Self-Preservation Is the First Law of Nature Essay Example

Self-Preservation Is the First Law of Nature Paper â€Å"Self-preservation is the first law of nature. † The above quote is an often heard line regarding an individual’s response to the demands of nature. It can be said that self-preservation and security outweigh the need to act independently and freely of the constraints of others. This is but one of the ways one can attempt to balance out the desire to act independently but also with the need for security. The idea of resolving these seemingly irreconcilable needs is brought up in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, wherein he writes of two main characters who attempt to resolve their need for independence and security. The playwright utilizes character to suggest that in the attempt to reconcile independence and security, it is ultimately the need for self-preservation that takes immediate priority. A character who is faced with the task of uniting his desire to act independently with his need for security is Hamlet. Hamlet shows a melancholy side to him when confronted by these opposing demands. From his soliloquies, the reader is immersed in the thoughts of a pensive young man who struggles with the need for safety and freedom. He debates whether â€Å"to be, or not to be,† and although he does not hold his life at a â€Å"pin’s fee,† his heart harbors discontent with the â€Å"unweeded garden that grows to seed. † It is seen that he is conflicted with the demands set upon him by his dead father, as well as that of Claudius and the people of Denmark who want to move on from the passing, and he struggles with the desire to resolve his need for security and autonomy in this matter. We will write a custom essay sample on Self-Preservation Is the First Law of Nature specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Self-Preservation Is the First Law of Nature specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Self-Preservation Is the First Law of Nature specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer From this, it is seen that Hamlet values self-preservation over independence as his soliloquies are only words and not actions, and as such, are the product of his own safety thereby allowing him to immerse himself in the safety of this own thoughts. Furthermore, it is evidenced that he is a procrastinator in his quest for independent action, and this ultimately turns out to be his tragic flaw. Even though he is set upon the task of avenging his father’s â€Å"foul and most unnatural death,† he stands â€Å"unpregnant of his cause. It is clear from this that Hamlet procrastinates in order to preserve his own well being and acts in his own self interest despite the desire to take revenge upon Claudius for his father’s death. He does not wish to act independently when his security is put at risk, especially in the presence of a â€Å"smiling, damned villain,† so he procrastinates in order to put off dealing with matters that might jeopardize his wellbeing. Conversely however, Hamlet has been shown to have an impulsive streak in the face of settling his desires for safety and freedom. This is clearly seen when he â€Å"follows [the ghost]† despite the apparitions intentions being unknown. The ghost could be the work of the devil, only to condemn Hamlet to his own personal oblivion, however, he still actively seeks out the spectre because he wishes to learn the truth of the matters concerning his father’s death. As well, he displays decisive action when he says the â€Å"rat dead, for a ducat, dead. † This violent and impulsive action results in the death of Polonius who was eavesdropping on his and Gertrude’s conversation. In both of these examples it is seen that Hamlet acts independently and decisively, with the underlying intent being that of self-preservation. He seeks out the ghost’s intentions because of his desire to live securely despite the rule of Claudius, and he kills Polonius only because he was acting on behalf of his own primal instinct to preserve himself. From these examples it is inferred that in his desire to harmonize safety and the need for independent action, hamlet acts impulsively to secure the security he craves. Lastly, it is seen that Hamlet exudes an aura of intelligence and quick wit when opposed by the daunting task of reconciling safety and independence. He has an innate ability to transform a turn of events to his advantage as is witnessed when the players come to put on a show. He utilizes them in order to â€Å"catch the conscience of the king,† wherein he collects enough evidence to cement the validity of the ghost’s statements. His ability to think quickly is invaluable, as this keeps his wellbeing a top priority while still unifying his need to act freely as well. Another character who deals with the prospect of reconciling his need to act independently with his need for security is Claudius. Unlike Hamlet who is a procrastinator in his deeds, Claudius is a man of decisive action. This is clearly seen when he decides to have Hamlet sent to England with â€Å"fiery quickness† due to his â€Å"antic disposition. † It is evident that Claudius does not deliberate on matters that require immediate attention as â€Å"[he’ll] have Hamlet hence to-night. † From this, it can be inferred that Claudius wishes o preserve himself against a suspicious threat as he manages to actively deal with his adversary as well. In combination with his decisive action, it is known that Claudius is incredibly manipulative in his desire to unify freedom and safety. When Laertes makes his return to Denmark with every intention of avenging his father by killing Claudius, he does everything in his power to give†[Laertes’s soul] it[s] due content. † He placates Laertes’s indignant spirit and as a result, Laertes end up â€Å"rul’d by [Claudius]. From this, it is seen that Claudius utilizes manipulation for the sake of self-preservation while keeping his own independent actions an ulteriot motive. As well, Claudius has displayed a creative and strategic ingenuity when it comes to reconciling his own security and free will. He is determined to be rid of Hamlet, but his strategic nature indicates that he will do so by way of a cunning scheme. When Laertes and Claudius plan hamlet’s demise, Claudius maintains a skillful approach that will allow â€Å"purpose[to] hold there. It is evidenced that Claudius utilizes his own strategic nature in order to act for sake of saving his own flesh. While in the process of working towards acting independently, he also manages to keep his safety a top priority which is his ultimate motive against a dangerous opposition such as Hamlet. Lastly, it is seen that in his pursuit of uniting his own independent action and security, Claudius has shown a paranoid and guilt stricken side to him. He is responsible for the death of his own brother as his â€Å"stronger guilt defeats [his] stronger intent. † However, he cannot truly repent as his â€Å"words [are] without thought,† and as a result, they will â€Å"never to heaven go. † It is seen that because of his desire to remain secure in not only the eyes of the public, but as well as Hamlet and Gertrude, he cannot openly admit to his wrong doings. This is due to the fact that in doing so, he will risk the unbridled and justified wrath of hamlet which will compromise Claudius’s sport on the throne. Just like a scavenger whose actions are cowardly in order to live another day, Claudius too, lives securely to rule in the coming days due to his own inability to act independently. In conclusion, it is seen that in the attempt to reconcile ones desire for independent action as well as security, it is ultimately the self-preserving instinct that takes immediate control. This is clearly evidenced by both hamlet and Claudius in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, who although take different approaches to this matter, fundamentally have the same mentality of keeping their desire to be secure the utmost priority. It is derived from the play that it is almost always security that takes precedence over freedom of actions; however it is up to the members of society to decide for themselves how they wish to approach their own attempt to reconcile their own need for security as well as the desire to act independently. There are many different approaches and ways to attempt this harmonization, and as such, each is tailored to an individual’s unique ability to decipher what it is that one really values and desires.

Israeli Prime Ministers Since Establishment of the State in 1948

Israeli Prime Ministers Since Establishment of the State in 1948 Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, the prime minister is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful figure in Israeli politics. Although the president of Israel is the countrys head of state, his powers are largely ceremonial; the prime minister holds most of the real power. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala, is in Jerusalem. The Knesset is the national legislature of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the president and prime minister, although the prime minister is ceremonially appointed by the president, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government. Israels Prime Ministers Since 1948 Following an election, the president nominates a member of the Knesset to become prime minister after asking party leaders whom they support for the position. The nominee then presents a government platform and must receive a vote of confidence in order to become prime minister. In practice, the prime minister is usually the leader of the largest party in the governing coalition. Between 1996 and 2001, the prime minister was directly elected, separately from the Knesset. Israeli Prime Minister Years Party David Ben-Gurion 1948-1954 Mapai Moshe Sharett 1954-1955 Mapai David Ben-Gurion 1955-1963 Mapai Levi Eshkol 1963-1969 Mapai/Alignment/Labor Golda Meir 1969-1974 Alignment/Labor Yitzhak Rabin 1974-1977 Alignment/Labor Menachem Begin 1977-1983 Likud Yitzhak Shamir 1983-1984 Likud Shimon Peres 1984-1986 Alignment/Labor Yitzhak Shamir 1986-1992 Likud Yitzhak Rabin 1992-1995 Labor Shimon Peres 1995-1996 Labor Benjamin Netanyahu 1996-1999 Likud Ehud Barak 1999-2001 One Israel/Labor Ariel Sharon 2001-2006 Likud/Kadima Ehud Olmert 2006-2009 Kadima Benjamin Netanyahu 2009-present Likud Order of Succession If the prime minister dies in office, the cabinet chooses an interim prime minister, to run the government until a new government is placed in power. According to Israeli law, if a prime minister is temporarily incapacitated rather than dies, power is transferred to the  acting prime minister, until the prime minister recovers, for up to 100 days. If the prime minister is declared permanently incapacitated, or that period expires, the President of Israel oversees the process of assembling a new governing coalition, and in the meantime, the acting prime minister or other incumbent minister is appointed by the cabinet to serve as an interim prime minister. Parliamentary Parties of the Prime Ministers The Mapai Party was the party of the first prime minister of Israel during the formation of the state. It was considered  the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the modern-day Labor Party in 1968. The party introduced progressive reforms such as the  establishment of a welfare state, providing a minimum income, security, and access to housing subsidies and health and social services. The Alignment was a group of consisting of the Mapai and Ahdut Haavoda-Poalei Zion parties around the time of the sixth Knesset. The group later included the newly formed Israel Labor Party and Mapam. The Independent Liberal Party joined the Alignment around the 11th Knesset. The Labor Party was a parliamentary group formed in the course of the 15th Knesset after Gesher left One Israel and included the Labor Party and Meimad, which was a moderate religious party, that never ran independently in Knesset elections. One Israel, the party of Ehud Barak, was made up of the Labor Party, Gesher and Meimad during the 15th Knesset. The Kadima was established towards the end of the 16th Knesset, a new parliamentary group, Achrayut Leumit, which means National Responsibility, split off from the Likud. Approximately two months later, Acharayut Leumit changed its name to Kadima. The Likud was established in 1973 around the time of the elections for the eighth Knesset. It consisted of the Herut Movement, the Liberal Party, the Free Center, the National List and Greater Israel Activists.

The case of injury at the workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The case of injury at the workplace - Essay Example The case of injury at the workplace The plaintiff appealed the decision to the court. BWC filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The court ruled in favor of BWC holding that Plaintiff had not exhausted administrative remedies and dismissed the appeal. Subsequently, the plaintiff moved to the Tenth District Court of Appeals which upheld the decision of the trial court. The plaintiff did not stop there but made a second Workers’ Compensation claim application with BWC. This second application was administratively rejected by BWC and Industrial Commission at all levels. The plaintiff then appealed BWC’s decision to the court. At that point, the BWC (hereby called the defendant) made the motion to dismiss or in alternative for summary judgment (the subject to the present appeal) on grounds that decision of the defendant denying the applicant’s first application acted as a bar for his making the second application, under the doctrine of res Judicata. Therefore, the main issue in the applica tion was whether the second worker’s compensation application by the plaintiff can be heard de novo by BWC or it was barred under the doctrine of res Judicata. The court found that the second application should have been heard de novo by the defendant. The reasoning of the court was that the original worker’s compensation claim was not heard on merit but was dismissed on procedural technicalities and, therefore, the doctrine of res Judicata did not apply. ... This second application was administratively rejected by BWC and Industrial Commission at all levels. The plaintiff then appealed BWC’s decision to the court. At that point, the BWC (hereby called the defendant) made the motion to dismiss or in alternative for summary judgment (the subject to the present appeal) on grounds that decision of the defendant denying the applicant’s first application acted as a bar for his making the second application, under the doctrine of res Judicata. Therefore, the main issue in the application was whether the second worker’s compensation application by the plaintiff can be heard de novo by BWC or it was barred under the doctrine of res Judicata. The court found that the second application should have been heard de novo by the defendant. The reasoning of the court was that the original worker’s compensation claim was not heard on merit but was dismissed on procedural technicalities and, therefore, the doctrine of res Judica ta did not apply. The court relied on a decision of the Tenth District Court of Appeals in Greene v Conrad (10th Dist., 1997) where the court held that BWC had denied the application on procedural ground, and which did not constitute adjudication of the dispute on its merits and, therefore, the doctrine of res Judicata could not apply. Therefore, the court dismissed the defendant’s motion to dismiss and remanded back the matter to BWC for proceedings. The trial court found that the original worker’s compensation claim application was filed by another person other than the plaintiff with BWC without the knowledge of the plaintiff and therefore, the claim cannot be held to have been adjudicated on merit since he was not pricy as a party. Present Appeal

Social Needs of Children and Adolescents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Social Needs of Children and Adolescents - Essay Example B. According to the social learning theory, children learn the skills of effective communication through their observations of adults around them. The development of communication skills among children is hence, directly related to their parents and the environment in their homes. A happily married couple is likely to give positive vibes and create a positive environment for the child which in turn leads to the development of a strong sense of emotional security in the child, thus ultimately contributing to positive interaction skills among them (Fine & Harvey, 2006). Â  C. Emotional unresponsiveness is the key quality in a family environment that may restrict the development of crucial social development skills among children. Children, who lack emotional support from their parents, tend to lack self-confidence and results in an insecure relationship between the child and the parent. This further creates a high-stress environment in the family, leading to serious negative consequences on the social development of the child (Mash, 2003). Â  D. The adoption and implementation of psychoeducational approach in a classroom help in the development of positive intrapersonal skills development among children (Hunter-Carsch, 2006). One of the most significant aspects of a classroom environment is the one which encourages the children to listen attentively. Since effective listening skills contribute to the development of effective problem-solving skills (Adams, 1994). Â  E. A classroom environment which follows a strictly formal approach while interacting with the students could prove to be detrimental to the achievement and development of effective social skills.

Marketing Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Marketing Audit - Essay Example However, this was a great challenge to Nokia, specifically because new companies began to emerge, that were able to produce cheap mobile phones, which were also innovative. During the 21st century, Nokia began losing competition to mobile phone giants such as Apples, Samsung, and the numerous Chinese mobile companies that produced cheap, but innovative mobile phones (Sundback, 2008). One of the major reasons as to why Nokia was losing competition is based on the fact that it had a poor marketing strategy. Nokia was unable to effectively communicate its proposition, and what their products stand for. This is an aspect that Apples and Samsung have managed to communicate effectively in their marketing campaigns. Furthermore, the advertisements of Nokia are not consistent, communicating messages which are not relevant to their target market (Barnes, 2011). It is important to understand that to achieve success in marketing, it is essential for a business organization to highlight how their products serve the needs of their customers. On this note, failure of Nokia to achieve market growth is not because of low quality products, but mainly because of their poor marketing strategies. Nokia is a company in the telecommunication industry. In reviewing the marketing strategy of Nokia, there is a need of concentrating on the strategy that the organization employed in marketing its Nokia brand of mobile phones (Glotz, Bertschi and Locke, 2005). This report will provide a critique of the marketing strategy of the organization, identifying various weaknesses that the company needs to improve on. The main intention of providing a critique on the marketing strategy of Nokia is to make a recommendation on how to improve its marketing mix, in order to be an effective competitor in the telecommunications industry (Häikiö, 2002). On this basis, this report is a critical analysis of the marketing strategy of Nokia

Issue Of Single Sex And Coeducational Physical Education

Issue Of Single Sex And Coeducational Physical Education There has been a constant debate surrounding the idea as to whether or not students would benefit more from a single sex environment or mixed sex environment for education (Mael, 1998). This debate has led to extensive research into this issue whereby some researchers have supported single-sex classes while others have supported mixed-classes the two nature of classes have been particularly discussed in relation to issues such as socioemotional, academic, as well as interpersonal development (Harker, 2000). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether it is advantageous to run single-sex physical education classes as opposed to coeducational classes, in which case the relationship between several variables will be examined. In addition, the study attempted to delve into the impact of these variables upon the effectiveness of physical education learning for girls. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative study techniques, whereby, a total of 50 female students were interviewed. To collect more information, the researcher repeated this process on 10 female physical education teachers. Questionnaires were designed and administered to both the female students and the teachers, in which case the questions that were asked were both open-ended and closed-ended. To ensure informed participation, Cone and Foster (2003) pointed out that it is critical to seek informed consent from the participants and also ensure their confidentiality. In this view, the researcher will ensure that a clear, informed and voluntary agreement is made by the participants (Ellis and Earley, 2006). The kind of informed consent, which will be used in this study, will have to meet specific requirements including a statement that the study is about research, specification of any experimental procedures, a description of the procedures that will be involved, an explanation of the purpose of the research, and details of the expected period of participants involvement (http://www.strath.ac.uk, accessed 22.02.2013). Analysis of the results of the interview presented quantitative variables for establishing the girls effectiveness for learning football skills, which was statistically significant, meaning that single-sex environment was preferred. Similarly, the conclusion from the qualitative data was that single-sex physical education environment is a better learning environment,as it offers a more supportive and comfortable environment for girls than a coeducational environment (Elwood and Gipps, 1999). To review the differences of female participation levels in both single sex PE and mixed sex PE Introduction The issue of single-sex and coeducational physical education is a grand debate and has no sign of ending any time soon. Numerous research regarding the pros and cons of coeducational against single-sex has been undertaken in the UK and the world at large, though its results have been largely mixed and unclear (Mael, 1998). In other words, the results of these studies and reviews has been lacking of consistency or strong evidence about the disadvantages and advantages of signal-sex classes over coeducational classes (Mael, 1998). Nevertheless, one of the stronger suggestions is that, when evaluating the effectiveness of either single-sex or coeducational classes, it is important to assess both the social and and the cultural context of the school environment (Smithers and Robinson, 2006). This study is aimed at identifying the all-round debate that concerns the issues of social cultural environment including learning achievement, curriculum design, social issues, and the experience of children in learning physical education among many others. Historically, the issue of gender and education has led to a perception of schools as crucial roots of fostering development of equal society and social change, whereby a social situation for the women is perceived to be less repressive (Salomone, 2004). Nevertheless, the approaches to the question of single-sex physical education can be taken from different perspectives. In this regard, some academic sources provide that, in order to prepare women to stand out academically, it is also important to make sure they take part in physical education, a subject which is becoming compulsory in schools around the world (Oloffsson, 2007). Although this can only be successful if issues of structure, and conditions of physical education classes are put into consideration while designing an all inclusive educational curriculum. Unfortunately studies show that it is a constant battle to get girls to even participate in physical education as shown by Evans (2006) who states that 35% of girls do not enjoy PE compered to a mere 17% of boys. Most importantly, it is argued that girls in single-sex schools can excel academically simply if the lesson is structured to encourage and motivate girls to acquire specific skills, even in areas that are perceived to be male domain, including the sciences (Salomone, 2004). It is also argued that schools should be symbols of equality and environments that can provide students with early knowledge and experiences of gender equality in order to avoid nurturing a society that propagates unequal gender patterns (Warrington and Younger, 2001). In respect to gender equality, the position has been that coeducational classes are a preparation for a society that values gender equality, however it is stated by Hoffman et al. (2008) that females experience gender inequality from a young age as males receive more direct attention from teachers from nursery through secondary school. Nevertheless, provided that gender inequality in most societies is natural, it is important to instill the virtue o f gender equality and awareness in the stakeholders including teachers to avoid the reproduction of gender inequity in academic training (Salomone, 2004). The current educational environment focuses on the achievement of qualifications such as GCSEs and general academic success. However, the educational experience of students throughout their school years must not be ignored. Many researchers have shown how girls experiences within a coeducational PE environment is difficult for them in a number of different ways. For example, it was suggested that teachers intellectually motivated boys and rewarded girls for exhibiting suitable feminine characteristics. Evans (2006) also comments to suggests that girls feel self conscious when par taking in physical activity as being sporty is not considered to be a desirable feminine trait. It was also found that the boys had a tendency of dominating the classes, in which case the teachers supported their domination by taking their contributions more seriously than that of the girls. Howe (2001) suggests that this is due to sports being viewed as a mans game possibly resulting in teachers over looking girls contributions. Notably, the tendency of boys to dominate classes does not affect all boys and at the same time some girls are not typically silent, but exhibit the behaviour of boys. More recent research has shifted focus towards the differences within and between gender groups. The way that students experience schooling is affected by factors such as social class, ethnicity and race; however, the patterns of gender identified in early research is carried on throughout coeducational schools in the present day. This, however, does not mean that the educational system in single-sex environments is entirely positive thus showing why this study is necessary to explore this rather undisputable issue. The issues of coeducational and single-sex physical education classes has been largely researched but the long-term social implications have been scarcely studied this study will explore this aspect in an extensive view. Notably, most of those who support coeducational classes can encourage males and females to work together constructively. In other words, coeducational set ups proponents suggest that the classes should be structured to mirror a real-life situation. In contrast, the proponents of single-sex class argue that, since the female classes do not reflect a real-life situation, it is only important to have single-sex classes. In other words, they propose that, since the western societies are male-dominated and since women plays a second fiddle when it come to opportunities, power, and payments amongst other issues there is a need to separate females and males classes. It is, therefore, important for the students as well as the educators to change this wave of inequality in schools and physical education in particular. Those who have supported single-sex have maintained that single-sex educational environment can present girls with an opportunity to deliver themselves from the strings of discrimination and get an opportunity to prove that they do not have to play a second fiddle to boys. The little evidence that has been presented in relation to the long-term social implications of mixed and single-sex physical education classes has not shown any significant discrepancies in regards to personal development differences between males and females in coeducational and single-sex environments. However, on overall, more questions have been left unanswered in respect to this issue. Therefore, this study investigated whether it is advantageous to run single-sex physical education classes as opposed to coeducational classes, in which case the relationship between several variables was examined. In addition, the study attempted to establish the impact of these variables upon the effectiveness of physical education learning for girls. Literature review A mixed-gender Physical Education (PE) has sparked a lot of argument amongst many stakeholders including researchers and educators (Issues, 1999), most of whom are interested in promoting the learning environment for the females so they can be educated effectively just like the male students (Carpenter Acosta, 2001). Many of those who have studied this area have thought that integration of male and females during PE lessons would remove the problem of discrimination since both genders would receive similar instructions as well as the curricular content (Griffin, 1983). However, many other researchers have contradicted this observation because they found that mixing girls and boys during PE lessons did not amount to equitable treatment for girls (Chepyator-Thomson Ennis, 1997; Derry Phillips, 2002; Hutchinson, 1995). In a qualitative study conducted by Griffin (1983; 1984), integration of both genders during physical education was presented as neither conducive nor equitable for girls and some boys. The capacity of girls to learn in such environments was inhibited by the behaviuor of boys including display of physical contact, verbal harassment and taking of girls turns (Griffin, 1983). On the other hand, girls did not inhibit the performance of boys and actually opted to stay away from them (Griffin, 1983). Another highly influential factor that affected the mixed-gender classes is the manner in which boys controls the activities during the PE classes, hence rendering the girls more or less inactive (Chepyator-Thomson Ennis, 1997; Derry Phillips, 2002). Furthermore, girls have a tendency of losing enthusiasm during interaction with their peers in the course of physical education this makes them to develop a fearing attitude and a negative feeling towards the interactive physical activity, whi ch in effect reduces their level of participation (Kunesh, Hasbrook, Lewthwaite, 1992). Furthermore, the settings of physical education classes are important in shaping the attitudes of girls towards participating in physical education. Researchers such as Sallis and McKenzie (1991) have agreed that the participation in physical education, by adolescents, is largely influenced by positive learning experiences. Research studies have also disclosed that girls are increasingly ending their participation in physical activities at the high school level (Jaffee and Ricker, 1993; Douthitt, 1994). The level of girls participation in physical activities is influenced by factors such as self-esteem, level of enjoyment, the time of engaging in learning, perceived athletic competence, and the health benefits gained by taking part in the physical activities (Brustad, 1993; Jaffee Manzer, 1992). The debate by different researchers regarding the suitability of mixed-gender PE has been highlighted by many researchers, with Koca (2009) reporting that many researchers have found that mixed-gender PE provides an opportunity for the learners to interact socially and share positive ideas. However, on the flip side of the coin, the likes of Olafson (2002) supported an argument that the perceived social interactions during mixed-gender PE classes is the same factor that makes adolescent girls to avoid taking part in the coeducational classes. In a study conducted by Treanor, Graber, Housner and Wiegand (1998), which aimed at interviewing the students to find their opinion regarding the best approach to physical education; that is, the one between coeducation or single sex physical education is better and most suitable. The findings of this study were that a majority of the students prefers single-sex classes over the mixed-gender classes. Nonetheless, Treanor, et al. (1998) noted tha t the views of the students alone could not be relied upon to resolve that single -sex classes are the most suitable for middle school physical education especially because their views are biased and lack any credible ground. Although most of the students implied that their preference for single-sex classes was based on issues such as better behaviuor, more practice time, less fear of injury and better competition, most of their opinions was not subject to their personal conviction, but on gender-bias attitudes. Derry (2002) echoed the findings of Treanor et al by supporting that an awesome 75% of the students interviewed pointed out single-sex classes as their preferred mode of classes. Derry (2002) also added that 84% of the girls that participated in single-sex physical education classes maintained that they liked such an environment and would like to continue with it next time. Ideally, it is known that as students approach their adolescent age, they become less physically active. This problem has been cited as the major determining factor in the attitude of students before they enter the adolescent age and after they are past the adolescent age (Harmon Ratliff, 2005). The results as presented by Harmon Ratliff (2005) shown that the percentage of girls who are active in physical exercises decreased from 31% in the 9th grade to 17% in the 12th grade. Similary, Treanor, et al. (1998) found that males have a relatively high level of participation in physical education in all the three middle school grades. To add to this, Felton et al. (2005) found that 45% of the 12th grade girls and 67% of the 9th grade girls were found to take part in an energetic physical activity about 20 minutes for at least three days per week. Whitlock (2008) disclosed that indeed adolescence is a stage of dramatic change and hence it is a period that a young girls undergoes a lot of hardships. In this stage, girls undergo a dynamic and developmental life when they make very important decisions regarding their typical behaviours such as physical activity, diets, use of tobacco and alcohol, and participation in social activity among other aspects of life that shapes their health and wellbeing up to the time they become adults (Whitlock, 2008). Essentially, developmental changes, under which the young adolescent girls undergo a traumatic experience, cause them a lot of trouble for example, because of sexual harassments and incidents of upsetting remarks that is common in environments of mixed-education (Derry Phillips, 2004). Some of these facts were affirmed in Olafsons (2002), where one of the girls reveled that , like they dont know the emotional pain they cause when they call you bad names (p. 2). This student was comp laining about the way she is usually offended my the male students who use offensive names when referring to girls. Olafson (2002) found that the tendency of girls to skip physical education is mainly because they have an attitude that such activities are totally embarrassing. The reason for this is because the girls kept complaining that the boys used offensive language and insulted them severally hence they would rather keep off such activities. Olafson also realised that the girls behaved in a strange manner in order to avoid attending the PE classes, including presenting notes from their parents claiming that they have been told not to attend PE classes, refusing to put on gym outfit, and skipping classes altogether. The male students have been found to mock girls in respect to their body type and also putting them, something that really annoys girls. Constantinou, Manson, Silvermans (2009) studied the behaviuor of girls when attending physical education classes and found that boys show no regards to the girls abilities but rather belittle and disrespect them. Actually, they found that the offensive acts that were perpetrated to humiliate girls were not common amongst the boys themselves. Several studies have associated self-esteem with physical education It has been suggested that thegirlss participation in physical activities is largely as a result of self esteem. Eriksson, Nordqvist, and Rasmussen (2008) defines self esteem as the extent to which individuals like themselves as persons. A commonly determining factors of the girls self-esteem when they are in their adolescent age includes their body type and size this determines whether their self -esteem is positive or negative. Some of the female students in Olafson (2002) claimed that they avoid physical activities at school because they have a negative feeling towards showcasing their bodies especially in front of male students. In fact, it has been found that girls who participate in physical education lessons struggle to improve the outlook of their body so they can have the kind of body type and image that they perceive to be perfect. The girls were found to have perfected an image of favorable body types in their minds and also observed to have developed a habitual tendency of evaluating the body of their peers through constant gazes (Olafson, 2002). It was ideally learnt that girls were expected to be always in control, to be graceful, and generally to be able to do at least all things. It was expected the girls should stay composed even if they got injured in the course of the physical exercises. When girls accidentally got injuries in the their face and looked funny, the boys mocked and looked down upon them (Olafson 2002). Besides being offended based on the way girls appear, the studies have also found that the nature of boys including their competitive behaviuor and body size is a significant factor that turn off girls during coeducational classes. Derry (2002) found that boys were very domineering during physical education and this was causing girls to reduce their level of participation. According to girls, boys have the habit of taking over everything in coeducational classes. A case in point is whereby boys have the perception that girls are less capable of doing things and hence always find themselves taking charge of everything (Derry, 2009). This concept is also found in Derry (2009) whereby a girl that was interviewed claimed that she did not like playing with boys because if she is given a chance to enter the pitch with them, she can hardly get a chance to touch the ball. On the other hand, the comments of teachers regarding this issue show that boys look down upon girls and have a perceptio n that physical education is too competitive for them to take part (Koca, 2009). Furthermore, girls are intimidated by the physical size and strength of boys. They also do not like their aggressive and intimidating attitude (Derry, 2002). Despite the degrading manner in which girls are treated by boys, Constantinou, et al. (2009) found that girls have a conviction that they are competitive and athletic. Constantinou, et al. (2009) added that the female students who believe they are athletic feel comfortable participating in physical activities together with boys because, as they said, this makes physical learning a fun and an interesting experience. Their findings were echoed by Olafson (2002) who agreed to the fact that they had fun in physical learning. In summary, there are study findings that have revealed that coeducational physical education is advantageous,, but at the same time there are other studies that have supported the idea that physical education should be based on single-sex. Generally, the students who were asked about their opinion regarding coeducational physical education, maintain that positive interaction with the other gender is the main advantage (Osborne, et al. 2002). Additionally, it is believed that coeducational environment promotes exchange of diverse ideas from both genders; but overall, the studies show that the majority of the students supports single-sex physical education (Osborne, et al). Methodology This study interviewed a total of 50 female students, 25 of whom will come from coeducational classes and the last 25 will come from single-sex physical education classes. The students that were selected to participate in the study had to be in the age bracket of 12 and 15 years and within school years 7 and 9. The female participants were asked a series of open-ended and semi-structured questions regarding their personal physical education experiences. To gather more information, the researcher repeated this process on 10 female physical education teachers, 5 of whom came from single-sex classes and 5 from coeducational classes. Throughout the interview, an audiotape was used to record the conversation and later transcribed for analysis. In order to supplement the audio interview with observable features, the researcher videotaped the proceedings with a camera. The study included 4 different secondary schools two of which were single sex physical education and the other two were coe ducational. To identify common themes, different categories were identified and grouped depending on the nature of the ideas, and henceforth the frequency counts were computed and responses were coded. Any information that was of no use was discarded appropriately. To ensure informed participation, Cone and Foster (2003) pointed out that it is critical to seek informed consent from the participants and also ensure their confidentiality. In this view, the researcher will ensure that a clear, informed and voluntary agreement is made by the participants (Ellis and Earley, 2006). The kind of informed consent, which will be used in this study, will have to meet specific requirements including a statement that the study is about research, specification of any experimental procedures, a description of the procedures that will be involved, an explanation of the purpose of the research, and details of the expected period of participants involvement (http://www.strath.ac.uk/, accessed, 22.02.2013). Results As discussed, the research involved both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The hypothesis that collected quantitative data stated that girls in single sex classes achieved significantly higher goals for learning football skills than girls in mixed-sex physical education classes. To achieve this, a questionnaire was adapted from the Fennema and Shermans Self-Confidence for Learning Mathematics Scale (1976), which was filled out by the students to reveal their opinions regarding their level of learning football skills. This scale is divided into three sub-scales levels that quantify goal achievement, which was categorised into footballs suitability of gender, confidence of learning, and effectiveness of football. To this effect, the researcher identified standard deviations, means, as well as t-test, with the aim of identifying the relevant relationship amongst different variables. Table 1 presents the standard deviations and the means of the sub-scales as derived from the SPSS. On the other hand, the results for the t-Test have been presented in Table 2, this shows the comparison of groupings which was taken after the tests. The total number of the questionnaires completed was 50, 25 from the mixed-sex settings and 25 from the single sex settings. The students answered 15 questions, which were allocated scores ranging from 1 to 4, whereby the highest scale represented the highest confidence level. This has shown that the means and standard deviations from the sub-scales reveal that girls in single-sex settings had a higher achievement of goals for learning football than girls in mixed-sex learning environments. The results of a t-test of the relationship between girls in mixed-sex settings and effectiveness variables of single sex classes revealed that the 2 groups were significantly different since the p-value for single-sex was higher than that of the mixed-sex (before-test 0.57 From the results of the interviews, the divide was apparent with some students preferring coeducational classes while others preferred single-gender physical education classes. The preference for either of the two PE environments was conducted with the help of a questionnaire and allowing the researcher to analyse the common themes qualitatively. Many of the girls explained that they preferred single-sex classes over mixed-education because they did not like the behaviour of boys who kept domineering and telling the teachers what to do hence causing a lot of trouble. One of the girls who provided this sentiment commented that coeducational PE is an unstable as the teachers are forced to waste a lot of time trying to force discipline into the uncooperative boys. These sentiments are similar to those proposed by Osborne et al. (2002), who observed that the majority of girls dislike the uncooperative nature of boys during coeducational PE classes and linking back to point made by Hoffma n et al. (2008) where he stated that boys receive more attention in class than girls. It may be that these girls have a preference for coeducational classes as they want to prove their abilities and skills to their opposite sex. In this respect, one of the female students maintained that she is good in sports and therefore felt good when sharing a pitch with boys so she could show them that she is also capable of playing football and others sports just like them or even better. Another female student revealed that she hated sharing a pitch with boys because she was worried about her looks, an observation that contrasted with Obsbone et al. (2002) conclusion that girls perform better when soccer is inclusive of both sexes. Koyucu (2010) agrees with this telling us that many young girls a very self conscious about their image, this mainly comes from the media and the way in which they portray many women. Students participation in physical education is ideally dependent on the environment of learning (Derry Phillips, 2004). The way students partake in the education environment in turn influences factors such as skills development, off-task behaviour, and activity time. One student who supported same-sex PE classes maintained that she did actually learn more when in a single sex environment simply because the instructor does not waste time trying to discipline the errant boys. She added that she concentrated more in single sex classes, and therefore gets a chance to practice what she has been taught. This observation had been echoed by Derry and Phyllips (2004), who noted that students who joined same-sex classes interacted more with teachers and had more time to learn. The interaction in same-sex classes was characterised by more girls approaching their instructors to ask questions than their counterparts in coeducational classes. From the open-ended questions as well as the observab le features, it seemed the structure in the PE classes was a great determinant of the way students interacted in classes. Apparently, the students as well as their teachers agreed that the classes are more fulfilling when students have more friends to interact with in the class. In this regards, a female student mentioned that she liked to play football in class when she had many friends to mingle with, because it made football more interesting. Elsewhere, a female student remarked that provided she was friendly to other classmates, she enjoyed working as a team with them because she communicated well with them. Another female student maintained that the majority of the boys were not only bigger, but also stronger than girls and this has caused girls to avoid boys during physical education. The comments of these students amplified those of Derry (2000), which found that girls are usually aware of the high athletic ability exhibited by boys, in addition to their noticeable strength a nd physical size, which supersedes those of girls. The differences between boys and girls was ideally a source of intimidation on the part of girls and hence they ignored boys that had bigger body sizes. In regards to class structure and social impact, the students and teachers revealed that the way peers treated each other was a critical factor influencing the way the students interacted. This perception was tied to the expectation set by teachers as well as the nature of the classroom environment. The students that were interviewed seemed to be very much aware of their learning environment as well as the way other people perceive their activities. Discussion The quantitative results from this study revealed that the effectiveness of learning football skills for girls in a single-sex environment is better than the girls effectiveness within a coeducational setting. A previous study by Lirgg (1994), has found that the girls in single-sex environments were more confident while learning PE lessons than their mixed-sex counterparts. It was also evident that the students skill levels were positively associated with the type of class. Those girls that were confident of their skills in football cited coeducational environment classes as their preference while the girls that were described as non-authorities identified with single-sex classes. The information regarding the opinion of girls on the way boys conducted themselves during physical education classes as well as the way the boys viewed their own conduct showed a rather negative side of boys. Many girls maintained that the boys have notoriously made the classes troublesome and were not cooperative at all. As such, the girls lamented that the uncooperative behaviour exhibited by boys was particularly annoying and caused trouble to the class environment. The girls were perturbed by the fact the teacher had to keep on ordering the boys to pay attention during PE classes. Perhaps, the boys could have had an opinion different from that of the girls because, from the review of literature, they do not perceive their conduct as disorderly and considers their behaviour as suitable. Hargreaves (1994) suggests that t

Free Essays: Destructive Competition Exposed in Cantors Dilemma :: Cantors Dilemma Essays

Destructive Competition Exposed in Cantor's Dilemma Competition is often useful as a means of motivation. However, in the scientific world, competition has the potential to cause many scientists to forget their main purpose in research. The main goal of scientific research is to develop knowledge that will better society. When scientists work together to help each other reach a common goal, science is working as it should. However, with so much competition to be the best scientist, make the most money, and possibly win the Nobel Prize, it is difficult for scientists to share ideas. Many scientists are very secretive. Carl Djerassi, a world famous scientist, describes this competition in his fictional novel, Cantor's Dilemma. In his novel, he demonstrates the secrecy that competition encourages when two scientists, Cantor and Stafford, complete an important experiment. Cantor does not want to publish the full experimental details right away. He explains, "No, I'd like to string this out a bit. Just a preliminary communication first, without the experimental details, so that nobody can jump on the bandwagon right away." Scientists are very concerned with the idea that another scientist may get hold of their work and claim it as his or her own. In Cantor's Dilemma, Cantor decides to which journal he will send his manuscript based on his prior knowledge of referees. Referees review the experiment and pass it along to other scientists for verification of the results. He did not want an American referee to leak the news. Therefore, he sent the manuscript to London where an American referee would not have the opportunity to see the article. Many scientists adopt other people's ideas as their own. Surprisingly, this often happens unintentionally. Djerassi describes grant requests in Cantor's Dilemma. When a grant request is sent in, most of the people on the review board are the scientist's competition. Since they are dealing with ideas and not completed work, the review board has the opportunity to steal ideas. Cantor describes that, "[Members of the review board] can't help but remember what [they] read, and after a while, say a few months or even weeks later, [they] forget where [they] first saw it and gradually [they] think it's their own idea." For this reason, most scientists do not give many details when they are applying for a grant. Competition also can influence a scientist into producing fraudulent results.