Performance-Based Funding In Higher Education

Performance-Based Funding In Higher Education Performance-based funding in the context of Higher Education System: Pros and Cons Abstract Performance-Based Funding once very popular in 1980s. However, when more other funding approaches been found out, Performance-based Funding no more a mainstream funding approaches. Recently, this funding approach has back to the stage, especially in the educational field. In this paper will explain about the pros and cons of this funding approach in the context of higher education system in Malaysia. Keyword: Budgeting, Educational Funding, Higher Education, Performance-based funding 1. Introduction Performance-based funding is one of the funding approaches among numerous types of direct public funding of higher educational institution approaches. The other types of direct public funding of institution have funding of teaching through negotiated formula, demand-side vouchers, funding for specific purposes or combined funding for teaching and research, block grant funding and project funding zero-based budgeting, quality circle, six-sigma, and etc.(Salmi and Hauptman, 2006). Performance-based funding is the approach that budgeting based on the performance of individual public university. The performance of individual public university can be measure by using Performance Indicator, which is a set of specific expectation that need to be achieve by the public university. Examples of Performance Indicator are like student result or the number of student passing examination. 2. Main Body Performance-based Funding is currently in the progress of implementation by the Ministry of Education in Malaysia toward all the public university in Malaysia. Implementation of the Performance-based Funding has brings some advantages to both Ministry of Education and public university. In this paper, some of advantages will be shown in clearly and briefly. 2.1 Help in Save Budget First at all, Performance-based Funding can Malaysia Government to save budget. Budget always is a hot issue in Malaysia, not only the Ministry of Education but the whole Malaysia Federal Government. For example the Malaysia Budgeting 2015 that release on 10 October 2014, after the Budgeting Plan is release, many different voices are talking about this Budgeting Plan, some are appraisal, and some are critics. Under the pressure of critics, Performance-based Funding can help release part of the pressure by saving the budget in Educational Fund. According to the study of World Bank / EPU, Performance-based Funding could save up to thirty percent of the budge. In Malaysia Budgeting 2015, budget for Ministry of Education is RM 56 billion (National News Agency of Malaysia). Save up to 30 percent of the budget, which means is about RM 16.8 billion. A reducing of such big amount of budgeting can be a great counter attack toward all the critics from outside. 2.2 Resources Allocation Another advantage following saving budget will be resources allocation. Based on the same example on previous paragraph, Performance-based Funding could release about RM 16.8 billion of budget from the Ministry of Education. This unallocated budget can be uses in many different ways, such as increase allowance for the staff of university, as a reward for high performance university, increase loan to students and any other way that can further improve the quality of public university in Malaysia. Besides using the unallocated fund in Ministry of Education, the unallocated fund that free by Performance-based Funding can be uses in other Ministry or field in the purpose of developing the strengths and infrastructures in Malaysia, so that Malaysia can become a developed country in 2020. 2.3 Motivate University to Work Hard. The implementation of Performance-based Funding will not only bring advantages to the Ministry of Education or Malaysian Federal Government, it also brings advantages to the public university. Performance-based Funding will motivate the public university to work hard. The Performance-based Funding will budgeting an individual public university according to the performance of the university on the Performance Indicator. Hence, to get more fund or budget, university will do harder on improving their performance on the Performance Indicator, such as the CGPA of student, number of student get first class honors, number of student passing particular examination, and etc. These Performance Indicators will be set and measure by the Ministry of Education, so that the Ministry can funding and rewarding based on the achievement on these Performance Indicators. 2.4 Avoid Vicious Competition Another than motivate the university to work hard, Performance-based Funding will help avoid the vicious competition among public university. Competition can be a double-edge in an organization, a suitable level of competition among colleague can improve the performance of organization. However, when vicious competition occurs, it will bring bad effect toward the organization. Same case in public university, to get more budgets from the Ministry of Education, university competes with each other to attract the attention of the Ministry, so that the university can get more funds. In many times, this competition between public universities will become vicious competition; this will bring bad effect toward the development of Malaysia, and the staff and student will become the victims of this competition. This Performance-based Funding could avoid the vicious competition, the funding will based on the performance of the university. In this condition, university will focus more on the achievement on Performance Indicators, and the universities will not have time to compete with each other. In other word, compete with other university do not bring any help in improving the performance of university. 3. Discussion Same like other funding approaches; implement of Performance-based Funding will not only bring benefit, it will have some side effects or disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages will be discuss at here. 3.1 Performance Indicators One of the main disadvantages of Performance-based Funding is the standard of the Performance Indicators. Performance Indicator is the specific expectation that will set up by the Ministry of Education. However, the problem is what standard this Performance Indicator should follow; this is because each university has own standard, own level, own expert field, and most important different number of students due to geographical condition. This means, a single set of Performance Indicator cannot fulfill all the standard of university; but it take more time, cost and human forces to set up and measure specific Performance Indicator to every and each of the university. Besides that, setting up a set of Performance Indicator for university may affect the behavior and the decision making of the particular university. When there is a Performance Indicator, university will be more likely to focus on those Performance indicators. University strategies, planning, decision making may become aggressive in making achievement in the Performance Indicator and may ignore other aspect of Teaching and Learning Process within the university in the purpose of getting more budgets. 4. Conclusion In a nutshell, implement Performance-based Funding in the higher education system has pros and cons. However, this funding approach has more advantages as compare to the disadvantages. Hence, Performance-based Funding is suitable to implement in higher education system in Malaysia. 5. References Abd Rahman Ahmad, Alan Farley. (2013). Funding Reforms in Malaysian Public Universities from the Perspective of Strategic Planning. (pp. International Conference on Innovation, Management and Technology Research). Malaysia: Elsevier Ltd. Nicoline Frà ¸lich, Evanthia Kalpazidou Schmidt ,Maria J. Rosa. (2010). Funding systems for higher education and their impacts on institutional strategies and academia. International Journal of Educational Management. Reelika Irs and Kulno Tu ¨rk. (2012). Implementation of the performance-related pay in the general educational schools of Estonia. Employee Relations. Tam, M. (2014). Outcomes-based approach to quality assessment and curriculum improvement in higher education. Quality Assurance in Education.

Classical and Operant Conditioning

Classical and Operant Conditioning Classical conditioning is a basic form of learning in which one stimulus comes to serve as a signal for the occurrence of a second stimulus. During classical conditioning, organisms acquire information about the relations between various stimuli, not simple associations between them. (Psychology, pg. 170). In classical condition a stimulus, or a physical event capable of affecting behavior, that initially doesn’t elicit a particular response can obtain the capacity to elicit that response as a result of repeated pairing with a stimulus that can elicit a response.Classical conditioning became part of a careful study in the early twentieth century, when the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov identified it as an important behavioral process. Pavlov started out his research focusing on the process of digestion in dogs. Along his research he noticed that the dogs from his studies often began to salivate when they saw or smelled food but before they even tasted it. Some of the dogs even salivated at sight of the pan where the food was kept, or at the sight of the person who usually brings the food. Pavlov said that the stimuli had somehow became signals for the food itself.The dogs had learned that when the signals were present, food would soon follow. Pavlov quickly recognized the potential importance of his observation and started shifting his research. His experiment started out with a neutral stimulus, or a stimulus that has no previous effect of salivation such as the bell. He rang the bell then immediately followed it by a second stimulus know to produce salivation, such as a dried meat powder that was placed directly in the dogs mouth. The meat powder is considered to be the unconditioned stimulus or UCS, because the ability to salivate was automatic and not learned.On the flipside the salivation of the dog to the meat powder is the unconditioned response or UCR. The bell now is termed the conditioned stimulus or CS beca use the ability for it to elicit saliva from the dog is dependent on being paired with the meat powder. Salvation in response to just the bell is called the conditioned response or CR. He found that if you ring the bell then give the god the meat powder soon or later the dog will start to salivate just to the ring of the bell without the meat powder even present.Extinction is the process in which you lose the ability to evoke conditioned response when it no longer is followed by a unconditioned stimulus. In the case of Pavlov’s dogs, extinction could occur if Pavlov kept ringing the bell and not following it up with the meat powder. This means the dog no longer salivates in response to the bell. If Pavlov keeps ringing the bell sometimes the dog might remember about the meat powder and salivate even though no meat powder is present. This is called reconditioning.This means the rapid recovery of a conditioned response (CR) to a conditioned stimulus (CS)- unconditioned stimulus (UCS) pairing. Let’s say Pavlov stops working with the dogs for several weeks because he is working on other research, then suddenly goes back to the dogs and rings the bell, the dogs should in theory then salivate due to a process called spontaneous recovery. This is the reappearance of a weakened conditioned response (CR) to a conditioned stimulus (CS) after an interval of time following extinction.If Pavlov was cooking something and the timer goes off making a ringing sound, the dogs most likely would salivate because of a process called stimulus generalization, or the tendency of stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus (CS) to evoke conditioned responses (CR). Through the process of stimulus discrimination, or the process by which organisms learn to respond to certain stimuli but not to others, the dogs will salivate to the ring of a bell but if the door bell rand they would not salivate because they discriminate and can tell the difference between the bell and the doo r bell.Psychology. about. com says that classical conditioning is used in everyday life by many dog trainers helping to train people’s pets. Some techniques are also helpful in the treatment of many phobias or anxiety problems. Teachers can apply classical conditioning in the classroom by creating a positive classroom environment to help students overcome anxiety or fear especially with classroom speeches. It helps to get the student relaxed instead of anxious. Operant conditioning is a process through which organisms learn to repeat behaviors that yield positive outcomes.In operant conditioning it is broken down into reinforcements and punishments. In the reinforcement part there are two reinforcers, positive and negative. A positive reinforcement is a stimulus that strengthens responses, and a negative reinforcement is a stimulus that strengthens responses that permit the organism to avoid or escape from their presence. An example of a positive reinforcement is when I broug ht home my report card in 6th grade and there were all A’s my mom and dad gave me 5 dollars for every A.The target behavior for that example would be the getting A’s and the positive reinforcement would be my parents giving me 5 dollars an A. An example of a negative reinforcement would be on a cold and dark morning your all snug and warm under your covers, and suddenly your alarm clack goes off across the room. Getting out of the warm bed is the last thing you want to do but the noise is intolerable. The target behavior is turning off the alarm, and the negative reinforcement is getting out of the warm bed in order to turn off the annoying alarm clock.The punishment section of operant conditioning is broken in half just about the same way. There is negative and positive punishment. In negative punishment, the rate if a behavior is weakened or decreased because the behavior is linked to the loss of potential reinforcements. An example of a negative punishment is in a k indergarten class a young boy lashes out and hits the teacher in the stomach with a pencil as he throws it. The teacher sentences him to 10 minutes in the time out corner. The target behavior is the lashing out and throwing the pencil.The negative punishment is the 10 minutes of isolation in the corner. In positive punishment, stimuli weaken responses that precede them. For example you are driving home from work at an excessive speed, About 25 mile per hour over the speed limit. As you go over the little hill you see a state trooper parked on the side of the highway with his radar gun pointed right at you. The next thing you know is the flashing lights are right behind you and pulling you over. You get a pretty hefty ticket for your speeding. After you pay your fine you always obey the speed limit signs.The target behavior in this example is the speeding and the positive punishment is the speeding ticket you receive for speeding. B. F. Skinner is known as the father of operant condi tioning. He invented a box called the Skinner box where a rat is trapped inside with a lever. Every time the rat presses the lever it receives a food pellet. Shaping might have to be used in order to get the rat to press the lever. Shaping is a technique in which closer and closer approximations to desired behavior are required for the delivery of positive reinforcement.Basically this means Skinner might have had to shock the rat’s feet when the rat started going the wrong way. That way it will remember to not go that way. When it finally presses the lever the food pellet drops and it works as a positive reinforcement because if the rat got a food pellet from pressing the lever maybe he will do in again and remember that whenever you press the lever you get rewarded with a food pellet. There are many different schedules of reinforcement you can follow. A schedule of reinforcement is rules determining when and how reinforcements will be delivered.A continuous reinforcement sch edule is a schedule in which every occurrence of a particular behavior is reinforced. A fixed interval schedule is a schedule of reinforcement in which a specific interval of time must elapse before a response will yield reinforcement. There is also variable-interval schedule which is a schedule in which a variable amount of time must elapse before a response will yield reinforcement. A fixed ratio schedule occurs only after a fixed number of responses have been emitted.Variable-ratio schedules are delivered after a variable number of responses have been performed. The last is a concurrent schedule of reinforcement. It is situations in which two or more behaviors each have its own reinforcement schedule and are simultaneously available. Works Cited * Baron, Robert A. Psychology (With Mind Matters CD-ROM). Danbury: Allyn & Bacon, Incorporated, 2000. * â€Å"Classical Conditioning – Introduction to Classical Conditioning. † Psychology – Student Resources – Psychology Articles. 06 Jan. 2009 . * Plotnik, Rod, Haig Kouyoumdjian, Dennis Coon, and John O. Mitterer. Introduction to Psychology 1505. Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008. * Skinner, Burrhus F. About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. , 1974. * Staddon, John. The New Behaviorism : Mind, Mechanism and Society. New York: Psychology P, 2000. * Wade, Carole, and Carol Tavris. Psychology. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman, Limited, 1996. * Watson, John B. Behaviorism. New York: The People's Institute Company, Inc. , 1924.

The End of Functionalism in the Family Essay Samples

The End of Functionalism in the Family Essay Samples The difference between both is called surplus value. Sociological model believes that health and illness are due to factors beyond the physiological changes within the body. Among the strengths of Functionalism is it asserts there are purposes for social conditions or facts. A perception of health or mental health isn't only defined within the health care context, but it's also defined by the individual within a sociocultural context that includes family and social network together with a large assortment of possible providers. The very wellness and future of the community is dependent on the thriving endurance of these vows. The problems that lots of families experience reflect how they live in poverty or close to poverty. Last, the health process is hit hard by unemployment particularly with the drop in bulk billing. Particularly significant in key defined institutions like economy, family members, media, etc.. A Sec ret Weapon for Functionalism in the Family Essay Samples The main purpose of functionalists was to figure out why humans feel, think and behave how they do. If the purpose of public health isn't at its optimal operation, diseases like HIV and AIDS will continue to eradicate human population and boost the mortality rate. For instance, it is widely believed that adopted persons are somewhat more inclined to be troubled than their nonadopted counterparts. According to functionalism, an institution only exists as it serves a crucial part in the operation of society. Sociologists also have studied the consequences of homosexuality on parenting to comprehend the effect of this form of romantic parental relationship on children. The theories impact the views of the society to the family in various ways. Criticisms Marxists ignore different structures of families which are observed in the modern society and with this the various roles within the family. It's really important to have the ability to criticise the perspectives. In order to acquire a clearer idea of the circumstance, both perspectives want to get examined. The Basic Facts of Functionalism in the Family Essay Samples The functions that it performs will be contingent on the requirements of society. By way of example, any crime and deviance is dealt with in order to defend the social system. It can incorporate the operation of mental practice. Members of the system are predicted to react to each other in a particular way based on their role (GenoPro.com). Functionalists regard society for a system composed of unique parts which depend on each other. This means that the system is not going to permit somebody who could be sensible or motivated as the wealthy to attain similar class. Each family member is a part of the puzzle and have to remain in their position for the social structure of the family to keep integrity (Howe, 2012). Following that, the notion of standard family evolved. This is called the cereal packet family'. On the other hand, the expression household denotes the family's living arrangement with one another. Husbands usually earn more income than wives, and numerous men continue to feel they are the head of their families. Wives on the opposite hand have an expressive role where they're anticipated to emotionally support their husbands and kids . Finally, the relatives receive nurturing and un-conditional love and attention from the mother. You only have to be grateful for the excellent family you've got. Contributing what they must offer to families and households is something which functionalists seem to do in a number of means. The standard family is likewise an inequitable structure for women and kids. My family taught me the best way to make moral decisions in my personal life, how to develop into an unaffiliated individual in society and the way to control a family of my own. In the majority of societies the family is the important unit by which socialization occurs. It is an important aspect of the social system. Each family has unique representation something which makes it stand out. With FreeEssayHelp you'll find hundreds of Functionalism essay topics in a matter of many seconds. You should be proficient in the topic, have an overall idea about the chosen issue and can get the best arguments to show your thesis. If you are searching for top essay writing companies, try out the mentioned above. There are several essay writing services that think they're the very best, and therefore don't be cheated and check the real list of the very best. Cost-free Functionalism essay samples are offered on FreeEssayHelp with no payment or registration. Still, every one of them would show up in the overall list. This approach wasn't the work of a single individual. This website uses Akismet to lower spam. As an example, in the instance of one mother, the grade of the child-rearing cannot simply be dismissed since there isn't a father around to do his traditional portion of parenting. Tough love proved to be a significant problem in their circumstance. Merton, for instance, criticises Parsons by stating that we cannot assume society is almost always a smooth-running, well-integrated system. The issue of identity crisis is the maint point that's noticeable through the entire story.

Where There Is a Will There Is a Way - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 698 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/09/21 Category Advertising Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Civilization Essay Did you like this example? Will is a power that can move even mountains. In simple words we may call it determination. The proverb which forms the subject of this essay, emphasis’s the importance of will or determination. It means that a man of determination can do what he likes. By the power of will he can have his way in everything. Ifs and buts are the mutterings of weakness, for all difficulties vanish when confronted with will-force, as do thieves when boldly faced. Even a cursory study of the history of human civilization tells us that all great things have always been achieved by men of will. Great men become great because from childhood onward they had willed to be great. The notable achievements of science, art and literature are all the result of endeavors of men of will who worked against heavy odds to achieve their goals. A few examples would suffice to drive the point home. Columbus could discover America only because he stood firm lode rock against all the storms of difficulties that threatened him. Nothing could deter him from the path that he had chosen for himself. Mr. nd Madam Curie could discover Radium- a great boon to humanity-only because they were persons of will, prepared to lay down even their lives in the pursuit of their ideal. Great conquerors, like Napoleon or Hitler, were all men of determination whose will force carried everything before it. Coming nearer home, we get the inspiring example of Hillary and Tenzing whom, not even all the dangers of high altitudes could weaken in their resolve to reach the top of Everest. Urged by immense will-force, Gandhiji demonstrated to the conclusively showed that it is will that counts and not the physical might. While men of will can have their way in all things, those of weak will can do nothing. Like the water reed they are blown this way and that way by every passing wind. They are distracted from their aims by every obstacle that comes in their way. A drunkard resolves in the morning never to dr ink again, but by the evening we find him in this cups, A student determines to read at least six hours every day, but then, there appears a friend, an acquaintance, and the resolve of a moment before is forgotten and they day their will power or have never tried to cultivate it. There is nothing wrong with them except that they lack in singleness of purpose-in that perseverance which Carlyle considered being another name of genius. Not only good things but bad things as well can be achieved only through will power. A thief can steal and robber can fob only if they have determined to do so and haves sufficient will power for the purposes. They can have heir way only if they are endowed with enough force of will, otherwise the least noise will frighten them and they will take to their heels with their never be able to commit the deed. But sill power should be applied only to doing good things. If it is used to achieve evil, the forces, of good within us would certainly weaken a nd stultify it. This force, through which we can have our way in all things and which opens out immense possibilities for us, should be cultivated systematically all through life. In the first instance the objectives we place before us should be easy of achievement and we should make every effort to to achieve it and must not be deflected from out path by any suggestion. Then we should concentrate our attention on higher objectives, which can then be developed further by being devoted to aims, noble and good. To sum up: Will is a great force both for good and evil. It makes impossible things possible. The story of man’s progress from chaos to order, from barbarism to civilization, is nothing but a story of his will power pitted against all the hostile forces of nature. This will power can be achieved by ably one of us by continuous process of concentration on noble objectives. Once acquired, it will enable us to have our way in all things. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Where There Is a Will There Is a Way" essay for you Create order