Semiotic and Semantic Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Semiotic and Semantic Information - Essay Example This curiosity makes it possible for us to achieve such knowledge and understanding through which the form of communication would no longer be misinterpreted. In the absence of any solid and objective criteria to analyze a communicative effort, we can only ask the sender what the meaning is. This is where the study of communication rests on theories and embraces the theories and ideas of philosophy and psychology. I wish to quote Murungi (2003) who expresses the similar view on the importance of studying communication in the words as follows: In semiotics we have [a lot] of work which examines the processes of communication by way of determining, at least theoretically, how and why symbols convey meaning. On the other hand, in visual communication we have a professional and academic area which develops and puts into use the media of visual communication, i.e., the products, in the form of icons, signs, graphical symbols, illustrations, pictorial sequences and other interfaces by which information is represented and communicated visually (Murungi 2003, p. 15). But, this communication cannot be efficient and reliable unless we understand exactly what is the true information and how this information can be passed to its receivers in order to make a systematic communication. Stamper (1987) highlights this very problem in the following words: If you want to communicate then you must stand on a technical platform with the appropriate physical, empiric and syntactic properties (roughly speaking, the right hardware, communications, and software in the most general sense). Improving them can have profound effects on society. For example, science as we know it today could not be practiced on the platform of a script technology; monks copying manuscripts in penny numbers multiplied the errors because in most cases they did not really understand the text, and even less so the accompanying diagrams; so the critical examination of theories and methods, on which scientific progress depends, had no chance to proceed until printing made possible the rapid dissemination of exact multiple copies under the control of the author, for discussion and constructive criticism. Technology reduced the costs and so improved aspects of quality from which the pay-off appeared on the social level in the form of modern science. (Stamper, 1995, p. 27 3) Semantic and Semiotic Information Information is an important factor of gaining knowledge abuts things and objects in our daily life. According to Luciand Floridi (2005) "[t]he concept of information has become central in most contemporary philosophy. However, recent surveys have shown no consensus on a single, unified definition of semantic information." Information is understood and interpreted differently by every branch of knowledge. Semantics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of meaning. Semantics is the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and the meaning that they represent Semantics is used differently in different fields of knowledge like psychology, philosophy and more recently, in information systems. However, the main concern of semantic studies is to understand the exact meaning of an information being conveyed or received. Likewise, semiotics can

Impact of citizenship of the organisation behaviour Essay

Impact of citizenship of the organisation behaviour - Essay Example tatus in the organization, even at the lowermost levels these issues might make a difference, mainly in the presentation of individual teams in the organization (Stephen & Timothy 44). The approach of the individual can influence organizational behavior, mainly in individuals that clench responsibility for creating corporate culture, like the top management. For instance, it became discovered that money - oriented personal attitude in a worker have a negative effect on the organizational citizenship behavior (Stephen & Timothy 54). Nevertheless, it is not only the worker’s own organizational citizenship that may agonize; bad attitudes shows to affect organizational citizenship of the other employees too (Stephen & Timothy 77). Organizational behavior has often been likened to contextual performance. Correspondingly to organizational behavior, this concept emerged in reaction to the realization that looks at job precise work behaviors ignored a substantial portion of the job sphere (Don & John 67). Originally, experts in these fields focused only on activities that in a straight line supported the production of the organization. While the job market gets more aggressive, it became essential for employees to go beyond and beyond that gets formally required by the given job description in order to remain competitive (Don & John 67). Contextual performance often becomes defined as non- task connected activities and work behaviors that add to the psychological and social aspects of the organization (Jeff & Sandra 63). Contextual performance comprises of four dimensions: assistance to others, persistence of enthusiasm, rule and proscribed process following, and openly shielding the organizations objectives. Organizational behavior and contextual performance stake their defining qualities as they both contain of behaviors other than the ones needed to perform the repetitive functions of the job (Jeff & Sandra 13). All also require that the behaviors contribute to the

Is Australia Multicultural?

Is Australia Multicultural? Australia is often seen as a successful multicultural nation. Since 1945, around 7 million immigrants from over 150 countries have settled in Australia. Also, different religions and cultures are accepted, for example, Judaism and Islam. The governments that have ruled this country since the first white settlement in 1788, has passed legislations and policies that support multiculturalism. However, Australia hasn’t always been successful in multiculturalism. Not all people have had equal rights, for example, the right to vote and some governments have not placed a large emphasis on multiculturalism. Australia is one of the most multi-faith, multi-lingual and multi-cultural countries in the world. It is a diverse country that accepts people of different cultures and religions. With the increasing unrest in the world, more and more innocent citizens are fleeing from their war-torn countries, to countries where they will be accepted. People risk their lives and sometimes pay large amounts of money to come to a free and peaceful country that they can call home. Migrants come to countries that have the capabilities of helping other countries in times of distress or need and know that they will most likely be respected and received. According to the 2011 Census, approximately one quarter of Australia’s population is born overseas with 43.1% of people having at least one overseas parent. This shows diversity and outlook of Australia. The 2011 Census Executive Director, Andrew Henderson, said: These results highlight the cultural diversity of Australia’s population. Multiculturalism plays a big part in who we are as a nation, helping to create a brighter future for all Australians.[1] A survey conducted in 2012, revealed a high support for immigration by Australians; a majority displaying a positive or neutral attitude towards people from different backgrounds. 38% of those surveyed believed that the immigration intake was too high against 56% saying it was about right or too low. Australians accept different cultures, religions and beliefs and very few criticise those that have different backgrounds, beliefs and practices. There are approximately 260 different languages spoken in Australia and 21 different religions practiced. Each religion has different underlying principles and values and all are respected. Australia has ties with countries such New Zealand and China, helping Australians to broaden their outlook and understand different cultures and religions and how they influence lives in many ways. The past governments of this country and other non-government organisations have created many policies to give those from different backgrounds better lives. In 1989, the Hawke Labour Government continued to support multiculturalism, releasing the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia. This policy contained the underlying values and principles of multiculturalism including â€Å"quote†. Australia’s Labour Government of 2007 led by Kevin Rudd, reversed the trend of the previous government led by John Howard (1996 – 2007), from a negative attitude to a positive attitude. Like the Hawke Government, Kevin Rudd showed its support for multiculturalism by creating ties with neighbouring countries and established a National Multicultural Advisory Council (NMAC) which was asked to give advice on â€Å"quote†. During April 2010, the NMAC released a report named ‘The people of Australia’. The council appreciated Australia’s multicultural a ttitude and made ten recommendations which included â€Å"quote†. The Australian government are not the only supporters of multiculturalism in Australia. There are also non-government organisations. Two examples of these non-government organisations are the Australian Multicultural Foundation (AMF) and the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations (APRO). The AMF seeks to promote awareness and the importance and respect in relation to peoples’ cultures and how they help the diversity of our country. The organisation also conducts research about Australia’s diversity. The APRO is made of people from different ethnic communities and have different faiths, which work together to promote multiculturalism, social justice and democracy. However, Australia is not as multicultural as it may seem. Asylum seekers are sometimes viewed as outcasts and people who do not deserve to live freely because of the trouble they cause. Migrants come from many places, risking their lives on boats that are hardly sea-worthy, to arrive in a free country, where there is democracy and peace. For many of these war-torn countries, Australia is their closest free country, with there only being approximately 93 miles between the most southern point of Papua New Guinea and the most northern point of Australia. The boats are usually intercepted by Australian Navy, Customs or Border Protection vessels on border security operations. The immigrants on these boats are taken to detention centres, for example, Christmas Island or Pontville (now closed), or are sent back to where the boat departed. Since December 8, 2013, the Australian Navy and Australian Border Protection vessels have turned back six boats, returning 249 people. Returning asylum s eekers gives them a limited chance to live a good life and create a living. A survey conducted in 2012 by The Scanlon Foundation found that only 23% of those surveyed agreed that asylum seekers who arrived on boats should be eligible for permanent residence. Australia has not always been a successful multicultural nation. When Australia was first discovered by Captain Cook, he declared it belonged to Britain, despite the fact that the Aboriginals already lived on the land. He stated that the land was terra nullius (a land belonging to no-one.) This view has been carried down by a majority of the population ever since the first settlement of White people. The Aboriginals have always been the true owners of the land; their position as the fathers of this land has not always been recognised. They have been ignored and discriminated. Their views of the land and how to use it have disregarded and have not always had the same social rights as the rest of Australia. An example of this is the right to vote. Aboriginals had the right to vote for the state elections in all states apart from Queensland and Western Australia. However, very few Aboriginals knew their rights, and therefore, very few voted. In 1902, the Aboriginals’ rights chang ed under the 1902 Franchise Act, excluding Aboriginals and any other coloured people from voting. It wasn’t until 1962, when the Menzies Liberal and Country Party Government changed the law to allow the Aboriginals to vote in the federal elections. In the same year, Western Australia allowed the Aboriginals of that state to vote in state elections, which was followed by Queensland in 1965. The 1996 – 2007 Liberal Government, led by John Howard, did not place such great emphasis on multiculturalism as the previous governments. The government focused more on â€Å"Cultural unity, assimilation and integration.†[2] A NMAC council was set up in 1997 and in its report titled Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness released in 1999, it mentioned diversity and acknowledged that those involved in making a multicultural nation. However, it was more focused on â€Å"The heritage of Great Britain and Ireland from which our democracy has evolved and the special social values of mateship and a fair go.† In conclusion, Australia is successful as a multicultural nation, accepting different cultures and making life as free as possible for those from different backgrounds. However, it cannot be said that Australia has always been multicultural. People are given limited chance to improve their life and the rights of those from different cultures are not always accepted. Overall, Australia is a successful multicultural nation despite the negatives. [1] [2] Three Types of Amphibians: An Introduction Three Types of Amphibians: An Introduction Additional comments: There are three types of amphibians; Urodele (tailed with limited metamorphosis) Anuran (tailless and no scales) Apoda (limbless) Additional comments: The main orders at the Animalrium; Testudines (turtles, chelonioa and tortoises) Squamata (snakes and lizards) Crocodilia (crocodiles) Additional comments: They have a double circulatory system and maintain a high body temperature. Additional comments: Additional comments: Bibliography Lecture notes Visit to Borth Animalrium: supplementary notes Books Reece, J., Urry, L., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. R., Minorsky, P. V. and Jackson, R. (2010) Campbell biology / Jane B. Reece [et al.]. 9th edn. United States: Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company, Subs of Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Comparison Between the Sunnis and Shiites Essay -- Religion Religious

A Comparison Between the Sunnis and Shiites Have you ever wondered about other religions that are out there and why they are out there? I have and that is why I chose to write my paper on the Sunnis and Shiites. Read on to learn more about a brief history and then I will break each of them into separate religions. In books written on Islam the word "hadith" usually refers to the sayings or "traditions" which have been given from the Prophet. Muslims hold these to be the most important source of Islamic teachings after the Qur’an. A lot of books have been written in English about what the hadith means in Islam and a number of important translations have been made. Almost all the studies have been limited to the point of view of Sunni Islam and based on Sunni sources and collections. Practically no one has ever paid any attention to the different nature of the hadith literature in Shiism and the different sources from which the hadiths are recieved. The main difference to be made between Shiite and Sunni hadiths is that in Shiism the traditions are not limited to those of the Prophet, but include those of the Imams as well. I will explain more of the distinctions later on. The difference between the two religions is still hard to distinguish even with easy to understand books like the Encyclopedia of World Faiths. There, the author of the article is aware that there is some difference between Shiism and Sunnism on the question of which hadiths are included, but he thinks that it lies in the fact that the Shiite collections accept "only traditions traced through 'Ali's family." But this is incorrect, since a lot of traditions are also gotten through other sources. What the author fails to mention is that the hadith literature as understood by Shiites is not limited to the sayings of the Prophet, but includes those of the Imams as well. The most famous and reliable collections of Shiite hadiths are four books. These books relate to the Six Correct Collections in Sunni Islam. These are al-Kafi fi 'ilm al-din (The Sufficient in the Knowledge of Religion) by Thiqat al-Islam Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 329/940), Man la yahduruhu al-faqih (For him not in the Presence of Jurisprudent) of Shaykh al-Saduq Muhammad ibn Babuyah al-Qummi (d. 381/991), Tahdhib al-ahkam (Rectification of the Statutes) by Shaykh al-Ta'ifah Muhammad al-Tusi (d. 460/ 1068) a... ...egarding the holding of spiritual and political authority remained strong even after the end of the Caliphate itself in the 13th century. The Sunnites’ strongest belief has an emphasis on the views and customs of the majority of the community, as distinguished from the views of other groups. The Sunnites compromised by allowing the other groups to bring their beliefs and customs that had nothing to do with the Qur’an. The Sunnites recognize the six "authentic" books of the Hadith, which contain the spoken tradition attributed to Muhammad. In the 20th century the Sunnites constituted the majority of Muslims in all nations except Iran, Iraq, and perhaps Yemen. They numbered about 900 million in the late 20th century and made up nine-tenths of all the followers of Islam. In conclusion I would like to comment on a couple of things. First of all the Shiism makes up 10 percent and Sunnism makes up the other 90 percent of the Muslim religion. Second of all the Shiites and Sunnis both are closely related, but have many differences. The two religions are both very complicated and difficult to understand. I hope after reading this paper you have learned a little more about both.

Millennium Development Goal and Bangladesh

Report on 2012 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and Bangladesh The Progress of Bangladesh on MDG A report submitted to the Department of Economics, AIUB, as a course requirement of Economic Geography, Fall semester 2012| | Prepared & Submitted byTeam : HISTORYNazmun,MdIstiakAlam, NusratKhan,Jahirul Islam Akhter, Sheikh TurashaShuvo,Shariar Al AminAshraf, Taskia| | Course teacherRAFIQ, FARHANAFaculty Department of Economics| | Date of submission| 28 November 2012| | | American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB)| 28 November 2012 RAFIQ, FARHANA Faculty Economics DepartmentAmerican International University – Bangladesh. Subject: Submission of Report Dear Madam, We have the pleasure to submit this report entitled â€Å"Mdg and progress of bangladesh† which has been prepared in part-fulfillment of the requirements of the Final Examination Economic Geography. We have discussed on our report about MDG’s and its progress in Bangladesh. We also have shown the wor ldwide progress of MDG. Finally, we are truly grateful to you for giving us this pleasant opportunity to work on this report. The entire group contribution has led to the successful completion of this report.Despite our all possible attempts, certain deficiencies may reside and we sincerely regret this. Best Regards, 1. Nazmun,MdIstiak ID:11-19119-22. Alam, Nusrat ID: 11-19192-23. Khan,Jahirul Islam ID: 11-18219-14. Akhter, Sheikh Turasha ID: 11-19261-25. Shuvo,Shariar Al Amin ID: 11-18231-15. Ashraf, Taskia ID:11-19115-2 | ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, we would like to thank to our course instructor of this Economic Geography course RAFIQ, FARHANA for the valuable guidance and advice. She inspired us greatly to work in this report. Her willingness to motivate us contributed tremendously to our work.We also would like to thank her for her valuable time by helping us for this report. This research report would not have been possible without the support of many people. Our thank s and appreciations go to our classmates for making the semester period truly enjoyable. And we would also like to thank our almighty for helping me carry through this massive task. Summary The main objective of this report is to discuss about Millennium Development Goals and its Progress in Bangladesh. For making this report we have collected data from internet, books, teacher’s references.Our finding shows Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals lies at the core of UNDP’s mandate, and is the focus of much of our work. Accordingly, UNDP and our partners' results in the areas of governance, poverty reduction, environment, energy and climate change, disaster management, all contribute in different ways to the acceleration of MDG achievement. In particular, the â€Å"Support to Monitoring PRS and MDGs in Bangladesh† project supported MDG acceleration in Bangladesh between 2006 and 2011. This project will shortly be renewed.It is expected that the report wi ll help to know about the MDGs as well as the situation of our country of achievement. Contents SectionPage Number * Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 06 * Discussion (a) MDG †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 07 (b) Goals and Targets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 07 (c) MDG and Bangladesh †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 (d) Progress of Bangladesh †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 * Conclusions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 29 * Bibliography †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 30 List of Figures Bar Chart (1) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 * Bar Chart(2) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 * Bar Chart (3) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 Introduction The MDGs reflect a set of actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 193 nations in 2002 based on the Millennium Declaration agreed in September 2000. Bangladesh has recorded impressive feats in pullin g people out of poverty, ensuring that more children, girls and boys, attend school, and have access to clean water. Considerable progress has been made in child survival rate. Bangladesh is among the 16 countries who have received UN recognition for being on track to achieve MDG4.There have been some improvements to address the country’s massive environmental challenges over the past decade as well. Out of the 52 MDG targets, Bangladesh is on track on 19 of them; and 14 of them need attention (2011 data). Although Bangladesh is on track to achieve the Net Enrolment target, the drop-out rates remain to high; Enrolling the last 10% of the children, ensuring quality of education for children who are already enrolled in schools, and promoting gender equity in tertiary education, remain as major challenges. The maternal mortality ratio of Bangladesh at 194 has shown a major turnaround.Performance on this goal which was lagging is a major achievement. The threat of climate change can also diminish the hard earned beneficial impacts of years of growth and development not just for the people in impoverished settlements along coastal belts and river banks, but for the entire nation. Achieving full and productive employment for all, including women and young people remains behind target. The labor force participation rate is low at about 51. 7% and women's participation although improving, is much lower at 23%. It is highly unlikely that Bangladesh will be able to ensure employment for all by 2015.Yet another challenge that Bangladesh faces is in addressing certain pockets of poverty that are lagging far behind with respect to the national averages and where the benefits of MDGs attainment need to be specifically reached. These areas include the urban slums, the hill tracts, coastal belts and other ecologically vulnerable areas. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international developmentgoals that were officially established following the Millenn ium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.All 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve these goals by the year 2015. The MDGs were developed out of the eight chapters of the Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000. There are eight goals with 21 targets, and a series of measurable indicators for each target. Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger * Target 1A: Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day * Target 1B: Achieve Decent Employment for Women, Men, and Young People * Target 1C: Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Target 2A: By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women * Target 3A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at al l levels by 2015 Goal 4: Reduce child mortality rates * Target 4A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate Goal 5: Improve maternal health Target 5A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio * Target 5B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases * Target 6A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS * Target 6B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it * Target 6C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources * Target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss * Target 7C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (for more information see the entry on water supply) * Target 7D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development Target 8A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system * Target 8B: Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) * Target 8C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States * Target 8D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term * Target 8E: In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries * Target 8F: In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits o f new technologies, especially information and communications Progress towards reaching the goals has been uneven. Some countries have achieved many of the goals, while others are not on track to realize any.A UN conference in September 2010 reviewed progress to date and concluded with the adoption of a global action plan to achieve the eight anti-poverty goals by their 2015 target date. There were also new commitments on women's and children's health, and new initiatives in the worldwide battle against poverty, hunger and disease. From next page, we have shown some statistics about progress of MDG all over the world. Description Here is the percentage of adjusted net enrolment ratio in primary education: In case of the developing countries Enrolment ratio in primary education in 1990s was 82% while in 2008 it was 89%. In case of the developed countries Enrolment ratio in primary education in 1990s was 97% while in 2008 it was 96%.In case of the world Enrolment ratio in primary educ ation in 1990s was 84% while in 2008 it was 90%. Bar Chart (1) Description This is the percentage of people earning less than $1. 25 a day. In the year 1990 58% sub Sahara African are earning less than $1. 25 a day. & In year 2005 the percentage was only reduce by 7% Which show that the progress is not good. On the other hand, In the year 1990 60% of eastern Asian is earning less than $1. 25 a day. While in the year 2005 the percentage was reduce by 44%, which is very high. Bar Chart (2) Description This is the percentage of mortality under five years old per 1000: In case of the developed countries in 1990s the number was 12 & In 2008 it was 6In case of the developing countries in 1990s the number was 100 & In 2008 it was 72 Here we found huge deference between the developed & developing countries. Bar Chart (3) MDG and Bangladesh The Government of Bangladesh is committed to achieve the MDGs within the given timeframe. The recently approved Sixth Five Year Plan (2011-2015) titledâ €  Accelerating Growth and Reducing Poverty† has laid out the operational details on the country’s endeavor to move forward with a view to achieving the â€Å"Vision 2021† of the Government. The Plan has integrated the Millennium Development Goals within the broader agenda of the economic and social targets.The Sixth Plan has adopted a holistic approach to reduce poverty and improve other social indicators, with special attention provided to remove the regional disparities in development. The beauty of implementing the 6th Plan is that in pursuit of achieving national development goals, the MDG will also be achieved as the terminal year of both the milestone goals coincides. The recent progress report of MDGs in Bangladesh 2011, shows that Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in the areas of primary schooling, gender parity in primary and secondary level education, lowering the infant and under-five mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio, improving immunization coverage and reducing the incidence of communicable diseases. The recent data reveal that incidence of poverty has been declining at an annual rate of 2. 6 percent in Bangladesh during 1991-1992 to 2010. If this trend continues, the target of halving the population living under the poverty line would be achieved well before 2015. However, achievement of the hunger target might be difficult to attain due to volatility of the commodity prices and the challenges of underemployment. Progress of MDGs in Bangladesh * Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger Bangladesh is well on track to achieving Goal 1 with poverty coming down to 31. 5 percent in 2010. Also, the average annual rate of poverty reduction has been above rate required to meet the 2015 target. The poverty gap ratio has also decreased dramatically. Current StatusTarget 1.A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income isless than $1 a day. 1. 1: Proportion of population below national upper poverty line, percent (38. 7 in 2008 bylinear extrapolation; 41. 2 in 2009 by household self-assessment)Status: on track1. 2: Poverty Gap Ratio, percent (9 in 2005)Status: on track1. 3: Share of poorest quintile in national consumption (NA)Target 1. B: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, includingwomen and young people. 1. 5: Employment to population ratio, percent (58. 5 in 2006 and 59. 3 economically activein 2009)Status: needs attentionTarget 1. C: Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer fromhunger. 1. : Prevalence of underweight children under-five years of age (6-59 months), (45% asof 2009)Status: needs attention1. 9: Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption, (40%as of 2005)Status: needs attention * Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education While a significant 95 percent has been achieved in terms of primary school enrollment, dropout rates remain high and therefore primary school com pletion rate low. Progress has been made in adult literacy 58 percent in 2010 but additional effort is needed to reach the target. Current StatusTarget 2. A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be ableto complete a full course of primary schooling2. : Net Enrollment Ratio in Primary EducationBenchmark: 60. 5 in 1991Current status: 91. 9 (2008)Target : 100Status : on track2. 2: Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5Benchmark: 43. 0 in 1991Current status: 54. 9 (2008)5Target : 100Status : needs attention2. 3: Literacy rate of 15+yrs olds, women and men (%)Benchmark: 36. 9 in 1991Current status: 58. 3 (2007)Target : 100Status : needs attention * Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality & Empower Women Bangladesh has achieved gender parity in primary and secondary education together with being on track with respect to percentage of women employed in agriculture sector. Current StatusTarget 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by2005 and to all levels of education no later than 20153. 1a: Ratio of girls to boys in primary education:Benchmark: 0. 83 in 1991Current status: 1. 01 (2008)Target : 1Status : Achieved before 20153. 1b: Ratio of girls to boys in secondary educationBenchmark: 0. 52 in 1991Current status: 1. 2 (2008)Target: 1Status: Achieved before 201573. 1c: Ratio of women to men in tertiary educationBenchmark: 0. 37 in 1991Current status: 0. 32 (2006)Target: 1Status: needs attention3. 2: Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sectorBenchmark: 19. 1 in 1991Current status: 24. 6 (2008)Target: 50%Status: needs attention3. 3: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliamentBenchmark: 12. in 1991Current status: 19 (2009)Target: 33%Status: needs attention * Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality The country is on track with regard to achieving this goal. Significant strides have been made in all three indicators and if the trend sustains, the country will meet t he 2015 target well ahead of schedule. Current StatusTarget 4A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate. 4. 1: Under five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)Benchmark: 146 in 1991Current status: 53. 8Target: 48Status : on track4. 2: Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)Benchmark: 92 in 1991Current status: 41. 3Target : 31Status : on track4. 3: Proportion of 1 year-old children immunized against measlesBenchmark: 54 in 1991Current status: 82. Target : 100Status : on track * Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health This goal has been a major turnaround and is now truly a track to be achieved by 2015. Current StatusTarget 5. A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortalityratio. 5. 1: Maternal mortality ratio (per 1,000 live births):Base year 1991: 574Current status: 348Target : 143Status : needs attention5. 2: Proportion of births attended by Skilled Health Personnel (percent):Base year 1991: 5Current status: 24Target : 50 Status : needs attentionTarget 5. B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health. 5. 3: Contraceptive prevalence rate (%)Base year 1991: 40Current status: 60Target : 100Status : needs attention5. : Adolescent birth rate (per 1,000 women)Base year 1991: 77Current status: 60Target : -Status : needs attention5. 5A: Antenatal care coverage (at least 1 visit) (%)Base year 1991: 28Current status: 60Target : 100Status : needs attention115. 5B: Antenatal care coverage (4 or more visits) (%)Base year 1991: 6Current status: 21Target : 100Status : needs attention5. 6: Unmet need for family planning (%)Base year 1991: 19Current status: 17Target : 7. 60Status : needs attention * Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases Bangladesh has made some progress in combating the spread of malaria with the number of prevalence dropping from 776. 9 cases per 100,000 in 2008 to 512. 6 in 2010. Current StatusTarget 6.A Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS6. 1: HIV prevalence among population aged 15-24 yearsBase year: 0. 005Current status: 0. 319 (2007)Target: HaltingStatus: on track6. 2: Condom use at last high-risk sexBase year:Current status: 44-67%Target:Status: need attention6. 3: Proportion of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowledgeof HIV/AIDSBase year:Current status: 15. 8 (2006)Target:Status: need attentionTarget 6. C Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and othermajor diseases6. 6A: Incidence of malaria per 100 000 populationBase year: 776. 9 (2008)Current status: 586. 0 (2009)Target: 310. Status: on track6. 6B: Death rate associated with malaria per 100,000 populationBase year: 1. 4 (2008)Current status: 0. 4 (2009)Target: 0. 6Status: on track6. 7: Proportion of children under-5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bed netsBase year: 81% (2008)Current status: 81% (2009)Target: 90%Status: on track136. 8: Proportion of children under-5 with fever who are treated with appropria te antimalarialdrugsBase year: 60% (2008)Current status: 80% (2009)Target: 90% (By 2015)Status: on track6. 9A: Prevalence of tuberculosis per 100,000 populationBase year: 639 (1990)Current status: 412Target: 320 (50% reduction)/HaltingStatus: 36% reduction/on track6. B: Death rate associated with tuberculosis per 100,000 populationBase year: 76 (1990)Current status: 50 (2008)Target: 50% reductionStatus: 35% reduction/on track6. 10a: Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected under DOTSBase year: 21% (1994)Current status: 70% (2009)Target: 70%Status: achieved/on track6. 10b: Proportion of tuberculosis cases cured under DOTS:Base year: 71% (1995)Current status: 92%Target : >85%Status: achieved/on track * Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability While significant progress has been made in terms of access to safe drinking water and sanitary latrines in urban areas, the same remains a challenge in rural areas.Also maintaining wet-lands and bio-diversity is still a challenge. Current St atus7. 1: Proportion of land area covered by forestCurrent status: 19. 2% (Tree density > 10%),Target: 20% (Tree density> 70%)Status: needs attention7. 2: CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita)Current status: 0. 30Status: on track7. 3: Consumption of ozone-depleting substances (metric tons per capita)Current status: 127. 88Target: 0,15Status: on track7. 4: Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limitsCurrent status: 54 inland fish species & 16 marine species are threatenedStatus: need attention7. 5: Proportion of total water resources usedCurrent status: 6. 6% in 2000,Status: needs attention7. : Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protectedCurrent status: 1. 78% terrestrial & 0. 47% marine areas protected (2010),Target: 5%,Status: needs attention7. 7: Proportion of species threatened with extinctionCurrent status: 201 inland, 18 marine & 106 vascular plants are threatened,Target: improvement of ecosystems for protection of species compareto 2000 situation,Status: ne eds attention7. 8: Proportion of population using an improved drinking water sourceCurrent status: 86%Target: 100%,Status: needs attention7. 9: Proportion of population using an improved sanitation facilityCurrent status: 89%Target: 100%,Status: needs attention7. 0: Proportion of urban population living in slumsCurrent status: 7. 8 %,Status: needs attention * Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development Penetration of telephone lines and internet, particularly cell phone usage, has increased to a great extent but youth employment rate is still low. | | As clearly identified during the recent MDGs needs assessment and costing exercise, Bangladesh needs more resources to achieve MDGs. Immediate efforts need to be undertaken by development partners to examine the gaps and renew efforts to support critical MDG-oriented sectors. At the same time, the imbalance between loans and grants should be addressed by increasing the share of grants in ODA.In Bangladesh there have been numbe rs of policies, strategies, and implementation programmers, activities and interactions and debates surrounding the MDGs. In fact MDGs have emerged a way we are travelling through to the one goal of peace, prosperity and humanity. Conclusion Theatre for Humans believes the Millennium Development Goals are at the very heart of the stories to be portrayed in its’ inaugural production and will strive to bring these goals to the attention of as wide an audience as possible in order to further the dialogue needed for change. Adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the MDGs are both global and local, tailored by each country to suit specific development needs.They provide a framework for the entire international community to work together towards a common end – making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere. If these goals are achieved, world poverty will be cut in half, tens of millions of lives will be saved, and billions more people will have the opportunity to benefit from the global economy. The MDGs are evident in the national planning framework. The revised National Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper has adopted a holistic approach to reduce poverty and improve other social indicators to achieve the MDGs, with special attention to the lagging regions. Overall Bangladesh’s progress might be slow, but in some sector like child mortality, improvement of maternity health, primary education etc has the fast progress.So it is a positive sign that we can achieve the goals, might not in 2015 but in near future definitely. Bibliography * https://www. google. com/search? num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=593&q=mdg&oq=mdg&gs_l=img. 3†¦ 1994. 2403. 0. 2934. 3. 3. 0. 0. 0. 0. 205. 276. 1j0j1. 2. 0†¦ 0. 0†¦ 1ac. 1. DQ5fVJymYv8 * https://www. google. com/search? num=10&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=593&q=mdg&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw&ei=SlGzUPjhNsTQrQfh5YCYCg * http://en. wikipedia. o rg/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals * http://www. undp. org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview. html * https://www. google. com/#hl=en&tbo=d&output=search&scl

Buddhist website

The future exploratory study will identify how the multimedia factors contributing to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) – graphic usage, audio/video usage, merchandise section, etc. – affect Thai user’s attitude toward Buddhist website. The dissertation also seeks to determine whether the abovementioned factors make user to have either positive or negative or indifferent attitude toward the site. The study will employ a two-part qualitative methodology, and the results, it is hoped, will lead to more informed policies for the assessment of Thai user’s attitude toward Buddhist websites.This dissertation will employ heuristic and field research methodology to perform a high-level cultural analysis on Website design for the purposes of future research. The analysis of socio-economical and cultural issues (religion, Human-Computer Interaction, e-commerce, ethnography) relating to Website design is especially valuable from the perspective of the Thai-speaking Bu ddhist audience. Future research on the matters stated above is expected to clarify what kind of information people from the particular cultural region expect and how it should be designed.Literature Review Mayhew once compared a website to a book which anyone can display on The World Wide Web (WWW) which is â€Å"a repository of public information and transactions created by the public and accessible to the public via the Internet† (Mayhew, 2003, p. 3). The characteristics of the WWW are tensely linked to the ones of the website. Any website incorporates multimedia data such as text, static graphics, sound, animation, movie clips and virtual spaces arranged as hypermedia documents.These are the â€Å"documents that contain links to other pages of information† (Dodge & Kitchin, 2001, p. 3). The key issue about a website is its interactive, multimedia and hypermedia nature. The present research should be inevitably wrapped around the principles of Human-Computer Interac tion (HCI), user interface (UI) design, website usability engineering, and their influences on the website users. Alty defined the goal of HCI as â€Å"the efficient transfer of information between persons and computers† (2003a, p.100). According to Alty, HCI is [†¦] a generic term that describes all the activities concerned with the research, design, analysis, development, implementation and evaluation of the interactions across the interface between computer applications and human beings (often called users or operators) who are interacting with the application. (Alty, 2003b, p. 228) An authentic website should be constructed according to the principle of user-centered design.It means that â€Å"the needs, capabilities and limitations of the intended users [should be] properly taken into account during the design process† (Alty, 2003a, p. 100). Among the Internet user interface capabilities and constraints affecting users’ perceptions Mayhew listed modem speed, browser capabilities, browser controls and interpreters, installed â€Å"helper applications† or â€Å"plug-ins,† windowing, direct manipulation, and color (2003, p. 11).Within the context of HCI, a website utilizes output (text, graphics, sound, music, speech, color, animation, still pictures, moving video) and input (text [keyboard, handwriting], gesture [mouse, pen, dataglove, eye-movement], audio [voice or sound]) media to produce an effect on the user. Most literature investigates the tokens of user-friendliness in regard to a website (Mayhew, 2003; Mayhew & Bias, 2003; Opaluch, 2003; Boardman, 2004). Acknowledging the importance of this concept, Kurosu (2003) relied on cultural aspects of web usability such as â€Å"cultural variety† and â€Å"depth of culture† (p.48). The researcher utilized Suzuki's (1997) definition of the culture as â€Å"the response pattern shared by some specific group of people that is shaped through interaction with the environment† (Kurosu, 2003, p. 48) holding â€Å"the response pattern† as â€Å"how people will interact with the Website,† and â€Å"interaction with the environment† as â€Å"the interaction with the Website through the PC environment, including the browser. † Laney (1998) in his investigation of religious Christian Web sites relied on the Media System Dependency as well as uses and gratifications perspectives.Some researchers (Weeks & Goodman, 2003; Proctor & Vu, 2003) investigated HIC within the context of human information processing and perceptual-motor behavior, whereas the other group of scholars (van der Veer & del Carmen, 2003; Yoshikawa, 2003) emphasized the mental modeling as the core of HCI. Finally, Brave & Nass (2003) researched emotional implications of human-computer interaction. There is also a considerable body of research (Mayhew & Bias, 2003; Carey, 2001; Steinbock, 2000; Varey, 2001) dedicated to the issues of e-commerce a nd marketing relating to websites.Taken into account the field of the present research, reaction of Thai users towards Buddhist websites, the abovestated mechanisms and structures of HCI with a stress of user-friendliness should be analyzed within the religious and cultural context. The relation to culture in terms of geographical location is distorted and made complex within the WWW context (Couldry & McCarthy, 2004; Miller, 2004; Dodge & Kitchin, 2001; Kurosu, 2003). Geographical boundaries (the areas where people confess Buddhism, Thailand as a state unity) do not coincide with cultural zones (Thai cultural identity) and virtual areas (the WWW).On the one hand, Thailand is ready to enter the global community with its rather developed media network (Hamilton, 2002; Mccargo, 2002). On the other hand, the Thai national cultural identity is of introvert type with its â€Å"assertion of distinctiveness in relation to a powerful external world of ‘others’† (Hamilton , 2002, p. 153). One should also take into consideration the cultural elements constituting the religion of Buddhism. Haynes (2003) stated that over 90 per cent of the Thais are Buddhists.In Thailand Buddhism is â€Å"the sasana pracham chat, that is, the ‘inherent’ national religion† and constitutes â€Å"an ideological basis and political legitimacy† for the state (Haynes, 2003, p. 365). However, Haynes (2003) noted that the role of the state religion is flexible and â€Å"open to debate† (ibid. ). Swearer emphasized the unusual orientation of Thai Buddhism towards â€Å"[t]he cult of relics, images, icons, and amulets† (2003, p. 10). The religion in Thailand became more â€Å"secular and commercial† (ibid. ).The discussion seems especially interesting when religious issues are projected onto the virtual reality in the form of a religious website. Miller & Slater acknowledged â€Å"the coming together of a widespread interest in the spiritual implications of the technology, found in some of the cyberutopian literature, together with an interest in the use of the Internet on the part of established religions† (2000, p. 173). Laney (1998) noted that the simplification of web technologies and, thus, their cheapening contributed to the proliferation of religious websites.Unfortunately, the accessible literature concentrated on Christian websites with no comparison to other confessions. Last (2005) provided an interesting statistics on the Christian websites in regard to the goal of the website users in their accessing the religious websites. According to the source, 32 percent of the web-surfers are interested in religious news, 17 percent search for places to worship, 14 percent plan religious group meetings via the Internet, and 7 percent donate to charity with the help of the WWW.Besides, 11 percent of Internet users download spiritual music, 35 percent send online greeting cards, and 38 percent email spi ritual messages. Unfortunately, the statistics is rather modest in regard to Buddhist websites. Within the Thailand context, Hachigian & Wu observed such HCI problems as â€Å"the lack of IT access in rural areas where most of the population lives, lack of literacy in English/lack of Thai content, incompatible systems in different parts of the government, and inadequate training of officials† (2003, p. 88). Most of the Buddhist websites found by a plain search via search engines (Yahoo, Google, etc.) are written in English. Therefore, the present investigation is associated with difficulties in locating authentic sites for analysis. Problem definition It is true that literature about the WWW and general principles of website user interface (UI) design has grown lately. However, religious usage of websites is significantly underexplored. It is especially evident in regard to non-Christian religious websites. Religious website usage may contribute positively to the body of scho larly research on the motivations for religious Web use. The media being studied are Buddhist religious sites on the World Wide Web.Large investments are being made into the construction and development of religious websites on the Internet. A great proportion of Buddhist websites are written in English and seeks to meet cultural expectations of the Westerners. Laney (1998) once defined the problem for his investigation of Christian websites as the poorly researched motivations of the English-speaking visitors. The American scholar would be astonished at the â€Å"black hole† in regard to the motivations of Thai-speaking web-surfers whose driving desires and emotions relating to Buddhist websites are unexplored even to a greater extent.The present project seeks specifically to provide an exploratory study of Buddhist Thai-speaking website users and their motivations for using the religious Buddhist websites. Cultural theory as well as Mental Models theory and HCI theory const ruct a complex framework important for the present analysis. In order to investigate Thai users’ attitudes toward Buddhist websites the following theoretical framework was constructed. Three issues taken as independent variables are taken: graphics usage, audio/video usage, and e-marketing strategies in regard to Buddhist religious items.The first two issues are the types of output media whose effect on the user has been empirically proved. The issue of e-marketing is still being explored mainly from the perspective of user-centered design. A lot of elements may enter this concept including technical (e. g. , modem speed), user-oriented input (text, gesture, audio media), cultural (language, religion, country/nation) and other issues. The aforestated independent variables are supposed to affect (either positively, or negatively, or neutrally) the variable of website user’s perceptions.It is supposed here that graphics and multimedia elements do correlate with web-surfe rs’ emotions and attitudes. The second hypothesis is that religious background of a user (Buddhism) reinforces his/her positive/negative attitude toward Buddhist websites. In an effort to determine the presence/absence of correlation between website user design elements and Thai Buddhist users a revisit of previous implications of HCI and cultural paradigms is necessary. This research will attempt to provide a description of Thai Buddhism website usage.An additional purpose of this study is to identify the website design elements which positively/negatively affect the users of Buddhist religious websites. This study is an exploratory step in growing research on religious websites usage and the motivations for its use. Numerous studies will be required to obtain sufficient knowledge to fully understand this audience’s motivations and preferences for utilizing the most modern form of mediated religion. It is hoped that the present project will provide a starting point an d contribute to the growing body of knowledge in regard to the Internet and its cultural and social significance.Bibliography 1. Dodge, M. & Kitchin, R. (2001) Mapping cyberspace. London, Routledge. 2. Mccargo, D. (2002) Media and politics in Pacific Asia. London, Routledge. 3. Boardman, M. (2004) The language of websites. New York, Routledge. 4. Dennis, C. , Fenech, T. & Merrilees, B. (2004) E-Retailing. New York, Routledge. 5. Steinbock, D. (2000) The birth of Internet marketing communications. Westport, CT, Quorum Books. 6. Varey, R. J. (2001) Marketing communication: An introduction to contemporary issues. New York, Routledge. 7. Miller, D. & Slater, D.(2000) The Internet: An ethnographic approach. Oxford, Berg. 8. Hachigian, N. & Wu, L. (2003) The Information Revolution in Asia. Santa Monica, CA, Rand. 9. Mayhew, D. J. (2003) The web as software. In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 3-19. 10. Kurosu, M. (2003) A cult ural comparison of website design from a usability engineering perspective. In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 47-59. 11. Mayhew, D. J. & Bias, R. G. (2003) Cost-justifying web usability.In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 63-87. 12. Opaluch, R. (2003) Usability metrics. In: Ratner, J. ed. Human factors and web development. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 101-122. 13. Hamilton, A. (2002) The national picture: Thai media and cultural identity. In: Abu-Lughod, L. , Ginsburg, F. D. & Larkin, B. ed. Media worlds: Anthropology on new terrain. Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, pp. 152-170. 14. Swearer, D. K. (2003) Aniconism versus iconism in Thai Buddhism.In: Heine, S. & Prebish, C. S. ed. Buddhism in the modern world: Adaptations of an ancient tradition. New York, Oxford University Press, pp. 9-25. 15. Alty, J. L. (2003a) Databases, know ledge management and information retrieval. In: Feather, J. & Sturges, P. ed. International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science. New York, Routledge, pp. 100-101. 16. Alty, J. L. (2003b) Human-computer interaction. In: Feather, J. & Sturges, P. ed. International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science. New York, Routledge, pp. 228-230.

Using Data to Intensify Behavioral Interventions for Individual Students

Using Data to Intensify Behavioral Interventions for Individual Students A tiered intervention is one of the most powerful techniques used to both prevent and overcome students behavioral problems. While a Tier 1 intervention presents only basic instructions, the following ones address a certain person and certain problems. Such kind of individualization allows to determine the core of a problem and succeed in solving it.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Using Data to Intensify Behavioral Interventions for Individual Students specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A Brief Summary of the Article Kern and Wehby (2014) describe a tiered intervention aimed to improve a behavior of one of the students of Highland Middle School, named Isaac. Firstly, teachers try a Tier 1 approach, which is school-wide (Kern Wehby, 2014, p. 45). Since the students behavior does not improve, they supplement Tier 1 with new instructions and proceed to Tier 2. Finally, the last one, a Tier 3 intervention is presented an d proved successful.  According to Kern and Wehby (2014), Isaac has both academic problems, (refuses to do his homework, appears unprepared for lessons, etc.), and difficulties getting along with his peers, which usually lead to aggression and even fistfights (p. 45). The first phase of intervention was based on Highland High Five Expectations, which were Be Ready, Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Safe and Be Kind (Kern Wehby, 2014, p. 46). The students were encouraged to meet those demands, as well as aware of the consequences of not meeting them. However, Isaacs behavior remained the same, so a Tier 2 intervention was developed. As Kelley and Goldstein (2014) claim, a Tier 2 intervention is not a replacement of Tier 1, but a supplement. At this stage, personal information is also investigated. So, firstly, all students every day and after each period had to get points (from 0 to 2) for their adherence to each of Highland High Five Expectations. Secondly, the support team studi ed which of these expectations were the most difficult for Isaac and expanded the list for him. Nevertheless, he still managed to gain only the half of the possible points.  Finally, during a Tier 3 intervention, all of Isaacs problems were examined in details. He had to train his organizational skills, solve math problems and attend the homework club. He also got a specific schedule and was taught how to solve conflicts with his peers without any aggression. Finally, the support team members even managed to encourage Isaac to do all of these by letting him attend the sports team. As a result, Isaacs behavior improved, he showed better results in education and stopped having fights with his peers.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Article Analysis The student Isaac, whose story is described in the article, is fictional. However, his behavior model and the problems he faces ( both academic and social ones) are very common. Kern and Wehby (2014) explain how these problems can be solved even in the most difficult cases. As it is stated in Ephesians 6:4, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. In other words, discipline is everything. Students should always be led by right teachers in order to develop their best qualities.  The approach presented by Kern and Wehby (2014) is supported by more than ten sources, including previous studies made in this area, what makes the information reliable. Article material is presented clearly and understandably and also sustained by several tables. I assume, an idea to show how intervention plans work on a particular example is very well-turned because it helps to understand the concept better. Finally, the information presented in this article is valuable since it can be applied to many other cases. As it was already mentioned before, a tiered int ervention is one of the most efficient methods of solving behavioral problems. References Kelley, E., Goldstein, H. (2014). Building a Tier 2 Intervention: A Glimpse Behind the Data. Journal of Early Intervention, 36(4), 292-312. Kern, L., Wehby, J. H. (2014). Using Data to Intensify Behavioral Interventions for Individual Students. Teaching Exceptional Children, 46(4), 45-53.