Annotated Bibliography Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Annotated Bibliography - Coursework Example The article is very relevant to the understanding of modalities of business operations today. The change from traditional diversification of operations within the borders of a country substituted with the vertical growth that extends to other parts of the world. According to the article, the improved performance of the business entities emanates from the shift in regulations and economic reforms that date back to early 1990s. The author is right in his assertion that the changes in the regulation and structures of the Indian business improve the integration of the Indian economy globally. The integration is in the form of the business making an investment in other countries across the world making them multinationals. The primary weakness of the article lies in its indication that vertical growth is effective and efficient compared to internal diversification. Compared to vertical growth through maintenance of a single line of business engagement, diversification is essential for an organization that seeks security so that a failure in one sector does not cripple the operations of a business organization. The study aimed at elucidating impacts of the individual employee and group efficacy in the execution of assigned responsibilities. The investigators also seek to understand the impact of perceptions of the employees on the management of contribution of the employees to the overall output in an organization.

The Psychology and Philosophy of Education of Ayn Rand in The Comprachicos Essay Example for Free

The Psychology and Philosophy of Education of Ayn Rand in The Comprachicos Essay Ayn Rand writes mainly about the status quo and what and who is to be blamed for such circumstances. She talks of a miseducation so ingenious that when one reads about it one simply gets baffled as he is forced to look into his own experiences from the home, to the school, to the Church and in the province or in the city. One can expect to see various parallelisms with how he is brought up and what he is usually told by his superiors. The reason for these apparent similarities, I think is that aside from the ‘system’ that almost each person is forced into; there is something common in every one of us. This is what makes us man, Rand says, our capability to be rational. Rand believes that man is rational and that this characteristic is, by itself unyielding. It is a capacity that can be impaired and can be prevented to work at its best, as what the comprachicos do but it survives even in those who are the ‘exact concretization’ of the Nursery School ideal, the hippies. Rationality is that which enables any man to; even with the worst education given to him feel that something is wrong because things appear blurred to him, that things must have clarity for it to appear blurred in the first place. It gives him an inkling perhaps or an intuition that something is not right around him and yet he still feels that ‘he has to make something somehow’. This is because of his rationality which naturally is the opposite of the fake, the submission, the uncertainty and the chaos. Man is rational because he has a mind. For Rand, this mind is empty at birth as what John Locke holds to be Tabula Rasa. It does not have innate contents; it is on the other hand waiting to be written upon by the experiences to come. Rand says that it has the potential for awareness, with a conscious and a subconscious mind that he must learn to operate to be able to construct inferences about the perceptions he will make. Thus, one can easily see how important it is for every child to be given enough opportunity to develop this potential especially in the years of his life that it is most needed. Rand stresses that it is in the first two years of a person’s life that what he is capable of learning is most significant both in the quantity and the degree of his curiosity about everything around him and the intensity of how he takes every detail seriously. When he reaches his third year, Rand says, his cognitive development is completed. He has acquired the things he need, what he has to do at this point is to use them. How he uses his cognitive tools will determine how well his conceptual ability will be when he grows older. Hence, as early as the nursery level, educators should already start training the child’s mind. Rand holds that teachers should focus on the progress of his mind’s automization of conceptual knowledge. By this, he can then retain the knowledge gained in his consciousness and move on to new information so that gradually, he will learn to integrate the old and new inputs and thus establish relationships between them. This will guide the child in understanding the basic concept of time-continuity and in internalizing a projection of the future instead of acting on whatever he feels like doing in the moment. If the simple idea of having something like tomorrow, or even later, and that what is done at the moment affects the time thereafter is introduced to the child, he will inevitably practice his rational faculty because he needs to look at all his choices and reason when he is choosing among the different alternatives. He needs to think and debate by himself what best could be done in the situation because the consequences of it would always have a lot of implications. Rand postulates that if a child is given the chance to exercise his reason, being caught in an event where he has to make decisions will not be much of a hurdle for him. The important thing is not really for him to make what is in the older people’s opinion the right decision; but to let him, in all his capacity as a rational person and in all his limitations as a child have at least some disposition and not let him be governed by whims or emotions be it of himself, of another person or of the whole pack. To have a disposition requires that one should have a firm ground to stand his beliefs on. This is why Rand tells us that it is wrong to place the children in an environment that would not help him be secured about an objective world, one that would only make him settle for the company of persons the same age as he is and of course do not know any better. What he needs, says Rand is cognitive guidance especially to acquaint him to the reality instead of making him adjust to a group of people he does not know and lose himself in the process. In getting to know the reality, Rand talks of the Montessori Method which utilizes materials that are didactic thus very useful for child learning because it provides a solution that the child needs to discover by actively thinking of how to do it. Instructive materials, Rand moreover says introduces the child to a sense of order since it is directed to a right answer or a right way. During this stage, Rand says that a child can only identify objects around him and its characteristics as it appears to him. The child cannot comprehend its other properties like height, volume, color and so on. This is why at this time, it is best to provide for the child special exercises of attending, observing, comparing and classifying. I have noted that while keeping the learning pace in gear with the child’s current stage, the four exercises mentioned also further develops his reasoning skills [especially comparing and classifying]. It is significant to note in my opinion how the previous knowledge learned leads to the knowledge learned later and how the knowledge learned later reinforces the knowledge learned earlier. When the child is introduced to the reality and becomes more and more aware of his own self, Rand implies that the time for language, particularly speech comes. Interestingly, Rand says that language comes to fix by means of the exact words which the child’s mind acquired and this profoundly lets him find himself alike in the world. This is a start for him to have a sense of belongingness, an idea which is necessary as Rand says to be an active and intelligent explorer of the world. All learning involves a process of automizing, Rand has stated. In forming, integrating and using concepts, Rand establishes that it involves the person’s will; it is volitional. How else better to bring out the will of the child in learning and thinking critically than to let him use practice his cognitive abilities especially in the age when he is most up and ready for it? Rand stresses that educators should not let this time pass because what could have been a joyful activity of enhancing his mind when the child is young will turn to be an extremely strenuous task when he gets older. Rand also gives favor of understanding as a method of learning over memorizing. Understanding means to grasp the content and the essentials of a thing, an event or a concept, to establish relationships between these essentials and what was previously known in the past and most importantly, integrate it with other subjects. By understanding is how the child will learn reading, for instance. Rand mentions what she calls the ‘look-say’ method which is not merely focused on shape of the letters (which the child can reverse; i. e. b-d, m-w, etc. [1]) but more on their phonetic equivalent which encourages the child to think in abstractions; directing his attention to the sound of the letter and not the mere appearance of it. Memorization, Rand further holds, is appropriate only for the level of observation, when the child’s capacity to understand is not developed yet. Another method Rand despises is the Discussion Method. As implied, she prefers to have a teacher in the classroom to guide the students in learning about the subject and to not let them carry the learning process by their premature knowledge. Besides the obvious fact that to learn is why they come to school in the first place, Rand prescribes that the teacher really teach what he expertly knows because to leave the deliberation to the students is to give them an illusion that they can know without being taught; that they can claim expertise without really learning. It is not possible to learn from this method because as Rand tells us, the students are clueless about that which is supposed to be lectured. To employ this method, according to Rand is to give the false idea that any person’s opinion can be the right answer or that the right answer can be produced by a person who does not yet know anything about what is being talked about. This cannot be for the truth is independent of anyone’s mere whims and this, in turn is the reason why education is highly significant and relevant and must remain so by imparting on the students the knowledge and the skills necessary for his growth as a rational being. I think that the reason why Rand says that this method is inappropriate for the students is because the mind prior to learning about the subject is, to say still immature. By this immaturity, they are driven to be hostile people, indulging them to the guilty habits of criticism instead of creativity for they mistakenly think that to demolish a bad argument is to construct a good one. We can see very clearly here how Rand takes it to be an awfully big mistake to leave students of any age unguided and left to themselves when they in fact need to learn and thus to be taught by a superior more knowledgeable than him. To conclude, Rand takes the psychology and philosophy of Maria Montessori and John Locke in her basic idea of education. Her metaphysics on the one hand rests on the basic idea that there is an objective reality that the child will naturally belong to; in which he will find proper distinction between existence and consciousness. Her epistemology on the other hand lies on the thought that every person is born without knowledge but has the potential to exercise his rational capacity if given the due opportunities for development. Moreover, it is best to develop a person’s cognitive skills when he is young not only because it is when he is most ready and willing to do so but also because for Rand, a purposeful and disciplined intelligence is the highest achievement possible to man. Implied then by her basic ideas derived from Montessori and Locke, Rand takes a common stance with the position of Perennialism. [2] Abigail Thea O. Canuto EDFD 201 (HZQ2)/ Thursdays, 5:30-8:30 P. M. 2003-31176 / MA TEG (K-2) Prof. Muega / A Paper on ‘The Comprachicos’ II. Evaluating Ayn Rand’s Philosophy and Psychology of Education from the Standpoint of Pragmatism, Essentialism and Perennialism, Existentialism, Social Reconstructionism and Marxism As evaluated earlier, the philosophy and psychology of Ayn Rand with regards to education rests on the basic idea that man is rational; born with a Tabula Rasa mind that is to be filled with knowledge brought by experiences he will have in the world. She also holds that cognitive training is best started as soon as possible, which is in the nursery level because it is when the child is most ready and willing to learn about the reality and that to delay, or even worse to provide what I may call a wrong education will greatly impede his reason which is his basic means of survival; his reason. Again, the wrong education that I interpret to be in Rand’s article is basically the Progressivist method and any classroom setup that leaves the child to the whims and immature ideas of the collective. Pragmatism, especially that of John Dewey is just one of the various positions contended by Rand. Perhaps the most apparent distinctions that can be made between these two views is the way they regard reality and everything in it human experience, ideas, truth and so on. On the one hand, Rand believes that reality is objective and unchanging and that the experience man derives from this reality is primarily for his own ends alone. She does not think that what man learns from his environment should be directed towards the good of the society or any other person because to do so would be to surrender one’s own will and rationality. Rand says that to be rational is to refuse to act based on the collective’s demand and that this refusal makes him properly selfish. On the other hand, Pragmatism stresses that the reality is changing; what exists is an open universe of constant flux. This position believes that we cannot say that there are metaphysical absolutes because this assertion is unverifiable by human experience. Instead of resting his ideas on an objective, unchanging reality, the Pragmatists prefer to give emphasis on being, work and action as opposed to ideas, spirit and thought, which are targeted to the betterment of the society; to solve its problems. It thus follows that Pragmatism proposes an epistemology that is conditioned by societal institutions. By this, this view is in favor of experimental learning wherein theories which are derived from experience are tested and applied and that which contributes and affects the society in the best way is perpetuated. By extension, truth and morality then are not things that are absolute but are, respectively a tentative assertion based on the application of hypotheses to solving problems and values that arose from outcomes of human responses to varying situations. In evaluating Rand’s philosophy and psychology from the standpoint of the different positions through the use of my own interpretation, I deem it highly significant to first categorize where I think the latter’s ideas are coming from. Pragmatism, in my opinion does not choose the society over the individual. I do not think that its intention is to diminish the value of the individual man in order to promote progress of the society. What I think it does rather is to try to bring together, as harmoniously as possible human beings in every community to work together for the good of the group not only for the group itself but also because the group inevitably affects the individual. The point of the matter for Pragmatists, in my opinion is that every person is a member of a group and what happens in that group affects the individual. What best be done is to act and react based on what can be verified by human experience and to do so as freely as possible, unlimited by absolutes that act as constraints to the inquiry of every man. Therefore, Pragmatism would disagree with Rand in saying that the child should not be left to a group of other children and not to let him pursue activities based on his interests. This method is, on the contrary what best helps children in teaching them to be open to numerous possibilities that are discoverable by their minds through inquiry. Moreover, to let children mingle with other people especially those of their own age introduces them to the nature of a democratic society; one that fosters virtues of sharing, of waiting and of cooperating which I think would come in very useful in establishing healthy relationships in adult life. Rather than what Rand says about this method as justifying the omnipotency of the pack, the Pragmatists would say that to be with other men is the natural state of every individual and to expose them to this nature would better prepare them for a productive and empathic existence with each other, mutually beneficial for each and every man. Additionally, Rand’s method of cognitive training would, for Pragmatism limit that child’s capacity for free inquiry. Rather than the traditional way of teaching with the instructor merely imparting knowledge and skills, the Pragmatists are more inclined in an activity method which involves play, construction, nature-study and self-expression. These activities are I think formulated by the Pragmatists not for the reason of impeding the cognitive development of the child. Contradictory, the activity method enhances not only the thinking ability but the capacity of this ability to speculate critically by firsthand experience, by concept-building, by getting acquainted with the environment and by doing all these through expressing the self. Pragmatism would thus see Rand’s general thought regarding education as imposing on the individual; limiting the child’s capacity of learning by himself through play which he enjoys in his young age and helps a lot in critical thinking by inquiry and living in harmony with others. Finally, Rand says that the Pragmatists see the mere absorption of facts and values does not provide any social gain; in this I do not think that the latter would disagree. Conversely, the Pragmatists would not say that the activity method would make a child submit to the pack for what they promote is not submission but cooperation. The positions that are most similar to Rand’s thought on education, on the other hand are Essentialism and Perennialism. I find these views as very similar to each other but to properly distinguish and outline their individual points is nevertheless significant to see how exactly Rand’s ideas are alike with them and determine where they would diverge from each other. Essentialism, from its name itself talks about basic education. It calls for a return to the essential subjects that have been proven to be useful in the past and are likely to be beneficial in the future. Essentialism says that such a return is needed because the modernization of education, by the relaxation of academic standards for widespread social promotion and by the dominant educational theories that are enfeebling are causing academic standards to fall. Its orientation is thus very scholastic, holding that societal problems should not hinder academics. Essentialism deems it of high importance to transmit generative skills and intellectual disciplines that identify and perpetuate basic cultural elements. Hence, the teacher should exhibit high competence of the subject and of the task of bequeathing such knowledge to the students for the needed mastery in preparation for work and citizenship. All these, according to the Essentialists cannot be accomplished in a Progressivist classroom where the Whim rules, destabilizing the primary function of the school. Rand’s theory of education perpetuates the idea of basic education by Essentialism. Because of the stance that Rand takes with regards to man as being rational and in need of cognitive training, she proposes a classroom setup where a teacher handles the class in his full capacity to pass on knowledge that the children came to the school to learn about. Conversely, Rand’s idea of a purposeful and disciplined use of intelligence is also in common ground with what Essentialism promotes; as it would be attained in an environment of systematic and sequential learning. Interestingly, where one might tend to see Rand’s theory as alike with Essentialism is in her proclamation that the poor quality of man’s use of reason and the increasing frequencies and number of people engaging in violent behavior and drug use should be attributed to the educational system that has plagued human life for many years. However, I find it very remarkable that the precise aspect of the system that Rand is blaming for the status quo is different from what the Essentialists are talking about. As discussed earlier, Essentialism is fighting against the Progressivist schools that cater to children’s whims because they destroy the academic function of the school, which is to impart basic skills and knowledge that are useful in the past and will likely be useful in the future. The justification of the preservation that the Essentialists are vying for is that they believe that such basic education is what is needed for a person to grow a responsible adult who will gear his capacity towards economic productivity and growth. This is where I find a separation between Rand and the Essentialists. Rand criticizes Progressivism because it hinders the child from developing his capability to become a fully-functioning rational being by making him conform to the pack. She does not say anything about the society’s growth being impeded for in my opinion, it is not what she is most concerned about. The Essentialists, I think would find the curriculum and the method of teaching of Rand as those that would best encourage their thesis of preserving basic knowledge but they do not share her sentiments with regards to the rationality of man. Furthermore, the Essentialists share Rand’s views in expressing that the declining education is to be held responsible for violence and drug abuse that are getting more rampant nowadays. I have observed, however that while Essentialism blamed the Progressivists’ permissivism to students thus leading them astray, Rand tells us that such malady in the lifestyle of people today is an evidence of their impaired rationality’s search for a higher reality or higher experience. The ideas of Rand and the Essentialist are indeed related but quite unlike each other. They do not oppose each other but they nevertheless do not meet at the same point of the arguments. Perennialism, on the other hand promotes an education of man that upholds his potentialities; an education that is based on the universal characteristics of human nature. It goes further than Essentialism in promoting basic education; it does so in the name of rationality, that which, as Rand says defines us as human. Further, rationality is man’s highest attribute thus the cultivation of intellect is education’s highest goal. Rand, as well as the Perennialists blame the social orientation of today’s education to the growing malaise in the situation of man. They both proclaim that when students are left to educational trends that lean towards mere whims and emotions of the students and mediocre educators, they are brought to internalize false notions of success and progress (i. e. emphasis on the society, premature vocational training, specific economic training) that contradicts their individuality; their nature to be objective. This is the inevitable result of the elimination of the proper cultivation of intellectual abilities by means of acquainting them to an objective and universal reality, one that is in line with their existence and human nature, also objective and universal. The Perennialists would thus correspond Rand in the idea that a proper study of metaphysics would restore rationality. It is I believe the key point of their positions: that the reality in which we live in is universal and our human nature is unchanging as well. To say then that rationality, which defines human nature, is constant implies that education should be fixed as well. Perennialism, like Rand also emphasizes that the students come to school because they wish to know that is why it is imperative for the teachers to be mature; competent and knowledgeable about the subject. They both talk about a classroom setup which is open not to the mercy of the whims and emotions of the students but to the development of their cognitive abilities in a structured manner thus avoiding the tendency to be anarchic or despotic. The curriculum and the subject matter that they speak of are those that are systematic and sequential, thus both want to foster the basic skills in the younger years of the child to help him prepare for the disciplines he would need to study later. Moreover, the consciousness of the child should begin with his immediate environment and the idea that it is universal and objective before immersing him into a group in order for him to identify himself first as belonging in the reality thus achieving self-identity. By extension, Perennialism together with Rand would find that when the child is older, he will not be driven to the physical sciences to escape questions of morality and other issues in the humanities. The Perennialists would I think agree with Rand that a symptom that a person’s rationality is in good condition is when he is asking and forming his own concepts of these kinds of problems. I have found thus that the general views of Rand and Perennialism are alike except on some orientation (not root or ground) in their positions. Just to note, I have noticed that while Perennialism is usually associated with religion and the relationship of the individual to the universe and with God, Rand was a renowned atheist. This interestingly does not cause them to conflict with each other since they remain resolute on the universality of metaphysics and epistemology which is not affected with a belief or a disbelief in a higher being. Another position (or rather an inclination) that takes a totally different view of reality and human nature from Rand’s is I find, very fascinating to discuss. I say so because I have realized that even though they are very distinct from each other, at some point they still manage to meet. Existentialism is well-known for its statement ‘existence precedes essence’. Human nature, for them is subjective and independent from any antecedent reality thus negating Rand’s idea of metaphysics as objective and universal. For the existentialists, the freedom to choose is man’s highest attribute and not reason for if such is the case, then they cannot choose reason as a value. To be rational, thus is something for an individual to choose. This thesis is extended to the human purpose, which is also subjective for every person. One man can make and define his own purpose and his own alone; he is responsible for his every action that is derived from his freedom as a human being independent of the opinions of other people and on any reality that some may assume to exist before him. The existentialists thus would not agree with Rand in saying that man should be introduced to an objective and unchanging reality because it limits him in constructing his own definition of his existence. They further, unlike Rand do not see any problem with seeing the individual as not only possessing abilities for rationality but also for irrationality, feelings, and affective characteristics. They claim to see a person in more varied terms because they do not believe that one can simply define him as just rational or just emotional and so on. Human beings are to complex for this kind of definition, they say. The values, moral dispositions and the validity of knowledge for the Existentialists are thus to be determined by the individual. This is not to say, as Rand does that truth for instance becomes dependent on a collective group that the individual loses himself in conformity. Rather, what the Existentialists mean is that man’s determination of values, morality and knowledge validity stems from the recognition that human experience is subjective basically because of every person’s capability and freedom to choose. Therefore, while Rand speculates that it is reason, impaired or properly developed that determines how a person lives his life, for the Existentialists it is the freedom to choose which never wavers regardless of the situation he is in. For both points of view however, though what they interpret to be the highest attribute of man (reason vs. freedom to choose) is rigid and unchanging, it can still be limited and impeded by a crucial factor. That which harms human existence is one and the same thing for Rand and the existentialists: a societal orientation or the growth of a mass society. Both the Existentialists and Rand claim that the quality of human life is threatened because of the group that makes a student conform to it, thus preventing him to decide for his own and think in terms of his own liking. The general tendency of the Progressivist school, both for Rand and Existentialism is to be coercive on the student, alienating him if he expresses creativity and divergence from the norms. However, because of the rigidity of human nature, both contend that the essence of being human survives even in the bleakest of moments. Rand, on the one hand does not coin the term ‘choose’ in saying that man’s rationality will find ways of alternative expression in later life (i. e. drug addiction, violent behavior). She instead expresses it in a way that means that a man does not really choose for his rationality to be expressed in whatever way; the way it expresses itself is dependent on the cognitive training he receives in the course of his academic life. On the other hand, the Existentialists hold that his freedom to choose is the thing that lives on and even if he is oppressed and alienated, he can still choose to either conform, to submit or to revolt. With regard to the classroom setup and method of instruction, the Existentialists would find what Rand is proposing as prescriptive because they might interpret it as placing too much emphasis on the role of the teacher in imparting knowledge than letting the student discover for his own even when young. The Existentialists, hence would find the main goal of education to be that of cultivating in the children the freedom to choose and awareness of this freedom. They would agree with Rand insofar as, perhaps, autonomy and emphasis on the self is concerned but they definitely denounce her idea of rationality as man’s basic essence for such an idea limits and prescribes the individual to, in my interpretation, act rationally. Another position that detects problems in the status quo is what is called Social Reconstructionism. It talks of a cultural crisis, brought about by the growing population, conflicts between different cultures especially by discrimination, environmental pollution, violence and terrorism that threaten human existence. All these predicaments infiltrating human life, they say can be traced to the severing of human values from social and economic realities. What the Reconstructionists propose, from the name of the position itself is a reconstruction of personal and social experience to reform society. The obvious implication of this thesis, of course is that culture and society is not universal, it continually grows with the direction of its growth depending on the time, place, people and the general circumstance of it. Conversely, human can refashion culture to fit and promote human development and growth. Social Reconstructionism would thus first and foremost denounce what Rand calls an ‘objective and universal reality’ because it believes that change is a necessary feature of human life. The absence of change for them, I think is like a dead society; it is deprived of its potential for progress and betterment, all things in it obsolete and useless. The Reconstructionists would not support Rand in her theory that students should be encouraged to be selfish because he is rational and that to use one’s reason is by nature a selfish affair; rather, they would declare that there is no room for selfishness in any society at any time for how can progress be realized if men used their rationality for mere thinking and not much doing? The solution, according to the Reconstructionists is not to eliminate or deny the process of change but to learn to cope with it. As they put it, change itself did not provoke crisis; crisis occurred when man was unprepared to cope with it. They would hence find Rand’s virtue of selfishness as dangerous because it discourages social cooperation, perhaps because it hurriedly concludes that to belong in a group is to conform to it, losing one’s individuality. I do not think that the Reconstructionists have any problem with Rand’s assertion that man is rational and that it is what makes him human. On the other hand, what they would propose is that such rationality should be geared towards social progress for cognitive training for the sake of rationality only will not render any gain for society. Schools then should educate students with a deliberate purpose to inculcate in him a commitment to work for deliberate social reform and a planning attitude for cultural revision. For them, there is nothing wrong with orienting students even when young, a sense of cooperation and the acknowledgement that reality is changing not only because it is the case but also because it is happening rapidly and to ignore or deny it would cause a lag between the moral consciousness and social organization and technological inventiveness. They do not propose mere conformity to the group but they also do not renounce that the society and culture is imposing on the individual.

How Is Water Scarcity Affecting Algeria Environmental Sciences Essay

How Is Water Scarcity Affecting Algeria Environmental Sciences Essay Nowadays, all over the world one from two people has no access to drinking water and one from two people does not benefit connection to a sewerage system. Blue Gold plays a vital role in global warming and other phenomenon that is increasingly importance and which poses a problem in the management of water resources. Water shortages exacerbated by climate change that affects all continents and over 40% of the world population is already affected by the problem. 1.1 billion People lack access to clean water to meet their daily basis needs. 2.6 billion People lack access to sanitation adequate. The daily drinking water is 2 to 4 litters per person. They valued at approximately 130 litters / day / person in rural areas and 350 litters / day /person in urban areas these needs include all uses related to the activity daily of the person. Algeria is a country in the semi-arid climate and is affected by the shortage. Its great urban population are under pressure, it becomes almost impossible to meet the demand. The constraints imposed by the water problems in Algeria hinder its development. Water resources are increasingly rare while the needs are increasing. Â  In Algerian cities, water is no longer supplied continuously (Bethemont J. 1991). Schedules of distribution of drinking water directly influence the satisfaction of demand water population. Demand is growing more and more time and requires proportional growth in supply, this needs is rarely achieved. While the mobilization of water resources has never stopped growing, but this growth is insufficient and less than demand, resulting in a gap between the amounts requested and the volume delivered through the water. Oran, the second city in Algeria (western of Algeria) has annual rainfall very low, the location and climate has affected the type of crops suitable for region with the advent of independence of Algeria, decisions policies have unbalanced the existing micro-climate. The uprooting of vines and change the countrys agricultural policies have resulted in an exacerbation of the arid climate. Everyone is in fear of days without rain. 1-Brief about Oran Oran is the second largest city of Algeria (from 48 provinces which called wilaya) and one of the largest in the Maghreb. Oran has preserved its identity while soaking up the influence of its successive occupants. It is a port city on the Mediterranean, north-western Algeria, and the chief town of the wilaya of the same name bordering the Gulf of Oran. It is Located 432 km west from the capital Algiers, the municipality had 685 000 inhabitants in 2007, while the town had about 1 235 000, it has a population of approximately 2 million inhabitants. The city is an economic and academic importance Oran has a Mediterranean climate marked by a classic summer drought. During the summer months, rainfall becomes scarce or nonexistent, and the sky is bright and clear. The subtropical anticyclone covers the area from Oran for nearly four months. However the region is well watered during the winter. Low precipitation (294mm rainfall) and frequency (72.9 days per year) are also characteristic of this climate. On the eve of the French colonization, there were only 18 000 inhabitants in Oran and its suburbs. Although during his good times, the city does not seem to have attracted over 30 000 inhabitants, the population of Oran double that figure only 50 years after the French arrived. Less than 70 years after the beginning of colonization, Oran passes 100 000 people to become the fifth French city. In the early twenty-first century, it has become one of the major cities of the Maghreb and approaches regularly by 1 000 000 Intramural people. After the Evian agreements and the independence, Europes population abandoned the city. Half of Oran finds deserted homes left empty are quickly reinvested after independence. 2-Statement of the Issue/Problem The demand for water needed for the promotion of industry and population use keeps increasing. Therefore, this situation caused by a lack of a strategy for water resources management resulted in the loss and waste of water resources. This has become critical as it hinders and blocks the development of the countrys economy. In the city of Oran, water management poses a difficult problem for the authorities. The resources which are available are less than those which are required. The outdated fashion of water conveyance and insufficient storage capacity hinder the correct distribution of water to the consumers. The daily quota per inhabitant remains small in comparison with international norms. The water management is not efficient Oran has in the past three decades an explosion worrying population, because not prepared to handle this influx of population. This situation resulting from two main reasons: Rural depopulation safe. Rural economic exodus Population of the town of Oran from 1980 to 2010 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 527000 604000 647000 675000 706000 765000 852000 RESOURCE: ministry of internal affairs -Algeria This led to an exacerbation of socio-economic (housing, drinking water) and Public Health (access to care). The city of Oran always had a deficit in water resources and the deficit has increased exponentially with the disproportionate increase in the population. The curves of the evolution of Rainfall averages 14 years (1993 = 435.15 mm 2007 mm = 251.2) show the deficit, which is correlated to the temperature rise. Configuration geographic region of Oran (plain) has disrupted its water policy, since it has no reserves of its own. The city has always been dependent on other provinces (Tlemcen, Mostaganem, Chlef) for its needs water. Proportion of distribution of water potable in the city of Oran % RESOURCE: ministry of water resources-Algeria According to the ministry of water resources statistic (2007) there are only 27 percent of inhabitants receive the water potable every day, while 21 percent receive it every two days, and more than 50 percent of inhabitants do not receive water drinking regularly, 24 percent of them receive it each three days and 17 percent receive it each four days, while the others 11 percent cannot access to the water drinking less than 4 days. the water strategy was depending mainly on rainfall, while The quantities needed by the population have continued decline in recent years in Oran, because of the disproportionate between the needs and the demands, the population have increased year after year while the resources have decreased (1993 = 435.15 mm 2007 mm = 251.2) and this causes drought phenomenon which may lead to the lake of water drinking. Resource: ministry of agriculture and irrigation The department of irrigation in Oran consider the needs of the city from drinking water per day around 320 000 cubic meters, while the amount currently produced and directed to distribute is approximately 200 000 cubic meters per day. This critical situation creates the re-emergence of diseases previously under control, such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, viral hepatitis A and E and fever Parasitic diseases are not left behind and make a resurgence worries health services (malaria, schistosomiasis, and leishmaniasis) 2-The local government policy of water potable in Oran: The main objective of the state water policy consists on providing sufficient potable water for the population supply. This objective was undertaken by increasing the water resources and availability. The local authority has put into action a wide programme taking into consideration several tasks, as: 2- 1-Increase rainfall collect capacity (dams construction): Since the local government policy was depending largely on the rainfall, the government has tried to exploit this resource by increasing their capacity of storage by building new dams, such as BENI BAHDEL dam. Its volume is 63 million cubic meters of water. To reach the city of Oran, the services of the hydraulic build some 170 kilometres of pipelines. The work has continued for ten years. The construction of dams will result in a substantial reduction of the impacts, namely landscape change. Construction of a rock fill dam would indeed require the extraction of quarry from the near sites can Produce 4.82 million cubic aggregates for the construction of the dam. 2-2 Implement new way of management: The local government have tried to implement the resolutions; to ease conflicts between the regions in urban and rural water development by adopting agricultural approaches more effective, such as the use of irrigation technology consumes less water, and the development of agricultural production programs saving water. (Such as olive, etc) 2- 3-Depending to other province: to secure the needs of the city from drinking water, the local government follow a policy that aim to achieve their inhabitants need from the potable water by bring it from the neighbour provinces such as Mostaganem, Tlemcen, Chlef etc, these provinces have additional resources of water 2-4- Restore cities water distribution facilities: the local government have tried to restore the network of water distribution; one of the major reasons that cause the water potable deficit is the incompetence of this network which causes sometimes the waste and misuse of water. 2-5 National water Law (revised in 1996 under law No. 96-13). This Code includes several articles related to wastewater discharge, pollution abatement, the Protection and preservation of water bodies and wastewater reuse for agricultural and Industrial purpose 3-The alternative policies: Although the effort that have been made and the actions that have been taken by the local government but the problem is still exist, the inhabitants still find a difficult to access to the water potable, and this may refer to the policies that have been implemented by the government to deal with this problem, however there are others policies could be more effective to solve this issue, this policies could be described as follow: 3-1Seawater Desalination: To overcome the lack of water and cope with ever-growing needs, given the population growth potable water, the local government could think about the desalination of seawater, as an alternative solution to deal with the drinking water problem, it could opt for seawater desalination especially since this solution is not dependent on weather. reverse osmosis units must install for the next years to produce a total capacity of 57.500 m3 per day, this quantity could help to ease the problem by providing a certain pert of the city needs, while the cost of creating a desalination unit is approximately 30 million dollar, comparing with the cost of transferring water from the other province 6000 billion dinner= 1 billion dollar, seem very sheep Seawater desalination could be regarded as a strategic option to secure the population needs of water supply. An ambitious program is actually undertaken to equip other province (the capital Algiers) by seawater desalination plants ranging from 50 000 to 200 000 m3 per day 3-2 Exploit of Ground water: A lot of water experts indicates that ground water resources in Algeria are estimated at 43 trillion cubic meters, 4 000 billion are used each year, more than 5 trillion are located in the north east (Oran in other province). This resources could be exploited and contribute in resolving water problem. Though the consumption of individuals varies between 100 m3 and 5000 m3 per year and that Algeria is ranked among the poorest countries in this context, with less than 700 cubic meters. They state that water resources are abundant in Oran region but not exploited, and that one in six of the world, finds it difficult to have regular or even periodically water to resolve this problem. International reports reveal, in the same context that Algeria suffers from a lack in water, and water experts indicate that the average consumer in the region reached 500 cubic meters per year, warning against the emergence of serious crisis in 15 years. 4- Recommendation: according to the alternative policies that have been mentioned above, and regarding to the resources that are available the recommendation in this issue can be addressed as follow: 1- The Oran local government decision-makers have relied on rainfall as a resource of the drinking water, they must move towards a policy of mobilizing non-conventional water resources. The operation has already been launched across other parts of the country and it achieves the success, and may it will become the solution for the town water crisis, where the lack of clean water is increasingly felt, and the aim of this policy is to double the current daily capacity. 2-All the water experts agree on the need to change the content specific policy of water. The management of water must be transformed todays sustainable management of water and this change in shape implies beyond political expediency, a substantive change. For the policies implemented so far follow the logic of engineering domestication of natural water resources and adapt, often offering for application. However, we cannot also forget that water is a scarce resource in the time and space, which requires taking into account the needs of management, and social and environmental practices of water 3- The local government decision-makers and planners cannot simply ask the technicians to try and mobilize the water as it was practiced and is still far, but they must focus on identifying strategies to shape a more careful management of local resources and at the same time doubling efforts to control population growth. To achieve this; companies, governments and civil society must work hand in hand to reconcile three worlds that have long ignored: Economy, ecology and social. In the long term, there will be no development possible if it is not economically efficient, socially equitable and ecologically tolerable. 4- The local decision-makers should implement new polices that not rely mainly on rainfall, they should address the alternative policies that cost less and more efficient such as seawater desalination, it could be more effective to resolve the crisis of potable water with very less cost comparing to other chooses, establishing a unit of seawater desalination with capability of daily production 60 000 cubic meters does not cost more than 30 million dollar, while transferring water from other province could cost around 1 billion dollar. Conclusion: In Algeria, even when not taking global climatic change into account, water scarcity is an important problem with acuity in many areas of the country. Since the seventies, dryness prevails in an intense and persistent way. The impact on the water resource already appeared through, the reduction in the rivers flow, the low level of filling dams and the global fall of the piezometric level of the principal country aquifers. In the future, the current deficits of the water resources will increase. This will lead to obvious problems of management and strategy to ensure a durable development for the country.

Teaching Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Teaching Philosophy Teaching is not about being a figure of authority, being in control or the adage, â€Å"June, July and August.† Those who are in the education profession with those goals in mind will not be effective teachers and they fail those who find themselves at his or her mercy in the classroom. The most effective and successful teachers are those who found it was all they ever wanted to do; found a passion for it that lasted through the tedious process of educating by state standards to make it their profession. They are â€Å"called† to teach, another adage in regard to those who are obviously doing what they are best suited to do, something they have a passion for. Anyone can be taught to play a musical instrument to some degree or other but only those with the talent seemingly born in them will become masters of their instruments. It truly takes more than practice and the same is true for the teaching profession; it requires a love and born in talent. Regard for the students is a requirement, not an option. First and foremost there has to be a full understanding that they are people, unique individuals with differing characteristics. It would be an awful mistake of anyone to try to mold them into an idea of what someone thinks they should be. Differences are a fact; they must be accepted as the individuals must be accepted for the wonderful part they play in making the diversity or our society such as it is. If everyone fit the â€Å"perfect mold† life would be an endless drudgery. My experiences to date have taught me that what we see on the surface, or what we think we see, is not always the truth. Our senses do after all fail us so often. The seemingly inattentive student that continually makes comments or asks questions is not an annoyance, he is learning his way. The quiet student in the back that appears to be listening and absorbing everything could very well be hearing nothing except the thoughts in her head about totally unrelated topics.

Nursing Theory Essay

Motivation theories includeAchievement-motivation theory Expectancy theory Equity theory Motivation theories are derived predominantly from the work of:Abraham Maslow (a psychologist) Achievement-motivation theory developed by: Focus: Atkinson, McClelland, and Veroff Aspects of personality characteristics and proposes 3 forms of motivation/needs in work situations (achievement, power, affiliation) Individuals are not as concerned with the rewards of achievement as they are with the actual achievement are:Achievement (high need achievement) Expectancy theory Major concept In 1964 –Vroom decided to add the concept of expectancy, instrumentality & valence to motivation Expectancy is defined as Instrumentality describes Valance is In Short, the Expectancy Theory states thatDeveloped by Victor Vroom in 1960s The effect of ability and motivation on performance Performance = ability X motivation Performance = expectancy x instrumentality x valence The association between the action and the outcome of the action (action will lead to achieve goal) The type of outcome derived b/c of an action (achievement of a goal will lead to reward) The value placed on the desirability of the outcome by the employee An individual will act (performance) in a certain manner b/c there is an expectation (motivation) that the act will result in an outcome. Equity theory Developed by: This theory attempts to describe: Stacy Adams-a research psychologist The relationship in which an individual give something (input) and in exchange receives something (outcome) Ex: an individual expects that if he/she works hard at a job (input), he/she will receive compensation or recognition (outcome) based on what he/she put in Concepts of power, empowerment, and change Power is The larger concept from which authority is derived Power is defined asInfluence wielded (used) by an individual or group of individuals to change behaviors & attitudes and to sway decisions Authority isA formal right based on the manager’s position in the organization. A source of legitimate power 5 bases/sources of powerReward, coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert power Coercive, reward, & legitimate power – are considered formal bases of power Referent & expert power – are personal bases of power Two other bases of power Informational power vs. charismatic powerInformational power – is the power held by an individual who has the information necessary for others to accomplish a task or goal Charismatic power – is the power that attracts one individual to another Empowerment isThe transfer or delegation of responsibility & authority from managers to employees; empowerment is the sharing of power (sharing vision, mission, knowledge, expertise†¦) Change Planned Change Theory Central to Lewin theory A field – Force – have 2 forces (driving force vs. restraining forces) By Kurt Lewin (a German psychologist –if u care!!! ) The concepts of field and force Can be viewed as a system (if one part of the system change, then the whole system must be examined to determine the effect of that change) Driving force – encourages/facilitates movement to a new direction, goal, or outcome Restraining force – (opposite with driving force). Restraining forces block or impede progress toward the goal. Problem-Solving and decision-making processes The Rational Decision-Making ModelInvolves a cognitive process where each step follows in a logical order from the one before. By cognitive, It means -based on thinking through and weighing up the alternatives to come up with the best potential result. Bounded rational decision-making model (Bounded rationality) Means that humans are unable to make entirely rational decision b/c of the limits of human mental abilities and b/c of the influence of external force on decision making. A decision maker is said to exhibit bounded rationality when they consider fewer options than are actually available, or when they choose an option that is not â€Å"the best overall† but is best within the current circumstances. E. g. , someone spills coffee on a shirt in a restaurant, and goes next door and buys a poorly fitting shirt to change into immediately. Obviously it would be optimal to buy a proper fitting shirt. But if the person is in a hurry and cannot wear a wet, coffee stained shirt, then buying the poorly fitting one is appropriate. This is an example of bounded rationality Group Decision Making modelOften used when the decision is complex, such as when a new process or product is being developed. Advantage: the decision made may be higher quality Major errors may be avoided Disadvantage: Take longer to reach decision May lead to compromises that really do not solve the problem Organizational Quantitative Decision-Making Techniques Rely on facts & quantitative measures (data based) to make decisions (although intuition & judgment still influence the decision making process) Conflict Management Characteristics of a conflict situation: Conflict Mode Model 2 types of response: cooperativeness vs assertiveness Thomas & Kilmann (1974) – 5 conflict-handling modes/strategies: Thomas (1976) recommended that the FIRST COURSE of action is to discern (recognize) the other party’s intent in causing the conflict before determining how to respond Cooperativeness – focus on statisfying the other person’s concern Assertiveness – focus on statisfying one’s own concern 1. Competing or forcing – used when the issue is important, needs speedy resolution . Ex. An individual pursues his own concerns at the other person’s expense. This is a power-oriented mode in which you use whatever power seems appropriate to win your own position. (Assertive but uncooperative) 2. Accomodation – opposite of competing. When accomodating – the individual neglects his own concerns to stisfy the concerns (assertive and cooperative) 3. Avoidance – the person neither pursues his own concerns nor those of the other individual.

Class Actinopterygii Facts and Examples

Class Actinopterygii Facts and Examples The group of ray-finned fishes (Class Actinopterygii) encompasses over 20,000 species of fish that have rays, or spines, in their fins. This separates them from the lobe-finned fishes (Class Sarcopterygii, e.g., the lungfish and coelacanth), which have fleshy fins. Ray-finned fishes make up about half of all known vertebrate species. This group of fish is very diverse, so species come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The ray-finned fishes include some of the most well-known fish, including tuna, cod, and even seahorses. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: Actinopterygii Feeding Ray-finned fishes have a wide variety of feeding strategies. One interesting technique is that of the anglerfish, which entice their prey toward them using a movable (sometimes light-emitting) spine that is above the fishs eyes. Some fish, such as the bluefin tuna, are excellent predators, speedily capturing their prey as they swim through the water. Habitat and Distribution Ray-finned fishes live in a wide variety of habitats, including the deep sea, tropical reefs, polar regions, lakes, rivers, ponds and desert springs. Reproduction Ray-finned fishes may lay eggs or bear live young, depending on the species. African cichlids actually keep their eggs and protect the young in their mouth. Some, like seahorses, have elaborate courtship rituals. Conservation and Human Uses Ray-finned fishes have long been sought for human consumption, with some species considered overfished. In addition to commercial fishing, many species are recreationally fished. They are also used in aquariums. Threats to ray-finned fishes include overexploitation, habitat destruction, and pollution.