Acquisition of Manipulative Skills in Chemistry

Acquisition of Manipulative Skills in Chemistry Practical or hands-on activity is an essential instrument of assessment in an active science teaching and learning process. Science practical is a hands-on activity where the students are given the opportunity to practice what they have learned in the theories of science. It is an instrument for the students to acquire Science Process Skills (SPS) and Manipulative Skills (MS). Through practical activities a student’s Science Process Skills, Manipulative Skills as well as critical thinking and learning are developed. Also, science practical is a student centered and active learning process, which prepares a student to learn how to think, analyse, solve problems and produce appropriate solutions to it. This science practical is said to be a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Model. To identify and evaluate the level of the acquisition of SPS and MS, an assessment should be conducted on students. Assessments are important means of gaining dynamic picture of students academic developme nt. As an instrument of assessment, PEKA Chemistry was introduced in Malaysian school curricular. PEKA Chemistry is school-based practical assessment which was introduced in the year of 1999 to replace SPM Chemistry Practical Paper. This instrument is designed with a few constructs and criteria to assess student’s SPS and MS at the upper secondary level. The assessment is done continuously for two years, starting with the Form Four students and it is continued until the said students complete their Form Five. Students are assessed formatively by their chemistry subject teacher within the process of teaching and learning. LITERATURE REVIEW From other source of study, a few problems were identified in the implementation of PEKA. From the study by Siti Aloyah Alias (2002) ‘Evaluation Of The Implementation Of The PEKA Biology Program’ it is shown that even though the students enjoyed the assessment, many students are not sure of the skills they are suppose to master. With this, it is proven that the studied students have not mastered the SPS and MS skills as stated in the objective of PEKA. This study also shows that teachers are uncertain of using and designing their own scoring rubrics. They find it difficult to mark the students evidence as they do not have a proper standard marking guide. The study on Student Ability in PEKA Biology Among Form Four Science Stream Students by Nor Aziah Darus shows that time constraint in completing experiments was one of the main problem identified. This means the amount of experiments suggested by the ministry has got no proper time allocation. The amount of workload for teachers is too taxing. Teachers are under stress where they are suppose to finish the subject syllabus and the all the PEKA in a limited time of period. This in one way or other leads to lack of interest in teaching and learning of PEKA . Perlaksanaan Peka Kimia Di Sekolah Menengah di Sekitar Daerah Batu Pahat, Johor by Lee Soh Hoon   (2 007) showed that the frequency of the PEKA implementation is not sufficient. Faiza (2002) feels that the teachers are having problem in marking the practical report because the score scheme given by the ministry is too rubric. Additional to this, teachers in certain school are facing problem of insufficient lab apparatus which leads to limitation of experiment to assess. She also quoted that student’s excellent performance in PEKA (Biology) does not promise an excellent result in Biology theoretical examinations.

Review of A Journal Article on Population and Economics Term Paper

Review of A Journal Article on Population and Economics - Term Paper Example Moreover, health of aging population is also improving significantly and a large proportion of old-age people will live without any health complications. Productivity in any country will have bearings due to age-related changes in working populations. It is pertinent to note that population of age 60 and above was 200 million in 1950 but today, it has increased to 760 million and estimated to be around 2 billion in 2050. Similarly, the numbers of people of age 80 and above were 14 million in 1950 that has raised to 11 million today and are likely to reach, based on the current projections, nearly 400 million by 2050. This is critical since these patterns of aging population were never seen in the past. Authors have attempted to examine the effects of aging population on world economy as a whole. Authors have drawn data from the United Nations and have projected age-wise population between 2005 and 2050. The projections are based on the medium-fertility rate. If the fertility rates ar e lower than this than the aging population will increase further. The fertility rate estimation between 2005 and 2050 is a matter of uncertainty and will lead to different results pertaining to elderly proportion. Even changes in mortality rate will influence the proportion of aging population significantly. Different continents will have varying estimation of ageing population. Africa will have a least proportion of the people with age 60 and higher while Europe is projected to have the highest proportion of aging population amongst all continents – to the tune of almost 34 percent followed by North America at 28 percent. Declining fertility rates, increasing life expectancy at birth and declining mortality rates in child are the factors behind increased proportion of aging population across most part of the world. Quantitative Methods Employed The authors have employed quantitative empirical methods to study the effect of ageing population on the world economy. They have d one population analysis by age group based on historical data from 1950 to 2005 and then projections made about age-group distribution for years beyond 2005 until 2050. With different fertility assumptions, an attempt has been made to estimate proportion of aging population beyond 2005 until 2050. It is believed that the issue will have its social as well as political fallouts too. For example, an aging population will need support in terms of healthcare services and income security for them. In developing countries, this, traditionally, has been taken care by families but as more and more women enter workforce, this is likely to change. Formation of nuclear families, migration towards urban centers and children leaving away from their parents will become a norm even in most of the developing countries posing new challenges for security of the elderly population. Most developed countries have social security plans in place to provide healthcare and income security; however, as the e lderly population goes up, it is likely to be a daunting task for most governments. In short, aging population may cause serious consequences on the economy of the nation. Behavioural Changes Authors emphasise that behaviour changes play a pivotal role in meeting the shortfall in labour supply and they can be described as per the following. Rising life expectancy is responded by the society by increasing the number of working years keeping the saving behaviour unchanged. Even if the people do not work for extra years, it is certain that increased life

Critically evaluate, in relation to the common law duty of care, the Essay - 9

Critically evaluate, in relation to the common law duty of care, the liability of employers for references. How, if at all, does - Essay Example While the intention of the common law duty of care is to protect the aggrieved parties from incurring damages resulting from negligence, the law extends to promote sanity in the relationship of the employer and the employee. Arguably, the duty of care predisposes the human resource departments of various organization tend create organization policies that respect the rights of the employee in order to avoid legal feuds. Many institutions are hesitant to provide information about form students to prospective employers due to the fear of potential legal feuds. The fact that former employer had a direct engagement with the departed employee to a given extent makes him liable to any issue which he disseminate to the prospective employer that might amount to damages. The student or employee is likely to sue or seek legal arbitration in a situation where he or she feels that the former institution violated his or her right by offering certain information that damages his or her identity. U nder the duty of care, defamation is a communication that intends to harm the reputation of the target party so as to limit the ability of the ability of the party to associate with a third party. The law protects offer punitive and compensatory damages for successful defamatory claims. The issue that is contentious in acting as a referee for the university student is the fact that such association might attract legal liability. In some situations, the institution might be willing to provide the confidential information about a former student whom in the institution’s view does not deserve consideration for employment because of his or her conduct. There is no legal provision that dictates that the institution must provide a reference to prospective employers. However, the existing legal obligation provide that universities should exercise due care when compiling a reference report of a student. The institution owes a duty of care to the student to whom such reference informa tion is provided and to the addressee who sought the reference. The employer might sue the University for Negligence if it fails to provide reference information requested about the student (Williams and Zumbansen 2011 pp134). On the other hand, the student might sue the institution if it feels that the information addressed to the addressee violated his or her right. Most institutions feel obligated to respond to request for a reference where reasonably requested for employment or academic purposes (Grace and Gravestock 2008 pp 46). Failure to provide the reference could disadvantage a student application and could be deemed to be discriminatory on grounds of race, sex, disability, or age and be subject to legal action. Some people have failed to secure job opportunity from prospective employers or have faced the sack based on the reference information addressed to the prospectus employer by their former employers. Such outcomes often attract legal suits. In case Spring vs. Guardia n Assurance Plc and Others; HL 7-Jul-1994, the complainant submitted before the court that the reference given by his former employer influenced his sacking. In the reference letter, his former employer indicted that he was a man of little or no integrity. In this case, the opinion of the court held that an employer was liable for negligence and damaging reference given on behalf of the employee. The court noted that a duty of care was owed to the former employee.