The relationship between teenager and their family Essay

The relationship between teenager and their family - Essay Example Data from the NSFG suggest that female adolescents born to intact families face a lower risk of early sexual debut while female adolescents, experiencing parental separation and multiple transitions in family structure have a higher risk of early sexual debut. Moreover, the Hong Kong case study establishes that adolescents with a dysfunction family and a poor family relationship are more likely to hazard to take drugs. Recently, the presence of strained relationships between teenagers and their parents as well as the disintegration within families demeans the influence of parental or family advice on teenagers. This forces teenagers to trust their peers, which coerces them to adopt immoral and unethical behaviors like drug and substance abuse and early sexual intercourse. It is clear that the increase in the strength of youths peer relationships demeans the interaction between teenagers and their families. Notably, cognitive and emotional maturity affects the quality of peer relationships that changes during adolescence. As teenagers seek to assert their individuality and independence, they derive frequent conflict between teens and their parents (Oswalt, 2014). However, as they approach maturity, they develop mature relationships with their parents and their colleagues since they have the capacity to make important decisions about their lives. Indeed, as adolescents approach maturity, they no longer depend on family social support since their colleagues develop the capacity to offer emotional support and comfort and sensible advice (Oswalt, 2014). A three years study by Dr. McGues group assesses the relationship dimensions conflict with parents and perceived warmth of the relationship with parents at age 11 and then again at age 14 (aboutkidshealth, 2010). The study established a decline in the perceived quality of relationships between

Mask Work in Drama Essay Example for Free

Mask Work in Drama Essay Our mask work in drama was an experience that I very much enjoyed very much. It also made me a better drama student because I increased my body movement far more as my face could not be seen. It has also shown me that with a mask on you can go for it with your body movement but you should go for it just as much with out a mask on. Fragments This part of the portfolio is where I say what Fragments of Mask work I learnt and enjoyed. Key word Fragments: Fragments of movement we mainly made up our selfs but always had to keep them ritualistic and precise. The movement we were taught in certain lessons were from a ritual and had to be Ritualistic and precise so every move was important. Examples of fragments I learnt in the lessons regarding Mask work: I remember the first lesson that we did mask work I was so unsure weather I would like it or not. What we did was sat in a circle Miss Grenene did movements that we had to copy in a ritualistic style. Then she made up copy the ritual routine with sounds so eventually we were all doing the same movements and sounds making us a chorus. Then she made us carry on the ritual adding sounds and movements on to it as we go. Miss was also playing the drum, which made it sound like an ancient ritual war drum. I felt unsure while doing this but however my emotions became more confident as the class ritual got better and better. The feelings I had were that I had to keep together with the group like a chorus should. Real life sounds and memories of sounds and movements were used in that ritual to carry on to making our own ritual. Like clapping whistling stomping all kinds of sounds and movements. All these ideas ran through my h ead and I was thinking this is good so why not add this, this and this to the piece. This was the starting point for our work as next we had to do a ritual in masks, which really does complete the ritual. I had to team up with Ross, Jack, Lisa and Joe to perform a Ritual of travelling from a neutral calm place to a hot place, to a cold place and then a funny place. I discovered on this first performance with a mask that because my face was covered up I had to express my character with my body and even more so as I didnt have speech. We all had to huddle together as well to look like a chorus. Sadly I felt nervous on that performance as everyone was moving at different times and I could not keep up so it went badly. For the movements I thought I should look freezing and act it and look hot and act it for the others I did the same basis for the ritual. I understand that a ritual is to be a serious occasion and you should act serious and focused while acting out a ritual like for example in a funeral or wedding. Which brings me onto my next piece which was when me Jack, Lauren, Keeli, and Michelle were acting out a wedding. The manor of this performance had to be serious and precise which it was. We did slow clear-cut movements that flowed and were symbolic to a wedding. This was a good piece when we performed it however the white cloth got caught in Keelis hair and we all ended up laughing. When we performing it I saw weddings on t-v and in real life and saw how formal they were, so I decided to draw my performance from that. I played the vicar and with the mask on I felt that Ginny was gone and the Vicar of the wedding was there. I felt calm and good about this performance as it was done well but we all laughed which emphasized even more the need t be serious in a ritual. Not one of my fragments up until now has made me happy with Mask Work. Not because I dont like because I always couldnt do my role correctly in movement or voice. Now I was put in a group for my moch exam and I was brilliant and confident from the word go I had no problem expressing my self and loved it. I feel that if I did it once I can do it again maybe it was the pressure of the exam that made me do well, however I am far more confident with mask work after that. Response: My emotional response to mask work is to approach it in a willing way. I felt like I had failed whenever I didnt give a good performance, which was most of the time, which hindered y confidence. I felt down like I did not know what I was doing wrong for a long time this made me frustrated with the work. This made me more determined though because I love drama so much I was not going to be perturbed by improvements that could and were in the end made. Also while we were trying new things I felt happy or sad or angry and this was related to the movements. I found that moving a lot made me happy and I could do that a lot if I was down. My Intellectual response to the work was to always be prepared and try everything and improve. I always wanted to intellectually give a good input to work and get a good out put from it. Ideas were always flowing into my head to put into a drama piece, but sadly I didnt know when to stop. The movements that we explored were always ritualistic and expressi ve according to the character or ritual we were playing in. In our moch exam I was so pleased with the response I gave to the work, which were magical ideas, and ritualistic movements, which got a good response, back this made me pleased. I always felt ready to try but had varied emotions through out mostly of focus and confusion to the drama piece. Development: Fragments were connected and developed as we learned more and put our increasing mask work techniques together into a ritual piece. Like our sounds like drumming or humming were connected to movements. For example a scream sound+ hands trying to pull your hair out could = an insane person in ritual. Another example could be a person with clawed hands above their head + a long grunt could = a person in a ritual who is angry. Mask + Movement = A soundless piece of drama where only the body can interpret the ritual using serious prà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cis and ritualistic movement. Also you must always have your head forward and facing the audience. Then you should have your shoulders back and have clear ritualistic movements and if there is sound use it so its clear and relevant also loud or quite depending on the mood. Mask +Movement+ Sound= A Ritual with expressive movement and sounds were effective adding atmosphere depending on the ritual piece. Mask+ Movement+ Sound+ Music= For example a piece of mask work like Oedipus which was the play we did and turned into a ritual. Fro sound we used words from the play like death, marriage, hanging, the grouching of the eyes. Then we linked these to ritualistic movements like people dieing and the grouching of the eyes. We used the music when there was a lot of tension at a high peak of the ritual. The chorus did movements all together this looked very effective and I liked the way they all moved at different level but still looked like a chorus in a ritual. Evaluation: The moch exam we did was based on a play called Oedipus and which we had to extract 10 words and turn it into a ritual with movement and music. Our 10 words were: Death, Marriage, Hanging, Grouching, Suffering, Hurl me, Madness, stabbing daggers, pain, and loved ones. The chorus which was Niki, Chris, Kirsty, Joe and Michelle used slow movements and long drowning words which made the ritual sound like a world of despair. I was the narrator and I said about the Marriage, death and hanging and the gouging of the eyes in the beginning. This was very effective and then at the end I came on screaming madness. Then the madness the chorus came out and stabbed me to death then I said the madness is done like I was closing the ritual. I must say I loved the way every ones movements were so precise and ritualistic. This so effective and the sounds we used symbolized the movements we did which made it look really good. I liked it because it flowed well and the sounds were loud and expressive. If I had to change something about the ritual it would be the fact that we could have moved more in time and also that the music could have been used more to show tension. Also the clothes were good too Red symbolising blood and black is the madness of killing. The other groups were so good as well I learnt that from them practise makes perfect. They were so realistic in voice and movement. Especially Sheryl and Daniel in voice. The choruses in all the groups could have moved better though. From this the thing I have learned that everyone must work on is their movements. The audiences were so good they gave us a lot of claps and support to spur us on.

Fake News and Online Regulations

Fake News and Online Regulations The dissemination of fake news by online is a threat to democracy. Should online platforms therefore be subject to regulatory control? Professional journalism plays an important role in our democratic societies by acting as a public watchdog over the concentrations of power, ensuring the accountability of these institutions, and informing us of important occurrences.[1] However, fabrication, fakery and falsehood have been a part of journalism since the first journalists put quill to parchment.[2] Therefore, statutory laws and regulatory bodies aim to ensure journalism is impartial and accurate. However, journalism today is experiencing fundamental transformation due to technological advancements; consequently, the public now acquires news through digital platforms as well as traditional sources. A 2016 survey found that 35% of people in the UK now use social media to access the news, for those under 35 years old, 41% used Facebook and 20% used Twitter as a weekly source.[3] Online platforms have created more news sources to larger audiences, but this has also opened floodgates of inaccurate information pouring into our news feeds by deskilled journalists. The phenomena of citizen journalism and ‘we media’ have accelerated the pattern of random and instantaneous digital dissemination of information.[4] These activities have contributed to blurring the lines between truth and falsehood, and created fake news, which puts professional journalism under pressure. On 30th January 2017, The Culture, Media and Sport Committee launched an inquiry into fake news and called for submissions to be made suggesting ways to respond to the phenomenon of fake news. Various regulatory bodies, and institutions including the LSE Media policy project have shed some light on this topic.[5] Fake news can be best understood as ‘the misinformation (the inadvertent sharing of false information) and disinformation (the deliberate creation and sharing of information known to be false)’.[6] These types of content are being created as a result of: poor journalism, parody, provocation, passion, partisanship, profit, political influence and propaganda.[7] They are published on news sites and listed by digital intermediaries (groups consisting of news aggregators, social networks, search engines, and digital application stores) [8] causing fake news to spread across the globe. The concerning issue is the channels through which most people gain their news from are currently subject to no statutory laws, editorial guidelines nor regulation by organizations such as the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). However, there is a wealth of evidence supporting the scale, dissemination and effects of fake news. The debate has gained significant prominence since the 2016 US presidential elections. Statutory regulation of digital intermediaries A YouGov survey commissioned by Channel 4 found that only 4% of people were able to correctly identify fake news.[9] This inability is concerning as many people, especially the young, acquire knowledge, and form opinions, by what they see and read on the internet. Statutory regulation would therefore be the most direct response to the challenge of fake news;[10] under this approach digital intermediaries would be treated as publishers even if they have not played an active part in the commissioning or presentation of such content.[11] Such an approach may be necessary as a study analysing how social media can improve citizens’ knowledge of political preferences proved that there is a remarkable ability for social media to forecast election results.[12] This proved to be the case during the EU referendum, where 7% of those that voted for Brexit regretted their choice later. [13] News reporters found voters claiming they voted leave because they believed lies or false promises[14]; it is most likely that the sources of these false statements were from unregulated online platforms. Therefore, enforcing legislation on digital intermediaries would hold these platforms directly accountable, ensuring they take their civic duty seriously.[15] Fake news is also a concern on Twitter where ‘Twitter bombs’ (the act of sending unsolicited replies to specific users via Twitter in order to get them to pay attention to ones cause), are being launched within days of the elections.[16] Despite Twitter’s attempts to shut them down it has been ineffective as these users create fake accounts, fake replies and fake grassroots movements.[17] These tweets target deskilled-journalists online, pressurising some to moderate their views. Democracy is threatened if people’s views are influenced by false statements in the guise of news. Aside from political motivations, the spreading of fake news was also noted by users retweeting fake images of the Hurricane Sandy disaster[18], and pictures of the of Osama Bin Laden’s dead body.[19] Such action usually goes unnoticed unless someone has detected and reported the issue. This response is different for newspapers because they are subject to the IPSO, or a similar body. Journalists employed by regulated publishers are required to uphold the values enforced in the Editors’ code of practice. This aims to ensure accuracy of information and a standard of professional journalism is maintained[20] . However, digital intermediaries are not held accountable by any body, like the IPSO, even though they have a large audience that is affected by fabricated stories. Therefore, it is crucial that these organisations take some responsibility in resolving this issue.[21] Without implementing any strict regulatory initiatives such incidences would occur daily and remain unquestioned, leaving users to believe false information. Statutory regulation would therefore fill the gap in the law, bringing clarity and holding digital intermediaries responsible for their part in disseminating fake news. There is no doubt that intermediaries play a dominant role in the global public sphere, but perhaps we need to address the question of whether we should continue to consider them as mere intermediaries.[22] Unlike news providers, intermediaries have no investment in journalism and are therefore more likely to filter out news. This limits users’ understanding of the world, as they are insulated from opposing views. The risk is that these ‘filter bubbles’ (restrictions of a users perspective) will promote misperceptions by hiding the truth,[23]   which supports the economic models of intermediaries because digital programmatic advertising follows users through their ‘clicks’, ‘shares’ and ‘likes’.[24] By learning from the past actions of a user, news feeds will only show similar material in their next use. Requiring digital intermediaries to change their approach by bursting this ‘filter bubble’ would not be in their commercial interests, as the bubble’s content is what keeps users engaged. Statutory regulation would therefore enforce strict rules on how intermediaries should enforce mechanisms to detect and filter fake news instead of opposing views. Moreover, ensuring impartiality and accuracy is important especially during election time. ‘A BuzzFeed News analysis found that top fake election news stories generated more total engagement on Facebook than top election stories from 19 major news outlets combined’.[25] This imbalance illustrates the significant role digital intermediaries play in today’s society, and therefore it is particularly concerning if their news content is fake. If newspapers and broadcasting media organisations are obliged to follow strict guidelines on impartiality[26] and accuracy, then why should it be any different for online platforms?   For example, Section 319 of the Communications Act 2003 requires TV and radio broadcasters to comply with the standard objectives set by Ofcom. This includes, reporting ‘with due accuracy’ and not ‘misleading’;[27] furthermore, Parliament ‘requires Ofcom to develop rules with respect to broadcasters’ wider editorial coverage of elections’.[28] Similar regulations on intermediaries would ensure information is not personalized to a user’s preferences, thus maintaining impartiality and accuracy, whilst avoiding the risk of disseminating fake news to users. Statutory regulation of online news providers The dissemination of fake news by online news providers has proven to be a great concern as anonymous individuals are inventing fake news for the purpose of generating clicks and earning revenue.[29] Such behavior has been identified in Macedonia, where teenagers were found to be making money by creating fake news on US presidential candidates and promoting it via social media.[30] If statutory regulation is placed on digital intermediaries, then the same could be done for online news providers, as the same news from online news providers will be shared via digital intermediaries. This was proven to be the case as various US sites claimed to be exposing ‘Russian propaganda’,[31] was shared via other online platforms which influenced voter behavior in the US elections.[32] Examples such as as this suggest ‘misleading, biased propaganda’ is also part of the fake news phenomenon.[33] It is therefore important to set statutory regulations for both, as this type of de-skilled citizen journalism is a threat to democracy especially because people’s views are being influenced by biased and inaccurate information.[34] Furthermore, news outlets that only have an online presence, such as AOL news, Vice, and Huffington Post, are not subject to any regulatory controls as they are not members of regulatory bodies like IPSO;[35] even though they are subject to some statutory control such as defamation,[36] copyright[37] and data protection laws,[38] control is not the same as the additional regulatory standards most UK press (with a physical and online presence) comply to. Without belonging to any recognised regulator, publishers may have to pay exemplary damages under the Crime and Courts Act for defamation or other relevant claims;[39] therefore, it would be in the interests of online publishers to join a recognized regulatory body. Interestingly, Wikipedia recently banned Daily Mail as an unreliable source and excluded it as a source of reference. Wikipedia claimed the newspaper to have a ‘reputation for poor fact checking and sensationalism’.[40] These claimed characteristics are another concern for UK journalism, as IPSO regulates Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers Limited) [41] yet they are still being labelled as an unreliable source. This indicates the ineffectiveness of IPSO as it failed to ensure the credibility of a publisher they regulate. Such failures generate an inclination towards statutory regulation of online news providers as regulatory bodies are not enough, to ensure that newspapers report accurately and without exaggeration. Not only do such flaws lose the public’s trust in professional journalism’ but they also create a society that is vulnerable to fake news. There is also no evidence to suggest that the levels of   accuracy are rising or that the self-regulatory bodies set up by the major publishers, and IPSO, are having any identifiable positive effect.[42] Hence, it may be necessary to set up statutory regulations of online news providers which will create a more direct and stringent approach to tackling fake news. The Leveson Report[43] suggested that such statutory regulation would be necessary to underpin the process of recognition, and reinforce the importance of statutes guaranteeing press freedom.[44] However, three years on from the publication of the Leveson Report, the landscape of press regulation is still fragmented and confused,[45] and it may therefore be necessary to re-consider these suggestions. The implementation of statutory regulation, combined with independent regulatory bodies, should be extended to intermediaries and online news providers. Such a framework is an essential stepping stone towards a regulatory regime that is entirely fit for purpose in this new era. The negative issues with this initiative would include costs, and whether a consensus by major publishers and online platforms can be formed. Self-regulation by digital intermediaries An alternative to statutory regulations would be to enforce a self-regulatory system for digital intermediaries which would allow them to have significant control in filtering fake news according to methods they believe are most effective. Mark Zuckerberg, although first dismissing the idea that fake news influenced the US election, later acknowledged the role of social media in helping promote fake news, and proposed ways in which Facebook could help resolve this issue.[46] Actions include taking an approach that ‘will focus less on banning misinformation, and more on surfacing additional perspectives and information, including that fact checkers dispute an items accuracy’.[47] Other ways Facebook could reduce fake news without resorting to  censorship include; nudging, crowdsourcing and reducing the algorithmic bias.[48] Nudging involves monitoring what users are writing in a new post; if the content includes words they may regret posting, it notifies them. Crowdsourcing allows users to evaluate news sources by indicating ratings. Lastly, the most important solution is to reduce the algorithmic bias. This involves trying to diminish filter bubbles that create an â€Å"echo chamber†, where similar ideas bounce around endlessly which is a problem when the echo chamber blocks out corrective or fact-checking information.[49] Although, some digital intermediaries have already taken steps to tackle the issue of fake news, it would be ineffective to give them sole responsibility. More useful would be to establish a governance mechanism, such as an independent board, that could check whether the algorithms accord with acceptable principles.[50] This view is supported by the Trust Project, which suggests that algorithms alone will struggle to root out fake news, unless they can quantify indicators of trust elements, which can help set a ‘kitemark’ for trustworthiness.[51] This suggestion includes being able to distinguish the intentions behind the news, and whether it is genuine, or inaccurate reporting. Therefore, remedies based solely on technological fixes or market-driven corrections will not, on their own, address these problems. Additionally, judgments of this kind need to be carefully reviewed hence, an independent body should be established to perform this role. This approach will ensure tech platforms maintain transparency in the work they carry out to tackle this public issue. Firstly, there is no guarantee that only one country’s statutory regulation would work as technologic advancements allow users to create and access online news sites from anywhere in the world. If users can create fake news, they can create fake identities, which raises ‘concerns for verification, accountability and accuracy’[52]; therefore, alternative solutions may be needed to tackle the problem effectively. This view is supported by Dr Tambini from the LSE, who states that the unprecedented number of fake news sites is a huge and far-reaching problem that cannot be dealt within existing legal categories.[53] Therefore, a possible solution to tackling fake news would be to establish a global regulatory body that could operate across borders. Taking such an approach would not hinder the freedom of expression nor create restrictive frameworks, as a global collective regulatory body would find common ground, respecting the rights of all democratic institutions, and ensure that accuracy of information could be maintained across online platforms. Whereas, it would be difficult to establish statutory regulation without hindering the right to freedom of speech, which must be balanced against the risk of giving states excessive powers over the expression rights of individuals and organizations creating such content.[54] ‘The only category where there may be an argument for statutory regulation is the category of deliberate falsehood with intent to compromise national security’.[55] However, such a high standard will be difficult to meet and not tackle the phenomena of fake news. Instead a global regulatory system is more likely to create an effective solution that can monitor all types of fake news. However, the major concern with creating a global regulatory body is forming a consensus to establish one, and deciding some universal criteria of what constitutes as fake news. Regardless of the flaws in a global regulatory body, it is likely to be the most effective solution for a global problem. A further concern that must be addressed is the misuse of the term ‘fake news’. The term ‘fake news’ has been used by public figures and politicians to justify politically motivated attacks on journalists and press freedom.[56] ‘What was once considered a symbiotic relationship between politics, media and the public is turning from a Golden Triangle into a Bermuda Triangle’. [57] Representatives from the White House and President Trump have used this term on numerous occasions to accuse media reports that oppose Trump’s views.[58] Moreover, in the UK, headlines such as, ‘we invested  £10bn extra in the NHS last year’, and claims that, ‘Corbyn would order Labour MPs to vote for the government’s bill triggering Article 50’,[59] were later found to be false. Nonetheless journalists claim to have correctly interpreted quotes from politicians, but due to the lack of clarity, and changing views of the politicians, their journalism was labelled as ‘fake news’.[60] This labelling is no fault of their own, but it definitely damages their reputation as credible sources in the eyes of the public. A global regulatory body could establish mechanism which safeguard online journalists and individuals that may have complaints to online content. These mechanisms would be similar to the way the press is currently protected by regulatory bodies such as IPSO, Ofcom, and Advertising Standard Authority which provide all individuals with a complaints procedure to resolve disputes.[61] For online news sites created by individuals, however such protections and remedies are not available. In these cases, the only way the news sites could safeguard themselves from possible accusations of creating false news would be to become members of such bodies. A global regulatory body could protect and hold online journalists accountable for their reports, and scrutinise claims by politicians in the public eye. This protection could be extended to the existent online press, to further safeguard them from accusations and ensure accuracy. Traditional gatekeeping mechanisms, such as national statutory laws and self-regulatory frameworks, can ensure online platforms are subject to similar frameworks as newspapers and the broadcasting media are, but this approach would ultimately fail because the internet has no borders- allowing online platforms to operate globally, across multiple jurisdictions.[62] Fake news created in a different country, would still be accessible and impact users from other countries, (as proven to be the case with Macedonia). Therefore, the issue of fake news can only be tackled effectively by all democratic institutions through the creation of a global regulatory body. Bibliography Allen Nick and Lawler David, Donald Trump says fake media is enemy of the people they have no sources, none (The Telegraph, 24 February 2017) accessed 13 April 2017 BBC, Donald Trump aide accuses BBC of fake news (BBC News, 17 February 2017) accessed 13 April 2017 BBC, Fake news: How can African media deal with the problem? (BBC News, 16 February 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Bfi, Regulation and Censorship (Bfi.org.uk, 2014) accessed 11 April 2017 Broersma M.J and Peters Chris, Rethinking Journalism Trust and Participation in a Transformed News Landscape (Routledge, 2013), pp 15 Byrne Andrew, Macedonia’s fake news industry sets sights on Europe (www.ft.com, 16 December 2016) accessed 11 April 2017 Ceron Andrea, Curini Luigi, M Iacus Stefano, Porro Giuseppe, Every tweet counts? How sentiment analysis of social media can improve our knowledge of citizens’ political preferences with an application to Italy and France [4 April 2013] 16(2) New Media & Society, pp 340-358 Dearden Lizzie, Brexit research suggests 12 million Leave voters regret their choice in reversal that could change result (The Independent, 1 July 2016) accessed 13 April 2017 Fenton Natalie, New Media, Old News, (Sage Publications Ltd, 2009) pp.10 Garrett R.Kelly, Facebooks problem is more complicated than fake news (The Conversation, 17 November 2016) accessed 11 April 2017 Gilad Lotan, Fake News Is Not the Only Problem (www.points.datasocietynet, 23 November 2016) accessed 11 April 2017 Goldsbie J, Craig Silverman, the man who exposed the fake-news racket in 2016 (NOW Magazine, 22 December 2016) accessed 11 April 2017 Goodfellow Jonathan, Only 4% of people can distinguish fake news from truth, Channel 4 study finds (The Drum, 6 February 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Goodman Emma, How has media policy responded to fake news? (LSE Media Policy Project, 7 February 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Gupta Aditi, Lamba Hemank, Kumaraguru Ponnurangam, Joshi Anupam, Faking Sandy: characterizing and identifying fake images on Twitter during Hurricane Sandy [2013] In Proceedings of the 22nd International conference on World wide web, WWW ’13, pp 729-7637 Heawood Jonathan, Independent and effective? The post-Leveson framework for press regulation [2015] 7(2) Journal of Media Law pp 130-144 Impress, IMPRESS Submission on Fake News (Impress press, 10th March 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Ipso, Editors’ Code of Practice (The Independent Press Standards Organization, accessed 10 April 2017 Ipso, UK Regulated publications (Ipso.co.uk) accessed 13 April 2017 Jackson Jasper, Wikipedia bans Daily Mail as unreliable source (Guardian.com, 8 Feb 2017) accessed 13 April 2017 Johnson Adam, Fairness and Accuracy in reporting (Why Are Media Outlets Still Citing Discredited ‘Fake News’ Blacklist? (Fair.org, 1 December 2016) accessed 9 April 2017 KCL Centre for the study of media, communication and power, Submission to: Consultation on the Leveson Inquiry and its Implementation Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office (Kcl.ac.uk, 2016) accessed 11 April 2017 KCL Centre for the study of media, communication and power, Submission to: Inquiry into Fake News (Kcl.ac.uk, 16 February 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Lord Justice Leveson, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press’ (www.gov.uk, 2012) accessed 16 April 2017 Mcnair Brian, Fake news – a user’s guide (The Conversation, 6 March 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Mcnair Brian, Journalism and Democracy: a millennial audit [2000] 1(2) Journalism Studies pp 207 Metaxas T. Panagiotis and Eni Mustafaraj, Manipulation of social media affects perceptions of candidates and compromises decision-making [26 Oct 2012] 338 (6106) Social Media and the Elections pp 472-473 National Union of Journalists, NUJ submission to the CMS parliamentary select committee inquiry on fake news (www.nuj.org.uk, February 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Nelson Steven, ‘Publications Called Russian-Propaganda Distributors Consider Suing Anonymous Experts’, (US News, 29 November 2016) accessed 9 April 2017 Newman Nic, H.Dutton William, Blank Grant, Social Media and the News: Implications for the Press and Society (OUP 2014) pp.139 NMA, CMS Select Committee ‘Fake News’ Inquiry: NMA Response (News.media.uk.org, 30 March 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 NMA, CMS Select Committee ‘Fake News’ Inquiry: NMA Response (Newsmediaukorg, 30 March) accessed 11 April 2017 Ofcom, Review of Ofcom list of major political parties for elections (Ofcom.org.uk, 16 March 2015) accessed 12 April 2017 PA, Can the law do anything to stop fake news? (Aol.co.uk, 12 Dec 2016) accessed 11 April 2017 Public relations and communications association (PRCA), PRCA response to the CMS Committee’s ‘Fake News’ Inquiry (Prca.org.uk, 6 March 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Robbins Martin, Fake news and fact-checking: Trump is demonstrating how to outsmart an AI (Theguardiancom, 31 January 2017) accessed 13 April 2017 Sievers Bruce and Schneider Patrice, The Civic Media Crisis and What Philanthropy Can Do (SSIR) (Stanford Social Innovation Review 8 March 2017) accessed 8 April 2017 Singer-Vine, Most Americans Who See Fake News Believe It (Buzz Feed News, 7th December 2016) accessed 13 April 2017 Stromer-galley Jeremy, Three ways Facebook could reduce fake news without resorting to censorship (The Conversation, 2 December 2016) accessed 13 April 2017 Tambini Damian, Fake News: Public Policy Responses, LSE Media Policy Project Series, (2017) pp13-15 The Trust Project Org, (thetrustproject.org, 2016) accessed 13 April 2017 Thompson Clive, Why Facebook and Twitter have a civic duty to protect us from fake news (WIRED UK, 24 February 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 UK Parliament, Select Committee on Communications Corrected oral evidence: Children and the Internet (Dataparliamentuk, 22 November 2016) accessed 11 April 2017 UK Parliament, Social Media and Access to Information (UK Parliament, Jan 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 Wahl-Jorgensen Karin, Hintz Arne, Dencik Lina, Bennett Lucy, Journalism, citizenship and surveillance [2017] 5(3) Digital Journalism pp 256-261 Wardle Claire, ‘Fake news It’s complicated’, (First Draft News, 16 February 2017) accessed 9 April 2017 Wise Michael, News Plurality and Digital Intermediaries European Journalism Observatory- EJO (European Journalism Observatory EJO, 28 August 2012) accessed 13 April 2017 Zuckerberg Mark, Building Global Community (Facebook.com, 16 February 2017) accessed 11 April 2017 [1] Wahl-Jorgensen et al, Journalism, citizenship and surveillance [2017] 5(3) Digital Journalism pp.256-261 [2] Brian Mcnair, Fake news – a user’s guide (The-Conversation, 6 March 2017) accessed 11/April/2017 [3] UK Parliament, Social Media and Access to Information (UK-Parliament, Jan 2017) accessed 11/April/2017 [4] Siervers and Schneider, The Civic Media Crisis and What Philanthropy Can Do (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 8 March 2017) accessed 8/April/2017 [5] Emma Goodman, How has media policy responded to fake news? (LSE-Media-Policy-Project, 7 February 2017), accessed 11/April/2017 [6] Claire Wardle, ‘Fake news It’s complicated’, (First Draft News, 16 February 2017), accessed 9/April/2017 [7] Ibid [8] Michael Wise, News Plurality and Digital Intermediaries-EJO (European Journalism Observatory-EJO, 28 August 2012), accessed 13/April/2017 [9] Jessica Goodfellow, ‘Only 4% of people can distinguish fake news from truth, Channel 4 study finds’ (The Drum, 6 February 2017), accessed online 11/April/2017 [10] Impress, IMPRESS Submission on Fake News Page , (Impress press, 10th March 2017) accessed 11/April/2017 [11] Ibid [12] Ceron et al, Every tweet counts? How sentiment analysis of social media can improve our knowledge of citizens’ political preferences with an application to Italy and France [4 April 2013] 16(2) New Media & Society, pp.340 358 [13] Lizzie Dearden, Brexit research suggests 12 million Leave voters regret their choice in reversal that could change result (The Independent, 1 July 2016) accessed 13/April/2017 [14] Ibid [15] Clive Thompson, Why Facebook and Twitter have a civic duty to protect us from fake news, (WIRED UK, 24 February 2017), accessed 11/April/2017 [16] Metaxas et al, Manipulation of social media affects perceptions of candidates and compromises decision-making [26 Oct 2012] 338(6106) Social Media and the Elections pp.472-473 [17] Ibid [18] Gupta et al, Faking Sandy: characterizing and identifying fake images on Twitter during Hurricane Sandy [2013] In Proceedings of the 22nd International conference on WWW ’13, pp.729-7637 [19] Newman et al, Social Media and the News: Implications for the Press and Society, (OUP, 2014), pp.139 [20] Ipso, Editors’ Code of Practice, (The Independent Press Standards Organization), accessed 10/April/2017 [21] UK Parliament, Select Committee on Communications Corrected oral evidence: Children and the Internet (Data.parliament.uk, 22 November 2016), accessed 11/April/2017 [22] NMA, CMS Select Committee ‘Fake News’ Inquiry: NMA Response (News.media.uk.org, 30 March 2017), accessed 11/April/2017 [23] R.Kelly Garrett, Facebooks problem is more complicated than fake news (The Conversation, 17 November 2016), accessed 11/April/2017 [24] Ibid [25] BBC, Fake news: How can African media deal with the problem? (BBC News, 16 February 2017), accessed 11/April/2017 [26] Brian Mcnair, Journalism and Democracy: a millennial audit [2000] 1(2) Journalism Studies pp.207 [27] Communications Act 2003, Section 319(2)(d) and (h)†¨ [28] Ofcom, Review of Ofcom list of major political parties for elections (Ofcom.org.uk, 16 March 2015), accessed 12/April/2017 [29]   Jonathan Goldsbie, Craig Silverman, the man who exposed the fake-news racket in 2016 (NOW-Magazine, 22 December 2016) accessed 11/April/2017 [30]   Andrew Byrne, Macedonia’s fake news industry sets sights on Europe (www.ft.com, 16 December 2016), accessed 11/April/2017 [31] Steven Nelson, ‘Publications Called Russian-Propaganda Distributors Consider Suing Anonymous Experts’, (US-News, 29 November 2016), accessed 9/April/2017 [32]Adam Johnson, ‘Why are media outlets still citing discredited Fake News Blacklist?’, (FAIR, 1 December 2016)

Essay --

STATEMENTOF PURPOSE â€Å"The real secret of success is enthusiasm†-Walter Chrysler This is Sneha Vynathi Garaga, pursuing final year of under-graduation from Keshav Memorial Institute of Technology (www.kmit.in) in Electronics and Communication Engineering. It is with great incitement and warmth that I write this personnel statement to discuss my academics and motivation for pursuing graduate studies. In my schooling, after identifying my diligence in academics, I was selected to attend five-day 58th International Astronautical congress (IAC) held at Hi-tech city, Hyderabad. I was inspired immensely by the speech given by Sunita Williams and it was, indeed, a huge source of inspiration for me to pursue my career in the field of technology. Following this motivation, I opted for Electronics and Communication Engineering as my under-graduate major. Though my major in under-graduation is electronics, I am applying for Master’s study in Computer science. I joined my under-graduate college with interest towards electronics; however, later I realized that I have a great inclination towards c...

Movie “Himala” by Ishmael Bernal Essay

The movie â€Å"Himala† by Filipino National Artist Ishmael Bernal deals with the social issues of poverty, religion and fanaticism. It is a commentary to the living conditions of the Filipino people and their faith and beliefs. The greatness of the film is reflected by the fact that it is now considered a Filipino classic, with Elsa’s (Nora Aunor) speech being quoted until today. The different characters in the movie represent a variety of sectors in society. Elsa, the protagonist of the movie, is an image of a false prophet. Apparently she can heal the sick and perform miracles but no proof of it can be seen throughout the movie. Nimia (Gigi Duenas) portrays the people who do not believe in miracles. She may be considered a sinner because she was a prostitute in Manila, not to mention she also set up a cabaret in the town of Cupang, but she only does this just so she can put food in her stomach. She strives hard to keep herself alive. Chayong (Laura Centeno) is Elsa’s confidante, and she fully believes in Elsa’s healing powers. She personifies an innocent and gullible person. Because of this blind faith, she gets assaulted and causes her to resort to suicide. Mrs. Alba (Veronica Palileo) used Elsa’s supposed healing power to profit from the people, selling merchandise and other paraphernalia. She is the epitome of an exploitative person, taking advantage of the people’s gullibility and innocence and making money out of it. The filmmaker Orly (Spanky Manikan) shows a person who is an outsider. He uses the opportunity to make a name for himself by producing a movie centering on Elsa’s life. He shows a change of heart when he felt guilty for not helping Chayong and Elsa when they were assaulted. Lastly, Sepa (Ama Quiambao) and the fans of Elsa represent a sector of the Filipino people who are willing to sacrifice their livelihoods just to be saved by a false prophet, all for the belief that God will help those who do not help themselves. They are so blinded in their faith that they don’t even see the truth, Elsa’s confession, even when it is presented right in their face. The whole film is focused on faith. It depicts the ease of Filipinos to believe religious claims without evidence and thinking logically. Poverty is also visible in the film, showing kids eating stale meat and enacting a cholera outbreak. Miracles are a controversial issue, and talking about its truthfulness will more likely spark a debate. I personally do not believe in miracles because I believe that what you put out in the world comes back at you. I think miracles are not miracles per se, but they are the good that you did before which is coming back to you. The film shows Filipino spirituality’s different sides. Of course, there are believers and non-believers, and none of which is considered right or wrong since they have the freedom which to believe. As I have said, it shows that people are willing to sacrifice their whole lives work just to secure their spot in heaven without acknowledging the facts. There is also a good side to Filipino spirituality, as showcased by the priest (Joel Lamangan), who believes in God but still is a rational thinker. People should believe the real meaning of religion and not some false prophet’s views on the matter. The message of the film is that to do not believe everything you see, for we may see a slightly skewed image of the truth. In the film, it was said that Elsa had healing powers, but not once did a person actually thank her for healing her or a cured person appeared. This may tell us that Elsa never had healing powers or that the people she was healing were in on the lie. We can also take away from the film that if we are to believe in God, we should believe in God himself, not on any person claiming to be a prophet because it can lead to deadly consequences, like the death of Sepa’s two sons and Elsa’s death. The film is now considered timeless, classic even because it can withstand time. It is a universal struggle. Not only the Filipinos adhere to this problem but the rest of the world does too. Religion scopes a huge population; many of them may face the same problems discussed in Himala. Overall, the film was great and I am glad I had the chance to watch a Filipino film classic known around the world because of its greatness and permanence.

Crusades

Crusades refers to a series of religious-based wars among the Jews, European Christians, and the Muslims, primarily initiated to exercise full control over certain places which were considered sacred by both religious groups. It is mostly held in places regarded as holy such as the Mecca, Churches and the Erected tents in the streets (Hindley 81). Basically, the major concerns of crusades were to promote the culture of peace, love and unity among the people, respect for one's life, transformation and shaping of the people's moral way of life and to preach salvation to both Christians and Non-Christians. It is organized and presided over by Bishops, Prophets, Priests, and Clerics etc. It involved shouting of certain spiritual messages along the corridors and preaching of the coming of the Messiah. Through crusades, Christians were urged to change their ways of life, repent their sins and turn away from their wrong deeds. However, the crusade aspect has been covered broadly by various historical writers. This paper, therefore, seeks to examine the various significant approaches employed by different writers on the subject matter, the difference in their points of views as well as the factors that might have led to their different thoughts. The origin of crusade can be traced far back in the year 1095 during the Urban II's preaching. Frank the Monk, a French writer, attended the council of Clermont and witnessed the first crusade which occurred in 1107 titled â€Å"The Deeds of the Franks† (Riley-Smith 82). The council was presided over by Pope Urban II and other Bishops in an open field due to a large number of people who could hardly fit in any of the buildings. Most approaches used by the writers include converging the people and encouraging them to fasten their spirits and have faith in God. They condemned the inhuman and hostility of landowners who killed innocent Christian lives and held some in captives (Rubenstein 109). Guibert of Nogent, on the other hand, argued that not unless the time of the nation is fulfilled, the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed by the people. He clarified further that, according to the Lord's gospel, only those who will carry their cross and follow Jesus will remain to be worthy. On the other hand, Albert of Aache, Rosenfeld, among others disagrees with their French counterparts over the preaching aspect of the crusade. Instead, they strongly advocated for Peter the Hermit, who was believed to be the inventor of the crusades. Peter the Hermit, was not pleased with the criminal acts and wicked deeds of the Christians in church. He knew it was wrong to still church offerings (Rubin 98). He knew such acts were filthy before the lord and was against all other immoral deeds. He was then sent on a mission by God to preach repentance message to the people before the coming of the lord. However, it is evident that the writers used different approaches in developing their crusade chronicles. Some of the factors that contributed to their difference in approaches include the background, scramble for holy land and other socio-cultural factors such as their religions. In conclusion, the use of crusades has become more common in the recent past. It has provided a platform through which the word of God can be preached to many in an open place with an aim of transforming people spiritually and building their faith in God. In the ancient past, various historical writers have channeled their significant approaches on crusades in which they have also differed in their thoughts on some points. Factors behind their disagreement include the religious issues, their backgrounds, and acquisition of certain portions of land regarded as holy.

A Comparison Of The Catcher In The Rye And The Adv Essays

A Comparison Of The Catcher In The Rye And The Adv Essays A Comparison Of The Catcher In The Rye And The Adventures of Huck Finn English A Comparison Of The Catcher In The Rye And The Adventures of Huck Finn by Keith Eich [emailprotected] neonet.net/keith There are a bunch of gramatical errors, but the paper got an A.. The forthcoming of American literature proposes two distinct Realistic novels portraying characters which are tested with a plethora of adventures. In this essay, two great American novels are compared: The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain and The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. The Adventures of Huck Finn is a novel based on the adventures of a boy named Huck Finn, who along with a slave, Jim, make their way along the Mississippi River during the Nineteenth Century. The Catcher In The Rye is a novel about a young man called Holden Caulfield, who travels from Pencey Prep to New York City struggling with his own neurotic problems. These two novels can be compared using the Cosmogonic Cycle with both literal and symbolic interpretations. The Cosmogonic Cycle is a name for a universal and archetypal situation. There are six parts that make up the cycle: the call to adventure, the threshold crossing, the road of trials, the supreme test, a flight or a flee, and finally a return. There are more parts they do not necessarily fall into the same order, examples of these are symbolic death and motifs. The Cosmogonic Cycle is an interesting way to interpret literature because is Universal or correlates with any time period and any situation. The Call to Adventure is the first of the Cosmogonic Cycle. It is the actual "call to adventure" that one receives to begin the cycle. There are many ways that this is found in literature including going by desire, by chance, by abduction, and by being lured by an outside force. In The Adventures of Huck Finn, Huck is forced with the dilemma of whether to stay with his father and continue to be abused or to leave. Huck goes because he desires to begin his journey. In The Catcher In The Rye, Holden mentally is torn between experience and innocence, it would seem to him that an outside force is luring him to do something but in actuality he is beginning his journey because of his desire. The Call to Adventure is the first step in the Cosmogonic Cycle, it is the step at which the character or hero is brought into cycle. The Threshold Crossing is the second step, it is the place or the person that which the character crosses over or through into the Zone Unknown. The Zone Unknown being the place where the journey takes place. The threshold crossing is often associated with a character change or an appearance change. An example of this is in The Wizard of Oz, when the movie goes from black and white to color, showing a visual symbolic death. A symbolic death is another part to the Cosmogonic Cycle of which the character goes through a change and emerges a more complete person or more experienced. In The Adventures of Huck Finn, a symbolic death is very apparent during the scene in which Huck sets up his fathers cabin to look like Huck was brutally murder. Huck emerges as a runway child and now must be careful of what he does, so that he does not get caught. Huck also tells people false aliases for himself so that no one knows his true identity. Every time that he does this he is symbolically dying and reemerges a more experienced person. In The Catcher In The Rye, Holden also uses fake names, but Holden symbolically dies through fainting, changing the position of his red hunting hat, and is associated with bathrooms. The bathroom motif, or the reoccurring appearance of a bathroom, symbolizes death for Holden because he enters bathrooms with a neurotic and pragmatic frame of mind and exits with a cleared mind. The use of symbolic death and motifs is associated with the Threshold Crossing, the second step of the Cosmogonic Cycle. The Road of Trials is the next step in the Cosmogonic Cycle, which are the obstacles which the character faces throughout the literary work. In The Adventures of Huck Finn, Hucks Road of Trials occurs on the Mississippi River. He faces many obstacles, including moral decisions of right and wrong, dealing with con-artists, and helping a runaway slave. He promulgates more experienced from his journey down the river on his raft. In The Catcher In The Rye,

Health Promotion with Healthy People 2010 Essays

Health Promotion with Healthy People 2010 Essays Health Promotion with Healthy People 2010 Paper Health Promotion with Healthy People 2010 Paper ‘Healthy People’ is a truly healthy forum, but more correctly a governmental think tank in collaboration with important experts in the health care industry, including scientists, businesses and others that relate to the objectives of the forum. Comparable to a hypothetical national drive for ‘sustainable health care,’ Healthy People also takes community members such as consumers of health care into account when planning improvements in the health of the nation. All stakeholders receive timely information about the health care industry, especially in the priority health care areas that are identified by the think thank, e.g. environment and pollution.   Healthy People, additionally, monitors the priority areas with as much concern as possible, seeing as all stakeholders have a direct interest in the improvement of health care across the nation. One of the most important areas in health care that Healthy People 2010 has identified is that of immunization.   Unsurprisingly, immunization brings to mind children, and their families who must look after their health especially with respect to vaccination against various diseases/illnesses. People 2010 does not only deal with the priority area of universal health insurance for children; in addition to mental health, seeking to provide better protection to children against abuse; but the Initiative most importantly calls for immunization for all children of America, be they black or white, infants or toddlers.   As a matter of fact, the Healthy People Immunization Initiative is one of the foundations of Healthy People 2010. The United States government, in collaboration with a large number of experts in the field of children’s health care, have already collaborated to do their utmost to have every child of America vaccinated against MMR (at the very least) by 2010. â€Å"Universal immunization,† as the sole objective of Healthy People 2010 Immunization Initiative, works to eliminate infectious diseases in the young and old. Families of young children (known to be especially vulnerable to disease) are not put in a tight corner because of the Initiative, however.   Rather, the government along with various members of the public, both organizational and individual, have realized that all Americans must be financially supported to access good health care for their children (and next of kin, including the elderly). In other words, Healthy People is not intended to put an undue burden on the family of the child.   Instead, the government and a huge number of collaborators are already arranging for free immunization, or highly subsidized vaccination for all. Healthy People 2010 Immunization Initiative seeks to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots by making it stress-free for all people, rich or poor, to get their children immunized against certain diseases that can be life threatening. In particular, the Healthy People Immunization Initiative for 2010 is described as an attempt to â€Å"[p]revent disease, disability, and death from infectious diseases, including vaccine-preventable diseases.†Ã‚   After working out its objectives, the government department responsible for Healthy People attempts to implement various plans that serve to fulfill the goals of a healthier America. The Immunization Initiative of 2010 is designed to work on the following goals apart from many more: (1) â€Å"Reduce or eliminate indigenous cases of vaccine-preventable diseases;† (2) â€Å"Reduce chronic hepatitis B virus infections in infants and young children (perinatal infections);† (3) â€Å"Reduce hepatitis B;† (4) â€Å"Reduce bacterial meningitis in young children;† (5) â€Å"Reduce invasive pneumococcal infections;† (6) Reduce hepatitis A and C;† (7) â€Å"Reduce meningococcal disease;† etc. By helping to fight diseases in infants as well as the toddlers and young children, the Healthy People alliance is helping to energize and strengthen our homeland, especially its future. Although Healthy People Immunization Initiative 2010 would increase the number of children immunized by leaps and bounds; parents of little children are required to be informed about various diseases and their vaccinations anyway.   For this reason, Healthy People 2010 introduces awareness campaigns that publicize such pertinent information to parents. Parents are also required to time the vaccinations of their children, and to be on guard against infections in their children.   As far as changing health habits is concerned, Healthy People further seeks to introduce to children over the age of seven, health literature and multimedia lessons via programs implemented with ‘collaboration.’

Gimi coefficient Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gimi coefficient - Essay Example According to the ranges of gini coefficient, the developing or poor countries, those countries who have per captia GDP low, comes in the range from 0.25 to 0.71. As far as rich countries are concerned they come in the range of under 0.40 (Mandal 126). The Lorenz curve diagrams ratio of area can be used to elaborate the gini coefficient. In Lorenz curve if we say that A symbolizes the area among the line of perfect equality and B symbolizes as the Lorenz’s curve inner area then A/(A+B) is the equation which represents the gini coefficient. Subsequently A+B = 0.5, the gini coefficient, G = 2A = 1-2B. By incorporation the value of B can be found if the Lorenz curve is characterized by the function Y= L(x) and the equation will be, (Catalano and George D. n.p). The usage of gini coefficient measure of inequality leads to many advantages, one of which is that it can be used to compare income distributions crosswise diverse population. Gini coefficient is easily used because of its simplicity rather than other measuring techniques, through gini coefficient we can come to the results of changed distribution of income over the year in a country. It also satisfies great principles of anonymity, scale independence and population independence. As on one hand it has many advantages, on the other side there are many problems faced while using gini coefficient measure of inequality. Gini coefficient, uses income gained from wealth, it measures net income more than net worth, having a possibility of misinterpretation. For example, a low gini coefficient for income is seen in Sweden, but Sweden’s coefficient for wealth is higher. Numerous whiles in gini coefficient, there is no description of the proportions used for measurement. As granularity impacts the measurements of gini coefficient, we find numerous problems while conducting measurements through it. If there is low granularity, that is four 20% quantiles it will lead to a lower gini coefficient, while at t he same time if we take twenty 4% quantiles that is high granularity the results would be higher gini coefficient if we take both of these figures from the similar distribution (Mandal 129). Because it a measure of income dispersion a lot of care have to be taken through the use of gini coefficient as a measure of egalitarianism. For example We will get a result of difference in gini coefficients when we take two different countries having equal egalitarian, but as they both have different policies, gini coefficient will be different. As it measures at a point in time of the greatest problem of gini coefficient is that is errors a lot of energetic information about lifetime income of the individual. In gini coefficient, not only the income but also the individual’s age distribution within population and mobility in income classes are not taken into consideration (Mandal 129). It can be observed that if gini coefficient is showing higher results at one point, but will not gibe same result at different point because gini coefficient does not notice the changes over a period of time. A number of more problems arise when it comes to measurement through gini coefficient; difficulty arises that is when two counties income are associated as both the countries differ in benefits systems, like some countries give benefit in monetary form, while others not in monetary form. Some countries may include benefits some may not, as the

Problems of Industrialization in Pakistan Essay - 1

Problems of Industrialization in Pakistan - Essay Example This essay discusses the Pakistan country, that is a developing nation that is dependent on agriculture as the country is endowed with fertile lands fit for the economic activity. Nonetheless, the process of industrializing her agricultural activities has been faced by several problems impeding the whole process. This essay expounds on the different factors undermining the efforts to industrialize the operations in the country and not the negative effects that may result from industrialization in a given country. The factors were identified from the responses in a survey that was carried out to seek information from a variety of industrialists in the country in relation to the industrialization problems they have encountered, or the factors they consider detrimental to the process. The researcher discusses the problems of electricity and energy shortages, poor and underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of trained and skilled workforce problem, little emphasis that is given on research a nd development as well as declines in foreign direct investment, that is needed today. It is also concluded by the researcher that the country has been making efforts to promote its industrialization, but the efforts have had no positive yields yet. The researcher also mentiones that foreign direct investors, who can contribute significantly to industrialization through introduction of new technologies, are not attracted to a country with such deficiencies, that were discussed in the essay and that is the main problem.

Evaluation in human services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation in human services - Essay Example Additionally, the staff may fear negative effects that evaluation can have on their employment. This negative implication of evaluation can include lost jobs for employees perceived to have underperformed or due to restructuring those results in elimination of some organizational functions and therefore role of some employees. Employees might also fear evaluation as it might result in increased workload for them especially when there is merging of some functions and roles. Therefore, fear and resistance to evaluation is as a result of employees not knowing the changes that this process will bring in the workplace; therefore, preferring maintenance of the status quo (Shell, 2002). Employee resistance to change is a widespread phenomenon in many workplaces since most of them do not want to be challenged by being asked to abandon routine and adopt new ways of doing things. Consequently, association of evaluation process to change in the way employees perform their duties is likely to en counter resistance (Austin, 2002). Evaluation has an important role in creating efficiency in organization functioning especially if it helps identify areas of waste, even in programs that seem to run successfully. Therefore, it is important that there is cooperation among everyone involved including staff and the management. When evaluation meets staff resistance, this indicates there is a problem that needs to be addressed through either the evaluation itself or prior to conducting staff evaluation. Therefore, the first area of concern when planning to undertake evaluation is to increase staff awareness of the process and possible actions based on results. Fear of evaluation is as a result of the unknown effect it will have on the staff especially as many of the employees wonder if they are going to lose their jobs, have increased workload or be held accountable for negative results. Consequently, evaluation should be done after employees have had adequate information access

Just by Faith Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Just by Faith - Term Paper Example It is clear that many religions find commonality in that they believe that it is faith that drives them to believe and stand fast in their belief. Most religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity believe in a sense of morality and justice; but the idea of a human being divine and one with God is considered to be pagan and contrary to the foundation of many religions. No one can reach God’s status, not by works, nor by faith. Humans are at a certain standing and God determines and dictates their outcome. Even in the Christian sect, there are people who oppose the notion that Jesus was both human and God. Does a leader who possesses such religious knowledge need to be sanctioned in order to be of any value to the human race? Is following Jesus and rejecting his divinity contradictory in nature? â€Å"Love Wins,† a quote often used by a pastor from Grand Rapids Michigan, named Rob Bell says it all. In his teaching, and his preaching, he teaches the congregation that it does not really matter what the details say, what matters in the end is Love. The Bible says that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son that whoever believed in him, would not die, but would have eternal life. Do they believe that God gave his son to the world, or do they believe that God loved the world so much? There are many faces to this one verse that is loaded with meaning. Pastors try to decipher its essence but find it difficult to â€Å"speak for God.† John piper says â€Å"If the Bible is coherent, then understanding the Bible means grasping how things fit together. Becoming a Biblical theologian means seeing more and more pieces fit together into a glorious mosaic of the divine will. And doing exegesis means querying the text about how its many propositions cohere in the author's mind.† The Bible is up for interpretation and God speaks into words to make understanding easier. In the Christian realm, Jesus is Lord. (Maier) Jesus is God but in the flesh. As sinners, it is believed that our sin was paid for by Jesus dying on the cross. Could there have been any other way? God himself says that He is Lord and there is no one higher than He. But why so much controversy on this particular issue? All three religions; Christianity, Judaism and Islam believe in Jesus. They just believe that Jesus had a different purpose. The details of each religion varies greatly, neither are good or bad, they just are. (Jesus: The Islamic and Christian views of comparison: compared)Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. Jews consider Jesus to be a prophet and in the long run, â€Å"missed the boat† when he came to earth to save His very own people. However, what is Jesus and is it important that he be ordained from above to make a difference in this world? It is clear that this is not the case. Jesus walked and breathed scripture. He knew scripture by heart but he had to learn it. We have little account of Jesus w hen he was a young child and a teenager. The Bible is vague in that it speaks of his miracles but fails to explain the surrounding text. The Bible itself is written in a way that it allows people, common and theologians to interpret it. Pastors spend years and years attempting to make sense of written scripture that was present long before they were even born. Biblical scholars and Scientists use their academic credentials to bring what they feel to be the truth, alive in their minds. Geologists study rocks dating back to the time that Jesus supposedly walked the earth. In addition, the common people attempt to depend on what little they have. What they do know is that their Faith has carried them thus far. If we compare a divine being, anointed or not, to a school teacher, you can find much similarity. It is assumed that this person would

What effect does the brightness of light have on the growth rate of a Coursework

What effect does the brightness of light have on the growth rate of a plant - Coursework Example Any change in the growth of plants will thus affect the ecosystem, and thus is important to be studied. In this experiment, pea plants were used to determine whether sunlight has an effect on plant growth. A group of growing seedlings were exposed to the sun, while another set was placed away from light. The heights of the plants were measured repeatedly for 7 days after the seed germination. Results are shown below. Figure 1: Scatter plot of the average values from Table 1. Standard deviations are indicated as error bars. It can be seen that plants L1-L5 were generally taller than D1-D5. As well, it can be noted that the rate at which the plants grow from day 7 to day 14 are faster in well-lit plants than in non-lit plants, as the slope of the trend line for the former is steeper than that of the latter. Conclusion After the experiment, it was observed that well-lit plants grow longer than the non-lit plants. Sunlight is thus necessary in the growth of plants. Theory Photosynthesis Sunlight, through the photons it bears, drives photosynthesis, the food-making process of plants. Without it, plants do not have a source of nutrition needed to power even the most basic processes such as growth (Campbell and Reece, 2002). Photosynthesis is a collection of reactions that results in the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbohydrate and the production of oxygen gas (O2) from water (H2O). Pigment molecules such as chlorophyll and carotenoids in the chloroplast organelle are converted to excited electronic state, called excitons, by the photons. This conversion, no matter how effective, is still inefficient, as some of the excitons are converted back into photons as fluorescence, while some are lost as heat. For those that remain in the chloroplast, they drive the electron transport chain along the membrane proteins of the chloroplast, and produce a proton gradient between the membranes. This gradient, in turn, drives the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), w hich is necessary to drive the other part of photosynthesis that converts CO2 to carbohydrates (Whitmarsh and Govindjee, 1995). Phytochromes Aside from photosynthesis, light influences the plants on its other functions through molecules called phytochromes. The light-sensing portion (chromophore) of phytochromes has two isomeric forms, the red-absorbing (Pr) and the far red-absorbing (Pfr), with the former being the synthesized form and the latter instigating most of the plant developmental processes such as germination. Upon exposure of the seed and plant to light, especially red light, Pr is converted to Pfr (Campbell and Reece, 2002). According to Batty (1989), this mechanism ensures that wherever the seed falls, it will be germinating in a place with sunlight, which is needed for photosynthesis, as described above. In contrast, when it falls in a shaded soil, germination is delayed until, by some mechanical force, it is transferred to an area with more sunlight. Aside

United Nations and Rwanda Genocide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

United Nations and Rwanda Genocide - Essay Example The UN organization was formed in 1945 after the World War II ended. It was formed to ensure that the world became a better place of living for everyone. In other words it was formed to avoid war, killings, injustice and promote peace in all areas of the world. It basically aimed to influence all the countries of the world through economic progress, social security and international law. Presently it has 192 Member states which have to follow the rules laid down by the UN in the general assembly along with 5 permanent states and 10 non permanent states in the Security Council. It also has an Economic and Social council which has 54 members and an international court of justice consisting of fifteen judges. It has a Trusteeship council and a secretariat which are discussed subsequently. The United Nations through its five bodies is helping to maintain international politics in such a way that the whole world remains in peace and harmony. It is basically acting as a judge of politics s o that countries do not fight or the populations of the countries do not suffer either financially or physically because of any threat. In order to develop a norm for all the countries international laws are laid down by the United Nations which have to be followed by all the member countries. These international laws are regulated by treaties between the UN and the countries. These treaties are broad as they consider many aspects of the society such as human rights, refugees and border restrictions (United Nations 2010). The question now arises as to if the United Nations has remained successful in achieving its objectives or not. This question can be viewed from several perspectives as some would view the role of United Nations to be limited to only the betterment of itself however some would view the UN to be an organization which is working for the betterment in the society. Rwanda Genocide is cited to be one of the failures by the United Nations organization which shows that th e UN has not been very successful in achieving its objectives. On the contrary many other successful scenarios of UN can also be analyzed all over the world which shows that they have regulated international politics in such a way that many wars have been avoided. An example of Indo Pak can be cited here which was stopped with the help of UN intervention. Rwanda Genocide is cited to be one of the failures by the United Nations organization which shows that the UN has not been very successful in achieving its objectives. The United Nations Security Council played an important role in the failure of the organization in the Rwanda genocide when it did not forward directives to the soldiers to bring an immediate ceasefire between the fighting groups of Hutus and Tutsis. The genocide occurred because of the complete failure of UN as the region of Rwanda had been suffering from trouble since 1918. The trouble began in 1918 when the Belgians took over Rwanda which comprised of two ethnic g roups namely Tutsis and Hutus. The Tutsis were less in number than the Hutus but still they were given the leading positions of the state by the Belgian forces. This was the step which created anger amongst the Hutus and they began to react. After Rwanda gained independence from Belgium the Hutus came with a strike on the Tutsis and exiled them from the region making their own president. The Tutsis then formed a militia known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). In 1991 the RPF launched an attack on the state of Rwanda killing many Hutus and this led to an organization of army by the state leading to massacres of the people living in the region who were mainly Tutsis. It was in 1993 that a pact was signed under the supervision of UN between the RPF and the state government of Rwanda. It was after this act that UN Security Council had to follow all the happenings of the region but it did not do so even though it was constantly reminded by the commander Romeo Dallaire (Dallaire 2004) . In 1993 an army

Just by Faith Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Just by Faith - Term Paper Example It is clear that many religions find commonality in that they believe that it is faith that drives them to believe and stand fast in their belief. Most religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity believe in a sense of morality and justice; but the idea of a human being divine and one with God is considered to be pagan and contrary to the foundation of many religions. No one can reach God’s status, not by works, nor by faith. Humans are at a certain standing and God determines and dictates their outcome. Even in the Christian sect, there are people who oppose the notion that Jesus was both human and God. Does a leader who possesses such religious knowledge need to be sanctioned in order to be of any value to the human race? Is following Jesus and rejecting his divinity contradictory in nature? â€Å"Love Wins,† a quote often used by a pastor from Grand Rapids Michigan, named Rob Bell says it all. In his teaching, and his preaching, he teaches the congregation that it does not really matter what the details say, what matters in the end is Love. The Bible says that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son that whoever believed in him, would not die, but would have eternal life. Do they believe that God gave his son to the world, or do they believe that God loved the world so much? There are many faces to this one verse that is loaded with meaning. Pastors try to decipher its essence but find it difficult to â€Å"speak for God.† John piper says â€Å"If the Bible is coherent, then understanding the Bible means grasping how things fit together. Becoming a Biblical theologian means seeing more and more pieces fit together into a glorious mosaic of the divine will. And doing exegesis means querying the text about how its many propositions cohere in the author's mind.† The Bible is up for interpretation and God speaks into words to make understanding easier. In the Christian realm, Jesus is Lord. (Maier) Jesus is God but in the flesh. As sinners, it is believed that our sin was paid for by Jesus dying on the cross. Could there have been any other way? God himself says that He is Lord and there is no one higher than He. But why so much controversy on this particular issue? All three religions; Christianity, Judaism and Islam believe in Jesus. They just believe that Jesus had a different purpose. The details of each religion varies greatly, neither are good or bad, they just are. (Jesus: The Islamic and Christian views of comparison: compared)Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. Jews consider Jesus to be a prophet and in the long run, â€Å"missed the boat† when he came to earth to save His very own people. However, what is Jesus and is it important that he be ordained from above to make a difference in this world? It is clear that this is not the case. Jesus walked and breathed scripture. He knew scripture by heart but he had to learn it. We have little account of Jesus w hen he was a young child and a teenager. The Bible is vague in that it speaks of his miracles but fails to explain the surrounding text. The Bible itself is written in a way that it allows people, common and theologians to interpret it. Pastors spend years and years attempting to make sense of written scripture that was present long before they were even born. Biblical scholars and Scientists use their academic credentials to bring what they feel to be the truth, alive in their minds. Geologists study rocks dating back to the time that Jesus supposedly walked the earth. In addition, the common people attempt to depend on what little they have. What they do know is that their Faith has carried them thus far. If we compare a divine being, anointed or not, to a school teacher, you can find much similarity. It is assumed that this person would

United Nations and Rwanda Genocide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

United Nations and Rwanda Genocide - Essay Example The UN organization was formed in 1945 after the World War II ended. It was formed to ensure that the world became a better place of living for everyone. In other words it was formed to avoid war, killings, injustice and promote peace in all areas of the world. It basically aimed to influence all the countries of the world through economic progress, social security and international law. Presently it has 192 Member states which have to follow the rules laid down by the UN in the general assembly along with 5 permanent states and 10 non permanent states in the Security Council. It also has an Economic and Social council which has 54 members and an international court of justice consisting of fifteen judges. It has a Trusteeship council and a secretariat which are discussed subsequently. The United Nations through its five bodies is helping to maintain international politics in such a way that the whole world remains in peace and harmony. It is basically acting as a judge of politics s o that countries do not fight or the populations of the countries do not suffer either financially or physically because of any threat. In order to develop a norm for all the countries international laws are laid down by the United Nations which have to be followed by all the member countries. These international laws are regulated by treaties between the UN and the countries. These treaties are broad as they consider many aspects of the society such as human rights, refugees and border restrictions (United Nations 2010). The question now arises as to if the United Nations has remained successful in achieving its objectives or not. This question can be viewed from several perspectives as some would view the role of United Nations to be limited to only the betterment of itself however some would view the UN to be an organization which is working for the betterment in the society. Rwanda Genocide is cited to be one of the failures by the United Nations organization which shows that th e UN has not been very successful in achieving its objectives. On the contrary many other successful scenarios of UN can also be analyzed all over the world which shows that they have regulated international politics in such a way that many wars have been avoided. An example of Indo Pak can be cited here which was stopped with the help of UN intervention. Rwanda Genocide is cited to be one of the failures by the United Nations organization which shows that the UN has not been very successful in achieving its objectives. The United Nations Security Council played an important role in the failure of the organization in the Rwanda genocide when it did not forward directives to the soldiers to bring an immediate ceasefire between the fighting groups of Hutus and Tutsis. The genocide occurred because of the complete failure of UN as the region of Rwanda had been suffering from trouble since 1918. The trouble began in 1918 when the Belgians took over Rwanda which comprised of two ethnic g roups namely Tutsis and Hutus. The Tutsis were less in number than the Hutus but still they were given the leading positions of the state by the Belgian forces. This was the step which created anger amongst the Hutus and they began to react. After Rwanda gained independence from Belgium the Hutus came with a strike on the Tutsis and exiled them from the region making their own president. The Tutsis then formed a militia known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). In 1991 the RPF launched an attack on the state of Rwanda killing many Hutus and this led to an organization of army by the state leading to massacres of the people living in the region who were mainly Tutsis. It was in 1993 that a pact was signed under the supervision of UN between the RPF and the state government of Rwanda. It was after this act that UN Security Council had to follow all the happenings of the region but it did not do so even though it was constantly reminded by the commander Romeo Dallaire (Dallaire 2004) . In 1993 an army

The sum of all fears Essay Example for Free

The sum of all fears Essay Fear is an emotion that is embedded with in all of us. No one knows the essence of fear, it is what it isintangible. The strongest of men fall to the mercy of fear, consuming the mind, and blocking all rational judgment. Fear lies unawakened in the dark recesses of the soul, only to be awoke by the treacheries of the unknown. Fear manifests itself in many ways, the most common way however, is anger, and I know this manifestation all to well. Anger controls a large portion of my life, I am never alone. I know that anger originates from fear, yet I simply cannot pinpoint the essence of my evil demon, nor the channel of which it comes. All that I can recall, is that it is never ending, a vicious form of hell that is all knowing, and all seeing. Perhaps the reason why I have anger soaring through my body, tearing at my muscles, and throbbing in my mind, is the obvious fact that I have failed to become acquainted with myself, resulting in fear, because if I dont know myself, who does? Ive been known to snap at others, even those closest to me, and for no apparent reason. Yet I know this, fear is some how a way of life, an inevitable feeling that takes control of mind and body, and abandons you when you need it most. For I have come to thrive off of this feeling of hatred for my fellow man, it is possibly what keeps me ready, anticipating the next move of all men and creatures has a certain thrill that you simply cannot imitate, or find anywhere else. As all know, everything has a side kick, Bat man has Robin, the Green Hornet has Kato, and fear has pain. Pain is fears ugly cousin, only rearing its face when fear is at its greatest peak. You know that you should fear when pain becomes pleasure, and fear has already become instinct. Pain is unforgiving, always leaving a sign that it was once there, even if only an emotional wound. I have come to know pain very well, I have had to live with this virus, as we all have, throughout my ________ years of life. No matter how much time passes the pain is relentless, clawing at my soul, and what little confidence I have left. I fear that this is what will be the end of my being, pain, the structure less form. In conclusion, fear and pain are one in the same. Never ending, nor caring who or what it strikes down. The key, I think, is acceptancelearn to accept that fear is inevitable, and pain comes bearing no gifts. So live your life on your own terms, if you dont, fear will live it for you.

Edward Lee Thorndike And His Behaviour Experiments

Edward Lee Thorndike And His Behaviour Experiments Prior to Edward Lee Thorndikes landmark experimental analysis of behaviour in 1898, the study of the psychology of learning lacked a clear, defined research methodology. Research findings were very much subjective, lacking the quantitative evidence that would give them scientific credence and avoiding impreciseness and ambiguities in their interpretation. People were asked to look inside their minds and describe what they were thinking. (Ormrod, 2008). This method was called introspection, which by its very nature, is devoid of objectiveness. Thus emerged Thorndikes groundbreaking puzzle box experiments with cats, dogs, and chicks, culminating in his doctoral dissertation on animal intelligence in 1898. Through his experiments, the study of learning took on a more objective approach, where the emphasis was on the observables rather than the non-observables. The basis of his experiments was that behaviour is an observable phenomenon and thus is measurable. It led to the birth of the behaviourist movement where research looked primarily at behaviour rather than cognition, given that mental processes (like insight or introspection) cannot be objectively measured with any level of reliability. 2. Thorndikes Experiments (Task (a) of Assignment) To circumvent the subjective nature of research then, Thorndike developed some experiments on the learning phenomenon whose results were beyond subjective interpretations. The idea behind them was to observe the behaviour of a hungry animal trapped in puzzle boxes in its attempt to escape. He conducted the experiments using three animals, viz. cats, dogs, and chicks. Food, functioning as the temptation factor (stimulus), was placed outside the box in full view of the animal. He started with a cat. For it to escape, the cat had to manipulate a device that would open the door in order to get at the food. There were altogether 15 of these boxes, each with different escape mechanisms, ranging from a wire loop, lever, and a treadle which had to be depressed for it to escape. The variety of mechanisms was (presumably) to observe any consistency in behavioural mode despite the variables presented by the escape devices. In its attempts to escape, Thorndike closely observed the cat initiating numerous, apparently random movements, seemingly driven by impulse rather than reasoning. Through the cats struggles, it would eventually trigger the release mechanism. This was achieved more by chance through trial and error rather than by any reasoned action of the cat. The cat was repeatedly put into the box. Thorndike observed that what was initially random and chaotic behaviour became relatively more orderly and efficient. In other words, he noticed gross changes in behaviour when the same set situation was repeated. In addition, he recorded the time it took for the cat to escape from its confinement. He then plotted a time-curve graph which enabled him to not only analyse the animals speed of learning, but also the rate of learning. Thorndike repeated the same puzzle box experiment with dogs and chicks, with minor practical adjustments to the procedure. Again, time-curves were plotted and compared to those exhibited by the cats. However, in some experiments, Thorndike varied the escape mode. Instead of the animal physically manipulating a release device, he would, for example, remove a chick from a box whenever it preened its feathers; or he would open the door when a cat licked or scratched itself. He observed that the chick started preening itself when it was re-placed into the box, indicating the animals instinctive desire to be let out of the box. Time curves were plotted and compared to the curves obtained by the escape device mode. There were also certain other variations in the way the experiments were conducted. One such variation was placing the same cat that was used in a particular box into another differently designed box. He then observed how the cat reacted to the changed environment. In another variation, Thorndike allowed the animal to observe another member of its species in its attempt to escape. He wanted to find out if animals could learn by imitation. 3. Summary of Main Findings (Task (a) of Assignment) 3.1 Overview The overarching finding of Thorndikes experiments was that there are responses (explicit behavioural changes) when there is a stimulus (food). In that sense, there is a stimulus-response (S-R) connection in how animals learn. How well the animals learnt is determined by the experience it gained from the same experiment conducted repeatedly. In effect, this perspective of learning (connectionism) emphasized the role of experience in the strengthening and weakening of the S-R connections. In general, it could be said that the essence of intellectual development depends on how strong this S-R connection is. The main findings from Thorndikes experiments in animal intelligence would form the basis for his formulation of theories related to learning. They led to further research into the more complex intellectual abilities of humans, eventually leading to the development of modern era comparative psychology. 3.2 Findings from the Experiments The main findings from Thorndikes puzzle box experiments can be summarized below: 3.2.1 Gross changes in behaviour When presented with a stimulus (S), the animal displayed an overt response (R), i.e. food (the stimulus) elicited a reaction in a hungry animal. In other words, Thorndike noted explicitly observable behavioural changes when an S-R setting is presented to the animal. The gross changes described by Thorndike manifested itself by the animals impulsive actions in what he described as trial-and-error learning in order to escape from the box. 3.2.2 Learning is gradual Time curves were plotted in all of Thorndikes experiments involving cats, dogs and chicks. The curves were a measurement of the time required for the animal to escape over repeated number of trials ranging from 24 to 117. The graphs allowed Thorndike to not only obtain the escape times, but also the rate of learning, which was represented by the slope of the curves. The time curves presented by all the animals showed remarkably similar patterns of behaviour. Analyses of the curves proved that learning took place gradually, i.e. in incremental steps rather than huge jumps. This was seen in the gradual reduction of escape times over the total number of trials. In one of the experiments, for instance, escape times for a cat varied from a high of 160 seconds to a low of 6 seconds over 24 trials, indicating that it had been steadily more efficient in its attempts to escape. Thorndike alluded to this when he described its initially random, chaotic demeanour gradually becoming more orderly and deliberate. It also proved that in some innate way, the animal had learnt from past experience. 3.2.3 Effective behaviour diminishes ineffective behaviour By analysing the time curves, Thorndike concluded that effective behaviour, i.e. actions that could lead to a satisfactory end, persisted. Conversely, ineffective behaviour diminished. In effect, there was a stamping in of some behaviours and a stamping out of others (Ormrod, 2008). This phenomenon was demonstrated in the way the animals became more efficiently adept in their escape attempts as proven by the quicker escape times. For example, in the experiment with a chick, the initial escape attempt was arbitrary and disorderly. But after many repetitions, the chick learnt to escape quickly with little of the initial chaos. As Chance (1999) puts it: Eventually the bird performed the act required for escape as soon as it was placed in the enclosure. In short, ineffective behaviour petered out. It could also be said that generally, other than through experiential learning, positive learning generates further positive learning. 3.2.4 Generalization of behaviour Thorndike also found that an animal that had learnt to escape via a particular means, e.g. by clawing, tended to employ the same means when placed in a different box with a different escape device. It could be inferred that animals generalize when first put in circumstances different than what they are familiar with, with their immediate prior experience influencing how they subsequently behave. It is only after they have adapted to the new environment that they adopt a new learning approach. 3.2.5 Discriminatory behaviour Another aspect of learning that Thorndike noted from his experiments was that an animal is capable of being discriminatory. This was evident, in one of his experiments, when (i) he made a statement to feed it and indeed fed it, and (ii) he made a statement to feed it, but he did NOT feed it. There far fewer errors in situation (i) than there were in (ii). This illustrated yet another perspective about the learning process that Thorndike delved into. 3.2.6 Learning by observation Thorndike asserted that animals, at least other than primates, do not learn by imitation, even after observing the successful behaviour of other members of their species. He effectively concluded that imitation could be discounted as an aspect of an animals successful behaviour. 4. Theories propounded by Thorndike (Task (b) of the Assignment) Thorndikes experiments on animal intelligence resulted in the formation of a body of theories related to the learning process and laid the scientific foundation for educational psychology. These learning theories were bound together by the theory of connectionism. The principal credo of Thorndikes connectionism is that learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli (S) and responses (R) (http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html). Connectionism debunked the dominant view held by psychologists before Thorndike that animals learnt by the association of ideas, i.e. they could logically relate events and reason out solutions to a problem. Rather, through his experiments, Thorndike established that animals are equipped with action impulses. It was these impulses, responding to the stimulus (S), that activated the trial-and-error behaviour of the animals trapped in the puzzle boxes. Their eventual successful escape was the result of the gradual learning they experienced arising from actually performing the act. It derived from an innate understanding that the correct actions (affirmative response) produce the desired effect (getting to the food). In short, Thorndike believed that learning requires no ideas in the head of the animal; only the performance of the act itself was essential for a satisfactory consequence. The learning theories propounded by Thorndike, being subsets of connectionism, can be summarised as follows: 4.1 The Law of Effect Responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened; responses that are followed by discomfort are weakened (Ormrod, 2008). This theory basically emphasizes the role of responsive actions and their consequences. In the act of responding, the impulse that produced the successful act would be stamped in (strengthened), whilst all other non-successful impulses would be stamped out (weakened). Eventually the stamping in would become habitual responses to that same situation. In the puzzle box experiments, the S-R connection was established because the response resulted in a satisfying consequence (escape from box). This response was strengthened, as seen when the animal reduced its vain actions (e.g. clawing and scurrying aimlessly) in the repeated experiments, as shown by the much faster escape times. Applied to human learning, this law implies that positive stimuli breed correspondingly positive responses. In practical terms, in schools or any learning institution, students should be provided with an environment that is conducive to learning. Libraries, for example, in general provide this conduciveness. As Ormrod (2008) puts it: Students should experience academic tasks in contexts that elicit pleasant emotions rather than in contexts that elicit anxiety, disappointment, or anger. This statement is consistent with the premise of Thorndikes Law of Effect that satisfactory consequences strengthen the response. 4.2 The Law of Readiness A series of responses can be chained together to satisfy some goal which will result in annoyance if blocked. (http://tip.psychology.org/thorn.html) This theory arose in an experiment where a chick had to execute a sequence of actions to trigger a series of release devices for it to escape confinement. This sequence of acts is today known as a response chain. Extending the aspect of satisfying some goal to humans, it could be surmised that optimal learning takes place only when someone is ready to act; in so doing, the consequences are satisfying. On the other hand, forcing someone to act when he is not ready will be annoying. Forcing can be interpreted as interfering in someones goal-directed behaviour. Interference that leads to unwilling behaviour causes frustration. An analogy could be made of a child who is force-fed to eat vegetables. He may grow up to hate eating vegetables if it is forced upon him. However, if he himself is ready to eat them, the act will more likely lead to satisfaction. In the long run, vegetables are a must in his meals; not having them may lead to annoyance. On a broader perspective, the level of readiness could be linked to a major factor in the efficacy of learning, viz. motivation. At its basic level, motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something. (Harmer, 2007). When a person is sufficiently motivated to learn, the aforesaid internal drive should ready him/her to learn. In the context of the classroom, a conducive learning environment (S) can also motivate (R) students (the S-R connection in the Law of Effect). Hence it can be said that the stimulus (S) breeds a response (R) (of readiness to learn); in turn the response (R) breeds another positive response (motivation). Here, there is a chain of positive responses in the learning process. 4.3 The Law of Exercise Stimulus-response associations are strengthened through repetition. (Wikipedia, 2009) There are two sub-laws arising from the theory:- a. The Law of Use: The S-R connections are strengthened as they are used. b. The Law of Disuse: The S-R connections are weakened as they are not used. In effect, this theory stresses the importance of repetition in the learning process. This was how the animals strengthened the S-R response progressively in Thorndikes experiments, resulting in the faster escape times evident in the time-curves. The exercise in the law refers to practice, as in the commonly-held adage Practice makes perfect. This is especially true, not only cognitively, but also in skills where psychomotor and kinaesthetic abilities are critical to the learning. For instance, the more successful golfers are more likely to be the ones who hone their skills through longer periods of repetitive drills, all other factors being equal. Motor mechanics achieve a higher level of competency through constant and repetitive work. The importance of repetitive practice in learning cannot be overemphasized. A student can achieve a greater mathematical proficiency through tireless repetitive practice. In language learning, repetition has always played a part to provoke the structuring and re-structuring of noticed language (Harmer, 2007). Hence teachers in language classrooms put their students through choral drilling for them to internalise not only grammatical structures, but also the sentence intonation. The three laws of learning above are interestingly linked to each other. Connections are strengthened because S-R pairings occur many times (Law of exercise) and then rewarded (Law of effect) as well as forming a single sequence of actions (Law of readiness). Re-stating the link in another way, it can be said that in learning, motivation (readiness) is driven by incentives (effect). Both motivation and incentives can drive the learner towards practice (exercise) until ultimate success is achieved. 5. Thorndikes perspective of animal learning (Task (c) of the Assignment) The MacMillan English Dictionary (2002) defines reasoning as: the process of thinking about something in an intelligent and sensible way in order to make a decision. The Concise Oxford English (2002) dictionary defines thinking as: using thought or rational judgement; intelligent. But are both these definitions applicable universally, i.e. applicable to humans and animals? In a general sense, it may appear so. After all a process of thinking, in whatever way, has to take place before an animal acts. But does an animal think by using rational judgement? On the premise that animals do not rationalise, it follows then that animals do not think, at least not in the way that we humans do. Barrow and Woods (2006) declared that rationality is inextricably tied up with the notion of thinking. So it begs the question: How do animals think? Given that thinking is needed for learning, how do animals learn? Thorndike, in his doctoral dissertation, asserted that animal learning has nothing to do with reasoning or the association of ideas. Rather, he declared that it (learning) occurs as a result of trial and accidental success. He concluded this based on his puzzle box experiments where success (of escape) was due to the animals trial-and-error actions rather than a reasoned, logical, i.e. thinking, approach to the problem. According to Thorndike, the outwardly random, chaotic behaviour of the animal was due to the activation of its innate action impulses responding to the stimulus. There was no evident association of ideas in the solution. In laymans terms, animals do not put two and two together (as humans do) in a rational, logical way when they act, i.e. there is no reasoning. If animals could reason, then learning should be abrupt, NOT gradual as proven in Thorndikes time curves. What Thorndike offered, on the other hand, was that instead of the association of ideas, animals learnt through the association of sensations. This perspective was diametrically opposed to the views subscribed by comparative psychologists before him. They had contended that animals had cognitive insight, they being able to establish ideas and employ reasoning in their actions. Thorndikes experiments effectively debunked that long held contention. He said that there was no solid evidence that animals grasped ideas or learned through reasoning (Chance, 1999). In summary, Thorndike put forth four arguments in support of his beliefs. These arguments were empirically backed by the main findings of his puzzle box experiments. Chance (1999) expressed them thus: (1) The behaviour of animals is impulsive and apparently random, not systematic and logical. As enunciated above (and in other sections), when presented with a stimulus, the response of a trapped animal is chaotic; it follows that there is no contemplation or thoughtfulness, therefore no insight. Impulse rather than thought drives its actions. (2) The change in an animals behaviour is gradual, not abrupt. This assertion was validated by the time curves. The curves established that animals learn in incremental steps, not in sudden surges. This implies that there is an absence of reasoning (Chance, 1999). (3) The animals show no sign of understanding between action and consequence even after they have learnt to escape from the box. This arose from an experiment when a cat, which had escaped by pulling a loop, would repeat the same action, even when the loop was absent in the repeated trials. It shows that the cats response had been strengthened due to earlier successes (The Law of effect). It again confirms Thorndikes view that animal learning does not involve reasoning. (4) Animals learnt only if they performed the necessary act themselves. As described in 3.2.6 Learning by observation, animals do not learn by observing and imitating models. Neither would they learn if they are prompted to perform the act, as Thorndike discovered when he repeatedly assisted the cat to pull the release device. When left on its own, the cat could not associate the loop as a means of escape. This indicates that, unless the animal acted on its own volition, learning would not take place (the Law of readiness). It stands that animals cannot reason their way through a problem. 6. Conclusion It has been over 100 years now since Thorndikes pioneering work in the study and psychology of learning, resulting in a learning perspective referred to as connectionism, emphasizing on behaviour as opposed to cognition. It laid the foundation for latter day psychologists to conduct a more objective, scientific research into the process of human and animal learning. Thorndikes puzzle box experiments primarily focussed on the S-R relationship that provided the catalytic impetus to learning. It led to the development of Thorndikes theories, which expounds how learning takes place. Through his experiments, Thorndike also disproved the views held by other psychologists that animals possess insight in their learning process. All in all, Thorndikes research provided a fresh perspective of the learning process which led to further research by others. In a way, this scenario is an instance of the S-R environment. (End)