The eNotes Blog These Are a Few of My FavoriteThings

These Are a Few of My FavoriteThings Its almost a new year, let the embarrassing work Christmas parties commence and the Auld Lang Synes ring! For my part, Id like to say farewell to 2012 and herald 2013 with a list of favorite things I discovered or enjoyed this past year, for the most part online. Hopefully youll agree that this collection has a little something for everyone: students, teachers, avid readers, art admirers, humorists, or simply the  perennially  curious. Working for I try my best to promote learning at every age. I strongly feel that if you cannot participate in a classroom, you should at least maintain an active level of curiosity and wonder about the world around you. With the many information-grabbing, curio-snapping sites below, youll never be at a loss for tools of learning and instruction 1. Brain Pickings Its not hard to imagine the Internet as a museum of wonders. Its much harder to imagine oneself as the curator of such an exhibit. Enter superwoman Maria Popova, interestingness hunter-gatherer and curious mind at large and creator of the wonderful blog Brain Pickings, the site that collects everything funny, captivating, and obscure from the far corners of the interweb for your consumption. Without Brain Pickings this year I would not have learnt of Salvador Dalis struggle between skepticism and faith, or of  how to talk about books I havent read, or book spine poetry  and how to dabble in it myself. Brain Pickings  is a human-powered discovery engine for interestingness, culling and curating cross-disciplinary curiosity-quenchers, and separating the signal from the noise to bring you things you didn’t know you were interested in until you are  Brain Pickings  is your LEGO treasure chest, full of pieces across art, design, science, technology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, you-name-itology. 2. Underground New York Public Library As the Sartorialist does for the fashion conscious, UNYPL documents in photographs the penchants of everyday people in a bustling metropolis, the difference being that creator Ourit Ben-Haim is more interested in what youre reading than who youre wearing. If youre looking for book recommendations hot off the pavement, this blog is the place to find them. And if youre looking for the picture of a kid grossed out by reading Fifty Shades, that can be arranged too. But the best part about UNYPL (besides the also stellar visuals themselves) is that beneath every caption telling you what the subject is reading, youll find links to either Read by purchasing the book online or Borrow the book from your local library (via the very handy WorldCat library network service). Youll find works you never knew existed, not only in a New York subway, but right outside your front door, too. The photos come together as a visual library. This library freely lends out a reminder that we’re capable of traveling to great depths within ourselves and as a whole. 3. What a year for literary adaptations! Yes, books are adapted for the silver screen all the time, but in 2012 the results really stuck out for me, either for their ambitious undertakings (naysayers said Cloud Atlas and Life of Pi could never be made into films) or for their daring takes on old classics (such as the stage play-esque adaptation of Anna Karenina and the forthcoming 3D red curtain spin on The Great Gatsby). Its also the year that most of the Internet fell in love with the British series Sherlock, a modern-day adaptation of the Holmes mystery series (and precursor to CBSs Elementary). There are so many more books worth a mention here Cosmopolis, The Hobbit, Great Expectations, On the Road,  The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Midnights Children come Oscar season, the awards will be dominated by films that were originally books. Watch out for a punch up over the Best Adapted Screenplay prize, not to mention the Best Visual Effects nod, as filmakers outdid themselves in 2012 to recreate the stunning landscapes of these  imaginative  novels. 4. S#@! My Students Write If you are or have ever been in charge of a classroom, youll likely have a few gems in your back pocket similar to the above. Now theres a tumblr account to collect other unintentionally hilarious snippets from teachers everywhere, and yes theyre all true. Even this one. And this one. You would not believe how much tumblr helped me waste time ahem, grow as a person this year. S#@! My Students Write:  Evidence of the true cost of educational funding cuts. 5. Quizzes Interestingly, a great way to counteract the above problem! This year we at released our very own collection of quizzes across hundreds of book titles. And because theyre all developed in-house, these quizzes contain thousands of unique questions geared towards helping students study for their literature tests. Theyre also a pretty fun way to kill a few minutes, or 30 Out of all of releases in 2012, Quizzes iss definitely my favorite, and its an area of the site we expect to grow and grow. If you havent checked it out yet, test your knowledge today to try and beat some of our top quiz takers. 6. TED Talks Okay, I admit, I must seem a little late to the game right now, but omg TED Talks!! I love you. Youre so great, you even made it into one of those futuristic teasers for the Prometheus movie. Where else could I learn about neo-evolution, how to 3D print a human kidney, or about  time-lapse nature photography  all in one place? I also believe that any site that allows you to sort through its video archives by Rated jaw-dropping must contain some very humbling stuff. If youve never visited TED before what are you doing with your life? Get on it now, or better, watch one of my favorite ever talks below: We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So were building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the worlds most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. Free knowledge for all! (If not a free pass to their annual TED Conferences, which will run you more than the cost of ten Coachella tickets. But hey, thats what the video archives are for.) If youre interested in keeping up to date with all the worlds brilliant ideas, this non-profit organization has a great blog to peruse, too. 7. Books on the Nightstand A podcast I discovered just this year, BOTNS is a great resource to turn to to stay ahead of the latest  book-selling  trends. Hosted by industry insiders Michael Kindness and Ann Kingman, the show offers lots of great conversation on new releases, mostly sorted into various categories (their holiday gift guide does a great job of this, collating best graphic novels, best non-fiction, best childrens lit, and so on into a neat gift-giving manual). Its because of this podcast that I picked up my current read, Age of Miracles, and have a lot more waiting on my Amazon wish list. Check out the show notes on their website  for lots of good end-of-year recommendations, plus info on their annual reading challenge and Booktopia Festival. 8. Twitterature Last but not least, if youve read any of my past posts you may have noticed my growing fascination this year with the idea of Twitterature. I was never a great supporter of Twitter until 2012I knew it was a good publicity tool, yes, but how could it actually work for me in my life? At best, I thought of tweets as glorified Facebook statuses, and the last thing I wanted to read on the Internet were the details of others lives eating chips and looking out windows. I do enough of that on my own, thank you very much. I also dont like this new word we have in our lexicon thanks to Twitter: hashtag. To me, its an ugly word that now, unfortunately, is somebodys ugly name. But I digress In May I encountered Jennifer Egans short story created purely for Twitter, Black Box. The installments, all published as tweets of 140 characters or less, read like a kind of poetry. It struck a chord with meif tweets reveal a persons thoughts, then perhaps narration is perfectly suited to Twitter? Luckily, authors across the world have taken this idea and run with it. At this years Twitter Fiction Festival, I encountered a variety of stories created purely for this new form, from the murder mystery narrated by three party guests Twitter accounts, to a retelling of Hardys  The Turn of the Screw, via the perspective of the nannys tweets. While I still may not hold a Twitter account personally, I am eager to see where this new avenue of literature leads to in 2013, especially in light of the latest Bridget Jones scoop.   Its always exciting to feel in the midst of a big change in the world of literature. Sure, tweeters may not make up the next Romantics, or Beats, or Angry Young Men, but they might, just might, be carving out a new form for a brave new literary world. Well, thats all from me until next year. Happy holidays, and a very happy 2013 to everyone! I hope this new year will be just as exciting as our last.

Marx and Habermas Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marx and Habermas - Research Paper Example A belief or theory may produce successful predictions, as in the case of Newtonian mechanics, and yet not be true; that is, rationally justifiable in the long run. Indeed, Thomas Kuhn's study of scientific revolutions, which Habermas cites, indicates that the most basic propositions of a scientific theory are worked out in advance of evidential confirmationThis happens in conversations between scientists about what counts as a pressing problem, how such a problem ought to be conceptualized, and so forth. Such propositions are irreducible to empirical predictions. For it is only when they are taken in combination with one another that they yield testable hypotheses. Consequently, their truth would have to be captured in terms of an ideal consensus. Thus, true propositions are those which anyone would agree to in the long run, given sufficient time for rational reflection. (Deborah 2004) The fact that scientific truth presupposes the existence of a communicative community leads Haberma s to consider the categorical framework in which intersubjective meaning, value and validity are constituted. It is obvious how predictive science is related to the context of instrumental action. (Allen, 2009) It is also obvious that the anthropological usefulness and transcendental validity of science resides in its successful satisfaction of a technical interest. However, it is unclear what, if any, interest is satisfied by communication. Equally unclear is the relationship between communication and those sciences of man associated with history, literature, cultural anthropology, etc. Nevertheless, Habermas will argue that the kind of textual interpretation preferred by these sciences is essentially related to communication. The latter, in turn, will be shown to satisfy a practical interest in procuring intersubjective agreement, regarding shared norms and values. This is a necessary condition, not only for the creation and maintenance of personal and social identity, but also fo r the achievement of individual freedom. Peirce provided the necessary link connecting the logic of causal explanation to Marx's notion of labor as an activity underlying self-realization and world constitution. (Moore and Robin, 1964) Dilthey provides a similar link connecting communication and symbolic understanding to Hegel's master-slave dialectic. This dialectic shows how one's identity is defined and confirmed through recognition by other. For Dilthey, this dialectic is as essential to the methodological grounding of history, philology, and literary criticism-sciences concerned with understanding the spiritual life of humankind—as causal explanation is to the methodological grounding of the natural sciences. The method of understanding grounding the human sciences is none other than the circular interpretation of textual wholes in terms of their parts, and the interpretation of these parts in terms of more inclusive wholes. This circular dialectic also encompasses the i nterpreter. The interpreter is responsible for much of the meaning contained in the text. At the same time, the text is responsible for opening up new meaning for the interpreter. Stated somewhat paradoxically, text and interpreter mutually constitute one another as meaningful identities. This activity of symbolic reproduction, Habermas will argue, is capable of advancing moral knowledge. Yet, it can do so only to the extent that the dialectic between text and interpreter assumes the form of a simulated dialogue. (Habermas, 1872) According to Dilthey, the understanding of the past, or the interpretation of an ancient text, is an elaboration of the sort of retrospective self interpretation that an individual continually engages in, while reconstituting the continuity of his or her life history--the very substance of one's unique identity. (Hodges. 1944) To begin with, the generation and maintenance of a stable, personal identity involves assigning one's

An Active and a Passive Student Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Active and a Passive Student - Essay Example The present research has identified that there are a lot of people who think that active students are better learners as compared to the passive students. Active students pay more attention in the class. They are not only physically present in the class but are also mentally present there. Active students take interest in the lecture and ask the teachers questions if they have any doubts. Active students tend to apply the concepts learned in the class on their personal experiences and share any useful insights with the rest of the class to promote the culture of learning and sharing. Active students tend to grab the concepts rather than cramming things up and are always up to date with the latest lecture because they have paid attention throughout the previous lectures. There are certain people who think that passive students learn no less than active students. Although they do not pay much attention in the class, yet they make sure that they do cover up the contents of the lecture w hen they get back home. Besides, in the present age, when the sources of learning are omnipresent, it is not a big deal for a passive student to acquire the knowledge if he/she did not listen to the teacher carefully in the class. Today, most students have full-time access to the Internet and can access any kind of knowledge they want to. If the passive students deliver their assignments on time, there may be no difference between the academic and professional achievement of an active and a passive student at all.The researcher states that active students are better learners as compared to the passive students. A student who does not pay attention in the class shows lack of interest in studies. Such passive students are unlikely to go that extra mile to cover up the contents of the lecture on their own when they get back home. In fact, most of the passive learners approach their friends when little time is left in the exams. Their friends cannot teach them as nicely and sincerely as their teachers can. Accordingly, the quality of learning declines. In addition to that, since passive students tend to learn things when just a little time is left in the exams, the knowledge stays with them for only a short while and they tend to forget everything in the long run.

Concepts And Definitions Of Disability Essay Example for Free

Concepts And Definitions Of Disability Essay The contemporary conception of disability proposed in the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) views disability as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. Disability is the interaction between individuals with a health condition (e.g. cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or depression) and personal and environmental factors (e.g. negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation, or limited social supports). Long ago there was great confusion over the meaning of terms such as impairment, handicap, or disability. Then, in 1980, the WHO provided great service by offering a clear way of thinking about it all in a little book called International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps. All these terms refer to the consequences of disease, but consider the consequences at different levels. The disease produces some form of pathology, and then the individual may become aware of this: they experience symptoms. Later, the performance or behaviour of the person may be affected, and because of this the person may suffer consequences such as being unable to work. In this general scenario, Impairment was defined as any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function. Impairment is a deviation from normal organ function; it may be visible or invisible (screening tests generally seek to identify impairments). Disability was defined as any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. Impairment does not necessarily lead to a disability, for the impairment may be corrected. I am, for example, wearing eye glasses, but do not perceive that any disability arises from my impaired vision. A disability refers to the function of the individual (rather than of an organ, as with impairment). In turn, Handicap was defined as a disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from impairment or a disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal (depending on age, sex, and social and cultural factors) for that individual. Handicap considers the persons participation in their social context. For example, if there is a wheel-chair access ramp at work, a disabled person may not be handicapped in coming to work there. Here are some examples: Impairment Speech production; Disability Speaking clearly enough to be understood; Handicap Communication I Hearing; D Understanding; H Communication I Vision; D Seeing; H Orientation I Motor control, balance, joint stiffness; D Dressing, feeding, walking; H Independence, mobility I Affective, cognitive limitations; D Behaving, interacting, supporting; H Social interaction, reasonableness Here is a diagram that suggests possible parallels between the impairment, disability handicap triad, and the disease, illness and sickness triad. (The squiggly arrows are intended to indicate a rough correspondence) Patients do not come to their physicians to find out what ICD code they have, they come to get help for what is bothering them. A Positive Perspective? Quality of Life and the International Classification of Function The focus on disability takes a somewhat negative approach to health, perhaps not unreasonable since doctors are supposed to cure diseases. But starting in the 1980s clinicians began to set goals to achieve when the disease could not be cured, beyong merely controlling symptoms. The notion of Quality of Life gained prominence as a way to emphasize a positive perspective on health health as a capacity to function and to live, even if the patient has a chronic condition. A central aim of care was to enhance the quality of the patients function, and hence their ability to life as normal a life as possible, even if the disorder could not be cured. This notion was a further extension of handicap, covering maintenance of normal function, but adding psychological well-being and, if possible, positive feelings of engagement. Measurements of quality of life extend the disability focus beyond the ability to perform activities of daily living to include a broad range of functioning (work, home, play) and also the persons feelings of satisfaction and well-being. This is necessarily a qualitative and subjective concept, judged by the patient in terms of the extent to which they are able to do the things they wish to do. In this medical context, quality of life is distinct from wealth or possessions, and to amke this clear you may see the term health-related quality of life. Reflecting these evolving ideas, the WHO revised its  Impairment, Disability and Handicap triad in 2001, re-naming it the International Classification of Function (ICF). This classification system provides codes for the complete range of functional states; codes cover body structures and functions, impairments, activities and participation in society. The ICF also considers contextual factors that may influence activity levels, so function is viewed as an interaction between health conditions (a disease or injury) and the context in which the person lives (both physical environment and cultural norms relevant to the disease). It establishes a common language for describing functional states that can be used in comparing across diseases and countries. The ICF therefore uses positive language, so that activity and participation replace disability and handicap. The ICF is described on the WHO web site. Impairment, Disability and Handicap Sheena L. Carter, Ph.D. The words â€Å"impairment,† â€Å"disability,† and â€Å"handicap,† are often used interchangeably. They have very different meanings, however. The differences in meaning are important for understanding the effects of neurological injury on development. The most commonly cited definitions are those provided by the World Health Organization (1980) in The International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps: Impairment: any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function. Disability: any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. Handicap: a disadvantage for a given individual that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal As traditionally used, impairment refers to a problem with a structure or  organ of the body; disability is a functional limitation with regard to a particular activity; and handicap refers to a disadvantage in filling a role in life relative to a peer group. Examples to illustrate the differences among the terms impairment, disability, and handicap. 1. CP example: David is a 4-yr.-old who has a form of cerebral palsy (CP) called spastic diplegia. Davids CP causes his legs to be stiff, tight, and difficult to move. He cannot stand or walk. Impairment: The inability to move the legs easily at the joints and inability to bear weight on the feet is an impairment. Without orthotics and surgery to release abnormally contracted muscles, Davids level of impairment may increase as imbalanced muscle contraction over a period of time can cause hip dislocation and deformed bone growth. No treatment may be currently available to lessen Davids impairment. Disability: Davids inability to walk is a disability. His level of disability can be improved with physical therapy and special equipment. For example, if he learns to use a walker, with braces, his level of disability will improve considerably. Handicap: Davids cerebral palsy is handicapping to the extent that it prevents him from fulfilling a normal role at home, in preschool, and in the community. His level of handicap has been only very mild in the early years as he has been well-supported to be able to play with other children, interact normally with family members and participate fully in family and community activities. As he gets older, his handicap will increase where certain sports and physical activities are considered normal activities for children of the same age. He has little handicap in his preschool classroom, though he needs some assistance to move about the classroom and from one activity to another outside the classroom. Appropriate services and equipment can reduce the extent to which cerebral palsy prevents David from fulfilling a normal role in the home, school and community as he grows. 2. LD example: Cindy is an 8-year-old who has extreme difficulty with reading (severe dyslexia). She has good vision and hearing and scores well on tests of intelligence. She went to an excellent preschool and several different special reading programs have been tried since early in kindergarten. Impairment: While no brain injury or malformation has been identified, some impairment is presumed to exist in how Cindys brain puts together visual and auditory information. The impairment may be inability to associate sounds with symbols, for example. Disability: In Cindys case, the inability to read is a disability. The disability can probably be improved by trying different teaching methods and using those that seem most effective with Cindy. If the impairment can be explained, it may be possible to dramatically improve the disability by using a method of teaching that does not require skills that are impaired (That is, if the difficulty involves learning sounds for letters, a sight-reading approach can improve her level of disability). Handicap: Cindy already experiences a handicap as compared with other children in her class at school, and she may fail third grade. Her condition will become more handicapping as she gets older if an effective approach is not found to improve her reading or to teach her to compensate for her reading difficulties. Even if the level of disability stays severe (that is, she never learns to read well), this will be less handicapping if she learns to tape lectures and read books on audiotapes. Using such approaches, even in elementary school, can prevent her reading disability from interfering with her progress in other academic areas (increasing her handicap). Gale Encyclopedia of Education: History of Special Education Top Home Library History, Politics Society Education Encyclopedia Special education, as its name suggests, is a specialized branch of education. Claiming lineage to such persons as Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard (1775 1838), the physician who tamed the wild boy of Aveyron, and Anne Sullivan Macy (1866 1936), the teacher who worked miracles with Helen Keller, special educators teach those students who have physical, cognitive, language, learning, sensory, and/or emotional abilities that deviate from those of the general population. Special educators provide instruction specifically tailored to meet individualized needs, making education available to students who otherwise would have limited access to education. In 2001, special education in the United States was serving over five million students. Although federally mandated special education is relatively new in the United States, students with disabilities have been present in every era and in every society. Historical records have consistently documented the most severe disabilities those that transcend task and setting. Itards description of the wild boy of Aveyron documents a variety of behaviors consistent with both mental retardation and behavioral disorders. Nineteenth-century reports of deviant behavior describe conditions that could easily be interpreted as severe mental retardation, autism, or schizophrenia. Milder forms of disability became apparent only after the advent of universal public education. When literacy became a goal for all children, teachers began observing disabilities specific to task and setting that is, less severe disabilities. After decades of research and legislation, special education now provides services to students with varying degrees and forms of disabilities, including mental retardation, emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, speech-language (communication) disabilities, impaired hearing and deafness, low vision and blindness, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, and severe and multiple disabilities. Development of the Field of Special Education At its inception in the early nineteenth century, leaders of social change set out to cure many ills of society. Physicians and clergy, including Itard, Edouard O. Seguin (1812 1880), Samuel Gridley Howe (1801 1876), and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787 1851), wanted to ameliorate the neglectful, often abusive treatment of individuals with disabilities. A rich  literature describes the treatment provided to individuals with disabilities in the 1800s: They were often confined in jails and almshouses without decent food, clothing, personal hygiene, and exercise. During much of the nineteenth century, and early in the twentieth, professionals believed individuals with disabilities were best treated in residential facilities in rural environments. Advocates of these institutions argued that environmental conditions such as urban poverty and vices induced behavioral problems. Reformers such as Dorothea Dix (1802 1887) prevailed upon state governments to provide funds for bigger and mo re specialized institutions. These facilities focused more on a particular disability, such as mental retardation, then known as feeble-mindedness or idiocy; mental illness, then labeled insanity or madness; sensory impairment such as deafness or blindness; and behavioral disorders such as criminality and juvenile delinquency. Children who were judged to be delinquent or aggressive, but not insane, were sent to houses ofrefuge or reform schools, whereas children and adults judged to be mad were admitted to psychiatric hospitals. Dix and her followers believed that institutionalization of individuals with disabilities would end their abuse (confinement without treatment in jails and poorhouses) and provide effective treatment. Moral treatment was the dominant approach of the early nineteenth century in psychiatric hospitals, the aim being cure. Moral treatment employed methods analogous to todays occupational therapy, systematic instruction, and positive reinforcement. Evidence suggests this approach was humane and effective in some cases, but the treatment was generally abandoned by the late nineteenth century, due largely to the failure of moral therapists to train others in their techniques and the rise of the belief that mental illness was always a result of brain disease. By the end of the nineteenth c entury, pessimism about cure and emphasis on physiological causes led to a change in orientation that would later bring about the warehouse-like institutions that have become a symbol for abuse and neglect of societys most vulnerable citizens. The practice of moral treatment was replaced by the belief that most disabilities were incurable. This led to keeping individuals with disabilities ininstitutions both for their own protection and for the betterment of society. Although the transformation took many years, by the end of the nineteenth century the size of institutions had increased so  dramatically that the goal of rehabilitation was no longer possible. Institutions became instruments for permanent segregation. Many special education professionals became critics of institutions. Howe, one of the first to argue for in stitutions for people with disabilities, began advocating placing out residents into families. Unfortunately this practice became a logistical and pragmatic problem before it could become a viable alternative to institutionalization. At the close of the nineteenth century, state governments established juvenile courts and social welfare programs, including foster homes, for children and adolescents. The child study movement became prominent in the early twentieth century. Using the approach pioneered by G. Stanley Hall (1844 1924; considered the founder of child psychology), researchers attempted to study child development scientifically in relation to education and in so doing established a place for psychology within public schools. In 1931, the Bradley Home, the first psychiatric hospital for children in the United States, was established in East Providence, Rhode Island. The treatment offered in this hospital, as well as most of the other hospitals of the early twentieth century, was psychodynamic. Psychodynamic ideas fanned interest in the diagnosis and classification of disabili ties. In 1951 the first institution for research on exceptional children opened at the University of Illinois and began what was to become the newest focus of the field of special education: the slow learner and, eventually, what we know today as learning disability. The Development of Special Education in Institutions and Schools Although Itard failed to normalize Victor, the wild boy of Averyon, he did produce dramatic changes in Victors behavior through education. Modern special education practices can be traced to Itard, and his work marks the beginning of widespread attempts to instruct students with disabilities. In 1817 the first special education school in the United States, the American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb (now called the American School for the Deaf), was established in Hartford, Connecticut, by Gallaudet. By the middle of the nineteenth century, special educational programs were being provided in many asylums. Education was a prominent part of moral therapy. By the close of the nineteenth century, special classes within regular public schools had been launched in major cities. These special classes were initially established for immigrant students who were  not proficient in English and stude nts who had mild mental retardation or behavioral disorders. Descriptions of these children included terms such as steamer children, backward, truant, and incorrigible. Procedures for identifying defectives were included in the Worlds Fair of 1904. By the 1920s special classes for students judged unsuitable for regular classes had become common in major cities. In 1840 Rhode Island passed a law mandating compulsory education for children, but not all states had compulsory education until 1918. With compulsory schooling and the swelling tide of anti-institution sentiment in the twentieth century, many children with disabilities were moved out of institutional settings and into public schools. However, by the mid-twentieth century children with disabilities were still often excluded from public schools and kept at home if not institutionalized. In order to respond to the new population of students with special needs entering schools, school officials created still more special classes in public schools. The number of special classes and compleme ntary support services (assistance given to teachers in managing behavior and learning problems) increased dramatically after World War II. During the early 1900s there was also an increased attention to mental health and a consequent interest in establishing child guidance clinics. By 1930 child guidance clinics and counseling services were relatively common features of major cities, and by 1950 special education had become an identifiable part of urban public education in nearly every school district. By 1960 special educators were instructing their students in a continuum of settings that included hospital schools for those with the most severe disabilities, specialized day schools for students with severe disabilities who were able to live at home, and special classes in regular public schools for students whose disabilities could be managed in small groups. During this period special educators also began to take on the role of consultant, assisting other teachers in instructing students with disabilities. Thus, by 1970 the field of special education was offering a variety of educational placements to students with varying disabilities and needs; however, public schools were not yet required to educate all students regardless of their disabilities. During the middle decades of the twentieth century, instruction of children with disabilities often was based on process training which involves attempts to improve childrens academic  performance by teaching them cognitive or motor processes, such as perceptualmotor skills, visual memory, auditory memory, or auditory-vocal processing. These are ancient ideas that found twentieth-century proponents. Process training enthusiasts taught children various perceptual skills (e.g., identifying different sounds or objects by touch) or perceptual motor skills (e.g., balancing) with the notion that fluency in these skills would generalize to reading, writing, arithmetic, and other basic academic tasks. After many years of research, however, such training was shown not to be effective in improving academic skills. Many of these same ideas were recycled in the late twentieth century as learning styles, multiple intelligences, and other notions that the underlying process of learning varies with gender, ethnicity, or other physiological differences. None of these theories has found much support in reliable research, although direct instruction, mnemonic (memory) devices, and a few other instructional strategies have been supported reliably by research. The History of Legislation in Special Education Although many contend that special education was born with the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) in 1975, it is clear that special educators were beginning to respond to the needs of children with disabilities in public schools nearly a century earlier. It is also clear that EAHCA did not spring from a vacuum. This landmark law naturally evolved from events in both special education and the larger society and came about in large part due to the work of grass roots organizations composed of both parents and professionals. These groups dated back to the 1870s, when the American Association of Instructors of the Blind and the American Association on Mental Deficiency (the latter is now the American Association on Mental Retardation) were formed. In 1922 the Council for Exceptional Children, now the major professional organization of special educators, was organized. In the 1930s and 1940s parent groups began to band together on a national level. These groups worked to make changes in their own communities and, consequently, set the stage for changes on a national level. Two of the most influential parent advocacy groups were the National Association for Retarded Citizens (now ARC/USA), organized in 1950, and the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, organized in 1963. Throughout the first  half of the twentieth century, advocacy groups were securing local ordinances that would protect and serve individuals with disabilities in their communities. For example, in 1930, in Peoria, Illinois, the first white cane ordinance gave individuals with blindness the right-of-way when crossing the street. By mid-century all states had legislation providing for education of students with disabilities. However, legislation was still noncompulsory. In the late 1950s federal money was allocated for educating children with disabilities and for the training of special educators. Thus the federal government became formally involved in research and in training special education professionals, but limited its involvement to these functions until the 1970s. In 1971, this support was reinforced and extended to the state level when the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) filed a class action suit against their Commonwealth. This suit, resolved by consent agreement, specified that all children age six through twenty-one were to be provided free public education in the least restrictive alternative (LRA, which would later become the least restrictive environment [LRE] clause in EAHCA). In 1973 the Rehabilitation Act prohibited discriminatory practices in programs receiving federal financial assistance but imposed no affirmative obligations with respect to special education. In 1975 the legal action begun under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations resulted in EAHCA, which was signed into law by President Gerald Ford. EAHCA reached full implementation in 1977 and required school districts to provide free and appropriate education to all of their students with disabilities. In return for federal funding, each state was to ensure that students with disabilities received non-discriminatory testing, evaluation, and placement; the right to due process; education in the least restrictive environment; and a fre e and appropriate education. The centerpiece of this public law (known since 1990 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA) was, and is, a free appropriate public education (FAPE). To ensure FAPE, the law mandated that each student receiving special education receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Under EAHCA, students with identified disabilities were to receive FAPE and an IEP that included relevant instructional goals and objectives, specifications as to length of school year, determination of the most appropriate educational placement, and descriptions of criteria to be used  in evaluation and measurement. The IEP was designed to ensure that all students with disabilities received educational programs specific to their unique needs. Thus, the education of students with disabilities became federally controlled. In the 1982 case of Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the level of services to be afforded students with special needs and ruled that special education services need only provide some educational benefit to students public schools were not required to maximize the educational progress of students with disabilities. In so doing the Supreme Court further defined what was meant by a free and appropriate education. In 1990 EAHCA was amended to include a change to person-first language, replacing the term handicapped student with student with disabilities. The 1990 amendments also added new classification categories for students with autism and traumatic brain injury and transition plans within IEPs for students age fourteen or older. In 1997, IDEA was reauthorized under President Clinton and amended to require the inclusion of students with disabilities in statewide and districtwide assessments, measurable IEP goals and objectives, and functional behavioral assessment and behavior intervention plans for students with emotional or behavioral needs. Because IDEA is amended and reauthorized every few years, it is impossible to predict the future of this law. It is possible that it will be repealed or altered dramatically by a future Congress. The special education story, both past and future, can be written in many different ways.

Skills for SPORT :: essays research papers fc

Part A 1.0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skill One’s Classifications Catching a fly ball can be classified as a gross-motor skill, serial skill, locomotor skill and an open skill. 1.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Justified Classifications Catching a fly ball is classified as an open skill because it is performed in an unpredictable environment e.g. the catcher wont know were the ball will go until it has been hit in that direction. Catching a fly ball is a serial skill because you use several discrete skills and form a Continuous performance e.g. you have to move underneath the ball that has been hit and put your glove up to try and catch the ball. Gross-motor skills involve using large body parts, which you do use catching a fly ball. Catching a fly ball can be classed as a locomotor skill as you have to move to where the ball will land so that you catch it. 2.0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skill Two’s Classifications Running Between bases can be classified as a discrete skill, gross-motor skill, locomotor skill and both closed and open skill. 2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Justified Classifications Running between bases is classified as a discrete skill because you have a distinct beginning and end. You use large body parts while running in-between bases and that is why it is classed as a Gross motor-skill. Running between bases is both an open and closed skills because to be an open skill it has to be unpredictable so that’s sneaking bases, but to be a closed skill it is predictable so that is when all bases are loaded and everyone has to run between bases. You travel from one place to another while running between bases and that is why it can be classed as an loco-motor skill. 3.0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Phases of learning When learning how to perform the skills catching a fly ball and running between You will go through all of these stages. To be good at the two skills displayed above involves the three learning phases Cognitive Stage, Associative Stage and the Autonomous Stage. 3.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cognitive Stage (Understanding) The performer:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Needs to know the skill to be practised  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Needs to know how the equipment is to be used  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Makes frequent errors

Presidential form of Government Essay

Presidential form of government , is a government in which the chief executive is not responsible to the legislature. Bagehot, † the independence of the legislative and the executive powers is the specific quality of presidential government just as fusion and combination is the principle of cabinet government†. If we compare cabinet and presidential systems , we can find that they are both representative in character, but in cabinet system the executive is a part of legislature and responsibility of executive to legislature is sine quo non . In presidential form of government the executive, i.e., PRESIDENT is constitutionally independent of legislature. They are two distinct organs more or less separated from each other. The executive is not the creature of legislature, nor is it responsible for its public acts or dependent for its seat. The head of the state exercise real power, as it derives from the constitution and as such there is no distinction between a executive and the executive. Dr.Garner,†What has been called ‘Presidential’ government as contra-distinguished from cabinet or parliamentary government, is that system in which the executive (including both the Head of the state and his ministers) is constitutionally independent of the legislature in respect to the duration of his or their tenure and irresponsible to it for his or their political policies. In such a system the chief of the state is not merely the titular executive but he is real executive and actually exercises the powers which the constitution and laws confer upon him†. HIGHLIGHTS OF SYSTEM:(ALSO COMPARING WITH PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT). 1) SEPARATION OF POWERS Unlike the parliamentary system of government where executive is a part of legislature, in presidential form of government there is separation of  powers. In this system the executive and legislature are separate from each other and they have equal status. But in a parliamentary government, there is no separation of powers. In this system the executive is under the legislature. 2) I n a presidential form of government , the president is the Head of the state as well as of the government.. While in a parliamentary government, the Head of the state is President, or king or, Governor-General and the Prime minister is the Head of the government. It must be noted that the position of the Head of the state in a parliamentary government is nominal . He/ she holds the power in theory. They are either wielding this position by hereditarily or through in direct election or by nomination. 3) In a presidential government, the President is elected for a fixed tenure and except impeachment for the violation of the constitution; he cannot be removed from his office before the expiry of his term. In a parliamentary government, though similar is the position of the President, yet the Prime minister can be removed only through a vote of no- confidence by the Parliament. 4) In a presidential government, the president enjoys real powers of the administration and he exercises all the powers, which are given to him under the constitution and the law. In a presidential government there is no prime minister. The secretaries help the president in the administration and they are appointed by the him on the basis of ability. It depends upon the will of the president to accept or reject their service. In a parliamentary government, though constitutionally the Head of the state has many powers, yet in practice these powers are enjoyed by his ministers. Thus in practice the president has only nominal powers and real powers lie with the prime minister or his ministers. 5) In a presidential government the president and his secretaries are not responsible to the legislature. The legislature cannot remove them through a vote of no- confidence. More over, an adjournment motion or a censure motion cannot be brought against him .The president and his secretaries are not the  members of the legislature and they do not attend its sessions. In a parliamentary government the prime minister and other ministers are the members of either house of the parliament and any one who is not the member of the parliament has to seek the membership within a specified period of time. They attend the session of the parliament and answer the questions and supplementary questions. They place bills before the parliament and make statements relating to policies. A vote of no – confidence, adjournment motion and censure motion can be brought against them. In a parliamentary government only the president, king or governor – general make a speech at the time of the inauguration of the parliament. They are neither members of the house nor they take part in its deliberation. The Head of the state is not responsible to the parliament. PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT: retrospection In the United States Of America, in the 17th century there existed 13 small colonies populated by English men and were independent and self- governing, acknowledging the nominal supremacy of the British crown. They set up their own assemblies, councils, and boards to govern themselves. In July 4th 1776, the leaders of these colonies met at Philadelphia and adopted ‘ DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE â€Å". In 1777, the colonies gave themselves a legal charter by framing â€Å"ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND PERPETUAL UNION†. But the British parliament was on collision course with these colonies and American War Of Independence broke out which ended on 1783 with the acceptance of Britain the independence, sovereignty , and freedom of the colonies .But other problems like defending against external aggression , regulation of trade and commerce, relation between outside world , finding satisfactory solution to problems made the colonies to decide to have , â€Å"a more perfect u nion to protect themselves from foreign aggression and to secure blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity†. It was at this time that Monstesquiau , a French jurist published a book known as â€Å"ESPRIT DES LOIS† , in which he put forward the Theory Of Separation Of Powers . This had a profound impact on the colonies. In that he says,† whenever the executive and the legislative powers are united in  the same person , or in the same body of magistrates , there can be no liberty. Again, there can be no liberty if the judicial power be not separated fro the legislative and executive; were it joined with the legislative , the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control , for the judge would then be a legislator ; were it joined to the executive , the judge might behave with violence and oppression . There would be an end of everything were the same men or the same body whether of nobles or the people were to exercise these three powers that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions and trying the causes of individuals†. This along with the views of John Locke which was put forward by him prior to Montesquieu in Second Treatise on Civil Government in the year 1690 in which he said : † it might be too great a temptation to human frailty , apt to grasp at power , for the same person who have power of making laws , who have also in their hands the power to execute them whereby they may exempt themselves from the burdens of the laws they make , and suit the law both in its making and execution , to their own private advantage â€Å". These all made Madison , a great lover of democracy and one of the founding fathers of American Constitution to observe: â€Å"accumulation of powers in a single hand is a very definition of tyranny†. As a result of this several colonies adopted Theory Of Separation Of Power in their own constitutions. Having found that it could work well they thought whether they could transplant these theory from colonial to the national field . They hit upon an idea of creating three coordinate independent authorities namely, the legislature, the executive , the judiciary, and endowing them with full powers in their own spheres , with in limits of constitution . In fact in the US constitution several provisions have been provided to ensure this . * Section (1) : Article(1): of the constitution vests all legislative powers in the Congress of United States consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives.  · Section (1) : Article(2) : of the constitution vest all executive powers with the President of United States of America.  · Section(1) : Article (3) : of the constitution vests all judicial powers in the Supreme court. The framers of the constitution were careful not to allow any branch to gain control or usurp the power of others. Further to strengthen the Theory Of Separation Of Powers and to prevent any arbitrary or despotic exercise of powers by these branches , the founding fathers provided certain inbuilt checks over each other. They are :  · If congress wanted to make any law , it needed President’s approval to be effective . If he refuses to approve the congress could re-pass the bill with 2/3 majority of the two houses under section(7) :article(1) – paragraph -3 of the US constitution. This means that even though the constitution had provided for Presidential veto, it’s misuse is being checked with this safeguard. Under section(3): article(1): paragraph-6 , of the constitution , empowers the congress the power to impeach high officials including the President .  · Section (2): article(2) : paragraph – 2 , empowers President to make treaties , under concurrence or ratification of the senate with a 2/3 majority of majority of senators present . President is also empowered to appoint any high ranking officials like judges of federal court , secretaries with the advice and consent of senate.  · The judiciary has also been vested with powers like any laws passed by either congress or by the president can be declared invalid by the court .This is known as â€Å"judicial review† , and because of these powers the US judiciary is being regarded as one of the powerful judiciaries in the world . Thus one department has been juxtaposed with each other so as to act as a check on the exercise of powers of each so as to maintain the balance of  power. This system is called ‘ the system of CHECKS AND BALENCES†. This is an integral part of the US constitution. The whole structure is built on ‘ SEPARATION OF POWERS†, and CHECKS AND BALENCES, which is a part and parcel of it .This is to ensure that no part would arbitrarily or in a capricious manner danger the liberties of the people. The US , constitution vests executive powers in the hands of one individual ,- the President of United States Of America. His powers are so enormous , wide and overwhelming that he has been described as the , â€Å"foremost ruler of the world†. The American President is not bound down by any cabinet . He chooses his own cabinet , which is at best his personal team of advisers . It has been characterized as the ‘president’ s family, and the head of the family , the president , inevitably dominates them. Ogg rightly describes him as the , â€Å"greatest ruler of the world†. According to Henry he exercises , † the largest amount of authority ever and as wielded by any man in democracy†. This system is called PRESIDENTIAL SYSYEM OF GOVERNMENT. The American President in respect of his powers is best compared to the Prime minister of the parliamentary democracies enjoying the support of a stable majority in the legislature, he is rather head of the state and the responsible head of the government. In many other nations , there is a chief of state whose duties are largely protocol in nature while the Prime Minister is the center of power . But the American President is the nation’s principal spokesman of both domestic and foreign policy . Laski has rightly remarked , There is no foreign institution with which in any strict sense, it can be compared because basically there is no comparable foreign institution . The President of United States is both more and less than a king , he is also both more and less than a Prime Minister†.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Nebulized Furosemide

COPD is noted as being the fourth leading cause of mortality in the United States. Mortality is expected to increase among COPD patients despite advances in its management. As exacerbations and hospitalizations characterize a key driver of the cost and morbidity of COPD, significance should be placed on interventions aimed at delaying the advancement of disease, inhibiting exacerbations, and reducing the risk of co-morbidities. Treatment for COPD has been at of a standstill in recent years. Beta2 antagonists, corticosteroids, and theophylline have been at the helm. However, nebulized furosemide has pushed its way from the background into the forefront recently. A major cause of disability and anxiety, dyspnea is the most prominent†¦show more content†¦Assuming that inhaled furosemide alleviates dyspnea principally through vagal mechanisms, it should be a possible treatment for dyspnea. (Insert Introduction) Overview of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Although not curable, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a familiar, treatable, but avoidable disease that is still a huge health problem in the United States. According to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, â€Å"COPD is the fourth leading cause of chronic morbidity and mortality in the United States and is projected to rank fifth in 2020 as a worldwide problem according to a study published by the World Bank/World Health Organization.†1 Mortality from COPD is also expected to increase despite medical advances in the treatment of the disease. Small airway disease found in chronic bronchitis, and parenchymal destruction found in emphysema contribute the chronic airflow limitation experienced by COPD patients. COPD reduces the sensory conduits maintaining both respiratory and cardiovascular systems.2 The sensory receptors that might play a substantial role in autonomic dysfunction in COPD patients are metabolic and pulmonary stretch receptors; central and peripheral chemoreceptors; cold receptors; arterial and cardiac baroreceptors; bronchopulmonary C-fibers; arterial chemoreceptors; four to five different types of airway receptors innervated by the vagus; slowly adapting stretch receptors