Tuesday, November 26, 2019

How to Succeed as a Freelance Blogger (by someone whos done it)

How to Succeed as a Freelance Blogger ( I never really aspired to be a writer. Writing was something I used to refer to as a â€Å"secondary skill.† I used it in my previous job (as a property manager) like most other people do: to write emails and letters. I never thought I could make a living out of it. And yet, here I am–nearly two years later–a bona fide professional writer, averaging earnings in excess of $7,000 per month. It’s been quite a ride. I don’t have time to share that ride with you in this article, but I do have time to give you an overview of freelance blogging - the profession that has changed my life. Why Freelance Blogging Isn’t Beneath You The common perception amongst many freelance writers is that freelance blogging is bargain basement territory. And while there are plenty of low-paying jobs in circulation, there are also many gigs that pay very respectably. Furthermore, there are a huge number of other benefits to freelance blogging. You can start with no experience or qualifications. The nature of blogging dictates that work will be consistent and ongoing. You can build I could go on, but my overriding point is this: do not dismiss freelance blogging. It is not only a viable option - it is one I heartily recommend. How to Start Freelance Blogging When it comes to establishing yourself as a freelance blogger, you can quickly rise to the top of the pile if you are willing to work hard and focus on doing the right things. On the assumption that you are already an accomplished writer, there are just two other big pieces of the puzzle: 1. A blog of your own. The best clients won’t be too keen to hire you if you can’t clearly demonstrate your blogging capabilities. 2. Samples. You’ll want to get published on a number of (preferably popular) blogs in order to demonstrate that others have put their faith in your writing talents. Starting a blog is free, and getting published samples is as simple as submitting guest posts to blogs that accept them. Once you have some momentum on those fronts, it’s time to start pitching for jobs via online job boards (such as ProBlogger). You won’t get the best-paid jobs upfront, but once you’re established, future clients will find your I haven’t sought out a client since 2011 - they’ve all come to me. What Have You Got to Lose? This article is just a brief introduction to freelance blogging - in reality, there is a lot more to learn. However, I hope that this has been convincing enough to galvanize you into taking a closer look at this young and highly lucrative market. If you are interested in finding out more then check out my blog’s archives. You’ll find a wide selection of freelance writing articles there. And if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Saturday, November 23, 2019

What Is Statistical Significance How Is It Calculated

What Is Statistical Significance How Is It Calculated SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you've ever read a wild headline like, "Study Shows Chewing Rocks Prevents Cancer," you've probably wondered how that could be possible. If you look closer at this type of article you may find that the sample size for the study was a mere handful of people. If one person in a group of five chewed rocks and didn't get cancer, does that mean chewing rocks prevented cancer? Definitely not. The study for such a conclusion doesn't have statistical significance- though the study was performed, its conclusions don't really mean anything because the sample size was small. So what is statistical significance, and how do you calculate it? In this article, we'll cover what it is, when it's used, and go step-by-step through the process of determining if an experiment is statistically significant on your own. What Is Statistical Significance? As I mentioned above, the fake study about chewing rocks isn't statistically significant. What that means is that the conclusion reached in it isn't valid, because there's not enough evidence that what happened was not random chance. A statistically significant result would be one where, after rigorous testing, you reach a certain degree of confidence in the results. We call that degree of confidence our confidence level, which demonstrates how sure we are that our data was not skewed by random chance. More specifically, the confidence level is the likelihood that an interval will contain values for the parameter we're testing. There are three major ways of determining statistical significance: If you run an experiment and your p-value is less than your alpha (significance) level, your test is statistically significant If your confidence interval doesn't contain your null hypothesis value, your test is statistically significant If your p-value is less than your alpha, your confidence interval will not contain your null hypothesis value, and will therefore be statistically significant This info probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you're not already acquainted with the terms involved in calculating statistical significance, so let's take a look at what it means in practice. Say, for example, that we want to determine the average typing speed of 12-year-olds in America. We'll confirm our results using the second method, our confidence interval, as it's the simplest to explain quickly. First, we'll need to set our p-value, which tells us the probability of our results being at least as extreme as they were in our sample data if our null hypothesis (a statement that there is no difference between tested information), such as that all 12-year-old students type at the same speed) is true. A typical p-value is 5 percent, or 0.05, which is appropriate for many situations but can be adjusted for more sensitive experiments, such as in building airplanes. For our experiment, 5 percent is fine. If our p-value is 5 percent, our confidence level is 95 percent- it's always the inverse of your p-value. Our confidence level expresses how sure we are that, if we were to repeat our experiment with another sample, we would get the same averages- it is not a representation of the likelihood that the entire population will fall within this range. Testing the typing speed of every 12-year-old in America is unfeasible, so we'll take a sample- 100 12-year-olds from a variety of places and backgrounds within the US. Once we average all that data, we determine the average typing speed of our sample is 45 words per minute, with a standard deviation of five words per minute. From there, we can extrapolate that the average typing speed of 12-year-olds in America is somewhere between $45 - 5z$ words per minute and $45 + 5z$ words per minute. That's our confidence interval- a range of numbers we can be confident contain our true value, in this case the real average of the typing speed of 12-year-old Americans. Our z-score, ‘z,' is determined by our confidence value. In our case, given our confidence value, that would look like $45 - 5(1.96)$ and $45 + 5(1.96)$, making our confidence interval 35.2 to 54.8. A wider confidence interval, say with a standard deviation of 15 words per minute, would give us more confidence that the true average of the entire population would fall in that range ($45Â ± \bo{15}(1.96)$), but would be less accurate. More importantly for our purposes, if your confidence interval doesn't include the null hypothesis, your result is statistically significant. Since our results demonstrate that not all 12-year-olds type the same speed, our results are significant. One reason you might set your confidence rating lower is if you are concerned about sampling errors. A sampling error, which is a common cause for skewed data, is what happens when your study is based on flawed data. For example, if you polled a group of people at McDonald's about their favorite foods, you'd probably get a good amount of people saying hamburgers. If you polled the people at a vegan restaurant, you'd be unlikely to get the same results, so if your conclusion from the first study is that most peoples' favorite food is hamburgers, you're relying on a sampling error. It's important to remember that statistical significance is not necessarily a guarantee that something is objectively true. Statistical significance can be strong or weak, and researchers can factor in bias or variances to figure out how valid the conclusion is. Any rigorous study will have numerous phases of testing- one person chewing rocks and not getting cancer is not a rigorous study. Essentially, statistical significance tells you that your hypothesis has basis and is worth studying further. For example, say you have a suspicion that a quarter might be weighted unevenly. If you flip it 100 times and get 75 heads and 25 tails, that might suggest that the coin is rigged. That result, which deviates from expectations by over 5 percent, is statistically significant. Because each coin flip has a 50/50 chance of being heads or tails, these results would tell you to look deeper into it, not that your coin is definitely rigged to flip heads over tails. The results are statistically significant in that there is a clear tendency to flip heads over tails, but that itself is not an indication that the coin is flawed. What Is Statistical Significance Used For? Statistical significance is important in a variety of fields- any time you need to test whether something is effective, statistical significance plays a role. This can be very simple, like determining whether the dice produced for a tabletop role-playing game are well-balanced, or it can be very complex, like determining whether a new medicine that sometimes causes an unpleasant side effect is still worth releasing. Statistical significance is also frequently used in business to determine whether one thing is more effective than another. This is called A/B testing- two variants, one A and one B, are tested to see which is more successful. In school, you're most likely to learn about statistical significance in a science or statistics context, but it can be applied in a great number of fields. Any time you need to determine whether something is demonstrably true or just up to chance, you can use statistical significance! How to Calculate Statistical Significance Calculating statistical significance is complex- most people use calculators rather than try to solve equations by hand. Z-test calculators and t-test calculators are two ways you can drastically slim down the amount of work you have to do. However, learning how to calculate statistical significance by hand is a great way to ensure you really understand how each piece works. Let's go through the process step by step! Step 1: Set a Null Hypothesis To set up calculating statistical significance, first designate your null hypothesis, or H0. Your null hypothesis should state that there is no difference between your data sets. For example, let's say we're testing the effectiveness of a fertilizer by taking half of a group of 20 plants and treating half of them with fertilizer. Our null hypothesis will be something like, "This fertilizer will have no effect on the plant's growth." Step 2: Set an Alternative Hypothesis Next, you need an alternative hypothesis, Ha. Your alternative hypothesis is generally the opposite of your null hypothesis, so in this case it would be something like, "This fertilizer will cause the plants who get treated with it to grow faster." Step 3: Determine Your Alpha Third, you'll want to set the significance level, also known as alpha, or ÃŽ ±. The alpha is the probability of rejecting a null hypothesis when that hypothesis is true. In the case of our fertilizer example, the alpha is the probability of concluding that the fertilizer does make plants treated with it grow more when the fertilizer does not actually have an effect. An alpha of 0.05, or 5 percent, is standard, but if you're running a particularly sensitive experiment, such as testing a medicine or building an airplane, 0.01 may be more appropriate. For our fertilizer experiment, a 0.05 alpha is fine. Your confidence level is $1 - ÃŽ ±(100%)$, so if your alpha is 0.05, that makes your confidence level 95%. Again, your alpha can be changed depending on the sensitivity of the experiment, but most will use 0.05. Step 4: One- or Two-Tailed Test Fourth, you'll need to decide whether a one- or two-tailed test is more appropriate. One-tailed tests examine the relationship between two things in one direction, such as if the fertilizer makes the plant grow. A two-tailed test measures in two directions, such as if the fertilizer makes the plant grow or shrink. Since in our example we don't want to know if the plant shrinks, we'd choose a one-tailed test. But if we were testing something more complex, like whether a particular ad placement made customers more likely to click on it or less likely to click on it, a two-tailed test would be more appropriate. A two-tailed test is also appropriate if you're not sure which direction the results will go, just that you think there will be an effect. For example, if you wanted to test whether or not adding salt to boiling water while making pasta made a difference to taste, but weren't sure if it would have a positive or negative effect, you'd probably want to go with a two-tailed test. Step 5: Sample Size Next, determine your sample size. To do so, you'll conduct a power analysis, which gives you the probability of seeing your hypothesis demonstrated given a particular sample size. Statistical power tells us the probability of us accepting an alternative, true hypothesis over the null hypothesis. A higher statistical power gives lowers our probability of getting a false negative response for our experiment. In the case of our fertilizer experiment, a higher statistical power means that we will be less likely to accept that there is no effect from fertilizer when there is, in fact, an effect. A power analysis consists of four major pieces: The effect size, which tells us the magnitude of a result within the population The sample size, which tells us how many observations we have within the sample The significance level, which is our alpha The statistical power, which is the probability that we accept an alternative hypothesis if it is true Many experiments are run with a typical power, or ÃŽ ², of 80 percent. Because these calculations are complex, it's not recommended to try to calculate them by hand- instead, most people will use a calculator like this one to figure out their sample size. Conducting a power analysis lets you know how big of a sample size you'll need to determine statistical significance. If you only test on a handful of samples, you may end up with a result that's inaccurate- it may give you a false positive or a false negative. Doing an accurate power analysis helps ensure that your results are legitimate. Step 6: Find Standard Deviation Sixth, you'll be calculating the standard deviation, $s$ (also sometimes written as $ÏÆ'$). This is where the formula gets particularly complex, as this tells you how spread out your data is. The formula for standard deviation of a sample is: $$s = √{{∑(x_i – Â µ)^2}/(N – 1)}$$ In this equation, $s$ is the standard deviation $∑$ tells you to sum all the data you collected $x_i$ is each individual data $Â µ$ is the mean of your data for each group $N$ is your total sample So, to work this out, let's go with our preliminary fertilizer test on ten plants, which might give us data something like this: Plant Growth (inches) 1 2 2 1 3 4 4 5 5 3 6 1 7 5 8 4 9 4 10 4 We need to average that data, so we add it all together and divide by the total sample number. $(2 + 1 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 1 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 4) / 10 = 3.3$ Next, we subtract each sample from the average $(x_i – Â µ)$, which will look like this: Plant Growth (inches) $x_i – Â µ$ 1 2 1.3 2 1 2.3 3 4 -0.7 4 5 -1.7 5 3 0.3 6 1 2.3 7 5 -1.7 8 4 -0.7 9 4 -0.7 10 4 -0.7 Now we square all of those numbers and add them together. $1.32 + 2.32 + -0.72 + -1.72 + 0.32 + 2.32 + -1.72 + -0.72 + -0.72 + -0.72 = 20.1$ Next, we'll divide that number by the total sample number, N, minus 1. $20.1/9 = 2.23$ And finally, to find the standard deviation, we'll take the square root of that number. $√2.23=1.4933184523$ But that's not the end. We also need to calculate the variance between sample groups, if we have more than one sample group. In our case, let's say that we did a second experiment where we didn't add fertilizer so we could see what the growth looked like on its own, and these were our results: Plant Growth (inches) 1 1 2 1 3 2 4 1 5 3 6 1 7 1 8 2 9 1 10 1 So let's run through the standard deviation calculation again. #1: Average Data $1 + 1 + 2+ 1 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 14$ $14/10 = 1.4$ #2: Subtract each sample from the average $(x_i – Â µ)$. $0.4 + 0.4 + (-0.4) + 0.4 + (-1.6) + 0.4 + 0.4 + (-0.4) + 0.4 + 0.4 = 0.4$ #3: Divide the last number by the total sample number, N, minus 1. $0.4/9=0.0444$ #4: Take the square root of the previous number. $√0.0444 = 0.2107130751$ Step 7: Run Standard Error Formula Okay, now we have our two standard deviations (one for the group with fertilizer, one for the group without). Next, we need to run through the standard error formula, which is: $$s_d = √((s_1/N_1) + (s_2/N_2))$$ In this equation: $s_d$ is the standard error $s_1$ is the standard deviation of group one $N_1$ is the sample size of group one $s_2$ is the standard deviation of group two $N_2$ is the sample size of group two So let's work through this. First, let's figure out $s_1/N_1$. With our numbers, that becomes $1.4933184523/10$, or 0.14933184523. Next, let's do $s_2/N_2$. With our numbers, that becomes $0.2107130751/10$, or 0.02107130751. Next, we need to add those two numbers together. $0.14933184523 + 0.02107130751 = 0.17040315274$ And finally, we'll take the square root: $√0.17040315274 = 0.41279916756$ So our standard error $s_d$, is 0.41279916756. Step 8: Find t-Score But we're still not done! Now you're probably seeing why most people use a calculator for this. Next up: t-score. Your t-score is what allows you to compare your data to other data, which tells you the probability of the two groups being significantly different. The formula for t-score is $$t = (Â µ_1 – Â µ_2)/s_d$$ where: $t$ is the t-score $Â µ_1$ is the average of group one $Â µ_2$ is the average of group two $s_d$ is the standard error So for our numbers, this equation would look like: $t = (3.3 - 1.4)/0.41279916756$ $t = 4.60272246001$ Step 9: Find Degrees of Freedom We're almost there! Next, we'll find our degrees of freedom ($df$), which tells you how many values in a calculation can vary acceptably. To calculate this, we add the number of samples in each group and subtract two. In our case, that looks like this: $$(10 + 10) - 2 = 18$$ Step 10: Use a T-Table to Find Statistical Significance And now we'll use a t-table to figure out whether our conclusions are significant. To use the t-table, we first look on the left-hand side for our $df$, which in this case is 18. Next, scan along that row of variances until you find ours, which we'll round to 4.603. Whoa! We're off the chart! Scan upward until you see the p-values at the top of the chart and you'll find that our p-value is something smaller than 0.0005, which is well below our significance level. So is our study on whether our fertilizer makes plants grow taller valid? The final stage of determining statistical significance is comparing your p-value to your alpha. In this case, our alpha is 0.05, and our p-value is well below 0.05. Since one of the methods of determining statistical significance is to demonstrate that your p-value is less than your alpha level, we've succeeded! The data seems to suggest that our fertilizer does make plants grow, and with a p-value of 0.0005 at a significance level of 0.05, it's definitely significant! Now, if we're doing a rigorous study, we should test again on a larger scale to verify that the results can be replicated and that there weren't any other variables at work to make the plants taller. Tools to Use For Statistical Significance Calculators make calculating statistical significance a lot easier. Most people will do their calculations this way instead of by hand, as doing them without tools is more likely to introduce errors in an already sensitive process. To get you started, here are some calculators you can use to make your work simpler: How to Calculate T-Score on a TI-83 Find Sample Size and Confidence Interval T-Test Calculator T-Test Formula for Excel Find P-Value with Excel What's Next? Need to brush up on AP Stats? These free AP Statistics practice tests are exactly what you need! If you're struggling with statistics on the SAT Math section, check out this guide to strategies for mean, median, and mode! This formula sheet for AP Statistics covers all the formulas you'll need to know for a great score on your AP test!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Discuss the reasons why Jews left Russia and Eastern Europe to come to Essay

Discuss the reasons why Jews left Russia and Eastern Europe to come to the United States. How is the impetus for Jewish immigration different from that of the I - Essay Example As described by Publisher (1997), "they went from Poland to polo in one generation" nearly penniless and went on to become the greatest movie moguls of all time. Traced as having started out in retail in furs and dry goods, they discovered the lucrative possibilities of movie-making. The American dream refers to the freedom to live a preferred lifestyle. However, their belief of the freedom to practice their religion was denied Pogrom or ethnic cleansing tops the list of reasons of Jewish immigration from Russia and Eastern Europe to the United States during this period. Non-Jewish people created havoc to the Jewish communities including destruction of homes, businesses, and religious places with authoritative consent (Laquer, 2006). The persecution that happened to the Jews came from anti-Semitism strongly implemented by the Tsarist Empire in Hitler's period. From an organized riot to destruct Jewish communities, pogroms extended to the mass killing of the Jews. This stirred great fear among some Jews who eventually immigrated to the United States and some parts of the United Kingdom (Laquer, 2006). Impetus for Jewish immigration different. ... se of the last thirty-five years and it has gone to eight millions." These Jews were blamed as responsible for Anti-Semitism whose fundamental premise is that something was basically wrong with the Jews (Sharan, 2004). The other immigrants did not particularly have this problem. The sense of abnormality and self-hatred were not imputed on the Irish, Japanese and Chinese (Lessing, 2004). The impetus for the Jewish immigration was starkly different from that of the Japanese, Chinese, and Irish. The Japanese immigrants began entering the United States in the 1880s, largely as farmers under threat of Japan's industrial and land reforms under the Meiji Restoration. They sought to be employed with the sugar plantations in Hawaii, and eventually found themselves in California (Immigration, Pacific Link, 2007). As for the Chinese immigrants, some came to the United States in relatively large groups in 1849 and 1882 between the start of the California gold rush ("Chinese Immigration," LOC, 2004). It was business, therefore, that primarily moved them to immigrate. Lastly, a number of Irish entered the U.S. between 1820 and 1830 and skyrocketed in the 1840s to nearly 2 million in that decade. They were different from the Jewish immigrants in that the Irish immigrants' reason was to escape from starvation. According to Handlin (1972), for some years, the crops remained undepend able for them and famine swept through their land. Some records, however, claim that the Irish were encouraged to emigrate because of political oppression by the British government and religious persecution of Catholic Irish ("The Irish. Immigration, 2007). Among all of these emigrants, therefore, it was the Jews who left their lands and nation due to much persecution, particularly the pogrom. Obstacles to

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Communication and Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication and Conflict - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that one is a good negotiator if he is able to use a set of supposedly sure-fire tactics that enable him to â€Å"get the upper hand† anytime. In this case, negotiation is seen more as a skill which allows one to manipulate the other to concede to his terms (the â€Å"lose† situation). Other contemporary views are that negotiation is settled by a â€Å"series of compromises†, or a debate rather than a conflict management tool; or, that it is â€Å"a game for managing impressions and manipulating information†¦ a struggle for advantage† that would translate to the â€Å"win† situation. One instance when I was on the losing side of a situation was when I was young and needed to ask my parents’ permission to stay overnight at a friend’s house. My father disallowed me, but I made such a big deal of being the only one in the group who wasn’t going. To appease me and end my tantrums, my da d said I could go provided I committed to doing a household chore for two weeks, like washing the dishes. I agreed, and at the time I thought I got a pretty good deal, until afterward when I came home. I found that in exchange for a single night of fun, I had to do fourteen days of dishes. I felt that I was had, that I should have bid it down to just a week. I was too eager to get my parents to permit me to go so that I did not think twice when the condition was given.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Reality Shows Essay Example for Free

Reality Shows Essay Reality shows has grown in popularity for several years and it will never slow down because of the excitement and attention it brings to the viewers. A reality show is based upon many things that go on in a daily life such as romance, drama, friendship, hate and etc. Being on a reality show may look fun but it’s a lot of hard work. Reality shows bring a lot of attention and the companies are making a lot of money for it because of the viewers. * Reality shows are bad, lazy and violence television. They mostly show ordinary people with no special talents doing very stupid things.which doesn’t make for good entertainment.They rely on humiliation and conflict to create excitement.the programmes are full of swearing, crying and argument, and often violence, drunkenness and sex. This sends a message to people that this is normal behaviour and helps to create a crude, selfish society. For example, the real world on mtv. * Its a selected group of people who live together they portray young adults, espically women, as being drunk, wild, crazy, lying, physical violence and desperate for sex, alcohol, and attention. and its sad because many people watch these shows and thats what the real world is basically about. Nobody wants for their childern to be watching that on television i know i wouldnt. It is just a bad influence on their mind n it will probbaly effecty on the way the will act. nobody wants they child like that everyone wants the best for them. thats why these kind of shows need to be blocked no longer aired or have parental controls on the channels. * Another reality show the bad girls club it focuses on seven young women who believes that other women are generally out to get her Jodie, a conservative office worker who likes to have fun after hours. Ty, a tough talking former hustler. Kerry, where her behavior has a reflect on her country music career adult entertainer. Leslie, spoiled, angry. Ripsi, and Zara, whos known in her small town as the wild child. While living in their Los Angeles house, the women try to become friends while managing with one anothers backstabbing, lying, cheating, and flirting. They all engage in their own brand of bad behavior in order to have fun, get want they want, and sometimes get even with the other women in the house. * They fight with each other for 60 minutes once a week and has a negative effect on society because it makes girls that watch the show think that it is okay to go out and fight with anyone that gets in your way. Just think about the name of the show â€Å" BAD GIRLS CLUB† the all have a bad girl life style. so to me reality televison is full of it and the people that watch it need help to yes it is entertaining but the question is what are you getting out of it? how is it making your life or childern lives any better? this stuff has alot of negative effect on people. There is nothing perfect in life but its just some things you do and donot do. *Inconclusion, reality television is popular and almost everyone watches it. but the manin question is why? reality television has several flaws and entitles alot of attetion and drama. You will see the the whole concept of these script written shows is beacuse of the money for them not for you so eventaully there is no point and the viewers are helping them and they are not getting anything out of it. These are my reasons, examples and supporting reasons why reality television should be banned.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Women and Technolgy - The Gender Gap in Computer Science Essay

Women and Technolgy - The Gender Gap in Computer Science Abstract: This paper reviews the gender gap that exists in computer science. By analyzing the probable causes of the divide, solutions may be developed and possibilities of minimizing the gap increase. Although the general public’s efforts toward shrinking the divide subsist, modern society must change its views of women before the technological world can fully appreciate women’s talents. A gender gap undeniably exists in the field of computer science. Hundreds of headlines in newspapers, journal articles, and magazines continually demonstrate the divide to society, and studies performed by well-respected universities like Harvard and MIT highlight its continuing effects. More recent studies provide evidence that the number of women in computer science is decreasing, despite the recruiting efforts of the technology field. The underrepresentation of women results from stereotypes of computer scientists, weaknesses within the computing community, and the social construction of women in computer science. In order to boost women's presence in technology, society must have a firm grasp on the problems themselves, and address them with fundamental changes in the way we perceive women in computer science on the cognitive level. The increasing gender divide in computer science is well documented. As an issue of Technical Training recorded, â€Å"intake of [women] computer science students in the UK has dropped from 37 percent a decade ago to 5 percent in 1998.†[5] Other nations, including the United States, have noticed a decline in the number of women in the field. New Scientist found, â€Å"[w]omen dominate in several subjects, namely degrees preparing students to be infant sch... ...un IT, Bill Goodwin. [9] Newsbytes, January 16, 2001, 337 words, Gender Salary Gap Smaller in Tech Industry – Study, Dick Kelsey [10] Information Week, August 9, 1999, Women Make Gains in Top Management, Jennifer Mateyaschuk. [11] http://www.mills.edu/ACAD_INFO/MCS/SPERTUS/Gender/pap/pap.html Why are There so Few Female Computer Scientists? Ellen Spertus - 1991 [12] The Times Union, February 7, 2001, 565 words, Albany, N.Y., Council Meeting Offers Women Advice on Using Technology, Danielle T. Furfaro. [13] Achieving Gender Equity in Science Classrooms, 1996, NECUSE Colleges and Brown University students and faculty [14] Encouraging Women in Computer Science, 1996, Eric S. Roberts (Stanford University) [15] Electronic Engineering Times, February 12, 2001, 1261 words, Engineers Week Aim: to Reach Schoolgirls, Terry Costlow

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Needs Assessment Essay

Students desire more than paper and pencil lessons. According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), â€Å"Technology is driving change in the content of mathematics programs, in methods for mathematics instruction, and in the ways that mathematics is learned and assessed† (as cited in Van de Walle, 2004, p. 103). In this study, I want to investigate whether any differences occur in the overall effectiveness of student learning of fraction lessons when the information is presented using different types of visual media, in this case, computer versus overhead. The purpose of this study is to describe the impact of presenting fraction math lessons using computer based instruction versus overhead projection presentations. Eighth-grade math students will feel more engaged while receiving computer-based instruction versus eighth-grade students who receive overhead projection instruction. The participants are 12 math students at a Middle School. All of the students have basic computer skills. The twelve students are all eighth graders but their scores vary on the math section of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) standardized test. However, the test scores in class show that students struggle with fraction problems. Twelve students will be randomly divided into groups; one group of six students will have computer-based instructions on solving problems involving fractions and percentages, compounded percentages and multiple discounts and the other group of six students will have lecture based instruction using the overhead and paper worksheets. â€Å"The logic of needs assessment can be summarized as a simple equation: desired status – actual status = need† (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2005). Currently, the desired status is for the math students to score 80% on in-class fraction test. The actual status is that students are scoring between 69 – 70 %. The need is to improve the scores about ten points. Students become bored taking notes and looking at the overhead information. Students using the computer are forced to be actively engaged. Using student’s interest in present day technology gives both sides an advantage in obtaining educational success. The question that still remains is does it give students an edge over paper and pencil taught lessons? A high school in Texas, San Marcos High, put the questions to the test. Teachers were initially impressed with on-line lessons. However, during the assessment phase, it was hard to determine if students were guessing the answers to the multiple choice questions or answering the questions correctly. When questioned why the school chose to use the on-line based lessons, Mr. Darnall, the math department head, states â€Å"Both of us really thought it was a way to capture the students’ attention† (Trotter, 2007). According to Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction, â€Å"in order for any learning to take place, you must first capture the attention of the student† (Kruse, n. d. ). Computer based lessons will satisfy this event. The students will be studied in their own groups. Data collection method included pre-test and posttest, interviewing, and observing students. Data will be collected in the form of daily worksheets and graded test. Also, students will completed a questionnaire about how involved they felt in each lesson. Answers from the questionnaire provided insight into the level of comfort student’s felt in using visual media to learn fractions. Students were observed during each presentation to look for a degree of understanding or misunderstanding. Triangulation is essential to cross-check information and presents an accurate view of the results. Three types of data to allow for triangulation are observing, interviewing, and examining records. These instruments were appropriate because these factors support the action of ensuring that the students have the prerequisite knowledge to begin instruction and supports informing the students what they will learn ( Dick, et al, 2005). Data will be analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics for measures of central tendency (mean, mode, median) and variability (standard deviation) (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2006). Interviews will be analyzed by grouping similar responses into clusters that address the same issue and develop total scores across an item cluster (Gay et al, 2006). References Dick, W. , Carey, L. , & Carey, J. O. (2005). The systematic design of instruction (6th ed). Allyn & Bacon. Gay, L. R. , Mills, G. E. , & Airasian, P.(2006). Educational research: Competencies for Analysis and applications (8th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kruse, K. (n. d. ). Gagne’s nine events of instruction: An introduction. Retrieved February 23, 2008, from http://www. e-learningguru. com/articles/art3_3. htm Trotter, A. (May 9, 2007). School subtracts math text to add e-lessons, test. Education Week. 26(36), 10-11. Van De Walle, J. A. (2004). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching Developmentally. MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Good and bad. Mobile phone Essay

Handphones have become a major part of our lives. Today, it is being widely used all over the world. Most of us, that is. It has metamorphosized from being a luxury to necessity for some of us. Handphones are one of the things that we cannot do without, for one reason or another. We have come to depend on it, increasingly so, and in doing so it has become a need. Having handphones can prove to be very useful but it can also be said otherwise. There are both advantages and disadvantages to owning a handphone or being in the midst of people who own them. Owning a handphone means one can be easily reached when on the road or when one is not at home or in the office. It can even be used when one is overseas, using the ROAM service. There are features such as voice messages and SMS, in other words, Short Message Service. This is to allow people to contact a handphone owner even if he is busy or is unable take the call. These features enable the owner of the phone to know why he is being called, so on and so forth. SMS-es help to keep it short. Without calling, you can leave a short message. Nowadays though, people use it to have conversations, especially the young, and those who find it easier to message than to talk. It is also cheaper and thus allows one to save on talk time. Another advantage would be that of being able to call whenever and wherever there is an emergency, for example when you are in a road accident or you need to call someone and there does not seem to be any public phones nearby. There are also different mobile service plans to choose from to suit one’s communication needs, be it longer talk time, free incoming or outgoing calls, or more free local SMS. As such, one can reap much benefits and save costs. Nowadays, handphones rarely just have one function, which is to make and receive calls. There are more functions and features such as listening to music, taking pictures with an in-built camera, playing games, and even logging on the internet and etc. There are also disadvantages that come along with the usage of handphones. Firstly, there are limitations to where a handphone can be used. If there were no reception, then there would be no possibility of making or receiving calls. On another note, a person can say he is at a certain place when in fact he s somewhere else. So, you can never be too sure of where a person  might actually be. User-abuse is another factor. Here, what is meant by user-abuse is the fact that some users are not considerate in that they make use of the phone in places where it is not allowed. As such they disturb others. It is one thing to let it ring loudly, but yet another, to be answering the phone. For example, in movie theatres, plays and the like. It is said that there are dangers of handphone radiation, though there is no conclusive evidence to prove a link between cancer and handphone radiation. Lastly, handphones cannot be used in most parts of hospitals as it could affect the readings on the equipments due to the radiation emitted and would pose as great danger to the patients.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Improvement needed for my community Essays

Improvement needed for my community Essays Improvement needed for my community Essay Improvement needed for my community Essay Every another society is made up of great communities. The welfare of these communities is what contributes to a well-performing society in general. Therefore, it is very critical to consider the developments of these communities. In this case, a study is done to establish the factors that improve the welfare of a society that we live. Especially in a community, there should be the improvement in the healthcare of the community Pigg, Kenneth (2013). In a city, the government should set up high-quality health care centers equipped with all necessary tools that will ensure that the local people can access quality health care to sustain and improve the health standards in the community. The government should work tirelessly to bring in qualified doctors from the community to create employment opportunities to the locals, which will improve the per capita income of the locals in the community. With these healthcare facilities around the issue of early childhood, mortality as well as ov erall mortality in the population will be reduced significantly. Additionally, the government should set up education centers in the community. Education is known to be the key to success in many fields. Educating the local folks, the city will have invested in the future of the current generation because with education the locals can now fit in the competitive world and challenge for the top positions. As a result, the community will have an increased rate of employment, which increases the wealth of the community. In setting up learning institutions in the community, the young generation will be effectively involved in learning hence, reducing the chances of the young generation getting lost in the vices of prostitution, crime and even more so drug abuse, which is known to maim the development of people in a community. Every city requires high-security measures to protect the locals from exploitation from themselves and even intruders who would want to take advantage of an insecure community and loot their property. As a result, the government should set up police stations across the community to make it easier for the locals to access help whenever they require assistance Pigg, Kenneth (2013). The police stations should be well equipped to tackle all kind of complaints is it fire, robbery or any other type difficulty. The police stations should also have hotlines that the locals can call and get instant help at any time of the day and night. The security should be organized in a manner that it involves the locals in their operations because it is the locals who are more conversant with the problems facing the community. Involving the locals also increases efficiency in operations since the people will be more participative in the initiative hence reducing the chances of crime in the community. For the community to be successful, it needs to exploit all the available resources to their advantage. Mostly, the city might lack the capabilities of fully use the resources, and therefore the community should welcome foreign investors to come and invest Pigg, Kenneth (2013). By investing here, the community will be the first beneficiaries of the investments because they will be availed a wide range of products to choose from which increases the quality of life in the community. The foreign investors will lay the infrastructure for more business, which will benefit the locals for they will now have an easier channel to get their products to the market. If the community improves these sectors, then it will grow extra dimensions in their economic income as a whole. Bibliography Pigg, Kenneth. Community Leadership Development: The Effects on Community Development. Community Development 44.4 (2013): 408-10. Web.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

250 Words per Page Term Paper

250 Words per Page Term Paper 250 Words per Page Term Paper 250 Words per Page Term Paper Ordering custom term paper writing service, you expect to receive at least 250 words per page term paper. offers more: 275 words page! Thus, if you need 1500 words, you should order 5 instead of 6 pages! We are working hard to save your money while providing you with custom term papers written from scratch! Moreover, our free term paper blog is continuously updated with free samples and examples of written term papers! Term Paper Sample Free The main deterrent to permitting abortion on demand is the law which rules on abortion just as it does on crime, taxes or zoning regulations. Legally, abortion first became a crime in England in 1803. This law differentiated between a fetus that had not yet quickened or moved, the aborting of which carried a penalty of fourteen years as an indentured servant, and a fetus which had moved, the aborting of which was termed manslaughter and was punishable by hanging. The law was revised in 1860 removing these distinctions and making it equally serious to perform any abortion. In the United States, Connecticut was the first state to pass an abortion law in 1820, but abortion during the early months before quickening was not made an offense until 1860. In 1828, New York had made abortion legal in cases where such an operation would save the life of the mother. The current legal situation is a mass of confusion in the sense that there is no Federal law governing abortion and each state has its own separate abortion laws not unlike the divorce law situation. Pressure for the repeal or liberalization of existing abortion restrictions comes from a number of different groups who feel we must help women find a solution to the quandary of unwanted pregnancies. In addition to women's organizations, which insist on complete repeal (and were in part responsible for the repeal of the law in New York), religious leaders and individual legislators have suggested that some changes in the hundred-yearold legal statutes are vital since they impinge on women's constitutional rights. But even among the legislators themselves, the subject is one of emotional conviction in either direction. An example of this was the recent effort in the 1969 session of the New York State legislature to liberalize the state's abortion law. Legislators had been canvassed by su pporters of the new bill and it was thought the bill had a good chance of passing. On the day of voting, however, an impassioned speech by a legislator who was also a badly crippled victim of polio, eloquently expressing the right of every child to be born, wanted or not, deformed or not, (what if there had been no Helen Keller, Toulouse-Lautrec or Lord Byron?), caused a number of members who were pledged to support the bill to renege. The bill was subsequently defeated for the third consecutive year. Custom Term Paper Writing If you want to impress your teacher with professionally written term paper, you may freely ask our writers for professional assistance with writing! Term paper written with our help will satisfy the requirements of the most demanding teachers. Our writers are experienced, educated and never late with delivery.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Comparing Byzantine and Ottoman Empires Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comparing Byzantine and Ottoman Empires - Essay Example Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman economies Ottoman economy Economic history of the Ottoman Empire can be traced back for the period 1299-1923. The first phase of the economic history is referred as the classic era, which is known for it vast enlargement. Much of the activities that highly contributed to this growth include agriculture. The second period is referred as the reformation era. Its main focus was on state organized reforms, which begun with administrative and political realignment. This was followed by military reforms and their associates. It is believed that the military reforms were viewed as the key source of wealth. On the other hand, agriculture was considered to be more important than manufacture and commerce. Although the Ottomans continued with the trajectory of territorial expansion, conserving their land and agriculture, as well as sticking to their traditional monopolies was prioritized. By 1800, the population started to grow. Population densities were higher in several areas of the European provinces than those in Anatolia. In 1700-1922, urbanization increased due to developments in railroads. At this period, there were improvements in health and sanitation. This is also the period that saw economic and political migrations, which are argued to have made great impact across the empire.1 Improvements in land and sea transport were also another factor that facilitated economic growth across the empire. However, the situation is argued to have been better in the 16th century than in the 18th century in terms of infrastructure development. Nevertheless, in the 19th century, the empire experienced enormous economic growth mainly due to increased agricultural production. However, after a short period, the situation started to deteriorate due to scarcity of labor. In addition, although the land was rich, there was a problem with large scale farming due to lack of capital. In fact, majority of the people earned their living from sma ll scale farming. This led to low levels of taxes for the empire.2 Byzantime economy In the whole of Mediterranean, Byzantime economy was the most stunning for many centuries. Constantinople was the major center in for trading. However, trading network extended to other areas almost reaching Eurasia and North Africa.3 Until to the arrival of Arabs in the 17th century, the empire is argued to have been the most powerful economy across the world. In the 12th century, the empire was filled with luxury life, something that led to many visitors being impressed by the lifestyle. Comparison between the Byzantine and Ottoman religions Ottoman religion Between 14th and 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was tolerant towards Christians and Jews. The Ottoman religion formulated policies that sort out religious problems. It recognized the concept of clergy and its entire link with religion institution.4 In the past, Christian missionaries were seen to work together with colonialists. At the sam e time, Islam was not controlled in spreading at different areas under controlled by Ottoman Sultan. In fact, voluntary conversion to Islam was endorsed by the Ottoman authorities. In addition, there were no special rules regarding Christians that converted to Muslims. The empire had also the Muslim courts and non muslin courts. Byzantine religion Byzantine Empire is also referred to as Roman