Classroom Management and Child Friendly School System Essay

I. Background The Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other minor agencies works in collaboration to attain the goal in implementing the Child Friendly School System (CFSS) in connection to the protection of children in school. Their aim is to protect the pupil in all aspect of abuses whether it is from peers, parents, community and even from cruel teachers. Protect the child from physical, mental, emotional and verbal abuse. DepEd Memorandum No. 73, s. 2006 dated February 28, 2006 mandated the program of the Child-Friendly School System. Trainings were done afterwards to fully grasped the aims of the system. DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012 was re-polished and mandated the Child Protection Policies and Guidelines on protecting school children to any form of abuse, such as violence, exploitation, discrimination, bullying, and the like with the full support of Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro, FSC. In connection to this, Presidential Decree 603 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code, was passed last 1974, and still adopted until now which further supplements that our Philippine government supports the goal of the following agencies to ensure children’s safeties and guarantees that the rights of the children are properly impose by all men and that the children enjoys every rights they have. However, this DepEd Order, Memorandum and Proclamations were one or another misinterpreted, overused and misused. There were problems met along the way especially in the relationship of the teacher-pupil-stakeholders. These mandate also put a â€Å"wall† between them which seemingly affects the teaching-learning process inside the classroom. II. Statement of the Problem Studies show that the children now a day have short attention span than of those children in the ninetieth century and below. Children’s behavior and discipline is one major problem of teachers. Classroom management’s affectivity will only last in a short period too. Why is it so? Does DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, DepEd Memorandum No. 73, s. 2006 and Presidential Decree 603 has great impact to children’s misbehaviors? How agencies promoting child’s protection do affect the classroom management? If there were loopholes in the guidelines and policies, how will the teacher implement discipline without violating any rules? III. Review Related Literature (RRL) †¢ Bible (Proverbs 3:11; Proverbs13:24; Proverbs 23:12-13) †¢ â€Å" Towards A Child –Friendly Education Environment†, PWU-CWC-UNICEF for Plan Philippines in 2009 †¢ Family Code †¢ Presidential Decree 603 †¢ DepEd Memorandum no. 73, s. 2006 †¢ DepEd Order no. 40, s. 2012 IV. Discussion & Analysis The oldest book in the world and the most reliable one is the Bible. The book also expressed the issue about disciplining children. It was written in the scriptures in Proverbs 3:11; 13:24; 23:12-13, it said that parents should not spare the rod when giving discipline so that children will know that they have done wrong and that every misconduct they have committed there is always a punishment for it. The Bible also teaches us to disciple our children in order for them to choose the correct values which eventually mold them as they grow. As our government supports the anti child abuse laws, there were pros and cons to this issue. Disciplinarians didn’t agree such provisions because it makes a child brat, selfish and disrespectful. When Filipinos embraced the western culture, our new generation changes their way of life. Filipino values were deteriorating. Eventually, teachers to this extent, have hard time in managing their pupils in the classroom. Here are the questions asked to the respondents done in random, regarding the issue for the purpose of gathering data, information and insights: 1. What do you think of the Child Friendly School System program of the Department of Education? 2. How will you access the reliability of the Child Protection Law? How about the Juvenile Delinquent? 3. Are you amenable in respecting the rights of the child? Why? 4. What is your point of view in disciplining a child? 5. Being a parent/teacher, how would you like to discipline a child? 6. Do you think there is a need to discipline a child with a â€Å"rod† in order to have good learning? Why? Traditional educators were not sold out to this because they said and have experienced that teaching children is never without punishment. Punishment became an option to pupils who doesn’t want to learn and follow instruction as well. As to Modern educators, learning among children is easier if done with fun. Both generations of educators have one common goal; to teach the children to learn and mold them to become a good citizen of the country and eventually to the world. But what is happening to our society today? Why even young kids were involved in crimes? Does the Department of Education have to do with it? If so, In what area of learning and molding does educators failed? Are educators solely to blame? In some area, YES! Here are some possible reasons: 1) Maybe because values taught did not penetrate deeply to the conscience of their pupils. 2) Maybe because teachers are just teaching the subject for the sake of teaching the subject. or †¦. 3) Maybe because the teacher himself is not an effective values teacher. Can we also blame the parents? For a great reason, YES! A child learns his entire â€Å"first† at home. First word, first vocabulary, first love, trust and respect, and the like. Parents’ genes run through in the blood of the child too. Therefore, parents must take their part to sustain the good learning of their children. Because surveys found out that home environment has a great impact to the child’s values formation and how they create their out look in life. In molding the child, parents, teachers, and as well as the government would definitely take part in molding the child. But of all the collaboration, why are children hard to handle in the classroom? Why does teachers keeps on finding ways and means, apply learning styles and strategies to manage the pupils in the classroom? To the point that if the teachers cannot handle them longer, even to the extended patience, teachers will rather choose to just sit down and wait for dismissal than to reprimand, â€Å"punish† and discipline the learners. Teachers don’t mind anymore bad attitudes of the pupils instead of disciplining then because of the child-friendly system. Why is it so? Parents now are concern more on how much money they can get/ask for moral damage if their child were scolded instead of working together to show respect to authority. That’s why teachers push themselves away to manage the classroom because of this kind of situations. But in fairness to parents, they are only protecting their children in this case because there were instances of abuses done by teachers or in the school premises. Here are samples of abuses: A. physical, verbal and sexual abuse and violence inflicted by Teachers & Other School Personnel: a. 3 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and almost 5 out of 10 from high school experience physical violence (such as pinching and hitting) committed by teachers; b. Approximately 4 out of 10 children in Grades 1-3 and 7 out of 10 in higher grade levels have complained of verbal abuse by their teachers; c. 36.53 % of children in Grades 4-6 and 42. 88% of high school students surveyed indicated they have experienced verbal sexual violence in school and 11.95% of children in Grades 4-6 and 17.60% of high school students have experienced inappropriate touching. B. Physical, Verbal and Sexual Abuse and Violence Among Children , (i.e. Bullying, etc.) a. 73.58% of children in Grades 4-6 and 78.36% in high school surveyed in urban areas have suffered verbal abuse violence from their peers; b. 30.17% of children in Grades 4-6 and 37.57% in high school surveyed in rural areas have experienced physical abuse or violence committed by their peers; c. 26.74% of children in Grades 4-6 and43. 71% in high school in urban areas surveyed have experienced verbal sexual abuse committed by their peers and9.65% of Grades 4-6 and 17.71 of high school students experienced inappropriate touching. †¢Source: â€Å" Towards A Child –Friendly Education Environment†, PWU-CWC-UNICEF for Plan Philippines in 2009 Who would want to experience such abuse? Nobody! So, with these trending phenomenons, as parents, the safety of their children is a must before preventing it to happen to them. With regards to teachers, cruel teachers, are now aware of their conducts inside the classroom or in the school premises and also in the style of disciplining their pupils. Even community today, is concern of these laws that surely helps it become possible. It is all known to men that every law made are for the benefits and the good of the concerned, and yet, there is no perfect law except the law of the Lord written in the Holy Bible. Hence, here are some good side of this Child Protection Law and the Child Friendly School System: 1. abuses among school children are minimize; 2. bullying were controlled; 3. everybody, especially the media are concern of the rights and privileges of the child which was not given emphasis before; and 4. Parents are comfortable enough that their children are covered by the government through pursuing the laws. As part of the saying â€Å"†¦there is no perfect law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  there are also loopholes in these provisions which unknowingly created bad outcomes and new problems in the implementation, such as: 1. created ill-mannered pupils/less values/misconducts; 2. teachers were abused by the parents and not respected by children and even the community; 3. privacy of teachers were not kept; 4. biblical quotes in imposing discipline were neglected; and the worst, 5. teachers seems to detached themselves in the very purpose of why they are teaching children in their classroom to avoid conflicts and cases filed against them in the long run. With this kind of attitude among teachers, the teaching-learning process is not delivered well. Teachers will only recognize those pupils who will follow his/her instructions. He/she will favor those who are not naughty. Teachers will no longer try the best of their ability to teach and mold young minds because they are afraid they might not control their temper and unfortunately â€Å"touched† a child, but the aim is to disciple alone, resulted conflicts and problems among him/her with the stakeholders. Because according to the law, a child is never wronged and would never tell lies. Is that so? How about children making stories, are they reliable? There are children getting involved in crimes. There are children using drugs. There are children killing children. Are these kinds of children exempted by the law? Law makers should give a second look at this. Who is wrong then? Is it the teachers? Is it the parents? Is it the Law? Everybody is after for the good and the betterment of the children, but what is happening today in the real world of learning, children now a day are hard to manage because the child friendly school system adopted and bench marked by the Department of Education from other countries’ educational project, which was supported by our Philippine government. V. Conclusions & Recommendations I strongly believe in the Holy Scripture in the teaching about disciplining our children. If we spare the rod, we tolerate their mistakes. But, we won’t hit them in such a way that it will create problem and hesitation for them to learn. Disciplining our children, our pupils, with love having the goal to let them realize their mistake and eventually regrets for doing such. No human being would like to see children suffering from any harm. No one in his good state of mind would abuse a child. Children are gifts from God so we have to nurture and give the best learning we could give in order for them to become a good citizen, with good moral values as they grow up. However, as they grow old they need to be scolded, reprimand and even be punish if needed so that they will not depart themselves in the teaching which was given to them. It will guide them to choose good over bad. I am in favor of giving punishment to school children especially in lower grades and should be carried on, because it will help them become lovers of truth and peace. BUT giving punishment should not go beyond what the law provides. Parents and teachers should work hand in hand in order to produce young minds with concern for fellow men and for the good of our country as well. I just hope that the laws and provisions in promoting the welfare of our youth and children will be overused or misinterpreted. I also hope that our government will also provide protection to teachers who were abused by the parents because there were some cases where parents are using their children to make stories against a certain teacher. Finally, classroom management is easier to handle if there is collaboration between the parents and teachers in giving JUST and FAIR punishment to the learners to assure more learning in a managed classroom learning situation.

How have cultures from the ‘west’ been represented in the ‘east’ Essay

Fundamentally the term culture means to cultivate but on other hand this word also contains some other meanings and definitions as well. Number of writers and author worked and surveyed on the actual definition of culture and in year 1952 Alfred Kroeber and Clyde has presented approximately 164 defamations of this word â€Å"culture†. If we focus these definitions and research work by our well-known authors then we can came to know the fact that culture is simply the critical review of concepts and definitions that people have. Along with this the fact has also been revealed that culture can be presented and illustrated with three different approaches like the taste in fine arts and humanities is one of the significant ways of defining one’s culture or perspective. Similarly values, goals and attitudes are also used in illustrating the cultural values. (Bryan 1963) Beside above mentioned points the human knowledge , belief and the attitudes are also used in promoting culture as these things has the power and capacity to define the thoughts and ideas of people. Later after finding numerous definition of culture in twentieth century this word emerges out with new concepts as the focus point of anthropology, which means that culture is a word that is actually composed of all the actions and thoughts that is performed by human anywhere in the world and all these behaviors does not have any sort of relation with the genetics. In West, this word has its own meaning as they have their own approaches and thoughts regarding this term, as according to them culture basically defines two things that include the human experience, imaginations and incidents which occurs with them and later they present those things according to their art and used their power of creativity as well. (Alan Bryan 1963) Similarly they illustrated the meaning of culture by presenting the idea that in this entire world there are number of people who have their own way and manners of living and with their own ideas, experience and conditions they define their own meaning of culture as the way of defining culture varies from place to place and from people to people as well. But later after the World War 2 numerous authors reformed the definition of culture and the style they had presented it was also changed and among those authors albeit played a significnat role as in this era his work and ideas are still followed and apprectiated. Besides these above mentioned definition when we go though numerous research paper and studies of different authors from all over the world we came to know the fact that number of artist were born in west side and presented beautiful and unique work that portrayed their thoughts regarding culture and numerous other things. Among these beautiful and talented artist Hansen is a significant name. This man was born in year 1960 in West area where the natural beauty, purity and environment was so attractive that form the early stage this boy started visioning, drawing and portraying his cultural beauty in a marvelous manner. Hansen completed his educational career and returned to homeland in 1990, but during his early days of schooling this young boy started painting in year 1969, after that he went abroad to study mechanical design as well. Later he came back to America and served this country as a technical drawing specialist. Ms Georgian was the lady who impressed Hansen and he want himself to work and serve the idea of culture through his talent and skills of painting and drawing. He has developed his own unique sense of styling which reflects his philosophical mind as well. As time passes this young boy’s skills in promoting culture were notified by numerous people and his professional career started in which he designed numerous spectacular designs in the boating industry. The concept of portraying culture in such manner was so much appreciated by people that the technique of introducing abstract and cubist was later adopted by the artist of East as well. Beside Hansen’s work numerous other artist work and thought are adopted by the people of East. Christians also played a vital role in promoting cultural values and portraying them in such a manner that it was appreciated by the entire world. And among there marvelous work the oldest and the most symbolic thing is the cross sign which is known as the sign of Christian’s faith. The idea of presenting cross sign has played a significant role in numerous other cultures as well. People from different region especially from east side have adopted it as well and defines their own meaning of this symbol. If we go through to the detail and deep knowledge of this cross then we came to know numerous facts regarding it as it was revealed that through ages and centuries people are using and following this cross sign to protect themselves from illness, to have good fortune, and to show their respect to their religion and numerous other things as well. After the great success of promoting culture is such manner numerous other artists has developed countless version of its, which include X-Shaped St. Andrews cross and the T-shaped teau-cross as well. Beside this, the people of Greek have used this symbol in order to represent the four cardinal directions as well or we can say that they tried to represent the four basic elements which include earth, wind, water and fire. Other than this, the people of India have used this symbol as well in order to show the four main directions of heavens. Similarly, the people of Africa has designed cross roads and there concept of it is that these crossroads are places where the world of living and dead meet. In addition with this, numerous Eastern artists used this shaped to promote their cultural jewelry as well. Along with above mentioned things, Eastern people have also discovered new and interesting things in Japan by following the writings of Shakespeare as they had focused the plays of him and started studying the canonical values of his theater and implement the thoughts and ideas in order to promote the cultural things. Similarly, the people of Japan also have a great history in promoting cultural things through different and unique ideas such as the monster is one of the significant thing that Japanese promotes in their culture which was actually the creation of human imagination which resemble numerous things at different points like people, other animals or well –known objects as well. (Kuncaraningrat 1985) The artist of West promote their cultural values and things by numerous ways and among them music is the major source. With the help of unique and different musical instruments they define their thoughts and ideas regarding their culture. All sort of music either rock, pop or slow all were used to promote culture. In addition with these the artist of West also launched numerous sort of games that have music like Krongcong is one of the famous and well-known musical game that was designed in a manner that the music lovers start playing them and the main focus of promoting culture with the help of music will also go on with such innovative discoveries. Similarly along with music, dance is another thing that is used in order to promote culture of West, as it is the best approach of reflecting and showing the diversification of different ethical groups that compose the entire West portion of the world. This technique of promoting culture was adopted by the artist of East as well, as this gave great opportunity to show the traditional and cultural values of one’s states. The people of West also use the source of drama and theaters in order to promote their cultural values, and this technique really works as people form all over the world came to watch such sort of drama that promotes culture and things regarding traditional values. Along with this the people of East represent the culture of West in their region by using the traditional arts things which includes paintings, sculpture and numerous sort of architecture as well. Not only this they also used literature and poetry in order to present the idea and thoughts regarding the culture and traditional values of West. For people who loved food the Eastern group facilitate them by provding and presenting the Western dishes, along with this the more powerful and source that the Eastern people used in order to represent the culture of West in the media, as there is a great number of cinemas within East and these cinemas has played a significant role in spreading every bite of cultural things and cover all the traditional values of the entire West. In previous days, this source did not work as much but at the beginning of year 1980 this platform reaches the peak and concurred the highest level as well. Beside this cinema’s role numerous Eastern artists have played a significant role in order to promote and represent the culture and traditions of West within their country and this medium of representing the culture is very much appreciated by all as in this every age group can find its own interesting things to go for. Other than this, radio network which was formed in year 1945 also played a significant role, especially after 2006 numerous radio channels are launched using Digital Audio Broadcasting and Hybrid system that are also facilitating in promoting the cultural values all over the East. But all these above mentioned approaches had a positive result till political issues do not arise. In early days if we go through the detail representation techniques of promoting and showing culture of West in East we came to know that its result is very much effective as long as it was concerned as the homogenous population things towards mass production. This multiculturalism has worked for a long time in order to show the Western European society. The people of French also liked and welcomed this sort of representation and wrote numerous theories on it and named such things as a class struggle which highlighted the real charm, beauty as well as the weakness, along with this such representation also include ethics, religion and race issues but this thought of promoting culture is no more seen due to numerous political issues. Adams 2006) As now people have the idea that political, cultural, social and economical dialogue projects are addressed but should not be exclusively shown in Muslim countries, beside this according to the political rules the training programs, information of technologies and other things should not be shown and promoted on other side rather than West as this cause great trouble to the citizens of the west. Beside this the global conflict is also one of the major reason of promoting culture and traditional things in such a way, as the people of other country did not have the actual idea or right to promote each other cultural values as by this they often show our cultural things in a wrong manner and this cause big issues. According to a survey and research numerous authors wrote things about politicians idea that they have an idea that assimilation model can’t work longer because he people who are from different state are not like us and they have different skin color, they have other religion whose rules are not applicable on us, as we are not of same group, culture, and we does not have same social and traditional values. Similarly the political rules that are governing West also have the idea that we people are from different type of population and thats why we cant work on same issue with hand in hand as these people are living in a territory which has no political representation and they wants to copy our theories and approaches by promoting our cultural and traditional values. (Adams 2006) In a nut shell, we can conclude our paper that the idea of presenting and promoting culture and traditional values of each other provide us great benefit as by this we can come to know the real concepts and ideas of each other, and this thing also facilitate us in getting new approaches as well but this concept that arises in this era that by doing so we people can face numerous difficulties and political issues is not good for both the citizens of West as well as East so we should cover up such issues and focus on the growth and development of cultural as well as other things which is a great need for all of us.

Family Health Assesment Essay

The Family discussed in this paper has two children and both parents have been married for seventeen years. The paternal and maternal grandmothers are alive, while both paternal and maternal grandfathers have died of heart disease. The maternal grandmother lives with the family. The family assessed was interviewed two times and both times, the interview took place in family’s home and lasted for thirty minutes. The author of this paper has used Calgary Family Assessment model in assessing the family, which is an integrated, multidimensional framework based on the foundation of systems, cybernetics, communication and change theory and influenced by post-modernization and biology of cognition (Wright & Leahey, ). For complete assessment to take place as described by this model, a sense of importance and open communication was established between nurse and family. The family was encouraged to attend interview together . Names of family members have been changed to protect their privacy & confidentiality. Structural Assessment It is meant to identify the composition which consists of internal and external structure of family and its connectivity. Internal Family Composition Immediate family consist of father [Tim] and mother [Maria] who are a married couple and together they have two sons; older son (Jim) aged 14,younger son [Jacob] aged 10, grandmother [Gia] and pet dog [Sheenu] aged 2 years. Gender Both genders seem equal in this family. Differences in genders were not evident. Tim and Maria both consider themselves as breadwinners of family. Tim goes on business trip for weeks and Maria work long hours to make family financially secure. This was evident when Maria stated, â€Å"I want to make sure that we have everything for decent living and best education for Jim and Jacob† (Maria, October 16, 2010). Gia stays at home and does all the cooking and look after Jacob and Sheenu. Love, respect and appreciation for one another’s contribution to the family unit were evident in this family. Sexual Orientation The sexual orientation among the couple is heterosexual. Both Jim and Jacob stated their interests for girls, and are heterosexual. Any other sexual orientation will not be accepted by the family due to family’s culture. Rank Order Gia is sixty five years old. Tim is forty seven years old and Maria is forty five years old. Jim is fourteen years and Jacob is ten years old. There is a gap of 4 years between Jim and Jacob’s birth. The family takes pride in mentioning that everybody was born in October. Jim and Jacob, both are tall and handsome. Physically they have similar features but Jacob is healthier than Jim. During family interview Jim opened up easily and talked while Jacob was quite and answered only when specifically asked. Jacob was having more non verbal communication than anybody else in the family. Based on observation of interviewee there was sense of equality between Tim and Maria but Jim seems to have some kind of control over Jacob. Before saying anything Jacob would look towards Jim. The couple state that Tim finish outdoor family tasks while Maria deals with family issues. Tim referred Maria as â€Å"Finance Minister of family† (Tim, personal communication October 16, 2010) Subsystems Dyad subsystems were evident in the family. Gia is playing role of mother, grandmother and holding the whole family together. Tim and Maria seem very close but Jim and Jacob were not so close. Jacob was trying to avoid Jim all the time. He was comfortable sitting closer to Gia and changed to another sofa when Jim sat beside him. There was strong bond between mother and sons as well as grandmother and grandchildren. The bond between sons and father was not so strong. Father’s tone of talking to sons’ was authoritative. The mother was patting her sons’ back and was quite cheerful while talking about her sons; father would only smile and admitted that his wife knows more about kids because he spend more time away from home. The whole family agreed that if there is any problem or issue within the family, everybody would sit and discuss to sort out the problem. The family could be described as close knit. Boundaries The family has set some clear boundaries. Jim is not allowed to hang out with friends without his parents’ permission. The elders in the family and outside family are to be treated with respect and love. Both Jim and Jacob have been taught to knock at door before entering and seek permission to use or borrow anything whichever does not belong to them; to give a kind of respect to each other. Both the boys have to complete their education. Jim and Jacob have been given choice to study whatever they want and their education will be paid by parents. Maria stated â€Å"all the basic necessities like food, clothing housing will be met by us as long as the boys are studying; if they keep changing their mind every year about their future studies; then this is wastage of time and money. As long as they have definite plans for a career we are ok with that; if the boys don’t want to study they have to move out and find their own living† (Maria, personal communication, October 16, 2010). External Extended Family Maternal grandmother lives with the family. Maria has three sisters. All are married and live in Michigan. Tim’s mother, brother and sisters live in New York. All of them stay in touch with each other via phone. Tim has a cab and trailer business in New York and visits his family twice a month and stays with them for couple of weeks. Maria’s family lives in the same city and visits each other quite often. Maria’s sisters’ come to help her when needed, if Tim is away on business trip. The sisters’ children and Maria’s boys sleepover at each others’ places and get along well. Gia admitted that the sisters stand by each other in thick and thin. Be it a family sickness or children’s school problem or any other appointment they are always there to help each other. Larger Subsystems Family visits their temple once in a week to say their prayers and socializes in their community. Other than this the family does not have any connections with any other religious organization or community agency. Context Ethnicity/Race /Religion/Spirituality This family is South Asian, originally from India, and immigrated to United States in 1992. Both Tim and Maria are Hindus; they have respect for all religions. They have not forced their religion on children and are free to follow any religion. Environment This family lives in safe, high middle class neighborhood in a two story four bedroom house with finished basement and a big front and back yard. They live closer to shopping malls, grocery stores, schools and library. Home is ten miles away from Maria’s place of work but she don’t mind driving as home is in safe and secured area. Developmental This family is upper-middle class family and according to Calgary health assessment model the family is in stage four of family life cycle. In this stage families often increase flexibility of boundaries to include children’s independence (Wright and Leahy, p. 91). While observing family interactions, there was typical parent-child relationship. The parents would keep quite when teenager wanted to talk. Functional Assessment Instrumental Activities of daily living Tim works less; since he has business in New York; almost two weeks in a month he spend over there. Whenever he is in Michigan he just stays home. Maria works full time. During her day off she takes care of house and children. Jim and Jacob go to school and they are underage to work outside. Jim does not help family with household chores like cutting grass and removing snow. Expressive Emotional and Verbal communication Family was respectful to each other’s opinion and gave everyone chance to speak a. Nonverbal communication was also present. They were nodding in approval or disapproval. There was time when Jim was interrupting parents to enforce his statement rather than listening. Roles/Influences and Power When asked about roles and power sharing between family members, all of them smiled at each other. Maria stated boys do help but its Jacob who helps more in doing chores than Jim. Jim usually put garbage outside for pick up. Jacob help his mom by vacuuming the house and putting dishes in the dishwasher and taking Sheenu out for walk. Maria does all the grocery shopping and Gia cooks food for the family. Maria has role of wife, mother and daughter which she is carrying with responsibility. Tim has role of father and husband. Gia has role of mother and grandmother. Jim and Jacob have roles of sons, grandsons and brothers. Family Strengths and Challenges The family’s strength lies in adherence to their cultural norms, beliefs and values and desire to form strong relationships with other cultures. The family uses the resources available for their health care needs; visits physicians for annual physicals and dental exams. The family wants to pass the positive things about their culture to next generation like respect, trust and loyalty. Being educated and believing in healthier relationship is also strength of family. The challenge for this family is the behavioral problems of teenager son within the family and outside the family; which is a source of stress for family. During the second interview Tim was not present due to business trip and children were away to school. Gia admitted that Jim is having some behavioral problems, to which Maria also agreed. Maria stated â€Å"Since he is a teenager it is really hard to keep him under control like other kids but he do have some problems† (Maria, personal communication, October 20, 2010). The problem started with Jim arguing with teachers at school. He would laugh in class for no reason; making other students to laugh and disturbing class. He used to argue a lot with teachers always stressing that he is right which was disrespectful. At home he gives hard time to Jacob and Sheenu. Gia stated that he comes home earlier than Jacob and as soon as Jacob comes home; Jim would not let Jacob in or would tell him that he is a loser or saying that nobody loves him. When Jim says something like that, Jacob would start crying. Gia stated that she does not like to intervene as Jim is in habit of pushing others and she is scared that if he pushes her; she will fall and can get a fracture. Jim also yells at Sheenu. When Jim is home Sheenu would like to stay with an adult to have a sense of protection. Jim’s behavior at school and home had brought a lot of stress for the family. Maria admitted that she was made to sit in his class to watch Jim’s behavior while he was not aware of Maria’s presence and was acting as a clown in the class. Asked about Tim’s reaction to his son’s behavior, Maria stated that Tim consider it normal for growth and development. Maria seems to be quite concerned about his son’s behavior. Maria agreed that his behavior problems started in middle school. He would come home and tell stories about boys selling â€Å"candies† in the school and he had put up those candies in his locker. The candy story made Maria worry about his son’s company and getting drugs. Without further questioning Jim; next day Maria had a meeting with school principal and Jim’s locker was searched in presence of Jim, Maria, principal and two other teachers. Nothing was found and Jim could not give any description of the person selling â€Å"candies† and what they look like. He admitted that he was just playing a joke on his mom. After this he stopped telling lies and shifted his focus on being a clown in the class. When he comes home after school; he usually takes a nap and then stays up whole night to watch television or play games. The next day he would sleep in the class. Jim does have some behavioral problems but he is a homely guy. After coming home from school, he likes to stay home and spend some time with Maria telling about school activities. Jim’s behaves well in Maria’s presence. The family’s main concern is to change Jim’s behavior. Summary of Assessment The family operates within close knit system; having internal and external harmony among friends and extended family. In terms of completing the family cycle, the mother is putting extra efforts for adjusting to the fact that she is mother of a teenager while the father has laid back attitude towards his son’s behavior. The father needs to take responsibility to find reasons for his son’s behavioral problems. Given the fact that the teenager spend most of his time in school and at home, interventions should be directed at peer influences. According to Erickson’s stages of development the teenager is going through establishment of identity versus role confusion (Kozier et al. , p. 325). The need for independency and family support creates conflict between teenager and family. The family’s ability to cope with stress affects the health of individual family members, and the health of this individual family member influences the family’s ability to cope (Kaakinen et al. , p. 65). Guidance need to be presented in a way that the teen feel loved. The above summary will be basis of health promotion for this family. Health Promotion Plan The goals of health promotion plan will be to incorporate all individuals of the family within interventions. The health concern of the family should not be for individual member but for family as unit. The health plan will be aimed at improving dimensions of family life, promoting health of this family. Family is considered a most important part in a child’s growth and development. Open communication, child-parent interaction can have a positive effect on child’s development. To stop an inappropriate child behavior, first we need to know the triggering event to that behavior. It’s important to just focus on offending behavior rather than criticizing the child. The teenager in this family has attention seeking behavior in school. He should be encouraged to participate in school games; to divert his mind and energy from unacceptable behaviors. More time need to be spent with him. Since both his parents are busy in their jobs and other responsibilities; they are spending less time with the children. The teenager is at risk of developing other health problems like smoking, drinking and dropping out of school. For prevention of those risk behaviors among teenagers; time devoted to shared activities is important for the child’s healthy development. Parent’s education, their motivation in favor of healthy lifestyle, positive thinking, guidance as well as encouragement to acceptable behaviors can reduce the manifestations of risk behavior among the adolescents. Monitoring what teenager is watching on television and internet will help in reducing problems. Both the parents are educated; they should make the teenager aware of their expectations from him. A sense of trust should be developed between teenager and parents to help his transition into adulthood and to become independent, responsible, communicative young adult. The child should be encouraged to be a role model for his younger brother and should be rewarded for taking responsibility. Making him aware of inappropriate behavior will help him in deciding right and wrong. Inappropriate behavior should be ignored and appropriate behavior, must be reinforced. Positive reinforcement used immediately after appropriate behavior like offering praise immediately after the behavior will help. Setting limits for watching television and access to internet and making rules for going to bed at specific time will help in dealing with problems at school. The parents have already recognized the need for seeking counseling for their son. The mother has taken the responsibility to go with him or he can talk in private to counselor about his problem. After going for 2-3 sessions the family has observed positive changes in teen’s behavior. Conclusion Of all the interventions discussed above, the most applicable in implementing health promotion plan for the family assessed in this paper will be the parent-child interaction. Interaction between them will help in preventing other health problems in adolescent like drinking, smoking. The parents should present their own behavior in a positive way, so that children can learn from them. It is time that family should pay close attention to teenager’s behavior problems to protect and prevent him from developing other health problems.

Staffing a Growing Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Staffing a Growing Business - Research Paper Example The paper predicts the major legal issues that the Human Resource Manager might encounter in the process of establishing equal employment opportunities and diversity within the workplace while still aiming to acquire employees with the necessary credentials. A Corporation cannot have an inclusive work setting short of the interdependent elements of Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Diversity. Equal Employment Opportunity abbreviated as (EEO) is a body of federal laws mandated with the responsibility of protecting applicants and employees from discrimination in any employment aspect. The Human Resource Manager of the technology company has to comply with the current EEO laws (Nielsen, Nelson & Lancaster, 2010). The Human Resource Manager will encounter the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) that protects women and men who perform equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination. The manager will have to ensure equal wage benefits to both men and women with the same credentials and tasks. The Human Resource Manager will equally encounter Title VII of the Civil Right Act of the year 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Besides acquiring employees with the needed credentials and certifications, the Human Resource Manager must also ensure that it does not discriminate potential employees based on color, religion, sex, race or national origin. The HR manager needs to provide equal employment opportunities and diversity within the workplace by complying with the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, the Human Resource Manager has to comply with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of the year 1967 (ADEA) that protects individuals who are above forty years old. The HR Manager has to ensure that the failure of overlooking more aged people in efforts to acquire new employees does not occur

Northeast Utilities Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Northeast Utilities - Research Paper Example The company that is the subject of this research is Northeast Utilities Industries. This company was formed in 1966 following the successful business merger that occurred between Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), the Hartford Electric Light Company, and the Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO). This merger made the companies come under one management qualifying to be the largest multi-state holding following the Public Utility Holding Act of 1935. Other companies later joined the merger in the subsequent years and in this case, Holyoke Water Power Company (HWP) joined in 1967 and finally, in 1992, Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) signed a deal to merge with the company. This informs that five companies that were once independent constitute the Utility. In 2010, Northeast Utility further eluded their intention to the merger with NSTAR but maintaining the title as Northeast Utility and this is still a subject of approval. It is worth noting that the co mpany is listed in the Fortune 500 with the headquarters at Berlin, Connecticut. The company also runs several subsidiaries in the business of retailing electricity and natural gas. The company’s customer base in New England is about 2.1 million and this qualifies it to be one of the largest public utilities in New England. In this regard, the company has electric transmission lines covering 3,140 miles with about 32, 802 distribution pole miles. Their natural gas distribution also covers an area of about 5,000 km2.... In any business, it is very important to understand these forces so that one can identify the source of business strength and weaknesses so that the necessary adjustments can follow. In this case, this industry faces fierce competition from other companies providing similar products-competitive rivalry. This includes other companies like, First Energy, UIL Holdings, UNITIL, NSTAR, and EnerNOC (Murray, 2012). The existence of these companies in the provision of the same product has elicited severe competition in the provision of the same service-energy. There is different customer’s loyalty experienced in the market and other factors like switching cost that make the competition based on the existence similar products industries to be fierce. In the industry, there is need to achieve change in different categories; to achieve change in the efficiency of the energy production and distribution, this is aimed at reducing the cost of energy to the final consumers. When the cost of production is reduced, there is possibility of reducing the cost of the final product that goes to the consumers and thus a company is able to cut themselves a niche in the market. In this sense, the factor that is driving change in the company is the need to provide the consumers with products at moderated prizes to acquire a larger share in the market place. The reliability and safety of the product is also a concern of the company, the company dealing in the provision of the utilities tend to have the sense of reliability to the customers so that they do not lose market on that grounds. Competitors in the Industry Like any other business, the provision of the energy in which Northeast Utility is involved is experiencing the same competition from other service providers.

Power and Privilege Socialization and Career Essay

Power and Privilege Socialization and Career - Essay Example The presence of gender bias, whichever direction it cuts, impacts the use of power and privilege to an unfair degree. Gender bias in schools. It has long been believed that one reason there is a gender-based social bias in our country is founded in the different gender expectations placed on children. For example, little boys are given guns and trucks as toys and told not to cry. Conversely, girls are presented with dolls and allowed to express emotions more readily. In schools, there tends to be a preference given to boys, sending a message of higher worth and power. "Giving the boys more time and attention is not uncommon according to research on gender bias in classrooms and it has been documented that this behavior sends a message to both boys and girls that one sex is more worthy of teachers' time and attention" (Wellhousen and Yin 38). This type of early socialization can negatively impact the self-image and choices made by girls, as well as diminish their interests in certain career fields. In fact, teachers themselves have been conditioned to project, even in very subtle ways, particular ca reer preferences based on gender. "From parents and counselors, books and television, and myriad societal institutions, teachers have been taught that one set of jobs and behaviors is appropriate for girls and another, different, set is appropriate for boys" (Erekson, et al. 67). It is unconscionable that a teacher would intentionally foist a stereotype on his classroom, but the understated message of gender inequality-or at least predisposition for one career field over another-still gets absorbed by young minds. This connotes that power and privilege both travel along the lines of gender expectations, and girls are disadvantaged from the start. That said, the notion of career-oriented gender bias is not exclusively applied to women; men have felt the disadvantage of role expectations as well. Gender bias is always unfair. In the case of Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, there was a non-typical application of career stereotyping where women were in the place of power and given a gender-biased privilege. In that case, Mr. Hogan applied to the university's nursing program and, though he was qualified in every way, was denied admission. The stated reason was because he was not a woman and the university was open exclusively to women. The practice of admitting only women was defended by the organization as a method of educational affirmative action, an argument the court refused. This illustrates the fundamental unfairness of gender bias, regardless of the direction in which it is applied, and gives support to negative gender stereotypes. Nursing is not a profession designed exclusively for women, just as being a doctor is not an occupation solely for men. Yet, even as children, these gender roles are most often assumed during play time; reinforcing an inappropriate a ttitude towards both individuals and career choices. When an otherwise qualified candidate is refused the opportunity to participate in any opportunity, program, or career solely on the basis of gender, it is a flagrant exercise of the abuse of power by those privileged to have it. Unfortunately, this unfairness is a learned behavior that stems

How does the physical geography lf the place affect the human culture Research Paper

How does the physical geography lf the place affect the human culture and the human geography and how has human culture affected by it - Research Paper Example (Auerbach). This paper is aimed at investigation of the local conditions of New Hartford, NY, and their influence on the local inhabitants on the example of the shopping mall located in this city. The following methods will be used to perform the research under the topic of the paper: analysis of the reference literature on the research topic; interviewing the local inhabitants about local conditions and their influence on life of the society. The studies of the reference literature have given the following results. Geographic factors influence development and life of people in the place of their living. â€Å"The â€Å"geographical factor† has evolved from a mere reference to a geographical indication of provenance of a product to that of an indicator of qualities or characteristics which reflect its geographical origin.† (Gonzales, Johnston, 225). The above mentioned four points of influence, land, soil, water and climate, determine the way people live: if the land allows for good harvest gathering, the society develops agricultural activity, when water is an insufficient resource, it is necessary to find the ways to make it present and sufficient for society activity and life support. (Auerbach). Japan is a good example of land influence, as it often suffers from earthquakes and tsunamis caused by them. These adverse events made the Japanese develop tactics to resist their aftermath and to quickly react i n terms of human lives saving. Literature study provided the basis for the second method of research. According to the New Hartford inhabitants, it is an ordinary US town with little differences from the other ones alike. The suburb city cannot boast at a wide range of big enterprises, important events or sources for breaking news, the older people say. A typical set of natural resources is sufficient to support the society life activity. Water,

What changes have enabled Michael Porter to see Procurement Essay

What changes have enabled Michael Porter to see Procurement (Purchasing) in a more strategic light - Essay Example Porter explains when a unique product is produced; a firm could have the advantage to set premium price for it, calling it as a differentiation advantage. In addition, he wants to point out there is competitive advantage earned when a firm could produce existing similar product offerings, but at lower cost. He calls this cost advantage. Today, most, if not all, firms require outsourcing almost everything just in order to provide or come up with service or product offerings. This can be clearly elaborated in the value chain, which at the bottom line, one would be able to realize the associated cost generated in production of certain product or service. In order to achieve cost advantage as Porter defines, it is therefore important to at least minimize or cut cost in order to produce offerings that would have competitive price. Procurement or purchasing is an important component in Michael Porter’s value chain model. In this model, he originally identifies procurement to be just a support activity. However, recently, he emphasises the potential strategic contribution of procurement to shared value, as published in the Harvard Business Review. Concerning Porter’s recent claim, this paper tries to present the existing trend to justify whether opportunities for purchasing to contribute more strategically have increased, and how it might have addressed relevant matters in the difficult economic conditions facing organisations today. Significant trending Purchasing together with its strategic importance has long been remarkably considered, but there was actually less appreciation of it when it comes to what it can actually do with business performance. Concerning this issue, a study with empirical analysis conducted on 141 industrial companies reveals interaction among purchasing efficacy (purchasing strategic objectives and capabilities) and strategic integration of purchasing (between business strategy and purchasing strategic objectives) (Benito, 2007 , p.901). Today, one essential point of understanding the actual strategic importance of purchasing can be viewed within the context of its actual contribution to business performance. So this goes with finding interesting stuffs about the likelihood of its contribution to creation of profit, customer satisfaction, increase market share and more. After all, business performance might include different metrics that could help measure and as bases of actual business growth. Regarding this, it has become a considerable point to constantly investigate purchasing using various empirical researches just to be able to quantify its actual significance as a strategic function. A recent study conducted to investigate the empirical contribution of purchasing and supply management (PSM) to the company’s success generated a substantial result based on the information gathered from the international survey of 306 major companies from eight industry sectors (Hartmann et al., 2012, p.22). Th e study showcases empirical evidence leading to the point PSM has remarkable contribution to the company success. The contributed value was found to be mediated by three operational performances such as cost, quality and innovation (Hartmann et al., 2012, p.22). PSM, increasingly regarded by senior management to strategically influence operational performance and financial performance, however, was found to still require external survey methodology that complements the internal perceptional measures of PSM performance, and a comprehensive performance measurement framework

Thought Experiment Laboratory and Bad Argument Dustbin Essay

Thought Experiment Laboratory and Bad Argument Dustbin - Essay Example The straw man fallacy is a fallacy that is common in the political parlance. It is used to attack political opponents without having a physical contact but leaving the opponents in a disjointed state. The straw man fallacy enables an individual to set an imaginary target, assault it and have a self-adjudged victory. This argument could be linked to the American attack on Iraq under the Bush administration. The President Bush led administration invaded Iraq on the basis of the possession of nuclear weapons by the then dictator, Saddam Hussein and his connection with Osama Bin Laden and the September 11 attack on the world trade centre. The public was made to believe that Saddam was in possession of a nuclear weapon and have a connection with the Al Qaeda leader. The argument seems illogical to believe, since there was no evidence that could link the two personalities together. American President was losing his influence in the global world. This notion among the public was influenced by the quiet nature of the Clinton administration. The American public in this argument represents the straw man. The imaginary picture created is the Iraqi President that was used as a means to gain public acceptance. The second argument is to falsify the initial claim that the public was the centre of attention, while carrying out attacks in Iraq. This is a target that, the Bush dynasty had been after over the years. The Senior Bush in the early twentieth century had a row with Saddam and he could not get hold of him. This is one of the reasons that, President Bush had put up an illogical argument to invade Iraq and satisfy his thirst for war. An argument that could also be used in explaining that type of fallacy is that of a psychological illustration in treating a patient. Psychologist believes in the recreation of an atmosphere that makes a patient recall event that had

Planning, Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Essay

Planning, Assessment and Evaluation of Learning - Essay Example The curriculum is based on P3 to P6 levels for assessing the progress made. The paper will discuss the effectiveness of the planning, teaching and evaluation as well as the need for assessment of the learning in the context of a learning plan for special children. The choices for different learning approaches are justified by drawing from various learning theories. The Ideals of Special Education Every child has his or her own potential. High standard education for special children is one where the individual potential of the child is recognized and promoted. The philosophy of teaching should focus on a learner centric approach, with the child taught through different ways to encourage learning. Ideal learning and teaching requires that the child is the centre of the learning experience and all learning activities are planned and organized taking into consideration the specific learning needs of the child. The child has a range of activities to choose from, carried out under the supe rvision of the teacher to facilitate and enhance learning. According to Vygotsky, learning is arbitrated or facilitated by teachers in the environment that pupils find themselves in and that a major proportion of the facilitation is brought about by communication via language (Woolfolk 2006). Education should focus on the integration of the experiences of the child with their mental maturation. This is exemplified by the constructivism approach presented by Piaget. Piaget contended that the â€Å"interaction between biological maturation and experience† is the underlying mechanism for the progression of the child along the different stages of cognitive development (Sigelman & Rider 2008). The current learning theories, no matter what they emphasize on, have a central element common to them all- all theories encompass â€Å"participation in relationship and community transformation both of the person and of the social world† (Office of Learning and Teaching 2005). These activities are instrumental in encouraging learning through different learning styles; thus, children can maximize their learning by following the learning style that suits them the most. Encouraging pupils to discover and use their learning styles is a successful approach to learning. Kolb’s learning cycle also highlights the same phenomenon. He suggested four levels of learning which constitute the learning cycle: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation (Smale & Fowlie 2009). Kolb asserted that learning can occur at any one of these levels. Honey and Mumford furthered upon this learning model and suggested learning styles that corresponded to each level. They suggested that activists are those who learn from concrete experience, reflectors from reflective observation, theorists from abstract conceptualization and pragmatists from active experimentation (Smale & Fowlie 2009). This follows that people have their own unique styles of learning and learning can be acquired through the effective use of any of these styles. According to Every Child Matters, a prime priority in learning these days is personalized learning and evaluates the value being given to education in schools and provision of more specialist services for children with special needs (Teacher Training Resource Bank 2011). Key Stage 3 and P levels Typically, Key Stage is a legal terminology used to describe the pupils in Year 7, 8 and 9,

Philosophy of business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philosophy of business law - Essay Example On the other hand, in contra of those arguments are that privacy isn't an issue where legal status is concerned. Searches are not unreasonable to the police if they turn up something illegal. Unwarranted searches can be legal with reasonable suspicion that something illegal is taking place. Profiling is just a way for the police to keep abreast of developing situations. Rights can be violated, however, to stop the law from being broken, which is what the argument might be. The Constitutional basis for objections filed by the state AG's would be that not everyone wants or needs health care. This violates a person's right to freedom as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Their liberty is in jeopardy as well. If the U.S. were to be represented, their best defense would be that every American needs health care because it is a Constitutionally guaranteed right. The Supreme Court should rule that health care is mandatory, and that without it, people would be in dire straights. The client in the case where he is selling wood does not have a sound basis for overturning the DNR regulation.

What Is Mento Essay Example for Free

What Is Mento Essay Mento is a distinct style of Jamaican music that emerged in the early 1900s and is not to be confused with Jamaican calypso. Mento, much like other Caribbean folk music, is a blending of African rhythms, Latin rhythms, and Anglo folksongs. Mento draws its traditions from African slaves brought to Jamaica and some European folk culture. Slaves were sometimes made to play music, singing European folk songs which largely influenced the development of Mento. Inevitably, the slaves would infuse their own traditions with the music and it became common practice to sing Mento songs about social lives of the people. In Jamaica, Mento is sometimes referred to as country music, because of it light hearted and simplistic lyrics as well as the omitting of electric instruments. A Mento band typically consists of a banjo, an acoustic guitar, hand drums and rumba box and is characterized by a 3:3:2 rhythms with an emphasis on the fourth beat in each bar. Mento came to real prominence in the 1940s and 1950s before being displaced by ska, rock steady and reggae. It wasnt until the early 1950s that true Mento recordings first began to appear on 78 RPM discs. This decade was mento’s golden age, as a variety of artists recorded Mento songs in an assortment of rhythms and styles. It was the peak of mentos creativity and popularity in Jamaica and the birth of Jamaicas recording industry. These recordings reveal Mento to be a diverse musical genre, sometimes played with reckless abandon and other times with orderly precision. In addition to mentos African and European roots, by this time, it had also encompassed pan-Caribbean influences, as well as from American jazz. Although it was informed by a world of music, mento is clearly, uniquely Jamaican. And as Jamaicas original music, all other Jamaican music can trace its roots to mento . Mento is still listened to in Jamaica today, but mostly be heard in tourist destinations. Early recordings of traditional mento are difficult to find. Some early mento practioners were Slim and Slam, Count Lasher and Everard Williams.

Mesothelial-Mesenchymal Transition (MMT) Mechanism

Mesothelial-Mesenchymal Transition (MMT) Mechanism Mesothelial cells play a vital role in maintaining the structure of peritoneal membrane and peritoneal homeostasis. During long term peritoneal dialysis, prolonged exposure of peritoneum membrane to peritoneal dialysis solution causes peritoneal fibrosis. Bioincompatible dialysis fluid causes mesothelial cells to undergo uncontrolled mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition triggered by Transforming growth factor-ÃŽÂ ²1, which leads morphological and functional disruption of membrane. This literature review is about mechanism of mesothelial -mesenchymal transition (MMT), myofibroblasts and its origin hypothesis, clock genes and their cross relation with organ fibrosis. 1.1 Peritoneum anatomy Peritoneum is defined as gliding membrane, composed of mesothelial cells maintained by basement membrane and thin layer of connective tissue. It consists of two distinct layers of mesothelium, known as parietal peritoneum and visceral peritoneum. Parietal peritoneum lines the peritoneal cavity and comes from somatic mesoderm of the embryo. Visceral covers the external surface of most abdominal organs and derived from splanchnic mesoderm of the embryo. Peritoneal cavity is potential space between both layers and is comprised of small amount of lubricating fluid, also known as serosal fluid which prevents friction between closely packed organs and allows free movement of them. [1,2] The primary function of peritoneal membrane is to provide support to abdominal organs. It also acts as passage to their blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves. Peritoneal cavity is rich in number of cells like mesothelial cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, adipocytes and immune cells like macrophages, T cells, B cells, mast cells. Along with cells, they contain cytokines and growth factors, like interleukin-1 (IL-1), Transforming growth factor-ÃŽÂ ²1 (TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1), Fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). All through the development process of peritoneal fibrosis, peritoneal cells will experience changes and some of the pro inflammatory factors which act as inducers to induce fibrosis and inflammatory processes. In this designed project, we are going to focus on mesothelial cells along with Transforming growth factor-ÃŽÂ ² (TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1), which is considered as main mediator of organ fibrosis development. 1.2 Peritoneal Fibrosis caused by peritoneal dialysis Peritoneal Dialysis, an alternative to haemodialysis is being used about more than three decades ago to treat end stage renal disease. During this treatment, PD solution is introduced into the abdomen with the help of tube also known as catheter. This dialysis therapy uses peritoneum membrane as semi-permeable membrane and principle of diffusion, to diffuse waste from underlying blood vessel into the solution. PD solution is major drawback of this treatment which contributes to development of peritoneal fibrosis in patients due to its bioincompatible nature. Long-time exposure to hypertonic environment of PD solution with high glucose concentration, acidic pH, presence of Glucose Degradation Products (GDPs) and Advanced Glycation end-products(AGEs) causing functional and structural alterations in peritoneum membrane. [43] Other factor which triggers fibrosis process in peritoneum membrane during dialysis is peritonitis. Peritonitis is inflammation of peritoneum which is caused by infection that can occur either by using unsterile catheter tube, handling which lead to introduction of micro-organism into abdominal cavity. Interesting research was done by Troidle and team, where they reported that inflammation caused by Gram-positive bacteria in patient peritoneum are better managed than the one caused by gram-negative. [81] Numerous clinical studies carried out to study changes that occur in peritoneum of patients undergoes peritoneal dialysis. Till date, largest peritoneal biopsies study was carried out by William and colleague on total of 212 subjects, out of which 9 were normal individuals, 48 undergoing hemodialysis, 25 uremic and 130 subject undergoing PD. [44] There submesothelial thickness was measured, also were checked for vasculopathy and general morphological features. For normal individuals, submesothelial thickness was 50 à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ­m, patients undergoing hemodialysis and uremic patients was 140 à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ­m and 150 à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ­m respectively and for PD patients, thickness was 270à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ­m. Similar thickness of uremic and haemodialysis patients indicates that uremia can cause change in the peritoneal membrane. Value of submesothelial thickness increased to 700 à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ­m in long term PD patients, which directs towards fibrotic response of peritoneal to PD. They were also able to id entify vascular changes including increasing hyalinization leading to vasculopathy. These findings were confirmed by Plum et al and were able to identify link between increasing thickness of submesothelial layer and increasing transport rate of solutes. [45] 1.3 Mesothelial Cells Structural and Functional Properties Even though being mesoderm origin, mesothelial cells possess various characteristics of epithelial cells. Normally, mesothelial cells are squamous, and flattened in morphology. They are rich in cell organelles, microvilli and cilia are present on the surface. While cilia aim to regulate surfactant secretion, microvilli functions to entrap water and serous exudates in order to guard cell surface from frictional injuries. [5] Glycocalyx created by glycosaminoglycan, proteoglycans, and phospholipids surround mesothelial cells and have dual function. They form non-sticky slippery surface which supports intracoelomic movement and also provide protection against scratch. Mesothelial cells are specialized cells which plays key role in peritoneal homeostasis and maintains the integrity of the peritoneal membrane. The critical roles of mesothelial cells in peritoneum are to secrete and synthesize growth factors, cytokines and chemokines in peritoneal cavity by transport of fluid and solute across the membrane. [6] Mesothelial cells are considered as cells that are first in line in bodys defense system and they are able to sense and responds to signals within their microenvironment. They actively participate in deposition and clearance of local fibrin in the serosa membrane cavities. After mechanical injuries and infections, their fibrinolytic activity is important to prevent and remove any fibrin deposits that may forms. [7] Peritoneal membrane does act as selective permeability barrier to the channel of plasma proteins due to existence of anionic sites on mesothelial cells which in result provide net negative charge to the peritoneum membrane. In normal conditions, mesothelial cells are identified on its ability to express cell markers like occludin, claudin-1, ZO-1, Wilms Tumor-1, and E-cadherin. When mesothelial cells undergo Mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition which we will be explained in detail later; they either unable to express them or their level expression decreases. Therefore, its important to know about all mesothelial cell markers for easy identification within pool of cells. 1.3.1 Cell markers Cell markers are defined as molecules with distinctive genetic and biochemical characteristic. These cell markers are present in cells and can be either proteins, peptides or carbohydrates and mainly present in the cells. They are used to distinguish between different cell types. Some of cell markers are specific to cell types and some are disease specific. For instance, Cancer antigen 125, calretinin and vimentin are tumor markers that are expressed by tumor cells. Some of mesothelial cells markers are positive while some are negative. Markers like hyalurnon, phospholipids, protein phosphate inhibitors-1 are formed by mesothelial cells itself. Table below shows previously studied markers for mesothelial cells and their function. TABLE:- Cell Markers for mesothelial cells MARKER FUNCTION SOURCE REFERENCE AUA1 Immunocytochemical marker of epithelial cells Human [22] Calretinin Diagnostic tool for Hirschsprung Positive marker of mesothelioma Human [23][72] Cancer Antigen(CA) 125 Tumor marker Specific marker for mesothelial cell mass Human [24][73] CD44 Cancer stem cell marker Human [25] CD44H Receptor for hyaluronic acid Positive mesothelial marker Human [26][74] Cytokeratins Epithelial specific marker Expressed by mesothelial cells Human Rat [27][75] Cytokeratin 5/6 Mesothelioma marker Human [28] D2-40 Potential diagnostic marker of mesothelioma Human [29] Desmin Promising differentiating marker of reactive mesothelium from malignant epithelial Human [30] E-Cadherin Cell- cell adhesion marker Used for differentiating benign reactive mesothelial cells Human [31] HBME-1 Negative mesothelial marker in pleura Sensitive mesothelial marker in pleura Human Human [32][33] Hyalurnon Formed by Mesothelial cells Positive mesothelial peritoneal marker Human [34] Keratin Present in extreme amount in mesothelial cells Low amount or negative in mesothelioma Human Human [35] [36] Keratin 7 (K7) Highly expressed by mesothelial cells Human [37] Mcp130 Diagnostic tool for mesothelioma Also used for ovarian carcinomas Human Rat [38] ME1/ME2 Used for identifying both mesothelioma and normal mesothelial cells Human [22] Mesothelin Expressed by both reactive mesothelial cells and epithelioid mesothelioma Human [39] N-Cadherin Human mesenchymal stem cell marker Able to differentiate cardiomyocyte Human Human [30] [76] Phospholipids Formed by mesothelial cells Also known as positive marker for mesothelial cells in peritoneal fluid Human Human [34] [24] ProteinPhosphate Inhibitor-1 Consider as novel positive marker of mesothelium Mouse [40] Thrombomodulin Positive, specific and sensitive marker for mesothelial cells. Human [28] Vimentin Help in identifying mesothelial origin cells Human [41] Wilms Tumour 1 (Wt1) Marker used for differentiate between benign and epithelioid mesothelium Regulates transition of mesothelial into myofibroblasts Human Human [42] [77] 2.0 Fibroblasts in peritoneum To amend injuries in organ and tissues, cell response it in form of fibrosis. Resident fibroblast produces extracellular matrix and collagen. Myofibroblasts are the cells that are produced for carrying out the process of wound healing. In general, myofibroblast are gone through the process of apoptosis after completing healing process. It has been suggested that they become persistence after its mechanism fails and leading to more production and contraction of Extracellular matrix (ECM) and collagen causing fibrotic diseases. 2.1  Myofibroblasts in fibrosis Myofibroblasts are defined as specialized subset of cells, which are considered as the key cells in tissue fibrosis. [9] Electron microscopy showed that myofibroblast have disorganized membrane (changes that occur in actin cytoskeleton), showed presence of stress fibers, microfilament bundles and also showed adhesions in the fibroblastic cells of granulation tissue. [10] Further electron microscopy showed the presence of gap junctions which connects myofibroblasts, thus strengthening the idea of resemblance between myofibroblasts and smooth muscle cell. Myofibroblast main functions are wound healing and connective tissue remodeling. 2.2 Fibroblast differentiation into Myofibroblast To study and analyze functions of myofibroblast, a series of both in-vivo and in-vitro experiments were carried out by Hinz and Gabbiani. [15] They defined the origin of myofibroblasts as a result of 2 step differentiation of fibroblast process. [78] In initial step, fibroblasts differentiate into proto-myofibroblasts during mechanical stress and results in production of stress fibers which contains cytoplasmic actin. They also function to express and establish cellular fibronectin and are also enable to produce contractile force. Term proto-myofibroblast was given to these activated fibroblasts to differentiate them from inactive fibroblasts which are unable to produce contractile force. TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1 along with ED-A fibronectin, under mechanical stress boosts further differentiation of proto-myofibroblast into myofibroblast. They are categorized by extensive ÃŽÂ ±-smooth muscle actin level of expression and produces stronger contractile force than proto-myofibroblasts. This is a lso contributing into connective tissue remodeling. Gabbiani and Hinz also stated that unlike dermal wound healing, in pathological wound healing myofibroblasts do not vanish through apoptosis instead they lead to tissue deformation. In fact, contractures triggered by them are recognized characteristic of organ fibrosis. [79] 2.3 Hypothesis surrounding Myofibroblasts origin The origin of Myofibroblasts in fibrotic tissue has been much debated, with disparate findings likely to stem from the range of different fibrotic diseases investigated and the array of technical approaches taken. [11] Most of the proposed theories have different cellular sources and mechanisms which lead to their origin (Figure 3). Previous studies on dermal fibrosis proposed that mesenchymal-like cells known as pericytes are resident source of myofibroblasts. Immunohistochemistry and double immunofluorescence of patients biopsies showed phenotype link between pericytes and myofibroblasts. [80] It has been described that pericytes can differentiate into osteoblast, adipocytes, and smooth muscle cells. Research carried out by Lin et al., on Col1a1-GFP mice and Humphreys et al., using FoxD1-Cre knock-in mice, both transgenic mice with aim to identify pericytes in genetically labelled renal stroma to suggest that major source of myofibroblasts is pericytes, a contractile cell. [12, 13] A limitation of the aforementioned studies is the lack of lineage tracing strategies and the use of non-specific markers to identify pericytes. Markers such as CD73, PDGFR- ÃŽÂ ² (Platelet-derived growth factor receptor- ÃŽÂ ²) and neural/glial antigen 2 (NG2) used in these studies are also expressed by resident fibroblasts. Endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), similar process to EMT can be another potential source myofibroblasts. Study done by Zeisberg on three independent mouse models with chronic kidney diseases to study renal fibrosis found that EndoMT may contribute in fibrosis as about 30-50% myofibroblasts were able to express ÃŽÂ ±-SMA and fibroblast-specific protein-1(FSP-1) and also endothelial cell markers CD31. [16] This indicates myofibroblasts may originate from endothelial cells. Myofibroblasts may also be derived from bone marrow. An elaborate series of studies carried out by Direkze et al., used molecular staining techniques for the detection of Y chromosome markers in irradiated female mice which were transplanted with male bone marrow. [18] They used skin wounding and paracetamol administration to create selection pressure to encourage engraftment of bone marrow derived myofibroblasts. They were able to identify myofibroblasts in the gut through their ability to express o f alpha- smooth muscle actin and their morphologies. These findings are controversial however, as other groups have failed to identify BM derived myofibroblasts. A recent study carried out by Yi Ting Chen et al., did genetic fate mapping of Wilms Tumor-1 positive cells on peritoneal fibrosis models. Fibrosis was induced either by dialysis solution, overexpression of TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1, or sodium hypochlorite. [19] Results of this study postures as a challenge to the significance of mesothelial cells as probable source of myofibroblasts. It showed rather than mesothelial cells, underlying submesothelial resident fibroblast give rise to collagen producing myofibroblast. Results of genetic fate mapping of WT1+ mesothelial cells showed that after peritoneal injury, remaining mesothelial cells repair the disrupted peritoneal membrane by contributing to remesothelialization, but do not undergo MMT. While previous studies used Wt-1 as a biomarker and Cre recombinase to trace the fate of mesothelial cells. This makes it obvious that Chen finding still needs to be confirmed. This study also The last proposed theory for origin of myofibroblast is epithelial -mesenchymal transition. Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) is commonly defined as process during which transition to mesenchymal cells, epithelial cells lose their cell-cell adhesion and their polarity. Followed by obtaining mesenchymal markers like FSP 1, HSP47, ÃŽÂ ±-SMA and vimentin but loses epithelial markers. [20] Myofibroblasts derived from epithelial cells through EMT proposed theory got strong piece of evidence from immunohistochemical study of peritoneal fibroblasts of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients carried out by J-Heffernan et al. [14] Biopsies samples were taken from CAPD patients and divided into four groups: normal (I), non CAPD uremic (II), CAPD uremic (III) and non- renal patients with inguinal hernia (IV). Markers like desmin, E-cadherin, cytokeratins, ÃŽÂ ±-SMA and also CD34 were analysed for expression by mesothelial cells and resident fibroblasts. Group I and II did expressed CD34 but no other markers. The reverse pattern was observed in other two g roups. Degree of peritoneal fibrosis is connected with loss of CD34 expression. Myofibroblasts appear to originate from both by activations of resident fibroblasts and by mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition of mesothelial cells. 3.0 Mesothelial-Mesenchymal Transition (MMT) Under regular conditions, Mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition of mesothelial cells is an autoregulated biological process which functions to repair tissues but under uncontrolled situations (Long term Peritoneal dialysis) they can cause Peritoneal fibrosis. 3.1 Stages of MMT Mesothelial -Mesenchymal Transition (MMT) is similar process to Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). Defined as a step-wise and complex process where mesothelial cells undergo modifications in their architecture and molecular functions. [21] [48] Simple steps in which process of MMT occurs starts with the downregulation of intracellular adhesion molecules causing loss of microvilli, apical-basal polarity and disrupting intracellular tight junction. These transition undergoing cells adopt front to back polarity, have increased in their migration capacity, morphological changes and are able to express ÃŽÂ ±-SMA. The main objective of this process is to repair wounded tissues and also play role in process like migration of cells, inducing neoangiogenesis and production of extracellular matrix. Molecules and signaling pathways that play role of either inducers or blocker during the process of MMT are TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1 induced signaling pathways and BMP-7 signaling pathway. They are member of superfamily of growth factors, along with activins/inhibin and growth and differentiation factors (GDFs). Main attention is on growth factors because equilibrium between these factors maintains the epithelial like-phenotypic characteristics of Mesothelial cells and also in acquiring mesenchymal cells characteristics. Studies not only showed that high levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, CTGF and VEGF are expressed by mesothelial cells that undergo MMT. But also that there is connection between expression of these molecules and rate of transport of solute across peritoneal membrane. These molecules are also caught up into fibrotic, angiogenic and also in inflammatory responses. [49][50][51] 3.2 Cell Signaling Pathways Activation of TGF- ÃŽÂ ², master molecule in peritoneal fibrosis during Peritoneal Dialysis, starts MMT signalling cascade with activating receptors that triggers smads- dependent (GSK-3, ÃŽÂ ²-catenin, Lef-1/Tcf, integrin-linked kinase) and smads-independent signalling (H-Ras/Raf/ERK) pathway. [48][52][53][54] Smad are intracellular proteins that functions to transfer signals from TGF-ÃŽÂ ² to nucleus for gene transcription. Smad dependent signalling pathways activates when TGF-ÃŽÂ ² and BMP-7 binds with their respective receptor type II (TGF R-II and BMP R-II respectively). The binding leads to activation of receptors type I of TGF and BMP-7. These receptors type I functions to carry out phosphorylation process. TGF R-I phosphorylates Smad2 and Smad3 in TGF-ÃŽÂ ² pathway and Smad1, Smad5 and Smad8 by BMP R-I. These activated Smads forms heterodimers with Smad4. Followed by translocation of these complexes into the nucleus where they function to activate genes involved in either process of MMT and rMMT (Fig. 5) Presence of few other BMP-7 modulators may affect the signalling of BMP-7. Smad dependent signalling pathway of TGF-ÃŽÂ ² and BMP-7 are controlled by Smad7 and Smad6 respectively. In case of Smad independent pathway of TGF-ÃŽÂ ² and BMP-7 involves a protein kinase TAK1, which functions to regulate processes like transcription and apoptosis. In TGF-ÃŽÂ ² signalling pathway, TRAF6 initiates activation of TAK1 which further leads to activation of p38 and MAPK-JNK signalling pathway. Receptor type I of TGF-ÃŽÂ ² phosphorylates Shc, which helps in activating MAP kinase ERK1/2 signalling pathway. p38 pathway act as blocker of mesothelial cells conversion to mesenchymal. Maybe its due to the fact that XIAB, a protein belonging to the family of inhibitor of apoptosis protein helps BMP-7 to activate p38 signalling pathway. TGF-ÃŽÂ ² also encourages PI3-K/Akt pathway by inactivating GSK-3ÃŽÂ ², to stabilize ÃŽÂ ²-catenin and snail and to activate mTOR. This results in localisation of ÃŽÂ ²-catenin into the nucleus, where they interact with LEF1/TCF, in order to feed into Wnt signalling pathway. They also contribute in the transcription of mesenchyma l-related genes. Furthermore, localisation of snail into the nuclear encourages transcriptional repression of E-cadherin and several other adhesion molecules. Smad dependent or independent pathway, both depicts the fact that TGF-ÃŽÂ ² plays a key role in developing fibrosis by promoting mesothelial to mesenchymal transition. Another fact is BMP-7 plays role of antagonist to TGF-ÃŽÂ ². Utmost studies has used TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1 as their target goal to design therapeutic treatment for peritoneal fibrosis. Most of them intend to control TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1 activity either via drug or synthetic proteins design specifically for this purpose. 3.3 Evidences of Mesothelial-mesenchymal transition (MMT) There are more than enough studies results which clearly supports the process of MMT occurring fibrosis but in 2003, Yanez-Mo et al., published breakthrough in-vitro and in-vivo study where they were able to demonstrated MCs undergoes mesenchymal conversion. [46]. Primarily in vitro studies were carried on by isolating mesothelial cells from patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. These isolated cells were characterized using immunostaining, western blotting, flow cytometry and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Mesothelial cells from omentum from healthy persons were used as control and all results were compared. Morphological analysis sample showed varies morphologies ranging from cobblestone like appearing cells to fibroblast like cells. Mixed morphology and non-epithelioid were also observed in few samples. Level of E-cadherin, cytokeratin and vimentin were analyzed for the mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in mesothelial cell cultures. Results demonstrated not iceably low level of E-cadherin and cytokeratin expression in both cobblestones like cells and non-epithelioid cell as compared to omentum cell cultures. In non-epithelioid cells, vimentin has high expression level. Expression of snail and E-cadherin in mesothelial cells isolated from effluent and omentum were analyzed by the process of RT-PCR. While in omentum mesothelial cells, showed no presence of snail mRNA but increase in expression of these messenger RNA in effluent derived mesothelial cells. These results were established after carrying out in vivo studies of peritoneal biopsy samples. With dual aim of studying anatomical changes in peritoneal membrane and correlating them with functional parameter, Del Peso and team carried out a clinical study. [47] They used peritoneum biopsies taken from thirty-five steady patients which were still taking peritoneum dialysis treatment form last 2 years. They observe loss of mesothelial layer in about 74% patients, fibrosis in 46%, 17% showed presence vasculopathy. With submesothelial cytokeratin staining, 17% showed evidence of EMT. Interestingly, they found that myofibroblasts were present in all patients with EMT but only in 36% without EMT. 3.4 Potential therapeutic approaches to reverse MMT (rMMT) Several studies describe therapeutic strategies which are targeting anti-EMT of Mesothelial cells are emerging as promising treatment against fibrosis development. Tamoxifen is a drug used for treating breast cancer. The tamoxifen is oestrogen receptor and their activity affects action of TGF- ÃŽÂ ²1 has been reported. In year 1991, Clark and team showed noticeable decrease in level of peritoneal fibrosis, when given orally to peritoneal fibrosis patients. Loureiro and team also used this drug to study its effect in early stage of PD induced peritoneal fibrosis. [61] Theyused PD model of mice for in-vivo study and along with that they also did in-vitro study. In vitro studies were carried out with mesothelial cells (MCs) derived from omentum and effluent. Mesothelial cell sample cultures were checked for any change in morphology and also level of E-cadherin expression after treating them with Tamoxifen. For effluent derived MCs, MMT was not reversed by Tamoxifen but some mesenchymal molecules expression was reduced. In mice PD model, they confirmed that MMT and thickness of peritoneal membrane increases parallel. They also observed that Tamoxifen does reduce thickness of peritoneal membrane and improves its function. They also administrated P17 and P144, synthetic peptides that were designed to bind with TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1 directly. [62] It has been reported that in organs like liver, heart, skin these peptides have shown strong antifibrotic effect by blocking biological function of TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1. Bone morphogenic protein-7 (BMP-7) and Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), are two molecules that were successfully demonstrated their ability to inhibit and reverse process of Mesothelial to mesenchymal transition and renal fibrosis in animal models by X Y D et al., and Yang et al. [64] [65] In vitro study carried by Yang and team, where they used histone acetyltransferase inhibitor (HAT) C646 in EMT model of HPMCs. [66] EMT was induced by treating with high glucose. C646 treatment of EMT model, found TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1/Smad3 signalling was blocked. This might provide with a novel therapeutic treatment for peritoneal fibrosis. Even though most of the therapeutic studies focused on mesothelial mesenchymal transition process and TGF-ÃŽÂ ²1, there are other factors that contributes to loss of functional properties of peritoneum. Thus promotin

Learning Perspectives in Education

Learning Perspectives in Education Learning: Perspectives, Perceptions and Performance â€Å"Learning† is a vague, important term. When mentioned, common associations are often relegated to the association with young schoolchildren and not so often as one of the most intriguing and inquired upon aspects of psychology. Prior to further elucidation, as if oft the case, the examination of â€Å"learning† merits a definition. Though it seems to be a word of self-evident meaning, because it is hard to study directly, some further refining must be utilized. This self-evident ‘acquisition of knowledge’ can only be measured with behavioral outcomes and should be observationally able to be distinguished from reflexive or instinctive responses. A behavioral outcome might consist of a high test score, a rat that quickly presses a lever, an employee that receives bonus compensation or any other number of commonly conceived examples. In discussing the nature of learning, there are perhaps two or three popularly dominant perspectives which are essential to understand in the formation of any reasonably comprehensive review. These perspectives include the behaviorist, the social learning, and the cognitive schools. Though it becomes apparent that these three influences are not without critique and that, even within each, there exists what might be labeled ‘factions’, their fundamental contributions cannot be ignored. Behaviorism The first of these perspectives is the behaviorist. In this scheme, there are two broad branches: classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning. In classical conditioning, learning occurs by the pairing of the stimulus with a desired response of the subject. Experimentally, this is an example of Pavlov’s famous dogs and the learning that results is a consequence of the learned associative relationship and is not contingent upon any action by the subject. The alternative to this method is instrumental conditioning in which the subject gets to â€Å"choose†. By this, it is meant that the reinforcement is contingent upon what the subject â€Å"chooses† as evidenced by the behaviorally discernibly different response. Within the realm of behaviorism, one key contributor and voluminous icon of psychology in general is Thorndike. As a function of his experiments with cats in boxes for which they had to perform some specific behavior to escape, he concluded that learning was a process of an incremental nature and that their was became a neural link between the stimulus and response. This was evidenced by his successive experiments in which the cats became ‘smarter’, that is, they learned what specific behavior was required in order to be released. As the number of trials progressed, there was an inverse relationship with the time needed to escape. The work of Skinner furthered the science of behaviorism by his greater elucidation of the four broad categories of reinforcement: Application of a positive stimulus – Commonly referred to as a reward, this involves the presentation of something the subject desires. Removal of a positive stimulus – An example of this for children would be â€Å"time-out†. Theoretically and often in reality, this method is useful to extinguish unwanted behaviors. In fact, according to Skinner, the most effective way to eliminate a behavior is to ignore it, thus removing any external reinforcement. Application of a negative stimulus – Typically referred to as â€Å"punishment†, this involves the application of an unwanted or noxious stimulus to shape behavior. Removal of a negative stimulus – This is the be the restoration of â€Å"normal† conditions upon cessation of an undesirable action or commission of some desired behavior. A parenting example would be the removal of a ‘grounded’ condition upon acceptable repentance of some past action. In addition Skinner identified another type of reinforcer that he labeled a â€Å"general reinforcer† due to its wide applicability. Money is one such item and is so labeled because subjects desire it regardless of their state of depravity. This is in contrast to food which is not an adequate stimulus unless one is hungry, that is deprived of food. Another theorist, Guthrie provides yet additional insight into the theories and methods of learning. One of his key contributions to the field is with his â€Å"Law of Continuity†. In this, Guthrie proposes eloquently that, â€Å"a combination of stimuli which has been accompanied by movement will on its recurrence tend to be followed by that movement†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ in other words, an action in a given situation will likely be repeated when the subject finds themselves in a similar situation. The Cognitive Approach While there is the well-known debate of nature versus nuture that runs throughout science, such polarity also exists within the field of psychology and learning. A pure behaviorist would insist that so-called ‘choices’ are really nothing more than an animal-like actions in all behavior is reducible to stimulus and response type mechanisms. As behaviorism has significantly added to our understanding of the human condition, there exist alternative perspectives that are also quite useful. One such branch of the more cognitive division of psychology is referred to a Gestalt psychology. From this perspective, the insight that the brain is not the passive recipient of stimulus but actively involved in the perception and construction of reality is posited. Further, Gestalt psychologists attest that a given stimulus exists not in isolation but in the total context of the perception of the subject. For example, Wertheimer, the father of Gestalt psychology, cited the example of two blinking lights being able to present the perception of apparent motion. This as well as the popular psychology examples in which a certain line has the appearance of being longer than another depending on the lines and figures around it speaks to the tenet of Gestalt psychology that an experience as a whole, is greater than the sum of the individual parts that make it up. From these and other example, the idea that the mind is able to shape its own perspective of reality by virtue of its own beliefs about how things should be or how they are desired to be is a major enduring contribution of t he Gestalt movement. Though not a cognitivist, Piaget’s contribution to learning could arguably be filed in this area. Particularly noted for his contributions to developmental psychology and thus much appropriate for child rather than adult learning, Piaget declared the existence of fairly defined period of development. During these periods, a child was able to learn specific skills and acquire certain abilities with not being able to achieve certain others due to the maturation and innate abilities that of a developing brain. For example, the period of approximately seven to twelve years old is referred to as the concrete operations period. During this range, reasoning and problem solving abilities are generally limited to â€Å"concrete† phenomena that can be seen and observed rather than abstract in nature. Observational or Social Learning Though cognitive in nature, these theories have been treated separately due to both their easy discernment by more ‘pure’ cognitive perspectives and by the distinctness of the contributions of the key theorists. Up to this point, the models of learning that have been postulated, whether behaviorist or cognitive, have been focused on the subject only. Moving somewhat further away from the ‘clean’ and ‘pure’ perspective of behaviorism, social learning theory attests that the focus must extend beyond the subject to the contextual influence on others. In describing the views of social learning, some of the most controversial and informative experiments in modern psychology have be conducted. For example, Bandura’s famed ‘prison experiment’ in which subjects were put into a mock prison with some subjects assigned to be â€Å"guards† while others were simply â€Å"prisoners†. The experiment was terminated early due so me of the subjects ‘taking their roles a bit too seriously’. In another classic experiment, children were shown a film showing an adult acting aggressively by hitting a doll or shown an adult being kind to a doll. These same children later modeled the demonstrated behavior, whether aggressive or not. Such findings are reinforced by LeBon’s work on â€Å"crowd psychology† in which individuals and groups are influenced by others to model or imitate certain implicit behaviors. Implications on Health Well-Being Animals, depending on the species, have a number of unlearned, innate behavioral responses to certain stimuli. Examples such as sea turtles that ‘automatically’ head toward the sea upon birth on a sandy beach to dogs that seek the warmth and scent of their mothers while they cannot see after birth abound in literature. On the other hand, humans seem to come into the world as a blank slate to be written upon by life’s experiences. It is this aspect of humanity that makes learning play such a pivotal role in our development and beyond. Further, after even a short perusal of the various schools of thought, it becomes apparent that the human animal is complex enough to warrant the consideration and application of all perspectives. By doing so, it is possible not only achieve specific learning goals but also to achieve the avoidance of certain other issues that may occur from situations in which learning does not occur. One such example of this is the child who is raised with excessive punishments to shape behavior. According Skinner and other behaviorists, this can produce a ‘maladapted’ adult who has emotional issues. These emotional issues may manifest themselves in any manner of behaviors such as avoidance of others or difficulties in relationships to, at the extreme, sociopaths who ‘act out’ their frustrations upon others. From a cognitive perspective, much of the therapeutic approach of this school is in bringing the â€Å"cognitive errors† that a person commits to their conscious awareness. These â€Å"errors in thinking† occur when a person creates false assumptions or acts utilizing illogical conclusions in choosing their responses to stimuli. Extreme but common examples are those who express feelings of being a â€Å"total failure† and consider suicide. In most cases, such errors are much more subtle but just as insidious with regards to their ability to alter behavior. Clearly, learning plays not just a role in the development of humans but is an ongoing factor in the ‘success’ of daily living. Psychologists, human resource specialists, trainers and managers and supervisors of any business are vitally concerned about learning in the workplace. As the business world grows more sophisticated, new skills are needed. These new skills must be taught, learned and successfully applied for the mutual success of the individual and the enterprise. As such, lessons from all three perspectives are quite relevant. By utilizing key components of each perspective and theorist, one can gain a flexible paradigm by which there is greater understanding and application to additional circumstances. It is with this goal of greater applicability that a number of specific contributions are outlined below: Thorndike on Education Thorndike had much to say in regards to educational process and the efficacy of teaching methods and styles. This insight is relevant regardless of the age of the learner. Consider the situation the student faces. Consider the response the wish to connect with this situation. Form the bond. All else equal, from no bond that will have to be broken. All else equal, from as few bonds as possible. All else equal, form bonds in the way they are required to act later. Favor the situations and responses that naturally occur in life (Hergenhahn and Olson 2005, p. 72). The bond that Thorndike refers to is the previously mentioned neural bond that exists between the stimulus and the response. Though these recommendations contain a number of Thorndike’s behavioral precepts, a key ‘learning’ for typical occupational settings is the last advisement. Reminiscent of the idea that if one is going to train for a five-kilometer road race, it is at some point necessary to train by running reinforces the point that training for a specific task should, as much as possible for effective learning, resemble the task itself. Skinner on punishment Just as Thorndike â€Å"lectured† on educational process, the iconic behaviorist Skinner advises in regards to punishment. This topic is perhaps most salient to child-rearing, an occupation in which there exists considerable frustration that might be at least slightly abated by the application of a learning theory. From a behaviorist standpoint, â€Å"punishment† is the application of a negative or undesired stimulus in order to shape behavior. While commonly utilized, Skinner cautions that punishment: Causes unfortunate emotional byproducts Indicates what an organism should not do rather than what it should do. Justifies inflicting pain on others. Being in a situation where previously punished behavior could be engaged in without being punished may excuse a child to do so. Punishment inflicts aggression toward the punishing agent and others. Punishment often replaces one undesirable response with another (Hergenhahn and Olson 2005, pp. 92-94). Guthrie on breaking habits Also a behaviorist, Guthrie addressed the issue of â€Å"habits†. From a behavioral perspective, habits are simply a specific response to a large number of stimuli in which the greater the number of the stimuli, the greater the strength of the habit. As habits can be a significant annoyance and possibly quite maladaptive, insight into their extinguishment is valuable. According to Guthrie, the following four methods are useful and valid: Threshold Method – In this method, the technique of ‘warming up’ to an idea is utilized rather than the sudden presentation of the stimulus in order to attenuate the response. Fatigue – This method demonstrates the futility of a response to gain the desired results but simply letting a subject ‘wear themselves out’ when a stimulus is presented. Incompatible Response Method – This method relies upon the pairing of a stimulus which generates an unacceptable response with a stimulus in which the response is not compatible with the unacceptable response. Such action has the effect of lessening the ability of the former stimulus to evoke and undesirable response. Though this is a behavioral percept, it has the net effect of forcing the subject to cognitively â€Å"rethink† the pairing and its meaning. Sidetracking – This method is one in which a habit in not so much eliminated as simply avoided. By removing the stimulation, one can effectively sidetrack the response (Hergenhahn and Olson 2005, pp. 220-224). Wertheimer’s Facts versus Principles According to Wertheimer, the father of Gestalt psychology, real â€Å"learning† occurs not by the simple recitation of facts but rather by the understanding of underlying principles. As apt illustration of this idea is the following example: A school inspector who was impressed by the children he had observed but wanted to ask one more question before departing. â€Å"How many hairs does a horse have?† he asked. Much to the amazement of both the inspector and the teacher, a nine-year old boy raised his hand and answered, â€Å"3,571,962.† â€Å"How do you know that your answer is correct?† asked the inspector. If you do not believe me,† answered the boy, â€Å"count them yourself.† The inspector broke into laughter and vowed to tell the story to his colleagues when eh returned to Vienna. When the inspector returned the following year for his annual visit, the teacher asked him how his colleagues responded to the story. Disappointedly, the inspector said, â€Å"I wanted very much to tell the story but I couldn’t. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember how many hairs the boy said the horse had.† (Hergenhahn and Olson 2005, p. 281). Enough said. Piaget’s â€Å"Learning depends on failure† Though we generally judge the success of learning by achievement, the noted developmental psychologist Piaget suggests that perhaps this should be reconsidered to some extent. Specifically, Piaget indicated that learning occurs only when the dilemma of ‘not learning’ or a failure to learn is present. To elaborate, the inability or failure of previous learning to account for a given set of circumstances makes it possible for new situations to be assimilated and accommodated, thus providing the raw material for learning to occur. Important to this assimilation and accommodation, or learning process is the ability of the teacher to gradually challenge rather than overwhelm the individual ((Hergenhahn and Olson 2005, pp. 302-303). Bandura: Human Monkeys are Different†¦ In early behaviorist experiments, animal subjects did not â€Å"look† at other animals to learn adaptive strategies. While more recent experiments have indeed demonstrated this phenomena, is was the failure of these early experiments that led Bandura to postulate model learning. In this system, Bandura explained and predicted human behavior by such as means that the stimulus was simultaneously internal and external to the subject. This is, to some extent, a cognitive behavioral approach and aptly illustrates the importance of positive role models and the influence that others can have upon learning and behavior. Conclusion Human learning simply cannot be fully understood by the use of a single perspective. It is not that any one paradigm is incorrect but rather each is only a partial representation of the range and diversity of the human condition. By availing oneself of multiple perspectives, one becomes the beneficiary of significantly more vast knowledge by which life, through work-, school- or home-life can be improved through the application of numerous principles and precepts designed to foster adaptive responses to the stimulation life brings. Works Consulted Hergenhahn, B. and M. Olson. (2005). An Introduction to the Theories of Learning, 7th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, US: Pearson Prentice-Hall. Le Bon, G. (1914). The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. London: T.F. Unwin.