Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Swiss neutrality after the cold war Essay Example for Free

Swiss neutrality after the cold war Essay The creation of the range and confines of Swiss neutrality at the point in time of its beginning and progress differed noticeably from that of these days; it may be portrayed as looser, broader and vaguer. The bipolar power-and-pact arrangement fell apart with the conclusion of the Cold War. Ever since, the global arena has seemed further complex and erratic. â€Å"Even if the balance of terror was anything other than a peaceful state, the international situation was more easily assessed then than it is today. †(Goetschel, 2005) Subsequent to the Second World War and throughout the Cold War, the Swiss government decision-makers superior the significance of impartiality at home and connected it to sovereignty. The wide-ranging population accepted this, credit in part to the combined experience of being spared the destruction of the Second World War. A neutral stance, connected with noticeable anti-communism, was seen as a method to defend in opposition to reputed threats to autonomy – be it from the Russians or from organizations with international prominence. Dissimilar to multi-polarity, bipolarity was more straightforward, and the superior meditation of power condensed susceptibility. Subsequent to the Cold War, neo-realists predicted military conflict to shatter the European continent once again. This was due to the fact that wars in Europe were actually potential threat once more, established in geographically restricted regions because of the fall of the accord system. However, these are clashes within states, not warfare between them. The modification in international relations at the conclusion of the Cold War lead to a continuing sharp rise in value for foreign policy carried out multilaterally, as different to customary mutual relations. Both the investigation for new international ideologies of organization and the opinionated management of globalization command a collective political approach; more and more, this is taking place. This is relevant to an even higher level to Europe, where the political society of EU countries carries on developing and integrating. Nation-states stay the most significant actors, but the surroundings in which they pursue and put into effect their interests has changed. During the Cold War, foreign policy and foreign trade policy were more or less identical in Switzerland, since it deliberately endorsed apolitical monetary foreign relations, in maintenance of traditional explanations of Swiss impartiality. Since then, Switzerlands foreign trade guiding principle has assisted it realize notable financially viable incorporation in the world, in spite of its small-state identity (the recurrent justification for unreceptive policy in further areas of foreign associations). Switzerlands participation in NATOs Partnership for Peace (Web 1) is a glaring example. Hastening transformation in the worldwide arena since the closing stages of the Cold War has impacted Swiss foreign policy in two ways: mutual action has developed as being more important, and the overlap of domestic and foreign policy has increased. This paper’s conclusions focus on these two points, which have originated a rise in the contradictory goals and confront that shape rational foreign policy. Global conditions influence independence, power and national interests. States, doesn’t matter if they are large or small, can ever expect to have absolute autonomy. At present independence tends to play a superior role in discussions than territorial barriers do. This calls for a combined political approach, particularly when probing for new principles of intercontinental order and dealing politically with globalization. Resources Goetschel, Laurent. 2005. Swiss Foreign Policy. Publisher: Rout ledge. Web 1- http://www. eda. admin. ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edazen/doc/publi. Par. 0012. File. tmp/Swiss%20Neutrality%20in%20Practice%20-%20Current%20Aspects. pdf

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

COLD SASSY TREE Essay -- essays research papers

Cold Sassy Tree, a novel by Olive Ann Burns, is an incredible story about the southern town of Cold Sassy, and a young man named Will Tweedy. In 1906, fourteen year old Will Tweedy is just starting to realize what it means to be a man, and all the responsibility that comes along with growing up. In Cold Sassy GA, the town is filled with gossip surrounding the town’s newest newlyweds. Will Tweedy finds himself eyewitness to it all. Grandpa E Rucker Blakeslee has ‘tied the knot’ with the young milliner, Miss Love Simpson. With it being only three weeks after the death of his last wife, the family and town alike are shocked. Confused but curious about it all, Will observes what it means to be husband and wife and what it really means to love. Puzzled by the secrets shared between the two, he tries to figure out just why Grandpa Blakeslee asked Miss Love for her hand in marriage and why she even agreed. While Grandpa Blakeslee is experiencing his second adolescence, Will is trying to make it through his first. When Will gets hit by a train and is still alive to tell about it, Grandpa Blakeslee gives him a lesson on God’s Will. And Will starts to realize not everyone interprets things the same way. When the mill child, Lightfoot crosses Will’s pa th his heart skips a beat. With all Will’s new found attractions and desires he decided to try his luck with the girls. That’s when he experiences his first kiss, and also his first heartbreak. After the innocent Uncle Camp kill’s himself due to Aunt Loma’s constant criticism, Will starts to question how he treats people. He starts to wonder if maybe he helped his uncle pull the trigger. Soon after that Grandpa Blakeslee’s store isn’t doing all that well. Two unidentified strangers come and rob Grandpa Blakeslee blind, in the process beating him up ‘something awful’. With his weakness effecting his immune system, he catches a bad case of pneumonia and soon passes away. But not before Miss Love could tell him what he had been waiting to hear his whole life†¦. He would soon have a son to carry on the family name. Not at all scared of death or the unknown, Grandpa Blakeslee orders a letter to be read concerning his funeral and remains. But to everyone’s surprise he orders the cheapest and lowest class funeral and orders himself nothing, but a wooden box. Wanting no one to mourn over him and everyone to know that he was dead... ...d soon before she died of cancer in 1994. She never finished Leaving Cold Sassy. Burns was born in 1924 on a farm in Banks County GA. Her childhood school was what modeled in her novel Cold Sassy Tree. She received a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina, and later went on to join the Sunday magazine staff of Atlanta Journal and Constitution, were she stayed for ten years. Her marriage of the magazine’s editor, Andy, soon produced two children, Becky and John. The novel Cold Sassy Tree was based on the stories her father told her as a young child.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book left me with the impression that life in the south in 1906 maybe wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Even without all the modern technology there is today, people had fun in other ways. In a lot of ways life was better back then. But there was still some of the crime and injustice we still see today. Religion seems to be a big part of their everyday lives. I believe other’s should read this book if they want to relive life in the south, and watch how a young southern boy finally grows up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Human Computer Interaction and User Interface Design Essay

The two interfaces chosen for this project are two book selling sites – LinkedIn. com and Orkut. com. The two websites are social networking sites. While Orkut. com brings together friends and is more personal in nature, LinkedIn. com is more professional. Social networking sites being highly popular, I chose to select these interfaces for comparison. LinkedIn has over 40 million professionals using it to: †¢ â€Å"Exchange information, ideas and opportunities† †¢ Connect or re-connect with and stay informed about their contacts and industry †¢ Find inside connections to find a new job or business opportunity †¢ Find the people and knowledge required †¢ Have a controlled online professional identity Orkut, on the other hand, lets you connect with people you already know in your personal life (friends and family) while at the same time allowing you to make new friends through friends of friends and communities. It allows sharing of videos, pictures as well as your passions with friends and communities. 2. Norman’s principles for good design Norman has suggested the following principles to ensure that a website has a good design: †¢ Visibility–The designer should ensure that the state of the possible actions can be easily understood by the user. †¢ Conceptual model–All operations should be consistent in nature and the user should be able to easily understand how the site works and what options are available to the user. †¢ Mappings–The user should be able to easily map actions with their results such as between controls and possible actions that can be taken on a control or between the system state and visible indicators like change of color or image. †¢ Feedback–Users should continuously get feedback on the results of their actions helping them understand whether they have taken the right step or not. 3. User Interface overview 3. 1. LinkedIn LinkedIn requires your name and email address to open an account post which you need to provide your current employment details. These two pages are simple, similar to the Google search page look. Once the registration is completed, LinkedIn takes you to your LinkedIn page. The homepage is divided into two sections – the top section that consists of main links to search people, jobs, answers and companies with comparatively big bold letters and is separated from the bottom section by a blue line. On the right corner, quick links to the account and its settings, help language and the option to sign out are available. The top section has blue font with a white background all through. This section also consists of a search option to search people, job, companies, etc. using a drop down box. The search option automatically changes to reflect the section it is in i. e. it says â€Å"Search People† when in the Contacts page and â€Å"Search Groups† when in the Groups page. The bottom section has a grey background and is divided into three parts. Each section individually has a white background and the sections are floating in the grey background. The bottom section represents the main work area consisting of the details regarding the user profile, contacts and groups. The left hand side frame provides options personal to the user which includes viewing various lists such as groups joined, profile, contacts, inbox, and applications that help improve user experience with LinkedIn. These links are provided with images as well. These links further provide links to options available such as My Groups, Groups Directory and Create a Group for the Groups menu. The submenus are not visible but can be seen on clicking the menu item or clicking on the + symbol on the right side. The submenus can be collapsed by clicking the – symbol that now appears instead of the + symbol. The link for the current page is highlighted with a blue background. In Home page, the words Home have a blue background unlike the others with white background. At the end of the menu, there is a button to add new connections. The button is of green color and attracts the attention towards it. Below this section is another small section that is an assessment of profile completeness along with a photo and name. The profile completeness is expressed in words as well as a status bar is shown that reflects the actual status. The name draws the attention with its bold font along with the status bar. The right side section consists of several modules – the main module being the â€Å"Build your network† in a green colored box that provides different options to find your contacts. The options include searching using web email contacts, address book contacts, or using email addresses. For web email contacts, again several options are provided as radio buttons. Since each of these options require different inputs, selecting one shows a box with an arrow pointing towards the option selected and the inputs required are within this box. All buttons on the page have a light orange color which changes to blue on moving the mouse over it. All links within this module also have an icon associated with it. In the extreme right, there are several modules one below the other starting with ads by LinkedIn Members. The remaining modules include featured application on LinkedIn, Reading List by Amazon, Events, Answers and Jobs. The headings in these modules are in white color on blue background. Text within these modules is in black color whereas links have blue color. Important words like subheadings, Member names, event names, etc. are appropriate made bold to highlight them. The events are represented with the date put in a box with grey background and the month above it in smaller font with orange background. Each module heading also consists of an edit link and an ‘X’ to remove the module. At the end of these modules is the option to add other applications as required. Here again a plus symbol is used to indicate the adding of a new application. The arrow at the end can be clicked to show a list of applications available to be added but the arrow is too small and can be easily missed. These modules can be customized as required, adding, editing or moving them around to suit an individual’s preferences and needs. At the bottom, there is a tip available in a box. More tips can be seen with the help of arrows. Here arrows that are commonly used to move to next or previous tip are used. Clicking on Profile or Edit My Profile or + symbol next to Profile brings one to the Edit My Profile page. The Profile text in the menu now has a blue background indicating the current page. The centre module that consisted of Build your Network is now replaced with the profile details with a heading Profile in navy blue background and two tabs – Edit My Profile and View My Profile. The current tab is in white background whereas the inactive tabs are in grey background with text in blue. The module background is now blue with different subsections in white background. At the top the main details about the user is provided i. e. name, current position and company, location and industry. The last two details are shown in grey color. The links are maintained in blue color, headings and subheadings in bold blue and a + symbol to indicate adding detail in any subsection. An Edit link within square brackets follows all text that can be edited. On the extreme right, a profile completeness status bar is shown but also lists tips on how one could complete the profile along with how much percentage difference it makes to the profile completeness status bar. This module is very helpful, especially for someone new to social networking sites. Clicking on View My Profile tab shows the profile with the same details except that there are no Edit links or + symbols to add further details. The status bar is not seen in this view. Clicking on Contacts section leads to three tabbed page – Connections, Imported Contacts and Network Statistics. The connections are shown listed alphabetically. On the left side, the alphabets are listed and can be clicked to jump to the connections with names starting with that alphabet. Brief details about each connection is provided including email, current position and company and also includes a circle that indicates the number of connections that person has, indicating the network you could be having. The Groups link leads you to the Groups page with four tabs – My Groups, Following, Groups Directory and Create a Group. The list of Groups is presented in a clean manner with an icon representing the group, quick links to discussions, news, updates, members, settings, etc. At the bottom of the list, there is an option to change the order of the groups and how many groups can be displayed at any one time. The order can be changed by writing the numbers or using arrows. On the right side of the list, two blue-colored boxes provide you information on Groups Directory along with a button to find a group as well as option to create your own group. The buttons change color when a mouse moves over. While there are many more functionalities available, the user interface remains the same: 1. Blue color for all links 2. Bold for all headings and subheadings 3. Icons/images to represent major menus or data 4. Tabs for sub menu information 5. Links provided to ease selection 6. Provision to add, remove, edit, or move extra modules around to ease access and utility. 7. Feedback to the user in terms of background color change for links and button color change for buttons 3. 2. Orkut To log into Orkut, one needs to have a Google Account. The page for creating Google Account is simple – a form with a blue border requesting for information like name, email and password with a line marking the end of this subsection. The next subsection begins with a word verification and terms of services provided in a blue scrollable box with grey background. The button for accepting the terms is simple and consists of full text â€Å"I accept. Create my account. † rather than simply saying â€Å"Accept† which makes it clear for new-to-internet users. The login page is simple with two main sections – the top section consisting of all the details and the empty bottom section with bluish grey background. The major left part of the top section consists of orkut selling points with magenta color highlighting the main words. The empty white space surrounding the text gives it a simple, non-cluttered and pleasing look. The top menu bar in dark blue color remains accessible across all pages. Below this is a section with various modules in white background floating in a light blue background. On the extreme left is the menu starting with photo, name, status and other details of the user. Below it is the menu leading to various pages such as profile, scrapbook, etc. Each of these menu items also have an associated icon that is easy to relate to the name of the menu. This is followed by Apps and other menu items. The profile, menus, apps and other menus are separated by a blue line. All text is also in blue. It is noteworthy that all the menu names are in lower caps. Below this module, there is a module to invite friends using their email address or more. All through the page, all links are in blue and when a mouse moves over a link, there is no change in background color or image except an underline below the text. Friend suggestions is another good option since it not only provides you potential friend list, but also shows photos so that one can confirm if he/she is the same person one knows. It also provides quick links to view the profile or add as a friend. An X at the top of the photo can be used to remove it from the list quickly and arrows can be used to navigate through the list. The arrows change to light grey color when one can’t go further on either side. Below this is Updates from my friends section that provides a list of updates on the friend profile. On the extreme right is the â€Å"my friends† section with a count of total friends. It lists around 9 friends along with their photos and there is a link to view all friends, manage them, or find more friends. It also allows for searching friends. To meet the space crunch issue, the text box for searching itself has the caption rather than placing it outside. On clicking inside the text box, the caption clears and the user can add their text to search. Once the profile is filled up and many friends added, the home page can seem cluttered with a lot of information. This is followed by advertisement which is followed by â€Å"my communities†. The layout of this is similar to â€Å"my friends†. Clicking the profile link shows the profile details. Three tabs – social, professional, and personal are provided to add details about different areas of the user. The social tab is further divided into sections separated by a broad white area which also consists of an edit button. Alternate coloring pattern is used to make it easy to read each line and each detail of the profile. â€Å"My scrapbook† page provides all scraps from friends. By default, one can view 10 scraps on one page but a drop down box provides other options as well. Navigation links to move to first, last, next and previous pages are also provided as links. Each scrap is in its own blue box with photo of friend provided along with friend’s name and message. Options to reply and delete the message are also available. Once a conversation has been done through more than one response exchanged, there is a new link â€Å"View this conversation†. Clicking this link grays out the page and opens a new box consisting of the conversation details along with provision to delete. Again, the background is white with each scrap in a light blue colored box. To close the conversation box, an image with an X is provided as well as a close link. A new scrap can be typed in easily through a text box. Again there is no title or caption for the box but the same is seen as content in grey color within the text box. The scrap can also be written in different languages which can be conveniently chosen from the drop down list. Adding a community and managing it is similar in working to adding and managing friends in Orkut. 4. User survey 4. 1. Task description The users are required to do the following: 1. Register themselves 2. Sign In 3. Enter their profile details 4. Search for a friend/professional known to them 5. Add to friend list 6. Search for a community 7. Add themselves to that community 8. Sign out 4. 2. Success criteria The user should be able to create a profile, add contact(s) and join a community/group. 4. 3. User Profile User 1 is an active internet user and has prior online social networking experience. User 2 is new to computers and internet, this being amongst his first experience with social networking. User 3 uses internet mostly for surfing and finding information and has not been a member of any social networking site yet although understands the common functionalities of such websites such as registering, logging in to the site, searching, etc. 4. 4. User experience Due to his prior experience using social networking sites, user 1 had no problem registering for either of them, adding contacts, searching and registering for a group. User 1 found both sites equally easy to register, add contacts and join community; however, he was impressed by the ability to add, remove, edit and move modules in LinkedIn and was looking for similar options in Orkut. Also, searching friends in Orkut listed several names and finding the right one was difficult. While user 2 was able to create the profile and add contacts, the user sometimes felt lost in Orkut once the contacts were added and found it difficult to get back to home page. User 2 also found it difficult to easily search the friend and wished there was an easy way like LinkedIn. User 3 was also able to register easily, add contacts and join communities/groups. User 3 was not concerned about the difficulties in searching friends or professionals and looked at this as an opportunity to make new friends. 5. Suggestions Once a user becomes an active user or has many friends/professional contacts, the information shown on home page can be too much. Suggestion is to show the information partly and provide a link to further information or simply provide links to go to information. By making certain information like school or college details mandatory, orkut can help ease the search process that currently requires searching a friend from a list of hundreds with the same name.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Language of the Timss - Like Test and Students Performance - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1853 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Education Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? LANGUAGE OF THE TIMSS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" LIKE TEST AND STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN GENERAL SCIENCE Abstract This study aimed to identify the effect of language used in the TIMSS-like test and the science vocabulary test towards studentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ performance in General Science. Two instruments were used to generate the data and from which the results were based. The data gathered were analyzed statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) namely, ANOVA, and Pearson product moment of correlation. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Language of the Timss Like Test and Students Performance" essay for you Create order Results revealed were the following: (1) Group 1 who used Filipino language test obtained the highest mean score and has smallest standard deviation value as compared with those who used English language (control group), and who used their native dialect (experimental group 2). Analysis on the relationship among variables showed studentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance in the TIMSS-like test and vocabulary ability is relatively low. The correlation coefficient value of 0.170 indicates that only 3.2% of the variance on the two measures correlated is common to variables. On the overall relationship using the mean score obtained by the respondents in the General Science Test and Vocabulary test, findings revealed that vocabulary knowledge is significantly related with the performance in the General Science Test having a correlation of 0.0241. The positive correlation result implied that if the vocabulary knowledge of the students improved or increases then their academic performance will also improve or increase. Indexed terms à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" language, vocabulary knowledge, general science performance INTRODUCTION Language is a spoken code that enables human beings to communicate with each other. It is as a written code for systematic science learning, and as a vehicle for constructive and creative thinking. The first function of language is science while the second is technology [1]. In the Philippines, Filipino people are typically multilingual which is now creolized among small elite. Since I957, the vernacular language has been used in grade 1 and grade 2; while Filipino and English language are used in some subjects in secondary and higher education level particularly science and mathematics [2]. One of the major issues facing policy makers and the implementations of education in general and science education in particular is the low performance of Filipino students at the basic level of education. TIMSS-R in 1998 features the translation of the English version of the test items in Filipino language for Filipino participants, for which only 15 schools or 10% of the total schools samp led chose to take the Filipino version of the test [3]. In their study, two questions remained unanswered; does the language of the test make significant difference in studentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ performance? Would Filipino students perform better if the students themselves were made to choose the language of the test? In this connection, this research were materialized for the purpose of looking into, whether the languages use in the TIMSS-like test affects student performance in general science. METHODOLOGY Participants and Procedure There were 72 first year high school students at MSU-Balindong High School participated in this study, they were matched paired base on their previous grades and randomly distributed into three groups: control group (group1) took the English version test, experimental group A (Filipino version test) and experimental group B took their choice language version of the test. In the experimental group B, the students were free to choose what test version they wanted to take. In this group, 3 or 12.5% chose English version, 5 or 20.83% chose Filipino version and 16 or 66.67% chose Meranao (native language) version test. Each group consisted of 24 students. Instruments Two instruments were used in the study to measure the effects of language used in the TIMSS-like test in general science. These are; TIMSS-like evaluation test based from the TIMSS constructed by the DOST-SEI and, the vocabulary test. The English version of TIMSS-like questions and the vocabulary questions were translated into Filipino version and Meranao version (native dialect of the respondents). All instruments were pilot tested prior to its implementations. Finally, there were 55 items in the TIMSS-like questions and 45 items in the vocabulary test. RESULTS Experimental group A (Filipino version test) obtained highest means scores followed by experimental group B (choice language) and control group (English version) respectively. In the case of standard deviation, group A obtained lowest deviation compared to their counterparts, while group B obtained highest deviation. These numerical results implied that students who chose Filipino version test (group A) showed homogeneity in answering the test, indicating that there is uniformity in their understanding of the concept being tested. Meanwhile the semblance of heterogeneity manifested by group B implied that this student varies in their understanding due to the fact that they are taking different version of test. Comparison of overall mean score in General Science Test among groups shown in Figure 1, indicate that if the students are exposed on Filipino language, they performed better on the Filipino language test, since Muslim students use Filipino language as their medium. Mea n score in General Science Test Using Pearson r correlation, results showed that there is positive correlation (r = 0.241, ÃŽÂ ± = 0.041) of the overall mean scores of the TIMSS-like and vocabulary test at 0.05 level of significant. This means that if the students have a wide range in vocabulary, then, they can perform better and understand deeper the concepts on higher order thinking skills. One reason why Philippines has a very low performance in science is due to the difficulty of students in identifying the concepts and skills, that is probably because of poor vocabulary knowledge [4]. The size of a personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s vocabulary is directly associated with the level of his intelligence. The results in the analysis of variance revealed that the mean scores obtained by the three groups did not differ significantly, probably due to limited number of respondents and or the number of items in the test. Moreover, the result may infer that language of the test d oes not affect either positively or negatively on the performance of the students. This result is consistent with the findings of Castillo (1999), which claimed that language use has limited effect on academic performance [6]. The dilemma on what language to use for science and mathematics instruction has remained for some time. However, based on the results of the study, the Filipino studentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ respondent performed better in the Filipino version test. Although English is the official medium of instruction in teaching science in the Philippines, but, in reality teacher use Filipino or their dialect in the teaching-learning process. Thus, it can be inferred that the language use in the instructions must be the language to be used in the test. Moreover, the positive correlation between the studentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ performance in the TIMSS-like test and vocabulary test implied that vocabulary knowledge is a tool for the students to perform better in their academ ic subjects. Therefore, teachers should be encouraged to incorporate science vocabulary in the science subjects. IMPLICATION Based on the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance in the General Science TIMSS-Like tests, it can be said that the students find difficulty in answering questions that call for comprehension, application, and analysis. This may be due to the persistent practice of teachers to ask low level thinking questions during their day to day classroom discourse and written examinations. In as much as no significant differences between the mean scores among the group, one may take a look at the prerequisite stock knowledge and skills learned by the students in the elementary grades. It implies further that, the shortcoming besetting basic education such as curriculum materials, teacher preparation, dedication and commitment as well as administrators refocusing of their intended functions is addressed individually or collectively by stakeholders. If the bilingual policy which requires English as a medium of instruction in Science and Mathematics, and other subjects are to be taught in Filipino in the elementary and secondary education, one has to take cognizance of the diversity in the dialects of the Filipino which is brought about by the geographical existence of islands and islets that make up the entire nation. While English remains as official medium of instruction, in reality, teachers use Filipino or their dialect in explaining when students could not understand the concept being explained. The positive significant correlation between the overall mean scores in the General Science test and Vocabulary test implies importance of a wide range of vocabulary in learning the concepts. It is a tool for the students to perform better. One has to realize however, that unlike in English, there three aspects of communication namely: scene setting, intention, and meaning [7]. A student may find difficulty in giving the contextual meaning of the words in the test in as much as they are used to giving the meaning literally. Moreover, scientific terms are sometimes difficult to translate and if translated, may not be the exact or true meaning of the word as it is used in the statement. For example, the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  which is one of the states of matter, when translated to Filipino language, the dictionary meaning given is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gaasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  but the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“gasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  is a dialect term for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“keroseneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  or fuel. This alone would lead misconception to the concept gas. The result of the study may give insights not only to science educators but to language teachers as well. As science educator, the task is one that calls for total commitment to improving the quality of the learners. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the language to be used as medium of instruction in teaching must be the language that is easily understood and frequently used by the students. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate science terminologies or vocabulary and words frequently used in building science concepts to provide and effective learning and better understanding of the subject matter that they teach. Language of the test should be taken into account and consider the nature and characteristics of the students aside from the purpose for which the test is given. Teachers should make it part of their teaching strategy to ask questions reflecting higher order thinking skills of the students when developing a test. Assessment should challenge critical thinking among students. Teachers must develop strategies that will enhance the development of thinking skills of students as they learn science concepts and other subject disciplines. Intensive teachers training on development of higher order thinking skill processes and assessment strategies should be designed and undertaken by teacher training institution to help improved teachers competencies. School administrators and policy makers should consider the use of language appropriate for the discipline in developing the curriculum. Lastly, it is recommended that further study about language using larger sample may be conducted not only in General Science but also in other subjects. REFERENCES [1] SEDP (1983). Science learning teaching. Language in Focus Proceedings of Symposium on the Role of Language in Science learning. Science education development plan. [2, 4]TIMSS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" R (2000). Philippine Report Volume 1: Science Department of Education Culture and Sports: DOST SEI UP National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development. [3, 6]Castillo, E.H. S. et. Al (1999). Educating via language. Language education council of the Philippines and language study and research center incorporated. [5]Deighton, L.C. (1971). The encyclopedia of education. Crowell, Collier Educational corporation, USA. [7]AcuÃÆ' ±a, J.E. de Guzman, F.S. (1987). Language and science achievement in the Philippine context. Journal of science and math education S.E. Asia SEAMEO à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" RECSAM Vol. X No. 1