E-learning Evaluation Essay Example for Free

E-learning Evaluation Essay The Problem The adaptation of a new e-training program have brought questions of performance gaps in our orientation program to light and have brought into question the usefulness of an e-learning system and weather we should proceed with a more classical training approach in this area. The importance of the information conveyed in this training, such as fire evacuation points and health coverage options, combined with the need to create a positive first impression for new employees makes this program a high priority item. As it can affect workplace safety as well as company liability regarding the mandated OHS training in these fields, it is critical that we ensure that the program is at maximum effectiveness and are able to distinguish training gaps as a result of program delivery or other variables. As employee training and employee orientation are roles of the HR department, it would seem clear that the responsibility for evaluating the effectiveness of the delivery of this training should fall under the same department. Institution and evaluation of new training systems is something that we should always consider a high priority, but these evaluations are generally carried our as part of the delivery model and not as an afterthought, as in this case. Common Methods for E-learning Evaluation Recent writings in the areas of e-learning support a five faucet evaluation of the e-training program and its effectiveness, but it should be noted that this is still an emerging field. These evaluation areas can be considered common industry practice: (1) (2) Reaction Learning Behavior Results Return on investment These areas of focus are considered in context of several factors such as the learner, technology, instruction, instructor, institution, and community (1) to create a rich matrix of evaluation for the program effectiveness and delivery. ROI can be difficult to calculate and so has been grouped in with results in a number of methods of analysis. E-Learning’s upside seems to outweigh any drawbacks, but more research needs to be done in the areas of concrete costs and benefits as well as the contexts for the transfer of knowledge. â€Å"Proving connections between e-learning and the outcomes – benefits and drawbacks – would assist in the use of evaluation methods† (2)  and the use of evaluation should be considered â€Å"at every stage of the e-learning process† (1). As this field further develops we will undoubtedly see more tools emerge to aid in this evaluation. While the benefits of e-learning are well documented for the right context, the drawbacks highlighted may have some impact for us as well. E-Learning programs may rely heavily on self-discipline, may have a high initial cost, can be difficult to support, and may not be suitable for all types of training or all types of learners. (2) We should keep these limitations in mind when evaluating this program and when looking at implementing further programs of this nature. Application of Current Practices The first and probably most obvious learning to take from these writings is that the evaluation of an e-learning program should take place a various places throughout the delivery cycle. Pre-course, formative, and summative evaluations (1) should have been evaluated prior to this point; this in itself is a lesson we can take away to future implementations. From an evaluative approach we can first look at the learner, their skills, attitudes, and preferences as they relate to this e-learning program. Many of these variables are tied to the reaction level of evaluation but the preset attitude towards a training program will carry much weight in the conscious and subconscious effort put forth by individuals towards it. This form of unintentional or deliberate sabotage, as well as extraordinary effort towards a program will greatly affect results. From this we can see that the attitudes conveyed toward and about the technology, instruction, instructor, institution etc will need to be scanned for any negative presets or experiences with training. An additional factor to be taken from these resources is that the skill sets and resources of the learners may not be capable for this type of training to work. An evaluation of the computer literacy, computer comfort levels, and computer/internet availability that employees may possess is in order. We cannot assume that all individuals will have access to a computer and internet, or the appropriate skills and comfort level for this type of training. Gaps in performance may come about from deficiencies in any of these categories. Evaluation in terms of knowledge transference should be broken into the categories of reaction (as mentioned above), learning – cognitive knowledge transfer, and behavioral  changes. Objective gaps in these areas may be due to factors which are easier to analyze when the barriers are properly identified and grouped. And finally we can learn that the evaluation of this program in an â€Å"almighty dollar† may not be a significant as a blended evaluation which takes into account any increases in program availability this will create, the ability for staff to review the material at any time, and the opportunity to create a dynamic first impression within our staff that may translate into a shift in culture. From these and more we can see that there is much to be gained for our organization in evaluating our training systems, not only in terms of due diligence for current operating procedures, nor simply in terms of ROI – but also in terms of how we can improve, an d aid our staff in their learning. Works Cited 1. A Systemic, Flexible, and Multidimensional Model for Evaluating E-Learning Programs. Mungania, Peni and Hatcher, Tim. 2004, Performance Improvement, pp. 33-39. 2. E-Learning: evaluation from an organizations perspective. Kathawala, Yunus and Wilgen, Andreas. 2004, Training Management Development Methods, pp. 5.01-5.13. 3. E-learning: The Relationship Amoung Learner Satifaction, Self-efficacy, and Usefulness. Womble, Joy. 2008, The Business Review, Cambridge, pp. 182-188.

Summarise the main development of a child from the age range 0-2, 3-5 years and 5-8 years Essay Example for Free

Summarise the main development of a child from the age range 0-2, 3-5 years and 5-8 years Essay Development is the process of gaining new skills in all areas of life. All children are individuals so, although they will all go through the same stages of development, they may not necessarily go through these at the same time. For this reason, the term ‘average child’ is used when talking about the process of development, but we should consider each child’s development progress individually. The development of a child is usually categorised into five main areas: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social and Language. Physical Development. A newborn baby will lie on his back with his head to one side and his head will lag when he is pulled up to sit. He will have primitive reflexes, such as grasping and sucking. By 3 months he will be able to kick his legs, play with his own hands and lift his own head. At 6 months, he will be able to sit with support and pass a toy from one hand to the other. He will have made a large transition by 9 months and may sit without support, crawl or shuffle and will begin to use his index, middle finger and thumb together to pick up small items. He will have begun to walk unaided by 18 months, can use a spoon and will attempt to kick a ball. By 2 years, he will be able to use a pencil to make simple forms, build a tower of six bricks and start to use his preferred hand. Between 3 and 5 years, he will have the capacity to jump from a low step, pedal a tricycle and turn single pages in a book. His gross motor skills improvement will mean that he will be able to walk backwards and forwards along a line and aim, throw and catch a large ball. By 8 years old he will be able to jump from heights and he will have improved his balancing skills enough to walk along a wall or beam and ride a bicycle without stabilisers. The improvement in his fine motor skills will allow him to control a pencil in a small area and do detailed drawing. He will also have the control to tie and untie his shoelaces and build intricate models. Intellectual (or cognitive) development. Intellectual development is about how children learn, think and develop ideas. Children develop intellectually at different rates and some in areas that others do not. At birth a baby will blink in reaction to bright light and cry as a response to his basic needs. By 6 months he is easily distracted by movements and objects and will make attempts to reach out for  them. He will also put everything in his mouth. By 12 months he will recognise familiar people at 6 metres and be able to imitate those around him and the moods they express, for example laughing when someone he is with is laughing. By 2 years old he will enjoy imaginary play and will often talk to himself. He will be able to point to and recognise the names of parts of the body. Between the ages of 3 and 5 years, his fine motor skills will have increased enough to be able to control a pencil adequately and cut with scissors. He will be able to draw a square and a range of letters, some spontaneously and paint with a large paint brush. At 5 years of age, the concepts of numeracy and literacy will be within his capabilities and many children will be able to count and recognise simple words. Between the ages of 6 and 8 his ability to write will be developing, he will read simple books, predict next events and he will know his birthday. Emotional Development From birth a baby will be able to respond to their main carer. He will gaze intently at his carer and by 6 weeks will start to smile as a response to recognition of that person. At 6 months he will show the first signs of distress at the separation from his carer and fear of strangers.He will also actively seek attention.Between 9 and 12 months, he will enjoy the company of those people that he is familiar with. From 1 year old he will be more demanding and assertive and temper tantrums may start. He distinguishes between himself and others, but he is still egocentric and shows rage at being told ‘no’. He is also starting to develop object permanence, he no longer believes that an object that has been hidden is actually no longer there. At 2 years of age he will enjoy other children’s company but will still be reluctant to share his toys. He will, however, be able to cope with short periods of separation from his carer, for example while at nursery. At 3 years he is more aware of his own feelings and able to explain to others how he is feeling Between 5 and 8 years he will enjoy co-operative play and understand reasoning and taking turns. He will be increasingly less anxious about separation and have a good sense of self awareness. Social Development A baby is born with the ability to be sociable. If a baby becomes distressed, he can often be pacified by the sight, touch or smell of his main carer.Between the ages of 3 and 12 months he will be able to interact with his environment, imitating the moods displayed by others. He will discover how to play alone and entertain himself for lengthy periods. With his increasing mobility, he will become more confident and between 2 and 5 years old he will learn to make friends, even though at times he may resort to tantrums when he does not get his own way. By 8 years old he will be fairly independent and confident with an increasing sense of right and wrong and he will be able to form firm friendships with his peers. Language Development There are two distinct stages of language development; pre-linguistic and linguistic. The pre-linguistic stage is from birth to 12 months, when he starts to say his first words.This is the period in which a baby can only express himself by crying, when basic needs require attention, cooing, in response to his carer’s talk and gurgling or chuckling when playing. From about 9 months, he will begin to ‘babble’ sounds such as ‘mama’ or ‘dada’ and he will be able to imitate simple animal noises. The linguistic stage from 1 year old will bring the beginnings of recognisable words and the ‘average’ child will have a vocabulary of around 50 words by the time he is 2. Between 2 and 3 years he has a rapidly expanding vocabulary and can become frustrated if he is unable to express himself in words. By 5 years old he will be a confident speaker and will recognise new words and ask the meaning of them. His vocabulary will be in the region of some 5000 words. By 8 years old he will be able to speak in different tenses and explain himself with confidence.

Found Metal Art Sculpture: A Guide

Found Metal Art Sculpture: A Guide Found Art (or best know as scrap metal art) is a beautiful and creative way to express yourself and the things that you like. I would like to share with you what types of things that you will need, why, different things, types of things, that you could use and why you should do scrap metal art. Here are some of the categories that I will be hinting on with you; what is it, safety equipment, what you need, the set up, how the different kinds of welding works, why do it, things that you could use, types of metals and the process of creating your art. This Art has been around for Millions of years, but the earliest that they can pin-point was from Marcel Duchamp. He was born in the 19th century but his art didnt really get noticed until the 20th century. Even though it took so long for Marcels work to get noticed it has thrived since then, Junk Art is more active than ever right now. First of all, what is Found Metal? Found art is an unusual type of art that includes creating pieces from found objects that are not usually considered to be artistic in anyway. Most of the objects used in Found Art usually have a completely different purpose and are modified in ways to make them into a piece of art. But to do this you need safety gear. This includes; Safety glasses, Welding helmet(the auto tinted ones are the best to use because when you put your helmet over your face you can actually see. It will darken when a bright light reflects. If you use a non-tinted helmet you will pretty much be doing things by feel.) Then you will need welding gloves(Preferably with no holes for your sake.) A long sleeve shirt and a long sleeved welding jacket, Welding boots(Leather), and boot cut pants. If you are really nervous you could also use a fire resistant apron and ear plugs. Now, you need these because its for you! If youre doing this at your house its up to you but the helmet if to prevent flash burn which can damage your eyes even if its just once if youre not careful. The safety glasses are to prevent the slag that you are chipping off from going in between your helmet and face so you dont burn your eyeballs or any soft tissue around your eyes. You need gloves because the metal gets really hot and so are the rods when they are taken out of the oven. The long sleeve and the jacket is so that when you chip slag it wont catch your clothes on fire and/or burn yourself. Now, this will not completely protect you from chipping it and angling it the right way which will be wrong for you but, it can still get between everything perfectly and burn you, just part of the art. The boot-cut jeans are to put over your boots and not tuck them in because a piece of slag can get in between your pants and boots and burn your feet. You need the leather welding boots, not fluffy boots or tennis shoes because a spark or slag will get on your shoes and burn through them but not it you have leather boots on. Then we move onto the equipment that you will need. To start off with, you need a welding machine (preferably an all welding machine.) This will come with the negative ground clamp that goes on to workstation to pull and guide the puddle where you want it to go, or the direction that you are trying to weld towards. It also comes with all the guns for the three different types of welding: Stick, MIG and TIG. Stick uses welding rods that get clamped into that specific welding device, MIG uses a spool of wire that burns like a stick but doesnt leave any slag to chip off, which is a much cleaner and easier process to go through, and TIG is a gun that produces a lot of heat but you need a filler rod with this one. So, you will use a gun in one hand and a rod in the other. This is kind of a mix between Stick and MIG welding. The set up is fairly simple. You just turn the machine on, pick whatever gun you are going to weld with, get the rod or wire setup. Then you need to pick a number set-up which most of the time is 1. Then you will need to pick the temperature number(how hot you want it to burn.) Be careful with how hot it burns though so that you dont burn through the project or go through the metal on the edges. Usually there is a chart telling you what to put the temperature at depending on the position that you are welding at, the material that you are welding on and how thick the material actually is. Lastly, you need to make sure that wherever you are doing this, the house or building, has enough power to operate the machine. So if you have a 220v machine which is the most common machine make sure that there is at least 230 Vs for that specific use. Do not start welding yet though. Whatever metal that you are using needs to be cleaned off first. Sand off the metal so that dont have scales that flake out from your weld. Make sure to stay close(pretty much right on the metal) or the spark will go out and there will be a burn mark on your project. After each pass make sure to chip off all the coating(slag) and then brush the junk and powder that is released off the metal. Depending on what youre doing and how thick you want it depends on the rod also. The thicker the rod, the thicker the weld will be. The faster you go the less weld that you be there. One last thing to look at when youre welding it the angle that youre holding your rod at. If youre holding the rod straight at the project and welding then that is where your weld will come out of, if youre holding the rod at an angle and welding then the weld and slag will burn off from that angle and it will not come directly from the tip of your rod(the angle will not hurt your pro ject at all.) Just make sure that you watch your puddle and go. How does stick welding work? The welding rod is the piece of wire coated in slag(flux coating) that gets clamped into the stick welding gun that is connected to the machine. A current is fed through this wire which helps to join two pieces of metal together firmly. There are different rods though like, 6013-610-7014 and ect. This just determines the different diameters and other things that make a difference when welding. As just stated thickness determines how much weld is being put down at a time, the smaller the rod, the less weld that goes onto your project. Theres also different types of heat resistance and how resistant the weld is to hydrogen. If you want some people can relate this to the numbers that nail polish has. Those numbers tell you what color it is, the shade of the color and some depending on if it has sparkles in it. This is the same with the welding rods just different meanings. Now, why should you even consider scrap metal art? Why does it even matter? First of all, its a very unique and original art that you create and do by yourself. It saves on scrap or waste that may be laying around which means you can recycle anything that you have. Welding is hard but it is a really good skill to have. When create your art you can literally use anything that you have laying around the house that you thought had no purpose. You can use anything from building demolition things to a simple hanger. You can make anything that you want out of anything that you have! Its really easy, you just need to get an idea of what you want to do first. Generally any type of metal can be put in two different categories; Ferrous and non-ferrous. The difference between Ferrous Non-ferrous metals are that Ferrous Metals mostly contain Iron. They have small amounts of other metals or elements added, to give the required properties. All Ferrous Metals are magnetic and give little resistance to corrosion. The types of Ferrous metals that are most common are any type of steel(regular, Carbon and stainless) Cast Iron and Wrought Iron. The common types of Non-Ferrous metals areÂÂ   aluminium, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, titanium, cobalt, chromium and precious metals. Why should you do scrap metal art? I personally do it because it is fun and it tests me sometimes but mostly because I like to know that Im recycling in a way. Why should you care about that though? In 2015, more than 67 million metric tons of Ferrous Metal was recycled by the U.S. scrap industry which had a value of 30.1 Billion Dollars. A steel mill that uses recycled steel reduces air and water pollution by around 70 percent. Everyday, approximately 100 million steel and tin cans are used by Americans. As for Non-Ferrous, 25,000 statues of Liberties can be built with coppe that the U.S.A. recycles per year. The scrap Aluminum that is thrown away every month in the U.S. is enough to rebuild the entire American airfleet. In 2014, the U.S. Scrap Industry processed .83 million metric tons of aluminum. Now all this means is that we are very wasteful and to make these numbers go down and quit wastings stuff more people can create art out of scrap and reduce these prices. This is why you should care because a lot of metals are going to waste when, now-a-days we can use these objects and make them into art now and not have so much junk around. Now you can finally start welding. Place the pieces where you want them and make sure that that is exactly how you want them. Hold them in place however you can with whatever you will need. Then, with whatever weld method that you choose, start welding! But one other thing that you have to take into consideration is using the welding rod all the way down to the number and letters or else you will just be wasting good rods. A lot of people think that just because youve already struck it its too hard to try and strike again, well, all you have to do is get a scrap piece of metal that you can strike it on again and then scrape the end on something and it will be as good as new. All you have to do now after you get done with you project is to pick up the bad rods that are burnt all the way down, sweep up the slag(flux coating) that you have chipped off, turn off your machine, wrap everything up and put it away and then put the access rods that are still good or havent fully been used back into the heating oven. After everything is done and cleaned up, youre left with a beautiful piece of art made from junk. Finally, to brief you back up on what we have talked about, we have talked a little bit about the history of Found Metal,the first person that they can pinpoint and when it actually started to get noticed, and where I personally learned it from which was the IAI. Ive talked about what Junk Art actually is, the definition of it and what it actually is. Then, I went on to all safety equipment and why you should/need to have them on(it is for your protection). I described how to set up and how everything works,the tools that you will need and what the different uses for them are. Then I explained why you should do this art and gave you some statistics about all the junk there actually is, the main point being that it recycles a lot of waste that, with this art, isnt waste. Ive talked about the different things/ranges of things that you could use that usually no one thinks to use(house demolitions to hangers). I talked about the two different categories that metals are most commonly out in and the most common metals in the two categories(Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals, Ferrous being magnet and having Iron in it). Then, I did a guided on how to create what you want to make such as; reshaping, piecing together, holding/supports, welding and then painting if you would like. Lastly, I just talked a little bit about how to clean up and what you will expect when it comes to cleaning up the mess,pick up all the pieces and sweep up.

College Students Dependency on Cell Phones :: Cellular Telephone

Missing Chart College Students Dependency on Cell Phones While walking to and from class on campus it is almost impossible to get to your destination with out seeing a fellow class mate using a cell phone in some way. Whether it is checking an email, texting, or calling a friend to engage in some sort of conversation usually consisting of very little substance. It is painfully obvious that college students have become so dependent on these portable devices that they could not carry out their day with them. The cell phone has come along way since its creation, not only are you able to contact anyone at any time, but now many cell phones operate much like personal computers with various applications. It is almost impossible to meet some one these days who does not own a cell phone; even young children have cell phones for emergencies. There is no doubt that cell phones as well as their many applications have come in handy for simply saving time, as well as possibly saving lives in extraordinary circumstances. Although cell phones have improved many facets of our daily lives, there are many cell phone users who simply can not carry out their day with out these devices. Most notably the typical college student, cell phones can be used constructively to send important emails to teachers, or to keep a schedule of your assignments. More often they are used as a form of amusement or distraction from daily work and activities. Walk into a typical class room setting and you will no doubt catch a student holding a cell phone under their desk or behind purse engaging in a text conversation with a friend. In an experiment carried out by the University of North Texas it became apparent that many students become visibly anxious when this technology as well as constant contact with their social network is taken away. A group of ten students took part in an interview as well as observation of 18 to 24 year old students at UNT, as well as southern Methodist University, Texas Christian university, Texas women’s university, and university of Texas. The first and most obvious observation in this experiment was that cell phones were constantly carried as well as used by those taking part in this study. Carrying a cell phone was as common as carrying a set of keys, and when these devices were forgotten in dorms the subjects became anxious.

Use of Weather in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

Use of Weather in Jane Eyre    In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, good weather is Bronte’s tool to foreshadow positive events or moods and poor weather is her tool for setting the tone for negative events or moods.   This technique is exercised throughout the entire novel, alerting the readers of the upcoming atmosphere. In the novel, Jane’s mood is, to a degree, determined by the weather mentioned. For example, after Jane was publicly and falsely accused of being a liar by Mr. Brocklehurst, an upcoming positive event was predicted when Jane described her surroundings, â€Å"Some heavy clouds swept from the sky by a rising wind, had left the moon bare; and her light streaming in through a window near, shone full both on us and on the approaching figure, which we at once recognize as Miss Temple† (62).   Surely enough, Miss Temple invited the two girls to her room and treated them with cake and tea, which brought Jane comfort from the public humiliation.   â€Å"We feasted that evening as on our nectar and ambrosia; and not the least delight of the entertainment was the smile of gratification of our hostess regarded us, as we satisfied our famished appetites on the delicate fare she liberally supplied† (65).   Another example of this is Jane’s first morning at Thornfi eld.   A positive mood was foreshadowed when Jane described the weather as such: â€Å"The chamber looked such a bright little place to me as the sun shone in between the gay blue chintz window and carpeted floor, so unlike the bare planks and strained plaster of Lowood, that my spirit rose at the view† (90). This not only foreshadowed the positive mood of Jane, but also the experience she would have in the near future living in Thornfield.   She would soon discover her husband to be Mr. Rochester and appreciate her companies such as Mrs. Fairfax and Adele, who for the first time in her life treat her as an equal.   All positive weather described in the novel foreshadowed either a positive mood or event, sometimes both.   Bronte was consistent with this use of the weather. On the other hand, poor weather in the novel was used to foreshadow negative events or moods.   In the opening of the novel, when Jane was living in Gateshead, she was reading while an unpleasant visit of John Reed was foreshadowed:   â€Å"After it offered a pale blank of mist and cloud: hear, a scene of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub† (2).

Nature of Power in Shakespeares Julius Caesar :: William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a political drama which examines the nature of power and leadership in Rome. A conspiracy of eight men, headed by Cassius and Brutus, plan the assignation of their leader, Julius Caesar. However while Cassius is driven by envy, Brutus on the other hand believes he is acting for the good of Rome. In Rome at the start of the play there is a vibrant atmosphere. As Caesar overthrows Pompey for the crown the crowd erupt into delight. In spite of the overwhelming support he still has a few doubters still lurking around. One of the discontented few, Brutus, opposes the idea of Caesar becoming King and gaining further power. ''I do fear the people who choose Caesar for their King.'' Brutus is heedful that this decision may effect the welfare of Rome by shattering the republic. Brutus is adamant that Rome's success was built on the fact that they had no ruler with his only line of thought being to weigh up what will benefit Rome and it's people the most. Cassius viewpoint on the issue is we shouldn't ever even contemplated offering Caesar this position.'' I was born free of Caesar and so were you.'' Cassius is saying that it was the rash of us to offer him power as this will harm Rome and take away. However Caesar has done very little wrong. The spite for Caesar erects from the view that he may gain too much power which illustrates the envy felt towards him. Another argument he compiled from him was that he found to his knowledge that Caesar couldn't handle pressure.''And when the fit was on him I did mark how he did shake''. He is mentioning at how he thinks this `unkingly` attribute he possesses hardly makes him fit for the job. It furthermore shows the extent of his envy by scrapping for little details like this. Brutus doesn't seem to agree with this.''Be any further moved by what you have said, I will consider what you have to say.'' The word ''consider'' reveals his caution as he attempts to decide in due course rather than to rush into the decision. It outlines him showing a sign of weakness by considering something he disagrees with. If he wasn't so open minded then the pairing of Brutus and Cassius may not of lasted.

American history Empire, War, and propaganda

Japanese and Chinese cultures have many similarities owing to the fact that the latter has exerted a major cultural influence on the former. As is mentioned in the De Bary’s book on Japanese tradition, the Japanese started recording their after they had contact with the Chinese. In fact the earliest existence of Japan is in the Chinese Dynastic histories around the 1stCentury BCE, written by Chinese historians who were known to compile fairly reliable accounts of their present day world (p.  3, 4).The native accounts of Japanese were written around the 8th century CE, by which time the Japanese were already heavily influenced by the Chinese traditions. Hence, there are a lot of cultural similarities between the two countries. This paper compares and contrasts the two cultures with respect to their religion, tradition, literature and philosophies. Traditions and Philosophies in China and Japan Chinese Chinese philosophy and religion seems to begin with Confucius and his teach ings.While there are certain records which are supposed to pre-date Confucius, according to De Bary in his book on Chinese Tradition these works are suspected to be compiled after the time of Confucius (p. 1). The traditional history consists of many semi-divine culture heroes who supposedly were responsible for bringing civilization among the people of China. These were followed by three rulers of exceptional wisdom – Yao, Shun and Yu, as is mentioned in the books by De Bary on Chinese Tradition (p. 2).However, the most famous of the Chinese religion and Philosophy is of course the teaching of Confucius who adopted the teachings and examples of these rulers in his teachings. In fact according to De Bary the life of Chinese for the past 2000 years can be characterized in a word to be Confucian. The second most important and influential native philosophy of Chinese is more religious in nature and is known as Taoism. Many of the present day philosophers comment that the two phi losophies complement each other.While Confucianism concerns itself with the social responsibilities and human aspects of life, Taoism contends itself with a spiritual outlook towards life. De Bary mentions that these two philosophies give two different aspects of an individual – one that is related to his work and responsibilities and the other which is related to his spiritual side (p. 48). The work of Confucius was further refined to make it a more moralistic and righteous, such that people were honor bound to fulfill their duties and responsibilities.These were other philosophies at work in China. One of these was Legalism which was proposed by Shang Yang and is considered to be yet another classical school of thought in China. The theory however was explained in detail by Han Fei, who is considered as the father of this philosophy. De Bary says that growth of this philosophy was due to a need for a more rational organization for society than the traditional feudalistic sy stem, which had started to disintegrate even during the Confucian period (p. 122).Legalism was inherent in the Han Empire and was made palatable by adopting Confucianism as the state ideology. As will be seen in the section below Legalism combined with Confucianism was one of the philosophies that was widely accepted and followed in Japan after they decided to abandon their clan-based society for a more rational one. Japanese Prior to Chinese influence, Japan consisted of a number of tribes ruled by individual kings. These tribes were supposedly from many different parts of Asia including Korea and proceeded to settle in the Japanese islands.While the early traditional influences of Japanese people remain obscure, Chinese writings mention Japanese people as performing sun worship, which might account for the name of the country. These writings also mention the people as being honest, polite, displaying gentleness in peace and bravery in war, love for liquor and mountains and religio us rites of purification and divination as is mentioned by De Bary in his book on Japanese tradition (p. 5). This type of nature worship was the oldest type of religion found in Japan and was known as Shintoism.As the tribes began to exert their sphere of influence, they turned towards the Chinese philosophies and examples for both political and cultural guidance. Hence, the Japanese culture is very closely intertwined with the Chinese culture, and it is not the other way round. De Bary mentions that many of the imperial edicts issued during the Great Reform period which began in the 645 CE consisted of Chinese based administration systems (p. 63). For instance the old political system which was based on tribal clans was changed to the Chinese system of systematic territorial administration.Also there was an attempt to abolish private property, nationalize the land and redistribute it based on the family size which was the system followed in China. De Bary says that these systems we re so meticulously followed that the records that have been found of this period are almost identical to those found in China (p. 64). However, the influence exerted by the Chinese on Japanese traditions was not just political during this period. As is already mentioned above, Chinese life has been mostly influenced by the teachings of Confucius.Needless to say these traditions were adopted by Japanese also and formed one of the integral parts of study for the scholars during the period. However, these teachings cannot be found in their original formed as debaryhas confirmed in his books (p. 69). There have been many changes because the people tended to imbibe their existing religion and philosophies with those of the new order proposed by the Chinese philosophers during that period. Buddhism in China and Japan Chinese Buddhism came to China via India in the first century AD, where the religion originated.Buddhism came divided into a number of sects, said to be eighteen in number be fore it came to China. When Buddhism entered China some of these sects were introduced and assumed newer forms under the Chinese influence. In addition Chinese themselves developed many strong sects. Initially when it came to Japan Buddhism encountered stiff opposition and remained a foreign religion for over two centuries after which it started getting accepted. The problem as is told by De Bary was that the Chinese did not know about the sectarian nature of Buddhism, and considered whatever words were written to be the words of Buddha.This resulted in confusion due to the many contradictory statements of various sects. Mahayana Buddhism or the Greater Vehicle took on a Chinese character and evolved into several schools such as Tien-Ttai, Hua-yuen, Pre Land and Chan Japanese Buddhism is one of the major religions practiced in both China and Japan. The religion was introduced to Japan in the 7thcentury AD. The most popular types of Buddhism followed here were Pure Land and Zen Buddh ism, a offshoot of Chan Buddhism (p. 120). In Japan, Buddhism became closely intertwined with the principles of Shinto.This was initially done to make the religion more acceptable to the local public. The first clear indication of a merger between Shinto principles and Buddhism according to De Bary was in the middle of Nara period which was more than 200 years after the religion was introduced in the country. De Bary further states that the mutual relationship of the Buddhism with the Shinto developed and by the Kamakura period there existed detailed explanations of Shinto gods as the concrete manifestations of Buddhist deities (p.121). Here, the Buddhism and its various rites differ from the Chinese versions because there are no such deities present in the Chinese versions, where the Buddhism was based primarily on the Taoist principles of the beauty of nature and relation between Buddhism with the various environmental issues. Literature influence The influence of Chinese literatu re in Japanese culture is clearly evident by the fact that Japanese follow the Chinese pictographic script in writing.The reason for this is mentioned by De Bary in his book where he says that the Chinese way of philosophy and political code was adopted directly by the Japanese rulers. An understanding of the corresponding script was hence considered to be necessary and such a script was considered to be a must for being considered as a scholar whether literal or political (p. 48). However, the Chinese script being very difficult to its pictographic nature had to be simplified when it was adopted by the common man. Hence, the Japanese also have sound based writing system which is not present in the Chinese script.Political influence Chinese influence can be seen in almost every aspect of Japanese life. On the political side De Bary gives the example of the Imperial rule which is sometimes called Tennoism. This type of imperial rules gives the ruling family a divine status. In Japane se society, this translated to the ruling family having an unbroken tie with the Sun Goddess who was the primary deity worshiped by the Japanese people. The chief difference between the Chinese and Japanese ruling systems was that the former was merit based while the later was hereditary in nature.The Chinese rulers were theoretically subjected to the criteria of merit and rulers or dynasties could forfeit the mandate to rule if they did not live up to them. This principle was absent in case of Japanese ruling family, which was primarily governed by the hereditary principle and the merit principle did not apply at all to the ruling family (p. 69) Conclusion As has been already mentioned above, the Chinese and Japanese traditions and cultures are closely inter related due to the strong influence the former had in the development of the latter.The cultural vein has flowed from Chinese to the Japanese people, which included the spread of Buddhism in the country. The principles were no doubt changed according to the dictates of the society, but the binding ties can be clearly seen between the cultured of the two countries. Works Cited De Bary WT (2001), Sources of Japanese Tradition, 2nd Edition, Columbia University Press, West Sussex De Bary WT (1960), Sources of Japanese Tradition Vol. 1, Columbia University Press, West Sussex