Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Create and Sustain Tension in the Crucible Essay Example

Create and Sustain Tension in the Crucible Paper Going to the theatre is both an intimate and exciting experience for the audience. It creates a tense atmosphere by having the action so close to you. The theatre offers a completely different experience than sitting alone with a book. At the theatre you are sharing your experience, atmosphere and emotion with everyone around you. When youre reading a book you have to use your imagination and make up images about the characters in your head. You may feel closer to the characters whilst reading a book but in a theatre you are physically closer to the characters, which adds to the reality of the situation. I think that the way a theatre production happens in a short amount of time makes it a lot more dramatic than a book, which is spread out, and you can put it down whenever you want. At the theatre you feel more part of the drama than if you were reading a book. This is because you are a witness to all the events and if you know something that a character doesnt you feel involved. Theatre therefore creates such a tense and emotional atmosphere because of the live actors and reality of the performance. Arthur Millers play, The Crucible, illustrates how people react to hysteria created by one person or a group of people. We will write a custom essay sample on Create and Sustain Tension in the Crucible specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Create and Sustain Tension in the Crucible specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Create and Sustain Tension in the Crucible specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This happened during the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s and the Salem witch-hunts of 1692. In the McCarthy hearings many Americans were wrongly accused of being Communist sympathizers. The activities of the House of Un-American Activities Committee began to be linked with the witchcraft trials that had taken place in the town of Salem. This provided Miller with the catalyst to write The Crucible. Without the knowledge of the McCarthy hearings and the Salem witch hunts, The Crucible may be seen as a melodrama and the events in the play, sensationalized. It is not a melodrama because it is actually not overly dramatic; the McCarthy hearings and the witch-hunts inject realism in the play. The play deals with historical events and with characters that have a historical context. The Crucible is based upon the happenings of the witch-hunts in Salem. The Salem community was made up of Puritans who had emigrated from England to escape persecution for their religious beliefs in 1620. The community was insular living by its own rules and regulations. Being Puritans they were very church loving and against the devil and ungodly acts such as dancing. The village was tightly knit, everyone knew each other and social status was very important. Arguments were common in such a claustrophobic environment. A community living in a puritan society like Salem could easily fall into a chaotic state and have great difficulties dealing with what they considered to be the worst form of evil. In the strong Puritan community, young males and females werent allowed normal social interaction, which consequently often led to sexual tension and jealousy. Superficially, Salems society seems to be one of belonging in that everyone shares the same values and religious beliefs, and complies by the rules; but the fact that Proctor and Abigail have an affair shows that this is not always the case. Abigails speech I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I came near is highly dramatic in its animalistic imagery. Abigail presents herself to Proctor as the object of his desires. She uses language in an attempt to arouse Proctor to be drawn to her again. Abigail and Proctors relationship has a big effect on Elizabeth and Proctors relationship. At the end, Elizabeth is in the moving situation of performing an act that allows her husband to choose death: Only be sure of this, for I know it now: Whatever you will do, it is a good man does it. The key word is now because it tells us that there was a time when she doubted his goodness. Their love is what they belong to. We also become aware of Thomas Putnams desire to acquire more land. Both Giles Corey and John Proctor mention that the Putnams had a habit of claiming land that didnt belong to them. We also know that the Putnams blame Goody Osburn, Mrs Putnams midwife, for all their stillborn children. Looking for someone other than themselves to blame for these dead children, they point their finger at her for murdering their children: I begged him not to call Osburn because I feared her. My babies always shriveled in her hands! This shows how determined Mrs Putnam was to put the blame on witchcraft. This quote came in Act 1 just after Tituba had named Goody Osburn and three others accusing them of coming with her to the Devil. Another heated relationship is John Proctor and Reverend Parriss. Proctor dislikes Parris since he sees the Reverend as a greedy, ungodly man. For example, Parris complains of low salary. The Crucible is structured in four acts. Each act begins with low tension, then rises to a climax by the end of the act. For example at the beginning of Act Two there is a calm discussion between John and Elizabeth Proctor. The tension then starts to rise as Mary Warren gets back from court and angers John Proctor. The tension continues to rise as fingers are pointed and accusations made. The scene ends with Innocent Elizabeth Proctor being dragged off by the officials of the village. The climax of the scene is Mary Warren hysterically weeping because Proctor demanded that she tell the court how the doll came to be in his house with the needle stuck in it: Proctor (grabbing her by the throat as though he would strangle her): Make your peace with it! Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretence is ripped away make your peace! This would make the audience feel Proctors anger but also feel slightly sorry for Mary, she is having pressure and blame placed on her by Proctor. At the climax at the end of each act the curtain falls and there is a blackout. This leaves the audience in a state of shock and frustration and allows them to reflect on and absorb what has just happened. Miller uses a variety of techniques to ensure that tension is not lost and is kept at a peak throughout the play. By using a basic form and structure, The Crucible is easy to follow; it uses the dialogue and pace to aid the building of tension to the ultimate tragic climax of Proctors death During The Crucible pace is used as a technique in creating tension. Throughout Act 1, the action is immediate and there is a constant flow of different people being introduced. By placing this act within a small room, Miller gives the feeling of the characters being suffocated and a lack of privacy in the village. In all four acts the setting is very similar. All the acts take place inside dark, small rooms without a lot of furniture. Throughout the play the settings are dark with a small amount of light seeping through the windows. This creates claustrophobic and brooding atmosphere, which makes the audience feel nervous, they are anticipating something sinister from when the scene starts. Act four is the only act that isnt set in the daytime, however it is lit, like every scene, by a small amount of light coming through the window but in this scene it is moonlight instead of sunlight: The place is in darkness but for the moonlight seeping through the bars. At the end of act four the sun rises to represent a new beginning after the highly dramatic end to the play. One of the ways Arthur Miller creates tension is by using dramatic dialogue to show the characters increasing hysteria. Proctor (with a cry of his whole soul): Because it is my name!

Friday, March 6, 2020

Should Companies Promote Healthy Lifestyles Essays

Should Companies Promote Healthy Lifestyles Essays Should Companies Promote Healthy Lifestyles Essay Should Companies Promote Healthy Lifestyles Essay Companies must condone employees’ healthy lifestyles, in order to increase productivity within the workplace, which will potentially lead to higher profits. By encouraging their employees to lead healthy lifestyles, and partake in regular physical activity, companies will be projecting a positive image to society, improving the lives or their workers, whilst simultaneously reaping the financial benefits. As well as producing financial benefits, a healthy lifestyle can bring physiological and social benefits to companies and their employees. Physical activity has been proven to increase productivity in the workplace. In a recent study of worker performance, Pronk stated that â€Å"higher levels of physical activity related to reduced decrements in quality of work performance and overall job performance. † (2004, p. 19) This increase in productivity and efficiency created by healthier employees will eventually lead to higher profits for companies. A healthier employee will lead to a healthier bottom line, however this is not the only benefit that companies will receive as a result of encouraging regular exercise. As well as being more energetic and productive, a healthier employee is generally happier. A workplace comprised of happy employees will lead to higher worker morale, and will create a more positive, friendlier workplace in general. Although the consequential increase in productivity will lead to higher profits, companies will financially benefit from condoning regular physical activities in more ways than one. U. S. postal company UPS experienced the following benefits after they implemented their †Comprehensive Safety and Health Process† in 1995. On the whole, UPS has seen a decrease in absenteeism, an increase in productivity and morale, and a 60% reduction in on the job injuries since the program was first implemented. † (Bloom, 2008, p. 41) By being more proactive in condoning employees’ healthy lifestyles, companies will potentially save funds spent on sick leave and workers’ compensation payouts, as healthy, fit employees are less likely to fall sick or be injured. Should they sustain injuries within the workplace, it is more likely that their injuries will be less serious than those sustained by an unfit or overweight employee. The financial benefits of condoning employees’ healthy lifestyles were further outlined in a study that observed the outcomes of a health and productivity program implemented within the workplace. â€Å"Financially speaking, an effective, comprehensive, properly executed Hamp;P (health and productivity) program can drive significant business results†¦. employers have implemented successful Hamp;P programs leading to improved health, increased productivity and lower benefits costs – and, in turn, higher levels of performance, returns to shareholders and market premiums. (Wolf, 2008, p. 7) This study successfully reinforced each aspect of the financial benefit for companies of condoning regular physical activities and healthy lifestyles. Although the financial benefits for companies are extensive, the positive influence of employees’ healthy lifestyles extends much further into society. When encouraged by their employers to exercise regularly and lead healthy lifestyles, employees will more than likely continue to live healthily at home. Health is after all, a lifestyle, and it will extend and apply to all aspects of employees’ lives. Given the current rising obesity epidemic, this positive influence will have a considerable impact on society, and eventually encourage other members of the community to adopt healthy lifestyles. An aspect of this issue that may be argued is that of its influence on childhood obesity. Whilst adult obesity is on the rise, childhood obesity is also rapidly increasing. Some members of society may criticise that whilst employers condoning employees’ healthy lifestyles could decrease the prevalence of adult obesity, it will have no effect on the lifestyles of children in the community. Whilst it is true that it will take much more than the encouragement of employers to address the issue of obesity, it is a step in the right direction for all members of society. Although employers may only be encouraging their workers to exercise and lead healthy lifestyles, they are, at the same time, encouraging their employees’ families to do the same. Should an employee decide to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and take advantage of the incentives offered to them by their employers, it is likely that this will have such a positive effect on their lives that they will then happily condone similar lifestyle changes to other members of their family, including their children. This encouragement may include preparing healthier meals at home, limiting intake of unhealthy convenience foods, and making exercise a regular, family activity. By being more proactive in condoning employees’ healthy lifestyles, and promoting regular exercise, employers will not only be improving their profits, and increasing the health of their employees, they will also have a positive influence on the lifestyles of their workers families, and project a positive image to the community. However small their impact may be, it will help society work toward eliminating obesity, decreasing the occurrence of lifestyle related illnesses such as adult-onset (Type 2) diabetes, and creating a healthier community in general. In order to enable their employees to lead healthy lifestyles and exercise regularly, employers must offer a means, and incentive to their workers, to encourage them to adopt this lifestyle change. This could be done in a number of ways, including offering employees a discount on gymnasium memberships, subsidising or even reimbursing the cost. Companies could also invest in the installation of fitness facilities within the workplace, making exercise and fitness even more accessible to their employees. By offering this benefit to all workers, companies are also increasing the ways in which they can attract new employees. This may be the incentive needed to encourage highly employable workers to apply for positions within their company, as they are offering additional benefits, and creating a more appealing workplace in general. It may be argued that the cost of installing fitness facilities, or subsidising gym memberships would be a waste of company funding. However, this can potentially be viewed as an asset for companies. Companies invest in their employees each day, by paying them wages, benefits and superannuation. However, in order to gain the maximum return on their investment, companies must make sure that their employees are working efficiently and productively, and generating high revenues. The best way of doing this is by ensuring that their employees are physically fit and healthy, making them more productive, and an asset to the company, instead of a potential liability. Therefore, it can be concluded that condoning employees’ healthy lifestyles and encouraging regular exercise is a credible way of increasing worker productivity and efficiency, which will ultimately lead to higher revenue for companies. Whilst companies may incur initial costs when implementing health and productivity programs, they will potentially be saving company funds spent on sick leave payments and workers compensation payouts, which can often be very expensive. In addition to increased profits, companies will be projecting a positive image to the community, and influencing other members of society to adopt healthier lifestyles and helping to cease the rise in obesity. Bibliography Bloom, S. 2008). Employee Wellness Program: How UPS Improved Productivity amp; Reduced Injuries. Professional Safety, p. 41 Pronk, N. P. , et al. (2004). The Association Between Work Performance and Physical Activity, Cardiovascular Fitness and Obesity. Journal of Occupational amp; Environmental Medicine, 46, p. 19-25 Wolf, S. (2008). A Truly Healthy Bottom Line – Improving Financial Results Through Effective Health and Productivity Programs. Benefits Quarterly, 24, p. 7

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Why oriental simplistic styles can successfully in MUJI shop products Essay

Why oriental simplistic styles can successfully in MUJI shop products - Essay Example Based to a great extent on the noble concept of â€Å"simple, natural and fundamental†, all their products are designed by using this core theory. Another fundamental consideration is the term â€Å"plainness†, which is a cultural aesthetic idea that already exists in Japanese daily life for centuries. Through the establishment of Muji brand image, this Japanese unsophisticated oriental aesthetics has a chance to thrive. A research has been done so as to find more about Muji’s style and its product design in the quest of exploring the significance of its overall brand image. From the cultural point of view, this research also explored the oriental simplistic style of Muji, and its correlation to Japanese culture, as well as the connotation hidden behind this unique style. Another endeavor of this research was to find the essential elements of its oriental plainness and to make available an applicable method for design adaptation, which can be used as a reference for future design implementations on oriental unsophisticated Muji style. A practical design was put into practice after the results of the research and its feasibility was verified. According to the analyzed results, the perceptive degree of the oriental basic factors of the practical design was comparable to that of the studied samples of Muji which meant that the theoretical results and the actual practices had a significant degree of achievability. Aim In recent years, this oriental simplicity style has spread out with design fashion. For instance the Japanese brand "Muji" which is known for its modest style with the unique identity that emphasizes "minimalistic, natural, and basic ", is a concept that has become the core of all product designs; by taking "nativity" as the basis of its ideology in the aesthetics of life and culture that has triumphed since the ancient times of Japan. The establishment of brand image promotes the Japanese oriental modest aesthetic concept and Muj i carries the exact keynote of "nativity" forward and starts to carry out cultural exchange with the rest of the world. It is expected that this study, though the research of the design and style of Muji, investigates the brand's overall image and related brand definition, by progressing from the cultural aspect to discussing the oriental inconspicuous style under the Japanese culture its cultural connotations behind the brand. The early stage of the study will be devoted to the collection of literature associated to the brand image, which includes the brand’s definition, and the brand image of Muji, after which the study will move to the business concept, development principles, and the product characteristics. Based on this knowledge of the brand-related theories and the initial concept of image definition, the study moves from the perception of "minimalistic, natural, and basic" of Muji to investigate the modest design style and the nuance in the Japanese culture in an eff ort to trace the cultural distinction and vein behind the Japanese design. Objectives Through the enterprise of brand image, this Japanese unconventional oriental aesthetics then has a chance to advance. This research studied Muji’s style and product design in the quest of exploring the significance of its overall brand image. From the cultural point of view, this research also examined the oriental unconventional style of Muji, a brand filled with Japanese culture, and the conception hidden in this style. Another endeavor of this research was to get the indispensable elements of oriental simplicity and to make available an applicable method for design adaptation, which could be used as a reference for future design executions on oriental unsophisticated style. A practical design was implemented and the feasibility was

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Nursing Evoluations Health Care Policy Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nursing Evoluations Health Care Policy - Article Example The survey was in 2014. The Commonwealth Fund statistics and analysis ranks the U.S. last among seven nations they did their statistics in health care. Debate the possible consequences of the health care delivery system of adding millions of new enrollees. How would this policy impact schools, medical practices, clinics, hospitals and outpatient diagnostic centers? What role would advance practice play in accommodation of new enrollees? The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have led to millions of new enrollees to the healthcare and insurance systems. The act has implications for Public Health Policy and Practice. New enrollees on the systems, however, might slow down operations (PPACA, 2010). The new law would, however, strengthen the already existing forms of health insurance coverage. It would also build a new and affordable health insurance market for families as well as individuals (Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). The policies would cover people who do not have affordable employer coverage. The impact of value-based performance has an echo across many professions especially nursing practice. The impact is that it has made people have evidence-based quality improvement on their services. There has also been an increase in healthcare transformation. Another impact is in the need for redesigning the care that we give to the patients. We ensure that is safe, effective, and efficient. Nurses have a response of launching initiatives that give to the maximum valuable contributions that nurses can make, have made, and will make, to fully deliver on the patients. I had a visit to the hospital policy committee meeting at my Hospital. The issues on the discussion at the meeting were how to improve the services at the hospital to be fast and efficient for our clients. Our hospital also considered

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Schema as an Active Recognition Device | Experiment

Schema as an Active Recognition Device | Experiment Written report of a cognitive psychology experiment. Schemas are integrated chunks of knowledge stored in memory allowing us to form expectations and make sense of the world. Rumelhart and Norman (1988) described schemas as having variables or slots where schemas vary in the amount of information they contain and overlap to relate together to form systems. For example, a schema for a picnic may be part of a larger system of schemas including ‘meals’, ‘outings’, and ‘parties’ (Gross, 1996). Therefore, suggesting schemas to be active recognition devices where we try to make sense of ambiguous and unfamiliar information in terms of our existing knowledge and understanding. Bartlett (1932) argued that we rely on schemas as well as content to remember stories. Based on his findings of participants recalling a story â€Å"The War of the Ghosts† from a different culture, Bartlett (1932) found that distortions increased over successive recalls and most of these reflected the participants’ attempts to make the story more like a story from their own culture. Changes from the original story included rationalisations, which made the story more coherent as the story was shortened and phrases changed to be more similar to their own language, participants failed to recall unfamiliar details such as the ghosts, and they elaborated certain content and altered its importance (Bartlett, 1932). Therefore, the changes made the story easier to remember. Bartlett (1932) concluded that the changes to the story on recall showed that the participants were actively reconstructing the story to fit their existing schemas and that schemas affect retrieval rather th an encoding or storage. Other evidence suggested schemas influence comprehension and retrieval. For instance, Bransford and Johnson (1972) argued that schemas often influence comprehension processes rather than retrieval. Presenting participants with a passage in which it was hard to determine which schemas were relevant Bransford and Johnson (1972) found that participants who heard the passage without a title recalled an average of only 2.8 idea units compared to the participants who were given the title who recalled an average of 5.8 idea units. Bransford and Johnsons (1972) study show that the title acted as a useful retrieval cue. Anderson and Pichert’s (1978) research showed that a person’s perspective could guide retrieval of information. For instance, Anderson and Pichert (1978) asked participants to read a story about two boys playing in a house from one of two perspectives, that of a home-buyer or that of a burglar and to write as many of the stories detail they could recall. The participants asked to recall the story again but with half of the participants in the home-buyer condition recalling the story from the perspective of a burglar and half of the participants in the burglar condition to recall the story from the home-buyer perspective. Anderson and Pichert (1978) found that people recalled new information following the change of schema. Anderson and Picherts (1978) findings suggested that schemas play a critical role for readers in selectively attending to elements of a passage that is significant for recall. Therefore, this study aims to replicate the Anderson and Pichert (1978) stud y to see if there would be a significant difference in the recall for participants who changed schema compared to the recall of the participants who did not change schema. Participants: Purposive sampling selected a sample of 40 participants: 20 males and 20 females, age range of 20 to 25 for males and 20 to 26 for females, mean ages 20.5 and 32.7 years respectively. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups; home-buyer schema group and the burglar schema group. Design: The study used a repeated measures design, with two conditions: condition A (no change schema) and condition B (changed schema). The IV being the number of story details recalled correctly and the DV measured was recall accuracy for the change in schema perspective. Controlling for order effects, half of the participants of each group were randomly assigning to condition A and half to condition B for the second recall task. Materials: The materials used were the story used in the original study by Anderson and Pichert (1978) about two boys who played truant from school and spent the day at the home of one of the boys because no one was home that day. The story contained many details, of which some were expected to be more salient for a person with a home-buyer schema, such as attractive grounds, leaking roof, and damp basement; and other details more salient for a person with a burglar schema, such as valuable coin collection, nobody home on Thursdays, and an expensive TV. Part B of the Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (PVLT) (Laufer and Nation, 1995) was the ‘filler’ task used before the first recall of the story. Before instructions for the second recall participants were asked to count backwards from 99 until asked to stop as a ‘filler’ task before the second recall, with the stopping cut off point was 30. Procedure: The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group was told to imagine that they were looking for a house to buy (‘home-buyer’ schema group). The other group was told to imagine that they were burglars looking for a house to break into (‘burglar’ schema group). Working with one group at a time, participants were given a story to read about two boys who played truant from school and spent the day at the home of one of the boys because no-one was home that day, and were given two minutes to read the story. Next, the participants were instructed, to complete the (PVLT) test for twelve minutes. When the twelve minutes were up the participants were told to stop the test and to write down as many of the details of the story they could recall. When the participants had completed the first recall task, they were instructed to count backwards from 99 until told to stop. The participants were asked to stop counting at the count of 30, and then han ded envelopes containing standardised instructions for the next stage of the study. Half the participants received instructions asking them to recall the story a second time from the same perspective, the other half of the participants were given instructions asking them to recall the story a second time from the other perspective. For example, half of the participants who had imagined they were home-buyers were asked to imagine they were burglars (the other half kept imagining being home-buyers), and half of those who had imagined they were burglars were asked to imagine they were home-buyers (the other half kept imagining being burglars). Once participants had read the instructions, they were asked to write down as many details of the story they could recall for a second time. When the second recall task was completed, debriefing took place and the participants were thanked for their participation. This standardised procedure was used for both groups. Ethical considerations: For ethical reasons the following steps were taken Firstly, during gaining consent before the participants’ participated in the study it was explained that the true nature of the study would not be explained until the debriefing after all measures were taken. However, the participants were reassured that their participation will be kept anonymous and that the study was not a test of their intelligence or mental abilities and that they were free to withdraw at any time during the study. Finally debriefing at the end of the study took place informing the participants of the true nature of the study, and that they could withdraw from the study. The debriefing also ensured that the participants suffered no distress during the study. Recall results were collected for the first and second recall tasks and the details recalled which related to the schema perspectives were recorded. Mean scores were calculated for the correct recall of schema related details from the first recall task (table 1). The data was analysed with the anaylsis of variance (ANOVA) showing that there was a significant effect for the number of story details recalled by the participants with different schemas F = 4.49, p The data was analysed with the analysis of variance (ANOVA) (table 3) showing a significant main effect of changing interaction F = 4.3, p Schema theory research has assumed that explicit thought about a schemas topic or an encounter with relevant information can activate a schema. Bransford and Johnson (1972) argued that schemas often influence comprehension processes rather than retrieval where Anderson and Pichert (1978) argued that schemas influence the retrieval of information. The aim of this study was to replicate Anderson and Pichert’s (1978) study, claiming that people store information when reading a passage, which they fail to produce when recalling the passage after changing schemas. This study was a replication of Anderson and Pichert’s (1978) study which predicted that participants who changed schemas would recall more information related to the ‘new’ schema than ‘new’ information for their original schema. An anaylsis of variance (ANOVA) statistical test showed a significant effect if the type of recall presented, showing that the participants who changed schemas re called more additional information which was previously unrecalled than the participants who did not change schemas. These findings supported Anderson and Pichert’s (1978) claims that correct recall resulting from the retrieval of knowledge are strongly influenced by the perspective taken during perception and cognition of the retrieved information. It has been show, that schemas provided after learning can affect recall. For example, when participants are given an additional perspective at test (e.g. home-buyer) may use this perspective as a retrieval cue and remember additional information (e.g. leaky roof) (Anderson and Pichert, 1978). Besides increasing correct recall, use of schemas post encoding may also lead to bias and memory errors. For example new information learned after the fact can activate a schema which participants then use to reconstruct the original events. Lotus and Palmer (1974) demonstrated this phenomenon in their classic study that questioned participants about a slide show they had just seen. One question asked how fast the cars were going when they â€Å"hit† or â€Å"smashed† into each other. One week later, those whose question read smashed were more likely to report seeing broken glass. Post encoding use of schema research has focused on correct recall (e.g. Anderson and Pichert, 1978) or on memory distortions resulting from post event information, which strongly implied the biased memory. This study controlled confounding variables by testing the participants in two separate groups and getting them to carry out a ‘filler’ task between first and second recall. In addition, for each group half the participants were assigned to the no change schema condition and the other half assigned to the changed schema condition for the second recall task to control for order effects. The participants were deceived of the true nature of the study to control for participants expectancies, to ensure that schema change was the only variable manipulated while all other variables are held constant so as not to affect the results. In summary the findings of this study showed, there to be a significant difference in the recall of additional information for the changed schema than for the additional information recalled for the original schema compared to the additional information recalled by the no change schema group. Showing that schemas are active recognition devices and play a critical role in reading where readers selectively attend to details of a passage that is significant to recall and that schemas strongly influence our retrieval of information. As the study used undergraduate students, who have plenty of experience in reading for text from different perspectives future research would benefit from looking at how schema change influences recall when reading from a studying perspective or reading from an entertainment perspective in primary school children. References Anderson, R.C. and Pichert, J.W. (1978) ‘Recalling of Previously Unrecallable Information Following a Shift in Perspective’. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 17: 1-12. Bartlett, F.C. (1932) Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bransford, J.D. and Johnson, M.K. (1972) ‘Contextual Prerequisites for Understanding: Some Investigations of Comprehension and Recall’, Journal of Verbal Language and Verbal Behavior, 11: 717-726. Gross, R. (1996) (3rd Ed.). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. London: Hodder Stoughton. Laufer, B. and Nation, P. (1995) ‘Vocabulary Size and Use: Lexical Richness in L2 Written Production’, Applied Linguistics, 16: 307-322. Lotus, E.F. and Palmer, J.C. (1974) ‘Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction: An Example of the Interaction between Language and Memory’, Journal of Verbal Language and Verbal Behavior, 13: 585-589. Rumelhart, D.E. and Norman, D.A. (1988) ‘Representation in memory’, In R.C. Atkinson, R.J. Herrstein, G. Lindzey, and R.D. Luce. (2nd Ed.) Steven’s Handbook of Experimental Psychology. New York: John Wiley and Son: 511-587.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Why Death Is Better Than Life in Prison?

Life in prison. When you look at the death penalty system in action, you realize that the only purpose it serves is retribution or revenge, it is seriously (and intrinsically) flawed in application and that there is a serious and continuing risk of executing innocent people. And, it costs much more than life in prison. Here are some facts about the death penalty system. While these refer to the system in the United States, similar things would apply to other nations as well. 130 people on death rows have been released with proof that they were wrongfully convicted. DNA, available in less than 10% of all homicides, can’t guarantee we won’t execute innocent people. If someone is convicted and later found innocent you can release him from prison, but not from the grave. The death penalty doesn't prevent others from committing murder. No reliable study shows the death penalty deters others. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in those that don’t. Life without parole, on the books in 48 states, also prevents reoffending. It means what it says, and spending 23 of 24 hours a day locked in a tiny cell is not a picnic. Life without parole costs less than the death penalty. The death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison, mostly because of the upfront costs of legal process which is supposed to prevent executions of innocent people. (upfront=before and during the initial trial) The death penalty isn't reserved for the worst crimes, but for defendants with the worst lawyers. It doesn't apply to people with money. When is the last time a wealthy person was on death row, let alone executed? Families of murder victims are not unanimous about the death penalty. However, even families who have supported the death penalty in principal have testified that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative. Problems with speeding up the process. Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. Speed up the process and we will execute innocent people. Sources: Death Penalty Information Center, www. deathpenaltyinfo. org, for stats on executions, reports on costs, deterrence studies, links to FBI crime stats and links to testimony (at state legislatures) of victims' family members.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Generality and Reality

To answer the aforementioned questions, the paper primarily employs a qualitative approach, although a degree of quantitative data will also be utilized. From a qualitative perspective, the paper will draw heavily on case studies and historical and contemporary examples in order to take a comparative approach in explaining and identifying the effect that refugees have on the nations that receive them. Particularly, the case study approach and the identification of the relevance to the current crisis in Lebanon and Jordan will allow for the exploration of why specific positive or negative effects may be magnified in some cases and not others. Solely focusing on discussions of this issue can cause the reader to be bogged down by generalities that, although often making intuitive sense, lack historical evidence. For example, those who might argue that an influx of refugees has a negative effect on host countries might say â€Å"refugees cause overcrowding in the host country.† While this explanation may be intuitive, it is also simplistic. I hope to examine past case studies and research in order to bridge the gap between generality and reality in order to qualitatively explain; if this is a valid point on the negative side of the argument the manner in which overcrowding manifests itself, how that affects the broader economy, whether that argument has relevance for the Lebanese case, and the potential implications for policy. These conceptual, qualitative explanations will also require a degree of quantitative backing as well. As the paper is discussing economic impact, quantitative metrics for example, GDP figures, money spent on infrastructure development, wage data, and employment data will be employed to give more clarity and evidence to conceptual claims. This quantitative component—although not at the level of sophistication of regression analysis and not primary data in nature—will be useful in both the historical and contemporary parts of the paperLiterature reviewThe modern world is one of constant change and upheaval. For many in the Global North, this change is characterized by dramatic advances in technology and progressive policy reforms. But for still many more, the story is a markedly different tale of survival. Today, the world is confronting its worst refugee crisis since World War II. Facing political turmoil, violence, and war, over 60 million people have fled their homes in search of safety and with hope for a better future (Graham 2015). As these refugees pour over the borders of Iraq and Syria, pile onto smuggling boats in Libya and Burma, and flee to neighboring lands from Yemen and Somalia, they have captured the world's attention. Currently, much of the popular and academic discourse has addressed the moral and humanitarian components of refugee crises. Accordingly, whether due to mounting international awareness and pressure or humanitarian compassion; many developed regions, such as the United States and the European Union, have boosted their capacity to receive refugees. The human rights element inherent to refugee crises is relatively more clear-cut. But a broader academic discussion has been developing around the following question: what are some of the economic effects; both positive and negative, of the sudden influx of refugees on host countries? These economic questions are particularly important to a country like Lebanon, where Syrian refugees now make up over 20 percent of the population (Richard, 2014). Before these effects can be analyzed, it is important to distinguish refugees from other types of migrants. The United Nations, via the 1951 Refugee Convention, defines a refugee as someone who â€Å"owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. The key point here is movement out of fear and necessity, rather than, say, economic opportunity. This definition has also been expanded by many to include violence and war, famine, and natural disaster. Scholars have further delineated the difference between refugees and migrants by looking at size of the group and nation of origin. In particular, refugees are noted for typically moving as a part of a larger group of people rather than as individuals; they also generally come from relatively less developed economies. With these definitions in mind, the paper now turns to examining the economic impact that refugees have on host countries. Positive economic impacts Refugees can often bring positive economic impacts to the countries that receive them. The existing literature discusses a number of ways in which this can occur, five of which are discussed below. First, provisions designed and implemented explicitly for refugees can often lead to broader utilization by the host country's population. Specifically, schools built explicitly for refugee children have served local students, who might not otherwise go to school at all as well. The presence of refugees ensures enrollment stability, thereby helping to keep the schools open and functioning for all children; this in turn encourages continued investment and can improve the educational infrastructure of the country and boost long-term economic productivity. Aside from educational institutions, governments and international aid organizations may, because of the crisis, often invest in other infrastructure developments; such as medical clinics, housing developments, and roads to access refugee camps that can be maintained and used for the population at large when the refugee crisis subsides. These temporary structures—originally built to support refugees—can persist beyond the crisis and bolster the host country's infrastructure and development prospects. In this sense, these short-term negative economic shocks that refugees provide to the system can give way to a longer-term positive economic outcome. Second, it is also important to consider the demographics of the refugees themselves.Many of the factors that drive refugee crises; especially war or terrorism, are relatively indiscriminate to class. Because of this, refugees can often come from skilled and educated backgrounds. ResultsMost studies of the effect of unskilled migration on the wages of unskilled workers find only small negative effects. The early literature on the subject typically concluded that a 1 percent increase in the immigrant share in the population causes no decline in wages or a decline of 0.1 percent. These area studies that attempted to exploit the variation in migration incidence across countries, or more typically across localities in Lebanon and Jordan. As is most clearly seen in developing countries receiving large numbers of refugees, such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, the concentration of refugees in specific localities can â€Å"crowd out† public services such as schools and hospitals, or cause the transport infrastructure to become congested. In advanced countries, where the infrastructure is well developed and the refugee inflow is much smaller relative to the native populations, these effects can be observed in specific neighborhoods, typically in low-income areas.Mitigating these concentration effects while at the same time avoiding the temptation of encouraging refugees to settle in distant locations where it is difficult to find work and people do not want to stay poses a genuine challenge to policy-makers. At the same time, it is clear that unskilled migrants can reduce the price of many market services and also reduce the cost of many public services like unskilled migrants help cleaning streets An important benefit that natives; whether they are skilled or unskilled derive from unskilled refugees, and one that until recently was largely neglected, is that they help reduce the prices of non-traded goods and services that natives use intensively. Researchers have proved that the surge in immigration in the Jordan and Lebanon since 2011 may have reduced the prices of these services by about 10 percent. By contrast, as discussed further below, the arrival of refugees can put upward pressure on housing in localities where they are concentrated. This can make low-income housing less affordable even as it represents a net wealth gain for the native population that owns housing. Since many advanced countries, most notably in Europe, experience high and persistent unemployment over many years, even when growth is near or above long-term potential, the worry that increased immigration will simply make the structural or cyclical unemployment problem worse resonates widely. Consider an economy where collective bargaining predominates in some â€Å"rigid† sectors and where the labor market is very flexible in others. They find that migration can increase unemployment in the rigid sector, while having a relatively small negative effect on wages in the rigid sector, and reduce the wage in the flexible sector where unemployment remains low by definition. In the long run, these effects tend to dissipate as investment responds. Thus, the model that assumes perfect labor markets tends to overestimate the impact of migration on average wages and to underestimate the effect on unemployment; meta-analysis of studies examining the effect of immigration on unemployment in developed countries found out that in general, an increase in immigration by 1 percent of the population leads to an increase in unemployment of no more than 0.3 percent. In contrast, studies of the Lebanon and Jordan labor markets, which are among the most flexible, have found no significant effect of immigration on employment opportunities for native workers; including low-skilled native workers. They found that, among less-educated workers, those born in the two countries tend to have jobs in manufacturing or mining, while migrants tend to have jobs in personal services and agriculture, providing an explanation for why low-skilled migration has a limited impact on employment. In fact, the share of migrants among the less-educated is strongly correlated with the extent of Jordan born worker specialization in communication tasks. In states with a heavy concentration of less-educated migrants, Lebanon born workers have shifted toward more communication-intensive occupations. Those jobs pay higher wages than manual jobs, and so such a mechanism has stimulated the productivity of workers born in the two counties and generated new employment opportunities.