How to Find the Best AP Practice Tests

How to Find the Best AP Practice Tests SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips As you begin to prepare for your AP exams, you’ll need to consider which kinds of study tools will help you make the most of your prep time and help you meet your target score. One of the most important study tools in your arsenal is the AP practice test. This is true no matter which AP exam you’re taking.In this article, I’ll go over why you should use AP practice tests, what roles they can serve in your studying process, and how to find the best AP practice examsfor any AP. Why You Should Use AP Practice Tests to Study There’s one major reason to use practice tests in your studying: so you become comfortable with the exam. The truth is that knowledge can only get you so far on these exams- you need to be able to parse and package that knowledge the way the College Board wants. You might know everything there is to know about Art History, but if you’ve never looked at an AP question or written a practice essay, you could still be totally blindsided on test day simply because you’re confused by the way questions are written or don't know how to structure your essay. Essentially, studying for an AP exam without looking at a single practice test is like preparing for a bicycle race by reading about bicycles, but never riding a bicycle. The knowledge will help, but riding the bicycle would make you much more prepared. So is looking at this picture making you better at riding bikes or... 3 Ways AP Practice Tests Can Improve Your Studying There are three main waysAP practice exams can make your preparation process more effective. #1: Practice Tests Make You More Familiar With AP Format and Question Styles When you first start studying, looking at practice AP exams will help you familiarize yourself with the way AP questions are worded- both multiple choice and free response. Familiarity will help you understand what kinds of questions will be asked on exam day. I also advise reading the most up-to-date official directions for the various sections; knowing the most current test directions backwards and forwards will help you save time on test day and clarify what tasks will be required of you on the exam. #2: Practice Tests Help You Identify Gaps in Your Knowledge and Skills Once you have a decent knowledge base in the subject, taking an AP practice exam and seeing what you get wrong will help you know where to focus your studying efforts. If you consistently miss questions about photosynthesis, or the Hundred Years’ War, or language listening, you’ll know those are areas you need to focus on. Similarly, if you are rocking the multiple choice but your short answers aren’t so great, you’ll know to work on your short answer skills. #3: Practice Tests Track Your Progress Over Time Taking practice tests and writing practice essays every few weeks/months (depending on your study timeline) will help you track your progress and see how you’ve improved. If you were consistently scoring a 3 two months ago and now you’re always hitting 4's, you’ll know that you are on the right track and that your studying methods are working. If, however, your progress stagnates below your target score, you’ll know that your studying methods aren’t really helping you improve, and you need to readjust. Are you focusing on exam skills when you should be focusing on learning content or viceversa? Is the real problem with time-management? And so on. Taking a practice test is like doing karate except you're sitting at a table quietly writing. High-Quality Practice Tests and Where to Find Them I hope I've convinced you how useful and important AP practice exams are as you study for the exam. Once you've resolved to use them, you'll need to know how to find the best practicetests. What makes a good practice test, and where can you find them? What Makes a High-Quality Practice Test The best practice tests are those that are the most like real, official AP tests. So, same sections, same distribution of topics, same kinds of questions, same question wording. These are the best because they will most mimic the experience of taking the actual exam. Not only will the best practice tests give you the most familiarity with the real exam format, which will make you more comfortable on test day, they will also give you a better idea of how well you will do on the actual exam. Practice tests aren’t very helpful if they don’t actually reflect the real testing experience. In those cases,you’re not really practicing for the exam per se- just quizzing yourself on the topic with some random assessment from the back of a bad prep book. Answer keys are essential- otherwise, how will you know how you are doing? Explanations of the answers are nice, too, although the most official source, the College Board, doesn’t generally include answer explanations for anything other than free-response questions. Where to Find the Best AP Practice Tests I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the College Board has the best AP practice tests. This is because they make the test! So their practice materials are going to be the most like the real test. You can even get old AP tests on the College Board websitebecause they release complete exams every once in a while. Note that,depending on how old the exam is, it might be in an outdatedformat. This doesn’t mean it’s not still useful study material; you’ll just want to make sure you know how the current exam is different, and skip any sections that aren’t offered on the most current exam. How and where can you get official College Board practice questions and resources? Well, there arethree different official College Board sources you can look for. 1, 2, 3; Peter, Paul and Mary...are all looking for practice tests. #1: Sample Questions From the Course and Exam Description Every AP course has an â€Å"AP Course and Exam Description† booklet thatincludes AP practice questions for all sections of the exam. These are a great resource for familiarizing yourself with question styles and the most up-to-date test directions. To get the booklet, click on your desired exam from the College Board’s list of AP courses; scroll down a little on the â€Å"Course Overview† page and you will see a link to the â€Å"AP Course and Exam Description.† #2: Official Released Free-Response Questions You can also getreleased free-response questions and sample responsesfrom many years back into the past. From the College Board’s AP exam information page, click on your desired exam; scrolling down will take you to the released free-response questions. #3: Complete Released AP Exams Complete, previously released exams are much harder to find, but they are out there!In fact, I couldn’t find any official released exams on the College Board website except by Googling. This is probably because the College Board also sells copies of previously released exams, so they don’t want to make it easy to find free released exams. If you want to find complete exams for free, your best bet is toGooglethe name of your exam with â€Å"previously released materials college board† or â€Å"complete released exams college board.† You should then be able to find the â€Å"previously released materials† page for your given exam, like this page for AP English Literature and Composition or this one for AP Chemistry.These pages have official College Board released exams from previous years. Here are the â€Å"previously released materials† pages for some of the most popular exams: AP English Literature and Composition AP Chemistry AP US History AP Psychology AP Biology AP Statistics AP Environmental Science AP Calculus AB AP US Government and Politics AP Macroeconomics You might also be able to find more recent complete released exams posted online by schools or teachers; your Googlesearch should pull these up as well. Sample questions from the â€Å"AP Course and Exam Description† document, old free response questions, and complete released exams: these are all the AP practice question resources available from the College Board. You may have a hard time hunting some of them up, but they are out there! If only there was a map of the vast internet. I'm Out of College Board Practice Tests- What Now? If you’ve answered every official practice question you could get your hands on and still want more, you may want to find high-quality unofficial sources for practice questions and tests. Most prep books have practice questions- and possibly even complete practice exams- in the back of the book. But not all of them are created equally! To help direct you in your search for high-quality practice materials, we have expert reviews of the best prep books for the following AP tests: Best AP Psychology Books Best AP Biology Books Best AP US History Books Best AP Chemistry Books It’s best if you can look in the book before you buy it (or get it from the library!) Compare their practice questions to some of your official College Board resources. Do the questions seem like they have similar wording and formats? That’s a point in their favor. You should also look at reviews of prep books and sites to see what other students have to say about their practice questions and tests. If students felt the practice materials prepared them for the exam, it’s a better bet than a book students have lukewarm reactions to. You might also check out the questions in your class textbook; if it’s a textbook specifically designed for an AP course, odds are the questions at the ends of chapters or in the back of the book track decently well with real College Board material. But still compare it to official materials to be sure. With these tips in mind, you should be able to build a robust library of practice exam resources for your AP studying purposes! AP Practice Exams: Key Takeaways AP practice tests are essential study tools for the AP exam.Practice exams will help you get familiar with the test- its format, the question styles, and the different sections.You can use practice exams to familiarize yourself with the exam, identify gaps in your skills and knowledge, and track your progress and improvement as you prepare for the exam. The best AP practice exams come from the College Board: they have sample questions, old free-response questions, and complete released exams. Beyond officialresources, compare practice tests from unofficial sources to official College Board exams and look for reviews to find the most high-quality material. The bottom line is that liberal use of AP practice tests as a study tool will help you meet your target score,so you should be using them! Especially because there are so many free, official resources available out there. Shine on, you AP diamonds! If you get overwhelmed, just initiate Blanket-Wrapped Dog Protocol. What's Next? Wondering when to start studying for your AP test? Read our guide and wonder no more! Maybe you'd also like to knowthe average scores for every AP exam to help you set your target score. Taking the SAT? See our list of the best SAT prep books, updated for the new 2016 SAT! If the ACT is your exam of choice, seeour list of the best ACT prep books. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Cultural Relativism Definition and Examples

Cultural Relativism Definition and Examples Cultural relativism refers to the idea that the values, knowledge, and behavior of people must be understood within their own cultural context. This is one of the most fundamental concepts in sociology, as it recognizes and affirms the connections between the greater social structure and trends and the everyday lives of individual people. Origins and Overview The concept of cultural relativism as we know and use it today was established as an analytic tool by German-American  anthropologist Franz Boas in the early 20th century. In the context of early social science, cultural relativism became an important tool for pushing back on the ethnocentrism that often tarnished research at that time, which was mostly conducted by white, wealthy, Western men, and often focused on people of color, foreign indigenous populations, and persons of lower economic class than the researcher. Ethnocentrism is the practice of viewing and judging someone elses culture based on the values and beliefs of ones own. From this standpoint, we might frame other cultures as weird, exotic, intriguing, and even as problems to be solved. In contrast, when we recognize that the many cultures of the world have their own beliefs, values, and practices that have developed in particular historical, political, social, material, and ecological contexts  and that it makes sense that they would differ from our own and that none are necessarily right or wrong or good or bad, then we are engaging the concept of cultural relativism. Examples Cultural relativism explains why, for example, what constitutes breakfast varies widely from place to place. What is considered a typical breakfast in Turkey, as illustrated in the above image, is quite different from what is considered a typical breakfast in the U.S. or Japan. While it might seem strange to eat fish soup or stewed vegetables for breakfast in the U.S., in other places, this is perfectly normal. Conversely, our tendency toward sugary cereals and milk  or preference for egg sandwiches loaded with bacon and cheese would seem quite bizarre to other cultures. Similarly, but perhaps of more consequence, rules that regulate nudity in public vary widely around the world. In the U.S., we tend to frame nudity in general as an inherently sexual thing, and so when people are nude in public, people may interpret this as a sexual signal. But in many other places around the world, being nude or partially nude in public is a normal part of life, be it at swimming pools, beaches, in parks, or even throughout the course of daily life (see many indigenous cultures around the world). In these cases, being nude or partially nude is not framed as sexual but as the appropriate bodily state for engaging in a given activity. In other cases, like many cultures where Islam is the predominant faith, a more thorough coverage of the body is expected than in other cultures. Due in large part to ethnocentrism, this has become a highly politicized and volatile practice in todays world. Why Recognizing Cultural Relativism Matters By acknowledging  cultural relativism, we can recognize that our culture shapes what we consider to be beautiful, ugly, appealing, disgusting, virtuous, funny, and abhorrent. It shapes what we consider to be good and bad art, music, and film, as well as  what we consider to be tasteful or tacky consumer goods. The work of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu features ample discussion of these phenomena, and the consequences of them. This varies not just in terms of national cultures but within a large society like the U.S. and also by cultures and subcultures organized by class, race, sexuality, region, religion, and ethnicity, among others.

Internet marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Internet marketing - Essay Example ating a good and long term relationship with the customers which helps the company in getting many innovative and creative ideas from the customers to better its service (Bailey, 2011, pp. 56-64). Starbucks website and social media pages are interactive and clients can ask questions and get answers to their enquiries in company products, locations and prices. They can also have their complaints addressed. Among the all the categories of marketing mix, the one which varies in case of internet marketing is the promotional activities as the product, place and price remains the same. Thus in this case Starbucks looks to promote its product using various social media websites by conducting events and attracting more number of customers. It also attracts the young generation by communicating the exact message across the customers regarding the value that the company creates for its customers. The price related to internet marketing is reduced compared to the marketing activities that have been done using other platforms. Starbucks is already using blogs and social media websites as tools for internet marketing. The company has always looked to use latest marketing techniques to reach the customers in better way. In future it can look to use other tools in internet marketing like SpyFu to know about the competitors’ strategies. Hub Spot internet application allows the company to track leads and maintain direct communication with clients. This sort of communication also allows for segmentation of the market into different sections so as to ease marketing (Chaffey, 2009, pp. 34-42). As of now, Starbucks most effective means of reaching their clients has been facebook, twitter and the company website. This could be because these sites have the highest number of users in the country and in the world. Starbucks uses the latest and available technology in its operational processes so as to provide good and high quality service to the customer. The customers have special

Jamaica Kincaid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jamaica Kincaid - Essay Example Antigua and Barbuda is country located north of Guadalupe in Caribbean. Being country of around hundred thousand locales, there are not many countries in the world with such smaller population. St. John's which has a population of around 25000 is the largest city in the Island (Financial Standards Foundation 2009). Elaine Potter Richardson (the childhood name of Jamaica Kincaid) had lived with her stepfather who was a carpenter till she was sent to work as an au pair at Westchester in New York. By then, she had done her secondary education in the elegant British education system. Antigua continued to be a British colony until 1967 before it achieved the status of an independent nation within the Commonwealth until 1981. The obvious detest about the white power and colonialism seems to be cultivated in her since her childhood, along with an intense love and appreciation for the English literature (Vorda 1993) She felt first-hand the negative effects of British colonialism as the colonists attempted to turn Antigua "into England" and the natives "into English" without regard for the native culture or homeland (Kincaid 1988). The anger that Kincaid has in her for a long time towards English and the Antiguans is expressed through and as the main thread of 'A Small Place'. ... In her attempt to bring out the social, cultural, educational and infrastructural issues of Antigua, Kincaid undermined the sovereignty of Antigua as a free nation. The exaggeration to a great extent helped the reader to understand the intensity of 'colonial, postcolonial and neocolonial myths, thereby interrogating the tourists' perspective and unraveling the continuing colonizing construction of a place legitimized only by its visitors' (Corinna McLeod). The following are some of the realities of Antigua as a nation. 'Antigua and Barbuda has no indigenous sources of oil, natural gas, coal or hydropower. It is largely dependent on imported oil to generate electricity. Oil imports are around 4,500 barrels per day. The IMF estimated the external public sector debt at US$520.4 million at the end of 2008, which was equal to 46.3 percent of GDP. Agriculture is a very small part of the economy with crop production accounting for just 0.9 percent of GDP in 2006. There are 1,165 km of roads (723 miles) of which 33 percent are paved. Traffic moves on the left. The US State Department's Travel Advisory for April 2, 2008 noted that the "major roads are generally in good condition." Drug trafficking has become a major illicit activity. According to a March 3, 2009 article on the St. Maarten Island Time. The largest individual investor and employer was Sir Allen Stanford. The billionaire financier had extensive real estate holdings and also owned the Stanford International Bank, the Bank of Antigua, two restaurants, a cricket ground and the Anguilla Sun newspaper. In February 2009, Stanford's financial empire disintegrated when it was

White Rose Centre Essay Example for Free

White Rose Centre Essay When we are promoting our product and business while we are at the trade fair in White Rose we will put up posters around the White Rose building and also have members of our business to hand out pamphlets to people who are there. This is to make sure that the shoppers at White Rose are aware of our business as posters can be easily ignored if there are a lot of people about or even deliberately. White rose also has an indoor radio for the shoppers. We may ask them if they could tell the customers at White Rose about us being there and what we are selling. This will also be promoting the White Rose itself. The market size will be different from that at school because people come from all different locations in and around Leeds to shop at White Rose so we will not know who and where are customers are from. But in order to promote our product and business for the White Rose Centre we could put up posters in school and around where each of us live, like in shop windows, door to door leaflets and lampposts. The posters will tell people that we are at White Rose on a certain date and what we are going to be selling. We will tell our friends and families about the trade fair at White Rose, they will tell their friends and therefore many people will come to see what we are doing. Our time-scale for the promotion of the White Rose trade fair is getting limited. We have to make sure that all our products are made a week before the trade fair. If some are damaged we will have to make more. The leaflets, posters, lettering and the questionnaires are also to be ready a week before. It will take time to do all these but if every member in the group takes a few candles home to make as well as making some in class, then the product deadline can be easily met. The lettering is something that we have already produced from the last trade fair so these will not need doing. The leaflets might take some time to do, as they will have information about our product and business. The posters and questionnaires are to be simple. These can be done easily. The budget for our promotional activities wont cost us much as we are going to be printing the leaflets and posters at home. If it does cost us then we will budget for it to cost us no more than 10. Maybe at school it wont cost us anything but if we want eye-catching posters for the White Rose then we will have them made professionally, this will probably be expensive. We are also thinking about having an advert in the Batley News in the week we are going to be at the White Rose. But if the price is more than we have budgeted then we will have to forget about promoting our business and product in the newspaper. The main resources needed for the promotional activities for our business is access to loads of paper, a computer and printer. Most people in our group have access to all 3 at home so it will not be a problem when making the poster or leaflet. We will use the special offer promotion when we have come to the end of the trading season for our business but we will not use it before then, as this is another way of promoting our business. The promotional activities that we will use in our business, to promote our product as well as our business do have advantages that are good for our business but also disadvantages which we will need to work on. The advantages and disadvantages for our promotional activities are:In June last year after a lot of group discussions and possible constraints on products that we were going to make, we decided to make candles as our chosen products. We made our first prototypes in July. We had a long candle on a base with flowers round it, a tea light holder with a tea light and a diamond candle on a base as our prototypes. In September we started making our candles for our first trade fair which was at Granary Warf on the 14th December. We had about 10 weeks to make all the products and the lettering for the trade fair. During this period, we started getting customers wanting to buy our products. We did not want to sell them at the beginning but then we saw that many students from school may not be able to attend the Granary Warf trade fair. We decided to sell some of our candles but we did not tell many people about it, as we did not want to run out of stock for our first trade fair. Our first proper sales were at granary Warf, but we did not do well as we hoped. In order to sell our products off before Christmas we had a sale in school on Tuesday 17th December in the main hall at lunch. We did quite good and made about 40. We still had some stock left but on January 29th and 30th we had another sale in school. At all these sales we were promoting our business and telling customers where we will be selling next and when. After this we have our last trade fair, which is at the White Rose on Sunday 9th march. We want to do as well as possible and then hope to have a clearance sale at school to sell everything off, as we will then have stopped trading. To do well we are going to promote our product and business in school and the White Rose as much as we can, telling people where we are selling and when. We are also going to make our product to the best standard as we have 5 weeks to make them along with our promotion materials such as posters, pamphlets and leaflets and questionnaires for the stall. We are spending lesson time, which is 2 hours per week, lunch times and also taking our products home to make. The resources that are needed for our promotional campaign along with the materials for our products are people, skills, computers and printers, flowers, metal bases, glue gun and glue, long candles, tea light candles, tea light holders, cellophane, acetate, scissors, sellotape, double sided sticky tape, ribbon, iron nails, glitter, sequins, beads, ready made candles, paper and time. All these will help us make our product and also promote our business as fully as we can. Two examples of the materials that we are going to use as part of our promotional campaign are leaflets and handouts. The posters will be distributed around our school and the White Rose when we are there and the handouts will be given to as many people at the White Rose as we can. We need to make sure that our promotional materials follow the things below. If it doesnt then our promotion campaign will not be that successful.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Essay -- mississippi river, racism, civ

Huckleberry Finn is one of the most controversial novels in history. It is the fifth most challenged book in United States history (About Mark Twain). It tells the tale of a young boy and a slave who venture across the Mississippi river. At the time, this was considered immoral and unheard of. The author of this story is Mark Twain. Twain was born as Samuel Clemens, but later, after he began writing, he took on the pen name of Mark Twain. This name signifies the borderline between acceptable and not acceptable- as shown in his writing. Twain had three punctilious messages in his novel. Mark Twain wrote Huck Finn to express his disillusionment of society through the eyes of a young farm boy who realized that senseless violence, racism, and slavery all expressed how cruel and corrupt people could be. Samuel Clemens grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. There, he experienced an adventurous childhood that greatly influenced several of his stories. The town of Hannibal however, was not all it seemed to be, for Samuel experienced death and violence at an early age. When he was 9 years old, he saw a local man murder a cattle rancher, and at 10 he saw a slave die after a white overseer struck him with a piece of iron (Mark Twain Biography). Next, after he married, he travelled frequently across the country. In his travels, he experienced slavery, and racism first hand. This greatly affected him and he fought against it with the publication of Huckleberry Finn. In 1858, he became a licensed riverboat pilot (About Mark Twain). This experience allowed him to explore the Mississippi River, which played a large role in developing the novel. Twain clearly shows his social criticisms in this novel using satire. Huckleberry Finn was publish... ...through the eyes of a young boy named Huckleberry Finn. Works Cited -A&E Television Networks, LLC. (1991, March 5). Abolitionist Movement. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from History.com: www.history.com/topics/black-history/abolitionist-movement -A&E Television Networks, LLC. (n.d.). Mark Twain Biography. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from Biography.com: www.biography.com/people/mark-twain-9512564#awesm=~oEhRSHITXnijgm -CMG Solutions. (2006, July 6). About Mark Twain. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from The Official Website of Mark Twain: www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/facts.htm -Twain, M. (1994). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. (S. Appelbaum, Ed.) Mineola, New York, United States: Dover Publications, Inc. -Weider History. (2010, September 15). Causes of the Civil War. Retrieved May 17, 2014, from HistoryNet: www.historynet.com/causes-of-the-civil-war

The Application Of Constructivist Theory Education Essay

Following the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ( NCLB ) and the Persons with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 ( IDEIA ) , pedagogues could no longer merely believe about implementing research-based instruction schemes. These Torahs clearly mandated practicians must utilize theory and research to supply grounds that learning methods lead to improved educational results ( Slocum, Spencer, & A ; Detrich, 2012 ) . Initially rooted in the health care professions, evidence-based pattern ( EBP ) has been adopted by many professions to heighten the practician ‘s ability to be a protagonist of research, usher determinations, and turn to the research-to-practice spread ( Biesta, 2010 ) . A long battle in many subjects continues to be related to the disparity between the methodological analysiss supported in research and what is implemented in existent pattern ( Gall, Gall, & A ; Borg, 2007 ) . This on-going division between practicians and research workers, every bit good as theoreticians and policy-makers, has been recognized, nevertheless, despite the increasing sum of research being done, small has been accomplished towards happening declaration. Researchers assert the consequences of probes are non good understood on the portion of the practician ( Spencer, Detrich, & A ; Slocum, 2012 ) . In contrast, practicians appear to believe the research may non be applicable or existent universe to their field. In add-on, the consequences of research may non be readily available in pattern related diaries ( Torres, Farley, & A ; Cooke, 2012 ) . EBP in instruction and other subjects has been met with the inquiry of whether there is truly a new manner of practising or merely another manner of picturing what has ever been considered standard process. In seeking to contract the research pattern spread in healthcare professions, the usage of EBP is a direct result for a call for client safety. This could use every bit good to instruction related to bettering scholar results ( Spencer et al. , 2012 ) . In healthcare professions, the Institute of Medicine ( IOM, 2011 ) , has described EBP as a decision-making procedure, incorporating the best research support with clinical expertness. For the practician, this should affect turn uping superior external grounds to reply inquiries. Unfortunately, the huge bulk of practicians rely chiefly on their more experient co-workers for way or go on on the same pattern way because that is the manner it has ever been done ( Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & A ; Day, 2010 ; Langer & A ; Langer, 2009 ) . Either of these methods may take to inaccuracies when non supported by research based grounds and most likely consequence in hapless results ( Langer & A ; Langer, 2009 ) . If the outlook is practicians are to do determinations based on grounds, so the grounds must be relevant, of high quality, applicable, and readily available ( Spencer et al. , 2012 ) . Although the measure of instruction related research has increased since NCLB was enacted, there are few surveies which incorporate precise design processes, such as randomized controlled tests. As a consequence, many practicians find small choice grounds to back up their determination devising ( Butler & A ; Schnellert, 2010 ) . As the EBP motion continues, practicians, research workers, and policymakers are being encouraged to go occupied and collaborate ( Spencer et al. , 2012 ) . Research workers need to seek pedagogue parts in order to turn to pattern related issues. In add-on, supplying consequences of research to practicians in a manner that is clearly understood, more easy accessible, and promote serviceability would lend to contracting the research pattern spread ( Butler & A ; Schnellert, 2008 ) . The execution of resources, such as What Works Clearinghouse ( WWW, 2002 ) , enables practicians, research workers, and policymakers to link. WWW provides strictly designed research for EBP determinations and intervention intercessions. Through the usage of these sites, the practician is able to happen information rapidly without holding to seek through big databases. The execution of EBP in the educational sphere is non optional. The literature indicates there is non a deficiency of grounds, but instead a deficiency of execution ( Spencer et al. , 2012 ) . With the research pattern spread averaging 17 old ages, practicians and research workers must travel the grounds into action ( Spencer et al. , 2012 ) . At the higher instruction degree, instructors must pattern the importance of theory, grounds, and research to their pupils. Many pupils do non understand theory and merely like practicians, find it hard to border for many of the same grounds ( Slocum et al. , 2012 ) . If EBP is to be to the full implemented and the research pattern spread reduced, non merely must practicians and research workers work together, practicians and the practicians of the hereafter must work to understand, use, and visualise the benefits of research.Constructivist TheoryConstructivist attacks to larning hold traditionally been emphasized in higher instruction and are soon considered to be the most normally accepted theoretical account by pedagogues ( Hoic-Bozic, Mornar, & A ; Boticki, 2009 ; Hussain, 2012 ) . Learning is viewed as an active procedure in which old cognition is believed to be foundational ( Holly, Legg, Mueller, & A ; Adelman, 2008 ; Makgato, 2012 ) . The implicit in rule of constructivism is that the scholar is considered a complete person at a societal, cognitive, and affectional degree, which is thought to enrich and intensify the acquisition procedure ( Hrastinski, 2009 ; Ke, 2010 ) . The growing of online and blended class work continues to be important with the bulk of enrolled pupils being of the grownup population ( Allen & A ; Seaman, 2011 ) . Within distance instruction acquisition, much research has been influenced by constructivist and societal acquisition theories ( Hrastinski, 2009 ; Legg, Adelman, Mueller, & A ; Levitt, 2009 ; Makgato, 2012 ) . Despite the volume of research related to online acquisition, there has non been an grownup larning theory, which educators can or will subscribe to, to drive pattern and steer farther research ( Minter, 2011 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . The six most ideal features which contribute to successful online acquisition are discussed in the literature ( Cercone, 2008 ) . These properties are: a strong relationship between the pupil and the facilitator/instructor, an engaging and collaborative student-to-student connexion, the necessity of contemplation on the portion of the pupil in order to associate new cognition with foundational experience, a sense of community, the application of larning to the real-world ; and motive on the portion of the scholar ( Boling, Hough, Krinsky, Saleem, & A ; Stevens, 2012 ; Jackson, Jones, & A ; Rodriguez, 2010 ; Pelz, 2010 ) . Although all of these features are of import, the edifice of community is considered the critical constituent ( Garrison, 2011 ; Palloff & A ; Pratt, 2011 ) . The success of developing, implementing, and keeping community really frequently leads to the other properties being effectual every bit good ( Garrison, 2011 ; Ruey, 2010 ) . Research related to pupil acquisition and the development of community indicates a positive relationship ( Boling et al. , 2012 ; Hussain, 2012 ) . A survey based on appraising pupils sing their experiences within an on-line community and class public presentation indicated 85 % found the community experience to be positive, which enhanced their acquisition ( Vesely, Bloom, & A ; Sherlock, 2007 ) . Two extra surveies that were focused on perceptual experiences and attitudes of on-line pupils showed a important connexion between scholar satisfaction, pupil interaction, and community and cognition acquisition ( Liu, Magjuka, Bonk, & A ; Lee, 2007 ; Sadera, Robertson, Song, & A ; Midon, 2009 ) . Although the research related to online community development is converting, those in distance instruction contend that in order to achieve deep acquisition, accessing content online and learner interaction is non sufficient ( Garrison, 2009 ; Ke & A ; Xie, 2009 ) . The accent must be about developing quality larning results ( Ke & A ; Xie, 2009 ) . It is believed the best attack to carry throughing this is through the design of collaborative extremely engaged acquisition communities ( Garrison, 2009 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . Although people glean intending from personal contemplation and critical thought, the duologue which takes topographic point in groups of scholars is what creates cognition ( Garrison, Anderson, & A ; Archer, 2010 ; Garrison, 2011 ) . Online acquisition in the twentieth century was chiefly focused on bridging the physical sweep for those pupils who had restricted entree to instruction ( Garrison 2009 ) . The focal point is now switching to issues related to learning and larning online, engineering, and bettering the anytime-anywhere agencies of interaction. Although these are of import issues, unluckily, they remain geared to the independent pupil instead than to the whole of a community of scholars ( Akyol, Garrison, & A ; Ozden, 2009 ) . Over the last decennary there have been many theoretical parts to the online acquisition subject. Each has reflected patterned advance towards bettering the instruction and acquisition rules ( Garrison, 2011 ) . The inquiry practicians and decision makers are faced with is whether the theories that have been developed antecedently, supply the foundation for traveling on-line larning into the twenty-first century and will these theories support the immense alterations happening with current and future engineering ( Akyol & A ; Garrison, 2008 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) .Application of Constructivist Theory: The Community of Inquiry ModelThe pedagogical every bit good as technological developments are clearly altering the landscape of higher instruction and online acquisition appears to be at the head ( Akyol & A ; Garrison, 2008 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . Administrators and module must acknowledge those pupils in the higher instruction system today require readying to last in a twenty-first century work force. Current learning methodological analysiss no longer run into the demands of today ‘s scholars and with the call for educational reform, redesign of larning experiences is indispensable. The following of import measure in traveling frontward is the finding of a theoretical model to steer pattern and research in order to supply meaningful larning results every bit good as critical thought ( Garrison, 2011 ; Ke, 2010 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . The Community of Inquiry ( CoI ) is a dynamic model built on constructivism and societal acquisition with theoretical foundations from Dewey, Vygotsky, and Bruner ( Garrison, Anderson, & A ; Archer, 2000, 2010 ; Garrison, 2009 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . Developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer ( 2000 ) to back up online acquisition pattern and research, the focal point of this model is that successful online acquisition requires knowledge constructing based on the development of community ( Shea et al. , 2012 ) . Within higher instruction scenes, CoI assesses effectivity of online course of study by three nucleus constituents: ( a ) societal presence, ( B ) cognitive presence, and ( degree Celsius ) learning presence ( Garrison, Anderson, & A ; Archer, 2010 ) . These three elements intersect with each other to add to the on-line educational experience as represented in Figure 1. Garrison ( 2011 ) described presence as consciousness or a sense of being that is influenced by learner-facilitator and learner-learner interpersonal communications. Essential to every portion of life is the construct of community. Unfortunately, many are of the belief that larning in conventional on-line coursework is in isolation and hence the construct of community is thought of as major failing ( Garrison, 2009, 2011 ) . Over a decennary has passed since Garrison et Al. ( 2000 ) developed the CoI model. Research utilizing this theoretical account has been extended and appears to formalize the nucleus constituents of societal, cognitive, and learning presence ( Arbaugh, 2007, 2008 ; Kanuka, Rourke, & A ; Laflamme, 2007 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . Significant, cross-institutional surveies have shown the stableness of the CoI theoretical account ( Arbaugh et al. , 2008 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . The challenge for research workers wanting to utilize the CoI model has been the deficiency of a common instrument to operationalize the theoretical account in order to mensurate the three presences in an online scene ( Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2009 ; Swan et al. , 2008 ) . In 2007, the CoI Questionnaire ( CoIQ ) was developed and tested in a multiinstitutional survey ( Arbaugh et al. , 2008 ; Swan et al. , 2008 ) . This 34-question Likert study was administered to 287 online alumnus pupils with consequences back uping its usage as a valid instrument. Cronbach ‘s alpha indicated 0.91 for societal presence, 0.95 for cognitive presence, and 0.94 for learning presence ( Arbaugh et al. , 2008 ) . The usage of the CoI study provides research workers with a consistent means to analyze the elements of CoI as related to instruction, and acquisition, every bit good as keeping in on-line instruction ( Garrison, 2011 ) . Bangert ( 2009 ) supported the cogency of the CoI study instrument by look intoing both undergraduate and graduate pupils ( N = 1173 ) in to the full on-line and blended categories. Analysis of study responses were consistent with the three CoI elements. Consequences of this survey indicated the study is an appropriate tool for pull offing the development and execution of on-line class work ( Bangert, 2009 ) . The constructs of societal presence. Social presence is defined as the degree in which the scholar feels connected to other members both socially and emotionally within an on-line scene ( Garrison, 2009, 2011 ) . The ability of scholars to place with each other online is by and large through the usage of asynchronous text. Although this method lacks any sense of gestural communicating and immediateness, both of which build societal presence, pedagogues are frequently challenged by this type of exchange ( Garrison, 2011 ; Shea & A ; Bidjerano, 2010 ) . Garrison and Arbaugh ( 2007 ) noted that the usage of text is frequently more valuable in easing the accomplishment of critical thought. Once societal presence has been established, Akyol and Garrison ( 2008 ) noted cognitive presence is besides enhanced. In contrast to this research, nevertheless, Jahng, Nielsen, and Chan ( 2010 ) studied 12 online alumnus pupils, reasoning that a lessened cognitive interaction occurred when societal communications were increased. This result indicated unneeded clip related to class debuts may good be uneffective as a portion of community development ( Garrison, 2011 ; Shea, Hayes, & A ; Vickers, 2010 ) . Social presence has besides been linked to student perceived acquisition and concluding class classs ( Akyol & A ; Garrison, 2008 ; Caspi & A ; Blau, 2008 ) . Extra support for the credence of a theoretical account for on-line acquisition is related to keeping as abrasion rates are significantly higher than those of on-ground categories ( Boston et al. , 2009 ; Garrison, 2011 ) . A survey of undergraduate on-line pupils ( N = 28,877 ) utilizing the CoI study resulted with the indicant of a important relationship between pupil keeping and societal presence ( Boston et al. , 2009 ) . The constructs of cognitive presence. Cognitive presence describes the grade in which scholars construct cognition through take parting in critical reflective thought and treatment ( Garrison, 2009, 2011 ) . Considered an indispensable constituent of critical thought, cognitive presence is designed within a social-constructivism point of view ( Shea & A ; Garrison, 2008 ) . Cognitive presence has been operationalized through the Practical Inquiry ( PI ) theoretical account that involves four phases: ( a ) the triping event, ( B ) geographic expedition, ( degree Celsius ) integrating, and ( vitamin D ) declaration ( Garrison, Anderson & A ; Archer, 2010 ) . The CoI model supposes that the scholar progresses through each stage of the PI enquiry as reflected in Figure 2 ( Garrison, 2007 ) . In add-on, this procedure requires enhanced learning presence and is often influenced by the societal presence of the group ( Garrison, Anderson, & A ; Archer, 2010 ) . Bai ( 2009 ) noted that many scholars do non clearly understand the necessity for prosecuting in and bring forthing grounds of critical thought in on-line treatment forums. A survey of on-line alumnus pupils in an educational engineering class comparing pupils in the autumn to those in spring was conducted by Bai ( 2009 ) . Fall pupils were provided with a rubric bespeaking the figure of needed stations, due day of the months, suggestions to include outside resources and how to entree forums while the spring group was given a usher utilizing the PI theoretical account with the four phases as classs, including features of each and the accent was on critical thought ( Bai, 2009 ) . Study consequences indicated more than half of the togss in both groups ne'er advanced further than the geographic expedition or brainstorming stage ( Bai, 2009 ) . Those pupils in the spring group, who had been provided the PI theoretical account posting usher, demonstrated higher degrees of interaction and critical thought as compared to those in the autumn group ( Bai, 2009 ) . Arbaugh ( 2007 ) noted cognitive presence is the most hard component for pedagogues to accomplish online. Studies indicated this construct appears to be more related with design, facilitation, and way in relation to learning presence ( Bai, 2009 ; Swan et al. , 2008 ) . The most of import demand in making cognitive presence relates to the facilitator who builds treatment, proctors discourse, and guides scholars to critically believe ( Garrison et al. , 2010 ) . The constructs of learning presence. The 3rd component of CoI is learning presence. The focal point of this construct is on instructional design, facilitation, and the sharing and staging of content by the teacher ( Garrison, 2009 ; Garrison et al. , 2010 ) . Teaching presence is considered critical to the full procedure as it is seen as important in relation to class satisfaction, a feeling of community, and the perceptual experience of acquisition by the pupil ( Garrison, Anderson, & A ; Archer, 2010 ) . A clear apprehension of the kineticss related to the presences is needed if a collaborative CoI is to be created and sustained ( Akyol & A ; Garrison, 2008, Garrison, Anderson & A ; Archer, 2010 ) . In add-on, it must be noted that learning presence is an integrative construct, which brings cognitive and societal presences together ( Garrison et al. , 2010 ) . The function of the pedagogue in an on-line CoI encompasses three primary constituents: ( a ) class instructional design and organisation, ( B ) facilitation of treatment, and ( degree Celsius ) direct direction ( Nagel & A ; Kotze, 2010 ) . Teaching presence online is about keeping balance wherein the teacher ushers and theoretical accounts for the scholar ( Shea et al. , 2010 ) . Once pupils begin to take duty for their acquisition and collaborate every bit good as comprehend content, balance occurs ( Garrison, Anderson & A ; Archer, 2010 ) . Research clearly indicated learning presence influences the success and satisfaction of online scholars ( Arbaugh, 2008 ; Abdous & A ; Yen, 2010, Ke, 2010 ) . Baker ( 2010 ) explored how educator presence and immediateness relates to student motive, knowledge, and affectional acquisition. Undergraduate and alumnus online pupils ( N = 699 ) were surveyed and consequences indicated a positive, but non a statistically important relationship between pupil motive, knowledge, and affectional acquisition, and pedagogue immediateness ( Baker, 2010 ) . Educator presence, nevertheless, was a important forecaster of these three features ( Baker, 2010 ) .CoI CritiqueOver the past 10 old ages a considerable sum of research has been accomplished specifically related to each of the single CoI elements ( Garrison, 2011 ; Garrison, Anderson, & A ; Archer, 2010 ; Lowenthal, Lowenthal, & A ; White, 2009 ) . More late, research workers have begun to utilize the full CoI model to steer online acquisition pattern and future research ( Lowenthal et al. , 2009 ) . Although reappraisal of research indicated the CoI model is valuable in analyzing online acquisition ( Garrison & A ; Arbaugh, 2007 ; Garrison, 2011 ) , others contended there is small grounds the model provides meaningful larning experiences ( Rourke & A ; Kanuka, 2009 ) . Between 2000 and 2008, Rourke and Kanuka ( 2009 ) reviewed literature citing the CoI model. Actual class informations had been examined in merely 48 of the 252 diary articles found. Merely five articles had involved geographic expedition of pupil larning perceptual experiences, which had been reported as a measuring of pupil acquisition. This determination resulted in Rourke and Kanuka ( 2009 ) reasoning CoI research had failed to research the averment that the model comprised of societal, cognitive, and learning presences influenced larning results. Reacting to this reappraisal, Akyol et Al. ( 2009 ) emphasized the CoI was presented as a cognition edifice larning procedure theoretical account based on social-constructivism theory merely. Arbaugh ( 2008 ) noted CoI research indicated societal, cognitive, and learning presences are clearly related to student perceptual experiences of larning. What remains in inquiry is whether there is a true association between meaningful acquisition and pupil ‘s perceptual experiences of acquisition ( Rourke & A ; Kanuka, 2009 ) . In reexamining the literature, there are evident spreads between the CoI presences and larning results. Research has non validated deep acquisition as the unequivocal consequence of the on-line interactions between pupils, content, and facilitator/instructor. The research related to CoI lacks probe of the discrepancies that may be within academic subjects and the impact this may hold on the presences ( Smith, Heindel, & A ; Torres-Ayala, 2008 ) . There is the possibility that much of the research reports merely on single classs instead than several classs and/or a plan. Lowenthal et Al. ( 2009 ) noted there was a strong possibility that differences existed due to the fact that pedagogues and scholars belong to distinctive pattern communities. Additionally, learner engagement in a community may be hard due to linguistic communication every bit good as literacy issues as many subjects have their ain linguistic communication, for illustration, medical specialty, nursing, and jurispruden ce ( Smith et al. , 2008 ) . Recently, Carlon et Al. ( 2012 ) studied 330 undergraduate and alumnus pupils from subjects such as physical therapy ( n=32 ) , nursing ( n=274 ) , and healthcare direction ( n=24 ) utilizing the CoI Survey. Across the subjects, consequences indicated there was no difference in learning presence ; nevertheless, there was a statistically important difference within nursing in the societal and cognitive presence as compared to the other subjects. This survey indicated support for the findings of Shea and Bidjerano ‘s research ( 2009 ) . The design, development, and bringing of an on-line class can besides impact the three presences ( Lowenthal et al. , 2009 ) . Whether a class is developed by an teacher, a group of teachers, or an instructional interior decorator, it will impact presence every bit good as the type of scholar activities developed for the class ( Lowenthal et al. , 2009 ) . Lowenthal et Al. ( 2009 ) noted these issues are seldom considered in the design and development stages.A New Presence: LearningShea, Hayes, and Vickers ( 2010 ) discovered that a significant sum of learning presence occurred outside the on-line treatment forum ; this came in the signifier of electronic mails, messages, and private pupil booklets which were non included in old surveies. The consequences indicated that although all efforts to enter instruction, societal, and cognitive presence online, there was a presence which could non be coded. Shea et Al. ( 2012 ) reviewed 56 surveies which had involved learner self-regulation elements. The research workers concluded on-line scholars were self-regulating to run into class ends and this did non suit within the current CoI theoretical account ( Shea et al. , 2012 ) . Because online acquisition requires a great trade of autonomy on the portion of the scholar, Shea et Al. ( 2012 ) noted that this spread would necessitate to be addressed. The current CoI implies societal presence occurs in isolation and learning presence fails to take pupil parts into consideration. Shea et Al. ( 2012 ) recommended accounting for these failings by suggesting a revised theoretical account that would include parts from both the instructor and pupil every bit good as emphasize socio-cognitive acquisition ( Shea et al. , 2012 ) .DecisionThe CoI model is considered one of the rule theoretical accounts steering research in online higher instruction ( Shea et al. , 2010 ) . Concentrating on the develo pment of the online community, learner cognition is noted as the consequence of collaborative attempt ( Garrison, Anderson, & A ; Archer, 2010 ) . Most of the research utilizing CoI has been limited to the survey of on-line treatments ; nevertheless, this is spread outing to scrutiny of full online and blended classs ( Garrison et al. , 2010 ; Shea et al. , 2012 ) . Although there are acknowledged failings in the CoI theoretical account, research workers continue to research this model with the end of developing a more comprehensive theoretical account and look intoing full classs for the three presences at the same time ( Shea et al. , 2012 ) . The most recent published survey has linked the Quality Matters ( QM ) peer reappraisal plan with CoI ( Swan, Matthews, Bogle, Boles, & A ; Day, 2012 ) . Research workers used the QM and CoI models to redesign an on-line alumnus class associating design, execution, and learner results for the first clip ( Swan et al. , 2012 ) . Initial findings in this on-going probe indicated QM and CoI class alterations can be connected to improved acquisition results. Future probes will find if these two models will work in subjects other than instruction ( Swan et al. , 2012 ) .

A day without a mexican Essay

With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on February 2, 1848, the border dividing the Mexican people was formed. The Mexican border means various things to different people. To date, 600 miles of border wall has already been built. This wall would extend from California, to El Paso, to the valley. The first reason given by the government for construction of the wall was to prevent terrorist attacks, the next was to keep illegal Mexicans out, and the most current one is to combat the drug smuggling into the United States. For some Mexicans and Mexican Americans, the border poses threats, and for others, it establishes possibilities for oneself and one’s family. The border industrialization program, which began the 1970s, increased significantly from its previous conditions. Migration to border towns became highly prevalent. Border cities led to population growth and, simultaneously, high unemployment rates. In reaction, government officials started the maquilladora program. Maquillas (from the Spanish maquillar, ‘to make up’) are the giant sweatshops of the global economy, where armies of poor women are put to work to assemble goods for export. See more: Unemployment – problems and solutions essay The supply of women is so great that these women are treated with no value. Border industrialization began to rise and power companies such as Samsung and RCA, as evident in the movie, Maquilapolis (2006) by Vicky Funari and Sergio de la Torre, by always having lines of women ready and willing to work. Mexican government officials viewed the Maquiladora Program in a positive light, claiming it to be â€Å"an integral part of Mexico’s strategy for development. †[1] The movie depicts the maquiladora workers in Tijuana, Mexico to balance life working in these factories with their struggle for justice in the system that governs their place of work. This reiterates how machismo affected gender relations in Mexico and how woman are devalued. These maquiladoras are good because of the labor they give to Mexican citizens. However, it’s not fair for the low wages and cruelties taken on by the employees in these factories. Unsanitary and dangerous factory conditions pose threats to these women’s lives each day. The women are looking for the means of life and survival. They face jobless times, so they are forced to find jobs in labor. Despite the conditions these women have been subjected to, they still continue to remain hopeful. Senorita Extraviada (2001) is a documentary by Lourdes Portillo about the hundreds of unsolved murders of young women that have occurred over the past 10 years in Juarez, Mexico—the Mexican border city across the Rio Grande from El Paso. The Coalition of non-government organizations (NGOs) for Women (1994-2000) was created by female activists; their main aim behind the coalition was to change the cultural, economic, and political context of gendered violence in the city. This coalition organized events such as marches, press conferences, and domestic and international press was prevalent. There were many challenges against this coalition: it was the city’s first ever cross-class women’s political organization and the city’s first feminist-oriented political coalition. An external attack began to form on the Coalition. Many â€Å"elite† political and economic leaders argued that the violence was â€Å"normal† for Juarez. They argued that many of these women knew what they were doing—living the â€Å"doble vida† (double life) as factory workers during the day and prostitutes by night. Many asserted it was a recycled discourse of female trouble. The notion of these â€Å"public women† mimicked the negative talk surrounding the prostitutes as women who â€Å"contaminated† all associated with her from family, community, and nation. A â€Å"public woman† was regarded as an illegitimate citizen. Government authorities used this as a way to dismiss the influx of crimes and blame the women for the surge of violence in Juarez. Alejandro Lugo presents an analysis of the social dimensions along the border from color hierarchies to the notions of borderlands. He suggests that border crossings are â€Å"constituted by ‘inspection stations’ which inspect, monitor, and survey what goes in and out in the name of class, race, and nation. †[2] He asserts that the term ‘border crossings’ has become an exceedingly hopeful phrase. Lugo further claims that people are, indeed, afraid to cross these borders. There are a few reasons for that. Those who have legal residence in the U. S. , who are light-skinned, and those who speak English, cross borders without much concern. However, those are not American citizens, who are dark-skinned, and who don’t speak English face tough circumstances. As Lugo suggests, â€Å"while borderlands implies multiple sides, ‘border’ implies two sides. †[3] The division between the United States and Mexico is ever-present, separating those who are residents and those who aspire to live the American dream to better themselves and their family. Violence is being exercised against Mexicans at border crossings. The Border Patrol continues to isolate those who do not have legal residence and force these Mexicans back to where they supposedly ‘belong. ’ There is no in-between. As described by Lugo, many Border Patrol agents possess no acceptance for uncertainty. You must prove you belong or you’re forced back to the other side. This border symbolizes such positive things for many hopefuls seeking freedom, work, opportunity, however, at the same time, is a complete, unwelcoming division. Color hierarchies exhibit this discrimination against many dark-skinned Mexicans who are forced out of the U. S. by their own Mexican American people along the border. The border transforms itself. As evident of this border transformation is the drug smuggling. In a recent article, â€Å"Drug smugglers from Mexico move into NM town,† the border town of Columbus, NM has seen an influx of fancy cars with nice rims and a boom in the housing market. Many of these drug smugglers have fled from Palomas, Mexico where the Mexican army had previously been stationed. According to some residents, such as Maria Gutierrez, â€Å"The problem is in Palomas. It’s serene here†[4] Many have refused to come to terms that crime is starting to flood their town. This also alludes to the border transformation—not just a sign of hope to those who seek to cross it, but, now, a means of making big money for some. The Columbus police department has faced its share of â€Å"bad† cops within the force, yet the new appointment of police chief, Angelo Vega, is meant to restructure things within the town. However, even some residents believe that it would be impossible for this town to survive without illegal money flowing in. Not only is violence witnessed between Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but also amongst Caucasians. Racial injustice continues to exist to this day. Similar to the story of Esequiel Hernandez, the 18-year-old U. S. high school student killed on May 20, 1997 by Marines along the US–Mexico border in Redford, Texas, Luis Ramirez was recently murdered by two Anglo males in Pennsylvania. Ramirez, a 25-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant, was assaulted by â€Å"a gang of drunken white teenagers motivated by a dislike of the growing Hispanic population in their small coal town of Shenandoah. †[5] Both the Marines and the two men accused of this crime were acquitted of all charges. These types of racial tensions exhibit the racial hierarchies in society. Many guilty people can be set free just because of the color of their skin. In contrast, the story of the maquilladora program, the surge of violence along the border, gender relations, the influx of drug trading, and prevalence of racial tensions and color hierarchies amongst Mexicans and Mexican Americans all illustrate the dangers that face the border. These combinations of problems all make up the transformation of the border within the past several decades. It truly depicts the war of the frontiers. Many residents along the border, as in the town of Columbus are fighting to keep their town as it was by trying to rid the drug trafficking. Many Mexican Americans want a better life for their family, as well as, to not be treated inferiorly by their own people because of the color of their skin. As put by Salman Rushdie, â€Å"By crossing those frontiers, conquering those terrors and reaching their goal, they themselves were now what they were looking for. They had become the god they sought. †[6] For many this â€Å"god,† is the crossing at the border. For some, it leads to a life filled with promises and opportunities, and for others, false hopes and empty promises at their homeland are ever changing. The war of frontiers will continue to exist until the government does more to change how things are run along the controversial border. ———————– [1] Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, â€Å"Chapter 2,† in For We are Sold, I and My People: Women and Industry in Mexico’s Frontier, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983), 35. [2] Alejandro Lugo, â€Å"Theorizing Border inspections,† Cultural Dynamics 12:3 (2000), 355. [3] Lugo, 359. [4] Alicia Caldwell, † Drug smugglers from Mexico move into NM town,† Austin American-Statesman, May 1, 2009, http://www. statesman. com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Drug_Smugglers_Town. html, accessed on May 1, 2009. [5] Michael Rubinkam, † Luis Ramirez Killers Found Not Guilty After Beating Mexican Immigrant To Death,† Huffington Post, May 2, 2009, http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2009/05/04/luis-ramirez-killers-foun_n_195535. html, accessed on May 4, 2009. [6] Salman Rushdie, â€Å"Step Across This Line,† in Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction, 1992-2002, (New York: The Modern Library, 2002), 351.

Download Sites Violate Copyright Rules

Download Sites Violate Copyright Rules Many years ago technology wasn’t as popular as it is today. At most there may have been one computer in the home that the family had to share, the Internet wasn’t wireless†¦ you had to utilize your phone line in order to get on the Internet. Cell phones weren’t popular, at best there were two phone lines in your home and there were cordless phones that could be used. There may have been cable television, but not every room had a television in it. And there definitely weren’t any sites that you could get to in order to download things such as movies and music. How do Download Sites Violate Copyright Rules? Download sites have become very popular for many people to utilize these days. It’s a lot easier to get to these download sites with wireless Internet, everyone having a tablet, smart phone, smart television and so much other technology of their own. But what many people, that do utilize these download sites don’t take into consideration, is that these very download sites they are using violate copyright rules. Download sites violate copyright rules because these sites allow people to copy and get the media from the Internet that has been copyrighted without paying for it and without gaining permission from the person that did copyright the media. When You Download Content Without Paying for It, Youre Committing a Crime Anytime there is a form of media that has been marketed or produced, those that are involved in the process of doing so, get paid from the sale of the media content that has been produced. While they are producing that media they become the owners of it and at the end of the production copyright the media. The process of copyrighting says that the media cannot be reproduced, copied or resold without the permission of those that produced this very media. No matter what format the media is in†¦ whether it is music, a movie or games; if it is copyrighted you must pay to download it. If you are getting any form of media from a site that allows downloads without paying for it, you are committing a crime. It is also a crime if you share the music, movie or game without permission from the person or people that copyrighted the media. It’s not okay to just get the media format without getting permission from the copywriter. The exact crime that is being committed is copyright in fringement. In short, you are interfering with the exclusive rights that only belong to the person that is the copyright owner. If you choose to reproduce, display, distribute or even try to perform the work that has been copyrighted and protected by the owner you are performing copyright infringement. You should also enjoy these articles: Fraternity Violence in Higher Education The Bright Sides of Academic Intellectuals We Call Nerds Violent Video Games Are Dangerous for Psychological Health Violence in Children and the Media Violence Against Female University Students As much as some don’t like to admit, there are people that are watching out for people that are committing copyright infringement by downloading media from these download sites. There are certain groups that are monitoring these sites like these ones: the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).These are groups that are put in place just to monitor the illegal download. Although these groups tend to focus a lot of their attention on universities and colleges, they also look at repeat users and track where they are. Once they see who is downloading the media that has been copyrighted, they get in touch with the university or college (if it is someone that is a student). They let them know that illegal downloading is taking place, the school then tracks the student down and the authorities can begin legal action and in a lot of cases, they will seek ramifications from the person that has downloaded from the sites ille gally. Those that aren’t students get reported to local authorities and the same actions are taken place with them as with the students. What Are the Consequences? As a result, you should pay for the illegally downloaded media. Although it may not seem like it, if you are found guilty of copyright infringement there are a lot of things that you could be facing. You could have to do up to five years in jail. There may also be fines charged to you†¦ in a lot of cases those fines could be up to $150,000 for each file that you have downloaded. And if the copyright holder decides to file a legal suit against you, you could have more legal fees that you would have to pay. These sites aren’t safe for anyone involved. You don’t want to continue to download media from these sites. If you are found, you don’t want to have to endure the consequences that may follow. Although it seems like it’s easy and that you’ll get away with it, you don’t want to take the chances that you will get caught performing this illegal act.

How to Get Your CDL in Wyoming, Nevada and New Mexico

How to Get Your CDL in Wyoming, Nevada and New Mexico This article is useful for anyone who wants to get your CDL in Wyoming, Nevada or New Mexico. If you want to learn about earning a CDL at other states, we have put together a comprehensive guide on how to get a commercial driver’s license in every state of the country. WyomingIf your vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds, or more or carries 16+ passengers (including the driver), or you transport hazardous material in an amount which must be placarded,   you are required to have a CDL.To obtain a CDL, you must  complete a series of written knowledge tests, a vision screening, and a driving skills test.Written Knowledge TestsAll written tests are multiple choice, and require a passing score of  80 percent correct. Written tests are valid for two years.You must take a written test  if:You  never been previously licensed in the United States, any U.S. Territory, Canadian Province, or GermanyYour  driving record indicates your last license has been expired, revoked, or denied for two years or longer, or your  privilege to drive has been revoked, canceled or disqualifiedYou are  upgrading your  class of license or adding any endorsementsYou are  removing the air brake restriction â€Å"L;† and you are  removing the Air Over Hydraulics restrictionIf you have  a CDL license with a hazmat endorsement â€Å"H,† you will be required to take the hazardous materials test upon transferring your  out-of-state CDL license. If you already have a  Wyoming CDL, you must  retake the hazmat test if you have not  passed the test within the previous two years.Vision ScreeningYou must receive  a vision reading of 20/40 with both eyes to pass the vision screening. If you cannot  meet this standard with or without glasses, you will have to  obtain a vision statement from an  eye doctor. If you wear contact lenses or glasses during the vision screening, you will be required to wear them at all times while d riving. A vision reading of worse than 20/40 in one eye will restrict you to intrastate driving only.Skills TestA skills test will consist of a vehicle pre-trip inspection, a basic control skills test and an over-the-road skills test. You can only take a skills tests after you have  successfully completed all applicable written tests.You must  test in a  vehicle representative of the class of license for which you are applying. Skills tests will not be conducted in a loaded commercial vehicle; simulated weight is the only thing allowed in trailer. Additionally, placarded vehicles are not allowed to be used for skills testing.The fee for a skills test is $40.Applicants for a Wyoming CDL who hold a valid U.S. Military license must pass all written tests for the class of license they currently hold.DisqualificationsWyoming law  states CDL holders may be disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle, have their license canceled, or be prohibited from obtaining a CDL if th ey are convicted of 2 or more serious moving violations in a 3-year period, which may include the following:Speeding 15 mph+Following too closelyNot posessing  a CDL or driving without a CDL on your personImproper or no endorsementsReckless drivingErratic or improper lane changeUse of cell phone OR texting while drivingYou  will have their license cancelled and will be disqualified from driving a CMV or from obtaining a CDL if convicted of:Driving under the influenceDriving with a blood alcohol of .04% or greaterLeaving the scene of an accidentDriving under suspension in a CMVDriving a motor vehicle used in a felonyNegligent operation of a CMV causing a fatalityNevadaCommercial Learner’s Permits (CLPs)Beginning in early 2016, CLPs will be administered  instead of a Commercial Driver’s License Instruction Permit (CDL IP).  To obtain a CLP, you must have a base non-commercial or commercial license. You must  have a CLP to get a CDL.A CLP is valid for 180 days, and must be held for 14 days prior to taking a skills test.Commercial Driver License  (CDL)You must have a CDL to drive a commercial motor vehicle, which is  a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle meets the following considerations:The vehicles have  a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds+, inclusive of a towed unit(s) with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 poundsThere is  a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or moreThe vehicle(s) are  designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driverThe vehicle(s) are  of any size and are used in the transportation of hazardous materials that require placardingYou must be at least 21 years old to be issued a CDL to operate a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce and to receive endorsements for passengers or hazardous materials. You must be at least 25 to receive an endorsement for vehicle co mbinations over 70 feet in length.  CDLs issued to applicants age 18 to 20 will contain Restriction R (no passengers or hazmat) and Restriction 2 (intrastate commerce only).Requirements  Ã‚  to ApplyYou must list all states where you have held any commercial or non-commercial driver’s license in the past 10 years. Your driving history in each state will be checked.Commercial drivers must meet the Residency Proof of Identity requirements for a Nevada driver’s license.You must self-certify the type of driving you do and, if needed, submit a Medical Examiner’s Certificate.  Your employer may require a physical even if the state does not.If a physical is required, you must obtain it from a physician listed in the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.New MexicoAnyone applying for a CDL Permit, a first-time Commercial License or a Commercial License renewal must have the following documentation:A state birth certificate, U.S. passport, or other proo f of lawful presence in the U.S.A Social Security CardDOT Medical Certification2  verifiable proofs of physical residency in New MexicoA valid New Mexico driver’s/CDL licenseIf  you do  not have a current, valid DOT Medical Certificate on record, you  will be required to submit a copy of your medical certificate.Knowledge TestsYou must  to pass all required CDL Knowledge Tests for the Class and/or type of vehicle you  want to operate.If you  fails any one CDL Knowledge Test, you must wait one week (7 days) from day of testing before retesting.Any applicant may take any one CDL Knowledge Test 3x within a one-year period. After failing 3x, you  must wait one year from the first time tested before retesting.No documentation of any kind and no cell phones are permitted in the test area.If you are  found cheating or committing an offense while testing, you will have your  CDL application or license disqualified for one year and must  obtain a Class D license if holding a CDL.Skills TestsThe Skills Tests, which is made up of the Pre-Trip, Basic Control Skills, and Road Testing, are administered by a third party examiner and will normally take two hours.If you  fail, you  must wait one week from the day of testing before retesting.You  may take the test 3x  within a one-year period. After the third fail, you  must wait one year from the first time tested before retesting.Each part of the Knowledge and Skills Test is graded independently. A passing score is 80% or higher

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 4

Economics - Essay Example Since they still see strong demand growth from China and other developing nations, OECD takes the hit: Unfortunately the IEA does not present this oil situation in a figure, however the one below for total primary energy demand gives us a good impression. China, India and the rest of the non-OECD world keep growing their consumption (IEA forecast, not mine!), while OECD is all but flatlining. For oil, the situation is worse. OECD share of available oil is constrained so much that it declines. The details for primary oil demand alone are in Table 1.3. The peak for OECD demand was in the period 2000-2008 and declines by 0.3% per year to 2030. Its also significant that in their report they say Non-OPEC oil supply declines from 2010. So all those arguments about technology, increasing recovery, a new Middle East in the Arctic... all amount to nothing at least in the entire Non-OPEC part of the world where all those clever western oil companies do their business. All the peak oil analysis that youve read here still suggests that the IEAs forecast is too optimistic, for both OPEC and Non-OPEC parts of the world. And the IEA whistleblower also claims that their forecasts are inflated. But a peak is still a peak, and the IEA now says that OECD oil demand is in decline and will not recover the levels prior to the financial crisis. This seems to me like a dramatic statement for the IEA to make. This official forecast from the agency representing OECD nations, now conflicts with just about every one of its individual members own forecasts (and that of just about every private enterprise). To convince decision makers of the inevitable oil decline facing us, we no longer need to refer to the online analysis by peak oil bloggers. You can simply tell your president, chief, boss and your neighbour: The IEA says our oil consumption is going down, what are you going to do about it? As a footnote, it appears that the IEA is in good company with their updated forecast.