XNapster Essay Research Paper XNapsterThe infamous Napster free essay sample

X-Napster Essay, Research Paper X-Napster The ill-famed Napster under onslaught for it s pirating of music from celebrated musician s demands to be shut down. Piracy is a major issue of moral criterions, right, and incorrect in the amusement universe. Napster is good known for it s sharing of MP3 files through the Internet ; taking, receiving, and bootlegging. Over 70 % of college pupils said they use Napster at least one time a month. The bulk of its users are cognizant that Napster is an illegal bootlegging web site, the federal authorities says. The U.S. Copyright Office says Napster # 8217 ; s operations are clearly illegal under the really jurisprudence Napster hopes will do its senior executives and comfortable investors filthy rich which was written in 1992 stating that if a individual wants to roll up music to a personal Cadmium for ego so its Oklahoma. But in that jurisprudence there was neer any reference of legal airing to obtain the music. We will write a custom essay sample on XNapster Essay Research Paper XNapsterThe infamous Napster or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I oppose Napster because they have no coherent or feasible program to counterbalance creative persons. If Napster makes money off the airing of an creative persons copyrighted stuff so the creative person should take part in those net incomes. ( Presently Napster does non do a net income, nevertheless the fact that they raised at something like $ 40,000,000 in capital to finance their operation suggests that their investors evidently intend to do a net income one twenty-four hours ) . But the million dollar inquiry is ; should Napster be shut down because of it s illegal sharing of files? ? The reply is YES. BURNED CD s are a major issue in the U.S. To download from a web site, and salvage it to a Cadmium, or your computing machine. Personal music a individual has made up, or created by himself is legal to salvage. But copyrighted music on the other manus is illegal. Commercial wireless Stationss generate gross off of the usage of copyrighted stuff. Through longstanding agreements with BMI and ASCAP a part of that money ( nevertheless little ) is shared with the songsters. Why doesn # 8217 ; t Napster try to do a similar agreement with creative persons? The fact that Napster ( now a multi-million dollar corporation ) has refused to make so and fells behind the fiction that they merely put music fans in touch with one another who so portion files. If you turned off the Napster waiters, the Napster plan would be useless. No 1 could # 8220 ; portion # 8221 ; files. Conversely without the chance of illicitly downloading music, picture and package for free no 1 would utilize this service. Napster lawyers have stated that the company is # 8220 ; non responsible for illegal use # 8221 ; of its service. Napster as a company has dramatically shirked any and all duty for the usage of its plan. Peoples should truly believe twice approximately enriching such an irresponsible corporation. Many Napster users complain that Cadmiums are excessively expensive. That sometimes they merely want to purchase one vocal and non a who lupus erythematosus album, and that singles are seldom available or excessively expensive. I agree. There should be an alternate cheaper manner of purchasing a vocal that does non affect this really inefficient system of Cadmium makers, distribution companies, and retail record shops. I besides believe that such an surrogate system based upon downloading, and uploading vocals off the Internet is really executable. Resistance by the major record labels, and tribunals has been a important obstruction. Artists should be given a pick as to whether they want to hold their vocals be a portion of such a system. If Fred Durst and Courtney Love ( instrumentalists ) want their vocals to be a portion of such a system that # 8217 ; s mulct. But what if an creative person does non desire their vocals # 8220 ; shared # 8221 ; ? With simple package filters Napster could at least bound and deter the sharing of vocals by creative persons who opted out of the system. The fact that Napster makes no attempt to make so uncover the true nature of this corporation. Artists like Metalica, 112, and Dr. Dre have all requested that their music be banned from Napster s waiters. Napster has the ability to take down the demand for CD # 8217 ; s. The plan makes any song of all time made available for free. It disregards copyright Torahs and enables a individual to download one # 8217 ; s favourite music into a format that takes up small room on a hardrive. If you merely go to any university in the state you ll understand the issue. Students do non purchase CD # 8217 ; s. Recent surveies have shown music shops around college campuses have had their gross revenues cut after the oncoming of Napster. Students do necessitate experience the demand to tweak down 15 dollars for a Cadmium, when they can acquire all the vocals they want for free. The high-velocity college webs enable pupils to download vocals in merely seconds. Cadmium burners have besides helped Napster. Peoples can download the vocals from Napster, so they can set the burnt vocals onto any CD # 8217 ; s of their pick. They end up with mixes of their favourite vocals and everybody appears happy-except for the sets whose music is copied, and the record labels whose net incomes are diminishing Napster has caught the attending of the major music industries and several cases have been filed to halt Napster # 8217 ; s forum from giving off free music. Until a declaration the job can merely acquire worse. The popularity of overseas telegram and DSL modems will do computing machines who are non based on college webs still able to download music rapidly. The phone modem still takes about 20 proceedingss to download vocals ; nevertheless the overseas telegram modem takes about 15 seconds. Once the office and place users have the ability to to the full take advantage of Napster # 8217 ; s characteristics, the music industry will truly get down to lose net incomes. Napster presents a job to the record industry and with the popularity of high-velocity connexions, it appears the job can merely turn.

The Black Exodus Into Time essays

The Black Exodus Into Time essays We are living in a time of modernization. The impact of modernization has had a tremendous affect on the black community of America. Through this modernization, we have created a struggle among the search for black identity. For years, we (Blacks) have been struggling to empower the black community by incorporating our race into the powers that be or the white community. In our time of struggle, hopelessness has taken over the mindset of many Black-Americans. We still have a deep sense of alienation, despair, and uncertainty among our culture. The idea of black identity can be looked at through many different aspects, but there is only two critical ways of really looking at it in my mind. Those two categories are that of nationalist and assimilationist, black-identified or white-identified respectively (Hooks, 4). Looking at this idea of black identity, we can pose a basis of how all people of the middle-class black community can collect together to further involve ourselves i n the white mans society as a group collectively to achieve a higher level of respect and understanding. To begin this new social-revolutionary period, the help of the black-middle class people is needed. The white-identified black persons or assimilationists need to reassess their relationship with this pop-culture and rejoin the resistance struggle along side the brothers of color until our people as a whole is better accepted by the society of today (Hooks, 4). The time is now for the final step of the advancement of the black people in todays society. This new revolution has been going on for years now, from our educated brothers in Africa, to people like Denmark Vesey, all the way up to the middle class Blacks or the Aristocrats of color. According to Bell Hooks, this revolution is dependent on the educated middle class Blacks, the intellectuals. We may look to the white-identified black persons for help, but it may be to no avail. ...

Forensics Research Project 2 Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Forensics Project 2 - Research Paper Example It can be stated that the aforesaid tactics would generally provide broader explanation to various legal aspects relating to the preservation of a computer and its data. Key Steps to Ensuring Legal Success in a Courtroom in a Forensics Case In order to determine the key steps ensuring legal success in a courtroom in a forensics case, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that forensic readiness is often represented as the capability of an organization to increase its prospective to use modern digital evidences and at the same time, reducing the costs of an investigation by a certain degree. In this similar concern, the key steps towards ensuring legal success in a courtroom in a forensics case have been outlined below. Describing the business circumstances that need digital evidence Identifying current sources & different kind of potential evidence Determining the evidence based collection obligation Establishing a strategy for secure storage plan & handling of possible evidence Identifying the circumstances when a full formal investigation need to be initiated Documenting an evidence-related case explaining the incident and its manifold impact Ensuring legal appraisal to take necessary actions in response to the happening of any incident (Rowlingson, 2004). Conditions That Require Inclusion of Law Enforcement With regard to conclude the conditions that require inclusion of law enforcement, it can be affirmed that computer crime may be conducted through the violation of the policies associated with information technology relating to the preservation of a computer and its data. Generally, there pertain numerous conditions of crime related to the information technology that lays the requirement of the inclusion of law enforcement agencies. In this regard, according to Section 13 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012, law can be enforced against any individual linked with preservation of computer data. The truthfulness of traffic data & subscriber information relating to communication services shall be preserved for a minimum of six months. Moreover, content information shall likewise be preserved for a period of six months from the date of the order received from law enforcement authorities obliging its preservation. It can be stated that law enforcement system may provide extensions for the conduct of the aforesaid activities. It has been apparently observed that one of the conditions that require inclusion of law enforcement is that once computer data is preserved, conveyed or stored by a service provider, the data would be accessible only to authorized users It is the service provider who requires to preserve digital data as well as to keep those confidential and most significantly maintain their compliance by a certain degree. It is to be affirmed that if any computer operator violates or not comply with the order provided by the service provider, then the respective task will be regarded as a crime as and the operator will be punis hed under section 13 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012 (The Office of the President of the Philippines, 2012). Possible Actions to Protect the Employer In accordance with the mentioned case, one of the possible actions could be the introduction of various data prevention plan which might protect the employer by a certain degree. In this similar concern, it can be affirmed that the employer can take the help of a law enforcement group for collecting as well as

The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Women in the Essay

The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Women in the Philippines - Essay Example Under the first SAP implemented for the Philippines in 1981, the objective was to reshape a largely protectionist regime under the Marcos dictatorship into an export-led economy through trade and financial liberalization and tight credit policy. However, subsequent events proved the SAP strategy wrong, as evidenced by the depreciation of the Philippine peso by 10 percent in 1983, double-digit inflation and unemployment, declining wages and the unimproved quality of exports due mainly to low production costs and cheap labor. During these years, political opposition to the martial law government of Marcos was escalating, which became a nationwide disturbance when top opposition leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated in 1984 by suspected Marcos hit men. This led to massive capital flight that forced Marcos to call a snap election in 1985, in which the widow of Aquino emerged victorious. As the GDP began to grow by a moderate 5.6 percent under the second IMF-WB program undertaken for the Aquino government (Lim & Montes, 2001), the economy suffered one setback after another as Marcos loyalists held disruptive rallies and renegade soldiers separately staged a series of military coups from 1987 to 1989. This paper examines how SAP failed the Philippines, specifically how and why its required policy reforms marginalized women in the Philippines in terms of meeting their rights to education, health and livelihood. 2. How SAP Worked Against Philippine Women The SAP requirement for an export-led strategy of economic growth created shifts in the use of land and other resources, reorganized production processes, and changed production relations as well as existing social institutions (Sparr, 1994). This was generally how SAP worked to the disadvantage of Philippine women. On land use, for example, one of the main thrusts of SAP is to remove subsidies from agricultural production intended for local consumption and to re-channel the funds instead to the production of cash crops for the export market (Sparr, 1994). Rural women in the Philippines augment the meager income of their farmer-husbands by engaging in the backyard production of crops that can be sold in the local market. Moreover, women share farm work with their men especially in seeding and harvesting. When the incentives for growing crops with a ready market were taken away, the women lost an important source of income to the detriment of her family (Elson, 1995). The problem was that government promoted export production although world prices were extremely low (Lim & Montes, 2001). In the Philippines, land was transferred from the traditional crops of rice and corn to the production of sugar cane, bananas and pineapples with a concomitant increase in the size of holdings and greater mechanization but also a rise in the number of landless households (Elson, 1995). The main result was to further marginalize women in crop production as they are largely excluded from sugar cultivation. Rural women in the Philippines farm for home production and the local markets and rarely is it done for the export

Tourism in Myanmar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tourism in Myanmar - Essay Example The case of Myanmar is one which shows how negative impressions of traditional media have led to a lack of tourism. The conditions of the country are known for political unrest, tyranny and social communism, all which have stopped the tourist industry. Currently, Myanmar is interested in opening the doors to tourism, specifically to build the economy and to develop a global openness required. The need to change the tourist perspectives; however, is limited by the negative impressions. To change this, the use of social media can be used with strategies that develop positive impressions on the cultural and social activities that one can enjoy in the region. By creating a social media strategy, there will be the ability to reach a larger target market while creating interactions and developments with the tourism and travel industry. Introduction The ability to reach current target markets is one which is no longer dependent on brick and mortar stores and traditional advertising. To reac h the needed areas, there is the need to create more alternatives with the use of online marketing, specifically with the current trends that are available. Social media is one of the areas which invites new opportunities for advertising while ensuring that the correct target market is met. This paper will look at the marketing of a mystical country, Myanmar, with the use of social media. ... The problems with the country are based on multi – faceted perspectives that come from the political and social agendas that are in the area. The problems are based on political issues, interests and agendas that have turned tourists away from the region. Many look at the area as corrupt while other tourists do not regard the place as a destination because of the political and cultural system. The ability to be open for tourism is not a primary concern in the area, making it difficult for travelers to move through the region while finding the best outlets for the travel desired. These particular problems are continuous with the references such as the area being the land of fear, specifically because of the political regime and social closure that is surrounding the area (Henderson, 2010). The development of Myanmar to the current date is one which is continuing to follow this trend, leading to a large number of individuals to not travel into the area. The socialist economy and political agenda is followed by the closure within the country for travel. However, the current changes into a global economy and into alterations with the political and economic system are also indicating that there is the need to open Myanmar to travel and to alter the political and economic perspectives of the country (Toshihiro, 2010). In current years, they have opened to tourism with the recognition that Burma needs to expand into offering more opportunities for expansion in this area. The movement has opened to an average of 3,000 from China visiting the area in 2011, which is a 33% increase from past years. The global number of visitors has increased to 792,000 travelers, which is inclusive of a

Vicarious Traumatization Concept Analysis

Vicarious Traumatization Concept Analysis Periods of active investigation have observed throughout this review of the literature on psychological trauma and little systematic findings have been notorious (Pearlman and Mac Ian (1995). Despite that Pearlman and Saakvitine, (1995a) mentioned that therapists appeared to be attracted to working with traumatized population. In spite of this assumption, there are others studies that have evaluated the influence of gender as possible cause to a vicarious traumatization; but, no evidence have been found indicating that gender plays an active role in developing vicarious trauma (Nelson-Gardell Harris, 2003; Pearlman Mac lan, 1995). On the other hand, a history of prior traumatization in mental health workers or practitioners may be a risk factor. Cunningham (2003) indicated that a relationship between professionals having a reduced sense of personal safety and a higher levels of exposure to traumatic materials, especially if they had experienced sexual abuse themselves. Nelson-Gardell and Harris (2003) revised multiple cause potential risk factors in the population of child protection workers; and, discovered that a history of emotional abuse and sexual abuse associated with an increased risk of developing secondary traumatic stress. In 2004, Kadambnd Truscott did a comparison with mental health workers, who worked with sexual abuse survivors, cancer patients, and practitioners and found no differences in the degree of vicarious trauma among these diverse groups. According to these investigators, these special populations, who are perceived as highly vulnerable and depending on the nature of the trauma, dealt w ith a possible cause that might contribute to the degree of risk for practitioners or workers in the mental health field. Kadambi and Truscott (2004) clarified there is limited and contradictory evidence for this assumption. Proximity to traumatic events seems to increase the cause of developing vicarious traumatization. Even though, results of research with criminal lawyers suggested that evidence have shown that the prolonged exposure to traumatic materials is associated with a higher increased risk of developing vicarious traumatization (Vrklevski Franklin, 2008; Musa Hamid, 2008). Vrklevski Franklin (2008) suggested that the cause of having a history of several traumas in their personal histories and proximity to the traumatic event could be one of the causes of exposing themselves to a higher risk of developing vicarious trauma symptoms. Ultimately, the workplace environment has been considered as a potential cause risk factor. Professionals who work for the public sector seemed to find themselves at a higher risk of developing vicarious traumatization, than those working in the private practices (Vredenburgh, Carlozzi Stein, 1999). By 2004, Goldsmith, Barlow, and Freyd suggested that workers of public agencies might also be exposed to a higher percentage of traumatized clients. This could lead to an effect on higher caseloads, inadequate or non-existent resources, and more complicated clients. They also suggested that agency workers might be exposed to an increased percentage of traumatized clients (Goldsmith, Barlow Freyd, 2004; Cougle, Resnick Kilpatrick, 2009). Boscarino, Figley and Adams (2004) suggested that clients were more likely to experience multiple environmental stressors, like poverty, unemployment and exposure to crime, as well as fewer social supports and higher rates of client comorbidity. Nevertheless, the long work hours could also appear to be one of the causes of risk factors in developing vicarious traumatization, as the caseloads with higher numbers of traumatized individuals. Newell and MacNeil (2011) in their research, studied workers who were exposed to traumatic stories or clients’ with traumatic stories at the veteran’s hospital, and revealed that consistent evidence that workplace factors can increase practitioners risks of developing vicarious traumatization. In comparison to other potential risk factors, Kadami and Truscott (2008) researched practitioners who work with sexual abuse victims in Canada, reported that the most important factors in causing therapist’s perceptions of vicarious trauma in their workplace were included the lack of support, long hours of work, high caseloads and limited resources. Their research revealed that exposure to consistently, detailed factors of the trauma, societal injustice, and exposure to human cruelty and countertransference or highly emotional reactions within the practitioners working with sexual abuse victims were denoted. On the other hand, Kadami and Truscott (2008) pointed out that those practitioners who were not working with sexual abuse victims did not score significantly different on registering vicarious traumatization with the others Canada professionals. Consequently, this raises another collateral effect that brings about an ethical issue. Trauma practitioners in addressing their countertransference reactions, protect the client and themselves. By not doing so, the effects are likely to have an undesirable impact on the therapists’ relationships with clients, personal and professional life (Trippany, White-Kress and Wilcoxon, 2004). However, as a cause and effect of the phenomenon of vicarious traumatization, Srdanovic (2007) and Hill (2003) have researched among therapists who have been working victims of sexual violence and other traumatic events. In reviewing the cognitive, emotional and behavioral reactions to being a victimized individual that there have uncovered several others dynamics at the personal level that might be influencing (Hill, 2003). Nevertheless, its psychological effects remain the same, regardless of the type of population, ethnicity, age or working responsibilities. Another assumption that can cause vicarious traumatization symptoms is pointed out to the workplace cultural factors that appears to interact as an important role in the development or at risk factor symptoms for a vicarious victimization. Schauben and Frazier (1995) highlighted that a lack of a larger support systems contributes to the development of trauma-related problems for practitioners or workers in mental health. These researchers argued that cultures that discourage the expression of emotion, autonomy, and self-care place employees increased the risk of vicarious traumatization throughout the establishment of a dysfunctional institutional norm. Those practitioners who work within these institutions, according to Schauben and Frazier (1995) work in an unhealthy cultural norm, because not only discourage self-care, but, also discourage individuals from these cultures from being supportive to one another. These individuals present a tendency to internalize these dysfunctional n orms and invalidate their need to self-protect and avoid the personal impact they may experience by being exposed to these traumas. Pearlman and Mac Ian (1995) strongly support their argument that trauma practitioners need to active seeking professional consultation and support in order to transform their emotional, self-esteem, cognitive and behavioral reactions to the collateral effects of trauma work (Pearlman Saakvitine, 1995a; Devilly, Wright Varker, 2009). Since 2005, Marriage and Marriage focused on the importance of therapists on being aware of their feelings, therefore, using their diagnostic and therapeutic awareness for their benefit and the client. Furthermore, Toren (2008) during her research process explained that working with traumatized population most of the time can become rewarding effect for the therapist. The limited research on the evidence remains unclear and limited. The only variable that remains consistent with all the literature review is the need for education among experienced and non-experienced practitioners (Cunningham, 2003; Newell MacNeil, 2010). The lack of proper standardized instruments to measure these effects, and its variables are lacking. As well as, it becomes difficult assessing which ethnic population is more affected than others (Newell MacNeil, 2010). Once again, the debate, of having clear and consistent definitions for various theoretical constructs. This continues to indicating that, even though, there have been various attempts to provide new literature that conceptualizes the phenomenon of vicarious trauma and others theoretical constructs, such as, countertransference and compassion fatigue the overlapping issue continues. The research evidence indicates that the phenomenon of vicarious traumatization were found in anecdotal recordings by trauma therap ists, indicating that affected practitioners and clients (Sexton, 1999).

Kolb Learning Style Inventory

The Kolb Learning Style Inventory—Version 3. 1 2005 Technical Speci? cations Alice Y. Kolb Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc. David A. Kolb Case Western Reserve University May 15, 2005 Abstract The Kolb Learning Style Inventory Version 3. 1 (KLSI 3. 1), revised in 2005, is the latest revision of the original Learning Style Inventory developed by David A. Kolb. Like its predecessors, KLSI 3. 1 is based on experiential learning theory (Kolb 1984) and is designed to help individuals identify the way they learn from experience.This revision includes new norms that are based on a larger, more diverse, and more representative sample of 6977 LSI users. The format, items, scoring and interpretative booklet remain identical with KLSI 3. The technical speci? cations are designed to adhere to the standards for educational and psychological testing developed by the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measureme nt in Education (1999). Section 1 of the technical speci? cations describes the conceptual foundations of the LSI 3. in the theory of experiential learning (ELT). Section 2 provides a description of the inventory that includes its purpose, history, and format. Section 3 describes the characteristics of the KLSI 3. 1 normative sample. Section 4 includes internal reliability and test-retest reliability studies of the inventory. Section 5 provides information about research on the internal and external validity for the instrument. Internal validity studies of the structure of the KLSI 3. 1 using correlation and factor analysis are reported.External validity includes research on demographics, educational specialization, concurrent validity with other experiential learning assessment instruments, aptitude test performance, academic performance, experiential learning in teams, and educational applications.  © Copyright 2005: Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 1. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION—EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING STYLES The Kolb Learning Style Inventory differs from other tests of learning style and personality used in education by being based on a comprehensive theory of learning and development.Experiential learning theory (ELT) draws on the work of prominent twentieth century scholars who gave experience a central role in their theories of human learning and development-notably John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, Jean Piaget, William James, Carl Jung, Paulo Freire, Carl Rogers, and others-to develop a holistic model of the experiential learning process and a multi-linear model of adult development. The theory, described in detail in Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Kolb 1984), is built on six propositions that are shared by these scholars. . Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes. To improve learning in higher education, the primary focus should be on engaging students in a process that best enhances their learning —a process that includes feedback on the effectiveness of their learning efforts. â€Å"†¦ education must be conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience: †¦ the process and goal of education are one and the same thing. † (Dewey 1897: 79) 2. All learning is relearning.Learning is best facilitated by a process that draws out the students’ beliefs and ideas about a topic so that they can be examined, tested, and integrated with new, more re? ned ideas. 3. Learning requires the resolution of con? icts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world. Con? ict, differences, and disagreement are what drive the learning process. In the process of learning, one is called upon to move back and forth between opposing modes of re? ection and action and feeling and thinking. 4. Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world.It is not just the result of cognit ion but involves the integrated functioning of the total person—thinking, feeling, perceiving, and behaving. 5. Learning results from synergetic transactions between the person and the environment. In Piaget’s terms, learning occurs through equilibration of the dialectic processes of assimilating new experiences into existing concepts and accommodating existing concepts to new experience. 6. Learning is the process of creating knowledge. ELT proposes a constructivist theory of learning whereby social knowledge is created and recreated in the personal knowledge of the learner.This stands in contrast to the â€Å"transmission† model on which much current educational practice is based, where pre-existing ? xed ideas are transmitted to the learner. ELT de? nes learning as â€Å"the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience† (Kolb 1984: 41). The ELT model portrays two dialectically related modes of grasping experience-Concrete Experience (CE) and Abstract Conceptualization (AC)-and two dialectically related modes of transforming experience-Re? ctive Observation (RO) and Active Experimentation (AE). Experiential learning is a process of constructing knowledge that involves a creative tension among the four learning modes that is responsive to contextual demands. This process is portrayed as an idealized learning cycle or spiral where the learner â€Å"touches all the bases†Ã¢â‚¬â€experiencing, re? ecting, thinking, and acting-in a recursive process that is responsive to the learning situation and what is being learned. Immediate or concrete experiences are the basis for observations and re? ections. These re? ctions are assimilated and distilled into abstract concepts from which new implications for action can be drawn. These implications can be actively tested and serve as guides in creating new experiences (Figure 1). ELT proposes that this idealized learning cycle will vary by individuals’ learning style and learning context. 2 LSI Technical Manual Concrete Experience Testing Implications of Concepts in New Situations Observation and Reflections Formation of Abstract Concepts and Generalization Figure 1. The experiential learning cycle In The art of changing the brain: Enriching teaching by exploring the biology f learning, James Zull, a biologist and founding director of CWRU’s University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE), sees a link between ELT and neuroscience research, suggesting that this process of experiential learning is related to the process of brain functioning as shown in Figure 2. â€Å"Put into words, the ? gure illustrates that concrete experiences come through the sensory cortex, re? ective observation involves the integrative cortex at the back, creating new abstract concepts occurs in the frontal integrative cortex, and active testing i nvolves the motor brain.In other words, the learning cycle arises from the structure of the brain. † (Zull 2002: 18-19) 3 Figure 2. The experiential learning cycle and regions of the cerebral cortex. Reprinted with permission of the author (Zull 2002) ELT posits that learning is the major determinant of human development and that how individuals learn shapes the course of their personal development. Previous research (Kolb 1984) has shown that learning styles are in? uenced by personality type, educational specialization, career choice, and current job role and tasks. Yamazaki (2002, 2004a) has recently identi? d cultural in? uences as well. The ELT developmental model (Kolb 1984) de? nes three stages: (1) acquisition, from birth to adolescence, where basic abilities and cognitive structures develop; (2) specialization, from formal schooling through the early work and personal experiences of adulthood, where social, educational, and organizational socialization forces shape th e development of a particular, specialized learning style; and (3) integration in midcareer and later life, where nondominant modes of learning are expressed in work and personal life.Development through these stages is characterized by increasing complexity and relativism in adapting to the world and by increased integration of the dialectic con? icts between AC and CE and AE and RO. Development is conceived as multi-linear based on an individual’s particular learning style and life path—development of CE increases affective complexity, of RO increases perceptual complexity, of AC increases symbolic complexity, and of AE increases behavioral complexity.The concept of learning style describes individual differences in learning based on the learner’s preference for employing different phases of the learning cycle. Because of our hereditary equipment, our particular life experiences, and the demands of our present environment, we develop a preferred way of choosin g among the four learning modes. We resolve the con? ict between being concrete or abstract and between being active or re? ective in patterned, characteristic ways.Much of the research on ELT has focused on the concept of learning style, using the Learning Style Inventory (LSI) to assess individual learning styles (Kolb 1971, 1985, 1999). While individuals tested on the LSI show many different patterns of scores, previous research with the instrument has identi? ed four learning styles that are associated with different approaches to learning—Diverging, Assimilating, Converging, and Accommodating. The following summary of the four basic learning styles is based on both research and clinical observation of these patterns of LSI scores (Kolb1984, 1999a). LSI Technical Manual An individual with diverging style has CE and RO as dominant learning abilities. People with this learning style are best at viewing concrete situations from many different points of view. It is labeled Di verging because a person with it performs better in situations that call for generation of ideas, such as a brainstorming session. People with a Diverging learning style have broad cultural interests and like to gather information. They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative and emotional, have broad cultural interests, and tend to specialize in the arts.In formal learning situations, people with the Diverging style prefer to work in groups, listening with an open mind to different points of view and receiving personalized feedback. An individual with an assimilating style has AC and RO as dominant learning abilities. People with this learning style are best at understanding a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form. Individuals with an Assimilating style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts. Generally, people with this style ? d it more important that a theory have logical soundness than practical value. The Assimilating learning style is important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through. An individual with a converging style has AC and AE as dominant learning abilities. People with this learning style are best at ? nding practical uses for ideas and theories. They have the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on ? ding solutions to questions or problems. Individuals with a Converging learning style prefer to deal with technical tasks and problems rather than with social issues and interpersonal issues. These learning skills are important for effectiveness in specialist and technology careers. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer to experiment with new ideas, simulations, laboratory assignments, and practical applications. An individual with an accommodating style has CE and AE as do minant learning abilities.People with this learning style have the ability to learn from primarily â€Å"hands-on† experience. They enjoy carrying out plans and involving themselves in new and challenging experiences. Their tendency may be to act on â€Å"gut† feelings rather than on logical analysis. In solving problems, individuals with an Accommodating learning style rely more heavily on people for information than on their own technical analysis. This learning style is important for effectiveness in action-oriented careers such as marketing or sales.In formal learning situations, people with the Accommodating learning style prefer to work with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do ? eld work, and to test out different approaches to completing a project. 5 FACTORS THAT SHAPE AND INFLUENCE LEARNING STYLES The above patterns of behavior associated with the four basic learning styles are shaped by transactions between people and their environment at ? ve different levels—personality, educational specialization, professional career, current job role, and adaptive competencies.While some have interpreted learning style as a personality variable (Garner 2000; Furnam, Jackson, and Miller 1999), ELT de? nes learning style as a social psychological concept that is only partially determined by personality. Personality exerts a small but pervasive in? uence in nearly all situations; but at the other levels, learning style is in? uenced by increasingly speci? c environmental demands of educational specialization, career, job, and tasks skills. Table 1 summarizes previous research that has identi? ed how learning styles are determined at these various levels. Table 1.Relationship Between Learning Styles and Five Levels of Behavior Behavior Level Personality types Educational Specialization Professional Career Current Jobs Adaptive Competencies Diverging Introverted Feeling Arts, English History Psychology Social Service Arts Personal j obs Valuing skills Assimilating Introverted Intuition Mathematics Physical Science Sciences Research Information Information jobs Thinking skills Converging Extraverted Thinking Engineering Medicine Engineering Medicine Technology Technical jobs Decision skills Accommodating Extraverted Sensation Education Communication Nursing Sales Social Service Education Executive jobs Action skills Personality Types Although the learning styles of and learning modes proposed by ELT are derived from the works of Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget, many have noted the similarity of these concepts to Carl Jung’s descriptions of individuals’ preferred ways for adapting in the world.Several research studies relating the LSI with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) indicate that Jung’s Extraversion/Introversion dialectical dimension correlates with the Active/Re? ective dialectic of ELT, and the MBTI Feeling/Thinking dimension correlates with the LSI Concrete Experience/ Abstract Concep tualization dimension. The MBTI Sensing type is associated with the LSI Accommodating learning style, and the MBTI Intuitive type with the LSI Assimilating style. MBTI Feeling types correspond to LSI Diverging learning styles, and Thinking types to Converging styles. The above discussion implies that the Accommodating learning style is the Extraverted Sensing type, and the Converging style the Extraverted Thinking type.The Assimilating learning style corresponds to the Introverted Intuitive personality type, and the Diverging style to the Introverted Feeling type. Myers (1962) descriptions of these MBTI types are very similar to the corresponding LSI learning styles as described by ELT (Kolb 1984, 83-85). Educational Specialization Early educational experiences shape people’s individual learning styles by instilling positive attitudes toward speci? c sets of learning skills and by teaching students how to learn. Although elementary education is generalized, an increasing proc ess of specialization begins in high school and becomes sharper during the college years. This specialization in the realms of social knowledge in? ences individuals’ orientations toward learning, resulting in particular relations between learning styles and early training in an educational specialty or discipline. For example, people specializing in the arts, history, political science, English, and psychology tend to have Diverging learning styles, while those majoring 6 LSI Technical Manual in more abstract and applied areas such as medicine and engineering have Converging learning styles. Individuals with Accommodating styles often have educational backgrounds in education, communications, and nursing, and those with Assimilating styles in mathematics and physical sciences. Professional Career A third set of factors that shape learning styles stems from professional careers.One’s professional career choice not only exposes one to a specialized learning environment, but it also involves a commitment to a generic professional problem, such as social service, that requires a specialized adaptive orientation. In addition, one becomes a member of a reference group of peers who share a professional mentality and a common set of values and beliefs about how one should behave professionally. This professional orientation shapes learning style through habits acquired in professional training and through the more immediate normative pressures involved in being a competent professional. Research over the years has shown that social service and arts careers attract people with a Diverging learning style. Professions in the sciences and information or research have people with an Assimilating learning style.The Converging learning styles tends to be dominant among professionals in technology-intensive ? elds such as medicine and engineering. Finally, the Accommodating learning style characterizes people with careers in ? elds such as sales, social service , and education. Current Job Role The fourth level of factors in? uencing learning style is the person’s current job role. The task demands and pressures of a job shape a person’s adaptive orientation. Executive jobs, such as general management, that require a strong orientation to task accomplishment and decision making in uncertain emergent circumstances require an Accommodating learning style.Personal jobs, such as counseling and personnel administration, which require the establishment of personal relationships and effective communication with other people, demand a Diverging learning style. Information jobs, such as planning and research, which require data gathering and analysis, as well as conceptual modeling, require an Assimilating learning style. Technical jobs, such as bench engineering and production, require technical and problem-solving skills, which require a convergent learning orientation. Adaptive Competencies The ? fth and most immediate level of for ces that shapes learning style is the speci? c task or problem the person is currently working on. Each task we face requires a corresponding set of skills for effective performance.The effective matching of task demands and personal skills results in an adaptive competence. The Accommodative learning style encompasses a set of competencies that can best be termed Acting skills: Leadership, Initiative, and Action. The Diverging learning style is associated with Valuing skills: Relationship, Helping Others, and Sense Making. The Assimilating learning style is related to Thinking skills: Information Gathering, Information Analysis, and Theory Building. Finally, the Converging learning style is associated with Decision skills like Quantitative Analysis, Use of Technology, and Goal Setting (Kolb1984). 7 2. THE LEARNING STYLE INVENTORY PURPOSE The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was created to ful? l two purposes: 1. To serve as an educational tool to increase individuals’ understa nding of the process of learning from experience and their unique individual approach to learning. By increasing awareness of how they learn, the aim is to increase learners’ capacity for meta-cognitive control of their learning process, enabling them to monitor and select learning approaches that work best for them in different learning situations. By providing a language for talking about learning styles and the learning process, the inventory can foster conversation among learners and educators about how to create the most effective learning environment for those involved.For this purpose, the inventory is best presented not as a test, but as an experience in understanding how one learns. Scores on the inventory should not be interpreted as de? nitive, but as a starting point for exploration of how one learns best. To facilitate this purpose, a self-scoring and interpretation book that explains the experiential learning cycle and the characteristics of the different learni ng styles, along with scoring and pro? ling instructions, is included with the inventory. 2. To provide a research tool for investigating experiential learning theory (ELT) and the characteristics of individual learning styles. This research can contribute to the broad advancement of experiential learning and, speci? ally, to the validity of interpretations of individual learning style scores. A research version of the instrument, including only the inventory to be scored by the researcher, is available for this purpose. The LSI is not a criterion-referenced test and is not intended for use to predict behavior for purposes of selection, placement, job assignment, or selective treatment. This includes not using the instrument to assign learners to different educational treatments, a process sometimes referred to as tracking. Such categorizations based on a single test score amount to stereotyping that runs counter to the philosophy of experiential learning, which emphasizes individua l uniqueness. When it is used in the simple, straightforward, and open way intended, the LSI usually provides a valuable self-examination and discussion that recognizes the uniqueness, complexity, and variability in individual approaches to learning. The danger lies in the rei? cation of learning styles into ? xed traits, such that learning styles become stereotypes used to pigeonhole individuals and their behavior. † (Kolb 1981a: 290-291) The LSI is constructed as a self-assessment exercise and tool for construct validation of ELT. Tests designed for predictive validity typically begin with a criterion, such as academic achievement, and work backward to identify items or tests with high criterion correlations.Even so, even the most sophisticated of these tests rarely rises above a . 5 correlation with the criterion. For example, while Graduate Record Examination Subject Test scores are better predictors of ? rst-year graduate school grades than either the General Test score o r undergraduate GPA, the combination of these three measures only produces multiple correlations with grades ranging from . 4 to . 6 in various ? elds (Anastasi and Urbina 1997). Construct validation is not focused on an outcome criterion, but on the theory or construct the test measures. Here the emphasis is on the pattern of convergent and discriminant theoretical predictions made by the theory. Failure to con? m predictions calls into question the test and the theory. â€Å"However, even if each of the correlations proved to be quite low, their cumulative effect would be to support the validity of the test and the underlying theory. † (Selltiz, Jahoda, Deutsch, and Cook 1960: 160) Judged by the standards of construct validity, ELT has been widely accepted as a useful framework for learning-centered educational innovation, including instructional design, curriculum development, and life-long learning. Field and job classi? cation studies viewed as a whole also show a patter n of results consistent with the ELT structure of knowledge theory. 8 LSI Technical ManualHISTORY Five versions of the Learning Style Inventory have been published over the last 35 years. During this time, attempts have been made to openly share information about the inventory, its scoring, and its technical characteristics with other interested researchers. The results of their research have been instrumental in the continuous improvement of the inventory. Learning Style Inventory-Version 1 (Kolb 1971, Kolb 1976) The original Learning Style Inventory (LSI 1) was created in 1969 as part of an MIT curriculum development project that resulted in the ? rst management textbook based on experiential learning (Kolb, Rubin, and McIntyre 1971).It was originally developed as an experiential educational exercise designed to help learners understand the process of experiential learning and their unique individual style of learning from experience. The term â€Å"learning style† was coin ed to describe these individual differences in how people learn. Items for the inventory were selected from a longer list of words and phrases developed for each learning mode by a panel of four behavioral scientists familiar with experiential learning theory. This list was given to a group of 20 graduate students who were asked to rate each word or phrase for social desirability. Attempting to select words that were of equal social desirability, a ? nal set of 12 items including a word or phrase for each learning mode was selected for pre-testing.Analysis showed that three of these sets produced nearly random responses and were thus eliminated, resulting in a ? nal version of the LSI with 9 items. These items were further re? ned through item-whole correlation analysis to include six scored items for each learning mode. Research with the inventory was stimulated by classroom discussions with students, who found the LSI to be helpful to them in understanding the process of experient ial learning and how they learned. From 1971 until it was revised in 1985, there were more than 350 published research studies using the LSI. Validity for the LSI 1 was established in a number of ? elds, including education, management, psychology, computer science, medicine, and nursing (Hickcox 1990, Iliff 1994).The results of this research with LSI 1 provided provided empirical support for the most complete and systematic statement of ELT, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Kolb 1984). Several studies of the LSI 1 identi? ed psychometric weaknesses of the instrument, particularly low internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability. Learning Style Inventory-Version 2 (Kolb 1985) Low reliability coef? cients and other concerns about the LSI 1 led to a revision of the inventory in 1985 (LSI 2). Six new items chosen to increase internal reliability (alpha) were added to each scale, making 12 scored items on each scale. These chan ges increased scale alphas to an average of . 81 ranging from . 73 to . 88.Wording of all items was simpli? ed to a seventh grade reading level, and the format was changed to include sentence stems (e. g. , â€Å"When I learn†). Correlations between the LSI 1 and LSI 2 scales averaged . 91 and ranged from . 87 to . 93. A new more diverse normative reference group of 1446 men and women was created. Research with the LSI 2 continued to establish validity for the instrument. From 1985 until the publication of the LSI 3 1999, more than 630 studies were published, most using the LSI 2. While internal reliability estimates for the LSI 2 remained high in independent studies, test-retest reliability remained low. Learning Style Inventory-Version 2a (Kolb 1993)In 1991 Veres, Sims, and Locklear published a reliability study of a randomized version of the LSI 2 that showed a small decrease in internal reliability but a dramatic increase in test-retest reliability with the random scoring format. To study this format, a research version of the random format inventory (LSI 2a) was published in 1993. 9 Kolb Learning Style Inventory-Version 3 (Kolb 1999) In 1999 the randomized format was adopted in a revised self-scoring and interpretation booklet (LSI 3) that included a color-coded scoring sheet to simplify scoring. The new booklet was organized to follow the learning cycle, emphasizing the LSI as an â€Å"experience in learning how you learn. † New application information on teamwork, managing con? ct, personal and professional communication, and career choice and development were added. The LSI 3 continued to use the LSI 2 normative reference group until norms for the randomized version could be created. Kolb Learning Style Inventory-Version 3. 1 (Kolb 2005) The new LSI 3. 1 described here modi? ed the LSI 3 to include new normative data described below. This revision includes new norms that are based on a larger, more diverse and representative sample of 697 7 LSI users. The format, items, scoring, and interpretative booklet remain identical to KLSI 3. The only change in KLSI 3. 1 is in the norm charts used to convert raw LSI scores. FORMATThe Learning Style Inventory is designed to measure the degree to which individuals display the different learning styles derived from experiential learning theory. The form of the inventory is determined by three design parameters. First, the test is brief and straightforward, making it useful both for research and for discussing the learning process with individuals and providing feedback. Second, the test is constructed in such a way that individuals respond to it as they would respond to a learning situation: it requires them to resolve the tensions between the abstract-concrete and active-re? ective orientations. For this reason, the LSI format requires them to rank order their preferences for the abstract, concrete, active, and re? ective orientations.Third, and most obviously, it was hoped that the measures of learning styles would predict behavior in a way consistent with the theory of experiential learning. All versions of the LSI have had the same format—a short questionnaire (9 items for LSI 1 and 12 items for subsequent versions) that asks respondents to rank four sentence endings that correspond to the four learning modes— Concrete Experience (e. g. , experiencing), Re? ective Observation (re? ecting), Abstract Conceptualization (thinking), and Active Experimentation (doing). Items in the LSI are geared to a seventh grade reading level. The inventory is intended for use by teens and adults. It is not intended for use by younger children.The LSI has been translated into many languages, including, Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai, and there have been many cross-cultural studies using it (Yamazaki 2002). The Forced-Choice Format of the LSI The format of the LSI is a forced-choice format that ranks an indiv idual’s relative choice preferences among the four modes of the learning cycle. This is in contrast to the more common normative, or free-choice, format, such as the widely used Likert scale, which rates absolute preferences on independent dimensions. The forced-choice format of the LSI was dictated by the theory of experiential learning and by the primary purpose of the instrument.ELT is a holistic, dynamic, and dialectic theory of learning. Because it is holistic, the four modes that make up the experiential learning cycle-CE, RO, AC, and AE- are conceived as interdependent. Learning involves resolving the creative tension among these learning modes in response to the speci? c learning situation. Since the two learning dimensions, AC-CE and AE-RO, are related dialectically, the choice of one pole involves not choosing the opposite pole. Therefore, because ELT postulates that learning in life situations requires the resolution of con? icts among interdependent learning modes , to be ecologically valid, the learning style assessment process should require a similar process of con? ct resolution in the choice of one’s preferred learning approach. ELT de? nes learning style not as a ? xed trait, but as a dynamic state arising from an individual’s preferential resolution of the dual dialectics of experiencing/conceptualizing and acting/re? ecting. â€Å"The stability and endurance of these states in individuals comes not solely from ? xed genetic qualities or characteristics of human beings: nor, for that matter, does it come from the stable ? xed demands of environmental circumstances. Rather, stable and enduring patterns of human individuality arise from consistent patterns of transaction between the individual and his or her 10 LSI Technical Manual environment.The way we process the possibilities of each new emerging event determines the range of choices and decisions we see. The choices and decisions we make to some extent determine the e vents we live through, and these events in? uence our future choices. Thus, people create themselves through the choice of actual occasions they live through. † (Kolb 1984: 63-64) The primary purpose of the LSI is to provide learners with information about their preferred approach to learning. The most relevant information for the learner is about intra-individual differences, his or her relative preference for the four learning modes, not inter-individual comparisons.Ranking relative preferences among the four modes in a forced-choice format is the most direct way to provide this information. While individuals who take the inventory sometimes report dif? culty in making these ranking choices, they report that the feedback they get from the LSI gives them more insight than had been the case when we used a normative Likert rating scale version. This is because the social desirability response bias in the rating scales fails to de? ne a clear learning style, that is, they say th ey prefer all learning modes. This is supported by Harland’s (2002) ? nding that feedback from a forced-choice test format was perceived as more accurate, valuable, and useful than feedback from a normative version.The adoption of the forced-choice method for the LSI has at times placed it in the center of an ongoing debate in the research literature about the merits of forced-choice instruments between what might be called â€Å"rigorous statisticians† and â€Å"pragmatic empiricists. † Statisticians have questioned the use of the forced-choice format because of statistical limitations, called ipsativity, that are the result of the ranking procedure. Since ipsative scores represent the relative strength of a variable compared to others in the ranked set, the resulting dependence among scores produces methodinduced negative correlations among variables and violates a fundamental assumption of classical test theory required for use of techniques such as analysis of variance and factor analysis-independence of error variance.Cornwell and Dunlap (1994) stated that ipsative scores cannot be factored and that correlation-based analysis of ipsative data produced uninterpretable and invalid results (cf. Hicks 1970, Johnson et al. 1988). Other criticisms include the point that ipsative scores are technically ordinal, not the interval scales required for parametric statistical analysis; that they produce lower internal reliability estimates and lower validity coef? cients (Barron 1996). While critics of forced-choice instruments acknowledge that these criticisms do not detract from the validity of intra-individual comparisons (LSI purpose one), they argue that ipsative scores are not appropriate for inter-individual comparisons, since inter-individual comparisons on a ranked ariable are not independent absolute preferences, but preferences that are relative to the other ranked variables in the set (Barron 1996, Karpatschof and Elkjaer 2000). Howeve r, since ELT argues that a given learning mode preference is relative to the other three modes, it is the comparison of relative not absolute preferences that the theory seeks to assess. The â€Å"pragmatic empiricists† argue that in spite of theoretical statistical arguments, normative and forced-choice variations of the same instrument can produce empirically comparable results. Karpatschof and Elkjaer (2000) advanced this case in their metaphorically titled paper â€Å"Yet the Bumblebee Flies. † With theory, simulation, and empirical data, they presented evidence for the comparability of ipsative and normative data.Saville and Wilson (1991) found a high correspondence between ipsative and normative scores when forced choice involved a large number of alternative dimensions. Normative tests also have serious limitations, which the forced-choice format was originally created to deal with (Sisson 1948). Normative scales are subject to numerous response biases—ce ntral tendency bias, in which respondents avoid extreme responses, acquiescence response, and social desirability responding-and are easy to fake. Forced- choice instruments are designed to avoid these biases by forcing choice among alternatives in a way that re? ects real live choice making (Hicks 1970, Barron 1996).Matthews and Oddy found large bias in the extremeness of positive and negative responses in normative tests and concluded that when sources of artifact are controlled, â€Å"individual differences in ipsative scores can be used to rank individuals meaningfully† (1997: 179). Pickworth and Shoeman (2000) found signi? cant response bias in two normative LSI formats developed by Marshall and Merritt (1986) and Geiger et al. (1993). Conversely, Beutell and Kressel (1984) found that social desirability contributed less than 4% of the variance in LSI scores, in spite of the fact that individual LSI items all had very high social desirability. 11 In addition, ipsative te sts can provide external validity evidence comparable to normative data (Barron 1996) or in some cases even better (Hicks 1970). For example, attempts to use normative rating versions of theLSI report reliability and internal validity data but little or no external validity (Pickworth and Shoeman 2000, Geiger et al. 1993, Romero et al. 1992, Marshall and Merritt 1986, Merritt and Marshall 1984). Characteristics of the LSI Scales The LSI assesses six variables: four primary scores that measure an individual’s relative emphasis on the four learning orientations—Concrete Experience (CE), Re? ective Observation (RO), Abstract Conceptualization (AC), and Active Experimentation (AE)—and two combination scores that measure an individual’s preference for abstractness over concreteness (AC-CE) and action over re? ection (AE-RO). The four primary scales of the LSI are ipsative because of the forced-choice format of the instrument.This results in negative correlatio ns among the four scales, the mean magnitude of which can be estimated (assuming no underlying correlations among them) by the formula -1/(m – 1) where m is the number of variables (Johnson et al. 1988). This results in a predicted average method- induced correlation of -. 33 among the four primary LSI scales. The combination scores AC-CE and AE-RO, however, are not ipsative. Forced- choice instruments can produce scales that are not ipsative (Hicks 1970; Pathi, Manning, and Kolb 1989). To demonstrate the independence of the combination scores and interdependence of the primary scores, Pathi, Manning, and Kolb (1989) had SPSS-X randomly ? ll out and analyze 1000 LSI’s according to the ranking instructions. While the mean intercorrelation among the primary scales was -. 3 as predicted, the correlation between AC-CE and AE-RO was +. 038. In addition, if AC-CE and AE-RO were ipsative scales, the correlation between the two scales would be -1. 0 according to the above form ula. Observed empirical relationships are always much smaller, e. g. +. 13 for a sample of 1591 graduate students (Freedman and Stumpf 1978), -. 09 for the LSI 2 normative sample of 1446 respondents (Kolb 1999b), -. 19 for a sample of 1296 MBA students (Boyatzis and Mainemelis 2000) and -. 21 for the normative sample of 6977 LSI’s for the KLSI 3. 1 described below. The independence of the two combination scores can be seen by examining some example scoring results.For example, when AC-CE or AE-RO on a given item takes a value of +2 (from, say, AC = 4 and CE = 2, or AC = 3 and CE = 1), the other score can take a value of +2 or -2. Similarly when either score takes a value of +1 (from 4 -3, 3-2, or 2-1), the other can take the values of +3, +1, -1, or -3. In other words, when AC-CE takes a particular value, AERO can take two to four different values, and the score on one dimension does not determine the score on the other. 12 LSI Technical Manual 3. NORMS FOR THE LSI VERSION 3. 1 New norms for the LSI 3. 1 were created from responses by several groups of users who completed the randomized LSI 3. These norms are used to convert LSI raw scale scores to percentile scores (see Appendix 1).The purpose of percentile conversions is to achieve scale comparability among an individual’s LSI scores (Barron 1996) and to de? ne cutpoints for de? ning the learning style types. Table 2 shows the means and standard deviations for KLSI 3. 1 scale scores for the normative groups. Table 2. KLSI 3. 1 Scores for Normative Groups SAMPLE TOTAL NORM GROUP On-line Users Research Univ. Freshmen Lib. Arts College Students Art College UG Research Univ. MBA Distance E-learning Adult UG N 6977 Mn. S. D. 5023 288 CE 25. 39 6. 43 25. 22 6. 34 23. 81 6. 06 24. 51 6. 39 28. 02 6. 61 25. 54 6. 44 23. 26 5. 73 RO 28. 19 7. 07 27. 98 7. 03 29. 82 6. 71 28. 25 7. 32 29. 51 7. 18 26. 98 6. 94 27. 64 7. 04 AC 32. 22 7. 29 32. 43 7. 32 33. 49 6. 91 32. 07 6. 22 29. 06 6. 4 33. 92 7. 37 34 . 36 6. 87 AE 34. 14 6. 68 34. 36 6. 65 32. 89 6. 36 35. 05 7. 08 33. 17 6. 52 33. 48 7. 06 34. 18 6. 28 AC-CE 6. 83 11. 69 7. 21 11. 64 9. 68 10. 91 7. 56 10. 34 1. 00 11. 13 8. 38 11. 77 11. 10 10. 45 AE-RO 5. 96 11. 63 6. 38 11. 61 3. 07 10. 99 6. 80 12. 37 3. 73 11. 49 6. 49 11. 92 6. 54 11. 00 221 813 328 304 TOTAL NORMATIVE GROUP Normative percentile scores for the LSI 3. 1 are based on a total sample of 6977 valid LSI scores from users of the instrument. This user norm group is composed of 50. 4% women and 49. 4% men. Their age range is 17-75, broken down into the following age-range groups: < 19 = 9. 8%, 19-24 = 17. %, 25-34 = 27%, 35-44 = 23%, 45-54 = 17. 2%, and >54 = 5. 8 %. Their educational level is as follows: primary school graduate = 1. 2%, secondary school degree = 32. 1%, university degree = 41. 4%, and post-graduate degree = 25. 3%. The sample includes college students and working adults in a wide variety of ? elds. It is made up primarily of U. S. residents (80%) with the remaining 20% of users residing in 64 different countries. The norm group is made up of six subgroups, the speci? c demographic characteristics of which are described below. 13 On-line Users This sample of 5023 is composed of individuals and groups who have signed up to take the LSI on-line.Group users include undergraduate and graduate student groups, adult learners, business management groups, military management groups, and other organizational groups. Half of the sample are men and half are women. Their ages range as follows: 55 = 8. 1 %. Their educational level is as follows: primary school graduate = 1. 7%, secondary school degree = 18. 2%, university degree = 45. 5%, and postgraduate degree = 34. 6%. Most of the on-line users (66%) reside in the U. S. with the remaining 34% living in 64 different countries, with the largest representations from Canada (317), U. K. (212), India (154), Germany (100), Brazil (75), Singapore (59), France (49), and Japan (42). Research U niversity FreshmenThis sample is composed of 288 entering freshmen at a top research university. 53% are men and 47% are women. All are between the ages of 17 and 22. More than 87% of these students intend to major in science or engineering. Liberal Arts College Students Data for this sample were provided by Kayes (2005). This sample includes 221 students (182 undergraduates and 39 part-time graduate students) enrolled in business courses at a private liberal arts college. Their average age is 22, ranging from 18 to 51. 52% are male and 48% are female. Art College Undergraduates This sample is composed of 813 freshmen and graduating students from three undergraduate art colleges. Half of the sample are men and half are women.Their average age is 20, distributed as follows: 35 = 1%. Research University MBA Students This sample is composed of 328 full-time (71%) and part-time (29%) MBA students in a research university management school. 63% are men and 37% women. Their average age is 27, distributed as follows: 19-24 = 4. 1%, 25-34 = 81. 3%, 35-44 = 13. 8%, 45-54 = 1%. Distance E-learning Adult Undergraduate Students This sample is composed of 304 adult learners enrolled in an e-learning distance education undergraduate degree program at a large state university. 56% are women and 44% men. Their average age is 36, distributed as follows: 19-24 = 6. 3%, 25-34 = 37. 5%, 35-44 = 40. %, 45-54 = 14. 5%, and > 55 = 1. 6%. CUT-POINTS FOR LEARNING STYLE TYPES The four basic learning style types—Accommodating, Diverging, Assimilating, and Converging-are created by dividing the AC-CE and AE-RO scores at the ? ftieth percentile of the total norm group and plotting them on the Learning Style Type Grid (Kolb 1999a: 6). The cut point for the AC-CE scale is +7, and the cut point for the AE-RO scale is +6. The Accommodating type would be de? ned by an AC-CE raw score =7, the Diverging type by AC-CE =7, and the Assimilating type by AC-CE >=8 and AE-RO +12) while the re? ective regions are de? ned by percentiles less than 33. 33% (

Conflict Analysis Essay

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10 Cause and Effect Essay Topics on Evolutionary Biology

10 Cause and Effect Essay Topics on Evolutionary Biology Evolutionary biology is a sub-branch of biology which studies the diversity of life’s origins and how it all started on Earth. If you are writing a cause and effect essay on evolutionary biology then you will eventually need some assistance to ensure that it stands out in every way. This is our first guide, 10 facts on a cause and effect essay on evolutionary biology, where you are provided with facts and figures collected from credible sources. These facts will help you build a firm foundation, in case you don’t know much about evolutionary biology. It would also help you write a superb cause and effect essay on the subject without getting too caught up in the writing process alone. In our second guide, we provide 20 topics on a cause and effect essay on evolutionary biology so you can start writing an essay on any particular topic you like. These topics will give you a fair idea so as to what you should write about and saves a lot of time because most students don’t know where to start. We’ve also included a sample at the end that would eventually help you understand how a cause and effect essay should be written and how is  generally outlined. Finally, in our third guide, we explain how to write a cause and effect essay on evolutionary biology to help you understand the methods, rules and format of writing a cause and effect paper. Without further ado, let’s get started: Charles Darwin was the first ever human being on Earth who thought differently from other biologists (although he was greatly influenced by them) and created an exemplary theory that has now been adapted by all scientists. This theory is known as evolutionary biology, AKA Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. When Darwin revealed his theory to biologists in that era, almost everyone was convinced as he had a diverse and thoroughly presented set of evidence. To his audience he described geographical distribution of organisms in spite of similarity in climate, similarity of developmental patterns that appear dissimilar, underlying morphological similarity between dissimilar forms and much more.His book, The Origin of Species, convinced almost every biologist at the time that evolution had been witnessed, since he had solid evidence behind his hypotheses. Simply put, no one could really argue with his theory. While stellar and life evolution theories really influenced a lot of biologists and still remains the basis of evolutionary biology, many were debunked by scientists of the 20th century. A number of additional theories were also based on the evolution theory, but most of them are utter falsifications. Furthermore, there are no scientific facts to support those theories. Most scientists believe in the evolutionary theory but before Charles Darwin published this theory, there were seven scientific findings that completely contradicted the basis of the evolutionary theory. Louis Pasteur disproved the theory of spontaneous generation by studying fermentation and performing his famous experiment in 1861. Many scientists believed at the time that if you leave a pile of old clothes in a corner and come back later, it will breed mice. However, mice eventually came from other places to eat or nest in those clothes. August Friedrich L.W. disproved the inheritance of acquired characteristics by conducting an experiment on 901 mice. Throughout 19 successive generations of young white mice, he cut off their tails but still, every generation was born with a regular (full-length tail). Another fact that he contributed to science was that of Jewish circumcision. For 4,000 years, circumcision in the Jewish culture took place but it did not affect the foreskin in any way. This went against the Lamarck’s theory. It is believed that during a voyage around the world, Darwin took part in a few witchcraft ceremonies, which led him to disbelieve in Creationism. Random House Encyclopedia states that Darwin died while severely depressed and had an incapacitating and chronic illness. Many modern evolutionists are actually ashamed of his writings too, as he has written mind-boggling phrases without providing evidence or facts that might have supported his theories. Evolutionary theory was published by the Royal Society because, at that time, a group of nine members came together to form â€Å"The X Club†. They were considered a powerful group which had secret connections with the Royal Society. This allowed them to suppress the greatest scientists of that era, which also made publication of their own books easier. Charles Darwin’s conclusion influenced people like Hitler to put the aged, infirm and weak to sleep (forever). This theory was amplified by Darwin’s cousin, Sir Francis Galton; he declared that â€Å"eugenics† was the solution to humanity’s problems. Many theories that have been described in the book, The Origin of Species, do not have any kind of supportive evidence or proof that could identify them as solid and legitimate information. Many modern evolutionists have now changed the name of those theories and indeed, have claimed that they have evidence to support these changes. However, the evolutionary theory is nothing but a philosophy, with no factual data to support it. We are certain that these facts must have provided you with a lot of information about evolutionary theory and will certainly help you write a great cause and effect essay. Now let’s head on to our second guide, 20 topics on a cause and effect essay on evolutionary biology, where you are provided with 20 relevant topics and a sample essay on one of the given topics to give you a complete picture of how it’s written. Don’t forget to read our last guide, how to write a cause and effect essay on evolutionary biology, which will benefit you immensely in write an exemplary cause and effect essay that your professor will also admire. References: Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, (1981) Evolution from Space, p. 96 R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution, (1990) p. 276 Isaac Asimov, â€Å"In the Game of Energy and Thermodynamics You Can’t Even Break Even,† Journal of Smithsonian Institute, June 1970, p. 6 Jeremy Rifkin, (1980) Entropy: A New World View, p. 6 J. Edison Adams, (1967) Plants: An Introduction to Modern Biology, p. 585 Chris Colby, (1996) Introduction to Evolutionary Biology talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-intro-to-biology.html Huelsenbeck, J. P., Ronquist, F., Nielsen, R., Bollback, J. P. (2001). Bayesian inference of phylogeny and its impact on evolutionary biology. science, 294(5550), 2310-2314.

The Top 5 Major Industry Jobs in the Southeast

The Top 5 Major Industry Jobs in the Southeast If you’re looking for a career change (or a change of scenery!), here are some of the fastest-growing jobs for 2016 in the southeastern part of the United States. This includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The southeast is poised for booming job growth in 2016, buoyed by industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and construction, as many Americans flee rough winters for warm southern charm and legendary food.1. Tech Job Outlook: Computer Systems AnalystMove over, Silicon Valley: the fastest-growing tech hubs are mid-sized cities which are capitalizing on nearby universities and large companies to attract talent. Cities like Nashville, TN, and Raleigh, NC, are leading the way here. Computer systems analysts will be a high-demand position as this industry grows.Systems analysts take current computer systems and processes and design solutions to make them run more effectively. This role, which typically requires a bachelor’s degree, has a median salary of $82,710 per year, and is expected to grow like gangbusters- 21% per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.2. Administrative Job Outlook: Market Research AnalystWith the population getting more diverse all the time, identifying trends and helping companies refine their outreach and branding is a key role. This is where market research analysts come in. They take consumer data and turn it into sales leads, marketing promotions, or market forecasts for companies. The field is expected to grown approximately 19%, and offers a median salary of $61,290.3. Logistics Job Outlook: MachinistsMany companies are relocating their manufacturing plants to the southeast. For example, Mercedes-Benz USA announced in 2015 that it would be moving its headquarters to Atlanta, GA, and bringing with it more than 1,000 jobs. Machinists are a large part of this industrial workforce, operating tools to produce and modify parts. The median salary for machinist s is $41,510, and the field is open to those with a high school diploma- or equivalent vocational training or experience.4. Healthcare Job Outlook: Home Health AideThe southeast has always been a popular retirement spot for Americans, and that trend is not slowing anytime soon. With an aging population comes very specific healthcare needs- many of which are addressed by home health aides. These aides provide in-home care for clients who have disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other impairments that interfere with the ability to carry out with daily tasks. In addition to helping with chores around the home, aides may also be responsible for monitoring vital signs and ensuring that clients take medication.There is no formal education requirement for home health aides, but some states may require additional certification. The median salary for this job is $21,380, and the field is expected to grow by 38%- much faster than average.5. Service Job Outlook: Medical Equipment RepairersGoin g hand in hand with the extreme growth in healthcare needs, professionals who maintain and repair medical equipment will also be in high demand. Medical equipment repairers install, maintain, and repair equipment used in diagnosis and patient care.The median salary for this job is $45,660, and employers generally prefer candidates with an Associate’s degree in engineering or biomedical technology.The southeast is on the upswing- and not just because you can sit  on a beach in December without freezing. People of all demographics are seeking opportunities in the region, and many industries are gearing up to accommodate that growth.

Martin Luther the Hero of the Reformation 1483 to 1546 Essay - 1

Martin Luther the Hero of the Reformation 1483 to 1546 - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Martin Luther’s parents were so devoted to teaching him the ways and the fear of God from his childhood. In the year 1517, during the day of All Saints, and he was then a theology professor at the University of Wittenberg, he made a posting of 95 theses on the door of the church. His major concern in the theses was the disposal of indulgences in the afterlife as depicted by the papal grants and the inclusion of purgatory releases. The present research has identified that Martin Luther first wrote the theses in Latin but translated the whole work into German. This work of the theses prompted a summoning by the church for an explanation to the authorities. The paper tells that Martin Luther would later get involved in more controversy and in the year 1520, he made writings about papacy's corruption, the supremacy of faith as compared to the good works and the acknowledgment of only two out of seven sacraments' validity. Due to this, in 1521 he was mad e to appear before the then emperor Charles the 5TH. The conclusion from this study states that Martin Luther, despite all the summoning and his open criticism of the church, he was not to recant these writings. The result was his banning under the Worms Edict. According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that it was his numerous disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrines that sparked many events and within a few years marred the unity of German religion.

Chronic Diabetic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Chronic Diabetic - Research Paper Example There are several core signs and symptoms by which chronic diabetes due to hyperglycemia is identified including increased urination, increased hunger, weight loss and increased thirst. In addition to these symptoms, damaged eyes/impaired vision and eventual blindness, renal failure, impotence, foot disorders (due to insufficient blood flow to legs) and nervous system impairment are the long-term effects of hyperglycemia. Chronic diabetes also exposes one to risks of developing stroke, kidney disease, and heart disease. From the causes, signs, and symptoms of chronic diabetes, it is quite apparent that the central way of treating or managing the condition is by lowering the elevated levels of blood sugar to the normal levels. This lowering of blood sugar level not only assists in improving the signs and symptoms of the disease but also prevents/delays the setting in of the myriad complications associated with chronic diabetes. It is not enough to beware of and implement the necessary interventions to realize normal blood sugar levels: more should be done by way of proper, patient-centered, well-coordinated and comprehensive interventions, caring for and treating chronic diabetics. Chiefly at risk of contracting chronic diabetes and other serious and life-threatening conditions are older adults amongst whom most of the life-threatening conditions often associated with chronic diabetes are observed to be more widespread. It has also been observed that many years of undetected or untreated unusually high blood sugar levels. is responsible for widespread chronic diabetes in older adults. Thus, it is imperative that victims of chronic diabetes under formal and informal care should be encouraged to practise good chronic diabetes