My Journey to the IIM !!

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

Interpreting the Chi Square Value
We now need some criterion or yardstick against which to measure the table's chi square value, to tell us whether or not it is significant. What we need to know is the probability of getting a chi square value of a minimum given size even if our variables are not related at all in the larger population from which our sample was drawn. That is, we need to know how much larger than 0 (the absolute chi square value of the null hypothesis) our table's chi square value must be before we can confidently reject the null hypothesis. The probability we seek depends in part on the degrees of freedom of the table from which our chi square value is derived.

Degrees of freedom
Mechanically, a table's degrees of freedom (df) can be expressed by the following formula:
df = (r-1)(c-1)

That is, a table's degrees of freedom equals the number of rows in the table minus one multiplied by the number of columns in the table minus one. (For 1 X 2 tables: df = k - 1, where k = number of values/categories on the variable.)

Degrees of freedom is an issue because of the way in which expected values in each cell are computed from the row and column totals of each cell. All but one of the expected values in a given row or column are free to vary (within the total observed--and therefore expected) frequency of that row or column); once the free to vary expected cells are specified, the last one is fixed by virtue of the fact that the expected frequencies must add up to the observed row and column totals (from which they are derived).

Another way to conceive of a table's degrees of freedom is to think of one row and one column in the table as fixed, with the remaining cells free to vary. Consider the following visuals (where X = fixed):

X X
X
X


(r-1)(c-1) = (3-1)(2-1) = 2 X 1 = 2

X X X
X
X
X
X


(r-1)(c-1) = (5-1)(3-1) = 4 X 2 = 8

So, for our Table 1, df = (2-1)(5-1) = 4:

Sandals Sneakers Leather
shoes Boots Other
Male X X X X X
Female X


In a statistics book, the sampling distribution of chi square (also know as 'critical values of chi square') is typically listed in an appendix. You read down the column representing your previously chosen probability of error threshold (e.g., p < .05) and across the row representing the degrees of freedom in your table. If your chi square value is larger than the critical value in that cell, your data present a statistically significant relationship between the variables in your table.

Table 1's chi square value of 14.026, with 4 degrees of freedom, handily clears the related critical value of 9.49, so we can reject the null hypothesis and affirm the claim that male and female undergraduates at University of X differ in their (self-reported) footwear preferences.

Statistical significance does not help you to interpret the nature or explanation of that relationship; that must be done by other means (including bivariate tabular analysis and qualitative analysis of the data). But a statistically significant chi square value does denote the degree of confidence you may hold that relationship between variables described in your results is systematic in the larger population and not attributable to random error.

Statistical significance also does not ensure substantive significance. A large enough sample may demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between two variables, but that relationship may be a trivially weak one. Statistical significance means only that the pattern of distribution and relationship between variables which is found in the data from a sample can be confidently generalized to the larger populattion from which the sample was randomly drawn. By itself, it does not ensure that the relationship is theoretically or practically important or even very large.

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

Measures of Association
While the issue of theoretical or practical importance of a statistically significant result cannot be quantified, the relative magnitude of a statistically significant relationship can be measured. Chi-square allows you to make decisions about whether there is a relationship netween two or more variables; if the null hypothesis is rejected, we conclude that there is a statistically significant relationship between the variables. But we frequently want a measure of the strength of that relationship--an index of degree oof correlation, a measure of the degree of association between the variables represented in our table (and data). Luckily, several related measures of association can be derived from a table's chi square value.
For tables larger than 2 X 2 (like our Table 1), a measure called 'Cramer's phi' is derived by the following formula (where N = the total number of observations, and k = the smaller of the number of rows or columns):


Cramer's phi = the square root of (chi-square divided by (N times (k minus 1)))
So, for our Table 1 (a 2 X 5), we would compute Cramer's phi as follows:


N(k - 1) = 100 (2-1) = 100

chi square/100 = 14.026/100 = 0.14

square root of (2) = 0.37
The product is interpreted as a Pearson r (that is, as a correlation coefficient).

(For 2 X 2 tables, a measure called 'phi' is derived by dividing the table's chi square value by N (the total number of observations) and then taking the square root of the product. Phi is also interpreted as a Pearson r.)

A complete account of how to interpret correlation coefficients is unnecessary for present purposes. It will suffice to say that r2 is a measure called shared variance. Shared variance is the portion of the total behavior (or distribution) of the variables measured in the sample data which is accounted for by the relationship we've already detected with our chi square. For Table 1, r2 = 0.137, so appproximately 14% of the total footwear preference story is explained/predicted by biological sex.

Computing a measure of association like phi or Cramer's phi is rarely done in quantitative linguistic analyses, but it is an important benchmark of just 'how much' of the phenomenon under investigation has been explained. For example, Table 1's Cramer's phi of 0.37 (r2 = 0.137) means that there are one or more variables still undetected which, cumulatively, account for and predict 86% of footwear preferences. This measure, of course, doesn't begin to address the nature of the relation(s) between these variables, which is a crucial part of any adequate explanation or theory.

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

just a week to go ..........every thing cluttered.....

dont know what shall happen...........

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

Influence of gender and type of school on environmental attitude of
teachers in Iran and India
ABSTRACT: The present study reports on secondary school teacher’s environmental attitude in India and Iran.
One thousand and four teachers were selected through the stratified random sampling technique from 103 secondary
schools of Mysore city (India) and Tehran city (Iran). Subjects consisted of 505 male and 499 females. They were
assessed using the Taj Environmental Attitude Scale (TEAS) developed by Hasseen Taj (2001). Results revealed that
there are significant differences between Indian and Iranian teachers in their level of environmental attitude. Also there
are significant differences between them in environmental attitude across and within two groups with regard to their
gender. Also in overall, type of school management (Government and private) is not a factor, which can affect teachers
environmental attitude.
Key words: Environmental attitude, gender, school, teacher
INTRODUCTION
Today man is living in a world of crises. The social,
economic, political and value crisis are some of the
threats that are quite alarming. Added to this, in the
recent decades, the environmental crisis has become
another important factor that has made everyone in
the world to think of its gravity. Ever since man has
been on this earth, there has been a constant interaction
between him and the natural world. In the beginning,
man lived in harmony with nature, but as his numbers
grew and his scientific discoveries and inventions led
him on the path of industrialization, he became the
predator and his increasing demands on the
environment and its resources have led to its
exploitation and degradation. (Mercy and Arjunan,
2005) The role of education in understanding protecting
and solving problems related to environment has been
realized all over the world since 1970. Education for
environment might succeed if it deliberately directed
towards school children. Realizing on education (1986)
emphasized that “there is a paramount need to create a
consciousness of the environment. It must permit all
ages of sections of the society, beginning with child
(Chethana, 2003). Environmental education has
developed as pragmatic educational response to the
problems and concerns of environment. The concept
of environmental education is still evolving and
awaiting institutionalisation in the educational
systems. As such there is a dire need to understand
the subject in proper perspective. Environmental
education has two components, viz., environment and
education. Environmental education is the process of
recognizing values and the clarifying concepts in order
to develop the skill and attitudes necessary to
understand and appreciate the interrelatedness among
man, his culture and his biophysical surroundings
(Council of Europe, 1976). The key to successful
environmental education is the classroom teacher. If
teachers do not have knowledge, skill and commitment
to enviromentalise their curriculum, it is unlikely that
an environmentally literate student will be produced.
For this, special training to prospective teachers is
necessary. There is a need for a new personal and
individualized behaviour based on global ethics,
which can be realized only through the
S. M. Shobeiri, et al. Influence of gender and...
352
enlightenment and training of educational
professionals. Thus there is a need for interested
teachers and teacher educators (Shobeiri, 2005). By
and large, research in this area indicates that
although environmental education is taken up as a
subject in the curriculum the subject faces certain
limitation in regard to its proper implementation. The
teacher should be aware of the environmental
education aspects only t hen he can make the future
generation aware of the environmental problems and
their solutions. Taking into consideration this
situation, the investigators felt a need to conduct a
study to know about the environmental awareness
of secondary school teachers in relation to
residential background. Gender and type of school
management so that necessary actions could be
taken up to come forward with prolific result for
enhancing the efficacy of the content provided to
them as well as sustain their inner urge for desirable
actions. .so, in this paper Influence of gender and
type of school on environmental attitude of teachers
in Iran and India has been performed and the state
of awareness in this area is monitored. The study
has been performed at the University of Mysore from
2003 till 2005.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The present study is an attempt to examine the
environmental attitude of secondary school teachers
in relation to residential background, gender and
type of school. This section explains the hypotheses,
sampling, instrument, procedure, scoring and
statistical techniques used for the study.
Following null hypotheses were formulated for
testing the assumptions:
Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in
the level of environmental attitude among secondary
school teachers in Tehran and Mysore.
Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference
between male and female teachers in their level of
environmental attitude.
Hypothesis 3: There is no significant difference
between Government and private school teachers in
their environmental attitude.
Sampling
A sample of 103 (46 Indian and 57 Iranian) secondary
school was selected for the research work using the
stratified random sampling technique. After selecting
schools 1004 teachers (505 male and 499 female) were
selected randomly from these schools in Mysore city
(India) and Tehran city (Iran). The teachers were
selected both from government and private schools
(Shobeiri, 2005).
Instrument
The tool used in the present investigation was the
Taj Environmental Attitude Scale (TEAS) developed
by Hasseen Taj (2001), Bangalore University. This tool
measures environmental attitude of teachers as
consisting of six areas dealt within the scale are attitude
toward: (i) Population, (ii) Health and hygiene, (iii)
Polluters, (iv) Wild life, (v) Forests and (vi)
Environmental concerns. There are several items in
each. Thus constituting the total of 61 items on the
scale. For Indian teachers, the original English version
and for Iranian teachers translated version in Persian
was used. Initially, the Persian version was administered
as a pre-test to 50 male and 50 female Iranian teachers
to find out the suitability of the instruments. With a
few minor revisions, the main study in Iran (510 out of
1004 teachers) was performed based on the suggestion
given by the teachers on the pre-test. The split-half
reliability has been found to be 0.79.
Procedure
In Iran and India, the Investigator personally visited
all the selected schools and met the teachers for
explaining the purpose of study and instructed them as
how to respond to the questionnaire. Also, for teachers,
whenever, they had doubt in understanding questions,
Investigator made those questions very clear to them.
Scoring
Each item alternative is assigned a weight age ranging
from 4 (strongly agree) to 1 (strong disagree) for
favorable items. In case of unfavorable items the scoring
is reversed, i.e. from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly
disagree). The attitude score of an individual is the
sum total of item scores on all the six areas. The range
of scores is from 61 to 244 with the higher score
indicating the more favorable attitude towards
environment and vice versa (Shobeiri, 2005).
Statistical analysis
Using SPSS statistical package,(Kinnear, 2003) Twoway
ANOVA (Analysis Variance)was employed to find
out the difference in various aspects from the level of
S. M. Shobeiri, et al. Influence of gender and...
353
two aspects of environmental attitudes, which have
made teachers to be attitude about their environment.
Results indicate that in both the countries the level
of environmental attitude of teachers in forests sub
factor is low. In addition teachers are unaware above
wild life aspect of their environment. The above
findings corroborated with findings of Bahrainy and
Amini (2001), who found that so far these organization
have lacked the ability to prepare the context for
people involvement in environmental conservation.
The finding of this study reveals that there is a
significant difference between two countries in terms
of level of teachers environmental attitude. The study
found that nearly 35 % of Indian teachers and 48 % of
Iranian teacher s exhibited average level of
environmental attitude. But, the number of Indian
teachers with high level of environmental attitude
(65.20 %) is more than their counterparts in Iran (52.20
%). From the table 1 it is clear that there is a significant
difference (χ2 = 17.56, p < 0.001) between the levels of
environmental attitude of teachers in both countries.
Therefore the previously formulated hypothesis is
rejected. The results of the analysis of variance
(ANOVA) test are presented in table 5, 6, 7 and 8.
These tables pr esented below show F-value,
significance and mean value of students
environmental awareness scores based on their
country as well as gender and type of school. The
Tables 5 and 6 are examined and interpreted in the
following way. In the overall comparison the statistical
results indicate that there is a significant difference
in the level of environmental attitude between male
and female teachers.
Tables 5 and 6 indicate that there is a significant
difference between Indian and Iranian teachers in three
sub factors of environmental attitude. In sub factors
like ‘Wild life’ (F=86.712, p<0.000), forests (F = 14.123,
p < 0.000) and ‘Polluters’ (F=112.428, p < 0.000).
Table 1: Number and percentage of teachers falling
under different levels of environmental attitude
Level of score limit
environmental attitude
of teachers
Average
(117-170)
High
(171-244) Total
No. 172 322 494 India % 34.8 65.2 100.0
No 244 266 510 Iran % 47.8 52.2 100.0
No 416 588 1004 Total % 41.4 58.6 100.0
Table 2: Rank order of environmental attitude of
teachers (India)
Rank Dimensions Mean SD %
weight age
1 Pollution explosion 16.04 2.54 78.28
2 Environmental concern 42.83 4.96 74.65
3 Health and hygiene 15.15 2.54 73.93
4 Wild life 17.08 3.17 69.46
5 Polluters 72.90 7.79 68.41
6 Forests 13.33 2.30 65.05
–
environmental attitude including gender, type of school
and country in each aspect.
RESULTS
In this study the level of environmental attitude
has been identified on the basis of their scores on the
Taj environmental attitude scale under two levels
using the criteria the average of the maximum weight
age and minimum weight age for the total number of
items in the scale + SD of the scores obtained on the
scale. Table 1 shows number and percentage of Indian
and Iranian teachers under different level of
environmental attitude. The finding from table 1
indicates that there is a significant difference (χ2 =
17.56, p < 0.001) in the level of teacher’s environmental
attitude in India and Iran. It was found that nearly 35
% of Indian teachers and 48 % of Iranian teachers
exhibited average level of environmental attitude. But,
the number of Indian teachers with high level of
environmental attitude (62.2 %) is more than their
counterparts in Iran (52.2 %). In addition, an attempt
has been made to find the differences between
teachers in two countries regarding to the level of
environmental attitude for each of the six sub factors
of the teacher environmental attitude scale, as
mentioned before. Weight age for each of the six sub
factors were calculated based on the mean scores
obtained and then ranked from the highest percent to
the lowest percent. The details are made available in
Tables 2, 3 and 4. The findings of Tables 2, 3 and 4
reveal th at the three top ranking aspects of
environmental attitude for Indian teachers are:
Population explosion, environmental concern and
health and hygiene. Three top ranking aspects of
environmental attitude for Iranian teachers are:
population explosion, environmental concern and
health and hygiene. In both of the countries
population explosion and environmental concern are
S. M. Shobeiri, et al. Influence of gender and...
354
Table 3: Rank order of environmental attitude
of teachers (Iran)
Rank Dimensions Mean SD %
weight age
1 Pollution explosion 15.87 2.45 77.45
2 Environmental concern 42.78 4.88 74.56
3 Health and hygiene 15.11 1.50 73.74
4 Polluters 68.49 5.42 64.28
5 Forests 12.80 2.15 62.46
6 Wild life 15.35 2.73 62.42
Table 4: Rank order of environmental attitude
of teachers (overall)
Rank Dimensions Mean SD %
weight age
1 Pollution explosion 15.96 2.50 77.87
2 Environmental concern 42.81 4.92 74.61
3 Health and hygiene 15.13 2.02 73.84
4 Polluters 70.70 6.61 66.35
5 Wild life 16.22 2.95 65.94
6 Forests 13.07 2.23 63.76
Table 5: Mean scores for various dimensions of teachers
environmental attitude with reference to country and gender
Environme
ntal attitude
of teachers
Gender India Iran Overall
Male 15.06 14.91 14.98
Female 15.25 15.31 15.28 Health and
hygiene Overall 15.15 15.11 15.13
Male 16.70 15.55 16.12
Female 17.48 15.16 16.29 Wild life
Overall 17.08 15.35 16.20
Male 13.15 12.92 13.03
Female 13.51 12.69 13.09 Forests
Overall 13.33 12.80 13.06
Male 71.99 67.16 69.55
Female 73.83 69.82 71.78 Polluters
Overall 72.90 68.49 70.66
Male 15.40 15.54 15.47
Female 16.69 16.19 16.43 Population
explosion Overall 16.04 15.87 15.95
Male 41.82 41.85 41.84
Female 43.86 43.72 43.79 Environment
al concern Overall 42.83 42.78 42.81
Male 174.06 167.89 170.95
Female 180.34 172.82 176.50 Total
Overall 177.17 170.35 173.71
In these three sub factors wild life, forests and
polluters Indian teachers scored significantly higher
than Iranian teachers. In the other sub factors of
environmental attitude (health and hygiene,
population explosion and environmental concern), no
difference were found between teachers of India and
Iran.
In four sub factors like Health and hygiene (F=5.008,
p < 0.025), polluters (F=29.044, p < 0.000), population
explosion (F=39.399, p < 0.000) and environmental
concern (F = 41.269, p < 0.000), there is a significant
difference between male and female teachers.
In four sub factors like health and hygiene, polluters,
population explosion and environmental concern female
teachers scored significantly higher than male
teachers. However, in other sub factors of
environmental attitude both male and female teachers
scored almost equally.
The significant interaction effects between countries
and gender reveal that in three sub factors of
environmental attitude namely, wild life (F=9.999,
p<0.002), forests (F = 4.344, p < 0.037) and ‘Population
explosion’ (F=4.257, p < 0.039). There is a significant
difference between teachers in both countries. In India
female teachers have more attitudes on wild life, forests
and population explosion. Results of the interaction
effect for other sub factors of environmental attitude
were not significant.
The results of this study indicate that there is a
significant difference between male and female teachers
with regard to their level of environmental attitude. This
finding is in agreement with the findings of Rou,
Sabhlok (1995) and Shabina (1999), who reported that
there is significant difference between male and female
teachers in their level of environmental attitude. The
female teachers have better attitude about their
environment. However the study conducted by Shaila
(2003) indicates that the gender has no effect on
environmental attitude. The present study reveals that
in four sub factors like health and hygiene (F = 5.008, p
< 0.025), polluters (F = 29.044, p < 0.000), population
explosion (F = 39.399, p < 0.000) and environmental
concern (F = 41.269, p < 0.000), there is a significant
difference between male and female teachers. In four
sub factors namely health and hygiene, pollutes,
population explosion and environmental concern female
teachers scored significantly higher than male
teachers. The present study reveals that in four sub
factors like health and hygiene (F = 5.008, p < 0.025),
polluters (F = 29.044, p < 0.000), population explosion
(F = 39.399, p < 0.000) and environmental concern (F =
41.269, p < 0.000), there is a significant difference
between male and female teachers. In four sub factors
namely health and hygiene, pollutes, population
explosion and environmental concern female teachers
scored significantly higher than male teachers.
S. M. Shobeiri, et al. Influence of gender and...
355
Table 6: Result of two-way ANOVA for mean teachers
environmental attitude score in various areas with reference
to country and gender
Environmental
attitude of
teachers
Source of variation F-value Significance
Between countries (A) 0.130 0.719
Between gender (B) 5.008 0.025 Health and
hygiene Interaction (A x B) 0.719 0.397
Between countries (A) 86.712 0.000
Between gender (B) 1.063 0.303 Wild life
Interaction (A x B) 9.999 0.002
Between countries (A) 14.123 0.000
Between gender (B) 0.211 0.646 Forests
Interaction (A x B) 4.344 0.037
Between countries (A) 112.428 0.000
Between gender (B) 29.044 0.000 Polluters
Interaction (A x B) 0.966 0.326
Between countries (A) 1.321 0.251
Between gender (B) 39.399 0.000 Population
explosion Interaction (A x B) 4.257 0.039
Between countries (A) 0.036 0.849
Between gender (B) 41.269 0.000 Environmental
concern Interaction (A x B) 0.071 0.790
Between countries (A) 52.655 0.000
Between gender (B) 35.211 0.000 Total
Interaction (A x B) 0.518 0.472
A (1.1000), B (1.1000) and AxB (1.1000)
Table 7: Mean scores for various dimensions of teachers
environmental attitude with reference
to country and type of school
Environmental
attitude
of teachers
Type of
school India Iran Overall
Government 14.92 15.18 15.06
Private 15.33 15.04 15.19 Health and
hygiene Overall 15.15 15.11 15.13
Government 16.92 15.62 16.21
Private 17.20 15.07 16.20 Wild life
Overall 17.08 15.35 16.20
Government 13.42 12.85 13.10
Private 13.26 12.76 13.03 Forests
Overall 13.33 12.80 13.06
Government 71.83 69.01 70.27
Private 73.70 67.95 71.01 Polluters
Overall 72.90 68.49 70.66
Government 15.76 15.76 15.76
Private 16.24 15.98 16.12 Population
explosion Overall 16.04 15.87 15.95
Government 42.23 42.98 42.64
Private 43.28 42.58 42.95 Environmental
concern Overall 42.83 42.78 42.81
Government 174.82 171.57 173.03
Private 178.93 169.08 174.31 Total
Overall 177.17 170.35 173.71
However, in other subfactors of environmental
attitude both male and female teachers scored almost
equally. The table 6 indicates that in the overall teachers
environmental attitude, there is a significant difference
with respect to male and female teachers (F = 32.211, p
< 0.000). Therefore the previously formulated
hypothesis is rejected. The tables 7 and 8 are examined
and interpreted in the following way. In the overall
comparison the statistical results indicate that there is
no significant difference in the level of environmental
attitude between government and private school
teachers. Comparison of environmental attitude of
teachers with respect to countries: Tables 7 and 8
indicate that there is a significant difference between
two countries in three subfactors of environmental
attitude. In three subfactors namely ‘Wild life’
(F=83.607, p<0.000), forests (F = 14.440, p < 0.000) and
polluters (F=102.961, p < 0.000), Indian teachers scored
significantly higher than Iranian teachers. Comparison
of environmental attitude of teachers with respect to
schools: There is a significant difference between
government and private schools only on one sub factor
of teachers environmental attitude, namely population
explosion (F=1.106, p < 0.019). In private schools,
teachers scored significantly higher attitude on
population explosion compared with government
school teachers. Interaction effects: The significant
interaction effect between country and type of school
reveals that in four sub factors of teachers
environmental attitude namely, health and hygiene, wild
life, polluters and environmental concern there is a
significant difference between teachers in both
countries. In India private school teachers scored
significantly higher on health and hygiene (F = 4.236,
p < 0.040), wild life (F=4.862, p<0.028), polluters
(F=12.009, p < 0.001) and environmental concern
(F=5.499, p<0.019) than their counterparts in Iran.
This study indicates that in the overall comparison
there is no influence of the type of school (government
and private) on level of teacher’s environmental
attitude. This finding is in agreement with findings of
Dinakara (2000) and Shaila (2003) who reported that
there is no significant difference between teachers of
government and private schools in their level of
environmental attitude. However the study conducted
by Rou (1995), indicate that the type of school
management has influence on environmental attitude.
When the government school teachers were compared
with the private school teachers, they were found to
differ significantly, in favor of the former group.
S. M. Shobeiri, et al. Influence of gender and...
356
Table 8: Result of two-way ANOVA for mean teachers
environmental attitude score in various areas with reference
to country and type of school
Environmental
attitude of
teachers
Source of variation Fvalue
Significance
Between countries (A) 0.021 0.884
Between schools (B) 0.988 0.321 Health and
hygiene Interaction (A x B) 4.236 0.040
Between countries (A) 83.607 0.000
Between schools (B) 0.551 0.458 Wild life
Interaction (A x B) 4.862 0.028
Between countries (A) 14.440 0.000
Between schools (B) 0.726 0.394 Forests
Interaction (A x B) 0.053 0.818
Between countries (A) 102.961 0.000
Between schools (B) 0.933 0.334 Polluters
Interaction (A x B) 12.009 0.001
Between countries (A) 0.712 0.399
Between schools (B) 4.761 0.029 Population
explosion Interaction (A x B) 0.694 0.405
Between countries (A) 0.006 0.937
Between schools (B) 1.106 0.293
Environme
ntal
concern Interaction (A x B) 5.499 0.019
Between countries (A) 46.570 0.000
Between schools (B) 0.717 0.397 Total
Interaction (A x B) 11.792 0.001
dfs A (1.1000), B (1.1000) and AxB (1.1000)
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The present study reveals that there is a significant
difference between government and private school
teachers. Only on one sub factor of teachers
environmental attitude namely, population explosion
(F = 1.106, p < 0.019). In private schools, teachers scored
significantly higher attitude on population explosion
compared with government school teachers. The Table
8 indicates that in the overall comparison there is no
significant difference between government and private
school teachers (F = 0.717, p < 0.397). Therefore it could
be concluded that the type of school is not significantly
related to teacher’s environmental attitude. Therefore
the previously formulated hypothesis is accepted.
In this study the hypothesis No.1 to 3 pertains to
teachers environmental attitude. Each of three
hypotheses were analyzed, interpreted and compared
with other studies and Conclusions have been drawn.
The following are the summary of the findings relation
to the three hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: The study indicates a significant
difference in the level of environmental attitude among
secondary school teachers in India and Iran. The
number of Indian teachers with high level of
environmental attitude (62.2 %) is more than their
counterparts in Iran (52.2 %). More than 58 % of
teachers in both the countries informed that their level
of environmental attitude is high. 35 % of Indian
teachers and 48 % of Iranian teachers showed an
average level of environmental attitude.
Hypothesis 2: Gender has influence on environmental
attitude of teachers. In both the countries female teachers
shown better attitude than males towards environment.
Hypothesis 3: In both the countries type of school
management has no influence on environmental attitude
of teachers.
Teachers can play an important role in educating their
students about environment which is possible only
when the teachers themselves have the necessary level
of environmental attitude for this purpose, the
government should introduce and enrich environmental
education programmers in both in service and preserves
teacher education programmers.
REFERENCES
Bahrainy, H. and Amini, F., (2001). The role of environmental
non-governmental organizations in citizens participation
for environmental conservation in Iran. J. Environ. Stud.,
Report series of the environment University of Tehran. 26
(26), 4-12.
Chethana, S., (2003). Effect of background variables on the
environmental attitude of 9th. standard students. M. A.
Dissertation, Department of Studies and Research Education,
Karnataka State Open University, Mysore. 131-153.
Dinakara, S. A., (2000). Environmental awareness,
environmental attitude and teaching practices of elementary
school teachers of Mysore district in environmental related
topics. M. A. Dissertation, Department of Education, Mysore
University. 121-139.
Kinnear, P. R., (2003). SPSS for Windows, Psychology Press,
U.S.A. 329-363.
Mercy, A. and Arjunan, N. K., (2005). Environmental attitude
and pro-environmental behaviour among secondary school
children. EDUTRACKS, A. Monthly Scanner of Trends in
Education. 4 (6), 32-34.
Sabhlok, R., (1995). A study of the awareness and attitude of
teachers and students of high schools toward environmental
education in Jabalpur district. Indian Edu. Abstr., 1 (24),
62-63.
Shabina Jinarajan, A. K., (1999). A study of environmental
awareness and attitude towards environmental education of
student teachers of Bangalore city. M.Phil. Dissertation,
Department of Education, Bangalore University. 7-15.
Shaila, V., (2003). Effect of background variables on the
environmental attitude of secondary school teachers. M.Ed.
Dissertation, Department of Education, Bangalore
University. 124-145.
Shobeiri, S. M., (2005). A comparative study of environmental
awareness and attitude of teachers and students of secondary
schools in India and Iran, PhD thesis, Department of
Education , University of Mysore. 165-181.
S. M. Shobeiri, et al. Influence of gender and...
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[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

Elementary school/same sex interactions
Throughout elementary school there are gender differences in the way that boys and girls play.
Boys’ interactions:
• they tend to focus their time on activities such as:
• playing kickball or
• Nintendo games (Maccoby, 1974 in Leaper, 1994)
Girls interactions:
• are more intimacy based
• they tend to talking more during their interactions
• playing house fosters a more nurturing role for girls
Reasons:
• Girls find it difficult to influence boys, which in turn leaves girls unwilling to interact with boys since boys are unresponsive to them (Maccoby, 1990 in Fabes, 1994).
• The rough-and-tumble play boy’s display is less interesting to girls and for this reason boys find playing with girls less rewarding

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

The present study examined the influence of professor and student characteristics on students’ preconceptions of college professors. Course syllabi for a politically charged social science course were constructed with versions varying by teaching style, professor gender, and professor ethnicity. A total of 633 (44% Latino; 34% African American; 22% Anglo) undergraduates rated the course and the instructor on professor warmth, professor capability, and political bias. Among several findings associated with professor ethnicity and teaching style, Latina professors were viewed as more warm when they had a lenient teaching style andless warm when they hada strict teaching style when compared with Anglo women professors with respective styles. Anglo men students perceived professors as more politically biased than did other students. Results are discussed in the context of aversive racism and a double standard of evaluation for Latino professors.
Key Words: college students • course evaluations • stereotyping • Latinos • gender bias • aversive racism

While the past few decades have seen an improvement in the treatment of females in classroom methods and curricular materials, it would be premature to declare victory and dismiss issues of gender bias. Today, our girls and boys remain the victims of gender stereotypes in text and resource materials. They are also victims of unintended or sexist behaviors by educators. Often teachers reflect varied expectations for children, based on a student&#146;s gender, class, race and ethnicity.
Most teachers care deeply about the youngsters in their rooms. They are confident that they treat all their students the same. However, many teachers who analyze their own attitudes and behaviors, discover the subtle and pervasive nature of gender inequity in the classroomIn order to bring equity and effectiveness to the classroom (and therefore greater achievement to students), it is important to analysize how issues of bias have been a part of one&#146;s own past and present. Then, it will be possible to overcome bias in the future.
Integrating gender equity research with education is an ongoing and difficult task. Doing it well, for one&#146;s students, will require vigilant diagnosis, persistent positive actions and collegial support. The final tasks are suggested as beginning steps in a commitment to teach with fairness.
Conduct a brief discussion of the following questions:
• Regarding the experiences of females and males in schools, how are things different today then when you were a K-12 student?
• How are things different for males and females on your campus, than at other schools?
• What might your students say when asked the same questions?
• How have you experienced gender bias in work or school environment?
• Help colleagues begin to develop action plans towards a more equitable and effective classroom climate.
• What have you already done to overcome gender bias in the classroom and curriculum?
• As a result of the program and interactions, what will you do within the next two weeks?
• What will you do within the next year?
• What additional information and support do you need from our learning community?
• What further questions do you have?
Key Findings 1
The typical classroom can be divided into three groups:
Salient students: Typically, only one or two students receiving twice or three times their fare share of attention (both positive and negative behaviors can create a salient student).
Silent students: These students have no interactions with the teachers and become passive spectators (about 20% of the typical class).
Nominal students: Typically, interact once, or at best, twice with the teacher. They are nominally participating.
Usually males receive more teacher questions than females.
Males are also more likely to call out or act out, demanding and receiving teacher attention.
Segregated seating patterns reinforce unequal teacher attention. About half of America&#146;s classrooms are characterized by gender segregated classrooms.
Boys are more likely to be called up to the front of the room to do demonstrations (e.g. science demonstrations).
Boys are more likely to be disciplined than girls, even when the misbehavior is identical.
Girls are more likely to be praised for the appearance and neatness of their work.
Teachers are more likely to offer boys specific feedback on their work&#150;including praise, criticism and remediation.
Boys are more likely to receive attributions to effort and ability, teacher comments giving them confidence that success and competence is simply a matter of applying themselves. Girls are often told, "It&#146;s okay, as long as you try."
School textbooks and supplemental resource materials tend to be filled with male protagonists and stories. Teachers suggest that boys will not be interested in the lives or experiences of girls; males are the fathers of our history; it&#146;s hard to find sources of curriculum that are inclusive. These beliefs fuel curriculum bias and reinforces gender disparities

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

Gender discrimination in school system
Removal of gender bias in the curriculum is also something that has to be consciously done in different ways all the time, and not by looking only at textbooks and correcting the stereotyping or having an additional paper on women's issues in the humanities subjects.
HOW DO we make out whether there is gender discrimination in our school system? Let us look at the opportunities available for girls and boys in regard to access to education from the earliest stages. The Constitution guarantees equality of opportunity before the law for both the sexes and therefore, the de jure position is that girls and boys have equal access to education. But what is the de facto position?
Today the total number of girl students enroled in the upper primary education are much better because of many policy interventions on behalf of the girl child, such as the Report of the National Committee on Women's Education (1958-9), the Kothari Commission Report (1964-5) and above all the National Policy (1968) and the National Policy on Education (1986), which stressed the need for empowering women, that is making them capable of guiding their own destiny and becoming self-reliant through exposure to education and survival skills, including income generation.
Whatever be the cause, there is a gap in enrolment. The social barriers standing in the way of girls attending schools — poverty, compulsions of older girls in families having to look after the home and siblings, the conception or misconception that girls do not need education and/or that what is taught in schools is irrelevant to them, parents seeing limited (economic) benefits in educating daughters, lack of women teachers and separate schools for girls, supportive facilities (like adequate and clean toilets in schools) and transport facilities to travel to school and back, all these inhibit parents from getting their girls enrolled. Girls have to stay at home once they attain puberty and must be protected till they are marreid. And they become part of another family, leaving the parental home. Add to this, the commonly held belief that marriage is the be-all and end-all for girls, leading to early marriage and pregnancy. So naturally the son is sent to the school, not the daughter.
The Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India (1974) found that some teenage girls were supporting entire families of sick and unemployed parents and siblings on their sole earnings. `It should be noted', the Report said, `that girls constitute a higher proportion of the unpaid family workers throughout the country, and that is a major reason for their exclusion from schools.' `Fear of alienation of girls from their environment is another inhibiting factor for not sending girls to school,' said the Report.
These reasons also result in high dropout rates at (upper) primary stage. So there is a gap in retention of girls in schools, even if they enrol at the primary stage. In many places in the rural areas where there are primary schools, there is no scope for studying further as there are no schools having upper primary and secondary sections and girls are not sent to far away schools because of this. Fear of the girl child's vulnerability is often the only reason given.
The other factor to be taken into account is that are there enough opportunities for girls to achieve their full potential in the way boys do in the education system. Often there are unrecognised, unintended and unknown biases in the minds of the teachers, administrators and peers in schools, which inhibit girls. For girls in rural areas and from deprived castes, communities and tribes and for handicapped girls, all the above problems are accentuated much more than in the case of boys because of dual or multiple disadvantage. It is well-known that two thirds or more of our women are illiterate and less than half of them are educated upto the primary level. We have to also note that all-India figures hide a lot of variations as between States.
The gender discrimination in schools is an extension of what we think in the family, in society and in the community in which we live. Unless there is camaraderie, diginity and partnertship among the members of and within the family, it is diffucult to expect the school to create it artificially in the school environment, and to pursue it without reference to what is happening in society. There has to be a democratic environment in the home for the child to be democratic in his/her lifestyle. Any programme of gender discrimination elimination in educational institutions must take into confidence, the parents and guardians and undoubtedly the teachers (both men and women), for whom there must be continuous programmes orienting them to equality in thought and deed. Persons in the community and the media have to be involved, for the programme touches the lives of children outside of schools. It cannot succeed if pursued in the school alone.
The DPEP(District Primary Education Programme) is a special programme of the Government of India run in 42 districts in seven States, to increase enrolment of girls at the primary level and helping in sustaining it. It has, as one of its thrusts, the elimination of gender discrimination in the schools in its jurisdiction. Infact, there is a substantial gender focus in it. The decentralised implementation it envisages, provides for specific interventions for girls. Programme goals include concentrated effort on reduction of gender disparities in education, as reflected in lower enrolment, retention and achievement of girls, particularly those from socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Rightly does it emphasise the role of the community in helping the school to combat sex stereotyping. It encourages local communities, particularly women to play an active role in every aspect of the programme. This includes intensive capacity building for groups in the community to focus on issues relating to the education of girls and boys. Involvement of the community is also required in monitoring enrolment, retention and levels of achievement and classroom behaviour and transaction, with emphasis on girls. The equal treatment promoted in the schools ought to be able to transform the thinking within families.
In many States there is mid-day meal scheme, which is intended to attract children of the poorer sections to enrol in schools. And only women are recruited as primary school teachers. Most States has attempted attracting girls to enrol in schools, by making education free for all girls right up to the professional stage. This however has the catch that even those girls coming from families who can afford to pay, get free education.
We here recall the instance of a Centre run in the Jama Masjid area by the Central Social Welfare Board many years ago, for girl dropouts who, through a `condensed course', could appear for the school final exam leading to a matriculation degree. For such centres, there were two criteria — the students had to be girls from poor families. The girls who attended this centre, could afford to pay, so they would not normally be entitled to come to the centre. But they pleaded that the centre should not be closed down. The reason that they gave is something very important, they said that their culture and community would not allow them to attend regular schools, once they had attained puberty. They wanted to study and if they were given a chance to finish school studies here, it would be a boon not only to them but also to their girl children, who might have the chance to go to school and be educated! The centre was allowed to continue on their request.
What has not happened in many States is that schools have not come up in abundance or in convenient locations in rural communities. If they have, then some of them do not pay attention to conveniences that the girl students require and the timings most convenient for rural girls who have to mind the household and other kids in the family.
Again, the Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India had recommended that schools should have a day care centre attached to them — the advantages are very clear — girl children can attend schools while their younger sisters and brothers are looked after close by in the day care centre of the school and secondly, all children, girls and boys in the school, can be given training in child care in the centre — so that the stereo typing that children must be cared for only by the females in the family, would go. No one seems to have taken this seriously till date.
Within the school itself, there is need to identify the overt and covert discrimination, arising out of ignorance and deeply ingrained ways of thinking, on the part of teachers and educational administrators. This manifests itself in language, gesture, posture and action as seen in the way girls and boys are seated in the classroom. We neither need to exceed the limits of decency nor need we show prudery — again it is for teachers and the administrators in schools to ensure that girls and boys are comfortable in each other's company. Quite often more chances are given to boys than to girls (by a kind of reflex action) to answer questions or to take on responsibility. Girls keep away from sports and physical activity and nothing is done to see that they are talked out of this preference by providing some transport or other facilities for getting home safe and encouraging them o take part in all the games and fitness programmes of the school. Infact, it should be advocated that self-defence should be compulsorily taught from an early stage for all children, particularly girls, in order to to build confidence in themselves.
For many girls from poor families, the biggest problem is that of self-image, which is hardly thought of as a problem by their parents, who may also not have a good self-image (and anyway, the view may be — how can girls feel so for they are born only to bear children and look after them). Even in developed countries, there are problems amongst teenagers entering the adolescent stage, as is but natural all the world over, for at this stage of growing up, when suddenly they have to restrict themselves, girls consider being girls as `unlucky'. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) did an extensive national survey in 1990 on gender and self-esteem.
The results of the survey `confirmed... that for a girl, the passage into adolescence is not just marked by menarche or a few new curves. It is marked by a loss of confidence in herself and her abilities, especially in math and science. It is marked by a scathingly critical attitude toward her body, and a blossoming sense of inadequacy.'
If it is like this in an advanced country with plenty of opportunities for girls and boys, we can imagine the situation in our country, where female infanticide in still practised in certain parts.
Removal of gender bias in the curriculum is also something that has to be consciously done in different ways all the time, and not by looking only at textbooks and correcting the stereotyping or having an additional paper on women's issues in the humanities subjects.
There is the oft-repeated criticism that many girls are not encouraged to get into science, maths, vocational and non-conventional subjects and technical streams. At the school stage itself several interventions are necessary for this.
These would include `enrichment' activities, such as a special hands-on programme with toys and tools in the pre-school stage, visits to museums and fairs and science centres, Lego construction and also experiments in physics with water, air and heat. Exploratory confidence building activities as well as promotion of the competitive spirit through individual and team projects will also help. There is an organisation formed in 1981, in the U.K. called GASAT (Gender and Science and Technology).
Its aim is to identify the barriers to female participation in science, engineering and technology and to examine ways of how this might be overcome. It also provides an international forum for discussing research findings and until 1997, there were seven conferences. Can we have something like this in India?
In the State of North Carolina in the U.S., the work on sex discriminatory practices and evolving strategies for meeting them done by Amanda Smith points to the need to do the following: assigning responsibility to a specific staff member, setting up a mechanism by which grievances can be channelled, understanding how sex stereotyping works, and planning strategies for promoting change, in service training for men and women teachers, student discussion groups and forums, and making them take up studies in the community to find out sex biases.
The DPEP schools could well study this approach and plan their as suitable to conditions here. In addition, all students should be encouraged to take part in life planning — both girls and boys, planning as individuals and as members of a family.
They should explore the shared responsibilities that they will find in work, home, leisure and child rearing. They must also be taughtto consider job or career as an economic opportunity and for self-fulfilment, and not as a calamity, taken up only if the marriage fails or if the girl is widowed.
The Government of India's Country Report for the Beijing Conference in 1995 says, "The overall picture of girls' and women's education is one of limited opportunity, numerous obstacles and questionable quality and relevance. Available evidence suggests that an explicit policy focus on female education is amply justified on the basis of equality, economic productivity and social benefits."
At a recent conference in Trivandrum in December 2000, a new agenda for women's education was talked about. It was felt that there are not many women at top levels of educational policy and administration, even though `teaching' is considered a `female' profession and this is a great drawback as women's perceptions and perspectives are needed for formulating the agenda based on the experience of women's education in India.
You cannot think of education in isolation of what is to be done for raising the level of women's progress. The theme of the Beijing conference was "Look at things through women's eyes". Let us add the word "also" at the end of it.
Lastly, let women not remain among the `unreached', for today we have this very powerful technological option of going to them through distance education which is still not fully explored and utilised for women's education.
PADMA RAMACHANDRAN Gender gap in Karnataka schools at negligible level'
Our Bureau
Bangalore , Dec. 22
EVEN as reports of gender bias in education of girl children haunts development strategists, Karnataka has been able to present a slightly encouraging picture, though with a mixed bag of performance.
Through its many efforts and programme to stem drop outs from and attract students to schools, the State has also been able to limit the sex differences in schooling to a negligible level of 0.91 per cent.
The State has been able to reduce the number of `out of school' children from 10.53 lakh in 2001 to 4.05 lakh in 2003. About 7.38 per cent of the 90.22 lakh children aged between six and 14 are out of school, according to a State educational census.
Though the State has been able to narrow the gap between attendance and drop outs, the percentage of deprived groups continues to be higher than the rest of the population with 10.5 and 12.8 per cent of children from scheduled castes and tribes groups respectively still outside the reach of schools.
The overall improvement in schooling of children is only confined to some parts of Karnataka. North Eastern parts of the State, which presents a contrast to the other parts , has achieved a literacy rate of 55.78 per cent against the State's average of 67 per cent. Blocks such as Deodurg in Raichur district and Shanpur in Yadgir have female literacy rates of only 27 per cent.
The seven North Eastern districts have the highest number of children `out of school', with the largest being in Yadgir (13.5 per cent), Bijapur (10.34 per cent), Koppal (9.92 per cent), Raichur (7.61 per cent) and Gulbarga (8.67 per cent). About 1.91 lakh of the 4.05 lakh `out of school' children reside in the North Eastern districts of Karnataka.
Among the well developed district where the percentage of `out of school' children is low are Bangalore (North) with 1.98 per cent and Bangalore (South) 2.15 per cent and Udupi (1.48 per cent). The North Eastern region has a drop out rate of 17 per cent as compared to the state's average of 13 per cent.
Highlighting these facts, Unicef has said that its emphasis on bringing down the gender gap in schooling assumes urgency in the context of increasing potential for economic growth through globalisation as it felt that enabling girls to get a basic education of good quality would improve other indicators of human well-being. Child mortality is one such indicator, which is directly linked to lack of education among the women.

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

Gender Differences in Communication Every race, culture, civilization, and society on this planet shares two things in common: the presence of both the male and female sex, and the need to communicate between the two. The subject of gender differences appears to have engaged peoples’ curiosity for as long as people have been writing down their thoughts, from as far back as the writing of the creation of Adam and Eve, to its current popular expression in books such as Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The assertion that men and women communicate in different ways, about different things, and for different reasons seems to go un-argued and is accepted as true by a vast majority of Americans. It is the reason why we communicate differently that conjures up quite a bit of debate and conversational turmoil. One of the most traditional hypothesis is the one John Gray wrote about in his book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, which essentially points to differences in brain structure, hormones, and socialization as the cause of such an enormous gender gap in communication. But that was then and this is now, scientists throughout the world are working to learn more about gender differences in communication, and much has been discovered since the days of Mars & Venus. One such research team is that of Canary and Hause of the Communication Quarterly. In their study, they conclude that the previous 50 years of research on sex differences in communications, such as that of John Gray, brought about no conclusive findings for such differences. The researcher's analyses of their findings provided evidence for an expectation of small differences due to sex: approximately 1% of variance, concluding that the effects found were due mostly to society and culture. Deborah Tannen, a leading scholar of communication, also shares this view of gender and communication. She studied ethnic groups, which speak the same language using different styles, and found that the effect of gender on communication is miniscule compared to the effect of culture and socialization. In her research, Tannen asserts that the basic uses of conversation by women are to establish and support intimacy; while for men it is to acquire status. These styles and motives for communicating represent different cultural upbringings, and one is not necessarily better than the other. However, she also notes in her findings that men tend to interrupt more and ask questions less. In fact, the female tendency to ask more questions sometimes results in receiving lower grades from male professors who view frequent questioning as proof that a student knows less than her male counter parts. The theory that differences are fabricated early in a child’s life and are not biological doesn’t account for everything. David Cohen, in his article regarding Tannen’s findings points out a mystery in the connections she made. Since women are primarily responsible for child-rearing and therefore disproportionately responsible for teaching the species to speak, when is it that boys learn to speak in the male style? From a very early age, males and females are taught different linguistic practices. For example, communicative behaviors that are considered acceptable for boys may be considered completely inappropriate for girls. Whereas a boy might be permitted to use rough language, a girl in the same situation might be reminded to use her manners and be lady-like The research on women and language shows that women experience linguistic discrimination in two ways: in the way they are taught to use language, and in the way general language usage treats them. So, for example, women reflect their role in the social order by using tag questions, qualifiers, and fillers to soften what they have to say. Women exhibit their subordinate status through avoiding direct and threatening communication. While in recent years this gap has narrowed, our society retains a tendency to imply that maleness, after all, is the standard for normalcy. This unwritten standard society uses to judge people dates back thousands of years and is clearly depicted in the quotes of some of the most famous people in history. Aristotle described women as a deformity, a misbegotten male, St. Thomas Aquinas argued that god should not have created women, craniologists of the nineteenth century argued that women's smaller heads justified their subordinate position in society, and Freud believed women had little sense of justice, the list goes on. The history of male supremacy in communication and life is unfortunate, but it is past, what does the future hold? Only the media will tell. Mass mediated messages offer the most contemporary, powerful, technological and influential strategies for shaping cultural reality. The beauty, diet, and advertising industries are the most obvious, and the best researched examples of contemporary, self-conscious myth-makers who control cultural concepts and acceptable images of gender. These industries set the standard for true masculinity and femininity, offering the law on what is male and what is female behavior. As we begin the twenty first century we enter a world of rules and regulations, a world where what we say and do is controlled by cultural stereo-types, some age old, some contemporary, and some that are deciding factors in how we live our lives. Through recent research we have learned that gender differences in communication are not something that we are born with, they’re not due to differences in brain matter, and they’re certainly not due to the two sexes being from different planets. We are who we are and we communicate how we communicate because it is what society and culture demand of us. Although this sounds like a simple difference that can easily be resolved you might be surprised; disregarding everything you’ve ever learned about the difference between boys and girls is a mighty big task. Word Count: 962

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

Gender Differences In Business Communications
Kirstin Carey and her mother talk while shopping, walking, doing errands -- sometimes all three at once. By contrast, Carey has bared her soul to her father while he was watching television only to have him turn to her after a few minutes and ask "Did you say something?"

Carey, owner of Small Talk Marketing and Communications Inc. in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, says these interactions illustrate the differences in the ways men and women communicate, and can be the reason many women hit a glass ceiling in business. "Men and women have listening skills that are very different," Carey says. Men tend to concentrate on just one thing at a time, while women can listen attentively to conversation at the same time they scan the paper, listen to CNBC, and notice which employees are sneaking off for yet another cigaret break.

Carey speaks on "Powerful Communication Skills for Women" at the Central Jersey Women's Network on Thursday, May 24, at 6 p.m. at the Cherry Hill Holiday Inn. Cost: $25. Call 908-281-9234.

Carey says business misunderstandings because of a mismatch of communications skills between the sexes are common, and often cause men to think women are weak, indecisive, and uninformed, and women to think men are not paying attention to what they are saying. Understanding how the opposite sex speaks -- and listens -- can go a long way toward smoothing communication. Carey says women tend to take in all sorts of peripheral information, while men bore more deeply into the subject at hand.

She cites a study in which men and women were put in front of a televised news special. Quizzed about the program afterward, women were able to go on and on about the reporter's race, size, appearance, and outfit. They could describe people who walked across the set, the background, and colors that appeared in the broadcast. "Men," Carey says, "could tell you only what the program was about." And while they did not take in incidental details, the men came away with more information about the subject of the program.

Perhaps the most glaring, and problematic, disparity in listening styles occurs in one-on-one business conversation with no distractions. As a men and women stand talking, women rely heavily on non-verbal cues, nodding and smiling as they listen. Men tend to think it is polite to remain silent as they listen, and fail to provide those non-verbal encouragements. Women, interpreting the silence as a loss of interest, clam up. As women stop adding to the conversation, men assume it is because of their brilliant, insightful comments, and talk all the more. Women, meanwhile, deciding their conversational partners are rude, withdraw. "There is a perception that women are the gabbers," Carey says, "but men dominate conversations."

Carey finds communication to be the most fascinating part of business. She started out as a business major at West Chester State (Class of 1996), but switched to speech and communications, and "learned more about business there, about why people are persuaded to buy." She started her marketing career as a college sophomore when she worked for her future husband's promotional business. Tom Carey, a fellow West Chester student, had begun his first start-up, which sold hats and T-shirts to groups.

After graduation, Carey "did the corporate thing," working for a series of small companies. Sometimes she was hired to do sales, and other times to do marketing, but at each job she found herself starting up marketing departments or initiating marketing projects. She enjoyed the work, but after a few years returned to work for her husband, who had added a legal courier company to his business interests. Soon her husband's clients began to ask her for marketing advice. By 1998, there was so much demand that she started her marketing and communications company, which caters to companies with fewer than 100 employees.

As she began to see common issues in clients' companies, Carey started to write and speak on marketing and communications topics. Her book, Marketing a Small or Growing Business on a Shoestring Budget, has just been published.

Her advice to women on communicating effectively, whether as business owners or corporate employees, includes the following:


Stand up. Even in formal business settings like board meetings, women generally stay seated when they speak, Carey says. But men stand when they have something to say in a meeting, and women should too. "It shows power," she says. "Whoever's head is higher has the most power." Women need to remember this psychological fact in their offices, too. If employees comes in to vent, for example, women often stay seated as they listen to their complaints. Instead, Carey says, they need to ask the employee to sit down, or they themselves have to stand.

Speak in bullet points. When men address a meeting, they usually present the agenda right up front, whereas women just start talking. "They may have an agenda," Carey says of women speakers, "but they don't make it clear." She suggests that women start a talk by saying something like: "Today I want to talk about three areas, budget constraints, hiring plans, and new expense account reporting requirements." Then it is a good idea to give the audience an idea of how long the meeting will last, and at what time they can expect a break. "That way," says Carey,"they won't be looking at their watches." Setting forth an agenda in this way indicates that the speaker is in control.

Use analogies. "Men are good at this," Carey says. "They use baseball or football." Women don't have to adopt the sports analogies, but coming up with some sort of analogy -- perhaps a tapestry, Carey suggests, or a machine -- helps listeners understand what they are talking about and remember important points.

Root out "feeling" words. "Women tend to start sentences with `I' and follow it with a word like `think' or `believe,'" Carey says. Replace "`I believe the product will work well for you' with `The product will work well for you,'" she says. It's the way men speak, and it conveys confidence. Carey says women insert a word like `believe' because they "want to let people know `It's okay for you to disagree with me'." Women are sensitive to feelings, and want to make sure everyone gets a chance to add comments. Men often interpret this conversational style as a sign that women are not sure of themselves.

Say "No." "Women don't know how to say `no,'" Carey says. "It makes us feel bad." Instead, women tend to take on project after project. If a superior asks a woman to head up a task force or write a report, she often believes it is a closed-end request. But, in fact, Carey says, the boss may be just trying to ascertain whether she has time for something else and may be quite happy to look for another volunteer. Whether or not this is the case, taking on too much work out of an inability to enunciate a two-letter word sabotages women, setting them up for failure.

Don't turn sentences into questions. Women often raise the inflection at the end of all of their sentences, turning them into questions. Carey says this common speech pattern leaves listeners room to say "it's not okay." And while this accommodating style feels right to business women, it sends a message to their male colleagues that they are not sure of themselves. "You have to talk like you know what you're talking about," Carey says.

"Women are hitting glass ceilings because we have very weak communication skills," Carey says. "We have to learn to be more powerful."

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

This dissertation examines a body of popular arguments concerning gender and communication. In several important areas of popular cultural discourse, conflicts between men and women are regularly explained as misunderstandings caused by differences in communication style. This specific line of discourse is part of a larger picture where women and men are portrayed as fundamentally different groups, with different values systems, interpretive frameworks, and ways of using language. This miscommunication explanation for gender strife resonates with many men and women who find that it accurately reflects their experiences with the opposite sex. The overall purpose of this project is to identify the ways in which these discourses are used to make specific arguments about the meaning of perceived gender differences and to understand the consequences of those arguments. I examine popular representations of the miscommunication argument from a gender performance perspective. This perspective treats differences in communication behavior as the on-going performance of gender identity rather than as a simple product of gender identity. This perspective shifts attention away from identifying and verifying gender differences towards understanding the consequences persistent belief in gender differences. Women's communication style, as presented in popular literature, television, and participant comments, includes assisting others and deferring authority. At the same time, men's communication style is presented as a natural product of men's greater need for autonomy and independence. In self-help literature, these two different styles are used as a justification for men and women serving different roles in relationships and in the workplace. Women are portrayed as natural helpers at home and work while men are portrayed as better decision makers. Primetime television offered portrayals of men and women that closely parallel the different communication styles present in self-help literature. Finally, interviews with individuals about their response to a primetime television program revealed that many people believe that men and women have communication styles that match the styles presented in self-help literature. I conclude that the resonance of these differences is linked to the undeniable importance of communication in relationships coupled with the heterosexist bias of self-help literature and television representations of relationships.

 

[Kunal_welingkar]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

are you expecting to get into IIM-A on the basis of this letter. I think there are worse off cases

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

are you expecting to get into IIM-A on the basis of this letter. I think there are worse off cases

hey kunal nthing like that ....letter is nt the base at all and i have already left that case a long ago...nw ...do read further abt the case...........

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

hi friends so i shall be off to IIM on 12 dec .....and man i am nervous and exited ...latter you know ...but nervous as just see the schedule of progrrame i have attached ......and search for other names of participnts in google.....all participents are big shots.....all eminent faculty in good b schools ...and just before me is the presentation of prof asha kaul(faculty iim-a !!!)

http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/seminar.htm
see the link.............
man i am in big mess ....................:SugarwareZ-064:

dont know what shall happen to me a kid in herd of big bully......do pray yarrooon

and thanks for loads of responcese of solved questionnear to my email.......thanx friends ..........

 

[nandishmehta]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

well always stay focused wht you wana do buddy
wht ever you want to do is good but always keep the confidence going

 

[kartik]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

hi friends so i shall be off to IIM on 12 dec .....and man i am nervous and exited ...latter you know ...but nervous as just see the schedule of progrrame i have attached ......and search for other names of participnts in google.....all participents are big shots.....all eminent faculty in good b schools ...and just before me is the presentation of prof asha kaul(faculty iim-a !!!)

http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/seminar.htm
see the link.............
man i am in big mess ....................:SugarwareZ-064:

dont know what shall happen to me a kid in herd of big bully......do pray yarrooon

and thanks for loads of responcese of solved questionnear to my email.......thanx friends ..........

Just Steal the show man. They are faculty doesnt make them any better than you.

They have the same number of eyes, ears etc etc ( Hopefully :aj1: )

In case u need any help, you have my cell number and mail id

 

[deya]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

HEy raj,

ALl da best dude.....even tho they r big shots.....U r no less......U r MP hero.....kya yaar, how cn u think of urslf as any less.........

aisa math kar....aur apna CEO sahab to hai hi tere sath.....fone ghuma aur pahuch jayega!!!! ..............

anyways jst wanted to say HAVE a GR8 time there....after all its ur 1st step 2 ur dream, jst cnt go waste....m confident it will be a big big hit.....

deya

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

THANX FRIENDS THANX DEYA, KARTIK AND ALL .......I AM GOING NOW ON TUESDAY ...EVERYTHING IS TILL AND SILENT IN MY HEART ...I AM GOING TO THE PLACE I DREAMT OFF ...MAY IT WOULD BE VERY SMALL THING FOR ANY BODY ....BUT FOR ME IT HAS ITS OWN IMPORTANCE ...I CANT SAY MORE I CANT WRITE MORE BUT YA .. ITS AN IMP OCCASION FOR THIS THREAD " WORST CASE SOMEONE" TOO ...................................................... AND THANX TO BEAR ME IN THIS THREAD FOR 215 POSTS

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

all right friends ...............I MOVE>>>>>>>>>>

 

[bonddonraj]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

HI FRIENDS I AM BACK.........................................

 

[kartik]

Re: WORST CASE SOME ONE!!!

HI FRIENDS I AM BACK.........................................

Thats it ??

DUDE, tell us about the experience in DETAILLLLLLLLLL !!