http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/authors/119/alina-saminsky Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:05:17 -0400 Sun, 05 Jul 2026 10:05:17 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/375/the-reauthorization-of-no-child-left-behind-and-avenues-for-improvement By Alina Saminsky - President Obama has an immense task before him. In this upcoming year, he will be responsible for the long overdue reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. This act is based on the standards-based reform model which is comprised of three main principles: state-level content standards in core areas, corresponding tests, and accountability for results (Smith & O’Day, 1990). The act sets a definition of adequate yearly progress (AYP) that schools must meet. AYP is measured by student achievement on state-specific standardized tests. States and districts are held accountable... Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/375/the-reauthorization-of-no-child-left-behind-and-avenues-for-improvement http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/373/high-stakes-standardized-testing-a-panacea-or-a-pest By Alina Saminsky - If you talk to any person in the field of education today about high-profile and controversial issues in their field, the topic of high-stakes standardized testing will inevitably come up.  This issue has been around for a long time, but was really introduced into the minds of the public through the standards-based reform movement of the 1990s.  The notion of standards-based reform focuses on three main principles: state-level content standards in core areas, corresponding tests, and accountability for results (Smith & O’Day, 1990).  This reform model has strongly guided... Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:46 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/373/high-stakes-standardized-testing-a-panacea-or-a-pest http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/170/sexuality-religion-and-science-as-seen-through-twilight-of-the-gods By Alina Saminsky - Within the first ten minutes of Twilight of the Golds, it is clear that both Judaism and homosexuality play a role in the Gold family. The family is at least culturally Jewish, if not more, and the son David (Brendan Fraser), is portrayed to be gay. Yet neither “gay” nor “Jewish” is actually mentioned until much later in the film. What are the methods that the film uses to construct gayness and Jewishness? And are these constructions depicted as being cultural, ethnic, biological or genetic? How does the film use these constructions to make a statement about the ethical... Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:35 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/170/sexuality-religion-and-science-as-seen-through-twilight-of-the-gods http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/165/preventing-juvenile-delinquency-early-intervention-and-comprehensiveness-as-critical-factors By Alina Saminsky - Every single person living in the United States today is affected by juvenile crime. It affects parents, neighbors, teachers, and families. It affects the victims of crime, the perpetrators, and the bystanders. While delinquency rates have been decreasing, rates are still too high. There have been numerous programs that have attempted to lower this rate. Some are greatly successful, while many others have minimal or no impact. These programs are a waste of our resources. It is essential to determine the efficacy of different programs, and to see what works and what does not. In this way, the... Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:57 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/165/preventing-juvenile-delinquency-early-intervention-and-comprehensiveness-as-critical-factors http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/161/the-balance-of-power-between-men-and-women-in-robert-brownings-poems By Alina Saminsky - The first observation that supports this point is that originally the men do not have power. One way that this is demonstrated to the reader is the author’s choice to make the men insane. In “Porphyria’s Lover,” the man is paranoid. He describes the storm that is going on around him in the same manner that one describes a person, “The sullen wind was soon awake,/It tore the elm-tops down for spite,/And did its worst to vex the lake” (57), which makes him seem suspicious. The reader also realizes that while there is this storm going on, the man is sitting alone... Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/161/the-balance-of-power-between-men-and-women-in-robert-brownings-poems http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/160/health-care-reform-reducing-waste-and-improving-efficiency-in-todays-medicaid By Alina Saminsky - As the nation’s largest health insurance program, Medicaid plays a huge role in the current health care reform debate. The program serves over 50 million people and has total outlays equaling over $280 billion[i]. Medicaid is much more than simply a program for the poor. It may also serve those who qualify for Supplemental Security Income (the elderly, blind and disabled), working parents, the medically needy, and mandatory groups with incomes above the poverty line. The program operates jointly within the federal government and the states, but the states have the main responsibility for... Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:54 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/160/health-care-reform-reducing-waste-and-improving-efficiency-in-todays-medicaid http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/157/comparing-female-characters-in-christabel-and-the-eve-of-st-agnes By Alina Saminsky - Despite both being the leading female characters in their respective pieces, Christabel from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Christabel and Madeline from John Keats’ The Eve of St. Agnes have many striking similarities. Throughout both poems, the two women are constantly referred to as pure, innocent, generally good girls.  They are praised by the other characters and by the narrators.  However, both women engage in behavior that defies their descriptions.  Occasionally, this behavior even disrupts gender roles, and the position of the girls in their respective texts is questioned... Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:23 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/157/comparing-female-characters-in-christabel-and-the-eve-of-st-agnes http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/156/getting-enough-sleep-is-no-easy-task-for-todays-students By Alina Saminsky - Today, an overwhelming majority of high school students are not getting enough sleep. This lack of sleep is a serious problem, especially as students are doing more than ever with their time. They come to school early, spend hours listening to teachers and taking tests, then run off to practices and meetings, and come home to be faced with even more work. And the homework load these days is not light; teachers assign hours worth of homework each night. Our nation’s teenagers require just as much sleep as they did when they were younger, and they are simply not getting this much needed rest... Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:48 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/156/getting-enough-sleep-is-no-easy-task-for-todays-students http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/154/burying-the-pen-tackling-resistance-to-formal-education-by-the-karimojong-in-uganda By Alina Saminsky - The Karimojong people seemed to reject the formal education that was imposed upon them because they did not see the value in it. Each culture has their own set of values and beliefs that they pass on from generation to generation. These standards dictate what is right and wrong, what is important, what is appropriate behavior, and other cultural expectations (Lustig and Longman). This therefore creates a common obstacle within intercultural communication. In order to relate to people of other backgrounds, their ideals must first be understood. Two concepts, brought up by Timothy Reagan in his... Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:59 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/154/burying-the-pen-tackling-resistance-to-formal-education-by-the-karimojong-in-uganda