How Domestic Violence Affects Children - 2071 Words

How Domestic Violence Affects Children It has been well documented that children exposed to domestic violence suffer many forms of trauma, particularly children who witness violence inflicted by one parent on the other parent. To begin, Domestic Violence is typically not about one incident of actual violence but a sustained pattern of abusive behaviors and attitudes that may escalate over time. Threatening words and gestures become part of a pervasive atmosphere of fear. The intimidation is frequently life threatening. (Groves 2006) It is called domestic because it involves a family, a home or household, or a partner. It could be any member of the family or household that is practicing the violent behavior. Either way, the children†¦show more content†¦Imagine the hurt and shame a child would feel that is being beaten. Confusion as to why this is happening would probably be at the front of the child’s mind. They don’t know that the domestic violence perpetrator may abuse the child as part of their violence against their partner or to control him or her. (Radford amp; Hester, 2006) This could prove to be fatal for the child. One factor that has been found to be closely related to juvenile aggression is the quality of the interactions among family members. Research indicates that violent interactions within the family encourage subsequent aggression and violence, not only within the family, but also in other social contexts. (Elrod amp; Ryder, 2011) Next to be discussed are the emotional problems that domestic violence can create. Many juveniles will blame themselves for what is happening in their home. They believe that if they somehow could just act a little better or be a little more helpful, everything will get better. They feel guilty that they can’t protect the battered parent. They are very disturbed by the conflict of love and hate that they feel toward the parent that is battering. They deal with constant sadness and feelings that they are unworthy. These children are very cautious and worried because they don’t know when the next act of violence will occur. Exposed children may become nervous, and fidgety. Sensitiveness toShow MoreRelatedHow Domestic Violence Affects Children3491 Words   |  14 Pages How Domestic Violence Affects Children April Weaver Major: Psychology March 22, 2015 â€Æ' Introduction Domestic violence is defined as the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another (â€Å"Domestic violence – Definition and more from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary,† n.d.). Texas Family Code Sec 71.004 defines family violence as an act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physicalRead MoreHow Does Domestic Violence Affect Children? Essay1736 Words   |  7 PagesBritannica, domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, refers to any abuse that takes place among people living in the same household (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online). Domestic violence includes, but is not limited to, spousal abuse and child abuse. Fighting, name-calling, destruction of property, harassment, sexual abuse, the misuse of power and exercise of control (intimidation) over the other person’s finances or actions are all classified as domestic violence. ChildrenRead MoreHow Domestic Violence Affects Children As Well As The Mental Health Of Its Victims1744 Words   |  7 Pagesoverview of the research topic. This chapter will provide a historical background on domestic violence, a historical perspective of the services provided and an overview of different forms of domestic violence. The goal of this literature review is to examine the statistical information that is presented as it relates to domestic violence. This literature review will also reveal how domestic violence affects children as well as the mental health of its victims. In addition, this chapter will includeRead MoreDomestic Violence Affects Children s Development1687 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Thesis: Domestic violence can negatively affect children s development. (make more persuasive) Children all around the world witness domestic violence. Whether it s between parents, partners or even the elder. Does the parents, partners, or elder realize the affects that happen to their children? Witnessing domestic violence, children become fearful and anxious. They become this way because they never know when the next event may happen, fearing for themselves, mom or dad, and siblingsRead MoreDomestic Violence research proposal1573 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract The purpose of this study is to see whether or not domestic violence causes a damaging affect on children. The study will included criminal justice students in College and the age range will be between 18 and 23 years old. The method is qualitative and will be an interview. Introduction Domestic violence can be defines as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. AbuseRead MoreThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children1529 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Trudy Root Kaplan University CM107-11 Children are negatively impacted by the surrounding of domestic violence in multiple ways, in which need to be identified. The audience that needs to be aware of domestic abuse’s effects on children is adults that care for children; such as pediatricians, teachers, counselors, and parents. The issue that needs to be addressed is the negative effects on children involved in a domestic violence situation. ManyRead MoreThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children1540 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Trudy Root Kaplan University CM107-11 Children are negatively impacted by the surrounding of domestic violence in multiple ways, in which need to be identified. The audience that needs to be aware of domestic abuse’s effects on children is adults that care for children; such as pediatricians, teachers, counselors, and parents. The issue that needs to be addressed is the negative effects on children involved in a domestic violence situation. ManyRead MoreDomestic Violence And Children On Children1642 Words   |  7 PagesDomestic Violence and Children There are many studies that have been done over the past decade that does a comparison of children of domestic violence to those that have not experienced it. We cannot say for sure what number or percentage is affected each day or year. However, it is a widespread national problem that affects children today. Domestic violence has long been a hot topic and statics shows that† every 15 seconds a woman in the United States of America is beaten† (Beller 2015, p. 207)Read MoreThe Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Essay1183 Words   |  5 Pagesof that individual. Some of these events will affect the individual in a positive way allowing great life opportunities, while other events will unfortunately affect the individual in a negative way which can lead to disorders. Among the various events that can affect a person, one of the most common occurrences that some children witness early on in their lives that deeply affect their long-term mental health is being a witness to domestic violence. Research and observations that were studied revealedRead MoreThe Cycle Of Domestic Violence1264 Words   |  6 PagesOne may wonder why some individuals remain in the cycle of domestic violence even after instances of abuse. Should it not be easy for an individual to leave a partner who is inflicting pain and stress on him or her? Lenore Walker’s (1979) model for the cycle of domestic violence explores the phases of domestic violence, the different types of abuse, and how these various phases contribute to the continuation of the cycle. Domestic violence is often diagnosed by obvious signs of physical abuse; however

Essay on The Existence Of God - 908 Words

The Three Most Popular Arguments For The Existence Of God The Ontological Argument One of the most important attempts to demonstrate the existence of God is the ontological argument of Saint Anselm, an 11th-century theologian. Anselm’s argument maintains that God, defined as the greatest being that can be conceived, must exist, since a being that does not exist would by virtue of that fact lack an attribute that contributes to its greatness. Critics have questioned, however, whether existence actually contributes to a being’s greatness. The Cosmological Argument Another important attempt to provide a rational justification for the existence of God is the cosmological argument, also called the argument from first cause. Aquinas and†¦show more content†¦Although contemporary theists, such as American philosopher William Lane Craig, maintain that a first cause is necessary to explain the big bang, critics contend that recent scientific theories indicate that the universe could have arisen spontaneously. The Teleological Argument According to the teleological argument for the existence of God—also known as the argument from design—the universe is like a machine. The best-known supporter of this view is 18th-century theologian William Paley. According to this theory, because machines are created by intelligent beings, and because the universe may be thought of as a single, highly complex machine, it is likely that the universe was created by a great intelligence, understood to be God. The classic critique of this argument, presented by 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, maintains that the analogy to a machine is weak and that other analogies are just as strong. For instance, the universe may be thought of as a living organism, in which case the universe would have been created by reproduction rather than by design. Which argument do I agree with? I think that the ontological argument is not really making an argument for the existence of God, but is really playing with the fact that it is impossible for humanity to define a being we are not sure exists. Therefore, if you go by his definition God does exist. However, how do we define God? Is God the greatest being or is he simply the creator of theShow MoreRelatedThe Existence Of God : God1305 Words   |  6 PagesThe existence of God has been in question for as long as mankind has existed and thought logically. Many questions have plagued the human mind in regards to God, and there have been many arguments drawn with the hopes of proving the existence of a supreme being whom we know as God. The â€Å"God† question has been presented to every individual at some point in their lives. It is a topic that will bring forth never-ending questions and an equal amount of attempted answers. Many philosophers have formulatedRead MoreThe Existence Of God1304 Words   |  6 P agesIn this paper I’m going to argue that there exists only one God who is the most beneficent and the most merciful and that Blackburn’s claim for the existence of evil doesn t prove that there does not exist a God who is all knowing, all good and all powerful. Exposition:(349 words) In chapter five, Blackburn expresses his take on the existence of God. He believes that people with religious beliefs have to be evaluated â€Å"in terms of truth and falsity†. He thinks that that it is just the set of ritualsRead MoreThe Existence Of God s Existence1339 Words   |  6 Pagesidea of God. The existence of God is one of the most sought out topic that is frequently inquired. Is there really a God or is God merely a concept humans created to explain the unexplainable? And if God does exist, what makes him different from the rest of us? A well-known philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas, introduced five proofs including the Cosmological Arguments of God’s existence, as well as explained some divine qualities that are associated with God. The nature of God’s existence is oftenRead MoreThe Existence of God1317 Words   |  6 PagesThe Existence of God For centuries, the idea of God has been a part of mans history. Past and present, there has always been a different integration consisting of the believers and the non-believers of God. The group of those who have faith in God tend to be related to one religion or another. On the other hand, the skeptics find the existence of God somewhat puzzling and try to seek the answers through scientific methods. Even as of today with all the modern technologies and the developmentRead MoreThe Existence Of God2601 Words   |  11 Pagesstatements established about the unseen and natural forces since the beginning of time. It gave rise to questions such as: Do aliens exist? Is there a world of the unseen? Life after Death and the most popular question since the beginning of times, Does God exists? And the answer is ‘yes’. Here is how I will justify my stance. Imagine yourself walking in the middle of a desert, which shows no signs of life regardless of which ever direction your eyes turn to. When, suddenly, you see something reflectingRead MoreGod s Existence Of God936 Words   |  4 PagesNot Be Afraid to Explore More Than One Religion God’s existence sometimes does not exist to certain people. When it comes to the teaching and knowledge about God many people are not aware because they have never been taught about how God appeared on the earth. I choose this topic because I was one of those people who has never really been raised around certain religion nor about the teaching how God came to be. However, I have been taught that God does exist and that his son Jesus are the reason forRead MoreThe Argument On The Existence Of God1629 Words   |  7 PagesThe idea of God has been a part of man’s history for centuries. Since time began there has been various combination of believers, and non-believers. Individuals who believes in God, belong to many different religion. Whereas, skeptics find the existence of God somewhat baffling, and have continually sought answers to His existence through scientific methods. As the world progresses in scientific, and technological advancement, the human race still face s the question of God’s existence. Many philosophersRead MoreAtheism And The Existence Of God Essay1294 Words   |  6 Pagesevident fact that God exists. Whereas some atheists would claim that the theists bear the burden of proof since they are making supernatural claims. In the following essay I will be discussing both opinions on this matter, and perhaps show how the burden of proof lies on both of them and neither of them. I will begin this discussion by defining the recurring terms during the discussion on the existence of God. Traditionally the three attitudes one could hold towards the existence of God are theism, atheismRead MoreEvil And The Existence Of God1147 Words   |  5 PagesThis essay is based on how the problem of evil attacks head on into the existence of god who is all good, all powerful and all knowing. The problem of evil is a wide area that can t be outrun easily. The concept of evil has been problematic to many philosophers. When speaking about evil, we all have the idea that is the absence of good. For some religious people, Evil has been described as a supernatural force, although for others is been described as part of the human nature. Blackburn mainly raiseRead MoreThe Arguments For The Existence Of God1056 Words   |  5 PagesNovember 2015 Rough Draft for The arguments for the Existence of God. The question Does God Exist? is a well-known asked question in the world. Most people believe they know the answer to it. The religious people would say, well of course he does, while the non-religious people or atheist would say no He does not exist. Because evil exist and chaos exists, God cannot be all-powerful. In the modern world, there are many different opinions as to whether a God exists or not. This has been an issue of great

Analysis of the Marks of an Educated Person free essay sample

In an analysis of â€Å"The Marks of an Educated Person† the author writes about three different individuals and shows whether or not they qualify as educated people. He also writes about the purpose of education and what it means to be an educated Christian. The author refers to three individuals in his writing: Mary, Tom, and Pat. He talks about their personalities and their concentrations towards education. Mary is a narrowly focused individual that focusses on her major, her electives, her extracurricular activities, and her work experience. Mary is trained in her specific area but she is not educated. I see myself as being a lot like Mary. I feel like I spend a lot of time focusing on the same things as Mary. Tom is a popular, socially successful person. He is a social conformist, therefore he is not educated. Pat enjoys learning and has a broad education in many different areas. She has skills in other areas other than her major. It is my desire to be more like Pat. I want to find enjoyment in learning and hope to become a â€Å"jack of all trades† in the field of education. Being broad is one important thing to me; I would like to be able to have a wide range of knowledge instead of only having knowledge in one area. The author then introduces Aristotle stating that education should prepare a person for an active life marked by excellence. To me this means that a person should have a wide array of knowledge. Aristotle refers to the good life as â€Å"fulfillment† or â€Å"self-actualization†. Unlike during the time of Aristotle, fulfillment now seems to bring feeling of satisfaction and Aristotle meant is as an achievement. Self-actualization now sounds individualistic and self-centered; for Aristotle it represents the full actualization of human capacities in the activities of their lives. This is significant because it shows the change in thought over the generations. This supports my thoughts that people of earlier generations were â€Å"more educated† than people of our times. I do not know if this is lack of good education or the mindset of the people now-a-days. I think that Aristotle is right when he says that education should prepare a person for an active life marked by excellence. Characteristics of an educated person show that they should be reflective and moral in everything that they do and be thoroughly responsible of everything they do. I think that I have at some points in my education shown these characteristics but also had lack of these. I think that I have shown the lack of reflective ness and morality because of not having someone there to make me do things that I am responsible for doing and being away from home has affected me also. I feel like I am a responsible person who Aristotle says is one of the things you need to have to be an educated person, but here of late I have realized that I have fallen away from being a responsible agent and am working back to that state. In the section titled â€Å"The Marks of an Educated Christian† the author talks about â€Å"spiritual virtues† which are an unreserved commitment to God and his purposes for us in this world, a confidence in the gospel, and a self-giving devotion, also known as faith, hope, and love. I believe that spiritual virtues are important because they give direction to people in all aspects of their lives. If a person has faith, hope, and love for God, they can find answers to any problems they may be facing. Moral virtues are qualities of character like love and fairness, the courage of one’s convictions, a thorough going integrity, and a commitment to justice and love in every area of life. The importance of both spiritual and moral virtues should be a big thing in the lives of Christians but what is important to Christian colleges is breadth of understanding, openness to new ideas, intellectual honesty about other views and about the problems in one’s own, analytic and critical skills, not just verbal skills and powers of communication but grace and eloquence therein as well, the ability to say the right thing in the right way at the right time. This is important because this builds us as human beings not just students. As human beings be are to gain as much knowledge as possible to bring us closer to God. In non-Christian colleges the focus is solely on education. I think that the approach of a Christian college is more beneficial to its students because it builds them as people more so as just students. But moral and intellectual values are not enough. Being responsible we need to have conscientiousness, helpfulness, a servantly but not servile manner, decisiveness, self-discipline, persistence, the ability to correct one’s course and start afresh, to maintain good family relations, active involvement in church and community, to be an effective agent of needful and helpful change. You can see all of these at work here at Greenville College. Here at GC the importance of all of these things are equally stressed. Community is a big word used here at Greenville and having a requirement of volunteer work in the courses enforces students to be a part of their community. After reading â€Å"The Marks of an Educated Person† I now realize areas that I need to work on in my life as I strive to be both an educated person and an educated Christian. I feel like in some areas that were mentioned in this reading I have been better in the past than I am now. I hope to work towards these goals and be more of an educated person and to be more like Pat.

Mind of Carjacking Summary free essay sample

Summary This chapter goes into the minds of 28 currently active carjackers in the St. Louis, Missouri area. What these three authors want to find out is the motivation behind these crimes. Spontaneity, hedonism, the ostentatious display of wealth, and the maintenance of honor are the main points of the reasons why carjackers steal cars. (pg 308, pg 2) They explain that a characteristic of street culture is to show off by buying things of status such as a fancy haircut, nice shoes, clothes, jewelry, etc. Some of the carjackers explained that when they run out of money they will steal a person’s belongings along with their car to get back their â€Å"social status† of looking good. Opportunity is the all important word that dominates carjacking more than it does most other street crimes, because the targets of such offenses are uniquely mobile. A car will present itself, and is gone in a matter of seconds, so there can be no room for hesitation. We will write a custom essay sample on Mind of Carjacking Summary or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (pg 308, p3) One of the chapters labeled â€Å"punishing affronts† explains a true story of one of the carjackers. Its start off of the carjacker casually walking home by himself, when suddenly, a car drives by. The driver drives extra slow, blares the music and even gives the guy walking a dirty look. The guy feels like he must steal his car, and does steal it successfully. Even a wrong look given to another on the street is grounds for you to get your car stolen. The look is stab at their status and some just will not have that and instant retaliation is a must. The carjackers that were interviewed said that stealing a car is a thrill ride. To be in dangerous situations where anything can happen gives them excitement. Crime, in this view, is a dance with danger and the â€Å"rush† comes from facing adversarial circumstances and overcoming them through sheer for of will. (pg310, p2) The carjackers said they do not think about being arrested when committing their crime. Stealing a car only takes a couple of seconds, and if they do not see any cops, it’s a green light for go. They get a feeling of control when confronting the drivers of the car they are stealing. â€Å"It’s just funny to see them shaking and pissing all over theyself. It’s hilarious. You just get a kick out of seeing them screaming and hollering. (PoPo, pg311 p2) in conclusion, characteristics of street culture are the reasons carjackers steal cars. Street culture idolizes spontaneity and dismisses rationality and long- range planning. (pg 311, pg2) It seems people in street culture act as if there is no tomorrow, confident that the future will take care of itself. (pg 311, p3) Theory For this chapter on the immediate experiences of carjacking, I think the most appropriate theory to apply is the phenomenological theory from the constructionist side of theories. The phenomenological theory was constructed by Jack Katz. He explains that the seduction of crime entices criminals. He critiques the positivist view because they do not explain many things. Positivists cannot explain gang violence, commercial robbery, senseless and coldblooded murder. Katz says there are some explanations for these crimes; committing righteous slaughter, mobilizing the spirit of street elite, constructing sneaky thrills, persistent in the practice of stickup as a hard man and embodying primordial evil. (pg 43, p5) One of these critiques is why many who do fit the background categories and later commit the predicted crime go for long stretches without committing the crimes to which the theory directs them. Why are people who were not determined to commit a crime one moment, determined to do so the next? It comes down to what a criminal is feeling, for them to commit a crime. Do they stay within the boundaries of society or break the norms to give into their own selfish needs? Katz see criminality not really as a result of monetary means, unlike most sociologists, but it gives them power which money cannot buy. Committing crime gives the offenders thrills. They are breaking the rules of society and getting away with it, making themselves feel unique and in control. Raising the spirit of criminality requires practical attention to a mode of executing action, symbolic creativity in defining the situation, and esthetic finesse in recognizing and elaborating on the sensual possibilities. Humiliation, righteousness, arrogance, ridicule, cynicism, defilement, and vengeance are all the emotions that feed into the criminalistic acts. Street culture is its own subculture embedded within regular society and to them these types of things occur daily. Critique I thought this chapter was very good. I didn’t really see a lot wrong with it to criticize. To me crime is very interesting and knowing why carjackers steal cars was great read. Reading this chapter I’ve learned one thing, don’t EVER go to the St. Louis, Missouri area. They steal people’s cars for fun! All kidding aside, the chapter provides great insider information on the motivation behind these acts and the rewards that are produced. Although the chapter was kind of short, I had wished it was a little longer because it kept me reading the whole time. The chapter was a little short on length though, in my opinion. I think I would of liked to of seen some statistics of all auto-theft in the St. Louis area. I didn’t see a single statistic in the chapter. The only number I saw was that they interviewed 28 carjackers. The true life excerpts from the carjackers were probably the best part to read of this chapter. It puts you in a different and very unfamiliar life other than your own, committing crime. I thought it was crazy that someone would actually steal a car from someone, just for the driver giving the guy a dirty look. On the other hand, it made me understand that you can’t just â€Å"test† people and expect nothing to come about it. These people live for the moment and the moment can get you in some serious trouble. â€Å"Every night is Saturday night, and it’s time to party (pg311, p2) I also thought the conclusion of chapter was really good. I could not have summarized it any better. It ended the chapter of the immediate experiences of carjacking very well.? References Jacobs, B. , Topalli, V. , Wright, R. (2010). The Immediate Experiences of Carjacking. In A. Thio, T. Calhoun, A. Conyers, Readings in Deviant Behavior (pp. 308-311). Boston: Pearson Education Inc. Class notes from Part 3 Constructionist Theories, Social Deviance

Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection The WritePass Journal

Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection Introduction Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection IntroductionDiscussionPhysical attractivenesCompetitivenessNurturing qualitiesSociabilityStatusConclusionRelated Introduction Darwin observed several facts which contradicted his theory of natural- or survival selection, one of which was the dazzling plumage of peacocks that appeared to have nothing to do with survival, and in fact seemed to be more of an open invitation to potential predators. The fact that peahens prefer to mate with males who have the most brilliant and luminescent plumage, and that males are often larger than females in species in which they need to engage in physical combat in competition over females, (Crawford Krebbs, 2008) lead to Darwin’s second evolutionary theory: the theory of sexual selection. Competition among members of the same species for reproductively relevant resources is the pillar of Darwin’s (1859) theory of natural selection (West-Eberhard, 1979) and he proposed two primary ways in which sexual selection could operate. Firstly, intrasexual competition; consisting of competition between members of one sex, the result of which leads to mating access with the opposite sex, and secondly, intersexual selection or preferential mate choice. Intersexual selection refers to the tendency of one sex to choose as mates certain members of the opposite sex based on specifically desired qualities. Darwin referred to intersexual selection as â€Å"female choice† because he observed that throughout the animal kingdom females were prone to be more discriminating than males in their mating choices, (Crawford, Crebs 2008). In the past several decades the evolutionary perspective on interpersonal attraction and mate selection has gained increased attention and proposes that humans are governed by rules of attraction and mate selection that prioritize the conception, birth, and survival of their offspring. (Mahfouz, et al. 2008). Intrasexual selection in humans appears to operate mostly indirectly, through social hierarchies, rather than through direct competition as can be observed in the animal kingdom, e.g. two antelopes locking horns in com bat over a female. In this way patterns of sexual selection do not immediately involve environmental changes, and neutral or even dysfunctional traits could potentially develop through female choice (Buss, 1986). This begs the important question; what are the preferred characteristics valued by human beings when it comes to mating? One of the main strategies of competition in mating is to make oneself more attractive than others of the same sex by use of specific tactics and displaying certain resources (Buss, 1988).   Trivers (1972) further illuminated Darwin’s theory of sexual selection when he suggested that the one driving force behind sexual selection is the relative parental contribution of both sexes in their offspring. Males should adopt a reproductive strategy which maximizes the opportunity to mate, and females should adopt a strategy that relies on choice, only mating once the best male out of a number has been identified. According to Buss (1986) under conditions of female choice, males are expected to display the traits most valued by females, and may compete for elevation in hierarchies while women tend to favour high-status men. Buss (1988) conducted a number of studies with the hypothesis in mind that patterns of human intrasexual competition can be predicted from knowledge of mate sele ction criteria, and examined preferences in partner choice. He found three replicated sex differences; men more than women preferred mates who were physically attractive, and women more than men preferred mates who showed good earning potential and who were college educated. Thus, it would seem that females can increase their reproductive success by choosing a man of high status with sufficient resources, thereby able to provide material security to successfully raise offspring. Males, on the other hand, increase their reproductive success by choosing women who are receptive, fertile, and possesses characteristics suggestive of being a good mother (Singh, 1993). Where as the reproductive value of a man can be easily assessed by looking at external symbols of power such as social- and economical standing, women’s reproductive value is concealed. However, from an evolutionary based perspective it is assumed that physical attractiveness is primarily a reflection of a womanâ€⠄¢s reproductive success (Buss, 1987), and is portrayed in this way by certain desired physical characteristics like full lips, clear skin, clear eyes, an abundance of hair, symmetry, good muscle tone, youth (Buss, 1993) and lower body mass (Swami and Furnham, 2007). From an evolutionary viewpoint, both sexes should have evolved a preference for mates that possess these desired qualities, increasing levels of competition to project such characteristics and ensure reproductive success. The number of options available when deciding on a mate has become potentially overwhelming in modern times. Not only are there more people in our local environment, but modern dating methods present us with more options than humans have previously had to deal with. However, research suggests that mate qualities valued by people offline are the same as those valued by people online (Lenton, et al., 2008), and that online interaction is driven by the same needs as face-to-face interaction. Thus, online interaction should not be regarded as a separate arena but as an integrated part of modern social life (Wellman Hathornthwaite, 2002). A study by Hitch et al. (2005) which looked at desirable qualities as projected on online dating sites found the most striking difference across gender to be related to earnings and education. Although both sexes show a preference for partners with higher incomes, this preferences is much more pronounced for women, as also found in Buss’ studies. It was also found that although users prefer a partner with a similar education level, men tended to have a strong dislike for a better educated partner, where as women avoided less educated men. In another study focused on the importance attached to physical attractive qualities, Hancock and Toma (2009) studied profile pictures of women on dating websites by looking at self-presentation and in particular at levels of deception in the form of the number of discrepancies as contained in photographs . They assumed that from an evolutionary perspective youthfulness and physical attractiveness would be qualities valued more by women than by men, and found that women’s photographs were indeed less accurate, with discrepancies relating to mentioned weight, hair length and age as preferred by men, and higher incidences of retouching photos. Although earlier studies focused on self-presentation on internet dating websites, researchers have recently shifted their attention to self-pr esentation in less anonymous settings like social networking sites.   A study by Ellison et al. (2006) found that people tend to act differently in social networking environments when compared to those interacting in anonymous settings. This finding had vast implications in identity formation in the online world, as it basically indicated that online self-presentation varies according to the nature of the setting. Along with dating sites, friend-networking websites like MySpace and Facebook have become very popular, and offer a highly controlled environment for self-presentational behaviour- an ideal setting for impression management (Mehdizadeh, 2010). A study by Zhao (2008) examined identity construction on Facebook, with the main hypothesis being that Facebook users would engage in what internet dating sites users engage in- the presentation of their hoped-for possible selves, defined as socially desirable identities an individual aim to construct, in this case online. They dis tinguished between implicit identity claims, which involved the display of photos and profile pictures, and explicit identity claims, involving verbal descriptions of the self under the â€Å"About me† section of facebook. However, it was found that this was the least elaborated of identity strategies and photos were mainly used for identity construction. Results were consistent with internet dating studies and the way in which a self which is more socially desirable was projected. The construction of the self online has been found to differ between the sexes because different kinds of social roles come into play during interpersonal communication (Archer, 1989). Women, unlike men, tend to place greater importance on sexual-interpersonal aspects of self-definition, and a review of gender differences in identity development revealed few gender differences, apart from in the areas of sexuality and family roles, supporting findings that relationships are more important to womenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s identity formation than to men’s (Manago, 2008). Research highlights that it is critical that social scientists don’t view Cyberspace as one generic space, but rather to consider how different spaces online are constructed (Whitty, 2007). Specific characteristics of internet communication may affect gender self-presentation, and the way in which Facebook allows users to present a very strategic presentation of their selves and to control what remains hidden and what is revealed, makes it a fascinating medium to study. The objectives of the current study was to look at the effect of gender and relationship status on the projection of reproductively valued qualities on Facebook from an evolutionary perspective. From an evolutionary viewpoint one would expect similar gender differences as was found in Buss’ studies, with women placing more of an emphasis on physical attractiveness and youth and the way this is projected on Facebook, and men projecting qualities which portray status and competitiveness. The projection of sociability was correlated with â€Å"warmth† and it was predicted that women would score significantly higher on the projection of this characteristic, with single women scoring significantly higher overall. Important to note is that the projection of these mentioned reproductively valued qualities would be of an unconscious- and implicit nature, considering that Facebook is primarily seen as a social networking website, rather than as a virtual arena designed to meet m embers of the opposite sex, as is the case with online dating websites. Both gender and relationship differences in the projection of   physical attractiveness, competitiveness, nurturing qualities, status and sociability were predicted. It was predicted that married persons, already being in a position of long term mating, would project these qualities significantly less than single persons. There were four main hypotheses: Hypothesis one: Single males will score significantly higher on projected status and -competitiveness than single females. Hypothesis two: Single females will score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness, -nurturing qualities and -sociability than single males. Hypothesis three: Single males will score significantly higher on both projected status and -competitiveness in comparison to married males. Hypothesis four: Single females will score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness, -nurturing qualities and -sociability than married females. Discussion Darwin’s theory of sexual selection suggests that desirable members of the opposite sex possess reproductively valuable assets over which members of the same sex compete. Gender differences typically exist when it comes to which reproductively relevant resources are valued by men and women. Females seem to increase their reproductive success by choosing a man of high status with sufficient resources, thereby able to provide material security to successfully raise offspring. Males, on the other hand, increase their reproductive success by choosing women who are receptive, fertile, and possesses characteristics suggestive of being a good mother (Singh, 1993). Research suggests that mate qualities valued by people offline are the same as those valued by people online (Lenton, et al., 2008) and studies investigating mating preferences on online dating websites display similar findings, with women going to significantly greater lengths than men to enhance physical attractiveness on    profile photos, and men emphasising their status and income to a significantly greater extend than women. The present study proposed that evolutionary differences between the sexes with regards to sexual selection should also exist in non-dating online environments like the social networking website, Facebook, with females placing more of on emphasis on projecting physical attractiveness, sociability and nurturing qualities, and males projecting competitiveness and status. Most of the hypotheses were confirmed and were consistent with other studies on mating preferences from an evolutionary viewpoint. Several conclusions can be drawn from this study. Firstly, support was found for significantly greater female than male use and perceived effectiveness of projecting physical attractiveness and nurturing qualities. Secondly, support was found that single women perceive the effectiveness of projecting physical attractiveness to a significantly greater extent than married females. T hirdly, support was found for significantly greater male than female use and perceived effectiveness of competitiveness. Fourthly, support was found that single persons perceived the use and effectiveness of projecting sociability as significantly greater than married persons. Finally, the perceived use and effectiveness of the projection of status did not vary significantly for either gender or relationship status. These findings provide evidence that mating preferences are also displayed implicitly in non-dating online environments where the main agenda is social networking, rather than attracting a mate. This implies that the projection of reproductively valued assets could also be an unconscious process, engrained in our evolutionary biological make-up. The results of this study will now be discussed in terms of each hypothesis, after which the practical implications of the study will be highlighted and   suggestions will finally be made on how future studies could utilize and expand these findings. Physical attractivenes As predicted, significant results were found for the projection of physical attractiveness for gender, with women scoring higher overall than men, and also for relationship status, with single persons scoring significantly higher than married persons. These findings provide evidence that pressure on women to appear young and attractive is just as prevalent in today’s society as it was when Darwin wrote his theory on sexual selection in 1871, noting that â€Å"In civilized life man is largely, but by no means exclusively, influenced in the choice of his wife by external appearance†, 1871. (p. 738).   The pressure to be beautiful can be most blatantly observed on dating websites where the intrasexual battle between women ensues as they compete for the attention of a potential partner, and rely solely on photos as a method to project physical characteristics, even lying about age and weight to appear more attractive (Hitsch et al., 2005). One study found that men were mo re likely to respond to an advertisement in which a woman identified herself as a recovering addict than to an ad in which the woman identified herself as obese (Minervini McAndrew, 2005). Findings of this study reveal Facebook to be just as a competitive virtual arena which exhibits similar characteristics to online dating websites, including the strategic way in which one’s projected physical attractiveness is manipulated and enhanced online. Women displayed considerably more of a tendency to change their profile pictures on a regular basis than men, thereby drawing attention to- and emphasizing their looks to a much greater extent than men. This tendency was particularly highlighted along single women. Considering that evolutionary biology rules out beauty for its own sake (Derry, 2008) these findings reflect the unconscious way in which women on Facebook project reproductively valued qualities to the opposite sex through the implicit medium of photography. Although facial attractiveness is expected to predict the popularity of both men and women, and emerged in virtually all dating studies based on real interactions as a powerful predictor of popularity (Asendorpf et al., 2011), women tend to score significantly higher on projected physical attractiveness in comparison to men, as also supported by the findings of this study. Further significant differences were found between single- and married persons, with single users projecting physical attractiveness more than married users. This supports predictions, and reflects that there is less pressure on married couples to emphasise physical attractiveness, which can be attributed to the fact that they are already in positions of long term mating, and there is thus less of a need to project this asset. Another interesting finding in the current study was that only 52% of single women listed their age, followed by 78% of married women, 88% of single men, and finally 94% of married men. This further highlights the pressure on women to appear youthful, and it is interesting to note that it is predominantly single women who do not choose to list their age. Considering that 78% of married females list their age, one can not generalize this finding to women in general. The conclusion which must thus be drawn is that single women tend to de-emphasize elements relating to age in an attempt to appear more youthful. It is also interesting to note that the average age of single women was 24 in comparison to married women who were aged 29 on average. Considering that married women were aged slightly older than single women, one would in fact expect them to be more secretive about their age. However, this research indicates findings to the contrary and highlights the reproductive value of appea ring young for single women. These findings are supported by various previous studies into mating preference that found both physical attractiveness and youth as indicative of health and fertility in women, and as valued significantly by men as sources of reproductive value (Buss et al., 1990; Buss Barnes, 1986; Buss et al., 2001; Buss Schmitt, 1993; Feingold, 1990, 1992; Kenrick Keefe, 1992; Kenrick, Keefe, Gabrielidis, Cornelius, 1996; Singh, 1993; Singh Young, 1995). Competitiveness Human beings tend to live in groups and all groups have status hierarchies, whether formal or informal, with reproductively valued resources usually abundant at the top rather than the bottom, creating steep levels of competition (Buss, 2001). Levels of   intrasexual competition also increase, especially among males, as male resource display is judged as more effective than female resource display when it comes to attracting a mate. Men more than women display characteristics that would lead to the likely acquisition of resources like ambition and industriousness (Buss, 1988). In the current study significant gender differences were found for the projection of competitiveness, with males overall scoring significantly higher than females, as predicted.   Previous studies found that men were more likely to display resources as a tactic of intrasexual competition than women, also linking to studies done on mating preferences as displayed on online dating websites which found that me n tended to project their status in society, as well as their income, to a much greater extent than women   (Hitsch et al., 2005, Toma et al., 2008, Mahfouz, 2008). Although projected levels of competitiveness is not viewed as directly projecting resources or income in the case of this study, it is seen as a powerful indicator of a male’s ability to succeed in allocating valuable resources such as financial income. Levels of competitiveness did not vary significantly between single- and married men as predicted, indicating that the projection of competitiveness is valued by males in general and not just single males. This could arguably be explained by the fact that, from an evolutionary viewpoint, men may have evolved over human evolutionary history a powerful need for sexual access to a large number of women (Buss, 1993) which in combination with the innate ability to father offspring until much later in life than women are capable of biologically, entails higher levels o f competitiveness to suffice throughout a male’s life. In one study men stated that they would ideally like to have more than 18 sex partners in their lifetimes, whereas women state that they would desire only 4 or 5 (Buss Schmitt, 1993), and these findings were replicated twice when 75% of men but 0% of the women approached by an attractive stranger of the opposite sex consented to a request for sex (Clark Hatfield, 1989). From an evolutionary viewpoint, marriage is a relatively modern concept, implying that gender differences with regards to intra- and intersexual competition have not changed dramatically in modern times. In this sense competitiveness leads to a higher position in the social hierarchy, and better chance of providing for one’s offspring, and should not significantly vary between single- and married men, as findings illustrate in this study The importance of physical characteristics in the female choice of a mate is prevalent throughout the animal kingdom, and one benefit of a woman in permanent mating conditions is the physical protection offered by a man, Buss (2003). Considering that levels of competitiveness was correlated with participation in sports, one could further explore the possibility that physical strength as displayed in sports is valued as a reproductive resource by women- supported by studies such as Buss (1995) which found that women valued physical protection abilities more than men, in both short-term and long-term mating. Thus, it is additionally also possible that men project physical strength by appearing â€Å"sporty† in profile photos as the reproductively valued asset of providing physical protection to female offspring. This could also account for the insignificant difference between single- and married males when it came to the projection of competitiveness, seeing that men can father (and thus protect) offspring until late in life. Nurturing qualities The current study predicted that women would score significantly higher on projected nurturing qualities than men, and this hypothesis was supported. Both single and married women projected nurturing qualities to a greater extent than males. Stereotypically women are nurturing, where as men are somewhat more aggressive and less person-centred. Traditionally sex differences have been explained by the process of socialization , and the way men and women are influenced by societal norms to play acceptable gender roles. However, from an evolutionary viewpoint men would need to exhibit higher levels of aggression, and competitiveness, supported by the findings of this study, to protect their positions in society where as women with lower levels of competition and higher investment in their offspring are expected to show more nurturing behaviours (Workman Reader). This study supports findings from previous research which highlight nurturing qualities in women as being innate, as illustrat ed in a study by Bernt (1986) in which it was shown that women are more attracted to intimate relationships than men (Berndt, 1986), and cross-cultural studies which suggests women to be more person-centred, in contrast to men who are more object-centred .There is also evidence that sex differences in nurturance has its origins in infancy, and a study by Simner (1971) found that infant girls more than infant boys were more likely to also start crying when they heard another baby cry,   than when hearing a loud noise (Workman Reader, 2001). Contrary to prediction single women did not score higher on projected nurturing qualities than married women with married women having the highest scores on projected nurturing qualities overall. A possible explanation for this could be that married women, who being married are in a more secure position to either have children- or already have children, are either consciously or unconsciously depicting salient nurturing qualities. This study also illustrates that the biological experiences of pregnancy and lactation generate a strong, instinctual drive in women to nurture (Silverstein, et al., 1999), as illustrated by the higher, although not significantly so, proportion of married women who exhibited nurturing qualities in this study versus single women. Sociability A significant difference between single- and married subjects was noted when it came to sociability, with single Facebook users projecting sociability to a greater extend than married users. This links to previous studies done on Facebook which found that most users attempted to project a socially desired self, claiming that they were â€Å"popular among friends†. Fierce competition was also noted among Facebook users for the size of social networks they claimed to possess, and competition to have the most amount of â€Å"friends†, Zhao (2008). Thus, it would seem that the desire to appear sociable or popular offline, also exists online. There is further   support for the importance of social skills as found in a study by Buss (1989) which studied mating preferences across 37 cultures and found that kindness, intelligence and social skills were listed as the top criteria for a potential mate. This supports the current study’s prediction, that single Facebook us ers would appear significantly more social than married users. However, unlike predicted there was no significant difference between men and women when it came to projected sociability, revealing that the projection of warmth towards others is just as important for single men as it is for single women. Significantly lower levels of projected sociability in married couples could be a reflection of lower levels of social activity as portrayed in profile pictures, perhaps as a result of spending more time with their partners or children, but could also indicate that there is less of a need to exhibit sociability, and thereby project popularity among friends . Status Status is closely correlated to financial income, and it was predicted that men more than women would display their status on Facebook, supporting studies such as one by Buss (1988) in which it was found that men more than women display characteristics that lead to the likely acquisition of resources, e.g. degree attainment.   However, this was not the case, and no significant differences in the projection of status were found between either men and women overall, or single- and married subjects. There could be several explanations for this, one relating to previous studies done on online dating websites which found that both sexes tended to favour members of the opposite sex with similar educational levels. Considering the overwhelming support that previous studies provide with regards to the importance that women attach to resource income as a reproductive value and status as a reflection of financial income, another explanation could lie in the obvious fact that Facebook is a so cial-, rather than dating network, and that popularity as illustrated with regards to exhibiting sociability, is highly valued. Thus, it would be just as important for women than for men to list their status in a virtual social network where one would expect similar levels of education among friends or acquaintances as a general rule. Also, Facebook is arguably not different from online dating websites where users, both male and female, tend to list their status as a formality, but in which one study men stated in a questionnaire that they did have a particularly strong distaste for a better educated partner, while women particularly avoided less educated men (Hitsch, 2005). Conclusion In conclusion, the implicit nature of photography and the unconscious way in which participants use it to project reproductively valued qualities to members of the opposite sex are particularly interesting findings. Facebook as a social networking website, in which users have control over self image and access to many tools with which to present themselves in a favourable way to others makes it a fascinating medium to further explore. Limitations and suggestions for future research should be noted. Suggestions for future studies include conducting a cross-cultural study to see if there are any significant differences to note. Secondly, exploring other functions on the social networking website, such as the number of friends- or social networks a user possess, additional photo albums, qualitative analysis of verbal descriptions under the â€Å"About me† section or status updates of users, etc. The vast amount of additional information available on Facebook could be used to supplement current findings, and other popular social networking sites such as MySpace could be researched in a similar fashion. Thirdly, different age groups could be tested for significant correlations- or differences. Fourthly, data could be collected in combination with questionnaires, supplementing findings. Fifthly, a study looking at specific differences between the explicit and implicit projection of reproductively valued qualities on Facebook could be conducted. Finally, there are many other traits which both sexes highly value in the opposite sex like displaying humour, good manners, sympathy, good grooming (Buss, 1988), similar values, honesty (Whitty, 2007) etc. and future studies could aim to include these. Although this study and its hypotheses were interpreted from an evolutionary perspective, additional theoretical accounts are possible, and it should be kept in mind that evolutionary explanations supplement, rather than replace traditional modes of explanation in psychology (Buss, 1988). These results may seen as the start of an exploration into social networking websites and how resource valued traits are unconsciously and implicitly projected to members of the opposite sex, but current social psychological accounts should also considered.

Words for Telling the Future

Words for Telling the Future Words for Telling the Future Words for Telling the Future By Maeve Maddox Even as scientists explore Quantum Theory, ancient practices for divining the future continue to flourish. Ronald and Nancy Reagan regularly consulted astrologers, and many newspaper readers check the astrology column before looking at anything else. Tarot readers and palm readers make a living at it. Here are some words writers might want to use in describing some of these practices. Divination is the practice of foreseeing the future or finding out hidden knowledge by some means or other. Ancient Romans studied the flight of birds to determine whether or not the day was favorable for some action. This method of divination is called augury. The verb to augur means to predict or indicate the future. One could say, missing a step on the way out of the house, That does not augur well! Romans had a specialized diviner called a haruspex who cut open animals and examined their entrails. This practice is called haruspicy. Several words that end in -mancy refer to methods of divination. Geomancy interprets markings on the ground, or the piles or patterns made by dirt when it is tossed. The geo comes from the word for earth. Necromancy involves summoning up the dead, the way King Saul did when he called on the Witch of Endor. The necro comes from the Greek word for dead. Sometimes necromancy is used to refer to any kind of black magic that involves the summoning of demons. Oneiromancy is divination by dreams. Bibliomancy is divining by opening a book at random and reading the first phrase that ones eyes light upon. Although the Bible is often the book used for this form of divination, other books are used. The biblio comes from Greek and Latin words for paper or scroll. The Bible is literally the Book. Another word for this practice is sortes. Some other familiar types of divination: Palmistry is divination by reading the lines on the palm of the hand. Phrenology is divination by feeling the bumps on a persons head. This practice was really popular in Victorian times. Many novelists have their characters talk about it. Astrology predicts a persons future according to alignment of the stars and planets. Dowsing is a method of finding the location of water or other underground substances with the use of a forked stick or wire. Clairvoyance is divination by second sight. Numerology is divination with numbers Sortilege is divination by casting lots. Priests do it in the Old Testament. Finally, two practices that you know about, but probably dont know the words for, are those of reading tea leaves and gazing into a crystal ball. Tasseography is the word for reading the future in tea leaves at the bottom of a cup. Scrying is what the gypsy does when she looks into her crystal ball and tells you that you are going to come into a large sum of money. If you ever doubted that English has a word for everything, take a look at these sites that feature lists of divination of every kind: Online etymology dictionary Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Rhetorical Devices for Rational Writing26 Feel-Good Words50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Kinetics Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kinetics - Lab Report Example 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 3. Add 1 ml of starch indicator and 0.05 ml of 0.1 M EDTA solution from the Chemical Shelf to the same 250 ml beaker. This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 5. Prepare a 0.1 M solution of ammonium persulfate by diluting the 0.2 M solution. To do this take a 50 ml beaker from the Glassware Shelf and place it on the workbench. Add 12.5 ml of water and 12.5 ml of 0.2 M ammonium persulfulate. 3. Add 1 ml of starch indicator and 0.05 ml of 0.1 M EDTA solution from the Chemical Shelf to the same 250 ml beaker. This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. ... This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 5. Prepare a 0.1 M solution of ammonium persulfate by diluting the 0.2 M solution. To do this take a 50 ml beaker from the Glassware Shelf and place it on the workbench. Add 12.5 ml of water and 12.5 ml of 0.2 M ammonium persulfulate. 6. To begin the reaction, add the contents of the 50 ml beaker to the 250 ml beaker by dragging the 50 ml beaker on top of the 250 ml beaker and selecting all. 7. Record the time for the appearance of the black color. 16 ml of Ammonium persulphate Trial 3 1. Take a 250 ml beaker from the Glassware Shelf and place it on the workbench. 2. Add 25 ml of 2 M NaI solution from the Chemicals Shelf to the beaker. Dilute the NaI solution to 0.1 M by adding 25 ml of water. 3. Add 1 ml of starch indicator and 0.05 ml of 0.1 M EDTA solution from the Chemical Shelf to the same 250 ml beaker. This drop of EDTA solution is to minimize the effects of trace quantities of metal ion impurities that would cause spurious effects on the reaction. 4. Take a timer from the upper right hand corner of the screen and place it on the workbench. Wait till you obtain a round number on the timer to begin timing the reaction. Be ready to begin timing the reaction when you add the ammonium persulfate to the solution in the 250 mL beaker. 5. To begin the reaction, add 25.0 mL of the 0.2 M ammonium

Research Proposal for Juvenile Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Research Proposal for Juvenile Justice - Essay Example Obviously, though, juvenile justice is more than just benevolent guidance f youths during adolescent development or family crisis. It is also a system for monitoring and controlling juveniles and their families who may be engaged presently in activities deemed dangerous or deviant. To make matters even more confusing, these two sets f system demands (despite their seemingly opposed natures) often become intertwined and sometimes nearly indistinguishable in practice, with clearly coercive tasks disguised in treatment metaphors. "Intensive treatment units" are often secure, locked institutions; "aftercare counseling" often means regular reporting to a probation officer. In practice, the multiple goals f juvenile justice become blurred and combined into singular activities. As a result, we are often left with the uncomfortable dilemma f not knowing whether we are doing something to a youth in order to do something for that youth (Allen, 1964) or whether we are doing something to a youth for justifiable retribution and deterrence. It is rarely a clear determination in juvenile justice. This blurred picture is the context in which prevention programming, research, and treatment must operate. It cannot be escaped; it pervades each step f applied research and professional practice in this area. Even a brief exposure to this seemingly sympathetic site will convince the prevention-minded researcher or practitioner attempting to improve service delivery in this system that even more or less "standard" ethical issues take on a distinctive quality when imbedded in the context f juvenile justice. Problem Definition The ethical issue f problem definition is a subtle but central one in juvenile justice research and practice. Because delinquency is a legal ascription rather than a behaviorally based description and local practices vary widely, a broad range f youths are classified as delinquents. This locally determined selection bias f any sample population makes it unwise to treat juvenile delinquents as a unitary class when constructing theories about adolescent antisocial activity (Reppucci & Clingempeel, 1978). Moreover, a consideration f case characteristics beyond the mere presence f delinquency is needed to accurately assess the impact f any intervention. The expected prevalence or progression f antisocial activities in the youths sampled must be considered in such assessments (Blumstein, Cohen, Roth, & Visher, 1986). Furthermore, researchers and practitioners working with a legally defined population f delinquents must be aware that they are accepting the values implicit in designating some youths as delinquent and others as merely undergoing normal adjustment problems. These professionals may even be furthering these values by focusing intervention efforts on the youths most troubling to authorities. Such involvement can lend professional certification to a system that could benefit from a critical appraisal f its values and practices (Rappaport, Lamiell, & Seidman, 1980). On an individual treatment level, dealing with a socially rather than personally defined problem

Learning strategies Essay Example for Free

Learning strategies Essay Learning or instructional strategies determine the approach for achieving the learning objectives and are included in the pre-instructional activities, information presentation, learner activities, testing, and follow-through. The strategies are usually tied to the needs and interests of students to enhance learning and are based on many types of learning styles (Ekwensi, Moranski, Townsend-Sweet, 2006). Thus the learning objectives point you towards the instructional strategies, while the instructional strategies will point you to the medium that will actually deliver the instruction, such as elearning, self-study, classroom, or OJT. However, do not fall into the trap of using only one medium when designing your course. . . use a blended approach. Although some people use the terms interchangeably, objectives, strategies, and media, all have separate meanings. For example, your learning objective might be Pull the correct items for a customer order; the instructional strategies are a demonstration, have a question and answer period, and then receive hands-on practice by actually performing the job, while the media might be a combination of elearning and OJT. The Instructional Strategy Selection Chart shown below is a general guideline for selecting the learning strategy. It is based on Blooms Taxonomy (Learning Domains). The matrix generally runs from the passive learning methods (top rows) to the more active participation methods (bottom rows. Blooms Taxonomy (the right three columns) runs from top to bottom, with the lower level behaviors being on top and the higher behaviors being on the bottom. That is, there is a direct correlation in learning: Lower levels of performance can normally be taught using the more passive learning methods. Higher levels of performance usually require some sort of action or involvement by the learners. Instructional Strategy Selection Chart Instructional Strategy Cognitive Domain (Bloom, 1956) Affective Domain (Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia, 1973) Psychomotor Domain (Simpson, 1972) Lecture, reading, audio/visual, demonstration, or guided observations, question and answer period 1. Knowledge 1. Receiving phenomena 1. Perception 2. Set Discussions, multimedia CBT, Socratic didactic method, reflection. Activities such as surveys, role playing, case studies, fishbowls, etc. 2. Comprehension 3. Application 2. Responding to phenomena 3. Guided response 4. Mechanism On-the-Job-Training (OJT), practice by doing (some direction or coaching is required), simulated job settings (to include CBT simulations) 4. Analysis 3. Valuing 5. Complex response Use in real situations. Also may be trained by using several high level activities coupled with OJT. 5. Synthesis 4. Organize values into priorities 6. Adaptation Normally developed on own (informal learning) through self-study or learning through mistakes, but mentoring and coaching can speed the process. 6. Evaluation 5. Internalizing values 7. Origination The chart does not cover all possibilities, but most activities should fit in. For example, self-study could fall under reading, audio visual, and/or activities, depending upon the type of program you design Instructional Skills: What are Instructional Skills? Instructional skills are the most specific category of teaching behaviors. They are necessary for procedural purposes and for structuring appropriate learning experiences for students. A variety of instructional skills and processes exist. Explaining Demonstrating Questioning Questioning Techniques Levels of Questions Wait Time Explaining The teacher spends much classroom time explaining or demonstrating something to the whole class, a small group, or an individual. Student resource materials typically do not provide extensive explanations of concepts, and students often need a demonstration in order to understand procedures. Demonstrating The teacher spends much classroom time explaining or demonstrating something to the whole class, a small group, or an individual. Student resource materials typically do not provide extensive explanations of concepts, and students often need a demonstration in order to understand procedures. Questioning Among the instructional skills, questioning holds a place of prominence in many classrooms. When questioning is used well: a high degree of student participation occurs as questions are widely distributed; an appropriate mix of low and high level cognitive questions is used; student understanding is increased; student thinking is stimulated, directed, and extended; feedback and appropriate reinforcement occur;students critical thinking abilities are honed; and, student creativity is fostered. Questioning Technique The teacher should begin by obtaining the attention of the students before the question is asked. The question should be addressed to the entire class before a specific student is asked to respond. Calls for responses should be distributed among volunteers and non-volunteers, and the teacher should encourage students to speak to the whole class when responding. However, the teacher must be sensitive to each students willingness to speak publically and never put a student on the spot. Levels of Questions While the need for factual recall or comprehension must be recognized, teachers also need to challenge students with higher level questions requiring analysis, synthesis, or evaluation. The consideration of level is applicable at all grade levels and in all subject areas. All students need the opportunity to think about and respond to all levels of questions. Teacher probes or requests for clarification may be required to move students to higher levels of thinking and deeper levels of understanding. Wait Time  Wait time is defined as the pause between asking the question and soliciting a response. Providing additional wait time after a student response also allows all students to reflect on the response prior to further discussion. Increased wait time results in longer student responses, more appropriate unsolicited responses, more student questions, and increased higher order responses. It should be noted that increased wait time is beneficial for students who speak English as a second language or English as a second dialect. Instructional Strategies: 1. Direct instruction 2. Indirect instruction 3. Interactive instruction 4. Independent study 5. Experiential learning 1. What is Direct Instruction? The Direct instruction strategy is highly teacher-directed and is among the most commonly used. This strategy is effective for providing information or developing step-by-step skills. It also works well for introducing other teaching methods, or actively involving students in knowledge construction. Possible Methods Structured Overview Lecture Explicit Teaching Drill Practice Compare Contrast Didactic Questions. Demonstrations Guided Shared reading, listening, viewing, thinking What is Structured Overview? Structured Overview is verbal, visual or written summary or outline of a topic. It can occur at the beginning of a unit, module or new concept, or it may be used to help relate a learned idea to the big picture. A Structured Overview distills difficult or complex idea into simple definitions or explanation, and then shows how all the information relates. It is the process of â€Å"organizing and arranging topics† to make them more meaningful. What is Lecture? Lecture is a valuable part of a teachers instructional repertoire if it is not used when other methods would be more effective. If the presenter is knowledgeable, perceptive, engaging, and motivating, then lecture can stimulate reflection, challenge the imagination, and develop curiosity and a sense of inquiry. Criteria for the selection of the lecture method should include the types of experiences students will be afforded and the kinds of learning outcomes expected. Because lecture is teacher-centred and student activity is mainly passive, the attention span of students may be limited. Many students, because of learning style preferences, may not readily assimilate lecture content. In addition, lectured content is often rapidly forgotten. What is Explicit Teaching? Explicit teaching involves directing student attention toward specific learning in a highly structured environment. It is teaching that is focused on producing specific learning outcomes. Topics and contents are broken down into small parts and taught individually. It involves explanation, demonstration and practise. Children are provided with guidance and structured frameworks. Topics are taught in a logical order and directed by the teacher. Another important characteristic of explicit teaching involves modeling skills and behaviours and modelling thinking. This involves the teacher thinking out loud when working through problems and demonstrating processes for students. The attention of students is important and listening and observation are key to success. What is Drill Practice? As an instructional strategy, drill practice is familiar to all educators. It promotes the acquisition of knowledge or skill through repetitive practice. It refers to small tasks such as the memorization of spelling or vocabulary words, or the practicing of arithmetic facts and may also be found in more supplicated learning tasks or physical education games and sports. Drill-and-practice, like memorization, involves repetition of specific skills, such as addition and subtraction, or spelling. To be meaningful to learners, the skills built through drill-and-practice should become the building blocks for more meaningful learning. What is Compare Contrast? Compare and Contrast is used to highlight similarities and differences between to things. It is a process where the act of classification is practiced. It is effectively used in conjunction with indirect instructional methods, but can also be used directly to teach vocabulary signals, classification, nomenclature and key characteristics. It is often presented in either written text paragraphs or a chart. Its most common use is as a graphic organizer of content. What are Didactic Questions? Didactic questioning offers the teacher a way to structure the learning process (McNeil Wiles, 1990). Didactic questions tend to be convergent, factual, and often begin with what, where, when, and how. They can be effectively used to diagnose recall and comprehension skills, to draw on prior learning experiences, to determine the extent to which lesson objectives were achieved, to provide practice, and to aid retention of information or processes. Teachers should remember that didactic questions can be simplistic, can encourage guessing, and can discourage insightful answers or creativity. However, effectiveness of this method can be increased by the appropriate addition of why questions, and the occasional use of what if questions. What is Demonstration? A method of teaching by example rather than simple explanation What are Guided and Share? Prioritizes intrinsic motivation and helps students to become more engaged in learning experiences through connecting their beliefs and life goals to curricular requirements 2. What is Indirect Instruction? In contrast to the direct instruction strategy, indirect instruction is mainly student-centered, although the two strategies can complement each other. Indirect instruction seeks a high level of student involvement in observing, investigating, drawing inferences from data, or forming hypotheses. It takes advantage of students interest and curiosity, often encouraging them to generate alternatives or solve problems. In indirect instruction, the role of the teacher shifts from lecturer/director to that of facilitator, supporter, and resource person. The teacher arranges the learning environment, provides opportunity for student involvement, and, when appropriate, provides feedback to students while they conduct the inquiry (Martin, 1983). Possible Methods Problem Solving Case Studies Reading for Meaning Inquiry Reflective Discussion Writing to Inform Concept Formation Concept Mapping. Concept Attainment Cloze Procedure What is Problem Solving? There are two major types of problem solving – reflective and creative. Regardless of the type of problem solving a class uses, problem solving focuses on knowing the issues, considering all possible factor and finding a solution. Because all ideas are accepted initially, problem solving allows for finding the best possible solution as opposed to the easiest solution or the first solution proposed. What are Case Studies? Case studies are stories or scenarios, often in narrative form, created and used as a tool for analysis and discussion. They have a long tradition of use in higher education particularly in business and law. Cases are often based on actual events which adds a sense of urgency or reality. Case studies have elements of simulations but the students are observers rather than participants. A good case has sufficient detail to necessitate research and to stimulate analysis from a variety of viewpoints or perspectives. They place the learner in the position of problem solver. Students become actively engaged in the materials discovering underlying issues, dilemmas and conflict issues. What is Reading for Meaning? Children become curious about printed symbols once they recognize that print, like talk, conveys meaningful messages that direct, inform or entertain people. By school age, many children are eager to continue their exploration of print. One goal of this curriculum is to develop fluent and proficient readers who are knowledgeable about the reading process. What is Inquiry? Inquiry learning provides opportunities for students to experience and acquire processes through which they can gather information about the world. This requires a high level of interaction among the learner, the teacher,the area of study, available resources, and the learning environment. Students become actively involved in the learning process as they: act upon their curiosity and interests; develop questions; think their way through controversies or dilemmas; look at problems analytically; inquire into their preconceptions and what they already know; develop, clarify, and test hypotheses; and, draw inferences and generate possible solutions. Questioning is the heart of inquiry learning. Students must ask relevant questions and develop ways to search for answers and generate explanations. Emphasis is placed upon the process of thinking as this applies to student interaction with issues, data, topics, concepts, materials, and problems. What is Reflective Discussion ? Reflective discussions encourage students to think and talk about what they have observed, heard or read. The teacher or student initiates the discussion by asking a question that requires students to reflect upon and interpret films, experiences, read or recorded stories, or illustrations. As students question and recreate information and events in a film or story, they clarify their thoughts and feelings. The questions posed should encourage students to relate story content to life experiences and to other stories. These questions will elicit personal interpretations and feelings. Interpretations will vary, but such variances demonstrate that differences of opinion are valuable. What is Writing to Inform? Writing that reports information to others can vary greatly in content and format. Many learning experiences culminate in expository or informative writing activities. Students must have opportunities to read a variety of resources and printed materials for information. During writing, students can apply their knowledge of the structures and formats of these materials to organize and convey information. What is Concept Formation ? Concept formation provides students with an opportunity to explore ideas by making connections and seeing relationships between items of information. This method can help students develop and refine their ability to recall and discriminate among key ideas, to see commonalities and identify relationships, to formulate concepts and generalizations, to explain how they have organized data, and to present evidence to support their organization of the data involved. What are Concept Maps? A concept map is a special form of a web diagram for exploring knowledge and gathering and sharing information. Concept mapping is the strategy employed to develop a concept map. A concept map consists of nodes or cells that contain a concept, item or question and links. The links are labeled and denote direction with an arrow symbol. The labeled links explain the relationship between the nodes. The arrow describes the direction of the relationship and reads like a sentence. What is Concept Attainment? Concept Attainment is an indirect instructional strategy that uses a structured inquiry process. It is based on the work of Jerome Bruner. In concept attainment, students figure out the attributes of a group or category that has already been formed by the teacher. To do so, students compare and contrast examples that contain the attributes of the concept with examples that do not contain those attributes. They then separate them into two groups. Concept attainment, then, is the search for and identification of attributes that can be used to distinguish examples of a given group or category from non-examples. What is Cloze Procedure? Cloze procedure is a technique in which words are deleted from a passage according to a word-count formula or various other criteria. The passage is presented to students, who insert words as they read to complete and construct meaning from the text. This procedure can be used as a diagnostic reading assessment technique. It is used: to identify students knowledge and understanding of the reading process to determine which cueing systems readers effectively employ to construct meaning from print to assess the extent of students vocabularies and knowledge of a subject to encourage students to monitor for meaning while reading  to encourage students to think critically and analytically about text and content 3. What is Experiential Learning? Experiential learning is inductive, learner centered, and activity oriented. Personalized reflection about an experience and the formulation of plans to apply learning to other contexts are critical factors in effective experiential learning. The emphasis in experiential learning is on the process of learning and not on the product. Experiential learning can be viewed as a cycle consisting of five phases, all of which are necessary: experiencing (an activity occurs);sharing or publishing (reactions and observations are shared); analysing or processing (patterns and dynamics are determined);inferring or generalizing (principles are derived); and, applying (plans are made to use learning in new situations). Possible Methods Field Trips Narratives Conducting Experiments Simulations Games Storytelling Focused Imaging Field Observations Role-playing Model Building Surveys What are Field Trips? A field trip is a structured activity that occurs outside the classroom. It can be a brief observational activity or a longer more sustained investigation or project. While field trips take considerable organization, it is important to: be clear about what the field trip will accomplish prepare students for the learning have a debriefing session for students to share their learning when they return to the classroom What are Narratives? Narrative essays are told from a defined point of view, often the authors, so there is feeling as well as specific and often sensory details provided to get the reader involved in the elements and sequence of the story. What are Conducting Experiments? Is an orderly procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated. What are Simulations? A simulation is a form of experiential learning. Simulations are instructional scenarios where the learner is placed in a world defined by the teacher. They represent a reality within which students interact. The teacher controls the parameters of this world and uses it to achieve the desired instructional results. Simulations are in way, a lab experiment where the students themselves are the test subjects. They experience the reality of the scenario and gather meaning from it. It is a strategy that fits well with the principles of constructivism. Simulations promote the use of critical and evaluative thinking. The ambiguous or open ended nature of a simulation encourages students to contemplate the implications of a scenario. The situation feels real and thus leads to more engaging interaction by learners. They are motivating activities enjoyed by students of all ages. What are Games? Is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as  an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. What is Storytelling? Is the conveying of events in words, and images, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, and instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters, and narrative point of view. What is Focused Imaging? Imaging, the process of internally visualizing an object, event, or situation, has the potential to nurture and enhance a students creativity (Bagley Hess, 1987). Imaging enables students to relax and allow their imaginations to take them on journeys, to experience situations first hand, and to respond with their senses to the mental images formed. What are Field Observations? The process of filtering sensory information through the thought process. Input is received via hearing, sight, smell, taste, or touch and then analyzed through either rational or irrational thought. What is Role Playing? In role playing, students act out characters in a predefined situation. Role playing allows students to take risk-free positions by acting out characters in hypothetical situations. It can help them understand the range of concerns, values, and positions held by other people. Role playing is an enlightening and interesting way to help students see a problem from another perspective. What is Model Building? What is Survey? is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that publishes papers related to the development and application of survey techniques. 4. What is Independent Study? Independent study refers to the range of instructional methods which are purposefully provided to foster the development of individual student initiative, self-reliance, and self-improvement. While independent study may be initiated by student or teacher, the focus here will be on planned independent study by students under the guidance or supervision of a classroom teacher. In addition, independent study can include learning in partnership with another individual or as part of a small group. Possible Methods Essays Computer Assisted Instruction. Journals Learning Logs Reports Learning Activity Packages Correspondence Lessons Learning Contracts Homework Research Projects Assigned Questions Learning Centers What is Essay? is generally a short piece of writing written from an authors personal point of view, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article and a short story. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. What is Computer Assisted Instruction? Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) refers to instruction or remediation presented on a computer. Computer programs can allow students to progress at their own pace and work individually or problem solve in a group. Computers provide immediate feedback, letting students know whether their answer is correct. If the answer is not correct, the program shows students how to correctly answer the question. Computers offer a different type of activity and a change of pace from teacher-led or group instruction. Also, computer-assisted instruction moves at the students’ pace and usually does  not move ahead until they have mastered the skill. What is Journal Writing? Journal writing is a learning tool based on the ideas that students write to learn. Students use the journals to write about topics of personal interest, to note their observations, to imagine, to wonder and to connect new information with things they already know. What are Learning Logs ? Learning logs are a simple and straightforward way to help students integrate content, process, and personal feelings. Learning logs operate from the stance that students learn from writing rather than writing what they have learned. The common application is to have students make entries in their logs during the last five minutes of class or after each completed week of class. The message here is that short, frequent bursts of writing are more productive over time than are infrequent, longer assignments. What are Reports ? Written reports are documents which present focused, salient content to a specific audience. Reports are often used to display the result of an experiment, investigation, or inquiry. The audience may be public or private, an individual or the public in general. Reports are used in government, business, education, science, and other fields. Learning Activity Packages Correspondence Lessons What are Learning Contracts ? Learning contracts provide a method of individualizing instruction and developing student responsibility. They permit individual pacing so that students may learn at the rate at which they are able to master the material. Learning contracts can be designed so that students function at the academic levels most suitable to them and work with resource materials containing concepts and knowledge that are appropriate to their abilities and experiences. Although this method focuses on the individual, learning contracts also provide an opportunity for students to work in small groups. The teacher may select this approach for some students to support them as they learn to work independently. What are Homeworks ? Refers to tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the class. Common homework assignments may include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to be completed, problems to be solved, a school project to be built (such as a diorama or display), or other skills to be practiced. What is Researching? Research projects are very effective for developing and extending language arts skills as students learn in all subject areas. While doing research, students practice reading for specific purposes, recording information, sequencing and organizing ideas, and using language to inform others. A research model provides students with a framework for organizing information about a topic. Research projects frequently include these four steps: 1. determining the purpose and topic 2. gathering the information 3. organizing the information. 4. sharing knowledge. What are Assigned Questions ? Assigned questions are those prepared by the teacher to be answered by individuals or small groups of students. Students discuss their responses among one another or with the teacher. Particular positions or points-of-view should be supported by evidence. In some instances, it may be desirable for students to generate their own set of questions. What is Learning Center? There are eight basic learning centers in an early childhood/elementary classroom, according to the Stephen F. Austin State University Charter School program, each structured to expand the students’ experiences in a variety of meaningful and effective ways. Each center is constructed to encompass numerous objectives, including state and federal standards, school standards, and community standards. The learning centers approach focuses on student autonomy and learning style by giving each student an opportunity to explore his learning environment hands-on in a developmentally appropriate classroom 5. What is Interactive Instruction? Interactive instruction relies heavily on discussion and sharing among participants. Students can learn from peers and teachers to develop social skills and abilities, to organize their thoughts, and to develop rational arguments. The interactive instruction strategy allows for a range of groupings and interactive methods. It is important for the teacher to outline the topic, the amount of discussion time, the composition and size of the groups, and reporting or sharing techniques. Interactive instruction requires the refinement of observation, listening, interpersonal, and intervention skills and abilities by both teacher and students. The success of the interactive instruction strategy and its many methods is heavily dependent upon the expertise of the teacher in structuring and developing the dynamics of the group. Possible Methods Debates Role Playing Panels Brainstorming Peer Partner Learning Discussion Laboratory Groups Think, Pair, Share Cooperative Learning Jigsaw Problem Solving Structured Controversy Tutorial Groups Interviewing Conferencing What is Debating? Debating is a structured contest of argumentation in which two opposing individuals or teams defend and attack a given proposition. The procedure is bound by rules that vary based on location and participants. The process is adjudicated and a winner is declared. What is Role Playing? In role playing, students act out characters in a predefined situation. Role playing allows students to take risk-free positions by acting out characters in hypothetical situations. It can help them understand the range of concerns, values, and positions held by other people. Role playing is an enlightening and interesting way to help students see a problem from another perspective. What is Panelling? Panel discussions, however, differ from team presentations. Their purpose is different. In a team presentation, the group presents agreed-upon views; in a panel discussion, the purpose is to present different views. Also in a team presentations, usually speakers stand as they speak; in panel discussions, usually speakers sit the whole time. In panel discussion each speaker prepares separately, the other speakers here one another for the time at the session itself. What is Brainstorming? Brainstorming is a large or small group activity which encourages children to focus on a topic and contribute to the free flow of ideas. The teacher may begin by posing a question or a problem, or by introducing a topic. Students then express possible answers, relevant words and ideas. Contributions are accepted without criticism or judgement. Initially, some students may be reluctant to speak out in a group setting but brainstorming is an open sharing activity which encourages all children to participate. By expressing ideas and listening to what others say, students adjust their previous knowledge or understanding, accommodate new information and increase their levels of awareness. What is Peer Partner Learning? Peer partner learning is a collaborative experience in which students learn from and with each other for individual purposes. Students reflect upon previously taught material by helping peers to learn and, at the same time, develop and hone their social skills. What is Discussion ? A discussion is an oral exploration of a topic, object, concept or experience. All learners need frequent opportunities to generate and share their questions and ideas in small and whole class settings. Teachers who encourage and accept students questions and comments without judgement and clarify understandings by paraphrasing difficult terms stimulate the exchange of ideas. What is Laboratory Groups? What is Think, Pair, Share? Think-Pair-Share is a strategy designed to provide students with food for thought on a given topics enabling them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with another student. It is a learning strategy developed by Lyman and associates to encourage student classroom participation. Rather than using a basic recitation method in which a teacher poses a question and one student offers.