Domestic Pig Facts

The 600 breeds of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) on our planet today are descended from the wild boar, Sus scrofa, a process that occurred at least twice in different places between 9,000–10,000 years ago. Domesticated pigs are bred for human consumption. Pork and pork products make up the largest percentage of meat and poultry consumed in the world, representing over 40% of the worlds meat and poultry eaten in 2017.   Fast Facts: Domestic Pig Scientific Name: Sus scrofa domesticaCommon Name: Pig, hog, swineBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 7–8 feet long, 3.7–4.7 feet highWeight: 600–1,000 pounds or moreLifespan: 6 to 10 years  Diet:  OmnivoreHabitat: Pastures, farms, and commercial buildings on all continents except AntarcticaPopulation: Estimated at two billion (nearly 1 billion are slaughtered each year)Conservation Status: Sus scrofa domestica has not been evaluated by the IUCN. Description There are over 600 different breeds of domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) extant in the world. The top five most recorded in North America are American Yorkshire, Duroc, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Landrace. The most commonly produced is the American Yorkshire, a version of the English Large White pig, developed in 1761 and first imported to the U.S. in 1830.   Yorkshires are white in color and quite muscular, with a high proportion of lean meat and low back fat. Its body is covered in fine hair, and they have long snouts and erect ears. Depending on the breed, adult pigs range from seven to eight feet in length and weigh between 600 and 1,000 pounds. There are many smaller pig breeds as well.   All domestic pigs belong to the family Suidae, order Artiodactyla, kingdom Animalia, class Mammalia, phylum Chordata.   Yorkshire pigs on an organic farm. Agnormark / iStock / Getty Images Plus Habitat and Distribution Domestic pigs are found on all continents of the world, excepting Antarctica. As of 2010, the largest producers of pigs include China (about 500 million each year), US (64 million), Brazil (40 million), Germany (27 million), Vietnam (27 million), and Spain (25 million). Pigs are kept in pens, in facilities, and in open farm fields and forests, and the farms range in size from facilities with tens of thousands of animals to subsistence farms of one or two. Diet and Behavior   Pigs are omnivores and they will eat anything, meat and plants both. The digestive system of pigs is such that it can also consume bulky foods with high levels of roughage. If kept in a well-fenced field they will eat all of the plants and grass, digging into the ground to consume the roots as well. Farmers put a ring into a pigs nose to keep it from digging up the plant roots.   Domestic pigs cannot be raised solely on pastures. Their diets need to be supplemented with vegetables, corn, or other crops, and they can be fed table scraps. A permanent pasture to keep pigs is one that stays planted to grass or legumes such alfalfa and clover, and/or perennial grasses such as orchard grass, timothy, and bromegrass.   Pigs grow well on large, open-air concrete platforms, in pens with a partial-solid floor area for resting and feeding and another area with a slatted floor so manure drops through and keeps the pen clean, or on pastures supplemented with grains. They require plenty of clean water every day. Pigs are gregarious and can be quite social: but males can be aggressive and farmers typically castrate them at an early age.   Free range pigs grazing in an organic ecological farm. RonyZmiri / iStock / Getty Images Plus Reproduction and Offspring Pigs have male and female sexes, and in most modern facilities, reproduction is controlled at all steps, inducing heat in females, artificial insemination, and weaning. Most breeds of pig reach puberty (come into heat) at 5 months, but sources recommend that females not be bred until 6 months of age.   Non-pregnant sows naturally come into heat every 21 days throughout the year, and the heat lasts between 8 and 36 hours. During that period, impregnation occurs either artificially, or by the farmer introducing a boar. Once impregnated, sows give birth after three months, three weeks and three days. Sows make a nest within 24 hours before giving birth, and farrowing usually lasts between 2 to 3 hours. Healthy sows give birth to between 10 and 13 piglets twice a year. Without coaxing, piglets immediately search for an available teat on their mother, starting to feed within an hour of their birth.  They subsist on mothers milk alone for 2–3 weeks, then begin taking solid food. They can continue to take some milk until about 7 weeks, but farmers can wean them as early as 4 weeks. Males pigs are typically castrated at 2–3 weeks of age. Curious pigs in Pig Breeding farm in swine business in tidy and clean indoor housing farm with pig mother feeding piglet. Chayakorn Lotongkum / iStock / Getty Images Plus Conservation Status In 2007, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) listed over 742 specific breeds of domestic pig in the world. Of those, 137 were listed as extinct and 130 were listed as endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) does not list Sus scrofa domestica at all but does include nine other (non-domesticated) Sus species in the listings as Vulnerable, Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Extinct (Indo-Chinese warty pig).  Ã‚   Sources Breeds of Livestock—Yorkshire Swine. Department of Animal Science, Oklahoma State University.  Chapter 4: The Pig. A Manual for the Primary Animal Health Care Worker. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2004.  Ã‚  Global Distribution of Pigs in 2010. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Hasheider, Philip E. How to Raise Pigs: Everything You Need to Know. Voyageur Press, 2014.Frantz, Laurent, et al. The Evolution of Suidae. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences 4.1 (2016): 61–85. Print.Gilbert, Marius, et al. Global Pigs Distribution in 2010 (5 Minutes of Arc). Harvard Dataverse, 2018. Kittawornrat, Apisit, and Jeffrey J. Zimmerman. Toward a Better Understanding of Pig Behavior and Pig Welfare. Animal Health Research Reviews 12.1 (2011): 25–32. Print.Major Swine Breeds. Pork Checkoff.Pukite, John. A Field Guide to Pigs. Globe Pequot Press, 1999.

Descriptive Essay About My Family - 1704 Words

I’m standing on the sidewalk with my sister outside of Pastabilities. She came to visit me over the weekend because our parents couldn’t come all the way out from California for parents weekend. We’re both very hungry and tired and a little on edge. A family is standing next to us. A mom, a dad, two younger siblings and a son who also goes to Syracuse. I’ve met the guy once or twice because he lives in the same hall but I don’t really know him that well. They have been waiting outside about the same amount of time as us, a solid thirty minutes so far, but the hostess told both of us the wait would be around two hours. The parents are debating about going somewhere else for dinner. The dad wants to go somewhere else for dinner because it†¦show more content†¦The parents were arguing, passive aggressively speaking, I don’t really know if what they were doing can qualify as arguing because their voices weren’t raised or anything . I related to the kid. Learning more about him through observing helped me empathize with him and in turn expand my perspective. My parents, along with most people’s parents fight all the time. It seems that every time we re out to dinner, or honestly going anywhere my parents start to argue. Similar to the parents I was watching, it’s that weird passive aggressive tone that makes it so unbearable. My perspective shifted. Instead of judging and assuming he has a perfect family, I felt for him. As the conversation went on, I related to him even more. I had been in that same situation and the last thing I would want is people around me judging me. My perspective is mainly shaped by my everyday observations of people. By this I mean my first impressions of people and those small thoughts and ideas pop into my head when I pass by people. These judgements, both good and bad, are the main part in shaping my perspective because they are how I get to know the world around me. I grow my perspective through these observations and my life experiences. They all relate to each other in one way or another. A majority of the small thoughts I have about people are based off ideas and stereotypes in society, or things I have learned growing up and living with my parents. I am similar toShow MoreRelatedDescriptive Essay About My Family1277 Words   |  6 Pagesyears old, my aunt was involved in a really severe car accident. The accident left her in a rehab for a couple of months so she could learn how to walk and do daily activities on her own again. I would always love to visit her every weekend. Being only five years old and not really knowing the main purpose of a hospital, I thought it was a fun and magical place. They had a colossal courtyard where my sisters, cousin, and me would play. They also had an indoor playground where other children my age couldRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1063 Words   |  5 Pages8lbs. My mother likes to tell my sib lings and I that she had all of our names planned ever since she was a little girl. She ended up naming me Alexa Rae Odom. She says the she named me after the singer Billy Joel’s daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. My mother also like to tell me that I interrupted the poker game she was winning just before she went into labor. She says that we could used that money to pay the hospital bill. In my family, there are six members. My father, Anthony; my mother, Sheila; My oldestRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1025 Words   |  5 PagesI was fascinated with New York because I knew that it was packed full of ads and delicious foods. So, my sweet, down-to-earth mom, my prissy half-sister, and I took a family vacation to New York to visit my aunt and uncle and to explore. My dad could not make the trip to New York because he could not take vacation time from his job. My aunt designed cereal boxes for major cereal companies, and my uncle was the producer for all Mercedes –Benz commercials and some Tic-tac commercials. Knowing I wouldRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1232 Words   |  5 PagesMy wife and I moved from chicago about two years ago after we got married and moves to Austin, Texas. We were in the country part of texas. We’ve been married for about two years now. I really love her she means everything to me, we are very close we do ever ything together. My wife and I rode our bikes every morning to get exercise or at least be active most of the time. One morning my wife couldn’t ride with me because she had an appointment, so I decided to ride by myself. We would often ride pastRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1137 Words   |  5 Pagesline to get on the go cart’s at Blackthorn Family Resort in the Catskills. My mom’s whole family went to this resort this year. It was only the second day but, I was so bored. â€Å"Finally! We get to do something fun!† Eamon yelled. Eamon is my cousin. He is a year younger than me but, we share the same birthday. I don’t want to be mean but he is a big scaredy cat. Although he is scared of everything he has a huge heart and is one of my favorite cousins on my mom’s side. Also, he is one of six justRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1246 Words   |  5 Pageswas something about her that sparked as soon as we meet. That day we spent laughing, playing games, and planning our big summer expedition. We both loved to explore so we decided to explore the back part of the village with all the trees. It was a little eerie but it was a good spot to explore. We let the time that we would go out and explore and followed through with that. Today is that day and we are going to explore today. I got dressed, laced up my shoes, and then gulped down my waffles. I wasRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family893 Words   |  4 PagesGrowing up, I was always been recognized as the shy child. At family events , I would be too afraid to have a conversation with my own uncle, so instead I would hide by my parents and avoid communicating with anyone at all costs. My sister is the loud one, she has always been outgoing and I loved to utilize that as an excuse to not address or express my thoughts and opinions. My dad soon realized that I sincerely hated meeting new people, having conversations, and making friends. He would constantlyRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family969 Words   |  4 Pagessat there, on the couch, watching movies with my family. Everytime there was a part I didn t or couldn t see, I would shove my head in my mother s shirt, smelling her jasmine scented perfume until it gave me a headache. It was as if we were in our own family bubble, enjoying our time. Who knew anything could ve happened outside our bubble. Sunday morning, I woke up to the sound of the floor creaking as someone moved. I exited my room and as I opened my door, an avalanche of delicious smells showe redRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family1576 Words   |  7 PagesSpending quality time with family is one of my favorite childhood memories; spending time outdoors, playing ping pong, or watching a meaningful movie. Do you have any special memories with your family? My most meaningful family memory came from our vacation to Colorado back in 2004; yes, 2004. Although I don’t remember all of the events that transpired, I’m able to recall most of the memorable events that took place. It was a cool, misty morning in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and I could distinctlyRead MoreDescriptive Essay About My Family864 Words   |  4 Pagesold me and my family moved from America to Europe. We wanted to start a new life away from the troubles we encountered in our town. We constantly had overdue bills, not enough food, or so little money we could barely get by. We didn’t know if we could live in this torture area much longer. We had plenty of euros. I think we had l ike 10,000 or something. We originally had family there who would send us the euros as gifts, then we became collectors. We all wanted to live in Paris, France. My Grandmama

Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness Free Essays

string(102) " the light of another room at the base of the stairs, and hear clearly the ruckus of several Duergar\." At the heart of the lower levels, in an immense cavern of uneven and twisting walls pocketed with deep shadows, and a ceiling too high for the light of the brightest fire to find, rested the present ruler of Mithril Hall, perched upon a solid pedestal of the purest mithril that rose from a high and wide mound of coins and jewelry, goblets and weapons, and countless other items pounded from the rough blocks of mithril by the skilled hands of dwarven craftsmen. Dark shapes surrounded the beast, huge dogs from its own world, obedient, long-lived, and hungry for the meat of human or elf, or anything else that would give them the pleasure of their gory sport before the kill. Shimmergloom was not now amused. We will write a custom essay sample on Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness or any similar topic only for you Order Now Rumblings from above foretold of intruders, and a band of Duergar spoke of murdered kin in the tunnels and whispered rumors that a drow elf had been seen. The dragon was not of this world. It had come from the Plane of Shadows, a dark image of the lighted world, unknown to the dwellers here except in the less substantial stuff of their blackest nightmares. Shimmergloom had been of considerable standing there, old even then, and in high regard among its dragon kin that ruled the plane. But when the foolish and greedy dwarves that once inhabited these mines had delved into deep holes of sufficient darkness to open a gate to its plane, the dragon had been quick to come through. Now possessing a treasure tenfold beyond the greatest of its own plane, Shimmergloom had no intentions of returning. It would deal with the intruders. For the first time since the routing of Clan Battlehammer, the baying of the shadow hounds filled the tunnels, striking dread even into the hearts of their gray dwarf handlers. The dragon sent them west on their mission, up toward the tunnels around the entry hall in Keeper’s Dale, where the companions had first entered the complex. With their powerful maws and incredible stealth, the hounds were indeed a deadly force, but their mission now was not to catch and kill – only to herd. In the first fight for Mithril Hall, Shimmergloom alone had routed the miners in the lower caverns and in some of the huge chambers on the eastern end of the upper level. But final victory had escaped the dragon, for the end had come in the western corridors, too tight for its scaly bulk. The beast would not miss the glory again. It set its minions in motion, to drive whoever or whatever had come into the halls toward the only entrance that it had to the upper levels: Garumn’s Gorge. Shimmergloom stretched to the limit of its height and unfolded its leathery wings for the first time in nearly two hundred years, blackness flowing out under them as they extended to the sides. Those Duergar who had remained in the throne room fell to their knees at the sight of their rising lord, partly in respect, but mostly in fear. The dragon was gone, gliding down a secret tunnel at the back of the chamber, to where it had once known glory, the place its minions had named Shimmergloom’s Run in praise of their lord. A blur of indistinguishable darkness, it moved as silently as the cloud of blackness that followed. * * * Wulfgar worried just how low he would be crouching by the time they reached Garumn’s Gorge, for the tunnels became dwarven sized as they neared the eastern end of the upper level. Bruenor knew this as a good sign, the only tunnels in the complex with ceilings below the six foot mark were those of the deepest mines and those crafted for defense of the gorge. Faster than Bruenor had hoped, they came upon the secret door to a smaller tunnel breaking off to the left, a spot familiar to the dwarf even after his two-century absence. He ran his hand across the unremarkable wall beneath the torch and its telltale red sconce, searching for the brailed pattern that would lead his fingers to the precise spot. He found one triangle, then another, and followed their lines to the central point, the bottommost point in the valley between the peaks of the twin-mountains that they signified, the symbol of Dumathoin, the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain. Bruenor pushed with a single finger, and the wall fell away, opening yet another low tunnel. No light came from this one, but a hollow sound, like the wind across a rock face, greeted them. Bruenor winked at them knowingly and started right in, but slowed when he saw the runes and sculpted reliefs carved into the walls. All along the passage, on every surface, dwarven artisans had left their mark. Bruenor swelled with pride, despite his depression, when he saw the admiring expressions upon his friends’ faces. A few turns later they came upon a portcullis, lowered and rusted, and beyond it saw the wideness of another huge cavern. â€Å"Garumn’s Gorge,† Bruenor proclaimed, moving up to the iron bars. â€Å"‘Tis said ye can throw a torch off the rim and it’ll burn out afore ever it hits.† Four sets of eyes looked through the gate in wonder. If the journey through Mithril Hall had been a disappointment to them, for they had not yet seen the grander sights Bruenor had often told them of, the sight before them now made up for it. They had reached Garumn’s Gorge, though it seemed more a full-sized canyon than a gorge, spanning hundreds of feet across and stretching beyond the limits of their sight. They were above the floor of the chamber, with a stairway running down to the right on the other site of the portcullis. Straining to poke as much of their heads as they could through the bars, they could see the light of another room at the base of the stairs, and hear clearly the ruckus of several Duergar. You read "Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness" in category "Essay examples" To the left, the wall arced around to the edge, though the chasm continued on beyond the bordering wall of the cavern. A single bridge spanned the break, an ancient work of stone fitted so perfectly that its slight arch could still support an army of the hugest mountain giants. Bruenor studied the bridge carefully, noting that something about its understructure did not seem quite right. He followed the line of a cable across the chasm, figuring it to continue under the stone flooring and connect to a large lever sticking up from a more recently constructed platform across the way. Two Duergar sentries milled about the lever, though their lax attitude spoke of countless days of boredom. â€Å"They’ve rigged the thing to fall!† Bruenor snorted. The others immediately understood what he was talking about. â€Å"Is there another way across, then?† Catti-brie asked. â€Å"Aye,† replied the dwarf. â€Å"A ledge to the south end of the gorge. But hours o’ walking, and the only way to it is through this cavern!† Wulfgar grasped the iron bars of the portcullis and tested them. They held fast, as he suspected. â€Å"We could not get through these bars, anyway,† he put in. â€Å"Unless you know where we might find their crank.† â€Å"Half a day’s walking,† Bruenor replied, as though the answer, perfectly logical to the mindset of a dwarf protecting his treasures, should have been obvious. â€Å"The other way.† â€Å"Fretful folk,† Regis said under his breath. Catching the remark, Bruenor growled and grabbed Regis by the collar, hoisting him from the ground and pressing their faces together. â€Å"Me people are a careful lot,† he snarled, his own frustration and confusion boiling out again in his misdirected rage. â€Å"We like to keep what’s our own to keep, especially from little thieves with little fingers and big mouths.† â€Å"Suren there’s another way in,† Catti-brie reasoned, quick to diffuse the confrontation. Bruenor dropped the halfling to the floor. â€Å"We can get to that room,† he replied, indicating the lighted area at the base of the stairs. â€Å"Then let’s be quick,† Catti-brie demanded. â€Å"If the noise of the cave-in called out alarms, the word might not have reached this far.† Bruenor led them back down the small tunnel swiftly, and back to the corridor behind the secret door. Around the next bend in the main corridor, its walls, too, showing the runes and sculpted reliefs of the dwarven craftsmen, Bruenor was again engulfed in the wonder of his heritage and quickly lost all thoughts of anger at Regis. He heard again in his mind the ringing of hammers in Garumn’s day, and the singing of common gatherings. If the foulness that they had found here, and the loss of Drizzt, had tempered his fervent desire to reclaim Mithril Hall, the vivid recollections that assaulted him as he moved along this corridor worked to refuel those fires. Perhaps he would return with his army, he thought. Perhaps the mithril would again ring out in the smithies of Clan Battlehammer. Thoughts of regaining his people’s glory suddenly rekindled, Bruenor looked around to his friends, tired, hungry, and grieving for the drow, and reminded himself that the mission before him now was to escape the complex and get them back to safety. A more intense glow ahead signaled the end of the tunnel. Bruenor slowed their pace and crept along to the exit cautiously. Again the companions found themselves on a stone balcony, overlooking yet another corridor, a huge passageway, nearly a chamber in itself, with a high ceiling and decorated walls. Torches burned every few feet along both sides, running parallel below them. A lump welled in Bruenor’s throat when he looked upon the carvings lining the opposite wall across the way, great sculpted bas reliefs of Garumn and Bangor, and of all the patriarchs of Clan Battlehammer. He wondered, and not for the first time, if his own bust would ever take its place alongside his ancestors’. â€Å"Half-a-dozen to ten, I make them,† Catti-brie whispered, more intent on the clamor rolling out of a partly opened door down to the left, the room they had seen from their perch in the chamber of the gorge. The companions were fully twenty feet above the floor of the larger corridor. To the right, a stairway descended to the floor, and beyond it the tunnel wound its way back into the great halls. â€Å"Side rooms where others might be hiding?† Wulfgar asked Bruenor. The dwarf shook his head. â€Å"One anteroom there be, and only one,† he answered. â€Å"But more rooms lay within the cavern of Garumn’s Gorge. Whether they be filled with gray ones or no, we cannot know. But no mind to them; we’re to get through this room, and through the door across its way to come to the gorge.† Wulfgar slapped his hammer into a fighting grip. â€Å"Then let us go,† he growled, starting for the stair. â€Å"What about the two in the cavern beyond?† asked Regis, staying the anxious warrior with his hand. â€Å"They’ll drop the bridge afore we ever make the gorge,† added Catti-brie. Bruenor scratched his beard, then looked to his daughter. â€Å"How well do ye shoot?† he asked her. Catti-brie held the magical bow out before her. â€Å"Well enough to take the likes of two sentries!† she answered. â€Å"Back to th’ other tunnel with ye,† said Bruenor. â€Å"At first sound of battle, take ’em out. And be fast, girl; the cowardly scum’re likely to drop the bridge at the first signs of trouble!† With a nod, she was gone. Wulfgar watched her disappear back down the corridor, not so determined to have this fight now, without knowing that Catti-brie would be safe behind him. â€Å"What if the gray ones have reinforcements near?† he asked Bruenor. â€Å"What of Catti-brie? She will be blocked from returning to us.† â€Å"No whinin’, boy!† Bruenor snapped, also uncomfortable with his decision to separate. â€Å"Y’er heart’s for her is me guess, though ye aren’t to admit it to yerself. Keep in yer head that Cat’s a fighter, trained by meself. The other tunnel’s safe enough, still secret from the gray ones by all the signs I could find. The girl’s battle-smart to taking care of herself! So put yer thoughts to the fight before ye. The best ye can do for her is to finish these gray-bearded dogs too quick for their kin to come!† It took some effort, but Wulfgar tore his eyes away from the corridor and refocused his gaze on the open door below, readying himself for the task at hand. Alone now, Catti-brie quietly trotted back the short distance down the corridor and disappeared through the secret door. * * * â€Å"Hold!† Sydney commanded Bok, and she, too, froze in her tracks, sensing that someone was just ahead. She crept forward, the golem on her heel, and peeked around the next turn in the tunnel, expecting that she had come up on the companions. There was only empty corridor in front of her. The secret door had closed. * * * Wulfgar took a deep breath and measured the odds. If Catti-brie’s estimate was correct, he and Bruenor would be outnumbered several times when they burst through the door. He knew that they had no options open before them. With another breath to steady himself, he started again down the stairs, Bruenor moving on his cue and Regis following tentatively behind. The barbarian never slowed his long strides, or turned from the straightest path to the door, yet the first sounds that they all heard were not the thumps of Aegis-fang or the barbarian’s customary war cry to Tempos, but the battle song of Bruenor Battlehammer. This was his homeland and his fight, and the dwarf placed the responsibility for the safety of his companions squarely upon his own shoulders. He dashed by Wulfgar when they reached the bottom of the stairs and crashed through the door, the mithril axe of his heroic namesake raised before him. â€Å"This one’s for me father!† he cried, splitting the shining helm of the closest Duergar with a single stroke. â€Å"This one’s for me father’s father!† he yelled, felling the second. â€Å"And this one’s for me father’s father’s father!† Bruenor’s ancestral line was long indeed. The gray dwarves never had a chance. Wulfgar had started his charge right after he realized Bruenor was rushing by him, but by the time he got into the room, three Duergar lay dead and the furious Bruenor was about to drop the fourth. Six others scrambled around trying to recover from the savage assault, and mostly trying to get out the other door and into the cavern of the gorge where they could regroup. Wulfgar hurled Aegis-fang – and took another, and Bruenor pounced upon his fifth victim before the gray dwarf got through the portal. Across the gorge, the two sentries heard the start of battle at the same time as Catti-brie, but not understanding what was happening, they hesitated. Catti-brie didn’t. A streak of silver flashed across the chasm, exploding into the chest of one of the sentries, its powerful magic blasting through his mithril armor and hurling him back ward into death. The second lunged immediately for the lever, but Catti-brie coolly completed her business. The second streaking arrow took him in the eye. The routed dwarves in the room below poured out into the cavern below her, and others from rooms beyond the first charged out to join them. Wulfgar and Bruenor would come through soon, too, Catti-brie knew, right into the midst of a ready host! Bruenor’s evaluation of Catti-brie had been on target. A fighter she was, and as willing to stand against the odds as any warrior alive. She buried any fears that she might have had for her friends and positioned herself to be of greatest assistance to them. Eyes and jaw steeled in determination, she took up Taulmaril and launched a barrage of death at the assembling host that put them into chaos and sent many of them scrambling for cover. Bruenor roared out, blood-spattered, his mithril axe red from kills, and still with a hundred great-great ancestors as yet unavenged. Wulfgar was right behind, consumed by the blood lust, singing to his war god, and swatting aside his smaller enemies as easily as he would part ferns on a forest path. Catti-brie’s barrage did not relent, arrow after streaking arrow finding its deadly mark. The warrior within her possessed her fully and her actions stayed on the edges of her conscious thoughts. Methodically, she called for another arrow, and the magical quiver of Anariel obliged. Taulmaril played its own song, and in the wake of its notes lay the scorched and blasted bodies of many Duergar. Regis hung back throughout the fight, knowing that he would be more trouble than use to his friends in the main fray, just adding one more body for them to protect when they already had all they could handle in looking out for themselves. He saw that Bruenor and Wulfgar had gained enough of an early advantage to claim victory, even against the many enemies that had come into the cavern to face them, so Regis worked to make sure their fallen opponents in the room were truly down and would not come sneaking up behind. Also, though, to make sure that any valuables these gray ones possessed were not wasted on corpses. He heard the heavy thump of a boot behind him. He dove aside and rolled to the corner just as Bok crashed through the doorway, oblivious to his presence. When Regis recovered his voice, he moved to yell a warning to his friends. But then Sydney entered the room. Two at a time fell before the sweeps of Wulfgar’s warhammer. Spurred by the snatches that he caught of the enraged dwarf’s battle cries, â€Å"†¦for me father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Wulfgar wore a grim smile as he moved through the Duergar’s disorganized ranks. Arrows burned lines of silver right beside him as they sought their victims, but he trusted enough in Catti-brie not to fear a stray shot. His muscles flexed in another crushing blow, even the Duergar’s shining armor offering no protection against his brute strength. But then arms stronger than his own caught him from behind. The few Duergar that remained before him did not recognize Bok as an ally. They fled in terror to the chasm bridge, hoping to cross and destroy the route of any pursuit behind them. Catti-brie cut them down. Regis didn’t make any sudden moves, knowing Sydney’s power from the encounter back in the oval room. Her bolt of energy had flattened both Bruenor and Wulfgar; the halfling shuddered to think what it could do to him. His only chance was the ruby pendant, he thought. If he could get Sydney caught in its hypnotizing spell, he might hold her long enough for his friends to return. Slowly, he moved his hand under his jacket, his eyes trained upon the mage, wary for the beginnings of any killing bolt. Sydney’s wand remained tucked into her belt. She had a trick of her own planned for the little one. She muttered a quick chant, then rolled her hand open to Regis and puffed gently, launching a filmy string in his direction. Regis understood the spell’s nature when the air around him was suddenly saturated with floating webs – sticky spiders’ webs. They clung to every part of him, slowing his movements, and filled the area around him. He had his hand around the magical pendant, but the web had him fully within its own grip. Pleased in the exercising of her power, Sydney turned to the door and the battle beyond. She preferred calling upon the powers within her, but understood the strength of these other enemies, and drew her wand. Bruenor finished the last of the gray dwarves facing him. He had taken many hits, some serious, and much of the blood covering him was his own. The rage within him that he had built over the course of centuries, though, blinded him to the pain. His blood lust was sated now, but only until he turned back toward the anteroom and saw Bok lifting Wulfgar high into the air and crushing the life out of him. Catti-brie saw it, too. Horrified, she tried to get a clear shot at the golem, but with Wulfgar’s desperate struggling, the combatants stumbled about too often for her to dare. â€Å"Help him!† she begged to Bruenor under her breath, as all that she could do was watch. Half of Wulfgar’s body was numbed under the incredible force of Bok’s magically strengthened arms. He did manage to squirm around and face his foe, though, and he put a hand in-the golem’s eye and pushed with all his strength, trying to divert some of the monster’s energy from the attack. Bok seemed not to notice. Wulfgar slammed Aegis-fang into the monster’s face with all the force he could muster under the tight circumstances, still a blow that would have felled a giant. Again Bok seemed not to notice. The arms closed relentlessly. A wave of dizziness swept through the barbarian. His fingers tingled with numbness. His hammer dropped to the ground. Bruenor was almost there, axe poised and ready to begin chopping. But as the dwarf passed the open door to the anteroom, a blinding flash of energy shot out at him. It struck his shield, luckily, and deflected up to the cavern ceiling, but the sheer force of it hurled Bruenor from his feet. He shook his head in disbelief and struggled to a sitting position. Catti-brie saw the bolt and remembered the similar blast that had dropped both Bruenor and Wulfgar back in the oval room. Instinctively, without the slightest hesitation or concern for her own safety, she was off, running back down the passageway, driven by the knowledge that if she couldn’t get to the mage, her friends didn’t have a chance. Bruenor was more prepared for the second bolt. He saw Sydney inside the anteroom lift the wand at him. He dove on his belly and threw his shield above his head, facing the mage. It held again against the blast, deflecting the energy harmlessly away, but Bruenor felt it weaken under the impact and knew that it would not withstand another. The stubborn survival instincts of the barbarian brought his drifting mind from the swoon and back into focus on the battle. He didn’t call for his hammer, knowing it to be of little use against the golem and doubting that he could have clasped it anyway. He summoned his own strength, wrapping his huge arms around Bok’s neck. His corded muscles tensed to their limits and ripped beyond as he struggled. No breath would come to him; Bruenor would not get there in time. He growled away the pain and the fear, grimaced through the sensations of numbness. And twisted with all his might. Regis at last managed to get his hand and the pendant out from under his jacket. â€Å"Wait, mage!† he cried at Sydney, not expecting her to listen, but only hoping to divert her attention long enough for her to glimpse the gemstone, and praying that Entreri had not informed her of its hypnotizing powers. Again the mistrust and secrecy of the evil party worked against them. Oblivious to the dangers of the halfling’s ruby, Sydney glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, more to ensure that her web still held him tightly than to listen to any words he might have to say. A sparkle of red-light caught her attention more fully than she had intended, and long moments passed before she would look away. In the main passage, Catti-brie crouched low and sped along as swiftly as she could. Then she heard the baying. The hunting shadow hounds filled the corridors with their excited cries, and filled Catti-brie with dread. The hounds were far behind, but her knees went weak as the unearthly sound descended upon her, echoing from wall to wall and encasing her in a dizzying jumble. She gritted her teeth against the assault and pressed on. Bruenor needed her, Wulfgar needed her. She would not fail them. She made the balcony and sprinted down the stairs, finding the door to the anteroom closed. Cursing the luck, for she had hoped to get a shot at the mage from a distance, she slung Taulmaril over her shoulder, drew her sword, and boldly, blindly, charged through. * * * Locked in a killing embrace, Wulfgar and Bok stumbled around the cavern, sometimes dangerously close to the gorge. The barbarian matched his muscle against Dendybar’s magical work; never before had he faced such a foe. Wildly, he jerked Bok’s massive head back and forth, breaking the monster’s ability to resist. Then he began turning it in one direction, driving on with every ounce of power that he had left to give. He couldn’t remember the last time he had found a breath; he no longer knew who he was, or where he was. His sheer stubbornness refused to yield. He heard the snap of bone, and couldn’t be sure if it had been his own spine or the golem’s neck. Bok never flinched, nor loosened its vicelike grip. The head turned easily now, and Wulfgar, driven on by the final darkness that began its descent upon him, tugged and turned in a final flurry of defiance. Skin ripped away. The blood-stuff of the wizard’s creation poured onto Wulfgar’s arms and chest, and the head tore free. Wulfgar, to his own amazement, thought that he had won. Bok seemed not to notice. * * * The beginnings of the ruby pendant’s hypnotizing spell shattered when the door crashed in, but Regis had played his part. By the time Sydney recognized the coming danger, Catti-brie was too close for her to cast her spells. Sydney’s gaze locked into a stunned, wide-eyed stare of confused protest. All of her dreams and future plans fell before her in that one instant. She tried to scream out a denial, certain that the gods of fate had a more important role planned for her in their scheme of the universe, convinced that they would not allow the shining star of her budding power to be extinguished before it ever came to its potential. But a thin, wooden wand is of little use in parrying a metal blade. Catti-brie saw nothing but her target, felt nothing in that instant but the necessity of her duty. Her sword snapped through the feeble wand and plunged home. She looked at Sydney’s face for the first time. Time itself seemed to halt. Sydney’s expression had not changed, her eyes and mouth still open in denial of this possibility. Catti-brie watched in helpless horror as the last flickers of hope and ambition faded from Sydney’s eyes. Warm blood gushed over Catti-brie’s arm. Sydney’s final gasp of breath seemed impossibly loud. And Sydney slid, ever so slowly, from the blade and into the realm of death. * * * A single, vicious cut from the mithril axe severed one of Bok’s arms, and Wulfgar fell free. He landed on one knee, barely on the edge of consciousness. His huge lungs reflexively sucked in a volume of revitalizing oxygen. Sensing the dwarf’s presence clearly, but without eyes to focus upon its target, the headless golem lunged confusedly at Bruenor and missed badly. Bruenor had no understanding of the magical forces that guided the monster, or kept it alive, and he had little desire to test his fighting skills against it. He saw another way. â€Å"Come on, ye filthy mold of orc-dung,† he teased, moving toward the gorge. In a more serious tone, he called to Wulfgar, â€Å"Get yer hammer ready, boy.† Bruenor had to repeat the request over and over, and by the time Wulfgar began to hear it, Bok had backed the dwarf right up to the ledge. Only half aware of his actions, Wulfgar found the warhammer returned to his hand. Bruenor stopped, his heels clear of the stone floor, a smile on his face that accepted death. The golem paused, too, somehow understanding that Bruenor had nowhere left to run. Bruenor dropped to the floor as Bok lunged forward, Aegis-fang slammed into its back, pushing it over the dwarf. The monster fell silently, with no ears to hear the sound of the air rushing past. Catti-brie was still standing motionless over the mage’s body when Wulfgar and Bruenor entered the anteroom. Sydney’s eyes and mouth remained open in silent denial, a futile attempt to belie the pool of blood that deepened around her body. Lines of tears wetted Catti-brie’s face. She had felled goblinoids and gray dwarves, once an ogre and a tundra yeti, but never before had she killed a human. Never before had she looked into eyes akin to her own and watched the light leave them. Never before had she understood the complexity of her victim, or even that the life she had taken existed outside the present field of battle. Wulfgar moved to her and embraced her in full sympathy while Bruenor cut the halfling free of the remaining strands of webbing. The dwarf had trained Catti-brie to fight and had reveled in her victories against orcs and the like, foul beasts that deserved death by all accounts. He had always hoped, though, that his beloved Catti-brie would be spared this experience. Again Mithril Hall loomed as the source of his friends’ suffering. Distant howls echoed from beyond the open door behind them. Catti-brie slid the sword into its sheath, not even thinking to wipe the blood from it, and steadied herself. â€Å"The pursuit is not ended,† she stated flatly. â€Å"It is past time we leave.† She led them from the room then, but left a part of herself, the pedestal of her innocence, behind. How to cite Streams of Silver 22. The Dragon of Darkness, Essay examples

Independent Risk Factors in Management

Question: Discuss about the Factors of Independent Risk Factors in Management. Answer: 1: The table showcases the relationship between risk of incurring cancer and exposure to magnetic and electric fields of varying power use conditions; as mandated clearly from the provided information. Clearly, the or(odds ratio) for the first table shows an unmistakeably increasing trend from low power use conditions if we kept increasing the strength of the magnetic fields. However, a p-value of 0.14 shows relatively low significance and that the trend lies far below the requisite 95 % interval to prove the null hypothesis. (that a trend exists in the observations) As with the high power use conditions for exposure with magnetic fields, the odds ratio doesnt show any clear trend with relatively low significance due to a high p-value. (0.43) We can safely reject null hypothesis in this case. With high power use condition with Electric field, odds ratio between number of diagnosed and control cases doesnt give any particular trend with p-value on the higher side. Thus trend is not detectable. To summarize: Low power use conditions in magnetic fields gives perceivable trend in the odds ratio between number of cancer and controlled cases with a low significance. High power use conditions in both magnetic and electric fields fail to show discernible effect on cancer diagnosis to control ratio. 2. Based on the figure 1, a sample size of 200 was randomized and allocated to usual medical care and exercise program groups and the effect of each on clinical depression was studied with no significant difference posted. The one flaw in the methodology of sample selection was elimination on the basis of the PHQ test I which around 95% of the sample was eliminated due to a score of less than 10. Such elimination might have biased the sample under inspection since many of the invitees may not have attached due importance or noticed the same. Such huge elimination have significant scope of biasing the entire data set. Potential confounders from the table are the variables of smoking and drinking since both seemed to have highly negative correlation with both the groups while past history of depression diagnosis seemed to be positively correlated with both the groups. (about 80%) The 0.68 value of odds ratio tells us the odds that 26 weeks will show more than 50% reduction in SIGMA scores 0.68 times for the exercise intervention group as compared to the medical care group. It further tells that odds ratio for the same will be within 0.36 to 1.28 with 95% confidence or with probability 0.95 in a normal distribution. The confidence interval of odds-ratio for each rows in table 2 shows too much width of the spectrum which implies that the effect of depression on the exercise group and basic medical control group are not very significantly different. Since the effect of exercise doesnt show a distinctly higher odds ratio of responding positively to depression with sufficient confidence, it can be concluded that exercise form of treatment didnt help that much in curing clinical depression. It portrays the sentiment of the entire study.

Successful Marriages Essays - Philosophy Of Love, Family, Marriage

Successful Marriages Successful Marriages For any marriage to be successful there are certain changes a man and woman have to make. They have to be flexible and open and ready for new experiences and ways of living. Marriages can be successful or unsuccessful based on many different aspects of it. Four important concepts that are definitely part of the whole marriage life are: children, conflict resolution, outside influences, and communication. Children may be the biggest change to a married couple. From going from just the two people, doing whatever they want, whenever they want, to staying home and taking on the responsibilities of taking care of children is a big step. Gone is the freedom of leaving at the spur of the moment to catch that new movie that just came out, eating what they want, when they want, buying whatever they want, and sleeping in until noon. The average number of children for parents completing my survey was two. Everyone knows that raising children is very stressful, but because of the different ages of the parents, and the children, I could not get facts on which years were the toughest. Most parents whose kids are well into their 20's or so, say that the most stressful years for them were the teenage years. Children that are toddlers are said to be less stressful then when they were infants. It varies for everyone, and from my surveys I got no facts, just opinions. Children are a big responsibility and cause a lot of stress for parents. Out of 30 people, 96% say that their children have been a cause for an argument at least one time throughout their marriage. This could occur for many reasons; one being that it is very expensive to raise children and parents would have to agree on what is necessary for their children to have or things that are just nice to have. They must agree to what their priorities are and each pa rtner would have to adjust. Also parents might feel differently about ways of disciplining their children, which usually causes them to argue. Every couple has their own ways of resolving their problems throughout their marriage. Constant conflict can destroy a marriage. Learning how to deal with the conflict to achieve a win/win situation for both partners is very important. When couples disagree, the 30 people that I surveyed said that the woman gives in 65% of the time. A reason for this could be that women were taught to be passive and let things go a lot easier than men. They do not want provoke their partner and then start another argument. They think it is easiest to just give in even if they know they are right. Sometimes the only reason the women gives in is that she is just too tired from working, taking care of the children and the house and feels it would be easier to give in and let it go. This is only a short-term solution. Men on the other hand have to keep their stand and be the king. They cannot give in; it would ruin their status. They have to prove they can not be stood up to. When a married couple are in an argument, 78% say they talk it out after calming down. It usually does not solve anything when couples fight because each person does not listen to the other person's perspective. They are yelling at each other so they each think they are right and become stubborn. By talking it out, you can hear both sides of the story and come up with a compromise. Couples fight for many different reasons, but from my surveys I found the main reason for fighting was children. 60% say they argue about their children. 46% say they argue about chores. 43% say they argue about money. And lastly, 23% say they argue about work. These problems may interconnect with each other. For example, most people are very stressed at work, especially during these times when most companies are decreasing their staff and those th at remain are taking on additional responsibilities. After a hard day at work they come home and half to start all over by picking the kid up

Roles in Curriculum Development

Roles in Curriculum Development Free Online Research Papers Throughout the 20th Century curriculum development went through several phases as the nation embraced different philosophical views. Starting with Cremin at the turn of the Century, then into the progressive movement with John Dewey, early curriculum planning required that developers understand two things. First they needed to â€Å"understand all three focal points for curricula and, second, to bring them into some appropriate balance in making practical decisions† (Marsh Willis, 2003, p. 41). When J. Franklin Bobbitt published his book on curriculum in 1918 curriculum development entered a new era as, for the first time, much of educational leaders’ work focused exclusively on curriculum issues. This sentence is grammatically awkward. This focus would continue until after World War II as progressive educational philosophies dominated national thinking until the beginning of the Cold War. The launch of Sputnik changed the nation’s collective psyche and resulted in a dramatic shift in thinking about curriculum. The result would eventually be the release of A Nation at Risk, and with its release came a serious disconnect from how curriculum development had matured th roughout the 20th Century. â€Å"Its recommendations and example ignored the bottom-up, grassroots approaches to curriculum planning based on traditional American values of individual initiative† (Marsh Willis, 2003, p. 61). The report set a tone which has greatly influence the early years of the 21st Century as individuality and uniformity collide. How do educational leaders strike a balance between the two ideals? Perhaps the best way to accommodate these conflicting views is through the use of committees that accept the views and needs of all stakeholders in the curriculum development process. Good point Gone are the days of an expert developing and delivering newly developed curriculum. The developer will need a team to ensure the new curriculum meets all the requirements of the institution and the community it serves. Is this always the case? â€Å"Ideally, the design team will be composed of faculty who are responsible for the content of the program or course, a process person, and as needed, experts in assessment and technology† (Diamond, 1998, p. 23). The team, to be successful will require a combination of faculty, facilitators, evaluators, and support staff. Finally, political sensitivities must be considered. Parents, students, and administrators should all have a voice in this process to ensure acceptance and support from the local community, otherwise the proposals may well d ie, no matter how good the ideas may be. Roles in Curriculum Development Content. At the content level, curriculum development roles are primarily those of state officials and local administrators. Community members also have a stake in content, since graduates will make up the bulk of the local workforce. Effective leadership, motivation, and data analysis are vital in the content development stage (Stark, Briggs, Rowland-Poplawski, 2002). State officials charged with curriculum and instruction must use their positions wisely. Leading educational change takes committed, innovative leaders who are motivated by their own ideals as well as political mandates. Additionally, practical application of data and research are necessary to develop timely curricula objectives aligned with modern goals and agendas. How would you define modern goals and agendas? Would they relate to meeting criteria for federal funding? Would they relate to popular theories in pedagogy? Would they relate to agendas of special interests within the community? How would administrators deal with conflicting input from these groups? Administrators’ roles in content development involve substantive data collection in addition to ongoing training and resource support. School boards approve textbook expenditures and it often falls to administrators to make their case for purchase of required curriculum. The role of the administrator requires him to be knowledgeable about the content and goals of state and national standards and have the ability to communicate those needs to local stakeholders. Community members also have a role in the content of any given curriculum. Business leaders require a certain level of expertise in fields appropriate to the local community. New development in an area often depends largely on the quality of graduates found in local systems, providing impetus to real estate and development partners to ensure an adequate curriculum. State-level education officials, local administrators, and community members share the duties in their roles in curriculum development content. Process. At the process level, curriculum development roles are primarily those of facilitators, instructors, and support staff. Parents and students, however, play key roles. Facilitators include assistant principals, curriculum coordinators, and trainers. Teachers make up the bulk of instructors, but instruction is also a responsibility of media specialists and counselors. Support staff includes all facility-level personnel, such as food and maintenance service employees and office staff. Stark, Briggs, and Rowland-Poplawski posit three important questions in role consideration: 1) who takes responsibility, 2) specific activities of the role, and 3) curriculum expertise of the involved parties (2002). Although some system hierarchies specifically delineate a curriculum coordinator responsible for processing of objectives, many times staff find themselves as de facto processors of state goals. Teachers retain the majority of the curriculum processing role, since their daily duties center largely on their ability to convey and implement the state curricula. Marsh and Willis define teachers as the â€Å"filter through which the mandated curriculum passes† (2003, p. 195). No matter who ultimately develops the content of state curricular standards, teachers make daily lesson plans and choose activities and methods to implement those benchmarks to their students. Facilitators and support staff roles generally evolve to complement teacher directives. Parents and students play a key role in the process stage of curriculum development because they must learn and apply the objectives through their own methods and styles. Experts. Experts in the fields of development, technology, and evaluation make up the final component of curriculum development. Ideally, states use curriculum and instruction experts to develop a feasible curriculum that meets state and national guidelines. Technology has become increasingly important in not only making curricular goals assessable to all stakeholders but in allowing state agendas to serve as dynamic entities, providing flexibility as online, accessible documents. The role of evaluators is one of measuring progress and goal attainment within the curriculum, and also to convey those results to the professional and public communities. Good point The role of assessment has changed in recent years from one that measured content knowledge acquisition to the current focus on self-directed learning aptitude and understanding (McCormick Murphy, 2000). Despite what is being measured, however, the role of ongoing evaluation is vital to any curriculum development and implemen tation schedule. Regular assessment of student outcomes and staff support for directives allows state and local officials to address concerns early, before they become costly and time-consuming restraints. Responsibilities The responsibility of the educational leaders and stakeholders in curriculum vary depending on their role in the design process. Curriculum emerges from the attempt to match individual learning styles and interests with the type and amount of structure the individual needs to gain the knowledge, skills, and competencies associated with each goal of the specialization (Bruner, 2002). It is essential that each member of the team concentrates on the experience its members bring and on the skills they seek and need. Each person needs to be sensitive to the individual needs and the academic rigor that characterizes the curriculum and learning environment that encourages excellence by releasing the potential of its members instead of locking it in. The designs for curriculum decision-making that are put forward have only limited predictability. In this academic dimension, a student concentrates on analyzing and extending existing designs, and on internalizing a personal approach to curriculum decision-making. Priority is given to the advancement of existing knowledge and to the creation of new ways to view curriculum problems. Responsibilities include: Analyzing theoretical frameworks that underlie the methods used for curriculum development. Evaluating ideas of major theorists and their designs for developing curriculum. Developing skill in theory building. Identifying assumptions that guide various approaches to curriculum decision-making. Defining a specific meaning of curriculum in terms of its expressed, hidden, and emerging aspects. Interpreting associations between the historical development of the curriculum field and future priorities for curriculum improvement. Analyzing the impact of learning theories on curriculum development (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998) The educational leader has a responsibility of making the curriculum visible; academic skills and calculated risk are mixed with intuition and sensitivity and then applied to the task of writing an expressed curriculum (Buner, 2002). The development process demands the ability to translate ideas into actual decisions. The priority here becomes the integration of theory and practice. The site team must develop and apply their design(s) to specific school settings. Also, the curriculum developer perfects sensitivity to the values, contributions, and history of cultural groups typically neglected by conventional curricula (Billig, 2000). This dimension fosters skills for teaching others how to develop curriculum, and extends the concern of the curriculum worker into decisions that affect the hidden and ever emerging aspects of curriculum. The true leader knows that when they leave the curriculum design process and all other systems are still in tact. The organization should not fall ap art when they leave. That is the true test of leadership. That is when the leader knows they transformed the organization and left a legacy behind. To master skills for developing curriculum. The leader’s jobs include assessing individual, instructional, institutional, and societal needs. They must also develop and articulate specific departmental objectives for specific curricula (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). They should monitor and screen selected objectives through examining various philosophies of education and learning theories. The leaders should also design instructional strategies and learning opportunities to implement formulated objectives. They have the responsibility of designing quantifiable evaluation procedures to measure student performance. Leaders should analyze the connections among curriculum, educational environment, and learning and design research based, effective curriculum materials (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). They should then apply designs for curriculum development to actual writing of curriculum and consider leading others through the processes of curriculum development so to increase the effectiveness of school curriculum for meeting individual pupil needs. The ability to move theoretical ideas into curriculum practice demands knowledge about educational change, leadership behavior, and human relations (Billig, 2000). The responsibility of the leader is based on the emphasis that an evolution of a personal leadership style best suited to the individual and to the educational environment he or she works to improve. The leader should constantly evolve, grow, and learn ways to foster school reform, and to aid school personnel in finding desirable directions for change. Yes! To intervene appropriately in a classroom, school, or school system, curriculum leadership team needs to understand the process of planned educational change. Changes in the learning environment, unless carefully implemented and followed-up, seldom pass through the classroom door (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). Because of the commitment to the process of planned change, students of curriculum studies develop a perspective of continual evaluation and improvement as a way of life for institutions and human beings. Over a period of time, a school, much like an individual, becomes characterized by certain modes of behavior which are like a personality. An organizational personality is infused with a system of values that reflects its history and the impact that various administrators, parents, teachers, and pupils have had on its development (Bruner, 2002). Effective analysis by educational leaders interested in improvement must include an understanding of past influences as well as current conditions of the school and compare various theories of educational change (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). Professional Learning Community Leaders should form learning communities that identify their team’s leadership style collectively, analyze the influence of internal and external conditions on human behavior; identify the advantages and disadvantages of planned change, and develop procedures for diagnosing the constraining and facilitating forces existing in organizations (Diamond, 1998). They should constantly be proactive in identifying conditions in organizations that are hindering the learning process; and implementing strategies for involving teachers, parents, and pupils in curriculum decision-making. This is a great ideal, but how can the other stakeholders see that this can happen? Authority and Hierarchy In the realm of K-12 education, curriculum development usually becomes the responsibility of the school principal/director, leadership team, and community stakeholders. The leadership team could consist of various instructors across several disciplines within the school, leading teachers within the school, or even a combination of both. What must remain important is that all facets involved in curriculum development remain on one accord when developing curricula for the school. According to Marsh (2003), â€Å"If most schoolwide attempts at curriculum planning are to be successful, they require some form of involvement and commitment by the school principal. Numerous research studies point to the leadership of the principal as critical to constructive curriculum change in individual schools† (p. 207). The principal should provide the foundation for curriculum development and present the charge to the â€Å"curriculum team† or the educational faculty charged with develop ing the curriculum. Quoting studies by studies by Leithwood and Montgomery (1982), Leithwood and Stager (1989), Fullan (1988), and Heller and Firestone (1994), Marsh states that the goals that elementary school principals should pursue include the following: Principals should have a vision of what they want for their school in the years ahead. Principals should make their goals public to all concerned parties. They should ensure that their expectations are made known, particularly to teachers and to students. Principals should take action, directly or indirectly, to see that their goals are acted on and accomplished. Principals should develop and maintain good working relationships and a keen understanding of the work and progress of each teacher on their staff. (2003, p. 207) The principal, clearly, is responsible for the strength and continued welfare of the â€Å"curriculum team† and the team should rely on the principal for effective guidance and leadership. Teachers serving on the leadership team, charged with curriculum development, must strive to maintain the focus on the student. Diamond (1998), mentioned that a shift in the faculty role in the learning process has begun; the process should move from teacher-centered to learning-centered (p. 151). Teachers may tend to want the curriculum to suit their own needs. In shifting from teacher-centered education to learning-centered education, teachers must relinquish their â€Å"comfort zones† Is this a direct quote? Quotation marks should only be used for direct quotes with in-text citations. and perform in a manner that is more conducive to student learning. This can seem a daunting task for some teachers who have taught one way for an extended period. Truly progressive instructors, concerned about the educational welfare of their students will effect the changes, especially in the curriculum planning stage, in order to produce a more student-centered learning environment. Community stakeholders exhibit a vital role in curriculum development because the community stakeholders find themselves in a position to aid the school from an outside perspective. According to Marsh, Schools and districts are subject to curricular pressures from special interest groups both within the community and from further afield, especially over controversial issues that arise. Such issues might concern the inclusion of a particular book in a course or in the school library; the adoption of a new teaching method; or the introduction of curricular units dealing with sexuality, race, politics, or religion (2003, p. 206) Single space black quotes With this influence, community stakeholders wield tremendous influence over the ultimate decision on the direction of the curriculum (Billig, 2000). Parents as stakeholders possess ideas about what they deem appropriate for inclusion in the curriculum. The community wants to see the curriculum designed so that ultimately the students in the schools become interested in the industries within the general population. As a whole all entities exert influence in the development of the curriculum, but the ultimate goal must remain the effective education of all children within the school. Responsibility The responsibility of the educational leaders and stakeholders in curriculum vary depending on their role in the design process. Curriculum emerges from the attempt to match individual learning styles and interests with the type and amount of structure the individual needs to gain the knowledge, skills, and competencies associated with each goal of the specialization (Bruner, 2002). It is essential that each member of the team concentrates on the experience its members bring and on the skills they seek and need. Each person needs to be sensitive to the individual needs and to academic rigor that characterizes the curriculum and learning environment that encourages excellence by releasing the potential of its members instead of locking it in. The designs for curriculum decision-making that are put forward have only limited predictability. In this academic dimension, a student concentrates on analyzing and extending existing designs, and on internalizing a personal approach to curriculum decision-making. Priority is given to the advancement of existing knowledge and to the creation of new ways to view curriculum problems. Responsibilities include: Analyzing theoretical frameworks that underlie the methods used for curriculum development. Evaluating ideas of major theorists and their designs for developing curriculum. Developing skill in theory building. Identifying assumptions that guide various approaches to curriculum decision-making. Defining a specific meaning of curriculum in terms of its expressed, hidden, and emerging aspects. Interpreting associations between the historical development of the curriculum field and future priorities for curriculum improvement. Analyzing the impact of learning theories on curriculum development (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). The educational leader has a responsibility of making the curriculum visible, academic skills and calculated risk are mixed with intuition and sensitivity and then applied to the task of writing an expressed curriculum (Bruner, 2002). The development process demands the ability to translate ideas into actual decisions. The priority here becomes the integration of theory and practice. The site team must develop and apply their design(s) to specific school settings. Also, the curriculum developer perfects sensitivity to the values, contributions, and history of cultural groups typically neglected by conventional curricula (Billig, 2000). This dimension fosters skills for teaching others how to develop curriculum, and extends the concern of the curriculum worker into decisions that affect the hidden and ever-emerging aspects of curriculum. The true leader knows that when they leave the curriculum design process, all other systems are still intact. The organization should not fall apart when they leave. That is the true test of leadership. That is when the leader knows they transformed the organization and left a legacy behind. The leader’s jobs include assessing individual, instructional, institutional, and societal needs. They must also develop and articulate specific departmental objectives for specific curricula (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). They should monitor and screen selected objectives through examining various philosophies of education and learning theories. The leaders should also design instructional strategies and learning opportunities to implement formulated objectives. They have the responsibility of designing quantifiable evaluation procedures to measure student performance. Leaders should analyze the connections among curriculum, educational environment, and learning, then design research-based, effective curriculum materials (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). They should then apply designs from curriculum development to the actual writing of curric ulum and consider leading others through the processe to increase the effectiveness of school curriculum for meeting individual pupil needs. These are excellent points, but can this be done in environments such as public education? The ability to move theoretical ideas into curriculum practice demands knowledge about educational change, leadership behavior, and human relations (Billig, 2000). The responsibility of the leader is based on the emphasis that an evolution of a personal leadership style best suited to the individual and to the educational environment he or she works to improve. The leader should constantly evolve, grow, and learn ways to foster school reform, and to aid school personnel in finding desirable directions for change. To intervene appropriately in a classroom, school, or school system, the curriculum leadership team needs to understand the process of planned educational change. Changes in the learning environment, unless carefully implemented and followed-up, seldom pass through the classroom door (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). Because of the commitment to the process of planned change, students of curriculum studies develop a perspective of continual evaluation and improvement as a way of life for institutions and human beings. Over a period of time, a school, much like an individual, becomes characterized by certain modes of behavior which are like a personality. An organizational personality is infused with a system of values that reflects its history and the impact that various administrators, parents, teachers, and pupils have had on its development (Bruner, 2002). Effective analysis by educational leaders interested in improvement must include an understanding of past influences as well as current conditions of the school and compare various theories of educational change (Wiggins, McTighe, 1998). Professional Learning Community Leaders should form learning communities that identify their team’s leadership style collectively, analyze the influence of internal and external conditions on human behavior; identify the advantages and disadvantages of planned change, and develop procedures for diagnosing the constraining and facilitating forces existing in organizations (Diamond, 1998). They should constantly be proactive in identifying conditions in organizations that are hindering the learning process; and implementing strategies for involving teachers, parents, and pupils in curriculum decision-making. Conclusion Although many consider curriculum development to be somewhat akin to a black art, what has become clear throughout this paper is that it is anything but mysterious. What is a black art? It has been seen here that although proper curriculum cannot be developed without the careful input of experts, it also cannot be fully completed without the assistance of amateurs. Curriculum development is truly a team effort that functions best when all stakeholders in the process are fully included. Proper acceptance by the community in general is not possible if parents and students do not have a voice in the process. Experts may craft the technical aspects of the curriculum, but the community will test its feasibility. If the plan fails at any level of the process then the entire team must revisit the plan to determine why it failed. A strong team can move a curriculum development project with great speed and accuracy; a weak team effort will doom the overall process to failure. References Billig, S. (2000). The effects of service learning. The School Administrator, 5(7), 9-14. Bruner, J. (2002). The process of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Diamond, R. M. (1998). Designing and assessing courses and curricula: A practical guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Marsh, C. J., Willis, G. (2003). Curriculum: Alternative approaches, ongoing issues (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. McCormick, R. Murphy, P. (2000). Curriculum: The case for a focus on learning. Routledge International Companion to Education, 204-234. Stark, J. S., Briggs, C. L., Rowland-Poplawski, J. (2002). Curriculum leadership roles of chairpersons in continuously planning departments. Research in Higher Education, 43(3), 329-356. Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision Research Papers on Roles in Curriculum DevelopmentStandardized TestingThe Project Managment Office SystemOpen Architechture a white paperRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeResearch Process Part OnePETSTEL analysis of India19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Effects of The Electoral College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effects of The Electoral College - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that some elements undeniably expose the undemocratic nature of the constitution such as the election of the president which is Article II section I that empowers the application of Electoral College process. This part of the constitution gives every state a figure of electors relative to its representation in Congress to determine who the president is without using the popular vote. In the 2000 general elections, the Judiciary helped in making one of the difficult decisions by declaring George Bush the winner of the closely contested election. After carefully considering the interpretation of the law on representation, the justices decided that Bush would be president of the USA. According to the constitution, the candidate who wins the 270 of the Electoral College votes becomes the president. The rule of law protects the peace and freedom of the USA citizens. Americans and the world at large were desperately waiting to know the next man w ho would occupy the white house. After Americans voted wisely and peacefully, they still waited for more days to know who their president would be. The delay of the results was not voters’ problem but the systems put in place. Most Americans went to sleep knowing that Al Gore had won the presidency on the night of November 7, 2000. Although Americans vote, the popularity of their vote may not be reflected in the outcome of who becomes the president and the vice president of the USA.... This case was later taken to the Florida court, which ordered a recount, but there was a problem on the method to be used in recounting. However, the case was later taken to the US Supreme Court, which nullified the recount process and later made unsatisfactory decision the ultimate winner was George W. Bush. Considering that even the US Supreme Court justices were divided on this matter, it is unclear whether the decision made was political or was strictly based on judicial grounds. Thanks to Al Gore who conceded defeat having realized that based on the Supreme Court decision, he only managed 266 electoral votes against Bush’s 271. The Electoral College system is believed to be catering for the minority and special group interests. A candidate must consider these groups since their votes may be a determinant in winning a particular state’s popular votes hence college electoral votes. In addition, the college electoral votes promotes political stability by allowing only two major parties to exist and suppressing the emergence of other small parties that may hinder quick decision making by the voters. Moreover, the college electoral vote system ensures that the president enjoys sufficient and well-distributed support in governance. The college electoral vote system reduces the chances of election conflict between the two major parties hence ease decision-making process (Keyssar Web). However, the college electoral vote system is undemocratic since the majority decision is not taken into consideration. Most states have their clear favorites such as the blue states and the red states hence less attention paid to such states. A candidate only concentrates their campaigns on undecided

Think like a biologist Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Think like a biologist - Case Study Example Primarily, we repose on failure of the statement that the human eye is a result of evolution coming from the analysis of eye components and their cooperation while working. In particular, â€Å"If you look at these [evolutionary] schemes, they often very abruptly add a lens or a cornea† (Than, 2010), while there is no such a process in the world when a part of an organism appears from nowhere and instantly connects with other parts in functioning. Probably, there must be a stronger argument than that one according to which there has been a simple sightless organism at the beginning that has transformed into the highest creature (a human being) with the eye almost universally adoptable for numerous needs of its owner. As for the claim of intelligent design of the human eye it sounds more argumentative. Although, there is no written proofs representing peculiarities of eye functioning or visual perception of people in different times since creation of Adam and Eve, today’s researches evidence that the human eye is unique in its general mechanisms, which parts are inseparable, for they all actively participate in sense of sight and removal of any of them leads to the critical reduction in

Political science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Political science - Essay Example A conservative would probably agree with all the Alabama measures against illegal immigrants. A conservative would think that since illegal aliens defied immigration laws they deserved to be treated like criminals and flushed out of their hiding places using all means. He will also consider as justifiable the use of stop and search measures on the basis of a vague rationale as reasonable suspicion, usually employed in anti-terrorism related drives, to ensure the apprehension of law breakers. On the other hand, a liberal, while realizing that illegal immigrants have violated immigration laws, will consider some of these measures as extreme, inhuman and unnecessary. A liberal will know how to balance between crime and punishment, and will not forget that illegal immigration is driven by the desire to find greener pastures and not to terrorize Americans. The punishment must fit the crime, but in any case no human being deserves to be treated like a rat. ... ?lack of codified law and coercive authority, a penchant for processes that are participatory and spontaneous, and an inherent impetus among community members to associate voluntarily and cooperatively† (Amster 291). Despite the system’s ideal underpinnings, anarchy is evidently unpopular. Successful rebellions against governments in various times of the world’s history did not result into the establishment of anarchic societies, but of new governments that were instantly installed to replace the toppled ones. The utopian nature of anarchy imports impracticability, presupposing a society where individuals stand together on equal footing, a notion that is illusory. There will always be individuals who will assert themselves above others and establish themselves as leaders, a position that can only be sustained if the community is organized and restrictions are imposed. Governments or systems of hierarchy are, therefore, inevitable (Kenneth & Goldman ). Moreover, an archy basically aspires for perfection, a condition impossible to achieve and more so to sustain. Nonetheless, anarchic societies do exist in the history of the world and even into the 20th century. This is exemplified by the Eskimo tribes of the North American Arctic, Pygmies in Zaire, the Yurok of North America, the Ifugao of the Philippines, the Land Dyaks of Sarawak, to name a few (Stringham 371-372). As can be seen, these societies are characterized by their small size, backward civilization and remoteness from the rest of the world, conditions that are impossible under a highly globalized world. Question 3: War on Terror The National Supremacy clause under Article VI of the US Constitution and the Reserve Clause of the Tenth Amendment have established the boundary between federal and state powers.

Perceptions of ESL Teachers in Taiwan

Perceptions of ESL Teachers in Taiwan SYNOPSIS This study investigates ESL program teachers experiences, perceptions, attitudes and use of classroom assessment in Taiwan. It is aimed to explore teachers understanding of classroom assessment and their assessment strategies; moreover, to examine whether there are any relationships between teachers experiences, perceptions and use of classroom assessment in private ESL schools in Taiwan. Thirty teachers across three private ESL schools were surveyed using a questionnaire. Among 30 teachers, 4 teachers volunteered to participate in the semi-structured interviews. Data collected from questionnaire and interview provides the researcher with an insight into teachers perceptions, attitudes and use of assessment methods in their classroom. The results show that ESL program teachers were positive about the effectiveness of classroom assessment and formative assessment strategies and had a tendency to use positive feedback to encourage learners to improve their language ability. Most teachers had more than 3 years of teaching experience in teaching English and placed focus on formative assessment in order to meet schools policy, learners needs, and parents demands. There is a need to do further research in such unique educational context, so-called ESL schools in Taiwan, to explore teachers difficulties and needs; moreover, to provide support, such as teachers in-service training, which may lead to benefiting learners. Aim This mixed methods research is designed to investigate ESL private school teachers perceptions, attitude and use of classroom assessment in Taiwan. Two instruments are used in this research, including a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, to explore teachers experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of classroom assessment and their own assessment strategies. Rationale and context This study has been motivated by two factors: first, in 2010, Dr. Rea-Dickins introduced the central characteristics of classroom assessment in Language Testing and Assessment (LTA) course, such as providing learning opportunities for learning or language awareness and nurturing language, which helped me to gain new knowledge about the concept of assessment for learning, in terms of formative assessment. After reading several research studies in relation to classroom-based assessment, I recognize the benefits of assessment, particular with formative assessment, and how teachers can monitor learner progress, inform teaching and support learning through using multiple assessment methods in the classroom. I have the desire to understand whether English teachers use various formative assessment methods, such as teacher and peer feedback, scaffolding and assessment to help learners enhance learning or they mainly focus on grading and recording learning progress. The second factor is related to the fact that we have relatively little knowledge at ESL private school teachers classroom assessment practice and their understanding and attitude toward assessment in Taiwan; moreover, this is an area in which it appears that may have an impact on young learners in learning English. Assessment plays a central and important role both in teaching and learning. Teachers use their own assessment practices, which may have the potential influence on their learners learning, to assess and improve learners language ability. In addition, assessment is synonymous to exams and tests for most teachers, pupils, and parents In Taiwan where traditional paper-and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"pencil assessment remained as the main source informing learners learning (Yip, 2005). Edelenbos and Kubanek-German (2004) also point out the assumption that formal testing is generally referred to the only assessment methods a teacher uses. McNamara (2000) noted that traditional paper-and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"pencil language assessment and performance assessment are two major forms of assessment. In other words, English teachers tend to use the latter to know how their learners use their existing language knowledge related in a given context and to measure learners language ability at the end of a certain period of teaching and learning through the former. As can be seen, the notion of assessment is generally associated with testing and it seems to be under-developed in fields of applied linguistics and general education. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate how English teachers perceive the concept of classroom assessment and what assessment methods they use in their classroom in Taiwan. 1.2.1 English learning environment in Taiwan In 1997, the Ministry of Education (MOE) implemented educational reform and introduced the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculum (NYIC) which has greatly influenced the syllabus and materials design of elementary and high schools in Taiwan. One of the major changes is that pupils, who used to begin learning English in junior high schools (age 11), start to learn English as a Foreign Language in grade 3 (age 9) in elementary schools. English instructions were officially incorporated into elementary school education which brought more business opportunities on English learning and teaching due to the increasing demand for English learning. Such changing situation has also impact the age of learning English in Taiwan, where children now start to learn English at an early age. In addition, according to The Guidelines of English Learning Area in Grade 1-9 Curriculum, the new English syllabus reflects a more communicative orientation and places focus on teacher-learners interactions. It also aims to create an enjoyable learning environment to motivate learners to speak English in English classroom. This appears to suggest that teachers should use more formative assessment methods, in terms of encouraging learners to improve learning and providing more language learning opportunities to them. Furthermore, learners are expected to achieve three goals in Grade 1-9 Curriculum: To equip with basic communicative competence and apply it into real-life situations. To develop learning strategies and be able to learn language effectively and autonomously. To gain knowledge about foreign cultures and be able to respect different cultures. The adjustment in English curriculum is consistent with the current trend in research studies of English as an Additional Language (EAL). Teachers are acting as supporters to scaffold and motivate learners to enhance learning during the whole learning process. In addition, Taiwanese government empowers local schools and teachers to choose teaching materials, such as textbooks, to meet learners needs; moreover, it begins to value pupils individual differences. By doing so, teachers may be able to choose appropriate tasks and activities for their learners and focus on individual learning. As can be seen, teachers are now generally increasing the use of formative assessment strategies to assist learners learning in the classroom in Taiwan 1.2.2 Formative Assessment in language classrooms in Taiwan Generally, English teachers in Taiwan are required to correct all the errors in all students work, including worksheets, textbooks and practice books, due to the pressure from the schools and parents. Such demand from schools and parents is one of major sources of pressure for teachers in Taiwan. As can be seen, teacher feedback, particularly with written feedback, appears to be seen as one major part of teachers routine work. Huang (2006) reports that in Taiwan most English teachers use teacher feedback, as a formative assessment method, on learners grammatical errors in writing. In addition, portfolio assessment is a common assessment tool used by English teachers in Taiwan. Tsai (2004) and Wang (2002) both indicate that teachers use portfolio assessment as an instrument to assess learners achievement rather than improving learning; moreover, Wu (2007) points out that instead of using portfolios assessment in a formative way most teachers use it for summative purposes, in terms of recording each learners achievement. Furthermore, Yip (2005) reports that traditional standardized tests remain the main source of informing and measuring learners learning for most English teachers in Taiwan. As can be seen, the potential of classroom assessment may not have been identified in the language assessment literature and assessment has not reached its full potential in English classrooms in Taiwan. Organization of this research In the next chapter, literature on relevant issues involves definition and functions of classroom assessment and assessment of young learners are reviewed. Methodology of data collection and analysis and a discussion of ethical, validity and reliability issues are introduced in Chapter 3, followed by the presentation of the findings and discussion derived from the results of both questionnaire and interview data. Chapter 5 summaries the research findings and provides limitations and future research. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Introduction This research has explored teachers attitudes, perceptions, and use of assessment in classrooms. In this chapter, limitations of the study will first be discussed, followed by Implications for pedagogy and this study. 5.2 Limitations of the study There are several limitations and problematic aspects in the methodology. First, one limitation in this research is the small size sample (N=30) which may influence the reliability of the result in relation to the correlationship between teachers years of teaching experience and their assessment methods. Size of the sample is vital  for an accurate estimate of the relationship between variables. In addition, without classroom observation, it is difficult to examine teachers day-to-day assessment practice and the whole process of assessment. Observation plays a significant role in confirming teachers interview responses with their actual assessment practice in the classroom. Follow-up interviews are also important in gaining some insight into the behavioural patterns and assessment practice of teachers during the assessment process by providing explanations of their instructional and diagnostic behavior and assessment strategies. The involvement of a larger questionnaire sample size, classroom observation and follow-up interviews may lead to increase reliability of the data and a better and completed understanding of teachers assessment practice in classrooms. 5.3 Implications for pedagogy and teacher training All 5 interviewed teachers indicate that they gain new information about assessment through meeting with teachers from the same grade, for instance, all grade 1 teachers have a meeting to discuss teaching ideas and lesson plans once a week. However, there seems to be an insufficiency level of in-service training activities for meeting the needs of ESL program teachers. Teachers recognize the importance of developing knowledge, competence, capacities and classroom assessment strategies in order to improve teaching and learners learning. This may suggest that there is a need to provide continuing professional development (CPD) and training courses to update new knowledge and information, in relation to planning for teaching, practical approaches and assessment, and more importantly to reflect on their own teaching. 5.3 Implications for further research There is a critical need for more studies to investigate ESL program teachers difficulty in implementing classroom assessment strategies in schools and their diagnostic competence, in terms of their observational and interpretative ability, during classroom teaching. Due to teachers decision-making, assessment cognition network (Yin 2005) and teacher diagnostic competence (Edelenbos and Kubanek-German 2004) are key elements in supporting and assessing learners in classrooms. Moreover, their capacities, knowledge and beliefs may have an impact on how they assess learner performance during the teaching and their diagnostic competence, including the skills they use to guess what learners want to say and the abilities to provide language samples of learners language growth, may influence the amount of language learning opportunities they provide for individual learner during the teaching and learning. Furthermore, further research is needed in exploring teachers representation and implementation of classroom assessment to reveal factors which influence teachers perceptions and interpretation of assessment. In addition, ESL program teachers use of the materials, which involve standardized and teacher made tests and a set of assessment instruments, should also be examined, in terms of the reliability and validity of teacher assessment. Finally, the scope of so-called ESL school teachers classroom assessment perceptions and strategies research should be expanded to include other Asia countries, such as Korea and China. 5.4 Conclusion The focus of this research is to investigate so-called ESL school teachers perceptions, attitudes and use of classroom assessment in Taiwan, an EFL context. A mixed methods approach is used to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, including questionnaire and interview data. This study provides a window to reveal how teachers , who aim to enhance Taiwanese learners English ability through adopting ESL curriculum and teaching materials to teach learners in an EFL context, perceive the construct of classroom assessment, their attitudes toward assessment and use of assessment methods. The results show a strong emphasis on formative, as opposed to summative, assessment practice among 30 teachers across 3 private ESL schools; moreover, the data suggests a need for CPD courses to improve teaching and learning and to prevent teachers from suffering burnout and emotional exhaustion.