Analysis of the criticism of the design and development of the Essay

Analysis of the criticism of the design and development of the scottish parliament building at Holyrood, Edinburgh - Essay Example The extent to which these problems correspond to those identified in literature has also been evaluated. The United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 as per the provisions of the Treaty of Union, merging the two separate countries of Scotland and England. The enactment of the Scotland Act 1998 and the Devolution of 1999, once again made possible the formation of a separate Scottish Parliament .The perceptible need for a separate building for the Parliament resulted in the Holyrood, site being chosen for the construction of , what was, in Donald Dewar’s words, a â€Å"purpose-built parliament offered to make a statement about Scotland’s future†(White &Sidhu, p 6). Though the Scottish Parliament Building Project, was fated to land itself in a series of controversies, resulting in its price tag continuing to rise beyond comprehension1, leading to what critics of the Project consider as the greatest fiasco ever that has happened in recent Scottish history, the fact remains that this magnificent building symbolizes the rebirth of a nation. The Genesis of the fiasco lay in Westminster, in the pay-as-you-go contracts signed by U.K. Ministers much before the Scottish parliament had ever been elected. 2 The crucial decision to adopt the high risk Construction management Route was taken unilaterally by the Project Manager without, without a proper evaluation. 3 The appointment of Bovis, the highest tenderer as Construction Manger smacked of favoritism on several counts. Besides, EU The feasibility studies were merely indicative in nature and did not represent the actual costs. Even at the time of designer competition, no tentative cost estimate was made, but undue reliance was placed on the verbal assertions of the architectural joint to budgetary compliance.(Fraser, Para 4.51) In addition, the Time-table was too

Guns, Testosterone, and Aggression Essay Example for Free

Guns, Testosterone, and Aggression Essay Hypothesis: Can aggression be increased by the presence of weapons in the environment and by the hormone testosterone. Research Method Used: Experimental design and correlational study Test Subjects/ Participants: The test subjects were thirty male college students ranging from the ages 18 and 22 Variables that are being examined: The variables that are being examined are aggression, and testosterone levels How they are operationally defined and measure: The subject’s aggression was operationally defined by the amount of hot sauce in grams that they poured into the cup of water, it was measured on a scale. The testosterone levels were defined by the difference in the saliva from time 1 and time 2 briefly, what procedure was employed: Before the experiment begun both the experimental and the control group were asked to give a 6-ml sample of their saliva, which was used to measure their starting testosterone levels. The subjects were then placed in similar rooms with a particular item on a table. For the experimental group, the particular item was a pellet gun identical in size, shape and feel too a Desert Eagle handgun. The Control subjects object was the children’s game Mouse Trap. Subjects were then told to handle the objects for 15 minutes and other tasks pertaining to the object. After the 15 minutes were over another saliva sample was taken. The subject was then told to take a sip of water with a single drop of hot sauce. The subject was then told that the sample had been prepared by a previous subject and to rate the taste of the sample on a provided scale. The subject was then told to create a sample for the next subject by placing as much hot sauce in the water that they wanted but was assured that neither the next subject nor the experimenter would know how much hot sauce they put in it. Lastly the subjects had to watch a relaxing video of nature scenes and classical music. What were the results: The subjects who interacted with the handgun showed a greater increase in testosterone from the 1st saliva sample to the 2nd sample. Also subjects who interacted with the gun added more hot sauce to the water meaning that interacting with the gun increased aggressive behavior. Lastly the amount of hot sauce placed in the cup was positively correlated with changes in testosterone level.

Development of the Understanding of Dyslexia

Development of the Understanding of Dyslexia Introduction The following three chapters offer not only an introduction, but an in depth analysis of the current state of the study of Dyslexia today. Much of the information evaluated for this study was based on the preeminent minds in the study of learning disabilities today. It is the responsibility of a curious society to determine the causal and symptomological relationships for a particular disorder prior to its diagnosis. Dyslexia presents a unique challenge to this social responsibility because of a uniquely manifested heterogeneity which is pervasive in many forms. Further research is decidedly required in order to isolate the underlying cause of such an affliction, yet with current medical data and a limited number of scientific studies, this feat remains next to impossible, even one hundred years after its initial recognition. Chapter One When his trembling hand gripped tightly to the pencil and the words began to flow freely, their meaning rushed through his mind; minute synaptic reactions converted thought into impulse and further into written word. When read, however, by a stupefied instructor, it was the letter reversal, in addition to poor, untrained handwriting which brought cause for alarm. Visits with a Neurologist, discussions with a Psychiatrist, all led towards an unfortunate diagnosis: Dyslexia. Introduction The following chapter is designed to offer an in depth history and background for one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed affectations in history: Dyslexia. It is only through thorough comprehension of this disorder and the potential affects on youth and adults alike that proper diagnosis and treatment will be initiated. Defining a Theory When theory becomes practice and eventually is predominately a diagnosis, it stands to reason that a clear and effective definition of that theory would aid in discussion with patients and training for educators. However, when a disability necessitates the scientific consensus of hundreds of doctors dealing with similar, yet uniquely defined cases, the theory will flounder, pinned in a net of conflicting case studies and rhetoric. Webster’s Dictionary defines Dyslexia as â€Å"a variable often familial learning disability involving difficulties in acquiring and processing language that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing.†[1] This definition is not particularly enlightening, nor does it further our comprehension of what symptoms or solutions may be present for such a disorder. Pop culture would have us believe that all dyslexics read words backwards, are inwardly frustrated individuals, and are oftentimes lazy in study while uniquely talented in another aspect of life. Yet, with the ambiguous definitions which have punctuated the study of this disorder, it can easily be seen how education in this area is lacking, particularly in terms of diagnosis. â€Å"The term dyslexia comes from the Greek root â€Å"dys† (trouble) and â€Å"lexia† (word).[2] It is easily seen how such a generic definition can lead to great scientific debate, not only in study, but in treatment as well. There is no singular treatment for dyslexia, in fact, this is a lifetime disability where teaching awareness in addition to atypical forms of learning becomes paramount in the normal functionability of the patient. Most common in modern definitions of Dyslexia is that it is a phonological disorder predicated by neurological dysfunction contributing to poor reading, writing, and oftentimes learning abilities. This theory, however, becomes problematic as a variety of scientific studies seek to minimize the extent that cerebral malfunction influences phonological impairment. Through simplification of the diagnosis procedure, tests such as IQ testing become the benchmark for identification dyslexics as opposed to poor readers. It is important to note that dyslexics do not have an intelligence deficiency. Their disorder is directly linked to improper phonological interpretation, and oftentimes, unique strengths arise from within this impairment. The following sections will further explore the preeminent theories behind dyslexia, in addition to extrapolating linked generic theories into cohesive formats by which further understanding of dyslexia will be simplified. Dyslexia: Historical perspective The first case study which endeavored to define dyslexia was recorded in 1872 by a physician, R. Berlin of Stuttgart, Germany. The initial cases of dyslexia were predominately adults who had lost the ability to read, write, or comprehend language in some cases due to severe trauma or head wounds. Early definitions of this disorder invoked use of a more common term aphasic, or a loss of the ability to use or comprehend words. In 1877, A. Kussmaul suggested the theory of â€Å"word blindness† to describe a patient who similar to earlier cases, had lost his ability to read. In 1887, the term alexia was first defined as an inability to comprehend written words by Charcot. All of these predecessors led to the modern term, dyslexia which we use fluidly today. This term was first defined by Bateman in 1890 who had determined a form of verbal amnesia in which a patient had lost his memory of the conventional meaning of language. In 1896, Morgan formulated a revised definition called congenital word blindness, citing a 14-year-old boy who although he functioned on a similar intellectual level with his peers, had a specific difficulty in learning to read. Further comprehension of this disorder surfaced with James Hinshelwood, a surgeon at the Glasgow Eye Infirmary who published a series of articles in the journal â€Å"The Lancet.† These articles dealt more specifically with acquired word blindness than Morgan’s congenital word blindness and after his first experiences with congenital cases in early 1900, Hinshelwood eventually published a book on both forms of word blindness which further defined theories behind the disorders. â€Å"This taxonomic classification system was based upon the performance of the patients when attempting to read. In this regard, Hinshelwood’s formulations and methodology resemble those of contemporary neuropsychology.[3] Hinshelwood’s research led him to create reading guidelines, including a three stage model of learning in which educators could focus their efforts on training students to read proficiently. Part of Hinshelwood’s congenital word blindness related to what he had previously witnessed in adults which were a major trauma or head injury which led to the apparent disorder. His believe was that during the birthing process or at some point during infancy, extreme head trauma or a birth defect had caused the lapse in language abilities, creating the word blindness. Study in the area of reading difficulty continued. In 1925, an American Neurologist named Samuel Orton proposed a theory regarding the specific formation of these disorders. â€Å"According to Orton, reading reversals (e.g. b for d and saw for was) were caused by problems with cerebral dominance in the early stages of reading.†[4] This mirror-image theory was one of the most misconstrued and misunderstood theories of the early twentieth century. By the early seventies, however, the mirror-image theory had been discredited on the basis that while dyslexia affects language functions, it does not seem to affect other visual tasks such as forms of recognition. During the 60’s and 70’s, visual perception and correction of this problem in relation to dyslexia became a debatable theory. â€Å"Marianne Frostig developed a test for visual perception and a remedial training program involving tracing, and copying shapes and patterns.[5]† This test was unsuccessful when paired with dyslexic students and was inappropriately utilized without positive result for some time. In 1962, Herbert Birch proposed the intersensory deficit hypothesis which proposes that because reading utilizes both auditory and visual senses, that there is an innate inability to perform the dual tasks. His theory was also discredited as testing lacked in control mechanisms and an inability to replicate results with consistent reliability plagued Birch and his associates.[6] From these bases of research on dyslexia came a flurry of tests, examinations, theories, discredited scientists, and the debate still continues. Current theories tend to focus on areas of the brain which are abnormally affected by the disorder, but more importantly, research into the techniques required in order to appropriately educate affected individuals has increased. This research, in addition to testing, continues to allow for uniquely afflicted individuals to lead remarkable yet uncured lives. Phonology—From Record to record When dyslexia moves from theory to diagnosis, phonological deficits become measurable symptoms of the disorder. Phonology, or the study and description of the sound changes in a language, can help educators pinpoint and explore specific regions of sound including word pairings and splits. Additionally, it is one of the most affected areas of comprehension relative to dyslexia. â€Å"The amazing discovery is that people systematically ignore certain properties of sounds. They perceive two different sounds as the same sound. We call the stored versions of speech sounds phonemes. Thus phonemes are the phonetic alphabet of the mind. That is, phonemes are how we mentally represent speech; how we store the sounds of words in our memory.† Dyslexia, however, as previously defined, is a disorder in accessing the proper linguistic characteristics as related to reading and writing. Therefore, in extrapolating disability from inability, it is essential to determine whether the child is ph onetically challenged, they have an inability to attach proper synaptic responses to linguistic characteristic, or in a non-dyslexic case, that the problem could be directly related to visual acumen. If there is a possibility that the child has a visual impairment which while serious and requiring further diagnosis and study, it does not decidedly group them into a dyslexic category. â€Å"Overall, studies have shown perceptual deficits: in vision related to impaired motion detection and in phonology related to impaired coding. This impairment is related to symmetry, reversed asymmetry, and lower numbers of neurons in, predominantly, the temporal lobes and visual motion areas of the occipital lobe. Also, the auditory deficits may be closely related to temporal abnormalities that impede speed and accuracy for speech-sound relationships in reading of the planum temporale region, as well as the thalamus near the corpus callosum.†[7] It is this potential brain abnormality which makes this disorder so difficult to define and identifying specifically which deficits contribute directly to the dyslexic tendencies of a child is a most difficult and sometimes impossible process. Additionally, the multitude of theories and definitions of learning disabilities makes the educator’s task of proper identification much more difficult. â€Å"It has been shown that explicit training in phonological awareness can lead to improved word reading; evidence of a reciprocal causal relationship between phonological awareness and reading has also been found.†[8] In assessing potential dyslexics, it is widely held that phonological deficit is one of the most reliable assessors when comparing results from a controlled variety of children. Evaluations of this deficit oftentimes take the place of speed tests, word recognition studies, and testing of verbal fluency. As debate continues about the underlying causal factors of phonological deficit, one powerful theory is that â€Å"cerebellar deficit is the only single explanation of problems in balance, phonology, and speed, and is also one explanation of ‘pure’ phonology/speed problems.†[9] This l ocalized brain failure directly relates many of the predominant symptoms of dyslexia, including combining many different areas of testing and relating them to one overall failure, as opposed to a variety of causes for a multitude of symptoms. Symptoms In order to diagnose and treat such a heterogeneous disorder such as dyslexia, symptomology, or breaking down specific traits and behaviors into repeatable offenses, must be at the forefront of the educator’s investigation. But, when every child’s individual response to the disorder is different, where does one begin to define those unique traits which enable grouping, and therefore, repeatable treatment and disability management? As will be defined in future sections, it is essential to the educator that they are able to differentiate between the textbook dyslexic and the garden variety poor reader. Oftentimes, IQ testing is performed on children to initiate a benchmark for further evaluation of variance from this basis point. Children who exhibit reading variances below the average IQ of the test group cannot be immediately defined as dyslexic. Further investigation involving a variety of controlled examinations must be performed in order to discover the unique sympto ms associated with the particular child’s disability. It must be noted that oftentimes dyslexia is a hidden disorder, primarily because of social pressures placed on children to perform in school. Fear of labeling, coupled with parental disappointment can be a powerful motivator in masking or hiding of dyslexic symptoms. Initial determination of this disorder must be made through observation and recognition of potential warning signs. â€Å"Parents are often aware that their children have some problems with language before they start school. Youngsters with language processing disabilities may be slow in learning to speak, and may use shorter sentences, smaller vocabularies, and poorer grammar than their brothers and sisters did at similar ages.†[10] As symptoms are not easily identified due to lack of visual corroboration, there are a variety of discrepancy principles which are most often utilized for more accurate prognosis. IQ testing will be discussed in detail in further sections, yet, the ability to establish a connection between variances in observed and expected achievement make this form of testing one of the most consistent, yet debated, techniques for initial identification of dyslexic symptoms. Similarly, reading and listening comprehension are often studied in an attempt to determine obvious strengths in one category over the other.[11] Determining that a patient’s reading comprehension is far inferior to his listening does not, however, decidedly diagnose them as dyslexic. This approach must identify the innate deficiency in word identification and contrast those results with alternate discrepancy evaluations. Additionally, the definition of phonological deficiency pervades this model, as dyslexic children can have problems with written and spoken words alike. As dyslexia is clearly a heterogeneous disorder, a variety of symptoms requires varying evaluations, and in both of these discrepancy tests, the symptomology alone does not dictate dyslexia. A third area of discrepancy evaluation relates chronological age to reading age. Yet, historic evaluations of schooling and environmental factors (home environment, access to reading materials, etc) become paramount in determination whether or not the reading proficiency directly correlates to the social environment of the child. Again, it is the predicated evaluation of all apparent and collaborative symptoms which enables accurate diagnosis and appropriate educational tactics. Causality Often confused with symptomology, causality is the identification of the underlying failures contributing directly to the disorder. For dyslexic evaluations, an simplified approach to causality is to determine that a phonological impairment has contributed to an inability to read and write at the same level as their peers. Therefore, treatment tactics will include direct reading training, word recognition instruction, symbolic representation, and intensified reading emphasis. In the next chapter, RTI (responsiveness to intervention) will be discussed as a replacement for the â€Å"wait to fail† approach, which when utilized properly, determines their responsiveness to the training and potentially prevent misdiagnosis. Could the child respond to the phonological training? If there were dramatic improvement through basic teaching tactics which were more localized to poor readers, then perhaps the entire diagnosis of dyslexia could be removed, and focus on reading abilities and f urther instruction would become a priority. However, dyslexia, as previously stated, is a lifetime disability which mandates many changes in lifestyle and learning approach. The underlying causes are irreversible, and proper diagnosis is paramount in determining the best tactics toward normalization. â€Å"The World Federation of Neurology defines dyslexia as a disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity. It is dependent upon fundamental cognitive disabilities which are frequently of constitutional origin.†[12] Directly related to the phonological impairment is a cerebral malfunction or failure in which not only reading and writing abilities are impaired, motor skills including balance can also be affected. In addition to cerebral malfunctions, it is a well known fact that both sides of the brain process and perform different functions as related to thinking: the left side predominantly controls speech, reading, writing, and numeric processing ability; the ride side controls creativity, musical ability, and imagination. â€Å"Mixed hemispheric dominance† is attributed to the cause of improper phoneme reproduction is due to the brain’s hemispheric responses to stim uli.[13] Therefore, the functions normally controlled by the left half of the brain are delegated in part to the right side, an area not typically charged with these particular functions. Dyslexics are often characterized as picture thinkers, or students who tend to think and speak in very imaginative capacities, often formulating speech as though they were painting a picture. In this scenario, the causality of photo-dictation is directly related to a confused hemispheric dominance. It is important, however, to note that assumption of causal relation to dyslexic symptoms can only be validated through intense scientific research and neurological study. Causes of this impairment are readily defined, but oftentimes troublesome in clinical corroboration. Mythological Muddle or Modern Mystery It is the duty and underlying objective of the scientist to investigate all causes and symptoms of a particular disorder in order to determine without a doubt the symbiotic relationship between the two and repeatability of testing procedures with future patients. Therefore, it would stand to reason that as time passes and frequency of variance within investigation techniques subsides, that scientific data would affirm one theory of dyslexia above all others. Unfortunately, the heterogeneity of this disorder has left a lifetime of neurologists without a solid foothold from which to hoist concrete scientific evidence as to the causes and treatments for dyslexia. The most problematic area of the body has proven to be the brain, and for obvious reasons, interpreting its responses to educational stimuli is a difficult and painstaking task. Study aside, cultural mores supply myths which often muddle educated theories regarding dyslexia. One myth as qualified by an ignorant teacher of a dyslexic student was â€Å"well, I mean, it’s one of those things that has been conjured up by pushy parents for their thick or lazy children, quite often both.†[14] These myths affect cultural perception as well as tactics educators explore in relation to future education of clinically diagnosed dyslexics. It is essential to the support and appropriate treatment of dyslexia that the dispelling of common myths becomes a priority. The following represents some of the most prevalent, but certainly not all myths associated with this disorder. Myths: All dyslexics read backwards As previously stated, dyslexia is not simply a â€Å"backwards reading disorder.† While letter and word manipulation is a result of the disorder, not all dyslexics view words backwards. Oftentimes mirrored writing is an effect, yet proper teaching and techniques enable dyslexics to read and write over time as well as non-impaired individuals. Dyslexia only affects reading Discussion of symptomology of this disorder clearly shows that writing, listening, even motor skills are often affected by dyslexia. Phonological impairment does not limit dyslexic symptoms to poor reading alone. The inability to appropriately process and utilize language, words, and letters affects all areas related to these categories. Dyslexics have a poor sense of direction Dyslexics are often grouped into a category of individuals with poor sense of direction, and ones who are often clumsy or inept. While dyslexia can oftentimes cause a directional confusion, it is a trait which is dictated by the unique affectation of a heterogeneous affliction. Dyslexia can be cured Scientific advancements have challenged the confines of the human mind, yet manipulation of the brain, moreover, repair of major cerebral impairments, is as of date an impossibility with relation to dyslexia. Many dyslexics will learn to live normally with their impairment; many have already gone on to become great historical figures, yet curing this disorder is simply a task charged to the neurologists of the future. My parents can read so I am not dyslexic The genetic link between relatives and dyslexia is apparent and proven. The misconception however lies within the idea that genetic correlation is linked directly to the parents. Heredity and dyslexia form a bond within a family’s genetic makeup, enabling the link to come from oftentimes removed relatives, Uncle, Aunt, Grandfather. Dyslexia is a hereditary disorder and further research into a family tree reveals the path of its emergence.[15] Dyslexia, a mystery to scientists and educators for over one hundred years, presents children with challenges unlike other afflictions. The inability to localize the gene or regional affectation which causes dyslexia presents an almost hopeless image of what, in other scenarios, might be considered a gift. It is the unique modifications made by the mind which enable dyslexics to processes other areas of learning more quickly than other students, and this compensation oftentimes more than outweighs the debilitation of a decrease in language comprehension. Personal Affectation—Why Me? Scientific study aside, the human factor relative to living with dyslexia is prevalent and worthy of discussion. A child in an educationally pervasive society with expectations and standards thrust on him on a regular basis would find his inability to read common words not only frustrating but frightening. From a psychological standpoint, abnormality in a very standardized environment causes great confusion among children. Their inability to fully comprehend the situation will often lead to masking tactics in addition to rebellious behavior which carries the potential for misdiagnosis. The perspective of a potential dyslexic is that they will be ridiculed in school settings for their differences and perhaps even placed in remedial classes in order to help them have a full and prosperous education. It is the responsibility of the educator as well as the parents to address this particular affliction, not as an illness but as a gift. Reminding students that a very impressive list of famous and successful dyslexics exists today and that more are added to it yearly allows for a comfort factor which can offset some of the fear. Creating an educational blueprint which navigates the student through the symptoms and adaptations of dyslexia and assists them to define a life of normalcy is a priority. The upcoming chapter will discuss the specific processes which can assist a student in a prosperous and diverse lifestyle in addition to addressing and identifying the unique factors of their disorder which may eventually help neurologists pinpoint the cause of dyslexia. Chapter Two Sitting before his teacher, hands clenched tightly in front of him on the desk, the student waited with anticipation as the cards were raised one at a time. The pictures were familiar, the writing seemed like something he had seen once before but it didn’t make sense. The instructor slowly prompted the wary student, the sounds forming behind tight lips. His first steps towards living with dyslexia had begun. Introduction The following chapter will not only evaluate dyslexia based upon specific traits and the modern techniques utilized to explore and define the disorder, it will explore the potential benefits of choosing each uniquely suited tactic in the attempt to properly diagnose and treat with accuracy. Necessity or Misdiagnosis â€Å"Congratulations, you have dyslexia.† This is not exactly a reasonable statement for a neurologist to make to a grade school child who is afflicted with the malady. Nor can he treat the diagnosis as though he has spelled the end of a normal lifestyle for this frightened adolescent. It is important for educators to note that the process which is undertaken in order to get to this step, the ultimate diagnosis of the disorder, must be recognized, internalized, and practiced on a regular basis in order to avoid unfortunate misdiagnosis. The student who stands on his desk and yells mild obscenities at the top of his lungs will not only gain laughs from his classmates, but will most likely enjoy a trip to the school counselor. Should he appear restless and frustrated as his problems are probed, the counselor will suggest further examination. Eventually, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder could become the prognosis, and Ritalin the drug of choice for overcoming this unfortunate scenario. And perhaps Ritalin does not work and the school performance continues to falter, then another trip to the physician and another diagnosis, yet a complete absence of alternate thinking regarding the disability is present at this time. The poor spelling and scribbled essays are completely forgotten in exchange for a reprise from destructive and irascible behavior. It is the failure of the teacher to note the extreme inability to read aloud in front of the class and realize that the reaction to his embarrassment is the disruptive nature for which they are medicating. An ability to recognize, diagnose with accuracy, and utilize trained teaching abilities to inspire change and growth are qualities that are lacking in many of today’s teachers. It’s not a failure of their intelligence by any means, nor is it the training they have received; it is that there are simply too many variables from which to accurately diagnose learning disabilities in children. Experience, coupled with comprehension of relevant learning categories is essential to proper dyslexic diagnosis. Family and heredity, as stated before, is essential to understanding the child’s genetic makeup. If there is a history of dyslexia within the family, closer attention can be paid to specific traits which are associated with the disorder than if there were not such congruence. Language skills are additionally a priority, as these abilities are essentially the area in question when formulating a diagnosis. Evaluation of comprehension, word identification, pronunciation and word retrieval are only a few of the basic categories from which to test a child. Reading, aloud and silently should also be tested. Listening to the child and analyzing particular word confusion, in addition to pronunciation issues will allow for important data to be drawn. Additionally, querying the child regarding reading comprehension can give insight into how the child processes the information they are taking in. Spelling and writing are essential as well. Looking for obviously inverted spelling in addition to word mirroring can be essential to the appropriate diagnosis. Handwriting as well becomes a necessary category from which to draw conclusions. Letter formation, balance of lines, spaces, paper alignment, all are paramount to proper evaluation. Memory becomes a category for study, as all time frames should be probed, from long to short term, in addition to visual memory. It is through the mastery of evaluation of these categories, as well as experience with the basic psychology relevant to children of this age and proclivity, that will enable the educator or evaluator to appropriately diagnose and if all else fails, point the student towards the correct diagnosis and treatment center. Phonological Instruction The previously discussed phonological failure contributing to dyslexia warrants a structured approach to therapy and instruction. Nearly unanimously, researchers agree that proper phonological instruction is a priority for all school children, and even more necessitated with children diagnosed with dyslexia. â€Å"The general findings suggest that early and direct teaching of sound-symbol relationships produces better decoding skills than later and less explicit phonics instruction (Clark, 83).†[16] Synthetic Phonics Instruction In this approach to phonological instruction, a specific phoneme is separated and taught to the child prior to blending or inclusion in syllables or entire words. ie. /ph/ is inscribed on cue cards where the student learns to recognize an image of a phone through sight in addition to phoneme. Once this process has been appropriately completed and the student exhibits repeatable comprehension of the relationship, the phoneme is synthesized within words with letters that are already known so that the child may read them. Synthetic relationships are in this way established between objects, letters, and phoneme. Intrinsic Phonics Instruction As suggested by its title, this form of phonetic instruction utilizes complete words, beginning with those that are most often already known to the children. The patients are then encouraged to draw relationships between the letters, practicing phoneme and letter relationship at one time rather than learning segments and then grouping them to create words. One program which has successfully adopted the Synthetic Phonetic approach to dyslexic instruction was initiated by the wife and co-scientist of Samuel Orton in collaboration with her partner Anna Gillingham in 1960. The approach was summarized through the following distinguishing features: It is a direct approach to the study of phonics, presenting

The Odd Man Out :: essays research papers

The Odd Man Out Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies is a great piece of literature. Though the story was not always interesting to me, it is apparent that the author is talented. The story begins in 1908 in a small fictional Canadian village called Deptford. I think this village is very important to the story. The author describes everything one could possibly need to picture Deptford in his mind. This helped a lot in showing what the main character’s childhood was like. Later in his life, the main character traveled a lot, so many other places were described. I don’t think these places are as important as Deptford. It seems that the author thought this also, for he didn’t use as many details to describe these places as he did with the village. The main character is Dunstable Ramsey, Dunny for short. He is a very real character to me. The whole book is a letter that the old Dunny is writing to someone about his life. The way the author writes as Dunny is great. I can picture an old man sitting at a desk writing the letter. For parts of the story that have lots of detail, I imagine that the old Dunny remembers these parts of his life because they were important to him. For the parts he is vague about, Dunny writes that he would write more if he remembered more clearly. I think those are the times in his life that were not very important to him. A character that stands out a lot for me is Dunny’s mother. She seemed like a very kind and strong woman at the beginning of the story. She kept their neighbors preborn baby alive when the town doctor said he would die. She was committed to that baby with all her heart. Another time, Dunny took an egg from his house so he could try to learn magic tricks with it. His mother noticed it was missing, and when he would not say why he took it, she flipped out. She beat him to pieces with a whip for an hour, screaming the whole time. In my mind she went from being a kind woman to an hysterical fool of a mother. She seems as though she could not be related to this old man reflecting on his life. I think the author is showing how different children can be from their parents. The Odd Man Out :: essays research papers The Odd Man Out Fifth Business, by Robertson Davies is a great piece of literature. Though the story was not always interesting to me, it is apparent that the author is talented. The story begins in 1908 in a small fictional Canadian village called Deptford. I think this village is very important to the story. The author describes everything one could possibly need to picture Deptford in his mind. This helped a lot in showing what the main character’s childhood was like. Later in his life, the main character traveled a lot, so many other places were described. I don’t think these places are as important as Deptford. It seems that the author thought this also, for he didn’t use as many details to describe these places as he did with the village. The main character is Dunstable Ramsey, Dunny for short. He is a very real character to me. The whole book is a letter that the old Dunny is writing to someone about his life. The way the author writes as Dunny is great. I can picture an old man sitting at a desk writing the letter. For parts of the story that have lots of detail, I imagine that the old Dunny remembers these parts of his life because they were important to him. For the parts he is vague about, Dunny writes that he would write more if he remembered more clearly. I think those are the times in his life that were not very important to him. A character that stands out a lot for me is Dunny’s mother. She seemed like a very kind and strong woman at the beginning of the story. She kept their neighbors preborn baby alive when the town doctor said he would die. She was committed to that baby with all her heart. Another time, Dunny took an egg from his house so he could try to learn magic tricks with it. His mother noticed it was missing, and when he would not say why he took it, she flipped out. She beat him to pieces with a whip for an hour, screaming the whole time. In my mind she went from being a kind woman to an hysterical fool of a mother. She seems as though she could not be related to this old man reflecting on his life. I think the author is showing how different children can be from their parents.

Dissociative Identity Disorder in Women

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in Women An Annotated Bibliography Dissociative Identity Disorder is also known as â€Å"Multiple Personality Disorder†. This can be defined as an effect of severe trauma during early childhood, usually extreme, repetitive physical, sexual or emotional abuse. I chose this topic because I had to do a research paper about it in my Psychology class, so I just used the research I did to do this paper.This was my first choice of a topic because it’s a psychological disorder that I have been fascinated with, since coming to America. Although there were times that I had to look for a topic that was much broader, such as, â€Å"disorders and women† in general in order to find anything reliable about my topic. By broadening my research to include the â€Å"disorders that relate to men and women†, I was able to write a paper with a much more effective argument. I initially started to do research using the Internet and looking for scholastic journals.While this provided plenty of sources it was often difficult to determine if the information was reliable and half of the results were not relevant to my topic, like there were many times that I found myself looking through thousands of search results. Many of which were so irrelevant to my topic, like bulimia and anorexia, which are disorders but these are eating disorders, not psychological disorders. The most effective research method I found was going into EBSCOHOST and using the Academic Search Premier and Psychology databases, while trying a variety of search phrases.This method helped me find many useful journals with information that I could use directly, or, by going to the reference section of the journal, would lead me to other sources. I used IUCAT to find the reference books and the encyclopedias for my paper, the reference books were much more useful than I expected, proving that women suffer from DID more than men. I assumed that all encyclopedias were filled with broad, general definitions, but I found several that had very specific information on my topic and also listed sources that I could use for further research.I found several of the new research methods introduced during this course to be extremely helpful. I was surprised by how much of a difference changing a phrase or using Boolean Operators made at the beginning of a search. I hated the nesting search method, because it complicated everything and gave me millions of results, most of which were very irrelevant. I started out on the internet using the search phrase, â€Å"Dissociative Identity Disorder and women† which gave me plenty of results, but when I put limiters like Peer Reviewed Journals and Scholarly articles, I got fewer, more relevant articles.When I replaced â€Å"and† with â€Å"or† I got much different articles. By isolating or deleting certain words in a search phrase I would get a completely new set of sources, and I was comple tely surprised at how little I knew about doing research in the library. The library turned out to be much more useful to me than the Internet since I did not have to spend nearly as much time verifying the reliability of a source or checking to see if the source was relevant.I learnt that to judge the relevance of anything- a journal article, website, a book, we do so with the following criteria: The purpose of the article, Type of Journal, Coverage, Date of Article, Authority, Usefulness, Bias (of the publisher) and Organization and Content, and this was indeed the most important thing I learnt in this class. MLA Format Movies The Three Faces of Eve. Dir. Nunnally Johnson. Perf. Joanne Woodward, David Wayne and Lee J. Cobb. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 1957. DVD.I watched this movie in high school; it was about Eve White, who had 2 other personalities living in her. Whenever she is faced with different situations like fear, anger, happiness, sadness, a different person ality would take over her actions. She was Eve White, a quiet, mousy, unassuming wife and mother who keeps suffering from headaches and occasional black outs. Eventually she is sent to see psychiatrist Dr. Luther, and, while under hypnosis, a whole new personality emerges: the racy, wild, fun-loving Eve Black. Under continued therapy, yet a third personality appears, the relatively stable Jane.This film, based on the true-life case of a multiple personality, chronicles Dr. Luther's attempts to reconcile the three faces of Eve. The movie really captures the frustration of a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder, because after each personality takes over, Eve White does not remember anything the other personalities said or did, so in the movie the therapist is trying to combine all 3 personalities back into 1 personality, so it was a very good visual representation of a woman with DID. Books Schreiber, Flora Rheta. Sybil. Chicago: Regnery, 1973. Print. I actually read this book a nd own it.This book is a fictional story about Sybil Dorsett, a pseudonym for a real woman named Shirley Ardell Mason, who was originally in treatment for social anxiety and memory loss, but whom during the course of treatment, manifests 16 other personalities. Throughout the book, her psychoanalyst, Cornelia Wilbur, encourages Sybil’s various selves to communicate and reveal information about her life. It describes Sybil's selves gradually becoming co-conscious, able to communicate and share responsibilities, and having musical compositions and art published under their various names.Wilbur attempts to integrate Sybil's various selves, first convincing them via hypnosis that they are all the same age, then encouraging them to merge. I included this in my research because at the book's end, a new, optimistic self-called â€Å"The Blonde† emerges, facilitating Sybil's final integration into a single, whole individual with full knowledge of her past and present life, whi ch is the goal of every person with DID. Comer, Ronald J. Abnormal Psychology. 7th ed. New York: Worth, 2010. Print. I found this book through the IUCAT online library catalog using the search terms â€Å"Dissociative Identity Disorder and women†.This is a book about different types of abnormal disorders. It offers a fresh, comprehensive, and exciting presentation of the field, with objective, balanced coverage of a wide range of theories, studies, disorders, and treatments and all major models. According to student reviews, â€Å"There has never been a text for the course so well-attuned to both the field of abnormal psychology and the wide range of students exploring it†. I liked this text because it presented the information in an unbiased manner.It used a lot of case studies and current events to support the various psychological theories. Hyman, Jane Wegscheider. I Am More than One: How Women with Dissociative Identity Disorder Have Found Success in Life and Work. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print. I read this book in high school and also own it. In the book, I Am More Than One, Jane Hyman takes on and succeeds at a difficult task, one which few authors manage to accomplish: communicating to her readers the deep respect with which she holds the women she interviews, even though their experiences are so foreign to her.It is clear from the beginning that Jane wants us to understand these women's experiences from their own perspectives, without denying the clinical descriptions of their illness. The stories in this book are riveting; the women are sharply and almost affectionately drawn, but as much as possible Jane â€Å"gets out of the way† of her subjects. Most chapters focus on a theme such as work, family, or relationships, but all in all, my favorite part of the book is that the author treats all her subjects with the same respect and a sincere desire to understand a life lived with DID and pass that understanding on to the reader .Reference book First, Michael, M. D. , ed. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Vol. 4 Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000. Print. I found this source by using the IUCAT online library catalog and it was available in the reference section of the IUSB library. This book covers all mental health disorders for both children and adults. It also lists known causes of these disorders, statistics in terms of gender, age of onset, and prognosis as well as some research concerning the optimal treatment approaches.In here, I discovered that, â€Å"Dissociative Identity Disorder is diagnosed 3 to 9 times more frequently in adult females than in adult males. Also, that females tend to have more identities than do males averaging 15 or more, whereas males average approximately 8 identities†, which did my topic a lot of justice. I liked this source a lot because some of the websites I had visited; had redirected me to this book as additional reference, and it was of great help. Government Publication United States. United States Courts. Court of Appeals. 6-3545 – United States v. Carol L. Gillmore. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. GPOaccess. Web. 8 Aug. 2012. . I found this publication by doing a search on GPOAccess. It is a court case about a woman who had DID, Carol Gillmore, who alleged at trial that her actions toward George Stately were a result of her DID causing her to experience a â€Å"red-out,† meaning that she entered into a dissociative state in which she suffered â€Å"a disruption . . . of consciousness, memory, identity and perception of [her] environment. She killed someone while in a state of amnesia with DID, so she is appealing her sentence because she claims she doesn’t remember killing George. I included this article because it is a life example of how the government handles people with DID. Journal articles Eric Eich, Dawn Macaulay, Richard J. Loewenstein and Patrice H. Dihle. â€Å"Me mory, Amnesia, and Dissociative Identity Disorder†. Psychological Science 8. 6 (1997): 417-422. EBSCOhost. Web. 23 July 2012. I found this article during a search in EBSCOhost.I found this article particularly interesting, because it explained a very common symptom of DID. It explained that virtually all patients with dissociative identity (or multiple personality) disorder manifest interpersonality amnesia, a situation where events experienced by a particular personality state or identity are retrievable or can be remembered by that same identity but not by a different one. That though it is considered as a hallmark of dissociative identity disorder (DID), inter-personality amnesia has to date being payed little to no attention.I found this article interesting because I remember how Eve from the movie got frustrated with herself when she could not remember things that she herself had just done or said. Ennis, Mark William, and Pamela Pater-Ennis. â€Å"Sanctuary Healing: One Congregation's Experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder. † Journal of Religion & Abuse 7. 4 (2006): 19-39. EBSCOhost. Web. 23 July 2012. I found this article in EBSCOhost. This article looked at different religions and how they view people with DID. Specifically the Christian and how they did a sanctuary healing to try to heal a woman with DID.The other personalities are seen as demons that have to be cast out of a person’s body. I found it as an interesting article, it was a very different view about DID, it’s good to be included in a research paper. Baker, Karen. â€Å"From â€Å"It's Not Me† to â€Å"It Was Me, After All†: A Case Presentation of a Patient Diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. † Psychoanalytic Social Work 17. 2 (2010): 79-98. EBSCOhost. Web. 27 July 2012. I found this article in EBSCOhost. It sheds light on the fact that, in cases of extreme childhood trauma associated with abuse and neglect, one's sense of self is seriously compromised.Attachment patterns, symptoms, defensive operations, and character formation will differ depending upon the level of interference and impingement. That when repeated trauma occurs in early childhood, the dissociative response may become the first line of defense for the person to rely upon. This paper addresses the case of a woman diagnosed with DID. It describes the restoration of a unified sense of self from the eight parts of a dissociated and fragmented self in the course of therapy. The clinical case material presented is that of the child part of her, known as Lucy. Her treatment resulted in the integration of the ‘it's not me! self to the patient's knowledge that ‘it was me, after all. I like this article because it focuses on the child identity of an adult woman and what the child identity in the midst of adults has to go through, it was very interesting. Laddis A, Dell P. Dissociation and Psychosis in Dissociative Identity Disorder and Schizophrenia. Journal Of Trauma ; Dissociation July 2012; 13(4):397-413. Academic Search Premier. Web. July 17, 2012. I found this article using the Academic Search Premier in EBSCOhost. This is a case survey of people with DID versus those with schizophrenia.Dissociative symptoms, first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia, and delusions were assessed in 40 schizophrenia patients and 40 dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients with the Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID). DID patients obtained significantly (a) higher dissociation scores; (b) higher passive-influence scores (first-rank symptoms); and (c) higher scores on scales that measure child voices, angry voices, persecutory voices, voices arguing, and voices commenting. Schizophrenia patients obtained significantly higher delusion scores than DID patients. It was an interesting article of how other disorders relate to DID.Websites Johnson, Kimball. â€Å"Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality D isorder): Signs, Symptoms, Treatment. † WebMD. WebMD, 26 May 2012. Web. 10 Aug. 2012. ;http://www. webmd. com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder;. I found this website while doing a search on Google. I choose to include this article in my bibliography because WebMD has always had a very reliable name. The information they provide is unbiased and is simply there to inform and help the reader. The article includes everything you need to know about DID – from the symptoms, causes, and possible treatments. Grohol, John. Dissociative Identity Disorder Symptoms. † PsychCentral, 9 July 2012. Web. 9 Aug. 2012. . I found this website while searching using Google. I included this website because the article goes into depth about the several different treatments of DID. These include Psychotherapy, Medications and Self Help. How effective each treatment type is, and it was determined that psychotherapy is the most effective way of trea tment that gives way to â€Å"integration† of the personalities. There are some things included in this website that were not included on the WebMD website and vice versa.

Diversity Quotes

Diversity Quotes When the news reports cover ethnic wars and cultural domination on a regular basis, it is easy to miss out on one important lesson: diversity is a positive thing, in the world, in business, and in education. In the U.S., diverse cultures will soon be in the majority. Public conversations on the challenges of a diverse nation make the nation stronger. In business, diversity in an organization increases its responsiveness to its diverse clients and customers. As businesses become  ever more globalized, diversity becomes more important. In education, diversity provides a range of experiences in a class that would otherwise not exist and prepares students for life in a diverse world. Read what leaders, activists, and writers have said about the importance of diversity. Diversity Quotes Maya AngelouIt is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.Cesar ChavezWe need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community and this nation.James T. EllisonThe real death of America will come when everyone is alike.Catherine PulsiferWe are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity, life would be very boring.Mikhail GorbachevPeace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences.Mahatma GandhiI do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stifled. I want all the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.Hillary ClintonWhat we have to do... is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.Anne FrankWe a ll live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same. John F. KennedyIf we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.Mark TwainIt were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse races.William Sloane Coffin Jr.Diversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be without.John HumeDifference is of the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth, and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity.Rene DubosHuman diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival.Jimmy CarterWe have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.Jerome NathansonThe price of the democratic way of life is a growing appreciation of peoples d ifferences, not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and rewarding human experience.

Plato and Machiavelli essays

Plato and Machiavelli essays Platos Republic and Machiavellis The Prince are each hugely important texts in the history of philosophy. Even though they were written approximately 1900 years apart, they represent two of the most valuable commentaries on political philosophy. They are of course, very different in their discussions of philosophy, yet some similarities are evident. Plato writes about philosophy through the mouth of Socrates, illustrating indirectly through a lengthy dialogue his own ideas and opinions. As a contrast to this method of narration, Machiavelli writes The Prince as a letter of personal advice to Lorenzo Medici. Within his work, Machiavelli makes numerous recommendations that have earned him the label of a heartless and cruel man. Plato, on the other hand, makes much of his discussion about the true nature of philosophy and the just treatment of all citizens. Despite numerous differences, Plato and Machiavelli each desire the rule of philosophers in their states, but while Plato approache s this with direct rule and education of philosopher-kings, Machiavelli appeals to manipulation and deceit in order to secure the rule of philosophers. Platos aim in his political state is for the greatest good of all people, through the best balancing of the natural elements on an individual and political scale. According to Plato, the human soul is comprised of the reasoning part, the spirited part and the appetites. The parallel elements within a city are the rulers, warriors and artisans. Only when these are ordered correctly will peace, justice, and long term prosperity prevail. If these are not balanced correctly, than a person will not lead a good and just life, and they will suffer because of it . The correct hierarchy is how it has been dictated, with the rational part controlling the spirit, and the spirit limiting the desires. In order to ensure that these basic parts of the soul are ideally ordered, strong central rule fo...

10 Facts About the Periodic Table of Elements

10 Facts About the Periodic Table of Elements The periodic table is a chart that arranges the chemical elements in a useful, logical manner. Elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number, lined up so elements that exhibit similar properties are arranged in the same row or column as one another. The periodic table is one of the most useful tools of chemistry and the other sciences. Here are 10 fun facts to boost your knowledge: Although Dmitri Mendeleev is most often cited as the inventor of the modern periodic table, his table was just the first to gain scientific credibility. ​It wasnt the first table that organized the elements according to periodic properties.There are  about  90 elements on the periodic table that occur in nature. All of the other elements are strictly human-made. Some sources state more elements occur naturally because heavy elements may transition between elements as they undergo radioactive decay.Technetium was the first element to be made artificially. It is the lightest element that has only radioactive isotopes (none are stable.)The International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry, IUPAC, revises the periodic table as new data becomes available. At the time of this writing, the most recent version of the periodic table was approved in November 2016.The rows of the periodic table are called periods. An elements period number is the highest unexcited energy level for an ele ctron of that element. Columns of elements help to distinguish groups in the periodic table. Elements within a group share several common properties and often have the same outer electron arrangement.Most of the elements on the periodic table are metals. The alkali metals, alkaline earths, basic metals, transition metals, lanthanides, and actinides all are groups of metals.The present periodic table has room for 118 elements. Elements arent discovered or created in order of atomic number. Scientists are working on creating and verifying elements 119 and 120, which will change the appearance of the table, though they were working on element 120 before element 119. Most likely, element 119 will be positioned directly below francium and element 120 directly below radium. Chemists may create much heavier elements that may be more stable because of special properties of certain combinations of proton and neutron numbers.Although you might expect atoms of an element to get larger as their atomic number increases , this does not always occur because the size of an atom is determined by the diameter of its electron shell. In fact, element atoms usually decrease in size as you move from left to right across a row. The main difference between the modern periodic table and Mendeleevs periodic table is that Mendeleevs table arranged the elements in order of increasing atomic weight, while the modern table orders the elements by increasing atomic number. For the most part, the order of the elements is the same between both tables, though there are exceptions.

Understanding the new digital economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Understanding the new digital economy - Essay Example One of the biggest influences of the modifying terrain of transacting business is the social media which provides an unconscious system and medium through which many people converge, interact and exchange information (Ghosh, 2012). The hypothesis put forward for this paper is that: the social media has had a major impact on users and this has transformed the cultural and economic practices and impacted on the fashion industry with an emphasis on blogging and social media marketing. The aim of this paper is to identify the political economic perspectives in today’s world and the impact of the social media on users as well as cultural and economic practices in the world. The following pointers will form the core highlights of the study: This paper fundamentally aims at identifying the main influence and impact of the social media on the way in which individuals and groups of people perceive cultural and social matters and systems. To this end, the paper will critique various secondary sources in order to draw conclusions and inferences on the impact of social media on current trends and processes. This section will involve a critical review of secondary sources and other documents to lay the theoretical and definitive framework. To this end, the literature review will evaluate fundamental definitions and ideas that form the basic framework and discussions in this topic. Also, the literature review will integrate important elements and aspects of theories and concepts that are important in providing the parameters within which discussions and analysis can be done. The new digital economy is an economy based on digital technologies (Tapscott, 2012). This implies that the new digital economy is steeped in the fact that it is a system that enables people to transact various forms of business activities over digital systems and processes. â€Å"The world economy is now characterised by sluggish growth in

Memorandum Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Memorandum - Annotated Bibliography Example As the article moves on it gives some techniques that helps the reader understand his role and be friendly and agreeable in his writing. In conclusion, it tells the readers how to wrap up the employee profile in the company newsletter. The technical document could have been made better if it was supported with examples which would clear out any confusion that was left in the mind of the readers. But largely, the article is very well written. It is not complicated and does not have many jargons but still gets its message across in an informative manner. This memo was written to evaluate and present my views regarding the technical document. I will be expecting feedback of my analysis from you before the end of this month. It will help my analysis in future. Thanking you in anticipation. This memo is being written in order to critically analyze the style of writing of a professional proposal that gives details about its upcoming Computer Education Program for low income teenagers and children and requests Corporate Giving Program to provide funds for it. The proposal throughout its content emphasizes on the fact that this particular company serves community members by carrying out a variety of such constructive programs. This way it reminds the receiver that their partnership with the organization would be for a good cause. The writer's project plan is very convincing and his writing reflects confidence. This style of writing reassures the receiver of the proposal that they are investing in the right place. A strategy used by the writer to persuade the Corporate Giving Program is that in the last paragraph, the writer has reminded them of the incentive that this funding will provide for them. It emphasizes on the point that their logos will be printed on their brochures and the website. This reminder in the end of the proposal would be a motivating factor for the giving program to provide the funds. Also simple language is used and jargons are avoided which minimizes confusion on the reader's side. This style is very effective as su ch proposals present what they have to offer and what they want in return in the simplest form with most impact on the reader. This memo was written in order to evaluate the style of writing of a proposal for grant. I will be expecting feedback of my evaluation from you before the end of this month. Thanking you in anticipation. MEMORANDUM To: Mr. XYZ, Professor, ABC University From: JKL Date: July 22, 2008 Subject: Critical Analysis of a Poorly Designed Website This memo is being written in order to critically analyze the design of a website which in my opinion is very poor. The address of the webpage is http://www.havenworks.com/. Haven Works' website clearly does not follow the five design principles. First of all, there is too much going on the main page of the website because of which there is no balance. The eye can only focus on one thing rather than steady flow down the page. The items on the webpage seem like they are placed there randomly and

Critical Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Critical Reflection - Essay Example It consisted of individual notes that would remind of specific things when it comes to writing the notes up. Hence, I took some straight observational notes recording all I saw relevant to my research questions. My ultimate aim was to get a sense of the dilemma of incorporating technology in teaching and training and drawing recommendations. Meaningfully, technology itself can process moral and ethical qualities, but the issues I considered are on how the application of technology in education creates ethical conflicts. The design decision affordance and social norms are part of the engineering (Shilton, Koepfler and Fleischmann 259). Social aspects of a design process, therefore, involve ethical issue. Online-Based learning and virtual schools is a result of incorporating technology in education. More people are benefiting since classes are more flexible and affordable. Therefore, there is no all evil in technology. Regardless of a student’s socioeconomic status, the number of scholars carrying their own mobile devices is growing exponentially every year. It, therefore, means the platform communication will be available for almost every student in the future (Shilton, Koepfler and Fleischmann 260). As I noted in the field, the above argument falls in the fact that advancement in technology has increased the use of energy in most cases, example on oil reserves. Therefore, it has led to global warming and exposure of radioactive waste on people and the environment. Therefore, responsible technologies aim to reduce energy requirements of equipment and generation of environmentally friendly energy. The incorporation of technological aspects of learning creates a generation that is receptive to technology, and these create a risk of the irresponsible implementation of the technologies in the future. Technologically oriented education will therefore, create efficiency-oriented work that will consider social and ethical

Write a Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write a Constitution - Essay Example The first area of consideration is the means of introducing laws. All group members will be given the chance to propose new laws or regulations at the meetings. This is similar to the United States system that allows Congressmen to introduce laws ("How a bill," 2012). In terms of repealing laws, individuals also have the option of introducing measures to repeal laws or regulations that had previously been passed. Once a law has been introduced by one of the group members there will then be a discussion about the specific law. Proponents and opponents of the law will be given a chance to speak about the reasons they support and don’t support it. After these discussions have taken place group members will be given a chance to vote on whether the law should be passed or rejected. Through majority vote the law will either be passed or denied. All members of the creative writing student organization will be treated as intellectual equals. This is an idea adopted from the United States Constitution ("Constitution of the," 2012). This, however, does not extend to decision-making power and group responsibilities. In these regards, the club will be divided through officer positions. There will be a President of the club that is responsible for organizing the meetings and setting the specific agenda for the day. The Secretary of the club will be responsible for taking notes about the meetings and reciting these notes at the new meetings. The Treasurer of the club will be responsible for financial matters, most notably those that involve the club’s literary magazine. Finally, all general members or officers of the club will be able to introduce ideas or general concepts to the specific project the group is focusing on. The emphasis on intellectual equality is a major consideration within the group. Many organized group e nvironments form and allow a select number of voices to dominate the discussion. Rather than allowing such forms of group dominance, the

United States history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

United States history - Essay Example The issue of democracy in America in general is one which has been debated on and about for ages, and the matter of whether or not capitalism has played a larger role in the defining of American foreign policy when compared to democracy is one which is incredibly significant and relevant overall.There are many different factors which need to be taken into consideration in order to be able to properly determine the answer to this posing, and this particularly in regards to the reasons that America became involved in foreign affairs in the late 19th century, as well as the motivations for their entering both world wars and the progress of the Cold War, for instance. All of these issues have great influence on the matter of whether democracy or capitalism should be considered as being more important in the defining of American foreign policy, and thus they all must be thoroughly addressed and discussed. The aim of this paper is to consider all aspects of both democracy and capitalism wh ich are two tremendously dynamic and substantial subjects on their own, and to compare their similarities and differences in order to be able to properly determine which has played more of a role in creating and defining American foreign policy since the 1800s. We will be able to do this by discussing the previously mentioned issues as well as any and all other key and related factors relevant to this case. This is what will be dissertated in the following. The term democracy is one which is typically used in the context of a political state however the principles are also applicable to numerous other groups and organizations. There are several different forms of democracy, with the most major being: representative, liberal, direct, socialist, anarchist, tribal, and consensus. The representative, liberal, and direct forms of democracy are the most well-known, and they are considered as follows: representative democracy is the form of democracy which involves the selection of government officials by the people, and one characteristic of representative democracy in particular is that of the fact that while the representatives are elected by the people, to act in their interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgment as how best to do so; liberal democracy is a form representative democracy with free and fair elections along with the protection of minorities, the rule of law, a separation of powers, and protection of liber ties; and the direct form of democracy is one which is largely referred to as being "a political system where the citizens vote on all major policy decisions. It is called direct because, in the classical forms, there are no intermediaries or representatives. All direct democracies to date have been relatively small communities, usually city-states. However, some see the extensive use of referenda, as in California, as akin to direct democracy in a very large polity with more than 20 million potential voters" (Wikipedia, 2007). Capitalism, on the other hand, is a term which generally refers to an economic system in which "the means of production are mostly privately owned and operated for profit, and in which distribution, production and pricing of goods and services are determined in a largely free market. It is usually considered to involve the right of individuals and groups of individuals acting as 'legal persons' or corporations to trade capital goods, labor, land and money" (Boyer, Clark & Kett, 2002). The first actual theories of capitalism came about in the context of the Industrial Revolution, and this followed the social theorist Karl Marx in particular, and these theories were generally used to criticize the concept. The

Generation Y and leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Generation Y and leadership - Assignment Example The challenges are also due to the fact that the earlier generation, the ‘x’ers are also in the office floor making it a management conundrum. The challenge of managing this mutigenerational workforce would be considered quaint when one considers the natural progression this situation leads to be an era where millennials will be called to lead other millennials. Aliases for this generation are not in short supply. They could also be referred to as the â€Å"entitlement kids† for the strong sense of expectation they posses. â€Å"†¦If there is one overriding perception of the millennial generation, it's that these young people have great -- and sometimes outlandish – expectations† (Aslop, 2008). What would leadership look when â€Å"entitlement kids† lead â€Å"entitlement kids†? Would it be a positive development or similar to the new tribal warfare we see in the world, outside the corporate curtain wall? One of the best ways to un derstand the millennials is to contrast them with the prior generation ‘x’. Those born in the 1960’s and 1970’s up to 1982 are referred to as the generation ‘x’. They are refereed to as a generation that â€Å"†¦ has always signified a group of young people, seemingly without identity, who face an uncertain, ill-defined (and perhaps hostile) future.†(Ulrich, 2003). ... Sociologists will point to this as a definitive belief in leadership principles by believing in being led. The underlying reasons for this according to Hershatter derived from groundbreaking research done in ‘The History of America's Future 1584 to 2069’ (Strauss et al. 1992) is that â€Å"A lot of the things that people perceived as problematic outcomes as the result of how Gen ‘X’ers were raised – latch key kids, lots of autonomy, lots of freedom, not a lot of attention to their care and well being – was completely reversed with the Millennials†. They were raised with positive reinforcement. Confident in them selves it was insufficient for them to know what had to be done? Brought up with Pokemon, Star Wars and The Lord of The Rings film trilogy they needed to know why it had to be done? Cell phones, Mp3’s, and game portals were their toys making them addicted to technology. Fostered by social media and keypad savvy they have ma naged to be more connected with their parents than generations before them as they were in control of that connectivity. Trust has been inbred them. Gaining knowledge is less of a priority than knowing the sources of knowledge. They have had to learn to trust sources of knowledge. Millennials have turned the perception that generation-to-generation youth culture self degrades. They are changing corporate culture by their liking for immediate feedback, the hunger for positive reinforcement, and the sensitivity to relationships. The above-mentioned factors will cause corporate structures to be flatter to facilitate the required speed of communication and generation ‘Y’ has the

Write a Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write a Constitution - Essay Example The first area of consideration is the means of introducing laws. All group members will be given the chance to propose new laws or regulations at the meetings. This is similar to the United States system that allows Congressmen to introduce laws ("How a bill," 2012). In terms of repealing laws, individuals also have the option of introducing measures to repeal laws or regulations that had previously been passed. Once a law has been introduced by one of the group members there will then be a discussion about the specific law. Proponents and opponents of the law will be given a chance to speak about the reasons they support and don’t support it. After these discussions have taken place group members will be given a chance to vote on whether the law should be passed or rejected. Through majority vote the law will either be passed or denied. All members of the creative writing student organization will be treated as intellectual equals. This is an idea adopted from the United States Constitution ("Constitution of the," 2012). This, however, does not extend to decision-making power and group responsibilities. In these regards, the club will be divided through officer positions. There will be a President of the club that is responsible for organizing the meetings and setting the specific agenda for the day. The Secretary of the club will be responsible for taking notes about the meetings and reciting these notes at the new meetings. The Treasurer of the club will be responsible for financial matters, most notably those that involve the club’s literary magazine. Finally, all general members or officers of the club will be able to introduce ideas or general concepts to the specific project the group is focusing on. The emphasis on intellectual equality is a major consideration within the group. Many organized group e nvironments form and allow a select number of voices to dominate the discussion. Rather than allowing such forms of group dominance, the

Generation Y and leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Generation Y and leadership - Assignment Example The challenges are also due to the fact that the earlier generation, the ‘x’ers are also in the office floor making it a management conundrum. The challenge of managing this mutigenerational workforce would be considered quaint when one considers the natural progression this situation leads to be an era where millennials will be called to lead other millennials. Aliases for this generation are not in short supply. They could also be referred to as the â€Å"entitlement kids† for the strong sense of expectation they posses. â€Å"†¦If there is one overriding perception of the millennial generation, it's that these young people have great -- and sometimes outlandish – expectations† (Aslop, 2008). What would leadership look when â€Å"entitlement kids† lead â€Å"entitlement kids†? Would it be a positive development or similar to the new tribal warfare we see in the world, outside the corporate curtain wall? One of the best ways to un derstand the millennials is to contrast them with the prior generation ‘x’. Those born in the 1960’s and 1970’s up to 1982 are referred to as the generation ‘x’. They are refereed to as a generation that â€Å"†¦ has always signified a group of young people, seemingly without identity, who face an uncertain, ill-defined (and perhaps hostile) future.†(Ulrich, 2003). ... Sociologists will point to this as a definitive belief in leadership principles by believing in being led. The underlying reasons for this according to Hershatter derived from groundbreaking research done in ‘The History of America's Future 1584 to 2069’ (Strauss et al. 1992) is that â€Å"A lot of the things that people perceived as problematic outcomes as the result of how Gen ‘X’ers were raised – latch key kids, lots of autonomy, lots of freedom, not a lot of attention to their care and well being – was completely reversed with the Millennials†. They were raised with positive reinforcement. Confident in them selves it was insufficient for them to know what had to be done? Brought up with Pokemon, Star Wars and The Lord of The Rings film trilogy they needed to know why it had to be done? Cell phones, Mp3’s, and game portals were their toys making them addicted to technology. Fostered by social media and keypad savvy they have ma naged to be more connected with their parents than generations before them as they were in control of that connectivity. Trust has been inbred them. Gaining knowledge is less of a priority than knowing the sources of knowledge. They have had to learn to trust sources of knowledge. Millennials have turned the perception that generation-to-generation youth culture self degrades. They are changing corporate culture by their liking for immediate feedback, the hunger for positive reinforcement, and the sensitivity to relationships. The above-mentioned factors will cause corporate structures to be flatter to facilitate the required speed of communication and generation ‘Y’ has the

Galileos Sense Experience Essay Example for Free

Galileos Sense Experience Essay How much can our senses truthfully tell us about the world around us? A person’s five senses provide us with observational information that help us day after day. According to Galileo Galilei, sense experience is misleading in understanding how the world works. In his book On The World Systems, Galileo expresses his view on the senses through the character Salviati, who is introduced by the translator, Finocchiaro, as â€Å"an expert who takes the Copernican side† (Finocchiaro, 4). Salviati is able to prove, even with opposition from the Aristotelian named Simplicio, that sense experience is unreliable in Galileo’s scientific method on the relativity of motion. On the second day of their debate, Simplicio tries to refute the Copernican view that the senses are deceptive. Simplicio states that â€Å"according to the view of all philosophical schools, this criterion requires that the senses and experience be our guides in philosophizing† (Finocchiaro, 212). In response to this, Salviati asks Simplicio to think of a stone falling from a tower and asks him to state how he perceives the motion. Simplicio responds that he â€Å"notices its descent in relation to the tower, for I now see it next to this mark on the tower, then a little below that, and so on until I perceive it land on the ground† (Finocchiaro 213). They come up with the conclusion that, since their eyes would move for a falling rock, it is indeed in motion, while a still rock would not be in motion because they would never have to move their eyes. In this case, their senses show them what is truly happening. However, Simplicio has a different situation to address. To present a more difficult scenario than the last, Salviati tells Simplicio to imagine being on a moving ship and to fix his eyes on the tip of the sail. Simplicio agrees with Salviati that, while he is on the ship, his eyes remain fixed on the tip of the sail â€Å"regardless of any motion by the ship† (Finocchiaro, 214). According to Simplicio’s senses, the tip of the sail is in no motion. Since it has already been stated that the ship is moving, Simplicio’s senses are deceiving him greatly. Salviati explains this phenomenon by telling Simplicio that â€Å"this happens because the motion transmitted by the ship to the sail yard is also transmitted to you and your eyes, so that you need not move them at all in order to keep aiming at the tip of the sail yard; consequently, it appears motionless to you† (Finocchiaro, 214). Thus, the senses are confusing. You can compare this idea to the Earth itself. Although when we are on the Earth our senses make it appear to be fixed and immovable, in relation to other bodies in the universe, the Earth is moving. Salviati begins to look at the greater picture of the universe. He first suggests other ways Salviati could figure out that the ship is in motion such as looking at trees and buildings on the shore but says â€Å"to convince yourself of the earth’s motion by means of such an observation, I would say you should look at the stars which, because of [the observation], appear to move in the opposite direction† (Finocchiaro 218). Salviati believes that looking at the stars is essential in understanding that the Earth moves. The stars appear to us to move but really the Earth’s motion is moving on its axis. Sagredo, who has been quiet most of the debate, suggests the moon as another similar phenomenon to the ones discussed. Sagredo wisely states that â€Å"those who are walking on a street at night, it looks as if they are being followed by the moon at a pace equal to theirs†¦this is an appearance that very obviously would deceive the sense of sight† (Finocchiaro 219). Although it appears the moon is walking next to us at night, it is in it’s own motion around the Earth. The sense of sight is just as deceiving when viewing celestial bodies. In the book, On The World Systems Galileo proves to us that our senses are one of the most unreliable components in observation. He shows us that we need to be careful with our observations whether they consist of rocks, ships, or stars. In his closing statement about relativity of motion and the senses, Salviati concludes that â€Å"we ought to be more careful and less confident in regard to what at first sight is presented to us by our senses, and that they can easily deceive us† (Finocchiaro 218). Sense experience is a faulty part of Galileo’s scientific method. Any inconsistency in sense experience can create inaccurate hypotheses about experiments and observations. Galileo uses On The World Systems to refute the Aristotelian view that the senses are our primary resources in philosophizing. In fact, our senses tell us very little about philosophy at all.

History and Development of Mobile Technology

History and Development of Mobile Technology Mobile Technology Abstract The following report reviews an in-depth analysis of mobile technology over the years. Mobile phones enables communication of voice, images, text and video. The important fact is that these could be shared with anyone in any corner of the world at the demand of the user. Communication is no longer the only service mobile technology offers. It offers a wide range of services such as access to the World Wide Web, view television and movies, interact with GPS, play games and read and respond to barcode and augmented reality messages. To fully comprehend the topic mobile technology the history of it plays a major role. From the technical perspective, the history of mobile technologies originated with the limited use of radio frequencies; where the ability to establish simultaneous two-way communication (full duplex) was considered a technological feat. From the social perspective, mobile technologies began as a rare device used by limited personnel who needed to communicate to others in real time emergencies. From the user perspective, the history of mobile technologies began with the use of two way radios and evolved to the current state of prolific smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Popularity of the technology sky rocketed with the invention of smart phones. Today there are more people using mobile phones that a personal computer. The future of the mobile technology unravels in front of our very eyes each passing hour. Introduction The Latin term mobile means ability to move or portable. Therefore mobile technology means, technology that is portable. Mobile devices enables access to services like (Naismith et al., 2004:36). Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) Bluetooth third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), global system for mobile communications (GSM) and general packet radio service (GPRS) data services dial-up services data networking services using modems and telephone lines virtual private networks secure access to a private network Mobile technology has gone a long journey from a simple two way pager to a device that fits in your pocket which can be used as a substitute for a computer (Naismith et al., 2004:36). 1.1 History 1G 2G 3G 4G Year Early 80s 1991 2001 2010 Standards AMPS, NMT,TACS D-AMPS,GSM/GPRS, cdma One CDMA2000/ EV-DO, WCDMA/HSPA+,TD-SCDMA LTE. LTE Advanced Technology Analog Digital Digital Digital Bandwidth Narrow Band Broad Band Broad Band Data Rate Up to 2 Mbit/s xDSL-like experience Mobile 3G and 4G technologies continue to evolve to deliver faster and better mobile broadband experiences (Nordin et al., 2010:132). 2. Various devices which use mobile technology laptop and netbook computers tablet devices palmtop computers or PDAs Mobile phones and smart phones (Quinn, 2011:18). 3. The popularity of mobile devices According to a study done by the US consumers use mobile technology for the following Call SMS Mobile Web Apps Social networking ( Quinn, 2011:18). The quantity of individuals who utilize portable advances has developed such a great amount in the previous decade that there are presently a greater number of individuals utilizing mobile innovations than there are individuals utilizing PCs all through the world there are an incredible number of cell phones in current usage. These incorporate cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, game devices, handhelds, tablets and laptops (Nordin et al., 2010:132). The astonishing fame of cell phones is shown by the way that by April 2012 more than 60 million iPads had been sold According to the CIA World Fact Book (South Africa Communications, 2012) .Worldwide sales of Smartphones increased 24 percent to 172.4 million units in 2009 according to Gartner, Inc. Popularity continues to grow because it provides services like emergency notification systems, customer service, customer payments, inventory management, employee dispatching, travel directions and non-profit fundraising. For an example, When the Red Cross recently used Mobile to raise funds for Haiti almost $5 million was raised in less than 48 hours- all via Mobile (Valk, Rashid Elder, 2010). 4. Mobile devices and interactivity There are four sorts of intelligence: up close and personal intuitiveness, PC intervened intelligence, human-PC intelligence, and synchronous gathering intelligence. Intuitiveness helps understudies to create ideas and place them in their right setting. This thusly helps understudies to build up their very own intellectual structures. Intelligence likewise give understudies chances to make their own learning condition. This, thus, has a noteworthy effect on their learning since it brings about more dynamic learning and gives valuable input to the address (vant Hooft, Brown-Martin Swan, 2008). 5.Advantages and disadvantages ÂÂ  Advantages Mobile computing can improve the customer service Powerful solutions can link directly. Supports for more flexible working practices by providing customer friendly services (Wagner, 2005:44). DisadvantagesÂÂ   Cost required to set up the equipments and training is high Cyber security system is needed to ensure the safety of imported data from getting exposed to unauthorized people via mobile devices (Wagner, 2005:44). 6.Ongoing Research on mobile technology M2M networking for IoT-based Intelligent Environments efforts within this context focus on the interconnection of large numbers of such heterogeneous smart objects, enabling the communication provision for applications spanning from Intelligent Transportation Systems to Intelligent Building Management. This is performed through the usage of cognitive radio inspired M2M communications(Quinn, 2011:18). Real-Time Monitoring of Available Bandwidth Optimization Concepts for Capacity Analysis of Wireless Communications The research develops novel optimization concepts, models, and mathematical programming algorithms for capacity analysis problems in wireless networks. Solving these problems generate insights and understanding going beyond the state-of-the-art of performance analysis of wireless communications (Quinn, 2011:18). Generating Road Traffic Information from Cellular Networks(Quinn, 2011:18) 7. Future Analysis Future of the technology could go from faster transfer speeds to the ability to communicate a relative who lives in a newly found planet. Some recent expected upgrades include- Flexible mobile devices, wearable technology, and mobile wallets completely replacing notes and coins, 5G networks and devices which are capable of interpreting ones thoughts. It is not strange to predict that one day when a new born is born the first thing the doctors would do will be implementing a mobile device so small into their bodies enabling communication and access to information in ways which we cannot imagine (Wagner, 2005:44). Electro vibration technology will change the mobile touchscreen experience dramatically. You will be able to feel different kinds of texture. This advancement can also lead to socially beneficial trends. For instance, blind people can use it for Braille, and access smartphones like everybody else. Running out of battery power is one of the most persistent and frequent complaints of most smartphone users. The availability of the ultra-rapid charger that comes with an advanced battery technology that will allow you to charge your phone completely in just 30 seconds (vant Hooft, Brown-Martin Swan, 2008). 8. Conclusion As stated in the report above mobile technology has evolved from where it was first invented, up to date. It will obliviously continue to expand the horizons and touch human lives. Mobile technology which was foreign to many has now become an essential part in life. It will further help people to break barriers and explore the world and quite possibly the world beyond our world. Mobile technology has its advantages and disadvantages towards the society. It is worth noting that sufficient precautions should be placed in order to manage the misuse of the technology. This could be done through proper education and guidance in regard to this technology. Proper practice should always be promotedÂÂ   (Naismith et al., 2004:36). Encouragement on further research to develop the technology should be promoted. Universities and individuals interested in that matter should have easier ways to access funds for their researches. 9.References NAISMITH, L., LONSDALE, P., VAVOULA, G. SHARPLES, M. 2004. Literatureview in mobile technologies and learning. [Online] Available from: http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/publications-reports-articles/literature reviews/Literature-Review203 [Accessed 15 October 2009]:1-47. NORDIN, N., EMBI, M.A. YUNUS, M.M. 2010. Mobile Learning framework for lifelong learning. Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences, 7(C):130-138. QUINN, C. 2011. Designing mLearning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. South Africa Communications 2012.ÂÂ   [Online] (Updated 6 March 2012) Available from: http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/south_africa/south_africa_communications.h tml [Accessed 25 June 2012]. VALK, J-H., RASHID, A.T. ELDER, L. 2010. Using mobile phones to improve educational outcomes: An analysis of evidence from Asia. The International review of research in open and distance learning. [Online] Available from: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/794/1487 [Accessed 13 November 2011]. VANT HOOFT, M., BROWN-MARTIN, G. SWAN, K. 2008. Anywhere, anytime learning using highly mobile devices. [Online] In: Tomei, L.A. Encyclopedia of information technology curriculum integration. Available from: http://www.books24x7.com/book/id_18674/viewer.asp?bookid=18674chunkid=0 907360816 [Accessed 16 December 2010]. WAGNER, E.D. 2005. Enabling mobile learning. EDUCAUSE Review, 40(3):42 44.

A Cognitive Model of New Data on Human Problem Solving Essay -- Psycho

A Cognitive Model of New Data on Human Problem Solving I. Project Description Cognitive modeling is the creation of models which resemble and explain the way in which humans do things. What makes them so interesting to me is the process though which cognitive scientists go in order to create these models. Cognitive scientists often use a generative theory in creating such models. A generative theory is a theory that explains a set of empirical observations by actually generating them (as opposed to just summarizing them or characterizing them with equations or logic). Thus, a generative theory has to be executable, like a computer program or a "recipe". The system on which I'm basing my work is named Cascade (VenLehn, Jones & Chi, 1991). Cascade was originally developed to explain the cognitive mechanisms involved in the self-explanation effect (Chi et al., 1989; Fergusson-Hessler & de Jong, 1990; Pirolli & Bielaczyc, 1989). Simplifying a bit, the effect shows that people learn more effectively by studying examples when they are careful to explain to themselves as many steps of the example as they can. Students who do not carefully explain worked out example steps do not perform as well on subsequent problems. Cascade models the potential learning mechanisms that cause this effect. I now wish to apply the Cascade model to a new problem domain and a new set of psychological data. Originally, Cascade was written to solve problems in Newtonian physics, the domain used in Chi et al.'s study. Since Cascade was first created additional psychological research has been done in other problem domains. Due to the versatility of Cascade, applying the Cascade model to other problem domains would be beneficial. In the fall of 2000 I... ...nnual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972). Human Problem Solving. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc. Pirolli, P., & Bielaczyc, K. (1989). Empirical analyses of self-explanation and transfer in learning to program. In G. M. Olson & E. E. Smith (Eds.), Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 450-457). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Renkl, A., Atkinson, R. K., & Maier, U. H. (2000). From studying examples to solving problems: Fading worked-out solution steps helps learning. In L. R. Gleitman & A. K. Joshi (Eds.), Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 393-398). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. VanLehn, K., Jones, R. M., & Chi, M. T. H. (1991). A model of the self-explanation effect. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 2, 1-59.