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MyCommuniCo ADVICE PAPER

(A paper advising on effective leadership practices at MyCommuniCo Company)

To be presented to:

The CEO, MyCommuniCo

Name of student

Name of instructor

Course name and code

Name of institution

Date

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper purposes at discussing the Bass theory of transformational leadership, and the Wallace and Halls mode of team working, in relation to their application to a company by name, MyCommuniCo. The theories are explored, and a review of the literature explored to gather views of other researches about the two models of leadership. A total of eleven studies have been reviewed. The results show that adoption of the two theories and applying them at different levels, in the organization, is the best method to promote effective leadership. The paper thus recommends teamworking in the organization and transformational leadership in the teams.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page……………………………………………………………………………………….…1

Executive summary…………………………………………………………….………………….2

Table of contents…………………………………………………………….……………….……3

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….4

Exploration of the theories……………………………………………….………………………..4

Application of the theories…………………………………………………….…………………..6

Evaluation and recommendations………………………………………………………………….7

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………9

References……………………………………………………………………………………..…10

INTRODUCTION

Effective leadership is very essential part of organizational performance in the realization of goals. Application of effective principles of leadership has been found to produce good results for organizations, in the long term and in the short term. However, this is not to say that, application of effective leadership does not experience challenges. It experiences challenges, but the leaders identify the problem and counter it before adverse effects are realized. The case of MyCommuniCo is not different. Having operated for over 10 years, this is a period long enough for a big organization like this to experience challenges. The departmentalization of the organization to almost independent units can also pose a challenge. The lucky side about MyCommuniCo is that the problem has been identified. This points to the possibility of applying the principles of effective leadership; and the theories of leadership, to realize success, in the organization. This paper discusses the application of models of leadership to correct the situation in the organization, MyCommuniCo. The paper is divided into sections to the Bass theory of transformational leadership, as well as, the Wallace and Hall’s leadership model in teamworking. The essay will compare these theories, and critically analyze their application and effectiveness in the situation like the one being experienced by MyCommuniCo. The paper will finally make recommendations for leadership improvements based on these theories. The following section is aimed at exploring the two theories, as well as, supporting them from various other studies.

EXPLORATION OF THE BASS THEORY OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP; AND THE WALLACE AND HALL’S MODEL OF LEADERSHIP IN TEAMWORKING.

For a deeper understanding of these two models of leadership, they are introduced separately, and then discussed together. The model of leadership through teamwork proposed by Wallace and Halls focused on distribution of leadership and shared responsibility (Wallace and Hall 1994 P. 191). The two authors of the model advocate for the application of the school of thought on teams in the leadership and management in the organization. The work of Igen and Kozlowski (2006), and the work of Gronn (2002) support the school of thought on teamwork leadership, in organizations. In his support and recommendation of the shared leadership, as proposed by Wallace and Halls, Gronn (2002), advocates for distribution of the power, and authority into units. These units are the ones that the authors of the original model, Wallace and Hall called teams. Leadership through units can be practiced through a departmentalization, like the case of MyCommuniCo. The model advocates for devolution of authority to make sure that the units, or departments, enjoy a healthy autonomy in order to be productive. However, through a productive culture of organizational behavior of check-ups and controls, as proposed by Judge and Robbins (2011), the units should be checked and controlled, so that the autonomy and independence do not become unhealthy. The practice of excess autonomy and independence in an organization, like in the case of MyCommuniCo, can lead to underperformance, resulting to poor realization of organizational goals.

On his part Bass (1998), on his theory of transformational leadership, advocates for a style of leadership that is based on influencing people. He advocates a method of transforming the organization, through inspiring the employees and the juniors, to sing the song of the management at whatever costs. The theory focuses and directs concern to the degree into which a manager, or a leader, influences people in an organization. Bass outlines the qualities of a leader that will enable them influence employees as honesty, trust, and reliability. These, according to Bass, attract loyalty and obedience from the workers. The loyal and obedient workers are then highly likely to be influenced by the management or the leadership. Bass argues that the leader can only influence the followers, if only they possess these characteristics. The leader in this case is the role model. In supporting his model, Bass proposed the aspects that a leader who aims at influencing followers should consider. Firstly, consideration of individual needs and aspirations is very effective in influencing people. The argument of the model is that the leader should be quick to identify the needs of the specific members of their organization or teams, and act quickly to address them. In this case, the leader needs to act as both a facilitator and a mentor.

The second aspect proposed by Bass (1998); and Bass and Riggio (2006), and Bass and Ruth (2008), is stimulating and challenging the members intellectually, towards discovery and innovation, in solving of organizational challenges. This aspect aims at ensuring that, all the members are involved in decision making. Another way of looking at the aspect, is whereby a leader seeks the opinions and suggestions of group members, and challenges the members to make a move in implementing them. This empowers the members and gives the morale needed to cooperate with the management. At such a level, it is easy for the leadership to influence the followers.

The third aspect of transformational leadership proposed by Bass (1998) is providing a vision to the organization, team or group. Research shows that a leadership that is visionary, impacts a group to a large extent (Judge & Robbins, 2011). Providing a vision for the group, is giving the group purpose and a reason to work on the task they are supposed to work on. A group that knows the reason for carrying out a particular task is likely to perform better than one that has no vision.

The last aspect given by Bass concerning transformational leadership is a leader who is fully fledged to the course of change and transformation. A leader, who has the true sense of what the transformation they are preaching, means. Such a leader will practice the principles of honesty while working with their followers. The leader will also be concerned about the personal needs of the individuals, and not only the interests of the organization (Gronn 2002).

A degree of criticism is applicable in the two models of leadership discussed in this paper. For example, the model of shared leadership by Wallace and Halls (1994), has been widely applied and emphasized in the school setting. However, a research done by Louise et al. (2006) on learning communities, suggests that, the success of learners depend on the efforts of individual teachers and not group work. The researchers argue that building the capacity of individual learners is what matters, and not grouping the students or the teachers. These results are not in agreement with the propositions of Wallace and Hall. In spite of this, the results cannot discredit the contribution of teamwork in promoting effective leadership. The study by Igen and Kozlowski (2006), recommend highly, the application of teamwork in enhancing organizational performance. According to the authors, teamwork enhances encouragement of group members and promotes innovation in the group. It sets an environment where members of the group can empower one another, thus promoting organizational performance.

On the part or transformational leadership, critics have argued that there is a problem with the test effect, in the multifactor test questionnaire. The argument is that, the tests that are used to justify the theory are deficient to a greater extent, and cannot tell to what degree transformation is needed in a particular situation. Another problem with the theory is failure to address the extent to which a leader of a multinational organization can reach all the employees in order to empower and motivate them. The question is well applicable in a big organization like MycommuniCo. The morality of the values that the leaders should influence the followers with, is also a question of discussion. Muenjohn (n.d) argues that, sometimes, or in some scenarios, it may not be possible to determine which values are good to emulate, or to teach others. An example is a situation where religious values contradict. A particular religion may regard a value as being ethical, while it is considered unethical by another religion. Cultural values also contradict. It can be, therefore, pose some difficulty applying transformational theory in a global organization. Having discussed these theories and reviewed some literature supporting them, the following section looks at how they can be applied in the case of MyCommuniCo.

APPLICATION OF THE THEORIES

The situation of MyCommunico is manageable and can be corrected to achieve the desired organizational goals. The proposition mad by Bass (1998), and Wallace and Hall (1994), can be combined and applied simultaneously to achieve the desired organizational performance. The combination of the two models will involve the application of transformational leadership into small groups. The shared leadership style proposed by Wallace and Hall, for example, can do very well considering the fact that an individual cannot possess all the skills of leadership. Distributing this leadership will see many talents combined to produce the best results. In his support of the teamwork leadership theory, Kocolowski (2010) presupposes that, the available literature documenting research findings on teamwork, show effectiveness in its application, in the sectors of education and health. The sectors have been known for a long time to apply the theory of teamworking, and have benefited greatly while tapping the benefits of shared leadership. The organizations that have applied the concept of teamwork leadership have also attempted to apply transformational leadership in their teams.

The departmentalization of MyCommuniCo places it at a very good position to apply the two proposed models of leadership in its realization of the set goals. The departments need to act as teams. When they act as teams, unity will be realized in each department. The model of team bonding and strengthening proposed by Igen and Kozlowski (2006) should be applied to make the teams, in this case departments, strong. Igen and Kozlowski propose a strong support and role-modelling of the team by the organizational leadership, and the leadership of the team. In essence, the proposition involves the practice of both theories to realize effective leadership.

The vastness of an organization like MyCommuniCo can pose a challenge in applying the theory proposed by Bass and Riggio (2006). This is where team leadership comes into play. However, after dividing the organization into teams, transformational leadership theory can be incorporated into the teams to make them productive and effective. Kocolowski (2010) brings out this idea very well. He argues that an individual cannot save a whole company, regardless of their level of gifting and talent. He presupposes that many organizations have had to learn the hard way, that shared leadership is the style of the day, in leadership. Judge and Robbins (2011) share the same sentiments. It might be that the same is happening to MyCommuniCo. To save this organization from a fall with a thud, transformational leadership has to be applied in teams. Many chief executives have had it wrong in applying one theory of leadership in organizational management (Kocolowski 2010). It has not worked. With these propositions, it seems the best way for MyCommuniCo to go, is by empowering the departments through the propositions of Bass (1998) as backed by Kocolowski (2010).

Another reason why team leadership is very recommendable is because it has existed since the old times, and has been found to yield results (Kocolowski 2010). This author gives an example of the republic of Rome, which used shared leadership for four successive centuries with a lot of success. The success of the leadership made it to be adopted to the higher ranks in the governance, up to the one of the Consul. However, this practice did not inspire many business leaders. In the world over, many businesses have existed reflecting the policies of the executive officer. Because of a culture of lack of consultations, when this member leaves the organization, it deteriorates. To prevent the same from befalling MyCommuniCo, it is to the interest of all the employees, customers and stakeholders that the organization adopts shared leadership in order to run effectively.

The problem of coordination cited in the case of MyCommuniCo, should not be blamed on departmentalization. Rather, the model of Wallace and Hall of teamwork leadership should be adopted in full measure, so that training of teams can be implemented to make the teams effective. According to Serfaty and Entin (2013), the adoption of organizational management using teams should be accompanied by training of the teams. The authors did a research on coordination of teams and found out that performance in an organization is greatly improved by adaptation training. The process of adaptation training according to the authors, entail the use of mental models which have been found to improve performance. The authors also recommend that, when team training is employed in teams, there is a likelihood of all employees holding onto common goals, thus improving organizational performance. Having looked at how these theories can be applied, the following section evaluates the recommendations of applying the styles in MyCommuniCo.

EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THE TWO THEORIES

With the study and research that was made by Wallace and Hall about small management teams (Wallace & Hall 1994 P. 192), this model is highly recommended for implementation in MyCommuniCo. The authors did a research for over one year to evaluate the effectiveness of six small management teams. The prolonged period of the study allowed the authors to confirm that their propositions are true to their recommendations. The author’s results showed that the small teams operated very smoothly and the members even showed evidence of having enjoyed the experience of working in the teams. Going by this model, a teamwork style can be adopted in MyCommuniCo and employ the recommendations provided by the model of Wallace and Hall (1994) to make the teams effective. The authors recommend making sure that all the members in the small teams are aware of their individual responsibilities. At the same time, the small team should be aware of its role in the entire organization. This can be very well applicable in the department system, which is already in place at MyCommuniCo. To make sure that these departments stop unhealthy competition among themselves, the recommendations of this theory can be applied. For example, ground rule for consultations between the departments need to be laid out. Communication from the head office should be specific to a particular department. Wallace and Hall recommend that the members should be encouraged and role-modelled to keep the organization’s goals ahead of personal aspirations.

Looking at the transformational model of Bass (1998), it is also recommendable that the model be incorporated, but that it is implemented in the small teams. The model can work well in stages in the organization. This is evident in that, even the authors of teamwork model admit that “SMTs are not simply means to an end” (Wallace and Hall 1994 P. 194). There proposition is that, after sharing the leadership between the departments, the management has the role of applying inspirational principles to the teams, to keep the team spirit alive. Wallace and Hall agree that, in their study, members acknowledged inspiration and encouragements from their colleagues, and the team leaders. This is very consistent with the recommendation of the transformational leadership model proposed by Bass. In MycommuniCo, this can work very well by dividing work in specialized teams as departments, as per Wallace and Halls model; and inspiring the teams through the transformational leadership model, as proposed by Bass. The transformational style should be implemented from the top. The chief executive officer should influence the first line managers, who in turn influence their subordinates, until energy and ambition is instilled in the small teams. By adopting these two styles of leadership in this manner, effectiveness is going to be regained in MyCommuniCo.

The model of teamwork leadership by Wallace and Hall has been widely recommended. The authors cite Janis (1972) and Bottery (1992) in their work (1994) as a support of their theory. Judge and Robbins (2011) and Kocolowski (2010), as well as Igen and Kozlowski (2006) are other researchers who agree with this model. In my first employment before I joined this company, I was working in a fortune 500 company, which greatly relied on team leadership for success. On the other hand, the teams in the company relied too much with transformational leadership style. Adopting only one of these models will not work best for MyCommuniCo because it is a very big company. I recommend the adoption of the two models.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, after evaluating the two theories and considering the case of MyCommuniCo, I recommend the adoption of the two models to achieve effective leadership in the company. However, the implementation should take the best aspects form each of the models. The idea of teams will work very well because MyCommuniCo is a very big organization. The departments are already in existence, but there is already a leadership lapse. This shows that there is something that needs to be done in the teams (departments). Influencing the leaders of the teams, who will in turn influence the team members, is what is needed. This will be in line with application of transformational style of leadership in the teams. The case states that MyCommuniCo has more than 500 employees. A single person cannot succeed in influencing all these people. Therefore, work of leadership has to be shared, but influencing has to happen inside the teams. The aspects of leadership that I recommend that MyCommuniCo should adopt include the following: The departments should still remain. Ground rules for consultation should be laid in order to prevent unhealthy competition, and to promote productive consultation. Departmental leaders should be trained on how to make the teams effective, as well as how to influence their team members and inspire them with organizational goals. An organizational culture that promotes organizational values, should be emphasized, initiated and maintained. The top leadership should provide vision and values in the organization to promote following of a common goal by the employees. In line with the propositions of the two models, MyCommuniCo stands a very good chance to improve, if these recommendations are followed. They have been tested and proven right, and with the situation at hand in this organization, I strongly recommend application of teamworking in the organization, as well as transformational leadership in the level of the groups.

REFERENCES

Bass, B. 1998. Transformational leadership: Military, industry and the educational impact. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

Bass, M.B. & Riggio, E.R. 2006. Transformational leadership (2nd ed). London, UK: Taylor and Francis.

Bass, M.B. & Ruth, B. 2008. The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research and managerial applications. New York, NY: Free Press.

Gronn, P. 2002. ‘Distributed leadership as a unit of analysis’. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol 13, no. 4 pp 423-451

Igen, R.D. & Kozlowski, W.J. (2006). ‘Enhancing the effectiveness of work groups and teams’. Association for Psychological Science, 7 (3): 77-124

Judge, T. A. & Robbins, S. P. 2011.  Organizational behavior (14th Edition).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Kocolowski, D.M. 2010. Shared leadership: Is it time for a change? Emerging Leadership Journeys, Vol 3, no. 1 pp 22-32.

Louise, S., Ray, B., Agnes, M., Mike, W. & Sally, T. 2006. Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, Vol 7, no. 6 pp 221-258.

Muenjohn, N. n.d. ‘The ethical dimension in transformational leadership.’ Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, Vol 3, no. 3 pp 21-35

Wallace, M. & Hall, V. 1994. Inside the SMT: Teamwork in secondary school management. London: Paul Chapman.

Wallace, M. 2001. ‘Sharing leadership of schools through teamwork’: Educational management and administration, Vol 29, no. 2: pp 153.

Literature Review on Leadership

Topic Focus

An examination of leadership is linked with many implicit and explicit aspects where researchers correlate it with the organizational performance. Numerous studies on the organization skills point organizational leadership as a component for creating harmony and maintaining the organizational culture. Similarly, the literature of leadership indicates that the capacity to comprehend and wok within a culture is a mandatory to an effective leadership.

Critical study has been conducted in many organizations, devoted to understand the relationship between the leadership and culture. This is not surprising incidence given the leaders roles in establishing, delegating and implementing leadership strategies within their organizations. This paper creates an empirical study of what it takes an organization to develop and maintain its performance by sustaining good leadership qualities among all the stakeholders (Burnes, 2000).

The early research on leadership focused on identifying the character traits, which categorizes different levels of leaderships. From these studies, leadership is highlighted as the backbone for all companies and organizations. Leaders acts as the catalyst for improving the morale of works, thus helping in strengthening the organization in moving forward. This study notes that developing leaders to their full capacity is a great challenge. Consequently, the research tries to analyze different theories and leadership approaches that provide light on the best ways of smoothening and boosting the operational strategies in an organization. These approaches are effective to cope with the demographic in substituting the baby-boomer leaders with the young and innovative strategists (Fulmer, 1999).

In summary, the study underlines communication as an effective tool for effective leadership. Moreover, effective management of people is developed through compassion and emotional intelligence. Good leadership is not about issuing instructions to the junior members but rather developing more evolving plans to incorporate every stakeholder. Building rapport is an efficient means of connecting with other people in the organizations. Still, good leadership entails building a working environment based on integrity, honesty, trust and unity. These qualities facilitate the organization to remain competent in production, hence flourishing both economically and financially.

Interviews as an assessment Tool

One of the most used methods of assessing job applicants in an organization or a company is employment interviews. Researchers are working on different studies in order to determine the validity and reliability of using interviews in an occasion of evaluating the quality, knowledge and reliability of workers in an organization. It has occurred that structured interviews are important in sense that they facilitate limiting the degree of discretion that an interviewer would add on the interviewee. The principles of evaluating a response, behavioral simulations, observation and eliciting tendencies in an individual increases the overall interviewers agreement on a given matter.

The structure and design of an interview may vary depending on the constraints of the question or the matter rose in the forum. Essentially, interviews with a low degree of design creates no limitation on the questions asked, thus allowing in-depth evaluation of the interviewee on the question at hand. In addition, interviews enable the panel to conduct a global evaluation of the applicant’s responses.

Interviews with complex structures involve asking respondents exact set of predefined questions. The suitability and competency of the respondent is determined by their benchmark proficiency. Alternatively, the qualification in an interview is also based on individual’s understanding, creativity and confidence in responding to the posed questions. Notably, interviews with high degree of structure will show high degrees of validity, sense, lowered adverse impacts and a balanced agreement and reliability rater (Slater, 1995).

Besides, interviews also vary depending on levels of competency being computed. For instance, employment interviews may center on past, present or even a future behavior, opinion, queries, attitude or beliefs of the applicants. The collected information may cover behavior portrayed during the interview, job experience, training, field of study, and career aspirations. Studies indicate interview questions on a certain job descriptions are synthesized through a job analysis. When properly carried out, the assessment procedure indicates higher degrees of rater reliability and agreement, and high levels of validity.

The widely used techniques of creating job related questions is achieved either by situational or behavioral analysis of the interview. In a situational interview session, the applicants are required to give an account of what they would achieve when given an opportunity to work in the organization. In addition, the panel expects the applicants to describe how they would behave in order to gain full achievements for the organization. For example, assume a situational question, “the organization director has delegated some responsibilities to you and other colleagues. while still at work, you realize that coworkers are goofing off , hence you are left with much of the work to do. Unfortunately, you realize that you are working behind time, and deadline will reach without having completed the task. How would you narrate that to your boss?” this type of interview requires the applicant to answer on this situation as if they were real.

Similarly, the panel may require the applicants to describe how they react to a financial, leadership or economic dilemma if either condition may affect the organization. Such types of questions are linear to the principle of behavioral consistency. Notably, different types of interviews are recommended to varying questions depending on job-incidents. Moreover, there are several factors that play part in determining the form of interview to adhere. These considerations include validity, face validity, subgroup difference, interview cost, administration values and utility.

Behavioral consistency theory suggests that the best form of leadership is revealed by situational variables and that there is no leadership style that resonates well with given workplace situations. Effective leadership style appreciates identification of the type of the task, the size of the organization, the qualification of the members and the production techniques endorsed in the working environment. For instance, the leadership skills entitled in the bank is very different from those entitled for a Motor Industry. Furthermore, there would be eminent distinction between the leadership styles that would be employed by the corporate security compared to the leadership style in the parliament. This means that appropriate evaluation is required in structuring interview questions with that meet criteria of a given job (Slater, 1995).

Good leadership pertains pluralistic qualities that involve group discussions in decision-making. Apparently, group discussions value the opinions of others, thus eliminating the feeling of dishonor and disrespect. Under this theory, the model of leadership adopted determines the sustainability of the organization and subsequent success of its leaders. One of the main reasons why many CEOs fail before finishing their term is poor leadership skills. Newly recruited leaders should understand the culture of the organization, thus making endeavors of improving different means of production. Depending on the stage of leadership, competent leaders should develop insight to the staff to implement good working conditions. Further, all the sectors of the company or the organization should possess adequate human power, skills and necessary tools to maintain the good performance of the organization.

Moreover, interviews are all about assessing applicants’ motives, nourishing their needs, and valuing their recommendations. This is system of evaluation is useful in developing a workable transformational leadership in an organization. Transformational leaders makes their organizational successful by valuing its members. Their mode of leadership is founded on idealized influence, rousing motivation, rational stimulation and personal considerations. Idealized influence refers to managers who possess special traits to their associates. Managers with exemplary leadership skills are can be trusted and respected by other staff in decision-making for the company. Inspirational leaders motivate their employees to remain committed to the vision of the company. In additional, these leaders have ability to encourage and promote teamwork in increasing organizational revenues and market grounds. Rational stimulation refers to leaders who promote innovation and creativity through counteracting the norms and cultures of the organization (Fulmer, 1999).

Kotter (1990) identifies four I’s which are essential in realizing the effectiveness of the transformation leadership. They are illustrated in the flow chart below:

Idealized influence

Individualized consideration

Inspirational motivation

Intellectual stimulation

In transformation theory, the leaders should possess the following qualities:

Empowering members to give the organization the best results

Create the insight in their manner of handling responsibilities

Develop the spirit of unity within the organization

Aggressiveness in meeting the organizational goals

Help the organization to remain at par in the production line

Analysis interviews features for a realistic leadership

Leadership traits focused in this theory are:

Vision

People consider this aspect in defining great leaders in both business and non-business organization. An interview for visionary leaders should be based on quality and in-depth knowledge of the organization goals within a given duration. Such interview will determines where the company is heading and provides big picture pertaining developing the industry before anyone else do it. Besides, vision should be conveyed to all members of an organization, including the junior staff, so that they feel recognized and acceptable in the organization. This is not attained through formalizing the organizational goals, conducts and behaviors, but through passing inspirational information to the members. The ability to translate and cascade vision into people’s every day job is viewed as a critical skill.

However, this theory faces the challenge of categorizing these leadership qualities in the evolving and collective manner..

Trust and communication

People develop trust in their leaders when they realize that they conforms themselves in an honesty and empathetic manner. This forms the ground for good relationship between the leaders and the followers. Incase such cordial grounds were missing; it would be difficult for carry the task of leadership. Indeed, it is hard to accommodate people for a given task when they do not trust you. In their studies, scholars argue that person’s overall achievement in any leadership capacity is based on people’s trust upon the individual. Therefore, trust should remain as continuous nourishment without forcing it.

Communication is the most critical leadership skill. The potential to listen, read the body language, conduct a study, and provide reports and continuous exchange of information between the leaders and the followers helps to build trust in the organization. Moreover, the ability to apply different communication techniques in order to pass the intended message paves way for healthy relationship across all the classes of workers. Providing the employees with the relevant information enables them to participate actively towards realizing the companies’ goals (Burnes, 2000).

Emotional intelligence and sympathetic

Good leaders possess this important quality in facilitating attaining the organizational goals. Leaders with these characters put their own needs behind those of their people. The ability to listen to the needs of others, understanding them, and developing a rapport is an efficient way of connecting with the employer. Empathy, respect, and acknowledging individuals’ uniqueness provides reliable grounds for empowering the working environment.

Integrity

Inspirational leaders possess tremendous levels of honesty and integrity, thus creating confidence towards the rest employers. Subsequently, they are focused as the organizational role models. Other member in the organization strives to land into their working levels. These forms of management endeavors are essential in improving the performance of the company. Leaders with a strong sense of humor, integrity and humility have an inner drive in doing what is right because they are governed by their own principles, but not expecting any form of reward (Slater, 1995).

Apparently, bad debts, which results from poor management and corruption, are avoided. When the culture of honesty and integrity in cultivated in an organization, unnecessary sacking of the employees is minimized. Theft and employees’ harassment are also eliminated. Therefore, leaders hold the core responsibility in enhancing efficient and smooth running of an organization.

Conclusion

Successful organization requires strong leaders who have the ability to control all employees in working towards a common goal. The modern world of business requires efficient and reliable working habits coupled with appropriate responsiveness to changes. Therefore, everyone has a role in ensuring that company’s goals are attained within the threshold of unity, harmony and creativity.

Good leaders should recognize the role of modern technology in running different operations within their premises. Actually, technology is core tool in research work, communication and meeting other organizational dynamics. Building coherent communication systems ensures that the data is shared efficiently, and the feedback obtained within a short time (Kotter, 1990).

Effective leadership is stemmed on three personal skills. These are technical, human, and theoretical skills. These skills have varying significance across the leadership pillars. At the lower levels, both technical and human skills are crucial for an organization. In the middle organizations, the three skills are equally essential. Conversely, high management employs theoretical and technical aspects in effecting good governance in the organizations.

Finally, leadership skills determine the amplitude and degree of competence of different companies. Therefore, good leadership should concentrate on improving the qualities of the stakeholders in order to maintain productivity.

References

Burnes. (2000). Managing Change, Prentice Hall, 3rd edn.

Fulmer. (1999). Leadership: lessons from the best, Training and Development; Retrieved on 28,

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HYPERLINK “http://gallup.com” http://gallup.com.

Kotter, J. (1990). What Leaders Really Do, Harvard Business Review; May–June, p.103.

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HYPERLINK “http://nwlink.com/donclark/leader” http://nwlink.com/donclark/leader

Mumford. (2000). Leadership skills: Conclusions and future directions. Leadership Quarterly.

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HYPERLINK “http://mapnp.org/library/ldrship/ldrship.htm” http://mapnp.org/library/ldrship/ldrship.htm

Slater, S. (1995). Issues in Conducting Marketing Strategy Research. Journal of Strategic

Marketing, 3(4): 257–70.

Mathematics

Students Name

Institution of Affiliation

MAE 4152

Date

In the past, classes used to be taught using heavy textbooks, pencils, notebooks and chalkboards. However, over the past few years, the trend has slowly been changing, and the schools have begun to adopt a technological change to have effective learning in their classes. New teaching tools such as the whiteboards, projectors and the computer educational games have been introduced into the learning world. The new technological advancements do not only assist the students in learning better but as well facilitates the students to adapt to the fast-paced technological environment to which they are growing up in it.

There are so many uses that can be generated from the computer that include: word processing, internet, educational games and as well can be used for musical development. In the setting to which every student is entitled to a computer or to which two or three happen to be sharing a computer, the students are more actively engaged and prompted to think, than in a lecture setting where they may happen to tune the lecturer out. Lecture attendance is so boring that majority of the students find themselves being out of class as they are not actively engaged during the learning process.

In a computer set class, the role of the teacher changes such that the teacher is no longer the center of attention but more of a facilitator to which is deeply involved in asking individual students about their choices while engaging them in deeper conversations on the subject to which on this case is mathematics. In the same setting, the students have also been proven to assist their peers and ask for help more often, thus leading to more interaction as well as more depth in learning. Through this, the students are capable understanding mathematics better as it is more practical than theoretical. The students feel an enhanced sense of self-esteem and confidence in the mastery of the necessary tools for success and have the potential of doing better than their parents. The computers allow the student s to learn by doing rather than trying to absorb the lines of information from the mathematics textbooks. They are also provided with an opportunity to learn through trial and error to which allows them to see how things work rather than forcing them to trust what the teachers say.

The computer games are among the best interaction programs, especially in mathematics. The computer games are deemed to improve the thinking ability of a student because they are made to face challenging episodes during the gaming that enhances thinking and creativity. Solving puzzles in the mathematical context help the student unravel the hidden tricks to which opens up their mind. They allow the students to make proper decisions and instant results are obtained thus making it able to evaluate the students instantly. It is not comparable with the traditional aspect to which the students could be offered homework and then submit the assignment the next day, in the present times, online postings are provided to where the student happens to solve the mathematical problems and then submit their work to where it is marked and graded without the influence of the teacher. The online assignments assist the student to save time as in the cases to which they encounter a problem they may communicate with the respective teacher online without unnecessary meetings. The online interaction between the student and the software programs to which consists the games allow the students to interact with the relevant material online and learn without any realization that they are learning.

Word processing, as well as the excel spreadsheets, are part of the online or the technological aspect of learning. The students, instead of using graph books to draw their curves as well as solving other related mathematical problems, the work has been more simplified making it easy for the students to have a mastery to the computer gaining knowledge on both the word and excel parts. The excel spreadsheets contain mathematical formulae that are accessible online and any other formulae that is relevant to the class is available, and therefore there is no need to carry along with books for reference. The lack of paperwork greatly motivates the students instilling the willingness to write and work because the computer feels less like work. It is unfortunate that most of us have no better handwriting, but this doesn’t constitute the technological learning as all the writings are made uniform and legible thus easy to read and digest the content. The writing tools change how the students think about the contents of a sentence and thus may decide to bold, italicize or any other emphasis tool to indicate creativity as well as enhance a sentence manipulating it for a better understanding.

The teaching websites that are available on the internet for the teachers contains broader messages, sums and other mathematical problems to which the teachers may refer to as guides and also act as a message board to where the student and the teacher may engage in conversations and work out on the difficult topics. The teachers can post materials that either goes with the lesson or more depth to sort clarification so that the students who are interested can be able to learn more about the particular topic in mathematics.

Digital textbooks can also be found on the internet and are for interactive reading that gets supplemented by games and quizzes that get the students actively involved in their reading. There are also the voice programs that read the material to the student enabling the student grasp the pronunciations of new and the difficult words and problems.

Videos enhance better understanding by the learners as they can see and hear the information at the same time. The videos allow for the things to be said directly with intent instead of the teacher trying to explain on a point over and over again. The videos are usually characterized by a detailed and organized explanation of the topics to which possess written outlines as well as the step by step instructions guiding the student in the best way to which they can understand easily. Music is an integral part of learning that cannot be omitted in digital learning, music often acts to sooth and as well introduce a topic. The music allows the students to be relieved off their tension creating a relaxed mood for learning. Music can also be presented among the difficult subjects for memorizing making it less intimidating for the students and change of perceptions on the topic. Furthermore, video conferencing can be integrated into mathematical learning where the students at different locations may be invited to interact in a video session and help in working out some problems to which the students may find challenging.

In my activity of choice, the students will use the Classroom Response System. The teacher poses multiple questions on a certain topic on mathematics to the students through a computer projector and each of the students is expected to submit an answer to the particular question using a handle held transmitter or a clicker that beams the radio frequency to the receiver that happens to be attached to the teacher’s computer. The software on the teachers computer collects the answers from the student and produce a bar chart that show how many of the students chose each of the choices and in response, the teacher makes on the fly instructional choices in response to the bar chart such as leading the students into a discussion onto which of the answer is right and how to go about it.

Matrix of Domination

Student’s Name

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An effort to describe issues relating to dominance and oppression that deal with class, ethnicity, sex, religion, nationality, sexual preference, and/or age through the use of a sociological pattern known as the Matrix of Domination/Oppression (Patricia Hill Collins 1989). She points out that there are several ways in which one could be subjected to dominance or tyranny in her work. In this essay, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational attainment are discussed. Different forms of structured inequality have been witnessed particularly in the pandemic period where the less fortunate seems to bear the brunt of the coronavirus. There are significant differences across income classes in terms of both the threat posed by the pandemic, which is attributable to pre-existing health conditions, and the degree to which people respond to the possibility of getting infected. According to Bristow and Gilland (2020: 72), the major issue caused by the outbreak will emerge to be one of class instead of one of generational identity. It also follows that lower income groups are unable to receive the same health benefits as those accorded to the upper income classes, notable in the number of deaths within the lower income group communities.

Among the four elements of society, this particular issue belongs to the structural and hegemonic elements of the Matrix of Domination. In terms of the structural element, the issue of classism pertains to how different economic facets impact people of different classes. A number of reasons explain why this domain contributes to structural inequality. When it comes to determining which persons benefit and which persons suffer as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, class plays a significant role. Hegemony is a system of thought developed by dominant groups that justify unequal practices. Collins sees this aspect as recurrent with the ability to uphold the system over time. As a result, culture, consciousness, and ideology cause a normalization of beliefs that are otherwise harmful to society. Even lower groups such as subordinates are likely to endorse such ideas. These inequities are especially visible in the health sector as highlighted by the pandemic, where gaps between affluent and poor have grown even more severe. Lower income groups are less likely to get help in the health and education sectors.

In terms of the aforementioned structural inequality relating to health and education issues, the hegemonic domain of power points to the way the two main pillars of society (in this case healthcare institutions and education centers) perpetuates the ideologies and cultures of segregation on the basis of income earning and subordination. Schools and hospitals shape the consciousness of people through manipulative images, ideas, and symbols for the various services offered. During this epidemic, the globe has observed rising differences between private institutions (hospitals and schools) that are doing everything they can to defend their costly prices by utilizing cutting-edge technologies both in the delivery of education or health services. For example, the use of technology to provide customized assistance to patients and students is a luxury that lower income groups in the society are unable to afford. There is a notable difference between what private institutions in the health and education sectors are able to offer to the higher income earners compared to the lower income groups.

There is a significantly large number of people who are unable to get access to the required medical attention as well as keeping students in schools. For example, schools closing in the U. S., where the inequality gap that exist between the haves and the have nots is on the basis of academic achievement is even wider than in the United Kingdom, will almost certainly have even more severe repercussions than in the United Kingdom. The same applies for the health sector where these differences are even larger. In addition, the prevailing parental fears that their children will contract the viral infection will almost certainly have even more severe consequences. It is also anticipated that the middle-class departure from government-sponsored educational institutions would have grave downstream implications. Moreover, there is currently evidence to suggest that minority populations, particularly Hispanic and Black communities, are facing the burden of the disease’s effects.

References

Bristow, J., & Gilland, E. (2020). The Corona Generation: Coming of Age in A Crisis. John

Hunt Publishing.

Collins, P. H. (1989). The social construction of black feminist thought. Signs: Journal of

women in culture and society, 14(4), 745-773.

Literature review

Marital satisfaction defined

Extant literature has been dedicated to the definition of the concept of marital satisfaction. The work of Aldous (1996) noted that marital satisfaction is a concept that defines how couples consider or ‘feel’ about one another. Fincham and Bradbury (1987), on the other hand believe that marital satisfaction is an affective measure of the level of marital quality.The work of Spanier and Cole subsequently defined the concept of marital satisfaction as a rather subjective assessment on how an individual feels about their spouse, marriage or marital relationship. These definitions therefore clearly indicate that marital satisfaction is a purely subjective concept that depends on how a given marriage meets the expectations of a concerned partner (L.Scanzoni & J. Scanzoni, 1976).

Factors that determine marital satisfaction

Even though there is a large number of literature on marital satisfaction among citizens of the world, there is a limited number of research papers on this issue among Trinidanians.This limited number of work could be indicative of the fact that Trinidadians tend to have a reduced level of marital satisfaction that other nation like the United States. Generally speaking though, research on the level and nature of marital satisfaction among Trinidadians and Caribbean families is almost nonexistent (Bryant et al,2010). For example, most literature and major volumes on lack Caribbean families life are noted to lack the marriage term in the index ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998711/” l “R19” Foner, 2001; HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998711/” l “R4” Bashi, 2007). There is a general a limited number of studies that are dedicated to marriage life in Caribbean nations. For example, Barbados has been noted to have very low marriage rates with the figures collected between 1891 to 1994 indicating that the marriage rate has been around 5.4 for every 1,0000 adults (Barrow, 2001). In Trinidad and Tobago, common law unions are preferred over formal marriages (Barrows,2001).

The work of Barrow (1996) highlighted that most studies on Caribbean families have historically concluded that marriage is an institution that is more popular among the middle class, an assertion that has since been rubbished by more recent studies.For example, the work of Smith (1988), which was a quantitative study of Jamaican and Guyanese family life found that marriage is never reserve of the middle class. He work indicated that among the Jamaican’s, there exists a strong gender differentiation in their work-family task differentiation with both the middle-class and lower-class Jamaican men being less likely than their male counterparts in the USA to engage in certain responsibilities like child care.

Extant literature on the Caribbean marriages indicates that a discussion of marriage behaviors and attitudes must include a consideration of the cultural, economic as well as historical aspects of marriages ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998711/” l “R53” Vickerman, 2001).

The work of Bradbury, Fincham, and Beach (2000) noted that that there are several determinants of marital satisfaction.They noted that these determinants include (1) cognitive function of the individual, like their attribution style of explaining the negative spouse behavior as well as other events between them; (2) affective function of the individual; (c) physiological concomitants of their spousal interactions (3) patterns in behavior of the individual such as withdrawn and/ or demand patterns; (4) violence that exists between the spouses; (5) sociodemographic factors, like age, number of children, length of marriage and socioeconomic status (6) life stressor as well as transition in life; (7) macrocontext, like the level of neighborhood, the national economic as well as regions where the couples live in.

The concept of marital satisfaction has been investigated in the past by concentrating on two main constructs; marital quality and marital stability. Marital stability is a concept that refers to the total duration of a given marriage. This is regardless of whether such a marriage is dissolved by divorce, death, desertion, separation or annulment as noted by Lewis and Spanier (1979).Marital quality on the other hand is a concept that is not easily defined. Most researchers have often used terms such as marital satisfaction, marital adjustments and marital happiness to refer to marital quality. While reviewing the concept of marital quality and stability, Lewis and Spanier decided to include a whole range of terms like marital happiness, marital adjustment and marital satisfaction. There is a common characteristic of these three terms- their subjective and qualitative dimension. According to Lewis and Spanier (1979,p.269), marital quality is a “ subjective evaluation of a married couple’s relationship”. Marital satisfaction on the other hand, was defined in the work of Hendrick and Hendrick (1997) as a subjective experience of an individual’s own happiness as well as contentment in a given marital relationship.

The work of Bradbury, Thomas, Fincham, Beach and Steven (2000) explored and presented a review of literature on marital satisfaction that were carried out in the 1990’s.Their work organized the various studies on this topic into two main categories: interpersonal processes as well as microcontextsand macrocontexts. The interpersonal processes included factors like cognition, physiology affect, violence, behavioral patterning and social support. The microcontexts on the other hand are the circumstances that are most likely to have a direct link to a couple’s interpersonal functioning in a given marriage while the macrocontexts are the broader social contexts that are found to have a more indirect and/or subtle effects on an individual’s interpersonal functioning. In regard to interpersonal process, studies on cognitions that are related to the concept of marital satisfaction has concentrated on the attributions of the marital partners. Research has indicated that all forms of maladaptive attributions are linked to high rates of negative behaviors between the partners during cases of problem solving as noted by Bradbury, Beach, Fincham, and Nelson, (1996).In regard to the negative effects, mixed findings have been documented, with certain studies indicating that it is damaging to the marital relationship, while others found these negative affects to be unconnected to the marital relationship as noted by Fincham and Beach (1999).

Extant literature has indicated that there is a link between proper marital functioning and the physical wellbeing of marital partners (Glaser, & Malarkey, 1996; Brown, Smith, & Benjamin, 1998; Cassisi, & Davis, 1997). Literature on behavioral patterning in marital couples has been concentrated on investigating the demand as well as withdrawal patterns of the parters (Klinetob & Smith, 1996). This specific pattern is noted by the authors to be made up of one partner nagging or criticizing the other partner who in reaction ends up avoiding the discussion altogether or disengaging from any sort of confrontation. An increased level of demand by the partner who is pursuing is noted to lead to a conflict or reduced levels of marital satisfaction (Klinetob & Smith, 1996).

Other studies on physical aggression and harm in marriages have indicated that the interaction patters of couples who are stresses are characterized low levels or negative reciprocation, contempt and anger (Holtzworth-Munroe, Smutzler, & Stuart, 1998).In contrast the work of Pasch and Bradbury (1998) indicated that spouses who are satisfied by their marriage are most likely to behave in a manner that encourages mutual understanding and these partners are also noted to be less likely to disrespect one another. On the same note, other studies have shown that spouses that are satisfied experience a significantly lower levels of anger as well as contempt when compared to their unsatisfied counterparts (see Pasch & Bradbury, 1998). Social support networks as well as other forms of supportive behaviors are also associated with very improved levels of marital quality (Saitzyk, Floyd, & Kroll, 1999).

The work of Bradbury et al. (2000) noted that the microcontexts and macrocontexts paradigms of marital satisfaction are all related to the social aspects of a couple’s daily lives. In this regard, transition to parenthood is noted to be a factor that affects marital satisfaction. Children are noted to be a factors in marital relationships with most studies indicating that the presence of children in a given relationship leads to increased levels of marital stability (Waite & Lillard, 1991). On the contrary, a large number of literatures on major life as well as transition stressors indicate that quite difficult times and moments bring couples together and thereby increases the levels of marital satisfaction (Hoekstra-Weebers, Jaspers, Kamps, & Klip,1998; Pavalko & Elder, 1990).

Economic strife on the other hand is noted to lead to reduced levels of marital satisfaction as argued by (Conger, Rueter, & Elder, 1999). According to Najam et al (1993), divorce and separation are more common among bereaved parents. According to South and Loyd (1995), the other macrocontextual risk factors that are most likely to cause marital dissolution are high levels of single women in the labor force, high geographical mobility as well as high numbers of legitimate potential mates.

The work of Bradbury et al. (2000) indicated that marital satisfaction is influenced by a series or multiplicity of factors. . Some components of a long-term satisfying marital relationship that have been identified are feelings of love, trust, respect, fidelity and commitment (e.g., Kaslow & Robinson, 1996; Rosen-Grandon, 1998). Other components are more tangible, such as social support, equity of tasks, gender roles and sexual interaction (Bradbury et. al., 2000; Kaslow & Robinson, 1996; Rosen-Grandon, 1998; Veroff et al., 1998). Communication and interpersonal processes have also been found to be significant contributors to marital satisfaction (Bradbury et al., 2000; Greeff, 2000). Kaslow and Robinson (1996) found shared interests in leisure and children to be an important factor in marital satisfaction. Still other elements of long-term satisfying marital relationships include similar religious beliefs, philosophy of life and cognitive processes (Bradbury et al., 2000; Greeff, 2000; Kaslow & Robinson, 1996; Rosen-Grandon, 1998). Kaslow and Robinson (1996) interviewed couples who were married over 25 years to find the central elements of a long-term satisfying marriage. Results indicated the top ten factors, in order from greatest to least, to be love, mutual trust, mutual respect, mutual support, corresponding religious beliefs, loyalty/fidelity, mutual give and take, similar philosophy of life, enjoyment of shared fun/humor, and shared interests. Similarly, Mackey and O’Brien (1995) interviewed 120 couples that had been married for at least twenty years and found five vital components tomarital

satisfaction: level of conflict, decision making, communication, relational values and intimacy. Higher levels of interpersonal conflict had a significant negative effect on marital satisfaction, with the highest level of conflict occurring during the child rearing years. The more difficult and unresolved the conflict, the lower the marital satisfaction. Mutuality in decision making, especially regarding children and parenting, was positively correlated with marital satisfaction. Couples reporting high marital satisfaction also indicated positive communication and felt they were able to talk to their partner about a wide variety of issues. Consistent with other research

(Kaslow & Robinson, 1996; Rosen-Granson, 1998), relational values found to be related to marital satisfaction included trust, respect, empathic understanding and equity. Finally, according to Mackey and O’Brien, both physical and psychological intimacy, were found to continue throughout the marriage in satisfying relationships, with an increase in psychological intimacy as the marriage progressed.

Socioeconomic Variables

Collins dictionary defined the term socioeconomic as circumstances or development involves combination of social and economic factors. Economic means concern with the organization of the money, whereas socio as an adjective that refers to something that related to social factor, means relating to the status or rank that someone has in society. In short, socioeconomic is defined as things that are related with organization of money and how it may affect the status or rank of a person in society.

In this study, socioeconomic variables refer to: (a) the husband’s income, (b) the wife’s income, (c) the combined income of husband and wife, and (d) the percentage of wife’s income over the combined income of husband and wife.  

Correlation of Socioeconomic Variables and Marital Satisfaction.

Bradburry et al. (2000) noted that socioeconomic factor is one of the important factors in determining couple’s marital satisfaction. It is crucial and important for the survival of the family life, as Notarius & Markman (1993) mentioned that financial problem can shake even the strongest and happiest couples. Furthermore they reason that couples who have a good financial saving can use it to buy facilities that can help their togetherness merrier. It goes without saying that good financial condition will tend to bring a merrier marital relationship. Research conducted by Wilkie, Ferre, & Ratcliff, (1998) confirmed this by mentioning that there is a positive correlation between family income and marital satisfaction of the couples.

Rogers and DeBoer (2001) found that increases in married women’s absolute and relative income significantly increase their marital happiness and well-being, whereas divorce is not significantly affected by increases in married women’s income. Nevertheless, increases in married women’s income may indirectly lower the risk of divorce by increasing women’s marital happiness. Furthermore Scanzoni (1978) argues that women’s economic contributions are the foundation of satisfying marital relationship and are necessary for establishing equality between partners and effective marital interaction.

It is worthy to note, that Kapur’s data (as cited in Khan, 2004) suggested that as long as the wife’s job status, income, and total number of working hours do not exceed those of the husband’s, the degree of conflict will not be severe. A research done by Philliber and Hiller (1983) found that problems do occur in marriages when the wife’s attainments are higher than her husband’s. Similarly, Khan’s (2004) study on marital instability in Dhaka, Bangladesh with special reference to dual-earner couples showed that the working wives who are superior to their husbands in educational and income levels are more likely to suffer from increased tension and dissatisfaction in their married life.

Even so, other research suggested a different finding, as revealed in a research that was done by Huber and Spitze (1980). They studied the effect of the relative income of husbands and wives in relation to the thought of divorce. In that study, it was found that the marital quality is not reduced by the wife’s achievements exceeding the husband’s. Rogers (1999) also found in his research that increases in wives’ income does not significantly affect either husbands’ or wives’ perception of marital discord.

Children and marital satisfaction

The birth of a first child presents a significant challenge for married couples, as their relationship undergoes a transition from a dyadic unit to a family of three or more. This transition may affect the family system in many different ways, both positive and negative. On the positive side, parents often experience a sense of gratification and joy over having a new baby. On the negative side, they may also experience exhaustion, lack of time for themselves, and more disagreement over issues pertaining to care of the baby and the division of family labor (e.g., HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R7” Belsky & Pensky, 1988; HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R23” Cowan & Cowan, 2000; HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R87” Twenge, Campbell, & Foster, 2003). These strains and difficulties may affect the quality of their relationship as a couple adversely.

One of the earliest findings in the marital satisfaction literature is that partners’ satisfaction tends to be high around the time of the wedding, after which it begins a slow but steady decline ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R16” Burgess & Wallin, 1953; see HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R44” Gottman & Notarius, 2002 and HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R48” Karney & Bradbury, 1995 for reviews of subsequent research). The birth of the first child is not the only factor responsible for the decline in marital satisfaction. It is possible that some of the decline in marital satisfaction is a function of time and erosion in the relationship that may characterize childless couples as well ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R61” MacDermid, Huston, & McHale, 1990). Nevertheless, the period following childbirth is a time that merits special attention because the transition seems to introduce additional stress and strife into the couple relationship, which may accelerate the decline in marital satisfaction (e.g., HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R6” Belsky & Kelly, 1994). Indeed, a recent meta-analysis reveals that although childless couples experience a decline in marital satisfaction over time, parents are significantly less satisfied than non-parents are, and number of children is reliably related to marital dissatisfaction ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R87” Twenge et al., 2003). Since the pioneering study of HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R55” LeMasters (1957), research has consistently shown that the transition to parenthood poses a serious challenge if not a crisis for marriage ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R7” Belsky & Pensky, 1988; HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R22” Cowan & Cowan, 1995; HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R25” Cowan & Cowan, 1988; HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R87” Twenge et al., 2003). Given the high rates of divorce in contemporary marriages ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061469/?report=classic” l “R76” Schoen & Canudas-Romo, 2006), it seems imperative that we understand the key risks and buffers to marital stability.

Gender and Marital Relations

Scholarship on gender suggests that the lower status and power possessed by women in society are mirrored in the marital relationship. This differential in power and status may increase women’s vulnerability to negative circumstances that affect the marriage, which, in turn, exacerbates the impact of negative circumstances on their marital satisfaction ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998711/” l “R31” Menaghan, 1991; HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998711/” l “R38” Spain & Bianchi, 1996). Consequently, qualitative aspects of marital life may be experienced differently by men and women. For example, marital strain is greater for women, particularly as women get older ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998711/” l “R48” Umberson, Williams, Powers, Chen, & Campbell, 2005). Although a few studies of marital quality suggest no gender differences, most research indicates that women report lower levels of marital quality across several domains ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998711/” l “R34” Rogers & Amato, 2000). Further, women begin the marital relationship with lower levels of marital quality compared to men (Umberson et al.). However, despite this initial differential, over the course of the marriage, positive dimensions of marital quality increase, whereas negative dimensions decrease for both men and women (Umberson et al.).

The influence of love and affection on marital satisfaction

According to Thomas (1990), happiness in marriage and workplace are the factor contribution to happiness and satisfaction in life. Happiness and marital satisfaction effected to mental and physical health. The findings in Haseley (2006) showed that a positive significant relationship between marital satisfaction and intimacy among couples. Due to the positive value among couples, support to the quality and marital satisfaction.

Religiosity and marital satisfaction

Sullivan further reported that the wives religious beliefs concerning relational commitment are more important than the husbands’ belief in regards to the stability of the marriage. The positive connection between church attendance and lower risk of divorce has been consistently discovered by researchers.The researchers reported that people highly committed to a religion have lower divorce rates than low-committed or nonreligious people

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Benjamin Franklin on George Whitefield 1777

Arnold A. Dallimore spent three decades trying to right the wrongs that had been done to Whitefield. He published the first book of George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Eighteenth-Century Evangelist in 1970. Arnold A. Dallimore was born in Canada to British parents in 1911 and died in 1998. For nearly twenty-four years, he served as pastor of the Baptist Church in Cottam, Ontario. He developed a life-long interest in the great evangelist George Whitefield, whose biography he was to write while studying at Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto (2 volumes, published by the Trust). He also authored biographies of Edward Irving, the charismatic movement’s precursor, Susannah Wesley, and C. H. Spurgeon, whose preaching at the Metropolitan Tabernacle was frequently attended by his maternal grandfather and mother (as a small child).

The book was published on October 1, 1970. The date that material was published or produced indicates how current it is about the topic you’re studying. The date that material was published or produced indicates how current it is about the topic you’re studying. Use sources that have been published within the last five years as a general rule. When evaluating your sources, the date of publication is a vital factor to consider. The information in the article may be outdated and inaccurate. In the source, there is a symbol of transformation that is represented by how the Americans were motivated by the changes that they perceived that religion could bring to them. This document can be used to trace the views of Americans on religion. It is clear that during the colonial period, scientists such as Benjamin Franklin did not approve of religion. The majority of them were influenced by the realization that religion has the power to transform people’s lives. For example, despite being a scientist, Benjamin Franklin was touched by a preacher who collected cash for a worthy cause, according to the paper. Furthermore, the record can be utilized to examine how religion influenced Native Americans during the colonial period.

The article was written for believers; Christians are the majority of those who read it, and the piece may persuade them to follow the character’s footsteps. The source is primarily attempting to provide information regarding Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield’s friendship. They were close, even personal friends, but they were two quite different people. The article contains an excerpt from his autobiography that discusses George Whitefield, a revivalist preacher who raised finances to create an orphanage in Georgia’s colony. According to the excerpt, Mr. Whitefield proposed to George the notion of establishing an orphan community in the new colony. Mr. Whitefield lectured to the people about compassion and collected significant sums of money to help the poor. As a result, the paper includes an autobiography of George Whitefield, as well as his ability to demonstrate how religion may aid in the transformation of the people he led.

References

A. Dallimore, (1970). Benjamin Franklin on George Whitefield 1777.

AuthorDateSubjectInstructor

A personal Response Essay, Advice to my son, Peter Minekie The poem” advice to my son” is one of the best examples of father’s advice to his son. Every father gives some advices to his young one, when he enters in his practical life. Every one seeks advice from his elders throughout his life especially in unique moments of life CITATION Pet08 l 1033 (Mienke).

“Advice to my son” is the perfect example that not always old sayings are correct and impact positively in today’s life. Every period has its own requirements, own demands, and not always old saying are correct such as when the author advises his son to choose a wife after he meets the wife’s mother CITATION Pet08 l 1033 (Mienke).

In line 17, he says” Marry a girl after seeing her mother”. There are a number of assumptions made by the author while advising to his son. After evaluating all of his assumptions, I realized none of them to be valid. I observe all these statements are general assumptions passing generation by generation. The author says if you want to know about a girl meet the mother first she will explain how the girl will be at her age since she gave birth to the girl CITATION Pet08 l 1033 (Mienke).

In line 11-18, the author advises his son to keep the beautiful things good food, wife, and job in his life and to sustain those more than his life, as, a balanced life will keep him happy and alive. The author has given excellent advice to her son, by keeping beautiful and good things in his life and to take care of them wisely, however, the assumption he has made for marrying a girl that meet her mother before getting married is totally wrong as he says if the mother is beautiful in that age, the girl will be the same as her.

I disagree with the assumption as every human being has its own physical and internal strength. There is no guarantee that if the father has lived till age 90 yet firm, the son will also get the same age. The same formula applies to the girl that it is not necessary that if the mother still looks lively and beautiful at the age of 60, the girl will also get the same.

The author uses lots of practical and imaginary assumption while making the advice to his son for the better life. There is a very small distinction between spending lives to its maximum potential, yet crapulent CITATION Pet08 l 1033 (Mienke).

At the same time, one must keep a good balance between spending a good life, and executing long range.

The author advised the son to “show your soul to one man.” The father tries to convince his son to ‘open up’ to someone. The author referred a best-friend. The author is stressing the significance of a good and healthy relationship with your Creator, i.e. God. The author best advice has been saved for the later stages. The author says, to “always serve bread with your wine” and to “always serve wine.

Peter Meinke’s poem has chosen a very clear way of comprising advice to his son, in a very professional and beautiful, well-written poem, lined collectively imagery to modify the poem and entertain the reader. Meinke declares “beauty is nectar // and nectar, in a desert, saves” CITATION Pet08 l 1033 (Mienke). As per him, beauty holds lots of strength in it and can do many things in just few seconds. He has made a very good advice to his son with relation to God, relation to his best friends, his beloved wife and to spend a healthy and balanced life.

Conclusion

The author has used beautiful ways to advice his son about spending his life in a better way. He has used examples of various things to explain his point. He has explained the importance of good and healthy relationship in life, that how one person can spend healthy balanced life by keeping all necessary things in a line. The author also focuses on the relationship with God; he made wonderful advice to his son for keeping the best relationship with his creator.

I agree and appreciate his saying and advices except only one “marrying a girl after meeting her mother” CITATION Pet08 l 1033 (Mienke).The basis of this statement is on several assumptions of the old generation and been passed generation to generation however, I do not agree with the author, as I believe a man/woman has his own nature, physical and mental strength, no one can guarantee the future of his own. If the mother is beautiful we cannot guarantee the daughter will be beautiful also, if the father is sound, no one can guarantee the strength of son.

Overall, the piece of advice is good and guides toward the best part of life. The author has professionally and beautifully aligned the poem. This piece is one of the best writings of the author. The poem has inspires a number of people and also adds a good and healthy contribution in literature.Work cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Mienke, Peter. http://percececil.wordpress.com/advice-to-my-son-by-j-peter-meinke/>. 19 09 2008. 16 10 2013.

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Beowulf

Upon reading the heroic epic poem, Beowulf which is well thought out to be one of the most important masterworks of Anglo-Saxon writings, and watching the animated version of it, I have recognized some differences and similarities of interpretation. The Film Beowulf, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is an animated movie with the Anglo-Saxon poem version. The film director chose this kind of literary work as it has a piece of very significant information on the subject of controversies and relationships of the society and kingship in Old England. Additionally, the poem is tremendously thrilling and encompasses many amazing, brilliant characters and descriptions. There are a number of differences and similarities between the sections of Beowulf discussed in class, and the analog animated film screened during the three Beowulf lectures available on Canvas in terms of Grendel’s combat with Beowulf and how Grendel passes away, Beowulf’s characteristics, Hrothgar and his actions, Grendel’s mother and her fight with Beowulf, Beowulf’s realm and the combat with the dragon. The dissimilarities between Beowulf the movie and Beowulf the poem are very large. The characteristics of Beowulf seen on the screen are somehow dissimilar from the characteristics in the Anglo-Saxon poem. 

Beowulf is roughly categorized into three parts, all of which focuses on Beowulf’s combat with a specific monster: first Grendel, then Grendel’s mother, lastly, the dragon. In both the film and the poem, the main themes mirror the motivations and the values of the personalities. One of the leading themes of Beowulf, personified by its designation character, is loyalty. To begin with, the animated film portrays Beowulf as a man of imperfection and flaws. Another thing is that the depiction of Unferth and Hrothdar is not similar to the representation in the poem. In the film, Hrothgar is portrayed as a degraded alcohol addict, while Unferth carries characteristics of a pietistic Christian. In the animated film, Grendel’s mother’s representation is slightly not accurate as she is demonstrated as an attractive, seductive woman, the dragon (Beowulf’s child), and mother of Grendel’s (Hrothgar’s offspring). Another thing is that Beowulf turns out to be the ruler of the land of the Danes rather than becoming the king of his native Geatland.

Grendel’s mother is regarded as a huge swamp-like monster who could not be pierced by a mere sword in the poem. According to Beowulf the poem, “it was then he saw the size of this water-hag, damned thing of the deep…He dashed out his weapon, not stinting the stroke, and with such strength and violence that the circled sword screamed on her head a strident battle-song. But the stranger saw his battle-flame refuse to bite or hurt her at all; the edge failed his lord in his need” (Ln.1517). On the other side, Grendel’s mother is seen in the film as a very seductive monster that seems to be very lovely and attractive; Beowulf’s sword pierces precisely through her body. They then involve themselves in sexual intercourse. In the animated film, Grendel’s mom murders Beowulf’s men before he contests the dragon. On the other hand, it never occurred because she had passed on.  

One thing is that apart from being an animated adaptation of the Old English poem, Beowulf’s film does not disappoint in any way. The construction of the elementary plot and the animated film’s storyline follows that of the imaginative literary source. As seen in the poem, Hrothgar, the ruler of Denmark, is troubled by a ferocious monster known as Grendel. It was after Beowulf comes to Denmark to kill it. Following the poem, Beowulf cuts off the giant’s arm, which on the other hand, succeeds in running away but dies from the injuries. Not so long, Grendel’s mother alternatively revenges her killed son by murdering a lot of men, which results in Beowulf pursuing after Grendel’s mom and kill her too. He gets back with Grendel’s head and is abundantly remunerated by the Danes. One common thing is that in the poem, Beowulf does not have any familial relations with Grendel’s mother or the dragon, and Hrothgar, Grendel, and Grendel’s mom are not connected to one another as in the film. 

To conclude, the film preciously bears a resemblance to the heroic poem in a way that there are some differences that the motion picture director did not take into consideration. The poem depicts Beowulf as the main hero who returns to Geatland to become the ruler of his uncle’s monarchy. On the other hand, in the film, Beowulf remains in the realm of the Danes and becomes the ruler of the Hrothgar’s kingdom. Additionally, in the poem, he murders Grendel’s mother, whereas, in the animated film, they engage in sexual intercourse, and after that, Grendel’s mother gives birth to a dragon-like child. In the poem, Beowulf has never involved in any sexual contact with Grendel’s mother. At the end of the film, the dragon which Beowulf endures is not his child. It is an unsystematic hovering monster that he combats when getting back home to Geatland to be present at the coronation and turn out to be a fair-minded king.

 

A Perspective on Self-Efficacy Beliefs for Academic Achievement

Introduction

The day-to-day endeavors of living are mostly directed by underlying self-systems that

strengthen and guide our aspirations and motivation for working towards accomplishing goals

and seeking achievements. The self-systems guide our pursuits and determine our performance.

In this regard, raising academic performance of students has been a vital challenge. All efforts

need to be directed towards this challenge by helping students not only through skill acquisition

but also by fostering the self-systems which help them to be more persuasive in their efforts for

academic achievement. An understanding of self-systems with particular reference to self-

efficacy proves to be a potent factor because "these self-systems house one’s cognitive and

affective structures and include the abilities to symbolize, learn from others, plan alternative

strategies, regulate one’s own behavior, and engage in self-reflection" (Bandura,1977). Self-

efficacy has a relatively brief history that began with Bandura’s (1977) publication of "Self-

Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change". Self-efficacy refers "to subjective

judgments of one’s capabilities to organize and execute courses of action to attain designated

goals" (Bandura, 1977 and 1997). Self-efficacy beliefs can therefore be extensively applied and

potentially used in the field of educational research, particularly in the area of academic

motivation and achievement (Pintrich and Schunk, 1995).

The Role of Self-efficacy Beliefs

Self-efficacy beliefs center around what a person can do rather than personal judgments about

one’s physical or personality attributes. The level of self-efficacy refers to its dependence on

difficulty level of a particular task; generality of self-efficacy beliefs refers to the transferability

of one’s efficacy judgments across different tasks or activities such as different academic

subjects; and strength of efficacy judgments pertains to the certainty with which one can perform

a specific task (Zimmerman, 1995). When students begin to doubt their capabilities, it becomes

detrimental as they slacken their efforts and give up quickly in the face of difficulties, have low

aspirations and are most likely to encounter stress. They view insufficient performance as

personal deficiencies and do not concentrate on how to perform successfully.

Self-efficacy beliefs influence not only motivation levels but also offer resilience to adversity

and avert vulnerability to stress and depression. The stress and anxiety levels required to

accomplish a task are also influenced by efficacy beliefs. Research findings over the past 20

years have generally supported the argument that "efficacy beliefs mediate the effect of skills or

other self-beliefs on subsequent performance attainments" (Schunk, 1991; and Bandura, 1997).

The findings of Bouffard-Bouchard et al. (1991) show that students with high self-efficacy are

engaged more in effective self-regulatory strategies at each level and this ability enables them to

cope with anxiety and stress, which can facilitate enhancing memory performance.

This indicates that these beliefs influence motivational and self-regulatory processes in several

ways. For accomplishing a particular task, they influence the choices people make and the

courses of action they pursue. This typically manifests in student behavior where they engage in

tasks in which they feel competent and confident and avoid those in which they do not.

Therefore, self-beliefs facilitate control over the events. According to Pajares Frank (1996),

beliefs of personal competence "determine how much effort people will expend on an activity,

how long they will persevere when confronting obstacles and how resilient they will prove in the

face of adverse situations". This indicates that higher the sense of efficacy, the greater is the

effort for persistence, persuasion and resilience. These findings are further substantiated by

researchers who have also demonstrated "that self-efficacy beliefs influence effort, persistence,

and perseverance" (Bandura and Schunk, 1981).

List of References

Bandura A (1977), ‘Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change’,

Psychological Review

. 84, 191-215

——–, (1986),

Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory

,

Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, NJ

———, (1997),

Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control, Freeman

, New York

Bandura A and Schunk D H (1981), ‘Cultivating Competence, Self-efficacy, and Intrinsic

Interest Through Proximal Self-motivation’,

Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology

, 41, 586-598

Bouffard-Bouchard T, Parent S and Parivee S (1991), ‘Influence of Self-efficacy on Self-

regualtion and Performance Among Junior and Senior High-School Age Students’,

International Journal of Behavioral Development

, 14, 153-164

Pajares F and Johnson M J (1996), ‘Self-efficacy Beliefs in the Writing of High School Students:

Lit Review

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Introduction

Reading skills are essential in any individual’s life because they enhance success. They help an individual to attain basic knowledge that will help them during their secondary phase of life. This creates the need to enhance reading skills among individuals with reading disabilities. These people need to heighten and also maintain their motivation. There are various techniques that assist students with reading disabilities to acquire reading skills. Flashcards, reading racetracks and SMART Board technology are among the various techniques that help individuals to attain reading skills. A flashcard is a collection of cards that has information such as numbers or words on each or both sides. Flash cards are efficient in classroom drills and also enhance private study. An individual may write a question on one side and the answer on the other. Flashcards can bear information such as vocabulary, formulae and historical dates. They enhance memorization since they involve spaced repetition. Reading racetracks helps to increase fluency (Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby, 2011). A comparison of various articles reveals various techniques that improve reading skills.

The effects of using flashcards with reading racetrack to teach letter sounds, sight words and math facts to elementary students with learning disabilities by Rachel Erbey, T. F. Mclaughlin, K, Mark Derby and Evanson Mary is an article that discusses how flashcards and reading racetrack affect teaching phonics, addition facts and sight words. It also states that despite the presence of ever changing technology, individuals still need basic knowledge such as reading to succeed in life. Students who struggle to attain reading skills during their earlier phases of their education usually face difficulties in the secondary stages and adulthood. Phonetic awareness is among the vital elements needed to enhance reading skills among low progress readers. Teaching reading skills is essential to students with inadequate ability in sight word reading. Basic skills in math calculations are also essential for success in life. After attaining basic operations concepts, the students should learn how to memorize facts and give fast and accurate responses to various facts. This helps students to enhance high level mastery of math concepts. Phonics, fluency, phonetics awareness, text comprehension and vocabulary are areas within reading instruction, which help to nurture successful readers. Reading racetracks, which are drills and practice processes, help to attain skills in four of the above areas. Reading racetracks include instructions on a track that has twenty eight cells, which separate information. It has a start and finish, and two images of automobiles, so the students read the information around the track in a set time. This increases fluency and accuracy in a systematic and entertaining way. Racetracks are also significant among students with various disabilities. A combination of flashcards and racetracks enhances sight word recognition among students with learning disabilities.

Vocabulary Learning: An Electronic Word Card study by Marina Dodigovic is an article that also discusses the significance of learning vocabulary to enhance language skills. However, it gives a description of a technology-supported learning study of vocabulary that involves students in preparation programs within various universities. The study design involves comparison of two flashcards activities, which are technology supported. The first one is where students acquire vocabulary from electronic cards designed by teachers. The second is where students design their cards. There is a third activity that involves comparison but excludes the cards. It uses a within sample design that pretests the vocabulary of students when the academic year begins. After identifying the essential vocabulary, the students and instructors create interactive flashcards using WordChamp, which is an online device. At the end of the semester, they also made comparisons to analyze the progress of the student. The authors of the article claim that self-designed cards are not effective.

Comparison of the Effect of Smart Board Technology and Flash Card Instruction on Sight Word Recognition and Observational Learning is an article that also discusses reading skills. This article compares the effectiveness of flashcards and SMART Board interactive whiteboard technology in teaching reading skills among young adults. Both techniques are effective in enhancing reading skills, but the SMART Board technology has a higher effect among students (Mechling, Thompson, and Gast, 2008).

A Comparison of Two Flashcard Drill Methods Targeting word Recognition by Robert J. Volpe, Christina M. Mule, and Amy M. Briesch discusses two instructional methods within the flashcard drill. The instructional methods are the incremental rehearsal and the traditional drill and practice. The article compares the efficiency of both techniques and social validity. The two methods have minimal differences in efficiency, and also an equal number of students prefer either of the two methods.

Effectiveness and Efficiency of Flashcard Drill Instructional Methods on Urban First Grades’ Word Recognition, Acquisition, Maintenance, and Generalization by Lindsay Nist, Laurice M. Joseph analyzes various instructional methods. It compares the efficiency and effectiveness of instructional methods through methods such as traditional drill and practice flashcard technique, an incremental rehearsal and a ratio of known to unknown interpersal word technique. The incremental rehearsal is an effective method among groups of students while the traditional drill enhanced reading performances.

Motivate Student with Disabilities Using Sight- Vocabulary Activities by Michelle Morgan and Karen B. Moni analyzes twenty ways of using sight-vocabulary activities among students with disabilities. The article also presents various ways of giving these students motivation to learn. Sight vocabulary is essential among these students because it helps them learn how to read and write. It also increases and maintains their zeal to take part and also persist in learning. The article describes various games such as vocabulary charts, word banks, waterfalls of words, setting the scene and vocabulary mobiles. The authors also suggest a sequence that introduces functional sight vocabulary.

All the articles seek to determine the most effective technique that assists students with disabilities to acquire reading skills. The authors of the articles carried out various researches to determine the necessary areas in reading instruction. This creates a basis for their discussion and also helps readers to relate to the information provided in each article. The articles analyze different techniques but all the authors compare the efficiency of each method to that of the flashcard technique. All the articles have different research methodology, but all the results point out the efficiency of the flashcard method. Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby (2010) discuss about the efficiency of the flashcard and the racetracks. They give descriptions of the processes involved in each method. The racetracks are designed by the instructors although there are instances when the students design their racetracks. Learning vocabulary is essential in acquiring reading skills. They also claim that the racetrack is suitable for beginners because it does not have complicated procedures. Students usually enjoy the two methods, so they acquire the skills faster and also improve their fluency. These authors also claim that the two techniques also enhance math skills. Racetracks are also significant to students with reading disabilities. Dodigovic (2013) also agrees that vocabulary learning is essential for those who want to acquire reading skills. Unlike Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby’s article Dodigovic’s article focuses on use of technology to enhance learning various vocabularies. She discusses flashcards that are technology supported while Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby discuss those which are manual. She also points out that both teachers and students design the cards. She also mentions a third technique where students pretest their skills at the beginning of the year and later compare to the results at the end of each semester. She also points out that the self-designed cards are not efficient. This proves that Erbey, Mclaughlic, Everson and Derby had accurate results concerning the accuracy of the teacher designed flashcards and racetracks. Teachers have adequate knowledge on the aspects in reading that may trouble students, so this factor makes their cards more efficient. Mechling, Thompson, and Gast (2008) also discuss efficient ways of acquiring reading skills. They acknowledge that technology based training is more efficient than the use of flashcards. They compare the SMART Board interactive whiteboard technology to the flashcard. They give a detailed description of how the technique works, and also why it is the most efficient in acquiring reading skills. Volpe, HYPERLINK “http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/simpleSearch.jsp;jsessionid=gqEdMnADO8OQlXhvEqE0aA__.ericsrv005?_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlType=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Mule+Christina+M.%22” o “New Search for Author Mule, Christina M.” Mule, Briesch, Joseph and Burns (2011) also discuss aspects of acquiring reading skills. They differ from the rest because they analyze both group reading and individual reading. They also compare two flashcard drills unlike the other articles where the authors compare two different techniques. The authors compare the incremental rehearsal to the traditional drill and practice to determine the efficiency of the two methods. They also determine the social validity of the two methods to determine the one that students like to use. An equal number of students prefer either of the two methods since the differences between the two methods is minimal. Lindsay and Laurice also provide information on various ways of acquiring reading skills. They discuss traditional drill and practice flashcard technique, an incremental rehearsal and a ratio of known to unknown interpersal word technique. The incremental rehearsal is most efficient among groups of students. It does not enhance individual improvement. enhance individual improvement. Unlike the above authors, Lindsay and Laurice analyze twenty techniques of improving reading skills. They believe that students need motivation to improve their reading skills. The process should involve some fun moments to ensure that the students get the motivation to develop and maintain their skills.

Conclusion

Individuals who want to succeed in life must acquire basic reading skills. These skills are vital when an individual reaches the secondary stages in their lives. There are different techniques that enhance reading skills. Flashcards and racetracks are the most common techniques among students with reading disabilities. Flashcards have information on either side while racetracks have data on each cell on the track. These methods are efficient and also entertaining. Sight vocabulary can also be introduced through games such as setting the scene and waterfalls of words.

References

Dodigovic, M. (2013). Vocabulary Learning: An Electronic Word Card study. Ebsco Host

Connection, 20(1), 13. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/85448501/vocabulary-learning-electronic-word-card-study” http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/85448501/vocabulary-learning-electronic-word-card-study

Erbey, R., Mclaughlic, T.F. Everson, M. and Derby, M.K. (2011). The effects of using flashcards

with reading racetrack to teach letter sounds, sight words and math facts to elementary students with learning disabilities. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 3 (3). Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.iejee.com/3_3_2011/3_3_213_226.pdf” http://www.iejee.com/3_3_2011/3_3_213_226.pdf

Mechling, L.C. Thompson, K. L. and Gast D. L. (2008). Comparison of the Effect of Smart

Board Technology and Flash Card Instruction on Sight Word Recognition and Observational Learning. HYPERLINK “http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=183977&top=0&perid=163218” Journal of Special Education Technology, 23(1), 34-46. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=160377&ksectionid=160164&atlitid=193746” http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=160377&ksectionid=160164&atlitid=193746