FOOD INTAKE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

FOOD INTAKE - Essay Example I have kept track of what I ate for three days. To keep account of the mentioned food intake, I have used the iProfile tool. With its help, I have examined my eating habit. Specifically, I have tried to find out whether I eat the optimal amount of lipids, carbohydrates, fiber, and proteins. Lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins are the names of nutrients needed by each person in order to have their body functioning properly. In particular, protein is known to play the role of building blocks for numerous things within the human body. To specify, the body needs protein to build tissue as well as bones, skin and cartilages. Protein is the building material for our hair and nails. Also, it takes part in the formation of enzymes and hormones in the human body. Having reviewed the intake of protein for the mentioned period, I can say that most protein that gets into my body is from eating beef and chicken. In addition, I’ve got to know that protein is in many products that I consume without being aware of this. These are chocolate candies, potato chips, coffee, and salad. All in all, I get 47 g of protein. As for foods that provide carbohydrates in my daily intake, these are, first of all, bread and cheese. Some other things rich in carbohydrates are jalapenos, salad, and iced tea. My intake of carbohydrates is 182 g. As for lipids, I consume them within almost all food that I eat, including bake potato, chicken, beef, salad, etc. The intake of lipids is 73g. Commenting on lipids in my daily dose, it needs to be mentioned that my intake of oil is very low. With reference to My Pyramid, it corresponds to zero or below 10%. Having compared my data with DRI, I can say that my carbohydrates intake is rather low. Specifically, I consume 182 g; it, however, needs to be 311-449 g. In order to improve this, spaghetti and whole grain bread may be added as a

ICT - Webpage Implementation Essay Example for Free

ICT Webpage Implementation Essay After I pass the design to the manager, he gives me some information about his thoughts. He then wants me to start to create a website for their new game, so I use the software Dream weaver to start these jobs. By using the design part, Ive create a page Home. First I set up the front of the page; it contains some news and an Elf picture, also a flash at the bottom right hand corner. At the right hand side, it got different hyperlinks; First page would reopen the Home again; the Information will go to the second sheet as the person click on it. Theres an extra hyperlink added called Feed Back, this is use for the reader who want to give some opinion about the game and anything else. The second work in Home was the Flash, it has a short movie about the game, and it will play automatically as you enter this page. The flashes were creating as: Then I create a second webpage, Information, it include some information about the game, also some background of the shop. This page have the same set up for all the hyperlinks using the Home design, they will go to the direct page as we click on it. The date of the website will be update every time you look at it. The information of the game we use font times new roman so mostly people can be able to read it. Some more information could be fell in as the game were updated, the empty box under the information were a space for that. The next page I make was called download. In this download page, it got lots of different pictures to download, just have to click on the Show Larger Picture button; it will automatically bring you to a larger size of picture. This is another way of hyperlink, which can put lots of picture but save more spaces. Also, the hyperlink of the sheet was working as properly, they would take you to the place you wanted to be. If you click on Home, it will take you back to the homepage of this website. The next slide I create up was Contact. It got some short information for the company, such as phone number, mobile number, and email address. We may use the information to contact the shop and get more details about any problems we got in the game or so. As you click on the email address it will automatic goes to your email and uses this e-mail address to send a mail out. Also, by using the address given we may go to the shop and then we can be sure of more details of the game. The last page of the website use is the feed back. In this pace the person who visits the site can ask any questions, as they fill in the form. As they can see, the underline part is the area for filling in the information. After all the information and the feed back were fill back in, theres an send button at the bottom right hand corner, which can send the opinions to the staff. After I finish the implementation, I immediately show it to the manager. He looks please to have this normal website. He asked me to check that everything is going to be working properly.

Theodore Roosevelt: A Pioneer for the Environment Essay example -- Gre

I have always been fond of the West African proverb: â€Å"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.† Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt, the first Cowboy environmentalist. A man who would inspire generations of outdoorsmen to protect their local and national wilderness for their own children, so that they might one day hunt, fish, and hike those the same hillsides. Roosevelt was born in 1858 into a wealthy family with good connections in New York City. Since Theodore was a sickly kid, he spent a great part of his childhood on his own, collecting small wildlife specimens. He was motivated by a love of the outdoors, spending long hours observing and cataloging local insects and birds. He often described himself as lacking in education compared to other children, due to the fact that he spent so much time out of school. Yet at age nine he wrote an essay titled, â€Å"The Natural History of Insects.† He became a master at observation, a skilled hunter, and was clearly inspired by the amazing gifts of his outdoor world. Theodore overcame his childhood health issues, and was even a top boxer at Harvard. He graduated in 1880 and headed towards law school at Columbia - for a couple of terms. But the political life was calling to him, and he ditched Columbia to become a New York State assemblyman. One of the key lessons of Roosevelt took from his college years was that while a man must take individual responsibility for leading a good life and building his own future, all humans must have a collective responsibility for each other. Otherwise our society would risk disintegrating into â€Å"a riot of lawless business individualism which would be quite as destructive to real civilization as the lawless military individual... ...e have the knowledge that so many people who came before us lacked†¦ now we must muster the courage to use it. It’s time. Works Cited Donahue, Bill. â€Å"Beauty and the Badlands.† Sierra Mar. 2002: 34-43. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Dustin, Daniel L., and Ingrid E. Schneider. â€Å"Collaborative Conflict Resolution at Devils Tower National Monument.† P & R July 2001: 80-85. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Jensen, Mari N. â€Å"Coming of Age at 100: Renewing the National Wildlife Refuge System.† BioScience 53.4 (2003): 321-27. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Lewis, James G. â€Å"Roosevelt, Theodore.† Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Meine, Curt. â€Å"Roosevelt, Conservation, and the Revival of Democracy.† Conservation Biology 4 Aug. 2001: 829-31. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009.

Cellular Rspiration

LABORATORY REPORT FOR BIO411 Experiment 5 : Cellular Respiration Experiment 6 : Photosynthesis Title: Cellular Respiration Objective: To observe and determine cellular respiration in yeast/onion cells. * Measure respiration rate using different substrates. * Measure respiration rate at different temperature. Introduction: In this laboratory experiment, we are given 3 task. The first one is respiration in yeast. Second is respiratory indicator and the third one is observing mitochondria in yeast/onion cell. The first experiment is about investigation of sugars yeast. We will determine which sugars yeast can be use for cell respiration.When the yeast undergoes anaerobic/aerobic respiration, they will give out carbon dioxide. After that it will reacts with water to forms a weak carbonic acid solution. We will use BTB to monitor this reaction. Further explanation will be discussed at the discussion. The second experiment is respiratory indicator. Same concept with the first experiment. W e will measure the respiration rate using different substrates based on the table provided. The third experiment is observing mitochondria in yeast/onion cells. We will be using the staining technique in order to obtain the result of the experiment. * Task 1: Respiration in Yeast Materials: Beakers * Pipettes * Cuvettes * 20% Glucose * 20% Lactose * 20% Sucrose * 20% Maltose * Distilled water * Brom Thymol Blue (BTB) * Spectrophotometer * Measuring cylinders. Procedures: 1. The spectrometer is set to 565nm. Distilled water is used to set the reading to the pure level. 2. 8mL of 20% glucose is placed in the beaker using a measuring cylinder. 3. 1ml of Brom Thymol Blue (BTB) is added into a respective tubes using a pipette. 4. 4ml from the mixture of Glucose and BTB taken and placed in test tube then added with 0. 1ml of yeast extract. 5. The mixture then transferred into cuvette and placed into spectrophotometer. 6.The absorbance measured for 5 minutes. The reading taken within 30 se conds. 7. Steps 1-6 is repeated using 20% Lactose, 20% Sucrose, and 20% Maltose. 8. Reading obtained is recorded and compared with the others. Results: Time (s)| 20% Glucose| 20% Sucrose| 20% Maltose| 20% Lactose| 30| 1. 053| 1. 162| 1. 323| 1. 130| 60| 1. 051| 1. 161| 1. 310| 1. 123| 90| 1. 049| 1. 159| 1. 304| 1. 119| 120| 1. 048| 1. 159| 1. 297| 1. 116| 150| 1. 045| 1. 158| 1. 295| 1. 114| 180| 1. 044| 1. 155| 1. 292| 1. 111| 210| 1. 041| 1. 155| 1. 289| 1. 109| 240| 1. 040| 1. 154| 1. 287| 1. 107| 270| 1. 037| 1. 154| 1. 287| 1. 105| 300| 1. 035| 1. 154| 1. 284| 1. 103| Task 2: Respiratory Indicator Materials: * Test tubes * Yeast extract * 20% Glucose * Water bath * Parafilm * Distilled water * Tap water * Methylene blue Procedures: 1. 4 test tubes is obtained. 2. Each tube filled as table shown below, Tube 1 (room temperature)| Tube 2 (100? c)| Tube 3| Tube 4| 5ml yeast+1ml glucose+2ml methylene blue+2ml distilled water| 5ml yeast+1ml glucose+2ml methylene blue+2ml distilled w ater| 5ml water+1ml glucose+2ml methylene blue+2ml distilled water| 5ml yeast+1ml water+1ml methylene blue +2ml distilled water| 3. For tube 2, yeast is added and glucose is immersed the tube in water bath(100%) for 5 minutes.The, methylene blue is added. 4. Parafilm is used to cover all the tubes. 5. Initial time and color is recorded. 6. Time taken for the decolorisation to occur is recorded. Result: | Tube 1| Tube 2| Tube 3| Tube 4| Observation| Dark blue(no change)| Dark blue(no change)| Dark blue(no change)| Dark blue(no change)| * Task 3: Observing Mitochondrian of Onion Cells Materials: * Glass slides * Sucrose solution * Methylene blue * Toothpick * Onion cell * Cover slip * Microscope Procedures: 1. Clean slide is obtained and a drop of sucrose solution is placed on the center.Two drops of methylene blue added and mixed well by using toothpick. 2. Yeast is placed on the mixture of sucrose and methylene blue and cobered by the cover slip. 3. The slide immediately viewed unde r microscope. Results: 35 minutes is taken for yeast cells to decolorized, where blue stain turns clear. Disccusion: In our experiment, in order to achieved our objective which are to observe and determine cellular repiration in yeast/onion cells, we have to measured respiration rate using different substrates and we also have to measure respiration rates at different temperatures in Task 1, Task 2, Task 3.In Task 1: Respiration in yeast, the result we obtained shows that the 20% Glucose give the lowest value of absorbance compared to the others and 20% Maltose gave the highest value of absorbance. The order of absorbance is 20% Glucose

Learning Technology Essay

Due to their nature, a lot of possibilities are opened up in virtual worlds that are not present in the real world. These can make it highly conducive to learning new things. For instance, students that are separated by geography can share a class. A virtual environment ensures that procedures or demonstrations normally limited by scope or expense can be repeated, observed and redone as often as necessary. The very idea that is entertainment, and not just another â€Å"day in class† provides a stimulus to education that real schools often lack. The greater opportunity for collaboration, relative safety and convenience provided by online gaming certainly makes it a solid platform capable of delivering the lessons of the future. Cons of Using Second Life as a Learning Technology Some aspects of learning can never be completely replaced however. While Second Life may offer a greatly enhanced experience and rapid transfer of information, it is still nothing like face-to-face interaction. A wholly automated method of teaching is still prone to disruption and malicious griefing, especially in an online game like Second Life. And virtual objects will never be a substitute for tangible things, making it difficult for educational applications that require hands-on training. Overall, the pros outweigh the cons, and many institutes of higher learning are already aware of this fact. Utilizing Second Life as a Educational Tool for the Real World Learning a new language is an effort that can be greatly enhanced by interaction with elements that are connected to the culture in some way. There a quite a few themed regions in Second Life that are almost perfect replicas of their real-world counterparts, complete with native speakers to boot. Virtual tourism is the perfect way to learn and remember commonly-used phrases before the real trip. References Kock, N. , Verville, J. , & Garza, V. (2007). Media naturalness and online learning: Findings supporting both the significant- and nosignificant-difference perspectives. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 5(2), 333-356.

Good To Graet Example

Good To Graet Example Good To Graet – Book Report/Review Example GOOD TO GREAT GOOD TO GRAET In the book â€Å"Good to Great†, Collins reflects on factors that make it possible for some companies to experience a transition from being just average companies into becoming great global companies. He also visits the possibilities that may hinder other companies from ever experiencing this kind of transition. The opinion of the writer is rightly placed in stating in emphatic terms that greatness is not an automatic force that will accompany anyone who claims to be in business. Rather, businesses must be seen as putting in efforts that proofs that they are ready to transit into greatness.Collins is lesson oriented and critical at the same time as he both outlines characteristics of companies that transited from good to great and condemned others that remained stagnant in growth. A critical aspect of the book is when the writer gives seven characteristics of transiting companies. Collins notes that leaders must be humble, whiles driving what is be st for their companies. He also admonishes the need to invest in people, confront brutal facts, and identify a company’s overlapping circles. Furthermore, the writer preaches that companies that want to succeed without a culture of discipline will fail; just as those who refuse to incorporate technology. Finally, there is a call to value small initiatives.Generally, the lesson that Collins spells out in his book are very thought provoking, precise and practical. It is not surprising that he could use real company examples.Cited WorkCollins, Jim. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Dont. HarperCollins Publishers: New York. Print. 2001.

Calculating the Mean Absolute Deviation

Calculating the Mean Absolute Deviation There are many measurements of spread or dispersion in statistics. Although the range and standard deviation are most commonly used, there are other ways to quantify dispersion.  We will look at how to calculate the mean absolute deviation for a data set.   Definition We begin with the definition of the mean absolute deviation, which is also referred to as the average absolute deviation. The formula displayed with this article is the formal definition of the mean absolute deviation. It may make more sense to consider this formula as a process, or series of steps, that we can use to obtain our statistic. We start with an average, or measurement of the center, of a data set, which we will denote by m.  Next, we find how much each of the data values deviates from m.  This means that we take the difference between each of the data values and m.  After this, we take the absolute value of each of the difference from the previous step. In other words, we drop any negative signs for any of the differences.  The reason for doing this is that there are positive and negative deviations from m.  If we do not figure out a way to eliminate the negative signs, all of the deviations will cancel one another out if we add them together.Now we add together all of these absolute values.Finally, we divide this sum by n, which is the total number of data values.  The result is the mean absolute deviation. Variations There are several variations for the above process.  Note that we did not specify exactly what m is. The reason for this is that we could use a variety of statistics for m.  Typically this is the center of our data set, and so any of the measurements of central tendency can be used. The most common statistical measurements of the center of a data set are the mean, median and the mode.  Thus any of these could be used as m in the calculation of the mean absolute deviation. This is why it is common to refer to the mean absolute deviation about the mean or the mean absolute deviation about the median. We will see several examples of this. Example:  Mean Absolute Deviation About the Mean Suppose that we start with the following data set: 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 9. The mean of this data set is 5.  The following table will organize our work in calculating the mean absolute deviation about the mean.   Data Value Deviation from mean Absolute Value of Deviation 1 1 - 5 = -4 |-4| = 4 2 2 - 5 = -3 |-3| = 3 2 2 - 5 = -3 |-3| = 3 3 3 - 5 = -2 |-2| = 2 5 5 - 5 = 0 |0| = 0 7 7 - 5 = 2 |2| = 2 7 7 - 5 = 2 |2| = 2 7 7 - 5 = 2 |2| = 2 7 7 - 5 = 2 |2| = 2 9 9 - 5 = 4 |4| = 4 Total of Absolute Deviations: 24 We now divide this sum by 10, since there are a total of ten data values.  The mean absolute deviation about the mean is 24/10 2.4. Example:  Mean Absolute Deviation About the Mean Now we start with a different data set: 1, 1, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7, 10. Just like the previous data set, the mean of this data set is 5.   Data Value Deviation from mean Absolute Value of Deviation 1 1 - 5 = -4 |-4| = 4 1 1 - 5 = -4 |-4| = 4 4 4 - 5 = -1 |-1| = 1 5 5 - 5 = 0 |0| = 0 5 5 - 5 = 0 |0| = 0 5 5 - 5 = 0 |0| = 0 5 5 - 5 = 0 |0| = 0 7 7 - 5 = 2 |2| = 2 7 7 - 5 = 2 |2| = 2 10 10 - 5 = 5 |5| = 5 Total of Absolute Deviations: 18 Thus the mean absolute deviation about the mean is 18/10 1.8.  We compare this result to the first example.  Although the mean was identical for each of these examples, the data in the first example was more spread out. We see from these two examples that the mean absolute deviation from the first example is greater than the mean absolute deviation from the second example. The greater the mean absolute deviation, the greater the dispersion of our data. Example:  Mean Absolute Deviation About the Median Start with the same data set as the first example: 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 9. The median of the data set is 6.  In the following table,  we show the details of the calculation of the mean absolute deviation about the median. Data Value Deviation from median Absolute Value of Deviation 1 1 - 6 = -5 |-5| = 5 2 2 - 6 = -4 |-4| = 4 2 2 - 6 = -4 |-4| = 4 3 3 - 6 = -3 |-3| = 3 5 5 - 6 = -1 |-1| = 1 7 7 - 6 = 1 |1| = 1 7 7 - 6 = 1 |1| = 1 7 7 - 6 = 1 |1| = 1 7 7 - 6 = 1 |1| = 1 9 9 - 6 = 3 |3| = 3 Total of Absolute Deviations: 24 Again we divide the total by 10 and obtain a mean average deviation about the median as 24/10 2.4. Example:  Mean Absolute Deviation About the Median Start with the same data set as before: 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 7, 7, 9. This time we find the mode of this data set to be 7.  In the following table,  we show the details of the calculation of the mean absolute deviation about the mode. Data Deviation from mode Absolute Value of Deviation 1 1 - 7 = -6 |-5| = 6 2 2 - 7 = -5 |-5| = 5 2 2 - 7 = -5 |-5| = 5 3 3 - 7 = -4 |-4| = 4 5 5 - 7 = -2 |-2| = 2 7 7 - 7 = 0 |0| = 0 7 7 - 7 = 0 |0| = 0 7 7 - 7 = 0 |0| = 0 7 7 - 7 = 0 |0| = 0 9 9 - 7 = 2 |2| = 2 Total of Absolute Deviations: 22 We divide the sum of the absolute deviations and see that we have a mean absolute deviation about the mode of 22/10 2.2. Fast Facts There are a few basic properties concerning mean absolute deviations The mean absolute deviation about the median is always less than or equal to the mean absolute deviation about the mean.The standard deviation is greater than or equal to the mean absolute deviation about the mean.The mean absolute deviation is sometimes abbreviated by MAD.  Unfortunately, this can be ambiguous as MAD may alternately refer to the median absolute deviation.The mean absolute deviation for a normal distribution is approximately 0.8 times the size of the standard deviation. Common Uses The mean absolute deviation has a few applications.  The first application is that this statistic may be used to teach some of the ideas behind the standard deviation. The mean absolute deviation about the mean is much easier to calculate than the standard deviation. It does not require us to square the deviations, and we do not need to find a square root at the end of our calculation. Furthermore, the mean absolute deviation is more intuitively connected to the spread of the data set than what the standard deviation is. This is why the mean absolute deviation is sometimes taught first, before introducing the standard deviation. Some have gone so far as to argue that the standard deviation should be replaced by the mean absolute deviation.  Although the standard deviation is important for scientific and mathematical applications, it is not as intuitive as the mean absolute deviation. For day-to-day applications, the mean absolute deviation is a more tangible way to measure how spread out data are.

Home Treatment for Jellyfish and Man of War Stings

Home Treatment for Jellyfish and Man of War Stings You can apply common household chemistry to treat jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war stings. However, jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war are two different animals. Heres a look at how to tell them apart and how the chemistry of treating the stings differs depending on what stung you. Key Takeaways: Jellyfish and Portuguese Man-of-War Stings A jellyfish can sting you even if its dead.Vinegar, ammonia, meat tenderizer, or heat can inactivate the toxin in jellyfish venom. However, if there is a risk a sting is from a Portuguese man-of-war, using a chemical can cause all of the stinging cells to fire at once and worsen the injury.Another method of treating a sting is to lift off the tentacle (like with a credit card or seashell) and rinse the area with water.An antihistamine can help reduce allergic response. Hydrocortisone can relieve inflammation. An over-the-counter pain reliever can help reduce pain. Dont Make the Sting Worse Do you know what to do if you or someone youre with finds a jellyfish or is stung by one? You should know the answer to these questions before you go to the beach since an encounter with a jellyfish can be a painful or possibly lethal experience. As a matter of practical chemistry, your biggest risk from a jellyfish or Portuguese man-of-war sting may come from improper first aid intended to deal with the venom, so pay attention... What Should You Do If You See a Jellyfish? Best Answer: Leave it alone. If its in the water, get away from it. If its on the beach and you need to walk around it, walk above it (dune side) rather than below it (surf side), since it may be trailing tentacles. Keep in mind a jellyfish does not need to be alive in order to sting you. Detached tentacles are capable of stinging and releasing venom for several weeks. Other Answer: It depends what kind of jellyfish it is. I realize if it looks like floating jelly, its considered a jellyfish, but there are different types of jellyfish and also animals that look like jellyfish but are something else entirely. Not all jellyfish can hurt you. Some jellyfish are either nonvenomous or else their stinging cells cant penetrate your skin. What do you do when you see one of these jellyfish? If you are a kid, youll probably pick it up and throw it at another kid (unless its alive, then be kind and let it be). Most parts of the world have nonvenomous jellyfish. They tend to be easy to spot. Its the ones you dont see that present the biggest threat. Many jellyfish are transparent (but glow under a black light). You probably wont see them in the water, so if you are stung, you wont know exactly what got you. If you see a jellyfish and dont know what type it is, treat it like a venomous species and get away from it. How Do I Treat a Jellyfish Sting? Answer: If you know the victim is allergic to insect stings, seek medical attention immediately. People who are allergic to bees and wasps may experience a dangerous allergic reaction to a jellyfish sting. Otherwise, act quickly and calmly to remove the tentacles, stop the stinging, and deactivate any toxin. Here is where people get confused because the best steps to take depend on what type of animal caused the sting. Use these good basic strategies, especially if you dont know what caused the sting: Get out of the water. Its easier to deal with the sting, and it takes drowning out of the equation.Rinse the affected area with seawater. Do not use fresh water. Fresh water will cause any stinging cells that havent fired (called nematocysts) to do so and release their venom, possibly worsening the situation. Do not rub sand on the area (same reason).If you see any tentacles, carefully lift them off the skin and remove them with a stick, shell, credit card, or towel (just not your bare hand). They will stick to swimwear, so use caution touching clothing.Keep an eye on the victim. If you see any signs of an allergic reaction, call 911 immediately. Symptoms could include difficulty breathing, nausea, or dizziness. Some redness and swelling is normal, but if it spreads outward from the sting or if you see hives on other parts of the body, that could indicate an allergic response. If you suspect a reaction, do not hesitate to seek medical attention.Now, if you are sure the sting is from a jellyfish and not a Portuguese man-of-war (not a true jellyfish) or any other animal, you can use chemistry to your advantage to inactivate the toxin, which is a protein. (Technically, the venom tends to be a mixture of polypeptides and proteins including catecholamines, histamine, hyaluronidase, fibrolysins, kinins, phospholipases, and assorted toxins). How do you inactivate proteins? You can change the temperature or acidity by applying heat or an acid or base, such as vinegar or baking soda or diluted ammonia, or even an enzyme, such as the papain found in papaya and meat tenderizer. However, chemicals may cause the stinging cells to fire, which is bad news for someone allergic to jellyfish toxin or anyone stung by a Portuguese man-of-war. If you do not know what caused the sting, or if you suspect it is from a Portuguese man-of-war, do not apply fresh water or any chemical. Your best course of action is to apply heat to the affected area since it penetrates the skin and inacti vates the toxin without causing more venom to be injected. Also, heat quickly helps alleviate the pain of the sting. Hot seawater is great, but if you dont have that handy, use any warmed object. Some people carry aloe vera gel, Benadryl (diphenhydramine) cream, or hydrocortisone cream. Im not sure how effective the aloe is, but Benadryl is an antihistamine, which may help limit an allergic response to the sting. Hydrocortisone can help reduce inflammation. If you seek medical attention and used Benadryl or hydrocortisone, be sure to alert the medical professionals. Acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen are commonly used to relieve pain.

Mormon Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mormon Church - Essay Example In the 1800’s a man named Joseph Smith was told to dig up these records and to translate them. That is where the Book of Mormon comes from. The Mormon Church is becoming a powerful church all over the world. They actively try to get people to visit their church and to join. There are missionaries all over the world doing this right now. Mitt Romney is trying to get elected as the President of the United States. This has raised interest in the Mormon Church because Mitt Romney is a Mormon. Attending two services of the Mormon Church seemed like the best way to learn about this culture and to understand how Mormons think and view the world. Setting Both of my meetings were held on a Sunday morning. The meetings were actually arranged into a three-hour block of time. The first meeting is referred to as Sacrament Meeting, the second hour is devoted to Sunday School, and the third meeting for men is called Priesthood Meeting while women attend Relief Society. The Chapel was a large , spacious building that was clean and tidy. There was very little ornamentation in the chapel. Typical symbols of Christianity such as a crucifix or statues of Jesus were conspicuously absent from the sanctuary. The building had a very utilitarian feel to it. The sanctuary was no more ornate than the simple classrooms that lined the halls. There were nicely framed paintings on the walls. I was unfamiliar with most of the themes and There was a children’s area and a space referred to as the Cultural Hall that included a basketball court and a stage. The meetings began at 9:00 AM and ended at 12:00 PM. There was a 5-10 minute break that appeared to exist mainly for socializing between each class period. Everything about the setting suggested order and efficiency, from the way the building was constructed and designed, to the way the various meetings were conducted. Participants The people in the congregation were mainly Caucasians. There were a few individuals that appeared to be of Latino descent and only one African American. There were approximately 220 participants in the Sacrament Meeting portion of the worship service. The group that seemed to most dominate the demographics of the congregation was families with children. There were many families with at least three small children and several that appeared to have more than five. Families appeared to sit together for most of the Sacrament Meeting time. There were some elderly women, but only one elderly man was in the congregation. Ethnically and demographically, the congregation was very homogenous. Sacrament Meeting The first meeting of the block each week is Sacrament Meeting. This is the most sacred service for Mormons because they pass bread and water to remember that Jesus died for their sins by giving his body and his blood. The blood is represented by water. The body is represented by bread. The meeting begins with a greeting by a man with the title of Bishop. He is the local leader of the c ongregation. He started the meeting by announcing changes in the Ward staffing assignments. A Ward is a geographic references to the area assigned to a particular congregation. In the Mormon Church, you are encouraged to attend the Ward that your town or community has been assigned to. Church staffing is all voluntary. The Bishop, the teachers and other participants receive no money for their time and efforts so there is no paid clergy in the Mormon Church. The Bishop

Regulatory policy and Strategic Assets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Regulatory policy and Strategic Assets - Essay Example in case of retailers the suppliers of the different items sold by the retailers whereas the horizontal integration involves the acquisition of the competitors in order to increase the market share of the firm. (Joyce & Woods, 2001) This line of thinking within retail chains therefore indicate that the increased emphasis on the mergers and acquisitions during 1990s was also more driven by the fact that the firms realized that through these carefully selected strategic assets, these firms can actually achieve more efficiency. However, during 1980s the focus was on the use of LBO as a mean of acquiring new firms and utilized the power of debt in order to increase the market penetration and firm value. Further, firms also realized that acquiring their suppliers will basically increase their bargaining position and thus will allow them to compete more easily based on the price based factors because retail chain stores can only compete based on the lower prices. Either way, the process of mergers and acquisitions generally increase the market power of the firms and therefore may lead to the further increase in the concentration of some bigger retail chains in the market while driving away smaller or mid sized players from the market. This is also evident from the fact that large retail chain stores can easily obtain large tracts of lands and can even keep them un-developed just to drive the competition away. One of the most important arguments which can be put forward in this regard is the fact that the barriers to entry in this segment of the business are low. Such low barriers to entry therefore can allow smaller as well as large players to easily enter and exit the market at lowest cost. As such if the retail chains are large supermarkets, they allow them to develop better bargaining position and thus offer better prices to the customers. Further, the degree of competition in the market

Dangers of texting and driving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dangers of texting and driving - Essay Example The basis for the risk in texting while driving is distraction of drivers’ attention from focusing on the road. The few seconds when a driver types some text on their phone is equal to driving for the exact number of seconds while blindfolded. There are real dangers involved in this with loss of human life being the ultimate risk. This act is unacceptable by its very nature of posing a risk human life. Klauer et al, conducted a study on the risks of a crash or near crash for both novice and experienced drivers when their attention is distracted yielded a positive relationship between number of distractions from secondary tasks while driving and risk of crash or near-crash. It was established that the risk increased at a significant rate among novice drivers than among experienced drivers. The secondary task distractions considered included picking a mobile phone, replying to a text or email and reading the same. However, the research did not include browsing the internet while driving (Klauer, et al., 2014). This gives a clear indication that texting while driving poses a real danger of an accident or a near- accident regardless of a driver’s competence. This act not only poses danger to the driver but also the pedestrians walking by the roadside (Rumschlag, et al., 2015). Consequences of this act reverberate across several areas of the society which include medical servic es sector, motor vehicle insurance sector as well as the country’s labor force.

Admissions Process at the University of Reading based in Microsoft Coursework

Admissions Process at the University of Reading based in Microsoft Dynamics CRM approach - Coursework Example This means they have to bear extensive understanding of the different platforms a factor which reduces the system’s efficiency. Besides the day to day operations, UOR has in the past dealt with a disintegrated admissions process that heightened the chances of duplication and which seemed to duplicate the roles of the interacting stakeholders. Besides, the need for continuous correspondence even in the presence of an admissions system presented a limitation as it increased the chances of errors and caused delays. Introduction of the Reading Integrated Student Information partly solved the existing challenges but it still did not congregate all the stakeholders in a single platform. Convergence is critical as it harmonizes knowledge and improves the efficiency of the system a factor which addresses error incidence and time wastage which were synonymous with the existent systems. To provide a solution to the established challenges,the institution is planning to utilize Microsoft Dynamics CRM approach which among other things integrates the institution’s systems, particularly the admissions system.Being a new system,UOR would want an assurance on the system especially in regard to its capability to address existent system inadequacies.Therefore, the role of this study is to offer a thorough review on the system with the main aim of defining whether the Microsoft Dynamics CRM approach will indeed suit the needs of the institution. ... terface that jointly help access records and carry out searches are; The solution folder, this appears as a button immediately the Outlook client is installed. The button is used to access additional Microsoft Dynamics CRM functionality. In the case of the UOR, the button will carry the name of the organization. Ribbon, this carries the same functionalities in the Outlook interface as well as the web client, the ribbon shows variant buttons and features depending on the context. For example, if the user is accessing accounts, the ribbon displays various actions that the user can take with the accounts (Stanton, 2012). This is the same if the user is accessing records, the ribbon will display variant action available for contact records. View tabs, this area is utilized to highlight data that the user wants to work with. View tabs can also be utilized to pin views that the user may want to access in the near future. Lists, this appears the same way as in the web client and it displays a list of records. This displays records based on selected tab. Quick find, this is another commonality between the Outlook interface and the web client, a user can enter a search to search for particular records (Microsoft Inc, 2011). The difference in the Outlook quick find and the web client is that in the former the only displayed searches are those currently displayed in the view. Quick find in the web client searches the entire database. Lastly the filter, the filter can be used to sift data or records that appear in the displayed view. Using activities Microsoft Dynamics CRM classifies activities in either of the following categories; tasks, faxes, phone calls, e-mails, letters, appointments, as well as special case service activities (Stanton, .p.260). Ech class of activities

Argue the US should increase its use of natural gas Essay

Argue the US should increase its use of natural gas - Essay Example This will critically compare both the pros and cons of this form of fuel and the benefits of its use in the United States (Knittel 3). The choice of gas to use in our industries is no longer guided by the desires of an individual but the cost and availability of the said fuel. With major economies relying on fossil fuel for different functions including industrial and home use, the current reserves are being depleted at an alarming rate. Natural gas is currently one of the cheapest and safest gases around the world with the United States sitting on a huge reserve of the gas which is currently unexploited. The lack of interest on natural gas and its resultant lack of exploitation can be attributed to the negative misconceptions that have been generated towards this gas (Ratner 7). Natural gas is colorless and odorless and produce high amount of energy when combusted with no significant emissions that negatively harm the environment. It is one of the most abundant gases in the United S tates but is rarely exploited due to the countries over reliance on fossil fuel. It contains high concentration of hydrocarbons including methane, ethane and propane, which are currently generated from fossil fuel at a much higher cost on the environment and economy. As a country that is much preoccupied with fossil fuel, switching to natural gas can only be achieved through informed education approaches that provide the benefits of this source of gas as compared to the current source. This topic will be insightful in guiding the country’s energy policy makers in making a significant policy shift from fossil fuel to natural gas. A number of misconceptions also exist about natural gas as compared to fossil fuels that act to confuse the citizens as further. This topic seeks to handle these misconceptions by providing an argumentative approach on why the country must adopt natural gas as opposed to the current use of fossil fuel (Knittel 3). Natural gas is cleaner as compared to fossil fuels thus making it the current fuel preferred by utility companies in the United States. With the current emphasis on the need to reduce emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the need for the adoption of a much cleaner gas makes natural gas the gas of choice. In addition, fossil fuels such as petroleum and gasoline, when combusted produces less energy as compared to natural gas but has higher amount of greenhouse effect as compared to natural gas. The increase in international lobbying for the adoption of safe and clean fuel supports the role of natural gas in the reduction of climate change, which occurs due to an increase in greenhouse gas emission from industries (Verrastro & Branch 5). However, natural gas has a finite nature that makes it unreliable source of energy to drive the massive industries in the United States and mitigate the impacts of global warming. Those who belong to this school of thought argue that despite the fact that natural gas is much cleaner as compared to fossil fuels, it is not as clean to enable it contribute significantly in the fight against climate change. Decreasing the prevalence of climate change cannot effectively be done using natural gas, as the opponents would want us to believe. This is farther from the truth, as the fight against climate change cannot be won through one major initiative but through well-calculated policies, which significantly

Admissions Process at the University of Reading based in Microsoft Coursework

Admissions Process at the University of Reading based in Microsoft Dynamics CRM approach - Coursework Example This means they have to bear extensive understanding of the different platforms a factor which reduces the system’s efficiency. Besides the day to day operations, UOR has in the past dealt with a disintegrated admissions process that heightened the chances of duplication and which seemed to duplicate the roles of the interacting stakeholders. Besides, the need for continuous correspondence even in the presence of an admissions system presented a limitation as it increased the chances of errors and caused delays. Introduction of the Reading Integrated Student Information partly solved the existing challenges but it still did not congregate all the stakeholders in a single platform. Convergence is critical as it harmonizes knowledge and improves the efficiency of the system a factor which addresses error incidence and time wastage which were synonymous with the existent systems. To provide a solution to the established challenges,the institution is planning to utilize Microsoft Dynamics CRM approach which among other things integrates the institution’s systems, particularly the admissions system.Being a new system,UOR would want an assurance on the system especially in regard to its capability to address existent system inadequacies.Therefore, the role of this study is to offer a thorough review on the system with the main aim of defining whether the Microsoft Dynamics CRM approach will indeed suit the needs of the institution. ... terface that jointly help access records and carry out searches are; The solution folder, this appears as a button immediately the Outlook client is installed. The button is used to access additional Microsoft Dynamics CRM functionality. In the case of the UOR, the button will carry the name of the organization. Ribbon, this carries the same functionalities in the Outlook interface as well as the web client, the ribbon shows variant buttons and features depending on the context. For example, if the user is accessing accounts, the ribbon displays various actions that the user can take with the accounts (Stanton, 2012). This is the same if the user is accessing records, the ribbon will display variant action available for contact records. View tabs, this area is utilized to highlight data that the user wants to work with. View tabs can also be utilized to pin views that the user may want to access in the near future. Lists, this appears the same way as in the web client and it displays a list of records. This displays records based on selected tab. Quick find, this is another commonality between the Outlook interface and the web client, a user can enter a search to search for particular records (Microsoft Inc, 2011). The difference in the Outlook quick find and the web client is that in the former the only displayed searches are those currently displayed in the view. Quick find in the web client searches the entire database. Lastly the filter, the filter can be used to sift data or records that appear in the displayed view. Using activities Microsoft Dynamics CRM classifies activities in either of the following categories; tasks, faxes, phone calls, e-mails, letters, appointments, as well as special case service activities (Stanton, .p.260). Ech class of activities

You may pick one to use Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

You may pick one to use - Research Paper Example The financial position of the organization will dictate whether it is capable of handling the implementation of the given project or if not. It may also find sponsors to grant finances towards the project. Technical feasibility is defined by the organizations ability to hire proper technology and experienced human labor for the development process. The analysis phase of the project helps establish the reasons as to why a new system is needed. It involves specifying what kind of system is to be built. This can be done by identifying the problems facing the organization and then coming up with a system to solve them. (Stuart , 1994). An example is a school that has observed increased demand for its library services from its students. The school may decide to create an online system which will ease the congestion at the library and consequently reduce the librarian’s workload. It may decide to put up an online virtual library where students can read soft copy library materials, reserve library books to borrow later and also extend the loan period of a book. The design phase helps determine how the system is to be built and what technology will be used. For an online system, server technology is employed; this will enable users’ access through a network. A database will also come in handy to save user records and the materials they can access online. For a virtual online library, the database may store the library users’ login and usage information. In addition softcopy materials such as pdf books and magazines can be downloaded from it. System modeling is also done during design. A system model helps the designer visualize the system in a simplified manner. It acts as a template of the system and helps to bring out the specifications of the system. The model will be used to ensure all the sub-systems are interconnected in a logical

Stat Project Essay Example for Free

Stat Project Essay In order to figure out how variables relates to each other and the connections among the variables, or one can predict the other. I will choose three quantitative variables or two quantitative variables and one categorical variable on each pairs. I will also use graphs of scatter plots; regression and correlation to understand that how one variable affect other two variables. There are six groups below: Group one: High School Percentile (HSP), Cumulative GPA (GPA), and ACT Composition Score (COMP) a) HSP vs GPA b) HSP vs COMP c) COMP vs GPA From graph a, we can find out that there is moderate positive liner relationship between HSP and GPA; the correlation is 0. 552; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0163928*HSP+1. 84804; the slope is 0. 0163928 which is positive; when the predictor variable HSP increase, the response variable GPA also moderately increase; for instance, when HSP increase by 1, GPA will increase 0. 0163928. From graph b, there is also weak positive liner relationship between HSP and COMP scores; the correlation is 0. 357; the equation of regression is COMP=0. 069129*HSP+18. 3131; the slope is 0. 069129 which is positive; when the predictor variable HSP increase, the response variable COMP scores also weakly increase; for example, when HSP increase by 1, the COMP scores will increase 0. 069129. From graph c, there is another weak positive liner relationship between COMP scores and GPA; the correlation is 0. 342; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0524047*COMP+1. 243; the slope is 0. 0524047 which is positive; when the predictor variable COMP increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, COMP scores increase by 1, the GPA will increase 0. 0524047. Based on the graphs and data which I got, I think there are only a little relation among HSP, COMP scores and GPA. I can find out a student with high HSP, has high GPA and high COMP scores; the student with high COMP scores has high GPA. Group Two: ACT math score (MATH), ACT English score (ENGLISH) and Cumulative GPA (GPA) a) MATH vs GPA ) ENGLISH vs GPA c) ENGLISH vs MATH From graph a, we can see that there is weak positive liner relationship between MATH scores and GPA; the correlation is 0. 307; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0395427*MATH+2. 12892; the slope is 0. 0395427 which is positive; when the predictor variable MATH scores increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for instance, when MATH increase by 1, GPA will increase 0. 0395427. From graph b, there is also weak positive liner relationship between ENGLISH scores and GPA; the correlation is 0. 45; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0411408*ENGLISH+2. 11295; the slope is 0. 0411408 which is positive; when the predictor variable ENGLISH scores increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, when ENGLISH scores increase by 1, the GPA will increase 0. 0411408. From graph c, there is moderate positive liner relationship between ENGLISH scores and MATH scores; the correlation is 0. 475; the equation of regression is MATH=0. 440334*ENGLISH+13. 2567; the slope is 0. 40334 which is positive; when the predictor variable ENGLISH scores increase, the response variable MATH scores also weakly increase; for instance, when ENGLISH scores increase by 1, the MATH scores will increase 0. 440334. According to the graphs and data, I can find out a student who has high English score and Math score also has high GPA and the student with high English score has high Math score. Group Three: Cumulative GPA (GPA), age (AGE) and Total Credits Earned (CREDITS) a) AGE vs GPA b) CREDITS vs GPA c) AGE vs CREDITS From graph a, we can see that there is a weak negative liner relationship between AGE and GPA; the correlation is -0. 103; the equation of regression is GPA=-0. 0240245*AGE+3. 55195; the slope is -0. 0240245 which is negative; when the predictor variable AGE increase, the response variable GPA will weakly decrease; for instance, when AGE increase by 1, GPA will decrease 0. 0240245. From graph b, there is weak positive liner relationship between CREDITS and GPA; the correlation is 0. 106; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 00141886*CREDITS+2. 94831; the slope is 0. 0141886 which is positive; when the predictor variable CREDITS increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, when CREDITS increase by 1, the GPA will increase 0. 00141886. From graph c, there is a strong positive liner association between AGE and CREDITS; the correlation is 0. 668; the equation of regression is CREDITS=11. 7475*AGE-174. 356; the slope is 11. 7475 which is positive; when the predic tor variable AGE increase, the response variable CREDITS also strongly increase; for instance, when AGE increase by 1, the CREDITS will increase 11. 7475. There are some outliers may affect the correlation. Based on the graphs and data above, we can find out a student who is older with a litter lower GPA, but has very higher credits; the student with higher credits also has high GPA. Group Four: ACT English Score (ENGLISH), ACT Composition Score (COMP) and Age (AGE) a) AGE vs ENGLISH b) AGE vs COMP c) ENGLISH vs COMP From graph a, we can see that there is a weak negative liner relationship between AGE and English scores; the correlation is -0. 042; the equation of regression is ENGLISH=-0. 0814809*AGE+24. 469; the slope is -0. 814809 which is negative; when the predictor variable AGE increase, the response variable English scores will weakly decrease; for instance, when AGE increase by 1, GPA will decrease 0. 0814809. From graph b, there is weak negative liner relationship between ENGLISH scores and COMP scores; the correlation is-0. 038; the equation of regression is COMP=-0. 0584814*AGE+24. 6029; the slope is -0. 0584814 which is neg ative; when the predictor variable CREDITS increase, the response variable GPA also weakly increase; for example, when AGE increase by 1, the COMP scores will decrease 0. 0584814. From graph c, there is a strong positive liner association between ENGLISH scores and COMP scores; the correlation is 0. 843; the equation of regression is COMP=0. 65656*ENGLISH+8. 43327; the slope is 0. 65656 which is positive; when the predictor variable ENGLISH scores increase, the response variable COMP scores also strongly increase; for instance, when ENGLISH scores increase by 1, the COMP scores will increase 0. 65656. According to the graphs and data above, we can find out a student who is older with a litter lower English and Comp scores; the student with higher English score has very high Comp score. Group Five: Quantitative variables High School Percentile (HSP), Age (AGE) and a categorical variable Sex (SEX) a) HSP vs GPA (both sex) b) HSP vs GPA (males) c) HSP vs GPA (females) From graph a, we can see that there is a moderate positive liner relationship between HSP and GPA; the correlation is 0. 552; the equation of regression is GPA=0. 0163928*HSP+1. 8408; the slope is 0. 0163928 which is positive; when the predictor variable HSP increase, the response variable GPA will moderate increase.

Contemporary Moral Problems And Issues Philosophy Essay

Contemporary Moral Problems And Issues Philosophy Essay As Glaucon recalls the legend of Gyges he said that, a Shepherd found a powerful magic ring in a fissure opened by an earthquake. If the ring was worn, the person will become invisible and would able to travel anywhere and do anything undetected. However, he used the ring for evil, to get what he wants and satisfaction. There are two kinds of ring, the virtue and rouge. In the story the morality that has been raised in the story was about being greedy on the power that he possesses. This power made him to think evil rather than doing good deeds and he cannot let go of what he have. He acted selfishness, choosing to become immoral to the whole society and go against the cleanliness of his heart. 2. Distinguish between psychological and ethical egoism. Psychological egoism, means that all men are self-centered in everything that they do. Just to satisfy his needs for his own good which acts as self-interest. And Ethical egoism, means how men ought to act. That gives a factual response of a persons behavior; they have no obligation to do anything what is in their own interest, regardless of the effect on others. 3. Rachels discusses two arguments for psychological egoism. What are these arguments, and how does he reply to them? The first argument describes one persons action as selfish, and another persons action as unselfish. We are overlooking the crucial fact that in both cases, assuming that the action is done voluntarily, the agent is merely doing what he most wants to do. The first argument shows bad example it would not deserve to be taken seriously, because it rests on the premise that people never voluntarily do anything except what they want to do. And the second argument for psychological egoism is the so-called unselfish actions always produce a sense of self-satisfaction in the agent, and since this sense of satisfaction is a pleasant state of consciousness, rather than to bring about any good for others. 4. What three commonplace confusions does Rachels detect in the thesis of psychological egoism? The three commonplace confusions are: Confusion of Selfishness with self-interest. Assumption that every action is done either from self-interest or from other-regarding motives. Common but false assumption that a concern for ones own welfare is incompatible with any genuine concern for the welfare of others. 5. State the arguments for saying that ethical egoism is inconsistent. Why doesnt Rachels accept this argument? An ethical egoism is inconsistent, because the egoism cannot be easily advocated that is commonly adopted by many. And if people adopted the egoistic policy of pursuing their own interests to the exclusion of his interests, as he pursues his interests to the exclusion of theirs, then such a world would be impossible. So he himself will be an egoist, but he will want others to be altruists. 6. According to Rachels, why shouldnt we hurt others, and why should we help others? How can the egoist reply? By doing actions that would harm others may affect them. He will protest that we may accept this as a reason, but he does not. There are limits to what can be accomplished by argument, and if the egoist really doesnt care about other people. As a reason not to do an action simply because he cares about what happens to that other person. What the egoist says that he does not accept that as a reason, he is saying something quite extraordinary. Discussion Questions: 1. Has Rachels answered the question raised by Glaucon, namely, Why be moral? If so, what exactly is his answer? Yes, his answer was, we must be a moral not for ourselves but for others. 2. Are genuine egoists rare, as Rachels claims? Is it a fact that most people care about others even people they dont know? Yes, the genuine egoists are rare, because most of the people can love or care others, even though they dont really know that person. Helping others may give a reason for doing it as a good habit to show what care really means for them. 3. Suppose we define ethical altruism as the view that one should always act for the benefit of others and never in ones own self-interest. Is such a view immoral or not? The view is not immoral, because things and life are never too late, in our lives no one is perfect, and to make an impact about this we should show how we develop our moral values. John Arthur: Religion, Morality, and Conscience Review Questions: 1. According to Arthur, how are morality and religion different? Morality involves our attitudes toward various forms of behavior like lying and killing, its typically expressed using the notions of rules, rights, and obligations. While religion typically involves in prayer, worship, beliefs about the supernatural, institutional forms and authoritative texts. 2. Why is religion necessary for moral motivation? Religion is necessary for moral motivation, because those religious motives are far from the only ones people have. The decision to do the right thing is made for a variety of reasons. 3. Why isnt religion necessary as a source of moral knowledge? Religion isnt necessary a source of moral knowledge, because people tends to not understand truly the idea of religion it should always be done right. 4. What is the divine command theory? Why does Arthur reject this theory? The divine command theory mean that God has the same sort of relation to the moral law as the legislature, which has to statutes it enacts without Gods commands there would be no moral rules, just as without a legislature there would be no statutes. Arthur rejected the divine command theory, simply because he doesnt believe in God. 5. According to Arthur, how are morality and religion connected? The two are connected, because morality is influenced by religion and they are based on its moral code, which also creates a culture. 6. Dewey says that morality is social. What does this mean, according to Arthur? As Arthur made a study about the morality is social, its about the sense that we are, subject to criticism by others for our actions. We discuss this with others what we should do, and often hear from them concerning whether our decisions were acceptable. Only through the powers of imagination can we exercise our moral powers, envisioning with the powers of judgment what conscience requires. Discussion Questions: 1. Has Arthur refuted the divine command theory? If not, how can it be defended? Arthur did not refute the divine command theory, because he talks about the limitation to the premise of God he is refining god where the principle of God is very powerful. We should remember that in every religion, we can never truly understand the concept of God, because it can never decide the concerns of society and conclusion can never be a factual. 2. If morality is social, as Dewey says, then how can we have any obligations to non-human animals? Even though animals are not human beings. They are also a living thing that can think, feel, and etc. We should have obligations for them, because we also get some of our resources from the animals. 3. What does Dewey mean by moral education? Does a college ethics class count as moral education? Moral education simply means your own family tradition on how you grow up with them and how they raise you. Family is our first teacher in our lives, and we also involve within the society. Yes, because moral education has been taught, which we are learning from discussions and on how we act them in the real world. We will carry this as long as we live. Friedrich Nitzsche: Master-and Slave-Morality Review Questions: 1. How does Nietzsche characterize a good and healthy society? Nietzsche characterizes a good and healthy society by allowing superior individuals to exercise their will to power, their drive domination and exploitation of the inferior. The superior person follows a master-morality that emphasizes power, strength, egoism and freedom, as distinguished from a slave-morality that calls for weakness, submission, sympathy and love. 2. What is Nietzsches view of injury, violence, and exploitation? Nietzsches view of injury, violence and exploitation is from the result in a certain rough sense in good conduct among individuals when the necessary conditions are given. Its a will to the denial of life, a principle of dissolution and decay. 3. Distinguish between Master-Morality and Slave-Morality. Master-Morality has the idea of a good and bad character and its also similar to the noble and despicable. While Slave-Morality has the idea of morality of utility and according to them the evil man arouses fear. 4. Explain the Will to Power. This is best described on how you think, if you put something on mind that you like to achieve something or a goal. The power of your will become immovable. That youll do everything just to get what is best. We develop this through experience, so that we will have a strong will, which strives constantly towards a self-chosen goal under the influence of a self-supplied motivation. Discussion Questions: 1. Some people view Nietzsches writings as harmful and even dangerous. For example, some have charged Nietzsche with inspiring Nazism. Are these charges justified or not? Why or why not? Nietzsches writings are not harmful and not may cause danger. These are very factual record that can be supported through the future. He made every opinion and classified it to have a meaningful life for the whole society, which we could easily identify what are our strengths and weaknesses. 2. What does it mean to be a creator of value? It truly defines the origin of where and how it started that belongs to their ancestors so they could master something coming from the history. Mary Midgley: Trying Out Ones New Sword Review Questions: 1. What is moral isolationism? According to Midgley, the view of anthropologists and others that we cannot criticize cultures that we dont understand. We learn from our culture on how we live our lives. This is an essential doctrine of immoralisim, because it forbids any moral reasoning. It also falsely assumes that cultures are separate and unmixed, whereas most cultures are in face formed out of many influences. 2. Explain the Japanese custom of Tsujigiri. What questions does Midgley ask about this custom? Tsujigiri is a Japanese samurai sword, which means crossroads-cut because it had to be tried out if it works properly; it had to slice through someone at a single blow, from the shoulder to the opposite flank. Otherwise, the warrior bungled his stroke. This could injure his honour, offend his ancestors and even let down his emperor. So tests were needed, and wayfarers had to be extended. The questions are: Does the isolating barrier work both ways? Are people in other cultures equally unable to criticize us? Does the isolating barrier between cultures block praise as well as blame? and What is involved in judging? 3. What is wrong with moral isolationism, according to Midgley? According to Midgley, moral isolationism would lay down a general ban on moral reasoning. This is the programme of immoralism that carries a distressing logical difficulty. 4. What does Midgley think is the basis for criticizing other cultures? Midgley thinks that the culture of our society is the basis of criticizing other cultures. It defines that, why would we judge other culture if we also criticize our own culture. Discussion Questions: 1. Midgley says that Nietzsche is an immoralist. Is that an accurate and fair assessment of Nietzsche? Why or why not? No, because each one of them has different beliefs that they follow and has also different perspective. 2. Do you agree with Midgleys claim that the idea of separate and unmixed cultures is unreal? Explain your answer. No, everything can change, because in one country, you cant tell whether the people there follow the same culture or not. Living in one country can have different varieties of culture and own beliefs. John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism Review Questions: 1. State and explain the Principle of Utility. Show how it could be used to justify actions that are conventionally viewed as wrong, such as lying and stealing. It states that actions or behaviors are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain. Hence, utility is a teleological principle. This once again raises some of the same basic issues of associated with hedonism, as discussed in the earlier section on Teleological Theories. Recall that a hedonist believes that the good life consists solely in the pursuit and experience of pleasure or happiness. The feelings of pleasure and pain are biological events involving our central nervous system, which are controlled by our cerebral cortex. We obviously experience pleasure when we perform certain acts that fulfill biological functions such as doing something that can be done every time if a person is very dependent which causes to lie and steal. 2. How does Mill reply to the objection that Epicureanism is a doctrine worthy only of swine? Mill reacted by saying that represent human nature in a degrading light; since the accusation supposes human beings to be a capable of no pleasures except those of which swine are capable. The comparison of the Epicureanism life to that of beasts is felt degrading, precisely because a beasts pleasure do not satisfy a human beings conceptions of happiness. He doesnt consider the Epicureanism to have been by any means faultless in drawing out their scheme of consequences from the utilitarian principle. 3. How does Mill distinguish between higher and lower pleasures? The two pleasures are, if there be one to which all or almost all who have experience both give a decided preference, irrespective of any feeling of moral obligation to prefer it, that is the more desirable pleasure or the higher pleasure. If one of the two is, by those who are competently acquainted by both, placed so far above the other that they prefer it, even though knowing it to be attended with a greater amount of discontent and would not resign it foe any quantity of the other pleasure which their nature is capable of, we are justified in ascribing to the preferred enjoyment a superiority in quality, so far outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison, of small amount. 4. According to Mill, whose happiness must be considered? -Mill said, neither of the happiness should be considered. He said that neither pains nor pleasures are homogenous and pain is always heterogeneous with pleasure. He said that for that standard is not the agents own greatest happiness, but the greatest amount of happiness altogether. Utilitarianism could only attend its end by the general cultivation of nobleness of character, even if each individual were only benefited by the nobleness of others and his own, so far happiness is concerned, were a sheer deduction from the benefit but the bare enunciation of such an absurdity as this last, renders refutation superfluous. 5. Carefully reconstruct Mills proof of the Principle of Utility. The Principle of Utility says that happiness is nothing more than ones pleasure and absence of pain. However, happiness is subjective from one person to the other. Ones happiness can or cannot be another persons happiness. Happiness varies from person to person. Also, ones perception of what happiness is varies from one person to the other. One might think that he is doing an act that will make him happy however, it really does the opposite. A man is destined to be happy. Mans end is to reach Happiness. Subjective in a sense that they believe certain things that doesnt make them happy, they feel happiness temporarily. However, mans being subjective prevents man to achieve happiness. Discussion Questions: 1. Is happiness nothing more than pleasure and the absence of pain? What do you think? No, because happiness is where you feel free of thoughts that could not bring depression and wont give hatred. Happiness can be seen in a person once their desire is fulfilled. Happiness also is not being alone this is shared to others and to God. 2. Does Mill convince you that the so-called higher pleasures are better than the lower ones? What about the person of experience who prefers the lower pleasures over the higher ones? Yes, because higher pleasures give maximum experience once in a life time. This is where we always remember the good times. I also agree on the second question, having lower pleasures over the higher ones can test you if you really love a person. But if you give up on something, all of your hopes can disappear one by one. 3. Mill says, In the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. Is this true or not? Yes, the statement is true. The principle of utility states that actions or behaviors are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain. Hence, utility is a teleological principle. This once again raises some of the same basic issues of associated with hedonism, as discussed in the earlier section on Teleological Theories. Recall that a hedonist believes that the good life consists solely in the pursuit and experience of pleasure or happiness. 4. Many commentators have thought that Mills proof of the Principle of Utility is defective. Do you agree? If so, then what mistake or mistakes does he make? Is there any way to reformulate the proof so that it is not defective? No, because Mills principle has explained its definition thoroughly. Although the principle of utility is difficult to apply and often leads to immorality, it is, nevertheless, an important moral principle. Fundamental problem for utilitarianism is justifying the altruistic principle of self-sacrifice in order to benefit others. James Rachels: The Debate over Utilitarianism Review Questions: 1. Rachels says that classical utilitarianism can be summed up in three propositions. What are they? As said in the book, the three propositions are actions are to be judged right or wrong in virtue of their consequences. Nothing else matters. Right actions are, simply, those that have the best consequence. Second is, assessing consequences, the only thing that matters is the amount of happiness or unhappiness that is caused. Everything else is irrelevant. Right actions are those that produce the greatest balance of happiness over unhappiness. Lastly, in calculating the happiness or unhappiness that will be caused, no ones happiness is to be counted as more important than anyone elses. Each persons welfare is equally important. Right actions are those that produce the greatest possible balance of happiness over unhappiness, with each persons happiness counted as equally important. 2. Explain the problem with hedonism. How do defenders of utilitarianism respond to this problem? By hedonism, it believes that happiness is the definitive good, and unhappiness is the definitive bad. We would always value all sort of things, including artistic creativity and friendship, for their own sakes. It makes us happy to have them, but only because we already think them good. Therefore, we think it a misfortune to lose them, independently of whether or not the loss is accompanied by unhappiness. 3. What are the objections about justice, rights, and promises? For justice, according to the critics of Utilitarianism this is incompatible with the ideal of justice. Justice requires that we treat people fairly, according to their individual needs and merits. It also illustrates how the demands of justice and the demands of utility can come into conflict, and so a theory that says utility is the whole story cannot be right. For rights, this has a bond with the legal rights and morality behavior. The moral to be drawn from this argument is that Utilitarianism is at odds with the idea that people have rights that may not be trampled on merely because one anticipated good results. But we dont think that our rights should be set aside so easily. Its a notion that places limits on how an individual may be treated, regardless of the good purposes that might be accomplished. For promises, its because the only kinds of considerations having to do with the future, because of its exclusive concern with the consequences, Utilitarianism has is confine our attention to what will happen as a result of our actions. Utilitarianism is that it seems to be an adequate moral theory because it excludes what we might call backward-looking considerations. 4. Distinguish between Rule- and Act-Utilitarianism. How does rule-utilitarianism reply on the objections? Rules will be established by reference to the principle, and individual acts will then be judged right or wrong by reference to the rules. Rule-Utilitarianism is to contrast the original theory it has no difficulty coping with the three antiutilitarianism arguments, now commonly called the Act-Utilitarianism is something McCloskey, would tempted to bear false witness against the innocent man because the consequences of that particular act would be good. 5. What is the third line of defense? This third line of defense discusses moreover various irrational elements, including prejudices absorbed from our parents, our religion, and the general culture. It doesnt follow the concept of justice, individual rights and so on. It simply talks about the way of thinking. Discussion Question: 1. Smarts defense of utilitarianism is to reject common moral beliefs when they conflict with utilitarianism. Is this acceptable to you or not? Explain your answer. We all know what is right and wrong; we should always understand the facts that may give a good sense and values to help each other. All of us have different beliefs, but even though they are different, we only have one goal in our lives. Common moral consciousness could bring a support for only a short term; we should know the values of life. 2. A utilitarian is supposed to give moral consideration to all concerned. Who must be considered? What about nonhuman animals? How about lakes and streams? We all have freedom, but we should not abuse it. Its also our responsibility to save the animals and also the lakes and streams. Not all the time they are still there for us, because most of the time we always abuse our planet, and we dont respect and love the animals and our environment. It could create an unhappy result for the animals, lakes and streams. 3. Rachels claims that merit should be given moral consideration independent of utility. Do you agree? I agree that merit should be given moral considerations, because it can give a lot of benefits that may help the people to think what would benefit for them. Even if its only a small reward, this can help people to do good deeds and it would practice a good moral for everyone. Immanuel Kant: The Categorical Imperative Review Questions: 1. Explain Kants account of the good will. Its impossible to conceive anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except a good will. For Kant, good will is not good, because of what it affects or accomplishments. Its fitness for attaining some proposed end, its good through its willing alone, which is good in itself. 2. Distinguish between hypothetical and categorical imperative. Hypothetical means possibility or circumstances. As for categorical imperative means having knowledge about what it contains, which has no conditions to be applied. 3. State the first formulation of the categorical imperative (using the notion of a universal law), and explain how Kant uses this rule to derive some specific duties toward self-and others. From the illustration, this principal of self-love can become a universal law of nature. Its then seen at once that a system of nature by whose law the very same feeling whose function is to stimulate the furtherance of life should actually destroy life would contradict itself and consequently could not subsist as a system of nature. 4. State the second version of the categorical imperative (using the language of means and end) and explain it. For the universality of a law that everyone believing himself to be in need can make any promise he pleases with the intention not to keep it would make promising, and the very purpose of promising, itself impossible, since no one would believe he was being promised anything, but would laugh at utterances of this kind as empty shams. Discussion Question: 1. Are the two versions of the categorical imperative just different expressions of one basic rule, or are they two different rules? Defend your answer. I think they differ in expressions of one basic, we should think first before we do an action. The same treatment with everyone else, by simply looking what is the right way to do. But as for the second formulation, it discusses a means and ends. 2. Kant claims that an action that is not done from the motive of duty has no moral worth. Do you agree or not? If not, give some counterexamples. I agree, because it is truth that there are no moral worth since everyone should consider their duty as an individual. Rational nature exists as an end in itself. Thus the value of all objects that can be produced by our action is always conditioned. 3. Some commentators think that the categorical imperative (particularly the first formulation) can be used to justify nonmoral or immoral action. Is this a good criticism? Yes, because commentators has good insight about the categorical imperative. It can also be justified if a persons action is morally right or wrong. I can say that its a good criticism, because they have a point of what it really is. Aristotle: Happiness and Virtue Review Questions: 1. What is happiness, according to Aristotle? How is it related to virtue? How is it related to pleasure? According to Aristotle, all human beings seek happiness, and that happiness is not pleasure, honor, or wealth, but an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. Virtue is of two kinds, moral and intellectual. Moral virtue comes from training and habit, and generally is a state of character that is a mean between the vices of excess and deficiency. 2. How does Aristotle explain moral virtue? Give some examples. According to Aristotle, Virtue is of two kinds, moral and intellectual. Moral virtue comes from training and habit, and generally is a state of character that is a mean between the vices of excess and deficiency. Example is that Aristotle portrays the virtue of courage as a mean between the extremes of rashness and cowardice. 3. Is it possible for everyone in our society to be happy, as Aristotle explains it? If not, who cannot be happy? Yes, it is possible for everyone in our society to be happy, but its hard to know what kind of happiness would the society like, because most of the people have different definition of being happy. Not like what Aristotle explained. A character of a person should have passion and love. All of us deserve to be happy and want to feel happy. Discussion Questions: 1. Aristotle characterizes a life of pleasure as suitable for beasts. But what, if anything, is wrong with a life of pleasure? Aristotle define pleasures which are suitable for beasts, most of them cannot change what a human being thinks. They are defined as a whole different level, which can be expressed in a bad manner and can be done with evil things and thoughts. 2) Aristotle claims that the philosopher will be happier than anyone else? Why is this? Do you agree or not? I agree on what Aristotle said that it can bring happiness than anyone else, since a mission has been made, and it was been fulfilled. If we compare it to others, his definition of happiness doesnt compose of pleasure, honor or even wealth. Joel Feinberg: The Nature and Value of Rights Review Questions: 1) Describe Nowheresville. How is this world different from our world? As defined by Feinberg, Nowheresville is a world like our own except that people do not have rights. As a result, people in this world cannot make moral claims when they are treated unjustly. They cannot demand or claim just treatment, and so they are deprived of self-respect and human dignity. 2. Explain the doctrine of the logical correlativity of rights and duties. What is Feinbergs position on the doctrine? The doctrine of the logical correlativity of rights and duties means that all duties entail other peoples rights and all rights entail other peoples duties. Feinberg believes from both ways as he defined it. 3. How does Feinberg explain the concept of personal desert? How would personal desert work in Nowheresville? Based on Feinberg, he calls it a sovereign monopoly of rights. When a person is said to deserve something good from us what is meant in parts is that there would be certain propriety in our giving that good thing to him in virtue of the kind of person he is, more likely in virtue of some specific thing he has done. A desert has evolved a good bit away from its beginning by now, but nevertheless, it seems clearly to be one of those words. One should be happy that they ever treat us well, not grumble over their occasional lapses. It deserves from what you teach and learn to expand all knowledge and share experience. 4. Explain the notion of a sovereign right-monopoly. How would this work in Nowheresville according to Feinberg? As a sovereign right-monopoly, it means that one country is being self-governed; we dont have any rights to complain, because for it, we have no knowledge about it. The notion of a sovereign right-monopoly means that if one country self-governed us, we have no right to complain since we are not knowledgeable of our rights. Its also about treating people in a good and bad way. Sovereign was quite capable of harming his subjects, he could commit no wrong against them that they could complain about, since they had no prior claims against his conduct. 5. What are claim-rights? Why does Feinberg think they are morally important? Claim-rights are person that has claim to the rights. God could have claimed performance of the martial duties as his own due and God alone had claim-rights violated by the nonperformance. By believing in claim-rights these are important, because if we wont claim it people might abuse our rights. Discussion Question: 1. Does Feinberg make a convincing case for the importance of rights? Why or why not? -Yes, because Feinberg shows the possibilities of having the right and respecting others by not stepping on the boundaries of each individuals. 2. Can you give a noncircular definition of cl

A Look into Tailgating :: Personal Narrative Sports Papers

A Look into Tailgating I slouch back in my blue canvas-folding chair. My legs are crossed neatly in front of me, making a sturdy table for my notebook. I positioned myself between two tan RVs they both are decorated in their own special ways. My back was facing the Stone building, which is right on the edge of campus. The RV on my right has a garnet flag hanging on the back window with FSU sewn on in gold letters. The RV to my left chose a white a flag with the Seminole emblem, it was hanging from the over hang. People honk as they pass. Strands of my hair blow softly across my face in the cool breeze, and getting into my eyes occasionally. There are so many questions race through my mind as stare at the crowd in front of me. Every Saturday as I walk by the thousands of parked cars I wonder why they are here. What compels these men and women who have real jobs and live in exciting cities to come back here and tailgate? So I sit amongst them, and try to understand them. They talk and eat all around me. We h ave some camaraderie, but we are different. Maybe because I can't imagine myself in their shoes ten years from now. I don't know anyone around me but they all look familiar. The dad who is dressed in jeans and a garnet pollo shirt stands behind a small Webber grill. He glances up occasionally moving his attention from the cooking meat to watch the miniature TV sitting on the table. His wife is busily at work setting up the assortment of goodies and chatting with the wife of the other RV. Every now and then she peers out from under her gold visor to make sure what the children are doing. The kids, who range from all ages, play football on the one patch of the grass that is unoccupied (which is actually part of a ditch). I watch them as they go about their routine. We have a few things in common. I am also wearing a Garnet shirt. We cheer for the same football team. But there are also so many things that separate us. To begin with, I live Tallahassee. My house is one block from where they set up their RV and portable grills. Every morning I walk past this same spot where we all sit now.

Adult learning and motivation Essay

An exploration in to the multi-dimensionality of participatory behaviour; and what motivates adults to return to education. The research question that was initially formulated aimed to inductively generate a theory (Rothchild 2006; Cohen et al., 2000). Unfortunately, the initial question became subject to ethical challenges; and within a framework that would demonstrate rigour, validity and reliability, unsurprisingly; it was far better too approach/explore the multi-dimensionality of participatory behaviour; and what motivates adults to return to education. An enquiry designed around this approach has a better fit to a pragmatic framework (Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2007; Bryman, 2007) and the BERA ethical directives. Furthermore, this should help bolster the totality of coherence; or as Moss et al., (2009) would suggest as; ‘a chain of reasoning and logic’. Similarly, individual agency and how the experiences of adult learners’ are co/re-constructed (Clark 2011; Flowers 2009; p. 3) needed a greater relationship to an interpretivist epistemology (E891 Part 2: Action 2.9; Gage 1989). As the researcher primarily overlooked these factors that, in turn, determine what is seen as valid and invalid knowledge; then [those] factors would have been overlooked when inferences were made during the research process reducing the quality and internal – and possibly external – validity. Obviously, this incommensurability will be addressed before the researcher analyses any data generated (Bryman, 2007; p. 19). With these approaches better placed the researcher could demonstrate that – generally – social and cognitive phenomena are simultaneously quantitative and qualitative (Ercikan and Roth, 2006; p.16) and participatory behaviour is an outcome of the ‘meaning-made’ (Clark 2011) i.e. social-cognitive collocation. This would then show that cognition is co-constructed (Clark 2011) and re-constructed by experience resulting in the multiple interpretations that create the social realities in which people act (Flowers 2009; p. 3). It could be suggested that the initial ‘meaning-made’ is a primary motivator which persists until the time the learner feels satisfied (Park and Choi 2009), or, has achieved ‘what they set out to achieve’ (Gustafsson & Mouwitz, 2008). This also implies that ‘meaning-made’ is mutable (Gibbons Bylsma 1984) and subject to further co/re-construction; adjustment; or complete abandonment. Research philosophy After extensive ‘Adult learner’ research and talking with tutors that instruct adult learners’ highlighted a distinct difference in the approaches from which children (Pedagogy – teaching method) and adults (Andragogy – teach how to learn) are taught. The implementation of informal learning methods, however, appears to have dominance in the adult education field (Gibbons Bylsma 1984). Therefore, in order to shape and advance the theory, research design and instrument/s required conducting a focussed literature review of several learning theories (see fig 1); namely, Knowles’s Andragogy Theory (Houde 2006), Cross’s Characteristics of Adult Learners (CAL) (Kohl-Frey and Schmid-Ruhe 2007; Crittenton Women’s Union 2012), Margin (Gibbons Bylsma, 1984) and Proficiency Theory (Gustafsson & Mouwitz, 2008). Fig. 1 is showing the associated theories that characterize adult learners’ What becomes problematic is; adult learning has not been researched as vigorously as others areas of education, so the real challenge will be – as Hodkinson and Macleod (2010) encountered – to anchor the line of enquiry in a combined paradigmatic harbor. In contrast to Hodkinson and Macleod (2010), the upcoming report will be combining the aforementioned theories with the following paradigms’ as they display a distinct homogeneity. Specifically, social (E891 Part 2: Action 2.5), and cognitive constructionism (De Abreu 2000), Interpretivism (E891 Part 2: Action 2.4; Gage 1989) with quantitative and qualitative data collection i.e. mixed methodology. A critical review of the initial report by Street (2013) and Holmes (2013) exemplified the scarcity of knowledge and understanding some had on the associated theories. Both commented on differing aspects of the line of enquiry, but these were conceptual in nature. Street (2013) illustrated that the researcher must remain aware of the macro/micro societal effect that the learning environment has on the adult’s lived/shared experience and Holmes (2013) suggested that there needed to be a better fit to the realities of the adult learner. With this in mind I re-conceptualized the report and reflected more specifically on the feedback and guidance. Therefore, in order to steer the paradigms so that they pull in the same direction, the aforementioned theories naturally occurring and overlapping dimensions will be grouped (i.e. constant comparison method; Cohen et al., 2000; p. 151) by their substantive statements (i.e. content analysis; Gillham, 2000; p. 137) and used to engender questions. This process generated four themes that naturally expanded upon their shared features. Social contact and Relationships Goal and relevancy orientated External expectations Internal expectations In order to check for consistencies/inconsistencies (Denscombe, 1999; p. 217-8) between the questionnaires i.e. Phase 1 and Phase 2 and interview responses both datasets will be triangulated to assess the overall motivation/s toward participatory behaviour i.e. cross-sectional design (Bryman, 2006; p. 104). This ‘Mutual’ approach (Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2007) will be implemented during the adult learners’ regular session/s, which should (1) reduce bias (Nederhof, 1985) and attrition (Torgerson 2009), (2) be more pragmatic than experimental research (Torgerson 2009), (3) increase internal validity, reliability and research quality, (4) support external validity and (5) decrease demand characteristics due to any researcher effects. Research enquiries can be polarized into qualitative and quantitative classifications based on how phenomena are represented (Ercikan and Roth, 2006). But, the researcher firmly believes; if representative qualitative and quantitative data have shared aspects that are dependent on their counterpart for completeness (Ercikan and Roth, 2006; p.16; Bryman, 2006; Bryman, 2007), then the incorporation of cross-validation is warranted to best serve this enquiry. This strategy should ensure internal validity; especially when considering using complementary methods (Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2007). Moreover, as these quantitative and qualitative counterparts contain a fundamental element of the interactive dependency that is shared, and required, for individual understanding i.e. the connectivity of interactivity and the influence on representative individuality then the research must be aware to consider that both methods have shared and conflicting elements. Consequently, when considering multidisciplinary approaches, mixed methods i.e. quantitative and qualitative and triangulation one must be aware that incommensurability can exist between them. Brannen (2005) suggests that some methods become more feasible than others and deemed a better ‘fit’ as [they] provide more sensitivity when investigating complex social phenomena. Hence, certain methods, used in conjunction can become less than complimentary with the other. Additionally, Yin (2006) suggests that the ability to tighten the use of mixed methods so that they do in fact occur as part of a single study requires integration. The claim is that, the more that a single study integrates mixed methods, the more that mixed methods research, as opposed to multiple studies, is taking place (Yin, 2006). Furthermore, Houghton et al., (2010) highlight one of the ethical challenges, which have important implications for qualitative research, practical examples and solutions. The unpredictability of qualitative research means that an a priori prescription for ethical conduct is not always possible. Therefore, the researcher must be constantly mindful of the on-going impact that the research might have on those involved, while simultaneously being ethically sensitive and morally competent Although, mixing methods does provide an inferential narrative to the statistical outputs from quantitative analysis, it might not sufficiently negate the qualitative and quantitative dichotomy (Yin, 2006), or, necessarily produce the expected scholarly standard for presenting credible evidence (Maclure, 2005). These qualitative and quantitative complements are noticeably – even arguably – intrinsic facets of social/cognitive interaction/functioning; hence, the methods used to collect data in this enquiry will be trying to procure what happens when the internal interact/s with an external influence/s (Yin, 2006). This illustration provides a start for thinking about yet other types of mixed method research. The point is, if a relationship is completely absent— particularly where two or more methods address wholly different dependent, independent, or descriptive variables—the mixed methods are likely to form separate studies, not a single study (Yin, 2006). All these influences are important and relevant, but they are only some of the processes that, together, comprise a complex social world and unfortunately; understanding that the relevance and value assigned to learning by adults’ highlights the importance induced, does not necessarily liberate them (Hacking 1999; p. 2) from any disenfranchisement they could feel. Likewise, the researcher understands that the aforementioned factors are not the only variables that are existent; however, the researcher is of the opinion that those factors (see fig. 3 + 4) are the most prominent from the observations made and literature review conducted. Research Design Fig. 2 is illustrating the design and flow of data analysis that establishes the internal validity, reliability and quality of the research enquiry. Historical background Considering participation in adult learning since 1996 we see it has remained around 40% for those of working age (16 – 69) for seventeen years. These were either currently participating, or had recently participated in the last three years. Of those that did participate, there is an equivalent amount that has not participated since leaving full time education. Although, 80% of students’ currently participating intend on continuing in further education after they have completed the present course (see Tab.1). Whilst participating in Further Education and Lifelong Learning I observed a possible explanation for the existence of these variances (that being relevance and value). A possible explanation for the disordinal interaction (percentages decrease in the ‘Likely to learn in the future’ group whilst percentages for ‘Unlikely to learn in the future’ group increase) demonstrated in table 1 could be; the further in years an adult moves away from education the less relevance and value they attribute to returning to it. Or, is it as Siraj-Blatchford (2010) may suggest; that the adults are overscheduled and more committed to sustaining the home environment and maintaining a career with ‘on the job’ training. Multimodal Heuristics Informal learning is seemingly multimodal i.e. being valuable and relevant to the matter at hand and socially constructed through long/short term interactions (GTC 2006). The informal learning mechanisms that mediate influence shapes learning environments’ (Evans, et al., 2010; p. 6), cognitive processes and our social interactions (Evans, et al., 2010; p. 6). ‘Meaning’ then, is co/re-constructed by experience resulting in the multiple interpretations that create the social reality in which people act (Flowers 2009; p. 3). And as Vygotsky would state; context affects cognitive – and by way of – behavioural activities (De Abreu, 2000; p. 3) Bruner’s suppositional framework suggests that learners form new ideas or theories based upon what they already know (GTC 2006). His theory of learning, not only, related to the way children’s thinking developed, but it could also be applied to adults learning new and unfamiliar material (GTC 2006). Learners, as Bruner proposes, are creators and thinkers through the use of inquiry (GTC 2006). The process of which how learners dynamically construct knowledge is heavily in focus: implying the transformation of information, which suggests that Bruner’s theory of Constructivism falls into a cognitive domain (GTC 2006). Learners are provided with opportunities to construct new knowledge and new meaning from authentic experiences (Brockmann 2011). As a result, this exposes the pivotal role Multimodal Heuristics start to have when adults’ decide to return to education. For instance, a parent can reassure a frightened child that ‘shadow monsters do not exist!’ Although, a sibling can suggest leaving the light on to scare the monsters’ away. This indicates that informal learning can alter our worldview (e.g. ‘When did you stop believing in Santa?’) if it is seen to offer a plausible solution. This supports the concept of how informal learning can contribute to our understanding, cognitive processes (De Abreu 2000), social interactions, and the associated behaviours (Schwartz 1995; p. 5). These multimodal components; not only determine the level of commitment and motivation (Park & Choi 2009) that is ascribed to the retention of relevant and valuable information (Gibbons Bylsma, 1984; p. 23), but also contributes to the ease of transfer and retrieval of that information (Ekey 2012). The characteristically pragmatic nature of adult learners’ (Abdullah, et al., 2008; Kohl-Frey and Schmid-Ruhe 2007; Crittenton Women’s Union 2012) also demonstrates this need/requirement for information to have applicability to their life. This is determined by the perceived applicability it has to their future experiences and interaction. The internal dimensions of meaning-making are also multimodal (Clark 2011) and seemingly derived from the combination of the value and relevance (or Multimodal Heuristics – adults’ decide, through cognitive appraisal, their own level of involvement) assigned by the adult to measure applicability. Consequently, we could suggest that this is an ad hoc contribution to our social cognition (Aronson et al., 2005; p.57 – 64; De Abreu 2000; p. 4), our availability heuristics (Rules of thumb; Aronson et al., 2005; p. 74 – 75) and the associated behavior and schemas (Aronson et al., 2005; p. 59 – 61), which then assist navigation of social environments’. Unfortunately, understanding that the relevance and value assigned to learning by adults’ highlights the importance induced, does not necessarily liberate adults’ (Hacking 1999; p. 2) from the disenfranchisement they could feel in institutions where learning is delivered primarily from a traditionally pedagogical approach. Similarly, these interactions are situational and experienced directly by participation, so it will be difficult to generalize the results further than adult learning. Theory development Essentially, humans tend to seek out information that confirms what they think/believe to be most relevant or true to their experiences and/or future interactions; a relative cost-benefit/means-end (Evans, et al., 2010; p. 6) cognitive appraisal that enables Multimodal Heuristic co/re-construction (Clark 2011). This process begins to filter out information that is considered worthless. The cost-benefit (Primary appraisal) and means-end analyses (Secondary appraisal), along with the personal value and relevance adults’ assign to learning (‘rule of thumb’ Gustafsson, L., & Mouwitz, L. (2008); p. 5) appear to be hierarchical and Maslowian in nature. Additionally, an adult must consider, through means-end analysis, the benefit of actively participating and building upon their knowledge and experience, throughout their participation in learning. Ultimately mediating their need for satisfaction i.e. Socio-emotional negotiation and selectivity (Houde 2006). As a result, for the adult to consider participation Multimodal Heuristics must negotiate support for expectation and assess the benefit knowledge, learning and education have in recompense for reorganizing multiple obligations, and competing priorities (Evans, et al., 2010; p. 12). Therefore, is socio-emotional negotiation and selectivity a process of fragmenting information so that it creates a heuristic commensurability with an individual’s normative social and cognitive functioning, which therefore, influences behaviour i.e. influential connectivity of socio-cognitive interactivity affecting the potentials for action? Fig. 3 is showing the internal framework of the decision making, and meaning-making, mechanisms that help generate mental constructs of multimodal heuristics. To some degree, we can compare the assessment of value and relevance to Gustafsson & Mouwitz (2008) description of Proficiency Theory, and, means-end and cost-benefit analyses to McClusky’s Margin Theory (1974, as quoted in Gibbons Bylsma 1984). These theories emphasize a need to be competent at tasks’ whilst being realistic about certain physical, mental and social capabilities. If there is conflict between primary and secondary appraisals this could be seen as a violation of expectation (Deffenbacher 1993), which may account for drop-out rates, serial signers’, absenteeism, non-participation in task relevant activities, specific course popularity, the cost-benefit/means-end analysis (Evans, et al., 2010; p. 6; Geertz 1993; p. 4 – 5) for staying the course and societal perception of lifelong learning (Tab. 1). For instance, after asking my students’ (12 in total) if they had any questions about what had been learnt, they responded with â€Å"what would I do if†¦?† and â€Å"When would I use†¦?† As there were only subtle variations in discourse, in regards to relevance and value, I feel this highlights (1) what comprises Multimodal Heuristic co-construction, and (2) what is required from information when it is presented outside of their interpretation of it. Moreover, adults maintain autonomy (Gibbons Bylsma 1984) by performing a cost-benefit analysis to justify their participation; being that peripheral or full (Swan 2005; p. 5). Firstly this, amongst others mentioned, will form the basis of ‘what counts as value and relevance evidence’, and, from which, quantitative data will be collected (questionnaire). Lastly, the quantitative data will be qualitatively complemented with a semi-structured interview to produce a rich narrative and attain thick descriptions (Geertz 1993). The semi-structured interview will be conducted with a subset of the surveyed group and will represent a cross-section of the adult learners’ in that group i.e. single parent, co-parent and a single male/female with no dependants. And as Denscombe (1999) and Brockmann (2011) found; interaction is situational and experienced directly by participation, making it essential to respect [their] views, with, further recognition given to the possibility that [their] priorities may not reflect the general consensus view or official theory. For example, Gustafsson & Mouwitz (2008) have reported; what is valued and encouraged in formal learning environments lacks to varying degrees explicit relevance in the workplace. Therefore, adults must demand a greater degree of relevance, value and satisfaction when deciding to return to, and participating in, education (Abdullah, et. al. 2008; Houde 2006). Fig. 4 is showing the internal framework of secondary appraisal that aims to justify the decision made and validate the perception of learning by paralleling meaning-made with the realities of the study. Illustrating, not only that the individual agency of these interpretations of relevance and value are co/re-constructed (Clark 2011) cognitively (GTC 2006) and socially (Hacking 1999), but also that adults’ apply this form of Heuristic Multimodality when seeking satisfaction from having their expectations fulfilled. Park & Choi (2009) have reported that relevance and satisfaction, being sub-dimensions of motivation, are known to be interrelated with various course-related issues. Even though the societal influences mentioned in this report can modify (1) the assessment of relevance and (2) affect the personal satisfaction adults cultivate (Park & Choi, 2009) they can also mediate and reinforce participatory behavior (Park & Choi, 2009) by enhancing the importance adults’ induce when deciding an academic and/or social level of involvement (Gibbons Bylsma 1984). Furthermore, students’ have asserted that relevance is a significant mediator in their assignment of value. Many students’ have commented that relevance paralleled the value assigned to learning and their specific choice of subject(s). These statements were observed over time and place using a relative constant comparison method (Cohen et al., 2000; p. 151). Their comments demonstrated the application of a cost-benefit and means-end analysis e.g. â€Å"How relevant is†¦in the big scheme of things?†, â€Å"When would I use†¦?† and â€Å"I don’t see the relevance? Evidently, the use of Multimodal Heuristics acts as a mechanism that could also increase commitment, dedication and motivation (Park & Choi 2009). In constant comparison data are compared across a range of situations, times, groups of people, and through a range of methods (Cohen et al., 2000; p. 151 – 2). The process resonates with the methodological notion of triangulation. The constant comparison method involves four stages: Comparing incidents and data that are applicable to each category, comparing them with previous incidents in the same category and with other data that are in the same category Integrating these categories and their properties Bounding the theory Setting out the theory The subjective ontological/epistemological view, research design and methodology exhibited in this report is sufficient and necessary to explore this direction of enquiry, if it were absent, it would prove problematic supporting a theory with an accompanying objective approach that advocates detachment (Flowers 2009; E891 Part 2: Action 2.2; Gage 1989; E891 Part 2: Action 2.5), when, in this case, it is more advantageous to explore the subjectivity of individual agency, participatory behaviour and situational experiences, motivation, and, the personal value and relevance assigned to learning, as these are closer to the truth. Instrument Design There will be two distinct phases to data generation; firstly, questions will be formulated from each of the four themes that CAL, Andragogy and Margin and Proficiency theories appear to create and then randomly assigned (Nederhof, 1985) to a questionnaire. A descriptive analysis of each question will be conducted to address whether the aforementioned multi-dimensionalities of adult learners’ are being considered. The strength of the trend in the agreement/disagreement should build a picture of the shared experiences. These questions will then be relocated back to the themes that created them, scored (Likert Scale; the higher the score the more relevance and value is attributed) and compared with the descriptive analysis to, not only generate a semi-structured small group interview schedule (Gillham, 2000), but also to get a sense of what is personally valuable and relevant about learning. This is an attempt to demonstrate; how meeting these multi-dimensionalities may be instrumental in maintaining learner participation (Park and Choi 2009). Furthermore, by mapping these realities, establish whether they support the general consensus view of these adult learning theories. An opportunity sampled group (16 – 35+) will be surveyed using this questionnaire (13 in total) with a small group interview being administered to a subset of the surveyed group (5 in total). Ideally, this subset should be representative of the adult learners’ in that educational facility. Even though the whole group will be opportunistically surveyed; in phase 2 every effort will be made to be more purposive. In order to support internal validity and ensure the reduction of any bias the incorporation of a ‘social desirability’ measure (Nederhof, 1985; SDR) will be added to the questionnaire. Certain questions will be cross referenced with one another to assess whether the adult learners’ are responding in a socially desirable way. This local blocking technique should increase the internal validity of the questionnaire, enhance the internal consistency of the small group interview questions, reduce bias and maintain rigour when all the data is analysed. This should also allow individual agency (E891 Part 2: Action 2.4; Gage 1989; Denscombe 1999), shared experience and the personal value and relevance attributed to learning to be highlighted. Due to the amount of data that could have been reported the evaluation will be specifically limited to the triangulation narratives of the ‘Theme Summaries’, interview data i.e. content and descriptive analysis (Clark, 2011). The researcher firstly formulated questions from these naturally occurring themes and searched for consistencies and inconsistencies (Denscombe, 1999) between the summary narratives (Gillham, 2000) and statistical outputs from the descriptive analyses (Bryman, 2007). Phase 1 As there were 30 questions generated from the four themes the in-depth analysis of each question will be triangulated and presented in the theme summaries. In an attempt to expose any consistencies/inconsistencies (Denscombe, 1999; p. 217-8) in the responses the data will be compared against the learning theories that created them: ensuring validity. Consequently, due to the amount of quantitative data generated from the in-depth analysis of the individual questions, this report will only include the second stage of Phase 1 i.e. descriptive analysis and theme summary triangulation. The interview responses from Phase 2 will be further triangulated with these summaries and content analysed to highlight the adult learners’ realities and ascertain what influences their decisions and motivates them to return too education i.e. by constant comparison method. Theme Summaries Social contact and Relationships – Q1, Q2, Q6, Q7, Q17 Q19 and Q30 The adult learners’ appear to value social interaction and feelings of reciprocal respect whilst participating in learning, which demonstrates that the adult learners’ value a sense of ‘belonging’ (16/21). However, there is a small percentage that does not see ‘belonging’ as being of value. Therefore, the feelings of reciprocal respect and support cannot be generalised as influencing their decision to continue in learning. Internal expectations – Q10, Q13, Q14, Q15, Q18, Q22, Q26, Q28 and Q29 This theme relates to the adult learners satisfaction. Satisfaction, being a sub-dimension of motivation, is something that must be regarded as paramount in the adult learning experience. The consistent attendance of the adult learners’ at the session/s is testament to their satisfaction with the course and the delivery thereof (18/27). In essence, if the adult learner considers that the potential learning opportunity is not transferable to the workplace, is not satisfied, or perceives it as inadequate at providing improvement to their problem solving capabilities could ultimately diminish their motivation to participate. Goal and relevancy orientation – Q3, Q4, Q5, Q9, Q11, Q16, Q20, Q23, Q25 and Q27 External expectations – Q8, Q12, Q21 and Q24 As these last two dimensions, respectively and comparatively, share a greater degree of similarity they will be interpretatively combined and presented together. Looking at these from a political perspective; the demand for lifelong learning to have greater prevalence in society sets an industry standard that demands conformity to it. Subsequently, this appears to facilitate the re/co-construction of self-directedness and the personal interests of adult learners’ so that they begin to mirror ‘what is required of them’; which is indicative of a cost-benefit/mean-ends analysis. Therefore, some adult learners’ might be so focussed or motivated on getting the qualification that they adjust their sense of self-direction in order to reorganise their lives and satisfy what is required of them i.e. Mutability for the betterment of self. It could also be suggested that the pressure too have certain qualifications encourages participatory behaviour in some adult learners’ and determines the relative conformity to industry demands and learning the required skills i.e. something they adapt to rather than adapted for them (Q8, Q9 and Q10). Conformity, in this sense, would then act as a pre-determinant to achievement; the perception of economic sustainability and upward mobility and what value, and relevance, learning has. Not surprisingly, this could be one reason why thousands of people leave their jobs: they only took the job because it is what was demanded of them, which is in direct conflict with their personal interests, self-directedness and life goals. Which also illustrates that cognition can be influenced by social interaction and be co/re-constructed by experience and meaning-made. The questionnaire included items that let the participant assess the value and relevance they attribute to learning as an adult. The overall strength of this agreement was guided by their experiences as an adult learner. However, some of the diagnostic questions seemed to be complex and ask two things of the participant. As this is a major source of error (Hammersley et al., 2003) the validity of those questions will be scrutinised as the participants may have weighted one aspects of the complex question more important than the other aspect, hence, an adumbrated response i.e. a decrease in validity. However, all of the responses were reduced to one mean average for that individual question, and as these were pooled from the four themes that characterise adult learners’ it reduced sampling error and bias. Furthermore, as there was a two stage analysis in phase one the validity of the research instrument is strengthened; especially when we factor in the use of the SDR measure to control for bias (Nederhof, 1985) and the encouragement of omission (Hammersley et al., 2003) when the participant had no opinion. What we cannot suggest at this stage of the analysis, however, is that the shared experience led to a shared meaning. As Denscombe (1999) ascertained; the perceptions of the individual are not always consistent with the general consensus view (Brockmann, 2011) of the group as a whole. This extends to the meaning-made and the individual nature of the meaning-making process. The surveyed group cultivated differing levels of relevance and value from their shared experiences. But, this was seemingly determined by the level of relevance and value that was extrapolated from their continued participation. Hence, the individual agency of meaning-making is an outcome of the level of value and relevance attributed to the shared experiences of learning as an adult, the level of satisfaction and a sense of mutability for the betterment of self. Phase 2: Narrative of Qualitative data Before the triangulation, constant comparison and content analysis the researcher must point out that (1) this was a small scale study, (2) the interviews was held in a small group so full disclosure by each participant was not always possible and (3) the results should not be over generalised to other adult learning situations. All that is being sought is an insight in to the connectivity of socio-cognitive interactivity and the subsequent influence on representative individuality; the multidimensionality of participatory behaviour and what the adults felt their motivations for returning to education were and still are. This should (1) map the external/internal influences on the adult learner; (2) expose the dimensions behind this seeming connectivity of socio-cognitive interactivity that create the potential/s for designated types of action i.e. Multimodal Heuristics and (3) if the analysis supports the researcher’s theory and the adult learning theories that feature in this enquiry. Some of the interviewee’s shared a meaning to one degree, but had a different meaning-making process before reaching that decision; the salient feature was a shared-meaning in a shared-goal in reaching university or attending a higher level course from the successful completion of the current course of study. This gave them a common ground on which to build upon ‘what learning means’ to them on an individual basis whilst allowing the shared-meaning element distinguish and define their individual social relationships in the class; whom they sought clarification from; what level of involvement they chose and what comparative judgements they begin to make on others in the session/s. Walter: â€Å"Well I think if you do†¦ I think if you do†¦like, we are social people, things†¦we are social and that’s that, that’s what we are†¦we are designed to be social people, if we exclude ourselves we do not, you know, we lose all basic human function, it’s like the guy at the front, you know he doesn’t †¦ he can exclude himself, he doesn’t do anything, he doesn’t enjoy being here, doesn’t have any excitement about coming and learning†¦if you exclude yourself from everyone else you’ll probably not learn!† Serena: â€Å"I like learning with a group but then it’s dependent on what I do with that information†¦but when it’s writing things down or posters and stuff I can’t have other people touching.† This illustrates that the need to feel self-directed and sometimes being free from outside interference is just one of the commonalities we start to see in the participants responses. Although, some of the interviewee’s do highlight that; Sally: â€Å"I came because I needed to do it, but now I quite, I’ve more motivation to do it because I enjoy it.† Therefore, the individual agency of meaning-making is, not only an outcome of the level of value and relevance attributed to the shared experiences of learning as an adult, the level of satisfaction and a sense of mutability for the betterment of self, but also the means/ends-cost/benefit interconnectivity seen in their decision-making process i.e. motivated to do it and their continued participation in the session/s that seemingly contributes further to the mutability for the betterment of self in these adult learners. The individual meaning-made is a product of these connective interactivities varying – and individually decided – high/low levels of cost/benefit the course has and what perceived means/end reward the course provides for successful completion i.e. the multimodal heuristic factors that led to participatory behaviour and satisfaction. The shared-meaning is an accidental affinity that becomes synchronous with other people that are pursuing a similar goal as them. This suggests that they share similar educational values and relevancies due to their common or shared goals. The shared-meaning dimensions presumably start to mediate the differing high/low connective interactivity level in the cost/benefit and means/end analyses. Furthermore, this also starts to define and distinguish individual social relationships; who we seek advice and clarification from; what level of involvement we chose and what comparative judgements we make on others i.e. asynchronous affinity with others. The comments from these interviewee’s also highlights the need to feel proficient and competent about the material in the course and where they culture this confidence. It seems the more confident the adult learner gets about understanding the material and being able to discuss, question and seek clarification on their understanding the more proficient and competent they feel. This bolsters their feelings of satisfaction and adds to their motivation to continue through reducing the physical and mental sense of effort i.e. cost and/or means and increasing the perception of benefit cultured from continuation in the session/s. e.g. internal expectations and social relationships. This could be defined as a beneficial compromise for the betterment of self being the mediation of the perceived value social contact offers in raising confidence, increasing feelings of proficiency and reducing our fear of incompetency. The commentaries also point toward Margin theory (Gibbons Bylsma, 1984) in the manner of how ‘power’ and ‘load’ i.e. the amount we can manage is balanced with the effort we can assign to it and ‘expansive’ and ‘restrictive’ perceptions of future time i.e. the older you are the more urgent something becomes also contributes to the motivations of the adult learner (Gibbons Bylsma, 1984). So, is motivation the product of a restrictive ‘future time’ perspective creating a behaviourally urgent response to the realisation of your current educational inequities; therefore, adding to the perception of the reduction in opportunities for sustaining economic upward mobility? For example the following conversation illustrates the reasoning behind this question; Researcher: ‘so does anyone find, you know, that helps them decide to do a course, or, was it a combination of both things were like valuable and relevant to you as well?’ Walter: ‘Yeah, yeah†¦that’s the reason I’m here, you know you can’t get a well-paid job without English and Maths!’ Leroy: †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢and without those I can’t precede on to university’ Researcher: ‘So you can see the as an industry standard kind of then?’ Walter: ‘Yeah, this is the industry standard’ Researcher: ‘So to actually progress you need these things to progress?’ Walter: ‘Yeah†¦yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Leroy: ‘Like to myself, like to have this qualification would make me feel better about it†¦but,’ Researcher: ‘Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Leroy: ‘†¦it’s a requirement’ Researcher: ‘yeah like a stepping stone’ Leroy: ‘yeah.’ Therefore, these adult learners’ may just see the benefit of having the qualification to progress beyond where they are now. This could also suggest that these adults’ are fully aware that the ‘real world’ applicability of certain subjects are determined by the industry demand for that subject, making a qualification economically more relevant and valuable to these adult learners’. We could theorise that society has a shared understanding about what industry requires of the workforce and how this requirement places a demand on the learner to rearrange their lives in order to participate in learning. Therefore, shared meaning in society could be facilitated by a shared understanding of what it demands of society, which supports the theory that adult learners’ must assign more personal relevance, value and expectations of satisfaction to learning before there is the motivation to return to education i.e. is there a beneficial compromise between what I want and what they require. And as can be seen in the descriptive analysis of Q20, Q21 and Q22.These questions relate to social influence and societies perception of value and relevance assigned to learning. The adult learner agrees that the decision to attend a course of study was suggested to them (Q20) and that this social influence/encouragement essentially provides the persuasive reinforcement to their implicit understanding that; learning increases an adult’s chances of employment (Q21). The adult learners’ also feel that the support they receive from the different sources of this social influence/encouragement is at a level which permits their participation on the course of study. We could again theorise that an individual knows what is demanded of them in the employment market, but they seek confirmation on what they already know. This suggests that ‘meaning’ is socially co/re-constructed by the individual seeking confirmation on their present understanding in order to reinforce their decision, and by way of, increase motivation to return to learning. Furthermore, the adult learners’ do not feel they have to make allowances to attend a course, as long as the scheduled session/s is at a convenient time for them to attend i.e. the conscious effort to avoid the conflicts between personal obligations and scheduled session/s. Moreover, showing that, for these adult learners’, the course of study has value and is personally and economically relevant to them. And as it was outlined in the ‘Theory Development’ section of this report; we can compare the assessment of value and relevance to Gustafsson & Mouwitz (2008) description of Proficiency Theory, and, means-end and cost-benefit analyses to McClusky’s Margin Theory (1974, as quoted in Gibbons Bylsma 1984). These theories emphasize a need to be competent at tasks’ whilst being realistic about certain physical, mental and social capabilities. Moreover, because the theories that were used in this study have overlapping dimensions (e.g. Q3, Q4 and Q12 overlap Social contact and Relationships; Goal and Relevancy orientation and External Expectations) with each dimension seemingly providing a piece to the decisional mà ©lange that affects the internal expectations i.e. individual agency of the adult learner. We could therefore suggest that Multimodal Heuristics and co/re-constructive social influence, not only becomes more evident when motivation towards participation is being established and/or maintained, but may also be one of the key components in the processes that assist the transformation of identity. Hence, as a sense of belonging, competency, proficiency and satisfaction are valued and relevant to the adult learner and evolve as they evolve; as do their identities. Equally, in a sociocultural ontology progress in learning is viewed along trajectories of participation and growth of identity, so both competency and belonging matter in understanding learning. It is for these reasons that a sociocultural ontology describes learning as a transformation of identity. And as the report is looking at the macro and micro-structural influences on the adult learner and how that comes to mediate and motivate them toward participation we can suggest quite firmly that identity transformation is closely tied to multimodal heuristics which is apparently mediated by a co/re-construction between the connectivity of social/cognitive interactivity thus having an impact on the identity formation of the adult learner. So the relevancy and value that is selected from external sources is fragmentally factored from differing micro and macro-structural influences and negotiated in to cognitive constructs i.e. internally mediated hence facilitating the decisional components that create the motivation for, and support continued participation towards, designated types of action. Discussion, implications and conclusions So, are social contact and relationships the result of synchronous affinities? Is the use of multimodal heuristics an actual contributor to identity transformation? All that can be suggested is that the results support the theory of multimodal heuristics and the connectivity of interactivity and imply that motivation is established through the individual deliberately, and sometimes vicariously, extracting information from these proximal and distal influences. Hence, social/cognitive collocation comes to, not only reinforce their decision to participate in designated types of action, but also – to a greater or lesser extent – impacts upon the transformation of identity. But, we must keep in mind that this is paralleled with a balance between the beneficial compromises for the betterment of self and the perceived value social contact i.e. belonging offers in raising confidence, increasing feelings of proficiency and reducing the fear of incompetency. The real implication of these results is the noticeable benefit of informal conversations being used to reinforce learnt knowledge. The participants suggest that more time for reflection and confirmation would go some way to aiding the retention of new information, how the information actually relates to their personal circumstances and how this also contributes to feelings of belonging, proficiency, competency and feelings of increased confidence. For example; Walter : â€Å"†¦if you have a conversation with someone, say after this class, you’ll remember that conversation better than you would, you know than someone standing at the front of the class going ‘this guy wrote this poem about this† And like the small child that is afraid of ‘shadow monsters’ and leaves the light on; the sessions could benefit from the incorporation of small group/whole class learning reinforcement dyads of informal conversations. This would then start to determine the level of commitment and motivation (Park & Choi 2009) that is ascribed to the retention of relevant and valuable information (Gibbons Bylsma, 1984; p. 23), and further contribute to the ease of transfer/retrieval of the current learning material/s and any new information (Ekey 2012). In conclusion, if adults are autonomous, self-directed and pursue their personal interests and goals then; when an adult decides to return to education the course of study must display a greater degree of relevance to the adults. If the course of study is perceived as having relevance, it (1) fulfils their need for feeling autonomous, (2) allows the adult to make an informed decision as to the value it has, (3) contributes to the continuation of feelings of self-directedness and (4) also contributes to their perceptions of being closer to achieving their goals’; thus adding value. Especially when we factor in that adult learners’ are complying with requirements’ laid down by someone else and may need to reorganise multiple obligations and competing priorities in order to participate. Another reason that these adult learners’ generally value the social interaction, support and reciprocal respect they receive whilst attending a course of study. Hence, the sense of belonging would be enhanced if there were more opportunities for interaction. Therefore, creating more opportunities for reflection between learners’ could, not only, reinforce learning, but also support the feelings of belonging through increasing the opportunities for discussion on how the material covered in that session/s contextually relates to them. Moreover, focussing on enhancing feelings of proficiency by allowing the adult learner to co/re-construct their current understanding through reflecting upon it with learners’ that share the same learning experience and synchronous and asynchronous affinities. References Abdullah, M, Parasuraman, B, Muniapan, B, Koren, S & Jones, ML. (2008) ‘Motivating factors associated with adult participation in distance learning program’ International Education Studies, 1 (4), pp. 104-109. 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(2011) ‘Problematizing short-term participant observation and multi-method ethnographic studies’, Ethnography and Education, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 229–43. [online] http://www.tandfonline.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1080/17457823.2011.587361 (accessed 18/04/2013) taken from The Open University (2013) ‘E891 Action 3.10: Short term Ethnography; Part 3: Research design and data production, Milton Keynes, The Open University Bryman, A. (2006) ‘integrating quantitative and qualitative research: how it is done?’ Sage Publications, London, vol. 6(1) 97–113. [online]