The Matrix Essay -- essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites It is easy to confuse the concepts of "virtual reality" and a "computerized model of reality (simulation)". The former is a self-contained Universe, replete with its "laws of physics" and "logic". It can bear resemblance to the real world or not. It can be consistent or not. It can interact with the real world or not. In short, it is an arbitrary environment. In contrast, a model of reality must have a direct and strong relationship to the world. It must obey the rules of physics and of logic. The absence of such a relationship renders it meaningless. A flight simulator is not much good in a world without aeroplanes or if it ignores the laws of nature. A technical analysis program is useless without a stock exchange or if its mathematically erroneous. Yet, the two concepts are often confused because they are both mediated by and reside on computers. The computer is a self-contained (though not closed) Universe. It incorporates the hardware, the data and the instructions for the manipulation of the data (software). It is, therefore, by definition, a virtual reality. It is versatile and can correlate its reality with the world outside. But it can also refrain from doing so. This is the ominous "what if" in artificial intelligence (AI). What if a computer were to refuse to correlate its internal (virtual) reality with the reality of its makers? What if it were to impose its own reality on us and make it the privileged one? In the visually tantalizing movie, "The Matrix", a breed of AI computers takes over the world. It harvests human embryos in laboratories called "fields". It then feeds them through grim looking tubes and keeps them immersed in gelatinous liquid in cocoons. This new "machine species" derives its energy needs from the electricity produced by the billions of human bodies thus preserved. A sophisticated, all-pervasive, computer program called "The Matrix" generates a "world" inhabited by the consciousness of the unfortunate human batteries. Ensconced in their shells, they see themselves walking, talking, working and making love. This is a tangible and olfactory phantasm masterfully created by the Matrix. Its ... ... people the same way that the Universe triggers a time sensation in us. Something does happen OUT THERE and it is called the Matrix. In this sense, the Matrix is real, it is the reality of these humans. It maintains the requirement of the first type of flow of data. But it fails the second test: people do not know that it exists or any of its attributes, nor do they affect it irreversibly. They do not change the Matrix. Paradoxically, the rebels do affect the Matrix (they almost destroy it). In doing so, they make it REAL. It is their REALITY because they KNOW it and they irreversibly CHANGE it. Applying this dual-track test, "virtual" reality IS a reality, albeit, at this stage, of a deterministic type. It affects our minds, we know that it exists and we affect it in return. Our choices and actions irreversibly alter the state of the system. This altered state, in turn, affects our minds. This interaction IS what we call "reality". With the advent of stochastic and quantum virtual reality generators - the distinction between "real" and "virtual" will fade. The Matrix thus is not impossible. But that it is possible - does not make it real.

Gender Inequality in the Work Place

Gender inequality and The Work Place The society in which we live has been shaped historically by males. The policy makers have consistently been males and therefore it is not surprising that our society reflects those biases which exist in result of this male dominating society. One might think that gender inequality in the work place is rooted in what shapes future employees and employers. Whoever said men and women are equal?Women have always taken a back seat to men in American society. This is not only found in the United States, but in other countries as well. The problem of men and women not being equal can be traced back to the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all men are created equal. There was no mention of women being equal, only men. At the time of the drafting of the document, the men had all the power.The document was even drafted by a man; Women were confined to the home to take care of the domestic housekeeping duties. Soci ologist Perspective In my research on work place inequality, I read a perspective from a sociologist named Sandra Bem who focuses on gender. However, unlike most female sociologist, Bem chooses not to focus on the differences between males and females, but rather on their similarities.She says that polarized gender socialization, the way that we assign masculine or feminine characteristics to things such as walking and talking to make males and females appear to be different, keeps us from realizing that the sexes are more alike than they are opposite. Men and women have the same needs for food, clothing, shelter, affection, belonging and so on. Whether by choice or economic necessity, woman have entered the paid labor force in numbers recent years, and so they should be entitled to equal pay and respect.Although many people who know these statistics are optimistic about the gain women have made in the United States specifically in employment, it should be noted that women’s positions as a social category in the labor force is lower than men’s in term of status, opportunities and salary. Feminist researchers have used the advancements of women into top-tier management jobs as a litmus test for how well women are faring in the labor force as a whole. Studies continue to confirm that women hold a small percentage of the top positions. Causes of Gender Inequality in the WorkplaceThe causes of gender equality in these positions stem from four stereotypes; Sexism : American cultural belief that women are best suited for jobs that emphasize service, nurturing, housekeeping, men best suited for careers of high-level decision making and authority, Lack of qualifications: Men typically have more education and job experience than women 28% of men age 25+ have completed at least 4 years of college 27% of Women Men have more job experience because women loose time during pregnancy and child care, The glass ceiling: subtle and unconscious discrimination that prevents them from reaching higher and better-paying positions for which they are qualified. Women and minorities make up 30% of middle managers in U. S. but less than 1% of chief execs, networking: Men use golf clubs, other rec places where women were discouraged from going. The Functionalist PerspectiveAccording to functionalist Talcott Parsons (1955), gender inequality is inevitable because of the biological division of labor: Men are generally stronger than women and have certain abilities and interest. Parson said, men find themselves more suited to be goal oriented and women to expressive. Other functionalist explanations of gender inequality focus on the human capital that men and women bring to the workplace. According to human capital explanations, what individuals earn is based on choices they have made, including choices about the kinds of training and experiences they accumulate. For example, human capital analysts argue that women diminish their human capital when they leave the labor force to engage in childbearing and child care activities.So this is why they have less experience. It takes two to tangle that’s unprecedented. Conclusion/Solution Inequality has kept in place because of beliefs and practices that have been drilled into people’s minds for so long. When will women be treated as equals to men in the work place? I don't see a change happening in the near future. Women are slowly being treated more as equals to men but the gap will never narrow to complete equality. Women should, not only be treated as equal in the work place, but also in everything else as well. Whether it is a computer scientist, an athlete, or a president of the United States, women should be treated as equal to men.Gender discrimination has gone too far and we, as a society, have to draw the line. We can’t change past issues, but we can certainly change the future. Work Cited: â€Å"The Declaration of Independence. † The Declaration of In dependence. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. Greenbuam, Vicky. â€Å"Seeing through the Lenses of Gender: Beyound Male/Female Polarization. † English Journal 88. 3 (1999): 96-99. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. Kendall, Diana Elizabeth. Social Problems in a Diverse Society. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Web. 10 Feb. 2013 [ 2 ]. Greenbuam, English Journal 88. 3, 1999 [ 3 ]. Kendall, 2013. [ 4 ]. Kendall, 2013, Pg. 94

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky Essay

The parable of the Grand Inquisitor is told by Ivan to Alyosha found in the novel, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Both Ivan and Alyosha are brothers. The difference is in their respective religions wherein Ivan is a dedicated atheist while Alyosha is a monk. The parable is an important component of the novel and also one of the most famous passages in modern literature because it contains ideas about human freedom and nature. The parable also consists of a fundamental ambiguity. The leadership of the Grand Inquisitor is based on his amazing and exceptional strength to have freedom that has endured that majority of the human beings found it so terrible. From his point of view, only people who have knowledge enough to lie and who have the strength to endure suffering by being forced to make lies can rule over those people who want to stay weak, disillusioned and obedient. The Grand Inquisitor made an accusation against Christ of only speaking to the strong in spirit and can endure freedom while he is enforcing dogmatic solutions and continues his ministry to the weak. This style of leadership by the Grand Inquisitor can be compared to the leadership of Socrates. The Socratic method is described as the series of questions that are prolonged and answers that will refute a moral principle by letting the opposing argument to come up with a conclusion that will contradict the person’s original point of view. Socrates developed this style as a way to examine, refute or shame the opponent into reversing his earlier opinion. The Grand Inquisitor challenges the very essence of human life, the concept of evil and the free will of man. The concept of freedom is being examined and is described using a perspective that is bleak and contemptuous. The ideologies of man is being depicted as being a destructive force that has brought down humanity into chaos and anguish. The parable can be perceived as an attack on religion and God but a closer look will reveal a conclusion that remains the opposite. It is concluded that the Grand Inquisitor becomes the explanation for the crucial need for a religious institution. The context of the parable may be a shock to religious advocates. God will visit the earth in the form of flesh and blood. He performs miracles and is imprisoned in a cell by a man who punishes him for giving free will to mankind. It is clear from the beginning of the story that Alyosha is religious while Ivan is being cynical in his position on the matter. After the Grand Inquisitor becomes aware of the presence of God here on earth, he orders his men to capture him. The depiction of the Inquisitor has contradicted the description of God’s human form. The Inquisitor is being presented as a formidable, cold and judgmental and sinister. Another contrast that can be found between God and the Inquisitor is the reaction of the crowd to both of them. The people displays a fearful obedience as their behavior towards the Inquisitor and not the same adoration and awe like before. It is noted here that the people is quick to abandon God who in such a short time before they were all so enamored with. The weakness of man as a theme and the need for a rigid government will begin will begin to come out. A lengthy monologue follows which is delivered by the Grand Inquisitor to God. The lecture talks about the Inquisitor’s reprimand for freedom. The Inquisitor is speaking against the internal freedoms that are borne out of man’s free will. He describes how freedom has enslaved humanity and placed the human race into a state of disorder and chaos. He confronts God on this error and boldly declares that the human race will reject Him ultimately. The argument of the Inquisitor is difficult to refute as the ability of man to differentiate the good from the evil is undoubtedly questionable. The freedom of the will permits every individual to have a different system of morals or in some instances having no morals at all. If one will put into consideration the violence and the deprivation that is happening in the world everyday, it seems that man cannot manage the freedom that he enjoys with his will. The many choices and responsibilities, the moral decisions that he has to make on a daily basis has already overwhelmed so many. The mind has the ability to create an environment of its own by making hell out of heaven. This ability of the mind is what the Inquisitor has spoken of and has claimed that it has led to the destruction of mankind. There are many people who make choices in their lives that paved the way for the creation of circumstances that are hellish in nature. It is not the responsibility of free will that comes with it that overwhelms mankind. The reference of evil and the existence of God can also be found in the Confessions of Augustine. A person only needs to look around the world and have the realization later on that something is not quite right. The existence of evil is one of the challenges that have puzzled many Christians and those that are not for that matter. For most of Ausgustine’s life, he tried to find a solution for it. The question of the existence of evil can be reworded in many ways. One approach could be to address the source and beginnings of evil that will prompt a series of statements that will eventually form an argument with reason. It is said that God is the creator of all things. Evil is also a thing so therefore God also created evil. If the first arguments were true, then there is no escape to the solution. This formula is frustrating for the whole of Christianity. God would not be known as good if he intentionally created evil. Augustine has approached the problem from a certain angle. He questions if there is any convincing proof that God exists. If there is any proof that would suggest and lead to the conclusion that he really does, then God could not possibly be capable of creating evil. Evil must have come from something else. He also had an observation that evil could not be selected because there really is no certain evil thing to choose. A person can only turn away from good preferring a lesser good over a greater good since everything is good. For when the will abandons what is above itself, and turns to what is lower, it becomes evil – not because that is evil to which it turns, but because the turning itself is wicked† (Augustine 2007). Evil is therefore an act of choosing the lesser good over th greater good. To him, evil comes from the free will of the people. Evil was a perversion of the free will in man who turned away from God in preference of lesser things. Back to the Grand Inq uisitor, Satan or evil has obviously grown impatient by the values of kindness, humility and love that he has found to have no defenses and forced to capitulate. He is powerless with the overwhelming humility that he is forced not to live up to his threat of burning Christ at the stake. The prisoner is released and is allowed to walk freely and safe. Before the release, the prisoner gave a valedictory kiss on the lips of the inquisitor. Satan was a rebel in heaven. Because he wanted to rule, he preferred hell. In the continuing political power struggle, he has claimed the world to be his own and has a message for Christ to keep out of his world. The ends justify the means. The previous statement aptly characterizes a consequentialist’s way of reasoning. The outcome or result of an action when beneficial is morally right regardless of the means to get the end result. Consequentialists for example think of what they want, how they are going to get it and what the good in it is if they take action towards their goal. Deolontologists would be thinking of the rationality of an action and base it on a moral rule to know if it is right or wong. Comparing the personal identity of both theories, consequentialists consider the will, reason and desires as important in determining morality. Meanwhile, deolontologists consider only will and reason because they believe that desires only distract the mind from thinking rationally. Desires reflect emotions and in deolontology, there is no room for that because the moral rule is to be followed. Regardless if they want to do something or not, they must perform their duty because the performance of it is morally right. The rationality of consequentialism is in getting what you want out of that action. You want to achieve something because it is beneficial for you. Therefore you think of actions to take that would lead to the things you want and bring you the greatest good. Reason dictates the actions of deontologists. It is in reasoning that deolontologists discover what is right or wrong based on moral principles. The primary source for evaluating morals in consequentialism is the consequence of an action while in deolontology, it is the actions themselves. The virtue of consequentialism may be the feeling of having maximized the utility available. For deolontologists who are performing their moral duties, it the feeling of having done the right thing. However, both of these theories have criticisms in their arguments. One of the criticisms by Anscombe state that in consequentialism, it is not clear what one ought to do because the validity of the action is based on the consequences. As compared to deolontology, the theory suggests what one should do because the validity of an action is based on moral principles. These moral principles have a definite description of what is right and wrong. In another criticism by Thomas Nagel, consequentialism should not encompass those actions that are morally wrong but produced positive results in the long run. An example of this would be an uprising by the people of a country. The action of the people may be considered treason and according to the moral rule, that action is wrong. Because of the uprising, the corrupt government was toppled and it was replaced by new government that is elected by the people. Consequentialism is an ethical theory that in which the consequences of a particular action becomes the basis for an acceptable judgment on that action. It finds the source of a moral value in a good situation and results into a consequence of that action. Many forms of consequentialism exist and the most common is utilitarianism. The theory puts emphasis on the â€Å"good† as the center of its concept. Utilitarianism holds that actions that result to the greatest good to a greater number of people are considered to be moral actions. The outcome of an action makes that action either moral or immoral. In consequentialism, emphasis is given to the results or consequences in analyzing what is right and wrong in our actions. If the result of an action has a positive outcome then it is considered as moral and therefore right. Likewise if the action produces negative outcomes, the action becomes wrong and immoral. Deontology is another ethical theory that is of Greek origin, deos which means duty and logos as science. Using its etymological meaning, deontology becomes the science of duty. The theory argues that understanding our moral duty and its regulations to help us decide on the right choice. If we do our duty, we are doing the right thing. Doing our duty is considered a moral behavior. The theory states that we are obeying God when we do our duty for it is He that determines it and its regulations. The moral actions of deontology are separate from the consequences brought about by those actions.

Nutrition †Flavor Essay

Science tells you what nutrients do in your body and how nutrients work together Explain why people who enjoy their food may absorb more nutrients from it. The brain reacts from the senses (sight and smell). It instructs your mouth and stomach to make chemicals that help digest food. What 5 factors contribute to different cultures having such different cuisines and food customs? Geography, Economics, Foreign Contacts, Religious Belief, Technology. List the 4 main components of the food chain and explain the function of each. Sun: The sun supplies the original energy for the planer in the form of light. This energy is needed to make food. Producers: Some organisms make or produce food. Green plants are important producers. Plants use the sun’s energy to produce food for themselves. Consumers: Organisms that must eat other organisms. Decomposers: Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down dead matter and return the nutrients to the environment. List the 5 reasons for using food additives. 1. Additive flavoring 2. Improving nutrition 3. Increase shelf life 4. Maintaining texture 5. Helping foods age Define the following: Nutrient – a chemical substance that your body needs to function, grow, repair itself, and create energy Wellness – good health and positive well-being. Includes physical, mental, and emotional health Comfort foods – are familiar foods that make people fell good Culture – the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively Cuisines – may be particular to a country or region, or it may be a blend from different areas. Staple food – the most widely produced and eaten food in an area Ecosystem – an environment and its community of organisms, which all depends on each other for survival Food chain – is the flow of food energy from simpler to more complex organisms Shelf stable – able to be stored at room temperature for weeks or months in the original, unopened containers Shelf life – the length of time food holds its flavor and quality Food additives – A substance added to food for a specific reason during processing. Food is essential for survival and affects the quality of your life. Healthy food choices promote wellness. Food offers more than nutrition. It also offers enjoyment. Comfort foods may slow the release of stress hormones, making people feel better. Preparing and serving food lets you express your creativity. Different cultures have more than individuals ingredients and dishes, they have entire cuisines. Income had/has an influence on what people have/had to cook certain meals. Cultures absorb new foods through immigration, travel, and trade with other people. The food we eat depends on the health of the world’s ecosystem. The U. S. is fortunate to have abundant resources for raising food. What is one of the most important roles of food processing? To keep perishable foods from spoiling Food additives include natural and artificial flavors. When vitamins and minerals are added to foods like milk, this is labeled as improving nutrition. Increasing shelf life and delaying spoilage is known as shelf-stable.

Curriculum Design Essay

Chapter 7 ASCD Yearbook Fundamental Curriculum Decisions, 1984 People cannot intelligently discuss and communicate with others about curriculum without first making very clear what their interpretation of a curriculum is. In this chapter, we will be thinking of a curriculum as a written plan for the educational program of a school or schools. Curriculum design them will consist of those considerations haying to do with the contents, the form, and the arrangement of the various elements of a curriculum. We distinguish between curriculum planning and instructional planning with curriculum planning being the antecedent task. Curriculum planners are forced to make design decisions almost from the outset of their work. The design decisions revolve around three important considerations: (1) the range of school levels and schools to be covered by the curriculum, (2) the number of elements to be included in the curriculum, and (3) the nature and scope of each of those elements. Each of these requires additional explanations. Decisions about the range of school levels and schools to be covered by the curriculum normally are mot very complicated, and the range usually coincides with the sphere of authority of the board of education. Districts may elect to plan a curriculum from kindergarten through grade 12; they may elect to plan one curriculum for the elementary schools and one for the secondary schools; or they may elect to direct each school unit to plan its own curriculum. Planning groups will have to decide about the number of elements to be included in the curriculum. Among the options for inclusion are: (1) a statement of goals or purposes, (2) a statement of document intent and use, (3) an evaluation scheme, and (4) a body of culture content selected and organized with the expectancy that if the culture content is judiciously implemented in classrooms through the instructional program, the goals or purposes for the schools will be achieved. To this list, some would add suggested pupil activities, instructional materials, and so forth, but these matters belong more rightfully in the domain of instructional planning and we will not consider them here. A few comments about each of these four elements will be helpful to the reader in understanding their import for curriculum decisions. Most curriculum writers would agree that it is desirable to include a statement of goals or purposes to be achieved by schools through the implementation of the planned curriculum. They may disagree as to what the goals ought to be, or they may disagree about the degree of specificity of the statements to be included. The most famous statement of goals or purposes for schools became known as the Seven Cardinal Principles of Education as formulated by the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Schools in 1918. They were health, command of the fundamental processes, worthy home membership, vocation, civic education, worthy use of leisure, and ethical character. There is less consistency among curriculum writers in terms of their insistence upon including a statement of document intent and use in a curriculum, and, in practice many curricula do not contain such statements. Curricula have, in the past, contained statements intended to reveal the philosophy or point of view of the planners but this is not what we mean by a statement of document intent and use. A statement of document intent and use should be forthright and direct about such matters as: (1) how teachers are expected to use the curriculum as a point of departure fur developing their teaching strategies, (2) the fact that the curriculum is the official educational policy of the board of education, (3) the degree of universality in expectancy with regard to the discretion of teachers in implementing the curriculum, and (4) the degree to which teachers are to be held accountable for the implementation of the curriculum. These are illustrative of the kind of statement that may be formulated, but each planning group will have to decide on the number and character of such statements. With the amount of emphasis put upon curriculum evaluation in recent years, some mandate with respect to the curriculum evaluation is a very reasonable option for inclusion in a curriculum. The most common method of pupil evaluation used in the past has been the standardized (norm referenced) achievement test. In most cases, there were no deliberate attempts to relate published curricula to the test batteries. Therefore, any leap in assumption about the directness of the relationship between curriculum content and whatever was measured by the tests was likely to be untenable. All the more reason for formalizing an evaluation scheme by including it in the curriculum. In one form or another, a curriculum must include a body of culture content that has been deemed by the planners and directing authorities to be important for schools to use in fulfilling their roles as transmitters of culture to the oncoming generations of young people. The basic curriculum question is, and always has been, that of what shall be taught in schools, and a major function of a curriculum is to translate the answer to that question into such forms that schools can fulfill their commitment and demonstrate that they leave done so. Most of the remainder of this chapter is devoted to discussion of this element of a curriculum; so we will leave it at this point. But it should be made clear that from these options as potential elements of a curriculum, there emerge two dimensions of curriculum design. One is the choice of and the arrangement of the elements to be included in the curriculum. The other is the form and arrangement of the contents of each of the elements internally. The design problem is greatest in the case of the form and arrangement of the culture content and it is the one most frequently discussed under the heading of curriculum design by curriculum writers past and present. . Culture Content-Knowledge-Curriculum Content A curriculum is an expression of the choice of content selected from our total culture content and, as such, it is an expression of the role of the school in the society for which the school has been established to serve. A word needs to be said here about the meaning associated with the expression â€Å"culture content.† Ralph Linton provided us with a classical and very useful definition of â€Å"culture.† He stated: â€Å"A culture is the configuration of learned behavior and results of behavior whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society† (1945, p. 32). The term â€Å"society† is ordinarily used to refer to a group of individuals who live together with common norms and shared frames of reference. Societies tend to generate their own culture and to transmit that culture to oncoming generations within that society. So long as societies and their cultures remained in a primitive state, their cultures were simple and could be transmitted to oncoming generations by direct contact between the young and the older members of the society. But as societies became more complex and the scope of their culture content increased so that the transmission of the culture content to the young could no longer be accomplished by direct contact in daily living, societies were forced to create institutions to take on the responsibility for all or part of the cultural transmission task. The school is one of those institutions. The church is another. Both of these institutions have unique roles to play in society, and they tend to transmit different culture content to the young. Parochial schools tend to do both. As Smith indicated in Chapter 3 of this Yearbook (not in this reading – JG), the culture content selected to be included in the curriculum of the school may be thought of as equivalent to the knowledge to which school students are to be exposed. In any case, it is critically important to be aware that not all culture content, or knowledge, accumulated by society comes under the purview of the school; curriculum planning is a process of selecting and organizing culture content for transmission to student by the school. The process is very complex, involving input from many sources, but the organized end-result of the process is the design of the curriculum. The most sophisticated mode of organization of culture content for purposes of teaching is reflected by the various disciplines such as history, chemistry, or mathematics. In addition to the established and recognized disciplines, school subjects have been created out of conventional wisdom m the applications of selected portions of the disciplines to applied areas of our culture such as vocational subjects, social studies, or reading and handwriting. In general, the separate subject organization of culture content has predominated in curriculum design. Another way of speaking about curriculum content is to refer to cognitive content, skill content, and value or attitudinal content. As Smith discussed more fully in Chapter 3, all three types of content represent knowledge in some from either in the form of direct knowledge or a knowledge base. The three forms have been used as a classification schema or a taxonomy for curriculum content formulation. Historic Curriculum Design Conflicts One must realize that tire basic curriculum question is, and always has been, one of what shall be taught in the schools. An immediate corollary to that question has been that of how shall what has been chosen to be taught in the school be organized so as to best facilitate the subsequent decisions about teaching and learning. Those two questions are the primary curriculum questions, and the organized decisions made in response to them culminate in a curriculum design. A few reflections about our curriculum past will illustrate settle of the conflicts in curriculum design that have taken place. In her study, Sequel observed that curriculum as we use the term today was not a subject of professional discussion until after 1890 (1966, p. 1). Rugg contended that decisions about curriculum content prior to the 20th century were decided primarily by textbook writers and textbook publishers (1926, Pp. Ill-11). It was not until 1918 that Bobbitt wrote the first definitive work on curriculum and since that time curriculum writers have directed their attention to the substance and organization of curriculum content (curriculum design) and to the processes of curriculum planning, implementing, and evaluating. By the early 1900, the stage had been set for the separate subjects organization of the culture content to be used in schools. In our very early elementary or primary schools, for example, pupils were taught to read, to write, and to compute; the subjects were called reading, writing, and arithmetic. Much later such subjects as geography, history, and civics were added to the curriculum. In our early secondary schools, pupils were taught a selection of subjects (disciplines) that were directly associated with the disciplines taught at the college or university. Even though the separate subjects organization of culture content was used before curriculum became an area of professional study, it is still with us. True, subjects have ben added and others altered, but it remains the dominant approach to curriculum design. The separate subjects mode of curriculum design has been significantly challenged only once in our history. That challenge came with the advent of the Progressive Education movement. A principal belief of the Progressive Education movement was its dramatic emphasis on the learner in school settings. A substantial portion of the Progressive emphasis on the learner was stimulated by John Dewey’s (1916) call for more active and less passive learning in schools. This focus on the learner when applied to the organization of curriculum content led to endeavors remove away from the separate subjects organization of tire curriculum content. The movemen away from the separate subjects organization (sometimes called subject-centered) was toward the integration, or fusion, of subjects under the assumption that such integration would not only facilitate learning on the part of pupils but would additionally make the knowledge, skills, and attitudes more easily available to the pupils in post-school life (the transfer problem). The basic process involved here was the fusion of the contents of two or more of the separate subjects into another organization in which the individual subjects lost their separate identities. As one might expect, names were associated with the various integration or fusion attempts. Figure 1 adapted from Hopkins (1941, p. 18) illustrates the variety of names associated with curricula resulting from integrative or fusion processes. Hopkins here polarized the subject curriculum and the experience curriculum. The broad fields curriculum was placed in the center so as to show that it had a reasonable num ber of the characteristics of the two extremes. Others as indicated on either side depending on emphasis. Space in this volume will not permit extensive description of curricula developed as part of the efforts to move away from separate subjects organization. The best we can do here is to identify some of them and cite sources for further investigation on the part of the reader. For example, in their hook The Child-Centered School, Rugg and Shumaker (1928) presented brief descriptions of the curricula of the Lincoln School, The Frances Parker School, and others of that time. In most cases, the curricula were built around child-centered units of work, but attention was focused as needed on such basic subjects as reading, mathematics, history, geography, and so forth. One of the most extreme departures from separate subjects organization was proposed by Stratemeyer and others (1957). The authors proposed the â€Å"persistent life situations† concept as a basis for dealing with the curriculum building issues of scope, sequence, continuity, balance, and depth. At the junior and senior high school levels, special mention should be made of the core curriculum. The core curriculum idea was to get away from nothing but the discipline-centered curriculum. Most core programs were organized around larger and more flexible blocks of time, and the content was generally centered on personal and social problems and problems of living. In many respects the core curriculum idea was an attempt to solve the general education problem in our upper schools. It is important to note that in practice in schools, curriculum design failed to get very far away from the subject- or discipline-centered design. The most lasting effect of the movement was the broad fields idea as represented by social studies, language arts, and general science, and they have persisted mostly in curricula for elementary and junior high schools. Contemporary Arguments About Curriculum Design Probably the most persistent movement in curriculum design in recent years has been the proposed use of specific behavioral objectives as a basis for curriculum organization. Curriculum writers have long proposed that curricula ought to contain statements of goals or objectives, but not as the only content of a curriculum. Some contemporary writers have proposed that curricula should be thought of in terms of the anticipated consequences of instruction, or intended learning outcomes. (For example, see Popham and Baker, 1970; Johnson, 1977). The culture content in such cases would either be implied in the objectives or be considered as an instructional decision. A distinct advantage of this type of curriculum design is that supervision of the implementation and of the evaluation of the curriculum is simplified and facilitated. Such proposals are in direct contrast to a proposal that a curriculum should he composed in four parts: (1) a statement of goals, (2) an outline of the culture content that has the potential for reaching the goals, (3) a statement of the intended use of the curriculum, and (4) a schema for the evaluation of the curriculum (Beauchamp, 1981, p. 136). They are in even greater contrast to those who would include instructional considerations such as suggested activities for learners and instructional materials to be used. Curriculum planners should be warned that the inclusion of all of these things produces fat and unmanageable curricula. With respect to the culture content of curricula, two organizational concepts persist both in the literature and in the practice of writing curricula. The first is the tendency to continue with the basic framework of the subjects, or disciplines, that are to be taught. The second is to break the subject areas down into three identifiable components: (1) cognitive, (2) inquiry and skill, and (3) affective (value, moral, attitudinal). Curriculum planners will probably wish to begin their thinking about design with the familiar, which will unquestionably be the conventional school subjects. They will consist of mathematics, social sciences (including social studies as a subject), the natural sciences, fine and applied arts, health and physical education, communications, and other languages. At the secondary school level, planners will add to these whatever vocational and technical subjects they may wish to offer. Some planners will wish to add an area that may be termed social problems, molar problems, or problems of living that may call for applications of elements learned in various conventional subjects. Curriculum planning is an educative process. For this reason classroom teachers should be involved in the undertaking. A very important reason for their involvement is that the process of curriculum planning presents an opportunity for them to engage in analysis of the culture content so that they may be more effective in their classrooms at the level of instruction. The analytic process of breaking down the culture content into cognitive, affective, and inquiry and skill components is one way that teachers may become mote knowledgeable about what they do. Also in this process of analyzing the culture content, the content is more specifically related to goals and at the same time it fosters better curriculum implementation. For these reasons, teachers’ participation in curriculum deliberations has been proposed frequently as a needed dimension of continuous teacher education. In Chapter 3, Smith raised the very important question of the utility of the culture content selected to be part of the curriculum content, and he posed several ways in which the utility of knowledge can be emphasized. In a more specific vein, Broody, Smith, and Burnett (1964) suggested on, potential uses of learnings acquired in school to he taken into consideration. They are the associative use, the replicative use, the applicative use, and the interpretive use (pp. 43-60). Very briefly, the associative use of knowledge refers to the psychological process of responding to a new situation with elements of knowledge previously acquired. The replicative use refers to situations that call for direct and familiar use of schooling such as when we read a newspaper, write a letter, or balance a checkbook . The applicative use occurs when an individual is confronted with a new problem and is able to solve the new problem by the use of knowledge acquired in the study of school subjects through previous experience in solving problems demanding similar applications. The interpretive use of schooling refers to the orientation and perspective the individual brings to new situations because the individual has acquired ways of conceptualizing and classifying experience. Much of the discussion about uses of schooling (especially use external to the school) is an elaboration of the transfer problem that has plagued educators ever since Edward Thorndike first set forth his theory of transfer through the existence of identical elements in 1908. The most easily explained is the replicative use as described above because of the direct similarity between the use external to the school and the mode of learning and practice in school. Take reading for example. Reading from school materials is directly similar to reading of materials outside the school. But when it comes to applying knowledge or making new interpretations or associations between knowledge required in school and life situations external to schools, a more complicated transfer situation exists. Unfortunately, many of the questions raised about utility and uses of schooling have not been answered through curriculum design. Nor are they likely to be because so much is dependent upon classroom teaching technique and the design of instructional strategies. The best efforts in curriculum design have been through the generation of new courses (subjects if you please) in which the content is purportedly more like life external to the school. Reference here is made not only to specialized courses such as technical, vocational, commercial and occupational courses but also to courses designed around molar problems, problems of living, and core programs. In many respects, the broad fields courses were designed for purposes of saving time during the school day and to facilitate the transfer of knowledge acquired. But whatever the curriculum design, if teachers are not aware of and sensitive to the kind of analyses of the content to be taught as we have been discussing it, the uses of schooling will not be maximized. All the more reason why teachers should be part of the curriculum planning effort and participate in the required dialogue. In summary, then, what courses of action with respect to curriculum design appear to be the most appropriate for today’s curriculum planners? The most important aspect of curriculum design is the display to be made of culture content once the content has been selected. The total amount of culture content is constantly growing thus making the problem of selection for curriculum content more difficult as time goes on. Unquestionably, the role of those schools (elementary and secondary) that operate under compulsory school attendance laws must constantly be examined in terms of what they should or should not offer in their curricula. The elementary school curriculum has always been designed with general education in mind. In our contemporary society, the secondary school seems to be moving in that same direction. Both, however, have seen fit to divide the content selected into realms or courses as appropriate. Scope and sequence have long been two major problems in curriculum design. The display of course content into topical outline is one way planners can watch for discrepancies in scope and sequence. It also helps with horizontal articulation among the various subjects. To help teachers generate greater insight into the content outline, it is desirable that the curriculum design reveal the expected cognitive, inquiry or skill, and affective outcomes. These are conventionally arranged in the design of the content in parallel with the topics in the outline. flow behaviorally the outcomes are to be stated is optional to the planners. These outcomes should also be thought of in terms of any goals or purposes that may be stated in the curriculum. What else to include in the design is optional to the plan. It has become quite conventional to think of goals or purposes first and then to select the content. Such procedure is quite arbitrary because all content is selected with some purpose in mind. Nonetheless, a statement of goals and purposes is a useful element in curriculum design. I would add to the topic outline and the expected outcomes a directive statement about the intended use to be made of the curriculum and a statement outlining a scheme for evaluating it.

Managed healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Managed healthcare - Assignment Example When the claim is found to be valid, then the payment is made and the negotiation is finalized making it a very effective process. Consumerism refers to the promotion of the interests of the consumers. Giving the providers access to more patient information promotes consumerism. When all activities in the managed care organization are focused on promoting consumer satisfaction, then it is likely that there will be the development of the network. This is because when the consumers-in this case the patients are assured of high quality services, then they will be more willing to be cared for by the particular organization that seems to promote consumerism. They will come up with predictive models in order to identify what the purchasers prefer. The managed care organization will also be focused on looking into the data and information that they have and planning any future actions based on the facts in the data. These plans will involve upgrades as a result of the attempt to promote consumerism (Robinson

North Korean Collection Capabilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

North Korean Collection Capabilities - Essay Example Special operations are North Korea’s powerful tool. Being one of the world’s largest units of its kind, special operations amount to between 60,000 and 100,000 persons. 3 Moreover, forces are organized into agent operations, reconnaissance, and light infantry and sniper.4 To achieve success in distracting an enemy during a conflict, at least one special operations force is allocated to every regular army corp. 5Almost 12,000 and 6,000 persons can be lifted and deployed at once by sea and air respectively. 6 Under the 2009 reforms only structures changed: special operations became a part of RGB, as did all its parts. Previous institutional deficiencies have been improving. The Reconnaissance Bureau (REBU) was in 2009 merged into the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB). 7 This office was created after the Korean Worker’s Party’s Operations Bureau and Office No. 35 with the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces’ Reconnaissance Bureau were combined. 8 RGB is composed of: operations, reconnaissance, foreign intelligence, inter-Korean dialogue, rear services and technical matters. 9 It is expected that operations and reconnaissance will merge, thus further improve efficiency of RGB in terms of coordination and access to resources. 10 RGB has become self sustainable. This department has engaged in illegal activities through trading companies, which have brought profits to the North Korean regime.11This department can withstand international embargos on North Korea and serve at any time as a source of funding to agents located domestically and abroad. Whereas operations are in charge of training, REBU is in charge of implementation. REBU is in charge of gathering â€Å"strategic, operational, and tactical intelligence.†12 REBU infiltrates its intelligence personnel into South Korea through tunnels under the demilitarized zone as well as through seaborne insertion. 13 South Korea located four such tunnels by 1990.14 It