Saturday, February 29, 2020

CBS news program Essay Example for Free

CBS news program Essay The broadcast news source that I watched was the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, which was a half hour evening broadcast. Couric sat behind a desk, facing the viewer the entire time. The top stories on this broadcast were the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Kansas City tornadoes, and the â€Å"Make or Break† mission in Afghanistan. Each story received about five minutes of airtime. Couric narrated statistics of how much oil has leaked and the length of coastline that has been affected in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico while live footage showed clean-up efforts taking place along the coast. The story was made relatable for the viewer by explaining that the amount of oil spilled is enough to cover all of New York City. It was lent credibility by an on-site reporter and correspondent that interviewed both local residents involved in the clean-up and with experts working to stop the oil leak. There was no attention paid to the source of the leak or to anyone being held responsible for the accident. The story about the tornadoes in Kansas City featured footage from a resident’s video camera of the funnel cloud approaching, along with local news footage of the damage to local homes and businesses. Couric, the on-site correspondent and a representative from the National Weather Service delivered their news in professional, almost formal tones. This gave the program the feel of being informed, but somewhat impersonal. The only statistics given were the death rate numbers, and the story ended by stating that more tornadoes were headed toward the area. Couric’s coverage of the â€Å"Make or Break† mission taking place in Afghanistan was the third top story. It discussed the efforts to reclaim the city of Khandahar from the Taliban and gave background information into previous operations in the war between the United States and the Taliban. In-depth explanations were given of where the US troops will go and what they will do. A correspondent reporting from the Pentagon made the story seem more credible, even as he explained President Obama’s reasoning behind the troop surge. The cable news source that I viewed was Fox News on the Fox News Network. It was hosted by Shepard Smith. This was also a half hour evening news broadcast. The top three stories on the show were the Kansas City tornadoes, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the theft of a memorial cross for World War I veterans from a Mojave Desert monument. Air time for each top story was about five minutes, similar to Couric’s program. Shepard Smith delivered all of his dialogue standing and was positioned at various spots throughout the broadcast, as opposed to Couric who stayed seated. There were fast graphics, upbeat background music, and a news wire line across the bottom of the screen delivering more headlines during the top stories, all features not included in the CBS broadcast. The story about the Kansas City tornadoes lasted about five minutes. In included local news footage shot by a Kansas City news program, an in-studio commentator and weather expert that discussed the tornado system with Smith, and footage of local survivors describing what they had seen and heard and detailing the damage to their personal property. Statistics about deaths and injuries were given, and the segment ended with Smith saying that another storm system was on its way. When discussing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Smith delved deeper into the Capital Hill investigation of BP, Transocean, and Halliburton in the attempt to determine which company was responsible for the accident. There was also more attention given to the tanker explosion that caused the accident and there was mention of the crew that died in the explosion, information that was not included in the CBS news program. This made the Fox coverage of the oil spill seem more informed and more personable. It was made more personable by Smith’s opinion that someone should be held accountable. The story about the World War I monument being stolen seemed more of a human interest story, and it was interesting that this was made a top story on the program. In discussing the theft of the monument that had stood in the Mojave Desert since 1934, Smith talked with a veteran that was coordinating an effort to have the monument recovered along with a legal correspondent that explained the ongoing debate over whether the monument should be allowed to be erected in the spot in the first place. Overall, the basic layout of the programs was the same. Each top story was given about five minutes of air time and each featured on-site correspondents, experts, video footage, and interviews. The Fox News broadcast was made more engaging with more music, a host that moved around and stood while he spoke, offered jokes and offhanded opinions about the news stories, and in-studio correspondents to discuss them. The CBS broadcast was more serious and toned-down, with Couric being the only correspondent in the studio, tamer graphics, and no news wire. I feel that both proved ample credibility with their straightforward delivery of the facts. But I feel that the Fox News broadcast was more personable and relatable because instead of just showing footage of what’s happening right now like the CBS program did, Fox’s program gave more background information and opinions from more individuals to help the viewer understand the issues and the stories better. Similarities were evident for the basic purpose of news delivery, but the differences occurred because of a different attitude towards the viewer. CBS news program. (2016, Sep 11).

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Nazi Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nazi Germany - Essay Example The signing of the treaty by the Weimar Republic head led to a revolution by the Germans. Also, this new government, the Democratic or Weimar Republic was not accepted well among the Germans, partly due to its resistance to democratic rule after being ruled by kings for a long time and their lack of trust in it due to it's supposedly anti-German decisions. Post World War I, Germany's economy was in shambles due to the Treaty of Versailles. They had to pay their debts to their Allies, so they borrowed from other countries and were able to recover soon. Also, the Allies put forth a reparation plan which resulted in a free economy which resulted in the people opposing the government more vehemently. This opposition resulted in the fall of Weimar Republic and the rise of the communist parties and the Nazi party led by Adolf Hitler. By 1933, Germany's economy strengthened and the German army which was not loyal to the government, once again became very strong under Seeckt. There was also a strong nationalist thought rising among them. These nationalist parties gained loyalty from the army and the Nazi party which was striving on these ideals came to absolute power in 1933. Guisepi observes that Hitler's hatred of poverty, his devotion to his German heritage and his loathing of Jews all formed his political perspective or doctrine (2001). Hitler's past, his experiences in life and influences made him the way he was. He developed contempt for the political government because they led to all the unemployment, war defeats, political and economic crisis in the country that once was a major force to reckon. Hitler also believed in racial theories of the times which led him to execute anti-Semitist policies. Under this policy, the Germans belonging to the Aryan or Master race should persecute the Jews supposed to be the Non-Aryan or Slave race. This anti-Semitism was executed very faithfully immediately after Nazi party came into power in July 1933 (Gordeeva, 1998). It is observed that Hitler made very fast moves once he came into power and within six months he invaded Poland. Hitler is observed to be influenced by the political skills of the Mayor of Vienna, who used all possible instruments to gain power. This technique of absolute power has been used by Hitler to propagate his totalitarian, militaristic, anti-Semitic and dictatorial regime known as the Third Reich (Guisepi, 2001). Nazi party's breach of Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression in the whole world led to World War II. It is called a World War because most of the countries of the world were involved in the war after Nazi regime invaded Poland. It is supposed to be the most costly war, involving the most countries and killings. There was large scale genocide known as Holocaust (Wikipedia contributor, 2009). The Nazi regime in its initiation of war and the Holocaust successfully managed the extreme support from a majority of the Germans. But there have also been incidents of opposition to this regime and its extreme policies from various individuals and groups. Any kind of existing or perceived opposition was brutally suppressed by the army. Hitler used the Alignment Act to implement the policy according to which all institutions and organizations would come under Nazi control which meant that Non-Aryans and German controlled territories would

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Software to Support Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Software to Support Assessment - Essay Example Donnelly, McGarr, & O’Reilly noted that in the quest to arrest the decline in the number of students taking science subjects in higher education the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment highlighted ‘the need to focus on investigative approaches, problem-solving, the assessment of practical work and the effective use of ICT.’ In light of this rapid injection of technology in the teaching and learning arena teachers need to be able to assess not only the software that is on the market for their use but the ability of the technology to effectively assess student learning. Consequently, there is a need to analyze the capacity of technology to facilitate assessment of students’ learning. Tomlinson emphasizes that there may be ‘assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning.’ Ultimately, Tomlinson suggests that assessment is most useful when it is seen as learning because it is then that it most informs the teac hing and learning process. She sees assessment as the ‘beginning of better instruction’. Assessment then is a vital part of the entire teaching learning process. This paper analyses how technology can facilitate both formative and summative assessment of student learning. ... Tomlinson observed that by the time she had given a final grade in a summative assessment the class would have been ‘moving on to a new topic’. She noted that this information could not be effectively utilized because the time for its effectiveness would have been gone. Thus, Tomlinson became ‘a devotee of formative assessment’ which would allow her to correct students’ faults in real time. Finally, Tomlinson views summative assessment as assessment of learning, and formative assessments as assessment for learning. It is difficult for the teacher to use technology for formative assessment since this process occurs almost spontaneously. Nonetheless, the use of the SMART board as highlighted by Debunker allows the teacher and the student to interact in real time. It is easier for summative assessment to be provided through technological means since these are standardized materials which may be given to all students at the end of the year. Using technolo gy to assess student learning is an emerging concepts as such there are a number of teething problems associated with its implementation. Hence, the use of technology to assess student learning brings with it several pros and cons. Technology allows teachers to analyze the scores of students at a faster rate. The use of assessment software allows for greater standardization across the districts. What is more, the students enjoy interacting with the technology. Thus, they will be more comfortable with the use of the technology than with traditional procedures. Two major concerns of the use of technology are the ‘quality’ and the cost of the materials. Williams, Boone, & Kingsley assert that teachers expect producers of educational material to be