Analysis Of Cormac Mccarthy s The Road - 2137 Words

Published in 2006, while America was still reeling from the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Cormac McCarthy s The Road attempts to recreate the emotions of the dire situation by ushering in new masculinity normalcies. McCarthy uses a father and his son to demonstrate the social changes that occurred in America during a time of turmoil. America had to work together in ways it had not before, and this is demonstrated by the father’s assumption of feminine qualities while protecting his son. McCarthy created a reality of his own—one that tracks a father’s loving efforts to guide his son through a landscape made wrenching by the unavailability of food, shelter, safety, companionship or hope in most places where they scavenge to survive. The Road is not just the extinction of a species or a planet; he portrays the humanly experience of the demise of civilization. Fragmented sentences that reflect the processes of sensory perception are scattered through the book and evoke the broken status humankind has found itself in, contributing to the ominous mood: â€Å"In the morning they went on. Desolate country. A boarhide nailed to a barn door. Ratty. Wisp of a tail. Inside the barn three bodies hanging from the rafters, dried and dusty among the wan slats of light. There could be something here, the boy said. There could be some corn or something. Let s go, the man said.† (McCarthy 17) Just the fact that bodies hanging from rafters is put so casually and evokeShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Cormac Mccarthy s The Road 2759 Words   |  12 PagesCarter Cox Mr. Crocker AP Language and Composition 1 April 2015 Love In A World of Hate: An Analysis of The Road Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel, The Road, is set in a post-apocalyptic world where an unspecified disaster left very few people and resources. The novel focuses on the journey and survival of a father and son, who are never given names, as they travel in search of the coast. They believe if any hope of rescue or a better life exists the coast is their best option. Every day isRead MoreAnalysis Of Cormac Mccarthy s The Road 1470 Words   |  6 PagesHow Effectively Does McCarthy Create a Sense of What a Post-Apocalyptic World Would be Like? Cormac McCarthy creates a sense of what a post-apocalyptic society in the novel ‘The Road’. He does this by including dreams, description of the physical landscape and human behaviour. This helps create a sense of a post-apocalyptic world because it gives us insight into what it looks like and how the people think. McCarthy uses dreams as a recurring theme throughout the text in order to create his post-apocalypticRead MoreAnalysis Of Cormac Mccarthy s The Road 1107 Words   |  5 PagesSetting within Cormac McCarthy novel is paramount to the development of our understanding the theme of the relationship between the sacred and the profane. ‘The Road’ follows a father and son as they traverse through the eradicated remains of North America after an allured to nuclear catalyst. As they venture into this profane world McCarthy wrote, both the father and son see what is truly sacred to humanity, and what is not. We see this theme in many settings, but none as important to the developmentRead MoreAnalysis Of Cormac Mccarthy s The Road 2257 Words   |  10 Pages Cormac McCarthy’s The Road intensely reflects on the importance of relationships as a survival tactic and the struggle to exist as a good person in an immoral world. The relationship between the father and the boy is heavily amplified as the father tries to give his son an understanding of the world he was born into. The father abandons his retelling of history or the past to his son. He struggles to decide if he wants his son to intellectually understand the world or rather survive in it? TheirRead MoreAnalysis Of Cormac Mccarthy s The Road 1492 Words   |  6 Pagesoneself. This is the dark, apocalyptic setting of Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road. McCarthy creates a world barren of life, except for the few who managed to survive the unmentioned catastrophe that has left the earth void of all natural resources. The main characters of this novel are an unnamed boy and father, who are doing whatever they can to survive while staying morally good, or as his father s ays trying â€Å"to carry the fire, †(McCarthy) while living in a world of darkness and seemingly badRead MoreAnalysis Of Cormac Mccarthy s Writing Of The Road2679 Words   |  11 Pages Cormac McCarthy’s writing of The Road is an apocalyptic writing that foreshadows the destruction of the world as we know it. The man and the son are continuously on the move, but their destination is unknown. The south represents a safe haven, or second chance for the family to find safety and comfort from the harsh winter to come. In the test Exploring Literature, a symbol is defined as â€Å"In literature, a person, place, or thing that suggest more than its literal meaning. Symbols generally do notRead MoreAnalysis Of The Road Psychoanalytic Perspective : Cormac Mccarthy s Novel The Road 814 Words   |  4 PagesJason Fontillas Jim Hensley PIB LA 10 Paper Proposal The Road Psychoanalytic Perspective Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road, contains a plot with an underlying meaning beneath the words on the paper. In this post-apocalyptic world, there are many examples of motifs, symbols, and metaphors that can be picked apart and analyzed through a psychoanalytic perspective. It is based on the idea that the unconscious story does not directly express its moral ideas, and does so through subtle clues in the textRead MoreThe Road By Cormac Mccarthy1009 Words   |  5 PagesL’Heureux II, John Lang and Lit Year 2 2/10/2017 Written Task 2 Title of the text for analysis: The Road by Cormac McCarthy,2006 Part of the course to which the task refers: Part 4- Literature, a critical study Prescribed question: How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose? My critical response will: ââ€"  Show how the text conforms to the post-apocalyptic genre. ââ€"  Show how resources, including basics such as food and water, are a scarcityRead MoreArchetypal Criticism in The Road by Cormac McCarthy Essay1643 Words   |  7 PagesThe universal truths and messages are determined by identifying patterns like character types, storylines, settings, symbols. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a novel that accurately exemplifies the principles of archetypal criticism. This narrative account associates the characters of a young minor and his father to encapsulate the ideas of archetypal criticism. McCarthy presents the novel by setting the scene of a death-defying journey through a post-apocalyptic wasteland of America. The young ladRead MoreThe Road By Cormac Mccarthy2062 Words   |  9 PagesReid Norberg Period 3 3/18/16 2016 AP Lodestar 1. Title: The Road Author: Cormac McCarthy Date of Publication: 2006 Genre: Post- apocalyptic fiction 2. The Road is a novel written by American author Cormac McCarthy. Although born in the North East, McCarthy was driven to the South West later in his life where he has since based most of his novels, including The Road. The Road tells a story of a man and his son in post apocalyptic America where the weather is winter-like and the ground is

Electronic Medical Records Of Four Senior Surgeons For All...

Abstract Introduction Intra-operative cultures may be obtained in revision spine surgery despite the absence of pre-operative clinical markers of infection (wound drainage, fevers, elevated ESR/CRP/WBC, etc). The microbiologic profile of culture positive cases in which there is no clear evidence of infection preoperatively has not been described. The aim of this investigation is to report on the microbiologic profile of this unique patient population. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of four senior surgeons for all revision spine surgery cases performed between 2008-2013. During the study period, 595 revision surgeries were performed. Seventeen cases were performed for the primary diagnosis of†¦show more content†¦Pseudarthrosis was the most common diagnosis overall (49.1%) in which intra-operative cultures were obtained, followed by recurrent index disease (17.0%). Pseudarthrosis was also the most common revision surgical diagnosis where cultures were positive (55.6%). Including all patients who had revision surgery for the diagnosis of pseudoarthrosis (both cultured and not cultured), 18.9%(24/127) had positive cultures. When pseudarthrosis was the primary diagnosis at revision surgery and cultures were taken, Propionobacterium acnes was cultured in 54.2% of cases; though, this was not stastistically more common than other organisms (p = 0.6381). Overall, staphylococcal species were found most commonly (57.8% of cases), but Propionobacterium acnes was at least one of the isolates in 48.9% of cases and was the most common organism isolated. Polymicrobial cultures were obtained in 22.2% of cases. MRSA infections were found in only 6.7% of cases. Non-instrumented cases were significantly more likely to develop an infection (p = 0.0253) than instrumented cases. Positive cultures were seen more commonly in non-fusion cases than fusion cases (p = 0.027). Those fused to the sacrum were less likely to have positive cultures than those who did not have fusion to the sacrum (p = 0.032). Conclusions Intra-operative cultures are commonly obtained in the setting of revision spine surgery without overwhelming clinical evidence for infection. The

Managerial Accounting 505 Case Study Week 3 Free Essays

Grade 45/50 Managerial Accounting 505 Case Study Week 3 A. What is the break-even point in passengers and revenues per month? Total Per UnitPercent Sales: 160 X 90 $14,400$ 160100% Less variable costs/expenses: . 70 X 90 $ 6,300 $7044% Contribution margin: $ 8,100$9056% Less fixed costs/expense: $3,150,000 Net operating income: $3,141,900 8,100 /14,400 = 56% 100 – 56 = 44% BEP in passengers (fixed costs / contribution margin) 3,150,000 / 90 = 35,000 passengers BEP in dollars (passenger per month X selling price) 35,000 X 160 = 5,600,000 B. We will write a custom essay sample on Managerial Accounting 505 Case Study Week 3 or any similar topic only for you Order Now What is the break-even point in number of passenger train cars per month? # of seats per passenger train cars X Average load factor BEP in passenger’s car per month 35,000/ (90x. 70) 35,000/ 63 = 556 passenger train per month C. If Springfield Express raises its average passenger fare to $190, it is estimated that the average load factor will decrease to 60%. What will be the monthly break-even point in number of passenger cars? Total Per UnitPercent Selling Price $17,100$190100 Less variable costs/expense$6,300$70 37 Contribution margin$10,800$12063 BEP in passengers (fixed cost / unit cm ) 3,150,000 / 120 = 26,250 BEP in passengers per month in dollars (fixed costs / cm ratio) 3,150,000 / . 63 = 5,000,000 # of seats per passenger train cars X Average load factor 90 X . 60 = 54 BEP # of passengers cars 26,250 / (90 X . 60) 54 = 486 passengers train cars per month D. Refer to original data. ) Fuel cost is a significant variable cost to any railway. If crude oil increases by $ 20 per barrel, it is estimated that variable cost per passenger will rise to $ 90. What will be the new break-even point in passengers and in number of passenger train cars? BEP in passengers Fixed operating cost /contribution margin 3,150,000/ 70 = 45,000 passengers per month BEP # of passengers per car 90x. 70 = 63 passenger per car Passengers per month/passenger train cars 45,000/63= 714 passenger train cars per month E. Springfield Express has experienced an increase in variable cost per passenger to $ 85 and an increase in total fixed cost to $ 3,600,000. The company has decided to raise the average fare to $ 205. If t he tax rate is 30 percent, how many passengers per month are needed to generate an after-tax profit of $ 750,000? Before tax profit = after-tax profit /100%-tax rate % 750,000/(1. 00-. 30)= $1,071,429 Before tax profit + fixed cost/New contribution margin $,1,071,429 + $3,600,000/($205-$85) = $4,671,429/$120 = 38928. 56 or 38,929 passenger per month. F. (Use original data). Springfield Express is considering offering a discounted fare of $ 120, which the company believes would increase the load factor to 80 percent. Only the additional seats would be sold at the discounted fare. Additional monthly advertising cost would be $ 180,000. How much pre-tax income would the discounted fare provide Springfield Express if the company has 50 passenger train cars per day, 30 days per month? Revenue= 90 x (. 80-. 70) x 120 x 50 x 30 + $180,000 = $1,800,000 Variable cost= $70 x ($1,800,000/discount fare ($120) = 1,050,000 Additional monthly advertising cost = $180,000 Revenue†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦$1,800,000 Less Variable cost†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦($1,050,000) Contribution Margin†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ $750,000 Less Advertising cost†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ($180,000) Pretax income discount fare provide†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. $570,000 f# of discounted seats = 90 X . 0 = 9 seats Contribution margin fo r discounted fares = $ 120 – $ 70 = $ 50 X 9 discounted seats = $450 each train X 50 train cars per day X 30 days per month= $ 675,000 minus $ 180,000 additional fixed costs = $ 495,000 pretax income. G. Springfield Express has an opportunity to obtain a new route that would be traveled 20 times per month. The company believes it can sell seats at $ 175 on the route, but the load factor would be only 60 percent. Fixed cost would increase by $ 250,000 per month for additional personnel, additional passenger train cars, maintenance, and so on. Variable cost per passenger would remain at $ 70. 1. Should the company obtain the route? Revenue= 90 x (. 6) X $175Ãâ€"20= $189,000 Variable cost= $70 x ($189,000/ fare ($175) = $75,600 Additional monthly Fixed cost = $250,000 Revenue†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦$189,000 Less Variable cost†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦($75,600) Contribution Margin†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ $113,400 Less Fixed cost†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ($250,000) Pretax income loss†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. $136,000) The company should not go for the new route because they will lose money because the Total Additional Contribution Margin is not Additional Fixed Costs 2. How many passenger train cars must Springfield Express operate to earn pre-tax income of $ 120,000 per month on this route? Before tax profit + fixed cost/Contribution margin $120,000+$250,000 / ($175-$70) = 3,523. 81 or 3524 # of seats per passenger train cars X Average load factor 90 X . 0 = 54 Passengers per month/passenger train cars 3524/54 = 65. 25 or 65 passenger train cars needed 3. If the load factor could be increased to 75 percent, how many passenger train cars must be operated to earn pre-tax income of $ 120,000 per month on this route? Before tax profit + fixed cost/Contribution margin $120,000+$250,000/($175-$70) = 3,523. 81 or 3524 # of seats per passenger train cars X Average load factor 90 X . 5 = 67. 50 Passengers per month/passenger train car s 3524/67. 50 = 52. 20 or 52 passenger train cars needed 4. What qualitative factors should be considered by Springfield Express in making its decision about acquiring this route? If fixed cost increased to $500,000 Fixed cost (25,000 X 2) = $500,000 = fixed cost + required profit)/contribution margin per seat = (500000 + 120000) / 61 = 62,0000 / 61 = 10164 Seats Seat price average (131*10164) 1331484 Variable cost (70*10164) 711480 Contribution 620004 Fixed cost 500000 Income Fixed cost variable cost, contribution margin income loading factors should be considered before taking decision. 4. Springfield should consider such things as †¢Connections to other Springfield trains that might be made by these passengers. †¢Long-range potential for increased load factors †¢Increased customer goodwill in this new market †¢Increased employment opportunities for labor in the area †¢Competition in the market. 120004 How to cite Managerial Accounting 505 Case Study Week 3, Free Case study samples

Reflective Practices in Healthcare Setting

Question: Describe about the reflection helps in more personal professional improvement and development compared to formal learning (Moon 2013). Answer: The reflection helps in more personal professional improvement and development compared to formal learning (Moon 2013). According to Thompson and Pascal (2012), practitioners who reflect on their experiences become better learners. Description My final placement was in the trauma and orthopedic ward in the hospital. During this placement, I was in check of a patient who had periprosthetic hip ORIF and then had also a revision of ORIF left femoral periprosthetic. Patients Past Medical History was as follows: Anaemia, high cholesterol, hypertension, COPD, Pacemaker, nephritic syndrome, previous left neck of the femur. The patient also had wound debridement because she had an infection where she had an operation. l had looked after this patient for a couple of shifts, the patient was being transferred with the gutter frame with two staff but deteriorated and transferred with cricket hoist with two staff .The patient had low sodium and on 1.5 fluid restrictions. I had a mentor in this hospital who showed me most of the procedures that were undertaken to the patient in this ward but my main focus was for this patient. The patient most of the time became breathless as COPD symptoms kept on relapsing. There was an awkward event t hat happened during my placement in this ward and was when a doctor without gloves and had not washed his hands or disinfected them with alcohol gel performed wound debridement to the patient. Unfortunately, the blood from the patient sprinkled onto his hands. The doctor did not even bother reporting the incidence to the in-charge of the ward and he just washed his hand with plain water without soap or disinfecting solution. Feeling I was shocked by the doctors action which left me in a dilemma on what to do in order to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. I also felt helpless as the patient condition was not improving despite the treatment that he was being given by the doctors. The patient kept on complaining that the whole of his body was in pain, this was despite the analgesics that he was given on daily basis. I empathized with the patient and encouraged her that we were there for her and her condition would improve which made the patient feel rejuvenated. Evaluation I regret not having challenged the doctors action on the patient as the doctor was diagnosed to have been infected with Hepatitis B Virus after two months when the incident happened. It was discovered that the patient was infected with Hepatitis B virus after the event happened. I blame myself for not having informed the Doctor to have worn the gloves before he commenced on the debridement procedures. I could also have informed the doctor on the importance of proper disinfection of hands after blood spillage and also reporting of any case of blood spillage on any part of the body to the in-charge of the ward. The occurrence taught me the importance of embracing aseptic techniques while dealing with patients. The placement in this ward helped me to understand how to manage patients in the orthopedic ward and how to manage other condition like hypertension and COPD. Analysis The Healthcare-Associated infection is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitals (Polin et al 2012). Cimiotti , Aiken, Sloane and Wu (2012) asserts that the health care professionals, family members, and the visitors are among the human resources responsible for transmission of pathogens within the health facility. According to Lgar and Witteman (2013), the microorganisms commonly transmitted within the health care setting include fungi, virus, bacteria, and parasites. Ghareeb et al (2013) argue that Routine practices in health care are vital in preventing the risk of transmitting infection between one person and the other. According to Bennett, Dolin and Blaser (2014), the routine practices includes hand hygiene, education of health professionals/client/families/visitors and personal protective equipment. Conclusion The situation has made me learn the importance of taking courage in reminding the health professionals on the best practices while carrying out the day to day activities in improving the quality of care for the patients. The health care providers should not hesitate in correcting each other mistakes and this can help in curbing the spread of healthcare-Associated infections. Action plan The incidence inspired me to always embrace aseptic techniques while handling patients to avoid health-care-associated infection. I would not hesitate in reminding the other health professional on the aseptic techniques expected of them while performing their duties. References Bennett, JE, Dolin, R and Blaser, MJ, 2014.Principles and practice of infectious diseases(Vol. 1). Elsevier Health Sciences. Cimiotti, JP, Aiken, LH, Sloane, DM. and Wu, ES, 2012. Nurse staffing, burnout, and health careassociated infection.American journal of infection control, vol.40, no. (6), pp.486-490. Ghareeb et al, 2013. Reducing pathogen transmission in a hospital setting. Handshake verses fist bump: a pilot study.Journal of Hospital Infection, vol.85 no. (4), pp.321-323. Lgar, F and Witteman, HO, 2013. Shared decision making: examining key elements and barriers to adoption into routine clinical practice.Health Affairs, vol.32 , no. (2), pp.276-284. Moon, JA, 2013.Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice. Routledge. Polin et al, 2012. Strategies for prevention of health careassociated infections in the NICU.Pediatrics,vol. 129, no. (4), pp.e1085-e1093. Thompson, N and Pascal, J, 2012. Developing critically reflective practice. Reflective Practice, vol. 13, no. (2), pp.311-325.

The Importance and Relevance of Critical Thinking in both the classroom and the outside world

Importance in the Classroom Critical thinking is defined as the focused and logical capacity to develop helpful ideas in life. In the classroom, critical thinking skills are important in achieving success.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance and Relevance of Critical Thinking in both the classroom and the outside world specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the positive effects that result from critical thinking is the ability to develop excellent writing skills. The ability to approach problems from different angles is enhanced by appropriate application of critical thinking skills. Critical thinking also helps students to evaluate and organize arguments through logical and guided interpretation of various contexts. There are different types of reasoning in critical thinking. There is deductive reasoning, which derives several concepts and uses them to make a conclusion. By use of type of critical th inking, the student has the ability to analyze and evaluate different concepts to come up with the best solution. Inductive reasoning is another category, which enables an individual to develop a convincing solution to a particular problem. These types of reasoning also enable students to make logical and informed decisions in class (Moore 66). Critical thinking skills save a lot of time in class, as students find the shortest and most effective ways of dealing with the problems they encounter in class. Evaluation of alternatives is another benefit that students gain when they apply critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills also help in doing away with ambiguity and enhancing effectiveness (Ellis and Toft 279). Using comparison models in critical thinking, students use past events to project their expectations. Critical thinkers are able to differentiate between emotional and rational ideas. This attribute helps them to enhance the precision and accuracy of their arguments. Rationality and logic help the students to improve their problem-solving skills and enhance the ability to solve classroom problems (Moore 61). Critical thinking skills enhance students’ communication skills, writing skills and learning skills, and as a result they become more confident and excellent in everything they do. Importance in the Outside World In the outside world, application of critical thinking skills is equally essential. At the workplace, critical thinking enhances the capacity and capability to make important decisions related to particular tasks. Taking my current work of a massage therapist as an example, critical thinking helps me appreciate the fact that every customer has his/her own preferences. Based on past activities, critical thinking skills help me to understand the needs of each client, without him telling me what to do.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn Mo re These skills also help me in resolving and substantiating ambiguous issues that arise at the workplace. Rational thinking is another benefit of critical thinking skills that I use at the workplace. Critical thinking has enabled me to avoid being emotional and irrational, ensuring that a good relationship exists between the clients and the massage therapists has always remained my top priority. Application of deductive and inductive reasoning skills in real life situations helps individuals to come up with informed decisions (Ellis and Toft 344). The ability to derive different ideas and weigh them to get the most credible enhances trust and loyalty among my clients. As a massage therapist, I apply efficient and cost-effective strategies to maintain good returns. I am also able to narrow down to the best massage techniques that are not only time saving, but also satisfying to my clients. Critical thinking skills help me in saving time and creating more opportunities to earn mone y. Communication skills and job ethics are also enhanced through the application of critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills help an individual to derive new and surprising techniques that make the clients satisfied and loyal to the business. The skills are therefore very important in establishing a business culture that is both accommodative and sensitive to all the customers’ needs. Realizing customers’ expectations and understanding the corporate world helps in developing the best strategy to deal with failure (Ellis 170). The skills are therefore very important in separating work and personal issues. Without critical thinking skills, one may apply personal feelings at the workplace and this has adverse effects on the business. Works Cited Ellis, Dave and Doug Toft. Becoming a Master Student. 13th ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin 2009. Print. Ellis, Dave. Becoming a Master Student: Concise. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance and Relevance of Critical Thinking in both the classroom and the outside world specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moore, David T. Critical Thinking and Intelligence Analysis. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2010. Print. This essay on The Importance and Relevance of Critical Thinking in both the classroom and the outside world was written and submitted by user Brooklynn Lopez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Sports

To my understanding, the main principle of the Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 was that sex should not determine the legal rights of American men or women. Any state or federal laws that existed to discriminate against women became invalid after the amendment. Men and women should have the same opportunities in treatment. These opportunities include jobs, education, sports, etc. I believe it is extremely important and necessary for men and women to have equal rights. Although the Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 has helped, the problem has not diminished completely. As of right now, not everything is equal between men and women. Often salary caps are lower for women than men. The â€Å"Glass Elevator† theory is believed to still be in effect as well. What this means is that it is thought for promotions to occur more easily for men in businesses than for women. With matters like these occurring day in and day out, Equal Rights between men and women still have a bit to go before life can truly be equal between them. It can be said however, that women do have more equal rights in our society than before. For example, there are NCAA laws for women sports. Title IX is an NCAA law that, I think, states that there should be equal number of women athletes to men athletes at each institution. Scholarship ratios should be equal for men and women athletics. In most schools, there are more women sports than men sports and I believe the following is why: because of college institutions with football programs. Football teams, many times, carry up to 80-90 football players, most of them of which are there on athletic aid (scholarships). Since scholarships are to be equal for men and women athletes, and since women’s football does not exist, all those scholarships have to be accounted for in other women’s sports to equal the amount of scholarships offered to men sports. So basically, football eats up most of the male sport’s ath... Free Essays on Sports Free Essays on Sports To my understanding, the main principle of the Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 was that sex should not determine the legal rights of American men or women. Any state or federal laws that existed to discriminate against women became invalid after the amendment. Men and women should have the same opportunities in treatment. These opportunities include jobs, education, sports, etc. I believe it is extremely important and necessary for men and women to have equal rights. Although the Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 has helped, the problem has not diminished completely. As of right now, not everything is equal between men and women. Often salary caps are lower for women than men. The â€Å"Glass Elevator† theory is believed to still be in effect as well. What this means is that it is thought for promotions to occur more easily for men in businesses than for women. With matters like these occurring day in and day out, Equal Rights between men and women still have a bit to go before life can truly be equal between them. It can be said however, that women do have more equal rights in our society than before. For example, there are NCAA laws for women sports. Title IX is an NCAA law that, I think, states that there should be equal number of women athletes to men athletes at each institution. Scholarship ratios should be equal for men and women athletics. In most schools, there are more women sports than men sports and I believe the following is why: because of college institutions with football programs. Football teams, many times, carry up to 80-90 football players, most of them of which are there on athletic aid (scholarships). Since scholarships are to be equal for men and women athletes, and since women’s football does not exist, all those scholarships have to be accounted for in other women’s sports to equal the amount of scholarships offered to men sports. So basically, football eats up most of the male sport’s ath... Free Essays on Sports â€Å"Spectator violence at football matches: towards a sociological explanation† Although many fans are drawn into hooligan incidents- fans who did not set out for the match with disruptive intent are usually the ones that get arrested and charged with minor misdemeanors. But the hard core fans, those who engage most persistently in hooligan behavior in a football context, view fighting and aggressive behavior as an integral part of going to the match. These fans are frequently skilled at evading detection and arrest. The two main official explanations of football hooliganism are caused by drinking and/or violence on the field. Both of these explanations have severe limitations. Drinking, for example, cannot be said to be a significant or deep cause of football hooliganism for the simple reason that not every fan that drinks takes part in hooligan acts. In fact, most fans that are involved are sober, but very aggressive. Similarly, violence on the field is not always preceded by hooligan incidents. Nor are all hooligan incidents always followed by violence on the field. This is not to say that drinking and violence on the field are causally not implicated by football hooligan fighting, but they are a series of conditions that can facilitate football hooligan violence. According to Clarke, football hooligans come from disintegrated working class communities against commercialized football and the increasing packaging of the game as spectacle and entertainment. Most of these hooligans attended football matches free from the control of older relatives and neighbors who used to keep them in check. These people are almost always, young adult males that use football as a context for fighting. Most of these young adult males are manual workers or unemployed. â€Å"How Conflict Escalates: the inter-group dynamics of collective football crowd violence† There are individuals who attend footb...

Computer Assisted Career Guidance Systems and Career Choice Assignment

Computer Assisted Career Guidance Systems and Career Choice - Assignment Example This essay discusses that  the speedy hi-tech modernization, rumble in ease of understanding and use of internet, use of CACGS has considerably increased in most countries most especially the United States of America. Different forms of CACGS are extensively being used in various universities, colleges and other institutions in the US. The far-reaching use of CACGS for career guidance has made it essential to study the efficient uses of CACGS in the prerequisite of occupation direction.As the research finds cartels of research have been carried out on CACGS concerning client contentment. Unfortunately, very little has been done on the effectiveness of CACGS systems. It has also been proven that the CACGS can used to support planning through internet. Additional career scheduling tools such as online educational planners, scholarship search line, resume builders and links to state national banks have been provided for by the CACGS. The CACGS have had a significant influence on the s tudents' alleged career choice standing, career barricade, dealing with self worth, and withholding.  When choosing careers, according to the Kuder report, individuals should focus on all the four aspects: realistic, investigative, social, artistic, and enterprising careers.  There is not any accurate method of determining careers; hence, all the four pillars must be considered basing on one's interests.

BRAND PERSONALITY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

BRAND PERSONALITY - Essay Example 392). The concept of brand personality eludes clear definition. Anandan (2009) provides what is probably the most practicable description: ‘Simply put, brand personality answers the question â€Å"What happens when the brand turns into a human being?† or â€Å"What happens when the brand comes alive?† (p. 139). Brand personality is also defined as â€Å"the set of human characteristics associated with a brand† (Asperin, 2007, p. 49). The concern of marketing practitioners as far as brand marketing is concerned is therefore how to personify a brand. Kumar (2009) links brand personality to self-concept, and it is self-expression, rather than emotion, that more significantly develops brand personality (p. 177-178). Brand personality is achieved by associating human characteristics that consumers commonly attribute to a brand. The characteristic may be in terms of demographic attributes (age, gender, status), lifestyle (activities, social class), culture (value s, beliefs), and other personality traits. The brand may be associated with celebrities or historical figures, and several devices may be used such as animism, anthropomorphism, personification, and user imagery (Purkayastha, 2009). A well established brand personality must possess the following attributes: (1) elements of the brand’s marketing mix are deliberately coordinated; (2) personality sought is competitively distinctive and desirable; and (3) the personality sought is robust and kept consistent over time and over media (Aaker & Biel, 1993, p. 49). Brand personality influences the choice of consumers by enabling them to express who they are by the brands they use (Asperin, 2007, p. 49). Brand personality can help marketers in: (1) the conception and creation of a brand; (2) evaluating its perception in the minds of the customer and compare it with what was expected; and (3) incorporating necessary changes to make the brand more attractive in order to meet the goals of creating lasting consumer satisfaction and loyalty (Purkayastha, 2009). In recent years, brand personality has become a topic of interest not only among academic researchers but more especially among marketing managers and strategists. This is evident in a scan of professional and academic journals on marketing research and applications. The principal theoretical framework employed in academic literature is the multidimensional framework, first devised by Aaker, and later developed by other researchers to account for market-specific factors and universal, cross-cultural studies. Aaker’s Brand Personality Framework In applying brand personality constructs, the theoretical paradigm most commonly used is the multi-dimensional framework devised by Aaker, which is considered the prevailing standard. The Aaker framework is accepted as a comprehensive framework that may be generalised over a broad number of product categories (Malik & Naeem, 2012). The Aaker framework underlies the Brand Personality Scale, or BPS, developed by the same author. Based on an extensive study of American consumers, Aaker derived a framework comprised of five core dimensions and their facets, as follows (Guse, 2011): (1) Sincerity (Domestic, honest, genuine, cheerful); (2) Excitement (Daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date); (3) Competence (Reliable, responsible, dependable, efficient); (4) Sophistication (Glamorous, pretentious, charming, romantic); and (5) Ruggedness (Tough, strong, outdoorsy, rugged). The study of Malik and Naeem (2012), however, called attention to the perception that Aaker’s framework provides only a crude estimation of brand personality because it transposes human personality traits instead of using the brands themselves. The study also expresses concern that the original

Global Contraflows - Morocco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Contraflows - Morocco - Essay Example Global contraflows are a threat to Americanization. This is so because it enhances culture diversification that is contrary to what Americanization stands for. In the past U.S had dominated over the other cultures making the minority cultures to adopt their way of life thus deteriorating culture of individuals (Moran 67). Contraflows on the contrary provide avenues for culture exchange between two different regions thus nurturing culture and ensuring its maintenance. There is therefore need to rethink culture production (Pennycook 74). This is to ensure that productions are considerate of the ethics of other cultures. This is to ensure that they conform to the norms of the other cultures so as not to be faced with hostility when the product is aired (Thussu 86). This paper seeks to analyze whether the Gnawa music of Morocco had an impact on the social life of individuals globally and the role that media played in ensuring cultural exchange. Gnawa music was mostly experienced by the westerns who visited Morocco. This is due to the annual Gnawa festival that is held annually in one of the Moroccan beaches (Athique 49). This provided the visiting westerns with the chance to be able to experience cultural celebrations of the Moroccan people. This as well provided an avenue whereby the Moroccan people and the westerners could be able to exchange their culture (Kearey, Kleipes and Vine 53). This is because the performers went to perform having worn their full regalia that marks the celebration. This could offer the westerners with a chance to learn the culture of their hosts and at the same time the hosts could be able to learn through this interactions (Moran 65). With the advent of media, culture movement was further facilitated. This is because of the availability of equipment such as satellite televisions that made it

Reliability and Validity in Research

Reliability and Validity in Research The debate whether qualitative methods are reliable and valid have been contested for a long time between qualitative and quantitative researchers. Quantitative researchers approach research in a positivistic way where they believe there is a single truth, behaviours can be explained by Universal laws and research should be done objectively (Research Methodology, 2016). Most of the studies also involved using statistical methods to analyse. Today, quantitative research is valued by government and policy makers more as they are more reliable, generalizable and easier to analyse (Cannella and Lincoln, 2004 cited in Tracy, 2010). However, qualitative studies study issues in depth hence it should be valued more. In this essay, the definition of reliability and validity in quantitative and qualitative research will be discussed. Then requirements of a good qualitative research will be explored and interview as a data collection method will be evaluated. Reliability in quantitative research is defined by (Joppe, 2000, cited in Golafshani, 2003) as the Extent which results are consistent over time and accurate representation of the total population under study. This means similar results should be replicable at a different time and the sample should represent characteristics of the general population. Validity is whether the research measure what it intends to and how accurate the data is (Golafshani, 2003). Being objective is also important to ensure data are not biased which affects the reliability of the data. Meeting these objectives will ensure good quality quantitative research. In contrary, qualitative research focuses on structures and process behind to have a deeper understanding of a topic through methods such as interviews and discourse analysis. McDowell (1992) called these researchers critical realists and she believes the work they do can help explain a phenomenon whereas quantitative data are only useful in identifying the pattern as correlation does not equal to cause (empirical realists). Qualitative methods also aim to show that the world is complex (Schoenberger, 1991) and messy, therefore reliability does not apply and generalised as diversity is more important (Flyvberg, 2006). The meaning of validity is different in qualitative research as it does not measure anything. Golafshani (2003) defines it as Whether a study appears to be reasonable and appropriate. This is related to the method of data collection and analysis. However, some academics believe that validity should not be applied to qualitative research as the term is defined from a sci entific background. Therefore, alternative criteria are developed as part of a guideline to improve the quality of qualitative research which will be explored in the next section. There is an ongoing tension between rigour and creativity in the qualitative paradigm. To achieve good rigour, a universal standard could be developed to ensure the quality of work is consistent. However, this is rejected by most qualitative researchers as it limits the creativity of their work and results are usually unpredictable which means it will be difficult to meet the standard. Researchers hence need to strike a balance between the two and a guideline will be the most appropriate way to do so (Bailey et al, 1999). The guideline will allow researchers own interpretation of how rigour could be met based on their own circumstances. This will improve the reputation of qualitative research in the society and accepted more widely by the quantitative researchers and government agencies. It also allows researchers from different paradigm to learn from each other and improve their own research methods (Tracy, 2010) One such guideline was proposed by Guba and Lincoln (1985) cited in Baxter and Eyles (1997) who suggested four criteria evaluating qualitative studies to achieve rigour and trustworthiness. They try to apply criteria from quantitative into qualitative research. Firstly, it should be credible so that it is accurately representing the findings and can be trusted. The reader should be able to understand the issue easily by making the whole research and writing process plausible and persuasive (Richardson, 2000 cited in Tracy, 2010). The second criteria is transferability where findings would be useful outside the study. This is similar to generalisability for quantitative research. However, there is less emphasis in qualitative research on that as each case would be different and no clear conclusion would usually be made. It can be transferable to the reader when they make their own interpretation and decide how each specific case could be useful to their own daily life (Tracy, 2010). T he third criteria is dependability developed from the idea of reliability. Although data collected from qualitative methods would not produce consistent results, the way data is transcribed, coded and analysed can be agreed between multiple researchers and participants to ensure interpretation would be consistent. The final criteria confirmability is based on objectiveness. This is The degree which findings are determined by the respondents and not by the motivations of the inquirer. (Lincoln and Guba, 1985. P.290 cited in Baxter and Eyles, 2010). This is needed to reduce the bias in qualitative data collection and results which is one of the main reason why it is less popular than quantitative research. Researcher being reflexive throughout the study is the main way to achieve this which will be explained further later in the essay. The criteria above could now be used to evaluate interview as a data collection method. There are three types of Qualitative interview which vary in the degree of freedom given to the participant when responding. Structured interview involves answering a set number of questions prepared before. A semi-structured interview provides a better interaction between the participant and the researcher, it is a guided conversation with a few predetermined question and prompts used when more information is needed, which is usually written as an interview guide (Longhurst, 2009). The guide improves the credibility (Baxter and Eyles, 1997) as it allows a better answer to be constructed by the participant. An Unstructured interview is rarely used as it is very difficult for the participant to speak for a long period of time on the same topic and could easily go off topic. Semi- structured is the most common qualitative research method as it strikes the balance between the ability for the participant to speak freely and structuring the interview (University of Leicester, Unknown) pro viding a certain degree of credibility. Conducting interview requires choosing participant carefully through sampling. Purposive sampling is usually used in which means choosing participants which fit with researchers criteria who are usually an insider to the topic of research. This means participants will be able to talk in great detail which is the aim of a qualitative interview. Other sampling methods such as snowball (interviewing friends of participants) and convenience are sometimes used due to difficulty in finding insiders. However, this will reduce the credibility of the research as they might have limited to say due to lack of knowledge in the area (Baxter and Eyles, 1997). Interviewing friends will make it harder to achieve credibility as participants might give accounts to satisfy the need of the researcher which might not reflect the real situation. The sample size is seen by quantitative researcher an important factor to produce good quality research. However, in qualitative interview, the number of intervie ws conducted is usually limited to around to 20 due to time and financial constraints (Baker and Edwards, 2012) Moreover, a large sample size is not needed as it is enough when the theoretical saturation is reached (Glaser and Strauss, 1967 cited in Bailey et al, 1999). This is where the themes identified during analysis are repeating and no new knowledge would be gained from interviewing more people. During the interview and analysing process, the language the researcher use is crucial to the outcome of the result as interviews are based on interpretation by different people (McDowell, 2010). The way a question is asked could receive a different response as same words might have different meanings to people. During transcription, the researcher might make his/her own interpretation when something is unclear and the final level of interpretation is made by the reader themselves (Schoenberger, 1991). To make the interview results transferable to the reader, the transcription and analysis should be narrative with thick description and minimal interpretation from the researcher. This should include detailed description and illustration of the situation (Tracy, 2010), for example using a direct quotation from the interview is a good way to achieve it. Methods to improve the credibility of research includes member check and language training. Member check involves sending a copy of the transcript and analysis to the participant (Long and Johnson, 2000) and ask for feedback. The researcher could also understand the language used in an industry before conducting an interview (Schoenberger, 1991). Both of these methods will reduce the chance of misinterpretation. After transcription, coding is done to identify common themes from different accounts. This is done by the researcher who chooses the themes. Due to limited space in journals, some section of the interview is therefore not analysed. As mentioned before, coding needs to be consistent for the research to be dependable through methods such as collaborative coding or the use of a coding book. Triangulation is a common method used to improve the credibility by using multiple sources and methods which give the same conclusion (Denzin, 1978 cited in Tracy, 2010). For example, using multiple quotations to support a statement made would improve the credibility of the research. Most importantly, researchers should be self-reflexive to improve credibility. They should think about their own positionalities and decide how to declare it to the reader (Longhurst, 2009). One way is to be transparent about how decisions are made during the research such as sampling and coding strategy. This could be attached as an appendix (Creswell and Miller, 2000 cited in Tracy, 2010) at the end to help a reader to decide whether they agree with researchers interpretation. Overall, interview as a data collection method can meet all the criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln (1985) if the researcher is careful about every decision that was made and the language used to communicate with the reader. The guidelines are developed based on the idea of validity hence it can be said interview is also valid as a method but not in a positivistic way in terms of accuracy. They also suggested that When validity is present, it also represent reliability. Therefore, reliability does not have to be considered as it is irrelevant to qualitative studies. Currently, researchers are not being explicit enough in terms of their rationale and how things are done (Baxter and Eyles, 1997), the guideline will therefore help researchers to be more aware of the issue. However, the guideline should not be taken too seriously to the extent that it affects creativity which is the main objective of qualitative research, hence a balance between the two is needed. Bailey, C, White, C, and Pain R (1999) Evaluating qualitative research: dealing with the tension between science and creativity. Area. 31(2): 169-83. http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2273/4/how_many_interviews.pdf Baxter, Jamie and Eyles, John (1997) Evaluating qualitative research in social geography: establishing rigour in interview analysis. Transactions . 22: 505-25. Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597-606. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol8/iss4/6 Long, T and Johnson, M. (2000). Rigour, reliability and validity in qualitative research Longhurst, R (2009) Interviews: In depth, semi-structured. In international Encyclopaedia of Geography McDowell, L. 1992. Valid games? A response to Erica Schoenberger. The Professional Geographer. 44(2), pp.212-15. McDowell, L. 2012. https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9781446206560 Research Methodology, 2016. http://research-methodology.net/research-philosophy/positivism/ Schoenberger, E. 1991. The corporate interview as a research method in economic geography. The Professional Geographer. 43(2), pp.180-9. Tracy, S.J.2010. Qualitative quality: Eight big-tent criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry. 16(10), pp.837-51. http://www.le.ac.uk/oerresources/psychology/psa/unit5/page_09.htm

Extending a Kantian Dichotomy to a Poincaréan Trichotomy :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Extending a Kantian Dichotomy to a Poincarà ©an Trichotomy ABSTRACT: I argue for the possibility of knowledge by invention which is neither à ¡ priori nor à ¡ posteriori. My conception of knowledge by invention evolves from Poincarà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s conventionalism, but unlike Poincarà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s conventions, propositions known by invention have a truth value. An individuating criteria for this type of knowledge is conjectured. The proposition known through invention is: gounded historically in the discipline to which it belongs; a result of the careful, sincere and objective quest and effort of the knower; chosen freely by the inventer or knower; and, private in its invention but public once invented. I extend knowledge by invention to include the knowledge of the invented proposition by those who do not invent it but accept it as a convention for good reasons. Finally, knowledge by invention combined with a revisionist, Platonist definition of knowledge as actively justified true belief provides a pedagogical model reviving the proactive spi rit of the Socratic method with an emphasis on invention and activity and a de-emphasis on information gathering and passivity. I. Introduction Kant's à   priori - à   posteriori and analytic - synthetic distinctions inaugurated Modern epistemology and provided the architecture for knowledge in mathematics, science and metaphysics. (1) The product of the two distinctions yields three kinds of knowledge: synthetic à   priori, analytic à   priori and synthetic à   posteriori; analytic à   posteriori being impossible. For Kant propositions like; "7+5=12," "all bodies have mass" and "every event has a cause." were synthetic and known à   priorily. (2) Post-Kantian philosophy witnessed an attack on the possibility of synthetic à   priori knowledge such as the rejections of analysis, geometry and arithmetic as synthetic à   priori by Bolzano, Helmholtz and Frege respectively. (3) These were motivated by a fear that Kant's conceptualism, of the mind imposing space and time on the world, may lead to anti-realism, such as that of Husserl's bracketing the existence of the world based on his extensions of Descartes and Kant. ( 4) Nominalism and idealism are anti-realist but conceptualism and conventionalism need not be. I extend the typology of knowledge by adding knowledge by invention. Many fundamental propositions of mathematics, science and metaphysics hence shift from the realm of synthetic à   priori to the realm of knowledge by invention. For Poincarà © fundamental definitions of mathematics are neither à   priori nor à   posteriori, but conventional. I suggest that "conventional" means "known by invention." I will argue in this paper for this unconventional interpretation of Poincarà ©'s conventionalism.

Are People Inherently Honest? Essay

There are numerous theories that attempt to explain the motivation behind people acting in certain ways. This paper will address three of these theories, apply these theories to how people choose to behave honestly or dishonestly, and will attempt to determine whether or not people are inherently honest. Before looking into the motivation behind people’s decision to be honest, it is important to define some key terms in order to fully understand and explore what it means to be inherently honest. Merriam-Webster defines honest as â€Å"free from fraud or deception,† or simply put, truthful. It defines inherent as â€Å"belonging by nature or habit. † The majority of people simply associate something being inherent as ‘natural’ or ‘innate’. Interestingly, this definition expands our view on what one may consider ‘inherent’ by noting how past habits can also play a vital role in how one behaves. Now that we have defined what honesty and inherent behaviour entails, we can now look at the various theories that attempt to identify the motivation behind people behaving honestly. One of these theories is the fact that humans choose to act honestly or not based on what we feel is ‘morally good’ or the ‘right thing to do’ according to a very personal set of rules and morals. An individual’s behaviours are heavily influenced in order to satisfy this individual set of rules. Of course, there are a number of positions one can take on when defining this set of rules. Deontologists would argue that one should be honest one hundred percent of the time, regardless of the situation. They believe that it is ones’ moral obligation to behave honestly and have a duty of adhering to this universal rule. On the other hand, utilitarianism claims that the decision to act honestly or dishonestly varies depending on the situation, considering all costs, benefits, and consequences that will result from the behaviour. Regardless of the person’s moral standpoint, their choice to behave honestly or not is strongly influenced by their personal, or inherent, set of behaviours that they consider morally ‘right’. This supports the argument that people are in fact inherently honest. Another theory that attempts to explain the motivation behind behaving honestly is focused on the consequences that will result from behaving honestly or dishonestly. Uri Gneezy’s paper on the role of consequences in lying looks at how different benefits and costs influence one’s decision to behave honestly or dishonestly. From his studies, he comes to a number of conclusions describing how people conduct a cost-benefit analysis when deciding to lie or not. First, he finds that people are particularly sensitive to their personal gain when deciding to lie, meaning that they place a high priority on personal gain in their cost-benefit analysis. He also finds that people also tend to lie less when the lie harms another party. However, this harm plays less of a role in choosing not to lie compared to the increased gains from lying. This suggests that the marginal personal gain from a lie is greater than the marginal harm that is caused from the lie. Because people are constantly trying to maximize their personal utility, these findings display how one will behave dishonestly when doing so maximizes their utility. This suggests that people do not inherently behave honestly, but rather behave in a way that will create the most personal gain. A third theory that explains how people behave is based on the image that is associated with behaving honestly or dishonestly, as well as the use of excuses to justify dishonesty. There tends to be a negative stigma attached with lying; therefore, people are inclined to be honest simply to maintain a positive image of themself. There are a number of ways to look at this. First, people have a natural desire to see themselves in a positive light and like to feel that they are doing what is right. Much of this plays into the previously discussed individual set of morals that people have and doing what they consider ‘morally right’. However, there are cases when people create excuses to justify to themselves that acting dishonestly is the right thing to do. For example, if a man lies by telling his pregnant wife that she doesn’t look overweight, he will justify this lie to himself by claiming that he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, maintaining a positive image of himself. In addition, people will tend to lie less to avoid making a bad impression to others. Similarly to above, people may use excuses to justify acting dishonestly, simply to maintain their positive impression on others. This shows that in order to maintain a positive impression of oneself on oneself as well as on others, people are inclined to behave honestly and are willing to make excuses to justify acting dishonestly to maintain this impression. This suggests that due to the natural desire to create and maintain a positive impression, people are inherently honest. The above theories and discussion suggest both that people are and are not inherently honest. This is precisely why many social scientists have difficulty in this area. On one hand, people behave honestly to satisfy their personal set of morals and to promote a positive image of themselves (in their own as well as others’ eyes), but are willing to be dishonest if it results in enough personal gain to justify the lie. From this, we conclude that one cannot make an overarching statement claiming that people are or are not inherently honest. Whether a person is inherently honest depends on how they weigh and balance the importance of their morals, personal gain, their self-image, and the image they want to portray to others.

Free Essays on Double Binds Present In Childrens Books

There are many double binds, dualisms, and constructs that try to limit what and what not women should do in today’s culture. The Binds That Tie by Kathleen Jamieson and Male Is to Female as ____ is to ____ by Katheryn Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz both talk about these binds and dualisms . Binds are present in almost all forms of present media. In this paper, I will take the children’s book Elephant Eats the Profits by Jacquelyn Reinach and analyze three specific binds that the main character, Enormous Elephant, is subjected to. These binds are mind and body, public and private, and femininity and competency. Katheryne Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz identify mind and body as a dualism of western thought. Enormous Elephant is subjected to this dualism. The mind and body dualism, according to Katherine Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz is the belief that women are less evolved. They are also â€Å"both less intellectually capable and more closely tied to the animal and natural world† (Cirkensena, Cuklanz 33). Another point of the mind and body dualism is that women’s role should consist of childbearing and care taking. It is the male’s who are supposed to encompass â€Å"all activities thought to constitute culture including art, architecture, music, finance, skilled and unskilled trade, industry, and politics† (Cirkensena, Cuklanz 34). Basically, women are portrayed as uncreative, un-intellectual, and incapable of success outside of the home. It is supposed to be the men who take care of everything else. Women are also expected to achieve ideal body weight and appea rance. This is so they can find a man who will provide for them so they can stay at home. Enormous Elephant is a perfect example of all of these points. She is a single women who lives on her own. She owns a market, but it is close to going out of business. Ironically it is about to go out of business because her obsession is cooking and eating. She spends all of her... Free Essays on Double Binds Present In Childrens Books Free Essays on Double Binds Present In Childrens Books There are many double binds, dualisms, and constructs that try to limit what and what not women should do in today’s culture. The Binds That Tie by Kathleen Jamieson and Male Is to Female as ____ is to ____ by Katheryn Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz both talk about these binds and dualisms . Binds are present in almost all forms of present media. In this paper, I will take the children’s book Elephant Eats the Profits by Jacquelyn Reinach and analyze three specific binds that the main character, Enormous Elephant, is subjected to. These binds are mind and body, public and private, and femininity and competency. Katheryne Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz identify mind and body as a dualism of western thought. Enormous Elephant is subjected to this dualism. The mind and body dualism, according to Katherine Cirksena and Lisa Cuklanz is the belief that women are less evolved. They are also â€Å"both less intellectually capable and more closely tied to the animal and natural world† (Cirkensena, Cuklanz 33). Another point of the mind and body dualism is that women’s role should consist of childbearing and care taking. It is the male’s who are supposed to encompass â€Å"all activities thought to constitute culture including art, architecture, music, finance, skilled and unskilled trade, industry, and politics† (Cirkensena, Cuklanz 34). Basically, women are portrayed as uncreative, un-intellectual, and incapable of success outside of the home. It is supposed to be the men who take care of everything else. Women are also expected to achieve ideal body weight and appea rance. This is so they can find a man who will provide for them so they can stay at home. Enormous Elephant is a perfect example of all of these points. She is a single women who lives on her own. She owns a market, but it is close to going out of business. Ironically it is about to go out of business because her obsession is cooking and eating. She spends all of her...

Free Essays on Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive and chronic disease. The passageways in many of the body’s organs, especially the lungs and the pancreas become clogged as a result of this disease. The passageways become clogged because mucus in the body because thick, dry and sticky. People with cystic fibrosis only have an average life expectancy of about 30 years. This is mainly a result of the complications of the disease. In the lungs, it can cause serious breathing problems and in the pancreas, it can result in malnutrition and corresponding problems in growth and development. Cystic fibrosis is a type of genetic disorder. This type of genetic disorder is known as an autosomal recessive disease. This means that to have the disease, a person must inherit a certain gene from both of their biological parents. If a person inherits the gene from only one parent, he or she is only classed as a carrier. This means that the person carries the gene for this disease, but does not suffer from the effects of the disease itself. If someone has received the gene from both of their parents, than this defect that occurs causes problems with the way salt and water move in and out of mucus-producing cells in the body, which causes the mucus to become thick, dry and sticky. Things such as the environment, diet, exercise or other external factors do not cause CF. It is not contagious so it can only be passed from one person to another through inheritance. Cystic fibrosis is usually diagnosed during childhood. Some babies who have the disease may show signs of it immediately but other may not develop symptoms until later on in their lives. The first respiratory symptom of CF is a cough. This will most develop into a repetitive cycle between lung infection and inflammation. This cycle results in lung damage, and as this increases, things such as shortness of breath occur and it becomes harder for the individual to exercise. This lu... Free Essays on Cystic Fibrosis Free Essays on Cystic Fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive and chronic disease. The passageways in many of the body’s organs, especially the lungs and the pancreas become clogged as a result of this disease. The passageways become clogged because mucus in the body because thick, dry and sticky. People with cystic fibrosis only have an average life expectancy of about 30 years. This is mainly a result of the complications of the disease. In the lungs, it can cause serious breathing problems and in the pancreas, it can result in malnutrition and corresponding problems in growth and development. Cystic fibrosis is a type of genetic disorder. This type of genetic disorder is known as an autosomal recessive disease. This means that to have the disease, a person must inherit a certain gene from both of their biological parents. If a person inherits the gene from only one parent, he or she is only classed as a carrier. This means that the person carries the gene for this disease, but does not suffer from the effects of the disease itself. If someone has received the gene from both of their parents, than this defect that occurs causes problems with the way salt and water move in and out of mucus-producing cells in the body, which causes the mucus to become thick, dry and sticky. Things such as the environment, diet, exercise or other external factors do not cause CF. It is not contagious so it can only be passed from one person to another through inheritance. Cystic fibrosis is usually diagnosed during childhood. Some babies who have the disease may show signs of it immediately but other may not develop symptoms until later on in their lives. The first respiratory symptom of CF is a cough. This will most develop into a repetitive cycle between lung infection and inflammation. This cycle results in lung damage, and as this increases, things such as shortness of breath occur and it becomes harder for the individual to exercise. This lu...

Public Cloud a Source of Danger to Businesses Essay

Public Cloud a Source of Danger to Businesses - Essay Example Actually, the cloud services are offered by a third party. So the secret data and information of an organization are stored on the servers of that third party. In this scenario, organizations believe that the public cloud is a source of danger to businesses. This paper discusses the arguments of other researchers to prove this claim. Introduction Cloud computing is a most modern information technology trend that a lot of business organizations are adopting due to its environmental aspects, money savings, mobility, scalability and energy effectiveness. Basically, the cloud computing allows organizations or individuals to access all their tools, applications and files from anyplace on the earth, as a result releasing them from the limitations of the desktop and allowing widespread group partnership (Modavi, 2010; Miller, 2009). It is now very common to use the public cloud for carrying out business tasks. A public cloud is basically a cloud computing model used by the service providers to offer their resources, similar to storage and applications to the wide-ranging public over the internet. The majority of public cloud services are free of charge or presented on a pay per usage based model. In this scenario, the fundamental advantages of making use of a public cloud service are simple and low-cost set-up for the reason that application, hardware and bandwidth costs are covered by the service provider. In addition, the public cloud offers the scalability to meet users’ requirements. In fact, public cloud does not waste resources because we pay for what we use. Moreover, the idea of public cloud appeared to make a distinction between the standard model and private cloud that is a proprietary communication data center or network that makes use of cloud computing systems, like that Virtualization. In this scenario, a private cloud is managed and organized by the business it serves. On the other hand, a 3rd model known as the hybrid cloud, is managed by both i nternal and external providers (TechTarget, 2009; Tchifilionova, 2011; Rittinghouse & Ransome, 2009). This paper discusses the possible impacts of the public cloud on the businesses and how a public cloud can be a source of danger to businesses. This paper will discuss different aspects of the public cloud and possible security issues associated with public cloud. Public Cloud: An Overview Public clouds are managed and controlled by a 3rd party organization, as well as the implementations from different clients are possibly combined together with the cloud servers, storage devices and networks. In view of the fact that the public clouds are not managed and controlled by a host organization itself thus they could be wonderful technique to decrease client risks, burden, responsibilities and cost by means of an efficient however conditional development of business structure. On the other hand, if a cloud service provider manages a cloud keeping security, performance and data storage lo cations in mind, the maintenance of additional applications executing in the cloud can be easy to follow for both cloud architects and cloud users. Undoubtedly, public cloud services present a potential to upgrade and move down according to certain conditions, and transfer varying infrastructure risks and dangers from the corporate to the cloud source, if even just temporarily (Sun

Transition of Art to Photography in Terms of Realism Essay

Transition of Art to Photography in Terms of Realism - Essay Example Presently, such a world seems unimaginable thanks to photography: it comes with visual souvenirs; pictures of common and prominent people; advertising pictures that create a desire within the public while, at the same time educating them concerning all products the modern consumer culture is capable of offering; medical, diagnostic devices; incredible perceptions of exotic places, together with the outer space; world news pictures; and most significant, pictures of the events, as well as intimate moments of personal life (Keil 19). The photography technology is partly chemical and partly optical, dating back in 1839. Shortly after its instantaneous discovery by William Henry Fox Talbot of England, together with Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre of France, photography get used in documenting foreign places of interest like India, the American West and the Holy Land. Apart from that, it got applied in portraits along with photographs of kings, statesman, as well as theater or even literary personalities. However, during the 19th century, cameras were in most cases in the hands of either professionals or entrepreneurs who were self-educated thereby trying photography as a trade. Photography does not require professional licensing or even guild membership; therefore, in the mainstream, anyone has the capability of buying the equipment, obtaining the directions, and proceeding. This directness of the medium makes photographic practice liberated from the traditions, which had grown up throughout painting or a variety of printmaking arts (Keil 32). With the introduction of precoated dry plates in 1878, the tiresome and cluttered coating of glass plates inside the darkroom or even dark tent, for those photographers out in the field got eliminated, and with the availability of precoated photographic papers, printing of photographs turned out to be much easier, while, at the same time, more predictable. As a result, photography could be exercised by hobbyists or amateurs, mor e so by lovers of the medium since the majority of the people, who had the leisure for an advanced hobby such as this one, were not only educated, but also sophisticated, and desired to come up with photographs resembling Art (Keil 47). In the past, film cameras filters got used in the modification of both the spectral content i.e. color, intensity of light, while, at the same time, generating outcomes like soft focus. However, digital cameras tend to operate differently when it comes to color; there is a possibility of performing color modification in camera with ease by setting white balance. Therefore, for film warming, as well as cooling filters, or those filters capable of converting fluorescent light unto daylight where necessary, digital has the ability of achieving the same effects through internal operation of the digital data. There as a number of filters needed for digital including a polarizing filter, special effect filter, a UV filter, filters for infrared effects, a n eutral density filter plus a given graduated neutral density filter. It is impossible to digitally simulate the results of a

Team Building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Team Building - Essay Example But a basic disadvantage in this type of functioning is that the employee doesn't feel the belonging to the organization and therefore may not go for value addition and creativity to the task. An individual is least bothered about the final product, once he/ she has done his/ her share of task. A team on the other hand helps in networking of the individuals, with exchange of ideas and suggestions. This not only helps in regular updation of the knowledge level of the team members but also enriches the final product and service. When the customer feels the advantage of value addition, he'll naturally be attracted towards the product/ service. The figure below depicts the difference between these two types of systems. Teams in general are committed for common goals as they are accountable for them. Teams can pool there resources, synergize their acts and the team members can complement and supplement each other's efforts to come out with the final product. Contribution from the concerned team members helps in widening the thoughts, assigning responsibilities, helps in implementing and constantly monitoring the results and feedback helps in devising a still better strategy. Structure and composition of a team forms the basis of its working. ... But the core characteristic is the commitment to a common goal. The team structure determines how to maximize the common efforts. If any one members of the team works in a manner adversely affecting the final outcome, then it acts as a de-motivating factor for other members in the team, which in turn affects the quality of the final product. Therefore an efficient team structure also takes care of such eventualities. A well designed team structures helps in polishing the abilities of the individual team members. A person's strengths may not always be visible; it might be overshadowed by something that he has done in the past. Sometimes it requires a personal trigger from the team leader. When the team members find that the team is behind them and the leader has enough confidence in them they come out of their shell with readiness to take initiatives. The trigger has to be the right one, because squeezing the wrong one might lead to further detachment. Strategies must be in place to s upport such initiates and experiments. Answer-2 Part-I: Contribution of leadership towards strategy implementation Howard Good (2006), the former president of Highland Central School Board in Highland, N.Y., says, "Being board president brings power and prestige, but you must inspire and help others to be successful". A team leader therefore plays the central role in making or breaking the team. It is the team leader who can synergize the efforts or just wither away the advantage, with his actions. A team leader is supposed to delegate the powers and responsibilities amongst his/ her team mates, inspire the team members by being an example and motivate his team with appropriate motivating factors. A leader

Over Representation of African American Students in the Special Education System. Essay Example for Free

Over Representation of African American Students in the Special Education System. Essay Introduction My current school has special education roster of 32 students in self contain with over 90% of the students being African-American. This paper will address the large number African-American students in the special education system. Attention will be focus on the social economic roles that play a part in placement. When done properly and in appropriate perspective, special education is beneficial for students with a real disability, but special education services are inappropriate when a student receives it when it is not needed. African-American students are being placed in the special education system at an alarming rate. They are being labeled with disabilities at ages as early as five years old, because they progress slower than the rest of the class, bias in assessment instrument, discrimination in society reflected in the school or they may present some behavior issue. Special education is appropriate placement for students with real disabilities, but minority blacks are being disproportionately place in special education. This unjust placement at early ages are causing these children to be stereotyped as slow learners causing low self esteem and low achievement rate during and after school. This is a major problem when addressing special education for African Americans. Many attempts have been made to solve the issues but there have been no satisfactory results. Theoretical Framework The disproportionate representation of African-Americans students in the special education system is well documented. This misrepresentation has been problematic since the inception of the special education program. This paper will probe the reasons many of these students have been categorized with various type of learning disabilities or emotional disturbances. These labels given to students have proven to be life altering to students given incorrect placement. Lawsuits have been filed charging that placements of high numbers of African American, especially male, in special education classes has been a tool for resisting court ordered desegregation (Harry and Anderson, 1992). In many instances there is a lack of or unwillingness to properly place African American students because of educators in some systems being culturally diverse. Secondly there is a lot of mistrust between educators and parents. Many parents don’t seek appropriate services or disagree with educational placement because they feel they will be see as ignorant or â€Å"talked down† to by teachers and administrators placing their children in special education. This paper will also discuss the long term effects that hinder students educational progress as well as there adult life. Once placed in many special education programs student may not be in line to receive a high school diploma. Many students have difficulties in the community getting jobs because employers feel they will be slower then there counterparts that received a regular education. This then snowballs into the child being placed in a lower social economic bracket because of the type of employment they will have to settle for in adulthood. African-American students are disproportionally placed in the special education system around the country. This misrepresentation is may be due to teacher ineffectiveness. Improving teachers’ capacity to provide culturally responsive instruction to African American students is like to improve student learning ability (Darling-Hammond, 2004). New teachers must meet a vigorous undergraduate program to become certified they continue to graduate enable to effectively teach African American students. Many exit program with a misconception of black students. They think that the African American students are not as smart as other races. The purpose of this study is to prove there is a misrepresentation of African American students in special education. I also plan to illustrate the problem of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education is not just a special education problem issue or concern but, instead, must be viewed in the context as it refers to racism in the whole educational system. I will discuss how racism contributes to and maintains disproportionality in special education by (a) insufficiently funding schools attended primarily by African American and poor children: (b) employing culturally inappropriate and unresponsive curriculum; (c) inadequately preparing educators to effectively teach African American learners and other students of color. I will show that to effectively address the problem of disproportionality, researchers, practitioners and  policymakers must place inequitable educational resource allocation, inappropriate curriculum and pedagogy and inadequate teacher preparation at the center of education research, policy, and practice. Significance of the Study There is much significance for this study. Being a special education teacher I have seen many students come to me because they were a behavioral problem during their elementary years. I believe it is our responsibility to find a solution to this growing problem. First, we as educators, we need to find out if this race of students are get misplaced in the educational system. These students not getting a proper education are causing a negative effect on their entire life. This causes this particular group to have to depend on state aid and weakens the workforce. Secondly, we need to find out if there is a problem with teacher preparedness. If this is a problem we need to figure out what can be done in state colleges and universities to solve these problems. Would adding a more ethically diverse curriculum better prepare teachers to educate African American students? The majority of the teachers coming out of college will be spending there first few years teaching intercity kids, with the majority being African Americans. Finally we need to educate or children to be reliable productive citizens. I feel that these children are not being given an equal shot at being productive if they are being thrown in the special education class in the back of the building. We already know there is a problem, now we need to work together to find a solution that will best benefit the students. Definition of Terms Disproportionate numbers: Having greater representation within a subgroup  compared to the number of students in the population as a whole. Some researchers use plus or minus 10% to determine proportionality (Harry Anderson, 1994). Discrimination The ability to make or perceive distinction; discernment. Partiality, or bias, in the treatment of a person or group, which is unfair, illegal, etc(Loren Orfield, 2002). It is my opinion that African American children are being placed in special Education because of biases unfair grouping. High Achieving: School-wide trajectory of API (if in California) and Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) growth over three years of all subgroups. There must also be a minimum movement of two deciles within 3-5 years. ] Special Education: Services and supports designed to minimize the impact of disability and maximize opportunity to grow and learn (Hehir, 2007). Limitation, Delimitation and Assumptions Limitations of Study The limitations of this study would be to find willing participates, because of the reasons I have discussed earlier parents will be willing to admit that their child was placed in special education because of a lack of knowledge on their part. Another limitation that will affect them outcome of this research is because I am directly employed in the parish that I have chosen to do research. This position will limit the effectiveness of my research because of student privacy and my position in the parish. It is also my opinion that school districts will not want to release information that could possible be used against them. As stated before I think students of color or being illegal classified as students with special needs and placed in special education. These are a few factors that could limit my study. Delimitations of the Study  External validity may be effected based on the number of student/parents being interviewed. Validate may be effected due to other minority races not being included in the study. Also the size and school locations may limit my ability to get adequate data to fully prove my hypothesis. The small sample population was feasible for my research rather then venturing out into larger areas. This is significant in that the findings may not be applicable to other schools. Assumptions of the Study References Artiles, A. J. (2003). Special education’s changing identity: Paradoxes and dilemmas in views of culture and space. Harvard Educational Review, 73, 164-202. Artiles, A. J. , Rueda, R. , Salazar, J. J. , Higareda, I. (2005). Within-group diversity in minority disproportionate representation: English language learners in urban school districts. Exceptional Children, 71, 283-300. Billingsley, B. (2004). Special education teachers’ retention and attrition: A critical analysis of the research literature. Remedial and Special Education, 25, 22-39. Blair, C. , Scott, K. G. (2002). Proportion of LD placements associated with low socio-economic status: Evidence for gradient. Journal of Special Education, 36, 14-22. Blanchett, W. J. , Mumford, V. , Beachum, F. (2005). Urban school failure and disproportionality in a post-Brown era. Remedial and Special Education, 26, 70-81. Chamberlain, S. P. (2005). Issues of overrepresentation and educational equity for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41, 110-113. Countinho, M. J. , Oswald, D. P. , Best, A. M. (2002). The influence of sociodemographics and gender on the disproportionate identification of minority students as having learning disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 23, 49-59. Coutinho, M. J. , Oswald, D. P. , Best, A. M. , Forness, S. R. (2002). Gender and sociodemographic factors and the disproportionate identification of culturally and linguistically diverse students with emotional disturbance. Behavioral Disorders, 27, 109-125. Eitle, T. M. (2002). Special education or racial segregation: Understanding variation in the representation of Black students in educable mentally handicapped programs. The Sociological Quarterly, 43(4), 575-605. Elhoweris, H. , Mutua, K. , Alsheikh, N. , Holloway, P.(2005). Effect of children’s ethnicity on teachers’ referral and recommendation decisions in gifted and talented programs. Remedial and Special Education, 26(1), 25-31. Ferri, B. A. , Connor, D. J. (2005). In the shadow of Brown: Special education and overrepresentation of students of color. Remedial and Special Education, 26, 93-100. Hosp, J. L. , Hosp, M. K. (2002). Behavior differences between African American and Caucasian students: Issues for assessment and intervention. Education and Treatment of Children, 24, 336-350. Hosp, J. L. , Reschly, D. J. (2002). Predictors of restrictiveness of placement of African American and Caucasian students. Exceptional Children, 14, 20-34. Hosp, J. L. , Reschly, D. J. (2003). Referral rates for intervention and assessment: A meta-analysis of racial differences. Journal of Special Education, 37, 67-81. Hosp, J. L. , Reschly, D. J. (2004). Disproportionate representation of minority students in special education: Academic, demographic and economic predictors. Exceptional Children, 70, 185-199. Kurlaender, M. , Yun, J. T. (2007). Measuring school racial composition and student outcomes in a multiracial society. American Journal of Education, 113, 213-235. Neal, L. V. , McCray, A. D. , Webb-Johnson, G. , Bridgest, S. T. (2003). The effects of African American movement styles on teachers’ perceptions and reactions. Journal of Special Education, 37, 49-57. O’Connor, C. (2002). Black women beating the odds from one generation to the next: How the changing dynamics of constraint and opportunity affect the process of educational resilience. American Educational Research Journal, 39, 855-903. Park, J. , Turnball, A. P. , Turnball, H. R. , III (2002). Impacts of poverty on quality of life in families of children with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 68, 151-170. Shealey, M. W. , Lue, M. S. , Brooks, M. , McCray, E. (2005). Examining the legacy of Brown: The impact on special education and teacher practice. Remedial and Special Education, 26, 113-121. Skiba, R. J. , Michael, R. S. , Nardo, A. C. , Peterson, R. L. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. Urban Review, 34, 317-342. Skiba, R. J. , Poloni-Staudinger, L. , Gallini, S. , Simmons, A.B. , Feggins-Azziz, R. (2006). Disparate access: The disproportionality of African American students with disabilities across educational environments. Exceptional Children, 72, 411-424. Skiba, R. J. , Poloni-Staudinger, L. , Simmons, A. B. , Feggins-Azziz, L. R. , Chung, C. G. (2005). Unproven links: Can poverty explain ethnic disproportionality in special education? Journal of Special Education, 39, 130-144. Zhang, D. , Katsiyannis, A. (2002). Minority representation in special education: A persistent challenge. Remedial and Special Education, 21, 180-187.

Reflective Account On Social Theory Social Work Essay

Reflective Account On Social Theory Social Work Essay This assignment will critically reflect upon the learning that I have gained through group participation. It will also look at what knowledge I have learnt in relation to how I look at putting theory into practice. It will also explore how these theories interconnect and how I used elements of psychology and sociology to explain how I might work with individuals in future practice. As a group we chose to analyse scenario two, the case of Fiona and mainly focused on her mental health issues, her lack of support as a result of family breakdown and her social isolation. To begin with we identified that Fiona seemed to have a lack of control in her life and as a group we felt that this was a huge area that needed to be addressed. To begin to support Fiona she needed to be given meaningful choice and valuable options (Clark, 2000, p.57) in order for her to gain greater control over her life and her circumstances. As a social worker we promote social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment of liberation of people to enhance well-being. (IFSW, 2000, cited in Banks, p.3).This was an important aspect to remember when applying theory to Fiona. Theory in social work is an attempt to explain situations and social relationships. So to be begin with as a group we began to look at theories that may help Fiona holistically such as Marxist theory and in particular conflict theory which seeks to examine structural inequality within society. This theory argues that society is structured along lines of inequality such as wealth, health and income thus providing people with different life chances which in turn can result in different life experiences. So whilst this theory could be linked to Fiona with her structural issues of deprivation and relative poverty and the issue of crime and deviancy in her neighbourhood, this was not the main focus that our group were concerned with and we wanted to concentrate more on her social isolation and her lack of a support network. Systems theory was looked at by the group and I came to understand that this theory would fit perfectly with what we were focusing on. Although I did not do much research into this theory for the group work I did get a greater understanding of how this theory would link to Fiona. Systems theory is a functionalist perspective that takes into account how individuals relate to one another and society as a whole. It would seem that this theory is popular with social work texts and in practice as it has been suggested that it can be attributed to the consistency with social works long-standing mission to understand and respond to people in their environment (Bartlett, 1970, cited in Healy, 2005, p.89). This theory seeks to provide ways to understand problems and issues and after perusing through some of the literature, I had to agree that this theory links closely to an empowerment approach which aims to seek social change at both an individual and a social level for a service user and as I already know, empowerment is a core component of social work practice. From the start as a group we always knew that we were going to apply cognitive theory to Fiona. As part of my individual research I focused on cognitive theory and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as this was the perspective that we felt as a group would be most beneficial to Fiona. While researching this theory my understanding of it was that Fiona needed to address the distorted picture she had of herself as she was blaming herself for experiences not of her making. She had low self-esteem and low self-efficacy and as such she had developed faulty cognitions about herself. Wessler (1986, cited in Gross, 2005, p.286) suggests that CBT is the attempt to change cognition and is always a means to an end, that end being lasting changes in target emotions and behaviour. This I felt is exactly what Fiona needed to do. She needed to change the ways she thinks (her cognition) so she can change what she does (her behaviour) and as such this is the theory that we are a group used in our pres entation. It became evident the more I researched CBT that this is a theory that could be applied to many service users as the struggles of daily life can be stressful and CBT could help them cope better in the future as it can be completed in a relatively short time. I gained a vast amount of knowledge about why social workers use theory as we prepared for the group presentation. I understand now that theory helps to explain a situation and perhaps how that situation came about. I recognise that theory can be seen as helping to describe (what is happening), explain (why it is happening) and predict (what is likely to happen next). In practice, if I understand all the above I can help to control a situation and bring about change for the service user. I began to recognise that there is no one single theory that can explain everything. Theories have limitations too and will not work for everyone. I learnt that much of the theory that is used in social work is drawn from outside the profession and has its roots in psychology and sociology and that we should always apply the value base to theory. Theory can help to avoid discrimination and as social workers we are orientated towards anti-oppressive and empowerment practices which seek social change. Dominelli (2002 p.4) suggests that social workers can help individuals to understand their situation, make connections between their personal plight and that of others, examine power relations and their impact on the specifics of their daily routines and acquire the knowledge and skills for taking control of their lives. When theory is used in practice it can undo jumbled information and give the social worker more direction in their work with the service user. Using theory in practice can give an explanation about why an action resulted in a particular consequence and as such can help the social worker to review and possible change in an attempt to make the consequences more effective. It became clear to me as I researched that theory is important in practice both for the service user and for the social worker to be more valued in society.