Pretests Effective Tools to Target Instruction

Pretests Effective Tools to Target Instruction At every grade level, and in every discipline, teachers need to know what their students know and can do before beginning a new unit of study. One way to make this determination is to use a pretest that  assesses student proficiency in the skill(s) that will be taught in a unit.   The design of that effective  pretest can be  developed using a process of backwards  design  that was popularized by educators  Grant Wiggins  and  Jay McTighe  in their 1990 book  Understanding by Design.  The book detailed the idea of  backwards design  which is  defined in the Glossary of Education Reform: Backward design begins with the objectives of a unit or course- what students are expected to learn and be able to do- and then proceeds backward to create lessons that achieve those desired goals.​ Wiggins and McTigue argued that lesson plans  that target student weaknesses  are those which begin with the final  assessment  in mind.  Therefore, before teaching, teachers should carefully review the results, the data, from a pretest. In reviewing the pretest data, a teacher will be able to decide how to spend time in the classroom in teaching a skill set, because there is no reason to spend classroom time on a skill set that students have already mastered. Pretests allow teachers to see the degrees of proficiency students have with the material. There may be different standards of measuring proficiency such as:  below basic, basic, approaching mastery, mastery. Each of these measurements can be converted to a grade (numerical) or grade level standard.   Take, for example, the use of a geography pretest to assess how well students understand the concepts of latitude and longitude. If all students know how to use these concepts in identifying locations (mastery), then the teacher can skip that lesson. If a few students are still unfamiliar with longitude and latitude, a teacher can individualize instruction to bring those students up to speed. If the majority of students, however, are struggling with locating geographic elements using these ideas, then the teacher can continue with the lesson on longitude and latitude. Key Advantages of Pretests Pretests help measure student learning over a period of time. The pretest marks a students level of understanding before instruction while a final assessment or post-test measures student learning. A comparison of pre- and post-tests can  provide a teacher with an opportunity to track student growth in one class or over several years. For example, a  pretest  in linear equations in algebra can be used to see how well one group of students have learned compared to other students in different classes or different school years.Pretests give students a preview of what will be expected during the unit. This pretest is often a students first exposure to key terms and concepts, and the more frequent the exposure, the more likely students will retain the information. For example, a pretest in botany may be filled with terms such as hybrid, stamen, and photosynthesis.  Pretests can be used diagnostically to determine if there are additional gaps in student learning. There may be quest ions connected to the topic that can be a partial review. The results of a pretest may help generate ideas for a future lesson. Depending on the way the pretests are created, teachers might find knowledge gaps that they did not expect. Armed with this knowledge they can make changes to lessons to include further instruction and review. Pretests can be used to measure the effectiveness of the curriculum. Changes in the curriculum may be measured over time using student assessment results on pretests.   Problems with Pretests There is always a concern about the amount and the frequency of testing of students since testing can take time away from instruction. Consider that a pretest generally does not require prior knowledge which means it is not time sensitive. When a pretest is given at the beginning of the unit, and the post-test is given at the end of a unit, the timing can mean a student will need to take two tests back-to-back. One way to avoid this complication of extended testing times is to give a pretest for quarter two/or trimester two in the middle of quarter one/or trimester one.  Teachers should be cautioned that a poorly written pretest will not provide the information necessary for targeted instruction. Spending time creating an effective pretest can improve instruction by recognizing areas of student strengths and targeting  areas of student weaknesses. Creating Pretests Teachers writing  pretests  should always remember their purpose. Since pretests  can be used for comparison to post-tests, they should both similar in format. The same procedures should be used in delivering the post-test as were used in the pretest. For example, if a passage was read aloud in the pretest, then a  passage should be read during the post-test. The passage and questions, however, should not be the same. Ultimately a well-designed pretest will mirror the design and concepts of the final assessment in part and can reveal many gems to the savvy teacher. Pretests should also be reviewed as to their effectiveness in improving instruction. Teacher feedback is critical to the development of good pretests  and is an excellent way for teachers to grow in their field. By providing kids with pretests and using that information wisely, teachers can target students with more individualized instruction- and not teach what students already know.

3 Types of Errors Involving the Correlative Conjunction Either

3 Types of Errors Involving the Correlative Conjunction Either 3 Types of Errors Involving the Correlative Conjunction â€Å"Either† 3 Types of Errors Involving the Correlative Conjunction â€Å"Either† By Mark Nichol When either and or are employed in a sentence to frame two alternatives, the correlative conjunction either is often misplaced, usually rendering the sentence more or less comprehensible but potentially introducing confusion. For each of the examples below, a discussion explains the problem, and a revision provides a solution. 1. She’s either criticized for being too fat or too thin. In this type of sentence, placing either before a verb that precedes two alternatives implies that the verb applies only to the first alternative and that a corresponding verb will appear before the second one, but that does not occur. To render such a sentence correctly, relocate the correlative conjunction to follow the verb, so that both alternatives can share it: â€Å"She’s criticized for being either too fat or too thin.† 2. Teachers would either be paid extra to supervise the sessions, or nonteaching staff would be employed.† This sentence does not pertain to two choices involving teachers, so the conjunction must precede, rather than follow, the subject so that it applies to the first alternative and or introduces the second one: â€Å"Either teachers would be paid extra to supervise the sessions, or nonteaching staff would be employed.† 3. We have seen many firms in which the manager reported either to the general counsel or a business leader. In this case, the sentence would be correct only if a complementary to preceded the phrase â€Å"a business leader.† Otherwise, transpose either and to so that the alternative phrases can share the single instance of to: â€Å"We have seen many firms in which the manager reported to either the general counsel or a business leader.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Farther vs. FurtherTime Words: Era, Epoch, and EonPeople vs. Persons

Response to 4 students postings with 60 words and 2 references for Coursework - 2

Response to 4 students postings with 60 words and 2 references for each response - Coursework Example The writer presents his findings from an approach whereby he looks at how and why both validity and reliability can be determined by using basic tests and scales. Moreover, the combination of more than one scale at a time is highlighted (OConnor, 2011). This was an important aspect for the writer to have covered because clears researcher who may have some doubts with introducing new forms of scales with an existing scale they may be dealing with from their doubts (Gardener, 2009). An important perspective of the writer’s work has to do with the fact that he stated off by taking more about the advantages of using scales. In this, he explains that scales are used to â€Å"resolve the complexity inherent in people’s behavior† (Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 2008, pp.422-424). By this, researchers get a first hand information as to the need for them to settle for one form of scale or the other. The writer could however elaborate more on the weaknesses of using specific scales so that researchers can be on the lookout for these weaknesses and address them appropriately in their research processes (Gardener, 2009, p. 232). Much of the focus on the measurement of the validity with the use of scales was narrowed to the population that the researcher has to deal with. In this, the writer emphasized that the population is the accessible group of people that the researcher would have to be dealing with (Experiment Resource, 2011). By this, other researchers are offered an insight into how well to manipulate their populations to ensure that they achieve reliability and validity for each kind of scale that they choose (Gardener, 2009, p.

Any topic that relates to confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, or Research Paper

Any topic that relates to confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, or regression - Research Paper Example For this purpose, researchers chose optometric practice and business involved in it. In relation to the main objective of the research, it also determines the level of significance for each of the independent variable identified on customer loyalty. Finally, it put forth certain recommendations for improving the influence of independent variables on customer loyalty in optometry practice. Hypotheses Tested The research paper set out three research hypotheses to be tested out by quantitative testing of survey data collected in the study. â€Å"HA1:   There is a relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty within an optometric practice. HA2:   There is a relationship between trust and customer loyalty within an optometric practice. HA3:   There is a relationship between commitment and customer loyalty within an optometric practice† (van Vuuren, Roberts-Lombard and van Tonder 87). Population The targeted population for the study comprised of patients of a n optometry practice. Only those patients are included in the population who have visited the undisclosed optometry practice two or more times in the last six years. Variable Measured There are three independent variables including customer satisfaction, trust, and commitment. ... One of the types of exploratory study is Experience Survey (Churchill and Iacobucci), which has been used in the selected research study. A detailed survey has been conducted to collected responses from patients of optometry practices. Sampling and Sample Size The study makes use of non-probability sampling method along with convenience sampling technique. Non-probability sampling method involves selection of respondents from a relatively larger population. (Babbie 199). The study also makes use of convenience sampling technique, which requires the surveyor to simply request respondents to participate in the survey and it is their own will to either accept or reject the request. The survey in the study is conducted at the premises of optometry practice chosen for this purpose. Patients visiting optometry practice were requested to participate in the survey if they met the initial criteria of selecting the population. The survey was concluded with 357 questionnaires completed by patie nts during 8 weeks. (2) Statistical Methods The study is quantitative in nature, which uses statistical methods for analyzing data collected from the structured survey questionnaire implemented in the study. The methods used in the study include descriptive statistics, which determined the frequency of allowed responses for each Likert Scale based statement. Likert Scale allows respondents to choose their responses from a selection of designated responses allowed to them by the researcher. In the chosen study, five point Likert Scale has been used (Monette, Sullivan and DeJong). The study performs calculation of Cronbach Alpha for assessing the reliability of responses. Furthermore, the study also

60s America Through Images Essay Example for Free

60s America Through Images Essay The 1960s proved a tumultuous time for the United States in how there were so many historical developments in the mere space of a decade. Throughout the 60s Americans experienced and witnessed many events such as war, civil rights campaigns and protests, assassinations, technological developments and the emergence of a popular culture and counterculture. Photography came to the fore at the start of the 20th century and a huge emphasis was put on the visual to experience culture. The historical developments of the 60s can be seen clearly through the visual culture as they portray the historical events of the time through the medium of imagery. With the growing popularization of television, imagery could be rapidly distributed to each home and this is one of the main reasons that visual culture had such a profound effect on those who witnessed the events portrayed. â€Å"By the end of the decade 90% of Americans had access to television sets† this staggering amount of led to a high level of influence though reception of imagery. For instance when we look at the portrayal of the typical American family one would often see an image of a close-knit family sitting together watching television. In the space of a decade from the 1950s television was incorporated in the American family (see fig. 1. ). Pictures such as this defined the family of the late 50s early 60s and incorporated the television into American families. With the television being a vital part of family life there was a constant flow of imagery available for the family to view. We can clearly see through images such as this that the US population began to regularly consume what the television provided. The photograph captures the importance television as a family pastime and how it gradually became the main focus of family time. Therefore we can see that the visual culture through the media such as television, newspapers and the images they provided to the population had a serious impact on historical developments of the 1960s. Information was constantly received by the population usually alongside images of events and the visual culture affected the historical developments of the 60s in how it influenced reactions to events. It is also evident that visual culture heavily influenced the 1960s due to the amount of images and videos from the time that are still available for viewing today. Figure 1. Everett F. Baumgardner. Family watching Television. 1958. Photograph. Nation Archives and Records of Administration. http://web. archive. org/web/20071226081329/teachpol. tcnj. edu/amer_pol_hist/thu mbnail427. htm One of the most important events to happen in the 1960s which greatly affected the US was its part of was the Vietnamese War. The war had a vital part in the 60s decade as it spanned through the whole of the 60s up until 1975. The war was the first of its kind as it was reported in great detail through television and newspapers. Essentially the Vietnam War and visual culture of the time went hand in hand as the relationship between the two was constant throughout the 60s. For over a decade people could get a visual insight into the war which had never been available before and many believe this is one of the main reasons that the US lost the war. President Lyndon seen this and argued that â€Å"if the previous wars had been televised, the United States would not have preserved in fighting them. Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman would have lost support for their policies even as he lost support for his, forcing the abandonment of his campaign for his re-election. † It was due to the constant visual bombardment of the ugly realities of war on the US people that turned them against the war and forced many to protest the war (fig. 2 and fig. 3). Figure 2. Horst Faas. A father holds the body of a child. 1964. Photograph. Available at Photographer Collection: Horst Faas http://blogs. denverpost. com/captured/2012/05/15/photographer-collection-horst-faas-vietnam/5689/ . Figure3. Horst Faas. Lt. Col. George Eyster of Florida. 1966. Photograph. Available at Photographer Collection: Horst Faas http://blogs. denverpost. com/captured/2012/05/15/photographer-collection-horst-faas-vietnam/5689/ Photographers such as Horst Fass gained their reputation for showing the horrors of the Vietnamese war through their photographs. Faas captured some of the most controversial photographs that showed the suffering of both sides of the war. When we look at these photos we can see the influence of the Vietnamese War on the visual culture of the United States. Pictures such as these were received on a daily basis and they dominated the decade visually becoming some of the most well known images from the 60s and the war itself. The graphic pictures show the ugly side of the Vietnamese War and photographs such as the father clutching his daughter’s body in front of soldiers dealt with the death of civilians while the photo of injured soldiers showed frailty of US troops. At the time these photographs seen showed the truth about the war and Fass would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize for his work in Vietnam. When we look these images it is clear that both reflect on the dark chaos of the war and the ugly realities which the civilian population had never seen before. The visual culture greatly affected the population’s war morale as it provided frail images of US soldiers either dead or wounded something which was not shown in previous wars. The reporting of the Second World War and the Korean War was different in that it was filtered with most hearing reports through radio broadcasts and newspapers which were controlled by the government. By the 60s there had been major developments in media reporting in that they had become more liberated. By the 60s multiple channels were emerging with their own news reporters providing multiple stories and recounts of different parts of the war. Therefore there was a vast increase in the amount of broadcasts and images being sent into the American homes greatly influencing a majority of the population. With photographers such as Faas working in Vietnam and capturing images showing innocent civilians being killed the United States population saw an unseen side to its army throughout the Vietnamese war as the army was shown in a very negative view. It can clearly be seen that photographers such as Faas greatly influenced the visual culture of the US throughout the 60s and these images had a significant impact in historical developments leading to the war effort becoming unpopular and encouraging anti war efforts. Figure 4. Ron Haeberle. My Lai Massacre. 1968. Photograph. Available at Life Magazine. Vol. 67. No. 23 . The negative view of the US army was perhaps most emphasised in the My Lai massacre in 1968. Throughout past wars the US army was seen as a symbol of justice and a manifestation of the good in that they were fighting to save the world but with the emergence of images and reports of events such as the Mai Lai Massacre there morality and ethics were questioned. Some even compared the US army to the Germans of World War Two in their way of psychologically thinking. â€Å"Two researchers concluded that Americans were deflecting the responsibility with the same defence mechanism the Germans used to rationalize the Holocaust. † The photography which emerged from the massacre by Ron Haeberle shocked the world and spurred many of the US into protesting against the war. (Fig4. Here we can clearly see why many considered comparing the US army’s actions to that of the German holocaust, the brutality and graphic detail which Haeberle’s photos captured had never been so widely distributed before. The terror on the faces or the sheer number of bodies appearing in some of the images had not been captured on camera before and these pictures were seen by thousands when they were published in magazines such as Life and greatly affected the visual culture intake of the American population. These particular photos had a huge influence on historical developments later in the war such as the protests and the investigations into what happened in the war. From looking at images such as photographs taken from the 1960s we can clearly see that the Vietnam had a huge influence on visual culture at the time and visual culture that would later emerge in the 70s. This was due to the fact that the war took up so many aspects of American life as it was a constant through the entire decade of the 60s. Regular exposure to the ugly realities of battle is thought to have turned the public against the war, forcing withdrawal of American troops and leaving the way clear for eventual Communist victory. †The visual culture was hugely influenced by the Vietnam War in the 60s it was mostly through photography and videos shown to the public by the media but later it influenced visual culture through art such as sculpture and painting. After the war ended in 1975 countless memorials were erected and many artists were inspired by the photographs this is evident in the sculpture The Three Soldiers Memorial sculpted in 1984 by Frederick Hart displayed in Washington. From looking at the Vietnam War throughout the 60s it is evident that it influenced the future of the visual culture as much as the visual culture influenced the developments of the war. The 60s decade can be defined as a decade of social revolution within the US. Many different causes gained strength and a massive following through their protests to further their cause. During this decade many protested for different reasons such as anti-war campaigners and those looking for the equal rights. There were movements for many different causes such as the African American civil rights movement, Hispanic and Chicano movement and the Gay Rights movement. For example with the Vietnamese War came protests against the war throughout the 60s. Those who were influenced by the atrocities shown in reports and images sent from Vietnam protested avidly throughout the 60s hence we can say the visual culture of the US had a great influence on the historical developments of the 60s, However although in the 60s protesting became very popular it was introduced through the Civil Rights movements in the late fifties early 60s and its idea of peaceful protesting. The 60s became a time associated with protest due to the vast amounts of protests staged for different reasons throughout the 60s. One of the major protest movements of the 60s was the Civil Rights Movement. These protests initially started in the late 50s but peaked in the 60s and were a catalyst of many other protests in the 60s. Those who protested for civil rights did so in a peaceful way and this greatly influenced the other protests such as the anti-war protests. Once again we can see that the visual culture through the medium of photography greatly influenced the development of these protests. Once again the population of the US was provided with images shocking to behold. The most influential case is perhaps the protest in Birmingham Alabama in 196 where the police reacted with unneeded violence. â€Å"Many argue that the dramatic clashes between nonviolent civil rights demonstrators and southern law enforcement in Birmingham and Selma were the principle impetus behind the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, respectively. † Photographers of the time captured the violence of the police force and once again widely distributed and impacted on the community causing widespread support for the movement. When we look at what photographers such as Bill Hudson and Bob Adelman captured in their photographs we can see why the visual culture had such an impact on the historical developments regarding the Civil Rights Movement (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). The image of the youth being attacked by the police dog is very harrowing and controversial, through this image the US seen the severity of racism and its unneeded violence. This photo became a huge part of the visuality of the Civil Rights Campaign’s attempt to gain support from the rest of the US population due to the severity of the photo and how controversial it was. Meanwhile Hudson’s photo of the protestors grouping together to take cover from water cannons can be seen as a symbol of unification of the protestors against the oppression of the police force and the city of Birmingham. There are countless images such as these two that were taken from the Birmingham Campaign This protest was a rally point for the Civil Rights Campaign and the images taken from Birmingham united and encouraged other people to protest in the south. The visual culture greatly influenced the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement as the Birmingham protest was captured in photography and gave the rest of the US an insight into what was happening in the South. These images had a significant impact on 1960s America and provided a major boost for the campaign as it received national attention leading to desegregation and equal opportunity for the coloured population. This protest was a rally point for the Civil Rights Campaign and the images taken from Birmingham united and encouraged other coloured people to protest in the south. The visual culture greatly influenced the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement as the Birmingham protest was captured through the photographers and gave the rest of the US an insight into what was happening in the South. These images had a significant impact on 1960s America and provided a major boost for the campaign as it received national attention leading to the gradual desegregation of the US and eventual equal opportunity for the coloured population. Figure 5. Bill Hudson. Birmingham Protest. 1963. Photograph. Available at Iconic photos http://iconicphotos. wordpress. om/2010/06/26/birmingham/. Figure6. Bob Adelman. Ingram Park Birmingham. 1963. Photograph. Available at J. Paul Getty Museum. http://www. getty. edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails? artobj=258562 . The Civil Rights Movement provided an example of peaceful protest which became a popular way of protesting throughout the 60s. The social group which held a majority of the protests at the time were third level students . â€Å"From the civil rights demonstrations of the early sixties, students have turned to protest both the war in Vietnam and the policies of their schools. It is no exaggeration to give college students credit for making Vietnam a national issue. †They were influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and based their protests on the same ideology in peaceful protests. The 60s were a time of constant protest for students. The issues of the student protest movements range from racial discrimination, the war on poverty, and the war in Vietnam, to particular policies of the universities. However it was the anti- war protests that spurred the most conflict between the students and the authorities. The visual culture made impressions in developing the protests through the use of printing presses as seeing photos such as Faas’ or Adelman’s spurred the student bodies into action. With the emergence of the My Lai massacre and other such atrocities protests escalated to a climax at the end of the 60s with the Columbia University protests of 1968. Students discovered that the university was secretly affiliated with the Department of Defence’s weapon research and openly protested this affiliation with occupying university buildings and this eventually led to their violent removal. However it was this violence by the authorities that increased support for the protestors. â€Å"In his study of the Columbia Crisis in the spring of 1968, Barton (1968) found that the use of excessive police force against demonstrators had the effect of increasing the sympathy of faculty and students for the tactics (a sit-in and a general strike) employed by the demonstrators. † This violence recorded through the news and photographs once again captivated the US and encouraged many to take part in the protests (Fig. 7). The imagery taken from the by photographers such as Morris captured the harsh measures the authorities and when these pictures were published in newspapers and magazines people began to empathize with the protestors. It is evident in each movement that the media greatly influenced the historical developments through imagery such as photography. Through photography and the media it can be said that the visual culture impacted the outcome of many movements such as the African-American civil rights movements, the anti-war protests and the gradual end of the war. Figure 7. Larry C. Morris. Police forcing Columbia Students out. 968. Photograph. Available at The New York Times. Imagery was a huge part of protests throughout the 60s through photographs of the events but other visuals emerged with the protestor’s use of posters. With the gradual growth of homemade printing presses simple yet colourful posters began to emerge at protests. At protests there was a constant bombardment of simple yet very controversial. The poster entitled ‘it’s the real thing for S. E. Asia’ was simple, eye catching and precise the bright colour of the posters caught bystander’s eyes and presented its argument outwardly in the face of the public (Figure 8. . Posters such as the ‘it’s the real thing for S. E Asia’ were a common site at protests against Vietnam and mocked capitalism and the military tactics that were employed during the time. These protests were against the stupidity and brutality of the war emerged in the early 60s with controversial posters such as this one becoming a more common sight. Anti-war protests provided the majority of the controversial posters as they attempted to highlight the problems with the war. By nature these posters

Logging the Rainforest :: science

Logging the Rainforest A recipe for local and global disaster Industrial logging is the main cause of forest loss throughout the tropics. It is the starting point of a process leading to the forests' final destruction and substitution by agricultural crops, cattle raising or monoculture tree plantations. These are well known facts supported by more than sufficient evidence. Even more importantly, industrial logging destroys the livelihoods of forest and forest-dependent peoples who, deprived of the resources they depend on, become poor. Contrary to the official discourse, logging does not lead to development; it results in impoverishment and social disintegration. Women are disproportionately affected by logging activities, which provide them with no employment opportunities while depleting the resources they traditionally use and manage. In tropical countries, the process begins with the violation of the territorial rights of indigenous peoples and other traditional communities, who are the righteous owners of the forest. As most people confronted with such situation would, they frequently resist the entry of logging companies to their territories, which in turn usually results in state repression to protect the companies' legal "rights". Forest destruction, human rights abuses, poverty creation is the local part of the equation. On the other side there is wealth creation for transnationals and local elites and an abundant supply of cheap --though very valuable-- raw material to provide rich consumers with elegant toilet seats, sumptuous coffins and other equally "important" symbols of wealth. Some actors are crucial to make logging and end-consumers meet, among which the World Bank, the Inter American, African and Asian Development Banks and the International Monetary Fund. The banks provide the necessary funding for the road infrastructure needed to access the forest, while the IMF --as well as the banks-- force tropical countries into increasing natural resources' exports in order to ensure external debt payments. Being forests one of the main resources available, they are at the front line of exports and are later substituted by other export oriented crops grown in place of the forest. Another very powerful player has now been added to ensure that transnational corporations make wood flow to the consumer markets: the World Trade Organization. The whole process leading to forest destruction is clearly at odds with the international community's commitments to protect biodiversity and to counter climate change and desertification, agreed upon in three legally-binding conventions. At the same time, it also violates human rights commitments, including the protection of indigenous peoples' rights, and the commitments agreed upon at the 1995 Social Summit and the 1995 Conference on Women.

Philosophy- Locke Hume and Kafka Essay

1. Explain how Locke and Hume view personal identity, or the â€Å"Self†. How do you see Kafka’s â€Å"Metamorphosis† as exemplifying these philosophical themes? You may choose Locke or Hume or both, or argue why you see neither of their theories as showing up in Kafka’s work. Locke’s theory of personal identity does not rely on substance to explain personal identity. Locke’s theory is person one at time two is the same person as person two at time one if and only if person one and person two are both persons and person one can remember at time two (his doing) what person two did or felt or what have you at time one. Hume’s theory of the self-held that the self is nothing but a bundle of experiences or perceptions linked by the relations of causation and resemblance; or, more accurately, that the empirically warranted idea of the self is just the idea of such a bundle. In â€Å"Metamorphosis† Kafka takes on Locke’s view of the self. Kafka illustrates that Gregor Samsa is the same person as he was when he was human even though he has changed into a bug. Kafka does this by showing that Gregor still has the same thoughts, memories, and tries to continue the same routine even though he has become a bug. Gregor stills tries to wake up and catch the train for work, he still knows how his sister, parents, and boss will act, and he still has the same feelings and emotions towards his life and the people who are in it. All of these explain go along with Locke’s view of the self verses Hume’s theory.

Finding Meaning in a Stolen Life Essay

It is said that all life does indeed involve suffering but it is what we make of this suffering that will determine whether or not we find meaning in our life. One must look within and around himself to create meaning in her life; one can finding meaning by creating works or doing deeds, experiencing things or encountering people, and choosing one’s attitude towards the suffering in her life. There will always be obstacles in the way to meaning—the tragic triad of pain, guilt, and death—but one must use this to fuel your drive to find meaning by maintaining tragic optimism—faith, love, and hope. Many people lead difficult lives, however, some find meaning and others choose not to. In the memoir A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard, Jaycee Dugard is put through what she describes as an â€Å"intolerable situation,† but manages to make meaning of the suffering in her stolen life. Jaycee Dugard has experienced tragic triad: pain, guilt, and death. She deals with pain throughout the entirety of her early life. The main source of her pain and suffering was Phillip who kidnapped and put her through hell on earth. Jaycee recalls the day Phillip took her—the first painful experience she had with the man that would strip her of her innocence. Jaycee recollects what was running through her mind at the time of her traumatic abduction: â€Å"Someone is dragging me and I am being lifted. My limbs feel like they weigh a ton. I try to resist and try to push away from farther into the bushes. The paralyzing feeling returns accompanied by a strange electrical current zapping sound. I am helpless to resist for some reason. † (9-10). It is not long after her abduction when Jaycee is put through an even greater mental test. She has been scare and alone since she was taken from her world on that faithful day and now Phillip would only make her more scared and alienated. Phillip does to Jaycee what nobody should ever have done onto them. She experiences pain physically and mentally when he rapes her and she remembers him trying to justifying her suffering: â€Å"He says it would be easier on me if I didn’t resist or struggle so much next time. He says it wouldn’t hurt as much. I think to myself, if you didn’t do it in the first place then it wouldn’t hurt at all. But I am too frightened by his act to say a thing in objection to him. † (31-32). Jaycee feels her first sense of guilt in her new life when she is given a kitten. Her kidnappers brought her home a kitten and she was happy but says, â€Å"I have begun to feel guilty for asking for her in the first place. I should have thought about the place we were going to put her. This is no place for a kitty. He says his aunt is an animal lover and will take her. † (41). She does not want the kitten to stay in the little room with her because she knows it is not fair for the kitten to not have a lot of space to run around and be happy. Her giving the kitten away makes her feel better because she knows it is not good for the kitten to be stuck in the room of suffering. She manages to get over this guilt but soon she is faced with a greater obstacle. Jaycee experiences death for the first time. It is not that of her own life but the death of one of her animals that brings her greater suffering she notes, â€Å"Blackjack lived a long life. Toward the end I took primary care of him and I was the one that found him when he died. It was very hard for me. At the time, I had made a cat enclosure which he would go in at night to keep safe, and that’s where I found him one morning†¦ I cried a lot for him. † (160). Jaycee was an animal lover and for her to find the cat she took care of dead was very hard for her. However, all of these experiences made her a stronger person. Jaycee did not allow the tragic triad to keep her from making meaning of her life. She kept searching. Jaycee Dugard was on her way to countering with two of the three parts of tragic optimism–love, and hope. She had children at a very young age and although she did not want them from Phillip or at the ages of fourteen and seventeen she loves her children very much. She loves both of her daughters, she did not want to give either of them up, stating, â€Å"I did it because that was the only thing I could do. I would do it all again. The most precious thing in the world came out of it†¦ my daughters. † (110). Her love for her two daughters fueled her positivity towards her adverse life. She was a very hopeful person all through her young life and her daughters gave her more of a reason to hold fast. Jaycee was constantly hoping that she would one day be emancipated. When she is first placed in the room out back, she hoped someone was looking for her and that they would find her one day to take her from home. Although she had a rough life from the age of eleven until the age of twenty-nine, she kept a very positive attitude by doing work and keeping busy. She found greater meaning in her suffering by creating works. She started a business—a printing company–with Phillip who has put her through endless torture. Over time she learned how to do it on her own and does most of the work for the company: â€Å"I work up a design and he takes it to the costumer and gets it approved when he brings it back to me, I print them on cards. The job turns out great and I am very proud of myself Phillip says that he thinks I should do the workups and he will get the jobs and help with the printing. †(127). Instead of weeping in sorrow for herself that her childhood and beginning of her adult life were taken away from her, she does work to make herself productive. This is good for her because instead of living in the existential vacuum, she feels like she is accomplishing something other than watching television every day like she used to and she feels important. . It takes a very positive person to find meaning in the kind of suffering Jaycee had to endure, and she embodied this person. She chooses to have a positive attitude towards being captured and enslaved. Throughout the time she was taken she kept a journal and instead of always writing about how much she misses her mom and wishes she was not with Phillip and Nancy, she wrote, â€Å"10 things that make me happy; 1. hearing someone laugh; 2. when my cats are near me†¦ 10. knowing someone loves me. †(183-184). Instead of thinking of all the bad in her life, she chose to stay positive and think of things she appreciates about life. Not everyone can do that, but she learned that staying positive is more meaningful. All life involves suffering as the main character Jaycee Dugard would know. She suffered a lot in her life from the time she was kidnapped up until she was saved eighteen years later. She suffers the first day she is taken. â€Å"I want my mommy. I want time to reverse itself and give me a do-over,† she cries about the situation she is in (10). Then it gets worse. Jaycee describes what is going on when she was thrown in the back of the car and taken to Phillips house where her suffering would begin: â€Å"A blanket is thrown on top of me and I feel a lot of weight on my back, I feel as if I can’t breathe. I hear voices but they are muffled. The car is moving. I want to get out of the car. I twist and turn, but something is pinning me down. † (10). She goes through a scarring experience as he puts her through the greatest suffering she will have to endure in her 18 years here. A few days after kidnapping Jaycee, Phillip takes advantage of her, â€Å"he stands back up and takes off all his clothes. I do not want him to do that†¦ I feel so helpless and vulnerable. I feel so alone. He lies on top of me. I can’t stop crying. † (31). She was raped and had to suffer through it because she had no other choice as she was too afraid of what he would do if she did not cooperate. Even after being raped and impregnated, she had to pretend she was not the mother of her children. She says that, â€Å"on the roof I felt like my pulse was going to jump out of my skin. I wanted to grab her and hold her. † (154). Phillip and Nancy wanted Jaycee to pretend that they were the parents of the children she gave birth to and that she was just their sister, but Jaycee did not want that. Jaycee wanted to be able to take care of her children and it killed her that she had to let Nancy do it. However, she did overcome the situation. When she was found and reunited with her real family, she wanted to meet with Nancy, â€Å"I wanted to see her for many different reasons, the biggest being closure. Telling her that what she and Phillip did was not okay in any way. † (243). Although her kidnappers took most of her life away from her, she still stood up to them in the end and wanted them to know she was a stronger person. Although Jaycee suffered a lot she did not let it get the best of her. She has made meaning of her life. However, it did not happen right as she was freed as she said, â€Å"my growth has not been an overnight phenomenon. Nonetheless it has slowly but surely come about. † (261). She is doing well now and both of her kids are in high school. She reunited with one of her friends from her childhood and now they are really close. She knows what they did to her was wrong but she said she got the most precious things out of it and that was her two daughters whom she loves a lot. She stays clear of living a provisional existence while she was captured and even after she was liberated, she didn’t go through moral deformity and bitterness. Sometimes, Jaycee looks at her life and thinks she thinks, â€Å"I don’t deserve it. † (267). Jaycee was a self-determinist and believed she had free will to make of her life what she wanted it to be. She utilized tragic optimism to resolve the tragic triad she had to go through. Jaycee kept a positive attitude towards her life and used this to create work and endure the experiences she had to go through and to find love, the greatest way to make meaning of one’s life, in the children she was forced to bare. She now knows that, â€Å"it’s the simple things that count,† and she has used that mentality to make meaning of all her suffering throughout her whole life (268). Citations 1. A Stolen Life Dugard, Jaycee. A Stolen Life. N. p. , n. d. Web. 22 May 2012. 2. Man’s Search for Meaning Frankl, Viktor E. Man’s Search For Meaning. N. p. : Beacon Press, 2006. Print.

The Cloning Argument essays

The Cloning Argument essays Ever since Scottish scientists cloned an adult sheep, July 1996, people have been thinking about the possibility of cloning humans. One such man has said that this possibility is soon to become a reality, his name Richard Seed. Richard Seed is a physicist who has been involved in fertility research since the 1970s. It was on the sixth of this month that Richard Seed announced that he plans to begin his human cloning operation in the next 90 days. He plans to do this by taking a fertilized human egg and removing some key cells; he will then replace these cells with the cells of the person he intends to clone. The only problem is that there are many things that may stop him from doing this. He believes that humans will eventually become one with God and that cloning is the first step to that. In March last year, United States President Bill Clinton banned all use of federal funds for research on human cloning. There has also been talking in America about legislation to ban privately f unded human cloning. Unfortunately, this has not fallen through, and Richard Seed said that he plans to start his operation before the US Congress places such a ban. What would a clone be like? He or she would be a complete human being who happens to share the same genes with another person. Today, we call such people identical twins. No one has ever argued that twins are immoral. Of course, cloned twins would not be the same age. But it is hard to see why this age difference might present an ethical problem or give clones a different moral status. While most people are against it, there are some who are for it. Here is a direct quote from someone who is for cloning: "Fear of clones is just another form of racism. We all agree it is wrong to discriminate against people based on a set of genetic characteristics known as "race." Calls for a ban on cloning amount to discrimination against people based on another genetic trait -the fact that somebody alr...

Phonaesthetics (Word Sounds)

Phonaesthetics (Word Sounds) In language studies, phonaesthetics is the study of the positive (euphonious) and negative (cacophonous) sounds of letters, words, and combinations of letters and words. Also spelled phonesthetics.  Ã‚   Linguist David Crystal defines  phonaesthetics  as the study of the aesthetic properties of sound, especially the sound symbolism attributable to individual sounds, sound clusters or sound types. Examples include the implication of smallness in the close vowels of such words as teeny  weeny, and the unpleasant associations of the consonant cluster /sl-/ in such words as slime, slug and slush (A Dictionary of Language, 2001).   Etymology From the Greek  phÃ… nÄ“aisthÄ“tikÄ“,   voice-sound    aesthetics Examples and Observations Sound Quality (Timbre) We speak of words as soft, smooth,   rough, sonorous, harsh, guttural, explosive.  About individual words not much can be saideven about cellar-door, which is reputed to be one of the most beautiful-sounding words in our language. With a sequence of words, especially one that shapes itself into a meaningful sentence or line of verse, the sound becomes more determinate and controlled. The still, sad music of humanity(Wordsworth, Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey) naturally calls for a grave and quiet reading.   The sound-quality of a discourse is, then, a regional quality that depends in part upon the qualities of its words and also upon [sound-similarity and sound-pattern].(Monroe C. Beardsley,  Aesthetics: Problems in the Philosophy of Criticism, 2nd ed. Hackett, 1981) Phonaesthetics and the Adopted Names of Actors Quite a few actors have changed their names simply because they didnt like the one they already had...There is a tendency for men to avoid gentle continuant sounds, such as m and l, when looking for new names, and to go in for the hard-sounding plosive consonants, such as k and g. Maurice Micklewhite became Michael Caine, Marion Michael Morrison became John Wayne, Alexander Archibald Leach became Cary Grant, Julius Ullman became Douglas Fairbanks.Women tend to go the other way. Dorothy Kaumeyer became Dorothy Lamour. Hedwig Kiesler became Hedy Lamarr. Norma Jean Baker became Marilyn Monroe.Actually, Roy Rogers is a bit weak, compared with most cowboy names. Cowboys tend to be full of plosives and short vowelsBill, Bob, Buck, Chuck, Clint, Jack, Jim, Like, Tex, Tom, Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok, Kit Carson. Roy doesnt quite explode from the lips in the same way. His horse, Trigger, actually does rather better.These are only tendencies, of course. There are plenty of e xceptions.(David Crystal, By Hook or by Crook: A Journey in Search of English. Overlook Press, 2008) Phonaesthetics and Nicknames [N]icknames incorporate more pleasant and gentle sounds than full names for both men and women. One reason for this is the [i:] ending characteristic of so many nicknames (Nicky, Billy, Jenny, Peggy). Crystal (1993) noted the distinctly masculine characteristics of the nickname Bob. Bob is easy for children to pronounce because its repeated , [b], is mastered early (Whissell 2003b).  Phonaesthetically, [b] is an unpleasant sound and the central vowel of the name is active and cheerful. Bob is, therefore, a prototypical masculine nickname, both in terms of the phonaesthetic system employed here and in terms of Crystals criteria. DeKlerk and Bosch (1997) argue for the importance  of phonaesthetics in the assignment of nicknames, and point to the positive social intent of name-givers as a main concomitant of this assignment.​  (Cynthia Whissell, Choosing a Name: How Name-Givers Feelings Influence Their Selections.  The Oxford Handbook of the Word, ed.  John R. Taylor. O xford University Press, 2015) Phonesthesia and Brand Names The loose association of  phonesthesia, applied to bigger chunks of sound, are ... the source of an unignorable trend in brand names  ...​Previously, companies named their brands after their founders (Ford, Edison, Westinghouse), or with a descriptor that conveyed their immensity (General Motors, United Airlines, U.S. Steel), or by a portmanteau that identified a new technology (Microsoft, Instamatic, Polavision), or with a metaphor or metonym connoting a quality they wished to ascribe (Impala, Newport, Princess, Trailblazer, Rebel).  But today they seek to convey a je ne sais quoi using faux-Greek and  Latinate neologisms built out of  word fragments that are supposed to connote certain  qualities without allowing people to put their finger on what they are. . . . Acuraaccurate? acute? What does that have to do with a car? Verizona veritable horizon? Does it mean that good phone service will recede into the distance forever? Viagravirility? vigor? viable? Are we s upposed to think it will make a man ejaculate like Niagara Falls? The most egregious example is the renaming of the Philip Morris parent company as  Altria, presumably to switch its image from bad people who sell addictive carcinogens to a place or state marked by altruism and other lofty values.  (Steven Pinker, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature. Viking, 2007) Certainly, euphony should be a consideration in choosing a brand name. Lamolay sounds better than Tarytak for a toilet paper even though it has the same number of letters.  (John OShaughnessy,  Consumer Behaviour: Perspectives, Findings and Explanations. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) Sound and Sense [T]he poet ... knows when the sound is carrying his sense, even if he doesnt know why. In creating his names and his verse, [J. R. R.] Tolkien was exercising both skills, in pursuit of what he called phonaesthetic pleasure (Letters  176).To illustrate, lets turn back  to our abandoned palato-velars. The phonaesthetics of the post-liquid palato-velar is a thing of beauty. It captured the heart of a young Texas poet  with the unlikely name of Tom Jones when he was in college, and he ï ¬ lled a whole song with them, which became the opening song of The Fantasticks, the longest running musical in the history of the New York stage. The song was called Try to Remember. The refrain was the single word we have looked at in its transformation from Old to Modern English: follow, follow, follow.  In each  stanza Jones crammed  as many of the mutated-liquid words he could: first mellow, yellow, fellow, then willow, pillow, billow, and then follow and hollow, finally ending where th e song began with mellow. . . .Tolkien does not incorporate quite  so many of these mutated palatovelar words in any one place, but the mention of the word willow should signal to  any Tolkien reader where I am going next: to the old Willowman of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and The Old Forest chapter of The Lord of the Rings ...(John R. Holmes, Inside a Song: Tolkiens  Phonaesthetics.  Middle-Earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien, ed. by Bradford Lee Eden. McFarland, 2010)   An Alternative View: Noisiness Many of those who have written about the topics of iconicity, sound symbolism, phonaesthetics  and phonosemantics write as though to unfold the latent surplus of meaning contained in certain sounds, letters or groups of letters. But iconic language is in the literal sense idiotic, speaking the idiom of the blindly singular, of purely accidental and idiomatic noise. It may well be that certain clusters of sounds seem charged with certain kinds of meaningfulnessi seems to connote littleness, gl- seems to be associated with light, and gr- with irascibilitybut the way these sounds work is by first signifying, not particular sound-qualities, but an abstract quality of noisiness as suchthe sound of just sounding.(Steven Connor,  Beyond Words: Sobs, Hums, Stutters and Other Vocalizations. Reaktion Books, 2014)      Monty Python and the Lighter Side of Phonaesthetics When the Pythons are not making words and names take on new meanings, they are likely commenting upon the inherent qualities of words themselves. One fine example appears in the Woody and Tinny Words sketch (ep. 42), in which an upper-middle-class family voice their opinions regarding the pleasure (or displeasure) derived simply from saying and hearing various words. For fun, try to see which of the following words sound woody (confidence building!) and which sound tinny (dreadful): SET ONE: gorn, sausage, caribou, intercourse, pert, thighs, botty, erogenous, zone, concubine, loose women, ocelot, wasp, yowlingSET TWO: newspaper, litterbin, tin, antelope, seemly, prodding, vacuum, leap, bound, vole, recidivist, tit, Simkins* The euphony or cacophony of words (what the Oxbridge scholars in Pythonand probably Gilliam, too, why not?would have known as phonaesthetics, the study of positive and negative sounds in human speech) may lead users to project certain connotations upon individual words (Crystal, 1995, 8-12). Such phonaesthetic connotative projection devolves, in this skit, into a practically visible form of mental masturbation, wherein the father (Chapman) must be doused with a bucket of water to be calmed down after cogitating upon too many woody sounding words. As he sagely notes, ... its a funny thing ... all the naughty words sound woody.  Its a theory not entirely without justification (the understanding of how linguistic connotations are often derived from sounds, not the masturbatory powers of individual words! Bloody pervert.)* Answer key: set one woody: set two tinny(Brian Cogan and Jeff Massey, Everything I Ever Needed to Know About _____ I Learned From Monty Python. Thomas Dunne Books , 2014)

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Family Law - Essay Example Hester argues that the Children Act 1989 re-defined child care law by introducing new measures for working with children and families in both public and private family law2. Generally speaking, the CA embodies a fresh approach to working with and for children and under section 8 of the CA, the court can make four types of order within family proceedings in respect of the child’s welfare, with the main provisions being a residence and contact order. Section 8 of the CA replaces the previous custody orders with contact orders and the new system of private ordering was intended to promote and continue parental responsibility post divorce with minimum interference by the court3. Moreover, in the consultation process, Lord Mackay asserted that â€Å"while the law can sever the legal bond between husband and wife, the law in family disputes should do nothing that appears to weaken bond between parent and child4†. Therefore the issue of contact and child parent bond is vital and embodied in the spirit of the Children Act 1989. The consultation process research indicates that the most important factor in child’s adjustment is the quality of post divorce arrangements for all family members, which was highlighted in the official papers that led to the 1989 Act, such as Law Com No. 172, â€Å"Review of Child Law – Guardianship and Custody†5. A vital element in a child’s adjustment is a continuing relationship with both parents6. Children ultimately want two active involved parents7 and the July 2004 HMG Green Paper â€Å"Parental separation: Children’s needs and parent’s responsibilities†8 highlighted that it is vital to handle the process of contact and separation to reduce the impact of separation and divorce on children, which requires preservation of the parent/child bond wherever possible9. Whilst, no law can force someone to be an active parent as radically postulated by Helen Conway,10 it can nevertheless encourage that role even post separation. Prior