Newspaper Analysis

The front page of a newspaper provides a great deal of information on various subjects. Most newspapers include a weather forecast, an index or brief description of articles inside the paper, and a small sports scorecard to accompany the local and national news. Newspapers also concentrate on how to grab the attention of readers. They most commonly use a larger, darker type of print, mixture of color, and/or pictures on the front page of the paper. A newspaper s job is to update people on the happenings around the world as well as in their own community. Community size often may influence or even dictate the findings on the front page of a newspaper. Normally the front page of a newspaper lets a person in on the findings throughout the remaining sections of the paper. A small index, or article description containing page numbers, usually shows a reader what the rest of paper contains. Accompanying this index, usually a forecast of the weather to come in the next few days manages to make it on the front page also. Some papers actually save the die-hard sports fans some time by having a miniature scoreboard recapping the scores of the day before. Remember that this doesn t apply to all papers only to some. Newspapers constantly look for more readers and to help attract these readers many attempt to dress up their paper. While some papers remain basic and plain, others add color and size to font in a try to appeal to readers. Background color adds a little life to an otherwise regular dull off white that normally associates itself with newspapers. The larger font highlighted in bold to draw the eyes of a reader in that direction gives each article its own personalized title instead of simply a lead in to the article itself. Negative effects, also come from the attempt at adding life to the paper. A few readers become disgusted with the constant multiple page articles. The large font makes articles small space assigned to it that much smaller, so readers frequently find themselves finishing articles on a second page. Pictures commonly graze the front page of newspapers. From local events to national disasters they provide for a break in reading. Even when reading a book, many people skim the pages looking for pictures to give an image to the writings in that book. The pictures do not necessarily link with the articles on the page either; many pictures make the paper without a story behind them. These pictures commonly differ from place to place. If a person were to pick up a small town newspaper they would most likely notice a range of articles from the town wide garage sale to the result of the football game on Friday night. If a person were to pick up a larger based newspaper, they would notice more articles dealing with the community. The difference between newspapers varies ever so slightly. When a person views or observes the pictures from the big city paper they may find some government officials shaking hands or people from another country with distraught looks overcoming their faces. In a local community the newspaper more than likely will not contain pictures pulled off the associated press wire. Pictures on the front page of a small town paper will show children swimming, playing at a local park, or the rodeo queen. A person won t catch these pictures on the cover of a large paper; in fact, articles similar to these most likely would not exist in larger papers. Like pictures, articles also differ from community to community. Not many small papers feature articles about how the President signed another bill or influenced another treaty. The small papers will contain articles about the local chamber of commerce or the recent school board bond issue. The larger newspaper will discuss a variety of national news and possibly work in some details of how the stock market is rising or falling. The larger paper covers so many different communities it is important for them to keep people up to date on the latest news nationally with their sources. With sources obtained by the larger paper their ability to cover national news makes them the money. Different papers cover different topics or issues. Newspapers bring information about various subjects to people. People in return relay this information to other people, in effect notifying others of the happenings in our world. The importance of the newspaper takes us back in history to the time of the Sons of Liberty. They were not far enough advanced to produce a newspaper and disperse it among the colonies. They had to send representatives to meetings to tell of their mistreatment by the British. This only happened through organized meetings at different times. Small newspapers cover local news happening around several communities. Even though it covers several communities, small papers create a feel of a hometown paper. Large papers just don t create that feel of a hometown paper even though they also cover many communities. These papers are relied on to bring the people the national news that escapes the smaller papers. Their emphasis on national news makes them the leading sellers. Every newspaper covers their fair share of news, only each paper s front page will contain the news they will exhibit throughout the remaining of their paper. Simply put remember to find national news go to the big city paper and for your local news pick up a small newspaper.

George Orwell’s vision Essay

George Orwell’s books are not conventional. They use extremely vivid and alarming descriptions to support thought-provoking subjects, and their endings are far from happy. I felt a strong sense of despair at the end of both 1984 and Animal Farm, even though I found them gripping and fascinating. George Orwell, being a socialist, was strongly opposed to totalitarian rule, and his books are clearly a warning as to how political movements can backfire. The books are influenced by events of his time, the most obvious being the Russian Revolution symbolised by Animal Farm. There are hardly any lasting aspects in either 1984 or Animal Farm that are pleasant; the themes of both books are worrying. I think that one of the worst aspects of George Orwell’s vision is the systematic perversion of our feelings, emotions and instincts. In my opinion, the worst action of ‘The Party,’ the ruling political power in 1984 is the way it frowns upon love, a natural human instinct, and tries to completely suppress it. This is a cold, tyrannical act that destroys such a pure, selfless instinct. Love brings joy that – as Winston Smith, the main character in 1984, experiences – makes life worth living. Without love, Oceania’s inhabitants are reduced to a pointless, miserable, isolated existence. I think the most depressing event in the story of Winston Smith is how the Party crushed his love for Julia so completely, accentuated by the powerful unconditional nature of their love for each other before. Consequently, the Party, and its figurehead, ‘Big Brother,’ condemn sexual intercourse with fierce and active distaste, evident in the formation of ‘The Junior Anti-Sex League. ‘ Sex, the most intimate, loving act two people can share is seen as a threat to the Party’s power, and is only acceptable in absolutely necessary circumstances – to create a child – and is devoid of all sentiment. Because it is detested by the Party, making love becomes an act of political rebellion, which destroys the fact that it should be an expression of love. One of the nastiest yet most haunting descriptions in 1984 is Winston’s recollection of his visit to a prostitute in an attempt to satisfy his sexual instinct. His visit is ‘brief’ and ‘coarse’ and he admits that ‘it was really the paint that appealed to me,’ not any real desire to be intimate with the woman. In 1984, love within families is corrupted, as children spy against their parents and report them for the slightest incident. Family values – essential to nurturing a child with care – are destroyed; even when Winston’s acquaintance, Parsons, is betrayed by his own daughter, he ‘doesn’t bear her any grudge. ‘ In Orwell’s dystopia, love plays no part, except in utter submission to Big Brother, and it is the concept of existing in a life so absent of love and affection that disturbs me. If I had to exist without love, I believe I would lose my will to live. Another instinct, essential to harmonious, happy human life is that of trust. Again, the Party endeavour to totally control and pervert this instinct. Trust is the exact opposite to fear so cannot be practised when fear presides. Fear seeps into every aspect of life in 1984: fear of betrayal to the thought police; fear of what could happen to you if you committed a ‘crime’ and were caught; fear of your own thoughts wandering. Living in such a fragile community, where everyone is scared into solitude, and having children spy on people, corrupts the general principles of loyalty and human decency to such a level at which I would no longer want to associate with such people. Children, the embodiment of innocence and dependence, being routinely perverted, taken advantage of and coaxed into turning against their own providers, their parents, is a concept I find abhorrent. The manipulation of innocent and defenceless children is immoral, disgusting and disturbing. In 1984, the only trust allowed to exist between two parties is that of the individual for Big Brother. With a horrific act of total submission and resignation, people blindly accept all Big Brother tells them, completely disregarding information from their own senses, whilst subconsciously being aware that what Big Brother tells them is untrue. If I had to exist in Oceania, I would find that aspect the hardest to accept, as I feel a reassurance in knowing I can believe and trust whatever my senses tell me. With that knowledge removed, I’d be lost, confused and scared, as I would have lost my grip on reality – which keeps humans sane. As Winston thinks, ‘if the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event that it never happened- that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture or death’. In Animal Farm, another frighteningly harsh story by George Orwell, perversion of trust is also a prominent theme. Just like the citizens of 1984’s Oceania, the farm animals are too trusting for their own good. I grew sadder and more anxious each time the animals ‘believed every word’ of what their selfish leaders – the pigs – told them. To me, it is very poignant the way the animals are so unsuspicious and grateful towards the pigs, who repeatedly use them. The most trusting and devoted animal on the farm was the old carthorse, Boxer. Boxer trusted the pig leader – Napoleon – to such an extent he created the slogan ‘Napoleon is always right! ‘ In total disregard of this trust bestowed upon him, Napoleon sent the horse to the slaughterhouse. I was shocked when, at the end, the animals simply accepted the pigs’ superiority and power. What distresses me most is the despicable way in which the pigs take advantage of the innocent animals, who have blind faith in them. I am even more upset knowing Animal Farm is based on genuine events: the sheer trust the proletariat had in Stalin, after the Russian Revolution, which Stalin twisted to benefit himself. The civilization of 1984 is ‘founded upon hatred,’ an unnatural human emotion. O’Brien tells us Oceania is progressing towards a state where ‘there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement. ‘ I find this devastatingly selfish and cruel, as it terminally oppresses the sole desire of mankind: to be happy and enjoy the process of life. The most dehumanising and evil event in the lives of the citizens of Oceania is ‘Hate Week,’ It is not only the atmosphere of contagious compulsive contempt which enables ‘Hate Week’ that disturbs me; it is the way in which hate, the most hostile and dangerous feeling, can be generated on such a large scale with absolutely no reason. In the middle of ‘Hate Week,’ the enemy changes, but the proceedings continue without the blink of an eye. It scares and disgusts me that Orwell can see such a strong emotion directed at a target, regardless of why the target is hated. Winston realises that ‘the fear, the hatred and the lunatic credulity which the Party needs in its members can only be kept at the right pitch by bottling down some powerful instinct and using it as a driving force. ‘ The Party has twisted and corrupted natural instincts to benefit themselves. In my opinion, the manipulation of human emotions, instincts and feelings is the most dishonest, corrupt way of gaining power. It is chilling to imagine the uncompromising, omnipresent, omnipotent power that would be required to enable such an atrocity. I would find it so hard never to be able to feel and love, and I would see no point in existing if I could not. Without our feelings we are no more than machines. The mere contemplation of having to exist without joyful emotions fills me with despair. I would truly prefer to die than to live intoxicated with misery and depression, without hope for a better life. I share Winston’s sense of helplessness and injustice when O’Brien tells him ‘If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever. ‘

Full Day Kindergarten Programs Essay

The reason children attend kindergarten today is so they can be taught a meaningful and balanced curriculum filled with skills and information. Teachers do this through age-appropriate activities that encourage the children to learn more (Marzollo, 1987). In order for children to develop the necessary skills for success in life, they need to attend kindergarten. In full day kindergarten programs more time is available to develop the necessary social and academic skills children need for success later on (â€Å"Full-day and half-day kindergarten in the United States†, 2004). Full day programs have become more and more popular in the past few decades. In the 1970s fewer than 15% of all five-year-olds in the US attended full day programs; in the 1980s it rose to 30% of kindergarten children attending these programs (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). In the 1990s it rose to nearly 50%, and by 1993, 54% of kindergarten teachers were teaching at least one full day class (Paciorek, 2002). In 2001, 57% of kindergarten age children were attending a full day program (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Pays Off†, 2003). Review of the Literature Arguments for full day Kindergarten programs. Full day kindergarten programs that are taught in a good learning environment tend to offer a better learning foundation for children, and many important characteristics only found in full day programs are not able to fit into a half day program. The extended time full day kindergarten often boosts the opportunities for implementing these unique characteristics of kindergarten in a way not possible in the half day programs (National Education Association, 2006). There is an extreme need for full day programs in some parts of the country. Today in the US, there are an increased number of single-parent homes or homes where both parents work. This makes it necessary for children to be in school all day, instead of just half the day (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). The advantages that children receive from full day kindergarten extend into the first grade and sometimes beyond. These gains help children academically; enabling them to learn better, which makes them more well-rounded human beings (â€Å"Readings†, 2007). In full day programs, there are more opportunities for children to do in-depth studies and more time for hands-on learning. There is also more stability in full day kindergarten because teachers are given the time to balance large group, small group, or individual instruction. Having this balance has fostered higher learning abilities in children (NEA, 2006). Children in half day programs do not have the same opportunities as children in full day programs because of the time limitations. In half day programs, learning must be done in large groups because there is not enough time to have child-initiated learning. Children need to be given the opportunity to experience how all the different areas of learning are connected and how learning basic skills will help them to understand more complex skills later on in their education (NEA, 2006). Children change in many ways while in kindergarten. They learn to think about the world they are living in, and they also learn to think about themselves (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). In full day kindergarten programs children are taught processes of learning that will help them learn throughout life (DeCicca, 2007). â€Å"Full day programs are more likely than half day programs to spend to spend more time every day on letter recognition, letter-sound match, rhyming words, reading aloud, and alphabetizing† (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Pays Off†, 2003). President of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Paul Young, says, â€Å"If you don’t master certain skills at the kindergarten level, then you can’t be successful in first grade† (Thomas, 2002). In their first year of school children will gain the skills and the knowledge necessary for their success in the future (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). The number of children that attend full day kindergarten programs varies depending on the type of school they attend and where the school is located. Overall, 56% of kindergarten-age children in the US attend a full day kindergarten program. About 54% of children who attend public schools are in a full day program, while 67% of children who attend private schools are enrolled in a full day program (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). In the US 67% of private schools offer a full day program, while only 57% of public schools do. Catholic schools are more likely to offer full day programs than other private schools, with 78% of Catholic schools offering full day programs and only 63% of other private schools. Fifty-two percent of public schools offer half day programs which is more compared to only 29% of Catholic schools and 40% of other private schools (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Some schools offer only full day programs (53%) but fewer offer only half day programs (39%) and 7% of schools offer both full and half day programs. In the US 61% of schools with a kindergarten program offer at least one full day program and 47% offer at least one half day program (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). The enrollment of children in full day programs varies in different parts of the country. It also varies with the race and economic status of the child’s family. In the US, 60% of kindergarten children are enrolled in full day public or private kindergarten programs. Nine states mandate that a full day program be offered in every school (â€Å"Full Day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). The majority of the children enrolled in full day kindergarten are children of single parents, children whose parents both work outside the home, and children of low-income families (Paciorek, 2002). The region of the country plays a role in the enrollment of children in full day programs. In the South, 84% of public schools offer full day programs, compared to only 57% in the Midwest, 38% in the West, and 37% in the Northeast (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). A larger majority of children in the Southern region of the country attend full day kindergarten program (82%) compared to other regions: 47% in the Midwest, 48% in the Northeast, and 31% in the West. Public schools located in the suburban and large town areas are less likely to have children attending a full day program (only 45%) compared to schools located in large and mid-sized cities (59%) or small towns/rural areas (65%) (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Parents of kindergarten children put them in these full day programs for many different reasons. One reason is so minority children, or children who are considered â€Å"at risk† for failing academically, are given the chance to stay on the same level as their peers. Full day kindergarten has been shown to considerably close the achievement gaps for minority or low-income children (NEA, 2006). This is especially relevant to gaining the basic skills of learning (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). Full day programs also have been shown to significantly improve the math and reading skills of all races (DeCicca, 2007). Children from low-income families have many risk factors they must face that could potentially threaten their health and their development. About one-fifth of US children live in poverty, which has been shown to be a major risk factor for children’s cognitive and academic achievement. Full day kindergarten can put these children on the same level as children who do not live in poverty. (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). Public schools with at least 75% minority enrollment offer full day kindergarten (76%), compared to public schools with less than 25% minority enrollment (44-48%). In private schools with at least 75% minority enrollment the children are more likely to participate in full day programs (93%) compared to private schools with less than 10% minority enrollment (54%) (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Racial characteristics play a role in enrollment in full day programs also. It has been shown that African American and Hispanic children enrolled in full day programs closed the achievement gap with white and Asian children in the basic math and reading skills, but African American and Hispanic children are not acquiring the more advanced skills at the same rate that white and Asian children acquire in their first year of schooling (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). Full day programs have also been shown to create a larger achievement in math and reading for low-income children than children in half day programs (â€Å"Readings†, 2007). Also, public schools with at least 50% of their enrollment consisting of low-income children are more likely to offer these full day programs (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Children that have completed full day kindergarten programs have been shown to be more prepared for first grade than their peers that attended half day programs. In a study of 22,000 kindergarteners nationwide, students who attended full day programs made larger reading gains than children who attended half day programs (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Pays Off†, 2003). Children will be better prepared to meet the strict curriculum of first grade if they have attended a full day kindergarten program, because they are used to the full day schedule and they know how their day will go (â€Å"Leading†, 2008). Full day kindergarten programs need to have a â€Å"content-centered curriculum for this age group† in order for the program to be successful academically (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Many benefits are available to children in full day kindergarten. Studies have shown improvement in full day kindergarten children’s academic skills (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). There are many positive academic and social benefits for children of low economic status or disadvantaged backgrounds from attending full day kindergarten. Research that has been done in the past 10 years has shown steady positive academic gains for children enrolled in full day programs. Full day programs offer children a curriculum that is age-appropriate while still providing major academic benefits (Paciorek, 2002). In full day kindergarten there is â€Å"greater socialization, generalization of knowledge, transfer of learning, and a deeper understanding of concepts. † This extra time is not only good for the child, but it improves the teacher’s and family’s experience as well (NEA, 2006). In full day kindergarten other gains are made, such as greater growth of reading and math skills over the course of the kindergarten year. Children who attend full day programs out-perform children who attend half day programs on reading, science, and math achievement tests. Children who attend full day kindergarten also tend to have lower levels of special education and grade repetition (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). Children who leave full day kindergarten with better reading skills are more likely to have more success in the first grade and beyond because the material that is taught in early elementary school is usually sequential (DeCicca, 2007). Children enrolled in full day kindergarten programs tend to make greater gains in reading/language arts than children in half day programs over the course of the year (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Since the school day is longer for full day kindergarten students, they tend to participate in learning experiences unavailable to half day students. These experiences will help to develop their early literacy skills so that they are more prepared for the first grade. Reading is the most important activity for kindergarten children. It is required for future success in not only school but in life in general (NEA, 2006). Children enrolled in full day kindergarten have more time to experience literacy. Having this time helps children get a head start on becoming readers and writers (NEA, 2006). Math skills are also improved in full day kindergarten. â€Å"Mathematical learning tends to be quite sequential in nature, so if one masters the basic concepts early it is likely that the burden of future learning will be lowered† (DeCicca, 2007). Sometimes the math taught in full day kindergarten is actually that of a first grade curriculum. This helps children get further ahead in their studies and can make them quite successful later on (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Science skills are also improved in full day programs. Children have time to take part in science experiments fostering the fact that in order to learn science, one must â€Å"do science. † Because of the extended class time, children are able to take part in more difficult math and science thinking. They are able to move beyond the basic counting and identifying numbers that are normally part of a half day kindergarten program (NEA, 2006). In full day programs, children also have greater opportunity to improve their behavior. Children in full day programs are able to have more child-to-child interactions, and this improves their social skills. In one study of full day kindergarten, there were 14 different dimensions tested. Nine of these dimensions were positive: â€Å"originality, independent learning, involvement in classroom activities, productivity with peers, intellectual dependency, failure/anxiety, un-reflectiveness, holding back or withdrawal, and approach to teacher† (Paciorek, 2002). In full day programs teachers are able to take advantage of the extra time. Teachers of full day kindergarten should provide â€Å"child-centered, developmentally appropriate activities† and balance small group and large group activities (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Teachers are able to allow more time for children to have free play, rather than large group activities. There is more time for indoor and outdoor play; children can use â€Å"learning centers†, and children learn how to cooperate with each other (Paciorek, 2002). In order for children to have a balanced development, play needs to be included in the school day. Children develop many different skills while playing which are necessary for success such as â€Å"inductive experience, cognitive dissonance, social interaction, physical experiences, revisiting, and competence†. Play-time has an influence on the intellectual development of children, and it improves learning abilities (NEA, 2006). In full day programs, children scored much higher on achievement tests than children in half day programs on all of the areas that were tested (Paciorek, 2002). There are many advantages to informal testing in kindergarten. Informal assessments focus on the â€Å"developmental and achievement changes in children over time†; it highlights the individual child, rather than the entire group of children. It also offers many opportunities to demonstrate a child’s competence, making the introduction of a tougher curriculum easier. Finally, it helps children understand their learning better, and it provides solid information to share with children’s families (NEA, 2006). Full day programs also create more freedom for teachers. Full day programs are pretty new, so teachers, administrators, and parents are able to create the curriculum themselves. This can be frustrating, but it has many benefits for the children and the teachers (Marzollo, 1987). Many teachers prefer full day programs to half day programs because they are able to instruct children individually. Teachers are also able to get to know their students better. This helps the teachers understand the child’s specific needs to better educate the child. Teachers say there are many advantages to having full day programs. The atmosphere of full day kindergarten is much more relaxed than half day kindergarten, the opportunities for children to develop their own interests are greatly increased, and there is also more time for creative activities (Paciorek, 2002). Teachers of full day programs are not as rushed to fit the whole curriculum in as half day teachers are. The full day teachers are better able to teach different concepts in many ways to ensure that children fully understand the material (NEA, 2006). Teachers of full day kindergarten are able to get to know the families of their students better than teachers of half day kindergarten. Because of this, they can meet the needs of the students more effectively. The relationships between the teachers and families are also improved with full day kindergarten. The parents are more comfortable communicating with the teachers, because they are able to get to know the teachers better. This also helps the teachers teach better (NEA, 2006). Most parents feel that full day kindergarten has done nothing but good for their children. Robyn Ann Kreusel says, â€Å"I never expected my child to be writing three-sentence paragraphs by the end of kindergarten. † (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). Parents are very satisfied with full day programs, and they believed that their children were better prepared for first grade because of the material they were taught in full day kindergarten. Parents also say their children greatly benefited socially in full day kindergarten (Paciorek, 2002). Today, parents are very interested in their children being able to read at an early age, and a full day kindergarten program is a great way to make this possible (Thomas, 2002). Arguments against full day Kindergarten In the past few years, many questions have been raised about the necessity of full day kindergarten programs. People want to know how all the extra time is going to be used. Some educators feel that this time will be used for â€Å"playtime† or â€Å"daycare. † Others feel that first grade material is going to be pushed down into the kindergarten classroom, making kindergarten too academic. People also want to take into consideration how children learn at this age and the purpose of kindergarten in the first place. Some experts say that academics should be increased, and others say the extra time should be spent on activities the students should do on their own (NEA, 2006). Some parents are worried about full day kindergarten programs. They feel that their children will come home after a full day and be tired and cranky. The full day kindergarten curriculum is tough. In this curriculum there are seven different subject areas. These areas are language arts (which consist of oral language, listening, reading and writing), social studies, science, math, art, music, and physical education (Marzollo, 1987). In a full day program, children have more time to master a curriculum which would normally be more of a first-grade curriculum (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). Children in full-day programs are also on the same schedule as a first-grade class, so teachers are able to work together on subject substance, which makes it easier for the children to transition into first grade the following year (NEA, 2006). People feel this is a problem in some cases. Experts say the worst way a school board could plan a kindergarten curriculum is to move first-grade material down to kindergarten. Some say that children are pressured to teach subjects that are too hard for them to understand. People also feel children are denied the large assortment of activities that normally take place in a kindergarten classroom (Marzollo, 1987). In some school districts 60% of children are not ready to enter the first grade after their first year of kindergarten because they are pressured to learn material too quickly. Each year, the kindergarten curriculum becomes tougher. Schools now want children to be reading full books on their own by the third grade (Thomas, 2002). Some schools do not provide full day kindergarten programs, but full day programs tend to be found in many Catholic schools. Also, full day programs are very popular in the South, with 84% of public schools offering them It is especially popular in cities rather than small towns, rural areas, and large towns, or suburban areas (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Many states whose school districts offer full day kindergarten fund these programs. Twenty-five states and Washington DC provide money to the school districts that offer full-day kindergarten (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004), but many schools in the US do not have the money or the space to offer full day programs to families of kindergarten children (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). Conclusion Full day kindergarten has many benefits for everyone involved in the programs. It provides many experiences for children that they would not be given if they were enrolled in a half day kindergarten program. Kindergarten is a time of change for children and their parents. Children are able to learn different things in full day programs that they would not have enough time to learn in half day programs. Parents and teachers prefer to have children in full day programs because ultimately it puts the children further ahead and it provides a better opportunity for academic success than the half day programs. References DeCicca, Philip. (2007). Does full-day kindergarten matter? Evidence from the first two years of schooling. Economic of Education Review, 26, 67-82. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Full-day kindergarten growing. (2008). American School Board Journal 195. 3, 10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Full-day and half-day kindergarten in the United States. (2004). US Department of Education. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Full-day kindergarten pays off. (2003). District Administration, 39. 8, 18. Retreieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Leading the pack, continuing to move forward. (2008). Maryland State Department of Education. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: ERIC. Marzollo, J. (1987). The new kindergarten: Full day, child centered, academic. New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers. National Education Association. (2006). Quality full-day kindergarten: Making the most of it. Washington, D. C. : NEA. Paciorek, K. M. (2002). Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial issues in early childhood education. Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill Company. Readings and reports from parents involvement to wellness policies. (2007). American School Board Journal, 194, 55-57. Retrieved from ESCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Thomas, K. (2002, September 19). See Johnny read-by kindergarten. USA Today, p. 8. Votruba, Drzal, E. , Li-Grinning, C. P. , & Maldonado-Carreno, C. (2008). A developmental perspective on full versus part day kindergarten and children’s academic trajectories through fifth grade. Child Development, 79. 4, 957-978. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. West, J. , Denton, K. , & Reaney, L. M. (2000). The kindergarten year: Findings from the early childhood longitudinal study. Washington, D. C. : NCES.

Love Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Love - Term Paper Example It wasn’t the love that I thought it would be. At that point I realized that they were talking about artistic love. The love that an artist holds for what he sees and feels like capturing the moment using his abilities, no matter how he does it. â€Å"It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet.† Kojiro Tomita. And at the same point I was forced to think of Eros as a materialistic lover. What if he loved what was on the outside and not on the inside. And there I thought of him as selfish. Because I feel that outer beauty has nothing to do with what is inside. It is just like loving a thing because it is a pleasure to the eye, a luxury and nothing more, just like love for materialistic things. â€Å"Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial beauty.† Socrates. I read further then and when I read that Eros is neither a god nor a man, he is not mortal and neither immortal but a ‘half-way spirit’, one sugge stion came to my mind, ‘maybe he is an angel’. ... These were to define Eros. Eros as an angel must have loved something else entirely. And I realized I had got it all wrong. Reading further I found out the Eros was the son of gods of craft and poverty which must mean that he knew both the states of having everything you wanted and then losing everything you had. He must not have experienced the feelings in between and when I moved on further it was revealed. The writing showed exactly what I had thought. Eros was stuck in between ignorance and wisdom. And wisdom is to know better. Being the definition of love for beauty, at a personal level, Eros loved beauty too. In an entirely different way, he had love for wisdom, love for knowledge that would enable him to see things in a beautiful manner. â€Å"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasures you seek.† Joseph Campbell. Moving forward, the text was defining Eros as we like to use it. Eros or love can be on two different levels, spiritual love or physical love. The images I had in mind when reading this were really different from each other. The first one held a bright light to it, hard to tell of what but maybe of spirituality, of connecting or dedicating yourself to the higher powers. The second one gave me an image of affection; two people, loving each other, holding each other in their arms. And the text mentioned that physical love resulted as mortal children and at that point I got to thinking that spiritual love is not only the love for higher powers or amidst. What do we call the love we hold for elders, our parents or siblings? And the text made me realize that such love was also a form of spiritual love. â€Å"Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that.† Martin

Tobacco Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tobacco Industry - Case Study Example Tobacco is one of the farming manufactured goods that are acknowledged as being addictive drug, developed from the new leaves of the vegetation.This has resulted in the formation of the British American Tobacco company as the industry for the produce to the people for their consumption in different forms. They have some of their stakeholders of which they have enabled the succession of the company in the past years. These stakeholder includes; the Russian government, the Rumania government, the European government, the African nations governments and the Americans government.Basing on this, the stakeholders have their own harms and the benefits that they do face today in the market. Focusing on the Russian and Rumania governments, they have continued to benefit in the market in that, their sales have continuingly increased in that in the year 2008, may, their sale growth rose upward by around 23% to around 30% of which showed a positive trend in the market of the tobacco in the BAT.R egarded the Americans market, the market have continuingly facing the harmful nature of the product. With this, the stakeholder noted the increase in the nicotine level in the product so as to increase the addictive quality of the product, this has led to the benefits of the market in that the increase in the addictive nature of the consumers have led to the increase of the sales in the market. With the Europeans as one of the stakeholders, they have experienced lose in regard to their contribution to the tobacco market. In this country, the consumer mostly involves the teenage girls of whom they have been addicted to the level that they can not perform correctly in the society. Basing on the African countries as the last stakeholders of the company, they have ended up involving themselves in the business of transporting the goods across the boundaries without paying the taxes. This has resulted in the high level of the consumption of the product among the uneducated people in the c ountries. 1.2 Banning of the Tobacco Industry. As much the industry has been one of the sectors that bring in high percentage of tax in the world as a whole, I do support the banning of the tobacco industry. This is because; the product has led to high negative effects to the consumer and even to the non users of the product. Whenever one associates anything with tobacco in the today world, they have tended to relate it to the lung cancer (Hoek 2000, pg 220). This is one of the diseases that have led to the decrease in the world population and thus leading to the low productivity of the nations in the world. other than the disease affecting the consumer only, it has that extent to the non smokers too as they receive the product impassively from the environment, and with this, I do support for the banning of the industry to reduce the death of the people in the world thus increase in the production rate. Due to the increase of the untaxed product being passed across the boundaries, the industry has in the long run resulted in being unproductive as no income tax is gained from it. With this, it has led to majority of the people involving themselves in the unlawful business of transporting the untaxed goods (Hoek 2000, pg 221). Thus, the industry will be best being banned to allow for the fairness in the country. This it will also utilize the utilitarianism theory of which states that, one has to do what will take full advantage of comprehensive happiness and gratify the significance of the people around him or her. With this, the society will be up to the idea of trying to ensure that the members of the society gets the clear and good air that they do need. 1.3 Duties & Responsibilities of the Tobacco Companies The tobacco companies were to be responsible to the application of the rules and the regulation on the usage of the product and the ways in which the consumer has to ensure that they do not affect the rest of the population in the environment. With this, the company has used

Article involving computer-related technology Essay

Article involving computer-related technology - Essay Example With the help of cloud computing, information sharing and collaboration becomes easy and inexpensive. Cloud computing is the new wave to technology that is sweeping many corporations. Cloud computing is now used by companies as a means of keeping their data. Cloud computing has made it easier for employees to connect with other employees of the company in different companies. They can work together in the same time frame on the same task by cloud computing. For example as the article states that â€Å"An accountant in India chats with her colleague in New York as they work on the same spreadsheet at the same time. A team of designers around the world meets on a single document in the cloud to plan their next product.† Companies also spend millions of dollar each year for the creating proprietary data and protecting them. Despite this, companies find cloud computing economic. This is because it provides them with cost-savings in hardware, software and energy usage. It is also provides them higher productivity and efficiency. Cloud computing has given a platform to smaller companies in level with the multinationals. This is because all the companies now have the same facilities to advertise themselves whether they are giant corporations or small firms. With all these advantages of cloud computing, the main issue that cloud computing still needs to address is security. As the technology is still in its initial stages, developments are taking place in order to make it more secure. Girouard ,Dave. Google’sCloud. May 6, 2008. Forbes.com. Retrieved September 2, 2008 from

Ethics in the Enron Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics in the Enron Company - Essay Example More reprehensible is the attempt of the top corporate hierarchy to feign total innocence throughout the investigation and blame everything on their subordinates. In the light of the Enron scandal, the US Congress immediately passed a law that would reform and revamp corporate practices in the country. Background: The History of Enron Enron began as a small energy company in Houston in 1985 founded by Kenneth Lay. The subsequent deregulation of the energy market gave the company an opportunity to expand into energy related ventures and pretty soon Enron catapulted itself into the world’s largest financial and energy trading company. Its $10 million electricity sales in 1994 ballooned to $4 billion just 3 years later and in 1998, the company’s asset was reported to reach $23 billion (Solomon 34). It did businesses in various markets and industries and provided and traded internationally in the following: energy resources and commodities; financial and risk management ser vices, and; electronic commerce (Joint Committee on Taxation 2003:55-56). In a move that shocked the business world, which by then was one of America’s ten largest companies, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 2, 2001. A few months earlier, Enron had been the subject of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after it had publicly reported a $618 million third-quarter loss as well as a $1.2 billion decrease in shareholder equity. Enron’s seemingly sudden financial debacle took the world by surprise because accounting records released quarterly by the company did not in any way reflect its ailing financial condition (Joint Committee on Taxation 2003:55-56). Discussion: Ethics and Enron Subsequent investigation into the Enron case by the Justice Department revealed a pattern of fraudulent practices employed by Enron to show off a facade of financial wealth and stability. These fraudulent practices included exaggeration of earnings in its r eports, concealment of debts and losses through the use various subsidiary partnerships. In the wake of the Enron scandal its top officers were charged and convicted with various offences including fraud, conspiracy, insider trading, and money laundering. Lay, who was convicted of a total of various corporate offences died before his sentence could be served while Skilling, the company’s COO, was punished with imprisonment for a good number of years. In addition, various offices who rendered services for Enron were also not spared such as: Vinson & Elkins, Enron’s Houston law firm, which was made to pay $30 million to Enron for providing erroneous advice to the company; Merrill Lynch, a brokerage and investment firm, which was ordered to pay $80 million to SEC, and; Arthur Andersen, Enron’s editor, who was barred from further practicing in auditing and charged with obstruction of justice for the destruction of Enron auditing documents during the investigation (F errel et al 2010: 420-425). Lay and company’s primary defense strategy was to deny that Enron committed any wrongdoing and instead blame everybody, such as an adverse media, market panic and short-selling, but themselves. Moreover, the top corporate hierarchy often claimed innocence of what was going on and blamed their

Case Study - Mental Dysfunction Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

- Mental Dysfunction - Case Study Example This incident also changed him from being a happy boy into an angry fellow. In addition, it has made him to experience sleepless nights and loose the hope of looking a better future as indicated by his inaction in seeking for a job since that the incident. The sexual harassment incident has also made Isaac to be paranoid, aggressive and agitated. Freeman and Garety (2004) state that paranoia is characterized by excessive suspicion of the actions of other people around a person and hostility towards them and these can be noted in Isaac. He is distrustful and feels very insecure for example, he feels his mother has evil intentions towards him in her actions and accuses her of vague conspiracies. He thinks people in town see him as a gay. Evidence that Isaac is suffering from aggression can be seen in his actions like threatened his mother with a knife, causing problems in the streets and shouting around. He has also turned into behaviours like heavy smoking of marijuana to make him for get about all his bad lucks. These characters contrast his pre-harassment behaviours of being well mannered and trouble free. Isaac’s case presents the need for a good safety plan for him, the nurse in attendance and other local emergency department staff. It is evident that Isaac is suffering from depression. ... It will eliminate the possibilities of him chasing around the staff. A restoration of the confidence to interact with friends is important because it will make Isaac to cooperate willingly with the departmental staff instead of seeing them as enemies and incite him to fight them. Goldberg (1998) advices that Isaac should be handled with love to reduce his symptoms of aggression which are a sign of inner bitterness and anger. It will also stop him from becoming suspicious of the intentions of the actions of staff towards him hence he will not react negatively. However, Isaac’s hands should remain tied until he shows signs of improvement and a good level of relaxation. As soon as he becomes calm, Isaac should be given restricted freedom within the facility. This should be accompanied by activities that encourage restoration of self-efficacy like personal hygiene. In order to restore a good interpersonal relationship at this stage, he will be allowed to interact with his friends, neighbours, and mother under close supervision to gauge his level of risk once released to go home. The time periods will then be increased for every visit. He should also undergo behaviour therapy to reduce his paranoia state. Isaac’s Mental State Examination Appearance (dress, hygiene, grooming, posture, gait, eye contact) On his admission, Isaac was poorly dressed and very dirty. His hair was unkempt and had lice. Isaac was not able to maintain a stable posture and a straight eye contact for long. He paces back and forth too frequently and quickly turns to look away from the people around him. He is too slim for his age. Behaviour (manner, friendliness,

Shape Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Shape Strategy - Essay Example This kind of technology helps to improve effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, cost, elasticity and service quality of the business entity. IT enabled facilities of the organization help to build up the competitive advantage of the company by providing consumers with superior services. The successful deployment and adoption of IT will enable the company to accomplish success more easily. Five specific areas where IT represents a risk to a company’s competitive advantage: The five risks that the company has to consider during the course of its business are: â€Å"the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitute products or services, and threats from new entrants† (Mishra, 2012, par. 1). Threat of Entry: The entry of new firms to an industry bring new ability and a need to gain market share that puts stress on costs, prices and the price of investment essential to compete in the market. Microeconomics justifies that profitable industries attract new competition until the downward pressure on costs has forced our all financial profit from the industries. The most obvious sign of a company deteriorating is its failure to address to IT communications, which is the foundation for the break of the efficiency of IT generally. This vulnerability most frequently manifests itself in insufficient environment management tools, unreliable? old hardware etc. The power of suppliers: Powerful suppliers play a significant part in controlling the price of their products and services by charging high cost for limited services, high costs in general, or changing costs according to different customers. Suppliers are powerful if they are capable of charging differentiated price. Leading IT risk units have performed extensive research and have reached the conclusion that organizations which proactively deal with IT risks reap the most profits and benefits. The power of buyers: IT risk most frequently occurs during the breakdo wn of the enterprise business management to help with oversight of IT in some rational governance structure. The threat of substitutes: A substitute product functions similarly to that of the organization’s products but only by a different means. Positive IT risk management creates three competitive advantages for an organization. First, there is fewer firefighting. This permits the enterprise to concentrate on more strategic and productive work. Second, the base is better prepared thus freeing personnel, resources and dollars to focus more on efforts that can increase the price of the product. Third, the project is located in a stronger location than others to charge risk and? therefore? potentially employ chances that others would think too risky. Rivalry among existing competitors: Risk both downside and upside may happen from globalization, emerging technology, data growth, vendor chain complexities, economic ebbs and flows, client expectations as well as compliance suppl ies. Five specific areas in which IT may support or promote a company’s competitive advantage. Threat of new entrants: The increased usage of Information technology globally has many sides to it? one of which makes the threat of new entrants high. Mainly the entry of new firms has been made possible from the transition of wired technology to wireless? and such related facilities. The power of suppliers: Strategic systems have been used to give new facilities to

Physiological Psychology and Ocd Essay Example for Free

Physiological Psychology and Ocd Essay Physiological Psychology is as described by Kalat (1998) as the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behaviour and experience. It is devoted to the study of brain functioning, how Neurons and Glia convey messages to one another and other parts of the body for it to function and work accordingly. Future studies of physiological psychology will help predict behavioural patterns in society and how brain functions can be â€Å"rewritten† through cognitive therapies .e.g. alcoholism, drug addictions. Kalat (1998) further goes onto explain that a Biological psychologist (physiological psychologist) try to answer four types of questions about any given behaviour, how it relates to the physiology of the brain (what parts of the brain are active) and other organs, how it develops within the individual, how did the capacity for this behaviour evolve and why did this behaviour evolve. Without the physiological understanding of how brain process work in relation to behaviour it is difficult to correctly diagnose a behaviour pattern and its cause. Kalat (1998) describes that â€Å"having a little anxiety can be useful†, however OCD is a condition in which there is excessive anxiety. OCD can be explained to a patient in simple physiological terms explaining the behaviour of the brain, for example: OCD patients often have a broken mechanism (being a synapse interaction) in their brain that would usually stop a thought once you have it. In an OCD patient it does not (stop the thought) – so the thought is allowed to revolve. This seems in description that it would sound more like a broken record than OCD really does, but that isn’t what really happens. OCD can be genetic but is most certainly physiological in nature. Without an understanding of brain functioning and how these neurons interact, how can psychologists work to alleviate the symptoms of the disorder? Research into the biological causes and effects of OCD has revealed a link between OCD and insufficient levels of the brain chemical, serotonin. Serotonin is one of the brains chemical messengers that transmit signals between brain cells. Serotonin plays a role in the regulation of mood, aggression, impulse control, sleep, appetite, body temperature and pain. For example persons with unregulated serotonin lead to destructive antisocial behaviour patterns, which society commonly experiences on a growing scale. All of the medicines used to treat OCD raise the levels of serotonin available to transmit messages. Without physiological psychological research into the effects that these medicines have on the brain society would lack the knowledge and understanding of how to diagnose and appropriately treat disorders such as OCD. Modern brain imaging techniques have allowed researchers to study the activity of specific areas of the brain. Such studies have shown that people with OCD have more than usual activity in three areas of the brain. These are: The caudate nucleus, specific brain cells in the basal ganglia, located deep in the centre of the brain this area of the brain acts as a filter for thoughts coming in from other areas. The caudate nucleus is also considered to be important in managing habitual and repetitive behaviours. When OCD is successfully treated with drugs or therapy, the activity in this area of the brain usually decreases. This shows that both drugs and a change in thinking can alter the physical functioning of the brain. The prefrontal orbital cortex, located in the front area of the brain the level of activity in the prefrontal orbital cortex is believed to affect appropriate social behaviour. Lowered activity or damage in this region is linked to feeling uninhibited, making bad judgments and feeling a lack of guilt. More activity may therefore cause more worry about social concerns. Such concerns include: being meticulous, neat and preoccupied with cleanliness, and being afraid of acting inappropriately. All of these concerns are symptoms of OCD. The cingulate gyrus, in the centre of the brain the cingulate gyrus is believed to contribute the emotional response to obsessive thoughts. This area of the brain tells you to perform compulsions to relieve anxiety. This region is highly interconnected to the prefrontal orbital cortex and the basal ganglia via a number of brain cell pathways. The basal ganglia, the prefrontal orbital cortex and the cingulate gyrus all have many brain cells affected by serotonin. Researchers believe that medicines that raise the levels of serotonin available to transmit messages may change the level of activity in these areas of the brain. Kalat (1998) offers the idea that drugs intended to control anxiety alter activity at amygdale synapses. â€Å"One of the amygdala’s main excitatory neuromodulators is CCK (cholecystokinin), which increases anxiety, and the main inhibitory transmitter is GABA, which inhibits anxiety.† Without physiological research into the how and why of brain function, people with disorders such as OCD would not be able to function â€Å"normally† within society. However this type of research and study is not limited just too diagnosing disorders in those with suspected behavioural problems but also allows insight into society as a whole and its interaction socially, emotionally and habitually. New and innovative studies through physiological research have shown that cognitive behavioural therapy can change activity in certain areas of the brain. The discovery could have important clinical implications on how talk therapies improve brain function and advance mental health. Researchers discovered significant changes in activity in certain regions of the brain can be produced with as little as four weeks of daily therapy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder as published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. â€Å"The study is exciting because it tells us more about how cognitive-behavioural therapy works for OCD and shows that both robust clinical improvements and changes in brain activity occur after only four weeks of intensive treatment,† said Saxena. Past studies using functional brain imaging studies of patients with OCD have demonstrated that elevated activity along the frontal-sub cortical circuits of the brain decreases in response to treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medications or cognitive-behavioural therapy. However, clinical improvement of OCD symptoms was expected to require up to 12 weeks of behavioural therapy or medication treatment, the standard treatments for OCD. Only a handful of studies have looked at how therapy affects brain function, and all previous studies had examined changes over several months of treatment. Continual studies into physiological psychology will enhance clinical practises and provide a platform for more effective treatment of the symptoms related to this disorder. Saxena and colleagues at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA made two novel discoveries in their study of 10 OCD patients and 12 control subjects. â€Å"First of all, we discovered significant changes in brain activity solely as the result of four weeks of intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy,† said Saxena. â€Å"Secondly, these changes were different than those seen in past studies after a standard 12-week therapeutic approach using SRI medications or weekly behavioural therapy.† The researchers obtained positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the ten OCD patients both before and after they received four weeks of a therapy known as â€Å"exposure and response prevention,† which gradually desensitizes patients to things that provoke obsession fears or worries. However, the PET scans in this study also showed a significant increase in activity in an area of the brain called the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, a region involved in reappraisal and suppression of negative emotions. Increasing activity in this region corresponded to the OCD patients’ improvement in clinical symptoms after the four-week course of intensive therapy. It is possible to see the huge amount of information that physiological research has bought forth to society through just these examples alone. Physiological psychology is the study of the physiological basis of how we think, connecting the physical operation of the brain with what we actually say and do. It is thus concerned with brain cells, brain structures and components, brain chemistry, and how all this leads to speech and action. Further research as to how growing debilitating disorders such as OCD could be eliminated or drastically reduced in severity has weight in its importance. The research however does not stop with OCD diagnosis but has relevant importance to understand how we take in information in general from our five senses. Future studies based on OCD research could be more relevant than we think to other major issues facing society such as depression, drug addiction and mental health. It is imperative for governing bodies to fund education and research into the study of physiological psychology for this very reason. References: Kalat 1998 Biological Psychology Molecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry 14, 197-205 (February 2009) | doi:10.1038/sj.mp.400213

Estimation of Importance of Web Pages for Web Crawlers

Estimation of Importance of Web Pages for Web Crawlers