Forgivenesses of sins Essay Example for Free

Forgivenesses of sins Essay Pardoners were supposed to issue papal indulgences (forgivenesses of sins) in exchange for alms money, which was to be given to the sick, poor, or another worthy cause. But many pardoners were out-and-out frauds, selling worthless pieces of paper, and even legitimate ones often kept more than their share of the proceeds. This Pardoner is from Rouncivalle, a London hospital well known for the number of illegal pardons connected with it. Most pardoners, like this one, claimed to have come straight from the court of Rome, with a bagful of pardons al hoot off the presses, though of course our Pardoner hasnt set foot outside England. NOTE: Fake pardoners claimed they could do almost anything for the right sum of money, even remove an excommunication. Despite widespread abuses, though, there still were plenty of people gullible enough to believe in a pardoners powers. Theres something suspect in the fact that the Pardoner sings Come hither, love, to me, to the Summoner, who accompanies him in a strong bass voice. Some see more than a hint of sexual perversion in this young man who has thin locks of yellow hair that he wears without a hood because he thinks its the latest style. His small voice and the fact that he has no beard, ne never sholde [would] have, leads Chaucer to suspect he were a gelding or a marea eunuch or effeminate man. NOTE: Scientific opinion of the day believed that thin hair represented poor blood, effeminacy, and deception, while glaring eyes like the Pardoners indicated folly, gluttony, and drunkenness. Chaucers audience would catch the references just as we would instantly see the significance of a villain in a black cape and with a black moustache. As if the description werent bad enough, the Pardoner tricks people into buying phony relics of saints, such as a pillowcase that he says was Our Ladys veil, or a piece of sail allegedly belonging to St. Peter. No wonder he makes more money in a day than the poor Parson does in two months. Ironically, Chaucer calls him a noble eccesiaste, since he can sing a church lesson beautifullyfor money, of course. His tale is right in character: he tells what the pilgrims say they want to hear. He says he bases his sermons on money being the root of all evil (he ought to know). But he admits hes not a moral man, although he can tell a moral tale. In his tale about three rowdies, he ironically delivers a sermon against gluttony and other sins. Afterwards, the Host lights into the Pardoners hypocrisy with such force that the Pardoner is speechless with anger. Chaucer is probably the earliest English poet youre likely to read. A first glance at the original Middle English of the Canterbury Tales, with all those strange-looking words, might be enough to tempt you to slam the book shut, either in disgust or in terror at having to learn it all. But take a closer look and examine some of the words. Youll see that many arent any harder to understand than when some people, trying to be olde-fashioned, write shoppe instead of shop. (Chaucers English is in fact where this idea originated. ) Try to get a dual-language edition of the Canterbury Tales, in which the Middle English original is printed on one side of the page and modern English on the other. When youve gotten some practice reading the original words and checking against the modern English, youll find that the rhythm of Chaucers poetry gets easier to understand. Why is it called Middle English? Simply because its at the midpoint between the ancient language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons of England and the English we speak today. In fact, you might feel grateful that youre reading Chaucer instead of the poetry of some of his fellow fourteenth-century poets, because Chaucers dialectthe Middle English spoken in Londonis the language that evolved into our English, while the dialects the other poets used died out. Imagine trying to read something written in a hillbilly drawl or in a Scottish brogue; standard English, even if its not what we speak all the time, is easier to read. Even if Chaucer had never written a word, it makes sense that the speech of London, the hub of English society, should develop into the standard English that eventually came over on the Mayflower. But Chaucer gave a great boost to the prestige of English, as Shakespeare did later on. Its partly because of Chaucers terrific (though unintentional) public relations job that the poet John Dryden, three hundred years later, called him the father of English literature. There is a robust flavor to Chaucers language that we cant get in a translation, no matter how good it is. You wont be able to get the nuances of all the old words. But after a while youll almost be able to hear the pilgrims chatting away. The opening of the General Prologue bursts with spring, with new life, and shows that Chaucer is both similar to and different from his poetic predecessors. He uses many images of spring that would be familiar to a medievel audience: the April showers (familiar to us too) piercing Marchs dryness, the licour in each plants vein, the breezes inspiring the crops. Its short, but enough of a description to give us a sense of waking up to new and exciting events. Even the birds sleep with open eyes because of the rising sap. Then, instead of moving from the conventional spring setting to a description of courtly romantic or heroic deeds, as his audience might expect, he draws us into a very down-to-earth world. Spring isnt romance; its the time of year when people long to go on pilgrimages. We can all identify with the feeling of spring fever, when we want to travel and shake off the winter doldrums. Whats more, in case we or Chaucers listeners are expecting a conventional medieval description of moral allegorical typesGreed, Love, Fortune, etc. or battles, were in for a shock. Other poets presented characters for moral purposes or to embody ideals such as courtly love. But Chaucer doesnt deal in types, whether religious or courtly, but in portraits of real people. He even ignores the unwritten rule of the time that, if youre describing someone, you start at the top, very orderly, and work down. Chaucer will start with someones beard, then hat, boots, tone of voice, and finally his political opinions! (Thats just a partial description of the Merchant. ) Hes not reporting for a moral purpose, but out of love of life and the people around him. Imagine that youre minding your own business in a wayside tavern and in burst 29 people representing every facet of society. For Chaucer, that meant the nobility, embodied in the Knight and Squire; the church, in the form of the Prioress, Monk, and others; agriculture (the Plowman); and the emerging middle class (the Merchant, Franklin and tradesmen). Rather than shy away from this motley crew, Chaucer the narrator (who is not the same, remember, as Chaucer the poet) befriends and describes them, inserting his own opinions freely.

Health Related Quality of Life Relationship with Family

Health Related Quality of Life Relationship with Family Association of Health – Related Quality of Life to Family Dynamics and Social Support among Pediatric Patients with Leukemia in Tertiary Hospitals in Northern Philippines Jonas P. Cruz Abstract Background of the Study: Leukemia is the most prevalent cancer affecting children around the world but majority of the cases are idiopathic in nature. Generally, patients with Leukemia experience poorer health related quality of life compared to the general population. Though a wide interest in studying the health related quality of life of these types of patients where on the lime light in the recent years, none of these works focused on examining the relationship of the HRQoL to the family dynamics and social support of the patients. This study aims to examine the association of Health – Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) to the family dynamics and social support among pediatric patients diagnosed with Leukemia. Design: This research is a cross – sectional, correlation study. Method: A questionnaire with four parts will be used to gather data on demographic data of the patients and their family, their family dynamics, social support and health related quality of life. Data will be collected from pediatric patients aged 5 to 18 years with Leukemia, their parents and siblings. Data will be treated using the IBM SPSS Statistics. Both descriptive and inferential statistics will be used. Background of the Study Leukemia is the most prevalent cancer affecting children around the world but majority of the cases are idiopathic in nature.1 In the United States, Leukemia is one of the most diagnosed cancer and one of the leading causes of deaths among children in 2011 with the highest incidence rate (8.8 per 100,000) in children aged 1 to 4 years and highest death rate (0.8 per 100,000) among children aged 15 to 19 years.2 Similarly, children with Leukemia is considerably the fastest – growing types of patients in hospitals in the Philippines. It account for about 40 to 60 percent of cancers in children and topped the list of killer diseases more than the combined number of deaths caused by dengue hemorrhagic, blood infection and prematurity.3 In the recent report from the Department of Health of the Philippines, Leukemia is among the ten leading causes of child mortality with 2.7, 2.4 and 1.8 per 100,000 population for children aged 1 to 4 years old, 5 to 9 years old and 10 to 14 years o ld, respectively. This is an alarming shift since in the past years; Leukemia was not part of the list.4 In a recent study, childhood leukemia relative survival in the Philippines was found to be lower (32.9 %) compared to Asian Americans (80.1 %) and Caucasians (81.9 %). Furthermore, attainment of equal survival rates of children in the Philippines lagged behind by 20 to >30 years compared with children with Leukemia in the United States.5 This existing difference can be attributed with deficiency in pediatric cancer care, inaccessibility or unavailability of the needed diagnostic and treatment modalities, financial constraints and unawareness.5-9 In a worldwide perspective, therapy has noticeably enhanced over the past decades and the overall rate of survival among children with Leukemia has also increased.10-12 While the prognosis of leukemia in children has improved dramatically, so as the rise of clinical interest in understanding the health related quality of life among childhood Leukemia patients.13 Various studies were conducted to determine the health related quality of life of these patients and their differences between those patients undergoing maintenance chemotherapy with those not on treatment, identify the factors that affects their HRQoL,14-16 HRQoL of childhood leukemia survivors,17-19 difference between patient, parent proxy reported and clinician reported HRQoL,20,21 and HRQoL of parents taking care of these patients22. A study has reported that the social, physical and emotional health and well-being of childhood Leukemia patients are significantly lower compared to their community peers.21 Furthermore, the se patients experienced declining deficits in HRQoL during active treatment phases which is the same as losing approximately 2 months perfect health life.23 Treatment like maintenance chemotherapy had shown effect on the quality of life of children with Leukemia. Patients receiving this kind of therapy reported lower HRQoL in all domains than those who are not on treatment. Psychosocial health was reported to be most affected. Likewise, parents taking care of children undergoing maintenance chemotherapy reported significantly lower quality of life as compared to parents of patients who are not undergoing the same therapy.14 Similarly, survivors of Leukemia have shown poor HRQoL17 however, relapsed survivors reported lower general health compared to non-relapsed survivors24. Factors affecting the quality of life were also identified and reported by some research studies. These factors that can affect the HRQoL of pediatric patients with Leukemia includes the type of cancer treatment they are undergoing such as chemotherapy and the use of Dexamethasone which was reported to cause lower HRQoL.14,25-27 Impaired overall sleep were also reported to be associated with lower HRQoL among these patients. More problems were found as associated with sleep anxiety, delay on sleep onset, feeling of sleepiness during day time and night wakenings.27-29 Childrens pain and fatigue over three days following a chemotherapy also influence the quality of life not only of the patients but also their family.30 Cancer itself is an important factor affecting the HRQoL and the stage of disease showed a considerable importance on HRQoL scores.31 Moreover, clinically significance associations to HRQoL were observed with anxiety, depression and obesity.32 Another study also reported duration of hospital admission, increased frequency of hospital visits, female patients, younger age of diagnosing the disease, and the size of the family were all associated to a lower over HRQoL scores of these patients.33 Though a wide interest in studying the health related quality of life of these types of patients where on the lime light in the recent years, none of these works focused on examining the relationship of the HRQoL to the family dynamics and social support of the patients. Some of the past research studies have focused on the impact of taking care of a child with Leukemia to the quality of life of the caregiver and their family as well as the burden of care for these patients.34-38 However, family dynamics and social support and its association to HRQoL was never attempted. Family dynamics are the interaction between members of the family as well as the different relationships that is present within a family. Every family has its own unique dynamic, which is apparent in its own unique way.39 The whole family dynamics can be understand by measuring the family functioning, family environment and family quality of life.40 Family dynamics maybe affected by the existence of the disease of the children and may be altered. How family members see the family when attending to commitment such as taking care of the patient refers to family functioning. This permits identifying individual perceptions of family values as a psychosocial or social support resource. The way each family member perceives the efficacy and quality of this resource can significantly influence the health status of its member.41 Although positive relationship among family members and social support can decrease risks of mortality and enhance total health, studies have reported that some famil ial relations negatively affect health. Negative effect on health can be caused by problematic and non-supportive familial relationships. Poor-quality relationships can harm physical and mental health.42 Further, couples with unequal division of decision making and power are related with higher levels of depression.43 Living and being reared in an unsupported, neglectful or violent environment is also related with poor physical health and development.42 On the other hand, good family relationships are significant predictor for a better HRQoL as shown in a study on pediatric burn survivors.44 Likewise, fewer arguments within the family were associated to higher quality of life among diabetes patients.45,46 Studies have also reported relationship between social support and HRQoL. Higher levels of social support were shown to be associated to lower risk for physical dysfunctions, mental problems, and mortality.47 Social support can reverse the unwanted effects of stressful situations and chronic health conditions.48 Various studies have established the fact that social support can affect the HRQoL patients with acute or chronic conditions in general.47-51 However, studies on its association to HRQoL among children and adolescent patients with Leukemia are scanty to non-existing. Therefore, family dynamics and social support are hypothesized in this current study to be a predictor of HRQoL of pediatric patients with Leukemia. It is then the aim of this study to understand the pediatric Leukemia patients’ family dynamics and social support and their health related quality of life and examine their relationship with each other. Objectives of the Study This study aims to examine the association of Health – Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) to the family dynamics and social support among pediatric patients diagnosed with Leukemia. Specifically, it seeks to: Assess the family dynamics of the pediatric patients with Leukemia using the Family APGAR; Identify the perceived social support of the pediatric patients with leukemia in terms of: Family support, Friend support Significant other support; Determine the self – reported and parent – proxy reported Health – Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among pediatric patients with Leukemia in terms of: Physical Functioning, Emotional Functioning, Social Functioning, School Functioning; Examine the difference between the self – reported and parent – proxy reported HRQoL among pediatric patients with Leukemia; Examine the relationship between the family dynamics and social support to the HRQoL among pediatric patients with Leukemia. Design This research is a cross – sectional, correlation study. Participants This current study will include three groups of respondents: the children and adolescent patients diagnosed with Leukemia of any type admitted in the tertiary hospitals in the City of San Fernando in La Union, Philippines, their parents and their siblings. There are three tertiary hospitals in the area namely Lorma Medical Center, Bethany Hospital Inc., and Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center. Patients aged 5 to 18 years old, male and female, undergoing maintenance phase of treatment, conscious, and responsive will be considered as participants of the study. Parent that provides care to the patient will be asked to report for the parent – proxy reported HRQoL of the patient while both parents will be asked to respond for the family dynamics. Siblings of the patient will be included as respondents for the family dynamics. Purposive sampling technique will be utilized in the study. Patients who will meet the inclusion criteria will be eligible for the study. Data Collection Data will be collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire is a collection of adopted scales from earlier studies which will measure the family dynamics, social support and health related quality of life of the Leukemia patients. The questionnaire will have four parts. Part one will elicit data on the demographics of the patient and family. The profile of the patient will include the gender of the patient, age, diagnosis, date of diagnosis, type of treatment, length of stay in the hospital. On the other hand, the profile of the family will include the number of family members, position of the patient in the family, religion, family income, occupation of each family member, type of residence (rural, urban or sub-urban) and type of housing. The profile of the patients will be answered either by the patient or the parent while the profile of the family will be answered by the parents. Part two will gather data on the family dynamics. Family dynamics will be measured using the Family APGAR. Family APGAR stands for Adaptability, Partnership, Growth, Affection and Resolve. It is a measure that will assess the perception of the family members to family functioning through examining their satisfaction with the existing relationship. It is a 5 – items scale which was designed to be responded using a 3 – point scale from 0 as hardly ever to 2 as almost always. The highest score for this measure is 10 and higher scores signify more satisfaction with family functioning. Score lower than 6 will be considered as dysfunction in the family while scores of 6 and above will be considered as normal family function. Previous studies have established a good validity and reliability of the measure with Cronbachs alpha ranging from 0.80 to 0.85.52-54 The parents, patient and the patients siblings will be asked to answer the scale to have a better picture of the family d ynamics. Part three will collect data about the perceived social support of the patients. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) will be adopted. This is a tool designed to measure the three sources of support namely family, friend and significant other. It is composed of 12 items that can be answered using a 7 – point scale from Very Strongly Disagree to Very Strongly Agree. There will be four scores that will be derived from the scale: Family Subscale Score, Friend Subscale Score, Significant Other Subscale Score, and Total Scale Score. Scores will be obtained by summing the individual scores in each scale then divide it with the number of items. Good internal reliability across subject groups and strong factorial validity were reported for the MSPSS by earlier studies.55-57 This will be answered by the patient. Part four will be the PedsQLTM Measurement Model. It consists of 23-item designed to measure the core dimensions of health as delineated by the WHO and the role (school) functioning. It has a 5 – point scale from never to almost always. It has four dimensions which are physical, emotional, social and school functioning. Scores for each scale as well as the total scale score will be obtained. Internal consistency reliability and validity of the scale was reported to be acceptable.58-60 The patient – reported and parent – proxy reported will be considered for the study. The questionnaire will be distributed to the respondents and they will be asked to answer honestly. Enough time will be provided for the respondents. The questionnaire will be available both in English and Filipino versions. It will be translated using the forward backward method. The translated version will be subjected to reliability and validity test to ensure the accuracy of data to be collected. Ethical Consideration Ethical clearance will be sought from each ethical committee of the three hospitals. An informed consent will be asked to be signed by the parents of each patient who will signify the permission to be included in the study. The researcher will explain properly the purpose, nature, significance of the study and the expected participation of the respondents to the study. Confidentiality will be assured to each respondent. Data Analysis Data will be treated using the IBM SPSS Statistics. Both descriptive and inferential statistics will be used. Frequency count will be used for the profile of the respondents. Mean will be used to analyze the family dynamics, social support and health related quality of life. Pearson r correlation will be utilized to examine the relationship between family dynamics and social support to health related quality of life.

Learning Through Play: School Development

Learning Through Play: School Development Introduction Children in a pre school are aged around five to six years old. How can they learn something through play in Pre School? How effective is learning through play and its value to their development? With this kind of notion, it gives me the courage to explore on what play is all about to children especially for those who are in Pre School. Most teachers and parents believe that young children learn best through play. This is supported by the Early Childhood Education Reform (ECEF) (1998:52) that children in the Foundation Stage learn best through play, experience and conversation. In this essay, I will explore on different types of play, which are usually used in a pre school classroom. Most importantly, I will explore on how play relates to the childrens development in terms of their physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development with the supports from acknowledged theorists. I will also point out the importance and benefits of play and how it can be effective with the help of teachers. Moreover, I will also give out examples from Brunei context based from my experience throughout my teaching in Brunei Pre School which relates their learning through play in their school curriculum. Definition of play According to Isaacs (1954:23), he states that play is the childs means of living and understanding life. It proves that learning through play is essential for young childrens development in which they can they can gain experience, and knowledge in this life as it enables them to make sense of their world as they learn through exploration and experimentation. Moreover, play can also make a significant contribution to the childs mental health and social well-being (Miller et al., 2005). Conversely, Dodds (2009) argues that many authors and researchers would agree that it is nearly impossible to try and explain the difference between work and play as well as to try and define the notion of play or even categorise different forms of play. Play is a non threatening thing. Bennett et al (1997:51) state that there is a contrast between play and work where play is seen as being fun and enjoyable, whereas work is serious and even onerous. Meanwhile, Hughes (1999:3) states that play differs in a number of ways from what is usually regarded as work. Both play and work is enjoyable. However, play is intrinsically motivated while work is extrinsically motivated (Hughes, 1999). The Plowden report (DES, 1967) also states that adults who criticize teachers for allowing children to play are unaware that play is the principal means of learning. Types of play It is possible to classify different types of play which represent, and contribute to progress in different areas of development (Sheridan, 1999). As revealed by Miller et al. (2005), they argue that children can be seen playing in all types of different situations. Consequently, what they do when they play has many common features in spite of the context, materials and equipment available. Therefore, in light of the above, they also believe that practitioners use a number of different terms to describe types of play. Although some may appear self-explanatory, but it is necessary to understand what each involves in terms of the relationships between them and the value of their contribution to the childs growth and development both as an individual and a learner (Miller et al., 2005). In a Pre school, teachers use different types of play which relevance to the school curriculum and have an effect to the childrens development. Basically, with these types of play, it can help teachers to observe and understand better what is happening to the children when they play. Play is often categorised in a number of ways but is normally grouped into four different categories. There are creative play, physical play, manipulative play and imaginative play (Tassoni et al., 2007). Most of these plays are practiced in Pre schools. Firstly, creative play encourages children to experiment and explore the world around them. If the children are given a wide range of activities, they can develop in all areas as well as gaining an immense deal of satisfaction from the play itself as it can actually increase their confidence and self-esteem. Although it also supports the childrens creativity, it is important not to make the children worry about the end product and there should not be any competition. This is due to the childs sense of self-worth which can easily be destroyed if their creation is not praised or is questioned in some ways. They also supported that in that way, it will enable children to enjoy the process rather than the end of product (Tassoni et al., 2007). As supported by Duncan and Lockwood (2008), they state that creative play is all about creative arts play such as painting, drawing, music, dance and model making in which are the ways of expressing ideas and feelings. They are also a form of communication. Basically, they also argue that children discover the medium in which they learn how it works and what they can do with it. Secondly, Tassoni et al., (2007) believe that physical play encourages children to use their large muscles and exercises their body in which they learn to control their muscles and develop coordination. This is also supported by Miller et al., (2005:87), they define that physical play is rough and tumble which is a fun, free flowing and physical and children can develop their physical abilities and refine their motor control. Meanwhile, Lindon (2001:42) who defines that rough and tumble is such a close encounter play that is playful and obviously enjoyed by children. It is actually a type of play that is not genuine fighting where children can use the involvement of touching, tickling and chasing in activities given. Moreover, Duncan and Lockwood (2008:99) argue that physical play is a kind of play that often predominates in outdoor provision. Thirdly, a manipulative play is a type of play which concentrates upon how a child uses his or her hands. Sight and touch are the essential part of this play with hand-eye coordination. It is primarily divided into gross and fine manipulative play whereas in the gross manipulative play such as throwing a ball, climbing or kicking a ball and in the fine manipulative play is where children discover to use their fingers independently such as unscrewing a lid and using a pencil (Tassoni et al, 2007). Fourthly, an imaginative play is vital for the development of cognitive competence (Duncan and Lockwood, 2008: 98). They also believed that children can go beyond the here and now; they can pretend to be someone else, to act out adult roles. This is also argued by Bergen (2002) that there may be negative consequences for intellectual development in the long term if children do not have the opportunity of imaginative play. Moreover, Tassoni et al., (2007) support that children can act out situations spontaneously by taking on the role of other people or situations. By providing provide a number of imaginative play activities and support by adults can allow children to safely explore their own feelings and the world around them. They also argue that there are four terms that connect with imaginative play, and there is pretend play, fantasy play, socio-dramatic play and symbolic play. As for symbolic play, Miller et al. (2005:86) states that it provides children with opportunities to explore and extend their world as well as materials and objects are used to represent all kinds of things and people. This shows that in this kind of play, objects, actions and functions take on responsibilities. Meanwhile, Lindon (2001:42) states that symbolic play allows children to exercise control and explore without the risk of being out of their depth. For instance, a piece of wood may symbolize a person. A socio-dramatic play involves interaction and communication with others as children can act out stories on their own and with others. This can actually allow them to explore the nature of the role, adapting and modifying it as a result of interacting with others (Miller, et al., 2005:87). As for a pretend play, Tassoni et al, (2007:277) argues that it is a play that considers how children act out in a range of ways such as going shopping or cooking a meal. On the other hand, according to Miller et al., (2005:87), they define that a fantasy play is a form of role play where children produce their own stories and challenge accepted norms and expectations which involves make-believe, where objects and people take on new, innovative functions and roles. This is supported by Lindon (2001:43) by giving an example of children may fantasise about flying an aeroplane or being incredibly rich. The effect of play in childrens development Learning through play can be influenced by all aspects of childrens development. This is supported by Tassoni et al. (2007) as they state about how children develop through play in terms of their physical, social, emotional and behavioural, intellectual and communication and language development. However, according to Duncan and Lockwood (2008:61), they state that progression and regression in one area will impact on the others. As for the Physical development, children actually develop both physically and intellectually through movement that they make. As stated below, they argue that: Through repetition of action, connections are made in the brain. The more complex the movement or pattern created, the greater the cognitive process. Children explore their environment, manipulate tools and learn new skills, with greater control and dexterity. Their ability to plan and organize their movements influences their ability to write, draw and manipulate fine objects as well as develop their gross motor skills. This gives them the opportunity to represent language in symbols for themselves. By repetition and practice children also master control over their bodies, thus developing physical competence and spatial awareness. (Duncan and Lockwood, 2008:61) On the other hand, in terms of the language and cognitive development, children express their ideas and feelings as well as describing their experiences through language. This is because that the role of language in the development of thinking in which they can use it to control the world around them, recognize meaning and represent their understanding. Moreover, positive relationships encourage communication and are the important factor in language development and thinking. Language accompanied by action helps children to understand what is being said (Duncan and Lockwood, 2008). Lastly, the social and emotional development which also gives effect to the childrens learning. As stated by Duncan and Lockwood (2008), they argue that sociable children can interact properly in order to learn from their peer group, parents and other adults. This means they have the essential skills to cooperate in a group situation where they are able to stick to decisions made and take both a lead and subsidiary role in decision-making. They are sensitive of the needs of others and can understand different viewpoints and perspectives and how one event may affect another. They can also learn to develop socially acceptable behaviour in different circumstances. Conversely, Goleman (1996) argue that there are five abilities associated with emotional intelligence and there are self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others and handling relationships. Duncan and Lockwood (2008:63) also believed that emotional upheaval at sometime in childrens lives may impact negatively upon learning, which in turn may affect their self-esteem. The influence of theorists about childrens play Basically, no one theory has ever been able to explain completely the significance of play in childrens development. Hughes (1999:16) argues that theories must be seen as only tentative models, helpful frameworks within which child development and behaviour can be better understood. I will focus on three theorists in whom they think that play as part of childrens thinking and there are Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Jerome Bruner. It proves how effective play is in the childrens cognitive development where they can actually understand ideas and learn to think. Lindon (2001) states that the theory developed by Jean Piaget has been hugely influential for early years practice in United Kingdom. However, other theorist such as Lev Vygotsky has shown contrasting perspectives that can support adults in an effort to understand childrens thinking and how it relates to play. Jean Piaget believed that child as an active learner and proposed that children were active participants in their own learning. He also proposed that through a series of stages that unfolded in a definite sequence, the childrens cognitive development progressed. He also interested in childrens play activities in order to support his theory about their language and thinking. He did not focus on other aspects of childrens development such as communication, social interaction or emotional development. Piagets theory that children constructed their own understanding led him to emphasise that adults should create environments in which children could discover for themselves. Self discovery by children has sometimes been interpreted to mean that adults should scarcely intervene at all in childrens play (Lindon, 2001). Moreover, according to Maynard and Thomas (2004), they state that Vygotsky was interested in a mastery play where children can take up information from the world around them and shape it to fit in with their own understanding and experience as well as changing their actions to meet the demands of their personal world. These processes are called assimilation accommodation. Similar to Vygotsky, he believed that by observing a child at play, the adult gained much knowledge of the childs stage of development. He categorised three stages of the development of intelligence and there is sensory motor which corresponds to mastery play, pre-operational which corresponds to symbolic or pretend play, and lastly operational which corresponds to games with rules. Since I am exploring about children in Pre schools, I would use the information from Piagets developmental model which argues on the stage of symbolic play which takes place between the ages of two and seven years which relevant with the pre-operational stage. This is where the children transform themselves or objects into something else. For instance, a child engaged in pretend play about pirates and may pick up a cardboard cylinder and use it as a telescope. For the child, it has become a telescope and the transformation is a very real one (Maynard and Thomas, 2004). Basically, it shows that using the view from Piaget; pretend play emerged spontaneously at a stage well into the pre school period. However, according to Maynard and Thomas (2004), it is only relatively recently since the translation of Vygotskys work and through the writing of more recent researchers, that this view has been challenged and argued that pretend play is considered to be the product of social collaboration rather than a developmental process. Meanwhile, in the contribution of Vygotsky to the childrens learning through, Lindon (2001:31) states that he placed greater emphasis than Piaget on the social context in which children explored and learned. He also focused on language as a vital social tool and described learning within social interaction. Lindon (2001:31) also states that Vygotsky felt that early language, during the years when children speak out loud to themselves in play, was an important instrument of their thinking. Moreover, Vygotsky believes that in terms of the role of play, he emphasized: The ingenuity of children as active participants in their own learning and creative users of play from whatever was available. He felt that play led childrens development. In their play activity, children could step outside the restrictions of their real lives and explore meaning free from the constraints of what was possible as a child. Vygotsky also believed that all forms of play had some imaginary component and that play was rule bound within those imaginary elements. (Lindon, 2001:31). It shows that play is important for childrens learning, but of course there are barriers such as risk, safety and both the childrens social and emotional are needed to be focused on. As supported by Vygotsky, he did not see play as the only way that children learned and warned against the risks if adults focused too much on the possible intellectual content of play and ignored the emotional content (Lindon, 2001). Hughes (1999) also states that Vygotsky believed about the importance of the social context. He believes about his zones of proximal development. If a child is asked to work independently on a problem, such as sorting objects according to shape or function, he will display a particular level of performance for the childs performance may not reflect his or her true potential. However, if the same child is allowed to work with other children on the problem or is given even a small amount of direction by an adult, he or she might perform at a higher level than when working alone and potential ability in a different social context is the zone of proximal development. Obviously, the social context can do more than provide information about development as it can also facilitate the development by allowing children to achieve their true potential (Hughes,1999). In terms of play, Maynard and Thomas (2004) state that Vygotsky stresses that in childrens development in the earliest years of life, the role of pretend play is important. He placed play in the socio-cultural context where the context in which childrens play can and should be extended and nurtured by both adults and peers. This is also further supported that pretend play provides an inimitable context within which children can reach for and attain increasingly higher levels of cognitive development (Maynard and Thomas, 2004). Vygotsky believed that pretend play is a major means by which young children can extend their cognitive skills, and they can also learn about the social constructs of their own culture at the same time by the encouragement given by adults for them to become active participants in the social world around them. He also believed that by identifying the main features of play, the observer is able to understand how it influences childrens development (Maynard and Thomas, 2004). Lastly, about Jerome Bruner who was actually influenced by Vygotskys ideas and developed the idea for the concept of the spiral curriculum. According to Lindon (2001), he states that Bruner described how children learn through discovery with the direct help of adults and by repeating to the same materials or ideas. He also proposed that children were able to broaden their understanding over a period of years, and they could build on what they had learned previously and through sensitive help from adults in the later learning. In terms of play, whereas Piagets developmental theory minimalists the role of the adult in childrens development, Bruner similar to Vygotsky who considers the role of the adult in nurturing childrens development through play to be critical. He also argues that children learn from modelled adult behaviour rather than over-directed intervention (Maynard and Thomas, 2004). Moreover, according to Maynard and Thomas (2004), Bruner identifies two major functions of play. First, play situations allow children to test out and modify the consequences of their actions which provide them with a meaningful situation in which they can learn about things without risk of fear and failure and second, it gives children an opportunity for them not to engage in behaviours if under adult pressure. Like Vygotsky, Bruner also subscribes to a socio-constructivist theory of play in which he emphasizes the important of symbolic or pretend play. This is a type of play which enables children to work through difficulties, and fulfil secret desires at a make-believe level as well as helping children to learn how to cope with rules and social conventions at the same time (Maynard and Thomas, 2004). Overall, according to Maynard and Thomas (2004), they state that Vygotsky and Bruner subscribe to the socio-constructivist theory of play that it needs to be scaffolded by sensitive and intelligent adult intervention. In order for children to progress to higher levels of cognitive functioning, there must be social interaction with peers. However, Piaget argues that that play was developmental and that it took place at a particular stage regardless of adult intervention. It shows that Piagets theory is in contrast to the socio-constructivist view of the play. Despite their differences, the classical theorists emphasise the vital importance of pretend play to childrens development. Since pretend play presents a much greater cognitive challenge than non-pretend activities such as puzzles and jigsaws, young children who have ample time to engage in it do enjoy enhanced intellectual development. The importance and benefit of play It is believed that play can help children to understand life and their surrounding. This is supported by Duncan and Lockwood (2008), they state that through play, children have a natural instinct to learn about the world. Moreover, Hughes (1999:20) states cognitive theorists regard play a stool for facilitating intellectual growth. In addition, play is spontaneous as children can engage in it from choice (Moyles, 1994). This is further supported by Jerome Bruner (1972) and Brian Sutton-Smith (1967) cited in Hughes (1999:20), they state that play provides a comfortable, and relaxed atmosphere in which children can learn to solve a variety of problems. They also believe that later, when children are confronted with the more complex problems of the real world, the learning that took place during play is of great benefit to them. Play affords the opportunity for intellectual and social development as well as for emotional release (Hughes, 1999). In the studies of Bruner (1960) cited in Maynard and Thomas (2004), he states that similar to Piaget and Vygotsky; he examines the way in which children are able to explore hopes and anxieties and trying things out safely in pretend play as well as attributing to it a cathartic function. According to Maynard and Thomas (2004: 192), they state that when one observes children at play, certain common characteristics emerge. First, play is fun, children enjoy engaging in it. It maybe accompanied by laughter, talk, propose indeed, none of these things. It may be solitary or involve groups of children; it may also involve adult participation. Although an episode of play may lead to significant learning outcomes, these are not planned at its outset. True play is an impromptu experience and other than the intention of having fun, its outcomes do not exist in childrens minds when they initiate it. However, parents often misunderstood about play and early childhood educators notice it as a natural part of childhood but one that has little developmental value (Hartley, 1971). Moreover, David (1996) cited in Nutbrown also highlights the way in which increasing fears for childrens safety is understandably causing parents to confine and restrict their children more. According to Hughes (1999), he argues that it is understood that children should play as it affords the opportunity for intellectual and social development as well as for emotional release. Meanwhile, as stated by Gammage (2006) argue that childrens learning has led to some misunderstanding in which children are not just investments for the future, but they have a right to freely chosen opportunities for play and self-directed exploration as well as structured play activities rather than being made to follow a restricted or narrow curriculum. Other feature of learning through play is that it helps the children to develop their language by expressing their ideas and feeling and describe their experiences (Duncan and Lockwood, 2008). Moreover, Moyles (2005:235) states that children are in control of the way in which they want their play to develop and give themselves tasks in their play, not really for an outcome, but to shape the play-process itself. Hughes (1999) states that Vygotsky argued that there is a number of acquired and shared tools that aid in human thinking and behaviour-skills that allow us to think more clearly than if we did not have them and to better understand our own thinking processes. He also stated about the importance of the social context. This is his belief in zones of proximal development. If asked to work independently on a problem, such as sorting objects according to shape or function, a child will display a particular level of performance. However, Vygotsky believed that the childs performance may not reflect his or her true potential. If the same child is allowed to work with other children on the problem on the problem, or is given even a small amount of direction by an adult, he or she might perform at a higher level than when working alone and potential ability in a different social context is the zone of proximal development. Role of adults and their intervention to make a play to work effectively Teachers need to be supportive as children should enjoy it. Lindon (2001) identifies some possible roles for Pre school teachers in play such as the teacher as companion, learner and observer, facilitator, provider, a model, mediator as well as safety officer. Miller et al., (2005:92) state that play is vulnerable that it is important to provide appropriate experiences, activities and resources that will help children to develop their ability to play and learn. Moyles (1994) argues that it is practitioners who are best placed to observe and channel the value of childrens play into powerful contexts for learning. Moreover, by observation it is important for childrens learning through play. This is supported by Duncan and Lockwood (2008:21) who believe that observation will give you information about childrens learning through play and about the learning environment. Johnston et al., (2010) state that through play, children can develop intellectually, creatively, physically, socially and emotionally. By providing well planned experiences in both indoor and outdoor which are based on childrens spontaneous play are an important way which practitioners support young children to learn with enjoyment and challenge. Furthermore, observation also gives feedback on management issues, the effectiveness of resources and the play environment and information about diversity, inequalities, prejudices and stereotyping (Duncan and Lockwood, 2008:20). There are many ways in supporting and reflecting childrens play in extending specific areas such as language and communication. As stated by Bruce (2001) in supporting play are to establish a conducive environment, an adult must have interest and be part of the play in a background way as well as to be alert on how to manage things during the play without intervene it. However, those with learning difficulties and disabilities may need more specific and specialised help in playing and communicating with others. There is a place for scaffolding childrens understanding of and ability to play, just as there is for scaffolding their learning, to take account of their diverse life experiences (Bruner, 1972). Moreover, Vygotsky stated on how adults could best help children to learn and on the other hand, he also believed that children could and did help each other through play. He used his concept of the zone of proximal development to explain how childrens learning could be supported. The zone of proximal development is the area of possibilities that lie between what individual children can manage on their own and what they could achieve or understand with some appropriate help. He also argues that focused help could come from wither an alert adult or from another child whose understanding or skills were slightly more mature (Lindon, 2001). The impact of learning through play in Brunei context on Pre School children Based from where I came from, Pre schools in Brunei also practice learning through play in part of the school curriculum. As stated by the Curriculum Development Department (CDD) of the Brunei Ministry of Education (2009), the Pre school syllabus emphasises on the implementation of the instructional activities which are provided following the educational field and skill levels as well as abilities in accordance with the development of their learning. The educational field is divided into five developments. There is personal and social development, cognitive development, the development of aesthetics and creativity, physical development and ICT development. On the other hand, some teachers tend not to focus on the childrens learning through play as they believed that it is just a waste of time and rather follow in meeting the curriculum demands and syllabus given. This is argued by the Plowden report (DES, 1967) that although the play is the central activity in all schools but it often leads to accusations that children are wasting their time in school in which they should be working. Principals in Brunei Pre Schools encourage Pre class teachers to modify and decorate their classrooms where they accommodate the class with varieties of learning corners areas such as a book corner, kitchen corner, block corner and drawing corner. This is suitable for dramatic play, books and literacy, block and construction play and manipulative play.ÂÂ   These areas can help the pupils to develop their skills needed. The class teachers make sure that the play activities are relevant to the development of the pre school pupils. Most importantly, the teachers provide plenty of open space area for them to play independently. This can lead the pupils to be engaged in learning through play effectively. Basically, class teachers in Brunei use primitive materials for some of the play activities such as sand, water and clay where it can attract the pupils and evoke their interest and concentration. This is supported by Hughes (1999:198) who highlights that a number of play materials and activities have been identified as being highly likely to stimulate intellectual growth. Hughes (1999:211) states that certain types of play materials and activities have been found to be helpful in encouraging social integration. Moreover, the use of materials in play can develop pupils confidence in learning with others. Moyles (2005) states that the activity which develop their confidence and actually demonstrate their understanding to groups of children even if they are unfamiliar with as they can start their conversation and friendship. Most importantly, the toys and play materials are kept on low sized shelves so that they can reach them easily. Most teachers do use the outdoor play but this is only when they are having a Physical Education. Basically, children must also have opportunities to play out door since outdoor has a large space with nature. The pupils can play freely which can sometimes pose a threat for risk and accidents. As stated by Gill (2007:16), he summarizes that by undertaking risky activities carries beneficial side effects for childrens health and development. Based from my teaching experience, the pupils in my class love to play during their Break time. It could be observed that it was the time when they are having fun especially at the playground. Although children play, they actually learn something. For instance, th

Scandle in the church :: essays research papers

Headlines were captured in February by the tragic reports that as many as seventy priests in the Archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts, allegedly have abused young people whom they were consecrated to serve. In the wake this news, allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have sprung up nationwide. It is a huge scandal, one that many people who dislike the Catholic Church because of its moral teachings are using to claim that the Church is hypocritical and that they were right all along. Many people have come up to priests like myself to talk about it. I imagine many others have wanted to but have refrained out of respect or from not wanting to bring up bad news. We need to tackle the issue head-on. We cannot pretend it doesn't exist, and I would like to discuss what our response as faithful Catholics should be to this terrible situation. The Judas syndrome The first thing we need to do is to understand this scandal from the perspective of our faith in the Lord. Before he chose his first disciples, Jesus went up the mountain to pray all night (Luke 6:12). He had many followers at the time. He talked to his Father in prayer about whom he should choose to be his twelve apostles-the twelve whom he would form intimately, the twelve whom he would send out to preach the good news in his name. He gave them power to cast out demons. He gave them power to cure the sick. They watched him work countless miracles. They themselves worked countless others in his name. Yet one of them tuned out to be a traitor. One who had followed the Lord-who had seen him walk on water and raise people from the dead and forgive sinners, one whose feet the Lord had washed-betrayed him. The gospels tells us that Judas allowed Satan to enter into him and then sold the Lord for thirty pieces of silver, handing him over by faking a gesture of love. "Judas," Jesus said to him in the garden of Gethsemane, "would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 24:48). Jesus didn't choose Judas to betray him. But Judas was always free, and he used his freedom to allow Satan to enter into him, and by his betrayal Jesus was crucified and executed. But God foresaw this evil and used to accomplish the ultimate good: the redemption of the world.

Essay on Rewriting History in Henry IV -- Henry IV Henry V Essays

Rewriting History in Henry IV      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The master of historiography is, perhaps, Shakespeare as evidenced by his History Plays. Whereas most writers merely borrow from history to fuel their creative fires, Shakespeare goes so far as to rewrite history. The First Part of Henry the Fourth follows history fairly closely, and Shakespeare draws this history primarily from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicle of England, Scotland, and Ireland and from Samuel Daniel's verse epic The Civil Wars (Abrams 823).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The play opens shortly after Henry Bolingbroke has usurped the throne from Richard II, becoming the fourth King Henry, and changing the royal lineage from the House of Plantagenet to the House of Lancaster. In the opening sequence, Henry IV is in the process of vowing peace in England and promising a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. No motive for this crusade surfaces in 1 Henry IV, other than the fact that it is some unfinished business from Shakespeare's preceding play Richard II (Kelly 214). Henry's pledge of civil peace is ironic because during this first scene he receives word that his troops have been overtaken by Glendower in Wales, and Hotspur has met and defeated the Scots in the North (1.1.36-61). To the news, the King replies, "It seems then that the tidings of this broil / Brake off our business for the Holy Land" (1.1.47-8). Postponing the business in Jerusalem, Henry IV eventually leads England into civil war with Hotspur a t the Battle of Shrewsbury. These actions will ultimately ignite the War of the Roses between the Lancasters (Henry IV's family) and the Yorks (descendants of Richard II).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The play then shifts its focus to the younger Henry, nicknamed Hal. Shakespeare portrays the ... ... as king. Shakespeare the Historian is not so wonderful as Shakespeare the Playwright, yet through Shakespeare's History Plays many modern readers draw their knowledge of the history prior to Shakespeare.    Works Cited * Drabble, Margaret, ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th Ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1985. * Jacob, E. F. The Fifteenth Century: 1399-1485. London: Oxford UP, 1961. * Kelly, Henry Ansgar. Divine Providence in the England of Shakespeare's Histories. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1970. * McFarlane, K. B. Lancastrian Kings and Lollard Knights. London: Oxford UP, 1972. * Rowse, A. L. Bosworth Field: From Medieval to Tudor England. New York: Doubleday, 1966. * Shakespeare, William. 1 Henry IV. Ed. M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1, 6th ed. New York: Norton, 1993.   

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on January 8,1984, Viet Nam joined on July 28, 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar joined on July 23, 1997, and Cambodia on April 30, 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.The signing of the ASEAN Declaration established by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand represented an important milestone for economic development and affirmed the commitment to the aims and purposes of ASEAN as set forth in the ASEAN Declaration. To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavor’s in equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of South-East Asian Nations. To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields. To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres.To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilization of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples. To promote South-East Asian studies, to maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations wit h similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.This later evolved into the ASEAN Charter signed on December 15, 2008, which served as a firm foundation in achieving economic growth, social development, and regional integration, by legally binding the ASEAN community to its rules and values. The ASEAN Free Trade Area was established in January 1992 to eliminate tariff barriers among the Southeast Asian countries with a view to integrating the ASEAN economies into a single production base and creating a regional market of 500 million people.The Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area requires that tariff rates levied on a wide range of products traded within the region be reduced to no more than five percent. Although originally scheduled to be recognized by 2010, the target of a free trade area in ASEAN was continuously moved forward. As early as 2000, most of the tariff lines on goods traded within ASEAN-6 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei), representing almost 90 percent of intra-ASEAN trade, were already in the 0-5 percent range.The elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers among the ASEAN members has served as a catalyst for greater efficiency in production and long-term competitiveness. The reduction of barriers to intra-regional trade gives ASEAN consumers a wider choice of better quality consumer products. Only 247 tariff lines within the region remained outside the remit of CEPT. The Council also announced that uptake of CEPT in the newer ASEAN member countries Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (CLMV) was keeping pace with the original members.The CLMV countries are greatly underdeveloped and struggle economically compared to the ASEAN-6, CLMV total GDP is only about $97 billion only 7. 5% of the $1. 3 trillion total ASEAN-6 gross domestic product. Cambodia one of the newest members of ASEAN has a trade valu e of $7. 58 billion as compared to Malaysia’s trade value of $323. 5 billion. ASEAN has created the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) program, which gives direction to and sharpens the focus of collective efforts in ASEAN to narrow the development gap between ASEAN’s older and newer members.Vietnam has expressed its concerns with there new membership to ASEAN and ASEAN’s Initiative for ASEAN Integration as they face several possible economic disadvantages. Vietnam and the other ASEAN economies are essentially competitive not complementary, Vietnam’s developing industry faces potentially stiff challenges from its ASEAN counterparts. Vietnam was told they would need to end its quota system, eliminate other non-tariff barriers, and enhance the transparency of its trade regime.These steps may aggravate Vietnam’s trade imbalance with ASEAN and increase an already growing trade deficit. More than half of Vietnam’s trade deficit of $3. 5 billi on is with other ASEAN countries. There is also the possibility that Vietnam’s tax base could be undermined by the in-flow of goods from ASEAN states as part of the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area). At present Vietnam earns a portion of its domestic revenue from tariffs on imported goods. When these tariffs are lowered or eliminated the flow of revenue from this source to the central government will decline.Despite the difficulties of integration and the concerns of new ASEAN members the ASEAN Charter and the AFTA have seen economic growth by lowering barriers to trade among its member-countries, ASEAN is creating an integrated regional market. This makes economies more efficient through a better division of labor, through the benefits of economies-of-scale. It stimulates healthy competition, lowering costs. It enlarges the domestic market. The region thus becomes more attractive to investors, creating more jobs.The CMLV economies have on average grown faster than the ASEAN-6 cou ntries during the past decade by 5. % compared to -8. 8% in 1998 and 8. 5% compared to 6. 4% in 2007. Over the years, ASEAN's overall trade grew from $ 10 billion in 1967, $ 14 billion in 1970, $ 134 billion in 1980, $ 302 billion in 1990 to $ 650 billion in 1995. With its combined trade value, ASEAN is the fourth largest trading entity in the world after the European Union, the United States and Japan. For about 25 years from 1970 to 1995, ASEAN's GDP grew at an average annual rate of 7. 0 percent. Today, Southeast Asia has a total market of about 500 million people and a combined GDP of more than US$ 700 billion.

Qam and Qpsk

QAM and QPSK: Aim: Review of Quadrature Amplitude Modulator (QAM) in digital communication system, generation of Quadrature Phase Shift Keyed (QPSK or 4-PSK) signal and demodulation. Introduction: The QAM principle: The QAM modulator is of the type shown in Figure 1 below. The two paths to the adder are typically referred to as the ‘I’ (inphase), and ‘Q’ (quadrature), arms. Not shown in Figure 1 is any bandlimiting. In a practical situation this would be implemented either at message level – at the input to each multiplier – and/or at the output of the adder.Probably both ! The motivation for QAM comes from the fact that a DSBSC signal occupies twice the bandwidth of the message from which it is derived. This is considered wasteful of resources. QAM restores the balance by placing two independent DSBSC, derived from message #1 and message #2, in the same spectrum space as one DSBSC. The bandwidth imbalance is removed. In digital communications this arrangement is popular. It is used because of its bandwidth conserving (and other) properties. It is not used for multiplexing two independent messages.Given an input binary sequence (message) at the rate of n bit/s, two sequences may be obtained by splitting the bit stream into two paths, each of n/2 bit/s. This is akin to a serial-to-parallel conversion. The two streams become the channel 1 and channel 2 messages of Figure 1. Because of the halved rate the bits in the I and Q paths are stretched to twice the input sequence bit clock period. The two messages are recombined at the receiver, which uses a QAM-type demodulator. The two bit streams would typically be band limited and/or pulse shaped before reaching the modulator.A block diagram of such a system is shown in Figure 2 below. QAM becomes QPSK: The QAM modulator is so named because, in analog applications, the messages do in fact vary the amplitude of each of the DSBSC signals. In QPSK the same modulator is used, but wi th binary messages in both the I and Q channels, as describe above. Each message has only two levels,  ±V volt. For a non-bandlimited message this does not vary the amplitude of the output DSBSC. As the message changes polarity this is interpreted as a 1800 phase shift, given to the DSBSC.Thus the signal in each arm is said to be undergoing a 1800 phase shift, or phase shift keying – or PSK. Because there are two PSK signals combined, in quadrature, the twochannel modulator gives rise to a quadrature phase shift keyed – QPSK – signal. Constellation: Viewed as a phasor diagram (and for a non-bandlimited message to each channel), the signal is seen to occupy any one of four point locations on the complex plane. These are at the corner of a square (a square lattice), at angles ? /4, 3? /4, 5? /4 and 7? /4 to the real axis.M-PSK and M-QAM: The above has described digital-QAM or QPSK. This signal is also called 4-PSK or 4QAM. More generally signals can be generated which are described as M-QAM or MPSK. Here M = 2L, where L = the number of levels in each of the I and Q arms. For the present experiment L = 2, and so M = 4. The ‘M’ defines the number of points in the signal constellation. For the cases M > 4 then M-PSK is not the same as M-QAM. The QAM Receiver: The QAM receiver follows the similar principles to those at the transmitter, and is illustrated in idealised from in the block diagram of Figure 3.It is idealised because it assumes the incoming signal has its two DSBSC precisely in phase quadrature. Thus only one phase adjustment is required. The parallel-to-serial converter block performs the following operations: 1. regenerates the bit clock from the incoming data. 2. regenerates a digital waveform from both the analog outputs of the I and Q arms. 3. re-combines the I and Q signals, and outputs a serial data stream. Not shown is the method of carrier acquisition. This ensures that the oscillator, which supplies the local carrier signal, is synchronized to the received (input) signal in both frequency and phase.In this experiment we will use a stole carrier to ensure that carrier signal in the transmitter and receiver are in synchronism with each other. (Please read about Costas Receiver to understand more about carrier acquisition). In this experiment, two independent data sequences will be used at the input to the modulator, rather than having digital circuitry to split one data stream into two (the serialto-parallel converter). Two such independent data sequences, sharing a common bit clock (2. 083 kHz), are available from a single SEQUENCE GENERATOR module.The data stream from which these two channels are considered to have been derived would have been at a rate of twice this – 4. 167 kHz. Lowpass filter bandlimiting and pulse shaping is not a subject of enquiry in this experiment. So a single bandpass filter at the ADDER (summer) output will suffice, providing it is of adequate bandwidth. A 100 kHz CHANNEL FILTERS module is acceptable (filter #3). Experimental Procedure: The QPSK transmitter: A model of the generator of Figure 1 is shown in Figure 4. The QAM modulator involves analog circuitry.Overload must be avoided, to prevent crosstalk between channels when they share a common path – the ADDER and output filter. In practice there would probably be a filter in the message path to each multiplier. Although these filters would be included for pulse shaping and/or band limiting, a secondary purpose is to eliminate as many unwanted components at the multiplier (modulator) input as possible. T1 patch up the modulator according to Figure 4. Set the on-board switch SW1 of the PHASE SHIFTER to HI. Select channel #3 of the 100 kHz CHANNEL FILTERS module (this is a bandpass filter of adequate bandwidth).T2 there are no critical adjustments to be made. Set the signals from each input of the ADDER to be, say, 1 volt peak at the ADDER output. T3 for interest predict th e waveforms (amplitude and shape) at all interfaces, then confirm by inspection. Constellation: You can display the four-point constellation for QPSK: T4 set the oscilloscope in X-Y mode. With no input, select equal gains per channel. Locate the ‘spot’ in the centre of the screen; then connect the two data streams entering the QAM to the scope X and Y inputs.The Demodulator: Modelling of the demodulator of Figure 3 is straightforward. But it consumes a lot of modules. Consequently only one of the two arms is shown in Figure 5. The PHASE SHIFTER can be used to select either channel from the QAM signal. If both channels required simultaneously, as in practice, then a second, identical demodulator must be provided. T5 patch up the single channel demodulator of Figure 5, including the z-mod facility of the DECISION MAKER. T6 while watching the ‘I’ channel at the transmitter, use the PHASE SHIFTER to match the demodulator output with it.T7 while watching the â⠂¬ËœQ’ channel at the transmitter, use the PHASE SHIFTER to match the demodulator output with it. Tutorial Questions: 1) Explain how a QAM system conserves bandwidth. 2) The modulator used the quadrature 100 kHz outputs from the MASTER SIGNALS module. Did it matter if these were not precisely in quadrature ? Explain. 3) Name one advantage of making the bit rate a sub-multiple of the carrier frequency. 4) Why is there a need to eliminate as many unwanted components as possible into the modulator ?