Leed Certification free essay sample

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is both a professional certification in sustainable building practices, and a grading scale on a structure’s environmental impact and sustainability (USGBC, 2008). A LEED certified professional is recognized as having completed the required course of curriculum in LEED and has successfully passed the LEED Certification exam. This allows a LEED certified professional to be able to work with colleagues of the construction industry in all aspects of a project to develop a LEED certified structure. Using LEED ensures a structure to be designed and built with the utmost attention to detail to assure that the structure is as environmentally friendly as possible. LEED Rating Systems exist for every area of the construction industry and range from the interior finishes of commercial buildings right down to resource consumption and health risks of residential structures (USGBC, 2008). The LEED certification exam covers the entirety of the LEED AP Handbook as well as several industry standard construction practices. We will write a custom essay sample on Leed Certification or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The exam and handbook together will run almost $700 for a non- USGBC member to take and nearly $600 for members of both the USGBC and GBCI to take (GreenBuild, 2008). The exam is very rigorous and the study time required to take the exam is substantial. Most people take about 2 months of 20 a week study time to prepare for the exam (GBCI, 2008). Contrary to popular belief, becoming LEED Certified is not something that a person achieves, but it is the building that achieves it. The process of LEED certification has five different categories that insure that the build is a â€Å"green† building. There are five categories that are taken into account when building a LEED certified structure. They are sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. This means that if all of these categories are met the building will be considered Green. It sounds easy, but is not that simple because there are different stages of being certified. The building is then, as the USGBC website says: â€Å"LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project meets the highest green building and performance measures. All certified projects receive a LEED plaque, which is the nationally recognized symbol demonstrating that a building is environmentally responsible, profitable and a healthy place to live and work. † (GBCI, 2008). The way that professionals achieve the ability to certify building is through attending LEED specific classes that are offered on the USGBC website. The USGBC’s website provides many different ways to become an accredited LEED professional. The first way is through online courses that are self-paced learning. The second way is through in house seminars. The online option offers three different classes to help increase an individual’s knowledge. The first course is the 100 level, awareness. This course is highly recommended for anyone who wants to take the more advanced 200 or 300 level courses. This course introduces a person to the principles of Green building and also serves as a base in which the person is able to build off of. The next Level of LEED certification is the 200 level, Understanding. In this level the person begins to take courses that deepen their knowledge of LEED and Green building. The first course on this level is the Essentials of LEED Professional Accreditation. This course was developed for people getting ready to take the LEED Accredited Professional exam. The next two just help the person understand Green building even more. They are LEED for Homes Program Review and LEED for General Contractors/Construction Managers. The third and final level, 300 Level: Application Implementation offers several courses that offer courses that make the student apply their knowledge to real life situations and it challenges them to apply what they learned in the 200 level (GBCI, 2008). There are many different benefits that you can achieve by being having a LEED Certification. It proves to many people that you have achieved your environmental goals. Having a LEED Certification means that you have many government incentives, marketing benefits, and increased property values, which can help, boost the presses interest in your current project. Building green can also greatly reduce the cost to construction managers and tenants (USGBC, 2008). There are four different levels of certification that you can achieve. These are: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each level has its own special incentives to it. To gain a higher ranking you must accumulate credits. To accumulate credits you must have certain standards in your projects that benefit the environment. These consist of sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality (GBCI, 2008). Green Buildings can help the earth in so many ways. Being certified means that you build more environmentally friendly, which means that building green friendly can reduce the negative effect buildings and operations have on the environment. Also green building greatly decreases the chances of fire, explosions, spills or splashes. Building green also reduces health problems such as allergies. Finally, if you’re building green it calls for green cleaning. This means that the products used in cleaning these green buildings are also very environmentally safe. For example a stain on a carpet is taken care of with a mild cleaner. This not only protects the environment but can also help protect the furnishings in the long run (USGBC, 2008). Commissioning is a prerequisite of the LEED process. Commissioning involves an outside team of individuals that is not part of the design and construction team. The area of responsibility is to ensure compliance of â€Å"fundamental building elements and systems† with the LEED guidelines. The estimate commissioning cost is to be in the range of 0. 5 percent to three percent of construction costs (DCD, 2008). LEED has certain requirements on architects and engineers because these designers must assess how a project could best attain certification and prepare the design and specifications to reflect these additional requirements. In either case, participating in the LEED process adds time and effort to the design and specification phase of a project. The estimate is that traditional design costs range from eight to twelve percent of construction costs, and then the additional design costs for green buildings are in the range of 0. 4 percent to 0. 6 percent of the total construction cost. A significant weigh down of the LEED system is the need to document compliance with the various criteria in order to submit a package to the GBC for review and a decision on certification. This requires the establishment of a tracking and reporting system, which is often performed by a LEED consultant, rather than the design and construction team itself, and the tracking down of information that otherwise is not standard practice in specifying or sourcing systems and materials. The estimate of documentation and application fees as a percentage of total construction costs were found to be; the costs averaged 0. 7 percent of construction costs with a range from 0. 05 percent for a very large project to 3. 8 percent for a very small one (DCD, 2008). Where is LEED certification taking the construction industry? So far, businesses and governments worldwide are taking advantage of going green and looking into LEED. Several LEED certified buildings have already been built, but the future for green buildings is just now getting started. The past decade in green building has been a revolution in the construction industry and has no indication of a slow down. With numerous grants available for LEED projects by Governments and green organizations, LEED certified buildings are becoming more realistic and within reasonable costs to construct. We are just in the dawning of the â€Å"green age† and things are just starting to catch on with LEED. With new technologies, techniques, and equipment being invented all of the time, going green is becoming easier faster (Botelho, 2007). As for the future of the LEED industry, Governments are now starting to place requirements on construction projects to comply with their green specifications. Sometime in the future, every building constructed will have to meet Government specified codes that pertain to LEED. All of this is for the benefit of the environment and aims towards a better and healthier Earth (Botelho, 2007). In conclusion, LEED is taking the industry in a new direction and could someday be the standard for building any structure. Most professionals support the idea and there should be a take-off for green building in the near future. As for the cost, it ends up paying for itself over a period of time. LEED is proving more and more reasons why the construction industry needs to start adapting to the green future.

Funeral Oration of Pericles Essay Example

Funeral Oration of Pericles Essay Example Funeral Oration of Pericles Essay Funeral Oration of Pericles Essay Prices Funeral Oration In the fifth century BCC the city of Athens was lead by a man named Prices. Funerals after great battles were held as a public event where any citizen of Athens, stranger or relative to the fallen heroes, was invited to take place. A major difference between funerals in Athens and funerals held in present day is the fact that in Athens the cost of the funeral fell on the public rather than the family of the deceased. The fallen heroes are laid in a public sepulcher which was located in the suburb of the city. : Several days before the funeral procession a tent would be erected and the bones of the fallen soldiers were placed in the tent. One empty coffin would be present for those whose bodies could not be recovered. During the three days before the funeral offerings would be brought to the families. In his speech Prices addresses the fact that it is difficult for one man to speak the praises and accolades of many fallen soldiers. On one hand a relative may underestimate what Prices had to say about their brother, father, or son. On the there, a complete stranger would have a hard time believing in something so radical because they themselves had never had such an experience. Prices goes on to discuss the nature of Democracy in Athens, stating that their laws afford equal Justice to all. Their laws did not cater to the rich or the poor, nor did social standing or class consideration have an effect on the rights of the citizens. The same concept applied to their personal lives. Year round celebrations of games and sacrifices helped to separate the life of work and duty, from the life of family. As government and social life went, so did the military aspect. Athens was a city that was open to the world. Never would a foreigner be excluded from the opportunity to learn or observe. Although a great concept, sometimes their enemies would learn quite valuable information from their open-city policy. To Prices this was not as big of a problem as it seems to the reader. He states that while their enemies march into battle with every last one of their allies, Athens will march into any territory unsupported. The Athenian citizen was proclaimed to be as self-sufficient and versatile as a human could possibly be. Prices says that there is Justice in a man who serves his country. A soldiers devotion to his people should act as a cloak to cover up their imperfections as a person. That their good deeds to the country should out way their misdeeds as an individual. The Athenians found honor in choosing to die defending the country they love rather than to live submitting to another nation. The Athenian soldier fled only from dishonor, but met danger face to face, and after one brief moment, while at the summit of their fortune, escaped not from their fear, but from their glory. (Prices, 3) Strangely, the families found comfort in the death of their loved ones who perished in battle. There was no greater honor than to die on the battlefield defending the country in which they loved. The Athenian soldiers who gave their lives were seen as fortunate to be able to die in such a glorious way. Price s ends his oration by telling his people that the true burden of death lies with those still living. While the living Athenians contend with envy, the dead are honored tit a goodwill in which human emotions like Jealousy, envy, hatred, and, sorrow fallen will be raised until manhood by the expense of the public. Athens acted as a city of one big family, caring for the families of the fallen without question. The world could learn a great deal from the city of Athens and I believe that it would be a much better place to live in if that were the case. Sources: Duchesses (C. 460/455-c. 399 BCC): Peloponnesus war, kick 2. 34-46 Http www. Fordham. Du/halls/ancient/prices-functionaries. Asp 8/24/2013

Management Information System, Recommendations Assignment

Management Information System, Recommendations - Assignment Example It will then seek to identify the areas that need to be changed, the reasons why they need to be changed, who needs to participate, the resources required and the expected results. It will show the necessary recommendation for organization change and decision making. The study of the processes and changes in the organization will enable the decision makers to identify the possible risks expected and how to mitigate them. Of course, each change process has a certain amount of exposure to risks and losses, but the management of Newark Ophthalmic Centre has to assess and measure the amount of exposure the company can withstand, based on the recommendations (Ward & Peppard, 2000). In the study of processes, the study will describe the meaning of processes and the purpose of processes. It will explore the organization culture of Newark Ophthalmic Centre and its main characteristics. It will study the different types of cultures that exist in the case study. The study will continue to investigate the model of project management in Newark Ophthalmic Centre including the life cycle of project management that Newark Ophthalmic Centre uses. It will conduct a research process using both primary and secondary data to measure various parameters before arrivin g at recommendations and eventual conclusion. The study does a summary of the tasks that are involved in the operation of Newark Ophthalmic Centre. The company background exhibits the nature of the organization structure and the tasks that every entity performs. It checks the levels of the organization where decisions are made. It also considers the tasks that are performed by the system. There is a subdivision of major tasks into subtasks that the organization has to take into consideration. In Newark Ophthalmic Centre, there are major tasks such as System Acquisition and system search. System acquisition is, for example, split into subtasks such as system requirement study, preliminary study, feasibility search, conceptual design, logical design, functional design and development, testing and documentation tasks.  

Garnet lake in Prescott Arizona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Garnet lake in Prescott Arizona - Essay Example The geology is quite breathtaking with the banner peak, which stands at 3,943 meters, being Ritter Range’s second tallest peak in the Sierra Nevada region (Siragusa 46). The lake is surrounded by a mountainous landscape whose slopes are adorned by a few glaciers. The lake and the surrounding mountain peaks are to be found within the Ansel Adams Wilderness and is part of several lakes that lie within this area. The other lakes include Lake Ediza, Shadow Lake, Lake Catherine, and the Thousand Island Lake (Siragusa 50). Banner peak was the most striking geological feature around the lake. During the observation period, I was able to witness the formation of banner clouds at the top of the adjacent Banner Peak. Garnett Lake is best known for the work that was done by Ansel Adams, an American film maker and photographer, as well as environmentalist, whose black and white pictures photographs of the surrounding area became famous around the same time that Americans began to get envi ronmentally conscious (Siragusa 61). It was at this site that Ansel Adams, together with Fred Archer, developed the zone system so as to make a determination of proper exposure, as well as the improve the, final print’s contrast. In conjunction with Willard van Dyke, Adams Ansel, founded Group f/64 and the pictures, films that they reproduced as a group are famous and have been reproduced in books, on posters, and calendars, making photographs of the region, and especially Garnet Lake, distributed widely around the world. On my trip to garnet Lake, I was so enchanted by the lake and surrounding scenery that I could not stop taking photographs. I had seen the lake on numerous geographically themed shows, calendars, and postcards, but seeing the lake first hand was just breathtaking. I found solace in its solace, artistic inspiration, and its pure sense of adventure, which I found in plenty among the brooding and cloud-laden skies, snow swept passes, and jagged granite peaks. I was inspired to visit the lake in the hope of seeing what had inspired Ansel Adam in essence I was not disappointed. Approaching the lake from the River Trail from the trees at 9,833 feet, I truly admired the splendid prospect set against strong and slanting sunlight. The lake, strewn with boulders, was surrounded by alpine meadows and anchored by Mount Ritter and especially Banner Peak. Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place in an unbelievably agreeable manner with the mountain, clouds, and rock providing magic of unity that was simply unprecedented in my book. I wandered around the lake carefully, balancing, sometimes precariously, on large boulders, and scrutinizing the scene. The sun, peeking intermittently through the clouds, was roasting at times. I attempted to locate a scene from one of Ansel Adams’ famous photographs and found one of them that captured Banner Peak, the clouds, and the glimmering lake. The scene was more enchanting than I expected, except for the lack of pine to its right and feathery clouds that hugged the mountain peaks in the photograph. This was my only disappointment since the many photographs that I had seen of this beautiful lake had

Workplace Health, Safety & Welfare Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Workplace Health, Safety & Welfare - Coursework Example The suitability of things to everyone is ensured by these regulations. This involves making parts of the workplace such as passageways, lavatories, stairs, particular doors, showers, and workstations accessible to those with disabilities. The major focus of workplace health, safety and welfare are on concerns such as the improvement of the work and its environment for conduciveness in relation to health and safety, the promotion ad maintenance of the health of workers and their capacity to work, and the development of cultures of work, working organizations in a direction supporting safety and health in the workplace as well as promoting an optimistic smooth operation and social climate which may eventually enhance their undertakings in terms of productivity. The working culture concept here means the reflection of an essential system of value that is adopted by the concerned undertaking. The mentioned culture if reflected in practice of the personnel policy, managerial system, train ing policies, principles of participation, and the quality management of the employee undertaking. Generally, the primary reasons why employers have no choice but to adopt the workplace safety, health and welfare regulations include: moral reasons like the unacceptability of placing the safety and health of people at risk, reasonable care duty owed to people, the attitude of society to the moral obligations, and making cases of morals to the senior management; legal reasons which may result into compensatory as a result of law effects, punitive, prevention of the effects of the law; and the economic reasons including both the indirect and direct costs that are associated with the safety... The paper describes the importance of all areas of work. The general guidance on workplace safety is applicable on particular subjects such as temperature, ventilation, cleanliness, lighting, workstations and seating, room dimensions, falling objects, floor conditions, translucent and transparent doors, windows, gates and walls, ventilators, escalators, skylights, washing facilities, and sanitary conveniences among other matters. The requirements under the regulations demand that the employers perform a general duty of ensuring that the health, safety and welfare of the employees at workplace are taken care of appropriately. Even people who control the non domestic premises carry a duty to people who use those premises even if they are not their employees. The health and safety regulations ensure all employers carry on their duties to protect the safety, health and welfare of everyone within and around the workplace as well as the provision of sufficient welfare facilities to the peo ple in the workplace. The set regulations see to it that all places of work meet the safety, health and welfare requirements of all the employees as well as those with disabilities. The suitability of things to everyone is ensured by these regulations. This involves making parts of the workplace such as passageways, lavatories, stairs, particular doors, showers, and workstations accessible to those with disabilities. The employers should perform various plans of action that ensure the principles of workplace safety, health and welfare are implemented.

Non Experimental Research Design Psychology Essay

Non Experimental Research Design Psychology Essay This chapter details the methodology that will be used to conduct this study. Methodology is an approach, or method used to conduct a research. The aspects that will be discussed in this chapter include the researchs design, approach, sample, instrument, procedure, and also data collection and analysis. 3.2 Researchs Approach and Design 3.2.1 Researchs Approach There are two types of approaches used in research, which are quantitative approach and qualitative approach. According to Blaxter, Hughes and Tight (as cited in Hughes, 2006) Quantitative research is a study that concerned with the collection and analysis of data in numeric form. It emphasizes relatively large-scale and representative sets of data, and is often presented or perceived as being about the gathering of `facts. Qualitative research is concerned with collecting and analysing information in as many forms as possible, mainly non-numerical form. It focuses on exploring smaller numbers of instances or examples which are seen as being interesting or illuminating, and aims to achieve `depth rather than `breadth. In this study, the data collected by researcher will be in numerical form, which obtained from the questionnaires. Thus, the approach used in this study is quantitative research. 3.2.2 Researchs Design According to Chua Yan Piaw (2006), there are three main designs in research, namely true experimental design, non-experimental design, and quasi-experimental design. True experimental design studies the relation between the independent variables and manipulated variables, manipulates the independent variables and observes the changes on manipulated variables. Non-experimental design is used when the treatment is not possible as the independent variables naturally exist, and the respondents will be randomly distributed into every group. This design studies the relation between independent variables and manipulated variables without manipulate the independent variables. Besides that, quasi-experimental design normally used to evaluate the effectiveness of certain program when then the randomly distribution of the respondents in the study is not possible. It studies the relation between independent variables and manipulated variables (Chua, 2006). Non-experimental research design According to Chua Yan Piaw (2006), there are a lot of non-experimental designs, including survey, field research, case study, action research, ethnography, and so on. Survey is one of the most widely used non-experimental research design, which used in different form of media, such as magazine, newspapers, and television to collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions regarding to certain issue, or to survey the effectiveness of a product or plan. Normally interview or quetionnaires will be used in collecting data. Field research refers to gathering primary data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey, where the researcher must be willing to step into new environments and observe, participate, or experience those worlds by themselves. Case study is an in-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual, where the researcher examines existing sources like documents and archival records, conducts in terviews, engages in direct observation, and even participant observation, to collect the information in depth regarding to individual behaviours and social conditions. Action research refers to the research initiated to solve an immediate problem or a reflective process of progressive problem solvin lef by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a community of practice to improve the way they address and solve problems. Survey 3.3 Sampling According to Gay and Airasian (2003), sampling is the process of selecting a number of participants for a study in such a way that they represent the larger group from which they were selected (p. 101). Selecting a sample is a very important step in conducting a research study, particularly for quantitative research. The goodness of the sample determines the meaningfulness and generalizability of the research results (Gay Asian, 2003, p. 103). 3.3.1 Population The first step in sampling is to define the population. A sample comprises the individuals, items, or events selected from a larger group referred to as a population. The population is the group of interest to the researcher, the group to which the results of the study will ideally generalize (Gay Airasian, 2003, p. 102). The location of this study is Sabah, and the populations of this study are all the upper form students in secondary schools in Sabah, who are 16 to 17 years old. Initially, the researcher will obtains the information about the upper form students from all the secondary schools in Sabah, and then determine the samples which are involved in this study. The researcher will get the information about the total number of upper form students in each of the schools, because it might influences the outcomes of the study. 3.3.2 Sampling Method According to Chua Yan Piaw (2006), there are two main sampling methods, which are probability sampling and non-probability sampling (p. 189). According to Gay and Airasian (2003), probability sampling, which also known as random sampling, methods are possible for the researcher to specify the probability, or chance, that each member of a defined population will be selected for the sample, and these sampling are all based on randomness in the selection of the sample (p. 103). Non-probability sampling, which is also known as non-random sampling, methods do not have random sampling at any stage of sample selection, it is used when the random sampling is not possible, such as teachers or administrators select students or classes as the samples (p. 114). In this study, random sampling method will be used to select the sample. Gay and Airasian (2003) states that there are four basic random sampling techniques or procedures, namely simple random sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling, and systematic sampling, which are also referred to as probability sampling (p. 103). Simple random sampling is the process of selecting a sample in such a way that all individuals in the selected population have an equal and independent chance to be selected for the sample, where the randomness in sampling takes the selection of the sample completely out of the researchers control by letting a random, or chance, procedure select the sample (p. 103). Stratified sampling is the process of selecting a sample in such a way that identified sub-groups in the population are represented in the sample in the same proportion that they exist in the population (p. 106). Besides that, cluster sampling randomly selects groups, not individuals; all the members selected groups have similar characterisics, and it is most useful when the population is very large or spread out over a wide geographic area (p. 108). Lastly, systematic sampling is the sampling technique in which individuals are selected from a list taking every Kth name (p. 110). Although the instrument of students national identity is designed to be applicable to all students in Malaysia, the secondary school students will be selected to test the instrument in this study. The rationale of choosing upper form students as the target population to test the instrument is they might be more mature if compared to the lower form students who are only 13 to 15 years old. They might have a better understanding on the items stated in the questions, and perhaps they will give their response seriously. So, the outcomes which obtained from the upper form students might be more reliable and trustworthy if compared to lower form students. All upper form students from the secondary school in Sabah are over sampled. Two random samples of 200 students and 2500 students will be purchased for the two survey studies by using cluster sampling method. A number of schools will be randomly selected from each of the districts in Sabah as the representatives of those districts. The secondary school students in Sabah are eligible to receive the mailed survey. In the first survey study, the questionnaire will be initially sent to the random sample of 200 students to examine test-retest reliability of the instrument and its subscale. Then, a repeat mailing survey will be sent to the respondents from the initial mailing again. The test-retest reliability of the instrument will be examined using the data from the remaining surveys returned from both the initial and repeat mailings. In the second survey study, the sample needed to be large in order to conduct factor analysis to test the construct validity of the instrument. There is a general agreement among measurement methodologists that large sample sizes are required for the stability of results of factor analysis, the use of larger sample sizes in applications of factors analysis tends to provide results such that sample factor loadings are more precise estimates of population loadings and are also more stable, or less variable, across repeated sampling. The researcher will send the refined questionnaire to the second random sample of 2500 students in order to perform factor analysis, and then to test construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the instrument. 3.4 Researchs Procedures This study will be conducted in two stages. Stage one is the instrument development, and stage two is the instrument testing and refining. Stage one consists of three steps and stage two consists of five steps. Each of these steps is described in the following section. 3.4.1 Stage One: Instrument Development The instrument development stage has three steps: (1) developing conceptual and operational definitions of the construct of students national identity, (2) generating item pool, and (3) determining the format for measurement (or selecting a scaling technique for the measurement). All the three steps in this stage involved determination of content validity of the instrument of students national identity. a. Step 1: Developing Conceptual and Operational Definitions of the Construct. The first step in developing this instrument is to determine clearly what the concept of students national identity is. The definition of the construct, students national identity, is based onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (need more information from chapter 2) b. Step 2: Generating an Item Pool for the Instrument The focus of second step is to generate a large pool of items for all the dimensions of the construct of students national identity. In the beginning stage, it is better to generate more items. Thus a 60 items scale might be evolve from an item pool over a hundred items. The instrument of students national identity is designed to measure the degree to which a student à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Wording of the items is very important and should reflect this goal of the instrument. Appropriate wording can accurately capture the essence of the construct. The items are evaluative in nature and can reflect respondents views about the desirability of something. Moreover, the researcher developed several negatively worded items with careful wording that examine students à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ besides developing positively worded items that measure students national identity. The purpose of constructing several negatively worded items is to detect respondents with acquiescence bias by their response pattern if there is any. Those respondents will not be included in the data analysis to avoid or minimize the influence caused by acquiescence bias. The issues related to acquiescence bias were discussed in detail in Chapter 2. After a large pool of items that measures students national identity is established, the dissertation committee will be first critique all the items before sending the item pool to the expert panel for content validity review. The researcher will revises the item pool based on comments of the dissertation committee. The items which are repetitive, inappropriate or poorly worded, confusing, or irrelevant to the construct will be eliminated or revised. After this revision, 84 items were retained in the instrument. c. Step 3: Determining the Format for the Instrument The researcher considers the format simultaneously with the generation of items so that the two are compatible. The Likert scales with five responses options is chosen to develop the instrument measuring the students national identity. Each item is presented as a declaration sentence, followed by the response options that indicate varying degrees of agreement with the statement. The five response options are: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) either agree or disagree, (4) agree, and (5) strongly agree. These five points Likert scales are ordinal scale level. Each item in the instrument is classified as two broad categories, which are favourable (positive) or unfavourable (negative). Scoting is reversed for negatively worded items such that disagreement with a negatively worded resulted in high score. At this step, the development stage is completed. Then, the researcher will moves on to the next stage, which is instrument testing and refining. 3.4.2 Stage 2: Instument Testing and Refining The instrument testing and refining stage includes give steps: (1) establishing content validity of the instrument, (2) developing directions for responding, (3) preparing a revised draft of the questionnaire, (4) examining test-retest reliability and pretesting internal consistency reliability, dan (5) testing construct validity and internal consistency reliability. All steps in this stage involve refining the instrument and testing the psychometric properties of the instrument. a. Step 1: Establishing Content Validity of the Instrument Determining the number of experts needed has always been somewhat arbitrary in content validity determination. According to Lynn (1986) (as cited in Wynd, Schmidt, Schaefer, 2003), a minimum of five experts (rates, observers, or judges) and a larger number of categories for data assignment yield greater absolute agreement and increase the risk of chance agreement. The use of more experts may therefore contribute directly to chance agreement (pg 511). The use of only two judges is not only statistically unjustifiable, but also it places the instrument developer at great risk of an erroneous conclusion that content validity has been achieved when it actually has not (Bu, 2005, pg 73). In this study, five experts who either have conducted research related to students national identity or have interest in students national identity will be asked to review the instrument as the content experts. A delineation of the full content dimentions of the construct of students national identity with specific instructions pertaining to the content relevance of each item are provided to the experts by mail or email for review. The five will be asked to return the instrument and their comments within four to five weeks. This review serves multiple purposes related to determining and maximizing the content validity of the instrument. First, having experts review the item pool, confirm or invalidate the definition of the phenomenon of students national identity and the content validity of the instrument is quantified. The experts will be asked to rate how relevant they think each item is related to what the researcher intends to measure. The instrument of students national identity includes three subscales. The general objective of the subscale of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is to measure the degree to which the studentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Under the broad objective, more specific objectives that are assumed to measure relevant items will provided as well. The intensity of students national identity can fluctuate over time but they are considered stable during a certain period of time, typically three to four weeks. These objectives will be sent to experts along with the instrument. The experts will be asked to rate the content relevance of each item to its general objective and its more specific objective. Content validity index (CVI)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. In addition, the experts will be asked to clarify reasons and provide suggestions if they disagree with some items included in the instrument. Second, the experts will be asked to evaluate the items clarity and conciseness. Sometimes, the content of an item may be relevant to the construct but its wording may be problematic. This yields problems on item reliability because an ambiguous or otherwise unclear item, to a greater degree than a clear item, may reflect factors extraneous to the latent variable. Third, in addition to judging each item, the experts will be asked to identify phenomena that were omitted from the instrument as a part of the content validity assessment. Thus, by asking experts to review the instrument in a variety of ways the researcher could capture the phenomenon of interest, and the expert reviewers help the researcher maximize the content validity of the instrument. The researcher will be paid careful attention to all suggestions from these content experts then made an informed decision about how to use their advice. The instrument will be revised to enhance content validity with the consensus of the dissertation committee. b. Step 2: Developing Directions for Responding The procedures for responding to the statements, as well as the meaning of the anchor points on the continuum, will be carefully develop and then reviewed by the dissertation committee chair and colleagues to avoid confusing respondents. Dillman (1978) (as cited in Bu, 2005) proposed some ideas about providing directions to subjects on how to answer questionnaires. He states that the encirclement process results in fewer ambiguous markings and should be encouraged. It is important that the same marking procedure be used throughout the questionnaire. Lower case letters are preferred for directions because of their greater readability (pg 76). The researcher will apply these suggestions when developing directions for responding. c. Step 3: Preparing a Draft of the Questionnaire. This step involves constructing a draft of the questionnaire and assessing the questionnaire. Three activities will be completed in this step. First, a section of questions for gathering demographic information from participants will be designed and included in the survey along with the instrument of students national identity. The purpose of developing this section of questions is to gather information that would be used to describe characteristics of the participants. Second is the issue of ordering the questions in the questionnaire. In this study, items that are measuring the same dimension will be grouped together. The questions that request demographic information are put at the end of the questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of two parts. Part one is composed of a series of items pertaining to students national identity. Items represented à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.dimensionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. The form of the instrument of students national identity looks like the following sample. Item Strongly disagree (1) Disagree (2) Either disagree or agree (3) Agree (4) Strongly agree (5) Item 1 1 2 3 4 5 Item 2 1 2 3 4 5 Item 3 1 2 3 4 5 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Part two of the questionnaire consists of the demographic questions and includes à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ as well as characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, geographic location. Third, the questionnaire is distributed to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. For the review of clarity of directions, ease of responding and time needed to fill out the questionnaire. d. Step 4: Examining Test-Retest Reliability and Pretesting Internal Consistency Reliability After questionnaire is produced, the researcher conducts two survey studies to gather data to examine construct validity and reliability of the instrument. Step 4 is to examine test-retest reliability of the instrument, preliminarily test internal consistency reliability of the instrument, and perform item analysis. It is assumed that the construct of students national identity does not change in subjects within two to three weeks. The researcher initially mailed the questionnaire to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. In two to three weeks, a repeat survey will be mailed to the respondents from the initial mailing. The test-retest reliability of the instrument of students national identity and its à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..subscales are examined among the subjects responding both the initial and the repeat mailings. Cronbachs alpha of the instrument and its à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Subscales is calculated using the data from the questionnaires returned from the initial mailing to pretest internal consistency reliability of the instrument and itsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.subscales. In addition, an item analysis for each subscale will be performed using the data from the returned questionnnaires from the initial mailing for the purpose of refining the instrument. An item needed to meet Likerts criterion of internal consistency in order to be retained in the scale. A given item whose score significantly correlated with the relevant scale score, which is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 0.3 is considered to meet the criterion of internal consistency and is retained in the instrument. An item whose score does not significantly related to the scale score, which is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 0.3, is rechecked and determined for retainment, elimination or revision depending on theory, content of the item, function of the item in the instrument. e. Step 5: Testing Construct Validity and Internal Consistency Reliability In this step, the refined survey will be sent to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. to collect data in order to examine the construct validity of the instrument using factor analysis and the internal consistency reliability of the instrument using Cronbachs alpha. Factor analysis is performed using data from the returned questionnaires. Factor analysis is used to determine construct validity of the instrument of students national identity and select items for inclusion in the instrument. Factor analysis is a broad category of approaches to determine the structure of relations among measures (Nunnally Bernstein, 1994). Factor analysis can be used to determine: (1) grouping variables, (2) which variables belong to which factor and how strong their relationship, (30 how many dimensions are needed to explain the relations among the variables, and (4) a frame of reference to describe the relation among the variables more conveniently. There are two major approaches to factor analysis: exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. In exploratory factor analysis, one seeks to summarize data by grouping together variables that are intercorrelated. The variables themselves may or may not have been chosen with potential underlying structure in mind. Exploratory factors are defined to achieve a mathematical objective such as maximizing the variance accounted for. In confirmatory factor analysis, factors are defined directly, which incorporate the properties such as the number of factors and content (or variables) of each factor that have been hypothesized and then determine how well these fit the data (Nunnally Bernstein, 1994). According to Tabachnick Fidell (1983), exploratory factor analysis is usually performed in the early stages of research to consolidate variables and generate hypotheses about relationships in a reduced data set. Confirmatory factor analysis generally occurs later in the researc h process, when a theory about structure is to be tested or when hypothesized differences in structure between groups of research units are tested. Variables are specifically chosen to reveal underlying structural processes. Data used in confirmatory factor analysis, then, might be different from those used in exploratory factor analysis. Cronbachs alpha will be calculated in this large sample to determine the internal consistency reliability of the instrument of attitudes toward patient advocacy and its three subscales. Up to this step, the instrument of students national identity will be established. 3.5 Data Collection Schedule and Procedures There are some differences between the data collection schedule and procedures for the test-retest study and the construct validity study. For the test-retest reliability study, surveys with the cover letters will be mailed to the 200 randomly selected subjects. A stamped returning envelope will be included in the mail for return of the survey. A code number will be attached to the 200 subjects, and those respondents from the initial mailing survey will be identified and sent a repeat survey within two to three weeks after the initial mailing in order to examine test-retest reliability. Thus, anonymity of respondents is not ensured in the test-retest reliability study for the purpose of the repeat mailing to those who returned the survey. Considering budget limitation for the dissertation, the researcher will makes only one contact with the 2500 randomly selected subjects. In this contact, a mailing that included the survey, a detailed cover letter explaining the nature of the study and asking for response and a business reply envelope will be sent to the 2500 subjects. Since only one contact was made to the 2500 students, anonymity of respondents is ensured in the study. A codebook for data entry will be developed and reviewed. A data entry program will be set up to facilitate inputting data. Data will be entered as responses to the questionnaire are returned. Entered data will be verified to check for errors in data input by going over 25% of the returned and entered questionnaires and running frequencies of each item of the questionnaire. Any differences between original data entry and verification required checking the raw data and correcting the entered data. Data analysis will begins after completion of data entry and involved statistical consultation with the dissertation committee members. 3.6 Data Analysis and Interpretation Three types of data analyses will be conducted in this study, which are analysis related to reliability, analysis related to validity, and descriptive statistics. First, the content validity of the instrument will be determined by CVI. The CVI was the proportion of items given a rating of 3 (relevant and needs a little revision) or 4 (very relevant) to the objectives of a measure based on 4-point ordinal scale by at least six out of the seven experts (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥86% agreement) in this study. Second, data from the respondents returned from the initial mailing in the test-retest study will be used for the analysis of Cronbachs alpha to pretest the internal consistency reliability of the instrument. Data from the questionnaires that are returned from both the initial and the repeat mailings will be used for examining the test-retest reliability. A total score for each of the subscales and the whole instrument will be obtained with the initial mailing, and a second total score for each of the subscales and the whole instrument will be obtained with the second mailing. The test-retest reliability coefficient of the instrument and its subscales will be obtained by correlating the initial mailing scores with the second mailing scores using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. High correlation coefficient indicates high stability or test-retest reliability of the instrument. This reliability coefficient above .70 is considered satisfactory. Third, item analysis will be performed using data from the questionnaires returned from the initial mailing. Correlations among items within each subscale and between each item with the total subscale score will be examined. Items with low correlations with the relevant subscale score ( Fourth, factor analysis will be performed using data from the questionnaires to determine the construct validity of the instrument of students nationasl identity. Factor analysis is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦() In this study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis approaches will be used to examine the construct validity of the instrument. Exploratory factor analysis will be first performed to extract factors from the instrument of students national identity and determine the items to be included in the instrument. If evidence for construct validity exists, the number of factors resulting from the analysis should approximate the number of dimensions assessed by the instrument, and the items with the highest factor loadings defining each factor should correspond to the items designed to measure each of the dimensions of the instrument (Waltz et al., 1991). Exploratory factor analysis consists of two stages: extract factors and rotating extracted factors (Nunnally Bernstein, 1994). The analysis first condenses the variables (items) into the smallest number of factors that explain the most variance. Principal component analysis (PCA) and principal axis analysis (PAF) are two most popular ways to condense data. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Then, three most common statistical rules were used to determine the number of factors. First, the Kaiser-Guttman rule retains factors with absolute eigenvalues of 1.0 or greater. However, this rule tends to suggest too many factors. The second rule is scree test that uses relative changes in these eigenvaluesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Since the unrotated factors are usually difficult to interpret, the second stage of exploratory factor analysis is to rotate these factors to make them more meaningful or more interpretableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Orthogonal and oblique rotations Results of the exploratory factor analysis will also be used for identification and selection of indicators (items) for the instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to validateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In confirmatory factor analysis, the researcher specifies which items load on each factor according to preconceived theory to test the theory. The result of this analysis indicates how well the empirical data actually conform to these specifications, that is, whether the items actually form the theorized constructs. In order to test the fit of the model to the data, multiple fit indices that reflect somewhat different facets of model fit are suggested à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI) Comparative Fit Index (CFI) Adjusted Goodness-of Fit Index (AGFI) Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) Finally, Cronbachs alpha will be calculated using the data from the returned surveys to determine the internal consistency reliability of the instrument and its subscales. High Cronbachs alpha indicates that the instrument has high internal consistency. Nunnally and Bernstein suggest that, for the newly developed instrument, the Cronbachs alpha with .70 is acceptable. Also, descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, and standard deviation will be used to describe the characteristics of the sample in both the test-retest reliability study and the construct validity study. Test-retest reliability, item analysis, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and Cronbachs alpha will be performed using SPSS version 20.0.0 for Windows. AMOS 5.0 for

Do The Right Thing :: essays research papers

The first scene begins with a close up shot of Senor Love Daddy's mouth, the top of a microphone, and an alarm clock. The alarm clock, being used as a prop, is making a very loud, annoying, ringing sound. This is done in order to get the viewers attention to the problem of racism. After the ringing stops, we start reframing in, and zooming out slowly, seeing more of Senor Love Daddy and the microphone. There is hard lighting present in the scene. The entire shot has a reddish color to it. A slow zoom and the reddish color are used to show the viewer how hot the setting of the movie is. The color also reflects tension, conflict, anger, and frustration, things that are not being expressed in the film yet. As we are zooming out, Senor Love Daddy says "Wake up, wake up, wake up†¦" This part of the scene is also is intended to get the viewers attention to the problem of racism. The foreground and some of the middle ground are in shallow focus. This is a get in your face type of shot, letting the viewer know that this movie will be in your face for the next two hours and that the viewer better pay attention to the problem at hand: racism. This shot is solely for the viewers, to get their attention. We stop zooming out once we see the whole microphone. At that point, we start tracking out and the camera starts moving slowly up, via a crane. We now see the reflection of the street outside Senor Love Daddy's workplace, on the glass window Senor Love Daddy is facing. We also see hats of many different cultures sitting Senor Love Daddy's desk. This shows that he respects many different cultures and shows he is a very open person. Also Senor Love Daddy's workplace is street level. He talks to all the characters in the movie like Mookie, Radio Raheem, and the people playing outside with the fire hydrant. This shows he is willing to communicate with the neighborhood and also show once again that he is a very open person. He is always looking outside the window at the community. Senor Love Daddy is not hiding from anybody. He is the voice of the neighborhood. The camera continues moving up on a crane until it is at an high angle, and we start panning to the left.