Teaching Human Virtues

Human beings grow and mature through their experiences in life. With the help of parents, friends and other people we get to know, human beings are able to learn many different lessons and knowledge. Human virtues are normally inculcated in our minds at a very young age, thought by no less than our immediate family members. Through time, we may or may not abandon the virtues that we believe in depending on our personal perceptions and our social environment. Nonetheless, human virtues can be taught not only because such virtues are ‘social constructs’ but also because human beings have the tendency to teach things by ostensive definition which can easily train people into believing many different things. John Locke proposed in Book II of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding that the state of human beings at birth can be compared to a tabula rasa or a blank tablet—the mind is basically empty of knowledge (Wood, p. 652). Conversely, we acquire knowledge through experience, specifically through sensory perception, as well as through our interactions with other people. One way of learning is through ostensive definition or defining what a concrete object or an abstract idea is by ‘pointing’ to the object or the manifestation of the idea. A child learns what a ‘chair’ is when somebody points an object chair to a child and tells the child that the object is a chair. Similarly, a person learns what the human virtue of kindness is when somebody points to a certain manifestation of the virtue and tells the person to observe the behavior. In essence, human virtues are abstract concepts that can be best understood in terms of their physical manifestations. For instance, the virtue of charity can be learned by observing a person who willingly donates some of his properties to charitable institutions such as orphanages. The virtue of bravery can be learned when a child sees a group of firemen trying to put out a fire from inside a burning building. There are also other ways to teach and learn different human virtues apart from ostensive definition. One of these ways is through formal education where students are taught what human virtues are with the help of books and other written articles. To a certain degree, learning institutions provide the theoretical framework for these human virtues. Thus, students learn the theoretical aspects of human virtues in the classroom while they learn the practical aspects of these virtues in real-life circumstances outside the school. From the state of tabula rasa, human beings progress into filling those empty slates with learning taught from experience, including human virtues. On the other hand, Aristotle maintains that human virtues can only be acquired by enacting the principle of the â€Å"mean†. According to Aristotle, virtues are the â€Å"mean† or middle values between ‘excess’ and ‘deficiency’ (Yu, p. 341). For example, courage is the mean of rashness—excessive courage—and cowardice or the deficiency of courage. How can an individual attain the human virtues or how can an individual live within the confines of the â€Å"mean†? To that question, Aristotle tells us that we should habituate our actions. Since every human being should strive to attain the good life or what he calls Eudaimonia, they should likewise see to it that they constantly practice the virtues so that they can be habituated. Following Aristotle’s theory, human virtues can be taught because virtues can be—as they should be—habituated. By performing virtuous actions to others and by habituating them, others are, in effect, taught about the value of these virtues. Those who are unaware of the idea that helping an old lady cross the street, for example, is an act of kindness can learn about the virtue by experiencing the act themselves. Children who are yet to fill their â€Å"blank tablets† with knowledge can be taught about human virtues through constant exposure to the action and by requesting them to do the same thing in their lives. In his book The Construction of Social Reality, John Searle argues that institutional facts are facts that have been socially constructed. That is, human beings and the society in which they live in are responsible for creating these types of facts. In that sense, human virtue can be considered as an institutional fact primarily because human beings have long proposed varying theories concerning the nature of virtues. Without human beings, one can hardly say that virtues will still exist. The fact that â€Å"human virtues† are called as such suggests that, without humanity, these virtues would not have come into existence. Following Searle’s argument, it does sound reasonable enough to say that human virtues can be taught. Like factual lessons taught to young people in classrooms and in the family, human virtues are also taught in almost the same manner. Some can even go to the point where they create their own virtue systems. The fact that there are varying conceptions of human virtues also points us to the idea that human virtues have been formulated across different cultures in different times. While one act may be considered absurd by one group such as cannibalism, another group may consider the act as virtuous. Among these varieties of groups, every respective virtue is passed on from one generation to another, making it survive through time or reducing it into inexistence or into another form. In highly traditional regions, virtues are taught either through word of mouth or through practice. For example, the virtue of â€Å"bayanihan† in the Philippines—the virtue where members of the community form a team to help a resident transfer his house to another location, typically through manual labor—is taught from one generation to the next through stories told to the younger members of the neighborhood and through the observation of the practice as it happens (Gibson and Zellmer-Bruhn, p. 283). In more modern countries, human virtues are taught through a number of ‘far-reaching’ ways; one of these ways is through mass media. For example, America is host to numerous television networks broadcasting hundreds of TV shows on a daily basis. Cartoons with a broad adult audience composition such as â€Å"Simpsons† and â€Å"King of the Hill† teach human virtues typically related to family matters through the stories of each episode and their characters. Children’s cartoons and puppet shows—for instance, Baby Looney Tunes and Sesame Street, respectively—are more likely to impart human virtues that can be easily understood and appreciated by children because they comprise the larger part of the audience share (Cross, p. 39). Those who think that human virtue cannot be taught may believe that human beings are incapable of teaching virtue in their pure form without alteration or bias. In effect, they might argue that what we consider as the virtues per se that we teach others are actually parodies of a seemingly endless string of parodies of parodies, ad infinitum. The response to that criticism is this: alterations only arise in specific contexts; virtues remain as they are in their general form. For example, a father may teach his children that it is only virtuous to avenge the death of their murdered grandfather when they become adults later in life. The father may have been given that impression about vengeance from the older generation of the family circle who also learned the â€Å"virtue† from those that preceded them, and so forth. And yet, the more general notion that causing harm to others is not virtuous remains. The more general notion that kindness and forgiveness are human virtues that should be practiced still remains intact. Others may also argue that human virtues cannot be taught because human beings are governed by their basic instinct for self-preservation. They primarily seek their personal interests and may or may not eventually promote the interests of others. Thus, they keep the virtues that can promote their personal welfare to themselves instead of teaching them to others out of fear of conflicting interests. The response to this argument rests on the very nature of human virtues; they are called â€Å"human virtues† because they presuppose that human beings naturally interact and share with others. Without sincere interaction and sharing, virtues can only be regarded as personal philosophies or personal guiding principles and not as what we know of them to be. They are called â€Å"human virtues† precisely because these virtues transcend individualism and selfishness. Otherwise, they would not be virtues in the first place. While it may be more or less likely true that human beings have a selfish gene, so to speak, it does not make them pathologically selfish beings. Neither does it totally prevent them from teaching human virtues to others, especially young children and those who need a lesson or two about them. It is through our daily experiences that we are able to learn human virtues as we observe them and, more importantly, as they are taught to us by those who know the virtues well enough. Although some people may decide not to teach others about human virtues, it does not consequently suggest that human beings are indeed incapable of teaching human virtues to others. The fact that each person can decide whether or not to teach human virtues to others also suggests that they can teach these virtues regardless of their personal decisions. A virtue taught to another individual may be in the form of an observed behavior, an ostensive definition or a theoretical example. Either way, human virtues can be taught. Not even the most selfish person in the world can deny the fact that human virtues have been passed on from one generation to the next.

Reed Supermarkets: a New Wave of Competitors

Reed Supermarkets. Spring 2013Meredith Collins faces the problem of choosing the most appropriate marketing strategy for Reed Supermarkets to implement so that the company increases its market share in the Columbus, OH market from 14% in 2010 to a target of 16% in 2011. This goal should be accomplished in spite of the new competitive challenges posed by the rising prominence of dollar and limited selection stores in the food retailing industry.SWOT AnalysisInternal Strengths Reed’s quality image and exceptionally attentive customer service;Full range offerings;Attractive stores, long hours, and elegant service? case displays.Internal WeaknessesMany consumers perceive Reed’s prices are high;Capital expenditure policy freezing; 3. No consensus within management on what strategy to implement for market share growth.External OpportunitiesThe new consumer is more savvy, health and cost? conscious;Growth of private label merchandise; 3. Columbus’s economic environment is more favorable than state’s and nation’s economic environments;External Threats Dollar and Limited Selection Stores increasing market share / Aldi’s projected new stores;Economic downturn; . Significant dwindling of customer loyalty.Reed’s management is currently assessing the following alternatives to increase its market share in the Columbus market:Continue its ongoing â€Å"dollar special† campaign;Terminate the â€Å"dollar special† campaign and implement an everyday low pricing model;Convey the value created to consumers by reinforcing the range and quality of offerings;Increase low priced specials, expand private label brands, and introduce double couponing.In addition, I would also consider the following alternative: Make an offer to buy some of Galaxy’s troubling Columbus stores.In evaluating the aforementioned alternatives, Reed’s management will have to take into account that, in order to meet the targeted market s hare of 16% in 2011, they will have to increase their sales volume by $94 million, which represents a 14% increase compared to 2010 (see appendix). The present â€Å"dollar special† campaign was an attempt from Reed’s to change consumer’s perception that they have higher prices. Some Reed’s managers are confident that in another six months they will be able to change this perception while, at the same time, they reinforce customer loyalty.However, some executives believe also that the campaign detracted from Reed’s quality image as it seemed to be too close to the offering of dollar stores which could damage Reed’s image through association. The scope of this campaign (250 out of 50,000 items) does not seem sufficient to generate the additional sales required. Other executives suggest implementing an everyday low pricing model in order to tackle, in a more aggressive fashion, the high? priced image that Reed carries. This would likely requir e a complete switch of the company’s positioning from a high? nd store to a medium, more value? focused positioning. Reed’s image, as a quality and customer service oriented, could be extremely damaged by such a switch. Additionally, it would be expected that other discount stores would be reacting aggressively to this strategy. Another option is to reinforce Reed’s current positioning as a high? end store by emphasizing the range and quality of its offerings. Such strategy appeals to the more affluent households, which are more keen on premium private labels and organic produce.This customer segment has been the backbone of Reed’s growth in the past 20 years, and the company wants to be ready to satisfy its upscale tastes as the economy recovers. Operations Director Jane Wu offered yet another alternative: increase low? priced specials, expand private label brands, and introduce double couponing. The new consumer that emerged from the 2007? 2009 recessio n is more savvy and cost? conscious, which is demonstrated by the increasing share of wallet captured by dollar and limited selection stores.By acknowledging this new reality and resorting to the strategy suggested by Director Wu, the company can potentially attract new customers and appeal to both fill? in â€Å"trippers† and full grocery â€Å"runners†. This seems to be a sound strategy in order for the company to capture, in the short? term, the $94 million additional sales required to meet the target market share. It is unclear, however, if this strategy could hurt the quality image recognized to Reed’s supermarkets and as a result drive high? nd customers away. On the other hand, during difficult economic times, such as the downturn of 2008? 2011, consumers tend to opt for value. Finally, we should not discard the introduction of new stores as a strong alternative for increasing sales. The company has consistently expanded the chain in the past, with the ne w stores accomplishing similar results to existing ones. Reed’s management has made it clear that it does not wish to have capital expenditures in form of new stores in 2011.But, a struggling Galaxy chain in the Columbus market could represent an interesting opportunity for Reed to acquire some of its stores at a discounted price, and this way meeting the sales volume required for the 16% market share. Given the resistance from Reed’s management to resort to additional capital expenditure, my recommendation is that the company implements the alternative suggested by Director Wu, i. e. increase low? priced specials, expand private label brands, and introduce double couponing. For the

The Modern Alterations of Native American Life

Modern Native American life has changed drastically from that of what it used to be. One can only imagine how incredibly hard life would have been in the late 1800s without the help of modern technology. In James Welch's book, Fool's Crow, one not only learns what the Western United States was like in the late 1800s, but can also grasp the ways of early Native Americans. Fools Crow, the main character in the book, portrays exactly what the average Indian boy of his day was like. He had strong family values, faithful religious beliefs, and knew his direction in life. Unfortunately this is not so true for most Native Americans of today. Many current Indians are suffering from poor family structure, lack of education, and loss of religious beliefs. Family structure was one of the most important aspects of life for Native Americans of the 1800s. Back then there was almost no difference between an Indian man or woman's fifth cousins and his or hers sister. Both were treated the same, and both were respected immensely. But now the family structure of Native Americans has diminished. The communication between the majority of parents to children is very slim, if any, and many young Native Americans don't even have contact with there grandparents and other extended family. In Fools Crow's generation it was very common to often have ceremonies where all members of a family were expected to attend, whether they were a grandparent or a brother. This failure of family structure in modern Indians has caused many individuals to lack security and subsidity. Education is a problem among Native Americans as well. It used to be that when a young Native American turned a certain age it was his or her duty to learn the ways of survival. For boys it was hunting and learning to provide for his future family. For the women it was learning various duties such as cooking, tanning hides, and caring for the children. Indians used to educate themselves in order to survive as a team. Each person learned to do his or her specific duty in order to prosper individually, and as a tribe or band. But now education is substantially different. It still focuses on the essentials for survival and the need for one to prosper as an individual, but it lacks what white people are learning. Teachers on reservations are often the product of poor education themselves, and have nothing to offer young Native Americans. One of the most prominent problems, however, is that reservations can't afford to hire quality teachers to educate their children. Thus, there continues to be uneducated Native Americans, which, in turn, causes this misfortunate cataclysm to continue. Another, and most important, aspect for a specific group of people to thrive, is religion. Ever since the first civilized human lived, there was religion. For most people, religion is the glue that holds their life together. It helps to provide purpose and meaning to all life. Native Americans of the 1800s, and before then, held very strongly to their beliefs. Religion was in everything they did. Whether it was planting crops or going on a big hunt, religion was the key to it. But now the Native American's religious beliefs have faded dramatically. Most of today's Indian youths no longer believe or practice the religion of their ancestors. Without religion, modern Native Americans find themselves insecure in what their purpose in life is and they often lack moral responsibility as well. The key to possibly fixing this problem is to educate young Native Americans about what their people used to believe in, and what role it played back then. With some good leadership skills and a lot of enlightening, maybe the old Indian religion will be fully restored to what it once was. In conclusion, Native American culture is rapidly being destroyed. Modern Native Americans have lost what it takes to keep a culture alive; religion, structure, and education. If Native Americans are once again going to flourish as a ethnic society, people need to do whatever they can to help build back the essential parts of Native American life.

Ethics and Global Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics and Global Climate Change - Essay Example The countries of the present world which are more developed than other countries with respect to economic factors are greater contributors to the emission of harmful particles into the climate. In the same manner, the economically developed countries also holds higher power of addressing the issue of reducing global warming when it comes to inculcating cost towards utilization of various innovative equipments that can significantly reduce global warming. Stephen Gardiner, in his article addressing issues of climate change, argued that the nations which are economically developed or the rich nations should take charge of bearing the most amount of costs required for the purpose of addressing consequences of global warming or eradication of the entire issue of global warming. Stephen Gardiner argued this way principally on the grounds of strong perspectives of economics and liability. In terms of economical aspect, Stephen Gardiner presented reasoning behind his argument on the basis o f an Integrated Assessment (IA) model. The model unites important aspects of the systems of economy and biophysics with the aim of realizing the alternative effects of both the climate as well as policies related to economic perspectives on each other. The model primarily aims at determining a perfect policy for the climatic factors that can exploit in maximum the activities related to the welfare of society. This model along with various other Integrated Assessment models provided an astonishing result that quite less counteractive effects towards global warming would appear in the next coming years due to the fact that costs associated with reduction of global warming is more than the amount of benefits that can be acquired. Thus, the supporters of this model such as Stephen Gardiner cited the argument that on the basis of economic costs, the countries which are economically developed should strive towards adapting consequences of global warming rather than reducing. However, with several considerations of arguably true facts, it was put forward by Stephen Gardiner that the developed or the rich nations should undertake steps which would benefit the countries economically. Considering the liability perspectives, Stephen Gardiner considers the developed or rich nations to be more responsible towards contributing to the worse conditions of the climate in recent times. Taking an approach of â€Å"backward-looking†, Gardiner held that these nations should bear the most amounts of costs considering their past impacts upon the climatic conditions. The industrialized countries are held to be more responsible towards carrying the costs that have been imposed due to emissions during the past years. Moreover, on scientific grounds, the developed economies of the world have largely contributed towards generating emissions during the past years due to massive industrialization. Thus, Stephen Gardiner argued with the logic that it should be the responsibility of t he developed nations to compensate higher proportion towards addressing issues of global warming for overusing. Persuasive Factors of Stephen Gardiner’s Belief Considering various issues related to the strategies for reducing adverse impacts of global warming, Stephen

Believing in illusion and accepting it as reality Essay

Believing in illusion and accepting it as reality - Essay Example Moreover, the media can easily give a bad name to anyone or exonerate the guilty, regardless of the truth. Thus, people are fooled and made to believe that whatever the media says is gospel truth. The media is also responsible for inventing false beliefs and prejudices, just like the shadows in the cave in Plato’s allegory. The media preaches racial discrimination, the normality of homosexuality, hatred and other forms of things that put the human being in shackles. In fact, the sign of bondage is evident in the line, â€Å"†¦and if any one tried to loose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death† (Plato). Thus, it would be hard to disbelieve because if you have a different opinion from the rest, you will naturally be ostracized or even literally put to death. What then do we make of these people who keep on believing the illusions produced by the media? Pitiful. Indeed, as Plato asked Glaucon, â€Å"†¦do you not suppose that he [the discoverer of the sun and the visible world] would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?† (Plato). Truly, those who have not seen the truth remain not only in their bondage but also in their

Evaluation of Three Different Types of Spectroscopy Lab Report

Evaluation of Three Different Types of Spectroscopy - Lab Report Example The sample is then heated via flame, plasma or electricity; this causes desolvation, liquefaction, vaporization and finally atomization (Sagi & Rathnam, 2013). Components include; a) The light source which is usually a hollow cathode lamp. Atoms of different elements absorb specific wavelengths of light therefore in order to analyse a sample for a specific element, the light source used must correspond to the wavelength of that element. b) A compartment in which samples are atomised via (flame, graphite furnace, MHS cell, FIAS cell, FIMS cell). c) A monochromator that disperses the light. d) A detector, which measures the light intensity and amplifies the Signal. e) A display that shows the reading. AAS has various uses such as analysis of bodily fluids like blood and urine for heavy metal poisoning and monitoring of the environment by measuring levels of certain elements in lakes, food like fish and the air (Karabegov, 2011). Fluorescence is a photon emission process. Absorption of light by some molecules causes movement of electrons from the ground state to an excited state. This excited molecule will return to a lower energy level by dispersing part of its energy. It will then return to the ground state by emission of a photon (fluorescence). As a result of this loss of energy, stokes shift is observed. Stokes shift is when there is a difference in wavelength of the absorption and emission spectra (Ge, et al., 2010) Only molecules containing a functional group which has the ability to absorb energy of a certain wavelength and re-emit it at a different but specific wavelength (fluorophore) will exhibit fluorescence (Ge, et al., 2010) a) The light source, an example of the first type used is the tungsten-halogen lamp and later on, mercury lamps were used. However, now xenon lamps are mainly used. b) A Monochromator used to select both the excitation and emission wavelength. c) Sample holders, the cuvette is placed in

Mice in Kelly Hall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mice in Kelly Hall - Essay Example In a Sylvan habitat where resident deer mice have been removed, other mice are capable of migrating to the new place where mice have been removed to replace them, going as far as travelling from distant places where there are no mice colonies. This migration can take up to two weeks (Douglas, Kuezi, Williams and Samuel Mills 392). House mice are, at most times, nocturnal, although they may appear during daytime. The mice experience poor eyesight therefore, they rely on other senses when moving and looking for food. House mice shelter under buildings and make their nest using materials that are shredded. Breeding periods of mice may occur year-round but when outdoors, it may occur during spring and fall periods, and the population is able to grow rapidly when under favorable conditions. The mice are able to enter structures through jumping, gnawing, and even swimming in water. The mouse can occupy various habitats that arrange from tropical climates to subantarctic islands, and withou t doubt, they can adapt to extreme temperatures (Fox, Barthhold, Davison, Newcomer, Quimy and Smith 31). There are studies carried out on mice and it indicates that they can travel for an average distance of nine meters and because of the limited movements, they do, they become difficult to control (Vector Management Program, n.p.). The mice are capable of memorizing their environment and identify well with essential factors such as food and water. Even though they are capable of identifying new objects that are present in their environment, they do not develop fear of the new objects. In an experiment to investigate the increase in number of mice in a building, several mice were removed in a building but they were quickly replaced. The vacant habitat was occupied by other mice and therefore homeowners must seal their houses when trapping mice in order to prevent other mice from occupying the vacant position. Preventing and Controlling House Mice The three most effective ways of con trolling and preventing house mice include constructing of rodent proof structures, ensuring there is good sanitation and reducing its population. The mice being smaller are capable of entering openings that are narrow hence in most circumstances makes use of rodent proofing difficult. House mice have a limited area for movement and, therefore, they should have no water. The reproduction of house mice, being at a higher rate than that of rats, requires an individual to take into account this information for successful control of the mice. The mice have a large home range hence modifying their habitat is not easy to attain because the mice may be coming from other areas that are beyond control (Salmon and Lick liter 43). It is advisable to try to modify the habitat of mice in the form of ensuring there is storage of food and garbage inside the house. This will only assist in detecting the signs of the presence of house mice and hence increase the effectiveness of using traps; moreove r, mice may live behind cabinets in an office and they will feed on crumbs of lunches people had in the office. No matter how good the sanitation of an office is maintained, the little food stored or consumed is able to support a mice therefore there must be a constant watch for invasion of mice. It is good practice to remove any debris available and control weeds in an effort to reduce the shelter

The positive changes in the economy of the United States during Bill Research Paper

The positive changes in the economy of the United States during Bill Clinton's term as President of the United States of America - Research Paper Example Clinton also ratified a large deficit reduction plan. One of the main reasons why Clinton was so successful was because he had skilled financial advisers who encouraged him to create practical policy decisions. Clinton’s economic policies would strengthen the American middle class thus assisting low-income families to capitalize on opportunities to lift themselves from the state of disenfranchisement. Clinton’s economic policies also made it possible for grants to be supplied to the science, educational, and infrastructure sectors, while tackling bridging fiscal gap. These policies essentially made it possible for the United States to benefit from the economic success that it would experience in the 1990s. A robust middle class is necessary for any nation to become developed. A weak middle class group can cause the national economy to stagnate. To strengthen the American middle class, Clinton created policies which would help families to be able to rebound from temporary financial stresses. Clinton was lucky in this respect because his actions were supported by congress; which is something that few presidents are lucky enough to experience. Some of these policies included: The Family and Medical Leave Act - This regulation made it possible for parents to be able to benefit from up to 84 days of unpaid leave when they needed to care for sick relatives or their infant children. Business organizations could not dismiss workers who made the decision to take advantage of this act. Increased minimum wages - Congress, in 1996, agreed to a 20 percent increase for workers who subsisted on minimum wage. This meant that those who formerly earned $4.25 per hour would then start earning $5.15 per hour. This increase would positively affect approximately 10 million full-time workers (Wood, 72). This incentive would not impact negatively on American employers. The child tax credit - President

LP4- juvenal justice- Family Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LP4- juvenal justice- Family - Assignment Example To begin with, the modern American family did not always have the father as the all powerful head of the household / breadwinner. Before the 1920s, women did their ample share to support the family through cottage and backyard industries that existed within their homes. These jobs could be as simple as dressmaking, babysitting, baking, etc. The common denominator among these jobs is that it allowed the woman to stay at home in order to supervise the rearing of the children. According to sources; â€Å"It was only in the 1920s that, for the first time, a majority of American families consisted of a breadwinner-husband, a home-maker wife, and children attending school† (â€Å"Does the American Family Have a History? Family Images and Realities†). This change marked a major turning point for the American families and how the parents would continue to influence the upbringing of their children. Historical research by Tas (27 - 28) has shown that even during ancient times, the family was considered to be the cornerstone of a childs discipline and upbringing and therefore, should be blamed for any delinquency that might occur. Noted as the â€Å"major causal agent in the genesis of delinquency† even the ancient Mesopotamians left tablet scriptures indicating that they believed the world would come to an end because even back then, children were already showing signs of disobeying their parents . In order to properly determine the influence of changes in the family unit in relation to juvenile delinquency, we must look at the influential variables that help determine the character development of the child. These influential variables include family functioning, impact of family disruption, and two-parent versus single parent households (Doggett, Anika â€Å"Juvenile Delinquency and Family Structure†). The family is the unit where a child is first exposed to the world and its activities. A child who is exposed to

Living religion is not so much about where we finally arrive, but how Essay

Living religion is not so much about where we finally arrive, but how we move there - Essay Example The Native American Individuals had no plans of worshiping and reverenced when they were bemused by something in life. They continually changed their doctrines guiding their religion to match with the changing environment. Judaism is considered a way of people’s life. It is a living religion, since it is made up of the society, adoration and holidays. The Jewish religion thrived where there was the presence of a Jewish individual. The religious services were lively when the Jews assembled for the purposes of worship. The Judaism holidays enabled the Jews to stay connected through out the year seasons. Buddhism is an antique religious conviction practiced by the Egyptians and the Greeks. Buddhism is a living religious conviction as it is published in books and the internet. The teachings of the Buddha are applicable by the contemporary Buddhists in their daily activities in the society. Individuals still strive to apply the values of the ancient Buddha. Buddhism understands the suffering, which is part of human life contrary to other religions blaming suffering on other causes. Hinduism is the oldest creed in the universe. Its ideologies are based on the facts that everyone garners the fruits of his labor. It is based on the external truth as written in the scriptures. The religion lacks a common founder leading to conflicting ideologies spread by various groups. It is based on Gods’ involvement in the daily activity of an individual. There are several living teachers of Hinduism, hence, it is considered as a primeval living religion. It is a living religion as it evolves to match individual religious demands. Christianity has expanded to increase its number of followers. It treats all its followers as equal and is proof to the miracles, truths, peace and love in its doctrines. Christianity has never changed its religious inceptions or doctrines and is forever in a stable state of evolution. Islam is a living religion as

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay Example for Free

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay The adversarial system of law involves a prosecutor defending his/ her clients in the court of law in the presence of a jury. The jury’s role is to make decisions that will be used in passing the sentence. In this system, the lawyers determine the rulings that are passed. â€Å"Lawyers play a central role in presenting each sides case (Mallenson 11). †This is because their intelligence in solving disputes will determine the sentence passed. Therefore, justice will be served when a prosecutor convinces both the judge and the jury that their defendant is innocent. The accused is not mandated to give evidence but should they choose to defend themselves, they will be cross examined by both parties. In England, the adversarial system is overly institutionalised. The prosecutor has to convince the jury beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime. The rule of law entails that the law enforcement agents can only make decisions and exercise their duties when as the law suggests. The rules of revealing evidence are developed based on the laws of England and Wales. The rules in this case give the judge limited power. Hence the roles played by judges in the adversarial system are passive since their duties are to ensure that both parties comply with the court rules and they will give direction on the way forward when disputes arise. The adversarial system, the rules of evidence are strict and the stand of prosecutors should be based on facts. For this reason, the cases are well prepared as prosecutors conduct intensive and extensive investigation prior to the court proceedings. The jury is also supposed to be impartial such that they represent what they consider as the truth so as to enable justice to be served. The adversarial system ensures fair trial as the state is not biased against the defendant. Key principles which govern the behaviour of advocates for the prosecution and the defence For advocates to perform well there are certain principles which they must follow. The key principles are the Expediency principle and the legality principles. The expediency principle also called opportunity principle which ensures that prosecutors need to be well disciplined and discrete so that they can represent the defendants impartially. This means that they are not supposed to handle cases just because they have been presented to the courts but because they want to bring about change and help justice take its course. The legality principle ensures that prosecutors have enough, reliable and valid evidence especially in the early stages. Moreover, the prosecutor is not supposed to be influenced by outside forces (Fionda 8). The key principles are father enhanced by other principles some of them are: The prosecutors should treat each case uniquely and not relate it to similar cases before. They must be fair, independent and should not be influenced by anyone or anything, they have to work in the interests of promoting fair justice and not to fulfil their personal ambitions, they have a responsibility of guiding and advising investigators whenever possible. They also review cases and ensure all evidence is presented to the courts. The prosecutors work is to assist the courts to reach a proper and fair sentence that is backed by sufficient evidence and facts so as to assist the courts to come up with a valid conclusion. They will do this by looking into various matters such as making sure they are conversant with the guidelines on the court procedures with regard to the case; do background research on the victims which will include if they have faced any previous charges. They will also need to make sure that there are fewer barriers that will influence their investigations for instance restraining orders. The prosecutor therefore is useful to the courts because they may tell the court how the victim should be sentenced depending on the crimes they have committed. This is because they prepare a plea and Sentence document before sentencing and they present it to the courts. The prosecutors will therefore ensure fair trial by following up court proceedings by constantly reviewing what is presented to the courts as correct and relevant. Fair trial is also furthered when they address new cases afresh by looking into all the supporting evidence so that they can argue their points in court. In enhancing equality, they do this by making sure that they are not influenced by other people or their personal feelings getting in the way of their work and they will present wrong judgements. They also make sure that the court legislators are informed of what is expected from them as they are constantly advised on the areas where they have doubts. â€Å"Adversarialism will only be valid if both sides are equally matched and every party is treated equally (Ian K, 4). † Presumption of innocence is the state of being considered innocent until the court says you are guilty. This is a right that every accused person is entitled to. The prosecutors therefore are the ones who help the courts prove that a person is ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ beyond any reasonable doubt. The courts refer to as the burden of proof and will only take place when there is evidence. And the prosecutors do this by collecting and presenting the evidence. If the prosecutors or the court has doubt in the evidence presented, the prosecutors will have to be given extra time so that they present what is correct.

Celta Reflective Account - Teaching Practice Essay Example for Free

Celta Reflective Account Teaching Practice Essay I had been teaching workers in the children and young people’s workforce for a number of years when I started the Celta   course. I already had experience of planning lessons, staging, timing and classroom management. I knew nothing about setting appropriate language aims. One of my main weaknesses was anticipating problems that students would have with particular lessons and in incorporating activities to suit the stronger students. This is partly because I am not very sure about what a beginner, intermediate or advanced learner knows. In our teaching practice we are given exercises to suit the different stages but I would not be very confident, even now, to choose exercises for myself. Another weakness that I have is that although I am experienced at planning timing in lessons I have on several occasions in teaching practice gone over time. I am usually a facilitative teacher, which is a strength in my experience people learn best when they work something out for themselves. However, it is also essential when using this approach to ensure that learners’ interest in words and grammar not related to the target language doesn’t overtake the lesson. It was also identified by Jan that I tended to allow feedback on exercises to go on for too long. It is at this point that I become less facilitative and sometimes repeat what the learners have already said. One of my strengths is the development of resources. I enjoy looking for pictures that will amuse and interest the students – I think that people learn better when the resources pique interest. I also ensure that resources are culturally appropriate or culturally neutral such as making a paper airplane which illustrated the different forms of the verb ‘to make’. This was an effective tool for elicitation and is one that uses minimal resources. Learning from watching experienced teachers When I started the course I felt very nervous about teaching. When I was observing experienced teachers I noticed that they used relevant intonation, hand gestures and voice projection skilfully. I recognised that by using relevant expressive body language I could increase my own confidence. It is important when teaching to project your voice and speak confidently so that students feel confidence in you. It is important also not to pretend that you know something when you are not sure. People can often tell if you are not sure about what you are saying. Tutor assessment of strengths and weaknesses Jan identified in my first class that I must reduce the teacher talk time. I think initially that I was talking a lot because I was unconfident and nervous. I was talking to prove to the learners that I knew the target language. I ensured that I started my second lesson with questions to the learners. This was a good exercise for me in reducing teacher time and in finding more about the level of the group and individual learners within it. By starting off with questions to the learners it encourages more learner participation throughout the lesson. The need for clearer instructions has been noted in a number of my practice teaching sessions. I have improved on this by planning in †¢ model answers †¢ giving only one instruction at a time †¢ asking students to repeat instructions Fellow students identification of strengths and weaknesses I moved from an intermediate group to an elementary group. Initially I didn’t moderate my meta language to accommodate for the learners’ knowledge of English, which was noted by colleagues in my first observation. I worked on this in my second lesson. I still sometimes forget my plans to clarify instructions when I am teaching. I have found error correction a challenge. I am aware that it is not always appropriate to correct and find it difficult to identify quickly whether the mistake needs to be corrected because meaning is fundamentally changed. This is often because I am feeling rushed because the timing of the lesson is out. I also worry that learners will feel humiliated if I correct them. I imagine that this is a concern for many teachers who had negative experiences as school students. My fellow student Siroja noticed during her observation of me that I am reluctant to nominate students to feedback. This is also because of a fear of humiliating someone who doesn’t know an answer. Reena noticed that when I ask for general feedback I am prepared to wait and allowed for pauses in the lesson which she felt was a strength because it shows confidence. Improvements needed  Timing is still a major issue for me in my lessons. I have managed to keep a couple of my lessons exactly to time but need still to identify ways to ensure feedback is more succinct. Ways in which I intend to do this: †¢ Learners checking their own answers using answer sheets †¢ Checking answers while monitoring learners I will also aim to make instructions snappier. I observed Reena using post-its which she stuck to her lesson plan – I will use them to write short, easily understood instructions which I will throw away as soon as I have finished explaining a particular exercise. If my timing is better I will feel less rushed and more able to stop and consider errors and whether the merit or not of correcting them. However, to make error correction easier I will also identify some key phrases that I can use to help learners re-consider what they have said without showing them up. I will aim also to ask the more reluctant students to answer questions, understanding that sometimes they don’t speak up in class because of a lack of confidence. By asking the question directly of the quieter students it is giving them permission to speak. Examples of question I might ask are: Can you think of another way of phrasing that? Do you think that you used the right tense/preposition there? If I have a few stock phrases it will help overcome my own fears that I am putting down the learners. However, I have also to recognise that learners often want to be corrected and if there isn’t enough time it may be necessary for me to put aside my own sensitivity and give the right form or ask the other students to rephrase the statement. To find out more about what is expected at different levels I will explore the ESOL Adult Core Curriculum because I missed the class. I will also look through text books for students to get a flavour. This assignment has helped me consider my progress and will help me develop my teaching practice further. I see myself like the child who measures her height by drawing marks up the wall and can see progress. This assignment, the feedback from teaching practice and mid course assessment are my marks on the wall. I can affect my progress by taking account of feedback from mine and colleagues’ teaching practice and from Tuesday evening lessons and grow taller.

Research Paper On Leukemia Health And Social Care Essay

Research Paper On Leukemia Health And Social Care Essay I decided to write my research paper on Leukemia because my uncle who lived in Bend, OR found out that he had Leukemia. This news was devastating for our family including my uncle. His health started dropping and he started felling tired all the time. My uncles this condition led him to lose his job because he could not keep up with his work. In our culture sole provider of the household is man. In this situation financial condition of the family was terrible because neither my uncle nor his wife were working. Their kids school grades were dropping and they were sadden by their fathers sickness. His son had emotional breakdown, and wanted to spend all his time with his father. This commotion of the family even spilled over to my side of the family. My mom was really attached to her brother; finding out that her brother has cancer. It was very hard on my mom. My moms health was at its worse when she got news of my uncles sickness. My uncles parents lived in India. Finding out their one and only son has a deadly sickness; it was very disturbing for his parents. They applied for visas to come to the United States to see their son. Even though, the family in the United States made a request to immigration services to allow my uncles parents to come to the United States to see their son. Supporting documents were submitted including a detailed letter from my uncles doctor describing his medical condition. However, their requests for obtaining U.S. visas were denied. My uncles medical condition did not allow him to travel to India to see his parents for the last time in his life. Furthermore, my uncle did not have medical insurance. The reason for not having a medical insurance was the high cost of it. Other big factor of not having insurance was that my uncle did not have a job for a long time. Even when he had a job it did not come with medical benefits. However, few months after my uncle found out that he had a cancer, and was hospitalized a doctor from the hospital down in Bend, Oregon helped him to get a medical insurance through Oregon Health Plan. This helped my uncle and his family a lot. My uncle was able to get quality treatment from the hospital through that health plan. The doctors did chemotherapy for six months and still it didnt cure him, and soon doctors gave up, and said sorry he wont live for long. Just week after that my uncle passed away. This is how my family is impacted by Leukemia. Leukemia is cancer that starts in the tissue that forms blood. To know how cancer starts it is helpful to know how normal blood cells form. Most blood cells are formed in the bone marrow called stem cells. Bone marrow is the soft material in the center of most bones. When mature it develops into different kinds of blood cells, each kind does a special job. Major kinds include the red blood cells and the white blood cells. White blood cells are helpful to fight infections. There are many kinds of white blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the tissues throughout the body. The platelets help form blood clots to prevent bleeding. White blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are created from stem cells when body needs them. When these cells grow old or damaged, they die, and then new cells take their place. In a patient who has leukemia, the bone marrow makes abnormal white blood cells. Those abnormal blood cells are called leukemia cells. Normal blood cells die when they reach a certain age or when they get damaged, whereas leukemia cells do not die after aging or getting damaged. They start to crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This situation makes it very hard for normal blood cells to do their job. There are two types of leukemia; the types of leukemia can be grouped on the bases of how quick the disease develops and gets worse. Leukemia is either chronic which usually gets worse slowly, or theirs acute which usually gets worse quickly. Chronic Leukemia: In the beginning stages of the disease, the leukemia cells can still do the job for normal white blood cells. Patient may not have any sign at first; doctors often find the chronic leukemia during a routine checkup before there are any symptoms. Gradually, chronic leukemia gets worse. As the number of leukemia cells in the blood increases, patients starts to get symptoms, such as swollen lymph nodes, fevers, night sweats, weak feeling, bleeding, weight loss, swelling, pain or infections. When those symptoms do appear, they are usually mild at first and get worse slowly. Acute Leukemia: The leukemia cells cant do any of the work of normal white blood cells. The number of leukemia cells increases quickly. Patients usually go to their doctor because they feel sick. If the brain is affected, they may headaches, vomiting, confusion, loss of muscle control, or seizures. Patients start to get symptoms, such as swollen lymph nodes, fevers, night sweats, weak feeling, bleeding, weight loss, swelling, pain or infections. Acute leukemia usually worsens rapidly. Diagnosis: Have one or more of the following tests done: physical exam, blood tests, biopsy done two ways bone marrow aspiration and bone marrow biopsy. Prevention: As long prevention goes, there is no way to prevent leukemia at this time. However, avoiding risk factors such as smoking, exposure to toxic chemicals, diagnostic x-rays, and exposure to radiation may help prevent some cases of leukemia. Being healthy and staying healthy plays a big role in preventing leukemia. What we put into our bodies has a lot to do with our overall health. Cancer Fighting Foods: I have also done some research on foods that are known to prevent different types of cancer. Eating a lot of vegetables and fruits help to prevent leukemia, list of vegetables and fruits are: Avocados rich in glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that attacks free radicals in body. Black Raspberries Blueberries contain an antioxidant that kills leukemia cells without harming healthy cells. Carrots contain beta carotene, which may help reduce cancer. Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage contains two antioxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin that may help reduce cancer. Garlic increases the activity of immune cells and helps break down substances that cause cancer. Grapefruits, oranges, papayas, pomegranate help prevent cancer Treatment: Leukemia treatment falls into two types of treatment to fight the cancer and treatment to relieve the symptoms of the disease and the side effects of the treatment. Chemotherapy is the widely used treatment for leukemia; it is the powerful drug to kill leukemia cells. Therapy can be administered by mouth or vein depending on the type of medication. Sometimes depending on the case chemotherapy can be given at home. In other cases patient has to hospitalize to receive the therapy. By this it kills cells or stops them from reproducing. It also kills rapidly growing healthy cells, accounting for many of the side effects of therapy. The severity of the side effects depends on the doses given and the patients tolerance. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles. Each cycle consists of severe treatment over several days followed by a few weeks without treatment for rest and recovery from side effects caused by the therapy, mostly anemia and low white blood cells. The sequence is then repeated. It may be administered for two to six cycles, depending on subtype leukemia and risk factors involved. Bone marrow exams may be done prior to each cycle of therapy. After completion of treatment the patient is evaluated again to see the effect of the chemotherapy for leukemia. Conclusion: In end it is all about how we take care of our bodies, our diet plays a big role in our well being and staying healthy. As stated above leukemia cancer is a very dangerous disease. We should take proper precaution to prevent this disease. Doctors are taking several measures to prevent this cancer from spreading in human body. If leukemia cancer is not taken care in its early stages it may prove fatal to human body. Citations: http://www.leukemia-cure.com/leukemia-symptoms.html http://www.lls.org/#/diseaseinformation/leukemia/ www.leukemia-lymphoma.org http://www.emedicinehealth.com/leukemia/article_em.htm http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/leukemia

The Mill on the Floss :: Free Essays Online

The Mill on the Floss George Eliot and The Mill on the Floss: Understanding the Woman and the Work George Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans in 1819. Mary Anne was one of seven children. Eliot often incorporated depictions of her siblings’ and father’s personal characteristics into her literary works. We see her brother Isaac appear as Tom Tulliver in The Mill on the Floss; It is said that her relationship with her brother Isaac is unmatched, even by her father. They had a special bond. That bound was broken when she meets George Lewes in 1854. Lewes was a married man. Eliot fell in love with him anyway. They eloped in 1854. Eliot was ostracized by her society and, perhaps more damaging, her brother refused to speak to her. This had a profound affect on Eliot’s works and her life. The fact that Eliot was involved with Lewes is only one aspect of her life. When doing my research, I was pleased to see that she was an editor at the Westminster Review in 1851. She wanted to be independent, so she decided to take up journalism at the age of thirty-one. After writing critically, she decided to began writing her own work. She published three long stories, which were later published in volume form. These complied works became her first book Scenes from Clerical Life in 1958 (Ashton, 187). Though she had been writing professionally, Mary Ann Evens wasn’t known by George Eliot until 1857. She came up with the pen name â€Å"George Eliot† to elude to the public that she was a clergyman friend of her boyfriend George Lewes. She was forced to come â€Å"out† when Dickens suspected thought she was really a woman. She reveals her true identity to the public in 1959. Her books were successful, but she was consistently aware that her professional work was being judged based on how she decided to live out her personal life. George Lewes dies in 1878. Two years later she marries John Cross who was a family friend. He was twenty years her junior. George Eliot dies in 1885 from kidney problems. The Mill on the Floss is Eliot’s most autobiographical book. The scenery of the book was based on the community Eliot grew up in—Arbury on the outskirts of Warwickshire. Eliot knew that she wanted the story to include a flood. She did research at the London Library.

The Blind Husband in Carver’s Cathedral :: Carver Cathedral Essays

The "Blind" Husband in Carver’s Cathedral  Ã‚   The short story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is about a woman who has a blind friend who comes to visit her and her husband. Although the husband has, technically, normal vision he is in the beginning of this story the one who is "blind." Through the husband’s words and actions when he is dealing with Robert, the blind man, we can see that the husband does not "see" or understand what Robert’s blindness means or how it changes or does not change him as a human being. At first Robert makes the husband very uncomfortable, for the husband does not know what to say or do around the blind visitor. As the story progresses, we can see a change in the husband; he seems to be able to see Robert as a person and not just as a blind man. One example that shows the husband is "blind" comes in the beginning of the story, before Robert arrives. When the husband and wife talk about Robert, the husband usually refers to him as "this blind man" (1052), and he never uses Robert’s name or assigns any human attributes to him. This shows that the husband does not really see Robert as a person, but just as a blind man who is different because he has a handicap. When Robert arrives at the couple’s house, the husband does not know what to say to him. The husband asks stupid questions about the view from the train: "Which side of the train did you sit on?" (1055). The husband knows that Robert cannot see the view, but he asks him these questions anyway. Also, the husband thinks to himself, "I didn’t know what else to say" (1055) which is a clear indication that he does not know how to relate to Robert. Both of these quotations show that the husband does not know what to talk about with Robert because he only sees Robert’s handicap, instead of seeing him as a complete human being who has emotions, thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. Not only does the husband not know how to communicate with Robert, he does not how to act around him either. A good example of this, shown after dinner, is when all three of them go into the living room. This is how the husband portrays what happens when they first enter the room: "Robert and my wife sat on the sofa.

Yahoo! - The Internet Search Engine Essay -- Expository Essays Researc

Yahoo! - The Internet Search Engine Yahoo! is my search engine of choice. In this paper I will discuss why I personally choose Yahoo! as my search engine and what I found out about the company. First, I choose Yahoo! for several reasons. The first reason being that is my laptops' home page. I find it a lot easier to search for something without searching for a different search engine. Second, I have heard good things about Yahoo! and I know that many of my classmates also use Yahoo!. The results that I get back when doing a search are usually adequate and I will ultimately use the results. I did however, compare this search engine with MSN. I found that Yahoo! was much better in presenting facts about their company in a user friendly manner. For MSN it was difficult to even find the information requested in this assignment. For this assignment finding how the company acquires information was rather easy although it never came right out and stated how. How it organizes the information when putting in a search request was never found but I do have some...

Classroom Observation Analysis Paper

The observation was in Mrs. Ayo a second grade teacher, in addition to Mr. Wray’s 5th grade classroom. Both classes are giving at Kinser elementary School , Both classroom actually work together in a group Reading Buddies. Which educational theories were employed? The educational theories that were being employed in her classroom are the Social Learning Theory by Bandura and Behaviorism Theory by Watson. Behaviorism is â€Å"the beliefs that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed (Educational Theories, March 19, 2012).† The Social Learning Theory is â€Å"when an observer’s behavior changes after viewing a behavioral model (Educational Theories, March 19, 2012). † The teacher used Modeling with her Reading Mastery curriculum. The students were required to be paying attention before the lesson started. The teacher cued the students to find the title in the story and read the title together. One student did not read the title correctly, so the teach er said â€Å"my turn† and read the title correctly and then she said â€Å"your turn† and the students read the title again. Throughout the lesson, the teacher would praise students at different times.The assessments for the teacher with the lesson were questions asked to the student in the lesson, also the independent sections on the student worksheets. What educational theories could have been used to better enhance the instruction and learning? An educational theory that could have been used is Constructivism. Constructivism is â€Å"that learning is meaning, it is reflecting on experiences (Educational Theories, March 19, 2012). † Mrs. Mullins could have enhanced lesson to incorporate real life connections to the students to make it meaningful for them. She could have had students predict what was going to happen next in the story.How practical is the application of education theories in the classroom? It is very practical to apply educational theories in t he classroom like Constructivism, Behaviorism, and the Social Learning Theory. A teacher can use a combination of educational theories in a classroom. The teacher can build upon the students’ knowledge and emphasize problem solving and the teacher can also use the Social Learning theory with Modeling. The teacher can model the behavior to the student and use positive and negative reinforcements with Behaviorism. One can also use Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence in the classroom too.Gardner’s theory â€Å"has eight domains of intelligence (Linguistic, Logical, Spatial, Bodily Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic) according to Bee and Boyd, 2010. The different types of intelligence can be used in daily lessons throughout the day. How does the theory of information processing apply to student learning? Information processing has two areas: innate ability and acquired knowledge (Bee & Boyd, 2010). A lower IQ can compensate for acquire d knowledge. People with higher IQ’s will perform better than a person with a lower IQ.This also applies to student learning. Children with a lower IQ need effective strategies for processing information. These students have to acquire a vast amount of information on any subject before they can perform as well as their peers with higher IQs. How does the classroom environment affect information processing and learning for adolescents? Information processing theory explains that, â€Å"children are born with some basic, inborn cognitive strategies that will change from earlier years of life to more complex ones and the old ones being used with more flexibility (Bee & Boyd, 2010, p. 197).†As the information processing theory is explained in the text as an adolescent plays chess, the better they will become as seeing and remembering the relationships among the pieces on the board. In the classroom, it should foster an environment that allows the development of the complex cognitive strategies. There needs to be repetitive tasks that are geared towards building cognitive strategies, such as sight words. It can be studied by writing it, reading it, putting the word into a sentence, drawing a picture of it, and defining it. The repetitiveness of the activities can develop cognitive development.Compare adolescent student learning in a social environment and an educational environment. Which is more conducive to attention and memory? In a social situation there are usually more than one stimuli competing for the attention of the individual; whereas in a classroom attention is more directed to one stimulus (the teacher). This would seem to dictate that educational environments are more conducive to attention than social situations. Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain, and later retrieve information. The three major processes involved in memory are encoding, storage, and retrieval.This does pertain to adolescent learning, it is important for new information to be connected to existing information. It is noted that rote memorization is not as effective as learning information through sayings or through stories. Learning through sayings and stories involve connecting the new information to existing information. Social situations would seem to have an upper hand, since social environments provides a context for learning that builds upon the pre-existing peer relationships and experiences. Some of these are present in the classroom, with the teacher and student, but it is not as great as the social environment.What teacher behaviors did you observe that facilitated student comprehension and reasoning? An activity that I believe facilitated student reasoning was when Mrs. Mullins would ask the students scripted questions from the curriculum program. This allows the teacher to know if the student understands the material that was just read. Also the student had to answer questions from their textbook and an independent worksheet to reinforce the comprehension. The students were required to answer the questions in complete sentences and circle the correct multiple choice answer.Why did the teacher behaviors positively affect student’s thinking and abilities? Both the activities required the students to think. The students are required to use different strategies to get their answers for the questions. I observed multiple strategies from the students. In this class, students were asked questions and sometimes the teacher would ask another question after the other question. Which teachers’ behaviors impeded student comprehension and reasoning? The teacher also gave a Spelling test at the beginning of the Reading lesson. The test may be the least productive activity of the lesson.The test was based on rote memorization of learning the word. The student was required to hear the word, then in a sentence, and then they were required to write the word on a piece of paper. Some children do not learn this way. Students all learn differently; some learn auditory, other learn visually, and lastly kinetically. There were a few students having difficultly writing down the spelling word because they could not remember the audible letters to match it to the written word. Why did the teachers’ behaviors negatively affect students’ thinking abilities?The students wanted to get a 100% on their spelling test to be able to get a prize out of the prize box. This auditory/visual deficiency also speaks to the inverted-U relationship between stimulation and performance. As stimulation increases (social pressure, teacher pressure, and peer pressure to make a good grade on the test), so performance on the test increases; however, there is a cutoff beyond which simulation begins to effect performance negatively. The students were motivated to get a 100% on their spelling test, because their teacher added increase pressure by adding a reward to the performance on the test.This affected the grades on their spelling test making the students to perform negatively, since the stimulation was too much for these students. How does delayed language development affect teaching? Delayed language development seems to be the result of a defect in the fast mapping processes and poor receptive language (Bee & Boyd, 2010). † Fast mapping refers to â€Å"the ability to categorically link new words to real world references (Bee & Boyd, 2010, p. 209). † In cognitive development, there are biological and environmental factors to language assimilation, acquisition, and recitation.The average vocabulary of a 2 year old is about 600 words, but it can be adequately be determined by the IQ scores of the parents; however, the language acquisition can increase if the child is read to by their parents daily. This means reading will compensate for any biologically or environmentally caused deficits in the language development. These deficits in the lang uage development can be through the use of a phonic approach that will translate to a specific letters into sounds and vice versa. Children who are poor language learners will have a problem with letter-sound recognition and combinations.This approach will overcome the obstacle. Lastly, the reading program is important; it should be flexible and responsive to student’s language needs. If the phonic approach is not working, then a reading comprehension approach should be tried. Being able to learn the words as a part of a sentence approach would be better. How does language development affect learning in children and adolescents? A systematic and explicit phonics approach to a language arts program states that lessons should move from simple words to complex words in an explicit manner that emphasizes the letter sound correspondence (Bee & Boyd, 2010).†The whole language approach seeks to teach language through meaning and context of the word rather than the actual struc ture of the word. This approach doesn’t explicitly teach letter sound correspondence unless the student has question about how the sound of the letter makes. The last approach is a balanced approach that is a systematic and explicit phonic and whole language approach. Language development can have a large impact on reading comprehension. Reading comprehension helps with the writing abilities of the student.

Punishment: Forms and Functions Essay

In a contemporary society where crime takes place we expect the state authority to dispense justice in the form of punishment to maintain social solidarity. There are many forms of punishment that can be given to an offender, each with their own functions for the offender and society itself. Imprisonment is one of the most widely used forms of punishments globally, the ideology of imprisonment globally tends to remain the same. There are several functions of imprisonment and whether it is an effective method of punishment is widely argued by sociologist. To remove the offender from society, as to keep society safe is one function that stands out, by putting the offender in a high security environment you take away their freedom to commit offences towards the public again. However it could be argued that prison is deemed an unsafe environment for the offender itself as an institution, for many it’s an environment where they have to adapt to survive, in which case becoming a bre eding more criminals as a result of this or producing victims. Alternative punishment such as house arrest or probation would be more suitable in the face of the offender’s personal safety, whereby they are still paying for the crimes they have committed, with limitations on their freedom, however they are much safer. Statistics show that 50% of offenders that are released from prison are likely to reoffend within 3 years, which is the same rate as those who are given these alternative punishment. With 3% of the American population in prison and a large majority of those likely to reoffend within 3 year of release, they should be looking for alternative approaches to prison that takes into account the safety of the offender. However it could be argued that prison is there to be tough and that the people in there are criminals and should be treated as such. An alternative approach to prison that has be found to be particularly successful across America in reducing the number of young people entering prison and reducing the reoffending rate s are correctional facilities, which implements army regimes, with an aim to instil discipline, self-control and work ethic into juveniles. This form of punishment works based on the idea of giving young people who have committed the change to go through a programme or carry on with their sentence. This form of punishment works based on the idea of deterrence as mentioned in item B, which in the case of this form of punishment where it is heavily applied it is successful proven by the low rates of reoffending after graduation from correctional  facilities. However it can be argued it’s difficult to prove the effectiveness of deterrence, because only the offenders who weren’t deterred by possible consequences of the actions will come to face the enforcement of the punishment, therefore it does not tell us why others do not offend. Making punishments based on deterrence is based on a key concept that offenders choose to obey or disobey the law having calculated the possible gains and consequences of their actions. It could be argued that all forms of punishment are based on deterrence, we have punishment to deter the public from committing crimes, and it forces society to conform. Over the many centuries that there have been prison systems there have been changes in the way offenders have been treated, one concept that is present in today’s prison system is the idea of rehabilitation, this is aiming to reform the offender to give them the support and skills they needs to be able to go back into society once they have served their sentence, and in turn stop them reoffending. This as a function of punishment is generally very positive, it’s helping the offender, their still contained in a high security environment away from the public however for many offenders they tend to be uneducated or lack vocational skills which has left them unsupported previously, with rehabilitation they’re able to gain these skills so they can go out and get jobs, meaning they’re less likely to lead criminal lives when they’re released from prison. However Rothman 1973 rejects the idea of rehabilitating offenders, he believes that due to the environment they’re in with officers holding huge amounts of power over them, they’re left with little free will and are forced into these programmes. However it’s often found that many offenders, especially women and ethnic minorities, take well the programmes having been discriminated against in education and in the work place so having had less opportunism before prison. 30 mins When assessing the functions and forms of punishment one key aspect I think is important to take into consideration is the role of the crime itself and how that plays out in punishment. Imprisonment, can be a harsh environment, however can be an opportunity for offenders to reflect on the crime they’ve committed and who they’ve committed it against. Restorative justice also gives offender this opportunity to reflect on the harm they’ve caused  through programmes such as victim offender medication, which studies show has a high satisfaction rate for those involved, high victim participant rates, meaning a large proportion of victims who can will take up the opportunity to talk to the victim of their crime, and importantly reduced criminal behaviour by offenders (cumbhert 1994). However a major criticism of victim offender mediation is that it’s difficult in terms of victims of brutal crimes such rape of with relatives of murder victims. Item B refers to t he use of execution as a form of punishment, whereby countries such as the USA still enforce the death penalty, the UK uses the alternative of life imprisonment for brutal crimes such as murder or rape of a minor. Deterrence is a prominent concept when discussing death penalty, the idea is that if you take a life where the death penalty is used as a form of punishment, your life will be taken, however research from the death penalty information centre suggests that the use of capital punishment has no effect on the rate of murder case, when they compared states that used the penalty there wasn’t much difference between the number of murder cases and in some year It was higher for states with the penalty. In the UK we abandoned capital punishment and replaced it with life imprisonment, which some argue to be unfair on the victims and believe in the take a lie give a life ideology. However when you take into consideration a lifetime imprisonment and was that would actually be like, living with hundreds of criminals for a lifetime, in isolation, without many rights, it could be argued that the offender would endure more suffering, therefore the punishment is right for what they’ve done, and they’re serving the time for their crimes. Prison is a form of punishment which is a theme throughout, Foucault provides an explanation for why prison is so prominent as a form of punishment in our society. In previous years sovereign power was prominent, whereby punishment would be handled by those in power of the land, i.e. the king or queen, this would be done in a manner of cruelty and brutally aiming to punish the body for the crimes that have been committed. In our society we have moved towards disciplinary power whereby punishment is handed out by the authorities, it’s done so with an aim of disciplining the mind, making them correct their own actions. The idea of self-discipline comes into play in prisons where by prisoners are being watched by guards so act accordingly, in time they will begin to act this way without the guards being there in  case they are being watched. There are many forms of punishment and many functions of those punishments, and whether a punishment is successful depends on what the aim is and who the punishment is applied to. For example many argue that a fine is a suitable punishment for speeding and acts as a deterrent for reckless driving.

The Conflict of Women in 20th Century India

Throughout recorded history, women the world over have been held to different standards than men. They have been consistently oppressed in nearly all aspects of life, from political to personal, public to private. In the 20th century, great strides have been taken to end this oppression and level the playing field. In India however, a number of deeply rooted traditions have made this effort particularly difficult, and as a result, women's triumphs over oppression in India are all the more intriguing. To understand the position women found themselves in at the dawn of the 20th century, one must have a general understanding of the numerous historical women's conflicts unique to the Subcontinent. It took the overwhelming success of Gandhi's nonviolent revolution to unite women politically and create the an atmosphere whereby women, empowered by the times, could take a stand for their equality. The 1970's saw the beginning of a highly organized modern women's movement in India. Violence against women was one of the main focuses of the movement. Harassment, wife-beating, rape, and â€Å"dowry deaths† were all too common, and police enforcement was ineffective as were most attempts at prosecution. Commonly called â€Å"atrocities against women†, these acts occurred frequently. Why then, if these events were happening so often, was there so much apathy towards them on the part of the courts and the police? To answer this question one must look back upon a history marked by religiously and culturally accepted forms of oppression such as female infanticide, polygamy, purdah and sati. Purdah, still practiced today in many Moslem societies, is the practice of covering a women in cloth to protect them from the gaze of non-family males, in order to maintain their purity. This practice became common in India in the days of the sultanate. From a traditional western perspective this is a very repressive requirement. Gandhi took a particular pleasure in bringing women out of purdah, and involving them in the political movements of the times. Sati is another story. Early British rule in India was careful to stay out of the traditions and private lives of the natives. They ruled indirectly, typically demanding monetary tribute from local leaders in exchange for allowing them to rule as they pleased. This philosophy changed dramatically under the governor-generalship of Lord William Cavendish Bentinck which began in 1828. He began a much more interventionist policy that included the an increase in transportation facilities, industrialized cloth production (which displaced the ancient commercial structure) and he abolished the ancient tradition of sati (female infanticide was also outlawed by the British). The last of which caused a great rift in India's intellectuals and businessmen. Sati is an ancient Hindu tradition whereby a widow is burned in the cremation fire of her departed husband. This practice was abhorred by British missionaries and businessmen. However, to many of India's intellectuals it was an act of bravery and dedication on the part of the widow, to be admired. This is evidenced by the first petition against the intervention, which stated, â€Å"Hindoo widows perform (sati), of their own accord and pleasure, and for the benefit of their Husbands' souls and for their own, the sacrifice of self-immolation called Suttee (another spelling of sati)- which is not merely a sacred duty but a high priviledge†(Stein, p. 22). For those who did not take part in this practice, the life of a Hindu widow was a very restricted one. A census conducted in 1881 showed that one-fifth of all women were widows, so these restrictions were very important. The Dharmashashra of Manu (a Hindu text) talks about how a Brahmin widow should act stating, â€Å"†¦ but she may never mention the name of another man after her husband has died. (Stein, p. 94) As child brides were common in the Subcontinent, one often saw young widows unable by traditional law to remarry and make an attempt at a new life. Furthermore, they rarely had the education to support themselves. Education was historically bestowed solely upon the males. In the 19th century only the wealthiest of families sought after any sort of formal education for their female children, and there was no movement in the government to change this. â€Å"A survey of Madras found over 5000 girls enrolled in Indian language schools, as against 179,000 boys†(Stein p. 268). This lack of concern for the formal education of women exemplifies how their place in society was viewed. The treatment of high cast women was one of the first forms of oppression attacked by advocates of women's rights. In the 1860's action was taken by avid social reformer Madhav Govinda Ranade, who founded the Widow Re-marriage Association and the Deccan Education Society (which sought to increase young women's educational facilities). Although Ranade challenged some of traditions that prevented the liberation of women, he was seen by many as a hypocrite, himself taking on a child bride after the death of his wife. Soon however women would take the reins in the battle for their own independence. A woman by the name of Ramabia is considered, â€Å"the first Indian Feminist to address other women directly about emancipation† (Stein, p. 275). She, like Ranade, was a member of the Brahman caste. She would go on to travel and study in England and later in America, where she wrote about the mistreatment of women in India. A converted Christian upon her return to India, Ramabia opened schools for high caste women. This effort, in conjunction with various projects Ramabia worked on for women, was far ahead of its time and it would take nearly a century before women would tightly bind together to formally resist oppression. Early in the 20th century women were forbidden to protest their condition or even to congregate to discuss the matter. This was a right even the lowest cast males, the untouchables, was bestowed. It was a common belief at the time, that free women would inevitably come to neglect their marital responsibilities. The Indian National Congress, led by Gandhi, was one of the first political organizations to actively include woman, even women formally in Purdah. Although these women mobilized formally in the name of nationalism, it was this extensive political activity that would become a catalyst for future self conscious feminism (a school of thought that was looked upon with great caution and fear). In 1917 the congress demanded that women be able to vote on the same basis as men, but these efforts to were for the progress of nationalism rather than exclusively for the improvement of women's rights. The eventual partition and independence of India was seen as a tremendous success for passive resistance and the Gandhian way. In the decades to come a number of political movements would emerge that would utilize various forms of civil disobedience as their main form of protest. There was intense and organized women's participation in these movements, as a result of their participation in the independence movement there was a clear precedent for this. In the 1960's India saw the effects of dramatically improved agricultural techniques resulting from the new technology of the ‘Green Revolution'. However, these benefits did not come without a cost. Although food was more plentiful, farmers not wealthy enough to keep up with the technology got left in the dust. As a result women toiling on the land found themselves worse off than ever before. There were also severe environmental implications of the sudden and extensive use of technology. In response a number of movements emerged. Within these movements (such as the Marxist, the Farmers, and the Environmental movements) unified groups of women emerged and took on unprecedented responsibility. They actively and enthusiastically sought after redistribution of land and wages. The first group to cross over and actively seek out women's liberation was an organization of â€Å"new Marxists† called Magowa. Starting in Maharashtra, which would become the center for liberation activity, they wrote their second publication on the, â€Å"varied facets of women's oppression in India†(Omvedt p. 76). The population base of this movement was the rural and the toiling. This was important because the women of this group were already organized, although not all of these organizations with this base turned their focus toward feminist causes. 1974 was a pivotal year for the movement. Not only did it see the founding of POW (the Progressive Organization of Women), but it was the year that the official Status of Women Commission published their report, Towards Equality, on women's low and ever decreasing status in Indian society. This paper would add much fuel to the impending fire and validate it to the mainstream population. There were large conferences in Pune and Trivandrum in 1975 on women's issues further bringing the movement into the mainstream. Many autonomous groups popped up with different agendas and issues. Some of the common issues included; the division of housework, party politics, rape, and â€Å"dowry deaths†. The issues of violence, popularly called â€Å"atrocities against women† became the centerpiece of the movement in the early eighties and the cause for its expansion. A forum against rape in Bombay led to the creation of the Forum Against Atrocities on Women, or the FAOW. All over India these feminist groups were emerging. There constituencies came to included women from all walks of life No longer did women simply motivate toward third party objectives, they now fought for their own rights as the largest oppressed group in the nation. From an unanswerable and most often unaddressed problem in the 1800's, to a hotly contested issue on the cutting edge of politics in modern times, the conflict over women's rights in India has come full circle in one century. Although feminist sentiments existed throughout, it took active female inclusion in the political world by Gandhi's independence movement to give their voices strength and to eventually have them heard. There was avid political activity on the part of women and female organizations leading up to the 1947 split. The effectiveness of this work foreshadowed the influence women could have on politics when working together, and paved the way for the modern women's movement that began in the 1970's. Unfortunately, even at the end of the eighties â€Å"atrocities against women† were still occurring and they continue to occur today, but the change in attitude and the end of apathy that has emerged over the last century surely gives promise that someday there could truly be equality for women in India, and the world over.

Organisational Theory Essay

â€Å"Power, conflict and resistance key determinants of organisational life. † -Modern, symbolic-interpretive, post-modern and critical theory perspectives have different ways of understanding power, control and resistance in organisations. Choose two of the four theoretical perspectives and discuss how each perspective’s understanding of power, control and resistance in organisations contributes to different ideas about the nature of organisations. Introduction: The purpose of this essay is to analysis the two theoretical perspectives of Modern and Post-modern which have different ways of understanding power, control and resistance in organisations. We shall go through by the philosophical choices of ontology and epistemology, then examine the assumptions underlying of these two perspectives, and to compare from different perspectives and of distinctive contributions to the power, conflict and resistance which are key determinants of organisational life. Ranson et al. (1980), stated that â€Å"Organizational structure†¦ describes both the prescribed frameworks and realized configurations of interaction, and the degrees to which they are mutually constituted and constituting. Modernism: As to Hatch and Cunliffe (2006), Modernist focus on Objectivism which is belief in objective, external reality that independently exist from our knowledge on ontology philosophical saying. Martin Parker (2008) stated that on epistemology way, Modernism elevates the ‘faith in reason to a level at which it becomes equated with progress. † Clegg and Kornberger (2003) explained that Modernism does go through adherence to the canons of positivism – which discovering the Truth by using reliable measurement and valid concepts to examine knowledge against an objective world. Hatch and Cunliffe (2006) that Modernist organisation theorists believe that complete knowledge means understanding how and why organizations function the way they do and how their functioning is influenced by different environmental conditions. Modernist is emphasis on looking for universal laws and methods to solve problems, and by using standardized procedures and routine practices to control the organisation. Hatch and Cunliffe (2006) further elabourated

The role of women in Japanese Theatre and the portrayal of Japanese Essay

The role of women in Japanese Theatre and the portrayal of Japanese women in western theatre - Essay Example This persona has been carried forward into the Western traditions of portrayals of Japanese females in popular theater which is typified in â€Å"Madame Butterflyâ€Å". The performance of female parts in most Japanese theater is done by male actors. This tradition in both the kabuki and the bunraki is still primarily maintained today. However, the performance of the gidayu is a tradition that has included female performers since the late 16th or early 17th century (Coaldrake, 1997, pp. 13). The performance of the gidayu is similar to the oral traditions of story telling in the Western traditions. However, it is done in a chanting voice that emotes action and the furtherance of the story through a combination of this chanting and of song. The skill of the performer is measured by how well she engages her audience and helps them visualize the play without an actual visual performance. The performance is accompanied by an instrument that is played by the artist. This tradition is part of the geisha traditions and artistries as well as those who are dedicated solely to this type of performance. Traditionally, The Edo period, running from 1603 to 1868 saw a great deal of restrictions in the activities of all people, but even more so for women. During the late Edo period there were attempts to try and suppress global influences that might subvert the Japanese heritage and traditions. One of these attempts was through the suppression of extravagances in art, which included the public performances by women (Coaldrake, 1997, pp. 12). These attempts, however, were largely unsuccessful as seen through the remaining existence of this type of performance in Japan. The onnagata are male performers who portray female parts in the kabuki. The origins of the all male kabuki as the only kabuki did not occur until the early 17th century when in 1629 females were prohibited from performing. Previous to this time all female

Analysis of Claude Levi Strauss's Books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Claude Levi Strauss's Books - Essay Example According to Levi-Strauss, â€Å"Heterogeneous beliefs and customs have been arbitrarily collected together under the heading of totemism.† There were many scholars who became supporters of totemism when they tried to decode the secrets of evolution. Levi-Strauss supported the anti-totemic school together with other anthropologists such as Goldenweiser and Boas. They believed that totemism was just a social historical reality. He concluded that totemism is just an exercise in logic of the savage mind. It is not the start of vast accomplishment of savage ancestors to form the first unit of social organization. In the book, Levi-Strauss also compared the Bricoleur and Engineer.. Bricoleur comes from the French verb bricoler which originally meant extraneous movements in ball games, hunting, gun firing, but now referred to repairing things by one’s self. The Engineer was referred by Levi-Strauss as the proper craftsman. According to Levi-Strauss, there is a difference betw een the two. Engineer sees things in its entirety and gathers all things needed in building or creating its masterpiece. On the other hand, a Bricoleur utilizes what materials are existing and finds new ways to create a masterpiece. The engineer uses a â€Å"scientific mind† while a bricoleur exercises a â€Å"savage mind†. ... Bricoleur, is closed to whatever is imposed by the state of civilization. Thus, according to Levi-Strauss, engineers works by concept while bricoleur works with signs. Signs incorporate certain amount of culture into reality while concepts tries to be transparent to reality. This view shows how Levi-Strauss discussed the world between technology and metaphysics. Thus talking about the engineer being able to utilize the available practical knowledge exhibited by the bricoleur, technology therefore was a tangible expression of metaphysics. The two don’t have a big difference but is interconnected. The Savage Mind focused on the division of world during the 1960s. It showed how the scholars had a hard time deciphering a specific formula of how the world works. With what the book has discussed, the world is torn between technology and metaphysics. Scholars also have different views such that others support in totemism while other are support the anti-totemic school such as the aut hor Levi-Strauss. The Tristes Tropiques Claude Levi-Strauss The Tristes Tropiques book by Levi-Strauss provided a very wide exploration of the relationship of human beings and the environment. This book focused in Levi-Strauss’ research in Brazil which discussed sociology, religion, education, as well as urban development. Being an anthropologist, he has shown his feelings, fears and the possible criticisms in this book. On the first part of his book, he showed his talent in writing and him being a good social scientist. He also discussed urban development in Part Three of his book that can be of great reference and influence to architects and urban planners. Being an anthropologist, Levi-Strauss has the responsibility to write his views and opinions. Writing about the