment essays. It is useful to include both direct and indirect assessment measures in your assessments. How should we assess? True –False Item Multiple Choice Completion Short Answer Essay Practical Exam Papers/Reports Projects Questionnaires Inventories Checklist Peer Rating Self Rating Journal Portfolio Observations Discussions Interviews Criteria In Choosing an Assessment Method It should be reliable. It should be valid. It should be simple to operate, and should not be too costly. It should be seen by students and society in general. It should benefit all students. Who should be involved in assessment? The teacher The student The student’s peer Administrator Parents What should we do with the information from our assessment? Use it to improve the focus of our teaching (diagnosis) Use it to focus student attention of strengths and weaknesses (motivation) Use it to improve program planning (program assessment) Use it for reporting to parents Classroom Assessment Paper and pencil assessments: Ask students to respond in writing to questions or problem -Item level: Assessing lower vs. higher skills -Knowledge vs. application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation -Authentic tasks e. . multiple choice, T/F, matching (recognition), short answer, essay (recall) Paper and Pencil Assessment Strengths -Can cover a lot of material reasonably well -Fair -Effective in assessing declarative knowledge of content Easier to construct and administer than performance assessments Weaknesses -Require forethought and skill -Less effective in assessing procedural knowledge and creative thinking -Con struction of good higher level recognition items is difficult -Recall items that do a good job of assessing higher level thinking (essay questions) are difficult to score. Performance Assessments assessment that elicits and evaluates actual student performances Types of Performances: Products: drawings, science experiments, term papers, poems, solution to authentic problems Behavior: time trial for running a mile, reciting a poem, acting tryouts, dancing Performance assessments Strengths – Effective for assessing higher level thinking and authentic learning -Effective for assessing skill and procedural learning -Interesting and motivating for students Weaknesses -Emphasize depth at the expense of breadth Difficult to construct -Time consuming to administer -Hard to score fairly How can we assess student learning? Traditional assessment: assess student knowledge and skills in relative isolation from real world context. Traditional assessment practices reflect what students are able to recall from memory through various means, such as, multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, and matching questions. Authentic assessment: assess studentsâ⠂¬â„¢ ability to use what they’ve learning in tasks similar to those in the outside world. Occurs when the authenticity of student learning has been observed. It requires information from a variety of source such as content work samples, observation during class activities, and conferences with students. Classroom Assessment Informal Assessment: teachers’ spontaneous, day to day observations of student performances. Examples Verbal -Asking questions -Listening to student discussions -Conducting student conferences Nonverbal -Observing -Task performances -On-and off-task behavior -student choices -student body language Informal Assessment Strengths -Facilitates responsive teaching -Can be done during teaching -Easy to individualize Weaknesses -Requires high level of teacher skill -Is vulnerable to -Bias -Inequities –Mistakes Classroom Assessment Formal assessment : assessment that is planned in advance and used to assess a predetermined content and/or skill domain. Strengths -allows the teacher to evaluate all students systematically on the important skills and concepts -helps teachers determine how well students are progressing over the entire year -provides useful information to parents and administrators. Portfolios A collection of student samples representing or demonstrating student academic growth. It can include formative and summative assessment. It may contain written work, journals, maps, charts, survey, group reports, peer reviews and other such items. Portfolios are systematic, purposeful, and meaningful collections of students’ work in one or more subject areas. Importance of Portfolios For Students Shows growth over time Displays student’s accomplishment Helps students make choices Encourages them to take responsibility for their work Demonstrates how students think Importance of Portfolios For Teachers Highlights performance-based activities over year Provides a framework for organizing student’s work Encourages collaboration with students, parents, and teachers Showcases an ongoing curriculum Facilitates student information for decision making Importance of Portfolios For Parents Offer insight into what their children do in school Facilitates communication between home and school Gives the parents an opportunity to react to what their child is doing in school and to their development Shows parents how to make a portfolio so they may do one at home at the same time Importance of Portfolios For Administrators Provides evidence that teacher/school goals are being met Shows growth of students and teachers Provides data from various sources What do portfolios contain? Three basic models: Showcase model, consisting of work samples chosen by the student. Descriptive model, consisting of representative work of the student, with no attempt at evaluation. Evaluative model, consisting of representative products that have been evaluated by criteria. Disadvantages of Portfolio Require more time for faculty to evaluate than test or simple-sample assessment. Require students to compile their own work, usually outside of class. Do not easily demonstrate lower-level thinking, such as recall of knowledge. May threaten students who limit their learning to cramming for doing it at the last minute. Rubric It is a scoring guide that seeks to evaluate a student’s performance based on the sum of a full range of criteria rather than a single numerical score. It is a working guide for students and teachers, usually handed out before the assignment begins in order to get students to think about the criteria on which their work will be judged. Rubrics are scoring criteria for Free-response Questions Scientific reports Oral or Power point presentations Reflections/Journals Essay Laboratory-based performance tests Article review or reactions Portfolios Many others Open-ended Question Concept Mapping It requires students to explore links between two or more related concepts. When making concept maps, they clarify in their minds the links they have made of the concepts and having visual representation of these links, they are better able to rearrange of form new links when new concepts are introduced. Laboratory Performance In this format students and teachers know the requirements in advance and prepare them. The teacher judges the student performance within a specific time frame and setting. Students are rated on appropriate and effective use of laboratory equipment, measuring tools, and safety laboratory procedures as well as a hands-on designing of an investigation. Inventories Diagnostic Inventories: Student responses to a series of questions or statements in any field, either verbally or in writing. These responses may indicate an ability or interest in a particular field. Interest Inventories: student responses to questions designed to find out past experience and or current interest in a topic, subject or activity. Classroom Assessment Presentation : a presentation by one student or by a group of students to demonstrate the skills used in the completion of an activity or the acquisition of curricular outcomes/expectations. The presentation can take the form of a skit, lecture, lab presentation, debate etc. Computers can also be used for presentation when using such software as Hyperstudio, Powerpoint or Corel presentations. Peer Evaluation : judgments by students about one another’s performance relative to stated criteria and program outcomes Journal Assessment This refer to student’s ongoing record of expressions experiences and reflections on a given topic. There are two types: one in which students write with minimal direction what he/she is thinking and or feeling and the other requires students to compete a specific written assignment and establishes restrictions and guidelines necessary to accurately accomplish the assignment. Journals can evolve different types of reflecting writing, drawing, painting, and role playing. REFLECTIVE JOURNAL What did I learn? How do I feel about it? What happened? SYNTHESIS JOURNAL How I can Use It? What I learned? What I Did? SPECULATION ABOUT EFFECTS JOURNAL What could happen because of this? What happened? V. CONCLUSION A fair assessment is one in which students are given equitable opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do. Classroom assessment is not only for grading or ranking purposes. Its goal is to inform instruction by providing teachers with information to help them make good educational decisions. Assessment is integrated with student’s day-to-day learning experiences rather than a series of an end-of-course tests. Why link assessment with instruction? Better assessment means better teaching. Better teaching means better learning . Better learning means better students. Better students mean better opportunities for a better life. VI. RECCOMENDATION Specific assessment tools, listed below, are strongly recommended to faculty and department heads for their ability to provide useful information for accountability and, more importantly, to foster dialogue to improve student learning within courses. These three assessment tools are strongly recommended because they are concise and effective direct evaluations as opposed to indirect evaluations. Direct evaluations can be both formative (the gathering of information about student learning during the progression of a course or program, usually repeatedly, to improve the learning of those students) and summative (the gathering of information at the conclusion of the course, program or undergraduate career to improve learning or to meet accountability demands. ) 1. Rubrics:  These are the most flexible types of direct assessments and can be used to score any product or performance such as essays, portfolios, skill performances, oral exams, debates, project/product creation, oral presentations or a student’s body of work over the course of a semester. Since we are talking about assessing â€Å"official† course learning outcomes that are stated in course documents, all faculty teaching that course must agree on a detailed scoring system that delineates criteria used to discriminate among levels and is used for scoring a common assignment, product or performance or set of assignments, products or performances. Information can be obtained from the course document’s assignment and evaluation pages to help guide the creation of the rubric. Pros: †¢ Defines clear expectations. †¢ Can be used to score many kinds of assignments or exams †¢ Faculty define standards and criteria and how they will be applied Cons: †¢ Faculty must agree on how to define standards and criteria and how they will be applied 2. Common Final Exam or Common Capstone Project:  These direct assessment methods integrate knowledge, concepts and skills associated with an entire sequence of study in a course. Either use the same final exam for all sections offered in a course (commercially produced/standardized test or locally developed final exam) or require a culminating final project that is similar (using the same grading rubric to evaluate). Pros: †¢ Good method to measure growth over time with regard to a course †¢ Cumulative †¢ The data is more robust if all students complete the same assessment †¢ Provides an additional buffer between student learning performance and an individual instructor’s teaching performance Cons: Focus and breadth of assessment are important †¢ Understanding all of the variables to produce assessment results is also important †¢ May result in additional course requirements †¢ Requires coordination and agreement on standards 3. Embedded Test Questions:  Embed the same agreed upon questions that relate to the course’s student learning outcomes into the final exam for all sections of the course and analyze tho se results and/or embed the same agreed-upon requirements into the final project/assignment for all sections of the course and analyze those results. Pros: †¢ Good method to measure growth over time with regards to a course †¢ Cumulative †¢ The data is more robust if all students complete the same assessment †¢ Provides an additional buffer between student learning performance and an individual instructor’s teaching performance †¢ Embedded questions can be reported as an aggregate Cons: †¢ May result in additional course requirements †¢ Requires coordination and agreement on standards If some instructors embed and others do not, the data will be difficult to compare and analyze †¢ Separate analysis of embedded set of questions is required VII. REFERENCES https://www. google. com. ph/search? q=ASSESSMENT+TOOLS+PPTrlz=2C1GTPM_enPH0537PH0537aq=foq=assessment+tools+aqs=chrome. 0. 59j57j61j60l2j0. 3437j0sourceid=chromeie=UTF-8 http://www. slideshare. net/armovil/assessment-of-student-learning? from_search=2 Fulks, Janet, â€Å"Assessing Student Learning in Community Colleges†, Baker sfield College, 2004

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Shipping and Logistics Management

Question: Discuss about theShipping and Logistics Management. Answer: Introduction The shipping industry is very crucial especially in today`s commercial world where globalization is being realized and volumes of international trade have increased over the years. It is therefore important for optimum productivity and efficiency to be realized in the shipping industry. More than 95% of all international/ cross boarder trading takes place through water and these goods are carried by freight ships (Lim, 2016). These goods include raw materials which are used for manufacturing, machines and equipment as well as consumer goods. The choice of transportation by the shipper is influenced by a variety of factors which affect the shipping logistics. Some of the logistics that shippers consider include; cost of transportation, efficiency of the means, reliability, the transportation time as well as quality of services offered by the shipping company (Pardalos, 2009).Despite the large size of this industry and the huge profits that companies make, there are also major risks as sociated with this business. The high levels of risk and large capital requirement make it necessary for individual shipping companies to form alliances. Another factor that contribute to formation of alliances in the shipping industry is for the companies to minimize cost and be able to market their business together more effectively. Due to this reason, it is very important for Hapag-Lloyds to remain in The Alliance. Below is a detailed discussion of benefits and disadvantages of remaining in a shipping alliance. One of the major benefits of collaborations between companies in the shipping industry is the joint marketing activities. Companies in the shipping industry need to advertise a lot. This is due to the high level of competition in this industry (Konings, 2008). It therefore makes it necessary for any company operating in the industry whether new or existing to put aside a substantial budget for marketing activities. Since the marketing costs are high, it is therefore very necessary for the companies to come together and carry out joint marketing operations. This will go a long way in reducing the cost for the companies (Forte, 2013). This will in turn help the companies to lower their shipping charges and therefore attract more customers. Joint marketing by shipping companies is also more effective than individual companies marketing. This is because the companies will be able to pull their resources together and therefore can pay for better means of advertising which will reach more potential customers.. It is therefore crucial for Hapag Lloyd to remain in The Alliance so as to enjoy the benefits of joint marketing. Another major benefit of shipping companies being in alliances is due to the operational issues such as sharing of slots, sharing of vessels and joint services (Panayides Wiedmer, 2011). In the fleet sharing services for companies in a shipping alliance, specific companies handle slot capacities in each voyage depending on their contribution to the number of ships in the alliance. The companies in the alliance are able to share TEUs depending on the volume of goods they are transporting to a particular route. Each company allocates their own capacities but the stowage plan is prepared by the ship operator for all voyages. If a one of the companies for example in The Alliance was shipping goods to the port of Miami and there is extra capacity in the ship, the extra capacity that exists in the ship can be allocated to another company in the alliance which intends to transport commodities to the same destination. Companies can also manage their slots through slot charter or slot purcha se (Lim,2016). This arrangement ensures that the companies belonging to the alliance buy the slots at a cheaper price compared to when they buy from a company outside the alliance. These arrangements help companies within the alliance to achieve their expected carrying demand. The companies in a shipping alliance are also able to increase their profits margin. This happens due to the savings that the companies are able to make by sharing slots in the ships. For this to work, its important for companies in a shipping alliance to have a concrete slot allocation plan. Hapag-Lloyds should therefore remain in the alliance so as to enjoy additional profits accruing from extra saving by sharing of slots. Another major benefit that Hapag-Lloyds would enjoy by remaining in The Alliance is that of joint services for companies in the alliance. Joint Services Corporation for shipping companies in the same alliance is very strategic (Panayides, 2011). This is because; customers of the shipping companies are able to enjoy efficient services from a central point instead of seeking for the same services from different companies with different locations and procedures. These saves the customer both time and effort they would have spent on getting the services from different shipping companies. This offers customers convenience (Lun, 2010).The quality of services provide to customers when the companies decide to offer the services jointly is much more improved. This is because, the services are centrally coordinated and therefore the likelihood of misunderstandings and miscommunication between customers and the company is greatly reduced. Improvement of customer services through the shipping al liances will help in building consumer loyalty among existing customers and therefore the company is able to maintain its existing customers (Talley, 2012). High quality services will also attract new clients for the shipping companies in the alliance and therefore resulting to higher profit margins. The brand of the individual companies will also grow as result of the exemplary services offered by the alliance. Companies in a shipping alliance are also able to carry out joint infrastructural investments. This happens when the shipping companies in the alliance pull their resources together and make joint investment in assets such as freight ships (Agarwal, 2010). The investment carried out by companies in a shipping alliance is mostly for investments with large capital requirements which would be difficult to be raised by a single company. Joint investments are important in this industry because they help in distributing the risk among the companies (Talley, 2012). Risk distribution will therefore mean that in case of loss, the companies involved in the investment will share the cost depending on their capital contribution. This therefore makes it easier for a company operating in this industry to continue operations even if it does not recoup its initial cost of investment. Hapag-Lloyd will also be able to enjoy the low cost of capital. This is because other means of obtaining capital for investment are very expensive. An example is obtaining loan from banks which charge very high interest rates. Despite the many advantages that come with Hapag-Lloyd remaining in The Alliance, there are also various shortcomings that the company will face by remaining in The Alliance. The following are the disadvantages of shipping companies being in a shipping alliance. One of the major disadvantages of the company remaining in the shipping alliance is the loss of control. Remaining in the shipping alliance for Hapag-Lloyd will mean that the owners and the managers will not be in complete control of the activities of the company. This is because the company will be obliged to obey and honor the agreement signed in the alliance charter which requires companies to carry out most of their activities jointly. The company has to operate in relation to the schedules of the alliance and the allocation of slots in the vessels is done by the alliance. This therefore makes the company less flexible in its operations and daily activities (Bryson Daniels, 2007). Another significant shortcoming of remaining in The Alliance for Hapag-Lloyd is that the carrying out of joint investment activities by the company makes it very difficult for the company to control its growth and development. This is due to the fact that by the company remaining in the alliance, it becomes difficult to pursue its own growth plans. Being in the alliance means that the company will have to give priority to the projects being undertaken by the alliance rather than their individual activities. The company may eventually skid off its path and vision and may eventually fail to achieve its business objectives. This may also lead to the company becoming bankrupt. By remaining in The Alliance, Hapag-Lloyd may not be able to achieve its objectives in relation to marketing and advertisement. The joint marketing efforts mean that the whole alliance will be marketed as opposed to marketing individual companies (Jong, 2016). This may be a disadvantage to individual companies whose volume of business has not increased as a result of being in the alliance (Schwab, 2015). The joint marketing efforts may also stall the growth of the individual companys brand. This may hurt the long term objectives of the company. By Hapag-Lloyd remaining in The Alliance, the company may suffer losses and lose customers in case the alliance fails to deliver high quality services to its clients. The shipping industry is driven by the level of efficiency and the quality of services offered to customers (Lun, 2010). Due to the changing market and consumer trends in this industry its important for companies to remain focused on consumer needs. Therefore if the alliance fails to remain innovative and focused on consumer needs, the alliance may lose its customers after some time. This will affect the individual companies in the alliance and it may result to losses and eventually bankruptcy. Conclusion From the analysis, it is very vital for companies in the shipping industry to form shipping alliance due to the various advantages that the companies in these alliances enjoy. Some of these advantages include minimizing costs through sharing of facilities, joint investment which helps the companies to undertake huge investments at a low cost and the joint provision of services which results to increased efficiency. There are also disadvantages of being in alliances such as loss of control over management of the company, and increased dependency on other members of the alliance. A company in the shipping industry should therefore analyze and weigh the advantages and disadvantages and being in the alliance before deciding to join any alliance. For Hapag-Llyod, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and therefore the company should remain in The Alliance. References Lun, Y. H. V., Lai, K., Cheng, T. C. E. (2010). Shipping and logistics management. New York: Springer. Schwab, C. (2015). Horizontal collaboration in the maritime industry: Ports and terminals. Bryson, J. R., Daniels, P. W. (2007). The handbook of service industries. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Pardalos, P. M., Chaovalitwongse, W. A., Furman, K. C. (2009). Optimization and logistics challenges in the enterprise. Dordrecht: Springer. Talley, W. K. (2012). The Blackwell companion to maritime economics. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. In Lee, C.-Y., In Meng, Q. (2015). Handbook of ocean container transport logistics: Making global supply chains effective. Lim, J. (2016). The Effect of Alliance Partnership on the Alliances Performance of Global Alliances and Joint Service in Liner Shipping Companies. Korean Logistics Research Association, 26(5), 35-44. Notteboom, T., Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp., Asian Logistics Round Table. (2011). Current issues in shipping, ports and logistics. Antwerp: UPA University Press Antwerp. Agarwal, R. Ergun, . (2010). Network Design and Allocation Mechanisms for Carrier Alliances in Liner Shipping. In Forte, E., Grimaldi, G. (2013). Economics and logistics in short and deep sea market: Konings, J. W., Priemus, H., Nijkamp, P. (2008). The future of intermodal freight transport: Operations, design and policy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Panayides, P. Wiedmer, R. (2011). Strategic alliances in container liner shipping. Jong-Sub Lim,. (2016). The Effect Strategic Alliances on the Performance in Container Liner Shipping Companies. Journal Of Distribution Science, 14(6), 99-106. https://dx.doi.org/10.15722/jds.14.6.201606.99