Curricular Aims: Assessment of University Capstone :: Education School Essays

Curricular Aims: Assessment of University Capstone Albert North Whitehead (1929) believed that the raison d’etre of universities was neither for the imparting of knowledge nor for the opportunity for research. Cheaper alternatives for both were and are available to achieve those functions. Instead, he asserted. The justification for a university is that it preserves the connections between knowledge and the zest of life, by uniting the young and the old in the imaginative consideration of learning. The university imparts information, but it imparts it imaginatively. At least, this is the function which it should perform for society. A university which fails in this respect has no reason for existence (p. 93). When Whitehead described the purpose of education in his text, The Aims of Education, he had the luxury of his assertions without the burden of proof. The Academy today, while equally as passionate about the aims of education as Whitehead, must not only describe its reason(s) for existence, it must also provide evidence that those aims which it described as important are ultimately attained by its students. This evidence must be considered and presented both for ourselves (The Academy) and for our â€Å"constituents† (i.e. students, accrediting bodies, employers, donors, and society). The authors assert that three issues are paramount to any assessment of a curriculum in higher education. The first deals with the â€Å"reason for existence† issue raised by Whitehead (i.e. Are we doing the right thing?). The second issue has to do with examination of whether we are accomplishing our goals (i.e. Are we doing the right thing right?). The final issue involves how we can assess whether we are doing the "right thing right." Doing the right thing? Several years ago, Millikin University embarked on the difficult challenge to create a seamless curriculum that provided for intentional connections -- connections between the major and the non-major, connections between the curricular components at each level, and connections between the curricular components over the course of four years. In the development of this comprehensive and cohesive curriculum (dubbed the MPSL -- the Millikin Program of Student Learning), the faculty identified "common threads" of the MPSL. Those common threads are 1) Student learning goals, 2) Core questions, values, and means, and 3) Proficiencies. (See the student learning goals in Table 1 for the specific elements defining each one). The faculty vision for the University is actualized through the effective implementation of these common threads within the curriculum.

A Spirit in the Mix: an Analysis of “I Used to Live Here Once”

13 September 2009 A Spirit in the Mix: An Analysis of â€Å"I Used to Live Here Once† For the story, â€Å"I Used to Live Here Once† by Jean Rhys, we could argue that the story is about a woman who moved away from her homeland to go to a new place and now returns home for a reason not stated. The two children who are playing outside the woman’s old house in the sunshine ignore her. It may be possible that the two children ignore the woman because she left the West Indies to live somewhere else and therefore they believe that she does not exist. Is this what is going on? I believe there is a bigger picture here. The speaker tells us in paragraph three that â€Å"that the sky had a glassy look†¦. † This may be because the woman visitor does not see with her own eyes any more, or it could be that she does see with her own eyes and can see the true nature of the sky. The speaker tells us in paragraph five that the woman sees two children outside her home playing. The woman calls to them but â€Å"they didn’t answer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  her. In the next two paragraphs, the speaker tells us that the woman calls out to the children two more times but still they did not reply. We can assume that the children ignore the woman because the children do not know her, or because the woman left her home and has not returned until now. In paragraph eight, the storyteller tells us that the woman is near the two children and they get a sudden chill. This changes the argument that the woman was ignored because she left her home. The woman is ignored not because she left the West Indies, but rather because she does not exist. The woman existed at one point or another, but now she is not at the home that she used to live in physically, meaning she is a spirit, a ghost. She is supernatural. The woman traveler is visiting the West Indies and her home for the last time. She has unfinished duties to perform before she moves on to her next destination. She visits the home because she will depart from there never to return. It may be that visiting her home was her unfinished task. I believe that the woman is a spirit because of the following evidence. The first evidence is, â€Å"The only thing was that the sky had a glassy look that she didn’t remember,† implying that she no longer sees it with physical eyes. The second evidence is, â€Å"There were two children under the mango tree, a boy and a little girl, and she waved to them and called ’Hello’ but they didn’t answer her or turn their heads,† as if they are not able to hear her. The last evidence is the detail that the children have a sudden chill. The boy says, â€Å"Hasn’t it gone cold all of a sudden. † In all the books that I have read dealing with the supernatural, it is common for people get a sudden chill when a spirit is in the mix. All of this evidence points to the fact that the woman is a supernatural being.

Belonging: Overseas Chinese and Leah Essay

Belonging is a natural human instinct of how we define ourselves in the world we are living in. Our belonging to or connections with people, places and groups enable us to develop an unique characteristics in our personalities. Our perception of belonging is influenced by the personal, cultural, historical and social context of our surroundings. Identity, community, society’s attitude, relationships and culture are aspects of belonging that contribute to broaden or deepen our sense of Belonging or Not Belonging. The sense of not belonging felt by individual can be evolved to become a sense of belonging by factors of the aspects of belonging through experiencing physical or inner journey and vice versa. Identity is defined as the distinct characteristics of an individual possessed by which a person is recognized or known as. Individual who possesses a strong and unique personal or cultural identity will intensify their sense of belonging or not belonging. In the novel, the China Coin, by Allan Baillie, explores how personal and cultural identity of the protagonist, Leah Waters, could be changed from alienation of not belonging to acceptance of belonging by experiencing physical and inner journeys. In the beginning of the novel, Leah senses alienation and distanced toward China as she identify herself as an Australian instead of a Chinese. The monologue from Leah’s mind, ‘Couldn’t the woman see? She was not Chinese, not even an ABC – Australian born Chinese. Joan was Chinese, but Dad, David Waters, had been English. Didn’t it show? ’ suggested that Leah identify herself that she does not belong as a Chinese. A similar situation is also described in the film Avatar, directed by James Cameron, when the protagonist, Jake Sully, who was a disabled person that chosen for a mining operation in a distanced planet. Jake said, ‘so, here I am†¦ they offer me the gig because I could link with the avatar which is insanely expensive’. This reveal that Jake felt isolated and discriminated in the same sense as Leah towards China. The sense of not belonging will create a barrier that further prevents the willingness to belong in a new area. Leah’s sense of identity however gradually changed from not belonging to belonging, as it is shown in her monologue â€Å"No, you’re not Chinese, but you’re not not Chinese,† this suggested that Leah has recognized her identity as a Chinese and is willing to accept her multicultural identity. Relationship is the critical factor that can escalate the sense of belonging as it allows interaction between people which will increase their communication which in turns increase their understanding and this lead to an increase in the sense of belonging. In â€Å"China Coin†, the half ancient Chinese coin represents a separated relationship to Leah and Joan’s family. Throughout their journey, Leah and Joan expanded their relationship with the Ji family. Leah in particular changed her sense of belonging during her interaction with Swallow. Swallow said, â€Å"it’s all right, now you got a sister,† and Leah relied, â€Å"You? Yeah, thanks kid. † This suggested that relationship grew between Leah and Swallow through their conversation and this strengthen Leah’s sense of belonging. When Leah and Joan left the Good Field village, Leah said, â€Å"Will we ever see them again? † and â€Å"Yes. We’re family,† shows that this is a milestone where Leah as she sense belonging when she relate herself to the Ji family as her own family. Community acceptance and Society’s attitude are important factor which correspond to each other which magnify the sense of belonging. Community acceptance is being welcomed to be part of a family or group and society’s attitudes are the believes sees by individual. Community acceptance towards Leah and Joan is shown when they found the Good Field village. â€Å"Grandfather †¦ wrapped his arms about Joan. ‘Welcome back, Sister. ’† This is a touching scene that demonstrates Chinese community is welcoming towards their relatives which escalate their sense of belonging. A further example of community acceptance is when Joan had an accident and Leah was left alone. Ke, the son of the Zhu family, recognized Leah as a family member from the letter from Joan’s father and offered hospitality. â€Å"Leah should stay in my family’s house. She is my family. † This contributes to increase Leah’s sense of belonging as Ke assisted her when she was helpless because of Joan’s accident. The discriminative society attitudes directed toward Leah and Joan as foreign Chinese, however, restricted their growth of sense of belonging. The biased comment from the women on the train, â€Å"You Oversea Chinese do not know anything, just how to make money and get fat,† signal and deepen the barrier to belong in a new community when discriminative attitudes rumoured. A powerful example of the combination of community acceptance and cultural understanding that highlighted the emotional sense of belonging is that Jake Sully, the protagonist in the film Avatar, chose to belong to the alien natives, the Omaticaya, to against invading human when he himself is a human because he developed his sense of belonging as he learn the culture of the Omaticaya through understanding and challenges and he realize the deceiving tricks exercised by the human. Jake was accepted in the Omaticaya community as he said in his last video log, â€Å"†¦I’m not gonna be coming back†¦I don’t want to be late for my own party. It’s my birthday after all. This is Jake Sully signing off. † The community acceptances and cultural understandings are emphasized when Jake said, â€Å"It’s my birthday after all† with the conjunction monologue stating that, â€Å"the Na’vi say, ‘every person is born twice, the second time is when you earned your place among the people, forever’. † The sense of belonging is highlighted when Jake’s soul at the end was permanently transferred to his avatar via the spiritual ceremony conducted by the Omaticaya. With the use of extreme close up camera shot, it shows Jake belong to the Omaticaya community now as he opening his eye in his avatar body. In conclusion, during our lifetime, our sense of identity, the surrounding community, society’s attitude, the complex interaction of relationship and our culture will alter our sense of belonging or not belonging as we would experience physical or inner journey. It is critical and essential that we understand our sense of belonging or not belonging thoroughly in order to define ourselves in the world we are living in.

Allopatric Speciation and Habitat Adaptation Lab Report

Allopatric Speciation and Habitat Adaptation Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine if allopatric speciation i.e. divergence of species occurs because of geographic isolation Introduction Allopatric speciation is the result of geographical isolation of species due to physical barriers and each separated population adopting specific physical features to suit their new habitat. A good example is the Caribbean Anolis lizards that have varied limb size and shape depending on whether they live on the ground or on trees. (Ref. Losos Laboratory, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University). However there are also cases where two physically isolated populations have not changed morphologically but do not interbreed. Snapping shrimps on either side of the Isthmus that links the North and South American continents are physically similar but the opposite sexes attack, rather than mate when artificially paired. Ref. Nancy Knowlton, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama Hypothesis/Predicted Outcome It is hypothesized that physical or geographical isolation does not result in allopatric speciation or the creation of distinct species, based on the study by Futuyama and Mayer. Methods Our experiment was on observing and comparing the diversity in African Buffalo species present in different parts of the African continent. Results/Outcome Results showed that their skin colour, body mass (weight) and size has changed to suit their habitat as given in this Table. S.No. Species Geography Phenotype Character 1. Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) South and East Africa Well built with Black skin Weight ~900 kg 2. Forest buffalo (S. c. nanus) Central and West Africa Red skin, ~4 feet height, weight ~270 kg 3. Sudanese buffalo (S. c. brachyceros) West Africa Dark colour, weight ~600 kg 4. Nile buffalo (S.c. aequinoctialis) Central Africa Lighter than Cape buffallo, smaller Discussion/Analysis Based on this study, we can conclude that geographical isolation results in speciation accompanied with change in phenotype to match the local requirement. Therefore, our original hypothesis that â€Å"physical or geographical isolation does not result in allopatric speciation† has been proved to be incorrect. References: 1. .Douglas J. Futuyma and Gregory C. Mayer Non-Allopatric Speciation in Animals Systematic Zoology Vol. 29, No. 3 (Sep., 1980), pp. 254-271 URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2412661 2. Losos Laboratory, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University. 3. Nancy Knowlton, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.evo.allopatric/

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 40

Assignment Example The federal investigators said they were going to conduct corruption investigations involving the City Hall officials (Twickel 1). The United States of America legislators introduced a bill to block visas and assets of some Russians until people responsible for the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky were brought to justice. Magnitsky was put under arrest after he accused senior government officials of embezzling government funds. According to the report given, Magnitsky died of health complications in a pretrial detention in Moscow. Human rights activists and Magnitsky colleagues say that he was denied adequate medical treatment during his detention. They also claimed that he was subjected to torturing conditions. The bill was however not welcomed by some Russia government officials. The Foreign Minister warned the US government against passing the bill saying that it will evoke bitter relations with US and undermine cooperation between the two nations (Combined Reports 1). The president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Prosecutor General’s Office to conduct investigations into Magnitsky’s deat h. Previous investigations into Magnitsky’s death failed to produce any suspect (The St Petersburg Times

Oil and Gas Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Oil and Gas Management - Essay Example However things are not as simple as they might look. According to various examples and researches it is believed that countries that enjoy abundance in resources are on average less likely to attain economic development in comparison with countries that do not (Heum, Kasande, Ekern, and Nyombi, 2011). Porter (1985) has explored the progressions of various combinations of actions or activities that are performed in order to come up with the final product for the customers. The process involved different actions and services carried out on the specific product from beginning till the end i.e. from extracting the product till the product is manufactured and later distributed to the final customers. However the analysis of Porter can be significantly applied to separate entity or firm (single firm) and can also be applied on number of firms or organizations keeping one thing under consideration i.e. their interconnections amongst each other in the supply chain context or in simple words the link among manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and customers in a specific area or globally (Tordo, Tracy, and Arfaa, 2011). Meanwhile the value chain supply system of the oil and gas industry with reference to social value creation has been highlighted below Oil and gas sector value chain comprises of various procedures initiating from development, processing, transporting and marketing of the product (oil) to the end user or consumers. The process of value chain in the oil and gas sector begins from allocating areas in order to later search or explore those areas for oil and gas. However soon after the basic search for oil or gas, evaluations are carried out on the grounds or fields; development and production are the other two things that are carried out later. The overall procedure is also known as Exploration and Production (E&P) or in other words it is also known as

Retailing and Wholesaling MBA (Masters Level) Essay

Retailing and Wholesaling MBA (Masters Level) - Essay Example Value-added resellers normally have a disadvantage in cost structure compared to channel members that compete mainly on the basis of price or convenience, such as discount stores or mail-order firms. This means that the value-added reseller in a diverse multiple channel context must either (1) charge a higher price than other channel members based on the provision of valued services or (2) live with a relatively small gross margin (Dunne and Lusch 2007). Professor Leo Aspinwall advanced the depot theory to explain some of the reasons for the changes that have occurred in the physical handling and storing of goods, the growth of manufacturers' wholesale branches, and the changing position of general-line wholesaling. The depot theory of distribution states that goods tend to move toward the point of final consumption at a rate established by the ultimate consumer. The theory views depots as places that move rather than store goods -- that get goods to retailers at the lowest handling and transportation costs (Dunne and Lusch 2007). Accordingly, a steady flow of goods is envisaged from production to final consumption. The intermediaries facilitating the flow are in essence depots that perform a largely service function on the basis of costs of services performed, and so tend to eliminate merchandising profits. For example, backward integration of retail food chains and cost-plus wholesalers illustrate the performance of the depot func tion and the elimination of merchandising costs (Dunne and Lusch 2007). If the retailer links with independent channel members in one or several of its multiple channels (e.g., it uses independent sales representatives), the same basic challenges faced by the manufacturer in utilizing multiple channels could be faced by the retailer as well. Intrabrand or intratype competition could be heightened in the territories served by the retailer's multiple channels, prices and margins could be reduced, conflicts and alienation could arise, and support and control could wane (at least in the independent channels) (Dunne and Lusch 2007). The functions of retailers in the channel have been to assemble merchandise, maintain an inventory, price, promote, advertise, sell, and account for the merchandise, again as a service to the manufacturer and the ultimate consumer. Further, retailers have also provided a place for consumers to shop and find other services that might assist them in obtaining or using the available goods. The channel systems that have developed and, granted, have been improved over the years, have been built on some very basic beliefs about consumers, their needs and wants, and what they are willing to accept from channel members. It is these basic marketplace assumptions that are being challenged by direct and database marketers (Dunne and Lusch 2007). As was discussed earlier, technology and communication allow consumers to learn about and demand increasingly differentiated and even personalized products. As this occurs, the traditional economies of scale that have accrued to those manufacturers and retailers with extensive facilities and large sales volumes are no longer important in the marketplace. Smaller companies, using technology and direct and database marketing approaches, can compete not only effectively, but in many cases more efficiently than can large companies. As technology expands and sales-driven inventorying become