Disease Profile Copd Essay Example for Free

Disease Profile Copd Essay Pipe, cigar, and other types of tobacco smoke also can cause COPD, especially if the smoke is inhaled. Breathing in secondhand smoke, air pollution, and chemical fumes or dust from the environment or workplace also can contribute to COPD. (Secondhand smoke is smoke in the air from other people smoking. ) In rare cases, a genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency may play a role in causing COPD. People who have this condition have low levels of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT)—a protein made in the liver. Having a low level of the AAT protein can lead to lung damage and COPD if youre exposed to smoke or other lung irritants. If you have this condition and smoke, COPD can worsen very quickly. Signs and symptoms: The signs and symptoms of COPD include: * An ongoing cough or a cough that produces large amounts of mucus (often called smokers cough) * Shortness of breath, especially with physical activity * Wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound when you breathe) * Chest tightness These symptoms often occur years before the flow of air into and out of the lungs declines. However, not everyone who has these symptoms has COPD. Likewise, not everyone who has COPD has these symptoms. Some of the symptoms of COPD are similar to the symptoms of other diseases and conditions. You can find out whether you have COPD. If you have COPD, you may have colds or the flu (influenza) frequently. If your COPD is severe, you may have swelling in your ankles, feet, or legs; a bluish color on your lips due to a low blood oxygen level; and shortness of breath. COPD symptoms usually slowly worsen over time. At first, if symptoms are mild, you may not notice them, or you may adjust your lifestyle to make breathing easier. For example, you may take the elevator instead of the stairs. Over time, symptoms may become severe enough to see a doctor. For example, you may get short of breath during physical exertion. How severe your symptoms are depends on how much lung damage you have. If you keep smoking, the damage will occur faster than if you stop smoking. In severe COPD, you may have other symptoms, such as weight loss and lower muscle endurance. Some severe symptoms may require treatment in a hospital. You—with the help of family members or friends, if youre unable—should seek emergency care if: * Youre having a hard time catching your breath or talking. * Your lips or fingernails turn blue or gray. This is a sign of a low oxygen level in your blood. ) * Youre not mentally alert. * Your heartbeat is very fast. * The recommended treatment for symptoms that are getting worse isnt working. Diagnostic Procedures: Your doctor will diagnose COPD based on your signs and symptoms, your family and medical histories, and test results. He or she may ask whethe r you smoke or have had contact with lung irritants, such as secondhand smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust. If you have an ongoing cough, your doctor may ask how long youve had it, how much you cough, and how much mucus comes up when you cough. He or she also may ask whether you have a family history of COPD. Your doctor will examine you and use a stethoscope to listen for wheezing or other abnormal chest sounds. You also may need one or more tests to diagnose COPD. Lung Function Test: Lung function tests measure how much air you can breathe in and out, how fast you can breathe air out, and how well your lungs deliver oxygen to your blood. The main test for COPD is spirometry. Other lung function tests, such as a lung diffusion capacity test, also may be used. Spirometry; During this painless test, a technician will ask you to take a deep breath in. Then, youll blow as hard as you can into a tube connected to a small machine. The machine is called a spirometer. The machine measures how much air you breathe out. It also measures how fast you can blow air out. Your doctor may have you inhale medicine that helps open your airways and then blow into the tube again. He or she can then compare your test results before and after taking the medicine. Spirometry can detect COPD long before its symptoms appear. Doctors also may use the results from this test to find out how severe your COPD is and to help set your treatment goals. The test results also may help find out whether another condition, such as asthma or heart failure, is causing your symptoms. Other Tests Your doctor may recommend other tests, such as: * A chest x ray or chest CT scan. These tests create pictures of the structures inside your chest, such as your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. The pictures can show signs of COPD. They also may show whether another condition, such as heart failure, is causing your symptoms. * An arterial blood gas test. This blood test measures the oxygen level in your blood using a sample of blood taken from an artery. The test can help find out how severe your COPD is and whether you may need oxygen therapy. Treatment – Medical/Nursing: COPD has no cure yet. However, treatments and lifestyle changes can help you feel better, stay more active, and slow the progress of the disease. Quitting smoking is the most important step you can take to treat COPD. Talk with your doctor about programs and products that can help you quit. Other treatments for COPD may include medicines, vaccines, pulmonary rehabilitation (rehab), oxygen therapy, and surgery. Your doctor also may recommend tips for managing COPD complications. The goals of COPD treatment include: * Relieving your symptoms * Slowing the progress of the disease * Improving your exercise tolerance (your ability to stay active) * Preventing and treating complications * Improving your overall health Specialists Involved To assist with your treatment, your family doctor may advise you to see a pulmonologist. This is a doctor who specializes in treating people who have lung disorders. Medicines Bronchodilators Bronchodilators relax the muscles around your airways. This helps open your airways and makes breathing easier. Depending on how severe your disease is, your doctor may prescribe short-acting or long-acting bronchodilators. Short-acting bronchodilators last about 4 to 6 hours and should be used only when needed. Long-acting bronchodilators last about 12 hours or more and are used every day. Most bronchodilators are taken using a device called an inhaler. This device allows the medicine to go right to your lungs. Not all inhalers are used the same way. Ask your health care team to show you the correct way to use your inhaler. If your COPD is mild, your doctor may only prescribe a short-acting inhaled bronchodilator. In this case, you may only use the medicine when symptoms occur. If your COPD is moderate or severe, your doctor may prescribe regular treatment with short- and long-acting bronchodilators. Inhaled Glucocorticosteroids (Steroids) Inhaled steroids are used to treat people whose COPD symptoms flare up or worsen. These medicines may reduce airway inflammation. Your doctor may ask you to try inhaled steroids for a trial period of 6 weeks to 3 months to see whether the medicine helps relieve your breathing problems. Vaccines Flu Shots The flu (influenza) can cause serious problems for people who have COPD. Flu shots can reduce your risk of the flu. Talk with your doctor about getting a yearly flu shot. Pneumococcal Vaccine This vaccine lowers your risk of pneumococcal pneumonia (nu-MO-ne-ah) and its complications. People who have COPD are at higher risk of pneumonia than people who dont have COPD. Talk with your doctor about whether you should get this vaccine. Pulmonary Rehabilitation Pulmonary rehabilitation, or rehab, is a medically supervised program that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have lung problems. Rehab may include an exercise program, disease management training, and nutritional and psychological counseling. The programs goal is to help you stay more active and carry out your daily activities. Your rehab team may include doctors, nurses, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, exercise specialists, and dietitians. These health professionals work together and with you to create a program that meets your needs. Oxygen Therapy If you have severe COPD and low levels of oxygen in your blood, oxygen therapy can help you breathe better. For this treatment, youre given oxygen through nasal prongs or a mask. You may need extra oxygen all the time or just sometimes. For some people who have severe COPD, using extra oxygen for most of the day can help them: * Do tasks or activities, while having fewer symptoms * Protect their hearts and other organs from damage * Sleep more during the night and improve alertness during the day * Live longer Prognosis: COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a disease of the lungs that develops over many years and gradually gets worse with time. When you have COPD your airways become persistently blocked, which can eventually make breathing difficult. More than 12 million Americans have been diagnosed with it, and another 12 million might have COPD without knowing it. COPD encompasses two diseases commonly caused by smoking: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It’s the fourth leading cause of death in the U. S. But while COPD cant be cured, there are steps you can take to improve symptoms, prevent complications such as pneumonia, and improve your quality of life. Just like people living with heart disease, people with COPD can make changes to their lifestyle to vastly improve how they feel and function each day. Here are five important measures to discuss with your doctor:Â   1. Stop Smoking Cigarette smoking is the most significant reason that people develop COPD. While kicking the habit wont return your lungs to normal condition, it will delay progression of symptoms because the rate of decline of lung function returns to that of nonsmokers. In susceptible people, smoking accelerates the lung function decline of aging. Your lungs will age faster, and if you stop smoking, you go back to normal aging, says Gail Weinmann, MD, deputy director for the Division of Lung Diseases at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Its also a good idea to avoid crowds during flu season. Because COPD leaves a person more prone to pneumonia, patients also should talk to their doctors about also getting the pneumococcal vaccine, Weinmann says. 4. Seek Regular Medical Care and Take Medications as Directed Your doctor can prescribe drugs, such as bronchodilators and corticosteroids, to treat your symptoms. Bronchodilators, which are usually delivered through an inhaler, relax muscles around your airways. This, in turn, opens them up and eases breathing. Inhaled corticosteroids fight inflammation in the airways. Patients with COPD frequently have other health problems, too, such as heart disease, vascular diseases, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), and type 2 diabetes, Weinmann says. People with COPD are likely to have other diseases, and its important that they treat all of their diseases. In fact, heart disease and COPD share overlapping symptoms, which can lead people to mistakenly attribute heart disease to lung disease. According to Weinmann, these shared symptoms include shortness of breath, including breathlessness when exercising or waking up at night, and sometimes a sensation of chest tightness. 5. Consider a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program and Learn to Exercise Your doctor may suggest a pulmonary rehabilitation program. Such programs wont actually improve lung function, but they can help people with COPD to stay more active and independent. Youll learn exercises to strengthen your arms and legs, as well as exercises that aim to strengthen muscles for breathing. Pulmonary rehab includes a variety of exercises for the lower and upper extremities, as well as breathing techniques and counseling, Weinmann says. Some patients feel reluctant to join a pulmonary rehab program, but Weinmann encourages them to try it. Once the lung is damaged, it doesnt really ever repair itself, so its very important that individuals stay in good shape in every way that they can. Its very common for patients with COPD to become deconditioned. Its hard for them to breathe, so the tendency is to not do anything at all. Reconditioning their muscles and their heart can make them feel a lot better. Some p atients feel that they have greatly benefited from it [rehab], she adds. It has improved their quality of life and their exercise ability. You have to keep at it. Its not something that you can do once.

The Analysis Of Pz Cussons Website Marketing Essay

The Analysis Of Pz Cussons Website Marketing Essay E-commerce has the capacity to improve existing businesses and also expand operational efficiency. However, in the wake of fierce competition, businesses are forced to be at their best as competitors are just a click away. (Xia Yang et al 2003) The limitless potentials of the internet in todays world have revolutionized the way business is done all over the globe thus making the world a global village. The thrust of this paper critically overviews the web site of PZ Cussons as a communication medium; in line with e-business management theory, the paper discusses issues bordering on advertising and branding. PZ was founded in 1879 by George Paterson and George Zochonis in which they set up a trading post in Sierra Leone. By 1899, they opened their first branch office in Nigeria (http://www.pzcussons.com/pzc/about/ourhistory/). The company has recorded remarkable achievements since then. The company majors on manufacturing leading brands of household items from soaps to milk. With the emergence of the World Wide Web, PZ Cussons is poised to take its business to the next level by taking advantage of technology. Needless to say that with the advent of e-business PZ Cussons should do even better. In todays world, it would be difficult to extricate a companys success from its website as this can either attract customers or repel them depending on customer relationship techniques employed by the web designer. The consistent growth in technological advancement and inventive initiatives has made tremendous impact and also made e-advertising interactive, exciting, and affordable to businesses. This paper analyses the website of PZ Cussons in relation to its competitors and highlights how PZ Cussons can benefit from vast potentials of the internet in advertising and promotion as well as building a better brand. Advertising Research has shown that much of what is expected from a website is largely dependent on the consumer. Lu and Yeung 1998 suggests that human to computer interface design factors are applicable to commercial web applications. However, the nature of the business and the way the business is done has to be taken into consideration when developing a web site. Putting together and responding to consumer feedbacks are an important part of communication activities when attempting to convert a first time buyer to a potential customer, as such fostering an online relationship. (Berthon et al 1996) In a bid to explore empirical studies and dimensions created basically for research on advertising, past works have attempted to forecast consumers behaviour towards internet advertising. It has been observed that culture or beliefs play a more pivotal role in consumers purchase intention rather than other factors like creativity, market size or internet usage. (Yang 2003). With the advent of e-commerce, PZ Cussons have taken up the initiative to advertise its company on the web, however, a lot of issues regarding the website would be discussed in the course of this paper. The process of ensuring that a site visitor becomes a customer and is retained is actually a proactive approach that can be stimulated by interactive features on the site (Geissler 2001). For most businesses, the home page in itself is an advertisement (Singh and Dalal 1999). The appearance of a home page can either engage a customer to go further or make the customer go elsewhere. It is imperative for the company or web designer to make the site as interactive as possible to enable businesses gain higher customer retention. Even as advert placement on web sites has become a normal occurrence in e-business world, it is noteworthy to comprehend internet advertising and understand consumer reactions or behaviours to advert placement on the internet. It is a well known fact that those who are optimistic about advertising are likely to be convinced by advertising (Mehta 2000). If a web site is very effective, it would always encourage first time visitors to the site to make a future purc hase of goods or services offered for sale. Since its origin in early 1990s, the structure of internet advertising has progressed from banner ads, spam emails, interstitials, superstitials, site sponsorships, and involuntary browser relocations (Yang 2003). Adverts online have consistently come under criticism (Bulik 2000b) and have been often considered as unnecessary and imprecise (Hwang and Kranhold, 2000). It has been argued that there is no inter-relation between advertising and corresponding results such as sales or profits (OConnell, 2001). Some Benefits of Online Advertising The power of the internet cannot be overemphasised as its reach is global at a fast pace. Online advertising has identified new means of passing personalized messages to be conveyed to specific customers. Most people these days would rather spend more time online than read a conventional newspaper. As such, businesses are more likely to create a greater awareness from online advertisement. It has the capacity to properly segment customer base as well as measure the impact or effectiveness of an advert. Online advert gives the customer the opportunity of choice based on their knowledge of a companys product or services. Website Effectiveness Although a lot of work has been done in the overall area of e-business (Hoffman Novak, 2000; Kauffman Walden, 2001) however, to further drive down the issues with PZ Cussons web site, we would take a look at Nathan Heinz and Quing Hus web site measurement effectiveness technique to help analyse their internet advertising application. They classified web site measurement effectiveness technique into three categories which are; the interactivity metrics, the information metrics and the service metrics. (Heinz and Hu 2006) Interactivity involves a platform in which customer feedback is encouraged for optimum performance. It also includes the availability of search engines on the web site as well as live chat or blogs in order to get the customers candid opinion on products or services. It also maintains a data base for registered customers. Zhu and Kraemer (2002). Information involves true and precise information on the web site at a particular time. This refers to continuously updating clients with reliable information on goods or services offered for sale. For example the cost of product or services and updating photos of new stock etc. It also encompasses the concept of simplicity of information passed across and gives detailed analysis of product uniqueness and relevance. This, if communicated effectively would go a long way in retaining first time customers. Kim et al (2002); Barnes and Vidgen (2003). Service involves maintaining good customer care operations as well as responding to customer query or issues. It also involves timely processing of online orders and security of online transactions on a web site. It also involves intermediating with social networking sites like face book to maintain an online community for excellent customer service. Barnes and Vidgen (2003); Rust and Lemon (2001). Analysis Based on Theory When we closely observe the PZ Cussons web site based on these three classes of efficiency measurement, we can see that interactivity level is very low. Site navigation and interactivity are significant factors of system quality for web buyer satisfaction (McKinney et al 2002). There is the absence of chat rooms to encourage customer interactions of feedback on brands. Though there is a search engine in place it is however limited to the site instead of expanding search capability to other search engines such as goggle. On the information metrics, it has been observed that PZ Cussons does not update its web site quite often to notify customers of changes made to products or upcoming events. Liu and Arnett (2000) highlight information provision as a major factor in the success of e-business web sites. PZ Cussons produces a wide variety of brands and with competitors such as Proctor and Gamble and Nestle, a lot needs to be done in terms of quality of information and timeliness of delivery. The service metrics on PZ Cussons web site shows very customer biased attributes as the is the absence of an online register, no avenue for customer registration online so no opportunity for feedback on customer queries on brands, there is also no opportunity for placing online orders so the issue of timeliness of orders does not even arise. Quite clearly, PZ Cussons has been able to develop their brand name over the years but are yet to tap into the vast potentials of the web for a greater market share. Branding A brand has been viewed as a promise made by a company to its customers and not a name or statement (Sterne 1999). Given the emergence of the World Wide Web and the revolution in the way business is being done across the globe, it would be expected that the perception of brands would come under a new dimension (Rowley 2004). Also, Ward and Lee (2000) suggest that an effective online presence is pivotal to a brands online success. A brands website has the capacity to create an impression on the consumer (Muller and Chandon 2003). From the graphics and pictures to texts on a web page can either attract or put off potential buyers. Chiang, I-Ping (2008) also suggests that brand awareness can be used together with specific consumer requirements and consumer behaviours to better position online brands. Most small and large businesses across the globe today can boast of an online presence. However, creating an online presence is hardly enough as Porter (2001) suggest that creating an online presence at a point in time was a competitive advantage but today a web site requires more competitive and distinctive features in order to achieve competitive advantage. The elements of a web site can be classified in different contexts depending on the products or services being marketed on the web site. For instance a car manufacturers website cannot be designed in the same pattern as a fast food website. World brands seek to identify with values that are common to many communities such as safety, style and status and service, which can be classified in different ways in diverse national contexts (Rowley 2004). However, for the purpose of the analysis of PZ Cussons website we would analyse the following elements: Logo, Graphics, Colour, Texts, Currency and news (Rowley 2004). Logo A logo presents a graphic language and discipline for the clear, consistent reflection of a companys visual identity (Henrion and Parkin 1967). Although the PZ Cussons brand name has built a reputation for itself in Africa, Asia and Europe over the years, it has done very little to project its logo. Its red, blue and white logo remains in it simplest form. Some of its leading brands like Venus have become more popular than PZ Cussons as a result of its inconspicuous logo. The logo represents a companys corporate visual identity through official corporate symbol (Balmer 1995). It is believed that a company corporate identity transcends mere symbols and signs but relates more to issues like corporate culture. Graphics This refers to visual logos, pictures and other images that may depict a brands values on a website (Rowley 2004). There are not too many graphics on the PZ Cussons web site, the pictures are not holistic and does not reflect the charisma of the company. Also, the Web Content Accessibility Guideline reveals that the PZ Cussons website is using (WCAG WAI) 1.0 (1999) which is an outdated version. Colour The PZ Cussons website makes use of a white background with red and blue colours. This is a very common colour combination as millions of websites use this same colour combination. This does not give any uniqueness to the company web page. Text Text addresses the tone of voice, and determines whether a message is intellectual, understandable and necessary (Rowley 2004). Text typifies the brands individuality; it is the brands vocal cords. The words that are written carry the brands message and the font determines the approach of communication. The PZ Cussons website uses the Calibri body font, and a text size 11. This is considered to be quite small and depicts timidity. The words on the home page are too much and should have been more of pictures and less words. News This refers to allowing visitors to the site access to current news and information relating to products and happenings in the industry. The PZ Cussons web site however, is not being constantly updated. On the PZ Cussons front page, there is a column for latest news, but the news in question are actually stale. A lot needs to be done in that regard. Recommendation PZ Cussons has come a long way since its inception without doubt, with its acquisition of major companies and continued expansion but yet to tap into the vast prospect ability of the World Wide Web. A web advert can be for both infotainment and promotional activities (Diaz et al. 1996); however, PZ Cussons seem to only have tapped from using the web as an informative medium thus relegating the latter. PZ Cussons in a bid to further expand the global reach of its company can take advantage of the web and promote its leading household brand to continents like America and Australia, this must however be done with some of the following recommendations. PZ Cussons must realise that its website is its corporate identity to the world and a representation of its corporate image as such should take advantage of that medium to make it web site more interactive with site visitors. It can incorporate the use of live chats and blogs to gather customer feedback on its brands. It can also adopt the concept of an online register to enable it maintain a database of customers online. PZ Cussons must come to terms with the realities of digitization and begin to open up marketing and sale of its brands online. With the emergence of e-market places, grocery shopping can be done by the click of the mouse. There must also be consistent updates on product offers, special sales and product information and ensure maximum customer satisfaction. With the advent of social networking sites like face book and twitter, PZ Cussons must build an online community for its customers who can share brand experiences with friends and further expand their network. It is often difficult to distinguish between online and offline branding. However, online branding comes with a lot pros and cons as such it will be reminiscent to highlight the plausibility of online branding and its effect on businesses with an online presence. PZ Cussons operates as a promoter for leading other brands which are distributed through an organised distributive channel. The online presence merely transmits brand messages and houses information. PZ Cussons would need to take advantage of their online presence build a dynamic approach to marketing its brands online. Conclusion PZ Cussons has to come to terms with the cutting edge of technology. It must parallel its real world brand dominance with that of its online branding experience and as well deliver its promise to customers. PZ Cussons must use their online presence to create awareness for its brands and encourage customer rapport. There is a huge difference between businesses that do not use online channel in marketing their goods and service and those that use the online channel. PZ Cussons must take advantage of both online and offline channels to expand their reach. Given the publicity the internet generates, PZ Cussons can benefit from cost savings spent on television and print media adverts by channelling funds to a single and cheaper advertising channel.

Contemporary Theories of Crime

Contemporary Theories of Crime According to the history and development of the criminological theory, the knowledge of crime theory has a tendency to include the past criminological theory that has been developed before. For example the labeling theory has a great influence from Chicago school, Durkheim theory and concepts, and symbolic interactionism (Plummer) Theory has the particularity of being the subject of constant renewal, like most of the knowledge in our society. One way of expressing this characteristic is by Thomas Kuhn in his book: structure of scientific revolutions. What he express in his theory is how the knowledge considered as â€Å"normal science†, is in a continuum spiral, according to how theory explains reality inside the framework of paradigms. Once these paradigms reach a point in which they cannot explain reality, normal science reach the point of a crisis. To explain this crisis the paradigms of the normal science must change, summarizing what is usable by the anterior normal scien ce and adding the new knowledge in form of paradigms that explains reality (Kuhn). This is exactly what happens with criminological theory, but still, besides all the progress theory has done, crime is still something hard to attach to a whole theory, and the combination of theory perspectives seems to be the most viable way to express the phenomenon of crime. On the contemporary criminological theory, one the perspectives that has a good approach to the actual context of crime is labeling theory. The labeling theory refers to the attachment of labels to a specific person in society according to the role he has on it. For example someone who commits a crime is recognized by the group of people around him as a criminal. But is not only the person who commits a crime, someone who is accused of committing a crime, doesn’t necessarily have committed that crime, but still he gets the label. Labeling theory refers to the identity that other people confer to one person. This identity is expressed as a label. The labels are stigmas inside society[1] that people must carry. This leads to the other part of the theory. Labeling theory, besides confer a stigma to the members of a society, also tries to explain another aspect of criminological behavior by opening the possibility of change in criminal behavior[2]. The stigma is hard to remove, but this theory proposes a way of reintegrating the members considered abnormal[3]: shaming is the process in which the person submit himself to a treatment or circumstance in which he resigns socially to crime, allowing him to reintegrate to society as a normal subject. The support of this theory is that bring an enormous quantity of material observation in other aspects of society, providing and using the concepts that society uses to determine the subjects inside it. For example the use of labels that are not only related to crime. Another contemporary theory with a wide perspective and more accurately related to actual crime is the environmental theory. This theory has a very situational approach to crime, because it is based on the characteristics that a special place must have for crime to be something executed. Crime occurs within the intersection of a space, time, a motivated offender, an attractive target, and lack of guardianship (Francis T. Cullen). The approach of this situational context has also the inclusion into theory of the daily activities of society, demarking the situation and the possibility of decrease crime by nullifying the situations in which crime can be committed, according to the routine people has. This theory has an opening to set crime as something different from the theories used before the 60’s. The possibility of seeing crime as something that may happen in every context, changes the relations of a stigmatized person to a situational expression of crime. Crime becomes the main subject of study, not the context[4] or the person who commit crime. When in this theory it is said that the focus is on crime, still a lot of concepts and ideas are part of the theory. For instance, the influences of Chicago school of mapping and characterizing crime zones. One contemporary expression of the applications of this theory is the broken windows theory[5]. The third analyzed theory in this text is the Developmental theory. This theory proposes the approach on how crime is explained by the whole history of one subject, group, and society. Crime is attached to every life expression that has happened since birth. Having a research of the main aspects of one person’s life, the individual expression and social values get mixed as the theoretical approach explains crime. This mixture of social and individual behavior is what allows this theory to be one of the most wider and contemporary (Paris). This theory is most applied to young people[6] and it takes into account the perception of the people who commits crime and the people who are victims of a crime. As other contemporary theories, there is possibility of change in the criminological behavior, allowing the criminal to be a normal individual. Some authors explain three ways in which this theory is applied to specific situations. The first one is the continuity of behavior in life course. The second one is that life course behavior might change or continue during time and on its characteristics. And the third one is that the life course behavior continues and changes. This theory is a multiple perspective to analyze crime, by studying the things to take into account to set an idea of how crime develops inside society by the life course of individuals, making a reciprocal analysis of the individuality and collectivity. All together These three theories provide a wide range of analysis, if the three of them are put together there are a lot of factor that would be covered by these theories. Still is not like just mixing the three theories. Each theory has a valid point and perspective to take into account. For example, the developmental theory takes into account the life course, which is an abstraction of the material and real life of the people. It is really a manifestation of the influence of all the material aspects under the mirror of time. This approach is quite accurate to study specific phenomenon because the analysis is deeper in context and it show the influences of society altogether with the individual tendencies. The approach of this theory at certain ages is what restrains this theory to be used. Because of its focuses on age, their analysis perspective loses weight when it is tried to be used in studying different groups, and in the theory itself. This loss of weight is because one of the main cores of this theory is the social development related to biological development. One of the tendencies of these three theories is to provide an option to explain how crime can be changed. Proposing a solution, like the shaming theory[7], or proposing new safety procedures to secure the environment. All these three theories keep the opportunity of becoming a normal[8] citizen or member of a society. Still, besides of the solutions proposed, the praxis of a theory can be very different from what the expectations are. One of the characteristics of these theories, is that are short in context matters. This means that theoretical explanations are only based as maximum to a nation level[9], provoking that many of the structural and contextual representations in politics, economics, culture, education, etc., in the world, cannot be part of the theoretical analysis. But still these representations have their manifestations even in small communities. This is impossible to not take into account macro-tendencies, but it is possible just to focus in micro-tendencies, even if this does not explain a complete context. Labeling theory, as the developmental theory, is not a completely sentence of explanation, but the analysis perspective that is valuable of this perspective is precisely the idea of a label. With the consent or without it, people always make judgments and make labels to identify other people, and to be identified among society as an individual. What criminological theory does is to focus on the labels related to crime. This is a much attached way in which theory explains reality with constructions of reality from society. One of the characteristics of this theory is also that label is just a value granted for the people participant in society, and because of that, according to the social capital[10] and possibilities of change that people have, they might change their label at will. Another fact of this theory, but no so attached to social reality is one of the manifestations of this theory, because of the idea of shaming, not because is not possible, but because is sometimes a motor to commit more crimes in certain contexts. The environmental theory has the possibility of treating crime as a situation with a specific context and circumstances that must be accomplish for the crime to be committed. The focus on the crime as a main subject allows this theory to be the bond for the combination of the other three theories, increasing the possibility of explanation and praxis that these theory have in total. These theoretical perspectives allow taking into account the elements of developmental theory, and use them together in the same explanations or theory. Of course in this conjunction of works, the aspects that restrain developmental theory must not be taken into account. The same goes for the labeling theory. Environmental theory has the possibility of being the connection between the individual perspective of crime in labeling and developmental theory, but at the same time it takes into account the idea of generality prescribed in both. Together with the perspective that environmental theory uses of situational context, crime becomes a definition with a lot of defined perspectives. Using the idea of label and the identity factor to set inside society, and as a representation to the outside society, the idea of crime explains one side of the individual behavior, by the representation that people has during a certain act. The environmental theory explains the event expressed as crime according to the material context in which people lives, but also making reference to another expression of behavioral crime conduct. Using some perspectives of the developmental theory, the factor explained before is part of a whole construction of life, providing a deeply analysis of a crime event, circumstance, conduct, behavior, context, social representation, and manifestation. Contexts and explanations The idea of the scientific revolutions explained at the beginning of the text, is to express one of the situation in which crime theory can be expressed more attached to explain reality. In case of the criminological theories, the perspectives are as many as a bunch. In the whole package of theories, the time has played a main role to develop each theory as the knowledge in crime situations and circumstances becomes wider. But there is a moment, and had happened before, that theory needs a new view and perspective. The citations and influences of the theories in the XIX are immersed in the theories of the XX, and now the contemporary theories are making improvements to explain by new paradigms the new circumstances that involve crime in our society. This, according to Kuhn’s idea, is the traditional process of making the scientific revolution. That is why is importance to pose a new circumstance that provokes a crisis in the criminological theory. Using these three theories may provide a great angle of perspective to analyze a concrete situation. But still the theories are short when it comes to practice. For example: the Mexican context. At first sight is a country like any other, but their main economic and political relations are with United States. The country has a first sight corruption; the police[11] are one of the main actors in these situations and are colluding with the narco[12]. The country is subject of constant violence, but the government is unable to solve the situation, because of the illegal trades and agreements that had surpassed the government power politically and economically. This is at macro-scale, but a micro-scale is almost the same, with the addition that is the poor people who gets involved in this violent context to have something to eat every day. So, how can these three theories make an approach to the context of Mexico? Evidently the crime is on one of the highest rates of Mexican history nowadays. But what is the work of the criminological theory when the established law steps aside and leaves the path to the everyday survival law? Criminological theory must be applied to the context in which it must[13]  be an explanation that requires a reaction from people. Criminological theory as it is right now, does not have the possibility of explaining the events that are happening in the world like Islamic State, Mexico’s violence, Ukraine war, and more. Criminological theory is being insufficient for the fast and changing environment in the world. The implications are every time wide in economy, politics, culture, etc. Using the actual theories to explain crime[14] may explain some aspects of reality, but recovering just the important aspects of each theory does not lead to a complete explanation and possibility of chang e of the real context. Being transdisciplinary is one of the new paradigms that criminological theory can use. Not closing the explanations of the criminal world to just the criminal theory. The possible revolution that criminology as a theoretical science can have is to be at the time of the context. References: Francis T. Cullen, Robert Agnew, Pamela Wilcox. Criminological theory: past to present. New York: Oxford university press, 2007. Kuhn, Thomas. Estructura de las recoluciones cientificas. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2006. Paris, Jessica. Environmental criminolgy and crime prevention. n.d. http://legacy.usfsm.edu/academics/cas/capstone/2010-2011/criminology/paris-environmental criminology intel led policing.pdf?from=404. 29 09 2014. Plummer, Ken. Labeling theory. University of Essex, United Kingdom, 29 09 2014. http://www.sjsu.edu/people/james.lee/courses/soci152/s1/ajreading10labeling.pdf . 27 09 2014. [1] According to the criminological theory, this is focused on crime. [2] This is an implication that this theory has when is applied to explain crime. The results vary, because of personal behavior, situations, and social strains. Even, instead of reducing crime, these implications can even increase it. [3] Those who are consider criminals. [4] This does not mean that context is not taken into account. [5] The maintaining and safety control of urban environments may be a big influence to stop crimes. [6] There is a graphic that represents the main ages in which crime occur that set the age of 10 as the beginning and 20 when the young people stop committing crime. [7] Emphasize on social punishment to provoke shame. It focuses on the behavior on the offender. [8] According to the establishments of what normal is, and also if crime is considered as something abnormal. [9] Contextually, this is a big spectrum, but the political tendencies, economics, society and culture, in which crime is a subject of constant representation, are bigger than the idea of a nation. [10] Explained deeply in â€Å"Two concepts of social capital: Bourdieu vs. Putnam† By Martti Siisiasen, Department of Philosophy, Trinity College, Dublin Ireland. From: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.istr.org/resource/resmgr/working_papers_dublin/siisiainen.pdf [11] The public force that most stop the crime and apprehend the offenders. [12] Production and commerce of drugs, and traffic of people. [13] The using of this word emphasizes a moral reaction against crime. This must be included as a factor that may change according to the context. [14] Under the look of a moral conception of good and evil.

BigBrother Big Sister Essay -- essays research papers

The main two types of mentoring are natural mentoring and planned mentoring. Natural mentoring occurs through friendship, collegiality, teaching, coaching, and counseling that is formed from un-constructed planning (Newman, 1990, p. 41). In contrast, planned mentoring occurs through structured programs in which mentors and participants are selected and matched through formal processes (Newman, 1990, p. 43). There are many different ways to describe mentoring, but they all boil down to one thing: a positive, supportive relationship between a young person and a caring adult. The most compelling data that we have shows the change in our American family structure. Day there are alarming number of children with mental disorders and children being raised in single parent homes has increased. In both areas it is shown that we need more preventive care (Petersmeyer 1989). Other statistics are equally troubling: each day in the United States, 3,600 students drop out of high school, and 2,700 unwed teenage girls get pregnant (Petersmeyer 1989). As a society we have a responsibility to our youth to help them become strong adults. My grandmother was always telling me that it takes more then the immediate family to raise a child well, if a child is to be rear well it takes a whole community contribution. This paper is a comparison of two agencies, Big Brother Big Sisters of America and Compeer. Big Brother Big Sister of America focuses on youth that are from single parent homes. Compeer focus is on children with a mental disorder. The reason why I have chosen these agencies are to show how the success of both and how each is similar to each other but also how each agency focuses on a different area. I do believe that it shows as a member of society and being a mentor we can make a difference in our youth today and our future leaders of tomorrow. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America was started over ninety years ago. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) agencies have provided supportive, one-to-one relationships between adult volunteers and youth living in single-parent homes. Today, BBBSA provides about 75,000 young people with one-to-one supports (Public /Private Ventures, 1995a). In a presentation of the BBBS services, Public/Private Ventures (1995a:4) stated the following: Volunteer screening is a must and is a very strict procedu... ...ntaged High School Students. New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, 1990. ERIC Number ED 325598. Flaxman, E. Evaluating Mentoring Programs. New York: Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1992. Haensly, Patricia A., and James L. Parsons. (1993) â€Å"Creative, Intellectual, and Psychological Development Through Mentorship: Relationships and Stages.† Youth and Society. 25(2), 202-221. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster. Newman, Michael. Beginning a Mentoring Program. Pittsburgh, PA: PLUS (Project Literacy U.S.), 1990, pp. 34-43. Petersmeyer, C.G. "Assessing the Need" in M. Newman, Beginning a Mentoring Program. Pittsburgh, PA: One Plus One, 1989, pp. 5-25. Public /Private Ventures. (1995a) Grossman, Jean Baldwin and Joseph P. Tierney. Making a Difference. September 2000. Philadelphia. Public /Private Ventures. (1995b) Morrow, Kristine and Melanie Styles. Building Relationships with Youth in Program Settings. May 1995. Philadelphia.

Classes of Chemical Reactions :: essays research papers

Classes of Chemical Reactions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whenever a reaction takes place, energy is changed as well when the substances react chemically. Scientists have taken these changes in energy and generalized them. Scientists can take these generalizations and discover more about the nature and tendencies of matter. In this lab, the purpose was to perform seven reactions, write down their equations, and identify the type of reaction. In this lab report, several methods of displaying this information will be applied. Synthesis 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A piece of Magnesium was obtained at about two centimeters in length. The strip was thin and easily bent or twisted. It had a metallic surface and was brittle. It was silver in color. A flame from a Bunsen burner was held to the Mg, and it ignited, giving off a brilliant white light. Looking directly into the light resulted in temporary blindness, which would explain the warning on the procedures that strongly suggested not looking directly into the light. After the flame had extinguished itself due to lack of fuel, the Mg had turned from a metallic strip to an off-white powder, which crumbled at the slightest irritation. The magnesium had bonded with the oxygen gas in the air from the energy that was applied to it and formed magnesium oxide. The type of reaction was a synthesis reaction, as is shown by this equation. 2Mg(s) + O2(g) = 2MgO(s) 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A piece of copper was obtained. It was a small, rounded wire that could be bent, although with a greater difficulty than the Mg strip from the previous account. It was copper in color (never saw that one coming, didja) and had a metallic luster. The copper was put in the flame of a Bunsen burner and after several seconds, it began to blacken. The flame was applied to it for about a minute and a half, and the copper appeared silvery under intense heat, but when it was removed from the flame, the silver color quickly faded. The copper strip was now black all over, and the change in color suggested that a chemical change had occurred. The Cu had reacted with the oxygen in the air and formed copper oxide. The black color could be scraped off, but only in small slivers. It would crumble when it was irritated with a great deal of pressure, respectively. It was a synthesis reaction as displayed by the equation here. Cu(s) + O2(o) = CuO2

Analyzing Mr. Keating’s Teaching Concept in Dead Poets Society from Progressivism Essay

â…   Introduction 1.1 Brief Introduction of Dead Poets Society In 1959, Welton Academy is respected by the people for its dignified style at that time. The education mode there is fixed, not only monotonous but ideology shackled. However it all changed in the hands of a new teacher. John Keating’s educational method against tradition brought vitality to this school: in his classroom, he encouraged the students to stand upon the desk, to observe the world around with a different perspective; he introduced thoughtful poetry to students; the free divergent thinking philosophy he advocated caused great repercussions among students. Gradually, some people accepted him, began to bravely face every day and grasp their own life. Charlie is eager to find the real self, renamed Nuwanda. He takes advantage of being one of the proofers, seeks chance of expressing self-independent thought. Knox behaves uncharacteristically, be brave to pursue his love, finally get a gleam of hope. With the help of Mr. Keating and Neil, the autistic Todd breaks out infinite potential, walks out of shadow and becomes confident and gregarious. Under the edification of the Poetry Society, Neil listens to inner voice and found his real ideal. In spite of his father’s opposition, he successfully starred in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 1.2 Overseas and Domestic Research Status According to the document literature, there are not many domestic scholars study on education through Dead Poets Society. The articles one-sidedly analyze the teaching methods, teaching concept or teacher-student relationship of this film, which still help the analysis of several aspects in this thesis. For example The Teaching Paradigm Thinking Triggered by ‘Dead Poets Society’ written by Long Qixiang, it has explained the changes in teaching purpose in this film; and Discussion on Mr. Keating’ Teaching Concept in ‘Dead Poets Society’ written by Liu Weixing, it has analyzed teaching concept of Mr.Keating. Western scholars have fully analyzed Progressivism. They have put forward their own views from the meaning, thought and influence of Chinese and western education reform. The writer collates and selects the useful materials, by combining Progressive theory with this film will let readers understand how to reasonably teach in theory, and properly apply theory into practice better. â… ¡ Background Knowledge of Progressivism Progressive Education is an educational philosophical thought populated in the United States in first half of 20th century. It has a considerable impact on education at American schools. 2.1 Definition At the end of 19th century and the early 20th century, with the emergency of ‘Progressive Education’ movement in United States, the solid status of Western Absolutism which was completed by Herbart was shaken. Progressive education is an extensive educational trend based on progressive ideas. Its core idea is to promote the transformation of society and the update of human, so as to promote successive progress of human society through education and educational reform. This educational trend originated from 17, 18 century, its influence has continued to present day. 2.2 Theoretical Basis Progressive Education is the education experiment under the guidance of Dewey’s Pragmatism educational thinking. People strongly criticized the old traditional theories and methods led by Herbart, then its opposite ‘Children Centered’ theory put forward. Brief Introduction of Content about Dewey’s Pragmatism Educational Thought: (1) Education namely is Life, Growth and Experience Transformation Education is the process children are now living but not the preparation of future life. The best education is ‘learn from life’, ‘learn from experience’. Due to personal contact with people in social life, individual influences each other, and then we can gradually expand and improve experience, acquire knowledge and develop moral character. (2) School namely is Society. Dewey proposed, ‘I believe school primarily a social organization. Now that education is a social process, the school is a form of social life’. (3) Learning from Doing. The knowledge children gain from listening and reading is not real. The primal and impressive knowledge was gain from doing something like experiment. When we engaged in activities that are meaningful to us, our study effect will be magically revealed. So the study from doing will never be replaced by textbooks. (4) ‘Children Centered’ Theory Proponents of this theory take a child’s development as a natural process that teachers can not dominate, but being a ‘natural servant’. Take children’s interest as the center, emphasize children’s personal development and growth and put students in central point of teaching. Promote new forms, content, methods of education. 2.3 Influences to American Education Due to the establishment of guiding ideology based on people (children, learners), it would inevitably lead to the overall changes which are related to this aspect in education system. That is this whole education reform, at the end of 19th century, early 20th century American society really needs. In this sense, the first contribution of Progressive Education to American education is that, it powerfully promotes American education from agricultural age to industrial age, from modern to contemporary. The Progressive Education constitutes an important beginning of modern American education. Another critical contribution of Progressive Education to the development of American education in 20th century is that, it has had profound impact in forming the basic characteristics of school education in U.S.A. In contemporary American education, progressive educators have strongly advocated the importance of children’s needs and personality differences; emphasized providing more space for children; encouraged inquiry and creative development; respect for the rights of children and so on. All these have become a widespread reality. To some extent, Progressive Education fundamentally changed the atmosphere of American schools and classrooms. Though the ‘Children Centered’ theory advocated by Progressive Education was criticized, the authoritarianism educators opposed could no longer rule the American schools. â… ¢ Analyzing Mr. Keating’s Teaching Concept from the Perspectives of Progressivism In this chapter, the writer will analyze Mr. Keating’s teaching from the Teaching Purpose, Teaching Principles and Teacher-student Relationship of Progressivism; point out the advantages and hidden problems in his teaching. 3.1 Teaching Purpose Progressivism considered there is no ultimate, stable or universal goal preplanning for education. Education should promote children’s continuous growth and development, and this kind of growth and development will contribute to the follow-up. That is the purpose of education. In Welton Academy which filled with dogma and stuffy atmosphere, great courage and boldness is needed to be faithful to one’s personality. But Mr. Keating dares to use a unique way, visually warn students ‘to find your own road, to find your own walk, do not care what others say’. He uses’ Seize the Day’ to alert students to find themselves, to do what they want to do, ‘to make your life extraordinary’. He is a maverick. He is brave to lead the students to get rid of the shackles of tradition and discipline, to arouse the passion and desire in their hearts. In his view, paying attention to students’ creative thinking and self-expression of personality is more valuable than inheriting tradition. The traditional education starts from imparting knowledge and skills, the students’ task is to accept and store knowledge as much as possible in order to succeed at all levels of exam. This kind of education leads to the consequence that study is for knowledge and exams not for students themselves or their ideal life. So during the teaching process, Mr. Keating not only emphasizes students’ acquirement about knowledge and skills, but the training of the way they thinking and the cultivation of healthy personality. 3.2 Teaching Principles The principles of Progressive Education like methods, content and materials being adopted in the teaching process are all included. These are concrete steps to achieve the teaching purpose of Progressivism, and these are also the steps Mr. Keating always keeps on doing. Basic principles of ‘progressive education’ is: express and cultivate personality, oppose to instill from outside; behave freely, protest compulsory discipline; learn from experience not from the textbooks; oppose to obtain isolated skills and techniques through training; make full use of opportunities in real life, against fixed target and materials. To be more specific, principles can be divided into 10 points: (1) Attention to all abilities and power of a child. Student is considered to be a total organism which contains intellectual, social, emotional, physical, spiritual and other aspects. Students should not only develop intelligence but social, emotional, physical and other aspects should also be developed. This point is thought to be one of basics of ‘Children Centered’ theory. It doesn’t set a specific goal or inclined to develop the important aspect for children, but to grow up comprehensively. However, Welton as an educational institution, it likes a machine without heat and emotional coloring which only focuses on enrolment rate, processes each student into qualified product with its powerful deterrent and imprisoned force. The arrival of Mr. Keating injects fresh blood for them, so that they see the human instinct. The instinctive impulse, repressed desires, emotions and intentions deep in their unconscious begin to stir. (2) The role of a teacher is to encourage but not to supervise. This point is related to teacher-student relationship. In traditional teaching, the role of teacher is not only to teach students knowledge but a supervisor to assure students would not do the things which are out of discipline or influence their study. One pillar of Welton is discipline. What school should do is to assure enrollment rate, eradicate every activity that would influence students’ score, teachers always put heavy study pressure on students’ shoulder. Students there are not people but learning machine. In Progressivism, Teacher is a person who uses his rich and right experience to help students analyze and deal with different situations. He is important to be a guide or a leader in teaching, but he is not the only authority. In Mr. Keating’s teaching, he teaches book knowledge and life philosophy through normal daily activities and his own experience. He doesn’t limit students’ freedom and to encourage them to seize the day, to find things people really stay alive for. But it also shows that if students lack proper supervision, it will have negative impacts. (3) School should be positive and active to solve problems then enhance, but not be negative or passive in teaching through memories. Analysis and reconstruction of facts is indispensable for an increase of knowledge, explanatory power and the ability to correctly classified. If people want to find something new, they must do something to the object. It is necessary to jump out of the environment which has been set previously. A usual way of teaching is to remember and recite the book knowledge like formulas, equations and poems then repeat practicing. Welton only uses traditional ways to teach while sometimes not suitable for students, for example students learn Latin by reading after teacher; they learn science by doing much homework. While Mr. Keating encourages students try to look at things from different perspectives when they are learning, even though it may seem silly or wrong. He regards the way to rate and determine a poem great or not by the rational coordinate in textbook is excrement. He let students rip out entire introduction. (4) Friendly, enthusiastic and humanitarian classroom atmosphere. Class is the main place for teaching, the quality of teaching hinges on the atmosphere in class more or less. A teacher of profound learning should have the ability to make his students actively participate in the learning process, students have interest to learn then even profound knowledge could be understood. In other teachers’ classroom, students are silent and indiscriminate, teachers are authoritative and rigorous and the atmosphere is always tense. Students should follow and comply with teachers’ requirements otherwise they would get a low score in their exams. Mr. Keating’s class is on the contrary, no bondage is in the classroom. He does not adopt the way that teacher stands seriously on platform and students sit properly below. He walks among students and uses approachable ways imparting knowledge. (5) More space. This point likes the second point, which is to provide more space for children in learning and private daily life. In this film, students are under the control of authority; their inner desires are bound by reality. Space is namely freedom, it is required to learn, to live. People are instinctive to chase happiness, but it always restricts by reality, so we need to find a compromising way to chase happiness. They release repressed sentiment by reading poems in the cave, by reading a meaningful sentence before kicking football. The things they cannot achieve in real life can be got in poetic imagination. Under the suppression of Welton’s educational concept, Mr. Keating also harshly criticized school’s management system with his own practical action. (6) The curriculum should be adapted to each child’s level of maturity, and based on children’s interest, creativity, self-expression and personal development to achieve individualized. Children were born in their own way, but through the struggle with reality their individual character would be obliterated, from a pentagon to a round shape. Though Welton always cultivates only one type of person, which is qualified graduate. It is hard to implement this kind of curriculum even in today’s society, what we could do is to keep our pure personality from changing by our surroundings. (7) To provide children with a wealth of teaching materials, facilitate students to explore, to operate, to apply. Teaching is not limited in classroom, not limited in the required materials. Learning can in everywhere. In the first class of Mr. Keating, he whistled and led students to the school history exhibition room, let them stop their impetuous pace and face the age-old yellow photos, to listen to the silent advice’ Carpe Diem’, to comprehend the short time and demise of life. In gym class, he was playing vibrant Baroque music, while let students line up single file and read an incentive poetry before kicking the ball. These are not the ways traditional teachers would adopt but by which encourage students most. In headmaster’s eyes, students should sit in the classroom and absorb traditional materials which have been tested by practice. There is no need for them clapping and marching in the courtyard or doing anything which does not help with their study. (8) Establish organization to promote cooperation and make common experience. The knowledge and experience work out together by learners themselves will be more impressive than the one by force-feeding. In this film, students firstly organize study groups to help each other with their homework. Afterwards, they reorganize The Dead Poets—a community devotes to ‘suck out all the marrow of life’. They transfer the way to release repressed emotion to this literary society. Students rally in a cave at night, they recite the works of Byron, Whitman and even the one creates by them, feel the meaning and value of life. (9) Oppose to the concept of education is preparation for life. Advocate education is a constituent part of actual production process. This point is the same as Dewey’s Pragmatism. Progressivism sides on the idea that education is to enhance personal development in real life; rather than let children adapt to education, but let education adapt to children. Mr. Keating never urges students to get a high score or be the top of ranks, he just wants his children to acquire right values and grow up comprehensively through education. However, headmaster insists that the duty of school is to prepare students for college, because a best enrolment means bright future for students and reputation for school. The development of student’s rest aspects will take care of itself. It cannot say which one is absolutely right, but the two contradictions will cultivate entirely different students. (10) Against compulsory and strict punishment. This is the common rewards and penalties system even in today’s school. Students with good grades will receive many rewards, and others behave badly will be published differently due to their behaviors. In Welton Academy which takes enrolment rate as the ultimate goal. Mr. Keating as an English teacher, he abandons the stereotype and dogma and teaches without pointer and corporal punishment, but in the form of poetry, music and sports, inspires students to pursue the truth of life by applying his unique insights towards art . But when Charlie slipped an article in school paper, received a phone call from ‘God’ demanding girls be admitted to Welton, he was published by headmaster; he has to bow his head and look for forgiveness. 3.3 Teacher-student Relationship Progressivism inherited and developed the educational philosophy of Dewey’s Pragmatism. They think that children should be in accordance with their own needs and interests. Therefore, teachers should act as a mentor or advisor rather than an authoritative figure. The responsibility of the teacher is not to command relying on the authority but to provide advices. Children should determine their own things by the interest, and they plan their own development, teachers are just learning guide. (1) The role of students: they turn from ‘knowledge passive receptacles’ to ‘positive constructors’. Mr. Keating always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself. He encouraged students to be a free thinker and told them the dangers of conformity. ‘Suck out the marrow of life in my own way. And not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived’. Obviously, Mr. Keating asked students to break the reality that passively accept tradition and authority, trying to require them to acquire knowledge through active thinking then resulting in the growth of life. Student is a total organism which is autonomous and developmental. They are not affected by external factors and continuously feel, experience the meaning and value of life in growing process. Thus teachers should not to control students’ behavior but to respect their self-awareness; pay attention to the needs of student’s physical, emotional and other aspects. Make the learning process becoming the process of students’ growth. Furthermore, knowledge is not granted by others, but discover and invent by learner themselves. The learning materials were chose, understood and reformed by learners’ own experience, then constructed their own new knowledge system. So students should not be the passive receptacles to store knowledge but active constructors. (2) The role of teachers: They change from ‘knowledge porters’ to ‘wisdom enlighteners’. Mr. Keating has vividly showed how to be a guide and enlighteners through his teaching methods and behavior. Teachers should create teaching situation, lead students to use prior knowledge and skills to delve into learning. In his class, Mr. Keating would start from the book learning or a shallow action into a deep life lesson. ‘Seize the day!’, ‘Talking about poetry is not laying pipe.’, ‘See everything in a different way, seek for your own voice’, ‘Find your own pace, swim against stream.’ Teachers should be aware of the importance of letting students know how to acquire knowledge rather than directly give them knowledge. To encourage students to be good at thinking, be daring to innovate, be brave to explore. It is sure if without Mr. Keating’s enforcement, Todd would not make his excellent verse and still be an obedient child; keep his desire deep in mind forever. From this point we can see, teacher and student are both living individual. They have their own emotions, personality, values and ways of thinking. They also have their own views and experience towards teaching. The teacher cannot be a substitute for his students to perceive or understand knowledge. Therefore, teacher cannot be the one controlling teaching; student should not comply with it. Teachers should walk down from the superior central authority; eliminate cold, nervous, hostile atmosphere in the classroom; return the classroom to students and regard students as individual life; respect their personality and equally talk with them. 3.4 Advantages of Mr. Keating’s Teaching 3.4.1 Mr. Keating set a model for teacher about Happy Teaching. He takes ease and freedom as standard to create a casual learning environment. Mr. Keating broke the ‘force-feeding’ teaching mode and built an interactive platform between teacher and students. He respected students and concerned about their real needs, made them happily grow up in a free, casual teaching environment. He taught students to have a pair of eyes to discover beauty, to feel the wonderful in discipline with their heart. Be good at observing and discovering; let all students to become the master of their own ideas. E.g. Mr. Keating encouraged them to look at things in different ways, to seek for own voice. This free divergent thinking form leaves students more space for positive thinking; another example is telling students lifetime is short, if you want to make your life extraordinary you have to seize the day. 3.4.2 Mr. Keating taught students to Learn to Think. He let students to learn thinking freely and independently. Have your own voice not to follow indiscriminately. Learning in the classroom is always dead and mechanical; the knowledge while we chat outside of the classroom is alive and vivid. The former is specialized knowledge; the latter ‘liberal’ education. E.g. Mr. Keating let students walk freely in the courtyard to experience that it is easy to follow the pace of others while walking behind them and it is difficult to adhere to their own pace and personality. 3.4.3 Mr. Keating helped students to Establish Confidence and Keep Faith. Mr. Keating introduced thoughtful poems to students, let them gradually comprehend the connotation of poem; learn to focus on reality and love life and to cultivate students’ self-confident, optimistic and tough characters. Students can play their potential ability by reciting poetry. E.g. Todd is an introverted and sensitive student, Mr. Keating saw his cowardice but he did not condone it. He forced Todd to yawn to compose a verse thus to release his repressed emotions. Mr. Keating makes students know the meaning of life through his poems. 3.4.4 Mr. Keating encouraged students to develop freely and show their personality. In the whole teaching process, Mr. Keating always encouraged students to develop personality. He thought teaching is not purely imparting knowledge but also deeply cultivating one’s personality. It is a process to let students think freely and explore independently. He let me know success is not unary. Some students study in reputable schools like Welton are carrying too much pressure from family and society, most of times what surroundings force them to do are not they really dream of. Like Neil, Todd and others, they all under the pressure of outside, so they have to hide their inner desire and abide to requirements. In the end, Neil found his dream, Todd overcame his cowardice, and Overstreet was brave to pursue his girl. These are all successes, they all develop without limitation. 3.5 Hidden Problems of Mr. Keating’s Teaching and the Solutions The most touching picture was on the football field: With the melody of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to joy’ and under the encouragement of Mr. Keating, the students wearing red sweatshirt enjoy running, chasing and frolicking. They simply carry Mr. Keating on their shoulders and run hilariously around the playground. In the golden sunset, the immortal melody that shines forever on the concept of human seems to have a new tone. However, the result of a movie is not always a happy ending. Neil’s death is really a tragedy. The hidden problems in Mr. Keating’s teaching have emerged. 3.5.1 ‘Children Centered’ Theory should work in its moderate otherwise it will gradually become an indulgent behavior. It is really a good thing that Mr. Keating changes the monotonous atmosphere for his students, to help them to find their inner desire and tell them many life philosophies. It is obvious that everyone hopes to meet a teacher like Mr. Keating. But it still needs supervision. At their meeting in cave, except a few good poems the students occasionally recited, practically accompanied by smoking and drinking. When Charlie did wrong, Mr. Keating just told him not to be blatant. But there is no need to excessively against nature like Welton. In my view, both teachers’ guidance and students’ interest should take into consideration in teaching. By combining both of them, students, teachers and school will be in a harmonious relationship. 3.5.2 The education concept of Mr. Keating seems to be too ideal. He said, ‘Medicine, law, business, engineering: these are noble pursuit and necessary to sustain life; but poetry, beauty, romance, love: these are what we stay alive for’. He tried to let students be aware of the importance of individual growth and the meaning of life. His words inspired students. They want to seek for dream at the same time they are trammeled by reality. But Neil is too concerned with his ideal to make necessary compromise with reality. He puts himself into an impasse and he kills himself in order to make his body free. This is the character of Progressivism: it focuses on personal development. However, it would be better if we balance personal needs and social needs; ideal and reality. Education should be the integration of these four parts. Blind pursuit of ideal is extremely dangerous because it would make us defeated by the cruel reality. Thus we must look for the most appropriate method to seek for dreams and try our best to keep the balance between ideal and reality. 3.5.3 Progressivism education ignores imparting system knowledge. In this film, Mr. Keating also emphasizes more on telling students about life philosophies rather than imparting system knowledge. He skips around the chapter in textbook which is not beneficial for students. To realize inner desire needs to put into action, systematic knowledge is the basis of practice. Understanding life philosophies is important for mental development while systematic knowledge is also indispensable for intellectual development. â… £ Conclusion After analyzing Mr. Keating’s teaching concept, educators can apply some useful points in Chinese education. There are some unreasonable status quos in Chinese education, like it highly required technicality of subject knowledge but ambiguously required for all-round capability of mastering and applying knowledge; most of disciplines which are self-contained do not communicate with each other and the learning content is away from reality and its practicality is poor. By combining useful points in the analysis, solutions could be put forward to improve status quo: As for Teaching Purpose, except focusing on high scores, there are many other things they should learn and experience like moral values. Personal growth and social purpose of education should in a balanced state. This is complete and correct purpose. As for Teaching Content, practical skills like fostering creativity, teamwork and logical reasoning could be increased, at the same time we should not neglect students’ learning about basic knowledge. Another important thing is that we should led students know how to apply them to practice, especially by using the examples in real life. After all, education is to help us to be able to deal with problems in many fields. As for Teaching Method, funds and advanced technology has been applying to teaching facilities nowadays, teaching methods become diverse and we should make full use of existing facilities. Teachers can combine their teaching content with appropriate method and facility, by doing so students will be more engaged in teaching process. By analyzing Mr. Keating’s teaching purpose, teaching principles and teacher-student relationship in Dead Poets Society from perspectives of Progressivism. Readers can firstly have a general understanding about this western educational philosophy, and then they can comprehend the theoretical foundation of Mr. Keating’s teaching behaviors, which is really commendable in Chinese education. Progressivism breaks through the fetter of traditional education, advocates the importance of children’s interests and free space to develop. But everything should be in a moderate, so that can avoid the issues because of extreme. The analysis of unreasonable status quo of Chinese high school education will attract people’s attention to problems of educational practice and education itself. That is we have to eliminate exam-oriented education which only focuses on students’ grades and neglects the development of other respects. As for the solutions of these problems are writer’s desired methods to solve them. The reform and healthy growth of Chinese education system will keep going through trial and error. Works Cited [1].è ° ¢Ã¥ ¦ ®Ã¥ ¦ ®. è ¿ Ã§â€ ¨Ã¥ ¼â€"æ ´â€ºÃ¤ ¼Å Ã¥ ¾ ·Ã§ ² ¾Ã§ ¥Å¾Ã¥Ë†â€ Ã¦Å¾ Ã¦â€° ¹Ã¨ ¯â€žÃ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¨ ¯â€žÃ¦Å¾ Ã£â‚¬Å Ã¦ ­ »Ã¤ º ¡Ã¨ ¯â€"ç ¤ ¾Ã£â‚¬â€¹[J]ï ¼Å'Ã¥ » ¶Ã¥ ®â€°Ã¨ Å'ä ¸Å¡Ã¦Å â‚¬Ã¦Å" ¯Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã©â„¢ ¢Ã¯ ¼Å' 2011ï ¼Ë†03ï ¼â€° [2].刘å  «Ã¦ËœÅ¸Ã¯ ¼Å'Ã¥ ½ ­Ã¥Å  ²Ã¦  ¾. æ µâ€¦Ã¨ ® ®Ã£â‚¬Å Ã¦ ­ »Ã¤ º ¡Ã¨ ¯â€"ç ¤ ¾Ã£â‚¬â€¹Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¥Å¸ ºÃ¥ » ·Ã¨â‚¬ Ã¥ ¸Ë†Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦â€¢â„¢Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã§ â€ Ã¥ ¿ µ[J]ï ¼Å'ç §â€˜Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã¦â€"‡æ ±â€¡Ã¯ ¼Ë†Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€" ¬Ã¥Ë†Å Ã¯ ¼â€°Ã¯ ¼Å' 2010ï ¼Ë†02ï ¼â€° [3].é ¾â„¢Ã¨ µ ·Ã© ¦â„¢. Ã¥ ®Å¾Ã§Å½ °Ã§â€Å¸Ã¥â€˜ ½Ã¥Å'â€"æ•™å ­ ¦Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¨ ½ ¬Ã¥Å¾â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã§â€ ±Ã¥ ½ ±Ã§â€°â€¡Ã£â‚¬Å Ã¦ ­ »Ã¤ º ¡Ã¨ ¯â€"ç ¤ ¾Ã£â‚¬â€¹Ã¥ ¼â€¢Ã¥ â€˜Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦â€¢â„¢Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¨Å'Æ'Ã¥ ¼ Ã¦â‚¬ Ã¨â‚¬Æ'[J],ä » £Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã¨â€š ²Ã¨ ® ºÃ¥ â€ºÃ¯ ¼Ë†Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã§  â€Ã§ © ¶Ã¯ ¼â€° 2010ï ¼Ë†07ï ¼â€° [4].Ã¥ ­â„¢Ã¥â€¹â€¡. ç” µÃ¥ ½ ±Ã£â‚¬Å Ã¦ ­ »Ã¤ º ¡Ã¨ ¯â€"ç ¤ ¾Ã£â‚¬â€¹Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦â€¢â„¢Ã¨â€š ²Ã¥  ¯Ã§ ¤ º[J]ï ¼Å' ä ¸ ­Ã¥â€º ½Ã¥ ¾ ·Ã¨â€š ² 2 010ï ¼Ë†08ï ¼â€° [5].Ã¥  ¢Ã¥ ºâ€ Ã§â€Å¸,è ° ¢Ã¦Å¾ Ã© ¾â„¢ 《æ ­ »Ã¤ º ¡Ã¨ ¯â€"ç ¤ ¾Ã£â‚¬â€¹Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦ µ ªÃ¦ ¼ «Ã¤ ¸Å½Ã§Å½ °Ã¥ ®Å¾ [J],æÅ"ŸåˆŠè  £Ã¨ ªâ€°,2010ï ¼Ë†12ï ¼â€° [6].è ¿Å¾Ã§ ¼ ¤Ã§â€¡â€¢Ã¯ ¼Å'Ã¥ ¾ Ã¨ ·Æ'Ã¥ Å½. è ¿â€ºÃ¦ ­ ¥Ã¤ ¸ »Ã¤ ¹â€°Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã¨â€š ²Ã¨ ¿ Ã¥Å  ¨Ã§Å¡â€žÃ§ â€ Ã¨ ® ºÃ¥Å¸ ºÃ§ ¡â‚¬Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¦ Å"Ã¥ ¨ Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦â€¢â„¢Ã¨â€š ²Ã¦â‚¬ Ã¦Æ' ³[J]ï ¼Å'ç §â€˜Ã¦Å â‚¬Ã¤ ¿ ¡Ã¦  ¯Ã¯ ¼Ë†Ã§ §â€˜Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã§  â€Ã¯ ¼â€° 2007ï ¼Ë†31ï ¼â€° [7].Ã¥ ¼  Ã¦â€"Å'è ´ ¤. è ¿â€ºÃ¦ ­ ¥Ã¤ ¸ »Ã¤ ¹â€°Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã¨â€š ²Ã¨ ¿ Ã¥Å  ¨Ã¤ ¸Å½Ã§Å½ °Ã¤ » £Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã¨â€š ²Ã¥ â€˜Ã¥ ±â€¢[J]ï ¼Å'æ•™è‚ ²Ã§ §â€˜Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¯ ¼Å'1996ï ¼Ë†02ï ¼â€°

Death penalty Essay

Today I want to inform you about a very, very serious topic. This topic deals with live and death. I want to give you my personal opinion as well as some basic facts against the death penalty in the USA that is still used as a normal punishment for murderers in many states – for example Ohio. I think the death penalty is a very cruel, violent and in human way to punish a person. For me it seems more as a revenge than doing justice.  It is not morally or religious excusable to take away someone’s life – no matter what he or she did. Every one of you, who is Christian or maybe belongs to another religion is actually supposed to be AGAINST the death penalty – just like me – as it is a clear violation against the commandments in the bible. The 6. Rule says: Do not Murder. Also, I really cannot understand, how the government can still enforce the death penalty, while it should actually have the responsibility to protect the society. By trying to judge what the right action is and thereby deciding about live or death of a human being, the government plays god. NOONE is able to be so sure and know what was and is right or wrong – and there is always -always – a chance that the person who is going to die is actually innocent. By using death as punishment the government also impinges upon its own human rights: Article 3 of the human rights, established by the United Nations and signed by the USA says: Every human being has the right of live, of freedom, and of personal safety. In my opinion the state should make better provisions against daily murders, rather than doing revenge afterwards. Furthermore, so far, no studies could ever prove that the death penalty is scaring the people enough not to commit crimes. In fact, there are even many states WITH death penalty that have less murders than states where it still exists. – if you want to commit a crime – f. ex. Terrorists Neither has any study ever proved that persons who are guilty of murder will kill again. So, the death penalty is pointless and make no sense. The committer has no chance to rethink, probably regret his action, and start a better life in the future. Don’t you think like me? I can really not understand how there can be so much violence in this world, when it is sometimes so easy to prevent it. Help make this world more fair. Be against the death penalty