Critical review for academic article Literature

Critical for academic article - Literature review Example The article explains that the term â€Å"affective† is utilized in order to refer to emotions, feelings that are provoked among students towards science in general or specifically. This report is presented from several studies conducted in twenty-five different case studies, which utilized a condensed fieldwork strategy in which collection of data was through discussions recorded on audio tapes, interviews as well as notes on field observations. Moreover, there were samples of practical lessons, which were conducted in English comprehensive schools. In fact, this study was conducted in phases, whereby during stage three and four, the research focused on students between the age of 11-14 and 15-16.This report presents findings from the research based on practical work. The findings indicate that practical work for students offers short-term engagements, which is comparatively unproductive in the process of motivating students to study science post compulsory education or for in dividual interest, which is long-term. This academic article presents ideas, which indicates that people directly involved in science education are expected to establish a realistic understanding of shortcomings of practical work in the affective domain especially in post compulsory stages of education. Therefore, in my perspective, this article provides necessary ideas, which are gathered to suggest that practical work is a motivator in primary level school science as against in secondary and post secondary stages of education. This research article presents substantial illustrations focused on lack of precision on the use of crucial terms, while discussing affective value of practical work in relation to the attitude towards science. On the other hand, the research focuses on avoidance of overlap of terminologies, whereby there is ample clarification of terms such as motivation and personal interest. Besides, the report aims at finding out whether pupils are motivated by practical work in learning science. Moreover, the researchers focused on presenting their meaning on psychological sense, while considering the chance of these terms being operational. Methodology: The research presented in this academic article applied a methodology approach that focused on collection of data through observation and tape-recorded interviews, which were undertaken through collaboration with teachers prior to and after lessons. On the other hand, the researchers utilized pre-lesson interviews focused at accounting for practical work, which was observed and its relation to teachers’ perceptions towards achievement of learning objectives. There were collections of teachers’ reflections based on the moment after the lesson interview, which focused on identifying achievement of learning objectives. This focused on their perception towards a teacher’s affective value of practical work in learning. The researchers utilized conversations among groups of pupils d uring and after lessons and they were recorded. Besides, these conversations offered a chance for gathering ideas regarding students’

The set time of 10 seconds Essay Example for Free

The set time of 10 seconds Essay The data will be recorded by measuring the distance travelled by the first oxygen bubble after the set time of 10 seconds. There is a set time of 10 seconds because after this time of activity, the enzyme Catalase begins to degrade and therefore the rate of reaction becomes slower. The table will be set up in the following way: Test Number Concentration / % Distance Travelled / cm   Average 20 Volume must be kept the same of the overall solution otherwise different scaled will be presented i. e. more substrate than usual: the bubble will go further; the result is not reliable and cannot be used. Safety Precautions: H2O2 at 20 volume (100% for this experiment) is a significant irritant, if it contacts the eyes it could cause itching and could lead to eye damage, therefore goggles must be worn during all handlings of H2O2. Care must also be taken with the H2O as it can come out of the end of the glass tube. This could get onto the floor and cause slipperiness, so care must be taken and the end of the tube must be sat on something absorbent. Equipment must also be rinsed thoroughly, as someone could unknowingly pick up a beaker covered with H2O2. Rinsing out excess substrate and enzyme could also increase the validity/reliability of the results. Suggested Data Analysis: The type of graph used will be a scatter graph with axes labelled as follows: Results may be analysed by looking at mean, mode and median to look for trends in the graph, for example, looking to see if as the concentration doubles, the distance travelled does the same. A scatter graph was chosen, as a trend line can be added, which can help identify anomalous results. Modifications: During the first run of the experiment, it was noticed that the Catalase was not running as quickly at 100% (20 volume) as it did in the trial runs (on a previous day). Therefore, running the experiment by measuring the distance travelled in a set time of 10 seconds became unpractical, as the distances travelled in this time were too small. So, a new set time of one minute was added before this limitation presented a problem. Results: Test Number Concentration / % Distance Travelled / cm Average. The results were collected in the order suggested in the plan (100% descending to 20%, then 20% ascending to 100%) to eliminate the affects of room temperature change when an average was taken. As two results were taken for each concentration an average was calculated for the distance travelled, this will be analysed. Data Analysis: From the graphs it is possible to see the trend that, as predicted, as the concentration of substrate increases, the rate of reaction increases. The gradient for the graph of the first run of results is: 0. 189 The gradient for the graph of the second run is: 0. 198 The gradient of the graph showing the average distance is: 0. 192 This shows a close similarity between the results. It was expected that as the concentration double, the rate of reaction would double also. On the graph showing the averaged results, this is approximately true for the double of 20% to 40%, but as show by the exponential trend line, as the concentration increases, the rate of reaction escalates. When 40% is doubled to 80% there is a 257. 14% increase. When the trend line approximation for 50% is double to 100% there is an approximate increase of 271. 20%. This shows that as the concentration of substrate is increased, there is more likeliness that the H2O2 will contact a Catalase enzyme because there are molecules of H2O2 to collide, so they are moving at greater rates, so the rate of reaction escalates with the concentration of substrate. Evaluation: The equipment used had high limitations, which could have affected the results. Firstly, when the mixture is made in the syringe, the reaction begins and water and oxygen are produced immediately, due to the syringe being difficult to attach to the glass tube, oxygen was lost in the process of attaching the syringe. This was unavoidable because the rubber connector had to be tight to prevent further gas loss. Repeats were important here so that excess gas loss could be identified. An anomaly that relates to this limitation is in the 40% concentration test in the second run. It is possible that it may have taken longer here to attach the syringe. Due to uncontrollable gas escape the bubble would have gone less far if it took longer to attach the syringe and further if it took less time. In most cases the values for the first run and the second run do not vary by more than 0. 2 around the average, so there is an uncertainty value on the distance travelled of ? 0. 2cm, as shown by the error bars in the graph to show average. As all measurements were made by the guide on the syringe, there could have been an effect on the concentrations, if the syringe was not marked accurately there would be an inaccuracy in concentrations, therefore there is an uncertainty value of ? 0. 1cm^3. This is shown as a horizontal error bar on the graph to show average. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

Effect of Background Environment on Learning and Recognition

Effect of Background Environment on Learning and Recognition The effect of background environment on the learning and recognition of Chinese numeric characters Abstract Previous researches on human memory found that the context present at learning and testing can have a significant impact on how well information is remembered, suggesting that information learned in one context is better recalled when the same context is reinstated during testing (McGeoch, 1932; Godden Baddeley, 1975; Schwabe Wolf, 2009). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of classical background music on learning and recognition of Chinese numeric characters. Participants (N=60) were randomly exposed to four different situations over an established period of time while given a sheet consisting of nine Chinese numeric characters to remember. After remembering the list of numbers they were tested on their recall of the numbers either in the same environment they were learnt or in the alternative environment. Using a 22 between-subject designs analysis it was found that recall was better in the matching conditions. Additionally, numbers learned in a quiet conditio n produced more errors during recall in a noisy condition, suggesting that performance is worse when the environmental contexts are mismatched. These results suggest that the effects of background noise on memory retrieval can be eliminated when a dissimilar learning context is reinstated at test. These findings have important implications for educational concerns. Introduction The theory of working memory model considers the mind to have strictly limited attention resources in processing parallel steams of information, and can become overloaded when exposed to excessive amount of information. Early investigations of memory discovered that the context at learning and recall can have an impact on how well information is remembered, suggesting that information learned in one context is better remembered when similar context is reinstated during recall. Accordingly, in this context it has been established by prior studies that external stimuli such as background music would possibly interfere with cognitive processing. Previous researches that have tested recognition memory in an environmental context that is different from the learning context have produced inconsistent results. (Davidson, Powell, 1986; Banburry Berry, 1998) observed that background music enhance task performance on a variety of tasks. However, (Saufley, OtakaBavaresco, 1985; Klatte, Bergstro m Lachmann, 2013) found that students’ exam performance were not significantly better when learning and testing took place in the same environmental context, compare to a different context. This aspect of memory has been known as context-dependent memory (CDM). The CDM has been extended to different context and have received some previous attentions in the literature, including; olfactory stimuli (Pointer Bond, 1998; Cann Ross, 1989), alcohol states (Eich, 1980), and testing environment (Godden Baddeley, 1975), among many other context. Background music has been shown to be another potential context under which CDM seems to occur. In a number of studies changes in context between learning and testing have produced a significant affect during recall,whereas, in other studies this effects has not been shown (GeiselmanGlenny, 1977; Geiselman Bjork, 1980; Russo, Ward, GeurtsScheres, 1999; Smith, Glenberg Bjork, 1978; Smith Vela, 2001; Godden Baddeley, 1975; Smith, 1985; Fernandez Alonso, 2001). Nevertheless while external stimulus (such as music) appears to enhance individuals’ learning, it could be distracting to others. For instance, (Smith, 1985) examined the e ffect of background music on CDM. In which subjects were asked to learn a list of words under one of three background music conditions (Mozart piece, jazz selection or quiet condition). He concluded that participants who were exposed to the same musical context recalled significantly more words during testing. This provides evidence that the idea of background music can serve as an effective retrieval cue for earlier learned material and does produce CDM effects. According to the literature cited above, individuals tend to recall information better when the environmental context matches from encoding to retrieval. This was supportedin a study conducted by (Grant, Bredahl, Clay, Ferrie, McDorman Dark, 1998). In this study, the participants were instructed to study meaningful information under either noisy or quiet conditions. Then, they were asked multiple-choice and short-answer questions on the previously learned material. A reduction in recall was noticed in participants whose noise level was mismatched during learning and testing compare to those whose noise-level was matched. This suggests if the music played throughoutthe administration of the test and learning is the same, this will improves memory because similar background cues promote memory retrieval. Researches have also demonstrated the effects of background noise on task performance (Hygge, Evans Bullinger, 2002; Ylias and Heaven, 2003), underlining the harmful effects of noise as a distractoron an individual’s performance. Banbury and Berry (1998) found that performance was lower in the presence of background noise (taped office noise) compare to quiet conditions during recall. Also greater disruption was noticed when both learning and recall occurred in the same noisy environment. However, there has also been research contradicting these findings. Avila,Furnham and McClelland (2011) found no significant difference in task performance in the presence background noise. The present study considers the effects of background environment on learning and recognition of Chinese numeric characters. Three research questions are addressed. The first question is whether learning context affect recall. The second research question is whether testing context affect recall. And finally, the third research question that was addressed is to see whether there is an interaction between learning contexts and testing context. Also, in line with previous studies (Grant, Bredahl, Clay, Ferrie, McDorman Dark, 1998; Cann Ross, 1989; Smith, 1985), it was predicted that there would be an effect of context. It was expected that tasks performed in learn quiet-test quiet conditions would yield better results during recall than tasks performed in learn noisy-test noisy conditions, indicating that the background environment(Classical music) is a distracter to performance. The rationale for these predictions would be that background music could prevent full concentration on memo ry task; this could be because extra information during testing could be distracting to participants. Additionally, percentage error scores were expected to be significantly higher in the quiet-noisy condition during learning and recall, suggesting that background noise contribute to lower performance in memory. Perhaps this could be due to the fact that attention will be drawn to the background music while learning, therefore, leading to poorer recall during testing. Finally, performance was predicted to be significantly higherin no background noise condition. The rationale for these results would be that according to prior studies the presence of background noiseand changed environment during recall could impair performance, potentially through distraction. Method Design The first research question used a 22 between-subjects design to analyse the collected data. This was chosen to determine whether differences exist between different background situations (quiet and noisy) and whether one is more effective than the other. The independent variable was context at learning, with two levels; quiet and noisy. This addresses whether background music affects learning. The second research questions also used a between-subjects design. The independent variable was the context at testing, with two levels; quiet and noisy. This addresses whether background music affects recall at testing. The third research question addresses whether there this a interaction between context at learning and testing. For all the research questions the dependent variable was the number of errors. This was measured by counting the numbers of incorrect answers given by each participant. Participants Sixty participants (22 Males, 38 Females), ranging in age from 18 to 65 years old (M=29, SD=12. 1) participated in the study. The groups were randomly allocated from personal contacts of the researchers. Participants were divided into four groups each assigned to four different conditions. However, it is important to note that any Chinese participants or anyone with a previous knowledge of Chinese language were excluded from the study, due to the nature of the task. Materials (or Measures) The stimuli were the ‘noise’,which was played via Youtube throughout the study for a specific condition. Since classical music may cover a wide range of stylistic variances, the present study used Vivaldi The Four Seasonsthis was chosen as classical music is frequently heard in the radio and thus musical style would be familiar to the participants (VanWeelden, 2012). The test consisted of nine Chinese numeric characters,which were selected for the purpose of the study (appendix). In order to avoid practice destruction sheet (word search) was used, which was randomly selected on the Internet (appendix 7). Procedure The experiment was conducted in a room assigned by the researchers. Participants were given consent forms to fill out at the beginning of the study and were informed of their right to withdraw at any point (appendix 3,4). They were also given an instruction sheet, detailing what they were required to do (appendix 2). The study was an independent-measure design. All sixty participants were assigned to four different conditions. Each condition consisted of 15 participants and depending on their groups they were exposed to either a quiet or a noisy room with classical music being played in the background. Also, depending on the conditions the researchers explained to the participants that music would be played while they were given a sheet with nine Chinese numeric characters to remember the meaning of (appendix 1). The participants were then given five minutes to remember the meaning of each numeric character. Then, in order to redirect participant’s attention and to avoid pract ice subjects were given a distraction task of a word search to complete under three minutes. Then, they were asked to return to their respective room, depending on their conditions (quiet or noisy) and were allowed five minutes to identify the meanings of the same nine Chinese characters on a separate testing sheet presenting with symbols but no meanings (appendix 6). At the end of the experiment participants were debriefed (appendix 5) and instructed in the same verbal and written manner throughout the experiment. Result The analysis conducted a 22 ANOVA with learn (quiet, noisy) and test (quiet, noisy) conditions as between-subject variables were conducted on the percentage error recall. This was done In order to determine whether recall would be higher when the learning and testing context were quiet in comparison to noisy, and whether recall would be better when learning and testing context matched compared to mismatched. The mean and standard deviation for recall scores are reported in table 1. The results of the ANOVA confirmed that as predicted there was a significant main effect of context at learningF(1,56)=6. 287, P=0. 015, such that participants made significantly more errors in a noisycondition than in a quiet condition (M=22. 96 and M=11. 85 respectively). (See graph 1, figure 1). In addition, along with the prediction, there was not a significant main effect of context at test (p>0. 05),noisy condition produced more error compare to quiet condition (M= 21. 48 and M=13. 33 respectively). And finally, There was not a statistically significant interaction effect between learning and testing context, F(1,56)=3. 381, P=0. 071. This means that context at learning had the same effect at both levels of the other IV, context at test. Table 1. Percentage memory recall during quiet and noisy test conditions following quiet and noisy learning conditions. Figure 1: Estimated mean log of errors scores in Chinese numeric character recall task of context at learning. Discussion Our primary goal in this experiment was to examine the effect of background music on learning and recall. It was predicted that the detrimental influence of background music on memory retrieval would be lessened if the learning and retrieval environments matched. The present findings confirmed this prediction. The participants performed worse when the learning and testing context were dissimilar. This is in line with previous studies of impaired memory retrieval following background noise (Dalton Behm, 2007; Dobbs, Furnham McClelland, 2011). If, however, the learning and testing context were matched, this detrimental effect of stress disappeared. But, in confliction with some studies, the results provide no evidence for an interaction of background music and context effects in memory processes. Participants learned better in learn quiet-test quiet condition (M=11. 85), but did not necessarily recall higher when they were tested in a noisy condition (M=31. 11). Also, participants prod uced more errors in learn noisy-test noisy (M=14. 81) as opposed to learn noisy-test quiet condition (M=11. 85), suggesting that participants performed poorly when the learning and test context were mismatched. This can be supported by many studies (Fernandez Alonso, 2001; Schwabe Wolf, 2009). Although we focused mainly on the manipulation of the environmental (i. e. , external) context, it is important to note that the presence or absence of other stimuli can also be conceptualised as a change in internal context. In this study internal stimulus such as personality trait, emotional state and mood were not assessed during learning and recall. Also, mood, which can be affected by emotions and feelings, can improve or hinder with successful learning model of the engaged individual. Additionally, as mentioned before personality trait could be a factor that needs to be considered. The influence of music on memory performance has also been linked to personality types. A study piloted by Furnham and Bradley (1997) demonstratedthat pop music could be a distracter on the performance of introverts and extraverts. It was proposed that in the presence of music extravert would perform better than introverts. The findings determined that when pop music was played recall was severely le ssened for both introverts and extraverts. Also, it was shown that introverts recalled significantly lower than extraverts in the presence of pop music condition as well as introverts in the silent condition. Overall, introverts seemed to be easily distracted in the presence of background noise. This researchexposed evidence that overall background noise, such as music, TV and background conversation could improve performance in complicated cognitive tasks for extraverts, while it will considerably impair introverts’ task performance (Furnham Bradley, 1997; Dobbs, Furnham McClelland, 2011). A possible confounding variable in between-subjects designs in this experiment could have been related to individual differences, in which the participants’ characteristic differed one group to another, for instance the participants in one group may be older, smarter, then the participants in another group. This was somehow controlled by giving the exact same information to every participant and treated equally. Also, environmental variables may have affected the findings in which characteristics of the environment differed between groups, for example the groups were tested in different rooms, one group may be tested in a larger room and another group in a smaller room. However, we had no control over assignment of individuals to groups, as the groups were randomly allocated. It is important to note that the Chinese numeric characters where unfamiliar to the participants, these may have affected their recall regardless the condition their were set in, however, this needs to be taken into further consideration. A group of different ages were exposed to one task that had been designed to assess the participants’ ability ton how well they canremember unfamiliar Chinese characters. As Fernandez Alonso (2001) found that older participants recall better when they were tested in the same context, but no effects was shown for the younger participants. However, this had no impact on the direction of the data, but it makes the sample less reliable. In summary, the results of the present experiment indicate that the detrimental effects of background music on memory retrieval can be prevented when the environmental context at learning and testing match. These findings have important implications for educational concerns, to find out whether the negative impact of background music on learning or testing will be reduced if students are tested in the same room/context, instead of in an unfamiliar room. Word count: 2194

Matthew Christopher Bourne Essays -- Drame

Matthew Christopher Bourne Born 13th. January, 1960, London. British dancer and choreographer. His parents were June and Jim Bourne and he had a brother Dan. His mother was a secretary and his father worked for Thames Water for 30 years. When 12 or 13 he and his friend Simon Carter waited to get the autographs of actors outside the Apollo, Lyric, Palace, or Queens theatres. He attended a Methodist-run youth club which had a choir and he put on his versions of musicals. He went to school at the Sir George Monoux mixed comprehensive (later a sixth-form college) in Walthamstow in north-east London. He left with two grade C A levels. He didn't admit to himself that he was gay until he was 18. He then rang the telephone number for Gay Switchboard which was printed on the sleeve of Tom Robinson's single Glad To Be Gay and he was directed to a gay youthclub in Holloway. He first took a job in the contracts department at the BBC. He next had a job with the Keith Prowse ticket agency. This was followed by a job in the Royal National Theatre bookshop. He also worked as an usher and became aware that among the other theatre devotees were dance and drama students. In 1982 he was given a place at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. Being 22 he was older than usual, and he also had no previous dance lessons. However, he had a great breadth and depth of knowledge of theatre, dance, and old musicals. He obtained a BA in dance and theatre in 1986. In 1987, with the help of friends from the Laban, he set up his own dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). The company reworked classical pieces including The Nutcracker and La Sylphides. In 1995 the company produced Swan Lake with all the swans being played by men, and in 1997 it became the longest-running ballet in the West End since Diaghilev's Sleeping Princess in 1926. In 1999 it went to Broadway. He received a Tony Award for best choreographer and best director of the musical. He had a seven-year relationship with David Manners who designed for AMP. In 1995 he started a relationship with Arthur Pita, a principle dancer with AMP. In 1997 Matthew Bourne became an honorary fellow of the Laban Centre. Also in 1997 he was asked by Cameron Mackintosh to create the dances for the revival of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!. The fees from this allowed h... ...egan in his early twenties, and his love for theater and cinema has led him to be dubbed "the Noel Coward of modern dance." Born in London on January 13, 1960, Mr. Bourne graduated from the Laban Centre in 1985 with a degree in Dance/Theater, spending a further year touring with Transitions Dance Company. He was a founding member of AMP at its launch in July 1987, and his stage works for the company include "Overlap Lovers" (1987), "Spitfire" (1988), "Buck and Wing" (1988), "The Infernal Gallop" (1989), "Town & Country" (1991), "The Nutcracker" (1992), "Highland Fling" (1994), "Swan Lake" (1996) and "Cinderella" (1997). His television work for AMP includes "Late Flowering Lust" (BBC TV 1993) and "Drip - A Love Story" (BBC TV/Arts Council Dance for the Camera Award 1993), both broadcast in 1994. As well as creating many roles in his own work, he has also worked with choreographers Ashley Page, Jacob Marley, and Brigitte Farges, and was a founding member, in 1988, of Lea Anderson's company The Featherstonehaughs. Mr. Bourne has won several awards for his choreography, including a Bonnie Bird award, a Place Portfolio commission, and a Barclays New Stages award. Matthew Christopher Bourne Essays -- Drame Matthew Christopher Bourne Born 13th. January, 1960, London. British dancer and choreographer. His parents were June and Jim Bourne and he had a brother Dan. His mother was a secretary and his father worked for Thames Water for 30 years. When 12 or 13 he and his friend Simon Carter waited to get the autographs of actors outside the Apollo, Lyric, Palace, or Queens theatres. He attended a Methodist-run youth club which had a choir and he put on his versions of musicals. He went to school at the Sir George Monoux mixed comprehensive (later a sixth-form college) in Walthamstow in north-east London. He left with two grade C A levels. He didn't admit to himself that he was gay until he was 18. He then rang the telephone number for Gay Switchboard which was printed on the sleeve of Tom Robinson's single Glad To Be Gay and he was directed to a gay youthclub in Holloway. He first took a job in the contracts department at the BBC. He next had a job with the Keith Prowse ticket agency. This was followed by a job in the Royal National Theatre bookshop. He also worked as an usher and became aware that among the other theatre devotees were dance and drama students. In 1982 he was given a place at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. Being 22 he was older than usual, and he also had no previous dance lessons. However, he had a great breadth and depth of knowledge of theatre, dance, and old musicals. He obtained a BA in dance and theatre in 1986. In 1987, with the help of friends from the Laban, he set up his own dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). The company reworked classical pieces including The Nutcracker and La Sylphides. In 1995 the company produced Swan Lake with all the swans being played by men, and in 1997 it became the longest-running ballet in the West End since Diaghilev's Sleeping Princess in 1926. In 1999 it went to Broadway. He received a Tony Award for best choreographer and best director of the musical. He had a seven-year relationship with David Manners who designed for AMP. In 1995 he started a relationship with Arthur Pita, a principle dancer with AMP. In 1997 Matthew Bourne became an honorary fellow of the Laban Centre. Also in 1997 he was asked by Cameron Mackintosh to create the dances for the revival of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!. The fees from this allowed h... ...egan in his early twenties, and his love for theater and cinema has led him to be dubbed "the Noel Coward of modern dance." Born in London on January 13, 1960, Mr. Bourne graduated from the Laban Centre in 1985 with a degree in Dance/Theater, spending a further year touring with Transitions Dance Company. He was a founding member of AMP at its launch in July 1987, and his stage works for the company include "Overlap Lovers" (1987), "Spitfire" (1988), "Buck and Wing" (1988), "The Infernal Gallop" (1989), "Town & Country" (1991), "The Nutcracker" (1992), "Highland Fling" (1994), "Swan Lake" (1996) and "Cinderella" (1997). His television work for AMP includes "Late Flowering Lust" (BBC TV 1993) and "Drip - A Love Story" (BBC TV/Arts Council Dance for the Camera Award 1993), both broadcast in 1994. As well as creating many roles in his own work, he has also worked with choreographers Ashley Page, Jacob Marley, and Brigitte Farges, and was a founding member, in 1988, of Lea Anderson's company The Featherstonehaughs. Mr. Bourne has won several awards for his choreography, including a Bonnie Bird award, a Place Portfolio commission, and a Barclays New Stages award.

Critical Analysis: Death and Justice by Edward Kotch Essay

In his essay with regard to capital punishment entitled â€Å"Death and Justice†, which first appeared in The New Republic on April 15, 1985, Edward I. Koch aggressively refutes the claims of individuals who are opposed to the subject matter with seven firm and satisfying points. A native of New York, born 1924, Koch was an American lawyer, politician, political commentator and a reality television arbitrator. He earned his law degree in 1948 from New York University and practiced law in New York City for some two decades thereafter. He was a member of the U. S House of Representatives, serving from 1969 to 1977 and in the later year, he was then elected as New York mayor, holding the post until 1990. With such a strong and wide variety in terms of line of work, it is my belief that his views communicated in this essay by way of his, logical, ethical and rational appeal are well-thought out and unbiased. Unbiased or impartial, if you will, due to the fact that with the rebuttal style in which the argument was written, the opposing claims would first have to be identified and evaluated before generating an objecting response. See more: how to write a critical analysis essay step by step The piece of work in my opinion achieves its purpose and is well organized by use of logos, pathos and ethos, thus influencing a successful but indeed controversial essay. As mentioned in my introductory paragraph, the essay is carefully structured into seven sturdy points in which each, Koch identifies the claims of his opponents followed by his rebuttal arguments. This makes the piece much easier to follow and interpret, hence making his arguments extremely clear and concise. This also influences the readers to grasp a better knowledge of his position hence increasing the probability of reader agreement. In this logical system of ideas, each argument is further justified by the use of analogies, if, then†¦ statements, statistics, stories and the use of credible sources (experts, scholars). Some throughout the text take place as follows: in his first refutation in which he rejects the statement that the death penalty is barbaric and draws and analogy between cancer and murder. It is my view that this was an extremely effective strategy used by Koch as analogies encourage participation and increases understanding of an unfamiliar topic by comparing it to something that is quite familiar; in his third refutation where Koch refutes the opinion of the opponent that an innocent person might be executed by mistake. By way of statistics he proved that this was never the case. He cited a study of 7,000 executions in the USA from 1893 to 1971, and concludes that the records fail to show that such cases occur. Statistics ultimately speak for themselves, needing no further clarification hence why their use is extremely influential and in this case, utterly persuasive. This was a great execution in the area of logos which totally disregarded the opposing claim without a doubt. Remarkably Koch does not end that particular argument there but rather continues by establishing truth and developing such truth by examples. He says â€Å"Human life deserves special protection and one of the best ways to guarantee that protection is to assure that convicted murderers do not kill again†. He then proceeds by providing an example, and in this case, of an unexecuted recidivist murderer named Lemuel Smith who was sentenced to about six years life sentence. This was immaculate! Why you may ask? This same murderer then killed a woman corrections officer. Additional life sentences for Smith, according to Koch are â€Å"meaningless†. It is my view that examples reiterate and re-enforce a concept or thought, in this case the earlier provided statistic. This example provided also provoked one’s rational thinking and critical reasoning hence increasing the probability that readers are inclined to agree with Koch and his position; in his fourth refutation where he refuted that capital punishment cheapens the value of human life. In his immaculate use of if, then†¦ statements, Koch says â€Å"if we lower the penalty for rape, we lower our view or regard for the victims’ suffering, humiliation and personal integrity. In the same instance, by exacting the highest penalty for murder, we then affirm the highest value of human life†, which influences logical reasoning and critical thinking, both forms and arts of rhetoric used to persuade intellectually (logos). To conclude my first point, it is my view that the essay did in fact follow a logical system of ideas by way of seven clear points. Each point was further justified by use of rhetorical strategies to make the argument much more understandable as well as believable. It is safe to say that Koch’s essay was particularly powerful where logos is concerned. Throughout the text, despite not in abundance, there is in fact some sense of emotional appeal (pathos). Although Koch’s primary tone throughout the piece is aggressive, he distinctively manages to appeal to our emotions in some contexts. For example, once more, take his fourth refutation where he refuted that capital punishment cheapens the value of human life. He uses rape, a very emotional and touchy topic for any individual within our society, and basically goes on further to state that if we lower the penalty for rape, we lower our view or regard for the victims’ suffering, humiliation and personal integrity. His use of connotation with words such as â€Å"victims’ suffering, horrible experience, humiliation and increased danger† invoked a feeling sympathy for the victim and the situation by the way it appealed to the heart and to one’s emotion. Rape is in fact a terrible occurrence for which sympathy is usually given to the victim. It is my belief that Koch deliberately seized the opportunity to demand the readers’ emotional attention by evoking a sense of pity or sympathy in his efforts for us to conceptualize and agree with his point. Very good move! Given the background information provided in my initial paragraph, it is implied that Koch is a credible source. This was an underlying establishment of ethos. Throughout the text, his tone suggests authority as well as credibility. He was a lawyer, a TV judge, a politician and a mayor. He was a well-rounded scholar with a diverse work history. It is of my opinion that he has dealt with a variety of different cases on a wide spectrum of practice. The area of ethos is therefore implied. Although for the most part, the ethos is in fact underlying by way of his background information, throughout the text you can still witness hints of his authority. Take for example, in his fourth refutation; he ridicules his critics, one in particular, Jimmy Breslin by calling his statement regarding capital punishment sophistic nonsense. Not only is this satire but establishment of authority by way of discrediting another’s opinion. This in fact was effective as it shows that Koch has in fact done his research regarding what his critics have said thus establishing him as a trusted and unbiased source. Another example can be found in his sixth refutation, where he makes reference to the bible, he establishes credibility by introducing us to the greatest thinkers of the 19th century – Kant, Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Mill who all agreed that natural law properly authorized the sovereign to take life in order to vindicate justice. According to philpapers. org, an online research philosophy engine it can be said they were all well-known philosophers who are considered to be central figures of modern philosophy. â€Å"Name-dropping† is one of the easiest ways to persuade an audience as the majority of us human beings tend to follow the way in which famous people ranging from celebrities to scholars, think. This then influences the way society thinks hence my belief that the use of credible sources in this instance was impeccable. Within the same argument (the sixth refutation), I also noticed that it was not biased or unfair as he includes that Jeremy Bentham, another great philosopher, was ambivalent to the claims of the others. He does not leave out any information hence making the argument fair and believable, which in turn establishes his credibility and believability. He then goes on to establish additional credibility by revealing names of other scholars (Washington, Jefferson and Franklin) who endorsed the claim. This was effective in persuading us as the readers to understand and accept his point of view. Death and Justice† is an effectively-written essay which judiciously rebuts the claims of individuals opposed to the capital punishment. Each paragraph within the essay is well-thought out and organized effectively. With the use of logos, pathos and subliminal forms of ethos, Koch immaculately achieves his purpose of persuading the readers to conceptualize, understand and agree with his claims and opinions regarding the death penalty. Although Koch ridicules the opponent throughout some exerts of the text, the readers are still able to grasp his aggressive and almost certainly serious tone. It is my opinion that the argument presented was unbiased and impartial, taking into the consideration the rebuttal style in which it was written. This piece of writing has not, and will definitely not be limited to the time in which it was written as the argument presented is very controversial, and in continued debate.

How to Register as a Government Contractor

How to Register as a Government Contractor For thousands of small businesses, contracting for the sale of their goods and services to the federal government agencies opens the doors of growth, opportunity and, of course, prosperity. But before you can bid on and be awarded government contracts, you or your business must be registered as government contractor. Getting registered as a government contractor is a four-step process. 1. Obtain a D-U-N-S Number You will first need to obtain a Dun Bradstreet D-U-N-S ® Number, a unique nine-digit identification number for each physical location of your business. D-U-N-S Number assignment is free for all businesses required to register with the federal government for contracts or grants. Visit the D-U-N-S Request Service to register and learn more about the D-U-N-S system. 2. Register Your Business in the SAM Database The System Award Management (SAM) resource is the database of vendors of goods and services doing business with the federal government. Sometimes called â€Å"self-certifying,† SAM registration is required by the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) for all prospective vendors. SAM registration must be completed before your business can be awarded any government contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchase agreement. SAM registration is free and can be done completely online. As part of SAM registration process you will be able to record your business’ size and socio-economic status, as well as all FAR-required solicitation clauses and certifications. These certifications are explained in the Offeror’s Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items section of the FAR. SAM registration also serves as a valuable marketing tool for government contracting businesses. The federal agencies routinely search the SAM database to find prospective vendors based on goods and services provided, size, location, experience, ownership and more. In addition, SAM informs the agencies of firms that are certified under the SBA’s 8(a) Development and HUBZone programs. 3. Find Your Company’s NAICS Code While it’s not absolutely necessary, chances are you will need to find your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. NAICS codes classify businesses according to their economic sector, industry, and location. Depending on the products and services they offer, many businesses may fit udner multiple NAICS industry codes. When you register your business in the SAM database, be sure to list all of its applicable NAICS codes. 4. Obtain Past Performance Evaluations If you want to get in on the lucrative General Services Administration (GSA) contracts and you should want to you need to get a Past Performance Evaluation report from Open Ratings, Inc. Open Ratings conducts an independent audit of customer references and calculates a rating based upon a statistical analysis of various performance data and survey responses. While some GSA solicitations for bids do contain the form to request an Open Ratings Past Performance Evaluation, vendors may submit an online request directly to Open Ratings, Inc. Items You Will Need for Registration Here are some of the things you will need when registering your business. Your NAICS codesYour DUNS - Data Universal Numbering System numberYour Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN or EIN)Your Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codesYour Product Service codes (optional but helpful)Your Federal Supply Classification codes (optional but helpful) Obviously, all of these codes and certifications are geared toward making it easier for the federal government purchasing and contracting agents to find your business and match it to their specific needs.   US Government Contracting Rules to Know Once you are registered as a government contractor, you will be required to comply with several laws, rules, regulations, and procedures when doing business with the government. By far the two most important of these laws are the aforementioned Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the 1994 Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA). However, there are many other laws and regulations that deal with government contracting. Government Contracting Procedures Briefly Each agency of the federal government conducts business with the public through three specific authorized agents, called contracting officers. These officers are: The Procurement Contracting Officer (PCO)- awards contracts and deals with contract terminations in the event the contractor defaults on the terms of the contract.The Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO)- administers the contract.The Termination Contracting Officer (TCO)- deals with contract terminations when the government chooses to terminate the contract for its own reasons. Depending on the situation, the same person may the PCO, the ACO, and the TCO. As a sovereign entity (the sole ruling power), the federal government retains rights that commercial businesses do not have. Perhaps most importantly, the government has the right to unilaterally change the terms of the contract, provided that the changes are within the general parameters of the contract.