Analyse The Factors Contributing To Language Maintenance Education Essay

Analyse The Factors Contributing To Language Maintenance Education Essay In countries of significant migration, like Australia, newly arrived settlers from non-English speaking countries need to become bilingual, adding to fluency in their own language at least some fluency in English. With the passage of time, perhaps generations, families may find that their ethnic language becomes lost to them. Many consider that this loss is not only a loss for families and individuals, but that it is also a loss for the community at large. For the purposes of this essay, the term â€Å"language maintenance† is used to refer to the ability of ethnic communities, families and individuals to maintain their own language while adapting to the language of their new country. This essay will consider the factors which appear to influence the maintenance of a language, focusing on some of the more powerful social and psychological forces which propel individuals towards the continued learning and maintenance of a minority language. There seems to be little doubt among the researchers that attitudes influence language maintenance. In fact, attitudes towards the minority language and culture appear to underlie the other relevant factors, which include sense of ethnic identity, motivation and family support. These factors will be dealt with in turn in this essay. There is a considerable body of evidence that attitudes to the ethnic language and culture influence language maintenance. In order to consider attitudes towards a language, one needs to consider what makes a language valuable. According to Edwards (1985), greater possibilities of employment and acceptance by the community that speaks the language are some valuable qualities. Factors that devalue a language would include the embarrassment some children feel about parents’ use of the minority language in public when the children want to conform. Gardner (1985) has produced and reviewed studies attempting to establish a relationship between attitudes towards a language and culture and motivation to practise the language and participate in that culture. He concludes on the basis of the research that attitudes are fairly consistently related to achievement in a language. Political issues obviously affect attitudes and Romaine (1989, p. 42), in dealing with the effect of ties with the homeland on language maintenance, wrote that â€Å"refugees often reject the language of the oppressive regime and try to assimilate to the new culture as quickly as possible†. An individual’s and community’s sense of ethnic identity appears to have a profound influence on language maintenance. Issues of identity are extremely personal and often emotional, interwoven as they are with personality. One expects the extent to which a person identifies with his/her ethnic background to influence the motivation behind maintenance of the ethnic language. Some studies (e.g. Bentahila and Davies, 1992) have disputed this expectation. It appears that it is possible for a sp eech community to value its ethnic background and language highly though not passing it on to their children, possibly for utilitarian reasons. Or language may not be considered a core value of ethnic identity, as with the Dutch community in Australia, which tends not to maintain the Dutch language over generations (Clyne, 1982). The Dutch community in Australia, according to Smolicz and Secombe (1979), is a group that does not consider it very important to retain its own culture as distinct to that of the dominant majority. Poles and Greeks, however, are language-centred cultures, in which language is considered an important and defining aspect of group membership. These communities, according to Clyne (1979), do maintain their languages well. It thus appears that a strong sense of ethnic identity is an important factor contributing to language maintenance as long as language is considered an important part of that identity.

Research Summary and Ethical Considerations Essay

Research Summary and Ethical Considerations - Essay Example Many suspected that the cause of disease is because of lack of knowledge of the hospital personnel like the nurses and doctors. The disease being highly contagious can lead to many cases within a short period. I will do a research on the Texas Children Hospital to find out the number of children that have measles. I will also analyze the level of knowledge of nurses and doctors to account for the increased prevalence of the disease. Background of study Problem The chief problem that has increased level of patients under five years having measles is ignorance. This is because the new nurses and doctors have not experienced children that have the measles infection. This is because for, a long time, the disease in Boston has been nonexistent because of vaccination (Fabes & Martin, 2008). Therefore, the doctors cannot correctly diagnose the disease as measles. Again, the new doctors and nurses do not know the importance of issuing vaccines to children. This is because they have just lear ned about the diseases in medical schools but have never treated a child with the disease to know how it is serious. Significance The significance of the study is to enlighten the nurses on the danger of neglecting these reduced but acutely dangerous diseases. By doing this, the study aims at improving the attention nurses pay on children by ensuring that all receive their vaccinations (Thomas, 2003). Purpose The study aims at ensuring the prevalence of measles does not increase as this will ultimately increase the mortality rate of children less than five years. Objectives This reading aims at assessing the knowledge level of measles of nurses and doctors in the Texas Children Hospital. HA- There is positive relation existing between the knowledge level of measles and the increased prevalence of measles in Texas Children Hospital, Boston. Concepts Vaccination- this is when an individual is given antigens that trigger the immune system to create protection from a specific disease. M edical personnel- this are qualified people who work in a health facility to ensure that patients are treated and taken care of. Method of study The study will be a qualitative research where the observations found will be expressed in words. This is most appropriate when the data required cannot be expressed numerically. An example is like the attitude of nurses and doctors towards vaccinating children below 5 years. Research Design The study will use a cross sectional study design as it is most appropriate. This is because it will show knowledge of people on the measles disease as well as the importance of vaccination against it. Sample The approximate number of children who come for measles vaccination in the Texas Children Hospital is 425. The sample will target 129 children who will be used in the study. I was able to find the sample size to use in the study by using the following formula. D=G Where D is the desired sample size; G is the standard normal deviation at 95% confide nce level. S is the number of children who have vaccination against measles. b is 1-S, and f is the level of statistical significance set. H=Z?Sb/f? To substitute the symbols with values enables one to find the estimated population size. H= (1.96)? (0.14) (0.86)/ (0.05)? (The number found is divided by the estimated value of the number of children who received vaccination from the hospital.) H=40 Therefore, the sample size that the study will use will be forty children to

Software Usability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Software Usability - Essay Example or the successful execution of business processes that the designs of the information systems embedded within them are user centered and targeted towards the achievement of specific goals with effectiveness. Usability is judged at the very initiation when the user interacts with the user interface of software. The readability of the user interface and the accessibility that it provides are both key factors that can be considered in order to assess the usability of that particular system. Specific User tasks to be highlighted. Usability precision without the implementation of this task at the design phase is impossible. Every computer system module needs to be designed specific to its users’ needs. The simply and clearly chalked out the requirements of the users are, the easier and more efficiently implemented is the usability of the system. Goals to be Determined-Evaluate what is the final required end result. In accordance with the data collected, the tasks required to reach the goal are embedded within the software design of the computer system. User profile should be determined. Representatives similar to the target market should be approached. The system should be accessed by them and their response should be integrated into the final outcome of the software. Conduct preliminary trial sessions. The representatives who are made to access the system before its finalization are provided with specific rooms in which they are monitored by audio/visual recording or eye tracking equipment. Since the physical response of users is part of the usability assessment the data collected is of immense importance. Data input from the users should be evaluated. Respect should be given to the areas of the system that left the users unsatisfied and distressed. Close attention should be paid to areas where the users were not satisfied. DISAGREEMENTS about usability should be resolved with the consensus of opinion. The hiring of external agents that would be third party to