ELIS and IP Models of Information Seeking

Library and information science has changed greatly since the 1970s with current research focusing more on how ordinary people behave in everyday life when seeking information (Savolainen, 1995) rather than studying the habits of professionals such as those in the legal, medical and engineering professions. With this shift in focus, new models were required to explain information seeking characteristics based on the innate differences between these two groups. One of the resulting models with great influence in the field of information science, based on its numerous citations, is the Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS) paradigm first introduced by Reijo Savolainen (1995). Nearly ten years later, Pamela McKenzie (2003) created a second, differing model of information seeking referred to as Information Practices (IP) using peoples’ everyday behavior as a basis. While both models are effective in their portrayal of how an individual seeks information in everyday life, ELIS and IP put a different degree of focus on stressing differing degrees of emphasis on the functions of human personality, context, and problem solving practices to explain an individual’s information seeking practices. Before comparing their similarities and contrasting their differences a brief explanation of each method and its assumptions, main concepts, the context in which they are used and can serve as real-life practice in information science will be examined. Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS) The ELIS model is based on the assumption that individuals have their own preference for which sources they are comfortable using and the socially conditioned patterns by which they behave. Central to the model is the concept that way of life, as defined by Savolainen, means â€Å"the order of things† (Savolainen, 1995) such as the division between one’s work and leisure time, consumption of goods and services and leisure activities. Human beings give preference to certain practices over others in going about their daily lives. This definition comes from Bourdieu’s (1984) idea of habitus, or a system of thought that is determined by social and cultural factors as well as characteristic evaluation and perception, which are individually internalized. If a person does not maintain his preferences, or â€Å"mastery of life† according to the ELIS model, his life will become disordered. When a problem out of the ordinary occurs which needs to be solved, his mastery of life will take over so as to actively seek information which is considered effective and practical to solve it. This same process occurs when an individual is seeking information. According to Savolainen, there are four types of life mastery used in the ELIS model which include optimistic-cognitive, pessimistic-cognitive, defensive-affective, and pessimistic-affective. All types exist in concert with a positive outlook from optimistic thinking on one end of the spectrum while a negative outlook as the result of dictating emotions takes place on the opposite end. An individual’s way of life directs how he will seek out information and also the converse is true: that information seeking will determine mastery of life when used in context. Components that influence context include such things as personal values and attitude, social networking, material assets, cultural and cognitive influences, as well as the individual’s current situation in life. In addition to this mastery of life typology, Savolainen (1995) states that these components have influence over how an individual will seek to solve problems. Two types of information are defined in the ELIS model. Passive monitoring of events such as news and weather reports from printed media which give an individual information regarding his everyday life is considered â€Å"orienting information†. Such everyday data is represented in the â€Å"project of life† box in the ELIS model. On the other hand, â€Å"practical information† seeking serves the purpose of finding a solution for a specific problem that interrupts an individual’s ordinary life. A personal approach to mastery of life is used to seek either orienting or passive information. Savolainen (1995) takes a leap in explaining certain aspects of mastery of life. His research assumes that all humans share an innate desire to achieve this mastery of life and that when problems occur they will naturally seek information to solve the issue. The fourth type of mastery of life, pessimistic-affective or, more literally, â€Å"learned helplessness† is described with the caveat that systematic information could play a part in the information seeking behavior, characterized by the use of emotional responses and lack of judgment, in certain individuals. Perhaps this is another type of mastery of life in and of itself. Another assumption made by Savolainen (1995) in his ELIS model is that there are only two simple divisions of an individual’s life; he is either at work or at play. There are several other categories that could be used such as those who are unemployed, those who job seeking, and those who do seasonal work (who would enjoy a huge proportion of leisure time). Therefore, in these cases, his assumptions based on a person’s division of work and leisure become moot. Savolainen (1995) admits to identifying a couple more assumptions that might interfere with his research. One is the importance of way of life as being a significant factor in information seeking behavior, confirmed by the results of studies done on blue collar workers and teachers. He also made a point to recognize that he assumed mastery of life style plays a key role in a person’s response to problems and also when they are seeking information but evidence suggests that mastery of life by itself does not always dictate behavior. Research was performed by Savolainen in Finland using a sample of the middle class and working class populace and conducting themed interviews. Eleven industrial workers and the same amount of teachers were questioned regarding their methods of seeking orienting information from the media for their everyday life needs. The subjects were asked to relate a recent problem and how they went about solving it with the results analyzed and assessed for their relevance to the ELIS model. Savolainen (1995) hypothesized that social class would be a determining factor in information seeking but found instead that this only creates an outline on which to base their way of life. Information Practices McKenzie’s (2003) more recent IP model is quite different in its approach.   Similar to Savolainen’s ELIS model, the theory behind IP encompasses a variety of components. McKenzie first came up with the ideas behind IP when observing the information seeking practices of women expecting twins. Responding to Erdelez’s 1999 (from McKenzie, 2003) challenge for â€Å"more holistic and detailed tools† to use when modeling information seekers’ behavior, McKenzie (2003) sought a more current overview of information seeking in everyday life by non-professionals as well as acknowledging that individuals often use â€Å"non-active† practices when encountering information. This led to her theory which would ultimately uncover the various ways people behave, and interact, when armed with new information. McKenzie (2003) claims there is a flexibility often used when seeking information and that the process is not totally linear. McKenzie’s IP model assumes four modes of information practice with two phases encountered within each. The individual uses flexibility and complexity and these traits are incorporated in each mode and phase. The four modes are active seeking, active scanning, non-directed monitoring and proxy. The first type of seeking identifies a source while the second is only semi-directed combined with observation. Non-directed refers to encounters with information that was not formerly expected while seeking by proxy is defined as using an intermediary source to get to the end result. At least one of these modes is used by individuals who then interact to the information with varying behavior. A breakdown in communication or a barrier to the proper connection can occur during information seeking in any of these manners. There are additional ways for an individual to connect with a source of information as well as interact with the information itself. Active seeking occurs during searches when supplemental data is uncovered, usually in response to an acute need, which was not part of the seeker’s original intent. This then redirects him to other possibilities and new information. Connection with this information gives an individual cause to interact with it by using a list of pre-formed questions or topics previously considered. By being positioned in a space where information can be shared or one can be exposed to information via electronic sources, a connection is made through the process of active scanning. Listening as well as observing others and scanning the material at hand are several methods of interaction with the information. On the other hand, non-directed monitoring is more like an unexpected, unintentional encounter with useful information during the course of everyday life. Observation and listening in on conversations between other people are ways of interacting with the information. Lastly, connection by proxy is a result of using information sources such as friends who lay claim to certain information and act as intermediaries to this information or through an interpersonal referral system. Interaction in this mode occurs when the information given takes on the form of advice, diagnosis of a problem, or instructions. Along with the ELIS model, the IP model also makes several assumptions. The four modes of information seeking seem to be rather narrow. Avoidance may be considered an additional mode, as is the case when information comes to a person who may not desire to receive it, such as a traumatic medical diagnosis. The ways of interacting with information that McKenzie (2005) outlined in the IP model are limited in scope as well. Assuming an individual uses their own context during interactions with information as she suggests, then a wide variety of personalized traits and behavior should come into play. Consequently, there cannot be a limited number of types of interactions; they would be infinite. Certainly the fact that McKenzie (2005) performed her research on a restricted number of pregnant women might influence the results and her interpretation of them. The sample subjects used in the research were a group of 19 Canadian women who were all expecting twins at the same time. Using epistemological orientation of discourse in her methodology, McKenzie reasoned that the subjects were motivated to seek necessary information (as new mothers) but also considered generically representative of their community at large. The subjects were allowed to answer interview questions freely and with no limitations and this information, along with diary entries, used to obtain the necessary qualitative data to complete the study. The expectant mothers were asked to not only share their behavior when seeking routine information but to reflect on any differences that occurred during critical incidents in the information seeking process or their interactions with it. Compare and Contrast Both the ELIS and IP models are based upon theories which attempt to explain the behavior of non-professionals in their everyday lives when seeking information of both critical and non-critical status. The two models include the key component of individual context and its power over the information seeking process. McKenzie (2003) refers in positive terms to Savolainen’s earlier research and its breakthrough concepts in the studying of information seeking behavior in non-professionals in her treatise on the IP model, giving him credit for a novel approach. The IP model, while it takes note of the role of individual context, does not offer any further elaboration on the plethora of these factors that most likely exists. While McKenzie (2005) refers to individual context, she does little more than that in using it to explain behavior. Conversely, the ELIS model revolves around the theory of individual context and a person’s social standing, morals, values, attitude and current life situation. These factors are obviously an integral part of how a particular person seeks information as well as how he orders his life. In terms of the importance of context, Savolainen’s ELIS model has included a richer diversity of theory into the concept, which is one of its strengths. Both McKenzie (2003) and Savolainen (1995) include mention of an individual’s personality traits in explaining their information seeking behavior. This factor obtains importance as a part of mastery of life typology in the ELIS model in its references to characteristics of optimism and pessimism in the first two types, explaining positive or negative reaction to information that is found during a systematic and cognitive-oriented approach. His mastery of life, too, is reflected in this personality trait, extending it to other applications. The use of emotion as a response to the life process and problem solving characterizes the third and fourth types of mastery of life; people who fall into these categories do not think logically about their behavior. Thus the ELIS model can be considered to contain psychological theory in addition to theories regarding information seeking behavior. The IP model, on the other hand, assumes an individual patterns their behavior based on personality traits without actually furthering understanding on this dimension, merely stating that users connect with information through very active or less direct modes. Interactions that occur are the result of using both cognition and emotion in seeking information. There must first be an individualistic understanding of information to allow for active seeking and scanning. Non-directed or proxy modes are used by those who interact as a result of emotion. Using Savolainen’s (1995) fourth mastery of life type as a comparison, it would leave no other option but to consider the pessimistic-affective type to use the proxy mode due to the fact that he â€Å"does not rely on his abilities to solve everyday life problems†, according to McKenzie. Those who are considered systematic personalities, however, may also use the monitoring and proxy modes. Both the ELIS and IP models are also alike in their treatment of information seeking techniques and practices. While each employs its own terminology in explaining information seeking behavior, many of the concepts are similar. For instance, with the ELIS model, Savolainen (1995) explains that people seek information on an everyday basis to orient aspects of their lives by using passive monitoring to monitor its passage. In the IP model, this concept is similar to what McKenzie (2003) terms passive monitoring and in fact she makes reference to this likeness in her research. Practical information is explained by both models also. The ELIS model refers to this as information sought in use of a problem. In the IP model, this same concept is referred to as the intermediary or proxy method of seeking information. McKenzie (2003) offers further insight by defining this process as a way of gathering information from friends or other personal sources. The ELIS model simply fails to describe this. Conclusion There are significant factors available in study of both the ELIS and IP models which aid in further understanding of how ordinary people search for information during the course of their everyday lives. As Savolainen (1998) suggests, mastery of life typology can be employed in the understanding of how people use their own context to perceive information as well as their perception of how competent they are in performing a search. Both models are relevant as use in deeper investigation into specific populations which exhibit unique behavior. Future research to delve deeper into the context concepts of the ELIS model would be beneficial. Additional study of individual concept and interaction behavior based on the IP model are also warranted based on the ability to further pinpoint motivation in information seeking. While the gap in more comprehensive research exists, the concepts in both the ELIS and IP models are relevant and valid as an aid for those studying Information Science as well as in other areas of study of human behavior including sociologists and psychologists. It will be exciting to find what further insights are gained from future exploration of both Savolainen’s and McKenzie’s models on information seeking behavior.   

What Is Philosophy

There are many different kinds of philosophy and almost anything and everything has its own philosophy. Philosophy is the inquiring of existence, to find out what it s meaning is. It is the search for truth and understanding. Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom, not only in oneself but also in others. When asking for a philosophy on something it is mainly picking at one s brain to figure out the most inner thoughts and beliefs that one has on a subject. The idea of philosophy and the way that it works is mainly dependant on a person’s interpretive skill; it is a person’s thoughts on a certain subject in an analytical and exploratory manner. It is different levels of meaning. It is a search for some kind of general understanding of values and reality by a primarily speculative way rather than a merely observational way. Extensively speaking the purpose of philosophy is to study and find a reflective view of certainties, genuine concerns and general beliefs. Philosophy is like a classification of different theories on the disposition of things and what they are about. The branch of philosophy concerned with identifying the ultimate reality of nature of the universe is known as metaphysics. It is like a system of principles underlying a particular subject or study. Metaphysics was originally used to refer to the writings done by Aristotle on Physics. Now, it is better known for its attempt to understand the fundamental nature of all reality, if something is visible or not visible at all. Metaphysics seeks an explanation so basic and simple to everything that is, from what is human to what is spiritual and religious to what anything else really is. It is an argument that tries to figure out the things that actually exist and are truly real against the things that just seem to be real. There is a primary component of metaphysics and that component is ontology. Ontology is the theory of existence and being. It is pretty much concerned with identifying the things of the universe that are basic. Also. It takes a look at if something is composed of many diverse elements or if it plainly consists of only one fundamental compound. Ontology is usually compared with metaphysics proper. Metaphysics proper is more concerned with the general principles and traits of the world. It assumes that the general principles and traits of reality are simple and general and that because they are so general that they will apply to any kind of universe. Another way that metaphysics is divided is by a theoretical way and an applied way. Each describe a different way, one way just simply describes while the other way applies the description to practical problems. It puts knowledge to work and then gathers the knowledge for further examination. The branch of philosophy that studies knowledge is epistemology. Epistemology is a study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity. It seeks to define knowledge, identify its sources and establish its limits. Epistemology is derived from the Greek words Episteme and Theoria. According to the Greek language Episteme means knowledge and Theoria means theory. It addresses the philosophical problems surrounding the theory of knowledge. It attempts to answer the basic question of whether or not knowledge is true or false. What distinguishes true knowledge? What distinguishes false knowledge? These questions translates into issues of scientific methodology, it also forms one of the pillars of the new sciences of cognition. Epistemology is known for being the central area pf philosophy because philosophy is the quest for wisdom and truth. If you take a look at the history of epistemology, you see a clear trend, even though there is much confusion of many seemingly contradictory positions. The first theories of knowledge stressed its absolute, permanent character, while later theories put the emphasis on its relativity, its continuous development or evolution, and its active interference with the world and its subjects and objects. The whole trend seemingly moves from a static, passive view of knowledge towards a more and more adaptive and active one. What Is Philosophy Most definitions of philosophy have been fairly controversial partly because what has been called philosophy has changed drastically in the course of history. What used to be a part of the philosophical inquiries detached themselves from it. This is why most academic subject began as some aspect as philosophy and branched off into knowledge and became specialized. The word philosophy originated from Greek words philia (love) and sophia (wisdom) carrying the meaning love of wisdom. The essential part of being a good philosopher is the faculty of wonder. Philosophy searches for the truth and questioning the unquestionable. Intrinsically it satisfies, or seeks to satisfy, the intellectual desire for comprehensive knowledge and understanding. Philosophers need to be open-minded and never closing door. They have to be accepting and be able to accept changes. A philosopher is curious, reflective and critical. Big philosophical questions like Who is god? , Where does the world come from? , What is life? has remained unanswered. Questions of this genre are asked in every culture, every religion and through every period of time. The quest of philosophy is to answer these questions. Philosophy makes people doubt their beliefs. They make people query their cultural norms and what they have been putting faith into and brought up believing. People who are easily influence might think twice about their beliefs and those who hold true faith in what they already belief think philosophy is a load of rubbish and immature. They ignore the big questions and are too occupied searching for material things. They ignore the fact that these questions are yet to be answered but opt to remaine oblivious to it. By philosophizing, people reflect and criticize their most deeply held conceptions and beliefs. Essentially, the sole purpose of a normal life is to perpetuate and thrive to expand and fill the world galaxy with it. When we humans have gotten past a certain level or mark and into higher sentience. Then comes the aesthetic values, that we currently enjoy. however, the modern day society prevents most from doing so because the earth is overcrowded, and there’s the fight for resources. Philosophy attempts to search the evidence of all beliefs. It takes a second look at cultural norms. They attempt to think through a variety of life problems. It leads the mind to a critical evaluation of things, but critical evaluations often differ from person to person for their personal expierences, cultural background may vary widely. In this changing universe, some people are responsive to it and some are not. Some cling on to old tradtions passed down decads ago and declare that they are final. Often those who are unresponsive to it are old, narrow minded, stubborn people. Philosophy tries to relate reality to belief. It tries to find evidence and speculates the truth behind our daily assumptions. Due to this, some people think philosophy is dangerous. Socrates was accused for corrupting the mind of the youth in Athens. In this epoch, people think philosophy is nonsense and too corrupts the youth. It deters the youth from their original beliefs and confuses them even more that they already are. By philosophizing, people ask questions. They ask questions to get closer to the truth. But in fact, most of the time, they do not get closer to the truth but end up with even more unanswerable questions. Babies and young kids have this faculty of wonder. They ask adults a lot of questions Why is the sky so high? and many adults cannot answer that question because they themselves can t answer those questions. Shallowness, incompleteness, poor reasoning, and assertions with flimsy foundations prevent a truly enlightened person. When a person comes up with a philosophy or theory of his own, he persuades other people and influences them. Orators sways minds and hearts and thereby wage wars, gain control and seduce an unsuspecting public. To illustrate this point, lets say a nobody comes out and questions the government and influences the rest of the public to do so, with enough questioning citizens the government will be overpowered by the overwhelming demand of inquiries and thus cause chaos in a country†¦ Those who advocate total control or even economists philosophy like Carl Marx and his views on social reform can change the whole values of society, which means every single unit of society (us) will be affected even if we resist the next generation will grow up already brainwashed and in their minds that this is good, that is bad. This is why some people say philosophy is dangerous Philosophy can also change a way a person thinks. It can change peoples mind set especially those who are fickle and are not sure about their own true identities. These people change as they get influenced and cannot decide which is right and which is wrong. In our age of confusion and uncertainty, we need a sense of identity. Unaware of the complexities of an issue, unfamiliarity of certain issues, and unable to distinguish valid and invalid reasoning, these disoriented people might give in to authoritarian approaches to sacrifice their lives for certain values and ideas. And if people start philosopizing about things that are dangerous, it might baffle a person of their till then perception of things. People then turn to religion for a sense of direction. But once they start questioning the veracity of the religion, they are then deterred away again from their search of identity. Leaving them profound and doubtful. Philosophy is dangerous because it threatens to change or lives. But then again, because philosophy precedes the faculty of wonder, many things that were assumed have been justified. The world is not all sleight of hand and deception. A lot of old age enigmas have now been explained by science. What the dark side of the moon look likes was once shrouded in mystery but now we know exactly how it looks like. Philosophy leads to evolution. Because of that people improve. If it weren t because of the curiousness of scientists, we wouldn t have new inventions of machinery, of mathematical formulae, and wouldn t have the technology we now have in our lives. We would still be living in the dark, not knowing where to turn to. With this use, we cannot entirely say that philosophy is dangerous since it brings us so many advantages. Humanity has acquired a great new power in science and technology. We obtain numerous techniques for gaining greater security and comforts have been developed. Philosophy, in conjunction with other disciplines, plays a central in guiding us toward new desires and aspirations. It guides us to a clearer more assuring road into life. Philosophizing leads us to seek more knowledge and thus making a person wiser. It guides us to make more knowledgeable and wiser choices in life. The exploration of the possible, reasonable solution clarifies the options open to thoughtful persons. The usefulness of choosing from the reasoned, researched alternatives rather than from bigoted, impulsive, and unclear claims is apparent inn all dimension of our lives. Ideally, the study of philosophy nurtures our capacity for making informed choices. Ultimately, there isn t really a definite answer to the question whether philosophy is dangerous. This is due to the fact that philosophy brought humanity to evolve and improve yet making people feel anxious and insecure because they are uncertain about the meaning of life and which direction they should take life in. What Is Philosophy Most definitions of philosophy have been fairly controversial partly because what has been called philosophy has changed drastically in the course of history. What used to be a part of the philosophical inquiries detached themselves from it. This is why most academic subject began as some aspect as philosophy and branched off into knowledge and became specialized. The word philosophy originated from Greek words philia (love) and sophia (wisdom) carrying the meaning love of wisdom. The essential part of being a good philosopher is the faculty of wonder. Philosophy searches for the truth and questioning the unquestionable. Intrinsically it satisfies, or seeks to satisfy, the intellectual desire for comprehensive knowledge and understanding. Philosophers need to be open-minded and never closing door. They have to be accepting and be able to accept changes. A philosopher is curious, reflective and critical. Big philosophical questions like Who is god? , Where does the world come from? , What is life? has remained unanswered. Questions of this genre are asked in every culture, every religion and through every period of time. The quest of philosophy is to answer these questions. Philosophy makes people doubt their beliefs. They make people query their cultural norms and what they have been putting faith into and brought up believing. People who are easily influence might think twice about their beliefs and those who hold true faith in what they already belief think philosophy is a load of rubbish and immature. They ignore the big questions and are too occupied searching for material things. They ignore the fact that these questions are yet to be answered but opt to remaine oblivious to it. By philosophizing, people reflect and criticize their most deeply held conceptions and beliefs. Essentially, the sole purpose of a normal life is to perpetuate and thrive to expand and fill the world galaxy with it. When we humans have gotten past a certain level or mark and into higher sentience. Then comes the aesthetic values, that we currently enjoy. however, the modern day society prevents most from doing so because the earth is overcrowded, and there’s the fight for resources. Philosophy attempts to search the evidence of all beliefs. It takes a second look at cultural norms. They attempt to think through a variety of life problems. It leads the mind to a critical evaluation of things, but critical evaluations often differ from person to person for their personal expierences, cultural background may vary widely. In this changing universe, some people are responsive to it and some are not. Some cling on to old tradtions passed down decads ago and declare that they are final. Often those who are unresponsive to it are old, narrow minded, stubborn people. Philosophy tries to relate reality to belief. It tries to find evidence and speculates the truth behind our daily assumptions. Due to this, some people think philosophy is dangerous. Socrates was accused for corrupting the mind of the youth in Athens. In this epoch, people think philosophy is nonsense and too corrupts the youth. It deters the youth from their original beliefs and confuses them even more that they already are. By philosophizing, people ask questions. They ask questions to get closer to the truth. But in fact, most of the time, they do not get closer to the truth but end up with even more unanswerable questions. Babies and young kids have this faculty of wonder. They ask adults a lot of questions Why is the sky so high? and many adults cannot answer that question because they themselves can t answer those questions. Shallowness, incompleteness, poor reasoning, and assertions with flimsy foundations prevent a truly enlightened person. When a person comes up with a philosophy or theory of his own, he persuades other people and influences them. Orators sways minds and hearts and thereby wage wars, gain control and seduce an unsuspecting public. To illustrate this point, lets say a nobody comes out and questions the government and influences the rest of the public to do so, with enough questioning citizens the government will be overpowered by the overwhelming demand of inquiries and thus cause chaos in a country†¦ Those who advocate total control or even economists philosophy like Carl Marx and his views on social reform can change the whole values of society, which means every single unit of society (us) will be affected even if we resist the next generation will grow up already brainwashed and in their minds that this is good, that is bad. This is why some people say philosophy is dangerous Philosophy can also change a way a person thinks. It can change peoples mind set especially those who are fickle and are not sure about their own true identities. These people change as they get influenced and cannot decide which is right and which is wrong. In our age of confusion and uncertainty, we need a sense of identity. Unaware of the complexities of an issue, unfamiliarity of certain issues, and unable to distinguish valid and invalid reasoning, these disoriented people might give in to authoritarian approaches to sacrifice their lives for certain values and ideas. And if people start philosopizing about things that are dangerous, it might baffle a person of their till then perception of things. People then turn to religion for a sense of direction. But once they start questioning the veracity of the religion, they are then deterred away again from their search of identity. Leaving them profound and doubtful. Philosophy is dangerous because it threatens to change or lives. But then again, because philosophy precedes the faculty of wonder, many things that were assumed have been justified. The world is not all sleight of hand and deception. A lot of old age enigmas have now been explained by science. What the dark side of the moon look likes was once shrouded in mystery but now we know exactly how it looks like. Philosophy leads to evolution. Because of that people improve. If it weren t because of the curiousness of scientists, we wouldn t have new inventions of machinery, of mathematical formulae, and wouldn t have the technology we now have in our lives. We would still be living in the dark, not knowing where to turn to. With this use, we cannot entirely say that philosophy is dangerous since it brings us so many advantages. Humanity has acquired a great new power in science and technology. We obtain numerous techniques for gaining greater security and comforts have been developed. Philosophy, in conjunction with other disciplines, plays a central in guiding us toward new desires and aspirations. It guides us to a clearer more assuring road into life. Philosophizing leads us to seek more knowledge and thus making a person wiser. It guides us to make more knowledgeable and wiser choices in life. The exploration of the possible, reasonable solution clarifies the options open to thoughtful persons. The usefulness of choosing from the reasoned, researched alternatives rather than from bigoted, impulsive, and unclear claims is apparent inn all dimension of our lives. Ideally, the study of philosophy nurtures our capacity for making informed choices. Ultimately, there isn t really a definite answer to the question whether philosophy is dangerous. This is due to the fact that philosophy brought humanity to evolve and improve yet making people feel anxious and insecure because they are uncertain about the meaning of life and which direction they should take life in.

Eco Plastic Solution Essay

This case focuses on determination of the cost of capital for a firm. The student determines the cost of individual sources of financing, including long-term debt, preferred stock, and common stock. The cost of debt is adjusted for Eco Plastics’ 40% tax bracket. The company is considering a new financial structure, with the replacement of preferred stock financing with debt financing. Additional use of debt increases the common stockholders’ required rate of return. The student is asked to compare the two weighted average costs of capital and identify the better financial structure for Eco Plastics Company. a. Cost of debt: Proceeds from sale of $1,000 par value bond: $1,000 − (average discount & floatation costs) $1,000 − ($45 + $32) = $923 Subsequent payments: Interest payments ($1,000 Ãâ€" 0.105) + Par value Before-tax cost of debt N = 20, PV = $923, PMT = −105, FV = −1,000 Solve for I = 11.50% After-tax cost of debt: ri = rd (1-T) = 11.5% (1−0.4) = 6.9% b. Cost of preferred stock: rp = Dp à · Np = (0.095 Ãâ€" $95) à · ($95 – $7) = $9.02 à · $88 = 10.25% c. Cost of common stock: rj = RF + [bj Ãâ€" (rm − RF)] = 0.04 + [1.3 Ãâ€" (0.13 − 0.04)] = 0.04 + [1.3 Ãâ€" 0.09] = 0.04 + 0.1170 = 15.7% d. Weighted average cost of capital: ra = (wi Ãâ€" ri) + (wp Ãâ€" rp) + (ws Ãâ€" rn) = (0.30 Ãâ€" 0.069) + (0.20 Ãâ€" 0.1025) + (0.50 Ãâ€" 0.157) = 0.0207 + 0.0205 + 0.785 = 0.1197, or about 12% e. 1. Change in risk Premium: Change in beta Ãâ€" market risk premium = (1.5 − 1.3) Ãâ€" (0.13 − 0.04) = 0.2 Ãâ€" 0.09 = 0.018 Shareholders require 1.8% more per year New cost of common equity: rj = RF + [bj Ãâ€" (rm − RF)] = 0.04 + [1.5 Ãâ€" (0.13 − 0.04)] = 0.04 + [1.5 Ãâ€" 0.09] = 0.04 + 0.1350 = 17.5% Note: 17.5% − 15.7% = 1.8% 2. Revised weighted average cost of capital: ra= (wi x ri) + (ws x rn) = (0.50 Ãâ€" 0.069) + (0.50 Ãâ€" 0.175) = 0.0345 + 0.0875 = 0.1220 3. Eco Plastics’ CFO should retain the cheaper current financial structure. Replacing preferred stock financing with debt financing results in more risk to the stockholders. The increase in stockholders’ required rate of return is more than offsets the advantage of using the low cost debt. If Eco Plastics’ CFO were to revise the capital structure, share price would fall and shareholder wealth would not be maximized.

Information Technology Architectures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Information Technology Architectures - Essay Example CORBA is the standard software that supports distributed objects. It is a complex and a more difficult to learn software than any other communication infrastructure. COBRA offers a lot of functionality such as, programming language independency and the operating system. On the other hand, CORBA possesses the binding power to arrange of standardized programming languages as a communication format (Papadopoulos, 2009). Among the advantages of CORBA process, is its level of maturity, CORBA developed by the Object Management Group and its standard is neither too lax nor too restrictive. CORBA does not endanger the interoperability of some products nor the portability and space for optimization. Therefore, it offers a real international tested and proven power, flexibility and performance. CORBA offers a modularization facility to write objects in different programming languages that provide a service to users that do not require details of implementation of the object(s). CORBA also offers a facility that allows different clients to use the same interface thus working together transparently (Papadopoulos, 2009). CORBA’s disadvantages include its architecture complexity and specification which do not give a clear implementation details. It offers vertical features, which target some users and applications, but not all technology users thus insufficient (Papadopoulos, 2009). Java2 Enterprise Architecture (J2EE) is a mainframe scale computing platform which made for large firms. It simplifies thin client tiered environment application development (Papadopoulos, 2009). It decreases the need for programming, and programmer education by enhancing the tier to perform many programming aspects automatically. The Java 2 Enterprise Architecture (J2EE) consists of a security model which protects data both in web-based application and also locally. It is portable since it consists of a write once and Run anywhere

Discuss the readings. What did you think of each of the stories Did it Essay

Discuss the readings. What did you think of each of the stories Did it have any meaning in your life Is it still relevant today Things you didn't like - Essay Example death is inevitable, but we must have faith that life will go on: â€Å"Death closes all; but something ere the end,/Some work of noble note, may yet be done† (Tennyson). He emphasizes that as long as we are alive, we can use our time to do something positive, so that we can have a meaningful existence. Arnold reminds us to have faith in each other. Without faith, we will be â€Å"Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,/Where ignorant armies clash by night† (Arnold). Many people fear what they do not know, such as other races, cultures, and experiences. Arnold asks us to trust each other, because without trust, it is easier to fear and hate, and consequently, it will be easier to fight with each other. Faith is one of the glues that bind humanity. Without it, these poems say that we will be prone to hate and anger. When we hate and we are angry, it is easier to stage wars. We live in a dog-eat-dog world, but sometimes, we have to pause and think about the kind of person we want to be and the kind of humanity we want to promote among our children. If we want to choose something to feel then, may it be faith, because faith will help us become better people and can help us provide a more peaceful and tolerant society to our children and their children, as

Business Engineering With ERP Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Engineering With ERP Systems - Essay Example Integration of processes means that any change in a particular field will reflect on all the related fields of the organization. In this sense each centre or branch will be connected with the other, as the same information will be available throughout. For example: a change in the inventory levels will be detected by the purchase department without delay, enabling them increase the inflow of raw materials accordingly, further leading the manufacturing department to increase production, so on and so forth. As and when an event or functions occur its consequent actions will be automatically triggered, resulting in efficient and effective handling of each task. Moreover, R/3 provides a system that provides for the storage of Static ('Master') and dynamic ('transaction') data about the organization structures, products, customers and the process to be followed. The Master Data is centrally stored and therefore shared across application modules) so as to eliminate data redundancy and to enforce data consistency and integrity. Thus, when creating transactions like a sales order, the R/3 system copies information from master data.

Cloud Computing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cloud Computing - Case Study Example This is achieved through being allowed to pay at a very low rate the capacity which they use only (AmazonWebService, November 2012). The provision of Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service offloads the burden of constantly updating systems both hardware and software from the consumer to service provider. In this regard Ericsson rides on the latest and updated systems handing at no extra cost. Cloud based systems such as the ones offered by AWS are accessed through web APIs which can be remotely accessed from virtually anywhere in the world offering a very flexible and highly convenient system which to international companies such as Erickson redefines global outreach literally. Furthermore Cloud based systems are a 24 hour service which allow round the clock access as a results clients are able to get an on demand availability of their data and systems. On demand systems offered by AWS Allows ericsson to work only with the capacities they require as and when they are n eeded as such no resource goes to waste of idle time and they freed from costs arising from long term planning upgrades and maintenance of systems. The fact that Ericsson runs mobile networks, a real-time on demand availability of their systems offers a cutting edge market advantage over their competitors (Dodani, 2009). Ericsson cloud based systems uses Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Services (S3), and Rightscale. These are powerful and robust services provided by Amazon designed to simplify cloud computing. Amazon EC2 for example provides a complete control of the system as if it were on premise by allowing users to obtain and configure their systems capacity with a lot of ease. Acquisition and booting a new server through Amazon EC2 has been simplified providing a quick means of either increasing or decreasing capacity depending with system requirements (AmazonWebService, November 2012). This is a highly scalable

Children if convicted of a capital crime, should be given the death Essay

Children if convicted of a capital crime, should be given the death penalty - Essay Example Historically, only 2 percent of capital punishment was juvenile execution since a large number of capital punishment imposed on children was either reversed or commuted. Often public opinion is considered, but â€Å"it is critical to distinguish between judging what is cruel and unusual punishment and what should become policy for such issues as capital punishment† (Kalbeitzer & Goldstein, 174). This paper focuses on different perspectives regarding this sensitive issue. Unlike many developed countries, United States is still embracing capital punishment for serious offenders. One major objective of juvenile criminal system â€Å"is to hold juvenile offenders accountable for delinquent acts while providing treatment, rehabilitative services, and programs designed to prevent future involvement in law-violating behavior† (Cothern, 1). The juvenile court was established in Chicago in 1889 in order to protect the juvenile offenders from receiving rough treatment in the criminal justice system. The juvenile court accepted that adults and children have different developmental capacities; therefore it advocated rehabilitation as alternative for capital punishment in case of children. However due to the growing number of young people getting involved in criminal activities in the turn of this century, the juvenile justice system has become more prone towards more rigid policies and stricter punishments. It now happens that children below the age of 1 8 who have committed capital crimes are subjected to the ultimate form of punishment like the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole. Supporters of juvenile death penalty see it as a way to deter other young people from committing similar kinds of crimes, and a way to maintain public safety (Cothern, 1-2). As of 2000, more than two-third of all independent states advocate death penalty. In 1999, 30 offenders were executed other than 3,500 others who were on death row. Even

The Therac-25 and Its Accident Investigation Case Study - 1

The Therac-25 and Its Accident Investigation - Case Study Example When u fix an old bug, it is highly likely that anew bug will develop. After fixing a bug, there is only a fifty per cent chance that the particular program will function over a similar length of time before failing, the same way it did before the bug was rectified. This means that the manufacturer’s claims that the machine’s safety was improved after it was fixed were totally unfounded. The manufacturer’s claim that the machine could never break down, even after getting and rectifying numerous problems was groundless. So long as the manufacturer had the conviction that the machine could never cause an overdose of radiation, they would not notice any deficiencies in their machine. As much as many people would love to point fingers at the manufacturer as the cause of the Therac-25 accidents, the technicians and operators who operated the machine also made some mistakes which caused the accident. For instance, it was somehow strange that the operators of the machin e got comfortable running the machine despite the regular error notices it issued. The machine normally issued forty error notices in a single day. This was bad since the cost of the Therac-25’s failure may possibly be death and it was the operator’s responsibility to insist for a properly functioning machine without faults. They could also have demanded a clear documentation that showed the machine’s errors and their possible causes. They also over relied on the safety statistics of the machine which were inflated as stated by the manufacturer. This made them not to investigate any overdoses possible hence putting the lives of the patients in danger. The federal government had a fair share of blame in the accidents because they knew that the manufacturer’s engineering practices were poor but still allowed the use of Therac-25. They seemingly had too much faith in the safety statistics that were posted by the manufacturer and therefore never took a keen i nterest in the safety precautions. The accidents were caused by institutional and engineering mistakes which could have led to even bigger disasters had the machine’s operation not been suspended. The manufacturer never had an independent review on the software code and therefore had not followed the right procedure. They never considered the software’s design when assessing the machine’s ability to produce the expected results and if there were any failure modes in its operation. The machine never explained any error codes so the operators just overrode the warning signs since they could not tell if there was an error or just a false alarm. The manufacturer never believed any complaints since there were overconfident that the machine would never fail, to make it worse, the hardware and software combination was never tested until after its assembly at the hospital. On the engineering side, the machine failed only when a non standard keystroke was entered on term inal VT-100. This machine never had hardware interlocks which could prevent the beam from running in high energy mode when the target was not in position. The programming engineer used software from an old model. The old models used hardware to cover their faults but could not report the faults hence leaving the machine to operate with the

System Design Methodology Essay Example for Free

System Design Methodology Essay Newbiz Telecommunication Services is a company that sells mobile phones, mobile accessories, prepaid cards and other items related to telecommunications and mobile computing industry. The company intends to develop a system to manage its inventory needs. This system will be used by the company’s staff and management to monitor the movement of its stocks. Among the many reasons why the system is required are: a. The system enables the company to reduce labor and paper costs since many of the daily functions will then be automated. b. It allows employees to concentrate on their jobs rather than spending time on searching records. c. Human errors can be reduced e.g. calculation error might lead to wrong billing to the customers. d. It allows the company to keep track of its stock levels as late replenishment of inventory can result in insufficient stocks to meet customer demands. e. The time it takes to process sales to customers can be made faster. Faster response time means that sale of items can be quickly closed. f. It presents a good image to the company’s clients leading to more confidence in the company. This allows it to gain a competitive advantage over its competitor. g. Inventory levels can be closely and easily watched with the new system as the management has better control over inventory levels. This is because inventory levels are updated every time a sale to customer is made and whenever new stocks arrive. Project Requirement Specification Aim: The aims of this assignment are to: * Develop skills in choosing an appropriate traditional methodology * Develop skills in applying structured techniques that are relevant to the chosen methodology * Develop skills in analysing and recording the requirements of a system * Develop skills in analysing and developing different views of a system * Develop skills in developing a prototype, with suitable interface, from conception through to implementation * Demonstrate a knowledge of the fundamental issues of HCI by applying interface design principles to a prototype Assessment The total assessment marks of this group case study is 100% (50% of overall module marks) Outline of Task: You have been given the task to analyse, design and develop a prototype for the given Case Study. Your class will be divided into groups. Each group will comprise of 2 or 3 team members. Part-A is a ‘Group Component’, to be completed in a collaborative manner (60%). Part-B is an ‘Individual Component’, to be completed by each member of the group respectively (40%). Suggested Presentation Format This project is a group effort and should be treated as though you are proposing a system for an organisation. The following is a suggested minimum report format. It is recommended that your report contain at least the following: PART-A – GROUP COMPONENT Cover Page Your cover page should contain the standard information such as UCTI Logo, Subject Title, System Name, etc Table of Contents The table of contents should have the topic title and reference page number attached to each topic. Introduction This should include your task, the scope of the proposed system, and the objectives for the proposed system. Schedule Planning Gantt Chart PERT CHART This should include your group’s schedule on this assignment and the dates and tasks and the responsible group member(s) has to be included in your schedule. All this information should be shown in a Gantt chart, PERT Chart and Workload Matrix (sample workload matrix attached). Problem Analysis Current Systems Brief analysis of the current system including description of the constraints and opportunities for the proposed system. Overview Proposed Systems An explanation of how the proposed system solves the existing problems and addresses opportunities. Process Model for Proposed Systems Logical process model 0 Context diagram 1 Level 0 DFD 2 Level 1 DFDs for the Level 0 processes 3 Level 2 DFDs for the Level 1 processes (if any) 4 Process Specification (e.g. Structured English, Decision Table and Decision Tree) Data Models Proposed Systems Logical Data Models: 5 Entity Relationship Diagram, showing named relationships, cardinality (mandatory/optional), and cardinality (one-to-many, one-to-one, etc) Data Dictionary for Proposed Systems Present at least THREE data Dictionary for any of the Attribute / Process / Entity within your project. Clearly show Data flows, Data Stores, Processes, Source and Sink, where applicable. Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) * Discuss the principals that you have considered / applied into creating the GUI of your system. Include the principals of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) where applicable. Prototyping * The assignment requires you to use a contemporary prototyping tool that permits the development of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to develop a prototype. * Visual Basic is the recommended programming environment. Other tools such as Delphi, PowerBuilder, Visual Cafà ©, PHP and etc are allowed. * NOTE: You are not required to produce a fully functional program (such as inclusion of database and online components) which may be beyond the scope of this module. PART-B – INDIVIDUAL COMPONENT Selection of Methodology This part involves individual (member) contribution to this assignment. Each member is required to choose and explain a suitable (distinctive) methodology for the project. The whole discussion should not exceed 800 words. * Compare and select a suitable IS development methodology for this your case. State the reasons for your choice. * Explain the purpose, structure and scope of the methodology. Include any frameworks and/or diagrams as aid. * Explain in detail how your project will be developed according to the methodology. Include the tools and techniques that are recommended within the methodology and their use in your project. * The application of the methodology should be elaborated at your the final presentation. Project Presentation * Present your solution and suggestion including explanation of each section of your topics. * A demo of your actual prototype. * A detailed presentation of your individual component. - Assignment Deliverables and Conditions: * Your group needs to hand in the group case study on the due date mentioned on the cover sheet of the assignment, with all the necessary components as suggested above. Clearly sapparate and indicate the Group component and Individual component in your documentation. * Final Documentation has to be word processed, printed in A4 size paper (double sided preffered) and professionally bound. The maximum of 5000 words is recommended. * Please consider the environment and dont print unnecessarily. Include all your work (copy) into an optical disk, to be attached to the documentation. This could be used to scan for plagiarism. Any additional / redundant materials could also be included into the optical disk.. * Include the list of references / bibliography and appendices where necessary. * Include a ‘Workload Matrix’, indicating the contribution of each individual for each required component (shown in percentage) and should be signed off by each team member, attached to the APPENDIX part of the final document. * The presentation will be conducted according to the date time allocated to each group. Late submissions will not be assessed unless extenuating circumstances are upheld.

The Consequences Of Being A Passive Listener English Language Essay

The Consequences Of Being A Passive Listener English Language Essay Listening is an essential part of communication and is different from hearing. Listening means paying constant attention and making sense of what is being said. Hearing on the other hand is merely acknowledging that someone is speaking. Hearing is passive while listening is active. Listening is a non verbal skill. It is the act of interpreting, remembering and understanding what has been said. A listener is of two types; a good listener and a bad listener. A good listener is one who is patient and calm. He is a critical thinker who listens to each word said carefully and without judgment or interruption. He is active, persistent and shows carefully consideration when listening to what is being said. A good listener can place himself in the shoes of others, see how what is being said impacts him and see their point of view. He can tune out distractions and focus on what the speaker is saying. He also makes notes and jots down the important points. He is attentive, does not interrupt and picks out verbal and non verbal cues from the speaker. He knows that listening is the primary source of knowledge. On the other hand a bad listener is the exact opposite of a good listener. He pretends to be listening to what is being said while he lets his mind wander to irrelevant issues. He does not pick out the main idea of what is being said and often finds what the speaker says to be boring. He listens to sounds rather than the words of what is being said. He gives in freely to distractions and is often a noisemaker who distracts the attention of others in the process. He is the person who is mostly to relaxed in class and sits in informal positions. Listening is also of two types; active listening and passive listening. Active listening is the act of hearing the words and identifying the feelings associated with the words. An active listener concentrates on what is being said and is able to tune out unnecessary distractions. To be an active listener one must show empathy, acceptance and willingness to take responsibility for completeness. An active listener shows reactions to prove that he is listening and has understood what has been said, this could be; nodding, making eye contact, facial expressions, asking questions, paraphrasing, not talking too much and so forth. Furthermore he reflects on the main point and summarizes what has been said. He is also able to pick out the verbal and non verbal cues from the speaker. Passive listening according to Baker(1971)is the listening done whereby there is little self perception or personal involvement on the part of the listener. A passive listener is one who is inattentive and uninvolved l does not identify the meaningful signals and cannot interpret what is being said. He listens without reaction and doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t show signs that he understands what is being said.. He is the type who interrupts the speaker before he or she finishes speaking. This is not the best listening habit. A passive listener can be illustrated as a rock, he can be seen but he does not absorb any information. It goes in through one ear and comes out the other. He is the type that easily forgets and stores irrelevant information in his memory. He often misses out on the verbal and non verbal cues given by the speaker during a conversation. He lets his mind wander far and near during a conversation and appears to be listening but is really somewhere else. He does not contr ibute to the subject and doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t give back feedbacks. A passive reader has a short concentration span. Attention is a requirement of learning. We cannot understand, learn or remember something unless we pay attention. Passive attention is uncontrolled and dependant on external factors. There are various consequences of being a passive listener. Some of which are discussed below; Passive listeners practice hearing i.e. they hear only the sounds coming out of the speakers mouth. They do do not cultivate good listening skills i.e. they are not effective listeners. They do not make a habit out of listening attentively and understanding what is being said. They pretend to listen while letting their minds wander supreme, giving in to distractions and so on. Passive listeners have a short concentration span; this means that they only concentrate for short periods of time. Due to distractions which they may give out or receive, they allow their mind to wander to irrelevant issues which do not concern what they are listening to. When they find a topic boring or difficult their state of mind changes towards that topic .i.e. they are instantly put off by it and are not encouraged to learn more, they pretend to listen and understand and do not concentrate on what is being said. Also, passive listeners miss out the key points and the main idea of what is being said. They only surface listen which is pretending to listen. Even though they are physically present there mind is not. They do not watch out for the importance of the lesson. Again due to distractions or voluminous jottings they miss out the verbal and non verbal cues the speaker gives out. In addition to, passive listeners do not focus completely on what the speaker is saying. They often misinterpret his points which could lead to disagreements, talking out of turn and debates between the passive listener and the speaker. Furthermore, passive listeners normally possess bad sitting postures. One should be comfortable while listening but not to relaxed. They are often to relaxed while listening which may give rise to sleep and missing the aim of the lesson. Also passive listeners do not give out positive gestures to show that they are listening and comprehending what is being said. Like nodding of the had in agreement, paraphrasing what is being said, positive or negative facial expressions, asking relevant questions within and outside the topic, clapping, shaking of the head in disagreement and so on. In addition to, passive listeners are the type that makes irrelevant copious notes which distracts them from the importance of the lesson while pretending to be listening. They write down almost everything the speaker says thinking that that is what is important. They do not jot down and summarize the key points of the topic . They do not possess an undivided attention thereby giving in to distraction which are; noise making, using of phones or other gadgets at the wrong time, constantly looking at ones watch, listening to music while listening, etc. Passive listeners do not reflect and put into use what is being said, bring up meaningless points and are mostly the people who come in late and leave early, sit at the back and never in the front rows unless they are told to do so. They are not critical thinkers, they do not think deep about what they are listening to. Passive listeners do not keep an open mind when they are listening; they are not matured listeners and are the type that are easily put off by irrelevant things. They look for the faults in the speaker or in what he is saying rather than grasping the importance of his topic. There are various guidelines or rules one must follow to be a good listener. This includes; stopping anything one is doing when a discussion is going on, ensuring that there are no barriers or distractions around, making observations not copious notes one will not understand in the future but summarizing the key points i.e. year in which events occurred, peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s names, names of cities or countries, occupation of people etc. Sitting at ease but not being too relaxed which may give way to sleep, not allowing oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mind wander away, putting into practice the habit of paying attention to someone and not being discouraged by earlier failures, keeping an eye out for the main points of the lecture, not sitting with people who could be a distraction and not being a distraction our self, getting the information first and not looking out for irrelevant flaws with the speaker. In conclusion, we have learnt what listening is, the difference between listening and hearing, the differences between a good and bad listener, types of listening, guidelines to being a good listener, what one should do when one is speaking, what distractions are, the differences between an active and a passive listener and the consequences of being a passive listener. Therefore one must strive to be an effective and active listener so as to be a better learner.

Determining Magnitudes of Calibration Stars

Determining Magnitudes of Calibration Stars SN 2014J in M82: Follow-Up Photometry Aims and Objectives This laboratory involved using photometry of the images of M28 which were obtained in R and I filters from ULO’s robotic telescope, hence determined the magnitudes of calibration stars and the new discovered supernova. In addition, compare the experimental results to the published AAVSO data by investigating the time series of data within the night of 23rd and 24th of January. Introduction Supernova are basically the explosion of massive supergiant star when they are reaching the end of their evolution. In general, supernovae can be classified as type I and type II supernova, each of them has its own specific features and dynamics. Type Ia supernova are generally thought to a white dwarf explosion and type II supernova are triggered by a core collapse of massive supergiant stars. Astronomers use type Ia supernova as a â€Å"standard candle† to measure the cosmic distances because they are very bright which can be seen at great distances and they all are observed to have similar brightness at their peaks. Light curve is one of the methods that astronomers use to identify different types of supernova. It is constructed by plotting the magnitude of the supernova as a function of time after the event of explosion. Type I supernova have very distinctive light curve compare to type II supernova. The figure bellow shows that type I supernova light curves exhibit a sharp increase to a maxima and then decrease steeply, eventually die away smoothly and gradually whereas type II supernova have less sharp peaks at their maxima and they have another peak later on after the first peak. (From hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu) Supernova SN2014J was discovered in the galaxy M82 on 21st January 2014 at ULO. Early studies of SN2014J light curve and spectrum indicate it is a type Ia supernova meaning that its light curve would have a peak absolute magnitude around the same value and it follows the general shape of type Ia light curve. In the laboratory, we can determine the magnitude of the supernova and plot the result to AAVSO database to see if it fits the published data and follow the trend of typical type Ia supernova light curves, whence to predict the peak brightness and its magnitude. Procedures I first downloaded and printed out the list of standard stars’ magnitudes from the AAVSO website which was used for reference throughout the laboratory. I also obtained the subset of the images of M82 from ULO’s robotic system by selecting only Rc and Ic filter’s image as well as the time range from 21:29 to 21:35 on the date of 23rd of January 2014. These images were opened and analysed with GAIA’s aperture photometry tool. I analysed the Ic images first in GAIA. Before making any magnitude measurements of stars, the brightest stars were checked to make sure they were not saturated and all the given star in AAVSO list don’t have peak count over 40000 counts. These must be done to get reliable results. In order to measure the magnitude, a suitable aperture needed to be drawn on the image and it should be in the size about two to three times the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of a star image. By using the slice tool, a graph of the selected star was opened in a new window where the FWHM could be measured. Determined FWHM of several listed stars and calculated the mean value, hence the aperture was set to three times the size of FWHM. When the aperture was set to a suitable size, I clicked the â€Å"define object aperture† button and placed the aperture to stars in the same order as they appeared in the AAVSO reference data. At last, dropped the aperture in supernova as well. After all, I collected my results by clicking on â€Å"Calculate results† button. These results were then save in a excel file for further analysis. Repeat the same procedures for Rc images and also save all the results in the same excel file. Measurements and results Calculated FWHM for making the judgement of the size of aperture: FWHM of star 112 = 178-174=4 FWHM of star 120 = 548-544=4 mean of FWHM = 4 size of aperture = 3 x 4 =12 Thus, I set the aperture as size 12 and placed it to each star to make a measurement. On my downloaded images for both Ic and Rc filter, star 155 and star 159 did not appear on them which lead to no measurements were taken from them. Results of Ic image and Rc image were tabulated in table 1 and table 2. Table 1. Results of Ic image Table 2. Results of Rc image Both of the tables have their first column listing all the known standard star from the reference data and supernova is also included. The column with heading of Sky is the values of sky annulus which are used to measure local background sky values for each star. And the last column is the signal from a star which is used to calculate magnitude and constant k of the star as well as the supernova. To estimate the magnitude of supernova, several calculations were carried out by using the equation: m = -2.5log N +k (1) The constant k was first calculated from known reference stars on the list and hence the mean value of constant k for both Ic and Rc imgaes. Then both Ic and Rc apparent magnitude of supernova were determined. All these values were tabulated in table 3 and associated uncertainties showed in table 4. Uncertainties on k and apparent magnitude were obtained by using the following equation: Ntot = N x n x 2.53 (2) Where N is the signal obtained from an average of n images, and 2.53 is called the ‘gain’ of the CCD. à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  m2 ≈ 1.1/√Ntot (3) Where à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  m2 is the error in magnitudes in measurement of the star signal And finally, the combined uncertainty becomes: (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  mSN)2 = (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  k)2 + (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  m2)2 (4) Table 3. Results of calculated magnitude and constant k for both Ic and Rc imgaes Table 4. Uncertainties 4.3 Q5. Compare table 3 and the reference list, we can see that there is no obvious trend for constant k (both Ic and Rc) varies for standard star colours as well as standard-star magnitude. In the reference list, standard star colours such as B, V and B-V increase in their values following the order of the stars from 106 to 156, however, values of constant k fluctuates with different values of star colours but not follow any increasing or decreasing trend. Discussions and Conclusions This laboratory is to analyse and make magnitude measurements of the known stars from images of M28 which were obtained in R and I filters from ULO’s robotic telescope by using the aperture photometry tool, hence determined the magnitudes of the new discovered supernova. At the end of the laboratory, experimental results were plot in the light curves from AAVSO data so we can investigate the time series of data within the night of 23rd and 24th of January and more importantly, to predict the time that the supernova reach peak brightness and magnitude when Rc and Ic images were taken. Table 6. Results of magnitude both Rc and Ic by different students. 4.4 Q1. Table 6 shows all the laboratory results obtained by different groups of students. My calculated results for the Ic and Rc magnitude of supernova in the time range 21:29—21:35 are 10.04 +/- 0.02 and 10.54 +/- 0.03 respectively. Compare my results with those obtained by other students, I cannot conclude that out results are not consistence because the uncertainty for my Ic and Rc magnitude are +/-0.02 and +/- 0.03, but the difference in magnitude between students is about +/-0.1 which is not within my uncertainty range, thus the results did not maintain the consistency. 4.4 Q2. Because the great consistency of the results obtained from different groups of students, we can say the magnitude of the supernova is around the similar value at the time the images were taken. There is no obvious trend observed for the magnitude to change with time during that night, also, the condition of the sky was thought to be not vey ideal, thus the we cannot conclude that there is a change in brightness at the night of 23rd January to 24th January 2014. However, from the general shape of light curves of supernova, there should be obvious brightness change before and after peak. So, more reliable results should be obtained for plenty of nights to detect the change in brightness. 4.3.1 Q4. Table 4 listed majority of the uncertainties that can possibly be calculated from my results. They are relatively small compare to the large values of my results. However, there were also systematic uncertainties arising from the measurement of the background galaxy light. This is related to the size of annulus when I did the aperture measurements. The annulus is used to measure the background of the sky by drawing a larger circle and a smaller circle around the centre of the star. The background is therefore the region between these two apertures or the annulus. If the aperture is oversized, extra light from neighbour stars will be included which can cause unreliable results of the measurement as it introduces noise from the sky background, thus the signal strength from the star fluctuates as well. To check this uncertainty, I adjust the inner scale and the outer scale of the annulus to make some measurements of a star. The results were tabulated in table 5. Table 5. Results of aperture measurement with different size of annulus By trying different set of inner and outer annulus scales, the signals were very different to the one I obtained in the first stage. To mitigate them, multiple aperture with different size within the range about 2 to 3 times the FWHM can be used to make more measurement. This would give a more reliable signal strength of the star. Figure 1. Light curve of SN2014J from AAVSO with own data plotted Figure 1 is the light curve that I downloaded from AAVSO for SN 2014J with my results plotted on. My results for Ic and Rc magnitude were plotted in blue and yellow respectively. My data actually fits the AAVSO data, both of the magnitude are on the light curves at the same time on the night. We can spot that there is a trend from the AAVSO data from the same night at ULO. Both of I and R light curves show an increase in magnitude with change in time meaning that the supernova was brightening during the night at 23rd of January 2014. As mentioned previously in introduction, the shape of typical supernova Ia light curves exhibit a sharp increase to a maxima and then decrease steeply, eventually die away smoothly and gradually. Combine this information to the plot from AAVSO, there is a sharp increase from 17th to 23rd of January, and the magnitude gradually increase until reach its peak at around the date of 29th to 30th of January, and even the data is up to 4th February, we still can observe that there is a slight decrease in magnitude after 31th of January. We can say the magnitude at peak is about 9.5 for Ic and 10 for Rc. Throughout the whole observation, colour dependent extinction were not allowed by the Earth’s atmosphere. Basically, the extinction effect varies from night to night and the coefficient of extinction depends on wavelength and on different altitude. As the data was obtained from just one night, the extinction should not vary too much and for the wavelength dependent, different filter needed to be used to maintain a good accuracy of photometry, in this case, red and invisible filter were used. And the extinction is corrected by calculating the magnitudes outside the atmosphere. This can be the reason to cause the fluctuation of our measured magnitudes. In conclusion, I got the magnitude of SN2014J in Ic and Rc filter are 10.04 +/- 0.02 and 10.54 +/- 0.03 respectively within the time range 21:29—21:35 on the night of 23rd of January 2014. These data exactly follow the trend of the light curves of SN2014J obtained by AAVSO website at the same night. However, results gathered from other student in the same group didn’t show an obvious change in brightness of the supernova whereas the light curve did show that there is an increase in magnitude on the same date. References: American Association of Variable Star Observers AAVSO (2014) [Online] Available from http://www.aavso.org/ [Accessed: 11th February 2014] Aperturephotometry (2004) [Online] Available from http://mth.uct.ac.za/~lab/chap6/chap6/node3.html [Accessed: 11th February 2014] R Nave, HyperPhysics 2001 [Online] Available from: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/astro/snovcn.html [Accessed: 19th February 2014] Megan Gannon, How Students Discovered New Supernova in Nearby Galaxy (2014) [Online] lightAvailable from http://www.space.com/24413-supernova-star-explosion-student-discovery.html [Accessed: 19th February 2014] American Association of Variable Star Observers AAVSO (2014) [Online] Available from http://www.aavso.org/ [Accessed: 11th February 2014] Steve Fossey, PHAS1130 Practical Skill 1A SN 2014J in M82: Follow-up Photometry Manuals Shaoshan Zeng

Frankenstein :: essays research papers

The Lasting Impressions of Frankenstein Frankenstein has had a lasting impression on audiences since its publication in 1818. This continuing popularity is for many reasons. On the simplest level, Frankenstein is a novel that shows audiences there is a way to defy death, but on a deeper level it reveals many things about human nature and emotion. This is why I feel the novel has persevered through so many years and still enjoys wide popularity. Beginning on the simplest level, Frankenstein is a novel about how to defy death. Human kind has been fascinated with this notion since the beginning of time. One only has to look at the ancient Egyptians and their belief of the afterlife, along with many other cultures and their beliefs of a life after death to see that overcoming death has fascinated people for centuries. This fascination can be looked at on several levels. First of all, death is frightening. It is something that is not understood completely by humans. Humans are scared of what they do not understand. This is portrayed in Frankenstein when the creature is shunned by society simply because he looked different from them and they did not understand him. People are scared of what they do not understand, which is why they were frightened by Victor’s creature. The desire to understand death leads to the desire to control it. Even though death is something that is out of the control of humans, human nature has the urge to be in control of everything. The novel Frankenstein fascinates people because death has been overcome, at least that is how it appears in the beginning. Even Victor himself is fascinated with death. In Volume 1 of the novel, Victor talks of his fascination with the human form and its decay after death. "I saw how the fine form of man was degraded and wasted; I beheld the corruption of death succeed to the blooming cheek of life; I saw how the worm inherited the wonders of the eye and brain" (931). Being able to create life from something that is non-living is just like cheating death. You have control over it, which is what humans want in the first place. It is for all these reasons that Frankenstein has enjoyed continuing popularity throughout the years. Immortality has long been a goal of many humans and stories of it have intrigued people for ages.

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers vs. Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban Com

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers vs. Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban Comparison In the two novels, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling, there is a distinct relationship that is created through the idea that there are the chosen individuals are the only ones that can save the world. The first novel, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a novel generally focusing on uniting  ¡Ã‚ §Middle Earth ¡Ã‚ ¨, a term used to describe the human world, to defeat the enemy forces of evil controlled by a character described as pure evil named NAME. The actions of one small hobbit name Frodo Baggins, a race similar to humans, that will in fact determine the outcome of who is triumphant; not the actions of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers protecting the vast armies of Saruman. Although author ¡Ã‚ ¦s style is completely different, considering the novels were written in separate generations, you could find many comparisons when relating back to the idea of  ¡Ã‚ §good versus evil ¡Ã‚ ¨. In the second novel, Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban, there is a young boy named Harry Potter, whose parents were famous wizards but were allegedly murdered by an evil wizard named Sirius Black. His past is constantly being reminded to Harry, as news that Sirius Black has escaped from prison and is seeking out Harry. Harry and his close friends set out of an adventure to find the truth and lies of his past, only to uncover more treachery, lies, and deception. These chosen heroes often follow a  ¡Ã‚ §collective unconscious ¡Ã‚ ¨ [1], meaning that patterns emerge in all  ¡Ã‚ §good versus bad ¡Ã‚ ¨ scenarios that are generally alike. There is the hero ¡Ã‚ ¦s beginning, where a character is destined to do great things but is constantly in a struggle for power, the call to adventure, where heroes become very important is given a chance to prove himself, and the reward, when a character successfully completes his quest, there is some form of gratification and celebration [2]. Regardless of overwhelming odds to defeat evil, the forces of good call for reprisal, uniting their forces to defeat the enemy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In hero ¡Ã‚ ¦s beginning, the characters are introduced as very important and are going to serve a purpose, greater than him self which indefinitely will lead to the next stage of a hero ¡Ã‚ ¦s recognized stature. Although it may not be evident at a specific time, ... ...d ensure peace for the future. Their goals were separate, but the reward of pride, respect and honor are generally the same among heroes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The heroes share very many qualities, but it is their differences that set them aside from each other. Harry Potter and Frodo Baggins would be considerable adversaries consider how hard they tried to achieve their goal. Not once did they stop because they were scared, not once did they turn around because they were tired, not once did they doubt the people that mattered to them. Frodo and Harry may be some different time periods, even in their fictionist world, and even the novels were written in different generations, but the idea of good triumphing over evil rules.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So you are still asking yourself,  ¡Ã‚ §What makes a hero? ¡Ã‚ ¨ The general answer that can be given is based around the principals that good is fighting to eliminate the ghastly. In both of the novels, not only are the heroes the heroes, but the people that do not get the gratification. The people that help out the main characters are just as important than people like Harry Potter and Frodo Baggins, but the elimination of evil is a reward that can be justified by anyone.

Patient Self Determination

Patient Self-Determination Act Project Scott Betzelos, Remedios C. Lazaga, Emelin Tan, Maya C. Richardson HCS/578 – Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Issues in Health Care November 28, 2011 Susan M. Kajfasz Patient Self-Determination Act Project – Advance Directives Congress enacted the Patient Self-Determination Act, a healthcare policy, as part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act signed by President Bush in 1990. The act went into effect in 1991(Nathanson, 1997). According to Nathanson (1997), the law intends to protect the patient’s right to make his or her own decisions through advanced directives. Advance directives designate another person to make decisions for him or her should a patient lose his or her decision-making capacity. The Medicare and Medicaid programs established a requirement that health care providers must acknowledge the law through the implementation of written policies and procedures that illustrate the patient’s rights (Nathanson, 1997). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the health care professional to comply ethically and legally according to the policies dictated by the organization. Nathanson (1997) interpretation of the law asserts that the patient must receive advice and written information about advanced directives illustrating his or her right to accept or refuse medical treatment. The Patient Self-Determination Act requirement ensures that health care professionals receive education and training that is appropriate and in subordination with the specific laws, regulations, organizational policies, and procedures. The Act requires each state to furnish health care providers and agencies with a description of the law. The Act also requires providers to give their patients information through various forms of media such as the policy of Concerned Home Care, Incorporated, (Concerned Home Care, Inc, 2011). How does this agency’s policy influence your professional work? The Advanced Directive Policy creates a unique physician patient relationship by placing the patient at the center of the health care decision-making process from the onset of the relationship. The patient has an inherent right to â€Å"accept or refuse medical treatment† through the formulation of an Advanced Directive. Through this policy the hysician-patient relationship begins with discussions that center on the desires of the patient rather than the processes of the health care provider. The Agency’s policy mandates that physicians, nurses, and other health care providers â€Å"provide the patient with written information regarding Advance Medical Directives and ask the patient if he/she has prepared an Advan ce Directive; either a living will or durable power of attorney. † Advance Directives allow patients to implement specific boundaries for treatments at the beginning of the clinician-patient relationship. Pre-existing advance directives also empowers patients because it allows family members to speak on their behalf in the event that they become incapacitated or unable to render decisions on their own. A patient’s medical wishes were often preempted for the application of intensive and invasive treatments of the past. Advance Directive Policies changed this standard of care and gave patients the opportunity to determine their own treatment plan. The initiation of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Orders is an early example of Advance Directives. Later developments embrace the inclusion or exclusion of specific treatment medications, invasive procedures, and care maps that can impact patient longevity in the event that complications from disease arise. Written Advance Directive Information protects the patient from personal bias of staff members. The policy states â€Å"the staff member is not authorized to give the patient advice about advanced directives,† and â€Å"shall refer the patient to the Advanced Directive Questions and Answers section of the admission packet and also shall inform the patient to seek further information from the physician. This further advances the discussions between the physician and the patient ultimately ensuring that the desires and expectations of the patient remain central to the care map. Advanced Directive decisions â€Å"require open communication between the patient and the health care team† (Burkhardt & Nathaniel,  2008, pp. 242-243). The Agency is also required to rais e awareness of Advanced Directive within the community by including â€Å"Advance Directive information in its presentations,† either â€Å"in presentations made directly to the community members or in presentations made to other providers and/or other organizations. Enhanced discussions regarding Advanced Directives, end of life care and the patient’s desired plan of treatment becomes part of the heath care provider’s relationship during an office or in home. The creation of open and honest lines of communication stimulates healthy discussions and strengthens the bond between providers and patients. In fact the term â€Å"physician-patient relationship† has forever changed with Advanced Directive policies. It is more fitting that the terminology reflects the fact that patients have greater control over their care. Thus the term should be â€Å"patient-physician relationship,† placing the patient at the center of the health care continuum. As the patient centered relationship continues, the past â€Å"passive position† that makes it difficult â€Å"to remain intellectually and emotionally in control of your own experience† will continue to progress placing patients first and normal operating procedures second (Ashton & Richards,  2003, p. 7). What are the effects of the increasing technology of patient confidentiality and data security on health care organizations? Health care organizations face an enormous task of maintaining the privacy of their patients with the onslaught of new technology. This task involves ensuring that employees have policies and procedures to follow when using new technology to access protected health information (PHI), faxing PHI, and using the Internet. Health care organizations and health care providers have the responsibility of implementing a patient’s Advance Directives. However, new technology can give way to digression to past behaviors and the paternalistic attitudes of some clinicians may result in disregarding a patient’s Advance Directives. Some clinicians may believe they know what is best for the patient because advances in technology often raises hope that a provider can positively impact or alter a patient’s current medical condition (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008). According to Miller and Tucker (2009), the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) could reduce America’s annual health care bill by $34 billion through higher safety and efficiency but only 41% of hospitals in the United States have adopted its use. Concerns over effectively protecting patient privacy and the cost of securing information have prevented the widespread use throughout the industry. A prime example of the fruition of security concerns is the downfall of the Santa Barbara County Care Health Data Exchange in 2007 (Miller & Tucker, 2009). The state mandated privacy filters but the system still failed. New technology requires privacy protection devices to protect PHI. This may force health care organizations to increase the rates of medical record use just to keep financially afloat. Conclusion The creation of Agency policies has impacted the physician-patient relationship effectively giving the power to control the course of treatment to patients. In essence, physicians have become advisors in the presence of Advanced Directives, yielding to the desires of patients and their families. The provision of care changed with advances in technology. Information sharing and dissemination requires physicians and other health care providers to successfully navigate between their new role as advisors and their commitment to ensure the best delivery of care to their patients. Melding the two provides the best guarantee that patients will have both their wants and needs met maximizing the opportunity for positive health outcomes. References Burkhardt, M. A. , & Nathaniel, A. K. (2008). Ethics and issues in contemporary nursing (3rd ed. ). Mason, OH: Delmar Cengage Learning. Concerned Home Care, Inc. , (2011). Concerned Home Care Policy and Procedure Manual Harbor Beach, MI. : . Miller, A. R. , & Tucker, C. (2009). Privacy protection and technology diffusion: The case of electronic medical records. Management Science, 55(7), 1077-1093. Nathanson, M. D. (1997). Home Health Care Law Manual (5th ed. ). Gaithersburg, MD. : Aspen Publication. Appendix I: Advance Directives for Concerned Home Care, Inc. [pic]

Second Language Acquisition And Learning Theories Education Essay

Theories that have been developed to account for 2nd linguistic communication acquisition, or acquisition, are closely related to those discussed above as general larning theories. A behavioristic attack to 2nd linguistic communication larning focal points on imitation, pattern, encouragement and wont formation. Learning a 2nd linguistic communication needfully involves comparing with the scholar ‘s first linguistic communication, but the latter is by and large perceived as doing ‘interference ‘ in the acquisition of extra one ( s ) . This attack is seen now to offer an deficient account of the complexness of linguistic communication acquisition. The linguist Noam Chomsky ( 1957 ) provided a major review of behaviorism and its position of 2nd linguistic communication acquisition as imitation and wont formation. He developed a theory of first linguistic communication acquisition that suggests that linguistic communication acquisition is an unconditioned capacity – that kids are programmed to get linguistic communication thanks to their in-built cognition of a Universal Grammar. He called this cognition ‘competence ‘ , to separate it from what might really be said on a peculiar juncture. aˆ? Second linguistic communication acquisition and larning theories need to account for linguistic communication acquisition by scholars from diverse life-worlds, larning with diverse demands, involvements, motives and desires in diverse contexts aˆ? Intercultural linguistic communication instruction and acquisition focal points on the relationship between linguistic communication, civilization and acquisition aˆ? Using languages, therefore larning linguistic communications, is: – an intrapersonal and interpersonal procedure of meaning-making – interactional – developmental/dynamic – interpretive, inventive and originative Understanding linguistic communication acquisitionkey ideas30 Teaching and Learning Languages: A GuideFor Chomsky, this abstract cognition of linguistic communication consists of a limited set of regulations that enabled an infinite figure of sentences to be constructed. While he did non specifically address 2nd linguistic communication acquisition, his theory has been applied to it. With respect to learning methodological analysis, behaviorism can be linked to grammar/translation methods that tend to concentrate on the parts of grammatical cognition with less attending on how these parts might be brought together in communicating. The audiovisual and audio-lingual attacks were based on stimulus-response psychological science – that is, developing pupils through rehearsing forms to organize ‘habits ‘ . One of the most influential of the innatist theories ( ie theories that argue that linguistic communication is unconditioned, is that of Stephen Krashen and it is this theory that influenced communicative linguistic communication instruction ( for more information, see Lightblown & A ; Spada, 1999, Chapter 2 ) . Within cognitive theories of 2nd linguistic communication acquisition, larning involves constructing up the cognition system or architecture which over clip and through pattern becomes automatically accessible in response and production. Some theoreticians within the cognitivist tradition have argued that interaction is indispensable for linguistic communication acquisition to take topographic point, with the alteration of input, by instructors for illustration, to render it comprehendible to the scholar ( see Long, 1983 ) . The sociocultural position on 2nd linguistic communication acquisition, based on the work of Vygotsky ( 1978 ) , high spots that all acquisition, including linguistic communication acquisition, is based on societal interaction ( see Lantolf, 2000 ) with more adept others, on an interpersonal and intrapersonal plane as described above. Through the construct of the zone of proximal development, it highlights that linguistic communication acquisition is developmental. The feature of ‘prior cognition ‘ is really of import. It recognises that new acquisition is built on anterior larning – that is, the thoughts and constructs that pupils bring to acquisition. Teachers work with these prepossessions in order to ease acquisition. The feature of ‘metacognition ‘ , or consciousness about how we learn, is built-in to larning. Students need to understand how they learn. They need to continuously reflect on their acquisition and develop self-awareness of themselves as scholars. There is a strong connexion between larning and individuality: scholars need to negociate constantly who they are, and how they can be/ should be/ would wish to be in the linguistic communication and civilization they are larning.The function of linguistic communicationThe function of linguistic communication in larning can non be over-emphasised. Language is the premier resource instructors have and use for interceding acquisition. When larning linguistic communications, so, instructors and pupils are working with linguistic communication at the same time as an object of survey and as a medium for larning. In learning linguistic communications, the mark lingu istic communication is non merely a new codification – new labels for the same constructs ; instead, efficaciously taught, the new linguistic communication and civilization being learned offer the chance for larning new constructs and new ways of understanding the universe. While these theories of 2nd linguistic communication larning provide penetrations on facets of 2nd linguistic communication acquisition, there is no comprehensive or ‘complete ‘ theory that can steer the patterns of instruction and acquisition. However, this does non intend that ‘anything goes ‘ . Rather, it becomes necessary for instructors to go cognizant of and understand what they do and why, by analyzing their ain, frequently silent, theories about larning in relation to penetrations from current and best theories, and by sing the deductions of these for instruction. Both instructors and pupils need to develop a rich construct of what linguistic communication and civilization are and do, and how they interrelate to construe and make significance.