Censorship and Banned Books in Schools

While reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in school, teachers often spend full class periods discussing a very important issue: Mark Twains use of the n word throughout the book. Its important to not only explain that the book must be looked at through the context of the time period but also what Twain was trying to do with his story. He was trying to reveal the plight of the slave and he was doing so with the vernacular of the time. Students may make wisecracks, but its important to address their humor with information. Students need to understand the words meaning and Twains reasons for using it. These conversations are difficult to have because they are controversial and many people are very uncomfortable with the n word—for good reason. Due to its origins in slavery and racism, it is often the topic of disgruntled phone calls from parents. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the 4th most banned book  in schools according to Banned in the U.S.A. by Herbert N. Foerstal. In 1998 three new attacks arose to challenge its inclusion in education. Reasons for Banned Books Is censorship in schools good? Is it necessary to ban books? Each person answers these questions differently. This is the core of the problem for educators. Books can be found offensive for many reasons. Here are just some reasons taken from Rethinking Schools Online: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Reason: Rape scene, anti-white.Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Reason: Profanity.Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. Reason: Drug use, sexual situations, profanity.A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck. Reason: Depiction of pigs mating and being slaughtered. More recent books that were challenged according to the American Library Association include the Twilight saga due to its religious viewpoint and violence and The Hunger Games because it was unsuited to the age group, sexually explicit and too violent. Many ways exist to ban books. Our county has a group which reads the questionable book and determines whether its educational value exceeds the weight of the objections against it. However, schools can ban books without this lengthy procedure. They just choose not to order the books in the first place. This is the situation in Hillsborough County, Florida. As reported in the St. Petersburg Times, one elementary school will not stock two of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling because of the witchcraft themes. As the Principal explained it, the school knew they would get complaints about the books so they did not buy them. Many people, including the American Library Association, has spoken out against this. There is an article by Judy Blume on the website for the National Coalition Against Censorship to be very interesting. Its title: Is Harry Potter Evil? The question that faces us in the future is when do we stop? Do we remove mythology and Arthurian legends because of its references to magic? Do we strip the shelves of medieval literature because it presupposes the existence of saints? Do we remove Macbeth because of the murders and witches? Most would say there is a point where we must stop. But who gets to pick the point? Proactive Measures an Educator Can Take Education is not something to be feared. There are enough hurdles in teaching with which we must deal. So how can we stop the above situation from occurring in our classrooms? Here are just a few suggestions: Choose the books you use wisely. Make sure that they fit nicely into your curriculum. You should have evidence which you can present that the books you are using are necessary for the student.If you are using a book that you know has caused concerns in the past, try to come up with alternative novels that students can read.Make yourself available to answer questions about the books you have chosen. In the very beginning of the school year, introduce yourself to parents at  an open house  and tell them to call you if they have any concerns. If a parent calls you there will probably be less of a problem then if they call administration.Discuss the controversial issues in the book with the students. Explain to them the reasons those parts were necessary for the authors work.Have an outside speaker come to class to discuss concerns. For example, if you are reading  Huckleberry Finn, get a Civil Rights Activist to give a presentation to students about racism. Final Word Ray Bradbury  describes a situation in the  coda to  Fahrenheit 451. It is about a future where all books are burned because the people have decided that knowledge brings pain. It is far better to be ignorant than knowledgeable. Bradburys coda discusses the censorship that hes faced. He had a play that he sent to a university to be produced. They sent it back because it had no women in it. This is the height of irony. Nothing was said about the content of the play or the fact that there was a reason it featured only men. They did not want to offend a certain group at the school: women. Is there is  a place for censorship  and banning of books? Its hard to say that children should read certain books in certain grades, but education is not to be feared.

Battle of Brandy Station in the Civil War

How Psychological Theories Have Been Used in Beer Free Essays

When they see a person carrying a bottle of beer and the soft toy, they will Immediately apprehend IM without any questions asked. Back In the police station, the policemen would be enjoying the beer, which they had confiscated, while the Innocent customers would be miserably locked up In the cell. Similarly, this commercial Is supposedly targeted at adults, those who are above 8 years of age, since they are allowed to drink. We will write a custom essay sample on How Psychological Theories Have Been Used in Beer or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, everyone is again allowed to view the commercial for humor purposes. Our group will also be doing comparisons of the two beer commercials in terms of the psychological theories used and other dissimilarities worth mentioning. 2) Theory Reviews 2. ) Learning Theory There are basically three theories to learning, I) Classical conditioning II) Operant conditioning Ill) Observational learning Classical controlling Is the type of controlling that makes use of a stimulus that, before controlling, does not naturally bring about the response of Interest and a stimulus that brings about interest without having being learned. A good example loving it† makes it a top choice fast-food outlet that most people will patronize. The slogan in this case plays the role of a natural stimulus whereas Macdonald fast-food outlet is the unconditioned stimulus. Upon hearing the â€Å"I’m loving it† slogan, the sign of Macdonald fast-food outlet will appear unknowingly to our mind. Operant conditioning is a type of conditioning, which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences. An example will be that of a Wall’s ice-cream advertisement. With attractive offers like, buy 3 for the price of 2 or even free gifts being given away for each tub of ice- cream brought. Observational learning is learning through observing the behavior of another person called a model. A good example will be that of a coca cola drink advertisement. In most of the coca cola drink advertisement, there will be people drinking the coca cola drink itself and they will reveal a very refreshing and cooling expression when they finish drinking a drink and by seeing that after drinking that can of coca cola drink, it will bring about a refreshing and cooling sensation to a person. Out of these three learning theories, only the classical conditioning and the observational learning are being applied to the beer commercials. This commercial uses the Classical Conditioning theory. Most people would not normally associate beer with singing. But after being exposed to the commercial for mom time, a person would actually remembers the Heinlein beer commercial, and hopefully proceed to buy the beer. When a person watches the commercial for the first time, he/she will acquire the impression that the singing has nothing to do with the beer. However, the tastiness, â€Å"It seems some people didn’t take the last Heinlein commercial seriously. † And â€Å"Remember, buy Heinlein or we’ll keep running these commercials,† actually reveals the whole intention of the commercial. So eventually, they will associate the beer with the horrible singing. Scrabbles This commercial uses the Observational Learning. Firstly, when the customer buy the beer and gets a free toy, a person may also follow suit. The idea of an incentive or free-gift’ appeals very much to us Singapore who are very ‘kiss’ or have the â€Å"don’t want to lose out â€Å"attitude. So, when the customer is being apprehended by the police, gets locked up in a cell, and even having his beer confiscated, the observational learning still comes into play. This occurs when the policemen themselves drink the confiscated beer, giving them the impression that beers are better than diamonds. Therefore, giving viewers the notion that they should also buy Comparison The use of observational learning is more effective compared to classical conditioning. This is because the influences of an authoritative figure I. E. The policemen are brought into the picture. Therefore, it reinforces the observational learning. Like mentioned earlier, policemen are people of authority, therefore, if they were to do something that is generally not proper, which is in this case, drinking the confiscated beer, their actions would actually be socially accepted since they are people who are of higher authority than a normal civilian would be. The use of classical conditioning as a comparatively weaker impact to the audience in contrast to the use of observational learning. Since the stimulus of classical conditioning does not naturally bring about the response or interest to the beer, it can easily be forgotten if it is not reinforced. One-way for Heinlein to resolve this problem is to keep on playing the commercial. However, they would have to bear the costs incurred, and not forgetting, the contempt from irritated viewers who are forced to view the annoying commercial over and over again. 3. 2 Memory theory For this commercial, under the psychological theory of Memory, it â€Å"attacks† the ewer’s sensory memory, specifically the Echoic Memory. Thus, it makes the viewer able to react to the annoying singing by remembering the commercial better since it is using the audio element to etch the product into the viewer’s minds. The audio element is supposedly the most prominent sensory element of the commercial. Hence, the commercial will be played over and over again in the viewers’ mind. The point is, the viewer does not even have to view the commercial visually to have the desired impact of the commercial on the viewer. As mentioned before, the audio element is the strongest agenda of the whole commercial. For this commercial, using the same psychological theory of Memory, the commercial is appealing to the viewer’s sensory memory, especially the Iconic Memory to remember the product. As can be seen, we can work out with an example from the commercial that, the when the man buys the bottle of Scrabbles beer, and the cashier hands the buyer a soft toy, saying that it is a gift from buying the beer. â€Å"diamonds†, and the beer was confiscated along with him. Also, the makers of the commercial â€Å"attacks† the viewer’s minds in which that they ill remember that the buying the Scrabbles beer is so good that, the police officers are enjoying themselves so much. Since the policemen, as mentioned, are people with authority, drinking the Scrabbles beers that they confiscated are seemingly more significant. This also portrays a powerful signal that the beer can even tempt the authorities under work obligations. Hence, such actions are being socially accepted, therefore, the viewer’s implicit memory would subconsciously steer the viewer to buy Scrabbles beer. Both uses the same sensory theory and the only different is one, echoic and another, conic. Most commercial uses the echoic memory to remember, which in the Heinlein commercial you do not even need to use your eyes to watch and Just hear the songs they are singing is enough to serve the purpose. 3. 3) Motivation Theory Motivation is the factor that directs and invigorates the behavior of humans. Often, human motivation is driven by the intention, or arousal of achieving a goal. Primary drive are related to the biological needs that often helps to fulfill our basic needs, whereas secondary drive are prior to experience and learning that has no direct impact on our biological needs. In the two commercial that we have chosen, we can say that both commercials applies the secondary drive as both brings out the needs of a person to drink beer brought about by previous experience or learning. The main aim of the commercials that we have chosen was to motivate and attract the viewers to drink the respective brand of beer. Suggests that motivation stems from the desire to obtain valued external goals. The commercial started off with a seemly strange tagging – at least it is not common in most commercials that we see nowadays. It says, â€Å"It seems some people didn’t take the last Heinlein commercial seriously. Although viewers might first think the commercial is trying to reprimand them, but it is actually indirectly motivating viewers to direct their attention on the commercial, simply because they do not want to be wrongly accused of â€Å"not taking commercial or anything seriously’ and end off with a message when they got the attention by saying, â€Å"Remember, buy Heinlein, or we’ll keep on running these commercials. † This suggests the determination shown by the commercial in motivating viewers to at least try the product, and that reignites the desire of consumers to obtain the beer – external goals. Furthermore, it also intends to serve as a constant reminder to consumers to realize their highest potential through drinking Heinlein instead of other brand of beer. Scrabbles In the second commercial, more than one approach can be applied to the advertisement. Arousal Approach explains the increase of the stimulation and activity where people are willing to take the risk of getting caught by the police when purchasing the Scrabbles beer. Incentive Approach motivates people to buy Scrabbles beer, even the police whom are seen as protectors of the local people themselves are drinking Scrabbles. Hence, the impact and motivation, the local people receive when they revere to the police gives them the desire to obtain the same beer as their ‘protectors’. For Cognitive Approaches, the intrinsic motivation shows that the people are willing to buy the Scrabbles beer as it stimulates excitement for their own enjoyment whereas the extrinsic motivation, recognize the effort and give the soft toy as a reward. The need for affiliation was also applied on this commercial, the people who have seen the commercial will tend to follow what the police officers do because as the law enforcer, they themselves are drinking the confiscated Scrabbles. Therefore, drinking Scrabbles would be seen as a gateway in establishing bilateral ties and maintaining relationship with the police. This commercial also motivates the viewers to realize their sense of self-actualization, the state of self-fulfillment, which is the highest level of Mascots Hierarchy, in which people realize their highest potentials, as the Scrabbles beer is now within their reach. Both commercials in this case use different styles and strategies in motivating consumers to purchase their products. In the Heinlein commercial, it uses the reverse psychological principles whereby it is indirectly motivating consumers to buy the Heinlein beer and it consists of symbol captions, which enable the viewers to establish inner thoughts to achieve constant memory of the product as well as incur the desire to try or even have the product. As for the Scrabbles commercial, it uses a more direct style and hence is clearer to understand. It motivates consumers as it consists of various theories of motivation, which gives several different perspectives on motivation. Furthermore, it adds a lot of humbly into the commercial that requires consumers to reflect on the purpose of the commercial and what it signifies. For example, firstly the diamonds are hidden in the soft toy, and the police confiscate the toy containing the ‘stolen diamonds’ together with the Scrabbles beer. One scene where the innocent customers are trapped within a cell gives the impression of being ‘locked’. However, at the same time, the policemen are having a great time enjoying the confiscated beer. Hence, the Juxtaposition of the two agendas is basically trying to reinforce the point hat, without the beer, you would be miserable as signified by the customers being locked up and feeling miserable, yet at the same time, when you have the beer, you would be at the top of the mountain as portrayed by the policemen merrily drinking away. These metaphors and symbols are worth looking into as they indirectly motivate viewers to buy the beer and act as an unconscious motivation tool. 3. 4) Social Psychology Theory This commercial uses the Persuasion Theory. It is a process of changing attitude. How to cite How Psychological Theories Have Been Used in Beer, Papers

Overrepresentation of Minorities and English Language Learners in Special Education

Introduction The amendments made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act led to the emergence of a new crisis in most American schools. Currently, most American schools suffer from an unbalanced representation of learners from linguistically and racially different settings in special education programs.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Overrepresentation of Minorities and English Language Learners in Special Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education is a major challenge affecting the majority of schools. By 1968, over 80 per cent of students in special education came from minority groups (Samson Lesaux, 2009). Moreover, in California, Mexican Americans and African Americans had higher chances of suffering from mental problems relative to the whites. It has been hard to address these challenges through the esta blished laws. One of the factors that have made it hard for the Americans to address these challenges is a failure by policymakers to put into consideration the ever-changing miscellany in American classrooms, as they come up with new education policies (Samson Lesaux, 2009). In looking at the issue of overrepresentation, and when coming up with new reforms in the school system, policymakers have not paid adequate attention to the English language learners and the minorities. This paper will focus on the level of overrepresentation of the minority and English language learners in special education. It will also identify some of the factors that contribute to the overrepresentation and how to mitigate them. Nature of the problem The principal supposition of overrepresentation among the minority and English language learners is that when represented correctly, the ratio of the minority or English language learners in any program ought to be equal to their ratio in the broad school po pulation. Different studies have shown that â€Å"the ratio of the minority and English language learners serving in special education has changed over the last few decades† (Skiba, et al., 2011, p.266). The African-American children have higher chances of being deemed as suffering from mental retardation relative to the White children, which has contributed to the increase in the overrepresentation of minorities in special education, as more students from the minority groups are sent to schools offering special education.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the United States, special education seems to be set aside for minorities and English language learners. Most of the public schools offering special education record high numbers of minorities and English language learners (Skiba, et al., 2011). This trend has not changed since the establishment of the special educa tion program. In Arizona, Hispanic students attending schools dominated by the White students have higher chances of being placed under the special education programs relative to their White counterparts. Most of the Hispanic students are enrolled into special education programs while they do not deserve to be in such programs. In a bid to identify students who should enroll in special programs, the Americans use an approach of disability, which identifies the challenges or â€Å"disease† in the students and then tries to address the challenges through a sequence of remedies or â€Å"treatments† (Skiba, et al., 2011). Nonetheless, teachers assess students’ abilities based on other aspects and not on their capabilities. The factors used to assess students when placing them under the special education include culture, language, race, economic status, and sex (Skiba, et al., 2011). The absence of competent personnel and apposite assessment criteria in the assessmen t of minorities and English language learners contribute to the current level of overrepresentation of these students in special education. The biasness in the assessment process forces most of minorities and English language learners to enroll in special education while they have the capacity to enroll in other programs. Demographic changes With time, the United States has encountered drastic changes in demographic patterns due to immigration and changes in birth rate. By 2000, more than 281 million people resided in the United States. Over 40 per cent of this population comprised people from the minority groups. Continued immigration and increase in birth rates have led to increase in the number of people of color and minority groups in the United States (Bollmer, et al., 2007). Majority of the minority groups report higher birth rates relative to the Whites. These changes in the American demography are being reflected in the American schools.Advertising We will write a custo m research paper sample on Overrepresentation of Minorities and English Language Learners in Special Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In 2005, almost 40 per cent of the students in public schools hailed from families with diverse racial and linguistic backgrounds. About 10 million of the students came from non-English speaking families. The number of people speaking the minority languages is growing at an alarming rate relative to that of the English-speaking people. Hence, with time, the number of students from the minorities and English language learners is expected to go higher in most of the major United States’ cities. Accounting for overrepresentation The available data on â€Å"the level of overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education shows that this problem still exists despite its identification many decades ago† (Skiba, et al., 2011, p.266). The current data is d rawn from nation, state, and district level, thus showing many disparities in the different geographical regions. The factors identified to account for the overrepresentation include poor performance among the minorities and English language learners, inappropriate identification, poverty, and language proficiency. Poor performance One of the factors that contribute to the current overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education is poor performance. According to Townsend (2008), students from the minority groups tend to incorporate their racial challenges into the academic feat. Townsend (2008) notes, â€Å"Students from the minority groups adopt racial identities in opposition to school expectations and codes† (p.227). This habit makes it hard for students to perform well in class thus appearing to suffer from certain disabilities. Most of minorities and English language learners are academically endowed. Nevertheless, their attitude toward s academics pushes them to perform poorly. In return, most of them are sent to schools offering special education in the name of helping them improve the academic capabilities, thus their overrepresentation in these schools.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Some of those engaged in the assessment process claim that if English language learners are not doing well in general education programs, there is no problem in recommending them to enroll in special education. They claim that it is only in special education programs that such students can have a chance to get individualized services, thus helping them to enhance their learning capabilities (Rueda Windmueller, 2007). Nevertheless, a majority of students enrolling in special education still do not perform admirably. A study conducted on the Spanish-speaking students proved that even after the students from the Spanish background enrolled in special education for three years, it did not help in enhancing their learning abilities (Artiles, et al., 2010). Instead, most of these students ended up performing poorly relative to how they performed in their previous placements. This aspect shows that placing the minorities and English language learners under special programs does not signif icantly help in improving their learning ability. The reasons behind this aspect include poor assessment methods used in identifying the students to place under special programs and lack of competent personnel to carry out the assessment process. Inappropriate identification Another factor that has contributed to overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education is the absence of appropriate methods for identifying students that deserve special treatment. In spite of numerous schools recording an increase in the number of students from the different ethnic backgrounds, most of these students hardly get a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) as stipulated in the provisions of the Individuals with Disability Education Act (Artiles, et al., 2010). English language learners and minorities with disabilities who live in areas locked under poverty and in towns are prone to the risk of performing poorly in education since they receive biased identif ication and placement services. In spite of the American student body becoming increasingly diverse, children from the minority groups as well as English language learners still fall in the category of those suffering from mental retardation and other disabilities. Hence, most of these children enroll in special education leading to an increase in their number. Language proficiency Schools in the United States have the duty of ensuring that every child has a good command of the English language in a bid to perform effectively in classes that offer all the subjects in English. Nonetheless, the law does protect the minority groups as well as it does protect English language learners from discrimination by schools for not having a command of the English language. Schools are required to offer curriculums that would help English language learners to understand the language. Therefore, to ensure that all students fit in the American curriculum, it is imperative to evaluate them based on their English proficiency. Besides, some states recommend schools to assess if the students understand their native languages. Some children from the minorities and English language learners understand neither English nor their native language. Mahoney and MacSwan (2009) realized that at least 13 states in the United States called for their schools to ensure that English language learners knew their native language prior to their admission into the schools. The reason behind this evaluation is the belief that minorities and English language learners have poor language proficiency, which contributes to their poor performance in schools. This thorough scrutiny on language proficiency prior to enrollment leads to overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education. The fact that students from the two categories are poor in either English or their native language makes it hard for them to pass the language proficiency test (Zhang Katsiyannis, 2007). It i s hard for children with poor command of English to enroll in the general classes. The classes conduct their lessons in English. By recommending English language learners and minorities with poor language proficiency to enroll in special education, the schools believe that these students can best work on their language proficiency only in special education programs. The student: teacher ratio in special education programs gives room for individualized services. Hence, teachers are capable of having close interaction with individual students thus helping them to improve their language proficiency. The majority of the minority groups have difficulties with the English language, which leads to their classification as English language learners. Moreover, most of students from the minority groups have challenges with their native language. The minority groups are made of the immigrants. Hence, most of the students were born after their parents migrated to the United States (Rueda Windmu eller, 2007). This scenario leaves them at a position where they are incapable of learning their native language. The American education policies subject individuals with challenges in both the native language and English to placement under the special education, and thus a high number of minorities and English language learners end up in special education thus adding to their overrepresentation. The reason behind placing these groups under the special education is to ensure that they receive adequate attention and support from the teachers. Poverty Poverty significantly contributes to the current rate of overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education. A study on poverty analysis indicates that it leads â€Å"to different representation trends for the various disabilities† (Skiba, et al., 2011, p.266). Increase in poverty level among the minority groups forces their children to suffer from gentle mental retardation, and the opposite happen s to children with severe emotional complications. A study on the wealthy minorities proved that they are capable of tolerating emotional challenges, which is an indication that poverty contributes to the inability to use other preventative measures (Orosco Klingner, 2010). It becomes hard for families from the minority groups to apply pre and post-natal nutrition measures in addressing some of the disabilities facing their children. Eventually, their children end up exhibiting some challenges like low intelligence quotient and thus they are recommended to enroll in special education. Overrepresentation in various American states The number of the minority and English language learner students who enroll for special programs differs across the United States. For instance, in Texas, some districts have higher rates of English language learners enrolling for special education than others. According to the current trend, accessibility of language support programs and high population a mong the English language learners contribute to the current level of overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners students in special education. In a bid to understand the level of representation of English language learners in special education in Texas, Linn et al. (2008) carried out a study among the Latinos in the state. From the study, they realized that there was a high level of overrepresentation of the English language learners from the Latino group in most of the districts. Most of the schools that reported overrepresentation came from Education Service Centre (ESC) regions. In 2009, overrepresentation in special education data at the state level showed that the comparative risk ratio stood at 0.9 (Linn, 2011). A study conducted by Artiles et al. (2007) on South California schools proved that the number of English language learners was high both at the state and district levels. Inadequate aptitude in either English or the indigenous language and grade le vel is one of the factors that contribute to overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in South California schools. Valenzuela et al. (2009) posit, â€Å"English language learners in secondary schools, as well as those with inadequate aptitude in the first and second language, are the most overrepresented in programs for students with mental retardation, learning disabilities, and language and speech impairments† (p.434). Teachers in secondary schools offer limited language support to English language learners compared to teachers in the elementary schools. Artiles et al. (2007) also learnt that English language learners were in higher chances of being categorized in the high incidence disability groups relative to the English speakers. The inclination to categorizing the English language learners under this group contributes to their overrepresentation in special education. Sullivan (2011) carried out a study on public schools in Arizona, where she learn t that the trend of overrepresentation of the minority and English language learners is still high among the students in this state. Using comparative risk ratios, Sullivan (2011) noted that the state level involvement of minorities and English language learners in special education progressively went up from 0.77 to 1.19 between 1999 and 2006. In addition, she found that there was also overrepresentation of these groups at the district level. According to Sullivan (2011), the proportion of districts that recorded overrepresentation of minorities and the English language learners in special education went up from 32 per cent to 42 per cent between 1999 and 2006. Addressing overrepresentation Overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education is challenging since it has negative effects on students even with no signs of disabilities. At times, schools refer students to special education out of mere speculation that they might perform poorly or their c hances of social, economic, and academic advancements are minimal. Rather than referring the minorities and English language learners to special education, the American government ought to establish a school environment that helps the minorities and English language learners to deal with their challenges at an advanced stage, and thus help them realize academic success (Linn Hemmer, 2011). Moreover, schools ought to come up with proper assessment criteria to ensure that they do not discriminate against students from the minority groups. Conclusion Amendments made to the Individual with Disability Education Act led to the problem of overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special Education. In the United States, most of minorities and non-English speakers enroll for special education programs. Numerous factors contribute to the enrollment of these people in special education programs, which include poor performance, language proficiency, inappropriate ident ification strategies, and poverty. Students from minority groups and English language learners exhibit poor academic performance, which convinces policymakers to view them as academically challenged individuals, thus recommending them to enroll for special education programs. Moreover, the American schools demand that all children should pass the language proficiency test. Children from the minority groups are not proficient in English. Today, â€Å"minorities and English language learners are overrepresented in special education at the national, state, and district level† (Sullivan, 2011, p.324). In Texas, schools close to the Education Service Centers report a high level of overrepresentation of the Latino people in special education. In California, inadequate aptitude in English and native language contributes to overrepresentation of minorities and English language learners in special education. In Arizona, more students from the minority groups and non-English speakers c ontinue to enroll in special education thus adding to an already overrepresented population. References Artiles, A. J., Kozleski, E. B., Stanley T. C., Osher, D., Ortiz, A. (2010). Justifying and explaining disproportionality, 1968–2008: A critique of underlying views of culture. Exceptional Children, 76, 279–299. Artiles, A. J., Rueda, R., Salazar, J., Highroad, I. (2007). Within-group diversity in minority disproportionate representation: English language learners in urban school districts. Exceptional Children, 71, 283–300. Bollmer, J., Bethel, J., Garrison-Mogren, R., Brauen, M. (2007). Using the risk ratio to assess racial/ethnic disproportionality in special education at the school-district level. Journal of Special Education, 41, 186–198. Linn, D. (2011). Representation of English language learners in special education programs in Texas. National Teacher Education Journal, 4, 35–40. Linn, D., Hemmer, L. (2011). English language learner d isproportionality in special education: implications for the scholar-practitioner. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 1(1), 70-80. Linn, D., Lira, J. R., Larke, P. J. (2008). Representational patterns of English language learners receiving special education services in south Texas. Journal of Border Educational Research, 7, 15–28. Mahoney, S., MacSwan, J. (2009). Re-examining identification and reclassification of English Language Learners: A radical discussion of select state practices. Bilingual Research Journal, 29, 31–42. Orosco, M, J., Klingner, J. (2010). One school’s implementation of RTI with English language learners: â€Å"Referring into RTI†. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43, 269–288. Rueda, R., Windmueller, M. P. (2007). English language learners, LD, and overrepresentation: A multiple-level analysis. Journal of Learning Disability, 29(2), 99-109. Samson, F., Lesaux, K. (2009). Language-minority learners in special e ducation: Rates and predictors of identification for services. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 148–162. Skiba, J., Simmons, B., Ritter, S., Gibb, C., Rausch, K., Cuadrado, J., Chung, C. (2011). Achieving equity in special education: history, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288. Sullivan, L. (2011). Disproportionality in special education identification and placement of English language learners. Exceptional Children, 77, 317–334. Townsend, L. (2008). ‘Testing while Black’: Standards based school reform and African American learners. Remedial and Special Education, 23, 222-230. Valenzuela, S., Copeland, R., Qi, H., Park, M. (2009). Examining educational equity: Revisiting the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education. Exceptional Children, 72, 425–441. Zhang, D., Katsiyannis, A. (2007). Minority overrepresentation in special education: A persistent challenge. Remedial and Speci al Education, 23(3), 180-187. This research paper on Overrepresentation of Minorities and English Language Learners in Special Education was written and submitted by user Javon Rojas to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Nurse Staffing Essays

Nurse Staffing Essays Nurse Staffing Essay Nurse Staffing Essay Abstract Two major forms of staffing guidelines will be discussed, nurse-to-patient ratio and staffing by acuity. This paper will discuss the history of each staffing form. It will point out the benefits and negative features of both practices, describe how hospitals deal with staffing and discuss the states that have laws requiring certain guidelines be followed. Nurse Staffing: Does One Size Fit All? What is the one conversation that usually gets heated when talking to nurses? Bring up the subject of staffing levels on their unit. As a nurse assistant, staff nurse, charge nurse or nursing administrator, inadequate staffing creates tension and stress. When staffing is inadequate patient safety, infection rates, patient satisfaction and staff satisfaction are only a few of the areas affected. Many hospital administrators and lawmakers want to make patient care a numbers game. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires hospitals to create a staffing plan that defines staffing effectiveness as the skill mix, competence, and effectiveness related to the services needed. (Morgan, 2004) When it comes to staffing, one size does not always fit all. Patients are individuals with individual needs and one patient with a certain diagnosis can take much less attention and time from the nurse than a patient of the same age with the same diagnosis. For good nurses the main goals during their shift is giving exception patient care and providing a safe environment. â€Å"The notion of high-quality care in hospitals is essential to public safety isn’t new. In 1751 Benjamin Franklin founded America’s first hospital-Pennsylvania Hospital-and commented that patients ultimately suffer and die without sound nursing care. † (Clarke, 2003) Nursing leaders are under tremendous pressure to lower costs while improving quality. (Carter, 2004) It is often found that hospitals during low census times or times of budget cuts will try to let ancillary staff go and assign their duties to the nurse caring for the patient. Nurses can replace several other positions in a healthcare setting but no other position can replace the nurse. Nursing is not only a highly trained individual but someone who is called to be compassionate, caring and dedicated individual. There are many reasons why staffing by acuity or nurse-to-patient ratios should not be mandated by lawmakers. Direct care nurses should be involved in staffing decision. Outcomes are better when nurses have control of their workload. (Anonymous, 2005) Adequate staffing must be priority for anyone involved in healthcare and there are pros and cons to both staffing by acuity and nurse-to-patient ratios. With our aging population and the increased age of the baby boomer generation nurses are going to increase in demand. Healthcare is changing so quickly and this also affects the shortage. The average acuity of patients has increased over the last decade while the nursing shortage continues. Nurse-to-patient ratios are supposed to draw people into the filed but there is a shortage of educators at present time as well. Many colleges have long waiting list for nursing programs, yet many nurses only stay in the field for a short time after graduating. Many universities turn away good candidates to nursing programs due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints. (Allen, 2008) We as a nation must come to a conclusion to deal with the nursing shortage. Too many lawmakers are paying attention to the staffing formats suggested above and not doing anything to fix the nursing shortage. Whether by acuity or ratios, for each nurse to take fewer patients we will definitely need more nurses. Staffing by acuity is a format used to decide how many nursing hours are needed for certain diagnosis or types of patients. Typically areas within a healthcare facility where patients are less ill such as rehabilitation and medical-surgical units, nurses can care for as many as seven patients at a time. Their acuity score is much lower than a patient in the intensive care unit or a step-down unit. Healthcare systems that utilize staffing by acuity are looking at the safe number of certain levels of patients that one nurse can care for. The down side to staffing by acuity is that many feel administration will influence numbers to maintain a high number of patients per nurse. If all patients on a unit were a level eight then most acuity systems would call for three patients to one nurse but if all patients on a unit were all level ones then a nurse could be caring for as many as eight to ten patients. Acuity does not take every patient encounter into consideration. For instance a dementia patient may have a low acuity based on the nursing care since they usually do not have indwelling lines or invasive procedures. Although the same patient may require a high amount help with activities of daily living, decision making and education. (Walsh, 2003) Thus staffing by acuity can be a subjective form of nurse staffing. When done accurately, acuity based staffing can be very beneficial for the nursing staff. Illinois is one of many states that have implemented laws requiring hospitals to base staffing on acuity systems and then report compliance on a quarterly basis. Illinois Hospital Association supports acuity based staffing over nurse-to-patient ratios. (Anonymous. 2008) SB867 is a law in Illinois that requires hospitals to base staffing on a model that has been developed by a nursing care committee made up of at least 50% direct care nurses. (Anonymous. 2008) This assures the bedside nurse a significant voice in the staffing process. It allows nurses to base their staffing on the work they perform. The model should include levels of care and examples that fit you patient population. At times, nurses will under staff themselves by simply not giving their patients credit for their true acuity level. This law and practice demonstrates hospital’s commitment to their direct nurse staff. Acuity based staffing is believed to take all facts into the picture. Nurses should be trained to develop and use their acuity tool to best describe the patients they are caring for, thus supporting the need for additional staff. Nurse-to-patient ratios are a concept that mandates a certain number of patients for each nurse to care for. Depending on the types of patients being cared for this number can differ. California has a law requiring nurse-to-patient ratios be following in hospitals. This law was signed in 1999 but was unable to be implemented for another four years. California state guidelines say that medical-surgical patients are one to five and in the intensive care units ratios are one to one. Illinois also has a law up for approval, HB0485 that would mandate ratios. â€Å"Establishing a minimum,  specific and numerical ratio implies that there is a scientific basis for determining the number of nurses to patients above which good outcomes patients can be guaranteed. † ( Flowers, 2009) This law would put even more stringent regulations on hospitals. California has seen many issues related to the ratios law. Ratios can cause longer transfer times for patients, increased ER bypass and postponed elective surgeries. California has experienced 12 hospital closures and downsizing of services since ratios was implemented. Patients are not all alike, their needs are individually different. Nursing units are different and ratios do not take into account the nurse’s level of experience or the physical layout of the facility. Many times hospitals will attempt to meet ratio laws by terminating such positions as nurse assistants and environmental services workers. So in reality nurses may only have four patients to care for but they are responsible for total care of those patients. The other strategy hospitals have used to meet ratio guidelines is to replace registered nurses with licensed practical nurses and have only one register nurse on each shift as a charge nurse. Under California law, nurses are considered registered or licensed practical nurses. HB0485 prohibits this by stating the nurse ratio can only be made up from registered nurses. Supporters of nurse-to-patient ratios believe that these types of laws will recruit more individuals into the field and retain our current nurses. According to CNA President Deborah Burger, the ratio law is a mafor reason why more nurses are coming into California and why RN’s are staying at the bedside. (Anonymous, 2005) The working conditions are believed to be better when a nurse has fewer patients. The environment is considered safer when more nurses are available to care for the patients. Nurses feel they will have more time for direct patient care and fully evaluate the patient’s needs. Individuals, who support both staffing by acuity and ratios, believe that research is needed to support both ideas. I feel that acuity is the most accurate way to determine safe ratios. At Union County Hospital, where I work, we use our acuity tool to establish a level for each patient. This is nursing staff’s first indicator of needed staffing levels. We also use ratios to staff. Once the acuity is finished the charge nurses takes the acuity of the patients, level of experience of the oncoming shift and also our staffing matrix into consideration and staffs the next shift appropriately. I did a simple study recently and based on our staffing matrix that the charge nurse can take up to three patients and each additional staff nurse should not routinely take over six patients, we met the staffing matrix 84% of the time. Of that 84%, only 12% of the time did the acuity call for different staffing levels and most of that was that the acuity actually called for less staff. We are a for-profit hospital and as a manager I have to validate our staffing to the CFO on a weekly basis. I asked the nurses to accurately and honestly complete the acuity, keep our matrix in their mind, and make the best decision for the patients. I also ask that if there are any circumstances that influenced their decision they should leave note of this on the daily staffing sheet. I think that acuity and ratios complement each other when used together, but one size does not fit all in nurse staffing models. Lawmakers and hospital administrators should not be making these decisions for nurses, the bedside nurse should be able to make an individualized staffing plan for each shift based on the patients on the unit. References Allen, L. (2008). The Nursing Shortage Continues As Faculty Shortage Grows. Nursing Economics, 26(1), 35-41. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Anonymous (2005). Schwarenegger flexes muscles on nurses. Australian Nursing Journal, 12(7), 29. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Anonymous (2005). Ratios: Savior or villain? Australian Nursing Journal, 13(1), 15. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Anonymous (2008). Keep Contacting You State Representative To Oppose Nurse Staffing Ratio. Illinois Hospital Associations Position Paper. Retreived Febuary 24, 2009, from ihatoday. com/issues/workforce/hb392. html Carter, M. (2004). The ABC’s of staffing decisions. Nursing Management, 35(6), 16. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Clarke, S. (2003). Patient safety series, part 2 of 2: Balancing staffing and safety. Nursing Management, 34(6), 44-48. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Flowers, M. (2009). Nursing Care and Quality Improvement Act HB0485. 96th Illinois General Assembly. Retreived Febuary 24, 2009, from ilga. gov/legislation/96/HB/09600HB0485. htm. Morgan, S Tobin, P. (2004). Managing the Nursing Workforce. Nursing Management. Chicago, 35, 4-6. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database. Walsh, E. (2003). Get Real With Workload Measurement. Nursing Management. Chicago, 34(2), 38-42. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from ProQuest Education Journals database.

Chemistry Nobel Prize Winners (1901 to Present)

Chemistry Nobel Prize Winners (1901 to Present) Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist and the inventor of dynamite. Nobel recognized the destructive power of dynamite, but hoped that such power would lead to an end to warfare. However, dynamite was quickly exploited to develop newer, more deadly weapons. Not wanting to be remembered as the merchant of death, an epitaph given him by a French newspaper in a mistaken obituary, Nobel wrote his will such that it would establish prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. A sixth category, economics, was added in 1969. It took some time to implement Nobels wishes. The first Nobel prize was awarded in 1901, which was five years after Alfred Nobels death. Note that the Nobel prize can only be won by individuals, there can be no more than three winners in a given year, and money is split equally between multiple winners. Each winner gets a gold medal, a sum of money, and a diploma. Here is the list of the Nobel laureates in Chemistry: Nobel Prize in Chemistry Year Laureate Country Research 1901 Jacobus H. vant Hoff Netherlands Discovered laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions 1902 Emil Hermann Fischer Germany Synthetic studies of sugar and purine groups 1903 Svante A. Arrhenius Sweden Theory of electrolytic dissociation 1904 Sir William Ramsay Great Britain Discovered the noble gases 1905 Adolf von Baeyer Germany Organic dyes and hydroaromatic compounds 1906 Henri Moissan France Studied and isolated the element fluorine 1907 Eduard Buchner Germany Biochemical studies, discovered fermentation without cells 1908 Sir Ernest Rutherford Great Britain Decay of the elements, chemistry of radioactive substances 1909 Wilhelm Ostwald Germany Catalysis, chemical equilibria, and reaction rates 1910 Otto Wallach Germany Alicyclic compounds 1911 Marie Curie Poland-France Discovered radium and polonium 1912 Victor GrignardPaul Sabatier FranceFrance Grignards reagentHydrogenation of organic compounds in the presence of finely divided metals 1913 Alfred Werner Switzerland Bonding relations of atoms in molecules (inorganic chemistry) 1914 Theodore W. Richards United States Determined atomic weights 1915 Richard M. Willsttter Germany Investigated plant pigments, particularly chlorophyll 1916 The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section 1917 The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section 1918 Fritz Haber Germany Synthesized ammonia from its elements 1919 The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section 1920 Walther H. Nernst Germany Studies on thermodynamics 1921 Frederick Soddy Great Britain Chemistry of radioactive substances, occurrence and nature of the isotopes 1922 Francis William Aston Great Britain Discovered several isotopes, mass spectrograph 1923 Fritz Pregl Austria Microanalysis of organic compounds 1924 The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section 1925 Richard A. Zsigmondy Germany, Austria Colloid chemistry (ultramicroscope) 1926 Theodor Svedberg Sweden Disperse systems (ultracentrifuge) 1927 Heinrich O. Wieland Germany Constitution of bile acids 1928 Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus Germany Study of sterols and their relation with vitamins (vitamin D) 1929 Sir Arthur HardenHans von Euler-Chelpin Great BritainSweden, Germany Studied fermentation of sugars and enzymes 1930 Hans Fischer Germany Studied blood and plant pigments, synthesized hemin 1931 Friedrich BergiusKarl Bosch GermanyGermany Developed chemical high-pressure processes 1932 Irving Langmuir United States Surface chemistry 1933 The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section. 1934 Harold Clayton Urey United States Discovery of heavy hydrogen (deuterium) 1935 Frederic Joliot-CurieIrne Joliot-Curie FranceFrance Syntheses of new radioactive elements (artificial radioactivity) 1936 Peter J. W. Debye Netherlands, Germany Studied dipole moments and the diffraction of X rays and electron beams by gases 1937 Walter N. HaworthPaul Karrer Great BritainSwitzerland Studied carbohydrates and vitamin CStudied carotenoids and flavins and vitamins A and B2 1938 Richard Kuhn Germany Studied carotenoids and vitamins 1939 Adolf F. J. ButenandtLavoslav Stjepan Ruika GermanySwitzerland Studies on sexual hormonesStudied polymethylenes and higher terpenes 1940 The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section 1941 The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section. 1942 The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section. 1943 Georg de Hevesy Hungary Application of isotopes as indicators in the investigation of chemical processes 1944 Otto Hahn Germany Discovered nuclear fission of atoms 1945 Artturi Ilmari Virtanen Finland Discoveries in the area of agricultural and food chemistry, method of preservation of fodder 1946 James B. Sumner John H. Northrop Wendell M. Stanley United StatesUnited StatesUnited States Prepared enzymes and virus proteins in pure formCrystallizability of enzymes 1947 Sir Robert Robinson Great Britain Studied alkaloids 1948 Arne W. K. Tiselius Sweden Analysis using electrophoresis and adsorption, discoveries concerning serum proteins 1949 William F. Giauque United States Contributions to chemical thermodynamics, properties at extremely low temperatures (adiabatic demagnetization) 1950 Kurt AlderOtto P. H. Diels GermanyGermany Developed diene synthesis 1951 Edwin M. McMillanGlenn T. Seaborg United StatesUnited States Discoveries in the chemistry of transuranium elements 1952 Archer J. P. MartinRichard L. M. Synge Great BritainGreat Britain Invented distribution chromatography 1953 Hermann Staudinger Germany Discoveries in the area of macromolecular chemistry 1954 Linus C. Pauling United States Studied the nature of the chemical bond (molecular structure of proteins) 1955 Vincent du Vigneaud United States Synthesized a polypeptide hormone 1956 Sir Cyril Norman HinshelwoodNikolai N. Semenov Great BritainSoviet Union Mechanisms of chemical reactions 1957 Sir Alexander R. Todd Great Britain Studied nucleotides and their coenzymes 1958 Frederick Sanger Great Britain Structure of proteins, especially insulin 1959 Jaroslav Heyrovsk Czech Republic Polarography 1960 Willard F. Libby United States Application of carbon 14 for age determinations (radiocarbon dating) 1961 Melvin Calvin United States Studied the assimilation of carbonic acid by plants (photosynthesis) 1962 John C. KendrewMax F. Perutz Great BritainGreat Britain, Austria Studied the structures of globulin proteins 1963 Giulio NattaKarl Ziegler ItalyGermany Chemistry and technology of high polymers 1964 Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin Great Britain Structure determination of biologically important substances by means of X rays 1965 Robert B. Woodward United States Syntheses of natural products 1966 Robert S. Mulliken United States Studied chemical bonds and the electron structure of molecules using the orbital method 1967 Manfred EigenRonald G. W. NorrishGeorge Porter GermanyGreat BritainGreat Britain Investigated extremely fast chemical reactions 1968 Lars Onsager United States, Norway Studied the thermodynamics of irreversible processes 1969 Derek H. R. BartonOdd Hassel Great BritainNorway Development of the concept of conformation 1970 Luis F. Leloir Argentina Discovery of sugar nucleotides and their role in the biosynthesis of carbohydrates 1971 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Electron structure and geometry of molecules, particularly of free radicals (molecular spectroscopy) 1972 Christian B. AnfinsenStanford MooreWilliam H. Stein United StatesUnited StatesUnited States Studied ribonuclease (Anfinsen)Studied the active center of ribonuclease (Moore Stein) 1973 Ernst Otto FischerGeoffrey Wilkinson GermanyGreat Britain Chemistry of metal-organic sandwich compounds 1974 Paul J. Flory United States Physical chemistry of macromolecules 1975 John CornforthVladimir Prelog Australia - Great BritainYugoslavia - Switzerland Stereochemistry of enzyme catalysis reactionsStudied the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions 1976 William N. Lipscomb United States Structure of boranes 1977 Ilya Prigogine Belgium Contributions to the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, particularly to the theory of dissipative structures 1978 Peter Mitchell Great Britain Studied biological energy transfer, development of the chemiosmotic theory 1979 Herbert C. BrownGeorg Wittig United StatesGermany Development of (organic) boron and phosphorous compounds 1980 Paul BergWalter GilbertFrederick Sanger United StatesUnited StatesGreat Britain Studied the biochemistry of nucleic acids, particularly hybrid DNA (technology of gene surgery) (Berg)Determined base sequences in nucleic acids (Gilbert Sanger) 1981 Kenichi FukuiRoald Hoffmann JapanUnited States Theories on the progress of chemical reactions (frontier orbital theory) 1982 Aaron Klug South Africa Developed crystallographic methods for the elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid protein complexes 1983 Henry Taube Canada Reaction mechanisms of electron transfer, especially with metal complexes 1984 Robert Bruce Merrifield United States Method for the preparation of peptides and proteins 1985 Herbert A. HauptmanJerome Karle United StatesUnited States Developed direct methods for the determination of crystal structures 1986 Dudley R. HerschbachYuan T. LeeJohn C. Polanyi United StatesUnited StatesCanada Dynamics of chemical elementary processes 1987 Donald James CramCharles J. PedersenJean-Marie Lehn United StatesUnited StatesFrance Development of molecules with structurally specific interaction of high selectivity 1988 Johann DeisenhoferRobert HuberHartmut Michel GermanyGermanyGermany Determined the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction center 1989 Thomas Robert CechSidney Altman United StatesUnited States Discovered the catalytic properties of ribonucleic acid (RNA) 1990 Elias James Corey United States Developed novel methods for the synthesis of complex natural compounds (retrosynthetic analysis) 1991 Richard R. Ernst Switzerland Developed high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) 1992 Rudolph A. Marcus Canada - United States Theories of electron transfer 1993 Kary B. MullisMichael Smith United StatesGreat Britain - Canada Invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)Development of site specific mutagenesis 1994 George A. Olah United States Carbocations 1995 Paul CrutzenMario MolinaF. Sherwood Rowland NetherlandsMexico - United StatesUnited States Work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone 1996 Harold W. KrotoRobert F. Curl, Jr.Richard E. Smalley Great BritainUnited StatesUnited States Discovered fullerenes 1997 Paul Delos BoyerJohn E. WalkerJens C. Skou United StatesGreat BritainDenmark Elucidated the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)first discovery of an ion-transporting enzyme, Na+, K+-ATPase 1998 Walter KohnJohn A. Pople United StatesGreat Britain Development of the density-functional theory (Kohn)Development of computational methods in quantum chemistry (GAUSSIAN computer programs) (Pope) 1999 Ahmed H. Zewail Egypt - United States Studied the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy 2000 Alan J. HeegerAlan G. MacDiarmidHideki Shirakawa United StatesUnited StatesJapan Discovered and developed conductive polymers 2001 William S. KnowlesRyoji NoyoriKarl Barry Sharpless United StatesJapanUnited States Work on chirally catalysed hydrogenation reactions (Knowles Noyori)Work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions (Sharpless) 2002 John Bennett FennJokichi TakamineKurt Wthrich United StatesJapanSwitzerland Developed soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules (Fenn Tanaka)Developed nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determining the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution (Wthrich) 2003 Peter AgreRoderick MacKinnon United StatesUnited States Discovered water channels for transport of water in cell membranesPerformed structural and mechanistic studies of ion channels in cells 2004 Aaron CiechanoverAvaram HershkoIrwin Rose IsraelIsraelUnited States Discovered and elucidated the process of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation 2005 Yves ChauvinRobert H. GrubbsRichard R. Schrock FranceUnited StatesUnited States Developed the metathesis method of organic synthesis, allowing for advances in green chemistry 2006 Roger D. Kornberg United States for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription 2007 Gerhard Ertl Germany for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces 2008 Shimomura OsamuMartin ChalfieRoger Y. Tsien United States for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP 2009 Venkatraman RamakrishnanThomas A. SteitzAda E. Yonath United KingdomUnited StatesIsreal for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome 2010 Ei-ichi NegishiAkira SuzukiRichard Heck JapanJapanUnited States for the development of palladium-catalyzed cross coupling 2011 Daniel Shechtman Israel for the discovery of quasi-crystals 2012 Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka United States for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors 2013 Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, Arieh Warshel United States for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems 2014 Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, William E. Moerner (USA) United States, Germany, United States for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy 2016 Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, Bernard L. Feringa France, United States, Netherlands for the design and synthesis of molecular machines 2017 Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, Richard Henderson Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution

The Issue of Validity in Qualitative Research in Education Essay

The Issue of Validity in Qualitative Research in Education - Essay Example Research methods appeared to be applied in the field of education only in recent times. Among these methods we can also notice the qualitative research method though even now its application remains limited. Many researches like Johnson /1995, p.5/ believe that â€Å"qualitative techniques are powerful tools for intensifying our understanding of teaching and learning†. He also agrees to the fact that these methodologies received ever growing popularity and acceptance over the last years. Yet it should be mentioned that although qualitative methods are very useful still many researches know little of them and the usage of these methods present great difficulties to them /Stallings, 1995, p.31/. Scholars believe that the main benefit in usage qualitative methods in education is more complete description of a phenomenon. The final objective of usage of qualitative method is better understanding of the information through giving additional details and appealing to the reader’s experience / Stake, 1978, p.5/. Qualitative research is used in the education process for several reasons. First of all qualitative research assist in understanding new of badly investigated phenomenon /Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p.42/. Secondly, qualitative research helps to comprehend new details about the phenomenon, which is already investigated. And finally qualitative research provides more deep and profound information which can’t be done by quantitative methods / Hoepfl/. Still the benefit of the qualitative method to the education can not be fully and explicitly defined. For example, Lancy believes that â€Å"...topic, theory, and methodology are usually closely interrelated in qualitative research† /Lancy, 1993, p.18/. Other researchers like Glesne and Peshkin claim that qualitative research covers many â€Å"philosophical orientations to interpretive research† and deals with a bride range of disciplines like educational criticism, ethnography, case