Special Education Assessments of Functional Abilities

Special Education Assessments of Functional Abilities Functional Tests For children with significantly disabling conditions, they need to have their functional abilities addressed before addressing other skills, such as language, literacy and math.   In order to master these subjects, students need to be able first to independently take care of their own needs: feeding, dressing, toileting and bathing or showering themselves (all known as self care.)   These skills are of great importance for the future independence and quality of life for these students with disabilities.   In order to decide which skills need to be addressed, a special educator needs to assess their skills. There are several tests of life and functional skills. One of the best known is the ABLLS (pronounced A-bels) or Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills. Designed as an instrument for assessing students specifically for Applied Behavioral Analysis and discrete trial training, it is an observational instrument that can be completed through interview, indirect observation or direct observation. You can purchase a kit with many of the items required for certain items, such as naming 3 of 4 letters on letter cards. A time consuming instrument, it is also meant to be cumulative, so a test book goes with a child from year to year as they acquire skills.   Some teachers of children with significantly disabling conditions will design programs, especially in early intervention programs, to specifically address deficits in their assessment. Another well known and reputable assessment is the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition. The Vineland is normed against a large population across ages. Its weakness is that it is comprised of parents and teachers surveys. These are indirect observations, which are really susceptible to subjective judgement (Mommys little boy can do no wrong.) Still, when comparing language, social interaction and function at home with typically developing same aged peers, the Vineland provides the special educator with a view of the students social, functional and pre-academic needs.   In the end the parent or caregiver is the expert in that childs strengths and needs.   The Callier Asuza Scale was designed to assess the function of blind-deaf students, but is also a good tool for assessing the function of children with multiple handicaps, or children on the Autistic Spectrum with lower function. The G Scale is the best for this cohort, and is easy to use based on a teachers observation of a childs function. A much quicker tool than the ABBLs or Vineland, it provides a quick snapshot of a childs function, but doesnt provide as much descriptive or diagnostic information.   Still, in the present levels of an IEP, your purpose is to describe the students abilities in order to assess what needs to be mastered.

The Relationship of the Human Sciences Essays

The Relationship of the Human Sciences Essays The Relationship of the Human Sciences Essay The Relationship of the Human Sciences Essay The Relationship of the Human Sciences to the Natural Sciences To a great extent, however, the human sciences do encompass natural facts and are based on knowledge of nature. If one were to imagine purely spiritual beings in a realm of persons which consisted only of such beings, then their coming-to-be, preservation, and development, as well as their extinction whatever representations we may form of the background from which these beings appear and into which they disappear would be dependent on purely spiritual conditions. Their well-being would be based on their relation to a world of spirit, their contact with each other and their interactions would be effected through purely mental means, and the lasting effects of their actions would be of a purely spiritual sort. Even their disappearance from the realm of persons would be grounded in the spiritual sphere. The system of such individuals would be known by pure sciences of spirit. In reality, however, an individual comes into being, survives, and develops on the basis of the functions of an animal organism and its connections to his natural environment. His feeling of life is, at least partly, based on these natural functions; his impressions are conditioned y his sense organs and the way they are affected by the external world. We find that the abundance and liveliness of his representations, the strength and direction of his acts of will, are in many ways dependent on changing conditions within his nervous system. His volitional impulses induce contractions in the muscle fibers when effect directed outwards is bound to molecular changes in his body; lasting results of his acts of will exist only in the form of changes in the material world. Thus the mental life off man is part of the psychophysical life-unit which is the form in which human existence and human life are manifested. Only by means of abstraction is mental life separable from that psychophysical life-unit. The system of these life-units is the reality which constitutes the subject matter of the socio-historical sciences. Whatever the metaphysical facts may be, man as a life-unit may be regarded from the two points of view that we have developed: seen from within he is a system of mental facts, but to the senses he is a physical whole. Inner and outer perception never occur in one and the same act, and consequently the reality of mental life is never even simultaneously with that of our body. On account of this, there are necessarily two different and irreducible standpoints for a scientific approach aimed at grasping the connection of the mental and the physical as expressed in the psychophysical life-unit. If I start with inner experience, then I find the whole external world to be given in my consciousness and all the laws of nature to be subject to the conditions of my consciousness and, therefore, dependent on them. This is the standpoint which German philosophy at the turn of the eighteenth century designated as transcendental philosophy. On the other hand, I can start from the world of physical nature, as I see it before me, and perceive psychic facts ordered within space and time; I then see changes within spiritual life subject to external interference-natural or experimental-consisting of physical changes impinging on the standpoint into a comprehensive picture of the dependence of the human spirit on the body. This results in a scientific approach which proceeds from Outer to inner, from physical changes to mental ones. Thus the antagonism between the philosopher and the natural scientist is conditioned by their antithetical starting mints. Let us now take as our point of departure the perspective of the natural sciences. Insofar as this perspective remains conscious of its limits, its results are incontestable. These results receive a closer determination of their cognitive value only from the standpoint of inner experience. Natural science analyzes the causal nexus of nature. Where this analysis has reached the point at which a material fact or change is regularly connected with a psychic fact or change, without a further intermediary being detectable between them, only this regularity itself can be established; no connection of cause and effect can be applied to this relation. We find uniformities in the one sphere of life regularly connected with uniformities of the other, and the mathematical concept of function is the appropriate expression for such a relationship. To conceive the course of mental changes running parallel to physical changes as comparable to the working of two synchronized clocks fits as well with experience as does a conception assuming only one clockwork, which, when taken informatively as a basis of explanation, considers both spheres of experience as but different manifestations of one ground. Dependence of the mental on the natural world is a relation according to which the overall natural context causally conditions those material facts and changes which are regularly, and apparently directly, connected with mental facts and changes. Thus the natural sciences regard the chain of causality as reaching into the domain of psychophysical life. But here we find a mode of change in which the relationship of the material and the Psychical is not governed by this sort of causal approach, and this change then in turn generates a change in the material world. In this context the physiologists experiments disclose he importance of the structure of the nervous system. By analyzing how the bewildering phenomena of life depend on each other, we can trace the sequence of natural changes which reach man, enter his nervous system through the senses, and give rise to sensations, representations, feelings, and desires which, in turn, affect the course of nature. The psychophysical life-unit which is filled with the immediate feeling of its undivided existence is analyzed into a system of empirically observable relations between facts of consciousness and observable relations of structure and the functions of the nervous system. For every psychic act shows itself to be connected with a change in our body only by means of the nervous system; and a change in our body, in turn, is accompanied by a change in our psychic state only through its effect on the nervous system. This analysis of psychophysical life-units provides a clearer notion of their dependence on the overall context of nature within which they appear and act and from which they withdraw again. It also clarifies how the study of socio-historical reality depends on our knowledge of nature. From this, we can establish the extent to which the theories of Comet and Herbert Spencer are justified in locating these sciences in their hierarchy of all the sciences. While the present work will attempt to ground the relative independence of the human sciences, it must also consider the other perspective, which places them within the which can show how the human sciences are conditioned by our knowledge of nature and constitute the final and highest member in a progression which begins with mathematics. Mental facts comprise the uppermost limit of natural facts, and the latter the underlying Conditions of human life. Because the realm of persons, including human Society and history, is the highest phenomenon of the empirical world, knowledge of it must at countless points be based on the system of presuppositions which accounts for its development within the w hole of nature. Man, because of his position in the causal system of nature, Is conditioned by it in a twofold respect. The psychophysical life-unit, as we saw, receives through its nervous system continuous stimuli from the general course of nature which it in turn affects. Where the psychophysical unit affects nature this is characteristically in the form of action guided by purposes. On the one hand, nature and its constitution can govern this psychophysical unit in the shaping of purposes themselves; on the other hand, nature qua system of means for attaining these ends codetermines the psychophysical unit. Thus even in those cases where we exert our will, where we act on nature, we are dependent on the system of nature precisely because we are not blind forces but rather volitional creatures that reflectively establish their purposes. Accordingly, psychophysical units find themselves dependent on natural processes in a twofold manner: beginning with the earths position in the cosmic whole, nature as causal system conditions socio-historical reality. For the empirical researcher, the great problem of the relation between nature and freedom within socio-historical reality is subdivided into countless particular questions involving the relation between facts of the human world and influences of nature. On the other hand, the purposes of the human world have their repercussions on nature or on the earth, which man in this sense regards as his dwelling and in which he is busily making himself at home. These retroactive influences on nature are also dependent on using the laws of nature. All purposes lie exclusively within the sphere of human spirit, for this is what is truly real for man; but a purpose seeks its means of realization in the system of nature. The change which the creative power of spirit produces in the external world is often nearly inconspicuous. Yet only through it does the value thus created exist for other people as well. The few pages which came into the hands of Copernicus as the material remnants of the profound mental efforts by which the ancients first conceived the idea that the earth moves became the starting point for a revolution in our conception of the world. Now it can be seen how relative the delimitation of these two groups of sciences is. Disputes such as those about the status of universal linguistics are unproductive. At both points of transition between the study of nature and that of the human world I. . , where nature influences the development of the mind and where it is either influenced by or forms the passageway for influencing other minds-both sorts of knowledge always intermingle. Knowledge of the natural sciences overlaps with that of the human sciences. Because of this twofold formative influence of nature on human life, we can combine knowledge of how nature shapes human beings with insight in to how it provides us with material for action. Thus an important part of grammar and of music theory is derived from our knowledge of the natural laws of sound formation. Even a genius of accomplishments is conditioned by an understanding of this dependence. Here it can be further seen that, to a great extent, knowledge of the conditions supplied by nature and explored by natural science provides the basis for the study of the facts of the human world. The development of the individual, the manner in which the unman race has been dispersed throughout the earth, and finally mans historical destiny-all these are conditioned by the cosmic whole. Wars, for example, are a chief component of all history. They are the result of political decisions by states, but they are fought with weapons. The theory of war depends primarily on knowledge of the physical conditions which provide the basis and means for a conflict of wills, for the purpose of war is to impose our will on the enemy by means of physical force. This involves coercing the enemy to the point of defensiveness, until his position is ore disadvantageous than the sacrifice demanded of him and can only be exchanged for an even more disadvantageous one. In making such calculations the physical conditions and means are most important; therefore the scientific study of war has very little to say about the psychological factors involved. The sciences of man, society, and history take the sciences of nature as their basis in two ways: first, insofar as psychophysical units themselves can be studied only with the help of biology; second, insofar as nature is the medium of their purposive activity, which is aimed mainly at the domination of nature. In the first respect, the life sciences provide the basis; in the second, it is chiefly those of inorganic nature. The relation to be clarified consists first of all in the fact that these natural conditions determine the development and distribution of human life on the face of the earth, and secondly in the fact that the purposive activity of man is bound by the laws of nature and is thus conditioned by his knowledge and use of them. Thus the first relation shows only the dependence of man on nature, while the second includes this dependence only as the reverse side of the history of his increasing domination of the earth. Ritter has applied a comparative method to that part of the first relation that involves mans connections to the nature that surrounds him. He presented us with brilliant prospects. In particular, his comparative appraisal of the continents in terms of their contours yielded a sense of how world history might be predestined in accordance with the overall spatial articulation of the earth. But this approach, which Ritter regarded as teleology of universal history, and which Buckle placed in the service of naturalism, has not been confirmed by subsequent research. In place of the inception of a uniform dependence of man on nature, a more cautious conception has developed, namely, that the struggle of human, moral powers with the conditions of mechanistic spatiality has steadily reduced the dependence of those peoples that have a history, in contrast to those that do not. Thus here, too, a science of socio- historical reality has asserted itself-one which uses natural conditions to explain, but nevertheless is independent. The second relation shows that the dependence involved in adapting to conditions is connected with the overcoming of spatiality wrought science and technique in such a way that man in history attains mastery precisely by means of submission. The problem of the relation of the human sciences to our knowledge of nature can be solved only when we have resolved the opposition with which we began, namely, that between the transcendental standpoint for which standpoint which regards the development of the human spirit as subject to the conditions of nature. This task constitutes one aspect of the problem of knowledge. If this problem can be isolated for the human sciences, then a solution acceptable to all s by no means impossible. The conditions for such a solution would be a demonstration of the objective reality of inner experience and a proof of the existence of an external world from which we can then conclude that this external world contains human facts and spiritual meaning by means of a process of transferring our inner life into this world. Just as the eye which has been blinded by looking directly into the sun reproduces the suns image in the most diverse colors and in the most diverse places, so our perception multiplies the image of our inner fife and transfers it in manifold modifications to various points in surrounding nature. This process can be represented and Justified as an analogical inference from our own inner life that is originally given immediately to us alone. By means of representations of the objectifications linked with our own inner life, similar appearances in the external world are associated with a corresponding similar underlying source. Whatever nature may be in itself, it is sufficient for the study of the causality of the human spirit that natural phenomena can always be interpreted ND used as signs of reality, that uniformities of coexistence and succession can be- interpreted and used as a sign of such uniformities in reality. But-once we enter the world of human spirit and investigate nature insofar as it provides the content of spirit, insofar as it is woven into the will purposively or instrumentally, then nature is for us Just what it is in us. What nature may be in itself is here entirely irrelevant. It is enough that nature be given in such a way that we can count on its lawfulness for our actions and appreciate the beautiful appearance of its existence.

Living Together Before Marriage as a Controversial Topic Research Paper - 7

Living Together Before Marriage as a Controversial Topic - Research Paper Example The people who strongly oppose couples living together prior to marriage stress the significance of adhering to traditional beliefs in the sacrament of marriage. The previous generation has always supported the need for marriage before their children could live with a person not yet considered one’s spouse. The belief marriage is more than a mutual agreement, but more so, a sacrament blessed by Divine Power is prevalent in major religions. Those couples who decide to get married have their unions blessed and are therefore believed to endure challenges and trials ‘until death do them part’. On the contrary, supporters of those who believe that living together is an agreement that is more beneficial indicate that disagreement from various sectors is not fully justified. Although the majority of people believe that living together is, in fact, going against the norm by asserting that â€Å"cohabitors are partially rejecting society's dominant value system. Those peo ple who enter cohabitation relationships tend to perceive social rules in flexible terms† (Cohabitation, par. 11). A glimpse on the research on contemporary generation has proven that â€Å"young couples are most accepting of cohabitation, and it is likely that it will become increasingly popular over time† (Barlow, Duncan, James, and Park, 1). In this regard, there are lesser social pressures or stigma associated with couples who opt to live together prior to marriage. Living together before marriage gives more benefits as long as the couples are physical, emotionally, economically mature to acknowledge the responsibilities and accountabilities that go with the agreement.

Destination Report & Presentation Research Paper

Destination Report & Presentation - Research Paper Example Leading on from here, the number of tourist sites and services that a person may have at disposal upon visiting a single country is so much. In some cases, the planning of tourism trips has become a problem for travelers when it comes to destination and services selection. It is from this point that the need for the use of information and community technology in making the situation easier becomes necessary. This paper therefore looks at the designing of a location based information delivery system that makes it possible for tourists to access information from various tourism locations and also exchange information to such locations to make the reception of tourism services easier. The researcher opines that this location based information delivery in tourism will serve a two-tier purpose of benefiting both the tourist as a service user and the tourism operators as service providers. More specifically, the destination to be used in this location based information delivery is Ottawa i n Canada, which is one of Canada’s four largest tourism metropolitan areas (O’Grady and O’Hare, 2002). ... In the first place, there is an element of client device that is built to host a web browser. A typical example of such a client device could be a mobile phone, a tablet computer or a laptop (Berger et al, 2007). There is also an element of customized web application server that makes it possible for users to receive and input web contents that meet the context of users. The essence of this element of the system architecture is to ensure that tourists visiting Ottawa have the freedom and will to make choices of selection based on user pre-defined preferences and options (Kjeldskov and Paay, 2005). What is more, it is expected that the system architecture for the location based information delivery system would encompass the presence of a universal description, discovery and integration (UDDI) service directory that focuses on the provision of tourist information services such as hotel accommodation finder services. Such UDDI services would ensure that the search for locations is siev ed and made much easier. More to the above, the presence of a context manager is also very important for the system architecture. This is because with such context manager, data that is input into the system can easier be stored for future retrieval and usage. Such data will be treated by the system as user dynamic context so that for all future searches these options will show up as user preferences, making it easier for future choices to be made. It is expected that some of the user dynamic contexts that will be considered by the system would include but not limited to location, wireless device features, identities, password, and data usage (Schernthanner and

Relations between states Essay Example for Free

Relations between states Essay Winston Churchill famously lamented, â€Å"It may be that we shall by a process of sublime irony have reached a stage in this story where safety will be the sturdy child of terror, and survival the twin brother of annihilation. † In the wake of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a new nuclear age was ushered in with mushroom clouds and unimaginable destruction. Suddenly, humankind had invented a weapon powerful enough—if used in sufficient quantity—to destroy the Earth’s capacity to sustain human life. For the world, the menace of nuclear winter was terrifying. To social scientists, it was equally frightening, but also presented a new paradigm of international relations. Technology has evolved throughout history, but never before had an advancement in weapons fundamentally shifted anything more than battlefield tactics. Nuclear weapons, on the other hand, brought a tremendous shift in the relations between states. Suddenly, the stakes of war were different; suddenly, war between two states had implications for the planet that wars had never produced before. John Mueller, in his article â€Å"The Irrelevance of Nuclear Weapons,† disputes the idea that nuclear weapons actually fundamentally changed the landscape of international relations. Instead, Mueller argues, the horrors of World Wars I and II already escalated the stakes of warfare to a tipping point level, where the costs were so high that warfare was naturally deterred between stable, developed states. Specifically, Mueller cites the memory of World War II, superpower contentment with the postwar status quo, Soviet ideology, and a fear of escalation as the primary four reasons that nuclear weapons did not fundamentally change the nature of war deterrence. Mueller’s argument, while logically sound, has not held up to the tests of empiricism. Mueller’s first argument—that nuclear deterrence had little impact because all nations were already so horrified by the devastation wrought by World War II that they would never repeat its destruction—is weak. Certainly, World War II is the most tragic and destructive event of the twentieth century and probably is unrivalled in human history for its breadth of brutality and human loss of life. Yet, as Mueller admits, World War I was enough to convince the world of the maxim â€Å"never again,† only to have a similar conflict erupt twenty years after the guns of World War I were silenced. On top of the similarity between World War I and World War II, the wake of World War II was not free from conflict. For the United States, even, the Korean conflict broke out less than a decade after World War II and was quickly followed by Vietnam. Both conflicts brought about staggering casualties. Clearly, World War II was worse, but it was not enough of a deterrent to stop many wars in its aftermath. In other words, Mueller’s argument that nuclear deterrence did not fundamentally shift the landscape because World War II’s horrors took care of doing so, does not stand up to the test of facts; conflicts erupted regardless. More importantly, however, nuclear war would be substantially different than World War II. World War II was immensely devastating because it was fought by enormous armies of many different countries for several years. Nuclear war could not be more different; it could be carried out with little more than a small air force, the right bombs, and could last days. Once the Soviet Union and the United States acquired nuclear weapons, it was a different ballgame. Entire cities could be wiped off the map in a second. For policymakers, that changed the incentive structures. Undertaking a war with the Soviet Union prior to the nuclear age would have enlisted the entire nation’s resources, citizens, and finances. On the other hand, when there was an asymmetry of power—between 1945 and 1949 specifically—the American government could have eliminated a Soviet city from existence with little more than a single jet and a small aircrew. That skewed the playing field heavily in the favor of the United States. But, that changed when the Soviets acquired nuclear capability. Suddenly, both countries faced the same incentives and the same disincentives to go to war; each was assured that a nuclear attack by one would prompt a retaliation—perhaps a disproportionate one—from the other. This created a paradox—without having to deploy armies or finance massive military campaigns, war was much closer; it simply took an order from Washington or Moscow. Yet, the stakes were also higher. With nuclear weapons in play, escalation was simultaneously much closer and much less desirable. The fact that conventional conflicts between states raged on in the post-war era but nuclear conflict has never arisen speaks volumes about the unique power of a nuclear deterrent. Thus, Mueller’s argument about the deterrence of conventional conflict does not hold up to analytical scrutiny given history’s contradiction. Moreover, Mueller’s argument that the superpowers were already unlikely to go to war (with or without nuclear weapons) because they were content with the status quo is equally vacuous. Certainly, the superpowers never engaged directly in combat. But nuclear weapon deterrent theory posits that nuclear weapons impedes escalation to the highest levels because the costs associated are simply unbearable for all involved parties. In other words, if Mueller is correct that the post-war status quo already acted as a sufficient deterrent, then the superpowers should have been peaceful throughout the Cold War. Far from it, they instead engaged in many proxy wars—wars specifically designed to allow low-level conflict as each vied for further control of the globe, but simultaneously to ensure that the conflict would never rage out of control and risk bringing nuclear weapons to the table. Cold War flare ups between communist and capitalist powers prove Mueller’s theory to be false; the post-war status quo was repeatedly altered as the Soviets and Americans each sought to expand their power and gain a strategic advantage over their enemy, without inviting the use of nuclear weapons precisely because of nuclear deterrence. Mueller’s third argument—that Soviet ideology was a sufficient deterrent that is often mis-attributed to the myth of nuclear deterrence—is simply a red herring. Mueller makes a strong case, certainly, but it does not address the fundamentals of nuclear deterrence theory. Simply because the Soviets in particular may have been less likely to engage in a full-out war with another hegemonic power, that does not negate the validity of nuclear deterrence theory. Simply stated, nuclear deterrence theory is an idea that applies to all states, and invoking the Soviet case to disprove the entirety of the rule is a weak attack that falls flat. Mueller’s fourth argument—that a fear of escalation was already in place and did not need nuclear weapons to operate—is equally flawed. Fear of escalation is precisely the heart of nuclear deterrence theory: nuclear weapons prevent war because provoking a nuclear power is likely to yield unspeakable horrors. Mueller suggests that the threat of war alone is horrific enough to produce a similar deterrent and that as a result, nuclear weapons did little to change deterrence dynamics. But empirical research disagrees. According to Robert Rauchhaus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, â€Å"When a nuclear asymmetry exists between two states, there is a greater chance of militarized disputes and war. In contrast, when there is symmetry and both states possess nuclear weapons, then the odds of war precipitously drop. † Rauchhaus’s research, which draws upon many decades of empirical research, quantitatively validates the importance of nuclear weapons. Even though, as Rauchhaus points out, nuclear weapons are not universally positive in their deterrent effects (asymmetrical nuclear capabilities can promote rather than deter war, for example), they inevitably have an impact (and a substantial one at that) on international affairs. This study flies in the face of Mueller’s claim that nuclear weapons are simply tangential deterrents running parallel to a larger deterrent growing out of the desire to avoid large wars. On all four fronts, Mueller’s claims are flimsy. His article is nonetheless important because it challenges the premises of deterrent theory and suggests an alternative viewpoint. In the end, however, it seems that nuclear weapons do make a difference: conventional wars continue at regular intervals, but no nuclear weapon has been dropped in warfare since the horrors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima jolted the world into a stunned realization that nuclear warfare was simply unacceptable and needed to be avoided at all costs.

The Arras Medallion Essay -- Art Analysis

The Arras Medallion was issued to commemorate Constantius Chlorus recovery of Britain’s and the rescue of London in 296 AD . It is the intention of this source criticism to evaluate the medallion and determine its value to the study of government and society under Diocletian. The source provides valuable insight into how the tetrarchs presented themselves. It will be suggested that the source reveals the tetrarchs promotion of images that portray them as united and equal. In addition there is a sense of militarism and just rule that the tetrarchs where also keen to promote. Along with corroboration of literary sources and a possible, however slight, example of individualism makes the sources valuable with regards to tetrarchic propaganda. The deciphered legend on the obverse of the coin (Flavius Valerius Constantius noble Caesar) indentifies the figure as Constantius Chlorus. The inclusion of PTA on the bottom of the reverse side indicates that it was made it Trier. Given that he is identified as Caesar the coin can be attributed to anywhere between 293 and 305 AD. However, as the reverse shows a depiction of the re-conquest of Britain it was likely commissioned in 296/7 AD . Constantius is seen wearing a laurel wreath and armour and looking to one side. These features along with the stubble beard are key similarities that many tetrarchic coins shared . Indeed the coins of the tetrarchs are so similar in form that without the legend, identification of the individual would be difficult. This was part of the tetrarchs desire to appear united and equal to create contrast with the destructive divisions that occurred during the early third century. According to Southern the adoption of Flavius Valerius into his name was also... ...s an example of the tetrarchic unity being challenged. The source also corroborates the literary account and reveals the desire of the tetrarchs to appear just in rule. Whether the source is an accurate depiction of the reaction to the tetrarchs is another matter entirely. Overall, the Arras medallion proves valuable in the study of Diocletian’s reign as it provides insight into how the tetrarchs wanted to be perceived. Bibliography Casey, P,J,. 1994 Carausius and Allectus: The British Usurpers, Routledge, London, 1994 Rees, R., 2004 Diocletian and the Tetrachy, Edinburgh University Press Ltd, Edinburgh, 2004 Southern, P,. 2001 The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Routledge, London, 2001 Internet resource http://tetrarchy.com/coppermine/(accessed 07/04/2012)

Community Meeting Review Essay

For my project I visited the City of Hesperia’s Official Website and reviewed the April 1, 2014 City Council Meeting which is available to the public on line. The beginning of the meeting started with a call of order then proceeded to the roll call of the board members. After these steps had taken place an invocation was performed followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. I have never heard of a prayer referred to as an invocation and it prompted me to review the words definition, â€Å"a public request for guidance, good will, good wishes, and good things. (Wikipedia). I was very pleased to see that the council members have chosen prayer as guidance followed by the pledge of allegiance, a leadership respectful of God and Country. The official members present were Mayor Thurston â€Å"Smitty† Smith, Mayor Pro Tem Eric Schmidt, Council Members Russell Blewett, Bill Holland, and Mike Leonard. Agenda revisions and announcements were provided by the city clerk followed by a cl osed sessions report given by the City Attorney. Prior to the main agenda announcements and presentations were provided recognizing public interest groups which included; A certificate of recognition for the Desert Winds Quilt Guild, a proclamation for National Volunteer Week, a proclamation for Fair Housing Week, followed by a presentation of the community events calendar provided by Rachel Molina the city’s community relations and media coordinator. At this time a request for public comments was made and instructions were provided to those present in regards to time limits per individual. This forum provides an interface for the public with the City Council and the Municipality components which do not typically respond or engage with the presenters but collect the information and provide for a method of follow up from city staff. The first person called to speak was Jennifer Mayo, who discussed road conditions related to her residence and its poor state of repair which has affected her and her family. The second person called to speak was Jeff Randall who began his discussion with a quote of â€Å"trust and respect† referring to an issue of code enforcement and fee’s levied against his property in the amount of $3,500.00. Mr. Randall described the issue in detail, in which he could not meet the original deadline of the code violation due to a tenant that needed to be removed from the property and requested an extension to resolve the violation. He was verbally provided an extension and was told to just handle  the situation and no fees would be imposed. He trusted the individual representing the city to stand by his word and not to impose any fees until he had the opportunity to resolve the situation which did not happen. Mr. Randall is requesting the assistance of the council members to resolve the financial burden imposed upon him. The next person called was Jessica Davidson who was accompanied by Veronica Sanders and were from the Cancer Society, representing a fundraiser called Relay for Life. Their purpose for presenting was to invite the City Council and its attendees to an upcoming 24-hour event. The council did respond to these presenters, stating that they will be attending this event as a team and additionally asked the presenters to return to the next council venue where they will be given a proclamation (recognition) for their public efforts. The next person called was Jennifer Shaw a representative from Southern California Edison. The purpose for her presentation was to introduce Julie Gilbert, her replacement who is also employed with Southern California Edison. This seemed to be a professional courtesy provided by the utility firm. Al Vougler was the last presenter to be called and spoke about concerns related to the City of Hesperia’s recent lease of water allocations from the Rancho Water District totaling 1300 acre feet. Mr. Vougler believed that even though the purchase rate of $382.50 per acre foot seemed reasonable that the City’s water district should be approaching residents much like himself that have unused water allocations at a reduced price. Mr. Vougler believed that this would be a combined benefit for the City and its residents. The City Manager did provide a general response to Mr. Vougler in an attempt to define the characteristics of water classifications and there overall values which was followed by the City Attorney who provided further comparisons of water and values. The meeting continued with the Joint Consent Calendar, the consent calendar is a grouping of routine matters to be acted on in one motion. There were six items considered and recommended actions taken anywhere f rom issues related to utilities to professional services. At the end of this presentation it was open to public hearing providing any concerned resident an opportunity to speak. This was followed by consent ordinances which city staff members began to speak about Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and its draft citizen participation plan for years 2015-2019. This was followed by an ordinance for the Civic Plaza which would limit the use of  skateboards, bicycles, and leashed animals during special events held at this location. Following these issues the council would make a decision which would be placed on record for public view. New business was proposed where an approval of long ranged property management was projected, but they motioned to push this event forward to the next meeting due to the absence of a council member who was more familiar with the issue. A final request to those attending to be heard was made leading to the council committee’s reports and comments. Each council member was provided the opportunity to give a final presentation in regards to the events that had taken place. Council member Holland had very nice things to say in reference to Jennifer Mayo and her courage for coming to the meeting and addressing her concerns. Mrs. Mayo had mentioned earlier that she was on a â€Å"fool’s errand† in reference to her attempt to share her road concerns and Mr. Holland reassured her that her attempts were not imprudent. The city staff will diligently look for funds to improve the road conditions for the City of Hesperia. I was very impressed by the comments made by Mr. Holland during the meeting and at its closure. He was less formal and made everyone feel welcome and I would say the same for council member Blewett and Mayor Smith. Mayor Pro Tem Schmidt had some disparaging comments in reference to Mr. Randall’s code enforcement issues and felt he had made erroneous claims to the council. I felt this was a bit unbecoming of Schmidt especially in his role as Pro Tem (vice mayor). I believe he should be more considerate to those that address the council in a fair and reasonable manner. The city attorney seemed very cold and matter of fact which is probably typical of all legal personnel. I was quite pleased with this local government, they were very informal and very endearing. I believe that the city council is very attentive to their local residence and businesses that they are serving and operate in the best interest of everyone. Economically there was concern over budget constraints especially for those related to road improvements, monies were approved for the CDGB plan which is a joint activity between the city and the community development groups. It was interesting that there were a lot of legal concerns related to the councils operation and their decision development and was quoted several times during the proceedings. I would like to make note that the â€Å"city staff† often referred to but never specifically identified have a great behind the scenes responsibility in  researching all the necessary regulatory requirements related to the operation of this committee. This experience has actually peaked my interest in local politics I like the fact that it is approachable compared to national politics which is not interested in personal opinion only those provided by an elected official. I don’t believe local government to be any more efficient than national government, there may be fewer constraints within local government that can be resolved at a much faster pace. I found the public presentation to be very interesting, all of the presenters seemed to be very informative and well spoken. I was drawn to Mr. Vougler’s water concerns which led me to do further research in reference to water rights. I was unaware that residence had water allocations available for re-sale. I went to the Mojave Water agencies website to learn about their responsibilities and for clarification of local water rights. In doing so I learned that they monitor all the water allocations throughout the High Desert including Municipalities and residents. It was true what the City Manager had told Mr. Vougler in regards to the value of his water rights. Due to the waters agricultural component the re-sale of the product to a Municipality is 75% that of a re-sale from another commercial water holder. This is why Mr. Vougler’s water was valued at $275.00 versus $382.00. In a sense it has the equivalent dollar value when purchased by the Municipality such as the City of Hesperia. When the council responded to Mr. Vougler they responded accurately and I felt they were very respectful in doing so. Works Cited â€Å"Agenda.† City of Hesperia. Council Chambers, (01 April 2014). Web. (01 May 2014). http://www.cityofhesperia.us/archive.aspx â€Å"Invocation.† Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., (08 April 2014). Web. (01 May 2014). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invocation â€Å"Water Transfer Types.† Mojave Water Agency, Web. (01 May 2014). http://www.mojavewater.org/water_transfer_forms.html

Psychology †Aggression Experiment Essay

Proposal Our investigation focuses on violence in the media and the affects that it has on viewers that watch it, a person’s heart rate can be monitored to see if watching certain films will affect the viewers. We predict that violence in the media does not affect an audience. To support the hypothesis we will conduct an experiment using a sample group of Yr.11 students which attend Westminster school. Three different varied films will be shown for 3 minutes, Educating Rita, Braveheart and Bugsy Malone. During each film heart rates will be taken at the half-way point and the end to get qualitative results. The independent variable in this experiment is the actual violence viewed by the audience and the dependent variable is the heart rate that will be recorded by the participants. The data that is found will be analysed to support the hypothesis, this will be done using graphs. Introduction This SACE approved research program was conducted to investigate the effects of violent and aggressive films on a collection of Year 11 Psychology students. We hypothesize that violence in the media does not affect an audience. To support our hypothesis an experiment was conducted using a class of Year 11 psychology students, where they were exposed to three film clips (Educating Rita, Brave Heart and Bugsy Malone). As the participants viewed these exerts, their heart rates were recorded during and at the conclusion of each clip to determine any changes in heart rate levels. The data that was found and used in this experiment is quantitative data. Our results are displayed in a bar graph using the mean value for each gender. Results Discussion The hypothesis of this experiment was that violence in the media does not affect an audience; this was supported through the results found throughout the duration of the experiment. The results showed little to no change in the viewer’s heart rate while watching the prescribed film exerts: Educating Rita, Braveheart and Bugsy Malone. The exact results are shown in graph 1, which displays the base rate, the heart rate half way through the clip and at the duration of the exert. The graph shows that whilst the participants watched Educating Rita, at the midway point of the clip their heart rate increased by 2bpm which is a mere 1.2%. When the heart rates were tested again at the duration of the clip, the mean value in the participant’s heart rates didn’t change at all. The heart rates taken during the Braveheart clip, show that the majority of participants heart rates actually fell by 3bpm. During the clip taken from Bugsy Malone, the average heart rate at the half way point decreased by 4bmp, but then increased by 6bpm at the duration of the film. Although, this data could have been skewed by two outliers who had very heart rates which may have been the cause of the results increasing. Overall there is not a huge increase of the heart rates after watching each film exert, as the greatest average in change of heart rate was only 6bpm. The difference in the results is so small that wouldn’t be considered as important, so this could also suggest that when violence and comedy are mixed together a greater reaction from the viewers is found. My investigation was really an unrepresentative sample group as it lacked much diversity at all. It consisted of only Year 11 Westminster School students who study psychology, also the group lacked much variety in terms of religion, background and beliefs. To make the experiment more accurate there needed to have been participants from different age groups, cultures and an even balance of the two genders to make the results more accurate and reliable. There were a few particular weaknesses in the experiment that fell under the extraneous variables category; one was that the class might have been anxious and excited about using the heart rate monitors which could have affected the overall results. Also, before the experiment begun the participants were playing with the heart rate monitors and testing them out, which may have enabled people to figure out how to slow and fasten their heart rate. There is a possibility that the participants could have been embarrassed or self-conscious of their results, so when their peers asked or saw their results sheet they may have felt inclined to change their results. During the experiment there were minor ethical issues that could have been handled better. This included confidentiality; participants were given an identification number at the beginning of the experiment, and it was quite easy for other participants to find out others identification numbers, making this a breach of their confidentiality. Another issue that became apparent was the point of voluntary participation. Although each participate did in fact have the option to either participate or not, the researcher suggested that if they did not participate their grades would be put in jeopardy and could inevitably not pass their SACE, or the semester’s worth of work. This definitely placed pressure on the participants to take part in the experiment. The last major ethical issue that arose during the experiment was when each participant was to sign an agreement which said they were willing to take part in the experiment, and if they were under the age of sixteen their parent of legal guardian was to sign on their behalf. At this point, participants asked if they were close to the age of sixteen (ranging from 1 week to 2 months) whether they could sign it themselves. The researcher then said they were happy for them to sign it themselves, and didn’t really mind either way. This is against the rules and rights of the experiment, and the researcher should have made sure that every student under the age of sixteen had their consent for signed by someone who was either a parent of legal guardian. The investigation has accurately met the hypothesis set; violence in the media does not affect an audience. Graph 1 clearly shows the minimal change in heart rates of nearly all the participants besides from negligible outliers. Although, there is a high possibility that the results would be different if the group of participants were selected with more diverse character and personality traits in mind. Nevertheless, I still believe the results are fairly consistent. The only factor that could possibly alter the results if the experiment was to be conducted again, would most likely be the day, time of day that it was undertaken and any underlying distractions to the participants. Words: 850

Sample Graduate School Recommendation Letters

Sample Graduate School Recommendation Letters Obtaining letters of recommendation for graduate school is just part of the application process, but those letters are a crucial component. You may feel that you have no control over the content of these letters or you may wonder  whom to ask.  Requesting a recommendation letter  is daunting, but you need to consider the challenge that your professors and others face in writing these letters. Read on to learn how to ask for a recommendation letter in a way that will get results. Requesting the Letters You can either ask for a recommendation letter in person or through a (snail mail) letter. Dont ask via a quick email, which can feel impersonal and stands a great chance of getting lost or deleted, or even finding its way into the dreaded spam folder. Even if you ask in person, provide the potential recommender with a letter that includes  background information, including your current  resume- if you dont have one, create one- and links to the graduate schools to which you are applying. Briefly mention specific qualities and academic skills that you would like your reference to mention. No matter how well you think your recommender knows you, remember that this person is a professor, adviser, or even an  employer, who has many things on her plate. Anything you can to do provide her with more information about you can make her letter-writing job easier- and it can help point the letter in a direction you want it to go, ensuring that it includes the points you want your recommender to make. Be prepared to discuss the type of degree you seek, programs to which you are applying,  how you arrived at your choices, goals for graduate study, future aspirations, and why you believe the faculty member, adviser, or employer is a good candidate to write a letter on your behalf. Be Direct Though youre applying for graduate school, keep in mind some general tips when asking for a recommendation letter for any purpose, be it graduate school, a job, or even an internship. Online job search engine  Monster.com  advises that when you are asking for a recommendation letter, just pop the question. Dont beat around the bush; come right out and ask. Say something like: â€Å"I’m applying for an internship, and I need to include two letters of recommendation. Would you be willing to write one for me? I’d need it by the 20th.† Suggest some talking points: With a professor, as noted, it might be best to do this in a letter. But, if youre asking an adviser or employer, consider stating these points verbally and succinctly. Say something like: Thank you for agreeing to write a letter of recommendation for me. I was hoping you could mention the research I conducted and the input I provided for the grant proposal the organization submitted last month. So what else does it take to ensure your recommenders write solid letters for you? A  good, helpful letter of recommendation will discuss you in detail and provide evidence to support those statements. The information you provide will- hopefully- ensure that your recommenders include those details in a direct but comprehensive manner. Tips and Hints No one can speak with more authority about a students academic abilities than a former professor or instructor. But a  good letter of recommendation  goes beyond classroom grades. The best referrals offer detailed examples of how you have grown as an individual and provide insight into how you stand out from your peers.   A well-written letter of recommendation should also be  relevant to the program for which you are applying. For  example, if youre applying for an online graduate program and youve  had success in previous distance-learning courses, you might ask that professor for a referral.   Good letters of recommendation are written by people who know and have a vested interest in your success. They offer detailed and relevant examples that demonstrate why you would be a good fit for a graduate program. A  bad letter of recommendation, by contrast, is vague and indifferent. Take the necessary steps so that the graduate programs you are applying to dont receive those kinds of letters about you.

Cause and Effect of Cell Phone Usage Among High School Students from U.S. and Middle East

Cause and Effect of Cell Phone Usage Among High School Students from U.S. and Middle East Research design The research design for this research study will be the mixed-method research approach (qualitative and quantitative research). According to Mertler Charles, 2011, qualitative research relies on narrative data while quantitative research relies on numerical data.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cause and Effect of Cell Phone Usage Among High School Students from U.S. and Middle East specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The survey research design will generate case-specific data that is necessary to investigate the research objective of this research as outlined above. Survey research designs involve data collection from a specified sample size in order to arrive at an accurate assessment of the whole population regarding specific variables that the study intends to find out. As such survey research study are most suitable in studies that involve investigation of opinions, behaviors, attitudes, perception s, culture orientation and so on which is similar to what we shall be investigating in this research study. Survey research study is especially suited to this type of study since it is possible to customize the research study to focus on key areas of interest. In this case I will use a questionnaire that would be used to collect data of key variables for the research study such as how often students engage with their phone, percentage of students with cell phones and amount of units used on cell phones per student and so on. The idea is to capture all relevant data needed for investigating the research questions for this research study. This information will be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively and a final report written. Study participants The study will be conducted in Al Ittihad Model School targeting all the male students in the school. A stratified random sampling will be used to divide the classes into strata from which a simple random sample of 20 students will t hen be selected from each class following the respective classes’ register which contains all the population of the study. Thus, because this research study is based on males using cell phones at Al Ittihad Model School the study participants/population are therefore male students at this school. The sample size which is the actual group that will be investigated will be obtained from this study population mentioned above.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Data collected Both primary and secondary data will be used in the study whereby primary data will be obtained through questionnaires administered to the students and observations where applicable. The questionnaires will have both open ended and closed questions. On the other hand, secondary information will be obtained from reports, the internet, journals and magazines. From the data collected, qualitative and quant itative data will be extracted, analyzed and interpreted to answer the research questions of the study as outlined previously. Questionnaires will be used to collect the primary data since the study concerns some variables that cannot be directly observed such as opinions, perceptions and feelings of respondents. Such implicit feelings will only be collected through writing, and questionnaire will be the best tool to collect detailed information. The questionnaire will contain both structured and semi-structured questions. This will allow the respondents to give their own views. The questionnaire will be in two parts. The first part will seek information on the background of the respondents and the next part will obtain specific information on use of cell phones by the respondents under study. The quantitative data will finally be analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data will be done using frequencies and inferential statistics at 5% (0.05) level of significance an d presented using tables, pie charts and graphs. Sampling procedures The study will be conducted at Al Ittihad Model School targeting all the male students in the school. A stratified random sampling will be used to divide the classes into strata from which a simple random sample of 20 students will then be selected from each class following the respective classes’ register. Since we have already determined our population of interest to be male students enrolled in Al Ittihad Model School all that we now need to do is come up with a method that objectively selects required cases from this population.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cause and Effect of Cell Phone Usage Among High School Students from U.S. and Middle East specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The type of sampling method that is used must be based on a scientific theory backed with a rationale of choosing that particular method which should be releva nt to the type of research study. Therefore for this research study I will use simple random sampling because it is a technique that ensures there is no bias in selecting cases from the population. At the end of this process I intend to have finished selecting the students that I will base this research on who will have been randomly selected from a population of all the students being studied. Simple random sampling is a sampling technique that relies on a simple probability method of choosing desired sample size by random selection (Salant and Dillman, 1994). Ideally, simple random sampling involves assigning all cases of the population with numbers; once this is done the required study cases are then determined. The study population will be the sample size which is randomly picked by selecting cases from a list of numbers that were assigned to the population and then matching these selected numbers to specific cases that would make up the sample population (Newman, 1994). For ins tance, in order to select 100 cases from a population of let’s say 2000 male students enrolled at school Y will require assigning numerical numbers to all the cases as the first step. The second step is randomly selecting 100 numbers from the total list of 2000 numbers which represent the whole population, probably by blindly picking tags with numbers from a basket. The last step is matching the chosen 200 numbers with the population cases which will now be our sample size. Validity and reliability of the data collection tools Content validity will be based on the adequacy with which the items in an instrument will measure the attributes of the study whereas reliability is the extent to which any measuring procedure yields the same results on experiments done several times (Nye and Null, 2001). Questionnaires were administered for pilot study to assess the reliability of the data collecting instrument, however data collected was not part of the study but only to assess the va lidity of the instrument. Apart from pre-test, questionnaires will be submitted to the supervisor for approval before being administered. To ensure there is no misinterpretation, unclear concepts and expressions used will be avoided and structure and sequencing of the questions in the questionnaires will be addressed. Since some of the study respondents are students using cell phone which is against rules of school, the researcher will therefore assure the respondents of confidentiality through anonymity in answering the questionnaires.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Because this research study involves use of questionnaires I intend to guarantee the privacy of respondent and their feedback in accordance with the international standards of research studies. The researcher will also acknowledge the fact that participation in research will be voluntary to those who will be willing to participate in the study. Conclusion This research study will conform with relevant laws that governs all form of research studies in UAE at both local and international levels. I intend to apply for permits and inform relevant authorities on my plan to undertake this research beforehand so as to obtain their consent well on time. References Mertler, C.A. Charles, C.M. (2011). Introduction to Educational Research 7th Ed.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Newman, L. (1994). Social Research Methods. Boston; Allys Bacons. Nye, H. Null, H. (2001). SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Boston; Brown Company. Salant, P. Dillman, A. (1994). How to conduct your own Survey. California; John Wiley Sons.

Paper according to readings [around 10 readings] Essay

Paper according to readings [around 10 readings] - Essay Example Third world Marxism paved the way for a multiracial movement from what developed as a deeply segregated U.S. left. In all aspects, it was Third World Marxism proved to be the best framework for converting ideologies of greats like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King into an ideological revolution. The fear is that the less developed countries are looking for vengeance against Europe. The Europe in response, won’t divide reformist forces leading the mankind to delight by flaunting the threat of a Third World. The threat that rises like a tide to engulf the whole of Europe. This notion is false! They want cooperation from them, so they can help rehabilitate the regions they kept in slavery for centuries. So even if they consider it a   repudiation to amend what they had done previously   keeping colonies of the area which are the third world the third world countries,  it will help them in many ways.   Opposition to oppression is a constant aspect of the modern world. In earlier years (before the nineteenth century) these oppressions were short-lived and hence did not affect the system very much. But later, they turned into everlasting agony for the oppressed. The movements against oppression can be categorized into two classes; replacing capitalism with socialism and replacing ethno-nationalist agenda with self-determination. However, both these movements saw state power as a crucial part of the overall agenda. It has been many years since the last world war. Despite so many conflicts occurring the world, there has not been a Third World War, the reason is more than just coincidence. The formation of the UN (even though controversial) is one of the biggest factors. But it was the resilience of the Vietnamese fueled by patriotism that defeated the US forces but the French and the Japanese before them. It is the duty of ever human to be prepared to fight for the soil. This social ideology emphasizes plurality and embraces the world

Strong communities sharing similar needs can be a critical resource Dissertation

Strong communities sharing similar needs can be a critical resource for children, supporting and, where necessary, overcoming - Dissertation Example What are communities and how do they function? A community is described as social network of family and friends. The use of term ‘community’ by M.K.Smith is , ‘associated with the hope and the wish of reviving once more the closer, warmer, more harmonious type of bonds between people’ ( M. K Smith, 2001). Community has been explored in three different ways, ‘Place, Territory, place or locality where people have something in common and share element is understood geographically. Interest: They are linked together by factors such as religious beliefs, sexual orientation, occupation or ethnic origin. Communion: attachment with a place.’ (Willmott, 1986; Lee and Newby, 1983; and Crow and Allen, 1995) as cited in M.K.Smith 2001. According to Sarason, in psychological sense a community is ‘the perception of similarity to others, an acknowledged interdependence with others, a willingness to maintain this interdependence by giving to or doing for others what one expects from them, and the feeling that one is part of a larger dependable and stable structure’( Sarason 1974, p. 157). ... Communities thus strive on solidarity, commitment, mutuality and trust and they come together for greater cause. Social communities are more dynamic functional unit and are into educating people, youth care, child development and humanitarian services, stress management and helping distressed people and providing assistance. Communities work on Social systems according to Social Psychology; there are certain theories on which social systems run. One of the theories is the family theory system. The Family Theory System finds its origin from the work of Ludwig Von Bertalanffy on General Systems Theory that the organisms are complex, organised and interactive. It explains the way the components of a system interrelate with each other to form a single unit. Similarly, the families sharing a common history show some degree of emotional bonding and thus forming a group in a community. Family systems theory allows one to understand the organisational intricacies of the families, and the pat tern that guide those intricacies. The family support system works on the assertion that the members of a family carry out the daily confrontations of a family this helps them in adjusting to their needs. In order to understand the family, one must concentrate on the family as a whole unit not at the individual members, the way they interact with each other and their collective history makes this study unique. The families organise themselves into various smaller units or sub-systems to accomplish any task or goal. The Family System Theory studies about the various approaches of working with the families, this study has led to understanding the impact of traumatic