Thessaloníki Case Essay Example for Free

Thessalonà ­ki Case Essay Salonica or Thessalonà ­ki means the victory of Thessalonian and it is the capital city of Macedonia and in Greece it is the second largest city while in the whole of Southern Eastern Europe, it one of the largest city. The city still retains a number of Jewish and Ottoman buildings together with a good number of Byzantine architectural monuments. Thessalonà ­ki was founded by a king from Macedon known as King Cassander at around 315 BC who gave it the name Thessalonà ­ki which was his wifes name and the wife was a half sister to Alexander the Great (David 2004). When the kingdom of Macedon was no more in 168 BC, the Roman Republic took over the city and it became one of its own. The city tremendously grew and it became the capital city of Macedonia. In 379 BC, the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was split into two which gave rise to the West and East Roman Empires and the new Prefecture named Thessalonà ­ki as its capital city. In 1204, immediately after the capture of Constantinople which happened by the fourth crusade, Thessalonà ­ki was redeemed and it was no longer under the Byzantine. (Donald 2000) In 1246, Thessalonà ­ki was recovered by the Byzantine Empire who later sold it to Venice in 1423 who ruled the city until on 1430 29th March, when Thessalonà ­ki was again captured by Ottoman Sultan Murad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over the reign of Ottoman, Thessalonà ­kis Jewish and Muslims increased in numbers and by 1478, the city had a total of 4,320 Muslims and 6,094 Greek Orthodox together with a good number of Catholics but there were no Jews. In order to prevent the Greeks from dominating Thessalonà ­ki, Ottoman welcomed the Sephardic Jews who were thrown out of Spain by Isabella and Ferdinand. For the next two centuries, Thessalonà ­ki grew to be the largest Jewish city in the whole world and it was nick named â€Å"The Mother of Israel† (Albert 1923). The Ottoman Empire was founded by the Turkish Osman but unfortunately it suffered so many problems like, the ancestor of the Mogul dynasty in India, the 1402 attack by the Tamerlane and the Mongol ruler of Samarkand. Constantinople was the main threat of the empire but when he was captured in 1453 it was an advantage to the Ottoman Empire since it was able to stabilize in the region. Thessalonà ­ki was under the empire until 1912, when it was worn back by the Greek about 90 years following the other Greece cities which had already gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire. The destruction of the Ottoman empire was overseen by the Mustafa Kemal who was born and brought up in Thessalonà ­ki in 1923, he later became the president of the Republic of Turkey. He was a very good leader but a dictator but he brought great reform in Turkey and he greatly emphasized on a strong Turkish nationalism which lead to him getting the title of â€Å"Father Of the Turks† in 1935.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the beginning of the 20th Century Thessalonà ­ki was dominated by the European but the situation changed and currently it is completely filled by the Greek. (Apostle 1980) In the late 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century, Thessalonà ­ki was drastically destroyed by a series of fire which resulted   in to the 1917 devastating fire incident that destroyed so many homes leaving many citizens being homeless and it resulted to the city center being rebuilt and re planned which took a period of twenty five years. In 1978, Thessalonà ­ki suffered a number of drastic earthquakes, which led to many casualties and disruption and it also destroyed many early churches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the time when Thessalonà ­ki came into being which is like 2,000 years ago, the Jewish in that city contributed so much in its development. From the foundation of Thessalonà ­ki the leader of Egypt who was also the initiator of the Ptolemaic dynasty had also acted as a Macedonian General working under Alexander the Great and his name was Ptolemy, I (Donald 2000). He was requested by the founder of Thessalonà ­ki Kassandra to give a number of his Jewish artisans to beef up the team that was building the city. When the Jewish Artisans went to Thessalonà ­ki they did not went back to their homeland after completing their task of rebuilding the city which resulted to the foundation of the Jewish community in Thessalonà ­ki. In 140 BC the Jewish from Alexandria also arrived in Thessalonà ­ki who were later followed by the Jewish from Macedonian who arrived in 10 AD. From the Holy Bible in the book of Acts of Apostles it is recorded that in 50 AD St Paul visited Thessalonà ­ki where he taught in the synagogue which shows that the Jewish community was already established in Thessalonà ­ki by then.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the following century very many Jews came to Thessalonà ­ki, but the largest mass migration of Jews to the city happened at the end of the 15th Century. (David 2004) By then the Jewish who were in Spain were doing very well for some time and it resulted into the Jewish community producing very great artists, scholars, artisans, traders, scientists, artists and philosophers. But in 1492 the trend suddenly came to an end when Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain and the inquisition felt like the Jewish were flourishing very much and if they could be given a chance they may be they could have planned on how to overthrow them hence they decided to do away with the threat and they threw them out of their territory. After the departure of the Jewish community from Spain, the Spanish dug out their cemeteries and they even set ablaze the areas where the Jewish were living and they even renamed those places by giving them new Christian names so as to do away and to forget the Jewish community, they even went to an extend of destroying anything that could have brought their memories back.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Ottoman Empire warmly welcomed the Spanish Jewish whom he saw as new taxpayer and he could not comprehend why the Spanish could do away with such important and valuable resource. From the middle of the 15th Century when the Ottoman Empire took over Thessalonà ­ki, that city had been almost abandoned thus the Jewish Community who were later joined by other Jews from different troubled parts had superior strength than other communities who later joined them (Edward 1947). They had authority in Thessalonà ­ki and they worked in different mines, they started the first printing house and just like they did in Spain, they produced very great artists, scholars, artisans, traders, scientists, artists and philosophers. They also did very well in businesses, commerce and in industries while their professionals established their own organizations and charitable institutions. The Jewish lived in prosperity and in harmony with other Christians and their Muslim neighbors they even ganged up with them in war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thessalonà ­ki was one of the very important cities in the Ottoman Empire and it remained under the Empire up to the year 1912. Thessalonà ­kis day of rest was Saturday which was the Jewish Sabbath Day. In October 1912, the city was captured by Greek and in March 1913, the king of Greece King George the first was assassinated in the city. In 1915, which was during the world war one, some forces captured the city and they wanted to use it as a base against the supporters of German Bulgarians. Later a mysterious fire accident attacked the city and it caused a lot of destruction and the results of the destruction was that a good number of Jewish population vacated the city and they resettled in different places like, America, Paris and Palestine (Albert 1913). The Jewish who vacated were replaced by Greek refugees who were evicted from Turkey in 1922 after the Greco-Turkish war. This caused the city to increased in size very fast and it was named â€Å"The Refugee Capital† while others called it â€Å" The Mother Of The Poor†. In 1941 Thessalonà ­ki was captured by the forces of Nazi Germany until 1944 but later it was attacked by bombing which drastically destroyed it while many Jewish were exterminated by the Nazis which resulted to only a thousand Jewish population remaining in the city. However, the citys glory was restored since it was rebuilt very fast after the war. (Apostle 1980) Currently Thessalonà ­ki has been transformed into a modern city which has very wonderful roads and boulevards that has been laid out and designed in a grid pattern. The city also has well designed and wonderful shopping streets, restaurants, hotels, concert hall and even nightclubs. Work Cited Albert H., The Government of Ottoman, New York : Alpha Publishers, 1913. Apostle Papagiannapoulos, History of Thessalonà ­ki, Wales :   DA Capo Press, 1982. Apostle Papagiannapoulos, Thessalonà ­ki, LA : Baton Rouge Press, 1980. David Willett, The Greece, West minister : West Minister John Knox Press, 2004. Donald Quataert, The Ottoman Empire, Wales: DA Capo Press, 2000. Edward Shepherd, The history Of Ottoman Empire, LA: Baton Rouge Press, 1947.

Enhancement Of Computer Literacy In Primary Students Education Essay

Enhancement Of Computer Literacy In Primary Students Education Essay INTRODUCTION 1. Commencement of use of Information and Communication Technology have been re-engineering almost all the fields of human life from basic needs like communicating with friend living abroad to fundamental needs like education, health and governance. That is not only a technological evolution but also a social revolution that enforces the primary students, to discover new habits, innovative morals and production of new life systems, so that to adapt with global change in human culture and life style. Our education system also to be formulate to meet this concept and to be aligned with this new technology. Hence, the innovative distribution of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for education of primary students is becoming compulsive need since the professionalism is the backbone that could change the culture and the society in time to time towards create outstanding living condition expected by the people. 2. Today, it is extremely important that a primary student should be competent with coherence in the area of computers and technology. It is impossible to be successful in todays job market and high tech lifestyle, if our primary students are failed for timely educate as early as possible to suit the existing requirement to this subject. 3. The computer literacy is now an essential tool that all students must be familiar with in order to complete their routine studies and focusing for future job demand. Whatever our job; Teacher, Planner, Lawyer, Accountant or Salesperson; computer literacy are mandatory them to succeed. Primary students are also need to gain certain level of computer literacy in order to complete basic every day skills to face our future society. In Central Colleges in Sri Lanka most of the primary students are aware with computer studies but they have to use it in a way to achieve mandatory results need for join the future world and join the future community. 4. The use of the internet facility is highly required skill for students and they are to thoroughly master it definitely. Computer literacy and Internet are almost one; in the same thing usually one isnt mentioned without the other tagging along. Without the Internet, there would be no way to instantly find the name of a famous book your favorite writer was in five years ago. Primary students will need to be familiar with the Internet in all types of educational methods whether it is research on any topic or surfing for information. For this purpose primary students need to know what a search engine is and how it works, what a keyword is and how it works, how to open a browser and how to use a link, etc. The Internet is a huge wealth of information that every students should take advantage for gather information skills. There are web sites that will help primary students to find educational tours by posting their resume online. Online skills allow primary students to learn and share social, cultural, environmental facts of other countries, people and religions. Many secondary level students today are now getting their degree online in the comfort of their own homes on their own schedule. Its amazing how today with a couple of clicks, every student can go anywhere in the world in two, three seconds without leaving their computer. 5. Promotion of computer literacy is one of the most essential areas in education. The important role which it plays is intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development of children. The students normally use sensory perceptions to know his immediate surroundings. It is automatically widens his vision. The computer literacy skills of students are not a one time experience. It is a continuous lifetime experience. It is accepted that a proper skills of Computer Literacy has to be inculcated and nurtured in the early years of age. 6. It must be distinguished as the ability to work with understanding and appreciation. In Sri Lanka computer is mostly a Information Communication Technological skill which is brought about by brute repetition of a given stimulus together with the appropriate response. It is a matter of some doubt whether all children have acquired the ability to learn in the genuine sense, by the time they have reached school leaving age. It needs at least four years to attain the computer skill and is it reasonable to expect these children who drop out after primary level to sustain that skill afterwards? Computer literacy is a not a severe complex process. It is an average simple skill which once learned, can be increased with referral to the Information Technological contented publications. CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY AIM 1. This paper will emphasis and analyze why the children are not skilled in Computer Literacy and for examine the factors which determine computer literacy in children and what steps have to be taken for the enhancement of computer literacy and information technological skills in primary school children in Central Colleges in Sri Lanka. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 2. It is required to study of Primary level students of Central Colleges computer literacy and the present environment to enhance their capabilities in computer literacy. In this research need to focus on their Computer educational system and clarify the difficulties and the to the mechanism that they required to strengthen the computer literacy, information technology aspects, as considering the future job opportunities that can be gained by primary students in Central Colleges Sri Lanka. 3. The question is at present scenario is ,the primary school students in Central Colleges in Sri Lanka have not been able to acquire the required standard of Computer literacy, and information technology to enhance their minimum skills required in Computer field. 4. This paper will identify and analyze why the Computer Literacy in primary students is dwindling, the factors which determine literacy and suggest recommendation for the promotion of mechanism that needs to enhance skills, knowledge in primary level students. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS 5. Mechanism will be strengthening to face the future job demand. In this aspect is to be achieved in a way of researching experimental computer study of guidance in formulation with Government educational policies on Information Technology for enhancement of Computer Literacy of primary students in Central Colleges SCOPE OF STUDY The scope of this research focused on the primary students in Grade 1 to Grade 5, their teachers and principals are to extract their ideas by questionnaire and interviews. Also the research will analyze educational specialists personal views on what should be the background surrounding the primary school children to promote their Computer literacy. The anonymity of the researcher was maintained by asking questions from certain group heads and teachers under the name of a consented individual. The purpose was to eliminate biased answers which may be given as a result of the fact that the questions are presented by a known IT instructor. This is also to investigate any differences in response for the same questions based on computer literacy. This method is adopted as the topic is of sensitive nature and based entirely on individual attitudes. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION 7. Data collection methods are as follows. a. Primary source. (1) Primary source of information were collected by interviewing IT educationists and heads of schools. (2) Further data collection done by a questionnaire prepared for the primary school students and their teachers. b. Secondary sources. Books, paper articles and websites used as the secondary sources of information. CHAPTER ORGANIZATION The thesis is structured as follows : a. CHAPTER I Introduction b. CHAPTER II Methodology CHAPTER III Computer Literacy of Primary Students in Central Colleges (1) Computer literacy introduction of primary students (2) Present literacy skills and IT environment of primary students CHAPTER IV Weather educational support and the required guidance and assistance will provide to enhance the computer literacy How teachers adopt educational method to improve computer literacy of students through policies of educational department. How the other aspects on infrastructure facilities given to improve on computer literacy of primary students (3) Enhancement of Computer literacy and IT Skills of Students i Learning interests of students ii Students interests in internet iii College IT Environment iv Teachers opinion about Computer literacy CHAPTER V Impact of Computer Literacy for primary students at Central Colleges and future Job demand at society (1). How the computer literacy help to increase job demand for future society (2). Increase job demands and the computer literacy as main educational aspects of needs in primary students. CHAPTER VI Reasons behind the inefficiency of present practices on computer studies of students. Why the basic computer needs cannot preserve the computer education at Central Colleges Present skills of students and personal interest on computer literacy of primary students. Education level of primary students in line with present technology changes behind computer educational systems. Awareness studies and competency of teachers on newly introduced software systems and theories on computer studies. Other aspects that can be used to increase the computer studies. The malfunction exist in routine and system stability on computer studies of students Advantages and disadvantages of utilizing adequate study hours for increase computer literacy. CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII j. CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER III LANGUAGE APTITUDE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN 1. Language is a process that helps people to express themselves and to make effective social relationship among people all over the world. It is through language that people could acquire information to improve their basic needs such as health habits, consciousness, scientific changes and different types of skills to earn a living. Piaget, the renowned physiologist believed that the real key to human intellectual development, conceptual development, is language. Language is the most effective mode of communication. The lack of language ability often hinders ones progress.  [1]  The language aptitude and literacy performance of the primary level indicates the standards of childrens reading habits and information skills. LANGUAGE LEARNING OUTCOME IN SRI LANKA 2. Sri Lanka has attained the first generation education objective of providing widespread access to primary education (grades 1-5). However one major challenge that the country has to overcome is the moderate level of learning achievement in language proficiency among primary school children.  [2]   3. According to recent studies carried out by NIE and NEREC, University of Colombo only between 35 to 38 per cent of primary school students have achieved standard level of their mother tongue (Annex B). This is a serious constraint to further learning, as all subsequent studies will draw on the childs mother tongue capability. 4. There is a considerable difference in the achievement of mastery level in their first language between urban and rural schools. According to the above studies more than 40 per cent of urban children achieve mastery level in their mother language contrast to below 34 per cent in rural areas. Also more than 1/3 of pupils have failed to achieve standard level for their mother language. This shows the dwindling of reading habits and information skills among primary school children. 5. The regional disparity in achieving mastery level in first language is clearly shown in Table III.I. 41.24 per cent of Western province Grade 5 students achieve mastery level in contrast to 42.40 percent in Uva province students have failed to achieve the required standard level. This shows how the availability of physical and human resources affects performance. Mastery = 80% 100% Non Mastery = 0 59% Table III.I Achieving mastery levels in literacy in Grade 5 by provincial levels Source Performance of Grade 5 students in literacy and numeracy NIE LITERACY SKILLS OF CHILDREN 5. According to the research project on development of language skills among primary school children carried out by NLDC (Annex C), the overall performance of Grade 2 pupils is satisfactory. There is hardly any disparity between districts or among school types. 6. The Grade 4 assessment revealed disparity in performance among the districts and between school types. AAVG level schools show highest performance while SS level schools show poor performance. These variations in performance pin-point the inequalities in distribution of learning and teaching facilities for the school subjects, particularly in language skills. 7. More than half of the number of pupils in the sample have not been able to attain the expected achievement level for the vocabulary synonyms/ antonyms, spelling and grammatical writing ability and creative wring skills for the Grade, after four years of schooling. This suggests that they are suffering from lack of reading habits.  [3]   CHAPTER IV READING INTERESTS AND INFORMATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN READING INTERESTS OF CHILDREN 1. There is no particular age at which a child should actually begin the process of learning to read. It should appeal to real activity, to spontaneous work based upon personal need and interest.  [4]  Children have an innate desire to know about their surroundings. As the child develops learning through sensory perception, he becomes more and more curious to understand his environment; what has happened and what is happening are his interests. 2. Children may come to understand an important part of their world through the experience of reading. They start to learn about reading in a natural and incidental way.  [5]  If a book satisfies childs needs, he will start reading it for pleasure. A child begins acquaintance with a book by looking at pictures. If the book catches his interest, he returns to the book again. Also he is being exposed to the printed word in the environment such as bus boards, various posters on the highway, road signs, labels of goods in the market, advertisements on television and newspapers. The child sees lots of words in his environment and tries to grasp them meaningfully. Therefore, most children have a form of awareness of the printed word.  [6]   3. According to the study it has clearly shown that children are interested in books, magazines, childrens papers and they have a thirst for information, knowledge and communication. This inbuilt desire and interest found in children has to be harnessed to improve their reading habits and information skills. As such it is the duty and responsibility of the parent, the teacher and the authorities to take the full use of it.  [7]   Table IV.I would like to spend my Table IV.II would like to spend my leisure time à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.- Grade 2 leisure time à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.- Grade 4 CHILDRENS INTERESTS IN MEDIA 4. The child gets motivated to read when he hears stories or when an adult reads aloud a story to him. Today the child could get this type of satisfaction through the mass media. When children watch television or listen to the radio, those programmes which are meant for children create awareness and need for reading and they could be made use of to develop reading habits and information skills. 5. As per the study it is revealed that Both Grade 2 and 4 childrens best television programme is cartoon stories. Most of children like to listen to songs and stories by radio. These interests could be made use of in varied ways to develop reading habits and information skills in the classroom and home. Table IV.V Interest on Television Table IV.VI Interest on Television Grade 2 Grade 4 Table IV.V Interest on Radio Table IV.VI Interest on Radio Grade 2 Grade 4 Table IV.I Grade 2 Table IV.II Grade 4 Childrens interests on childrens paper 6. Above two tables indicate that a very high percentage of children in all three districts read childrens papers. It was found that this is a habit developed by the good teachers of those schools by exchanging papers within the class, when those parents who could afford to buy papers for their children bring them to school. This high percentage suggests that if reading materials are made available to children, and then reading habits and information skills of primary school children could be definitely improved. CHAPTER V READING AND CHILDHOOD ENVIRONMENT 1. As a foundation for the development of reading habits and information skills, the four language skills listening, speaking, writing and reading has to be developed in the classroom and the home. The child should be able to read with ease and facility in order to develop reading as a habit. The first requisite for this is to gain ability to identify letters and words. Then the child has to read words and sentences to infer meaning and gain knowledge, information etc. This is a complex process.  [8]   2. Reading skills could develop only if reading materials are available. Non availability of suitable reading materials create serious limitations in developing reading habits. Hence the laying of foundation on a sound footing is the responsibility of the parent, the teacher and the school. SCHOOL BACKGROUND 3. A teaching-learning situation is significantly affected by the availability of building with sufficient number of classrooms, seating accommodation and furniture. Primary sections of some popular urban schools have more than 50 pupils in one classroom, which could accommodate only 40. This situation has resulted adversely. Neither the teacher nor the pupil could move about freely to give and receive individual attention.  [9]   4. The situation is worse in some schools where the classes are conducted in unpartitioned open halls. In such schools both teaching and learning has become drudgery and some teachers are force to conduct classes under the trees in the garden.  [10]   5. The teacher is the key factor in improving reading skills and habits in pupils when resources are sub standard. In those schools the teacher is the only source of learning. Out of the 25 teachers who supplied information through the questionnaire, 21 are primary education trained and 3 are trained graduates. However the response of head of the schools revealed that there are quite number of teachers who are not trained. The standard of education undoubtedly recedes when teachers are not trained for the profession. 6. Out of 15 schools exclusively primary education is given in only 5 schools. In those schools primary education is entirely managed by a Deputy Head. Of other 8 school primary heads three are trained five are graduates with post diploma. Academic professional status of the head of the school, his attitude toward improving the mother tongue, commitment to his profession, his support in providing reading materials and promoting reading habits is of significance in this context. 7. Out of 15 schools of the sample five schools do not posses libraries catering to the reading needs of primary school children. Out of the 10 school libraries three of them have 100 500 books. Three school libraries have less than 1000 books and two National schools in Colombo district and one National school in each other two districts have a wealth of 3000 or more books. The two schools in the sample which have a few books received as a donation complained that there are no storage facilities available for them even to keep them safely. Out of the 15 schools 7 schools do not buy even a single newspaper. In the mean time out of rest 8 schools only 5 schools buy childrens paper for the primary school children.  [11]   8. Except for the national schools librarians trained for the job are not available in the rest of the schools. In most of these schools a teacher from the staff helps in the library. In three schools a girl is employed for the work in the library paying a nominal fee. 9. This clearly displays the disparity between schools with sub standard resources and schools with above average standard resources. This fact substantiates the view presented earlier that the socio economic level at home and school affect achievement level of children. TEACHERS OPINION ABOUT READING 10. The response presented by the 25 teachers of the schools of the sample revealed that children are really interested in reading and teachers do their best to promote reading by managing classroom libraries under difficult situations. Each child in the classroom brings a story book at the beginning of the year. Sometimes teachers give the names of the list of story books. Also those who can afford to buy childrens paper bring them to the class. These books and papers are exchanged among the pupils. There by teachers help children to develop reading habits. Instead in some schools teachers get a few books, about thirty from the secondary school library and distribute them among children once a month or so. 11. Some teachers are of the opinion that the primary syllabuses contain far too much material for the year that they cannot complete and it is difficult for them to concentrate on developing the reading habits individually. There should be verity in the content of the curriculum to cater individual needs. Also they pointed out that Grade 2 and Grade 4 even Grade 5 text books do not motivate children to read as the stories do not awaken their feeling and curiosity. Stories do not create opportunities for children to think. Therefore the teachers say that children mechanically read by heart, even if they cannot identify letters, words or meaning of what they pretend to read. Therefore the authorities concerned have to be more cautious in the selection and grading curriculum and text book content. 12. Teachers also revealed that in addition to the scarcity of reading material, children of sub standard and average type schools suffer from other deficiencies such as socio economic conditions at home, large families, parents not been educated, their inability to realize the importance of reading. 13. Method of teaching plays an important role in learning situation. What was observed was teachers are more concerned with covering the syllabus, merely using general methods of teaching without thinking of special and innovative techniques and individual differences of learners. There is hardly any system of evaluating reading. Teachers do not seem to undertake feedback programmes and maintain record of it. Lack of teaching aids was observed in most of the schools and teachers depend only on Talk and Chalk. HOME BACKGROUND 14. Research done in western countries has revealed that success in reading had been achieved by children who were provided with plenty of opportunities for reading and access to books. Avid readers had stories read or told to them regularly by parents or grand parents.  [12]   15. Children read anything and everything they get hold of as they are interested in reading. If is therefore the duty of the adults to select suitable books for children, as they cannot discriminate between suitable books and books not suitable for them and evaluate them. 16. It is assumed that when family size is large, children do not get equal need satisfaction enjoyed by children of small families of the same income level. In the questionnaire the family size of pupils was divided in to two categories. a. Category 1 Number of family members four or less b. Category 2 Number of family members five or more Table V.I Indicating family size 17. According to the table V.I in Colombo district smaller sized families percentage is higher than other two districts. This factor seemed to have affected the achievement performance of children, as it is apparent from the highest ML percentage in Colombo district. 18. Parental support in supplying reading materials such as books, papers and magazines undoubtedly helped development of childrens reading habits and information skills. This in turn is conditioned by the socio economic status of parents. Table V.II Table V.III indicate the number of books Grade 2 and Grade 4 children posses is quite eloquent of this factor. Table V.II No. of books children posses for supplementary reading Grade 2 Table V.III No. of books children posses for supplementary reading Grade 4 19. The table V.II shows 10 per cent of Grade 2 pupils in Colombo district have more than 10 books for extra reading while other two districts children have below 10 books. Also the table V.III indicates 54 per cent of Grade 4 pupils in Colombo district have more than 10 books for extra reading while other two districts it is below by 36 per cent. This factor also seemed to have affected the achievement performance of children, as it is apparent from the highest ML percentage in Colombo district. 20. The names of books read by pupils indicate that they read whatever those come in their way, they have no choice. They read anything and everything they get hold of as they are interested in reading. It is therefore, the duty of the adults to select suitable books for children as they cannot discriminate between suitable books and books not suitable for them and evaluate them. Daily % Sundays % Sometimes % Never % Kandy 12.9 40.5 35.3 11.2 Kalutara 19.5 34.5 32.7 13.3 Colombo 22.4 41.3 28.4 7.8 Total % 18.2 38.8 32.2 10.7 Table V.IV Houses that buy newspapers Grade 4 21. 10.7 per cent of the overall sample of childrens parents do not buy a newspaper. However 38.8 per cent of the sample buy Sunday newspapers. This may be due to the fact that other form of mass media like the television and radio are being sought after for enjoyment and getting information. Thereby a good opportunity that the parents could offer in motivating the child to develop his habit of reading is neglected. It is only a very poor percentage of parents buy newspapers daily. Even in Colombo district 22.4 per cent of the sample only buy newspapers daily. It may have been caused by two factors. It may be due to lack of money or of time to read papers. Whatever it is, if the parents could afford to buy newspapers daily it would be a motivation for the child to read and improve their information skills. CHAPTER VI SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 1. More than 1/3 of primary school pupils have failed to achieve standard level for their mother language. 2. Most of Grade 2 pupils have acquired the language skills satisfactorily. 3. a. More than 50 per cent of pupils have not acquired the language skills expected for the grade, at the end of the year. b. Performance of Grade 4 pupils in vocabulary synonyms/ antonyms, spelling and grammatical writing ability and creative wring skills are very poor. 4. There is a marked disparity in achievement of language skills among districts and between school types. 5. There is no equitable provision of physical and human resources available in schools as yet for the promotion of reading habits and information skills. 6. Most of the primary schools of the sample do not posses libraries. Lack of suitable reading materials, librarians, varied kinds of books, a large quantity of books of quality to cater to varied needs and interests of primary children are found to be obstacles which stand in the way of development of reading habits and information skills. 7. The curriculum, text books and methods of teaching do not seem to suit the changed society of the modern day and it will not provide any encouragement to children for the improvement of reading habits. 8. The parental support and encouragement at home is not enough for the children to develop reading habits and information skills. 9. Family size the and the socio economic status of parents affect to the development of reading habits and information skills of children. 10. Children are interested in books, magazines, childrens papers and they have a thirst for information, knowledge and communication. CHAPTER VII CONCLUSION 1. Reading is one of the most important components of language. It is a basic tool subject especially in primary school. Reading helps to learn all the other areas of the school curriculum and provides vital means of learning. Reading is believed as a process of acquiring information, receiving a massage from a print in a meaningful way. 2. Reading is of greatest significance to the educationist because it is their responsibility to guide the child to develop his total personality for the welfare of the individual child and for the welfare of the entire society and also because it is the right of the child to be literate. It is important for children to read good books and develop their reading habits and information skills, in order to grow physically and mentally. Good reading habits are necessary for a healthy intellectual growth. 3. It is a matter of some doubt whether all children have acquired the ability to read in the genuine sense, by the time they have reached school leaving age. Teacher influence, home background and book provision hold the key to an improvement in reading. The main objective of carrying out this study was to find out the reason for deficiency in readi

The Impact of Internet Pornography on American Society Essay -- Intern

Pornography is nothing new to American society, so why would there be a problem with the merging of the internet and pornographic material? Why would it make a difference if the material is online or in a magazine? In this paper, the issue of internet porn will be discussed in terms of its relation to the addiction of online porn, desensitization to sexual violence and rape, encouragement of sexual violence, objectification of women, sexual compulsiveness, and the reshaping of expectations regarding sex and body images. Internet porn has become increasingly popular, and one reason for this is because it is easily accessible and can be kept relatively private. There is no need to order any materials or go to a store to buy the magazines. With internet porn, viewers can access a multitude of materials right on the internet. The variety is endless and the gratification is instant. According to The US News & World Report, 17.5 million surfers visited porn sites from their home computers in January of 2004, which is a 40% increase from 4 months earlier (Dew, 2004). The easy access and variety of materials has been known to cause addiction in online viewers, as pointed out by The BBC Website, â€Å"Internet porn is available in much larger quantities than traditional porn and at a cheaper cost†¦this may be a good case of having ‘too much of a good thing’†(Kadu, 2004). The current numbers of people who are addicted to porn are unclear, but the estimate according to the Minnesota Family Institute (2004) runs as high as 5 million. As with other forms of addiction, this creates the opportunity for problems in other areas of the addict’s life. Viewers tend to treat people as â€Å"†¦mere objects of... ...rences Anderson, Kerby. (2004). The Pornography Plague. Probe Ministries [Online]. Available: http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/pornplag.html Dew, Diane. (2004). Social & Psychological Effects of Porn [Online]. Pornography & the Bible. Available: http://dianedew.com/porn.htm [2004, February 17]. Kadu, Flyer. (2004). Internet Pornography-The Issues. BBC [Online]. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A523504 [2004, February 15]. Minnesota Family Institute. (2004). Pornography: Don’t Protect It, Reject It. Backgrounder-Analyzing Current Issues. [Online]. Available: http://www.mfc.org/resources/backgrounders/pornography.htm (2004, Winter).Public Libraries, Pornography, and the Damage Done: A Case Study.Library Administration & Management, v18no1. 8-13. (2004, January 19). The Porn Factor. Time v163no3. 99-101.

A Comparison of My Two Speeches -- Apeech Evaluation Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Comparing my self-introduction speech (my first speech), to my persuasive speech (my last speech) was interesting. They were completely different topics but with a slight improvement in speaking ability. I increased my ability to maintain eye contact while I reduced the amount of nervous body language. I saw improvements in my speech preparation and structure, as well as in the delivery of the speech.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First I am going to talk about the difference in eye contact and nervous body language between the first speech and the last speech. In my first speech my face was flushed a cherry red, I was shaking, and every time I would try to make eye contact I would lose all train of thought. In my last speech I was not nearly as nervous, you could tell by the color of my face. I was not ...

The Memoirs of Abbot Guibert of Nogent Essays -- Abbot Guibert Nogent

The Memoirs of Abbot Guibert of Nogent When thinking about a medieval monastery the first thing that comes to mind is the origin of the word monastery which comes from the Greek monos, meaning alone. Monasticism in itself is a way of life that is devoted to God in seclusion. A large part of monasticism is isolation, not only from the neighbors but from family. When taking the vows to be a monk one not only completely devotes ones life to God but all friends, family and earthly possessions are left behind. Taking the vows of monasticism takes brutal dedication and severe strength. What pushed Guibert of Nogent into monasticism is that his mother withdrew from the world after his father’s death. During that time he was left alone and became very rebellious. He also was drawn to the medieval reform of monasticism which gave it a more community aspect. Thirdly, literature and history became a large part of the monastery during the middle ages and Guibert wanted to be a successful writer and historian. When Guibert join ed the monastery he joined a strict religious order that had come along way form the time of hermits and the reforms where relevant to him, for the most part. Guibert of Nogent became a monk because he was suited for monastic existence and to give himself the restraints and success he wanted from life. He was at a young age and was left without guidance and became boisterous. On his adolescence, he says, â€Å"I emulated older boys in their juvenile rowdiness, and I was completely bereft of responsibility and discretion.† When he was left on his own Guibert became very unsettled and this lead to issues with himself and other around him. He wanted the structure and dedication that life in a monastery provides. His mother wanted him to go beyond the church and was very against him going into the monastery. Taking that into consideration it gives Guibert a very difficult choice but he chose the one he wanted due to the guidance of the abbot. In addition, he states how upset his mother was with him becoming a monk: â€Å"†¦Invested me with it while my mother watched in tears from afar†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows how he is willing to disappoint his mother to please himself and that proves his dedication. When thinking about the sacrifices Guibert gave up in order to live the m onastic life. It’s what he truly wanted to be, a person cannot just join a monastery you have to... ... monk and that’s because of his dedication, community and his educational values. He felt that the times when monks liked in isolation where over and he was able to match to this because of his relationship with his mother. He knew she was his guidance and he needed that assistance and comfort she provided for him. He enjoyed the community aspect by showing his authority by being an active member of society. That was fueled by his need to be a critic on ever aspect of his abbacy and religious order. He was also very dedicated to reading and writing which gave him a niche within the education aspect of the medieval monastery. Guibert of Nogent became a monk because he was suited for monastic existence and to give himself the restraints and success he wanted from life. Works Cited Guibert of Nogent. Self and Society In Medieval France: The Memoirs of Abbot Guibert   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  of Nogent. Edited and Translated By John F. Benton. Toronto: University of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Toronto Press, 1984. Benton, John F. ed â€Å"Introduction† Self and Society In Medieval France: The Memoirs of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abbot Guibert of Nogent. Edited and Translated By John F. Benton. Toronto:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University of Toronto Press, 1984.

Business In Internet Essay

1. Is Twitter just a bright idea or a real business opportunity? To what extent does Twitter’s situation reflect the past record of its founders? In my opinion, I think twitter is a good business opportunity. Like other internet service, twitter has a large number of users, which provide a potential revenue foundation. At present, twitter’s priority is to find a revenue model to transfer the abundant of users to money. If twitter finds thus a model, it will become another internet service giant in the world. At present, Twitter’s functional model is not original intention of the founder, William, which is an incident idea. After that, the founder notice that this model is suitable with people’s wants, allowing to disseminate information to others in real-time. The founder has a good idea for establishing company but not having a good idea to earn profit from the business. 2. A). what is Twitter’s Advantages and challenges given it chosen technology configuration? First, Twitter is easy to use. Twitter only focus on using text to communication. Users can easily to use twitter without learning or training. The challenge for the method is that text is dull. Some of users would feel twitter is not attractable. Second, web-based platform is another advantage for Twitter. Users can use Twitter service by accessing website from different systems. In my opinion, open source platform will bring twitter a great potential. Users can develop own application on Twitters according to their own interests. However, open source also has challenges that the malicious application can spread without proper supervision. B). what are the benefits and challenges for corporations looking to use Twitter internally and externally Benefit for internally using Twitter: the communication among employees or managers would be efficient because Twitter is just-in-time communication platform. Managers can use Twitter to transmit their order to the specific followers (employees); employees also can report work to managers by using the same method. Challenges for internally using Twitter: it is very different to organize the followers. And it is also danger to use Twitter to transmit business confidence. Using Twitter also can increase whisper or rumor spreading inside the corporates. Benefit for externally using Twitter: the customers can get new product information of the corporate on time, which is a good promotion and marketing method. The challenge for externally using Twitter is that marketing effect coverage significantly depends on the internet. 3. What has been Twitter’s marketing approach to date, and is it sustainable? Right now, in my opinion, Twitter has a very simple marketing approach to earn money, firstly, using abundant users to attract venture capital investors. Secondly, Twitter sells â€Å"@† (Twitter name) to big companies or big events. At present, none of twitter functions charge personal users. Most of its expenditure comes from the venture capital. For a long term, this approach cannot survive; however, the investors know the potential of Twitter. In the future, Twitter will provide difference revenue model to earn profit. 4. Can Twitter ever earn profits? If so, what are the best ways it can monetize? In my opinion, Twitter can earn profits in the future, if it does that: adopting advertising models would be a good method to earn money. Secondly, it is necessary to create paid content for users who want to have further service. Thirdly, Twitter can cooperate with publishers, job agencies, etc. collecting commission.

The Environmental impact of tourism is always harmful – Discuss

As demands for tourism and recreation increases for example due to an aging but active population , new interest in nations heritage and people seeking quiet environments so too will their impact on other socio economic structures in society, tourist environments and wildlife habitats. In Bali, Kenya and the lake District much of the early development was uncontrolled and badly planned. Development was driven by the momentum for growth and the developers desires for fast profits, without any thought being given to the future. These areas which are shaped by the forces of nature are now under threat, if not in the process of being physically damaged and destroyed. In Kenya tourism is mainly Safari and Beach orientated. The wildlife related tourism brought an increased amount of visitors into Kenya through the 1990s, boosting the LEDCs economy. However many of the areas that are most valuable to the tourist trade are the wildlife filled parks that have been inhabited by people like the Masai for hundreds of years. Tourism has been environmentally harmful here where the sheer number of visitors and amount of Safari traffic is seriously damaging the vegetation cover and the vehicles are causing soil erosion. Also the increase in tourism has meant an increase in the long haul travel which is now seriously contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Problems created are going to be more severe in the ELDW than in the EMDW . Many of the tourist souvenirs are made by the locals are made of ebony and the trees are cut down faster than replaced. However tourism has not always been harmful to the environment and can benefit an area where the marine life has been re appraised and is beginning to be viewed as valuable. Like the marine park at Watamu off the coast of Milindi which was set up to preserve the coral reefs and to provide an additional visitor attraction. Not only has tourism brought environmental impacts that are harmful to Kenya, it has brought economic impacts that are harmful. At least 40% of tourist revenue is leaked outside to airlines and travel companies. You can read also Waves The result of beach tourism has caused a rapid increase of land prices along the coast, well beyond the purchasing power of local African farmers. The improvements in infrastructure has also contributed to land price inflation and encouraged further speculative hotel buildings on what was good agricultural land. I don't agree though that the impact is always harmful as the locals have benefited from these improvements in infrastructure. Furthermore tourism had overtaken coffee on Kenya's major export earner: it equalled 43% of export earning in 1990. Additionally tourism was an employer in both the formal and informal sector. In Bali the environmental impact of tourism has nearly always been harmful. The number of tourists visiting Bali was fairly low until the late sixties when the numbers dramatically increased. This was due to the governments five year plan to encourage tourism to the area. The growth in tourism caused harmful environmental impacts . Raw sewage was dumped into the sea as the infrastructure cannot cope with tourists. This damages the reefs. The wake from motor boats also destroys the coral as does the actions of those trying to collect it to sell to tourists. Once damaged there is nothing stop the waves hitting the beach directly, resulting in beach erosion that threatens coconut plantations, farmland and land on which hotels are built. Tourism in Bali has led to threat of extinction of numerous breeds of turtle whose eggs are now collected as a delicacy from tourists and the bodies of which as stuffed or made into trinkets. On the other hand this led to the environmental benefit of the convention on international trade in endangered species forcing the Indonesian government to tighten their controls on the treatment of animals. As the number of tourists increases so does infrastructure of roads , electricity mains, water, airports and car parks being created. Though its association with pollution has been a problem. The main beach in Bali Kuta has been spoiled. There is severe beach erosion of up to 2cm a year and the combat the litter problem people are employed to bury the rubbish each morning. Tourism also brought violent crime which was unknown to Bali before 1979, drug dealing , prostitution and theft increased. However in Bali a marine park of Bunaken off N Sula west was set up because of tourism. As the potential impact of tourism on the natural environment was recognised, suitable conservation projects were set up. Even though the environmental impact of tourism was harmful, I brought many economic benefits. Many new jobs were created especially in hotels, travel agencies and the craft and entertainment industries e. g. 7000 applicants for 400 jobs at the new Bali-Hyat hotel. There is a revival of some traditional arts and crafts aimed at the tourist market wood carvers, jewellery making, weaving, Batik. Also Balinese dancers now come to the larger hotels to perform for guests when originally the tourists would have had to go into the villages to see them. Again there have been economic costs where many of the economic benefits have not been evenly spread. Resorts in the South have benefited whilst those in the North east have not. This has lead to conflict between the two areas over the distribution of tourist receipts. At village level much of the money from tourism in being spent on schools, cultural improvements, temple maintenance. However increasingly the money is being spent on imported goods, which don't benefit the island economy. Land prices have increased between 1969 and 1970 by 40% in tourist areas this was 120%. In resort areas previously agricultural land use was for growing food for the islanders was sold off to resorts offering to pay hundreds of times the price it would fetch on agricultural land. To prevent the impact of tourism from being harmful again measures were taken by locals. Boards were put up on gates and walls warning tourists that certain ceremonies were private. Trees were planted and flowers. A restaurant association was established and elected its own leader. This was followed by the art shop, guest houses and bus drivers and dancer troupes. A map of the village was published by the organisation with full explanation of how to behave in the village an example of greater control by indigenous population. In the Lake District which is an MEDW, I don't agree the environmental impact is almost always harmful. The lake district is one of the UKs national parks which has two purposes to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the lake district, was well to promote opportunities for understanding and enjoyment of special qualities of the national park and a duty to foster the economic and social well being of local communities within the park. These aims inevitably create conflicts of interest either between local people and visitors because users and uses cannot easily be easily restricted to certain areas of zoning. Footpath erosion is a widespread environmental impact and clear sign of visitor pressure. It is caused by people not sticking to the footpath because they don't want to or it is flooded or poor management. The other causes of footpath erosion climate due to heavy rain, strong winds and frost. The type of vegetation as mat grass, bents and fesules resist trampling best, the aspect, erosion is more likely to happen on slopes less than 18 and the pressure of use. However it is not always harmful as management strategies have been introduced which direct visitors along alternative routes: repair and maintain through drainage by placing small drainage channels along the path side so that rainwater is channelled away more quickly. They can construct the path using techniques such as pitching which is sinking stones into the path so that only the tops show to give a hard surface. Also matting can be used stabilizing the path over boggy ground. Furthermore the path can be repaired using methods such as levelling off the scar and the banks on its sides. Re seeding the grass with mat grass and fescues which better resist the effects of trampling. In the lake district the environmental impact is not always harmful as LDNPA ensures tourism is sustained and managed. To prevent congestion on the roads and air pollution. Roads are closed to traffic in tourist season and weekends. Tourists encouraged to ‘walk in and walk out' i. e. not using cars. Also to preserve the environment and to make the environmental impact less harmful they have a concentration of high visitor densities with a small number of honey pots with high carrying capacity such as Windermere. At the other extreme there are natural lakes on which no use of the water surface is allowed e. g. wast water. These are managed at low carrying capacities to give low density, quiet, leisure experiences. In such areas negative planning controls are used to restrict accessibility and hence control numbers of visitors. E. g. not upgrading the narrow winding roads over the passes from honey pots and not providing more parking spacing. The make the environmental impact less harmful. On top of this again to make the impact of tourism less harmful the LSNPA is the Development control or planning authority for the whole lake district. It must approve all new buildings/ changes to buildings or land use. Tries to protects the area from development out of character with the landscape . It does not stop all developments and must allow change to develop in response to peoples needs as long as the doesn't damage the qualities and character of the national park. Overall it would seem that in that tourism in the LEDW has had an adverse impact on the environment, degrading the resources on which it depends. The damage was from the overuse and misuse of resources together with poor management and planning. However in the MEDW in the lake district they have been able to sustain the environment and tourism by balancing the economic growth with conservation of the environment.