Title: What does personalised learning mean in practice

Assignment TMI Title: What does personalised learning mean in practice? Analyse the learning needs of EAL pupils, and those of SEN pupils. Discuss how the needs you Identify can be met most effectively in subject teaching. Within this context over the past ten years' the term ‘personalised learning' gained political capital and could be considered as a defining feature of the UK's educational system. Miliband 2004) Personalised learning – theory and practice The Sussex report states personalised learning is ‘characterised by high levels of participation of pupils and staff in the schools, learning to learn and pupil voice'. It is a continuous progress which facilitates a ‘deeper learning'. (University of Sussex, 2007). Personalisation is concerned with people, hence what or who is a person, their purpose, how they develop, are motivated, gain skills, form abilities and relate to others.Hence, personalised learning is not simply the acquisition of knowledge or skills but how to forge a person's capacity and capabilities to do so. Consequently, concepts of personalised learning have reflected diverse contemporary theoretical discourses, including Piaget's conceptualisation of cognitive development based on iological maturity and environmental experience to behavioural psychologists focus on learning through conditioning, through to Skinner and Watson's reward and punishment.Vgotsky explored how a person's individual social, economic and cultural influences can determine their ‘actual' and ‘potential' development levels within school based learning. Howard Gardner could be considered as a paradigm shifter (Smith 1994) as he questioned the concept of intelligence based on cognitive development, and sought to demonstrate that a child may be at different stages of evelopment at a single time, and that this is reflected in their ability to learn their maturity on dfferent learning styles.He therefore questioned the concept of scaff olding referring to seven multiple intelligences, two of which have been adopted within school environments, namely linguistic intelligence relating to the ability to learn and use of verbal and written language, and logical mathematical Intelligence relating to analysis of issues, grasping of quantitative information and the sciences. I Implemented this pedagogy with my top set 10 class while teaching controlled ssessment vocabulary.Recent UK Government policy has encouraged an educational approach that tailors support to Individual needs so that ‘every child matters'. The five core inter-related aims; be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being underpinned by practice guidance ana regulatory perTormance systems slgnlTy tne Importance 0T social, economic and environmental factors on child development. Peter Senge said â€Å"many children struggle in schools because the way they are being taught is incompatible with t he way they learn† (Capel, S. al, 2007) hence teaching and support can be improved by encouraging school based learning to be designed around a pupil's needs, hence Miliband's quote above. Assessment for learning directly relates to national teacher standard 6; ‘make accurate and productive use of assessment'. Teaching uses both formative ongoing assessments and summative assessments, normally at the end of a module, scheme of work or a part of an academic year. Summative assessments usually relate to formal examinations that inform streaming and ranking, to inform accountability (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall and William, 2002).Summative assessments are often isolated from normal teaching and learning, and are often areas of which teachers have little direct control in terms of personalising for learners, for example ‘6SCEs'. Key formative techniques include higher order questioning that targets towards their current level; personalised comment marking, identifyi ng clear targets for improvement, self and peer assessments and analysing and using mark schemes and feedback from summative assessments to assist individual learning plans.According to Williams (2009) the effectiveness of formative assessments can generate nearly three terms extra earning per year. However Ofsted reviews have identified teachers' difficulties in identifying clear learning objectives and outcomes by the use of attainment levels to inform structured lesson planning and assessment (Ofsted, 2007). For example in my second placement school I asked a mixed ability group of year 7's to assess sentence exemplars and explained the success criteria based on Bloom's taxonomy.This showed what was expected to answer higher order questions and levelled answers. It was difficult at first however as soon as they got accustomed to my expectations a marked improved was identified in their work. They were able to interpret the differences properly and with scaffolding the majority of them were able to vastly develop their answers. (See appendix 1) When considering Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence, personalisation leans towards the understanding and application of different learning styles, namely audio-visual, and kinaesthetic.However Cofield et al (2004) suggest that the effectiveness of this focus is varied, in terms of their reliability and as a motivator for learning. Placing the learner at the heart of the teaching process and in turn enabling them to take more responsibility or their learning can also be delivered through developing learning objectives reflective of individual and classroom needs. Bloom's taxonomy provides a classification of learning objectives under cognitive, affective and psychomotor providing a methodology for scaffolding actual and potential learning within the classroom.Differentiation can ensure a classroom of mixed ability students are all stimulated and stretched, and this can be achieved regardless of ability when setting tasks, if executed as though one were climbing a ladder in order to reach the top, or objective of the lesson. (Petty, 2009). Within the MFL department we operate an ‘ALL, MOST, SOME' to differentiate our tasks, (see appendix 2 ; 3) adding a challenge at the bottom for the most able or for native speaking students. This ensures that every single student can be accessed and also be stretched regardless of ability and rank order.Alex Moore suggests tnat a good teacner needs to De strategic In applylng models and theories to shape and develop ‘pedagogic identity (Moore, 2000). Using these ideas, together with Wgotskys theory of constructivism has helps practitioners develop and go on to plan lessons that are creative, fun, focused, tructured and interesting combined with delivering content to any ability, regardless of need (be that G&T, nixed ability or SEN) or those that encounter difficulty with focus, learning and progressing in a traditional classroom environment.Some of the methods used in the classroom to take advantage of ‘multiple intelligences' are video clips, imagery and displays for visual learners and group work such as role plays or quizz type games for interpersonal learners. For the intra-personal learners, enabling them to set personal goals and challenges for themselves, for the more verbally inclined students question and answers or ualitative assessment and finally problem solving and modelling for more kinaesthetic pupils.Curriculum entitlement and choice relates to national teacher's standard 3. The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action recommended at a national and school level that â€Å"schools should accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions† (1994) As abovementioned, and experienced in both my school and in my placement schools, many Stage and 1 and 2 EAL students are withdrawn from MFL and other on – core subjects in or der to focus on literacy and numeracy improvement.Interestingly, MFL is one of few areas that many EAL students do not feel isolated as other students are also at a new stage of learning a different language also, and thus can excel in the subject. The National Curriculum (1999) outlines that â€Å"in order to overcome any barriers to learning in MEL†; specific requirements such as laptops, support and help should be provided in order to access the learning for EAL students needing support. Indeed, this subject specific inclusion information decrees that â€Å"all upils have a right to participate in the study of MEL† (Pachler, Barnes ; Field, 2009).

Juvenile Delinquency Essay

We hear a child stealing an apple from the market stands, and then rob a small shop, next day we learn about a 17-year-old kid who killed his classmates. People are concerned and rightly so. That’s all what we do or maybe give them a harsh punishment. It seems that the problem has only focused on punishment and very little on prevention or intervention. There is no single cause of violence but we can certainly list a lot of risk factors, which increase the development of criminal behaviour. These include child abuse and family disintegration, violating behavior, academic failure, school dropout, and lack of contact with the society, fighting with peers and antisocial behavior early in life. Juvenile crime rates have nearly doubled in many countries. In the news we keep hearing about youngsters got mixed up in shady affairs and committing petty crimes. What actually is a juvenile crime? Juvenile crime is a term denoting various offences committed by children or youths under the age of 18. Such acts are sometimes referred to as juvenile delinquency. Children’s offences typically include delinquent acts, which would be considered crimes if committed by adults, and status offences, which are less serious misbehavior problems such as truancy and parental disobedience. Both are within the jurisdiction of the youth court; more serious offences committed by minors may be tried in criminal court and be subject to prison sentences. In order to reveal the real background of juvenile crime it’s obviously not enough to stop at this point. Probably none of the young delinquents were born with hostility, rage and hatred. Their environment and our society have turned them into who they are today. Juveniles have to face the cruel sides of the world too early and they are not well prepared for it yet. Some of them are able to deal with it, some of them are not. The latter shocked by the realization will escape to the world of crimes so trying to hide themselves from all the dissatisfaction. Young people should not be expected to have the same values and judgment as adults, therefore not the same treatment either. This is especially true if they have been the victims of poverty, neglect, and abuse. The good approach of the problem can help a lot. Young lives can be salvaged but not with incarceration. It has never been a good solution. Nevertheless developing more programs’ to prevent these children entering the juvenile justice system would be far more effective and less costly.

Soc 3-4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Soc 3-4 - Essay Example There are several agents both formal and informal that assist in the process of socialization. Agents of socialization are the persons, groups or institutions that teach what is necessary to live in the society. While the school and the mass media represent the formal or sometimes known as secondary agents, the primary or the informal agents are the family and the peers. Each agent influences an individual in a different way in the process of development. Family is the most important agent of socialization and the most important source of emotional support. The entire environment which comprises of both parents and siblings make up a family. Earlier even the grandparents formed a part of the family and the children learned a lot from the wisdom of the grandparents. Today the families have split up. There are either nuclear families or with single parents and the child imbibes what he experiences. His attitudes and behaviors depend on the environment in which he grows up. The family is where individuals acquire the specific position in the society. The next important agent of socialization is the peer group which is a group of people linked by common interests, equal social position and similar age. They contribute to the sense of belonging and feelings of self-worth. The peer group teaches to live in a group and to earn the acceptance of the peers is important. A peer group has its own norms, attitudes and beliefs which have to be met. The school and the mass media are the secondary agents but equally important in the socialization process. Schools teach specific knowledge and skills and have a profound effect on the child’s self image, beliefs and values. Schools teach individuals to be productive members of the society and to contribute to the society. They teach self control and guide them in the process of selection, training and placement on different rungs in the society.

Enlightenment Age to Post-Modernism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Enlightenment Age to Post-Modernism - Essay Example The paper "Enlightenment Age to Post-Modernism" discusses various historical and cultural eras in the world’s history. This study analyzes Enlightenment, Romanticism, Modernism and post modernism. The enlightenment era is a period in world’s history that stretches between seventeenth century and early eighteenth century. This age is sometimes referred to as the age of reason. It was a period considered to be the maturity of reason after its rebirth in the renaissance period. It was marked by new discoveries in science for example Galileo Galilei invention of a telescope that he used to discover and accept that indeed Copernican was right in saying that the sun was at the centre and that all planet revolve round it. Rational or intellectual capabilities and a rise in technology were among the many characteristics of this age. It was dramatized with revolutions. Industrial revolution for instance marked a total change in lifestyle whereby we see a movement from manual lab or to mechanical labor. People’s life standard improved since they could be employed to work in these industries and earn income. It is during this time that we see the rise in thinking; a change in societal, cultural and political attitudes. It is during this time that we see the society producing intellectuals who emphasize on reason alone. Scientific philosophies like the empiricism and rationalism became the focal point of departure. Philosophers like Rene Descartes, Leibniz, David Hume and Emmanuel Kant among others emerge. Their main focus was to move the society from centralized church governance to a level where every individual’s life counts; that the church’s authority needed to be decentralized. It is during this time that we see the ant Christian movements: a claim that God having created the Universe left it alone to be controlled by natural laws. In relation to the above point, the book, Discourse on Method, written by Rene Descartes, establishes a clear methodology of thinking which he calls deductive reasoning whereby one begins by doubting everything until he can no more doubt his own existence â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum,† meaning â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† The fact that I doubt everything, I cannot doubt my own existence. However, as the great period of enlightenment continued, it faced a lot of rebellion from the emerging group of people who were against the principles of strict adherence to logic and clarity This deviation from restraint, clarity, and reason resulted in the beginning of the Romantic Age in English literature. From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, Romanticism came into play as the major form of literary expression of the time. The Romantic view emphasized emotion, nature, mysteriousness, and self discovery, among others. The idea is that every one needed to learn and interpret reality according to his or her own experience; rather avoid thinking with our own heads high, everyth ing is not about ideas. Jane Eyre clearly demonstrates this romanticism in her own experiences, first, mystery in the red room which later helps her to realize herself discovery a thing that unfolds the truth in order for her to find a better place in this world. She clearly portrays a kind of woman who breaks and gets out of women slavery and conformity of the society and indeed moves to take up bigger roles and responsibilities out of her own independence and separation from the traditions of the society. She is a great figure of the romantic age since she shows how

Middleware Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Middleware - Essay Example Current business trend require integration such as ERP, SCM and CRM. Business to Business (B2B) communication needs will further accelerate this trend. The need for middleware stems from this increasing growth in the number of applications and in the customizations within those applications. - Platform Transparency - Using interfaces and APIs abstraction features, Middleware provides Platform Transparency. Client and server don't require to have intimate knowledge of each other in order to work together. - RDBMS Support - Data access middleware provides transparency across different data storage formats. It will make different RDBMS look like the same RDBMS by providing multiple RDBMS support from both proprietary and standard APIs. - Advance applications - New enterprise applications harness Middleware technology for Single System Login, Enhanced Security, Location Transparency, Database and Application Oriented Services however they are not very common. - Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - Remote procedure call Middleware extends the procedure call interface familiar to all programmers offering the abstraction of being able to invoke a procedure whose body is across a network. - Distributed Object Middleware (DOM) - DOM suc... Based on the uses they can be categorized in following categories: - Remote Procedure Call (RPC) - Remote procedure call Middleware extends the procedure call interface familiar to all programmers offering the abstraction of being able to invoke a procedure whose body is across a network. - Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) - Message-Oriented Middleware provides the abstraction of a message queue which is accessible across a network. They are based on SOAP. - Distributed Object Middleware (DOM) - DOM such as DCOM and CORBA gives all the advantage of OOPS such as encapsulation and inheritance. It provides the abstraction of an object that is remote yet whose methods can be invoked just like those of an object in the same address space as the caller. are such examples. - Direct data access (DDA) for accessing databases directly as opposed to going through an application to get the information. Middleware offers many technical benefits. Current enterprise applications involve multiple applications interacting with same application. Instead of providing different APIs for different client application, we can put a Middleware with single set of APIs for each application. This can significantly simplify the communication. Also the Middleware can be used for handle different services such as checking the data for integrity, reconciling the data with other applications, data splitting and formatting so that we don't have to rewrite those services again and again for different applications. Middleware may have the capability to hold this data for a while so that it can be served to other applications which need it. Thus, it can introduce a type of persistency in the system. However there are some limitations of the

(The Roar of the Tiger Mom) Synthesis Assignment

(The Roar of the Tiger Mom) Synthesis - Assignment Example Therefore, the competitiveness of children is by far determined by whether the child is from the western or from the Chinese culture, and what competitiveness means in those cultural contexts. Thus, this synthesis seeks to digest the various tenets of making children competitive in the future, through taking an account of different approaches that are applicable. Different approaches to parenting represented by the western and the Chinese Models Parenting approaches define the competiveness of children in the future. The approaches of parenting can simply be defined as either the Chinese model, or the western model. The western model of parenting is open and free-range, where the parents allow their children to make some of the crucial choices in their lives, especially regarding their academic interests and the professions they would like to take (Behrens & Rosen, 2013). Therefore, according to the western model of parenting, children are allowed to see learning as fun, while avoidi ng stressing academic success upon the children, since â€Å"Western parents are extremely anxious about their children’s self-esteem† p144. ... r children’s academic performance, through instilling on them a culture of academic pursuit that is almost free of other educational activities, such as games and drama (Behrens & Rosen, 2013). Thus, Hanna Rosin, in her article, â€Å"Mother inferior† observes that â€Å"many American parents will read The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and feel somewhat defensive and regretful† p148. Chinese parents spend most of their time imploring their children to pursue academic excellence, which is then used as a measure of successful parenting in the Chinese culture. According to this model, whenever a child is not performing exemplarily in academics, then, definitely the parent has failed in his/her role of parenting. However, it is the Chinese mothers who play a great role in the education of their children, since the academic success of a child is used to measure the successful parenting of a Chinese mother (Behrens & Rosen, 2013). The most interesting aspect is that ; the Chinese mothers have developed strict guidelines on how their children should behave, in terms of what they should pursue and what they should engage in, in the course of their learning. While the Chinese parents may spend up to 10 times of their time engaging their children in academics, the western parents allows their children more free time, for which they can use in sports and games The Chinese applies the philosophy that â€Å"nothing is fun, until you are good at it† p143. Further, the Chinese parents apply the adage that to be good at something, one has to work, and children do not like working. Therefore, if a child has to become successful in anything, it is the duty of the parent to ensure that children are involved in working for what they are interested in. However, in denouncing this view,

Catawba County, NC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Catawba County, NC - Essay Example With regards to law and governance, Catawba County is a member of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments. The 2010 census noted that there were 154,356 people living within the county. Similarly, the 2000 census noted that 146,515 people inhabited the county; representing around a 5.1% increase in total population over a ten year period (Basso 29). As opposed to the earlier representations of the economy which have been noted, the current economy of Catawba county relies heavily upon industrial manufacturing. This has partly been born out of the fact that the transportation hub of rail and highway as it developed helped the region to become highly competitive with skilled labor and ease of access to markets along the eastern seaboard as well as the rest of the United States. As a function of a high number of skilled labor jobs, the economy of the region has fared relatively well in comparison to other less industrialized regions within the United States during the economic downtown which has been experienced (Employment and Earnings 216). One of the main bragging points that the county has is with regards to the high number of famous individuals that hail from Catawba. These include a grand total of 12 NASCAR drivers (on of these of course being Dale Jarett, a pair of actors (James Best and Matthew Settle), a litany of singers/songwriters (inclusive of a member of the Grateful Dead and Tori Amos), a beauty queen, and a host of well renowned sportsmen in almost every discipline. This wide variety of talent that the county itself has produced over the past few years helps to flavor its culture and underscore the fact that even though it could be understood as a solid core of manufacturing, mass transit, and industry, it nonetheless has a solid base of culture that it has developed and continues to export

Self Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Self Study - Essay Example The importance of self-study cannot be undermined as Shakespeare said† to thine own self be true†. There is a gem of wisdom behind that line since self-study reveals the foundations of a person’s character, values as well as environmental factors that have greatly influenced her perspectives in life. The following is an excerpt of an interview of myself done by my colleague. Mass media often plays a significant role in disseminating information to society. When asked about my favorite TV shows, books, and characters I replied that I loved watching TV shows like â€Å" Sesame Street, Mister Rogers Neighborhood Wonder Woman, Incredible Hulk and the Jefferson’s† as a child. Of course, there were many wholesome shows then but the aforementioned really suited my taste. The books I have read were â€Å"Mice and Men† George Orville, 1984, and Aesop’s fables. I loved these stories since they were filled with Fairy Tales, morals, and mythology. In fact, my favorite characters were the Tortoise and the Hare. I realized a valuable lesson from the slow tortoise: plodding along with determination will get me to where I want to be if I never give up. Until today, I kept that lesson in mind and use it whenever situations are difficult, I persevere until the end. Another character I liked was Elmo. Until today, I am not certain whether Elmo is male or female, but I do think he is male. The lessons I learned from Elmo were creativity, tolerance, optimism, and the opportunity for simple pleasures. Although the media influences children’s minds, it cannot be denied that parent’s are the primary role models for a growing child. According to Santrock (1994) : †The information that surrounds the child and which is internalized comes to the child within the family arena through parent-child interactions, role modeling,

Cause and Effect Essay Essay Example for Free

Cause and Effect Essay Essay Prejudice comes in many different forms and shapes; it doesn’t know color, race, or ethnicity. Everyone consciously or unconsciously takes into account how someone looks like, thinks like, and acts like. There are many factors that cause one to form prejudgments against other groups of people. To be accepted culturally and economically is a great weight lifted off but to be rejected from few or all subdivisions is tremendously vicious. Prejudice affects all areas of life; it begins in the home; in conjunction with values taught by families. It spreads like a disease, gradually becomes a way of living and everybody starts to become numb to the effects however the results are detrimental. For the most part, it creates violence and criminal activity along with anger and hatred. The history of prejudice nature is decorated with many names such as racism, segregation, or cultural diversities but no matter what is labeled, it causes pain and chaos to humanity. The effect of being narrow-minded causes hardship, fear, and untrustworthiness. Some might ask what causes such prejudice views and there are a few accurate answers as to why. There are many factors that cause one to form prejudgments against other groups of people. For this reason, a lot of times a person may judge based on false perceptions associated with a particular race or nationality. This type of ignorance leads to misunderstanding and inner conflicts without it being true. It could have been learned from family or friends how they look at things. For example, a high-class Caucasian family sees a few black men walking down their streets and they tend to stand guard and lean towards suspicious activity. The article â€Å"Black Men and Public Space† shows the persona of everyone’s boundaries and ideas of one another â€Å"To her, the youngish black man – a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket – seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared in to a cross street†Ã‚  (Staples 1). The idea of a white woman being afraid of a black man is one of the examples given in the article and in many situations it is always almost true. Read more: How to write cause and effect essay In many incidents people get frightened of certain ethnicity and that idea of a certain person is burned into their minds. No one has ever seen a black man being scared or weak from a white man. It is unfair to make assumptions that all groups from a variety of different backgrounds and walks of life share a common stereotypical characteristic. No child is born with prejudice views. Prejudice is considered a learned behavior through peoples words and actions starting with family influences and followed by school and societal notions. A good example would be , at school, parents and students may assume Indian students earn the highest grades, which in fact may not be true. In addition, people learn to form opinions depending on their own insecurities and pain. Consequently, if one lacks self confidence, he or she tends to be more critical of others in order to feel better about him or herself. Another example is that there are many girls at high school and colleges who wear designer c lothes and think they are better versus those who wear average cloths from Old Navy or such. It is wrong to assume those who do not dress to the nine is implication that they are poor or less confident; some people wear whatever they feel comfortable in. Being judged by what you wear is a common outlook in our society, which causes prejudice view in some individuals. Unfortunately the group that judge might never get the chance to get to know the other people because the way they are dressed and they might in fact miss the opportunity of getting to know the most confident people. The effects of prejudice views on a person can alter individual’s decision-making skills. Decision-making is always tough to do but when race and ethnicity comes into the picture it is even more difficult. Prejudgment outlooks can also affect how each person treats each other in the work environment. Some inferior people can chose not to hire a certain person based on their race; if Mexican, they must be a lazy worker or if black, they must steal from us. One can easily see how wrong this jud gment is based on the fact that the president of the United States of America, one of the most powerful countries in the world is an African American man and his wife is a lawyer. However we can also easily see that he is having a hard time leading the country because he is African American and he is dealing with many issues that deals with racism and his decisions  making in the White house because of his color of skin. Another effect includes losing valuable relationships even at the point of making enemies without exploring opportunities to develop lasting friendships. A bias point of view is a synonym to being prejudice; meaning people can have their beliefs on some subjects. Skin color, race, nationality, gender, and physical traits: none of these elements should be reasons to discriminate against another when in fact they can become your best friend if given a fair chance. In the book Flight, it’s a good example of how the character Zit would live different lives and experience the prejudice based on different time period and how cultures and races and times play a major roles . It did not matter where he went and what life he lived he would experience prejudice (Alexie 27) Zit says,† But I don’t think I’m racist. I measure men by content of their character, not their color of their skin, and I find all of them assholes.† It did not matter what life he lived he would experience inequality and no matter he was white, Irish, or Indian he witnessed cruelty based on the color of skin or the race, or the nationality. Even Zit’s psychiatrist told him â€Å"you dream about killing and eating black guys because, in American society black men are the metaphoric embodiment of rage and fear and pain. Zit does have inflicted pain from black people or sometimes white people but he realizes he needs to trust people more. Regardless of a person’s true personality and lifestyle people will point out the flaws with who they are on the outside. It might start with one individual, one family, one group but it gradually can lead to the w hole nation and divide people and treat each other unfairly. A leader who advances a certain group of people over other group because of his limited view can affect a whole nation. As a result a leader becomes strongly intolerant of others and can destroy and wipeout a whole nation. Hitler killed millions of Jewish people because he believed that Germans were considered more advanced race of people and all others were inferior. A crime no one can believe it can happen, how can one person wipe out millions of Jewish people? It is scary to think it can start with one thought, one individual, and later in one nation. Not only can people be racist but they can be stereotypical with religion also â€Å"Maybe you were at a party, chatting with a small group, when suddenly one of them says, Well, you know how those Jews are, theyre all alike†(Weir 1). If an individual were to be  a Jewish man or woman of course they would have money and be greedy or if Muslim, they must be a terrorist with a bomb. Some individuals may not comment on certain ideas about religion because it is a touchy subject but a lot of people will criticize any and every religious person and give them a stereotype. If you are not for all people, you are against them. The world is a better place if everybody was accepted and loved rather than demeaned and put down for their differences. Belonging to a world that functions with love and compassion is much more ideal rather than a world filled with hate and prejudice. Prejudice is something that affects everyone one time or another and it leaves society with negativity. These stereotypes cause divisions in society and push unfair judgments on people. It is unfair but it is human nature to show prejudice towards someone who is not like you. One always wants to be better than others; prejudice serves that purpose. The History of the prejudice nature is decorated with many names such as racism segregation, or cultural diversities but no matter what is labeled, it causes pain and chaos to humanity. Until we fix this insecurity in ourselves, we cannot help the society. It all starts with us, to know the face of prejudice and find out the causes and see the devastation it can create. In a world without hate and discrimination would be a world filled with peace. Work cited Alexie, Sherman. Flight: A Novel. New York: Black Cat :, 2007. Print. (Book) Staples, Brent. Black Men and Public Space. Web. . (Reading) Weir, Bob. Nature Pf Prejudice. 3 Sept. 2006. Web. .

Have Discount Retailers gone upmarket in the UK?

Have Discount Retailers gone upmarket in the UK? Preliminary Information Working Title of Dissertation: Have Discount Retailers gone upmarket in the UK? If so, how and why? Research Question and aim: To investigate location of Aldi and Lidl stores in relation to income/social class of catchment area(compare 1991, 2001 and 2011 census data) to understand store strategy. Why would more affluent household shop at hard discounters? Understand hard discounters non-locational strategy. Introduction The review aims to look at theoretical explanations of retailers change such as the Wheel of Retailing and the Conflict Theory. It then focuses on research studies which try to understand consumers store choice decision and factors influencing it. Finally, it will briefly look at methods which are used to understand retailers store decisions. All the sources are either books or peer-reviewed journal articles. Understanding the current literature available is important as it would help support my research findings and improve my research methods based on other academics research. The most widely used model in explaining retail growth is the Wheel of Retailing created by McNair in 1958. The details of his work are mostly described in Hollander (1960) work. The model describes most retailer start as a low margin or focuses on low prices such as the discount grocery retailers. Investment in facilities and services increases, therefore, leads to increasing cost and price with its emphasis on service which allows a higher profit margin. This leaves a gap for lower margin retailers to enter the market which will make traditional retailers vulnerable to competition.ÂÂ   Hollander also identified the factors causing the changes which are Management Deterioration, price competition and excess capacity in factories. The Retail life cycle is a similar theory propose by Davidson et al (1976) cited in Levy et al (2005). It describes 4 stages of a retailer: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and decline. The focus is the profit level and the market share whereas the Wheel of Retailing focuses on the price-quality continuum. Sparks (1990) case study on Kwik Save provides an excellent case study on how it has progressed through the cycle with the name discount removed from their store in 1986 suggesting a move to the maturing stage. These cyclical theories are simple to understand and supportive examples can be found, however, Roth and Klein (1993) found that it is very difficult to test it with limited expense data and Brown (1991) criticise that it only considers price and quality and ignores other factors such as assortments and store size. Also, it assumes that there is only one path to retail growth, therefore alternative theories such as the Big Middle (Levy et al, 2005) was developed. It considers another path of development through innovation targeting at a higher income market which then moves into the Big Middle to benefit from economies of scale and where there is the highest demand focusing on services. There are also non- cyclical theories. The conflict theory suggests competition is the main reason for changes in retailing. Stores can be classified as thesis which has higher margins and antithesis which have a lower margin (such as discounters). Over time, a merger could occur which will lead to synthesis to reduce competition or increased price competition through introduction of value private labels (Burt and Sparks, 1994). Changes in the environment also encourage retail changes. Levy et al (2005) mentioned Dresseman s(1968) work which uses Darwins natural selection theory as an analogy for retail changes where only the fittest store will survive. Roth and Klein (1993) also identifies environmental factors such as demographics, regulation and demand encourage retailers to adapt otherwise they would be outcompeted. Overall, the theories suggest that retailer change due to a changing environment and try to avoid competition, especially price which is the focus of retailers who just joined the market. Consumers store choice Understanding consumers shopping behaviour is important as it allows retailers to strategically plan their store location, format and the assortments. Therefore, this is an area which is widely researched. Fox and Sethuraman (2010) and Leszczyc et al (2004) provides a summary of consumers store choice and segmentation. There are three types of consumers: price, service seekers and cheery-pickers. Price seekers are usually from lower income households who are more price conscious (Katsaras et al., 2001) and would travel to an everyday low pricing (EDLP) stores which are usually cheaper, larger stores to do their main shopping. This includes the deep-discounters. For service seekers who usually are single household who have a higher income and time-deprived due to work commitments, they therefore value convenience store more which provides better services such as Tesco Express Shops. They are known as High/Low Price Store (Hilo) who offers discount by promotion. When doing a Multi-Purp ose Trips, both groups will visit stores near shopping centres and would visit both types of stores. The final type of shopper is the cherry-pickers who go to different stores to look for the best deals, hence they would visit both types of stores and have a lot of time to do shopping but also has the lowest loyalty to a brand or store. Apart from price and convenience, assortment is another factor affecting store choice. Briesch et al (2009) found that it is the 3rd most important factor and it is measured in Store Keeping Units (SKU). Generally, store size is used as a proxy for assortments hence EDLP stores usually has higher SKUs and are more attractive to customers who want choice. However, Broniarczyk et al (1998) study found that retailers could make significant reduction in SKUs and customers perception will remain the same. Briesch et al (2009) also concluded that only the number of brands and availability of favourite brands would affect store choice suggesting assortment could be less important than brands in consumers store choice decision. Brands can be separated into private labels and National brand. The UK is a unique market that the private labels are stronger than in continental Europe. For example, Tesco own private label has three grades: Value, Finest, Normal (Krafft and Mantrala, 2010) which is different from other countries where private labels are seen as low cost and quality(Burt, 2000) hence able to directly compete with National Brand. In the same paper, he mentioned previous studies in the USA by Myers, 1967 found that there is no socio-economic difference in choosing National or private brands but Liversey and Lennin (1978) found that more affluent and young people are more likely to take risks to buy new national brands than lower income people. Hence there is no clear consensus whether private and national brands are targeting different groups. During economic recession, people become more price orientated hence Hard-Discounters would be popular during the period as their price are 15-40% cheaper than traditional retailer (Lamey, 2014). According to Colla (1994) study, he found that 1/3 of people in the sample thinks that the quality in discounters is high due to the basic display hence shop from them. This means traditional retailer are not only competing with hard discounter on price but also on its quality which means after recession, these customers are very likely to be retained. Also, this shows different customer has different view on factors such as quality, therefore different literature provides a different view and there is no consensus on the most important factor. It is now becoming common for retailers to use models to help decide where stores should be located. The three methods that will be discussed are Regression, GIS and Spatial Interaction Model. Regression can be used to accurately predict how one factor affects another with known values. This allows understanding of the relative importance of each factor. Leszczyc and Timmermans (1997) work used regression to analyse variables such as income with repeated trips, store loyalty etc. using data collected from consumer. GIS can be used to help to understand store location decision by doing simple catchment area analysis. This involves drawing a buffer of a certain travel time or distance on the program to show how far people would travel to a store (Benoit and Clarke, 1997). Neighbourhood data could also be incorporated which will help to identify potential new site and analyse current store strategy of a retailer. However, this paper and Birkin et al (2002) raises issues of using the method. How should the buffer be defined and when the buffers overlap, how can we allocate the number of consumers or revenue to each store? The second problem could be solved by using a spatial interaction model which according to Brown (1993), it considers the Trade-off between distance and attractiveness of alternative of shopping area. Hence revenue can be allocated according to the attractiveness (e.g. Floorspace) and its accessibility relative to another. This will improve the accuracy of the analysis. The literature review showed that a wide range of theories have been constructed to understand changes in retail and through research has been done on consumers behaviour and how they are analysed. However, more research is still needed in understanding customers perception of different store types as results still vary a lot. The review of the methods helped me to consider other methods to analyse the relationship between discount retailers and income and the store choice review would help me with the questionnaire design to understand consumer behaviour for discount retailers. Finally, the theory review would help explain the findings in GIS analysis. References Benoit, D. and Clarke, G.P. 1997. Assessing GIS for retail location planning. Journal of retailing and consumer services. 4(4), pp.239-258. Birkin, M., Clarke, G.P. and Clarke, M. 2002. Retail Geography and intelligent network planning. Chichester: Wiley. Briesch, R.A., Chintagunta, P.K. and Fox, E.J. 2009. How does assortment affect grocery store choice? Journal of Marketing Research. 46(2), pp.176-189. Broniarczyk, S.M., Hoyer, W.D. and McAlister, L. 1998. Consumers perceptions of the assortment offered in a grocery category: The impact of item reduction. Journal of Marketing Research. pp.166-176. Brown, S. 1991. Variations on a marketing enigma: The wheel of retailing theory. Journal of Marketing Management. 7(2), pp.131-155. Brown, S. 1993. Retail location theory: evolution and evaluation. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research. 3(2), pp.185-229. Burt, S. 2000. The strategic role of retail brands in British grocery retailing. European Journal of Marketing. 34(8), pp.875-890. Burt, S. and Sparks, L. 1994. Structural change in grocery retailing in Great Britain: a discount reorientation? The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research. 4(2), pp.195-217. Colla, E. 1994. Discount development in france: The introduction of the format and the competitive response. Journal of Marketing Management. 10(7), pp.645-654. Fox, E.J. and Sethuraman, R. 2010. Retail Competition. In: Krafft, M. and Mantrala, M.K. eds. Retailing in the 21st century, current and future trends. [Online].London: Springer, pp.239-255. [Accessed 19 March 2017]. Available from: https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9783540720034 Hollander, S.C. 1960. The Wheel of Retailing. Journal of Marketing. 25(1), pp.37-42. Katsaras, N., Wolfson, P., Kinsey, J. and Senauer, B. 2001. Data mining: A segmentation analysis of US grocery shoppers. St. Paul, MN: The University of Minnesota, The Retail Food Industry Center, Working Paper. p01. Krafft, M. and Mantrala, M.K. 2010. Retailing in the 21st century: current and future trends. Berlin: Springer Verlag. Lamey, L. 2014. Hard economic times: a dream for discounters. European Journal of Marketing. 48(3/4), pp.641-656. Leszczyc, P.T.P., Sinha, A. and Sahgal, A. 2004. The effect of multi-purpose shopping on pricing and location strategy for grocery stores. Journal of Retailing. 80(2), pp.85-99. Leszczyc, P.T.P. and Timmermans, H. 1997. Store-switching behavior. Marketing Letters. 8(2), pp.193-204. Levy, M., Grewal, D., Peterson, R.A. and Connolly, B. 2005. The concept of the Big Middle. Journal of Retailing. 81(2), pp.83-88. Roth, V.J. and Klein, S. 1993. A theory of retail change. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research. 3(2), pp.167-183. Sparks, L. 1990. Spatial-Structural Relationships in Retail Corporate Growth: A Case-Study of Kwik Save Group P.L.C. The Service Industries Journal. 10(1), pp.25-84.

Population Genetics (Molecular Epidemiology) of Eukaryotes

Population Genetics (Molecular Epidemiology) of Eukaryotes INTRODUCTION The study of the molecular epidemiology of parasitic infections and their vectors is meant to answer the same kinds of questions as those of bacterial or viral infections. As with bacteria, the molecular epidemiology of eukaryotic infections follows the distribution and dynamics of microbial DNA. The key difference, however, is precisely this biology, which defines a distinct approach to molecular epidemiologic investigation of infections caused by eukaryotic organisms. In bacterial reproduction, each individual passes down an identical copy of all the DNA to the next generation. Some eukaryotic pathogens behave reproductively in similar ways to bacteria and reproduce asexually, while others have sexual reproduction for at least part of their life-cycle. The individual is able to generate a clone of itself by binary fission to produce two identical organisms, and if successful, will produce large numbers to the detriment of its host. Asexually reproducing organisms can also exhibit p romiscuous horizontal gene transfer, which can be a major source of variation and adaptation (19), but this is not sex. Sex is the biologically necessary programmed recombination (crossing over) and random shuffling (reassortment) of chromosomal DNA in the process of reproduction. This results in an enormous reservoir of variation. Bacteria in nature are heterogenous conglomerates or communities (13, 19), but when they cause disease, especially in epidemics, it is generally a clone that is responsible and that we track (Chapter 2). Sexual reproduction in some protozoa, many parasitic worms and most vectors, however, never results in a clone with the exception of identical twins. There is genetic conservation, however, within a group of organisms that tends to breed together. In genetics, this is the working definition of a population. For sexually reproducing organisms, the population is the epidemiologic unit to track. Within the group, allele frequencies and thus traits are conser ved under well-defined conditions. The unique power of the genetics of populations is that it reflects not only present individuals but also the populations past and the future potential for subsequent generations (5). Many parasites exhibit both sexual and asexual modes of reproduction, but these life stages are distributed in different hosts. Treatment of their molecular epidemiology is doubly complex, but can be simplified for some questions by considering their biology just in the human host. The whole field of population genetics is perhaps the most complex area of genetics, but it arises from simple precepts. This chapter will outline the basic models used in population genetics and are directly applicable to problems of public health epidemiology. KEY POINTS Asexual reproduction usually produces a clone; sexual reproduction never does. A population is a group of organisms that tends to breed together Allele and genotype frequencies describe populations Allele frequencies and traits tend to be maintained within groups of interbreeding organisms (derived from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium) Allele and genotype frequencies can be used to infer population histories Indices and statistics can be used to compare assess population history and to project population dynamics DEFINING GENOTYPE IN EUKARYOTIC ORGANISM   Ã‚   Some terms may not be familiar to some readers, so it is important to define these early. One of the dividing lines between bacteria and sexually reproducing parasites and vectors of human disease is their physical structure and organization. Sexually reproducing organisms will pass some portion of their life cycle where their chromosomes (Figure 5.1) exist as nearly identical pairs (diploid). Some organisms, malaria in particular, also have only one copy (haploid) during their asexual stage, and this is the stage that infects humans. A similar location on each of the chormosomes is a locus, and differences between loci are alleles. The geometry of DNA also strongly differentiates bacteria from eukaryotes (Figure 5.2). Prokaryotes have a single[1], circular chromosome whereas even the simplest eukaryotes, yeast, have at least 16 linear chromosomes. A specific marker on a bacterial chromosome will always be transmitted at reproduction together with any other marker or trait. The same also occurs with an asexually reproducing eukaryote despite having multiple linear chromosomes. A marker on the genome of a sexually reproducing eukaryote, by contrast, will have a 50% chance of being transmitted away from any marker it is not very close to. The labeling of each allele present at the same locus on each chromosome constitutes the genotype. A locus with the same polymorphism at the same site on each of the chromosome is homozygous, and with a different polymorphism is heterozygous. Figure 5.2 OPTIONS FOR MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF EUKARYOTES Study asexual parasites Use a marker close to the trait of interest (if known) Use many markers throughout the genome or sequence Study the whole group of organisms in which the trait is present (population) HARDY-WEINBERG EQUILIBRIUM: THE POPULATION NULL HYPOTHESIS Populations have a mathematical definition based on allele frequencies, which ultimately contributes to the development of tools for key measures of differentiation and diversity. Allele frequencies can differentiate populations, and genotypic frequencies can do so with even greater resolution. The relationship between allelic frequency and genotypic frequency has a simple mathematical relationship which is the definition of a population. If we use the letters A and a to represent different alleles at a single diallelic locus and p and q to represent their respective frequencies, a population with p=0.8 and q=0.2 is clearly different from a population where p=0.2, q=0.8, especially where this kind of result is found at multiple loci. Allele frequencies are not always the most sensitive measure of differentiation. The same allele frequency may still be found in what are clearly distinct populations if assessed for genotypic frequencies. Alleles combine to form genotypes, so the genoty pic frequency is a function of the allelic frequencies. For a diallelic locus where we know the frequency of each allele, the sum of these frequencies is 1 or (p + q = 1). For sexually reproducing organisms the next generation arises from the combination of alleles from a pool of males with alleles from a pool of females. If we imagine that individuals from these pools will pair at random, the subsequent distribution of alleles in genotypes is equivalent to rolling a pair of dice. For independent, random events the probability of 2 events occurring simultaneously is the product of their frequencies [(p + q)female à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ (p + q)male = 1]. The genotypic frequencies of the offspring for such a population should be p2 + 2pq + q2, if all assumptions are met, where p2 and q2 are the frequencies for the homozygotes and 2pq the heterozygotes. This is the well-known Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). This simple quadratic equation is the basis for all population genetics even when it is not measured directly. It represents the expected genotypic frequencies from a given set of allelic frequencies. It is one of the most stable mathematical relationships in nature. It is so much the expectation that when not observed in sequencing projects, it can suggest sequencing errors. It is the null hypothesis and mathematical definition of a stable population. The relationship HWE describes is true under a set of 5-10 assumptions that represent the most important factors that influence population genetic structure. The 5 most common assumptions are that there is: 1) Random mating (panmixia, assortative mating) 2) No selection 3) No migration 4) An infinite population 5) No mutation It is rare to have any of these assumptions met in nature, but the proportions are so resilient that the assumptions have to be severely violated to disturb this relationship, and even so, the proportions will be reestablished within 1-2 generations once the population is stabilized. As with most models, the underlying assumptions are the most important aspects. They are the basis for most conversations in population genetics. MARKERS Microsatellites, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and sequencing are currently the genetic elements most employed in population genetics. Microsatellites are short tandem repeats of 2-8 nucleotides (reviewed in [Ellegren, 2004 #128]).  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Microsatellites have fallen out of favor in studies of statistical genetics or gene finding, since SNPs and sequencing provide better resolution at the level of individuals. Microsatellites, however, remain important in population genetics since they are mostly neutral for selection and have higher allelic richness and information content. Their rapid mutation rate (10-2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â€š ¬ 10-5 per generation) and step-wise mode of mutation can limit their application to questions that extend over short time scales and to certain statistical approaches. SNPs have lower rates of mutation (10-8) in eukaryotes, often are diallelic, are ten times more abundant (10, 22) and have high processivity and scorability. Sequencing essentiall y provides a very dense panel of SNPs and identifies rare variants as well as structural polymorphisms. Mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA markers are much less abundant, less polymorphic and thus less informative than microsatellites or SNPs. Some are under selection and in the case of mitochondrial DNA, the genome is haploid (only 1 copy of chromosomal DNA) and may or may not have sex-specific inheritance depending on the species. They are useful for phylogeny studies, may be more economical to use in laboratories with limited capabilities and are sometimes combined with other markers. MEASURES OF DIFFERENTIATION AND DIVERSITY Areas most often addressed using population genetics are evolution and conservation. These two areas deal with essentially the same phenomenon, but at different time scales, thus the questions, the approaches and the interpretation will differ depending on the nature of the problem. The relevant public health questions in population genetics focus on identity and dynamics of the group rather than individuals over short time scales and directed at the control or extinction of a parasite or vector. Whos sleeping with whom, modes of reproduction, evolution or the last common ancestor are all important in different contexts. They may be useful to help explain anomalies and can influence interpretation, but they are rarely answers to issues of control or intervention. Understanding how diverse a population is or the degree of difference between populations combined with good study design will contribute directly to determining the impact of control measures, host or parasite demographics, resistance, risk and resilience or fragility of the population. The field of population genetics depends heavily on mathematical analyses, some simple and some very sophisticated, to answer these questions. Mathematical treatments of all of the indices and statistics of differentiation and diversity can be easily obtained from textbooks or publications and will not be included here. Fortunately for the mathematically challenged, many open source, individual computer programs are available as well as modules in R. The risk that goes with all readymade programs is a failure to understand what is being asked or the assumptions and limitations of the approach being taken. A list of some frequently used programs is provided at the end of this chapter (Table 5.1). POPULATIN DIFFERENTIATION FST, GST, GST: In addition to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, populations can be further differentiated by other statistical tests.   This is a family of statistics developed as the fixation index (FST) in the 1950s by Sewell Wright and Gustave Malà ©cot to describe the likelihood of homozygosity (fixation in the terminology of the time) at a single diallelic locus based on heterozygosity of a subpopulation compared to the total population. Theoretically, values should range from 1 (no similarity-every individual is genotypically different) to 0 (identity-every individual is genotypically same). Nei (16) extended the FST to handle the case of more than two alleles and developed the GST[LR1]. Although the term FST is often used in the literature, formally most studies today will employ the GST. When highly polymorphic loci, such as microsatellites, are genotyped, the GST severely underestimates differentiation and will not range from 0 1. Hedrick (11) adjusted the range of va lues for the GST by dividing it by its maximum possible value given the markers used. This is the GST. The GST makes possible the full range of differentiation. FST and GST relate to inherent properties of populations and contain evolutionary information lost by the GST transformation. FST-like measures have been and continue to be widely used to describe population structure, and their characteristics and behavior are well-known. There are additional related statistics (e. g. à Ã¢â‚¬  ST (4), AMOVA, RST (20), ÃŽÂ ¸ (25)), that address other aspects of differing genetic models, unequal sample sizes, accounting for haploid genomes, mechanism of mutation and selection. D. [LR2]This is sometimes referred to as Josts D, since there are numerous other Ds related to genetics and statistics. There can be logical inconsistencies for estimating differentiation based directly on heterozygosity. Ratios of pooled subpopulation to total population diversities tend toward zero when the subpopulation diversity is high (12). Josts D is based on the effective allele number (see below). Unlike those based directly on heterozygosity, it has the property of yielding a linear response to changes in allele frequencies and is independent of subpopulation diversity. Unlike FST, GST and similar indices, Josts D does not carry information relevant to the evolutionary processes responsible for the present composition of a subpopulation. It is described by supporters and detractors as purely a measure of differentiation (26). It was never meant to do more. Whitlock provides one of the best comparisons of these 2 approaches: This (Josts) D differs from FST in a fundamental definitional way: FST measures deviations from panmixia[2], while D measures deviations from total differentiation. As a result, their denominators differ, and thus, the two indices can behave quite differently. D indicates the proportion of allelic diversity that lies among populations, while FST is proportional to the variance of allele frequency among populations. D is more related to the genetic distance between populations than to the variance in allele frequencies; it may be preferable to call D a genetic distance measure (26). There has been controversy about the use of these different types of indices. There should not be. They clearly address different questions and resolve different analytic problems. It should be recognized that the GST and Josts D yield fairly similar results when the number of populations is small and the markers have a small number of alleles. The GST and Josts D have given similar results in our own studies using microsatellites (2) and in simulation (26) with GST values slightly higher than those of Josts D. Some authors recommend calculating both GST and Josts D, in part to satisfy everyone and in part to obtain the useful information about population diversity their departure may provide. In relation to public health, most questions about parasites and vectors deal with near term events of DIVERSITY Diversity like differentiation has myriad formulations and interpretations. The simplest expression is mean heterozygosity (H). For microsatellite data this is usually high due to the intrinsically high mutation rate of these markers, and markers with higher variability are usually selected. Allelic richness (Ar) is simply a count of the number of alleles at each locus. Differences in sample size will necessarily result in differences in allele number. This is usually adjusted for by statistical methods such as rarefaction (15) to standardize sample sizes between comparison groups. The effective allele number (Ae) is also a measure of diversity, but is already adjusted for sample size. It represents the number of alleles with equal frequencies that will produce the same heterozygosity as that of the target population. The most informative measure of diversity is the effective population size (Ne), a concept also introduced by Sewell Wright. It is designed to address the essential reason that diversity is important, namely, it reflects the strength of genetic drift. Genetic drift is the effect of random transmission of alleles during reproduction to succeeding generations. When numbers of reproducing individuals are small, the genetic composition of the population of offspring can differ by chance from what is expected given the composition of the parents. If two coins are flipped, it would not be that unusual for both to come up heads. If a thousand coins are flipped, the ratio of heads to tails will always be very near the expected 50:50 ratio. Genetic drift is stronger when populations are small or reduced, and weakens the strength of adaptive selection. Like differentiation, there are several formulations for Ne that can provide different values and are designed to measure different aspects of the population. The breeding Ne is the probability of identity by descent for two alleles chosen at random. It is a retrospective assessment of population diversity. The variance Ne assesses the variance of the offsprings allele frequency, and is thus forward looking. It measures recent population changes that affect its genetic composition. Ne can represent the number of actively breeding individuals in the population or the number of individuals in an ideal population needed to reconstitute the diversity in an actual population. It is almost always less than the census population (Nc). It is a key value in conservation genetics and population genetics in general, since it reflects the history and future potential of a population. Increasing drift (decreasing Ne) tends to neutralize the force of directional selection, permits retention of del eterious mutations and hampers the ability of populations to adapt to stresses (9). Despite its importance, Ne can be difficult to estimate in wild populations due to uncertainties of the demographic, genetic and biological context (17, 24). It can be affected by sample size, overlapping generations, sampling interval, sex ratios, gene flow, age-structure, variation in family size, fluctuating population size or selection. Increasing the numbers of markers is less important than large samples for accurate estimates; as much as 10% of the Ne has been recommended [Palstra, 2008 #84]. Its interpretation can also be uncertain. Estimated Ne has been used as an aid in predicting extinction using the concept of a minimum viable population size. Some have suggested that at an Ne of 50-500 a population will experience extinction in the short- or long-run (7). Others have argued that this might occur at Ne = 5000 (14). While it is clear that lack of diversity has an impact on extinction (21), it is also clear that there cannot be a universally accepted number for the minimum viable population size (6, 23). In any case, theory suggests that there is a number defined by the amount of genetic drift below which populations are likely to go extinct on their own. The range for this number is context-specific and will require multiple species-specific studies under multiple conditions. This kind of analysis might contribute to developing a stopping rule as control measures approach elimination.         Ã‚   [1] Leptospira spp. are an exception with 2 circular chromosomes. [2] The condition where all individuals have an equal opportunity to reproduce with all other individuals [LR1]G? [LR2]Does it stand for something?

Persuading their Mistresses in The Flea and To His Coy Mistress Essay

Persuading their Mistresses in The Flea and To His Coy Mistress Examine the ways in which the poets in The Flea and To His Coy Mistress try to persuade their mistresses. Both "The Flea" by John Donne and "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell are seduction poems, written by the poets to seduce their mistresses. Both have three stanzas and a basic couplet rhyming structure. Donne and Marvell are metaphysical poets from the 17th century. They have taken simple ideas and stretched them far - for example, using a flea as a symbol of union. They have made philosophical poems about simple facts of life - for example, the fear of death seen in "To His Coy Mistress". The similarity seen between these poems is quite surprising - the use of imagery, enjambement and variation in rhythm and rhyme to relate their ideas, and the way they put forward their arguments to seduce their mistresses. In "The Flea", the flea is used as a symbol of their love, or his love for her. The word 'flea' has many connotations and denotations, but interestingly, when spoken sounds the same as the verb, to 'flee'. In addition to perhaps suggesting the fleeting nature of love, the word also connotes danger: "to run away as from danger; to take flight; to try to escape", is the Oxford English Dictionaries definition. It can also connote an abrupt ending "to run away from, hasten away from; to quite abruptly, forsake (a person or a place, etc.)". This insight would give an added dimension to Donne's use of a flea in his poem. The OED also provides us with the definition "a small wingless insect well known for its biting propensities and its agility leaping." The finding that fleas do not have wings could be quite significant, because ... ...blood, and that sex with him will take no more from than the flea did. Marvell's first persuasion tactic is a romantic one - that he loves her so much she should have sex with him, the second persuasive argument is that if she doesn't have sex with him, time will pass and she will die a virgin. His last is again one of time - that they should take hold of time how they can, and make "him [Marvell personifies time in his poem] run". The imagery in "To His Coy Mistress" is very effective, and the use of a flea as a symbol in a love poem holds together quite well, even if it is a rather surprising choice. The enjambment in both poems really gives the poems meaning, creating a tone in each of them, and whether the mistresses they were trying to persuade were every actually persuaded or not, it is clear that the poets went to great lengths in their attempts.

Agricultural Subsidies: Their Original Purpose and Impact Today Essay

Agricultural Subsidies: Their Original Purpose and Impact Today Contents Introduction: What are Farm Subsidies? 3 Government Intervention in Agribusiness 7 The Reality 9 Works Cited 12 â€Æ' Introduction: What are Farm Subsidies? The Agriculture sector has changed monumentally over the past century in response to vast economic change and technological advancements. Farm subsidies are various forms of payments from the federal government put in place in an effort to stabilize prices, keep farmers in business, and ensure quality of crops. The federal government currently pays $20 billion in cash each year to US farmers and spent an estimated $250 billion between 1995-2005. Presently, a new farm bill is passed every five years with the most recent being in 2013 . Although there are small changes with each preceding Farm Bill the permanent pieces of legislation requiring US Department of Agriculture to control pricing and regulate supplies date back to the 19th century. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) finances subsidies and buys surplus food to regulate and steady farm income. There are presently eights various subsidies: Direct Payments, Countercyclical Payments, Export Subsidies, Conservation Subsidies, Marketing Loans, Agricultural Research and Assistance, Disaster Aid, and Insurance. 1) Direct Payments: 5 billion annually The federal government pays cash subsidies to landowners who produce: wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, cotton, rice, soybean, minor oil seeds and peanuts. This combination of crops are considered to be the top ten crucial commodities. A direct payment is equal to the product of the payment rate for the specific crop, the historical payment acres, and the historical payment yield fo... ...z2yiN9IUsy>. Nathaniel, Jeroime. "Farm Bill 2013: An Inside Look At the Most Important Bill You've Never Heard Of." PolicyMic. Oct. 2013. 13 Apr. 2014 . Peterson, E. Wesley F. A billion dollars a day: The economics and politics of agricultural subsidies. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. "U.S. Department of Agriculture." U.S. Department of Agriculture. 11 Apr. 2014 . "U.S. Farmers During the Great Depression." Farm Collector. 13 Apr. 2014 . White, Deborah. "What Are U.S. Farm Subsidies?" About.com US Liberal Politics. 11 Apr. 2014 . Agricultural Subsidies: Their Original Purpose and Impact Today Essay Agricultural Subsidies: Their Original Purpose and Impact Today Contents Introduction: What are Farm Subsidies? 3 Government Intervention in Agribusiness 7 The Reality 9 Works Cited 12 â€Æ' Introduction: What are Farm Subsidies? The Agriculture sector has changed monumentally over the past century in response to vast economic change and technological advancements. Farm subsidies are various forms of payments from the federal government put in place in an effort to stabilize prices, keep farmers in business, and ensure quality of crops. The federal government currently pays $20 billion in cash each year to US farmers and spent an estimated $250 billion between 1995-2005. Presently, a new farm bill is passed every five years with the most recent being in 2013 . Although there are small changes with each preceding Farm Bill the permanent pieces of legislation requiring US Department of Agriculture to control pricing and regulate supplies date back to the 19th century. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) finances subsidies and buys surplus food to regulate and steady farm income. There are presently eights various subsidies: Direct Payments, Countercyclical Payments, Export Subsidies, Conservation Subsidies, Marketing Loans, Agricultural Research and Assistance, Disaster Aid, and Insurance. 1) Direct Payments: 5 billion annually The federal government pays cash subsidies to landowners who produce: wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, cotton, rice, soybean, minor oil seeds and peanuts. This combination of crops are considered to be the top ten crucial commodities. A direct payment is equal to the product of the payment rate for the specific crop, the historical payment acres, and the historical payment yield fo... ...z2yiN9IUsy>. Nathaniel, Jeroime. "Farm Bill 2013: An Inside Look At the Most Important Bill You've Never Heard Of." PolicyMic. Oct. 2013. 13 Apr. 2014 . Peterson, E. Wesley F. A billion dollars a day: The economics and politics of agricultural subsidies. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. "U.S. Department of Agriculture." U.S. Department of Agriculture. 11 Apr. 2014 . "U.S. Farmers During the Great Depression." Farm Collector. 13 Apr. 2014 . White, Deborah. "What Are U.S. Farm Subsidies?" About.com US Liberal Politics. 11 Apr. 2014 .

The Driving Age Should Be Rasied to 18

NZ young people are increasingly proving that they are too immature, too irresponsible to get behind the steering wheel of a car. Instead of cleaning up after young drivers who have crashed, or advertising against student drunk drivers, the Gov. t could put more money into public transport so youth wouldn't have to drive to work. 15 are far too young, and it definitely should be raised. Remember – a driving license is a privilege not a right, as some of you think it is†¦Not only should the driving age be lifted to 18, there should be more draconian restrictions in place during the licensing period. Road safety should be compulsory in schools from an early age. Bicyclists should be licensed, as party of attaining a full ‘drivers' license – having completed the bicycle module, the applicant must then spend a compulsory period on the treadle; the next step will be a basic motor scooter/motorcycle course, followed by another compulsory period riding either a scoo ter or restricted output motorbike.Having completed these modules, an applicant may then apply for permission to be considered for a ‘full' driver's license – the process of attaining such should NOT be easy; too many of us consider piloting two tonnes of death down our highways at lethal speeds to be a ‘right', when it is, in fact, a responsibility. And, time and again, we continue to prove that we are not responsible beings. 15 year old minds are not able to link cause with effect and therefore are not mature enough to hold a drivers licence. The age for driver’s licences should be raised to 18.In conjunction with this, the money spent on safe driving advertising campaigns (which are proven to be ineffective) should be spent instead on public transport systems. The young kids are too irresponsible to be driving at anything less than 18. The school leaving age should be 18 too. I think the driving age should be raised to 18 because†¦ young people stri ve to take opportunities that take advantage of something†¦ everyone knows is big. They think that they can tackle the road by the horns, knowing that their 15 years old, confidence is more powerful than common sense in such early development.Basically, the number '15' makes young teenagers react like they have the experience†¦ when they don't. Privacy and Freedom sometimes lets kids go all cocky because they want to impress a cute girl or a group of wannabe gangsters. Here is a question. How do you keep your kids at home? And here is the answer. Let the air out of their tires. Or let them wait until age 18 before being able to drive. I agree. Let's face it. Anything under 18 is still a child. Even a lot of 18 yr. olds are still kids really. However (especially in Auckland) they need a good public transport system as an option.Also another option is to restrict the ownership (and driveability) of vehicles to people under the age of say 25 to a certain horsepower. Jap impor ts are so cheap. I've seen teenage (looking anyway) people driving Subaru's that have at least a couple of hundred kilowatts-that my friends is a recipe for disaster. Earn your right to drive a performance car. A full license should only be able to be obtained at the age of 17-18. You should really be in school until this age and there is no need to being able to get to work. If you do have a part time job, jump on a bike or if too lazy for that, get a scooter.Also I have never understood the point of learner, restricted and full licenses. No one follows these rules anyway, how many learners don't we see on the roads without any supervision? The attitude towards cars and driving in NZ is all wrong and the penalties are far too soft. I totally agree with the above comment that the young kids are too irresponsible to be driving at anything less than 18. The school leaving age should be 18 too. I've been a teenager and I certainly thought I was old enough to concur the world, but looki ng back I know now how immature I was.Although it is required to have better and cheaper public transport in place. If this is obtained we may see fewer cars on the roads altogether which would benefit in so many other ways as well. It has been shown that a lot of youth are not aware of their actions and drink driving, by increasing this age, the number of car crashes should decrease. Anyone under 18 is not responsible enough to be in control of something that can kill people. I think that adulthood should be defined as 18 at which point everything that is currently prohibited based on age can become available.

Levis Strauss Case Study Analysis

Introduction Companies use various strategy models to analyse their current status and formulate strategies for future directions they ought to take (Johnson et al., 2014). With the high level of dynamism than characterises the present-day business environment, companies need to be aware of their internal capabilities, and use them to deal with the external threats and opportunities. Among the models that can aid in this Porter’s generic strategies, the PESTEL and SWOT frameworks and Porter’s five forces (Zott, Amit and Massa, 2011). This paper presents an analysis of a case study about Levis Strauss three Porter’s generic strategies, and further determines the company’s strategic position using SWOT analysis. Models2.1. Porters’ Generic strategies (From the case study) Narrow Market ScopeSegmentation strategy 1.Older disaffected shoppers – â€Å"fans who love us but quite frankly left us† 2.The lost generation – â€Å"fans who don’t really know who we are† Broad Market ScopeDifferentiation strategy 1. Classic pieces of clothing such as button fly and trucker jacket that are the seam for the giant business of denim 2. Return the brand to its roots while moving forward 3. Innovation- Levi Strauss is using high-tech by involving a team of 30 people on its Eureka lab to work on 30 prototypes a week. The company encourages the conversion of ideas into design in less than 24 hoursCost leadership 1. Reduction of inflated cost structure by the new Levi CEO 2. Progressive growth in sales volumes for successive years. Uniqueness CompetencyLow Cost Competency2.2. SWOT Analysis (From the case study) Strengths 1. Popular and strong brand name 2. Expertise and experience in the denim Industry 3. Focus on things other than profits- captioned ‘profits through principles’ for examples, donations and scholarships 4. Levi Strauss company has a visionary CEO in Chip Bergh Weaknesses 1. The company focuses too much on brand protection 2. Limited business growth due to increase in competition from other denim companies 3. Complacency in coming up with innovative designs for customers 4. Delays in trends such as colored jeans for women and more tailored jeans for men 5. With 16200 employees, the company incurs high expenses in paying wages. Opportunities 1. The casual wear market is growing fast 2. Internationalisation into emerging markets characterised by low cost manufacturing and production 3. High tech re-invention that is the use of technology to create a tech-advanced women’s denim that fit depending on body shape.Threats 1. Fast changing consumer tastes 2. Increasing Competition from low end substitutes such as Lee and Wrangler hence lower market share 4. Very close competition for market share with rivals targeting the same high-end customer base Discussion3.1. Porter Generic strategiesMichael Porter suggests 3 broad generic strategies that can be used by a company to outperform its competitors (Porter, 2008). These are segmentation, differentiation and cost leadership strategies. From the analysis of Levi Strauss’ case, the strategies from Porter’s generic model are clearly exhibited. Cost leadership, according to the model, refers to a strategy where a company sets its prices below that of its rivals and is independent of the market structure. From the analysis, this strategy was implemented on entry of Chip Bergh; the company’s new CEO cut the cost and pricing structure that was previously inflated as it targeted high-end customers. The adopted prices might not be lowest in the industry, but is close to that of the company’s key rivals, which also makes Levi products to attract new price-sensitive customers and those that were lost to other cheaper brands. The differentiation strategy is also e vident at Levi Strauss. Companies use different approaches to differentiate themselves from their competitors. These include creation of unique designs, adoption of new technologies and making changes their brand images (Zott, Amit and Massa, 2011). Levis has used all these strategies to achieve uniqueness in the denim industry. The company capitalises on the specific designs that will attract consumers and win their loyalty, including those that had shifted to other less costly brands. In regard to the segmentation strategy, the company strives to meet the needs and specification of a given target market for instance; type of product, location of sales or the category of customers it targets. In relation to Levis, the customer segments it targets are the ‘older disaffected’ shoppers who genuinely left the company for alternatives that suited them better and the ‘lost generation’ customers, who know nothing about it. By defining its customer segments, the company is able to design products and services that are tailored towards matching the needs and preferences of these groups. as argued by Porter (2008), a company that fails to develop any strategy in regards to the three broad categories defined by Porter is considered as being ‘stuck in the middle’ because it will have no competitive advantage in the market.3.2. SWOT AnalysisSWOT analysis is a strategic tool that is used to subjectively assess information about a company or organisation outlining its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Ommani, 2011). Whilst strengths and weaknesses are internal elements of an organisation, opportunities and threats are external elements that the company has no control of. From the analysis present in section 2.2, Levi Strauss draws one of its strengths from the fact that it has a big brand name in the denim industry with a lot of expertise and experience drawn from the fact that it is the oldest denim company. In addition to this, the company known to focus more on things related to the smooth flow of business than only on profits and it has a fast growth of retail shops. These strengths have enabled the company to survive the competition it has faced from companies like Zara and H&M. The major weakness that was noted about Levi Strauss is the complacency of the company’s design team in coming up with unique products. Such weaknesses make the company prone to competition from rivals that are committed towards providing the best designs and are flexible enough to match the changing market trends. As stated by the company’s CEO in the case, â€Å"At Levi, designers sit in the company’s archives and look at old Western shirts and jeans†¦We have one of the greatest brands in the world, but I think that there may have been periods where we thought the brand itself could carry us through thick and thin, there is no question that we got complacent†. The opportunities that have been identified in the SWOT analysis above give the company a prospect for better performance in future, especially if it puts its strengths to beneficial use. These opportunities include the increase in market demand for casual wear, opportunities to expand operations into new markets, and the technological developments taking place in the fashion industry, which can greatly increase production and marketing efficiency of the company. In regard to the probable increase in demand of casual apparel, the company needs to device strategies that will motivate its employees avoid complacency and embark on designing competitive products. Failure to do so will make the company to lose these potential clients to rivals because these opportunities are for all companies in this industry (Grant, 2013). The main threat, as highlighted in the case study, is the rivalry that exists in the industry. This has to be overcome by application of the strategies that were earli er discussed in Porter’s generic strategy model. This will make the company a formidable competitor in the industry. Conclusion and Recommendations From the analysis above by the use of Porter’s generic strategies and SWOT analysis it has been identified that whilst the company may have some weaknesses, it also possesses several capabilities if well utilised, will strengthen its brand position in the denim apparel industry. Several recommendation can however be made for Levi Strauss. One of these would be that the company should focus on the frequently changing needs of consumers in the denim market and ensure that its operations and designs are flexible enough to match with these changing trends. Taking advantage of technological milestones in the fashion industry also recommended. This will ensure the production of unique yet trendy designs. From the Ansoff matrix below, the strategic directions that a company can use to position itself in the market are presented (Taylor, 2012). Two of the four strategic directions suggested by this model have already been adopted by Levi Company, that is, selling existing products to existing markets and extending existing products in new markets. It can however recommended that the company should adopt one of the two remaining factors of this model, which is the diversification through creation of more designs of products that suit a wider demographic scope of customers. This will lead to larger consumer base hence higher revenue. References Cunningham, J., & Harney, B?. (2012) Strategy and Strategists. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Grant, R. M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. New Jersey: Wiley. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Angwin, D., Regnr, P., & Scholes, K. (2014). Exploring Strategy Text Only. UK: Pearson Education, Limited. Ommani, A. R. (2011) Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis for farming system businesses management: Case of wheat farmers of Shadervan District, Shoushtar Township, Iran. African Journal of Business Management. 5(22). p.9448-9454. Porter, M. (2008) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. New York: Simon and Schuster. Tanwar, R. (2013) Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies. Journal of Business and Management. 15(1). p.11-17. Taylor, E. C. (2012) Competitive Improvement Planning: Using Ansoff’s Matrix with Abell’s Model to Inform the Strategic Management Process. Academy of Strategic Management 10(1). p.21-25. Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011) The business model: recent developments and future research. Journal of management 37(4). p.1019-1042.

Out of Africa Theory Essay

The Out of Africa Theory is a widely renown theory describing the origin of the human race and their early dispersal throughout the world. According to this theory, humans have a monogensis, or a single and common origin; Africa. The concept was first introduced in 1871 by Charles Darwin but was deliberated for years until further studies of mitochondrial DNA and evidence †based on physical anthropology of archaic specimens† was added. During the early 19th century, scientists, archeologist and other scholars, speculated, studied and disagreed about the development of humans and our origins. Some experts theorized that humans are monogenism and developed into various varieties of species. Others argue that we are a polygenism mammal and that we either had separate development of various human species or developed as separate species through †transmutation† of apes. It was until the year 1871 when one of the first theories had been proposed openly. During that year, Charles Darwin published the book †Descent of Man†, in which he suggested that all humans were descendant from early humans who lived in Africa based on his studies of the behavior of African apes. In his book, Charles Darwin concluded, †In each great region of the world the living mammals are closely related to the extinct species of the same region. It is, therefore, probable that Africa was formerly inhabited by extinct apes closely allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee; and as these two species are now man’s nearest allies, it is somewhat more probable that our early progenitors lived on the African continent than elsewhere. But it is useless to speculate on this subject, for an ape nearly as large as a man, namely the Drypithecus of Lartet, which was closely allied to the anthropomorphous Hylobates, existed in Europe during the Upper Miocene period; and since so remote a period the earth has certainly undergone many great revolutions, and there has been ample time for migration on the largest scale. † Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 50 years later when other scholars began to support Charles Darwin’s theory when an sufficient number of fossils of early humans in several areas of Africa was found. During the 1980s, three specialists, Allan Wilson, Rebecca Cann and Mark Stoneking, worked together on another theory that supports Charles Darwin’s speculation, the â€Å"Mitochondrial Eve† hypothesis. In these tests, the scientists solemnly focused on mitochondrial DNA, human genes that lay within the cell and are passed from mother to child. These genes allow mutation, as they mutate quickly for adaptation, thus allowing those studying to find and track changes during short time periods. By focusing on these genes and comparing their differences, the three scientists were able to create a hypothesis about the time and place when modern humans began to evolve. According to their findings, they believe that modern humans are decentants from a single population, while earlier humans e. g. Neandertals and Homo erectus, had become extinct. Furthermore, the team compared the DNA of numerous people of differerent ethnic backgrounds and concluded that all humans did indeed evolve from ‘one mother’ in Africa about 150,000 years ago. According to physical evidence, and theories, scholars have concluded upon a whole hypothesis. Based on their knowledge and belief, modern humans diverged from Homo sapiens between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago specifically in Africa, that between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago members of Homo sapiens left Africa, and that these humans species gradually replaced earlier human populations. East Africa has been the single and specific orgin of the human race that most scientists have conluded on. There are still speculations and debates on whether there had been one single dissolution or several. Due to genetic, linguisitc and archaeological findings, the Southern Dispersal theory, a theory in which included several exodus, has become the most favorable theory, however many researchers are gradually considering the first and original haven was Northern Africa. Scientists believe the population of early humans had been around 2,000 to 5,000 while they persisted in Africa, and only small groups of persumably 150 to 1,000 migrated out towards the Red Sea. These few individuals went out to expand and eventually populate the rest of the world. For example, one theory suggests that those who traveled along the southern coastline of Asia ultimately crossed the sea and colonized in Australia about 50,000 years ago. Other researchers believe and have proposed to a multiple dispersal theory in which states that there had been two major migrations out of Africa. According to this speculation, one group crossed the Red Sea and traveled along the coastline until reaching India. The other, meanwhile, migrated north, following the Nile River, and crossed into Asia through the Sinai. From there, several members dispersed in various directions, some headed towards Europe while other went east into Asia. It is unclear, however, if Homo sapiens migrated to North America 30,000 years ago, or later around 14,000 years ago. From there on, Homo sapiens gradually and continiously migrated and settled on to every continent, except Antartica, and gradually began to increase and populate the world.

Marriage and How It Has Changed Essay

Marriage has gone through profound changes over the last five decades, but we continue to speak about it as though it’s the same old familiar pattern. To see how much has changed; I am going to look at the shift from the forties, to the sixties, to today. In 1968, less than a year after the famous Summer of Love, as they used to say out in the country, â€Å"The times they were a-changing.† The sexual revolution, Viet Nam, drugs–the youth of the day were convinced the world would never be the same again. Yet they didn’t think about how such changes would affect marriage. It seemed as if they thought it would be about the same as it had been for their parents, except better because they (like most youth of most times) thought they were better than their gray and jaded parents that represented the â€Å"American Gothic† portrayed that day. No matter how you describe it, it was a powerfully attractive vision. The average age at which Americans got married dropped drastically, to just 19 for women. The number of children soared higher than it had for decades, to a peak of 3.7 children per woman in 1957. The goal back then was domesticity, and both partners worked for it–one to earn the pay, the other to make the home. If a man was a good provider, if he didn’t drink or beat his wife, if he was a â€Å"good father† to his children, he was a good husband. A good wife had to be a decent cook and housekeeper, take care of the children and provide emotional support to her husband. Polls taken during that time show that more than 90 percent of people could not imagine an unmarried person being happy. When asked what they thought they had given up for marriage and family, most women said, â€Å"Nothing.† Since the fifties, we’ve chased personal happiness, career and self-fulfillment and assumed that marriage and family would somehow fit in. One sign of this shift is the percentage of couples who say they would stay together â€Å"for the sake of the children,† which sank from about 50 to 20 between 1962 and 1977. We’ve lost something else, something far more surprising: the pure sexual drama of marriage. In Goin’ to the Chapel: Dreams of Love, Realities of Marriage, Charlotte Mayerson describes some startling discoveries about the Ozzie and Harriet generation. While talking in-depth to 100 middle-class women of all ages about their marriages, she  found that those who enjoyed a passionate sexual relationship with their husbands were almost certain to have come of age in the fifties. In contrast, sex just wasn’t that important for younger women. â€Å"Time and time again, the younger women say, ‘On a scale of one to ten, sex, I would say, gets a three,'† Mayerson writes. â€Å"These younger women had plenty of sexual relationships before they married, and the thrill was gone before the wedding day. For many older women, however, the excitement of sex had been a reason to marry, and the passion remained.† Those â€Å"Ozzie and Harriet† marriages, Mayerson suggests, could be considerably more passionate than those that have come since the Sexual Revolution. Baby boomers didn’t rebel against domesticity, they just took it for granted. Marriage wasn’t a treasure for which they worked and sacrificed, they thought of it as an adventure that happened because you fell in love; and it competed with other adventures–sex, travel, success, saving the planet. Today, the fifties serve as an ideological battleground. For conservatives who regret the changes that have come, those years are a reminder of the good old days. For liberals who push society to escape oppressive patriarchal arrangements, they are a dreaded Dark Ages. Their constant cry is, â€Å"We can’t go back to the fifties!† Indeed, we can’t. But we would do well to recognize what we’ve lost and might regain. We’ve lost the emphasis on marriage and children that provided so much stability. Back then, a man’s career was to provide for the family, not his ego; a woman’s ambitions were put on the shelf if they conflicted with the children’s needs. That was certainly restrictive to some, but it created a strong social fabric. Since the fifties, we’ve chased personal happiness, career and self-fulfillment and assumed that marriage and family would somehow fit in. The situation is hardly hopeless. After all, if something like half of all marriages ends in divorce, that means the other half don’t. We can’t guarantee that our children will succeed, but we can certainly prepare them and support them to be numbered among the successful. For previous generations, marriage was an inevitable destination. It didn’t take any special intention; it was a stage in life. For the ’00 generation, marriage  will have to be a much more intentional act. They need encouragement, they need mentors, and most of all they need straight talk. We must ask them: â€Å"Do you know what you’re doing? Are you prepared to make this a success?† We often hear that if we do not learn from the past, we are bound to relive it. In my opinion, it is certainly something that wouldn’t hurt us a single bit in this particular situation. Works Cited Mayerson, Charlotte. Goin’ To the Chapel; Dreams of Love, Realities of Marriage. 1996. Basic Press