Category: Relationship

Nowadays, people surf the web for pictures of cats much more often than for sketches of atomic bombs. The Internet became a vast database, and it was created to make fast access to this data open to everyone (Cukier, 2014). However, the web is becoming more and more commercialized: people are not ready to share information for free, and it quickly became a commodity. Besides, the abundance of ads can not only ruin the mood of users when ads are aggressive and intrusive but also distract from the original search goal.

Yes, today, anyone can find out the distance between the stars, see photographs of any part of the world by finding a place on the map, or quickly learn how to care for rare breed puppies. But this does not mean that people continue to be interested. Content unification becomes a problem; it is not always possible for a user to get rid of the support of Google search, which monitors preferences, putting every user in a personal bubble.

Big Data is taking up more and more space in human relationships, careers, and everyday life. Many people came to terms with the fact that large companies buy personal data from social networks like Facebook, while GPSs monitor movements and Google watches online preferences. This situation creates many prerequisites for misuse of data, as happened in China, where peoples activities are followed through external CCTV cameras, and information is transmitted to surveillance agencies. Many totalitarian regimes continue to exist because of the power of machines.

I want to agree with Kenneth Cukier that the more data, the smarter the machines, the more opportunities they provide to those who own and operate them. However, despite the gloomy predictions in Orwell and Bradburys style, it must be admitted that technological progress, although not freeing humanity, did not plunge it into slavery (Cukier, 2014). Morality and ethics of human relations, the evolution of state structures, develop in parallel with technical progress and are not as closely related to it as it might seem at first glance.

Reference

Cukier, K. (2014). Big data is better data [Video file]. Web.

Introduction

Delinquency is a major problem among teenagers all over the world. It is therefore common to hear people say that there is a link between age, peer association and delinquent behavior. But researchers, criminologists, and social scientists will not be contented with simply assuming that the phenomenon called delinquency is simply a natural byproduct of age or peer pressure; they need to know the precise linkages among age, peer association, and delinquency. Two experienced researchers, Daniel Mears, a research associate at the Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center and Samuel Field, a research assistant at the Center for Criminology and Criminal Justice Research at the University of Texas at Austin decided that it is high time to conduct an investigation regarding the subject. The said researchers are not only going to find out about the link between age and peer association but also to know how these two are linked to specific types of offending.

Overview

Daniel Mears and Samuel Field began their investigation by first providing an overview of important theories related to their study. The first theoretical framework that they discussed concerned the idea that older youths and youths with more delinquent peers are more likely to engage in delinquent acts (Mears & Field, par. 5). But the researchers wanted to know how age can become a factor to this phenomenon. They therefore utilized Thornberrys interactional theory that states that the influence of delinquent peers association increases during mid-adolescence and then declines gradually (Mears & Field, par. 7). Thornberry explains that as the child transitions into adolescence there is a need for peer association and then as the adolescent begins to develop commitments to conventional activities and institutions e.g. education, career and family, there is a gradual decrease in the need for peer networks (Mears & Field, par. 7). From this theoretical framework the researchers were able to create their own hypotheses for the study.

Mears and Field hypothesized that there will be an interactive relationship between age and delinquent peer associations on delinquency and then added that delinquent peer association will have a greater impact on older youths. The said researchers expanded on this idea by stating their second hypothesis that the interaction between age and delinquent peer associations will be strongest for substance abuse-related offenses and with increases in delinquent peer associations will have a stronger effect among older youths.

The researchers used data coming from the National Youth Survey (NYS). The NYS is an ongoing longitudinal study of delinquent behavior where there is a national multistage probability sampling of households in the United States (Mears & Field, par. 15). The researchers asserted that experts agree on the reliability and validity of the NYS. Data was first taken in 1976 wherein 1,725 juveniles with ages ranging from 11 to 17 were asked questions about events and behaviors that occurred in the preceding year.

There were ten specific self-reported offenses that were included in the NYS and these are listed as follows:

1. Cheating  cheated on school tests;
2. Damaging property  purposely damaged or destroyed property belonging to others;
3. Using marijuana  used marijuana or hashish;
4. Stealing items worth less than $5  stole or tried to steal something worth $5 or less;
5. Hitting someone  hit or threatened to hit a person;
6. Burglary  broken or tried to break into a building or vehicle to steal or look around;
7. Selling illegal drugs  sold hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD;
8. Stealing items worth more than $50  stole or tried to steal something worth more than $50;
9. Getting drunk  been drunk in a public place; and
10. Using prescription drugs  amphetamines or barbiturates

The abovementioned offenses were used as dependent variable and the respondents were asked how many times they committed the specific offenses in the past year. The offense counts range from a low of.05 for burglary and to a high of 24.00 for the use of marijuana (Mears & Field, par. 17). The independent variables on the other hand include measures of age and of delinquent peer association. The respondents were asked regarding the behavior of their friends in the preceding year. The answers to these questions became the basis for the study.

Research Findings

They were able to show that there is indeed a link between age and peer association to delinquency. But the more important finding is that when it comes to age/peer interactions the effect is more evident when it comes to using marijuana, getting drunk, and to a lesser extent selling illegal drugs, using prescription drugs, and burglary (Mears & Field, par. 23). But when it comes to other offenses such as cheating, damaging property, stealing items worth less than $5, hitting someone and stealing items worth more than $50 the strength and nature of the interactions are less clear (Mears & Field, par. 24). The researchers went a little further by measuring the impact of peer influence and time spent with family. The findings suggest that the interaction between age and peer association as related to delinquency is not affected by the perceived influence of peers or by the disruption of time spent with family.

The findings suggest mixed support for the hypotheses brought forth by the researchers. With regards to the first hypothesis the researchers were able to correctly predict that there was in an interactive relationship between age and delinquent peer association. But this was only true for some offenses and for others no such relationship exist, meaning, older groups were not necessarily affected more strongly by peer association (Mears & Field, par. 27). But when it comes to the second hypothesis the researchers were right on target. They were able to show that when it comes to criminal behavior the interaction between age and peer association will result in the commission of drug-related offenses.

Personal Opinion

The reliability and validity of their investigation is seen in the way they pointed out the possible weakness of their approach. As a result they were very careful in avoiding these problems and proceeded to design a study where they could not be accused of tampering with the outcome of the research. For instance, their hypothesis pointed out to the link between age, peer association, and drug-related offenses. The researchers discovered in the initial phase of their study that there is an unusually high number of marijuana users in their sample. In order to prevent high frequency offenses from exerting undue influence on test results the researchers decided to standardize the individual offenses.

As a result the researchers were able to gather reliable data as well as generate valid results. They were able to develop a study that supplied information regarding the interaction between age, peer association and delinquency. But there were also unexpected results in the study. For instance there were offenses where the interaction between age and peer association did not contribute to delinquency. This simply means that as the child grows older he or she will not be necessarily affected by increased peer associations.

The most interesting part of the study is the discovery that there is a strong interaction between age and peer association when it comes to drug-related offending and burglary. At first glance there is no common denominator between drug-related offenses and burglary but the study forces one to reconsider and as a result created an interest for studying the so-called high group violation rate (Mears & Field, par. 33). There is indeed an impetus in exploring further for this can be a major key in understanding criminal behavior.

Conclusion

There is a need to point out the importance of the study. The researchers themselves acknowledge that for a very long time sociologists and the layman relied heavily on the assumption that age and peer association are two major factors that can lead to delinquency. But Mears and Field asserted that there was practically no scientific study made regarding the nature of the interaction of peer association and age.

The proponents of the said study, made the hypotheses that age and delinquent peer association will create a significant impact on older youth and that this interaction will be more evident when it comes to drug-related offenses. The researchers were proven partially correct when it comes to first hypothesis and then made the correct prediction when it comes to the second hypothesis, which states that, the interaction between age and peer association plays a significant role when it comes to the decision to use prohibited drugs and to commit burglary.

These findings opened new doors and new opportunities for the two researchers who are on a quest to understand delinquency. There is now a need to investigate further the phenomenon called group violation rate. This is the only plausible explanation as to why there are some offenses where age and peer association is the main culprit. Examining crimes like getting drunk in public places, burglary, and other drug-related offenses, one can easily understand that these offenses require the help of a group.

While the overall design of the experiment assured reliability and validity there is one additional feature of the investigation that can be confusing. This is the part wherein the researchers added a set of questions to test the influence of family and the perceived influence on peers on delinquency. This part of the study was not mentioned in the initial phase and by inserting it in the latter part will not help future researchers understand why it must become an integral part of the study.

If indeed this portion of the study is important to generating valid results then the proponent of the study must devote more time and space in describing the rationale for deriving data in answer to the question of peer influence and time spent with family. But even with these relatively minor bumps in the road the two researchers must be commended for providing data that will help criminologists understand criminal behavior. One of the most significant findings is the realization that the interaction between age and delinquent peer association will encourage teenagers to commit drug-related crimes as well as burglary.

References

Mears, Daniel P and Samuel H. Field. 2002.A Closer Look at the Age, Peers, and Delinquency Relationship. Western Criminology Review 4 (1), Web.

Intro

It is a common perception that has led people to say men are from Mars and women from Venus. This is because men and women are very different in their personalities, attitudes, views, and values among other things. Relationships between men and women can be grouped as thriving or surviving (Crooks & Baur, 2008). A thriving relationship is a proper relationship that makes both parties happy. A surviving relationship is a relationship that exists not because both parties are happy but because there is a circumstance that forces it to stay. Therefore, it takes an effort for a man and a woman to build a stable thriving relationship.

Relationships

In our society today, proper relationships are becoming harder to build. This is because women are becoming more learned and engage themselves in demanding careers. Due to women becoming independent financially and career-wise men find it hard to please them. Nowadays every woman is smart and beautiful and men are stuck to their daily tasks. A proper relationship between a man and a woman is the one that helps one grow into something great. It enables both parties to realize their potential, have fun, and makes them happy. A proper relationship should make everyone involved feel good about themselves and grow in new areas. An attraction forms the basis for love which forms the basis of a proper relationship.

Personally, my belief is that a proper relationship between a man and a woman does not exist solely because of love. Most of my friends dating the people they love do not always end up building a happy marriage or healthy relationship. Love helps in covering for so many sins and this attraction without putting efforts to make the other person happy is fruitless. Compatibility is the major aspect that builds a proper relationship. Once a couple identifies with similar values, interests, and future plans they can have a thriving relationship.

The two agents that have influenced me most in building proper relationships are family and friends. At home, the relationship between my mother and my father shows that a man is supposed to be respected and a woman is supposed to be loved. My family has made me believe that people dont survive merely because of love but because they understand and respect each other. The friends on the other hand have made me learn that relationships are hard to maintain. Most of my friends have had a bad relationship and very few of them have thriving relationships. Most relationships survive if there is respect, understanding, and compatibility (Newman, 2009).

The current news event that I think stereotyping is occurring is the Tiger woods Mistresses scandal. Most people believe that all men wealthy and poor cheat on their wives and it is only that most of them do not get caught. There is the belief that men cheat on their wives because women allow them to. For Example in this case as with many other cheating husband scandals, women would have an affair with a man as long as he is wealthy and has money. The news event stereotypes all men as cheaters while on the other hand men classify women as gold diggers, both cases which are not necessarily always true.

Dramaturgy

Mother: They said they will be back to see you.

Me: Are you quite certain?

Mother: Thats what they said. Moments after you left

Me: I will wait for them

Mother: You should choose your friends carefully.

Me: They are nice Mum, we cope well.

Mother: Remember good friends are supposed to instill good values in you and should watch out for you. They should be trustworthy and respect your decisions.

Me: Yes, Thats the start of it. But dont you worry. We will be back on time. (Silence. I look at my mother.) Whats the matter, mother? Something seems to be bothering you.

Mother: Theres nothing wrong. I just want you to take care of yourself. Make good decisions and have proper relationships with the right people.

Me: I will make right decisions and incase I need some advice I will talk to you. I will not give you a hard time.

Mother: That is not what I meant. It is just an old womans dream. I just want a bit of peace that my children are in charge. (She gives a weak laugh.).

References

Crooks, Robert & Baur, Karla. Our sexuality. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2008.

Newman, David, Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Newbury Park, CA: Pine Forge Press, 2009.

Introduction

The Grassroots movement is closely interrelated to the notion of activism. Their resemblance is found in the desire for a decisive change within a certain social reality. Grassroot movements are comprised of individual activists uniting over a shared social concern to spread awareness of the issue, organize those with similar grievances, and advocate solutions to the problem. The modern example of a grassroots movement can be considered the case of Fridays for the Future. The campaign was launched by the Swedish girl Gretha Thunberg whose influence sharply rose to have an iconic impact on environmental activists globally. This case demonstrates several developments in the organization of activists, in particular the importance of social media in the operation of external and internal structures of activists. Along with the increasing power of individual activists to progress a grassroots movement to a global movement through the utilization of social media and ultimately create social change.

This paper will discuss the relationship between grassroots movements and activists and its modern illustration in Fridays for the Future; The development of Fridays for the Future as an international phenomenon; The role of new and old media in the progression of activist agenda, in particular the multifunctional nature of social media. Limitations and constraints of social media that point to the vulnerability and limited accessibility of the technology. Ultimately it can be considered that the role of social media in contemporary activism and the case of Fridays for the Future is immense. Despite the visible drawbacks in the face of the commodification of internet space and the government control over it.

Relationship between grassroots movements and activists

The influence of normal citizens without any political power is insignificant when the goal is to create momentum for a decisive change in the political system, environmental awareness, or economy. The campaigning for change is filled with the struggle to see any real progress towards the aims of those individual citizens. Their voices do not reach people with political or economic power. As a result, those individuals form groups with aligned interests, passion, and conviction to reach a certain goal that is bound to bring change into society. Often, these activist movements are established by individuals that a concerned about the issues in tight communities and are willing to contribute from the bottom-up. Frequently, the cause is personal for the activists and occurs in their community. However, the change brought by the globalization of communication coupled with the development of international difficulties such as climate change expanded the scope of these activist movements.

Currently, there are two forms of apartheid surrounding the global discourse. The academy utilizes globalization as the means to conduct internal debates on such issues as recognition, representation, the history finale, and others (Appadurai, 2020). In the study of Appadurai, these debates were described as narrow and petite or, in other words, parochial. Consequently, they form the first apartheid  the separation of these discussions from those that attribute to the global which is often occupied with how to plausibly protect cultural autonomy and economic survival in some local, national, or regional sphere in the era of reform and openness (Appadurai, 2020, p. 2-3). The second apartheid refers to the exclusion of the poor and their advocates from the national discourse on the topic of globalization as well as discourse on trade, labor, healthcare, warfare, and environmental policies (Appadurai, 2020). The emergence of grassroots movement was the barrier that contested, interrogated, and reversed the development of apartheid.

Today, a grassroots movement is an international phenomenon that helps to rid the world of the exclusion of certain social casts. This social form allows the spread of awareness and social mobilization to act without being bound to the actions of corporate capital and the nation-state system (Appadurai, 2020). Therefore, it is seen as an act towards globalization from below or grassroots globalization as it helps to achieve an international civil society without having any political or economic power (Appadurai, 2020). Moreover, the development in communication systems greatly contributes to achieving the political and or social agenda of such movements, especially among the younger generation.

In the late 1980s, Chinese students in the US created a newsgroup Social Culture China (SCC), and exploited the university discussion systems and email to effectively organize a group with nationwide reach and the ability to orchestrate lobbying of Congress in search of protection from reprisal in China (Boncheck, 1995). This example is one of the initial versions of activism through social media. The latest examples could be considered online hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #SchoolStrike4Climate or #FridaysForTheFuture that received worldwide resonance. The later hashtag is a campaign introduced by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg that was led by youths to oppose the actions of older generations that harm the environment (Boulianne et al., 2020). The strike was supported by 1.4 million young protesters to address the issue of climate change and call for action (Boulianne et al., 2020). It can be viewed as the most extensive and widespread grassroots movements of the 21st century.

Background of Fridays for the Future

Fridays for the future was the response of fifteen-year-old Greta Thunberg towards the record wildfires that emerged in 2018, Sweeden. On August 20, 2018, Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament, started to protest, and draw attention to the climate crisis with the sign that read school strike for climate. She was against attending school until the general election day of September 9, the same year. Her lone strike, within 24 hours, garnered attention and was shared tens of thousands of times across social media, soon followed by more traditional forms of media such as print and broadcast. The strike began to grow in Sweden as more people joined the movement, and soon Thunberg established Fridays for the Future, which was an organized movement for school children to skip school on Friday to protest the inaction on climate change mitigation.

In a video shared on Twitter, Thunberg invited students to join in a school walkout until the climate action was achieved. The video was viewed more than 9 million times by a global audience gaining attraction for the grassroots movement that started with one person. Internet media fueled the movement after Thunberg spoke at Conference of the Parties (COP) 24 held in December of 2018. Thunbergs speech went viral, inspiring and empowering activists around the globe to join the movement, which grew to more than 17,000 students in more than 24 countries by January 2019.

By March 2019, Thunberg was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize as the movement Nobel Peace Prize March 2019 as the movement grew further to over a million people across 135 countries.

The political involvement of youth in democratic countries is a subject of widespread concern. Their participation is ad hoc, issue-oriented, non-electoral, and personalized (Boulianne et al., 2020). Nevertheless, such political activism of the young generation can influence the government and policymaking as it was seen in the case of the Fridays for the Future. Greta Thunberg became an international icon for climate activism as she became an inspiration for concerned teenagers and those who previously were not interested in her agenda. Some studies point out that Austrias Green Party received an increase of 10% votes due to the actions of Thunberg (Jung et al., 2020). Furthermore, the Popular British music band Cold play paused their world tour in order to reach a sustainable way to perform (Jung et al., 2020). This points out the immense importance of media in the success and influence of the grassroots movement.

The role of media in relation to grassroots movements

Social media is the technology that bloomed with the development of the world wide web or Internet. It encompasses the tools to share and exchange ideas and information through virtual networks and online communities built around the same ideas and thoughts (Cammaerts, 2015). Social media is available globally as the technology becomes cheaper and more accessible even in the low-developed regions. The ability to connect people with low-cost and immediate information sharing attracted numerous traditional media giants. Newspapers, TV channels, and governments operate both online and offline.

Various internet protocols enable the communicative practices of social media platforms. Two kinds of protocols enact the common emails Post Office Protocol (POP) and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) (Cammaerts, 2015). Telnet protocol is used to virtually access a computer and to provide one-to-one or few-to-few connections to Internet Relay Chats (IRC) (Cammaerts, 2015). File Transfer Protocol (FTP) provides the ability to send and receive digital files (Cammaerts, 2015). These were followed by Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) enabling website development and the World Wide Web. Weblogs, social networking sites, podcasting, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and streaming services complement these protocols, enabling additional practices (Cammaerts, 2015). Moreover, as the network infrastructure is becoming more developed, the internet capabilities to provide more real-time experiences are expanding.

Activists exploit social media for effective use in different internal and external operations. Internal operations include organization, coordination, internal debate, and decision-making (Cammaerts, 2015). The utilization of social media platforms is efficient in terms of participation and the transaction costs, which partially contributes to the entollment and retention of participants (Cammaerts, 2015). It also features fluid membership and asynchronous participation, but with the growing importance of face-to-face communications in the establishment of trust, it is difficult to differentiate the positive effects of such features (Cammaerts, 2015). Moreover, the cost-effectiveness of social networks is not directly attributable to higher levels of political participation (Cammaerts, 2015). Nevertheless, the organization of grassroots movements through social media goes hand in hand with the increase in the ability to organize across borders. It means they operate on a transnational level and can potentially cooperate with different organizations to make large networks not bound by time and space constraints, with potential for a movement spill-over (Cammaerts, 2015).

External operations relate to mobilization, recruitment, attack strategies and the creation of alternative or independent channels of communication that contribute to a vibrant public sphere (Cammaerts, 2015). Social medias impact on the mobilization and coordination of group actions and movements offline is enormous. The applications for in-real-time communicative practices of social media can be attributed to the resignation of Philippine President Joseph Estrada (Cammaerts, 2015). Short messaging services along with mobile phones had a major role in mobilizations against him and illustrated the shift in political communication and mobilization in the Global South (Cammaerts, 2015). Social media is also used as a weapon against ideological enemies, and the term for such practices is coined as hacktivism (Cammaerts, 2015).

Sousveillance can be considered as the illustration of a passive-aggressive hacktivist counter-tactic. It refers to the usage of technology for surveillance of governmental or public figures (Cammaerts, 2015). Through filming, broadcasting, and or taking photos of police agents during protests or demonstrations, activists may reveal and monitor state-sponsored or police violence (Cammaerts, 2015). Protesters upload this kind of content to social media which in return may attract a broader audience online, especially international media (Cammaerts, 2015). This tactic had significant importance during several protests of students in the United Kingdom as well as the Arab Spring (Cammaerts, 2015). In addition, the results of sousveillance may act as symbolic content related to the protests, tactics, organizations, and ideas (Cammaerts, 2015). Social media acts as an archive or a repository of numerous such instances. Due to the perpetual nature of such collective memory, it is preserved and passed on to the following generations of activists with the symbolic artifacts embedded in these discourses (Cammaerts, 2015).

Traditional media consists of two parts print and broadcast media. Print media is the source of information that followed a major part of human history, society, and culture. It involves but is not limited to the production of newspapers, magazines, and journals. The information is delivered through hard-copy mediums and meant to be read. They allow great attention to detail and space for the extensive definition of the issues delivered through it. At the same time, broadcast media has developed into its current form fairly recently after the discovery of electricity. It allows both audio and visual interpretation of the data distributed. Typical examples of mediums for this media type are television and radio, but they have a disadvantage in the form of the limited broadcasting time.

Even though modern media platforms are not limited by such constraints, many CSOS or civil society organizations are conscious that the application of the Internet is burdened by difficulties of access and fragmentation. Moreover, older generations prefer these media platforms due to their familiarity with that particular type of technology. Nonetheless, in activism, print media lost its power as the primary tool for eliciting enjoying and imploring engagement with various activist causes (Schreiber, 2016, p. 1). However, a combination of media types is still used to report daily issues and aid in the promotion of activist agendas.

How individual actors use social media to progress grassroots movements in general and more specifically in Fridays for the Future

Although other forms of media such as broadcasting and printing are not diminishing in popularity or relevance, they are not as direct or efficient when it comes to information sharing. The significance of information sharing as the type of inter-organizational cooperation is high. Many researchers are convinced that it provides decision-makers with the necessary guidance and evidence upon which to base decisions and improve the efficiency and efficacy of operations. These kinds of interactions act as a backbone for transnational knowledge networks. Numerous actors participate in the development of these networks and extract the knowledge from shared sources to address the mutual concern. In the case of Fridays for the Future, these actors are students across the globe concerned with the policies of environmental protection and their effectiveness.

Social media encompasses a wide variety of platforms and an even broader community of users, including celebrities, entrepreneurs, politicians, and laypeople. Governmental representatives such as presidents and members of the monarchy also actively use it for their personal and or political interests. It is an aggregate for modern globalization of communication as it aims to connect people. Social media is seen as a convenient and effective source of information (Jung et al., 2020). The research of Shearer and Grieco demonstrated that approximately 55% of adults in the US utilize social media as a news source. However, the vast majority of news consumers are concerned about bias and inaccurateness present in this type of media (Jung et al., 2020). Almost 50% of them are prone to think that the bias is more liberal than conservative (Jung et al., 2020). Twitter, in terms of social network demographics, is considerably balanced in terms of gender and age. It encourages users to share their latest news; hence it is often employed as a news source and reporting. Journalists regularly incorporate the information shared on Twitter as the source of news items (Jung et al., 2020). General practice in the expansion of issues on Twitter is as follows.

First of all, users start to follow other accounts to create a social network. They exploit these networks to extract and distribute information. This practice allows to share the social activities of the users friends with their own followers. Furthermore, retweeting allows to easily share exact copies of the content. Hence users may use someone elses self-expression to link to their own (Jung et al., 2020). Therefore, the distribution of any issue is not dependent solely on individuals disseminating their own ideas (Jung et al., 2020). This is what makes social media an affordable and effective tool to spread awareness, share information, and unite parties with a shared interest.

Twitter as the microblogging site also helps to facilitate the cooperation of public, private, and non-governmental organizations as each of them created Twitter accounts. However, a shared language is an essential factor that affects whether these organizations sought out each others messages (Wukich et al., 2017). The trend towards communication with an organization with the language and presence in close geographic location leads to the establishment of regional clusters that limit the transnational knowledge networks ability for the expansion of critical information (Wukich et al., 2017). However, Twitter and other platforms for social networking are partially disintegrating these barriers with the integration of translation options (Wukich et al., 2017). This presumably partially contributed to facilitate such massive cooperation of activists around the world and achieve the multinational impact of Fridays for the Future.

Ultimately the discussions on online platforms have a limited lifespan in their popularity. In the study of Jung et al. (2020), it was revealed that among the discussions surrounding Gretha Thunberg, ten events demonstrated a remarkable peak of tweets with an average lifespan of eight days. One of such events was the globalization of the school strike started by Thunberg, which rapidly attracted numerous followers and generated a similarly large number of tweets (Jung et al., 2020). Although, the influence of hashtags surrounding Fridays for the Future are difficult to summarize due to the varying spellings such as #FridayforFuture or usage of the number 4 instead of for (Boulianne et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the scope of the event is evident in the number of supporters of the cause.

Counterargument

Despite the prominent role that media played in progressing a grassroots movement started by one activist into a movement spanning the globe, there were limitations to the role that media played. Social media is truly a universal tool for communication between different interest groups. However, it is also widely dependent on the abilities of the network user, specifically on access to the necessary technology. Internet is the technology available in numerous places, but individuals living in rural areas, low-income households, and secluded communities cannot be described as active internet users. Social media platforms act as a pull medium because their users have to be knowledgeable and interested enough in order to search for information on the movement and its goals (Cammaerts, 2015). Despite the fact that networked technologies may reduce the barriers to participation, new obstacles emerged to replace them, such as the need for specific digital skills and the uneven accessibility of technology. Some argue that to achieve success in their goals, grassroots movements require communication beyond like-minded citizens and online micro-audiences (Cammaerts, 2015).

At any rate, access to social media is not restricted to activists. The emancipatory potential of the technology is significant, but it could also be utilized by already existing dominant powers. This is the current reality as state and market control of the networked infrastructures remains strong, and offline power structures are being replicated online (Cammaerts, 2015). Simultaneously, the existence of surveillance programs of governments such as PRISM places certain constraints on social media usage for activist agenda. Hacktivism is viewed as cyber-terrorism in the discourse of network warfare and cyber-attacks rather than activism (Cammaerts, 2015). Consequently, the notion of private discussions online is blurring, and this has implications for confidential communication between activists.

The internet space, to be precise popular social media platforms such as Facebook, can be considered as commodified spaces. They are controlled by the companies which regularly act to suppress the goals and strategies of certain activist groups. This happens when the terms and conditions of their platforms are invoked to sanction unwanted content (Cammaerts, 2015). The most prominent example of such actions is the unannounced removal of approximately 80 political groups in April of 2011 (Cammaerts, 2015). Facebook deleted these accounts with the doubtful justification that Facebook profiles are intended to represent individual people only, and not a brand, business, group, or organization (Cammaerts, 2015). However, all of the mentioned groups aligned in their opposition to the austerity measures by the government of the United Kingdom (Cammaerts, 2015). This fact further limits the potential of social media for the active promotion of activist agendas.

Conclusion

The globality of internet technology and especially social media platforms is an efficient and cost-effective tool in the coordination of grassroots movements. Activism in the face of grassroots movements is growing together with internet technologies and the influence of individual activists. An activist is a single actor in a grassroots movement and can intentionally use media, precisely social media platforms, as a tool to create transnational networks, organize events and bring people together to address a common social grievance. Gretha Thunberg and her internet campaign Fridays for the Future is the most relevant example of such progression due to its international coverage and impact on the social perception of environmentalism.

Social media was also proven to be a multidimensional utility due to the numerous protocols that allow various means of communication. The example of such communicational practices encompasses forum discussions, emails, exchange of digital files, streaming of video and audio materials. They contribute to the sousveillance tactics of activists, help to preserve protest artifacts, and facilitate various internal organizational operations. This contributes to the argument that social media retains major role in modern-day social movements is extensive and more significant in comparison to the old media types.

Reference list

Appadurai, A. (2020). Grassroots Globalization and the Research Imagination, Public Culture 12(1), pp. 1-19. Web.

Boncheck, M., 1995. Grassroots in Cyberspace: Recruiting Members on the Internet, or do Computer Networks Facilitate Collective Action? A Transaction Cost Approach. Paper presented at the 53^rd Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association. Chicago, IL.

Boulianne, S.,Ilkiw, D., Lalancette, M. (2020). School Strike 4 Climate: Social Media and the International Youth Protest on Climate Change. Media Communication. Vol 8, No2: Youth Digital Participation: Opportunities, Challenges, Contexts, and Whats at Stake. Web.

Cammaerts, B., 2015. Social Media and Activism, in Mansell, R. and Hwa, P. (eds.) The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 1027-1034.

Jung, J., Petkanic, Peter; Nan, D., Kim, J. (2020). When a Girl Awakened the World: A User and Social Message Analysis of Greta Thunberg Sustainability 12, no. 7: 2707. Web.

Schreiber, R., 2016. Modern print activism in the united states, Routledge.

Wukich, C., Siciliano, M., Enia, J., Boylan, B., (2017). The Formation of Transnational Knowledge Networks on Social Media. International Public Management Journal, 20:3, 381-408. Web.

It seems reasonable to state that being an English professor implies a considerable extent of responsibilities. Moreover, there is clear evidence from the case study that this field may contain many issues related to conflicts and communication. English professors are highly concerned about their image due to the following reasons. First, their reputation is the foundation for the way students perceive these professors personalities; this is essential as, during the courses, the mentioned students perceptions tend to form their attitude to the subject to a great degree. Second, such a high status in the academic dimension implies the adherence to specific standards, on which the overall respect of the colleagues is founded. Finally, the English professors image may determine relationships with the administration. This is crucial as well, given the fact that the Universitys government may be considered as a source of the necessary resources for the course  starting from books and laptops and ending with premises.

Here, it should be stressed that the chosen case study provides a notable example of a conflict that should be resolved. The English professor is put in an extremely uncomfortable situation that is related to the rationale presented above. This situation may be analyzed through the input-thruput-output prism. Within the scope of the conflict between the professor and the student, the input includes the pre-existing opinions of the grade issue from the professors and the students perspectives. Then, the thruput seems to be reflected in the parties behaviors  the students decision to make a request to the appeals referee and the professors response to such an action. The output  according to the case study  is the professors hesitations regarding her decision, as well as her reflections in this vein.

For the professor, there seems to be an apparent problem of inflexibility in the framework of the theme. In particular, her approach to communication with students demonstrates a low extent of adaptability to the conflicts that may concern her face. The latter means the communicators claim to be seen as a certain kind of person (Folger et al., 2021, p. 180). The case study may be related to the professors negative face that can be defined, according to Folger et al. (2021), as the desire for autonomy. The English professor is under pressure because her authority to give particular marks to the students autonomously is challenged. For her, the situation is uncomfortable, as this professor assumes that if she changes her decision, the students will change their attitudes towards her and try to improve their marks by continuous and unreasonable requests to the appeals referee.

Here, it may be rational to turn to the essence of the conflict from the mentioned appeals referees perspective. He or she is also a crucial party in the situation, given the capability to decide whether the students request  an important input in terms of the conflict  is reasonable or not. It might be suggested that the English professors concern for her future image can assist the appeals referee to a considerable extent. He or she should take into account the fact that this professors reputation defines  as stated above  the way the students perceive the subject to an exact extent, as well as how to communicate with the knowledge provider. The professor cares about the learning process and wants it to be appropriately arranged. Such a rationale allows assuming that the appeals referee would resolve the case in favor of the English professor.

In the framework of the theme given, it might be proper to provide an example of a conflict in which I felt ones concern about image contributed to inflexibility similar to the situation described above. In the company of my friends, there is John who cares much about what we think of him. He wants us to perceive him as a stubborn and goal-oriented person and always seeks our approval. Such an approach demonstrates the case of positive face that means a persons desire to acquire the approval of others (Folger et al., 2021, p. 180). He had an exam, during which John had such a degree of anxiety and hesitations that he lost consciousness; the doctor was summoned. After this, he understood that his face  as a person he wants us to see  was lost. Johns image of a confident and stress-resistant individual was inflexible, and after the issue, he felt uncomfortable and diffident for a considerable period. It took a long time for us to bring back his positive face and the inherent traits. This example demonstrates the significance of the communication theory expediently.

To conclude, the case study related to face-saving and the related issue of inflexibility was discussed. The theory of face and the input-thruput-output approach to analyzing a conflict were applied in order to consider the given situation appropriately. It was suggested that the appeals referee would decide in favor of the English professor due to her responsible attitude towards the learning process. Finally, an example from my personal experience that emphasizes the importance and appropriacy of communication concepts was provided.

Reference

Folger, J. P., Poole, M. S., & Stutman, R. K. (2021). Working through conflict: Strategies for relationships, groups, and organizations (9^th ed.). Taylor & Francis.

Cell-Phone Users

Cell-phones have become powerful devices that make it easier for individuals to achieve their goals and communicate effectively. Analysts group users of such innovative tools depending on their favorite applications and aims. First, there is a group that relies on them mainly for interacting with other people. Some good examples include many citizens in the developing world and those who are above the age of fifty. This group will select basic phones that might not have additional features or are less complicated. More often than not, they would consider purchasing button phones. Second, there are specific customers who purchase cell-phones with the aim of using them for internet connections and interacting on social media platforms, chatting, and visiting various websites. These individuals will be technologically-savvy and informed. Majority of them would be aged between 18 and 40 years.

Third, some groups and analysts in the field of technology will purchase and use mobile phones for engaging in cybercrime, such as phishers and hackers. These individuals will acquire advanced devices that support 4G connections and are capable of meeting their goals. Fourth, some users will acquire them as powerful devices for completing their tasks or jobs. Some good examples include those who use such phones for e-marketing, communicating in construction sites, and sharing information with the targeted clients.

Relationship

Social exchange theory is one of the models that define and explain the nature of human relationships and interactions. Several problems have the potential to ruin a marriage as one of the best examples of human relationships. The first possible cause is that of financial issues. Sometimes one of the partners might fail to honor his or her responsibilities regarding the use and management of the available resources. The second problem that is capable of ruining marriages is that of infidelity. This challenge emerges when a person chooses to misbehave or start having a romantic affair with another individual. This occurrence is quite serious and could ruin a marriage within a very short time.

The third possible aspect that could affect such a relationship is that of ideological differences. This problem emerges when one of the partners decides to focus on other women and ignore the shared values and aims of the marriage. Finally, external influence from relatives, friends, and even enemies could force couples to separate or divorce. A good example could be when a mans relatives or parents decide to abuse and oppress his wife. Chances of divorcing in such a scenario will increase significantly.

Class Items

Assignments are essential in classes because they make it possible for teachers to gauge the comprehension levels of their students. These activities could be grouped into different categories depending on the intended aims. The first one is that of group assignments whereby three or more individuals are identified to work on specific tasks and present their reports within a specific period. The second type is individual in nature whereby every student will work independently on the presented topic or instructions. The teacher will then assess the work and provide his or her feedback.

The third type of assignments includes presentations whereby learners will complete various tasks and prepare PowerPoint slides. They will then present them in class or to their instructors before the scored marks could be awarded. The fourth type could include class discussions whereby the entire class receives a specific question and presents common answers. They will then collaborate to write a single report for the teacher to assess and make the relevant inferences. These categories are essential throughout the learning process since they guide instructors to make informed decisions and provide additional insights to support the learning process.

Drivers

A driver is any person tasked with controlling and guiding a motor vehicle from point A to B. Those in this profession could be categorized depending on their unique tasks and careers. The first group is that of a taxicab driver whose work is to drive taxis as the primary source of income. Such individuals are found in different parts of the world. The emergence of app-based taxis fall under this classification. The second one is that of a test driver whose role is to examine the performance, efficiency, speed, and superiority of a finished car. These people include the ones manufacturers employ, such as Volkswagen, Toyota, and BMW. Such professionals are able to handle cars at high speeds while monitoring the installed gages and indicators.

The third category is that of truck drivers who are expected to drive lorries and haulers. They need additional training and certification due to the nature of the involved vehicle. The next type of a driver would be that of a motorman. Such a person would be expected to cycle vehicles that have three or two wheels, such as motorcycles and scooters. Despite the nature of these classifications, all drivers need to be licensed, have the relevant experience or training, and be willing to follow road signs, outlined instructions, and vehicle-specific guidelines.

Introduction

Nitroaromatic compounds are biodegradable compounds in which, the NO₂ group is attached directly to the cyclic aromatic structures; that can easily explode once exposed to explosion inducing conditions. In this respect, QSAR analysis for nitroaromatic compounds is the process through which; the compounds undergo different mutagenic reactions resulting into reduced compounds, referred to as hydrolamines. Throughout the process of reaction, the nitroaromatic compounds correlate with their mutagenic activity which yields molecular energy. More specifically, during such reactions; the determination of the energies of the respective LUMO and HOMO molecular orbital is the key position, necessary to provide a basis for comparison between the two reactions (Mati 2000).

Analysis of QSAR 1 using logs TA 100 and log P

As it usually happens in any chemical reaction involving nitroaromatic compounds, QSAR are established using regression analysis of the variables involved. On this basis therefore, QSAR 1 results can be used to deduce that log TA 100 is likely to correlate well with just log P; as any change in log TA 100 results into a corresponding change in the log P. However, this correlation between the log TA 100 and log P is negative; since any increase in the log TA 100 leads to a decline in the log P that proceeds to very low values including negatives (Devillers, 2009).

From the QSARs 1-3, the multiple R undergoes an activity which is satisfactorily with various individual properties. Based on the observations made, correlation coefficient 0.6 is the best as it gives the lowest negative value among the other correlations indicating that; the reaction will have yielded the best results possible. Further, the multiple R has strong correlation with log P, E_EUMO and E_LUMO reactions which results into the ultimate correlation of the three variables (Spain 1995).

The relationship between E_EUMO and E_LUMO reactions

As it has been observed from QSARs 1 and 4, the quadratic function of P is not better than a linear function because as the outcome depicts; the representation of the results using the quadratic function of log P and linear function would give similar interpretation. More precisely, the use of the quadratic function of log P and that of linear equation would have no difference in giving the inference over the reaction involved (Devillers, 2009).

Further, for QSARs 4 and 5 a correlation with E_EUMO is better than E _HOMO because from the observations made in the experiment; the reactants involved had the lowest negative correlation coefficient which definitely indicated a better correlation in E_EUMO than as it is in E _HOMO. Meanwhile, the F stat is affected in various ways in which; the significance of the correlation was largely determined by the size of F. For instance, the F stat in the reaction was affected by the amount of reactants involved and the conditions under which the reaction took place; like the pressure and the temperature levels (Matsumoto 2000).

Ring structures with more than two fused rings

As it was observed, some particles were poorly predicted because they were seen to lie far from the line of prediction. For example, the particles of 3-nitro-fluoxenone and 2-acetoxy-7-nitrofluorene were observed to have a significant difference in the predicted and the observed values of correlation. From the experiment it was also found that, various ring structures had more than two fused rings of various kinds in which; they shared edges as shown in the diagrams below (Devillers, 2009).

By assigning a value of I=1 for each of these particles and I=0 for the other systems, majority of the molecules with I=1 predicted were more active than found experimentally. On the other hand, majority of those molecules with I=0 predicted were less active than found experimentally. Perhaps, the incorporation of the indicator value helped to improve the correlation to a greater extent whereby; the variables involved exhibited a better and a more eligible degree of reactivity. For example, when NH-OH was exposed to sulfotransterase became oxidized to NAc-OSO₃H which gave a higher value of correlation coefficient than without the indicator (Devillers 2009).

More so, the findings above could also be explained in terms of the type of Salmonella typhimurium strain used in the experiment. As it was observed, the strain contained nitroreductose that was activated into groups at various rates in different conditions. From the experiment, the strain was observed to be induced to intercalate with DNA by various substances (Kontogiorgis & Pontiki 2005).

Improvement of reactions involving E_EUMO and E_LUMO

From QSAR 7, the inclusion of E _HOMO improved the quality of the fit as it can be seen that; the correlation became better with the inclusion of the E _HOMO. Generally, the E _HOMO inclusion in the reaction helped improve the quality of the reaction which further enhanced the achievement of better results that were easy to interpret. The graph below shows the comparison between the E_LUMO and E _HOMO (Brinkley 1999).

Conclusion

As it can be seen in the graph, E_EUMO and E_HOMO are directly related in the sense that; an increase in the E _HOMO leads to a consequent increase in the E_LUMO and vise versa. From the results obtained it can be inferred that, any other related chemical reaction to the one observed in the experiment would have similar results. More specifically, the results obtained could be used to predict the results of another related activity by studying closely the effect of each input on various variables and the output obtained.

Reference list

Brinkley, D., 1999. Thermal and Photocatalytic Oxidation of 2-Propanol on Aromatics. Washington: University of Washington Press.

Devillers, J., 2009, Endocrine Disruption Modeling (QSAR in Environmental and Health Sciences). New York: CRC Press.

Kontogiorgis, A. & Pontiki, E., 2005. A Review on Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSARs) of Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants Compounds. New York: Bentham Science Publishers.

Mati, K., 2000. Molecular Descriptors in QSAR/QSPR including CD-ROM. New York: Wiley-Interscience Publishers.

Matsumoto, A., 2000. Surface Materials Having Nitrogen Oxide Removing Function. Hirata Kogyosho: Japan Patent Publishers.

Spain, J., 1995. Biodegradation of Nitroaromatic Compounds: Review of Microbiology, New York: Plenum Press.

Erik Erikson identified industry versus inferiority is the fourth stage of psychological development. This stage starts at the age of six and finishes at the age of eleven posing a question, How can I become good? (Feist et al., 2018). What is more, school plays a vital role as the teachers and classmates help one progress through industry and inferiority. Through proficiency at schoolwork, children can reveal a sense of competency. During social interactions, they can identify their best abilities and be proud of themselves, or they may discover weak areas and feel inadequate comparing themselves to others.

I think I encountered the stage of industry versus inferiority when I first entered primary school. Growing up in a supportive and loving family, I often felt encouraged to learn new phenomena and facts. As a result, I was eager to study and gain new knowledge. As soon as I entered the school and met my teachers and classmates, I felt disappointed because I could not realize how one person should teach 30 kids simultaneously. Nonetheless, my experience was positive due to each teachers high level of competency and my desire to process new information, which helped me participate in all the possible knowledge contests. Undoubtedly, I had problems with maths as any other kids once did, but it was a matter of time to learn how to divide and multiple figures.

In my practice, not a single teacher has ever made me feel inferior. Instead, they all motivated me to set more significant goals. In particular, my Art teacher often told me that my imagination is incredible and that I can become a professional artist as my childhood paintings seemed entirely meaningful. Erikson explained that encouragement and not overpraising helps children discover their abilities (Feist et al., 2018). Therefore, each teacher may significantly impact ones personal development.

Reference

Feist, J., Feist., G., & Roberts, T. (2018). Theories of personality (9th ed.). McGraw Hill.

Introduction

According to the principles of the Christian faith, every person born into this world has been sinful since childhood. The limits of this sinfulness lie not in the guilt of the individual for actions committed or imperfectly performed, but in the fact that he or she is the ancestor of Adam and Eve, who committed the original sin.

Thus, after death, the soul of each individual will have to face a Great Judgement, in which God can decide his fate. It is pertinent to note, however, that Christianity gives the believer the Doctrine of Salvation, meaning that the Christians soul can be cleansed of sins and thus saved. That said, salvation has already been given to mankind through the death of the son of God, Jesus Christ: it was something that men do not deserve, and therefore it is important to accept this gift of God nobly and honestly. This short essay examines one aspect of the Doctrine of Salvation, concerning human sinfulness.

Description of the Doctrine

The primary point to be emphasized is that salvation is the ultimate goal of the Christians religious life, which every man or woman must strive for. That said, the Bible is not to be taken merely as a historical or scientific text  although historical conformity and scientific backing are characteristics of the Bible  but in fact, it is a book about the salvation of the human soul. The Bible provides several of the images (methods) of salvation that will remove the oppression of original sin from the soul of the individual and grant him the heavenly kingdom afterlife. Among all such images, special attention should be paid to justification as the form to which deep commitment will give the Christian the desired result. In this sense, it is pertinent to note that a person after death can either stand before the Great Judgement of God or not.

Those who have been saved and pardoned by the Holy Spirit while alive do not face judgment. On the contrary, the justification aspect as part of the Doctrine refers to those souls who have been sent to the Great Judgment  failed to be saved on earth  but have been justified, forgiven, and pardoned by God (Rom 5:18). Biblical justification is not part of human responsibility because it is not in mans power to pardon himself, much less save himself (Rom 3:20).

The Bible also teases out the Christians ability to learn of his sins from God (Job 13:23) and shows that unwillingness to admit guilt leads not only to dishonor to self but also to a deliberate denial of divine salvation (1John 1:8). The historical context of this Doctrine also shows that prominent theologians have sought to delineate the scope of Justification. For example, Weins Dictionary shows Justification as the legal declaration of a sinner as righteous. At the same time, Strongs Concordance places to render innocent and acquittal as synonymous terms.

Explanation of the Connection

From what has been said, it is possible to conclude that Justification is a form of the salvation of the human soul before God. In this sense, it is important to emphasize that to justify a person is not simply to absolve him of the guilt of the sin committed. On the contrary, when judgment justifies the soul, it means that the person is recognized as righteous. In other words, a persons sins committed while alive can be justified by his faith and divine love if those sins were not inhuman. It is true that God will send to Hell anyone who has committed iniquity, murder, theft, or violated other Biblical Commandments (Exodus 23:7).

Looking at the problem from a different perspective, one can postulate that Jesus earthly life is an example of perfect sinlessness, and thus serves as justification for all human original sin. Therefore if God sees sinners as righteous (justified), then He sees him as Jesus.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the theme of the salvation of the human soul is a central study throughout the Bible. The doctrine of salvation teaches mankind how one can save ones soul before the Great Judgment. Justification as part of salvation is a procedure for giving the deceased the status of righteousness, although this does not disqualify him from going through Judgment. Justification is repeatedly mentioned in sacred texts, and prominent New Age theologians have sought to clarify exhaustively the meaning of this image. The righteous soul, like the Savior, is sinless and full of Christian faith and love. In this case, one can count on entering the kingdom of heaven.

Abstract

This paper proposes solutions for three learning problems: each of the proposed problems was solved using concrete, that is, taking into account the manipulation of real objects, and abstract, that is, by adopting a mathematical symbolic language, approaches. Polyas approach of conceptualizing and fragmenting the overall problem was used to solve all three problems. The work also offers a discussion and reflection part, where previously solved problems are placed in a theoretical framework and explored in terms of personal experience with them, respectively.

Introduction

Problem-solving skills might be the most critical skills that students have to develop in order to understand mathematics. Consequently, this report focuses on the solution of three problems that require the problem-solving approach. Each task will be presented with a block of concrete and abstract solutions, followed by an explanation of the logic behind the undertaken assumptions and steps. Then, the provided solutions will be discussed in the light of the problem-solving approach as a whole while also providing the analysis of particular techniques used in the solution development. The overall purpose of the report is to showcase how essential a problem-solving approach might be for the understanding of mathematical concepts.

Solving the Problems

Treasure to Ship

To come to the solution to this task, I needed to grasp the complete picture of the process first. Thus, I decided to approach this task concretely with the strategy of acting it out. I chose two eggs for the pirates and four macaroni pieces to represent the treasure chests (Figure 1). Afterward, I moved two objects simultaneously, with one egg always present in the pair. When all items finally arrived on the ship, I wrote down every boat transfer:

1. Pirate transfers the chest to the ship.
2. Pirate returns to the island.
3. Pirate transfers the chest to the ship.
4. Pirate returns to the island.
5. Pirate transfers the chest to the ship.
6. Pirate returns to the island.
7. Pirate transfers the chest to the ship.
8. Pirate returns to the island.
9. Both pirates board the ship.

Thus, in nine trips, pirates can complete the treasure transfer from the island. Then, I looked for patterns to generalize the task and develop the abstract solution. The steps from one to eight are repetitive; each treasure chest will require two steps of loading it onto the ship and then coming back to the island. It implies that a treasure could be labeled as a letter (c, for example) with a multiplier equal to the number of chests. One additional trip is needed to bring the second pirate to the ship; therefore, the abstract equation for this task would be 4c + 1. When I asked myself whether there was another solution, I realized that the second pirate did not have to board the ship at the last step. Moreover, his trip to the ship can occur at any time of the treasure transfer  it would only change the order in the remaining repeating steps.

Three in a Line

The second problem required determining the number of ways that placing three cartons of strawberry milk in a nine-pack could form a single line. To find a specific solution, I took a chessboard and only three pieces to mimic the three milk cartons. Since I did not need the whole chessboard, but only the nine adjacent cells forming a square, I covered the rest of the field with white sheets so they would not get in the way. For this solution I placed the three pieces in different ways and looked for all possible variations that could form a single line: it is worth saying that the line could be placed vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, which increased the number of variations. Meanwhile, I only wanted unique solutions that did not repeat themselves. In other words, in Figure 2 in the Appendix, the first two solutions turned out to be identical, because turning the box 90° would have led to exactly the same result  such solutions are non-unique and had to be counted as only one. As a consequence of my experiments, I realized that there are only three unique solutions for this problem: when the strawberry milk cartons are arranged in one line in the first column, in the second column, and when they are arranged diagonally; all other solutions were repeats of these three when the box was rotated.

For the abstract solution, we need to use a 3×3 matrix in which each cell corresponds to the location of the strawberry milk carton, as shown below. Placing the three objects in column X given the box rotation gives me four options, one of which repeats the placement of the three packages in column Z. Hence, if I place all three milk only vertically in column X, this gives me four non-unique solutions and one unique solution. By analogy, I move my attention to column Y: placing the cartons in it gives me two non-unique solutions or just one unique solution. Finally, placing milk in column Z makes no unique sense because it is a repetition of column X. Then attention should be paid to the diagonals; there are only two. Placing the milk along diagonal XXYYZZ, given the rotation, yields only two solutions, only one of which turns out to be unique. All other arrangements of the three packages either do not form a single line or repeat previously created solutions. For this reason, the abstract solution allows me to obtain the same answer as in the case of the chessboard.

Snails

In this problem it was necessary to find the minimum time for the snail to travel based on the drawn lines with dots. It is known that each dot represents a five-minute pause, and the speed of the snail is 2 cm per minute regardless of the chosen path. For a particular solution, it is necessary to use toothpicks, placing them also to visually repeat the four trajectories of movement (Fig. 3). Then it must be counted the number of toothpicks used to estimate the shortest route. This strategy allowed us to estimate that the second path is the shortest, but without taking into account the stops. If we take into account that the second path has five joints and the first path has only three, it is clear that the first path will be the shortest. For an abstract solution, it has to be assumed that the distance between two fingers will be about two centimeters  for convenience, the minimum distance on the path is taken to be two centimeters. Using this distance between two fingers as an imaginary ruler, it becomes possible to calculate all the values on the path:

1. (2+4+6+2)/2+ 5×3=22
2. (2+2+2+2+2+2)/2+ 5×5=31
3. (4+6+2+4)/2+ 5×3=23
4. (2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2)/2+ 5×8=49

Now it can be seen that the first path is really the shortest, which means it is the fastest way for the snail to reach the plant.

Discussion

The chosen tasks might seem different on the surface, but they share a common ground in their problem-solving skills requirements. Overall, every task required the approach commonly referred to as Polyas approach to problem-solving. According to YuMi Deadly Centre (2019), Polyas method can be classified into four consequent steps. It begins with understanding the problem  for example, to grasp the first task, I had to visualize it with the help of concrete materials concretely. Then comes the development of a plan to follow to solve the task; in the case of the snails, I decided to calculate each path separately and compare the results afterward. After the plan is developed, the third step is to execute it and proceed with the evaluation of acquired results (Berenger, 2018). In the case of the second task, the final evaluation showed the mistakes in the chosen course of action, which motivated the revision and a consequent inclusion of new conditions. Overall, despite the actual solution being uncovered in different steps of the approach, I unintentionally used Polyas technique on every chosen problem.

Apart from that, I implemented several strategies to help me solve the tasks. In the first task, the strategy of acting it out provided the needed generalization. It allowed me to use the technique of looking for patterns in the generalized vision for the development of the abstract solution: 4c + 1, where c is the number of treasure chests. The pattern search strategy was also useful in the second task, when I needed to understand how many unique solutions there are. Using matrices and numerical expression of the number of repetitions allowed me to be consistent and get the answer. When I gathered the information for the study, I frequently met the notion of creativity development due to the problem-solving attempts (Thapa et al., 2021; Booker et al., 2014; NESA, 2019). Provided tasks required me to use creativity in practice  it is fundamental in both task generalization and pattern searching.

The last strategy I applied was to break down the problem into smaller questions to simplify the process, namely the decision to focus on specific paths in the snail problem. In the specific solution, I modeled the problem using intuitive physical objects of equal length, that is, toothpicks. By measuring their number and comparing the number of joints between the toothpicks, I was able to find the shortest path. Remarkably, the abstract solution also led me to the same conclusion: for it I used the distance between two fingers as a ruler and measured the lengths of the segments. Another important realization was that not every problem requires direct mathematical calculations-the treasure problem is predominantly focused on logic. Özcan & Eren Gümü_ (2017) noted that some students have problems when the task requires a more logical approach. In the example with the first problem, it is impossible to find additional solutions to the first problem without a logical approach.

Reflection

I managed to learn a lot from the problem modeling during this assignment. An important condition in solving a mathematical problem is accepting the need for effort and diligence in order to achieve a result (Livy et al., 2018). In this context, the effort I had to put into modeling unexpectedly boosted my will to proceed with the tasks. It revitalized and animated the problem-solving process, making it more personally appealing. An issue students often experience during their education is the absence of motivation; partly, the lack of engagement is responsible for such a tendency (Lisciandro et al., 2018). Consequently, supported by what I experienced myself, the need to incorporate not only the abstract solution might be crucial in developing problem-solving skills. I also learned that problem-solving techniques develop critical thinking. In the line of three tasks, I stumbled upon the solution almost accidentally, which made me question all my consequent assumptions and decisions.

Moreover, I consider the second task to require the most significant effort to be solved. Developing its final abstract solution took the most time out of all three tasks due to the extensions I had to make to understand the pattern finally. In conjunction with the need to literally change the perspective in order to find the correct solution, the second task can be considered the most fruitful in my personal experience of problem-solving. I would also like to mention the simplicity that comes with the concrete solution to the treasure task. The initial task seemed complex at first, which invoked a sense of anxiety in the form of possible solutions that cannot be perceived at first glance. Nevertheless, moving eggs and macaroni exclude the pressure, clearly showing the steps needed to find the answer.

Conclusion

The chosen tasks required a certain amount of effort and creativity to yield the final answer. This tendency showcases the way in which problem-solving techniques can influence students by boosting their critical thinking and imagination. Overall, these skills can be used outside the mathematical field, which provides another argument for their importance in the students personal growth. After all, Polyas comment on the personal desire to find an answer might prove to be the ultimate factor in pursuing knowledge.

References

Berenger, A. (2018). Pre-service teachers difficulties with problem solving [PDF document].

Booker, G., Bond, D., Sparrow, L., & Swan, P. (2014). Teaching primary mathematics (5^th ed.). Pearson Australia.

Lisciandro, J. G., Jones, A., & Geerlings, P. (2018). Enabling learners starts with knowing them:

Student attitudes, aspiration and anxiety towards science and maths learning in an Australian pre-university enabling program. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 58(1), 13-40.

Livy, S., Muir, T., & Sullivan, P. (2018). Challenging tasks lead to productive struggle! Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 23(1), 19-24.

NESA. (2019). Aim and objectives. Mathematics K-10.

Özcan, Z. Ç., & Eren Gümü_, A. (2019). A modeling study to explain mathematical problem-solving performance through metacognition, self-efficacy, motivation, and anxiety. Australian Journal of Education, 63(1), 116-134.

Thapa, A., Valentine, A., & Hamilton, M. (2021). Investigating creativity in computer science syllabi in Australia [PDF document].

YuMi Deadly Centre. (20191). Problem solving [PDF document].

Appendix