Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Essays

Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Essays Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Paper Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Paper Essay Topic: Bad Boy a Memoir Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft were both born in the 18th century, within 47 years of each other, and both were regarded as important philosophical thinkers of their time. Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1712; his father was a watchmaker and his mother died while giving birth to him. His father Isaac, who taught him to read, and appreciate the countryside, consequently brought up Rousseau. His father had to leave Geneva when Rousseau was 10 years old to avoid going to prison; he was then brought up by his aunt and later by an uncle. In his writings The Confessions he recalls only happy memories of his childhood, although to the reader it does have some strange features such as not being allowed to play with children of his own age, Never once, until I left my fathers house, was I allowed to run out alone into the road with the other children (The Confessions: Book 1, 1953, pp21). When Rousseaus father had to leave Switzerland, he was put into the care of his Uncle Bernard, who had a son of Rousseaus age. Together they were sent to a place called Bossey to board with a pastor called M. Lambercier, for an education. Up until this point Rousseau had had a childhood with no formal education at all. Rousseau also recalls his time at Bossey with fond memories, and claims; The manner of my life at Bossey suited me so well that if only it had lasted longer it could not have failed to fix my character for ever. (The Confessions: Book 1, 1953, pp25). After leaving Bossey and spending a few years living with his uncle, he was sent at the age of thirteen to be an apprentice engraver. He lived here for about three years before running away at the age of sixteen to travel across Europe, where he becomes a Catholic briefly before converting back to Protestantism. Rousseau ended up in Paris, leading a somewhat unsettled life, where he eventually died in 1778. He left behind him a cult following, his name and writings became infamous during the French revolution. Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1759 to John Edward Wollstonecraft, who was a tyrant and a bully, and Elizabeth Dixon. She was the second child of six. She had an elder brother; Edward and four other siblings were born after her, James, Charles, Eliza and Everina. They were brought up as Anglicans. Wollstonecrafts paternal grandfather owned a silk weaving business, and her maternal grandfather was a wine merchant. In 1765 her paternal grandfather died leaving the silk weaving business to her father. However her father was a bit of a snob and he didnt care very much for being a tradesman, so he took the money from the business and invested in farming. This had disastrous consequences as her father knew nothing of farming, and the family spent their time moving from one farm to another, leaving their debts behind them. Between the years 1759 and 1776 they had moved about the country on numerous occasions and tried their hand at farming at places such as Epping, Whalebone, Essex, Yorkshire and Wales. By the end of the 1770s the family fortune was at very low ebb. In 1775 Mary Wollstonecraft met Francis (Fanny) Blood, who became her closet friend and companion until her death in 1785. Her mother died in 1782, and in 1784 Mary Wollstonecraft, her sister Eliza, and Fanny opened a new school in Islington, where they were joined by her other sister Everina. After Fanny Bloods death Wollstonecraft returned to find the school had suffered in her absence, so she closed it and turned her mind to writing by way of making a living. In 1786 she earned herself ten pounds after her first publication, which was a pamphlet entitled Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. Mary Wollstonecrafts life was changed, as was most of the world, by the French Revolution in 1789, and went to live in Paris in 1792 to witness first hand the effects of the French revolution. Wollstonecraft went on to produce many more important writings during her lifetime, one of her most famous being A vindication of the rights of women. Wollstonecraft died on 10th September 1797 of childbed fever 11 days after her second child was born. In 1798 William Godwin, her husband published a book called Memoirs of Mary Wollstonecraft, which seemed to have a negative effect on her popularity. Jean-Jacques Rousseaus ideas on childhood and education were considered quite revolutionary at the time, and even today they continue to be quite controversial. Rousseau was famous for being a social critic; he felt that social life corrupted human nature. Rousseau strongly believed that: We are all born good, but civilisation turns us all into moral slaves. (Lecture notes, 13/10/03) It is upon this belief that Rousseau wrote one of his most controversial pieces in 1762, which was a novel called Emile. This book was based on Rousseaus thoughts that people developed through various stages and that different forms of education may be suitable to each specific stage. Rousseau alleged it was possible to sustain the original nature of the child by careful control of his education and environment. This was done through a close investigation of the different physical and emotional stages through which the child passed from birth through to maturity. Geraint Parry mentions in the book Emile: Learning to Be Men, Women, and Citizens that: It is intended to portray an ideal of education that is as close to nature as it is possible to attain in the world as we now find it. (The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau, 2001, pp249) In Emile, Rousseau divides the childs development into five stages, and a book is devoted to each. The five stages are: Stage one Infancy (birth to two years), Stage two The age of Nature (Two to Twelve years), Stage three Pre-adolescence (Twelve to Fifteen years), Stage four Puberty (Fifteen to Twenty years) and Stage five Adulthood (Twenty to Twenty Five years). (www. infed. org) The books that are most fundamental to Rousseaus belief of childhood being a crucial phase of self-development are books one, two and three. Rousseau attempts to show the reader how a persons self-development can be determined by the way he is educated in his childhood. Rousseaus belief that society was corrupt fuelled his ideas on education. Geraint Parry mentions in Emile: Learning to be Men, Women, and Citizens that The significance of education for Rousseau is that it seems to offer a means of solving one of the central dilemmas of his social and political thought. A fundamental objective is to create a virtuous circle in which transformed human beings could live in a transformed society (The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau, 2001,pp248) Rousseau says in book one of Emile: We are born sensitive and from our birth onwards we are affected in various ways by our environment. As soon as we become conscious of our sensations we tend to seek or shun the things that cause them, at first because they are pleasant or unpleasant, then because they suit us or not, and last because of judgements formed by means of the ideas of happiness and goodness which reason gives us. (Emile, 2003, pp7) Rousseau backs this idea up when he writes his Confessions later in his life when he recalls some of his childhood memories, one in particular of his time at Bossey when he was chastised by Mlle Lambercier for a wrong doing and found that the experience of being beaten by her wasnt as bad as he had first thought it would be, and he goes on to say: Who could have supposed that this childish punishment, received at the age of eight at the hands of a woman of thirty, would determine my tastes and desires, my passions, my very self for the rest of my life,.. (The Confessions, book one, Penguin 1953, pp26) It is clear from Rousseaus writings that he strongly believed that Childhood is a crucial phase of self-development. Much of his work was read and admired by Mary Wollstonecraft. She was born nearly fifty years after Rousseau, but his writings on education were something that Wollstonecraft admired: the ideas she had begun to acquire about education, filtered down from Rousseau (The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft, Claire Tomalin, Penguin 1992, pp49) Wollstonecraft was seen as very insightful, in the sense that she longed to bridge the gap between mankinds present circumstance and an ultimate perfection. She was beyond doubt, a child of the French revolution. She saw a new age of reason and compassion close at hand. Wollstonecraft, in her writings, attempted to undertake the huge task of helping other women. Helping them to fight for a better education did this. Which in turn helped them to achieve a better life, not just for themselves, but also for their children and even their husbands. In reality it took more than a century before society sat up and took notice of her beliefs and put her views into effect. Mary Wollstonecrafts experience in childhood and as a young woman, in a class-bound and male-dominated society, influenced and shaped the ideas she would later develop into a feminist argument. (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 1992, pp2) It is possible to see that Wollstonecrafts own childhood experiences have shaped her beliefs on childhood as a crucial phase of self-development. Unlike Rousseau, however Wollstonecraft is primarily concerned with the childhood and education of females. This is because in 1784 she opens a school for girls in Newington Green, near Islington. Wollstonecraft quickly became convinced that the young women they were trying to teach had already effectively been enslaved into submissiveness to men through their previous social training. As there were no qualifications that were needed to become a teacher sadly this venture failed, but it did lead her to start writing about her ideas on childhood and education, especially for women and girls. In 1786 Wollstonecraft was published for the first time. She earned herself ten pounds from the publication of a pamphlet called, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. In this publication she proposed to intentionally explore the enlightenment ideals to include education for women; because she believed their rational natures were no less capable of intellectual achievement than were those of men. Wollstonecraft was for a short time a Governess to the Kingsborough family in Ireland. The position of a Governess was a hard one. She was employed to bring up the children of the Kingsborough family. Wollstonecrafts experiences in her childhood and as a young adult no doubtedly had an effect on her ideas about childhood being a crucial phase of self-development. In the introduction to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman it states; Mary Wollstonecraft may have been recalling her own childhood when her narrator in Maria The Wrongs of Woman says that her mother was a vague and uncertain figure. She seemed to dote on her oldest son, a boy, (Penguin 1992, pp3) it is clear from this quote that Wollstonecrafts childhood experiences, especially those with her mother and father have stayed with her into her adult life. It has shaped her very ideas and thoughts on how parents should show affection and bring up their children. She has dedicated a whole chapter to Parental Affection in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Wollstonecraft writes very clearly about parental affection, and she also makes it clear where she believes parents are going wrong with their children; Parents often love their children in the most brutal manner, and sacrifice every relative duty to promote their advancement into the world. (Penguin 1992, pp270), Wollstonecraft is trying to make the point to her readers that the child will only suffer if it is brought up in this manner. The parents will rob the child of the vital stage of having a proper childhood if they neglect everything else while pushing their children to become the child genius they dream of them becoming. Wollstonecraft goes on later in the chapter to describe the qualities of a good mother, which she lists as; To be a good mother, a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few women possess who are taught to depend entirely on their husbands. (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 1992, pp272), Wollstonecraft is trying to reiterate that to have any hope of being a good effective mother, a woman must be in possession of good sense and have her own mind. A woman must also be independent from her husband, Wollstonecraft felt that if a woman relied too much on her husband it would effect her abilities as a mother, this is backed up by what she states later in the chapter; Meek wives are, in general, foolish mothers; wanting their children to love them best, and take their part, in secret, against the father, who is held up as a scarecrow. (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 1992, pp272). In conclusion it is clear to see from both Jean-Jacques Rousseaus and Mary Wollstonecrafts writings that they both believed that childhood was a crucial phase in a persons self-development. It was important for them to try to relate their beliefs to the general public which is why they emphasise it in their books, and also the reason that they write about it so successfully is because of their own personal experiences in their own childhood which seems to have provided them with a solid base to work upon in their adult life.

The Best Way to Study SSAT Vocabulary

The Best Way to Study SSAT Vocabulary SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re taking the SSAT, you’ll need to have a good vocabulary in order to do well on the test. It can be difficult to find good SSAT vocab resources, but we’re here to help!In this guide, we explain the three main ways vocab is tested on the SSAT (with sample questions), go over the top resources to help you find SSAT vocab words, and give you advice on the best way to study those vocab words. How Important Is Vocabulary for the SSAT? Vocabulary is a key part of the SSAT and one of the main areas it tests.There are three levels of the SSAT depending on the grade you’re in. (Students take the test based on their current grade, not the grade they’ll be entering next year.) Elementary for students in grades 3 and 4 Middle for students in grades 5 through 7 Upper for students in grades 8 through 11 Each version of the SSAT includes questions on vocabulary. The SSAT has three main sections: verbal, quantitative, and reading comprehension. Vocabulary questions will primarily appear in the verbal section of the test, with some more indirect vocab questions in the reading comprehension section. There are three types of vocab questions on the SSAT. We explain each of them below and include a practice question so you can get a better idea of the types of vocab questions to expect on the test. Synonyms Synonym questions test vocab by giving a word and asking you to choose its synonym from five options. The questions feature words from various subjects including science, technology, and social studies. Here’s a sample synonym question from an Elementary-level SSAT. DISTURB amuse support bother complete Declare The correct answer is C. Analogies For analogy questions, you’ll need to make comparisons between two words or phrases. The relationship might be that of synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, or part to whole, to give a few examples. The words may also fall into similar categories or share certain characteristics. Here’s a sample Middle-level analogy question. Translucent is to opaque as light is to (A) sun(B) dull(C) lamp(D) candle(E) darkness The correct answer is E. Reading Comprehension Questions You also need a strong vocabulary to do well on certain reading comprehension questions. These questions won’t directly ask you about vocab, but you’ll need to know the definitions of the words they mention in order to understand the question and answer it correctly. Directions: Read the passage carefully and then answer the questions about it. For eachquestion, decide on the basis of the passage which one of the choices best answers thequestion. We had a consuming desire to see a pony rider, but somehow or other all that passed us streaked by in the night, and so we heard only a whiz and a hail, and the swift phantom was gone. But now the driver exclaims: "Here he comes!" Every neck is stretched and every eye strained. Away across the endless dead level of the prairie a black speck appears.Soon it becomes a horse and rider, rising and falling, sweeping nearer and nearer, and the flutter of hoofs comes faintly to the ear. Another instant a whoop and hurrah from our upper deck, a wave of the rider's hand, but no reply, and man and horse burst past our excited faces and go winging away like a belated fragment of a storm! At the driver’s call, the people became more eager puzzled hysterical frightened disappointed The correct answer is A. In this question, you aren’t directly asked for the definition of the word, but you’d need to know what all five of the answer choices mean in order to get the question right. Where Can You Find SSAT Vocabulary Practice? Even though vocabulary is an important part of the SSAT, the makers of the test don’t produce any official vocab lists you can study from. However, there are still plenty of resources you can use to study SSAT vocab. In this section we discuss both official and unofficial sources. Official Sources Even though there aren't many official SSAT vocab resources, the vocab materials they do provide can be helpful to use. You can purchase official study materials on the SSAT website, and you’ll also be given the option of buying these materials when you register for the test. Official SSAT vocab practice materials include sample questions for each of the three question types we discussed above, as well as videos you can watch that explain the different question types and how to answer them. For Middle and Upper-Level SSAT students, you can purchase the official prep book for $37 or an online version of the official prep book along with the online videos for $69.95.The Elementary-Level SSAT prep materials can be downloaded for free but don’t include any videos. These resources don’t include word lists, but you can use the practice questions to get a better idea of the types of words the SSAT will test you on and what the vocab questions are like. Unofficial Prep Books There are also plenty of helpful unofficial sources to help you study for SSAT vocab. Here are some of the top SSAT prep books. Ivy Global Ivy Global sells three vocab books, each containing over 100 words useful to know for the Middle and Upper-Level SSAT.While high-quality, these books aren’t cheap. Each book costs about $27, which is quite a bit for what is basically a vocab list with definitions. Kaplan Kaplan’s SSAT prep book costs about $15, and it contains a vocab list for each of the three SSAT levels. If you’re trying to save money, you can often find older versions of the prep book that cost less, and they’ll still have the same SSAT words in their vocab lists. Princeton Review Similar to Kaplan, Princeton Review’s Cracking the SSAT and ISEE is also about $15 and contains vocab lists for the different SSAT levels. Unofficial Online Lists There are also lots of websites and online lists with SSAT vocab resources. These can be a great resource and many of them, including the three below, are free, but make sure the resource seems high quality or you could end up wasting time studying unhelpful words. Use other resources first so you can get a sense of what kinds of vocab words you should be studying before you use these resources. Ivy Global In addition to their prep books, Ivy Global also offers a free SSAT vocabulary PDF of 75 words for Middle and Upper-SSAT students. This is a great free resource that you should definitely make use of if you’ll be taking the Middle or Upper SSAT. Varsity Tutors Varsity Tutors has flashcards to help students study verbal questions for each of the three SSAT levels. These are mostly sample questions, not vocab word lists, but they can still be a useful resource. Quizlet Quizlet has a set of nearly 500 SSAT vocab flashcards. These can be a useful resource, but remember that they’re user created so they may not be as accurate as other resources, and the words aren’t organized based on SSAT level. How to Make and Use SSAT Vocabulary Flashcards Once you have your SSAT vocabulary list, you can start studying with them. You can make physical flashcards with note cards (our recommendation) or use a website like Quizlet to create a deck online.We recommend using the waterfall method to study your flashcards. If you’re not sure what the waterfall method is, we break it down for you below. Once you have your SSAT words, go through the complete flashcard deck. For each card whose definition you know easily, you’ll put it in a â€Å"Know It† pile. If you don’t know the definition of a particular SSAT vocab word, put it in a â€Å"Struggled† pile. After you’ve gone through each of the cards once, pick up your â€Å"Struggled† pile. You’ll now go through this pile again. For words where you know the definition, place them in a second â€Å"Know It† pile next to (but not combined with) the first â€Å"Know It† pile. For words you don’t know, make a new â€Å"Struggled† pile. Repeat this process, placing new â€Å"Know It† piles in a row from left to right. This creates your waterfall. Repeat this process until the â€Å"Struggled† pile has only a few words left. Now, you’ll move back up the waterfall. Starting with the most recent â€Å"Struggled† pile, go through the flashcards until you know all the words in the pile. Then, add the most recent (the rightmost) â€Å"Know It† pile. Go through those words. If you miss any, go through the entire pile again until you get all of them right. Go through those words.If you miss any words, go through the entire pile you currently have again until you get all of the words right.It may take awhile to get through the entire pile, but this method will guarantee that you learn those SSAT words! Continue this process until you get all the way back up the waterfall. This is the best method to study vocab flashcards because you’ll spend the majority of your time reviewing the words you struggle the most with, as opposed to just studying the entire stack over and over. Summary: SSAT Vocabulary Practice Vocabulary is an important part of the SSAT, and you’ll see several types of vocab questions in the Verbal and Reading sections of the exam.It can be difficult to find a high-quality SSAT vocabulary list though, but we’ve compiled several resources you can use, including official study materials, unofficial prep books, and websites. Flashcards are the best way to study SSAT vocabulary words, and we recommend using the waterfall method when studying to memorize the words more quickly. What's Next? Want to learn more about what's covered on the Elementary, Middle, and Upper-level tests?Then be sure to readour complete guide to the SSAT. Looking for free materials to use for SSAT practice?We've gathered links tothe best free SSAT practice tests here. How do you register for the SSAT?Learn all the info you need to know in our step-by-step guide to SSAT registration. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 33

Journal - Essay Example Having a Mercedes in these times means that a person has accomplished so much in his lifetime and is content with what has been gained by them. Many of the researches and surveys have shown that the new generation is primarily focusing on the image, fame and money associated with them (Schensul et al, 389). Yet recent survey of thriving families by a professor in University of Chicago show that their adult members picked their most cherished memories as the things that made their time together with other people memorable. Even the people who are more materialistic and try to find happiness by buying things have the lowest of life satisfaction scores and materialism has a negative effect on happiness of a person according to the subjective well-being researches. Schensul, Jean J., Cristina Huebner, Merrill Singer, Marvin Snow, Pablo Feliciano, and Lorie Broomhall. "The high, the money, and the fame: the emergent social context of â€Å"new marijuana† use among urban youth."  Medical Anthropology  18, no. 4 (2000):

Smallpox Vaccination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Smallpox Vaccination - Essay Example Since smallpox vaccine comes with side effects, it is argued that it should not be administered. It is true that the smallpox vaccine is associated with certain side effects: it is estimated that approximately one in 1 million primary vaccinees and one in 4 million revaccinees will die from adverse vaccine reactions (Maurer et al. 889). There are more severe health related complications that may follow either primary vaccination or revaccination. For instance, it may have and impact on the nervous system that may result in postvaccinial encephalitis, encephalomyelitis, and encephalopathy, and more serious skin infections. Progressive vaccinia (vaccinia necrosum) generally occurs in individuals with weakened immune systems and eczema vaccinatum generally occurs in people with eczema and related skin diseases. Such complications may progressively result in severe disability, permanent neurological damage, and sometimes even death. History of vaccination has seen approximately 1 death per million primary vaccinations and 1 death per 4 million revaccinations. In most of the cases death is often the result of postvaccinial encephalitis or progressive vaccinia. ... Hence, smallpox vaccines should be produced further and should be used in case of any sudden outbreak. It is estimated that 300-500 million deaths in the 20th century was due to smallpox. The World Health Organization estimated that in 1967, 15 million people were the victims of the disease and that two million died in that year due to smallpox (WHO Factsheet n. pag, 2007). World Health Organization certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979 after successful vaccination campaigns throughout the 19th and 20th centuries (WHO A52/5, 1999). While the last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949, the last naturally occurring case in the world was in Somalia in 1977. After the disease was eliminated or eridicated from the world, routine vaccination against smallpox among the general public was stopped because it was no longer necessary for prevention. United States discontinude the smallpox immunisation in 1972 and also halted the production of vaccine in 1983. Today, stockpiled vaccine has been used only for laboratory researchers working on orthopoxviruses. Since most of the population today is considered to be nonimmune, there is concern raised as to whether smallpox immunization should be resumed or not. This is in view of the current threat from the bioterrorists (Baltimore and McMillan 110-4). There are four factors that have contributed to skepticism of smallpox vaccine's effectiveness. The dubious notion that lesions from cowpox, a disease of cattle, could prevent smallpox, a related but different human disease is the first point. Secondly during the 19th century, which preceded modern bacteriology and the age of refrigeration, it was impossible to know exactly what was in any given dose of vaccine. Thirdly the reported amplification

Information Processing and Learning Disabilities Essay Example for Free

Information Processing and Learning Disabilities Essay The body gathers information through five senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. However, in order to use the data or information that has been gathered by these senses one must constantly put the senses into constant use. After the body has collected information through the five senses it is taken to the brain, which in turn recognizes it, interprets it, understands it, responds to it and stores it. This is a continuous process which can be repeated even a thousand times in any given day. Newell (1990)] Information processing is responsible for the coordination and performance of the tasks that we carry out in any given day, from taking a shower to learning in school or participating in a sport. Discussion Within the field of cognitive psychology, information processing is the thinking and reasoning about mental processes, envisioning them, in the same way as a computer software runs on a computer machine. According to Ulric Neisser, who also goes as the father of the term ‘cognitive psychology’ human beings can be compared to dynamic information processing systems with mental operations that are identical to those of computer machines and that can be described in computational terms. [Neisser, 1967] The mind is the software while the brain is the hardware. The human mind processes information through the application of logical rules and strategies, that like a computer, the human mind has got a limited capacity for the amount and even the nature of information it can process, and that just as the computer can be made to process more information through the change or overhaul of its hardware and software, learners can become great thinkers if changes can be made in their brains through the use of authentic rules and strategies of learning. [Hetherington Parke, 199] According to Atkinson and Shriffin in their ‘stage theory’ model, the human memory processes and stores information in three stages. Information is processed in a serial and discontinuous manner as it transits from one stage to the other. [Atkinson Shriffin, 1968] Craik and Lockhart in their ‘levels-of-processing’ theory posit that learners make use of various levels of elaboration as they process information. This is achieved through a succession of levels beginning from perception, through attention, to labeling, and lastly meaning. Craik Lockhart, 1972] Another theory posits that information is processed simultaneously by several different parts of memory system as opposed to sequential processing. [Goleman, 1995] Lastly, Rumelhart and McClelland in their ‘connectionic’ model propose that information is stored in multiple locations in the form of network connections in the brain. It is grounded on the wisdom that the more connected an idea is the more the chances of it to be remembered. Rumelhart McClelland, 1986; Scientific American, 1999] In a learning situation, the measure of receiving and organizing information, remembering it, and expressing it will obviously differ from one learner to the other. There will always be discrepancies in reading, writing, comprehension, and reasoning among the learners. Those learners who experiences difficulties in organizing, remembering, and expressing information will definitely experience difficulties in reading, writing, comprehension, and reasoning. Such learners are considered as having learning disabilities: they tend to experience difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities. They face difficulties in learning new skills, they have poor memory, and they tend to confuse basic words, experience difficulties in connecting letters and sounds, among other difficulties. Lerner (2000)] Since the process of information gathering occurs through the application of logical rules and strategies learners without disabilities are bound to organize, remember, and express information with great ease than those with disabilities. Learners with disabilities will experience difficulties in making use of various levels of elaboration as Craik and Lockhart reasons. They will experience snags in transferring information from one stage to another. In a nutshell the process of information processing is complex and therefore it requires proper learning strategies to make it a success. It requires the best learning strategies that are tied to the needs and interests of students and that are based on varied types of learning styles to enhance maximum learning. [Ekwensi et al, 2006] For instance, before the process of learning begins, a teacher should always aim at gaining the learners attention by using cues to signal when you are ready to begin and keep moving around the class while using voice variations. Always remember to bring to the mind of the learners prior learned content that is relevant to present content. This can be done through a brief discussion or a brief question and answer session aimed at forming a link with the present lesson content. This should be followed by a brief discussion of the main points of what is about to be learned. Learners may also be provided with handouts to get a deeper glimpse of the content. The teaching/learning process should now progress from what is already known to what is not known, from simple to complex. Bransford et al, 2000] The teacher should present the content in chunks while giving the learners opportunities to connect new information to information already known. In order to enhance maximum retaining of the learned content the teacher should also show the learners coding tips, e. g. , through the use of acronyms, simple songs, construction of silly sentences using the first letter of each word in the list and mental imagery techniq ues such as the keyword method. The teacher should also provide repetitive teaching and learning: by stating important points many times using different methods; this helps to build Short Term Memory (STM). [Miller (1956)] Include item on each day’s lesson from previous lesson or even periodically review previously learned skills for building Long Term Memory (LTM). The teacher should also provide enough opportunities for learning and over-learning of important concepts and skills; methods such as daily drills may be applied for arithmetic facts. Huitt (2003)] The teacher should aim at building both STM and LTM. The STM will help to increase the amount of time the learners pay attention to external stimulus and form some meaning out of it. According to Miller (1956) individuals can process up to 7 plus or negative units at any given time, therefore the teacher should aim at helping the learners to identify the most important information to learn at any given time. This can be achieved through proper organiza tion and repetition. To achieve organization the concept of chunking can be applied whereby information will be presented in bits representing units that can be easily remembered. To achieve repetition, the teacher should try to making the learners repeat what they have learned, especially after some time – few minutes (when forgetting begins). The process of learning should also be made sequential, relevant, and transitional. On the other hand, the LTM helps in the recalling of information learned long time ago particularly when such information is arranged and organized using the declarative, procedural, and imagery structures. The declarative memory will help in storing information about things that are talked about in classroom; [Stillings et al, 1987] the procedural memory will store information that touches on ways of doing things practically while the imagery memory will store information inform of images. This program helps to build ‘higher-order-thinking’ and self esteem. In order to build LTM the teacher should apply the ‘Direct Instruction’ method of teaching that provides constant interaction between the students and the teacher. Nonetheless, teachers should make sure that they teach small amount of material in sequential steps, they should make it possible for the learners to use as many of their senses as it is practically possible and that the content material should seek to build on, and enhance the learners’ prior knowledge. The teacher should also make the instructional language more simple but not the content by reinforcing on the main ideas through paraphrasing, repeating, and the use of stimulating learning aids such as charts, maps, and pictures. If possible, the use of technology should be encouraged as learners have been noted to feel free and productive particularly when they are working independently in front of a computer, rather than in crowded classrooms. [Singleton, Terrill, 1995/96] Conclusions In order to address information processing problems among learners with disabilities, a teacher should understand the common difficulties that they face so as to be able to employ the appropriate learning strategies. Learners with disabilities they experience the inability to manage their time well, they have spelling problems, they cannot follow if the teacher speaks too fast, they are slow readers, they have difficulties in recalling mathematical symbols, and sometimes they may portray impulsive behavior. This calls for a lot of patience on the part of the teacher when dealing with them. To achieve this, the teacher should watch, listen and talk to the learners to establish their strengths and weaknesses, and to use interest-arousing stimulus in the instructional process because learners are more likely to be attentive when the teacher uses a stimulus

African Culture and Traditions as Told by Waris Dirie :: Waris Dirie Africa Rituals Cultural Essays

African Culture and Traditions as Told by Waris Dirie Waris Dirie was born into a family of nomads in a Somalian desert. Growing up, she was privileged to run free with nature’s most majestic animals, and learned a respect for nature that many of us as Americans could never fathom. However, these thrills are just on the surface of what life is really like for African women. She suffered through intense traditional mutilation in her childhood, and endless hours of hard labor in the fields everyday. At the age of 13, she ran away to escape the marriage that her father had arranged for her to a sixty-year-old man in exchange for five camels. She left with nothing but the swaddling clothes on her back not even shoes to protect her feet from the scorching African sun. Her journey on foot went on for weeks, until she found her sister, who had also ran away five years earlier for the same reasons. After getting reacquainted with an aunt and her ambassador husband, Waris moved to England with them. When her uncle’s term was up, sh e stayed in England where a photographer, who eventually put her on the cover many major magazines, discovered her. In describing her remarkable journey through life, Waris demonstrates examples of a masculine culture with elements high uncertainty-avoidance, and her own individualism amongst such a collectivistic society. Waris’s description of life in Africa is a perfect definition for a masculine culture. She explains, â€Å"Women are the backbone of Africa; they do most of the work. Yet women are powerless to make decisions.† She recalls a story of how her loving mother permitted her to be butchered, because of a traditional African ritual to please African men. When she was five years old, her mother made her an appointment to meet with â€Å"the gypsy women.† Waris didn’t know exactly what this meant, but it was supposedly an exciting moment in the lives of young African girls, and when they returned, they were considered women. Waris recalls in graphic detail being bound and blind-folded by her mother while the gypsy women sliced between her legs repeatedly, then sewed her up, leaving a whole the size of a match-head. She was then drug off to a shelter under a bush where she spent weeks alone to recuperate. Sadly, this is not an isolated case, millions of nomadi c cultures still perform the ritual, and many young girls do not survive the surgery.

Dispersion and Its Types in Fiber Optics

Dispersion: The speed of light is slower in various materials than it is in a vacuum or outer space. When the light passes into a material at an angle, the light beam is bent or refracted according to Snell’s Law and the index of refraction of the material. But also, the speed of light through a material varies slightly with the wavelength or frequency of the light. Thus, each wavelength is refracted at a slightly different angle when passing through a material at an angle. This spreading out of beam of light is called dispersion. Types of Dispersions and ways to reduce: Chromatic Dispersion: Chromatic dispersion results from the spectral width of the emitter. It is a term used to describe the spreading of a light pulse as it travels down a fiber when light pulses launched close together(high data rates) spread too much and result in errors and a loss of information. The spectral width determines the number of different wavelengths that are emitted from LED or laser. One way to reduce chromatic dispersion is to narrow the spectral width of the transmitter. Chromatic dispersion can be compensated for with the use of dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF). Laser has a more narrow spectral width than LEDs. A monochromatic laser emits only one wavelength and therefore, does not contribute to chromatic dispersion. Modal Dispersion: Modal dispersion deals with the path (mode) of each light ray. Most transmitters emit many different modes. Lower order modes travel a shorter distance. Some of these light rays will travel parallel to the center of the fiber while repeatedly bounce off the cladding/core boundary to high order modes their way the waveguide. The modes that enter at sharp angles are called high-order mode, which having direction towards cladding. These modes take longer path to travel through the fiber than the low-order modes and therefore it cusses of modal dispersion. One way to reduce modal dispersion is to use graded-index fiber. The graded-index fiber’s cladding is doped so that the refractive index gradually decreases over many layers. Graded Index Fiber has a different core structure from single mode and multimode step index fibers. In Graded index fiber the value of the refractive index changes from the centre of the core. With a graded-index fiber, the light follows a more curved path. The high-order modes spend most of the time traveling in the lower-index cladding layers near the outside of the fiber. These lower index core layers allow the light to travel faster than in the higher index center layers. Modal dispersion can be completely eliminated by using a single-mode fiber. Single mode fiber transmits only one mode of light so there is no spearding of the signal due to modal dispersion. Material Dispersion: Material dispersion is the phenomenon whereby material causes a bundle of light to spread out as it propagates. We know that a laser pulse contains a continuum of wavelengths in a small range. The index of refraction of a material is dependent on the wavelength, so each frequency component actually travels at a slightly different speed. Material dispersion contributes to group delay, along with waveguide delay distortion, differential mode delay and multimode group delay spread.

Jamaica’ crime rate statistic 2013 Essay

Jamaica has one of the world’s highest per-capita murder rates, and a 2010 state of emergency threw the harsh glare of publicity on the violent gang and drug culture in the capital, Kingston. Violent crime can be a real problem in Kingston and other parts of the country, but typically such crimes involve attacks by Jamaicans on other Jamaicans and revolve around drugs, gangs, politics, poverty, or revenge. Most crimes targeting visitors in tourist areas like Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios are property-oriented — pickpocketing and petty theft, for example. Armed robberies do occasionally involve tourists, and can turn violent if victims resist. Credit-card skimming is an ongoing problem in Jamaica. Some scammers will make a copy of your credit-card information when you give your card to a restaurant server or shopkeeper. ATMs also may be rigged to steal your card information, or individuals may observe you at the ATM and try to steal your password. Avoid using credit cards or ATMs whenever possible; carry just enough cash for what you need that day. If you do need to use a credit card, keep an eye on the person handling your card. If you need to get cash, use the ATM at your hotel. Sexual assaults by hotel employees in resort areas on Jamaica’s north coast have occurred with some frequency, as well. Police in Jamaica are generally short on manpower and training. You will see an increased police presence in areas of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios frequented by tourists, but if you are a victim of crime you may find the response of the local police to be lacking — or nonexistent. Locals generally have little trust in the police, and while visitors are unlikely to be mistreated by police, the Jamaican Constabulary Force is widely viewed as corrupt and ineffectual. Tourists are advised to avoid traveling in notoriously high-threat areas of Kingston including, but not limited to, Mountain View, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, Cassava Piece and Arnett Gardens. In Montego Bay, avoid the areas of Flankers, Canterbury, Norwood, Rose Heights, Clavers Street and Hart Street. Several of the latter neighborhoods are adjacent to Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport. Road Safety The north coastal road linking popular tourist destinations such as Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril is much improved in recent years. However, most roads are poorly maintained and have poor signage. Smaller roads may not be paved, and often are narrow, winding, and crowded with pedestrians, bicycles, and livestock. Driving is on the left, and Jamaica’s roundabouts (traffic circles) can be confusing for drivers used to driving on the right. Seat-belt use is required and recommended even for taxi passengers, given the hazardous driving conditions. Use of public transportation is not recommended, since public buses are often overcrowded and can become venues for crime. Take a cab from your hotel or use transportation from vendors that are part of JUTA — the Jamaica Union of Travelers Association.

Nikita Krushchev essays

Nikita Krushchev essays Nikita Khrushchev is undoubtedly one of the most important and interesting political figures of the twentieth century. Rising from a background of extreme poverty, he became an early supporter of the November 1917 bolshevik revolution. During the inter war years he joined the Communist Party, and rose steadily through its ranks; by the outbreak of World War II, he was firmly entrenched as one of the most important Soviet politicians and statesmen. He continued on in this capacity throughout the war years, and rose to power following the death of Stalin in 1953. Khrushchev then initiated a series of great reforms, which completely changed the face of politics and indeed life in general in the Soviet Union. Ultimately however, many of these reforms failed to achieve of their primary goals, and these failures led not only to Khrushchevs personal political downfall, but also to major changes in the global political climate. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was born on 17 April 1894 in Kalinovka, a small village in the province of Kursk, which lies just on the Russian side of the border with the Ukraine. Sergi Nikanorovich Khrushev, his father, was an average poor peasant who left the family each winter to work in the coalfields of the Donets Basin. Khrushevs family lived in an area cursed with overpopulation; many people lived there because of the fertile soil, which they hoped to use to feed their families. The overpopulated, malnourished villages were centers for disease; diphtheria, typhus, and syphilis was widespread. This poverty was to dominate Khrushchevs memories of peasant life. Like most peasant boys, Khrushchev started work at an early age. His first job was guarding the village animals. Later he worked as a herdsboy for the local land owner. Khrushchev attended the village school for approximately two years between the ages of seven and twelve. In a land of general illiteracy, even two ye...

Developing Students Creativity and Self-Expression through Crayons

Developing Students Creativity and Self-Expression through Crayons Crayons are brilliant, versatile, and economical coloring instruments that most school-age children are familiar with. Art sessions in grade school, for example, intends to nourish creativity and self-expression in children by introducing art tools and materials such as a paintbrush, scissors, paint, clay, crayons, colored papers, and others. Creative Possibilities with Crayons Crayons are used by middle-school students to draw colored shapes and in the process develop some creative skills they can use to express themselves. Students are humans with a natural desire to use their hands and materials as vehicles for artistic expression thus often welcome art creation opportunities. Activities such as â€Å"Crayon Melting† where students create a self-initiated art design using heated wax crayons and paper is a common classroom-based activity. Art classes expand student experiences through  collaboration, two-way communication, and appreciation of each student’s talent. It encourages the growth of visual awareness and skills to develop aesthetic understanding, coordination, concentration, and self-esteem. REMEMBERING OUR FIRST STAGE OF EDUCATION Similar to pencil, chalk, paint, and others, crayons provide opportunities for students to express and communicate their interpretation of the world around them. For instance, they can observe a plant, a tree, or a piece of fruit and draw an image according to their personal representation of that object.  Painting objects with crayons enable children to learn to mix colors, take responsibility for the art tool and image and develop their understanding of different media. Activities in art classes help children learn to use their imagination and express their ideas through art, sharpened their visual expression skills, create meaning by linking text and image and develop their presentation skills. Making Good Use of Quality Crayons Poor quality crayons often result in tears and frustration among young school children. This is because the resulting color of poor quality crayons is often not exact and cannot be combined to form new colors. Wax from a good quality crayons cannot be scratch off from the paper, they intermixed well with the pigment and produced with equally combined pigment and wax. Good quality crayon boxes with few colors are sufficient enough to produce colorful work of art as you can mix them to form new colors. For instance, putting a layer of yellow over a blue area will result to vivid green. Thick crayons are preferred over the thin ones as they do not break easily. Similarly, using only a few pieces of crayons encourage experimentation, creativity, and application of different crayon techniques. For example, crayon boxes with few color encourage mixing of colors to produce desired color, use of both pointed and broad crayon side, and greater use of students’ imagination. Crayons are not limited to drawing on paper as they can be used to draw images in many types of surfaces such as cardboards, paper gift boxes, food trays, sandpaper, and others with interest effect. †Crayon rubbing†, a technique to pick up the texture of a surface on paper by rubbing it with the side of a peeled crayon, is an enjoyable art class activity where students experiment and produce artworks from walls, leaves, bricks, and other surfaces. Another is â€Å"Crayon resist†, a technique that gives the feeling of a night picture by drawing a picture on paper with crayons, pressing hard and painting the surrounding area with dark-colored tempera paint diluted in water.

Origins of global warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Origins of global warming - Essay Example These trapped gases are called greenhouse gases. The human activities create carbon dioxide CO2 which is a type of a greenhouse gas that slows the escape of heat from the earth. Trees and plants contribute a lot in removing these gases from the environment through photosynthesis. However, due to illegal logging and other similar activities, there are only fewer trees and plants today. Aside from human activities, it is also proven that natural processes also cause global warming. These processes include the increase of energy given off by the sun due to depletion of the ozone layer. The effects of this phenomena is resulting in to animals change of habitats, impairment of ocean life, weather damage, rising sea level, changes in crop yield, and threats to human health. Extensive alteration of temperature among habitats causes animals less possibility to adapt with the environment. Warmer waters increase the stress and spread diseases on the marine ecosystem. Global warming causes a la rge amount of ice to melt and leads to higher sea level. Many crop plants can not tolerate higher temperature and eventually die. Lastly, tropical diseases among human beings such as malaria and dengue are more visible to larger regions. Intense heat waves, drought and floods increase number of people die due to hunger, malnutrition, heat stroke and other illnesses. The great impacts of global warming are not only observable to human beings but also to the entire ecosystem. It is irrevocable that in any issue, there are skeptics. Despite the fact that effects of global warming are highly noticeable, disbelievers still arise even from the group of scientists. In fact, an atmospheric physicist Fred Singer said that "The observational evidencesuggests that any warming from the growth of greenhouse gases is likely to be minor, difficult to detect above the natural fluctuations of the climate, and therefore inconsequential". Giving less importance to the issue leads to resistance of resolving it. Probably, it is one of the reasons why in spite of vocal suggestions concerning avoidance of harmful human activities, it is near impossible to reduce the effects of global warming. Given this fact, it is absolutely necessary to settle this disbelief even before the misperception continues to spread. Green leaders, on the other hand, stand to their stance that current changes in the ecosystem are triggered by something and this is global warming. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences declared in 2005 that "greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise," adding that "the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action." Amongst these two counter-arguments, how is it possible to create one's' own stand There is no absolute answer for this. However, put in mind that if people will act in accordance with the green leaders, no one can be harm. If people choose to take global warming for granted which turn out to be fact, thus, life of everyone even those innocent creatures is at high risk. The future depends on a well-thought decision. This explains half of what's' global warming is about. There is lot of details to research before it is fully defined. However, the basic knowledge of its causes and effects is

Body Language Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Body Language - Article Example Gestures and body language are therefore often second nature; something that we follow based on instinct and the need for survival. Therefore, when an individual is speaking or listening to another, he or she often reveals unconscious feelings or reactions through gestures and body language. Since our bodies speak the truth and our words often do not, it is important for people to learn to observe body language as well as listening to the speech of others. Body language often has an unconscious affect on the speaker or listener. If somebody speaks and demonstrates very confident body language, people are more likely to take that individual seriously, and/or believe in what that individual has to say. If another individual speaks the same speech but shows a lack of confidence with gestures and body language, people are less likely to respect or care about the information presented. Thus, whether or not an individual successfully gets a point across has a lot to do with how that individual presents his or her body language. How does the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis fit in with all of this' According to Amy Stafford, Sapir "believed that language and the thoughts that we have are somehow interwoven, and that all people are equally being effected by the confines of their language. In short, he made all people out to be mental prisoners; unable to think freely because of the restrictions of their vocabularies" (para 1). If our vocabularies are restricted, it is therefore important for individuals to have another way of expressing themselves, or of getting their main points across. This is where body language comes into play (Henslin 45). Since body language is often an initial instinctual reaction, it allows individuals to communicate on an unconscious level and get their concepts across when they lack the words to express those concepts. Stafford further states: "Whorf fully believed in linguistic determinism; that what one thinks is fully determined by their language. He also supported linguistic relativity, which states that the differences in language reflect the different views of different people" (para 3). Language is therefore important to demonstrating what an individual is thinking, and what that individual's limitations are. However, language is often relativistic from person to person, as is language ability, and therefore Whorf felt that we can get a strong feel for an individual by understanding these limitations. Stafford's article can be found at: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/language/whorf.html. Her link is very helpful and describes body language as well as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. The presentation on this website helped the researcher to grasp and better understand these concepts and why they are important. Therefore, this link is very helpful when it comes to understanding body language and the issues surrounding body language. Works Cited Henslin, James. Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. New Jersey:Allyn and Bacon 2006. Stafford, Amy. "The Sapir-Whorf Hyp