Research in logistics and Suppy chains system Essay

Research in logistics and Suppy chains system - Essay Example In addition, the terminals are under attack by capacity constraints, inadequate decision-making techniques, and congestion as well as environment issues. Such daunting challenges result from the terminals negation of potentially significant pipe flow models of container terminals logistic process (Kuznetsov at al. 2015). Therefore, the modelling of terminals dealing with containerization traffic is still rare. Accordingly, there is an ineffective Container Terminal Logistic Systems that is chief in the present international logistics. There should be an adequate modelling to ensure smooth operation of the terminals. However, the terminals efficient operation lacks satisfactory models to ensure smooth operation. Such an inadequacy is caused by increased number of containers without simultaneous risen in the terminals capacity. In addition, the top management is silent on such expansive strategies as they negate potentially pipe flow models of the container terminal logistic procedure. Such negligence results in constraints such as poor decision-making techniques (Talley 2007). The counteractive objective is, therefore, to design and develop a dynamic operation view. There is a need to increase the operational levels model simulation of the whole logistical procedure encompassing export and import flows (ElMesmary at al. 2014). Finally, there is a need to validate the base simulation model to enable scenario evaluation and its subsequent testing to gauge the operational alteration impacts in the terminals. The metric for assessing the goal and make the ideas of possible routes accomplish the ideal situation is to design and establish a dynamic perspective of the terminal operation. In addition, an increased operational level of the model simulation would be feasible. Such should collapse into a validation of the base simulation model that enable scenario evaluation. Also, the scenario testing will help assess the impacts of

An Inferential Statistic of Housing Problems Assignment

An Inferential Statistic of Housing Problems - Assignment Example The null hypothesis of equal variances is rejected and it is concluded that there is a difference between the variances in the population.It is called heteroscedasticity. Some of the procedures typically assuming homoscedasticity are the ANOVA, t-tests.Levene's test is often used before a comparison of means. When Levene's test shows significance, one should switch to generalized tests, free from homoscedasticity assumptions. Since the p-value is less than 0.05 ( 0.000) in this case hence homoscedasticity or equal variances cannot be assumed. The computed t statistic is 6.95 which is more than the assumed or critical t statistic of 6.82 for assuming equal variance. The degree of freedom is hence retained as 957.51 and the p values as stated is

Effect of Learning Environment on Child Arithmetic Skills

Effect of Learning Environment on Child Arithmetic Skills Abstract The main aim of this experiment is to find out whether learning environments will affect children’s arithmetic skills. The hypothesis is children in kindergarten will performed better in arithmetic skills than children receiving home-schooling (N=40). These 40 children will be categorize into 2 groups, Boys and Girls and according to their learning environments, they are sub-grouped into kindergarten and home learning environments. Two different arithmetic tasks were carried out to assess the children skills. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks and at the end of the last week, all the scores were tabulated for the groups. A factorial between design was used in this experiment The statistical analysis yielded support for the hypothesis that children who study in kindergarten score better than children who study at home. However, due to lack of generalisation to population, further replication of the study is recommended with adequate sample size. How Learning Environments Affect Children Arithmetic Skills Acquiring basic literacy skills bring about a significant change to the advances in  research and educational practices. The preschooler years are viewed as the point whereby those kids are at their crucial point to learn the basic abilities of learning in how to read and write. So there is a dilemma for parents whether they should send their child to kindergarten or they should go along with homeschooling. Children tend to learn numbers counting before language acquisition and formal education (Lipton Spelke, 2003; Xu, Spelke, Goddard, 2005). As the child progress, his numerical accuracy gradually refined throughout his childhood until he gained more insightful knowledge in later year. (Halberda Feigenson, 2008). Subsequently, with language acquisition, children will understand the numbers in words and break them in smaller groups (Wynn, 1996), that are within their counting range and gradually move outside of the range to know more numbers (Lipton Spelke, 2006). Talking about cognitive development in children, Jean Piaget (1896) had devoted all his life to study how children think and not to just what children know. Piaget believes that children are able to seek understanding of the world through the process of assimilation and accommodation. Therefore, Piaget placed great emphasize on cognitive development associated with the experience and not social interaction. Another perspective of cognitive development is a Russian psychologist Lev  Vygosky(1896). Vygosky focused on culture and society when it comes to cognitive learning ability. He believed that children learn differently when they are learning independent as compared to learning under the guidance of a more capable partner. This is what he called ‘zone of proximal development†. In conclusion, Vygosky believed that cognitive development is affected by social interaction as compared to be independent. The difference in how Piaget and Vygotsky’s approaches to children cognitive development are the concept of individualistic and social processes. On a research study by Rea and Reys (1970), before children start to enrol in formal education, they are equipped with little of mathematical understanding .Children from early age is constantly practicing their counting skill. Geary (2004)stated that childrens counting abilities could be seen as a combination of inherent constraints and inductions based on counting experiences Seo and Ginsburg (2004) studied the types of informal mathematical activities which four- and five-year-old children express in natural settings during free play. Children demonstrated five mathematical categories; classification activities, magnitude activities, enumeration activities, dynamics and pattern and shape activities. According to Sarama and Clements (2009), children construct mathematics notions as they get actively engaged in the following sorts of play: sensorimotor or manipulative play, symbolic constructive play, symbolic dramatic play and games with rules. Children getting involved in play use it as a means to get them in problem solving situations to develop their thinking on mathematical ideas and procedures. Informal mathematical knowledge undergoes considerable development during the  preschool years and provides a basis for the later acquisition of formal mathematics in the school context (Clements and Sarama 2007). In this sense, successful early childhood instruction builds on children’s informal knowledge and supports the linkage of this prior thinking to more analytical mathematical representations, while taking into account diversity in terms of language, culture, needs and interests. Children possess informal knowledge of many complex mathematical ideas, enjoy the challenges of playing with these complex ideas and, with adult or peer guidance, they can achieve greater understanding than previously expected (Ginsburg, Greenes and Balfanz 2003). It was hypothesized in this study that children who receive education in kindergarten performed better in their arithmetic skills as to children who are receiving their education at home. Another hypothesis in this study is that boys in both school and home will score higher than girls in home and school environment in the assessment test. Methods Participants There will be a total of 40 toddlers involve in this experiment and they are staying at the same community area. They will be divided into 10 male and 10 female toddlers will attend the designated kindergarten while the remaining toddlers will be receiving home schooling at their own respective homes.The age of the toddler will be 5 years old for both genders to ensure fairness of their learning capability. The two different teaching environments that are set for this experiment will be at a kindergarten or at the toddlers’ homes Materials Math ability task. Math ability was measured using the Early Number Concepts component of the British Ability Scales II (Elliot et al., 1996). This math test comprises 24 items that assess various basic numerical competencies through four items (Recognizing numbers names and numerals, identifying quantitative relationships and matching corresponding Number estimation task Three number lines were used: 0 –10, 0 –20 and 0 –100. Each line was 25-cm long, with 0 on the left end and 10, 20, or 100 on the right end, depending on the scale. Procedure The 20 children will be divided into 2 groups according to their genders and in each group, they will be further split in another two groups, based on their learning environments kindergarten or home schooling. The children were instructed to follow the instructions in accordance to each task. The children are shown pictures and they were told to use pencil to circle the correct answer in the given questions. Next, they were told to match the same shapes from a group of mixed shapes of all sizes. Lastly, they were given simple basic addition and subtraction problems to solve and verbally voice out the answer. The total scores for the worksheet will be 20 marks. Results A factorial between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to investigate the effects of gender and learning environments on children’s arithmetic skills. Shapiro-Wilk and Levene’s test were used to evaluate the assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance respectively. Neither was violated. Levene’s statistics for the test of equality is non-significant with F (3, 36) = .679, p=.571. The results for ANOVA was statically significant with children who attend kindergarten performed better than children who did not attend kindergarten with F (1, 36) = 8.112, p=.001, Õ ²2= .184, as well as statistically significant main effect for practice, F( 1, 36) = 1.073, p=.307, Õ ²2= .029. However, there is no significant interaction indicated that the effect of different learning environments on children’s arithmetic skills are associated with gender differences, F(1,36)= 1.00,p=0.01. The nature of the interaction is shown in Figure 1. Discussion This study aims to find out whether 5-year old children who attend kindergarten tend to have better arithmetic skills than children who have home schooling. This is a double blind experiment whereby both experimenter and children are unaware of what are there being tested, this is to protect the experiment from having the observer-expectancy effect. It was hypothesized that children who attend kindergarten tend to have higher scores than those children who have home schooling, and it was supported by the data using two-way analysis of variances (ANOVA). The data showed that there is a significant difference of the scores between the two learning environments. The two approaches that Piaget and Vygotsky had come across with are closely associated with the type of learning environments which children learn their cognitive skills in both kindergarten and home schooling. Children who attend kindergarten tend to be following Vygotsky’s concept of ‘zone of proximal development whereby children are able to learn under an adult’s supervision while children who receive educations at home from their parents, the home-schoolers are moving towards Piaget’s teaching as the children depend on themselves to gain knowledge about what is happening around them. As the child progresses from infants, his/her ability to learn also progresses along with the growth. Infants demonstrated word segmentation ability when adults were talking to them. When they reach the preschool age, environment play a significant role in their learning ability. At this age group, they are prone to pick up new information quickly even though it is an adult conversation (Whitehurst Valdez-Menchaca, 1988). So, the new information that the child had picked up, if the learning environment and the caregivers reinforces them to gain a better understanding of the things around them, the child will be more advanced in learning new skills. Therefore, in order for child to acquire good arithmetic skills, they can be exposed to more numbers-related information and problems and a positive reinforcement learning environment to gain better understanding of arithmetic problems. However, despite the fact children at the early onset toddlers’ age they are constantly using their arithmetic skills during their playtime with other children such as counting the numbers in their group and dividing themselves up for their games, but parents’ are always looking for educational videos to stimulate those children’s intellectual development at home(McCormick, 1998),which indeed raises the children’s academic achievement but it lowers their expectancies of success and pride in accomplishments in their future (Deborah.,et,al., 1995). Studies are consistent with the hypothesis that children tend to gain better cognitive development in kindergarten as children are exposed to active interaction conservations, feedbacks and corrections are given to them so they are able to understand the concept better to avoid future mistakes. There are some limitations in this experiment. First limitations is generalization of the population, the sample size of this children was taken at one community area and the conclusions are based on the responses of those pre-schoolers children that have yet to have better understanding of the world. Therefore it does not generate enough data to prove that this experiment is reliable. This greatly reduces the external validity of this experiment. Second limitation is the history effect whereby some children are enrolled in other arithmetic classes that could possibly allow them to score higher than the others and eventually lead them to become outliers in the groups. This is one of the confound variable which this experiment had failed to control. Therefore, further studies are needed to eliminate this variable and including a control group will eliminate this confound. In conclusion, there are some improvements that need to make for this experiment to have better reliability and usefulness to the population. Researchers who are curious about how children acquire higher level of arithmetic abilities or cognitive development should conduct more studies and analyse how different age groups solve problems or question with increasing difficulty under different learning environments, what are some of the tools that they use to assist them in the process of learning, and last of all, the interaction between gender and learning environment should be further analyse and require further research.

Exploring Methodological Individualism Essay -- Psychology

Exploring Methodological Individualism ABSTRACT: I defend the truth of the principle of methodological individualism in the social sciences. I do so by criticizing mistaken ideas about the relation between individual people and social entities held by earlier defenders of the principle. I argue, first, that social science is committed to the intentional stance; the domain of social science, therefore, coincides with the domain of intentionally described human action. Second, I argue that social entitites are theoretical terms, but quite different from the entities used in the natural sciences to explain our empirical evidence. Social entities (such as institutions) are conventional and open-ended constructions, the applications of which is a matter of judgment, not of discovery. The terms in which these social entities are constructed are the beliefs, expectations and desires, and the corresponding actions of individual people. The relation between the social and the individual 'levels' differs fundamentally from that bet ween, say, the cellular and the molecular in biology. Third, I claim that methodological individualism does not amount to a reduction of social science to psychology; rather, the science of psychology should be divided. Intentional psychology forms in tandom with the analysis of social institutions, unitary psycho-social science; cognitive psychology tries to explain how the brain works and especially how the intentional stance is applicable to human behavior. The principle of methodological individualism in the social sciences has its origin in the Austrian school of economics and was introduced into the philosophy of social science in general by Friedrich Hayek and Karl Popper. Hayek was the first to us... ... the Aristotelian Society 76, 1-27. Rosenberg, Alexander (1980), Sociobiology and the preemption of social science. Baltmore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Ruben, David-Hillel (1985), The metaphysics of the social world. London etc.: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Stich, Stephen (1983), From folk psychology to cognitive science. The case against belief. Cambridge, Mass./London: MIT Press. Thornhill, Nancy Wilmsen (1991), 'An evolutionary analysis of rules regulating human inbreeding and marriage', Brain and Behavioral Sciences 14, 247-261. Tuomela, Raimo (1984), A theory of social action. Dordrecht etc.: D. Reidel. — (1995), The importance of us. A philosophical study of basic social notions. Stanford, Cal.: Stanford University Press. Watkins, John (1952), 'Ideal types and historical explanation', British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 3, 22-43.

Abolition for Bilingual Education

One half of United States children who are not proficient in English live in California, a state who's future depends on these three million children becoming fluent in English. In 1968, the Bilingual Education Act was passed with the theory that if you academically instructed students in their native language first, learning English would be better and faster in the long run. Since the passage of bilingual education, there has been a continuing debate over whether or not the programs are benefiting children. Although there is not any research to support this conclusion, bilingual advocates believe that â€Å"bilingual students who first master Spanish and then make a transition to English, do at least as well academically in the long run as their English-only counterparts† (Netkin 1). Supporters feel that even if students are not gaining in English, the programs keep them from falling behind in content areas and also boost their self-esteem, which gives them the confidence to catch up later. The search for some proof that the five hundred million dollar industry works to help immigrant children learn English, in order to prosper in a California society, continues with little success. For decades throughout California, bilingual education has been commended as a miracle for schoolchildren who are not proficient in English, but the programs have been proven to be unsuccessful and should be abolished. Research indicates that bilingual programs are not helping children, but instead are bringing about high drop out rates and low test scores. There have been many struggles to educate children in bilingual programs. Teachers and instructional materials are hard to find, which makes instruction in academic subjects to the great number and mix of children difficult. Highly transient students and the inability to involve parents in their children's education present a barrier to instruction. Bilingual programs require great amounts of money that California taxpayers should not have to provide because taxpayers should not be responsible for teaching immigrants the American language. Proposition 227 was passed in June of 1998 that was to eliminate bilingual education and place children with limited English proficiency into classes where English is the only language spoken. This new law will enable California schoolchildren to succeed in America and taxpayers will no longer have to provide for a program that â€Å"actually keeps children from learning English, the language of their future, and hinders success in American society† (McCain). â€Å"63% of research shows no difference between bilingual education and doing nothing† (Research Evidence of Bilingual Education 4). Each year, only five percent of the bilingual schoolchildren gain English proficiency. Scores on comprehensive tests reveal that students who move from bilingual classes to English-only classes are unable to perform. Latino children in bilingual classes â€Å"end up not speaking either Spanish or English well† (Netkin 2). They have the highest dropout rate, forty percent, of any ethnic group and have consistently scored the lowest on Scholastic Assessment Tests. Instructing children in their official language and not teaching them English is making the children unable to succeed in society. Since this is an American country, children should be placed in English speaking classrooms in order to learn the language of the dominant group. Educating children in bilingual programs is difficult. Schools cannot provide the proper bilingual instruction because teachers and materials are limited or unavailable. Students speak languages that are not historically represented in the United States so bilingual teachers and materials for the languages are nonexistent. Even in schools where all students speak Spanish, teachers are hard to find and have to be recruited from Spanish speaking countries. However, sometimes the immigrant teachers cannot be certified to teach because they lack a college degree or simply cannot pass the English portion of a state teacher certification test. The California Department of Education estimates that about twenty-two thousand bilingual teachers are needed for instruction and studies predict that filling the need may be impossible. Bilingual education cannot provide children with the instruction needed to prosper in California so the programs should be eliminated. Immigrant students are highly transient which makes continuous instruction difficult. New students arrive to schools on a monthly basis, contributing to overcrowded classrooms that make teaching complex. Existing students move frequently or are regularly absent for long periods of time, disrupting their learning. Often times, students with excessive absences from school cannot be promoted to the next grade level or graduate, which makes the children discouraged and leads to them dropping out of school. Transient actions effect a student's ability to receive an education, contributing to the failure of bilingual programs. Parental involvement is important for student achievement, but extreme struggles arise when trying to involve parents in their children's education. Many parents are illiterate in their native language as well as English, making communication impossible. Translators are used successfully, but for uncommon languages, very few translators are available. Parental self-help classes are provided to parents who have trouble communicating. The classes have taught parents how to help their children in school, but several problems with parent involvement remain. Without the five hundred million dollars a year that taxpayers provide to the federal government, bilingual education programs would not exist. Why should the taxpayer be responsible for immigrants learning the American language? Before entering this country immigrants know that English is the dominant language, therefore, they should be responsible for learning the language themselves. By not knowing English and being unable to communicate effectively, newcomers are only hurting themselves. Taxpayers should not be responsible for educating immigrants. Learning English should be the responsibility of the person seeking to speak the language. Proposition 227 was passed to eliminate bilingual education. Children with limited English proficiency are to be placed into English-only classes where their native language is never spoken. This practice is called English immersion, a non-taxpaying system that will push children toward the quickest path to success in America. Students will learn English better and faster by being around the language all-day and everyday. The quicker they learn the language the sooner the students will be able to join in with their peers and develop an education. Although Proposition 227 was passed in June of 1998 to eliminate bilingual education, the programs remain in schools. â€Å"In Redwood City, south of San Francisco, the school district reports that eighty percent of Spanish-speaking children are still enrolled in bilingual† (Michels). Many other schools have confessed to not eliminating bilingual classes. The schools feel that the children need to be transferred to English-only classes slowly in order to avoid student confusion. Bilingual supporters feel that the programs give children self-esteem and a better education. This is absurd. Separating children from others because they cannot speak English makes them feel insecure and different. If anything, the students loose self-esteem and pride, making learning difficult. Bilingual programs are a failure and schools should obey the law and abolish the instruction. â€Å"The students will gain whatever added self-esteem they need when they develop proficiency in English, the language in which their peers are learning, and the language that they will need to succeed in the United States† (Netkin 1)

Literature as a Looking Glass

Perhaps it is the aim of every storyteller to leave their reader a little changed after having read the tales they so carefully weave.   But how many authors can actually achieve this? Leaving their audience with a story that broadens the mind, asks deep questions, and probes into the way we work is not easily done.   The ability to move us from one plane to another is what distinguishes a really great writer from a storyteller.   For many, Stephen King is such an author.   Some may say even more so because of the use of his genre of the fantastical, the horrific and the gruesome. Exploring the darker parts of our psyches, and our everyday lives, he manages to lead us along the path to contemplate difficult social questions. Always leaving them open for us to determine the answers for ourselves.In a comparison of his two works, The Long Green Mile and Hearts of Atlantis, we can explore his use of the fantastical as an opportunity to raise thought provoking social questions.   Although both books, also interestingly both written as a series, are very different in nature, they share the common theme of finding the extraordinary in ordinary life.   Each book finds the hero that seems to hide in everyday circumstances while at the same time forcing us to look at several of the factors that shape our lives, for the good or the bad. As mentioned by Jonathan Davis in his work, Stephen King’s America, â€Å"While some of his stories focus more on one area than others, a close reading of his works will often show that King seldom fails to include a wide view of American society.† (Davis)The Long Green Mile is a prime example of King’s use of storytelling as social commentary.   In the book the main characters are themselves symbols of the society in which we live.   John Coffey, and innocent man sent to death row for a crime he didn’t commit. Is it because he is simple, or because he is black? As Sharon Russell states in her c ritical review, Revisiting Stephen King , â€Å"While Coffey dominates the action, he remains an enigma, a symbol of a good beyond understanding.† (Russell)And his mysterious gift to heal is starkly contrasted with William Wharton’s ability to destroy.   Just as Coffey is the symbol for good, so is Wharton the symbol for evil.Moreover, the underlying theme that resonates throughout the book is just that; the nature of good and evil. And Stephen King shows us how that battle rages in many arenas of our lives. One obvious question is that of racism. Was Coffey found guilty because he was black? Another character in the story, a white business man, was released from a murder he obviously committed. There was nothing to point to Coffey but the fact that he was found with the girls. Was racism a factor?Also, the question of the death penalty raises its head several times. Delacroix, a horrible man, suffered death in the electric chair. However, the brine filled sponge tha t was supposed to make the electrocution quick and painless was omitted purposefully by one of the jailers. This resulted in a horrific and torturous death by Delacroix.   Was his suffering justifiable?Delving a little more deeply we probe the seemingly senseless death of Janice who had just escaped death by the miraculous hands of Coffey.   After all the trouble and the wondrous miracle that saved her life, to die in a bus accident leaves lingering questions of human justice versus divine justice.Similarly, in Hearts of Atlantis   King dances the fine line between fantasy and reality, although in a different way.   Although some of the characters are recurring, we are able to see them forming the opinions and beliefs that will be the basis of their actions in the future. Also, again King explores the realm and power of childhood.   In The Long Green Mile Coffey is used and explored as childlike and also, interestingly, he is the one that has the mystical and unquestioned healing power.   In Hearts of Atlantis   we see the children as they are and watch their struggle with reality and fantasy defines them.Those transitional moments are very apparent in the first story of Bobby and Carol.   Bobby was an everyday hero, Stephen King style. The ordinary fabric of society, hiding hero’s in every thread.   However, King goes one step further by reintroducing the few key characters throughout a string of seemingly unrelated stories.   By doing this he shows us the connectivity of individuals. How the actions we make today have huge impacts on others and shape their lives. Bobby’s bravery inspired Carol’s courage to stand up for what she believed later in life.By looking closely at the lives of the characters we could see how the past could have drastic effects on the future. Although with the case of Carol it empowers her, it is not the same for everyone. This is illustrated in the story, â€Å"Blind Willie†.   Bill r elives each day trying to resolve the regret for his past actions. We see the old baseball glove of Bobby’s that Blind Willie uses to collect the money he earns as a broken Vietnam veteran while his wife and family believe him to be a successful business man busy at the office.   Willie tries to find answers by living a double life.Moreover, King uses the opportunity to stir up a social commentary on the effects the Vietnam War had on people specifically and then society as a whole.   He uses the series of stories to look at different aspects of reaction. From the earliest stages, when war is just playing in the background, as in the case with Bobby in â€Å"Low Men in Yellow Coats† and then also with young adults drifting in and out of adulthood and drafting such as was portrayed in â€Å"Hearts in Atlantis†.Although it seems to be a simple peek into the issues that concern college aged kids trying to leap into adulthood, the story sells its moral in the en d, as stated by Russell, â€Å"The story ends with an incident long after the main events—a reunion between Pete and one of his college friends. No matter what happened, they both agree that they tried during that period. They were not the big heroes, but they did something—just as Bobby saved Carol but failed with Ted. King suggests that any positive action is important even if it is not truly heroic.† (Russell)Davis, Johnathan. Stephen king's America. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University, 1994.Russell, Sharon. Revisiting Stephen King. Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.Davis, Johnathan. Stephen king's America. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University, 1994.Russell, Sharon. Revisiting Stephen King. Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.In this way, everyone has the opportunity to be a type of hero, no matter how small the action, the effects can be long lasting.While an extensive look at any author’s works reveals a repeating and recurring the me or message that appears to be central in their writing, it is Stephen King’s use of his particular genre that continually draws in his readers again and again.   The parallel of the darker side of humanity with the fantastical opens windows to explore and question the reasons we think, act and believe as we do.   Perhaps it is just that use of the darker and less explored side of humanity that holds such a fascination.Russell   comments,   â€Å"The ongoing battle in King’s fantastic universe to follow the beam and keep the world from falling apart is mirrored by later actions in the real world.†   So, in addition to his use of the genre to explore our social fabric,   his consistent use of our interconnectedness and how the past affects the present are major recurring themes.   By playing on our fears and opening up our minds to the impossible, we are able to look openly at issues that affect our lives without judgment, and perhaps emerge a bet ter person.