Energy output of Bioethanol and Industrial Ethanol Essay Example for Free

Energy output of Bioethanol and Industrial Ethanol Essay Aim The aim of this investigation is to determine which of the two derivatives of ethanol releases more energy, Bioethanol or Industrial Ethanol. Hypothesis The main compound in both alcohols has the same chemical formulae C2H5OH, and the other compounds are unknown therefore the Energy output cannot be calculated exactly by using standard bond enthalpies. However, as the main compound is known and the same for both ethanols the energy output should be very similar. Therefore the difference in energy output only depends on the compounds which are blended to the alcohols. Apparatus Thermometer Metal can x2 Draught shield x4 Gloves Safety spectacles Heat-resistant mat Insulation card 100cm3 measuring cylinder x2 Spirit burner Clamp stand Balance Matches Substances E100 Bioethanol Industrial Ethanol Water Method The idea to do the experiment the way described is due to knowledge from past experiments and the IB textbook. Follow these steps 10 times, five times for each alcohol. Step 1: Measure 50cm3 of alcohol in a measuring cylinder Step 2: Weigh and record the empty spirit burner Step 3: Fill the 50cm3 of alcohol in the spirit burner Step 4: Weigh and record the filled spirit burner Step 5: Measure 100cm3 of Water in a measuring cylinder Step 6: Fill the water into the metal can Step 7: Set up the Apparatus as displayed (1 draught shield in each direction, south, north, west and east, forming a box around the apparatus; assure there are 2cm of space between the bottom of the metal can and the cotton wick) Step 7: Record the initial temperature of water Step 8: Light the cotton wick of the spirit burner Step 9: Record the temperature every 15 seconds until the cotton wick loses its flame Step 10: Weigh the spirit burner with the remaining alcohol to calculate how many grams of alcohol have been used Varables Temperature: Temperature of Water will be measured before every experiment. The whole experiment takes place at room temperature. Volume of Water: 100cm3 Mass of alcohol: 50cm3 filled in spirit burner. The mass will be measured before and after the experiment to figure how much has been used. Time: record every 15 seconds Concentration of alcohol: 1M Surface area of metal can which flame is heating up: same cans will be used and positioned at same place above the cotton wick to keep this constant. Length of cotton wick: 0.5cm Distance from cotton wick to bottom of metal can: 2cm Hazard Warnings Industrial Ethanol: Highly flammable. Therefore wear gloves and safety spectacles Bioethanol: Highly flammable. Therefore wear gloves and safety spectacles Chemistry HL Plan of Investigation

Qualities of Successful Women

Qualities of Successful Women Introduction The contribution of women in the development of the countries has been significant the world over during the last hundred years. In India, women are playing a major part in the economic development during the last four decades. The Indian women have gradually entered in all the spheres and there is no sector where they are lagging behind. BFSI Banking, Financial Services and Insurance sector is no exception. BFSI embraces all type of Banking activities, Insurance, Stock Market, Mutual Funds and all kinds of Financial Institutions. An attempt is made in this paper to trace the role of women in Finance sector and their achievements in the last four decades. Objectives The primary objective of this paper is to study and consolidate the contributions of women in Financial sector and also attempt to correlate the qualities of women that have made them successful in their professional careers in Finance. The secondary objective is to detail some organizations which have realized this aspect and have given opportunities to women to advance in their careers in Finance. What is BFSI? BFSI includes Banking, Financial Services Insurance. The scope for BFSI in India is very promising as on date. According to a study, 51 percent of the Indian population do not possess bank accounts and lack access to financial facilities. There is a great potential for banks in the rural markets. Though the insurance sector achieved about 15 percent growth rate in the last year, Indias insurance accounts for just 0.6 percent of the GDP as against the world average of 2.14 percent. The main reasons for low penetration are low consumer awareness, untapped rural markets and constrained distribution channels. India ranks 136th on penetration levels and lags behind China (106), Brazil (85) and Japan (61). The U.S is ranked 9 in this regard. The scenario of insurance business in India is now changing and the insurance business is growing at an impressive rate. There are 21 Life Insurance and 19 General Insurance companies in both public and private sector put together. Microfinance institutions provide poor people with small amounts of credit at reasonable interest rates. The microfinance institutions can be financial cooperatives, rural banks and NGOs. Although credit is an important part of microfinance, it is just one of the diverse financial services that poor people need to improve their lives. Poor people also need saving services, basic insurance options and affordable remittance systems to best manage their assets and generate income. How can women contribute in Financial Sector? Women leaders in Finance have taken leadership to a new level. Not that men dont excel at being leaders. According to a survey by New Jersey based Caliper Corporation, a new paradigm is evolving and women are in the forefront of creating the same. Inclusive financial growth can be attained if the banks touch upon the bottom of the pyramid which consists of approximately 75 percent of the Indian population. We can say that India is divided into two parts one group of privileged class of people having access to the best of the financial facilities and another class of disadvantaged people unable to get the financial facilities. Women are becoming active and popular in all fields and the Indian Stock Market is no exception. The modern Indian women want to save money and are also prepared to take risks. Women at home i.e. the home makers follow the stock market with the help of internet and invest wisely. The home makers also look at the household products which are very useful and of good quality and invest in those companies. For example, when scotch brite was introduced in the market, they found out which company introduced the same and invested in that company. The product was a success and they gained from their investments. Only a very small fraction of the rural Indian population has access to the Microfinance services. Loans as little as Rs. 5000 can give poor people a chance to set up their own small business and create more jobs. A study reveals that 11 percent of the companies across sectors in India had women CEOs. 54 percent of these CEOs are from the financial services sector. Worldwide organizations encouraging women in BFSI. Women Advancing Microfinance International (WAMI) launched in 2003 is the only global network of and for the advancement of individual women in the microfinance industry. One of their core values is to advance and support womens leadership in the microfinance industry through education and training, by promoting leadership opportunities and by increasing visibility of womens participation and talent while maintaining their work life balance. In India also we have organizations to promote microfinance for women. The Indian School of Microfinance for Women headquartered in Ahmedabad was started in June 2003 to address the capacity building requirements in the microfinance sector. The School particularly focuses upon the lives of women who are the primary participants in microfinance interventions. The School does not look upon microfinance as a means of poverty alleviation but also as a means for womens leadership and the building of womens assets. Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) is a non profit professional organization committed to empowering its members in the banking and finance industry to realize their full potential. The organization is headquartered in London and was founded in 1980 by five members viz Jane Bradford, Susan Law, Lorraine Paddison, Margery Povall and Anne Watts. The organization is run by a highly professional management team comprising of members who give their time on a voluntary basis. All members are encouraged to join the management team to develop their project management skills. Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank (MDMSB) is a unique cooperative bank run by and for women in Mhaswad, a village in Satara District of Maharashtra. This 10 year old bank has created 16720 women entrepreneurs in the region around Mhaswad. The bank enjoys an excellent repayment rate of 97.5 percent. Successful women in BFSI. One Organization in the BFSI sector in India that can boast of encouraging and able to get the services of women at all levels including the top management is undoubtedly is the ICICI group. K.V.Kamath is one of the lucky persons to be surrounded by women. He has been responsible for empowering many women in ICICI. Out of 11 top management executives reporting to the MD Chanda Kochhar, 3 are women. About 40 percent of the senior management is women and about 25 percent of the total staff is women. The current Managing Director of ICICI bank, Chanda Kochhar is known to be an assertive woman who has climbed the ladder in ICICI both the hard and smart way. She joined ICICI Bank in 1984 as a Management Trainee. She knew nothing about retail banking when she took over the retail operations in ICICI Bank in the year 1998 at the age of 36. She was ranked number 37 in the list of worlds most powerful businesswomen in the year 2006. Shikha Sharma, the current CEO of Axis Bank was the Managing Director of ICICI Prudential and played a major role in the growth of ICICI Prudential. She is an early achiever, fast learner and fiercely competitive. She was responsible for setting up the joint venture with U.K based Prudential and bringing ICICI Prudential in the Indian Insurance Map as the largest private sector insurance company in the country. The first woman to rise to a senior position at the bank was Lalita Gupte, who was hired in 1971 and retired as Joint Managing Director. She played a leading role in transforming ICICI in the 1990s, and then started the banks international business in 2001, servicing overseas Indians and expanding investments abroad. That business now accounts for 15% of ICICIs $56.3 billion in net assets. She joined Alstoms Board of Directors in 2010. She is also the non-executive chairman of ICICI Venture Funds Management Company. Madhabi Puri-Buch joined ICICI Bank Ltd in project finance department in 1989. She served as Senior General Manager of ICICI Bank since 2003. She serves as Head of Operations and Group Corporate Brand Officer of ICICI Bank Ltd. She is in charge of Retail Asset Operations and the Product and Technology Group in the Wholesale Banking Group of ICICI Bank. She has been Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ICICI Securities since February 1, 2009. Kalpana Morparia now is the Head of India Operations of JP Morgan Chase Co. She joined the legal department of ICICI in 1975 and became a board member in 2001. She was appointed as Joint Managing Director of the bank in 2001. She played a key role in ICICI Groups capital raising exercise as well as the merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank in 2002. After 33 years of service with ICICI, she joined JP Morgan in 2008. Renuka Ramnath was the Head of one of Indias largest private equity fund ICICI Venture. She is often referred to as the mother of Indian private equity. She quit ICICI venture in 2009 to setup private funds with former executives of Indian PE industry. Ramnath has been the Managing Director CEO of ICICI Venture since 2001. During her career spanning over 20 years with the ICICI Group, Renuka has spearheaded various business initiatives. She began her career at the Merchant Banking division of ICICI and then headed the Corporate Finance and Equities businesses at ICICI Securities, an investment banking JV between ICICI and JP Morgan. Vishakha Mulye is currently the Managing Director CEO of ICICI Venture Funds Management Company Limited. Mulye was earlier the Executive Director of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited and the Group Chief Financial Officer of ICICI Bank Limited. Mulye is a Chartered Accountant and joined the ICICI group in 1993. She has worked extensively in the areas of project finance, structured finance, treasury, corporate planning and strategy, investor relations and resolution of distressed assets. She played a key role in the merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank, which led to the creation of the second largest bank in India. Between 2001 and 2005, she set up ICICI Banks structured finance business. This pioneering effort led to the development of an active securitization market in India. During this period, she was also responsible for ICICI Banks client-related treasury and markets operations, capital markets business and relationships with domestic financial institutions and multilat eral institutions. Mulye received the award for Most Powerful Women in Indian Business   2007 from Business Today. The World Economic Forum also selected her as a Young Global Leader for the year 2007. Renu Challu is the current Managing Director, State Bank of Hyderabad. Meera Sanyal is the Country Head Royal Bank of Scotland. Manisha Girotra is Managing Director and Chairperson for Swiss bank UBS in India . Renu Sud Karnad is the Managing Director of HDFC Ltd. Naina Lal Kidwai is the Group MD and Country Head of HSBC in India. Ashu Suyash is the MD and Country Head India of Fidelity International. Tarjani Vakil, former Chairperson of the Exim Bank, is one of the distinguished Indian bankers. She is the first women to head any large bank in India. In 1997, she was recognized by KPMG Worldwide Business as one of the top 50 women to prove her valor in the business. Through the recent economic meltdown and global recession, Reserve Bank of India had two women Deputy Governors Usha Torat and Shyamala Gopinath. Qualities in women that enables them to be successful in BFSI sector: Retail banking is more of relationship marketing rather than transactional marketing. Women excel at relationships. The nurturing and adjusting attitude of women flows into the workplace as well. Women are more practical and moderate risk takers. Women are good listeners and good learners. Women are more resilient and good at learning from setbacks. Women display better empathy and are able to place themselves in the shoes of the customers. Caliper Corporation, the New Jersey based Management Consulting Firm have made the following observations based on their study. Women are more persuasive Women are quick to learn from adversity Women demonstrate an inclusive, team building leadership styles of problem solving and decision making. Women are more likely to ignore rules and take risks. Suggestions for further enhancing the contribution of women in BFSI. The concept of Home Offices should be encouraged so that women may  contribute while raising families simultaneously Flexi time options should be made available to women Affluent Urban women should set up NGOs, Travel to the rural parts and  create awareness about the scope and importance of BFSI sector. Extensive training should be given to the rural women to take up careers  in finance The financial services companies should target the rural households  through the womenfolk. All women Regional Rural Banks should be encouraged. Conclusion It is observed from the secondary research that more and more women are actively participating and contributing to the BFSI sector. Since women are more empathetic, they can better understand customers. Women are more balanced and would take calculated moderate risks. It is high time our leaders realize this and leverage this to the growth of our country. Indian Banks and Financial Institutions with better gender equality on board than their western counterparts, scraped through the economic slowdown unscathed. In the last three decades, the gender equilibrium has become fairly poised.

Character And Traits In Leadership Philosophy Essay

Character And Traits In Leadership Philosophy Essay Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing. Warren Bennis, Ph.D. On Becoming a Leader Building Excellence. >Leaders do not command excellence, they build excellence. Excellence is being all you can be within the bounds of doing what is right for your organization. To reach excellence you must first be a leader of good character. You must do everything you are supposed to do. Organizations will not achieve excellence by figuring out where it wants to go, then having leaders do whatever they have to in order to get the job done, and then hope their leaders acted with good character. This type of thinking is backwards. Pursuing excellence should not be confused with accomplishing a job or task. When you do planning, you do it by backwards planning. But you do not achieve excellence by backwards planning. Excellence starts with leaders of good and strong character who engage in the entire process of leadership. And the first process is being a person of honorable character. Character develops over time. Many think that much of a persons character is formed early in life. However, we do not know exactly how much or how early character develops. But, it is safe to claim that character does not change quickly. A persons observable behavior is an indication of her character. This behavior can be strong or weak, good or bad. A person with strong character shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve. She sees what she wants and goes after it. She attracts followers. On the other hand, a person with weak character shows none of these traits. She does not know what she wants. Her traits are disorganized, she vacillates and is inconsistent. She will attract no followers. A strong person can be good or bad. A gang leader is an example of a strong person with a bad character, while an outstanding community leader is one with both strong and good characteristics. An organization needs leaders with both strong and good characteristics, people who will guide them to the future and show that they can be trusted. To be an effective leader, your followers must have trust in you and they need to be sold on your vision. Korn-Ferry International, an executive search company, performed a survey on what organizations want from their leaders. The respondents said they wanted people who were both ethical and who convey a strong vision of the future. In any organization, a leaders actions set the pace. This behavior wins trust, loyalty, and ensures the organizations continued vitality. One of the ways to build trust is to display a good sense of character composed of beliefs, values, skills, and traits (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973): Beliefs are what we hold dear to us and are rooted deeply within us. They could be assumptions or convictions that you hold true regarding people, concepts, or things. They could be the beliefs about life, death, religion, what is good, what is bad, what is human nature, etc. Values are attitudes about the worth of people, concepts, or things. For example, you might value a good car, home, friendship, personal comfort, or relatives. Values are important as they influence a persons behavior to weigh the importance of alternatives. For example, you might value friends more than privacy, while others might be the opposite. Skills are the knowledge and abilities that a person gains throughout life. The ability to learn a new skill varies with each individual. Some skills come almost naturally, while others come only by complete devotion to study and practice. Traits are distinguishing qualities or characteristics of a person, while character is the sum total of these traits. There are hundreds of personality traits, far too many to be discussed here. Instead, we will focus on a few that are crucial for a leader. The more of these you display as a leader, the more your followers will believe and trust in you. Traits of a Good Leader Compiled by the Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group: Honest Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust. Competent Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings. Forward-looking Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values. Inspiring Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary. Intelligent Read, study, and seek challenging assignments. Fair-minded Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others. Broad-minded Seek out diversity. Courageous Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress. Straightforward Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time. Imaginative Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative! Retreat Hell! Weve just got here! Attributed to several World War I Marine Corps officers, Belleau Wood, June 1918 (key ideal take a stand) Attributes Attributes establish what leaders are, and every leader needs at least three of them (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973): Standard Bearers establish the ethical framework within an organization. This demands a commitment to live and defend the climate and culture that you want to permeate your organization. What you set as an example will soon become the rule as unlike knowledge, ethical behavior is learned more by observing than by listening. And in fast moving situations, examples become certainty. Being a standard bearer creates trust and openness in your employees, who in turn, fulfill your visions. Developers help others learn through teaching, training, and coaching. This creates an exciting place to work and learn. Never miss an opportunity to teach or learn something new yourself. Coaching suggests someone who cares enough to get involved by encouraging and developing others who are less experienced. Employees who work for developers know that they can take risks, learn by making mistakes, and winning in the end. Integrators orchestrate the many activities that take place throughout an organization by providing a view of the future and the ability to obtain it. Success can only be achieved when there is a unity of effort. Integrators have a sixth sense about where problems will occur and make their presence felt during critical times. They know that their employees do their best when they are left to work within a vision-based framework. Goddamn it, you will never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me! Captain Henry P. Jim Crowe, USMC, Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943. (key words follow me, NOT go) Perspectives of Character and Traits Traits (acronym JJ did tie buckle) Justice Judgment Dependability Initiative Decisiveness Tact Integrity Enthusiasm Bearing Unselfishness Courage Knowledge Loyalty Endurance The Image of Leadership John Schoolland What kind of a leader are you going to be the kind who thinks he is the best? Or will you be one of the very few greats Who attributes success to the rest. The U.S. Armys Eleven Leadership Principles Be tactically and technically proficient Know yourself and seek self-improvement Know your soldiers and look out for their welfare Keep your soldiers informed Set the example Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished Train your soldiers as a team Make sound and timely decisions Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions Organizations consist of three components: The structure gives the organization its form and dictates the way it will interact. The followers respond to the structure and the leaders. The leaders determine the ultimate effectiveness of the organization as the character and skills that they bring determine the way problems are solved and tasks are accomplished. U.S. Army 23 Traits of Character Bearing Confidence Courage Integrity Decisiveness Justice Endurance Tact Initiative Coolness Maturity Improvement Will Assertiveness Candor Sense of humor Competence Commitment Creativity Self-discipline Humility Flexibility Empathy/Compassion Are managers leaders? Are leaders managers? Managers need to be leaders. . . their workers need vision and guidance! On the other hand, leaders need to be good managers of the resources entrusted to them. Is Character Developed Via Nature or Nurture (Ridley, 2003)? I do not believe that the nature vs. nurture debate is linear enough to put percentages on it on one side of the fence we have nature and on the other side we have nurture. And while nature (genes) certainly has its influences on us, the environment (nurture) normally determines the impact of a gene. For example, one of the classic examples for discussing genes is Konrad Lorenzs work on the imprinting that occurs in baby geese they have it within them to imprint whatever is moving near them, which is normally their mother. However, it could be anything else that is moving around them, such as a person. But no matter what they imprint on, rather it be their mother, a human, or an inanimate object, the piece of the environment that they actually imprint on is going to have a huge impact on their life. Thus genes provide the goal, but the environment provides the process. And it is what happens during the process that will determine the outcome. Piaget was probably the first person to think of children as species equipped with a characteristic mind, rather than as apprentice adults (little adults). He discovered they went through a series of five developmental stages that were always in the same order, but not always at the same rate: Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete operations In adolescence they have Abstract Thoughts and Deductive reasoning Piagets two contemporaries, Konrad Lorenz and B. F. Skinner took up extreme positions. Lorenz as a champion of nature and Skinner as a champion of nurture. Piaget, however, dived right down the middle of this debate. He believed a genes meaning depends heavily on its context with the surrounding environment. That is, while a child goes through five stages of development (genes), it is the active engagement of the mind with the surrounding environment (nurture) that causes development. The two main forces of the environment are feedback and social interaction. From this, the child assimilates predicted experiences and accommodates it to unexpected experiences. For some time it was believed that animals grew no new neurons in the cortex of their brains upon reaching adulthood, thus their fate was basically sealed by their genetic nature. This was apparently proved by a Pasco Rakic, a neuroscientist. However, Fernando Nottebohm soon found that adult canaries made new neurons when they learn new songs. So Rakic replied that it was only adult mammals that could not grow neurons. But soon afterward, Elizabeth Gould found that rats grow new neurons. So Rakic replied primates could not. Gould next discovered that tree shrews grew new neurons. Rakic that higher primates could not grow new neurons. Gould then found them in marmosets. Rakic zeroed it down to old-world primates. Gould then discovered them in macaques. Today it is almost certain that all primates, including humans, grow new neurons in response to new experiences, and lose neurons in response to neglect. Thus, with all the determinism built into the initial wiring of our brain, experience with our surrounding environment refines and in some cases rewires that initial wiring. Nature may be our internal guide (map), but nurture is our explorer that has the final say in what we do (destination). References Ridley, M. (2003). Nature Via Nurture New York: Harper Collins. U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Military Leadership. Leadership Styles Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership. This early study has been very influential and established three major leadership styles. The three major styles of leadership are (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973): Authoritarian or autocratic Participative or democratic Delegative or Free Reign Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style. Authoritarian (autocratic) I want both of you to. . . This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has no place in a leaders repertoire. The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style. Participative (democratic) Lets work together to solve this. . . This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions. Delegative (free reign) You two take care of the problem while I go. . . In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely! NOTE: This is also known as laissez faire (or lais ·ser faire), which is the noninterference in the affairs of others. [French : laissez, second person pl. imperative of laisser, to let, allow + faire, to do.] Forces A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include: Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee. Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything and the employee needs to take ownership of her job! In addition, this allows you to be at other places, doing other things. Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative). Forces that influence the style to be used included: How much time is available. Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect? Who has the information you, your employees, or both? How well your employees are trained and how well you know the task. Internal conflicts. Stress levels. Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple? Laws or established procedures such as OSHA or training plans. Positive and Negative Approaches There is a difference in ways leaders approach their employee. Positive leaders use rewards, such as education, independence, etc. to motivate employees. While negative employers emphasize penalties. While the negative approach has a place in a leaders repertoire of tools, it must be used carefully due to its high cost on the human spirit. Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. They believe the only way to get things done is through penalties, such as loss of job, days off without pay, reprimanding employees in front of others, etc. They believe their authority is increased by frightening everyone into higher levels of productivity. Yet what always happens when this approach is used wrongly is that morale falls; which of course leads to lower productivity. Also note that most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are bosses while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered real leaders. Use of Consideration and Structure Two other approaches that leaders use are: Consideration (employee orientation) leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees. They build teamwork, help employees with their problems, and provide psychological support. Structure (task orientation) leaders believe that they get results by consistently keeping people busy and urging them to produce. There is evidence that leaders who are considerate in their leadership style are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job (Schriesheim, 1982). Also notice that consideration and structure are independent of each other, thus they should not be viewed on opposite ends of a continuum. For example, a leader who becomes more considerate, does not necessarily mean that she has become less structured. See Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid as it is also based on this concept. Paternalism Paternalism has at times been equated with leadership styles. Yet most definitions of leadership normally state or imply that one of the actions within leadership is that of influencing. For example, the Army uses the following definition: Leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. The Army further goes on by defining influence as: a means of getting people to do what you want them to do. It is the means or method to achieve two ends: operating and improving. But there is more to influencing than simply passing along orders. The example you set is just as important as the words you speak. And you set an example good or bad with every action you take and word you utter, on or off duty. Through your words and example, you must communicate purpose, direction, and motivation. While paternalism is defined as (Webster): a system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of those under its control in matters affecting them as individuals as well as in their relationships to authority and to each other. Thus paternalism supplies needs for those under its protection or control, while leadership gets things done. The first is directed inwards, while the latter is directed outwards. Geert Hofstede (1977) studied culture within organizations. Part of his study was on the dependence relationship or Power Difference the extent to which the less powerful members of an organization expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Hofstede gave this story to illustrate this Power Difference: The last revolution in Sweden disposed of King Gustav IV, whom they considered incompetent, and surprising invited Jean Baptise Bernadotte, a French general who served under Napoleon, to become their new King. He accepted and became King Charles XIV. Soon afterward he needed to address the Swedish Parliament. Wanting to be accepted, he tried to do the speech in their language. His broken language amused the Swedes so much that they roared with laughter. The Frenchman was so upset that he never tried to speak Swedish again. Bernadotte was a victim of culture shock never in his French upbringing and military career had he experienced subordinates who laughed at the mistakes of their superior. This story has a happy ending as he was considered very good and ruled the country as a highly respected constitutional monarch until 1844. (His descendants still occupy the Swedish throne.) Sweden differs from France in the way its society handles inequality (those in charge and the followers). To measure inequality or Power Difference, Hofstede studied three survey questions from a larger survey that both factored and carried the same weight: Frequency of employees being afraid to express disagreement with their managers. Subordinates perception of their bosss actual decision making style (paternalistic style was one choice). Subordinates preference for their bosss decision-making style (again, paternalistic style was one choice). He developed a Power Difference Index (PDI) for the 53 countries that took the survey. Their scores range from 11 to 104. The higher the number a country received, the more autocratic and/or paternalistic the leadership, which of course relates to employees being more afraid or unwilling to disagree with their bosses. While lower numbers mean a more consultative style of leadership is used, which translates to employees who are not as afraid of their bosses. For example, Malaysia has the highest PDI score, being 104, while Austria has the lowest with 11. And of course, as the story above illustrates, Sweden has a relative low score of 31, while France has a PDI of 68. The USAs is 40. Note that these scores are relative, not absolute, in that relativism affirms that one culture has no absolute criteria for judging activities of another culture as low or noble. Keeping the above in mind, it seems that some picture paternalistic behavior as almost a barbaric way of getting things accomplished. Yet, leadership is all about getting things done for the organization. And in some situations, a paternalistic style of decision-making might be required; indeed, in some cultures and individuals, it may also be expected by not only those in charge, but also the followers. That is what makes leadership styles quite interesting they basically run along the same continuum as Hofstedes PDI, ranging from paternalistic to consultative styles of decision making. This allows a wide range of individual behaviors to be dealt with, ranging from beginners to peak performers. In addition, it accounts for the fact that not everyone is the same. However, when paternalistic or autocratic styles are relied upon too much and the employees are ready and/or willing to react to a more consultative type of leadership style, then it normally becomes quite damaging to the performance of the organization.

100 years of change :: essays research papers

100 Years of Changes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This century has been one of many changes and incredible inventions. If a person was to think about it, this century has taken us from horseback to fuel-injected horsepower, from gaslights to sodium-vapor streetlights, from crystal radios to digital television, from compasses to GPS navigation systems, from wood burning stoves to microwave ovens, from Victrolas to DVD players and of course from hot air balloons to jet propulsion aircraft.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the past 100 years, we have made much advancement in all areas of society. The way people live has changed drastically just in the past century. Technology in particular has advanced more in these last 100 years then all previous time combined. For example, because of the research done by many innovative and dedicated individuals such as the Wright Brothers who were the first to sustain flight in a powered airplane, we are able to fly all over the world in a matter of hours in jet propelled pressurized aircraft. One hundred years ago, the thought of man flying in a machine was insane. The Wright Brothers helped to realize the dream of manned flight. Many years later, after the idea of manned flight becoming a reality, space exploration was the next step. In 1969, many people did not believe what happened. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. They posted an American flag, explored, collected space rocks and came back home. Many Americans did not be lieve that the technology existed to go that far. Today, several missions a year are launched using manned space shuttles that can be flown back to earth like gliders and reused on future space missions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example of the change in our technology over the last century is the change in the computer. In 1946, the first electronic computer called the ENIAC took up the space of a large room. Instead of using transistors and IC chips, the ENIAC used vacuum tubes. Compared to many computers now, the ENIAC is about as powerful as a small calculator. That may not be much, but it is a milestone because there would not be computers today if it were not for the ENIAC. As the years passed, the computer became smaller and more powerful. Today, more than half of the American population has a computer in their home. The personal computers today are thousands of times more powerful than the most powerful computers fifty years ago.

The Revolutionary Aftermath of the Civil War Essay -- Racism Discrimin

The Revolutionary Aftermath of the Civil War Despite many hardships that remained from the antebellum state of the union, reconstruction was a socially and constitutionally revolutionary period. The attempts to deter black voters were greatly outweighed by the numbers of blacks voting, as well as the laws that were passed to protect the rights of American citizens, black and white alike. The years after the war saw a rise in the number of human rights laws that were passed, most of which were primarily focused on blacks, but included whites as well. In document D, Gideon Welles stated that the national government didn’t hold the power to grant suffrage to anyone, nor had it shown any interest in the matter. Because of this, the state governments were able to enact black codes which restrained citizens, both black and white, from voting because they were illiterate or because they weren’t of a high enough economic status. This later changed as blacks became more active in government and voiced their upset to the national government, as shown by Document C. B...

Compare and contrast Malcolm X, David Walker

I would like to thank my entire group members and Professor Donaldson whose comments and suggestions had been very helpful to improve the quality of this final paper. I have tried for the best of my ability to incorporate in this final version, all their great ideas about the format and the content of the documents. Professor Donaldson suggested â€Å"I am going to suggest that you do a little reorganizing. First of all, you should get rid of all of the headings. Then you should move the biography blurbs to the beginning of each discussion of each respective author. † This idea abstracts Joseph’s and Kandice’s. Following these directions, I have removed all the headings, and the biography blurbs. I also have quoted from the required textbook, and mentioned related page numbers in parentheses. Kandice wanted â€Å"I would organize the paper in a different way and also try and tie the writers and speakers background more into their writings†. Copy and Past were the best tools to satisfy that other nice suggestion. Once again thank you; Malcolm X’s leadership style and his viewpoint about how the Civil Right Movement should be implemented was very similar to David Walker’s, but greatly conflicted with Booker T Washington whose ideas appealed to a completely different audience. The Civil Right Movement is the Africans- Americans movement that dominated the debates in the United Stated political sphere during the period of (1955-1968). The movement was about the fight against inequality, Americans struggles for social justice, and the racial discriminations. In order to reach their objectives, Africans Americans leaders had displayed many different ideas about how to conduct the movement. Some believed that the movement should be implemented without violence; some thought that the economic freedom was the first to be reached, while others believed that the freedom could not be achieved without confrontation. If the ideas of those bright leaders were saluted by the majority of the Americans people today, it is however noticeable that some of them are still been seen as controversial figures. David Walker was born in Wilmington, North Carolina 1796. His father was a slave man and his mother a free black, so was David Walker because of the existing laws that defined the status of the child based on the mother's. As many of his fellow blacks, a freeman status could not prevent anyone from being an unfortunate witness of the human cruelties. In 1820 he was part of the associate back activists to denounce slavery and discrimination; he also took part of the Freedom's Journal in New York City, and many others forms of social justice fight. In 1830 David was found dead in his home. David Walker had accomplished many works for the Civil Right movement in America to make the United States a better country for all Americans. Among those works, one of the written that had brought so much attention to the public is walker's Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World. In this document, Walker made the true to be heard as it was based on his observation in the United States and around the world. He spoke not only to his brethren, but the white Christian Americans. He reminded the Christians about their values, the history of the Egyptians, and Romans Slaveries. He also reminded them about the history of those slaveries and how they had been destroyed because of their God anger based on the inhuman treatment they used to impose to the slaves whom supposed to be treated with the same human dignity they would want for their families. â€Å"God made man to serve Him alone, and that man should have no other Lord or Lords but Himself— that God Almighty is the sole proprietor or master for the Whole human family, and will not on any consideration admit a colleague†. (P. 230) His appeal was also for the black asking their sense of capability of rising up and demands what is their civil right: † Oh! y coloured brethren, all over the world, when shall we arise from this death-like apathy? –And be men!! † â€Å"Are we MEN!! -I ask you, O my brethren! are we MEN? Did our Creator make us to be slaves to dust and ashes like ourselves? Are they not dying worms as well as we? Have they not to make their appearance before the tribunal of Heaven, to answer for the deeds done in the body, as well as we? Have we any other Master but Jesus Christ alone? Is he not their Master as well as ours? -What right then, have we to obey and call any other Master, but Himself? How we could be so submissive to a gang of men, whom we cannot tell whether they are as good as ourselves or not, I never could conceive. However, this is shut up with the Lord, and we cannot precisely tell-but I declare, we judge men by their works† (P. 237). Clearly, Walker's strategy encourages the revolt and the civil disorder. Unlike David Walker, Booker Taliaferro Washington was born slave in 1856, from a slave mother and a white father. As many young slaves, he had been exposed very soon to the routines; his early duty was to carry the books of James Burroughs's daughters at Franklin County School. After the Emancipation Proclamation was read in April 1865, his family went to his stepfather's house in Malden, West Virginia. Booker started working at a salt mine and going to school. Few years later, booker got a houseboy position with a wealthy towns-woman, a person who promoted his learning. When he was 16, he used to travel back to Virginia to the new school for black students. He studied at Hampton Institute while working. His admission to Hampton changed his life; he was instructor. In 1881 he founded Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Booker was nationally recognized as the back educator. He was more focused on pushing for black's economic well being and fighting against racisms. He died in 1915. Monday, 21-Aug-2006 In his famous and historical speech of compromise before a majority white audience in Atlanta on September 18th, 1895, Booker T Washington had laid out a strategy for the blacks' economic freedom; Booker urged his fellow blacks Americans to be more focused in their own economic development â€Å"Cast down your bucket where you are—Cast it down in making friends in every manly way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded. Cast it down in agriculture, mechanics, in commerce, in domestic service, and in the professions†. (P. 595) He also spoke about the role the whites Americans would have to play to help them to achieve that goal. â€Å"Cast down your bucket among the eight millions of Negroes whose habits you know whose fidelity and love you have tested in days when to have proved treacherous meant the ruin of your firesides. Cast down your bucket among these people who have, without strikes and labour wars, tilled your fields, cleared your forests, builded your railroads and cities†(P. 95) The compromise had reminded the whites Americans to their role and responsibility tower the blacks Americans based on the choice they would have to make. A positive choice would be the whites’ willingness to promote black education and make them the most intellect and useful citizens; while the wrong choice would simply keep them doing the business as usual, denying the basic right of education to the blacks Americans, keeping them ignorant at the same exposed them as, the threats for the whites. Booker's strategy in this speech appealed to the blacks' economics development in a peaceful environment with the whites Americans. Unlike the two first leaders, Malcolm Little was born free in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19th, 1925. His parents were both blacks Americans; his mother was a homemaker and his father was an outspoken Baptist minister also a strong supporter of Black Nationalism. In 1929 their home was burned, and his father's body was found mutilated after two years. Years later, his mother Louise had the mental issues because of the situation the family went through. Malcolm is graduated from junior high as the top of the class. He did not continue his studies because he was influenced by the negative advise that suggested that his goal of becoming a lawyer was not reachable for a nagger. He worked numerous jobs in Boston before traveling to New York; he was associated to many criminal activities. In 1946 Malcolm was arrested in Boston with burglary charges and sentenced for seven years in prison. Malcolm used his prison term for self studies and taking part in the organized debates. He was influenced by Elijah Muhammad a leader of the Nation of Islam; before he left prison, Malcolm was a strong follower of the Nation of Islam. He changed his last name to â€Å"X† as a way to repeal to the slave name while expressing the backs' identity issues. Unlike many of the Civil Right Leaders, Malcolm X is a complex transformational figure in American history. His accomplishments and his different life stories continue to generate heats debates among his supporters and opponents. The transformation from a criminal Malcolm Little, the influential Black Muslim leaders Malcolm X, and his controversial position on the public issues. In April 1964, Malcolm X delivered a speech that defined his position about the direction of the Civil Right Movement. The speech is famously called The Ballot or the Bullet. In that speech, like David Booker, Malcolm spoke about the Negroes revolt; similarly both men were not afraid to die for the cause, and both believed in action. Both of them were ready to take any action against oppression. The Southerners were ready to offer $1,000, against David Walker's heart after his Appeal to Coloured Citizens of the Work. He was found died in his home; it is not clear what killed him. Malcolm X ended up by getting killed. Booker T Washington like Malcolm X was for the blacks' economics development even though the methods were different. Booker would like it peacefully and inclusively in compromise with the white people. Malcolm X would like it exclusively in black communities even if they had to confront the white people whom he accused of the causes of the blacks' struggles. Malcolm X believe â€Å" the Negroes who through their lives have been kicked about, treated like children—Negroes who never have met one white man who didn’t either take something from tem or do something to them. (P. 1871). David Walker, Booker T Washington, and Malcolm X were Africans Americans leaders whom had influenced Americans history through their work in the Civil Right movement. Their belief, theories, and actions in the process of the Civil Right Movement, Malcolm X and David Walker had the same philosophical views that made their voices more appealing to the same group of audience in majorly blacks. Booker T Washington who had philosophical difference with his fellows X and Walker, believed in a peaceful resolution of the matter with a possible cohabitation of all Americans. As his fellow leaders David Walker and Booker T Washington, Malcolm X had a tremendous contribution to the American history, but because of his outspoken position to many issues of public interest, his enemies had portrayed him as a controversial figure, and did not want him to be recognized as a great American leader. He was someone who used to speak fearlessly from the heart about any kinds of issues. The way he used to express his viewpoints was the same to his enemies as well as his to friends and his leaders whom introduced him to Muslim religion. As far as the controversy is concerned, it depends of who you are and on which side of the issues you on. The black people would see David and Malcolm as the voices of those without voices; their outspoken actions against the system were the direct translation of many frustrations among the black communities. Obviously, a white person would see them as dividers and would try hard to expose them as bad guys. Booker T Washington would be seen as a centrist. David Walker and Malcolm X had the same stand point about how to conduct the Civil Right Movement. They both promoted the civil disorders, revolt, unity, and economic improvement between blacks in exclusion with the white Americans. Booker T Washington would prefer the black economic empowerment in compromise and friendship with the whites Americans. He wanted the black people to give up of some claim of the civil right, and the white people to help black to realize their economic development. All of the three leaders, David Walker, Booker T Washington and Malcolm X agreed about black people's education, their economic development, and unity among them. David Walker and Malcolm X believed that the confrontation, revolt and exclusion were the way to go without any compromise. They did not trust the whites Americans' willingness to compromise. They believed that the freedom could not be negotiated, but could be earned by fighting for it. Booker T Washington did not agree with them. He believed that the revolt and exclusion were not the best answers, but the compromise and inclusion. He believed that there was a possibility for both communities to dependently work together in the mutual respect.

Vocabulary

3 Developing Vocabulary in Second Language Acquisition: From Theories to the Classroom Jeff G. Mehring Abstract This paper examines the theories behind vocabulary acquisition in second language learning in order to put these theories into practice in a class. Learning vocabulary is an ongoing process which requires systematic repetition to help students learn, especially low context vocabulary. Students can retain the vocabulary they find useful and relevant to their subject matter by learning vocabulary through context, cooperative learning, and using technology.Results from an action research project will be reported. Introduction Until recently vocabulary had been widely overlooked in the ESL/EFL classroom. Maiguashca (1993) stated that teaching or studying grammar is based on a set of rules with a coherent structure which students follow or remember, but the same is not true of vocabulary (p. 91). Within the last few years, vocabulary has become viewed as an important aspect in s econd language learning, in fact, many believe just as important as the main skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.Nation (as cited in Nation and Waring, 1997) explained, â€Å"Vocabulary knowledge enables language use, language use enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge, knowledge of the world enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge and language use and so on† (p. 6). This contextualized approach to learning vocabulary will help students increase their vocabulary though authentic interaction. In this paper, I will examine the theories behind vocabulary acquisition and some results when they were put into practice during my student teaching. Theoretical ConceptsBuilding vocabulary is extremely important for success in undergraduate or graduate studies. Nation and Waring (1997) reported that 5-year-old native English speakers beginning school will have a vocabulary of around 4,000 to 5,000 word families, adding roughly 1,000 word families a year until graduating from university with a vocabulary of around 20,000 word families (p. 7). Bauer and Nation (as cited in Nation and Waring) defined a word family as the base word, its inflected forms, and a small number of regular derived forms (p. 7).This means that students such as those in the English Foundations Program (EFP) at Hawai‘i Pacific University (HPU) have an enormous challenge ahead of them, considering that their previous schooling was in their L1, not English. If one uses Nation and Waring’s statement that native speakers have a vocabulary of around 20,000 word families at the time of university graduation, non-native speakers, before finishing EFP 1310, an advanced-level class in the EFP, and entering the undergraduate program, would have to increase their vocabulary from between 5,000 to 15,000 word families, depending on their previous English language studies.The good news is that according to Jamieson (as cited in Nation and Waring), once ESL students ent er a school where English is the primary language, their vocabulary grows at the same rate as native speakers, around 1,000 word families a year; however, the initial gap never closes (p. 7). Understanding where ESL students are starting from will help in providing the vocabulary needed in order for them to improve and catch up. Learning vocabulary is an ongoing process that takes time and practice. Nakata (2006) acknowledged that vocabulary acquisition requires continual repetition in order for effective vocabulary learning (p. 9). Vocabulary acquisition is not something a student can spend time learning or memorizing, like grammar, and be successful. Acquisition requires the learner to be disciplined, spending time each day working on words he/she does not know in order for 4 learners to remember high frequency words and put them into their long term memory, Nation and Waring stated that learners need to encounter the word multiple times in authentic speaking, reading, and writing context at the student’s appropriate level (p. 8).Developing lessons which allow the student to encounter new words multiple times, allowing them to put the new words into his/her long term memory can be time consuming. Developing word lists from the context of the lesson can reduce the work load, enabling the student to encounter the word multiple times through reading, listening, and speaking. Learning new vocabulary through context also helps the student understand the word’s correct usage and prevents students from making sentences from dictionary definition such as, There is a large cleavage between the rich and poor in America.Learning new words from a word list is much different from learning them in the context of a sentence or story. Yongqi Gu (2003) stated that learning new words through context is only one step students may use, and that students should think meta-cognitively and learn new words within the context of where they appear. (p. 14). To help the student learn the important words from the context of a lesson a teacher needs to focus on low context words, which necessitates a second distinction: high frequency and low frequency words.Nation (2005) defined high frequency words as words that occur quite frequently in the language, such as the, a, man, and woman. High frequency words occur so regularly in daily conversation that if students understand these words, they are able to write and speak in comprehensible English. Low frequency words, as described by Nation, are words that deal more with academic studies, words that appear throughout all academic texts and courses, but not very often in day to day speech, such as formulate, index, and modify (p. 48).This helps ease the burden a teacher has when trying to understand what words students understand; however, low frequency words are the more difficult aspect for teachers to teach and learners to understand. Creating vocabulary lists from the students’ textbooks and p resenting these words through context in the lesson should help them to retain and use the new vocabulary. It will also carry through that students learn vocabulary better when they find the items to be useful and are able to put the new words into use more often while they study.Vocabulary, like other aspects of language learning, can be facilitated when done through cooperative learning. Yongqi Gu (2003) pointed out that vocabulary acquisition is a very learner-centered activity with the effectiveness of the learner’s strategies depending on his/her attitude and motivation towards new vocabulary acquisition (p. 2). This is true because the main motivational learning factor must come from the student, but when learning vocabulary in a cooperative learning environment it allows students to learn from peers closest to them.Murphey and Arao (2001) pointed out that students felt more relaxed and learned more from peers since they saw that making mistakes is acceptable, having go als is good, and learning English can be fun (p. 2). So, even though vocabulary acquisition is a learner-centered activity in regards to studying and being disciplined to set goals, when done in collaboration with peers students may enjoy the activity more, learning more vocabulary in the end.Understanding that vocabulary learning is an ongoing process, that learning new vocabulary through context, and learning new vocabulary can be done cooperatively are what guided the classroom practices below. Vocabulary Development in Classroom Practices Context The course in which vocabulary development in line with the above theoretical concepts was implemented was EFP 1310 College Listening Skills, an advanced course in listening and note-taking. It stressed comprehension of classroom discussions and lectures, as well as a variety of other media presentations.The class was taught by two instructors: Dr. Hanh Nguyen as the lead teacher and myself as a student teacher. Together we worked to de velop the students’ vocabulary in class. In this class there were 5 eighteen students, eleven females and seven males. Of the eleven females, seven were Taiwanese, one Belarusian, one Japanese, one Chinese, and one Indonesian. Of the seven males, three were Korean, two Japanese, one Taiwanese, and one Serbian. One male student was repeating this class for the second time.For two of the males and three of the females, this was their first English language class at a university. The average number of years spent studying English in the student’s home country was 6. 2 years and in the US, just over one month. explained that Test Your Word Level is adapted for the web from Paul Nation and Batia Laufer's word levels tests, developed for learners with vocabularies of different sizes and types, with the 1,000 to 10,000 most frequent English words (p. 2). At the 1,000 word level, the items are multiplechoice and based on either pictures or short sentences.Learners check their answers and move on to a second test at a higher level, (80% or higher to move up), or moved down to a lower level, depending on their score. Assessing the student’s vocabulary level in the beginning of the semester was needed to set a starting point. It also helped students understand where they were and where they needed to go in order to do well in undergraduate studies. All of the students assessed in the EFP 1310 class scored in the 2,000 level except three students who were assessed at the 3,000 level.This means that their vocabulary level was between 2,000 and 5,000 word families, whereas their native-speaking counterparts would have around 15,000 word families. The second activity required students to learn three new words each week. The first time this class was taught each week students were required to write three new words in a journal along with a definition for each word and three example sentences using the word in context. They could pick these words from thre e sources: the next level up from the website where they had their level assessed, words from their textbook, and words from the AWL provided by the teacher.The website informed the students at what level they were assessed; then the students picked words from the level above that, studied them, and hopefully did better on the exam at the end of the semester. For example, students who were assessed at the 2,000 level would then study words from the 3,000 level to improve their vocabulary. If they did not want to do this, they could choose vocabulary words from the new vocabulary section listed at the beginning of each chapter of the textbook.Their last choice, if they did not wish to do the other two, was the AWL provided by the teachers. This list was prepared by examining the lectures in the text- Vocabulary Development Activities As mentioned earlier, Nation and Waring stated that learners need to encounter a word numerous times in order to use it properly. Building vocabulary is an ongoing process, and I believe good progress was made during the semester. The biggest obstacles encountered were the limited time and the number of words students had to learn in order to be well-prepared for undergraduate studies.Students now understood the importance of a large vocabulary and the amount of work they needed to put forth in obtaining it. In order to build the students’ vocabulary, and help close the vocabulary gap as much as possible, we carried out the following steps: (a) Students assessed their present vocabulary level, a starting point had to be determined so progresses could be assessed, (b) students learned three new words each week, getting the students motivated and changing their attitude on learning vocabulary, (c) the teachers created an academic word list (AWL) xtracted from the lectures and the textbook, developing vocabulary that the students would learn in the context of the lectures and use in the class discussions that followed, and (d) the students assessed their vocabulary at the end of the semester to see if they made any progress. To see their progress would motivate the students to continue the learning process. To begin with, the students needed to assess their present vocabulary level. To do this, students visited http://www. lextutor. a and took a vocabulary test to determine their present level. Sevier (2004) 6 book, pulling out the academic words, and putting them on a piece of paper to be given to the students. Some of the words on this list were the same as the words from the new vocabulary section of the textbook. Getting the students to learn three new words each week posed the most difficult task. Students did not have these lists checked every week, but at the mid-term and final exams, so a few students quickly created these books just before this time period.At first it was planned to have each student post his/her three new words on WebCT so they could be checked more regularly and other classmate s could learn from other student’s words. After this plan was put to a vote in class, the students decided to place their vocabulary words in a notebook and turn the notebook in before the mid-term and final exams. Learning from mistakes, we feel that it would have been better to check their vocabulary notebooks weekly, or have students post their new words on WebCT to help them acquire more low-context vocabulary, thus creating an even better activity for the class.To overcome these weaknesses, when I had the opportunity to teach the class again in the following semester (now as the sole teacher), students were required to post their three new words on WebCT instead of in a journal. They could choose the words from the same areas described above, but each week instead of writing them in a journal they needed to post them on WebCT for the teacher and classmates to see. The first reason was because the previous semester some students did not keep their journal regularly, only making the journal the day before it was due.The second reason was so classmates could learn from each other, near peer role modeling, and the teacher could use the words students were posting as part of the vocabulary section of the test. Students seemed to have taken a stronger interest in learning new vocabulary by transferring words they need to learn into a vocabulary journal or flash cards to help them study. Whether this process is successful or not will be seen at the end of the semester when the students take the vocabulary exam again to see their progress. The third activity was to provide lists of words for the AWL that appeared in the lectures in the textbook.Since EFP 1310 is an advanced course in the EFP program, and after this course most students enter undergraduate studies, the AWL is the appropriate list for this class. If it were a lower level class, lower levels of vocabulary would have been used. By pulling out the contextualized vocabulary from each lesson, we were hoping not only to increase the student’s vocabulary but also make the lectures more comprehensible. I helped with scanning and running each lecture through â€Å"RANGE† a software program developed by Nation (2005).This program allowed me to create a contextualized AWL specifically for our class, focusing on the vocabulary from the given lectures. Nation and Waring (1997) developed three levels of vocabulary lists: level 1 is the first 1,000 word families, level 2 is the second 1,000 word families, and level 3 is the university word list (UWL) or AWL (p. 14). RANGE is used to create word lists based on frequency and is useful for seeing what low frequency words are contained in a paper, technical information note, or a text aimed at foreign readers.It creates three ready-made base lists. Figure 1 shows an example of a lecture that was run through RANGE. The first includes the most frequent 1,000 words of English. The second includes the next 1,000 most frequent w ords, and the third includes words not in the first 2,000 words of English but which are frequent in upper secondary school and university texts from a wide range of subjects. All three base lists include the base forms of words and derived forms; thus, the first 1,000 words consist of around 4,000 forms or types. 7 Figure 1.An example of RANGE analysis output (see the Appendix for the sample text of this analysis) Tables Table 1 Three Base Lists Created from RANGE Software Program Types found in base list one Type a all also and bank business employees Range 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Freq 9 2 1 3 2 13 2 F1 9 2 1 3 2 13 2 Types found in base list two Type competition critical hurt lot rush Range 1 1 1 1 1 Freq 1 1 1 3 1 F1 1 1 1 3 1 Types found in base list three Type affect community factors financing investigate obtain project range require Range 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Freq 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 F1 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 11 After scanning each lecture and running it through the program, we pulled out only th e level 3 words, the AWL, and put them into a word document. Before each lecture, the teacher printed out the appropriate AWL and gave it to the students to prepare them for the lecture. This practice was inspired by the notion that new words are best learned in context, or as Sternberg claimed, â€Å"Vocabulary using context is the most effective, or even a relatively effective, way of teaching that vocabulary† (p. 89).Since students had the chance to study and understand the vocabulary before listening to the lecture, we aimed to help them to concentrate on the content of the lecture and hear the vocabulary being used in context. Extracting the high context vocabulary from the lectures was a great way to focus on the content words from the lessons so students would be using them regularly in class, hopefully committing them to long term memory. It also saved the teachers a lot of time by not having to read the lectures and pull the vocabulary out. This allowed more time to focus on presentation of the lessons and vocabulary.The final activity took place at the end of the semester when students revisited the website, http://www. lextutor. ca, and had their vocabulary assessed a second time to see if it had grown. All of the students scored at the same level from the beginning of the semester, except one student who scored higher. The use of the same exam at the end of the semester gave validity to their scores since the level of the test did not change. Even though most students scored at the same level in the end, I do not believe that the vocabulary learning activities done in class failed.One level contains roughly 4,000 word forms and types, so a student may have tested into the lower end of level 2,000 at the beginning of the semester, and tested at the same level but toward the higher end at the completion of the semester. Since the test does not show this in more detail, it is difficult to know if the students have or have not made some progress . Conclusion Vocabulary acquisition has become an extremely important part of second language acquisition, and teachers cannot rely on students acquiring the needed vocabulary just through interaction with the language.I always understood that vocabulary was important in second language learning, but understanding what words to teach and in what manner have helped me to better plan my lessons so students can acquire the necessary vocabulary. Students need to be taught vocabulary in context so that they can retain the words and use them more frequently. Learning how the computer can help to develop word lists from the student’s textbooks has enabled me to focus on the words that were necessary in each lesson. Allowing the students to use the new vocabulary during the course of the lesson should help them retain it in their long term memories.Using a computer program to assess the student’s present vocabulary level also helped me to see what words needed to be taught to help students progress or catch up. In the end, however vocabulary is presented to the students, like all materials, it must be in appropriate situations, giving them the chance to use the vocabulary and build upon their language repertoire. 9 References Cobb, T. (1999). The compleat lexical tutor (Version 4. 5) [Computer software]. University of Quebec at Montreal. Maiguashca, R. U. (1993). Teaching and learning vocabulary in a second language: Past, present and future directions.The Canadian Modern Language Review, 50(1), 83-100. Murphey, T. , & Arao, H. (2001). Reported belief changes through near peer role modeling. TESL-EJ, 5(3). Retrieved June 1, 2006, from http://wwwwriting. berkeley. edu/TESLEJ/ej19/a1. html Nakata, T. (2006). Implementing optimal spaced learning for English vocabulary learning: Towards improvement of the low-first method derived from the reactivation theory. The JALT CALL Journal, 2(2), 3-18. Nation, P. , & Waring, R. (1997). Vocabulary size, text coverage and word lists. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds. , Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 6-19). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved March 3, 2006, from http:// www1. harenet. ne. jp/~waring/papers/ cup. html Nation, P. (2005). Range and frequency instructions [Computer software]. Retrieved March 3, 2006, from http://www. vuw. ac. nz/lals/staff/paul -nation/nation. aspx Nation, P. (2005). Teaching vocabulary. Asian EFL Journal, 7(3), 47-54. Sevier, M. (2004). The compleat lexical tutor, v. 4. TESL-EJ, 8(3). Retrieved May 26, 2006, from http://wwwwriting. berkeley. edu/TESLEJ/ej31/m2. tml Sternberg, R. J. (1987). Most vocabulary is learned from content. In M. G. McKeown & M. E. Curtis (Eds. ), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 89105). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Yongqi Gu, P. (2003). Vocabulary learning in second language: Person, task, context and strategies. TESL-EJ, 7(2). Retrieved October 3, 2006, from http://www-writing. berkeley. e du/ TESL-EJ/ej26/a4. html 10 Appendix Sample text for RANGE analysis example Starting Your Own Business When starting your own business, it is important that you put a lot of thought into what you are going to do. 0-85% of all business will fail, so the first point is to start with something you know well. Study what the kind of store you want to open. If it is a retail store, then look around. Do you see someone else selling what you plan to sell? How many possible competitors do you see? The next step to plan: There are two reasons for business planning. One is that it makes the entrepreneur investigate where he will open his business and what factors could affect his business. Second, a business plan will also help the entrepreneur obtain financing from a bank.All banks will require a business to make sure enough thought and planning have gone into the project before the banks gives any money. Looking at the first point: By looking at your possible market from a business personâ €™s point of view, you may look with a more critical eye. You don’t want to rush into something where you could lose a lot of money. Possible factors that could affect your business range from employees, to possible growth of the community, to your competition.If there are not a lot of people living around your business, where will your employees come from? Is the community going to grow where you plan to open your business or is it shrinking? If it is shrinking will that hurt your business? The second point is more for the bank. They like to see that you have thought through many of the possibilities that could affect your business. They want to see that you know what your expenses will be, how well you know your product, and how much money you think you can make selling your product. (Prepared by Jeff G. Mehring, 2005)