Modern Programming Tools And Techniques Computer Science Essay

Modern Programming Tools And Techniques Computer Science Essay Q:1 Define abstraction, encapsulation, modularity and hierarchy in your own terms. Ans:-AbstractionAbstraction denotes the essential characteristics of an Object that differ it from other objects, and thereby providing a boundary that is relative to the perspective of the viewer. Abstraction focuses on the outside-view of the Object, and helps separate its behavior from its implementation, Think of it this way, to you, your car is an utility that helps you commute, it has a steering wheel , brakes etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ but from an engineers point of view the very same car represents an entirely different view point, to the engineer the car is an entity that is composed of sub elements such and engine with a certain horse power, a certain cubic capacity, its power conversion ratio etc. It is the same car that we are talking about, but its behavior and properties have been encapsulated to the perspective of the viewer. This is what abstraction is. Encapsulation Encapsulation is breaking down the elements of an abstraction that constitute to its structure and behavior. Encapsulation serves as the interface between abstraction and its implementation. To understand encapsulation better, lets consider an animal such as a dog. We know that a dog barks, it is its behavior, a property that defines a dog, but what is hidden is , how it barks, its implementation, this is encapsulation. The hiding of the implementation details of a behavior that defines a property of an entity is Encapsulation. Modularity The art of partitioning a program into individual components so as to reduce its complexity to some degree can be termed as Modularity In addition to this, the division of the code into modules helps provide clear boundaries between different parts of the program, thereby allowing it to be better documented and defined. In other words Modularity is building abstraction into discrete units. The direct bearing of modularity in Java is the use of packages. Elements of Analysis and Design Hierarchy (Inheritance) Abstraction is good, but in most real world cases we find more abstractions than we can comprehend at one time, though Encapsulation will help us to hide the implementation, and modularity to crisply cluster logically related abstractions, at times, it just isnt enough. This is when Hierarchy comes into the picture, a set of Abstractions together form a Hierarchy, by identifying these hierarchies in our design; we greatly simplify our understanding of the problem. Single Inheritance Single Inheritance is the most important part of is a hierarchy. When a class shares thestructure of another class it is said to single inherit a base class. To understand the concept better, lets try this. Consider the base class Animal. To define a bear terms of and animal, we say a Bear is a kind of Animal. In simpler terms, the bear single inherits the structure of an animal. Multiple Inheritance Multiple Inheritance can be defined as a part of inheritance where the subclasses inherit the Behavior of more than one base type. Q:2 Sketch the object-oriented design or the Card game Black-Jack. What are the key objects? What are the properties and behaviours of these objects? How does the object interact Ans:-Blackjack Implementation It must write three new classes and link them with all of the previous classes in the project. The first class, DealerHand,implements the algorithm of playing Blackjack from the dealers perspective. The classcontains a field which keeps track of the current number of points in a hand, and a methodthat calls in a counter-controlled loop the method of the previous class GameDeck to deal cards one at a time from the top of the deck. As cards are being dealt, the current number of points in the hand is updated accordingly. Another method of GameDeck returns the value of the above field.The next class, PlayerHand, is a subclass of DealerHand. It overrides the method for dealing cards: the cards are still dealt in a loop, but the loop is sentinel- controlled this time, and the method incorporates interaction with the user. The third class, GameApp, contains the method main in which objects of DealerHand and PlayerHand are created. Methods for dealing cards are invoked on these objects. When these methods return, the winner of the game is determined according to the standard Blackjack algorithm. The specific details of the algorithms for calculating points in each hand and for determining the winner of the game are figured out by students with practically no assistance from the instructor. By this point in the course, the students are able to write this code independently, making use of the techniques, concepts, syntax and basic structures of the Java language that they have learned during the semester. While the application could be created using any development environment, Ibelieve that its success in my class is dependent upon the use of BlueJ. BlueJ enables this project in two ways: (1) as a very simple-to-use tool for writing and editing code, and (2) through the provided sample code that allows users to create images onscreen without any prior knowledge of Java graphics (e.g., the Swing API). Because BlueJ minimizes the hurdles associated with graphics programming, novice students are able to create an interesting and fun application, which helps them master the basics of the object-oriented approach in the earliest stages of their CS coursework.As an example, suppose you want to write a program that plays the card game,Blackjack.Youcan use the Card, Hand, and Deck classes developed. However, a hand in the game of Blackjack is a little different from a hand of cards in general, since it must be possible to compute the value of a Blackjack hand according to the rules of the game. The rules are as follows: The value of a hand is obtained by adding up the values of the cards in the hand. The value of a numeric card such as a three or a ten is its numerical value. The value of a Jack, Queen, or King is 10. The value of an Ace can be either 1 or 11. An Ace should be counted as 11 unless doing so would put the total value of the hand over 21. One way to handle this is to extend the existing Hand class by adding a method that computes the Blackjack value of the hand. Heres the definition of such a class: public class BlackjackHand extends Hand { public int getBlackjackValue() { // Returns the value of this hand for the // game of Blackjack. int val; // The value computed for the hand. boolean ace; // This will be set to true if the // hand contains an ace. int cards; // Number of cards in the hand. val = 0; ace = false; cards = getCardCount(); for ( int i = 0; i // Add the value of the i-th card in the hand. Card card; // The i-th card; int cardVal; // The blackjack value of the i-th card. card = getCard(i); cardVal = card.getValue(); // The normal value, 1 to 13. if (cardVal > 10) { cardVal = 10; // For a Jack, Queen, or King. } if (cardVal == 1) { ace = true; // There is at least one ace. } val = val + cardVal; } // Now, val is the value of the hand, counting any ace as 1. // If there is an ace, and if changing its value from 1 to // 11 would leave the score less than or equal to 21, // then do so by adding the extra 10 points to val. if ( ace == true val + 10 val = val + 10; return val; } // end getBlackjackValue() } // end class BlackjackHand Q:3 Sketch the object-oriented design of a system to control a Soda dispensing machine. What are the key objects? What are the properties and behaviours of these objects? How does the object interact? ANS:- The state machines interface is encapsulated in the wrapper class. The wrappee hierarchys interface mirrors the wrappers interface with the exception of one additional parameter. The extra parameter allows wrappee derived classes to call back to the wrapper class as necessary. Complexity that would otherwise drag down the wrapper class is neatly compartmented and encapsulated in a polymorphic hierarchy to which the wrapper object  delegates. Example The State pattern allows an object to change its behavior when its internal state changes. This pattern can be observed in a vending machine. Vending machines have states based on the inventory, amount of currency deposited, the ability to make change, the item selected, etc. When currency is deposited and a selection is made, a vending machine will either deliver a product and no change, deliver a product and change, deliver no product due to insufficient currency on deposit, or deliver no product due to inventory  depletion. Identify an existing class, or create a new class, that will serve as the state machine from the clients perspective. That class is the wrapper  class. Create a State base class that replicates the methods of the state machine interface. Each method takes one additional parameter: an instance of the wrapper class. The State base class specifies any useful default  behavior. Create a State derived class for each domain state. These derived classes only override the methods they need to  override. The wrapper class maintains a current State  object. All client requests to the wrapper class are simply delegated to the current State object, and the wrapper objects this pointer is  passed. The State methods change the current state in the wrapper object as  appropriate. . public class VendingMachine {               private double sales;               private int cans;               private int bottles;               public VendingMachine() {                           fillMachine();               }               public void fillMachine() {                           sales = 0;                           cans = 10;                        bottles = 5;               }            public int getCanCount() {return this.cans; }               public int getBottleCount() {return this.bottles; }               public double getSales() { return this.sales;}               public void vendCan() {                           if (this.cans==0) {                                       System.out.println(Sorry, out of cans.);                           } else {                                       this.cans -= 1;                                       this.sales += 0.6;                        }            }               public static void main(String[] argv) {                           VendingMachine machine = new VendingMachine();               }            } Part B Q:4 In an object oriented inheritance hierarchy, the objects at each level are more specialized than the objects at the higher levels. Give three real world examples of a hierarchy with this property. ANS:- Single Inheritance Java implements what is known as a single-inheritance model. A new class can subclass (extend, in Java terminology) only one other class. Ultimately, all classes eventually inherit from the Object class, forming a tree structure with Object as its root. This picture illustrates the class hierarchy of the classes in the Java utility package, java.util The HashTable class is a subclass of Dictionary, which in turn is a subclass of Object. Dictionary inherits all of Objects variables and methods (behavior), then adds new variables and behavior of its own. Similarly, HashTable inherits all of Objects variables and behavior, plus all of Dictionarys variables and behavior, and goes on to add its own variables and behavior. Then the Properties class subclasses HashTable in turn, inheriting all the variables and behavior of its class hierarchy. In a similar manner, Stack and ObserverList are subclasses of Vector, which in turn is a subclass of Object. The power of the object-oriented methodology is apparentnone of the subclasses needed to re-implement the basic functionality of their superclasses, but needed only add their own specialized behavior. However, the above diagram points out the minor weakness with the single-inheritance model. Notice that there are two different kinds of enumerator classes in the picture, both of which inherit from Object. An enumerator class implements behavior that iterates through a collection, obtaining the elements of that collection one by one. The enumerator classes define behavior that both HashTable and Vector find useful. Other, as yet undefined collection classes, such as list or queue, may also need the behavior of the enumeration classes. Unfortunately, they can inherit from only one superclass. A possible method to solve this problem would be to enhance some superclass in the hierarchy to add such useful behavior when it becomes apparent that many subclasses could use the behavior. Such an approach would lead to chaos and bloat. If every time some common useful behavior were required for all subsequent subclasses, a class such as Object would be undergoing constant modification, would grow to enormous size and complexity, and the specification of its behavior would be constantly changing. Such a solution is untenable. The elegant and workable solution to the problem is provided via Java interfaces, the subject of the next topic. Multiple inheritance Some object-oriented programming languages, such as C++, allow a class to extend two or more superclasses. This is called multiple inheritance. In the illustration below, for example, class E is shown as having both class A and class B as direct superclasses, while class F has three direct superclasses. Such multiple inheritance is not allowed in Java. The designers of Java wanted to keep the language reasonably simple, and felt that the benefits of multiple inheritance were not worth the cost in increased complexity. However, Java does have a feature that can be used to accomplish many of the same goals as multiple inheritance: interfaces. Class hierarchies Classes in Java form hierarchies. These hierarchies are similar in structure to many more familiar classification structures such as the organization of the biological world originally developed by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century. Portions of this hierarchy are shown in the diagram . At the top of the chart is the universal category of all living things. That category is subdivided into several kingdoms, which are in turn broken down by phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. At the bottom of the hierarchy is the type of creature that biologists name using the genus and species together. In this case, the bottom of the hierarchy is occupied by Iridomyrmex purpureus, which is a type of red ant. The individual red ants in the world correspond to the objects in a programming language. Thus, each of the individuals is an instance of the species purpureus. By virtue of the hierarchy, however, that individual is also an instance of the genus Iridomyrmex, the class Insecta, and the phylum Arthropoda. It is similarly, of course, both an animal and a living thing. Moreover, each red ant has the characteristics that pertain to each of its ancestor categories. For example, red ants have six legs, which is one of the defining characteristics of the class Insecta. Real example of hyrarchy Ques5 How do methods System.out.print() and System.out.println() differ? Define a java constant equal to 2.9979 X 108 that approximates the speed of light in meters per second. ANS:-1) public class Area{ public static void main(String[] args){ int length = 10; int width = 5; // calling the method or implementing it int theArea = calculateArea(); System.out.println(theArea); } // our declaration of the method public static int calculateArea(){ int methodArea = length * width; return methodArea; } } 2) public static void printHeader(){ System.out.println(Feral Production); System.out.println(For all your Forest Videos); System.out.println(427 Blackbutt Way); System.out.println(Chaelundi Forest); System.out.println(NSW 2473); System.out.println(Australia); } System.out.println(String argument) System.out.print(String argument) In the first case, the code fragment accesses the println() method of the object referred to by the class variable named out of the class named System. In the second case, the print() method is accessed instead of the println() method The difference between the two is that the println() method automatically inserts a newlineat the end of the string argument whereas the print() method leaves the display cursor at the end of the string argument Define a java constant equal to 2.9979 X 108 that approximates the speed of light in meters per second. Floating-point values can also be written in a special programmers style of scientific notation, in which the value is represented as a floating-point number multiplied by aintegral power of 10. To write a number using this style, you write a floating-point number in standard notation, followed immediately by the letter E and an integerexponent, optionally preceded by a + or sign. For example, the speed of light inmeters per second is approximately 2.9979 x 108 which can be written in Java as 2.9979E+8 where the E stands for the words times 10 to the power.Boolean constants and character constants also exist and are described in subsequent chapters along with their corresponding types. Q:6 Write a code segment that defines a Scanner variable stdin that is associated with System.in. The code segment should than define to int variables a and b, such that they are initialized with the next two input values from the standard input stream. Ans:- Import java.util.*; Public class mathfun { Public static void main(string[] args) { Scanner stdin=new scanner (system.in); System.out.print(enter a decimal number); Double x=stdin.nextdouble(); System.out.print(enter another decimalnumber); Double y=stdin.nextdouble(); Double squarerootx=math.sqrt(x); System.out.println(square root of +x+is+square rootx); } }   System.out.println(PersontHeighttShoe size);   System.out.println(=========================);   System.out.println(Hannaht51t7);   System.out.println(Jennat510t9);   System.out.println(JJt61t14);  Ã‚   Q:7 Separately identify the keywords, variables, classes, methods and parameters in the following definition: import java.util.*; public class test { public static void main(String[] args) { Scanner stdin = new Scanner(System.in); System.out.print(Number:); double n = stdin.nextDouble(); System.out.println(n + * + n + = + n * n); } } Ans:- public static void main(String[] args)-method double n = stdin.nextDouble();-variables public ,static, void ,-keywords stdin println-keyword test -class double-parameters

Foreign Language Requirement

In the persuasive argument All Students Should be Required to Study a Foreign Language, posted on 123helpme. com the writer makes the argument that all Americans should have some type of formal education in a foreign language. The writer gives a few good reasons supporting his claim. The benefits given are better race relations for the country as well as an improved foreign interest. The writer is basing his claim on the solid assumption that language is the most fundamental aspect of a culture and when doing business abroad language barriers can be a burden.The argument even goes on to say that incorporating foreign language into the American society will create a more well-rounded society. â€Å"Foreign language skills can have a positive impact on race relations in America. † stated in the second paragraph of the argument. It is a known fact that the number of minorities in America are continually increasing. American students that study a foreign language of the predominat e minority group in their region of the county have a better insight to the minority’s culture.Understanding a minority’s language can help natives understand their neighbors culturally and on a personal level. â€Å"If we take these bits of insight and understanding and couple them with compassion, fertile ground for multicultural harmony in America will be sown. † says the writer. Foreign language skill can definitely improve domestic affairs. America is a part of the global economy which involves American and foreign interaction. Having language barriers can be a burden when it comes to foreign interest.Most foreign businessmen speak English for the benefit of making money in American businesses. It is assumed that if American businessmen had foreign language skills they should be more successful at the bargaining table. Foreign language skill can also improve foreign relations. â€Å"If American ambassadors, envoys, diplomats and representatives were able t o speak the language of their counterparts, conflicts could be resolved more easily. † the writer states. Foreign language can surely prove useful for foreign interest.All American students should be required to study a foreign language. This argument is valid and convincing due to its sufficient facts on the matter. The author gives 2 very reasonable claims towards the argument. Each point happens to be logical. The author evens points out counter arguments, which seem a bit closed minded and a bit unreasonable. Therefore the argument has certainly been made. . â€Å"All Students Should be Required to Sudy a Foreign Language. † 123HelpMe. com. 11 Oct. 2012 http://www. 123HelpMe. com/view. asp? id=20601. Foreign Language Requirement Foreign Language High School Requirement A survey done by the Center for Applied Linguistics in 2008 found that â€Å"The findings indicate a serious disconnect between the national call to educate world citizens with high-level language skills and the current state of foreign language instruction in schools across the country†(Cal:Research). This is concerning as all of the competition for the U. S. is gaining a step and we're doing nothing . If the U. S. expects to continue to be competitive in the global market we need to have bilingual citizens.In order to ensure this, we must require a foreign language be learned in high school. To fully master a language by the end of high school, a student's education of it needs to begin in Kindergarten. Studies have shown that the best time frame to learn a foreign language is from Kindergarten to 3rd Grade. It would be better, though, to start in Kindergarten so there is a consistent education throughout elementary school. The brain learns better at a young age so the language will be learned faster and more easily in lower grades. Not only this, but extended exposure is need to become fluent in a language (Porter).By the time the students reached high school they could speak the language outside of class to become even more fluent. By the end of high school these students would be bilingual. If the U. S. requires a foreign language be learned in high school, it's education should start in Kindergarten. Bilingual students receive additional benefits outside of simply knowing another language. Bilinguals, superior to their monolingual peers, are better at critical thinking, pattern recognition, divergent thinking, and creativity (â€Å"Foreign Language A Must†¦ â€Å").These advanced cognitive abilities are shown on tests as after 3-4 years of taking a language students show improved standardized test scores (Porter). This means that students will have better math and English test scores without even taki ng the classes. Also, bilingual students are more sensitive to other cultures. They can compare and contrast languages and know how what certain words mean in different contexts (â€Å"Make Foreign Language a High School Requirement†). This is something that is sorely needed in the U. S. because the majority of our citizens are unknowledgeable of different cultures.It would serve as a wake-up call. New bilingual citizens would bring new perspectives to problems that face our society today. Another benefit to learning a foreign language the brain â€Å"ages† slower and neurologists say learning a foreign language delays the onset of Dementia (Porter). In learning a foreign language, one enjoys many indirect benefits. Just knowing English isn't enough for exchanges in diplomatic, military, professional, or commercial contexts with other countries. When in a different country, monolinguals are at a disadvantage compared to bilinguals because they have to hire an interpret er.Monolinguals have trouble picking up both verbal and non-verbal clues of a different language (Porter). They could violate social taboo and can't follow side conversations. This is a huge risk as one could be thrown out of a country and by violating the unwritten rules. This could set an unwanted reputation for Americans. Having been bilingual, students have cultural knowledge and understanding. This helps with the daily interactions required in living in another country (â€Å"Make Foreign Language A High School Requirement†). Clearly having more bilingual citizens would help America in communication and interactions with other countries.Having many bilingual citizens also helps in diplomatic and economic interactions with a foreign nation as it establishes a good relationship by knowing their culture. â€Å"Thomas L. Friedman cited a businessman, Todd Martin, who said that ‘our education failure is the largest contributing factor to the decline of the American wor kers' global effectiveness† (Porter). By requiring a foreign language be learned in high school, the U. S. will increase its workers ability to compete in the global market and their ability to interact with foreign workers.With society becoming more and more global, it will become a necessity to know a foreign language. Export business's are growing in double digits every year and foreign business's are expanding at a rapid rate (Porter). Obviously there is a growing need for bilinguals(Porter). At this point, there are more internet users in Asia than in North America (â€Å"Foreign Language a Must for High School Graduation†). The global economy is diversifying and if the U. S. expects to dominate the market we must follow the trend of our competition. In countries like Japan knowing two languages is the standard(â€Å"Make Foreign Language a High School Requirement†).How can we expect to compete with Japan if their workers have a big advantage over U. S. work ers in knowing multiple languages. In terms of foreign language, the U. S. is lagging behind its competition and to keep up we need to follow the trend of requiring a foreign language. The opposition to requiring a foreign language in High School argue that it violates the right of students to choose some classes. They say it restricts the number of electives a student can take but a foreign language is far more important than some elective.A foreign language class is something that will benefit the student for the rest of their life. Students already have required classes for math, science, English, history, and a fine art, but a language is a fine art. In a foreign language class a student learns about the art of a different culture. For example, on Day of the Dead in Spanish class I learned about Hispanic culture. In creating art similar to what is used in Spain and Mexico on Day of the Dead, I expressed my creativity which is the purpose of an art class. Clearly, foreign languag e is a fine art, and therefore should be required.The opponents to requiring a foreign language in High School say that everyone else is learning English so why should we learn foreign languages. This is ignorant because we can't expect everyone to learn English. By not knowing a different countries language, we have no insight into their culture and could never fully understand them. It makes sense to require a foreign language to understand foreign countries and to compete with them. Learning a foreign language needs to be a requirement in High School. The education of foreign language should begin in kindergarten because that is when a child learns best.By learning another language that child benefits through better test scores and improved cognitive abilities. Americans going to other countries would benefit through better understanding that countries culture and not needing an interpreter everywhere they go. The U. S. needs bilingual citizens to interact with other nations (Por ter). If we want to be more marketable and compete on a global-scale we must become bilingual. By requiring a foreign language be learned in High School, we are creating a brighter and more prosperous future for the United States of America.

Role of Culture

GEORGIAN AMERICAN UNIVERSITY School of Business semester 2 the role of culture Student : Mariam Chitiashvili 29. 03. 13 Cultural values, beliefs, and traditions significantly affect family life. Cultures are more than language, dress, and food customs. Cultural groups may share race, ethnicity, or nationality, but they also arise from cleavages of generation, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, ability and disability, political and religious affiliation, language, and gender — to name only a few.Two things are essential to remember about cultures: they are always changing, and they relate to the symbolic dimension of life. The symbolic dimension is the place where we are constantly making meaning and enacting our identities. Cultural messages from the groups we belong to give us information about what is meaningful or important, and who we are in the world and in relation to others — our identities. Cultural messages, simply, are what everyone in a group knows that outsiders do not know.They are the water fish swim in, unaware of its effect on their vision. They are a series of lenses that shape what we see and don't see, how we perceive and interpret, and where we draw boundaries. In shaping our values, cultures contain starting points and currencies[1]. Starting points are those places it is natural to begin, whether with individual or group concerns, with the big picture or particularities. Currencies are those things we care about that influence and shape our interactions with others. | How Cultures WorkThough largely below the surface, cultures are a shifting, dynamic set of starting points that orient us in particular ways and away from other directions. Each of us belongs to multiple cultures that give us messages about what is normal, appropriate, and expected. When others do not meet our expectations, it is often a cue that our cultural expectations are different. We may mistake differences between others and us for evidence of bad f aith or lack of common sense on the part of others, not realizing that common sense is also cultural.What is common to one group may seem strange, counterintuitive, or wrong to another. Cultural messages shape our understandings of relationships, and of how to deal with the conflict and harmony that are always present whenever two or more people come together. Writing about or working across cultures is complicated, but not impossible. Here are some complications in working with cultural dimensions of conflict, and the implications that flow from them:Culture is constantly in flux — as conditions change, cultural groups adapt in dynamic and sometimes unpredictable ways.Culture is largely below the surface, influencing identities and meaning-making, or who we believe ourselves to be and what we care about — it is not easy to access these symbolic levels since they are largely outside our awareness. Cultural influences and identities become important depending on context . When an aspect of cultural identity is threatened or misunderstood, it may become relatively more important than other cultural identities and this fixed, narrow identity may become the focus of stereotyping negative projection, and conflict. This is a very common situation in intractable conflicts.Since culture is so closely related to our identities (who we think we are), and the ways we make meaning (what is important to us and how), it is always a factor in conflict. Cultural awareness leads us to apply the Platinum Rule in place of the Golden Rule. Rather than the maxim â€Å"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,† the Platinum Rule advises: â€Å"Do unto others as they would have you do unto them. â€Å"Cultures are embedded in every conflict because conflicts arise in human relationships. Cultures affect the ways we name, frame, blame, and attempt to tame conflicts. Whether a conflict exists at all is a cultural question.In an interview conducted in Can ada, an elderly Chinese man indicated he had experienced no conflict at all for the previous 40 years. [2] Among the possible reasons for his denial was a cultural preference to see the world through lenses of harmony rather than conflict, as encouraged by his Confucian upbringing. Labeling some of our interactions as conflicts and analyzing them into smaller component parts is a distinctly Western approach that may obscure other aspects of relationships. Culture is always a factor in conflict, whether it plays a central role or influences it subtly and gently.For any conflict that touches us where it matters, where we make meaning and hold our identities, there is always a cultural component. Intractable conflicts like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir are not just about territorial, boundary, and sovereignty issues — they are also about acknowledgement, representation, and legitimization of different identities and ways of living, being, and making meaning. Conflicts between teenagers and parents are shaped by generational culture, and conflicts between spouses or partners are influenced by gender culture.In organizations, conflicts arising from different disciplinary cultures escalate tensions between co-workers, creating strained or inaccurate communication and stressed relationships. Culture permeates conflict no matter what — sometimes pushing forth with intensity, other times quietly snaking along, hardly announcing its presence until surprised people nearly stumble on it. Culture is inextricable from conflict, though it does not cause it. When differences surface in families, organizations, or communities, culture is always present, shaping perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes.When the cultural groups we belong to are a large majority in our community or nation, we are less likely to be aware of the content of the messages they send us. Cultures shared by dominant groups often seem to be â€Å"natural,† â€Å"normal† — â€Å"the way things are done. † We only notice the effect of cultures that are different from our own, attending to behaviors that we label exotic or strange. Though culture is intertwined with conflict, some approaches to conflict resolution minimize cultural issues and influences. Since culture is like an iceberg — largely submerged — it is important to include it in our analyses and interventions.Icebergs unacknowledged can be dangerous, and it is impossible to make choices about them if we don't know their size or place. Acknowledging culture and bringing cultural fluency to conflicts can help all kinds of people make more intentional, adaptive choices. Given culture's important role in conflicts, what should be done to keep it in mind and include it in response plans? Cultures may act like temperamental children: complicated, elusive, and difficult to predict. Unless we develop comfort with culture as an integral part of conflict, we may find ourselves tangled in its net of complexity, limited by our own cultural lenses.Cultural fluency is a key tool for disentangling and managing multilayered, cultural conflicts. Cultural fluency means familiarity with cultures: their natures, how they work, and ways they intertwine with our relationships in times of conflict and harmony. Cultural fluency means awareness of several dimensions of culture, including * Communication, * Ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict, * Approaches to meaning making, * Identities and roles. Each of these is described in more detail below. As people communicate, they move along a continuum between high- and low-context.Depending on the kind of relationship, the context, and the purpose of communication, they may be more or less explicit and direct. In close relationships, communication shorthand is often used, which makes communication opaque to outsiders but perfectly clear to the parties. With strange rs, the same people may choose low-context communication. Low- and high-context communication refers not only to individual communication strategies, but may be used to understand cultural groups. Generally, Western cultures tend to gravitate toward low-context starting points, while Eastern and Southern cultures tend to high-context communication.Within these huge categories, there are important differences and many variations. Where high-context communication tends to be featured, it is useful to pay specific attention to nonverbal cues and the behavior of others who may know more of the unstated rules governing the communication. Where low-context communication is the norm, directness is likely to be expected in return. There are many other ways that communication varies across cultures. Ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict vary across cultural boundaries. As the example of the elderly Chinese interviewee illustrates, not everyone agrees on what constitutes a conflict.For those accustomed to subdued, calm discussion, an emotional exchange among family members may seem a threatening conflict. The family members themselves may look at their exchange as a normal and desirable airing of differing views. These are just some of the ways that taming conflict varies across cultures. Third parties may use different strategies with quite different goals, depending on their cultural sense of what is needed. In multicultural contexts, parties' expectations of how conflict should be addressed may vary, further escalating an existing conflict. Approaches to meaning-making also vary across cultures.Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars suggest that people have a range of starting points for making sense of their lives, including: * universalist (favoring rules, laws, and generalizations) and particularist (favoring exceptions, relations, and contextual evaluation) * specificity (preferring explicit definitions, breaking down wholes into component parts, and measurable re sults) and diffuseness (focusing on patterns, the big picture, and process over outcome) * inner direction (sees virtue in individuals who strive to realize their conscious purpose) and outer direction (where virtue is outside each of us in natural rhythms, nature, beauty, and relationships) * synchronous time (cyclical and spiraling) and sequential time (linear and unidirectional). 5] When we don't understand that others may have quite different starting points, conflict is more likely to occur and to escalate. Even though the starting points themselves are neutral, negative motives are easily attributed to someone who begins from a different end of the continuum. [6]For example, when First Nations people sit down with government representatives to negotiate land claims in Canada or Australia, different ideas of time may make it difficult to establish rapport and make progress. First Nations people tend to see time as stretching forward and back, binding them in relationship with s even generations in both directions. Their actions and choices in the present are thus relevant to history and to their progeny.Government negotiators acculturated to Western European ideas of time may find the telling of historical tales and the consideration of projections generations into the future tedious and irrelevant unless they understand the variations in the way time is understood by First Nations people. Of course, this example draws on generalizations that may or may not apply in a particular situation. There are many different Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and elsewhere. Each has a distinct culture, and these cultures have different relationships to time, different ideas about negotiation, and unique identities. Government negotiators may also have a range of ethno cultural identities, and may not fit the stereotype of the woman or man in a hurry, with a measured, pressured orientation toward time.Examples can also be drawn fr om the other three dimensions identified by Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars. When an intractable conflict has been ongoing for years or even generations, should there be recourse to international standards and interveners, or local rules and practices? Those favoring a universalist starting point are more likely to prefer international intervention and the setting of international standards. Particularlists will be more comfortable with a tailor-made, home-grown approach than with the imposition of general rules that may or may not fit their needs and context. Specificity and diffuseness also lead to conflict and conflict escalation in many instances.People, who speak in specifics, looking for practical solutions to challenges that can be implemented and measured, may find those who focus on process, feelings, and the big picture obstructionist and frustrating. On the other hand, those whose starting points are diffuse are more apt to catch the flaw in the sum that is not easy to det ect by looking at the component parts, and to see the context into which specific ideas must fit. Inner-directed people tend to feel confident that they can affect change, believing that they are â€Å"the masters of their fate, the captains of their souls. They focus more on product than process. Imagine their frustration when faced with outer-directed people, whose attention goes to nurturing relationships, living in harmony with nature, going with the flow, and paying attention to processes rather than products.As with each of the above sets of starting points, neither is right or wrong; they are simply different. A focus on process is helpful, but not if it completely fails to ignore outcomes. A focus on outcomes is useful, but it is also important to monitor the tone and direction of the process. Cultural fluency means being aware of different sets of starting points, and having a way to speak in both dialects, helping translate between them when they are making conflict worse . This can be done by storytelling and by the creation of shared stories, stories that are co-constructed to make room for multiple points of view within them. Often, people in conflict tell stories that sound as though both cannot be true.Narrative conflict-resolution approaches help them leave their concern with truth and being right on the sideline for a time, turning their attention instead to stories in which they can both see themselves. Another way to explore meaning making is through metaphors. Metaphors are compact, tightly packaged word pictures that convey a great deal of information in shorthand form. For example, in exploring how a conflict began, one side may talk about its origins being buried in the mists of time before there were boundaries and roads and written laws. The other may see it as the offspring of a vexatious lawsuit begun in 1946. Neither is wrong — the issue may well have deep roots, and the lawsuit was surely a part of the evolution of the confl ict.As the two sides talk about their metaphors, the more diffuse starting point wrapped up in the mists of time meets the more specific one, attached to a particular legal action. As the two talk, they deepen their understanding of each other in context, and learn more about their respective roles and identities. In collectivist settings, the following values tend to be privileged: * cooperation * filial piety (respect for and deference toward elders) * participation in shared progress * reputation of the group * interdependence In individualist settings, the following values tend to be privileged: * competition * independence * individual achievement * personal growth and fulfillment * self-relianceWhen individualist and communitarian starting points influence those on either side of a conflict, escalation may result. Individualists may see no problem with â€Å"no holds barred† confrontation, while communitarian counterparts shrink from bringing dishonor or face-loss to th eir group by behaving in unseemly ways. In the end, one should remember that, as with other patterns described, most people are not purely individualist  or communitarian. Rather, people tend to have individualist or communitarian starting points, depending on one's upbringing, experience, and the context of the situation. Conclusion There is no one-size-fits-all approach to conflict resolution, since culture is always a factor.Cultural fluency is therefore a core competency for those who intervene in conflicts or simply want to function more effectively in their own lives and situations. Cultural fluency involves recognizing and acting respectfully from the knowledge that communication, ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict, approaches to meaning-making, and identities and roles vary across cultures. LITERATYRE: John Paul Lederach, in his book: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures http://www. preventelderabuse. org/issues/culture. html http://culture360. org/magazine/ro le-of-culture-in-society-asian-perspectives-and-european-experiences/ http://www. lindsay-sherwin. co. uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy. htm

Incorporating Technology Into Grade Level Performance...

In, an attempt to improve the integration of available technology, educators and policymakers are reevaluating ways to incorporate technology into the grade level performance standards without separating the two educational standards (Collins Halverson, 2009). Presently, students and teachers have the ability to transmit information through third and fourth generation technological resources; yet, few take advantage of the endless educational possibilities (Francis Mishra, 2008; Marino, Sameshima, Beecher, 2009; Koehler Mishra, 2006; Sharples, 2007; Su Luan Teo, 2009). According to Francis and Mishra (2008), classroom teachers will need to be knowledgeable of the security of information stored or transmitted through accessible†¦show more content†¦In spite of teachers’ negative attitudes towards changes and/ or technophobia, as the world changes, so must the classrooms, teachers, and delivery of knowledge to students (Hall, 2010; Su Luan Teo 2009; Ursavas Karal , 2009; Prensky, 2008). Not addressing teachers’ negative attitudes will invariably lead to continued challenges with incorporating classroom technology, especially with those teachers who focus lessons on memorization or note taking. Typically, in many American classrooms, teachers can be seen using the same traditional methodologies used a century or more ago with change-resistant teachers instructing students seated in straight rows within the classroom (Sharples, 2007; Overbay, Patterson, Grable, 2009; Su Luan Teo 2009). On the other hand, researchers suggested that teaching in that manner should also include active learning where students take part in the instructional process (Strasser, 2006; Ryu Parsons, 2009). Clearly, based on research there is an effectual demand for teachers to focus lessons on learning ways to learn or research, by using technology to promote active learning and build students’ technological skills (Ara, 2009; Prensky, 2008; Ryu Parson s, 2009). 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