COMUNNICATION PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

COMUNNICATION PAPER - Essay Example The paper seeks to identify the practical significance of the concepts of Problem Solving, Group Decision Making, Group Conflict, and Leadership that relate to Group activities and how members embody them in their actions. Class Concepts Group A’s task was primarily concerned with engaging in research work pertaining to abuse arising from human trafficking. In order to build relationships and bonds to facilitate this research, Group A scheduled a meeting on the 10th of October. The purpose of this meeting was to familiarize the members with each other and draft a plan of action, so as to delegate specifics to the relevant members of the group which in effect would cause them to present their own input towards the goal, thereby dividing the workload between them. In the meeting, the class concepts of Problem Solving, Group Decision Making, Group Conflict, and Leadership came into play. Problem Solving Problem Solving is the process that centers on accomplishing the group task, which is the primary motive of forming the group. Hirokawa discovered that successful groups tend to start the process of task accomplishment by analyzing it at the outset instead of directly jumping into offering solutions. A similar process was initiated by Group A, as at the very outset, the members were called upon to present their own ideas into the discussion on the subject of human trafficking. In the ongoing analysis of the research topic, the members shared 6 ideas which were to contribute towards effective research on the subject of abuse related to human trafficking. This was the first step towards Problem Solving that the group engaged in, and it formalized a conduct which would further allow these 6 ideas to be filtered into tasks which can then be dedicated to members of the Group. These 6 ideas were then formulated as 5 topics that were to be delegated to each member of the group. This allowed each member to be assigned a specific task that pertains to the research wo rk scheduled to be presented at the next meeting. Each topic was to be agreed upon by the respective member so that no topic was enforced upon anyone and there was general consensus on the delegated work. Lauren, a member of the Group who was absent at the meeting, was also communicated his respective topic and given the choice of agreeing or disagreeing to work on it. This conduct allowed each member to enjoy personal autonomy in decision making. By separating topics in this way, the emphasis was on solution multiplicity as each member would then present their own solution to the problem. This paved way for multiple solutions to the same problem. Group Decision Making Communication within the Group is an essential part of Problem Solving, and is largely characterized by Group Decision Making. Group Decision Making is important when building relationships and is in some part dependant on group size. A group of 20 people, for example, designed to produce a written report can be consi dered overcrowded and might lead to feelings of insignificance and lack of acknowledgement amongst individual members who may not be actively involved in the project. Such people are often referred to as social loafers (Comer, n. p.). Thus, adequate size is important for efficiency. In

Widescreen Edition Essay Example for Free

Widescreen Edition Essay My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. These stirring words by General Maximus epitomizes the vengeful nature of Ridley Scotts Gladiator. A true revenge movie for the ages, it uses todays computer-generated imagery influenced with Hollywood yesteryears sword-and-sandal epics to produce a stunning and spectacular saga. Russell Crowe plays Maximus, a faithful and successful Roman General in the service of Marcus Aurelius (aptly played by the late Richard Harris). His loyal and selfless servitude is rewarded by the Emperor with a pledge of being leader in his place when he dies, until Rome again becomes a republic. This pledge is betrayed by the Emperors son, Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix), who murders his own father and usurps the throne. Aware of the promise made to Maximus, Commodus orders Maximus execution and has his lands taken, his title stripped, and his family murdered. Maximus narrowly escapes his pursuers, is left for dead and sold to slavery. In North Africa, Proximo (Oliver Reed’s last, though excellent, on-screen performance) purchases the fazed former general and enlists him as a gladiator. With nothing left to live except a quest for vengeance, Maximus ferociously fights in arenas, winning all his battles and eventually working his way to the Coliseum in Rome, where he plots to have his revenge. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Its epic scope (set in 150 A. D. ), savage battle scenes, rousing soundtrack and superb performances by the cast were well-received in the global box-office, raking in almost half a billion U. S. Dollars. Its influence is felt with the revival of the historical epic in Hollywood, with subsequent releases of Troy, Alexander, 300 and Ridley Scott’s own Kingdom of Heaven. Given the superlative success that the film had, it is quite surprising to discover that the film encountered numerous hiccups during production. For instance, the script had to be rewritten numerous times and the plotline needed several revisions. There was even talk of Russell Crowe, the actor playing the star role, walking out of the set when not getting what he wanted. There is also the tragic death of Oliver Reed during filming which editors had to fix in post-production using clever computer superimposing and body-doubles. Nevertheless, the film delivers a heroic display worthy of past Hollywood greats such as Spartacus and The 300 Spartans. Critics complain of the lack of depth in the characters as the main protagonists often deliver scenes of depression and moroseness. Others counter that a hero is supposed to undergo such catharses in order to contrast it with developments later on in the movie, of which this writer agrees. The set, albeit designed and executed using sophisticated computer imagery, was not in any way intrusive to the story being told. In fact, the background was more than sufficient in suspending disbelief and even adds to the fervor with its monstrous crowds and impressive panorama. There were those who questioned the brutal blood and gore displayed in the battle scenes and the arenas as being over-the-top and bordering on gratuity. They however fail to mention that, unlike the famous Hollywood yarns of the past, today’s sagas are more compelling due to the realism employed. It is impossible for you to realize the barbarity and desperation of gladiatorial combat if the setting omits the consequences of blood and gore that face those in defeat. All in all, Gladiator attains the rank of immortality to the movie-going public due to its enlivening account of the vindication of a judicious and honorable man wronged by the greedy ambitions of a damnable nemesis. Its distinctive gift to its watchers of being able to â€Å"reach back to hallowed antiquity† and see the triumph and spectacle of a worthy warrior win his quest is deserving of all the accolades given to it. For, if such a spectacular and gripping show as Gladiator is, if it still fails to grip the viewer into vicarious entertainment, there may be a need to ask â€Å"Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here? † Works Cited 1. Gladiator: Widescreen Edition. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed and Richard Harris. 2000. Universal Studios, 2003.

Credit Ratings Role in the Financial Crisis

Credit Ratings Role in the Financial Crisis The global financial systems institutional framework has been evolving over time.Every crisis has helped decipher a gap in the financial structure which is then fixed by the regulating authorities.It hasnt been very often that the regulators were able to identify the gaps before the market identified it.This does not serve the purpose of existence of regulatory authorities.In future the role of regulatory authorities should be pro active in nature rather than reactive mode of undertaking corrective actions. The subprime crisis which originated in the united states led to a global melt down which was severe.The mortgage market in the United States saw a tremendous growth in the initial years of the 21st century. Subprime borrowers started obtaining mortgages due to availability of cheap credit, lenient lending practices and appreciation in real estate values. These mortgages were inturn sold by the lenders to investment banks who packaged them into exotic securities and sold them to high risk taking investors seeking high returns. Investors had faith in these packaged securities primarily because of Credit Rating Agencies (CRA) ratings of these securities as investment grade. In 2007, the tide turned and credit became expensive. Home values dropped. Majority of the subprime buyers started defaulting their loan payments. The CRAs rapidly downgraded all the securities for which they had given favourable ratings. This dissertation is undertaken to understand the emergence of structured financial products, the rating process followed by the credit rating agencies for rating them and the mistakes done by the rating agencies, a major contributor to the subprime mess in the United States which had ripple effect across financial markets all over the world. Literature Review: The following research papers and articles have been referred and reviewed in order to gain indepth knowledge about the work done about the dissertation topic under consideration. This would facilitate a clear understanding of different view points to the issue and enable a comprehensive analysis of the topic. According to V.Gupta, R.K.Mittal K.Bhalla (2010), low interest rates, abundant liquidity and a chase for yield led to the emergence of sub prime lending which was given undue support by the credit rating agencies. Credit rating agencies gave investment grade ratings to securitization transactions based on subprime mortgage loans. The CRAs combined lower rated mortgage loans with equity to form mezzanine CDO enabling a higher credit rating. Also CRAs used the same risk metric for assessment of all instruments. The CRAs assigned supersafe, triple-A ratings to structured products that later turned out to be extremely risky, and in some cases worthless. This has been illustrated with few examples of downgrades.The paper concludes that The regulatory framework should also facilitate the conduct of stress tests by users on key model parameters, and provide for the disclosure by credit rating agencies of the economic assumptions underlying their rating of structured products. According to Katz and Salinas (2009), faulty credit ratings and the flawed rating process have been the key drivers to the financial crisis 2007-2008. While the easy availability of (what turned out to be flawed) ratings fueled the growth of thismarket, the subsequent downgrades in ratings accelerated the markets collapse.The paper suggests that While corporate debt ratings are based on publicly available, audited financial statements, structured debt ratings are based on nonpublic, nonstandard, unaudited information supplied by the originator or nominal issuer. Moreover, rating agencies had no obligation to perform due diligence to assess the accuracy of the information and often relied on representations and warranties from the issuers about the quality of the data, which later proved to be inadequate. The researchers note that the credit rating agencies have always been slow to react to market events and a few examples have been quoted.Few measures suggested by the researchers inc lude managing conflict of interest, better transparency, direct government oversight etc. According to Fender and Kiff (2004) , rating od collateralised debt obligations involves assumptions such as default probability, recovery rates and correlated defaults of pool assets. The research paper analyses one of the rating methodologies used which is termed as Binomial Expansion Technique.A comparative analysis of this method and Monte corlo Simulation is done. The paper elaborates the implications of usage of different techniques on the rating outcomes. It finally discusses how methodological differences might induce issuers to strategically select rating agencies to get CDOS rated. According to Barnett- Hart(2009), Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) have been responsible for $542 billion in write-downs at financial institutions since the beginning of the credit crisis.The poor CDO performance has been attributed to inclusion of low quality collateral with exposure to U.S residential housing market.The role of CDO underwriters and credit rating agencies in the crisis have been discussed. The credit rating agencies failed to rate the performance of CDOS precisely due to over automation in rating methodologies and heavy reliance on input whose accuracy was not verified. The researcher concludes that by understanding the CDO market meltdown story more effective regulatory and economic policies and practices to prevent history from repeating itself in the future. According to Securities and Exchange commission(2008), few observations about credit rating agencies with respect to CDOS have been made.SEC claims that few credit rating agencies could not deal with the substantial increase in the number and complexity of the CDOS since 2002. Rating agencies failed to document significant steps in rating of CDOS including reasons behind deviation from the models. Also the internal audit procedure of rating agencies varied significantly.The report summarises the remedial actions that the Nationally Recognised Statistical Rating Organisations(NRSRO) would take after the SEC examined them and came up with issues to be looked into. Under the new law and rules, NRSROs are required to make certain public disclosures, make and retain certain records, furnish certain financial reports to the Commission, establish procedures to manage the handling of material non-public information and disclose and manage conflicts of interest. The Commissions rules addition ally prohibit an NRSRO from having certain conflicts of interest and engaging in certain unfair, abusive, or coercive practices. According to Partnoy (2008), Credit rating agencies have been the primary drivers of second level securitisation.Investors did not examine the underlying assets and depended on parameters set by rating agencies to assess the CDOS. If the Credit rating agencies had used reasonable and accurate models and assumptions , the CDO transactions would not have been problematic. The paper suggests some policy prescriptions which include elimination of explicit reliance on credit ratings and the claims made by rating agencies that the ratings are mere opinions should not be accepted any longer. The researcher suggests that rolling average of market measures is a much better representation of the instrument than the unchanged credit rating .Credit default swap spreads would provide a warning about the CDOs and their true performance in the market. According to M.K.Datar(2011), the role of CRAs in the crisis has attracted attention basically owing to the severe downgrades during the initial stages of the crisis. The conflict of interest in the payment model has been discussed and the author suggests that investor pay model should be adopted as the issuer pay model creates a bias as rating agencies might be prone to give good ratings because the issuers are paying for it.An alternative platform pay model has been suggested in the paper wherein an issuer approaches a clearing house (platform) with a preset fee to get a rating. The platform would get the ratings done from a pool of recognised CRAs. This process avoids direct contact between the issuer and the rating agency.The paper concludes that better disclosures by CRAs and their subsidiaries in respect of details of earning from rating and non-rating revenues, default and transition statistics would play a key role in improved governance in CRAs. Problem Definition: The dissertation work is undertaken to understand the reasons behind the emergence of the subprime crisis in late 2000s and the role of credit rating agencies in the crisis.The study is divided into two parts studying the pre crisis and post crisis situations and analysing the change in credit ratings of various complex instruments in response to the crisis. The objectives are briefly stated as below: Understand the evolution of structured financial products Understand the causes of subprime crisis Study the credit rating process for CDOS Study the factors that drove the rapid downgrade of CDOs in the initial meltdown stages Analyse the flaws in the rating process which led to failure in forecasting true performance. Suggestions and corrective action for facilitating accuracy in credit ratings of complex products. Research methodology: Research Design: The method adopted for research is causal research wherein the problem in question is understood and the degree of impact of the cause on the effect under study is analysed. The financial crisis that began in 2007 is studied and the contribution of credit ratings to the crisis is analysed. Credit ratings serve as the control group in this research. Finally suggestions for improvement in credit ratings and measures to be taken are proposed. Methods and Techniques of data collection and analysis: To achieve the research objectives, secondary data from reliable sources are being used. Thorough study of the existing literature is being done to understand different ideas and view points on the topic which would facilitate a comprehensive analysis of the issue. Methodology adopted for rating complex products by leading credit rating agencies has been studied in detail which includes statistical tools and financial models. Data sources: Data is being obtained from various secondary data sources for study and analysis. The major sources used for research are as follows: Credit Rating Agencies websites and reports Banking for International Settlements(BIS) working papers and reports Securities and Exchange Commission reports Journals and papers published on Credit ratings contribution to the Crisis. DRIVERS TO EMERGENCE OF FINANCIAL CRISIS 2007-2008: The financial crisis was fuelled right from the early 2000s through various factors , the most important of which is sub-prime lending. This inturn led to construction of CDOs at a later stage in order to transfer the concentrated risk of banks to the investors . Hence it is vital to get a clear idea about the emergence of sub prime lending and evolution of CDOs . Sub-Prime lending: The sub-prime mortgage market caters to customers who are unable to meet normal credit and/or documentation requirements for mortgages. Subprime lending is riskier than normal lending for the banks. Hence banks tend to charge a higher interest rate to compensate for the risk. Over the past decade, this mark-up over prime rates has been about 2%, making lending potentially very lucrative. Only by the mid-1990s did the subprime mortgage market begin to take off as a number of factors emerged which apparently mitigated the default risk on such loans and hence led to an increasing number of banks lending ever-larger amounts to this sector. Some important factors which contributed to a boom in subprime lending are discussed below. Introduction to Sub Prime Lending: Evolution of Structured Financial Products: Collateralised debt obligations have been one of the complex financial products which have been instrumental in driving the financial system into a crisis. The evolution of CDOs needs to be understood in order to study the emergence of the financial crisis. The basic principle behind a CDO involves re-packaging of fixed income securities and division of their cash flows according to a specified structure. A CDO is constructed by creating a brain-dead company, a special purpose entity (SPE) or structured investment vehicle (SIV), which buys assets and issues bonds backed by the assets cash flows. The bonds are divided into a number of tranches with different claims on the principal and interest generated by the CDOs assets. The mechanics of a typical CDO are illustrated in Diagram A.  [1]   In order to understand the sudden growth in the demand for CDOs which in turn led to the financial crisis , it is vital to list out the reasons behind the growth of CDOs which are as below. Rationale behind growth of CDOs: Securitisation has been a way that helped banks to bundle loans and sell it to investors or make it off-balance sheet items .Once these items are removed from the balance sheet the capital adequacy gets more space and hence banks make new loans and the process continues. This basically facilitates banks to free up cash and easily meet BASEL norms for capital adequacy. The second rationale is re-allocation of risk.CDOs helps banks reduce the concentration of risk and also create securities as per specific requirements and risk profiles of the investors. This facilitated institutional investors to purchase CDOs as they can invest only in highly rated investment grade securities. CDOs allowed these investors to gain exposure to assets that, on their own, had been too risky, while investors looking to take more risk and receive potentially higher returns could buy the most junior or equity CDO tranches.  [2]   These are the major reasons behind growth of CDOs . Banks only thought of their own benefits and growth and the aftermath of this action was left to the market to face in reality few years down the lane . The consequences of this act of the highly knowledgeable financial community has been faced by people across the globe. Credit Ratings and CDOs: An overview Investors invest in securities based on various criteria one such being reliable ratings given by well known credit rating agencies. Credit rating agencies(CRA) were basically formed to guide investors assess risk of fixed income securities. CRAs have played a major role in the growth of CDOs market as investors relied on the ratings given to these complex structures and based their investments majorly on these credit ratings. They used credit ratings in place of their due diligence for assessment of CDOs. Credit rating agencies are approved by Nationally recognised Statistical rating organisation(NRSRO) . There are three well known players in the U.S financial market which are Moodys Fitch Standard and Poors These three agencies rated CDOs and the fees generated by rating CDOs were quite high which led to record profits . The percentage of CDO deals that were rated by the credit rating agencies has been given in the below diagram. Source: UBS CDO research Note: The percentage total exceeds 100 as the same instruments have been rated by more than one agency. Revenue earned by the rating agencies has grown since 2002 which has been depicted in the diagram below: Source:thismatter.com/money According to Mark Adelson, current Chief Credit Officer at SP: The advent of CDOs in the mid-1980s was a watershed event for the evolution of rating definitions. Until the first CDOs, rating agencies were only producers of ratings; they were not consumers. With the arrival of CDOs, rating agencies made use of their previous ratings as ingredients for making new ratings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" they had to eat their own cooking. For rating CDOs, the agencies used ratings as the primary basis for ascribing mathematical properties (e.g., default probabilities or expected losses) to bonds.  [3]   Credit rating agencies failed to examine the accuracy of the prior collateral ratings. They also used other rating agencies ratings as base for rating CDOS without verifying accuracy.To adjust for the shortcomings in other agencies ratings they used a system called notching where the rating would be decreased by one notch if the rating has been done by another rating agency. For example , if Moodys is rating a CDO which has a collateral rated BB+ by Fitch , Moodys would consider the rating as BB and plug it into their rating model. No analysis of accuracy had been done and it would be assumed that the notching would compensate for any errors in the rating done by Fitch. Figure below illustrates a comparison between the collateral ratings and the corresponding CDO ratings at the beginning and also the current scenario. This shows that the CRAs somehow gave huge amounts of AAA rated CDO securities from collateral with much lower ratings, reassuring the fact that that main reason why CDOs were so profitable in 2005-2007 is that it was possible to generate a high proportion of highly rated securities from lower quality assets. That practice backfired, resulting in massive downgrades of the CDO tranches as it became apparent that the rating agencies had been overly optimistic. While in 2005-2007, the initial ratings given to CDO tranches were on average better than the ratings of their underlying collateral assets, current CDO tranche ratings are worse than their associated collateral pool ratings which is an area that needs attention. The following figure shows the downgrades of CDOs over the years. The numbers on the y-axis correspond to the rating scale with lower numbers equal to higher-quality ratings (1=AAA, 22=D). An overview about the credit ratings and CDOs has been done. The following section elaborates the rating methodologies adopted by the rating agencies which have different variables considered for the purpose of rating the complex financial instruments and the assumptions behind them. CDO Rating Methodology: CDOs are based on portfolios of instruments combined together and not on a single loan. Rating these complex structures requires ascertaining a probability of default (PD) to each instrument in the portfolio and involves assumptions relating to recovery rates and default correlations. Thus it combines credit risk assessments of the individual assets and estimates about default correlations using credit risk modelling. There are two widely used methodologies for rating CDOs namely: Binomial expansion technique Monte Carlo Simulation Each method is discussed initially and then a comparison is done between the techniques and their impact on the ratings. Steps in the Rating Process: The reliability of a CDO rating depends on the agencys ability to assess the credit risk in the underlying asset pool and accurate modelling of the distribution of cash flows from the asset pool to different groups. All rating agencies generally follow a two stage rating process. In the first stage, analytical models are used to assess credit risk. The tools applied for analysing CDO pools differ according to the nature of underlying assets and are also based on the rating agencies. The second stage of the process comprises of structural analysis. This stage involves detailed modelling of cash flows, legal assessments and evaluations of third parties involved in the deal such as asset managers. The results of the cash flow analysis are used as input in the credit model in the form of adjustments in particular model assumptions. Finally, all information is aggregated and combined into a single, alphanumeric rating which is benchmarked to the historical performance of bonds. RATING METHODOLOGIES: The famous CDO rating methodology is based on Moodys quantitative approach for determining expected losses for CDO tranches which is called the binomial expansion technique (BET). BET was introduced in the year 1996 and is still used in CDO analysis along with a number of other new methodologies. The method relies on the use of diversity score (DS) which is used to map the underlying CDO portfolio with a hypothetical portfolio that consists of homogeneous assets equal to the diversity score. For calculating expected loss distributions a simpler hypothetical portfolio of homogeneous, uncorrelated securities is used in place of the original portfolio. As the number of assets in the hypothetical pool is assumed to equal the diversity score, it will be lower than the number of assets in the actual CDO portfolio to account for uncorrelatedness under the BET. Given the homogeneous nature of the hypothetical portfolio, the behaviour of the asset pool can be explained by DS+1 default scenarios with default occurring for 0 assets, 1 asset, DS assets, where the probability of each scenario is calculated using the binomial formula. After working out the cash flows and losses under each default scenario, the obtained output from the binomial distribution are converted into estimates of the portfolio and tranche loss distributions. An alternative method that is used in by three major rating agencies is Monte Carlo simulation technique which estimates the default properties of the underlying CDO asset pool based on repeated trials of random defaults with correlation structure that is assumed. In this process, default events are simulated within a credit risk model, where default occurs when the value of assets fall below that of its liabilities. The models main inputs are asset-level probabilities of default and pair-wise correlations of assets, which are converted into an estimate of the entire pools loss distribution. This distribution is used with other inputs, to determine the required subordination level (level of credit enhancement) for each CDO tranche, where desired tranche ratings are assumed constant or given.MC approaches give more accurate loss distribution estimates, they are computer intensive and take a long time to provide accurate results. Especially for cash flow CDOs it is very difficult to co nstruct an efficient MC simulation that accounts for all cash flow nuances .Sometimes it takes hours for an MC simulation to determine the subordination level for an AAA tranche and this can be complicated when further assumptions are made. In managed portfolios, the relative value of the simulation approachs asset-by-asset analysis is less while some of the BETs implicit simplifying assumptions (like equal position sizes) closely resemble typical covenants in managed deals. The choice of rating methodology basically considers a trade-off between accuracy and efficiency, and the result may differ for certain types of CDO structures. This is one of the reasons for Moodys to introduce a new Monte Carlo simulation-based method called CDOROM to rate static synthetic CDOs, while it continues to use the BET and its modifications for rating cash CDOs and managed structures.

Physical Activity And Academic Performance

Physical Activity And Academic Performance The recommendations for participating in physical activity for children is 60 minutes per day, or more. Physical education is insufficient for children nowadays (Carlson, et. al., 2008). Children can benefit a great deal from physical activity; the beneficial effect comes in many forms. For example, physical activity is considered good for cardiovascular health, musculoskeletal health, blood pressure, among other forms (Strong, et. al., 2005). Depression is a common disease, and gets more serious with adolescents. A research by Turner, Thompson, Huber, and Arif (2012) where depression symptoms score was divided into quartiles for analyses, showed that nearly three fourth of the students were in the third or fourth quartiles, which is too many students. Depression is the most common problem of psychological problems (Davey, 2008). The beneficial effect of physical activity for both psychological and physical well-being is well established. Accumulative evidence also suggests that phys ical activity improves cognitive performance (Singh, Uijtdewilligen, Twisk, Mechelen, Chinapaw, 2012). This review will critically examine the effect of physical activity on academic performance and further more whether the effect is mediated by depression. The review is divided into four sections where in the first one the relationship between physical activity and academic performance will be discussed, in the second section the relationship between physical activity and depression will be discussed. In the third section the relationship between depression and academic performance will be discussed and the fourth and final section will be about future directions. Physical activity and academic performance Several reviews have indicated that physical activity is related to improved academic performance but the strength of the relationship varies between studies (Singh, Uijtdewilligen, Twisk, Mechelen, Chinapaw, 2012; Trudeau, Shephard, 2008; Biddle, Asare, 2011). For example a review made by Biddle and Asare (2011) showed that physical activity can have a positive effect on cognitive functions, the behaviour in the classroom and academic achievement in children but the association is often weak and not entirely consistant. Harrison and Narayan (2003) did a cross-sectional research about adolescent ´s participation in sports and other activities. Their results were that if adolescents participated in sports or other extracurricular activities they were more likely to do their homework and have a positive attitude towards school and teachers. However, Tremblay, Inman and Willms (2000) also did a cross-sectional research on 12 year old children to see whether physical activity did in crease academic achievement in mathematics and reading. The participants answered a questionnaire about their physical activity and academic climate. The results showed a very weak but significant association between physical activity and academic achievement in both mathematics and reading. Similar results were in a research by Carlson et. al. (2008), but they did a longitudinal and cross-sectional research on children in kindergarten until they were in 5th grade and weak but significant association was also found in the result of this research. The only association between time spent on physical education and academic performance was with the group of girls who spent the most time in physical education (70 300 minutes per week) and the girls who spent the lowest time in physical education (0 35 minutes per week). No association was found in boys. The differences in gender could be because boys have higher levels of fitness than girls at baseline and that boys need to have more s timulus than is provided in physical education. Cross-sectional studies give an example that there is a relationship between two variables but their weaknesses is that it can ´t say which variable causes the other. Intervention studies can say much more about the relationship between the variables. By using an intervention, Davis et. al. (2011) found out that the more exercise obesity children performed the better cognitive function they had. They put 171 obese children into three randomized groups, low dose exercise, high dose and control group. Low dose group had 20 minutes of exercise each day after school and 20 minutes of sedentary activities such as board games for 3 months. High dose group had two 20 minutes bout of exercise each school day. The children ´s academic achievement was measured by using Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III. The results showed that the high dose exercise group had more improved cognitive performance than the other two groups and low dose exercise group had better cognitive performance than the control group. These results show ´s that the more exercise obese children have the better cognitive function they will have. All these research find a positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance but the association is sometimes week and sometimes strong. But the researches are different and that could cause the different results. The strength of the relationship between these two variables could differ because of the different age of the participants. Increased physical activity could have much more effect on academic performance in adolescent than in children. Also the self-described physical activity and grades from participants could not be true so the association could differ because of that. Cross-sectional data is a limitation because it says only that there is a relationship between the variables but not what variable causes the other variable, but it can indicate that there is a relationship. Intervention studies provide stronger evidence that physical activity may lead to improved academic performance. But because there was only one intervention study then that is a li mitation. More intervention studies need to be done to provide a stronger evidence of the relationship between those two variables. There need to be more intervention studies for more than just obese children. In spite of these limitations the results indicate that there is a relationship between these two variables. Other, little is known about the re mechanism whereby physical activity affects academic performance. Independent line of researches raises the possibility that the impact of physical activity on academic performance may be mediated by other variables, for example depression. Physical activity and depression Physical activity has often been associated with depression, in other words depression has shown to decrease with more physical activity (Mata, Thompson, Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, Gotlib, 2012; Toker, Biron, 2012). A review of reviews was conducted to find out the relationship between physical activity and depression in children and adolescents (Biddle, Asare, 2011). There were 5 reviews which were reviewed concerning physical activity and depression. The results showed that physical activity seems to have a negative effect on depression, but the intervention designs do not have enough quality and many of the reviews have cross-sectional researches which can deviate the relationship or it will not show whether physical activity affect depression or the other way around. A cross-sectional research that was conducted to find risk factors for depression in adolescents showed that the adolescents who were depressed were less likely to engage in physical activity than the adolescent s who was not depressed (Diego, Sanders, Field, 2001). But cross-sectional studies do not show the cause of the variables so it does not say whether depression causes less physical activity or physical activity causes less depression symptoms. Gallegos-Carrillo et. al. (2012) did a longitudinal research of 1047 Mexican adults, both male and female, who were free of depression between the years of 1998 2000. The participant ´s lifestyle and health were assessed, that is how much physical activity they had. The participants were divided into 3 groups after how much physical activity they performed each week, that is light, moderate or vigorous. After 6 years the participants was assessed again to see whether physical activity would prevent depressive symptoms. The results showed that the vigorous physical activity participants performed they had lower risks of developing depressive symptoms. The limitations in this research were that there was only one follow up after 6 years and that the participants had to fill out a questionnaire about how much physical activity they had. Another longitudinal research showed that leisure-time physical activity reduced depression symptoms only in women after both two and four years follow up but this was not found in men (Wang, DesMeules, Luo, Dai, Lagace, Morrison, 2011). But the long term effect on leisure-time physical activity and the changes of physical activity and marital status on the risk of evolving depression was the reason for this research. No participant had a depression at the baseline of the research. Similar results were also in a longitudinal research about adolescent girls because the sexes have found to be different in depression and physical activity (Jerstad, Boutelle, Ness, Stice, 2010). In that research, girls aged 11-15 years old reviewed a list of physical activity and crossed in a box for an activity that they had done more than 10 times for the past year and they answered a questionnaire for d epression symptoms. This was done once a year for a 6 years period. The results showed that there was a relationship between regular basis of physical activity and depression. If the girls were involved in physical activity it reduced the likelihood of having depression symptoms in the future. Because the research was only about adolescents girls the results can ´t be generalized to other groups. A research by Alosco et. al. (2012) points out that there is a relationship between depression and physical activity in older adults with heart failure. They did their longitudinal research on older people with heart failure. For baseline measure the older adults wore an accelerometer for 7 days and did an assessment to measure their fitness and answered a questionnaire concerning depression. All of those researches show that there is a relationship between physical activity and depression. There is a limitation is that there is no intervention study, because intervention studies provide stronger evidence than cross-sectional and longitudinal for the relationship between physical activity and depression. Cross-sectional studies is not good enough because they can ´t indicate the affect, which variable predicts what. The self-report of depressive symptoms and physical activity is a limitation in the longitudinal study ´s because it is not reliable; the participants could for example exaggerate how much time they spent in physical activity and decrease the depressive symptoms. Depression and academic performance In a cross-sectional research that conducted a stepwise regression on risk factors for depression in adolescents, how much time the adolescents spent on their homework and their report of their grades explained 13% of the variance of depression symptoms (Diego, Sanders, Field, 2001). They were explaining the relationship between academic performance and depression. A cross-sectional research was done with data from student responses National college health assessment from 2008 to study the relation between depressive symptoms and academic performance (Turner, Thompson, Huber, Arif, 2012). The depressive symptoms were divided into a quartile. The results showed that students who had the lowest level of depressive symptoms were least likely to report having C, D, or F for grades but the students who fell into the second quartile were most likely to report having an average grades of C, D or F. For better explanation, the students who had moderate symptoms of depression were more like ly than those who had milder or more severe to have worse academic performance. Pelkonen, Marttunen, Aro (2003) were also researching the risk for depression by a longitudinal study in Finland and their results indicated the relationship between poor academic performance and depressive symptoms. The data was collected when the participants were 16 years old and researched the risk factors for depression at the age of 22. Chen, Rubin and Li (1995) showed in a 2 year longitudinal research that depression has been related to academic performance, according to them depressed children in China had more academic achievement problems than children that were not depressed. Another longitudinal analysis research which was performed in Los Angeles, which 243 adolescents participated in, showed that if the adolescent perceived themselves as a victim it caused psychological adjustment such as depression and loneliness which caused lower grades in school (Juvonen, Nishina, Graham, 2000). That is similar to the findings of Schwartz, Gorman, Nakamoto, Toblin (2005) which did a longitudinal investigation which focused on the relationship between victimization of 9 year old children and academic achievement over a 1 year period. The participants were 240 from 12 classrooms. The results showed that the children who perceived themselves as a victim in the peer group, they had lower academic achievement than the children who did not perceive themselves as a victim, but the results showed evidence that this relation was mediated by depressive symptoms. Shahar, Henrich, Winokur, Blatt, Kuperminc, Leadbeater (2006) did a research about the relation between personality factor, self-criticism and depression on academic achievement in adolescents. This was a one year longitudinal study where 460 students in sixth and seventh grade participated in. They answered a questionnaire to measure their self-criticism and depression and their grades were obtained from their report cards. The ir findings were the first to certificate relation between depression and a personality aspect of defencelessness in predicting academic achievement. The results showed that interaction between adolescent self-criticism and depression predicted a decrease in one ´s average grade. A longitudinal research was done by Lehtinen, Raikkonen, Heinonen, Raitakari, Keltikangas-Jarvinen (2006) where the purpose was to find out whether the grades in school at the age of 9, 12 and 15 was associated with depressive symptoms 12 to 21 years later or at the ages of 21 to 37. Because there had been found difference between sexes both in depression and grades, the sexes were measured separately. The results were that lower grades in 12 and 15 year old girls was associated with depression 12 and/or 17 years later, grades seemed not to have any other association with later depression. Because it seems that some researches will mean that depression has an effect on academic performance while other po int out that academic performance has an effect on depression Hishinuma, Chang, McArdle, and Hamagami (2012) did a longitudinal research to put in a model called Longitudinal bivariate dynamic latent change model, which can be used to transmit the hidden scores from one variable to another over time. The results indicate that depression causes lower grades in adolescents but not that lower grades cause depression. There is a relationship between depression and academic performance according to previous researches. The cross-sectional researches do not have much reliability because they only indicate that there is a relationship between depression and academic performance but they can ´t say much more about the relationship. Longitudinal researches are better than cross-sectional but intervention researches are the best of describing the relationship but there is no intervention research so that is a major limitation. Summary and future directions As reviewed above there is a relationship between physical activity and academic performance but this evidence is not strong and most of the studies have been correlational. But as also reviewed above there is a relationship between physical activity and depression and also between depression and academic performance but this evidence is also not strong because there are only correlational study ´s. Future studies should examine if interventions if aimed at increasing physical activity also improve academic performance. They should also examine potential mechanism whereby physical activity affects academic performance. The literature review above suggests that physical activity is associated with less depression and that depression is associated with worse academic performance. These findings raise the possibility that the relationship between physical activity and academic performance may be mediated by the beneficial effects of physical activity on depression. The model below will explain that there is a relationship between physical activity and academic performance, but if depression in the individual is taken into account there will not be a relationship between these two variables because it is mediated by depression. Depression Academic performance Physical activity Figure : Depression as a mediator between physical activity and academic performance. If this model is right, then it will suggest that for adolescents to get higher grades they can increase the physical activity and by doing so decreasing depression and finally get higher grades in school.

Free Glass Menagerie Essays: The Characters :: Glass Menagerie essays

The Characters of The Glass Menagerie Generally when some one writes a play they try to elude some deeper meaning or insight in it. Meaning about one's self or about life as a whole. Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" is no exception the insight Williams portrays is about himself. Being that this play establishes itself as a memory play Williams is giving the audience a look at his own life, but being that the play is memory some things are exaggerated and these exaggerations describe the extremity of how Williams felt during these moments (Kirszner and Mandell 1807). The play centers itself on three characters. These three characters are: Amanda Wingfield, the mother and a women of a great confusing nature; Laura Wingfield, one who is slightly crippled and lets that make her extremely self conscious; and Tom Wingfield, one who feels trapped and is looking for a way out (Kirszner and Mandell 1805-06). Williams' characters are all lost in a dreamy state of illusion or escape wishing for something that they don't ha ve. As the play goes from start to finish, as the events take place and the play progresses each of the characters undergoes a process, a change, or better yet a transition. At the beginning of each characters role they are all in a state of mind which causes them to slightly confuse what is real with what is not, by failing to realize or refusing to see what is illusioned truth and what is whole truth. By the end of the play each character moves out of this state of dreamy not quite factual reality, and is better able to see and face facts as to the way things are, however not all the characters have completely emerged from illusion, but all have moved from the world of dreams to truth by a whole or lesser degree. Tom Wingfield makes a most interesting transition. He changes twice during the course of the entire play. One change occurs at the end of the memory part of the play, then he is changed again sometime between when the actual play took place and the time that he returns after serving in the merchant marines. In the beginning Tom Wingfield, the main character and the narrator of the play, feels trapped like a caged animal who needs to be set free which some times causes him to seem to be without pity or remorse (Kirszner and Mandell 1806).

My Personal Journey Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Journeys are moments in life that define and reconstruct the myths we create about ourselves and others. All too often the ideals of a biased community or select group are viewed as the model by which all individuals must follow. To escape the pressures of a collective standard a person must travel outside the constraints of a community and discover his or her own true identity. On such a journey one can expect moments of planned reflection or unexpected instances of revelation. A journey is every minute of my existence, as I travel through life and try to ascertain my own presence in its cycle. An essential journey occurred three years ago when I set out on a personal pilgrimage. I wanted to re-travel the time line of the past few years and locate the point where I had allowed the influence of others to determine my own concept of self. "Self" is not necessarily complex or intricate, but it does define the character of a person and how he or she wants to be viewed. In my own rush to "fit in" at college I had disregarded what I needed and complacently accepted the definitions of others. I expended my energy trying to model myself according to the contemplation of my peers, all the while ignoring principles which I felt were inherent to my survival. Once the missing feeling of singularity is discovered, an individual must set out upon a journey and reconstruct the notions of self and identity. Understanding my own needs, I decided to embark on a solo expedition into the woods of Maine. The solo was an opportunity to disassociate myself from everything that I considered comfortable and safe. For two nights the only person I encountered was myself. After several days of paddling, my guide and I neared the island where... ...d in an unknown surrounding and somehow I had become part of it. I welcomed the crash of an animal over my tent or the presence of the sand fleas. I journeyed into their environment a foreigner, and even in my most vulnerable stages of sleep, I had become an accepted presence. While on my solo I wrote a letter to myself. In the letter I revealed what I had learned and what it meant to realize my own strength and will in those few days of solitude. I gave the letter to my guide and asked him to send it to me in a year. I remember the day the letter came. At first I did not recognize the faded words on the envelope, but as soon as I glanced at the return address I knew that they were my own. I once again sought solitude. In a small corner of my family's flower garden I opened the letter and began reading. The first words I read were "remember the Medicine Wheel."

Student Calculator Use The Need For Limitations Education Essay

Math is an built-in portion of life. Worlds can non travel through life without utilizing math in some form or signifier, whether it is numbering money to pay the dinner measure, adding up the sum of money collected in a fundraiser or ciphering beforehand equations as a atomic applied scientist. Calculators have besides become an built-in portion of life. Calculator usage in schools has been a footing for argument for about 40 old ages. Calculators can profit or function as crutches for society. They prove good in rushing up computations when paying measures and taking trials. However, they can besides be a hinderance. Peoples frequently become so dependent on reckoners that they begin to lose the ability to execute simple mathematical equations such as 15 times three peers 45. Students are affected by reckoner usage to a higher grade than anyone else because they are in categories where they are required to cipher, job solve, and analyze every twenty-four hours. Calculators can be h elpful ; nevertheless, the usage of reckoners, by pupils in all classs, should be limited. Overexploitation of reckoners frequently leads to student loss of assurance in mathematical accomplishments and abilities, a misinterpretation of the function and map of the reckoner, and overdependence on reckoners as tools merely. Many pupils and grownups, including instructors, believe extended usage of reckoners should be a demand in mathematics categories. Several provinces, including North Carolina, now require the usage of charting reckoners in the course of study and on province trials while others allow, but do non necessitate reckoner usage. Dion et Al. showed that over â€Å" aˆÂ ¦95 % of schools surveyed allowed or needed reckoners in their Algebra I classes, 98 % allowed or needed reckoners in their Geometry categories, 99 % allowed or needed reckoners in Algebra II and 99.9 % allowed or needed reckoners in their Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry categories † ( 429 ) . Many instructors allow pupils to hold unlimited usage of reckoners in their schoolrooms and believe that pupil reckoner usage makes larning mathematics more interesting to pupils ( Brown et al. 106 ) . These facts reflect the positions of many sing the demand for consistent reckoner usage in the schoolroom, nevertheless, the argum ent furies on. Even though many pupils, instructors and parents argue that there should be reckoner usage in the schoolroom, they agree that usage should be limited to some extent. What they do non cognize, is where to pull the line. The changeless usage of reckoners present many possible jobs in larning experiences, including but non limited to dependence, overexploitation, and the procedure of forcing buttons instead than executing mathematical calculations. Most pedagogues concede that reckoner usage should be accompanied by direction, mold and pattern. As a hereafter mathematics instructor, I consider reckoners to be effectual when introduced and implemented decently in the schoolroom. A combination of direction with reckoner usage promotes more effectual and efficient applications of mathematical schemes and processs by pupils. Ineke Imbo et Al. researched different math jobs and persons to see how elements like job size, operations, gender, pattern, accomplishment, and reckoner usage influence simple arithmetic public presentation. It was found that â€Å" procedural schemes were performed faster when job size was smaller, arithmetic accomplishment was higher, and reckoner usage was less frequent ( Imbo et al. 458 ) . This substantiates the demand for restricting the usage of reckoners by pupils. Subjects in the research of Imbo et Al. were studied in footings of choosing and put to deathing retrieval ( what is known ) and procedural ( the procedure of working jobs out ) schemes on an arithmetic accomplishments undertaking, trial, and questionnaire. â€Å" Students who used reckoners often showed low retrieval and procedural efficiency degree but did non differ in scheme choices ( Imbo et al. 459 ) . The consequences showed that pupils frequently selected good schemes for job resolution but the pick of s cheme did non ever produce effectual or efficient processs or procedures for work outing jobs, and the figure of processs identified in making math is limited by reckoner usage. Imbo et Al. related frequent reckoner usage to hapless arithmetic public presentation for both immature kids and grownups in this research ( 460 ) . This hapless arithmetic public presentation, enhanced by frequent reckoner usage, frequently prefaces mathematically related assurance issues in pupils. Many pupils struggle with math and develop a disfavor for it because they lack assurance in their mathematical accomplishments. Unlimited usage of reckoners often helps construct a feeling of insufficiency or give pupils a false sense of assurance ( Porchea 118 ) . Calculators are non meant to, and can non, work out all math jobs in schoolrooms despite the fact that many people think so. Dion et Al. reported in her surveies that â€Å" few points on the instructors ‘ tests really required reckoners to work out † the jobs ( 433 ) . Since trials do non reflect the demand for reckoner usage, it is degrading to presume pupils need reckoners in order to execute mathematical operations. This degradation of ability lessens the assurance degrees of pupils in mathematical operations. Lack of assurance mathematically is compounded by assurance issues in executing computations with reckoners. Research besides shows that pupils are frequently uncomfortable utilizing reckoners. Berry and Graham analyzed pupils ‘ key strokes on reckoners as they took trials ( 143 ) . They found that pupils did non â€Å" create strategies or ways of working that incorporated the reckoner † ( Berry and Graham 143 ) . Even though there were jobs on the trials that required certain types of computations within the ability of the reckoner, cardinal shot analysis showed â€Å" virtually no grounds of these being done on the artworks reckoners † ( Berry and Graham 143 ) . When pupils were interviewed and asked about this they replied that â€Å" while they knew how to utilize the reckoner to transport out statistical trials, they did non experience wholly confident in making this † ( Berry and Graham 143 ) . Berry and Graham ‘s research discloses that pupils who lack reckoner cognition, abilities and assurance lack the same in respects to math. This has many deduct ions for instructors. Porchea ‘s survey indicated that instructors spent an copiousness of clip reassuring pupils on their usage of reckoners and supplying elaborate account refering pupils ‘ completed undertakings on the reckoner ( 50 ) . Quesada studied seven hundred and 70 pupils in college pre-calculus categories ( 206 ) . The control group survey required the usage of scientific reckoners and a regular math book. The experimental group used one type of charting reckoner and a text edition designed for charting reckoners. The experimental group scored higher on the concluding test than the control group. Consequences of the survey argued that the usage of the graphing reckoner and designed text edition facilitated apprehension, provided ability to look into replies, and saved clip. However, the pupils that used charting reckoners performed somewhat worse in the category than in old math categories ( Quesada 212 ) . Students voiced that they were concerned that while there were advantages t o graphic reckoner usage, they did non experience prepared for the following degree math class and sensed they were excessively dependent on the usage of reckoners in category. This demonstrates pupils ‘ deficiency of assurance in reckoner applications and their abilities to calculate mathematical jobs, even when having direction on reckoner usage and integrating of reckoner accomplishments in categories. Students must larn to utilize reckoners to the fullest extent to profit from the engineering. The Theory of Instrumentation, introduced by Berry and Graham, discusses reckoners as tools or instruments ( 141 ) . If, when utilizing a reckoner, pupils incorporate techniques to work out jobs the reckoner becomes a tool utilised to finish a undertaking. When a â€Å" strategy † or program is constructed by pupils while utilizing the reckoner, it evolves into an instrument ( Berry and Graham 1044 ) . The difference between pupils utilizing a reckoner as an instrument or tool shows whether they understand the capablenesss of the reckoner. They use this cognition to program and strategize a solution to a job ( instrument usage ) or they may be calculator smart and know all of the right buttons to force to acquire an reply ( usage as a tool ) . When pupils are utilizing the reckoner as an instrument they are making a solution to a job. Students frequently view calculator actions to be wholly separate from mathematical calculation and job resolution. Most pupils use reckoners as tools. Teachers should anticipate and demand reckoner usage as an instrument in their schoolrooms. When reckoners are used as instruments, pupils demonstrate cognition of how the reckoner works and what it can make. Berry and Graham studied 12 pupils as they worked on a set of two undertakings and found, through their key strokes, â€Å" that the pupils were excessively reliant on the reckoner without cognizing many of the anomalousnesss it may bring on † ( 146 ) . No strategy or program was evidenced by their key strokes, because the pupils did non make ways of working that incorporated the usage of the reckoner as an instrument ( Berry and Graham 142 ) . Students utilized the reckoner as a tool to happen an reply, non as an instrument to invent a program to work out a job. In Berry and Graham ‘s surveies, usage of the reckoners as tools impacted the pupils, but unluckily pupil cognition and understanding ne'er impacted how the reckoners were used ( 142 ) . Datas from McCulloch provides grounds that many pupils perceive the graphing reckoner to be a â€Å" tool that is of import because of its ability to decrease the thought involved in work outing a job † ( 43 ) , and they besides consider reckoners to be efficient tools in work outing jobs rapidly ( McCulloch 87 ) . The usage of a reckoner offers pupils a assortment of powerful new acquisition and job resolution schemes, but as a tool, it diminishes the demand for the pupil to get a high grade of accomplishment in symbol use ( Katsberg and Leatham 29 ) . Students must be knowing about reckoners to utilize them as instruments to happen ways to work out mathematical jobs. Whether reckoners are used by pupils as tools or instruments, they are merely every bit smart as their users and can merely execute operations when manipulated to make so. Therefore, pupils must understand the function and maps of the reckoners to utilize them efficaciously and expeditiously. The deficiency of cognition about the maps and problem-solving techniques of reckoners frequently consequences in pupil abuse and mistakes. While pupils know the basic procedures of reckoners, they are non cognizant of the particular maps, keys, and characteristics reckoners have, or the function of these in the usage of the reckoner to work out jobs. Students rarely go beyond the functionality of the reckoner to research the potency or restraints of the engineering. Berry and Graham revealed that pupils in their instance surveies were incognizant of many of the characteristics of the reckoners even though they had entree to and used reckoners every twenty-four hours in category. The pupils besi des made errors that would non hold been made without the usage of a reckoner. The advanced operations of reckoners, such as screen size and trigonometric maps, were ne'er explored by the topics in the surveies of Katsberg and Leathman ( 27 ) . For illustration, the pupils were required to chart a map and because they did non cognize to alter the screen size of the reckoner they graphed the incorrect map as their reply. They knew what the map should look like but because the reckoner showed them otherwise, they assumed the reckoner was right. If they had a on the job cognition of the maps of the reckoner, the pupils would hold known to alter the screen size. If they would hold graphed the map by manus, they would hold realized their error. In Katsberg and Leathman ‘s research, charting reckoners were found to be used predominately to look into algebraic solutions, find solutions diagrammatically, and to chart maps. When pupils understand the function and maps of reckoners, the y are comfy utilizing scheme and applications to work out mathematical jobs. Katsberg and Leatham ‘s research besides indicates that pupils become baffled and overwhelmed as they attempt to incorporate their cognition of mathematics with their developing apprehension and usage of a reckoner ( 28 ) . Brown et al. indicated through their research that instructors of high mathematics classs worry that reckoner usage by pupils may be a manner of acquiring replies without understanding mathematical procedures ( 102 ) . The bulk of the clip pupils do non utilize old cognition to work out jobs utilizing the reckoner. â€Å" When utilizing a in writing reckoner the pupils seemed to hold forgotten what they learned when they foremost started out plotting graphs † ( Berry and Graham 146 ) . There is a broad graduated table difference in the ability to work out a job utilizing a reckoner and the application of cognition and accomplishment to work out mathematical jobs through critical thought and reckoner applications. Berry and Graham found, through the keystroke research, that pupils frequently adopted a button pressing experimental scheme to work out jobs alternatively of understanding the procedure ( 147 ) . Dion et Al. reinforced this by reasoning that â€Å" The debut of reckoners into the course of study needfully invites pupils to larn keystroke instead than constructs † ( 433 ) . It is of import to separate between reckoner proficiency and the mathematical ability of pupils. The demand for pupils to regularly write down their work and reflect, instead than merely acquire the reply to a job, stems from this deficiency of pupil understanding in what a reckoner can make and how it is used. Quesada et Al. observed that pupils tend to automatically get down to seek to diagrammatically work out jobs alternatively of work outing them algebraically when reckoner usage is allowed in categories ( 213 ) . Students who were interviewed in McCulloch ‘s instance surveies indicated that â₠¬Å" reckoner usage is a security cyberspace sort of thing † supplying a opportunity to plug- in Numberss to happen replies when needed ( 2 ) . What follows is a false sense of security sing mathematical abilities and accomplishments. Calculator usage does non guarantee that a pupil is mathematically adept merely like the ability to make math does non bespeak strength in reckoner accomplishments My experience traveling through school supports my statement that reckoner usage in schools should be limited. Throughout my in-between school old ages we were allowed to utilize a TI-15 trade name reckoner. Slightly more advanced than a scientific reckoner, it allows for calculating and simplifying fractions and utilizing per centum marks. We seldom used them in category or on prep assignments. Due to the limited usage of the reckoners in in-between school, my Algebra I category during my first-year twelvemonth of high school was a zephyr. However, as a ten percent class high school pupil, TI-83 reckoners were required. TI-83 ‘s, available in every schoolroom, were used every twenty-four hours from that point frontward in my high school calling. Access to a reckoner at all times, fostered a dependance on utilizing it for a good sum of the work I did. When I arrived at North Carolina State University I was shocked that I was non allowed to utilize a reckoner in my math categori es. During my Calculus I category last semester, reckoner usage was non allowed in category at all, for any ground. Limited reckoner usage has continued this semester in my Calculus II category. I frequently find myself holding to re-study certain facets of mathematics because I became so dependent on my reckoner in high school. It was, and is non, an easy thing to make. College math professors move through stuff rapidly and supply small review clip in category. More research should be done to accurately show how reckoner usage in schools is impacting pupils, separately and as a whole, from the clip of passage from in-between school to high school and through graduation from high school. Calculator usage should be limited due to the many jobs pupils face when utilizing them. Even with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction ‘s authorization of reckoner usage in the schoolrooms, limited usage could be easy implemented. Teachers could delegate reckoner inactive prep and force pupils to demo all of their work. Another option would be to do assigned trials calculator inactive but allow clip for pupils to utilize the reckoner to look into their work one time they have finished the trial. Students might besides be required to demo all of their work on trials and quizzes with the reckoner available to them for usage. Restrictions could be set on reckoner usage by non leting the reckoners when pupils are larning new stuff. Checking work with the reckoner after quizzes, where reckoner usage is prohibited, might supply a great teaching minute as pupils begin to larn how they can look into their work or execute these undertakings accurately on the reckoner whi le reflecting on the completed work. The usage of a reckoner can do negative effects, but is non normally harmful until pupils become dependent and think they can non carry through mathematical undertakings and trials without them. If instructors do non necessitate pupils to demo their work on a regular basis, so they can non claim command of accomplishments in mathematics. Besides, instructors can non anticipate their pupils to claim command of mathematical accomplishments. With the restrictions above, or if instructors design their ain originative restrictions, the pupils ‘ mathematical ability will be even greater than what it is presently. It can non ache to restrict the usage of reckoners ; it will merely assist better college-bound pupils ‘ accomplishments as they enter college. It will besides increase the cognition and mathematical accomplishments and abilities of those who are graduating and traveling into the military or work force. This would break advance the ends of high schools, to fix and educ ate skilled, globally cognizant, and â€Å" future ready † pupils for tomorrow. Calculator usage in schools should be limited to better guarantee that pupils possess command of accomplishments without dependance on beginnings other than themselves in readying for the present and future.