The Importance of Being Educated Free Essays

I believe that Early Childhood centres should create a positive environment where children are more stimulated, happy, comfortable and safe from harm. Where learning is more meaningful and children can be extended. I believe that children learn in a holistic way through play. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Being Educated or any similar topic only for you Order Now They learn by being actively involved. The process of a child’s work is important not just the results. They learn through stages at their own pace. The adults role in children’s learning is to provide scaffolding for the child’s endeavours, supports and connections, that are removed and replaced when and where they are needed. Adults need to provide a developmentally appropriate programme to cater for all children. There is a need to plan for each child based on their own interests, strengths and needs. The curriculum planning should be based on the principles of Te Whaariki and the knowledge that all children are individuals. I feel that there is a need for Early Childhood Educators to work in partnership with parents/caregivers and Whaanau. This is an essential part of providing the best possible opportunities for children to reach their fullest potential. I recognise that parent/caregivers and Whaanau are the major sources for this knowledge. Which is a very valuable resource for teachers. Therefore there must be a good relationship between centre staff and parents to provide a strong connection and consistency among all aspects of the child’s world. I believe that the uniqueness of each child should be valued. To apply the principle of fairness to all practices within the centre and to avoid discrimination as the basis of culture, gender, disability, religion or class. I feel that all children have the right to attend a centre. I am committed to providing an environment in which every child is enriched by the dual cultures of the treaty partners. I recognise that we are becoming a multicultural society and realise the importance of understanding the diversity that this brings to Early Childhood Education. I believe that Te Reo Maori should be actively included into the centres programme. It is important as an Early Childhood Educator to work as a team member, where each member is encouraged to utilise their own individual skills. There needs to be open and honest communication between staff members to create on effective team. It is also necessary for staff to have common goals and work together to achieve them. I feel that the management of children’s behaviour must be fair and consistent. Teachers and adults must model and promote peaceful conflict resolution methods to enable children to learn and deal with conflict in an appropriate way. I also believe that the development of self-esteem by positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviour is important to safeguard the rights and emotional development of every child at the centre. I believe that it is necessary for teachers to be involved in a continuing process of professional development to keep in touch with the changes that are constantly effecting the Early Childhood Education field. How to cite The Importance of Being Educated, Essay examples The Importance of Being Educated Free Essays I believe that Early Childhood centres should create a positive environment where children are more stimulated, happy, comfortable and safe from harm. Where learning is more meaningful and children can be extended. I believe that children learn in a holistic way through play. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Being Educated or any similar topic only for you Order Now They learn by being actively involved. The process of a child’s work is important not just the results. They learn through stages at their own pace. The adults role in children’s learning is to provide scaffolding for the child’s endeavours, supports and connections, that are removed and replaced when and where they are needed. Adults need to provide a developmentally appropriate programme to cater for all children. There is a need to plan for each child based on their own interests, strengths and needs. The curriculum planning should be based on the principles of Te Whaariki and the knowledge that all children are individuals. I feel that there is a need for Early Childhood Educators to work in partnership with parents/caregivers and Whaanau. This is an essential part of providing the best possible opportunities for children to reach their fullest potential. I recognise that parent/caregivers and Whaanau are the major sources for this knowledge. Which is a very valuable resource for teachers. Therefore there must be a good relationship between centre staff and parents to provide a strong connection and consistency among all aspects of the child’s world. I believe that the uniqueness of each child should be valued. To apply the principle of fairness to all practices within the centre and to avoid discrimination as the basis of culture, gender, disability, religion or class. I feel that all children have the right to attend a centre. I am committed to providing an environment in which every child is enriched by the dual cultures of the treaty partners. I recognise that we are becoming a multicultural society and realise the importance of understanding the diversity that this brings to Early Childhood Education. I believe that Te Reo Maori should be actively included into the centres programme. It is important as an Early Childhood Educator to work as a team member, where each member is encouraged to utilise their own individual skills. There needs to be open and honest communication between staff members to create on effective team. It is also necessary for staff to have common goals and work together to achieve them. I feel that the management of children’s behaviour must be fair and consistent. Teachers and adults must model and promote peaceful conflict resolution methods to enable children to learn and deal with conflict in an appropriate way. I also believe that the development of self-esteem by positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviour is important to safeguard the rights and emotional development of every child at the centre. I believe that it is necessary for teachers to be involved in a continuing process of professional development to keep in touch with the changes that are constantly effecting the Early Childhood Education field. How to cite The Importance of Being Educated, Papers

A Study on Accounting Software

Question: Discuss about theA Study on Accounting Software. Answer: Introduction: Every business needs to keep a track of its expenses and profits as well as payments. But, since every business is unique their needs within accounting software also differs. Before the new millennium, most small businesses handled their accounts using paper based accounting systems which worked fine. The introduction of Goods and Service Taxes changed the lookout of the businesses that earlier used to keep their accounting through paper only. Most businesses shifted to accounting softwares, and one of the most popular ones online is the Intuit Quickbooks. The software that helps accountants and bookkeepers keep all the transactions managed at one place without having the need to spend extra effort. About the Accounting Package QuickBooks was one of the primary accounting software items available, and numerous organizations still depend on it today. Be that as it may, as of late, bookkeeping/accounting software has started to move to the online circle, keeping in mind the move is a long way from complete (cloud accounting still hasn't got up to speed with the element choice accessible in great privately introduced programs), it's not hard to see which way the wind is blowing(Broughton, 2008). Intuit's QuickBooks is a standout amongst the most well-known accounting software utilized by Australian small entrepreneurs. There are two key variables adding to QuickBooks' prominence as a top small business accounting software in Australia. The first is its cost. You can pay $12/month (deal cost) for QuickBooks' most essential software and a maximum of $21/month (deal cost) for the head variant. The second component is the far reaching level of features that QuickBooks gives. Entrepreneurs crosswise over Australia use QuickBooks to track their business salary, costs, and benefits. They can send a boundless measure of invoices, get to their information online over an extensive variety of portable and desktop stages (PC, Mac, tablet, or cell phone), oversee/pay bills, and make finance installments for nothing. For security, QuickBooks has quite the same security and encryption as leading banks. The above variables are only a couple features that accompany Intuit's QuickBooks(Biafor e, 2012). Development of the Accounting Package Intuit Inc. was established in 1983 as the distributer of Quicken, a MS-DOS monetary administration framework for people. Animate's prosperity prompted a large group of subsequent items, including QuickBooks, which was propelled in 1992 and rapidly turned into the business' top small-business accounting arrangement. Intuit depicts QuickBooks as the foundation of its "small business environment," a business sector that records for a noteworthy offer of the organization's $3.9 billion in yearly incomes. It is effectively the top rated retail software for small-business accounting around the world(Biafore, 2015). The principal program from Intuit, called Quicken, was intended for individual budgetary administration. It was extraordinarily fruitful and prompted the improvement of a comparative system for small organizations. The explanation behind its prevalence among entrepreneurs is on the grounds that it required no formal accounting preparing. In any case, after a few worries from accounting experts about the project's absence of a review trail and not complying with conventional accounting rules, Intuit grew new programs that tended to these worries. The new programs included review trail capacities and also twofold passage accounting capacities and other new features. The Basic and Pro forms of Quicken accounting software bundles were produced in 2000. This was trailed by the improvement of industry particular adaptations in 2003. These programs contemplated the work process procedures and wording utilized as a part of particular ventures. 2002 saw the dispatch of QuickBooks Enterprise S olutions, which was intended for medium-size organizations. Over the accompanying couple of years, new forms of the software QuickBooks were made that could be utilized as a part of various areas of the world(Ullah, 2013). Notwithstanding supporting various stages, Intuit offers distinctive capabilities at various value focuses. QuickBooks for Windows, for instance, is accessible in Pro, Premier, and Enterprise editions. Specific editions are accessible for accounting, contracting, assembling and wholesale, philanthropies, proficient administrations, and retail organizations. Moreover, every item might be obtained on CD or by means of subscription. Subscribers get new features as they are produced, while CD clients don't get the new features until they move up to another arrival of the software(Gardon, 2005). The permit key methodology implies Intuit can redesign clients or permit particular renditions of the software with a straightforward online transaction. It likewise has huge ramifications for SCM. The advantage is that we're continually expanding and refining a solitary codebase for Quickbooks. The engineers don't need to stress such a great amount over keeping up similarity among numerous renditions of the item. The drawback is that a full form takes off numerous, numerous adaptations of the item. It's a gigantic form(Group, 2005). Current Market Size of theAccounting Package Intuit QuickBooks works in the small business market, sized at roughly 29 million businesses in the US, and it has more than 80% piece of the pie with small businesses that utilization monetary administration software. With the objective of helping a greater amount of these small businesses enhance their monetary lives, administration executed profoundly focused on and creative client division and business sector systems. QuickBooks has since quite a while ago distinguished two essential fragments of small businesses: The 400,000 accountants who are serving a large number of small businesses as the key influencers also the five million small businesses as of now utilizing money related administration software. This left 15 million other independently employed people who have the chance to accomplish more business with QuickBooks or turn out to be new clients. These clients are portrayed by an easygoing way to deal with their money related administration, numerous seeing their small business as a leisure activity or low maintenance try. By the process of deliberately dividing its clients, QuickBooks has possessed the capacity to create particular business sector techniques to develop potential in every fragment. Addressing the need of accounting software, Intuit made QuickBooks Online Self-Employed, a simple to-use application that helps clients track pay, download costs and get ready for both quarterly and year-end assesses, all while meeting consistence prerequisites. This application goes past intangibility by adding a touch of gamification to the information passage processfor instance, clients can order costs by swiping left for operational expense and a good fit for individual. At $8/month, it's an economical passage point for clients that may, one day, require the more hearty features of QuickBooks Online(Salmon, 2014). By effectively gathering information and arranging it, QuickBooks Online Self-Employed additionally permits clients to all the more effortlessly bear the cost of an accountant. Boxes of receipts are supplanted with information that is sorted out and effortlessly imparted to an accountant. Presently, QuickBooks ProAdvisors can serve these customers moderately, and it makes another business sector open door for everybody. How about we swing to the ProAdvisor project to perceive how QuickBooks supports referrals(Ullah, 2013). Competitors of theAccounting Package More than a modest bunch of online software items with names like FreshBooks, Xero and Saasu have ended up as eminent QuickBooks contenders by concentrating on ease of use, cost and different components. The genuine inquiry is would they say they are sufficiently distinctive to make it worth your time and push to assess them before settling on a choice or is there truly much contrast between these choices and how they help businesses deal with their books and receipts of their clients. Here are the top contenders. Xero Xero is a finished web-hosted accounting software arrangement which gives QuickBooks Online a keep running for its cash. Like most cloud software, Xero is offered in a SaaS model, which costs $9 to$70/month, contingent upon the features and number of clients you require. Clients likewise like Xero's day in and day out client backing and plenty of mixes with different business software. Some of the numerous features you get with Xero incorporate evaluations, invoicing, creditor liabilities, reporting, inventory administration, cost reports, finance, bank compromise, and time(Broughton, 2008) Saasu Established 15 years prior, Saasu was one of the main cloud-based accounting software administrations around. Saasu is fundamentally intended for the Australian business sector, however it could work for small US organizations who work together in standout state and need extraordinary inventory support. Some of Saasu's best features are its adjustable dashboard and amazing inventory instruments (particularly the "combo thing" highlight). Saasu's inventory features are really the best we've found in any cloud-based accounting software, anyplace. Conclusion In synopsis in the event that you have not switched to electronic or software accounting you ought to genuinely consider doing as such. Intuit Quickbooks is software that can help any small to medium business accounting less demanding than some time recently. Among the best accounting software bundles available, Quickbooks is the best. Among the main softwares, Quickbooks offers the best general bundle. It additionally offers free trial alternatives and it can be effectively downloaded from the intuit website or introduced from the album gave. There are different subscription administrations one can use according to the features they require. Generally speaking, it is accounting software one can use for their small and medium business unquestionably. References Biafore, B., 2012. QuickBooks 2013: The Missing Manual: The Official Intuit Guide to QuickBooks 2013. s.l.:"O'Reilly Media, Inc.". Biafore, B., 2015. Answers found here, s.l.: QuickBooks . Broughton, J., 2008. Wikipedia: The Missing Manual: The Missing Manual. s.l.:"O'Reilly Media, Inc.". Gardon, A., 2005. Strategies for Change. JOURNAL for Nonprofit Management, 5(4), pp. 1-58. Group, S., 2005. Learning QuickBooks Step-by-Step - Using QuickBooks Payroll - Version 2005. s.l.:The Sleeter Group. Salmon, A., 2014. Accounting Software, s.l.: Accounting Market Changes. Ullah, H., 2013. Job Development for Today - A Sector Specific Approach. The Canadian Journal of Career Development, 5(1), pp. 1-9.

Torture in Guantanamo Bay free essay sample

Torture in Guantanamo Bay Mohamed al-Kahtani was a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay who endured numerous disgusting and truly horrifying acts of torture. Being seduced by prostitutes and female officers, told to act like a dog and forced to crawl on his hands and feet while barking, and forced to urinate himself are just a few examples of the type of life prisoner’s at Guantanamo Bay are living. They are held in solitary confinement, while all day and night their lights in the rooms are kept on. Each day prisoner’s are tortured. Whether it is psychical or emotional torture, it is occurring all round the camp. Prisoner’s being tied down and forced to listen to extremely loud rock music for and extended period of time is one of the tactics used to break down an individual emotionally, to make sure they are completely cooperative and under the control of the officers. We will write a custom essay sample on Torture in Guantanamo Bay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With all of this going on, with numerous reports of abuse from the Red Cross, the United States Government continues to argue against the fact that it is occurring. Their constant claims of no abuse are eerily similar to The Party in George Orwell’s novel 1984. They tell the public one thing, and they all believe that it is true without question. The use of double-think, as it is called, is not the only thing consistent with the novel In the Guantanamo Bay detention center, torture and psychological warfare are used to break down the will of prisoner’s to put them under complete control of the officers of the camp, which is very similar to the torture described in the novel 1984. In an examination of Guantanamo Bay, the Red Cross found many signs of abuse and torture along with psychological harm done to the prisoner’s. The officials used different types of torture, all of which are extremely dangerous as well as effective. If a detainee is uncooperative, they loose their usual freedoms. They are denied use of the lavatories, and are forced to urinate and defecate themselves. One detainee told the officials the truth about him not being at a meeting with Osama bin Laden, and because his answer was unsatisfactory, he was forced to urinate himself. Prisoners are also shackled to the floor during interrogations and interviews so they cannot pose a threat. There are also numerous incidents reported involving beatings of the detainees. They are beaten if they do not cooperate or if their answers are not what the officials want to hear. Because of the beatings, many detainees confess to crimes they did not even partake in. The ones who cooperate are given a lot more luxury than those who do not. The detainees who are either new or uncooperative wear orange jumpsuits, while the others who do cooperate or given white cotton clothing. The beatings grew less frequent, and became mainly a threat, a horror to which he could be sent back at any moment when his answers were unsatisfactory. His questioners now were not ruffians in black uniforms but Party intellectuals, little rotund men with quick movements and flashing spectacles, who worked on him in relays over periods which lasted — he thought, he could not be sure — ten or twelve hours at a stretch. These other questioners saw to it that he was in constant slight pain, but it was not chiefly pain that they relied on. They slapped his face, wrung his ears, pulled his hair, made him stand on one leg, refused him leave to urinate, shone glaring lights in his face until his eyes ran with water; but the aim of this was simply to humiliate him and destroy his power of arguing and reasoning. Their real weapon was the merciless questioning that went on and on, hour after hour, tripping him up, laying traps for him, twisting everything that he said, convicting him at every step of lies and self-contradiction until he began weeping as much from shame as from nervous fatigue. (Page 264, Part 3, Chapter 2). †We have beaten you, Winston. We have broken you up. You have seen what your body is like. Your mind is in the same state. I do not think there can be much pride left in you. You have been kicked and flogged and insulted, you have screamed with pain, you have rolled on the floor in your own blood and vomit. You have whimpered for mercy, you have betrayed everybody and everything. Can you think of a single degradation that has not happened to you? †(Part 3, Chapter 3). Just like in the novel, the official’s beat and torture the prisoner’s until they just completely give up, and confess to whatever they are told to. Winston is tortured until he can take no more, and confess to acts he had no idea even happened. â€Å"Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside of you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and than we shall fill you with ourselves. A major part of the process of breaking one’s will down is attacking their mental state. Psychological warfare plays a huge part in the torture being done at Guantanamo. The lights are kept on all day and night, confusing the detainees. This can confuse them and allows them to loose track of time very easily. They are also strapped down, and forced to listen to loud rock music while the lights flicker. Ver bal abuse is also used, detainees are told they are worthless, dogs have more social status then them, and their religions are attacked in order to agitate them. Officials prevent revolts and gangs by monitoring them, as well as not allowing them to speak in groups of more than three. Just like the reason for the beatings, the use of this type of torture is to break down the detainees will. Once they are mentally and psychically abused, they have no choice but to accept whatever they are being told. The use of this kind of torture is devastating to the psychical and mental health of the people in the camp. The reason the abuse has been able to continue is because of the confidentiality used, and we now know of the abuse because of interviews and examinations. The only people who know of the true chilling details are the commander of the bay, and the people who work for him. Lawyers who come to visit and talk to the prisoner’s are under strict orders. They cannot repeat or hint at anything they see taking place at Guantanamo, and because of that no one knows what truly occurs. To make matters worse, the U. S. Government claims that there is no abuse being held at the center. Whenever another rumor springs up, they are quick to get out and shoot it down. Talking about what goes on does happen though. The only time it does is when personal involved in the bay are there. In the novel, Orwell says, â€Å"If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say this or that even, it never happened- that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death†- (page 32, book 1, chapter 3). That quote shows how terrifying it is to know that the government can say something never happened, and the public believing everything they say. This privacy and power are what allows the U. S. , as well as The Party, to continue on with what they do without being able to be stopped. Just like in the novel, only the Inner Party members know of the true details of Room 101, as well as the ministries. The only reason we know of what goes on at Guantanamo is because of inspections, and mostly interviews with released detainees from the camp. Most detainees do not speak of what happened, but thankfully a few have. One such person is Mohamed al-Kahtani. He has reported that prostitutes have been brought in to seduce Muslims, as well as female officers. He spoke about the officials bringing in a dog to show how obedient and loyal it is. They told him that he needs to be like the canine, and made him bark to crawl around so he can â€Å"raise his social status†. Another helpful person was Shafiq Rasul, who after three month’s at Guatanamo was charged with the 9/11 planning. They accused him of meeting with Osama bin Laden due to the fact a man standing behind bin Laden resembled him. After telling them the truth that it was not he, the torture began. After months of abuse, he finally gave in and falsely admitted to being at the meeting. We know of all this because of the detainees telling us first hand experience. The only reason we know of what goes on in Room 101 is because of Winston telling us. If it wasn’t for the detainees and Winston, we would not know for sure what takes place in Room 101 and Guatanamo Bay. Although one is a novel and the other is a military camp, they both contain extremely dangerous characteristics. Guantanamo Bay is basically the real life Oceania for people under suspicion of terrorism. The use of torture, psychological attacks, and breaking down a prisoner’s will are all similar to the novel. Even the small details of not being allowed to urinate and keeping the lights on all day are the same as the novel. Not only torture, but the secrecy of the whole operation is exactly the same as 1984. Keeping it within the Bay is the same as the Party keeping it within the Party. The prisoner’s of both Oceania and Guantanamo never know how long they will be kept, or what is going to happen to them. The use of torture is sickening and very much inhumane. But even so, it is one of the most effective ways to get someone to talk. In both Oceania and Guantanamo Bay, torture is used to break down one’s will in order for complete obedience.

Perception of Intelligence by Zullu and Kpelle

Perception of Intelligence by Zullu and Kpelle Abstract Perception of intelligence among different communities varies to a great deal depending on the socio-economic and political factors. The Kpelle people of Liberia had a different perception of intelligence from the Zulus of South Africa. The best way of measuring intelligence in such unique communities is to base the measurements on the local parameters.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Perception of Intelligence by Zullu and Kpelle specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Introduction Perception of intelligence varies from one community to the other across the world. While one community may value consultation when making decisions, others cherish creativity or even the ability to process information very fast. The parameters used to measure intelligence in one community may be very different from the parameters used in another community. In this assignment, the researcher seeks to compare how the Zulu people of South Africa and Kpelle people of Liberia perceive intelligence. The researcher will look at their perception towards issues such as domestic violence, initiations, and marriages. Discussion According to Matsumoto (2001), different African communities perceived intelligence differently. This scholar says that the Zulu people of South Africa valued communal work very much. They considered intelligence to be the ability to consult the elders whenever one is making a critical decision. The elders were the think tanks for this society because of their knowledge gathered from years of experience. This community still cherishes the need to consult the elders when making decisions even in the face of the current Westernization in this country. On the other hand, the Kpelle people of Liberia valued creativity in decision-making. Even though they also cherished the relevance to consult, their environment posed many challenges that needed creative ideas. Members of the society who were ab le to come up with creative ideas on how to solve the problems of the society were held in high regards. When their creative ideas helped in solving some of the environmental problems, the society members would consider them heroes. It may not be easy to use a universal test to measure the intelligence between these two communities. As Valsiner (2012) notes, each of these cultural groups defined their measure of intelligence based on the environmental factors. For instance, the Kpelle people of Liberia had different environmental factors from the Zulu people of South Africa.Advertising Looking for research paper on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When using cognitive abilities such as memory, organization, and visualization, the two communities compare very closely. These cognitive factors were particularly important in defense. They had to remember the militaristic of their enemies based on the ex periences and organize themselves when it was evident that the community was under attack, and visualize some of the best strategies that can be used to counter the enemy. As Langley (2012) notes, such strategic approaches to solving problems were not restricted to addressing the threat of an attack. They were also important when addressing other social problems.  One of the cultural practices that were common among the people of Kpelle is the marriage ceremony. In such important stages of life, the society considered intelligence to be the manner in which the couple engaged their elders in their wedding preparations. Although a young man was allowed to look for a life partner of his choice, he would be considered an intelligent young man if he involved his parents and elder members of his community in investigating the background of the preferred bride. This is very different from what was traditionally practiced among the Zulu people of South Africa. Among the Zulu people, the p arents arranged marriages. Intelligence in this case would be the ability to accept the choices made by the elders because it was believed that they could see far into the future (Matsumoto Juang, 2012).  Another area that is worth analyzing is the issue of domestic violence within these two African communities. Among the Zulus of South Africa, men were regarded as the absolute authority in their families. Wife battering was something normal as long as it was not tragic. Such incidents were not considered domestic violence. Every man had the liberty of choosing how to solve his family problems. On the other hand, the Kpelle of Liberia valued the position of women in the society. Although men were superior to women, wife battering or any form of violence was considered a point of weakness on the side of the man perpetrating the violence (Kitayama Cohen, 2007). When measuring intelligence between these two different communities, it will be important to avoid using universal approa ches such as those proposed in the formal education. It will be necessary to base the measurement on the community’s parameters. One should understand why a given community cherished a specific pattern of behavior and not the other. It is through this approach that it will be possible to understand their perception towards intelligence (Smith, 2008). Conclusion Different communities perceived intelligence differently based on their socio-cultural, economic, and political factors. The analysis done above on the two different African communities shows that what one community may consider as an act of intelligence may be considered an act of folly in another community.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Perception of Intelligence by Zullu and Kpelle specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When measuring intelligence in each of these cultures, it may be necessary to base the measurement on their own context and pe rception towards life. References Kitayama, S., Cohen, D. (2007). Handbook of cultural psychology. New York: Guilford Press. Langley, T. (2012). Batman and psychology: A dark and stormy knight. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley Sons. Matsumoto, D. (2001). The Handbook of Culture and Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Matsumoto, D. R., Juang, L. P. (2012). Culture and psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Smith, M. K. (2008). Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences. Retrieved from http://infed.org/mobi/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-and-education/ Valsiner, J. (2012). The Oxford handbook of culture and psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Advertising Looking for research paper on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Primitivism and Non-Western Art Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Primitivism and Non-Western Art - Assignment Example The essay "Primitivism and Non-Western Art" focuses on the Primitivism style and Non-Western Art. Many people see this act as a reaction to Europe’s classicist way of interpreting the nude female body. Gauguin wanted to revise how the female figure was painted and appreciated, thus, painting the naked Tahitian women in a manner that was new to the Europeans that time. Some say it can be a subversive act on Gauguin’s part, as he was rebelling on the common trends of the European painters. He â€Å"revised† the female nude figure. Instead of focusing on the perfection or the anatomy of the model, or the sense of evil in looking at a naked female figure, Gauguin painted Tahitian women with their natural curves in their natural â€Å"habitat†, evoking feelings of eroticism and admiration, but without the association of sin or evil as dictated by the closed European society. This is one of the merits of the style, as it is sensual but not dismissive of human na ture’s preoccupation to sex. Primitivism does not romanticize sex, but rather romanticizes the idyllic lifestyle in the tropical islands. It celebrates the life in remote islands against colonialism at the same time the simplicity of humanity. It shows that non-Western art is as important as the ones in Europe and as significant too. This is quite influential to artists now, especially those who advocate anti-colonialism as it shows that Western Art may not be always superior. Primitivism is an art movement that does not adhere to Western standards.

Principles of Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Principles of Marketing - Essay Example My learning took place by absolute adherence to the marketing standards and rules which have been mentioned in the course books. I gained much insight from the teachers who were there to make me get acquainted with the norms and routines of marketing, and how these are employed within the practical world (Jobber, 2009). I once resolved a problem by understanding the intricate details related with marketing. I looked up the marketing issue in my course book and consulted with my peers before I decided for my own self the best course of action. I believe this was one of the best solutions that I could have envisaged as it brought about a great deal of hard work and commitment at my end. I reached the conclusion through my marketing insight and the knowledge that I had gained all this while. As far as the mistakes are concerned, I met these as well. However I learned a great deal from these mistakes and built upon my repertoire with hard work and dedication. I did not give up and went t he way which had success written all over it. It helped me ensure that I gained quite a lot within the marketing realms and was able to manifest my truest basis in an easy way.

Development of Cognition and Language

Development of Cognition and Language Michael Leo Glynn Research in the area of the development of cognition and language has a long tradition; yet, until recently it has not been possible to ascertain how infants think as they are not able to communicate verbally. It could be argued that language provides concepts that are used to organise thinking, and this premise suggests that infants are neither able to think, nor possess knowledge before they learn language. However, recent research employing innovative experimental methods, allows inferences into how infants’ minds function before they acquire language. This essay will outline relevant research and highlight some methods used to examine how preverbal infants think and categorise the world before they can talk, and will challenge the view that infants have not developed the ability to conceptualise before language acquisition. It will also examine how both language comprehension and language production develops, and discuss how infants are able to distinguish speech. In doing so, it will acknowledge nativist and empiricist perspectives, whilst considering conflicting views of developmental theorists. Perspectives conflict in the way in which it is assumed cognition develops on a continuum from innate ability to experiential learning. Theories offered by Chomsky (1965) in relation to language-specific mechanisms, for example, are from a nativist viewpoint. In contrast, behaviourists, e.g., Skinner (1954) take an empiricist stance advocating that development is primarily a result of learning (Oates and Grayson, 2004). Piaget (1955) and Vygotsky (1962) hold similar views towards the constructive nature of cognitive development and the role that language plays, agreeing that language is elaborated through complex interactions between an infant and their environment. However, Piaget submits that language is dependent upon fundamental constructs of thought for development, whereas, Vygotsky takes a social constructivist view and sees language as necessary for developing thought; furthermore, that thought and language are two separate functions that merge at around 2-years old (Bancroft and Flynn, 2005). Piaget observed infants talking to themselves, which he termed ‘egocentric speak’ (Oates and Grayson 2004), a symbolic function that enables infants to internally construct verbal thought. Vygotsky, in contrast, viewed this as only the first step, and that social interaction with others using language as a ‘cultural tool’ is crucial for language development (Oates and Grayson, 2004). Research has continued apace since Piaget and Vygotsky’s studies and, whilst their influences remain, there is now compelling evidence that preverbal infants can establish links between experiences, construct categories, group them, and in doing so form concepts much earlier than previously assumed. Based upon Frantz’s (1963) familiarisation/novelty preference method, whereby visual fixation duration for one stimulus over another confirmed that infants can perceptually categorise, Younger and Gotlieb (1998) conducted controlled experiments with infants aged 3, 5, and 7 months. Infants were familiarised with distorted prototype dot patterns ranging from good, intermediate, to poor before being shown a control pair comprising a previously shown non-distorted exemplar and an unfamiliar novel exemplar. With one exception all groups preferred to focus upon the novel prototype, thereby indicating that they had formed a category representation due to the familiarisation of the distorted set of exemplars. Results suggested that infants are able to organise their thinking, and although the greatest ability to preferentiate was present at 7 months, all infants possessed a degree of cognition. Quinn et al. (1993), using pictures rather than patterns, arguably providing more ecological validity, demonstrated that infants are also able to categorise animals: discriminating cats from other species such as birds, dogs and horses and, furthermore, able to discern related species (Eimas and Quinn, 1994). Behl-Chadha’s (1996) experiments revealed that infants aged 3 to 4 months are also capable of forming hierarchical structures similar to adults. A novelty preference method using familiar furniture objects as a ‘class’, at a global level, revealed that infants are able to distinguish between chairs and couches at a basic/intermediate level. Experiments using photographs of mammals found that infants, in common with adults, are also able to form global category representations for wide-ranging classes of stimuli (Quinn and Oates, 2004). Further studies by Younger and Gotlieb (1998) indicate that infants use two processes to store categories, an ‘exemplar memory’ for small numbers of instances where every example is stored, and a ‘prototype abstraction’, for large numbers of instances whereby an average of the examples are stored. Their findings suggest that infants employ two strategies to categorise across global/superordinate, basic/intermediate, and specific/subordinate levels. Object examination experiments sought to identify whether infants construct or deconstruct from basic to global levels of category representations or vice versa, and findings tend to support that the latter occurs easier and earlier (Quinn and Oates, 2004), suggesting that prototype abstraction develops before exemplar memory. Studies by Quinn (1994), using similar methods illustrate that infants are also capable of spatial category representation, e.g., above as opposed to below, and between rather than outside. Sensor modality cues are also an important factor in how infants form category representations and there has been much interest in how infants focus upon specific attributes that provide these cues. Quinn and Eimas (1996b), amongst others, employed methods that systematically varied the attributes of an exemplar shown to infants which revealed that they formed categories based upon the presence of a cue, but were unable to form category representations in its absence (Quinn and Oates, 2004). Rakison and Butterworth (1998) employing a sequential touching procedure, the categorisation of toy objects, with older infants, also reported evidence that specific aspects of an exemplar are a cue that enables differentiation between global categories. Using dynamic point light display methods, Arterberry and Bornstein (2002) found that dynamic movement cues can also be attributed to how infants form category representations, where infants were able to distinguish, by movement, animals from objects. Two competing theories exist as to how categories mature into concepts. In accord with the Piagetian viewpoint, a single-process model suggests that language, amongst other exemplars of information, contribute towards an infant’s cognitive ability to develop category representations: a process described as ‘quantitative enrichment’ (Quinn and Eimas, 2000), e.g., enrichment of category representations by infants learning to name objects with their caregivers (Quinn and Oates, 2004). Mandler (1997) addressed the issue of whether there is a developmental progression from category to concept and theorised that perceptual categorisation, the ‘knowing’ that something exists, occurs before conceptual categorisation, the forming of concepts including ‘thinking’ and ‘understanding’ (Quinn and Oates, 2004). Mandler (1992, 2000) suggests a two-process model arguing that perceptual and image schemas, in parallel, lay the foundation for m ature concepts. Perceptual schemas describe features, whereas image schemas allow for abstract features of how exemplars behave leading to the formation of true concepts. This accords with Paiget’s theory of structures and stages of development being marked by characteristic modes of thought (Bancroft and Flynn, 2005). A similar dual-process theory, Karmiloff-Smith (1986), describes an infant’s developmental process as knowledge moving from being implicit and procedural to explicit. Karmiloff-Smiths ‘representational re-description’ model suggests that practise at procedural level is required for knowledge to be re-described as an ‘object of thought’. Research supports that preverbal infants have learned how to form categories, possess a capacity for complex recognition strategies, and have the basic cognitive building blocks for language to develop. However, it is the point at which language begins to emerge, the nature of the relationship between category learning and identifying word sounds in speech, understanding them, categorising them, and reproducing them that is debatable. Speech production is dependent upon comprehension which requires: identification of a word from a speech stream; remembering the word sound for recall; association with an object or action; repetition; then using the word in an appropriate context (Harris, 2004). This empirical viewpoint suggests language needs to be learnt and is not innate. However, DeCasper and Spence (1996) found that prenatal infants are capable of recognising speech sounds; furthermore, research indicates that 4-week-old infants show a propensity towards their mother’s voic e (Mehler and Dupoux, 1994). Experiments by Mehler et al. (1994) report that younger infants favour the familiar language of their surroundings. Christophe and Morton (1998) language comparison experiments attributed this phenomenon to a preference for prosodic patterns, predicting and finding that 2-month-old infants could distinguish English from Japanese, but given the similarities between English and Dutch could not do so. The ability of infants to exploit prosodic cues to bound words was further investigated by Johnson and Jusczuk (2001), who elaborated that transitional probabilities, the ability to detect and remember syllables, also contributes toward language comprehension. Infants are capable of category learning prior to language acquisition, therefore it seems plausible that category learning must be achieved before language production, and it is at this point that changes in an infant’s developing vocal track support the production of their first words, whilst at the same time learning to categorise words and relate them to objects, e.g., the formulation of a word category for cat and then labelling the category. Vygotsky’s social constructivist viewpoint holds that relating words to objects and actions occurs within a social context. Bruner (1975, 1993) elaborates the view that first words emerge within familiar social contexts; however, he did not proffer the extent to which they grow out of experience. The empirical view supports the notion that the production of words involves repeating the sound of a word as it is experienced and in an appropriate context. Harris et al. (1983) support Vygotsky’s view of embedding language i n socially meaningful activities, and found that infants use words in a similar way to their mothers during social routines; furthermore, that comprehension is enhanced by qualitative enrichment: clarifying actions such as gazing, pointing and touching objects, e.g., a toy cat, as cues for an infant to relate words to objects (Harris, 2004). However, as comprehension of words improves, infants are able to abstract them in other contexts. Hart (1991) attributed this non-reliance on experience to increased vocabulary ability. A vocabulary spurt occurs between 1 to 2 years and appears crucial to understanding the correlation between language development and categorisation. Gopnik and Meltzoff (1987) sought to substantiate a link between categorisation and language domains of development and whether they occurred simultaneously. Longitudinal studies observing infants between the ages of 15 to 20 months reported a significant relationship between the vocabulary spurt and categorisation, but did not find strong links between categorisation and other cognitive measures. Gopnik and Meltzoff (1992) were unable to establish whether the vocabulary spurt causes an improved ability to categorise or whether, indeed, the ability to categorise underpins language development (Harris, 2004). These findings compliment Vygotsky’s theory that language and thought are separate functions, and supports that until the point at which they merge infants only possess a basic comprehension of language which provides the buil ding blocks for higher-level thinking and the realisation of ‘true concepts’ (The Open University, 2006, p. 11). Evidence has identified that infants possess a degree of cognitive ability that allows for a basic understanding of language, albeit a rudimentary recognition of basic prosodic patterns and syllables. Prior to language acquisition infants are capable of forming, storing, and retrieving category representations and recognising cues, at both basic and global levels using exemplar memory and prototype abstraction. Category learning can also be distinguished from other cognitive skills as beneficial to language development and when infants start to use their first words, it is apparent that their ability to categorise visual objects evolves to forming abstract ideas. Moreover, as vocabulary increases the capacity to categorise provides for the transition from knowing to forming true concepts. Prior to contemporary methods of investigation, nativists may not have been able to attribute these capacities to anything but innate ability and recent approaches challenge this view. The capacity to categorise is not dependent upon language acquisition; rather it facilitates the foundation for language development. Notwithstanding that infants possess the physical and cognitive processes requisite for developing language, also essential are social interactions that provide rich social contexts in which they can develop cognition and language. 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