The Federal Highway Act of 1956 free essay sample

This paper discusses the role that the Federal Highway Act of 1956 played in helping to determine what shape America would take over the last half of the twentieth century. This paper examines the largest public works project of its time, the Federal Highway Act of 1956. The paper looks at the the historical events that led up to President Eisenhowers signing of the Act. It then goes on to discuss the positive impact that it would have on the U.S. economy, looking at such topics as employment, land development, travel, retail competition and lower consumer prices and freight prices. The paper then examines the negative impact the Act would have on the economy looking at such areas as mass transit, mass migration, travel and air pollution. The final are that the paper deals with is the cultural impact. The author feels that based upon their analysis of the Act, it had a fundamentally positive affect in shaping America over the past fifty years. We will write a custom essay sample on The Federal Highway Act of 1956 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The construction of this system has provided Americans with access to valuable land, which encouraged construction and development of real estate including residential, industrial and commercial. Residential properties created as a result of the interstate system most often comes in the form of single-family homes. All over the country residential areas run alongside interstate highways. The system has created a variety of commercial development including roadside businesses, such as hotels and restaurants. The interstate system also aided in the development of industrial properties including nuclear power plants.

The Autobiography of Benjamin essays

The Autobiography of Benjamin essays Benjamin Franklin is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in American History. The numerous advancements contributed by Franklin were made possible by his hard work and dedication to the task at hand. Franklins famous quote, Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. (Franklin 2) Franklin did not stray from that philosophy, and spent very little time on leisure activities that he considered unproductive. Reading was the only amusement I allowed myself. I spent no time in taverns, games or frolics of any kind; and my industry in my business continued as indefatigable as it was necessary. (342) Franklin tells of what life was like in eighteenth century America from the perspective of one individual heavily influenced by the increasing interest in the scientific along with a growth of rationalism and skepticism in religion. Deriving its foundations in the works of Shaftsbury and Locke, Deism, offered Franklin an opportunity for freedom from the restraint of traditional theology, and thus he began a quest for moral perfection. From an early age Franklin reflected on personal behavior and social relationships in conjunction with the virtues that promoted self-improvement and self-advancement. Franklin conceived the idea of setting out a personally conducted project of moral perfection. In order to accomplish this, he created a short list of thirteen virtues and set up a weekly grid of those virtues. In his daily reflections, during his evening hours, he made notations of whether he accomplished the task or failed in the performance of a particular virtue on that day. If he had, failed, he made a mark in the grid recording the failure of that virtue. He began gradually working on virtues in the order of importance that he had assigned. Franklins list of virtues was as follows: 1.Temperance. 2. Silence. 3. Order ...

Managerial Economics Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managerial Economics Article - Essay Example Huettner discusses the L&L Enterprises v. U.S Brass, a case in which the plaintiff held that the copper pipes and polybutylene pipes comprised of different antitrust product markets. On the other hand the defendant held that both copper pipes and polybutylene pipes were in similar antirust product market. Nonmetals, both the plaintiff and the defendant based their arguments on the provisions and guidelines by the Department of Justice. A wide range of microeconomic, antitrust economic as well as managerial economic literature contend that there lacks quantitative standard upon which close substitutes could be defined. Thus, practitioner divergence reflects the prevailing failure of economic theory to offer a quantitative definition of close substitutes. According to various economists, prices of close substitutes should keep track of each other such that they should have one price existing in the market. Nonetheless, practitioners are opposed to this rule. Perhaps, this explains why there has been unceasing controversy regarding the one-price rule in reference to Sun operating systems and Microsoft operating systems which sell at prices about 50 and 100 percent respectively, yet they are close substitutes. Basing on this argument, the author concludes that the one-price rule should be applied to close substitutes. This implies that close substitutes should have the same price, a price ration of one and should track each other closely over time. In addition, close substitutes should have a cross-price elasticity of unity. On the other hand, products that are not close substitutes should not keep track of each other closely over time. They should also have unequal prices as well as price ratio that differ from unity. Huettner, David A. "Antitrust Bulletin Product market definition in antitrust cases when products are close substitutes or close complements.†. Highbeam Business,

Financial Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Literacy - Essay Example This essay will explore several articles on the topics of career and jobs, and saving. After some time on a job, one may get a better offer from another firm or decide it is time to move on. During such a time, it is important for one to know that when changing jobs will have financial implications and that there are factors a person has to take into account. An individual should put in place plans that will ensure that his financial health is stable in the period between transitions of jobs (Farr, 2002). One could, for example, have insurance policies that will ensure he gets certain benefits. Having reserve funds will also be ideal to be able to sustain oneself witin the short-term period (Certified Financial Planners Board of Standards, 2005). One should always prepare for retirement as early as possible. This calls for the need to save enough for the future, to ensure that there are enough resources to sustain one throughout the period after retirement. In addition, job security is never guaranteed, thus, a person should always have a contingency plan in case one loses her or his job. This information will help me to secure my financial future as early as possible and prepare for unplanned circumstances (Claman, 2001). During the beginning and peak of one’s career, an individual may earn more than he will need for immediate consumption; hence, he will need to save for future times when he may not be able to have a constant income or his needs exceeds the current income. Saving can also be a way of creating more wealth and having another extra source of income. Saving can also be viewed from another perspective, which is in terms of the money one spends on a commodity or service. Different services and products have a range of prices depending on the quality, amount and type among other factors. Based on this, one should evaluate the product that he is buying and analyse whether he can get the same at a lower price.

HS Class Observation Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HS Class Observation Report - Essay Example As a function of this observation, this analysis report will focus specifically on the means by which the educator interacted with the classroom in order to effect shareholder engagement and buy in within the process of education and the transfer of key points of information. The first thing that this student noticed with respect to the means by which the educator attempted to convey the information to the class was the degree of interaction that the educator created with the students. Although many theories of student participation contend that the means by which the educator attempts to convey a sense of interaction and inclusion into the learning process directly affects the engagement with which the students/shareholders will engage upon such a topic, the fact of the matter is that the correct application of such a practice is oftentimes difficult to achieve. The educator in question did so in a way that both encouraged classroom participation while at the same time working to ke ep a level of order and control. Oftentimes, as has been noted by educators, seeking to engage the class on a topic can quickly break down in a type of cacophony of competing voices. However, due to a structured environment, the class was able to engage on the topics that the educator presented without losing focus upon the purpose of the structures that defined the interaction. This leads conveniently into the second observation that this student made while visiting the classroom in question. Due to the fact that such a high level of structure existed, it went almost unnoticed (LoCasale-Crouch et al 2012). However, had it not been for the tacit acceptance of such a structure by the shareholders in question, the engagement that the educator was able to achieve would never have been an option. Moreover, whereas this student could easily observe the level of interaction and integration between the educator and the students within the classroom, the structure that existed once class be gan was a construct that obviously had existed for a long period of time and had been formed from a point in time that the observer was not present. With respect to how the students were able to be engaged and motivated, this observer noted that although there was no threat of a negative consequence through non-involvement/engagement with the material that the instructor was presenting, there was a conscious mention, near the beginning of the course section, that reminded the students that careful attention to the discussion that was about to ensue would help them greatly with respect to understanding the requirements of upcoming course work and exams (O'Leary 2011). In this way, rather than providing a summarily positive or negative incentive to engage with the exercise, the instructor was able to motivate the students to take grasp of the opportunity that was being provided to them and engage with the material so that they could be more responsible for affecting the development of the educational process and as a function of this, effect a positive change on their overall grade in the course. Due this experience, this observer was able to make note of key ways in which the educator and the students interacted, the means through which the educator was able to shape the discussion, and the level of inte

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom George Washington Carver said that education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom (n.d. in BrainyQuote, 2010) and nowhere is this more true than for those who experience learning difficulties. In every educational environment it is important that the students feel valued; no matter what their learning difficulties they need to feel included as a part of the school community where any barriers to learning are removed in order to optimise à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦learning and participation (Booth, Ainscow, Black-Hawkins, Vaughan and Shaw, 2000, P. 13) and that they are bringing something valuable into the classroom where their efforts and achievement will be recognised (Ofsted, 2000, P. 4). The key to being able to support all students in their learning is first class assessment which identifies individual pupils strengths and weaknesses so that optimum provision can be made for them (Cross, 2004, P. 117) which is particularly important in protecting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦specialist provisio n for those who need it (Croll and Moses, 2000, P. 1). Sometimes teachers instruct or tell, serving as transmitters of information that students have to acquireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ at other times teachers show and demonstrate, acting as mentors and coaches rather than as instructorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Hargreaves, 2005, P. 5) the aim of this essay is to analyse behaviourist and cognitive approaches to learning for those who have learning difficulties identifying the strengths and weaknesses in each method when applied to the teaching. Historically children have been presented with a didactic model of learning: they were told when to come into school, what they were going to learn and were instructed about how they were going to learn it irrespective or their personal talents; students were all made to write with their right hand even if it did not come naturally to them much to their frustration my great grandmother for example. The education system became a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ process of learning to instructionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ by which children are expected to learn by intent participation in meaningful, useful occupations, with a factory model of education by assembly line instruction (Bruce, 2004, P. Xi). This followed very much the Behaviourist Model which argues that learning is initiated through our interaction with external stimuli which alters the way in which we tackle things (Glassman, 1995): the behaviourist school of thought grew from the pioneering work of Ivan Pavlov and his work with dogs; at the sound of a bell he was able to initiate salivation in the animals in anticipation of receiving food which continued long after the food was not delivered as expected this became known as Classical Conditioning. James Watson (who first used the term behaviourism) continued this work and attested that all human behaviour was the result of responding to stimuli in a conditioned manner he even went as far as to suggest that anyone, no matter what their social status or ability, could be schooled to fulfil any task or profession provided that they were healthy and applied themselves in their learning (Watson, 1924, P. 82) and that an adult carefully controlled the conditions for the stimuli and the responses (Keenan, 2002, P. 24). Experiments that were carried out with children to test this theory, notably by Watson and Rayner, illustrated that both fear and pleasure could be associated with particular objects or noises; this led them to theorise that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ rewards or reinforcement s could arise from the satisfaction of inner needs and could provide a motivation for learning (Tilstone, Layton, Anderson, Gerrish, Morgan and Williams, 2004, P. 45). Skinner further developed these ideas into what he called Operant Conditioning; he put forward the idea that all actions that were reinforced, either positively through reward or negatively through punishment, would be duplicated he actively encouraged teachers and educators in general to cement a childs success through the use of positive praise and reinforcement. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding correct behaviour or responses such as reading a sentence without error leading to a star being given, progressing to two lines followed by a paragraph and so on to gain the reward and encourage learning. He felt that children were led and could be shaped in their learning and parents and teachers needed to reinforce their learning whenever and wherever it occurred in other words, when a parent or carer shows enthusiasm for something a child tries to say, this should encourage the child to repeat the utterance (David, Goouch, Powell and Abbott 2003, P. 49). Skinner also believed that the acquisition of knowledge needed to be tackled in stages which built on the existing learning of the individual involved proposing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a technology of teaching whereby instruction is individualised, complex verbal behaviours gradually shaped, reinforcement for appropriate responses is consistent and immediate, and learned behaviours are maintained by intermittent reinforcement schedules. (Ormrod, 2004, Ps. 79-80). Having said that it is individualised it is mechanistic in nature following a set pattern of repetition, correction and praise following successful modification to embed the skills into the learner (Capel, 1997, P. 136); this sort of learning treats the child like a type of human sponge (Kirk, Macdonald and OSullivan, 2006, P. 295) they are often referred to as command or practice styles and are often seen in subjects such as Physical Education (Byra, 2006, in Kirk et al, 2006, P. 450). These theorists placed great emphasis on the linear nature of devel opment what we call development in this view, is really just a long series of individual learning experiences (Bee, 1989, P. 14) considering learning to be the same for all no matter what their age or stage in life (Tilstone, Layton, Anderson, Gerrish, Morgan and Williams, 2004, P. 50) reinforcing the need for educators to look at how students are acquiring their learning necessitating accurate and thorough record keeping in order to be able to properly assess and evaluate their work. This is crucial in order to fully cater for individuals who are experiencing difficulties in their learning. The word cognitive comes from the Latin cognoscere which means to know; all of the processes which are undertaken in thinking and knowing about anything are what is known as cognitive actions. Cognitive development is the study of how these processes develop in children and young people, and how they become more efficient and effective in their understanding of the world and in their mental processes (Oakley, 2004, P. 2). Every individual thinks and reasons in a different way, with a childs processes being different from that of an adult which is why cognitive approaches to education are both fascinating and complex in their make up. Jean Piaget was one of the first to look at how children learn as individuals in their own right and that their way of thinking and therefore learning was different to that of an adult. He argued that all children go through a series of stages in their development which are linear in nature which means that they take place at approximately the same time (Long, 2000, P. 32): they are sensori motor (birth to about eighteen months), the pre operational (eighteen months to about six years), the concrete operational (six to approximately eleven years) and the formal operational (eleven years onwards). Piaget contests that the way that individuals learn in their lives is different at each of these stages and that as a result à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the way children perceive the world, the way they process and respond to information, and the way they develop ideas and concepts (Moore, 2000, P. 9) will be different too. He believed that maturity affected the way that children thought and learned s aying that human beings are, from early childhood, active, independent meaning makers who construct knowledge rather than receive it (Moore, 2000, P. 7). He perceived children as being capable of constructing their own understanding of their experiences and the world around them as a result of their inbuilt curiosity and need for knowledge and understanding. Piaget put forward the idea that there are two distinct phases to the learning process; the first entails the child demonstrating their understanding of a particular experience or idea that they come across in the world by the way in which they integrate or assimilate this new data into it, for example a child using a large box as a house when they are playing; the other is known as accommodation which describes the learners ability to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ make sense of the new event occurring in the environment (Leonard, 2002, P. 1). Piaget believed that these two phases needed to be perfectly balanced if effective learning was goi ng to be able to take place as it is only by the simultaneous action of assimilation and accommodation[that] events are perceived as meaningful and at the same time generate changes in the interpretive procedures (Barnes, 1976, P. 22). Due to every single experience that people have in life their perceptions of and interaction with the world around them changes and Piaget regards this as part of the process of learning and cognitive development to understand is to discover, or reconstruct by rediscovery, and such conditions must be complied with if in the future individuals are to be formed who are capable of production and creativity and not simply repetition (1973). The cognitive structures à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ adjust in response to challenges when incoming information cannot be accommodated within existing schemes, and modes of thinking develop with biological growth (Tilstone et al, 2004, P. 20). A similar route was followed by the work of Bruner who studied the processes behind learning and problem solving. Both stress the importance of engagement in problem solving activities which promote links with finding solutions (Wood, 1998) as well as there being stages through which learners acquire and develop their knowledge: Bruner describes them as enactive understanding is promoted in the learner through interaction with the world, iconic when images are more frequently used in order to remember knowledge and information and symbolic the use of complex systems of symbols, for example language, to convey understanding and abstract thought; these correspond to Piagets sensori-motor [enactive], pre-operational [iconic] and concrete and formal operational [symbolic] (Smith, 1999, P. 20). Bruner explains that the first stage is characterised by action on the part of the learner in that the recognition of objects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ seems to depend not so much on the objects themselve s but on the actions evoked by them (Bruner, 1966, P. 12). As the learner matures there is less need to interact physically with objects to understand them as they develop the capacity to see something in their mind (the iconic stage). The learner moves to the symbolic stage through interaction with the world and those around them in order to develop language and communication within the context of the culture to which they are exposed as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ learning, remembering, talking, imagining; all of them are made possible by participating in a culture (Bruner, 1996, P. xi). As a result he seems to equate learning issues or difficulties with an absence of culturally stimulating environments as opposed to deficiencies in any child (Tilstone, 2000 in Tilstone et al, 2004, P. 25) giving particular attention to three distinct areas or amplifiers motoric, sensory and reflective. Motoric covers physical extensions of human capabilities like knives and forks for eating, spears for hunt ing, tools for farming and cars to transport ourselves around more quickly and efficiently. Sensory involves the enhancement of the way that the world and people in it are perceived for example simple things like spectacles or magnifying glasses. Reflective encompasses the means through which communication skills are learnt, developed and shared with those around us; parents and carers initiate this process with both verbal and non verbal cues enabling them to scaffold communication through holding their attention while building on their responses (Tilstone, 2004, P. 26). Often this will mean that adults will challenge children to extend their abilities and skills through this which Bruner believes is the right thing to do as a teacher, you do not wait for readiness to happen; you foster or scaffold it by deepening the childs powers at the stage where you find him or her now (1996, P. 120). He believed that comprehensive development is possible through this sort of social/cultural interaction. Vygotsky furthered the idea that social interaction was the catalyst for the development of a child the entire history of a childs psychological development shows us that, from the very first days of development, its adaptation to the environment is achieved through social means, through the people surrounding it (Vygotsky and Luria, 1993, P. 116). Kozulin, Gindis, Ageyev and Millar (2003) inform us that at the heart of Vygotskys theory lies the understanding of human cognition and learning as social and cultural rather than individual phenomena (P. 1). He laid great stress on the socio cultural environments which shape the development of children (Kozulin et al, 2003, P. 2), believing that absolutely everything in the behaviour of the child is merged and rooted in social relations (Vygotski, 1932 in Ivic, 1989, P. 429) and their interactions with their peers, teachers, adults and the community as a whole. He in fact stressed that interaction, teaching and learning were integral to each other and that they could have no rigidly defined techniques ascribed to them (Popkevitz, 1998, P. 538). These ideas about cognitive development are referred to as social cognitive due to their being a mixture of social and cognitive theory; they centre round childrens dealings with the environment and those in it utilising the different communication skills that they have learnt. Vygotsky believes that children learn from watching and copying or modelling the different behaviours of those around them using a number of different cultural tools, for example a small child pointing a finger is seen initially as an inconsequential grasping action which changes into a significant one as people react to it (Vygotsky, 1978, P. 56). He emphasised two points in terms of learning, mediation and the expansion of psychological tools. Mediation can be seen as a learner using aids which are both human and symbolic to be able to understand the information that has to be learnt; at the start of the process something which needs to be learnt is modelled and observed by the learner who internalises it, m aking it part of their psyche having had time to reflect on it; this type of mediation can take countless different forms from simple guidance and encouragement to complex advice and scaffolding in order to achieve the understanding of a concept but rather than try to define mediation it is more important to understand that it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦provides a perspective on how to look at interpersonal engagements and arrangements (Rogoff, 1995, P. 146-147). Psychological tools are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ those symbolic systems specific for a given culture that when internalised by individual learners become their inner cognitive tools (Kozulin et al, 2003, P. 3) which aid them in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦mastering mental processes (Daniels, 2001, P. 15) and gives them the ability to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦control the conditions of their future remembering (Bakhurst, 1996, P. 202). Vygotsky felt that the higher cognitive processes could only be accessed and developed by learners through copying or imitating adults or older more experienced people due to what he referred to as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD); he defined this as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ latent learning gap between what a child can do on his or her own and what can be done with the help of a more skilful other (Richardson, 1998, P. 163).  It is through following the lead of someone else that individuals are able to develop the skills and the cognitive ability to be able to accomplish tasks alone. Siegler believed that the linear way of regarding cognitive development did not paint a full enough picture of the facts that one could observe about learning, such as the anomaly of a variety of different skill levels within the same age group of children. He developed an overlapping waves theory in trying to better understand how children develop where the focus was on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the number of strategies that a child might use at any age rather than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which specific strategy a child might use most during which stage (Calais, 2008, P. 3). Siegler made three assumptions on which he based his idea: children use a number of methods to address a problem, not just one; methods of thinking and strategies that are used remain with people for indefinite periods of time; children use the experiences that they have to enable them to build towards and move on to more complex strategic thinking. He states that variability is undeniable when one observes how an individual or g roup tackle a problem and that inconsistencies in approach can be seen in individuals who use different strategies to address the same issue on different days. Siegler highlights five stages in learning; acquisition of appealing strategies, mapping strategies onto new problems, strengthening strategies for consistent usage, refining choices and executing appealing strategies (Calais, 2008, P. 4). These stages are all evident in the development of childrens cognitive abilities although they might actually be going through a number of them at the same time. Similar to Piaget and Vygotsky, Siegler discovered that the ability of the learner to choose an appropriate strategy in order to address an issue got better the more mature and skilled they became thus possibly accounting for why individuals within a group might tackle a problem differently in spite of being from the same culture. The teaching techniques which are associated with these schools of thought are almost diametrically opposed to each other. The behaviourist model is one which is teacher focused and revolves around the pupils following instructions that they are given to achieve a specified end. It is a mechanical and unimaginative way of working but is one which is essential if children are to learn the basics of any skill. Unfortunately there is no substitute in a great many areas of the curriculum for instruction based teaching in order to ingrain the skills into students prior to moving on to more advanced skills. Examples of this can be readily seen in the mathematics classrooms where I myself sat through what seemed like endless practice of times tables either through chanting as a class or via targeted questioning of individuals to ensure that they had been learnt properly; the basic rules of algebra need to be learnt before attempting to work out equations or problems; Physical Education less ons are full of the command or practice style of lessons where instructions and demonstration of skills are given followed by practice of skills in isolation, feedback from the practitioner and peers followed by time for improvement and a short game to contextualise the newly learnt skill. The advantage of this type of learning environment is that it is very focused on specific learning goals, the lessons targeting those exclusively in bite size pieces which is ideal for those with learning issues; the disadvantage is that it does not allow for freedom of expression or for the individual strengths of students to be developed. Cognitive schools of thought would encourage teachers to contextualise any skills that students are learning at all times or at the very least whenever it is possible to do so. This would involve starting work on a subject by assessing what the student already knows and constructing a programme of work from that point. This would enable the students with learning difficulties to feel confident in their ability to make progress in that they are beginning with familiar territory making the prospect of what is to come less intimidating and potentially overwhelming. Classrooms following this sort of approach are much more creative in that they allow, as far as possible, for the pupils to direct the learning towards set goals allowing for them to be as imaginative as possible in the process. This child centred approach requires a high degree of organisation in and management of the classroom and necessitates a measured lay out of the classroom for its various functions. In the primary cla ssroom there would need to be specific areas for each different activity in order to maximise the learning potential of the environment for example a computer area, a construction area, a role play area, a carpet area and a reading or quiet area. The teachers work area could be placed in the middle of the classroom for ease of access for all with clear gangways to aid uninhibited movement around the room. The displays should be vibrant, colourful and current indicating to the class that their work is valuable and worthy of being displayed a particularly important point for those with learning difficulties who invariably have low self esteem. Topic based work allows cross curricular links to be forged which is a strength of this method of learning: for example a topic on the Great Fire of London could be tackled encompassing a number of different areas of the curriculum; history would clearly be covered as the foundation of the study alongside a study of how the buildings of the ti me were constructed, why they would have burnt so quickly and how they could have been constructed to make them safer; English and Literacy could be covered through the construction of fire safety posters and poems and the community could be involved through a visit from the local fire service personnel. The children would be encouraged to work both on their own and as members of a group for different parts of the study that they are undertaking using the adults as a resource from which to glean information or to aid them in their planning of how to approach part or parts of their work. The disadvantage of this method of approaching teaching is the huge amount of preparation which needs to be completed before the session to accommodate the creative talents within the group of children but the advantage is that pupils are motivated to complete work to a high standard which expresses their knowledge and understanding of the topic to its fullest extent irrespective of their relative ta lents or abilities. There is no easy or definitive way to teach the skill of reading to any child let alone those who experience learning difficulties. The current trends appear to be a blend of the behaviourist and the cognitive approaches which bring in the best of both worlds. Before implementing any programme it is important to understand the level at which children are operating when they enter the classroom. Some primary children will already have acquired the basics of letter recognition and even some reading skills. However it is important to establish where they are and how to go about reinforcing the basic skills which will allow them to access books and reading materials in the future. It is crucial to understand that the teaching of reading is designed to cover two areas the mechanical aspects of decoding words and the comprehension of them. Decoding is the means through which people are able to interpret written words on a page and make them into meaningful sounds; this involves providing them with the skills to be able to sound out letters and syllables in order to construct the words that appear on the page. It gives people the ability to read almost anything even if it is slowly through the decoding process initially this involves using words with which the learner is familiar followed by the introduction of increasingly more complex ones. The most popular method at present is that of phonics the use of letter/sound associations to recognise words. There are five basic skills which are required for reading and writing which are learning the sounds of the letters, learning the formation of the letters, blending, recognising sounds in words and spelling words that are different or difficult (Jolly Phonics, n.d.). The concept has been popularised by the development of a number of products for the use of both parents and schools to aid students of all ages and abilities with their reading. Phonics provides the learner with that which is readily accessible, easily produced and comprehensible to them sounds, which can then be linked to words. There are a number of different approaches in terms of structure but I will be focusing on one, that of Jolly Phonics. To begin with children are taught the forty two main sounds in English in seven distinct groups: (Jolly Phonics, n.d.) These are known as digraphs and are accompanied by a series of actions (encompassing a multi sensory approach, examples of which are below) which correspond to the letters to help the children to remember them which gradually become unnecessary as the learner gains in confidence. s Weave hand in an  s  shape, like a snake, and say  ssssss a Wiggle fingers above elbow as if ants crawling on you and say  a, a, a. t Turn head from side to side as if watching tennis and say  t, t, t. i Pretend to be a mouse by wriggling fingers at end of nose and squeak  i, i, i. p   Pretend to puff out candles and say  p, p, p. n Make a noise, as if you are a plane hold arms out and say  nnnnnn. (Jolly Phonics, n.d) They learn each letter by its sound, for example a is for ant which will help with blending later in the process. The first group of letter above are introduced at the outset as they provide the greatest amount of three letter words when combined with each other. The students are then taught how to hold a pencil correctly followed by how to form letters in an appropriate way. This is followed by blending which is the process of articulating the individual sounds within a word before running them together to produce the whole. All children need to learn this stage and get better with practice and encouragement. This is often the key with those who have special needs having the encouragement and the confidence to try and not fear making mistakes. It may need the adult to say the parts of the word first to ensure that the pupil can hear them before repeating them which could be seen as the adult providing the support or scaffolding in order for the child to progress to the next level ( Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development). Games can be played like I-Spy to encourage children to listen for the sounds in different parts of words and blending cards can be helpful in this process. Spelling is a different issue with a number of possibilities available to aid in this learning process for example Look, Cover, Write, Check or Mnemonics (the first letter in each word of a saying spelling a word, e.g. fish Frogs In Silly Hats). As we can see from the above example of the teaching of reading and from teaching techniques in general there are advantages and disadvantages in each teaching method. If one wishes to get a safety message across about crossing a road it would not be appropriate for the children to find out by playing chicken with the cars! They would need to be given specific instructions as to how to accomplish the objective safely and if necessary practice in the playground in a role play situation to ensure that the message has been taken in. The basics in reading need to be given through instruction and practice before words can be used creatively in the context of story writing, telling and reading. Lots of practice and exposure to words in and around the classroom through colourful displays with pictures combined with words will lead to a comfort and familiarity with reading and the written word which is particularly valuable for those with learning difficulties. Reading is a basic and necessa ry skill which one needs not only to access a curriculum to be able to pass exams but to be able to function in the most basic way in life. Those with learning difficulties have the right to be taught and to learn this skill of communication; there is no one all encompassing way to achieve this and practitioners have to develop a number of skills and techniques to accommodate the different needs of the personalities in their care. It would appear that there needs to be a blend of both the behaviourist and cognitive approaches to get the best from children as some aspects need to be specifically taught whereas others can be guided and discovered through shared activity with both their peers and adults alike.

Colonial Representations of India in Prose Fiction :: Essays Papers

Colonial Representations of India in Prose Fiction As in representations of the other British colonies, India was used by colonial novelists as a tool of displacement of the individual and re-affirmation of the metropolitan whole. There are three methods by which this effect is achieved. The first method displays an unqualified reliance on a culture too remote to be approached except physically: a hero or protagonist in a pre-mutiny novel is at liberty to escape to India at a moment of crisis, rearrange his life to his advantage and return to a happy ending and the establishment of a newly defined metropolitan life. Dobbin of Thackeray's Vanity Fair (1848) and Peter Jenkins of Gaskell's Cranford (1853) exemplify this well. Even the child Bitherstone of Dickens' Dombey and Son (1848) regards India as his salvation. The second method demonstrates the duality of the post-mutiny era. We are told by Patrick Brantlinger that the earliest work of fiction to deal with the mutiny is "The Perils of Certain English Prisoners", a collaboration by Dickens and Wilkie Collins in the Christmas 1857 edition of Household Words . Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone (1868) revolves around the theft and reclamation of the Koh-i-Noor and creates an ambiguous point of antagonism between Brahmin and Englishman. The Brahmins cannot be said to be wholly right or wrong in their dealings with the stone and it is the British Ablewhite who is portrayed in the most one-dimensional manner and who is cast almost as penumbra to the issues redefining the character of the former. However, only eleven years after the Mutiny, Collins's Indians remain at all times a threatening presence subject only to the most tenuous negotiation:- the reader must not forget that they belong to the realm of the non-rational. Collins' Brahmins, unaware that they are observed, participate in magical rites and his Hindus, en masse, typify Romantic notions of Man's ideal union with Nature. As re-affirmation, they reconfirm the relationship between the central characters. The third method again demonstrates the duality of the post-mutiny era but with more emphasis on reconciliation. Later novels such as Rudyard Kipling's Kim (1901) or E. M. Forster's Passage to India (1924) attempt to remove either the Indian character from the confines of previous stereotype or the Anglo-Indian character from the confines of automatic moral superiority. Colonial Representations of India in Prose Fiction :: Essays Papers Colonial Representations of India in Prose Fiction As in representations of the other British colonies, India was used by colonial novelists as a tool of displacement of the individual and re-affirmation of the metropolitan whole. There are three methods by which this effect is achieved. The first method displays an unqualified reliance on a culture too remote to be approached except physically: a hero or protagonist in a pre-mutiny novel is at liberty to escape to India at a moment of crisis, rearrange his life to his advantage and return to a happy ending and the establishment of a newly defined metropolitan life. Dobbin of Thackeray's Vanity Fair (1848) and Peter Jenkins of Gaskell's Cranford (1853) exemplify this well. Even the child Bitherstone of Dickens' Dombey and Son (1848) regards India as his salvation. The second method demonstrates the duality of the post-mutiny era. We are told by Patrick Brantlinger that the earliest work of fiction to deal with the mutiny is "The Perils of Certain English Prisoners", a collaboration by Dickens and Wilkie Collins in the Christmas 1857 edition of Household Words . Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone (1868) revolves around the theft and reclamation of the Koh-i-Noor and creates an ambiguous point of antagonism between Brahmin and Englishman. The Brahmins cannot be said to be wholly right or wrong in their dealings with the stone and it is the British Ablewhite who is portrayed in the most one-dimensional manner and who is cast almost as penumbra to the issues redefining the character of the former. However, only eleven years after the Mutiny, Collins's Indians remain at all times a threatening presence subject only to the most tenuous negotiation:- the reader must not forget that they belong to the realm of the non-rational. Collins' Brahmins, unaware that they are observed, participate in magical rites and his Hindus, en masse, typify Romantic notions of Man's ideal union with Nature. As re-affirmation, they reconfirm the relationship between the central characters. The third method again demonstrates the duality of the post-mutiny era but with more emphasis on reconciliation. Later novels such as Rudyard Kipling's Kim (1901) or E. M. Forster's Passage to India (1924) attempt to remove either the Indian character from the confines of previous stereotype or the Anglo-Indian character from the confines of automatic moral superiority.

Fred Hoyle and the Big Bang Theory Essay

History is such a hard thing to study. The older the story gets, the tougher it is to retrieve facts and details about it. Records are prone to be destroyed and lost as time goes by. But the most demanding task of all is to determine the elements of an event that happened even before anyone could make a record of. Or even a time when no possible witness exists to tell the story to the future. The beginning of the universe is one such thing. It is impossible for someone to come up with an answer that would specifically define certain details and factors that happened thousands or millions of years ago. Theories have been constantly formed, upgraded, and evolved to support different evidences that lead to the origin of the universe. Up to date, there are still several speculations and contrasting beliefs on how the big galaxy started, the most popular of which is the â€Å"Big Bang Theory† coined by Fred Hoyle (Silver, 2000). Fred Hoyle was a man of science. He was an astronomer, a mathematician, a novelist, and a very intelligent man. He was considered to be a clever man even during his childhood. In fact, he was able to memorize the multiplication tables up to the multiples of 12 (12Ãâ€"12=144) at a young age of four. After attaining his educational degree on Mathematics and Physics, he worked in several laboratories and establishments. During the World War II, Hoyle participated in the development of the radar. He also published several studies and papers about cosmology, the galaxies, the universe, and the earth (Books and Writers, 2003). But he was very much known for being a controversialist, and for bringing the term â€Å"Big Bang† to the public. Ironically, Fred Hoyle was not in any way a contributor to the formation of the said theory. He was also not the instigator nor the supporter of the principles. He was, in fact, opposing and discrediting it as an explanation of how the universe began. The â€Å"Big Bang† theory’s idea actually originated from a Belgian Jesuit priest, Georges Lemaitre (Silver, 2000). He suggested that: the universe started as a sphere, a â€Å"primeval atom,† about thirty times larger than the sun. (p. 455) This theory marks the beginning of a universe with a spontaneous explosion. Unlike other scientific theories of that time, this was partly accepted by the Catholic Church due to its similarity with the Genesis story of the Bible, the coming up of something out of nothing (Books and Writers, 2003). Fred Hoyle however was not convinced. He claimed that although galaxies, stars and atom each had their own beginnings, the universe itself did not have one (Books and Writers, 2003). He continually examined the theory’s weak points and criticized it in conventions and in radio shows. And as a way of mocking the ideas and principles of the theory, he brought up the name â€Å"Big Bang†, like a very unscientific way of explaining the universe’s origin. The name was probably used to link the theory to something funny and not serious. However, after a few years, the hypothesis of an origin from an explosion became a standard scientific paradigm, and was since then always referred to as the â€Å"Big Bang† theory. References: Silver, B. L. (2000). The ascent of science. New York: Oxford University Press Books and Writers. (2003). Sir Fred Hoyle. Retrieved May 08, 2008, from http://www. kirjasto. sci. fi/hoyle. htm

Computers in the Classroom essays

Computers in the Classroom essays Computers have become part of our everyday lives. From the computerized chip in our vehicles to the check out lines at stores, we are dependent upon this type of technology in our world today. Relying on computers becomes more evident everyday, from filing taxes to communicating with family, friends and co-workers. This explosion of technology has increased efforts to equip every classroom with computers and provide Internet access to all students across the nation, and now the rage of handheld computers is reaching across the educational realm. Teachers and Administrators have been introduced to the technology by necessity. Professional training has been the focus in schools and districts, while some decide to pursue the technological world through obtaining a postgraduate education with an emphasis in educational technology. Teachers have found themselves introducing basic computer skills to students while also learning more from the students who already have the technology in their homes. With the addition of the computers in the classroom, one might ask if the equipment helps to improve academic performance of the students that are served. Computer integration into the classroom can make schools better and improve students' academic performance. Students are motivated to learn and remain on task, thus complete their work in school. Students enjoy working on the computers and their attention is spent concentrating more on the subject at hand, than daydreaming during a lecture (Peckham, 2000). Many studies confirm that kids say they're more interested in schoolwork when it involves computers (Setzer, 2000). Teacher training in technology can improve a school's culture, which also tends to lay the groundwork for improved test scores. Oppenheimer (1997) cites many popular reasons for computerizing the classrooms within the United States. He explains that ...

The Function and Location of the Pineal Gland

The Function and Location of the Pineal Gland The pineal gland is a small, pinecone-shaped gland of the endocrine system. A structure of the diencephalon of the brain, the pineal gland produces the hormone melatonin. Melatonin influences sexual development and sleep-wake cycles. The pineal gland is composed of cells called pinealocytes and cells of the nervous system called glial cells. The pineal gland connects the endocrine system with the nervous system in that it converts nerve signals from the sympathetic system of the peripheral nervous system into hormone signals. Over time, calcium deposits build-up in the pineal and its accumulation can lead to calcification in the elderly. Function The pineal gland is involved in several functions of the body including: Secretion of the hormone melatoninRegulation of endocrine functionsConversion of nervous system signals to endocrine signalsCauses sleepinessInfluences sexual developmentInfluences immune system functionAntioxidant activity Location Directionally the pineal gland is situated between the cerebral hemispheres and attached to the third ventricle. It is located in the center of the brain. Pineal Gland and Melatonin Melatonin is produced within the pineal gland and synthesized from the neurotransmitter serotonin. It is secreted into the cerbrospinal fluid of the third ventricle and is directed from there into the blood. Upon entering the bloodstream, melatonin can be circulated throughout the body. Melatonin is also produced by other body cells and organs including retinal cells, white blood cells, gonads, and skin. Melatonin production is vital to the regulation of sleep-wake cycles (circadian rhythm) and its production is determined by light and dark detection. The retina sends signals about light and dark detection to an area of the brain called the hypothalamus. These signals are eventually relayed to the pineal gland. The more light detected, the less melatonin produced and released into the blood. Melatonin levels are at their highest during the night and this promotes changes in the body that help us to sleep. Low levels of melatonin during daylight hours help us to stay awake. Melatonin has been used in the treatment of sleep-related disorders including jet lag and shift-work sleep disorder. In both of these cases, a persons circadian rhythm is disrupted either due to travel across multiple time zones or due to working night shifts or rotating shifts. Melatonin has also been used in the treatment of insomnia and depressive disorder. Melatonin influences the development of reproductive system structures as well. It inhibits the release of certain reproductive hormones from the pituitary gland that affect male and female reproductive organs. These pituitary hormones, known as gonadotropins, stimulate gonads to release sex hormones. Melatonin, therefore, regulates sexual development. In animals, melatonin plays a role in regulating mating seasons. Pineal Gland Dysfunction Should the pineal gland begin to function abnormally, a number of problems may result. If the pineal gland is not able to produce sufficient amounts of melatonin, a person could experience insomnia, anxiety, low thyroid hormone production (hypothyroidism), menopause symptoms, or intestinal hyperactivity. If the pineal gland produces too much melatonin, a person could experience low blood pressure, abnormal function of the adrenal and thyroid glands, or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a depressive disorder that some individuals experience during the winter months when sunlight is minimal. Sources Emerson, Charles H. â€Å"Pineal Gland.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/pineal-gland.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. â€Å"Melatonin.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/melatonin.

LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN PHYSICIAN PATIENT COMMUNICATION Research Paper

LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN PHYSICIAN PATIENT COMMUNICATION - Research Paper Example It is a professional responsibility of a doctor to choose simple and friendly language such that patient should feel comfort in revealing his or her issues. Survey of Literature: Language and communication problems are frequently observed in several professional organizations such as hospitals and healthcare institutions [1]. The reason of such phenomenon is explicated as people are often illiterate and they belong to multi lingual societies. The approaches that a doctor or medical practitioner uses to communicate with his or her patient are very imperative in clinical practices [4, 5]. Through many clinical trials, it has been concluded that a successful session of uninterrupted communication can lead a patient towards health rapidly. It is because the physician can better diagnose the problem of the patient so it would be far more favorable to suggest the prescription [2]. If the success of rate of a physician is not sufficient, then it will cause on the threat to him. Dissatisfied patients spread negative word of mouth about the physicians by whom they have been treated [1]. Physicians may need to treat different categories of patien ts like illiterate people, abnormal ones, old age people, diverse lingual people, children etc. They must be trained with such communication skills which are essential to deal with every category of the patients [3]. Analysis and Discussion: A main reason of communication barriers has been notified as language problems while observing the real phenomenon at clinics [3]. These barriers are the ultimate cause of decreasing success rate. The situation is going to be vulnerable as the physician is unable to get what the patient is feeling because the patient is not getting the question [2]. It is the vital responsibility of physicians and healthcare personnel to use the techniques which are patient friendly. Indeed the physician must not pursue the treatment until and unless he is not sure about the problem. In most

Economic analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Economic analysis - Essay Example Most of the economists believe that, this relationship between inflation and unemployment is in the short run, which leads to a trade off between the two undesirables. The trade off, which has been summarised in to the Phillip’s curve shows that since the invention of economics, there has been an inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation where, when inflation is low, the rate of unemployment is high and when the rate of inflation is high, the levels of unemployment are low. Government policies that are designed to lower the levels of unemployment, for instance, during recession will usually lead to increased rates of inflation in the short run while policies that are designed to lower the rates of inflation, especially during the boom cycle will most likely increase the levels of unemployment in the short run. When discussing inflation and the effects that it has in markets, another concept that cannot be ignored is the interest rates, this is because inflation l evels in a country are directly determined by the interest rates prevailing in that country. When interest rates in a country are lowered, it encourages businesses to get loans for expansion or to hire more employees; this increases money supply in the economy forcing prices to go up due to the increased demand for products and services hence inflation; however on the positive side is that more people will be employed in the economy. On the other side, if the government increases interest rates, businesses are likely to shy away from getting loans for expansion or to cover other expenses, this has the effect of reducing money supply in the market hence low demand, which in turn leads to low inflation rate. The negative side of this is that the less the amount of money that is available in the market, the higher the levels of unemployment since businesses do not have the money to hire new employees. Phillips curve The above Phillip’s curve shows the inverse relationship betwee n unemployment and inflation. Some economists have argued that this relationship is only applicable in the short run since the in the long run, influence of some other macroeconomic factors may cause inflation and unemployment to move in the same direction or fail to show any influence on each other. Keynes, one of greatest economist of the 20th century have argued that the most important term in economics is the short term since in the long run, we will all be dead. The idea of Phillip’s curve has been criticized especially in relation to the trade off between inflation and unemployment because as data from 1970 in most of the developed countries show, these two economic parameters moved in the same direction, a situation called stagflation. This phenomenon was experienced when in 1970; shocks resulting from fluctuating in oil prices ensure that there were high levels of inflation and at the same time high rates of unemployment. This deviation from the Phillip’s curve is as a result of the fact that workers and employers are likely to take into account the effects of inflation when signing new employment contracts, which would mean employees being paid at rates near the inflation. This would cause the levels of unemployment to rise at the same time meaning that in the long run, there is not trade off between unemploym