The Blind Side Essay Example for Free

The Blind Side Essay ‘Our surroundings can be both threatening and comforting. Discuss in relation to the behaviour of Michael Oher in the film.’ Some settings we encounter in our lives are both familiar and dangerous to us. John Lee Hancock shows this particularly well through the character of Michael Oher in ‘The Blind Side’. Settings such as the Touhy house, the Christian school and the suburb of Hurt Village, where Michael’s mother lives, serve as examples of these contradictory places. Briarcrest Christian School is a place where Michael originally feels threatened, but becomes a place of comfort for him as the movie progresses. When he first moves to the school, Michael does not know anyone, and is daunted by the lack of diversity in the students. He does not seem to understand the work, or wish to do it, and his teachers do not try to help him. This is evident in his poem ‘White Walls’, which is found in the rubbish by one of his teachers. In his writing Michael outlines that â€Å"[he looks] and [he sees] white everywhere, white walls, white floors, and a lot of white people.† Here Hancock refers to Michael’s race and how lonely he feels at the school. Michael also says that he ‘[has] no idea of anything [the teachers] are talking about’ and that they ‘[expect him] to do the problems on [his] own’, implying that he is not confident with working independently. The scene where the teachers hear his poem is when things start to change. They realise that Michael needs help, and start to provide him with it; letting him take tests orally and giving him extra support. The teachers discover that ‘Michael Oher is not stupid’ and his grades start improving. This implies that he does want to learn, and is becoming more acclimatised to the work and school. Through his friendship with SJ, he becomes more socially accepted and school is no longer so lonely for him. As the film progresses, Michael grows to be comfortable at the school, and with his grade improvement, feels like he belongs with his peers. Another place Michael finds both comforting and threatening is the suburb where he grew up. He lived there with his mother during his early childhood, and yet ironically it is one of the places where Michael is most likely to be hurt. He feels a sense of duty to his mother, and returns to her despite.

Knowledge on Prevention of Occupational Hazards | Research

Knowledge on Prevention of Occupational Hazards | Research CHAPTER- I INTRODUCTION â€Å"Working may be an occupational hazard to you. Not working is an occupational hazard to the country.† (12 Eustace 8:5) Work is considered as a basic part of human existence. Most of the adults spend approximately one-third to one-fourth of their life time at work and often perceives work as a part of their self identity, self-expression and self-fulfilment. Many people believe that work is worship, equally important is the place of work because the workplace has significant influence on individual’s health and is a primary site for the delivery of preventive health care. (Rogers, 2006) The level of occupational health and safety, socioeconomic development of a country, quality of life and wellbeing of working people are not only closely linked with each other but also influence each other. This suggests that intellectual and economic inputs on occupational health care are not burdens but have a positive and productive impact on the company and national economy. Some industries and countries have demonstrated that it is technically feasible and economically productive to prevent and minimize hazards at work. This occupational health is an important factor for sustainable socio-economic development that enables workers to enjoy a healthy and productive life both throughout their active working years and beyond, especially after their retirement. (WHO, 2005) Textile industry is one of the leading industries both in India and in the world at large. Nearly 14% of the total industrial production comes from textile industry and it forms around 3% of GNP in India. After Indian railways, Indian textile industry seems to generate more employment. (India Business Directory, 2010) The current global labour force stands at about 2600 million and is growing continuously. Approximately 75% of these working people are in developing countries. The officially registered population constitutes 60-70% of the world’s adult male and 30-60% of the world’s adult female population. Each year another 40 million people join the labour force and most of them are in developing countries. It is imperative therefore to realize that workplace environmental hazards are a threat to a large proportion of the world population. Occupational health is a branch of Community Medicine which deals with the effects of occupation of workplace on human health (Park. JE, 2009). Every occupation is associated with one or other ill effects on health. One such occupational group is cotton textile workers. (Hunter’s Disease of Occupation, 2008) The major health problems associated with cotton dust are respiratory problems, which include Byssinosis, pneumonitis and Emphysema. The problems are highly prevalent in the mills of developing countries. (Fantahumand Adebe, 2009) Byssinosis is an occupational lung disease often observed among workers exposed to cotton dust. Despite the fact that byssinosis has been recognized for over 100 years, the etiology and pathogenesis remain obscure. The ability of textile fibres to produce byssinosis is determined by fibre type-cotton being the most potent, followed by flax, hemp. Harvested cotton consists of a mixture of plant materials including leaves, bracts and stems, fibre, bacteria, fungi, and other contaminants. Very importantly, the compounds which cause byssinosis are water soluble. The biological activity of cotton can be greatly reduced by either steaming or washing the cotton before processing the textile work. (David, 2006) The occurrence of respiratory symptoms represents the earliest response to cotton dust exposure, followed by lung function changes. Early respiratory symptoms may be a risk factor for subsequent loss of pulmonary function in cotton textile workers. (David, 2006) The severity and extent of problem are well recognized in the developed countries and control measures have been implemented to prevent the disease. This is not true, however, for developing countries where the severity and extent of the problem are not well studied and preventive measure are far from adequate. (J.R.Parikh, 2007) The occupational health nurse plays an important role in maintaining health and safety of employees by assessing the work site for hazards and reducing risk that could lead to disastrous situations. More effort could be directed at integrating promotion of health and health protection activities to provide with an environment more conducive especially to general health of the workers, so that the work site offers an excellent setting to focus on both health protection and health promotion. (Blix, 2009) Need for the Study: Occupational health is concerned with health in its relation to work and the working environment. Occupational health implies not only health protection but also health promotion, emergency care, wide range of preventive, curative services, rehabilitative services, a concept which includes everything that can apply to promote health and working capacity of the workers. Occupation health is a branch of community medicine which deals with the effects of occupation or workplace on human health. We have already seen that every occupation is associated with one or the other ill effects on health and cotton mill workers are not an exception to this fact. These workers are susceptible to various morbid conditions by virtue of workplace and working conditions. These morbid conditions may range from chronic respiratory diseases due to cotton dust inhalation to anaemia because of nutritional deficiency. Although many studies on chronic respiratory disease among cotton mill workers have been carried out, a study including complete health profile of cotton mill workers is limited and is need of further research. (Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2010) An occupation is something in which persons not only earn their daily bread but also spend one-third of average adult life. The Bureau of Labour Statistics reports that every 5 seconds a worker is injured in the world and every one second a worker is temporarily or permanently disabled in India. The Centre for disease control and prevention reported in 2006 that every day and average of 137 persons die from injuries on the job. Each year 74000 require treatment in hospital emergency departments for work related injuries. (Girijakumari, 2009) According to a recent estimate, the cost of work related to heat loss and associated productivity loss may amount to several percent of the total gross national product of a country. In India there are about 20 million workers who are involved in textile industry, among them 1.07 million workers are engaged in the manufacture of cotton textile. Byssinosis, hypertension, noise induced hearing loss, dermatitis and risk of cancer due to various chemicals and dyes are common occupational diseases found among weavers. In a study done by NGO in 2008, byssinotic condition was first recorded in Indian history in the last 150 years. A maximum number of Byssinosis is a respiratory syndrome that occurs as a result of inhaling dust that is produced when cotton is inhaled. The occupational nurse should realize that the primary concern to protect the health of working population. A longitudinal study was conducted to assess the prevalence of byssinosis and to find out the association between smoking and byssinosis. 344 samples were taken among the textile workers. The synergistic effect of smoking on cotton dust exposure was evaluated. Indeed, smoking had significantly higher frequency than non-smoking. In the survey conducted, it was observed that the frequency of respiratory symptoms and prevalence of severe byssinosis were 14.9% and 12.6% respectively. The reduction of symptoms was due to the old cotton mill. The reality is lower in the case of non-smokers. The result indicated that smoking potenitates’ byssinosis and smoking was found to show an additive effect of cotton dust exposure. (Maunder, LR, 2007) A study was conducted to determine the effect of past cotton dust exposure on the respiratory tract; a total of 223 persons working in textile mills were included in this study. A questionnaire was used to enquire about respiratory problems, the participants underwent using several spirometric measurement. The most common respiratory problem was pneumonitis 14.3%, the prevalence of byssinosis was only 20.2% and emphysema was 11% in cotton processing workers. (Basel, K.A, 2008) The jobs and tasks in textile mills varied according to the product, process and operations since the subjects were selected from four sections, such as the blow and card room, spinning mills, finishing section and general section. The symptoms of respiratory illness were identified as highest among the workers in the blow and card room, and in the spinning section. In all, 53% of the workers have had such symptoms that had a low peak expiratory flow rate ((Taylor, et.al, 2010) Regular smoking was significantly associated with the occurrence of respiratory related illness and its symptoms. A number of ‘beedi’ (the name of a local cigarette stick that contains more nicotine than usual cigarettes) smokers worked in the production section. They smoked 2 to 25 sticks (a mean of 13 sticks) per day. Non- smokers were less likely to be affected, but many of them suffered from casual fever (20%) and also morning headaches (8%). Prevalence of other health problems were also identified as restlessness at night (24%), daytime sleepiness (11%), snoring (19%), impotence (31%), and feeling physically weak (10%). The prevalence of hypertension (14%) was also noted among some workers. Only 16% of the workers in the production section had been using masks for more than 5-7 years, and no significant association was found between the symptoms of respiratory illness and the length of their service. However, some evidence from their health record (personally kept at home and from doctor’s prescription) proved that symptoms of respiratory illness were suspected among those who were working for more than six-year duration. (Jackson, 2008) Prevention of occupational hazards as an essential component of health aims at training and educating these workers in order to promote good health. It is extremely important to make people aware of the concerns of workplace. One of the major responsibilities of community health nurse is to impart knowledge related to specific measure in preventing occupational hazards. It is the Community health nurse who can play a vital role in preventing and controlling occupational hazards. Therefore, she/he should function independently and carry out this particular responsibility for better health of the workers. (Pyuish Gupta, 2010) Statement of the Problem: A Study to assess the Effectiveness of Video Assisted Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Occupational Hazards and its Prevention among Cotton Mill Workers at Selected Industries, Salem. Objectives: To assess the knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers in experimental group and control group. To determine the effectiveness of video assisted teaching programme regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers in experimental group. To associate between the pre test scores on knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers and their selected demographic variables in experimental group and control group. Operational Definitions: Effectiveness: Effectiveness is a measure of the ability of video assisted teaching programme regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers to produce a specific desired effect or result that can be quantitatively measured. Video Assisted Teaching Programme: It is a systematically planned teaching programme on occupational hazards and its prevention and imparted through video film based lecture cum discussion. Knowledge: It is the correct response given by the cotton mill workers regarding occupational hazards and its prevention which can be assessed through structured interview schedule. Occupational Hazards: It is a state of deviation from normal status of health to illness while working in cotton mill industry. In this study it includes physical hazards, chemical hazards, and mechanical hazards, psychosocial hazards of Byssinosis, pneumonitis, and emphysema. Prevention: It refers to precautionary measures to be followed by cotton mill workers to protect their health from occupational hazards. Cotton Mill Workers: They are the adult employees working at selected cotton industries, Salem. Assumptions: The cotton mill workers may have knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention. Video assisted teaching programme may improve their knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers. Increased level of knowledge among cotton mill workers regarding occupational hazards and its prevention may help them to improve their quality of life. Hypotheses: H1:There will be significant differences in pre test and post test scores on knowledge before and after video assisted teaching programme regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers in experimental group at p≠¤ 0.05 level. H2:There will be significant difference in post test scores on knowledge after video assisted teaching programme regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers in experimental group and control group at p ≠¤0.05 level. H3:There will be significant association between the pre test scores on knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers and their selected demographic variables at p≠¤ 0.05 level. Delimitations: The study was limited to only 60 samples. Study was limited to cotton mill workers who were available during the study period. Study period was limited to 4 weeks. Projected Outcome: This study would reveal the existing knowledge on occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers. This study would motivate the cotton mill workers to update their knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention. This study would evaluate the effectiveness of video assisted teaching programme on knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers. Conceptual Framework: This study is to assess the effectiveness of video assisted teaching programme on knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers. The conceptual framework for this study was based on J.W.KENNY’s open system model. According to Kenny, all the living systems are open and they are in continuous exchange of matters, energy and information. The system receives input and gives back output in the form of information or knowledge. System model consist of 3 phases input, throughput, and output. These 3 phases also known as classical element of the system. Input: It is the first phase in open system. Based on Kenny, input can be a matter of information. In this study, it is testing the knowledge on occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers by using structured interview schedule. Throughput: According to theorist, information is continuous process through the system. This is the activity phase, which allows the input to be changed. In the present study, providing video assisted teaching programme regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers, only to the experimental group. Output: According to Kenny after processing the input, the system gives output (Information/ knowledge). It is the third element of the system, where alteration can be expected because of the throughput. In this study, majority of the cotton mill workers had gained adequate and moderately adequate knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention in experimental group. There was no significant change in the knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers in control group. Feedback: According to throughput, feedback is the improvement of knowledge among cotton mill workers. In this study, improved knowledge regarding occupational hazards and its prevention among cotton mill workers in experimental group was assessed by the investigator. If there is no significant changes in the output, feedback will return to input and the process will continue which is not included in the study. (Pretest)(Post test) (Feedback) Not included in this study Cotton mill industry Fig-1.1 : Conceptual Framework Based On Modified J.W. Kenny’s Open System Model On Effectiveness Of Video Assisted Teaching Programme On Knowledge Regarding Occupational Hazards And Its Prevention Among Cotton Mill Workers. Summary: This chapter dealt with introduction, need for the study, and statement of the problem, objectives, operational definition, assumptions, delimitations, projected outcome and the conceptual frame work. CHAPTER-II

The Germ Theory Of Disease

The Germ Theory Of Disease The germ theory of disease is a theory that suggests that all types of specific infectious diseases are caused by micro-organisms called germs. This theory was developed by Louis Pasteur through the influence of Antoine Bechamp. Observation and questioning stage: 1854: Pasteur, the 19th century biologist and chemist, becomes the director of scientific studies where he had studied. 1857: He begins his work on the theory of germs and micro-organisms. His first research based on: Fermentation in alcohol, such as wine and beer. Through his research, he found that fermentation without oxygen, involved living organisms that abound in the surface of all objects in the air and in water. 1861: Pasteurs germ theory is published. Hypothesis and experiment stage: 1864: He used the process of pasteurisation to heat liquid: such as, milk and alcohol at about 50 degrees Celsius for certain time and then cooled them in order to destroy the micro-organisms. From his observation, Pasteur was aware that if the microbes could affect liquids, then it was a possibility that they could also affect animals and humans. 1865: Pasteur begins his studies again after his asked by the silk industry to find the cause of the disease that had been affecting the silk worms. From his research he found that this infectious disease was caused by living organisms, in this case parasites, bacteria and fungi. Sharing findings stage: 1867: After Pasteurs influence, Joseph Lister a Surgeon decides to use this theory in medical procedures. Joseph begins to use phenol (Carbolic acid) solution to treat surgical wounds, reducing infections and deaths. Repeat by others stage: 1876: Robert Koch, a German physician was one of the people who established that bacteria actually cause diseases. Based on Pasteurs previous studies, Koch was the first to discover the cause of anthrax (a disease that was destroying cattle and sheep in Europe). With his research, Koch found a rod-shaped bacterium now known as: (Bacillus anthrax) in a dead cows blood. Koch experimented by growing a culture of the bacteria from the dead cow and injecting samples into healthy animals. When these animals became sick and subsequently died, Koch separated the bacteria from the blood of these cows and compared them with the original set of bacteria samples taken from the blood of first cow. He concluded that both samples of blood had the same bacteria. This occurrence proved that Pasteurs previous study on microbes; the cause of most animal deaths meant that these infections where motivated by micro-organisms. Theory acceptance stage: 1888: The Pasteur institute was founded in Paris for the treatment of diseases and Pasteur became the director. Task 2 M1 Scientific questioning. Questions science is currently addressing. Is there a cure for AIDS? Global warming, can it be stopped? Issue: First of all, global warming has not been proven; it is as much a theory as is the theory of evolution and neither has been established as incontrovertible fact. The causes for global warming are many and varied; the latest proponent is that there are too many of us already on the planet and the numbers are increasing rapidly. The mere fact that we are continuously breathing out carbon dioxide means that CO2 levels can only increase which will further increase the warming effect. Science is being used in many ways to bring about the aims of Agenda 21, which was divulged at the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Brazil on June 14, 1992. The main purpose of Agenda 21 is to control the world and reduce our population by 80-90%, which would bring the population down to around 500 Million. Vaccines have been developed and are being used covertly to render populations of developing countries infertile and therefore reduce the size of future generations. Questions science cannot answer yet. Where did humanity come from? Is there life on other planets? Issue: At the moment, from the scientists point of view there is no technology available at present to investigate this point which makes the whole question very difficult to answer. Firstly, there is no way of knowing what forms of life could exist on the planets outside of our solar system. Moreover, the universe is simply too vast and present technology cannot provide space ships with the ability to travel fast enough to explore these far off regions. Water has been found on the moon in higher quantities than ever thought possible, and as Mars (which is thought most likely planet to support some form of life) has conditions close to what is found in Antarctica (other than the absence of oxygen). It is quite likely that Science will be able to answer this question definitively within the next 10 to 20 years or so. Questions science may never answer. Can time travel be possible? When will the world end? Issue: The only way a definitive answer can be substantiated is if time travel was possible and that information could be relayed back to the present time. This in itself is a paradox. However, in order for science to answer the question, other questions need to be presented. There is a raft of media attention focusing on the fact that the last date on the Mayan calendar is December 21st 2012. As most of the predictions relating to key events in history have been successfully predicted, then it is quite reasonable to hypothesise that by using the Mayan calendar, some catastrophic event could well happen on or immediately after the 21st of December 2012. Philosophical proponents of the last days have different opinions as to when this event will take place. For instance, Christianity teaches that the world will end will end once Jesus has returned to earth and taken his true followers to heaven. It is written that Jesus himself does not know the date, as it is God the Father alone who knows. Ultimately, it is a known and proven fact that the earth will eventually burn up in a billion or so years time, when the sun has expanded into a giant red ball of fire. However a date within a million years either way cannot be substantiated. Reasons why these questions are different: Is there life on other planets? Global warming, can it be stopped? When will the world end? Each of these questions are different, because in order for them to be answered there needs to be an evolutionary step ladder of scientific knowledge. In other words, the level of scientific knowledge we have at present can only provide answers to a limited number of questions. However once our present level of scientific knowledge evolves to yet a higher level, todays mysteries will be disclosed with ease. Argument For and Against The Theory of Evolution. D1 We should all be aware that evolution is just a theory and as such this assignment addresses arguments both for and against the Theory of Evolution. What is evolution all about? We are initially taught in schools, universities and by the media that all existence evolved from a simple life form over millions of years; that the more intricate species on earth were compelled by natural selection, thus encouraging all present life on earth to have arrived at its present state as a result of what is termed as survival of the fittest. This is what most people take for granted as to what the term Evolution represents. However, there are modern aspects to the term Evolution, One example in microbiology, is where bacteria has become resistant to antibiotics; these bacteria are said to have evolved into an antibiotic strain. For the purpose of this argument, I will deal with the former, where the term Evolution assumes that all present life has evolved from primordial forms of life. Evidence has been presented to support this theory; most coming from fossil records. According to some records, the fossils examined as evidence reveal that living organisms such as the horse has modified over time. If we look at an example of a transitional form of record, we find that the horse has developed from a tiny animal with multi-toed feet existing within a tropical rainforest type environment, into a single-toed animal that is accustomed to a totally different environment. Additionally, evolutionists have proposed ideas that suggest that whales developed from early mammals such as: camels, elephants and cows. Fossils of different animals were found to have similar characteristics as early whales. In their view this was the evidence to show different transitions. In contrast, there is also strong evidence that overrules the theory of evolution. If we take a close look at the whales formation, we start to question: how is it possible that what was once a camel, adapted to breathing air and land based have the mental ability to know how to hold its breath in order to put its head under water? And how many generations of camels would have to have been born for this ability to become an inherent characteristic of its nature? Camels are herbivores, so at what point in their supposed evolutionary process were they able to begin to digest a wide range of food such as: microscopic plankton and very large animals? Likewise, although evolutionists have argued that birds have developed from reptiles such as crocodiles there hasnt been any evidence to support this. Reptiles do not breathe in the same manner as birds, so how could a birds lung function possibly change from another type of lung function? To further support this argument of birds evolving from reptiles, there are no fossil records showing reptiles with feathers, birds with scales or anything in-between. Also, creationists argue that there is nothing in the fossil records which definitively proves that there is a relationship between humans and apes or even between any other living systems. This view is supported by the bible in Genesis chapter 1:24-25, which states: And God said, Let the earth be filled with animals, each producing more of its kind. Let there be tame animals and small crawling animals and wild animals, let each produce more of its kind. And it happened. Verse 25: So God made the wild animals, the tame animals and all the small crawling animals to produce more of their kind. God saw that it was good. The key we learn from this quote is that every kind of living thing was spoken into existence at the same time, hence the word: Kind. This includes all life forms that have become extinct since that time and are now to be found in the fossil records. To further support this; when we look at the different types of animals of the same kind: dogs, whales, lizards and butterflies in the world, the theory that one simple life form evolved into many different types of life forms, becomes negated. Conclusion To conclude, looking at the arguments above it is quite fair to say that evolution is still a theory and not proven as fact; there is as much evidence, if not more, to disprove it as a theory. Despite the fact that evolutionists have found evidence in fossil records to support transitional forms, there is still no obvious evidence of fossils which show development between crucial life-forms such as; humans and the apes. It is clear when looking at the likeness in the anatomy of all living systems that they indicate exceptional evidence for Intelligent Design rather than the development of living things from a simple life form. Bibliography (Scientific theories) Encyclopaedia Wikipedia Discovery channel YouTube Books: An introduction to microbiology (first edition)

The Fiscal Deficit Crisis in the United States :: Government Politics Political Bush Essays

The Fiscal Deficit Crisis in the United States Since the inauguration of George W. Bush as the president of the United States in January 2001, a series of issues and problems have appeared. President Bush created problems in education, finance, medicare, social security, as well as foreign affairs. In addition, he has turned a 500 billion dollar surplus into a 500 billion dollar deficit (â€Å"Historical Tables† 2004, 21-22). We must ask how he could do this. Were funds spent on improving education, social security, or healthcare? No, in fact these areas were under-funded. Rather the deficit is a result of over-spending on defense, homeland security, and tax cuts across the country. In the 20th century, there were 73 years with a deficit in the government budget. The problem has become a very serious issue since 1958, since which there was a deficit in the fiscal budget nearly every year (â€Å"Historical Tables†, 2004, 21-22). During the mid-1990's, when Bill Clinton was the president, the deficit was reduced and net surplus occurred in 1998 and 1999. After George W. Bush had taken office, the trend of having surplus in fiscal reports couldn't continue. During every year of his term, George Bush increased the United States debt significantly. One hundred-fifty-seven billion dollars was the deficit in 2002, while 521 billion dollars was the deficit in the fiscal year of 2004 (â€Å"Historical Tables†, 2004, 21-22). The American government's debt is increasing at $20,000 per second. A person with an average-income will lose his annual salary in a matter of few seconds due to the rapidly increasing debt (US Debt Clock). This is a very important issue to teenagers and college students, as they will soon have to carry the financial burden from the United States government. The underlying reason for the deficit in the budget is due to the mismanagement in the spending and taxing policies adopted by the President. The terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001, the crash of the stock market after that event, the war on Iraq, and the increased homeland security aggregated the problem of the budget deficit. If President George W. Bush is re-elected and continues to ignore this problem, the United States will continue to build up its huge debt. By 2009, the Gross Federal Debt will be over one thousand billion dollars, and that would transfer to every person living in the United States to have a debt of about $36000 (â€Å"Historical Tables†, 2004, 118-119).

Bridging the Gap Essay -- Education

Bridging the Gaps John W. Gardner said, â€Å"Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.† Education today is very ineffective. It is in an in between phase of the ways of old and a time of complete reform. The main issue is that people often lose sight of why the education system should even be reformed. It shouldn’t be reformed because â€Å"that’s what everyone else is doing.† It needs to be reformed to bridge the gap for the students who have a different learning style. It should be reformed to expand knowledge for students. Education reform can have good and bad effects. Because the education system is very complex, educators are being faced with changes and they must decide what is best for students. Educators have been faced with so many changes over time. From a one room schoolhouse to three story buildings. Schools have gone from strictly religious to it being illegal for teachers to bring it up. Not even twenty years ago, many students such as farmers’ kids would drop out of school after eighth grade to work on the farm. School was enforced and college was not as highly encouraged. Now, most people go to college. Education has had many reforms. Some have happened over time and some just quickly took place, but all of them have had a huge effect on students. Through all of the changes of education, one has slowly started to take place all over the world. The education system was created with a three month break in the summer. Slowly, the idea of year round school has been planted in education. Students fear it, but should they? The idea of year round school is not what everyone thinks it is. Most year round sch... ...earning." Project Based Learning. Web. Mar. 2012. . Quillen, Ian. "Educational Technology Rides Stimulus Funding Wave." Education Week. 09 Feb 2011: 15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Mar 2012. Sadowski, Michael. "Time and Learning." Harvard Education Letter. March/April 1998: 4-6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Mar 2012. Solomon, Gwen. "Project-Based Learning: A Primer." TechLearning (2003). Web. Mar. 2012. . Sovern, Jeff. "Laptops in Class: How Distracting Are They?." Christian Science Monitor. 06 Jun 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Mar 2012. Thomas, Ph.D, John W. "A Review of Research on Project-Based Learning." The Journal of Learning Sciences (2000): 367-42. Web. Mar. 2012. .

Essay on 1983 Essay

Different dictionaries provide a number of meanings to the word fool. Firstly, the word fool perhaps implies â€Å"a silly person†, â€Å"a dumb† or even a â€Å"dunderhead†. Apart from these negative connotations to the word fool, the term could also mean, â€Å"a professional in counterfeiting folly to draw entertainment for others, a clown, or a jester†. Besides, a fool could a character in a script of other literal work that is created and manipulated to feature a fool. In Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, there are several unconventional fools other than the clown Feste. Feste and the cauldron of fools in the play dexterously combine their unusual traits and wits to stimulate other characters into their charade eliciting their own form of foolery. This paper explores the role of the fool in William Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night. To begin with, Feste plays a significant role in the Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare in the Illyrian society. He features a transcendental ringleader capable of trouncing conventional social hierarchies and leading them in his own views and interests, aside from the intense criticism of his environment. Feste’s significance in the play is well embedded in his ability to socialize and interact with the nobles and the common with equal ease. In the play, Feste is an employed clown of Olivia’s late father. Therefore, he is an â€Å"official fool† implying that he is permitted to speak the truth to people surrounding him (Act I. Scene V). This role reflects Feste and truthful fool in this Illyrian society, even though he mirrors a critic of his environment. William Shakespeare also injects humor in the play through the characters and mannerism of Feste. For instance, Feste emerges as a conventional fool when he clad as the curate, Sir Topaz. He goes on to visit the imprisoned Malvolio incarnated as Sir Topaz in the company of like fools, Sir Toby and Maria. Shakespeare exerts a shower of humor and wit in the play through the Feste’s charade. Feste humorously abuses the unawares Malvolio of the disguise calling him a â€Å"Satan† and a â€Å"lunatic† (Act IV. Scene II). In a punning twist and turns of words, the in-disguise Feste cum Sir Topaz wittingly confuses Malvolio bringing out the fool in the latter. Incidentally, Malvolio featured as an intentional ruin to people’s pleasure in the play. Therefore, Feste’s folly dawns an acceptable and just behavior among the audience in light of his condemnable actions. Feste represents a genius with words character in the play. He has a knack for witty repartee and word play. Indeed, this justifies Cesario’s description of Feste as the â€Å"wise fellow to play the fool† (3.1.14). Besides, Feste’s penchant for excellent sizing up situations is dramatic and significant in the play. He points out other character’s folly drawing a couple of bucks and a laugh. For instance, Feste’s shrewd description of â€Å"the greedy and drunk† Sir Toby in an honest and humorous mockery justifies to the Elizabethan audience his legitimacy as a licensed fool. Notwithstanding, this folly acts offers an honest insight to the audience of the concealed and dark secrets and aspects of a character in the play. Source document

Culture of the 1950s Essay

Websites allow global product and services distribution through intranets, extranets and internet Websites. Both groups of designers and professional analysts concur that a well-designed user interface is an essential component that improves the appeal and operation of the Web, allowing â€Å"browsers† or â€Å"tourists† to be converted into â€Å"customers† and â€Å"residents. † Recognizing demographic diversity and understanding the users are the two main focus of attention in the user-interface development process. However, these differences may demonstrate worldwide cultures in a global economy. The impact of culture in web content and tools is a factor which companies that aim to engage in online international business should consider. Few important pointers should be regarded. For instance, a person has a favorite website, how might this site be understood in countries like Paris, USA, London, Japan, or India, assuming that enough verbal translation are carried out? There might be something in a website’s metaphors, interaction, mental model or even the appearance offend or alienate a user. The date, most Culture of the 1950s is one of the controversial periods in American history marked by changes in worldviews of people and equal rights movements, new social values but old traditions dominated in the society. The World Wars had a great impact on cultural, political, social and economic life changing thinking and values of people. The post-war period of time became a watershed between ‘old’ and ‘new’ world of meaning, economy and ideas. Thesis The 1950s represents a time of disruption because the old values were rejected by the society but new ones had not been formed and accepted yet. The first half of the XX century changed greatly views of people and their destinies. The large-scale death and destruction exacted by World War II destroyed the security that had made current history a comfortable approach to international politics. The 1950s became an edge of the social change marked the beginning of the XX century. Such values as consumerism, trendy way of life and stylish goods were rejected by the society faced with grievances and disillusionment of war time (Fukuyama 8). Further support for the old social orientation to man’s impulses has been provided recently by a growing body of literature which seeks to document the innately violent and aggressive aspects of human behavior (Booker 34). In all these converging views of human nature, trust, intimacy, and openness are virtually self-destructive, and vulnerability and unguarded expressiveness become a positive threat. In this area, the puritan code was most explicit and ponderous. During 1950s, Americans did not have ‘a culture of consensus’ influenced by diverse social factors and liberation movements: the social life was influenced by feminist ideas and racial question. The second wave of feminism was diverse and involved lesbian, black, liberal and social feminism movements. Sexual liberation was a factor which had a great influence on the national idea during the middle of the XX century. Women paid particular attention to the role of sexual relations and sexual freedom in the society and their role in formation of self and universal order. Martin Luther King organized antiracial campaigns addressing a very important problem of racial inequality in America and its impact on the society. King expected that many people would â€Å"awake† from long sleeping and start fighting, because the established Constitution grants the right to the populace, and no doubt that in modern society the main role is featured to democracy and liberty. Social differences also influenced culture and led to the disruption (Booker 24). During the previous period, the good life consisted of work, work conducted with a religious attitude, for work was dedicated to God. The new way of liberation movements promulgated ideas of equality and equal pay for men and women contracted with the old values and norms (Fukuyama 237). Old social order and worldviews were rejected but the society did not create new values and traditions to replace the old ones. The puritan ethos in itself contained a number of crucial inconsistencies. They were exacerbated by the appearance of a set of values deriving from and entirely different source and based on an entirely contradictory set of premises about the nature of man. There were the democratic values founded on the assumption that man is innately good and trustworthy and that society is a contract among men that should enhance rather than restrain man’s humanity (Fukuyama 186). The themes of equality, social responsibility, democracy, liberty, and fraternity confronted the already internally conflicting themes of the world view and resulted in a dizzying welter of confusion and paradox. The internally paradoxical aspects of old views, combined with new democratic values together constitute anything but the disruption. In spite of the fact that some critics see 1950s as the ‘consenual period’, Derbyshire explains that The main reason the 1950s looks so good to so many of us is that in moving from the old order to the new, we lost much of our civilizational confidence. You may say that that confidence was misplaced, or an illusion; you may even say that it was obnoxious, and good riddance to it; and you may be right on all points† (Derbyshire cited Young & Young 29). American young people have inherited a â€Å"spurious† culture, a set of inconsistent arrangements and attitudes which have necessitated a variety of psychological and sociological stratagems aimed at disguising the basic lack of integrity and consistency in our culture. In the novel â€Å"On the Road†, Jack Kerouac vividly portrays this process through life and expectations of the main characters, Sal and Dean. Denial, self-deception, compartmentalization are some of the stratagems employed to cope with this disturbing state of affairs (Fukuyama 76). Kerouac portrays that segment of the younger generation was attacking the value orientations deriving from our puritan heritage. Such a direct and open-eyed confrontation was precisely what was necessary before any resolution of some of the inconsistencies can be attained. Sal says: I realized that these were all the snapshots which our children would look at someday with wonder, thinking their parents had lived smooth, well-ordered, stabilized-within-the-photo lives and got up in the morning to walk proudly on the sidewalks of life, never dreaming the raggedy madness and riot of our actual lives, our actual night, the hell of it, the senseless emptiness (Kerouac 208). It is just this resolution that the new generation were exploring in their alternative versions of â€Å"the good life†. The new generation interpreted the success goals of their parents as extremely constricting and threatening, and they were highly sensitive to the props adults use to buttress lives that were somehow less than fulfilling. Cultural diversity (and a new wave of immigration) added social tension and heated liberation movements. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the new ethic were themes which can be seen as not traditional or indigenous, that was the genuinely â€Å"foreign† elements, which because they were new arouse the most alarm, fear, and often repressive responses on the part of adults. The merchants of popular culture used the felicitous phrase, the â€Å"beat† generation, to refer to the group of people who celebrate the present and attempt to experience it as timelessly and intensely as possible. Being was desired for its own sake and becoming disappeared as a desired way of life (Booker 65). For instance, the novel by Jack Kerouac originated in racial fetishism and reflected vocabulary and language typical for diverse society and culture. Immigrants had an impact on literature and language using specific vocabulary and colloquialisms typical for their cultures (Nicholls 525). Another element which must be regarded as distinctly new was the attitude toward affluence, money, and private property on the part of these young people. Traditional adult success was regarded by them as â€Å"too expensive,† that was requiring too much sacrifice of the self, and of spontaneity, freedom and integrity, and giving too little in return (Fukuyama 270). In sum, the 1950s represents a time of disruption influenced by a mixture of the old and new social values. The decline of traditional culture encour ¬aged individualism which placed the self at the centre of concerns. Increasing social diversity led to a general relativism, not just in matters of taste or morals but even in matters of fact. These values were genuinely believed, there is no doubt, on the part of the parents, but the parents’ life experiences were so different as to locate them in a different culture. Life experiences were drastically different from the secure and protected environment before the WWII. The 1950s represents the disruption influenced by persona experiences of two different generations, cultural diversity and new social order. Works Cited 1. Booker, M. K. The Post-Utopian Imagination: American Culture in the Long 1950s. Greenwood Press, 2002. 2. Fukuyama, F. The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order. Free Press; 1st edition, 2000. 3. Kerouac, J. On the Road. New York: Viking, 1957. 4. Nicholls, B. The Melting Pot That Boiled Over: Racial Fetishism and the Lingua Franca of Jack Kerouac’s Fiction MFS Modern Fiction Studies, 49 (2003): 524-549. 5. Young, W. H. , Young, N. K. The 1950s (American Popular Culture Through History). Greenwood Press, 2004.