Thirteen Days Decision Process - 2313 Words

Thirteen Days† by Antony Gumi The â€Å"Thirteen Days† movie describes how the 35th president of United States of America (USA), John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis during the period of October 14-28, 1963. It shows how JFK’s leadership saved the world from having World War III (WWIII), or worse, Nuclear War. JFK’s crisis management and decision-making skills was tested during this period. He was under an extreme pressure, having the Cuban missiles were about to be ready to become operational and most of his Generals suggested him to launch a military strike, while he didn’t want to start a war and prefer to avoid one. To make things worse, the Joint Chiefs, who most of them were older than JFK, pressurized†¦show more content†¦Regarding informational processing roles, monitoring role was hold by JFK as he indirectly scanned for information (i.e. in the reality, the U-2 spy plane pilots were the ones who do the dangerous photo-taking mission) abou t the existence of Cuban Missiles and about how to remove those Missiles out of Cuba, including the investigation on Alexander Fomin’s background that he delegated to Kenny and FBI’s Walter Sheridan. To disseminate the information, JFK trusted Kenny to pass his message to the subordinates (e.g. JFK told Kenny to tell the Press Secretary, Pierre Salinger, the truth about the crisis issue). In addition to monitor and disseminator roles, the movie also showed how Robert McNamara, The USA Secretary of Defence, act as JFK’s spokesperson in Pentagon, making sure that no action was taken without JFK’s approval. Adlai Stevenson also got his share as a spokesperson as he represented and spoke for USA in the United Nation (UN). Personally, I think Adlai is the coolest character in this movie since he was the one who propose the idea of political negotiation (i.e. trading American’s missiles in Turkey with Soviet’s missiles in Cuba) which what in the e nd became the final solution of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I also love the part of the movie where he gave his counter-argument to Soviet’s Zorin at the UN Security Council meeting. Regarding decision-making roles, the cabinet andShow MoreRelatedJohn F. Kennedy s President Of The Cuban Missile Crisis902 Words   |  4 PagesThirteen Days In October of 1962 a pressing matter arose during John F. Kennedy’s presidential term. It was made apparent that the Soviet Union was holding and building missiles in Cuba, it was named the Cuban missile crisis. Being a dangerously close country to the United States, JFK knew he needed to make a smart and safe decision, and fast. Kennedy had suspicions that this option would cause a third World War and end in a nuclear fallout. Kennedy’s determination to be a participative leader wasRead MoreThe Door to Annihilation: Who Dares to Open it? Essay1346 Words   |  6 Pages In October of 1962, the world came close to annihilation for thirteen days. It is caused by the Soviet Union’s clandestine action of putting nuclear missiles in Cuba, which the United States perceived as an offensive and dangerous move. The two countries know that they are capable of destroying the entire world with the nuclear weapons, so they plan each step slowly and carefully. If there is an y mistakes in the process, the price is destruction of every human civilization. Policies like brinksmanshipRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Mother1192 Words   |  5 Pagesperson that I fondly admired. This person whom I aspired to be was my mother. Waking up to her returning home from a long twelve-hour night shift to share some details of the night she endured were a few of my earliest memories that I treasure to this day. In hindsight in my adult years I ponder over whether it was my youthful childhood imagination that was so fascinated and intrigued by these stories that my mom shared of her intense, at times grueling profession or if it was an early sign of my peakedRead MoreJohn F. Kennedy s Decision Making Process1186 Words   |  5 PagesStates, John F. Kennedy is arguably among the most successful presidents to hold the mantle of commander in chief. However, this degree was not achieved due to his infallible leadership and decision making skills. For this reason, I would like to investigate the extent to which John F. Kennedy’s decision-making process changed from the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the Cuban Missile crisis during his presidency. I chose the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis because the first is an event in JohnRead MoreMy Adolescent And Early Adulthood Story845 Words   |  4 Pagessometimes made me feel like I was a late bloomer when I actually was not. Eighth grade is where I really noticed a lot of changes that were going on with me. Puberty was very noticeable through me. I say the biggest change that I noticed at the age of thirteen was my voice changing. I still can remember to this date that of a conversation I was having with my friends and my voice randomly just rose in pitch. It was so embarrassing because all of my friends laughed at me. There were also other instancesRead MoreThe Establishment Of The One Child Policy932 Words   |  4 Pagescreating single-child homes (DeLauche) . As a result of the controversial policy, orphanages began filling with Chinese children, predominately girls, for adoption in order to uphold the new legislation of one child per family. Because of this sole decision of the People’s Republic of China, my childhood consisted of two cultures: Chinese and American. For, as an infant, I was adopted by a single mom in America. Shortly after my thirteenth birthday, my mother announced to my sister, Caroline, andRead MoreA Look Into The True Art Of War945 Words   |  4 Pages011-14 CW4 Willingham, Jeffrey 21 October 2014 Contrary to popular belief the origin of The Art of War is unknown. Written in the age of knights and gentleman Sun Tzu has written a timeless classic in the basic roots of military strategy and war. The thirteen chapters of knowledge can relate to anything from modern warfare to personal development. 1. The Analects and origin of a timeless classic in military strategy A. The Analects of Sun Tzu B. Laying plans, Waging War, and attacksRead MoreThe Sunrise Enabler Framework Is Developed By Madeleine M. Leininger1709 Words   |  7 PagesLeininger’s Enabler model and her seven domains, the following questions will be asked during this interview: What language do you speak at home with family members? What is the highest educational level you have attained? Who makes the financial decisions? Who makes up your social network? With what cultural group(s) do you affiliate with? Are there any cultural sanctions, restrictions, or values health care providers should know about? What nutritional factors are influenced by your cultural backgroundRead MoreEducation, Religion, Crime, Freedom Of Speech, Or Search And Seizure Essay1290 Words   |  6 Pagesimpact on education and why future teachers need to be aware of the legal decision of this case. My court case I picked is the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens versus Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971). According to the Court Case Complaint, the topic was the right to education for all children with disabilities. The people involved were the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens, thirteen parents of children with disabilities such as Horace Bowman and his daughterRead MoreNeorealism: War Avoided in Thirteen Days1529 Words   |  6 PagesThe film Thirteen Days chronicles the clash between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Told from the perspective of American Kenny O’Donnell, the movie depicts the discovery of missiles in Cuba, followed by deliberations on an appropriate response and the United States’ decision to enact a blockade. Though relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were precarious for a time during the film, eventual negotiations between the two succeeded in avert ing

Evolution of Thought Essay - 1086 Words

Evolution of Thought It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. –Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species I knew very little about and did not have much interest in evolution, systematics and biodiversity prior to the first week of this class. The knowledge I had about these topics came from introductory courses and what I was being told by my family. I soon†¦show more content†¦Parasites, despite their simple body plan, are incredibly complex because they use host organisms to complete their life cycles. Some parasites may have more than three different hosts. Parasites are also very specialized due to their loss of certain body structures over time. Some parasites lack a digestive tract, for instance. This marked the beginning of a new understanding of evolution for me. A better and new understanding of systematics and biodiversity was also established after the initial shock of learning that parasites are extremely complex and highly specialized organisms had passed. After reading the two articles found on e-res (Cracraft and Simpson, 1994 and Savage, 1995) and There’s a Hair In my Dirt: A Worms Story (1998), I have a new appreciation for the study of systematics and especially biodiversity. The article Systematics and the Biodiversity Crisis explains the importance of systematics and biodiversity. In the article, Savage relates biodiversity to systematics stating that biodiversity is essential to the study of systematics and vice versa. Savage states that the primary goal of systematics is to explain evolutionary lineage and its affect on life. He explains that systmatics, in order to achieve this goal, involves taxonomy, phylogenetics, classification and taxagenetics. SavageShow MoreRelatedThe Evolution of Management Thought2221 Words   |  9 PagesThe Evolution of Management Thought Khalil Said University of Phoenix The Evolution of Management Thought The evolution of management thoughts and theories in modern management thinking began in the nineteenth century and continued during the twentieth. The need to define management and the role of managers led to the foundation of management theories through experience of the pioneer thinkers. Classical management theory focused on dividing the labors and tasks execution. Classical eraRead MoreThe Evolution of Management Thought2925 Words   |  12 PagesThe Evolution of Management Thought Through the practice of management and the continued development of commerce and wealth we are transforming our lives. In Massachusetts (USA) in the 1850s the life expectancy of a male would have been 37 years of age and a female 40: in 1929 it was 58 for a male and 61 for a female; nowadays life expectancy would be in the region 70-80 years. While appreciating the past success of ‘management’ we would also recognize that today’s accelerating pace of change isRead MoreEvolution of Accounting Thought6174 Words   |  25 Pagesresearch 1. Introduction Accounting in the world today is a highly developed research discipline and a well-organised and structured profession. We trace the development of accounting as a well-recognised discipline and profession, and the evolution of accounting thought, over many centuries. The practice of accounting today is directed and constrained by the pronouncements of professional bodies and by the requirements of legal statutes in many different jurisdictions around the world. It was not alwaysRead MoreEvolution of Management Thought2385 Words   |  10 PagesEVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHTS DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO MANAGEMENT: Management in all business areas and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or efforts for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulationRead MoreThe Evolution Of Science And Christian Thought Essay1758 Words   |  8 PagesChristian Thought November 30, 2016 I distinctly remember sitting in my 9th grade Biology class as Mr. Shorba projected the classic picture of an ape progressively evolving into a human, and explained to the class Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, being raised in a conservative Christian home, I did not listen to one word of the evolution lecture, as I had already made up my mind as to what I believed in. Although I still believe in creationism, my take on learning about evolution has drasticallyRead MoreThe Evolution of Western Thought Essay1502 Words   |  7 Pageshistory no other period of human evolution has had a greater effect on the way people think than the enlightenment. The philosophers and great thinkers of the enlightenment changed the logic of the human mind for the better and propelled a period of mass advancement in all aspects of society. Western thought progressed over time to help build a more intellectual society. Modern philosophers such as Max Horkheimer and Immanuel Kant incorpora ted their views of Western Thought into their political writingsRead MoreEvolution of the Management School of Thought4518 Words   |  19 PagesIntroduction The current management theory and practices did not pop out of thin air, they evolved over many years. The evolution of management thought is not clearly understood, but many tried to defined management in different ways starting from the early days. Even before the term management came to be realized it concepts was applicable in most part of the world; in the ancient world the ideas or concepts of sound organizational structure, the concepts management is group activity and other conceptsRead MoreEvolution Of Human Thought And Emotion2187 Words   |  9 PagesThroughout the entire course of human history there can be found, in tandem with the evolution of human thought and emotion, the evolution of art. Art was created by prehistoric human beings on cave walls using charcoals from the fires they needed for survival; from simple necessity came what was purely aesthetically pleasing and stimulating. Throughout the thousands of years of human existence, art has remained close to the human soul, and engrained in its society. Although, for as long as artRead MoreHistory And Evolution Of Management Thought3132 Words   |  13 Pagesï » ¿History and Evolution of Management Thought Content: Early Approaches to management Classical Approach Behavioral Approach Quantitative Approach Modern Approaches to management Emerging approaches in management thought. The changing nature of organizations and work, the drivers behind the changes, and the consequences for workers and the workplace â€Å"ENTERING AN ERA OF DYNAMIC ENGAGEMENT† Six different themes about management theory are emerging under the umbrella that we call dynamic engagementRead MoreThe Evolution Of Technology And The Demise Of Intellectual Thought2036 Words   |  9 Pages The Evolution of Technology and the Demise of Intellectual Thought Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has long been a staple of literature classes around the globe. And for years, the popular consensus has been that the main theme of the novel is censorship. When examining the political environment at the time of the book’s publishing, it is easy to understand why many readers identified with a message of suppression and government regulation. It was 1953 and American Senator Joseph McCarthy was

A Question to My Future Self free essay sample

I said â€Å"People may not be as perfect as they want to themselves to be but they are perfect for some people† Who am I? My name is Kim X. I am a high school student. I am a student with Courage. I don’t talk much and I’m pretty shy too and I like anime. I love my family and I want to help them in any way possible that’s within my power. I’d like to set goals to myself and like to earn a lot of money and then help my family on the rent and the resources. What I want in the future is to be able to do something that I’m not able to do or can’t do something in the present and so in the future I wanna be able to make it a reality the reason I said â€Å"Something† is because it is Classified. We will write a custom essay sample on A Question to My Future Self or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Something that I care and like to do and what I want is a Huge question to my future self to see if it’s achievable. Sports: I like volleyball but it may not look like it but I really do like Volleyball and I also like Basketball too because the sport makes every single muscle cooperate and it takes skill and a lot of time to play and perfect either a skill or the sport and it takes awhile to dribble while not looking at the ball and looking at the opponent instead also in volleyball I wanna have some more hops so that I can have fast reaction and have a higher hop than now and then I can finally be good at the sports that I want to be able to do that I was not able to do. Family and Goals: I’d like to set goals to myself to get a really good job and get paid lots and lots of money so I can help with my family pay rent and buy some of their resources for them so they can rest every day and do nothing and the reason I want this is because that they work so hard every single day and I can’t stand it and I just sit by and do nothing because every single time I wanna help they always say â€Å"It’s okay son, maybe when you’re older† and I think I’m old enough to help so I thought to myself if I help in another way then maybe they don’t have to do that much Labor work every single day.

Life in the 1920s to 1930s free essay sample

This paper describes the life of a young girl in the 1930s and 1940s. This paper describes the life of Mary V, an woman who is remembering back to her childhood and youth in Brooklyn during the hardships of the pre-War and Depression eras. It details domestic life, political life, social life, her education and other personal experiences through the eyes of a young girl. From the paper: Mary Veronica English was born on April 7, 1921 to a middle class family in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up she attended a Catholic grade school that was run by Nuns, who were very strict. Any form of disobedience would result in a ruler being slapped across her back, however that rarely happened. She was growing up at a time when corporate punishment was the norm in schools. The age-old adage of ?spoil the rod and spoil the child? was one that was used throughout the society. We will write a custom essay sample on Life in the 1920s to 1930s or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The society was still patriarchal and the parentsmainly the father, ruled the family. The children were obedient and religious and went to Church every Sunday. The people lived in close-knit communities and regardless of the fact that the Nuns ruled by the ruler, she liked most of the nuns and thought they taught much better than the public schools, because they took more time with each student.

Writing Prompts 101

Writing Prompts 101 Writing Prompts 101 Writing Prompts 101 By Simon Kewin Even if you are not a professional writer you probably already heard about writing prompts. They represent a very effective tool for any writing project, so its a good idea to know how to use them. What Is A Writing Prompt? If you’re a fiction writer, you may want to consider using writing prompts to kick-start your creativity. A writing prompt is simply a topic around which you start jotting down ideas. The prompt could be a single word, a short phrase, a complete paragraph or even a picture, with the idea being to give you something to focus upon as you write. You may stick very closely to the original prompt or you may wander off at a tangent. You may just come up with rough, disjointed notes or you may end up with something more polished and complete, a scene or even a complete story. The point is to simply start writing without being held back by any inhibitions or doubts. Here are four good reasons for writing to prompts : Sometimes it’s hard to start writing when faced with a blank page. Focusing on an unrelated prompt for a while helps get the creative juices flowing. If you write for just ten minutes on a prompt, you should then find it easier to return to the piece you intended to write. You may also find that if you stop trying to think so hard about what you wanted to write and switch you attention to the prompt instead, the words and ideas for your original piece start to come to you after all. The things you write in response to a prompt may also end up as worthwhile material in their own right. The prompt may give you ideas from which a complete story grows or you may get fresh ideas for another piece you are already working on. It’s often surprising how much material you come up with once you start. Writing to a prompt regularly helps to get you into the habit of writing. This can act as a sort of exercise regime, helping to build up your â€Å"muscles† so that you start to find it easier and easier to write for longer and longer. Prompts can be a great way to get involved in a writing community. Sometimes writing groups offer a prompt for everyone to write about, with the intention being for everyone to come up with something they can then share. This can be a source of great encouragement, although knowing that others will read what you have written can also inhibit your creativity. Examples of Writing Prompts The following are twenty writing prompts that you could use to spark your imagination. If you want to use one, don’t worry about where the ideas take you or whether what you’ve written is â€Å"good†. The point is just to get into the flow of writing. You can come back later and polish if you wish to. It was the first snowfall of the year. He hadn’t seen her since the day they left High School. The city burned, fire lighting up the night sky. Silk. She studied her face in the mirror. The smell of freshly-cut grass. They came back every year to lay flowers at the spot. The streets were deserted. Where was everyone? Where had they all gone? This time her boss had gone too far. Red eyes. Stars blazed in the night sky. He woke to birdsong. ‘Shh! Hear that?’ ‘I didn’t hear anything.’ He’d always hated speaking in public. She woke, shivering, in the dark of the night. The garden was overgrown now. He’d never noticed a door there before. She’d have to hitch a ride home. ‘I told him not to come back too!’ His feet were already numb. He should have listened. Where To Find Writing Prompts Online The internet is a wonderful source of writing prompts. There are sites dedicated to providing them which a quick search will turn up. Examples include : CreativeWritingPrompts.com WritersDigest.com Creative-Writing-Solutions.com Perhaps even more valuable are the lists compiled by authors and websites. Here are some suggestions: 200+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You There are numerous blogs that offer a regular writing prompt to inspire you and where you can, if you wish, post what you’ve written. Examples include : SundayScribblings.blogspot.com DragonWritingPrompts.blogspot.com There are also many other sites that can, inadvertently, provide a rich seam of material for writing prompts – for example news sites with their intriguing headlines or pictorial sites such as Flickr.com that give you access to a vast range of photographs that can prompt your writing. If you’re on Twitter, there are users you can follow to receive a stream of prompts, for example : twitter.com/writingprompt twitter.com/NoTelling twitter.com/writingink Another idea is just to keep an eye on all the tweets being written by people all over the world, some of which can, inadvertently, be used as writing prompts. How To Make Your Own Writing Prompts You can find ideas for writing prompts of your own from all sorts of places : snatches of overheard conversation, headlines, signs, words picked from a book and so on. Get used to keeping an eye out for words and phrases that fire your imagination, jot them down and use them as writing prompts to spark your creativity. You never know where they might take you. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should AvoidHow to Punctuate with â€Å"However†Capitalizing Titles of People and Groups

The Difference Between Sore vs. Soar

The Difference Between Sore vs. Soar The words soar and sore are English homophones, meaning they sound alike but have different meanings. Definitions The verb soar means to rise or fly high in the air. Soar also means to rise above the ordinary level. As an adjective, sore means feeling pain, sorrow, distress, or resentment. The noun sore refers to a blister or some other source of pain or irritation. Examples Oscar watched the spotted eagle soar and then sweep low.The housing market in Canadas largest  cities has priced out many would-be buyers, leaving them stuck in their current homes as new listings hit  six-year lows and prices soar.(Reuters, Moving on Up? Not in This Canadian Housing Market. The New York Times, June 8, 2016)Another time  she  wakened to see a ball of fire, a kind of lit-up soap bubble, soar from one roof to another and sink behind it. She was aware that what she saw was the spirit of someone who had just died.(Isaac Bashevis Singer, The Key. A Friend of Kafka and Other Stories, 1970)If you feel sore after exercising, you may need to wait a day or two before you stretch.Even a small loan between friends can become a sore point in the relationship.The Chambers of Commerce are still trying to build a freeway through the Ozarks, and I am  still sore about  it.(Roy Reed, Looking for Hogeye.  University of North Carolina Press, 1986) Idiom Alerts The expression sore loser refers to someone who becomes angry or upset after losing a fair competition.In public he was willing to laugh at himself but in private he was not, and whether the game was billiards or business, he  was a very sore loser. When he could fire the men he thought had betrayed him he would.(John D. Seelye, Mark Twain in the Movies. Viking, 1977)The expression sore spot refers to something thats physically or mentally painful or sensitive.Though she had long since grown used to my dedication at the office and now accepted it as part of my character, I knew it had always been  a sore spot with  her.(Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding. Perfection Learning, 2005)The expression sight for sore eyes  refers to someone or something thats a welcome sight and/or particularly attractive.My!  Mrs. Evans! you are certainly a  sight for sore eyes!  I dont know how you manage to look so unruffled and cool and young! With all those children.(James Baldwin,  Blues for Mister Charlie. Dial Press, 1964) Practice Quiz (a) In 1903, the Wright Brothers became the first humans to _____  aloft in a power-driven airplane.(b) After spending the night on the living room sofa, I woke up feeling _____  all over.(c) The  Evening Star Baptist Church was crowded  when I arrived and the service had begun. The members were rousing a song, urging the music to _____  beyond  all physical boundaries.(Maya Angelou,  Singin and Swingin and Gettin Merry Like Christmas. Random House, 1997) Answers to Practice Exercises (a) In 1903, the Wright Brothers became the first humans to soar aloft in a power-driven airplane.(b) After spending the night on the living room sofa, I woke up feeling sore all over.(c) The  Evening Star Baptist Church was crowded  when I arrived and the service had begun. The members were rousing a song, urging the music to soar beyond  all physical boundaries.(Maya Angelou,  Singin and Swingin and Gettin Merry Like Christmas. Random House, 1997)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The Origins and Effects of Inequality Essay

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The Origins and Effects of Inequality - Essay Example The Dedication to the Republic of Geneva summarized the essence of Rousseau's views in the following statement: "If I had had to make choice of the place of my birth, I should have preferred a society which had an extent proportionate to the limits of the human faculties; in which every person is equal to his occupations, no one should be obliged to commit to others the functions with which he was entrusted; a State, in which all the individuals being well known to one another, and in which the pleasant custom of seeing and knowing one another should make the love of country rather a love of the citizens than of its soil"(Rousseau, 1993, pp.32-33). The Republic of Geneva was perfectly lining with Rousseau's understanding of an ideal state: a moderate democracy occupying an adequate territory, governed mostly by the laws based on traditions with citizens living relatively plain and calm life. The main paradox emphasized by Rousseau is the following: people prescribe laws to other people without proper knowledge about the natural state of human being. However, this natural law did not exist in contemporary European society that "offered a corrupt form of the species and the inequality inherent in its societies should not be taken as a standard for assessing either other cultures or other species" (Moran, 1993, p.140). For Rousseau who believed that human character was "deeply shaped by society" (Divine, 2000, p.291) it seemed impossible to unveil the true nature of humans in the European context where people had been squeezed by unfair laws and customs for centuries. The philosopher argued that the true measure of a man that would not depend upon contemporary laws and customs could be found only in 'natural' places such as African jungles. Rousseau drew strong parallels between the natural state of human beings and the state of animals. Human beings began as animals having no potent mean of communication such as language, and could not convey much of their knowledge and experience to their offspring, lacked foresight and history. These seemingly disadvantageous features gave the natural men one essential benefit: they did not suffer from the fear of death while contemporary humans feared death virtually every moment of their life (Rousseau, 1993, p.52). Rousseau positioned the natural man "at equal distances from the stupidity of brutes and the fatal enlightenment of civil man" (Rousseau, 1993, p.53). For Rousseau the fatality of enlightenment or civilization meant that it deprived man of the natural desire to exploit the potential of his body to full extent making it an instrument in achieving the balance with nature: "The body of a savage man being the only instrument he understands, he uses it for various purposes, of which ours, for want of practice, are incapable: for our industry deprives us of that force and agility" (Rousseau, 1993, p.53). Civilization brought the understanding that cooperation and mutual help would improve the results of labour, and in the process of such cooperation humans came to realize that some men were better hunters, some were better thinkers, some were stronger, etc. The understanding of inequalities between human beings was, in Rousseau’s opinion, the crucial point: â€Å"†¦from the moment one man began to stand in need of the help of another; from the moment it appeared advantageous to any one man to have enough provisions for two, equality disappeared, property was introduced, work became indispensable, and vast forests became smiling fields, which man had to water with the sweat of his brow, and where slavery and misery were soon seen to germinate and grow up with the crops† (Rousseau, 1993, p.74).     

Barry Tomatoland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Barry Tomatoland - Essay Example A major downside of these industrially grown tomatoes is their lack of taste, as compared to organically grown tomatoes that re provided with the necessary nutrients and care required. Estabrook gives a rather interesting history of the tomato plant, tracing it back to its original habitat in South America, and provides a great difference between the tomatoes produced today in areas as Florida and those that are grown naturally. The use of industrial agriculture to grow these tomatoes has numerous negative effects to the quality of tomatoes produced and especially to the workers who work in those farms. This paper aims to look at two main issues Estabrook highlights facing the tomato industry and possible solutions to help solve them. Estabrook depicts the state of Florida as the worst state to grow tomatoes given its very poor soils and the high levels of humidity recorded in the state. The tomatoes are grown on sandy soil, which lacks the very important nutrients required for adequ ate growth of most crops, and therefore farmers have to utilize chemical fertilizers in order to make the sand soil a suitable planting medium. The sunny weather and high humidity in the state provide an adequate atmosphere for the existence of many pests and insects such as spots, blights, and molds that pose a serious danger for producing healthy tomatoes. Estabrook explains a disturbing picture of modern-day slavery in one of the most democratic country in the world where people enjoy various rights and freedoms. He clearly shows some of the harsh conditions that most laborers working in these tomato farms undergo, especially in Immokalee, Florida, the major growing area for winter tomatoes. Most of these workers are illegal immigrants, mostly from Mexico, and cannot speak neither Spanish nor English, which places them at a disadvantage. Some of these immigrants are brought into the country through illegal human trafficking channels and are usually tortured and mistreated and sur vive in very poor living conditions, mostly without enough food and proper sanitary facilities. They work very hard and are paid very low wages that are paid irregularly. It is very disturbing to imagine a worker

Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Essay Example for Free

Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Essay Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Introduction Question 1 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Formal teams are teams whose structures are clearly defined mainly of the basis of specialization. In these types of teams, the members are not equal and every one of them has a rank (Moorhead Griffin, 73). For example, there are managers, supervisors and other junior employees. It is worthy noting that every member of a formal team performs their specific duties. For example, managers stay in their offices and issues directives to their juniors. On the other hand, informal teams have no structure and all team members are seen as equal regardless of their specialty. In these types of teams, any member can perform any task. Question 2 A team in Starbucks consists of three to six people and this helps the employees to know each other well. Any opinion expressed by employees is given an equal significance regardless of their position. The top management at Starbucks work together with their juniors which makes them more familiar and closer compared to other bureaucratic companies. The management at Starbucks treats all employees as equals and this is aimed at reducing the gap between the employees and the management. The top management at the company believes that employees are its main spirit. Consequently, the management adopts an interactive organizational structure that makes the employees love their jobs and perform them with passion. Question 3 a) The size of a team is an important factor because it determines how well the team members know each other. This is important because it brings about cohesion in the work place. b) The first benefit of Starbucks having small teams of staff in every branch is that the team members get to know each other better. Secondly, it improves communication within the group. Question 4 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   From the Starbucks case study, it is clear that there are three major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process namely listening to the opinion of its employees, equal treatment and ensuring good welfare for the employees. Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Equal treatment- this is one of the major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process. Equal treatment requires all employees to be treated equally regardless of their position. According to the case study, it is clear that the management at the company treats all employees as equals and refers to them as partners. This is important because it narrows the gap between the employees and the management. Treating every employees fairly and equally in the workplace results in a friendly working environment. Consequently, if the issue of equal treatment is addressed in the planning process, it will help in creating closer working atmosphere and good management (Rynes Rosen 64). Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   Listening to the employees- listening to the employees is other issue that requires to be addressed in the planning process. From the Starbucks case, it is clear that the company wants every employee to take part in developing plans and work as a team to achieve the set goals. Consequently, the company’s principles and policies are communicated to all employees, and there is no restriction in the employee’s individual opinions. By listening to the employees, makes them feel important which in turn motivates them hence increasing their productivity (Rynes Rosen, 83). References Moorhead, G., Griffin, R. W. Managing organizational behavior. (10th ed.). Cengage Learning., 2012. Print Rynes, S., Rosen, B. A field survey of factors affecting the adoption and perceived success of diversity training. Personnel Psychology, 1995. Print Source document

journalism Essay -- essays research papers

In my twenty years and some months existence in this world, I’ve been fortunate enough to live a secured life. I believe food and shelter are two of the most important essentials in life, and I’ve never had to worry about food not being on the table or if I had a place to sleep at night which is why I consider myself to have a secure life. Volunteering at Simpson Housing helped me realize many things in life, and also made me wonder why some people are so fortunate in life while others struggle to survive in this world. Prior to Simpson Housing, I was vaguely familiar with the issue of homelessness. I only knew the basis of it, but never fully understood it. There are a lot of misconceptions and stereotypes about the homeless and I’ve learned that you can’t really judge until you’ve experienced it. You hear a lot of bad things about homeless people- they’re lazy, drug addicts, bums, freeloaders, etc†¦ It’s easy to focus on the bad because you remember the bad more than the good. It must be hard for homeless people because they are pre-judged without even getting to be known. They get rejected before getting a chance. I will admit that I did believe some of the misconceptions of homeless people because I had one negative experience. When I was younger, my family and I used to go eat at Rainbow, a Chinese restaurant, in Minneapolis. We always went at night and on the way home, there was a strip where all the homeless people would camp out. I couldn’t believe people had to live like that. I’ve had several encounters with homeless people where they’d come up to me asking for money until this once incident. I was with my dad and this lady and her son approached us asking for some help. I had always given a dollar or two before, but I saw she had a son so I convinced my dad to give them five dollars. They seemed to be really gracious of our donation and we felt really good about helping them. Five minutes later, we saw the lady and her son drive away in a brand new Toyota Camry. My dad and I were completely stunned. I was so angry. There are so many others that could’ve used the money we had given. The lady took advantage of us, and completely had no morals whatsoever. However, that did not stop me from wanting to give help to the needy. Instead of giving them money, I give them food. I know it’s not exactly that same, but I still do feel that I am helping them. ... ... but I certain some people have no control over it and that really saddens me. My heart goes out to homeless children because they are so young. They have so much more to worry about when they should only be focusing on having fun as a child and getting their education. However; instead of being able to focus on school, they have to focus on surviving.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Life isn’t fair, but then again what is in life? Situations like homelessness is not something many can touch base with, but it is something we can all take part in to help reduce it. No one deserves to live a life where nothing at all is certain. With so many mistaken beliefs on homeless people, those who are fortunate in life need to realize that those who are homeless are strong in heart. They don’t give up and they keep living each day in hope for a better tomorrow. I’ve learned through volunteering at Simpson Housing is that you have to take the good with the bad and learn from it all. Don’t let the bad hold you down and you should embrace it and turn it into something positive. Whatever may come your way, you should appreciate it because it only helps you grow into the person you are to become.

Gender in the Matrix Essay

The Matrix became one of the most notable films released in 1999 which provided rich visual effects and a thrilling storyline. Most of the scenes from this film play within the context of the future, a visual offering of year 2199 wrapped in virtual reality where machines govern and control human actions. Though the film deals with the relationship between machines and humans, every character in the plot represents an underlying gender-related interaction. Since the film basically revolves on the cyber world in the form of a simulation created by machines, gender specific plots are not explicitly conveyed throughout the whole duration of The Matrix. The following discussion will focus on some of the gender dynamics present within the film. The paper will analyze some parts of the film where norms of gender are either contradicted or affirmed. As previously mentioned, the world in which the main characters believed to be real, is manipulated by intelligent machines. These machines utilized human body heat to convert into energy while they control human behaviors within the matrix. In the general sense machines are considered as a non-living thing created by man and from this perspective, machines do not have a specific gender. In this film they can be considered as androgynous, the Agents who can take any virtual body for their usage is an example on how the machines in this film are androgynous. Contrary to the real world, these androgynous machines have the power over humans with no concept of male and female. Somehow, it projects a balanced and equal form of gender treatment. First of all, there is no direct interaction between genders since their physical bodies are trapped inside a tank connected to the simulation. Second, all humans are used and contained for a single purpose that no other humans can dominate. Seeing the domination of machines as a projection of gender balance, the concept of the â€Å"ONE† enters the scene. It has been revealed from the start that Neo – the male protagonist of the film – is the savior of the human kind. This can be regarded as an obvious manifestation of upholding patriarchy, since the real world is where men are associated with power. From the world matrix where men and women are controlled, a man is predicted by the Oracle to save the humans from the machine’s imprisonment. Naturally, to the film’s audience, Neo’s success is attributed to the male strength and the power of patriarchy. The female character of Trinity shows her strength which is equal to her male counterparts. However, this strength seems to compliment her appearance which resembles Neo, who has the same shape of face, same sunglasses, and same battle moves. From earlier scenes of the film, Neo mistaken her for a man who cracked a difficult code called IRS d-base (The Matrix 1999), a scene where intelligence are stereotyped among males is reinforced. This film has been said to draw out some of its concept from theological concepts. Neo being the ONE symbolized as the God who is the savior of humankind while Trinity – derived from God’s three dimensional forms – represents Neo not just in physical traits. The kiss she gave to Neo when he died miraculously revived him which can be compared to the Holy Spirit (Diaz-Diocaretz & Herbrechter 200). The issue of gender in The Matrix tackles the usual gender norms of exhibiting male power and dominance. The balance of gender interaction within the simulated environment became the antagonist throughout the film where the characters try to escape. Agent Smith said that the real world is shaped by misery and suffering and the purpose for the creation of the Matrix is to build a perfect world for humans where everyone is treated equally. Ironically, the concept of equality in the film is one thing that needs to be eradicated. Works Cited Diaz-Diocaretz, Myriam. , and Herbrechter, Stefan. The Matrix in Theory. New York: Rodopi, 2006. The Matrix. Dir. Wachowski Brothers. Perf. Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. Warner Bros. , 1999.

Yeats Easter

â€Å"Easter 1916† – manuscripts the events of Easter revolution in Ireland. It was Written in 1916 and Published only in 1921. The Question remains in the readers mind that â€Å"Was the revolution really necessary or was it unnecessary death? † The language in poem is simple and straight which makes use of figure of speech like slimly and metaphor. The poem conveys the moral that individual, war, friendship and relationship are more important in the world.We must have self control and shouldn't complain if the things go wrong. In the poem Yeats is taking the role of flamers and he is giving the description of normal dally lives of people. He also tells that he wants to go and meet his friends at theatre and say â€Å"A terrible beauty Is born†. This shows a dualistic nature of rising. It said a terrible beauty because It caused death and beauty of their step towards Independence. The revolution caused many problems which ruined the normal days of people as shown in the poem.Yeats describe about a revolutionist woman leader to be placed at a cabinet position ho is both a socialist and politician. She was left alone in Ireland by her husband who moved to Ukraine. She belongs to IIRC and designed uniform and national anthem for IIRC. RIB Leaders includes Patrick Pears: Leader of RIB, teacher, poet, nationalist and activist. Pears, he was the head of RIB and he delivered the proclamation speech on 24th of April at General Post Office. The second includes McBride: Member of RIB, husband to Yeats Love; Maude Gonne.Thirdly, James Connelly: Who Founded Irish Republican Society and Irish Citizen Army he was ideation at G. P. O leading 150 rebels as commandment- General. Followed by Marketable a Nationalist, suffragette and socialist, she Is also a first woman to hold cabinet position In world. She Designed uniforms and composed anthem for RIB. She motivated and inspired many other revolutionist. Lastly Macdonald: who contributed to the Proc lamation speech. He was stationed at Jacob Biscuit. They planned a movement during the early spring to actually revolt against British rules.By then England was heavily involved in war with their allies. Irish nationalists ND revolutionist thought it would be great opportunity to fight for the revolution. They made friends with Germany and got helped in terms of weapons and ammos to fight against Britain. Yeats have written this poem as legacy in memory of Macdonald, McBride, Connelly, and Pears who are all untied by their commitment to their dream of freedom, giving Ireland everything they could for the good thing to happen.Yeats continues to say, wherever the split of Ireland Is represented by people wearing the color â€Å"green,† and those people will be forever changed-Yeats also describes how nature is corresponding to the Irish revolution which is very that is to achieve freedom for Ireland as if like a stone which can be resembled as an island of destiny because of th eir excessive love towards Ireland which made them revolt against British rules. Revolution is simply disturbing the social lives of people and their privacy.It means if the revolution continues then there is the chance that people will become emotionalism with heart in nature which can further more lead to much destruction. Yeats says only God can help. Though Ireland is happy for its independence Yeats is not as happy about the revolution as he says that those revolutionaries were very impatient to gain independence as British rules has actually promised the homeland for self governing but revolutionaries were so eager to fight.The revolution left 300 civilians, 200 soldiers & revolutionist dead, 2500 wounded, 15 leaders executed and 1841 sent to prison. The main theme if the poem is Art and politics which reflects Yeast's opinion of the British politics on Ireland. The Impact of fate and Divine on History is also included in the poem. He explains to us about the Fate and historic al determinism time. We can also see Yeast's transformation from being romantic poet to modernist poet. The poet has a perfect command over words.He has also deep insight in to human character. The characters of RIB have been pointed with great skills which seem simply is unforgettable. This shows the basic honesty and simplicity of the poet. The poem ends on a note of hope as the poem makes delightful reading simply because the very sincere about his ideas. He neither neither boasts nor hide anything. The toe is a patron of music and possesses a pictorial quality to build up an atmosphere of rare charm and reality.The quality of the poem is unquestionable. I can't name another poet which contains so much beauty as this person. The poem is very much optimistic and sentimental with the help of deep poetic inside. He creates realistic feeling in the readers mind. â€Å"Wherever green is worn/Are changed, changed utterly' these lines are unforgettable and a delight wonders. The poet o scillates between the present and the past, between Joy and despair and feels miserable.

Progress of Technology essays

Progress of Technology essays Personal computers were officially introduced just around 15 years ago and already changed our lives dramatically. People that were born around that time rely on computers a lot more than older generations. We use computers for just about everything like instant messaging, games, homework, music and e-mail; just to name a few. I think that advances in technology and, therefore, computers have mostly a positive effect on humans. They replace peoples jobs and do them millions of times faster. We wouldnt be able to launch any spaceships if it wasnt for the computer helping humans control it. Homework and research would take hours to complete because you would have to look for different sources everywhere and now you just log onto the internet and all known encyclopedias are at your fingertips. Computers these days can be found everywhere from being the brain of new cars and helping you drive without getting lost to just sitting on your arm and telling you the correct time. A computer isn't just the thing that sits on your desk to be used for word processing. They are amazing machines able to do things some people don't even think possible. Computers are helping humans live. They take off many responsibilities so people just watch the numbers on the screen and not worry about anything else as the computer does the rest. Computers also save lives. SWAT teams use them inside radio controlled robots that can disarm all sorts of bombs or even serve as a camera to go through small spaces that people can't get through. A computer is something not to be underestimated. Computers are not only becoming faster every day but they are also becoming smaller. Around 40 years ago, computers were as big as several rooms and needed thousands of times more power than a personal computer today. All they could do was simple arithmetic operations that nowadays can be performed on any tiny hand-held calculator. Soon people will carry their...

An Introduction to Black Holes

An Introduction to Black Holes Black holes are objects in the universe with so much mass trapped inside their boundaries that they have incredibly strong gravitational fields. In fact, the gravitational force of a black hole is so strong that nothing can escape once it has gone inside. Not even light can escape a black hole, it is trapped inside along with stars, gas, and dust. Most black holes contain many times the mass of our Sun and the heaviest ones can have millions of solar masses. This computer-simulated image shows a supermassive black hole at the core of a galaxy. The black region in the center represents the black holes event horizon, where no light can escape the massive objects gravitational grip. The black holes powerful gravity distorts space around it like a funhouse mirror. Light from background stars is stretched and smeared as the stars skim by the black hole. NASA, ESA, and D. Coe, J. Anderson, and R. van der Marel (Space Telescope Science Institute), Science Credit: NASA, ESA, C.-P. Ma (University of California, Berkeley), and J. Thomas (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany). Despite all that mass, the actual singularity that forms the core of the black hole has never been seen or imaged. It is, as the word suggests, a tiny point in space, but it has a LOT of mass. Astronomers are only able to study these objects through their effect on the material that surrounds them.  The material around the black hole forms a rotating disk that lies just beyond a region called the event horizon, which is the gravitational point of no return. The Structure of a Black Hole The basic building block of the black hole is the singularity: a pinpoint region of space that contains all the mass of the black hole. Around it is a region of space from which light cannot escape, giving the black hole its name. The outer edge of this region is what forms the event horizon. Its the invisible boundary where the pull of the gravitational field is equal to the speed of light. Its also where gravity and light speed are balanced. The event horizons position depends on the gravitational pull of the black hole. Astronomers calculate the location of an event horizon around a black hole using the equation  Rs 2GM/c2.  R is the radius of the singularity,  G is the force of gravity, M is the mass, c is the speed of light.   Black Hole Types and How They Form There are different types of black holes, and they come about in different ways. The most common type is known as a stellar-mass black hole.  These contain roughly up to a few times the mass of our Sun, and form when large main sequence stars (10 - 15 times the mass of our Sun) run out of nuclear fuel in their cores. The result is a massive supernova explosion that blasts the stars outer layers to space. Whats left behind collapses to create a black hole. An artists conception of a stellar-mass black hole (in blue) hat likely formed when a supermassive star collapsed, feeding from material ejected by a nearby star. ESA, NASA and Felix Mirabel) The two other types of black holes are supermassive black holes (SMBH) and micro black holes. A single SMBH can contain the mass of millions or billions of suns. Micro black holes are, as their name implies, very tiny. They might have perhaps only 20 micrograms of mass. In both cases, the mechanisms for their creation are not entirely clear. Micro black holes exist in theory but have not been directly detected. Supermassive black holes are found to exist in the cores of most galaxies  and their origins are still hotly debated. Its  possible that supermassive black holes  are the result of a merger between smaller, stellar-mass black holes and other matter. Some astronomers suggest that they might be created when a single highly massive (hundreds of times the mass of the Sun) star collapses.  Either way, they are massive enough to affect the galaxy in many ways, ranging from effects on starbirth rates to the orbits of stars and material in their near vicinity. Many galaxies have supermassive black holes at their cores. If they are actively eating, then they give off huge jets and are known as active galactic nuclei. NASA/JPL-Caltech Micro black holes, on the other hand, could be created during the collision of two very high-energy particles. Scientists suggest this happens continuously in the upper atmosphere of Earth and is likely to happen during particle physics experiments at such places as CERN.   How Scientists Measure Black Holes Since light can not escape from the region around a black hole affected  by the event horizon, nobody can really see a black hole. However, astronomers can measure and characterize them by the effects they have on their surroundings. Black holes that are near other objects exert a gravitational effect on them. For one thing, mass can also be determined by the orbit of material around the black hole. A model of a black hole surrounded by heated ionized) material. This may be what the black hole in the Milky Way looks like. Brandon DeFrise Carter, CC0, Wikimedia.  Ã‚  Ã‚   In practice, astronomers deduce the presence of the black hole by studying how light behaves around it. Black holes, like all massive objects, have enough gravitational pull to bend lights path as it passes by. As stars behind the black hole move relative to it, the light emitted by them will appear distorted, or the stars will appear to move in an unusual way. From this information, the position and mass of the black hole can be determined. This is especially apparent in galaxy clusters where the combined mass of the clusters, their dark matter,  and their black holes create oddly-shaped arcs and rings by bending the light of more distant objects as it passes by.   Astronomers can also see black holes by the radiation the heated material around them gives off, such as radio or x rays.  The speed of that material also gives important clues to the characteristics of the black hole its trying to escape. Hawking Radiation The final way that astronomers could possibly detect a black hole is through a mechanism known as Hawking radiation. Named for the famed theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, Hawking radiation is a consequence of thermodynamics that requires that energy escape from a black hole. The basic idea is that, due to natural interactions and fluctuations in the vacuum, the matter will be created in the form of an electron and anti-electron (called a positron). When this occurs near the event horizon, one particle will be ejected away from the black hole, while the other will fall into the gravitational well. To an observer, all that is seen is a particle being emitted from the black hole. The particle would be seen as having positive energy. This means, by symmetry, that the particle that fell into the black hole would have negative energy. The result is that as a black hole ages, it loses energy, and therefore loses mass (by Einsteins famous equation, EMC2,  where Eenergy, Mmass, and C is the speed of light). Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Organ Transplants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Organ Transplants - Essay Example If the black market is analyzed, it is seen that most of the sellers are poor while most of the buyers of organs are comparatively wealthy (Satz 10). Most of the organ transfers in the black market are from the poor to the rich, from the third world countries to the first world countries, from non-whites to whites and from females to males (Satz 10). Why is it that these trends reflect the long perceived inequalities in society? There certainly is a link between organ transplantation and societal inequalities, be it on an economic or a health front. This paper thus argues that organ transplants can cause inequality within society. Organ transplantation will demarcate and enhance the pre-existing inequalities in society. As per statistics laid out by the National Kidney Foundation, more than 89,000 patients in the US are currently awaiting organ transplant and about 4000 additional patients are added every month to the waiting list (unckidneycenter.org 1). Each day, 17 patients die waiting for a transplant (1). In 2004, 3,886 patients waiting for kidney transplant, 1,811 patients waiting for liver transplant, 457 patients waiting for heart transplant and 483 patients waiting for lung transplant died while waiting (1). Estimation of people who meet premature death simply waiting for organ transplants is difficult. Worldwide, it is estimated that 700000 patients are on dialysis and in need of kidneys (Erin and Harris 137). In Western Europe alone, 40,000 people wait for kidney transplantation while only 10,000 kidneys become available (137). It is thus obvious that there is a huge shortage of organs, so much so that governments worldwide are considering the prospects of a legalized organ market! Howev er, it is feared that such a market will lead to exploitation of those (such as the poor) who are in desperate need of money, or those (such as women or weak sections of society) who are forced to sell or donate their organs for various reasons.

Psychological-profiling-of-terrorists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychological-profiling-of-terrorists - Essay Example Before Israel was evicted, it had been involved in combat with the Palestine’s Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon. Israel had been involved in this war against the Palestine Liberation Organization in the Southern Lebanon where Israel had invaded and sieged Beirut. The Shia Muslim community then rebelled against Israel through guerrilla warfare after recognized that Israel had no aim of leaving Lebanon. This warfare was inducted by a political group in Lebanon known as the Amal Movement meaning hope (Azani, 2011).The Lebanese Shia Muslim Community had sympathized with the Israelites to get rid of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. This later turned to disillusionment when the Israelites held talks with only the ruling Christian pecking order. This infuriated the Muslims as they saw that they were not considered. They also rose up to establish Islamic rule over Lebanon. They had been disproportionately been represented in the country’s institutions. They also were involved in a war with the Israelites in 2006 which led to the death of 1000 Lebanese a 1,000,000 people were displaced. The war started as Lebanon attempted to pressure Israel to release them (Cordesman, 2007).Hezbollah used well laid suicide bombing, killings and by conquering soldiers in the other parts of the Middle East. They continued to fight the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) using suicide attacks. Later the Hezbollah turned into a paramilitary group where they changed their tactics from capturing the Israel soldiers into the use of missiles. and other explosives and detonations. Syria, at the finalization of the Lebanese war, took control over Lebanon and allowed the Hezbollah to keep their military weapons and to control the southern Lebanon and the Israel border (Azani, 2011). Later in 1990’s, Hezbollah turned to a political group where it was involved in elections in 1992 and won the 12 seats it had contested for in the electoral list. Later in 1997, Hezbollah established an army unit to fight against Israel Occupation. Later in the year 2000 Israel withdrew its militia from Lebanon. This signified the victory of Hezbollah. After the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from Lebanon, Hezbollah’s main aim had been accomplished and they now started expanding their influence over other terror groups such as the Palestinian groups in West Bank and Gaza by furnishing them with knowhow on military and even sponsored them financially and with equipments (Azani, 2011). Hezbollah provides social services to the Lebanese community through provision of hospitals and education through schools countrywide. Hezbollah has also organized a Martyr’s Institute which assures to offer living and education costs for their soldiers who die in wars. The United Nations also noticed through an IRIN news report that Hezbollah is not only armed and political wings but also has large social development program where it operates four hospitals, 11 clinics, 11 schools and 2

Student Misconceptions in Secondary Science Dissertation

Student Misconceptions in Secondary Science - Dissertation Example This topic is significant as it connects research to practice. The paper interviews 9 science teachers from three different high schools, and observes two of them in class while introducing a new concept. The research found that there exists a considerable alignment between research and practice with quite a considerable number of teachers employing researched recommendations to deal with student misconceptions. This is despite the fact that in comparison not many teachers have extensive knowledge of research report recommendations. Introduction When teachers instruct students on various concepts from a wide array of subjects, they often encounter students who already have their own preconceived ideas about the theories and concepts on how things work. This is more so in science subjects where children get to understand various aspects of science in their own ways before they are taught on such concepts. For instance some science students before being taught about the galaxy may think that the earth is the biggest planet there is and exists on its own, or they may think that the moon has its own light, or that it is the sun that moves around the earth rather the earth since they can see the sun move and not feel the earth tilt. Indeed research shows that when students come to class to learn they often have their own prior rich knowledge on how science works based on their own experiences, peer interactions, and also based on some science knowledge they have attained or the based on erroneous concepts taught by previous instructors (Yip, 1999:207; Bulunuz, Jarrett, & Bulunuz, 2008:32-33). Such prior knowledge or preconceptions may impact positive or negatively the learning process of a student. Guzzetti (2000:89) in her research report supports this impact by noting that that prior conceptions has on learning experiences by noting that students who hold prior views concerning a given concept do not easily give up these notions. This implies that breaking down misconceptions held by students so as to build correct is noted as one the toughest parts in teaching students of all ages. A mass body of knowledge in research has been dedicated in studying various science misconceptions held by students and recommendations passed forward on how teachers can deal with such misconceptions in order to ensure effective knowledge transfer to the students (Bulunuz, Jarrett, & Bulunuz, 2008; Guzzetti, 2000; Yip, 1998). No known study to the author though has so far reviewed and analysed how the use of such recommendations have been in class, or the degree to which such recommendations put down in research are adopted by secondary school teachers in dealing with misconceptions in science subjects. This research report seeks to cover this gap in knowledge and investigate by how far research meets practise by seeking to answer the research question: how well do science teachers us e research recommendations to deal with student misconceptions in science? Literature Review Student Science Misconceptions Guest (2003:2) defines student misconceptions as student’s viewpoints that are different from the conventionally known science knowledge where such beliefs are as a result of previous experience. Others such as Bulnuz, Jarret and Bulunuz (2008:32) and Thompson and Logue (2006:553) view student misconceptions as ideas that provide a crooked and incorrect way to understand about scientific concepts and which may be as a result of personal experiences, everyday language, media or even incorrect instructional material or incorrect ideas from some instructors. These misconceptions are often deep-rooted and tend to be difficult to change (Thompson and Logue, 2006; Guest, 2003: Chi, 2005).

The Role Of Teacher in Written Feedback

The Role Of Teacher in Written Feedback Teacher written feedback plays an essential role in a students writing process. It helps students identify their own strengths and weaknesses, which, in case of the latter, will make students know how to go about improving themselves and become effective writers (Penaflorida, 2002, p. 364). According to Ferris (2002), teacher feedback, if addressed effectively, can also contribute to students overall second language acquisition. Important as teacher written feedback is, there have been several studies comprehensively dealing with the issue. Even with those that do, there exists a lack of consensus over such matters as what aspects teacher feedback should focus on, which forms of feedback are preferable to students, etc. In the context of teaching writing in Vietnam, few studies have been conducted on feedback in general and teacher written feedback in particular. The same situation could be seen at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities-Vietnam National University, Hanoi. In reality, neither an investigation into the current feedback giving practice nor students preferences for teacher written feedback has been carried out at the college. It is, therefore, an open question whether or not current teacher written feedback is beneficial to students at the college. All the aforementioned reasons urge the author to carry out the research entitled A study on teacher written feedback on 1st-year students writings at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities-Vietnam National University, Hanoi. This study is an attempt to examine the real situation of teacher written feedback at the CSSH and to propose some suggestions for the betterment of the current practice. The yielded results is hoped to serve as a useful source of reference for those who concern about the subject matter. I.2. Aims of the study This study is carried out with the aims to: investigate the current practice of teacher written feedback on 1st year students writings at the CSSH-VNU propose some recommendations for the betterment of teacher written feedback at the CSSH. I.3. Research questions In order to achieve the abovementioned aims, the study will be conducted to answer two research questions: In what ways is teacher written feedback given to the 1st-year-students writings at the CSSH VNU? What do 1st-year students at CSSH expect from teacher written feedback to make it more effective? I.4. Scope of the study The research will work on the current situation of teacher written feedback on the 1st-year student writings at CSSH-VNU. The subjects selected for this study are the 1st-year students who are studying English at college. Moreover, the research examines only teacher written feedback but not other types of feedback such as teacher-student conference or teacher taped comments, since teacher written feedback is the main type of feedback at the college. Chapter II: Literature Review This chapter, which reviews the overall background concerning teacher written feedback, will serve as the foundations based on which the study is carried out. II.1. Concept of teacher feedback in writing Concerning the matter of teacher feedback (or respond/commentary), there exist a vast number of definitions given by researchers. Keh (1990) considers feedback as any input from a reader to a writer with the effect of providing information to the writer for revision (p. 294). In other words, it is the comments, questions, and suggestions a reader gives a writer with the view to enhancing his/her writing. The concept of feedback given by Joe (2006) is probably one of the most comprehensive one: Feedback is an inseparable and recursive component of both the teachers instruction and the writing process. It represents a sense of audience and purpose in forming the on-going writing process, while establishing a concept of collaborative reader-editor relationship between teacher and student. The feedback from the reader-editor appears as input for further reexamination and revision of the prior written work by providing optimum opportunities to develop and refine ideas, and may take various forms such as conference and interview. (p. 53) This concept is considered the most thorough one that covers almost aspects of teacher feedback, namely, the positions of feedback in writing instruction and writing process, the relation of student-teacher in process writing, the forms of feedback, and the role of feedback in a writing process. Its thought will, therefore, be used thorough this study. II. 2. Role of teacher written feedback As mentioned above, teacher feedback plays an essential role in a writing process. The importance of teacher feedback can be aptly summed by Straub (1996) It is how we receive and respond to student writing that speaks loudest in our teaching (p.246). In the absence of a face to face verbal writing conference, written response is the only way in which teacher can respond to the individual needs of students. It is via the comments on their writing that students can identify their own strengths and weaknesses, which, in the case of the latter, will make the students know how to go about improving themselves and become effective writers (Penaflorida, 2002, p. 346). Therefore, feedback is considered, first of all, a pedagogical tool that helps enhance students writing competence. Moreover, according to Ressor, teacher feedback is believed to provide students with not only the incentive to improve but also the guidance about how to improve (as cited in Vengadasamy, 2002). Feedback, in this sense, adopts another function; that is, stimulating and motivating student to write. II.3. Features of good teacher written feedback What constitutes good teacher written feedback is a complicated issue. There is little consensus among researchers over the matter as in reality, different individuals may prefer different types of feedback. While some people enjoy negative and direct feedback, other may feel discouraged by the same feedback. Therefore, it is normal to see different sets of criteria for good teacher written feedback. According to Coffin et al. (2003, p. 101), three vital elements of a good feedback are positive comment, criticism and suggestion for improvements. The coexistence of positive comment and criticism, according to Ferris Hedgcock (1998), will bring about the best effects (p. 128). While positive comments can motivate writers, negative ones can constructively show them where they have gone wrong and what action they should take in order to improve their paper. A suggestion is also needed as a guideline for students to make revision. Notably, the aforementioned set of criteria only mentions the elements constituting good teacher feedback. Researchers on teacher feedback also list a large number of other criteria, among which is the one given by Leki (1992). According to this researcher, feedback is only good when teachers concentrate on the content along with a limited amount of feedback on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. According to Baechle Lian (1990) and Mastropiery Scruggs (1994) (as cited in Konold Miller, 2004), high-quality feedback should be timely, accurate, constructive, outcome-focused, encouraging and positive. What is more, good feedback must necessarily avoid unknown abbreviations, codes, ambiguous and unobtainable suggestions for improvement. This set of criteria, in comparison with the two sets mentioned above, is more sufficient since it covers nearly all aspects of good feedback, that is, the elements of good teacher written feedback, the tone of teacher feedback (encouraging and positive) as well as the practicality of the feedback (obtainable suggestions). The existence of different ways to define the criteria of good teacher written feedback indicates that there is no standard type of teacher feedback. It is, therefore, necessary that each teaching and learning environment carry out research to find out the types of feedback that suit their students most. II.4. Major issues of teacher feedback on student writing Providing effective feedback to students has been a matter of concern among writing teachers as well as researchers. A great number of questions have been asked: What should teacher comment on?, To which extent should feedback be?, Which types of comment are most effective? and so on. However, it is the fact that researchers have not reached a consensus over the answers to such questions. Within a small scale study, an overview of the literature of the two main issues, namely content and types of teacher written feedback will be discussed in the following part. II.4.1. Content of teacher written feedback Teachers have been faced with a constant question of what to focus on when giving feedback to student writing. Fathman and Whalley (1990, p.178) notes: much of the conflict over teacher response to written work has been whether teacher feedback should focus on form or content of the writing. Content, in their opinion, refers to comments on organization, ideas and amount of detail, while form involves comments on grammar and mechanical errors. Traditionally, teachers were inclined to identifying and correcting all the surface-level errors; i.e., errors on form (Sommers, 1982). Kepner (1991) explains that teacher corrects errors out of the fear that the erroneous structures would become fossilized in the students. However, the mere focus on form correction would have detrimental impact on student writing. That students receive a corrected draft from a teacher with red-ink correction all over the page would only add to their anxiety when dealing with another writing task. Moreover, a large amount of error correction may draw the students attention to form only but not to the important matter of developing the content (Sommers, 1982). This is because when teacher feedback focuses on form (grammar, spelling, etc.), many students will revise their writing by correcting the surface mistakes and will make few or no other changes. The result is that the students rewriting becomes grammar exercises rather than challenges to clarify meaning. In some other research, there seems an agreement that attention must paid to both content and form for the fact grammatical inaccuracies can have negative effect on the overall quality of the student writing (Raimes, 1992, p. 308). In short, what to feedback on remains a complex issue. Though many studies have been carried out on the issue, a consensus over the matter has not been reached. This indicates that further studies are needed in order to find out the answer to the problem. II.4.2. Types of teacher written feedback This part will present some major types of feedback: positive feedback negative feedback, direct feedback indirect feedback, marginal feedback end feedback. These types of feedback are discussed and compared in pair in a way that the differences between them, i.e., the advantages and disadvantages of one type over the other, are highlighted. II.4.2.1. Positive feedback versus a negative feedback In their studies, Fathman Whalley (1990) suggests that positive comments give students motivation to improve their writings. When students are told they are doing right, they feel motivated to write more and to write better. However, only positive comment is not sufficient enough to motivate students to improve their writing. According to Hyland and Hyland (2001), negative comments are more useful for many students who want their problems to be highlighted. Too much negative feedback, however, may adversely affect students writing. As they re-read the writing with red marks all over the page, students may feel discouraged and stop trying to correct the mistakes. All things considered, it is advisable that teachers get a balance between praise and criticism, since the combination of both kinds will bring about the best effects (Ferris Hedgcock, 1998, p. 128). II.4.2.2. Direct versus indirect feedback Direct feedback is teachers explicit written corrections in response to students errors. With direct feedback, students are expected merely to transcribe the teachers suggested corrections into their texts. Indirect feedback, on the other hand, is when the teacher alerts students to error using general comments, but gives students the opportunity to fix errors themselves (Ferris, 2002). In his study, Ferris (2002) shows that indirect feedback is more helpful to student writers in most cases because it leads to greater cognitive engagement, reflection, and guided learning and problem-solving. Since teachers only point out the mistakes (or suggest the way to correct them), students have to figure out the way to correct the mistakes on their own. This, in the long run, helps promote students thinking as well as the ability to self-edit their own writings. Moreover, when having to correct the mistakes by themselves, students normally remember the mistakes better; therefore, they are more likely to be able to avoid them in the future. Beneficial as indirect feedback to students, for mistakes that are too complicated, direct feedback proves better than indirect one because it saves students from discouragement when they could not solve the problems on their own. All things considered, it would be the best way that teachers combine both direct and indirect feedback when they respond to student writings. II.4.2.3. Marginal versus end feedback Marginal feedback is a kind of feedback that is written in the margin or between sentence lines of the students paper. By contrast, end feedback refers to the summary feedback at the end of the paper. According to Ferris and Hedgecock (1998), there is no conclusive evidence that either marginal or end comments are preferable or more effective. In reality, each type of feedback is used with a certain aim. While marginal comments are more suitable to respond to specific sections of the text, end comments are usually saved for more global concerns affecting the entire composition. To sum up, as the above literature indicates, there is no consensus over what constitutes effective feedback. As a result, in order for teachers to make full use of feedback, they need to adjust the types of comments to the certain kinds of students. Chapter III: Methodology This chapter, which introduces the methodology of the study, covers the research approach, the methods of data collection, and the methods of data analysis. III.1. Research approach A combination of both quantitative and qualitative method was utilized in this study so as to achieve the desired aim. Quantitative method realized by means of a questionnaire to students, proved to be appropriate because it was adequate to find objective answers to such questions as How is feedback given to the 1st-year student writings and What do students expect from their teacher written feedback?. Moreover, thanks to the large number of participants in the study, that is, 80 1st-year students, the information acquired is reliable and generalisable (Nunan, 1989, p.4). In this study, qualitative was also needed since one end of the research was to find out how teachers respond to their student writings and why they respond in such ways. Qualitative study is based mainly on three basic data gathering techniques, that is, participant observation, interview and document or artifact analysis. III.2. Methods of data collection III.2.1. Questionnaire The first method aims at collecting statistical data from students to answers two research questions: (1) In what ways is teacher written feedback given to the 1st-year-students writings at the CSSH VNU? and (2) What do 1st-year students at CSSH expect from teachers written feedback to make it more effective? The data gained not only provided the researcher with an overall understanding about the students opinion about current situation of teacher written feedback given but also some pedagogical implications for the practice of giving feedback at CSSH. The questionnaire included two main parts, namely, the current situation of teacher written feedback and students expectations of teacher written feedback. The subjects selected for the study include 80 freshmen who are in the second semester of the academic year 2009-2010 at CSSH-VNU. The questionnaires were distributed to respondents with the researchers presence so that clarification and disambiguation could be made timely. (A copy of the questionnaire can be seen in the Appendix A). The steps of conducting and distributing questionnaire can be illustrated as follows: Studied available documents and chose the most appropriate data Designed questionnaire Piloted questionnaires Revised questionnaires in terms of language as well as instructions so as to make it clear and reader-friendly Distributed questionnaires to 1st-year students at CSSH Gathered findings from respondents, analyzed and interpreted the data. III.2.2. Student writing analysis Analyzing student writings already responded by teachers served two main functions. First, it gave the researcher an in-depth look at how teacher written feedback is given to the 1st-year student writings. In addition, it provided materials for the interviews with the teachers. Three groups of students were randomly selected. From the four groups, 15 newly-commented writing papers were borrowed and analyzed. The steps of analyzing students writings can be illustrated as follows: Borrowed the writing papers from students Read students writing papers with the teachers written feedback Analyzed the teachers comments in terms of feedback content and types. By this way, the distinctive features of a certain teachers style of giving written feedback could be discovered. III.2.3. Semi-structure interviews In this study, semi-structure interviews with the teachers were used with the views to double-checking the information gained in the questionnaire. The situation of teacher written feedback was, therefore, looked into from two different angles, both from teachers and students perspectives. Three teachers working at CSSH were invited to take part in the interviews. This number was reasonable because if it was greater, the qualitative data would be too enormous to manage. The interviews were carried out informally in the teachers native language so as to elicit the most information from the teachers involved. During the interview, audio recorder was utilized. All the data were then transcribed and translated into English for data analysis. (The content of interview questions and Transcription of the interviews can be seen in Appendix B) In short, the combination of qualitative and quantitative method was utilized so as to yield the most information needed. At the same time, the shortcomings that persisted in individual method would be overcome. III.3. Method of data analysis Since collected in both quantitative and qualitative method in this research, the data, therefore, needed to be processed in different ways so as to yield the most accurate results. As for the quantitative approach, the researcher followed the statistical procedure from coding questionnaire data to summarizing and reporting data in a reader-friendly way. As for the qualitative approach, the method of data analysis was to transcribe the recorded interviews and synthesize them. The recorded interviews were first transcribed in their original language and then translated into English. Only English would be used in the discussion of findings for convenience. CHAPTER 4: Discussion of results IV.1. Current situation of teacher written feedback from students perspective How teacher written feedback in writing skill is delivered at CSSH is reflected in the first part of the questionnaire to students. IV.1.1. Frequency of teacher written feedback The first question asked students how many times their teacher responded to each of their writing assignment in written form. As can be seen from Figure 1, nearly one forth of the respondents stated that their teachers gave feedback to their writing twice per one assignment. This means after getting teacher written comments, students were required to revise and hand in the next versions for further feedback and evaluation. This level of frequency was believed to be appropriate, since it could encourage students to revise and to enhance their writing performance. The majority of students (77%), however, received teacher written feedback only once per assignment. Since the teachers did not require students to revise and hand in the writing after they received teacher written feedback, it is likely that few students had enough motivation to revise their paper. This, in turn, might reduce the usefulness of teacher written feedback. IV.1.2. General evaluation of teacher written feedback It is clear from Figure 2 that the majority of students (75%) got fairly detailed feedback, that is, comments and suggestions/corrections to major mistakes. This way of giving feedback is supported by many researchers who claim that teachers should focus on some typical problems at a time (Ur, 1996; Sommer, 1982). The number of students stating that their teacher feedback was very general, e.g., feedback with only some words like excellent, good or bad was 8, accounting for 10% of all students. There was no student receiving NO written comments from their teachers at all, which means no teacher felt into the trap of being non-corrector. These numbers indicate that the practice of giving feedback at CSSH was fairly adequate. IV.1.3. Content of teacher written feedback Figure 3 shows different categories of teacher written feedback from the view of students. Strikingly, there were very few students who NEVER received teacher written feedback on these categories (except for that on format). The levels often accounted for the highest numbers of students, from the lowest 25 students to the highest of 45. These figures indicate that teachers at CSSH have paid attention to both form and content, though the levels of attention may vary from one teacher to another. Noticeably, the percentage of students who RARELY received feedback on ideas, organization of ideas and format was higher than that on grammar, vocabulary and mechanics. For the level ALWAYS, the highest number of students chose grammar, that is, 42 over 80 students and next-coming was expression, 31 over 80 students. This is predictable since mistakes of surface level (grammar, vocabulary and mechanics) are more identifiable than those of organization and ideas (Ur, 1996; Fathman Whalley, 1990). However, that teachers rarely gave feedback on content may, in the long run, have negative impacts on the students because writing is, in the final analysis, about communicating and presenting thoughts. In summary, two major features of teacher written feedback interpreted from this bar chart are: (1) teachers did pay attention to both the form and the content of students writings and (2) teachers were more likely to respond to surface-level mistakes. IV.1.4. Types of teacher written feedback Concerning types of teacher written feedback (Figure 4), the majority of teachers at CSSH used both positive feedback (i.e., praise) and negative one (i.e., criticism) when responding to students writings. The overall number of students who always, or often received teachers positive feedback far outnumbered that of negative one, that is, 91% to 59%. This reality was an indication that teachers at CSSH preferred giving feedback in an encouraging tone to negative one. Regarding marginal and end feedback, there still existed 16% of students who rarely received end feedback and the other 20% who rarely received marginal feedback. Though the numbers were not high, it was still an indication that some teachers still did not pay enough attention to these two must-have feedback. As can be seen from Figure 4, both direct and indirect feedback was used and the levels of frequency were nearly the same. It is inferable that teachers paid equal attention to both types. It can be concluded that teachers at CSSH employed a wide variety of types of feedback to respond to students writings. However, in order to have accurate judgment of the effectiveness of the types used, in-depth interviews with the teachers are needed. This will be discussed in later part of this study. IV.1.1.5. Comprehensibility of teacher written feedback The last question in the first part of the questionnaire asked about the comprehensibility of students of teacher written feedback. The majority of respondents, 90%, answered that generally, they did. However, there were still 10% (8 students) stating that they were not able to understand teacher feedback. The most common reasons for this were teachers too general feedback (6 respondents) and new words/structures in their feedback (6 respondents). Correction codes, which are initially aimed at systematizing and simplifying teacher written feedback, turned out to make it incomprehensible to understand to a number of students (4 respondents). IV.2. Current situation of teacher written feedback from teachers perspective Emphatically, this study aims at finding out how written feedback is delivered from different perspectives, both of teachers and students. This part will present information on firstly, the way teachers give feedback to students (via analyzing student writings with teacher feedback on them) and secondly, teachers reasoning for the way they give feedback to students (via interviews with the teachers). However, in order to make it easy to follow, the information will be discussed according to the frame of the interviews with the presentation of student writings analysis integrated in it. The following section will be discussed in two different categories, namely, aspects of teacher written feedback and types of teacher written feedback. 21The following table compares the two major aspects form content that have been responded by teachers. The dark columns present the number of mistakes identified by the researcher and then double-checked by a native speaker, and the other columns the numbers of mistakes pointed out, suggested or corrected by the teachers. The ratios of mistakes pointed out by teachers to those by the native speaker gives the researcher an overall assessment of the frequency level of teacher written feedback at CSSH. As can be seen from the table, all the teachers at CSSH paid attention to both content and form of student writing papers, though the level of attention may differ. In order to make the information easy to follow, it was then re-illustrated in the form of bar-chart as follows: While Teacher 1 (T1) seemingly put more focus on feedback on form, Teacher 2 (T2) and Teacher 3 (T3) paid fairly equal attention to both the content and form of the writings. The reason for their emphasis on both form and content was they are equally important (T3). In greater details, If I dont correct mistakes on form (like grammar, word choice, etc), students will be likely to repeat the mistakes, even the simple ones, in the future and they are used to the teaching and learning method at High school where a lot of emphasis is put on grammar that If I dont orient them towards the content of a writing paper, they will perhaps stop at language accuracy only (T3). Explaining her way of giving feedback, T1 responded that the possibility of students making mistakes on content was quite small since students normally get suggestions on idea organization either from the teacher or from the course-book within prewriting stage (T1). Noticeably, though T1 acknowledged the importance of content, she did not manage to treat it equal to form. Concerning the treatments of mistakes, it was notable while mistakes on form were usually corrected by teachers right away; those on content just received suggestions for revision from teachers. Reasoning this, T2 answered its difficult to correct the content directly on their papers and I dont want them to think thats the only way (when I give correction) to go about that. In the same line with this were feedbacks on content, as I said earlier, are suggestive only, theres no one correct way of organizing ideas (T3). In short, all the teachers participating in this study were well aware of the importance of content over form, which helped them avoid being mistake-hunters. However, how much teachers focus on either form or content vary. IV.2.2. Types of teacher written feedback Type of teacher written feedback was also a field marking the differences between the teachers participating in the study. In terms of marginal and end feedback, it was notable that while T1 preferred using marginal to end feedback, T2 tended to enjoy the other way round. T1 stated that her in-text comments were enough for students to revise their papers. Furthermore, the teacher normally did not feel content with her student writings: if I gave an overall comment to my students, that comment would be very negative and it may make them feel discouraged. T2, in contrast, used more end feedback as she wanted to comment on students overall performance. According to T2, the focus of the 2nd semester was free writing, which meant more personal feelings and less teacher intervention. Adopting both marginal and end feedback when responding to student writings, T3 explained they serve different purposes. Marginal feedbacks were handy and suitable with minor mistakes; while end feedbacks were given for general comments. As a consequence, the lack of either marginal or end feedback led to incomprehensive feedback. Relating to the use of negative and positive feedback, it was notable that except from T1, the other two teachers frequently resorted to both types of feedback when responding to student writings. According to these teachers, feedback should, apart from helping students aware of the mistakes they make, be able to motivate students. This idea agreed with what Coffin et al. (2003) listed as the features of good teacher written feedback, that is, positive comment, criticism and suggestion for improvement. T1, who seemed not in favor of the ideas, stated it very much depends on the quality of the writing to decide what to include in the feedback. According to T1, teachers should not just praise students so that they feel at ease when receiving feedback because that may do more harm than good: students may feel that Oh, the teacher says that my writing is good, so why should I revise it or they may feel hurt when the feedback is positive while the mark is actually low (T1). This idea, whi ch had some merits in itself, should be taken into consideration. The types of feedback used have, to a certain extent, reflected the tone to teacher written feedback. While T2 and T3 preferred giving feedback in a friendly, encouraging tone, T1 turned to more serious feedback which was, according to the teacher, more beneficial to students. In short, the data achieved from the interviews, which do conform to those from student que