Friday, November 12, 2010

Create a mini biography for your blog to make it more personal.


Today's educators are bombarded with information from all sides about the latest and greatest research-based instructional techniques in teaching. With all these crazes about instructional methods and the confusion about which one really works and which one is a dud, no wonder our teachers are so exhausted! As charming and inspirational as all these latest claims and success stories seem to be, educators need to be careful when choosing and implementing a new or old "miracle" instruction method. There are things a teacher needs to do before making any big changes to their curriculum and instruction.

First things first, what supporting evidence is there? Educators need to use their resources wisely and take all initial information with skepticism. Before actually outright backing the "amazing" new research supporting a particular method, whether it be Indirect Instruction, Cooperative learning, etc..., educators must do their research. Talk to colleagues, look the strategy up online, check out education magazines and journals, and any other resource material available. Find out what evidence there is out there to support the research-based strategy. Furthermore, make sure the sources you are calling upon for information are reliable. Reliable sources offer reliable evidence, so seek out unbiased, professional resources. Weigh pros and cons, consistencies and inconsistencies, before making a decision on the strategy at hand.

After thorough research has been done, the next important question is: "How should the research-based program be implemented?" And "What methods does the research show to be most advantageous?" These questions' answers would most probably appear in your research since it was suppose to be incredibly thorough. If not, you'll want to look it up. Many teachers forget this step, and as Grassen states in the article "What Does It Mean To Be a Research-Based Profession" teachers simply aren't properly implementing research-based strategies are thus losing out on potential benefits of the programs. "Cooperative learning was designed to complement teacher-directed instruction by providing further opportunity for students to work together using what they have learned. In most schools today, cooperative learning is used to replace teacher-directed instruction and students are expected to construct their own knowledge working in groups." (N.d). Clearly, teachers need to put a great deal of thought into this step as improper implementation of the program can have catastrophic consequences on learners.

Read up on each research-based method, decide what sorts of lessons would benefit from their use, and which wouldn't. Talk to colleagues about what methods they use in the classroom, why, and how they implement them. Most of all, be aware of comparisons being drawn between different research-based strategies. Look for comparative studies as opposed to non-comparative studies. Comparative studies are more likely to give you accuracy in research. Educators need to look at the whole picture. How is class A using strategy A performing compared to class B using strategy B? How do these same classes perform after trading strategies? How is school A using strategy A performing compared to school B using strategy B? And so on...

Lastly, before implementing any research-based strategy, an educator should ask themselves "Am I biased?" Be sure to be honest with yourself. Try to go into deliberation with an open and unbiased mind. Take into account all reliable sources whether they are in-line with your initial beliefs or opinions on the strategy or not. Remain unbiased until the end. Your openness and willingness to learn can determine the accuracy of your research.

There are a great many research-based programs out there and being implemented everyday. Many of them just don't have the proper supporting research for an educator, especially a new and inexperienced one, to simply throw their weight behind. Don't ask your students to do homework without doing your own. Research your methods before putting them into practice. Find out what's behind them, what's supporting them, and how they should be used to the biggest advantage in the classroom. Without such information your newest instructional plan could be a huge failure. Don't follow fads and trends, look for rock solid evidence and implementation methods before making that big leap of bringing it into your classroom.

Reference:

Grossen, B. (n.d). What Does It Mean To Be a Research-Based Profession? Retrieved March 8, 2007, from University of Oregon, Eugene Website: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu

Northwest Regional Education Laboratory. (2005). Research-Based Strategies. Retrieved March 5, 2007 from, Focus on Effectiveness Web site: http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/




Reference research: research Dr. and home research and travel research and my social page




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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

research paper outline




Researchers are currently testing an artificial blood on unconscious patients and this is creating an ethics debate. The artificial blood is called PolyHeme and is made by Northfield Laboratories. Ethicists have weighed in on both sides of the ethics question.

The artificial blood has been tested in earlier hospital studies and most have shown it to be safe. However, there was one study on PolyHeme that was halted after 10 of 81 patients given it had heart attacks and two died. None of those receiving standard treatment had a heart attack. Those who are concerned about the ethics of the current study have pointed out that no one is being informed of this study.

The research on artificial blood works this way. The community where the testing is to be done is informed by researchers about the study. Those who do not wish to be part of the study in case they have a serious accident can opt to wear a special bracelet. If paramedics see no bracelet, they open a sealed envelope that tells them to give either a standard saline solution or the artificial blood. The artificial blood continues to be given for 12 hours once the patient reaches the hospital. There are several ethics problems posed by the research. In the first place, the community is really not being well informed about the existence of the test on artificial blood.

In 1996 Congress passed a law that allows a bypass of the rules on informed consent when dealing with an emergency, potentially life saving research. Supporters point out that PolyHeme, the artificial blood, could save as many as 100,000 lives a year in the U.S. Dr. Richard Garnellie says we don’t ask permission to commence CPR and that the ethics of testing artificial blood falls in the same area. “We kind of have a social contract to do the right thing already.”

Kelly Fryer-Edwards who studies ethics at the University of Washington Medical Center says that it would be difficult to find people to volunteer for a study of trauma patients because people don’t like to think about being in an accident. However, she feels that the attempt has been made to get informed consent. “You’re putting the responsibility on the person who wants to opt out…you have respected their autonomy by giving them that choice.” She feels that emergency research makes all approaches to research ethics go out the window—protecting subjects, getting informed consent.

Vera Sharaw, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection is opposed to the research on artificial blood on ethical grounds. She says the study “is another one along that slippery slope that’s essentially demolishing your individual right not to become experimental subjects unless we give prior, voluntary, informed, comprehending consent.” She feels that the people who want to be in the study should be the ones wearing the bracelets.

Nancy King of the University of North Carolina has a third ethics concern. She agrees with those who support the experiment to use artificial blood in the field where blood can’t be typed. However she is opposed to its continued use for twelve hours after the patient has reached the hospital where it takes 20 to 30 minutes to type blood. She points out that giving human blood is the current standard of treatment once the patient reaches the hospital.

Several ethicists have pointed out that those most likely to be subjects of the research are from disadvantaged communities.

The University of California at San Diego School of Medicine has come up with the following questions for those interested in the ethics of research into artificial blood in emergency situations:

1. What ethical issues does this case raise for the process of informed consent?

2. Was the waiver of consent that exists for research involving emergency treatment appropriate in this case and if so, why?

3. From the community standpoint, who speaks for the interest of (potential) participants? Should more have been done to ensure their safety and well being and, if so, what?

4. In what circumstances, if any, is it ethically acceptable to draw a disproportionate share of its subjects from a disadvantaged community?

These are all good, difficult questions that should be answered by anyone interested in the ethics of giving artificial blood in emergency situations.







Reference research: finance research and law research and general research and my bookmark page




Discussion in All Topic

Friday, November 5, 2010

research methods for the behavioral sciences


Many people argue that taking embryonic cells, even from a placenta, is morally wrong because it is killing a "child". But, in all honesty we need to ask ourselves: is an embryonic cell really a fetus? It's hard to think so. While life may begin at conception, life at that point is not far enough along in development to consider it a baby.

On the flip side, stem cell research stands to help thousands of people who are suffering from disease and disability. From genetic disorders to spinal injuries, it promises to bring hope into the lives of those who are struggling to get through each day.

We need to acquire some logic here. How is stem cell research going to kill a fetus that does not have a neurological system, a brain, any organs, a circulatory system? How is this a fetus? The stem cell is probably no bigger than a skin cell. Is a skin cell a fetus? No, of course not. It has life, true. But, does that make it a baby? No.

This topic has become a powerful argument over time and probably will continue to cause heated debates in the future. But, can we really deprive thousands of people from a cure to their devastating ailments because we want to play a game with semantics? A fetus without a brain or any other organs is really not a fetus, afterall. And, it is mighty selfish for the world to sit by and let a war of words hinder the health of living, breathing human beings whose only hope for a normal life is in the hands of stem cell research.




Reference research: beauty research and home research and shopping research and recent update




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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

lets begin it with Studyadda....


Blogging for Teens?! by mathowie





Originally designed for blogging, WordPress is a popular and powerful open source software that many online businesses and bloggers use for their websites. It is basically a content management system and that's what it does, manage your site's content. It is written in PHP and backed by a MySQL database. The software is easy to use, is filled with features, is expandable with new modules that are created and it is free to install and use.

WordPress is actually the successor of b2cafelog, which was developed by Michel Valdrighi, who is now a contributing developer for the platform. WordPress came about due to the efforts of Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little to create a fork of b2cafelog in 2003. A friend of Matt Mullenweg, Christine Selleck, was the person who suggested the name.

When Six Apart changed the licensing terms of Movable Type in 2004, many of its users moved over to the WordPress platform. This marked a growth in WordPress's popularity that still continues. In 2007 WordPress won a Packt Open Source CMS Award for the Best Open Source Social Networking Content Management System.

The software is continually updated with new version and most of them are code named after well-known jazz musicians. For instance version 1.2 was named after American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and pianist, Charles Mingus Jr. This version was the first to support Plugins. It contained the same Plugin identification headers being used in the latest versions and is still unchanged.

Some other notable versions named after jazz musicians are 2.0 called Duke after Duke Ellington. This version offered improvements to plugin developers, added image uploading, faster posting, rich editing, better administration tools, and an improved import system. It also completely overhauled the back end. Version 2.1, which corrected security issues, improved content management options, featured a redesigned interface and enhanced editing tools, was named after jazz vocalist, Ella Fitzgerald. On June 10th 2009, version 2.8 code named Baker, name for jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn player and singer, Chet Baker was released. This version offered faster speed, easier to install themes with one click, a redesigned widget interface and it introduced the CodePress editor for syntax highlighting.

One reason WordPress is so popular is the benefits it offers. It is open source so users can add the functionality they need. This means whatever you need you website to do you can add it to the code. There is also great support through developer and user communities as well as the WordPress team itself. It's written in PHP, which is the most popular programming language around. There are hundreds of plugins for this software and more being created all the time so finding something to suit your needs shouldn't be a problem.

The fast installation is a benefit anyone can appreciate no matter what your skill set is. It only takes about five minutes to install the software. The software comes with a large selection design themes, but there is also hundreds of free user created and third party themes out there that you can use. So if you plan to make a number of sites you won't have to worry about using the same theme for some sites and it would be hard to find another site using a theme that you have used since you can customize your themes.

There are many uses for WordPress. The most notable of these is blogging after all it was originally for blogging and thousands of bloggers use it just for that. However, the software can be used to create other types of sites such as a portfolio for your artwork or photography. There are plugins you can use to make directory websites like a business directory where members can submit information about their business, or an article directory where members can post articles on certain subjects.

You can use it to create niche job boards, say one for people looking for widget programming work or e-book writing. You can use WordPress to make your own personal contact manager to keep an information list of your friends and business contacts. You can make review sites, a wiki, an e-commerce store, add caption to photos on your blog or website, publish an online magazine and a lot more. These are just a few of the uses for this software, it seems you are only limited by your imagination.



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