Job Analysis

Job analysis refers to the process of identifying, recording and analyzing the aspects of a particular job to establish the specific requirements for performance of the job.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Job Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When carrying out job analysis there are three important areas for examination: duties and tasks define the specific roles played by the employee when performing the job while job environment refers to the conditions prevalent in the place where the particular job is carried out. Finally, tools and equipments are required for effective performance. Job analysis is an important aspect in hiring process for several reasons; it helps in documenting vital information about the job, which then helps in determining the appropriate methods of doing the job, then it helps the human resources in job designing (duties and responsibilities) and determination of rewards for th e jobholders (Fine Cronshaw 1999, p.147). Furthermore, it helps in designing effective performance evaluation and measurement systems with which the human resources can rely in making promotions. How to recruit a suitable pool of Applicants The need to recruit a suitable pool of applicants cannot be overemphasized. Placing and assigning roles to suitably qualified personnel is important because the employees consistently deliver on expectations and help in creating value to the organization. These key benefits come about because the employee qualifications marry with the roles played which then precipitates several strong points viz. happy, motivated and productive employees; collaborative team participation which brings out individual strengths and enhanced customer satisfaction which in turn gives the organization a good standing in the public domain. Managing an effective recruitment process There are four key stages in the recruitment process that when followed will increase th e chances of picking the best and suitable applicants for a job. The first step entails information search, analysis, planning, and definition. In this stage, the recruiting personnel must clearly define the needs for the recruitment and find if there are other options available.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, he personnel has to define the time frame, establish the tools for measurement of success of the exercise, establish other players in the recruitment process, define the skills and knowledge specific fro the job, and the position in the organization structure where the ideal candidate will fit. The second stage focuses on how to attract candidates with the desired qualifications. At this stage, the recruiting manager must determine the tools and techniques to be used to get the best results. As such, the personnel should determine the right people who shoul d be involved in management of the process, for instance consultants and define the communication tools that will enable one to reach as many candidates. In today’s world, the internet has become the best tool for interaction between employers and job seekers. Other platforms include colleges and universities, and the news papers through advertisements. Following is a sample advertisement for an opening for a driver. XYZ Agricultural Research Center Job Title: Marketing Manager Location: Michigan Job Description: The incumbent shall be required to develop, establish and maintain the overall marketing and strategic planning, and facilitate client development through advertising and promotional activities of the organization. Experience and Skill required A bachelors degree in marketing or a business related must have at least 5 years of marketing experience especially in aspects of development, implementation and management of marketing strategies have strong knowledge on conducting market research excellent communication both verbal and writing, presentation, analytical, problem solving and time management skills Strong interpersonal and team-leadership skills Must be 35 years and above Interested candidates should forward their application letters including a detailed curriculum vitae indicating current and expected salary, email tel. contacts, and copies of relevant testimonials to the undersigned so as to reach us on or before Friday 15 April, 2011 5.00pm Xyz Agricultural Research center, Email. Hr@Xyzarc.com The third stage of the recruitment process is selection and acquisition of the applicants. The interested candidates should then be screened thoroughly to filter in the finest. This stage is and therefore the recruiting manager should put the best foot forward and gather all the apparatus needed to enhance success. This will require determination of the appropriate selection criteria. This can be done through interviews oral or w ritten, biodata, and/or tests. In conducting the interviews, managers should involve the relevant personnel e.g. the intermediate managers, experts in the field of the job, and the people who will make the final hiring decisions. The interview questions should be then generated and the anticipated responses stipulated. The overall challenge at this level is maintaining objectivity; however, with a good selection framework the challenges can be reduced greatly.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Job Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Biodata is another recruitment tool which as been widely regarded as effective and reliable. This is for the reason that it can predict accurately the future performance of an employee based on empirical methods. Biodata uses a designed form seeking detailed information about the history of the applicants. The final stages focuses on how to bring in the recruited candidates and then offer them support for the initial period in the organization. This will entail working on the internal processes in preparation fro the new employee. The activities carried would include necessary documentation, designing of the reward packages, designing a smooth transition process, putting in place a support system for a period of 3-6 moths and setting the performance objectives. A successful recruitment process is pegged on the level of job definition. The suitable candidates should posses the right skill and knowledge and perfectly fit in their roles and contribute significantly to the overall organization goals. The organization in turn should be able to provide development opportunities to continue optimizing the contributions from their employees. Maximizing chances for employee success Having selected the best job candidates and consequently appointed them to the respective offices, the human resources management’s duty does not end there. Job performance is a f unction of the worker input and the environmental factors. Ripley notes, â€Å"If good performers are put in bad systems, the systems win every time† (1999, p.2). Therefore, management should design and maintain user-friendly working conditions to enhance employee productivity. Gilbert (1999) developed a diagnostic tool called the Behavior Engineering Model (BEM): a model that explains employee performance enhancement through six areas including â€Å"information, resources, incentives, knowledge, capacity and motivation† (p.36). The six areas were grouped into two main factors viz. system and person factors. Information resources and incentives were categorized as system factors whereas skill and knowledge, capacity and motivation represent personal factors. Information relating to the output expectations needs to be relayed continuously to the worker as well as giving feedback to allow self-evaluation.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Other key information that the worker should be aware of is the organization policies and the standard operating procedures. This can be easily availed to the new employees through orientation. Resources refer to all the tool and equipment to allow the worker to perform his/her duties effectively. Incentives refer to the ability of the system or the work environment to offer attractiveness to motivate performance. System incentives could refer to the ability of the system to offer challenges, development opportunities, and put trust on the workers, for instance by delegation of duty by the manager on his subordinates. Relevant skills and knowledge are critical to performance. Most organizations today are differentiated and use highly customized applications and hence there’s need that the recruited staff be taken through some training in order to synchronize their skills and knowledge. Motivation is pegged on both internal (personal) and external (system) factors. Whereas it is not easy for the company to control its internal factors, it is possible to adjust environmental conditions to turn on the worker. Further, to enhance employee productivity, the human resources must offer attractive compensation packaged with other benefits in pursuit of worker satisfaction and motivation. Rumler and Brache posit that, the work system can be customized to offer satisfaction by observing Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Other quality enhancing management standards, according to Dean (1997), can be based of the total quality movement (TQM), and the reengineering and business process redesign (BPR) (p.48). Information research Methods Analysis Advantages Disadvantages Interviews Are useful in determining the key aspects of candidates such as ability to communicate effectively Allows the interviewer to prompt further to obtain additional information Allows interviewer the opportunity to critically evaluate the applicant’s skills and knowledge Is the best tool for selecting best candidates from a pool of equally qualified candidates It provides room fro adjustments so that important information can be collected Allows for interaction, and the job candidates can seek additional information about the job offer. Interview evaluations are quite subjective Decisions arrived at seem to be based on the first impressions which may not be true Suffers bias, negative information carries more wait Researches have shown that interviews are not as reliable as tests Biodata It’s reliable: bases predictions into the future on historical personal information It’s legally dependable as it capture information which is exhaustive It’s less vulnerable to halo effect or biases Once developed it is less costly, and an be used to process large number of applicants. Presents legal conflicts as some information being sought could led to invasion of personal privacy Applicants may fake facts hence compromising acc uracy Developing a biodata is very time consuming and therefore costly Prolonged usage would reduce diversity in the organization human resource Questionnaires They are standardized thus offering more objective results than interviews can allow fast gathering of data useful in when the study sample is large Since they are standardized they do not allow additional details (closed questionnaires) The interviewer cannot prop further and in many cases the answers given are quite superficial The respondents may be reluctant to fill in the questionnaires and the interviewer may have little to motivate them. References List Dean, P. J., Ripley, D. E., 1997. Performance Improvement Pathfinders. Washington, DC: The International Society for Performance Improvement. Fine, S., Cronshaw, S., 1999. Functional job analysis: A foundation for human  Resources management. New Jersey: Mahwah. Gilbert, T., 1996. Human Competence: Engineering worthy Performance. Washington DC: The Int ernational Society for Performance Improvement. Ripley, D., 1999. Improving employee performance: moving beyond traditional HRm Responses. Web. Rumler, G., Brache, A., 1995 Improving Performance: How to Manage the White  Space on the Organization Chart. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers This report on Job Analysis was written and submitted by user D0ct0rSpectrum to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Hearst essays

Hearst essays William Randolph Hearst and Citizen Kane Citizen Kane has often been considered one the best film ever made. This film is about a conflict between two twentieth century icons, the publisher William Randolph Hearst and the prodigy of his time, Orson Welles. This movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards, but is booted off the stage with only one award, for Best Screenplay. This was due to the great pressure from one of the most powerful men in the nation, the man that Citizen Kane portrayed as a corrupt power hungry man, William Randolph Hearst. There is no way that one cannot ignore the striking similarities between Hearst and Kane. Orson Welles included a few details about the young Kanes life that, anyone with some knowledge of Hearst life, would set anyone thinking about the newspaper giants life. Shortly after the film begins, a reporter is seen trying to discover the meaning of Kanes last words rosebud. This reporter begins his search by going through the records of Kanes guardian Thatcher. The scene then begins to come to life in the midwinter that takes place at the Kanes house. Kanes mother has come into one of the richest gold mines in the world, and at age twenty-five, Kane will inherit this sixty million dollar fortune. His mother becomes doubtful of the education system in Colorado; therefore she decides to send her son to study with Thatcher. Hearsts parents came by their money through gold mines, so both Kane and Hearst were raised with golden spoon in their mouths. Kane is devoted to his mother as Hearst was likewise to that. Both men pay heed to their mothers wishes while their fathers seem to be less powerful and were not as influential as their mothers. Kanes dying word, the name of his childhood sled Rosebud, is a town twenty miles east of where the Hearsts parents grew up. Everything from the newsreel at the start ...

Haasts Eagle (Harpagornis) Facts and Figures

Haasts Eagle (Harpagornis) Facts and Figures   Name: Haasts Eagle; also known as Harpagornis (Greek for grapnel bird); pronounced HARP-ah-GORE-niss Habitat: Skies of New Zealand Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-500 years ago) Size and Weight: About six foot wingspan and 30 pounds Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; grasping talons About Haasts Eagle (Harpagornis) Wherever there were large, flightless prehistoric birds, you can be sure there were also predatory raptors like eagles or vultures on the lookout for an easy lunch. Thats the role Haasts Eagle (also known as Harpagornis or the Giant Eagle) played in Pleistocene New Zealand, where it swooped down and carried off giant moas like Dinornis and Emeus  -   not full-grown adults, but juveniles and newly hatched chicks. As befitting the size of its prey, Haasts Eagle was the biggest eagle that ever lived, but not by all that much - adults only weighed about 30 pounds, compared to 20 or 25 pounds for the largest eagles alive today. We cant know for sure, but extrapolating from the behavior of modern eagles, Harpagornis may have had a distinctive hunting style - swooping down on its prey at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, seizing the unfortunate animal by the pelvis with one of its talons, and delivering a killing blow to the head with the other talon before (or even while) taking flight. Unfortunately, because it relied so heavily on Giant Moas for its sustenance, Haasts Eagle was doomed when these slow, gentle, flightless birds were hunted to extinction by the first human settlers of New Zealand, going extinct itself shortly afterward.

Engaging with Vulnerable People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Engaging with Vulnerable People - Essay Example I will also investigate through the professional values with reference to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)’s Code of Professional Conduct with regard to the care provided to Miss. Jaya. This essay will find out whether the staff had given respect while maintaining the patient’s dignity and self-respect. The anti discriminatory practice concerns in the case study are explained in the essay while analyzing how these elements affect providing care. A personal perspective about the issue and lessons obtained from the assignment is added in the conclusion. The Concept of Vulnerability The concept of vulnerability has been widely used to explain a situation in which the physical as well as the mental well-being needed for a normal productive life is impaired and at continuous risk (‘The concept of vulnerability’, n.d.). In simple terms of general usage, vulnerability can be denoted as the state of being exposed to hazards, risks, and stresses. When it come s to health-related vulnerability, poor health grade causes the entry into the condition of vulnerability. The vulnerability in the health care system is affected with the people and society in the form mortality, morbidity, and more commonly in various forms of social deprivation. The concept of vulnerability itself is evident in the perception of health risk, and has always been affecting the public health systems. In each country, the state of vulnerability depends on the level of development and stages of health transition. Even when there are certain patterns, certain population sections of society are highly exposed to the health hazards and poorest quality of life. The group extremely exposed to vulnerability is women, under the categories of women in rural areas, abandoned old women, and teenage mothers. Such identification and categorization of the highly vulnerable group has facilitated the investigators to conceptualize health care as multi-sectored service. The Royal Col lege of Nursing (Cited by Dyson, 2007) suggests that while taking care of the old people, the nurses should realise the multi-ethnic backgrounds of the patient, which can greatly influence the quality of care; assessment and evaluation of care in a rage of acute care setting will help in developing and promoting fair and anti-discriminatory healthcare practice. The strategies must be formulated at the local level as well as the national level, in order to tackle down the vulnerability towards women, especially towards the aged women. At the same time, policy formulation intended to eradicate vulnerability must not end up in creating new forms of vulnerability against the existing ones. Each nurse, regardless of their practise and service is expected to adhere to the NMC codes of conduct as well as to its recommendation and guidelines, in order to promote a safe environment for clients and others. Nurses are ought to preserve the patient’s safety, and this practise can be cons idered to be the base for behaviour and code of conduct. Patients under the care of a nurse, like Miss. Jaya in the case study who was admitted in the ward under the care of nurse, are vulnerable by virtue of illness, injury, and more of dependent nature and undesired incidents. And such incidents create an unequal influence base within the nurse-patient relationship.

Global Warming and Agriculture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Warming and Agriculture - Essay Example Biologists believe that the agriculture practices represent a very carefully designed natural pattern in which the production is limited by a specific amount of natural growth. If these limits were pushed too far beyond, their natural allowance then, the cycle would be destroyed leading to a decline in productivity in general. However, with the increase in global warming, and drastic undefined climate change and decrease in agricultural produce proves the dilemma that both the variables work negative to each other, (negative correlation) and shows how vulnerable the entire system is upon the external changes such as the climate. Thus, it destroys the basic concept of sustainable agriculture, as this system was supposed to have an â€Å"adaptive capacity, as the ability to adjust to climate change, to moderate potential damages, to take advantages of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences† (McCarthy et al., 2001). Climate is the most significant variable of agriculture, whose even the slightest variability has pertinent effects upon the crop produce. The climate may have a stronger impact through indirect factors such as soil, water and terrain which influence the yield are actually produces of the weather conditions, and even slight variability in it, can have a massive impact upon the crop yields, which might be positive or negative, but certainly varying the regular pattern of production. Sustainability was the idea, which wanted to enhance the economic development of the world, in lure of the future generations. The ecologists were concerned with the increasing soil erosion, water depravity and its contamination, pest attacks and their immunity to chemicals, and foremost the social and economic equity all arising t and from the lack of production and its increasing variability. Ecologists worldwide through the analysis of historical data of crop yield suggest that mankind had through decades

Her body, her baby, her choice Essay Example for Free

Her body, her baby, her choice Essay Abortion, it’s not a choice that any woman would ever want to have to make, but it’s a decision that she should have the right to make. If it comes down to the possibility of her and her baby losing their lives, she should be able to stop this possibly fatal pregnancy. The body is hers, the baby is hers, and the choice should be hers. If you disagree, make the choice for your own body. Abortion should be legal. What people may not realize is that, legal or not, abortion still happens all around the world. Of the approximately 42 million abortions that do occur worldwide, almost half are performed by unskilled individuals, in environments that do not meet minimum medical standards or both. † (http://www. guttmacher. org/pubs/gpr/12/4/gpr120402. html). Unsafe and illegal abortion is responsible for one in eight maternal deaths and according to an estimate done by the World Health Organization in 2006 ‘back alley’ abortions cause about 68,000 deaths each year where abortion isn’t legal. There is no question that making abortion illegal in places such as the United States, will only make these numbers increase greatly. It’s no secret that raising a child requires mass amounts of money that many women who get pregnant don’t have, especially if they have no partner to help them out. Poor and low income women account for more than half of abortions in the United States. Without the option to get an abortion, there would be many more children suffering because they have to live their life in poverty. Almost half of all children with a single mother live in poverty, these children experience poverty at a rate that is more than four times higher than kids in married-couple families. Although, it is believed that â€Å"abortion legalization may have led to an improvement in the average living conditions of children, probably by reducing the numbers of youngsters who would have lived in single-parent families, lived in poverty, received welfare and died as infants. † (https://www. guttmacher. org/pubs/journals/3402502. html) Many people who are against abortion don’t take into consideration that not all women are able to safely give birth to a child and the risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as the risk of death associated with  abortion. For example, teen girls aged around 15-19 years old have bodies that are not yet ready for childbirth. These girls are five times more likely to die, with around 70,000 of them dying annually. Their babies that do survive still have a 60% higher chance of dying than normal babies. With so much uncertainty, why shouldn’t they have the option to prevent themselves and their own parents the pain of losing a child. Many people believe that women are using abortion as a form of birth control. That they believe that they no longer need to be cautious because they can go pop over to the doctors to get an abortion whenever. However, this isn’t the case and, more often than not, women who get abortions were on some sort of birth control. Though, with any birth control there is almost always a chance of it not working properly and you becoming pregnant. Only less than one in ten women getting abortions weren’t on any sort of birth control. Making abortion illegal forces women who may have taken many precautions to not become pregnant to have a child that they don’t want and makes it so that an unwanted child is born into this world. This would not be fair to the woman or the child. Something that many people who oppose to abortion believe is that abortion, spontaneous or induced, raises the risk of breast cancer or any other type of cancer. There have been many, many studies done studies by various people such as the National Registry of Induced Abortions, the Danish Cancer Registry, Harvard researchers, and The California Teachers Study. The large size of most of the studies and the manner in which they were done provide good evidence that induced labor does not affect a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. In 2003, the U. S. National Cancer Institute had a workshop with more than 100 of the world’s leading experts who study pregnancy and breast cancer risk. They all found that neither induced or spontaneous abortion are linked to an increase in breast cancer risk; the level of scientific evidence for these findings was considered the highest level, ‘well established’. Abortion should be legal because it saves many women’s lives from unsafe abortion, it can save families from lifelong poverty and it may save the lives of women who are unable to safely give birth to children. In a country that is based on freedom; freedom of speech, freedom of religion, individual freedom, why should this situation be any different? A law based off of a religious belief isn’t something that this country stands for, a law that prevents women from making decisions about her own body should not be a law in this country.

E-Sports :: essays research papers

We live in constant violence. It seems like every year there’s a domestic event highlighted by a bloody rampage by crazed individuals armed with weapons that are meant for such frenzies. The most recent that are still in people’s minds would be the Washington Sniper and the Columbine High School shootings. While it may be true that psychologically troubled individuals planned out and executed both events, later investigations pointed out one hauntingly similar coincidence. The killers practiced on simulated violence that comes with video games (http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Eric+Harris+and+Dylan+Klebold&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1). And because of that, the gaming industry took massive repercussions, with lists such as the one Mothers Against Violence in America created, in which games such as Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and Halo are supposed to be avoided by parents at all costs (Lottie). The Interfaith Center on Corporat e Responsibility mentions the same games but takes it a step further stating that â€Å"violent interactive media indicates that it has a strong and more lasting effect on violent behavior†¦in children and adolescents.† (http://www.iccr.org/issues/violence/jointstatement020705.PDF) But is that the truth? Will everyone playing an Entertainment Software Rating Board rated Mature game become a crazed, violent individual who wants to commit mass murders? The mass populace of the United States may say so, but the rest of world seems to disagree (McDonald, 16). Gaming has minimal effects, if not any, on the mental health of its crowd. With legislation pushing for anti-gaming acts, the casual and professional gaming communities are starting to suffer because of a few crazed individuals. Whereas casual gamers will probably complain, American pros will take whatever action they can to slow down the barrage of acts and laws that will hinder their ability to compete at level with f oreign professional gaming teams.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the ideas that hasn’t taken hold in the United States would be the idea of Electronic Sports or Professional Gaming (commonly known as E-Sports). The rest of the world, namely Europe and Asia, respects and accepts E-Sports, whereas the United States looks down on it. America tries to make attaining competitive games Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike:Source Halo, Warcraft 3 and others difficult for everybody. Europe and Asia on the other hand, have live media coverage at events broadcasted over national television. If a common middle-class mother in America mentions something about games, negative comments would follow suit. If the same case was to happen in Norway, then the responses would be neutral and would wind up with the mothers conversing about their sons/daughters placement in the last major event they were in.

Instructional Materials Essay

Social Studies can be defined as a discipline in which we can learn about our world and man’s interaction with his immediate and remote environment. Since Social Studies deals with how men interact with its social and physical environments, how can this interaction of physical and social environment be learnt by the pupils? This can be learnt in the classroom where teaching and learning cannot be conducted by the teacher by merely feeling his pupils with facts and information. There is need to expose the pupils to varied activities. The environment of the child is rich in varied resources. The teacher should utilize these varied resources to promote or stimulate learning among his pupils. Pupils learn positively not by hearing alone but by seeing and doing. How can the teacher stimulate the pupils’ interest? This can be done by the use of instructional materials. Instructional materials are meant to stimulate pupils’ interest in the classroom for meaningful learning to take place. They also afford the pupils the opportunity to make use of more of their senses in the process of learning experiences which are not available in the classroom or school environment, are â€Å"brought† to the classroom for pupils’ attention through the use of instructional materials. For example, the use of the map of the world in teaching some topics in social studies enables the teacher to bring to class these learning experiences. â€Å"This is why instructional materials is said to be aids to learning rather than teaching†. 1.2. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The study was planned mainly to: a. Provide useful information which will contribute in some ways to the improvement of the teaching of social studies in Nigeria primary schools through the effective use of instructional materials. b. Generate data that will help school administrators in their policy formation as regards the use of instructional materials in schools. c. Make available valuable information that will be helpful to educational technologist in their design of appropriate instructional materials for schools. 1.3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Nigeria is a potentially a great Nation. But for the Nation to fully attain the enviable position of greatness, her citizens must be dedicated honest, patriotic and hardworking. This is why the federal Government of Nigeria is at present embarking on the project of re-branding the country with the theme, great Nation, good people. Educators have rightly identified social studies as one subject that can help to make these lofty dreams of greatness a reality. Therefore, it cannot be overemphasized on the need to effectively teach this subject through the use of instructional materials. Here has the importance of this study. It will be expected that result of this study may be useful in the following ways: a. Enabling social studies teacher to realize more than ever before the importance of the use of instructional materials while teaching especially social studies. b. Providing more useful information for social studies teacher as regards the various instructional materials they can employ in teaching. c. Providing more useful information for prospective designs of instructional materials on the need to provide suitable instructional materials for use in schools. 1.4. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM It is the consensus among scholars in Nigerian that social studies is one subject that is crucial to the realization of the Nigeria dream of greatness. This is the reasons why social studies in one of the cone subjects at the primary school and junior school levels. However, it seems the teaching and learning of the subject is hampered by the problem of lack of in adequate use of instructional materials. Therefore, the problem of this research is to look at the problems surrounding the use of instructional materials in the teaching of social studies in primary schools. Specifically, this study has attempted to provide answers to the following research questions. 1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. Do primary school teachers use instructional materials while teaching social studies? 2. Are primary school social studies teachers aware of the benefits of using instructional materials in teaching? 3. Does the use of instructional materials in teaching have any impact on pupils’ performance in primary school social studies? 4. Could the non use of instructional materials in the teaching of social studies in primary schools be as a result of their being inadequate? 5. What contribution does the use of instructional materials have on the teaching and learning of social studies? 1.6. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of this research has been limited to some selected primary schools in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State. The project is to examine the impact of instructional materials in teaching of social studies in selected primary schools in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Areas. And also to know how learning can be stimulated in primary schools pupils. The limitation is due to financial and time constraint. 1.7. DEFINITION OF TERMS 1. SOCIAL STUDIES: Social Studies can be defined as a study that equips learners with tools such as attitude, values and skills necessary in solving personal and community related problems. Social Studies is also a study of a man and his environment. It is also the study of many interactions with his physical and social environment. It is a study of how man lives in the society, what he does, how his life is affected by things, people as well as social practices around him. 2. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: These are the resources used to facilitate teaching and learning. 3. TEACHING: This can be defined as the conscious and deliberate efforts by a matured or experienced person to impact knowledge, information, skill, attitude and beliefs to an immature or less experienced person. Is also a systematic way of impacting knowledge on to the people. 4. ENVIRONMENT: These are what we interact within our surroundings likes highlands, lakes, rivers and vegetations e.t.c. 5. LEARNING: Advanced knowledge gained by careful study. Is also a permanent changes in behavior due to past experiences. 6. FACILITATING: Make learning easy without any difficulty 7. ABSTRACT: These are what we cannot see in our surroundings 8. IMPACT: The important or the value one devices from doing something 9. STIMULATING: The art of reasoning quickly and thought and feeling CHAPTER TWO 2.1. LITERATURE REVIEW The art of teaching and learning involves the interaction of both the human and materials resources in a classroom setting. Since human beings are social animals and they cannot live in isolation, they have to socialize and interact among themselves and with environment. This brings us to the question† What is Social Studies†? Social Studies can be defined as study that equips learners with tools such as attitudes, values, skills necessary in solving personal and community related problems. Information and knowledge gathered from reading books, journals, research works may reveal the area which have not been adequately researched into to us. Furthermore, reviews of literature sometimes provoke the urge to carry out a research based on what we read in the books or journal. Teaching and learning materials can be defined as any device piece of equipment, graphic representation, sound reproduction or illustration that helps the pupils to learn. Generally, instructional materi als are used to reinforce and to enrich the mastery of the subject matter. The roles of instructional materials have been of great importance to teaching in primary schools. According to Awosolu et al (1997), quoting Alani et al (1995) he said that since most pupils in primary schools are still very young, their intellectual abilities may not allow abstract presentation in facts without having to complement the content with concrete materials. It is in this regard that instructional materials are perceived as â€Å"aids to learning rather than aid to teaching†. Lawton and Dufour and Dahunsi (1979) classify social studies instructional materials in the following: 1. PICTORIAL MATERIALS: These include globes, maps, posters, flip and well charts diagrams. 2. PRINTED MATERIALS: These include textbooks, reference books, supplementary books, work books, journals, newspapers and magazines. 3. BOARDS LIKE: Chalkboard, Flannel or felt boards 4. MECHANICAL AIDS: These are audio-visual equipment and materials. Having known the various instructional materials, they serve as information carriers which are designed specifically to fulfill objectives in a teaching learning situation. In fact, learning resources in social studies are multi various and limitless. Social studies by its nature and content deals with the realities of men living in his complex environment. Hence, anything has to do with man’s behavior and interaction as a social behavior qualifies as an instructional materials in social studies. It is therefore possible to employ as many instructional materials as possible when teaching any topic in social studies because they help to stimulate pupils’ interest and reduce the numbers of verbal responses. A lot has been written on the impact of instructional materials in teaching and learning of social studies. Agun (1988) asserts that many curriculum innovations like inquiry or problem solving method of instruction or learning how to learn may not be meaningfully and effectively implemented without the use of a wide variety of learning resource. Generally, instructional materials are used to reinforce and enrich the mastery of the subject matter. As a matter of fact, Durojaiye (1978) declared that there is a large number of failure due to the fact that teacher are not doing their work as conscientiously as they should. The critics feel that schools no longer offer true learning and creativity to their pupils. Supporting the vies of these critics. Popham (1971) feels that social studies teachers and curriculum designers in the schools do not make any significant impact on pupils due to the lack of the use of instructional materials. According to Adusual (1982), instructional materials size could affect teacher’s effectiveness because, the smaller the shape the greater the degree of contact, and more effective the teaching and learning interaction. Assuming that there were adequate number of teaching aids it can be give to each of the pupils, therefore, the teaching of social studies without making use of instructional materials is not helping his pupils to learn. 2.2. THE IMPORTANCE OF USING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS It is pertinent for teachers to become aware of the benefits that accrue from the utilization of instructional materials in order to intensity their efforts at achieving effective result in their teaching activities. Weaver and Bollinger (1949) identified the following advantages: 1. They attract and hold intention: A verbal explanation become more effective in attracting and creating interest when supplemented by a visual aid. 2. Instructional materials help retention of information and visual images. The major part of the things people heard are forgotten in a relatively short time and it becomes difficult to recall accurately what is heard. On the other hand, the things they see make a more lasting impression and they experience considerably less difficulty in calling the object or process with increased accuracy. 3. They help informing correct images: People often interpret information in term of their own background of experiences. Consequently, it is possible and quite probable for a group of learners to form entirely different ideas about the same things as a result of verbal description. The use of instructional materials helps to eliminate this inconsistency. 4. They assist in understanding proper relationships of components parts. 5. More of the benefits, teachers can reap when instructional materials are used in the teaching process: According to Ogunmilade (1984) the ability it provides in the share of expertise, helping knowledge to reach a lot of people. Simultaneously preservation of records and documents. Bringing before us what otherwise could have looked imaginary or far-fetched; enriching learning and allowing students to learn at their own rate. Furthermore, using of instructional materials makes teaching more effective and facilitates also to master the topic taught to the learner. Finally, using of instructional materials make learning easier and pleasurable at the same time concretize the learning process in the learners. 2.3. PROBLEMS FACING THE USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN SCHOOLS In spite of the numerous benefits accruing from the use of instructional materials in teaching and learning situation its application in our schools has been discouraging because of the following process: 1. Lack of Direction: This is characterized by lip service, paid to use to educational technology in high quarter. Apart from the meager budgetary provisions often made by governments for instructional materials, when it comes to implementation, the funds are hardly released. 2. Resistance to change on the part of the teachers. 3. Lack of readiness of teaching staff to use audio-visual techniques and charge their methods and tools within the classroom. 4. Lack of insfrastructures and facilities that might make the use of instructional aid more meaningful such as lecture halls, audio-visual, libraries, studios, independent study spaces, audio-visual resource centre e.t.c. 5. Inadequate personnel or specialist to train users of instructional materials in schools. 6. Fear of failure in their use 7. Fear that new technology would replace teachers. 8. Inadequate instructional materials: Since the inception of social studies programme, teachers have consistently complained about the problems of quality and quantity of instructional materials. The problem is traceable to lack of good textbooks, cost of textbooks, commercialization of materials, non-functional libraries and resources centres, gap between publication and dissemination of instructional materials, lack of quality control of textual materials and so on. In most cases, teachers rely on outdated and stereotyped textbooks which hardly reflect the needs of pupils. 9. Lack of Fund: This is one of the big problems confronting teachers in general, and social studies teacher in particular. The problem here is lack of motivation and incessant agitation by teachers for improved condition of service. Thus, primary school teachers including social studies teachers have lost interest in teaching even though they are still called teachers. Those who have the slightest opportunity leave the classroom for greener pastures. The incessant replacement that follows such frequent resignations leads to lack of continuity in social studies classrooms. The pupils are usually the worse hit by this. Furthermore, funds are not available for the provision of instructional materials, thereby leaving teachers to either improvise or teach without any in majority of the cases. CHAPTER THREE 3.0.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter is concerned with the techniques used by the researcher in the collection of data for investigation. It covers explanation on the choice and description of instrument employed for the collection of data. Also included are the sampling techniques, method of administration of the questionnaire and the data analysis method. 3.1.RESEARCH INSTRUMENT The research instrument used for this study is the questionnaire. The choice of the questionnaire is because of its advantage of allowing respondents to answer questions without any outside influence such as facial appearance that may influence respondents as in the interview method. The questionnaire used is in two parts. The first part deals with the personal data of the respondents while the second part contains ten statements which attempt to find out the impact of the use of instructional materials have in teaching social studies. 3.2.SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE The sample of this study consists of 60 primary school teachers. The sample was chosen from five primary schools in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State. The sampling technique used in selecting the sample for the study was the systematic random sampling. The sampling technique removes bias in the selection of the elements, and it is convenient and more accurate than the random sampling. 4.3. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 1. Most social studies teachers aware of the need for instructional materials in teaching of social studies. 2. Most primary schools have inadequate instructional materials in the teaching of social studies 3. Majority of the social studies teacher do not make use of instructional materials during their lesson 4. Most of the social studies teachers agree that the chalkboard is one of the instructional materials which aid effective teaching of social studies. 5. Most of the teachers take their pupils on field trips majority of social studies teachers use community resources like red objects and resources persons because they promote learning in social studies. Most social studies teachers do not have overhead projectors, audio-visual equipment which can promote learning in social studies. 6. Almost all the teachers of social studies said that inadequate equipment is one of the problems which they face. 7. Most social studies teachers agree that effective use of instructional materials contribute positively to learning process. 4.4. DISCUSSION From the research study most primary school teachers are aware of instructional materials for the teaching of social studies. This observation is consistent with the assertion of Nduanya (1986) that teachings are more effective when teachers locate and use appropriate resources. Furthermore, it is observed that most primary schools lack instructional materials be it concrete or abstract to teach social studies. This shows that most primary schools in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government either lack or have inadequate instructional materials for the teaching of social studies. From the research study, it can be observed that majority of social studies teachers do not make use of instructional materials during social studies lessons. This is as a result of inadequate instructional materials which is due to lack of fund to provide instructional materials. This findings agrees with Agun (1988) who asserts that many curriculum innovations like inquiring or problem solving method of instructional or learning how to learn may not be meaningful and effectively implemented without the use of a wide variety of learning research. In fact, it can be deduced from the research study that most social studies teachers make use of chalkboard as an instructional material which is most important aids to effective teaching. This implies that the chalkboard is one of the instructional materials that is the most available instructional materials in every school. There is no school which will have inadequate instructional materials and will not have a chalkboard. Indeed, the chalkboard as one of the instructional materials is commonly used by the teachers. This findings on the use of chalkboard agrees with Ajimoko (1973); Dahunsi (1979), Akanbi (1982) and Osofisan (1982) they said apart from the chalkboard, the textbook was the next most frequently used of the instructional materials. Consequently, from the findings it can be observed that majority of social studies teacher take their pupils out on field trips. Pupils are taking out on excursion to relate their experience with the theory they have been taught in the classroom. When pupils are taking out on field trips they learn more about their surroundings as the nature of social studies and learning becomes more permanent in them. From the findings it shows that majority of social studies teachers makes use of resources centres. This indicates that pupils need to be taken out of the classroom to appreciate the fact that learning does not end within the premises of the classroom. When pupils go out, they need to be trained to observe event and learn without the teacher being around them. This finding agrees with Preston and Herman (1981). These resource centres become social studies laboratory in which pupils becomes young social scientists. From the research study, it can be deducted that most social studies teachers do not make use of audio-visual materials because they don’t have them. This finding agrees with Akibote (1983) on the very limited uses of electronic materials in school within Ondo Local Government Area. This is as a result of the teacher’s inabilities to manipulate any of the equipment since they do not have teacher training. Another related problem may be due to lack of electricity because majority of the schools do not have electricity. Another finding of the study deduced that in teaching of social studies, inadequate equipment is one of the problems faced by social studies teachers. This implies that some social studies lessons are done in abstract. So, effective learning cannot be facilitated. This negative effect may be as a result of lack of funds to provide adequate instructional materials in schools and teachers are not ready to improve because of their salaries are very inadequate. The results also shown that most of the social studies teachers agrees that most of the social studies teachers agrees that the effective use of instructional materials combine positively to learning process. The effect is that when instructional materials are effectively used, they facilitate learning and stimulate pupil’s interest. They also make their lessons more interesting and relief the pupils from the burden of tiredness while learning. CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of instructional materials in the teaching of social studies in primary schools. In this chapter, the summary of the major findings will be highlighted. The discussion will also include suggestions for policy making and areas where future research on the topic may be directed. 5.1. SUMMARY One of the major findings of this research is that most social studies teachers agreed on the importance of teaching the subject with instructional materials. Another outcome of this project is that there are inadequate instructional materials for teaching social studies in primary schools. So many instances, teaching is done without instructional materials. It was also revealed from the research that the chalkboard that is always available in schools is one of the instructional materials which aids the effective teaching of social studies. This study also reveals that although most primary schools do not have audio-visual aids, social studies teachers compensate for this by making use of real objects, resource persons and by taking their pupils on field trips. Finally, from this research, it was revealed that the use of instructional materials in teaching social studies contribute positively to the learning of the subject 5.2. SUGGESTIONS Although this study has not claimed to be complete, some suggestions based on its findings could be made on how to improve the teaching of social studies in primary schools through the effective use of instructional materials. In the first place, because of the importance of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of social studies in primary schools, the various ministries of education and school boards in the country should ensure that adequate instructional materials are supplied to primary schools. Secondly, the government should ensure that there is regular supply of electricity and schools in the villages that lack electricity should be provided with generators. This will enable the schools to make use of audio-visual aids such as television, projector and VCD. Thirdly, regular workshops and seminars should be organized by the various school boards for primary school teachers on how to make simple instructional materials and on the use of the various instructional materials. Finally, inspectors of education should constantly visit schools to ensure that the instructional materials available are judiciously used by teachers for teaching. 5.3. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES Like with most researches, this study cannot claim to have exhausted all that is to be said on the use of instructional materials in teaching social studies in primary schools. Instead, this survey should be regarded as a guide for further research. Therefore, as regards the future, this researcher suggests some specific projects. First of all, a further investigation should be carried out to find out how use of instructional materials or lack of this affects pupils’ academic performance in social studies. In addition, social studies teacher should consider the instructional materials when teaching social studies at the same time there is need for education technology practitioners to write texts more relevant to Nigeria situation and needs such texts should contain model and samples of instructional materials and the procedure for making them by individual teachers. Furthermore, there should be a study on the suitability or otherwise of the available instructional materials that are being used in teaching social studies in primary schools. DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ADENIRAN OGUNSANYA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, EPE CAMPUS, EPE. RESEARCH PROJECT 2013 QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE IMPACT OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ON THE TEACHING OF SOCIAL STUDIES IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN IBEJU-LEKKI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE REFERENCES Alani, R.A; Oduyemi, O.G and Agagu A.A. (1995): Teaching Aids; Reading in Subject Methodology; Ijebu-Ode, Olaf Association, Page 29-34. Awosolu, E.O. and Fasasi A.K.(1996): â€Å"Teacher’s use of Instructional materials in Primary Social Studies in Epe Metropolis† The Beagle, Journal of Primary Education,, Vol. 1 and 2, page 71-77. Awosolu, E.O. and Fasasi A.K. (1996) â€Å"Teacher’s use of Instructional Materials in Primary Social Studies in Epe Metropolis† quoting Agun 1988, Nduanya 1986, Imogie 1988, Alani et al 1995, Dufour and Dahunsi 1979, Ajimoko 1973, Preston and Herman 1981, Akibote 1983, Akanbi 1982, and Osofisan 1982 in the Beagle, Journal of Primary Education, Vol 1 and 2, page 71 – 77. Olowoye, B. (1996): Principle and Method of Teachings. Ibadan, Afolabi Press Limited Page 107 – 120 Osunkalu, A.S. (1973): Instructional Media quoting Adesina 1982, Durojaiye 1978 Welberg 1970, Nwaogu 1980 and Pophas 1971 in a Journal of Teachers Guide Vol. 2 page 21 – 26. View as multi-pages

The Shawshank Redemption

Adrian Sanchez Intro to Film 1 Sharri Hefner 4/20/13 Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank Redemption is a drama film released in 1994 written and directed by Frank Darabont. The overall theme of The Shawshank Redemption is the burden of isolation and imprisonment. Each of the inmates inside Shawshank Prison is locked up metaphorically as well as literally. Most prisoners in Shawshank redemption are there for life sentences. All that time behind the walls have changed the way the prisoners think and how they live.The young prisoners always say they are innocent when they are truly guilty. But Red, (played by Morgan Freeman) admits that he is guilty after spending 40 years in jail. The time he had to think about what he did is what led him to confess the truth. This is just one example of what all those years of isolation does to a person. The formal elements, camera, and the narrative is what I will use to prove the theme. The overall look and feel of the film is dark until the ending. The mise-en-scene of shawshank prison is unjust and shady.The design and characters help shape the mise-en-scene as an unjust and shady prison system. The design of shawshank looks like an old school dark sort of tower as you can see when andy first arrives to the prison. The costume is spot on in this movie. The officers uniforms look very intimidating as the prisoners uniforms look very dirty and plain. The warden is also dressed nice throughout the movie always in a suit. They use this to differentiate the high class and the lower class. The higher class is always controlling the lower class and accessing their dominance.They instill fear in their prisoners by abusing them and beating them which is very unfair. Years of being in that sort of environment can cause some prisoners to go crazy. Imagine going through that and witnessing that type of abuse every day of your life? Its going to have a huge effect on your brain mentally. This type of abuse makes a prisoner feel trapped an d even more isolated. Also the camera helps dictate the feeling of isolation and imprisonment. The camera is key to the theme. The camera shots and angles help make the viewer see how it feels to be isolated and trapped.One of my favorite shots of the movie is when andy is walking inside shawshank prison and they use a cut transition into a subjective shot where andy is looking up and seeing the tall building as hes walking inside the prison. That scene lets me know that he is already feeling trapped and he had just got there. They also use lighting to help inforce isolation and imprisonment. When Red is in his jail cell and as soon as the lights go out the lighting immediately changes and they do a close up shot to reds face and his emotion seems frightened and scared.Also when Andy gets cornered by three guys for the first time the lighting helps build shadow to make andy feel trapped. The narrative also helps shape the theme. The narrative as a whole helps dictate the theme. The characters throughout the movie feel trapped. There are different levels of isolation within the prison from the large, enclosed recreation yard to the smaller work crews down to the cellblock, cells, and, finally, solitary confinement.The prison then becomes a multilayered world that they have to live and deal with for the rest of their lifes. The sad thing is they cannot do nothing about it. When Bogs gets locked up in solitary confinement for a week the officers opened the door and said â€Å"Times up bogs† then he put on a fake grin and said â€Å"its your world boss†. This is the warden and the officers world and the prisoners are trapped in it with nothing they can do about it. They are in for so long that they get used to the prison system and this cruel world.But they forget about the life outside the bars. When brooks finds out he will be on parol he loses it. He almost kills his friend just to stay in jail. He wants to stay in jail because outside of the wall s he is nothing but inside the prison he is actually somebody. The montage of brooks when he gets out of jail is extremely sad. It depicts the negative effect on being imprisoned for a long time. When he gets out he is lost in the world. He feels even more alone then he ever was in shawshank.Being in prison for that long has negative effects on the brain. When you get used to one way of living you feel like that’s the only way to live but when you step out in the real world you are just confused and don’t know how to react to the environment. Sadly he committed suicide at the end of the montage. Also red told andy in the last scene that they were in prison together â€Å"ive been in here for most of my life. Im an institutionalized man now [†¦] In here im the guy that can get things for you. Outside all you need is the yellow pages. He is saying that he is so used to the prison that he would never survive in the real world. This futher proves my theme that isolat ion and imprisonment is a burden. You feel trapped both physically and mentally when you’re in jail for that long. Andy and red were the only ones to break through the physical and mental hurdle that many prisoners couldn’t. Others would have just given up. But andy and red had other intentions. They wanted freedom so bad they would do anything to get it. And so they did. Now that’s The Shawshank Redemption.

Essay Sample on Toys and Socialization of Children

Essay Sample on Toys and Socialization of Children Toys and Socialization Pick any two action figure type toys- one which represents girls and one which represents boys. (If you do not have these toys, stroll through the toy department at your local store; use a magazine ad; borrow some from a friend or neighbor; Google an image) Answer the following Questions based on these two toys. 1) Who are the action figures you chose? Which gender most likely plays with this toy? Why do you think so? Toy 1: The first toy is young model. Female because of some of the physical attributes portrayed like hips and breasts. Toy 2: A small soldier. It is male because of the muscular body and broad chest. 2) What colors appear on this toy? Toy 1: Pink body with white patches on the legs and hands Toy 2: Green with grey patches 3) If this toy could come alive what is it: a. Gender? Toy 1: Female Toy 2: Male b. Age? Toy 1: 22 years old Toy 2: 26 years old c. Occupation/function in society? Toy 1: A young mother who is a care giver to her family. Toy 2: A soldier meant to fight in military battles. d. What would it say? What kind of would it Toy 1: â€Å"Please come and help me with the grocery†. It would be a soothing voice. Toy 2: â€Å"Hold fire†. It would be a commanding voice. e. What would its personality be like? Toy 1: Silent, glamorous and happy. Toy 2: Dominant, aggressive, competitive and active. f. Body Type? (Physical Attributes) Toy 1: Beautiful feminine figure, well kept and styled hair, long legs and slim. Toy 2: Muscular with a serious look. 4) How do children play with this toy? Toy 1: Make the toy ‘catwalk’ like a model. Toy 2: Use the toy to fight other toys; this is symbolic of a soldier in a military battle. 5) What do children learn from each of these toys about themselves? Others? Social norms? Gender roles? Be descriptive, use examples and terms learned in class. Each of these toys gives children a couple of lessons. This depends with the kind of toy that a child is using. The first toy is mainly used by girls, while the second toy is popular among boys. The toys pass down paradigms of gender responsibilities. Since the toys are gender based, more often than not, girls learn how to nurture, as well as how to stress on the importance of physical beauty and appearance (Karres 198). This toy also teaches girls the compulsive worth of outward show for societal tolerance. Mattels well known as â€Å"Barbie† should partially take roles for the picture perfect girls. Out of â€Å"Barbie’s† look, young girls contemplate the absolute, eye catching, and socially convectional woman, is slim, but well gifted, cheerful, silent and fashionable. On the other hand, toy 2 teaches boys â€Å"soldier like† responsibilities and the need to be physically fit. Boys learn to be competitive, active, determined and assertive. These toys teach them that violence can be used to elucidate complications (Blakemore, Berenbaum Liben 355). Boys also learn that being active and self-confident often correlates with brutal activities and games involving fight. A well known male toy by name, My Tool Kit teaches boys harmonization and problem elucidating skills required to live on in the external world. Industrialist make these boys toys beneath the typecast that boys succeed at things that require advanced level of cognition. Toys that are designed to specifically suit one gender and not the other encourage gender stereotypes in the society (Benson 169). Those designed for girls encourage them to focus on household chores, as well as beauty. The toys that are created for boys foster aggressiveness and the ability to take risks. These stereotypes may end up hindering the children from being all rounded in a manner that will help them deal with real life situations appropriately.

What to Do If You Make a Mistake While Voting

What to Do If You Make a Mistake While Voting With all the different types of voting machines now in use and requirements in effect across the United States, voters often make mistakes while voting. What happens if you change your mind while voting, or you accidentally vote for the wrong candidate? No matter what type of voting machine you are using, carefully check your ballot to make sure you have voted as you intended to vote. As soon as you discover you have made a mistake, or if you have a problem with the voting machine, immediately ask a poll worker for help. Get a Poll Worker to Help You If you polling place uses paper ballots, punch card ballots or  optical scan ballots, the poll worker will be able to take your old ballot and give you a new one. An election judge will either destroy your old ballot on the spot or place it in a special ballot box designated for damaged or incorrectly marked ballots. These ballots will not be counted and will be destroyed after the election has been declared official. You Can Correct Some Voting Errors Yourself If your polling place uses a paperless computerized or lever-pull voting booth, you can correct your ballot yourself. In a lever operated voting booth, simply put the one lever back where it was and pull the lever you really want. Until you pull the big lever that opens the voting booth curtain, you can continue to use the voting levers to correct your ballot. On computerized, touch screen voting systems, the computer program should provide you with options for checking and correcting your ballot. You can continue to correct you ballot until you touch button on the screen saying that you have finished voting. Remember, if you have any problems or questions while voting, ask a poll worker for help. What Are the Most Common Voting Mistakes? Voting for more than one person for a single office. If you do this, your vote for that office will not be counted.Not voting for the candidate you think you are voting for. This happens most often when the voting machine uses a booklet showing the voter two pages of names and offices at the same time. The names often lineup in confusing ways. Read carefully and follow the arrows printed on the pages of the booklet.Not following instructions. For example, circling a candidates name, rather than filling in the little circle next to their name. Mistakes like this can result in your vote not being counted.Not voting for some offices. Going through the ballot too quickly can cause you to accidentally skip some candidates or issues you really wanted to vote for. Go slowly, and be sure to check your ballot. You are not, however, required to vote in all races or on all issues. What About Absentee and Mail-In  Voting Mistakes? While all states now allow some form of mail-in voting, 22 states currently allow certain elections to be conducted entirely by mail. In three of those states- Oregon, Washington, and Colorado- all elections are conducted entirely by mail.   About 1 in 5 Americans now vote absentee, or by mail, in national elections. However, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) reported that more than 250,000 absentee ballots were rejected and not counted in the 2012 midterm congressional election. Worse yet, says the EAC, the voters might never know their votes were not counted or why. And unlike mistakes made at the polling place, mistakes in mail-in voting can rarely if ever be corrected once the ballot has been mailed. According to the EAC, the main reason mail-in ballots are rejected is that they were not returned on time. Other common, but easy to avoid mail-in voting mistakes include: Forgetting to sign the ballot envelope, as required.Not putting the ballot in the envelope before mailing it back.Using the wrong envelope.The voter had already voted in personThe signatures on the ballot and the envelope do not match. While all states provide some means of correcting mistakes on mail-in ballots- usually before they are mailed- the procedures for doing so vary from state-to-state and sometimes, from county-to-county.   Does Voting by Mail Increase Voter Turnout? Advocated of mail-in voting argue that it increases overall voter turnout and helps voters become better informed. While the argument of higher turnout seems logical, research conducted by EAC reveals this is not always the case. Mail-in voting does not increase turnout in presidential and gubernatorial general elections. In fact, turnout in mail-in only ballot precincts can be as much as 2.6 to 2.9 percentage points lower compared to turnout at walk-in polling places.Voters who cast mail-in ballots are more likely to skip lower-profile or â€Å"downticket† races.On the other hand, voting by mail tends to increase voter turnout in local special elections by an average of 7.6 percentage points. According to the EAC, mail-in voting also results in lower election costs, reduced incidents of voter fraud, and fewer barriers to voting for disabled persons.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf from Roald Dahl's Essay

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf from Roald Dahl's - Essay Example Consequently, she is able to be a mistress of her own, daring all kinds of situations, without outside help. She is also seen seen stripping herself of the â€Å"silly† red riding hood that was presented to her by an over-protective society (Dahl, 40). She is depicted as a young woman who has finally got rid of her self-image of vulnerability, imposed upon her by the society. Dahl has peripherally sticked to the original version of the story of Little Red Riding Hood until by the end. But by imparting the authorship of restoration to Little Red Riding Hood herself, he (Dahl) has banished the outside help that came to rescue her in the original story (40). The uniqueness of this story unlike many other popular fairy tales is in that it has always been open to new interpretations. There are many versions of the story already available and Dahl's attempt at a new interpretation hence seems to be becoming of the spirit of the story. Dahl has begun his story from the middle without introducing the heroine, Little Red Riding Hood (36). It is the wolf instead who takes center stage of the narrative (Dahl, 36). The story is reversed in an act mindful of the time that has passed since the story was first told. In other words, Dahl seems to believe that it is high time Little Red Riding Hood realizes the betrayal of the wolf and be prepared to handle it. So she is seen redrafting her original queries to the wolf once she arrives at her grand mother's hut (Dahl, 40). Parallel to this, it can be seen that the villainy of the wolf did not get updated in time (Dahl, 40). He is practicing his centuries old trick while Little Red Riding Hood has grown into the self-confident lass that the author meets later in the woods (Dahl, 40). The author (Dahl) has used Little Red Riding Hood material as a metaphor that tells the story of the empowerment of modern woman. She is once and for all breaking the stereotyped molds that the society has been putting her in since centuries (Dahl). She turns to be a little surprise for all as to the author (Dahl) of the story and he says, â€Å"But what a change! No cloak of red, No silly hood upon her head.† (40). Dahl has also got rid of the moralizing elements of the story-the dictate of the mother that the girl should not talk to strangers, and that she should not stray from her path. In Dahl's version, it does not matter whether Little Red Riding Hood talked to strangers on the way or whether she strayed a little from the forest path and picked some wild flowers. Windling has opined that this story, now told as a â€Å"cautonary tale†, meant to be a warning to the girls who disobeyed their parents' advice, had originally been a tale of â€Å"female initiative and maturation.† Windling has explained how this story was meant to be one of female initiation into sexual experiences. He has added that in the â€Å"Victorian middle-class† anxieties turned this tale into a moralizing one that t ells how led by her own â€Å"sensual drives†, Little Red Riding Hood fails to obey her mothers' cautions and nearly looses her â€Å"virtue†. On the other hand, in Dahl's tale, it might have been these very sensual experiences of straying from the prescribed path that could have given her the courage to put three bullets into the wolf's head, in the end (Dahl, 40). Dahl's Riding Hood is a woman who has sexual freedom and fearlessness. As Windling noted, in the original story, the wolf is a ware wolf, who can take on the shape of