AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) - Term Paper Example Haag Cummings and Rea(2004) state that Automated teller machines are electronic telecommunications device that enables the clients seeking the transactions of a financial institution to perform financial transactions (Cummings et al., 2004). It achieves this without the need for human cashier, clerk or bank teller. According to Anand (2006), ATM is a banking terminal capable of linking customers with 24 hours deposit and withdrawal services for the clients at any time (Anand, 2006). The ATMs or cash dispenser devices are installed in the bank halls and spread across the city or specific locations for convenience of the customer. They mechanically accept deposits; give withdrawals, transfer funds between varied accounts and issue bills. Over the past years, many people have tried to claim that they are the investor of the ATM; others believe that Luther George Simjian is documented to be an inventor due to his idea that came first. Some believe it was Don Wetzel, some other people say the inventor is John Shepherd-Barron. In the late 1930’s, Luther George Simian tried to build an ATM but it was not a successful version of ATM. The author did not register related patents; initially designed with the idea of creating a hole in the wall. It was allowing customers to make financial transitions without going to the bank. However according to BBC London (27 June 2007), on the topic Enfield’s cash gift to the world indicated that the first of these that decided to roll out the technology was the Barclays bank. It is located in Enfield town towards the northern part of London,in the United Kingdom on 27 June 1967. The machine was the first in the world. English comedy actor Reg was the first person who made use of the ATM (BBC, 2007). The art of linking the different ATM devices to a central computer is a common occurrence at the moment. The idea came into reality when the world wide web and the internet were rolled out. Banks keep databases of

W6 A566 Automated Collaborative & Expert Knowledge Management Systems Essay

W6 A566 Automated Collaborative & Expert Knowledge Management Systems - Essay Example se perspectives include: A focus on information communication technology support for the knowledge management life cycle and for certain organizational instruments which are implemented as part of a knowledge management initiative. The second perspective is a focus on the proposed analogy between human and organizational information processing, learning, and memory. The third perspective is a review of a set of functions that are part of knowledge management system as offered on the market. The fourth perspective is the extensions and the integration of existing software tools, such as intranet solutions, document management systems, workflow management systems, groupware, and communications systems (Maier 2007). According to Jawadekar (2011), knowledge management system is the process of managing knowledge in an organization in steps, starting with identification, validation, creation, acquisition, codification and transfer and measurement. It also involves the creation of intellect ual capital and converting some into intellectual property in order to meet the set business strategies and implementation. The purpose of knowledge management system is to support decision-making personnel and stake holders in the organization with the online ready access to the organization’s knowledge resources. It has development and management phases (Jawadekar 2011).The knowledge management system design has two components: knowledge development and knowledge management. The system is dynamic because knowledge varies from time to time and improves with the application in business. The phases of change and improvement are known as cycles. The definition of knowledge management system extends further to include the integration of knowledge in business operations and decision-making systems. Integration is happens through business rules, and formulae that are involved the decision-making framework. The KM life cycles provide basis for the definition of application areas from

Review of Hamlet, performed in the lowry, salford quays Essay Example for Free

Review of Hamlet, performed in the lowry, salford quays Essay On Wednesday 3rd of November, the A-level drama groups from Queens Park High School went to see a version of Hamlet performed in the Salford Quays Lowry theatre. Directed by Japanese Yukio Ninagawa, he has added Japanese influences into the traditional Shakespearean tragedy. The design of the set used artistic impressionism: The barbed wire represented the conflict present within his mind. As well as this it was a useful medium to cordon certain areas of the stage. The light bulbs also representing conflict, which are regularly used in Shakespearean plays; in this case used (as with the barbed wire) to evince the conflict beginning in Hamlets mind. The light bulbs would alight and sway to signify a monologue, and were also a type of imagery demonstrating the mind- the light bulb is commonly used to mark an idea. The doors around the edge of stage were used to replicate the idea of an open space, and gave the stage an incredible sense of vastness. By using these doors and certain lighting, the director was able to indicate different times of day: during the scene with Hamlet and the ghost, the light gradually moved around all of the doors and successfully created the feeling of a rising sun. The costumes worn by some characters appeared unusual; the ghost king (although written to be Norwegian) wore a Samurai costume, and the entertainers wore costumes relating to the native kabuki or no theatre of Japan. Shakespeare would probably have used clowns or a similar type of act to demonstrate the murder of Hamlets father. The reason for this stems from the Japanese director, Ninagawa, who used his own culture to influence some aspects of the play. This was interesting when it came to the setting of the play, as it did not tie with the written adaptation which -as mentioned earlier- was supposed to be based in Norway, and there were no references to this. Other costumes were used well to represent different circles within the play- royalty and those associated were dressed in red: a royal colour. Ophelia and her family originally dressed in white, possibly symbolising purity and truth, until Polonius joins the King and Queen and also dresses in red. Horatio dresses in similar plain black clothing to Hamlet, but wore a blue scarf that could have been used to differentiate him from the royal family. The two scholars that appear at the Kings request both wear grey, high-class outfits and look very much like scholars. The final groups of people to explore are the Polish army, the leader of which wore a very modern leather coat- a mark of high status and power. The major costume changes that occur are when Gertrude asks to speak to Hamlet- at which point she wears a light blue, flowing gown, representing her purity and innocence, and the underwear worn by Ophelia, showing her in a dishevelled and unkempt state. The main sound effects occurred at the beginning of each act; rolling thunder, which accompanied the swaying lights. Music was used namely in the performance by the Kabuki theatre. During Ophelias madness, she vocalises some sonnets written by Shakespeare. Songs are also sung by the gravediggers, although they feature only for a short while and do not contribute much to the play as a whole. Overall, the design of the play was well thought out, and the director was able to use the space, lighting, sound and costume to create a well-devised and creative atmosphere. In comparison the setting and design of the play, the acting did not contribute in such an involving way. All characters were able to project their voices, which made the audience able to competently hear what the characters where saying. But emotion and expression were lacking in many of the characters e. g. one of the most well known lines of the play dear Jochum, I knew him well -spoken by Hamlet- was rushed and miscued. In a similar way, the characters of the King and Gertrude were greatly over-acted. The actors who demonstrated the best character development and realism were Polonius and Horatio. During the scene where Polonius forgets what he was going to say, many members of the audience believed that he had forgotten his lines, inducing laughter and amusement; exactly the reaction that Shakespeare intended. Horatio gave an excellent performance at the end of the play, producing real tears and a very convincing sadness at the death of his best friend Hamlet. The performances of both of these characters were consistent throughout the play. Due to the barbed wire on the stage, some of the movement seemed restricted, such as the sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes, where it appeared that they accidentally knocked the wire causing it to shake and distract the attention of the audience. The body language of each character was questionable: Gertrude and the King both had over-exaggerated arm movements, whereas Hamlet appeared not to over-use large movements such as pointing and flailing arms. Polonius had an interesting twitch in his right arm, which at first appeared to be nervousness of the actor, but on further investigation, was an intentional manoeuvre used to depict his slightly psychotic character. Ophelia created madness in her character after the death of her father by moving in a lyrical fashion, as though not really aware of her motion a successful tactic. Directors will use the versatility of the Hamlet script to create different relationships between characters, either successfully or unsuccessfully. Ninagawa made the following choices: The relationship between Polonius and Ophelia was interesting, because although at the beginning of the play Polonius chose to treat his daughter with disdain, Ophelia was quite obviously very disturbed and depressed about his death. This was perhaps conveying the true to life concept that one will love family no matter what the situation. Another relationship including Ophelia is the intimacy between herself and her brother without knowing the characters, the audience may have been fooled into thinking that Ophelia and Laertes are lovers, as they kiss. The kiss appears to have a romantic nature rather than the kiss the audience would expect within a family kiss. This could result in the audience being ambivalent about the relationship between Ophelia and Laertes. Ninagawa does not pursue the romantic relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet or Claudius and Gertrude, which the audience would expect to see some evidence of- at one point, the actor of Gertrude tried to embrace Claudius who pushed her away, and there was very little contact between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet is an interesting character within himself, showing signs of contempt towards other characters, being indecisive and uncaring. It is within the monologues that the audience is exposed to the real Hamlet, which Ninagawa has chosen to portray as acting madness, as opposed to becoming crazed. The final relationship being considered is that of Hamlet and Gertrude. At the beginning of the play, the actors did not express sort of bond, and the first contact they appear to have is in Gertrudes closet, where she is moderately sexually harassed by Hamlet. This could have been executed in a much more perverse way, which fortunately the director did not choose to do. The acting in this version of Hamlet leaves a lot to be desired as lines were forgotten, words were misused and the some actors seemed lacking in direction. I feel that having heard the story of Hamlet after having seen the play, there was much that I misunderstood from watching and listening to the characters. Although true to the text, some of the words were spoken without expression and misinterpretation became easy attention lapsed. Having spoken to other audience members, certain key characters became easy to listen to despite the difficult context and even enjoy. The set and costume was admired for the provocative nature and was a success in almost all aspects. Overall, the play captured most moments that were significant either with the use of design or the skill of the able and talented actors.

The Van Hiele Theory Of Geometric Thinking

The Van Hiele Theory Of Geometric Thinking This chapter will provide a brief explanation of the theoretical framework on Van Hiele theory of geometric thinking. Consequently review and discuss on literature involving van Hiele theory and dynamic geometry software, follow by review of literature on teaching and learning of geometry by dynamic geometry software Cabri 3D as an instructional tool. Then chapter conclude by reviewing literature on designing learning activities. The Van Hiele Theory of Geometric Thinking The van Hiele model of geometric thinking is one theory that offers a model for explaining and describing geometric thinking. This theory resulted from the Dutch mathematics educator doctoral work of Dina van Hiele-Geldof and Pierre van Hiele at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands which completed in 1957. Pierre van Hiele formulated the five levels of thinking in geometry and discussed the role of insight in the learning of geometry in this doctoral thesis. Van Hiele reformulated the original five levels into three during the 1980s. Dina van Hiele-Geldorfs doctoral thesis, which was completed in 1957, focused on the role of instruction in the raising of a pupils thought levels. Her study centered on thinking of geometry and the role of instruction in assessing pupils to move though the levels. The following summary of Van Hiele theory history is taken from Hanscomb,Kerry, (2005, p.77): A convenient location for many primary sources on the Van Hiele model is Fuys et al. (1984).Other primary sources are van Hiele and Van Hiele-Geldof (1958) and Van Hiele (1986). Secondary sources for Van Hiele research are Mayberry (1983), who found that students may operate at different levels for different concepts; Mayson (1997),who claims that gifted students may skip van Hiele levels; and Clements and Battista (1992),who cite finding indicating that the van Hiele levels involve cognitive developmental factors as well as didactical factors. The van Hiele theory has been applied to clarify students difficulties with the higher order cognitive processes, which is necessary to success in high school geometry. In this theory if students do not taught at the proper Hiele level that they are at or ready for it, will face difficulties and they cannot understand geometry. The therapy that offered for students by this theory is that they should go through the sequence of levels in a specific way. (Usiskin, 1982b). It is possible to generalize the Van Hiele model to the other topics such as physics, science and arts. Because the main idea of this theory is the consequence of levels and believing that each level is built on properties of the previous level as many researches has done based on this theory on science education. Characteristics of Van Hiele level of geometric thought Van Hiele theory argues there are some misconstructions in teaching of school mathematics and geometry, which was existed for long time based on the formal axiomatic geometry and was created by Euclid more than two thousand years ago. Euclid logical construction is based on his axioms, definitions, theorems, and proofs. Therefore, the school geometry that is in a similar axiomatic fashion assumes that students think in a formal deductive level. However, it is not usually the case and the students have the lack of prerequisite understanding about geometry. Van Hiele discusses this lack creates a gap between their level of geometric thinking that they are, and the level of geometric thinking that they required for and they expected to learn. He supports Piagets points of view Giving no education is better than giving it at the wrong time. Teachers should provide teaching that is appropriate to the level of childrens thinking. Van Hiele theory suggests: It depends on the students level of geometric thinking the teacher can decide in which level the teaching should be begun.(Van Hiele, 1999) According to the van Hiele theory, a student moves sequentially from the initial level (Visualization) to the highest level (Rigor). Students cannot achieve one level of thinking successfully without having passed through the previous levels. Furthermore, Burger Shaughnessy (1986) and Mayberry (1983) have found that the level of thinking at an entry level is not the same in all areas of geometry. During last decades many researchers and investigators tried to support the Van Hiele model or disapprove of it and still some try to improve or adjust this model. Many of the researcher used Van Hiele level of geometric thought as a suitable and proper theory in their research using dynamic geometry software (Smart, 2008). The Van Hiele levels have certain properties specially for understanding the geometry. First of all, the stages have fixed sequence property. The five levels are hieratically, it means students must go through the levels in order. He/she cannot fit in level N without having gone through the previous level (N-1). Students cannot engage in geometry thinking at higher level without passing the lower levels. Second property is adjacency of the levels. At each level of thought what is essential in the previous level become extrinsic in the existing level. Individual understanding and reflection on geometric ideas are needed to move from one level to the next one, rather than biological maturation. Third each level has its own symbols and linguistic and relationships for connecting those symbols. This property is a distinction of the stages. For example when a teacher use a language for higher level of thinking than students level of thinking, students cannot understand the concepts and try to just memorizing the proofs and do the rote learning. In this case miscommunication emerge (Hong Lay, 2005). The next characteristic, clarifies two persons in different levels cannot understand each other. As each level of thinking has its own language and symbols so students in different levels cannot understand each other. Lastly, the Van Hiele theory emphasize on pedagogy and the importance of teacher instruction to assist students transition through one level to the next one. This characteristic indicates that appropriate activities which allow students to explore and discover geometric concepts in appropriate levels of their thinking are the best activities to advance students level of thinking. Phases of learning geometry Van Hiele theory defines five levels of learning geometry which students must pass in order to obtain an understanding of geometric concept. To progress from one level to next level should be involve these five levels as Usiskin argued: The learning process leading to complete understanding at the next higher level has five phases, approximately but not strictly sequential, entitled: Inquiry Directed orientation Explanation Free orientation Integration (p.6)(Usiskin, 1982a). These five level are very valuable in designing activities and design instructional phases. Phase one: Inquiry First phase of learning geometry starts with inquiry or information satge. In this stage students learn about the nature of the geometric objects.in order to design appropriate activities, Teacher identify students prior knowledge about new concept which need to be learnt. Then teacher design proper activities to encourage and encounter students with the new concept which is being taught. Phase two: Directed orientation During this phase while students doing their short activities with set of outcomes like: measuring, folding and unfolding, or geometry games, teacher provides appropriate activities base on students levels level of thinking to encourage them be more familiar with the concept being taught. Phase three: Explanation As the name of this phase demonstrates, in this stage students try to describe their learning of new concept in their own words. Students in this phase start to express their conclusions and finding with their other classmates and teacher in their own words. They communicate mathematically. The role of teacher in this stage is supplying relevant mathematical terminology and language in a proper manner, by using geometrical and mathematical language accurately and correctly. Phase four: Free orientation In this phase geometrical tasks that appeal to numerous ways is presented to the students. This is the students who decide how to go about accomplishing these tasks. As the way of solid geometry, they have learned to investigate more complex open-ended activities. Phase Five: Integration In this stage students summarize completed tasks and overview whatever they have learned to develop a new network of concepts. By completing this stage it is expected that students attained a new level of geometric thought. One of important properties of these phases of learning in Van Hiele theory is not linear in nature. Sometimes students need a cycle form of these phases by repeating more than one time to overcome certain geometrical concepts. The role of teaches here is providing suitable activities based on these five phases to develop each level of van Hiele geometric thinking. The Van Hiele level of geometric thinking According to Van Hiele theory, the development of students geometric thinking considered regarding the increasingly sophisticated level of thinking. These levels are hierarchies and able to predict future students enactment in geometry(Usiskin, 1982a). This model consists of five levels in understanding, which numbered from 0 to 4. However, in this research we defined these levels from 1 to 5 to be able categorize students, who are not fitted in the model as level 0. Level 1, Visualization Level 2, Analysis Level 3, Informal deduction Level 4, deduction Level 5, rigor Level 1: Visualization The base stage of Van Hiele geometric thinking which is encountered with goals of mathematical domain is Level 1. The objectives of the first level are functions like the underpinning elements of everything that are going to be studied. Understanding at this stage includes visualizing base objects. At this level visualization defines as comprehension or seeing initial objects in students minds. For instance, a number line in this stage could be defined as real numbers in the domain of real numbers. Vectors and matrices can be seen as basic objects in the domain of leaner algebra. So perceiving vector as a directed segment or matrices as a rectangular table of numbers lies in level 1. Elementary teachers know that it takes a few years of school for pupils to master visualization level. For example, it takes long time for students to see real numbers in a number line format. Similarly, perception of an ordered list or array of numbers, or an ordered pair of points is not something that occurs to an untaught mind and eye. Hence, serious teaching effort and introduction needed to students achieve Level 1and it is not assumed the visualization of initial objects to be obvious or trivial for students. Geometry in Iran starts in elementary school and continues until level 8 with introducing geometry shapes like circles, squares, triangles, straight lines, etc. At the level 1 student learn to recognize geometric characteristics in objects that can be physically seen. At this stage student are assumed to be able to categorize geometric shapes by visual recognition, and know their names, for example, in solid geometry in level 1, if shown a picture of a polyhedron like a cube, students would be able to say that it is a cube because it looks like one for him or her. At this stage, it is not required to think of a cube, or any other geometric object, in terms of its properties, like saying a cube has 6 faces and 12 edges. With visual recognition a student would be able to make a copy, by drawing, plotting or using some sort of dynamic geometry software, of a shape or configuration of shapes if they could be shown or told what it is they were supposed to be copying. In this stage, the instruction should be based on the name the student has memorized for the object and not the objects properties. For instance, it could be draw a cube not draw a polygon with 12 equal edges that are perpendicular to the base and 6 equal faces. Level 2: Analysis Stage At analysis stage, students begin to analysis objects that were only visually perceived at pervious level, identifying their parts and relations among these parts. They focus on the properties of these objects. For example, focus on Real Numbers in this stage can be closure under operations. This property can be leading to distinguishing subsets of Real Numbers inside the set which are Integers and Rational Numbers. In solid geometry, the analysis stage is where students begin seeing the properties associated with the different shapes or configurations. A cube will now become a shape with 6 equal faces which opposite faces are parallel and 12 edges and adjacent angles right angles and having opposite faces equal, as well as having the diagonals intersect in their middle. However, at this stage, it is not assumed that students will be seeking logical relationships between properties such as knowing that it is enough for a Parallelepiped as a solid with parallel opposite faces and all the other properties follow. Neither is it assumed that students will think about a cuboid as a special type of Parallelepiped. Therefore, students will identify shapes and solids based on the wholeness of their properties. In other words, relationships between shapes and configurations remain merely on the list of properties they have. At this stage if a student were asked to describe a shape or solid, the description would be based on the objects properties. At the same time, if a student were asked to reproduce a shape or solid based on the list of properties, they would be capable of do so. Students would also be able to verify figures and solids hieratically by analyzing their properties. In this stage student can recognize the interrelation between figures and their properties. For example, knowing the property that the Parallelepiped the student would be able to deduce that cuboid is special kind of Parallelepiped. Level 3: Informal Deduction Stage Informal deduction is known as the third level of geometric thinking. Some of researchers name this level as abstract/Relation level too(Battista, 1999; Cabral, 2004). In this stage students can reason logically. This stage is achieved when a student can operate with the relation of figures and solids and is able to apply congruence of geometric figures to prove certain properties of a total geometric configuration of which congruent figures are a part. They become aware about sufficient and necessary condition for a concept. A student fit at this level after achieving pervious levels (visualization and analysis). At this level more attention given to relations among properties. In other words, in this stage focus is properties of sets of properties. In this level according to relationship between properties of objects students attempt to group these properties into subgroups. Students try to find out what are the minimum of properties that needed to describe of the initial base elements. They intend to categorize properties which are equivalent in certain situation. The mathematical relationships between properties are the main focus in this stage. Understanding and finding these relationships is a kind of informal deduction. For example, in this stage students would start to improve the idea that some operations in real numbers follows from other sets like natural numbers. Then they would start making an approach understanding the Real Numbers axiom as a systematic commutative field. But they cannot make proofs for such informal observation. Just in the next stage student would be able to produce proofs and deductions. That is where using the tools like Cabri 3D as a dynamic geometry software play very important roles. For most of the students jump to the third level, informal deduction, is not easy. Now they can group the properties and identify the minimum amount of the needed properties. For example a cube, which might have had at level 2 the properties of six equal square faces, twelve equal edges with equal diagonal, parallel edges, perpendicular Adjacent edges, now would describe with the smaller amount of the properties such as shape composed of six equal squares. As it is seen, students in this level start formulation definitions for classes of objects and figures. For instance, a right triangle can be defined as a special kind of triangle that has two perpendicular sides or a right angle. As in this stage parallelogram and rectangle are not independent shapes, cube and cuboid also would be a special model of Parallelepiped. In this level students could give informal arguments to prove geometric results. They start deductively thinking about geometry and it is one of important aspects of the present stage. Some simple rules may be using here, because students follow just simple logics. For example, if A=B and B=C then A=c. Most of fitted students in the informal deduction level would able to justify arguments that they presented before with informal logic relationships. Therefore, at this level they can give informal logical relationships and use them about earlier identified properties. All in all, students now start to recognize the significance of the deduction and logic in the Geometry. Level 4: Deduction Deduction is the fourth level of Van Hiele theory of geometric thinking. In this level students start to construct rather than just memorize the proofs. They are able to find differences between the same proofs. The goal of the previous level was discovering the relations among properties of the bases element by the students. At level 4 those relations are used to deduce theorems about base elements based on laws of deductive logic. The main purpose of level 4 is the organization of the statements about relations from level 2 and 3 into deductive proofs. Discussing to the real number example, at this level, it is expected of the students to prove, for real numbers if. Students are ready to accept a system of axioms, theorem, and definitions. They can create the proofs form the axioms and just using the models or diagrams to support their arguments. Thus, students are able to formally prove what they had proved previously in level 3 using diagrams and informal arguments. They also start to distinguish the need for undefined terms in Geometry, which is very hard concept to understand in purely logical system. Another point in this stage is that, students begin to become aware, understand and identify the differences between contrapositive, converse, and a theorem. They can also prove or disprove any of those relationships. In this level students become aware of relationships and connections between theorems and group them correspondingly. These level is the stage at which high school students are taught in Iran. Mesal 3d Level 5: Rigor In level fifth which named rigor, traditionally students hyper analysed the deductive proofs from level 4. They are looking to find the relationships between proves. This level looks to identified organizations of pervious level. For example, at this level the questions of are the proofs consistent with each other, how strong of a relationship is described in the proof and how do they compare with other proofs would be asked. The level of Rigor involves a deep questioning of all of the assumptions that have come before. This type of questioning also involves a comparison to other mathematical systems of similar qualities. For example, in Level 5if we considered Real Numbers we would begin to compare them as a field to other fields in general. It is fair to say that this level is usually only undertaken by professional mathematicians.(Smart, 2008) At Level 5 of van Hiele theory students can work in non-Euclidean of geometric system. So this level does not met by the high school students and it is usually assigned to college or university students in higher education. At non-Euclidean geometry constructing visual models for recognition is not easy and useful, so the focus is more on abstract concepts. So, most of geometry which is done in this level is based on abstract and proof-oriented. Students in this stage are capable to compare axioms systems such as Euclidean and Non-Euclidean. Most of the students who have fitted in this level become professionals in geometricians and geometry so they are able to carefully develop the theorems in different axiomatic geometric systems. Therefore as smart (2008) emphasis, this level usually is the work of professional mathematicians and their students in higher education that conduct research in other areas of the geometry. The Van Hiele started his research after he found that most of the students have difficulty with learning geometry. He observed that these students struggled with geometry, although they easily understood other mathematics topics. The results of their study showed, most of the High school students are taught at level 3and 4. Then van Hiele deduced most of the students had difficulty in learning geometry at level 3 and 4, because they could not understand geometry at level 2 to be able to move onto grasping level. Therefore, for melting this problem more focus is needed at second stage, analysis level and more emphasis on third stage, informal deduction. Then it can be expected that they are able to success at the deduction level.(Battista, 1999) Van hiele noted that students should pass through lower levels of geometric thinking smoothly and master them before attaining higher levels. Van Hiele theory recommends achieving higher level of thought needs a precise designed instructions. Since students are not able to bypass levels and achieve understanding, permanently dealing with formal proof can cause students to relay on memorization without understanding. In addition, geometric thinking is inherent in the types of skills we want to nurture in students. Research involving the van Hiele Model of Geometric Thinking and Interaction with dynamic geometry software Van Hiele described in his article (1999) that the learning geometry can be started in a playful environment to explore geometrical concepts with certain shapes, and properties, parallelism, and symmetry. He advised some mosaic puzzles in this purpose. In the line of his work, geometry based software provide the more powerful environment which can be used to enhance the level of geometric thinking. There are several studies carried out on effects of using some dynamic geometry software such as (geometers Sketchpad) GSP on levels of van Hiele . Different researches had been involving the Van Hiele geometric thinking since last decades. Some researchers used van Hiele Model as the theoretical framework while others used it as an analytic tool. Moreover many researches conduct study on geometric softwares like: Geometry Scratchpad used van Hiele theory to find out their effects on geometric reason, geometric thinking and other aspects. In order to find out whether dynamic geometry software is able to enhance the level of geometric thinking or not several researches has been conducted. In general, the van Hiele Model has been used in their research as an analytic tool and theoretical framework. For example, July (2001) documented and described 10th-grade students geometric thinking and spatial abilities as they used Geometers Sketchpad (GSP) to explore, construct, and analyze three-dimensional geometric objects. Then he found out the role that can dynamic geometry software, such as GSP, play in the development of students geometric thinking as defined by the van Hiele theory. He found there was evidence that students geometric thinking was improved by the end of the study. The teaching episodes using GSP encouraged level 2 thinking of the van Hiele theory of geometric thinking by helping students to look beyond the visual image and attend to the properties of the image. Via GSP students could resize, tilt, and manip ulate solids and when students investigated cross sections of Platonic Solids, they learned that they could not rely on their perception alone. In addition teaching episodes using GSP encouraged level 3 of the van Hiele thinking by aiding students learn about relationships within and between structure of Platonic solids(July, 2001). Noraini Idris (2007) also found out the positive effects of using GSP on level of Van Hiele among Form Two students in secondary school. In addition she reported the positive reaction of students toward using this software in learning geometry. In contrast Moyer,T(2003) in his PhD thesis used a non-equivalent control group design to investigate the effects of GSP on van Hiele levels. His research carried out in 2 control groups and 2 experimental groups in one high school in Pennsylvania. He had used Van Hiele tests written by Usiskin. However, Comparison of pre-test and post-test did not show a significant difference on increasing Van Hiele level of geometric thinking(July, 2001; Moyer, 2003). Fyhn (2008) categorized students responses according to the van Hile levels in a narrative form of a climbing trip(Fyhn, 2008). The theoretical framework used Smart(2008) for his research Introducing Angles in Grade Four was a combination of a teaching theory called Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) and a learning theory called the van Hiele Model of Geometric Thinking. His research findings suggest the usefulness of using lesson plans based on the two theoretical frameworks in helping students develop an analytical conceptualization of mathematics. In this study the model was neither proved nor disproved but just accepted as an analytic framework. Gills,J (2005) investigated students ability to form geometric conjectures in both statistic and dynamic geometry environments in his doctoral thesis. All participates were exposed to both environment and take parted, up to eight lab activities. He also used van Hiele theory as the main theoretical framework with more emphasis on geometric reasoning.(Gillis, 2005) Research that used the van Hiele Model as an accepted framework covers variety of different topics. For example, Gills,J (2005) find out the mathematical conjectures formed by high school geometry students when given identical geometric figures in two different, dynamic and statistic of geometric environments. Burger and Shaughnessy (1986) tested students from grade one to first year of university to determine in what level the students are functioning regarding triangles and quadrilaterals. Cabri 3D Most of the dynamic geometric software until 2005 has been constructed in 2 dimensions. Just a few dynamic geometry software, has constructed on Three-dimensional dynamic geometric software such as, Autograph and Cabri 3. Focus of present study is on Cabri 3D, which is a new version of Cabri II (2 dimensional software). Cabri 3D is a commercial interactive geometry software manufactured by the French company Cabrilog for teaching and learning geometry and trigonometry. It was designed with the ease-of-use in mind. Cabri 3D as dynamic and interactive geometry provides a significant improvement over those drawn on a whiteboard by allowing the user to animate geometric figures, relationships between points on a geometric object may easily be demonstrated, which can be useful in the learning process. There are also graphing and display functions, which allow exploration of the connections between geometry and algebra. The program can be run under Windows or the Mac OS(CABRILOG SAS, 2009). From Euclidean geometry, Compass, straightedge and ruler, for many years, have been used in as the unique method of teaching and learning geometry, and tools used to aid people in expressing their knowledge. With the creation of computers, new world opened up to teaching and learning geometry. The speed and memory of modern PCs, together with decreasing prices, have made possible the development of `virtual reality computer games making use of the 3D graphics chips included on modern graphics cards. some educational spin-off from this has been the development of 3D interactive geometry software such as Cabri 3D, Autograph ,etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But tools can contain particular conceptions so; the aim of designing a dynamic geometry software package is to provide new instructional tools to study, teaching and learning geometry. While all the dynamic geometry software attempt to model use of straightedge, compass and ruler in Euclidean geometry, other futures like measuring capability and dragging possibilities and changing the view of objects in 3 Dimensional (Gonzaà ­lez Herbst, 2009). Cabri 3D launched in September 2004 by Cabrilog, this software has the capacity to revolutionize teaching and learning of 3D geometry, at all levels, in the same way that dynamic geometry software has for 2D (CABRILOG SAS, 2009). Cabri 3D can share the same aptitude for making new discoveries as a research tool. There are some important practical features of Cabri 3D. First, This program is capable to store the files as text in Cabrilogs development of the Extensible Markup Language (XML). XML is the simplest version of the SGML standard for creating and designing HTML documents (suitable for use on Internet sites).XML designed by the World Wide Web Consortium as a more flexible replacement for HTML. Next, as Oldknow discussed, Files developed in Cabri 3D can be inserted as active objects in web-pages, spread sheets, word documents and etc. It is an interesting future because this objects which inserted in the files can be manipulated by users who do not own a copy of Cabri 3D in the ir computers.(Oldknow, 2006) One of the important charactirisitc of Cabri package is draging.Arzarello, Olivero, Paola, Robutti (2002) found that dragging in Cabri allows students to validate their conjectures. They claimed that work in Cabri is enough for the students to be convinced of the validity of their conjectures. If the teacher does not motivate students to find out why a conjecture is true, then the justifications given by students may remain at a perceptive-empirical level. Students would claim that the proposition is true because the property observed on the Cabri figure stays the same when dragging the drawing, given the hypotheses do not change. When such a belief is shared in the classroom, then Cabri might become an obstacle in the transition from empirical to theoretical thinking, as it allows validating a proposition without the need to use a theory. These researcher asserted, if teacher makes explicit the role of proof in justification, then students will be motivated to prove why a certain pr oposition is true (within a theory), after they know within the Cabri environment, that it is true. To paraphrase Polya (1954), first we need to be convinced that a proposition is true, then we can prove it.(Arzarello, Olivero, Paola, Robutti, 2002). In some researches the centrality has given to dragging in 2D dynamic geometry software and its implications for developing different types of reasoning (Arzarello et al. 2002).in addition because dragging is something which might make motion in 3D (on the 2D screen), it is more difficult to interpret and understand by the user. The various aspects of dragging in 3D DGE are issues that could usefully be the focus for research.(Hoyl

The Feminist Movement and Linda Tripp :: Essays Papers

The Feminist Movement and Linda Tripp Several weeks back in class we discussed women’s roles in politics today. Linda Tripp has become a political figure whether she likes to think of herself in that manner or not. When you work for the pentagon or in any governmental venue whatsoever you are marked by the lines of politics for the rest of your life. My studies have shown that Tripp has tired to downplay her political role. That was a difficult task when she was posing as the friend of the President’s mistress at the same time as she was recording their personal telephone conversations for Prosecutor Ken Starr’s use. Linda Tripp therefore plays an important role in the political environment of today’s society. Tripp plays a dual role as a woman and a political figure. She is a person of great name recognition and thus she is a representative of women in our society. I think this is where the problems with Linda Tripp begin. Tripp has changed the political and societal construction of women’s’ role's, as we know them today. Her attempts to identify with other women have only perpetuated the difficulties that women have had with in the political system. As a young woman in our society, I find it difficult to ignore the impact that Tripp has had on women in our society. I am becoming ever more involved in the political realm and find it very challenging. The class in which we discussed women’s roles in politics in the nineties represented how important and relevant gender issues continue to be within social and political movements. From that class, I remember hearing several persuasive arguments and examples from the women in the class in regards to how difficult it can be to be involved in political issues today. The pressures of being a woman are sometimes subtle and often not felt instantaneously. The need to work harder and do better in order to prove ourselves competent to our fellow male counterparts is sometimes not realized by women until we have reached a personal limit. In reaching that limit we can look around and sometimes I feel we may have lost a lot in trying to achieve some of the same things that men in our so ciety are raised to do. I think Linda Tripp has reached that limit and has lost personal values. Her fame has not been of positive persuasion to the

Misconception On Hispanics :: stereotyping

Miss conceptions In today’s society we stereotype the Hispanic race as being lazy and having lot’s of children. People perceive the Hispanic race this way but reality we are all the same. We work hard to get were we are today in society. Many people have bad images of the Hispanic race because they see one Hispanic person who dress a certain way or even acts a certain way and they assume we are all bad people. For example if you see a Hispanic man that is baldheaded and has on baggie clothes people assume that he is a gangster by the way he looks. But what they wouldn’t know is who he really is he could be a straight â€Å"a’† student but only assume he is bad by his appearance. As in Brent Staples essay Black Men and Public Spaces when the man is passing through the park and the women assumes he’s going to hurt her because of the way he looks and how he is acting the woman starts to run away. That is peoples bad miss conception of others beside themselves. Garcia 2 Some Hispanic people try to go their whole life denying who they really are. Like in Passing when Joan Steinau Lester tells us that all of us developed different ways of coping with stereotypes of our groups and of ourselves (260). Most Hispanic people chose to pass because they grew up around hardship and racial slurs from other that thought themselves to be better. Others chose to pass because they seen it done to other Hispanics and did not want to encounter the same reaction. So rather than face who they are and were they come from these people chose to pass and avoid all the negative reactions. Instead of trying to pass Hispanic people should overcome and try to better themselves by getting a good education and get those good jobs. So they wouldn’t have to pass they could be proud of who they are and were their family comes from. So they don’t have to feel like an airborne plant, flourishing without roots (Holman 258). Hispanic people have avoided these harmful situations by passing our by staying far from those who belittle them and not getting into confrontations. Hispanics have not put themselves in an environment where they could be harmed. They surround themselves in all Hispanic communities were they feel comfortable and they don’t have to feel like an outsider in their own community.

Compare and Contrast ‘Crow Lake’ and ‘Warren Pryor’

In the modern day, millions of students of all ages from around the globe attend schools and universities solely for the purpose of receiving an education. The reason as to why education is one of the most important elements in life is because it helps individuals gain wisdom and awareness, and essentially achieve more success in their lives. The importance of education also happens to be one of the central elements in Mary Lawson’s ‘Crow Lake’, as well as in ‘Warren Pryor’, a poem written by Alden Nowlan. To begin with, one most first realize the true value of education.We are introduced to this concept when we see the extents to which Warren’s parents go in order for their son to be able to receive an education, rather than to labour on a farm. In the first stanza of the poem, Alden describes: â€Å"His parents boarded him at school in town, slaving to free him from the stony fields† (Nowlan 2-3). Alden is able to achieve imagery in hi s reader’s mind by his use of diction. The selection of words such as ‘slaving’ creates a powerful evocative effect, as it highlights how much an education is truly worth. On the other hand, Kate is also making similar conclusions.While reflecting on her university education, she explains: â€Å"I had discovered by then that Great-Grandmother Morrison was more right than she knew about the power of education [†¦] she’d had no idea of the other doors it could open† (Lawson 187). This passage reveals Kate’s experiences with success and her realizations about the true potential of formal education. Another common element between the protagonists of the novel and the poem, is the financial struggles they have to face and the sacrifices they have to make. Alden Nowlan describes Warren’s situation with: â€Å"When every pencil meant a sacrifice† (Nowlan 1).This line introduces the reader to a taste of poverty, where something as uncostly as a pencil can mean a sacrifice. Similarly, Kate retells: â€Å"Money was too tight for me to go home for short breaks† (Lawson 188). This shortage of money in the Morrison family translates into separation of the members from each other. Therefore although the two characters are faced with different situations, the lack of money becomes an issue for both the protagonists, as well as their families. However, Kate and Warren begin to contrast each other in their attitude towards receiving an education.While Kate sees her university as the ultimate path to a brighter future, she explains: â€Å"The World was spreading itself out before me; I felt that I could go anywhere, do anything. Be anyone. † It is clear that she realizes her opportunity to change her life for the better, and she is prepared to take advantage of it. While on the other hand, Warren Pryor does not seem to be a man of books and learning. Although he was able to finish university and successfu lly get a job, the last stanza explains: â€Å"And he said nothing. Hard and serious like a young bear inside his teller’s cage† (Nowlan 13).While ironically this life of hard work and success means little to Warren, in order to avoid disappointment from his parents, he chooses to remain silently inside his teller’s cage. Although these two pieces of literature have a few differences and points of contrast, for most of the parts they’re significantly relevant. Mary Lawson and Alden Nowlan both use unique methods of bringing a subject to life, whether by in depth development of a character, or through biblical and religious references. Overall, both pieces deal with the central concept of the importance of education in today’s world, for both the individual and the society.