Social Role Play and the Search For Identity in Chopin’s...

Social Role Play and the Search For Identity in Chopin’s Desiree’s Baby When I think about women’s role in our society, especially nowadays, the first word that comes to my mind is ‘exhausted’. What I mean is that this subject is exhausted. There are so many literary and sociological interpretations of the physical and psychological female image that whatever I say or prove would be just another attempt to understand the ‘incomprehensible’. It’s not because I am a woman, or may be exactly because I am. But here the important expression is ‘I am’ and the extension can be endless. And what a human life is but an everlasting search for the right word that would complete the sentence. As if we could complete it, our personality†¦show more content†¦The story also questions the potential fulfillment of womans identity, as Chopin, herself, termed it ‘mother-woman’. In her portrayal of Dà ©sirà ©e, a woman whose self-worth and self-exploration is intrinsically linked to that of her husband, Chopin opened the door to her lifelong query into a womans struggle for a place where she could fully belong. Chopin began her literary career in the 1880s in St. Louis, although many of her stories take place in Louisiana, where she had lived for over a decade (Taylor, qtd. by Sterling). In this society women were almost exclusively defined by their spousal and maternal roles. According to Sterling , Kate Chopin created female characters that test the boundaries of acceptable behavior for women and explore the psychological and societal ramifications of their actions and desires. They are forced to make existential choices based on the few avenues available for them to create and maintain autonomous identities outside of wife and mother in the late nineteenth-century American South. Chopin’s protagonists attempt to physically or spiritually transcend these limitations but often meet with crushing results. Chopin does not guarantee her characters an admirable place within their society, but she portrays them with dignity and sympathy. She clearly espouses their need to find and assert identities both as individuals and as women. In Desiree’s Baby we can also

Conformity And Exclusion In Los Cachorros - 908 Words

Many of Mario Vargas Llosa’s younger literary publications were laced with Marxist critiques of a transitioning Latin American society in the 20th century, and though on the surface, â€Å"Los Cachorros† may seem little more than a fictional coming of age narrative, the allegorical short story is no exception. Told through an encyclopaedic tour of Lima’s urban spaces, a pack of boys’ transition into young men and their interactions with the city reflect both the rigidity and fragmentation of the Peruvian community as a whole. With particular reference to chapter five, this essay will explore the cities implicit influence on the characters’ fulfilment of heteronomous social identities, and Vargas Llosa’a use of specific literary devices to†¦show more content†¦Continuing in the theme of conformity; if the boys are united by their heteronomy, Cuellar’s castration, in contrast, is the source of his ostracism. His unfortunate acci dent is a wound that ‘time opens instead of closes’, and as the story progresses, Vargas Llosa juxtaposes the boys socially inclusive youthful pastimes of football and studying mentioned earlier in the novel with his comparatively solitary penchant for the ocean and surfing â€Å"a puro pecho o con colchà ³n† (94) in chapter five. In this passage, his distance from the others is symbolised by the isolation of the sea; the narrator says the water â€Å"se lo tragà ³Ã¢â‚¬  (95) and later, the boys state that â€Å"se perdià ³Ã¢â‚¬  (96). Clearly, Cuellar’s failure to partake in the testosterone fuelled rituals of sexual maturity in the city has seen him shunned from the rest of the boys and resigned to hanging out with â€Å"rosquetes, cafichos y pichicateros† (96) instead – the modern, metropolitan outcasts. Evidently, Cuellar is incapacitated by this highly heteronormative lifestyle, as the inherent masculinity of the city is a fixed identity that will perpetually exclude him, or anyone else who cannot fulfil Peruvian societies idea of gender appropriate behaviour. Interestingly however, this notion of appropriate behaviour is recurrently brought to question throughout the story of Los Cachorros, as through the maturity of the story, the boys venture further astray from their safe haven Miraflores

Definition and Examples of Verbless Clauses in English

In English grammar, a verbless clause is a clause-like construction in which a verb element is implied but not present. Such clauses are usually adverbial, and the omitted verb is a form of be. Also known as a  free adjunct (or a free adjunct without a verbal form) and a nominal sentence. Examples and Observations Verbless clauses are clauses which contain no verb element, and often also no subject. They are regarded as clauses because they function in ways which make them equivalent to finite and non-finite clauses and because they can be analyzed in terms of one or more clause elements. (Geoffroy Leech and Jan Svartvik, A Communicative Grammar of English, 1975)A verbless clause . . . is considered a clause because it is dealing with a separate piece of information in relation to the main clause. For example, in the sentence, In the interests of the local children, the council should reconsider its decision, there are two separate pieces of information: the main clause--the council should reconsider its decision; and a dependent clause that deals with issues that interest local children. In this clause, however, the verb has been nominalized resulting in a verbless clause. Verbless clauses are different from adverbial phrases. The latter provide some information to do with the time, place, or manner in which something happens within an existing clause. Verbless clauses, on the other hand, provide a separate piece of information outside of an existing clause. (Peter Knapp and Megan Watkins, Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing. UNSW Press, 2005)

The Effects Of Educational Reform On High School Programs

Educational reform is a subject frequently being evaluated, and it is currently needed more than ever. Due to high school programs such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, teaching has been emphasized through a series of tests. The problem with this, is that â€Å"a teacher can prep students for a standardized test, get a bump in scores, and yet not be providing a very good education† (Rose 21). Meaning, instructors may be knowledgeable on how to raise test scores, but their students can remain uneducated; There is not a direct relationship between the two. Furthermore, this way of education highly impedes non-cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, which are now needed for the current job market. In fact, a jump of twice as many†¦show more content†¦Because a great amount of college education is being wasted, the United States is now facing a delay in intellectual and economic growth. Educational reform is needed to cultivate oncoming students, but inst ead off focusing on past mistakes, what the future holds additionally needs to be addressed. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) jobs are what is needed for the future, and these jobs require critical thinking. Therefore, a child’s education needs to stop being compressed into purely cognitive skills and personalized to properly develop a talented individual. In order to better educate students for the 21st century, students must be allowed room for creative growth and be able to take control of their own learning. All students should leave the classroom and participate in STEM- based apprenticeships or internships. In order to fix the deeply flawed school system, standardized testing needs to face an extreme reduction. These tests have become an obstacle course, rather than a solution to better educate students. Dramatically cutting these exams will also then free up a lot of time; the months typically utilized for preparing for these tests can be nearly elimi nated and used as time available for opportunities outside of the classroom. The second step is to offer more electives relevant to the 21st century job market, such as computer programming, robotics, and video game design. These courses are STEM related and will teach students how

Unlocking the Power of the Teacher-Made Test Free Essays

string(110) " of a student being able to demonstrate that he or she can, for instance, multiply 8 x 6 and come up with 48\." Classroom assessment ranks among a teacher’s most essential educational tools.  Well-constructed teacher-made tests can: †¢ provide teachers with the means to gather evidence about what their students know and can do †¢ help instructors identify students’ strengths and weaknesses †¢ keep tabs on student learning and progress †¢ help teachers plan and conduct future instruction †¢ motivate and shape learning and instruction †¢ guide students toward improving their own performances †¢ gauge whether students are mastering district, state, and national education standards †¢ determine if students are prepared for the high-stakes state or district tests By unlocking the power of effective classroom assessment, teachers can accomplish all of the above and more. In the era of accountability and highstakes decision making, teacher-made tests can no longer be viewed as simply a means to gather grades for the end of the marking period report cards. We will write a custom essay sample on Unlocking the Power of the Teacher-Made Test or any similar topic only for you Order Now process, providing the evidence teachers need to determine whether or not their students have achieved the educational goals set out for them. Capturing the Evidence Classroom assessments can be thought of as evidence capturing devices or tools. The evidence the teacher seeks to gather is used to show or prove the students’ knowledge and ability. Just like a good detective, the classroom teacher must consider several things in selecting the tools used to gather the evidence: †¢ What do I think my students should know? What are my expectations for their knowledge base? This could be based on lesson goals and objectives, curriculum or course content goals, district or state standards, etc. †¢ How would I describe my students after they experience these teaching episodes; how would I capture this description? †¢ Of all the things I’ve taught, what are the most important concepts and what should be assessed? †¢ What is the best tool for capturing this evidence? †¢ How will I use this evidence in the future? Is it simply to â€Å"keep score† or will it cause me to reflect on my teaching and my future planning? †¢ How will I report this evidence and to whom? Formative vs. Summative Assessment In general, all tests can fall under one of two major subheadings: formative assessments or summative assessments. Formative assessments are those tools teachers use to monitor student performance on an ongoing basis. These can range from something as simple as the daily judgments teachers make about a student’s oral response to questions that arise in classroom discussions to more formal paper and pencil tests. Summative assessments, on the other hand, gather evidence about cumulative student learning at the end of an activity, unit, marking period or school year. These types of assessments would include, among others, the final exam or the chapter test. Whether they use formative or summative methods, effective teachers constantly monitor and revise instructional plans based on their students’ educational progress and needs. Assessment, whether formal or informal, plays a vital part in this ongoing page 1 Elements of an Effective Teacher-Made Test In reflecting on these questions, teachers begin to realize the power of classroom assessment, and that this tool can be as important in the teaching and learning process as class discussions, small group activities, or any other teaching strategy. To unleash this power, and to ensure that classroom instructional time devoted to the assessment is used wisely, teachers must carefully plan and design the test. A poorly chosen or designed assessment will fail to provide the evidence of student learning, or worse, will provide misleading information. It is imperative that the teacher employs a systematic process for developing and using the assessment tool. That process should begin with the instructor asking a few basic but essential questions: †¢ What am I trying to find out about my students’ learning? (That is, what student/standards/goals/ outcomes am I measuring? ) Log On. Let’s Talk. www. ets. org/letstalk †¢ What kind of evidence do I need to show that my students have achieved the goals that I’m trying to measure? †¢ What kind of assessment will give me that evidence? To respond to these questions, the teacher must consider these elements of the test design process: †¢ appropriateness †¢ relevancy †¢ expectations for learning †¢ multiple evidence †¢ planning †¢ fairness †¢ assessing the assessment Is it Relevant? An assessment task should make sense in terms of the assessment situation as well as the type of knowledge or skill that’s being assessed. It should also provide relevant information based on what students should have learned in class. For example, it would be inappropriate to ask ninth-grade, French-class students to carry on a conversation in French about the income tax system, if it has nothing to do with what they had learned in French class, and since it probably has no relevance in their lives. But asking them to carry on a discussion in French about a class trip would be very appropriate. Ideally, an assessment should also reflect real-world applications of knowledge and understanding. Although developing such assessments is not always practical, assessments based on situations relevant to students’ own world experiences can motivate them to put forth their best performances. If they don’t understand why they may need to know something, they won’t be as likely to do so. Is it Appropriate? If you were to visit your doctor and he or she used a thermometer to determine your blood pressure you might have cause for concern. Like the classroom test, the medical thermometer is an evidence-gathering device (to determine one’s body temperature). Both the physician and the classroom teacher must select the best device based upon the type of evidence it was meant to provide, and not one that provides evidence of something else. What would happen if a teacher decides to use word problems, rather than number problems, to determine whether third-graders know their multiplication facts? One outcome that we might imagine is that the teacher could not be certain if the test was measuring math ability or reading skill. Having to read and understand the questions could get in the way of a student being able to demonstrate that he or she can, for instance, multiply 8 x 6 and come up with 48. You read "Unlocking the Power of the Teacher-Made Test" in category "Papers" Of course, if the teacher wants to know whether students can apply their multiplication skills to realistic situations, the word problem task would be appropriate and fair. At the same time, the assessment must measure the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities the teacher feels are important and do this in an appropriate way. If the goal is to test for retention of facts, then a cut-and-dried factual test (e. g. , multiple-choice or fillin-the-blank) may be the best assessment choice. On the other hand, measuring students’ conceptual understanding, ability to analyze data, ability to perform tasks, or their collaborative skills would probably require more complex forms of assessment. What are the Expectations for Learning? Before administering an assessment designed to measure what students have learned in class, teachers need to ask themselves: â€Å"Based on what I’ve taught in class, can my students be expected to answer this? If correctly completing the assessment requires knowledge or skills that have not been emphasized in class, or that the students are unlikely to have mastered, the assessment will not provide an accurate or fair evaluation of whether the students have learned the material. Of course, if the goal is to find out what students already know or understand before a unit of instruction, then a well-thought-out assessment can provide useful information for planning future lessons. Of course, informing future lesson planning should be one of the key uses of any assessment. One Test or Multiple Sources of Evidence? While a single clue at a crime scene might allow a detective to make some assumptions, the judge and jury will probably need a lot more evidence before making a decis ion about guilt or innocence. As a result, experienced and competent investigators will employ many tools to gather multiple types of evidence from sources such as fingerprints, DNA samples, other physical clues, as well as actual interviews of witnesses and suspects. Similarly, teachers page 2 Log On. Let’s Talk. www. ets. org/letstalk should rely on all sorts of options available to help them gather evidence of their students’ learning. These range from the informal, day-to-day ways teachers size up their students’ progress, such as observation and questioning strategies, to traditional paper-and-pencil tests (multiple-choice and shortanswer ones, for example), to more elaborate forms of assessment, such as essays or problem solving activities. Just as a detective must gather many sources of evidence to build a convincing case, so must a teacher use many sources of evidence to accurately interpret what each student really knows and can do. Limiting themselves to using only one or two assessment methods, no matter how reliable or valuable, limits teachers’ ability to fully understand the range of their students’ knowledge and skills. Conversely, providing students with different kinds of opportunities to show what they know gives teachers a broader, better understanding of each student’s talents and abilities. The questions should challenge students to do more than memorize and recall facts. Focus on assessing the most important and meaningful information, rather than small, irrelevant facts. For example, rather than asking, â€Å"How many vitamins are essential for humans? A. 7 B. 13 C. 15 D. 23,† consider asking â€Å"Name at least seven vitamins that are essential for humans and explain why they are essential. † †¢ Never use questions or inconsequential details just to trick students. †¢ Create a test blueprint that will clearly describe the important content areas to be tested, the number and type of items that will get at each content area, the scoring value for the items, the length of time for the test administration, and other critical test components. Is it Fair? To be valid, classroom assessments need to be fair. In assessment terms, that means all students must be given an equal chance to show what they know and can do. An assessment is not fair if it: †¢ measures things unrelated to its objectives is biased Tests should be designed so that they are focused on the instruction that preceded the assessment, and that ensure that testing, teaching and curriculum are all tightly aligned. â€Å"Bias† is said to exist if the assessment includes content that offends or unfairly penalizes test takers because of personal characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, or sexual orientation. Assessment bias affects validity because it may negatively influence students’ attitudes toward, and performance on, the assessment. For example, an assessment that includes language or content that offends a specific group of students may hurt the performance of those students by causing them to focus more on the offensive language than on performing at their best. Test takers may also be disadvantaged if the assessment includes content that, although not offensive, assumes prior knowledge likely to be unfamiliar to one particular group of test takers but familiar to another. An obvious example is the need to know something that can only be gained by visiting an art museum, if some groups of students have no personal experience of ever visiting a museum with family or friends. Planning the Assessments Teachers should use the following guidelines when planning any assessment: †¢ Have the purpose of the test clearly in mind. Determine what type of assessment will be most appropriate for the situation, based on the nature of what you are teaching, the purpose of the instruction, and what you want to find out. †¢ If the purpose of the assessment is to determine how well students have mastered a particular unit of study, make sure the test parallels the work covered in class. And, to be able to discriminate among levels of learning, avoid making the assessment overly difficult or easy. †¢ If the assessment is a selected-response or fill-in-the-blank test that will be used to diagnose basic skills, it should contain at least 10 questions — preferably more — for each skill area. The questions pertaining to each skill area should be considered a subtest, and these subtests should yield separate scores on the various elements needed for mastery of the skill. †¢ If the major purpose of the test is to rank a selected group of students in order of their achievement, the questions should cover critical points of learning. Questions on critical points often require understanding implications, applying information, and reorganizing data. page 3 Log On. Let’s Talk. www. ets. org/letstalk Tests should be designed to afford students multiple opportunities to tell what they know about a particular subject, not to present them with difficult, if not impossible, tasks. One way to let students shine is to include a bonus question at the end of the test that asks something like, â€Å"Take this opportunity to tell me something about this topic that was not included on the test. † †¢ Other things to consider when poor results are obtained are external, test administration issues [e. g. , uncomfortable room temperature, administration right after a long weekend, external noise distractions, unsettling school or community news]. One of the most effective ways to improve a classroom assessment is to review it before administering it. If possible, wait at least one day after the assessment was written before performing the review. Then ask a colleague to review the assessment. As part of this review process, have someone who did not write the task (a colleague or even a family member) solve the task. Assess the Assessment In assessment, wording is critical. Unclear directions can confuse test takers and negatively affect their responses, which can lead to inaccurate, and therefore useless, information about what the students actually know and can do. Wording in multiple-choice type items is especially important. Being precise in the question and in the options or choices prevents misunderstanding and provides more reliable evidence of what students know. After an assessment has been administered, teachers can ask students how they interpreted the questions, particularly if the questions elicited unexpected results. When assessments give unexpected results — for example, the entire class bombs an assessment, or the students’ responses are not consistent with the type of work the teacher was looking for — it’s important to take a good hard look at both the assessment and the way it was administered to determine whether it was flawed in some way. †¢ Did students who are more able, based on other evidence, do well on the assessment? If not, something might be wrong with it. You might consider analyzing the questions or tasks to make sure each is accurate, valid, fair, and reliable. On the other hand, if the assessment presents a type of task that your students might not be familiar with (e. g. a complex, nonroutine type of problem), students who performed poorly may simply have had difficulty with that particular type of assessment. †¢ Did students answer the assessment appropriately but not give the answers you were looking for? Then check to see if the task was well-defined and clearly written. Students can’t be expected to give adequate responses if they aren’t sure what kind of response is expected of them. †¢ If the entire class failed the test, it might indicate that the material wasn’t taught adequately, or the assessment was so poorly written that the students were unable to apply their knowledge appropriately. During the review, check to see that: directions are clear †¢ content is accurate †¢ questions or tasks are representative of the topics or skills emphasized during instruction; knowledge or skills that were not covered in class are not being unintentionally evaluated †¢ the type of assessment used is compatible with the method of instruction used in the classroom and the standard being measured †¢ the assessment will contribute to the instructor’s understanding of what the students know and can do †¢ the assessment can be completed in the allotted time †¢ the assessment is fair; all instances of offensive language, elitism, and bias have been eliminated When teachers begin to analyze assessment results, they should look for two things: 1. Does the question or task provide accurate information? Did all the students do poorly on the same question or set of questions? Maybe certain questions are confusing or misleading, or perhaps the concept is simply not yet well understood by the students and should be retaught. Having students explain why they answered a question in a certain way can be very enlightening to the teacher about whether the problem is in the question (or task), or in students’ understanding of the concept being assessed. Log On. Let’s Talk. www. ets. org/letstalk page 4 2. Each student’s strengths and weaknesses: are they based on his or her patterns or performance? This information can help teachers tailor the next round of instruction to either remedy problems or build on strength. For example, if a particular group of students has difficulty with one set of items that measures a similar set of skills, these students might need extra instruction or a different kind of instruction. Or, if everybody in the class had difficulty with a particular issue that the teacher thought was emphasized in class, then the teacher needs to determine if there was a problem with the instruction and/or material. By taking the time to create fair, focused, and well-thought-out assessments, teachers can have confidence in the evidence gathered and make meaningful judgments about student performance and future instructional plans and decisions. This article was based on the ETS Focus publication Letting Students Shine: Assessment to Promote Student Learning. Written by Amada McBride, 1999. How to cite Unlocking the Power of the Teacher-Made Test, Papers

Automata Theory free essay sample

Two types both describe what are called regular languages Deterministic (DFA) There is a fixed number of states and we can only be in one state at a time Nondeterministic (NFA) -There is a fixed number of states but we can be in multiple states at one time While NFAs are more expressive than DFAs, we will see that adding nondeterminism does not let us define any language that cannot be defined by a DFA. One way to think of this is we might write a program using a NFA, but then when it is compiled we turn the NFA into an equivalent DFA. Informal Example Ђ Customer shopping at a store with an electronic transaction with the bank The customer may pay the e-money or cancel the emoney at any time. The store may ship goods and redeem the electronic money with the bank. The bank may transfer any redeemed money to a different party, say the store. Can model this problem with three automata Bank Automata Actions in bold are initiated by the entity. Otherwise, the actions are initiated by someone else and received by the specified automata Start pay b ship redeem ship redeem transfer Store Pay Cancel Redeem 3 Transfer 4 Start Customer Bank 2 Ignoring Actions The automata only describes actions of interest To be more precise, with a DFA (deterministic finite automaton) we should specify arcs for all possible inputs. E. g. , what should the customer automaton do if it receives a redeem? What should the bank do if it is in state 2 and receives a redeem? The typical behavior if we receive an unspecified action is for the automaton to die. The automaton enters no state at all, and further action by the automaton would be ignored. The best method though is to specify a state for all behaviors, as indicated s follows for the bank automaton. Complete Bank Automaton Cancel Transfer, Pay, Ship Redeem, Pay, Ship, Cancel Redeem, Transfer, Pay, Ship, Cancel Bank Ignores other actions that may be received Entire System as Automaton When there are multiple automata for a system, it is useful to incorporate all of the automata into a single one so that we can better understand the interaction. Called the product automaton. The product automaton creates a new state for all possible states of each automaton. Since the customer automaton only has one state, e only need to consider the pair of states between the bank and the store. For example, we start in state (a,l) where the store is in its start state, and the bank is in its start state. From there we can move to states (a,2) if the bank receives a cancel, or state (b,l) if the store receives a pay. To construct the product automaton, we run the bank and store automaton in parallel using all possible inputs and creating an edge on the product automaton to the corresponding set of states. Product Automaton start pcc sc d 1234 RS PRS TTS How is this useful? It can help validate our protocol. Ђ It tells us that not all states are reachable from the start state. For example, we should never be in state (g, 1) where we have shipped and transferred cash, but the bank is still waiting for a redeem. It allows us to see if potential errors can occur. We can reach state (c, 2). This is problematic because it allows a product to be shipped but the money has not been transferred to the store. In contrast, we can see that if we reach state (d, 3) or (e, 3) then the store should be okay a transfer from the bank must occur assuming the bank automaton doesnt die which is why t is useful to add arcs for all possible inputs to complete the automaton Simple Example 1 way door As an example , consider a one-way automatic door. This door has two pads that can sense when someone is standing on them, a front and rear pad. We want people to walk through the front and toward the rear, but not allow someone to walk the other direction: Rear Pad 5 One Way Door Lets assign the following codes to our different input cases: a Nobody on either pad b Person on front pad c Person on rear pad d Person on front and rear pad We can design the following automaton so that the door doesnt open if someone is still on the rear pad and hit them: a,c,d b b,c,d c o Formal Definition of a Finite Automaton 1 . Finite set of states, typically Q. 2. Alphabet of input symbols, typically 3. One state is the startlinitial state, typically qO // qO e Q 4. Zero or more final/accepting states; the set is typically F. // F C Q 5. A transition function, typically . This function Takes a state and input symbol as arguments. 6 One Way Door Formal Notation Using our formal notation, we have: Q = {C, O} (usually well use qO and ql instead) F 0 There is no final state This is the start state qO = C = {a,b,c,d} The transition function, 6 , can be specified by the table: a C C O C b O Oc C O c C O Write each (state,symbol)? The start state is indicated with the If there are final accepting states, that is indicated with a * in the proper row. Exercise Using ={O,1}a clamping circuit waits for a 1 input, and forever after makes a 1 output regardless of the input. However, to avoid clamping on spurious noise, design a DFA that s waits for two 1 in a row, and clamps only then. Write the transition unction in table format as well as graph format. 7 Let M = (Q, , ,qO, F) be a finite automaton and let w = w1w2 wn be a string where each wi is a member of alphabet . Ђ M accepts w if a sequence of states rorl rn in Q exists with three conditions: 1. qO 2. (ri, wi+l) = ri+l for 1=0, , n-1 3. rn e F We say that M recognizes language A if A = {w I M accepts w} In other words, the language is all of those strings that are accepted by the finite automata. DFA Example Here is a DFA for the language that is the set of all strings of Os and Is whose numbers of Os and Is are both even: 1 Start O 10010 ql 8 Aside: Typ e Errors A major source of confusion when dealing with automata (or mathematics in general) is making type errors. Donconfuse A, a FA, i. e. , a program, with L(A), t which is of type set of strings. The start state qO is of type state, but the accepting states F is of type set of states. a could be a symbol or a could be a string of length 1 depending on the context DFA Exercise The following figure below is a marble-rolling toy. A marble is dropped at A or B. Levers xl, x2, and x3 cause the marble to fall either to the left or to the right. Whenever a marble encounters a lever, it causes the lever to reverse after the marble passes, so the next marble will take the opposite branch. Ђ Model this game by a finite automaton. Let acceptance correspond to the marble exiting at D. Non- acceptance represents a marble exiting at C. 9 Marble Rolling Game 13 12 Marble Game Notation The inputs and outputs (A-D) become the alphabet of the automaton, while the levers indicate the possibl e states. If we define the initial status of each lever to be a O, then if the levers change direction they are in state 1. Lets use the format xlx2x3 to indicate a state. The initial state is 000. If we drop a marble down B, then the state becomes to 011 and the marble exits at C. Since we have three levers that can take on binary values, we have 8 possible states for levers, 000 to 111. Further identify the states by appending an a for acceptance, or r for rejection. This leads to a total of 16 possible states. All we need to do is start from the initial state and draw out the new states we are led to as we get inputs from A or B. 10 Messy Marble DFA ooor A loor OilrA BABBA OloaA 101rB -romorT0111rB 111rA ooa A Olor A 001 a oooa A 1 lor AB Marble DFA Table Format Easier to see in table format. Note that not all states are accessible. A B -OOOr 100r *oooa loor 01 Ir *001a 101roooa Olor 1 lor 001a *Oloa 1 lor 001a 01 Ir 11 Ir moa loor Olor 11 Ir *looa Olor 11 Ir 101r 01 Ir looa *101a 01 Ir looa 1 lor oooa 101a *Iloaoooa Iloa 11 Regular Operations Brief intro here will cover more on regular expressions shortly In arithmetic, we have arithmetic operations + * / etc. For finite automata, we have regular operations Union Concatenation Star Algebra for Languages The union of two languages L and M is the set of strings that are in both L and M. Example: if L = {0, 1} and M then LU M {0, 1, 111}. 2. The concatenation of languages L and M is the set of strings that can be formed by taking any string in L and concatenating it with any string in M. Concatenation is denoted by LM although sometimes well use LM (pronounced dot). Example, if L = {0, 1} and M = { , 010} then LM {0, 1, 0010, 1010}. set of strings that can be formed by taking any number of strings from L with repetition and concatenating them. It is a unary operator. More specifically, LO is the et we can make selecting zero strings from L. LO is always {}. Ll is the language consisting of selecting one string from L. L2 is the language consisting of concatenations selecting two strings from L. L* is the union of LO, L 1, L2, Lm For example, if 10} then Ll 10} 010, 100, 1010} 0010, 0100, 01010, 10010, 1000, 10100, 101010} and L* the unton of all these sets, up to infinity. Closure Properties of Regular Languages Closure refers to some operation on a language, resulting in a new language that is of the same type as those originally operated on i. e. , regular in our case Ђ We wont be using the closure properties extensively here; consequently we will state the theorems and give some examples.

The consequence of perceived discrimination - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about The consequence of perceived discrimination. Answer: Introduction Confined space is any place that includes any kind of vessel, container, tank, chamber, pit or any other similar kind of spaces that, by subject of its open nature, results in conditions that gives rise to accidents, injury or any other kind of harmful activities that requires emergency actions. Manuele (2013), have stated that exposure takes place more regularly when the safety procedures that are required are not cohered sufficiently. Still, they did not disagree with the fact that no matter how much careful an employee is in his workplace, he or she cannot avoid all the exposures. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has declared that the low levels of oxygen due to the confined spaces i.e. less than 19.6 percent may cause various symptoms like rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, clumsiness, suffocation, fatigue and emotional upset. In fact, due to less oxygen collapse, coma and even death may also occur. The other factors are the type and extent of injuries/exposure or injury an d whether or not the individual is previously known as infected. Many Theories and Ideas surrounding Risk and Risk Perception There are various theories and ideas on the subject of risk and risk perception. Understanding the risk and the way it is perceived is a very crucial step towards developing various programs or campaigns in order to build awareness and make the workplace or communities safer. According to Wilson et al. (2012), the National Safety Council has stated term risk is defined as the measure of severity and probability of unfavorable effects. In other words, the term risk is concerned with the calculation of how many times an incident is likely to take place and given its happening and how terrible the outcomes would be. Lundgren and McMakin (2013), has discussed that the risk perception is concerned with the ability to perceive risk and it is also linked with risk tolerance as well. With the same, it is tied to a persons capacity to tackle certain quantity of risk. Though these concepts are unique, they are linked as well. His research has suggested that in order to discourage the risk-taki ng behavior, there is a high need for programs to label both the above concept. Various research have also been done in order to explain the different factors that has an impact on a persons judgment making process for informing his succeeding actions and interactions. Wachinger et al. (2013), has elaborated his discussion on the factors affecting the risk perception and tolerance. He has categorized the factors as three levels- macro, meso and micro. Macro level refers to those factors that are institutional or structural in nature, the meso level refers to the factors that are at the community or peer level and the micro level refers to the factors that are at a persons individual level. Theories such as the Protection Motivation Theory is one of the most popular theory on the subject of risk perception. According to this theory, an individual is more likely to shield himself when he foresees negative outcomes or consequences. He then develops a desire to avoid them. It postulates that there is core relation in between the risk perception and the injuries and incidents. It also posits that people seek protective action at the time they are motivated to do so. For example, Becker, Aerts and Huitema (2014) have found that magnifying the elements of the risk appraisals, i.e. risk perception and risk perceived severity, have a collaborative positive impact on the constant changing behavior and intentions towards safety. Psychological and Sociological Theoretical Models in relation to Risk Perception Known as the Psychometric Paradigm and Cultural Theory There are two main psychological and sociological theoretical models in relation to the risk perception known as the Psychometric Paradigm and Cultural Theory as discussed by Breakwell (2014). He has identified that the Psychometric Paradigm is related to the concept that the risk perception is not an objective aspect. In fact, it is a subjective determination that is affected by a persons political, cultural, sociological and psychological backgrounds and related experiences. Psychometric paradigm works generally performs with the not differentiated perception of risk by keeping aside the specific target. According to Eriksson (2017), the non-specific ratings of risk closely resembles the general risk ratings, this, making the non-specific risk ratings more applicable for the lifestyle policy of risk than for the technology and environment policy attitudes. According to Wahlberg and Sjoberg (2012), there is a different thesis of psychometric paradigm, which states that media has a strong influence on the peoples risk perception. It has provided a justly balanced picture of the various accidents by reporting many traffic accident that quite common and they do not have disastrous consequences. Psychometric paradigm is also related to the chances of the fact that the cultural theory inhibits vital explanatory power related to the perceived risk (Glendon, Clarke and McKenna 2016). He claimed that the dimension of the cultural theory were strong determinants of the perceived risk. He investigated the relation in between the Cultural theory and the different risk judgments. Hence, they found that the there is a significant relation inn between the two. McDaniels et al. (2012), found the psychometric paradigm as a resemblance for identifying the various characteristics that influences the risk of perception among the people. Risk Perception is processed from the individuals Perspective and the influence of their broader Social Culture Cash (2012), has suggested that the risk perception is processed from the individuals Perspective and the influence of their broader Social Culture. Kahan (2012), has stated that the cultural theory is a method to describe how a person perceive the rest of the world and its successive reactions. He has proposed that the people has lack of strong social association with culture that they belong to does not feel that pressurized in order to conform. The social or peer pressures may lead to person to adopt either riskier or safer behaviors to maintain the traction within the group. Johnson, Branden and Vincent (2012), have further argued that the term risk is related to both the cultural impact on an individual and the specific context at which it is recognized. They reckon being a part of that cultural group and this is an important factor in the risk perception as well as the risk communication, which can influence the later responses. Furthermore, according to the Schmitt (2014), per ception could be applied to the groups and the individuals as well. This also suggests that the people could form various opinions regarding the perceived risk depending on the thing that they are told by the others. In case a respected member of the society or a group is perceived for having more knowledge and experiences of risks and if he considers it as safe, it is more certain that it will be believed by the other members. For example, in a workplace when a manger informs his entire employee that a particular process is safe, it is likely to be accepted by every employees and no one will question to it. Hence, it can be said that the social framing of the risk is considered to be connected to the culture, background and the training. Cultural Theory as having its origins in Sociology Swartz (2012), have discussed that the cultural theory has its origin in sociology. They have analyzed and concluded that people never remain constant within any one culture throughout their life. They keep on moving in between various existing cultures based on what characteristic of their life it is concerning to. For example, work, peer, groups or religions are the main aspects of an individuals life. With the same, they have suggested that the cultural theory is linked with different influences based on the risk perception with both social learning and conforming to the social rules or norms. Along with that Cherry (2012) have explored that the social learning theory has its foundations in the ideology of traditional learning. Shapiro and Stefkovich (2016) have also ground their concept of ethical leadership in the Social Learning Theory. The theory suggests that individuals could learn the quality of proper behavior by seeing and their role model. They have further analyzed that the social learning theory is dependent on the concept that a person notices what others are doing and they copy them. This can also be concerned to as observation and imitation. They have used this to describe how the changes in the society are influenced. He have further elaborated their studies on the original theory by outlining the various roles of the models existing the society where the individuals get to learn secondary from others experiences. The informational social learning is referred to where an individual copy others when they are unsure about how to answer in a particular situation. There are various factors, which could lead an individual to obey and they are reliability of the role models, perceived relevance and perceived reward for a specific behavior. Risk Perceptions of Workers Deaths and occupational illness due to chemical tank cleaners, open sewage and dirty bathrooms are widely unknown because of lack of sufficient monitoring in the workplace. Rowlinson and Jia (2015), have explored that the risk perception of workers to exposure to confined space activity and the factors that have influenced whether or not they have reported the matter or incident. They have further proposed that the fear of constricting blood borne viruses are not always directly correlated with which the virus is considered as the one that is most infectious. It is further postulated that the virus that causes the major damage and greatest concern is the virus that is least known to the people. Certain Risks cause heightened Reactions According to Bubeck (2012), one of the most influencing factors concerning the risk perception is the fear of dread. They have discussed the various reasons behind why certain risk causes heightened reactions and further describes the effect of the involuntary injuries or exposures as one among them. They have also discussed the effects of both voluntary and involuntary injuries to the risk. The literature further suggests that they depends on whether or not a person has perceived mastery over risk and its possible consequences. People who get engaged in some risky behaviors must not be seen as an exceptional risk takers in case that activity is viewed as a daily routine within any particular social group. However, those people who takes risk of standing against the norms of the society (social norms) are considered as ineffective decision makers and insensible. Bubeck has identified the individual risk taking behaviors as positive if he or she is engaged in some kind of thrill seeki ng actions. Burlet-Vienney et al., (2015), have stated that the confined spaces are challenged with various eventuality hazardous conditions. Exposure to confined space can have serious implications on a persons health, his family and ultimately his career may too get effected. Such dangers arise in the workplace due to lack of oxygen, dust, left out residues that has the potential to give off fume, gas or vapor, poisonous gases or fumes, fire and explosions etc. The primary symptoms of deficiency of oxygen are increase in breathing rat and acceleration in heartbeat. The NIOSH or National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has declared that when the level of oxygen in the air decreased more than 6 percent, death will occur within a minute. It is safe if the oxygen level is in the range between 19 to 21 percent. The confined space activities also involves the use of isocyanides that are present in the telecommunication splicing/plugging components. The most commonly used compounds are t hat of isocyanides like methylene bisphenyl diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate. Inhalation to such products results in abdominal pain, nausea, breathing problems and vomiting. In addition, it may also cause serious allergic reactions, which could result in death as well. Cognitive Dissonance Theory The Cognitive Dissonance Theory was developed by Festinger (Perlovsky 2013). According to this theory, an individuals behavior could have a carriage on their beliefs and attitudes. Festinger has described that cognitive dissonance takes place during the time when an individual indentifies an internal conflict or issues in between the way they act and their attitudes and beliefs. There are various impact of cognitive dissonance. They are based on the different values, which a person place on his attitudes and beliefs, as well as his thought that whether or not he is powerful enough, or has the potential to cause discomfort, in order to bring a change in their behavior so that they can help in balancing the inconsistencies that they have experienced. Tones, Robinson and Tilford (2013), have identified that the comprehended risk and effectiveness of not following the treatment and the involvement that influences the health disorders in an individual and their outcomes as well. Several Behavioral Theories applied when looking at beliefs or behaviors in Risk Perception According to Montano and Kasprzyk (2015), there are several behavioral theories that are often applied when looking at the behaviors or risks in the risk perception and that includes the theory or concept of reasoned action as well as that of planned behavior. Earlier, the theory of reasoned action was depending on the intended voluntary behavior that was based on the persons beliefs, attitudes and control. With the passage of tie, this has progressed towards the theory of planned behavior, which is related to the predicted behaviors that proposes- greater the discern control and positive beliefs or beliefs, greater are the possibility of carrying out behavior. Furthermore, he has suggested that the theory of planned behavior is referred to the beliefs of an individual are due to a wide range of likelihood determinants, like, their age, sex, financial and educational status as well as media influence. Information and knowledge receive today in media and risk perception may become distorted as a result of certain issues being highlighted In current days, with the development of technologies, maximum information, ideas and knowledge that we gain is mainly through the media and risk perception may become distorted as a result of certain issues being highlighted. Kasperson has discussed the fact that how random broadcasting of news stories and images regarding an event may affect the risk and the manner it is perceived. Kasperson (2012) was the first to develop the ideas about the social increase of the risk. The framework that he has described is been used to determine the ways in which communication of risk could be increased as well as how to decrease the information that is received. This as a result influences the outcomes of risk perceptions. However, the social increase of risk perception should not be regarded as static. In order to describe how its consequences ad effects has the potential to reach beyond the former event, the term ripple effect must be used. Management health beliefs played an intergral part in Risk Perception It has been examined by Begg (2013), that the management health beliefs plays an integral part in the risk perception. It has been found that the senior authorities in the work place, who experienced such occupational health risk, are more likely to notify the other members than the junior staffs. He has described that people tends to discuss openly about their health issues that are related to their occupational activities. The history of earlier injuries or exposures are one of the vital factors while determining about the main motivation behind reporting the same to the management team in the workplace. There are times when employees seek vacations and they tend to neglect their official works. They simply present health excuses in order to get leaves. If the management did not agree with their reason behind their requirement of leaves, they generally do not provide any of it. In this case, if the management team too believes the fact that exposure to confined spaces do harm the e mployee, they cooperates with them and with the same, take proper measures to decrease the risk levels to a high extent. Conclusion Hence, from the above discussion it is clear that there are various risks concerning the confined spaces in the workplace about which an individual must be well aware. The above report is widely elaborated on the risks factors, theories on risk and risk perceptions, the psychological and sociological theoretical models related to risk perception and social culture, and the famous cultural theory and is origin. It has helped reduce the frequency of accidental exposures due to confined space in the workplace that are though often predictable but are highly avoided by many. It will motivate the people to adopt more healthy behaviors to minimize the risk of exposure due to confined space and increase the concession in seeking intervention during the occurrence of exposures. References Becker, G., Aerts, J.C.J.H. and Huitema, D., 2014. Influence of flood risk perception and other factors on risk?reducing behaviour: a survey of municipalities along the Rhine.Journal of Flood Risk Management,7(1), pp.16-30. Begg, C., 2013. The risk perception paradoximplications for governance and communication of natural hazards.Risk analysis,33(6), pp.1049-1065. 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