Saturday, August 31, 2019

Learning experience Essay

When I think about â€Å"Learning Experiences,† I think of every situation someone finds themselves in as a learning experience. People have not traditionally used that phrase in relating to more formal learning interventions – i. e. classroom, but from a learner’s perspective, both formally and informally, that’s exactly what is happening: learners are experiencing something that, hopefully, results in a change in thinking, understanding, or behavior afterwards. Learning experiences are a way to think about what a learning intervention might be (i.e. – its design) in the context of desired end goals and outcomes. This can then inform our choices about how communication channels and modes, learning activities, and resources come together to best support the end goals and outcomes, and also how these channels and activities may evolve over time. Certainly in this context, a learning intervention is something that is much more than what has traditionally been thought of as â€Å"content. † In thinking about what is currently thought of as learning content, I think of something akin to a page from. a textbook (that has its doppelganger in web-based training) with which one â€Å"reads† and then â€Å"interacts† with in some way. That definition of learning content and learner interaction represents a very narrow and limited view of what a learning experience can be and usually limits the type of learning to that of recognizing or memorizing specific facts, procedures, and concepts exemplified in the deployment of web- based, self-directed individual learning experiences commonly called e-learning. Learning content can be thought of much more broadly and inclusively. This could mean that learning content could actually include not only the â€Å"whats† but the â€Å"hows† of learning. For example, learning content in the context of learning experiences could contain a collection of specific content resources, content pointers, functional tools or tool pointers, activity descriptions, and assessments that, when brought together, embody a particular pedagogical model. In fact, the reverse could also be learning content – a pedagogical model describing the types of learning resources, tools, and activities needed to achieve learning outcomes. So you could think of learning content as collections of pedagogical models and collections of resources that participate in shaping an individual’s learning experience that are aligned with learning outcomes and positive actions that stem from the experience. Another facet of learning content is the artifacts produced during the learning experience. Besides the description above, learning content models should also be collaborative or cooperative with resources and activities supporting the learners working together to produce a learning artifact. A learning artifact could  be anything based on an authentic learning activity or experience such as a model, computer code, diagram or even the ubiquitous PowerPoint presentation. As these artifacts are created and evaluated during the learning process, they then become learning resources that can be used iteratively for others in similar or more advanced experiences. These ideas allow us to merge knowledge management and single/double loop organizational learning into our concept of learning content. Conceptually, this represents a shift from the typical view of content managed by a typical content  management system, with the assumption that when content is simply presented to a learner that he or she will just â€Å"learn† from it – that somehow learning (and especially learning to do or understand) is transmitted from the content to the learner. With that view of content and of the learner’s experience, then it’s no surprise that critics of the pedagogical merits of SCORM view it as being â€Å"limited. † When I think about learning experiences in the context of this effort by ADL, I define them as a model that will allow higher order learning outcomes to be realized. This can occur by expanding on our  understanding of learning content to include specific collections of learning resources, tools, and activities guided by pedagogical models. This is sometimes conceived as a problem-based, collaborative-based approach shaped and tailored to meet specific learning goals but I believe it is even much more than that. Learning experiences as currently being thought of by ADL will be able to provide an interoperable and reusable means for design and/or self organization of learning activities that are pedagogically sound, allowing the attainment, assessment, and tracking of higher order learning outcomes.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Changes in China During the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties Essay

China’s development had started at a very early point in human history and continued to grow through millennium until the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 221. When China reunified it experienced political, social, and economical changes over a period of 700 years and 3 dynasties. Those dynasties were the Sui, Tang, and Song. The Sui Dynasty, founded by Yang Jian in 581, was responsible for unifying China for the first time in 400 years. The capital was re-established at Chang’an . Yang Jian turned Chinese religion from Confucianism to Buddhism and Daoism. The strength of both belief systems were evident as monasteries for both were built in the capital and Buddhist monks were appointed as key advisers in the government. A major accomplishment of the Sui Dynasty was the construction of the Grand Canal. The Canal linked the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers and provided for political, social, and economic uses. Politically, the Canal was used as an imperial highway for the emperor to inspect the kingdom and used as a means to rapidly deploy troops to the various provinces. The Canal was used socially for quick communications throughout the country. It also facilitated shipments of grains, rice, and other needed commodities from rural south China to the over-populated northern region. The Sui Dynasty came to an end in 618 after Emperor Sui Yangdi’s murder. Li Yuan, a general under the Sui, took control of the empire during the instability that followed the murder and established the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty began in 618 and continued to build on the accomplishments of the Sui. The main feature of the Tang was the expansion of the Chinese empire. The Dynasty expanded their influence over the area south of the Yangtze River and took control of Tibet. The Xinjiang province was established in the northwestern section of the empire. Significant diplomatic and economic relations began between China and other country-states in Southeast Asia. Chang’an had been restored to its former self as the population numbered 2,000,000 and goods from all over the world were bountiful. The Tang reintroduced civil service exams to the empire. The candidates for civil service were all male and came from the rural gentry class. Those who successfully completed the exam were referred to as scholar-gentry. Buddhism’s influence rose even more during the Tang and helped China reached a pinnacle for poetry and sculpture. Silk Road trade increased dramatically under the Tang, although maritime trade still played a critical role in the empire’s economy. Even through all of these accomplishments, the Tang created their own demise. Various problems arose from inside the central government and eventually lead to a revolt. The revolution was suppressed but China never fully recovered. The government control of the landlords had significantly weakened and the nomads north of China saw their opportunity to invade. These factors along with a speculated drought lead to the end of the Tang Dynasty in 907. China entered a period of turmoil after the end of the Tang Dynasty, similar to the period that occurred in between the Han and Sui Dynasties. The only difference is that the period after the Tang did not last as long. In 960, Song Taizu managed to sign the majority of the military commanders that brought an end to the Tang into a cooperative agreement. The commanders in the northwestern region and in Tibet did not take part in the cooperative. China lost its control over Tibet as a result. Song Taizu decided to move the capital to Kaifeng to decrease the risk of a hostile takeover of the capital. The Khitan people from the north were unable to be contained which lead to Song Taizu moving the capital again, this time further south to Hangzhou. Civil service exams initiated during the Tang came to full fruition under the Song. Buddhism lost its power and influence to give rise to State Confucianism. Private commerce was a major aspect of the Song Dynasty and allowed for greater economic expansion and prosperity. All was well until the Jurchen from Manchuria forced the Song Dynasty to pay tributes. As a means of protection and retaliation against the Jurchen, the Song formed an alliance with the nomadic people from the Gobi Desert, the Mongols. After the Mongols defeated the Jurchen they turned their attention towards and conquered the Song Dynasty in 1279. The Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties built on top of each other for a better version of traditional China. They also each single-handedly made a contribution to the development of the country as a whole. The Sui had the Great Canal, the Tang developed the diplomatic relations, and the Song expanded economically. All of three dynasties and their accomplishments helped lay the ground for today’s China.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Skunk Hour

Elizabeth Bishop’s â€Å"The Armadillo† and Robert Lowell’s â€Å"Skunk Hour† are dedicated to one another not simply out of friendship, but because each poet imitates each other’s style and alludes to the other’s key personal traits. While Bishop comments on her friend Lowell’s rage against humanity’s cruelty, Lowell writes of Bishop’s isolation and inner darkness, yet also a resilience to persevere. Written first, â€Å"The Armadillo† describes a celebration in which fire balloons are illegally set aloft, only to fall and burn animals’ homes.The poem moves from describing something apparently delightful, as the balloons â€Å"flush and fill with light / that comes and goes, like hearts† to a suddenly violent scene of the burst balloon burning an owls’ nest, frightening the birds from their home. As it burns, an armadillo and baby rabbit flee the scene. Scholar Penelope Laurens writes: â€Å" Bishop dedicated this poem to Robert Lowell, who became a conscientious objector when the Allied command began fire-bombing German cities.Bishop’s poem points directly to these fire bombings, which wreaked the same kind of horrifying destruction on a part of our universe that the fire balloons wreak on the animals† (â€Å"On ‘The Armadillo’†). The seemingly beautiful balloons become something ugly – â€Å"falling fire and piercing cry† – and the armadillo seems to symbolize Lowell, the â€Å"weak mailed fist† clenched against the war’s cruelty. However, it is less about his anti-war stance than about Bishop’s appreciation for Lowell’s ability to write beautifully even about ugly, harsh subjects.According to scholar Bonnie Costello, â€Å"The Armadillo† â€Å"has been read as a critique of his way of making art out of suffering . . . [but here] she dramatizes this aesthetic distance and the inev itable return to the rage of the suffering body† (â€Å"On ‘The Armadillo’†). Indeed, Bishop moves from a detached description of the balloons on strictly aesthetic terms and makes their effects dramatic and personal, with a sort of quiet anger at the cruelty of their effects.In response, Lowell playfully alludes to her as the â€Å"hermit heiress† with a bishop for a son (indeed, Bishop was childless and reclusive), and the â€Å"fairy decorator† seems a nod to Bishop’s homosexuality, but these figures matter far less than the skunk at the end. As Bishop acknowledged Lowell’s gesture against warfare, Lowell pays tribute to Bishop’s view of the world around her – not as quaint and antiquated, as the first stanzas suggest, but also as a decaying place, but also one where life continues nonetheless.Lowell himself claimed, â€Å"The first four stanzas are meant to give a dawdling more or less amiable picture of a decl ining Maine sea town . . . [but then] all comes alive in stanzas V and VI. This is the dark night . . . not gracious, but secular, puritan, and agnostical† (â€Å"On ‘Skunk Hour’†). The skunks seem a symbol of humanity, carrying on despite the unnamed malaise, much like the armadillo symbolizes Lowell’s gesture against cruelty.Here, Lowell identifies with Bishop; Steven Gould Axelrod writes that Lowell â€Å"personifies that disease . . . [and] is as isolated and demented as the heiress, as fallen as the ruined millionaire, and as loveless and artistically failed as the decorator† (â€Å"On ‘Skunk Hour’†). A sense of self-loathing and inner darkness permeates the poem, implying that Lowell sees these in Bishop. However, the skunk at the end â€Å"will not scare,† making its way despite the world around it.These two poems comment on their subjects’ personal traits and outlooks, using symbols to describe each ot her. Bishop’s armadillo, a small, clenched being in the midst of chaos, pays tribute to Lowell’s antiwar stance, while the Lowell’s skunk, which moves furtively in its decaying New England setting, acknowledges Bishop’s sense of despair but also her tenacity and willingness to persevere as both person and artist. REFERENCES Anonymous. â€Å"On ‘The Armadillo. ’† 2000. Modern American Poetry.18 March 2006. . ________. â€Å"On ‘Skunk Hour’. † 2000. Modern American Poetry. 18 March 2006. . ________. â€Å"The Armadillo. † 1997. The Academy of American Poets. 18 March 2006. . ________. â€Å"Skunk Hour. † 1997. The Academy of American Poets. 18 March 2006. .

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Museum Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Museum Assignment - Essay Example A tablet known as a cuneiform was majorly used for this purpose to keep records of special events like marriage or even some form of certificate (Cunningham & Reich 345). Generally, the art is classified according to various historical periods the first of which is the Achaemenid Persian empire between 550-330 B.C where art was mainly carvings of animals and gods. This was followed by the Akkadian period between 2900-2350 B.C and art was done on a tablet almost resembling cuneiform tablet done by the majority population of Semites in the region. The last major historical art development was in the 3rd millennium B.C, it was more civilized and in some cases, art was done on metal. The items are preserved in museums like the metropolitan art museum consisting of pottery, bronze horse-like art and even silver vessels. The sculptures were not just for aesthetic purposes, but were also for other purposes (Winter 432). For instance, we have looked at it as a way of storing information and such information are likened by the author as current text books used in schools for educational purposes. Both Winter (543) and Stockstad (31) agree on pieces of art as being important sources of historical happenings. In the near east, they are used to depict civilization for example the improvement from utilizing wood to metal. The kind of art changed from horse carts and animal labor to a more improved form of transport in the near east. Art keeps evolving and is an important source of intrigue in different

Insurance And Joint Law Commission Proposals Essay

Insurance And Joint Law Commission Proposals - Essay Example In order to uphold such contracts, insurance is guided by Insurance Contract Law that defines the relationship between an insured and insurer. Insurance contract law in the United Kingdom has for a long time been considered outdated (Netherway, 2012). For instance, the Marine Insurance Act (MIA) was created and passed in 1906 and has not been reviewed. Nevertheless, there are major developments in motor and aviation insurances, business globalization, development of the property, and the recent natural disasters have demanded serious and extensive reforms, especially within the insurance contract law. In order to appraise the Joint Law Commission proposals for the reform of the law relating to business insurance, considering further the case for differential treatment of Micro-businesses, the following discussion demonstrates solid understanding of the theory and practice of insurance. In addition, the discussion demonstrates sound understanding of key issues pertaining to the law of the insurance. Lastly, the paper provides a critical appraisal of Joint Law Commission proposals before winding up with a summary of the main points. Insurance is a contract where risk financing is attainable through pooling of risks. Insurance is a form of risk management practices within firms, entities, and amongst various individuals (Lawcommission.justice.gov.uk, 2012). Insurance services, though auxiliary, are aimed at reducing the adverse financial impact that firms, entities, and individuals meet in the event of an occurrence of risks (Smith, 2012). Therefore, insurance within the global arena is a vital element especially with respect to financial planning. UK insurance law that defines and regulates contracts between insured and insurers made several proposals (Hamilton, 1995).

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Internal Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internal Auditing - Essay Example Beyond the intent to commit a fraud intentionally to mislead shareholders and investors, accountants and top executives of a company can sometimes commit unintentional mistakes through a wrong interpretation of an accounting rule. This is why it is terribly important that auditors, accountants, chief executive officers and chief finance officers set the tone for an ethical working environment from start. There are many ways to commit wrongdoing in the accounting profession and the line between what is perfectly legal and an action that borders on the illegal is a very thin one. It is easy to cross over to the illegal side. In relation to this paper, accounting frauds are committed mostly by top executives of a company since they have access to the records and have a good view of how to manipulate the figures to suit their objectives to the detriment of stockholders. In other words, those in positions of trust and least suspected are the ones who commit fraud and it takes an average of two years before a crime is uncovered, sometimes accidentally only. An alarming 9% only of all frauds are discovered by external auditors (who are very good in forensic auditing), 20% discovered by accident and 46% uncovered due to tips given by the whistle blowers. The remainder of accounting frauds goes undetected, perhaps forever. Accountants are required by their professional associations to undertake continuing professional education (CPE) units to retain and renew their licenses. One of the subjects in CPE is a module on accounting ethics. The two most common problematic situations which accountants and auditors frequently encounter during the course of their work are conflict of interest and confidentiality of privileged information. This was what Cynthia Cooper had been dealing with since she was both a certified public accountant (CPA) and the certified internal auditor (CIA) of WorldCom. Her

Monday, August 26, 2019

Hunger Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hunger - Term Paper Example Animals that have lesions in ventromedial hypothalamus become obese. Further studies revealed that even though these hypothalamic centers are crucial in managing hunger and satiety, they are not absolutely responsible for the hunger behavior. Environmental factors considerably affect hunger or food intake. Pregastric Factors are also crucial here. Visual appearance of food and taste or odor of food influence hunger and food intake. Learned aversions and preferences also affect food intake. Psychological factors like  sadness, fear, anxiety, depression, happiness and social interactions can also influence food intake. Gastrointestinal and Postabsorptive factors also control hunger and eating behavior. The amount of gastrointestinal fill is a key factor that describes the behavior of digestive tract. A full intestine or a full stomach brings satiety. This is through the vagus nerve that sends the information back to the hypothalamus. Apart from that, the enteric hormone cholecystokin in is set to stimulate satiety. When nutrients like amino acids and glucose are properly absorbed, their levels rise in blood. This also makes the hormone levels increase in concentration in blood. Concentrations of hormones like insulin, glucagons and cholecystokinin increase. These changes influence the feeling of hunger and satiety. Obesity is considered genetic to a certain extent. Not every obesity case is caused by genetics. Overeating and lack of exercise can cause obesity. There are several other factors that cause obesity. However, the chief culprit of obesity is genetics. Relation between genetics and obesity has been proved by a research performed on twins who were brought up in different places. The research analyzed the influence of environmental factors and genetic factors that influence obesity. Studies brought the results that genetic factors account for more than forty percent of obesity reasons in children and adults. Even though genetic factors are not

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Evolutionary Theory of Aging Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Evolutionary Theory of Aging - Essay Example The following discussions will try to illustrate the different theories that have been suggested to explain how these changes take place. The following discussions would be a on the different theories as they try to explain how the genes responsible aging evolved overtime. Evolutionary theory of aging is one of the widely used theories to explain aging of individual animals. According Weismann (1999), evolutionary theory of aging is relevant as it gives clear account of evolution of individuals with respect to the aging of the cells that are possessed by those particular individuals. He also argues that the most important aspect of evolutionary theory is that it gives an account of the possible evolutions of the cells that may result into the death of the cells or reduced performance and hence increases their susceptibility to death. Several researches that have been done by different researchers hence however reveled that it is difficult for this theory to contradict the Darwin†™s theory of evolution. ... In this context, the genetic materials that are supposed to play vital part during this time are lost and hence the negative impact begins. For example, the replacement of the tissues and other body parts may be done but the coding system may not take place accordingly and hence this result to the production of cells and the appearance of old tissues. The other important aspect of this model is also the appearance of the late acting genes that are harmful to the genetic system. It is important to note that it is these late harmful genes that contribute to the aging processes. It is believed that these genes interfere with the processes of normal functioning of individuals and hence it is difficult for the normal genes to act accordingly. Whether the lack of the late acting genes or the dangerous late acting genes, the main idea of this model is that the initiation of the aging process takes place as a result of complication in the late acting genes within individuals. While it is a s trong point to explain the aging process in theory, the question that remains unexplained is that the initial process that initiates aging is not well explained. In this context, it is clear that the process does start as a result of genetic complication. However, the theory remains dormant on the sources as this is not explained why these genes do not occur on the young people or those who have only lived for few years. However, this model has strength in explaining the genetic problem which is more explanatory to the practical aspect of aging. The other model is that which was suggested by William assert that the aging that occurs to individuals takes place as a result of pleiotropic effect from the genes. It is believed that these genes are beneficial in the early years but

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Arguing about the risk of investment in a certain kind of stock Essay

Arguing about the risk of investment in a certain kind of stock - Essay Example Since stocks are considered as most volatile and risky investments, therefore, to make an investment into any stock requires considerable analysis and exploration of different factors which may have a direct or indirect impact on the stock prices. Since 2007, overall activity in the stock markets has been depressed due to different factors and currently the markets are suffering due to sovereign debt crisis in EU zone. (Elliott). Despite such economic uncertainty and decline in economic activity, there are sectors which are booming and can provide one of the most lucrative investment avenues to the investors. Stocks like Facebook, semi-conductor industry stocks, as well as 3M are some of the stocks which can provide real benefits to the investors at every level. It is also, however, important to note that the personal risk and return preferences are always individual and remain as an individual decision. This paper will discuss the risks involved in the stocks such as Facebook, NXP a nd 3M, as well as will explore as to how the risks may emerge and how investors can actually invest into such stocks. Stocks Investment Before discussing the different stocks, it is important to provide a general introduction to the stock investment and how they can be approached from the investment point of view. Historically, the returns on the stocks, as well as bonds remained volatile; however, stocks have returned more over the period of time. It is also critical to note that the bonds are considered as safer investments because they hold the preference over the stocks and the bondholders are paid fixed interest income over the period of bond maturity. It becomes the obligation of the bond issuers to pay regular interest over the period of the bond and return the principal at the end. However, this is not the case with the stocks and the shareholders are not paid any principal at the end neither they are guaranteed that they will be paid regular dividends. These characteristics of the stocks, therefore, make them risky and investors can only invest into them if they believe and understand the overall risks involved. It is critical to note that stockholders, however, are given the ownership into the firms and they can also participate into the overall decision making for the firm (Siegel). The value, return and risks on the stocks, therefore, are relatively unique and different and need expertise and certain degree of business acumen to decide as to whether to invest or not. Facebook Shares World is experiencing a new internet boom and internet websites are becoming one of the hottest investment avenues for the investors. Different types of websites and services such as Facebook, Google, Zynga have been able to attract huge attention of the investors due to the sheer potential of growth involved in them. Recently Zynga, one of the leading makers of social games, launched its IPO and was successfully oversubscribed by the investors in the global markets (Ra ice and Randall). Such receptivity towards these types of stocks, therefore, suggests that the investors are ready to understand the risks involved into dot com companies and are also willing to assume them. Facebook Inc. is the leading social networking site with millions of active users who use Facebook every day. What is important to note, that the overall user base of the site is global and as such it has global

Friday, August 23, 2019

President George Washington's Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

President George Washington's Childhood - Essay Example These critical years laid a foundation for the greater tasks that awaited him later. George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington, had high ambitions. He owned slaves, land, practiced tobacco farming, built mills and dealt with iron mines. He married George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball in 1731 after the death of his first wife, Jane Butler in 1729 who had left behind three children. George Washington was the first born of the six children born by Mary Ball. Their family was prosperous, and among the top middle class of Virginia (Freeman, Alexander & Ashworth, 2007). George Washington spent most of his youth on Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River, Virginia. Little is known about his childhood. However, a widely held notion is that George Washington was home schooled between the ages five and fifteen, and attended sexton classes at a nearby church. Career wise, George Washington first worked as a teacher of Math, Geography, English, and Latin classics. This was important as it prepared him for future leadership roles. His interaction with supervisors in plantations and backwoodsmen made him more knowledgeable. He had learnt surveying, tobacco growing and stock rising by the time he was a teenager. At the age of eleven, he lost his father and so lived with Lawrence, his half-brother, who brought him up in a commendable way. Here, he received schooling in the colonial culture under the directions of Lawrence’s wife, Anne Fairfax. At the age of sixteen, George was part of a surveying group that plotted land in the Western territory of Virginia. In 1749, Lord Fairfax appointed George, to be the official surveyor of Culpeper, Augusta, and Frederick Counties. The two years’ experience as a surveyor made George a strong and resourceful man, both physically and psychologically. This also enhanced his interest in land buying, which prevailed for the rest of his life, as he bought large pieces of land and

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Islamic Women Essay Example for Free

Islamic Women Essay At the beginning of the 21st century, many Islamic women are deprived equal rights with men suffered from oppression and family violence. The example of Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia show that violence and abuse are still the major problems faced by Islamic women. The main problem is that law in Islamic communities does not come into force being violated. In many communities women are not legally protected and have no possibility to protect themselves: sexual, physical and emotional violence are the major weapon of intimidation of women. In some communities, family violence is a result of traditions and values as an integral part of cultural development. In contrast to India and Indonesia, in Saudi Arabia women have no rights and freedom of choice. The main problem is that in Saudi Arabia rights of women are constitutionally granted by most of them do not come into force and violated. â€Å"Like millions of other Saudi women, Munif hoped she would be allowed to vote since nothing in the law excludes it. But after a year of debate, the government told women to wait† (Women Speak Out In Saudi Arabia, 2005). Today, the main rights of women in India and Indonesia concern birth control, civil rights, education and work. Today, individual freedom of American women means much more than the absence of physical coercion but an equal social status. Still, similar to Saudi Arabia women, many women in India and Indonesia suffer from domestic violence and sexual abuse. Indonesian women are the most unprotected category which experiences violence within the institution of marriage. Among this group of women sexual abuse and physical violence are the main forms of humiliation and oppression. Similar to Saudi Arabia, in Indonesia women have constitutional rights, but face discriminated. Similar to India, Indonesians have job opportunities and high social status than women in Saudi Arabia. â€Å"Compared to the lives of their mothers, sisters and even brothers who stayed in the village these factory women have gained a strong advantage in terms of wages and conditions† (Indonesia, n. d). In Saudi Arabia women are not legally protected and have no possibility to protect themselves. Women have no equal opportunities with men in pay and work conditions. Most of them take low administrative positions or considered as common labor. In Saudi Arabia, religion dogmas and values play the dominant role determining the destiny of a woman and her social position. In contrast to Indonesia and India, in Islamic countries women deprived the right to use contraception and safe abortions. The main problem caused absence of freedom and rights is that abuse is the part of the culture. In India, â€Å"among Hindus, polygamy too was rampant† (Bhandare 2004). In contrast to Islamic countries, India accepts liberal laws and regulations which give women more rights and freedoms. The main preventive measures against family violence include social programs organized by women’s organizations, legislative initiatives accepted in the national level, petitions, publicity. In Saudi Arabia, women are still lived under double oppression, cultural and legal. Similar to Indonesian women, Indian women have a right to divorce, but in reality it takes a long time and a long legal battle while men can divorce at will in a short period of time. Also, there is a great threat for a woman not to receive children because she does not have a possibility to earn for living. Women in India and Indonesia are deprived of many rights and freedom, but they are free to choose their work, receive education and divorce. In contrast to these groups, Saudi Arabia women are deprived these rights living under state and family oppression. â€Å"For instance, events like a soccer match are strictly for men. In public, there are separate sections where they eat, where they work, and where they pray† (Women Speak Out, 2005). In sum, Women in India and Indonesia are free to choose profession and work conditions, broad employment opportunities and equitable wages; they have equal rights with men to be promoted and appraised. The examples of women in Saudi Arabia show that specific gender roles determine the way of living and cultural norms of several generations of people and strong enough to be changed in a short period of time. Works Cited Page 1. Bhandare, M. C. Women’s rights and wrongs. 2004. Available at: http://www. expressindia. com/fullstory. php? newsid=34277 2. Indonesia. N. d. Available at: http://www. onlinewomeninpolitics. org/indon/indodoc. htm 3. Women Speak Out In Saudi Arabia. Available at: http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2005/03/23/60minutes/main682565. shtml.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Morning in Nagrebcan by Manuel E. Arguilla Essay Example for Free

Morning in Nagrebcan by Manuel E. Arguilla Essay (1) It was sunrise at Nagrebcan. (2) The fine, bluish mist, low over the tobacco fields, was lifting and thinning moment by moment. A ragged strip of mist, pulled away by the morning breeze, had caught on the c umps of bamboo along the banks of the stream that flowed to one side of the barrio. (3) Before long the sun would top the Katayaghan hills, but as yet no people were around. In the grey shadow of the hills, the barrio was gradually awaking. Roosters crowed and strutted on the ground while hens hesitated on their perches among the branches of the camanchile trees. Stray goats nibbled · the weeds on the sides of the road, and the bull carabaos tugged restively against their stakes. (4) In the early morning the puppies lay curled up together between their mother’s paws under the ladder of the house. Four puppies were all white like the mother. They had pink noses and pink eyelids and pink mouths. The skin between their toes and on the inside of their large, limp ears was pink. They had short sleek hair, for the mother licked them often. The fifth puppy lay across the mothers neck. On the puppys back was a big black spot like a saddle. The tips of its ears were black and so was a patch of hair on its chest. (5) The opening of the sawali door, its uneven bottom dragging noisily against the bamboo flooring, aroused the mother dog and she got up and stretched and shook herself, scattering dust and loose white hair. A rank doggy smell rose in the cool morning air. (6) She took a quick leap forward, clearing the puppies which had begun to whine about her, wanting to suckle. She trotted away and disappeared beyond the house of a neighbor. (7) The puppies sat back on their rumps, whining. After a little while they lay down and went back to sleep, the black-spotted puppy climbing on top of the Four. (8) Baldo stood at the threshold and rubbed his sleep-heavy eyes with his fists. He must have been about ten years old, small for his age, but compactly built, and he stood straight on his bony legs. He wore one of his fathers discarded cotton undershirts. (9) The boy descended the ladder, leaning heavily on the single bamboo railing that served as a banister. He sat on the lowest step of the ladder, yawning and rubbing his eyes one after the other. (10) Bending down, he reached between his legs for the black-spotted puppy. He held it to him, stroking its soft, warm body. (11) He blew on its nose. The puppy stuck out a small red tongue, lapping the air. It whined eagerly. Baldo laughed a low gurgle. (12) He rubbed his face against that of the dog. He said softly, My puppy. My puppy. He said it many times. (13) The puppy licked his ears, his cheeks. When it licked his mouth, Baldo straightened up, raised the puppy on a level with his eyes. (14) You are a foolish puppy, he said, laughing. Foolish, foolish, foolish, he said, rolling the puppy on his lap so that it howled. (15) The four other puppies awoke and came scrambling about Baldos legs. He put down the black-spotted puppy and ran to the narrow foot bridge of woven split-bamboo spanning the roadside ditch. (16) When it rained, water from the roadway flowed under the makeshift bridge, but it had not rained for a long time and the ground was dry and sandy. (17) Baldo sat on the bridge, digging his bare feet into the sand, feeling the cool particles escaping between his toes. He whistled a toneless whistle with a curious trilling to it produced by placing the tongue against the lower teeth and then curving it up and down. (18) The whistle excited the puppies; they ran to the boy as fast as their unsteady legs could carry them, barking choppy little barks. (19) Nana Elang, the mother of Baldo, now appeared in the doorway with handful of rice straw. She called Baldo and told him to get some live c Is from their neighbor. (20) Get two or three burning coals and bring them home on the rice straw, she said. Do not wave the straw in the wind. If you do, it will catch fire b ore you get home. (21) She watched him run toward Ka Ikaos house where already smoke was rising through the nipa roofing into the misty air. (22) One 0 two empty carromatas drawn by sleepy little ponies rattled along the pebbly street, bound for the railroad station. (23) Nana Elang must have been thirty, but she looked at least fifty. She was a thin, wispy woman, with bony hands and arms. She had scanty, with straight, graying hair which she gathered behind her head in a small, tight knot. It made her look thinner than ever. Her cheekbones seemed on the point of bursting through the dry, yellowish-brown skin. (24) Above a gray-checkered skirt, she wore a single wide-sleeved cotton blouse that ended below her flat breasts. Sometimes when she stooped or reached up for anything, a glimpse of the flesh at her waist showed in a dark, purplish band where the skirt had been tied so often. (25) She turned from the doorway into the small, untidy kitchen. (26) She washed the rice and put it in a pot which she placed on the cold stove. She made ready the other pot for the mess of vegetables and dried fish. (27) When Baldo came back with the rice straw and burning coals, she told him to start a fire in the stove, while she cut the ampalaya tendrils and sliced the eggplants. (28) When the fire finally flamed inside the clay stove, Baldos eyes were smarting from the smoke of the rice straw. (29) There is the fire, mother, he said. Is father awake already? (30) Nana Elang shook her head. Baldo went out slowly on tiptoe. (31) There were already many people going out. Several fishermen wearing coffee-colored shirts and trousers and hats made from the shell of white pumpkins passed by. The smoke of their home-made cigars floated behind them like shreds of the morning mist. (32) Women carrying big empty baskets were going to the tobacco fields. They walked fast, talking among themselves. Each woman had gathered the loose folds of her skirt in front and, twisting the end two or three times, passed it between her legs, pulling it up at the back, and slipping it inside her waist. The women seemed to be wearing trousers that reached only to their knees and flared at the thighs. (33) Day was quickly growing older. The east flamed redly and Baldo called to his mother, Look, mother, God also cooks his breakfast. (34) He went to play with the puppies. He sat on the bridge and took them on his lap one by one. He searched for fleas which he crushed between his thumbnails. (35) You, puppy. You, puppy, he murmured softly. (36) When he held the black-spotted puppy, he said, My puppy. My puppy. (37) Ambo, his seven-year old brother, awoke crying. Nana Elang could be heard patiently calling him to the kitchen. Later he came down with a ripe banana in his hand. (38) Ambo was almost as tall as his older brother and he had stout husky legs. Baldo often called him the son of an Igorot. The home-made cotton shirt he wore was variously stained. The pocket was torn, and it flipped down. He ate the banana without peeling it. (39) You foolish boy, remove the skin, Baldo said. I will not, Ambo said. (40) It is not your banana. He took a big bite and swallowed it with exaggerated relish. (41) But the skin is tart. It tastes bad. (42) You are not eating it, Ambo said. The rest of the banana vanished in his mouth. (43) He sat beside Baldo and both played with the puppies. (44) The mother dog had not yet returned and the puppies were becoming hungry and restless. They sniffed the hands of Ambo, licked his fingers. They tried to scramble up his breast to lick his mouth, but he brushed them down. (45) Baldo laughed. He held the black-spotted puppy closely, fondled it lovingly. (46) My puppy, he said. My puppy. (47) Ambo played with the other puppies, but he soon grew tired of them. He wanted the black-spotted one. He sidled close to Baldo and put out a hand to caress the puppy nestling contentedly in the crook of his brothers arm. (48) But Baldo struck the hand away. (49) Dont touch my puppy, he said. My puppy. (50) Ambo begged to be allowed to hold the black-spotted puppy. But Baldo said he would not let him hold the black-spotted puppy because he would not peel the banana. (51) Ambo then said that he would obey his older brother next time, for all time. (52) Baldo would not believe him; he refused to let him touch the puppy. (53) Ambo rose to his feet. He looked longingly at the black-spotted puppy in Baldos arms. (54) Suddenly he bent down and tried to snatch the puppy away. (55) But Baldo sent him sprawling in the dust with a deft push. (56) Ambo did not cry. He came up with a fistful of sand which he flung in his brothers face. But as he started to run away, Baldo thrust out his leg and tripped him. (57) In complete silence, Ambo slowly got up from the dust, getting to his feet with both hands full of sand which again he cast at his older brother. (58) Baldo put down the puppy and leaped upon Ambo. Seeing the black-spotted puppy waddling away, Ambo turned around and made a dive for  it. Baldo saw his intention in time and both fell on the puppy which began to howl loudly, struggling to get away. Baldo cursed Ambo and screamed at him as they grappled and rolled in the sand. (59) Ambo kicked and bit and scratched without a sound. He got hold of Baldo’s hair and tugged with all his might. (60) They rolled over and over and then Baldo was sitting on Ambos back, pummeling him with his fists. He accompanied every blow with a curse. (61) I hope you die, you little demon, he said between sobs, for he was crying and he could hardly see. (62) Ambo wriggled and struggled and tried to bite Baldos legs. Failing, he buried his face in the sand and howled lustily. (63) Nana Elang called out in her tired, patient voice that if they didn’t stop their noise, they’d wake up their father and he’d whip them (64) Baldo now left him and ran to the black-spotted puppy which he caught up in his arms, holding it against his throat. (65) Ambo followed, crying out threats and curses. He grabbed the tail of the puppy and jerked hard. (66) The puppy howled shrilly and Baldo let it go, but Ambo kept hold of the tail as the dog fell to the ground. (67) It turned around and snapped at the hand holding its tail. Its sharp little teeth sank into the fleshy edge of Ambos palm. (68) With a cry, Ambo snatched away his hand from the mouth of the enraged puppy. (69) At that moment the window of the house facing the street was pushed  violently open and the boys father, Tang Ciaco, looked out. (70) He saw the blood from the tooth marks on Ambos hand. He called out inarticulately and the two brothers looked up in surprise and fear. (71) Ambo hid his bitten hand behind him. (72) Baldo stopped to pick up the black-spotted puppy, but Tang Ciaco shouted hoarsely to him not to touch the dog. (73) At Tang Ciacos angry voice, the puppy had crouched back snarling, its pink lips drawn back, the hair on its back rising. (74) The dog has gone mad, the man cried, coming down hurriedly. (75) By the stove in the kitchen, he stopped to get a sizeable piece of firewood, throwing an angry look and a curse at Nana Elang for letting her sons play with the dogs. He removed a splinter or two, then hurried down the ladder, cursing in a loud angry voice. (76) Nana Elang ran to the doorway and stood there silently fingering her skirt. (77) Baldo and Ambo awaited the coming of their father with fear written on their faces. (78) Baldo hated his father as much as he feared him. He watched him now with half a mind to flee as Tang Ciaco approached with the piece of firewood held firmly in one hand. (79) He a big, gaunt man with thick bony wrists and stoop shoulders. A short-sleeved cotton shirt revealed his sinewy arms on which the blood-vessels stood out like roots. His short pants showed his bony-kneed, hard-muscled legs covered with black hair. (80) He was a carpenter. He had come home drunk the night before. He was not an habitual drunkard, but now and then he drank great quantities of basi and came home and beat his wife and children. (81) He would blame them for their hard life and poverty. You are a prostitute, he would roar at his wife, and as he beat his children, he would shout, I will kill you both, you bastards. (82) If Nana Elang ventured to remonstrate, he would beat them harder and curse her for being an interfering whore. (83) I am king in my house, he would say. (84) Now as he approached the two, Ambo cowered behind his elder brother. He held onto Baldos undershirt, keeping his wounded hand at his back, unable to remove his gaze from his fathers close-set, red-specked eyes. (85) The puppy with a yelp slunk between Baldos legs. Baldo looked at the dog, avoiding his fathers eyes. (86) Tang Ciaco roared at them to get away from the dog: Fools! Dont you see it is mad? (87) Baldo laid a hand on Ambo as they moved back hastily. (88) He wanted to tell his father it was not true, the dog was not mad, it was all Ambos fault, but his tongue refused to move. The puppy attempted to follow them, but Tang Ciaco caught it with a sweeping blow of the piece of firewood. The puppy was flung into the air. It rolled over once before it fell, howling weakly. (89) Again the chunk of firewood descended, Tang Ciaco grunting with the effort he put into the blow, and the puppy ceased to howl. It lay on its side, feebly moving its jaws from which dark blood oozed. (90) Once more Tang Ciaco raised his arm, but Baldo suddenly clung to it with both hands and begged him to stop. (91) Enough, father, enough. Dont beat it anymore, he entreated. Tears flowed down his upraised face. (92) Tang Ciaco shook him off with an oath. Baldo fell on his face in the dust. He did not rise, but cried and sobbed and tore his hair. The rays of the rising sun fell brightly upon him, turned to gold the dust that he raised with his kicking feet. (93) Tang Ciaco dealt the battered puppy another blow and at last it lay limpy still. He kicked it over and watched for a sign of life. The puppy did not move where it lay twisted on its side. (94) He turned his attention to Baldo. (95) Get up, he said, hoarsely, pushing the boy with his foot. (96) Baldo was deaf. He went on crying and kicking in the dust. (97) Tang Ciaco struck him with the piece of wood in his hand and again told him to get up. (98) Baldo writhed and cried harder, clasping his hands over the back of his head. (99) Tang Ciaco took hold of one of the boys arms and jerked him to his feet. Then he began to beat him, regardless of where the blows fell. (100) Baldo encircled his head with his loose arm and strove to free himself, running around his father, plunging backward, ducking and twisting. (101) Shameless son of a whore, Tang Ciaco roared. Stand still, Ill teach you to obey me. (102) He shortened his grip on the arm of Baldo and laid on his blows. (103) Baldo fell to his knees, screaming for mercy. He called on his mother to help him. (104) Nana Elang came down, but she hesitated at the foot of the ladder. (105) Ambo ran to her. (106) You too, Tang Ciaco cried, and struck at the fleeing Ambo. (107) The piece of firewood caught him behind the knees and he fell on his face. (108) Nana Elang ran to the fallen boy and picked him up, brushing his clothes with her hands to shake off the dust. (109) Tang Ciaco pushed Baldo toward her. (110) The boy tottered forward weakly, dazed and trembling. He had ceased to cry aloud, but he shook with hard, spasmodic sobs which he tried vainly to stop. (111) Here take your child, Tang Ciaco said, thickly. (112) He faced the curious students and neighbors who had gathered by the side of the road. He yelled at them to go away. He said it was none of their business if he killed his children. (113) They are mine, he shouted. I feed them and I can do anything I like with them. (114) The students ran hastily to school.The neighbors returned to their work. (115) Tang Ciaco went to the house, cursing in a loud voice. Passing the dead puppy, he picked it up by its hind legs and flung it away. (116) The black and white body soared through the sunlit air; fell among the tall corn behind the house. (117) Tang Ciaco, still cursing and grumbling, strode upstairs. He threw the chunk of firewood beside the stove. He squatted by the low table and began eating the breakfast his wife had prepared for him. (118) Nana Elang knelt by her children and dusted their clothes. (119) She passed her hand over the red welts on Baldo, but Baldo shook himself away. He was still trying to stop sobbing, wiping his tears away with his forearm. (120) Nana Elang put one arm around Ambo. She sucked the wound in his hand. She was crying silently. (121) When the mother of the puppies returned, she licked the remaining four by the small bridge of woven split bamboo. She lay down in the dust and suckled her young. She did not seem to miss the black-spotted puppy. (122) Afterward Baldo and Ambo searched among the tall corn for the body the dead puppy. (123) Tang Ciaco had gone to work and would not be back till nightfall. (124) In the house, Nana Elang was busy washing the breakfast dishes. Later she came down and fed the mother dog. (125) The two brothers were entirely hidden by the tall corn plants. As they moved about among the slender stalks, the corn-flowers shook agitatedly. Pollen scattered like gold dust in the sun, falling on the  fuzzy · green leaves. (126) When they found the dead dog, they buried it in one corner of the field. Baldo dug the grove with a sharp-pointed stake. Ambo stood silently by, holding the dead puppy. When Baldo finished his work, he and his brother gently placed the puppy in the hole. (127) Then they covered the dog with soft earth and stamped on the grave until the disturbed ground was flat and hard again. (128) With difficulty they rolled a big stone on top of the grave. (129) Then Baldo wound an arm around the shoulders of Ambo and without a word they hurried up to the house. (130) The sun had risen high above the Katayaghan hills, and warm, golden sunlight filled Nagrebcan. The mist on the tobacco fields had completely dissolved.

Effective Leadership Styles of School Principles

Effective Leadership Styles of School Principles In order to be effective, schools require skilled leaders. The role of the principal is the key to a schools ability to meet the needs of the teacher it serves. However, the impact and the influence a principal has on teacher commitment is not a simple relationship. Principals in todays schools require the person in the position to carry out a countless number of functions as well act in a variety of different roles. As DeLucca, et al. (1997) found, the literature on educational leadership clearly emphasizes that the principal is a highly complex and demanding role (p. 105). Fullan (1991) described the changing role of the principals over the past two decades as becoming dramatically more complex (p. 144). The study of transformational leadership in the context of principals school leadership is relatively new. Building upon the work of Burns (1978), Bass (1985), and Bass and Avolio (1994), Leithwood (1994) developed a transformational model of school leadership. Leithwood states that transformational leadership skills are necessary skills for principals if they are to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Recent studies completed by various scholars in the field have indicated that administrators who demonstrate a transformational leadership style have teaching staff with increased job satisfaction, a greater sense of teaching efficacy, demonstrate higher levels of organizational commitment, and have less staff turnover (Griffith, 2004; Yu, et al., 2002; Ross Gray, 2006). However, strategic leadership is the main role of the principal while pedagogical leadership is the responsibility of the teachers (Crowther et al., 2000 and, 2002; Smylie-Hart, 1999). Their relationships have been described by Crowther et al. (2000) as parallel leadership. Teacher leaders and administrator leaders work in parallel and develop new roles and relationships within the school. Strategic leadership theory suggested that strategic leaders are individuals who have the ability to think strategically by envisioning, anticipating, innovating, maintaining flexibility, and mobilizing others to adopt changes which provide the organization with a competitive advantage (Elenkov, et al, 2005; Ireland Hitt, 2005). Strategic leaders enable organizational staff to exploit diverse opportunities to adapt and respond to environmental uncertainty. According to Ireland and Hitt, strategic leadership theory advocates that, companies are a reflection of their top managers, and, in particular , of the chief executive officers (p. 65). Hence, Davies (2004) had identified nine factors associated with the strategic leadership styles of school heads. In his terms, Davies classified these nine factors into two parts: firstly, the ability of a school head to undertake organizational activity (strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, strategic alignment, and strategic interaction), and secondly, his or her individual characteristics (restless, absorptive, adaptive, wise). Teacher commitment is crucial to effective schools, teacher satisfaction and retention. There has been increasing interest among scholars in the concept of commitment and the study of the commitment of several professionals such as students (Staw, 1976; Meyer Allen, 1987). Educational researchers have focused on commitment to the organization in this case, teachers (Firestone, 1990; Tyree, 1996; Nais, 1981). They call this phenomenon teacher commitment, denoting commitment to the school (Ryes, 1989). Commitment is part of a teachers affective or emotional reaction to their experience in a school setting (Ebmeire Nicklaus, 1999). According to the related literature, in these circumstances employees can develop affective commitment: in a more decentralized organizational structure (Robbins, 1997), in an organizational structure having an open and honest communication network (Zangaro, 2001), in an organizational culture encouraging participation (Parnell Crandall, 2003), when they h ave the opportunity to participate in decision-making (Somech Bogler, 2002), especially in strategically important decisions (Lines, 2004; Celep, 2000), and when they are affected by the outcomes of these decisions (Torka, 2004), when they have the opportunity to participate in the strategic planning process (Oswald et al., 1994), when they are provided with autonomy (Firestone Pennell, 1993), when they have the opportunity to acquire knowledge and other resources in the organization (McDermott et al., 1996), when strategic objectives (Enriquez et al., 2001), expectations (OCreevy et al., 1997) and the vision (Oswald et al., 1994) of the organization are communicated to them, when they are treated fairly and justly (Martin Bennett, 1996; Naumann et al., 1998), when they have adequate payment (Abdulla Shaw, 1999), when there is a congruence of ethical values between employee and organization (and/or manager or supervisor) (Schwepker, 1999; Peterson, 2003; Janssen, 2004), when the y have a supportive, facilitative and hearty leader (Kidd Smewing, 2001; Hui et al., 2004) and when they find their leader (or supervisor) trustworthy (Perry, 2004). STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Many researchers have pointed out that in order to be effective in the current context of school improvement, principals need to conform to the role as transformational leaders who have the potential for building high levels of commitment to the complex and uncertain nature of the restructuring agenda (Caldwell, 1992;, Hallinger, 1992;, Leithwood Jantzi, 1997;, Murphy Hallinger, 1992). There are differences in what these roles might include, that is, what the dimensions of principal leadership style are. Building the dimensional measure of principal leadership style, thus, motivated the researcher to conduct this study in the hope that it will contribute to our understanding of the principals transformational leadership style which is considered a foundation of school effectiveness. Another important issue that has not been adequately examined by previous research is the underlying model of the strategic leadership styles of principals. Waldman and Javidan (2002) indicated that little research exists on strategic leadership and its influence on organizational performance. The general problem is that contextual factors influence leadership behaviors across all levels of the organization, thus constraining leaders to adopt behaviors driven by external and internal demands. (Antonakis House, 2002;, Carroll, 2002;, Waldman, et al, 2001;, Waldman Javidan, 2002). It has been widely recognized that many discouraged school behaviours are, to an important extent, due to the low commitment of teachers. Teachers who experience this deficiency would engage in a variety of work behaviours that only reinforce their task failure (Rosenholtz, 1989). In an effort to overcome this, teacher commitment becomes necessary. Leithwood et al. (1994) suggest that committed teachers are less likely to leave the organization and have a desire to improve practices in an effort to realize the schools mission. Therefore, teacher commitment should be examined because it leads to greater job effort and involvement. (Porter, et al, 1974;, Rosenholtz, 1989). Since there is no specific style that is best for all situations, developing skills in selection of appropriate transformational and strategic leadership styles need to be emphasized because if these skills are poor, the consequence can be quite negative. Ubben and Hughes (1992) postulate that effective leadership depends on understanding the condition of a problem situation and assessing correctly how much participation is required to be successful and the form that this participation should take. An incorrect response to the demand of a situation may have a negative impact on-teachers personal satisfaction and may consequently affect their enthusiasm and commitment. Many times staff or teachers are dissatisfied with principals, not because of the nature of their decision, but because of the leadership style used (Leadership Management Development Center, 1997). Moreover, the Ministry of Education in Thailand enforces school principals to obtain quality assurance certification once every five years, where the schools need to ensure the system is developed in accordance with the standards, criteria, principles and guidelines as stipulated in the educational Act. In recent years, the average points obtained in the national test shows that, Islamic private schools in three provinces of southern Thailand ranked bottom compared to other schools in national ranking as far as academic achievement is concerned. (Secretary Board of Educational Office, 2007). In addition, Sermsak and his colleagues (2004) noted, the Islamic private secondary school principals lack of skills especially in educational management. As a member of an educational organization, the researcher considers that it is important to conduct this study. In this study, the researcher focuses on the principals in Islamic private secondary schools in southern Thailand. As mentioned abo ve, principals are educational leaders and teachers are practical instruments in achieving the schools goals. Conducting a study to identify which is the most effective principal leadership style (transformational leadership or strategic leadership) and its effect on teacher commitment is believed to be a worthwhile study. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The theory that this study has tried to build was based on the foundations of several existing theories in the literature. Firstly, the study reviewed various dimensions of leadership styles from previous studies by Barnett et al. (2001), Chui et al. (1996), Janzi and Leithwood, (1996), and Leithwood et al. (1996) considering-the present school context in southern Thailand. Five relevant dimensions of leadership styles are specifically proposed to be used in this study (Liethwood, 1996). The five dimensions of transformational leadership styles are visionary leadership, individual orientation, structural leadership, empowering leadership and role modelling Secondly, the study reviewed the strategic leadership styles (Davies, 2004; Davies Davies, 2004). There are nine categories of strategic leadership characteristics. In his terms, Davies classified these nine factors into two categories; individual characteristics (restlessness, absorption, adaptiveness/adaptibility and wisdom) and organizational capability (strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, strategic alignment and strategic interaction. Thirdly, the study reviewed a theory from perspective of the affective approach on commitment. Commitment is defined as the relative strength of a persons identification with and involvement in an organization (Mowday et al., 1982). According to Buchanan (1974), commitment is a partisan or affective attachment to the aims and values of an organization, to ones role in relation with these aims and values and to an organization for its own sake, Further, according to the cost-benefit approach, commitment is a result of the perception of benefit associated with staying in and the perception of cost associated with leaving from an organization (Kanter, 1968). From the normative approach, commitment is the aggregate internalized normative pressures to conduct in a manner which meets organizational objectives and interests (Wiener, 1982). It extensively examines the influences of transformational leadership and strategic leadership on teacher identification, involvement, and loyalty to the commitment (Abdulhakam, 2005). The three factors of teacher commitment are identification, involvement and loyalty. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Based on the statement of research problem and the theoretical model as seen in Figure 1, the objectives of the study are as follows: To examine the factors underlying the transformational leadership styles of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the factors underlying the strategic leadership styles of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the factors underlying the teacher commitment of school teachers in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of transformational leadership style of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of strategic leadership style of school principals in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of transformational leadership of school principals on teacher commitment through strategic leadership style in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. To examine the effect of strategic leadership style of school principals on teacher commitment through transformational leadership style in Islamic private secondary schools in Southern Thailand. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES As stated earlier, the objectives of the study are to examine the factors underlying the transformational leadership and strategic leadership styles on teacher-commitment and to examine which leadership style which is dominant among the Islamic private secondary school principals. Thus, the hypotheses of the study are as follows: H1: Transformational leadership styles of school principals are represented by visionary, individual orientation, structural leadership, empowering leadership, and role modelling. H2: Strategic leadership styles of school principals are represented by restlessness, absorption, adaptiveness/adaptability, wisdom, strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, and strategic alignment. H3: Teacher commitment factors are represented by identification, involvement, and  loyalty. H4: The transformational leadership style of school principals directly and significantly affects teacher commitment. H5: The strategic leadership style of school principals directly and significantly affects teacher commitment. H6: The transformational leadership style of school principals positively and significantly affects teacher commitment through strategic leadership style. H7: The strategic leadership style of school principals positively and significantly affects teacher commitment through transformational leadership style. RESEARCH DESIGN This research adopted a quantitative approach as described by Creswell (2003), by emphasizing the utilization of quantitative surveys to determine if the effects existed between the variables, strategic leadership and transformational leadership styles, and teacher commitment as perceived by Islamic private secondary school teachers in three provinces in Southern Thailand. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to determine to what extent the model of hypothesized effects is supported, and how well a hypothesized conceptual model fits the associated data. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is preferred because many previous studies supported the employment of SEM in this kind of research (see e.g. Clegg et al. 1997, Neilson 1997). SEM is also selected because of its ability to define and test a comprehensive System Contingency Approach (Hiltz, 1994) type of theoretical models. For instance Chin (1998, vii) has mentioned that, when applied correctly, SEM-based procedures have substantial advantages over first-generation techniques such as principal component analysis, factors analysis, discriminant analysis, or multiple regression because of the greater flexibility that researcher has for the interplay between theory and data. Compared to these first generation techniques often used in these types of analysis, some of the advantages of the SEM include the ability to: (1) estimate the direct, indirect, and total effects of variables; (2) define and investigate relationships among latent constructs; (3) estimate the variance accounte d for in each latent construct by other variables in the model; and (4) estimate error terms associated with each observed and latent variable (Heck and Wolcott 1997; Li, Harmer Duncan, Acock and Boles 1998). Research methods of the study consist of two steps; firstly, a hypothesized model will be developed by reviewing related literatures. The model will be assessed by educational experts. Secondly, the developed learning process reform model will be validated using the SEM to analyze the data collected from the Islamic private secondary school teachers in three provinces in Southern Thailand (Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani,) Instrumentation In addition, at the end of the questionnaire there is an open space, where respondents have the opportunity to write about their experiences on commitment or comment on the questionnaire or the study in general. The Thai language questionnaire is filled out anonymously and it took about 20 minutes to complete. Validity and Reliability Content validity The validity of the measurement-items will be assessed in order to determine if a measure adequately reflects the real meaning of the construct under consideration. Two types of validity checks were performed in the initial stages of scale development: (1) Content Validity and (2) Construct Validity (Hair et al., 2006). Construct validity Construct validity or factorial validity, describes the logic of items which comprise measures of social concepts; this refers to the extent to which the empirical definition of the construct corresponds to the conceptual definition of the construct (Hair et al., 2006). Two types of validity were used to assess Construct Validity: (i) Convergent Validity and (ii) Discriminant Validity. Reliability The Cronbachs Alpha value is used to assess the reliability parameters. It provides a summary of the intercorrelations that exist among the set of items. Any suspect measurement-items will be removed. For this research study, the expected Cronbachs Alpha value is above than 0.7 as suggested by Hair et al. (2006), implying a statistically acceptable internal consistency reliability. Population and Sample The population in this study is Islamic private secondary school teachers in three provinces in Southern Thailand who teach in the school that are generally based on the Western Educational model. A simple random sampling is used to select the participants. The expected margin of error (accuracy) should  ± 4 % and confidence interval of 95% (Ferguson, 1981; Vockell Asher, 1995). All survey instrument will mailed to and administered by the Principal and Manager for administration for the respective schools. All completed survey instruments will return to researcher using enclosed envelopes. Data analysis method and Statistical technique This study will employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques to determine the extent to which the model of the hypothesized effects is supported. All the statistical procedures are performed using SPSS 11.5 and AMOS 16.0. SEM evaluates how well a hypothesized conceptual model fits the associated data. Sometimes SEM is called a latent variable causal modeling because it is used to test causal models and theories, and because it involves the measurement of latent variables. The SEM is usually viewed as a confirmatory rather than as an exploratory procedure. It can also be seen as a family of statistical techniques which incorporates and integrates path analysis and factor analysis. The model consists of two parts, the measurement model and the structural model. The measurement model specifies how latent variables or hypothetical constructs depend upon or are indicated by the observed variables. It describes the measurement properties (reliabilities and validities) of the observed variables. The structural model instead specifies the causal relationships among the latent variables. By causal what is meant is the assumption that, everything else being constant, a change in the variable at the tail of the arrow will result in a change in the variable at the head of the arrow (Loehlin,1987, p.4). SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Result of this study are pictured to provide empirical data on factors of effective leadership styles among Islamic private secondary school principals in Southern Thailand that have not been fully studied. Therefore, this study will fill this research need. Thus, the results of this study are expected to help in the understanding of teachers and principals which is in accordance with effective leadership styles. The findings are extremely important to understand or determine the effect or failure of factors affecting the implementation of principal leadership styles both in terms of on transformational leadership and strategic leadership styles as perceived by the teachers. Such information can help to improve the strategy in order to accomplish school success. Finally, this study will aid teacher educators, administrators, professional development coordinators, and government officials to adequately prepare, train, and support principals so they may become effective Islamic principals in line with the current educational reform endeavour as intended by the Ministry of Education in Thailand. These considerations make this study worthwhile. DEFINITION OF TERMS Principal Leadership Behaviour The behaviour on the part of principals that transforms change in their followers through visionary leadership, individual orientation, structural leadership, empowering leadership, and role modelling. Strategic Leadership It is defined as educational executives who adopt a new way of thinking and acting. More than ever before, strategic educational leadership depends upon a restlessness, absorption, adaption, wisdom, strategic competence, strategic orientation, strategic translation, strategic alignment, and strategic interaction Teacher commitment It is defined as the relative strength of teachers identification with, involvement with, and loyalty in a school organization. In this study, teacher commitment is measured primarily by the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed by Mowday and his colleagues (1979) and also by selected items from other scale developers (e.g., Allen Meyer, 1990; Buchanan, 1974; Blau, 1985; Cook Wall, 1980). Islamic Private School (IPS) The schools, which are established by private individuals, offering both religion and secular subjects are fully subsidized or partly subsidized, or not subsidized at all. Those schools that are not subsidized enjoy a certain degree of freedom in educational operation and organizing educational activities (e.g. manpower, finance, and material resources). The present study deals with the first category of schools (fully subsidized) whose educational activities are under the governments supervision.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Maintaining the Audiences Interest in Talking Heads :: Talking Heads Alan Bennet Essays

Maintaining the Audience's Interest in Talking Heads One character talking to a camera for half an hour, Do you call that drama? How does Alan Bennet try to maintain the audience’s interest in his Talking Heads? In A Lady of Letters, Patricia Routledge plays the part of Irene Ruddock, who is a very lonely woman that has an obsession with writing letters to everyone to complain about the smallest of things. She lives by herself, and has done since her mother died. A Lady of Letters is a drama because it includes different amounts of lighting at certain points of the video. Routledge also acts when she is speaking to the camera, for example she gets very upset at some points e.g. when she talks about when the police told her the little boy over the road had died of leukaemia. She also expresses herself well by her actions. At first Irene seems like a very highly classed woman, very respectable and knows what is wrong and right. She also appears to be a very respectable lady. We know this because in the video, it shows her having her tea and biscuits with a napkin. However, throughout the video, we see some changes to Irene; we see that she might not be as respectable as we first thought. One of these reasons is because when she goes to the doctors, she says â€Å"I said I was getting upset, like I did before†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This indicates that she may have been ill because of certain happenings which were probably to do with the letters which she writes. Shortly after this, she lets us know about when the vicar came around, talking to her about god. She then tells us about how she is an Atheist. We do not expect this because you would have thought someone as respectable as Irene would believe in God and go to church every Sunday morning. â€Å"They don’t expect you to be an atheist when you’re a miss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows that because she told the Vicar that she was an atheist, he did not know what to say, because he like us expected her to believe in God and go to church like every other respectable lady like her. Next we hear about her visit from the Police, which is where we find out what she really is like. At first, the male police man talks about the different types of letters which she had wrote in the past, and then we find out that she has been told to keep the peace by the courts. At this point, we finally realise that she isn’t that

Monday, August 19, 2019

Counterfeiting: Were In The Money Essay -- essays research papers

Counterfeiting: We're In The Money A frequently asked question by a customer is "Can you break a hundred dollar bill?" If this request has been granted, why do the cashiers take the bill and turn it into a biology experiment? Between pouring a liquid on the note and/or holding it up to the light to check for authenticity, is our currency system in danger? As of the beginning of 1996, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Secretary of the United States Treasury, prove their economic wizardry by making the new one hundred dollar bill nearly impossible to counterfeit in attempt to protect our economy. This is just the first step in improving our currency system. Counterfeiting U.S. currency is an illegal practice that has has been around for years and, unfortunately,is getting worse. "Last year, ...the Secret Service cooperated with the Italian authorities' seizure of $43.8 million in counterfeit U.S. currency, Germany's capture of more than $19 million in counterfeit cash, and the Canadian authorities; seizure of than $129 million in counterfeit U.S. currency." (Gomez, Bertha. "Officials Say..") In a small town north of Chicago, two high school seniors were arrested for the use of counterfeit bills. With the use of the internet and a color printer, these two teenagers were able to create and pass their counterfeit twenty dollar bills through the high school cafeteria but were later arrest by police after trying to use their money at a local Taco Bell. If teenagers are finding ways to counterfeit money, that should tell someone that we need to do something to protect our economy for the future. In attempt to enhance our currency system, the one hundred dollar bill was completely redesigned last year and released at the beginning of this year. This new bill contains a security thread, a watermark, a larger portrait, varriable-color ink and infrared fibers. It is called the 1996 series. Next year the fifty dollar bill will change and so forth. At first, economist talked about recalling all of US currency, but later this idea was ruled out o keep a smooth transition and to honor the new bills at current face value. If our economy is at its strongest, who paid for the creation of the series 1996? The Federal Reserve, under the direction of Alan Greenspan, paid for this currency improvement. When t... ...bject, someone will try to copy it. But, what if our currency system was strictly based on a credit? This will be the United States currency of the future. Our world has advanced so far with the aid of the computer. Ten years ago, computers were for only a weak version of typing. We have come so far from the past. Technology will improve in the years to come. The money in our wallets is just a special type of paper with a special type of ink. It does not back gold like it use to. In the future, we will have two cards in our wallet. A credit card, if we so choose to own one, and a currency card. Our treasury and federal reserve will design a feasible system where paper money is something of the past. Work Cite "Fed Moved Too Slow On Increasing Rates." Wall Street Journal 11 April 1994. "Who Controls The Fed?." Investors Business Daily 19 August 1996 Gomez, Berta "U.S. Officials Say Currency Counterfeiting Remains Small." USIA Staff Writer (1996) WWW Internet Access. Moreau, Ron and Russell Watson. The Hard-Up North Koreans are suspected of making nearly perfectly fakes of U.S. $100 bills.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

William Henry Harrison :: essays research papers

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison was born in Berkeley, Virginia in 1773. He grew up on a farm and worked as a planter. At the age of 18 he attended Hampden Sydney College. There he studied history, later on he went to study medicine in Richmond, Virginia. That same year he switched his interest an in 1791 he joined the First Infantry of the Regular Army. Harrison then headed to the Northwest, where he spent much of his life. During his time in the Army he served as an aid to General â€Å"Mad Anthony† Wayne. Together they fought in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The win of this battle opened most of the Ohio area to settlement. In 1798 he resigned from the Army and became Secretary of the Northwest Territory. There he was the first delegate to Congress, and obtained a legislation dividing the territory Into the northwest and Indiana territories. In 1801 he became the governor of the Indiana Territory, serving 12 years. Harrison was responsible for defending all of the settlements from the Indians. In 1809 a powerful Indian force led by an energetic chieftain Tecumseh posed a threat to the settlers. Tecumseh was responsible for strengthening the Indian confederation to prevent settlers from moving in on their territory. However on November 7, 1871 Harrison planned an attack on the Indian Confederacy. As Harrison’s men moved in they were attacked at the Tippecanoe River. 190 men were dead or wounded, this was known as the Battle of Tippecanoe. Although Harrison experienced a loss of men, he still led victorious. The Indians were still persistent in their raids against Harrison and the settlers. Harrison was given the title of brigadier general of the army during the War of 1812. He also defeated the combined British and Indian forces at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813. There he killed Tecumseh and forced all the Indians to the Northwest. After his victory he returned to civilian life and nominated by the Whigs to be president in 1840. Tragically after being in office not even a month he passed away.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 21

Twenty-one Gabe and Theo â€Å"This is where I found the aberrant rats,† Gabe said as they pulled into the Fly Rod Trailer Court. â€Å"That's nice,† Theo said, not really paying attention. â€Å"Did I tell you I got the brain chemistry back from Stanford? It's interesting, but I'm not sure that it explains the behavior.† â€Å"Not now, Gabe, please.† Theo slammed on the brakes and the truck rocked to a stop. â€Å"What the hell?† There were no lights on in Molly Michon's trailer. In the empty lot next door, a dozen well-dressed adults stood in a circle, holding candles. â€Å"Prayer meeting?† Gabe ventured. â€Å"It's Sunday night.† â€Å"There was a trailer there last time I was here,† Theo said. â€Å"Just like the one on the ranch.† â€Å"I know. This is the lot where I found the rats with the low serotonin levels.† Theo shut off the truck, set the parking brake, and climbed out. Then he looked back at Gabe. â€Å"You found your rats right here?† â€Å"The six that I could find. But this is where the other ones that were last tracked disappeared as well. I can show you the graphic later.† â€Å"That would be good.† Theo pulled his flannel shirt over the guns in his waistband and approached the circle. Skinner jumped out of the truck and ran ahead. Gabe reluctantly followed. They did, indeed, seem to be praying. Their heads were bowed and a woman in a powder-blue dress and pillbox hat was leading the group. â€Å"Bless us, Lord, for we have felt the stirrings of your power within us and heeded your call to come to this holy place on the eve of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Skinner drove his nose into the woman's crotch, and she yipped like a bee-stung poodle. Everyone in the group looked up. â€Å"Excuse me,† Theo said. â€Å"I don't mean to interrupt, but what are you all doing here?† Several of the men looked irritated and stepped up behind the powder-blue woman to give support. The woman held Skinner's nose away from her dress while trying to keep the candle flame away from her hair spray. â€Å"Constable Crowe? Is that right?† â€Å"Yes, ma'am,† Theo said. The woman was younger than he was by at least five years and pretty in a Texas Big Hair sort of way, but her dress and manner of speaking made him feel as if he'd just been busted by his first-grade teacher for eating paste. â€Å"We've been called here, Constable,† the woman explained. She reached behind her, grabbed the shoulder of a woman who looked like her clone in pink, and pulled her forward. Skinner stamped the pink woman's dress with the Wet-Nose Inspection Seal. â€Å"Margie and I felt it first, but when we started talking about it after services this afternoon, all these other people said that they had felt drawn to this place as well. The Holy Spirit has moved us here.† â€Å"Ask them if they've seen any rats.† Gabe said. â€Å"Call your dog,† Theo tossed over his shoulder. Gabe called Skinner and the Labrador looked around. They smell fine to me, Food Guy. I say fuck 'em, Skinner thought. But he got no response except a minor scolding. â€Å"The Holy Spirit called you here?† Theo said. Everyone in the group nodded earnestly. â€Å"Did any of you happen to see the woman who lives in that trailer next door?† The pink lady chimed in, â€Å"Oh yes, she was the one to call our attention to this place two nights ago. We wondered about that at first, being as how she is and all, but then Katie pointed out† – she gestured to her friend – â€Å"that our Lord Jesus spent time with Mary Magdalene, and she, as I'm sure you know, was – well – she was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"A whore,† Theo offered. â€Å"Well. Yes. And so we thought, who are we to judge?† â€Å"Very charitable of you,† Theo said. â€Å"But have you seen Molly Michon tonight?† â€Å"No, not tonight.† Theo felt his energy reserves drain even more. â€Å"Look, folks, you shouldn't be here. I'm not sure it's safe. Some people have gone missing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh, that poor boy,† Margie said. â€Å"Yes and maybe some others. I have to ask you all to take your meeting somewhere else, please.† The group looked disappointed. One of the men, a portly bald fellow in his fifties, puffed himself up and stepped forward. â€Å"Constable, we have the right to worship when and where we please.† â€Å"I'm just thinking of your safety,† Theo said. â€Å"This country was founded on the basis of religious freedom, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Theo stepped up to the man and loomed over him with all of his six-footsix frame, â€Å"Then start praying that I don't throw you in jail with the biggest, horniest sodomite the country jail has to offer, which is what I'm going to do if you all don't go home right now.† â€Å"Smooth,† Gabe said. Make him roll over and pee on himself, Skinner thought. The bald man made a harumph sound and turned to the group. â€Å"Let's meet at the church to discuss the removal of our local law enforcement official.† â€Å"Yeah, get in line,† Theo said. He watched as the group dispersed to their cars and drove away. When the last one pulled out, Gabe said, â€Å"Theories?† Theo shook his head. â€Å"Everyone in this town is nuts. I'm going to check Molly's trailer, but I doubt she's there. Do you want me to take you home to shower and change clothes before your date?† Gabe looked down at his stained work pants and safari shirt. â€Å"Do you think I should?† â€Å"Gabe, you're the only guy I know that makes me look suave.† â€Å"You're coming along, right?† â€Å"Casanova,† Theo said. â€Å"Compared to you, I feel like Casanova.† â€Å"What?† Gabe said. â€Å"It's fried chicken night at H.P.'s.† Steve Steve lay under a stand of cypress trees, his new lover snuggled up to his right foreleg, snoring softly. He let his tongue slide out and the tip just brushed her bare back. She moaned and nuzzled closer to his leg. She tasted pretty good. But he had eaten all those other warmbloods and he wasn't really hungry. When he had been a female, some fifty years ago, and going back another five thousand, he had become accustomed to eating his lovers after mating. That's just how it was done. But as a male, he wasn't sure. He hadn't mated with his own species since he'd become male, and so the instinct to become passive after mating was new to him. He just didn't feel like eating the warmblood. She had made him feel better, and for some reason, he could see the pictures of her thoughts instead of just sending his own sig-nals. He sensed no fear in her, and no need to send the signal to draw her to him. Strange for a warmblood. He lay his head down on the bed of cypress needles to sleep and let his wounds heal. He could eat her later. Somewhere in the back of his brain, as he fell asleep, a fear alarm went off. In five thousand years of life, he had never conceived of the concept of later or before, only now. His DNA had rechained itself many times, adapted to changes without waiting for the life cycles of generations – he was a unique organism in that way – but the concept of time, of memory beyond the cellular level, was a new adapt-ation. Through his contact with Molly he was evolving consciousness, and like the pragmatic mechanism that it is, nature was trying to warn him. The nightmare was about to have a nightmare. Val Is this a date? Val sat alone at a table in the back of H.P.'s Cafe. She'd ordered a glass of a local chardonnay and was trying to form an opinion about it that would reflect the appropriate disgust, but unfortunately, it was quite good. She was wearing light evening makeup and an understated raw silk suit in indigo with a single string of pearls so as not to clash too badly with her date, who she knew would be in jeans or cotton khaki. Her date? If this is a date, how far have I sunk? she asked herself. This tacky little cafe in this tacky little town, waiting for a man who had probably never worn a tux or a Rolex, and she was looking forward to it. No, it's not a date. It's just dinner. It's sustenance. It's, for once, not eating alone. Slumming in the land of the folksy and the neighborly, that's what it is. It's a satirical performance art experience; call it The Bourgeois Fried Chicken Follies. It was one thing to read her journals over coffee in the local cafe, but dinner? Gabe Fenton came through the front door and Val felt her pulse quicken. She smiled in spite of herself as she watched the waitress point to her table. Then Theo Crowe was following Gabe across the restaurant and a bolt of anxiety shot up her spine. This definitely isn't a date. Gabe smiled and the lines around his eyes crinkled as if he were about to burst out laughing. He extended his hand to her. â€Å"Hi, I hope you don't mind, I asked Theo to join us.† His hair was combed, as was his beard, and he was wearing a faded but clean chambray shirt. Not exactly dashing, but a pretty good-looking guy in a lumber-jack sort of way. â€Å"No, please,† Val said. â€Å"Sit down, Theo.† Theo nodded and pulled a chair up to the table, which had been set for two. The waitress breezed in with another place setting before they were seated. â€Å"I'm sorry to intrude,† Theo said, â€Å"but Gabe insisted.† â€Å"No, really, you're welcome, Constable.† â€Å"Theo, please.† â€Å"Theo then,† Val said. She forced a smile. What now? The last time she had talked to this man it had thrown her life for a loop. She found herself building a resentment for Gabe that was usually reserved for relationships that were years old. Theo cleared his throat. â€Å"Uh, can we go on the doctor-patient confidentiality plan again, Doctor?† Val nodded to Gabe, â€Å"That usually implies a session. Not dinner.† â€Å"Okay, then, don't say anything, but Joseph Leander killed his wife.† Val didn't say, â€Å"Wow.† Almost, but she didn't. â€Å"And you know this because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Because he told me so,† Theo said. â€Å"He gave her tea made from foxglove. Evidently, it can cause heart failure and is almost undetectable. Then he hung her in the dining room.† â€Å"So you've arrested him?† â€Å"No, I don't know where he is.† â€Å"But you've put a warrant out for his arrest or whatever it is that you do? â€Å"No, I'm not sure that I'm still the constable.† Gabe broke in. â€Å"We've been talking about it, Val. I say that Theo is an elected official, and therefore the only way he can lose his job is through impeachment, even if his immediate superior tries to kill him. What do you think?† â€Å"Kill him?† â€Å"Smooth,† Theo said, grinning at Gabe. â€Å"Oh, maybe you should tell her about the crank lab and stuff, Theo.† And so Theo explained, telling the story of his kidnapping, the drug lab, Joseph Leander's disappearance, and Molly Michon setting him free, but leaving out any theories he had about a giant creature. During the telling, they ordered (fried chicken for Theo and Gabe, a Greek salad for Val) and were halfway through dinner before Theo stopped talking. Val stared at her salad and silence washed over the table. If there was going to be a murder investigation, she could be found out. And if they found out what she had done to her patients, her career was over. She might even go to jail. It wasn't fair, she really had tried to do the right thing for once. She resisted the urge to blurt out a confession – to throw herself on the mercy of a court born of sheer paranoia. Instead she raised her eyes to Gabe, who took the signal to break the silence. Gabe said, â€Å"And I still don't know the significance of the low serotonin levels in the rats' brains.† â€Å"Huh?† said not only Val and Theo, but the waitress, Jenny, who had been eavesdropping from the next table and joined the confusion at Gabe's non sequitur. â€Å"Sorry,† Gabe said to Val. â€Å"I thought you might have a take on the brain chemistry of those rats I had tested. You said you were interested.† â€Å"And I am,† Val said, lying through her teeth, â€Å"but I'm a little overwhelmed by the news about Bess Leander.† â€Å"Right, anyway, the group of rats that didn't take part in the mass migration all had unusually low levels of serotonin. The brain chemistry of the larger group, the group that ran, was all in normal ranges. So I'm thinking that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"They were depressed,† Val said. â€Å"Pardon me?† Gabe said. â€Å"Of course they're depressed, they're rats,† Theo said. Gabe glared at him. â€Å"Well, imagine waking up to that every morning,† Theo continued. â€Å"‘Oh, it's a great day, crap, I'm still a rat. Never mind.'† â€Å"Well, I don't know about rats,† Val said, â€Å"but serotonin levels in humans affect a lot of different things, predominantly mood. Low levels of serotonin can indicate depression. That's how Prozac works. It basically keeps sero-tonin in the brain to keep the patient from getting depressed. So maybe Gabe's rats were too depressed to run.† Gabe stroked his beard. â€Å"I never thought of that. But it doesn't help that much. It doesn't tell me why the majority of the rats did run.† â€Å"Well, duh, Gabe,† Theo said. â€Å"It's the fucking monster.† â€Å"What?† Val said. â€Å"What?† said Jenny, who was lingering nearby. â€Å"Can we get some dessert menus?† Gabe asked, sending Jenny backing across the restaurant. â€Å"Monster?† Val said. â€Å"Maybe you'd better explain, Gabe,† Theo said. â€Å"I think your scientific skepticism will make it sound more credible.† Val's jaw dropped visibly as she listened to Gabe talk about the tracks at the ranch, the mutilated cattle, and Theo's theory for the disappearances of Joseph Leander, Mikey Plotznik, and perhaps Les from the hardware store. When Gabe brought up Molly Michon, Val stopped him. â€Å"You can't believe what she tells you. Molly is a very disturbed woman.† â€Å"She didn't tell me anything,† Theo said. â€Å"I just think she knows something about all this.† Val wanted to call up Theo's drug history to sweep the story aside, then she remembered what Estelle Boyet had told her in therapy. â€Å"I'm not going to say who, but one of my patients mentioned a sea monster in session.† Gabe asked. â€Å"Who?† â€Å"I can't say,† Val said. â€Å"Estelle Boyet,† Jenny said as she came up to get the dessert order. â€Å"Damn,† Val said. â€Å"I wasn't the one who told you,† she said to Theo. â€Å"Well, she was talking about it over breakfast with that Catfish guy,† Jenny added. â€Å"No dessert,† Val snapped at Jenny. â€Å"I'll bring the check.† â€Å"So Estelle has seen it?† Theo asked. â€Å"No, she says she's heard it. She's not the type to propagate a hoax, but I wouldn't put it past Molly Michon. Perhaps that's where the rumor started. I can ask Estelle.† â€Å"Do that,† Theo said. â€Å"But it's not a hoax. My car is smashed. That's evidence. I'm going to Molly's tonight and wait for her. The door was unlocked when I checked earlier and I can't go home.† â€Å"You think it's that dangerous?† Val asked. â€Å"I know it is.† Theo stood and started to pull some bills from his pocket. Gabe waved him off. Theo said, â€Å"Doctor, can you give Gabe a ride?† â€Å"Sure, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Thanks,† Theo said. â€Å"I'll call you, Gabe. Thanks for letting me join you, Doctor. I thought you'd want to know about Bess. I'm afraid I've ruined your date.† I'll say, Val thought as she watched Theo leave the restaurant. A sense of alert exhaustion washed over her like an espresso fog bank. â€Å"He just quit smoking pot,† Gabe said. â€Å"He's feeling the stress.† â€Å"He has a right to. You don't believe any of that stuff about a monster, do you?† â€Å"I have some theories.† â€Å"Would you like to come up to the house and explain them over a bottle of wine?† â€Å"Really? I mean, sure, that would be nice.† â€Å"Good,† Val said. â€Å"I think I need to get hammered and I'd like your company.† Had she used the term â€Å"hammered† since college? She didn't think so. â€Å"I'll get the check,† Gabe said. â€Å"Of course you will.† â€Å"I hope you don't mind having a dog in your car,† Gabe said. I'm not slumming, she thought. I've moved to the slums.