Mike Vick Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mike Vick - Research Paper Example At the same time, Mike was accused of financing the operation. According to the investigations done by the US Agricultural Department (USAD), Mike and his cohorts directly participated in the killing of at least seven dogs. The investigations also revealed that Mike bet dog fights and was accused of handling out thousands of dollars in person in related gambling activities. Mike was also found guilt of paying somebody $100 to dig graves for burying dogs killed during the dog fighting (Judd 11). Apart from involvement in dogfighting, Mike failed a drug test which was done in September, 2007. During a random drug test, Mike tested positive for marijuana and was confined to his home in Virginia between 10 pm to 6 am under electronic monitoring until December, the time for his court hearing. Despite accepting responsibility, Mike had failed to cooperate with the federal officials and on top of that, he had failed a polygraph test done shortly after his home was raided. Coupling these wit h the failed drug test, the federal officials assigned Mike to Leavenworth’s US penitentiary, a federal prison facility to serve his term (Mihoces 35). Background information Mike was born on 26th June, 1980 in Newport News, Virginia to Michael Boddie and Brenda Vick. His family lived in Ridley Circles Homes, located at the East End of the port city. Mike’s skill in football was nurtured by his father from when he was only three years old and was nicknamed bullet due to his blinding speed when playing. Mike spent time with his cousin Brook at their home Boys and Girls club were he got a special watch from his coaches and parents. In high school and in college, Mike often led his team to win in their matches. Mike’s employment has always been based in sports. In 2001, Mike was selected by the Atlanta Falcons where he played for six seasons in the NFL before his imprisonment. After his release from prison in 2009, Mike signed a one-year contract with Philadelphia eagles after being mentored by Tony Dungy, a former Colts coach. The contract was renewed again in 2010 following Mike’s good progress and performance in the team and since then, he has remained as the team’s quarterback. Previous criminal history Though Mike was arrested in 2005 for dog fighting, his father, Michael Boddie, revealed that Mike started the habit as early as 2001. According to him, Mike began staging dogfights in their family’s home garage as well as in the family backyard around 2001. The dogs he used included those that Mr. Boodie had nursed after being injured from to the dogfighting staged by Mike. However, his mother, Brenda Vick, denied the occurrence of dog fighting in their home or the presence of any cages (Judd 11). Early 2004, Mike was linked to illegal drug trafficking. This came after two men who were using a truck registered to Mike were arrested for distributing marijuana. In 2005, a civil law suit was filed by Sonya Elliot accusing Mike of infecting her with genital herpes in the autumn of 2002. Sonya claims that Mike knew of his condition yet he failed to inform her and as a proof to this, Sonya said that Mike sought treatment from clinics for the disease. On 26th November 2006, Mike was accused of making obscene gestures at fans as a reaction to booing by fans for loosing a match to New Orleans. Mike held up two of his middle fingers and was fined $10, 000 by

Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Portfolio - Assignment Example They are a similar, and at the same time different aspect of assessing performance. Venn (2000) defines an assessment portfolio as a systematic collection of artifacts that uses a selection of work, measured against pre-determined scoring criteria, to evaluate a person’s skills, achievements and growth over a specified period of time. Student portfolios are designed with the main objective of efforts, achievements and progress of the students. Purposes Portfolios are used for various purposes. They provide a collection of student work that aids in assessing the quality of the past or ongoing performance of the student. Moreover, they help in demonstration of achievements that is essential to students as it helps them demonstrate the capability to master chief topics in a program. Design and Format Portfolios come in different formats and designs. The format to use is determined by the type of material included, intended use of the portfolio and the target audience. Regardless of the format, all portfolios must contain the name of the student, a brief introduction about the student, several pieces of work selected using criteria specified carefully and fields where progress in the selected work is recorded over a period of time. Students may also choose to give an explanation on the reasons behind the selection of the subjects as well as specify criteria for evaluating the quality of the work. Types of portfolios As discussed earlier, portfolios come in a variety of types depending on the kind of material included, intended use of the portfolio and the target audience. Danielson and Abrutyn (1997) suggest that there are three main types of portfolios; working, display and assessment portfolios. (a) Working Portfolios As the name suggests, it contains work in progress as well as finished work samples. It acts as a store for this work in progress that may be selected later on for a more permanent assessment. It is an intentional collection of work that is g uided by learning objectives and differs from a work folder. Its main audience is the student, guided by the teacher. (b) Display/ Showcase Portfolios This is among the most rewarding use of student portfolios and is used to display the best works of the students. The students and their teachers become committed to the process most when they exhibit their best work and infer the meaning. The core objective of this type of portfolio is to demonstrate the highest achievement level attained by the student. It may be maintained yearly with new work samples being added yearly to document growth. (c) Assessment Portfolios They are designed primarily to document what a student has learned and may be used to demonstrate the student’s mastery in a certain curricular area, the quality of the student’s work as well as the level of growth and effort, attitude and progress. The work selected for the portfolio is determined by the content in the student’s curriculum. Advantag es of assessment portfolios An assessment portfolio can have a lot of benefits to users when designed and implemented properly. The following are some of these benefits. (a) Promotes reflection, self evaluation and critical thinking among the students. (b) Provides flexibility when measuring how students achieve the set learning goals (c) Facilitates sharing of responsibility (among students and teachers) for setting goals and evaluating progress to meeting the set goals. (d) Provides a process for structuring