Chinese philosophy Essay Example for Free

Chinese philosophy Essay Although the interpretation might be negative and positive, it is not how we actually depict these two aspects. They represent a balance and are interdependent (cannot exist without each other). These two are like a cause and effect. 3. How could the hexagrams of the I Ching (The Book of Changes) be viewed as means of divination? How could they be seen as having personality and wisdom of their own? Note the editorial work of the Confucianism. Chinese sought the future in the patterns of the shell of the tortoise or in stalks of grains. The shell of the tortoise was sought to be especially in tune with the rhythms of the universe because of the long life of its inhabitant. With the casting of coins or stalks of a plant, certain patterns emerge. By identifying these patterns, a prediction is made. When casting the coins, they each represented a trigram that when put together you would compare it to your hexagram number. Each hexagram number had a different reading (they were kind of their own version of a fortune cookie). The readings were a form of divination in the way that they each had separate readings about actions to take in the future. They had a personality and wisdom of their own in a sense that each hexagram had a different reading and action to follow. They each had a different fortune. 4. Why did the decline of the feudal system in ancient China set the stage for both Taoism and Confucianism? When the feudal system began to breakdown, each school chose a different belief to kind of explain what was happening at that time with the  government. Within these schools Taoism and Confucianism developed each with different beliefs on how the government should run and how the people should be run. 5. Contrast the view of the best government as it is revealed in the Tao Te Ching and in the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism: feudal system was wanted. They seem to have believed that although the gods existed and worship and rituals were of value in bringing people together, these things were of secondary importance to an equitable social order. They strongly believed in government and that society needed an elaborate structure, reinforced by etiquette in order to be effective. Tao Te Ching: This book was written as a polemic against the Confucians and Legalist who wished for either an idealized form of feudalism or some strong central government. They wanted little to do with government, none if possible. The theme of the book was that all human achievements were folly, especially elaborate government. This book was written by Lao-Tzu in 6th century B. C. E because the gate keeper tried to persuade him to turn back (Hankao Pass) and not leave China. When the gate keeper failed to persuade him he asked him to at least write a book about his teachings (the book took him about 3 days and was made up of 5000 characters). 8. What political difficulties do religions face in China today? The government only tolerates religious organizations that are willing to accept strict regulations. They have to be free of foreign influence and they must accept government censorship of religious writings and guidance in the selections of clergy, and limit religious activities and approved locations.

Voluntary Involuntary And Non Voluntary Euthanasia Essay

Voluntary Involuntary And Non Voluntary Euthanasia Essay In 1995, the Australian Northern Territory was the first place in the world to legalise voluntary euthanasia under the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995. The first person to voluntarily end their life on Sunday, 22 September 1996 was Bob Dent, a terminally ill patient with prostate cancer (Grey 1999, p.19). As a reaction to this law and Bob Dents death a Liberal Party backbencher, Kevin Andrews introduced the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996 which being a Federal Act over road the Northern Territory Act making euthanasia illegal in all States and Territories of Australia. Nonetheless, the vast majority of Australians from doctors to philosophers support voluntary euthanasia. For example, Australian philosopher, Peter Singer, actively supports euthanasia in his book of Taking Life: Human while pro-euthanasia Doctor Phillip Nitschke assisted Bob Dent to die by a lethal injection. This essay explains what euthanasia is and discusses whether voluntary euthanasia should be a right of the terminally ill. Euthanasia means a gentle and easy death, (Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006) and it is usually used to refer to the induced death of those who are incurably ill and in great pain or distress in order to spare them further suffering or distress. It is often referred to as mercy killing. Singer (1993, p.175) classified euthanasia as voluntary, involuntary or non-voluntary. Involuntary euthanasia means without the consent of the person who dies even if they express a wish to live and is effectively murder even if the motives are to benefit the deceased. Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs where a persons mental age is or has always been that of an infant so that they have no capacity of express any preference to live or die such as when someone is severely disabled infant since birth or those who suffer severe brain damages after accidents and become permanently mentally disabled. Sometimes people in this situation are allowed to die by withdrawing medical services such as intensive care treatment. Voluntary euthanasia which is where a person consciously chooses an early death (Singer 1993, pp.175-177). This essay will only focus on ethical arguments as to whether voluntary euthanasia and non-voluntary should be legalised. One argument for euthanasia is the utilitarian principle which says that the lives of some people can be sacrificed for the benefit of others deemed more worthy of care. It has been said that When applying the utilitarian theory to the ethics of euthanasia, can it not be said that Self Deliverance for a competent terminally ill patient is an unselfish act (Maj 2002)? Utilitarianism is commonly expressed as the greatest good for the greatest number (Rohnann 1999, cited in Rich Butts 2005, p. 9). A moral theory is utilitarian if and only if it assesses rules in terms of nothing but their utility. Jeremy Bentham, invoked what he described as a fundamental axiom it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong (Bentham 1823). Utilitarians theorise that there is the same ground for voluntary euthanasia as for non-voluntary euthanasia as death is the benefit for the person killed but is it possible to justify ending the life of a human being who lacks the capacity to consent in the same way as where people are capable of consenting, and do in fact consent (Singer 1993). Utilitarians consider that death will bring peace to the patient, family and friends and can be justified purely on the utilitarian grounds that a terminally ill person has lost the ability to pursue the intellectual or physical life they once had or has lost dignity by becoming dependent on others for fundamental needs such as going to the toilet. (Maj 2002). Something I can identify with having seen my once proud grandfather after a stroke having to wear a nappy. In my opinion for many once dignity and self sufficiency are lost death is a release. The strongest argument for active voluntary euthanasia is based on respect for individual autonomy or self governance. Autonomy is the belief that every person has the right to shape their own life through their choices which includes the right to choose the time and circumstances of their death and is expressed concerning basic human dignity (Grey 1999, p.21). The principle of autonomy is an expression Kants ideal that having ones own choice whether that choice is good or bad is of paramount importance for life. Kant believes that suggesting someone knows better than yourself in such a personal thing as death is a dubious paternalistic presumption (Grey 1999,p.21) in many ways similar to this current governments belief that they know best what you should see or read on the internet. J.S. Mill in his expression of the harm principle state: the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against their will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. (Grey 1999, p.21) Autonomy acknowledges an individuals sovereignty over all acts which only affect self on the basis that it is insupportable to have someone else choose the timing of ones own death. (Grey 1999,p.21). This is difficult to argue against since only in the most horrendous crimes do States now have the power to deprive a criminal of life yet involuntary euthanasia suggests they have the right to kill non criminals. However if a person chooses to die we should respect that wish. Peter Singer believes voluntary euthanasia is a matter of respecting a persons preference and overall well-being, welfare or interests in their particular circumstances such as when they are suffering from cancer. In Holland, a nationwide government survey found that Many patients want an assurance that their doctor will assist them to die should suffering become unbearable (Singer 1993). One argument for euthanasia which involves utilitarian theory is the need to reduce societys costs in an ever more crowded world by reducing the number of people needing intensive care. There are many arguments against euthanasia. The possibility of abuse is one of the most common arguments against euthanasia. Abuse may mean patents are pressured by families or medical facilities to agree to ending their own life. Family may want to see the suffering end but they may also want to see the inheritance now. Doctors may wish to free up scare medical resources for those they believe they can save and in fact hospitals make these sort of choices by withdrawing medical support for the terminally ill. Opponents argue that we can never be sure that a request to be killed is the result of a free and rational decision, particularly as they are likely to be suffering pain, very probably drugged and confused (Singer 1993). Depression is also an issue because it is a form of pressure from within. A depressed person is more likely to choose to take their own life whether or not they are terminally ill. Another argument against euthanasia is the level of protection required to ensure it is not misused will actually make it more painful. No one who is ill is going to want to face a barrage of questions and forms to choose death yet leaving the documentation to Doctors or Family or some other party leaves open the door to abuse. There is also the opening the floodgatesor Slippery Slope argument that if society accepts euthanasia as a universal right of competent terminally ill patients to decide their fate (Maj 2002) then how long will it be before society decides what should be done with the chronically ill, handicapped or simply old who no longer contribute but are a burden on society. The Catholic Church objects to euthanasia on religious grounds saying that the church opposes euthanasia as that life which God has bestowed on each one of us, can never be sacrificed for the sake of the good of self-determination as it contravenes the Thou shalt not kill commandment (Demarco 2003, p. 154).However, the church distinguishes euthanasia from decisions to forego aggressive medical treatment which are medical procedures which no longer correspond to the real situation of the patient, either because they are by now disproportionate to any expected results or because they impose an excessive burden on the patient and his family (Demarco 2003, p. 155). In conclusion, voluntary euthanasia may be seen as a way of giving respect to those who are in distress and paid and wish to leave life, family and friends with dignity. While there are arguments against voluntary euthanasia they are, apart from religious moral concerns, easily overcome by putting in place appropriate safeguards such as a number of independent witnesses who must ensure that the person who is contemplating euthanasia is fully aware of what they are doing and that there is no going back. Non-voluntary euthanasia is more difficult as no consent is possible but can be justified on the grounds that the benefit to society is larger than the detriment to the individual particularly if the individual is and has been so damaged that they cannot appreciate the life they live. Singer says in his book of Rethinking Life and Death We should say theyre alive but nonetheless their life is not viable. They are alive but that life is not worth living (Singer 1999)

Customer Relationship Management System In Mauritian Bank Marketing Essay

Customer Relationship Management System In Mauritian Bank Marketing Essay 20 years back Mauritius was a struggling to make its place in the Indian Ocean and to become recognized for its well established economy. At that time, not every new business had the capital required to start and expand. This is where banks played an important role in our economy. At the then time, Banks did not have a proper online system with their branches. Customers needed rendez-vous with Bank Managers before meeting with them. It was a glamorous time for bankers. Customers remained loyal to the bank. With the evolution in technology and with Bank of Mauritius imposing on Mauritian banks to be Y2K compliant, bank moved towards the implementation of a proper Core Banking system to serve their customers. And with the introduction of ATMs and online banking, customers visit less and lesser their bank branch. The whole concept of banking has shifted. Customers now prefer delivery channels instead of branch base banking. This perfect Banker Customer relationship slowly disappeared as the nation grew, the customer started to work with different banks at the same time as the competitors kept on increasing. As per latest figures of Central Statistics Office there are presently 21 financial banks in operation with a population of approximately 1.2 million out of which only 45 %( 548,300) are in the working class We need to keep in mind, though a bank needs clients deposit to work, its main profit will be generated by credit facilities. This income will be generated by those 45%. (Not taking into account a small percentage of offshore business) If our figures are correct, we have 21 banks that are fighting for 548,300 employed people and out of which two giant banks have been established since 1838 and in 1973 respectively. The aim of this research is to analyze the impact of Customer Relationship Management system in the banking sector and how it can help in customer retention, reduce missed opportunities and enhance internal process thus increasing profitability. The purpose of this thesis is not purely for academic purpose. There is currently a need to implement a proper Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) in the bank I am currently working. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Introduction of the study The vision for all Mauritian banks is to be the best bank for customers to bank with. CRM is the concept of building a strong relationship with your customer and making sure that he comes back again by providing him with a high quality service. CRM is an integration of technologies and business processes used to satisfy the needs of a customer during any given interaction. More specifically, CRM involves acquisitions analysis and use of knowledge about the customers in order to sell more goods or services and to do it more efficiently (Bose. 2002. Pg 1 ) Customers are now more than ever demanding a different relationship with their suppliers, managing a close relationship has become a central aspect in delivering the business goals (Xu, Yen et al, 2002). With the increase in technology available to customers today the world has become a much smaller marketplace and the relationship an even more important selling aspect. Walton Xu (2005) explain that CRM is widely regarded as method of retaining and developing customers, through increased loyalty and satisfaction. According to Drucker (1996) knowledge is the only meaningful resource and the only real competitive differentiator. Xu Yen et al (2002) further state that successful companies will use customer information systems to build relationships on the levels that customers want them, and by organizing the information about each customer a singular 360 degree view can be made of each client throughout the company no matter how many customers they have. Companies are also realizing they can more easily lock in customers by understanding their needs and competing with exceeded expectations, something which CRM systems can help organize (H. Kale, 2004). The realization of the benefits of CRM are also noted in the market of related software product, in 2008 the CRM market reached 8.9 billion USD and to increase by nearly 50% by 2012 (Gartner Group, 2008). The study is to investigate how CRM will benefit the bank I am currently working with. 1.2 Problem Statement I have been in the banking sector for more than 13 years and had held different positions starting from teller, officer and currently to be the Head of Business Solutions. Currently the bank has expanded and merged with another sister company, information and customer retention has become amongst others the center of motion. Currently we could note that data is being held in different systems and consolidation is a big headache. This has impacted on service delivery. Duplication of data and heaviness in process has strongly been felt within the organization. Currently the bank does not hold a proper CRM system to address most of these issues and to minimize missed opportunities. Having highlighted this, a proper CRM will help in achieving greater height by the organization. The focus of most CRM systems according to Xu Yen et al.(2002) is to aid in the understanding of customers. By warehousing collected data about many different customers, forecasts of both customers future buying trends as well as individual customer behavior can be made. Customer Relationship Management can also help in breaking down the barriers between departments, something which can prove to be quite difficult, as in some firms there are even deep rivalries between departments (Edwards. 2007) 1.3 Objectives of the Study As per Doran, G. T. (1981), we need to consider the following criteria when setting up the objectives Specific Objectives are exclusively related to the business. Measurable The objective can be quantified. For e.g. Increase in profit amounting to Rs1 million instead of Higher profits. Agreed The parties who will be affected directly or indirectly by these objectives need to be informed and also have their consent. Realistic The objective should be challenging, but yet also be achievable. Time specific The objective should be delimited by time, having a specific start and end date. The following objectives have been identified for this study: Identify the benefit bank already implemented CRM have obtained Determine the hurdles and barriers in implementing a proper CRM Evaluate the impact of CRM in the Mauritian Banking Community Determine the benefit that bank will obtained in implementing a proper CRM 1.4 Research Questions The research questions in this proposal shall include but not limited to the following: How CRM has impacted on the internal process of banks What are the barriers and obstacle for implementing a proper CRM What are the main benefit obtained for a proper implemented CRM How far do bank staff agree on the benefit of a CRM By how much has missed opportunities been reduced 1.5 Hypotheses (Assumptions) The following hypotheses based on the objective of the study have been formulated: Hypothesis I: Ho: Banks in Mauritius do not agree that CRM improves their internal process HA: Banks in Mauritius do agree that CRM improves their internal process Hypothesis II: Ho: Banks in Mauritius do not face any barriers and obstacles for the implementation of CRM HA: Banks in Mauritius face barriers and obstacles for the implementation of CRM Hypothesis III: Ho: Banks Staff do not agree that CRM has ease their day to day tasks HA: Banks staff do agree that CRM has ease their day to day tasks Hypothesis IV: Ho: Banks do not agree that CRM has reduced missed opportunities HA: Banks do agree that CRM has reduced missed opportunities 2.0 Literature Review The idea behind Customer Relationship Management is not new; even the earliest merchants knew it was a good idea to build relationships with customers to keep them coming back. (Jobber , 2004) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a business approach that integrates people, process and technology to maximize relationships with customers Barton Goldberg, ISM, CRM Strategic Advisors. Jobber has stated the need for loyalty because it is customer loyalty that will ensure that the repeated purchase in made with your business. According to Storbacka and Lehtinen(2001, p 5) the three main pillars of CRM are : Customer value Creation Viewing the product as a process and it is the business responsibility for developing customer relationships Offering customers the possibilities to create value for themselves. With the help of technology and human resources, CRM will help a business to gain insight into the behavior of customers and the value of those customers. For CRM to be effective and bear its fruits, an organization must devise an adequate business strategy that it will have to follow. The organization must also look at the different ways information about customers comes into a business, where and how this data is stored and how it is currently used. With an effective CRM strategy, a business can increase revenues by: Providing adequate services and products that are exactly what customers expect Increase customer service level Initiate cross selling Provide the banks staffs with an extra tool that will help them increase business Retaining existing customers. Bringing new customers Personalized service Target the right customer with the right product Aggressive marketing All elements are mixed in to increase and maintain greater business to customer relationships. CRM has an impact mostly on marketing, sales, and customer service strategies. CRM helps create time efficiency and savings on both sides of the business spectrum. Through correct implementation and use of CRM solutions, companies gain a better understanding of their strongest and weakest areas and how they can improve upon these. Therefore, customers gain better products and services from their businesses of choice. In any business, CRM will start from the Back office and will go throughout the whole company to reach the front office. It is nowadays a must to put the customer at the center of the business. Customer experience is the sum total of all the interactions a customer has with your brand during his customer lifecycle. It has become the critical differentiator in todays hypercompetitive, hyper connected global marketplace. Differentiation based on product innovation is no longer sustainable because competitors can leapfrog feature/function advantages more quickly than ever. And differentiation based on price kills profitability. On the other hand, research shows that 86 percent of consumers said they would be willing to pay more for a better customer experience. [2011 Customer Experience Impact Report conducted by Harris Interactive] Being now the Head of Business solution of the bank, I found it suitable to perform this research in the Mauritian market for implementing a proper CRM solution in the bank ensuring that the bank reap its benefit. 3.0 Research Methodology This section describes the methodology that will be followed to address the hypotheses or research questions. It includes the research design, sampling method, data collection procedures, research instrumentation and related data analysis. 3.1 Research Design Research design provides the basic direction for carrying out a research project so as to obtain answers to research questions (Cooper Schindler, 2003). A descriptive research design will be adopted for this study since it involved collection of both qualitative and quantitative information by conducting a survey. The descriptive research design would therefore, make predictions and analyse the behaviour of the respondents with respect to the survey. 3.2 Population and Sample 3.2.1 Target Population A population is considered to be any group of people, events, or things that are of interest to the researchers and that they wish to investigate (Sekaran, 2000). The target population for this study will include banks in Mauritius and staff working in the banking sector. 3.2.2 Sampling Method Sampling is the process of selecting units (e.g. people, organizations) from a population of interest so that by studying the sample we may fairly generalize our results back to the population from which they were chosen. Trochim (2006). It is therefore, important to adopt the appropriate sampling techniques and to design the sampling method to minimise any error or response bias. The appropriate sampling technique that will be adopted for the study will be the simple random sampling technique so as to ensure that each officer has an equal chance of selection since a simple random sample is meant to be an unbiased representation of a group 3.2.3 Sample Size To determine the sample size we need to calculate the necessary the sample size for a different combination of levels of precision, confidence level (93%), and variability. The level of precision also called as the sampling error, is the range in which the true value of the population is estimated to be. This range is often expressed in percentage points, (e.g., Â ±7 percent). A proportion of 0.07 indicates the maximum variability in a population Therefore the Solvins formula, as described below, will be used to calculate the sample size at 7% level of precision. Where n is the sample size, N is the population size and e is the level of precision Hence the sample size for this study will be 68 on a population of 100. 3.3 The research Instrument The research instrument for this study will include a structured questionnaire to elicit relevant information from the respondents employ primary and secondary sources of data. Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap; do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. Questionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them. An open-ended question asks the respondent to formulate his own answer, whereas a closed-ended question has the respondent pick an answer from a given number of options. For this paper, the questionnaire will include both open ended and closed ended questions. The close ended will comprise of dichotomous, multichotomous as well as likert scaled information. The questionnaire will consist of some main sections such as First section will demonstrate the barriers and obstacles in implementing CRM Second section will point out the benefit obtained from CRM Third section will evaluate the impact of CRM in the Banking Community 3.4 Data Collection method The choice of the data collection method is influenced by the data collection strategy, the type of variables involved, the accuracy required, the data collection points and the skill of the enumerator. The links between the variables, its source and practical methods for its collection helped in choosing appropriate method. Therefore, for the data collection, the survey method will be adopted given that the survey involved a structured questionnaire given to respondents and designed to elicit specific information with respect to the objectives of the study. Moreover, the data will be gathered by scheduling a meeting with the different targeted organization where the questionnaires will be distributed to the different respondent and collected some days later to allow them to give the maximum information in a precise way. 3.5 Validity and Reliability Validity is defined as the extent to which differences in observed scores reflect the true nature among objects on the characteristics being measured and Reliability relates to consistency of results over a period of time. Hence, consideration regarding validity and reliability will be taken into account for this study. 3.5.1 Pre testing Pilot testing is used to identify and eliminate problems before the main survey takes place. 10% of the sample size will be used for pilot testing prior to the data collection phase. The pilot test will be used to check questions relevancy, whether respondent understands all questions, and logic of question order. 3.5.1 Reliability of data Reliability of data is used to check for internal consistency of data which is measured using coefficient alpha (also known as Cronbachs alpha). According to George, D., Mallery, P. (2003), the acceptable level for the Cronbach alpha depends on what is being measured, with the general rule of thumb being 0.7. Therefore, for the purpose of this study a Cronbachs alpha of 0.7 or higher will be considered acceptable, and that below 0.75 was regarded as multidimensional 3.6 Data Analysis and interpretation The data file will then be organized and analysed employing the SPSS software version 16.0 or above. Both descriptive and inferential statistics will be used for analysis where descriptive statistics will include frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Inferential statistics will include regression analysis, correlation, chi square, T-test, ANOVA. Significant tests will be conducted at 5% level using p-value as indicator for both significance and hypothesis testing where; Indicator for significance P-value less than 0.05 = statistical significance P-value greater than 0.05 = no significance Indicators to be used for hypothesis testing P-value less or equal to 0.05 = reject Null hypothesis (H0) P-value greater than 0.05 = do not reject Null hypothesis (H0) 4.0 Expected Results The following results might be expected: It is expected that Mauritian Banks has benefited from CRM It is expect that Mauritian Banks has faced barriers and difficulties in implementing CRM It is expect that CRM has positively impacted on the internal process of Mauritian Banks. It is expected that number of customers has increased 5.0 Ethical Considerations In order to protect confidentiality, the data collected will not be revealed to others except in the form of processed data/information without detailing the identity of the individual responses. Relevant permission will be sought from the concerned authorities prior to administering the questionnaires. 6.0 Limitation of this study The limitation of the study is that not all bank staff will responds due to time constraints. Also only banks where CRM has been implemented will be contacted. However, the data collected from respondents will be analyzed and interpreted within the limited framework allowed. 7.0 Conclusion This study will endeavor to demonstrate to my senior management the benefit in implementing a proper CRM in the bank in order to align back-office processes and to leverage the use of IT system. This proposal will quantify the impact on the business in terms of customer retention and new offerings possibilities while reducing missed opportunities. Definitely this study will bring a better insight on the capabilities of a CRM. Definitely greater profit would be achieved if the CRM is properly implemented and used.

New Teaching Methods for Nontraditional Students Essay example -- Non-

Missing Figures New Teaching Methods for an Untraditional Audience It is becoming more and more common to see older students, or nontraditional students (ages 24 and above), entering college campuses. "Nontraditional" students now make up 36% of the college population (Justice and Dornan, 1). Although some question older students ability to perform in a college setting, research has proven that nontraditional students actually perform better than the traditional students (18-22 year olds). The significant differences between the traditional and nontraditional student has prompted the question whether institutions need to alter their teaching methods to fit the needs of the nontraditional student. As the population of 23+ years old continues to grow in colleges and universities, many feel that the current methods are not intellectually challenging enough for these older students. Much of the data collected in research concludes that the institutions must respond to these differences in motivation and learning. Which means the faculty might soon be challenged to develop more comprehension-based approaches, which will use strategies to explain and apply the course material (Justice and Dornan, 7). This paper will review the unique characteristics nontraditional students possess, compared with traditional students. By pointing out factors such as motivation, coping skills, and learning styles, this paper will illustrate the differences nontraditional students possess for achieving their college education, and why it is important for higher education to alter current teaching methods. These characteristics will illustrate why it is important for universities to change current teaching methods to create an adequate learning ... ... Morris, Emily A., Peggy R. Brooks, and James L. May. â€Å"The Relationship Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Coping Style: Traditional vs. Nontraditional College Students.† Mar. 2003. LookSmart’s FindArticles. 23 Mar. 2004. . Munday, Leo A. â€Å"College Access for Nontraditional Students.† The Journal of Higher Education. Nov.-Dec. 1976, vol. 47. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2004. . Richardson, John T. E., and Estelle King. â€Å"Adult Students in Higher Education: Burden or Boom?† The Journal of Higher Education. Jan.-Feb. 1998, vol. 69. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2004. Wolfgang, Mary E., and William D. Dowling. â€Å"Differences in Motivation of Adult and Younger Undergraduates.† The Journal of higher Education. Nov.-Dec. 1981, vol. 52. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2004. . New Teaching Methods for Nontraditional Students Essay example -- Non- Missing Figures New Teaching Methods for an Untraditional Audience It is becoming more and more common to see older students, or nontraditional students (ages 24 and above), entering college campuses. "Nontraditional" students now make up 36% of the college population (Justice and Dornan, 1). Although some question older students ability to perform in a college setting, research has proven that nontraditional students actually perform better than the traditional students (18-22 year olds). The significant differences between the traditional and nontraditional student has prompted the question whether institutions need to alter their teaching methods to fit the needs of the nontraditional student. As the population of 23+ years old continues to grow in colleges and universities, many feel that the current methods are not intellectually challenging enough for these older students. Much of the data collected in research concludes that the institutions must respond to these differences in motivation and learning. Which means the faculty might soon be challenged to develop more comprehension-based approaches, which will use strategies to explain and apply the course material (Justice and Dornan, 7). This paper will review the unique characteristics nontraditional students possess, compared with traditional students. By pointing out factors such as motivation, coping skills, and learning styles, this paper will illustrate the differences nontraditional students possess for achieving their college education, and why it is important for higher education to alter current teaching methods. These characteristics will illustrate why it is important for universities to change current teaching methods to create an adequate learning ... ... Morris, Emily A., Peggy R. Brooks, and James L. May. â€Å"The Relationship Between Achievement Goal Orientation and Coping Style: Traditional vs. Nontraditional College Students.† Mar. 2003. LookSmart’s FindArticles. 23 Mar. 2004. . Munday, Leo A. â€Å"College Access for Nontraditional Students.† The Journal of Higher Education. Nov.-Dec. 1976, vol. 47. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2004. . Richardson, John T. E., and Estelle King. â€Å"Adult Students in Higher Education: Burden or Boom?† The Journal of Higher Education. Jan.-Feb. 1998, vol. 69. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2004. Wolfgang, Mary E., and William D. Dowling. â€Å"Differences in Motivation of Adult and Younger Undergraduates.† The Journal of higher Education. Nov.-Dec. 1981, vol. 52. JSTOR. 23 Mar. 2004. .

Men, Women, and Sex Differences Essay -- Nature vs. Nurture

Nature vs. Nurture? The debate has obsessed the minds of psychologists and philosophers for many years, each arguing their idea is the right way. ABC aired a TV documentary "Boys and Girls are Different" hosted by John Stossel to show some of the leading feminists ideas and their opponents thoughts. Psychologist, and researcher from the Kinsey Institute, June M. Reinisch believes that biology and culture shape gender differences. She believes that men and women aren't the same. Simply that "equality does not mean being the same, it means having equal opportunities" (Men, Women). Reinisch, leader of the advanced studies and projects at Kinsey stated, "When people say women can’t be trusted because they cycle every month, my response is that men cycle every day, so they should only be allowed to negotiate peace treaties in the evening." June Reinisch fights for equal opportunities for women by giving seminars and speeches nationwide to groups of women. In addition, she speaks and writes on sexuality issues. "We are very adolescent about sexuality as a society, thinking it is for young people," says psychologist June Reinisch, director emeritus of the Kinsey Institute in Bloomington, Ind. June is a very outspoken woman and for that has several consequences that she faces in life. She faces criticism daily from the public, media and other scientists. Luckily, her job at the Kinsey Institute doing gender research, results in her not worrying about the thought of losing her job over gender issues. However, her status is continually up in the air for the media to pick at. The media can say negative ideas regarding her research and beliefs because she is so well known. June documented several early behavioral di... ...levision programs are sex-typed and white-male oriented. More male than female roles are shown and male characters act strikingly different from female ones. Males typically are more aggressive, constructive, and direct and are rewarded for their actions. By contrast, females are depicted as acting deferential toward other people or as manipulating them through helplessness of seductiveness to get their way"(Kendall Page 3). It goes as far as simple education programs such as Sesame Street and Barney that have mainly all male characters and names. The characters also participate in mostly boy activities. Consider all sides of the debate and each group's affiliation. Finally, the question is up to you as the program announcer said, "Should gender influence our place in society? Some research says yes. Some people don't want you to hear about it" (Men, Women).

FIR Filter Design

The objective of this project is to use three different design methods to design a low-pass filter that meets specifications given, and then compare these three different methods through different parameters. In this project, seven filters should be designed using Matlab. And we compare them on worst case gain, largest tap weight coefficient, maximal passband and stopband error, magnitude frequency response, impulse response, group delay and zeros/poles location. Finally, use these filters to do filtering, and then compare their responses to the predicted one. Discussion of Results: > Part 1: Window Method (a) Use fir1 function to synthesize an FIR that meets specifications using a boxcar window. Worst gain = 1.8372 Largest tap weight coefficient = 0.3694 Maximal passband error = 0.1678 Maximal stopband error = 0.0795 (b) Use Hann window to synthesize an FIR that meets specifications. Worst gain = 1.4154 Largest tap weight coefficient = 0.3496 Maximal passband error = 0.0052 Maximal stopband error = 0.2385 **Filter #1 is the unwindowed design, and Filter #2 is the windowed design. From the comparison above, we can see that the unwindowed design has a more critical passband and stopband edge, but the windowed one has a smaller maximal passband error as we expected. Also, the windowed one has a larger attenuation on stopband than the unwindowed one. The group delay responses of two designs are the same. (c) Use Kaiser window to synthesize an FIR that meets specifications Worst gain = 1.6900 Largest tap weight coefficient = 0.3500 N = 21 (which is in 20 in matlab) Maximal passband error = 0.0706 Maximal stopband error = 0.0852 ** Filter #1 is the unwindowed design, and Filter #2 is the kaiser design. From the comparison above, we can see that both designs have critical passband and stopband edges, but the kaiser one has a smaller maximal passband error as we expected. Also, the kaiser one has a smaller attenuation on stopband compare with the unwindowed one. The group delay responses of two designs are different, the Kaiser one only has 20th order, so the group delay is 10, not 11 as the unwindowed one. (d)The zeros of the three windowed designs ** Filter #1 is the â€Å"boxcar† design, and Filter #2 is the Hann design, Filter #3 is the Kaiser design. From figure above, we can see that Hann design has a zero far from unit circle, which is corresponding to the slower attenuation compared to the other two designs. The zeros of â€Å"boxcar† design are similar to the Kaiser design. > Part 2: LMS Method (a) Using Matlab's firls function to meet the original design specification. Worst gain = 1.5990 Largest tap weight coefficient = 0.3477 Maximal passband error = 0.0403 Maximal stopband error = 0.1137 ** Filter #1 is the 2(a) design, and Filter #2 is the â€Å"boxcar† design. From the comparison above, we can see that the â€Å"boxcar† design has a more critical passband and stopband edge, but the LMS one has a smaller maximal passband error as we expected. Also, the LMS one has a larger attenuation on stopband than the â€Å"boxcar† one. The group delay responses of two designs are the same. (b) Using Matlab's fircls1 function to meet the original design specification. Worst gain = 1.6771 Largest tap weight coefficient = 0.3464 Maximal passband error = 0.0516 Maximal stopband error = 0.0782 ** Filter #1 is the 2(a) design, and Filter #2 is the 2(b) design. From the comparison above, we can see that the 2(b) design has a more critical passband and stopband edge, but the 2(a) one has a smaller maximal passband error. Also, the 2(a) one has a larger attenuation on stopband than the 2(b) one. The group delay responses of two designs are the same. (c)The zeros of the two LMS designs ** Filter #1 is the 2(a) design, and Filter #2 is the 2(b) design. From figure above, we can see that 2(b) design has a zero far from unit circle, which is corresponding to the slower attenuation compared to the other design. The zeros around the unit circle are similar to each other. > Part 3: Equiripple Method (a) Using Matlab's firgr function to meet the original design specification (uniform error weight) Worst gain = 1.6646 Largest tap weight coefficient = 0.3500 Maximal passband error = 0.0538 Maximal stopband error = 0.0538 ** Filter #1 is the 3(a) design, and Filter #2 is the â€Å"boxcar† design. From the comparison above, we can see that the â€Å"boxcar† design has a more critical passband and stopband edge, but the 3(a) one has a smaller maximal passband error. Also, the â€Å"boxcar† one has a larger attenuation on stopband than the 3(a) one. The group delay responses of two designs are the same. (b) Using Matlab's firpm function to meet the original design specification Worst gain = 1.6639 Largest tap weight coefficient = 0.3476 Maximal passband error = 0.0638 Maximal stopband error = 0.0594 ** Filter #1 is the 3(a) design, and Filter #2 is the 3(b) design. From the comparison above, we can see that the 3(b) design has a more critical passband and stopband edge. And the stopband error is 0.0488 (which is consistent with 0.0538*(1-20%)=0.04304), the passband error is 0.0639 (which is consistent with 0.0538/(1-20%)=0.06725). The group delay responses of two designs are the same. (c) The zeros of the two equiripple designs ** Filter #1 is the 3(a) design, and Filter #2 is the 3(b) design. From figure above, we can see that 3(a) design has a zero far from unit circle, which is corresponding to the slower attenuation compared to the other design (almost no attenuation on the figure shown ). There is only one zero stays outside the unit circle for 3(b) design, which is the minimum phase design. > Part 4: Testing (a)Table the features for the 7 designed FIRs: Features Filter #1 Filter #2 Filter #3 Filter #4 Filter #5 Filter #6 Filter #7 Maximum gain 1.8372 1.4154 1.6900 1.5990 1.6771 1.6646 1.6639 Maximum passband linear 0.1678 0.0052 0.0706 0.0403 0.0516 0.0538 0.0638 Maximum passband error(dB) -15.5052 -45.7568 -23.0266 -27.8855 -25.7472 -25.3838 -23.9007 Maximum stopband linear 0.0795 0.2385 0.0852 0.1137 0.0782 0.0538 0.0594 Maximum stopband error(dB) -21.9886 -12.4495 -21.3913 -18.8858 -22.1339 -25.3838 -24.5274 Group delay 11 11 10 11 11 11 11 Largest tap weight coefficient 0.3694 0.3496 0.3500 0.3477 0.3464 0.3500 0.3476 (b) From the figure followed, we can figure out that the group delay is 22-11=11 samples regardless of the input frequency. (c) Compare the original, mirror, and complement FIR's impulse, magnitude frequency, and group delay response **Filter #1 is the original filter, Filter #2 is the mirror filter, and Filter #3 is the complement filter. (d) Maximal output is 1.8372, which equals to the worst gain prediction of this filter. > Part 5: Run-time Architecture (a) N = 8, M=1; N = 12, M=1; N = 16, M=1; Round off error N=8 N=12 N=16 From the comparison above, we can see clearly that as the value of N increases, the round-off error decreases. Bits of precision is N-1-1=N-2 (b) Choose two 12-bit address space which has memory cycle time of 12 ns, so the maximum run-time filter speed is 1/ (12ns/cycle*16 bits) =1/ (192 ns/filter cycle) =5.21*106 filter cycles/sec > Part 6: Experimentation (a) The maximal of the output time-series is 1.1341. It is reasonable, because it is smaller than the worst case gain which is 1.8372. So this agrees with the predicted filter response. (b) The â€Å"chirp† function makes a short, high-pitched sound, and it sounds four times, which is corresponding to the 4*fs. When all the .wav files are played, we can hear obviously that the frequency of output sound is much lower than the frequency of input sound, which means that the filter did filter high-frequency components out. From the figure above, we can see the high-frequency components are gone, which agrees with the predicted filter response, a low-pass filter. Summary: Through this project, the detailed processes of designing a filter by three different methods have been understood. And we know more about all the parameters which would affect properties of the filters, and how to use different methods to design them and make best trade-off between each other.

And of Clay We Are Created Essay

â€Å"..The weeping of orphans and wails of the injured filled the air, the little girl obstinately clinging to life became the symbol of the tragedy.† In the short story, â€Å"And of Clay Are We Created† Isabel Allende creates a story about a young girl who is trapped beneath gravel and mud. The author uses many different strategies to create this story. Allende utilizes imagery and tone to convey a better understanding of the story and its characters. One literary device Allende uses to enhance the story is imagery. Allende states, â€Å"..She was also held by the bodies of her brothers and sisters clinging to her legs.†(987). This quote tells the reader why Azucena, the young girl, was in pain while they tried freeing her from the mud. This quote is a good example of imagery because it makes the reader imagine younger siblings holding on for their lives, hoping that their older sister can save them. This quote helps the story create sympathy in the reader because losing a sibling can be one of the hardest things to do, but knowing that you were the one responsible to save them, but couldn’t and have them still there holding on, is an unimaginable feeling that Azucena dealt with. Isabel Allende uses imagery in the story many times. One of the many examples that stood out was when Allende states, â€Å"†¦Amputating arms without anesthesia.†(989). This informs the reader how people that were injured had to be treated without any anesthesia, which made it extremely painful. This quote demonstrates the use of imagery because it creates a very vivid gruesome picture in the readers mind by letting them know the extreme pain the people had to go through to be cured. This quote affects the story by emphasizing pain into the readers thinking. The author also uses good diction to establish a melancholy tone in the story. Allende mentions, â€Å"The sky is weeping.†(989). This tells the reader that it is raining, in a more dramatic way. This quote creates a melancholy tone because it instills a depressing feeling for the reader by showing that Azucena’s situation is so sad, even the skies were crying for her. Another  quote that Allende uses to establish a melancholy tone is, â€Å"†¦I felt his frustration, his impotence.†(989). In this quote Allende is stating that the character, Rolf, was so frustrated that she too, felt it. This extends the melancholy tone because it makes the reader feel sorry for Rolf since he feels weak and powerless due to the fact he cannot do anything to help Azucena. Using the good quotes, Isabel Allende makes the melancholy tone able to be seen clearly. In the story the author demonstrates imagery and tone to develop a better understanding of the story. Isabel Allende uses good examples of imagery to help the reader imagine the setting and what is happening in the story. She also uses diction to help set a tone for the story, to make the reader feel melancholy. Using imagery and tone makes a story more interesting and easier to understand, without them a story can be empty and plain losing the reader’s interest.