Fortino Tafoya Essays (1335 words) - Education, Learning

Fortino Tafoya CURR-119 Prof. Won-Jones 7/5/18 20 Strategies to Teach the Common Core One of the best benefits to assist a new teacher is talking to your colleagues. Having a friendly and supportive group or mentor to go to with teaching and strategy questions is very important for a young teacher's success. Watching Marcia Tate's webinar "20 Strategies to Teach the Common Core" I felt as though I had met a new colleague, a new mentor to help me become a better teacher. Aside from Marcia's use of humor and true to life story telling I was pulled in and comforted by some of the blunter things she had to say. It wasn't that she had some huge deep insight into pedagogy, but rather some very practical things about students that I think many people in higher levels of academia forget. One such quote that I will never forget from the webinar comes from the story of Tate's youngest son who was having trouble with the teaching strategies used at his first high school. In describing why the heavy use of lecture didn't work for her son Tate says, "If students aren't learning the way we teach, then we need to teach them the way they learn." This was, to borrow a phrase from a former student of mine, a total-mind-blow for me. I had never heard anyone use that phrase before and I have rarely heard such an accomplished instructor give students so much respect. It makes perfect sense to me to give students more ownership of their education. Tate uses several analogies to illustrate this point, one that I liked was explaining how athletes use diagrams, peer feedback, muscle memory and repetition to learn plays instead of taking notes for a long lecture about a pick n roll offense. She also uses scientific research to show how a diverse use of the strategies can be good for brain health, blood flow, retention, lower stress levels, etc. Her example of a brain biology lesson was high effective because it used her strategies to introduce a complex topic: the brain, dendrites and how we remember things. Teachers must be able to adapt to their students and this means using flexible strategies that avoid the 15-17 minute attention span blowout of teenagers that Tate also describes. Another phrase that stood out to me from the webinar was towards the end when Tate was describing the traits of a brain compatible classroom. When she talks about "connecting ideas" she says, "brains weren't for school, they were meant for life." This was another huge insight into the thought process of a student, especially a modern student who grew up in the smart phone fueled "google-it" era we are now in. As knowledge has become easier to access for just about any topic, learning much also change. If certain pieces of information are too easy to grasp then students need adequate challenges, but those challenges should relate back to a real-world application. This phrase also reminds me that not every student has a goal of going to college, but those students still need to be prepared for the real world and the job market, maybe even more so than college prep students since they may have to use the skills of language arts in relation to income much sooner. Tate describes this p hrase as a way to keep the content relevant so students remain engaged and she is absolutely correct. High school students especially are very critical of why they are learning something, and you may lose them at the onset if the hook and anticipatory set aren't strong enough or relatable. These phrases and the rest o the webinar have helped me create a connection between how I was taught in high school and how I felt about high school. I've realized the lack of strategy diversity that I experienced in high school and junior high and how it might have saved me from bad grades and so much ditching. My 12th grade English class was especially devoid of strategy diversity. We used visual arts in almost every essay and had a decent amount of class discussions, but the content was hardly ever connected to the real world

Survey on Animal Testing For Research and Educational Purposes Essays

Survey on Animal Testing For Research and Educational Purposes Essays Survey on Animal Testing For Research and Educational Purposes Paper Survey on Animal Testing For Research and Educational Purposes Paper The use of laboratory animals is important to three main areas: biomedical research, product safety testing, and education. Biomedical researchers use animals to extend their understanding of the workings of the body and the processes of disease and health, and to develop new vaccines and treatments for various diseases. The research these people do isn ¡Ã‚ ¦t only for human benefit; it is also helping to develop veterinary techniques. The industry uses animals to test the effectiveness and safety of many consumer products, such as cosmetics, household cleaning products, pesticides, chemicals, and drugs. Educators, from elementary school all the way up to college, use animals as parts of the teaching process, including dissecting worms, and frogs in science classes to medical students using animals to learn surgical techniques. Scientists study animals to learn more about certain species: its history, its psychological and social behaviors, and its skills. If the animals are kept in captivity, they can be caused pain that isn ¡Ã‚ ¦t natural part of its environment. A number of organizations wish to replace and reduce the number of animals being used or, at the very least, lessen the pain. Rats and mice make up 85-90% of animals used in research, education, and testing. Rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, dogs, cats, and non-human primates are studied as well. Dogs and Cats make up about 1% of research animals. The certain animal depends on what is being studied. The majority of rats and mice are bred specifically for research. Half of the dogs and cats that are used are bred for that purpose too. Animal dealers are the primary source for the rest. Animal dealers must be licensed by the USDA, or the United States Department of Agriculture and have to obey the standards of care set up by the Animal Welfare Act. „h Alternatives to Animal Testing Alternative methods fall into three main categories, also known as the three R ¡Ã‚ ¦s: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. Replacement is when animals are replaced, either by absolute replacement, which is when an animal is completely replaced, or by relative replacement, just cells and tissues are used, instead of the whole animal. Replacement isn ¡Ã‚ ¦t always an option although, for those animals that do undergo testing, scientists try to lessen the pain and make the animals more comfortable. Replacement isn ¡Ã‚ ¦t considered an option anymore-it has become daily. A few years ago, when a woman wanted to find out whether or not she was pregnant, she had to stop at a laboratory and get a test that involved killing a rabbit. Nowadays, she can buy and over-the-counter kit that tests her for certain chemicals. Computers are a new high-tech method of replacement. For example, dissection on a computer model instead of real, live frogs, which I would prefer! People are becoming increasingly popular when it comes time for the needs for volunteers for new facial and skin products. Reduction is the second method involves  ¡Ã‚ §sharing ¡Ã‚ ¨ research animals. For one example, if one scientist doing a study on the lungs of a sheep, when it comes time to kill the sheep he will allow the others to use his kidneys, liver or heart. Refinement being the third choice means to reduce any pain and suffering that the animal is going through. Techniques that are less hostile to the animal can also be considered refinement. Researchers can use ultrasound or an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to see what is going on inside the animal instead of cutting into it. The cosmetics industry, which 20 years ago tested all its products on animals has come so close to stopping using animals. Many companies have reduced the use of whole-animal testing by 80  ¡V 90%. Some have eliminated it completely. Since the 80 ¡Ã‚ ¦s many companies have put serious amounts of money and effort into a search for alternatives for animal testing. Plus, most ingredients that are being used today have already been tested on an animal and have shown to be safe. „h What kinds of tests are being done? The chronic-toxicity tests assess the effects of long-term exposure, often at low levels, to certain subjects. Acute-toxicity tests evaluate the risk of short-term exposure, accidental contact with eyes, skin and indigestion. There have two different outcries of this test. The most public outcry of this test happened in the 1980 ¡Ã‚ ¦s. One of them, the Draize eye test was one that used rabbits to estimate the ability of a test substance to irritate or damage the eye. This involves putting the solution into one of the rabbit ¡Ã‚ ¦s eyes. Then recording the changes in many different parts of the eye, as compared to the untreated eye over a week. Since then eye irritation tests have stopped by 87%. The protest in 1980 led to great changes in the cosmetics industry and caused many increased efforts toward the development of non-animal alternatives. Many companies no longer use the Draize test at all. The other test acute-toxicity test is called the LD50 test. LD50 means  ¡Ã‚ §lethal dose 50 percent. ¡Ã‚ ¨ This test estimates the amount of the substance is needed to kill 50% of a group of rats or other test animals. The LD50 test has been banned in parts of Europe and the EPA no longer supports it. „h Arguments Against Testing on Animals Arguments against testing on animals question the morality, the necessity, or the validity of the studies. A couple of major questions could be: Do we have a right and a need for the tests? Do these tests actually tell us something useful? Animal Rights Advocates say animals have a right to their own life just as we do; that they are not ours to mess around with. When you think about this argument long enough, this argument also means we must maintain a vegetarian diet, not wearing leather or fur, and, at its most extremity, not keeping animals as pets. A moderate animal protection says that our responsibility toward animals is that we have a moral obligation not to cause then unnecessary pain. That argument isn ¡Ã‚ ¦t against all animal testing. Arguments against animal testing take many forms. One of them could be we can ¡Ã‚ ¦t rely on animal results anyway. Humans are completely different: physically and mentally. Just because one species reacts to a certain chemical in a certain way, doesn ¡Ã‚ ¦t mean another will act the same way. Furthermore, animals kept in unnatural conditions aren ¡Ã‚ ¦t going to give accurate results anyway. „h Arguments In Favor of Animal Testing Now again, you can argue in terms of morality, necessity, and validity. The concerns on this side of the argument are the needs to protect and to improve the quality of life. The gains and benefits for humans outweigh the cost of animal suffering. Someone who supports animal testing may care for animals but don ¡Ã‚ ¦t place them on an equal scale as humans. Research on animals may be necessary for more than a few reasons: to develop vaccines, treatments, cures for diseases; and to ensure new products  ¡V that they won ¡Ã‚ ¦t blind, burn, or even kill us (which has happened many times, before safety testing was required by law). Animals make good research subjects, they are biologically similar to humans, and are susceptible to many of the same health problems. Some species make good models for human health or physiology. Most of what we know about the immune system comes from our study of mice, whereas what we know about the cardiovascular system has come from dogs! Many heart surgery techniques are learned from dogs too. Animals make better subjects than humans for another reason. Many species have relatively short life cycles, so they can be studied throughout their entire life. Scientists can control certain aspects of the environment: its diet, temperature, and lighting.  ¡Ã‚ §Animals cannot be completely replaced just yet ¡Ã‚ ¨ Say many supporters of animal testing.

Lack of Minorities in the Information Technology Field Research Paper

Lack of Minorities in the Information Technology Field - Research Paper Example This paper takes a look at this apparent discrepancy, what the recruiting and retention practices are for the Information Technology field. It also looks at how society may play a role in this issue and how, if left unchecked, this issue could create a problem in for the workforce as a whole. Throughout the paper suggestions are made for how this situation can best be resolved. It is the hope that one would walk away from this essay with information on how discrimination is taking place in the I.T. field and what can be done to change it. Table of Contents Certification and Approval 2 Abstract 3 Table of Contents 4 Introduction 5 Discrepancy 6 - 8 Recruiting and Retention Practices 9 - 13 Affects on Society 14 - 15 Conclusion 15 - 16 References 17 - 20 Discriminatory Hiring Practices in the Information Technology Field A young five year old boy runs with lighting fast speed toward the huge sycamore as his mother and her friend watch, with amusement, from the park bench. He proceeds t o climb the tree and swing bravely from the bottom branch. He mother chuckles slightly, â€Å"What are you going to do, boys will be boys† she sighs to her friend. ... While this differentiation may have played out well at the turn of the century, when the majority of women stayed home to clean and care for the children, and the majority of men worked for a living, in today’s economy many women find the need to seek employment outside of the home. This preconceived notion that women are the weaker sex can then result in issues when women seek a career in a field that has been male dominated. Luckily, today, there are laws in the United States in place to protect equality for women and all other minorities in the work place. However, even with these precautions in place it seems there are some fields that are not equally represented by minorities. One field, in particular, where this is becoming a problem is that of Information Technology. After taking a look at the apparent discrepancy, the recruiting, and retention practices in the IT field, and how this could ultimately affect society if left unchecked, it should become apparent how societ y is playing a role in the underlying discrimination seen in IT and what can be done to change it. Discrepancy It is estimated that between 2000 and 2010, there will be a call for 2.5 million new Information Technology jobs available, which is the result of growth in Information Technology occupations, resulting in a high demand for skilled Information Technology workers (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2005). It is projected that from 2008 to 2016 there will be a 29% increase in workforce demands for computer system analysts, a 37% increase in demand for jobs for database administrators, and a 38% increase in the availability of jobs for software engineers (U.S. Department of Labor, 2005).

Customer Service Profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Customer Service Profile - Essay Example Customer service is the engine behind the moving of any successful firm. Good customer service involves selling the right product, which has good quantity and that which cannot harm the intended customer (Cavinato, 2001). This paper presents a detailed discussion of exceptional customer service offered by Sony Corporation. To do this, an evaluation of the company’s customer service success will be explored, and the customer service policies that  have had an impact on its performance determined. Sony Corporation, originally known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (TTK), was established on 7th May 1946 in Tokyo Japan. Initially it was a radio repair shop before its development. The word Sony was derived from the Latin word ‘sonus’ which means sound as it dealt with the production of electronic materials that produced sound, and the slang word ‘sonny’ in American English. It widened its marketing from Japan and entered America, specifically the United States, be fore opening other branches in Spain, France and Germany. As per 2011 it had more than 168,000 employees and more than 100 branches spread worldwide making it one of the largest companies in the world (Kottler, 2001). Basically, sonny deals with electronic. Along the years since its establishment, sonny has produced some of the best and durable media formats like radios, televisions, laptops, memory sticks, and blue ray discs among many others. Sonny has its leading sales in the United States, Europe and Japan. It is a company that has a wide series of measures to enhance its operations with a mission of developing more innovative multimedia services for entertainment (Cavinato, 2001). Good customer relations and rapport can be established by providing customers with products at a set price, with the best services and convenience to their time schedule. A customer will always be happy to work with a seller who is flexible and reliable. This implies that if a customer misses to recei ve a product as per the stipulated time, he or she will be dissatisfied and will not come back to the seller in future. Maintenance of a good customer relationship is the key item in any firm. Some of the services that will keep a customer coming, and which enhance a positive attitude to an organization are; best price, offer in transportation costs, promotions in products, and at large levels offers in warehouse costs. Working along these customer service offers, a firm achieves best customer relations crucial for the success of it in the market place (Cavinato, 2001). Customer services may go to the extent of providing financial credits and offering repair to achieve a competitive advantage. Sonny has various customer policies that are specifically meant for the customer needs. In some of its customer service policies, customers have a right to be provided with services without any discrimination; customers are different and so each customer should be handled as per his or her wis h and character and customers should be given the best treatment. The organization ensures customers are offered the best services, offered with rewards to motivate them to keep coming back and that their feedback is received and responded to in time. Statistics indicate that Sony receives 85% positive feedback from customers daily, has all payment methods for customers, has contest and price offers for customers and has on time

Socrates and Plato's Apology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Socrates and Plato's Apology - Essay Example Much of this trial is known through Plato’s Apology (Plato, 2009). Socrates is however, innocent of the charges that are levied against him since his beliefs are a practice of his own philosophy, something that was permitted in ancient Greece, and they accept and celebrate the existence of god and the choice of people to follow him or not. His actions, thus, in no way do any harm to the religious structures of Greece. The right to dissent within certain structures was allowed and it is only this right that Socrates exercises in his life and he upholds this right throughout the trial. According to Plato’s Apology, the reason that Socrates cites for his actions is the declaration of the Oracle at Delphi of his superior wisdom over other people. By making this clear, Socrates makes clear his belief in god. The god who is associated with the Oracle of Delphi, moreover is one that is a part of the Greek pantheon of gods. The Oracle of Delphi was associated with Apollo, the s un-god of the Greek pantheon and a very important figure in the mythology of the Greeks. This would make the charges of Socrates’ atheism baseless. By asserting the wisdom of god and his lack of the same, Socrates is able to prove his innocence when faced with the charges of atheism. Socrates points out to the jury that his quest for knowledge and wisdom was essentially based on his belief in his ignorance. This ignorance presented him with a paradox when viewed in the light of the predictions of the Oracle at Delphi (Plato, 2009). An attempt to solve this paradox does not necessarily constitute an offence against god or the laws of ancient Greece. The ideas that Plato and Socrates held regarding ideas and forms entailed the superiority of what lay in heaven rather than what was present on earth (Plato, 2004). This meant that they did not malign god or question the existence of god. What they did during their lives was to affirm the presence of god in a way that was in a lot of ways, scarcely different from existing perceptions. The charges of atheism that were leveled against them were thus, not true and were based on an incorrect or incomplete understanding of their philosophies and theories. Another aspect of the case against Socrates was the allegation that he corrupted the youth with the power of his ‘sophistry’, which in those days meant a glib manner of talking that was designed to persuade a person to perform certain actions. It also had negative connotations in those times. Sophistry was considered to be the practice of the orators of those times who sought to sway the masses and the jury for their own purposes. Socrates distances himself from such accusations right at the beginning by appealing to the jury to look at not his eloquence but at the truth of his statements. Socrates counters this claim successfully by appealing to the jury to look only at the truth of his statements and not at the manner in which it was communicated. He also points out that the perception of his sophistry was built up as a result of the works of people like Aristophanes who sought to mock him with what he perceived to be cheap attempts at comedy. A brief look at the works of Aristophanes would make it clear that the claims made by Socrates in the trial regarding the attempts of people to paint him and his followers in a negative light are true. The novelty of the ideas that Socrates thought of

Dynamic Systems Theory and Psychodynamic World View

Dynamic Systems Theory and Psychodynamic World View Emma Levey Psychodynamic world view The psychodynamic view focuses on underlying subconscious and unconscious processes, as well as the conscious. Emphasis is placed on stage progression, overcoming conflicts, and emotions (Miller, 2011, p. 106/134) with the most famous psychodynamic theory being that of Freud (Miller, 2011, p.110). Four criteria will be outlined and illustrated with Freudian examples, before considering whether an article fits within the world view. The first criterion is that of human nature, of which humans are passive and active. Humans are passive due to the role underlying forces play in driving humans to act and they are active through coping with these forces and attempting to obtain and maintain equilibrium through reducing conflict. The ego is the most active personality structure as it self-organises through regulating stimulation arising from the self and the environment, actively deciding the behaviour to exhibit and continuously processing information (Miller, 2011, p. 134). The second criteria concerns qualitative or quantitative development, with both being used in this world view. Qualitative development is shown through in two ways, with the first being that the world view advocates stage development, for example the stages of sexual drive dominance in Freud’s theory. The second way is through acquisition of defence mechanisms and new structures, such as the superego (Miller, 2011, p. 134). However, quantitative change is also possible, as the strength of defence mechanisms and of the structures (such as the ego), can differ which results in potential for quantitative change (Miller, 2011, p. 134). With regards to nature and nurture, the psychodynamic view takes an interactionist stance. Nature is evident via a focus on biological maturation through changes in hormones and biological, unconscious and powerful drives. These drives motivate (e.g. via the Id, Ego and Superego structures) children’s development and behaviour to achieve drive satisfaction (Miller, 2011, p. 111-112). However, nurture-based influences (e.g. parents) also play a part by affecting expression of these nature-based drives. This interaction of nature-based drives and nurture-based constraints dictates drive expression within the environment, with interaction at a young age setting the pattern for learning and coping in later life (Miller, 2011, p. 120, 134-135). Nurture effects are seen to be more important in the first five years of life than later life as the child is particularly impressionable at this time (Miller, 2011, p. 135). The final criteria is teleology. Development is seen to have an endpoint (Dixon Lerner, 1999), which in Freud’s theory is maturation, and is unidirectional as it progresses towards this endpoint. Regression through stages is possible and often frequent, occurring when anxieties become too difficult to cope with (Dixon Lerner, 1999; Miller, 2011, p. 115). Finally, causality is multidirectional due to the interactional effects of nature and nurture resulting in a causal effect on development. Salvatore, S., Eleonora, L. P., Marco, L. (2013). Trauma and the Father Image: Fantasies and Complexes in the Rorschach Test. The Open Psychology Journal, 6, 1-5 doi: 10.2174/1874350101306010001. In the interpretation of the Rorschach test, the features of the table IV inkblot evoke a dimension of authority, morals and related emotions. Interestingly, the father figure is related to ego development and also guides towards maturity via more evolved emotions such as feelings of shame and guilt. In some cases these feelings are found to be lacking in adults experiencing depression. The aim of this work is to analyze the relationship between the representational world in relation to the father figure and depressive mood disorders. The group of subjects is composed of 25 patients who had a psychiatric diagnosis of Depressive episode. The presence of specific phenomena brings out the complexes, the uneasy and conflictual relationship with the father figure submerged in the unconscious thus emerges. Shock is thereby manifested in relation to the black in which the large, dark, and blurred stimulus is perceived as sinister, threatening and dangerous. The trauma emerges in the result of a relationship with a father who has not allowed the child to manage similarities and differences. From the nature of the answers of the Rorschach protocols, it emerges that the symbolic abilities of subjects are not fully developed or have been attacked by an early trauma. Human nature in this article was both active and passive. Passive nature is shown by the example of the unconscious drives as â€Å"The presence of specific phenomena brings out the complexes, the uneasy and conflictual relationship with the father figure submerged in the unconscious thus emerges† (Salvatore, Eleoniora Marco 2013, p. 1); with the â€Å"specific phenomena† in this case being the inkblot used to elicit an underlying response concerning the father. Human nature is active through participants â€Å"subjectively organizing the content and form of the stimuli presented to him† (2013, p. 1). Active self-organization is shown through dealing with the self (e.g. father anxiety) and the external inkblot stimulus which enables participants too actively â€Å"express his feelings and give shapes and meaning to what he sees† (2013, p. 1). The active environment can be seen in the Rorschach test which â€Å"prompts the translation of things and feelin gs into words† and due to the external father’s negative influences on â€Å"space for the imagination† resulting in the statement that â€Å"symbolic abilities of subjects are not fully developed† (2013, p. 1-2). In this retrospective study, neither qualitative nor quantitative change was considered, so speculation into both should be done. Potential evidence for qualitative change concerns the inkblot used, which requires a developed imagination ability due to its intensity. Thus, use of this inkblot is linked with â€Å"the emergence of a new level of mental functioning† and the acquisition of a new qualitative skill, â€Å"the ability to imagine† (Salvatore et al., 2013, p. 1). Other qualitative change could be the development of a new defence mechanism to aid coping with negative father experience. Quantitative change could concern an increase or decrease in ego strength, as a result of the father being â€Å"related to ego development† (2013, p. 2). Thirdly, Salvatore and colleagues (2013) emphasize nurture through their focus on father influence. The inkblot used evokes â€Å"father figure symbolization† with the father’s importance shown as he becomes â€Å"the receptacle holding the feeling of omnipotence† (Salvatore et al., 2013, p. 1). The importance of early nurture experience is shown as the â€Å"compromised paternal representation, formulated in the inner world at an early age† influences adulthood as it exists timelessly in the â€Å"perpetuated unconscious† (2013, p. 5). Also, participants lacked symbolic ability due to â€Å"an early trauma† emerging as â€Å"the result of a relationship with a father† (2013, p. 1). As nature is not directly considered, one potential way in which its effects could be seen concerns the participants with depression and the fathers relation to ego development via more evolved emotions, which are â€Å"lacking in adults experiencing depre ssion† (2013, p. 2). As depression is a chemical imbalance, this could be seen as a mediation effect of nature (via depression), upon evolved emotions influenced by the father (nurture) resulting in less advanced development due to this interaction. Concerning teleology, it can be implied that maturity is considered to be the developmental endpoint as the father figure and his relationship with the ego â€Å"guides towards maturity† (Salvatore et al., 2013, p. 2). This also implies unidirectional development, as development proceeds towards maturity. In contrast with the criterion, the article advocates unidirectional causality as it focuses on early father impact upon progression towards maturity â€Å"as the father figure (†¦) guides towards maturity via more evolved emotions such as feelings of shame and guilt,† and no mention is made of causality derived from the person (2013, p. 1). This may be due to the retrospective nature of the study as participants are purely reflecting on their relationships with their fathers. Also, no explicit mention of regression is made. In conclusion, the article of Salvatore and colleagues (2013) is psychodynamic due to its acknowledgement of various required criteria, such as human nature. However, for it to completely fit in the world view it also should have considered, multidirectional causality, regression and explicitly considered qualitative and quantitative change within the study. Dynamic Systems Theory Dynamic systems theory (DST) is a holistic view due to behaviour only being understood through considering the multiple and mutual interaction of all system levels in self-organizing systems, with the organism-in-context as the unit of analysis (Miller, 2011, p. 414). Four DST criteria will be presented and an article which fits within DST presented and discussed. In DST, human nature is active and inseparable from the active environment, and thus the person and environment should not be considered separate due to their constant interaction within the developmental system. The active individual is shown through its ability to construct behaviour through experience within a part of the larger system (Miller, 2011, p. 421) and also through self-organisation (change through the organisms own activities) (Thelen Smith, 2006, p. 259 cited in Lerner, Lewin-Bizan Warren, 2011, p. 28). The environment is active through the role of experience and its participation with the organism in mutual interaction. This interaction is important in determining development as the environmental task and the motivations and skills of a person both control and influence the developing factor at a certain time and situation, within the larger system. The second criteria concerns change, which is constant, given and based upon the continuous interaction of the individual and the environment. Change can be on a small or large scale, with smaller scale change having the potential to cause large scale system changes. It is also considered on a moment-to-moment time scale or over a longer period (Miller, 2011, p. 417). Change can be quantitative and qualitative, although qualitative change often results due to an accumulation of underlying quantitative change until a critical threshold is passed, resulting in a novel qualitative skill emerging (Miller, 2011, p. 417, 421). The third criteria concerns the nature nurture distinction, which is redundant due to DST’s interactionist stance (Thelen Smith n.d, cited in Lerner et al., 2011, p. 28; Miller, 2011, p. 418). As such, nature and nurture are equally important in development as change occurs due to the organism-context relation. Developmental diversity is the result of differences in the timing of this interaction (Lerner et al., 2011, p. 29). The final criteria is teleology. Regression is seen as possible because the system can regress to a previous attractor state if required. Multiple possible endpoints exist due to the infinite ways in which system parts can combine and result in developmental paths (Thelen Smith, 1998, 2006 cited in Lerner et al., 2011, p. 30). Both the ability to regress and the concept of multiple end points suggests multidirectional development. Finally, causality is configural as development concerns bidirectional relationships â€Å"within and across fused levels of organisation† which change over time (Lerner et al., 2011, p. 29). Granic, I., O’Hara, A., Pepler, D., Lewis, M. D., (2007). A Dynamic Systems analysis of parent-child changes associated with successful â€Å"real-world† interventions for aggressive children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 845-857. doi:10.1007/s10802-007-9133-4. Studies have shown that improved parenting mediates treatment outcomes for aggressive children, but we lack fine-grained descriptions of how parent–child interactions change with treatment. The current study addresses this gap by applying new dynamic systems methods to study parent–child emotional behavior patterns. These methods tap moment-to-moment changes in interaction processes within and across sessions and quantify previously unmeasured processes of change related to treatment success. Aggressive children and their parents were recruited from combined Parent Management Training and Cognitive-behavioral programs in â€Å"real world† clinical settings. Behavioral outcomes were assessed by reports from parents and clinicians. At pre- and post-treatment, home visits were videotaped while parents and children discussed consecutively: a positive topic, a mutually unresolved problem, and another positive topic. Results showed that significant improvements in chil dren’s externalizing behavior were associated with increases in parent–child emotional flexibility during the problem-solving discussion. Also, dyads who improved still expressed negative emotions, but they acquired the skills to repair conflicts, shifting out of their negative interactions to mutually positive patterns. The article fits in with the criteria of human nature as it constantly considers the parent (environmental influence)-child interactions throughout the study, with â€Å"The parent-child interactions of children who showed clinically significant improvements (IMPs) were compared to those of children who did not improve (NIMPs)† (Granic et al., 2007, p. 847). This therefore shows parent and child to be equally important and inseparable as the analysis focuses on their interaction instead of separate effects. Another example of the environment and the child as inseparable and active is flexibility, â€Å"the ability to shift from one emotional state to another according to contextual demands (2007, p. 846). This shows the active child’s role in shifting emotional states and the environment’s role as a trigger. One way in which the article adheres to DST’s concept of change concerns real-time interactions, which are â€Å"the proximal engines of development† (Granic et al., 2007, p. 846), showing this moment-to-moment change to be important. This is further supported by tmeasurement of â€Å"moment-to-moment changes in interaction processes with and across sessions† (2007, p. 845). Granic and colleagues used multiple time scales by also focusing on a longer twelve week period, showing a focus on continuous change (2007). Both qualitative and quantitative change are evident. Quantitative change can be seen in the measurement of increases or decreases in anti-social behaviour across pre- to post- treatment. Qualitative differences were shown as â€Å"children were classified as â€Å"Improvers† (IMPs) or â€Å"Non-Improvers† (NIMPs) based on a combination of the information† from the two quantitative measures (2007, p. 850). Thus, children’s qu alitative improvement status in anti-social behaviour was determined by quantitative changed in measure scores passing a threshold (e.g. 20 points reduction in one measure) to determine which group they were classified as. The interaction of nature and nurture, required for the third criteria of DST, is also shown in this article, as it focuses upon â€Å"how parent-child interactions change with treatment† (Granic et al., 2007, p. 845) thus showing an integration of child and environment (in the form of the mother and the effect on the treatment). These interactions were the main focus in the study, showing there to be an interaction between nature and nurture in explaining the behaviour targeted in the article (anti-social behaviour) as the researchers applied â€Å"dynamic systems methods to study parent-child emotional behavioural patterns† (2007, p. 845), as â€Å"parent-child interactions were observed and videotaped† (2007, p. 848). The final criteria is teleology. Despite there being no specific reference to multiple end points, it was suggested that of an infinite number of combinations of system parts is possible, as â€Å"the dyad’s trajectory(†¦) is plotted in real time on a grid representing all possible behavioral combinations†, suggesting multiple developmental paths with different endpoints (Granic et al., 2007, p. 850). Regression was considered as whilst IMPs showed increased flexibility from baseline, NIMPs showed a â€Å"decrease in flexibility†(2007, p. 854). Multidirectionality of development is also seen due to the ability to regress and also because state-space grids â€Å"were constructed separately for each dyad†, showing different trajectories (2007, p. 850). Finally, bidirectional, configural causality was shown as behaviour improvements were â€Å"associated with increases in parent-child emotional flexibility† with the consideration that â€Å"recip rocal parent-child warmth and affection may be a cause of improvements in children’s aggressive behaviour† (2007, p. 845/854). This showed parent (environment) and child to exert an interactional causal effect on externalizing behaviour. In conclusion, the above article fits within the DST world view due to its consideration of the environment and a child as a constant interaction, its focus on multiple change time scales, nature-nurture interaction, and its multidirectional view on causality and development. References Dixon, R. A., Lerner, R. M. (1999). A history of systems in developmental psychology. In M.H. Bornstein, M.E. Lamb (Eds.) Developmental Psychology: An advanced textbook. Fourth Edition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Granic, I., O’Hara, A., Pepler, D., Lewis, M. D., (2007). A Dynamic Systems analysis of parent-child changes associated with successful â€Å"real-world† interventions for aggressive children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 845-857. doi:10.1007/s10802-007-9133-4 Lerner, R.M., Lewin-Bizan, S., Warren, A.E.A. (2011). Concepts and theories of human development. In M.H. Bornstein, M.E. Lamb, (Eds.) Developmental Science: An advanced textbook. Sixth Edition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Miller, P. H. (2011). Theories of Developmental Psychology. New York, NY : Worth. Salvatore, S., Eleonora, L. P., Marco, L. (2013). Trauma and the Father Image: Fantasies and Complexes in the Rorschach Test. The Open Psychology Journal, 6, 1-5 doi:10.2174/1874350101306010001

Malcolm X :: essays research papers

Malcolm X was one of the most influential black American leaders of the 1950's and 1960's. At first he was a criminal but then changed himself into an important defender of the rights of blacks. Growing up as a boy his father was a follower of Marcus Garvey, a black leader who worked to create close political and economic ties to Africa. In 1931, Malcolm's father died after being run over by a car. Malcolm believed white racists took his fathers life. When Malcolm was 12 years old, his mother was admitted to a mental hospital. After these two incidents, Malcolm spent the rest of his childhood in foster homes. In 1941, Malcolm moved to Boston where he became involved in criminal activities. In 1946, he was arrested for burglary and sent to prison. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, also called the Black Muslims. Malcolm was then taught that that white people were devils. After Malcolm got out of prison, he changed his last name to "X". The letter stood for the unknown African name of Malcolm's slave ancestors. Malcolm X quickly became the Nation of Islam's most effective minister. A great speaker, Malcolm urged blacks to live separately from whites and to win their freedom "by any means necessary." But he became dissatisfied with the Nation of Islam, in part because the group avoided political activity. In 1964, Malcolm X broke with the Nation of Islam. Soon afterward, he traveled to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. He met Muslims of many ethnic backgrounds and rejected the view that all white people are devils. Malcolm X adopted the Muslim name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabbazz. After returning to the United States, he formed his own group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm X rejected nonviolence as a principle, but he sought cooperation with Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights activists who favored militant nonviolent protests. But by this time, some Black Muslims had condemned Malcolm X as a hypocrite because of his criticisms of the group's leader, Elijah Muhammad. On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm X was shot while giving a speech in New York City. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the crime. The story of Malcolm X ties into Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. Guitar and Milkman are together and Milkman’s asks Guitar why he is so secretive. Malcolm X :: essays research papers Malcolm X was one of the most influential black American leaders of the 1950's and 1960's. At first he was a criminal but then changed himself into an important defender of the rights of blacks. Growing up as a boy his father was a follower of Marcus Garvey, a black leader who worked to create close political and economic ties to Africa. In 1931, Malcolm's father died after being run over by a car. Malcolm believed white racists took his fathers life. When Malcolm was 12 years old, his mother was admitted to a mental hospital. After these two incidents, Malcolm spent the rest of his childhood in foster homes. In 1941, Malcolm moved to Boston where he became involved in criminal activities. In 1946, he was arrested for burglary and sent to prison. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, also called the Black Muslims. Malcolm was then taught that that white people were devils. After Malcolm got out of prison, he changed his last name to "X". The letter stood for the unknown African name of Malcolm's slave ancestors. Malcolm X quickly became the Nation of Islam's most effective minister. A great speaker, Malcolm urged blacks to live separately from whites and to win their freedom "by any means necessary." But he became dissatisfied with the Nation of Islam, in part because the group avoided political activity. In 1964, Malcolm X broke with the Nation of Islam. Soon afterward, he traveled to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. He met Muslims of many ethnic backgrounds and rejected the view that all white people are devils. Malcolm X adopted the Muslim name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabbazz. After returning to the United States, he formed his own group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm X rejected nonviolence as a principle, but he sought cooperation with Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights activists who favored militant nonviolent protests. But by this time, some Black Muslims had condemned Malcolm X as a hypocrite because of his criticisms of the group's leader, Elijah Muhammad. On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm X was shot while giving a speech in New York City. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the crime. The story of Malcolm X ties into Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. Guitar and Milkman are together and Milkman’s asks Guitar why he is so secretive.